Clutter

And boy, do I have plenty of it. My room is an absolute mess right now. I'm in the process of making my room about the most awesome room ever. But like I said, it's pretty damn messy to begin with. Add to it this Obama in 30 Seconds thing that my friend Jason and I are currently trying to work on. Finding a way to cram my idea into something less than half a minute long, worrying about audio, scheduling, actors, and having a camera we can work with has been pretty stressful. I first heard about this a little over a week ago, and although an idea came pretty quick, the timing for producing and executing this idea has been a bit difficult. Deadline for submissions is April 1st.

Even if this project is destined to go down in flames, I'm hoping at least it'll have a couple seconds of life before the smoke starts.

February's Picture of the Month

It's well after half past March, and I find it quite ridiculous that I haven't made this particular blog post until now. Moreover, the fact that until now, I've only had one entry in this blog this whole month. Anyway, I don't think I made it all that clear in January's post that I wanted to take photos specifically meant to be chosen as POTMs, and not necessarily choose photos taken randomly at parties, or elsewhere.

Well, anyway here's February's Picture of the Month:

As I first started thinking about doing these pictures of the month, I thought I'd be snapping pictures a plenty this year, and I would have a wealth of photos to choose from. But that just hasn't really happened. I mean, I didn't reallying take that many photos in February. I only took eighteen (decently shot) photos in the three and a half days at WonderCon. Getting back to the photo, it's another one that's also set in my own room. Hopefully, for March's photo I'll have enough self-awareness to take a photo outside my room. At the very least, I should get my camera out into the hallway.

It is also pretty crazy how many comics and books I've amassed in the five and a half years I've been reading and collecting comic books. I still have books on the floor and comics all over the place. But that part is mostly because I'm a messy, unorganized schmo.

EDIT: Also just wanted to point out that today is my brother, Patrick's birthday! So Happy Birthday, Pat!

Peter Jennings: A Reporter's Life

Almost three years ago was when Peter Jennings died, and ABC aired Peter Jennings: Reporter just a few days following Jennings’ death. I wasn’t able to see it as it aired, so I recorded it on my TiVo. When I had the time to try to watch the program sometime afterwards I had to turn the television off because I was crying so much, I couldn’t watch any further. So up until late last fall–early winter, that program stayed on my TiVo’s “Now Playing List.” That is until I goofed and the program was erased to record something else. I don’t even remember exactly what other program it was being recorded. The Peter Jennings special that had remained in my TiVo box was no more, and I hadn’t ever actually watched it.

It was also around that time that I kept seeing a book on Jennings, Peter Jennings: A Reporter’s Life, in bookstores. It seemed like something I was interested in getting, and told some family members, and even made the book a part of my Christmas List.

Sure enough, my sister and her husband got the book for me for Christmas. It took a while to finally find the time to start reading it, but I finally finished it almost three weeks ago.

I thought if I couldn’t get through watching the television program, maybe I could at least get through reading the book. I was kind of right. I had tears rolling down my face as I read through some parts of the end of the book.

In the book, his family, friends, and colleagues recount Jennings’ life and career as a reporter. The reflections made were either taken from transcripts from the ABC special or from Jennings’ memorial service.

What I have always like about Jennings was that his voice commanded your attention. But it was also one in which you didn’t feel threatened by or obligated to do anything, except listen. Of the three: Jennings, Tom Brokaw, and Dan Rather, I’d say that my father probably watched Jennings the most. And by de facto, me as well, However, that is all I can remember from my younger days. I can’t think of a more lasting memory of ever watching a broadcast by Jennings. I mean I vaguely can recall watching Jennings’ millennium broadcast, but all I can remember about that broadcast was him “throwing it out” to a Neil Diamond performance somewhere in Colorado. I know the man spent and ungodly amount of time in front of the camera at the anchor desk not only for the millennium broadcast, but also for 9/11 too. But after coming home from school that afternoon on 9/11, I vaguely remember watching anything on the television. Yet, that’s mostly because I honestly could not keep watching the same damn thing over and over again on the news.

While reading this book, I kind of re-realized why I have such an affinity for journalism, and why I had such a respect for Jennings himself. Among other things, that manner of respect he commanded and gave, the curiosity, the doggedness to pursue the truth about a subject, to talk to people from across the world, and giving them their chance to tell their stories.

I have an ambition to be a writer of fiction, in numerous mediums, but I think if the ball had bounced in a number of different ways, I could just as easily decided to become a journalist. I say that as I’ve reached senior citizen status. Hell, I’m only 23, and yes, I realize I can just as easily switch gears, and still do the journalism thing. But I’ll stick with writing stuff of fiction.

Peter Jennings: A Reporter’s Life is a book about a newsman that was unlike any other. The book delves into Jennings’ home in Canada, his first go-round as anchor for ABC at age 26, his seasoning as a foreign correspondent for ABC, World News Tonight, everything in between, and so on.

Here’s an excerpt from Bill Blakemore, who was teaching in Beirut before Jennings recruited him as his soundman:

He always made the point: “Don’t stand like you’re in front of a stage set. Touch the surroundings where you are. Bring it alive so that this two-dimensional medium we work in is one in which people can imagine being there and touching it.” So he did one on-camera from the back of an elephant. Another one about overpopulation – he just gathered some Indian street kids around him. He told the cameraman, “Start rolling.” The kids were snapping their fingers. Peter turned to the camera and said, while snapping his fingers, “This is a game, but it’s telling us something: every time you click your fingers, another child is born in India.”

WonderCon 2008

So WonderCon has come and gone once again, and once again, I got to hang out and talk with a few Caballeros/Castaways. Last year, it was Triggerman that I hung out with most. Unfortunately, he's back home on the other side of the Atlantic. The same with Nick I.. And of course, Old Man Harris. But not all was lost. This year I got to hang out with fellow Castaway, Kedd. Also another change was the fact that I don't live in San Fran anymore, so my buddy James and his roommates put me up for the weekend.

Anyway, now for some of my Personal Highlights

-Meeting Darwyn Cooke on Thursday night at the Isotope and finding out -among other things- that Cooke and I are both Clash fans, and that his New Frontier character design of Captain Cold is based off Grant Morrison.

-Getting Darwyn Cooke to John Hancock my Absolute New Frontier, as well add a sweet image of the Spirit to the noir sketch book.

-Having a blast at the Get Smart panel.

-Visited Carrie and Stephanie's table, and picked up some of their awesome work.

-"My father doesn't love me."

-Finding out the main reason why Kedd's is able to maintain such a high post count.

-Being present at the DC panel that Kedd made Didio momentarily speechless as well as the moment Bagley called Kedd a trouble maker.

-Watching DC's New Frontier

-The Iron Man movie panel.

-Getting a helluva lot of new reading material throughout the weekend.

-Conversing with Mikie from the 'ol BKV Board. (He has yet to register onto Harris' new board.) Talked some really good stuff with him at both shin digs first at the Isotope on Friday, and then especially good stuff on Saturday.

-On Saturday, I went to Trad'r Sam for the first time since May of last year. This time with James (guy w/darkened Raiders cap) and crew. For Arvin (far left), it was his first time ever at Trad'r Sam, and he didn't listen to our warnings of just how strong Trad'r Sam drinks are. Yeah, he got messed up. But I on the other hand, am happy to report that I actually did a good job of getting a real good buzz, and yet, not getting defeated by the dreaded Scorpion Bowl.

-Getting a couple Tiny Titans posters from the DC Booth. Some of them are for my nieces and nephews, I swear.

-Here's a quote from James Sime's Twitter that best describes the mass of people from Saturday night.

-Seeing so many Castaways (unfortunately except for Capntightpants and Christopher)

-And getting Mark Bagley to add an utterly bad ass noir Batman to the sketchbook.

Good times. Good times. Good times. I usually take a lot of pictures when out on the town, but for some reason, not all that much in the span of four days... Probably because I "feel" more photogenic, and camera trigger happy when I have more than just a good buzz. Oh well.

Here be the rest of the weekend's photos.

EDIT on Weds. Feb 27: Forgot to add the highlight of chit-chatting it up with Brian Wood, and getting him to sign my first two issues of DEMO, and vol. 1 of DMZ. Awesome guy.

The Castaways formerly known as Caballeros

So last week, when Brian Vaughan hinted that we Caballeros should get our Cabal related affairs order, I wanted to post an entry say just how deflated I felt about it. Moreover, that the reason I felt so heart struck was because the people that inhabited the board are just damn good people; some of which I have had the pleasure to meet and hang out in real life. And in the years that Brian has had the board up, our little community of Caballeros have become extremely tight-knit.

Case in point: Most of us Caballeros registered on Tony Harris' original Jolly Roger message board via ezboard, as well as on the Caballeroslove freeforum that NothingFace and Michael Heide (high fives go out to them).

I had a film professor that described that what made Jean Renoir and his films so great was that in each and everyone of his films included practically every aspect in life: love, family, war, death, youth, everything. And not only am I inclined to agree completely with that, but also I believe that to be one of the reasons why the Cabal was such a fun destination to hit each day I got on the internet. We had threads on comics (obviously), movies, politics, sex, and the birth of nnnnn, and a helluva lot more of course.

Last year at WonderCon, Brian signed my copy of Pride of Baghdad:

Joey JP-
Long live the Caballeros.
Brian K. Vaughan

While we are to still be Caballeros at heart, alas, we are now Castaways (at least I think that's the name that has been settled on). I guess it's kinda like when Zach de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine, and Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk joined up with Chris Cornell and formed Audioslave.

Awesome new digs, right? (It's been said many times, but it's worth saying again: Mucho props to Tony Harris, Michael Heide, and NothingFace)

Peope are Fascinating

By far and away, what fascinates me most in this world are people. We are all different in our personalities, our wants, our dislikes, our geography, education, religious affiliations, ethnicity, history, everything. The people that I've met in my life so far are inspiration for what I'm trying to do with my life, which is write.

Last month, there was a week in which I encountered three situations that interested me to no end. I can't exactly remember in what order these instances happened, but the first instance to mention was when I was waiting outside the restroom in the food court in a mall here in San Jose. The janitor was already in the process of cleaning up the men's room, and a couple other guys came by after me looking to use the bathroom as well. One of them some teenager. First thing I noticed was his uniform; he worked at the mall's theater above the food court. Then he asks me if "this the line?"

I look at his face, and his left eye is absolutely red. As if he popped a blood vessel within the last day or so. I was taken aback, but I quickly answered that it was, or is, in that instant. Then he walked back into the hallway meant only for mall employees, and came back a minute or two later. As he walked by me, he whispered, "Have fun waiting in line."

I wanted to slap that kid upside the fuckin head.

Then I wondered if he was acting dickish because that's who he is, or if it was because he noticed my surprise when first I saw his eye. Either way, I hope his eye specialist/doctor overcharged him for treatment.

Another instant was when I was an a comic shop, and overheard a couple looking for two issues of a particular Star Wars comic series for their son or nephew.

"Two-ninety-nine?" He said to the girl. "That's cheap!"

I smiled, and tried so hard to keep from rolling on the ground, and laughing out loud.

Then that leaves a time when I was an another comic shop, also in San Jose, and the employee at the shop was talking to a friend of his, and not a minute after I walk in, the friend blurts out the fate of a character in There Will Be Blood. And I assumed the character they were talking about was "character x." I hadn't seen the film yet, and I wanted to wring out both of their necks. Fast forward to today. I finally got to see the film.

I walked into the theater anticipating the fate of "character x." Low and behold, "character x" was not who the employee and the friend were talking about, but another character. Even though everything turned out okay, there's still a little part of me that feels the same way that I felt that day in the comic shop: there are people in this world that just don't have any common courtesy or sense of urgency. The two people in the shop that day likely have more courtesy than most, but damn if I didn't wanna call the two of them a pair of asses when I left.

All in all, people are fascinating.

January's Picture of the Month

I've decided to do something similar to what some have done, including Alisha, which is to taking a photo a day, or week, or whatever. But the hell if I'm gonna remember to take a photo a day for 366 days this year (it's a leap year this year remember). Well if any of you out there know me, you know that I take a lot of photos. Case in point, my previous entry. And I doubt I'm actually ever gonna get to all of the Hella Photos I originally wanted to post here, so like I kind of mentioned in that entry, you may as well check out my Flickr.

Anyway, in all the photos that I take throughout the given month, I'll end up picking the one photo that stands out to me, and declare it the photo of the month. That said, here's January's photo of the month, Paulie Bleeker:

If you've seen Juno then you should instantly get the title's meaning. Late last month, as I was getting ready for bed, I took off my Livestrong and Don't Sweat The Small Stuff wrist bands onto my desk, and it landed on near the little basketball. And me being me, I didn't wanna go to bed right away, and started fiddling with it, and eventually got what you see above. Ridiculousness, I realize. But in the background you'll see my Frank Sinatra box set, Grant Morrision beer glass from the Isotope, The Office day calender, the box of my Dan Johnson- Sacramento RiverCats bobble head doll (the actual bobble-head doll behind the Morrision glass, and behind the box is my 10-inch Ray Palmer-The Atom... all of these "toys" reaffirming the fact that I am one huge dork.