ajasont

I wasn't going to do a list or say anything about the holiday, but this came to me while I was drinking my coffee this morning.

The couple walked after the traditional family dinner, the wind blew elm leaves, maple leaves and oak leaves across the park, the sidewalk and into the street. “You know what I’m thankful for?”

“What?”

“You, first of all,” he said. “You’re the best.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. She squeezed his hand. “You keep me grounded when I go off on my wild ideas.”

“No reality shows,” she said then. “We’ll never do anything that stupid.”

He laughed. In the fading light of the early evening, the lone car passing on the far side of the park had its lights on. “No,” he said. “Never anything like that. We have enough that we don’t need to do something like that.

“The kids, our jobs, the cats, everything we have is a lot and maybe more than some. We’ve got a roof, heat, lights, running water. The important stuff is covered.” The sidewalk curved gently to the west and they followed it, walking hand in hand to let dinner settle. The wind kicked up and she shivered a little at the coolness.

“It’s a survivor’s holiday, when you think about it,” he said. She laughed at that. “I’m serious,” he said.

“No, I see it,” she said.

“So being glad you’re alive is what Thanksgiving is about, when you get right down to it,” he said. “We take so much for granted.”

“Yeah,” she said.

“All the extras aren’t that important,” he said. “Today is what we should be thankful for.” They turned right and saw a squirrel with a walnut in its mouth zip across the sidewalk. “I think that a lot of people take a lot of things for granted.”

She moved his hand to her elbow and stuffed both her hands into the pockets of her fur-lined leather coat. “We have this conversation every year,” she said.

“I know,” he said, “but it’s true every year. We have a place to live, food to eat, jobs to keep us in the comfort we like and a family that we love. Everything else is just icing on that cake. I wish more people would realize that and stop complaining.”

“Like you are now?”

He frowned at her then realized she was right. “Yeah,” he said. The path was taking them back to the house where everyone was gathered. The dog was out in her yard, tracking their return and getting excited.

“I guess we survived another year, didn’t we?”

“No,” she said. “We lived pretty well another year. We’re thankful for that.” She kissed his cheek and the wind blew cold again, scattering more leaves in their path and into the very quiet street.

“As long as I get to spend my years with you,” he said, “I’m the most thankful man in the whole world.”

She put her head on his shoulder and they left the park path, crossing the little green space that would take them back to the house. “You better be,” she said.

© 2009 by Jason Arnett. All Rights Reserved.

* I'm at 50,316 words on the NaNoWriMo novel. I hit the mark this morning and that keeps me about a day ahead of last year's pace. I'm happy to've done it, but I've got another 9000 words or so to get to the actual finish of the story. I'll make it, but I'm already a winner.

* I've had so many ideas come to me while I've been writing this month. It's insane the amount of ideas that have just popped up and said "What about me?" It's inspiring me to do a little piece on where the ideas come from. I know, but maybe everyone else doesn't.

* I'm not going to do a list of things I'm thankful for. It's too much and you're not really interested anyway. I will, however, say that I'm grateful for the new friends I've made this year and I wish you all the best of luck with your endeavors. You're all magnificent.

* Looking forward to having December to explore those ideas and stretch out a bit though I don't want to lose the momentum I've got going. Inertia's on the side of more daily writing. Good thing I've got a lot of vacation coming up.

* Have you met your goals this year? I have. Well, most of them, anyway. Next year will necessarily be more aggressive in what I want to accomplish. Watch this space for those things.

* Have a wonderful holiday everyone. I may check back in on Saturday or so, hopefully to tell you that I've finished the novel.

* 43,335 words into NaNoWriMo. I'm going to hit 50,000 words probably on Tuesday (maybe tomorrow if I get a bunch of writing in today), but that won't be the finish of the novel. This year's goal is 60,000 words, a complete novel. That means I've got another 17,000 words to write in 8 days. I'm gonna make it because I'm off five of the last six days.

* I am grateful for everyone who's been reading my short stories at Jason Arnett dot com. The comments and support have been tremendous and I'm very, very happy with how it's started off. I'm planning (yeah, I can't stop my brain working) while writing the NaNovel what I'm going to do for next year, and it's bigger and more involved. I'm working out the details and I'll announce what I intend to do in February or so.

* You want to read a short excerpt from this year's novel? Okay, you can click here.

* I'm nearly finished reading Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass (originally titled Northern Lights which is a much more apt title but doesn't work with the other two titles in the series) and damn it's good. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to read excellent fantasy works.

* I've got Stephen King's new book in my stack to read, as I do with China Mieville's newest. I'm so glad to be reading again, and it's affecting the work I'm doing in my writing. I want to get better and I am. I just need to remember to mix up what I'm reading so that once I'm done with Pullman, then Mieville, then King, I should read some more Bradbury and probably some Ellison. (Harlan, not Ralph, though I should read him, too.)

* I can't say that I'm going to do NaNoWriMo every year, but it's certainly as big a shot in the arm as Scott McCloud's 24 hour comic experiment was. It energizes me.

* Oh, yeah, I watched UP last night and it lived up to every expectation I'd been given. Wonderful, touching, adventurous and just plain brilliant. Do yourself a favor and check it out. The talking dogs alone are worth the price of admission.

* Okay, I'm stalling now. I've got writing to do! And breakfast to make. And chores. And family time. And...

* 35,700 words on the NaNovel. I think I'm coming out of a bad patch of doubt about the story. That's why December is for editing. My motto? "String 'em together as fast as you can".

* Watched the remake of the Prisoner and --- it just didn't do anything for me. More after some folks I know who haven't finished it have seen the end.

* Hey! Zack Greinke wins the AL Cy Young award. That's awesome. Now if the Royals could only parlay that into some wins next year. They'd have to keep some talent to do that, but --- aw, shit. Hold on.

* Watched a really interesting little film called Humboldt County about a man who follows a girl into her world and has to adapt when she leaves him behind there.

* Gotta run to work now. More later, less soon. How are you all doing?

* I'm over 27,000 words into the NaNovel, and yeah, it's pretty okay. I know there are problems, but I know the process I'm going to use to fix them. I think I'll jump into this in December and spend time doing that while writing more stories for The Long Range.

* What do I love about NaNoWriMo? Lots of things, but mostly it's the energy I'm getting from having a plan and not quite enough time. Mrs. Ajasont is terribly kind in letting me take the extra time to write. I'm learning more about how I work, and what works for me in being able to write. I'm also generating ideas that I can't deal with now. Those'll have to be taken care of in the year to come.

* Maybe you're curious about those ideas, but you'll have to wait just like I am. That's why I'm writing them down in a little notebook that I keep at the desk at work and comes home with me every night.

* Which means that my plans for next year are filling up in terms of writing. There will be physical copies of STUFF next year, including a printed, bound version of The Long Range short stories, probably around September. Print on Demand, of course, but a physical version for sure.

* Today's the last football game at home for KU, and thank god. I'll be smoking a cigar this evening when I get home from taking care of a bunch of hungry people.

* It's been suggested that I share some pictures of Kansas here. I think I'll do that, but not until after I'm done with NaNoWriMo. I've got some that I think are pretty good, though.

* Damn, I missed picking Chicago for the pool on Thursday night. How the hell can I keep up with all the damn sports going on? Oh, yeah, there's a thing called a newspaper that I look at every day at work. Supposed I ought to open the sports section every once in a while.

* One last item about National Novel Writing Month: I'm blogging a little here about the experience and I'll share an excerpt of the current work next week, I think. You have to sign up to comment, but you can go there to read and come back here to comment if you'd like to.

* Philip Pullman's writing on Northern Lights (yeah, it's called The Golden Compass here in America but it's original title is better) is really interesting. I like the way he's telling the story and the character dialogue is very, very cool. Too bad that movie was so clunkily adapted. Heavy-handed Americans, again.

* Right, that's all for now. More to come as I go along. Thanks for stopping by and staying in touch. Oh, I forgot I had these on the computer:




That's a sculpture to the right of the colorful tree, that's meant to evoke the typical Kansas tornado. It was made from saplings cut down around Clinton Lake and built around a dying tree.




And this is a view from the front door of our house. Those clouds look like mountains, or at least they did when I took the picture.

Okay, that's really it for now. Hearts of Space is on and there's writing to do. Need to get 3000 words today since I took most of yesterday off. Don't forget to check out "The Insulated Man" at the website.

Cheers!

* I'm 15,000+ words into my novel for NaNoWriMo or about one-fourth of the way to my 60,000 word goal for the novel. I'm feeling good that there are some really nice passages so far, standing proudly beside the junk. I think there are far more good words so far than bad, and certainly there are some interesting ideas that I've barely scratched the surface of.

* Additionally, I've been able to keep up my daily exercise regimen while writing these words for the novel. That's a major accomplishment for me. Last year, I sacrificed the regimen and gained an ungodly amount of weight over the winter because I did that. I failed myself last year, so this year is about showing that I can spend the time doing the writing without sacrificing anything important. I am spending time with my family, meeting my work obligations AND writing a 50,000+ word novel. I think I'm winning already.

* Hey, how about those football Jayhawks? Lost four in a row now and there's no hope of a bowl game, or at least a decent one. Can't win on the road, can't win at home. What the hell's happened?

* And then there's the Royals trading away the only really good player on their team AGAIN. Jesus, I wonder if they really think like a big-league team or not. They've had the rep of being the MLB's farm team for years, developing talent and then trading it away to eventual World Series Champs. Fuck, I wish I cold love my team for winning and not just because they're my team.

* I've started reading His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, and I love his writing already. It's got real style and though I'm familiar with The Golden Compass from watching the film, I'm totally immersed in the world as he's writing it.

* Jason Aaron's SCALPED is another comic book you should be reading. It's masterful crime comics at their very best. I much prefer R.M. Guera's artwork to Davide Furno and Francesco Francavilla, but the story carries through regardless who's drawing it.

* I really like the new Alice In Chains record. It's not particularly imaginative, musically, but it's solid. Last of My Kind Still Standing is probably my favorite lyric, and the music for Check My Brain is a highlight.

* I'm knocking off the internet for the rest of the night, so be good to each other. There's lots more to do than just tool around and surf for things to distract you. I remind you all that reading is fundamental, it's good for you. So is personal interaction in social situations. Don't take it from me, though. Go out and find out for yourself, okay?

* Almost forgot to mention that I've got the new Stephen King book coming next week. That's probably up for me to read in December. Can you imagine him really writing a SF opus?

* Terry Moore's new series, ECHO, is one hell of a ride. If you liked Strangers in Paradise, this is very different. It has a very HBO kind of feel to it. The art is typically gorgeous and the dialogue is real. Highly recommended.

* Nearly hit 9000 words last night on my NaNoWriMo work, so I'm doing well with my improved goal of 2000 words a day (at least to start off) and I'm happy with how it's coming along. Since doing NaNo last year, I've written 11 short stories for an estimated total of about 62,000 words and 111,000 including the NaNovel. I don't think that's a bad total at all. Averaging 9250 a month.

* I'm proud of that.

* Thinking ahead, I'd really like to have 250,000 words total under my belt this time next year. I am confident that I can get that. (This year's NaNovel target word count is 60,000, which means another 80,000 from December 2009 through October 2010.)

* The Long Range will finish up (for me) around late February/early March. I know what I'm writing after that, but haven't put any framework around it. I like having a format (6000 words, four 1500 word chapters per story) and I think that's helped me. What one may not realize yet is that The Long Range is really a novel.

* Speaking of which, November's story, "The Insulated Man" started yesterday. Have you read it yet? Tell me what you think.

* I read the Mister X Archives by Dean Motter & Co. (including Los Bros Hernandez and Seth) as published by Dark Horse Comics and am now reading The Umbrella Academy: Dallas by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba. These two books are among the most subversive comics ever with ideas such as Psychetecture and time traveling assassins. The only book that's missing from this mix is Matt Fraction's Casanova, which is on a hiatus while MF writes a bunch of best-selling superhero books for Marvel. I should probably get the last of his run on The Immortal Iron Fist, too, because that's superhero stuff that is at least sympatico with his independent work. IIF would also really work well as a film.

* I'm signed up for a blog on NaNo with my local paper and awaiting some word on what's going on with it. More info as it comes along.

* Have I mentioned what my NaNovel is about?

I have an idea.

God help me, I have an idea. Of course this comes to me as I'm cranking up to start writing a novel in 30 days, so I'm dumping it here for later in December.

There needs to be a physical version of The Long Range short stories. Paper's easy to manipulate, easy to pick up and take with you. Paper is familiar and comfortable. It's also expensive and ephemeral and it's hard to share without the possibility of losing it. Or the cat barfing on it.

It's also limited.

So --- what? What do I do instead of paper?

What if I put the stories, complete with the icon I've been using on the site, into a pdf, enclosed an MP3 and a quick video intro?

What if I dropped these on CD, stuck a site logo and the address on it and left them laying around? You know, for free to pick up and take home?

They're less expensive but more time-consuming. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I think this might be an idea worth pursuing. If I did twenty copies of each story, then that's twenty copies floating around for someone to print the story off if they like, or to upload under the Creative Commons license I've attached to each story.

It needs some more thought, but that's it in a nutshell. Tell me what you think, will you? Hell, I'd probably even send a few out of the country if there were some willing helpers.

We'll see.

* It's Day 1 of 30 in the frenzy that's my second NaNoWriMo at-bat. I got a base hit last year and wrote just a little over 50,000 words in about 25 days for what is considered a 'complete' novel. You can re-visit my thoughts on last year here if you want to, but it's really not that exciting. I'll make my updates a little more interesting this year. I'm waiting to hear on details of blogging about the experience for the local paper, too. I'll pass those on here as I get more.

* I'm aiming at 2000 words a day and 60,000 word novel this year. I'm hoping it'll be GOOD. Not great, not wonderful, but competent enough that I can take some time and form it into something that'll be good enough to warrant trying to publish somewhere.

* Tried to watch this Ben Kingsley movie last night, Elegy, which was adapted from a Philip Roth novel. Half an hour in I had to turn it off. It just wasn't good. Maybe it was too cerebral, maybe it was too slow. Regardless, it didn't grab me on Halloween, so Mrs. Ajasont and I put in The Others and got good and scared.

* Did I mention I've already written 1100+ words today? Got a 2 pm date with the local writers group for a NaNo 'write in'. Gonna finish this off now, check my email, check my pool and then write some more before I head out.

* The rain's taken most of the fall color with it. Dammit.

* The football Jayhawks are certainly living up to their past history, aren't they?

* We went to see Amelia yesterday with about a dozen others. Too bad folks aren't interested in seeing a beautifully shot story about a real pioneer. It may be indicative of the sort of spirit that just doesn't seem to exist in "I want it all and I want it now without really having to work for it" America.

* Hey Congress: fix healthcare and right now. The longer you all dither, the more expensive it gets. Stop sitting on your hands DO something. You know?

Read this article about Jim Steranko's appearance at the Baltimore(?) comicon and then come back, I'll wait.

Okay?

Here's an idea: those of us that love Jim Steranko's work would like to see him do more comics in the way that Steranko SHOULD do comics. "You guys should pay me so I can finish this stuff," he said at one point.

Yeah, we should.

Jill Sobule and some other musicians have appealed to their fan bases to help them make a record. Why couldn't the same thing be done for Steranko? He posts a pitch for the book he'd like to do on his web page and then we contribute to help him out to make his page rate. Different contributions get your name mentioned, or even an appearance as a character.

I'll bet you that Image, at least and probably a couple other publishers, would agree to publish the book if Steranko finishes it.

The catch is this: just because you contribute doesn't mean you get the book for free and you certainly don't own any rights to the work, that's all Steranko. It might, however, get you a discount on the purchase (Steranko's part of the pie, maybe) and a signed copy and a thank you in the book.

This could work. I know it would work for someone like Byrne if we wanted him to finish John Byrne's Next Men comic. The idea is that for the fans to pay for the work to be done so that we can enjoy it and have it and to not have artists say "I need to make a page rate" and stop doing a work. It takes an excuse away if there are enough people to make the page rate that the artist can live with.

Something to think about anyway.

*** I really dislike reality TV.

*** Except the news.

*** Well, even the 'news' these days is more reality TV than actual reporting. The 'news' can be duped into covering a story as factual but then turns out to be nothing but a pilot for a reality TV show.

*** All this to point out that if we weren't as lazy as we are, this kind of thing would be dealt with as an oddity. It's unfortunate that it'll likely occur again, that next time it may be 'real' and skepticism may lead to a delay of action that could result in something horrible.

*** Easy and cheap, reality TV, isn't always the best way. Wasn't the proliferation of news programs like 48 hours and others in the 80s and 90s a way to make cheap and easy TV? Are we going to see a return to variety shows? Would that be so bad?

*** It seems that new business models for TV will have to be developed for the entertainment industry, the networks and America to prosper again.

*** I'm glad I work in food.

We went to see Where the Wild Things Are yesterday.

Going in, I didn't want the film to be longer than 90 minutes. 80 minutes was probably my desired length, but no more than 90 to be sure. The trailers had convinced me that Spike Jonze had approached the film with a reverence that was appropriate, and the fact that Maurice Sendak was fully supportive and involved also convinced me that I needed to see this. Not least of all the influences on me seeing it was my love of the source material.

I don't need to have a literal translation of a book or comic to enjoy a film of it. All I need is for the film to capture the spirit of the story.

Where the Wild Things Are is a wonderful film. It perfectly captures the confusion of childhood and the escape that imagination affords. There are literal translations of the book into the film, the wild rumpus for instance, but it's the expansion of the story that makes it so good. The Wild Things are just that. Despite having names and speaking parts, the Wild Things are pure emotion. They are the emotions that Max has felt and experienced from others, and they're as confusing in personification as they are in life.

The farther the viewer is away from childhood, the more likely one is to appreciate the sentiments that Jonze has put into the film. Viewers under the age of 35 may need a few more years experience to understand what he's done here, but I came away from the theater having fully enjoyed myself. I laughed, I gasped and I cried. I left full of happiness and joy.

This is not a kid's movie, this is a movie about being a kid. It's something that not enough people have valued and may never understand. From a parent's perspective, there are moments that will scare the daylights out of younger children on the big screen. This is a PG movie, not for swearing or any of the things that we've come to expect, but for IDEAS that challenge us as viewers. For the brief moments of in-your-face scary violence.

The Wild Things, as I noted above, are wild things. I also mentioned at the start of this that 'we' went to see the film. This was me and my wife, two adults in their 40s, who went. There were lots of children, but I think the adults and parents (not necessarily mutually exclusive) enjoyed it more than the kids.

Don't expect a 90 minute version of the book. Expect a film that's evolved from a beloved book. Go in with your eyes and your mind wide open and look to enjoy it.

Some things I've been thinking about:

*** Writing tips can be incredibly valuable. They are more valuable on social media such as Twitter if one categorizes their tips into statuses such as Dabbler, Beginner, Enthusiast, Amateur, Semi-Pro and Pro so that someone who's seen the same four 'tips' over and over doesn't waste their time looking at tips when he should be writing.

*** That said, most tips one will learn from experience.

*** She's just a girl, a girl, a girl you want.

*** It doesn't do any good to dream of the future if you're not doing anything about getting there. The only way to be a successful writer is to write.

*** How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.

*** Done is the engine of more.

*** Get excited and make things.

*** Spend less time on social media and write.

*** Anyone sense a theme here?

*** Read free comics by Warren Ellis EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. at www.freakangels.com because THEY'RE FREE.

*** Read free stories by me at JasonArnett dot com because they're free. Tell me what you think. Help me get better. Show me what I need to do get One Thousand True Fans

*** Time to take a ride, it leaves today, no conversation.

*** If I had to categorize myself? I'm somewhere between Enthusiast and Amateur.

*** I'm trying to put together a paper version of the stories for the locals to consume when there's a chance. That and the podcast versions of the stories are distracting me from actually writing. I need to try and finish 'She Has Become Like They Are' middle of next week at the latest to re-write and edit 'The Insulated Man' for next month's story.

*** Back to work for now, though.

I should be immune to these things by now, but I'm stunned at the reaction to Meghan McCain's "my "spontaneous" night in is my Andy Warhol biography and takeout....I'm getting old" Twittering from last night.

She posted a picture.

Apparently that's a cue for 'haters' to come out and attack her:

so I took a fun picture not thinking anything about what I was wearing but apparently anything other than a pantsuit I am a slut, this is - why I have been considering deleting my twitter account, what once was fun now just seems like a vessel for harassment - I am going to take some more time to think about it but seriously I was just trying to be funny with the book and that I'm a dork staying in - when I am alone in my apartment, I wear tank tops and sweat pants, I had no idea this makes me a "slut", I can't even tell you how hurt I am - ok I am getting the fuck off twitter, promise not to delete my account until I sleep on it, thank you for the nice words supporters - I do want to apologize to anyone that was offended by my twitpic, I have clearly made a huge mistake and am sorry 2 those that are offended.

First: if you're offended (and that picture is nowhere NEAR Not Safe For Work), get over your own self. Don't attack Ms. McCain because you're jealous/puritanical/'moral'. Do not personally attack her for whatever reason. Don't personally attack ANYone because you're disappointed or disagree with what was done. Personal attacks involve name-calling and moralizing. Don't do that. Explain the Why. You know what that is? It's your Reason for being disappointed or disagreeing. You remember what Reason is? If you don't and you're here reading, click over to dictionary.com and read up. We'll be here when you get back.

Second: Ms. McCain is smart, sensible and sexy. These are qualities the Republican party desperately need in gross quantities. I look forward to the day when Republicans and Democrats can debate each other in a civil fashion on the issues as they exist. The vomiting of Hate by so many VERY public faces of the Republican party is going to finally spell doom for those that identify with the party but not those faces. Ms. McCain is a strong voice of the future for your party and you should respect that and listen.

Finally: if you're unconvinced by any of these things and you just don't understand why anyone would defend her right to post a candid picture of herself, just back off, okay? You're making a fool of yourself and demeaning your beliefs. As a society, we need to learn how to express ourselves in meaningful ways without making fools of ourselves. Republicans, Democrats, journalists, everyone.

Ms. McCain: while I might believe differently than you, I respect your right to read Andy Warhol and dress how you like in the comfort of your home. I've been following you on Twitter since you appeared on Bill Maher's show, and I think the work you're doing is important and valuable. Keep it up and I hope you don't leave the Twitterverse. You're an important voice and presence.

Good luck to you.

*** Reading the second John Carter of Mars book, The Gods of Mars, in preparation for NaNoWriMo. Burroughs was good luck for me last year so I thought I should.

*** Frustrated with the Nambu update. Completely frustrated. May need to switch to another Twitter application.

*** The rest of the week should be pretty much cake. I'm awful glad for Fall Break, though I still don't really see a need for it. I got through school without it just fine.

*** When did it become reasonable for police to drive their cars like the rest of the world does? Shouldn't they use turn signals and obey speed limits? Is that too much to ask that they set the example the rest of the world should follow? At least in following the obvious laws.

*** Magic is a Measure of Love. You can read the new Long Range short story "Two Hands" at www.JasonArnett.com starting from today. Let me know what you think and tell your friends if you like it, would you?

*** I'll be adding audio to Two Hands, but not today. I need to figure out how to embed the mp3 player and that'll take me to the weekend, at least, because I'm writing on a new story, "Flood of Memory", and that has to get done this week first.

*** CLARIFICATION: Amy Reeder Hadley and Richard Friend are drawing Madame Xanadu with Matt Wagner writing.

*** What a perfectly, beautifully clear morning for a walk but for the 34 degree temp. I'm thawing out a little before I hope into the shower. Time to start transitioning to an indoor exercise regimen that includes the total gym, which I'm not a big fan of. Better get used to it, though: I've gotten all the extra weight off from last winter and I really don't want it to come back. Makes losing another fifteen pounds next year a little easier if I can do that.

*** I'm thinking about getting a flu shot for the first time in my life. I've been lucky so far and haven't really been sick this year.

*** Good news yesterday that I was selected for a difficult to get into educational opportunity for the day job. This means I'll be in St. Louis for five days in December to get all learned up and I'm REALLY excited about it.

*** Gearing up for NaNoWriMo and feeling great about my chances of writing something that's not completely garbage and might be worth going back to edit for submission later on. We'll see. You can track my progress beginning November 1 here, on Twitter and at Facebook.

*** Just finished reading the entirety of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend collection that came out when the Will Smith version of the film did. Never read the original story until I got the book, but I think the film got the spirit of the story. Despite the obvious differences, I don't think anyone who reads the story for enjoyment would really object to the changes, which made the film more interesting for a modern audience, and actually gave Robert Neville some more character than he had in the book. RECOMMENDED.

*** Madame Xanadu written by Matt Wagner and Amy Reeder Hadley with Richard Friend is a brilliant comic book. Wagner is a master storyteller and Ms. Hadley is brilliantly interpreting his scripts. Starting out with Merlin and running through encounters with Marco Polo, Marie Antoinette and the Phantom Stranger, this book is only proof that Vertigo is the best comic book publisher out there. The first volume is available in trade paperback and is more than reasonably price. There's absolutely no reason not to try it out.

*** Finally got a copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey on dvd and I'm really looking forward to watching both it and the copy of The Maltese Falcon. Very different, yet with so many similarities.

*** Got the writer's group meeting this afternoon. Looking forward to hearing about everyone else's writing, too.

*** I'm more than a bit relieved I won't have to do another Writer's Notes for The Long Range short stories until December. I hadn't anticipated doing two in the first four months of the run. Despite the awkwardness of them, they're all right and could definitely be done better. With a little more time to think about them after NaNoWriMo, the next one should be --- more professional, I hope.

*** Have a good rest of your weekend. I'll check in some time during the week.

Stuff from inside my head:

*** I know it's just an atmospheric effect, but the moon in the western sky this morning was gorgeous: all orange and pepper and floating like a huge bubble.

*** Wyllis Cooper is one of my storytelling heroes. His OTR show 'Quiet, Please' is a tour de force of ideas and execution. If the only episode you ever listen to is "The Thing on the Fourble Board", you're really missing out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiet,_Please

*** It's been a week, but the China Mieville talk is still resonating in me. There was so much information there.

*** Wii Sports Resort is one of the most fun games I've ever played. I have to go get another Wii motion plus thing to play the games with my son, but I'll spend a lot of time golfing on this one.

*** This is the first weekend I've had completely off in about six weeks and I'm looking forward to it. September was pretty much a loss for completing much of anything, but I got started on three different stories. I plan on finishing one this weekend, and one next week. Hopefully I can finish the third before NaNoWriMo starts so I can focus on that.

*** Speaking of NaNoWriMo, if you're looking for a writing buddy let me know.

*** Got a meeting with my local writer's group on Sunday, and that's going to be fun.

*** Rain and lightning kept me from walking yesterday morning, and I felt crummy until lunch time. I really need to exercise first thing or I just don't feel good. Given my fairly sedentary lifestyle these last twenty years or so, I'm surprised I need to get up and going but when I do I feel so much better and more productive. Lesson learned.

The day job calls, folks.

There's a person going by the name of Richard Ridyard who has blatantly ripped off Stephen King and Angel Zapata in order to get publishing credits. This broke on on Tuesday and as of this morning it appears that Ridyard's 'work' has been effectively wiped from the internet.

Bully to the writing community for moving so quickly to expose this fraudulent behavior. In the digital age, even with Creative Commons licenses, it's important to protect your work and when someone sees something that's obviously plagiarized it's important to speak up.

Cross-posted from the Pulp Legacy blog, and if you all would spread the word through the other communities you frequent, it'll make it that much harder for guys like 'Ridyard' and Josh Hoopes to do this kind of swindling.

Some things I wanted to say about particular comics and the industry in general:

1 - Not a big fan of Salvador Larocca's artwork. I read his and Matt Fraction's IRON MAN: THE 5 NIGHTMARES, and while the story was well-told and full of fun little things, they were all Fraction. Larocca's art is too realistic which makes it static. Like photos captured with no sense of movement. Yeah, the art's pretty to look at, but it's distracting in its limitations. I like art that's more --- cartoony if you know what I mean.

2 - I'm reading THE DARKNESS because Phil Hester's writing it. Never been a fan of Jackie Estacado, but damn, Phil's one fine writer. I think I prefer Jorge Lucas' art to Michael Broussard's, but whoever is drawing the book, Phil's putting some excellent stories together. Full disclosure: I'm friends with Phil. I don't know that I would have picked this book up if I wasn't, but if I had, I'd be reading it anyway. Excellent comics.

3 - Mike Carey's THE UNWRITTEN is probably the best book that VERTIGO is publishing right now. Only four issues in and there's tension upon tension in the unfolding story. Carey's last series CROSSING MIDNIGHT never found an audience and that's one of the things that made me pick up THE UNWRITTEN. Intriguing ideas need to be explored if American comics are going to get any better.

4 - All fans of American comics need to get out of their comfort zones and encourage STORIES to be written and drawn again. Let's move away from the strictly juvenile mentality of the last fifty years. Comics publishing can and should be grown up by now rather than acting like drunken fratboys in Hollywood. This means I'm looking forward to things like Andy Diggle's and Jock's THE LOSERS making it to the big screen.

5 - Speaking of Diggle, I read two collections of his HELLBLAZER, where he takes Constantine back to his roots and I really enjoyed both books. It's about time someone did this and, with that in mind, take production of a new CONSTANTINE film to England and do it right. The first one wasn't BAD, it just wasn't GOOD, and it should have been. The character has life and could be in a great series of films.

6 - Why am I still reading FABLES and JACK OF FABLES? Neither book does much for me and I have to say that the premise has worn thin on both books. Need to reassess those choices and read the second issue of Peter Milligan's GREEK STREET before I decide to continue with that one. The first issue was fun and full of lots of great ideas, and I know a bit of Milligan's work from a while ago, but I want to see another issue. I think it'll be good, but I want to be SURE.

7 - Finally, I've got pages and pages of notes for this year's NaNovel. I'm way more confident in my writing as a whole though I don't know how good I am. NaNoWriMo was a great experience for me last year and I'm really looking forward to writing more than 50,000 words in 30 days beginning a little over a month from now. More on this in another post some other time.

'Til then, please click over to The Long Range short stories that I've been serializing over the last four months. Next months' story, TWO HANDS, begins in ten days. Let me know what you think, would you?