FRIENDS! BUY THIS T-SHIRT at Cosmodrome Design Massive !!!!
They're cheap! They're cool! Feel extra snazzy eating that banana or using that telephone. You know you want it.

Http://migueljiron.com is now UP! Much tinkering & updating still need to be made, but it's finally presentable, though it's certainly debatable. Feel free to leave feedback on the comments below. My blogging skills are subpar, I know, and I'm not sure much people visit here anyways anymore, but it's always nice to hear the internet talk back.

After an inert life of bumming around cafes, beaches, and bookstores for months in Buenos Aires, I'm suddenly entering full force into the working world of New York City. Well, actually, Long Island City, but y'know. As of September 4th, I will be working full time at Takashi Murakami's New York studio as a painter/studio assistant. Basically, I will be working on/doing his multi-million dollar paintings, and when they're done, Mr. Murakami will visit the studio, sign the back, and jetset away.

This new life development will hopefully add better text (and I guess pictures as well) to the blog, as the studio is, needless to say, pretty unique and intense. Yesterday, I was offered Kanye West's month-old fried chicken. See, when he visited the studio a month ago putting his album art together, he requested an order of fried chicken and doughnuts, and left most of the chicken in our fridge. I thought about it for a bit, and wondered how much the chicken would fetch for in ebay, until I inspected it closer and smelled it. I'm hoping this isn't some kind of pithy metaphor.

THE GOSPEL OF DAFT PUNK
(Obligatory, though tardy, post on the amazingness
of Daft Punk's Coney Island show on August 9, 2007)

Chapter 1. ROBOT. HUMAN. TOGETHER. (End)

Tim tells me of a man who has successfully changed his sleeping patterns to 20 min of sleep every 4 hours. This might be impossible, and a little masochistic (I love sleep), but the idea doesn't sound half bad.

This monkey brings good news to the online Miguel world! Migueljiron.com is very close to launch, and will be operational soon. And, that is all really. I have moved back to New York, I work 9-5 for two art studio internships, live in a small green room, in greenpoint, and will probably never get rid of all the sea-green paint off my hands. It's also hot. And I'm pretty sure I got ripped off buying this lazy window fan from these sketchy polish guys. The fan though, unfortunately, is not green.

So with the heat and sudden responsible scheduling of my life (read: waking up early), sleep is hard to come by these days. But when it does happen, the dreams are a little disturbing. The latest of my ongoing deep-rooted nightmares of being plunged into a large body of water in a car involved Bill and Hilary Clinton arguing (Bill driving, Hill shotgun). I don't remember what was the dispute but it was definitely petty, vaguely Michael Scott-ish, and all of a sudden, boom, water rising. What to make of this? Especially when a few days later THIS happens. There are times when I miss my beloved CRV (R.I.P.) but these days I'm enjoying (or acclimating to) the solid, smelly ground beneath my feet.

Everything happens in threes. Well, actually, I really hope not, but I seem to live consistently in three month cycles. Which explains why it feels like it's been four or so years rather than the actual one year since graduation. And also why I'm giving NY another shot. It's not as much a matter of whether it's a good idea or bad idea, rather, it's just figuring out which one's going to ultimately weigh heavier when s'all said & done.

Above is an illo for a children's book for Mott Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI, for hospital-stay kids. Doesn't that sound like the best "Wedding Crashers"-like pickup line ever? Y'know, if I was a really horrible person?

Below is leaked footage for Todd Hayne's bizzarro Bob Dylan biopic. You know, the one where Bobby Dee is played by Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere (!?), among others and David Cross is Allen Ginsberg? Pretty tame stuff actually, considering his first film was a biopic of Karen Carpenter as portrayed by Barbie.

Cate studied Don't Look Back hard.

Ratatouille! Completely restored my faith in contemporary american animation. There are few dorkier things than to act all pretentious with animation (comic books are now, like, totally legit), and I do it well. I was one of those kids who drew cartoons for friends from first grade til... well now. I always said I wanted to "draw for Disney." Now, I'm not so sure, but I do know that Brad Bird's newest film stokes those old embers. One of my favorites aspects of the film is the animating of various character's sensations of tasting good food.

Here's Michael Gagne describing his process of creating these abstract animations of swirling strawberry or popping cheese. Oskar Fischinger would be proud. (Well, maybe not.)

P.S. Anybody dabbled in silkscreening before? Got any good tips, advice, or things I should know before buying one of those dick blick kits? I don't really buy clothes anymore, so I'm figuring I should just make my own...

I think the best thing about the show "Weeds" is the fact I'm seeing it with my mom, so I get to ask her questions like "so is she picking up an ounce or just a quarter?" ("Todo, hijo") or her asking me how they're smoking out of an "accordion." Now, I'm turning her onto "The Wire," with subtitles of course. After my sister putting it down more or less for good after one episode, I'm not hoping for much, but mama's showing some promise.

Please, check out this and this trailer. It should be hard to screw up a movie that has Javier Bardem reading Cormac McCarthy, or Daniel Day Lewis monologuing to a baby, but stranger things have happened. It's the '70's all over again!

P.S. That is indeed Herzog crying under those aviators, don't let him convince you otherwise.

There are times where you just have a lot of time. Sometimes, these times can be used constructively, ala Mr. Dessem's blog The Criterion Contraption. Or maybe I'm just one of the few to see such an obsessive and slightly antisocial (sarcasm) venture as "constructive." Anyways, it's fun reading, and makes me wish I was this guy. Seriously, could there be a better job? Well, probably.

P.S. Speaking of time, I'm in one of those sorta non-busy states that I hope will pass. One way of dealing with this is taking a visual inventory of the family store, which means taking passable photographs of EVERY PIECE OF JEWELRY IN THE STORE. This is tedious work. But I also get to play with my dad's microscopes and his microscope lens adapter... the above image is of a blue opal, with very little color boosting. I've got to use this somehow... but how!?

If you are anywhere near my age, you probably remember the countless number of one hit wonders that constituted our pop daily bread and butter back in the day. I mean, is it just me or did pop music in the early-mid 90's, before the corporate boy bands, before the manufactured teenaged girl singers , make for a really diverse breadth of styles, influences, and all around wacked out weirdness? "Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow?" "I smell sex and candy?" "I could never be your woman?" This stuff is pre AND post sanjaya.

But most importantly, these were POP songs! These are the songs you still remember the lyrics to! The songs that soundtracked your first dates! The voice cracking! Uh, etc.! This 1990's JAM mix below should either start making you smile uncontrollably ear to ear, or gag. To me, it's a little mix of both.

01. "99 Red Balloons" Nena
02. "Steal My Sunshine" Len
03. "Brimful of Asha" Cornershop
04. "How Bizarre" OMC
05. "Lovefool" Cardigans
06. "Ghetto Supastar" Pras Michel feat. Mya, ODB
07. "Your Woman" White Town
08. "Friends of P" The Rentals
09. "Sex and Candy" Marcy Playground
10. "No Rain" Blind Melon
11. "In the Meantime" Spacehog
12. "Standing Outside a Phonebooth with Money in my Hand" Primitive Radio Gods
13. "Drinking in L.A." Bran Van 3000
14. "Pepper" Butthole Surfers
15. "Peaches" Presidents of the United States of America


(As a side note, in making this list, I realized middle school nostalgia could go on forever. So, these are the true one hit wonders; not the Alanis Morseitte, the Green Day, the STP songs, etc., that seemed to be everywhere too. Also, songs like "Feel So Good" by Mase should really stay in the past. Nostalgia must be diligent.)

Official Best Songs to Run to (in order):

05. "Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues" Mclusky
So this is probably the most intense song. Ever. RIP Mclusky
04. "Decepticon" Le Tigre
This really works best tailing 02, specifically sequenced by a feller named Diplo.
03. "Rock & Roll" Daft Punk
Most everything from these guys will get your blood flowing. But the brutal simplicity of this is pretty undeniable. Makes you kinda wish you were a robot. No, a Transformer. I'm pretty sure this is the sound of Optimus Prime's adrenaline. (Deyoung, where are the DP/Transformers videos?!)
02. "B.O.B." Outkast
Apart from the 5 minutes and 4 seconds of pure aural assault this song constitutes, the video features Andre 3000 running down a purple hill being chased by kids.
01. "Yeah (Crass Version)" LCD Soundsystem
If this doesn't get your pulse moving, i.e., make you want to explode in a flaming chernobyl fireball of energy, then you are probably dead. If so, sorry about being dead and all.

Okay so I'm bad at updating. Will fix that. I'm back in the U.S.A. and I've got a variety of projects to work on, so hopefully this productivity will reflect back here. But for the meantime, spring(!) is blossoming and that can only mean one thing: awesome spring music. This mix is heavily indebted to O-dub, so if you don't already check out his site, you are a crazy person. Here's the tracklist:

1. "Smile ft. Wale (Mark Ronson DC remix)"-- Lily Allen
2. "Valerie ft. Amy Winehouse" -- Mark Ronson
3. "International Playa's Anthem"-- UGK ft. Outkast
4. "Mr. Big Stuff"-- Lynn Collins
5. "Kick out the Chairs"-- Munk & James Murphy
6. "D.A.N.C.E."-- Justice
7. "Ice Cream"-- Muscles
8. "The Troglodyte Wins"-- Busdriver
9. "Air"-- Clutchy Hopkins
10. "I Don't Know How"-- The Superlatives
11. "Funky Hi-Life"-- C.K. Mann
12. "Check Yo Bucket"-- Eddie Bo
13. "Peggy"-- Toots and the Maytals
14. "Crimson and Clover"-- The Uniques
15. "Bika Nzanga"-- Le Likembe Geant

It has not stopped raining here for four days, and as such, being stuck in a suburb of Buenos Aires, and not actually in Buenos Aires as previously thought, I'm getting a little restless, even moreso than usual. I'm only here for another month, so I am trying to know this city as best I can. But it seems like the rainy season is upon us, and while the lightning storms over Rio Del Plata are beautiful, it limits my options here even less.

Luckily however, the last episodes of the Sopranos (!) will air in a week, and I for one am truly excited. In honor and celebration of its final return, I had to post this amazing 7 minute summary of every Sopranos season. Not only hilarious, it is alarmingly precise and revelatory. WHO knew that Job was (partly) responsible for Adriana's death? C'mon!!

Check out an illustration o'mine at National Geographic Adventure. For some reason it's kinda blurry on the site, but whatev. Here's a clearer and bigger and happier version for yer eyes.

Do yourself a favor and check out Sylvain Chomet's first animated short "La Viellie Dame et les Pigeons." It's 20 minutes of charming, hilarious, and pretty disturbing animation goodness.

Part Un:


Part Deux:

I got a scanner for the birthday! And just cause I'm in the gifting spirit, I've got a mix for the curious and interested. If you're feeling moody instrumentals and gospel harmonies, well then, I've got your fix.

Tracklist:
01. "Melody of Love" Maggie Ingram w/ the Ingramettes
02. "Nothing Like This" J. Dilla
03. "Kaleidoscope" Peter Pan & the Good Fairies
04. "I Had a Dream" Staple Singers
05. "Walk on Gilded Splinters" Dr. John
06. "Black Panta" Lee "Scratch" Perry
07. "Chinito, Chinito" Ry Cooder
08. "Siboney (instrumental)" Xavier Cugat
09. "Umbe" Jack Mendell and his Orchestra
10. "Electric Karaoke in the Negative Style" Fujiya & Miyagi
11. "Temporary Secretary (remix)" Paul McCartney
12. "A Sentence of Sorts in Konsvinger" Of Montreal
13. "A Lifetime" Brothers of Soul
14. "This Life Makes me Wonder" Delroy Wilson
15. "I've Been Lonely For So Long" B'Ham Rhythm Section
16. "Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death (Scott Niblett cover)" Jens Lekman

Amigos! Sorry this blog has been a ghost lately. My scanner's broke, and I don't really have much things to scan into it anyways. I am remedying the situation(s). As an update, this will be poor, but I will say that Argentina is awesome blah blah blah great. I'm trying hard not to atrophy from this aimless wandering life, and am working hard on paintings and comic books. I need structure. I read this quote which rung true: "When you travel, your first discovery is that you do not exist." That's what blogs are for, damnit.

P.S. Psst! Out of print (and in print) Salinger! Shhh! (Print & read at your leisure.)

As our character Field is about to plunge into the South American unknown, so am I, this Monday. I have no idea what to expect. Only that I still want to be in school, and this will afford me the time to focus, perhaps theoretically aid me... and it's Buenos Aires. Why not, right? And speaking of Field, I'm going to work on more pages on this comic and start another while I'm there too. If anxiety is just "excitement transformed," then consider me ecstatic.

A simple link that will change your life, or at the very least dominate your procrastination time indefinitely (which, face it, IS your life): http://yourtvlinks.com. You're welcome.

Friends, check out my last comissioned illustration for Stylus. The subjects don't really turn out to mirror Stylus' actual best of list... eh. I did what I was told. (I can post images real big now!)

Happy New Years invisible readers! This link up here is the culmination of a lot of effort, sweat, tears, anxiety attacks, defeated resignations, and finally, oranges (thanks, T)... not to mention a lot of years. It's finally presentable to the public-- sure there are many tweaks and changes that need to be made, but at least it's coherent... well, as far as this kind of cartoon actually can be coherent. It's a silly absurd cartoon, a one note kind of idea, that ended up devouring a lot of the past three years of my life! So, here's to elephants, babies, and rats-- hope you enjoy it.

Oh, and p.s. I'd recommend opening it up in its own proper youtube window-- as embedded in the blog it's a bit choppy... just sayin'.