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

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

WELL ROPEY


My Favorite Convention Costume
(Also, appropriate commentary on what we've been served!)



God in Heaven, I'm back from Comic Con. Which hardly seems important since both Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni have died. Bergman was a big influence on 12 Reasons Why I Love Her (for this), and my slug line in the pitch for You Have Killed Me was "Antonioni directing The Big Sleep." Announcements about some stupid superhero movie, which appears to be the bread and butter of the show now, seem absolutely pointless by comparison.

I don't even know where to begin, don't even know that I want to. Tom Spurgeon seems to have some pretty accurate thoughts about this monstrosity, so read this. I didn't finish it, but I'm not really up to finishing anything at the moment. I got in at 1 a.m. last night and I'm still dead. I have a couple of links to other articles specific to me and my crew, but for me to come back and sift through all the write-ups to find mentions of us, it would take me a ridiculous amount of time. So, if you saw something, why not post it in the comments? (Tom's Collective Memory listing pulls in a huge amount of links. I actually met Tom for the first time, standing in front of the Image table occupied by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon while Marc Ellerby was buying stuff. Just one of those random meetings at Comic Con. I never saw Tom again.)

JK Parkin's summary of the Oni panel is worth reading. I'm kind of amused by the things I said that got directly quoted. He also avoided giving press time to the truly awful person in the audience who tried to chastise Oni for not having any "new female writers," emphasis on the new, noting that three female writers attached to new projects were just "wives, sisters, and friends," insulting quite a few people in the process. Which wasn't very smart, because by new, she meant, "Why haven't you hired me?" Way to blow your job interview, kid.

Joëlle Jones was on the Minx panel, announcing that she is drawing Token for next year, which is written by Alisa Kwitney. A quick scan didn't turn up any reportage on this, but DC has a slideshow I found via Rolston. (UPDATE: Ooops, and as Maryanne pointed out, here is Newsarama.) No captions, but Joëlle is the blonde with the blue shirt sitting between Jim Rugg and Brian Wood. She actually has the Jim Rugg placard while Jim is labeled as Cecil Castellucci. I spent a good amount of time talking to Cecil. In fact, she and I and Neal Shaffer had a long writerly chat one night at the bar. Cecil is everyone's new favorite. We were all charmed by her and wanted to brawl to see who could take her home in our suitcase.

I have my own photos, I'll post them eventually, probably today. I also need to get the photo of myself and Michael Cera from Chynna.

The awards shows were a bust. No Lulu or Russ Manning Awards for Joëlle, all the more bitter when Steve Rude lived up to his name and, claiming not to have a list of the nominees, skipped straight ahead to the winner of the Russ Manning. Not that, you know, he couldn't pause or something and wait for a list. Everyone in the room was handed a list of all the awards when they walked through the door. Or, I dunno, maybe turn your fat head and look at the giant freakin' slideshow projected on either side of you that showed the nominees. You know, something simple like that. Thankfully, Bill Morrison made the projectionist back up afterwards and gave our girl her spotlight. (I realize that the Dude may have simply been the victim of a screw-up on behalf of the show runners, but seriously, stop for a second and use common sense. I doubt he was being malicious, just not very conscientious.)

As we exited, shocked by sleeveless Paul Pope dancing up to the stage to riffs of "Cinammon Girl" and fed up with the process, I accidentally kicked Joëlle's empty glass--well, empty of drink. Because ice went flying everywhere! Way to be inconspicuous while wearing a bright red shirt, m'man!

On the positive awards front: Jennifer de Guzman beat DC editors Karen Berger and Joan Hilty to take home the Lulu for Woman of Distinction. Not bad for a scrawny girl with dirt on her knees hailing from an indie publisher!

People kept asking me how the show went, to the point I just wanted to scream. You know how when you break a limb and can't hide the fact that you have a huge cast on, and every time you run into someone, they have to know what happened? That same sort of irritation and ennui you get on your millionth telling of the same story about how you ate corn on the cob and then jumped on the monkey bars without washing your hands (how I broke my wrist when I was six) is similar to answering how you did at the show.

Really, my answer is that I have to judge by how well my artists did. I know we sold books, but I think they also got a little money in their pockets and did some sketches, and basically survived it being their first time mostly intact, so I think we did all right. Could have been better, but it wasn't nearly as bad as my first solo time as a writer three years ago, so it also could have been worse.

Honestly, I'd like to make this my last San Diego. I realize that's easier said than done, but it's just too big, too easy to get swallowed. You can barely move around, barely get to see the people you want to. Scheduled meetings are often canceled or delayed, so not even business ends up being easy to do. I already said this last year, but the word Comic needs to be taken out of the title. It should be Pop Culture Con International or something. The presence of movie studios is stifling. They used to pick and choose and promote movies that made sense to a nerdy crowd, but these days, it seems like there is no rhyme or reason. Just promote everything! It's sort of sad how the Hollywood areas of the hall get so congested, but then opens right up as soon as you hit the islands of comic book publishers. That earns a big boo from me.

I do know that it was great having Joëlle Jones and Marc Ellerby there, and we pretty much acted as a unit the entire time, which made me have a better time as well as helped me relax and not constantly be go, go, GO! You'd be hard pressed to find three harder drinkers in the mix. I also left with $500 in cash in my pocket, and gave my very last dollar to the cab driver who took us home. Yet, never used my credit card...so, personally, that's success in its own way.

Sorry this is random, but I kept no notes, my thoughts are scattered. I was not on the internet the entire time I was there, either, so no updating as we went. I think I'm going to wrap this up and maybe post individual anecdotes as they come back to me.

Speaking of anecdotes and hard drinking, I'll leave you with this:

On Friday night, Oni Press and United Talent Agency had a big party--which is where I met Michael Cera and Joëlle smoked cigarettes with Nick Frost, and I got to tell Masi Oka that I didn't care about Heroes but loved him on Scrubs. (I also failed to meet Judd Apatow or Seth Rogen, so Sarah Grace won't be too jealous.) I do realize that there is a massive irony in my excitement over this. Yes, that night I was seduced by the dark side, I was as starstruck as anyone. But I would also say that Oni's man on the scene, Eric Gitter, is a cool dude, and I am glad he got to have his party and I'm glad he is representing my books, so take that and smoke it.

Whatever.

The main point is that on the way home, wicked drunk, Marc, Ian Shaughnessy, and I got stuck behind one of those infamous late night trains that likes to stop for about half an hour and split the Convention Center from the rest of San Diego. This is 2:00 in the morning, and super obnoxious. So, while it was sitting there and a handful of other people just stared at it and waited, I threw caution to the wind and climbed between two cars and over their connecting joint and hopped through on the other side. It was the easiest thing in the world, but strangely exhilarating. I had just jumped a train! Marc and Ian soon followed, and we went home, leaving all those other people to wait.

Ironically, after doing what most people perceive as too dangerous to do, Marc hurt himself crossing the street. It was his own fault. We were the only ones in the street, but for some reason he shouted, "Run!" and we all did. Only once we hit the curb, I realized Marc was all bent and twisted on the ground, having tripped somehow (I didn't see it, he doesn't remember it) and sprained his ankle. I was completely schnookered, and so I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not. I kept asking him if he was really hurt, all the while digging in my pocket for my camera because he was making the most amazing pain face. He looked like a James Kochalka drawing--all buck teeth and pinchy eyes. Alas, I realized he was really hurt and gave up trying to go all paparazzi on him and helped him up. Don't feel too sorry for him, though, because two nights later, despite the ankle still being swollen and purple, he for some reason decided to tackle Joëlle and knock her to the floor, proving once and for all this whole polite British gentleman cliche is a total lie. I lifted his skinny frame with two fingers, just pinching the back of his shirt, and Terry Blas went all Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard and scooped Joëlle up, taking her to safety.

Marc Ellerby is a masher!

Current Soundtrack: Brett Anderson, Live at Union Chapel Hall; Buzzcocks, Singles Going Steady


Current Mood: tired

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * 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, July 24, 2007

HERE IT IS AGAIN IN THE SAME DISGUISE

Okay, this is it...off for Comic Con in just a few hours. In case you didn't jot the times down, find myself, Marc Ellerby, and Joëlle Jones at these times:

ONI PRESS, BOOTH 1834
THURSDAY
1:30 to 2:50

FRIDAY
10:30 to 11:50

SATURDAY
3:00 to 4:20

SUNDAY
3:00 to 4:20

Catch us elsewhere, too. We'll be around. All I hope is that the guy in the photo below will be there. He's been at every San Diego I've ever gone to, which is like 19 or 20.

Up, up, and away!



Current Soundtrack: Elvis Costello, The First 10 Years podcast, episode 6

Current Mood: pessimistic
MISERABLISM, IS IS, AND ISN'T ISN'T



Before I make a run for the border, here are the DVD reviews I managed to squeeze in since my list last Thursday:

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Raymond Bernard - Eclipse Series 4, a collection of two classic French epics from the 1930s, Wooden Crosses and Les Miserables

* Renaissance, a disappointing French animated film that pummels Bladerunner with Frank Miller

* Weeds: Season Two, the new compilation of the one of television's best shows, starring the amazing Mary-Louise Parker

And just to prove that you always have something to learn, I got this e-mail yesterday:

I read your review of 'Pet Shop Boys: Cubism in Concert' and... would like to thank you for your excellent review, and bringing attention to a group that is surely much under-rated at the moment.

Surely, though, you don't mean to say that the Very album was the creative nadir (meaning rock bottom) for the Pet Shop Boys. 1993's Very album was a huge creative and commercial success - surely a highlight rather than a nadir.


Son of a bitch if he isn't right. It appears that for all this time I've been using "nadir" wrong, thinking it means "zenith" when in fact it is the exact opposite. You have to wonder how we get such notions and how they last so long without someone saying anything. Is it a common mix-up and most people interchange these terms? Because the mind boggles at how many times and in how many places I may have put "nadir" when I meant "the best."




Current Soundtrack: Mya, "Ridin';" Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Is Is


Current Mood: on the move

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * 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, July 23, 2007

BEFORE MURDER PARK

Rich Johnston's Lying in the Gutters column got its hands on the display image for You Have Killed Me, designed up for us by Keith Wood.

Go here, and scroll down to see it.

The scan still needs some correction, particularly in Mercer's face, but it's a pretty sweet image. That Joëlle Jones is awesome.

Speaking of, I keep forgetting to link to the I Just Read About That blog and their review of 12 Reasons Why I Love Her.

"Twelve snapshots in the life of a couple. And, it ends on a happy note, even if the real ending is not as happy as it seems. Jamie Rich used to be the editor of Oni, and it’s nice to seem him still creating really solid works, after publishing so many solid works over the years."

Current Soundtrack: Art Brut, It's a Bit Complicated

Current Mood: on edge

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * 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

Sunday, July 22, 2007

THE DIVINE COMEDY - "GUANTANAMO"

An unreleased song from Neil Hannon's intelligent pop outfit. While normally Neil writes about personal politics between men and women, with occasional bouts of whimsy and literary pretensions (note that phrase "Kafka-esque" in this song), "Guantanamo" sees him sticking his hands right down into one of our nation's current shameful practices. The musical approach evokes Kurt Weill, providing not only a historical precedence for this song as agitprop, but also the theatrical setting by which it works. Of course, historical precedence is something our leaders try to deny about as often as they deny science, so I am sure that would be lost on them, just as the parallels with the 1970s and the IRA also bounce off them. They are rubber, after all, and we are glue. They'll be long gone, off cataloging their spoils, while their mess sticks to the rest of us.



Given that the song is unreleased, this is an unofficial video made by, presumably, a fan. It's grisly at times, maybe obvious at others, but effective.

Current Mood: angry

Thursday, July 19, 2007

WE HATE THE KIDS



THIS WEEK AT THE THEATRE...

* Hairspray, a musical where Travolta is revolting, but the rest is the best, and even a little of John Waters' perverse humor remains intact

* Interview, where Steve Buscemi gets behind a camera and shows us why we should care who Sienna Miller is

* Rescue Dawn, Werner Herzog's dramatic remake of one of his own documentaries, with Christian Bale as a POW on the run in Laos


THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Kon Ichikawa's 47 Ronin, a staid retelling of the classic Japanese samurai tale

* Les enfants terribles: Criterion Collection, the collision of Jean Cocteau and Jean-Pierre Melville

* Pacino: An Actor's Vision, a collection of three features directed by Al Pacino, with accompanying supplements where the actor explains his art

* The Panic In Needle Park, another Pacino film, bringing back his first major role, where he played a junkie and a crook

Somehow I resisted the urge to compare the shoplifting described in the first paragraph of my review of Les enfants terribles to the shoplifting scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Until now!



Current Soundtrack: The Indelicates

Current Mood: restless

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * 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, July 18, 2007

IN A PRIVATE DETECTIVE'S OVERCOAT AND A DIRTY DEAD MAN'S SHOES

We are a week away from Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Oni Press has sent us our schedule, and myself, Joëlle Jones, and Marc Ellerby will be signing together once a day on all four main days. If you are looking to meet any of us, here are the times to do it:

ONI PRESS, BOOTH 1834
THURSDAY
1:30 to 2:50

FRIDAY
10:30 to 11:50

SATURDAY
3:00 to 4:20

SUNDAY
3:00 to 4:20

Saturday, Joëlle will also be on the Minx panel at noon. Why? That's something you're going to have to go find out for yourself.

All of us will have things to sell at the show. I'll be carrying around copies of "Chevelu" and also handing out double-sided Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?/You Have Killed Me postcards.

Marc will have copies of his minicomic The Venal Muse and a new collection of Polar Opposites strips. He'll also be hawking a four-pack of buttons, including one of Lance from Love the Way You Love.

Joëlle has made another collection of her sketches, and she'll be selling copies of that along with leftovers from the Dallas show we did. In addition, she has handprinted some silk screened T-shirts to promote You Have Killed Me:





This particular shirt is mine, and I chose the style and the color of the design. I think Joëlle has made about 10 for the show, with different colored shirts and different inks, and a variety of sizes for girls and boys. If you want one of these bad boys, come early, because they are sure to go fast. I believe the price is going to be $20, but that is subject to change. ("Chubby Four-Eyes" action figure sold separately. And he will be wearing pants in person.)

Once we get back from the show, we may work out how to sell these online, made to order, but right now, neither of us has the time to worry about it.

ART COMMISSIONS!

If anybody is looking to get commissions from either Marc or Joëlle and want to preorder so they will be ready when you get to the show, drop me a line at golightly[at]confessions123.com and we can set something up. Obviously, these will be on an individual sheet of paper and not in your sketchbook. If you want those, you'll have to deal with it at the show.

Now, if our registration confirmation for the the con would just show up in the mail, we'd be all set...

Current Soundtrack: Amy Winehouse, Back to Black

Current Mood: hyper

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * 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, July 16, 2007

TOO DARN HOT

In stores this week is the collection of the comic book Meltdown, written by David Schwartz and drawn by Sean Wang, published by Image. Now, I'll admit, I haven't read it, but it's noteworthy in that it features a pin-up by our very own Joëlle Jones.

Read a news story here.

I don't have her art, but how about a Chris Bachalo cover?



The Newsarama article contains a link to a preview of the first issue. I remember seeing Sean Wang's art when I was at Oni. He's only gotten better.

Current Soundtrack: the iTunes shuffle: Windsor for the Derby, "The Front;" Björk, "Sonnets / Unrealities XI (iTunes Originals Version);" Mew, "Apocalypso;" Jane Birkin, "Sans Toi"




Current Mood: energetic

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * 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, July 13, 2007

MAYBE I'M AMAZED/WHEN I'M 65

In the June 4 issue of The New Yorker, in a profile on Paul McCartney, writer John Colapinto notes that one of the verses in the song "That Was Me" on Sir Paul's new album, Memory Almost Full, sounded like the 65-year-old singer expressing "amazement" at having been in the Beatles, a sentiment Macca cops to.

"How could I not be? Unless I just totally blocked it off. There were four people in the Beatles, and I was one of them. There were two people in the Lennon-McCartney songwriting team, and I was one of them. I mean, right there, that's enough for anyone's life. And there was one guy who wrote 'Yesterday,' and I was him. One guy who wrote 'Let It Be,' 'Fool on the Hill,' 'Lady Madonna'--and I was him, too. All of these thing's would be enough for anyone's life. So to be involved in all of them is pretty surprising. And you have to pinch yourself. That's what that song is about."

How awesome is that? These days, when celebrities are famous for two seconds and crack under the pressure, how cool is it to see a guy that is this in awe of his accomplishments, still so much in love with what he does and not at all beaten by the fame game. I certainly hope I can maintain that attitude when I'm his age.

Hell, I hope I can maintain that attitude now, at half his age. I am pretty knocked out by my ability to do what I've wanted to do, and remind myself as much as I can how lucky I have been. Because in this world, talent is often secondary to luck (and that is often secondary to "who you know," which is its own kind of luck). I've gotten to pursue some phenomenal goals, and more phenomenal is being at that stage where I have accomplished them.

The key is to never look back and see better times and be bitter. If the guy who has had to live up to being a Beatle all his life can keep it going, who am I to crumble? This alone is why when anyone gives him shit for being the thumbs-up goofball uncle that he often is these days, they will get a punch in the nose from me for messing with Macca. He's 65! And he's Paul McCartney! God bless him for turning into a funny old man. What would be better? A resentful recluse? You go, Paul!

Big up, also, to Matt Wagner, the living example of this attitude in comics, and the guy who told me to read this article in the first place. Matt is celebrating 25 years of Grendel, which is almost single-handedly responsible for me actually being in the comics biz, so how lucky again am I that he's the one telling me to read articles about ex-Beatles?

Current Soundtrack: Paul McCartney, Memory Almost Full

Current Mood: impressed

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

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich
BOOKS FROM BOXES



Check out my profile. I have an author's page, and it includes a sneak peek at the first chapter of Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?

First you could stalk me and see everything I listen to on LastFM, and now everything I read.

Current Soundtrack: Sam Cooke, Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964

Current Mood: thankful

Thursday, July 12, 2007

PUT A BACK BEAT TO THE MUSIC



THIS WEEK AT THE THEATRE...

* Talk to Me, a well-meaning biopic starring an awesome Don Cheadle

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, vol. 1, the start of a rocking anime series

* A Bloody Show: John Welsey Harding & Friends Live at Bumbershoot 2005, combining literature and music in one event

* Extras - The Complete Second Season, another knockout from the team of Gervais and Merchant

* Peach Girl, vol. 3, continues the addictive teenage soap opera anime

Current Soundtrack: The Horrors, Strange House

Current Mood: still hot

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

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW

Marc Ellerby is updating his Livejournal account regularly with his online diary, Ellerbisms. The most recent had a Love the Way You Love theme.



If he's referring to the pages in issue #5, it's a tough call. They're both up on top, for sure.

Current Soundtrack: Depeche Mode vs. Tears for Fears

Current Mood: annoyed at the people who think their band can practice in an apartment building

ME & THE CAT OWN THE LEASE ON THE FLAT

Some of you may remember two years ago when Oni held their first talent search. I was one of four writers (or five, since Chynna Clugston and Ian Shaughnessy teamed up) who contributed five-page scripts in their speciality genre for aspiring artists to work from. I did a story called "Me & the Cat Own the Lease on the Flat" that I thought was rather nice, but little came of it. Of the artists found (such as Mike Holmes), they had drawn other people's stories. I was told we got quite a few versions of "Me & the Cat," including one where inexplicably the humans were drawn as bunnies (though I assume the cat was still a cat) and one by Noel Tuazon, who draws Elk's Run. His was, of course, good, but it was like, "Why is the guy who draws Elk's Run doing a try-out contest?" That's dedication and humility, folks.

Anyway, this was about two months before I met Joëlle Jones, so even though the contest didn't yield results as far as my books were concerned (Noel is great, but wasn't the style I was looking for as far as my fluffy stuff; I believe Oni was interested in him for other stuff, though), I was covered. Low and behold, though, cut ahead to now, and she has drawn "Me & the Cat" for an anthology Image will publish in the fall called Popgun. Here is an amazing page of it:

Page 3, "Me & the Cat," drawn by Joëlle Jones

This should be a pretty cracking book from the look of the line-up. Mark A. Smith, part of the Amazing Joy Buzzards team, is putting it together. David Crosland, Jim Mahfood, Corey Lewis, Marc Ellerby, Mike Allred, and a bunch more are scheduled to be in it.

The book is in color, and Keith Wood will be taking care of that on our story.

Here is the cover:



We're already signed up for volume 2. We're doing an eight-page boxing story called "The Jailhouse Swing." It's a period piece.

Current Soundtrack: BBC stream of Stuart Maconie show from Monday, featuring Brett Anderson (find the archives here) (link sent to me by Andi Watson)

Current Mood: hot

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

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

WHERE IS MY MIND?

IN STORES TOMORROW...MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #3!



It's one of the most visually exciting comics I've ever seen. I don't really want to tell you why, you just have to see it. In the last issue Mike Allred reinvented the recap page (every page from the previous issue reprinted in miniature on a single intro page), this month he practically reinvents comics. All in the name of taking the disparate elements of his character and the way he has changed over the years and mashing them into one Madman, like making new soap out of the left-over bits from old bars of soap.

Think about it. Madman has been being published for over 15 years now. Gargantua, which finally starts shipping out to stores this week (ever so slowly), collects all of these stories, and the reason the character became so fractured is that he has reflected Mike's growth over the years. While no time would pass in the fictional world, plenty of time would pass for the artist, and since Madman has always been a surreal autobiography, a sort of psychological dump, if you will, for its creator, stuff was bound to get wonky.

I think people are going to be surprised.

Current Soundtrack: France Gall, Lounge Legends

Current Mood: ye-ye

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

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Monday, July 09, 2007

I DON'T KNOW WHAT RSS MEANS...

...but I have it now.

Plas hooked me up with all sorts of new gadgets, and now you should see a variety of options in the sidebar for adding this blog to whatever reading program or device you use. Hopefully this will make it easier on you to pay attention, and maybe even increase the readership.

In talking with him about some of what was wrong, I decided it's time I essentially redo my website. The information is very good and comprehensive, but something simpler is in order. The fake front of the Lance site is pretty old hat now, and probably just complicates things. That will likely take a while, though, and include me sorting out who will actually do this. Unsurprisingly, I am in the stone age when it comes to tech.

Anyway, Bobby, thanks again!

Current Soundtrack: Gruff Rhys, Candylion

Current Mood: accomplished

I'LL NEVER BE THAT OLD AND FLABBY

After the Platform Festival the previous week, my social battery wasn't sufficiently recharged for a party to say farewell to Scott McCloud and the karaoke event on Tuesday, much less the release party for Douglas Wolk's new book, Reading Comics, and Jeremy Tinder's new comic, Black Ghost Apple Factory at Floating World on Thursday, which lead into too much drinking and a very late night. I did them anyway, I just did them on fumes. This meant I was looking to the very awesome barbecue at Matt Wagner's house Friday night to be the capper to two weeks of being active, being out, being about.

Of course, silly me, what does this mean I spend a lot of Saturday and Sunday doing? Working! And not just working, but instead of writing the proposal for an original comic book series I am pitching to Ben Abernathy at Wildstorm, I go ahead and write the first issue instead and only then do I write the actual proposal. Quel backwards! I'm just a bit nuts that way, but I had fun doing it. I would tell you the title, but it's just a provisional one right now, and it's a not very good pun. Joëlle co-created it, and I don't want the lame name haunting her even more than I want it haunting me. Even so, the book could be pretty fun.

Anyway, that's gotten pretty well squared, and I've also been working on notes for the next prose novel--a very strange thing called Taking Fish Creek to Fun City, a title taken from a Texas billboard, and I can't even begin to describe the book, but the title accurately expresses just how off-base it is. We shall see.

KARAOKE WATCH!

Mason called late in the evening and invited me to an impromptu karaoke session at the Green Room, which Jacquelene Cohen, formerly of Top Shelf and now at Dark Horse, was also to be attending. I decided that despite the fact that I swore I would not go out (and my wallet begged me not to), I would pop in for this. And so I did.

For those keeping score, Jacq did Patsy Cline's "Crazy," while Mason performed an encore of "Cuban Pete" alongside "All That Jazz" from Chicago. The pub's awesome bartender, Trixie, also showed everyone how it was done, belting out Aerosmith's "Dream On," high-pitched screaming and all, while still pouring beers. Nice.

For my part, I finally did an Everlasting anthem, "Half Heaven-Half Heartache," as immortalized by Gene Pitney. I think I like crooning the Pitney tunes, and his style suits me.

Much shakier was my long dreamed-of take on "Don't Marry Her" by the Beautiful South. It was as fun to sing as I imagined--you can't go wrong with a chorus like "don't marry her, fuck me"--but the backing track made it hard. The shift in melody and key in the bridges kept messing me up, because I couldn't hear the music and so I would lose the plot completely.

Still, a few more workouts with it, and it could be a regular. I'm thinking it might be time to dig into the back catalogue, though. I haven't done any Pulp or Christina Aguilera in a while.

The whole night was worth it, though, for when the KJ twisted Jacq's name to something so wrong, it will go down in infamy. She completely freaked out at the prospect of my telling it to you here, so I will withhold this info for now. Buy me a drink, though, and this pearl of information is yours. Or I may tell Scott Morse, which is the easiest way to make sure a nickname spreads. Jacq had better be nice to me. Stop calling me creepy!

Current Soundtrack: The Indelicates, "New Art for the People/The Last Significant Statement To Be Made In Rock'n'Roll/We Hate the Kids;" Jarvis Cocker, "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time;" Ennio Morricone, "Come Giulietta e Romeo (La Cosa Buffa);" Peter, Bjorn & John, "Objects of My Affection;" Nico Fidenco, "Arabian Evasion Theme (Emanuelle In Bangkok);" Serge Gainsbourg, "Cargo Culte"

Current Mood: done

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

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Friday, July 06, 2007

BLESS THIS MESS - OPEN DURING REMODELING

As you can see, I've changed the basic template of the blog, and with the help of Plastorm, it should be getting tweaked over the next couple of days, including getting things like an RSS feed, etc. Already, just by updating the format, which has been the same since I opened this thing back in ancient times, I can go back to giving a full entry feed and I've been able to add a subscription to my own Google Reader.

So, bear with us if things go a bit goofy here and there--and apologies to Live Journal users for the flood.



Current Soundtrack: The Beatles, Abbey Road

Thursday, July 05, 2007

STARBUCK VS. ANTON EGO

Continuing the Transformers debate, Robert Plastorm has posted his own very thoughtful and considered review of the film. Read it here.



vs.



And now, other movies...

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* The Bow, another thinker from Kim Ki-Duk

* Elvis Costello & the Brodsky Quartet: The Juliet Letters, a disappointing promo DVD for a very good album

* Pet Shop Boys: Cubism in Concert, the megacool document of the most recent PSB tour

* Pathfinder, a terribly dull and muddled Viking vs. Indians movie, complete with comic book tie-in

* Steal Me, an inconsistent indie drama from Melissa Painter



Current Soundtrack: Arctic Monkeys (again) and Mod-ified Music's "Lost in Space" podcast episode

Current Mood: listless

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

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich