Today's ramblings...

• 21:17 'Wild Horses'. Whatever. #

Viva La Strumhaus!

Or ... "My Wunjo isn't working!"

(Inverted Wunjo)

Inverted: It would be easy to lose your own identity into that of a gestalt, or group mind. A difficult time is at hand. There is light mixed with the dark, good with the ill, but it may be difficult to discern between them. Poor relationships, strife and alienation, may be forthcoming.

This rune reversed is an indication of problems in your life and your unhappiness. Cast with RAIDHO or or EHWAZ, it can show an unsafe or unsuccessful journey with breakdowns and delays. In matters relating to employment, WUNJO REVERSED describes dissatisfaction with your job or your performance. In love matters there will be disappointment and loss of affections. The advice of this rune reversed is to be cautious. Put off any important decisions. You are probably feeling depressed and disatisfied. You might be experiencing trouble from associates or people opposing you. Nothing is permanent, this to shall pass.

Had a bad night last night, and low blood sugar this morning. It's actually a pretty good summary of my mood right now ...

Mirrored from Phinmagic.com.

Here’s a page of my sketch book, with prep work for my now completed and upcoming first ever mobile downloadable comic, “Imp”. It’s silly and fun! More details to come!

( In here. )

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www.joehavasy.com

http://www.codeamber.com/traynhamme/

Amber Alert Issued for 2 Year Old Maine Girl
Posted: Monday November 9, 2009 7:27 PM CT

The State of Maine issued the Amber Alert Monday afternoon after the girl was abducted in Sanford earlier in the day. The Girl's mother was assaulted by the suspect during the abduction. They may be in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire as of the afternoon.

Hailey Traynham a 2 year old White female, weighing 35 to 50 pounds with blond sholder length hair and blue eyes.

The suspect is Gary Traynham, a 38 year old White male, 5' 11", weghing 230 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. Has a dark goatee.

The suspect vehicle is a green 1998 Dodge 1500 pickup truck with Maine license number 8629-NB.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sanford Police at 207-324-3644 or dial 911.

• 12:51 Get better fast, bro! RT @RDEmeryTaylor: I've been in the hospital up here in NC. 103 fevers suck! (No, no swine flu.) #
• 12:51 Dang straight. RT @chris_ryall: And I know I'll like it, because any book that opens with a G.K. Chesterton quote is good by me. #
• 18:16 RT @BeauSmithRanch: Winterworld. IDW Publishing. Chuck Dixon. Jorge Zaffino. Do not miss it! #

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Manwich Supreme has cracked the 9K mark!

Between it and Kilroy Blues, today's total is 1,833 words.

Back in the "Jersey Zone" (as my brother calls it...), for the latest chapter in the never ending saga known as "Operation Renovation"! Had a few anxious moments when I walked in the door and found it cold in here... As it turns out, the electronic ignition on the gas boiler was all clogged up with dust from all the work that was done in the basement... Relieved that it wasn't any more serious than that!

=^_^=

Thanks bosleygravel. I think.

:P

Emansuhpayshun

This whole video is a great example of Missing!The!Point.

My favorite line:

"Carol, you sweet dumb thing, pull up your flaps, you're draggin'!"

Part II

How DO you go about styling a new automatic washer?

I'm on the edge of my seat! Does the girls' clever plan work? Do they get the washing machines? More importantly, do they figure out how to style them???

Actually, I'm going to try and get through some real life announcements first:

The selling of the zine at the Vegas Valley Comic Fest went well. I sold about twelve copies and gave out some freebies to the publishers (as you do) who were not THAT interested but polite about it (as they are). I was kind of bummed about it, but that's life, you gotta keep chipping at it to get shit done. If you for some reason want a copy, it will be up on etsy in a bit for three bucks, and you'll be able to pick one up at Alternate Reality in Las Vegas, and Chicago Comics/Quimbys as soon as I have the time to run some more off and send them out, etc.

Anyway, Abby and Joe and I had a good time, despite the fact I had slept all of six hours in the last 72 and was about to kill someone to eat their flesh. (Or fall asleep over my drawing board, one or the other.)

Now to Doctor Who shit. Before "The Waters of Mars" airs, I just want to mourn the death of my long strangled ditch-baby spec script.

( Possibly spoilers for 'The Waters of Mars' (Kind of only spoilery if you are going into this episode absolutely blind.) )

I'm not saying mine is better than RTD's, because quite frankly, mine has some epic plotholes where even diagramming couldn't help me figure out how the timey-wimey worked. I just think it's a hilarious story that I will tell you all now for bragging rights.

Now some reviews of TV:

Sarah Jane Adventures: This week's baddie was a Time Lord in Disguise. That makes two Time Lords in Disguise this season. I actually thought it was kind of boring, missed Luke a lot. As usual, Clyde had all the best lines. The Aspie Science Kid was annoying.

Merlin: Jesus fucking Christ were the Troll episodes a waste of time, which is all I have to say about them. Well, actually, Uther making out with the troll was kind of brain bleachy too, despite the fact you knew the show was gonna go there.

( Spoilers for 'The Witchfinder' )

Mad Men: ( Okay, wow. )

Looking forward to next year!

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/for-those-who-read-this-blog-for.html

(Serena Altschul and some author in July, sitting on the trampoline after two days of interviews. None of which, oddly enough, were done on the trampoline.)

Mr. Neil,

I DVR'd yesterday's installment of Sunday Morning and after zipping through it back and forth multiple times cannot seem to find you, though the description indicated the correct episode. Was it bumped to next week? Have you been sucked into an alternate Neil-less universe?

A concerned reader,
Mary

I'm afraid it was bumped by the Fort Hood Massacre.

I checked: The profile CBS did of me is apparently still going out, probably some time in December, although no-one seems certain when. I was told that we could help ensure that it is broadcast (and possibly make it come out sooner than December) if CBS think people would actually like to see it. Which means that if you do want to see it, you can help the process along if you write or email CBS and (politely) tell them so:

ADDRESS:
CBS News Sunday Morning
Box O (for Osgood)
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019

E-MAIL: sundays@cbsnews.com

...
Dear Neil Gaiman, I ask for half-a-moment of your time (I would not presume to ask for more). This Spring 2010 I am teaching a Topics in Literature class on YOU at Winona State University (Eng 225: Neil Gaiman). Easy enough to select representative novel (American Gods), short stories (Fragile Things), children and YA (Graveyard Book), but here's the rub: I will likely only assign one Sandman graphic novel to students. I have been debating which is most representative, most worthy of inclusion, most amenable to class discussion and student scholarship. Then I thought I'd ask you. I know you suggest above that, for questions of this sort, we consider you a dead author, but I know you're not. When I came to a similar impasse about which of Ursula Le Guin's works to include in another class, she actually replied and offered her input. I extend the same offer to you: which of the Sandman volumes would you like to see on the syllabus?
Thank you for your time,
Nicholas Ozment, English Instructor
WSU

It's a hard one. I think if I were teaching I'd either go for Season of Mists or Fables and Reflections, because both of them have stuff to teach -- those nice chewy bits that people can like or dislike, argue with or discuss. I know a lot of teachers like to teach Dream Country because a) Midsummer Night's Dream won awards, and b) it's short and c) it has a script in the back. Your call. And good luck.

...

I mentioned recently that there were some beautiful new Polish and Russian book covers for my books that I'd seen at signings, which got me thinking. The International Cover gallery on this website is incredibly out of date.

It's at http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Works/Books/International_Covers.

And though I get a lot of foreign editions in, and will at some point head down to the basement and rummage around and scan some (this week's mail brought the two-volume Japanese edition of Anansi Boys, on the cover of which Fat Charlie is not only Very White, but also Very Thin, and the complex Chinese - ie. Taiwan and Hong Kong - edition of The Graveyard Book) I thought that blog readers, being, as you are, all over the world, might be a better resource for knowing where to look for foreign covers.

Was your basement finished when you purchased your home or did you have it finished for your basement library? If you finished it yourself, how difficult was it? Also, I thought I saw a dehumidifier in one of the Photosynth pictures. Do you need one because of the books?

I'm asking because we have a full unfinished basement that we would like to have finished. We are running out of room for our books also. I don't think we don't have as many as you do though. :)

Any other suggestions for such a project would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
C.

No, when we got here the basement had a clay floor that puddled when it rained. We hired some nice builders and spent a lot of money finishing it, putting in drainage tiles, underfloor heating and all. There's a dehumidifier there in the summer and a humidifier in the winter, because after the first few years I noticed that binding glue and leather book covers were both cracking and flaking. There's now the equivalent of a large house in basement rooms beneath this house, filled with books and CDs and suchlike stuff.

And finally, a few photos from the China trip, taken by Ian Ford (or in one case, on his camera). Ian's a travel guide who now lives in China who helped organise my travels, and came along with me for part of the journey.

Amanda and I in the silk clothes that my publisher had given us as a thank you for coming, and because they are terrific.

I'm holding the Galaxy Award for this year, given to the foreign author most popular with Chinese reader-voters. This was my second year of winning it, so I have retired from the competition and said that they have to find a new favourite foreign author now.

• 15:25 My sites down today, I have no idea why! :( #
• 20:26 And thanks to John Hernandez for getting Phinmagic.com back up and running again! #
• 23:00 New post: Gardengnomageddon 15 @zz.gd/ffa9e2 #

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This kid's quick thinking
( I'm an idiot )

That kid is made of win.

Title: Kilroy Blues
Rating: Teen (language)
Character: Luke Cafferty
Spoilers: All of Season 4 so far

Author's Note: Written for FNL Laundrylist Challange #36 -- 5. What's Luke's story? We've met Vince's mother, Jess' father and of course Becky's mom, but we know nothing of this star running back who popped out of nowhere. Where has he come from. Was he on the Panther's last year? How long has he been hanging with J.D.? Did Tami break up the next Jason/Tim pairing on us?

I fully expect everything I just cooked up about Luke to get jossed, but that's the fun of fanfic. Also, this means I can finally read fleurlb's take on this prompt.

Legalese: Friday Night Lights is copyright its respective owners. This is a loving labor of whatiffery, not a labor of lucre.

(You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run)

I hesitated at first, to post these comments over in this community, choosing instead to keep it over at my blog. But, upon reflection, I figured that I'd like to hear more opinions of others on the subject. It's jsut cut-n-pasted from my own space, and some of the preface is full of info that I'm sure most of us already know, so ( I'd like to hear what you think, as well. )

That was the subject line of the email I got from Erik Inglis, Oberlin professor of medieval art and a fellow Oberlin art history grad from the class of ’89. He had seen the August New York Times piece on A.D., and dropped me a congratulatory email. One thing quickly led to another and soon enough I had been officially invited back to Oberlin to present A.D. to the school. The fact that Kwame, one of A.D.’s characters, is also a student at Oberlin, and was willing to take part in the presentation, added to the allure.

We settled on this past weekend, November 6–8, Parents’ Weekend 2009. Since Sari is an Oberlin grad too, it seemed appropriate for us to go as a family — Phoebe too! So last Friday we all jumped on a commuter flight to Cleveland for a fun-filled three days back in the corn fields of Ohio.

The “official” part of the trip went really well. Erik kindly picked us up at the airport and drove us into town and to our room at the Oberlin Inn. He had to leave to teach a class — likely excuse! — but we sauntered over to the new (to me) crunchy Black River Café to meet Danielle Young, the Alumni Association executive director, and her protégé Liz Weinstein. We had a pleasant lunch, and were encouraged to reminisce about old times for a recorded interview. Danielle & Liz also presented us with an official Oberlin alumni mug and some other assorted goodies.

With all the Parents Weekend events going on, I was a bit nervous about how well-attended Saturday’s 3pm presentation would go, but I was elated by the turnout. At least 75 people — parents, students, and even some faculty — turned out for the event, in the Hallock Auditorium of the new(ish) Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies. (A little shout-out to my buddy Mark “Stinky” Rusitzky, who worked as an architect on the building and served as the liaison during its construction. Mark, a Connecticut College graduate, has spent more time in Oberlin than I have in the last decade!)

After my slideshow, I sat down with Kwame and African-American Studies chair Caroline Jackson-Smith to talk about the project, Kwame’s involvement, and to take questions from the audience. The crowd seemed really engaged, and there were some great questions and comments. Professor Jackson-Smith was terrific, with a real respect for the comics form even though it was one of her first experiences with it. And Kwame was amazing, closing the event with a wonderful, eloquent summation of where New Orleans is now, and how he plans to fit in there once he finishes his academic career. I was so proud of him, and also in awe of his poise and strength of character. Once again, I was reminded what an amazing group of human beings I’ve been lucky enough to get to know though this project.

After the event, Kwame & I sat down in the lobby to sign copies of A.D., which people had quickly bought up all the copies provided for by Infinite Monkey (the new comics retailer in town). It was an odd experience sitting there signing copies for Oberlin students and parents, feeling somehow caught in between those two realities. I know one end of that experience — maybe someday I’ll know the other. I must admit I felt a certain pride, sitting there as a returning alumni, actually invited back by the institutional powers-that-be.

That evening Erik had us over to his E. College house for delicious home-made pizza by his wife Heather. Also there was Anne Trubek, another Oberlin alum of our era (who makes a great apple crumble!) And Phoebe got to marvel at the antics of the three boys (two 10-year-olds and one six-year-old) running rampant in the house. A good time was had by all, and Erik and I refrained from too much teary-eyed reminiscences of those two years we shared at Dascomb.I loved what Erik said about why he loves studying medieval art: "There's so much we just don't know! I would hate to teach modern art — we know what Manet had for breakfast every day of his adult life! On the other hand, I would hate to teach ancient art. We don't know anything! Medieval art is just the right balance of what we know and what we have to use our imagination for."

Sunday was a free day before our 5 pm flight, and Sari, Phoebe & I mostly spent it strolling around the Oberlin campus, visiting the museum, and admiring and kicking the fall leaves. It was comforting to hear the chants of protesters ringing through trees of Tappan Square, though we didn’t get there in time to find out what the protest was actually about before they had moved on. We also got a giant chuckle from the sight of a bedraggled group of Obie kids attempting to stage an earthbound game of Muggle Quidditch on Wilder Bowl, with broomsticks and everything. Ah, Oberlin!

Next time: Oberlin then and now

OMG! Jensen Ackles finally proposed to his girlfriend!

*hangs out on SPN comms for the shitstorm*

I posted some photos from this weekend's King Con in Brooklyn.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveandraina/sets/72157622768312930/

This was NYC's newest indie comic show, and for a first-year con, it seemed like a success! It was held at the Brooklyn Lyceum, which is sort of like a rundown cathedral that sells muffins and puts on zine fests. The unisex bathrooms added to the punk rock vibe (but could become an issue if this show grows).

Raina and I were only there on Sunday, but everyone seemed in good spirits and excited about the future. People told me turnout had been a better on Saturday but that sales still seemed to be good overall.

It’s cool that friends like Allan Norico and Alisa Harris benefited from the smaller room and got to be among the stand-out cartoonist! We picked up both of their new books which are fantastic!

Today's ramblings...

• 08:26 I hate training temps. #

Viva La Strumhaus!