Toluu : And I Am Not Lying

And I Am Not Lying

For Real

I was pleasantly surprised by the reactions to Jeff’s previous post about my artstuffs — a belated thanks to everyone who reblogged or contacted me for more info — so I thought I’d share a few pics from my most recent outing.

(More after the jump.)

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Doctor Doom: Well, At Least Things Can’t Get Any WorseNovember 18

If you’ve read this blog for any time at all, you’ll know that me and David are suckers for brightly-colored comic-themed street art. Particularly if there’s a visual non sequitur involved. Like this poster I saw plastered around the streets of Philadelphia this weekend.

It’s an image of Marvel’s Doctor Doom charging toward the viewer with the phrase “Well, at least things can’t get any worse” superimposed over top in bright pink text …

Pretty much perfect, I think.

Although it contradicts the Simmermon family motto, which I swear I am not lying about. My dad always says

You know, Jeff, we have a saying. “Things go on like this for a while, and then they get worse.”

Reverend Al Sharpton Hates Royal Quiet Deluxe, Chicken BandNovember 14

During the time that I was in Royal Quiet Deluxe (chicken band), I was invited to a large dinner with the Reverend Al Sharpton. Everyone had to go around the table and describe who they were and what they did. I was neither an accomplished member of the community in Norfolk, nor was I African-American. Everyone else at the table was both. I just kinda ran with a description of the band.

It did not go well. At all. In fact, the evening rippled throughout my life for about ten years, causing tremendous embarassment in a comic book store this summer.

Here’s a video of me telling the story on stage at The Moth:

Baroque ObamaNovember 12

Baroque Obama, originally uploaded by givepeasachance.

I know, I know.
I swear, there will be a decline in Obama-themed posts really soon. But this is such a solid pun, I couldn’t resist.

Juliet Tells the Tale of ‘Mannequin Dan’November 10

Juliet lives like rednecks drive: mashing down the gas with the radio blasting and howling lusty swear words all over the open road. Her stories are full of love and rage, heartbreak and mayhem and sex and drugs and the kind of laughs that rattle the optic nerves. She’s far and away my most exciting new friend from the Moth, thrilling and kind and just a little dangerous — the kind of person who might throw your car keys into the river and then get you to laugh about it.

Having an enlarged heart is a dangerous medical condition: oversized hearts are tender and fragile and wear out easy. But an enlarged heart is also the biggest ball in the storyteller’s cannon. People with giant hearts fall in love with everything in the entire world and get their hearts broken every single time and brother, do they have some stories to tell.

Juliet’s heart is a massive flaming comet, flying all over the place and collecting all kinds of dirt and debris and you just can’t wait to hear where it’s been.

Here she is telling a story at The Moth a few months ago, on the theme of “Respect.”