Rita Update: Fuzzy Fotos

Of course, as soon as I went outside to take a couple of pictures, the wind and rain picked up, so I had to snap these pretty quickly. Here's our house:


Please to note (through the unfocused photography) the expert application of cardboard boxes over the windows. Without a ready supply of plywood, this was the best we could do. In the event of an actual hurricane, how much good would the cardboard have done? Dunno, really; once the city gets back to "bidness," we'll get some proper plywood.

And here's the only real damage we can see around here:


The folks in this house were darned lucky the tree fell toward the street, not toward their house.

Comics Content: In honor of my fuzzy photo skillz, we are proud to present Get Fuzzy for your continued amusement.

Rita Update: Somewhat Moister for the Wear

Well, as of 9:25 this a.m., we've had a little rain and some amount of wind (as evidenced by the tree now growing horzontally across W. Cottage St), but no other immediate problems right around us. We know things are much wetter in other parts of the city, but so far, at least, we still have power, water, and Internet access.

The storm isn't over yet, and we still could be in for some rough weather (it's supposed to rain through next Thursday). If anything drastic or amazing happens, I'll be sure to post updates here.

Thanks to everyone who's contacted us and wished us well during the lead-up period to the hurricane - you are all wonderful friends.

Comics Content: Pat Paulsen, Flip Wilson, and Raymond J. Johnson, Jr., walk into a bar...

Rita Update: As Yet, No Drizzle (But Plenty of Thrizzle)

Well, the house has had its hatches battened (thanks, Alex!), and here we sit awaiting Whatever Comes Next. So far, so good: Rita's now downgraded to Category Three and seems to be headed for the Texas/Louisiana border - i.e., to the east of us, even further than we'd thought this morning. Yes, it still will be nasty, but not as nasty as it could have been. We sit here now, around 6:30PM, watching DVDs and beginning to cook dinner, waiting for the first signs of rain. So far, not even a drizzle.

Drizzle... drizzle... Thrizzle! I've been meaning to post a review of the funniest comic book I've read since Michael Kupperman's manic, inspired Snake 'n' Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret - this new book, not surprisingly, is also by Kupperman (aka "P.Reeves"): Tales Designed to Thrizzle. Besides starring such old favorites as Snake 'n' Bacon ("Ssssss" "Wipe me with a paper towel to remove excess grease") and the Manister (who "has a most unusual power: the ability to assume the shape of a bannister"), it also boasts a page-and-a-half discussion of Shakespeare (where else will you learn the secret of "Shakespeare's Gold"?); Jesus' half-brother, Pagus ("Ha ha ha ha ha ha! All for me! All for Pagus!"); "Uncle Billy's Drunken, Bitter Guide to the Animal Kingdom" (self-explanatory); and so, so much more.

Fortunately, in a nod to our ever-increasingly "What about the children?" culture, the book also divides its contents into an Adult Section, a Kid's Section, and an Old People's Section. Of course, the kiddies need to jump to page 11 to avoid soiling their psyches - and unfortunately, the pages aren't numbered. ("All [kiddies] for Pagus!")

The art features a slick "woodcut-cum-clipart" style, and I'd love to highlight a bit more of it here. But seeing as how my scanner is now unplugged and waterproofed, I'll just direct you to this site, featuring some older examples of MK's art. Go ahead, click: you know you can't resist the thrill of experiencing "Funky Obsessed Detective Robot" and "Underpants-on-His-Head Man." Also, don't miss the always-essential Tom Spurgeon's review of Thrizzle and this interview excerpt from The Comics Journal.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program, "Waiting for Rita," already in progress...

Rita Update: Keep Off the Dirty Side...

Here in Houston, it's currently sunny and only 79 degrees - an oddity here, especially this week, where we set record high temps (around 100 F) the past couple of days. These relatively "pleasant" conditions won't last much longer, of course, although they could linger a bit longer today than we had first thought. Hurricane Rita has slowed a bit, and it's also moved a bit further north/east, towards the Texas/Louisiana border. (Like Louisiana hasn't suffered enough lately...)

I'd never before heard of - or at least paid attention to - the idea that hurricanes have a "clean side" (east) and a "dirty side" (west). The fact that the hurricane is tracking east appears to be good news for Houston and Galveston (though bad news for those areas further up the coast). We'll still have lots o' rain and hurricane-force winds, but the idea right now is that we might get by with a bit less intensity than we'd thought even yesterday. Again, more as we know it...

Comics Content: Seeing as how our newspaper wasn't delivered today (not that I'm terribly surprised or upset), here's a link to the Houston Chronicle's comics section (nearly four pages' worth - quite a lot, really).

Rita Update: Everyone Knows it's Windy...

...or at least it will be, soon enough, as Hurricane Rita rumbles ever-closer. We're going to weather the storm (har har) here at home, in Casa Wombato, located in one of the highest-elevated sections of Houston. (I think it's a matter of being only a foot or so higher than the rest of the city, but that's something...)

I'll try to post an update or two here (as will Kate) later on Friday and on Saturday, to let folks know how we're faring.

Oh, wait - I almost forgot some obligatory comics content.

Whew! I feel much better now!