robots rock. robots rule installment 3

recap. i used to have a robot. a giant robot. a robot i found and raised on a farm. the earth used to have robots walking around. just like people. one day all the robots were gone. scientists were puzzled. perplexed. where did they go? only my one robot survived.

our story continues. my robot is all growns up.

robots rock. robots rule. 1 & 2

mix tape

robots rock. robots rule.

installment 1 of robots rock

while i have been recovering from the flu from hell, i realized that something that i was missing was a robot. yes, it is nice to have a loved one dote on you. yes, it was nice to spend the whole day in my pajamas. granted, i have some cute pajamas! but a robot. and not some lame waiter teddu ruxpin crap robot. i mean a RO-BOT. a gigantor type deal.

this robot would have made me soup. kim chi soup! like a butler, but not really. i mean my robot would be cooler than mr. belvedere. my robot would protect me, yet also be gracious enough to reach the top shelf items for me. my robot would act out my favorite books, my favorite scenes from movies, sing my favorite songs, make my favorite cookies (snickerdoodles) and just keep me company.

i realized while fighting the flu, yes the flu K.O.ed my butt. it gets lonely sitting at home. i was at home and no one was around. everyone was working. i did have a few friends call me and ask if i was ok or needed anything, which i totally appreciated, but all in all, it is not fun to be home sick.

it would have been more fun to have a robot sitting next to me and diagramming my hijinx or making pie charts on all my pearlisms.

a robot would have made me forget that my throat was on fire and that take away the cute pajamas, you're left with a sick pearly.

BTW this is the layout of fallen star

i scanned fallen star in installments, but it loses some of the layout i created since i used the entire bristol board. this is the entire comic in its glory.

the moral of fallen star?

wear an eyepatch. ice cream makes the universe happy and balanced. ice cream solves everything. everything.

the flu and 8 bit music

i had been looking forward all week to see the 8 bit music show featuring, animal style, bit shifter,bubbly fish, cheap dinosaurs, nullsleep, etc.

unfortunately, i came down with the flu on wednesday nite and thursday, it kicked my yellow ass.

i had friday off and spent it on theraflu after a day of running errands. i know. i should have stayed in bed. my head was throbbing, my voice shot from coughing, throat raw, my body ached. i could not breathe, much less walk and function like a human being, but i went to the show. with my ds lite in hand and hot tea in my other i went. my ears popped and although it was awesum to see these musicians live, to see art featuring games i love, the flu won.

it was lovely to sit at the rotunda and drink my hot tea and listen to bits of karnov and see contra playing. i loved how the art showed how the nintendo games looked when you put it into the NES wrong, all deformed pics. then of course, we would eject it and blow on the game. i dont know why we did that, but we all did. admit it.

i wanted to see nullsleep, but in the state i was in, i didn't make it.

i was home by 10 asleep due to theraflu and i dreamt of metroid. contra. link. zelda. warping.

scoreboard:

flu 1
pearly 0

game over

fallen star installment #4

despite being bed ridden with the flu, yes folks, i got infected by this nasty flu bug. if i could see this flu bug, i would smush it!

anyhow, i know i am behind in blogging, so here i am in my pjs in my bed surrounded by the swamp thing comic book collection (yes!), headphones to listen to records (merle haggard is on my turntable right now), a box of aloe tissues (owie. my poor flat nose!), and a cuppa of tea. my recipe for the flu, honey vanilla chamomile tea (no caffeine), honey, a lozenge (have it melt in the cup), and fresh kumquats. mmmmm. i am no doctor, but this works!

ok ok ok, back to fallen star.

we left fallen star selling ice cream to green space men. even pirate stars have to function in a society where money rules. aka. c.r.e.a.m (come on folks, "cash rules everything around me"). the green space men did not get their flavor of choice. pirate star does not follow the rule that the customer is always right. instead, his thought bubble is one that is similiar to michael douglas's "fallen down" masterpiece, "i want a whammy burger!" pirate star imagines his rage at this green alien dude. but this was all in his head...or was it?

see installment #4 above.

fallen star installment #3

the saga continues. when we last left our fallen star, he was thrown out of the universe by the galaxy gods. the galaxy gods rule with an iron fist. they have no mercy. our fallen star was cast aside.

the universe is vast. big. if you a star, what do you watch at night? do you watch yourself? if no one is around, does a star still twinkle? do they twinkle if they are alone?

do fallen stars twinkle? or do they wear eye patches and turn their one good eye away from the world?

fallen star comic: installment 1 & 2

finished fallen star. it is all coloured on nice bristol board. i scanned it in installments. dorky huh?

fallen stars are angry stars. renegades. nowhere to go.

fallen stars are lonely.

they wear eye patches.

they cheat other alien spacemen.

we all know a fallen star, if not seen one.

read on and stay tuned for more...installment 3 & 4 tomorrow.

superman vs. batman

i have bins of comic books in my closet. i am a collector. i have them in snugs. for the layperson, snugs are the plastic covers that encase comics. beep beep beep. i know. geek alert. target marked. me.

anyhow, my friends and i have discussed superheroes. it is a running theme.

there are many superheroes. you have spider man. the hulk. green lantern. green arrow. batman. superman. the list goes on.

i often tell people that there are two types of people in the world. those who prefer superman and those who prefer batman.

i prefer batman.

who do you prefer?

who you prefer says a lot about you.

i remember i had this same conversation with my friend big dave. he prefers superman. i don't. i recall him stating that superman is a good guy. i said, superman is messed up. his entire planet BLEW UP. his retort. batman saw his parents gunned down. both wear tights. superman is just that a SUPER man. batman is a wealthy man, a human. no super powers here dude, just the smell of vengence and cold hard cash.

big dave laughed. true.

so both have identity problems.

big dave sums it up. if superman didnt have any of his super powers, he would still help people. he would still help you get your cat out of the tree. bruce wayne/batman would keep walking. he doesn't care about your cat.

big dave smirks. i tell him how i asked this question to some dude at a party. a party where some guy who read one comic book his entire life tells me he loves superman.

me: who do you like, superman or batman?

dude: ooh. ok. why do you care?

me: just answer the question.

dude: superman. no doubt. (all smiles)

me: please go away now.

end scene.

pink martini

last wednesday, i saw pink martini at the kimmel center. i was quite giddy to see them since i missed them awhile back when they were here at the world cafe i believe. this band is beautiful, loungey, french brazilian japanese influence. this 13 band orchestra hail from portland, oregon and they are all very talented musicians. they have this old soul feel to them. playing french classics and original songs and putting their spin on bolero.

the sound at the kimmel center is amazing. this place itself is another world. acoustics here would make any band sound good it seems. but since i was there to hear a good band, it was even better.

the band is lively, but their music reminds me of sitting in a backyard on a warm summer's nite, with a few close friends, drinking some white wine and looking for falling stars and counting lightning bugs. their music makes me happy and nostalgic, calm and contemplative.

i was in awe of the violin player and the trumpet player. the violinist was on point. precision. the bowing, the technique. being a violinist myself, i felt i had a deeper appreciation for the violinist. i could almost feel the rosin dust floating off his bow. i adore the violin because you can make any string instrument sound so melancholy, sad, like someone crying. it's this morose quality which i enjoy. kind of ironic, since if you know or met me, i am not a melancholy person.

the trumpet player was just insane. i mean it was sick how fast he was playing. the notes were just perfect. he inspired me to want to play the trumpet. i even researched purchasing a trumpet, and even a pocket trumpet. anything "pocket" like is a-ok by me.

the vocalist china forbes sings in italian, french, japanese, english, etc. it was such a cool concert since music transcends all languages. you can listen to a japanese song and not know it is about a geisha getting lost in the fog, but listen to it, and just know it is a sad song about loss. at least that is how it is for me.

pink martini has loyal fans from all generations. it is kind of cool to attend show where i wasnt just mingling with kids in tight jeans with flatironed hair. i didnt even have to break out earplugs for this show! rads.

pink martini appeals to all generations. they pay hommage to the past and present with their music. timeless stuff.

they did play one of my favorite songs, "hang on tomato," based on an ad they saw in LIFE magazine for heinz ketchup. hang on tomato, hang on to the vine....

sometimes i feel like a little tomato, as opposed to a little mushroom. some days you just can't hang on to stuff. this week has totally proven to one of those weeks.

off tangent, i recall walking home from work this past monday. stressed. sad. i told a co-worker that i actually stopped walking and sat on a bench and cried. so retarded of me. i remember thinking, what are you doing pearl?! crying in public? crying while sitting on a park bench no less!

i continued home and made some tea, listened to some pink martini and wished myself to the island of kyoto, foggy mists, godzilla and perhaps godzilla fighting a pokemon or something.

this blog post got a little confusing. my mind wanders around and my fingers just type.

time to go to sleeps. zzzzzz

NYLON march issue, new TRKFLD AD (me!)

so my buddy bryan poerner showed me the new ad of TRKFLD (me in a white hoodie) that will be in the next Giant Robot issue. dude, second time in giant robot! word. gonna pick up the march issue of NYLON with the trkfld ad. so peeps, be on the lookout for my face or 1/2 of it, or lack thereof! (correction it isnt the march issue. i went and checked. perhaps april? gotta talk to trkstar).

also, gamers, send me friend codes for your wii. i am itching to brawl some peeps! challengers? step up.

SMASH BROTHERS BRAWL

it's finally here! smash brothers brawl for the wii. this is one of the funnest games ever. kids, if you played this game on the nintendo game cube, you will definitely not be disappointed. smash brothers brawl for the wii is amazing. the graphics, the precision, the music, the characters (new and old), and the interface. the wii version incorporates battle grounds from the old brawl. you can play other people over the wifi with the wii. you can also choose an adventure mode, where you go thru different levels while battling crazy monsters, ie. ghosty pixels.

game crazy was selling this game (yours truly already had preordered it, so i could avoid the lines) this past saturday starting at midnight. who knew they were open until 2 am? who knew there were already a bunch of 10 year old kids in line at 9 pm waiting for the clock to turn midnight, so they could use their allowance to buy smash brothers brawl? certainly not i. indeed not i.

back to the game. if you are familiar with smash brothers brawl, you know the rules. banghok rules. you beat your opponent in different arenas. each character has different strengths, skills, and weaknesses. there is also a customization mode where you can increase the size of your character, have your character be made of chrome, have a flower on your head, etc. anyhow, as you beat opponents, and depending how many you conquer, you are then given the opportunity to challenge an unknown player! if you beat this unknown opponent, you "unlock" the character and that character can join your army of choices. sweet. so far, the players i have unlocked have been "ness," "marth," and "luigi." this game is so addictive and keeps your thumbs in constant battle mode.

the different battle arenas are interactive. they move, they are scenes from other nintendo games, nintendo consoles and ds games. soo freaking wicked cool. fighting in one world and a GIANT nintendog pops up on the screen and blocks your entire view! the nintendog is licking the screen, jumping around, totally clueless of the heated battle going on behind it.

i've got 4 wii controllers and plenty of time to try to unlock all these characters.

smash brothers brawl is like tekken/soul calibre for the cute.

i am a button master.

my players of choice right now:

1) kirby: he can eat you, he can float and fly, his talents are super kicks and he turns into heavy objects as added shield.

2) zelda: she turns into the sheik too. like 2 players for 1. she can float and more importantly, TELEPORT. magic!

3) ice climbers: 2 players for the price of 1 again. cute eskimos!! anyhow, you can attack with one going on the high ground and one on the low. they are fast too! did i mention they are soo cute!?

4) ??? haven't decided. it may be between link (always a crowd favorite) or pit (hello! icarus! wings!)

another thing about this game, as you play objects are dropped, bombs go off, monsters attack. you can pick up objects as the battle ensues and use these objects to your advantage. if your battle ends in a standstill with time running out, you go to the SUDDEN DEATH round. pressure's on!

ok, i cannot praise this game enough. worth the wait. even worth the wait when nintendo pushed back the date.

i am so thinking smash brothers brawl 2008 fest coming up soon! everyone should bring their own wii-mote and it will be an all out, no holds barred, smash brothers brawl.

excellent.

just remember, i may be pocket cute, but i can kick your ass in pretty much any battle game. including smash brothers brawl.

sudden death anyone?

bring it. straight hood.

doodles

i have been meaning to blog about the ymd show and pink skull show, but as of late, a lot of things have happened, so i have not been up to pearly mode. to put it into words people who know me will understand, i have been in "pause" mode in this game.

my bristol board i just got. i prefer inking and creating monsters and sketching creatures onto bristol board. i prefer how the ink just glides on the smooth surface.

before i had time to even go to the art store, i have been sketching these creatures i see in my head on scraps.

seen above is the sketch of my fallen pirate star. i loved him so much, i thumbtacked him to my bulletin board. see?

here are his stats:

he has one eye. one eye patch. he has a bandaged leg. he has a scar/stitches and he has a band aid.

he rarely smiles. he rarely shines. thrown from the galaxy, he is bitter.

i also drew a sketch of a zombie top hat dude. he made me laugh because just sitting at work and i pictured a top hat zombie dude! very fred astaire. very high society. high tea. a zombie that prefers scones to brains. hmmmm.....i think i may be on to something kids.

english proper zombies? english high society zombies and their encounter with my personal hero and creation, lonely zombie.

this is how magic happens....

TRKFLD new catalog is up and you can see most of my face!

so one of my favorite people, bryan poerner of TRKFLD fame has launched the new TRKFLD catalog online. you can see most of my face in this ad

or 1/2 my face in these ads and this one

so cyber peeps, go online and order some of my friend's bags.

ok, onward to another post. i realize i have been totally slacking.

much to write about YMD, pink skulls, pink martini show, and yelp happy hour......just hold on a hot second. i can only type so fast!

coats and the trouble with age

my sister jokes that every time we go out anywhere, i get approached by people. not dudes. just people. i must have a very approachable face or look like a sucker.

i was browsing at coats. i know it is march and it is a bit late to buy a coat, but i thought that perhaps i could find a snazzy coat. let me back track. i bought my sister a coat for her birthday and it had to be shipped to me. yes, she is fancy. so when it arrived, it looked sooo freakin cute. so i tried it on, then i actually wore it to work and people all thought i looked so cute. i almost wore it again, but had to give my sister her birthday present. oh grr. so anyhow, the coat can't be found and my excuse that i was breakin in her coat did not fly with her. what can i say, i was caught off guard. that was the best i could do when i was snitched out. (recall the words of the nation of ulysses: kids, don't rat on your friends).

back to the racks of coats, as i searched through ugly coats then uglier coats. i feel someone tap me on the shoulder. i turned to find a frail little old lady with a big black coat on. she asks me, "can you help me? does this coat look too tight on me?" i take off my ipod earplugs and tell her to turn around and reply," the shoulders fit you, but it does look a bit tight." she looks distraught. "i am trying to find a coat, but all these sizes are wrong." "really? well that is going to make coat shopping even more annoying!" she tries on another coat and comes towards me to help her with the buttons. i help with the large gold buttons. she looks at the full length mirror and then at me. "how does this look?" before i can reply, she continues, "does the back show my hump? i have a curved spine." my heart drops. i feel so sad for her. i look at her back and reply, "it does show your bump, perhaps go a size higher?" i am trying to be delicate. she shrugs and says, "this is proving to be harder than i thought." i continue to browse the rack and i try on a tweed number. the old lady tells me "that looks smart on you! you should buy it." i laugh and reply, "huh...not sure, but thanks for your input." i put the coat back and the old lady asks me "what part of southeast asia are you from?" my slanty eyes widen and become gajin (round eyes) in surprise. "saigon..well it is now ho chi minh city." the old lady claps her hands and says, "i just got back from laos, thailand, vietnam, cambodia this past january. it is lovely!" she continues to tell me about her vacation. i quickly look at my cell phone and realized that i have been talking to this lady for over an hour. i feel guilty for leaving her with no one to help her with coats.

i tell her that i am leaving and decided to buy a plain work coat. she says ok. i wish her luck. as i leave, i think about growing old. i wonder if she found a coat. i wonder if any other customer will help her. or if they will ignore her. it makes me sad. i mean when i am wandering around with a cart full of empty soda cans with dyed blue black hair and huge sunglasses, i would hope someone would help me tell me if a coat i had on made me look fat.

before i leave, i go up to the saleslady and tell her that she should go help the sweet old lady find a stellar winter coat.

the trouble with aging is people forget you. and you can't find coats that fit you. and you find yourself talking to strange asian girls.

my new obsession: squidbillies

most of the time, my friday nites consist of me coming home, putting on levis and watching movies, reading one of my 5 books i have started, listening to records, reading comic books and playing video games. yes, i do all of this. yesterday i came home and decided to watch this cartoon called "squidbillies." first off, let's just say i have always been a fan of adult swim. it reminds me of liquid television. anyhow, i just knew i was going to love it. it combines squids and hillbillies= squidbillies. what's not to love? i gathered my salted seaweed to eat. yes, this is my telelvision snack of choice. i was ready to watch the squidbillies. i put in episode 15 on and found myself snorting outloud on these squidbillies debating what to do with their poor granny. granny is in the hospital and has really bad gas. she needs a gallbladder surgery, but her boys cannot afford it. ah. the timeless story of granny needs a gallbladder. grandson doesnt give his gallbladder. grandson tried to find some hooker to take her gallbladder. doctor tells grandson gallbladder must be from a blood relative. grandsons try to raise money for granny. grandsons use the dollar they raised to buy beef jerky. granny never gets gallbladder, but an experiment for the tobacco industry. see, timeless no? :) well, i loved this cartoon. it crosses the line. the music is great. if you like twang, bluegrassy, hank williams sr., type hommage music. the animation reminds me of aqua teen hunger force. the humor is gross, clever, and sometimes uncomfortable. all the juxtapositioning makes for some awesum animation.

squids still scare me. hillbillies will always scare me. squidbillies will always make me laugh.

how did i not know about these racist, homophobic, country loving, pick up truck driving, smoking squids?! seriously, i must live under a rock. a small rock. a mushroom.