Earl Yorke

This is the three-part version of a Smashing Pumpkins song that you can only hear live… it is not recorded in-studio yet (hoping they do it soon). I haven’t been as thrilled with Billy Corgan’s work since Siamese Dream. This is such a great song.

This post is special for me… hehe. I’m seeing The Smashing Pumpkins for the second time tomorrow. I am seeing them in Boston with Dina, my sister Erin, and the doofus (my step-son), Taran. I hope they play this song… I’ve checked out their playlists from the last few shows they’ve done and they haven’t played it recently. Here’s hoping they play it at the Orpheum Theater tomorrow night. [UPDATE 10.19.2007] Those bastards didn’t play the song, but it was still one hell of a show!

Enjoy the videos!

Dina and I took the family to Rangeley, Maine this weekend for a little R&R at my grandparents’ camp, and I must say that after six months of non-stop work it felt good to relax a bit. I think that it’s quite evident that I haven’t had time for anything when you review the number of posts that I’ve logged here for each of the spring and summer months; one, at best, for each. But I don’t want to get on another Earl bitching about his summer session… here are some pics from the family retreat.

This is the first time that I can remember when I was able to catch the fall foliage. Here is a great shot over the “height of the land” overlooking Mooselookmuguntic lake.

My little idiot dog getting excited over… well… I can’t remember, but I will say that the stuffed coyote in the background really freaked her out the first time she saw it.

Myself and the little man playing a game of Whist with my grandfather. It’s a family obsession.

Canadian Blue Jays will literally eat bread right out of your hand. Too bad for Cedric and D’Anna, they had already had their fill when Dina fed them a few minutes earlier. The woman is a bird nerd.

The little man playing his Nintendo DS on the way home… a good way to pass three hours of travel time.

That’s that for now. Expect another post later this week addressing the meeting that Jeff and I will be having to go over the graphic novel later this week.

Well, today marks the last day of the grueling summer job that Jeff — my partner for the graphic novel I’m working on — and I share at a local restaurant called The Oarweed. Basically, this is the best day of the year for the two of us because it means that we will be getting started full-time on Trea’Loong: Fann’s Ascent again! I must admit that Jeff has to put in ALOT more time down at the Oarweed than I do, so I have had a little time since May to work on the second installment in what will likely be a ten volume tale. Jeff on the other hand, who is responsible for all of the artwork, has absolutely no time at all. He’s part owner of the place, so he is there more than 70 hours per week. It’s crazy. I’m sure that you all can imagine how frustrated we were to have to put the graphic novel project on hold for nearly six months. Thankfully we can now become fully immersed in it again. Expect more frequent posts on our progress from this point on –incoming smiley face–

I can’t believe I just did that…

Anyway, I’ll keep this post short. I hope that you are all enjoying the fall season… I never did before, but I find that over the last few years I’ve done some of my best work when the leaves begin to fall. We’ll see how this seasonal period of inspiration affects the graphic novel.

I’ll leave you all with some pictures of myself and the fools that my wife and I work with at the Oarweed. These pictures are from the party we held at the restaurant tonight (which basically takes the form of us finishing what is left in the beer kegs and bottles of wine):

Emily and I

My “completely sane” manager, Steve

My partner for Trea’Loong, Jeff Fitzgerald

Dina and Jeff (the official morning cleaning crew… they can send autographed pictures at your request)

My co-workers (from left: Mike, Me, The Tin Man, and Steve) humping me… who could resist? Blech… I feel so used

Everyone completely… um… er… sober… in the service bar

The four of us posing… with Steve still trying to grab my balls… you see what I have to work with down there