Back!

   Wow... it has been a while since I've updated. I have no real excuse, so I'll just start talking about things.

   I've been 18 years old for 10 days, and it doesn't feel much different, seeing as I didn't actually become responsible for anything more than I already was. I can go into bars, but I don't drink, and I still only have my learner's permit. So it's pretty much the same, except that I can go into more venues now to see shows.
   But it's been great to see some bar shows in the past week-and-a-half. I went to the WayneStock mini-festival at the Palomino, where I saw Pine Tarts, Fist City, and... others! I also saw Thee Oh Sees play with Fist City at the Republik, which was great.

   As for the Incredible Radiation Poisoning Man, I have made astonishingly little progress since June. Part of it was that I was employed full-time for all of July and August - that probably got me a little too used to not working on it.
   I did post some pictures of the professionally-printed IRPM comics that I got through Comixpress, but I have since given up on that service to rely on printed copies. I just make black-and-whites on the copy machines at Staples, and they're really cheap. 14 cents per sheet of 11"x17" of paper, which works out to less than a dollar per book.
   Issues 1, 2, and the birth control comic are ready-to-print, and I'll be trying to sell them at various places around Calgary. Issue 3 is coming soon - I just have to draw a cover for it - and Issue 4 is in-progress. If I just work a lot over a couple of days, I should be able to finish it. I just have to set aside some time.
   I've given copies of Issues 1 and 2 to the Zine Tree Collective (the Calgary 'zine library), and I've given several copies of "Birth Control" to the Calgary Sexual Health Centre. Go check it out, if you can. (I seriously don't know if you can or not).

   As for music, I'm thinking of releasing some cassette tapes in the near future. For those who don't know, the Calgary music scene is crazy about cassette tapes right now. There's several cottage-industry record labels in town that make cassette tapes of local bands, like Bart Records and Yew Nork. It's really great to see this format making a sort-of comeback, since I've always thought that cassettes were cool (to the incredulity of many of my peers).
   There's a company called Amtech that I think I'll be using to have the tapes made up. I think I'll make one side the IRPM songs, and the other side will be stand-alone stuff. I'll keep all 4 of you who read this posted. 

Zine Tree Collective
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=40207918440
Amtech
http://www.duplication.ca/
Bart Records
http://weirdcanada.com/tag/bart-records/
http://www.myspace.com/revolutionwinter
Yew Nork
http://yew-nork.blogspot.com/
Calgary Sexual Health Centre
http://www.calgarysexualhealth.ca/

SAVE COMRAD SOUND!

The Calgary all-ages venue Comrad Sound has been told by the city that they're no longer allowed to put on shows, under the threat of heavy fines. As I write this, I don't know the exact reason.

Comrad Sound is in a small, blue stucco building on 14th Street, just a block and a half away from 17th Avenue (the Red Mile), and right by Boyd's fish market and the former Pegasus Greek restaurant. It's a small building, about the size of a bachelor apartment (I'm bad at judging space, though), and it kicks ass.  I've been to several shows there, to see my friends and acquaintances play. I helped out with their fundraiser BBQ this past weekend, and I've sung their praises on my radio show several times.

And on a more selfish note, I was hoping to play shows there myself, and sell copies of IRPM comix in the display case, alongside the local zines and indie records.

I doubt that there was a complaint... the venue's been running since March, it's pretty soundproof, and who would wait 4 months to file a noise complaint? Did some elderly neighbor just get a cochlear implant over the weekend?

There are signs posted inside and outside the building that specifically ban the use of drugs or alcohol anywhere near Comrad Sound. Not inside, not in the parking lot, not in the alley, and not around any of the neighboring buildings. It's supposed to be a safe place for kids.

Calgary NEEDS all-ages venues. Do you know how many rock shows are in bars? The Misfits have played The Whiskey twice in the past year. I'm not a Misfits fan myself, but you have to realize how many Misfits fans must be underage kids. They could probably fill MacEwan Hall!

The New Black Centre, in Inglewood, is another all-ages venue. Last year, they were also told by the city that they couldn't have shows anymore. http://www.thenewblackcentre.com/

Comrad Sound is in Ward 8, whose alderman is currently John Mar. But in the upcoming municipal election, local concert promoter and Sled Island Festival founder Zak Pashak will be running for the position. I hope he wins.

Comrad Sound has cancelled all of its upcoming shows, except for tonight's show, which has been moved to a house on 6th Street. It had a few shows booked for the Sled Island Festival in July, and I don't know what's going to happen to those.

www.comrad.ca
Ward 8 Alderman: john.mar(at)calgary.ca
City of Calgary phone hotline: 3-1-1
Facebook: Comrad Sound

For real! Printed! Glossy paper! Shiny!

The first (and only) for-real printed copy of IRPM #1 has arrived from ComiXpress!

Time for me to start busting my ass!

If I Was Your Husband, Would You Marry Me?

IRPM - Issue 2 - #12

VANOC Cannot Stop Me From Saying These Things About the 2010 Olympics

After reading some of Cory Doctorow's posts on BoingBoing, I am surprised at how the Olympic officials for Vancouver 2010 were so committed to silencing any dissent of the Games, including censoring anti-Olympics sentiments of civilians.
http://boingboing.net/2008/09/29/olympics-reach-a-new.html
http://m.boingboing.net/2007/03/03/vancouver-olympics-w.html

http://m.boingboing.net/2010/01/08/homeless-people-relo.html
http://m.boingboing.net/2009/07/08/vancouver-olympics-t.html
http://boingboing.net/2010/02/20/olympic-bullying-dri.html
http://boingboing.net/2009/11/27/canadian-border-guar-1.html

But guess what, VANOC? I'm about to insult the Olympics! Whoo!

(stuff will be added to this throughout the day. I'm in a hurry.)

My Proclamations on the 2010 Olympic Winter Games (but not the Paralympics)

• "Own the Podium" was dumb and pointless.
• It was absurdly petty and idiotic to detain Amy Goodman at the border and then give her only 24 hours entry.
• The musical arrangement of "O Canada" used at the opening ceremony was crappy would have been completely unrecognizable without the lyrics.
• It was not surprising at all that there was a lack of snow, considering that Vancouver is known for rarely getting any major snowfall.
• Trademarking use of the words "winter", "Vancouver", and "2010" is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard of.
• You weren't fooling anyone by "mistaking" that mural for graffiti. http://boingboing.net/2009/12/11/anti-olympic-mural-c.html
• It was fun to watch the Olympic TV anchors desperately having to avoid acknowledging the drunk people on the street who would yell and swear on live TV. You are a bunch of humourless jackasses.

IRPM - Issue 2 - #11 "I Wish That I Taught High School Math"

I Wish That I Taught High School Math by Reid Blakley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

Notes from University of Calgary's High School Model United Nations, Feb 27-28 2010

 

 

IRPM - Issue 2 - #10

IRPM - Issue 2 - #09

^Sorry. Forgot to black out that naughty word there.

IRPM - Issue 2 - #08

IRPM - Issue 2 - #07

IRPM - Issue 2 - #06

The Dead Raccoon

The Adventures of the Dead Raccoon by the Side of the Road #1 by Reid Blakley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Canada License.

Change? Cha-a-a-a-nge?

A Message To My Loyal Readers (Both Of Them!)
Thanks to everyone who has read and/or commented on The Incredible Radiaition Poisoning Man thus far... because there aren't a lot of comments, I'm going to assume that it's perfect and that you're just in awe of my mastery.

[turns off ironic faux-arrogance]

Yesterday, I replaced the first story page (where they're sitting in the lecture hall) with a new version, where I re-drew most of the characters and replaced the text with a computer font (it was mostly to change the name of the professor to something that wasn't the actual name of a real person that I know).

Anyway, Something that has always been frustrating (especially since I started forcing myself to draw full IRPM pages and post them on here) is that I always like the pencil versions of the drawings, but when I trace over them in pen, I'm never really satisfied with it. Plus, it takes a long time and it hurts my hand and I have to fix a bunch of mistakes in Photoshop and wah wah wah wah wah. Hard work isn't a problem as long as I'm mostly satisfied with the end product, but in too many cases, I'm not.

This is the problem with doing any kind of art -- the things that are wrong with it are, ultimately, the things that drive the artist insane, even if they're incredibly insignificant. So, after doing some research and some experimentation, I've decided to make a change to the way I draw IRPM comics.

I'm going to try using a "non-photo blue" pencil (it's a shade of blue that doesn't show up well when scanned), and then tracing over them with a regular pencil. Then, using only an exposure adjustment in Photoshop, I eliminate the blue and darken the pencil. Here's what that looks like:

I'm considering (read: going to be) re-drawing most of the IRPM stuff I've already put up. That doesn't mean a complete overhaul. I made sure to scan all the pencil drawings before I inked them, and I'll basically just be printing those out in the same turquoise colour as my pencil, tracing over them, and replacing them. I'm not adjusting the drawing style or the story at all... it's just that the actual lines and figures will look tighter and neater. I'll keep the orignal pen versions up (in the Facebook page, as separate albums), in case you decide that you prefer the drawings I will come to loathe and resent.

I can't help but think this seems Geroge Lucas-y. I will rationalize this, however, by realizing that I am only a 17-year-old with a cheapo Blogspot account.

-Reid

IRPM - Issue 2 - #05

IRPM - Issue 2 - #04

IRPM - Issue 2 - #03 "If I Was Your Husband, Would You Marry Me?"

Audio coming at some time (if it helps the wait, it's kind of a rip-off of the opening song from Juno).

IRPM - Issue 2 - #02

Songs back online

I've created a separate YouTube account for my ArimasuKa stuff.