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Sexy Mechanical Voting Machine

Oh, Sexy Mechanical Voting Machine...

So much better than those hinky 'lectronic thangs.

Your turgid red lever goes from left to right

Then back again.

CLANK! CLUNK!

Gonna vote in a new Funky President

Might not fix our stank economy

But he'll look smooth trying.

Happy Halloween '08!!

I love this holiday, especially in NYC. You get to see how creative and/or slutty New Yorkers can be (“Hey look, it’s Sexy Werewolf!!”).

Since Mikhaela and I missed Halloween ‘07 (we were at 'Day of the Dead' in Mexico), we really want to do it up this year. As a special Election ’08 bonus, I’m going to keep a tally of how many Obamas, McCains, Bidens and Palins I see…until I get drunk or bored. My money is on a plethora of porn-y Palins and zombie McCains.

Oh yeah: for all you basic cable fans, I’m going as this guy.

-Masheka

P.S. If you’re going to a Halloween party, wear a freakin’ costume or keep your lame ass at home. Besides, if you’re single, you have a better chance of getting costumed booty if you get into the inherently hedonistic spirit of the holiday with your own outfit.

Out of Sequence art exhibition (and more Jupitus on the BBC)

Haven't seen the ads for OUT OF SEQUENCE in THE COMIC JOURNAL and ARTFORUM because your eyes are blurry with recession tears? Then you don't know that Mikhaela Reid and I (and a slew of other artists) have pieces in this very cool exhibit in Illinois' Krannert Art Museum. Our friends John Jennings and Damian Duffy are the curators. The best part is that some of the pieces (like my 'Killing Brain Cells') will be digitally projected on the museum's walls. Here are the details:

Out of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics opening reception, this Thursday, Oct. 23 @ 6-8pm!

WHERE: Krannert Art Museum 500 East Peabody Dr Champaign IL 61820 WHAT: The opening reception for the Out of Sequence comics art exhibition. It is an exploration of the question ‘What is Comics?’ It is a declaration of the diversity of sequential art in the United States, diversity not just of creators, but also of content and form. Out of Sequence is a broad survey of women, small press, minority, independent, gay & lesbian, self-published, mini, underground, web and/or gallery comics creators. The opening reception will feature a talk by exhibition comics artist Mark Staff Brandl at 6pm and music by DJ Delayney. WHY: Because comics are awesome, and the gallery has been made into a 3D comic. Comics are on the wall in prints and original art, and off the wall, projected on screens, floating in virtual reality. WHAT ELSE: The Next Panel Illinois Small Press Comics Expo. Guest artists include Jerry Craft, Leilani Hickerson, Dann Tincher, and Ashley A. Woods. Special guest letterpress printer Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. On Saturday at 1:30 Jerry Craft will be offering a cartooning workshop, FREE to the public. To register contact Chris Schaede at the Krannert Museum: 217-333-1861, schaede@illinois.edu. For more information contact: The curators- Damian Duffy (duff@eyetrauma.net) or John Jennings (jayjay@illinois.edu) The Krannert Art Museum- (217) 244-0516

. . . . . . also . . . . . . . .

That BBC Radio interview from July, originally only up for a week, is now on the BBC's site indefinitely!! Phill Jupitus' Comic Love was so popular that the BBC extended the cartoonists' interviews into four longer 15 minute programs.

The new series is called Phill Jupitus' Strips. Our segment (Programme 2), is an extended version of that afternoon in our Brooklyn apartment with Phil, Jen Sorensen, Brian McFadden, Mikhaela and little ol' me. It aired live on BBC Radio October 14th, but you can listen to it here.

Cartoonists with Attitude on the BBC

The BBC (!!) came to our apt. last month and had a chat with Mikhaela, Brian McFadden, Jen Sorensen and yours truly about alternative political cartooning. The documentary for BBC Radio 4 is hosted by the esteemed Phill Jupitus for his show "Phill Jupitus' Comic Love'. He also talks with cartoonist superstars like Gary Trudeau, Lynn Johnston, Bill Griffith and Steve Bell so we're in very good company.

The doc premiered this weekend and will be up until 6/25 so listen to it here as soon as possible if you've always wanted to hear my voice (mumbled and slurry). The Cartoonist With Attitude segment is at the 22:20 mark.

This weekend: MoCCA minicomic for you!!

On Saturday June 7th and Sunday June 8th, my new mini-comic "So, You've Been Laid Off?!" will be at the 2008 MoCCA Art Festival at NYC's Puck Building from 11am-6pm. If this is your first time getting the shaft from your "day job" (a.k.a. outsourced, downsized, made redundant), it's a handy little booklet created to guide and comfort you in these troubling times. For everyone else, it is a grim soulless reminder of the vicious circle of employment purgatory.

Have a super weekend!! -Me

Lunar eclipse tonight!

Tonight, from 7pm to 7:51pm (Eastern standard time), I'll be checking out the last lunar eclipse until 2010. Hopefully it will take my mind off the final root canal appointment I have in a few hours.

Check it out during your local time zone tonight and watch out for werewolves.

UPDATE: Hmm, when I said "7pm to 7:51 pm" I must have been on crack because I didn't see anything then (and I was looking reeeeeally hard). Luckily a friend informed me of the real viewing time and we all got to see the eclipse around 9pm. Sadly, after staring at the creepy bloody moon for ten minutes, I failed to develop any enhanced superhuman powers. Pity...

"Look at me! I'm a Lady T.V.! HEY!! LOOK AT ME!!"

Introducing the latest in obnoxious technology and ubiquitous marketing: The Wearable Video Vest.

Notice that the models for the 'Video Vest' website are all women wearing outfits that vary from "friendly Gap employee" to teeny weeny bikini. Only one of the leering spectators appears to be making eye contact, probably practicing a 'boob tube' joke in his head.

I know what you're thinking: "For Pete's sake, that thing looks too "Videodrome meets Teletubbies" for my taste! Isn't there a slimmer, more fashionable version for everyday douchebags like myself?"

{via Gawker/Adrants}

The Hulk Out List!!

As a fan of all things Hulk, I was extremely happy to come across this list, via Fark.com, detailing every fight/calamity/petty annoyance that triggered a Hulk transformation in the '78-'82 t.v. show 'The Incredible Hulk'.

I can relate to #47, but my favorite, in terms of sheer slapstick lunacy, is #108.

BONUS VIDEO! The Hulk trips on LSD!

2007: The Year in Movie Hell

What better way to start off the new year than to by reminiscing about some of the cinematic monstrosities of last year?

Worst NY Post headline ever?

From the New York Post, via Gawker.com: "Ike 'Beats' Tina To Death"

It's so wrong that I laughed at this. Goddamn Post...

Rejected Sidekicks, Rejected Henchmen

Behold my latest cartoon in the latest issue of UVC Magazine, The Urban Voice in Comics. It's all flipped because, I dunno, sometimes I like to make ya work for it.

Prison Break recap at Racialicious

I have a recap of the Fall season finale of Prison Break on Racialicious, a blog about race and pop culture. Just in time for the writer's strike! Let's hope the writers' demands are met so they can churn out more episodes for me to dissect.

Next up: Battlestar Galactica!!

2007 Small Press Expo (SPX) this week

This weekend I'll be sharing an exhibitor table with CWA cartoonists Ted Rall, Jen Sorensen, Keith Knight, Mikhaela Reid, Stephanie McMillan, August J. Pollak, and Brian McFadden. So go there and buy our books 'n stuff! Also check out the SPX exhibitor list and floor plan here. Use it to stalk your favorite 'toonist.

SPX will be open to the public from 2 - 8pm on Fri., Oct. 12 and 10am - 7pm Sat., Oct. 13. Admission is $8 for a single day and $15 for both days.

What's Happenin' Now?

Soooo, am I embarrassed that my last post was in June and my last NJKD cartoon was, um, God knows when? (October, by the way).

The answer is "slightly embarrased. But I had all of this other stuff on my plate like:

1) I married my sweetie, cartoonist Mikhaela Reid, in a kick-ass ceremony in Lowell, MA officiated by Ted Rall, decorated by my cool new mom-in-law Beryl, catered by my new chef-in-law cousin Kevin.

And to everyone who has been wondering: Mikhaela is still "Mikhaela Reid". She would have betrayed her feminist ideals and whatnot if she didn't keep her name (besides, she likes it). And as a manimist, I refused to change my surname (though I would have been open to Brangelina-esque monikers for both of us, like "Mikheeka Weid" or "Mashaela Rood").

2) James Vincent Howell, Sr., my grandfather, passed away on September 10th. He was too sick to see his first grandson get married in person. However, thanks to video (courtesy of my friend Lorraine) and a laptop, he saw the next best thing before he passed. He taught me penmanship, the importance of lettering, and how to ride a bike. Grampa, I'll miss the way you used to tease me about that picture of my bare ass on a bearskin rug.

3) I have a regular comic in the hot new bi-monthly magazine UVC: The Urban Voice of Comics). Check out the September/October issue for my cartoon 'Urban Superpowers I Wish I Had'.

So go to your local comic book store (or record store or urban lifestyle store) and pick up a copy. And if they don't have any, throw a tantrum until they get more. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Stop reading this sentence and go already! Sheesh!

4) Oh waitaminnit! One more thing, y'all. Tonight, tonight!!

Your RSVP would be ever so kindly appreciated. And please feel free to steal this image/text/links and help us promote this event! Please!)

• Who: Angry cartoonists Mikhaela Reid & Masheka Wood
• What: Slideshow/signing/discussion for Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela!: Cartoons by Mikhaela Reid w/ a foreword by Ted Rall and Deep Doodle: Cartoons by Masheka Wood!
• When: Friday Sept. 28, 7 p.m.
• Where: Center for New Words, 7 Temple Street, Cambridge, Mass.
• Why: You'll be sorry if you don't!
• No, really, why? Because: