Comic Life

Zack is back, it's a bit weirder now

Zacks is back, it's a bit weirder now, originally uploaded by meshelle_my_belle.

I started at Flickr this week. They are owned by Yahoo! (who I used to work for). Although technically Yahoo! owns Flickr, they are pretty insulated from headquarters and it is easy to forget that Yahoo! owns them. But, I am back in California, and as you can see, Flickr is a good place to work.

Late Easter Round-up

For the last 9 years in Unionville on Easter a woman named Mohea has put on an Easter Egg Hunt with a raffle, cake walk, prizes and food. All completely free for anyone that wants to come it is supported by Mohea, her family, and local businesses.

A few years ago Pershing county (where Lovelock and Unionville are located) made a rule that put an age limit on the county Easter Egg Hunt. Well that made Mohea mad because she thought that anyone should be able to participate if they want to so she got donations from local businesses and put on an Easter Egg Hunt at Mark Twain Park in Unionville.

Sadly, Mohea took her 4-wheeler up a hill during the egg hunt, rolled her 4-wheeler and didn't survive. The event went on anyway with almost no sign that something happened except for an ambulance that silently passed the park.

For real insight on the day check out Pink Pepper Photo's pics and prose.

She says it better than I could but here also are my pics of Unionville and the hunt. (Check out the anatomically correct open range sign, classic Nevada)

President Johnson's Bung Hole

American Radio Networks has a great podcast on secret Presidential tapes. The whole show is interesting but if you just want to FF to the good stuff or if you ever wanted to hear a president burp right before saying "bung hole" than Fast forward to 20:10 and listen to that master of Elequence, LBJ.

Direct audio link.


Episode web page.

Saturated

Movies and TV:

I rarely rent movies anymore but I rented The Good Shepherd tonight. After I put it in the DVD player it took me to the intro screen. Fancy, moving background showing quick emotional scenes and reactions from the movie on the disc. Menu choices with themed typefaces. Lots of work just to say, Play, Scene Selection, Special Features...

I bet this is a good movie. But as soon as I saw that intro and thought about everything that goes into the 100s of movies each year and the thousands of hours of tv and movies that I have watched,

Do I want to give 2 hours to let people I have never met tell me a story or do I want to go out and see and smell a night that will never come again?

I think I have saturated myself on movies and TV. I used to order Premier magazine, when I was young I knew what was on every one of our cable channels at almost anytime of day. I was one of those people that its hard to rent a movie I havent seen. I have books and documentaries on how movies are made and it is something that I have given a lot of time to in my life.

But anymore I can barely finish a movie unless it is as background to something else I am doing. In fact watching a movie is just about the last thing I want to do in most cases. If its nice out I'd rather be outside. If its cold Id rather be out feeling it. If its Friday or Saturday night I'd rather be out. And if I have some free time I'd rather take in some information or do something productive.

So now I've sat through 49 minutes of The Good Shepherd and basically know what is going on. I did notice that one of the supporting characters was also the bad guy in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (you know, the one that choose poorly).

So I think I'll go for a walk armed with 2o years of pop culture which will be handy to relate to and laugh with all those people out there who have seen those same movies and television shows.

Im not sure exactly what Im trying to say but sometimes I miss enjoying movies, but I love my life.

Fresh Whole Rabbit!

Did you know that Amazon sells food too!? Humans and hobbits everywhere can now order fresh rabbits for stewin up at their convenience. No more chasing after them with an F-150 and KC lights. Excellent if you are anything like Yosemite Sam and just can't stop thinking about Hasenpfeffer!

Make sure you check out the customer images and reviews for this delicious and sometimes dangerous product.

And for other great deals check out Amazon oddities for other wonderful products like a Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank, a toilet monster, and of course, your own swarm of 9000 ladybugs because ladybugs PWN!

The West

All in all, my years on the trail were the happiest I ever lived. There were many hardships and dangers, of course, that called on all a man had of endurance and bravery. But when all went well, there was no other life so pleasant. Most of the time we were solitary adventurers in a great land as fresh and new as a spring morning. And we were free, and full of the zest of darers.

-Charles Goodnight

The Picard Song

This is definatly the coolest thing I've ever seen on YouTube and possibly the most awesome thing I've ever fucking seen ever



(Here is a link to the comic they show at time index 1:13. Its hilarious too. "The Captain's Blog")

A great example of why I love the Internet

While going through John Hodgman's blog today I came across a post titled

I REFUSE TO EXPLAIN THIS IMAGE

If you click on that you will see it has a link to a picture that you should click on. The picture is so weird and hilarious AND one of the other random people in the image is Zach Galifianakis (on YouTube) who is a hilarious comic and somehow a perfect fit in this weird photo.

The pic itself is on some other blog so I go to the home page of the blog and there is an entry where the guy is wondering why people are reading his blog and he then figures out:

A little digging turned up the answer. John Hodgeman ended up checking out my blog after all, and even linked to that crazy picture we had taken of all us.

So now we have a hint of more to the story.

Next I looked at the comments on Hodgman's blog and find a link to a post by someone named AlexisT who wrote her story of that night (looking back at Snarka's blog again it appears that this is his friend). Her story is pretty damn funny and satisfies my curiosity on what the F is going on in that crazy photo.

Also: If you want more John Hodgeman goodness checkout his interview on Booksoup. It is hilarious, iTunes says I have listened to it 11 times. I think that is a lie and it is more like 22. I also have a little crush on Leila the interviewer on the basis of her voice and humor alone. I curse Google Images for not having any pictures of her so I can actually find out what she looks like.

Someday Never Comes

A quick post of one of my fave CCR songs that no one has heard of. I just added Evolution of the Me blog in my Blogroll (look to the right) and it's a good time to post it because he knows that someday never comes.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Someday Never Comes

Driving on the left or right...

The Strange Maps blog has a map of which countries drive on the left and which drive on the right.

They also go through a great explanation on why some countries drive on the left and some on the right. And, as they say in the entry,

the story of left or right hand side driving is more than just a derivative of British Imperialism.

Response to Mr. Jerz on getting people involved in blogging

Mr. Jerz made this post awile ago. I really wanted to comment on this but because of some madness in my life I havent made the time. I am hopping back into the blogoshere and one of the first things I want to do is comment on this because I'm glad that he is doing this. Specifically I want to respond to his question of

How can we – the bloggers and readers in Northern Nevada – get more people to enter this conversation and become a part of our world?

What I imagine is a segment that is a standard news segment, with stories taken from posts that you see as important and that havent been covered in other parts of their news cast. Have you ever listened to the Slashdot Review Podcast? Basically it is just a guy reading Slashdot posts. It feels very professional and like a normal radio tech show.

This would start getting people to see how much information there is out there that is useful and easily consumed. To help get them to feel like they could be involved (turning some of those lurkers into participators) you can also call out in your stories insightful comments. This would let people see that they dont have to have their own site to easily participate.

Slashdot review is actually how I got involved in blogs. I am interested in tech stuff and didnt have a desk job then so Slashdot Review let me keep abreast of what was going on. There were a couple stories I felt I had a worthy comment to make so I created a Slashdot account and commented. Then I just because more interested in what other sources of info there were like that and now I have my own blog.

So, thats my 2 cents.

Frank Zappa on CNN Crossfire 1986

The blog by Anthony Volodkin who runs the Hype Machine has a post of 2 videos he found on Google Video and iFilm of Frank Zappa on CNNs Crossfire in 1986!!

Link to Anthony's original post.

Videos:

Sunset. Winnemucca, February 3, 2007

Sunset. Winnemucca, February 3, 2007, originally uploaded by Zack Sheppard.

Best viewed Large and on Black

The sky didnt look like it was going to put on a show despite the great clouds in the sky. It was just grey grey grey. Then the sky went from almost all grey to this within about 1 minute. Luckily I happened to be traveling over the mighty Humboldt River right then.

Lost and Overwhelmed

I gotta go back, originally uploaded by Zack Sheppard.

2/1/07
I've been doing good, but today I feel like I'm going to puke.

I had a hard week last week. One of my best friends died. That is why I have been MIA on the Inkernets. Just like your body pulls blood into your core when you are cold to keep your vital organs warm, I have pulled close to my close friends to keep warm.

My mind is a jumble. I am sad he is gone. Happy to see how much he affected people and how highly people thought of him. Worried about those he left behind.

This is just the kind of thing that I would normally go to Aaron with. He and I were alike enough that when we talked, even when we didn't say it right, we trusted that the other knew what we meant. A rare gift in a friend or family member.

An example (that meant a lot to me):

I have always been able to get along with lots of different people very well and my ultimate dream is to get whatever that is that I think is special/different/whatever out to the world in a book. I rarely tell people this because it sounds so damn silly, even to those who know me. I remember everything about when I told Aaron because, the look on his face, and the way he said, "You gotta DO that!"

I knew he really believed in me and saw what I see in myself more than my family, more than girls that had loved me, more than anyone I had ever told that too. I decided right there that I would dedicate the book to him.

And Im not going to tell you "that is even more true now that he is gone" or some shit. My book will be dedicated to Aaron Guilbert because of the person he was, pure and simple. He does not need death to deserve memorium.

I love you and miss you Aaron, and I will probably talk about you again here.

(Aaron took the shot above)

Colbert on O'Reilly / O'Reilly on Colbert

Last night Stephen Colbert went on Bill O'Reilly's show and then O'Reilly went on Colbert.

In the O'Reilly on Colbert, O'Reilly says that he's not a tough guy, that he's sensative and that "This is all an act."

Colbert responds with, "If you're an act, than what am I?"

Colbert on O'Reilly



O'Reilly on Colbert


To me Colbert is so obviously the winner in these encounters it's kind of uncomfortable to watch. It makes me wonder why O'Reilly would do these. And why after the Colbert on O'Reilly one went so bad he would go on Colbert's show? Maybe at that point he said he would and couldn't back out.

Is there more to this though? Is there a way in which O'Reilly fans would see him as the more stand up guy? Would believers get Colbert's sly jokes?

Welcome Grand Sierra Cinema

The movie theatre in the bottom of the Grand Sierra Resort has opened as the Grand Sierra Cinema showing second run movies (usually movies that have recently left the cineplex) for $3 a ticket!

From the RGJ story:

"The dollar houses or discount houses of the past didn't have the best seating, not the best sound, employees, maintenance, the whole works," he said. "Our goal was to create a top-of-the-line facility. You know, top-of-line sound, picture and experience for an affordable price."

To meet that goal, Bloomhuff said, he invested about $150,000 in digital sound equipment and renovations.

"We've increased the screen sizes and then we've done a partial remodel through the theater," he said. "But, of course, we've left the love seats, which people enjoy most."

A budget theatre where my shoes don't stick to the floor! I'm in.

They do not have a website yet so I have made a quick and dirty blog where I will post their showtimes:
http://grandsierrafilms.blogspot.com/

There is an RSS feed too ;)

The phone number is 775-789-2093

I spoke to the owner and he said that they expect their full website will be up in a few weeks. When that happens I will make a final post directing people to their real website and shut down the temporary blog.

Update:

Wow things move fast on the web these days! I posted this yesterday afternoon on renodiscontents.com and later that same day the rgj put up a story linking to the temp blog!

Paris Tattoo Art Fest

OMG the Paris Tattoo Art Fest looks awesome. Both of the artists I want a tattoo from will be there.

Jason Tyler Grace From Idle Hands Tattoo in San Francisco.

and

Lionel Out of Step

It would be especially awesome to see Lionel. (and when I say 'see' I mean 'get a tattoo from' because there is no fucking way I would leave without one) He lives and works in the South of France and, as far as I have seen, doesn't travel to the US to do work.

If you are at all interested in Tattooing or interesting visual work/styles check out his gallery and Media pages. His style is the most unique and original I have seen in the Tattooing medium.

Does this mean that I will one day fly to France just to get a tattoo?

C'est possible.

Missed Connections

I had 3 missed connections last weekend. I'll start at the begining,

1 Have you ever sat next to someone in a movie theatre, that you dont know, where you and them are laughing, jumping, "Nooo!!"-ing, screaming etc. at about the same time? Well the cute hispanic girl sitting next to me in Children of Men and I were doing this. It was like how you actually want a movie date to go where the act of watching the movie together makes you wonder if you might have something in common with that person. Except that in this case your date leaves with some other dude because that's who she's actually on a date with.

2 The next day I was at a punk rock show at Davidsons Distillary. I was talking to a guy I work with about different TV shows, movies and music. It was interesting to me because of the near misses our converstion kept having. We seemed to be two like minded individuals but because we get our media and news from different sources the conversation kept faltering.

I have been increasingly getting my music and audio entertainment from places on the Internet like the Hype Machine, the Contrast Podcast, posts on blogs I read, and from word of mouth. My video entertainment these days is from my del.icio.us and Google Reader "towatch" tag list, video podcasts, random crazy shit found on youtube, and jewels on Google Video. So conversations about bands that are on the radio or some of the TV shows on now are difficut because I have heard of them, watched a few episodes, or heard a song or 2 and have a general feeling but nothing concrete so the conversation had lots of false starts like:

ME:"Oh yea, they seem like a good band."

OTHER DUDE:"Oh do you listen to them!?"

ME:"No not really I've just heard a little and they seem interesting."

5 years ago I was Mr TV watcher (and when I was a teenager even more so) so the contrast of being out of step with the mainstream media when talking to someone who gets a lot of their entertainment that way, was very noticable. However, the conversation did get me interested in watching Heros. I watched most of the episodes from the first season the next night (on the Internet of course) and I am now addicted.

3 The last near miss of the weekend was the shortest but sticks in my mind the most because the girl had such amazing eyes and smile. And, well,

Oh what the hell, I am calling this post "Missed Connections". Let's do it right...

I had a great New Years Weekend

I went to my grandparents house in Unionville


with a few friends.


Did some night photography,


got some sun,


fell (ok, not really),


lots of dancin',


saw my godson,


realized I need to clean my cameras sensor,


and took the road home.


Bye Unionvillle.