The Squirrel Mask

“I once had a dream where I was a squirrel. Ever since I have taken notice of this industrious creature. The more I learn about them the more I am impressed. In this painting I have a green background instead of the black starscape used in the Bear Mask and Wolf Mask painting. I wanted to see if a different color could suggest the other-worldly aspect of the spirit behind the animal. I think it did not, so I went back to the deep ultramarine blue background. I do really like the flow and lines in this painting though.”
-Jason Arcand

The Wolf Mask

“The wolf is one of the most marvelous creatures on this planet. In sixth grade I read an article on the wolves of Isle Royale. I then managed to convince my family to take the summer vacation to Isle Royale. I have been thinking of the wolf ever since.” -Jason Arcand

The Bear Mask

“This painting is oil on stretched canvas. The oil paint was applied thickly to create the grooved brush textured effect. The mask is an abstraction of a cave bear skull. As for the bear, I have always felt a kinship with the ursine. Maybe it is from being tall, wide shouldered, and cursed with a near constant five o’clock shadow. ” -Jason Arcand

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things by Ted Naifeh

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things by Ted Naifeh
Published by Oni Press

Momence Junior High had two places for students to wait before school began. You could wait in the gym or in the library. The gym was divided with fifth and sixth graders on one side and seventh and eight graders on the other. The library was for if you had homework to do. I don't know why, but I found the gym overwhelming. It was fine at first, but as school progressed the mass of people and noise began to unnerve me. My heart would race and I'd become uncertain. My anxiety grew as my social difficulties grew with my peers. Like many a nerd before me I retreated to the library.
The library turned out to be pretty cool. Since I was in their everyday, I grew to know the librarian. Mrs. White was the nicest person I ever encountered during my years of education. She treated me with a kindness that still softens my heart. I even got a job in the library. Simple stuff really. Deliver film projectors and televisions from the store room to the proper classroom. I loved that job. Felt like I could do something right.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

C'mon and bring the Illinoise by Stufjan Stevens

C'mon and bring the Illinoise by Stufjan Stevens
Growing up I clung to an idea. "Since I was not born in my hometown, I am not limited by it." It seems silly now, but it was very important to me at the time. Momence was not an inspiring place growing up. One of my elementary field trips was to the hog processing plant. Yes...a hog plant. I felt out of place. The down slump the town was going through seemed to drag everyone with it. The town was dying, or so it seemed to my over dramatic youthful self.
Older and wiser, I now see being born in Kankakee county does not curse one to be small town. My mantra was a way of dealing with the pain from an awkward adolescence. I was teased by my class mates. I did not fit in. It hurt. Hurt a lot. Focusing on my outsider birth place allowed me to deal with being an outsider at my school.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Meet The Robinsons

Meet The Robinsons
Watched at the AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville, IL on 4-14-07

A story is like a landscape. We wind our way through peaks and valleys and stop in the locales along the way. We try to enjoy the trip for its own sake but we don't. Unconsciously the viewer compares and contrasts where he or she is with where they have been.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Redline

Redline
Watched at the AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville, IL on 4-14-07

Surprise is no longer a friend. Hasn't written me in a long while.

Beware the advertising. It cares not that someone comes to see the movie. It cares only that it is aired. It only cares that it is talked about. Spawning and spawning inside you till it overflows the tidal pool of your mind. Out it spills in words said to another. Talk about me, it says. Listen to me, it says. Fuck the movie, it says. I'll tell you every secret of the movie. Who, what, when, where, why, and how.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Grindhouse

Grindhouse
Watched at the AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville IL on 4-14-07

I count myself very lucky. Coming of age when I did, I encountered much discussion on storytelling. It was the vogue of the time. I did not listen to artists discussing if a particular story was good. No, I heard artists discussing the art of storytelling. The making. The working. Each artist had their own take on the matter but it all boiled down to same thing. The true artist explores his own personal mythology. You find the hidden archetypes within the stories you love. For in those things you respond to, good or bad, are indicative of elements in your own psyche. Storytelling is not about writing the coolest dialogue or the most balls to the walls fist fight. You need those archetypes. They are the power behind a story. You pare the stories you love to the archetypical elements. The seeds of the story. You plant the seeds in the soil made from the detritus of your life. To do otherwise is failure.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

The Rabbit: Chapter 1, Page 3 by Jason Arcand

I just finished the latest page of the Rabbit. Having summonned a guide to the Flying Broom, Biff and Rockey prepare for their next move.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Handcream For A New Generation by Cornershop

Handcream For A New Generation by Cornershop

There is no past. There is no future. There is only the present. What happened yesterday is occuring at the same time as what is happening now as what will happen tommorrow. Time is not a direction but a blanket upon which the world is spread. An idea I encountered more than once in my travels through esoterica, philosophy, and scientific theory. Truth be told, it was a tough nut to swallow.
The biggest problem for me when it comes to new ideas is how to visulize them. New ideas need to be rendered into a pattern I can work with. So how do you cognize that past and present are merely an illusion. If I am seeing time wrong how do I see it right? Maybe it is all like an album. Fourty to sixty minutes of music exist in one solid state CD. When we open the CD case we exist outside the album's timeline. We are hyperdimensional onlookers as far as the music is concerned. Do the songs know they are on a CD. No, they only know to play from start to finish. They are bound to a timeline. When we play the album we leave our vantage point and enter the CD's timeline. We are now bound by the constraints of the songs: start, middle, finish. As songs play a past develops. As long as more songs are left to play a future exists.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Mandala-pattern 16 by Jason Arcand

Here is my latest Mandala-pattern painting. It feels to me like a card from the god's poker game. What do you see?
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Number 23

Number 23
Watched at the Silver Savers in Joliet, IL on 4-10-07

Distracted by the bright light from the teenage girl checking her text messages in front of me, I began to wonder. Does she even realize what she is doing. How is it senses which allow us to see and hear to the horizon one minute are so shortsighted the next. Is awareness of self the sixth sense? I don't know. All I know is that cell phone had the brightest screen I have ever seen.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys by Chris Fuhrman

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys by Chris Fuhrman

I reached the end of the book and cried. Tears flowed in response to the tragedy at the story's resolution. I cared for those little rapscallions. Tears flowed because the author is dead. Chris Fuhrman was only able to gift the world with one book before passing.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

The Rabbit: Chapter 1, Page 2

Here is the latest page of the Rabbit. Hope you enjoy.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Fables: Wolves by Mark Williamham, Mark Buckingham, Shawn McManus...

Fables: Wolves by Mark Williamham, Mark Buckingham, Shawn McManus, Steve Leialoha, Andrew Pepoy, Lee Loughridge, Daniel Vozzo, Todd Klein, and James Jean.
Published by Vertigo.

I had the funniest idea as a child. I would read a lot of books on mythology. Most of them were giant omnibuses containing myths from around the world. One section of the ancient Greek myths, another on the Roman, another yet on the Chinese...etc. As I would read each book an idea would float through the back of my mind. All these myths are in printed in the same book. Printed on pages that touch each other. I kept imagining that since all the myths were bound onto pages in a book, they could interact. If Apollo flew far enough across the sky in his chariot he would encounter Thor thunderin across the skies in his chariot. Odesseus sailed past Tir Na Og on his voyages. There were extra invisible pages to a book where the differnt characters interact. A hidden dimension we never see. We can catch a glimpse with our imaginations. Maybe a view if we are lucky.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Mandalla-patter 15 by Jason Arcand

Here is my latest Mandala-patter painting. Take a look and tell me what you see.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Pyongyang by Guy Delisle

Pyongyang by Guy Delisle. Published by Drawn and Quarterly
Publish
How much plot does a story need. Obviously, a story does not need any plot to exist. A writer or artist could just type some words onto a page and claim it is some kind of da-da experiment. It is a story, albeit an unreadable story. So how much plot does a story need to thrive. Pyongyang reqired only the simplest of plots. An animator goes to North Korea to supervise some animation. Book opens with the animator flying into North Korea. It ends with him leaving. Yet most of the book is not even concerned with the animation. Guy Delisle fills the book with details about North Korea. Plot acts as the skeleton for the true flesh of the story. The details form muscle, skin, and the sexy curves of the story. I began to read and soon find myself dancing with the story. I was slow dancing before I even realized it.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

Doctor Illuminatus by Martin Booth

Doctor Illuminatus by Martin Booth

I found the book too easy to read but I read it anyway. I read it for the part of me that still is a fifth-grader. Sometimes you have to read for who you want to be. Othertimes you have to read for who you used to be.
-Jason Arcand
www.littleenandbigen.com

The Rabbit: Chapter 1, Page 1

The Rabbit: Chapter 1, Page 1
by Jason Arcand

The Mandala-pattern 14 by Jason Arcand

The Peacefull Warrior

The Peacefull Warrior.
Viewed at the Kerasotes Theatres in New Lenox, IL on 3-31-07.

My ill-prepared honey mustard chicken mushroom sandwich lunch started to rebell. I rushed to the bathrooms. After taking my choice of urine covered toilets, my bowels emptied. I had to wipe off my toilet seat twice to remove all the urine. I was in the bathroom over half an hour. I missed a good chunk of the movie. Normally I would be in a bad mood. Yet, I was not. It is amazing how a movie can effect your thinking for the better. I felt relaxed. I sat in the bathroom and enjoyed the experience. I was not thinking about what I was missing, but what was going on around me. I listened to the happy patrons talking as the walked past. I heard the movie previews in a new way. I felt at peace. Well, as much as one can in that situation.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Blades of Glory

Blades of Glory, viewed 3-30-07 at Paramount Theatre in Kankakee, IL

Why was I alone in not laughing during this movie. One line from Will Farrell made me smile but I could not remember it when talking to my wife afterwards.
"Must not of been that funny," she responds.
I have to agree. It really bothered me to be the only frowning person in this movie. Did I not enjoy it because I was in a bad mood? No. I was going on three hours of sleep and one giant shouting match with my boss when I saw Princess Mononoke. I loved that movie. I felt healed. Maybe I didn't enjoy the movie because it was in my hometown. I do hate my hometown. But I saw Blade, Nightmare Before Christmas, Y Tu Mama Tambien and countless other movies I loved at the very same theatre. It is even one of those cool renovated art-deco theaters. No the movie was just not funny.
I once read an article by a noted film critic discussing Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. He explained the movie was funny and great because it followed the basic premise of an already good movie. Young Frankenstein explores all the same issues as Frankenstein. It just used humor instead of horror. There was a love of the source material. Unfortunately I found no love in Blades of Glory. The movie was mean spirited. I can not respect that. How is having a man skate as a peacock a loving nod to figure skating. The dance music was horrible. Freaking hair metal. Almost as bad as the GreatfullDead. I am going to stop here because I seek not to spew anymore venom. Suffice to say, after seeing Will Farrell in Stranger than Fiction I will not tolerate any thing less.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Zombie Slumber Party!

I just posted the Zombie Slumber Party boardgame to www.littleenandbigen.com. It can be downloaded as a pdf file from the ZSP page.
ZSP is a game that answers the question of what would happen when a teen sex comedy crashes headfirst into a zombie horror movie. Be warned is does come with an R rating for sexuality, violence, and language.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Jason's Studio Space

Calamity John's Art Supplies meme has inspired me to post pictures of my section of the Little'en and Big'en studios.

Picture 1: Jason's Drawing table. It is a solid wood table given to Suzanne and I by my friends when we got married. I love how solid and heavy it is. On the drawing table, left to right, are: 30" T-square, 2 cork-24" SAE/metric metal rulers, pencil sharpener, 6 Micron pens ranging from 8 to 005, 6H pencil, 2H pencil, gum eraser, a 12" cork-backed SAE/metric metal ruler, a bottle of black ink, glass full of Sharpie markers and pencils, an antique quilpen holder now holding an exacto-knife, painter's masking tape, a 22" x 26" artist's board, sheets of 8.5" x 11" copy paper to scribble on and use as smudge preventers, a 15" x 20" 24-ply hotpress illustration board which will become page 5 of the 1st chapter of the Rabbit, wax paper, a cook's timer, a brush holder and brushes, a water jar for when I watercolor, the towel used when I watercolor, my watercolor pallette, and a pencil holder bag.
Picture 2: Jason's computer desk. The desk I purchased from an office supply store. It is on wheels, which allows me to roll it out of the way to get at the piles of books that could not fit onto our bookshelves. The desk contains on the top shelf, from left to right: A Serta Sheep stuffed animal my Grandmother gave me, a skull of a Nobody I made out of pipe-cleaners, a Cannon CanoScan Lide 70 scanner. On the main shelf, from left to right: A jar of pens and pencils, the glass pitcher I drink water from, my headphones, a 19" CRT monitor, my mouse, paperwork with dimensions and x,y coordinates for Mandala-pattern 14, loose change, my fitness profile from the JJC college, my journal/sketchpad, a HP Color Laserjet 2600n with teddy bear and notes, the Color Index by Jim Krause. My computer is a MAC G4 running OS X.
Picture 3: What my work area looks like. You can see The Rabbit Mask hanging over my drawing desk. There are additional paintings allong the walls. Also a model I made of the Flying Broom hangs on the wall.
Picture 4: A green steamer trunk I use to hold my artwork. At least the artwork that will fit in it. On top are inked pages from the Rabbit and pages yet to be inked.
Picture 5: A full view of the steamer trunk and the wall it rests against. It is placed under our bookshelves. Next to the steamer trunk is my altar. Under the plant is my Peanut's metal lunchbox I found when my parent's moved. In the left corner you can see an easel containing the last of Suzanne's Seasons series. It is turning out beautiful.
Picture 6: Lastly, here is a close-up of the model's I built for Biff and Rockey. There is also a T-rex I made from Legos.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

The Last Mimzy (version B)

The Last Mimzy. Viewed on 3-26-09 at Karesotes Showplace 14 in New Lenox, IL
I have been lost within myself as of late. I disliked the superhero stories I encountered yet was still drawn to the genre. Heroes, Ben 10, and Invincible I love. The output of Marvel comics and DC comics leaves me sick. I look at the stories and feel nothing. That magical spark is missing. So why do I continue to look. Am I secretly hoping I will find a superhero story that entertains. Maybe I desire to find my childhood innocence again.
The problem with that idea I realized is that I did not read superhero comics as a child. In fact I did not read any comics until I was thirteen. I read books. Myth and children's literature. Just So Stories. Captain Courageous, Bloodclot Boy, Coyote, King Arthur, Narnia, the Phantom Tollbooth, and the Dark is Rising series. Those last two are the only books I have read more than once in my life. The Dark is Rising is one of my all time favorite series. Every book in the series I devoured. I could see every detail with clarity. For me, in sixth grade, those stories were real. Or so I wished they were. I wished some one would come along and tell me I am special, just like Will. To go from a plain ten year old to having special magical powers was very seductive to me. Why? The idea appealed to me because of my own feelings of powerless at that time. I did not get along with my peers. I was arguing with my parents. I was depressed and did not know how to get out. Yet if I was Will, I could use my magical powers to change things. Or maybe my junior high troubles would not seem so bad in comparison to facing down agents of evil and chaos. I must admit, not only to you but myself, that the idea of being the hero appealed to me. As one aspect of my depression I viewed myself as an evil person. My father telling me how selfish I was for getting christmas presents when there were starving children in the world contributed to this delusion I am sure. If I was Will, then I wouldn't be evil because I would be the hero. The hero only does good.
I've come to realize, after watching the Last Mimzy, is I never really loved superhero comics. I only liked them because they shared similar themes as the books I loved as a child. A person is able to take on another identity. A person learns special abilities or discovers special devices allowing them to do what they could not do before. A person discovers a secret world he or she did not know existed. Lastly, and most importantly, a person discovers peace of mind by book's end.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

The Last Mimzy (version A)

The Last Mimzy. Viewed on 3-26-09 at Karesotes Showplace 14 in New Lenox, IL

There is something about a movie that taps into the rich mythological heritage of humanity that I really respond to. The movie need not be about actual myths, like Clash of the Titans, but needs to use the symbolism in it's own fashion.

"There's a fundamental image in the old babylonian mythology of the god Marduk, the great sun god, the shaper and creator of the world. What does he create the world out of? His grandmother, Tiamat, who comes as a monster and he carves her up." Quoted from A Joseph Campbell Companion, page 34.

The future is saved from the tears of a little girl. A little girl feeling all cut up and torn by grief because her friend Mimzy is dying.

"That's the way the animus is: It is a projection of something the female could do but allows the male to do for her. Though not half so vital a presence, he is a machine with a body that's specialized, so he can do these things..." Quoted from A Joseph Campbell Companion, page 35.

The little girl needs her brother to help send Mimzy home and save the future. He is "the Engineer", creator of the generator for the time machine. He is able to see the lines of force moving through out the world. He, at her request, speaks to the insects to have them help hide their escape from the research lab.

Oh and how it continues. Oh and how I loved it.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Superman: Infinite City by Mike Kennedy, Carlos Meglia, and Rob Leigh

Superman: Infinite City by Mike Kennedy, Carlos Meglia, and Rob Leigh. Published by DC Comics
Is not every story a story of an alternate reality. Each person imagines a story differently than someone else reading it. The Harry Potter I image when I read any of his books is different than the Harry Potter you imagine. Are not each of us creating alternate realities when we read stories.
Imagine for a minute the beauty of this. Every person has an entire universe of realities, created from the stories they have read and seen, flowing out of them. Would I not bear witness to a river of stars pouring out of everyone could only I see.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Three signs of a bad movie

Signs a movie will be bad.
1. It is released in January.
2. The trailer is always the same.
3. It is a special effects movie not released in the summer.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Spider-man 3 trailer

Spider-man 3 trailer, viewed before 300 at the Kerasoted Showplace 14, in New Lenox, IL.

I was really looking forward to the new Spider-man movie. Then I saw this trailer. Damn. In the trailer we see Spider-man fight Sandman, the Green Goblin's son, and Venom. How long is this movie!
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

300

300, viewed 3-22-07 at the Kerasotes Showplace 14 in New Lenox, IL.

I could not tell you if I liked 300. While Suzanne and I watched the end credits roll across the screen I tried to discern my opinion. The movie managed to thrust the two-dimensional world of a comic into the three dimensions of cinema. The film captures all of Frank Miller's images. All color, shots, and time flow altered by computer to create a constant feel. Special effects to create the subtle and the grandiose. So here is my problem. If everything is altered and tweaked, how do I withstand the deluge of images.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Mandala-pattern 13 by Jason Arcand

I just finished Mandala-pattern 13. I am not sure what it reminds me of for I keep getting lost in the pattern

You can find it, and the others in the series, in the Mandala-pattern section of www.littleenandbigen.com.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Tales From Turnpike House by Saint Etienne

Tales From Turnpike House by Saint Etienne

"Everyone should have a reason to believe, so I believe that lightning could strike twice for me."
from the song Lightning Strikes Twice

I grew up with a bipolar father. I also spent three years working in a Treatment Center for juvenile sex offenders. I learned much from watching their struggles. No where have I heard what I learned been put so poetically. What I think is my choice. Bad thoughts only last till I think of some thing else. My life is the result of what I think most.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Ultimate Civil War: Spider-ham One shot by J. Michael Straczynski, Mike Wieringo, Maike Manley...

Ultimate Civil War: Spider-ham One shot by J. Michael Straczynski, Mike Wieringo, Maike Manley, Nick Dragotta, John Severin, Skottie Young, Jim Mahfood, Ariel Olivetti, Clayton Crain, Laurence Campbell, Chris Giarusso, Todd Nauck, Robert Campanella, Sean Phillips, June Chung, and Randy Gentile. Published by Marvel Comics

In the 80's, Marvel published a comic called Peter Porker: the Spectacular Spider-ham. A parody of Spider-man recasting the characters as anthropomorphic animals. I loved that comic. Not because it was clever. Not because it had great story telling. No, I loved it because the characters were drawn with such strong shape. It resonated with something deep and hidden. I see now my artistic aesthetics are not just a result of my experiences. They are the result of my experiences interacting with what is already in me.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #1 by Joss Whedon, George Jeanty...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #1 by Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty, Andy Owens, Dave Stewart, and Richard Starkings. Published by Dark Horse Comics.

I stared at the comic on the shelf lost in thought. Do I buy the individual issues or wait for the collected trade paperback. Do I even want to support artists and corporations that will not write a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Is it even worth buying individual issues anymore?
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Invincible #39 by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley

Invincible #39 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Bill Crabtree, and Russ Wooton and published by Image comics.

No matter what I may tell myself, I know secretly I read Invincible because it takes me back to when I used to play the Marvel Superheroes game from TSR. I was new to collecting comics and it was all a joy. It was exciting to grab the Marvel Handbooks and read about all these heroes and villains. A whole universe spread out before me.
The series also reminds me of how I read reading DC's Secret Origin "number whatever" that showed the secret origins of Dr. Light and the Substitute Legion of Heroes. The Legion of Substitute Heroes! A group of heroes who banded together because they were too lame to join the actual superhero group the Legion of Super-heroes. Chlorophyl Kid could make plants grow slower or faster after falling asleep in a vat of plant fertilizer he thought was a hot tub. Stone Boy could turn into an immovable stone statue. Night Lass has super-strength, but only at night. Fire Lad can breathe fire but has allergies that cause him to sneeze flames. And lastly, their leader Polar Lad, who can withstand cold temperatures without a coat. Being labeled a "nerd" and a "weirdo" by my classmates, I could identify with these losers.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Disc Replay

I will not shop at Disc Replay. Not because it is a dice roll of what music store snob stereotype I will encounter behind the register, but because of bad memories. For those of you that do not know, Disc Replay is a chain of used CD, movie, and video game store located around the suburbs of Chicago. They pay cash for everything they buy. This is where I come in. A couple years back I needed some rent money. So I sold off my CD collection. Over a hundred CDs. It was very difficult for me. It used to be the most difficult thing I ever had to do, then I got married and found out what difficult was. Now I get a bad taste in my mouth when I go there. An emotional aftertaste.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Mandalla-pattern 12 by Jason Arcand

I just finished Mandala-pattern 12. It reminds me of a star being born. What do you see?

You can find it, and the others in the series, in the Mandala-pattern section of www.littleenandbigen.com.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Tepid Pepermint Wonderland by the Brian Jonestown Massacre

Tepid Pepermint Wonderland by the Brian Jonestown Massacre
I was never into the Brian Jonestown MAssacre. The Dandy Warhols always nailed psychodelia more to my liking. I recently heard this CD again, and it was like I heard it for the first time. I immediately added it to my music library. This not the first time I have experienced hearing an album again for the first time. I believe an album speaks differently to us at different times in our live.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
I was disapointed. Not because the album was bad, but because it was not great. Black Mirror is a great song, but none of the following songs match its lead. The album felt slower and more morose as it progressed. Still, I am glad I purchased it.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

The Last Unicorn on DVD

The Last Unicorn on DVD
There is a scene in this movie where a giant bull, covered in flames, chases a unicorn. I had a sudden flash as I recalled a half-remembered image. This movie was were the fiery bull came from in my mind. The image I associate with the old D&D gorgon. I wonder how many other images from my childhood are silently influencing me? Where does the spring flow.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Swamp Thing: Spontaneous Generation by Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcala

Swamp Thing: Spontaneous Generation by Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcala, published by Vertigo.
The writer is like a sculptor. He or she is given a large marble block at birth. The soul knows what shape resides inside and has us slowly chisel away at the marble with each story written.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Paul Has A Summer Job by Michel Rabagliati

Paul Has A Summer Job by Michel Rabagliati, and published by Drawn and Quarterly.
The greatest aspect of working in a therapeutic enviroment is not in healing others but in healing others and healing yourself. As you ask your charges to face their shortcomings, you must do the same.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Batman and the Monstermen: Dark Moon Rising by Matt Wagner, Dave Stewart, and Rob Leigh

Batman and the Monstermen: Dark Moon Rising by Matt Wagner, Dave Stewart, and Rob Leigh, published by DC Comics.
I would rather read any of Matt Wagner's Mage series.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan, Nike Henrichon, and Tod Klein

Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan, Nike Henrichon, and Tod Klein, Published by Vertigo.
When I read a book, I feel afloat in another world. Yet how much this "journey" effects me is not determined by the number of pages in a book. My Calculus textbook was over a thousand pages, yet I did not feel like I had come back from a grand adventure when I finished it. Nor is resonance determined by the events in a story. If plot and character were enough then only one book would of ever been written. What takes me to another place is the resonance of an artistic work. What is the complexity of a story's symbols. Do these symbols react with the symbols embedded in my personal mythology. Have the memes reached such a density they form landscapes and more complex memes.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Mandala-pattern 11 by Jason Arcand

I finished a new Mandala-pattern. Number 11 in the series. It, and the others in the series, can be found on the Mandala-patterns section of www.littleenandbigen.com.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

The Astronaut Farmer

The Astronaut Farmer, seen 3-5-07 at the Cinemark 6 in Stephenville, TX
My school would have us gather in the common rooms or cafeterias and watch the shuttle launches. Then the Challenger exploded. Our shuttle watching days were over. My teachers, my schoolmates, my nation cast their eyes from the stars above to the mud below. It was wrong.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

The Scar by China Mieville

The Scar by China Mieville, Published by Del Rey Books
Silas Fennis, the publisher of dissenting pamphlets, hides on a ship called the Wordhoard. One of the many clever details in a book on language disguised as a steam-punk fantasy novel.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Amazing Caves

Amazing Caves, seen 3-2-07 at the Omnimax Theatre of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.
Standing in line I hear a little brother yell at his older brother, "You punched me in my private." And yes he did say private, not privates. I turn to look and am reduced to a trance from the strobes on the little brother's shoes. He is kicking his brother so quickly the shoe's pulses appear like a strobe light. It was beautiful. Just like when the windshield exploded into my face with each shard of glass catching the light differently. A million stars before me.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Dinosaurs and Dino-bots

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, visited on 3-3-07
Standing in front of a mural depicting the earth's timeline I turn to Suzanne and say, "I now know when the dinosaurs evolved, so when did the dino-bots evolve?"
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Reno 911: Miami

Reno 911: Miami, seen 3-2-07 at the Cinemark 6 in Stephenville, TX
My criteria for a good comedy has changed since I was a child. As a child, a movie is a good comedy if I laughed. As an adult it is a good comedy if I still laughed after seeing the funniest bits in the trailers.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Santa Fe Taco Company and Taco Casa

Santa Fe Taco Company and Taco Casa in Stephenville, TX.
" The cashier was neither malevolent nor retarded, but merely indifferent and incompetent," said I to Suzanne. She was angry over the Taco Casa worker filling our cups full of ice.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider, seen 2-24-07 at the Paramount Theatre in Kankakaee, IL
Exiting the movie, with nothing to discuss, I spy my must see movie of 2007. Firehouse Dog. Dave, Suzanne, and I spent the rest of the night discussing how the image in the dog's sunglasses does not match the room he, or she, is in.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Maniac Killer Strikes Again by Richard Sala

Maniac Killer Strikes Again by Richard Sala, published by Fantagraphic Books
If I could break free of the narrative of a story where could I go? Could I go down the back alleys I glimpse as the plot moves forever forward. If I walked far enough would I end up in another movie. Could I travel from one movie to another not only by moving my eyes from one shelf to another in the video store but also by wandering the back alleys. The overlooked roads.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com

Rejection

"Sorry, but we use different types of art in our magazines."
The reason an Editor gave on why he could not use my artwork in his magazine. I laughed.
-Jason

Green Lantern Corps Recharge by Geoff Johns, Dave Gibbons, Patrick Gleason...

Green Lantern Corps Recharge by Geoff Johns, Dave Gibbons, Patrick Gleason, Prentic Rollins, Christian Alamy, Phil Balsman, Pat Brosseau, Travis Lanham, and Moose Bauman, published by DC Comics
I secretly love the Green Lanterns, but dislike the comics. A Green Lantern comic should take place in space, have lots of aliens, and no supervillians. Just have them stop space pirates or re-ignite a sun. And maybe a cameo by G'nort.
-Jason

Creature Tech by Doug TenNapel

Creature Tech by Doug TenNapel, published by Top Shelf Productions
Doug TenNapel created the video game Earthworm Jim. I loved that game. Except that damn level where you have to pilot Jim in the tiny sub! I never made it past that level.
-Jason

Astro City: The Dark Age, Book 2 #2

Astro City: The Dark Age, Book 2 #2 by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Alex Ross, Alex Sinclair, and John Roshell

Having discovered his parents killer, the petty criminal will become the hero.
-Jason

New Tales of Old Palomar #1

New Tales of Old Palomar #1 by Gilbert Hernandez, published by Fantagraphics Books and Coconino Press

The Palomar stories always have ancient statues in the background. The statues lurk in the background just as the secret lives of the citizens.
-Jason

Shazam!, the Monster Society of Evil #1

Shazam!, the Monster Society of Evil #1 by Jeff Smith, published by DC comics.

I love Alligator-men. Don't know why.
-Jason

Babel #1

Babel #1 by David B, published by Drawn and Quarterly

The best cartoonist alive today in my opinion. A thoughtfull examination of how childhood dreams and childhood events interact.

The Official Handbook of the Invincible Universe

The Official Handbook of the Invincible Universe by Various, published by Image comics

Smart atoms. Nearly everybody's powers come from smart atoms. It's like mutants in the old Marvel Handbooks. Still cooler than the Who's Who of the DC universe. Except the Legion of Substitute Heroes. They are the coolest.
-Jason

The Departed

The Departed watched 2-16-2007 at Silver Saver Cinema in Joliet, IL.

Suzanne leaves the bathroom and says to me," I flushed my ticket down the toilet!"

Unaccompanied Minors

Unaccompanied Minors watched 2-6-2007 at Silver Savers Cinema in Joliet, IL.

An act of kindness reawakes the heart and turns an enemy into an ally.

Borat

Borat watched 2-6-2007 at Sliver Saver Cinemas in Joliet, IL.

When does comedy become tradgedy? When does tradgedy become comedy?

Clyde Fans; Book One by Seth

Clyde Fans; Book One by Seth. Published by Drawn and Quarterly.
I like that Seth has the old man talking to an imaginary audience in the first part, while the young man in the second part feels scrutinized by an imaginary audience. The copious dialogue in the first part contrasts with the sparse dialogue in the second part. This dichotomy establishes the brother's feelings of isolation in the second part. There also is a theme that a true salesman never turns off. He is always on, always making a pitch.
-Jason Arcand

Book purchases 2-13-2007

1. Astro City: The Dark Age, Book 2 #2 by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Alex Ross, Alex Sinclair, and John Roshell
2. Babel #1 and #2 by David B
3. Bleach Volumes #1, #2, and #3 by Tite Kubo
4. The Middleman: The Tradepaperback Imperative by Juavier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine
5. New Tales of Palomar #1 by Gilbert Hernandez
6. The Official Handbook of the Invincible Universe #1 and #2 by various.
7. Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil #1 by Jeff Smith

Alas no Peter Porker.

Art purchases 2-13-2007

3 sheets of Strathmore 500 series, 300 lb cold press, 22" x 30" watercolor paper.

New updates for 2-13-2007

I updated the front page. A new gallery, called Examples, offers an overview of our artwork. I also posted a new painting, Mandala-pattern 10, to the Mandala-pattern gallery. It was inspired by a dream I had of a dodecagon with six hexagon pairs radiating out of it. I am always surprised by the source of material my dreams provide. The Rabbit is on hiatus till I obtain a new scanner. The strips were coming out at a lesser quality than I can accept. Too out-of-focus looking.

New Updates for 2-7-07

I posted "The Rabbit: 1-1-3" to the Rabbit page at www.littleenandbigen.com.
In other news, yesterday was Suzanne's birthday. We celebrated by going out to dinner and seeing "Unaccompanied Minors" and "Borat" in the theatres.

New updates for 2-2-2007

The www.littleenandbigen.com redesign is finished and posted. Enjoy. I also added The Rabbit: Act one, Scene one, Strip two to the Rabbit section.
-Jason