The Future Calls...

Everyone has dreams, right? Sadly, I think most of us never realize them.

I think I know what I'd like to do with myself, and with my life.

Unfortunately, it will take a lot of money. Actually, this may be one case where an alot of money will come in handy, only I am unsure of how to snare the elusive beast. His or her ever-replenishing coat of Jacksons or Benjamins could certainly come in handy.

Of course there are things like Kickstarter but I think that would be better put to use later in this dream.

I have a place in mind for this fantasy to take place in too.

I even have ideas of some people to involve in it, maybe some people I know would like to be involved in it. I'm not much of a networker though.

I suppose I could qualify for grants, but I don't know the beginning of that sort of thing. I see people hiring grantwriters from time to time--that must be what they are for.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have to worry about finding accountants to help with things, but I think the type of plan I have requires lawyers. Well at least one, probably not more than that.

Its funny because I haven't really felt excited about anything job-related. like, ever, but for once I do. I just don't know where to begin. Unfortunately, I don't think the Internet adage of

Step 1: Dream Project
Step 2: Start project
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit!

applies here.

Especially since what I have floating in my head is anything but a for-profit mega-conglomerate. No, it'd be local and very community and art-driven.

I'd actually had a different plan months ago that was related to this, but I think that was more fanciful (and selfish). This non-plan-plan is much better because instead of (potentially) fattening my wallet, it would fatten the collective spirit of a community.

Most people give up on dreams, and I understand why; it's hard. I don't want mine to end up in the same place as most others. I want others to reap the benefits of what I want to sow.

Drawing is pencil and charcoal pencil on paper.

Man Cat As Art: Chairman Meao

[This is part of a continuing series:Man Cat As Art. For more like this, see Van Gogh, Matisse,  Da Vinci, Darger (and a couple others) and Tommy Wiseau.]

I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I cannot draw a cat. Well, I can't draw their faces. Not realistically, anyway, so be kind and imagine that this looks vaguely reminiscent of a cat. One day, I will be able to do this much, much better. That's a day I look forward to.

I don't know a lot about Andy Warhol. He lived before my time, and I was never much into art history. Much of art has passed me by in a whirlwind, and I am just now beginning to look at it, and ask questions. I'm a bit more familiar with Andy Warhol, though, because he just happens to be Krissy's favorite.

From what I have seen and read, he was eccentric, but what artist isn't. He didn't create pop art, but he is one of the driving forces behind its popularity, and what it is today. There are only a handful of artists I can recognize as inspiring other pictures or art, and when it comes to pop art, I can think of just two: Warhol and Lichtenstein.

I think I'm improving, but I think I'm going to have to take a look at cats, cat drawings, paintings, and the like, because trying to improvise kitty features is kind of hard, especially when you are trying to put them where they do not belong-- like on Chairman Mao.

In some ways, it's kind of fitting to have Mao as a Man Cat. Cats can be ferocious little beasts, and any freedoms one once had before getting a cat are soon swept out the window. In a way, all cats are little Meaos. But they do all generally have their moments where they're all curled up and cute like. That's why no cats, Man Cat included, are truly Meao Cats.

Maybe one day I can come back to this, and redo it so it looks more realistic, though. Not realism realistic; just better. I'm not entirely happy with it, especially in some parts. But overall, considering my abilities, I think I did an okay job. I don't know why I ever decided to make a project involving drawing a cat. Fur is hard (for me at least), and cats have differently shaped faces to humans too. I'm getting used to human faces, but cats are something else entirely. Maybe in doing this, I will improve on that, though. After all, if I can master drawing a cat, or at least a cat face, then that opens up a wide swath of new animals, since so many animals have that cat-shaped head, or a small variation of it.

Also, still getting used to my tablet, and using a new program, which made this take forever. I think I could have been a tad more expedient had I been using Illustrator, but it's okay. Corel Paint is kind of fun.

Anyway, I've rambled enough. This is my drawing of Man Cat as Art: Chairman Meao, inspired by Andy Warhol. And some of my randomly random thoughts as they came to me concerning it. I hope you enjoyed them.

Wiseau Fridays: On Planning Too Much

Click on the player below to hear the quote from the movie:


Well, it's Friday again (already?) and that means it's time for another installment of Wiseau Fridays. I won't go into detail about The Room here, for that you can read my post about it here. Maybe one of these weeks I will give the movie a proper review or synopsis.

In this drawing, and scene of the movie, Johnny (Tommy Wiseau's character) is giving advice to Denny, his neighbor and pseudo-adopted son. I can't recall exactly the relevance, but the advice is sound, "Denny, don't plan too much; it may not come out right!" Truer words were never spoken. Okay, maybe they were, but this is seriously sound advice.

I think sometimes people plan too much, even planning so much that they don't actually, you know, live. so live a little and when you are doing things you enjoy, don't stress about other things. Pay attention! When you're shopping (grocery or present) focus on that. Don't run down a litany of things you really ought to be doing instead. We've come to this stage in our lives where the world doesn't close. Everything is open twenty-four hours a day, we're in constant communication via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and cell phones. You get out of work at five? Not really, and especially if you are a salaried worker. Lots of times they'll even get you a cell phone to inconvenience you at all hours of the day with, yes, more work. And that means more stress. Of course where I live, in Woodbury, once nine o'clock rolls around you can't even so much as get a gallon of milk or gas.

Even so, just because some towns may be a little more low key than others, doesn't mean that we don't still have dozens of people pulling us in dozens more directions; sadly, the more people you know the more thin you're spread. Personally, I need more than a thin layer of butter on my toast.

So settle down, don't stress out over every. little. thing. It's going to be okay if you don't I promise. Besides, no matter how much you plan, sometimes, no matter how sure you are, it just doesn't turn out right. And that, my friend, is the truth.


Click the image below to purchase the movie, it'd really good and only seven dollars.

Man Cat: A True Republican

A couple weeks ago, our republican friends in the senate continued their vow to get nothing done. You see, there was a bill up for vote called the Paycheck Fairness Act. Sounds understandable, right? Nah, it's actually a jobkiller because, if you're a republican, everything except tax cuts is a jobkiller. Let's dive into this bill, shall we?

First of all, this isn't a new bill; it passed the House of Representatives almost two years ago in January of 2009. That's how congress works, the House passes things and the Senate occasionally might vote on some of them. This isn't an exaggeration; through filibustering and other nonsensical senate rules the House has passed an astonishing 420 bills that the senate has just let sit around. It's kind of stupid when you consider that the house has several hundred more members to have to wrangle to get things accomplished than the Senate. But the Senate has the filibuster, their Golden Gun, so to speak. Not only does the Senate have the option to ignore bills the House passes as they please, but should one of these bills come up for a vote a mere 41 senators can stop a bill from being voted on. Yeah, senators are such children that they need to vote on whether or not to vote. And unless you have a supermajority of sixty votes, forty one senators can block anything from getting a vote to pass.

One such senator is Susan Collins from Maine (yes, a woman) who argues that the bill would place an undue burden on small businesses and "impose increased costs and restrictions on small businesses in an already difficult economic climate." That's right paying women the same amount as men simply costs too much. Not to mention, asking business owners to pony up that extra cash at a time like this? Hell no, ain't gonna happen. Who wants to be restricted on what they can pay a man when they have to constantly worry if the women they employ are also worth that much. Or maybe this will hurt men in the long run, because they won't get the raises they deserve for fear of needing to also give women that same raise, as Forbes suggests.

It kind of pisses me off when people try to blame problems on unrelated things or skirt issues by changing the subject. The major complaints people have is that women have more rights in wage parity and more resources to fight for equal pay. How is that controversial? The law doesn't say that you can't pay Jim $35,000 and Susan $32,000. No, what it says is if you're going to pay Jim more it has to be because he is better at his job than Susan is.

I think we've all been at a job sometime working our ass off getting paid practically peanuts while someone less skilled was, shall we say, more handsomely rewarded. Doesn't it suck? I know I've literally been in the room with a boss of mine while he thanked someone else and told them what a good job they did on something that I actually did. And when that person pointed out that I actually did the work, not him? Nothing. I can only imagine the strife and annoyance women go through on a daily basis in the workforce.

I'm not feeling particularly wordy anymore, and I'm tired and annoyed by this kind of crap. Over and over again and this childish behavior really out to end. Be a fucking human being already.

Introducing Wiseau Fridays!

A classic scene from a classic movie

"You're tearing me apart, Lisa" audio from The Room (Click to play)


Every once in a while a movie comes along, different, unorthodox, unappreciated, but a masterpiece; The Room is one such movie. Bear with me here, I understand you're probably wondering to yourself how you've never heard of this movie. Or maybe you've seen it and disagree. Watch it again. Sure, The Room may not be as polished as The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It may lack the convoluted forethought that was Star Wars. But it was filmed with two cameras! Film and digital! 


The Room was released in 2003, with a budget of seven million dollars (from what I've read). It was written, directed, produced, and distributed by Tommy Wiseau; consider that for a moment. Imagine funding, writing, acting, directing, producing, and distributing a movie and you'll understand the many hats of Tommy Wiseau. The man is made of steel. Weird, grotesquely bumpy steel, but steel nonetheless. Tommy is an American, and refers to himself as such but is a worldly man. He has lived in France and many other European countries throughout his life. I think the many places he's lived have all contributed slight variances to the dialect that is Tommy Wiseau. Listening to him speak, you'd never know where he was from. He looks kind of Italian, sounds sort of like Jean-Claude Van Damme, and that is uniquely American.

I'm not going to give a synopsis of The Room, just know that you should see it. But don't watch it alone. The Room is a dish best served to a group. It's kind of an experience to see the movie with a group of people. Having achieved cult status, The Room garners midnight premieres on a regular, recurring basis in Los Angeles and I believe that to be the gold standard ideal way to see it. Think Star Wars or Harry Potter on opening night at midnight, and that's the kind of devoted fan base The Room has garnered. That said, buy the movie, it's really a movie everyone should own. I rented it once and have had a definite longing for it since. After a recent gathering of people to screen The Room (sorry we didn't ask permission, Tommy), we remembered just how much we like the movie and will be getting it.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll scream in empathetic anger, and you might even get a little turned on.

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa; you dirty tramp.

Buy the Room from Amazon (it's the cheapest there) using the link below and a small percentage of the sale will go to me =)

Everything Is Always A Work In Progress

Another round of my Man Cat as art project is in store today. Today's drawings are not done yet, in fact, they've hardly been started. I decided to draw Man Cat inspired by Henry Darger. In case you don't know Henry Darger, he would draw cute, young, girls with penises instead of vaginas. I believe he got crap for that since it's kind of controversial, I guess, but I think it's cute and funny, and something I like to do anyway so once I saw In The Realm of the Unreal I knew I'd have to create a Man Cat drawing inspired by Darger. It's in the very beginning stages. Really, I just jotted an idea down in a couple minutes so I wouldn't forget. I hope to finish it sometime in the future, and make it colorful. And cuter.

Man Cat Inspired by Henry Darger (Click to Enlarge)

As for this drawing, the bottom is going to be Man Cat as chairman Mao, inspired by Andy Warhol's print of the infamous dictator. I think that suits Man Cat well. The top stamp-sized sketch is Man Cat inspired by Shepard Fairey's OBEY print of Andre the Giant.

Man Cat inspired by Warhol and Fairey (Click to Enlarge)

More to come on these drawings when they are finished.

Thanks for reading.

The Vitruvian Man Cat

Leonardo da Vinci—Meet Man Cat

The Vitruvian Man Cat
Photo by:Dennis

I drew this awhile ago, at the end of August. For some reason I never took a picture of it, so I never uploaded it. I finally got around to taking said photo the other day, so I thought I'd post it here.

I'd have to assume that anyone reading this would recognize the source of this image, but in the event that you don't I based this drawing on Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. My version by no means is perfectly proportioned as da Vinci's is, but I'm pretty pleased with it. I spent some time trying to get limbs lined up and various body parts more or less proportional. If I am unhappy with anything in this drawing it is most definitely the hands; I feel like they look weird. In a way, they are kind of cat-like, which, I suppose, is a good thing in this case (except that cats don't exactly have opposable thumbs). The feet are slightly wonky, too, but all-in-all they are not all that bad.

I admire da Vinci; he was most definitely a Renaissance Man. Da Vinci is a world-renowned artist, inventor, scientist, mathematician, engineer, writer, and so much more. Basically, anything da Vinci dabbled in, he mastered, and da Vinci dabbled in everything. He was also a notorious procrastinator and experimented in everything. I can respect that. I'm sure that his experimentation is largely a result of his being a driving force of the Renaissance. It's pretty amazing that for a period of time the world was so productive with ideas. It would be nice if we could one day return to that era of thinkery; alas, I feel that it will never happen. Not that there aren't great people doing great things, but the world is, unfortunately, a different place now. Who can spend time just thinking now? Thinking doesn't pay the mortgage. I've got to imagine that holds true even when you get a degree in it (except, obviously, a Doctorate of Philosophy, which is to say an advanced degree unrelated to philosophy).  I think the world should take a twenty year break encouraging people to think and do things that they might otherwise do if they didn't all have to worry about bills. Think of the mass enjoyment people would have following something they actually enjoy doing, studying what interests them. Think of the innovation companies could conduct. Of course this would never work, because money makes the world go round—now more than ever.

The Dance

The Dance
Photo by:Dennis

This is my second foray into Man Cat As Art. This drawing is based upon Danse by Henri Matisse.

I chose this as my second attempt because, honestly, it seemed simple enough. However, I think that with more complicated drawings there's a bit more room for error, so this was actually harder to replicate than I thought. Also, my drawing is much smaller than Matisse's painting, since his is a mural the size of a wall on (I believe) three panels. He also painted one for The Barnes Foundation. I highly recommend The Art of the Steal, a documentary about The Barnes Foundation and how his enemies usurped his (40!) billion dollar art collection.

Man Cat As Art: The Post Man Cat

The Post Man Cat
Photo by:Dennis

This is the first entry into the Man Cat as art project I began awhile back; as you can see it is dated August 26, 2010. I decided it would be fun to merge Man Cat with real art- that is art that has already been deemed art by people who claim to be able to tell actual art from smut. This project is sort of my way of navigating the ancient world that is art by picking and choosing paintings, sculptures, and drawings that I appreciate. In other cases, I may simply decide to Man Catify a piece of art for its (potentially non-existent) comedic appeal. Regardless, this is my foray into Man Cat as art, a way to meander my way across a sheet of paper, hopefully, ending at something approaching...art.

This drawing is titled The Post Man Cat based upon Vincent van Gogh's painting The Postman.

Man Cat Watches Anderson Cooper 360

Man Cat Watches Anderson Cooper 360
Photo by:Dennis

I used to like CNN. How could one not like a news organization who employs someone named Wolf Blitzer? And Anderson Cooper seemed like a fair and good news anchor. That said, I'd never really watched CNN then, so I just assumed I'd like it. I've been watching CNN as of late and I've got to say: I'm not impressed.

For the last ninety-something days, Anderson Cooper has covered almost nothing but the Oil Spill. I get it, it's a horrible horrible travesty that should have been avoided. Unfortunately, I don't understand why he needed to give the same exact report for ninety straight days.

Then there's the problem of Anderson's wardrobe. I noticed it on one of his marathon We're going to show clips of me asking BP to talk on air for the last 40 days straight. And what I saw befuddled me: Anderson only appears to own 3 shirts (he's especially fond of a certain black v-neck).

Any time I've watched any other CNN show they seem to have this unorthodox obsession with Twitter, reading from their blogs online, and their touchscreen TVs. Really, reading what people say on Twitter doesn't much contribute to the news, nor does constantly scrawling on your touchscreens simply because you can. I can certainly appreciate their embracing technology, but they're acting like a kid who's just discovered markers and a white wall.

Speaking of crazy, obsessive, and Twitter, let's talk about CNN's sister network Head Line News (HLN). I'll start with Showbiz Tonight, "TV's most provocative entertainment news show." I'd like to know how they came up with that tagline. Provocative? How? All they talk about is Lindsay Lohan. In fact, that's all most of HLN's shows talk about. This show is utterly pointless, not remotely entertaining, and the furthest thing from provocative; I'll take E! News over this any day (and that's not to say that Giuliana and Ryan's show is much better).

Next up is Joy Behar. I like the View, it's an interesting show that educates me on how 4 different women feel about current issues. You've got Conservative blowhard Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Whoopi Goldberg (who is the most sane person on the show), Joy Behar who tends to make pretty good sense, and Sherri Shepherd who I can't say is all that memorable, but seems okay. Then, I tune to Joy Behar on HLN and she has managed to create a show that is somehow always 3 days behind on the news. Not only that, it's kind of painful to watch, she says some of the most idiotic things. The only recent show I enjoyed was Leonard Nimoy's show about his photography exhibit which I'd already read about on NPR

Finally, there is the batshit crazy Nancy Grace. I don't know where to begin, but I'll summarize the show for you. Nancy will mention a topic, which she will then rant on about for awhile. She will then invite a guest on to talk, and she will yell at them (and thus the audience) until she takes calls and e-mails. These e-mails are all seemingly from bible-belt stay-at-home-mom's. For about a month and a half straight all she talked about was Joran Van der Sloot. Then she talked about Lindsay Lohan for a month. Most of the time, however, Nancy talks about cases of child abductions and murderers, but mostly missing and dead children. Oh and Mel Gibson; they all seem to love hating on Mel Gibson.

Man Cat does not approve. Not of black V-necks (unprofessional); repetitive news mongering; taking calls from lonely, angry women; repeatedly yelling about celebrities and how out of control they are; and missing/dead children and murderers. Why can't HLN talk about something a little happier? News doesn't have to be so depressing all of the time. Why so hard over Mel Gibson and his wife? I understand ratings are all that matters, but frankly I'd rather sit back with a nice cup of tea and listen to my NPR than be berated by HLN all day which is precisely why HLN goes on when everything else worth watching has gone to commercial.

Fur: The Story of Man Cat

Man Cat: the model, the fashion icon, the designer extraordinaire is proud to announce: "Fancy is the new Slob"

Man Cat from his J.Crew days

Many don't know this, but Man Cat has been around the block a few times. Sure, he may seem young but he's merely young at heart. Man Cat has been modelling since he was a wee lad, but, sadly, we can't use find any pictures of him modeling as a kitten (Ed note: due to a lengthy legal dispute we're unable to post said photos; once it's settled we'll be sure to add a follow up post). He's been seen on the runways in Milan, the shops in Paris (excellent bread by the way), and even in the clothing design for many of Disney's animated films; one might say he's been everywhere from Milan to Mulan. These days Man Cat is straying from the modeling scene due to Tyra being such a wretched bitch personal reasons, but he's been hard at work for the past several months on his own line (details to come). .

Needless to say, as a fashion icon (the first feline to nab a Sports Illustrated cover, mind you), Man Cat has become increasingly frustrated lately by the state of fashion: "It's appalling" he said in a recent interview, referring to Lindsay Lohan's recent line of leggings and such.

We will update you very soon on some of what Man Cat's been up to.

Man Cat in one of his Signature shirts

Man Cat in His Man Cat Cave

mancatcave
Originally uploaded by Uke and Germ Photography

Pastel on Paper
This is an early drawing of Man Cat in his Man Cat Cave.

Some of you may or may not know, but Man Cat is a voracious hunter. He plays many roles, but the fact is, he likes to relax just like the rest of us after a long day. Seen here, Man Cat is lounging in his plaid lumberjack smoking jacket, blue pants and comfortably furry yellow (probably dog hair) slippers.

Man Cat loves T.V. Once, he was flipping through the channels and saw a show called Dog the Bounty Hunter. Sadly, he read it a little too fast and thought it read "The Dog Bounty Hunter" (or something) and was a little disappointed to see some grizzly, dirty looking guy in leather not hunting dogs; clearly Man Cat's excitement was short lived.

Man Cat Faces His Inner Demons

Grandpa

Hi again. I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read The Daily Man Cat. Man Cat says thank you as well. We'd like to take this time, however, to discuss a serious epidemic plaguing America: Feline Obesity.

Man Cat gone seriously wrong

Feline Obesity is a problem near and dear to Man Cat's heart. As far back as he can remember his family has suffered from this deadly disease. His grandfather, suffered a long life of portly circumstance which hindered seemingly everything except for his ability to father children as he had nearly 35 children to his name. Naturally, when one has such a widespread lineage some of the litter will be abnormally large, some will be runts, but no. Of the 35 baby kitties all 35 suffered the same inexhaustible fate as their father: unfathomable obesity. This carried on through the lineage to Man Cat and his brothers and sisters (all regular, run-of-the-mill cats, mind you). Sadly, this did not bode well for Man Cat and his siblings. It's only natural for the little tykes to get teased by the other cats, dogs, rabbits, and other domesticated animals (we all do it, after all), but when your entire family is fat enough that there's not enough Pepperidge Farms Goldfish in the entire world to feed them that teasing escalates to another level. Couple onto that the fact that one of them is not exactly what you'd consider your typical domesticated animal, a mutant of sorts, well, you can imagine how tortured the teasing became. With all the teasing came a vicious cycle of eating to hide behind. Food became a kind of shield to Man Cat's family- a way for them to escape the realities of everyday life at school and in the neighborhood. But Man Cat knew it was time to break the cycle.

As one can imagine, living in a household of furry football-shaped cats diet and exercise can be nigh impossible, but Man Cat set out to do just that: accomplish the impossible. At first, he had to start small: hiding food, pretending to eat more, say he was going out to eat when instead he went to the gym. But slowly Man Cat started to shed pounds and get stronger. Slowly but surely, as his siblings grew rounder and rounder, blood sugars spiraling wildly out of control, Man Cat's abs grew more and more chiseled. During this time Man Cat found solace in talking to the one person who seemed to understand: his grandfather (pictured at the top of this post by the way!). There's just something about grandparents, isn't there? They (the good ones at least) always have the answer to the questions you've yet to ask, always piling on wisdom gleaned through life onto you. You see, Grandpa Cat knew what it was like to go through life a fat feline fur ball. The pain, the discomfort, the constant snow of dandruff reminding you of your roly poly self.

Man Cat in his present chiseled glory

Man Cat continued his diet and exercise regimen into his adult life, making friends at the gym, even getting a few dates. In truth, he'd found his acceptance. Finally, Man Cat found a place he felt comfort, a place he felt at home. Over time, Man Cat lost touch with everyone in his family except for his grandpa, whom he would stop by and visit sporadically. On his grandfather's 75^th birthday, Man Cat found his grandfather in the corner of the living room observing the festivities in his honor, so he decided to sit with him and keep him company. They didn't talk, not to each other not to anyone else either. They just sat; they didn't need to talk, though; everything they needed to say to each other was written firmly on their faces. And from the glint in his grandfather's eyes, Man Cat knew that he'd made his grandfather proud, and that is all that matters to him.


Until next time, thanks for reading, -Dennis

The Inaugural Comic: Sweet Beginnings

Click on the picture to see the rest of the comic

This is the first Man Cat comic.

To find out a bit more about me and Man Cat, check out the About page here

More to come!