Morty Comix # 2509

 Morty Comix # 2509 gets to travel. Let's let Fate decide where it goes.

I decided to once again employ a monkey part in the method of choosing a new home for a Morty Comix.

Charlie and Dreamer decided right away they were going to "help."

Then I took out a clamp that is humorously shaped like dentures. Ha ha! And I tied a string to it. Charlie and Dreamer had to inspect this as well.

This novelty was clamped to one of the blades of my oversized living room ceiling fan.

 On the other end of the string I tied the monkey part.

At this point I brought out a recently acquired puzzle map of the United States. Since I plan on developing and perfecting this Fatalist method of releasing Morty Comix into the world, I thought it would be a good idea to invest in this. Entertainment for some, a tool of serious art distribution for me.

Tipping the puzzle box on its side with the pieces barely balancing on top of my comfy chair, the other half of the box waits below to catch the chips that will fall where they may.

I turn on the fan, the monkey part circles the room, gaining momentum and height. Meanwhile, Dreamer plays with his new catnip banana.

 In short order, the monkey part hits the box, knocking the puzzle pieces asunder.

 Five states landed in the other half of the box: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, and New Mexico.

So I propped up each state with a cup and waited to see how long it would take for a cat to knock over at least one. Within a minute Charlie obliged.

 He knocked over the two great states of California and Louisiana.

So I set up two on a small table and shot foam darts until one of them was knocked out. And California it shall be.

The dice were rolled, and the number three took me to the Golden State's third largest city, San Jose. This is very strange. This is the second time San Jose has been chosen at random! The first occasion was with Morty Comix # 2403. Actually, this is sort of deliciously bizarre but it kind of mildly freaks me out too.

In looking at a San Jose street map, I zeroed in on Lundy Avenue. Why? My middle name is Londy, but it is pronounced as if it was spelled Lundy. Back in the family stomping grounds in the Cumberland Mountains of Virginia, Lundy is not an unusual name. My grandfather, Londy Willis, gained that unusual spelling because he had a twin brother, London Willis (there were three sets of twins in that family!)

So, Lundy Avenue was my choice. I used the Google street view and at random chose a label business.

 

So off you go, little Morty Comix # 2509. Have a great trip!

Morty Comix # 2409 - # 2415 Watercolor Series

Morty Comix # 2409 through # 2415 can be called the Watercolor Series. Before I post these things, they will require some explanation since the final products came out even weirder than normal, and even I will admit that is saying a lot.

Last year when Colin Upton told me "Color is for the weak," I really knew what he meant. So call this a moment of weakness while I was on a staycation.

First, I tied a string between a young elm that is sharing some kind of leaf disease with all the other elms in my yard, and a tree from the Southeast called, I think, the Devil's Walking Stick. This was a tree my Dad, may he rest in peace, gave me to plant. When a guy from Alabama fixed my garage roof a few years ago, he asked why I had this big weed in my yard on purpose.

Then, using some of the very same clothespins I employed in the Bezango WA 985 art exhibit at Batdorf and Bronson in Olympia several years ago, I hung up seven blank sheets of letter size typing paper.

What I was about to do has been on my mind for quite some time. A year ago, maybe more, maybe less, I had purchased a cheap watercolor set and a suction-cup toy gun. I laid them out with a styrofoam cup filled with water on an issue of our local weekly newspaper, the East County News.

I dipped the suction cup end in water and after that in the watercolor set. Then I took aim and fired at close range. I did this over and over, for about 30 minutes.

Yes, here's a case where a gun is really a tool for something good. The "gun is a tool" argument is frequently repeated by the gun crazies. In my situation, I was making something fun. But the real gun is a tool for one thing: wounding or killing someone. And that is not good. 

Here's the ironic part. I dislike guns and think the National Rifle Association is full of paranoid rightwing nutjobs with a penis complex. Oops, I was being quadruple redundant there. My review of Bowling for Columbine in Cheaper by the Dozen 6 pretty much summarizes my mixed feelings on firearms.

Anyway, here's an example of the results of my efforts. This sheet of paper eventually became Morty Comix # 2410 after I finished with it. You'll see.

Sarah happened to be here when I was performing this act of art, wondering what the Hell I was doing as I failed to explain what I was up to while she was visiting. So she took this photo since she is a journalist. I apparently did not inherit my Willis grandfather's deadeye aim when he had his famous 1931 shootout, killing two people and taking three bullets himself and living through it. Even at this close range, I still missed several times.

When this orgy of watercolor violence was over the toy gun was no longer functional. I'm sure members of the NRA can appreciate how Freudian that is. I had to throw all the supplies away.


At any rate, now you have the background on the next round of Morty Comix.

Phone photo 1625

Londy's leather coat, 1940s vintage

Phone photo 861

On the left, my paternal grandparents born 1887 and 1890, portraits drawn into wood by Mary Ann Bigelow about 25 years ago. The ports were taken from a photo taken around 1906-1907. Londy and Calla were products of the border region of Kentucky/Virginia.

The chalk portrait is me at the Seattle World's Fair ca. 1962.

All three of us were destined to spend most of our lives in the 20th century (unless I live into my 90s). I only overlapped in time with my grandmother for a few years, but long enough for her to be branded into my memory.

Moonshine: How It Works

A diagram I drew under my Dad's expert supervision about how to make moonshine. He built an authentic still as a display for the McCleary Museum many years ago. He's gone but his exhibit is still with us to this day. Illegal booze was a very big part of the history of McCleary, Washington.

The Willis family were involved in the trade both in Dickenson County, Virginia and Pacific County, Washington. Dad served as a lookout for his older brothers in Virginia.

Bezango: Big Boom!

Olympia Power & Light, May 4-17, 2011.

A photo of my cousin, Patty, back in the 1960s. She was visiting us from Vancouver, Washington and we set her up on the tractor. In the background to the right is the hill where the dynamite was planted. Patty is sitting not far from where the huge piece of wood landed. This should give you an idea just how far that chunk of the stump sailed through the air.

Bootleg

A poster I drew for the 1989 production of Bootleg, a play written by my brother.

The content of this dramatic work was partly based on the exploits of the Willis family concerning their activity in distilling illicit booze and then employing a very libertarian philosophy in the free market distribution of said product, both in Dickenson County, Virginia and in Pacific County, Washington.