Alec Longstreth's Blog, page 30

The Basewood Beard: YEAR TWO

Well, today was August 1st, which means it was TWO years ago today I cut off all of my hair. Last year I wondered if my beard had actually stopped growing. Well, I'm here, 12 months later, to let you know that, YES, it is still growing. Check the two-year and one-year photos above for undeniable proof.

Now, I know what you're all thinking... Will this project reach a third year?

NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!

In an attempt to bring a swift and efficient end to my work on Basewood, I have decided t...

A Night at the Opera

When I was in high school, I played trumpet in the Jazz Band. I started listening to a lot of jazz and especially Big Band music. Of all the jazz trumpeters I heard, one of my favorites was Doc Severinson, for his pure tone, unbelievable range and cool old-dudeness. Miraculously, he and he orchestra came to Seattle while I was in high school, and I was lucky enough to get to see the performance.

At the end of the concert, he played a song called "Nessun Dorma" which completely knocked my ...

Whoa-oh! I'm half way there...

As many of you know, I'm very fond of Dave Sim's 2,000-Page Theory, which basically says that you have to draw 2,000 pages of comics before you can draw your first REALLY GOOD page of comics.

Earlier this summer I read Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcom Gladwell, which puts forth an amazingly similar theory which says that it takes about 10,000 hours of concentrated effort and practice to master a discipline. And well, if it takes you somewhere around 5 hours to write, pencil and ink a...

Create Comics 2010!

My grandfather's funeral went off without a hitch, thanks mostly to a lot of very hard work my mother did, and very specific written instructions he put down before he died. Pop requested that I play "When the Saints Go Marching In" at the end of the funeral, on my TRUMPET, which I basically haven't touched in 8 years. I found out about this two weeks before the funeral, and played as much as I could every day leading up to the event, so I would be able to play. Everything turned out all r...

Create Comics!

My grandfather's funeral went off without a hitch, thanks mostly to a lot of very hard work my mother did, and very specific written instructions he put down before he died. Pop requested that I play "When the Saints Go Marching In" at the end of the funeral, on my TRUMPET, which I basically haven't touched in 8 years. I found out about this two weeks before the funeral, and played as much as I could every day leading up to it, so I would be able to play. Everything turned out all right...

East Coast Summer #6

Instead of shingles, most Vermont rooftops are covered with long, narrow, interlocking sheets of metal. This is for winter, when massive amounts of snow piles up on roofs. Instead of it getting higher and higher and eventually needing to be cleared (or caving in the roof!) it slides right off because the metal is too smooth for the snow to stick to.

In the SUMMER, however, these metal sheets absorb massive amounts of heat, basically turning my apartment into an OVEN. I live right below...

Howard Goodwin (1919 - 2010)

My cell phone rang at 6:20am this morning. It was my mom, calling to tell me that her father had died during the night, in his sleep.

He was 91, and for all but the last two weeks of his life, he was in incredible shape. In the photo above he was 89, if you can believe that. He took a spill two weeks ago which was sadly the beginning of the end.

My mother has been incredible - she dropped everything and flew back to Virginia immediately after his accident and was with him this whole...

So long, South Africa!

It was a pretty big bummer today when the U.S. Soccer team lost to Ghana in the World Cup. A small group of us here at CCS have been watching all the games either at the school, or over in the Hotel Coolidge common room.

Soccer is the only sport I enjoy playing, thanks mostly to the amazing soccer coach I had while growing up, Mr. Innes. While the dads coaching my little league baseball and basketball teams tried to get us to WIN, Mr. Innes tried to get us to have FUN. And he succeeded. ...

The Best Dragon Movie EVER MADE.

At this point, I have seen How to Train Your Dragon three times in the theaters (twice in 3D, which was totally amazing and once in 2D, which was still pretty rad). I think I can safely say that it is The Best Dragon Movie EVER MADE.

Now those are pretty big words. But I am prepared to back them up! I suspected HTTYD was The Best Dragon Movie Ever Made after I saw it for the first time with Max, but I knew there were some dragon movies I hadn't seen, so I decided to track them down and to ...

Pinball Ownership: Week One

I've had the pinball machine for a little over a week now, and let me tell you, it has been a busy week!

Don't get me wrong, when Jon and I got the machine, it was in great shape. We have been able to play it ever since we installed it on the first night, and a lot of the students and alumni have been playing it as well. But I want this machine to be PERFECT, so Jon and I have been making minor repairs all week. Here's a list!

Fixed the left slingshot (uncrossing a jammed switch) Removed...