A personal diary keeping people abreast of what I am working on writing-wise.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

MY SQUELCHY LIFE

Sarah Grace McCandless reveals my dirty secret on her blog!



In my defense, it had peanut butter and jelly filling. Yes, jelly in the middle! It's a miracle I look so fit.

And she's the one with a cupcake problem. Today she made me go to Saint Cupcake to enter her in this. That's right. She wants to win a cupcake a day for a year from a store on the other side of the country from where she lives. It's sick!

In other news, this little Martin Scorsese-directed commercial has been doing the rounds today. I love Marty, I love Hitch, and I love champagne. How can it lose?

Current Soundtrack: M.I.A., Kala

Current Mood: dismissive

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

TAKE IT LIKE A MAN, BOY

Page 56, You Have Killed Me

YOU HAVE KILLED ME page 56



One of my favorites from the most recent completed batch.

Current Soundtrack: random, Skeeter Davis to Spoon to Brett Anderson to Christina Aguilera

Current Mood: ecstatic

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

POP(GUN) MUSIK

Yo, kids. Though I mentioned Madman Atomic Comics #5 is on sale this Thursday (comics delayed a day so truck drivers and warehouse workers could eat turkey last week), I neglected to note another Madman-related product is also going to be on sale. Popgun volume 1 has a new Mike Allred cover and a color reprint of the first Frank Einstein story (colored originally for a Madman book I edited, mind you).

Of course, this book also features "Me & the Cat Own the Lease on the Flat" by myself, Joëlle "The Animal" Jones, and Keith "The GrrAnimal" Wood.



More details can be had by clicking on the image. It's a big book, approaching 500 pages of comics. There is also a story by the oft-mentioned David Walker, Corey "These Ink Lines Trace the Tracks of My Tears" Lewis, Chuck BB, David Crosland, Brandon Graham, and a million more.

Buy it at your local comic book store, ask your major book chain or indie bookstore to order it, or use my Amazon link and earn me a couple of cents.



Current Soundtrack: One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost & Found

Current Mood: focused

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Monday, November 26, 2007

BIG BOSS GROOVE

This is why I love working for DVD Talk.

The site's writer pool is full of talent, and the folks at the top realize that this enhances the reputation of the venue. So, they take care of us and promote us.

I gotta get my hands on that David Walker film.

And returning the love, everyone should check out Geoffrey Kleinman's Indie Film Radio. Geoff has been the man behind DVD Talk since the beginning, but his film coverage has taken a backseat to the actual management of the site. Now he's got his own forum. (And it reminds me that I have a copy of What Would Jesus Buy? at home that needs watching.

Current Soundtrack: Cat Power, "Love & Communication (Live Session)"
GIMME GIMME MORE

Newsarama is posting their annual gift guide as chosen by comic book professionals. You can find my recommendations in Part III.

For those wondering, yes, Blade Runner really is on my Wish List.

Also, Madman Atomic Comics #5 is due on the racks this week. You can see the first five pages, also at Newsarama.

I'm still trucking on manga. I am in the final proofing stages of the third in the pile, halfway through rewriting the fourth (Star Project Chiro #4). My goal is to have that one done by Thursday, when the script for the fifth and final of this clutch, Kedamono Damono #3, is due to arrive (though, I guess that's actually Friday). That'll make it five scripts in just under five weeks.

I also just started Season 8 of Seinfeld. Home stretch!

Current Soundtrack: Bob Dylan, No Direction Home

Current Mood: still getting started

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich






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Friday, November 23, 2007

ARRANGEMENTS OF SHAPES AND SPACE

Marc Ellerby, a one-armed bandit and one-handed typist, has updated his website with three new wallpaper images, including the cover for the still-waiting-patiently Love the Way You Love #6.

More at Marc's journal.

Love the Way You Love #6 wallpaper

Current Soundtrack: various Camera Obscura tracks

Current Mood: thankful

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Thursday, November 22, 2007

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We're having turkey.



(This message is Plastorm exempt, since he has a problem with cats on blogs.)

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

"And from the two loaves, he made 500..."


PB200002
Originally uploaded by The Everlasting Jamie S Rich
Man, I didn't realize how big that pulpit was.

Despite the rant of last night, last night actually went well at Powell's. A decent sized crowd of the loyal and the faithful, and several good, good people let me know in advance why their attendance got derailed.

I read from chapter 4 of the book, as suggested by Jennifer de Guzman and Geoffery Kleinman, and from the Halloween chapter, as also supported by people on this blog. Joëlle says I read a little fast, but otherwise, she and most people gave me decent marks.

It felt good, regardless.

Thanks again to all who came!
SLIM PIXIE-THIN AND FORLORN

Dear Portland,

Fuck you. You're dead to me.

David Walker was right.

My greatest hope? I'd love to be the next Elliot Smith. I'd love to be successful without you and then pass away too early so you can pretend like you own me and that if only I'd stay in your abusive arms that I'd have survived. What a crock of shit. I'd die younger if I listened to you!

Fuck you, and while you're at it, fuck your mother.

That said, thanks to all the beautiful, supportive people who came out tonight. You are truly wonderful. To the girl with red hair and the spiral notebook/sketch pad and the boy with dark spikey hair, I didn't know you. I am really sad you didn't talk to me after I was done reading. If you read this, please drop me a line and tell me what you thought.

To the two people who walked out in the middle, at least you're honest.

To Powell's, as I wrote in your author's book, thanks for being hometown heroes and supporting hometown anti-heroes.

To the people who either linked to me or let me know ahead of time you could not be there, bless you.

In the end, it was a success, despite the city's best efforts.

Bourbon is good.

Peace out.

Current Soundtrack: SOCIAL MOTHERFUCKIN' DISTORTION

Current Mood: Don't mistake my kindess for weakness. It takes strength to be gentle and kind.*


*If you know anyone else who can quote Kelis and Morrissey in the same breath, I'd love to meet her.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

ON A DAY LIKE TODAY

Wow. Sorry. Lots of posts today.

The Portland Mercury has posted their own version of a plug for me on their blog, tailored slightly different in light of the events of earlier. I like Alison Hallett and have shared drinks with her in the past, and I do appreciate that she had intended to give me some space all along, so rather than get embroiled further, I'll just let things speak for themselves.

Steve Lieber also put up some info on the Periscope Studios blog. In that post, he mentions the upcoming Rom - Space Knight even at Floating World Comics, which everyone should add to their calendars. I'll be there helping Jason out on December 6!

Current Mood: bitchy
"I am two people
One you know
but don't like
The other one
you don't know
but you don't want to
"




THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...

* I'm Not There, the out-on-a-ledge dismantling of the biopic genre, in which Todd Haynes tackles the many faces of Bob Dylan.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Golden Boy, the debut of William Holden in a boxing picture with Barbara Stanwyck, adapted from a play by Clifford Odets.

* The Lady Vanishes, the double-disc re-release of any early Hitchcock classic. (Also posted at Criterion Confessions.)

* Sawdust & Tinsel - Criterion Collection, a sea change film from Ingmar Bergman, using a traveling circus as a metaphor for life's struggles. (Also posted at Criterion Confessions.)

Current Soundtrack: Keane, various non-album tracks

Current Mood: ready
LONELINESS REMEMBERS WHAT HAPPINESS FORGETS

Taking a break from rehearsing. Running through my scales, you know, exercising my voice, cutting hard French words like "object d'art" and "oeuvre" from my selections for tonight...

...and I was actually rather flattered to come across this from the Badazz Mofo himself, David Walker. Amusingly enough, I found it via the Portland Mercury's blog, where I was following up on something I saw there yesterday. On that blog, Matt Davis called David a whiner, which makes me wonder if he was the less gutzy guy who called him that anonymously on the Media Insiders talkback. I am not sure, though, how one is considered a whiner when you are complaining on behalf of other people? Had I posted that, I'd have been the whiner. I actually think the petulant link suggests Mr. Davis just can't handle being picked on.

I also like that the Mercury has comments from both Mr. Davis and myself in the feedback section that are neither of us. Good work, there. When was the last time you heard me refer to myself without a middle initial, Confessors? Or miss a chance to link to myself?

This hasn't been the first time such a complaint has come up about the local press. I know many people who do creative things who have said that if you don't play a guitar in this town, you might as well be dead. All I'll say is, I don't entirely disagree.

Carry on, folks! See you tonight! Sadly for the spectacle, I got control of my temper seconds before I was about to punch my mirror when I cut myself shaving. I would have loved to have shown up with a bloodied, bandaged hand!

And thanks to the Comics Reporter, Journalista!, and Blog @ Newsarama, national blogs who all made mention of tonight's event. Also, to Portland's literary blog, Seeing Indigo. And to be fair, Willamette Week did give me a "pick" designation in their calendar.

Current Soundtrack: Dot Allison, We Are Science

Current Mood: amused & jittery

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Sarah Grace McCandless Mortified video

I wish I had remembered that my camera took video when she was still reading her poetry, but here is Sarah sharing part of the table of contents she prepared for one of her imaginary issues of Sassy.

Sarah Grace McCandless @ Portland's Mortified

I've neglected posting about this, because it's been a hectic couple of days. But my pal, the author Sarah Grace McCandless, whose limp-wristed iPod has earned her the nickname McCandyass for the preponderance of Coldplay-like bands, was in town last week, first being a diva at Wordstock and then performing at the grand opening of Portland's Mortified chapter.

Mortified is a national mushroom patch of authors getting together and reading material they wrote in their younger years. Most of Portland's readers dug out old journals and exposed their deep crushes on boys with "mallard tail curls" in their hair, and they were all absolutely hysterical. Sarah read her submissions she had prepared in her teen years as her bid to write for Sassy magazine. Cute Writer Alert!

Monday, November 19, 2007

READER MEET AUTHOR - November 20, 2007

I know I blogged about this before, but consider this to be the official entry.

This Tuesday, November 20, 2007, I will be reading at Powell's Books on Burnside in Portland, Oregon. The event starts at 7:30, and it's free. I'll be reading from Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? and maybe a short story.

I hope everyone in Portland can make it. It's a big room, I don't want to sit alone.

Here is the entry on the Powell's site. If for whatever reason you need more info about the store, including location address, etc., their site should have it.

Spread the word!

Current Soundtrack: Cocteau Twins, Blue Bell Knoll

Current Mood: on the spot

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Friday, November 16, 2007

MONEY-GO-ROUND

Some of the writer's of The Daily Show (and one regular correspondent) put together their version of the kind of routine that the program might be doing on the Writer's Guild strike were they on the air.



While it does prove how valuable a guy like Jon Stewart is when it comes to delivery, the point is extremely valid. I imagine the folks at YouTube love it.

It's been a pretty heavy work week. Missed a conference call with DC, but have been so buried in manga and manhwa that I had to stop fretting and let that roll off my back. In the last three days, I've been working on the third volume of Magical JxR for Udon, and the second volume of a book for Tokyopop. I'd link to that, but I can't find a damn thing on their confusing website and don't know if the book has been officially announced. I didn't script the first volume, though, so I am having to get up to speed.

It looks like this is just the beginning of the return of this kind of work for me. A lot of my older titles appear to be starting up again in the new year.

Speaking of that impending new year, I've noticed people have already started posting their top 10 lists for 2007. Are "Top 10s" the new "Christmas Decorations" in that we're going to be putting them up earlier and earlier every year? Is it posturing to show off how much more in the know these people are than the rest of us that they've seen and heard and read everything that is coming in the next six weeks? I, for one, have decided to abstain this year. It's too much. What does it really mean anymore? There are just too many random opinions floating around, no consensus, no logic. If someone asked me to contribute to a round-table or voting or something, I'd probably do it, but as far as on my own, it's like whistling in a wind tunnel. Too much air at once, I can't breathe!

Current Soundtrack: shuffle: Faye Wong, "堕落;" the Roots, "Boom!";New Order, "Age of Consent;" Architecture in Helsinki, "It's Almost a Trap;" Cornell Campbell, "I Will Never Let You Go"





Current Mood: buried

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Thursday, November 15, 2007

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MR. BADMOUTH



THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

Only one, if you can believe it. But it's a mega review.

* Berlin Alexanderplatz - Criterion Collection, the 15-hour German television series directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Shot in 1980, it was truly ahead of its time as far as complex television dramas are concerned. (Also posted at Criterion Confessions.)

THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...

* Margot at the Wedding, Noah Baumbach's new dysfunctional family dramedy.

* Southland Tales, Richard Kelly's sophomoric sophomore cock-up. This film is the definition of bad. If you're one of those people who has 2 1/2 hours to waste laughing at bad movies, stop right there. This is so bad, it's bad. I wish I could have mustered a chuckle for even a second of it. It's an excruciating mess.

Current Soundtrack: Brett Anderson, Live at Queen Elizabeth Hall - Acoustic Performance with String Ensemble, 20th October 2007

Current Mood: aggravated

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

HAVE YOU SEEN HER FACE?

So, as it turns out, the Catwoman I met this weekend was actually Daria O'Neill, a local radio dj who also used to do bumpers for the syndicated programs on one of our Fox affiliates in the evenings. I knew she liked comics, because she used to live next door to former Dark Horse editor Peet Janes, but I've never actually spoken to her before.



You never know who might be hiding behind a mask these days!

Current Soundtrack: Sigur Ros,Hvarf/Heim

Current Mood: surprised

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Monday, November 12, 2007

GIVE ME THE WORDS THAT TELL ME EVERYTHING

Help me decide what to read next week...

I've got a week until my reading at Powell's. November 20, 7:30 PM. They have it on their calendar and everything, so you know it's true. You can see the blurb on their Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? page.

I was in the store on Saturday and did a quick sweep to check if they had the book and saw nothing. Then, oddly enough, the next day Steve Leialoha came up to my table at the Comic Book Show and pointed at Horizon and said, "I just saw this at Powell's." I didn't think to check the front of the store where they have the racks for upcoming events. Duh, me.

In any case, it's time for me to start figuring out what it is I am going to read. My routine over the last couple of years is to read from the book I am promoting and preview whatever it is I am working on, an idea I stole from Greg Rucka. Given that there is currently nothing to preview, though, that choice is not an option this time.

Generally, I prepare three pieces, though I most likely read only two. I really should do a selection from Horizon. I have considered repeating the experiment from last year when I read a piece of the script from 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, but it seems to me Reason 2 was and is the best chapter for that, and I worry about repeating myself.

As it stands now, I am leaning toward performing (1) the short story "Chevelu" and then (2) an abridged version of the Halloween night section of Horizon (roughly pages 225-236, maybe even up to 240). Last time around I had considered the Julia/Julie section of the book, but it was too long.

I don't know. I'm at a loss. So, I leave it up to you guys. Does anyone have a suggestion? Anyone want to vote "yes" to the two pieces mentioned?

Please leave comments and give me your ideas. If you have a special request and you are going to be there next week, please indicate that, as that will carry weight.

Current Mood: indecisive

Sunday, November 11, 2007

THE PUBLIC IMAGE

The Portland Comic Book Show went better than I would have expected. I was getting worried when during the first hour no one came up and talked to me at all. Only a rather fit Catwoman in the old purple-tights costume stopped by. She looked at me, started to walk away, and then looked back. "Oh, it is you!" she said and stuck out her hand. I took it, and she had a really impressive grip. "I'm a big fan of you," she said.

Catwoman digs me!

From there, things got better and I did pretty good business. I overestimated how much people would shun me for not having Joëlle with me and underestimated the popularity of 12 Reasons Why I Love Her. I brought five, thinking that would be enough on my own, and sold all of them before I even sold anything else. Point taken.



The panel for writers went well. I am a longtime Howard Chaykin fan, and so it was cool to hear him tell stories. Just as I started to introduce myself on the panel, though, my phone started to buzz in my pocket. It just figured. I'm so glad I had turned the ringer off. Joëlle's timing is always impeccable.

Once the panel was done, I went back to the table for my last hour. This guy came by at one point:



"Do you have any spaceships?" he asked.

"Um, no."

He looked over my books. "I'm looking for stuff with spaceships in it."

"Sorry. You got the wrong guy here."

He kept moving from table to table asking people the same questions. He told Scott Allie from Dark Horse that he was looking for pin-up art to hang in his office. I think it's more realistic to believe he was looking for a ride home.



Thanks to everyone who came out. I should write names down after I sign books so I can thank you all properly, but rather than leave anyone out, I'll leave it at this.

Current Soundtrack: Radiohead, "Unravel/Headmaster Ritual;" the Killers, Sawdust


Current Mood: done

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Saturday, November 10, 2007

JUST ONE LOOK...

Want an unofficial preview of You Have Killed Me?

I found a Danish (?) blog with pictures from San Diego, showing pages from our preview notebook.

Check it out right here.

But, shhhh...don't tell anyone I told you.

And just for laughs, nosing around the same site, I found a link to this hilariously bad picture of Andi Watson. He looks like he's been trapped in an elevator with a particularly noxious smell.

Current Soundtrack: "Snowball in Negative" by the Divine Comedy

Friday, November 09, 2007

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN? BUT WHAT ABOUT OLD JAMIE?



First off, I can't talk about movies this week without talking about the WGA strike.

Yes, this is going to cause the disruption of many of your favorite TV shows, but it's an important cause. This isn't just a bunch of fancypants wordsmiths crying for more money, it's about what's fair. It's also one of the first efforts in what will likely be an ongoing battle for people in the entertainment industry. The writers are just the first to deal with some of these issues, and their success will likely effect how actors, directors, and other members of the production crews will fare when their contracts are up for renegotiation. That's why you're seeing many of these people express their solidarity and walk the picket lines.

Here is a simple video explaining it all:



United Hollywood is a good blog for information about this. They put together the video, and they are the place I found the link to this petition that you can sign to show your support.

Our entertainment doesn't happen magically. It requires a lot of hard work. And though we hear about huge salaries for top tier stars and executives, most industries are carried by the people who are just getting by like any average joe. It's easy for studio fatcats and their flunkies to paint strikers as money-grubbing brats who, like Oliver Twist, dare to ask for more. Don't you believe it.



THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...

* No Country for Old Men, a pitch-perfect literary adaptation from the Coen Brothers. The cast is outstanding. Javier Bardem is menacing in all sorts of creepy ways.

In fact, you really need to click through on the review and see Joëlle Jones' phenomenal illustration for my review. She really captures the darkness and grit of the movie. I think we've really only begun to see how good she is at evoking mood in her art.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* In Between Days, a surprising portrait of an immigrant Korean girl lost in the frozen urban sprawl of North America. A really affecting film.

* Time, Kim Ki-Duk's 13th film. It's a bit quieter than some of his others, but no less interesting.

* The Two Jakes, the misfired sequel to Chinatown.

Though, apparently I am not allowed to think that. Check out the Socratic logic at work in this e-mail I received from Lynn L.:

I read your review of 'The Two Jakes' and...you are wrong. If you can adore The Sopranos how can you say the follow-up to Chinatown "doesn't deserve to exist".

Which I didn't actually say, so I'm not sure who Lynn thinks she is quoting there. Of course, she has plenty of punctuation issues in that tail end there anyway.

Even so, I wasn't aware that one's feelings about Chinatown and its illegitimate offspring were directly weighed against their feelings for The Sopranos.



In other movie news, though my new blog Criterion Confessions has largely been reprints so far, I have started adding new content. To start, a review of Brief Encounter that explains its connections to Love the Way You Love. So, Love the Way fans need to check it out.

Also, later today, I plan to post a new piece about my revisiting The Royal Tenenbaums in preparation for Halloween. [That piece is now up.]

Current Soundtrack: Morrissey, Live @ Orpheum Theatre, Boston, 10/30/2007; Mareva Galanter, Ukuyeye


Current Mood: pessimistic

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich