FeedTacoma.com - A community resource by people who live and love Tacoma

May. 16, 2013 at 4:17pm

Tacoma Pocket Library Bicycle Tour 2013

It's what baskets-on-bicycles were made for!

Following the tire tracks of neighborhood explorer Tacoma Bike Ranch, I set out on a expedition to have a personal experience with all charted pocket libraries in the City of Destiny. As a Vigilante street librarian myself I wanted to as Dr. Timothy Leary would say 'find the others' and feel some kind of solidarity... INTERNATIONAL FOLK LIBRARIANS OF THE WORLD UNITE.

Central Tacoma Free-Radical Media Exchange (main branch)

Notes: Free sunchokes and sunflowers!

GPS Coord: 47.242960, -122.472399
http://goo.gl/maps/YnH2M

West Road Pocket Library

Notes: Fun draw-bridge style entry door. Log book w. pen provided.  A fun trip on a bike... commanding view of Commencement Bay, cool breeze.

GPS Coord: 47.2718, -122.470487
http://goo.gl/maps/acpZC

Oakes Street Pocket Library

Notes: Reclaimed spice cabinet? Lots of free-spirit paragraphs and articles varnished onto the surface. Doors weatherproofed with foam tape and magnets.. Log book but couldn't find a pen! Nice selection of books.

GPS Coord: 47.2650263, -122.4718308
http://goo.gl/maps/5HnbL

10th Street Pocket Library

Notes: Larger window on the door is nice. No log book found. Nice inscription on the post.

GPS Coord: 47.259022, -122.50037
http://goo.gl/maps/Cq9EI

The Lost Pocket Library

UPDATE:  Matt says there is another uncharted pocket library on N 22nd and Ferdinand!  Send us some photos!

comments [3]

May. 8, 2013 at 10:51am

BONUS FEATURES at Central Tacoma Free-Radical Media Exchange

Neighborhood Pocket Library Main Branch

catch a slideshow presentation of our back alley pocket library experiment at the next City of Neighborhoods event at the historic downtown post office! 

see our new signage? JOIN OUR BOOKFACE COMMUNITY

comments [0]

Feb. 20, 2013 at 8:15am

INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO: How To Use the Rain Flaps at the Central Tacoma Free-Radical Media Exchange

Pocket Library Instrucional Video Series

How to use the rain flaps at your friendly neighborhood pocket library! N 47° 14.614 W 122° 28.344 find us on book face!

previously...  Behold the Central Tacoma Free-Radical Media Exchange!

comments [2]

Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:26am

CALL To ARTISTS: Periscope Callery Jury Art Show

WORLD'S STRANGEST ART GALLERY™, STANDS ALONE ON EARTH™

The Periscope Art Gallery, located in an obscure, unmarked alley off south 19th St between South Oakes and South Anderson seeks 2d artworks no bigger than 1x1 inch squares for our first "THRICE ALL AMERICAN CITY OF DESTINY GREATER FOUNDATION PAN-GALACTIC UNIVERSALIST CITIZEN'S FIFTH-COLUMN AUXILIARY YOUNG AMBASSADOR WILD-WAVES AND THE ENCHANTED CELESTIAL KINGDOM ART SHOW"

Submission Guidelines: please email your artist bio and a scan of 1x1 inch art to: tacomic@holisticforgeworks.com art show

sponsored by:

• Holistic Forge Works
• Central Tacoma Free-Radical Media Exchange
• Cartoonists League of Absurd Washingtonians (the CLAW)
• Tacoma Pubic Libraries
• Metroid Parks
• Tacomic News Tribune
• Tacomic Weekly
• Tacomic Daily Index
• Tacomic Art Museum
• Tacomic-Pierced County Chamber of Cucumbers
• Weakly Volcano
• The Stranger Post Intelligencer
• Exit132
• Clear Channel
• Herman's Burgers, LLD.

comments [2]

Dec. 30, 2012 at 8:48pm

Top Ten Tacomics of Twenty Twelve A.D.

From Worst, to Personal Favoirite, to Most Commented

Well comrades! Here we are again at the end of another year... still standing tall on the backs of the downtrodden, the great unwashed, the hairy mermaids of the world. Yes™! And we'd do it all again if we had the chance. We learned a lot about each other this year.. and maybe even a little bit about ourselves too.  Verily, the TACOMIC hasn't looked better. My cartooning skills only improve with maturity or age like a fine cheese or compost... a crude fusion of the two perhaps? TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE™!

Let us begin with a meditation on failure!

Worst Tacomics...

10. TEA Party Patriots & Occupy Tacoma UNITE!

9. Tim Farrell for Pierce County Assessor Treasurer

Here are some of my close and personal favorites.

Cartoonist Favorites...

8.  State of the City Citizens Auxiliary Address 2012


7. Stand Your Ground Pam Roach


6. Hire RR Seeker of Employment


5. 253 Gun Hoodie or Spiro Manthou Inaction Figure or Haub Billionaire Cowboy or Roadkill Runaway or Marsha Moody Face-melting State Farm Agent or Father Bix Action Figure or Real Economic Development Mascots

Most Heavily Commented Tacomics of 2012*

 (*at time of writing)

4. NINETY ONE (91): JEANNIE DARNEILLE MENTAL HEALTH TAX SAVES


3. ONE HUNDRED AND TEN (110): PIERCE TRANSIT LAHAR


2. ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE (199): WORST NEIGHBORS MULTICARE/FHS


1. FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SIX (476)!!!!!!! :

STAND YOUR GROUND NRA

comments [6]

Dec. 22, 2012 at 7:29pm

Now Offering: Custom Birdhouse & REVERSE Gunsmithing Services

Custom Mailboxes Coming Soon!

Tinkertopia, LLC. and Holistic Forge Works have networked to bring you, IDLE TACOMANIAN, two new and extremely unique services!

Custom Artisan Birdhouses that Look Like Your House (OR WHATEVER YOU WANT!)

better than an exact replica... A TRUE GRIT SPIRIT CAPTURE! A 3D TACOMIC!

 
HAND MADE in TACOMA WASH. using 100% salvaged materials! 

Roofing from YOUR ROOF! 
HOUSE PAINT from YOUR HOUSE!

STARTING AT $200*

 *depending on the complexity of your home

a cottage industry as old as time itself...



but wait that's not all...  ask about our

NEW, REVERSE Gunsmithing Service!

OPTION 1 "BEST FOR OLD GUNS OF SENTIMENTAL VALUE" - for a small fee, political cartoonist RR ANDERSON™ will render any firearm completely inoperable and do it to European standards! BUT HOW?  RR will... "drill a hole through the receiver into the chamber, plug the barrel, and weld the firing pin into the bolt assembly."  WARNING - your gun will still LOOK like a gun and you are likely to be killed by a policeman if you go waving it around.

OPTION 2 "COMPLETELY FUCKTHESHT OUT OF YOUR GUN" - for the mere cost of electricity, political cartoonist RR ANDERSON™ will melt your gun in half or ugly meat-ball sized chunks with this fucking wicked, homemade carbon arc torch...




OPTION 3 "POUND YOURFUCKING GUN INTO A PANCAKE" - in exchange for a BBQ bottle of propane, political cartoonist RR ANDERSON™ and YOU™ will take turns hammering your gun into a flat gun pancake on a vintage 145 pound anvil using the heating power of this homemade gas forge...

MAKE A POLITICAL STATEMENT!

in response to the NRA's hardline, absolutely tone deaf response to the (you pick school mass murder event) RECORD PERFORMANCE ART OF OPTIONS 2-3 and we will HELP YOU UPLOAD 2 YOUTUBE! You have now made a difference in the world. A few less guns to be stolen by a burglar or a mentally deranged spouse, child or boyfriend! AUTOMATICALLY DECREASE YOUR CHANCE % OF SUICIDE and or ACCIDENTAL DEATH!

OUR PROMISE..

Your guns will be destroyed in the most environmentally friendly way and much more exciting than just tossing your guns off the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  You keep the remains as a piece of MODERN ART!

comments [1]

Nov. 30, 2012 at 8:05am

It's TINKER TIME! A Ukulele theme for Tinkertopia, LLC.

Ms. Darcy Sings!

completely original and uncut theme for our latest small business creative endeavor...

TinkerTopia.com -  now on FaceBook!

HOWDY PARTNER

Would you like to be a deputy in our TINKER PATROL ? Help spread the world about our rescue operation! Tell your grandmas! Tell your grandpas! Tell your friend down at the manufacturing plant... get these reusable materials out of the waste stream and into the hands of TINKERERS ! 

+ + +

CALL 2 HAUL

Donate Materials & Schedule Pickup

(253) 778-6539

rerun@tinkertopia.com

We help you by hauling away "good junk" and you help us with supplying materials to inspire creative minds!

comments [3]

Nov. 9, 2012 at 10:37am

An Open Letter to Tacoma Screw Products, Inc.

What the World Needs Now is Love

an open letter to Tacoma Screw Products, Inc.

Young people in Tacoma are always looking for positive and clever ways to show pride in the place they live. Whenever I mention "Tacoma Screw" as an example of a successful business in the City of Destiny I always get a smile and a laugh. Yes the name Tacoma Screw never fails to bring joy. I believe a Tacoma Screw t-shirt would be most popular with the blue-collar working class hipters/boosterheads. I've been drawing political cartoons in Tacoma since 2007... I can see trends in our cultural environment. In these dark, partisan times... the world is desperate for unifying positivity. The world needs a Tacoma Screw t-shirt! I like athletic blue or gray (see attached mockups above).

If Tacoma Screw is too busy to do it themselves, I was wondering if they'd license use of their logo for profit sharing, locally printed T-shirt production?

Thanks for your consideration!

- RR

comments [3]

Oct. 12, 2012 at 2:13pm

Public Speaker, Community Advocate for Hire

Anything You Need, You Got It. Anything at All, You Got it.

Have you ever wanted to speak out on an issue of grave importance but were too afraid to do it yourself?  Huddle in darkness no longer comrade!  Hire RR Anderson for all your community outreach public speaking gigs!  Reasonable Rates. Bonded. Licensed. Keyword here.

Check out my public speaking portfolio on a variety of issues...

 

Hire RR for one Issue, get the next Issue Free!

Nobody cares? I care!

Ribbon cutting ceremonies? Have sheers, will travel.

Will advocate for ANYTHING for a price $$$

Hire RR, the most Patriotic cartoonist speaker!

A MAN WITH INT3GRITY!

view my resume.

comments [1]

Sep. 24, 2012 at 12:58pm

PHOTO-ESSAY: A September Morning in Downtown Tacoma

down and out in the city of destiny

Hopped the no.2 bus into Downtown Tacoma.  Haven't had much use of my orca card since the down-sizing at AFX (formerly Artifex). Got a call last Friday to come in to the old office. They've got some CSS/HTML work to do and no CSS masters to do the job.  Right now i'm trying to think of an hourly rate for private contract work.  All the employees are gone, but the espresso machine hasn't changed. A ghost, haunting the conference room with a coffee mug.   Meeting went well.

After, I huffed it up the hill to the Main Branch library. Book reserve had come in: "100 DOLLAR START UP - Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, And Create a New Future.  Gillebeau, Chris"  ALAS!  Budget cutbacks... hours posted on the door let me know that they don't open till 11 on Mondays.  The masses of tired, hungry, poor yearning to breath free were camped out around the entrance.  Sleeping bags... blankets... the libraries own #occupy movement.

I was approached by a man. His questioning led me to assume he was not a regular library patron.  "What is with the crowd?" Asked He.

"These are hard times." Said I, "Neighborhood branches have been sold off. This is the only place a lot of hard-luck folks can access the internet... "

CENTRAL TACOMA FREE-RADICAL MEDIA EXCHANGE

EVEN SO, I had 1 hour to kill before I could pick up my book.   I was inspired to visit the tiny new second location of the Central Tacoma Free-Radical Media Exchange hosted at the Market on Market store here in the Embellish Multi-Space World Headquarters.. 

but, the weird hours thing again shot down that idea..  yet, I could see the little media exchange shelf unit through the window. Which gave off a warm feeling.

I Visited Suite/Exit133.com had a nice chat with Derek about what is a fair hourly rate  ($50-$60 is about the average for Tacoma or so they say--You can see more of this conversation happening on my facebook wall IN REAL TIME!). 

SCHOOL OF THE ARTS (SOTA)

It is hard to see in this picture, but the sidewalks around 11th & Commerce are teeming with hyper-creative young people.  I must have witnessed a class change or recess or whatever because the kids were streaming out of the Beautiful Old Historic Court House/Post Office like waves of army ants.

Tacoma is dead most of the time so anything that brings boots on the ground, human life to the area is fantastic.  So nice..

Give Old City Hall to the SOTA kids too! 

hey a CLAW poster in a spaceworks art install !...

MEANWHILE sad bank window art..

MURRAY MORGAN BRIDGE

Our beautiful old bridge is a JOB CREATOR!  Can't wait to see this thing operational again.

PIERCE TRANSIT PROPOSITION 1

Keep fighting Pierce Transit. God help us if this thing doesn't pass.

RR SIDEBAR COMMENTARY: As a rule of thumb always vote yes for transit projects.  ALWAYS vote no for anything associated with Tim Eyman.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE TACOMA DAILY INDEX? 

ate up most of my hour wandering around looking for the new Tacoma Daily Index offices.  No luck.  Went back to the library, picked up my book and the latest edition of the Tacoma Weekly (Tacoma's ONLY Weekly Newspaper)... got a taste of recently laid off, mainstream daily newspaper cartoonist Chris Britt's take on the University Place name change meme which the Tacomic exploited weeks ago.

What in the world Chris Britt! 

*end transmission*

comments [31]

Aug. 13, 2012 at 8:14pm

One (1) Hour Logo starting at $100 Portfolio Sampler

WHAT CAN I DRAW FOR YOU?

I began developing the concept of "One (1) Hour Logo for Tacomanians" with an experiment on myself... with the revamp of the Holistic Forge Works "flying turtle" logo...

Yes, with my new 1 Hour logo for Tacomanians service I can also enhance your existing logo to brand your original spin-off business services! Below is an example of the HFW turtle logo used to brand my original SURPLUS TACOMIC PENCIL ART stamped for authenticity!

Logo from a personal community culture project: Central Tacoma Free-Radical Media Exchange. At this point I felt confident enough with my speed and skill to begin offering my logo making services to the public.  ONE HOUR LOGO FOR TACOMANIANS is born!

I began to advertise this service on social media sites. My old boss would say: "twitter, facebook?  Who cares about what I just ate or when I go to the bathroom! [har har har]."  an absolute shocking display of ignorance! To be an evangelical marketer, you have to go where the people are!  Posting my logo progress with my friends online, word of mouth spread and I soon had my first One Hour Logo for Tacomanians customer...  Professor Andrew Fry at UW Tacoma for his South Sound Entrepreneurs Weekend conference...

How Does One Hour, $100 Logo for Tacomanians work?

If you go with the rock-bottom flat $100 dollar logo option, you get to provide some brief creative input/direction at the very beginning... examples of what you like, maybe you provide a sketch, maybe you just want something to look good and that is all that matters to you.  I spend 1 hour and whatever I come up with in that 1 hour is your $100 logo!   No revisions. No refunds.  If you are unhappy with your 1 hour logo simply spend another $100 for another shot. 

$100 for a logo is a heck of a deal.  

Now, you might want to have design revisions--for an extra premium, you can!

Here is an example of a button logo I did for my sister-in-law's at risk youth program.  I came up with 3 different design options with upto 3 design revisions... They were willing to shell out the extra cash and felt good about it in the long run.

No Job is Too Weird or Strange!  Terra Organics wanted a superhero illustrated for their new fleet of delivery vans...  again many revisions, many hours over the starting $100 price.  Let's work a deal! 

Different Chairs wanted to see a fun, cartoony new logo and paid a little extra for some different options to choose from... this is the end result.  As a courtesy I like to provide the finished logo design with the standard 3 color choice alternatives..  Black on White, White on Black... and Color. 

Death by Stars is a local electronic rock band who are fans of my Tacomic cartoon... I did this T-Shirt logo for them, not a 1 hour logo but as a trade for theme music for a youtube show (in development)

Did you know you can combine 1 hour service with my $1000 website package?  Here is the first draft of a logo revamp...  you can see an example of an unrelated website I recently built from scratch.

I design T-shirts too!

Or maybe you need spot illustrations to jazz up your website?  Here is an example I did for AFX before I got laid off (I can do all of this stuff also).

Speaking of Illustration work, Here is a recent full-color illustration I did for this Tacoma Makes project, you probably saw their press?  Pretty dang impressive for a Tacoma-based Kickstarter project. (keep an eye out for Britton and Chandler's work too, it's fantastic)

Last but not least a ULTRA-PURE example of the 100 dollar / 1 hour logo.  Chris owner of The Red Hot has been watching my progress and wanted to get a fresh sticker/logo for his growler bottles.  "I want your take on the MM Bridge with our existing logo. It has to be round and I'd like it to say In Beautiful Tacoma, WASH"  He directed, and thus...

after he posted it to his facebook wall folks were crying for this design on T-shirts. He said he'd send me a sample of whatever it gets printed on (hopefully filled with drink).  AWESOME!

HIRE RR ANDERSON FOR ALL YOUR SEMI-PRO GRAPHIC DESIGN NEEDS!

contact me today. (253) 778-6786

comments [39]

Aug. 3, 2012 at 7:35am

HAIRY MERMAIDS: Original T-Shirt Illustrations for a Sports Team

What can I draw for you?

When members of the all-lady team, HAIRY MERMAIDS  approached me to design their team t-shirt for the Dirty Dash mud race, I rolled up my sleeves, tore off my socks, and pulled my shirt up over my head. "I'M FULLY PREPARED TO DRAW YOU LADIES A T-SHIRT ILLUSTRATION FOR SUCCESS!" I bellowed.

My first attempt that was quickly rejected. Here's why said team HAIRY MERMAIDS: "We want her throwing a pig! And she's not burly enough! We want a burly two-fisted mermaid RR!"

Okay okay, limber and pencils blunt I charged berserker-style into V2...

WINNER!

Proud to introduce THE HAIRY MERMAID i've fallen in love with her too. She will be appearing in a comic-within-a-comic inside my OUR FRIEND THE STOVE strip. 

Also, i've been invited along to watch Team HAIRY MERMAID in action. Watch this tread for photos of the event.

UP NEXT: 1 HOUR LOGO SERVICE "WHAT CAN I DRAW FOR YOU IN AN HOUR?"

comments [6]

Aug. 2, 2012 at 12:29pm

TACOMA DIRT ALERT: Walmart builders filling our streets with TOXIC DUST & SPIRITUAL DEATH!

RR Rides Again

This day, let us focus on the buggy washing station

washing station appears to be broken. note build up of nasty dirt on City of Tacoma right of way.  ALSO NOTE, since my first bike ride the shortcut around the washing station as been blocked off. note ditch, cones and sign.

interesting! a fully loaded double dumper, caked with toxic tacoma dirt passing through washing station dry as a bone.

DIRT ALERT! Well this water truck as seen better days. Doesn't look like it has been active for awhile. Wonder how they're spraying down the uncovered dirt piles and roads?

Fixing the broken washing station. Had a chat with one of the City of Tacoma Environmental inspectors. Asked him if he needed pictures of a dirty dump truck passing through the broken washing station. "If they're trying to fix it.." he shrugged.

The Legacy of the Tacoma Elks Lodge no. 174 reminds me of "OPERATION CAST LEAD"

also improvement since last bike ride... the half-assed white tape over the WALMART has been replaced with plastic sign material. so now instead of "WALMART & CONSTRUCTION ENTRANCE ONLY" it says "__________ & CONSTRUCTION ENTRANCE ONLY"  I'd be embarrassed building a walmart too.  You can do better Sierra Construction! 

see also: MY NEIGHBOR THE SUPER WALMART

comments [11]

Jul. 30, 2012 at 1:12pm

My Neighbor the Super Walmart, A Bicycle Ride Around Despair

NEVER FORGET Wal-o-caust 2012

Down the street from the closed Martin Luther King JR. Public Library... amid the big medical office buildings. A lone rider cuts the morning dawn, nostrils flared.

Committing acts of civil disobedience...

Nothing on site says anything about walmart. Anything that says walmart has been taped over with white tape. As if the construction workers are embarrassed... or maybe they just don't want to attract night saboteurs?  Yeah right, AS IF!  Earth Liberation Front (ELF) was a passing fad. Nobody cares anymore!  These days the only resistance is just some dude in flip-flops on a bicycle with a sign.

Best Walmart builders in the world! Sierra Construction Company they do great work with help from BCRA 

now I have an environmental question for everyone. 

See all that loose soil piled up?  I wonder how much lead and arsenic is being allowed to blow off in the wind? Nobody driving the earth movers was wearing respirators... OSHA violation?

Did you know all the dirt in Central Tacoma has 100 years worth of contamination built up in there thanks to the Point Ruston copper smelter? 

at this point my bicycle bell ringing was drawing a crowd of construction workers... lots of pointing an laughing (cartoonists do it for laughs). Made sure to get a photo of our two signs making sweet love.

Hear me now Oh thou bleak and unbearable world, Thou art base and debauched as can be; And a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee!

Beautiful View of the rising Walmart...

the lonely city permit inspector guy...

Previously: Tacoma United Against Walmart

comments [75]

Jul. 18, 2012 at 9:24pm

Is Your Child a Chalk Champion? Hire the CHALK COACH +4 Step Sidewalk Chalk Tutorial

Glitter Bomb a Public Space At NO EXTRA CHARGE!

Attention!  The following offer is for CHALK WINNERS ONLY!

(click to enlarge images)

Have you ever wanted to be the parent of a child chalk champion?  Now you can!  Hire RR  THE CHALK COACH™ Anderson to come into your pre-school, church, day-camp or private school and give REAL-TIME sidewalk chalk coaching tips!  I even have a my own whistle!  CONTACT ME via HOLISTIC FORGE WORKS or my Facebook Page

Chalking at your own school is fine, but CHALK CHAMPIONS require public spaces for a genuine enriching urban art experience!  It's still a free country gosh darn it.  What are they going to do, kick out a bunch of cute red-blooded AMERICAN kids?  Never!

Let's see some drawing!

FREE ONLINE CHAMPION SIDEWALK CHALKING TUTORIAL...

step 1 - alright, pick a clean dry spot. Now let's start by blocking or thinking out your drawing. Draw a construction sketch with light blue or green. 

step 2 - once you have a map of your drawing, it's time for the fill or base colors!  thicken to taste. Sometimes, if i'm drawing a building or a statue, I like to let some of the natural concrete color poke through. In this example the chalk is laid down pretty thick.  You get rubbing pretty fast, it can be like touching a belt sander. Keep those fingernails trimmed and watch your fleshy nubs!

step 3 - cut out, shape, define the hard edges with charcoal. This makes your drawing POP! Charcoal is what separates you from a civilian sidewalk chalk artist. I prefer the natural hardwood lump charcoal you can buy in the BBQ section of your supermarket or food coop.

step 4 - blend in the highlights, the brightest color you have... most times your white. If surface is glossy keep your highlights as dots. If a matte surface blend the edges...

YOU'RE DONE!

EXTRA TOP SECRET NEXT STEP: GLITTER!  ***WARNING***  Sometimes using glitter on your sidewalk chalk drawing can be like throwing a bucket of gasoline on a campfire.  SO AWESOME!!!!

 

Let's take a time out to view some of these kid's chalk drawings...

That's a great robot sketch Max!

Little Hobart here likes to draw angry birds. I encourage kids to draw copyrighted intellectual property and make it their own. Strike a blow against the empire!

YES! Nice work Sue.

Remember, ROY G. BIV for a scientifically accurate rainbow Herbert. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. We can do better next time! No worries!

GLITTER BOMB!

Nice use of charcoal outlines!

Take handfuls of glitter and pass the bottle around so everybody gets some! Thanks Gertrude!

Well I think our job here is done...

Let's head back to home-base and get a snack. HAM and Ice Orange Juice!

Hire RR ANDERSON today! 

TACOMA'S ONLY CHALK COACH™

253 778-6786

comments [2]

Jul. 9, 2012 at 10:49am

Petitioning Kevin to Improve Feed Comics Pages

We the Cartoonists of Feed Tacoma...

Because comic-press plugin is hard to use...  Because August is approaching, the time when Kevin has time to traditionally work to improve his FeedTacoma.com community experiment... Because Crop Swap is out the door... because COMIC BOOK INK is dead...  Because feed tacoma is the only community-based news and entertainment resource in the South Puget Sound with a living and vocal indie-arts comics sub culture, we the semi-professional cartoonists of Feed Tacoma here do by petition our benevolent overlord Kevin (who we love. love. love. like a father, brother, and CEO) to address our power-user feedback. 

A. mothership main landing page notes...

• Britton Sukys Although I like the random comic image, it always takes shots from the middle...Anyway it can be either actually random, or customizable?
• Britton Sukys I see this as the comic rack. It was my favorite thing, as a youth, to flip through the issues, see the title headers...Anyway, tightening it up, giving the background some pop would be nice...It would throw the titles forward more...I'm just blathering.
• Britton Sukys Remember Marvels Box icon? It would have the "heads" of the characters in the book floating around the top? That would be cool here too...Get everybody to supply a few head shots and they'd also direct you to the book page. Just a thought.
• Erik Bjornson Nice. a "Buy it Now" button linking to Paypal might be a nice opportunity.
• RR Anderson bigger banners! maybe an embed-able RSS comic badge for specific strip fans? go Kevin Freitas!
• RR Anderson it would be fun to have a sunday comics page view option too... float all the 500px wide latest strips together on a giant page

B. comic strip page notes...

• Britton Sukys Like the hearts...Can we have multiple emoticons (hearts/Bombs/Stars/Frownies/Brownies to click on the strip? Can they be big and easy to see (can they be funnier than the ones I came up with?)
• Brandon Pierce I'd like to have the ability to see who "liked" my comic (from clicking the grey heart).
  Kevin's being put through the woodwork, huh?
• Brandon Pierce I love the copyright idea.

C. handling the strip archive page?...

• Britton Sukys Searchable by issue/story arc/chapter. Archive should be searchable by tags...Or something.
• Britton Sukys I envision it to look like the back issue box at the comic store...Flipping through pages would be cool, or posting issue covers with that whole issue within.
• RR Anderson the feed search has always been difficult for me. to find tacomics I use google like: MIKE LONERGAN TACOMIC
• Britton Sukys That's ok, but If I want to search for "Gravy eating cookies" It could pop up if I tagged the appropriate comic as a "cookie" comic...Just an idea.

MISC feedback from power users...

• Britton Sukys I have always wanted to choose my thumbnail on the comics main page...
• Britton Sukys Also, how do the comics look on phones and tablets? Is it easy to find the comics?
• RR Anderson my two goals for feed comics page: custom css, ability to create tabs or about page for MERCH!

add your own comments / feedback for feed tacoma comics improvements in the comment thread below!

comments [16]

Jun. 17, 2012 at 8:41pm

BEHOLD, Central Tacoma Free-Radical Media Exchange

Take Something / Leave Something. Sharing = Empowerment!

LOCATED in the alley off South 19th between Oakes & Anderson st.

Hours: NOW TILL INFINITY,  OPEN 24 HOURS 8 DAYS A WEEK.

FREE MEDIA EXCHANGE, you'll find

• VHS TAPES
• DVDs
  
• USED BOOKS (with strange messages scrawled in pages)
• ZINES! - coming soon
  
• UNWANTED MUSIC CDs
  
• MIX cassette Tapes
• CULTIST MULTIMEDIA ?

Greatest public library collection of VHS tapes in all of Central Tacoma!

take something, leave something! Sharing = Empowerment!

BEHOLD, our latest community-building new urbanist creation! WHY? Mostly in protest of the Central Tacoma Martin Luther King Jr. Library being closed down and sold for scrap. But that is just the beginning... Oh FRIENDS!

BACK STORY, THE DEATH OF STADIUM VIDEO

City Council-member Marty Campbell delivered these surplus Stadium Video shelving units to Holistic Forge Works a couple of weeks ago. Kinda awkward to fit anything other than DVD or VHS tapes on them. 

Clean up nicely with paint

Too big for the American Museum of Alaskan Entrepreneurship... Where could they be installed?  What to do?

My back alley has a huge blank blue wall.  Not even graffiti artists will touch it. Perhaps they're scared away by the toddler lawnmower?  Even so, this would be a perfect fit for the huge shelving units.  Would need to be filled with items that you wouldn't mind being taken away by people who frequent alley ways. 

These days mostly we stream movies over the internet, or watch DVDs all on the laptop snuggled in bed.  So the VHS tape collection got banished to the garage.  Lots of good titles here, a shame to get rid of them in a less-than-spectacular way. 

Poor old TV + VCR.

OK,so I had the location location location. I had the tools, I had the goods, I had the will. Now I just needed a name to call this project.  In times of need I always turn to the chalkboard, my most treasured possession.

thus and so the Central Tacoma Free Radical Media Exchange (CTFRME) was born.

MEDIA EXCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS COMING SOON!

how about a "DIY customer service buzzer" to be installed under the shelving units. (spoiler alert: it will do nothing.)

donation slot for coins or whatever.  Figure I can install a slot in the alley and then a collection bin on the other side of the wall. I see the main expense of running the Media Exchange will be zip-lock bags to keep the tapes and box art nice and dry.

comments [97]

Apr. 18, 2012 at 11:20pm

Make RR Anderson Draw a Hyper-Local Cartoon Just 4 You

Cartooning With INT3GRITY for the Highest Bidder!

trying out this selling my talents on ebay thing...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Make-RR-Anderson-Draw-Hyper-Local-Political-Cartoon-Just-4-You-/170827371298 

comments [12]

Apr. 16, 2012 at 12:13pm

ATTENTION COSTUME VIGILANTES: $1000 BOUNTY

Do It Yourself Crime Stopper Direct Action?

This just in from our friends at Dorky's Arcade:

ATTN: $1000 REWARD!!!!

He is still on the run. 

If you see him call us not the police.

253-283-1122 or 253-376-8283

Reward for direct location of this fool. 

BE CAREFUL and do not try to apprehend. 

Call us and Lay Low

$1000 REWARD

PLEASE SHARE

comments [11]

Apr. 2, 2012 at 2:31pm

Mayor Strickland to declare: Friday April 6th FROST PARK CHALK DAY!

low orbit proclamation cannon

CALLING ALL FROST PARK CHALKIES!

COME to the 5pm Tuesday April 3rd City Council Meeting @ City Hall, stand at the dias and be there to accept the honorary proclamation by the MAYOR!  

She'll be reading these awesome WHERAS statements (thanks Joel!)

+ + + 

WHEREAS, Tacoma Police Officer, Larry Frost, who was killed in the line of duty on September 9, 1977 and thus had the park on South 9th Street and Pacific Avenue named in honor of his dedication and service to the community; and 

WHEREAS, in the Spring of 2008, a group of concerned Tacoma citizens began to gather for lunch to utilize a city park and keep it open a doorstep to the city; and

WHEREAS, a challenge to create art using chalk as a medium was given to be the Greatest Illustrator in the Universe (of Tacoma); and

WHEREAS, that challenge has been accepted and taken by over 100 citizens creating thousands of temporary art pieces at Frost Park; and

WHEREAS, this challenge will begin again for a 5th consecutive year on Friday afternoons from noon to 1pm on each Friday in April through October; and

NOW, THEREFORE we do hereby proclaim April 6, 2012 as FROST PARK CHALK DAY

Find out more here.

comments [57]

Mar. 15, 2012 at 8:39pm

ClearChannel Outdoor's Worst Billboard in Tacoma

Hey ClearChannel Clean Up Your Crap!

Dear TacomaCARES@cityoftacoma.org

Billboard on the intersection 9th and S Court D st is in a highly blighted state.  wood structure covered in slime an possibly rotting.  Metal Billboard in backside is highly rusted.  Was watching it wobble in the wind.  Fear it is going to fall on somebody's car, maybe blow out into the street causing a school bus to roll over.  Litter everywhere under the wood structure too.   This billboard really needs to be dismantled and hauled off to a land fill.  Please Help! 

Marsha Moody HALT your Face Melting!

comments [9]

Jan. 24, 2012 at 10:59am

Quick and Dirty Half-tone Shading for Web Comics

Tacomic Instructional Public Service

in the olden times, people would cut bits out of rolls of half-tone patterns and rubber cement them all over their drawings.  Today with photoshop or any open source equivalent you can do something similar.  

first make a gradient.  solid black to white.  however you want.  radial or whatever

adjust the color halftone filter to these settings.  you can experiment with dot size (max radius)

Excelsior ! 

comments [8]

Jan. 11, 2012 at 9:27pm

Ruston: From Environmental Holocaust Moonscape to Mixed-Use Utopia

The Rise and Fall and Rise of a Place

First, Enjoy this little documentary playing now on KBTC:

Watch Ruston on PBS. See more from Full Focus.

Interesting Notes from the Film:

• Integrated labor force except for Asians who were segregated?
• Corporation and Union joined forces to fight any EPA regulation
• Slag and untreated waste dumped directly into the bay
• Midnight whistle for no reason?
• Town Police Force completely owned by Company
• Volunteer Firefighters
• Regular employee deaths
• Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

This is based on a new historical Ruston book recently reviewed in the Tacoma Weekly. 

The film has a brief bit about what is happening right now with the ASARCO Ruston smelter site, but I have recently had the pleasure of touring this place in the first-person flesh, after being invited by the honorable purchaser of these two Tacomics... 

and...

THANKS FOR SUPPORTING HYPER-LOCAL CARTOONING Mr. Loren Cohen!

And now..

Point Ruston IN THE NOW, EXCLUSIVE BEHIND THE SCENES TOUR! 

 

Ride along in the Cadillac Escallade, picture taken immediately after passing through gate.. stopping to check out the automatic cement curb making industrial robot who was very friendly.   

 

Coming up on the historic and retrofitted Ruston Ferryboat. Joked about how cool it would be to see the Kalakala tied up along side her.  This chunk of Commencement Bay is private property so is very Privately-Owned-Ferryboat friendly. No pesky Coast Guard or something.

 

I was very excited to check out the ship ever since the stowaway Jobs With Justice condo buyer infiltrator stunt I read about here...  very exciting!

 

My Tour Guide and latest Tacomic Art Patron Mr. Loren Cohen. Turns out he also won the bid on a copy of my book at the Mark Lindquist Kings Books auction fundraiser event (My book happened to be bundled with  "Babe" Lehrer's book  and also maybe an erotic cook book). 

 

Someday all this will be real. Condos are now Apartments, but the movie theater and shopping center and dense packing of mixed use buildings will cover over the toxic nightmare that was the ASARCO smelter footprint. Can't happen soon enough I say! 

 

Says they're on schedule for opening the heart of this thing for Christmas of 2013 or 2014 

 

The Urbanist joked to me later that the little model in the back of the ship reminds him of a James Bond villain's insane utopia that is revealed near the climax of the film.  Whatever they have to do to make it happen, I say go for it. Anything is better than how ASARCO left it.

 

Continuing the tour, here is the parking garage that the shopping area and movie theater complex will connect to. Notice in the model they do a good job of hiding all the ugly parking under the buildings, but the idea is the people who live here can walk everywhere.

 

Most of the bad stuff has been barged away by ASARCO, everything else buried under plastic, concrete and imported clean fill.

 

Here is the Train tunnel and Car Tunnel, The Car Tunnel is going away forever. Remember driving through there honking at the other side?

 

up on the hill now, this little pond is where all the crap from the stack was dumped to cool down before getting pushed into the ocean.  Horrible-horrible things happened in this pool. Lovecraft horrible!  But they're making it all better.

 

Homes, sculpture parks (can't wait to see what Claudia is building), shoppers, walking the waterfront folks... coming soon!

 

Someday you'll be walking the popular Ruston waterfront all the way down, past the Sperry ships, down to this Marina, down to Point Defiance park.  Build it.  Build it Ray, and the people will come.  SHIFT IS HAPPENING!  I hope to hell.  

comments [5]

Jan. 9, 2012 at 1:48pm

A Frost Park Sidewalk Chalk First...

Job Wanted Ad - A Sign of the Times

comments [14]

Dec. 31, 2011 at 11:17am

TOP 3 MOST COMMENTED Tacomics of 2011

Tacomic 2011 Greatest Hits

Number 3 - The Food Bank on McKinley Hill

Number 2 - When the Tacoma Police Chief lied about Zina Linnik's Amber Alert Delay Because Mark Fulgum was on Duty and Fucking Asleep

+ + +

and the

NUMBER ONE TACOMIC OF 2011 IS.... 

The Benevolent Protective Order of Elks lodge no. 174  SELLING OUT TO PUKE-SPEWING WALMART!!  

comments [3]

Dec. 28, 2011 at 2:50pm

Tyrannosaurus Rex with Light Saber(s)

the sum of all fears

You want to solve some problems?

comments [9]

Nov. 17, 2011 at 9:19pm

Barter Trade! How I designed the Death By Stars space rock band logo

In exchange for a LEARN 2 DRAW theme song

Patrick Galactic of the band Death By Stars contacted me awhile back about how much it would cost to get an original RR Anderson designed logo for his space-rock-electronica-punk-band. $125 dollars an hour! Said I. Thanks came the reply, will talk it over with the band. Added that I would also consider a barter trade for theme music. A cartoonist can never have enough theme music in this day and age... with the youtube and podcasting, one had better get an original theme song! This brightened the mood. YES! Said they, we create music! A trade then! 

The Band's Vision... 

 FIRST ROUND OF SKETCHES!

FEEDBACK: "Very cool stuff!!! We really like the floating cube motif. That is an idea I'd love to zoom in on. I also really like the screaming skull starburst under the 80's tribute text. I like the 80's text as well, we are big comi fans so the more fantasmic the better. Very cool stuff. Really like the ninja star idea as well. Basically we haven't narrowed it down much but we love were you are headed. I'd say the floating cubes and the skull starburst are the two ideas I am most attached to. Great stuff! Thanks so much." 

 narrowed down...

   

 Playing with vectorization...  

 3D! stripped down... splatter photoshop brush, looks like stars to me!  

FIRST PHOTOSHOP COMPOSITION ready for review!  

FEEDBACK: "Very cool ideas here! We all love the font. I like the skull, my guitarist and keyboardist aren't as sure about it. They are worried it's too dark or bleak. We are dark so it works for me! I like the actual vector part of the art a lot too, would love to see this with some other colors (for comparison). Could we see it with a bright pink background and a bright red background? My keyboardist would like to see some more actual stars incorporated into the logo. Are you open to working with the floating cubes still? We loved that idea, it's a little more abstract (which we are fans of) and we could do some cool stuff with colors there too. Thanks very much for the awesome ideas and great work, RR! I'll have a rough mix of Learn2Draw to you tonight, based on your feedback I will refine the mix and we will get it knocked out this week! Yes!!!!" 

 REVISION x2 READY FOR REVIEW!

FEEDBACK: "Awesome, awesome stuff. And, as I'm sure happens frequently, the band thinks all we need is the text logo. We like the skull but we feel the text logo with the stars and cubes is perfect by itself. Easy to re-print and only two colors! It is what we envisioned. Thank you so much, it's awesome!" 

 DELIVERABLE READY FOR T-SHIRTS! 

 one color version:

   

 two color version:

Epilogue from Client: "we made DBS shirts using the logo you made. They are quite popular! ... people have actually stopped to read mine and a front desk guy at a hotel actually took a picture of it! We've gotten a ton of compliments!"

AND NOW MAY I PRESENT

comments [11]

Nov. 6, 2011 at 8:30am

PHOTO: Virtual HFW Studio Tour 2011

American Museum of Alaskan Entrepreneurship--Art AT WORK MONTH

Welcome to the Museum! Enter a world of ASTONISHMENT! Scott R channels the ghost of Leon Theremin. Thanks for supporting local art! Troy's Work Table+Daughter get task training on the Experience Typewriter Project (ETP), Thanks lab assistant Maximilian! These ladies share a genuine antique anvil moment. Ah, I see the Tacoma Urbanist picked up a Tacomic T-Town Tank Top. What better way to say "You are my church, allow me to worship under your flying buttresses" to that special lady in your life. Excelsior! Dave L and family has arrived to stamp some pennies... training wheels removed, the children stamp with confidence. The 100 year old anvil rings true. Now that's an education! Lo, The Museum is not just a blast-in-the-face of one way information. The community brings wonders to be added to the permanent collection. The World's only Open Source museum! [first person view of the Typewriter station] [fold-away tacomic archive station] [upcycled ikea dish drying rack as 24hr comic book day product bin] [table of merch, contact me if you want a shirt!] [Bix's Anti-Nuke Sunflower Gro Kit - point of purchase display] [A real Museum is about Stuff in Jars] The imaginations of Author/Daily Index reporter Todd Matthews and Famous Seattle puppeteer Maggie are captured by the MYSTERY VORTEX--is it a machine? sorcery? Perhaps we will never know. [Rock Collection, removal of sawdust greatly improved with new HFW bellows] [Updated signage, so much savings! ] We would like to thank these local businesses for your support. The AMoAE is made possible by viewers like YOU. Ms. Darcy arrives. "It's 4 PM, the studio tour has come to an end." Good night workbench (made possible by a donation of wood from the Stowe Family) Good night Anvil. Good night Max's Robot Factory! Pausing at the company chalk board, I reflect on the times... oh the times. in period Costume. Let's see how things are wrapping up over in Ms. Darcy's side of the compound shall we? [transitional area] [Lab assistant after a long day] Who wants cheese cake and hot cocoa ?

comments [6]

Aug. 22, 2011 at 11:23am

HFW Robot Zombie Scarecrow Upgrade Online Status Report

RR Anderson's Partial Bachelor Weekend Melee

Down on the old HFW Industrial Compound, we suffered a major victory having now crossed off an action item from the CHALKBOARD OF DESTINY, a task long over due, ACTION ITEM 666.1 ZED -STROKE- B REPAIRS TO ROBOT ZOMBIE SCARECROW UNIT--Compound fractured articulation limb during severe spring windstorms defending restricted perimeter from Subconscious ID monsters, ragged clothing, cracked cyborg-mind heat tiles (ed note see: Return to Forbidden Planet LEARN 2 DRAW episode 07).  

BEHOLD, NEW IMPROVED ROBOT ZOMBIE SCARECROW... ARISE! 

We have rebuilt it. Faster, Stronger. More Productive...

 

Memories past... 

comments [5]

Jul. 27, 2011 at 9:38pm

SUPER BEST BOYCOTT of the WEEKLY VOLCANO

The Ugly Truth about Swarner Communications, Fort Lewis Ranger, Northwest Airlifter and the Weekly Volcano

Have you ever dreamed about walking outside and NOT getting hit in the face with a baseball bat of compressed spam blight? I have.  

Not many people know why I'm boycotting the Weekly Volcano.  Why?  What have they ever done besides promote local artists, bands and female body parts? Why do you need to torment them ha ha ha?  I'll tell you why!   

FACT: Swarner Communications owners of the Weekly Volcano, Fort Lewis Ranger and Northwest Airlifter weekly newspaper empire are big fans of Clear Channel Billboards. [ rumor: They love billboards so much they make their employees sign a billboard 'loyalty oath' saying that no matter how economically devastated billboard blight impoverishes a neighborhood, billboards must ALWAYS be considered good for business. ] 

FACT:  IF your business pays to advertise in the Weekly Volcano THEN everytime the Weekly Volcano contracts ad space on a Clear Channel billboard, your money is flowing into the bottomless pockets of Clear Channel Outdoor--a multi-national corporate monopoly.

FACT: RIGHT THIS SECOND Clear Channel Outdoor is locked in an ENDLESS legal battle with the City of Tacoma for the unbridled privilege of saturating our poorest neighborhoods with dilapidated billboards.  

FACT: Not only is Clear Channel Outdoor suing the cash-strapped people of Tacoma for millions of dollars, Clear Channel Outdoor wants to re-write our sign code to allow DIGITAL BILLBOARDS so that they can continue to spam the hell out of us all more efficiently (read: minus the union-wage vinyl sign switcher employees). 

Check out the reverse side of the Volcano 'in on the party' billboard: 

Given the volume of alcohol/ptsd fueled suicides, drunk driving and 'ultimate military sacrifice' deaths plaguing Joint Base Lewis McChord is a flag-draped beer can even remotely appropriate in any self-respecting American neighborhood?  Have they no decency? 

HOW CAN I BOYCOTT A FREE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER?  

comments [5]

Jul. 27, 2011 at 8:59am

SUPER BEST OF TACOMA (CITIZEN'S AUXILIARY EDITION)

YOU KNOW WHAT'S AWESOME?

EATING...

• BEST Genuine hipster atmosphere place to eat = Puget Sound Pizza
• BEST FAKE hipster atmosphere most accessible to visiting family members = HUB
• BEST COFFEE meet up place for cartoon sale exchanges = AMOCAT
• BEST fun/cheap place to go with kids for a burger = Herman's Burgers
• BEST taco truck = Los Bros Hermanos
• BEST romantic evening without kids = Europa, Upper Crust
• BEST breakfast for visiting 'cool' friend = Babblin Babs
  
• BEST inexpensive breakfast for visiting family member = Southern Kitchen
  
• BEST breakfast via bicycle = The Old Milwaukee (if full, Shakabra)
• BEST too-lazy/tired to make dinner pizza = Del Broco's delivery   

more to come

comments [2]

Jul. 21, 2011 at 1:00am

The $2,700,000.00 Dollar City Manager Eric Anderson Memorial Parking Lot Ribbon Cutting Memorial

Proclamation from the Feed Tacoma Citizen's Auxiliary City Council

Greetings from the future! We're glad you made it. 

I am R.R. Anderson, recently appointed by the people to represent the HYPERSPACE district on the Citizen's Auxiliary City Council.  We are gathered here in virtual reenactment form to bless this surface parking lot in the memory of a fallen comrade, Father Eric Anderson.. 

 

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE !   

comments [42]

Jul. 7, 2011 at 11:14pm

Remembering Hans Zeiger on GAY Pride Flag day

Representative-elect for the 25th Legislative District of Washington

Did you know that Hans Zeiger believes homosexuals should not be allowed into the Boy Scouts of America?  Did you know he believes there is a CONSPIRACY OF HomosexualS just waiting for the right chance to molest your children?  Here he is on TELEVISION !   You really need to watch this whole god damned show. 

http://www.rainbowcntr.org/pride/pride_events.html

comments [27]

Jun. 5, 2011 at 3:05pm

Status QUO? NOT with David BOE

For AMOCAT City Council at-large position NO. 7

Vote for David Boe. The only candidate endorsed by zombie scarecrow robot. 

comments [8]

Apr. 27, 2011 at 9:43pm

URBAN EXPLORER 003: DaVita's Eric Anderson Memorial Parking Lot

$750,000.00 Free Gregoire Dollars for 47? Stall Parking Lot to benefit ONE Private Company

WEDNESDAY.

Blood suckers...

Filling in the hole Tacoma spent like 2 million to carefully clean out..  Luxury parking lot! The URBAN EXPLORER remembers seeing the renderings, truly a marvel of modern parking lots. Will have potted trees and everything!  Removal of the ancient sidewalk vault below.

Was approached by a young Flag Girl... "What are you taking photos of?" Asked she. 

"I've never seen a $700,000 parking lot being constructed." Said I.

She turned to look at the growing pile of dirt with a new sense of wonder. 

 

think I saw this in a cartoon once... perhaps a past life. 

 

come a long way since...

Somebody snort too much bath salt today?   These things make bad mummies.  Even so, paid parking holiday in DaVita Universe!  

Funny thing is there is a TAGRO Dump load of parking in this area..

A private Diamond Parking lot literally in their backyard.  Half empty? Half Full?  Depends on your unique world perspective.  Maybe DaVita just wants to boycott Diamond Parking for their obscene support for Clear Channel Billboards.   How about we remove the time limits on all the Tacoma Parking Meters and stick it to Diamond Parking bottom feeders?  

Even so, we wish the corporate power executives at DaVita luck!  May all your kidneys fail. 

SHIFT HAPPENS. 

* * UPDATE! 6/30/2011 * *

COMING SOON...

more parking lots!

comments [37]

Apr. 21, 2011 at 10:48pm

URBAN EXPLORER 002: Up in BOE's Business

Private Pockets Lined with Imagination & Culture

THURSDAY.

Tasked with delivering a quality hand drawn political cartoon purchase, the fearless, ruthless (where is Ruth?) URBAN EXPLORER ventures forth into the sun-bleached pavement of Downtown Tacoma, Theater District... across the street from the mothership to yes a small architectural firm. With one fluid motion the bronze doorknob turns and the understated door with a new century font "BOE ARCHITECTS" swings open to reveal THIS TENSE SCENE idle reader!



Honorable Council-member David Uthur Pendragon Boe, surveying his low-cut cubicle domain...  terrified employees scuttle about typing, dialing, bustling, sharpening... eerie marching music plays on a wax cylinder phonograph.  Acknowledging my presence says he: "I have been expecting you for the past 10 minutes. Tardiness is a sign of imprecision. Hmm?"  

Fumbling with the thick padlock of my messenger bag THE URBAN EXPLORER produces the cartoon package in haste.  "Had to find change for the meter" (a lie) 



"Excellent location indeed!"  Say I, The URBAN EXPLORER, "I'm told that cartoon was quite humorous to certain News Tribune political bloggers. Happy to see this cartoon end up lining your private pocket walls."

"Come" says Boe "I will give you the $66.60 dollar tour"


[Wall of Private Pocket Lining Conquests?]


"Top, second building down in the center, That was our original design for the Rainier Pacific Bank building. Clients said it looked too much like the Kalakala so we had to change it." Points out Boe.

"Ah yes, I like that design much better."

"Harrumph! Well thanks a lot."


"My Workspace"  note: Boe's hand crafted Bow on rafter. Yes, Boe has shot flaming arrows from it.



Grit City Kitty Klock

"Here is my private pocket archive. All the Imagine Tacoma drawings are here... the originals."


"Everything is drawn here." The URBAN EXPLORER is able to capture the many wonders of this condensed workspace on film... however one object was hard to capture. In the spot where the Kalakala Bank were to be built was some kind of tailor/cleaner store or something... anyhow there was a giant sign with giant metal neck-ties... Boe managed to line his private pockets with a couple of gigantic metal neckties....
(hiding behind the drum wearing the fez, behind the plant)

PREVIOUSLY: Tacoma Daily Index Explored

[end transmission]

comments [6]

Apr. 7, 2011 at 9:40pm

URBAN EXPLORER 001: Tacoma Daily Index - behind the pulp

Know Your DOWNTOWN! Tacoma's Oldest, Grandest, Most read City NEWSPAPER.

THURSDAY. 

Today the URBAN POLAR EXPLORER dropped in unannounced for a snap inspection of the TACOMA DAILY INDEX, the official City of Tacoma newspaper since the early 1800's almost nearly 200 years of intense legal notices and feel good journalistic type articles!  

Here we are in the main lobby Area on the 12 floor of the historic 1920's Washington Building. Original carpet!  Typewriters pound away in the background of the smokey news room. Todd Matthews recognizes the URBAN EXPLORER and offers a supervised guided tour.  We pause for a moment to admire the vintage acoustic tile-work.  

One of the oldest graphic design departments of any newspaper in existence to date. Before landing a job at the Tacoma Daily Index, this worker hand-painted signs!  The URBAN EXPLORER enjoys the wolf and elf-quest looking figure. Nice drawings!  Has this man ever considered a career in the field of Medallic Arts The URBAN EXPLORER wonders?

Tacoma Daily Index editor in chief Todd Matthews invites the URBAN EXPLORER inside his private office overlooking the city of destiny.  From this vantage we see the top of the new parking garage thatched grass green roof.  Also many surface level parking lots.  The tidy office smells of history. Tremendous stacks of newspapers loom from every flat surface. Artifacts of mystery pinned to every vertical surface.  Mr. Matthews leans back in a creaky office chair to brood at these artifacts...   "This office tells a story." He murmurs as if to himself, "If you can follow the clues... Please, no photos."   Luckily the hidden camera in the URBAN EXPLORER'S fur aviator's top hat goes unnoticed. 

the URBAN EXPLORER was able to maneuver close enough to get a clear shot of this hodge podge "Wunderkammer Gallery" so many potent memes!  (click photo for flickr notes) 

THUS CONCLUDES THE PHOTOGRAPHED PORTION OF THE DAILY INDEX TOUR. The URBAN EXPLORER was able to safely repel from an open office window 12 stories to the street below, blending in with the civilian population without a trace.  

[end transmission]

comments [9]

Jan. 7, 2011 at 9:24pm

Holistic New Years (Lifetime) Resolutions New Life Goals

Think I Can... I think I can.... I think I can.

1. buy a tarp
2. buy a garden shredder 
3. design and build a muffler for my shop vacuum
4. repair my spring punch
5. install green roof on cabana
6. keep bees on cabana green roof
7. design and build a chicken tractor
8. kill more lawn in the front yard (expand garden)
9. learn to expertly sharpen saws and other hand tools
10. build a folding sandwich board sign for frost park
11. build a soap box 'speakers podium' for frost park guest rants
12. design a secret 'real life super hero' identity for night time chalking
    ---- Mask?
    ---- Cape? 
13. finish pagoda flagstone patio
14. Start work on Tacomic Book Volume II (using kickstarter)
15. purchase orange boiler suit
16. install roll-up garage door in museum 
17. install glass store-front entrance door in museum
18. Hack grandpa's old hand-held camcorder onto mystery vortex CCTV
19. Remove WSHM fence through sheer force of will
20. Buy linoleum blocks for CLAW local money project with Beautiful Angle
21. execute office of editor for GUEST STRIP theme CLAW zine
22. produce a pilot episode for "Ask the New Takhoman" one man show w. John Hathaway
23. produce a pilot episode for "LEARN 2 DRAW in 3D" secret city spoof for web
24. deploy Tacomic Book Vol 001 
    --- MetaBooks? 
    --- Comic Book Ink? 
    --- UW Bookstore ?
25. Develop system for product placement in Tacomics
26. Plant more blueberry bushes
27. Make a ukulele
28. make preserved & cultured foods
29. make a still
30. Locate HFW with global coordinates 
31. Set up a weather station
32. Learn to sew/knit
33. Make a ring from a silver coin
34. Build a rolling penny press
35. re-theme "Tacomic" pinball machine 
36. Build a Treehouse in the giant azalea bush
37. repair broken oscilloscope
38. produce a xeroxed punk rock poster campaign
39. produce a parody chick tract zine about abstinence

comments [15]

Nov. 6, 2010 at 1:45am

LIVE BLOGGING HFW STUDIO TOUR

Art AT WORK MONTH

TWENTY SIGNED FIRST EDITION TACOMIC CARTOON BOOKS on sale for only $25 dollars each at Holistic Forge Works ONE DAY ONLY! 10 - 4 pm SATURDAY, SATURDAY, SATURDAY! 

OTHER AMAZING MANLY SOUL-CHOWDER FOR YOUR BRAIN: 

MS. DARCY'S ******** GIRLISH********** CUPCAKE STUDIO! 

comments [10]

Aug. 29, 2010 at 10:45pm

Brief and Frightening History of Ryan Anderson - Boy Cartoonist

Tacomic Book Filler

[PHOTO - how money was made in an age before cartoons.. year 8 ?  I look like Jack Kennedy]

1993 was a very bad year for cartoon strips. Particularly, for monthly outer-space science magazines.  It all started the day my mom mailed some of my doodles to publication called Odyssey.

Fame hit me like a cold wet fist. 

Note how the article edits out any mention of my Real Dad and my 'other family'  I think Ms. Lund was prejudiced against miners and or the valley.  Even so, this caused me a great deal of personal drama.  In fact I just re-read and my stomach is already twisting up in knots.  I sound like such an ass! 

FEAR AND LOATHING

for years I was forced by my mother at knife point to slave over a homebuilt light-table, given to our family by a graphic artist who was making the switch to digital (the light-table and analog graphic art supply gifts sent up sex-predator flags with the parents at first... but no it was legit! ). 

The Adventures of Joe Galaxy, by Ryan Anderson. Age 14 - more or less a total knock-off of the breathless SPACEMAN SPIFF! Calvin & Hobbs alter-ego.  But hey, my character had no pupils in his sunglasses... and he had a robot sidekick--SPARKY NUT! 

These strips were P-A-I-N-F-U-L-L to draw.  The sharpie inking process sucked most of the life (if there was any) out of the pencils.  My mother would often complain that I left out many of the funny little details that I loved to draw in pencil...  I hated inking. I'd be so tired by the end and my hand would be cooked on the light table.   This is before I knew anything about computers. 

A note to MOMS and FUTURE MOMS... 

if your child can draw, send in their artwork to any appropriate publications. They paid me $50 a month for each strip!  I think I blew all my money on Star Wars micro machines and Batman action figures.  What a waste!!!! 

[PHOTO - test driving experimental gravity vehicle]

MEANWHILE: Free from deadlines, liberated from ink, and just drawing whatever came into my mind, I was drawing escapist stuff like this...

Kind of reminds me now of Hieronymus Bosh 

I love drawing in pencil and you can see my style/draftsmanship take a new direction in Mr. Manning's high-school art classes.

[PHOTO -  RR Anderson (left), Captain Brian Crapo (right) getting into politics. Crazy idea to sell off high-grade Alaskan Marble to fund our Alaskan Communist Independence Party (or ACIP) goals.]

A NEW DAWN OR SOMETHING 

Ultimately, the path of life has led me to this optimal TACOMIC(tm) - POLITICAL CARTOON process. 

1. concept (usually a spark in the shower or in the 'bus trance') 
2. last minute thumbnail sketch - - this is helpful to avoid the angry wadded up balls of computer paper being thrown in the fireplace.
3. actual pencil drawing on 8.5x11 computer printer paper (easy for scanning) 
4. scanned into photoshop - grey-scale, 100%, 300dpi, photo mode, no descreen or filters 
5. play with levels - removes any smudges, eraser marks, thumb prints
6. cut / paste into existing cartoon template - I like to keep my signature and half tone patterns on transparent layers (set to multiply.. forget about the white-parts)
7. Masking Clean up lines, tweak art, sometimes fatten lettering using Wacom Tablet... also mask out highlights/half-tone pattern shading etc
8. Upload to feed tacoma... write the blurb.. link to reference material/articles of interest.

[PHOTO - THE BROTHERS ANDERSON - RR (right), Bo (left).]

comments [13]

Jul. 15, 2010 at 9:50pm

PHOTOS: Washington State History Museum Bridge of Glass Hostage Crisis Update!

Free the Public Bridge of Glass

Imagine Tacoma with out the fence Julie Anderson fought so hard against. You can still sign the petition and email WSHM board members. David Boe, what say you? 

comments [17]

Apr. 16, 2010 at 11:00am

Frost Park Chalk Off 03 of 30

Season 3

PRIZE: SLAVE-GIRL PRINCESS LEIA (BOBBLE-HEAD)  courtesy of Ms. STOWE

noon - 1 pmfree chalk art community event Frost Park between 9th and Commerce

Do Bobble-heads Dream Spring Metal Sheep?
see you on the sidewalk.

comments [58]

Apr. 2, 2010 at 12:00am

Frost Park Chalk Challenge 01 of 30

post photos, vote etc.

IF YOU WERE NEVER A SPECIAL PERSON, 

YOU ARE A SPECIAL PERSON NOW.


Friday, Noon - 1 pm
FREE CHALK. LARRY FROST MEMORIAL PARK - 9th and Commerce st. 
(apologizes for the thick matte of tagro mix insulting all sod)

GREATEST ILLUSTRATOR IN THE UNIVERSE T.B.D.  
@ M I D N I G H T ....  

comments [29]

Mar. 25, 2010 at 8:51pm

Burly-Legal Frost Park Chalk Community Expander Ideas...

buzzword buzzword keyword goes here

comments [4]

Jan. 18, 2010 at 1:39pm

Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Martin Luther King Jr. Street

Multicultural Diversity Mural Exhibition

This MLK day I thought I'd take the time out to stroll down MLK street with my son. I wanted to make a point of documenting all these  multicultural murals I pass by everyday on the bus, but had never taken the time to examine up close.






[evidence of Tacoma's once thriving streetcars above]


[anyone know the story behind this one? recognize any of these folks? please share!]

[Peoples Park, Tacoma WA]
GO OUT AND Enjoy this beautiful day!

comments [13]

Dec. 20, 2009 at 6:22pm

Last Minute Xmas Shopping Jihad and Downtown Retail: From Antique Row to Frieghthouse Square

to boldly shop where angles fear to tread

They say downtown has an image problem. That all we need is some intense propaganda to get downtown Tacoma up and kicking to pre-1900 era levels... my friends, we've got a long and lonesome road to travel. 

first stop...

The Learning Sprout

http://www.learningsprout.com/

[PHOTO: THE LEARNING SPROUT - IMPROVISED EDUCATIONAL DEVICE (I.E.D.) December 2009 ]

Looking for that special something that says 'daddy loves you' for your little one? Try this replica exploding grenade! Surprise your mom/dad just-back-from-Iraq in the shower for some holiday fun. Educational toy maybe? Learn about PTSD side effects?  Not such a bad toy since the invention of the nightmare pill; however, the bulk of our purchases were Plan Toy's farm animals. Magnificent product markup helps feed families, jobs. You can buy these products cheaper online if you want to be an asshole. 

second stop...

Ye Olde What Shoppe?

http://whatshoppe.com/



[PHOTO: YE OLDE WHAT SHOPPE? - THE LITTLE PEOPLE, FROZEN IN TIME]
Between the Learning Sprout and Ye Olde What Shoppe? we were able to satisfy the bulk of our xmas shopping. What Shoppe stocks a magnificent supply of HO scale train set figures sets.  I was unable to locate the Hostage Situation figure (which is the must-have train set figure of 2009) but most of the 2008 figure lines were available here. 
My second must-have item was also available Theodore Roosevelt and His Family Paper Dolls in Full Color... I would greatly recommend over Women Aviators Coloring Book--which despite the attractive title contained nothing but ultra-substandard illustrations. 
Also nice place to look for those erotic anime girl desk statuary.  HIGHLY RECOMMEND A++++!! 





Last stop and one big fucking waste of time unless your are one sadistic maniac...

FREIGHT HOUSE SQUARE 

http://www.freighthousesquare.com/



[PHOTO: FREIGHT HOUSE SQUARE - ONE OF MANY EMPTY STORES]
If I were to venture a guess I'd say half the vendors have abandoned this place for greener pastures.. or at the very least, pastures that don't smell like a mens I-5 rest stop.  Seriously, when was the last time they changed the urinal cakes in this place?  Maybe open some windows... cuz dang.  Smells like ass in here! Add in the zigg-zaggy walls and creepy low cut stall windows and you could re-market the whole thing as a vertigo inducing fun-house.


[PHOTO: FREIGHT HOUSE SQUARE: CASH TODAY! CASH 4 GOLD]
I always have a desire to check out this collectible coin hobby shop... but the place is never ever open. 

[PHOTO: FREIGHT HOUSE SQUARE: INTENSELY BORING RETAIL]
With all the amazing retail offerings it is hard to imagine the Freight House Square (FHS) going down in financial flames. Maybe FHS is a fun place to eat, but my idea of fun place to eat is not a mens rest room. I dunno i'm no expert.  I have Infinite Soups... so we're good in the food department over in the Theater District. no real reason for me to go back here EVER. 
In closing FHS: Brick City
We made a special trip downstairs @ FHS to see the lego place. It was exciting until we were asked to leave by the dude building a little lego house. It appears you're only allowed to peek in through the arch and not actually welcome inside the space.  This experience became quite astonishing when in the same breath asking us to leave, it is said, the Brick City studio space is unique because of its 'open door' policy and how other lesser lego-building artisans would never even be seen by the public.  Yeah, well that dude can go sit on a green lego cucumber. 

FINAL THOUGHTS...

Seems like the pantages was pretty active with a matinee showing of The Nut Cracker... there were actually people dressed up in fine clothes walking on the sidewalk on a drizzly Sunday morning... and HALF the store fronts downtown were closed.   Maybe you'd have more luck doing your last minute x-day shopping over in PROCTOR.  
AND HOLY HANNAH, I think we as Tacomans take for granted the miracle that is THE LEARNING SPROUT... a business doing BRISK sales on a SUNDAY in DOWN(ghost)TOWN TACOMA!!!??  We should put those folks in charge of saving us all. 

comments [9]

Dec. 1, 2009 at 8:04pm

Time to Clean up Larry Frost Memorial Park

for those who cant donate $, but want to make a positive impact

Say you can't drive to Lakewood or hard times have left you with no money to donate, but you still would like to show respect to the THIN BLUE LINE, may I suggest joining me and your friendly neighborhood FROST PARK CHALKIES in the traditional December park scrub!

Come as a group or whenever works best for you. Do what you can... you don't need a god damn gasoline powered leaf blower... bring a bucket of water and scrub brush... doesn't take much.  Cleaning chalk off the vertical surfaces is the main thing as the flat surfaces have been washed by mother nature.  Bring a paper bag... pick up some litter.   

Probably the most important side effect of cleaning the park is that other folks see you cleaning it and it makes those folk feel good. 

We need a little bit of that right now. 

* * * 

I'm thinking Friday at noon.  

See ya. 

Your friend, 

RR

comments [15]

Nov. 7, 2009 at 2:19am

tacoma's manliest Studio Tour: Holistic Forge Works 10-4 pm

American Museum of Alaskan Entrepreneurship

 

ONE DAY ONLY!   Holistic Forge Works will be open to the public. Friends and enemies alike will have the opportunity to see wonderful inventions created by a skilled drafts person. 

TACOMICS. THE MYSTERIOUS POLITICAL CARTOON CREATOR, AUTHOR OF BOOK...?

• CARTOON ART at every price point! 
  
• a working MYSTERY VORTEX (please no flash photography)
• distorted KUPS College RADIO WAVES! 
• BRONZE SCULPTURE! 
• CURSED ANVILS! 
• Newspaper Clippings!
• HOLY RELICS! 
• TYPEWRITERS that TYPE THEMSELVES! 
• GRAVE ROBERS! 
• PIRATES! 
• Television PROPS! 
• 24hr COMIC BOOKS for Sale! 
• obsolete shop tools
• back-issues of CLAW zines!
• idea globes
• vacuum TUBES! 
• MACHINES MACHINES MACHINES! 

  

sorry, the T-Rex exhibit will be closed.

  

however patrons can see the haunted typewriter, maybe attempt to type something themselves if ur feeling brave. 

 
an honest to god rock collection too. 

comments [23]

Sep. 25, 2009 at 9:40pm

LIVE BLOGGING: Demolition of Luzon FROM INSIDE!

Sometimes One Man Can Make a Difference

By the time the auto post feature makes this page live I will be making my way to the LUZON.

It is my intention to stop the destruction of this historical building by camping out inside
on the top floor in a secret hiding place. I will post updates in the comment thread using my iphone.  I will camp out as long as it takes to melt the icicle heart of our city manager Eric Anderson.  I am a master of hiding. DO NOT TRY AND FIND ME!

MY INVENTORY

• rope
• sleeping bag (black)
• 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwitches
• respirator
• black stocking cap
• pry bar
• canteen of water
• first aid kit
• flash light (with red lens)
• adult diapers
• duct tape
• small tent (for decoy)
• wireless internet connection

I figure as long as I'm in the LUZON they can't demolish it. 
Hopefully I'll buy the preservation guys some time to change Mr. Anderson's mind.

comments [81]

Sep. 6, 2009 at 9:11pm

Getting Things Done Contextual To Do Lists (holistically expanded)

with CLOUD COMPUTED google Spreadsheets

It has been an age since reading Mr. Erik Emery Hanberg's Practical Guide to Getting Things Done (GTD) and I am happy to report these four (4) WORKING TO-DO LIST EXAMPLES of how you can apply Mr. Hanberg's GTD teachings to google spreadsheets for ubiquitous, eternal satisfaction.

come fire walk with me...

RR's MASTER CONTROL CONTEXTUAL TO-DO LIST

notice my to-do list categories have been adapted from Hanberg's design. My context classification categories are:

1. Home
2. Online
3. Writing+Drawing Tasks
4. Read/Review
5. People to Phone
6. People to Email
7. Errand Quests
8. Waiting for..

This screen cap makes a nice souvenir for a day in the life of a linear being--This instance taken about a week ago (to take the edge off...You should see the crazy stuff on there now).

WISH LIST

A serious artist makes every project an art project.  Your life should be one long running performance art piece.

INVENTIONS + WORKSHOP TASKS

Google spreadsheets overrides firefox's built-in spell checker and is a source of infinite torment.  

FAIR-GAME INVENTORY

The need for this list presented itself to me after cleaning out my grandpa's workshop post mortem.  Should help me keep track of things thrown up into the rafters, pushed far back in closets.  Perhaps in column C should be "Where is it?" 

Inventors: go green! Reduce Reuse, Recycle!

comments [11]