I spent yesterday practically comatose after working the night shift Saturday. Man, did that suck. I even tried to watch Return of the King, and that didn't help any. So today was hard to get through, mainly because I was so tired. I guess driving about six hours round trip in the rain made it rough too. And dropping my kid sister off was hard too. I'd love to have something poignant to say, but I don't know. Blame it on the rain, I guess. Soundtrack: For some reason I had the song "Goodnight Elisabeth" by the Counting Crows stuck in my head today...

How Far is too Far?

One of the greatest conversations I had last weekend at the con was about music, artistry, tragedy and Gene Eugene. Tom Hall, an avid music fan and former radio dj while in college, has a vast collection of music and a serious amount of knowledge about some of my favorite bands - DA, Adam Again, The Swirling Eddies, etc. So we had a good talk about Gene, his ex-wife (and bandmate) Riki Michele and what is acceptable when it comes to an artist in the public eye, especially concerning personal issues and your craft. It's no secret that Gene struggled with alcoholism, if one were to closely examine the lyrics to a song like Relapse, and that his marriage to Riki was anything but blissful (River on Fire) But can this kind of candid honesty be a good thing? Don't get me wrong, I like honest work, honest art. But can we artists be honest without airing out all of our dirty laundry? Is it dishonest if we don't own up to our struggles, or is it harmful when we do? This is something I wrestle with as I continue to make Somewhat Daily Words a major staple in my writing habits. Do I share about my deepest secrets, letting anyone with a web browser and time on their hands to read them? Should I fear their judgment? I try to make this blog entertaining, and more often than not my life is quite drab. Do I sensationalize what I write to garner an emotional response from my limited readership? Do I make my life more interesting my creating lies or by revealing every hidden detail to my life? The tragedy, the sorrow, the happiness that I feel? The events that shape my day, even if they're negative. I guess this entry is more rhetorical, but it's something I've been thinking about all week, wondering, if Gene had tried to be a little less open, maybe he'd still be with us, and he and Riki would have a great life together as husband and wife. Honesty isn't always the greatest policy when it involves a persons marriage in the public eye... Soundtrack: A Live Tribute to Gene Eugene - featuring Starflyer 59, D.A.S., The Violet Burning, Michael Knott and more...

Drivin' To Work (Part Deux)

Drivin' To Work

About Comics....

Sorry to all of my non-comic fan readers, but I guess going to a comic convention gets me in full on fanboy mode, and it's hard to shake. But I'm gonna talk about comics today, since they've clouded my mind a bit and I've gotten a little obsessed. Well, maybe not obsessed, but my interest has been sparked. Last year around this time I couldn't wait for the newest incarnation of Teen Titans. Written by Geoff Johns, I knew this book was going to be hot - and I was right. But com winter, my trips to the comic shop had dwindled, either due to a lack of cash, or a lack of interest. Probably a little bit of both. I had bought up to Issue 7, and thankfully, at the new comic shop I found, they had issues 9 - 11. (So if any of you find and Issue 8, I'll pay you back for it...) I just finished reading issue 9, and I'm halfway through 10, and man, this book is hotter than ever. Geoff Johns is taking his time building the team; instead of just throwing them together and putting them in adventures, he's still adding new members. And it's awesome. I can't wait to see how they bring Raven back into the fold. It's gonna kick. And then I picked up the all new Astonishing X-Men, which is written by Buffy The Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon. This was the last copy in the store, and it only came out on Wednesday - which can mean one of two things. It's a popular book that everybody's reading, or it could be a book I can sell for some big bucks on Ebay. Normally I don't think like that - I like comics for the comics, but if I can make a little dough off of them, that'd be awesome. But the book, regardless of it's resale value, is really good. Gone is the Grant Morrison Leather (Thank goodness!) and in are the old school X-Costumes (never thought I'd miss seing Wolverine in the Blue and Yellow, but I did). Kitty Pryde is back in the fold, and Cyclops and Wolverine have gone to even more depths when it comes to their animosity and tense friendship. And it's all X-Men - awesome stuff. I could do without Emma Frost though, but I think I can live with it. So, there's my second column about comics in a week. If there's more to come, I apologize.

Swag!!!

I've been home from Philly for almost three days, and I have yet to read or go through all of the swag I was given while at the con. What's swag, you ask? Well, The Online Etymology Dictionairy defines "Swag" as: swag (v.) - 1530, probably from O.N. sveggja "to swing, sway," cognate with O.E. swingan "to swing" (see swing). The noun sense of "ornamental festoon" is first found 1794. Earlier senses of "bulky bag" (1303) and "big, blustering fellow" (1588) may represent separate borrowings from the Scand. source. I think the more crude term used to describe the "Swag" that I brought home with me was derived from "bulky bag", since all attendees of the con brought home a bag of free stuff - from Heroclix figures, to Manga digests, to little post cards depicting various indy and mainstream comic figures. Last year I left with one of these bags, but this year the swag was harder to come by. But it was good swag, nonetheless. I got a t-shirt from Marvel's VS Trading Card Game, which, if I had the time and expendable income, I'd probably get into. But hey, the T-shirt was free and the right size. It's not often that you get a free shirt in size 2XL. At the DC Comics Table, I got two cool posters - A Michael Turner pencilled poster for this summer's big crossover - Identity Crisis. Turner could probably make even the dumbest characters in comics look good; And a Jim Lee pencilled Superman poster. Lee is the man - after seeing what he did with Batman last year, it'll be pretty sweet to see what he does with the Kal-El. I also snagged a pile of free buttons to hand out at the youth center. Thanks to one of my compatriot's girlfriends, I was also able to get my hands on a special edition copy of Joe Quesada's Daredevil: Father #1, and it's just amazing. While I prefer my DD a little less muscular, Joe Q's still a stunning artist. I also purchased a few Trade Paperbacks - I got The Tick Omnibus as well as Batman: Dark Victory for half price, and I got a good deal on the two Metron Press titles - Testament (which I had signed by writer Jim Kruger) and Samson: Judge of Israel. I've gotten through a little bit of the Omnibus, but nothing more. Swag is swag though, and I can't wait to really dig in... On another, different note, I've started a photoblog for all of my digital madness. Hopefully I'll get to update it a few times a week. I can't say enough good stuff about Blogger. With all of the new features they've added, I've really begun to come into my own when it comes to having a web presence - and I haven't had to sacrifice cash to do it. So if you want to start a blog, forget Xanga - Blogger is the way to go. And they're not even paying me to say that.

At the same truck stop, Josiah wouldn't wake up until after we ordered. He survived on some of our french fries and fried chicken. Isn't Michelle beautiful?

Mid point on a long day of travel, at my favorite truckstop on the planet - the Penn Can!

T-Minus One Day Till Philly

I'll be heading out to Philly tomorrow morning, after working the night shift at the hotel. I'm at work right now, supposedly "verifying data", but I figured I could take it easy since I've been here since 6:30 and I probably won't get more than three or four hours of sleep today before the night shift. Not to mention I've got a ton of stuff to accomplish before I leave tomorrow, including but not limited to - Packing, writing, bank stuff and purchasing supplies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but it seems like every time I plan on something, no matter how hard I try to get stuff done ahead of time, I end up scrambling. Now, that could either be a testament to procrastination, or just my lot in life. Either way, it won't put a damper on the fact that I'm going to the con, I'm gonna hang with my comic book colleagues for three days and have a good relaxing time with Michelle and Josiah that won't involve work. Can't beat that with a stick, now can ya? On a somewhat related note, I've decided to bag my old audio blog with Audlink, since the last three times I've tried to use it my posts got lost. It could've been my fault, but since Blogger's been doing a bunch of new stuff, it could be a glitch in the Information Superhighway. Either way, I've decided to move on. Move on to Audioblogger. Which means that I'll be able to post updates as frequently as I can while at the con. Maybe I'll talk to some comic celebs? Or maybe my pals from the Megazeen will chat it up with me for a few moments? Either way, I'll be updating a little more frequently, since Blogger has yet to do me wrong on anything. So, if I don't write anything before I leave, enjoy what I may leave later. Soundtrack: Adam Again - Homeboys

With my new template, I can Make Titles....

I bought some pretty sweet shoes at Golf Galaxy last Friday. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not a golfer by any means. I've played a round or two in my life, but golf just doesn't appeal to me. (It must be all of that walking...) But my friend works at Golf Galaxy, and it's a good store. So I bought a pair of shoes there. Tiger Woods Duracomfort Golf Shoes with removable cleats. With my new job, I needed new dress shoes, and these really fit the bill. Basically, they're a sneaker with a dress shoe exterior, and they're awesome. Look at me, acting all girly talking about shoes. Next thing you'll know I'll start gushing over the last romantic comedy I saw. Oh, and If you click this link and look in the background, you'll see me sipping a McDonalds soda while at last years Wizard World East. Three days till Philly!! Soundtrack: The Swirling Eddies - Zoom Daddy

New Template!

I'll try to post a new entry later today.

I bleached my hair today. I'd write more, but I'm pretty sleepy. Soundtrack: The Swirling Eddies - Zoom Daddy

Started full swing at the hotel this past weekend, and it's going well. I'm a little bit overwhelmed with all of the things required of me, but since I did the same job a little less than four years ago, I should be alright. I have no motivation right now, but I have two comic scripts I want to finish by Wizard World Philly. Coincidentally, Check this out - I'm almost famous. The con is gonna kick tail and be all dat. Josiah has developed a taste for Weird Al, he's watching the Weird Al Ultimate Video Collection right now and laughing at all the right parts. The only problem is the video for Jurassic Park, featuring a hilarious decapitation of Barney. Most two year olds don't get that. But hey, DVD's offer that nifty skip feature. EBay will be the death of me. I've bought 7 CD's on there in the last week, plus my bowling shirt. So I've collected most of the Starflyer 59 catalogue, Some Adam Again stuff and I'm trying to get a rare Daniel Amos CD. Either way, I've got a lot of summer listening. I think I'm actually addicted to music - I'd rather buy music than clothes sometime. Is that a bad thing? Music or DVD's - it's all about the entertainment. Soundtrack: Danielson - A Prayer for Every Hour