Different Things for Today's Update

Well, the ol' arm is weak--I can barely push staples through paper whereas it used to be nothing. I have a long way to go to full recovery, I think, as even trying to perform a puppet wore my arm and hand out quick. It's amazing how bad a broken arm can effect you in strength and pain! I have to make my e-mails and posts a little at a time because it becomes painful. Still, here are some good things to look at and check out and hopefully have some fun with!

MORE THAN MOST

A documentary about Papa Roy is showing at the 2010 Gatlinburg Screenfest Film Festival. Showtimes are shown in the image below, as well as a trailer for the film below. I plan to be there at least Saturday along with Muley.

CASTAWAY DAY

This is my arm in the cast one last time before it is removed. I sit waiting and nervous, ready to have it removed. I was happy to be rid of this thing.

Here is a picture of the saw with the vaccuum unit attached to it which pulls away the dust as the cast is sawed off. The nurse who too off the full-arm cast came in with a younger nurse whose first time to remove a cast would be on my arm! I agreed. I was glad to be her first time.

This is gross: My hand right after having been cut out of the cast. There is still a crusty batch of dead skin on my hand in this image. Needless to say, after I washed away the month of dry skin and scraped away the crust from my palm, I had such a sensitive touch and the skin was really soft. The other weird thing is that now there is more hair on my right arm than on my left arm (maybe I should wear a cast on my scalp for 2 months?).

The arm with the nurses behind me that cut me out of that arm-shell!

I thought I would be ready to draw as soon as I got out of the cast, but not so. The first really good Muley I would draw would be on a napkin on February 20th at the Crazy Canook (sp?) in Downtown Memphis after dinner with my pal Angie Freeman in celebration of having graduated last December. I signed it and gave it to her.

Unfortunately, they had to slice through Batman's head!

JETTA: TALES OF THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

My ol' buddy Antone had a birthday on February 19th and with only about an hour to spare, my roomie DaMarco painted Jetta on the birthday cake he'd cooked. He actually painted it in under an hour! Happy Birthday to Antone!

CASPER'S BALLOONS

Well, these balloons were actually blown up for the aforementioned birthday party; but, Casper was curious about these things. Now, we know that this was the first time he's had an opportunity to see balloons and as I watched him, his reactions to the balloons were hilarious to me. Here are a few of his reactions:

Cast Comes Off Tomorrow!

Down below is a video message from Muley:

This is the last night my arm is in a shell, and then a little while as the bone finishes mending and I get my wrist back in shape again.

Here is some more art from my cast which comes off tomorrow:



Batman by Martheus Wade



Muley Rocks On! by Janet Wade



RiverThing on Ice by Lin Workman




Flaming Skull by Matt Ryan

And now, a special message from Muley:

Lotsa Things

SEVEN DAYS!

No, I didn't watch the tape. Well, not all of it, but the cast comes off in seven days!! I cannot wait to draw again!



SESAMEVIL STREET?

A group has tried to accuse Abby Cadaver...uh, Cadabby...of being evil for practicing magic. I mean, she is a fairy from fairy tale school. I didn't see anything about Mickey Mouse being evil, after all he is the sorcerer's apprentice. Smurfs made from magic and whose patriarch is a magician, or even David Copperfield. What about all those characters being magical? Evil? Sometimes humans are ridiculous. Click on Evil Abby to read more.



NECTAR OF GODS

Everyone knows that I love chocolate! The more rich and dark it is the better, especially when they are chips in a cookie! YUM! That's why I get sick when I see it abused, like being painted on a face. Still, click the image and read about chocolate facials and GOOD uses for chocolate.




JERRY NELSON - TRURO DAYDREAMS

One of my favorite Muppeteers has put down the puppets and picked up his guitar to record his own first cd not in character voices, backed in some songs by his fellow performers. It is available online for purchase by clicking on the cd image below, painted by his wife Jan. The music is folkish and wonderful, smooth and comfortable. I recommend it.

Snow Cast on Family Guy

WHAT I WOKE UP TO TODAY

The depth of the snowfall this morning can be seen on the roof of my neighbor's house.

THE CASTAWAY

Well, in 9 days the cast comes off!! Two months having been stripped of my art and puppetry has been too much. I apprciate all the prayers and need many more because even when the cast is gone I will have a ton of healing left to do.

In June, at Screaming Tiki Con, there is going to be (not only a Jetta Look-a-like conest, but) a Muley the Mule and Friends live stage performance. It will co-star Martheus and Janet Wade and debut a bunch of new characters never performed anywhere, plus a special first-ever live appearance by Santa Fish.

All this to say that I need some quick healing before then and I hope it happens.

So, on the 17th the cast comes off. I'll have my sketchbook with me when I go to have the cast removed so I can do a good right-handed drawing!! I've drawn a left-handed Muley, and a right-handed Muley while wearing the cast. It'll be nice to draw right-handed, however weak my hand may be. I don't know how many folks have been stripped of doing something you loved doing, but the past two months have been heck not being able to be creative. I hope no one has to suffer such a thing as this.

In the meantime, my roomie, DaMarco painted his favorite character from The Family Guy, Stewie Griffin, on my cast.

ZEKE REDEUX

The original drawing and Photoshopping I did had an earthly background, but needed to more otherworldly. Zeke is from the novels Westworld by our friend Ed Crandell.

HELP HAITI!

Donate to this Better Business Bureau accredited charity by clicking on the banner below.

Casper, just because.

This is my cat, to whom I'm terribly allergic. I've no reason to post it other than he looks at me the same way everyone looks at me: "What?" or "What do you want?"

Snow Day. Bert & Ernie Gay?

January 28, 2010, found the City of Memphis under a few inches of snow, sleet and ice. I suppose that sleet is ice, but it settled into a sheet of ice. Then, there was slush. Not the kind you drink, but the yucky kind that is made in the streets. So, of course I've got these pictures to share.

HELP HAITI!!

Please support this Better Business Bureau accredited charity.

BERT & ERNIE: GAY?

I've always been made moody by the silly rumors about Bert and Ernie being gay. After all, not only are they puppets, but characters on a children's program. Seriously, do you think something like this would be a topic on a kid's show? Would you let your kid watch a show with such a topic? Of course not! So, to put the matters to rest, I've taken the official 1993 statement of (then) Children's Television Workshop which not only debunks the gay rumor, but also the rumor that Ernie would be retired after Jim Henson's death.

Here is the letter, statement, and newspaper articles from Sesame Street's producers.

2010 Celebrity Waiter Night Follow-up

A special thanks to Richard Meeks for his assistance with Muley at this event. DaMarco Randle performed as photographer extraordinaire again. The event was full and fun, we met really nice people, and the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis still needs donations which can be given by clicking on their banner below.

Even before Muley got indoors, several people stopped him and made donations to the event out in the parking lot. One guy drove up in a truck and handed out a $12 donation!



A banner on the interior of The Half Shell restaurant
on Winchester Road, Memphis, TN.

Muley poses with Fox 13's Leon Griffin and Tom Dees

and wrestling's Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Kev and Muley pose with Muley's Official

Girlfriend, Felicia!

There's good news all the time, and Muley

met a group of lukemia survivors!

Everyone was involved in gathering donations.

Roxanne Lemmon was there, too.

Muley poses next to a banner of one of the world's best

radio stations in the world!

15 Days In The Rubble

I saw on the news today that a young woman was found 15 days after the quake ALIVE! There was no word how she survived. I hurt thinking of those who won't make it, but cheer for those who do. Still, their country is a long, long way away from getting where it needs to be. Among that, the food rations are certainly low. You can click the link below to donate to the Haiti Relief charity that is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

Muley, A Celebrity Waiter; Jetta, Haiti and more

HELP HAITI

You can continue to help the children of Haiti by clicking on the following banner. This links to UNICEF. Other banners below represent other charities who are BBB accredited.





JETTA: FULL CIRCLE--EDIT ONE COMPLETE


Powerful, entertaining, emotional...just a few words to describe the next graphic novel in the Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa saga titled "Full Circle." I've finished my first round of editing and, I have to tell you, it is surprising and full of action. You don't want to miss it when it arrives on shelves! Click the logo to know more about Jetta and MAW Productions.

CELEBRITY WAITER NIGHT
THE HALF SHELL, WINGHESTER RD
JANUARY 26, 6 - 9


For the past several years, Muley has participated in the Ronald McDonald House Celebrity Waiter Night, calling himself the Maitre'd. This year, he's back and assisted by his friend Richard Meeks for an appearance at The Half Shell on Winchester Road. You can learn more about the Half Shell by clicking on their logo below.


The RMH houses 51 kids and their families for free while the children are being treated at St. Jude. It is operated solely on donations and if you would like to donate to Muley's pet charity, click on the RMH logo below.





2009 CELEBRITY WAITER IMAGES


Here are some pictures from 2009 Celebrity Waiter Night held at Bosco's in Overton Square:
(Photos by Lin Workman)


MULEY HANGS WITYH FOX 13 METEOROLOGIST LEON GRIFFIN,
THEN STEALS A KIDS FRENCH FRIES.

HERE, MULEY AUTOGRAPHS HIS PHOTOS FOR FOLKS,

THEN CLEANS OUT ROCK 103'S TIM SPENCER'S BELLY BUTTON.

THEN, ON TO HARASS HIS PALS JANET AND MARTHEUS WADE

OF MAW PRODUCTIONS. TOO MUCH PEPPER!

Mid-January Updates

A 6.-something aftershock later, Haiti REALLY needs our help. You can find accredited charitiesat the website of the Better Business Bureau. Presently, we want to focus on a charity that the Muppets appreciate (benefitting them withy the live Muppet Show during 2001's MuppetFest): Save The Children. Donate to them by clicking on the "Help Haiti" banner below.

Please also, listen to your heart and use your brain; don't listen to false prophets like Pat Robertson who says the Haitians don't deserve our help. He is supposed to represent Christians, but is not representing any I know. I'm not even a very good person, but I am even better than he is at it. There are also the self-centered biggots like Rush Limburger...Limbaugh saying not to send help...give what you can, folks, as one of my friends wrote back in an e-mail: I hope that one day when I'm in need someone will be there to help me.

SIVADS OF MARCH Art Show.

Dates and details coming up, but I (along with Martheus and Janet Wade and more) will be participating. Here, you can see my reference and my very first left-handed painting:

Screaming Tiki Con, June 2010

Speaking of my Toshigawa family, the Wades, we are going to appear at the Screaming Tiki Con in June 2010 with a LIVE Muley performance and a Jetta Look-alike Contest!!

Broken Arm Update:

Still broken! But, healing...YAY! Today I went from a full-arm cast to a short arm cast. It is still very painful but I was glad to be out of the long-arm cast. I cannot wait until February 17th--I'll be cast-free!!! The doctor said that the art and puppetry is my best therapy. (I need to start changing clothes more than once every two months!)

December 14th January 20th

For the Special-K Lovers:

A while back...well, here's a video with the intro about how folks made fun of a 'Curly Howard' face I made:

Well, here is the Grande Addendum created by my pal Marco, featuring him and me:

BTW: Marco is a fine arts painter focusing on abstract art. For samples of his work and quotes please contact me.