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| I'm back home, but I'm still a bit like death warmed over. Got a cold the second week of the workshop that kind of kicked my ass. | |
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| Michael Berry of the San Francisco Chronicle plugs A.D. in his pre-Comicon graphic novel round-up, "The Best in Comic Books":
A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge (Pantheon; 208 pages; $24.95; on sale Aug. 18) chronicles a disaster closer to home. Josh Neufeld follows a half dozen denizens of the Big Easy as they choose between fleeing the impending hurricane and hunkering down to wait out the storm. Acts of folly and bravery are depicted, and Neufeld makes a striking political point without tipping over into didacticism. | |
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| http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/07/day-2-of-ala-and-reading-things-aloud.html posted by Neil
Yesterday I had a breakfast with many librarians, then signed was interviewed in front of a crowd by Roger Sutton from Hornbook, signed for happy librarian-folk for three hours, then napped and went off to dinner with the Newbery Award Committee, the sort of dinner where you have each different course at a different table, and talk to everyone. Then I signed books for them (and for a few stray Printz Committee judges, who crept in). This morning was Dim Sum with Jill Thompson for breakfast ( Here is Jill. People always want to know where she got that bag, and she made it herself. I told her she should take orders for them for a ridiculous amount of money.) Then with Elyse Marshall, ace HarperChildren's publicist, to a local studio where I was interviewed for Barnes and Noble, then recorded some paragraphs from Kipling's The Jungle Book, Ray Bradbury's story "Homecoming" and James Thurber's The 13 Clocks. I loved doing them -- B&N will pick one sequence and have it animated and put up online. Was fascinated by how different the voice of the narrator was in each case -- the voice of the book, and that reminded me that I had not yet answered this, and had meant to: Neil ~ Thank you for many hours of entertainment, whether I'm reading your works, or you are! My daughter is finding that chapter books are a good thing, and wants me to read them to her. I'm glad to do so, but I'm looking for some suggestions from a masterful book reader (you) to a very coarse book reader (me). How do you keep the character voices straight in your head? I suppose it helps that you know the words particularly well since you wrote them, but any tips or suggestions? Any other pointers for engaging the listener? I know my daughter doesn't mind (she still wants me to read, after all!), but I'd like to be better for her and for me. Thanks and keep up the superb work, both here on the blog and in the offline printed universe! BRIANLet's see. Character voices are more or less easy: I sort of cast them in my head as I go. What's the person like? Who do they remind me of? I'm appalling at doing accents, but not bad at doing people. And mostly you're not even doing impressions, just general brush strokes. How does a person sound? Well, you hold them in your head and generally sound like that. When dealing with a larger than life story I'll sometimes go for a larger than life cast in my head: In (for example) The 13 Clocks, in my head, when I read it aloud, I tend to cast Marty Feldman as the Golux, and Peter Sellers (doing his Laurence Olivier in Richard the Third impression) as the evil Duke. It's hard though, in a big book with a lot of characters, some of whom may nip off-stage for seven or eight chapters at a time. Do your best, and have a picture in your head. Borrow from your life. Steal voices shamelessly. Most important, just do the voices (including the voice of the Book, which may not be your voice exactly, but should be close enough to it that it won't be a strain), and do not be shy. Even at your worst, you're doing better than you would if you didn't do the voices, and kids are a mostly uncritical audience, especially if you do it with confidence. Read it as if you're telling a story. Read it as if you're interested and you care. And, the biggest and most important one, vary the tune. I heard a young writer reading some of his own work in public a few weeks ago, and every sentence had exactly the same tune, the sime rising and falling cadences. They all ended on the same note. The beat that ran through the whole passage did not change from first to last. It was hypnotically dull. Listen to people read who are good at it. BBC Radio 7 and BBC Radio 4 ( here's the Radio 4 Readings website)are a great source of an ever-changing series of books and stories, fiction and non-fiction, all read aloud and read aloud well. Listen to the tune, where voices go up or down. Listen to what makes a reader speed up or slow down -- listen to what keeps you interested and where you lose interest. And do it as they do -- change the tune, change the pace, keep interested and it will keep interesting. But mostly my advice is this: just do it. Enthusiasm and willingness to do it counts for most of it, and you learn by doing it and get better from doing it. I've been reading in front of audiences now for almost 20 years. I've got significantly better in that time, mostly because I've done it so much. You learn as you go. You get better as you go. Practice makes if not perfect then at least pretty decent. And that's all. Except to wish Roz Kaveney happy birthday.
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| I’d wanted to give triathlons a try for a while now, but it never seemed to line up. My plan had been to tackle one this spring (and train over the winter), but missing the Philadelphia Marathon and picking a replacement in the spring meant that triathlons got pushed off to one side. Still, I’ve been going to lap swimming for a few months now, and I hit spinning class often enough that when Tri It Now’s 14.06 triathlon came around, I decided… why not? It’s just under the distance for a full sprint triathlon; the numbers for this were chosen because it’s exactly 1/10th the length of an Ironman Triathlon. (14.06 miles instead of 140.6 seems so much more reasonable.) Julie also signed up, and off we went!
![#210 [365portraits: 193]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2618/3713549306_4f2be4cb5e_m.jpg) When we signed up, you had to give them your approximate time for the swim portion of the race. I’d put down a ridiculously slow number, and then revised it earlier this week to a 9:45. Since the swim portion was in a pool, we would be arranged by our times there, with a new swimmer entering the pool every five seconds, and placed me at #210. It wasn’t until I was sitting on the edge of the pool (with 10 seconds to go) that I started feeling nervous. Fortunately, by that point it’s too late now. Just like a roller coaster, I got the nudge and that was it, I was in the pool. I did good until the third length of the pool, at which point I swam into a lane divider (oops) and then sucked down a lot of water. Fortunately, I didn’t drown, just flailed around for a couple of seconds and coughed. But then I was back off, and as the swim progressed I passed about a dozen people, which felt really good. (And got passed by two, one during my “try not to drown” moment.) When I pulled myself out of the pool, I looked at my watch and it was just at 8:52. Well, no wonder I was passing people!
From there I walked out to the bikes (others were running once they were outside, but I still had a bit of water in my lungs and was trying to get rid of it) and got ready as fast as I could. I’m sure the official splits will be different because the timing mat was outside and not at the edge of the pool, but by my watch between getting out of the pool and onto the bike and riding, it took 4 minutes and 45 seconds. Something to work on for the future! I know I was moving a little slow until I saw #211 (who had passed me during the choking fit) leave and suddenly I was like, “I need to get going!” And then, the biking. My weakest portion.
I knew going into this what I’d have to work on; being more confident on the bike. Our bike course was three loops, and each loop had four u-turns. And with each u-turn, I had to slooooow down and go through it carefully. Once I was back in a straight-away (or just a 90-degree turn) I was fine, but those u-turns killed me every time. I got passed a bunch in the first loop, which didn’t surprise me because those who were stronger in biking versus swimming could use this opportunity to clobber me. By the second loop, though, the number of people passing me dropped a lot, and in the third loop I even started passing some other people. (To be fair, probably people who weren’t on their third loop. But still, it felt good.)
My second transition was much faster, just 57 seconds, but then again all I had to do at that point was get my bike back to its stand, take off my helmet, and start running. But oh, what an experience that was. I now understand why everyone has said that your legs feel funny when switching from biking to running. Oof! Not a good start, especially since the sun was pretty strong at that point and there was almost no shade on the course. I ended up taking two short walk breaks (about 15 seconds each) and at the time I was annoyed at myself. But I was beat, and I felt like I was crawling. Imagine my surprise when I finished and discovered I’d run the 2.62 miles in just 21:58. A good pace for me (8:23min/mile) considering I’d just swum and ran. I thought I was moving much slower than that.
I also saw Julie a couple of times on the course; we waited together until it was time for our numbers to start, and I saw her on her first bike loop when I was just starting my second. Once I was done, I got to cheer her on in the transition area as well as early on in the run, so that was a lot of fun.
Will I do another one? Absolutely! But more biking is definitely required before I do so. And more practice bricks. As an introduction, it went pretty well.
Originally published at gregmce.com. You can comment here or there. | |
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| Spent a not entirely pleasant (but not wholly unpleasant) hour or so this afternoon rereading my old Going Cheep columns. Comicon.com rebuilt their site some time ago, so pretty much all the links that I had for the columns no longer work, but I posted them all as locked-LJ posts at the time of writing, so I have them via LJ Archive.
I suppose that it shouldn't surprise me how many of the columns' main points I still agree with; nor does it really shock me how many times I winced when rereading them at a particularly badly written passage, or thought "oh dear, I could have put that over a lot better". What does surprise me are the columns where my view has changed in the five years since I wrote the particular piece.
And no, I'm not in any way tempted to ask Jen or anyone else whether they want a column from me. Been there, done that, and even when I was enjoying writing the weekly column, I only managed just over 40 in almost a full year. Moreover, as I said when I cancelled the column, one of the reasons was because I was pretty convinced that even on one of the major comics websites, I had a readership in double figures... not a good thing, even if it was a good read for the few who did like it.
And let's be fair - I wrote it because I was asked to, and I was writing comics at the time, so it all came together. And of course it was an ego boost; I'd be lying if I pretended otherwise.
But while I'm not considering writing another regular column (if I did so, I'd do it here; I certainly have a bigger readership here and via Twitter than I ever did back then or via PULSE), there are times something happens when I'm tempted to write 1,500 words or so on the topic.
Or revisit a subject I covered in those Going Cheep columns. Or even just repost the occasional column.
One other thing though - I've never seen the point of a monthly column, especially now. Something weekly? Sure - people know the day on which is comes out... but monthly? No. | |
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| Shaenon Garrity reports that The Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco is organizing Monsters of Webcomics, and will be putting together a gallery of as many other webcomics as possible - here's a chance for a bit of outreach! I've put together a page of all the webcomic creators that are attending the San Diego Comic-Con. Additions, corrections and even snarky comments are encouraged. Unfortunately, if you weren't already planning to go, it's too late to let this list persuade you - attending memberships sold out weeks ago. | |
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| The Batwoman signing went really well and ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ruckawriter and JH Williams being funny, charming, and full of dry one liners. (Oh, and we had cake. From Freed's bakery.) And then I went to Constrict and had to leave the Stuart memorial early to go to dinner. I didn't get home until about 11pm. Moto kitty is doing well, but she might be diabetic. Here come more tests. And now, to get up, get dressed and do the last day of Con*Strict, which Ralph thought was Defcon for some reason. (LOL!) | |
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| Alistair Cooke once said that there are three things that you should never try to persuade someone else to your point of view if they disagree, because you'll never succeed. You can attempt to educate someone to your opinion in the hope of changing their mind about art, music and literature, but these three things, not a chance.
And they are:-
a) Food that you think tastes nice, that they don't
b) Humour that you find funny, and they don't
c) Someone that you find attractive, and they don't.
It strikes me that as a working hypothesis, he's probably not that far wrong.
But I'm curious: does anyone else here think that anything else should be added to the list?
For myself, I - for example - don't particularly like wine, but I've said before that I'm perfectly prepared to accept that's because I've not yet come across one I like... yet. (Although I will admit to occasionally liking a glass of champagne.)
I should add that I think time does change someone's view, as they change themselves. There are books (and comic books) that I either didn't like (or even actively disliked) when I first read them, and now like, and vice versa. However, some books (and comics) I still dislike as much as when I first read them. | |
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| I just used the word "weight" instead of the word "weighed."
Honestly, self. - Mood:ditzy
 - Music:Amaiwana - Utada Hikaru
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| The Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco (www.cartoonart.org) is organizing "Monsters of Webcomics," a showcase of cutting-edge webcomics work. The show's ten spotlight artists have already been selected. However, the museum also wants to include a virtual gallery of as many other webcomics as possible. If you're interested in having your art included in the virtual gallery, email curator Andrew Farago at gallery@cartoonart.org. Feel free to spread this information around the webcomics community. The museum wants a wide range of comics included in the show. Here's the press release: Monsters of Webcomics August 8 - December 6, 2009 The Internet has revolutionized all forms of communication, and comics are no exception. The Cartoon Art Museum explores the digital revolution in its latest exhibition, Monsters of Webcomics, a showcase of some of the best and boldest work published on the World Wide Web. Cartoonists choose to work on the Web for many reasons. For some, it’s an opportunity to reach readers directly without going through editors, publishers, or syndicates. For others, it’s a chance to explore the artistic possibilities of the Web, whether that means working in a format that would be impossible in print, tackling subject matter most comic-book publishers won’t handle, or taking advantage of the rich palette available with digital coloring. Others simply want to share their comics with as many people as possible. The comics by the ten artists featured in this exhibition run the gamut from four-panel comic strips to full-length graphic novels and include comedy, drama, history, science fiction, and sociopolitical commentary. As varied as this work is, however, it represents only a very small sample of the comics available on the Web. The Monsters of Webcomics exhibition also includes a virtual gallery that will highlight dozens of additional online comics. (IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: If you are a webcartoonist and would like to participate in the virtual gallery component of this historic exhibition, please e-mail C.A.M. Curator Andrew Farago at gallery@cartoonart.org) FEATURED ARTISTS: Slow Wave By Jesse Reklaw http://www.slowwave.comHark! A Vagrant! By Kate Beaton http://www.harkavagrant.comGirl Genius By Phil and Kaja Foglio http://www.girlgeniusonline.comCat and Girl By Dorothy Gambrell http://www.catandgirl.comThe Perry Bible Fellowship By Nicholas Gurewitch http://www.pbfcomics.comDicebox By Jenn Manley Lee http://www.dicebox.netFamily Man By Dylan Meconis http://www.lutherlevy.comAchewood By Chris Onstad http://www.achewood.comTemplar, AZ By Spike http://www.templaraz.com | |
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| Bix 1994-2009 In this case, I think the internet will help me in that I can’t bring myself to tell everyone individually at the dog park, on the street and who I work with. It’s easier for me to tell you all one time this way. Bix was euthanized peacefully at home this weekend. She was 16 Tim Bix at age 11 or so:  | |
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| Psst, I would really love comments, even if critiques aren't needed for these unfinished doodles, either here or there on istillam.sharedwing.net--the only thing more discouraging than my lack of recent drawing is the lack of anyone's commenting. I mean, unless it totally sucks even as a scribble, in which case not commenting is better. :p
"Taiwan creates a Napa Valley of teas" ... well, weird headline, but anyway; Mercury News article about Taiwan's tea plantations and tea cafe culture, which extends to California as Ten Ren has shops here and in LA, etc. When I was in Taiwan people were talking about an anti-Starbucks backlash and a tea renaissance, so it's good to hear that it's continuing.
Because I know some of you will be intrigued: HUNT FOR THE GIANT, LILY-SCENTED EARTHWORM. Another, but totally different, Chronicle article: SF fog belt gives chefs challenges, or why summer cooking is totally different when it's foggy and 55 F at 8 PM. The good news is that everyone's still in the mood for a full meal, soup, drink, and a dessert! Fine by me. I love it. And as Thomas "French Laundry" Keller says, "I sometimes long to be in a hot climate, but that's what God invented Sonoma County for." (Actually, I never long to be in a hot climate, but I understand that some of y'all crazy people do.)
Decently sized Japanese gothic & lolita fashion show photos from Paris, including Alice & the Pirates and others. It's rare that a fashion show photographer puts large-size photos on Flickr! Inspiring stuff for steampunks and others, plus stuff that just makes me go "Ick!" | |
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|  One last reminder about this event at Bergen Street Comics, tomorrow from 12-3PM. I think the presentation will probably begin around 12:30 or so. Then, following the conversation, there'll be mingling, mimosas, and muffins. I think I've figured out how I can record this, so will hopefully be able to post it next week as a special Ink Panthers Show! episode. If any of you come prepared with questions, then you'll make it onto the podcast! Hope to see some of you there. | |
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| http://www.codeamber.com/martineznv/AMBER Alert Issued for 4 Nevada Children Posted: Saturday July 11, 2009 7:07 AM CT The State of Nevada issued the Amber Alert Saturday morning (07-11) after the children were reportedly abducted on Friday (07-10) in Washoe county. They were last seen with the suspect in the Sun Valley area. Sun Valley is approximately 10 miles north of Reno. Tyson Mata-Martinez (above left) a 4 year old white male, 2' 6", weighing 40 pounds. Megan Mata-Martinez (above middle left) a 7 year old white female, 2'10" weighing 55 pounds. Jakelyne Mata-Martinez (above middle right) an 8 year old white female, 3' weighing 60 pounds. Ivan Mata-Martinez (above right) a 9 year old white male, 4' weighing 80 pounds. The suspect is Claire Tourand, a white female, 34 Years old, 5' 8" and 220 pounbds with brown hair and hazel eyes. The suspect vehicle is a 1998 white Mercury Sable with Nevada tag number 369-SDH. Anyone with information is asked to call 911. | |
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| I have a metric fuckload of Dreamwidth codes, if you are unable to get one from anyone else offering this morning. No one took my last batch, so I probably have like five or six.
You know the drill: email address in the comments. Expect lateness due to my internet situation. | |
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| Making me come in for Jury Duty on a vacation day is not cool. Actually, the way you handled that whole jury selection thing so far has been way uncool.
For that, I think I may wear my "Bacon is a Vegitable" T-shirt or my Preacher T-Shirt. | |
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And here's a promo for the 1979 series... very strange:
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| http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/07/how-to-play-with-your-food.html posted by Neil
I'm in Chicago right now, for ALA: the annual meeting of the American Library Association. I've been to a couple of them before and have always had a marvellous time -- once, with people like Art Spiegelman and Scott McCloud and Colleen Doran explaining to curious librarians what graphic novels were and why they should have them in their libraries, another time getting to visit New Orleans for the first time Post-Katrina, when I went to two dinners with Poppy Z Brite, and one of them was the first time Poppy's husband, chef Chris DeBarr, ever cooked for me*. When I was in Melbourne, five years ago, Poppy was a guest of honour with me, and somewhere back then it was decided that we would be going to Alinea, a Chicago restaurant of remarkable coolness. The years went by and I was never in Chicago for long, and Katrina happened, and once Poppy went back to New Orleans she did not want to leave, but we knew one day it would happen. And tonight it did. Poppy flew up from Chicago and took me to dinner. It was expensive, and, I only discovered at the end of the meal, Poppy was paying. (This is a big public thank you.) The service and friendliness and sense of enjoyment from the Alinea staff was remarkable. I've had, on rare occasions, food that was as good, and, rarely, I've had food that was better, but I do not ever recall any meal that was as much fun to eat. 23 Courses (hmm, very illuminati) of things that melted or popped or squrunched in your mouth in astounding ways. I think my favourite not-actually-putting-something-in-my-mou th moment was when the table was covered with bubbling belching dry-ice smoke, and I asked Poppy very nicely if she wouldn't mind saying, "Tonight, my creature, I shall give you Life!" for me, and, bless her, she did. If anyone reading this is at ALA, I'm doing two signings at the HarperCollins booth 2011, one at 1.00pm on Saturday, the other on 9.00am on Monday (which should have some amusement value). Also a panel on Monday at 1:30pm on the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The rest of the time is filled with interviews, receptions, speeches and such. I'm actually here to receive the Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book. Which will be presented on Sunday night, and for which I have written (and already recorded) a speech. (Which will be played if I forget how to talk on Sunday night. It's possible.) And I want to thank Harper Collins for indulging me, and keeping up the free version of The Graveyard Book on the mousecircus website all that time. You can still listen to (or watch) me read The Graveyard Book, chapter by chapter, across America, at http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx. You can also buy it. (And to answer a sharp-eyed questioner, yes, there are a couple of changes in the latest printing of The Graveyard Book; I fixed an error in astronomy I'd made, and a misspelled foreign word, and fixed some paragraphs in the acknowledgments that were truncated in the original US edition.) (And that reminds me: yes, I will be at San Diego Comic Con briefly on Friday July 24th, to do a panel with Henry Selick about Coraline, and a one hour signing afterwards. I'll be at the Eisner Awards for a bit that night, then will zoom across town to the Benefit concert that Amanda Palmer and Vermillion Lies are doing for the CBLDF.) *Chris says people have been asking for "The Mezze of Destruction", the code-phrase that tells him they were sent from this blog, at the Green Goddess, and getting special extras -- restaurant Easter Eggs, as it were, and I have been getting happy messages from people who have eaten there who tried it. And, almost needless to say, lived. Right. Bed.
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