illustration, graphic art, web design, paintings and music from Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon Graphic Designer

Terry's soap box

October 2007
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Monday, October 29th

The blog lives


Well, I've had a super fun summer. Such a fun summer that I haven't had time to update this once! Here's a highlight right now, my first bike tour!. Since that ride, and a trip to burning man, I moved to Portland with my "mate" (Kat!). Things are wonderful and we are having a blast exploring portland, blah, blah, blah...

I've been living off my freelance work since leaving Down to Earth, so this page is no longer available through my homepage (terrytoledo.com). I hope to keep ranting about the injustices and inspirations in the world, but I need to pay some bills, first!!

hehe


Chris on 10.29.07 @ 04:44 PM PST [link]




Friday, March 16th

50 pages inked!




My 5-year project creating a choose your own adventure graphic novel/comic book is coming along smoothly! The story will have 30 different endings, 13 of those endings will be an audio ending! I want to quit my job so I can work on this book full time... I'll have to settle for long nights, for now.

I have over 100 pages penciled
50 of them are now inked

I have 30 pages left to pencil
80 pages left to ink

4 of the 13 song/endings have been written
1 song has been recorded and is awaiting further mixing/mastering!!


Chris on 03.16.07 @ 03:36 PM PST [link]




Thursday, March 8th

Mr. March Madness


So it's March Madness time. Which means for the next few weeks men will be drinking beer, eating bar food and talking about basketball. Days in a row are spent in front of bar televisions. After the game they will order another round and watch the post-game talk show. Then the highlights on the news. Then a few more hours of reading their favorite teams' and players' stats in the newspaper. The amount of knowledge consumed and regurgitated is dumbfounding. I don't have anything against the madness, but I have a general idea how their girlfriends must feel. Abandoned and unappreciated.

Like a good advertising student, I immediately realize there may be a dollar to be made from this spectacle.

Imagine this, the Sports Widow Dating Service.

So, your boyfriend has been ignoring you for the past three weeks. He won't take you out to dinner, watch a movie or even go for a walk with you, because of "the game". Don't stay home, alone, another night! Just log onto sportswidowdatingservice.com and take the first step in changing "court shots" into "courtships". For one low monthly fee, a date of your choice will pick you up and treat you to the night you deserve. During each basketball game, our trained gentlemen will sweep you off your toes with their undivided attention to you! Keep your libido alive, 8 out of 10 women agree, it's good for your relationship in the long run. So sign up today!!


It's crazy enough to work. Oh wait, the game's back on-


Chris on 03.08.07 @ 05:34 PM PST [link]




Thursday, March 1st

Random Joke


Did you hear Willie Nelson was hit by a car?....




He was playing on the road again.

LOL


Chris on 03.01.07 @ 07:59 PM PST [link]




Thursday, February 15th

Snowboarding


Last weekend I hit the slopes for the first time in my life. I had heard from folks that your first time snowboarding is "tough" and "not much fun", so I was prepared to fall down. I was not prepared to fall down with so much force. It had rained on the mountian in the morning, so the snow was quite compact. Every time I fell, my hat would fly off from the impact and my teeth would crash together. By 2pm I had hit my head on snow so many times, I developed a splitting headace. It was worth the pain, however, and I continued to provide entertainment to the staff and customers of the Willamette pass. I only ran into one person and one tree, luckely I was not going very fast on both occassions. By 3:30, I had enough. I could hardly lift my legs and my arms were on fire from pushing myself up out of the snow all day long. It's been four days and I am still sore, but I can't wait to try it again!! Amazing moments await me, once I "find my edges". I hope to get back at least once more this season!! I may bring a helmet next time.


Chris on 02.15.07 @ 09:16 PM PST [link]




Wednesday, February 7th

Funny Bumperstickers


Dubya, Your Dad Shoulda Pulled Out Too

Cheney/Satan '08

Of Course It Hurts: You're Getting Screwed by an Elephant

America : One Nation, Under Surveillance

We Need a President Who is Fluent in at Least One Language.

LOL hehe razz


Chris on 02.07.07 @ 02:29 PM PST [link]




Wednesday, January 31st

A Republican I would vote for...


I would like to see a radical republican run for president. I might even vote for that person if they made these points clear.

Republican platform means less government. I can relate with this idea. Sure it would be great if all of us had health insurance and better schools. But the only choice, would be the government's choice, and I don't know if that is the best idea. The thing about freedom, real freedom, is the ability to change your mind when you want. If you find that the school is lacking in the programs that interest you, you move to another city that has a better program. If your health insurance won't recognize the HIV virus, you choose another provider. China has healthcare for everyone, but suppressed education and denied treatment for it citizens with AIDs for many years. They had no choice but the government health care system, and suffered. Would you only want to read government approved news? Choice is good, so I can understand the importance of less government in a free society.

I want a Republican to re-address drug use as a health issue, not a crime issue. Legalize and monitor drug use. As soon as a crack rock is legal, the price will fall, and the violent gangs competing for the most lucrative industry in America will have to get real jobs like the rest of us. People with drug problems will be treated in hospitals, not jails. Our taxes can be put to better use than putting everyone in prison. There are now 1.5 million people in prisons across the United States, 59.6% for drug offenses. Our country has more of it's population in jail than any other nation, is that a free society? Less government, more freedom.

Same goes with prostitution. Legalize it. Protect these women. Make sure our police keep them safe and make sure they are not contracting or spreading disease. Prostitution has been around longer than the Olympics, it's not going away any time soon.

Bring the war profiteers to justice. End the war, now. Our ALL-VOLLUNTEER military should not be used as leverage in investment opportunities. Our citizens did not join the armed forces to increase Halliburton's business contracts or protect our oil interests. These people truly want to protect us. I haven't seen one fucking Iraqi invading our country. Why are we at war? It's cost us almost 400 MILLION dollars. The Boston Globe estimates the war will reach the bill of 2 TRILLION dollars. This is less government?!?!?! These spineless, prick Republicans today don't know what conservative means. If some country wants to bring us down, come and get us. We'll kick your ass, and I will be right there on the frontline protecting my home. The political motivations to go to war on foreign soil is a disgrace to the people who make up our armed forces!

How about an environmental Republican? Stop clearcutting/managing our wildlife preserves. We set these areas aside to remind us of our roots, leave them be. Also, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why we are in need of healthcare so badly. The country is filled with more disease-producing, synthetic-pollution than ever before. Clean the air, the water and the soil. Once the land is returned to it's natural state, we won't need pharmaceuticals to keep us alive.

Schools are harder to tackle on the Republican platform. I definitely do not think privatization of public schools is a good idea. No Federal government, however, should run all the schools in the US. Schools should be operated by local governments. Plus, I think it's important for parents to be able to choose where their child goes to school. The poor schools will become weaker in this theory, but that seems natural to me. If the Federal government has any influence on education, I would hope it could offer those attending poorer schools with more scholarships and no-interest loans to state universities. It's important to allow the education sector room to explore new ideas, succeed or fail, and rebuild with history to reference. A major factor in the failure of inner-city schools has been overdevelopment of the suburbs (white-flight). Control the boundaries of our cities and our children will learn tolerance and diversity without the teacher's lectures.

The ideas of the Republican party are not all bad, otherwise, the party wouldn't have lasted this long. I hope my argument has been obvious that I believe freedom is based on opportunities and choices. Freedom is the ability to choose, not have your life's decisions made by a Federal think tank. As individuals we learn from our choices, our social institutions should follow this law of evolution.

It's just within my lifetime that the Republican party has been high jacked by vote-grabbing, stock-holding, tough-cowboys-in-the-spotlight but silver-spoon-sucking-spoiled-fratboys behind closed doors. These fear mongers will tell you anything to get your vote, then turn around and send your children off to fight for some freedom-saving, righteous war; when it really is only an aggressive resource-grab that will stuff the wallets of their campaign contributors or fulfill some hyped-up revenge for some racist/religious-motivated, violent act. Revenge is a leadership strategy for the simple-minded, self-conscience hypocrite.

Stick to domestic issues!

I'm calling foul on these psuedo-Republicans!


Chris on 01.31.07 @ 07:37 PM PST [link]




Thursday, January 25th

The shorties


Picture three urnels. The one on the far right is being used, so I used the one on the far left - which happens to be a short urnel. This guy using the urnel on the right feels the need to make a comment on how I needed to use a short urnel. He thinks he's funny, and expresses his delusional superiority over me. Because I used the shortie. What the fuck? Dude, just because I use the shortie doesn't mean I have a little pee-pee. And if I did have a lil' peter, why would that make me less of a man than you? Men are such dumb-asses. Next time some ass-monkey makes a comment on me using a shortie, I'm peeing on him.


Chris on 01.25.07 @ 02:46 PM PST [link]




Tuesday, January 23rd

CLONED FOOD


As 2006 came to a close the Food and Drug Administration approved cloned animal products as safe to consume. Stephen F. Sundlof, DVM, PhD, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, announced the FDA's findings at a press conference December 28, 2006. Following suit of the FDA's backwards labeling requirements, no labeling fees or requirements are suggested for foods made from cloned animals. Milk and hamburgers made with cloned DNA will sit side-by-side with natural and factory farmed foods. Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), introduced legislation this week that would require clear labeling of food products derived from cloned animals.

There are so many hot topics related with this headline, it's hard to begin wrapping one's mind around it. First, there are health issues. The first cloned animal lived just over half it's average lifespan. Dolly, the cloned sheep born in 1996 suffered from arthritis and lung disease usually seen in much older animals. This animal was put down after living only 6 years. If newborns are fragile and more susceptible to disease, how vulnerable are cloned animal cells? Cloning is still more natural than genetic engineering. Although the animal is conceived synthetically, it's DNA structure is identical to it's source. Genetic engineering, however, introduces new strains of DNA to the food chain. But that's a different rant.

Because cloning an animal is expensive at $20,000, the practice may be limited to breeders of elite animals. These animals do enter the food supply, but not frequently. Perhaps the most pressing issues I can introduce, have nothing to do with health risks. They have to do with "rights". Something a free society should be concered with. It is obvious that our laws do not grant animals equal rights as humans. They can be imprisoned, forced to do labor and killed legally. Practices that were inflicted on humans just over a hundred years ago. But now, on top of that, animals have lost the right to reproduce naturally. Which overlaps the conflict of a woman's right to choose. I have no idea what it is like to be a woman, but cloning would send me to the streets. Allowing men to reproduce an animal without it's consent while denying a woman the choice not to reproduce, sends off signs of oppression at the core of life itself.

The right to live, die and reproduce are liberties granted to all living things by the Creator (God). Our interpretation and adaptation of these liberties will be a major factor in shaping our future society. We need to talk about these issues from different perspectives and the hypocrisies that result from our policies or lack of thereof.
Chris on 01.23.07 @ 06:05 PM PST [link]




Wednesday, January 10th

The Future


In the future...

1) We will have to pay for clean air.
I don't like it, but that's what the republicans/corporations are steering this world towards. The bosses will continue to pollute the air just like they are polluting our water. In the next ten years, buying a pack of oxygen will be just as common as buying a bottle of water today. Don't like it? Hit the streets, people. Demand our goverment to protect our common resources.

2) Sensory surgery replaces cosmetic surgery.
People will continue to be vain and mold their bodies to look like super models, but the new surgeries will appeal to a broader market. Athletes will start new mutant leagues where participants are allowed to have eyes inserted into the back of their heads and shock absorbers in their ankles. Musicians will have small ears on their hands, cooks with smelling senses on their fingertips and artists with eyeballs who knows where... Shoot, I hope to live long enough to get some wings, too.

3) More monkees


Chris on 01.10.07 @ 08:13 PM PST [link]




Saturday, January 6th

Bike Tour!!


Today was my first day of bike shopping. I'm looking for a strong touring bicycle to take down the Pacific Coast this summer! It's very exciting to think about covering such a long distance entirely on my own energy. I hear that steel frame bikes are best, but they are hard to find and pretty expensive. I may be tromping down logging roads on my trip, so strong rims, spokes and wide tires with tread are also on my agenda. I wish I could bring my laptop but that may be too risky. It sure would be nice to be able to work on my freelance and make it a profitable vacation! Either way, I'm totally stoked for summer and hitting 101 on a beautiful bicycle!!
Chris on 01.06.07 @ 05:54 PM PST [link]




Friday, December 22nd

Chris's Command Center




The tuesday night jam sessions have warped towards electronic music, lately. Thanks to my new toy (the pro one keyboard on the left) and Ableton Live. The jam session from 12-19-06 has a nice sample of what wonderful sounds this keyboard can produce. I can tweak the hell out of a few notes for hours! Way too much fun.


Chris on 12.22.06 @ 01:00 PM PST [link]




Monday, December 11th

Comic Book




I've been pretty busy with my comic book. I did most of the pencil drawings last year, and began inking this past summer. So far, I've figured it takes me between 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours to ink a page. I now have over 22 pages inked! Only 110 to go!!!


Chris on 12.11.06 @ 03:13 PM PST [link]




Tuesday, November 21st

Biking in the rain


Rencently, I decided to wear my motorcycle helmet while biking in the rain. It keeps the rain out of my face, it's warm and much safer than a bike helmet! I don't own my motorcycle anymore and don't plan on purchasing another, so I might as well use my gear!

This weekend I biked up to the market, towing my bike cart through the rain. Hauling my groceries is a snap with my Burley bike cart. Once I got there, however, I realized I forgot my bike lock. The bike rack is in front of a Radio Shack, so I went in to buy a lock. They didn't have any locks, but the guy working offered to watch my bike while I shopped. I was pretty impressed. So when I got done grocery shopping, I bought him a big cookie.


Chris on 11.21.06 @ 08:02 PM PST [link]




Wednesday, November 8th

Elections


These words come to mind: optimism, peace, democracy, justice. It seems like the peity issues that have divided our country are not as important as saving human lives. Ending the occupation is the first step towards the truth. That greed has motivated our economy to the point of war. Our leaders have spread racist fear among the population in order to open a lucrid oil market. The motives are to obvious and hideous for even the most apathetic American to ignore. Oil is disapearing, it will get more expensive as it dries up. We need to accept this and move on. We need to take back our taxes from the "defense" industry, and give it to our universities and small businesses. We need to invest in renewable energy, and share these innovations with the world before our home becomes uninhabitable. It's as simple as that. We are all in this together and need to put our desires at bay, we have enough to be thankful for. I want people to value their families as much as their SUVs and Big Macs. I want people to be open to new lifestyles. I want creative solutions. There are solutions out there other than murder (people or animals). God's image is creation, it's image is in all of us. Manufacture local, buy biodegradable and think creatively. Oh, and vote, again and again and again....
Chris on 11.08.06 @ 10:35 PM PST [link]




illustration, graphic art, web design, paintings and music from Portland, Oregon