RR Anderson, DIY Cultural Arts Specialist
Nov. 2, 2015 at 8:03pm
Pierce County Official Epic Voters’ Pamphlet 2015
TACOMIC Greatest Hits 2015 (more or less)
$15 NOW
helpful moral compass HOW TO for initiative 1 voting.
SEVEN reasons to vote NO on initiative 1.
Two sides of the $15 NOW initiative 1.
Helpful information mailer from KNOW15.com shell chamber of commerce organization.
BE one of the cool kids Tacoma Voters!
Vote to Keep Pierce County Services Building
I actually voted to build it. HA!
Better than an abandoned hospital.
Pothole City
what will we complain about when all the potholes are gone?
Can always be a vigilante pothole filler...
last year's big proposition to fix the potholes failed.
TACOMIC ENDORSEMENTS
VOTE FOR ANDERS IBSEN! The "Millennial" Candidate!
VOTE FOR KEITH BLOCKER! Dude knows what it is like to be homeless AND legally blind! PLUS he is not Tom McCarthy!
Poor Justin didn't make it past the primary. Maybe next time!
Drunk driver Ryan Mello is running unopposed! Yay! He's not so bad. Maybe stick to public transportation next time dawg.
VIRTUALLY EVERYONE hates Anders Ibsen. Not a bad endorsement in itself!
Apathetic, no-show voters could play the most crucial role this election cycle. I personally blame the absence of the 'i voted' hard copy sticker. Thanks the $15 Now victory Julie Anderson!
NOT PICTURED:
Do not vote for the "Strong Mayor" initiative. It was written by meat heads and is totally messed up yo.Jul. 20, 2015 at 3:59pm
Civil Defense SIDEWALK COMMANDER Chalk Box Kits -- On Sale Now
Only 10 created for 2015 Professional Chalking Season!
HISTORICAL RECORD: YOUR VINTAGE ORIGINAL Civil Defense SIDEWALK COMMANDER chalking kit has been painstakingly restored by Tinkertopia staff to original 1950’s colors & carefully loaded with modern chalk sticks. These Chalk Kits were once distributed to community Civil Defense™ volunteers as a means of communication in the event of a nuclear attack after all electronic communication systems were destroyed. “This Way to Water” or “Radioactive Mutation Area” could be written quickly and silently to avoid Martian war machine tripod detection!
ALERT: Civil Defense SIDEWALK COMMANDER chalk box kits are in! "Fully Restored from Historical Records!" The professional choice in sidewalk chalking. Kit Includes:
- (1) handmade sidewakl commander civil defense chalk tote
- (1) refill pack of colour chalk
- Sidewalk Commander NOIR Brand Charcoal sticks;
- Certificate of Authenticity & Instructional Sidewalk Chalk Zine
- (1) glitter bomb
Mar. 16, 2015 at 12:34pm
TNT Columnist Peter Callaghan VS. Local Artist Claudia Riedener
email exchange about the News Tribune 'Advertising Circular' Litter Bags
Peter Callaghan - Ex - TNT Columnist/Curmudgeon
vs.
Claudia Riedener - Local Artist/Neighborhood Activist
ENLIST TODAY IN THE BATTLE AGAINST CORPORATE LITTER BOMBING! YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE https://www.facebook.com/groups/zeeckbags/
From: Claudia Riedener [mailto:ixia@harbornet.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 8:41 AM
To: 'Callaghan, Peter'
Subject: RE: orange baggies
Our views don’t meld, you are correct. The plastic is the problem and I am doing my part in solving it. The route through Phil is not working – yet he seems to be the mouth piece for the TNT. A poor choice – but again just my opinion.
Be well, C./
From: Callaghan, Peter [mailto:peter.callaghan@
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 8:28 AM
To: Claudia Riedener
Subject: Re: orange baggies
They are not a last salvation. They are a piece. Again, if you don't want to help solve the problems first and them complain if they are not solved I am all in. But going nuclear before you have sought to understand is not a method I have much use for.
On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 8:26 AM, Claudia Riedener <ixia@harbornet.com> wrote:
I am not expecting your views to meld with mine. That’s why I read the paper. You can believe in this last salvation panacea if you prefer.
Plastic baggies are not a magic potion. They have activated a whole lot of people who walk about this town and care for it and the Salish Sea so close we can smell it every day.
I have communicated with Phil. He said there is no issue –as he sees it. But if there was we simply should send him the names and phone numbers of the folk residing in the vacant properties. You are masters of Catch 22. Keep doing your part – I do mine. Just please don’t claim press freedom over this.
On the safety side:– nothing says ‘enter this house’ like a bunch of leftover ads in the front yard. Don’t make us a target.
From: Callaghan, Peter [mailto:peter.callaghan@
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 8:07 AM
To: Claudia Riedener
Subject: Re: orange baggies
The circ department doesn't want them in the street, they want them on the walk leading to houses because that is what the advertisers want. Phil has been very responsive to delivery mistakes and has corrected them as he gets them. Had you tried to get the issue resolved that way I think you would have gotten further.
For some reason you don't want to have the issues resolved, you want the Trib to cancel the entire program. That would, in fact, hurt the newsroom. I am sorry if my views do not meld exactly with yours.
On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 5:30 PM, Claudia Riedener <ixia@harbornet.com> wrote:
Orange plastic baggies in Tacoma gutters will make you expand journalism? How dumb of me not to think of that!
You
lost at least three loyal customers (15 years in my case). But what’s a
loyal and involved reader when you can have orange plastic baggies??!!
WOOHUUU!! I
communicated with Phil Schroder. His eyes are not working. I doubt he
has a conscious, either. But who needs that when you have journalism!
Party on, Peter!
From: Callaghan, Peter [mailto:peter.callaghan@
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 5:20 PM
To: Claudia Riedener
Subject: Re: orange baggies
You need to talk to the bosses.
They
are not to be delivered in the streets or parking strips but on walks
or driveways between sidewalk and houses. If they are not, you should
let phil.schroder@
But you are right, we all hate anything that produces revenue that might allow us to maintain or even expand our journalism.
On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Claudia Riedener <ixia@harbornet.com> wrote:
Please tell us why this is happening? Most of the Trib staff must be as horrified about it as we are. It’s plain unconscionable.
Thanks
C./
Claudia Riedener
Ixia Tile Tacoma
1004 S. Steele
Tacoma, WA 98405
http://ixiatile.comOct. 26, 2014 at 10:47am
Tinkertopia Erects World's Smallest Flagpole on Pacific Avenue
Please watch your step!
While our friends at TACOMA SCREW PRODUCTS captured the title for world's largest flagpole, spectators on Tacoma's Pacific Avenue were greeted by a tiny new sight... the world's smallest flagpole! Made from a "Made in the USA" antique sewing needle and a flag from a model tugboat. "Here at Tinkertopia, we think about the little things." says tinker patrol deputy and cartoon funny book author RR 'Commander' Anderson: "This flagpole is made from existing materials, which are the greenest materials... Just watch your step, and make sure all your vaccinations are up to date."
Jun. 6, 2014 at 3:08pm
TINKERTOPIA Super Summer Workshop Events!
For Kids and For Grown Ups!
- JUNE 24th - 10am-12pm, “Crazy Creatures + Robots”
- JUNE 25th - 2pm-4pm, “Tiny Castles & Fairy Houses”
- JULY 8th - 10am-12pm, “Pinwheels, Kites & Whirly-gigs”
- JULY 9th - 2pm-4pm, “Flipbooks, Zines & Summer-time Sketchbooks”
- JULY 15th - 10am-12pm, “Mermaids, Pirate Ships+Maritime Puppet Scenes”
- AUGUST 5th - 10am-12pm, “D.I.Y. Boardgames”
- AUGUST 14th - 2pm-4pm, “Costumes + Maskmaking”
- JULY 11th - 7-9pm, “FABULOUS FABRIC SAMPLES: Choose from a variety of projects or make them all! Pouches, Pockets, Book Covers Cell Cases"
- JULY 18th - 7-9pm, “WONDERS OF WALLPAPER SAMPLES: Let’s CUT Paper! Learn the meditative art of the ancient die cut machine... Banners, Collage, Cards or Whatever!”
- AUGUST 8th - 7-9pm, “MIX&MATCH FRAME CORNERS: Make SHADOW BOXES, Jewelry displays, birdhouses, endless possibilities!”
- AUGUST 22nd - 7-9pm,“TILE SAMPLES/OPEN STUDIO: use all the scraps!”
Dec. 31, 2013 at 6:38pm
Frost Park Chalk Challenge Greatest Hits of 2013
Drawing From Incomplete Photo Archive
RR - Sonics Guy w. Ent-FRO
Ben Davis CHALK BUTT
STOWE HAIR
Troy Muppets
HANK muppet
RR - Mittens vs. Big Bird
Stowe's Monster Corner
Ben Davis on Frank Zappa
RR's SAVE OUR SONIKALAKALA
TROY
FRREE BRRADLEY MANNING
BULK BAGS ON PARRADE
STOWE PROMO
PARTY ON
POWER UP
BEN DAVIS ART
AWAKEN THE DAMN SLEEPERR ALRREADY!
BREAKING STOWE
FULL OF STARS!
WILD DUNES AND ENCHANTED ARRAKIS
URBAN OBSTACLE COURSE
GOD EMPEROR
BUBBLE FETT
SEAN
GINI
MARK MONLUX
DUNE THE PINBALL MACHINE
DORKYS
FREE HUGS
TACOMA MAMA THE NEXT GENERATION
MONLUX ON MONLUX
SAVE OUR SONICS ILLUSTRATED
99% ANONYMOUS PUMPKIN
stowe promo 2
Save Our Sonics Ball
Nov. 2, 2013 at 10:36pm
SUNDAY: Tacomic Greatest Hits Best of Tacomic Top 20 Cartoon Super Show
Art At Work Month
STUDIO TOUR
continues
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY
Best of The Tacomic Top 20
Super Cartoon Show
*FIRE SALE* !
RR Anderson's Personal Favorite original Tacomic pencil art of ALL TIME }}}
Oct. 11, 2013 at 10:44am
Art Town - Episode 1
Tee Vee Tacoma Show
We’re proud to announce the launch of 'artTown,' a new TV series showcasing Tacoma's creative community
The City of Tacoma's Media and Communications Office – in partnership with its Community and Economic Development Department's Arts Program – announces the launch of “artTown,” a cultural documentary-style TV initiative exploring Tacoma's emergence as a major creative hub in the Pacific Northwest. The quarterly series offers segments featuring diverse perspectives on a variety of creative disciplines. The show launches today – you can view anytime online or watch tonight at 8 p.m. on TV Tacoma.
"In developing the concept for ‘artTown,’ we wanted to offer a more holistic look at creativity in Tacoma," said Tacoma Arts Administrator Amy McBride. "In addition to what people traditionally think of as 'creative,' such as fine art, music or dance, we also plan to spotlight other creative areas of interest that have really flourished in our city like food, fashion, innovative education practices, architecture and more. You'll see some of that in this first episode."
The inaugural episode features:
music composed by local artist Isaac Solverson
J.D. Elquist and Travis Pranger from Feather and Oar
Pacific Avenue Streetscape artists Elizabeth Conner and Daniel Martin
graphic designer Art Chantry and letterpress artist Lance Kagey of Beautiful Angle
Metro Parks historian Melissa McGinnis
Tacoma School of the Arts instructors Robin Jaecklein and Kareem Kandi
Arts EnviroChallenger teaching artist Meredith Essex
illustrator and designer Sean Alexander
glass artist Sarah Gilbert
dance choreographer Carla Barragan
jazz musician Kareem Kandi
Old Town Dock public artist Chandler O’Leary
and much more….
Sep. 4, 2013 at 2:08pm
KalakalaKart "Book Ferry" Launching
Little Free Library on Pacific Avenue
Tacoma's newest Little Free Library drops anchor!
A FRANCHISE OF THE CENTRAL TACOMA FREE-RADICAL MEDIA EXCHANGE!
moored out front of Tinkertopia - 1914 Pacific Ave, Tacoma WASH 98402
Nice selection of bond films on VHS too!
Jun. 3, 2013 at 5:16pm
Kalakala Sails Again
May. 22, 2013 at 10:50am
Make RR Anderson Draw a Hyper-Local Political Cartoon Just 4 You
Your opinion in a Cartoon!
Second time in recorded history of the globe RR Anderson sells drawing skillz to highest bidder:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/
"I will draw anything for $$$, but I won't draw that [The Prophet]" - RR
May. 20, 2013 at 9:14am
David Boe's URBAN WALKING TOUR 2013
City of Neighborhoods 2013 Event
Brief writeup of my experience on the walking tour with Tacoma City Councilmember David Boe as best as I can remember it.
NOT Pictured in this tour: Tollefson Plaza Triangle Square.
AS SEEN ON THE
City of Neighborhoods 2013 Workshop Hour!
here are some cool shots of the location where the event (see example kevin's fun slideshow on the history of frost park) was held--in the old historic downtown Tacoma hall of justice / post office. Word is investors who bought the building for a steal are going to make it into a hub of arts and culture community center with tiny shops, schools and meeting spaces!
Begin tour through fireman's park (brisk walk past the totem pole).
Boe: "what I'm going to show you bro, will blow your mind."
Boe: "Pacific Avenue was one of the grandest of the grand avenues. WIDE across for events. You could stand here and see all of Commencement Bay from the street and these buildings. Now you get to look at the overpass."
Pacific "grand" Avenue being constricted with rain gardens and street trees (note state of crosswalks).
onward to the Spanish Steps!
Question from audience "What is happening with Elks?"
Boe: "We think all the federal sequester shit is tying up all the federal grants/credits stuff. Everybody is just waiting. McMenamins is THE BIG HOPE. We hope that when McMenamins happens, it puts development pressure on the lame parking lot (left), the falling-apart Old City Hall (because it is unheated the faces of the bricks are popping off) and surrounding dead buildings."
Boe: "the small forest growing at the top of the steps here, and the redundant potted trees are here because of the fucking moron drunk drivers who like to drive down the steps"
I ask about the status monkey puzzle tree....
Boe: "The monkey puzzle tree is still here [motions to monkey puzzle] and looking terrible."
Boe: "Check this out, a rarity in the City of Desitny... this is a narrow alleyway like they have all over European countries. You do not see these here... no god damn cars can fit through.. just people"
BEHOLD THE NARROW ALLEYWAY...
Boe: "Something very exciting is happening here. All these little shops are being filled! Local Improvement District"
Tiny goddess of commerce garden...
Boe: "You may have heard something on the internets about the DIY crosswalks the city had to grind off. Yes it was super lame, but they had to do it because of ADA laws. that little traffic island out there has no wheelchair access... or those textured orange landing strips.. you need those to be ADA compliant. If a new crosswalk appears without those bloody expensive things then the city can be sued and stuff."
Now the crosswalks look like a real Tacoma crosswalk!
Boe: "Broadway LID was nice but there were lots of goofy decisions made. like this park... what is up with this park? Does anyone sit here ever? Look I'm going to sit in it."
Boe: "Another thing, look at all these trees/bushes. Most of the plants around the crosswalks block the pedestrian from view of the autos. And if you ride your bike up St. Helens, it dumps you into this busy street."
Boe: "I stand here and cars cant see me till I jump out to cross the street"
Boe: "this little park is nice, they were going to put garbage compactors here but folks protested. I see this park as a staging area for protests/rally during council meetings."
Yep!
Boe: "Another pocket park built sometime in the 70's. It is special because it gets about 20 minutes of sunlight per day. They built an Aztec altar in the middle for human sacrifices. But most of the time is a dead space."
Boe: "I think of this intersection as the center of downtown."
Boe: "Example of typical alleyway in Tacoma. HUGE! you can fit an 18 wheeler down here. But I like this one because you can stand here and imagine yourself in Chicago or something."
Wells Fargo building plaza mentioned. Not as much of a success as other plazas due to surrounding parking garages.
see you next year!
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!
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
full service 24hr media library trading outpost, periscope art gallery and peoples garden!
- VHS tapes
- DVDS
- Audio books
- Fiction
- NonFiction
- Travel books
- Trashy Romance Novels
- Flash Cards
- eBooks
- CD's
- Cassette Tapes
- hidden easter eggs
- local business cards
- Anti-nuclear sunflowers!
- Raspberries
- Pussy-willow Trees
- zines
- misc. religious pamphlets
- old records!
![](https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/552021_230828353722247_1968092485_n.jpg"")
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!
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.
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!
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
| BUY Cartoons! | Contact Cartoonist! | ANONYMOUS Toon Topic Tip Line! |
|---|---|---|
| Original Surplus Tacomic Pencil Art | Book | EMAIL RR | (253) 778-6786 |
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 homea 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!
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!
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
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.
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*
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
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?"
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
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
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!
TACOMA'S ONLY CHALK COACH™
253 778-6786
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!
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.
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
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
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
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!
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 !
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.
Jan. 9, 2012 at 1:48pm
A Frost Park Sidewalk Chalk First...
Job Wanted Ad - A Sign of the Times
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!!
Dec. 28, 2011 at 2:50pm
Tyrannosaurus Rex with Light Saber(s)
the sum of all fears
You want to solve some problems?
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...
[ Mucha]
[Max Ernst]
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
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 ?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...
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?
- Contact advertisers in the Weekly Volcano. Tell them how you feel about Clear Channel Outdoor and suggest the Tacoma Weekly as a billboard-free volcano alternative.
- Recycle unused stacks of Swarner Newspapers left carelessly inside random Newspaper Boxes.
- Stand near a Swarner Newspaper box pretending like you're catching a bus and talk loudly into a cell phone (you don't have to really be talking to anyone, just pretend like you are) talking at such a volume so as other people overhear you... and rant about how the volcano keeps buying Clear Channel billboards and the Clear Channel Outdoor Lawsuit.
- Tweet and Facebook Matt Driscoll and complain about billboards.
- Post this Ron Swarner Cartoon to your Facebook wall.
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
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..
another speech but now from Kevin:
We're not making up the news...
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE !
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
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.
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.
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!
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]
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]
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.
- buy a tarp
- buy a garden shredder
- design and build a muffler for my shop vacuum
- repair my spring punch
- install green roof on cabana
- keep bees on cabana green roof
- design and build a chicken tractor
- kill more lawn in the front yard (expand garden)
- learn to expertly sharpen saws and other hand tools
- build a folding sandwich board sign for frost park
- build a soap box 'speakers podium' for frost park guest rants
- design a secret 'real life super hero' identity for night time chalking
---- Mask?
---- Cape? - finish pagoda flagstone patio
- Start work on Tacomic Book Volume II (using kickstarter)
- purchase orange boiler suit
- install roll-up garage door in museum
- install glass store-front entrance door in museum
- Hack grandpa's old hand-held camcorder onto mystery vortex CCTV
- Remove WSHM fence through sheer force of will
- Buy linoleum blocks for CLAW local money project with Beautiful Angle
- execute office of editor for GUEST STRIP theme CLAW zine
- produce a pilot episode for "Ask the New Takhoman" one man show w. John Hathaway
- produce a pilot episode for "LEARN 2 DRAW in 3D" secret city spoof for web
- deploy Tacomic Book Vol 001
--- MetaBooks?
--- Comic Book Ink?
--- UW Bookstore ? - Develop system for product placement in Tacomics
- Plant more blueberry bushes
- Make a ukulele
- make preserved & cultured foods
- make a still
- Locate HFW with global coordinates
- Set up a weather station
- Learn to sew/knit
- Make a ring from a silver coin
- Build a rolling penny press
- re-theme "Tacomic" pinball machine
- Build a Treehouse in the giant azalea bush
- repair broken oscilloscope
- produce a xeroxed punk rock poster campaign
- produce a parody chick tract zine about abstinence
About
Your Friendly Neighborhood Political Cartoonist
BUY NOW: TACOMIC SURPLUS!
TIP LINE: email me, TWITTER OR CALL (253) 778-6786
RR Anderson is one of the most curious characters in the UFO lore and the history of underground cartooning. He fought bizarre underground beings in the caves of Alaska, was wounded by a laser before it was invented, and had a background with the clandestine branch of the Tacoma Cartoonists Society.
For seekers unafraid to be discernibly turgid in a time of drastic change, we recommend:
CARTOON ARTIST RESUME
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"may the great winged turtle flap her wind upon us all" ~ Dr. FA Neekburn, 1889
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