The funny thing here is that when I turned the story in, perhaps early Fall, I was single–but, by the time it ran, I had a new girlfriend. I kind of had a gut feeling that would happen, which was why I agreed to write the story (and make fun of myself quite a bit).

I enjoyed writing this story a lot because I was allowed to go first person and showcase some of my humor a bit more–although my editor did cut my favorite joke, which was about me wearing my Chewie Is My Co-Pilot t-shirt while trying to pick up geeky girls.

Or something.

The shirt was designed by R Stevens, creator of one of my favorite webcomics, Diesel Sweeties.

I did manage to wear my Threadless, A Simple Plan shirt for the photo shoot however.

I kind of regret not wearing my Chewie shirt, but since the photos were being taken at Pinball Pete’s Arcade in East Lansing, the Space Invader referencing shirt won out (another option I considered was my Yooper Steez shirt, designed by all-around-awesome Lansing dude, Justin “Bugsy” Sailor).

I caught some (friendly) flack from those who knew I had a new girlfriend, yet was writing about being single.  The girlfriend in question was fine with it, as I told her about the story way before it ran.

But the story isn’t so much about my being single, but more how I went about meeting people, expanding my circle of friends and places to go on dates around Lansing.

#

Speaking of Lansing Capital Gains, I was brought on to be a weekly contributor recently.  Starting on February 17th, I’ll be writing four development stories a week.  These are very, very short–only 200 words at the most–so it equals out to less than a feature article (1,000 words) a week.

There will be a bit of a learning curve for me, as I have to find leads and such, but I’m getting a lot of help from my editor and fellow contributors.

I consider myself the furthest thing from a journalist, but I am very happy to have this opportunity to see if I can handle the rigors of a regular writing gig. So far, so good.

And if you live in Lansing and have any leads for me, drop me a line.

This episode, and the next two, have plenty of action. Uncle Shameless dukes it out with the bounty hunter Zeroth. Good times are had by all.  Uh, well maybe not.

In Fistful of Dollars costume news, my metal chest plate is finished, mom mailed me my vest and scarf and I picked up some cigars last night (don’t tell mom).  I did buy a hat yesterday, but after getting it home I hated it and realized it just wasn’t going to work. Sigh. That’s $10 I’ll never see again. I’m going to suck it up and buy a nice felt hat for around $30. At least it is something I can wear after Halloween. It won’t be 100% the same as Clint’s, but it will be close enough.

I will do a proper blog update about the progress of the costume later.

Days Until Halloween: 15

Part One :: Part Two :: Part Three

My boots arrived this week–the pair I won on eBay last week or so.

Boots with the spurs I bought.

I’m pretty happy with ‘em.  The good thing is that they are already broken in, so they comfortable to wear.  I’ve been wearing them (sans spurs) while out and about this week to get accustomed to how they feel–and I gotta say, I like it.  Not having to worry about shoe laces is nice, but they are rather warm which is great for the chilly weather as of late.

And they make me a bit taller.  Which is a plus.

The white whale of this costume remains the hat.  I stopped at a couple places today, but had zero luck.  I’ll hit up another shop or two I’ve been to before and figure something out. It may come down to getting a hat that I have to reshape the brim to make it close.  I’d prefer a brown hat, but I’m afraid I might get stuck with black hat, which, horror of horrors, would clash with the brown leather of the rest of my costume. Oh well.

In perhaps the best news of 2009, Amazon has made most of Mojo Nixon‘s albums available as free .MP3 downloads.  If you enjoy crazy rockabilly music, then look no further. Mojo does not disappoint. Heck, he even gets a shout out in the song Punk Rock Girl by the Dead Milkmen.

Oh and you might also remember him as Toad in the Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Or maybe that’s just me.

Anyway, most of his albums are hard to find in stores or online (at least in my experience), so do take this opportunity to enrich your musical library with such classics as Elvis is Everywhere or Don Henley Must Die.  I had the sheer luck of finding a new copy of Whereabouts Unknown at Flat Black and Circular in East Lansing about a year ago, and quickly purchased it.

I read this is in support of Mojo’s new release, Whiskey Rebellion, which is a neat concept–but given that Mojo hasn’t been in the eye of the mainstream for…uh…awhile, I can see why this happened.

Or better yet, in the man’s own words:

“Can’t wait for Washington to fix the economy. We must take bold action now. If I make the new album free and my entire catalog free it will stimulate the economy. It might even over-stimulate the economy. History has shown than when people listen to my music, money tends to flow to bartenders, race tracks, late night greasy spoons, bail bondsman, go kart tracks, tractor pulls, football games, peep shows and several black market vices. My music causes itches that it usually takes some money to scratch.”

Days Until Halloween: 19

Part One :: Part Two

I won a pair of cowboy boots on eBay last week, which I’m happy about.  They have not arrived yet–and part of me is worried they did while at ConClave this weekend and that the postal person left the box outside my door and they were whisked away by some troubled youth.  We’ll see.  However, I did pick up a pair of spurs and I can’t wait to wear them with the boots.

Jingle jangle? You BET.

I tried them out with a pair of work boots I have and I had a hard time taking them off–I was having too much fun walking around (stately Hogan Manor) with them on.

Additionally, I solved the orange-tip issue with my non-firing Colt SAA replica.  I found a dart for a toy gun that fit inside the barrel.  Easy.  I tried to glue the flared sides of the suction cup down, but alas that did not work.  I may pick up some orange tape or something and tape up the tip a bit, up until the aiming blade.

"Thanks for the tip."

Lastly, Mom is hard at work making me a vest and scarf.  I saw what she had thus far over the weekend, and she really hit it out of the park.  I just asked for a simple brown vest, but she also got material to do the lining.

Clint's vest in Fistful. Image © United Artists

And what Mom has so far:

Not made of real gorilla chest.

The scarf is tied around the neck at the back and I’m glad it is a thin material, as I’m sure this is going to be a hot costume to wear between the shirt, poncho, vest, scarf and something referencing Eastwood’s improvised bulletproof vest.

Oh, Clint! He's so crafty.Image © United Artists

I don’t plan on wearing a piece of sheet metal under the poncho, but I’ll rig something up.  Maybe a cookie sheet from Goodwill that I’ll beat the heck out of or something else.  My concern is weight and comfort.  I had a thought of just using duct tape to make it, you know sticking it to itself. It’d have the look and be light weight, as well as flexible.

As a bit of a joke, I’m thinking of including the Heart Breaker logo Scud the Disposable Assassin wears somewhere on whatever I come up with.

I’m pretty much set except for the dang hat.

I can't find anything close to this around town. Image © United Artists

I came close to something last week, but it was over $30 and didn’t look that good on me.  I gotta find something, but this is proving to be a bit of a challenge. I may say the heck with it and get the $30 hat, although it is a bit of a stretch in appearance.  If it was dead on, I wouldn’t hesitate but is is only slightly similar.

]]> http://danieljhogan.com/home/2009/10/13/fistful-of-costumes-three/feed/ 1 http://danieljhogan.com/home/2009/10/04/fistful-of-costumes-two/ http://danieljhogan.com/home/2009/10/04/fistful-of-costumes-two/#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:34:15 +0000 Daniel http://danieljhogan.com/home/?p=382 A Fistful of Costumes – Part 2: Shoot to Thrill

Part 1

My non-firing Colt Single Action Army replica (say that ten times fast) arrived Friday afternoon, along with the leather gun belt/holster and 28 solid brass dummy cartridges.

I aim to misbehave.

I am very happy with the gun, as it looks just like an original Colt–and I think it weights the same too, as it is rather heavy. I’m glad I opted for the longer barrel (that’s what she said), but I imagine “spinning” and quick drawing the shorter barreled version would be easier.

Loading gate open, dummy rounds loaded.

Everything on the gun works, which is really neat. The hammer has two positions, half-cocked (loading) and full cocked (firing). The loading gate pops open and the ejector tube works, although the dummy rounds will usually just fall out if the gun is tilted upward with the gate open (which is the case with a real Colt, I’m sure).

Eject!

My only point of concern is that the gun does not have an orange tip, which I think it legally has to for me to wear in public. I can rig something up, I’m sure.

No orange tip, which could make carrying this in public a problem.

The dummy rounds are OK, but I thought they would be a bit longer–but they suit the task they were designed for. Some are difficult to eject from the cylinder of the Colt, as they seem to get wedged in a bit. I think once the gun/rounds get broken in a bit more everything will be fine, everything is already starting to work a bit smoother after a couple days of use.

I may not “load” the gun with the dummy rounds when carrying it in public, out of concern of misunderstandings. Better safe than sorry, but we’ll see. If I’m at someone’s house for a party indoors, that’s one thing–but if I’m walking around a convention or something, well I may leave the dummy rounds out.

The belt and holster however, were a big disappointment–not in regards to the construction, which is fine, but the decoration. The bad job is down right horrible. In the photos I viewed online, the paint job appeared more blended in and uniform. With my belt, it looks like someone just ran a black brush along the edges–or that a the last step was skipped. Considering I paid a little over $40 for this belt, I was not happy. But in terms of functionality, the belt/holster work just fine.

I am not happy with the lameo paint job on this holster. The pictures on the Internet led me to believe these colors would be blended in a bit better.

The loops don’t always keep the cartridges secure, but I knew about that ahead of time. I picked up some putty that I’ll use to secure the cartridges in the belt. I’m torn as it if I should keep the entire belt filled or only about half or so–with several empty loops between cartridges. I think the look of having less cartridges might be a bit more interesting, as it hints at some of the ammo being used.

I also picked up the a poncho at a local Halloween shop (which upon spotting some weeks ago was the inspiration for this costume). Yes, this isn’t the exact same thing Eastwood wears in Fistful of Dollars, but I don’t care. It is close enough and at least a similar color (yes, it is green despite sometimes looking brown in the films).

Not the exact design, but it'll do.

My next quest is finding a decent hat and a pair of boots. For these, I want to go cheap–which I quickly realizing might not be an option. After visiting three resale places and a slew of shoe places, I am currently trying to get a pair of boots on eBay. Again, they don’t have to be exactly what Eastwood had. I just want an affordable pair of boots I can wear spurs with (which I found at a store, but haven’t bought yet).

The hat is a whole other challenge. Eastwood doesn’t wear a typical cowboy hat in Fistful of dollars and finding anything even remotely close is proving to be expensive. I have some options locally, so I’ll hold off a bit, hoping to see if I can score something on eBay–but I’m hesitant to buy a hat on eBay because I won’t know how it’ll fit until it arrives. I may have to suck it up and drop a bunch on a hat..or just say the heck with it and get a cheaper one that is only kind of close. I saw one today at Gander Mountain for $30 that was pretty close (but black).

As far as the rest of the costume, I commissioned my mom to make me a vest–doesn’t have to be hide like in the film, just a light tan material is fine. I have a shirt and jeans that are close enough…and other than that, all I need is cloth for the scarf he wears and the trademark cigars (someone I know already recommended a brand to try).

Finding a hat like that is a problem. Mom is making me the vest, I have a shirt and jeans. Just need a black scarf and cigars. Image © United Artists

yeah I could pull this off, I think.

Most of the required gear is easy, as I found a poncho at a nearby costume shop but the biggest part of the costume is going to be the gun I get.

To me, much like my proton pack for last year’s Ghostbuster costume, the gun I end up getting will either make or break the costume. I can go one of two ways with this: cheap with a metal cap gun, or expensive with a non-firing Colt Single Action Army replica.

I didn’t want a plastic cap gun, as they are all pretty much lame. I found a metal one, the Big Tex–and it comes with a holster, another important component of the costume. I’m not worried about either the gun nor the holster matching exactly what Eastwood had in Dollars, I just want something that looks good. The Big Tex would be an inexpensive way to go, but, at the same time I’m more or less just buying a toy. And the holster is only plastic (or pleather).

The expensive option is the non-firing Colt SAA replica made by a company called Denix. This baby is the exact look, feel and (nearly) weight of an original Colt SAA, the handgun of western films (and Revolver Ocelot). Being a bit of a western junkie, I’ve always wanted a SAA of my own, and if I ever considered buying a real handgun, that would be one I’d consider.

The replica isn’t cheap, running about $60–but compared to some air soft guns, that isn’t too bad. Everything works with this model: the hammer, the action, the cylinder rotates, the loading gate and cartridge ejector. You can “fire” the gun, only in the sense you can squeeze the trigger and the hammer activates (and like the original SAA, the hammer has two click positions–one is for loading, the other firing I believe). It is not possible to actually fire this gun or to make it fire–the barrel is solid (and after finally seeing a different angle on eBay, I was relieved to see there is the required orange cap recessed into the barrel).

However, if I get the replica, I still need a holster. The company makes a very nice looking leather holster (complete with a leg tie) for about $44 (although I found it for $50-something on eBay, but with free shipping). The other neat bit is that it has leather loops for “dummy rounds“–fake bullets that are just solid brass. These rounds can also be “loaded” in the replica gun (obviously, nothing happens when you pull the trigger). I found a site that sells ‘em for 59 cents a piece (I’d probably order at least 12–six for the gun, six for the belt).

But here is my problem: do I just say “who cares?” and drop $20 on a mediocre cap gun, or do I spend over $100 on a high quality replica, holster and dummy bullets?

The only advantage of going the cheap route is that, it is cheap. However, going the expensive route has more advantages.

First, the expensive stuff isn’t going to break after the first time I wear it. My main complaint of my (self-built) proton pack was that it is very breakable, so much that I can’t even wear it any more. And I’ve bought cheap prop weapons in the past, and they never lasted that long.

Secondly, the replica, holster and dummy rounds just look AWESOME.

Thirdly, this is a prop I can easily use for other costumes (Rooster Cogburn from True Grit comes to mind)–or just wear it around the office. It think it’d go pretty good with at least one of my suits. There is the safety issue here too: I can legally wear this thing to parties, conventions, in public, etc because it is not technically a ‘gun.’ (this doesn’t mean I’ll wear it around town or something, I’m not stupid). But because it is a prop, there is no danger of using it for a costume–that’s the whole point–whereas with a real SAA, there are all kinds of legal issues if I tried using it for a costume. Heck, I was nervous about getting the replica until I saw that it had the required orange tip in a different photo (the stock images didn’t show the angle where you could see it, probably on purpose).

Lastly, it will fulfill my fantasy of owning a real SAA to some extent. Yes, I won’t be able to fire it, but honestly after researching .22 target shooting rifles (I’m considering buying one, but just for target shooting at a range), I’ve discovered how expensive firearms–especially ammo–can be. Also: SAA style handguns run in the neighborhood of $400+ on the low end (based on what I’ve seen locally). Yikes. If I get the SAA replica et al, I’m not buying a .22 until the Spring (I still need a new iPod as well. PRIORITIES.).

Another thing is that the novel I’m currently working on has a character that uses a revolver based on a SAA, so if I had one to mess around with (even without being able to fire), I could get a better idea as to how it feels, the weight, etc.

If I get the replica, I will probably go the cheaper route for the remainder of the costume, namely the hat and boots. Finding a hat just like his has been a bit difficult. The cowboy hats I’ve seen around so far don’t have the flat top like Eastwood’s does. I would like to get something pretty close to that, as the hat is rather distinct. We’ll see though.

The vest he wears under the poncho could be a challenge (it is some kind of hide deal), but I will do the thing with him wearing the metal on his chest as a sort of proto-bullet proof vest. I will also have to grow some of my beard back and at least pretend to smoke those cigars.

If I go all the way for this (the expensive route), this could be a really awesome costume. And honestly, I probably spent at least $100 building my Ghostbuster costume anyway (easily) and all of that stuff broke apart (even my goggles!).

From Wikipedia:

“…the opening football scene for the new film; which did not appear in the original film, was shot at the former Detroit Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods, Michigan.”

I know the original film doesn’t exactly have broad appeal, however, I enjoy it for its over-the-top-Cold-War-paranoia aspect. It is an excellent Cold War media time capsule and as such, I don’t think it should have been remake (but I am thankful that the filming of it brought money not only to Michigan but my home town).  I don’t see the new version having the impact the original did when released in the early 1980s.

Anyway, my li’l sis shot a few set photos and I put them online if you are interested in checking them out.

http://magicofeyri.com/2009/09/fantasy-writing-panel-podcast/

The panel featured Jim C. Hines (Goblin Quest series, Stepsister Scheme, Mermaid’s Madness), Phil Kline (Curse of the Kitsune) and myself.  It runs about 49 minutes and is worth a listen–especially when Jim starts talking about his werewolf-muppet story.

The audio quality is not on par with my normal episodes, as I just set up a recorder on the table and let it go, but I did what I could in GarageBand to make it a little better (tried to cut out some of the long pauses too).

Joining me in splendid 64 kps glory are Jim C. Hines and Phil Kline.  I haven’t listened to the audio yet, but I’m sure it turned out just fine (or fine enough for this purpose).

I’m curious how this will turn out and if people will like it or not. This will not be a regular feature, but I know people do enjoy this sort of thing (listening to writers talk about writing)–otherwise no one would ever attend any of the panels I’m on. I keep meaning to record non-podcast stuff to have at the ready if I ever need filler in case I don’t have an episode ready or something comes up (illness, vacation, pirate-ninjas).

Regular transmission of episodes will continue on September 27th.

I saw a Twitter update by @gmcalpin (writer and artist of one of my favorite webcomics, Multiplex) about the metal band Mastodon allegedly scoring the upcoming film Jonah Hex (based on a comic). It lead to an article on Ain’t It Cool News (movie rumors and such).

I read the article and was amused, I enjoy Mastodon but realized I don’t own nearly enough of their music. I hopped over to YouTube and watched a few music videos and also listened to some other songs, sampling cuts from the albums Leviathan and Blood Mountain.

Realizing I still had an online gift certificate from my birthday, I decided to buy a Mastodon album (along with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl). But I couldn’t decide which to get–then a friend commented on my Facebook page that Crack the Skye was nothing short of amazing (a friend whose opinions I hold in high regard).

So, I ventured back to YouTube to listen to a few cuts from Crack the Skye and read a few online reviews. I quickly decided on ordering the album–and when it comes to bands like Mastodon, I really prefer having the original CD over .MP3s (because the music is complex and/or layered–things that can get lost when compressing music to .MP3s).

After clicking Finish My Order, I sat back and thought “What the heck just happened?” Over the span of maybe twenty minutes, I went from reading about Mastodon scoring an upcoming film to buying one of their albums, mainly on a whim.

It was an interesting string of events: I read the article, listened to songs online/watched videos, got a recommendation from a friend who lives in another city, read reviews and purchased an album. All without leaving my seat.

I guess this shows you can’t underestimate the advantages of people talking about your stuff on the Internet.

Also: My latest article for Lansing Capital Gains is now online.  It is about the Soup Spoon Cafe, a very tasty restaurant (good coffee too).

Starting with the next episode, things really start kicking into high gear, action-wise anyway.  And we’ll meet some new characters too.

Event this Tuesday: I’m going to be part of the Fantasy Author Panel at the Delta Township District Library. Join Jim C. Hines, Phil Kline and myself as we rap about writing fantasy fiction. FREE. 6 PM to 8:30 PM.

We will be signing and selling books afterwards…well, I won’t be selling books, but I’ll be giving out free podcast CDs.  I may only put the first few episodes on there and make them audio CDs instead of .MP3s. We’ll see.

The conversation that followed could only best be described as “random.”

*RING RING*
Dad picks up:
Dad: One-Eyed Willy.
Me: …Excuse me?
Dad: The pirate from Goonies.
Me: Yes, One-Eyed Willy, you got it.
Dad: That’s all I needed know.
Me: …Why?
Dad: I was trying to think of it and I couldn’t and it was driving me nuts. So I called you, but right after I did, I remembered.
Me: Glad I could…help?
Dad: Thanks, have a good day, son–and May the Force Be With You. *CLICK*

Those who know my dad, will confirm that a conversation like this is not that surprising. Random, yes. But not surprising.  His whole attitude since crossing 50 a few years ago has been “I’m over 50, now I’m eccentric and I’ll do whatever I want.”

Why he was thinking of The Goonies, let alone pirates, at 8:40 on a Monday morning, I may never know.

The other funny part of this is that I was enthusiastically quoting The Goonies Friday night while playing Bang! with friends.  I was sticking to some of my favorite Mouth, Data and Chunk lines, and the always classic “Slick Shoes?! Are you crazy?!“

The novel I’m working on, while mostly goofy fantasy/horror, does have characters using guns. I figured it would probably be a good experience to try using a firearm myself, so I can write about their use a little more realistically (although the characters in my novel are using fire arms comparable to late 1800s/early 1900s weapons, but whatever).

We stopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods and each picked up two boxes of 20 rounds of ammo for my friend’s M4A3 Carbine rifle and then we were off to the range. My friend also had a handgun, the style of which escapes me at the moment, but it was semi-auto and its clip held 19 shots.

The biggest impact this outing had on me was just how LOUD the guns were. When I fired that M4 for the first time, I thought for sure I went deaf (yes, I had ear plugs in but they sucked. If I ever go again, I’m buying a set of those earmuff things). The effect the gunfire had on my hearing was really interesting–how it distorted the sound I was hearing, etc.

I didn’t have much luck with the handgun, as I barley hit the target. I had similar luck with the M4 at first–but once my friend helped me with my aiming, I improved greatly.

Not bad for my first time out. This was at a distance of 50 yards. My friend was even impressed.

I was really happy with my results after I finally learned how to aim. I fired sitting down, with the barrel propped up on sandbags. I took my time too and the main thing I had to get over was the sound when firing (as in “oh man, here it comes…EEUGH”).

I certainly noticed the difference between firing a rifle and firing a handgun. The differences are night and day, that’s for sure.  The handgun kicked up more than the rifle, which makes sense because the rifle had a stock and it was supported by the sandbags.

I enjoyed the outing and I would gladly go again. Target shooting was a lot of fun. I’d like to give a handgun another chance, since that is mainly what my characters use, but I certainly liked the rifle more–but that might be due to me being able to sit down and line up a shot instead of standing up to shoot.

Lastly, today proved to me that when the Zombie Apocalypse arrives, my weapon of choice will be a high-powered rifle.

I don’t know what has caused me to get in the zone once again, but I’m happy to be there  (I do have a couple theories though).  At this pace, I’ll hit my first draft word count goal of 80,000 words by the end of the month. Not bad for a novel I started back in November.

I have been really focused this week it seems, and more than I have in a while.  I do know that while I was on a 10-day run of antibiotics earlier in the month, I had zero productivity. The side effects of said anitbiotics were depression and, my favorite, unusual tiredness. I had both and it sucked.

Getting back into my daily excercise routine has helped a lot too (especially the yoga).  I also think that I’m enjoying the section I’m currently writing, which always helps.  And to be honest, talking to the teens for that Teen Writing Workshop at the Delta Township District Library probably helped fire me up too–talking to them about writing The Magic of Eyri reminded me, “hey, I can do this.”

The 2nd draft of this novel will be both easier and harder than the first–but I’m looking forward to it.  Once I get the 2nd draft done, or maybe a 3rd, I’m going to try and find an editor.

Part 1 :: Part 2

Guess who? HINT: Not the Iron Giant

I only took my backpack with me for this trip, as I required just one change of clothes and even then just the basics (tshirt/underwear), so I had to watch how much I bought. This did keep me from buying a few things I didn’t really need (ex: a Scud the Disposable Assassin action figure) but also prevented me from getting a couple items I would have really adored (a killer print by the artist of Cursed Pirate Girl). But my rule was:  if it didn’t fit in the backpack, I didn’t buy it. Crushable items, such as prints and posters, were out of the question.

Yes, I could have bought a tube to keep prints and posters safe, but I was afraid of having to check it on the Mega Bus and something happening to it.

Cobra Commander: looking better here than in the live action movie.
My time at the con on Sunday was somewhat abbreviated, as I had to catch the train downtown around 3 PM–but I made the most of the day. Not only did I get my Frank Cho sketch, but I also picked up a Doug TenNapal graphic novel, Flink, for only $5. That ended up being my only purchase of the day, due to me leaving soon and wanting to make sure I had money for food on the way home and for any possible emergencies. There were a few tshirts I eyed, including a Han Shot First shirt I spotted in Artist Alley, but most were too expensive–one of the big tshirt sellers sold theirs for $20.25 each, or two for $35. Yikes.

If you shopped around, you could certainly find better deals, but there were few shirts I spotted that screamed for me to own them (interesting post script, the Monday after the con I bought a $10 Iron Maiden tshirt at JC Penny’s back home using the money I didn’t spend at the con).

Eventually, my time to depart arrived. I called my comrades in geek arms and informed them of my impending departure. They joined me outside and we said our goodbyes. Two of our group I have known since middle-school, another since college and the last, my oldest friend, since first grade. I was happy I decided to trek out to Chicago to see my friends once again (scattered to Washington D.C., Milwaukee, New York and Chicago in the years following college).

The con for me was not about buying comic books, or even being within inches of the likes of Ray Park (Darth Maul), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) or Billy Dee Williams (Lando).  That was when I was younger, but things have changed. Now, going to the con is about seeing some of my oldest friends one more time. As we  march towards our thirties, I wonder how many more times I’ll see these gents, or even have the means and/or desire to go to a comic book convention (and after last year’s fiasco, I nearly swore off going to a Chicago con ever again).

Ironically, I have heard rumors that this con could be the last Chicago Comic Con–at least in its current form (and time of the year).

I had a bit of a misadventure upon reaching downtown Chicago on Sunday afternoon. The ride on the blue line went well enough, but when I reached the stop for the Mega Bus, I looked at the clock on my phone. The time hadn’t switched to Chicago time right away when I arrived on Saturday (as my old phone would do), so thinking I was still on Michigan time, I thought I had an extra hour to kill.

Turns out, I did not.

Figuring I had time to kill, I walked away from the bus stop and ventured over to the Amtrack Station, looking for a place to get an ice cream to help beat the 98 degree heat. I entered the station and looked up at the old analogue clock on the wall.

“Oh, that can’t be right,” I said aloud after figuring out that my time was incorrect. I called my mom and asked her what time it was in Michigan.

“What time is it there right now?”
“Quarter to six, why?”
“That means it is quarter to five here–I gotta run!”

Dangit. I didn’t have an extra hour: I had been at the stop on time. I ran to the bus stop, making it with seconds to spare. That was the last bus to Ann Arbor, and it would have been a long walk home.

The ride home was not as smooth as the ride to Chicago, but that was not the fault of the Mega Bus people–there was a bunch of construction on 94 in Michigan (no surprise), which added about an hour to our ride home. By the time I drove back to Lansing, it was nearly 1 AM. Ugh.

I survived yet another Comic Con. I saw some old friends, including one I hadn’t seen in four years. I had a great time. All in all, not a bad way to spend a weekend.

I recorded a single line incorrectly for this episode, forcing me to go back and rerecord it, which threw off my editing schedule and caused me to work on this episode until last night. I’m never waiting until the last minute again. But it is done, huzzah.

This episode introduces Robin Hudson (of Angle Between the Lines and other podcasts) as the voice of Eira, the pelican healer.

I also dedicated this episode to Les Paul, who passed away this week. His pioneering of multi-track recording and audio effects led the way for the non-linear audio software we use today (GarageBand in my case).

I plan on having the last installment of my Chicago Comic Con blog up later today.

Chicago Comic Con, Part 1: – Fun With Mass Transit

I attended the Chicago Comic-Con this past Saturday and Sunday (would have went on Friday, but I had a prior commitment to be a guest at a teen writing workshop at my local library–which was a blast).

Bebop and Rocksteady search the Con for ‘Toytles’ to stomp.

This convention had been previously known as Wizard World, so named because of its connection with the comic book price guide/mag, Wizard.  Well, it appears that things are not all well in the kingdom of Wizard.  Both DC and Marvel pulled out of this convention, along with other publishers such as Dark Horse, leaving a huge void that couldn’t be filled, no matter how many Jake Buseys  or Todd Bridges were on hand (sadly, Gary Coleman was a no-show, another disappointment).

A friend summed the event up perfectly as “a glorified Motor City Comic Con” (our yearly comic con here in Michigan that has gone down hill, according to regular attendees).  Sure, there were neato guests and plenty of dealers, but the fun thing about cons for me is seeing the big companies there.

I may not read a lot of Marvel and DC titles as of late (I’ve been buying a lot of Dark Horse), but their presence (along with Dark Horse, Image and others) was what always separated the Chicago convention from Motor City Comic Con for me–the sense of scale.  I recalled in years past at Wizard World that there were more companies around, and not just the big comic labels.

Anyway, I digress.

I awoke at 5 AM on Saturday and prepped for my trek to Ann Arbor to pick up the Mega Bus at the  U of M Park and Ride lot.  Driving on the freeway just before 6 AM was interesting.  Thankfully, I avoided any construction (aside from a short detour in downtown Ann Arbor) and made it to the Park and Ride with time to spare.  The only bummer was that it started raining while I waited by the bus stop, causing some water to leak into my backpack–which made my change of clothes, podcast CD sleeves and such soggy.

The Mega Bus trip was actually rather painless, a far cry from the fiasco of my bus/train trip to the convention a year ago. We even arrived in downtown Chicago 45 minutes ahead of schedule.

I walked the block (give or take) to the nearest Blue Line train station and read a book during the 40 minute (give or take) train ride to the convention center).

I Checked in with my online ticket and was given a very annoying wristband.  They had done away with the badges of years past, and expected people to wear a stupid paper wrist band for the duration of the con (for as long as four days in some cases).

I’m sure this was to prevent people from sharing badges. I like the badges though, they make fun keepsakes, and mine came in handy years ago when I met Jason Mewes and had him sign the back.  When you have arms as hairy as mine, any kind of self-adhesive strip around your wrist is going to be painful.

I quickly noticed the absence of DC and Marvel upon entering.  Usually, they have large booths right at the entrance.  Instead, they crammed most of the guest celebs near the front, which created several log jams upon entering.

This year I wasn’t battling some kind of plague, so I enjoyed walking around the large convention center. I also started putting out podcast CDs in the freebie areas–this one thing I like about this con, they don’t care who puts out free stuff, unlike Motor City Comic Con, where you had to be a registered guest to put out freebies in the common areas.  I only brought 30 something CDs, which I quickly regretted after putting out the last of my CDs by mid-afternoon on the first day.

I also saturated the cafeteria areas with my podcast promo cards.

I didn’t buy all that much this year, I think I only spent around $100 over two days–and that included food, snacks, coffees and other necessities (ex: a six pack of Old Style). My most expensive purchase was a hardcover copy of the first Mouse Guard collection ($25), but I bought it in person from its writer/artist, Michigan-native David Petersen (whom I met a few months ago at the first Ink & Stein ‘drink and draw’ event in Ypsilani).  He also signed it and drew an amazing little sketch.

David Petersen, writer/artist of Mouse Guard, signs and sketches my copy of the first collection.

The rest of my purchases were mainly trade paperbacks of comic book back issues.  Since I’m more of a comic reader than collector these days, I opt for the cheap paperback collections over the separate back issues.  You can find booths a-plenty to score cheap trades.  Most will be half-off the cover price and another favorite stop sold all of their trades for $5.  Probably my best trade purchase was a large Judge Dredd collection that I got for only $7.  It didn’t have a US dollar price, only a UK price (13). I saw the next volume in the series at another booth on sale for $24 (US). Go me.

Stay tuned for Chicago Comic Con, Part 2-Obligatory Wrath of Con Joke

Jef started things out by drawing Frazz for us, live, on a large easel. I always like watching talented artists draw in person, it is nothing short of magical. Jef and I have known each other for a few years now–I first met him at a similar event in 2005 in Grand Ledge, although at that event he was talking more about censorship (I think) instead of just doing a general (but still entertaining) overview of what he does.

At that event in 2005, I hadn’t started writing The Magic of Eyri yet (I had ideas, but there were nowhere near what the final novel became). He mentioned writing and drawing a children’s book of his own, so after his presentation, I asked him for advice on starting and finishing a novel (and a sketch of Frazz).

He would tell me later that it was what I asked him that impressed him most, although I can’t remember exactly what I said. I didn’t ask the questions that he typically gets (“how can I get rich by drawing pictures” or along those lines). His advice to me, which is something I still follow, is to “just do it.” He told me that I didn’t want to be 80 years old one day and thinking, “hmm what if I had written that novel.” Jef told me to write it and at least i would know–and who cared if it was good or bad, at least I wouldn’t regret not trying.

Shortly after self-publishing The Magic of Eyri in 2007, I dropped Jef a line, thanking him for the advice, which had driven me to start and finish the novel. We had lunch and swapped books: a signed copy of Magic of Eyri for him and a signed Frazz collection for myself. It was great.

Jef Mallet is one of the nicest and greatest men I have ever known–and one of the things I like most about him is that he isn’t afraid to write ‘smart’ humor. He challenges his readers, and he loves doing it.

I love his stories about the comic strip business too. He told this joke about FoxTrot, Bill Amend. Bill used to live in California, but moved to Kansas City–which was where his syndicate was based. The joke went that Bill did this in order to have a whole extra time zone when it came to deadlines. Jef laughed and added that if you knew Bill, such a story wouldn’t be too far from the truth. Jef told this other joke about an artist, who years ago, whenever he’d read about a plane crash in the States, would call his syndicate and say “yeah, my strips were on that plane.”

The interesting thing is that nowadays, Jef doesn’t even have to mail his strips to his editor. He scans them and emails the files. But he added that he’s always up against a deadline–something I can relate to since starting the Magic of Eyri podcast (granted, I’m not doing daily episodes…I don’t even want to think about that).

The other great story he told was of a ‘strip feud (read the comments part)’ with Pearls Before Swine creator, Stephan Pastis. Pastis ran a strip featuring and overzealous cyclist named Jeff (Jef Mallet is an avid cyclist). Jef called Pastis up about the strip and he confused the strip was about Jef–even saying that he added an extra ‘f’ in the name at the last minute.

Jef took the whole thing in stride and in good humor. He kindly returned the favor in a strip after that, referencing Pastis’ previous career as a lawyer. Hilarious stuff.

Seeing Jef again this week was a much needed creative recharge for myself. The next day, I wrote nearly 1,000 words of my current in progress novel, the most I’ve written in one sitting in a long while–and I gotta get this first draft done by October because I want to take a stab at a nonfiction story come this Novembers Novel Writing Month.

The bands ran a very eclectic gauntlet, from latin jazz to indie rock to worship Christian rock. Thankfully, there was an excellent turn out, a bit over 200 people–which was great for a library on a Thursday night. Ryan and I each had score sheets and took notes while each band played, and we were also told to base our choice on crowd reaction (partially, anyway).

After the four sets, we made our choice–Alumenium, the latin jazz band. This was actually a pretty easy choice, because Alumenium just knocked it of the park from the get-go. They were a young group, which I think caused us (at least me) to underestimate them, but they were all great musicians.

My second choice was Commodore Cosmos, because I really enjoyed their lead singer’s presence and lyrics. Don’t Ever Tell was a decent pop-punk band (great drummer) and honestly, they were severely hurt by the lack of a quality sound system for the show (this event was the first of its kind, so that will be handled better if they decide to have another battle of the bands…and given the 200 or so folks that turned out, I think there’s a good chance there will be). I don’t really get worship music/Christan rock at all, so SOULvation Band, while good performers, wasn’t really my thing (although my favorite part of the evening was when the lead singer told the audience to “Get down with your GOOD self!”). And given the amount of fans singing along in the audience, SOULvation Band didn’t look like they were hurting for exposure.

What Ryan and I tried to base our final choice on was, which band would benefit the most from the studio recording time? Alumenium was definitely a band we could see doing some great stuff in the studio–especially since they were all pretty young and would only get better–and the type of layered music they did would work better in studio than live, I think.

This got me thinking: how many big bands/musicans have had a moment like this in their lives? I don’t know if it is me being egotistical or something, but I couldn’t help but wonder what effect I’ve had on the course of music history, for better or for worse. Likewise, say that by coming in second place, Commodore Cosmos decided to hone their chops even more and end up becoming the next big indie rock band (rejection is a great motivator, ask any writer with a stack of rejection letters. Or this other guy).

It makes you wonder (ok, maybe just me).

I wore my Ghostbusters costume at Motor City Comic Con while promoting it there and that helped a bunch (people asked for photos and I gave ‘em CDs or cards), but I can’t take my proton pack with me on the bus to Chicago, nor do I think it would survive the trip – I could still wear the flightsuit, but I don’t think it is worth it without the proton pack.

I’m not going to bother explaining how a thirteen year old is able to update a website while in a far away fantasy world, because there are other examples of people doing this.  It also gives me something to update in between episodes, and since my episodes are on a bi-weekly schedule (every other Sunday, Ep009 goes online this Sunday), I’m always worried about losing listeners.

And honestly, I’m having fun with it so  far–and it doesn’t cost me any thing, so why not? I’m still figuring out which direction to take it in (like do I reply to people or not, are the updates Magic of Eyri canon, etc), but I think it’ll just boil down to what I have time for and, more importantly, just having fun.

Last year, I took the train with my then girlfriend, L –we picked up a bus in East Lansing (at the train station, I think) and then took that bus to the train station in…uh, Kalamazoo I think. The bus trip was bad enough, with people having to stand in the aisle the whole way. The high point of this was one of the people standing was a very obviously hung over gentleman, who appeared to be on the verge of vomiting at a moment’s notice (I offered him my seat but he declined, saying that standing was better for him).

On top of this, I caught a cold the night before and was terrible shape for traveling. I spent the layover time at the next stop in a near-comatose state. The train ride wasn’t any better, as L and I couldn’t find seats together. And there was the whole riding backwards on the train thing, which did not sit well with me at all (I was sitting in the opposite direction the train was going).

Upon hitting Chicago, I was in even worse shape, allowing me to make a terrible first impression on L’s friend we met after dinner and would be staying with (the plan being, I go to the comicon with my friends and L spend the day doing what she wanted, both of us meeting up afterwards). This was Thursday night.

Friday morning, after a fantastic evening of night sweats and fever, I pulled myself out of bed and managed to make it to the nearest CTA train station–how, I don’t know. The con was fun, but when you have a fever and feel like you’re going to pass out at any moment, spending hours walking around a large convention center loses its appeal rather quickly.

I linked up with my friends, whom have moved out of Michigan in recent years, and did my best to enjoy the con. The plan was to grab dinner together that evening, attend a reading/Q&A by Warren Ellis (one of my favorite comic book writers) and hang out afterwards.

Well, that didn’t happen. I survived the afternoon at the con–barely. I almost left at one point, but since neither L nor her friend were home, I didn’t really have a choice. I had to forgo the traditional White Castle dinner in favor of something a little more pleasing to my weakened state (Subway, I think, so barely). I think I made it about 30 minutes through Warren Ellis’ reading before I hit rock bottom.

A couple of panicked phone calls later, I was on my way back to L’s friend’s house and so were L and said friend (forcing the two of them to leave a party or something). I was promptly pumped full of cold meds and put to bed.

Saturday started out great—and quickly got worse. I felt better at first, but after L and I trekked downtown to see the museums and such (Saturday was spend time with the girlfriend day), I was hardly able to stand. Needless to say, our museum outing was short lived. But here’s the best part:

L’s friend worked for the Obama campaign. And after we got back to L’s friend’s place (we had a spare key), she called us and invited us to the Taste of Chicago festival downtown, where Stevie Wonder was the guest. This would have meant getting back on the train to downtown, and standing outside in a 100 degree (give or take) sunny weather around thousands of people. L and I passed, opting to recover (she was exhausted as well, having spent the previous day downtown with friends).

The next day, we find out that had we gone, L’s friend could have gotten us into a private show put on by Stevie Wonder for Barrack and Michelle Obama.

Yes, that’s right. L and I could have met the now President and First Lady. And part of me thinks that if I had just taken some DayQuil, I might have been up for going.

(for the record, L’s friend had no idea–or at least gave us no prior indication–that this would happen, if she had said there would have been even a maybe chance, I would have cowboy’d up and went–and in some bizarre alternative reality, passed my plague on to the then presidential candidate, which would somehow cause him to lose the election. But, I digress).

That Sunday, the last day of Wizard World, I survived the outing but didn’t stay the whole day–and couldn’t because L and I had to catch the train back to Michigan. Catching our train was another bit of fun, as we had a hard time figuring out where to go inside Union Station. Yes, we almost boarded the wrong train.

So here I am, a little over a year later, and I’m toying with heading back.

I’m thinking of taking the Mega Bus time, which is faster than the train and way cheaper. And since I’m going solo this time (L broke up with me back in January), I figured why not? The Mega Bus gets my mom’s seal of approval and because of Chicago’s great mass transit system, all I have to do is hop on the Blue Line train after the bus drops me off at Union Station in downtown Chicago (seriously, their mass transit system rules–get with it Michigan) and I’ll be at the convention center around lunch time.  The ease of the mass transit system was something I really enjoyed last year.

Financially, I can make it work ($28 round trip on the Mega Bus is great) — and since I’m going there to promote the Magic of Eyri Podcast (give out cards/CDs) and myself, I can write off some of the expenses.

But I’ll have to watch my spending at the con itself (I think only having one bag to carry everything for the weekend in will help with that).

And honestly, I want a redo because last year was so horrible. I’m hoping that whatever is in my system at the moment (some kind of Black Lung/Bronchitis thing), will be under control by then (I’m on a new run of antibiotics so, I’m sure I’ll be fine).

But this time I’m going loaded for bear: bringing cold stuff just in case.

For me though, going to the con isn’t really about buying comics (or promoting myself)–it is to see my friends and to spend a fun weekend around like-minded people. As I’m getting older, I’m realizing I probably won’t have too many more chances like this down the road to have a carefree weekend with old friends (but I hope I’m very, very wrong).

As my dad likes to say, life is about ‘nuggets’ — little events or moments that may seem insignificant in the big picture, but make life all the more interesting.

Speaking of — both Gary Coleman AND Todd Bridges of Diff’rent Strokes are guests this year. How can I NOT go?

A friend came to visit from out of town, a college buddy and soon to be Californian super-lawyer, the day after my birthday. After a tasty lunch at the always great El Azteco in East Lansing, we came back to my place and watched Aliens (the extended version too, no less).

After Aliens, I dug out my copy of NHL ’95 for Super Nintendo, since he is one of only a few people I know that not only like those games but know how to play them (he once spent an entire afternoon as a teenager creating an entire team of Tom Chorskes with friends, each with a slightly different spelling).

While some games, like EarthBound, hold up pretty well after fourteen years, sports games such as NHL’ 95 don’t fare that well–specifically in the realm of play control and game mechanics. We were so accustomed to the faster-paced modern NHL video games, that playing NHL ’95 felt like watching a snail race. But, it wasn’t that we didn’t have fun, far from it. We certainly enjoyed ourselves. My favorite was the Battle of the Extinct Teams, he played the Winnipeg Jets (now the Phoenix Coyotes) and I played as the Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes).

But as tough as NHL ’95 was to play, it was nothing compared to the frustration of NHLPA Hockey ’93, which was considerably slower and the players seemed unaware of our commands. Still, we had fun. The charm of NHLPA ’93 is that Electronic Arts didn’t have the rights to use the team names, but they could use the names of the players (the title comes from the National Hockey League Player’s Association, their union)–for example, instead of playing as the Detroit Red Wings, you would just play as Detroit, and the teams were the same colors (give or take), but there were no logos anywhere (EA had a NHLPA license but not an NHL license).

We had fun though, and it was a nice time capsule, especially the aspect of Jeremy Roenick being the best player in the game.  EDIT: I got my years mixed up, the unstoppable JR was actually in NHL ’94. Sorry, some of those early games kind of blur together.

That evening, after sushi at Sushiya and drinks at Woody’s Oasis, the two of us (and three other friends) walked next door to Pinball Pete’s, East Lansing’s arcade. A discussion of the epic six player, two-screen X-Men arcade game over drinks had led us there, hoping to relive even more of our wasted youth.

Sadly, no X-Men (or our second choice, Turtles in Time) was to be found. However, they did have the four player version of Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder. The irony here, is that when I was in my early teens, I would rent a Sega Genesis for my birthday party (friends and I stayed up all night playing games) and the original Golden Axe was one of the games I would always get.

About $5 in quarters later, we defeated the game (rotating turns, as there was five of us and Golden Axe being a four player game).

It was a fun game (although I think I still prefer the original). One thing bothered me though. There is a playable character who is a female centaur (woman’s torso, lower body is a horse), which was neat–however, whenever she would ride a creature (one of the game’s fun features, you can steal mounts from foes), her sprite changed to that of a two legged woman (riding side-saddle no less). Whenever she would dismount a creature, her sprite turned back to the normal centaur version.

I realize the design reason for this, as how do you show a four-legged horse woman riding a giant fire-breathing mantis without it looking too silly–but, it still struck me as odd.

And my week of nostalgia didn’t stop there–I received a Wii Points card from my parents for my birthday, which allows me to buy downloads of old video games for my Wii (and I honestly think that is the future of game systems). I opted for Secret of Mana (which I have been playing non-stop) and Earthworm Jim, both early 1990s classics.

This made me think: fourteen years from now, what will today’s 13-14 year old boys be nostalgic for? Rock Band? Wii Fit? Catz 2?

Only time will tell, I suppose.

I’m working on a novel right now (Night of the Lonely Werewolf, working title) and I’m at about 65,000 words (out of a goal of around 80,000), and I realized I was losing track of where things were going.

I had started this story back in November for Novel Writing Month. I got the first 50,000 words done in 24 days and fell off the wagon for the next six months.  I only recently started working on it (nearly) every day.  The problem with there being such a huge break between working on this thing, is that I forgot where I originally wanted to go with the section of the story I’m currently writing.

However, since it is the first draft, I write whatever feels good/works for the moment and move on, but today I had to stop and think about a few things. I have some plot points I need to make sure get resolved, and I need to figure out how to connect certain plot points to others.

So, I opened up to a new page in my notebook (I try to keep a note book for whatever novel I’m working on and try to keep everything together) and started writing things down. I do the ‘draw a word in a bubble and connect other bubbles to it’ thing–whatever that is called (Brainstorming?).

It helps.  It may not work for everyone, but it works for me. It helps get my thought process going a bit faster, and I think it is because I can see everything before me, “Ok…they’re going here, and this character wants this…Oh, wait, I can have that character do this…” You get the idea.

Doing that helped me work out a couple snags for the section I’m at, and how to link it with what I wrote back in November (and to the rest of the story as a whole).  I know there are computer programs that can do that same process, but honestly I just prefer writing it down on paper–I can get ideas out faster, I think.

And some times, those spur of the moment/top of your head thoughts or ideas can be what your story really needs, especially when you’re working on a first draft.