until the end of the world

I have an irrational fear of those tall inflatable wavy arm guys in front of car dealerships. Well, not fear exactly; they just make me feel kind of creepy.

I also get irrationally angry when a business has "Concepts" or "Solutions" in its name.

But on a more positive note, nothing makes me much happier than having something new to obsess about, and right now it's the graphic novel series Preacher by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. I'm about halfway through the second volume, and already I'm chomping at the bit to get to the third.

***G: skip to the next section if you plan on reading Preacher***

The story's about as complicated as trying to solve a Rubik's Cube in a wind tunnel, but I'll try to explain the basics. There's a preacher named Jesse Custer who's been possessed by a creature called Genesis, the child of an angel and a demon. Because Genesis is composed of both pure good and pure evil, it's powerful enough to rival God. Jesse has undergone some pretty bad shit in his life, and he wants to make God answer for His crimes against humanity, so---armed with his new abilities---he sets out to find God.

What's cool is that even though Jesse has the power to make anyone do whatever he says, he absolutely will not abuse it. (Well, as far as I've read, at least; I know this will probably change.) At one point, he's talking to his friend Cassidy about how horny he is, and Cassidy suggests that Jesse use the "Word of God" (the name Jesse gives his new power) to tell Tulip, the ex-girlfriend he still loves, to sleep with him. And Jesse refuses because (quoted from memory since I already returned volume 1 to the library, so this isn't verbatim), "That would make me a rapist, and I would deserve to burn in Hell just like every other rapist since time began."

Anyone who's familiar with Garth Ennis knows to expect foul language, gutwrenching violence, and some seriously depraved shit---I still haven't recovered from volume 5 of The Boys---and Preacher is no different, but it's highly moral at its core. Even if it wasn't, I'd still be hooked.

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Right now I'm reading The Tattoo Chronicles by Kat Von D. It's a gorgeously designed book, and despite her atrocious taste in men (Jesse James, Kat? The guy who cheated on Sandra Bullock and brought the wrath of an entire nation down on his head? REALLY?), I really like her and think she's amazingly talented.

I don't think I'd get another tattoo, but if I did, I already have a few ideas, one of which is this portrait of Alessa Gillespie:





I've always loved this picture, and I think it would make an awesome tattoo, especially with the burned edges.

But I'd probably get a tattoo in memory of my mom. My current (lone) tattoo is kind of a tribute to her, because I have such good memories of going to the Sanrio store with her when I was little, but it also commemorates my love of cats AND Hello Kitty AND Japanese pop culture, so it would be nice if she didn't have to "share"! So I think I'd get an egret in her honor, because they were her favorite bird, and now they're mine too.

There's an egret that occasionally hangs out in front of my workplace. I've named him Shiro (which means white in Japanese), and whenever I see him, I get a big smile on my face because I instantly think of my mom. I took this picture today:





One of the reasons my mom loved egrets so much is that when they're flying, they look like they're waving goodbye.