this old @#*&!! house

we are fixing up our house to sell it. (hence the lagging on posts.)
this is what i'm dealing with.
ummm, maybe if somebody wanted to help us, i'd have more time to entertain you folks with comics.
just sayin'.

sputnik tina

this one is for kim...and everyone who bought a poster. thanks!

why you should come to my show

a wee hiatus

Dear gentle reader, please excuse my brief absence as I prepare for my very first solo exhibition (and Sputnik Girl poster release par-tay) on Friday, August 15th from 6 to 9pm at Persimmons Art & Vintage Gallery (314 N. 8th St., Manitowoc, 920-684-3006). I will be posting updates on my other blog.

In the meantime, I will try to unearth the drawer in my file cabinet that holds all of my old crap & post something from there. Probably.

a crummy commercial

We interrupt our regular programming to bring you this public service announcement. Do you like this poster? If so, please scurry over to my other blog and pre-order it.
It is for Manitowoc's upcoming Sputnikfest!

I AM MAD.

sometimes, the shortsightedness and sheer stupidity of others drives me to, well, freak out. this, my friends, is one of those times. i LIKE living here. also, i like living where there are nice things to do.
okay, for those of you who are not manitowoc dwellers, here's the deal: yes, it does get hot here in the summer. yes, we have beaches (we are on lake michigan, which is a great lake), but ours are sadly, frequently closed because of pollution (usually e coli from 800 million seagulls crapping at once, or perhaps something about the 10 billion cigarette butts strewn all over) and, frankly, they aren't as nicely accessible as they should be.
anyway, the public city pool (circa 1969) closed several years ago because it was leaking. a lot. so, since we need a new city pool, why not make it DECENT? so a design was made with a zero-depth entry area for toddlers, and a water play area, and a lap area, and a water slide, and it was a WONDERFUL idea. and they raised a whole bunch of money for it, but they still needed funding from the city.
and now, after five years, the manitowoc city council has rejected it. no city pool. god forbid your property taxes go up two dollars to improve the quality of life. hmm, i wonder if they will fix up the beaches then? anyone? bueller?
so our family swimming options are:
1. overcrowded ymca indoor pool
2. slathered in seagull poo and sprinkled with cigarette butts and dead fish parts
3. drive down to sheboygan for nice beaches & waterpark
get in the car, kids!

surf's up!

why yes, i do have dainty ankles, thank you.

in the meantime...

sorry i haven't posted on this one for a bit. kids making me crazy.
in the meantime, enjoy this minute & 16 seconds of sonic goodness (yes, it's safe to play in the company of toddlers, they will dig it too).

tina versus a tiny creature

true story! another multipanel extravaganza. i apologize (well, not really) for the bad drawings but i was holding a gigantic crying baby and arguing with a two-year-old while drawing it. i have a mental backlog of a bunch of other post-its but had to get this one out first.
also (unrelated) while i was checking email last night i heard this. which was pretty cool. see, i don't hate all wildlife.

the big question

today, i asked myself this question.
and the verdict is still out. so my sweatshirt is in the laundry basket, just to be safe.

rejection letters!

click to enlarge, if you dare!
and you know what, J-Ro? i don't even care anymore that Harry Potter was rejected by a dozen publishers. boo hoo. i need to buy diapers and toilet paper and the only marginally useful skill i have is drawing. and it's not even that much of a skill. o highlights, why will you not let me draw your hidden picture?

i wish i had time to take a shower

but as long as everyone else is happy...
because, how many people care if i take a shower?
two: myself & husband (most likely)
how many people care if i update my blogs?
three*
(* high estimate)

the dog days of april through october

our neighbors have dogs. 4 or 5, actually, very large dogs. i am sure deep down they are nice, really, but bored out of their minds.
the children, on the other hand, are now terrified of dogs, any dogs, to the point of hysterics and tears. the weather is nice now, so they want to play in the backyard, but the minute they get out there, the dogs start up, and it's all over...

illustration friday- "primitive"

For Illustration Friday, "primitive." I have wondered whether our ancestors had the same mood swings, irrational cravings, etc when pregnant as we do today.
P.S. Note to friends before you freak out: I am NOT pregnant.

So what DOES the Easter Bunny look like?

some questions are better left unanswered...

a couple from the vaults

i was going through some old storyboards this weekend & found these xeroxes.

the first can be titled "tina vs. soy milk"


and in this one i appear to be a drunken homeless elf:
(possibly an abandoned christmas greeting?)

ding! ding!

tina in stereo

now you can pretend to hang out with me!
note the fancy new "radio tina" box on your right- just press play & i will impose my musical interests upon you from afar. i found this on my pal rob's blog. they don't have everything available yet (no pixies? breeders? valaida snow? BUT they do have the theme from the munsters, so yay) and some are weird "live" versions (sorry) but it is pretty cool.
so listen to it while you visit me here & wade through my self-pity...it's just like you are trapped in my car, but without the fear of pain and death!
also, you can click on the little icon in the lower right corner of the box and it will open in a separate window, so you can STILL enjoy the crap i like while you are doing things other than reading my blog. lucky you.

in which i blame diablo cody for my own ineptitude

a multi-panel extravaganza, done in photoshop.
sigh...
also submitted for illustration friday "choose" since i chose...poorly.
and d.i.y. bangs are, for most of us, a bad choice. or maybe just me.
anyway, if you see me and my 1/2 inch long bangs, please say hello.

more baby weight

yes, this is a real dvd, and everyone on it is having a GREAT TIME.
i am having a better time now, eating ice cream in my pajamas.

is your baby demon spawn too?

so i made a new infant onesie (in illustrator) for my cafepress shop:


it's funny 'cuz it's true.

"foreclosure" is the new "f" word

the REAL ending to the "let's find a job game." is anybody out there?

that sucker was a bad idea anyway

either that, or the stomach flu is back

nope, it's happiness! seriously, that workshop was like a self-help retreat.

omg, lynda barry PART TWO!

i met lynda barry!!! her writing workshop, writing the unthinkable, was AMAZING and so was lynda! yay! look, i am smiling so big that you can see every last one of my choppers! count 'em! plus she liked my post-it comics, or at least said she did, so hooray!
update:
and then, after i posted the above picture, my pal tim sent me this:

omg, lynda barry!!!!

oh my stars and garters!!! i am going to the amazing lynda barry's writing workshop this weekend in chicago and i am both elated and terrified. (what if she yells at me?)
i am going with my pal barb who does fantastic comics as well.
my husband (my poor, poor husband, who will be watching the demon children) wants me to print out a bunch of my post-it comics to give to her but i am too scared.

oh yeah, happy new year

so, i haven't posted for awhile...

for kim, who injured herself and lived to blog about it

so i had breakfast with my pal kim this morning, and we were joking about our blogs and how most of everything that happens to us ends up posted in cyberspace for any number of random strangers (well, and friends too). anyway, at the time i hadn't read her post yesterday about her accident-prone day, so i thought i'd illustrate it for her now.
ps. i laughed out loud when i drew this, which is sort of embarrassing.
pps. yes, i know i didn't draw the reflection in the mirror. i am lazy.

a video

public service announcement: okay, so carson made me watch this, and now i'm making you watch it, because it's really great and everyone should watch this. ken robinson addresses creativity in schools, and he is actually really funny too.

saint nick comes tonight, whoever he is

oh man, I DON'T KNOW! so, okay, tonight (Dec. 5th), saint nick comes to put a couple little treats (usually candy, a little toy, and an orange) in your stocking if you have been good. if not you get coal (for making a snowman! yay!), OR (so i've read) if you've been very bad, a spanking, and if you've been REALLY bad, he will take you away in a sack. sleep tight, kids!
anyhoo, we've always celebrated st nick's growing up (apparently a regional thing, who knew?) but i don't know: are saint nick and santa claus the same? or are they pals? brothers? acquaintances? rivals? saint nicholas rides a white horse, santa has a sleigh with reindeer. cripes. i think i'm going with brothers (which i have just totally made up). is it too early for egg nog?
help me out, people!!

ebay christmas

that little brother is costing me more than he's worth these days. (or so it would seem.)