FACT

If I say: "She was a French lady"...

you will NOT mentally picture an obese, ginger-haired, bespectacled individual, possibly amputee, left arm.

This is a fact.

Go figure...

A novel called BEEF

My friend Mat has written a novel, and as a good buddy, I have to do a review because I think y'all should read it too. (Plus coz he wants to know what I think.)
It's called BEEF, and it looks like this from the outside:

But why should you read it?

To begin with - it's funny. If you've ever read A Conspiracy of Dunces by John K. Toole, you'd recall that book was very funny, whilst saying not all that much, with brilliant characters that jump off the page and annoy you. Mat's book is very funny, with well-written characters who don't annoy you - but he also has something to say.

It's a satirical sci-fi novel, so that means most female readers are out. But it's a satirical love story too - which means most male readers are out. That leaves either those identifying as neither - or as not human. Mat's novel, if ants could read - would make him a jillionaire.

Okay, so love story first. Straight up I tell you I'm no romance novel reader, the last (and only other) romance book I read was Wuthering Heights - and I threw that book right the fuck across the room (the only other book of that distinction being American Psycho - but that one grossed me out, yay!).

Not a fan of romancey stuff - I always want to skip over those bits - be it books or films. Having said that - this is a romance novel for bros. Dudes. Guys. Men, that is. At least it feels that way - a lot of it takes place in the protagonist's head (the titular Mr.Beef), who wonders and ponders about what if and how to get romantical and sexy with a woman he meets at a party. Problem being he's happily married, has a daughter and he also has big-time (plot-relevant) responsibilities.

Does he? Don't he? Will he? How will they? - these are all the questions and I shan't spoil it, but as Mat put it, "Can an affair be non-physical?" Which is the meat and potatoes of the novel, and poses some interesting dilemmas (dilemmae?) that are cogitated upon by our Mr.Beef. (Oh my god, this is really a book about a man thinking... there's a subgenre for ya!)

Speaking of meat and potatoes - meat is where the sci-fi kicks in. The novel is set in a not-too-distant future where meat is grown in vats in factories, and animals are no longer bred for food. Yes, Mat is a stinking vegan hippy, but don't let that put you off if you're thinking of being put off. The world he offers up is certainly no Jehovah's Witness' paradise with lambs laying down with tigers and/or smiling Aryans, oh no. 

The tigers are for Aryans only - everyone else gets to pat mutant two-headed koalas.

Here the released cattle have mutated and have become terrifying nocturnal beasts, pollution is still an issue, corporations are dominating every-goddamn thing, the media is infinitely worse than now (that'd be infinity to the power of infinity - which is infinity actually) ... Utopia this ain't. Which I love about this book - it makes plenty of points along the "meat is murder" line, but it doesn't stray into hysterical ranting territory. But it does speak against the meats - so if you're a hardcore carnivore, I guess that rules you out as a reader. (Meaning if ants could read - Mat would be back to square one.) It cleverly stays philosophical (pretty sure Mat's middle-name is Cleverlyphilosophical) whilst piling up some facts, letting you make your own call, but nonetheless with an agenda. But I emphasise - all without getting preachy or obnoxious. You may disagree with Mr.Blackwell and that is okay - it's your sodding problem. Meaning you should read this novel if you're a meatasaurus (I am), because his hypothetical future is a very interesting take on the whole issue - it works, but it's not without problems, because we're fucking humans. You savvy?

Instead it's an intriguing read (will they? won't they? [wait, is that intrigue or suspense?]), a very humorous read (the bits about the music industry had me laughing aloud on public transport), a thought-provoking read (the climax of the novel and Mat's somewhat nightmarish predictions for aforementioned music biz and the media), and a read with spelling mistakes, but you know, whatevz.

Now Mat wants you to know that this book is character-driven (or maybe he doesn't), and yes, his characters do come alive. Human, so human - they get confused, angry, happy, they have secrets, they have family complications and jobs and opinions of each other, histories and beliefs... (Oh man are there some amusing cults in this one!) Me being an anti-social nerd (I seek the anti-Buddha in everyone) and possibly border-line Aspy, I can't say I liked any of the characters (well, maybe Reginald and his wife, both Depressarian cultists) - but that's not Mat's fault, they are actually nicely fleshed out and - oh fuck me why aren't there spaceships in this novel?!!!! There I said it, I like books with spaceships.
Let's move on.

The writing style reminded me of Douglas Adams' Hitch-hiker's Guide series (those books had waaaay more spaceships Mat, take note), a jokey, almost conversational telling with the occasional hilariously placed profanity (I point this out because it works so well), the casual slip from high-brow novel wording to just bumbling ... um... looking for words... sheesh! Fuck! Fucking sheesh! - you get the idea. Great stuff.

So there ya have it. I don't know if I sold you Beef well or not, but I'm certainly glad I did read it - like I say, it was a fun read, and pour moi an eye-opener of a love story (or is it?) from a man's p.o.v. that wasn't all about "T&A"; and about those thought processes that are like a school bus balancing on the edge of a cliff... Think Lost in Translation, but not exactly...

And there's all kinds of things about this novel I haven't mentioned because they would be spoilers. "Can an affair be non-physical?" - asks Mr.Blackwell (yes, the Mat guy I been talking about). Read the sodding book and find out. It's funny!!!

Get it cheap as chips from here:
https://www.amazon.com/Mat-Blackwell/e/B01G4OI2Q4/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

I had this dream...

Recently in Japan, I had this dream I thought I'd share because it's so wonderfully messed up.
There was a message given to me or found by me that said something like 

"Einstürzende Neubauten 11:13"

- meaning I had to find the 13th song on their 11th album (or vice versa).
I wasn't sure what it meant so I asked this young woman who wouldn't tell me. It was important that I knew what it meant so I took her hand and put her finger in my mouth and then slowly bit it off. She didn't even flinch, and I pointed out how it was just like biting a Pocky stick.

"Share Happiness - or cannibalism..."

My partner Pauline heard this so she bit one of the girl's fingers off too.
She agreed it was like Pocky, so we decided to eat more fingers.
Then the scene dissolved to sort of a news report showing models on catwalks biting their own fingers off and the voice-over said something like:
"The new craze has seems to have taken off in a big way, even celebrities are getting in on it with rapper Kanye West going so far as to remove his own head."
Cut to a Kanye concert where the man in question in a black t-shirt pulls his own head off in one quick move.
Voice-over: "Luckily he had his face disguised as a baby to hide his otherwise grotesque features."
And sure enough, Kanye's headless body is holding a head that resembles a baby's, but it is obviously wearing make-up.
THE END

What a completely abhorrent dream! I love it!

Some pointers:
- not long before this dream I actually ate the head and wing of a sparrow on a stick I bought at Nishiki market (Kyoto) - not recommended. Even some of the market-stall holders were weirded out.
- Pocky is pretty good - recommended.
- I don't really know what Kanye does generally, I've heard maybe 2 or 3 songs from him, none that I can even remotely recall. (He's not my bag, baby.)
- Here's song 13 from album #11 (Lament) by Einstürzende Neubauten. It is called Der Beginn des Weltkrieges 1914 (Dargestellt unter Zuhilfenahme eines Tierstimmenimitators) - that is, The Beginning of World War in 1914, (Presented by an Animal Voice Imitator).

When I grow up, I will be Blixa's hands.

WORSHIP THE MOWING DEVIL

I invented the mowing Baphomet guy back in 2009. He first appeared in a painting I did called The Dream has Eaten the Dreamer.

EXHIBIT "A"

It's social commentary etc, then I realised the mower Baphomet is me.

But not before I did a part 2, called The Ritual:

EXHIBIT "B"

There will be a part 3 one day when I have time (and inclination) to paint.

THE POINT of this post being: quite accidentally, I stumbled across [ THIS ] on wikipedia....

Evil mind that plots lawn-destruction...

... and now I worship the Mowing Devil.

(And Fat Satan [HERE].)

(And "BOB".)

(And me.)

Some September collages

So here's some new works - you can buy some of them at my redbubble store as a print or T-shirt... (Link after the images.)
None of these pix have titles.

BUY PRINTS - CLICK [HERE]

And the last of the December 2015 collages

This one is untitled (Dec.2015).

"Come give Granny a kiss..."

New Collage

"The Prophecy is not True" (Dec.2015)

New Collage

The Inescapable (Dec. 2015)

btw, prints available from www.redbubble.com/people/gadzooxtian

Another new collage

"Spending Time with the Children of the White Foot Clan" (Dec.2015)

New Collage

Again from December, 2015... entitled: "Change Your Ways"

New collage(s)

I found a pile of collages I made back in Xmas 2015(-ish) and forgot about.
So here's the first - it's called A Delicate Balancing Act .

Wrong Comic

As I pointed out on my tumblr [HERE], the character saying "Eh? Did someone speak?" totally reminds me of IT from Abruptum. Behold!, for this is ... IT:

Party on dude!

New collages

Spent my 42nd birthday making awesome collages. You can buy prints at my redbubble store [HERE].

True facts about me

I'm sort of working on an autobiography in case I get dementia later...

As the facts about me come to life, I shall add to this piece. Here are some true facts about me, and the title is

EVERY WORD IS TRUE

I was born in a now-dead century.

I was made in East Germany but born in Hungary - that makes me one part Australian, two parts former Communist.

I am the descendant of a Transylvanian Count and my ancestors were Ogres - some may even have been dog-headed Tartars, but of that I’m not certain.

My great-grandfather could not be killed by a bullet to the head and his wife was Little Red Riding Hood.

I’m in love with the Maharishi of Patagonia and was gay-married to a Cadaver.

I share a home with His Holiness Doomsquish Bojangles III and Standartenfuhrer Pickletits Meowchovich Junior Senior Junior.

My father was a Necromancer and an explorer of the afterlife.

My mother’s life can beat up your dad.

My sister is literally one in a million.

I have forgotten Russian.

I am allergic to Nature.

I once met a man who said people in India have been watching television for 10,000 years - but I did not believe him.

My name is longer to pronounce than it is to write.

I am a Pope, a Reverend, a Prophet and an atheist.

I am physically Jewish, but only since I turned forty.

I bought my name from the Government.

I am only half-way through my life, but since I intend to live much longer, I may only be a tenth of a way through, or less.

I’ve walked on the back of a Dragon and have bowed to a living God.

So far that's it - today I added the line about the Ogres and the Tartars - because they're true. Every word of this is true, not one bit is exaggerated.

[Here's a pikkie as an illustration - I found it after googling my name - 
'sokay, it's a T-shirt I designed...]

Inconsequential Exploration of the Psyche (free comic)

Hello young and old!
Here's yet another comic I drew at my work, this time a short one, starring my work-buddy Bish', c/o a photo by my other work-buddy Meagan (who's name I prob'ly spelt wrong again...).
This comic is about LIFE - yes, this is serious! Innit? Gah!

dafuq?

Infinite Collage updated

So friends, behold!
The INFINITE COLLAGE has once again grown by 3 metres of pure psychedelia.

Mr.Blackwell and I invite you to please peruse this wondrous work of art

HERE

Wrong Comics (new!)

Okay, so yesterday wasn't July 5, 1998... Bummer if you're a Subgenius.
Anyhoo - here's an all new Wrong Comic, and it's a three-pager.
ENJOY!

WRONG COMICS

... is what I shall call these cut-ups of old comics. They are re-engineered and put together all wrong. So here's some more.

Experiments with old comics

This is something I've done with hard-copy comics before but it's very time-consuming that way. So I tried it digitally - success! Namely, creating new, non-linear, surreal comics by using panels from pre-existing comics.
ENJOY!

There will be more of these coming.