Sunday, July 30, 2006

Where I've Been: Sun., July 24-Sat., July 29

<-- Back to the previous post in this series

This first, median and last web sites I visited each day this past week.

There's a fascinating story of addiction here for anyone who cares to see it: Sunday and Monday are almost exclusively me reading Narbonic. Tuesday I start to leave the house. Later on in the week I go so far as to start looking for a job. And, of course, by last night I'm back on the smack again.

Sunday, July 23 (113)
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Monday, July 24 (76)
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Tuesday, July 25 (148)
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Wednesday, July 26 (80)
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Thursday, July 27 (44)
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Friday, July 28 (240)
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Saturday, July 29 (18)
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<--Back to the previous post in this series

Production Fantasy

I've been travelling and maybe I put that together with the 06.05.06 comic here and I built a new daytime fantasy. In this one, I use Craig's List to find production jobs in different cities and go live there in a sublet or a hotel while I work on the films. Maybe this fantasy isn't too far-fetched, but it does seem a bit excessive for PA work. But then I heard about a guy today who's worked as a PA for 30 years, so I guess in this business, anything's possible.

In related news, I am considering a quest for more entertaining online non-fiction comics. For now, I'll prolly reread the ones I already know about.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Jon Arbuckle Has a Bitch!

Remember how I made a big fuss because newspaper comics where nothing changes seem stilted and outdated once you've read even one webcomic?

Of the many shitty, stilted syndicated comics, Garfield is the worst. We are talking about one guy making the same eight jokes every day for the past 25 years. There's even been a few bizarre and interesting memes that single out Garfield because it represents so well what's so wrong with syndicated comics.

Today, Jon Arbuckle got a girlfriend. This came after a short story line that you can take a look at online.

I am happy, happy. I'd come to assume that pop culture thought I was an idiot (I liked Superman just because it didn't insult my intelligence.) It's nice to see one of the great bastions of mediocrity trusting that if Jon gets a bitch, the rest of us will be able to handle that.

As a sidenote, Jon also got some lovin' back in '81. From the same girl. But he may not remember all that now - those were heady times.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Things I Have Trouble Keeping Straight

Someday, someone will read this and diagnose me with a very specific neurological disorder.

Friends of friends
Rules of non-Klondike solitaire
Formal dance steps
Dimelo or Dilome (also, por and para)
What you've been up to the last few months
What you'll be doing the next few months
Relatives
What year something happened to me
What time I'm supposed to be there
Non-Diana Rigg Bond movies

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

I Make People Angry

For the past week I've been at my parents' place in San Antonio, Tx. and I've been going through a bunch of stuff my dad saved from when I was going to school; transcripts, awards, test scores, stuff like that. My grades and test scores are about what I remember, but the surprising thing for me was looking at all the notes my teachers gave along with my termly grades.

How on Earth did I consistently manage to annoy so many people? I mean, I had a good number of allies, but I made so many people so angry. What was I doing while I was in school?

Monday, July 24, 2006

One of My Favorite Things Ever Said About Me

"Being odd does not yet mean being a genius."

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Where I've Been: Sun., July 16-Sat., July 22

<-- Back to the previous post in this series

The first, media and last sites I visited each day of the past week. If it seems like I've done nothing except read Narbonic this week, that may be because I've done nothing but read Narbonic this week.

Sunday, July 16 (125)
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Monday, July 17 (109)
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Tuesday, July 18 (127)
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Wednesday, July 19 (117)
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Thursday, July 20 (242)
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Friday, July 21 (148)
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Saturday, July 22 (77)
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<--Back to the previous post in this series

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Production Diary: First Week Wrapped

Right now I am sitting in an air-conditioned room in a big house in my hometown of San Antonio, Tx., reading comics and thinking about lunch. It's like the beginning of The Unstrung Harp when Mr. Earbrass begins the story in a state of perfect rest.

I knew this really cute girl from Santa Fe who went to college on the East Coast. Santa Fe is up at the top of a mountain - you can think of as walking half way across the width of Manhattan except you're walking up in to the air. I like Santa Fe, but there are three things that bother me whenever I'm there: static electricity, race relations, and lack of oxygen. I'm not America's most physically fit man, but in Santa Fe I can't even climb a flight of stairs without getting winded.


This girl grew up at that altitude, and when she moved to sea level for the first time for school, she felt like a superman. For the first two weeks, she felt like she could do anything - jogging, studying, staying up all night. That's because oxygen gets you high, and her body was responding to a lifetime at 7,300 feet.

That's how I felt this week. After a month spending every day on my feet, returning to my normal lifestyle has given me a lot of excess energy. Before it took me months to do things like deal with leases, get ready for a trip, clean the apartment, buy an air conditioner. Just now I managed to get my life together in about a week.

I've even lost weight. I keep staring at the spot where the rest of my belly used to be, and all my cool shirts fit again.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Production Diary: First Day Wrapped

I'm looking at my blog, and the last entry as of today is "Production Diary: Day 1," and I'm thinking "yeah, that looks about right."

A film production is a big deal. It does not stop. Often I have been in a position, like firewatching G+E equipment from a phone booth in the rain, that I could not physically escape for hours at a time. I've spent about as many waking hours with my cousin the revolutionary in the past day as I did in the month before that - and he lives with me. During the time I was at home, I wasn't functional enough to do dishes. Blogging was out of the question.


That said, a lot has happened to me in the past month. I knew coming in to this production that it would be a life-changing experience, because I have done few enough productions that they have all been life-changing experiences. For example, I now have a career in film. That's a big deal.

So there's a lot to talk about. There are a few things I'll probably post date, but I've essentially just led another life and returned to this one, and a life reappraisal is an inherently free-association thing. In summary, watch this space.