Spent July 4th in Malibu with a stunning view of the ocean and a bubble machine that briefly went a little nutty.
I became somewhat intimate with this red stuff. I know there’s some fluffy term for the mixture but it slips my mind at the moment. Suffice to say it was strong and turns your pee pink.
But these dead creatures were certainly a highlight. It was always standing room only around the table filled with East Coast Crab. Digging into dead crab is very carnal…very…kill or be killed.
Steve Niles (with wife Nikki) was the ring master behind poking fun at little ol’ me…after cutting my finger on one of the buggers he was quick to point out and laugh that I’d been wounded by a dead thing.
Host, Tom Jane, lived at the table and would win the award for ripping into the most crustaceans, if such an award were to exist. If I recall the story correctly, he and Frank Darabont came up with the idea.
On the surface it would look like a typical Hollywood party. Actors, writers, directors, producers and so forth. But, the truth is, it was simply a circle of friends. And that was the overwhelming feeling. Pictured above, Co-Host, Patricia chatting with Miguel and Chris in the background.
Niles, myself, Bernie Wrightson and Jane gathered for a group pic. And due to the many comic book guys present Comicon was an on-going topic of interest.
Mrs. Wrightson and I exchanged photos displaying the cameras we’d both purchased the day before. The Canon SD400 Elphs. Wonderful little camera. Smaller than my old one and way better than the Fuji I’d returned the day before.
Sadly, I hadn’t charged the battery as I found out later that the little how-to booklet recommended so that was my last pic with the camera.
Fortunately the ol’ Treo 450 has a split personality and can be used to take crappy low res photos in a pinch.
Not the greatest pics but good enough to show Frank Darabont revealing some of his recently acquired Bernie Wrightson artwork, while Niles, Jane and myself Ooh and Ahh.
Every year a neighbor would schedule a barge out on the ocean to shoot legal bombs into the sky as celebration. However, as darkness fell word floated through that the neighbors weren’t doing it this year. so there was a scramble to gather bombs and soon the back yard lit up. And as it turned out the little Treo came through for me again.
Dean, Mel and I started playing a bit more. We made a few loot runs through Dire Maul until the server locked up and we along with Stegan and Pull stood frozen in the above poses for 5 or 10 minutes.
And finally…ordered on May 30th…my couches finally arrived. At least now I have somewhere to sit when I do the TiVo dance.
After logging in one night with no plans of sticking around long I was farting around in Southern Winterspring when I found the entrance to Hyjal. It’s basically a zone that has yet to go live. There’s a trick to sneaking into such zones thus since I was bored and not planning to stay long…I stumbled in.
On the work front I’m currently living in the land of outlines. I hate outlines. Basically because they’re the hardest part. It’s during the outline or treatment that you really figure out the story. So, it’s work. Not a fan of work. I actually love the first draft. I love sitting down to create the world (having already worked out the details). The glory that comes when your characters and situations sometimes spin and take you somewhere unexpected. This is why I’m here. It’s why I don’t drive nails anymore.
The goal was to get all of the quote unquote comic book stuff I’d been working on finished or at least caught up by this week’s Comicon. And for the most part I’ve done that. I still have some details left to work out on one more project.
Patrick and family have returned from their European vacation. He and I met last week to discuss a couple of projects we’d put on hold due to others screaming more loudly. And this is a good thing. Sometimes it’s just nice to work with a buddy rather than always trudge through creation alone.
Patrick sent me some prayers. Don’t know who wrote them so whoever you are…you made me chuckle.
FEMALE PRAYER
Before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who’s not a creep,
One who’s handsome, smart and strong,
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
One who’ll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he’s gainfully employed,
When I spend his cash, won’t be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door,
Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! Send me a man who’ll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to “how big is my behind?”
I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And always be my very best friend.
Amen.
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MALE PRAYER
Lord, Gimmee a deaf-mute nymphomaniac with a SMOKIN’ hot bod, who owns a liquor store, and has a bass boat and a hunting lodge.
…and season tickets. Courtside.
…and a hot bisexual best friend.
I know this doesn’t rhyme.
Oh, yeah, Amen.
Thursday night I’m hitting LA for a screening of “The Godfather of Green Bay.” It was written and Directed by a buddy, Pete Schwaba. After the screening I’ll hit the road to San Diego. Perfect timing in my book because I’ll miss all the traffic. At least I hope I’ll miss all the traffic.
Mel’s flying to the Diego tomorrow where she’ll meet up with Sarah and the Sexy Olga. And I’ll join them Thursday night.
I have meetings while there but they’re more like get-togethers. All of the guys I know in the comic world will be there and half the guys in the video game world. My guess is, we’ll catch Willy Wonka and most likely stop in at the zoo to visit the imprisoned animals.
I was alone in the land of Hyjal. No friendlys, no unfriendlys. There was a massive pool of water beneath the giant tree two pics above. I turned myself into a seal and took off for the bottom where I found nothing but a rock issuing air bubbles.
It’s fun to explore and sadly I’ve pretty much seen it all except for the adventures that require 40 players and 13 hours of flawless battle. Eh…who has the time?
I do wish Blizzard would add more single or small group content for the high level game. Today was patch day and I noticed they added another 40 player encounter. Yeah, yeah, did I mention, who has the time?
The other night Purity, Gawd, Kindrid, Coal and myself tore through Blackrock Deep and had a blast. Toward the end, Coal needed to call it a night which left the four of us to tie up the loose ends. Luckily, while surrounded by evil, we found a spot to have a seat and take a rest.
In closing, I found the following while looking at a buddy’s site on MySpace. Obviously it came from CollegeHumor.com and before that the more gentler times of our past.
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