Sometimes I struggle with Titles

Happy Monday, all. I have to say, it's going to be a busy week here in my little corner of the world. Granted, this is a relative sort of busyness. It is busy, i suppose, when you consider that six months ago, I was unemployed and would have likely spent a normal day walking around Hollywood for 5 or 6 hours, popping in and out of cafes/bars, only to be followed by a nap, and then a trip to the Valley to sit on Stephen Cross's couch for an indeterminate amount of time till I went home and prayed for an interview the next day. Rinse and Repeat. So, given that I am coming from that place, it is busy. ::armswideopenforsympathyhug::

::armsstillopen::

::armsgettingtired::

So, let's hop to it. I am feeling link-y today, so the first thing you should check is the continuing adventures of Ms. Eve Ning over at Octopus Pie. I love this little webcomic, and there are definitely similarities between it and LFM (soon to be riding your way on the waves of the intertubes). The current story arc is brutally familiar, and today's joke is one of my top 5 all time favorite webcomic punchlines. Oh yes, there is a list. Go ahead and judge.

Speaking of webcomics, GarfieldminusGarfield is awesome today too.

I enjoyed the Super Bowl yesterday. I thought the game was well played, although the officiating was suspect for a bit. I also have to say that I was a little disappointed in the Steelers. Listen, I get it. You are paid millions of dollars to be brutal and strong. The game is physical. You get worked up. Sure, I get it. Having said that, the personal fouls and unsportsman-like conduct during the game last night were far and beyond the normal aggression inherent in the game. It showed poor quality of character. I know, I am just some schmoe sitting on a chair munching on carne asada and passing judgement, but I don't watch football to see some roided out dickhead knock a dude down and hold him there, lording over his conquest. I have seen more friendly, respectful UFC fights. More punishing, maybe, but certainly less brutal. Just an observation.

This is still the best part of the game. Possibly any game.

I have selected the 5 most prestigious literary magazines from my list and will have Ranchero out to them by Friday. I hope it is ready to be seen, but I think the most important thing I can do right now is just keep moving forward. Not to manifest negative energy or whatever, but I am very realistic in my expectations from this first encounter. How cool would it be to get a really competitive paying mag on my first cast though? We can dream.

Coraline comes out Friday. Or Thursday at midnight, if you are as obsessed as I am. I am begging everyone I know to go out on the first day to see it. If my plea is not enough, perhaps these words from the author will sway your hearts.

My buddy Brandon is writing a sports blog, and is applying to work for mlb.com. Hit up his page and check it out. Even if you don't like sports, he is a good writer and every little hit helps (buh-dum-bum).

Finally, I promised a surprise. I was thinking about posting a snippet of the short story or maybe a poem or somesuch. Then, I started working on Looking For More again a little, and I got myself reinspired. In case you don't know, Looking For More (LFM) is a webcomic that I am writing with my friend and longtime collaborator Darrell Claunch. Darrell is a really brilliant artist. He is very versatile and works in a lot of different media. You can see some of his film work here. He is an artist for an very clever independent video game house called Black Lantern Studios. I realize that I am probably more than a little biased, but I think he is really hitting his artistic stride as a cartoonist. So, he is drawing our little comic. I will talk about it quite a bit on here as the weeks go by, and hopefully the launch will happen sometime in Spring.But, as a little treat for ya'll, and as a little catalyst for me, I figured I would post a couple early character designs. So, without further ado, meet some of our friends from LFM.

This is a profile of Kirk, our intrepid hero. He has since changed a bit (a little longer in the face.), but this is definitely a good idea of his look.



This is a very rough frontal from earlier in the conception phase, but you get a great look at his remarkably marketable pong shirt...

This is his buddy Neal. Neal is equal parts Jack Black and Matthew McConaughey (with a dash of Stephen Cross thrown in, if you know him). His blond faux-hawk, though still a work in progress, may be the most beautiful thing ever beheld by the human eye.

There is a lot more where those came from, and more yet to come, but I don't want to give away the farm here, so that should do for a taste. Stay tuned for updates and maybe more little blog exclusive give-aways. Even more importantly, tell everyone you know about this great little comic you heard about and help build readership. so I can get money. And buy you coffee. Cause I will. Desperate? Yes. Pathetic? Yes. Pointless, as the website isn't even functional yet? Yes.

I think that about covers it for today. See you on Friday.