Did anyone else think the Smoke Monster was a swarm the first time you saw him?

I’m a Lost dork. My wife & I were late-comers to the Lost party though. It wasn’t until almost Season Four that we rented the first season, at which point, we embarked on a Lost marathon unmatched anywhere. For at least a week, we were shut-ins (in our own little sideflash world). We blazed through the first three seasons, at first really hooked. Then, bogged-down somewhere in Season 3, we kept watching just to play catch-up before Season 4. We stayed the course through Seasons 4, 5 & 6, weathering the introduction of other others, time-travelling, fish biscuits, and the apparent forgetfulness of the writers about Walt (what happened to him?!). The finale (leaving as many questions as Lost always does) was worth it for me. It’s had me thinking about it all week, and I’ve even gone back and watched it again. More of my questions were answered reading blogs & chatting with fellow Losties.  I found this one really interesting (supposedly, it’s from someone at Bad Robot).

At any rate, I figure this is a much more likely outcome for our Lostaways. I mean, really, the odds of them catching malaria from an island mosquito vs. discovering that the island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world and having to kill a smoke monster are probably 4,815,162,342 – to – 1, right? (yes, those were the Lost numbers)  Well, the weekend is here!  I hope you find your own metaphorical island to get away from it all.  Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!  Have a drink & stay safe:

Not Penny’s Boat

Tall glass with ice

add 2 shots Vodka

Twist-O-Lime

add 2 oz. 1/2 regular grapefruit juice

fill to top with Orange Juice

Let Jacob touch it before you take a drink for an added kick. (source)

Namaste,
Lee

I’m worse at what I do best, and for this gift, I feel blessed…and you get a comic out of the deal.  On the morning show I work on, our audio guy paid tribute to the anniversary of Kurt Cobain‘s death (16 years ago this week) by playing snippets of Nirvana songs as our news show went to commercial break.  I think that planted the seed in my head for this week’s comic.  I was singing along to “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and when I reached “a mosquito,” I knew I had to draw that.  You probably recognize the Cobain mosquito, but there’s a Novoselic & Grohl in the background of panel 2 as well (here’s a cleaner version of that panel and here are some rough sketches from my notebook before I started drawing this week’s comic).  There’s also some cameos from La Vida Skeeter’s regulars (Blue Hawaiian, White Russian, Gin Blossom, Rita, Moe, Surfer-on-Acid, etc).  I don’t know that any words I type can express my thoughts or feelings about Cobain’s death, but I’d relate his passing to the “wave speech” in Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (substitute gen-x for hippie):  ”…with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark — that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”  Anyway, I leave you with this & a drink afterwards:

Nirvana Cocktail

2 oz Rittenhouse 100 proof bonded rye

1 oz Amer Picon

¼ oz maraschino liqueur

¼ oz Benedictine

Come as you are, stir & strain, and garnish with an orange twist. (source)

Cheers,

Pennyroyal Lee

This week’s comic is inspired by this Kevin Fowler song.  If you haven’t checked out the La Vida Skeeter facebook page in a while, you should swing by & become a fan.  I’ve been working on it a bit this week.  The FB page now has a section with videos, a Facebook Exclusive section (where I plan to post a few extra comics & remixes), and the Skeeter Tweets section is pretty neat-o, too.

Scooter

1 oz. Amaretto

1 oz. Brandy

1 oz. Light Cream

Mix in a blender or shake with cracked ice. Strain into cordial glass, then scoot that shot to your mouth & shoot it.

Cheers,
Lee

Moe Skeeter & the gang hit it pretty hard on St. Pat’s this year.  They posted some twitpics of their adventures.  The beer coaster that Moe is waking up under is from Kilkenny’s, a pub here in Tulsa.  Speaking of pubs, I think this is the 1st time a distinct “bar” has made a recurring appearance in this comic (edit: I forgot about Elbow Joe’s bar).  Bloody Mary was the “bar” back in this episode, too.  Anyway, hope you had a fun week.  Catch you next Friday back here for some more shenanigans.

Paddy Cocktail

1 1/2 oz. Irish Whiskey

1 1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth

1 dash Bitters

Stir with ice & strain into a cocktail glass, lads & lasses!

Cheers,

Lee

…Andy Capp

If skeeters go to skeetups, what do they tweet about?  Go ahead, click on each (they won’t bite…much)

Also, I recently heard of a flashmob that hit Tulsa (in case you’re scratching your head about that).

and finally…

I read this on Twitter this week & thought it was interesting & fit the theme of this blog:

It’s Friday!!! TGIF, my Skeeterholics! The weekend is upon us (like a swarm?). Here’s something different for a drink (really, that’s what it’s called):

Something Different

1 oz. Peach Schnapps

1 oz. Amaretto

2 oz. Pineapple Juice

2 oz. Cranberry Juice

Shake with ice & pour into a highball glass with ice cubes, then go order more of the same ; )

Cheers,

Lee

So…um, the mosquitoes in that last panel are  definitely not drawn to scale. Those would be some huuuge skeeters.  I posted a bonus comic this past Tuesday (Phat Fat Tuesday) to celebrate Mardi Gras. If you missed it, check it out! In the meantime…TGIF & here, have a drink!

Oh My Gosh (OMG!)

1 oz. Amaretto

1 oz. Peach Schnapps

Stir with ice, strain into shot glass, toss it back & exclaim!

Cheers,
Lee

Laissez les bon temps rouler (let the good times roll)!  Happy Fat Tuesday!  Enjoy the end of Mardi Gras & here, have a drink!  See ya’ Friday for another new comic!

Hurricane

1 oz. Dark Rum

1 oz. Light Rum

1 tbsp. Passion Fruit Syrup

2tsps. Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass & go get’cha some beads!

Cheers,

Lee

me-ow!  I wonder how many mosquitoes have met death by cat swat.  I know my dog has caught several (and it’s like watching Mr. Miyagi catch flies with a pair of chopsticks).  Anyway, there was an earthquake in Haiti this week.  We can help out.  Wyclef Jean says so.  Plus, it’s just the right thing to do.  Have a nice weekend, skeeterholics & here, have a drink:

Cat’s Meow

1 oz. Blended Whiskey

1 scoop Vanilla Ice Cream

Whip it up in blender & pour into an old-fashioned glass or snifter for maximum delicious-ity!  Try not to get on your whiskers, cats n’ kittens.

Cheers,

Lee

Happy Friday!  We made it to another weekend!  Sorry, no blog post last week.  I’ve been supersuperbusy.  The holidays were hectic (we had a blizzard dump on us, I had to work Christmas, then we roadtripped all over the place to visit relatives). Then I got sick.  Then work’s been crazy.  Then my dog’s been injured, requiring a lotta’ care.  Plus I’m also gearing up to co-teach a college class starting this next week.  Deep breath.  This comic’s one of the few things in life that helps keep my sanity.  Last week was a big milestone for La Vida Skeeter: 100 comics!  When I started drawing these, that number seemed very far away.  Thanks for joining me week after week for a little amusement.  I hope these silly mosquitoes elicit the occasional chuckle.  I appreciate the feedback and encouragement some of you have given me over the past year and half.  As for 2010, we’re gonna’ keep on truckin’.  Every Friday: happy hour here!

Boom! Boom!
1 shot Sweet Vermouth
1 shot Dark Rum
1/2 shot Orange Juice
Champagne
Pour the vermouth, rum & oj into a champagne flute.  Fill with champagne.  Garnish with a slice of banana.  Boom! Boom!

Cheers,
Lee