fringe element

WorldCon 2011 - Renovation‏

2011-07-28T23:42:00.000-05:00

As many before me have done, here is my WorldCon Schedule as it currently stands! Hope to see many of you at Renovation‏ next month.

Thu 14:00 - 15:00, For Fringe Fans (Panel), C1 (RSCC)
TV's cross between X-Files and The Twilight Zone just keeps getting richer and stranger. It's got a great mad scientist and a hot FBI agent or two. Where is Fringe going? Why do we love it so?

Thu 16:00 - 17:00, Cover Art in the Age of e-Books (Panel), A02 (RSCC)
Should an e-book cover be different than a print book? Does it have to be standard book cover size and shape or can it slip loose of standard print constraints? How the market for cover art and design might change in the age of electronic publishing?

Thu 19:00 - 20:00, Make Your Own Geek Chick Action Figure (Workshop), Hall 2 Demo1 (RSCC)
Get your doll-geek on! There aren't enough action figures of female characters from film or literature, but you can make your own! Come learn how to transform fashion dolls to geek chick icons.

Fri 14:00 - 15:00, Book Design and Layout (Panel), A11 (RSCC)
A review of the process and challenges involved in designing and producing a book once the written word is in hand.

Sat 10:00 - 11:00, KaffeeKlatsch: Sat 10:00 (KaffeeKlatsch), KK1 (RSCC)

Sat 11:00 - 12:00, The Role of the Companion: The Impact of the Companions on the Doctor (Panel), A05 (RSCC)
The Doctor's companions aren't just generic side kicks. Our view of the Doctor is influenced by his companions. And the companions change the Doctor, something examined a number of times over the last several seasons.

Sat 13:00 - 14:00, Has Dr. Who Jumped the Shark or is Steven Moffat Just Messing with Us? (Panel), A09 (RSCC)
Dr. Who has been a very popular show for generations. But is the new Dr. Who losing its way? Is bigger and younger always better? Is there a method to Moffat's madness? Since Season Six won't conclude until after Worldcon, speculations can abound!

Sat 16:00 - 17:00, Autographing: Sat 16:00 (Autographing), Hall 2 Autographs (RSCC)

Sun 12:00 - 13:00, Marketing Yourself on the Web (Panel), A05 (RSCC)
Does web site design still matter in the age of social media? How should a nontechnical artist or author approach the question of how to market yourself electronically?

CONvergence!

2011-06-23T23:38:00.000-05:00

I will be attending CONvergence 2011 next week in Minneapolis, and am on many, many panels, sometimes with Seanan McGuire, sometimes with Chicks Dig Time Lords co-editor Lynne Thomas, and sometimes with Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman. I am very excited, in part because I haven't actually been to a con with Greg in a zillion years and you can count on me geeking rather a lot, as I am a seriously hardcore Gargoyles fangirl. And also because the Tara-and-Seanan Show is always a good time, and usually involves at least one mention per hour of Monster High.

Please do come and say hello if you are attending!

Welcome (back) to Bordertown

2011-05-08T00:16:00.005-05:00

Two blog posts in as many weeks! It's like the world has gone mad!

Right, so in the interests of keeping you updated with things what I have been up to, I'm honoured and excited to share with you images I've created, inspired by Terri Windling's Bordertown shared-world series, wallpapers and icons of which are now available on BordertownSeries.com.

Featuring stories by Charles de Lint, Ellen Kushner, Stephen R Boyett and Terri Windling (writing as Bellamy Bach), Borderland introduced me not only to a world where Faerie had returned and both human and fey runaways flocked to a crumbling human city where technology and magic were equally wonderful, unpredictable and dangerous (much like the B-town residents themselves), but to the nascent genre of urban fantasy which I had only sampled up to that point.

(In point of fact, you can blame Windling for that as well, as it was her Fairy Tales Series in the late 1980s which introduced me to Patricia C Wrede, Pamela Dean, Steven Brust, Ellen Kushner, Midori Snyder, and Kara Dalkey. Not to mention made me firmly believe that any book with a cover by Thomas Canty was worth picking up; a rule which has proved fairly reliable over the years, may I add.)

I had done a complete Bordertown series re-read in 2004, but since then the books sat on a shelf, drawing comments, and occasionally being loaned out (don't worry; I have loaner copies of nearly all of them) to visitors. They were constantly referenced, praised, geeked about and like most urban fantasy fans of a certain age, I imagined the stories I would have liked to have told, set in the Borderlands. As Emma Bull and Will Shetterly's B-town novels Finder, Elsewhere, and Nevernever were reprinted for the YA market, I continued touching wood and crossing digits that the original anthologies would be reprinted as well; or at the very least that a "Best Of" collection might emerge. But new stories? I never even dared to dream.

Then my dreams came true in February 2009, when editors Ellen Kushner and Holly Black announced they would be returning to Borderlands in a new anthology, Welcome to Bordertown, 13 years after the last anthology was published. Needless to say, I was beyond overjoyed. Because the Borderlands anthologies shaped my tastes as a reader, and influenced my life in so many ways since I first picked up the TOR edition of Borderlands in paperback from a university bookstore in 1992.

Of course, my first thought was to wonder how B-town would look in the 21st century, a quarter century after the first stories were published? Sure, magic and rock & roll are eternal, but even with retro 80s nostalgia at its height and a whole new generation becomes convinced leggings really are pants, guyliner is completely acceptable if not expected at this point, and your hair can never be too big, I worried that the stories and world would seem dated; quaint even, to the current generation raised on computer animation, iPods, and smart phones.

I needn't have worried. Because the new anthology remains as relevant, real, heart-breaking, exciting and marvellous as the first one—with the added bonus that in Welcome to Bordertown we get to see how B-town reacts to the 21st century.

Ever wonder how the internet came to the Borderlands? Or how B-town holds their own version of Carnival? Ever miss Screaming Lord Neville's dramatic costume changes, or browsing the shelves at Elsewhere Books? Want to meet new Bordertown born-and-breds, humans with the dust of the world still behind their ears, or impossibly beautiful Truebloods with their own spinning racks of issues? Welcome to Bordertown has the hottest new bands in the clubs we know like the backs of our hands, the wildest old magic, and stories and poems and songs that make us laugh and cry no matter where we come from, or in what year we were born. Because no matter how much time passes between visits to B-town, people are still people (even when they're werewolves, elves, and dragons), and we still dream the same dreams. They may not keep us fed or warm, our dreams—but they keep us breathing all the same, and sometimes the only difference between living and merely existing are the dreams we have and the dreams we share.

The new Bordertown hardcover hits shelves this month, with stories and poems by returning B-town residents Charles de Lint, Ellen Kushner, Terri Windling, Steven Brust, Emma Bull, and Will Shetterly, as well as newcomers to its streets Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Nalo Hopkinson, Holly Black, Cat Valente, Amal El-Mohtar, and many others. And between its covers you'll find all manner of dreams, in all shapes and sizes. Maybe this will be your first B-town anthology. Maybe it will open your eyes to a world you never knew existed. Maybe it will teach you something you never knew about life. Maybe it will show you things you never suspected about yourself. There's only one way to find out...

What are you waiting for?

Bordertown lives.

Find your way.

Chicks Dig Time Lords nominated for a Hugo. Watch Tara's head explode.

2011-04-24T17:02:00.002-05:00

I am deeply honoured to announce that Lynne M Thomas and my essay collection Chicks Dig Time Lords has been nominated for a 2011 Hugo Award for "Best Related Work".

Congratulations to the entire Chicks team, including assistant editor Michael Thomas, the book's designer Christa Dickson, cover artist Katy Shuttleworth, and all of our contributors and interviewees:

Elizabeth Bear
Carole E. Barrowman
Jackie Jenkins
Deborah Stanish
Helen Kang
Lloyd Rose
India Fisher
Johanna Mead
Francesca Coppa
Sophie Aldred
Jennifer Adams Kelley
Tammy Garrison & Katy Shuttleworth
Lisa Bowerman
Jody Lynn Nye
Amy Fritsch
Seanan McGuire
Kathryn Sullivan
LM Myles
Kate Orman
Shoshana Magnet & Robert Smith?
Mary Robinette Kowal
K. Tempest Bradford
Christa Dickson
Catherynne M. Valente

As well as our publisher, Mad Norwegian Press, for taking a chance on this collection in the first place. It was a huge leap of faith on their parts, for which we are eternally grateful.

Also, congratulations to our fellow nominees in the "Best Related Work" category:

Bearings: Reviews 1997-2001, by Gary K. Wolfe (Beccon)
The Business of Science Fiction: Two Insiders Discuss Writing and Publishing, by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg (McFarland)
Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century, Volume 1: (1907 – 1948): Learning Curve, by William H. Patterson, Jr. (Tor)
Writing Excuses, Season 4, by Brandon Sanderson, Jordan Sanderson, Howard Tayler, Dan Wells

I am now going to find the POOFIEST dress ever, for RENOvations shall be my Prom. I plan on dancing with everyone, and drinking a lot of spiked punch.

Social Tara is Social

2011-04-15T02:06:00.006-05:00

As always, I am truly terrible when it comes to updating my blog, and for that, I apologise. But this week has been full of lovely adventures. First off, in case you haven't heard, Chicago's One Book, One Chicago selection for this spring is Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere [Amazon] [Mysterious Galaxy]. As someone who has read both the BBC Books version and the American version when they first came out, I was truly delighted--especially as I am currently re-reading the entirety of Terri Windling's Borderland canon in preparation for the release in May of Welcome to Bordertown [Amazon] [Mysterious Galaxy] edited by Ellen Kushner and Holly Black. So, I have had Magical Cities on the brain, you could say.

I wasn't able to attend Tuesday night's event at the Harold Washington Library, but I did trek out to the University of Chicago campus Rockefeller Chapel for Wednesday night's reading and Q&A.

Now, when most schools say "chapel", I tend to picture a bland, 1970s-built utilitarian space meant to accommodate ceremonies of any (or no) religious affiliation possible. Erm... no. When UofC say "chapel" what they really mean is a GIANT GORGEOUS CATHEDRAL. And Neil packed the place, and read from the pulpit which was a source of delight and amusement for all.

Having had the pleasure of hearing Neil read from his own work many times in the past nearly 20 years, I have to say that this instance stood out from all the rest for one main reason: Order of The Odd Fish author James Kennedy's amazing introduction. Do not take my word for it; see for yourself:

I very nearly genuinely damaged myself laughing. (Though, to be fair, breathing at the moment can cause me a bit of difficulty, as I am currently recovering from a nasty back injury.) However, the reading and Q&A more than lived up to that truly epic introduction, I got to visit with old friends and meet new one, and I stayed out far past my bedtime, having much too much fun. I may have paid for it the next day, but as they say (well, at least they said in Mindy Snodgrass' TNG episode "Up The Long Ladder") "Every moment of pleasure in life has to be purchased by an equal moment of pain."

Then last night (I can say that as it is now just gone 2 AM, right?), I finally got to meet Chicks Dig Time Lords [Amazon] [Mysterious Galaxy] contributor Cat Valente "in real life" as we say on the interwebs. She read from her latest novel, Deathless [Amazon] [Mysterious Galaxy] at The Book Cellar in Lincoln Square and she was just as much full of fun, poetry, wicked humour (and--in the end--beer) as promised. Note to any who travel to Lincoln Square staple The Chicago Brahaus in the future: the boot really is the size of a size 6 woman's riding boot which I'm fairly sure holds at least a litre and a half of whichever beer you order. While the entire table contributed to its eventual demise, I can tell you with complete sincerity that Catherynne The Great pretty much killed that soldier nearly all on her own, which I consider a testament to her will of iron and, frankly, her leg of wood.

Lastly, client and friend Seanan McGuire's thriller FEED [Amazon] [Mysterious Galaxy] from Orbit has been nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award, which is in my not entirely unbiased opinion entirely deserved. Also, the sequel, [Amazon] [Mysterious Galaxy], comes out in May and believe me when I tell you, it's on hell of a ride, so you'd better buckle up and hold on for dear life...

C2E2!

2011-03-16T11:59:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the late notice, but Lynne Thomas and I will be signing at C2E2 in Chicago this week-end at McCormick Place! We'll be appearing at the Alien Entertainment area on the main floor, Booth 947, Saturday March 19, 2-3pm! Bring your copies of Chicks Dig Time Lords and Whedonistas, or pick them up from the booth at the show!

And for you Middlefans out there, at 5:30pm there will be a The Middleman reunion panel featuring creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach, and series stars Natalie Morales, Matt Keeslar, Mary Pat Gleason, and Brit Morgan!

2011! Hurrah!

2011-01-14T13:17:00.006-06:00

So very many things to tell you all. And per usual, it's my own fault for not, you know... telling you sooner.

Chicks Dig Time Lords co-editor Lynne M Thomas and I contributed an essay to Tor.com for their Twelve Doctors of Christmas series, "Chicks Dig The Eleventh Doctor". Be sure and check out the entire series, as it features essays from CDTL contributor Seanan McGuire, writer Paul Cornell, BOOM! Studios editor in chief Mark Waid, and many more!

Speaking of CDTL, I have been reliably informed by pretty much everyone on the planet that it is eligible for a Hugo award in the "Best Related Work" category. To nominate it, you need to have been a member of Aussiecon IV (WorldCon 2010) or a member of Renovation (Worldcon 2011) to nominate.

(If it ends up on the ballot, my head may actually explode. In a good way.)

Seanan McGuire is currently selling prints I designed with the lyrics to the song Wicked Girls. This is a limited print run of 500, and some signed and numbered prints are still available! Check out her blog for details!

I am doing many, many conventions in 2011! Okay, at least 3. Okay, probably more than 3, but here are the shows were I know I'll be attending thus far. They are:

Gallifrey One, Los Angeles, CA February 18-20
C2E2, Chicago, IL, March 18-20
CONvergence, Bloomington, MN, June 30-July 3

In other news, there will soon be 4 ridiculously awesome items I customised up for auction by Claudia Gray to promote her final Evernight novel, Afterlife. Check out her blog for details.

More stuff coming soon in the way of news, and hopefully not 6 months between updates this time!

I live!

2010-08-12T12:19:00.002-05:00

You know that thing I do where I swear up and down I am not going to neglect my blog for months on end? And I promise con reports and so on, and then never deliver?

Yeah. So. Erm...

To catch you all up, I went with my friend and client the fabulous Seanan McGuire (aka Mira Grant) to San Diego Comic Con last month. It was my first SDCC, and it was fantastic. Not only did I get to hang out with people whom I adore like Mary-Elizabeth Hart, Tony Lee, Amy Mebberson, Jann Jones, Chris Moreno and Lauren Perry, Javi Grillo-Marxuach, and Paul Cornell and his equally-if-not-moreso awesome wife Caroline, I GEEKED OUT LIEK WHOA. I didn't make it to too many panels, it's true. There was some seriously late nights, followed by sleeping til lunchtime a few days. But as a social week-end it was glorious. I'm not too fussed by crowds or lines, and in terms of exclusives the only toy I rally wanted I did get (Flashdance Barbie) and before you point and mock and laugh AND JUDGE ME, I'd like to point out she lasted as Alex all of 24 hours before I redressed and restyled her as Sita Mohindas from the awesome Early Voyages comic written by Dan Abnett. Okay, wait... okay, go ahead and mock me. I clearly deserve it.

So really for me the week-end was all about a) meeting people b) seeing people whom I already knew and c) introducing many people I knew to one another. When this results in a breakfast where two of the participants GLEEFULLY discuss flesh-eating viruses and parasite-ridden snails while the other two look on in vague horror, lemme tell you... some days, it's good to be me. Not always, mind you. But sometimes, it kinda rocks.

In any case, in the fortnight since I've done another local convention, and had the first of two family visits. So things are a bit scattered. But there are new graphical goodies up at SeananMcGuire.com to promote her third Toby Daye novel, An Artificial Night, with there are more goodies to come in the coming days. I've also been working on something Evernight-related for Claudia Gray that I think once it's unveiled will make her fans go crazy. I hope.

There's more cool stuff from me on the horizon (hopefully) but until then, I am hip-deep in freelance graphics work and my kid sister (who is going to be 35 in a few weeks, for the record) is arriving tomorrow morning. So I should probably get the dolls out of the spare room...

Crossing the Cheddar Curtain!

2010-06-06T09:16:00.002-05:00

I am headed off to Milwaukee, WI today for a signing with co-editor Lynne Thomas, Carole Barrowman, Jody Lynn Nye and Kathryn Sullivan today at Boswell Book Company, 2559 N. Downer Ave., Milwaukee WI 53211.

Hope to see some of you there!

Tired Tara is Tired

2010-04-26T14:46:00.000-05:00

I need to do a proper write-up of both C2E2 and the Chicks Dig Time Lords event in Madison, but I am playing catch-up right now, so instead I offer you The View From The Podium:

Thank you EVERYONE who turned out for the reading and signing at A Room of One's Own yesterday. We had a blast!

In other news: The first book in the Newsflesh trilogy by Seanan McGuire (writing as Mira Grant), FEED hits shelves tomorrow. have you been to MiraGrant.com lately? It's chock full of brand new content and zombie-related goodies!

Chicks Dig Madison!

2010-04-23T23:34:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't heard, contributors Carole Barrowman (co-author with brother John Barrowman of Anything Goes and I Am What I Am ), co-editor Lynne M Thomas and I will be in Madison, WI this Sunday, April 25th at 2pm at A Room Of One's Own, 307 W. Johnson St., Madison, WI, signing copies of Chicks Dig Time Lords.

And as a special bonus, we'll also be joined by CDTL contributors Tammy Garrison (c-creator of Torchwood Babiez) and veteran 'zine contributor Kathryn Sullivan!

So if you are in the area, please join us! We promise, there WILL be squee aplenty.

(However before you ask, I am travelling on Saturday. Which means that if you spoil me for "The Time of Angels", I cannot be held responsible for my actions. Like the Doctor, I too can be worse than everyone's aunt.)

C2E2, OddCon, A Room of One's Own, and Paul Cornell at Tor.com

2010-04-15T22:12:00.002-05:00

I'm off to Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo at Chicago's McCormick Place tomorrow, and will be signing copies of Chicks Dig Time Lords at the Doctor Who Store booth #1344 Saturday, April 17, from 2-3 pm. Please stop by to say hello!

Meanwhile, this week-end Chicks Dig Time Lords co-editor Lynne M. Thomas and contributor Kathryn Sullivan will be at Odyssey Con in Madison, Wisconsin. The Chicks Dig Time Lords panel is scheduled for Sunday at 11:30 am.

Also in Madison, contributor Carole Barrowman (co-author with brother John Barrowman of Anything Goes and I Am What I Am ), co-editor Lynne M Thomas and I will be in Madison, WI Sunday, April 25th at 2pm at A Room Of One's Own, in Downtown Madison, signing copies of Chicks Dig Time Lords.

Lastly, Friend of Who-Loving Chicks Everywhere Paul Cornell (author of Human Nature, Captain Britian and MI-13, Action Comics, etc.) discusses Chicks in his latest interview with Teresa Jusino at Tor.com.

As always, to stay on top of all the CDTL-related events, check out our Facebook page!

Eagle Awards, Hugo Awards, and dinosaurs, O My!

2010-04-06T09:47:00.003-05:00

The Eagle Awards are a bit like the Eisners, BAFTAs, and the Oscars all rolled into one for UK comics. They are named for The Eagle comics magazine, which I grew up hearing about from my dad, who read Dan Dare in The Eagle as a kid (this, by the way, explains a great deal about me right there). You can learn more about them at EagleAwards.co.uk.

Now, a lot a very nice people whom I have consumed vast quantities of alcoholic beverages with at conventions are elligible for nominations for Eagle Awards right now. For example, IDW's Doctor Who writer Tony Lee, editor Denton Tipton, artists like Matthew Dow Smith, Ben Templesmith, Pia Guerra, Al Davison, Kelly Yates, Paul Grist, Adrian Salmon, or Captain Britain and MI-13's Leonard Kirk. And colourist Lovern Kindzierski who in addition to colouring Doctor Who also did the gorgeous, gorgeous colours on half of IDW's Crew, which I adore for being the only tie-in in the history of Star Trek actually devoted entirely to Majel Barrett's character Number One from "The Cage", who you may have noticed is my FAVOURITE. And in addition to the IDW ongoing Doctor Who comic, The Forgotten is also eligible, as is Harker.

So I think you should all go over there and nominate people, based on the strength of their work, and also the part where they are nice people. And then when they get on the ballot, I think you should vote for them for the exact same reason.

And speaking of awards, the Hugo Nominations are up! And I am very pleased to see Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk's Captain Britain & MI-13: Vampire State is on the ballot. Why does this please me? Well, for one thing, it's a very good story. For another, Paul's a mate of mine, and I'm really pleased for him. And lastly, Pete Wisdon's girlfriend and I share a given name, and that never stops being awesome.

Also, if you are a WorldCon attendee, Seanan McGuire is on this year's Hugo Ballot for the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. You can view the full ballot for this year's awards at the Aussiecon 4 website.

Now, what's important to note here is that the Campbell Award comes with a tiara.

If you have ever wanted to see Seanan McGuire in a pretty dress, with a chainsaw and a velociraptor and a tiara, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE. She already has a) the dress b) the chainsaw, and c) the velociraptor. So really, it's up to you to make sure she gets the tiara.

Trust me: you want Seanan to get a tiara.

Hour of the Wolf

2010-03-20T06:24:00.003-05:00

Weren't quite awake at 5am CST this morning? You can listen to Chicks Dig Time Lords co-editor Lynne M Thomas, and contributors Deb Standish, K Tempest Bradford, Cat Valente, and Katy Shuttleworth on "The Hour of the Wolf" hosted by Jim Freund at archive.wbai.org.

Chicks Dig Time Lords launch!

2010-03-15T03:07:00.003-05:00

So, as of today, Chicks Dig Time Lords is available in stores.

*flails*

Now I know how my clients feel (and as Seanan McGuire and Claudia Gray both have books hitting this month, I have suddenly developed all new endless wells of empathy and sympathy). Those of you who have pre-ordered copies may have already received them. Some of you have written lovely reviews on blogs, Facebook, and messageboards, and I wanted to thank everyone for helping to spread the word. Lynne and I are hugely proud of this book, and excited to finally be sharing it with you all.

For those of you who have not yet ordered a copy, and can do so online from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, or (best of all) from local independent booksellers like Mysterious Galaxy, Women & Children First, or Powell's. Can't find a store near you? Check out Indie Bound.

You can also find it from Doctor Who merchandise dealers such as Alien Entertainment and Who NA. And internationally, it's also currently available in the UK from Galaxy 4, and Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca will have book in stock shortly!

And last but not least, our publisher likes it when you order it directly from Mad Norwegian Press.

Visit our Facebook page for full details on upcoming Chicks events in NYC and Madison, WI, or follow #chicksdigtimelords or #cdtl on Twitter.

would that this journal had a facepalms icon.

2010-03-08T23:03:00.002-06:00

Today was rather aggressively Monday. I apologise to all whom I spammed today with new post notifications!

I was trying to import LJ entries to WP with tags intact, and forgot to disable cross-posting first. And as a result, I created a recursive loop and then had to delete triple posts in two different places, which apparently corrupted the Wordpress database. So tonight after work and freelance work, I blew the old database away and started from scratch, only this time with a (more) solid idea of how to daisy-chain my blogger/wordpress/livejournal/twitter/facebook feeds together.

Look at it this way... if I can get the bugs sorted out, then it'll work great from now on?

(I am now picturing people fleeing me in droves, and at this point, I really cannot blame them.)

To give this entry some actual content, ClaudiaGray.com has been updated with new wallpapers and icons to promote Hourglass the third and penultimate novel in her Evernight series. People are going to be on tenterhooks until Afterlife comes out, let me tell you. Also, I learned many new and exciting things while working on those assets, up to and including how difficult it is to fake vintage NYC subway station decor.

In other news, I am still working my way through the ARC of Mira Grant's Feed so I can design nifty peachy-keen promotional materials for her, and this book had better hit twice as big as World War Z cos it's fantastic.

(Part of it may be that my journalistic heroes are Edward R Murrow and Network 23's Edison Carter. Make of that what you will.)

Lastly, I've already mentioned this on Livejournal but it got a bit lost in the shuffle of trying to become Queen of all Social Networking Media, but there is now a Chicks Dig Time Lords Facebook Fan Page, which not only has images from the Gallifrey One launch of the book, but events in Madison, WI and New York City, and folks area already sharing their reviews. So check it out. We're really thrilled beyond measure at the reception the book has had thus far, and are hoping that when it is released March 15, everyone who wasn't at Gally will have a chance to chime in!

one last test, I swear! Also, re: the zombie apocalypse

2010-03-06T18:32:00.000-06:00

I promise, on my honour, that if this bloody thing actually works I shall only post entries for now on that contain actual content. Like me nattering on about fonts and design, or the awesomeness of Doctor Who, or how much I really enjoy sometimes scaring Phil Ford just the tinest bit with my deep and abiding love of Gosford Park

No, really. Hand-to-heart.

*sigh*

For those of you at home wondering what the hell I'm doing, it goes like this...

So I've got this blog. And I've had it for nearly a decade. And I've cleaned it up, and exported the relevant bits to my Livejournal. But the true goal of this Rube Goldbergian game of social networking dominos I'm playing is to update the blog at blogger.com just as I have done since, erm, 2001ish. And then the WordPress blog at fringe-element.net syndicates the content via the RSS feed. Which in turn, cross-posts it automatically to my Livejournal. Then the Twitter feed picks up that I've updated the blog, and automatically posts a link, which then automatically posts that tweet to my Facebook status line.

The goal of all of this is to update in one place, and have it broadcast everywhere it needs to be broadcast.

The real goal, I admit freely, is blatantly using myself as a guinea pig to work out all the insane fiddly bits, so in turn I can simplify the lives of my clients. So that, for example, the nest time Claudia Gray has important news to share with her readers about the Evernight series, she can post in one place and magically it shall appear everywhere else she has fans following her.

I know I am late to the party, where the potential for the usefulness of the blogsphere is concerned. but I'm trying to get caught up as quick as I can.

So to give this post some actual content, here is a question for you all:

If the zombie apocalypse were to happen tomorrow, what 1) weapon 2) location and 3) ally would you choose?

For example, my answer tends to b 1) flame-thrower, b) Cheyenne Mountain and 3) Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

How about you?

this is a test...

2010-03-06T17:08:00.003-06:00

This is a test of the Project Cross-Posting World Domination Broadcast System.

If this were a real emergency, there would be loads more screaming. And also, some explosions. And possibly shenanigans involving half a duck.

This is only a test.

beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled social networking experience.

Pardon our dust; we're renovating.

2010-03-06T15:44:00.002-06:00

So in the wake of the Chicks Dig Time Lords launch, I’m trying to streamline and consolidate my online presence. To that end, I’m working on fiddly bits with WordPress and ScribeFire so that when I update my WP blog on fringe-element.net it shall update this Blogger blog, my Livejournal, and publish out a link to my Twitter feed and Facebook feed.

(And if anyone has tips/tricks on how to do this, I welcome the help because I’ve been an Blogger and LJ user for nearly 10 years, but WordPress and ScribeFire are unknown countries to me, and I feel as if I desperately need a map and compass in order to navigate them. Both of which I do not have in my pack.)

So if you see the same post in 3 places, don’t worry. That’s actually the plan. LJ also has unique content, and a lot more on my freelance career as a graphic designer for folks like Claudia Gray, Seanan McGuire, and RJ Anderson. Whereas for the next two months, I suspect this blog may be All Chicks All The Time.

But no worries–I’ll continue to geek out about television and film here on Blogger as well, once the absolutely shameless public flogging of the book has passed.

Home from Gallifrey One: Blackjack 21

2010-03-03T14:55:00.005-06:00

There will be a proper con report eventually. In the meantime, allow me to tell you what it was like to see this in the dealer's room:

Photo © Michael D Thomas 2010

The book is a physical thing you can touch! And stroke! And whisper sweet nothings to like Gollum in Lord of the Rings!

Possibly I did all of those things. But the real "OMGNOWAYREALLYYOUR'RENOTKIDDING?" moment was the first time I autographed it for someone whom I had never met before and had no reason to buy it other than "This looks nifty! I want to own it."

It's real.

Wow.

Time Lords. Chicks' Dig 'Em.

2009-09-09T10:09:00.009-05:00

I'm very pleased to announce that Chicks Dig Time Lords edited by Lynne M Thomas and myself is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Chicks Dig Time Lords features essays by Carole E. Barrowman, Elizabeth Bear, Lisa Bowerman, K. Tempest Bradford, Francesca Coppa, Amy Fritsch, Jackie Jenkins, Helen Kang, Jennifer Adams Kelley, Mary Robinette Kowal, Seanan McGuire, Johanna Mead, LM Myles, Jody Lynn Nye, Kate Orman, Tara O'Shea, Lloyd Rose, Deborah Stanish, Kathryn Sullivan, Lynne M. Thomas, and Catherynne M. Valente, with interviews with Sophie Aldred, India Fisher, and Laura Doddington, and a special comic from Torchwood Babiez' Tammy Garrison and Katy Shuttleworth, and is coming from Mad Norwegian Press in March 2010.

I'm alive. And not in San Diego.

2009-07-23T00:24:00.008-05:00

Remember all my promises earlier this year that I would be blogging more often?

This summer has thus far been eaten by work, stress, and Star Trek.

However, I promise that in days to come I will be posting about the things you all actually care about, like Chicks Dig Time Lords, my new doctor-mandated all-sushi and veg diet, and most importantly, 101 More Reasons to Love The Middleman.

...and probably Star Trek.

(And how there's a prequel/sequel that lives in my head with Bruce Greenwood's Pike and Jennifer Garner as Number One, where they have lots of sexy adventures in space, and stuff.)

In the meantime, I suggest you check out O2STK.com where Javier Grillo-Marxuach keeps us all up to date on the latest Middlenews, Paul Cornell's shiny new blog, as he talks about the final issue of Captain Britain and his latest comics miniseries that ties in to Iron Man 2, and John Rogers as he shares secrets about ~~his love of drinking and Catholic guilt~~ the second series of Leverage, currently airing every Wednesday on TNT. Because they are far more interesting than I am on a regular basis.

And to everyone who is in San Diego right now... I love you all, and I also am INSANELY JEALOUS and if there is a God in heaven, one of you will be tweeting the The Middleman table read this afternoon.

Okay, I love you, bye-bye.

TV's James Moran

2009-03-16T18:13:00.004-05:00

James Moran is one smart dood. Seriously. Tell your friends. Particularly if they have a genuine desire to write film and/or television for a living. Chock full of good advice, common sense, and one instance of Questionable Taste Theatre regarding Patrick Swayze that makes me love him^* even more than I already did.

^* Platonically, without puppets.

The Long Game

2009-02-21T23:22:00.009-06:00

Here's the thing: I love capers.

Not the salty little pickled bud of the Capparis spinosa plant that you get when you order smoked salmon or caviar (tho I love those too). No, I mean stories of elaborately planned thefts, involving crews of thieves and grifters, pulling the wool over greedy marks' and plodding policemen's eyes and getting away clean.

I think it stems from my childhood adoration of a blink-and-you-missed-it 6 episode series from 1987 called Shell Game starring Margot Kidder and James Reid. Reid plays a grifter who has gone straight and is trying to live a normal life has his world thrown into disarray by his ex-partner (who is also his ex-wife) showing up to throw all his order into chaos, while trying to tempt him back into the life. Unlike Remington Steele, where Steele's life as a grifter only surfaced in those rare episodes where his mentor Daniel showed up, Shell Game presented the life as not nearly as glamourous (and quite a bit more frightening) but always in a frothy, 1930s screwball comedy kind of way. It also made me fall in love with female trickster types (which explains a lot about why I loved Amanda from Highlander) who don't need men to save them. In fact, they tend to come out on top using their own smarts, which made a deep impression on me as a 13 year old girl.

I have a collection of caper films I return to in times of stress, that go from London gangsters (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch being the obvious two) to slick remakes of 1960s classics like The Thomas Crown Affair remake with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo which adore madly. Tommy Crown is like Bruce Wayne without the childhood trauma, and Russo's Catherine Banning is clever, dangerous, brilliant, fierce, and possibly one of my all-time fave female leads in a genre picture. Their relationship is like a grown-up version of Batman and Catwoman. Plus I love Dennis Leary as her conscience and his foil. I have deep love of Ocean's 11, even though the sequels weren't nearly as satisfying, I could actually watch Danny, Rusty, and Linus scheme all day, every day. Linus lifting Danny's wallet is the best meet-cute ever.

So it should be no huge surprise to any of you that I've fallen hard for TNT's Leverage, which wraps up its first season this Tuesday.

Leverage is the story of Tim Hutton's former insurance investigator Nate Ford, who is hired to head a crew of degenerates to steal a McGuffin from a highly secure building. The crew includes Eliot (Christain Kane), who doesn't like guns but is adept at extricating himself or anyone else from any situation that involves causing pain, Hardison (Aldis Hodge) as the fixer who is a hacker extraordinaire and not to mention a hardcore Old Skool Doctor Who fan, and Parker (Beth Riesgraf), a cat burgler who lives for the adrenalin rush of leaping off a 30 storey high-rise on a zip line but when placed into any situation where she has to interact with a normal human being panics and shuts down. Nate, who takes the role of both boss and the roper, then brings in Sophie (Jekyll's Gina Bellman) to be the inside man. Back when Sophie was working full-time as a grifter and thief, Nate chased her across the world, and they share both a past and an attraction. Everything goes wrong, and that's where the fun starts. Because over the course of "The Nigerian Job" five people who have always worked alone realise they had fun working together. And one man realises that a bunch of bad guys can in fact harness and use their powers for good instead of evil. And become a family while doing so.

So basically, it's the A-Team, by way of Hustle.

And it's fabulous. I cannot stress how much, even with the wacky airing order (check out creator/producer John Roger's blog, Kung-Fu Monkey for the whys and wherefores and actual production order) every week is like a mini-movie and the character relationships are like crack to me. Parker, Hardison, and Eliot are seriously hardcore OT3 (that's "One True Threesome" for those of you not hip to the Livejournal fandom parlance) and Sophie and Nate have fantastic chemistry as the dysfunctional "parents" of the wacky kids. The characters are all fascinating, as are their relationships. Parker in particular I adore, and "The Juror #6 Job" made me make high-pitched squeaky sounds of glee only dogs could hear. Likewise, Hardison is clearly of my people, and "The Mile High Job" is a tour de force for geek joy. Hardison is, in fact, made of awesome. If airports had awesome-sniffing dogs, then he would have to take trains. That's how awesome he is. And I could go on and on, breaking down what I love about every single ep, but I trust you get the idea. Leverage has become my fave new series (now that The Middleman is currently hibernating in a high-tech vat pending DVD sales which will determine its fate).

I actually have been watching Leverage paired with Hustle for the last month, because like steak and red wine, or brie and apples, they compliment one another perfectly. I had actually given up on Hustle last series, when Adrian Lester chose not to return and Danny Blue (the ubiquitous Marc Warren) took over the crew. Maybe it was kicking off last series in California, far from Eddie's bar and the familiar sites of London, which made me tune out. Maybe it was just the fact that I could deal with Danny a lot better when Mickey Bricks was there to balance him out. Either way, I'd just thought "that was a great ride, but I think I'm ready to get off now." So I did.

But this year, Mickey Bricks is back, and while Danny and Stacie are gone, their slots in the crew have been filled by Emma and Sean, a brother-sister grifting team Albert first spotted (much the same way he brought Danny to Mickey, back in the day) and Mickey recuits. It's been fresh and fun, and while it hasn't been as break-the-fourth-wall wacky as earlier seasons, it has been frothy slick fun that I've consistently enjoyed for all of its 6 episode run this year.

I know in real life, grifters, con men, confidence scams and schemes hurt innocent people. But in fiction, generally the only marks who lose are the ones trying to get something for nothing. And so con men like Mickey Bricks, or crusaders like Nate Ford, can count on their greed to bring them down. What I love to watch is the game. The way the con is put together, the roles are assigned, and how quickly the inside man (or men) think on their feet. But even when you're not looking at the long con, I am fascinated by the process.

I remember after I had moved back to Chicago, in 1997 or so, being on an El train headed downtown on a sunny Saturday. The trains were all packed--either with people going shopping, or to a baseball game at Wrigley. And I was fascinated by a guy running a shell game. He had two shills with him, and what they would do was, at one stop, get on the car before him. Then he'd join them on the next stop. He had a newspaper balanced on his lap, and was using 3 plastic Coke caps for shells. And the shills would do what they were supposed to--bet $20 to try and fool the yuppies into believing they could double their money. And he'd walk up and down the car, trying his luck. When he got to me, I think I said "Do I look like a mark?" and his eyes just slid off me and he kept on going like I wasn't even there--unfazed. And at the next stop, he got off to join the shills in the next car.

I actually did report them to the station when I did get off. Not because I had actually seen any idiots get taken (and I genuinely do believe that if you are idiot enough to bet on a shell game, then you deserve to lose). But it was a matter of principle. They were clearly riding the same red line train all morning, back and forth from 95th to Howard, and they had been so obvious about it--everything from the shills being shills, to how badly he palmed the pea--that I figured, if they got caught, it was because they weren't clever enough not to.

In short: I want my thieves to be clever and moral and occasionally make out with each other. So far, fiction has totally provided for me.

I am thrilled that both Leverage and Hustle are coming back next year, because while I often joke that unless a series has time travel, robots, sword fights, or aliens, I'm noy that interested, the part of geeky me that collects pulp crime novels from the 1930s through the 1960s and grew up wanting James Reid to chuck it all and head off into the sunset with Margot Kidder adores them madly.

Give me the long con any day.

Gallifrey One: 20 To Life

2009-02-19T21:28:00.016-06:00

I need to find a word to use other than "awesome".

I say this as someone who fears she may have completely diluted its impact, due to over-use during Gallifrey One last week-end. Because, genuinely, it was awe-inspiring in so many ways. And I don't just mean the joy of gathering with friends and socialising for 6 straight days, often until the wee hours of the morning where you know you have a 10am panel, but you still allow people (and by "people" what I mean is "Tony Lee") to keep you at a table in the lobby talking chatting until nearly dawn because despite knowing you're gonna be oh just so utterly useless the next day, you can't bear to leave while the party is still going on.

No, what I adore most about Gally is walking the halls and seeing hundreds of people having the time of their lives. Whether it's the kareoke-singing dalek, Kai Owen on a serious high after Wales slaughtered England in a rugby match, Bryan and Mette in dead-on accurate spacesuits from "Silence in the Library" complete with skeleton masks scaring tiny children in between posing for photos, Phil Collinson tending bar, or the lovely and talented Toby Hadoke making Simon Guerrier cry (again), there's an energy that permeates the LAX Mariott during Gally. It hits you like a wall of goodwill the second you step through the sliding front doors. That's why I love it so. Robbie and Shaun and the entire Gally staff put together an amazing show, and this year it was bigger than ever, with 5 tracks of programming, over 1300 attendees, and chock full of surprises.

My panel schedule was light this year, and I unfortunately had to miss one that I was really looking forward to, due to me not being able to correctly read the schedule. Hence me being completely invisible during the late night Sexuality panel, owing to my inability to bilocate. And I don't even have Toby Hadoke's fantastic show as a properly fannish excuse. I was in fact at the Hotel Café, grooving to the tunes of The Brendan Hines. Which, if you're a fan of The Middleman a completely valid excuse, but a poor one for my Doctor Who and Torchwood-loving brethren. I promise, we'll discuss the Third Doctor fancying Jo and the Ninth Doctor fancying Rose, Jack Harkness fancying everything, and the Tenth Doctor's thing about licking everything next time.

(Tho I'll say this about The Brendan Hines gig: it made me stupidly happy. They had A DOUBLE BASS AND ALSO SOME MANDOLIN THINGIE WHAT WAS AWESOME! And being me, I ran into the Brendan immediately upon entering the venue. I confused him a lot, but gave him a tiny wee O2STK badge. He will for years to come probably think some deranged middle-aged Man From U.N.C.L.E. fan just wandered in off the street, as I was so startled to run into him 15 seconds into the evening, the words "Dood. I loved you on The Middleman" only happened inside my head. If you are in LA and have a chance to see The Brendan Hines live? GO. You will not be sorry.)

However, the panels I did make it to on time and everything on were nifty, peachy keen.

Journey's End: Doctor Who Series Four In Review
We basically went down the line, giving high points and low points. For me the high points were Donna, Wilf, and "Midnight". Sadly, the low point for me was bringing Rose back not to warn the Doctor of impending universe-threatening doom, but because she really really missed him. However, there was much discussion of each episode in turn, and how many really wonderful moments they had, and how the dynamic between the Doctor and Donna was different from what we'd seen before in the new series. Also, I think Catherine Tate was a high point with every panelist. Also, we adored Keith Temple's Ood two-part story. I don't think Keith gets enough love. Having successfully encouraged fandom to hug James Moran and Paul Cornell at every opportunity, I think it's time for fandom to embrace Keith. Literally.

Girl!Fandom: It Isn't New, and It Isn't All Squee!
I actually call this panel the "Chicks Dig Time Lords" panel inside my head--not just because of the book (coming in 2009 from Mad Norwegian Press!) but because to me that sums up a lot of what seems to elude the darkest corners of fandom nicely. Chicks, in fact, of all ages--not just girls, not just Mums who watch for David Tennant in the fine tradition of "the Dads" watching for Louise Jamison's short leather skirts, but all kinds of women-folk--do dig Time Lords, and have since 1963. The new series has brought mainstream female viewers in in record numbers, but it hasn't always been a boys club. In the States, media fandom was actually a girls club all through the 1980s and 1990s, and that included American Doctor Who fandom. And we had a fantastic time discussing how female fans love a lot of the same aspects of the show as the male fans, in the same ways and in different ways, and how many of the fannish behaviours do fall along gender lines, and many do not. We deconstructed some of the most often repeated fallacies, and also examined how much is truly Boy!Fandom vs. Girl!Fandom, versus how much is Internet vs Convention-going, as well as different forums on the 'net, such as Livejournal vs Outpost Gallifrey, or even LJ comm-reading, anon-meme-reading, and fandom-wank-reading LJ fans versus folks who partake in fandom only their own journals and flist (and we discovered that not all of us surf LJ via their flist, but instead follow the daisy-chain of links from their own comments, which is another panel all unto itself). And no-one died. Not even Paul, who seemed possibly worried when it began that, as token dood, he might be ritually sacrificed and his shrunken head taken to Wiscon as a trophy.

When Did Vampires Become Trendy?
I admit, when I saw the title, my first reaction was "Erm... the 19th century?" which sparked Steph and me to sort of jump into the panel before we were properly started and introduced, due to being mic'd. However, we did have a really interesting (occasionally in the Chinese curse way) panel about how the commercial success of the Twilight YA novels has created opportunities for other (better) creators both in print and in film. And how there is a dearth of stories where the vampire is the monster you're trying to escape rather than the Byronic love interest, as since the 1960s, the Sympathetic Vampire has dominated the scene in the States, with the exception of 30 Days of Night, while the UK has fantastic stuff like Ultraviolet, and the Swedish film Let The Right One In was touted as one of the best recent stories (which I still need to see). Vampires are entering the mainstream in the US right now mainly through romance and teen fiction--in part because those are the segments of the midlist that continue to grow, building on what began with JKR's Harry Potter series successfully introducing genre fiction to mainstream audiences, and Twilight and its ilk rushing in to fill the void when JKR finished (in part due to clever marketing departments recognising the newly created niche of "event fiction" hence Twilight release parties following the model of the Potter parties around the world). I plugged Robin McKinley's Sunshine, Steve Brust's Agyar, and Claudia Gray's Evernight and Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series as much as humanly possible. And I think Tony Lee and I bonded for life. He is working on the original graphic novel Harker for Markosia, and it sounds like amazing stuff. But in the end, we decided that vampires fiction has always been produced--it's only just now that the mainstream has discovered it (again). Hence after nearly 200 years of pulps and gothic horror and literature and comics and television and film, the tween market has made vamps 'trendy' in the eyes of the media.

(However, I should at this point mention my fave new vamp is Mitchell from Being Human. Particularly the original pilot version, for taking all the 21st century cliches and tropes and turning them on their heads. Also, for Guy Flanagan's ability to loom, and his emo hair.)

The Liars Panel: Doctor Who at the Crossroads
Dear God, people. It was 10am. I apologise for being rubbish. However, my fellow panelists were hysterical. Points both to and off for Tony Lee for abusing the awesome power of a microphone to force audience members to do his bidding, and I am still vaguely terrified by Paul Cornell performing "The Gary Russell Dance". This is what happens when you don't do the Brunch. HUGE love for Sam closing the panel with a beautiful rendition of "It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time".

Other hight points included "Just a Minute" where Toby Hadoke reigned supreme, a fantastic dinner Friday with Paul, the beautiful, talented, and most of all much-smarter-than-me Caroline Symcox, and the Fourth Incarnation of Javier Grillo-Marxuach (sporting a seriously high-quality Tom Baker scarf above), followed by stops at the Volcano Day party and then dangling our feet in the pool before being rousted by hotel security. We then wandered back inside in time to hear Kai Owen sing (not knowing it was Kai Owen) and hang out in the corridor chatting with Jon Arnold and Simon Fernandes and failing to actually sing anything ourselves. Next year, there will be Queen and the Doors.

Saturday was panels and hanging out with Javi until the Kremlin demanded his presence across town. Also spent vast chunks of the week-end with my new Partner-in-Crime, Sam, and occasionally showing up at Big Finish panels just to stare intently at Mark Wright and make him wonder if he had food on his face (he didn't). Also got to hug on Laura Doddington Sunday night, who is one of my most favourite people on the planet. No lie. If you haven't checked out her performances as Zara in Big Finish's Key 2 Time series, then I'll wait here while you go do that. Don't worry, I'll be here when you get back.

Handsome Timmy D, Rhonda the Gin Fairy, my amazingly awesome con-roommate Susan Garrett, and the always lovely Karen Baldwin made sure the lobby was still packed with inebriated attendees well past last call. There would be no Lobbycon without them. I avoided the dealer's room for the most part except for one trip with Sam and one trip with Javi. I swore I wasn't going to buy anything, but of course I caved, and now have River Song's sonic, and the journal of impossible things. However, I made up for it by eating hard-boiled eggs and PBJ most of the week-end. PBJ is how I survive conventions, seriously. Also, by drinking water. But even drinking gallons of water didn't save me from having no voice left by the end of the festivities. This would be what 6 days of non-stop talking will do to me.

I made all sorts of new friends and my Facebook has sort of exploded. How did I never realise before now I had a seriously lack of both Mark Wright and Tony Lee in my life? These boys are awesome, and Lobbycon would not have been Lobbycon without them. Ditto John Williams, Toby and Katherine, and Phil Ford, with whom I could happily geek about obscure genre telly of the last 30 years for probably the next 30 years.

Alas, the vidshow I put together didn't get screened either between panels or in the video room due to tech issues and time issues in the end. But Shaun took the disc home with him, and I think next year in addition to all the new cosplay panels, I am going to ~~beg~~ ask him if we can to do a vidding panel and a vidshow. Which means I am so totally kidnapping local vidders to come with me, as I am utterly useless at vidding, even tho I used to do it the old fashioned way with two daisy-chained VCRs. The art form has evolved so far beyond its low-tech beginnings, and as a way to tell stories in collage form, that I can't begin to tell you. I really am looking forward to getting to watch an audience see some of the vids next year.

Monday was a very damp trip to the Happiest Place on Earth (that would be Disneyland, tho I know a 2nd group went out to Amoeba Records, and for them, I think the name fits as well) with Rob Shearman, Susan Garrett, LM Myles, and The Anghelides Boys, and Disney Goddess Vicci for dalek sorbet, miles of walking, smelly plastic rain slickers, and getting to watch the world's coolest 12 year old build a lightsabre. And then Monday night was the last hurrah, as I had to fly back relatively early Tuesday.

So, who's up for Hurricane Who in October, then?

Why Fandom is Made of Awesome.

2008-12-15T00:39:00.017-06:00

I want to tell you about my Thanksgiving week-end.

First off, I am on staff at Chicago TARDIS, a local Doctor Who convention held in Chicago over the holiday week-end. It upholds something of a tradition, as there had been for 10 years or so a British telefantasy & Science Fiction con called Visions in Chicago all through the 1990s. I first was introduced to Doctor Who by a guy I met at my first Visions. His name was Fred Meyer, and there were many long distance phonebills over the years, as we geeked out over everything from gaming to Who to GI Joe. When I moved back to Chicago in 1996, I attended the last few Visions, and reconnected with Jen Adams Kelley. When I fell and fell hard for the relaunched series in 2005, but was too broke to attend Chicago TARDIS, Jen offered me the job of keeping the Green Room stocked with snacks, in exchange for a staff badge.

Over the last 4 years, I've enjoyed my job tremendously. In case you've never met me, here's an important thing to know: I like feeding people. I've been attending cons (and being a panellist and con constaff) for nearly 15 years, and one of the most important lessons I've learnt (or had beaten into me by friends) is that you cannot spend 4 days on minimal sleep, surviving on diet coke, crashing from sugar highs, and then drinking in the bar having eaten nothing but sweets and crisps all day, without massive consequences and occasional epic fail. This goes for attendees, but more importantly, it's important for guests and staff.

So with Becca and Liz, one of the things I really enjoy about running the Green Room is knowing that folks are going out onstage hydrated, caffeinated, and with some healthy food in them. I feel like I'm contributing to attendees overall experience, if a guest has more energy onstage or at marathon autograph sessions. Or at least has a place to duck into between panels and sessions where they can relax for a few minutes without having to be "on the job". In reality, I'm not sure how much this does contribute (after all, these folks are professionals, who would give 110% probably even without fresh-brewed coffee, chocolate, and sandwiches). But I like to think it helps. And if the guests are happy, and the staff are happy, generally the attendees are happy. And that's a chunk of what makes being constaff a joy and not a trial.

I love Gally and CT especially, because it's entire through cons I met Rob Shearman, and then Paul Cornell and Caroline Symcox, Shaun Lyons, Sue Cowley, Steve Roberts, Simon Guerrier, and all of these wonderful people that I can't picture my life without any longer. Or if I can picture it, it's a pretty bleak picture. But this is part of the magic and joy of fandom. Because conventions allow people with shared interests to gather, and in special cases, genuine friendships are formed that aren't just about shared love of a single story. Some of them, as is the case with Amy Fristch whom I met in a lift at Visions in 1992, have lasted almost 20 years. I've slept on Amy's sofa, illustrated a fanzine with her, officiated at her wedding, was there when both her children were born.

All because we happened to love the same TV series as young people.

When I went to the UK earlier this Autumn, it was with fangirls I met on the internets, to visit friends I'd met at cons and on mailing lists. It's been easily one of the high points of the last few years, especially as the last few years have included a lot of stress and hardship in my personal and professional life.

While I was at CT, I learned my friend Abby Albrecht had been admitted to hospital. I got further updates over the next 24 hours from friends as I was away from the internets, and as I was running around trying to make sure we had milk for tea and salt and vinegar crisps to last the day, I was also thinking about Abby, whom I'd last seen in August. When I got the call that she'd passed away, surrounded by her family and people who loved her, Sunday evening I had just shoo'd the guests out of the Green Room to attend the staff gofer party. Becca was with me, and she, Liz, and I spent the evening up in the room talking and sharing memories of Abby over a sack of White Castle bacon cheeseburgers (which, like beans on toast, or macaroni cheese, is comfort food).

Abby was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and zoomed around in a super-awesome chair that airlines tended to destroy piece by piece. She was a webdesigner, vidder (editor of fannish music vids), writer, journalist, and slightly evil genius. Abby was 33 years old. Every day with her was a gift. But as always, when you love someone, it's never enough time. Here is a beautiful post by her mother after Abby's 30th birthday, and a follow-up by Abby.

I can't remember when I first met Abby. I think it was at MediaWest*Con in the mid-to-late 1990s, or thereabouts. I am eternally grateful that the internet allowed us to be total dorks together 24/7 even though we only ever saw each other maybe once or twice a year. I am so incredibly glad that I saw her in August, because there were loads of hugs which are very very important. We geeked out about our jobs, and our lives, and we had the Best Lunch Ever at MediaWest 10 or 12 years ago, and I refuse to feel insane about the fact that ever since, Chicken Fingers ALWAYS remind me of that afternoon in Lansing with Buffy The Waitress. When my mum was in hospital in a coma last autumn, she encouraged me with livejournal comments, and a devout Lutheran, lit candles and included my family in her prayers.

She was caring and smart, snarky and funny, and she vidded March of the Penguins to Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line", which was shown at her memorial service in the Bay area this week-end. It takes a special kind of crazy to vid Johnny Cash to baby penguins. But also a huge amount of heart. And that was Abby in a nutshell.

Missy Wilson wrote about Abby at FireFox news, which Wil Wheaton picked up and blogged about as well. Abby would have cackled with glee at being Internet Famous-- which I still call infamous, cos the works of Spider Robinson taught me in my teens to love bad puns, though never as much as he did. I also think of her as exactly the sort of person you'd have met at Callahan's Place. It's how I tried to describe her to people who had never met her, but shared their thoughts, prayers, and kind words in sympathy. And I think it's close. Not quite, but close enough.

And she's probably laughing her ass off right now anyway. Just too far away for me to hear it at the moment.

Home again, home again, tra la la.

2008-11-05T18:24:00.005-06:00

Had a fantastic holiday in the UK with best mates Becca and Holly, and Oxford-native Ian, and am now back to work. As we are fangirls, there was a lot of Doctor Who-related geeking, as well as visiting with family and friends. The trip started in London, and introducing cousin's small girls to the joy that is Jill Thompson's Scary Godmother and Magic Trixie, and the delicious nutritionally-useless evil that is Candy Corn. (Cousin Rhona may never forgive me for that.) There was a day of site-seeing with lovely Lee Thompson and (World Fantasy Award-winning) Rob Shearman, and we then continued on to Stratford, Cardiff, back to London, and then finished in Oxford.

I saw lots of Ood in both the Cardiff Bay and Earls Court exhibitions, ate many English breakfasts, drank endless cups of tea, had a fantastic guided tour of the monsters at Crystal Palace, and had a lovely night out on Hallowe'en with friends Sue Cowley, Steve Roberts, and Simon Guerrier. And I got to cuddle with friends Carolyn and John's wee sprog, and see Sarah Jane Adventures from Monday I missed due to pre-Hamlet travel.

As wonderful as it was, I was glad to come home to my own bed Sunday night. I'm still basking in the glow, however. And I saw my first stage production of Hamlet at the RSC, which was utterly fantastic. I'm madly in love with the lighting design, and Patrick Stewart blew me away with his sympathetic Claudius. David Tennant's hair performed Hamlet very well, and he came bounding back out on stage for a second curtain call with the rest of the cast so gleeful and exuberant you could feel the wall of joy radiating from the stage. I got to see the announcement Wednesday night (very nearly live) that the Doctor will be regenerating, and I am now so incredibly excited and filled with joyful anticipation for what is to come. It feels utterly right that the Moffat Era will have a fresh start with a new Doctor.

Other highlights of the trip included random zombies in Leicester Square, Jedi along the Embankment, a lovely and very helpful employee at Waterstones in Piccadilly, an entire floor of second-hand books (and the always delightful Caroline Symcox) at the top of Blackwells in Oxford, and unexpected Who geekery with in The Eagle and Child pub where once Lewis and Tolkien nursed pints and argued religion for hours. I even survived the Eye, despite being deathly afraid of heights.

Alas, I came back to a work PC that needs to be rebuilt, mountains of work, and I picked up a cough my last few days in London that I've yet to shake.

Alive!

2008-10-21T15:27:00.011-05:00

I am alive! I have been buried by work (both work-work, and freelance work). But I live, and am still watching The Sarah Jane Adventures and Sarah Connor Chronicles and other television series without "Sarah" in the title. Some of them about serial killers, 6th century wizards, Madison Ave. ad men, and vampires, and such.

This week-end I am leaving for a week's holiday with friends in the UK. I've never actually been to London on my own before. I've been with family a handful of times, but never as an adult, and never with just my mates. It's thrilling and terrifying and thrilling, in that order.

So far, a week of outings have been planned, involving monsters, Crystal Palaces, lots of second-hand bookshops, seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance of "Hamlet" in Stratford, meeting Lee Binding (of Glitter for Brains fame--or is that infamy?) face-to-face at long last, and a lot of visiting with folks I normally only get to see in Los Angeles in February.

No, I haven't packed yet. Other than a giant bag of Hallowe'en for my cousin Rhona's wee girls, including sparkly witch hats and magic wands, Scary Godmother and Magic Trixie, and candy corn.

(Yes, I am taking candy corn from the Americas to London. Clearly, I'm insane. But you all knew that.)

In other news, Autumn has finally arrived in Chicago and it has been stunningly beautiful. I've been trying to get as many long walks in as my schedule allows, and I've missed walking like mad. The ankle I injured this summer is holding up, though after 2 or 3 miles, I'm having trouble. But I'm hoping it's just going to take time. Or else there are a lot of medium-sized walks in my immediate future.

Sarah Connor Chronicles

2008-09-02T21:28:00.009-05:00

So last month, after reading some of the SDCC coverage of Sarah Connor Chronicles, I discovered I have no fears that Sarah's role might be reduced in the new season of SCC.

Here's why: I've always seen the central relationship of the series as Sarah and John's. She has devoted her life to protecting her son, and they are incredibly close, and it's part of why I love the show. And I don't see how John continuing to mature into the leader we saw glimpses of in "Vick's Chip" can possibly be lead to the story becoming The John Connor Chronicles, and not the The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

The relationships—Sarah and John, John and Cameron, Sarah and Derek, Derek and John, even Derek and Cameron—are what drew me to the show. You can examine the story from so many different angles. Derek and Cameron come from a future that ceased to exist the second the they jumped back to the past, and the John Connor they know now may never grow up into the man they knew then. They share first-hand knowledge of the post-Judgement Day future, something Sarah and John can imagine but never truly understand, having never experienced it.

Derek and Sarah have a unique relationship because for the first time since Kyle Reese, Sarah has someone who knows her story, is a part of her story, and she does not have to lie to him, or hide any part of herself from him, or hurt him (unlike Charlie). He is under her command, he is her trusted right hand, and they are both trying to protect her son, who is her entire world. And they fight, and they work side by side, and in the end, Derek is very much Sarah's trained attack dog. You can tell she doesn't completely trust him (nor should she. Derek has a lot of issues that put them all in danger) but they have Kyle in common—and John is the only part of Kyle either of them can hold onto. So they will.

Sarah views Cameron as a tool. She is able to set aside her pathological hatred of the machines only so much, but she'll use any tool at her disposal. And Cameron is a thing to her. I think that Cameron's existence frightens her, because it means in the future, John trusts a machine (something she can never bring herself to do). But she is not going to waste the best opportunity she has to fight Skynet with its own weapons. And I love that it has been consistent—from the first film, through the entire series—that while John in the future sends machines back to protect, Sarah always chooses to fight to try and keep Skynet from being born. She is the one who gets Kyle to attack Cyberdine. She is the only true threat to Skynet, because without her, there would be no resistance. Not because she trained John to fight, but because she instilled in him the mission to fight to win, instead of just fighting to survive.

Everyone one else fights defensively. But Sarah has always gone on the offensive. She is the one who raises John to become the man Skynet fears. Skynet thinks it can stop it all by killing her to keep John from being born, and in doing so, it creates its greatest enemy: Sarah. I love that it's always been Sarah because John is her weapon. And it's all because she loves him and wants to keep him safe, which is what makes it awesome. He's not a weapon of hate. But he's still a weapon.

John Connor fascinates me because he's developing an existence beyond his mother's hopes and fears. I love that they argue, but are always there for each other. That he may hate following orders, but he still does it in the end. That he chafes under her iron-fist, but that doesn't mean he can't recognise when she's right, and it all has a larger purpose. But I also love that the rock-solid belief he had is starting to be tempered with reality. That he's capable of looking past what he's been told, and learning to make his own mind up. Learning to put all that strategy and training to work to think for himself. Because that's what will make him the John Connor who saves mankind. And it doesn't mean leaving Sarah behind. Not ever.

I also love the relationship John has with Cameron. Before Derek, Cameron mostly worked with Sarah. But once the grown-ups pair off, we really get to see John and Cameron's relationship start to develop. I love the grey areas of it. How he can view her as a tool without a soul, yet still feel compassion and curiosity and allow himself to be fooled by the skin she wears. I love the brother-sister vibe. I love how spooked he gets when she thinks and says things he didn't realise she was capable of thinking or saying. I love that he's still 16, and can't help the effect a pretty girl has on him, even if he knows in his head that she's got an endoskeleton under there and can squish him like a bug. I love that he trusts her. I love that he knows how dangerous that trust is. I love that he has a different relationship with her than his "parents" (Sarah and Derek, filling in for Kyle). I love that he has a flexible mind, and is capable of problem-solving by approaching obstacles like puzzles that no-one else in the Connor-Reese clan has. I love the puppy-dog like desperation with which he clings to both Charlie and Derek, because as completely awesome and hardcore as his mum is, boys still miss their fathers (even if it's only the idea of a father, and not the man himself), even if his died before he was born, and that's real to me.

I love that Cameron has an agenda and a past we know nothing about. And I love how she interacts with the world around her, and the people. I love that she offers Jordan eyeshadow because the first friendly gesture she knew to copy was that of the unnamed chola in Carlos' gang. I love that she adapts. I love that she is the most sophisticated learning computer on the planet, and constantly expands her knowledge of people and their interactions, yet the series never falls into the Lt Comdr. Data trap of trying to make her Pinocchio—wanting to be a real girl. She is who she is. She is what she is. The other characters are forced to deal with the reality of her on a daily basis, rather than their ideas of her.

But I look at the first season of SCC, and I look at the interviews from SDCC with Friedman and the cast, and I look at the promo poster—and I still have no doubt that Sarah is the lens through which we see this story. Sarah is the character around whom all the others orbit, and on whom the plot turns. That doesn't mean they do not have important roles. That does not mean she will always have the most screen time, or the most lines. But I don't see any of their individual stories growing more complex as a threat to her position or standing. SCC is still Sarah's story, the same way Terminator is Sarah's story. But it has always been John's story too (even if he exists only in the abstract in the first film), and it's not wrong for the series to address that SCC is all about how we get from here to there, in terms of the man John will become.

And it does not diminish the mother, in my eyes as a viewer, to show the son's journey.

The Morales Rule

2008-09-02T18:42:00.009-05:00

So... remember how last month I extolled the virtues of Wendy and Lacey as pure examples of how The Middleman so totally passes The Bechdel Test?

NPR very much agrees.

Turns out one of the NPR editors saw me (or someone like me—I'm hardly the first or only to note the awesomeness that is Wendy and Lacey's friendship in the blogsphere) journaling about MM and The Rule, and it got the whole office talking about the Rule, and why and how it resonates with viewers. So she assigned the story to one of her writers, and lo, we now have the Morales Rule.

Made of awesome.

101 reasons to love the middleman

2008-08-28T09:58:00.004-05:00

101 Reasons to Love The Middleman


1.	Natalie Morales' ability to spout complicated dialogue without pausing for breath.

2.	Matt Keeslar's ability to spout complicated dialogue without pausing for breath.

3.	The contents of Wendy's pullbox.

4.	Funny things happening in the background while people in the foreground remain unaware (never stops being funny).

5.	Matt Keeslar's arms.

6.	Sensei Ping's shirt being ripped off by invisible ninjas.

7.	Wendy's relationship with Lacey.

8.	Wendy's relationship with Noser.

9.	Wendy's relationship with the Middleman.

10.	Chyrons.

11.	Wendy beating the tar out of Ben.

12.	The Middleman's doofy grin.

13.	MONKEY WITH A GUN!

14.	Dune references.

15.	Star Wars references.

16.	Indiana Jones references.

17.	More Indiana Jones references.

18.	Willow references.

19.	More Willow references.

20.	Ghostbusters references.

21.	Doctor Who references.

22.	James Bond references.

23.	Top Secret References.

24.	I Spy references that three members of the audience got but those three people clapped their hands with glee.

25.	Highlander references.

26.	Titanic references.

27.	Die Hard references.

28.	More Die Hard references.

29.	Roxy Wasserman.

30.	Roxy Wasserman punching the Middleman.

31.	Slappy-Girlie-fight.

32.	Weapons and gadgets and things.

33.	Ida.

34.	Ida ON SKATES.

35.	Evil!Ida.

36.	Swanky Ida's brain Ida.

37.	The Middleman speaking Chinese.

38.	The Middleman speaking Manticoid.

39.	The Middleman speaking Hebrew.

40.	Wendy speaking Spanish with English Subtitles.

41.	Wendy speaking English with Spanish subtitles.

42.	Stump the Band.

43.	More Stump the Band.

44.	Noser.

45.	Lobster dinner.

46.	Young Noser.

47.	[BLEEP].

48.	The Middlemobile!

49.	The Middlemobile II!

50.	The Middlejet.

51.	~~The Cancersub~~ The Middlesub.

52.	FATBOY coffee.

53.	FATBOY ice-cream.

54.	FATBOY wine in a box (CLASSY).

55.	Unexpected nekkid Kevin Sorbo is unexpected!

56.	Shaboomey.

57.	Flashy Thing!

58.	Lightsabre!

59.	Thermal detonator!

60.	Hruck Bug Bear!

61.	Wendy in a Mrs Peel catsuit.

62.	Wendy in a Mrs Peel catsuit as an actual plot point.

63.	That guy in the Underworld.

64.	That guy in the hospital.

65.	That guy in the sorority house.

66.	That chick in the trout zombie episode .

67.	The Middleman going !!!!

68.	The Middleman's unfortunate taste in music.

69.	Lacey's unfortunate taste in music.

70.	ZOMG Gut Wrencher 1.

71.	The Batter of the Bulge Pancake House.

72.	Wendy painting.

73.	Wendy kicking ass.

74.	Wendy kicking Ben's ass (so nice we mentioned it twice).

75.	Wendy kicking Doctor ~~Phil~~ Gill's ass.

76.	Unexpected Mark Sheppard is unexpected!

77.	Lacey fighting for the bunnies.

78.	Lacey fighting for the environment.

79.	Lacey fighting for her right to occasionally be nekkid while fighting for the environment.

80.	Lacey fighting Pip on Wendy's behalf cos that's what friends do.

81.	Lacey and Noser all dolled up.

82.	Lacey as City.

83.	Vampire puppets!

84.	Kissing.

85.	More kissing.

86.	TROUT!

87.	The plan is sheer elegance in its simplicity.

88.	The H.E.Y.D.A.R..

89.	The Baby H.E.Y.D.A.R..

90.	Unexpected nekkid Matt Keeslar is unexpected!

91.	Wacky glasses.

92.	Wacky aliens.

93.	Wacky Mad Scientists.

94.	Wacky Evil Boy-Bands.

95.	Unexpected showrunner cameo is unexpected!

96.	Unexpected showrunner cameo is totally expected, due to his LJ icon of OMERTA RAT poster.

97.	Les McClaine!

98.	The many deaths of the Interrodroid.

99.	ART CRAWL!

100.	Pointy beards.

101.	8.6 hours of sheer awesome, in handy 43 minute chunks, perfect for sharing with friends.

True Love

2008-07-23T23:47:00.011-05:00

So, I fell in love this summer.

Before my parents start making happy noises about impending grandchildren, I should probably point out that I fell in love with The Middleman, a wacky action-adventure series on ABC Family.

So here's what happened:

There's this guy, and he was a producer and writer on ~~lots of shows~~ a show I absolutely adored, called Jake 2.0. You may have heard of it. It was Chuck before Chuck was Chuck, only starring Betty's boyfriend from Ugly Betty, who was also Harrison John (aka "Joe"). Jake was an NSA tech support guy who was involved in a lab accident and gained ~~super powers~~ nanites that allowed him to wirelessly connect to technology, and became a Secret Agent and fought crime. While still being an adorkable geek boy. You with me so far?

Right, this guy is named Javier Grillo-Marxuach (pronounced "Throat-Warbler Mangrove"), and I interviewed him a long time ago for a Jake 2.0 website. And it was kinda awesome. He wrote that one where the nuke went missing, where all the characters were named after characters from Firefox, and it had Mr X from X-Files, and Badger from Firefly was the baddie. And in the interview, he referenced 'Droids. This makes him cooler than cool to me, which you know, may just be me. Still.

Then, when Les Moonves killed Jake 2.0 smack in the middle of the UPN advertising upfronts (yes, I am still bitter), Javi went and worked on Lost. And while there, he met Paul Dini, who is A GOD (okay, I should probably also point out that Batman: The Animated Series may have had an inordinately huge impact on my university career). Anyway, Javi told Dini about this pilot he'd written, back when he was a producer on Charmed, but it never sold. And it was about an art student who becomes the apprentice of a square-jawed, gun-toting milk-drinking Honest To Gosh Hero called the Middleman. And they fight evil, so you don't have to.

Dini convinced Javi that The Middleman would make a great comic book. So Javi teamed up with artist Les McClaine, and sold the book to Viper, who published it as a black and white indie. And then, come 2007, ABC Family ordered a pilot. So the pilot that was turned into a comic book got made as a pilot, and they ordered 12 episodes. It started airing in June, and I have tuned into ABC Family, a network I had never previously even heard of, every Monday night since.

The thing that I love is, Wendy and the Middleman don't fight just fight evil... they fight silver age comic book evil.

We're talking sentient super-intelligent gorillas, evil alien dictators posing as a tween boy band, and trout-craving zombies. TROUT. ZOMBIES. Two great tastes that taste great together. If a flying island that shoots flame-breathing dinosaurs at you shows up, I would not be surprised. But it's also balanced with Wendy's life with her flatmate and neighbour, in an illegal sublet full of wacky artists. Wendy is a fantastic character. Not only does the show pass the Bechdel test... Natalie Morales has fantastic comic timing, and she and Matt Keeslar have terrific chemistry. Not romantic, mind you (Lacey and the Middleman have a little flirtation going that's stupidly adorable, but he's really too busy saving the world from supernatural, paranormal, and extra-terrestrial evil to date her. Also, Wendy might actually kill him if he tries. ~~Which I think may be coming up next week~~). But the whole ensemble just makes me glee. Especially Ida the cranky robot sidekick. And Noser, who hangs out in the hallway, speaking in Zen-like quotes from song lyrics.

Look, we're at the halfway point. Six episodes have aired, and there's another six to go. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "I'll just wait until it's finished, and watch it on DVD when it comes out."

Stop that this instant. I mean it. For one thing, it may never come out on DVD. Look at Jake 2.0. The pain, it is still fresh. Or, better yet, look at Firefly. It was That Show You Never Saw Until It Came Out on DVD And You Wished You'd Watched It While It Was Still On the Air. Don't be that guy. No-one likes that guy.

Six 45 minute episodes? Shoot, that's a Saturday afternoon. Grab some friends, a six pack or three of beer, order in pizza, and veg out, I say. Have a MiddleMarathon! And if you don't tune in the following Monday... what have you lost? Four and a half hours of a Saturday you probably would have spent cleaning out the garage, or running boring errands like shopping for food or sorting laundry. Or surfing the internet. Shut up; I know that's how you spend your week-ends. You're here on my blog, aren't you? I bet it was Google that brought you here.

BEER. MIDDLEMAN. PIZZA. GOOD TIMES. I'm just saying.

2008-06-30T00:30:00.009-05:00

Home from Wizard World Chicago, and exhausted from staying up far too late last night and getting up far too early this morning. But the company was excellent, and I don't regret a minute of it. Okay, except for the part Friday night when I perhaps drank a bit too much on an empty stomach. You'd think after 15 years of this show, I'd remember not to do that.

But this year I only managed to call at least one old bar buddy by the wrong given name, instead of my usual 3+. Score!

Name tags. I love name tags. They are especially useful when I am trying to remember if I recognise you because we went out to dinner and had a great conversation about Suicide Squad that one time 5 years ago, or if I recognise you because I had to rescue a girlfriend from you in Knuckles. Twice.

Also, while I forever miss the pool table in Knuckles, which has gone to the crappy hotel sports bar in the sky, the espresso/cappucino machine in the Regency Lounge has totally made up for it. I want to marry it and have 2.4 kids and a dog and a house in the suburbs with it. No lie.

Oh! And this year the Obligatory Hyatt Regency Arrest was a beardy white guy who was rapping in the lobby and cussing in front of small children. They tasered him, and he was openly weeping—possibly from pepper spray—when Buzz and I saw him being cuffed as we came back from lunch.

Those Rosemont cops. They're wacky.

I met a lot of lovely new people, and saw many old friends and there was much hugging and hanging out and story-telling and trading of YouTube clips at 3am (how the boys at The Pull Box have lived this long without Here Comes Dr Tran!, I will never know).

I have now been home for about 6 hours, have read all the comics I bought or was given, done absolutely no laundry at all, and I am struggling to keep my eyes open. So I'll have to do a proper con report later this week.

2008-06-25T15:28:00.009-05:00

Dear My Peers In The Media:

When you are reviewing a movie based on a comic book or graphic novel, please bear the following in mind:

Do not refer to comic books as "comic strips". Strips are published daily in newspapers. Like Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, The Phantom, or Brenda Starr. This serial format is actually not analogous to "comic book", despite the fact that they both feature panels of artwork with words in them to tell a story. Still confused? How about this: a racing bike is not the same thing as a bullet train, despite the fact that they both have wheels and get you from A to B. Get it?

"Graphic novel" is a novel which is told in the medium of sequential art. And like all novels, it has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and was meant to be read as one story. Even if it's published serially (like, you know, Dickens). All graphic novels are "comic books". All comic books are not graphic novels. If you are using "graphic novel" as a fancy grown-up word to make "comic books" socially acceptable, then you're just being an asshole. Please, don't be an asshole.*

Sequential art (i.e. "Comic books") is a medium. Not a genre. A genre is "thriller" or "romantic comedy" or "science fiction". The comic book—like film, theatre, television, novels, plays, audio programmes, painting, photography, wood-block printing for fuck's sake, etc.—is a medium with which to tell stories of any genre. The form does not dictate content. Stop trying to imply it does. See above re: asshole.

Yes, comics have writers. They also have artists. If you only ever mention Neil Gaiman, Mark Millar, Stan Lee, etc. then you are leaving out 50% of the team that created a story. Knock that shit off. I mean it.

Comics have never been, at any point in human history, a medium to tell stories solely aimed at children. The same is true for animation. Stop acting like every new hot thing based on a comic is the very first to de-kid-i-fy a "genre" (see #3) that was aimed at a wide mass audience to begin with. The fact that the publishers for the last 20 years have aimed their marketing machines almost exclusively at 10 year old boys is incidental.
On that note, this may come as a shock, but chicks (albeit in the minority, but growing all the time and rapidly approaching gender parity in some areas) have been reading and writing and drawing and editing and publishing and reviewing comics for over 20 years. It is no longer cool or ground-breaking or amazing to make a point that "...and now girls read comics". Get with the program. Join the 21st century. Please. I beg you.

Sincerely,

Me

* also, "sequential art" is the fancy grown-up word for "comics books," just so's you know.

2008-05-26T21:42:00.006-05:00

Okay, remember how a few months back, I spent a day in geeky abandon, obsessing over the logo used in the main title sequence of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? This is what I ended up doing with it:

This was probably the last graphic I made for fun and not profit before my beloved laptop, Synergy, died a death. Hence a lot of the radio silence from me, as I waited until I could a) afford a new PC and b) get it set up at home. The new PC is, possibly ironically, named Mr Smith, thus continuing my habit since the late 1980s of naming my computers after fictional AIs. I still have a lot of tricking out I still need to do (like remembering to transfer all my Custom Shapes and PhotoShop brushes from work to home), but the last week I've started on the massive backlog that built up while I was offline nights and week-ends.

I will say, however, that suddenly finding myself with time in the evenings, a friend got me hooked on Bones and I marathonned the first three seasons, prior to the finale a fortnight ago. Mainlining that much story in so brief a period of time, right now it's like a mad summer fling. By the time I hit the s1 Christmas episode "The Man in the Fallout Shelter", I was hooked. By the time I reached "Two Aliens in a Spaceship" I went from "God, this is fun" to "OMG this is really brilliantly done" due to the writing and stellar performances. I will say that while I enjoy the Old Skool sexual tension between Booth and Brennan (I did grow up with Scarecrow & Mrs King, Remington Steele, and Moonlighting after all) it's Hodgins and Angela in whom I've invested massively. I just am totally charmed by them, and hope series 4 does well by the Squint Squad. TJ Thyne and Michaela Conlin just light up the screen, and I've come to really love Tamara Taylor as well (though I do miss Dr Goodman, I recognise the story came first, and Cam was a smart story choice). And I really hope we see Zack as recurring, so his storyline could get closure too.

But overall, I really do love the character-driven stories, organic character development, and just the care taken with the relationships, particularly in the first two years (season 2 is so far my all-time fave, for consistantly solid storytelling). A lot of the things I have issues with the most recent episodes I think may be pacing and structure related to the WGA Strike. But it's so amazing to see a hit drama with such strong female characters who act like real women. I'm not just talking about Bechdel's Rule. It's amazing seeing female friendships portrayed so strongly, and consistantly. And also, how much do I love that the chicks in the Anthropology Unit all have the kickass offices with sofas, while the boys have workstations? Tiny, tiny workstations?

Sorry. Just had a moment of total geek girl glee.

I've also spent the last few months at my day job, attempting to if not master, then at least learn the basics of laying out websites using CSS. Hence the revolving (and hopefully ever increasing) styles you can load to view my homepage. Like many people gone crusty and curmudgeon-y before their time, having to learn new things makes me cranky. Like most people, I am slow to change because I like knowing what I'm doing, and doing things well, and being able to present myself at my best. And no-one does things well when they are still learning. And dude, it sucks. It's a basic human thing: we all love doing things we're good at, and want to be good at new things immediately. It's also reality that it takes months if not years to master new tools and rewire our brains to use them as effectively as possible. Being Old Skool, I code by hand. And CSS Layouts are a tough new thing to master when you're a Homebrewer, and need to know what every line of code does and why, which you obviously never learn if you use a WYSIWYG and only ever look at the front end design. It would be like an Engineer never getting out of the simulator to get her hands on an actual internal combustion engine. Building things means knowing how exactly things work together, so you can pull it apart and put it back together better stronger faster. And also, in the corporate world, as quickly and efficiently as possible, on a client's whim.

So it's a really steep climb. I picked up HTML instinctively, and worked with it for over 10 years, learning and assimilating new developments as I went. I've have been laying out sites using tables for so long, it's second nature. I can still look at a flat graphic, and tell you exactly how to cut it apart, and lay it out in HTML, before ever even sitting down to write a line of code. I've never used an algorithm to slice and dice a site; it feels alien and wrong to me. But layout using CSS doesn't work the way HTML does. And not all browsers render the same code the same way--so there are elaborate fixes and patches and tricks you have to learn, akin to what you had to deal with back in the late 1990s, coding for both Netscape and IE. So there's a time warp element too, of living in the future, yet experiencing frustrations I haven't had to deal with nearly a decade. But I'm determined to get there.

Speaking of time warps.... next blog entry, I promise, Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers nostalgia.

2008-05-20T14:13:00.000-05:00

So much for updating at the very least monthly from now on...

This week-end, I shall surface and fill you all in. I promise.

2008-03-26T13:14:00.006-05:00

Like many geeks, what I do every day at work also involves a lot of the same skills as my hobbies I do for fun. Which means after a long day writing raw HTML code, re-drawing client logos in Illustrator, and creating proofs of web designs in PhotoShop to send to clients, I unwind by... well... creating wallpaper and icons and headers, re-creating vector versions of logos, and writing HTML code. (Yes, I am aware of the irony.)

Anyway, one of the geeky things about being a web designer is you go through life consciously or unconsciously identifying fonts, and identifying what has been altered in existing typefaces to create custom logos. And lately, I've been driven crackjack insane by the inconsistent Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles logos.

Some of this has to do with who has which assets. Now, me, if I'm in charge of the Terminator franchise as a brand, I'm making sure there is ONE consistent piece of vector art per property. The Terminator, T2, T3, SCC, T4, the video games, theme park attraction, etc. That art goes out from a central source, and has extensive branding guidelines that go along with it—along with the RGB and Pantone names for the colours, a corporate supplied 3-d metal-skinned version, one for dark backgrounds, one for light, etc. And they are unchanging, and immutable, and set in goddam stone. Particularly when it comes to typefaces. Because the different As and Rs and Ms? Are going to drive me MAD.

However, I am not in charge of the Terminator brand. I am but a lowly fangirl, with a yen to design wallpaper to make her computers at work and home look pretty and advertise to the planet her new obsession.

So, being a geek and slightly obsessive (stop laughing!) I've been playing with typefaces all week, trying to recreate the logo used in the main title sequence.

The closest commercial typeface to the typeface being used in nearly all the various versions of the SCC logos is Mark Simonson's Changeling (which is the only one out there to contain all 3 different types of As and both Ms). But that typeface was created by taking a 1970s font called "China" and modifying it to match the original 1984 The Terminator main title sequence built by Pac Title. I'm not sure if it was a commission, or the foundry creator is just a geek. Either way, I don't think there can be any other explanation. TLai Enterprise's Steelwolf Medium is another modified version of China specifically made to recreate the Terminator titles, but it's blocky. It's also been pirated as "Terminator 2" and is one of the three fonts you most often find on free font sites (the others being Terminator and Terminator Real).

However all the fonts have slight differences, most noticeably in the width of the letters, spacing, font weight, the shape of the M and the R, and which "A" they use and where.

Anyway, so far, this is what I've got:

It's still not right, mind you—I had to alter the shape of the Rs manually in illustrator, and the subhead is the wrong weight. But Changeling Bold is too blocky, and Changeling Regular is too spindly. I ended up adding a 1px stroke around the outlined letters, and then tweaking it to the right width, but that's inefficient. I need to figure out what semibold face they're using that I can't find commercially available. I think it's much more likely that there is a Pac Titles created version of China specifically for the Terminator franchise that isn't commercially available to little web designers like me.

But it's a start. And I've still no idea what I plan to do with it, other than more fan-made wallpapers and maybe some poster designs for fun, to blow off steam. But I am addicted to the challenge of re-creating logos, and my soul hungers for nice clean vector art to play with.

2008-03-07T22:03:00.009-06:00

Once upon a time, for the space of about a minute and a half, I worked as a freelance journalist. I started off writing website reviews for the now-defunct Yahoo Internet Life magazine, and then wrote columns, features, and reviews for now-defunct online magazines like The 11th Hour and MediaSharx. I had a cover story in a tie-in mag, but it was my least favourite job ever, as it involved attending a convention, recording all the panels, and then passing off the transcripts as one-on-one interviews, per the request of my editor. It paid my rent, though. Rent is always important.

My favourite thing, however, were interviews. And I learned how to do them pretty much on my feet, because no writing class I'd ever taken in school actually prepared me for spending 15-45 minutes in someone's company and then turning it around into a 4000 word feature. People are always asking me how I managed to get interviews as a fan journalist, often for fan websites, and so I figured, why not write it all out?

So, here is what I figure you need to know...

First off, unless you know the subject personally, you send a query letter to their agent or manager. If they are an actor or a writer, their agent's contact info will be on file with their union. SAG or WGA will have it on file, and you can get up to three people's agent of record I believe for free. Invest in IMDb Pro. It will save you legwork. Be polite. Be professional. Send letters from your personal or business email--preferably a login in with your real name, not a fictional character, or fan website domain unless that's the fan site you're contacting them on behalf of. Even then, use your real name, not an internet chatroom handle.

Tell them the name of the publication or website, and say you would like to arrange an interview to publicise a specific project, on or around a specific date range. Be flexible. Tell them if you have samples of your work available, to prove you are legit and competant. Accept that not everyone will say yes. Do not get pissy and blog about it in public. Managers and agents and actors and writers are on the internet, and not stupid people. They spend the wee hours of the morning doing vanity searches on Google just like you do. Don't be an idiot. At least not where anyone else can witness it.

Face-to-face or phone interviews are best for one main reason: you can record them. If you record them, you can make an accurate transcript. If you can make an accurate transcript, you will not fall into the worst kind of fakery--passing off paraphrased quotes from memory or shoddy notes as actual verbatim quotes. This isn't about how good you are as a journo. This is about ethics. And it may not mean much at all, but sometimes it means a subject will actually want to talk to you again someday, and that's good for you. People remember being horribly misquoted, or having their words twisted to serve the journalist's own aims. They will remember, and they also talk to one another. Use your brain, and don't be an idiot, and you'll be fine.

A minicassette recorder that plugs into your phone, or can be carried in a handbag is your best friend. I've heard some people have digital ones now. Good for them. I like my Diane, but that's because I'm a dinosaur. Have enough tapes. Always buy new batteries. Test it before you get on site, or before the phone rings. This is important.

First thing you do after your query letter is accepted is research. Read recent interviews with the subject, so you don't ask the same questions that have already been answered in print in multiple places. Google. Fact-check. Get the names of their siblings correct, without making it sound like you're stalking anyone. Know what their next two projects will be.

Make up a question list--which works as a sort of combination checklist and rough outline. First off, this way you can be certain you've covered all the subjects you want to cover. Secondly, it means you'll never hit a brick wall in the middle of an interview, as you try and think of something to ask, off the top of your head. You do not want to waste either the subject's time, or you own. You want to be prepared. Also, some agents and managers will want to see the question list before you actually get the interview.

If it's a phoner, you will be told when the subject will call you, or when the manager will call you and put you through to the subject. Be there to answer the phone (duh). If the subject gives you his or her private phone number, this is not a coup. This is your job. You do not ever ever ever brag to other people about having it. You do not pass it on. You do not fancy that because you spoke with someone on the phone for 15 minutes, that you are now their best mate forever. You are being trusted with something private. Keep that trust, and you may get another interview. This is your goal--to make the interview painless and enjoyable, make the final piece interesting, and help the subject get his or her message across, even if that message is "Please watch my TV series when/if it comes back in January".

If it's a face-to-face, meet in a quiet hotel lobby corner, or restaurant. If at all possible, let the subject pick the locale, so they will be comfortable and at ease. If you like their work, tell them so. No-one ever doesn't like to hear their hard work has found a receptive audience. Do not spend loads of time gushing. You do your job, and if you've done it well, someday, you may get another interview.

Important note: people like to fill silences. Listen, and allow for those silences, because you may get more than your bargained for. Do not make the interview all about you. An actor or writer does not want to know how clever you are. They want to talk about themselves. Let them. Every question may not lead to an answer, but most will. And that answer may lead to 2 or more follow up questions. This is good. But make sure before you go, you've covered everything on your list. Make sure you've thanked them for their time. Make sure you tell their reps thank you for arrnaging it. They did you a favour. You are doing them a favour. It's how the publicity machine works. But they don't owe you anything other than their time. And you don't owe them anything other than doing a good job and writing up a good interview.

Do not pry into the subject's personal life. Ever. If something is offered freely while the recorder's running, good show. But do not expect Lois Lane scoops. If something is said off the record, then it stays off the record. If after you've turned the recorder off you sit and have a gossip, that's all well and good. But that stays between you and the subject. This is not meant to be a social opportunity. This is a job. Do the job, and do it well, and it may lead to more jobs in the future.

Think of fun questions for the end of the interview. Things no-one ever gets asked. "What's your favourite ice-cream flavour?" is always a good one. As is "what do you never get asked, that you wish people would ask in interviews?" is another. Sometimes the answers you get will surprise you. Do no ask them the "Inside the Actor's Studio" questionnaire. It's wanky. No-one actually likes James Lipton. Trust me.

Transcribe the interview. Edit your own questions and comments down, or out (if the material cna stand on its own). People do not want to read about your thoughts. They want to read about the subject's thoughts. Do not infer or imply. Stick to the facts. Do not editorialise. Do remove vocalised pauses, and clean up grammar. People ramble. They start sentences and hen leave off in the middle. They ramble. They are not always eloquent. Make the subject sound articulate, without changing the essence of what they are saying. Do not paraphrase. You will end up sounding like a wanker. And no-one likes a wanker.

Arrange the transcript into a logical progression. You will move things around. That's fine; it's to be expected. Do not take things out of context, to make the subject sound like they were saying something they were not. Keep enough background to give context, but do not spend paragraphs and paragraphs explaining things the reader already knows. Do not pad the finished piece. If anything, pare down to the truth and the essence of things as much as possible. Get in, make your point succinctly, and get out cleanly.

If you are working for an editor, then listen to your editor. They are your editor. This means they are always right. Even when they are wrong. Do not argue. Just make the changes and turn the piece around in a timely fashion. Offer the reps the chance to read the finish piece, if possible. 9 times out of 10, they will be fine with it, and want a copy of the finished piece for their records and press packets.

Act professional, and you will be treated like a professional. Don't fuck it up, and you'll get to do it again someday. And maybe even get paid for it.

There. That's all the wisdom I've got. Have fun.

2008-02-28T10:46:00.012-06:00

It's been a fortnight since Gallifrey One, and I am only just now starting to get over the cold I picked up there. So my apologies for the lateness. Also, per usual I took almost no photos with my camera (remember when I used to go to cons and bring home snaps? Ah those halcyon days of yor and braincells that were not completely killed off by alcohol) and what snaps I do have are actually from the Disneyland daytrip from the Thursday before Gally, but look! other people have pics on flickr. The tiny boy as a red movie dalek is my fave. Or perhaps Gary Russell doing victory arms. I can't quite decide. Also, there is a nifty peachy keen interview with Steve Moffat at Whedonapolis that was done over the week-end.

I really did have an amazing trip. Robbie Bourget and Shaun Lyons and the Gallifrey One staff put on an amazing show that I just love being a part of, and can't imagine my life without any longer, even thought I've only been attending since 2006. Gallifrey One attendance broke records this year with over 1000 attendees, and record pre-reg sales as well. That's nearly 300 attendees more than last year's record. The audience for Opening Ceremonies on Friday was packed, which was our first clue that this was going to be an extraordinary year. It was so amazing to meet so many first-time Gally attendees—both folks who had never done Gally before and folks for whom Gally was their first con ever. Seeing the attendance break records isn't just about bigger numbers and raising more money for charity—it's adding new friends to our fannish family, and that's just nifty.

I spent most of my time with roommates Susan M Garrett and LM Myles, and the always delightful Paul Cornell, Caroline Symcox, and the ever-huggable Rob Shearman. The best part about Gally is that you are never more than 5 minutes between hugs. No, I mean that. There is an enormous sense of affection that just envelops you like a cloud the second you set foot in the LAX Marriott. This year I also got to meet Lee Thompson, a fantabulous freelance graphic artist responsible for The Rules of Modern Policing - 1973 Edition. It was Lee's first Gally, and I think we've got him hooked now. And it's always a joy seeing old friends Justin and Kathi Olsen, Simon Fernandez, Jarrod Cooper, Jan Fennick, Keith Topping, Steve Roberts and the gorgeous Sue Cowley, and Heather and Ed, and Rhonda The Gin Fairy, and too many more people to list. Good friends, good times, and getting to hug on Steve Johnson (whom I utterly utterly adore) is just part of why I love Gally, and what makes this show the high point of my year.

Friday night was the masquerade and Just a Minute... The masquerade was great fun. Tadao and Patrick are so great at making it fun and move quickly and everyone just had a blast. Two fantastic punks (Mette, who had her hawk up the whole rest of the week-end, and Bryan) built a Cassandra O'Brien. I can't explain how awesome it was. I can just point you towards photos and hopefully eventually YouTube. Just A Minute was FANTABULOUS. In part because Sophie Aldred was made of awesome (and completely cutthroat, I will say), and Rob and James Moran and Steven Moffat were hysterically funny. "William Hartnell's Fluffs" shall live in infamy, and Rob's riff on "Are You My Mummy?" I think earned him a standing ovation. I ended up missing Ed and Jen's wedding cos I got cornered by some folks after a panel and couldn't escape to get girlified in time, and then when I came back down the receiving line was 8 miles long. But I hear it was a hell of a shindig, and I ran up top Jen to give her a kiss and tell her how gorgeous a bride she was after she'd changed into her Lucy Saxonilicious red dress.

In the dealer's room I got Jim Swallow's Doctor Who novel Peacemaker, and the first four SJA novelisations. One of them is by Terrance Dicks! It's like 1981 all over again! The only live commentary I made it to was Paul's "Human Nature", which was standing room only. No lie. Next year, Shaun is talking about putting the DVD commentaries on the main stage because they have proved so popular, and I support this decision as standing for 90 minutes in a packed room can be physically uncomfortable... I also really wanted to go to James Moran's "Sleeper" commentary and Torchwood 101 panel with Any Lane. Andy is just lovely, and I hope James had a great first Gally. The Obligatory Gallifrey Comics Panel had roughly 6 panellists and 8 audience members. And unfortunately Gary Russell was on the main stage interviewing Sophie and Sylvester McCoy, so I never did find out about the IDW Doctor Who comic. But Mark Waid and Arne Starr and Paul Cornell and Lars Pearson had a great panel.

I participated in 8 panels this year, and I was particularly struck by how fantastically articulate and intelligent the audiences at all of them were. I'm seriously. It's always a joy to do panels with audiences who are invested in the topics, and I don't think I've ever had such a pleasant con experience doing panels as I did at Gally this year. That's not a dig at Chicago TARDIS or JemCon—far from it. Just that it's always such a great time when there's great give-and-take with the audience, and this Gally stood out for me in that respect.

Forever Martha Jones
This panel was the perfect way to kick off the week-end for me, as it was pretty much a love-fest. Seriously. No lie. We polled the audience, and then basically discussed every instance of pure Martha awesomeness we could remember, and there was a lot of "omg made of awesome". We even managed not to spoil our audience, most of whom hadn't seen episode 6 of Torchwood yet. There was a lot of discussion of the dynamics between Rose and the Tenth Doctor versus Martha and the Tenth Doctor, and our hopes for Donna in series 4. So there was a lot of meta on the role of companions, the single companion versus multiple companions dynamics, and how unfair it is to judge a companion on whether or not she success as a companion solely on whether or not she is a love interest. Especially since the Tenth Doctor's behaviour with Rose and Martha is virtually identical, yet Martha is the only one who calls him on it and expects answers. And the weird assumption by fans that one has to chose one or the other companion, instead of enjoying both (which seems to be an online thing, more than offline) and slag off the other companions in order to support their faves, whoever the fave of the moment might be. It's all very school playground, and I didn't see any of that actually in the audience, which gave me great hope for the future of mankind. Well, fandom-kind, anyway.

The Care and Feeding of the Doctor Who Fan
I was on this panel with moderator Simon Guerrier, Paul Cornell, Steve Moffat, the always gorgeous Stephanie Crawford, and Michael Doran from Podshock. We discussed how the new series has created fans of the original series, how new fans aren't as likely to join the existing fandom mainstays of the 1980s and 1990s like local clubs and the Canadian and UK fanclubs, so much as they are being fannish about the show in their online fannish spaces. And how it's most likely that the folks who will take over from our generation to run the cons and websites aren't likely to be people for whom Doctor Who is one fandom among many, but for whom Who is their first and possibly only fandom. Attendance at Gally jumped about 300 people this year, and nearly all of them came from the intarwebs. I think that trend will only continue, as new fans who have never been con-going fans before become con-going fans thanks to Gally. Also, apparently modern children hate cliff-hangers. At least the ones in Moffat's household (children that is; not cliff-hangers).

Save Our Show: How Fans Can Impact Television
Panelists included SFTV Blog's Lee Whiteside (whom I have known for something like 14 years, thanks to running the L&C:TNAoS mailing list LOISCLA in the early 1990s), SoCal Browncoat Tina Beychok, and Mark Ayres. We covered how fans can help support a series, talked about successful campaigns (Star Trek, Quantum Leap, Firefly, Jericho), and debunked the myths about campaigns as well. Being fans, we also talked about those series that came back after write-in campaigns and were the worse for it (Nikita and Roswell), or the ill-advised campaigns mounted by fans for series which had already had 5 year runs (Angel, Star Trek: Enterprise). Mark Ayres basically gave us the UK side of things, since the industry works completely differently than here, regarding the commissioning process, and where the funding comes from.

The Enduring Appeal of Vampires
Late-night roundtable moderated by author Jill Sherwin, wherein Ingrid Oliansky, Jill and I talked about the appeal of immortality, the appeal of half-naked actors, and our favourite film and TV vamps from Dark Shadows through Moonlight, while Eric Hoffman described various 1970s vamp flicks shot-for-shot, and Hollywood Vampire author Keith Topping reminded us from the audience how awesome Near Dark was and is. Also joining us from the audience was Forever Knight tie-in author Susan M Garrett, who next year really needs to volunteer for this panel as she's forgot more about vampire lore than I ever knew.

The Liars Panel
I made it to the 10am Liars panel despite a very late night hanging out in the bar and lobby socialising. As I am complete crap at improv, I mostly laughed over everyone else's riffs. Jan Fennick, Chicago TARDIS' Jen Adams Kelley, Telos publisher David Howe (who arrived late, but made up for it in gags), and Benjamin Elliott kept the audience laughing while I sucked down glass after glass of water in an attempt to stay hydrated and not fall over.

Squee!
The Squee panel was my fave. Christa Dickson moderated, and we were joined by Jan Fennick and Jen Kelley, and token guy on the panel Paul Cornell. We talked a little about the "women drooling over pretty people" version of squee, but spent the rest of the hour really talking about the gender differences in fannish behaviour and how the drives are the same while the practices are often totally different, and "Squee" in Who Fandom for us more means the female voice of fandom. We talked a lot about fan fiction, and also what we look for in said fan fiction, and Jan and Jen were there to represent the Old School Squee, while Christa came to Doctor Who through the new series and was dragged into the fandom by her fellow Iowa Doctor Who Club members introducing her to the 51st century omnisexual fabulousness that is Captain Jack Harkness. This was our 6th Squee panel in 3 years, and I think the best so far.

The State of SF TV & Film, and the Impact of the Writers' Strike
Writer-director Paul Salamoff, Torchwood's James Moran, Lee Whiteside and I were joined by former Lost producer and current The Middleman (coming soon to ABC Family!) EP Javier Grillo-Marxuach for the WGA panel, and it was interesting and I learned a lot. Javi made very good points about the advantages of selling a series using a pilot over a presentation—particularly regarding casting. And everyone agreed that the deals that were struck shouldn't have required months of striking to achieve. Paul also updated folks with what's back in production, what's been renewed for next year, and what's been cancelled. According to him, my beloved Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is on the bubble, and likely to die a horrible death if the ratings aren't up for the two-part season finale next Monday. And he is angry with me still for not loving Bionic Woman. Sorry, Paul. I tried. I really did. Even Katee Sackhoff being hotter than hot couldn't keep me interested.

Gender and Sexuality and the Changing Face of Doctor Who
I kinda sort crashed this panel. Thomas Powers moderated, and panelists were costumer extraordinaire Kevin Roche, Christa Dickson, and Paul Cornell. I was going to be in the audience and just add comments, but Tom invited me up half-way through, and it nearly eclipsed the Squee panel for my fave panel of the con. We discussed romantic and platonic, versus romantic and erotic; how both the Master and Romana regenerate into a new personality and physical form that is more like the Doctor, which opened a whole can of worms; how the Doctor and Romana both regenerated into younger bodies potentially to be more attractive to a potential partner (long story short: blond = the mating form? Discuss). And we got to discuss the whole long lifespan = reduced mating drive thing, while still keeping open the notion that just cos you are not biologically driven to reproduce as often as possible does not mean Time Lords Don't Do It For Fun. I personally think the Master and Lucy prove they can and do. It being the sex and sexuality panel, Captain Jack was talked about a lot as well. It was just a fantastic panel start to finish, and I was sad to see it end.

One big thing that's different this year is that over the summer I had pitched an essay book called Chicks Dig Time Lords to Mad Norwegian Press, and I had a really good meeting with my publisher and editor on Sunday. Still waiting on some paperwork, but I've a pretty solid start on both the shape of the thing, and a growing list of potential contributors from fandom new and old as well as potentially from the franchise. Not sure yet which will be interviews, and which will be 1st person anecdotes and essays. But it was a really exciting (and vaguely terrifying) step to take and hopefully this time next year the book will be turned in... The idea is to create something that's an engaging read which won't just be for female fans (both casual and hardcore), but also for male fans, and as gifts to wives, girlfriends, sisters, mothers, and daughters. And if the format works, then it can be used for, Chicks Dig Gaming (for all those WoW peeps out there), or Chicks Dig Comics. We'll see. But while it utterly terrifies me, I think it's good to do something that scares me. As I said a lot this week-end, if you never risk yourself, then you never win anything either.

2008-02-26T10:10:00.002-06:00

So I'm having problems with my hosting service, and ljconstantine.com is going to be down for a while as I move to a new host. I figured it would just be easier for the time being to move my Blog to blogspot. So sorry for the confusion!

2008-02-06T11:43:00.001-06:00

So this time next week, I will be packing for Gallifrey One. I am stupidly excited, per usual. And trying to figure out which is more important suitcase-room-wise: girl shoes, or DVDs. Right now, the girl shoes have the lead. We shall see.

Gally is a Doctor Who convention held in Los Angeles, and the only con I actually fly out of state for. As someone who does not drive, voluntarily going to Los Angeles is a sure sign of how much I love this con. Seriously. It is what I look forward to more than any other con of the year. And considering how much I love VividCon, that is saying a great deal.

For one thing, I am a panel slut. I love doing panels. I actually attempted to sign up for 12 panels this year, prompting Shaun to ask me should he just lock me in the fan programming room all week-end, would that make me happy? This made me giddy. I adore panels. Every since my neophyte fangirl days at MediaWest, I love moderating, I love panel discussions, I love hearing what other people think, even when we disagree. Sometimes, especially if we disagree. Not to try and change anyone's minds, but to be given the opportunity to see something familiar from a new angle, and learn something about myself, and my favourite tv series. Wacky, I know. But very true. As far as I'm concerned, daytime is for panels and nighttime is for drinking. Surely others feel the same way, y/n?

I love Gally because it is exactly the short of show I used to go to in my teens. I grew up with Visions and Week-end in Sherwood, both of which for me are about hanging about in the bar and the lobby, and staying up (sometimes all night) talking. Not just about Doctor Who or television and film or comics or fandom. That may be our point of entry, but really about everything under the sun. It's a very intensely social experience for me, and one of the few I am perfectly at ease in. Don't laugh, it's true. Outside of fandom I've held up many a wall at a social gathering. Since getting paralytic drunk is not my idea of a good time, I tend to avoid bars and parties unless I am very fond of the company, and it involves live music. While I like a pint or a whiskey as much as the next girl (or, let's face it, more than the next girl where whiskey is concerned), getting wasted to me is utterly pointless. Unfortunately that's what passes for a fun Saturday night among people my age in Chicago, hence my avoidance of Wrigleyville 98% of the year. Truth be told, I like remembering the convention. Which is why, even if I'm at a WorldCon, I'm less likely to be making the rounds of room parties sampling various colour combinations of Kool-Aid and Everclear, and more likely to be sitting on the floor in the corner of the lobby with a handful of people until we get rousted by hotel security. (Which has happened. Just ask Mark Ryan.)

I love Gally because I get to see all my friends in the UK who I only get to see once a year, which brings me much joy. During the year, we communicate primarily on the Internet, but there is a massive hug-fest pretty much all day Thursday, as the hotel shuttle deposits bleary-eyed jet-lagged people all day long. Every year I meet new people, something I also enjoy. And since it's my annual visit to the left coast, it's also the only time I get to see my West Coast friends, even if I forget that early morning panels means I really ought not to schedule Saturday or Sunday brunch (yet I always always do. Because I'm just not that bright). And I particularly love seeing both groups mix and mingle. See, I have this thing I do: I tend to want my friends to all meet one another, because I firmly believe they should all be united in their love of me. But also, because I like being able to get people in touch with one another cos I know that they'll get on well. Last year I had glee because I finally got Kirk Trutner and Javier Grillo-Marxuach in the same room, years after Kirk was a day player in a Boomtown Javi ahd written (Kirk played a homeless man who threatens to pee on Jason Geddricks' car. I love Kirk). More importantly, Javi had been the NBC exec on Kirk's series Earth 2, and they had never met even though Javi had seen all Kirk's work. It was awesome.

Last year, I also spent most of Gally bidding on a condo and running from panels to the damp courtyard in a desperate attempt to get a mobile signal before my mother disowned me, so I'm actually really hoping this year will be more relaxed.

For all I talk about cons, I don't actually do that many. VividCon and WizardWorld are local. WW is imploding, so that may not be on the schedule very much longer. Gally also may have a limited lifespan, so Chicago TARDIS may end up being my one remaining Who con, unless I can manage to work out a trip to Swansea some year. JemCon 2008 is on the bubble for me for financial reasons, because I really really want to do WorldCon in Denver (which might be tight, given that it's the week-end before VVC). And I've got Hamlet tickets for October, so two of my girlfriends and I are headed over for a whirlwind UK visit, to visit family, buy loads of second-hand books, and do tourist-y things. So really, Gally and VVC are the twin high points of my convention year. As they are six months apart, this actually works out perfectly.

2008-01-23T15:58:00.001-06:00

The thing that's made me unbearably sad about Heath Ledger's death is the way, from the hour it was reported, it has been presumed to be an overdose or suicide by the tabloid peess and the public at large. Despite the fact that there was no note, no narcotics were found at the scene, and the autopsy results are inconclusive.

Regardless of whether or not the tox screen comes back clean, it must be absolutely torturing his family to see rampant speculation and people judging him on no actual facts, but the assumption that he was fucked up. That it couldn't have been an accidental OD, or a reaction to his meds, or anything other than suicide or drug abuse, just because he was an actor. And those are the reports his daughter is going to find, when she is old enough to Google. Those are the stories everyone is going to remember forever about him, and that's what she's going to grow up hearing. That's what I hate.

2006-09-04T10:50:00.000-05:00

My great-uncle Lewis Leo passed away a few hours ago. Poppy's taking it as well as can be expected, and it looks like he'll be over in Wroughton next week-end for the funeral.

Lewis was my grandmother's youngest brother. He was in the RAF in Burma when my grandmother died in an air raid in 1940, when Poppy was just 3. When Lewis got out of the service, he worked at the BBC as a carpenter, only retiring in the mid 1980s. He was a bit wacky. I stayed with him for a fortnight when I was 11 years old, and drove him absolutely mad, cos I'd stay up all night reading (I went through all my cousin Dorothy's books by the end of the first week, and ended up getting a library card in the village and reading a few dozen of their books as well) and never really lifting my head out of a book no matter where we were--even when he'd take me to some ancient abbey or historical site. Also, I may have drank the cream off the top of the milk bottles. I was an evil little girl.

He'd always ring us up from odd corners of the world. Even in his 70s, he was dashing off to India as a tourist, and the like. I can see where my Poppy got a lot of his most infuriating traits, but also where he got his sense of adventure. His daughter, Dorothy, was quite the little punk girl, and came to Chicago to stay with my folks when I was just a kid. I believe she had multicoloured hair, which goes to show where I get my habit from. I never really knew her brothers as well--every time we'd be in London, or she'd be in the States, we'd get together for drinks or dinner. The Leos were all a lot older than I was, and once I got out of my early teens, we just didn't make it over to the UK as often as when I was younger.

The last time I saw Lewis was his 80th birthday party two and a half years ago. He was surrounded by family and grandchildren and it was a good last memory to have, I think. I mean, I'd certainly like my family to have that sort of memory, when I finally go. Though, preferably, great-grandchildren.

And now, I'm off to make a pot of tea.

i still wonder if lewis had any missing Doctor Who episodes in his attic.

2006-04-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

I am in Florida for the next two weeks plus. My parents are on their way to UK for Poppy's annual RAF reunion, and to visit the family. My sister is house-sitting, and I'm alternating between the house and her place in town. Since her campus where she teaches has Internet, I'm currently in the campus bookstore, 30 pages from the end of the first Cazalet Chronicles novel (which is only odd in as much as I haven't read a book written in omniscient POV in ages--and even then, they tended to be children's books or YAs rather than novels. I keep getting whiplash at the POV switches) and I'm actually enjoying it very much, particularly the recreation of the period between WWI and WWII.

I met a new friend on the plane down. We bonded while waiting in line at Midway, and SWA tried to change gates on us twice but in the end we prevailed. Her name is Dawn, and she and her husband are expecting their first sprog, whom we named Clyde, tho she is thinking she might be able to talk him into naming the sprog "Egon" after the Ghostbuster. She was also very patient about my attempting to discern through trial and error how to operate my faux iPod. It is the first time I have ever had an MP3 playing device, and it took me forever, but I now have a nice collection of pTerry BBC radio adaptations (omg David Tennant as Dangerous Beans!) and a handful of Big Finish Eight Doctor adventures to listen to on the flight home. As soon as I can figure out how to make playlists, I am going to try and use it to exercise with as well, because I used to do that (well, with a cassette tape and a walkman) when I lived in South Carolina and it worked quite well. Boiled in Lead remains my fave exercise music, which reminds me that I need to find a copy of Adam Stemple's book while I'm here today, because I only brought two books with me, and I will have finished them by Sunday I'm sure.

Doctor Who remains a joy, even though the plot was utter pants and the resolution a bit feeble. Mostly, it is the sheer love of new episodes, every week, and I adored Piper and Tennant muchly. Though I will enjoy "Tooth and Claw" more I think due to it being the first proper adventure where no-one spends 2/3rds of the episode either possessed or unconscious, thus resulting in two Tenth Doctor stories thus far where we really don't get any real insights into how he and Rose are getting on since the regeneration. My friend nos, who is genius, has decided that the Tenth Doctor is a slut (properly, a slutboi alien tease), and I have decided that yes, she is wise and this is true. But we love him and his perpetually surprised hair anyway, or perhaps even because of it. Also, Romana ought to really come back from E-Space* regenerated and fit and they can go off and have adventures someday, and possibly more hand-holding a la "City of Death", and they can blow up the dog a whole lot**.

* shut it, she's been in E-Space since the Doctor ran off with Adric. Do not speak to me of audios or novels. Because if she is still in E-space, then she did not Go Boom with Gallifrey. SHUT IT.

** not a K-9 fan, me.

2006-03-31T22:24:00.000-06:00

So since people are actually linking to this, I feel I ought to actually start updating it again.

I did, at least, manage to get the comments working again, which had me sort of vaguely flummoxed as Blogger has changed a lot since I first set this blog up in March 2001. So I had to go poking around and mess with templates and such, and I may still tweak it over the next few weeks to try and get it looking vaguely as if I am an actual web designer and not a 14 year old doing a blog as a class assignment.

No photos yet, as I still need to figure out my new camera, which I got in December to replace my old camera, which I broke, which itself replaced my very old camera, which was stolen. So that's why there are no random photos of field mice or haircuts lately.

In any case, I'm going to try and make a concerted effort to keep up with my blog, which I used to be very good about, but really have let slide in the past two years.

2005-11-28T12:42:00.000-06:00

I went to Chicago TARDIS over the week-end and met so many amazing people that I stayed up talking all night almost every night, and my brain now greatly resembles a bowl of custard. Also, I cannot remember everyone's names now that we are no longer wearing name tags.

If you met me, and didn't think I was utterly mad (in a bad way) and want to stay in touch, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do email me! And if I like you and don't think you're utterly mad (in a bad way) I will stay in touch.

(Of course, if I never ever reply it could either mean my email is broken, my forms are broken, or I'm really just rudely snubbing you.)

2005-08-15T12:55:00.000-05:00

Today has thus far been totally, totally random in a wonderful way.

I woke up late (surprise! it's Monday. I wonder sometimes if I really ought to just give up and become completely nocturnal) and while at Starbucks getting coffee, Poppy called to tell me SWA is having a sale on Chicago/Orlando fares and he's booking me a $84 RT fare to come down to Sanford and help Deirdre move for her birthday.

Then I was on the purple line, engrossed in re-reading Night Watch and heard a baby giggle, and looked up, and grandmother of said baby was a gal who worked in the mailroom at CICA, whom I haven't seen in ages, but the best part?

Sitting next to me and recognises me just as I recognise her was Larry McCauley, whom I have not seen in nearly 10 years. We quickly exchanged numbers, and now I'm trying to figure out what he's been up to, since I saw him last. Larry is a character actor who has been working in Chicago for ages and ages with everyone under the sun, and I remember walking downtown back when the new Goodman was under construction and stopping in my tracks because hanging on the wall was a photo of Larry with Brian Dennehy in the Iceman Cometh at the Goodman in 1990.

(and of course, none of this would have happened, had I not got on that exact seat, in that train car, at that exact time... City of 10 million people, and I manage that.)

I think I left my The Saint paperback at uncommon ground Saturday. ack.

2005-08-08T23:45:00.002-05:00

Home from show.

Throat is sore from talking and laughing and alas, too much smoking and second hand smoke. And I may never drink again.

Quick impressions of the con this year: Everyone on the planet needs to read Patrick the Wolf Boy by Art & Franco. Jim Lee is travel-sized for your convenience. I ought not to ever wear hats. If you walk the floor with me, we will be stopped every 3 feet as I run into someone I know. It's a natural law, like gravity. The Middleman creator (and former Jake 2.0 writer, and current Lost scribe) Javier Grillo-Marxuach is one cool dood. I will start picking up Buzz' speach patterns after 4 days. Mark Waid is desperately in love with new Who. I have a sketch of a flying panda wearing a cape and goggles, courtesy of Charles Wilson, who rocks 6 ways from Sunday. Ken Lillie-Paetz and I will always have Edmonton. Chris Moreno can seriously work a hat and a microphone. MONKEY VS LEMUR!!!!! Oh, and Frank Miller was there.

(note: you know Chicago Comics Con is officially over when I have finally left the lobby outside Knuckles at 4am on a Monday morning)

I wanted to take about 50 other pics--I have none of Buzz, Jill, Scott, Mark Waid (WHO FAN Mark Waid. ROCK ON!!), Luke and Charles W. and all the Shadowed Press guys (except Shannon. Oh, I definitely got a pic of Shannon) who made for kick-ass drinking buddies all week-end, my awesome roommates (in costume!), my mini-Stormer Lauren Perry, the Mighty Bruce, and dozens upon dozens of other people. Alas, I tend to completely forget I even own a camera 90% of the time.

Next year, right?

P.S. MONKEY VS LEMUR!!!!!!

2005-06-27T15:57:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a wonderful week-end in Detroit (ish) at Week-end In Sherwood.

I now need sleep very, very much.

2005-05-03T10:56:00.000-05:00

So, big job at Brella finished up last week and I am now down in Florida-la visiting sister. Since deadline got pushed, I sort of didn't have 2 weeks in April to do stuff I thought I would, so Allison Mack interview needs to be rescheduled, website updates need to eventualy happen, and freelance giggs need serious attention.

I miss Pick-Me-Up Cafe. Bigly.

*waves to Michelle*

However, I might actually get quite fit, being down here, as we are going to gym and/or stables every day.

And yes, I have become completely and utterly obsessed with the new Doctor Who, and want to have Russel T Davies big gay Welsh babies.

2005-04-05T10:54:00.000-05:00

It's entirely possibly pathetic that the new Doctor Who makes me this happy. But it does, and I'm glad, because I could sure as hell use a smidge of wobbly-set kiddie SF with unexpected and utterly welcome moments of true depth and sincereity, these days.

2005-04-02T13:38:00.000-06:00

Very very busy few days. Thursday I took the day off work, because Avril & Ben's wedding rehearsal was at Maxim's in the middle of the day. I picked up my dress on the way downtown, and ended up getting to the Chicago stop quite early. I then discovered I really ought to have gotten off at Clark/Division (but as I was early, enjoeyd the walk tremendously). Also, the new guy at the Starbucks on Chicago was sweet, and only charged me $2.25 for 3 shots of espresso and steamed milk in a venti cup--which apparently is actually a $5 venti latte (despite the fact that you're paying $3 for 8 oz of milk--which in a grocery store would be, like, a gallon). I have since learned that this trick only works once--as long-time Starbucks managers immediately, upon hearing what you're asking for, charge you for a Venti latte.

The day started off grey, but got intensely gorgeous, so that when I actually got out of the rehearsal (which started late due to the bride not actually arriving until almost 2pm) I walked all over. I decided to get my hair cut, so I rang Dee to get the location of the place where she usually got hers cut, once I found out that Dawn, the girl who ahs cut my hair for 5 years, is now working in a chiropractor's office someplace. I wanted a razored bob. However, the woman at the Haircuttery didn't do that. Also, it was not short enough. I was vexed, but figured I could swing by and get my hair cut again before the wedding. Hung out with Jem and Sam at PMU and met Sam's gf Tess, who is a sweetie-pie. Left there at 6pm to walk to Zephyr's where the rehearsal dinner was taking place--and discovered that it really only takes me about half an hour to walk from Clark and Roscoe to Wilson and Ravenswood.

So since I was hella early, I decided to keep on walking west on Wilson and see what they was to see. And then I headed North on Damen for a bit, and ended up wandering into a very small hair salon and getting a proper haircut that I really like (which in fact did involve a razor, as I had originally requested, when the blonde lady at Haircuttery whipped out the scissors) for $25.

So when I arrived at the rehearsal dinner 20 minutes late (but still 10 minutes ahead of the bride) Avi's dad was all "Did you get your hair cut since this afternoon?" and I just grinned and was all "Yep. Twice."

In an attempt to not be groggy, I decided to ditch the Nyquil Thursday night. As a result, I tossed and turned until 4am, and then had nightmares from 5am to 9am when I actually slept. Got to work late, much to the surprise and confusion of Jill & Mark, who hadn't realised I was even coming in.

Dashed home at 2pm and actually made great time--until it took me 20 minutes longer than I thought it would to blow-dry and straighten my hair. However, cabbed it to Maxim's and still got there 20 minutes ahead of the bride. The ceremony was to start at 6pm, but actually got off at 7pm, and it was full of singing and giggles and kisses and utterly utterly lovely start to finish. I especially loved Ben's brothers and sister in their suits and fedoras. Also, they had the BEST damn catering I've ever had. Wow. And they had Spike & Dru as cake toppers, and cut the cake to a song from MST3K (tho the rest of the soundtrack for the wedding was retro 1920s-1940s jazz and such, and I desperately want a set list now). I ditched out of the tall girlie shoes and red lipstick quick, as I cannot maintain that level of pure girl for very long. I'll have to post pics eventually--once I bum them off someone, as I am still camera-less.

The plan was to go to the 12:15am Sin City showing after the wedding reception. Ask me how much that didn't happen. Instead, went to PMU to get some tea and show off my dress to Michelle (who was very wise in reminding me next time I buy I dress, I have to practice sitting. I didn't find out until I got to the venue that really the dress was 3 inches too short to actually sit in, tho I had enough glasses of wine at the reception that I really wasn't paying a whole heck of a lot of attention after the first hour). I then went home and took a long hot bath with lavender stuff that was in my goodie bag from bride & groom, and read Howl's Moving Castle.

I only meant to read a little bit.

I read the whole thing, start to finish.

I think I finally crashed at 3:30 am.

Gosh, I'm smart.

However, even without Nyquil, slept fairly well, and was awakened by Queen on the radio at 10am. Everyone should always be awakened by Queen. It ought to be a law.

At work now. Am waffling about whether I ought to see Sin City after work today, or after brunch with Marianne tomorrow.

Decisions, decisions.

2005-03-07T19:57:00.000-06:00

For those who might be wondering, I am, in fact, alive. I have however been lately plagued with major computer issues. To recount them all would bore you stupid. Let's just say that 2005 has gotten off to a very rocky start.

In other news, this makes me so happy, it's stupid.

2005-02-16T18:46:00.000-06:00

I am posting this from my laptop, with my shiny new wireless Internet connection. Woo! Finally got the home network set up, and can now do work cross-platform. Go me!

Working at Brella--have been for the past month and a half. Love the work, love the people, particularly love the whole steady paycheque thing. Very aware of how much I took for granted, this time last year.

I've a few new sites I need to add to my homepage. Have a lot of sites I still have to update. It's been a crazy, crazy year kids. I cannot quite believe how crazy it's been.

And now, must dash--have two side jobs I'm knee-deep in at the moment, on top of Brella job. My fabulous gal-pal Brigitta is in town this week, and hopefully, fun shall be had when we get together after work this Saturday.

Alas, no new pictures for a good long while, as I lost my digital camera in December, on the way down to Florida-la. So this blog will be plenty plain, until I can afford a new one, which won't be for a good long while, as food and rent will pretty much be my prioritites for the next six months.

2004-11-15T13:23:00.000-06:00

Home again, home again, tra la la. Fiddler's Green was fantabulous, and raised an obscene amount of money for the CBLDF to the tune of $41,000, and I cannot say how very cool it was to get to met Karen Berger (who was and is one of my heroes), Todd Klein (who is amazing), John M. Ford (who has seen so much theatre in London I am sick with jealousy, and also has truly extraordinary eyebrows), Caitlín R. Kiernan (who had fabulous Catwoman-esque aviator goggles as sunglasses, and got one scary bunny). Also in attendance were the always lovely Jill Thompson (who had devils in her hair, and wicked keen shoes), Charles Vess (who can cut a rug, let me tell you), The Fabulous Lorraine (who received much-deserved mangoes as tribute, and plays a mean fiddle), Martha Soukup (who can geek out about TV with the best of them), the ultra-fab miss Maddy (who handles interviews with aplomb, and has a ketchup fixation), and the fabulous maure, Shield, davey, tyg, Walker (who may or may not be allowed on a plane in his new boots), Rocky, Squeaks (whose hair is truly a wonder, and whose Scary Godmother costume was the envy of all--she even made stripey tights!), two excellent Lucys, Jouni (who is very tall and a wonderful artist, and has a charming Finnish accent) and hundreds of fantastic fans.

Highlights of the week-end were the costume ball (there is something truly amazing about seeing some five Deliriums all lined up with fish and sparkles), a one-man show called 10,000 Comic Books which featured a dramatic reading of the Comics Code Authority code, the auction (beware anyone who gets between Lorraine and her Desire Docs), Jill's reinactment of Frankenstein (Grr. Fire. Grr.), and finding out that Georgia (whom I met in the Vegas at Writercon in August, and insisted had to had to had to come to Fiddler's Green) not only came, but won the dinner with unca neil. How keen is that?

I did many things. I won a thumb war tournament (Canadian rules). I did not sleep (much). I wore a posh very flammable frock (very briefly). I danced. I got to pet not one but two Tribble purses. I gazed longingly at many beautiful pieces of art in both the art show and the auction, and wished I was not unemployed and could actually bid on them.

All in all, a wonderful time.

And this time, I did take photos.

2004-11-11T20:09:00.000-06:00

I continue to have a mad, mad crush on Gene Wolfe.

Last night was lovely. I ended up walking to DePaul, since it was so nice out (62° when I left my apartment at quarter of 5! I couldn't believe it. I actually had to change out of my heavy sweater and wear a lighter jacket, and 20 blocks later, actually have to get a frozen coffee thingie to cool down) and I got there about 6pm. They only had tickets for sale for the first programme of the evening, and that ran over, so in the end, they ended up just doing a headcount and I got the second programme for free. Serendipitous, sez I.

The Usual Suspects got together for the first time in a year, and a grand time was had by all, even if our leave-taking was staggered due to the event being held on a week-night. DebbieandChris had to take off first due to deb having to work in the morning. I also met Maureen Who Has A Car Named The Great Pumpkin on account of its Very Orangeness, who came with maure (who managed to avoid having to do schtick with unca neil, due to having to leave early to get stuff done for Fiddler's Green). Maureen gives excellent backrubs, and shares my love of The Monkees. I may have to adopt her. I am bringing maure a tiara to wear at the con. No, really. It's a magic tiara that will make all her headaches go away, from the Quincineara store. It is of course made with real fake diamonds, as opposed to imaginary fake diamonds.

I've mentioned how much I adore Gene Wolfe, right? He was utterly faboo, and took incredible delight in publically embarssing unca neil by announcing to all assembled that it was unca neil's birthday, and giving him a nifty keen card smack in the middle of the interview. he also singled out his daughter, who was hiding waaaaaay in the back, and was a very good sport about it. He and Rosemary are honest to God the cutest couple in the 'verse.

unca neil read bits of Anansi Boys, which is very, very, very funny, and seems to be the story of what happens when Tricksters have sons. Poor Fat Charlie, is all I'm gonna say. You all have to wait for the novel to be a finished novel, and read it yourself. But the tone was delightful, the reading was hysterical (unca neil does all the voices. there's something deeply bizarre about unca neil doing a spot-on 70 year old Jamacian lady), and a good time was had by all. Anne, who is a fabulous minder, was there, along with her husband who juggled and made balloon animals. Anne was very clever, marrying a man with the potential (now realised) to make balloon animals. I left mine (Spike) guarding the vegan brownies at Pick Me Up where I got supper after the signing finished and a very, very, very sleepy author was bundled into a taxi.

I did have a bizarre moment when I realised I am almost the exact same age now as he was when we first met. "I thought you were so wise, and so aged, and you were a BABY!" I believe were my exact words. But it's just so deeply, deeply bizarre to think that it'll be 13 years this April. That's just... wrong. I have decided that if I'm going to be 18 forever in neil-land, then he's going to have to stay 32 forever, as revenge. Only not a 32 year old who'd stay up all night smoking and emailing insane 18 year olds like me weird poetry at 3am. I like the part where he doesn't smoke any longer--it means we get to keep him longer. That is a Very Good Thing. And yes, I know I ought to quit. I'm working on it. Also, I have no pictures (because I am dumb) but he has the beard and goatee still. It's like he's his own evil twin from that universe where Uhura has the skimpy costume and the wicked cool knife. Only, you know, still huggy and slightly rumpled. I was a jackass, and left his pressie at home, but I'll bring it this week-end, and all will be well.

Afterwards, hung out at Pick Me Up with Michelle and Catherine and Jessie (New Girl), and had a moment of worry when Crazy Red Faced Man started shouting obscenities at Michelle, but tho she is little, she's fierce, and chased him off. They need a giant book of mug shots of all the people banned from the restaurant. Apparently one new server accidently seated him once, and Michelle had to kick him out. He was very, very, very drunk, and his face was indeed red, and he acted quite crazy. But luckily not dangerous crazy. Just annoying crazy. I had an omlette with bacon, mushroom, and bacon, and it was very good and bacon-y and now my tummy is growling just thinking about it.

2004-11-09T22:35:00.000-06:00

I saw The Incredibles.

I want to have Brad Bird's babies.

I would also like to point out that, if you loved The Incredibles then I cannot recommend The Iron Giant highly enough. There's even an ultra-spiffy director's cut at long last on its way.

The Iron Giant is quite possibly one of the best films ever made.

I swear to God, that's not hyperbole.

Tim McCanlies (yes, the man who gave us Smallville) and Brad Bird created a movie where not a single moment ever feels false (even tho I think some folks disagree over the ending), and the performances from the voice actors and animators are stunning, and the technology (they developed software which would vary a computer-drawn line in width so that it would blend seemlessly with traditional hand-drawn animation) is amazing, and the late Michael Kamen's score will haunt you.

But more than that, you'll cry like an idiot, and you'll never hear the word Superman the same way ever again.

Ignore what the media says about it (unless it's, you know, raves, in which case, I agree). It was not a failure in any way except financially and that was Warner Bros. fault, not the film's (for example, why oh why was the Burger King Kid's meal tie-in that summer the PG-13 rated The Wild Wild West remake, huh? I want to smack people in the Marketing dept. I really do.). Nor did it signal the death-knell of hand-drawn animation (I think we have Quest for Camelot to blame way way more than IG, for the state of the WB's feature animation dept. going *poof*). It was simply ahead of its time. It got a lot of flack for being rated PG (never mind the MPAA not giving Disney's Mulan a PG rating, which it should have) which scared a lot of parents off, who believe all animation = aimed at toddlers = rated G = should only ever be rated G. It was also pushed out of theatres by the surprise success of The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense and Warner Bros. was too chickenshit to re-release it at Christmas, if I recall correctly.

Just... trust me. Buy it. Rent it. Netflix it. It doesn't matter. You have to, have to, HAVE to see this movie.

2004-11-02T15:49:00.000-06:00

Well, a new year dawns, and I am once again back among the ranks of the unemployed. But never fear—I'm freelancing again while job-hunting, and have faith that I'll land on my feet somehow. After all, I always do. Althought things will be tight this holiday season, that's for sure.

However, wanted to share some pics of the Hallowe'en festivities.

Costume #1: Diane Hughes ( from Jake 2.0)

The Fabulous eep's Hallowe'en party:

eep's ULTRA-KEEN Nightmare Before Christmas collection:

The wacky crazy gang at Pick Me Up Café (Michelle, Jem, Catherine, Amie, and one fuzzy patron):

Costume #2: Stormer (from Jem) updated for the 21st century

2004-09-19T22:46:00.000-05:00

Once again, I have fallen down on my blogging duties. It been a very busy month. I started a new job last week, which I'm very excited about. It's web desigenr for a small multimedia and video production company in Chicago, and so far, I'm really digging it. I'm really enjoying the opportunity to actually design. Not that I don't love HTML work--I live and breathe code. But I haven't designed much in the past few years professionally (tho as always, I add to my fan site portfolio on a regular basis, and have added an Odyssy 5 fan site, as well as a very small Borderlands fan site, which I am still writing content for, hence it not being linked yet). I really think this job will challenge me and make me a better designer.

In addition to my regular weekly TV column, Boob Tube, I also have two features recently published at MediaSharx, in our 1980s theme month. The first is an interview with JeM series creator Christy Marx, and I also had the opportunity to interview Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers creator Robert Mandell. As I am probably one of the biggest GR fans around, you can imagine how thrilled I was. I also have a one-page piece in the current Angel magazine. So journalistically, it's been quite exciting.

I also spent a week in Florida-la with my peachy keen sister Deirdre, who just moved into her very own digs. No worries--neither her new place, nor my folks place suffered any damage from Charley, Frances, or Ivan. It was a sort of co-birthday celebration, as the sib had her birthday September 8th, and mine is this coming Tuesday, September 21st.

And lastly, I have finally finally finally uploaded some photos from my adventures in August and September in Las Vegas, at Wizard World Chicago, and this week-end, at the first annual Browncoat Ball.

Las Vegas

The lovely lady in the snaps with me is Brigitta. We had a blast seeing Penn & Teller.

Wizard World

The smiling fella down there with the kick-ass t-shirt is Buzz. Buzz is not only an AMAZING artist, but also just the sweetest guy in the whole wide world. And his Endless series is GORGEOUS.

The Browncoat Ball

The gorgeous Kaylee dress was made by Jennifer, who also happens to be the lovely lady wearing it. There were waltzing lessons as well. And you can see my big poofy skirt, which almost killed me while trying to dance Salinger's. I am very glad not to have killed my dance partner Luke when I landed on my butt after trodding on my hem.

2004-08-16T00:53:00.000-05:00

Back from Wizard World.

Sleepy, sleepy me.

I'll have photos from both the Vegas and Chicago Comics Con, along with a catalogue of my many adventures soon. But for now, my bed beckons....

2004-08-02T15:52:00.000-05:00

I am in the Vegas. Have been since Thursday, actually, for writercon. Will have a proper write-up when I get home. Promise!

In the meantime, want to let everyone know that my 10k site ever after is now under new management, and can be found at everafter10k.com.

2004-06-23T22:48:00.000-05:00

My neighbour was invited to a Verisign shindig at Navy Pier tonight, and being a nice neighbour who knew I was a fellow web geek, invited me to come along since they had free food and an open bar. I loaded up a plate of hors d'ouvres and being me, manged to sit down next to a guy who turned out to have been a grammar school classmate of mine from 3rd grade whom I had not seen in 22 years. (waves to Carlos).

I swear, the universe is roughly the size of a grapefruit, and has 8 people in it.

For Father's Day, my Judy asked my Poppy what he most wanted, and he replied a trip to Chicago, so I had a lovely 3 days with my father, who came and stayed with me and ate black bean chili and spent Monday logged in in my dining room, emailing me updates for Timkatec.org in between helping me job hunt and introducing me to friends in the travel industry. He also bought me as a pressie a new air conditioner for my bedroom which he even installed (it had roughly 322 parts), which luckily I have not had to use yet as the weather in Chicago has been beautiful and stunning beyond compare. But as soon as it hits the 90°s I'm sooooooo turning that puppy on, since the last time it got hot and humid (a few weeks ago) I slept hardly at all.

In other news, my Angel article will not run in July after all, but at a later date. And I get paid upon publication, which means I'll be living leaner(er) in July. But tickets for Writercon are bought and paid for thanks to the concom's scholarship programme, and I'm hugely looking forward to my very first trip to the Vegas, even tho I most likely will not be able to go to Star Trek: The Experience while I am there, due to lack of funds. However, unca neil will kill me if I don't at least try to score Penn & Teller tickets, assuming of course that there are in fact P&T tickets to be had. So that may happen. Or not. we shall see. One would hope I'm gainfully employed by August.

Lastly, my fabulous cousin Becky is pregnant with twins (squeee!) after much difficulty, and I am so excited I cannot tell you. I shall be the Crazy Aunt Tara who takes them to fund palces and buys them books to read and strange stuffed animals (ask Missy about The Chicken if you don't believe me) and possibly takes them to the Zoo once they are old enough to appreciate live monkeys.

And now, bed, as it is almost midnight and I might perhaps be just a bit tipsy, thanks to the open bar at the shindig.

2004-06-05T01:18:00.000-05:00

Working at last! I'm freelancing at Brella, working with the fabulous Mrs Vuch and Jill. The commute isn't great, but luckily the weather has been fine this week--no more downpours. Which is good, since the trip to and from involves about 3 miles of walking, all told. I go back on Monday, and we'll see where it goes from there.

Deirds is taking an apartment in September, and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. I'm hoping I can go down for our birthdays and help her move in and decorate. Plus it means a cat-free place for me to stay when I go to visit my folks.

Got the Angel article written up and sent off, and am now waiting to hear back from my editor. And I've taken over the sexy geek the Jake Foley fanlisting website and given it a face-lift. But the big news is that the project my Poppy started, The American Friends of Timkatec, is up and running.

Timkatec is a school and mission in port-au-Prince, Haiti which shelters street children and teaches them a trade. As I'm sure you all know from the news lately, Haiti has been hit with terrible storms, and I'm sure Père Simon has his work cut out for him even in the best of times, let alone now. I'm really proud to lend a hand with the website, and the best news of all is that Catholic Relief Services have agreed to match funds donated through the website up to $15,000. No matter how down I get about my current state of affairs, I know that I am incredibly blessed compared to the children the Salesians are sponsoring, and I hope the site really takes off. And the site gave me something to concentrate on these last two months, as I waited for responses to all the resumes I've sent out...

In other news, I'm growing my hair back out after wearing it cropped uber-short this last summer. And at the moment it's dyed red. Which is fun, as I haven't had it red in over a year and a half now. But the growing stages? I look like a Muppet. I'll be glad when it's long enough to do something with it. I've been growing it out since January, and it's barely grown 2 inches. Something tells me it's going to be a very long year...

This summer looks to be fairly quiet for now. Assuming I can scrape up what I need for the airfare, I'll be headed to the Vegas at the end of July for WriterCon, hopefully to visit with Brigitta, whom I met at the Angel con... Then there's Chicago Comics Con (aka WizardWorld) in my hometown of Chicago in August. Alas, it is the same week-end as VividCon this year, so I will miss out on all the nifty-keen vidding panels. sigh. But I'm hoping I'll be able to visit with folks, regardless, as the con hotel is a stone's throw from Rosemont where WizardWorld is held. Then in November, it's off to Fiddler's Green, the very first Sandman convention--which looks to be the event, let me tell you.

What? me? Biased?

Well, maybe a little, as the always fabulous miss maure is on concom, along with davey, lucy ann, and bunches of fine Sandgirls and Boys.

2004-05-18T12:01:00.000-05:00

This whole journal thing would probably work better if I updated more often than once a month... Ah, well. I think you can all forgive me if the last calendar month has been a bit on the insane side.

I did finally get the allison-mack.com DNS problem squared away by moving the site to a new host and registering the DNS through a different company. So the feature went up on time, and I even got a wee little scoop even. I am still job hunting for full-time web design and part-time consulting gigs, and on the journalista side, look for a David Boreanaz feature with my byline in the July issue of the official Angel magazine from Titan in the UK (which is also available in the States at chain bookstores and comics stores, thanks to Diamond). Also this week, look for a special Angel retrospective at MediaSharx, and as always, new DVD reviews at Audio Revolution. And look for an exclusive interview with Keegan Connor Tracy at j20fans soon!

This summer is looking to kick off with quite a bang, as I may be attending WriterCon in Vegas at the end of July. I'll then be at Chicago Comics Con (aka Wizard World) hanging with my peeps and covering the Whedon panels hopefully for either Titan or MediaSharx. I am sitting out MediaWestCon next week-end, and while he ex-roommates are headed to Tennessee to to Buffy academic conference (yay James!), I'll be no doubt up to the eye-teeth in getting my dining room closet and office squared away.

And for those of you who have been wondering, yes, I saw the two Jake 2.0 episodes which aired in the UK in the last fortnight, and yes, my head exploded. Bits of head, everywhere. In addition to updating my Jake 2.0 Fan Fiction, I'm also updating the JMD with fiction by a variety of authors, and j20fans with all sorts of news about Christopher Gorham's new pilot, synopses, reviews, and screencaptures for the final four, and more! So if you haven't been there in a while, please do check it out!

2004-04-15T22:14:00.000-05:00

The last three weeks have been... Well, you know what they say. May you live in interesting times.

The promised feature interview with actor Allison Mack is running a week behind thanks to first allison-mack.com going down March 26th for a week, and now problems accessing the new host via FTP. But it will go up somehow, hopefully tomorrow.

I also just got back from a week-long trip to Florida, thanks to a family emergency, which put everything I had planned for this week and part of last on hold.

What can I say? When it rains...

But hey, at least Spring has sprung in the Chicago area. I didn't even need my jacket when I went out today to run errands. And the final four Jake 2.0 epsiodes which were pulled from the UPN February schedule will air in the UK in May. So at least I have something to look forward to.

2004-03-25T17:44:00.000-06:00

Today was... Interesting.

Long story short: I don't work for a big boring insurance company any more, as my position was eliminated due to budgetary stuff. The up side is, I was not fired, I have a severance package, and I have ties to two local consultants who might be able to line work up for me.

Oddly, it's almost a year to the day since I broke up with my boyfriend of 4 years, whom I started dating the week before I started the job.

So it seems I'm having something of an enforced fresh start. However, I'm right now preferring to think of it as a new opportunity.

Stay tuned, True Believers, for my no doubt wacky adventures signing up for unemployment, job hunting, digging up freelance work, and the like!

2004-03-15T16:32:00.000-06:00

So, it's been a month filled with both joy and sorrow. Which is, well, the way of things. But I was very saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Chuck Guthrie (Lord William Cecil, Baron Burleigh from the Bristol Renaissance Faire). Chuck was one of the sweetest, kindest souls I ever met. He taught dialect at BAPA my first year (1997) and I count him as one of a handful of people whom I've met through the Faire that I will always, always been intensely grateful to have had in my life, even in the smallest of ways. I am so glad I had a chance to see him the last time I was at the show and give him a big hug and tell him how much I loved him. I had no idea it would be for the last time, and it's very hard to picture a Chuck-shaped hole in the world. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the wake or funeral, because I was out of town. But he'll be sorely missed, and I keep smiling to picture both him and his good friend Jeannine (who passed away a while back) smiling down on us all.

I had a lovely lovely visit with my family this spring as well. My Judy came and spent a few days with me in February, accompanying my Poppy as he went to a trade show held out at Navy Pier. They actually stayed at my place, and then Judes stayed a few extra days and we marathonned some Jake 2.0 and pretty much deleted my store of wine. Then I went down to Florida for MegaCon, which marked my first occasion interviewing Ms Allison Mack face to face. She's a lovely, bright, delightful young lady and that interview should run at allison-mack.com next month, with a companion piece going up at MediaSharx at about the same time. Judes had a blast at the convention, and she got to meet Marc Singer (Donovan from V), Noah Hathaway (Atreyu from The Neverending Story) and we spend Saturday in the autograph line for Allison, who gave my mother a huge hug. How's that for classy?

The last week-end, Deirds and her friend Christine came up to visit and we bummed around Chicago, and spent out nights watching big vast chunks of Odyssey 5. Because yes, I am ebil, hooking them on a show which ends with an evil unresolved cliff-hanger. We also caught the Friday night Frodo-A-Go-Go at the Royal George, and got to marvel at Vuch as an Ent. Any Chicago folk who haven't caught the show yet, you've two weeks before Vuch and Freds move on--so what the hell are you waiting for?

And I finally got around to uploading the photos off my camera!

The Stained Glass Museum at Navy Pier:

MegaCon:

My trip to the UK:

Onion Soup:

2004-02-15T13:07:00.000-06:00

So, there was an episode of Third Watch at my apartment building last night. As I was sitting at my desk, poking a story with a stick and waiting to go out to celebrate a friend's birthday, I heard... sounds in the stairwell of my apartment building. At first, I had assumed the male shrieks and gasps were perhaps one of my upstairs neighbours having too much, erm... fun. My reaction was more one of annoyance as the spells would stop, and then start again, not to mention there's a kid of perhaps 8 who lives beneath me, and if I could hear the guy, you bet the kid, his mum and his granny could.

However, when my upstairs neighbour Heather called me, she said the guy was alone and lying on the floor in front of the apartment across from her, and through the peep hole, she couldn't tell who it was. She asked if she should call the cops, and I was all "Hell, yeah!" About five minutes later a black and white showed up, and two lady cops came and rousted him--he was drunk or stoned or something and just flipping out. I could overheard the conversation and it was just too deeply surreal. He was looking for some chick named April who is/was his girlfriend. Cagney and Lacey were all "Do you live here? No? Okay, you can't stay here. You're freaking people out. Do you have ID?" Needless to say, no. No ID.

Heather and I were on the phone, doing play by play out our various windows as the EMTs arrived with an ambulance and strapped the guy down and just carted him off, sirens blaring.

Somebody had a shitty Valentine's day.

I, on the other hand, survived my first solo VD in 5 years just fine for the most part, though I am sporting some fun bruises from the tumble I took, trying to step around a raised booth at Liar's Club to get to the dancefloor. Stone cold sober, no less. That takes skill, ladies and gentlemen. Left the club at 2am and had the singular experience of being probably one of the only sober people (other than what I assume to be the majority of the staff) at The Melrose at just shy of 3am. Would that the same could be said for the table full of Trixies across from me, who crooned "Te amo! Mucho gusto!" at the waitstaff incessantly. God bless drunk white girls and their high school Spanish. I wanted to kill them, but the waiters seemed amused and incredibly tolerant, so I restrained myself admirably. After quite possibly the best plate of hash and fried eggs (and i had decaf, because I have half a brain, tho really, I ought to have been drinking leaded and smoking, just to appease my inner Dead Of a Heart Attack I'm Sure Chicago Cop) in the 'verse, I came home and pretty much fell into bed (since I'd gotten up at 7am that morning).

So, anyway--yay for survival. I'm also sore from my second week-end in a row of dancing, and my 4th kick-boxing class yesterday morning. Took a loooooooong hot bath, and read The Woman In The Dark, which is the first Hammett I've read that fell totally flat for me. I think it's because we stay with he dame the whole time. I like the boys better. Of course, I have OD'd on the Continental Op lately, so it was a nice break. The Op can be a bit grim after a while. I still haven't finished The Thin Man, which is such a departure from his other stuff that I can't quite reconcile it...

2004-02-06T14:48:00.000-06:00

In case you hadn't noticed, things just got very very different around here. And yes, I'm aware some things aren't working quite the way they are supposed to. Working on it!

I had actually been wanting to re-design my site for some time, and have been puttering around with it for a few months now. I meant to get it up in January, actually. However, my life was pretty much taken over by the Save Jake 2.0 Campaign the past few weeks. For those of you who may not have heard, UPN and Viacom halted production of the series in January and pulled it from the schedule. So if you would like to see the final four episodes (or, for that matter, the remainder of season one and perhaps even a season two), join the fight!

In other news, I had a whirlwind trip with Poppy to the UK, for my grand-uncle Lewis Leo's 80th birthday. The entire Leo clan was there, and my father and I stayed quite late talking with Lewis and his wife Jean, primarily about my grandmother Dorothy who was killed during an air raid in 1943, the day before my father's 3rd birthday. Lewis was only 19 at the time, and we went through an enormous file of family photos, birth, death, and marriage certificates, and so on. It was actually quite lovely--as was catching up with my Leo cousins. We stayed in Bristol with a fellow Halton apprentice and his wife, and thought the weather was awful (really, it's winter in England. I don't know what either of us expected. And, to be fair, it was still 30° F warmer than Chicago, which was -20° windchill when I left) but we had a lovely lovely visit with John and Rose, and their beautiful grandchildren. And I finally got to meet their son Austin and daughter Siân, so that was nifty.

Before I left, I hit Rick's and picked up a stack of used books, and am currently deeply in love with The Continental Op stories. I read Red Harvest on the bus from Bristol to Heathrow Monday morning, and then read half of an anthology on the flight back. Love me some Dashiell Hammett. I also read The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, written in 1972 by Michael Dibdin. Having read Alan Moore's From Hell, I think the impact of the Whitechappel murders in the Holmes novella was lessened slightly--if only because I knew all of the grisly details already. Still, it was fascinating and wow, Holmes can be a bitchy little coke-head sometimes.

Since I haven't mentioned it yet, I thought I would say that Onion Soup was fabulous, and I shall be posting pictures soon.

2003-12-02T18:45:00.000-06:00

Where did November go?

Seriously.

I'm up to my eyeballs, but my Judy's visit went off like a dream, as did Orphan Thanksgiving mark 2.

Now I just need to clone myself so I can get everything I need done in December done before I go down to Florida-la to visit the family.

For anyone who would like to keep up with all of the fan websites I maintain, articles and reviews I write, etc., I've launched an update list. Be aware tho that it's 90% fannish stuff—so if you're not, for example, as obsessed with Jake 2.0, Firefly or Smallville as I am, you might get bored quick.

That said, it will keep you up to date on my TV and movie reviews.

2003-09-22T14:34:00.000-05:00

So, I am now officially a grown-up! Okay, not really. But I am 30 years old, as of yesterday. So, I went to NYC to celebrate this landmark birthday. Oh, and maure and Mary and I did this before I went.

I had the *bestest* time.

At the NYIBC events where unca neil was signing, I met Rocky and Lucy-Anne and another Lucy, saw my friend Jan Fennick, whom I had not seen in ages and ages. Met a slew of thingies and wellies. Managed to miss a bunch of LJ friends, because I'm just that bright. Also managed to not sleep pretty much for 3 days running (I shall tell you all about Friday and Saturday when I have had time to arrange the story in something vaguely resembling a linear narrative. But last night I went straight from wandering Union Square at 2:30am this morning with a lovely lady named Rachael from Minneapolis who desperately wanted to go dancing, after dinner at a Brazilian diner chock full of ridiculously beautiful bus boys with Rocky, Lucy, davey, and friends, back to Queens where I was staying to pack and not sleep a bit and get a cab to La Guardia at 5am to make my 7am flight back to Chicago because I am compulsive about getting to airports 2 hours before my flight leaves, which I did and which did and during which I slept not a wink [tho I did read the first 20 pages of Kavalier and Clay and the remaining half of Endless Nights] which was then followed by a cab ride to my office, where I am now--sleep deprived and shockingly not blue-haired. So this may be, you know, rambly.).

However, much fun was had, much money was spent (NYC, if nothing else, gave me a keen appreciation of Chicago. Particularly our transit system, modest restaurant prices, and lack of tunnels and bridges as well as lack of cabbies who will charge you $50 to get from La Guardia to Queens), and I have decided that Art Spiegelman is hella keen. I mean, I pretty much knew that, from Maus, but Sunday night just confirmed it. Wow, is he keen. Sharp enough to cut things with, that's how keen.

And of course, unca neil was spiffy as always. I feel bad for not making it to the street faire Sunday, but I had brunch with a friend, and then took advantage of the gloriously sunny day by walking from 30th and Lex to 92nd and Lex, where I then had a lovely lovely dinner at a place called Cafe Lex with my friend Sharon who is very smart and works with primates and used to have purple hair but doesn't at the moment because she has to do something involving primates at the Zoo, and the Zoo apparently would not appreciate her doing it while having purple hair.

Also? Anyone in the NYC area who ever has the opportunity to see Isaac Alderson, Irish trad. musician extraordinare, live--take advantage of the opportunity. For he is nifty and sweet in addition to having won all sorts of medals for his music. I need to go back to NYC some time when I have much more time to visit with folks, and get over my paralysing fear of being in a city where I have no idea where anything is, or which way is East due to the absence of a giant body of water to mark it.

Oh! and I met a wonderful fabulous Tara at the 92nd St. Y event. She and I commiserated about how people mispronounce our name, and I am insanely jealous of her Ben Edlund autograph in her autograph book, amongst others. But really, the Tick one made me grin like a loon. Also, she was just plain nifty. As was the red-haired Jen (I think she was a Jen. Again, I'd been up for 36 hours. So I may have been a bit punchy. But in any case, she was a lovely girl studying Religion and full of interesting and esoteric knowledge, and it was her very first unca neil signing) who was ahead of us in line at the Saturday event.

So, now I am 30 years old. And I can't think of a better way to have spent my birthday. I honestly can't.

unca neil onstage...

my partners in crime (lucy-anne, rocky, and jan), and more unca neil signing stuff...

(Sorry the stage ones are blurry--it's because I had the flash turned off [so as not to blind my fave author], and the zoom on, and had shaky sleep-deprived hands. I didn't get any shots from Sunday night, becasue I am a dork and left my camera on the coffee table at the friend's condo where I was staying over the week-end.)

2003-09-08T10:24:00.000-05:00

So, the big excitement last week was my early birthday present from my beloved mother, Judith. She had offered to spring for a painter, to paint my living room and bedroom. I went to the paint store, grabbed a bunch of paint chips in the colours I was thinking of, and spoke to Art, the fellow behind the counter at Thybony about rough estimates. Poppy veto'd the painting of the bedroom, but instead contributed $150 to the living room as my grande 30th Birthday Celebration, along with a frequent flyer ticket to NYC. Woo!

It turns out that Art didn't have time to paint my flat, but he referred me to Henry Hall, a local contractor who did a fantasmo job, at a very very reasonable price. Seriously, if you're in the Chicago area and looking for a professional painter who is courteous, prompt, highly skilled and just damn good at his job? Henry's your guy. I am madly and passionately in love with my newly green flat, and am saving up to get the bedroom painted Benjamin Moore's "burnt peanut" (which I have taken to calling "bordello red, not because it is, but because it amuses me to do so--it's gonna start looking like the inside of Inara's shuttle in there, once I get it painted and put the Christmas tree lights back up!).

my hella keen new living room!

my hella keen "new" bedroom

2003-09-02T17:30:00.000-05:00

Well, this 3 day week-end was delightful--if nowhere near as productive as I would have liked. Had a blast Friday night at my friend Vuch's birthday party--and I'm reminded for the millionth time how much I adore Vuch and his wife Kiri, and really need to see more of them. Saturday I had my outing with folks at Uncle Fun's garage sale, and Sunday I did a fair bit of cleaning before David and Sonnett arrived. David hung out until Emma got there, and the three of us went out for pancakes at the diner near David's before we headed back, and sad pathetic old lady that I've become, crashed and crashed hard. (Emma, on the other hand, informs me that she stayed up until all hours, reading.)

Monday was the long-awaited Firefly marathon. Woo! We watched Shindig all the way to The Message and it took about 12 hours with breaks to shop, cook, and eat, as well as numerous breaks to talk about both Firefly and Em's new-found adoration of Barbara Gordon. Plus my phone was ringing off the hook at one point, as Poppy, Curt and I worked out NYC trip details.

Got a call from my father late last night just as Emma was heading out to find out that one of our dear friends, painter Frank Carmelitano, had passed away from a stroke in April. My Judy just called me, to tell me she'd talked to Frank's wife Rose. I'm going to have a mass said for his soul at St. Ita's and have them send her the mass card. We want to find a way to help them out--maybe buy one of Frank's paintings. Frank was a nifty keen guy. He was my painting teacher in Madrid over a decade ago, and even after the term ended, my Judy and I took private lessons from him the rest of the year we lived there, and they moved back to the States about the same time my folks moved to Florida. His studio was in this amazingly falling down building in a dodgy part of town near Grand Via, with dog shite and hypodermic needles all over the street, and the best damn coffee in the world at the bar on the corner. I just have such amazing memories of Frank and his wife was just sweetest lady imaginable. They were New Yorkers through and through, even tho they'd lived in Madrid for twenty years. I remember when I went home to Chicago that fall, Frank asked me if I could bring him back some pastrami. Just lovely lovely people, and I'm really going to miss Frank something awful.

I didn't manage to get the laundry done or the 20+ boxes of vids down to the basement, or the storage area re-organised, so that's on my to-do list for this coming week-end. Painters are coming in Wednesday night to paint living room walls, so tonight I have to clear all the stuff off my mantle, and get the living room pulled together. The whole job, plus cost of paint, comes to about $120. I need to start a fund to get the bedroom painted. I chose this shade of red called "burnt peanut" that I've fallen in love with--but my room is going to end up looking like a bordello. I'm so excited! Once I have it painted, I'm seriously contemplating putting a set of Christmas tree lights up in there, as I used to have that in my old room at the Loop and I miss it.

Also, my kitchen I cleaned Sunday morning? Now full of dinner and lunch dishes. I'm such a dork. So, gotta do those too tonight. And while I did manage to vacuum the living room carpet, the dining room is still a disaster area.

2003-08-15T13:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, this is interesting...

From ScifiWire:

The Comics2Film/CBR News Web site reported a rumor that Warner Brothers has hired writer Laeta Kalogridis to come up with a new draft for a proposed Wonder Woman movie. Philip Levens (Smallville) is writing his own screenplay for a Wonder Woman feature film, based on the DC Comics character. Kalogridis was a writer and executive producer on The WB's short-lived Birds of Prey TV series, which was also based on a DC Comics property. The site reported that Kalogridis will be starting Wonder Woman from scratch, writing a completely new script dealing with the origins of the character.

Now, before everyone groans and says "But BoP sucked!" keep in mind that the main reason BoP sucked was too many cooks (we can debate Ashley's acting skills, or lack thereof, some other time). I place the blame firmly on Tollin/Robbins and the WB. Laeta herself has a really solid handle on the (admitted, pre-Crisis) DCU and I like her approach towards the chicks of the DCU, all of whom get marginalised compared to Supes and Bats. I think that, had the producers left Laeta alone to write her own damned show, instead of going through 8 million diff. writers, none of whom had a solid handle on the show, it would have been a very diff. story.

Do I think this movie will ever be made? Hell no. Let's face it--Wonder Woman may have been continually published (with two short breaks and don't get me started on Denny and that I-Ching bullshit, and don't tell me it was the 60's and that excuses it) since her 1940 debut, but she was never a powerhouse next to the boys. Not even from 1975 to 1978, when the TV series was airing on ABC and CBS. The best shot a new live action Diana ever had was Deborah Joy Levine at NBC in 1996. The chances of them adapting the Perez revamp are slim (especially considering that would mean hiring an 18 year old unknown actress who would speak only Greek for the first third of the movie), but I have a glimmer of hope--mainly because Laeta seems to a) have a clue and b) understands the whole Greek thing and is less likely to make dumbass mistakes like mix up Hercules and Herakles.

(and almost ANYTHING sounds light-years beyond the disaster that was the last Sandy Bulloch draft.)

Still. It would be a perfect time to adapt the Ares storyline. I mean, I sat down and re-read the first 3 years of the book a few summers ago, when I was in my haze of re-kindled Wonder Woman love, and in a post 9/11 world, I can see that particular storyline going over very well. And I still love the idea of 40-year old Steve and his Lt. Candy, rather than 18 year old Diana coming to Boston for love, which works great in the sweet and sappy falling in lovey Golden Age-era 1975 ABC series, but is kinda... well... sexist now. It undermines the character's entire mission and purpose. Plus I much prefer Diana, Julia and Vanessa as the core emotional relationship of the story.

Disadvantages: Folks remember the TV series, and the mainstream has only ever seen the TV series, Super-friends, and possibly the JL series, and so those are their only memories of the character. Granted, more folks seem to remember the CBS series, which like the Perez revamp, has no invisible plane. But I'm all about Diana not having the magical ability to speak English, despite being from an island of 2000+ year old Amazons. And the stranger-in-a-strange-land aspect of the story has ALWAYS been my fave, and it would be so kickass to really see that explored. I loved and love the fact that Stargate (the original) never had the aliens magically speaking English. That Daniel learned to pronounce ancient Egyptian in order to communicate, and the audience only got subtitles after Daniel learned the language. i thought that was a brilliant move, and I'd love to see it repeated.

Of course, the chances of Warner Bros. learning from their mistakes and successes, and remembering that the reason Superman, Wonder Woman and Smallville succeeded were because they cast unknowns as Clark and Diana is slim to none. But a girl can still dream, right? Warners seems to think that all comics adaptations should follow the Batman model--which means hiring big names for the heroes and villans, forgetting that the reason Batman succeeded wasn't because folks were flocking to the theatre to see Michael Keaton (who was not anything approaching a solid box-office draw for action, for Pete's sake!). They came to see Batman the character, and they came back again and again because there was nothing else like it (Superman in 1977 and the first sequel had been the first successful comics adaptations in an age, and there was a pretty big drought between Superman II and Batman). The franchise failed because what made Burton's movie unique was completely destroyed by the time they got to Shumacher's last movie (poor bastard). It had been drowned in a sea of too many big-named villains chewing scenery, nipples on the Batsuits, and going to camp over noir.

(Side note: People gotta learn that "comics" does not always translate to "four colours, campy, and for kids." Burton knew this, hence the retro-1940s noir Gotham. Schumacher, having failed to witness the spectacular disaster that was Beatty's Dick Tracy, did not.)

Like the Halle Berry Catwoman, I'm pretty sure that Wonder Woman with a name star attached will languish in development hell forever (as it has been ever since 1989 when Jeanette Kahn went to LA to shop writes around, if I remember correctly). And if they ever do make Catwoman, I still probably won't see it, for one simple reason...

She's not Selina Kyle.

Without Selina, then what you're marketing is a costume. And who is in the costume is what's important. And I'm not talking about the actor, either. It's the characters I'm interested in. I'm not gonna go just for a name and a costume. I want to see character whom I recognise up there on screen. And that means getting a writer with a clue.

sigh.

I really hope the Laeta rumour is true. And if so, I really hope she doesn't get too badly screwed by Warners.

2003-08-14T15:48:00.000-05:00

Con report!

Okay, bear in mind that I flew out of Florida having awakened at 4am and having gotten perhaps 4 hours of sleep, and slept not a wink on the plane. Got in at 10am, jumped in a taxi and dropped off my suitcase at home. Showered, changed, and jumped on the bus to the Blue Line. I actually made very good time, and made it to Rosemont in about 45 minutes. My press pass was waiting for me, and first person I saw was the ever delightful Rick Stasi. Best way to start out the con is hugs and kisses from Rick. We lamented George Perez' cancellation (as this would mean no guitar playing and singing--one of my all-time fave memories from 1996) and I hit the contention floor about noon-ish. Took me half an hour or so before I found the IDW booth and met up with Jeff Mariotte (whose website I maintain--August update coming soon!) and met his co-worker Beau, who is a sweetie-pie.

I loitered around the DC Direct display, chattign with Ed Bolkus and taking snaps of the NIFTY KEEN new stuff coming out (including a Golden Age Wonder Woman I must needs own, not to mention the Sandman/Vertigo mini-busts, which were sculpted by local boys, the always-stylish and very sweet Barsom Manashian and Alexander Rae (more about them later). Dream has a very Bowie look, and the Corinthian is hella-creepy. I think MY fave is Desire. Coolest thing ever, tho? The Harley Quinn marionette. drool drool drool She's sculpted to match the style of the Joker puppet, so it's a very cool retro Bruce Timm meets Jerry Robinson kinda look. Ran into Jill Thompson as she was standing outside the panel room where the Vertigo panel was to be held, and we chatted and caught up. She had a cast on since I'd last seen her at the Chicago Humanities festival downtown--she's suffering from tendentious and apparently had a full arm cast (which gave her a Barbie arm) before she had the smaller one. It's her drawing arm too :( However, the Death manga? Rocks. My. Socks.

Went to the vertigo panel (which was billed as the Vertigo 10th Anniversary retrospective, but was in fact "let's show you slides of the covers of the new stuff we're releasing this year") and sat with Molly who had very cool Rogue hair. I asked if/when they were brining any of the older Vertigo stuff back into print--like one-shots like Kill Your Boyfriend and then I asked Phil Jiminez about his new book, Otheworld which lead to geeking out with Phil (who is one of my all time fave people to geek out with) for the next two hours in the hallway, and then on the con floor. Lovely lovely man bought Molly and me bottled water, as we segued from Otherworld to USC, LA versus NY versus Chicago, the relative merits of the Buffy writing staff, and many other topics too numerous to mention. Alas, despite promising to catch up later in the con, I missed Phil entirely on Saturday and Sunday because I suck.

Wandered off to find Death: At Death's Door, which is a "missing scene" story from the "Season of Mists" story arc of Sandman and lucked out after almost an hour of desperately seeking Chicago Comics booth. Unlike SDCC, ChicagoCon still has TONS of comics vendors--but mainly backissues. Lots of silver age and modern age stuff, and quarter bins, but not so easy to find current stuff, and I really lucked out.

Had dinner with Jeff and a bunch of lovely people from IDW named Egg, Jessie, Megumi and her boyfriend whose name i just lost because I am dumb. I'll check when I get home. I want to say "Steven" but I could be wrong. It was an adventure, as the Giordano's was packed, so we ended up going to the Gino's East around the corner and down the street. Jeff wanted to make sure the gang, who were from Georgia, had the chance to have real Chicago pizza. And we did. It was nummy. Talked for ages, then walked back. On the walk back, Megumi and Jessy and I bonded, and I spent a big chunk of Saturday hanging with Jessy.

Went to the Hyatt bar (surprise!) and hung out until about 2:30am. Ran into Buzz who is one hella cool guy, and also met a lovely guy from Madison whose name I have lost (this is what happens when I leave my stack of business cards I collected at home, where they do me no good at all) who is a teacher and did some kickass research on using comics to raise kids reading levels, thanks to CrossGen giving him a bunch of books. Really sweet guy, and I had a blast. Also ran back into one of the CBLDF volunteers, and Charles Brownstein, who remembered me from last year. Charles is a sweetie-pie, and I didn't get to hang out with him nearly enough.

Took the train home, and ran into Alexander and Barsom on the Blue Line platform. Chatted quite a bit with Alexander, who was nice enough to wake me up when we got to Division, and point me towards a cab stand as I was dozing off (so not good!) and I owe him BIG because I had no idea there were cabs there, and would have gone all the way to Washington and cabbed from there (assumed I'd, you know, woken up). Fell into bed around 4am, got up, showered, and went back to do it all again!

Saturday was Artist's Alley day. Ran into Joel and Dawn, who had a table and were selling goth sketches and velvet roses. Looked for Mouse, couldn't find her. Which makes me sad, as she made some good contacts at Dark Horse last year with her scary circus book. Staked out Franchesco's booth, and jessy came by and we hung out sketching until he re-appeared and there were many hugs. This con was a weird nostalgia-fest for me. I just realised that, since 1992, I've met some hella cool folks and this con ahs become pretty much all about hanging with my friends, more than actual comics. This was proven as I attended not a single panel on Saturday.

Bad Tara. No doughnut.

While searching for Buzz, ran into the lovely mary from Westfield Comics, and we stood and talked in the middle of an aisle for almost an hour. I love Mary. She gave me a monkey on a stick. How cool is that? Spent about 2 hours hanging out with Buzz, who, as it turns out, was sitting behind an incognito Bill Sienkiewicz who drew a kickass Hellboy while I was there. Buzz, as it turns out, is an anime fan, and we geeked out for most of the time over shared anime faves, and Galaxy Rangers. It was some of the most fun I had all week-end.

Saturday night, had dinner with Jeff and Chris Golden, and met one of my idols--Barbara Kesel. Seriously. When I first started reading comics, I made a list of every lady working at DC. It was a short list. Off the top of my head, I pretty much just remember Barbara, Kim Yale, Colleen Doran, Karen Berger, and Mindy Newell. Don (who I met last year) and Greg with the Greek Last Name (whom I also met last year--more on that later) were also coming, but Don bailed when Jeff decided we were going to walk. Later is was pointed out that there were cars available. Ooops. I found a Canadian Twin at once point (she and I had the same camera. Long story) when we arrived at Giordano's and discovered the wait was much too long. Walked to Gino's East, and I pretty much chatted most of the time with Greg and the guy who I really liked but whose name I've lost who was sitting next to Greg, and now I feel like an asshole. But you guys know me--great with faces, lousy with names. Like, bigtime lousy. And there's an anecdote to prove this.

So, in the car park of Gino's East, Greg and I simultaneously remember where we'd met before. Last year, in the Hyatt bar, he was drunk and hitting on Shannen's friend Karen, and I told Don--who was sitting with us--I had to go rescue Karen from Greg. We laughed about it, actually. Tho Don apparently later pointed out to Greg that reminding me that that was how we met was perhaps ludicrous, again, laughter. And he had the good grace to admit he'd been drunk, and hey, I'd had a fun time talking with him at dinner, so, no harm, no foul.

Now, at this point, I should mention that I'd been telling folks all day that I was gonna be in the Hyatt bar Saturday night. Because I fully expected to be. Jeff went back to his room to try and finish the last 10,000 words of the YA he's writing, and to copy-edit some galleys for his next Angel novel, and I headed towards the bar...

...never made it. Ran into friends (who are FANTABULOUS guys and both of whom owe me an email, and yes, once again, lost their names. This is why I like conventions. We all wear nametags. I'm so not kidding) who got me into the Wizard party. Which was a lame party, however, open bar, good company, free Miss Piggy toy, and I met a really nice guy named Jerry Novick who used to work with Bob Wayne at DC back when I was reading DC, and is now a writer for Metron. I saw Mark Waid across the room, but he was talking with someone, so I chickened out going over and saying 'heya' even tho I'd emailed him and told him I would. I just felt a little odd, crashing the Wizard party. had it been the Hyatt bar, my home turf, I prolly wouldn't have been so lame...

Jerry and I vacated the party and ended up talking in the Hyatt lobby, along with my friend Nikki who came to join us, until, um... 4:30am. Seriously. We talked about everything. It was hella cool. Okay, for me? 8 hour conversations are kind normal. But dear GOD were were all tired the next day. And I blew out my voice. Seriously. Monday when I got to work, I sounded like I was a 3 pack a day smoker.

Cabbed it home, crawled into bed about 5:30am, woke up at 9 and, you guessed it--headed back to the con. Sunday, Joel and I went on a McDonald's run and got caught up, and I introduced him to Buzz, who told us many unrepeatable funny stories about the Charlie's Angels tie-in comic. Went around apologising to everyone who, on Saturday I had told 'meet me in the Hyatt bar' and then you know, failed to show. Then ran to panel. This time, was not chickenshit, and actually introduced myself to Mark Waid before the Fans vs Pros Silver Age trivia Contest. Well, um, Fans vs Pro (singular) but Mark Waid was awe-inspiring Rainman-esque amazing trivia powers, and beat the team of fans (Todd Allen, Matt Holmes, Sidne Gail Ward and old r.a.c'er online pal Mike Chary, whom I had not head from in ages and ages and ages and wow is he TALL!) by only 150 points I think. It was ooodles of fun. Alas, did not have time to hang with Mark, as he had to run off and go be famous somewhere, but DID get to chat with Mike and get my picture taken by the very nice Sidne.

I got two sketches in the CBLDF sketch-a-thon, both by Terry Moore and another artist, whom I adore. I'll take pics tonight. Monkeys appeared to be the theme, and you know, if someone had asked me a year ago if I'd ever see Jim lee draw Beppo the Super Monkey... Fanboyz in the crowd make me wonder how Jim Lee manages NOT to kill people. Seriously. If it were me, I'd have killed people by now. Still, raised MUCH money, which is faboo. Had to flee early Sunday, in order to make it to Tori concert. Next year? I'm getting a hotel room, and staying until Monday. Because I had such a nifty time, and I am so bummed I couldn't clone myself to hang out with everybody I wanted to :(

Beau and Jeff at the IDW booth	new DC Direct prototypes	new DC Direct prototypes	new DC Direct prototypes	new DC Direct prototypes
new DC Direct prototypes	new DC Direct prototypes	new DC Direct prototypes	new DC Direct prototypes	new DC Direct prototypes
new DC Direct prototypes	Danielle and friend	Joel! (Vagabond)	Mechturtle cosplaying as the Baroness	GI Joe display
Star Wars display	Mark Waid (former Boy Editor) at the Silver Age Trivia contest	Buffy & Angel prototypes from Moore	Buffy & Angel prototypes from Moore	Buffy & Angel prototypes from Moore
Buffy & Angel prototypes from Moore	Buffy & Angel prototypes from Moore	Buffy & Angel prototypes from Moore

2003-08-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

*waves* to everyone whom I met at Chicago Comics Con coming here today for the first time. I shall have a proper blog entry written up later this week, when I am caught up and recovered from my vacation... promise.

2003-08-03T09:27:00.000-05:00

My sister has a Master's Degree! My sister has a Master's Degree!

*dance of joy*

And now, I am leaving for her graduation present--a four day cruise, followed immediately by three days at Chicago Comics Con, capped off my Tori tickets for Sunday.

So, I'm off to hopefully thoroughly enjoy my vacation. Hope you will all do likewise!

2003-07-05T09:37:00.000-05:00

For anyone with cable, at 11am on the Discovery Channel, my ex, the Backflip Boy, will be on Valley Forge: The Crucible at 11 am CST. Yay Backflip Boy!

2003-06-30T11:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, for all of you with resolutions smaller than 1024x768, I've set the site up so that you get the previous frameset. So don't freak out when you load this page and see 9 year old me with the balloon instead of the new site design...

2003-06-16T16:30:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my pals Mary and Debbie (of Unusual Suspects fame/infamy), I now have a new fave live band. Joining the ranks of Boiled in Lead, Alanna, and The Prodigals, is Janah. Went to see them live at the Well's Street Art Festival on Saturday, and they played again Sunday at Ribfest off Lincoln and Irving Park. I have their album, World That Surrounds You on repeat in my cd player at work now. Kinda reminds me a lot of BiL circa Antler Dance, only without a hammer dulcimer, crossed with U2 and Peter Gabriel. Definitely way keen live; I danced like a fool.

Other than wandering off to hear lots of great live music, had a fairly quiet week-end full of chores. Went grocery shopping and as we all know, I can rhapsodise about cooking and eating in general. Very exciting shopping trip, as I got all the stuff I need to make the spinach-lemon-garbanzo-chicken soup I made for the first time a while back. This time, I shall skip the asparagus, as it got too mushy last time. Also picked up some lamb chops, which I think I shall have for supper tonight. Yum. Also stocked up on cleaning supplies, and need to give my bathroom a good scrub. Also, made a small dent in the laundry, which was nice. Ran out of quarters, tho, and need to remember to pick up $10 worth at the store next time. Also stocked up on sugar-free dark chocolate (i.e. that which sustains me) and sugar-free chai mix. Now, if someone would come up with sugar-free caffiene-free chai mix, my world would be complete.

Weather has been squirrelly in Chicago—it's as if the city hasn't figured out yet that it's June, and we've had a lot of lovely clear spring days—65° and sunny, but once the sun goes down, it gets downright chilly. I suppose I should bask while I can, before I have to figure out how to get my air-conditioner back in my office window. Remind me of this entry once it's 102° and sweltering, willya?

I've set out some goals for this summer. Goal one is to join a gym and see about getting less squishy. Goal two is to box up all the vids in my bedroom, and paint that wall some cool colour. Goal three is to find a driving school and get my driving licence. Even if I never own a car, I should get one for emergencies. And that way, if maure and I actually drive to Minnesota Labour Day week-end and go to faire, I can spell her. That would be of the good. And now my sister Deirdre (who, for those who have been following the saga, passed and is in the process of polishing her masters thesis before sending it off to the university printers) is making noises, in the wake of my Janah love, of going down to Florida-la and the two of us driving up to Atlanta. Georgia may never survive.

In other news, finally got off my ass and posted photos that have been languishing on my digital camera for months.

2003-06-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

Very excellent day at the Printer's Row book fair, despite the fact that I never once saw Amy the Browncoat :(

Started early. Was up, out of bed, dressed and our of he house by 8:30am. Grabbed a cab downtown, and managed, being me, to go to the Harold Washington University instead of the Harold Washington Library. Walked over in about 15 minutes, though, and arrived just at 9am as they were opening the doors. Coincidentally, walked most of the way just ahead of Molly and her friends Lainey and Nicole, and gave them directions at on point. More on that in a bit.

Got inside and discovered that no, no tickets required. Went to the lobby and called Debbie to tell her so, and while chatting on phone, saw the Lexcorp patch on Molly's bookbag, and said "Cool Lexcorp patch!" at which point Molly said "Tara?" and there was much screaming and hugging. Molly saved me a seat dead centre front row, while I wandered off to get breakfast at the restaurant in the Fine Arts Building. FYI, the Pierre at the restaurant? Excellent, and the staff was lovely. Walked back by 9:45am, and maure and her sister Less were there as well, and we were quickly joined by Debbie (of DebbieandChris fame) and her friend Jason.

The first speaker at 10am, before neil, was a local author named Richard Peck. I am now madly in love with his work, and bought Fair Weather, a novel he had read the first chapter of which is the story of a family from downstate Illinois who go up to Chicago for the 1893 World's Fair. A former English teacher with 30 novels under his belt, he's a phenomenally entertaining speaker and has a very Mark Twain air to him.

After Peck, dashed upstairs to find that Mary was waiting up there for folks. Everyone got seated, and unca neil came out. He read The Wolves in the Walls (and at one point, punctuated the reading with "There's an amazing two page illustration of the wolves coming out of the walls by Dave McKean here which none of you can see because it's too small and you're too far away.") and a marvelous poem called "Inventing Aladdin" which is in the new Windling/Datlow fairy tale anthology coming out, which may or may not be Swan Sister as neil couldn't actually remember the title and that's the only forthcoming book which matches that description. He finished up with "Crazy Hair," a poem he wrote years ago while on a trip to Florida, when he woke up in the humidity looking as if he had been attacked during the night by a team of insane hairdressers who had given him half a perm, and when he emailed daughter Maddy to tell her this, she responded with an email "Dear Mr. Crazy Hair." It's wonderful poem--very Silverstein-y and Suess-y at the same time, and Dave McKean foolishly believes he will have illustrated it by January or so I believe. Dave, if anyone is curious, is one week into directing The Mirror Mask in the UK.

Afterwards, there was a signing. I attacked Jill Thompson with hugs, and then the Unusual Suspects and various other folks went to the back of the line and hung about. Once we got up close, Maddy absconded with Maure and Less (I was summarily ditched) to play hide-and-seek and many games of her own devising with rules that seemed to be designed mostly to ensure that Maddy Always Wins. Being a total dork, I forgot to bring my Scarlet's Walk tour programme with the neil story in it with me to get signed, so instead, had Debbie take a snap of us with my Elph digital camera which I shall uplaod Monday when I get to work.

(for the record, unca neil said somewhat immediately very complimentary things about the short blue hair, and then asked, in every neil fashion "And have you suddenly lost an enormous amount of weight?" thus proving maure right and me wrong in the "neil's a boy; it's entirely possible he would not notice" versus the "neil's an author and notices everything" poll). He then gave me a cookie, and signed for the last few stragglers, while Maddy attempted to kill maure by making her run all around the Harold Washington Library.

Cell phone numbers were exchanged, as he said he wasn't sure what the Book Fair folks needed him to do. I stashed my backpack in maure's car, and she, Less and I had a very entertaining lunch at Taco Hell across from amilyn's school before rendezvousing with the other Suspects at the street fair itself.

Rather than staring at my cellphone all day, waiting for a call, maure showed tremendous chutzpah and called unca neil to ask what the heck he was up to. Turns out, he had us meet him at his hotel (which, coincidentally, was across the street from where he was sitting) and as an enormous group we wandered the faire, members of our party magically appearing and disappearing (Debbie was rejoined--to her surprise, one day early--by Chris, in his 8th grade graduation suit and old sneakers. Alia went home with her nephew.) as we went.

I had set myself a three book limit, and I am glad to say that I stuck to it--with fantastic results. Picked up Fair Weather from the Women & Children First bookstall, and drooled all day over a Milton's Paradise Lost illustrated by Gustav Dore before I bargained the seller down by $8, thus justifying the purchase. And I then squeeeeed all day, because the book is from 1888! The people who originally owned it are dead! They've been dead for a very long time! The book is older than I'm pretty sure anything I have ever owned, with the possible exception of some of my Auntie Lily's things. Lastly, I picked up a book of American Folklore which looks to be fascinating reading.

unca neil was searching for books on the golden age of radio and Jack Benny for something he is writing, and relied on Mary to talk him out of buying stuff he didn't need. She was, however, absent when he found the first printing of the Modesty Blaise novel for $6--but as she then informed him that she would have demanded he buy it, all was right with the world. Molly got off work round about the time we all sat down for coffee to chat, and a rousing discussion of phonics. unca neil was having dinner with Gene Wolfe and his wife Rosemary off in the suburbs, and so there were hugs exchanged and maure, less and I went off with neil and Maddy to drive them to dinner (resulting in an amusing moment when Maddy continued the hide-and-seek game in the parking garage which resulted in her having two black hands, a fact which was then rectified with my happening to have a Moist Towelette in my pocket and being more than willing to let her wipe her hands on my jeans) and after a drive which involved car games which I, for the record, SUCK at, hugs were once again exchanged before we set off for home.

Came home to Sean Maher headshot I'd gotten in the post, which I must needs scan for shiny, and I am now watching The Browning Version on BBC America with my dad, who is watching from home in Florida, and calling me at every commercial break so we can rave about how fucking cool Albert Finney is.

2003-05-08T16:48:00.000-05:00

Monday was an adventure.

Terry Pratchett (pTerry) was in Chicago for a signing in Naperville (where they disappear you if you're not picturesque enough. Seriously, dood, you'll wake up in Siberia for painting your porch swing the wrong shade of taupe), I found out Saturday night when the Unusual Suspects descended on my home (minus maure, who was sleeping) like the loveable horde they are.

So Monday, I got up at 5:45am, got to work at 6:30, and left for Naperville at 1:30pm. I took the red line to the brown line (which inexplicably took half an hour instead of the usual 15 minutes, throwing off the entire rest of the trip) and the Union. Got onto the 2:28pm Naperville express train with all of maybe 10 minutes to spare. Got to Naperville, and attempted to use the directions that gal from the store had given me to walk from the train station to the bookshop. However, for reasons I cannot explain, she tried giving me directions using nothing but landmarks that meant bugger all, and never actually gave me any street names until the very end. Apparently, I am a guy. Give me street names and which way to turn, and cardinal directions and actual distances, and I'm happy. This "Okay, now, walk towards the museum" crap doesn't help me.

So I ended up getting there about 3:20pm or so. Debbie was already there, and was saving seats, and I ran over to the shop's little bathroom because I'd had to pee for about two hours. Knocked on the door to see if there was anyone in there.

There was. And he let me know by opening the bathroom door to tell me, while still sitting on the toilet, doing his business.

Right. So, praise heaven above for long-tailed men's button-down shirts.

Also? Eeeeeeew! I think the guy was actually touched in the head, as when he finally did leave, he didn't flush (ick!) and wandered around the store, muttering. Who knew Naperville had Uptown-style crazies? I'm surprised Stepford doesn't take them and turn them into soylent green. Maybe they do. Maybe I am the last human alive to ever see that poor befuddled freak show of a guy ever again, and no one will ever know what happened to him...

pTerry was actually outside the shop, sitting on a bench when I got there, chatting with someone, so at about 3:30, he came in and pointed out that if he signed books until 4pm, instead of peering around corners to see if we were all still there, that might make more sense. So he did, and then right at 4at 4, he started his talk which was a brief history of how a geeky kid obsessed with reading became a world-famous author who owns many many greenhouses and his own observatory.

Afterwards, he asked if there were any questions, so I asked "How many people in the last 4 days have asked you about the Good Omens movie?" and he said 27, including me. Even tho that was actually the answer I was looking for (because I am, as previously noted, a freak) he then actually did fill folks in on the current state of the project (which would be dead in the water, tho for the first time, I heard Gilliam was no longer attached). But at this point, I think it's just as well it never gets made. It would have been fun, but I don't trust Hollywood to do anything right, so anyway, there you go.

I had a blissful moment when pTerry went to sign my book and said "Tara? Like the hill of Kings!," in the exact tone of voice 99% of the time I hear "Tara? Like Gone With The Wind!" and I think my smile grew 200% and I thanked him for being fabulous. Got my Maurice signed, and my ancient and crumbling copy of Truckers (which I bought in a used bookshop in Ireland when I went for Rona's wedding).

Afterwards, Mary, Deb and I went to a pub and had supper, and a kickass dessert, and then Mary drove Deb and me home in the Pinkmobile.

Of course, the rest of the week has not been so much a happy adventure. Woke up yesterday with the mother of all sore throats, yet more proof that spring is actually here. In a fit of productivity this morning once I stopped swallowing without feeling like I had steel wool in my throat, I decided to attempt to clean out my office, which has a year's worth of magazines, magazine clippings, old mail, restaurant menus, comics books, and just crap all over it. "Attempt" being the main word there. I threw out 2 trash bags of junk, but both office and living room currently look like homeless people squat in my apartment.

Hello, my name is LJC, and I'm a packrat.

I went to the comic book store and got 5 magazine boxes, a thingie of bags and a thingie of boards, because I keep magazines. I keep pretty much every magazine I've ever bought. And I keep wondering why, until I have a morning like this one, and remember that who you were fannish about in 1995 may not reflect who you are fannish about in 2003--and you never know what pics you'll find to scan in five to ten year's worth of Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, GQ, Vanity Fair, Cinescape, Premiere, etc.

Dood. I found what I think is, like, the one and only print advert FOX ever ran for Sean Maher's Ryan Caulfield: Year One in an old TV guide this morning (yes, it's scanned and up at shiny), and if I can find the bloody EW and TV Guide Fall Preview issues from 1999, I bet I could find more... Not to mention, I need to find some The $treet pics as well.

(I know I had them. They have Angel first season stuff with Glenn Quinn. Therefore, I know they are in my apartment somewhere. The problem? I think I probably have 10 magazine boxes, only 1/3rd of which are in any kind of semblance of order.)

But seriously--I am a fan website maintainer's wet dream right now. Need a Gillian Anderson spread from a 1995 copy of Us? Just bagged it. Suddenly insane trying to find pics of Heath Ledger circa 1998? I probably have them, someplace. And if you really, really, really have been looking for Eliza Dushku's Maxim? I have a mint condition copy.

The only problem? I need an index of these. not just so I can ebay the lot of them. I mean so that I can find them. I basically need to pay/bribe/sucker someone into coming over 2 days a week while I'm at work and slogging through them all. Because there is no way I could possibly get all this work done and still do, oh, anything else.

In other news, this is one of the funniest websites I have ever seen, and it took me a while to suss out that it wasn't for real. Just killed me.

Also? I would like to go on record as saying I make the best damn curry chicken salad in the 'verse.

2003-03-20T12:58:00.000-06:00

I had a wonderful visit with my mother and her friend Wanda. We ate incredibly well, and I now have a fridge full of groceries, as well as a new printer which I need to hook up this evening. We marathonned all of Firefly while they were here, and my Judy is now officially hooked on the space cowboys. We chatted about Adam Baldwin quite a bit, as we drove past Lakeview High School (where they filmed My Bodyguard) at one point over the week-end. I had a blast showing them all the website interview clips, and the wrap reel. Nothing entertains me quite like white folks trying to speak Mandarin. Alan Tudyk is my fave, hands down, in the mangling of Chinese category. He also has some truly inspired ad-libs from Bushwhacked. And what can I say about Captain Tightpants that has not already been said? The clip from The Message had us rolling on the floor, dying. Dammit, I love this cast. Still crossing all my digits for MOWs.

Last night had a lovely dinner with pals. The Moveable Feast was held at Avi and Ben's, and being me, I brought hummas and olives stuffed with almonds, because nothing in this world is so tasty as olives stuffed with almonds. I was a very bad girl, and had two of Liz's fabulous chocolate chip cheesecake tarts. So much for the New Year's resolution regarding my diet. I need to get back on track.

Came home, and watched the DVD of the 2001 Disney re-make of Brian's Song. I am intensely impressed with Sean Maher's range. And the part where he doesn't wear his shirt all the time didn't hurt. Hey, I'm only human! I can definitely appreciate the acting skills along with the impressive physique... All I kenw about the original MOW was that it's the only movie on the planet guys are allowed to weep like babies over. It was much better than I expected it to be, and I particularly loved the scenes with both athletes families. The score was lovely as well. I'm still suffering from Firefly withdrawal, and have decided to make a point of tracking down the cast's other work to tide me over until FOX deigns to air the last three episodes.

2003-03-10T21:21:00.000-06:00

My Judy is coming! My judy is coming!

Of course, this now means I need to clean my apartment top to bottom before Wednesday morning.

Still. My judy is coming!

2003-03-05T15:57:00.000-06:00

2003-02-07T15:48:00.000-06:00

You know what makes me sad?

Janet Kagan's Mirabile is out of print.

I am bummed.

2003-01-21T12:39:00.000-06:00

Meant to mention, last Tuesday I uploaded an exclusive one-on-one interview with Smallville actress Allison Mack to allison-mack.com. Also in the way of homepage updates, new hello nurse! pick for 2002. Also, I have updated my faves at the right. Check 'em out!

Onion Soup went over well. It was slightly smaller and more informal than in years past, which suited me just fine. Was thrilled former LOISCLA pal Melissa and her husband Craig came, despite Melissa being ready to give birth any second. Was even more thrilled when she in fact did so, yesterday morning. Woo hoo! yay! Raise fannish children!

My ex-roommate Amanda gave me the niftiest annotated fairy tale anthology ever. The Unusual Suspects gave me a bag o' noir, and my bug Liz gave me Billy Wilder's Double Idemnity screenplay.

I have the best friends ever.

Chopped the hair off even more on Saturday morning, before Soup, and made it more brown, which seems to be working for me. Fit into size 12 skirt this morning. I was chuffed. Go me!

2003-01-08T15:59:00.000-06:00

I've been a bad blogger again. Should have made that one of my New Year's resolutions... Speaking of which, here's the current list:

Finish Smallville and Firefly WIPs
Lose 30 lbs
Get my sad ass outta debt
Keep my home clean and tidy
Sunday is cleaning day
Saturday is pay bills on time day
Get a part-time job
No buying new books in hardcover in 2003
No cons until all my credit cards are paid off
Every Friday night, put 10 items up on ebay for sale
No new websites in 2003 unless one of the old ones goes away
no more eBay purchases ever again or at least until my sad ass is out of debt
no more Amazon.com purchases ever again or at least until my sad ass is out of debt
Go through closet and donate 3 bags of clothes to the Sally Ann
No more toys UMSAIOOD

The holidays went well--but per usual, didn't actually feel much like a holiday, as all my days off were spent down in Florida-la instead of in my own home. Much of the trip consisted of drawing up the terms of the Covenant to which I am now bound, known as the Poppy-Helps-Tara-Get-Her-Sad-Ass-Out-of-Debt Project. I'm still consolidating, reworking expenses, and looking for a part-time job. Anyone with web design projects they've been dying to send my way which can be done from home nights and week-ends, now's a great time for 'em! I'm cheap and easy! Well, cheap, anyway...

My friend maure is now in a band called Abrikosi.

And I have chopped off all my hair.

I think that's it for news, for now.

2002-12-12T13:38:00.000-06:00

A memorial fund has been set up by Glenn's former Roseanne co-workers and friends, Michael Fishman and Mary Quigley, to help defray the funeral costs to Glenn's family. At the requets of Glenn's family, all additional funds will be donated to an as-yet undecided charity in Glenn's memory. The Glenn Quinn Memorial Fund will be open for the next three weeks.

Additionally, fans can wire money via Western Union or The US Post Office. International fans can purchase an International Postal Order.

2002-12-05T18:01:00.000-06:00

Glenn Quinn passed away Tuesday, December 3rd, 2002. Services for Glenn will be held privately with his family and close friends. Glenn's body of work earned him the devotion of fans around the world, and he will most certainly be sorely missed.

2002-11-05T14:38:00.000-06:00

I've been slacking lately, in terms of excercise. So, at lunch, walked home to vote at the grammar school across the street which my shiny and new voter's registration card notice said was my polling place. Left home, with my fave wool hat and umbrella this time, with just enough time to make it back to work on foot. Hat was itching my forehead, and so I stuffed it in my pocket. Got 1 block from my office, and realised I'd lost the hat. I figured it was when I got my specs out of my pocket. Started to re-trace my steps, and re-traced them all the way back home. Still no hat. So at this point, I'm 15, 20 minutes late coming back from lunch. So I think, will go get a cab back. Get to 7-11, and realise, I have no cash and no way to get cash. So walked back, still keeping an eye out for hat.

No hat, got back to work 45 minutes late, and have now walked 7 miles today, which was so amazingly not the plan.

Grr. It was my fave hat. Grr.

In other news...

Always remember
The Fifth of November
For gunpowder, treason and plot.
For I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

2002-10-07T16:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I've always called Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio "the town that time forgot." My Aunt Pat and Uncle Art live there, my mother worked there during summers in her teens, and my family used to vacation there in the summers. It's mainly a resort town, and parts of the town (the Shore Shop springs to mind) are sort of permanently stuck in 1961. Imagine my surprised when I saw an article at CNN about the Haunted House ride at the amusement park that my sister and I went to the whole time we were growing up. The rides are as much a part of Geneva for us as Eddie's Grill and the arcade (the name of which escapes me, but introduced me to skeeball, and I have very fond memories of trying to win a pack of girlie cards there with my cousin-in-law Rusty one of my last trips there).

Spooky, spooky Neds!

2002-10-01T16:06:00.000-05:00

PAD developed Titans for WB Kids, and has a blog. Have I been living in a cave, that I missed this?

First 10 days since turning 29 have been good. My Judy sprang for a new vacuum, which was way nifty and peachy keen. I saw Spirited Away (aka Sen To Chihiro) and am madly in love with it. The Backflip Boy may be auditioning for Cirque, God willing, and I actually survived reviewing Friday the 13th part VII: The New Blood for AudioRevolution.com, though I really wish I'd pitched a review of Donnie Darko to my editor, as I am blown away by it and have added it to my very short list of Time Travel Movies That Don't Frell Up The Time Travel Part.

In other news, all the babies visited me Saturday, and I need a new TV stand, but you all knew that.

Also, send mental hugs to unca neil this week. If you can mentally key McFly's car while you're at it... Petty, but satisfying mental image, that.

2002-09-21T01:02:00.000-05:00

Birthday? Not starting out well. My house continues to look like homeless people squat here, my mother arrives in less than 12 hours, and I still have laundry to put in and dry, office to attempt to tidy, bedroom to clean, shelves to dust, bathroom to scour, and dishes to finish. I just suck all over. But, it's my birthday. So I have to sing the Birthday Song.

Joxer the Mighty
Roams through the countryside,
He never needs a place to hide...

With Gabby as his sidekick
Fighting with her little stick,
Righting wrongs, and singing songs!
Being mighty all day long!

He's Joxer,
He's Joxer the mighty...

Oh...

He's Joxer the Mighty.
He's very tidy.
Everybody loves him
'Cause he's got a funny grin...

He's Joxer,
He's Joxer the Mighty.

He's Joxer,
He's Joxer the Mighty!

Yay, I'm old. Yay.

2002-09-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

Less than a week before my 29th birthday, and I found my first white hair this morning. It was pure white, about an inch and a half long, and coarse and wirey, almost like plastic doll hair. I thought it was a cat hair I'd somehow gotten in my hair. Imagine my surprise when I realised it was attached. Was being the operative word.

2002-09-13T17:02:00.000-05:00

So, I'm walking home, just like I always do, having taken off work early so I can go home and clean before the Friteenth people get here, and as I'm walking past the Uptown Theatre, the door is open and I can see lights and marble floor and I just freeze and peer inside. The caretaker, David, says hello, and recognises me from the morning when the CNN remote crew were there and he invited me inside to look around!

Lemme explain. The Uptown on Broadway in Chicago has been closed down and boarded up since 1981. I grew up 4 blocks from the Uptown, and I've never been inside. The closest I've come to ever being inside is the calendar I bought last year, with black and white photos of the theatre. Although, I found out today, I could have seen the inside if I'd seen Soul Survivors, which was shot there. Dammit. I remember walking past and asking the crew what was shooting that day, and if I'd known I was that close to Elisa Dushku...

Anyway. Topic.

Oh my God! It's frelling amazing in there! It's the largest and most ornate theatre Balaban and Katz ever built. It opened in 1925, and stayed open until 1960s, when they closed it down as a theatre theatre, and had music performances there off and on until they shut it down for good in '81. It can seat almost 5000 people. It's got a lobby that's six stories high, and used to have Austrian crystal chandeliers everywhere. There isn't an inch of this place that isn't jaw-hit-floor stunning. I spent almost 45 minutes wandering around, getting to see nooks and crannies. I didn't go up or downstairs, though--just saw the main lobbies and floor, and saw where the old Nursery was. The caretaker was the nicest guy alive. He knows a TON about the building and its history, and when he was a kid, the Uptown was his local moviehouse. I got his card and cell number, and am going to beg and plead and beg to see if I can get a longer tour when my Judy is here next week. He is just the nicest, coolest guy. Have I mentioned that? So the best early birthday pressie ever!

Wow. I just... I'm bounce off walls. For the longest time, I've been dying to see inside this place! Firstly, because I wanted to write a Buffyverse story set in the late 1980s, with a vamp nest in the theatre. Secondly, because I've seen it from the outside most of my life, and after going to the Chicago Theatre for the first time this year, and seeing how gorgeous it was, it broke my heart to know that the Uptown, which is larger and grander, has been allowed to decompose for 20 years because the company that had it refused to refurbish it.

Wow. I'm all, just... Wow.

2002-09-05T23:32:00.000-05:00

Just found out that, despite rallying after her stroke, Jeanine (who played the fabulous the Dowager Countess of Lennox at Bristol for 10 years) passed away this morning. She was funny, and talented, and wonderful, and I'm gonna miss her something feirce. She was so my favourite Swiss Miss, and I remember she told me once when she was an air hostess, she met Danny Kaye. I remember being insanely jealous, even tho she said he was grumpy, and not at all like he was in the movies. She was always such a lady--and HUGE twinkle in her eye. And she was never down a day, when other folks were dropping like flies around her. I've never had anything but the best memories of Jeanine, and I'm so sad that I won't have any news ones to add to the collection. But she was always and will always be a class act.

2002-07-19T16:32:00.000-05:00

You know, even if I hadn't believed in Divine Providence before, this week would have cinched it for me.

First off, I spent all of last week completely paranoid, because my rent hadn't gone through yet, I was short (thanks to adventures in cellphonereplacment and a very last minute trip to D.C.) and I lived in terror of it bouncing before payday. I was even afraid to check my answering machine, because I was dreading they "Hi, can you get a cashier's cheque to us?" call from my landlady. But around 1am on I think it was Monday, I took the plunge.

Yep, there was a call from my landlady...

..apologising because she lost my rent, and could I pop another one to her in the post?

I sure could!

Then my iMac mouse crapped out on me yet again. So I shopped around online, but still couldn't find a Mac Pro Mouse for any cheaper than $30, so I gave Apple in Chicago a call. I started to explain to the nice lady who answered the phone my problem, and she cut me off and said "Hey, I have a brand new mouse right here. What's your address?"

Just like that. BAM. New, free iMac mouse which arrived five minutes ago.

This will, of course, drive my friends insane. Because the way I get through my life is kinda sorta by clinging to the firm believe that somehow, in the end, everything will work out okay. And it's gonna frustrate the hell out of some of them that it occasionally does.

But you know what? I figure, for all the shit we all go through on a daily basis, sometimes God goes "Hey, you know what? You're due," and throws some fortune our way.

And it's nice to know that, whether we believe in it or not, it still happens.

2002-07-02T18:36:00.000-05:00

I have a great big bruise on my calf from Thursday, when I went to kick Jared in the head and he blocked with his forearm. I got him back tho, when I accidenty backfisted him Saturday.

We had been out in his brother's backyard, practicing my kicks (I discovered that even though I do crescent kick better with my left leg, I'm really good at roundhouse with my right) and I got too hot, so we went back in. We were playing out favourite game, "How Would You Get Out of This?" He came up behind me and got me in a headlock. Out of habit, I elbowed him in the ribs and backfisted him.

Only I didn't mean to actually hit him, I just forgot to look. He didn't bleed or anything, tho. So that's good.

We're strange, strange people.

Saturday was Mrs. Weber's surprise 70th birthday-party, up in Cary. She was genuinely surprised, which was of the good. The Boy and I went to Bristol Sunday, and I got too much sun. My face aches from sweating--kinda like it's chapped, or sunburnt, when in fact it's actually just got a little colour (my normal pallor is dead). Jared had never actually been a patron before. I took great delight in telling everyone that we actually paid to get in, because I am evil. And silly. And I swear to God, everyone was there. Everybody. Former Revellers, former fight cast, everyone under the sun. And Chris showed me a new card trick (card from fly). Woo!

Skipped out on closing gate (it was weird walking away as everyone was singing), got caught in some of the Six Flaggs traffic, got a sack of White Castle cheeseburgers, and watched The Iron Giant (which still makes me cry) while we tried to cool off, as my apartment was an oven, and running both a/c units at once blew the fuses over and over again. Kicked the boy out at midnight, and crashed without even checking my email, I was that wiped.

2001-08-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

I'm a genius.

No, really.

I'm such a genius that I forgot that I had purchased a bookshelf from Pier 1 Imports last week, that I was supposed to pick up Monday after work, and put together Tuesday, before Dawn got to my new digs to stay for a week.

Genius, genius me.

Meanwhile, I continue to convert a Portuguese copy deck into HTML for a website. It's in Portuguese.

No, really.

For Wednesday, it sure feels like Monday still.