Dr. J. Teller's posse grows by one

It's a cold, cloudy morning in late November, and I'm riding a gold motorcycle on the freeways of Los Angeles. The motorcycle is actually on auto-pilot, so instead of worrying about not killing myself I'm free to concentrate on the scenery. I pass by a Los Angeles landmark, the place underneath a massive interchange where you can see the uncleared remains of an overpass that collapsed during its construction. It's now overgrown with green creeping vines.

In my mind I play back memories of the night before, when I was speeding along a dark highway in the farmlands far from the city, watching yellow and blue flames consuming the trees by the side of the road.

I arrive at the hotel, and as I dismount the bike I find a key on the ground. I put it in my pocket, making a mental note to turn it in to the clerk at the front desk in case someone comes looking for it.

My mother is already waiting for me at the hotel. The tournament is about to begin.

* * * *

Walking outside my apartment (still in Los Angeles), I see a strange piece of graffiti on the sidewalk. It says, "DR. J TELLER HAS A POSSE." I have no idea what it means, so I go inside and look it up on Wikipedia. Inspired by what I learn, I draw more of the inscriptions in purple chalk up and down the street.

* * * *

It's the week of Christmas in Albuquerque, sometime in the early evening. The streets are wet with recent rain. I'm driving my mother's car because she's out of the country, visiting my sister in Japan. I'm stopped at a red light on Monte Vista Boulevard when I see police cars pass somewhere behind me in the rear-view mirror, lights flashing.

Nintendo DS art

These are drawings I made on my DS using a homebrew notepad app called DS Notes.

sleepwalk

the last two

jack-o'-lantern concepts

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy a moldy leftover from last month's major holiday. The design on the top left is the one I ended up carving. You can see the result here.

octopus

building a mystery

I have just arrived at my mom's house for a visit when she tells me that my sister just called to say that she was abducted, and is being held prisoner somewhere in town. Mom seems concerned, but strangely not quite concerned enough. I take it upon myself to call Nina back to try to find out where she is. I have to walk out into the back yard in order to get signal and so the dog doesn't bother me. Eventually, in a halting and awkward conversation, I am able to glean from Nina that she's locked in a basement, but she doesn't know the address. She doesn't seem all that upset either.

I try to suggest to her that she call 911 so the emergency folks can trace her cell phone's location, but my signal starts to cut out again at that very moment. When the signal returns I can suddenly hear the voice of my sister's abductor on the other end, saying something to Nina. He speaks with an obvious twang, a stereotypical hayseed/old prospector voice. None of his words are distinct enough to make out, except for an address: 2023 Thomas Ave.

I run back into my mom's house, wondering to myself whether I'll be prosecuted for assault when I beat the living shit out of the old prospector, and I scribble the address down on a scrap of paper before I can forget it. I read the address back to my mom, and she shows me that this new location fits perfectly into the empty spot on the map for the Lost Experience Season 4 Reality Game we've been playing!



Cut to a scene from the Lost season premiere. A group of castaways are in the process of stealth-raiding the old prospector's station. Am I there with them or am I watching it on TV?

The character of John Locke has been replaced with a thirtysomething pale bald man in a neat charcoal gray suit with a blood red tie. Despite the fact that this man is replacing my favorite character, I'm growing to like him. He seems to be an ex-assassin or something, but with an incongruously pleasant, easygoing demeanor.

Someone in the raiding party makes a wisecrack involving the word "Hell," like "see you in Hell" or something. This causes Nu-Locke to burst into goofy, nervous laughter, thus supporting my theory that Nu-Locke is actually Satan.

Lost Season 4 begins February 2008.

cheesed-off Batman

ehehehehehe

at the automat

OLOO

Krista L.L. Muir @ Winning 2007.12.04

In three weeks Yoda's House (an up-and-coming-at-ya-face post-rock band masterminded by my roommate) will be playing a set at Winning Coffee Co. preceded by the supremely talented singer/songwriter Krista L.L. Muir. She's totally great, like few people really are. If you live in Albuquerque and are in possession of $5, try to hang on to that $5 until Dec. 04 by resisting the urge to take advantage of our town's economy-priced prostitutes, and come welcome our new Québécois overlords.

the other shoe

love me 'fore i grow too old