Thursday, July 26, 2007

Belated Blogaversary

I just noticed my last post was my 50th! Not bad for a year. For me at least. Moving on...

I've gotten halfway through my script. Fifty pages of graphic novel could be drawn with what I've got, and I came to a reveal of the bad guy that I think works really well. I have to wait until Karen King (supervisor) gives her okay, but I'm hopeful. Maybe I should devote a bit of time to my critical essay. Maybe. It could happen.

It just feels nice to have this character out and about now. One thing I really got over the course of this year is how much I LOVE a good villain. Antagonists are essential to drama, but a good, meaty one can steal a show if you let 'em. Iago, Darth Vader, Roscoe P. Coltrain, the real classics have more staying power than the heroes sometimes. It's my hope that I can create one that'll last half a long as some of the great. Hopefully, this one's a step in the right direction.

Speaking of drama, I saw the pilot of Heroes for the first time last night. Now just where the hell have I been since this came out?!?!?!?! I am ashamed that I've let this slip so long, really just ashamed. It's refreshing to see popular television take conventions out of comics and apply them well, and ironic when you consider modern comics came out by taking conventions of noir cinema and other video and applying them to the page. Heroes makes no apologies about its roots, it does them justice, and with a name like that I can't ask for anything more.

My financial drama's come to a resolution - I got my security deposit back! I can afford rent and food now, and the occassional night out. The problem here is that most everyone I know is tied to their laptops most nights, myself included, so finding a night when a bunch of us can afford to meet and hang out is kind of a rarity. I don't want to have to go through the process of arranging a date and meeting around schedules and imposing an order and formality that just go against the spirit of spontaneous pubbing, so I'll be patient. Ugh.

People are making food. I hunger. I shall make food now.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Great Blogspectations

Well, my search for a productive routine has come to... something. It's not routine in the strictest sense, but a pattern can be defined if one's not too picky. And I am making good progress on the project, so I'm gonna take it.

Next week I start pestering Heather and Lay with both barrels (student & foreigner) for them to give my security deposit back. With it I can eat out on occasion and maybe a club every now and then. Without it I pray that August is dry and that the sea gulls yield edible meat.

Tonight I'm going to be doing something potentially traumatic. Some people may remember that I was in Someone for Everyone, an independent film of some length. It was a fun thing to make, but it's pretty clear we weren't taking it seriously. Fewer people may remember that this movie has a lot of emotional baggage surrounding it. Between those two factors, it should come as no surprise that I will be administering copious amount of social lubricant to myself throughout the movie.

That is to say, I'll be drinking myself into some degree of stupor. Lord help me.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Grey Blogs're Gonna Clear Up!

This entry's title in honor of the celestial fusion reactor that has appeared in the sky recently.

So I'm trying to develop a routine to writing. A routine that, say perhaps, one who writes professionally might adapt. And it's tricky. For one thing I haven't had an entire day to devote to writing what I want to write in forever, so I'm not used to that. I'm using that section of my brain more than it's built for right now, so it gets tired. And that leads to the next problem: have you heard of this thing called the internet? Man, is that thing fun! Distracting as hell but FUN! I've been at this for a whole week, so I guess I should be giving it a chance before I bad mouth it, but bad mouthing things is so much easier than actually doing something about it.

I am learning very quickly the mentality a pro writer might have in daily living, brought on by my recent, economically-inspired dietary habits. I'm going through my hard drive like a graverobber trying to find anything I can rework and sell. I'm working on one that has plenty of potential to not only be marketable but good, but looking at it now I have to wonder if I was in a safe mental place when I wrote it. I could explain, but if I don't I'll leave my readers twisting about what I mean, and quite frankly I need a schadenfreude-fix.

I'm going into Truro (closest thing to a city around here, and the Indianapolis people would laugh if they could see it) if my plans work out today so I may buy dice. I'm still trying to work out how I can do so as a business expense, I'll let you know if I succeed. Might as well shop around while I'm there, I've been cooped up in my house too long because of the weather.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Blogs on the Range

Second post in two days. I better be careful, I'm in danger of starting a trend.

I am successfully moved into the new place. After seeing all my stuff in here, I can definitely say it's... different. Lots of shelf space where the old place had none, no mildew on the walls which is nice. Not as many drawers where I can shove stuff, but it's not like I have a library of smuggled documents to hide. I have to say I like having a lounge area, and it may be worth the much smaller kitchen compared to the last one (this kitchen has a gas range, too, so I'm cool with it). The bed is not broken and threatens to remain so throughout my stay, seeing as it's frame is made of metal* and not glorified particle board. Overall, I think I'm going to like it here.

To that end, I'm giving myself today off. I haven't stopped running since I got here and that was over a week ago. I woke up this morning and just knew that I was going to do nothing all day. It was an epiphany of sloth. Maybe - maybe - I'll go get food and booze, but no guarantees.

*EDIT: I originally misspelled this word "mettle", an odd yet appropriate little slip of vocabulary.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

The Speed of Blog

Just a quick note, my last one from my current residence. Over the next few hours I'll be borrowing a car and moving all my and Duncan's stuff to our new place just on the other side of town - a ten minute walk really.

Having moved several times over the years, both short distances and huge ones, I feel I'm qualified to say that moving is an awful process. You're forced to compartmentalize your entire life in boxes and bags and do everything in your power to erase all trace of the time you spent in your last place and just pray everything will fit somewhere in your next one. The transitory period is worst: you've packed most of your things, but have just enough out so you can function in this place that clearly isn't your own anymore. It's a state of undeath, only your motivation is a clean glass instead of delicious brains, and there's no way to moan "GLAAAAAASS" in a way that sounds cool. We've tried.

Three hours from now we meet our new landlady. Impressions over the phone and email have been mixed. Nothing remarkable either way, all we can do is hope for the best.

Wish us luck!