*826LA MINI-GOLF FOR CHEATERS WRAP-UP...
Thank you, thank you, thank you all for coming through and contributing to Team: Dimpled Balls in the first annual Mini-Golf for Cheaters Tournament. We blew away the competition in the fundraising department.

As for the Tournament, that's a whole other story..

First off..I almost MISSED playing in the tournament. I was up in San Francisco the first part of the weekend for a coupla workshops set up by the T.V. show I narrate (Spark). I got to do a coupla lectures about using cartooning in the classroom. Thanks to Kristin for setting it up.

Being the high-flying, jet-setter that I am. I was scheduled to fly outta S.F. in the late afternoon, land at LAX, and be driven straight to the tournament where I would spank the competition silly.

Unfortunately, when I arrived at SFO, I discovered that my flight was delayed an hour. Meaning I wouldn't be on the course til 7:45pm. Players were supposed to report by 6:45, or be disqualified.

Anyhoo..I made as many calls and emails as I could to let folks know I was gonna be late. The real hero of the day was the cabdriver who took me from LAX to the Sherman Oaks Castle Mini-Golf. Usually cab drivers make me car-sick with the way they hit the gas and brake when they're speeding..But this dude could DRIVE. Made it look easy ... I snuck onto the course by 7:30pm!!

The teams had reached the 3rd hole by that time , and T:DB were already behind. It took me a few holes to get my groove on, but by the 7th, I was in deep.

Here's the problem: We had so much stuff to cheat with ( and so did the other team), that we bludgeoned each other on every hole. It was so bad that by the time every other team had finished the event, and we still had nine holes to go.

In fact, towards the end, we and our opponents agreed not to use the cheats for the rest of the round so we could finish before closing time. Turns out our opponents played worse WITHOUT the blindfolds we made them wear the earlier. It was neck-n-neck til the 17th, where I holed a critical 2nd shot on a par 3, narrowly avoiding a swinging pendulum.

The final hole was one of those things where you can only get a hole in one, a two, or a three, cuz it goes into a closed box so you cannot use the ball for another round. This dude on the enemy team knocked his ball off the ramp..TWICE!! So he ended up with a five.

We beat them by one stroke.

We were psyched until we saw every other team score. Turns out the team we beat came in dead last. Which won them a prize. All we got was embarrassed.

So, in the end, we learned a valuable lesson. If we had laid down our weapons and worked together early. Team:Dimpled Balls and the enemy would've played a much better and peaceful round. Instead, we struck back and forth at each other with pre-emptive strikes, and we both lost.

Hope the U.S. Government is still reading my blog.

Thanks for Rob and Georgene, our T:DB teammates..Amy, Mac and everyone at 826LA..All of you again for donating..And of course, my lovely spouse, who has the most unorthodox putting style every witnessed on these shores.

*NOW COME SEE MY ASS IN BOSTON THIS SATURDAY...
..Cuz it's my birthday! I'll be at Million Year Picnic (99 Mt. Auburn St. Harvard Square) on Sat. Aug. 25th at 11am-1pm. I'll be signing copies of my latest (th)ink book "Are We Feeling Safer Yet?" Plus I 'll have my new canvas bags, and the new 2008 Little Vics/Mega-Mix Monthly Calendar. (Ooh!!)

Labels: birthday, booksigning, boston, mini-golf for cheaters, Spark

 
*OH YEAH, I FORGOT..I HAVE A BLOG..
Sorry folks...I've been on the road and bad with the blog upkeep.

*LAS VEGAS...
The wifey and I made a little jaunt to Las Vegas to visit ye father and to consume too much casino buffet food.

What brought us out there was an Arts conference that scheduled a workshop for myself and co-author Mat Schwarzman of the Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts. He brought some supr-talented youth from New Orleans with him, whilst I hawked the book guerilla-style with my "Ask me about my Comix" sign.

*THE K CHRONICLES NOMINATED FOR A HARVEY AGAIN!!
Yeehaa! High off of my win of a second Glyph award, I got word that the K Chronicles has been nominated for a Harvey for best comic strip or panel for a second year in a row!! I'm up against some serious heavy-hitters including Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury and Patrick McDonnell's Mutts. Yikes!! I need anybody who is remotely involved in the industry to vote for my ass here.

*I'M CURRENTLY UP IN SAN FRANCISCO..
..recording the last two shows of SPARK, the Bay Area Artist documentary program I narrate. I'm getting all teary-eyed knowing that this may be the end, but I'm hittin' the Red Sox/Oakland A's game this afternoon with ye homies to keep my spirits up. Them slumpin' Sox better turn it around!!

*ALSO IN SAN FRANCISCO THIS FRIDAY..
A K Chronicles original art will be auctioned off this Friday along with a bunch of other good stuff at the League of Young Voters annual art auction Picture Progress. The event will have food, drink, music, art and will just be overall groovy. Get all the details right here.

Labels: Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts, Harvey Awards, K Chronicles, Keith Knight, Las Vegas, Mat Schwarzman, original art, Spark