where i lived, and what i lived for

this is what my work area looks like most of the time. it is a corner of the little room i occupy. i don't usually do my drawing here though, that most often occurs at fairgrounds coffee. but i check email, record music, color comics, and all that right here. i am here now.

checklist of things on and around desk which may or may not be visible in photograph:

- "make art" wallpaper on laptop (i made as a daily reminder to keep creating)
- fortune cookie fortunes taped to rapidly deteriorating desktop monitor (such as "stop trying to do, just do it," "a great man never ignores the simplicity of a child," "if you work hard, good things will inevitably happen,")
- white abe lincoln and black abe lincoln (part of my abe lincoln collection)
- pink flamingo (one of two: mr mingo has the other one)
- the goldfish and bob as drawn by craig thompson (one of the nicest and most talented cartoonists on earth)
- red ryder carbine action airshot rifle (ad for, and actual gun)
- "nighthawks: 1942" by edward hopper (a gift from my dad when i moved away from home, e.h. is one of my favorite painters)
- drawings by cartoonist friends tom hart, scott mills, brian ralph, dave kiersh
- photo of thom yorke and ticket stub from 2008 radiohead show (it was amazing)
- a stapler shaped like an owl
- out of focus photo of my grandparent's living room (pray for their health)
- sheriff of texas badge (gift from weston "i'm not JUST a drummer" dupree)
- candy cigarette boxes collected from around the country (and one pack of bubble gum cigarettes from my friend sarah carter)
- ticket stub for 1973 allen ginsberg poetry reading (found tucked inside an old beat poetry book i bought on tour in pennsylvania)
- snow globe of shoeless joe jackson (souvenir from "field of dreams" in dyersville, iowa)
- postcard of kid dressed as astronaut
- bowling pin (from my friend pia's antique store in ct)
- amazingly odd painting of weird dog in golden frame (christmas present from two of my favorite people)
- shins poster signed by james mercer (i drew a flyer for them many years ago)
- antique little red airplane
- fabric sunglasses case (made by my lovely girlfriend)
- "yummy pops" box (from the gas station i used to work at)
- underwood typewriter (from my favorite antique store in athens, georgia)
- weird photo by marcel dzama (from "they might be giants" album art)
- chattering teeth
- treasure chest containing hundreds of crayons (gift from my mom)
- unopened packs of "the rocketeer" trading cards (bought with my sister in a rhode island thrift store)
- photo albums (polaroids from 2007 and 2008 tours)
- dvds (pete & pete, freaks & geeks, wes anderson films, michel gondry films, arrested development, old monster movies, music documentaries (arcade fire, galaxie 500, flaming lips, wilco, et al), godard films, mst3k, etc etc)
- a few loose cds (daniel johnston, thom yorke, animal collective, cat power, magnetic fields, wolf parade, talking heads, etc)
- water bottle (from seamonster show at elon university in north carolina)
- "marbles" postcard advertisement from phoenix records in waterbury, ct
- "who what when where why how" die from the mcsweeny's shop in san francisco
- tiny keith haring paintings on a folding box toy
- wooden human figure statuette (nobody ever uses those they just look cool)
- tape dispenser (double sided, for pasting up mini-comics)
- tiny electronics: guitar tuner, digital recorder, ipod, flash drive, cable adaptors
- really funny typewritten note from my friend kelsie mcnair, which i framed
- lots of books (immediately within reach: "the art spirit" by robert henri, "city poet: the life and times of frank o'hara," "my adventures as an illustrator" by norman rockwell, "krazy kid's food" by my friend dan goodsell, "the clouds above: extra fancy edition" by jordan crane, all of john porcellino's books, "war and peace")
- x-ray spex (they really work)
- old copy of "happiness is a warm puppy" by charles schulz
- spinning comic book rack (mostly full of comics by friends)
- "pick up sticks" game
- hand painted spotted dog figure (from my best friend's wedding)
- wind-up "creature from the black lagoon" toy
- framed vintage postcards and children's 45 artwork
- aging hi-speed dual cassette recorder
- printer
- pink glowy lantern
- headphones
- dust