Comic Review: Internet comics, superhero edition

When I started looking at internet comics, it seemed that for every one I found and read, I kept finding more, and a list from five quickly grew to twenty-one, even with me stopping myself from noting others. It is probably better to look at it as something where the reading will not end, rather like non-internet comics. So, it is reasonable to review a few now, that I have read.

Agents of the Realm: http://agentsoftherealm.com/

Artwork and content by Mildred Louis

"Shortly after beginning their first year of college at Silvermount University, Five young women discover that they’ve each been chosen to help protect not just our world, but a newly discovered sister dimension as well. As they venture forward through their college years their lives start to take on forms of their own, providing them with new opportunities to learn just how much power they have over them."

I like the artwork quite a bit, but I find the pace of the storytelling frustrating. Sometimes a long time will be taken on setup of a crisis, and then resolution is too quick. This is still fairly early in the run, though, and things may even out.

My So-Called Secret Identity: www.mysocalledsecretidentity.com/

Created by Suze Shore, Will Brooker, and Sarah Zaidan

" My So-Called Secret Identity is what happened when internationally-acclaimed Batman scholar and popular culture expert, Dr Will Brooker, decided to stop criticising mainstream comics for their representation of women, and show how it could be done differently; how it could be done better."

The name works on two levels. The similarity to "My So-Called Life" seems apt, as a precocious redhaired heroine deals with frustrations and personal growth, but also, the identity is not that secret. People know who she is, and in general the heroes and villains in Gloria City are pretty well-known. Even with the superhero pair that hires actors to portray their alter egos, there is no big surprise to that. Costumed heroes are so common here that it is easy to be cynical about them and their impact. That's the situation against which the story unfolds.

Reading four issues in succession I was very caught up in it. Issue 4 ended on a very dire note, and one common issue with web comics is that the schedule can be pretty irregular. Cliff hangers can last a while, is what I'm saying.

JL8: A Webcomic: http://jl8comic.tumblr.com/

By Yale Stewart

"JL8" is a side project of "Gifted" creator Yale Stewart. A weekly webcomic, it follows the adventures of popular DC comic characters as children in elementary school. Mostly funny, with a dash of pathos, it should be an enjoyable read for any fans of DC Comics characters as well as people who enjoy the traditional syndicated comic strip."

I adore this one. It is adorable, while also feeling correct in that if you took these various characters and put them together into an elementary school, this is how they would be. Has really made me love Martian Manhunter.

Band Review: Busy Living

Busy Living is a pop punk band based in Central Wisconsin.

Although the pop punk designation feels very appropriate, I did hear other influences. At times the introspective sadness of the lyrics reminded me of some of the emo bands I have been listening to, but the music did not, feeling more determined and energetic. Some of the tunes verge into hardcore, but not consistently. At various times I thought of Touché Amoré and Science.

Their album How an Ending Feels was released on October 28th. While it is not a concept album, there is a strong theme. There is regret for the past relationship, and some self-recrimination for its loss, but part of that failure is also geographical. He could not make the West Coast work for him, and needed to return to his origins. There is a general understanding that this is how it needs to be, despite the pain involved with that.

I don't know how autobiographical it is for any of the band members, but if a return to Wisconsin was needed, and they are all there now, then it is logical that the things that need to happen can happen now. Maybe this is the right launching place and time for the band.

There is an ending, but it is not the ending. At least it shouldn't be.

https://www.facebook.com/BusyLivingWI

http://busylivingband.bandcamp.com/

https://twitter.com/BusyLivingWI

Band Review: Professor Shyguy

Professor Shyguy creates music that you could classify as Chip Pop.

I have reviewed one Chip Tunes composer before (Ben Landis), and was completely unfamiliar with the genre previously, so this is still pretty new to me. There are two things that stood out.

One is that with Professor Shyguy there seem to be more non chip elements introduced - at least it does not sound all 8-bit. Because of the beats and melodic features there is more of a dance/electronica feel. This in no way detracts from the game influence, as various songs reference games like World of Warcraft or Minecraft. (Well, I think they do, but that is also unfamiliar ground for me.)

The other thing I noticed was that in club music there is often a lot of sampling which may not be the reason for the monotony, but I suspect it doesn't help. There is a note in his Facebook bio:  "Composing every note, no sampling, all original."  Perhaps that is why the music sounds fresh.

There is a fair amount of collaboration. If you click on the Facebook music link you will get an album that is not all Professor Shyguy. He is on many of the tracks, but often working with others. It is still a good introduction, so I recommend checking that out and also the video for "Guilded Love - A Song about The Guild and World of Warcraft", available on the main site.

http://professorshyguy.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ProfessorShyguy/

https://www.youtube.com/user/BrandtCooley

https://soundcloud.com/professorshyguy/

https://twitter.com/ProfessorShyguy

And Phil

We love Phil. We love Ty Burrell too, but we love Phil.

Yesterday when I mentioned Jay being unusually nice to Phil at Disneyland, I did not give the context. Phil, "the king of roller coasters" started feeling really ill after the Indiana Jones Ride. Jay told him that this was a result of aging, when the fluids in your ears thicken up, and you can't take the motion anymore. Jay said he needed to take a Dramamine to get on his swivel chair - doubtless an exaggeration, but a good explanation for why the only attraction we saw Jay participate in was Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln.

Phil tried to tough it out for the Matterhorn, but after Big Thunder Mountain Railroad he had to admit he was ailing to Luke, in a touching and funny scene that ended with Phil sending Luke off to Space Mountain, knowing that they could find other things to do together. It could have been bittersweet, but all was well when Claire realized that Phil had a fever. His nausea was the result of a flu bug going around the office, so roller coasters could still be okay in the future, and also, he and his coworkers should get cups instead of just drinking out of cartons.

There are two things that make that plot line resonate. One is that as we were on the hotel shuttle to the park one morning, an older (62?) gentleman was talking to someone else about how he used to like Space Mountain, but a few years ago he felt really sick on it. He went to his doctor and the doctor told him some people get calcium deposits in their ears when they get older, and it can result in vertigo symptoms.

My sisters and I looked at each other: it was true! Technically Jay's issues sounds more like Meniere's Disease, and the man on the bus more like Benign Positional Paroxysmal Vertigo.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/110650-types-inner-ear-disorders/

One of our greyhounds would sometimes have flare-ups with his vestibular apparatus, so I know the drill. But also, apparently it does not happen to everyone. That is good news for us. I love rides.

None of us appear to have age-related vertigo yet, but we have experienced illness in the park. Not flu; colds.

Julie started feeling it coming on toward the end of the trip. I felt it about two days later. We are both getting over it now, and Mom seems to have it, though she was not with us, and though it does make her feel dizzy (but she is older than us). The really weird thing about this is that Maria, as the kindergarten teacher, is usually patient zero whenever anything works its way through the house.

I suppose it raises a second question, of whether we are now too old to ride in airplanes without getting sick, because I got sick on our last trip to Disneyland. I thought it might have come from swimming in the pool. On Wednesday my throat started feeling scratchy, and on Thursday I had no voice.

I was really cranky that morning. Not being able to talk is no fun. I mean, you can write notes if it is really important, but usually for me it's just wanting to make jokes and smart remarks, and there is a pain in not being able to do it, but a lack of significance to them that makes trying too hard to get them out inappropriate.

However, it was not just being sick. We'd had a really late night Wednesday, which led to us oversleeping Thursday, which threw off our whole schedule. We were going to go to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, but we decided to start there for lunch. I didn't really want to go there at all, but my sisters did and it was their birthday.

When we finally got to the park, we went to Cars Land to ride the Radiator Springs Racers, and that was the longest line. (Still is.) So we waited and waited in the hot sun, and it was really annoying. Why couldn't we have gone in the single rider line? But they didn't want to get stuck with strangers.

Finally we got on the ride, and it was great, and then we went on other rides which had much shorter lines, and I felt a lot better. I still couldn't talk, but what I need was motion. The way the morning had gone gave me a pretty long delay before being flung or pulled or going zoom anywhere, but that's what I really needed.

This was a stressful trip for me financially. It was probably irresponsible to go, but a part of me wonders whether we will ever be able to afford another vacation again, in which case it is even more important that we went. (And yes, we are still trying for Italy in March. That is one reason I am writing up such a storm.)

For all the guilt and worry, there was so much joy and pleasure and exhilaration. Leisure is necessary. Work is important too, but without breaks, it's drudgery, and sometimes I forget how easily I turn to being a drudge. Which I suppose means that when my solution to escaping the drudgery is working even harder, that there is some irony there, but at least the writing harder part is something I like.

The networking part has been interesting. Some people have read the screenplay, or at least part of it. There have been a lot of favorites on the tweets, which I hope means they also click on the link, but it's at least supportive, and some very kind things have been said. (It does worry me that none of the five people who bought my book have said anything about liking it.)

I do feel some support, and also, it has still been really great remembering all of the bands and friendships, and the projects I was able to back when things were feeling financially better for me. So maybe I will do a round of asking comic book creators to check it out also. I don't know.

I've essentially decided to focus on the writing for now through March. If at that point nothing has happened, then I need to start looking for a different day job. I hate the thought of it, but I need to occasionally be able to visit a theme park. I need to have things to look forward to. Everyone does.

More Modern Family and Disneyland: Jay

Other than our great affinity for the park and the show, there is another reason I think about that episode a lot.

I generally watch shows that I am the only one at home who watches. We are all joined up on sitcoms now, and we all watch "Jeopardy!" together, but otherwise there is no one to discuss the shows with. Sometimes I would want to, and I would visit the forums at Televisionwithoutpity.com.

The site is closed now, but honestly the forums were often disappointing depending on the show. Sometimes they would be cliquish, and if you weren't either a regular contributor or really apologetic about barging in on their party, they would shun you. Sometimes a forum would be mainly innuendos. Also, sometimes, the forum was mainly comprised of hate watchers, who really just watch so they can post about everything wrong with the show. "Modern Family" had a lot of hate watchers, and they hated the ending of the "Disneyland" episode.

There is a story that Jay is recounting through the episode of a time when he took Claire and Mitchell to Disneyland when they were kids. It was supposed to be a family trip, but he and his wife had a fight because he accidentally taped over an episode of "Dallas" so DeDe didn't go. While at Disneyland he decided to get a divorce, but the last thing they did was "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" and somehow it convinced him to stay. Also throughout the episode, Claire and Mitchell tease him for crying then, which he brushes off as it being the greatest president, and his first robot.

As he wraps up the story, Gloria calls him from off screen to come join her in the Jacuzzi, and Jay smiles and finishes by saying that the universe rewarded him, so the forum posters were disgusted by this dirty old man.

While it is clearly not all there is to their relationship, Jay does enjoy having a hot wife, and he enjoys having the money where they can have a Jacuzzi and things like that. It was still clearly not all that he meant. It was cute to see him once more in "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", one child on either side, and in-laws and grand kids surrounding. It was even better to see him hold his children closer, and to see them think it was weird but then settle in and enjoy it.

More than that, and I probably wouldn't have even noticed if we hadn't watched the episode multiple times, it is cool to see how content Jay is in the park. You don't see him go on a single ride, but he steps in and grabs Lily when she is running, kissing her on the top of her head, and then he offers his help to Mitchell. He tries to make some points to Claire that she is not hearing, but he also throws in a silly joke, and is listening to her. He is also really nice to Phil, who is often seen to get on his nerves. And he finds a way to take care of Gloria's feet despite her best efforts. Jay loves and enjoys his family.

It is not hard to imagine that in the real world situation a divorce would have led to the kids being with the wife, and growing apart from their father. He might have remarried earlier, and gotten a similar relationship to the one with DeDe and ended up with at least one other ex, and a more fractured family.

He does say that staying might not be right for everyone, but that it was right for him. It is also widely acknowledged that Jay is not a perfect father, but you do see him often rising to the occasion. The family has its rough patches, which is normal, but they also love and enjoy each other. Maybe it would have gone over better if he had said, "and things worked out", or something like that, but ultimately I take it as that staying with DeDe was hard, but he felt he needed to so he did it, and it had been worth it. There was still going to be a happy marriage in his future, and his kids, and good family times.

I like the episode a lot. It's part of a show that I like in a place that I like, so there is good synergy there.  Hate watcher would probably be happier if they focused on something they liked instead.

However, if anyone wishes to talk about shows at any point, I am open to that. Current sitcoms we watch are "Modern Family" and "Big Bang Theory", as well as reruns of "Everybody Loves Raymond", along with some "Golden Girls" and "Designing Women". We have a lot of love for "My Name Is Earl" too, but my sisters have only seen Season 1, and I have only seen through Season 2. For older sitcoms, I am on my own in my love for "Scrubs" and "News Radio".

I will not only discuss "Jeopardy!" episodes with you, but answer questions about my own appearance.

For current dramas, I am alone in my love for "Grimm", "Person of Interest", "Once Upon A Time", and "White Collar". We all loved "The A-Team" equally, and I would not mind reminiscing over "The Scarecrow And Mrs. King", "Going To Extremes", "Twin Peaks", or "The Young Riders". I can discuss my past love for "Law & Order: SVU", followed by my growing contempt for it, but then I gave up on it, rather than hate-watching, and I feel that was for the best.

And, as long as I'm putting it out there, in addition to quoting a lot from the three sitcoms we have in common and "The A-Team", we also tend to quote and reference the following movies frequently: Dodgeball, The Birdcage, Outrageous Fortune, Spaceballs, and As Good As It Gets.

Disneyland, Modern Family, and child safety tethers

There are two sitcoms that my family and I watch together: "Big Bang Theory" and "Modern Family". (We also enjoy reruns of "Everybody Loves Raymond" in case anyone wants to judge.)

The episode that really sold them on "Modern Family" was "Disneyland". I had liked the show since seeing "Fizbo", so would watch it sometimes on my own, but when I saw the Disneyland episode I knew they would appreciate it, so I got them to watch it and we built on that.

My sisters and I just got back from Disneyland Friday night, and of course we quoted and referenced the episode a lot. (We quote a lot of pop culture things pretty regularly.) It occurred to me that I could write some things about the trip through the lens of the episode.

If you haven't seen it, one of the subplots is that Lily is going through a running phase, and Mitch and Cam try and use a "child safety tether" (leash) to keep her from getting lost in the park. Mitchell is especially embarrassed about this, so he does take her off, and she bolts. Jay catches her and he solves the issue by putting her in high heels, which ties in nicely with his subplot with Gloria, for whom he buys slippers to get her out of the horribly uncomfortable high heels she wore.

I admit that the first time I saw a child on a leash, many years ago, I was taken aback by it, thinking it seemed a little dehumanizing for the child. However, I never judged any parents harshly for using them. Kids do take off with no warning, and I can see the point in hindering that.

That was strongly reinforced in the park on our first day. Waiting in line for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, a family ahead of us had one child start toddling off a few paces ahead. This is not that unusual, but then the child ducked under the rope to the outside of the line, which was easy because of his short height. Then the child kept going. The park was very crowded that day. The father stepped out of line and pursued the child. It did involve some running, but nothing terrible happened at that point.

Shortly after, while we were heading to lunch at the Village Haus, I noticed a child whom I would guess was between 18 and 24 months who was running a little ahead. I thought she might be pursuing one adult, but she went right past, and I realized I could not figure out whom she belonged to.

We have often had funny things happen because kids don't notice where they are. I have had little children slip their hands into mine, thinking I was Mommy, and on one trip another kid wrapped herself around Julie's legs waiting in line for the Alice in Wonderland ride. (Yes, apparently everything happens in Fantasyland.)

The thing is, normally the parent is nearby, and watching, and maybe they are apologetic or embarrassed or maybe they think it's really cute, but they do know what is going on with their child, and they are there when the child looks up and realizes that the person they are touching is NOT MOMMY.

I could not find anyone who was looking for this little girl. As if to make it even more obvious how vulnerable she was, her pants fell down a little, I think indicating a recent diaper change. She was able to pull them back up, but she was starting to panic, and starting to go faster in the opposite direction.

I was not sure what to do. Fortunately, I was not the only person who noticed. I know someone told a park employee, because he came up near me and I heard him say "What missing child?" I knew the answer to that question. I pointed her out and he said something like "Got it" and I said "Good", which doesn't sound exactly right.

I guess I meant "Thank you" because I was grateful that someone with some official capacity and training could handle it, but it felt very business-like considering that I heard the worry in his voice when he asked himself "What missing child?" and I know how many emotions I was having about it.

One very real (and probably unfair) emotion was anger at her parents. How could they let her slip away like that? Realistically, it was probably something simple that could have happened to anyone. So I don't judge leashes. That's not to say that the high heels idea wasn't ingenious, but it's good to have options.

For the Gloria side of it, I have to say that even though I have always worn sneakers in the park, a while back I started having Plantar fasciitis symptoms. I could no longer wear my traditional $12 shoes and had to start looking for shoes with support. I noticed that my feet held up much better this time. So even if cheap sneakers are better than high heels, good sneakers are better still. I've mainly been using New Balance.

Band Review: Jon Johnson

Jon Johnson is a rock and blues guitarist from Portland, Oregon.

 

The pieces I have been listening to have been instrumental, and it has been interesting for me to hear how much emotion has come through in the music alone, with no help from vocals.

 

"Amends" is very moving, whereas "Find My Way" and "Underline" are considerably funkier. I don't have a good adjective for "Lightswitch". It's amazing, but that doesn't really describe anything. It's clear that Johnson is really good at what he does; does that describe the song? No, you just need to listen to it.

 

That obviously is not a huge selection, but it is a very beautiful and impressive slice of work.

 

I enjoyed the video of Johnson playing on his site. Someone who knows how to play guitar would probably get more out of it, but I got a sense of the fun of the song, and it was interesting to see how the visual went along with the audio.

 

http://www.jonjohnsonmusic.com

 

https://www.facebook.com/jonjohnsonmusic

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/jonjohnsonmusic

 

https://twitter.com/jonjohnsonmusic

Band Review: Valey Ventura

Valey Ventura is a composer and scriptwriter, is working on an organic gastronomy book, and an integral figure in Ventura Street Records. This review will focus on the music.

 

I have been able to listen to three songs, "Just Me", "Forgotten", and two versions of "Sun Down California".

 

There is a sort of sneer in the delivery of the music. It's in-your-face, but not hostile. I wouldn't be surprised to see it described as skater punk, but she self-describes as Indie - Pop. Perhaps it should be pop punk.

 

(The lyric video for "Sun Down California" incorporates a very respectable record collection in which I mainly noticed punk and emo.)

 

It looks like there are plans to shoot a regular video for "Sun Down California" and there is a talent search in place, so for more information on that visit https://www.facebook.com/VenturaStreetRecords.

 

http://venturastreetrecords.com/

 

https://www.facebook.com/ValeyVentura

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrvJTS13aqnwPtWUkeIFAkQ

 

https://twitter.com/ValeyVentura

My disguise

This year I thought it would be important to have a Halloween costume.

I decided that based on my realization of how hard I have tried to stay neutral and invisible, and not really invite anyone to look at me. I could see how that was destructive, and should be changed, but I was not immediately sure of what that would mean.

Did I need to try and be beautiful, or would it be okay to be fine with being gross and scary? I mean, I kind of already feel gross and scary, so is embracing that affirming my value, or is it affirming that I really am a monster who should be shunned?

I never really made a decision. I did have a thought that for my Twitter display picture I would take a photo of me with a bloody face and a cleaver, but smiling sweetly, and I did actually buy some fake blood for it. I never got around to taking the picture though.

Part of it was that to do that would require someone else to take the picture, which I don't love. Also I worried that the blood could be kind of triggering, because I have a lot of followers with Self Harm issues, and even though the picture would obviously be fake, it might still be enough. Also, there was the concern that I would be job hunting and promoting my script while the picture was up. Eventually I decided to hold off on job hunting and I waiting to aggressively ask people to like my screenplay until November.

I did end up loading in my drawing of the skull being stabbed in the eye from the January comic, and that felt okay, and I went by Gina Horror, instead of Harris, so that resolved Twitter, but there was still the question of a costume in real life, and it was never answered.

I think I am not far enough along to do it yet. Part of that was definitely the amount of energy I was expending in 
other places, but also there are things I have not accomplished yet that will probably get me further along.

It was interesting to read of at least one other person who has also been neutral, and worked for invisibility. It came up in the context of a discussion on street harassment, and one thing she said is that she gets more attention now, because she has stopped being invisible.

One thing I have realized over the last year is that there are a lot of things that I did not participate in without even realizing that I had withdrawn, or that there was an element of choice in my withdrawal. It is something to think about. And, choosing to be visible will have a down side. It just seems to be necessary.

So, I have a few more body exercises that I have not completed yet, and I will start blogging about the reading soon. In addition, I have some historical review in mind that may be helpful. That will start with the songs of the day around December 5th, and I am going to be going through old pictures and do some active participation in Throwback Thursday. That is going to dredge stuff up. I'm not sure how it will come out.

I will probably manage a costume next year, but it will really be more about what happens between now and then.

Halloween Candy

I have been amazed at all of the parental complaints I have seen, and want to write about that. I guess I am confused, and so this is one where I would love to hear from people about their own experiences.

When I was a kid, we trick-or-treated in our neighborhood only. There are fifteen houses on our block. Some people would give you more than one piece of candy, but there were also some people who didn't answer the door, so really it wasn't that much candy.

I think that I would get a total of twenty pieces of candy, which would get eaten mostly that night and maybe a little the next day. Certainly that is an unusual amount of candy for a single night, and doing it on a daily basis would not be good, but letting us do that for one night didn't seem to be that big a deal.

For the parents that are battling over candy, and having fights or bribing or buying or hiding the candy, how much are they getting? How many houses are they going to? Are there other sources of candy? It just feels like it should be something that can be controlled better.

If it is a blanket objection to candy at all, and you are the ogre parent if you don't let them trick or treat and get candy, my initial feeling is to say "Lighten up." If there are specific issues like a red dye reaction or a nut allergy, that can be dealt with. I remember reading of a child who could not have most sweets, and his parents worked it out with the neighbors that they took things he could have in advance. That's a lot of work, but if you have a child with special dietary needs you're used to that.

If you live in a really big neighborhood, where it is a reasonable thing for them to go to forty houses, I still think there must be solutions. And I am totally not a parent, so I realize I know nothing, but I am someone who loves Halloween. I remember that even though it was a small route that we covered, it was an exciting thing to do and we looked forward to it.

There are elements to trick-or-treating that are not a big deal to an adult, but when you are young being out after dark, knocking on doors, and having the costume were all hugely exciting. The free candy was cool, but it was part of a larger ritual, and I am glad to have participated in that. I remember going out as I was getting older, and you start getting the looks from adults that you are too old, but it's a hard thing to let go of. Symbolically you are letting your childhood go, and then you discover adult equivalents, but there is a magic there that seems to justify some extra sugar once a year.

My trick or treat bucket had no more candy than my Easter basket or my Christmas stocking really. Of course there is more parental control with those other two, but is that the issue? Is your child taking candy from other people, in the dark, and in disguise, just too overwhelming? I can't give a simple "lighten up" there, because I know there are dangers out there, but still, I think it will be okay.

If not, be happy with me because last year I gave out comic books, but we had candy too.

There is another thing that fascinates me, now that I have offended parents who hate trick or treating, is that I hadn't realized how repetitive the candy gets.

Remembering my old trick or treat bucket, I was picturing it and there were things I would look forward too, because I got the same things every year, and there were a lot of them that I only got at Halloween. I would usually get one jelly candy (like gum drops but bigger), some Kraft caramels, a butterscotch disk and a root beer barrel. I looked forward to these, because I never got them at other times. There would be a fun size Snicker and Butterfinger, and usually a couple of Tootsie Pops, and yes, someone would do Winkies or Sweet Tarts, and those weren't really good, but I would eat them anyway, because it's Halloween, and that's what you do. There would also be a small box of Junior Mints, and I think Necco wafers.

It's been a long time, but I remember it pretty clearly because it was remarkably consistent. That seemed kind of odd to me until I realized that I think I have given out the exact same candy for at least four years now. It wasn't anything intentional, but I want to make sure we don't run out, so I look for one of the variety packs. I don't want the one with the Jolly Ranchers or the Nerds because if we have leftovers those are gross. I like everything in the one that is all peanut butter,  but some kids might have a nut allergy. I end up with the bag that has Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey bars, Kit Kats, and Whoppers. And I am standing there looking at the different bags and making a decision every time, but this is the first year that I realized that it keeps being the same decision.

So if the some of the adults on my block always had butterscotch candies on hand, and they just got extra for Halloween, or they got Smarties because those were the cheapest, or they got Snickers because that was their favorite, and it was the same year after year, that's kind of cool. It makes me wish that I could remember who gave out what.

It feels like kind of a cool thing overall though. Let the kids have some candy.

Halloween 2014

Halloween this year did not go at all as planned.

It remains true that if I want to accomplish certain things for Halloween, I need to decide in advance. That may not be enough.

I had plans. I was going to finally finish that one canvas project I started years ago. I had four books I was going to read. I had seven movies that I wanted to watch, and while I didn't think I would get all of them, I was going to get a few. Also, I was going to dress up. I didn't have any specific goals for decorating, but I assumed I would do some fun pumpkins, and they would be ones I had grown myself.

I guess the plan first started to fall apart when I didn't get any pumpkins. I planted pumpkin seeds, and I got cute little sprouts and vines and blossoms, but never any actual gourds. I think the crookneck squash suppressed them. I can't prove it, but I have my reasons:

http://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2014/09/september-garden-report.html

Next up were the books. I did read Killing Monsters: Our Children's Need for Fantasy, Heroism, and Make-Believe Violence by Gerard Jones, and it was excellent. I could read it because the library had it. They did not have Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon by Cynthia Ott, The Romance of Dracula: A Personal Journey of the Count on Celluloid  by Charles Butler, or Better Off Dead: The Evolution of the Zombie as Post-Human by Deborah Christie. I could have lived with this, but they were all kind of inordinately expensive in bookstores.

To be fair, I probably would have been behind on my reading anyway, and I had already decided that it would be okay for Pumpkin to slip into November, but that's just not how it worked out.

I say I would have been behind because it does take me longer to get to things than I will think. I never thought I would see all seven movies. As it was, I only actually watched Practical Magic in October. I did watch I Married A Witch, but it was November already. Still, that did essentially get me through all of the witch movies, though there would be some overlap with Nicole Kidman movies if I had gotten to The Others from the ghost movies.

(Other movies include The Time of Their Lives, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and I don't know that Gaslight really fit there, but I do want to see it eventually. Also, I would really love to see The Uninvited again, because I only have very vague memories of it, but it does not seem to be generally available.)

The first weekend in October I got out the canvas work, and I cut out all the letters, the leaves, and the pumpkins, except that something went wrong and I ran out of canvas for the lower half of one pumpkin. I think I can still make it work, or hey, buy new canvas, but no, it was not completed by Halloween.

I never decided on a costume, which will be its own post, and I never had a strong feeling for any specific pumpkin carving theme. I did carve a pumpkin, and I thought I was doing a fairly random face, though it came out looking a little like our new cat, who can be kind of ferocious.

Mostly, though, I want to say that it was all okay. The reason Halloween is important for me is for the creativity, and maybe a little for the scares, and I had that in spades because of writing the 6-page scripts. That was totally something that could interfere with the reading and movie watching. It interfered with my regular television watching, but that's one reason for the DVR. I got to use my creativity.

There were some themes that worked well with Halloween. One of the reasons I wanted to read the zombie book was that despite their enormous popularity I don't really care for them, but  I wrote three different scripts with zombies. I had some vampires show up, and pirates, two kinds of demons, fairies, giant spiders, and a cat named Pumpkin! There was kind of a witch figure in one, and there was a cannibal rat ghost ship, so really, I think Halloween was pretty well covered.

I do still want to see all of those movies, plus others, and read all of those books, and I do want to finish the canvas project, but nonetheless, October was a good month this year, and I suspect it will be a good month next year too.

I regret nothing (this time).

Band Review: Talking Trees

Talking Trees is an alternative band from Clinton Township, Michigan. They came to my attention through the drummer, Kyle Serruys.

Their profile also lists Emo as a genre, which was interesting because it's really rare for a band to claim that title for themselves. With the music being extremely personal, and a low-key instrumentation, it does seem appropriate. The first thought will probably be that it is folk-adjacent in terms of what is going on instrumentally, especially with "Going Home", which is practically a lullaby. However, emotionally it is more personal than folk.

There are just three members. Along with Serruys, Natalie Green does secondary percussion and some vocals, and Brandon James Ellis rounds out the trio with vocals, bass, and guitar.  That could make for a pretty minimalist sound, but there are complexities to the accompaniment. It is nonetheless very low-key.

Fans of Celtic music may enjoy the band as well. That is just a hunch, but listen to "Weary Eyes" and see if it doesn't make sense.

They are doing some experimentation as well. You can hear a remix of "Where Did We Go Wrong" that is more electronic, and ends up being a bit moodier and more unworldly. The original version feels more anchored.

Talking Trees is working on a full-length debut, but there is not a date posted at this time. Current music is available via iTunes.

https://www.facebook.com/TalkingTreesMusic

http://itunes.com/talkingtrees

https://twitter.com/talkingtreees

Band Review: Rett Smith

I have only been able to find three songs by Rett Smith at this time. His web site says that he is working on an album for release this year. I was looking for shorter catalogs this week, so it works out.

He classifies himself as Blues/Rock and Roll. I might classify the other element as more "Funk" or "Soul", but I think you will hear that there is something extra in the accompaniment, and that the guitar accentuates and embellishes in a positive way. There are drums and occasionally piano, but the focus is on the guitar and voice, with the vocals being fairly simple and letting the guitar round everything out. There's definite talent, and some interesting sounds developing here.

I find the videos to be a little unfocused, without a clear sense of direction, but that's something that can be addressed. It is the music that matters most, and this music can go somewhere.

http://rettmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/rettsmithmusic

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYW3Vc15u6F8W1-9rKX8Z8w

https://soundcloud.com/rettsmithmusic

https://twitter.com/rett_music

More self promotion!

What should have been clear from yesterday's post is that trying to get people to read the screenplay, as part of selling the screenplay, is significantly harder than writing the screenplay was.

Writing has always been the easy part for me. It's not that it's always easy, but I've been doing it for a long time and I find it intrinsically rewarding. I am still doing a lot of writing, so I am still doing things that are rewarding and where I feel like I know my way. There is also this expansion now, of trying to become a professional. And I don't know what I am doing.

I keep finding out new things. For example, I did upload the novel to Kindle, and I have even made about $10 in sales.(I know; it is very impressive.) Still, there are things I am learning. I chose the easiest option for a cover, and I didn't do any formatting for readability. I don't even have an e-reader, so I really have a very poor understanding of the aesthetics of it. That's something I should look into more.

In addition, I just figured out how to create my author profile on Amazon two days ago. This is important because I am not the only Gina Harris on there. The one who wrote I Kiss Girls comes up first, incidentally. However, now that I have that profile, I also have a direct link to me:

http://www.amazon.com/author/ginamharris

I can be added as a favorite. People can follow me. Perhaps that would be cooler if it had happened because I was already a successful writer, but it still feels kind of cool.

I have not been sure how to do the same thing on Goodreads, but I did think I should try and get some reviews, and there were two people among my connections who do a lot of book reviews. Asking them, one has let me know that Goodreads has librarians who can help with that. Checking on that, and sending official review requests to both contacts is something I am still trying to get to. I am afraid that everything takes longer than I think it will, but that's all the more reason to keep at it.

Other agenda items include updating my LinkedIn profile to reflect the writing. I have made some progress in getting every page linked together. For example, if you go to my blog there is a link to my screenplays and my Ficwad writing, and now I have added my Wattpad writing, but as I keep forming new links, that requires more updates.

I don't know how helpful the LinkedIn will be, but I haven't checked to see if there are relevant groups and contacts. I need to at least try.

There is more networking I can probably do. Different people in various aspects of film have followed me on Twitter, and they may have ideas too. I have a few links down to check out.

There are a few other possibilities for writing that I intend to check out. Maybe I could do something for HitRecord, or submit one of those one page romances to Woman's World (which I read), and this spot, which seems kind of improbable, but I will check it out:

http://www.bubblews.com/

And, it feels premature, but I should probably check out the Dark Horse submission guidelines.

Once upon a time, I was making agency inquiries, and I could always do that again. It wasn't particularly productive at the time, but the economy was down, there were strikes going on, and I think I only had four scripts written at the time. Maybe it would go better now.

This is still not my favorite thing to do by a long shot. I still have a lot of bands to tweet. I will say, if it hasn't felt as good as writing a novel or screenplay does, there have been some surprising things. As I go through this list of bands I've reviewed there are all these memories. There was that stretch when all of these bands I wanted to see so badly were showing up within a few months of each other, and that was pretty cool. There were the people I got to talk to.

Even forgetting the concerts, there were the bands that just followed me, and I listened to them. Some of them are so good, and I would never know about them if they hadn't followed me first.

Gene Simmons was complaining that Rock & Roll was dead. No, it lives and breathes. It is not always a huge financial success, but maybe the struggle is part of what gives it life. It is a privilege to get to know these bands and hear their sounds. I know they're not doing it to do me a favor. They are trying to promote themselves just like I am trying to promote myself now. However, when people are being creative and making their art, and then we find each other, there's a lot of good with that. It's not all sordid commercialism.

So I will still be at it.

Assertiveness training

Yesterday I uploaded a new screenplay to Amazon.

http://studios.amazon.com/projects/61776

Jade Mask was the first screenplay that I wrote. I wrote it in Word instead of Final Draft, and transferring it to Final Draft so I could save it as a PDF and submit it was a very lengthy process, besides often working on other things.

I now believe that I could have saved it as an RTF and submitted it that way, but I think it works out. It has been edited more thoroughly than the others, and while it is older, it doesn't feel older. It feels very fresh and cohesive.

Believing you have written a good script is one thing, but getting someone else to think so is something else entirely. Even being noticed in a sea of submissions is hard. I had been thinking about how to make this work.

I have tweeted and linked on Facebook for every screenplay I have submitted. (This is number 7.) It's very easy for people to miss tweets. Some of the people who follow me follow thousands of other people, and they may not be on when I tweet, and there's just no way of knowing that they will see it and click. I do still believe that a higher number of clicks will be beneficial.

Amazon tracks downloads, follows, and reviews. Higher numbers of any or all of those should be good. So it occurred to me that I needed to ask people directly.

I have started by going through the Kickstarter (15) and IndieGoGo (6) projects I have supported, and asking them to check it out, sending messages via Twitter, Facebook, or the project pages themselves. I already see a problem with this, in that I asked them to visit, and I think I should have specified download. I am changing that for the next round of messages.

Now I am going through bands I have reviewed, though not all. Some are too big, where I just know that they would never see the message. The number is pretty small, but I don't think I should ask the bands that I hated, either. It just doesn't seem right. Also, there is some overlap, because three of the projects I backed were for bands I reviewed.

I am not phrasing these requests as "Hey, I reviewed your band," and a lot may not remember, so I don't know if that hurts or helps. I did mention that I was a backer in the first round, because it seemed to make sense to do so.

The point that I really cannot stress enough is how much I hate doing this. I hate asking for things, I hate selling, and I hate selling myself. It nonetheless feels like something I need to do.

I want to be a professional writer. I write a lot; I have the writer part down. The professional part will require some stretching.

It may simply be a matter of needing to get more comfortable asking, like maybe I will need to be asking more in the future, or I will come away with some confidence, or maybe it actually will pay off, and there will be enough downloads that it will make the screenplay look like something worth producing. I would love that.

Ultimately it's my usual situation. I feel like I need to do something, and I am doing it.

So please, check out Jade Mask. There is action, adventure, betrayal, and passion.

http://studios.amazon.com/projects/61776

It will still be cool to see the movie, even if you already know what will happen.

Lessons from a month of 6-page scripts

I did it. I wrote a separate 6 page script every day of October. More to the point, I am glad I did it.

Once I committed to it, I knew that it would have to be done, and whatever it cost me didn't matter, I was still going to get it done, so that wasn't the question. II wasn't sure how much it would take out of me, or how it would feel, and there have been some interesting and unexpected things there.

I was pretty sure it would be good for discipline. Having a specific goal and desired output gives clarity. I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew when I had done it. That was valuable.

Another aspect of discipline came with having the strict 6 page ruling. Previously, except for writing the "Sisters of Justice" pilot, I have just used however many pages felt right for telling that story. There are good things about that, but sometimes you have a specific time allocation to fill and you need to make that work. Having to decide where something could be filled out, or more often where it could be cut, was good for me.

That gave me a better appreciation of television work in general. For example, with a cooking segment there are so many things that you need to plan in advance to make it fill the right amount of time, and yet they aren't obviously rehearsed. For talk shows in general, it would be similar. There has to be some serious coordination going on there, and that it doesn't tend to be blatant speaks well of the people who do it.

I believe it was also valuable to work on something that while being written as a script will probably only ever be read, so it had to fulfill the requirements of a script but still be interesting reading. Years ago I started out believing that the script should just be dialogue and necessary action, because you don't want to intrude on the director's decisions or the actors' decisions, except their decisions can be helped by setting the right mood. (I had already made a lot of progress with that.) Here, knowing that by the end of the day I would post it and invite people to read it, being entertaining was more at the forefront of my mind, and that was a good experience.

It was also valuable as a clearing house of sorts. There are all of these ideas that I have had but have not pursued. There are always so many things to work on, and you have to choose, and there are a lot of ideas that it doesn't make sense to prioritize, but they can still be pretty close to your heart. Taking some of these ideas, and giving them form feels like an acknowledgment to them, without any of them having been huge commitments. That was gratifying.

It is also gratifying to feel that I can do absolutely anything now. I wrote in so many different areas. There were non-fiction scripts, with a cooking show, documentary, and educational segments on earthquakes and Shakespeare. There was fiction that went from very light to very dark. It's not that it all felt the same. Writing Derelict felt very laborious, actually, I think because there weren't any sympathetic characters. I like animals in general, but adding the rats did not make that one any more fun.

But many of them felt great to write, and even when they were more difficult, I can still do it. I can do anything. I can write about anything. And I did it while also finishing an edit on another screenplay, editing a novel, blogging, and still holding down a full time job which became absolutely horrendous toward the end of the month. This is good, because I have a lot to do now.

I am relieved that it's done, because there are other things to do, and it's nice to get deeper. November is going to be tricky, because there is a (badly needed) vacation in the middle of it. I am still planning on completing my second novel (I am currently writing the third chapter) and writing the musical that I have been planning for over a year. I think I know where I am heading for December and 2015, but one phase at a time.

For now, it is reasonable to wonder about my 31 6-page scripts, and if anything else is going to happen with them. I would love for Earthquake! to happen, but I don't think it's likely. I do think that I can make The Tragedies of Shakespeare happen at some point in the future, and that I will.

I will definitely draw Theme Park and Bass Off in the future, and probably Derelict. Maybe Asylum.  I have already drawn Winterlake, just so badly that it needed to be written. The Taking possibly could be a comic, but I don't know. It's less immediate. Also, I feel a strong need to draw art for Disney Avengers - not a full comic, but what the movie posters would look like for it and for the Birds of Prey reference at the end.

I do at some point want to write a full pilot treatment for Future Shock. I can see Kate as a series of novels. Some of the things, like with Liz, I thought would be parts of movies, but for now I feel like I have written enough. There are still so many ideas that haven't been captured at all.

But there is one that I think will be a full-length screenplay, and that I will write it in December. I don't think I am done with the giant spiders. It's kind of a pity, because that would be one movie that my family would not want to watch at all. Well, we'll work it out.

You can find the 6 pagers at http://www.wattpad.com/user/GinaHarris827.