All entries written in July, 2008
July 30, 2008 at 10:01 pm · Filed under Misc, Thoughts
This was a fascinating article to read. It’s a shame that it was on the front of cnn.com a few hours ago, and now I had to do a search just to find it again–that means fewer people will see it. I wonder if it was deemed too controversial to play up, or if it was just forced out by an influx of other stories. I guess there’s no way to know.
Anyway, I think it’ll be worth your time. While I myself don’t smoke marijuana (and unlike a lot of people who say that, I actually mean it), I saw far too many friends and unassuming strangers get treated like Goddamn drug lords in college, and I have a relative who’s always been curious about the plant’s medicinal properties. There are far worse things out there, and it was nice to see that someone in government agrees with me.
Why is it Massachusetts always seems to be on the vanguard of positive social change? (And yes, I’m referring to liberal/progressive change as “positive,” since it opens new avenues without shutting any old ones, at least so far as Massachusetts is concerned). I guess when you’re the oldest state in the union, your people have had more time to collectively think. I’d move there if my heart wasn’t so much in New York…and if I didn’t own a Yankees t-shirt.
July 26, 2008 at 11:27 am · Filed under Misc, Thoughts
I can almost hear you laughing out there in the audience, but I just want to publicly commend Archie Comics for what seems to be superior customer service. I let my subscription to Sonic the Hedgehog lapse without realizing last month (the last time I had to renew, I got some kind of a notice), and I quickly went online to renew when I was on the cusp of missing the next issue. I noted this in the “comments” field when placing my order, and lo and behold, a few days later I received the issue I almost missed in a special envelope. How very nice! I may have hoped for something like that, but I never dreamed they’d actually do it. It’s nice to know I’m a valued customer.
Yeah. La-haaaaaugh. The fact is that Sonic (and, to an even greater degree, Knuckles) have always been one of the greatest historical influences on my storytelling, and especially my art. I tried to settle on a gallery of Sonic art to link to, but there’s no one that really captures everything I want to get across…so go here to see a selection of galleries (pay attention to the Archie ones), and go here to see some very memorable art by one of the best former Sonic artists. Actually, now that I look at it, the Archie Sonic page I linked to above has a decent set of page scans from recent stories, too…the new artist, Tracey Yardley! (yes, the exclamation point is part of his name (and yes, it’s a he)), has very much impressed me.
It might not be immediately obvious how I could’ve gotten to School Kids SG from these kinds of influences, but…well, we’ll see if I ever get around to writing that Sonic retrospective. Maybe now that we’re in an Intermission, I’ll have a chance.
July 25, 2008 at 8:04 pm · Filed under Personal, Thoughts
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July 23, 2008 at 9:25 pm · Filed under Misc, Thoughts
So I was walking to the subway after work tonight, and just as I was about to cross the street to Bryant Park, I heard someone shouting an offer for free rides. I turned to my left and what should I see but one of those New York pedicabs, dressed up to look like the open maw of a Great White shark. Apparently, it’s a promotion for Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.
The sad thing is that people were barely blinking…I guess if you’ve lived in New York long enough, you’ve seen it all.
July 19, 2008 at 11:08 pm · Filed under Announcements
So that was the first Friday without an update in a long time, wasn’t it? I think I calculated how long it would take to post all of Blood and Brotherhood up front, but I still feel like it went on forever. Not that that’s a bad thing…this arc was one of my favorites.
I should probably make some things about the next Intermission period clear, however. For starters, I’m going to be up-front and admit that we’ve reached the end of my “buffer,” a word I put in quotes because I didn’t start this site with any plan to stay X weeks ahead in terms of content. My plan was always to have this site act as my main blog space, where I could post anything I wanted in addition to the central School Kids SG series. That said, I had both The Gauntlet and Blood and Brotherhood finished and “published” before I even opened the site, so I was able to completely control their posting timetable–the timespan of a few weeks between the end of one episode and the start of another will not remain typical, which hopefully doesn’t surprise anyone who’s ever tried to write professionally.
But just because episode four will need another round of editing before it’s ready doesn’t mean that I’m out of content or ideas. What I’m trying to tell you is that this is the first “true” Intermission we’ve come to, and things are going to get wacky. Expect, among other things, instructions for the School Kids SG card game (no joke), plenty of art and information related to Woodvale, a new page layout (eventually), the continuation of my “Fall of Love” post series (go to the Facebook page to get the password), some follow-up on Blood and Brotherhood, other writing I’ve had lying around for a couple of years, and whatever else I can think of. I’ve got a whole bunch of posts-in-progress saved already! So maybe saying that I’ve “run out of ‘buffer’” wasn’t really the best way of putting it.
In any case, I’m excited–it’ll be nice to have the freedom to post all the ancillary content I’ve been saving up, and it’ll be interesting to see what ultimately makes the cut. I also just had the idea to ask if there’s anything you’d like to see, any questions you have–if so, please post them as comments.
See you next week!
July 16, 2008 at 9:07 am · Filed under Merchandise
Book Two: Blood and Brotherhood - $12.99 (Buy now!)
That’s right! I was hard at work putting this book together while its component parts were running on the site, and now it can be yours. This 280-page, perfect-bound trade paperback collects all of Bad Company and A River of Darkness, plus the prologue, midlogue and epilogue. In addition to the stories, you’ll also get a two-page spread of the Prattcorn Valley Map and a few other small pieces of new art, including exclusive front and back covers.
Picking up six weeks after The Gauntlet left off, Blood and Brotherhood brings the SG Crew face-to-face with the Church of Chaos for the first time, in an encounter that will bring out everyone’s darkest dimensions. Book two of School Kids SG drives the series in its most intense and intriguing directions yet, and lays the groundwork for all the adventures to come.
Buy it now from lulu.com, for only $12.99!
July 14, 2008 at 9:07 am · Filed under Cast, Girls
July 7, 2008 at 9:50 pm · Filed under Personal, Thoughts
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July 4, 2008 at 10:20 pm · Filed under Misc, Thoughts
You can see the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular from the 61st St. subway platform here in Woodside. I’ve suspected as much since last year, when I first stood up there prior to moving and discovered that I could see all the way back to the George Washington Bridge on a clear day, but I didn’t get a chance to prove it until tonight. It was nice…a few too many buildings in the way for it to really be viable, though.
