October 2011
25 posts
Oct 31st
November convention schedule
November 11-13 at the Austin Convention Center, it’s the second year for Wizard World Austin Comic Con. The weekend before, November 4-6, I’ll be at the Tucson Comic-Con. That show will include the exclusive Desert Storm limited edition. Only 50 of these will be available. If you want to secure a print or have a special request, send me a note: rob@robosborne.net
Oct 28th
Picasso kept talking
Pablo Picasso projected what was in his mind through his hand to the brush and paint, then onto the canvas. He attempted to make real what was in his mind. He sought to manifest an object in reality which didn’t exist before. Yeah, it was painting, just painting. But the notion that an artist can whirl something into existence with canvas and paint, that’s pretty cool. Everything...
Oct 26th
5 tags
Pablo Picasso said something
On this day in 1881, Pablo Picasso was born. He proceeded to make art, a name for himself, and a ruckus. He’s also been quoted. Action is the foundational key to all success. This message has been delivered over and over and over again by the influential, the inspirational, and the tyrannical. Perhaps there’s something to be said for action, no? Every child is an artist. The...
Oct 25th
19 notes
Doing bigger things
It’s easy to get caught up in the small routine tasks. Fixing meals, cleaning the house, shopping, yard work, changing the oil, whatever. Even work can be menial. What a drag, right? So we need some downtime too. We watch a little TV, maybe read a romance novel or play video games. This is all very normal. And if you aim to keep things as normal as can be, then the following could be...
Oct 24th
“I’m so positive that the only time I look for shit is when I’m...”
Oct 22nd
1 note
8 tags
Atari Pong
When I was a wee lad (the one who told the “chicken on our car” joke) in Meridian, Idaho, my family got the sweet Atari game system known as Pong. In a new piece, I’ve married video game nostalgia with pop, and it’s available now in the Etsy store.
Oct 21st
11 notes
Blow through the comfort zone
This whole “comfort zone” thing is so played out. We get it. There’s are activities, routines, and interactions that make human beings uncomfortable. So we avoid the those things and remain…comfortable. Remain comfy for too long, and we get into a rut. When we’re feeling like stretching ourselves, what do most of us do? We tinker around the edges of our comfort....
Oct 20th
More lessons from the running trail
5. Eat sugary, salty junk. This one blew my mind. When I read the suggestion to guzzle Mountain Dew during an ultramarathon, I was up for it. And from my experience, Mountain Dew and M&Ms and potato chips and cookies help to keep the mind alert and lively while staving off the doldrums and negativity that can set in during a long haul. 6. Chug fluids, keep the urine flowing. That last part...
Oct 20th
Lessons from the running trail
New people are tuning in to the bloggy-blog all the time, so please allow me a moment to set the table. Soon, I turn 39 years old. In celebration, I intended to run thirty-nine miles.  On Saturday, I did just that. It took me 8 hours and 50 minutes. The longest I’d run previously was a marathon, so this was thirteen extra miles over my longest run ever.  This kind of experience typically...
Oct 18th
Did the run
I ran a 39 miler today. My birthday run. My legs are blasted. Is it too soon to ask, “What next?” Yes. More to come. For now, I’m recovering on the couch.
Oct 16th
1 note
3 tags
Oct 14th
5 notes
6 tags
39 miles for 39 years
I look younger and better than my years. At least, that’s what I tell myself. Soon, I’ll turn 39 years old. On Saturday, to “celebrate”, I’ll be running 39 miles. I’ve run a marathon before. Did that back in February. Hurt like hell. Probably because I tried to run it too fast. It was a particularly windy day and unseasonably hot too. That didn’t make it...
Oct 14th
5 notes
10 tags
Star Wars Yoga
My Star Wars yoga artwork has begun popping up around the internet. Probably because I’ve made the pieces available in my Etsy shop. This is Boba Yoga, the first SW yoga piece. Boba Yoga debuted at an Austin Books art show. It was well received by fans, and the series was born. Eventually, I collected all of the SW yoga poses in one piece, Galaxy Yoga.
Oct 12th
16 notes
Plans change
The best laid plans of mice and moguls often go awry. You make a plan, prepare your tactics, head out to make a ruckus. You arrive to discover that the situation on the ground is different than you anticipated. Your original plan, as formulated, is insufficient.  Your plan sucks. Whoopee. Devil may care. Do not panic. Plans don’t get things done. You get things done. Right? When you made...
Oct 11th
5 tags
Navel-gazing
When you’re navel-gazing, your eyes are off the prize. Instead, you’re peering into that dark abyss at your midsection, ogling the lint that has accumulated. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines navel-gazing as “useless or excessive self-contemplation”. Really, it’s a prolonged inspection of lint. Keeping a clean navel is good hygiene. But if you spend too...
Oct 10th
25 notes
4 tags
Bring on the rain
We like sunshine and blue skies. After a long, hot, rainless summer, we just want rain. Bring on the heavy, dark clouds. Empty the heavens. Bring on the buckets and buckets of raindrops. In the wee hours of the morning, I awoke to a torrential downpour. Thunder rocked, and the bedroom window was being pelted. It was a percussive explosion. I went back to sleep. Now, I’m drinking coffee....
Oct 9th
33 notes
There was a chicken on our car
When I was a wee lad of about three or four years of age, I was given a joke. I think it was crafted by my mom, this joke, and it was intended to be my joke. I would tell the joke at family gatherings. It went like this: There was a chicken on our car, and a monkey came by and put a clown suit on it. That was the joke. That’s it. Nothing more or less. People laughed. Even those who had...
Oct 8th
1 note
6 tags
You don't even know what the thing is yet
There’s a scene in The Social Network where the honchos are discussing “the face book”. (That really narrows it down) Justin Timberlake (playing Sean Parker) makes the point that adding advertising to the site will make it uncool. Ads will ruin everything. But that’s not the point. He also says, and I’m paraphrasing here, that they don’t even know what it is...
Oct 7th
10 notes
5 tags
Oct 6th
5 tags
Oct 5th
9 notes
Terror on the new path
When you’re on a new path, every step you take is leading you into new territory. Each step into the unfamiliar can be jarring, even terrifying. Each footfall may cause your brain to vibrate with misgivings. It’s not like jumping out of an airplane. Once you have leapt into the sky blue, you can’t change your mind and go back. You’ll just have to continue, and pull your...
Oct 4th
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson (Extending the conversation from this post.)
Oct 3rd
Funny hat
Tomorrow morning, most people will start their work week the way they always do. A few will do something different. The fringe few will show up to work wearing a funny hat. Funny hats change everything.
Oct 2nd
Getting experimental
In college, I took a drawing course, Experimental Illustration. We used several mediums. We were presented with a variety of premises for the semester’s projects. But it was all very typical of an illustration class. It felt tame and predictable, not very experimental. We could have ventured into the messy arena of experimentation, where things blow up, mistakes are made, and the unexpected...
Oct 1st