Here's Ed's birthday gift, if you're interested... 

Mac Res-Q sent back Ed's old iPod Mini and I finally got those damn VIZ annuals from Amazon UK that I've been waiting for since about the 19th of December. Who knew VIZ had been around for over 25 years? 

Accidents Will Happen 1:11 PM

Staci sent this photo of her car. The saturday after Thanksgiving, while I drove to the MSP airport, My sister got in a wreck. She hadn't even got out of Minnesota. Some guy blew through a stop sign and t-boned the Honda. My sister only got a few scrapes across her knuckles from the broken glass and her back got thrown outta wack, but otherwise she and her boyfriend Doug walked away without any serious injury. You can see my Dad and Doug at the back of the car in this photo, and Staci is next to the Minnesota State Trooper mostly hidden by the Honda... 

Merry Christmas! 6:06 PM

...and a happy root canal! Yeah, It's confirmed. My teeth are rotting through my head. Gonna need a root canal. And it don't make me too happy. But the headaches are getting worse, much worse then Thanksgiving weekend. And it looks like it's gonna cost me at least a grand...

283 Originally uploaded by tohoscope.

Marty Robbins is too damn cool 1:15 PM

I gotta put this to a comic! EL PASO by Marty Robbins Out in the west texas town of el paso I fell in love with a mexican girl. Nighttime would fine me in rose'€™s cantina, Music would play and felina would whirl. Black as the night were the eyes of felina, Wicked and evil while casting a spell. My love was strong for this mexican maiden, I was in love, but in vain I could tell. One night a wild young cowboy came in, wild as the west texas wind... Dashing and daring, a drink he was sharing, With wicked felina, the girl that I love. So in anger I challenged his right for the love of this maiden; Down went his hand for the gun that he wore. My challenge was answered, in less than a heartbeat The handsome young stranger lay dead on the floor. Just for a moment I stood there in silence, Shocked by the foul evil deed I had done. Many thoughts ran through my mind as I stood there; I had but one chance and that was to run. Out through the back door of rose'€™s I ran, out where the horses were tied... I picked a good one; he looked like he could run, Up on his back and away I did ride. Just as fast as I could from the west texas town of el paso, Out thru the badlands of new mexico. Back in el paso my life would be worthless; Everything'€™s gone in life nothing is left. But it'€™s been so long since I'€™ve seen the young maiden, My love is stronger that my fear of death. I saddled up and away I did go, riding alone in the dark... Maybe tomorrow a bullet may find me, Tonight nothing'™s worse than this pain in my heart. And as last here I am on the hill overlooking el paso, I can see rose'€™s cantina below. My love is strong and it pushes me onward, down off the hill to felina I go. Off to my right I see five mounted cowboys, Off to my left ride a dozen or more. Shouting and shooting; I can't let them catch me, I'€™ve got to make it to rose's back door. Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel a deep burning pain in my It's getting harder to stay in the saddle. I'€™m getting weary, unable to ride. But my love for felina is strong and I rise where I'€™ve fallen; Though I am weary, I can'€™t stop to rest. I see the white puff of smoke from the rifle, I feel the bullet go deep in my chest. From out of nowhere, felina has found me, Kissing my cheek as she kneels by my side. Cradled by two loving arms that I'€™ll die for, One little kiss and felina good-bye.

399 Originally uploaded by tohoscope.

Rajah at Rest 1:01 PM

And that's when I turned into a pumpkin! Big thanks to Bruce, Mundee, Ed and Ms. Echo for a great Christmas party!

Rajah at Rest Originally uploaded by tohoscope.

Christmas Cheer and all that 8:50 AM

Ed drew up his annual X-Mas illo and I'm working on the inks. Soon I'll have Bruce add the colors and we'll have it up on the Cheap Disposable Website...

177 Originally uploaded by tohoscope.

Mista Vampire 3:26 PM

That's right! I finally got the classic Lam Ching Ling unibrow Taoist Hopping Vampire movie on DVD!!! Took me long enough. Sheesh. Also got TWINS EFFECT, a Buffyesque Hong Kong vampire movie that looks interesting. I also got GraveDigger Eye Pollution Vol. 1 and The Hypnotic Eye Vol. 5/6 from a trader who I can't seem to find right now. The Hypnotic Eye interests me the most, it used to be a Cable Access show in Dallas, and from the descriptions I've read it sounds like the show is very similar to OtakuHELL...

278 Originally uploaded by tohoscope.

X-Mas soon...New Years later... 1:07 PM

Spent the early part of this week nailing down the rest of the presents I need to get before Christmas. I got Bruce and Mundee covered, and Ed's got both X-Mas and Birthday gifts, and I've even got Joe and Echo something. I know what I'm getting Mom and Dad, I just need to order it. And I need to get my brother and sister's amazon wishlists so I can take care of them.... I'm glad I've got credit cards.

171 Originally uploaded by tohoscope.

Bet it don't taste like steak 9:33 AM

Does anybody else find this stomach turning? This ad ain't working for me.... 

Food From Home + Part Two 10:04 AM

It's white, it's bland, it's Norwegian food. That means the staple of northern european cooking, potatoes! And what do you make out of potatoes if you're Norse? Bread.

And I'm not talking potatoe rolls or loaves of potatoe bread. Nope, I'm talking about the holiday food we in Minnesota call LEFSE.

It's pronounced, lef-sa, short 'e' sound, short 'a' sound. Just say it like the Swedish Chef and use your umlauts.

Making lefse is kinda labor intensive. At our house Mom would mix up the lefse dough and put it in the fridge overnight. The next day we'd get out the rolling pins and cooking iron and start. Mom whould take out a small piece of the lefse dough and roll it into a small ball. Then me, and my brother and sister whould take these bits of dough and roll them flat with a special grooved rolling pin. The trick was to try and keep the lefse a uniform thickness all the way around. Thick spots or very thin spots whouldn't cook properly. We'd also dust the rolling cloth with flour, to keep the lefse dough from sticking to the rolling surface and to the rolling pins. But you didn't want to add too much flour because the excess flour whould make the lefse tough and chewy. Once we'd rolled out the lefse to the proper size Dad whould use a special stick, a hand carved thin and tapered length of wood, to pick up the thin dough and place it on a smooth flat cooking iron. When brown spots start to appear on the surface of the dough the lefse was cooked.

Making lefse whould take a good afternoon to make, and I think it was more fun to make the lefse then to eat it. Cooked lefse looks like tortillas, but the taste is different and you don't eat 'em like tortillas, either. The way we eat a lefse is to open it up and lay it flat. Then spead butter on one side and sprinkle some sugar over it to taste. (Personally, I don't like to add sugar, but that's just me.) Fold the lefse over and roll it up and eat. Simple really.

Hmmm-mmm! Lefse goodness!

Food From Home + Part One 1:17 PM

I brought back alot of foodstuff from my trip to Minnesota. Food that I just can't find down here in Texas, and no, not all of it is white and bland.

One of the things I had to find room in my luggage for was 10 frozen pizzas. That's right, $2 a pie frozen pizzas.

What's so special about these specific frozen pizzas? Well, every saturday night back in New Ulm, Minnesota, me and my brother Chad and my sister Staci whould eat Roma Pizza and watch THE MUPPET SHOW and BANDWAGON. Dispite having very few toppings and "crust like cardboard" as my sister put it, I still occasionally crave the taste of a slightly burnt slice of Roma. Maybe it's the sause, or maybe the memories.

The kicker is that Roma Pizza is only distributed in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and you won't find it outside the area. I may need to call up Mom and Dad and have 'em send more Roma Pizza, I'm sure my private stock be gone before X-mas...

Birthday Oekaki 9:57 AM

Still sorting things out since the trip to Minnesota. I visited my Oekaki board this morning and was pleasently surprised to find a couple of birthday doodles from my japanese friends on the Cream Parfait Oekaki board. What a nice way to start a very cold day!

cp000498 Originally uploaded by tohoscope.