ák

I dreamed a tree
near a footbridge
in the city

at sunset
or sunrise
or sun's death

I do not know

but the light through
the flowering tree

the komorebi

and the sun glint
on stream

though beautiful
holds no candle

to the bright lapis
bloom among
all blush

#poetry #poem #dreams #blooms

10 Years of Poorly Drawn Arsenal On February 20, 2016, I woke up, as most humans tend to do, except that I was frozen to my bed. Unable, or unwilling, to move. My palms were sweaty. The back of my neck was hot. I was breathing rapidly. This had unfortunately had become my routine; I was having another panic attack. This day roughly marked a month of this routine. Most people after day 5 of this routine would logically think to themselves "I really hate this, something needs to change," but me, not wanting to be burdensome to my own emotions, decided that another 25 days of this would be polite and really let me know if I in fact do like this or not. Day 30 told me the same information that Day 1 did, which is that I really do not like this and something needed to change. I impulsively, as most decisions in my life are, decided to reconnect with a childhood activity I really loved. Drawing. And so I reached to my nightstand, grabbed my Nexus 7 tablet, and decided to draw about my favorite sports team Arsenal. I was going to set a daily routine, something to look forward to, and draw Arsenal every day for a year. I would post this online as a way to prove to myself that I can do something, people can look at it, and it doesn't have to be perfect. The first drawing What Poorly Drawn Arsenal has meant to me has always been hard for me to explain. Partly because, as my teacher when I was 10 years old explained (with negative intentions): "Jacob is a bit of a renaissance man. He has a lot of interests and thus struggles with putting his thoughts into written word." And while there is some truth in that, either because it's something I actually struggle with or these are the standards that were put on me at 10 years old by a teacher and I've carried that through my entire life, let me try. This project was born out of a moment of crisis for me. While Poorly Drawn Arsenal is not the sole reason I’ve gotten better, I did go to therapy and address the underlying issues, it has always been a reminder to me. A reminder that I can make something and it doesn’t have to be perfect or even good. That I can post that unfinished thing online, people can see it, and that’s okay. That I myself can be unfinished, people can see that, and that is okay. I’ve gotten a lot out of Poorly Drawn Arsenal over the years. More than I would have ever dreamed of. I’ve won awards, met players, toured London Colney, met Win, done work for the club, done work for Adidas, been in the NYTimes (technically it was The Athletic but gonna call that a win). I don't feel the need to accomplish more. At this point, I think the most useful service that Poorly Drawn Arsenal can provide is that someone out there reading this, struggling in the way that I struggled, has realized that there's a path out of that cave. To clarify, the path doesn't have to involve silly doodles. But, if this helps one person realize that it gets better, that you don't have to wake up to a panic attack every morning or however your demons are manifesting themselves, and that I am proof that you can get out, then I've done my part. As a quick aside, while I'm honored to have done all the things I have with Poorly Drawn Arsenal, the one thing I treasure the most is the people. The community around Arsenal is truly special, both online and in person. Online it reminds me of what the promise of what the internet is supposed to be. A place to find like-minded people to fill a void that you might not be able to find locally. Bare with me here for a second, but I just read a book about the Enshittification of the internet. For those unfamiliar with the term, it's basically the process of services maximizing profits over user experience. I fear this is happening to our sport. As the absolutely blind optimist that I am, I believe, perhaps foolishly, that the Arsenal community has the ability to keep our club in check. It's becoming harder, but we've done it before. The people are what makes the club what it is. 10 Years of Poorly Drawn Arsenal To wrap this up, thank you for following along for the last ten years. In the last 10 years I've gone through a break up, met a girl, lost a dog, lost a cat, got a dog, got two cats, proposed to the girl, married the girl, and as of this week we are on the waiting list to adopt a baby in the next year or so. This has been a truly humbling experience. Thank you so much for being here. Finally, to my fifth grade teacher, I hope this is okay. Reading this back, I realize that this sounds like I’m ending this project. And while I don’t know how much longer I will be doing this, I am still having fun. I’ve done a lot of performing of comedy over my life, I was on a Saturday night house team for 7 years, and one of the things they instill in you is this concept of “follow the fun.” I'm still having fun and I'll keep following it. **React to this** 👍 👍 👍 - 👍 👍 - 👍 Poorly Drawn Arsenal is free, but there are other ways to support what I do. ****Share the newsletter:**** tell your friends (or your enemies) about it. ****Buy some merch:**** I put a lot of my drawings onto shirts, mugs, posters, stickers, etc. This helps keeps the lights on at PDA Headquarters and you get something in return. Neat! ****Leave a Comment:****leaving a comment just lets me know that you like what I’m doing which is sometimes hard to know when you are sending out emails into the ether.

Today marks 10 years of Poorly Drawn Arsenal

Corrosion,
rust,
sits on
heart
tongue,
the leftovers,
the throw-aways,
the crumbs,
why?

#freeversefebruary #mpprompt @malformed-poetry.bsky.social #poetry

Kevin Seconds and Alex Walker- Morgan’s Mill, Woodland Ca 1/16/26 Digital Soundboard Master It’s time for another collections post from new contributor Scott Schiller. Scott and Jonemery (Chuck) Dodds are promoting a new series of shows in the Davis/Woodland area. It looks like they…

AUDIO: Kevin Seconds and Alex Walker- Morgan's Mill, Woodland Ca 1/16/26 Digital Soundboard Master

Audio collections post for Tue, Feb 17

Courtesy of Scott Schiller and left of the dial promotions
#kevinseconds #alexwalker #morgansmill #woodland
sacramentomusicarchive.com/2026/01/16/k...

shoe on utility line

moss wall sidewalk orange horizontal barricades at skewed angle

pink flower brown wood fence

hippo art on roman toga and crown on pillar with blue sky and bare branch whisp trees to left

Around Portland...

Many histories of comics privilege male characters & connotatively masculine genres. But comics have always responded to changing gender norms, including various waves of feminism. The popular genre of “working girl” comic strips offers many illustrative examples. 1/13

The Gynecologists- A Goat… You Geek Demo 1984 Indianapolis Punk Gravelvoice Records GVR-003 Alright, who wants to be offended today? This demo’s cover was so offensive that I decided against using it as the image. I think it would draw a facebook ban and nobody’s got time for …

AUDIO: The Gynecologists- A Goat... You Geek Demo 1984 Indianapolis Punk Gravelvoice Records GVR-003

Audio collections post for Tue, Feb 11

super offensive Indianapolis punk
#thegynecologists #agoatyougeek #demo #punk
sacramentomusicarchive.com/1984/01/01/t...

A woman wearing a black t shirt and black rimmed glasses. A speech bubble says "come and hear me talk about punk ans feminism". The date on the image says 6th March 2026.

Reminder lovelies! The Women in Punk Conference is taking place in Nottingham on 6th March and I will be talking about my upcoming book Rebel Grrrls! Advance ticket sales are really important so if you can buy a ticket, please do!

I continuously borrowed (from a family friend) a book called Satanism: The Seduction of America’s Youth so that I could find all the bands I wanted to listen to and all the ttrpgs I should play. It was perfect for rebellious evangelical me.

A source “close to American efforts” says the US is actively planning for regime collapse in Iran and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Trump, is involved.

When Kushner spoke about Gaza being prime real estate, he was flat and affectless, almost bored by the human cost. It is the same here.

paul shatz, portland, oregon, 1976

paul shatz, portland, oregon, 1976

It was so fabulous!

thursday and friday

44 years ago today
Bad Brains is the debut studio album by the American hardcore punk band Bad Brains, recorded in 1981 and released on the cassette-only label ROIR on this day in 1982

#punk #punks #punkrock #badbrains #hardcorepunk #history #punkrockhistory #otd

A brown spider with a violin shaped mark on her carapace, six eyes arranged in a row, six legs (both her third legs are missing--they were like that when I found her). She is sitting next to a pale yellow roach waiting for her venom to kick in so she can start to feed.

One of the recluses overwintering in the spider room. This lady is missing two legs--one on each side--but she's still a great hunter.

She has webbed up her winter home almost completely. Super cool pattern!

#loxosceles #spider

🧵Spotted at the beach in Aotearoa New Zealand

A sturdy man (60s?) is fast asleep on an All Blacks towel.
Hairy tum moving up and down with tremendous snores.
All is peaceful. All is well.
But what is this?!
Two giggling small humans (5 & 7?) approaching with a bucket of water?
Oh no!
SPLOOSH! (1)

A mannequin wearing a bright red strapless ballgown with drapes that flow from the hip and a cape style effect around one shoulder

Yves Saint Laurent had big shoes to fill when he unveiled his first collection at the head of Dior. This is look 150, Rose Rouge, from the Spring/Summer 1958 launch. It does enfold the wearer in its petals of silk @ngvmelbourne.bsky.social #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Sunrise (with beach cat), Tuesday, 3 February, from Wainui Beach, Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Ata mārie / Good Morning ☀️

full moon through the curled branches of a sumac bush, the seed buds full and alien

golden window lit "steeple" of a house with a jet trail bisecting it straight as the steeple genuflects forward and the moon glowers amid a corona of light

what is by day an overgrown stone fountain becomes in the night the charnal house impression of a squat mutilated beast nursing its wounds amid a glistening wet red green profusions of what has been cut away from it, but the eyes glitter sharp and still the rosy cheek that foretells breath.

birdhouse at angle nods to a moon caught in a veil of light in a V with the clouds held back by that uncanny border

around portland, lit only by moonlight... 1/2

🧵Spotted on Market Day in Aotearoa New Zealand:

A very tubby, woolly white dog (Poodle cross sheep?) is lying in a busy thoroughfare with her tummy on show.
People SHALL NOT PASS until they've paid tummy tax.
Pats and laughter ensue.
Doggy smiles and squirms of happiness in return. (1)

nooo. no handle the velvet ants.

Little pale green lynx spider with a stripy white face, big eyes peering ahead, on a green leaf next to the egg sac covered in her siblings

Baby Hamataliwa helia, fresh out of the egg, learning to spood and a little overwhelmed by it all 💚

#EmotionalSupportSpood

A long sleeveless purple dress with a ruched bodice and embroidered motifs running around the waist

A pair of gloves in the same fabric as the purple dress with embroidered motifs across the back of the hands

This March sees the opening of Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A. Her 1930s designs are always spectacular and this is a bright and brilliant purple crepe from Fall 1939. The gloves from the same collection match the gown #visitpham #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Toad finds existentialism.

I discussed all this, as well as other scholarship, back when I was warning that the "Patriot" movement--which since then has morphed and grown and now calls itself MAGA--represented a dangerous fascist undercurrent in our politics.

dneiwert.blogspot.com/2003/01/rush...

we're countersuing

If you aren't familiar with what DARVO is, get familiar with it. "Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender." The govt is relying on DARVO as a tactic on a national scale, and it is also increasingly a conservative tactic to attack outspoken critics of their ideas, theories, & renderings of history.

Light brown fuzzy little orb weaver with two booty humps which have a tuft of floof on each. She has a round shiny ball of snack she's eating

Top view of the fuzzy creature. Her 1st leg pair is longer and thicker than the others and features a band of black floof

Uloborus campestratus, Ms Booty Tufts, with a snack 🤎

This species is a relatively uncommon uloborid here, and always a little treat to see. Spiders with booty tufts please me.

A square radio with big round headphones designed to look like pizzas, with the Pizza Hut logo

Headphones designed to look like supreme pizza

Sorry, I couldn't hear you! I was listening to my Pizza Hut AM radio with pan pizza headphones from Radio Shack

A transparent sphere containing a single flame floats on the other side of a stone passageway leading out to a view of the sea. The wall is broken above the arch exposing more of the sky beyond, which is saturated with golden light. The ruined wall is grown over with yellow and blue wildflowers.

WINDOW TO THE SUN (2006)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 13" x 11"

After my resolution to devote time to my gallery work, I obsessed with painting these passageways. It doesn't take a Sigmund Freud to figure out why. 1/3