Archive for July, 2009

Yep, it’s another photo by my pal and ex-partner-in-crime Greg Thilmont from the Gumball 3000 car rally at the Hard Rock Hotel back in ought-six. That’s Chef Kerry Simon next to me, watching Tony Hawk and pals rock some skateboard badassery on the huge half-pipe set up in the casino’s parking lot (interestingly, that lot is now the new Joint theater). We were in the gated safety of the VIP/press area, as I just finished getting quotes from Simon for the story I was writing.

Bonus (because I forgot last time, sorry Greg): The Gumball 3000 video report shot by Greg and poorly narrated/edited by me:

Greg and I did finer work, somewhere else on my YouTube channel.

It’s not exactly an Emmy, Pulitzer or Eisner, but as someone not used to winning anything, I figured I had to share this with you fine people: Yesterday, The Write Blog announced the winners of the Write On! Online/Write Environment Query Contest. And who won first place in the Teleplay category?

Me, bitches.

Will it get that pitch anywhere? Who knows. Part of taking first place is having the query read by David Boxerbaum, a senior literary agent at APA talent agency. So, maybe. Or not. If nothing else, it got that TV series pitch out of the growing pit known as my Google Docs account and in front of someone‘s eyes.

In the meantime, I’m on deadline for two stories at two different publications, trying to get caught up with The Utopian before San Diego Comic-Con sneaks up on me (in two weeks!), working with my band to find a producer with whom to record and closing on a house. Oh, and apparently, failing to get paid by What’s On magazine.

Speaking of Comic-Con, if you’re going to be there, I have semi-complete details on how to hook up with me there posted over at the Pop! Goes the Icon website.

Oh hey you guys, good news: The economic crisis is over. Back to work, everyone!

(More Moments of Zen here.)

This one comes courtesy of a crappy scanner. This artifact is from the year 1995, on the day Jason Feinberg and I moved into our first apartment near UNLV. Jason was attending the university at the time, while I merely hung out around the campus and, more specifically, its adjacent coffee shops. We had almost no furniture; I had a bed in my bedroom and a drafting table in the “dining room” that became a computer desk. Jason had bedroom furniture, but also only a computer desk in the “living room.” At some point, a TV appeared, and it may have been located on the floor or a crate. Not sure.

That was the life back then, though. I mean, it’s not like we did a lot of entertaining (that is a lie), but when we did, it was like 20 goth kids at once, and half of them were smoking on the balcony (as was I, above) anyway. Actually, the apartment was nonsmoking until after we started holding weekly meetings of our music collective/record label at the apartment that fall/winter, and eventually frustrated that everyone kept leaving in the middle of the meetings to smoke outside, Jason just said “f*ck it” and declared smoking inside was OK. Which, for me at the time, was just fine.

We paid $600 a month for a two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,000-square-foot apartment back then. Split between two people. Hoo-boy. Try finding a deal like that now.

We’re going to take a brief diversion from rock ‘n’ roll to talk about comics again. Specifically, The Utopian. You remember, right? That comic series I’ve been rolling out two pages per week online at theutopiancomic.com? Right.

Part 004, “Out of the Closet,” starts today with a seemingly innocuous page, just two dudes hanging out, talking about chicks and movies. But you know how I roll: Something’s just around the corner, right? Right. Try not to read too much into the chapter’s title. Then again, maybe you should. Either way, it’s either exactly what you’re thinking or not what you’re thinking at all.

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