IF I SEEM A LITTLE VAGUE, WELL THAT'S BECAUSE I AM

Attempting not to sink below the sea here. Attempting to wave as I drown.

I've been working hard, and despite warning you of intermittent posting, you've gotten some content, so that's something, yeah? It's great when you're straight!

Joëlle and I were talking last night about when projects get the better of you. I don't find it as much in comics as the writing is much faster, more incremental, but prose projects do bog me down at times. Somewhere in the middle is this simultaneous feeling that it will never be done, every check of the word count is lower than what it should be, there is more on the horizon than what has been left in the dust...while also being hooked so deeply by it that there is no way out, it is inevitable that you chase it to the end. This is when it is hard to ever shut it off, your brain keeps working even when your body and, most significantly, your eyes that have been staring at words, paper, and screens for hours refuse to stare any further. You know why writers become alcoholics? Because it does work, booze does numb. Drinking provides ballast. Reading in the bath is good, too.

Right now, my work anxiety or whatever this book is taking out of me that needs to be replenished is manifesting in my dreams as long one-on-one conversations. These are fairly straight-forward conversations, but involved. The first was with a friend of mine named Jessica who lives out of Portland and involved some weird scenario where we were talking about dating, but she could not go out with me as her previous relationships had gotten her into some dark territory that she refused to lead me into. It was disturbing to listen to her describe, particularly as it is so not her. (Hi, Jessica!) I also had one where J. Bone took me to task for my review of The New Frontier. Ellerby says that one proves I am an egomanic, whereas Joëlle laughed that even in my slumber I like to argue.

Speaking of Marc Ellerby, he provides another update here. We appreciate your patience. He and I are talking about working together again, starting with something from scratch. That is if he can forgive me for never squeezing evil-indie-band the Godards into Love the Way You Love during his tenure.

I saw a bunch of Joëlle's latest pages for Token last night and they were outlandish. So stunning. Her inking has gotten so facile, so muscular. The mountains of work she's been doing jumping between Token and You Have Killed Me has really made a difference to how she crafts a line. Her layouts have also grown increasingly inventive. Creation is a muscle building process. The more you do, the more your mind fires off new space capsules, seeks new ideas--only to frustrate you because you're so busy doing other things, when will you ever explore these new shores?

We took a break last night so we could see Be Kind Rewind, the new Michel Gondry movie that the movie studio seems intent on burying. I don't understand some of the complaints I have seen about the film, it's an adorable little movie with a really sweet heart beating in its chest. It's less about the very goofy concept of creating new versions of movies and more about a community coming together to accomplish something, and somewhat of a critique of where maybe Hollywood has gone wrong. I think the two scenes arguing both for and against Driving Miss Daisy contains the film's central goal: make movies about everyday things that matter to people and will touch their soul, but don't patronize.

Plus, they give Mos Def freckles when he's pretending to be Morgan Freeman.

By the way, the new book is new prose that I have told you nothing about. It's not Fish Creek to Fun City, that's on hold. If I seem a little vague, that's because I am.

Current Soundtrack: Vampire Weekend, because I am a faceless tool following the trends that I am told will make me cool, never quite sure if I am actually enjoying myself or not; Pulp, Hits, because I am also old skool. I remember the first time.



Current Mood: creating

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All text (c) 2008 Jamie S. Rich