Saturday, July 14, 2012

Phone photo 1740

No, that isn't me. The only elected office I ever sought to gain was for Democratic Precinct Committeeman for Mud Bay Precinct in Thurston County, Washington, in 1974, which has just dawned on me it was ALMOST 40 YEARS AGO! And I beat the incumbent only because I filed first and my name topped the ballot. But before my term was up I moved so I had to resign.

The Willis currently running for re-election as Grays Harbor County Commissioner is no relation to me, so far as I can ascertain from conversations with members of that family. I did vote for her when she first ran. But the brain cell jury is still out on whether or not I'll re-elect. Still gathering data.

There used to be a lot of Dickenson County, Virginia (Clintwood, Va.)-traced members of the Willis family in Grays Harbor and Pacific counties in the last century, but as far as I know, as of 2006 I am the last one of us left out here in this corner of the world between the two jurisdictions.

Morty Comix # 2412

 Before


 After




Morty Comix # 2412, one of the Watercolor Series, was carefully folded and inserted inside a promotional tablestand for some product at a local Burger King. I think I had a crispy chicken sandwich that day. Not bad.

Phone photo 1739

Tumwater, Washington

Friday, July 13, 2012

Phone doodles, June 2012



Phone photo 1738

Tumwater, Washington

Morty Comix # 2411

 Before

 After



Morty Comix # 2411, part of the Watercolor Series, was placed on a chair in a meeting room serving a Washington State agency in Tumwater.

Phone photo 1737

Tumwater, Washington

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Morty Comix # 2410

 Before

 After


 Morty Comix # 2410, part of the Watercolor Series, was folded and placed inside a gas station promo

McCleary, Washington

Phone photo 1736


Morty Comix # 2409

 Before

 After

Placed in the kitty litter section of an Olympia store

Phone photo 1735

Bridge over the Chehalis River with the Asian Haze approaching
Aberdeen, Washington

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

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 1734

Oldsmobile Futuramic

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Favorite Movie Quotes: In the Line of Fire

"It doesn't work, Frank. God doesn't punish the wicked and reward the righteous. Everyone dies. Some die because they deserve to, others die simply because they come from Minneapolis. It's random and it's meaningless."

Phone photo 1733

Hoquiam, Washington

Asian Haze

Cliff Mass tells us the haze we are seeing here in Western Washington for the last few days is not from one of the area forest fires but instead traces back to Asia.

Phone photo 1732

Tidelands Resort sign with Sasquatch figure
Near Copalis Beach, Washington

The Sasquatch icon is a very popular one throughout Grays Harbor County.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Morty Comix # 2408





Morty Comix # 2408 was left under a loose floor tile found in a business in Aberdeen, Washington. This tile was next to a door. And the door was on the second floor and led to nowhere but a long fall.

I am sure there is an allegory or omen there if I invented hard enough.

The scene in the background is the Chehalis River.

Phone photo 1728


Charlie and Dreamer

Favorite Movie Quotes: All in a Night's Work

"But Harry, you don 't understand, it's not just tears. I mean I CRY. At weddings, at funerals, once I even cried at a hockey match. I don't know what it is or why I do it, but I'm very emotional."