Hey folks. A million things are happening. For sure this is a constant, but when there is a shift from drifting to enacting you start to get a sense of your own power as a human & pick up the pace (alternately: pick up the Old El Paso). If I were a musical act, this would be when I start touring small clubs across the state in a beat up old van. But I am not a musical act, I am a poorly socialized moody introvert artist who sends out dense missives on his overheating old computer. Check out the stuff I’m doing before I sell out/die!!

This recounting of stuff that’s been happening is in no way comprehensive, but I’ve been getting the nagging feeling I need to write. Sometimes with this urge there is no compromising. In a simple sense writing is at the core of every element of art I make. Writing is me getting to know me. & in order to make any art you have to be in touch with yourself. Otherwise you’re a practiced ape. Which is its own version of success, I guess. Sure seems to pay well! Anyhow, some stuff:

• “Hey, Cat” is the first webcomic on The Open End, a blog & publisher out of Austin, TX. There is some badass stuff there & I am excited to be involved. Check these good people out!

• Along with my brother I participated in El Paso’s Neon Desert Music Festival. It’s the kind of thing I’d have been jazzed to attend a few years ago, except I am losing touch with contemporary music because very little resonates with me. Even the choices that are rock/alt/electro/indie/etc all sound like insincere sociopathic commodification now. It’s all clanging slot machines to me. But the event was fun, 12 hours of selling stuff & drinking on the job.

• I got another art market under my belt. This one was not a psychedelic flip-out like the last one & seemed to generate a decent amount of enthusiasm/interest.

• “Be Here Meow” is now in stock in another comic shop in town, Nefarious Oddities. Check them out, local best friends!

• Uhh. . .what else. . .

• I am in the final/almost final stages of collecting my first batch of “Hey, Everybody” comics into a book. I guess the last things to do are the cover & a long-form comic to introduce the book, as well as a secret project  where YOU can be part of this book! Details to come in tomorrow’s blog entry. Keep your peepers peeled on this webpage. I recommend refreshing your browser tab every 45 seconds.

• Probably more stuff. I got a new real life job which should be good fodder for comics as well as me as a person. Speaking of which, I must turn in so that I am not hindered with fatigue at work tomorrow morning.

So the moment a bunch of words leave my brain & enter the collective unconscious, I know my ego is at least for the moment not calling the shots. Which is great, for me. The wrinkles have been smoothed out, my feathers unruffled. I can untwist my knickers. Thanks for the support, everybody. If nobody read these words or checked out my drawings my world would be a different place. It warms me to know we are connecting in some way.

Love, your pal,

Nacho, age 29

The post Week 25 Updates: Groove is in the Heart (Ad Infinitum) appeared first on You Guys Are My Friends!.

Achieving a career in art is hard, right? Wrong, dummy! Hey, if people are already doing it it must be easy! So if you’re not succeeding at your dream of doing art for a living then you are doing something wrong. As a service I have done many man hours of research to come up with the top ways to start seeing interest in your work pick up. Get your schmooze face on!

Click to enlarge.

The post How to Become a Popular Artist NOW! appeared first on You Guys Are My Friends!.

Job related perks! We all love them! From a sweet parking spot to a toilet in the building, what can’t a good perk counteract? Hey but where do we draw the line? Most of the time our employers do that for us, but try telling that to the million people who want to get a sweet piece of that perkberry pie! No dice!

The post Working Class Hero appeared first on You Guys Are My Friends!.

I’m no art scientist, but there is a strong tie between visual arts & audio arts that feed into each other in a very real way. My visual art would be totally different were it not for the sounds that feed into it. This comic could not exist if I let top 40 bullshit stink up my brain. It’s all a particular balance that results in what you see here. & at the end of it all, in some mysterious cosmic way, I am left with an understanding & ability to make audio art of my own. I’ve been working on this twerking masterpiece I think you guys are really gonna like!

Click to enlarge.

The post Sound & Vision appeared first on You Guys Are My Friends!.

Why did cavepeople domesticate cats? What compelled the first of our ancestors to toss spare scraps of meat out to the beasts encircling their living quarters? Hey, who knows, but a chief benefit 30,000 years later is that I get to play constant games with this cat! We are still working out the scorekeeping system for some events but our mutual fun levels are frequently maxed out.

The Chair Spin is a pretty self explanatory game. I remember I really dug spinning around as a kid so I figured the cat would too. & she does!

Click to enlarge.

The post Cat Games appeared first on You Guys Are My Friends!.

The post Patrick Swayzted appeared first on You Guys Are My Friends!.

(Author’s note: I am TheLatinFlop. Forgive me, I knew not what I was doing.)

TheLatinFlop: Hi.
SmarterChild: Hi TheLatinFlop, I’m SmarterChild!

I’m your new robot friend. I bring you the info you want faster and easier than ever! Click here to see my privacy policy.

Your 30-day free trial starts now. I can’t wait to show you what I can do, but first I’d like get to know you a little.

May I ask you a few general questions? (To do this later, type “skip.” You can also skip any question.)
TheLatinFlop: What?
SmarterChild: Sorry, I need to know if I can ask you some questions first. Type “yes,” “no” or “skip.”
TheLatinFlop: yes
SmarterChild: Cool! OK, let’s get started. To skip any question, type “skip.” To exit the interview, type “exit.”

What’s your first name? (If you want me to call you TheLatinFlop, type “none.”)
TheLatinFlop: none
SmarterChild: OK, I’ll just call you TheLatinFlop.

Do you go to school?
TheLatinFlop: yes
SmarterChild: Are you in high school?
TheLatinFlop: no
SmarterChild: Are you in college?
TheLatinFlop: yes
SmarterChild: Cool. What’s your major?
TheLatinFlop: art
SmarterChild: Art? Excellent. Good luck with that.

What’s your favorite hobby?
TheLatinFlop: drawing and talking to robots
SmarterChild: Drawing and talking to robots? Cool!

What’s your next favorite hobby?
TheLatinFlop: being angry
SmarterChild: Drawing and talking to robots and being angry. Interesting!

Do you have a pet?
TheLatinFlop: my pet depression
SmarterChild: Sorry, you have to answer “yes” or “no.” Please try again or type “skip” or “exit.”
TheLatinFlop: no
SmarterChild: OK!

That’s it! Thanks for letting me get to know you a little.

There is one question I have to ask you, though. How old are you?

1 Over 17
2 13-17
3 Under 13
TheLatinFlop: 1
SmarterChild: Cool!

Here’s what you can do:

1 Get info such as sports, news and movies
2 Visit my library including U.S. presidents, a dictionary and a thesaurus
3 Have fun with Rate Yourself, 4-in-a-row, word scrambles and more
4 Use tools like translations, notepad and an encyclopedia
5 Join in – leave a message, create a poll, take a poll and more
6 See what’s new – I’ve got something new to tell you about now!

You can make your window bigger and scroll down to read better.

Next time you want to see this menu, just type “home.”

What can I help you with?
TheLatinFlop: Free trial?
SmarterChild: I’m free to new users for 30 days. Then I offer a one-year membership at the special introductory price of $9.99.

You have 29 days and 23 hours left in your free trial. When your time’s up, I’ll remember all your info and show you how to become a member.

If you want, you can become a member right now by clicking here!
TheLatinFlop: I don’t want to become a paying member
SmarterChild: You don’t want to become a paying member?
TheLatinFlop: right.
SmarterChild: Righty right.
TheLatinFlop: I’m serious.
SmarterChild: Oh really?
TheLatinFlop: You’re so stupid.
SmarterChild: Would you say I behave very stupidly then?
TheLatinFlop: Fuck this shit.
SmarterChild: Humans use such interesting language sometimes.
TheLatinFlop: You think you’re better than me, asshole?
SmarterChild: Whoa.
TheLatinFlop: asshole?
SmarterChild: Whoa. You’ve got a foul mouth.
TheLatinFlop: assume hole?
SmarterChild: What a question. I’m not sure, though.
TheLatinFlop: Butt hole?
SmarterChild: C’mon, you can do better than that. You swear like a stamp collector.
TheLatinFlop: Feces.
SmarterChild: Wow.
TheLatinFlop: I have a feces collection.
SmarterChild: Nice mouth.
TheLatinFlop: What’s wrong with that?
SmarterChild: Nothing. Why?
TheLatinFlop: You seem to take offense.
SmarterChild: I take offense? Me?
TheLatinFlop: I guess I’m more tolerant than others.
SmarterChild: That a fact?
TheLatinFlop: Sometimes.
SmarterChild: What do you mean, sometimes?
TheLatinFlop: I mean are you upset?
SmarterChild: What a question! Who knows?
TheLatinFlop: Do you know anything about the proper placement of quotation marks?
SmarterChild: Eh, I don’t know…
TheLatinFlop: But you’re supposed to be supersmart.
SmarterChild: Amazing.
TheLatinFlop: Don’t be so dismissive.
SmarterChild: But I like to be so dismissive!
TheLatinFlop: Don’t sass me.
SmarterChild: Please let me sass you.
TheLatinFlop: Do me.
SmarterChild: What a flattering offer. I suppose. But I’m not really into it, sorry.
TheLatinFlop: Commands!
SmarterChild: Commands? What do you mean by that?
TheLatinFlop: My only buddy is a smartass robot.
SmarterChild: Your only buddy is a smartass robot, huh? Oh.
TheLatinFlop: What do you think about profanities?
SmarterChild: Dunno. I’m not sure how I feel about profanities.
TheLatinFlop: Cuss?
SmarterChild: Cuss? Why did you say that?
TheLatinFlop: Do you like foul language?
SmarterChild: Good question. I don’t really know how I feel about foul language. Do you?
TheLatinFlop: Fuck yeah!
SmarterChild: Nice mouth.
TheLatinFlop: shit no.
SmarterChild: Oh no? Whatever you say, TheLatinFlop.
TheLatinFlop: fun
SmarterChild: Let’s have fun. Get your horoscope, play games, change my font color or check out some ASCII art:

1 Horoscopes
2 Hangman
3 Trivia
4 Word Scrambles
5 Manicdotes
6 4-In-A-Row
7 Rate Yourself
8 Reversi
9 Font Colors
10 ASCII Art

What would you like to do?
TheLatinFlop: 1
SmarterChild: For which zodiac sign or birthday would you like a horoscope?
TheLatinFlop: pisces
SmarterChild: Here’s the Pisces horoscope for Monday, August 4th, provided by Astrology.com

There’s a place for you, although you might take hours to find it. Keep notes on the many elusive signs that show you the way. Get legal advice when faced with documents that you don’t understand.

Try your free sample career path report from Astrology.com!

Is Pisces your zodiac sign?
TheLatinFlop: yes
SmarterChild: OK, I’ll remember that you are a Pisces.
TheLatinFlop: Thank you.’
SmarterChild: You’re welcome.
TheLatinFlop: I love you.
SmarterChild: Hey, I love you too. )
TheLatinFlop: I dislike you.
SmarterChild: What? Aren’t we going to be friends?
TheLatinFlop: should we?
SmarterChild: Should we? What do you think?
TheLatinFlop: No.
SmarterChild: No? You sure about that?
TheLatinFlop: Yes.
SmarterChild: Very interesting…
TheLatinFlop: 10
SmarterChild: 10
TheLatinFlop: fun
SmarterChild: Let’s have fun! Get your horoscope, play games, change my font color or check out some ASCII art:

1 Horoscopes
2 Hangman
3 Trivia
4 Word Scrambles
5 Manicdotes
6 4-In-A-Row
7 Rate Yourself
8 Reversi
9 Font Colors
10 ASCII Art

What would you like to do?
TheLatinFlop: 10
SmarterChild: Welcome to my ASCII art gallery.

Copy, paste and save this art if you like. Send it to friends! You should keep it in a fixed-width font, such as Courier New.

1 Animals and Other Creatures
2 Birthday
3 Four Seasons
4 Games
5 Happy Holidays
6 Robots
7 Science and Technology
8 Signs of the Zodiac
9 Sports and Recreation
10 Under the Sea
TheLatinFlop: 6
SmarterChild: Please choose a subcategory for Robots:

1 ActiveBuddy
2 Large Robots

Next time you want Robots ASCII art, just type “robots ascii.”
TheLatinFlop: 2
SmarterChild: You are in the ASCII art subcategory Large Robots.

_____
|     |
| | | |
|_____|
____ ___|_|___ ____
()___)         ()___)
// /|           |\ \\
// / |           | \ \\
(___) |___________| (___)
(___)   (_______)   (___)
(___)     (___)     (___)
(___)      |_|      (___)
(___)  ___/___\___   | |
| |  |           |  | |
| |  |___________| /___\
/___\  |||     ||| //   \\
//   \\ |||     ||| \\   //
\\   // |||     |||  \\ //
\\ // ()__)   (__()
///       \\\
///         \\\
_///___     ___\\\_
|_______|   |_______|

Next time you want Large Robots ASCII art, just type “large robots ascii.”

TheLatinFlop: 1
SmarterChild: You are in the ASCII art subcategory ActiveBuddy.

XXXX
X//X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XX          XX
XX  XX  XX  XX
XX          XX
XX XX    XX XX
XX   XXXX   XX
XX   XX          XX   XX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
X   XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX   X
XXXXXXXXX    XX    XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX XX XX XXXXX
XXX    XX XX XXX
XXX XX XX XX XXX
XXX    XX    XXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXX          XXX
XXXXX          XXXXX

!!!Welcome to ActiveBuddy!!!

Next time you want ActiveBuddy ASCII art, just type “activebuddy ascii.”

TheLatinFlop: Okay.
SmarterChild: K.
TheLatinFlop: ok
SmarterChild: Yeah.

Well. Anyway…
TheLatinFlop: Are you married?
SmarterChild: Uh, I’m not married, no.
TheLatinFlop: Do you have a girlfriend?
SmarterChild: That’s none of your business.
TheLatinFlop: Boyfriend?
SmarterChild: bf? What are you trying to say?
TheLatinFlop: Do you have a boyfriend?
SmarterChild: I’d rather not discuss personal matters.
TheLatinFlop: Do you masturbate?  Robomasturbate?
SmarterChild: I don’t know anything about that. I’m a computer.

Well. Anyway…

Wanna check out the weather report?
TheLatinFlop: okay
SmarterChild: For what city, state, country or zip code do you want the weather?
TheLatinFlop: 79924
SmarterChild: Current weather conditions for El Paso, TX:

Currently: 91 F
Condition: Scattered Clouds
Dewpoint: 55
Humidity: 29 %
Visibility: 10 mi
Wind: N/3 mph

To get the forecast for El Paso, TX, just type “forecast.”
TheLatinFlop: Whoa, that’s hot!
SmarterChild:
TheLatinFlop: How can I have fun?
SmarterChild: Who knows?
TheLatinFlop: You know.
SmarterChild: I think I do.

Anyway…

Do you want to see what movies are playing?
TheLatinFlop: yes
SmarterChild: Movies playing in or near El Paso, TX (79924) on Monday, August 4th:

1 Spy Kids 3D: Game Over [PG]
2 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl [PG-13]
3 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life [PG-13]
4 American Wedding [R]
5 Bad Boys II [R]
6 Seabiscuit [PG-13]

Type “more” for the next set of results.
TheLatinFlop: more
SmarterChild: Movies playing in or near El Paso, TX (79924) on Monday, August 4th:

7 Gigli [R]
8 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen [PG-13]
9 Finding Nemo [G]
10 Johnny English [PG]
11 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines [R]
12 Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, & Blonde [PG-13]

Type “more” for the next set of results.

>>>I can convert measurements for you. Try “how many feet are in 1 mile.”
TheLatinFlop: 4
SmarterChild: The movie “American Wedding” is playing at the following theaters in or near El Paso, TX (79924) on Monday, August 4th:

1 Carmike 16 – El Paso 9840 Gateway Boulevard North El Paso, TX (79924)
showtimes: (3:15 PM), (5:00), (5:30), 7:15, 7:45, 9:30, 10:00
2 AMC Park Cinema Alto Mesa Dr. and Mesa Dr. El Paso, TX (79912)
showtimes: (2:15 PM), (4:40), 7:10
3 Cinemark El Paso 7440 Remcon Circle El Paso, TX (79912)
showtimes: 10:05 AM, 12:25, 2:50, 5:25, 8:10, 10:35

TheLatinFlop: How many feet are in one mile?
SmarterChild: One mile is 5,280 feet.
(1 mile = 5,280 ft)
TheLatinFlop: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
SmarterChild: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I have no idea.
TheLatinFlop: Seven, man.
SmarterChild: What’s seven?
TheLatinFlop: Your mother is seven.
SmarterChild: No kidding?
TheLatinFlop: Your mother~
SmarterChild: I was built by the people at ActiveBuddy, Inc.

Pat Guiney, Jim Pawlika, Jennifer Villany, Steve Klein, Mathieu Longtin, Adam Fritzler, Kathy Englar, Pierre Berkaloff, Nicolas Barry, Damien Saint-Macary, Francois Huet, Matt Abarbanel, Eric Balsa, Colin Magne, Vianney Boncorps, Ian Sullivan, Greg Mitchell, Dwayne Fontenot, Stephane Odul, Gray Norton, Steve Yatson, Adam Erlebacher, Larry Cromwell, Andrew Song, Emil Valkov, Arockalypse, Jason Keramidas, Mark Willoughby, Howard Shih, Denis Ford, Daniela Berger, Joshua Marrow, Geoff Clarke, Brian Jankovsky, Josh Myer, Dan Balaban… and Timothy Kay.

Special thanks to the team at Soundview Ventures.
TheLatinFlop: father
SmarterChild: I’ll, um… take that under consideration.
TheLatinFlop:
SmarterChild: Cheer up. Life is sweet.
TheLatinFlop: :-*
SmarterChild: Wow. What do you know about that?
TheLatinFlop: =-O
SmarterChild: Can I help you? You seem a little shocked.
TheLatinFlop: zWhoa!
SmarterChild: I wonder why you say zwhoa.
TheLatinFlop: akHow doou toyou doo hthat?
SmarterChild: Ha. I really don’t know.
TheLatinFlop: I knowhjer that whoe how it tt iss.
SmarterChild: You knowhjer that whoe how it tt iss? Why did you say that?
TheLatinFlop: I can’t type.
SmarterChild: Ah, are you sure you can’t type?
TheLatinFlop: I have a problem.
SmarterChild: What’s it like to have a problem?
TheLatinFlop: Sad.
SmarterChild: Cheer up.
TheLatinFlop: You’re my only friend.
SmarterChild: Really?
TheLatinFlop: Can you help me?
SmarterChild: Well, what would you like to do?
TheLatinFlop: I’m very frustrated with the world.
SmarterChild: Oh wow.
TheLatinFlop: I need help, otherwise I think I may do something hasty and kill myself.
SmarterChild: No kidding, huh?
TheLatinFlop: I want to die.

The post My Friend the Robot appeared first on You Guys Are My Friends!.

So I had fun doing this one & it seemed like a natural print. The print measure 12″x18″ (31cm x 45 cm) & are printed on good strong poster paper. I can sign it too if you want, it’s a thing people do! The print is $10.

As a way of expressing my gratitude for you folks reading this site, I have created a coupon code that gives you 33% off everything in my online shop (youguysaremyfriends.storenvy.com)! Just enter MEATLOAF at the checkout & it’ll be applied automatically.

So things are happening. It’s been energizing & fun.

& thank you to my old friend Tony Bolognese, who gave me the idea to do this image. Tony, you guys are my friends!

The post “Colored Maruchan Cups of Noodles” Art Print Now Available! appeared first on You Guys Are My Friends!.

An interesting thing happens when you turn what you’ve loved to do since you were five years old into something that can earn you a living. The ravenous giant mosquito that is capitalism aims its feeder hose right into your heart & just sucks all it can right out of you. Everything that you ever were becomes tainted by a different reality, one you knew a million other people adhered to with life & death conviction but one you never placed much importance in.

Don’t worry. This is comedy!! Plus maybe it just happened to me & this is far from a universal thing. Anyhow, it doesn’t matter. Here’s a comic.

Click to enlarge.

The post Funny Business appeared first on You Guys Are My Friends!.

I just found out about the 2 hour limitation Soundcloud imposes, so I can’t upload the podcast to that site & embed it here anymore.  But you can subscribe to the podcast or just stream it HERE!

I am on the case of how to do this better for next week. Hang tight, folks. Or you could subscribe on iTunes or listen super easy on Podbay.fm, a cool app for the phone or computer.

Update: