mundanecircus

The Great White North

2009-04-12T01:31:29Z

I'll be on vacation to Montreal and Quebec City the next week and a half (4/12 to 4/23), just to take a little time off, have some creative quality time with my "girls" and, in QC, attend the " Festival de la bande dessinée francophone de Québec", Quebec's renowned comics show. Of course, some of my close friends (you know who you are) will get cards while I am up there, so check your mailbox. I'll try to keep up things while I'm away, but until then, see you 4/24.

I gave... how about you?

2009-02-12T03:34:34Z

This year, the bushfires in Australia has been the deadliest and most destructive ever. In fact, it even made the front page news of Tuesday's "St. Petersburg Times" -- my local newspaper in sunny Florida, where we often have disasters of out own, in the form of hurricanes.

Yes, Aussie fires (as well as those here in the states) have made the news many times before, but, because of its sheer terror, compounded by the fact that I have friends Down Under (including Daniel VanderWerff, the author of the "School Spirit" comic strip who lives close to the fire area), I've been implored to give to the Australian Red Cross, where I gave A$20 toward the relief effort.

How about you?

After 8 years under Bush, America has spoken...

2008-11-05T04:52:26Z

...they want to take the Soul Train to Washington.

Obama has been elected president. America has truly entered a new era. Hopefully in the next four years, Happy Days will be much more than an old sitcom.

Save this Wednesday's newspapers -- this election has truly been historic.

This is our best chance yet for change...

2008-09-30T23:48:14Z

...yet some people are apathetic about it. In a little over a month, McCain, Obama and scores of minor candidates will be looking for votes from American voters. But, despite a lot of reasons America is going down the drink -- Bush and his silly war, the economy (you ought to see today's (9/30) front page of the St. Petersburg Times -- a picture on a crumbling, sweaty Ben Franklin from the $100 bill), "No Child Left Behind" (until college), Christian right-wingers demonising gays and abortions (God doesn't need a "P.R." man (hint, hint)), national security after 9/11 (Bush's policy -- "too much is never enough"), and so forth -- there are some that just don't care whether they cast a vote or not.

Personally, I've always been a voter. But it's the state and federal races that I consider the most important, and the ones that I pay rapt attention to. This year, it's much more important, since the next president will set the stage for the next four years, especially after Bush leaves the office. I already have my ballot -- my state has a vote-by-mail option for everyone (not just absentees), as well as early voting. Personally, not voting because you're too busy is a very stupid excuse, as you have ample chances to vote. (I won't be mailing my ballot in until another couple of weeks -- so I could get more info and news on the candidates.)

The main reason why I'm writing my own think piece is that I was inspired to do so by fellow blogger Raina Telgemeier -- the artist and writer responsible for the "Baby Sitter's Club" graphic novels (check'em out!). See her editorial here:

http://goraina.livejournal.com/196986.html

I would like to get your opinion too (so does Raina). And remember:

"Get yerself down t' the pollin' booth! People who don't use their vote deserve what they get!" -- Andy Capp, who flipped a coin to decide who to vote for

P.S. for Canadians -- Your turn will come... the day after Thanksgiving (Columbus day for us yanks).

Ike strikes Houston; provides joke fodder for Letterman

2008-09-13T05:31:56Z

Hurricane Ike is making landfall now as we speak at 1:30AM ET (9/13) as a 110 MPH "2" storm -- one more click and it could've been a "3".

Hope everyone in the area is staying safe -- especially the dolt in the bear costume frolicking in the waves. That would make a great sketch for Late Show with David Letterman -- "can a Guy in a Bear Suit Survive a Storm Surge?"

America learned something from the Chinese during the Olympics...

2008-09-04T00:16:11Z

...How to Be a Police State:

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/2/amy_goodman_two_democracy_now_producers

280 protesters at the Republican convention in St. Paul were arrested Labor Day (Monday 9/1), including Amy Goodman and producers of her TV/Radio program, "Democracy Now".

Shades of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where hundreds of protesters were arrested for peacefully protesting against the outgoing Johnson administration.

"Land of the Free" -- as long as the Republicans are in power, that line in the "Star Spangled Banner" makes no sense.

Lucky my cable's Bright House

2008-08-24T03:22:04Z

Just spotted this on Radio-Info's boards -- in October 2007, a DC-area woman frustrated with Comcast cable with their poor customer service walked in to their office and registered a complaint -- with her hammer:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html?hpid=artslot

Poor customer service, enough to drive everyone up the wall -- "it's Comcastic!"

Lucked out again

2008-08-19T03:01:48Z

"Fay" will be making landfall as a Tropical Storm Tuesday (8/19). And it's very likely that we're out of the woods where I live.

As for Shelley -- while the storm will be barely TS by the time it reaches Orlando, I wish her the best for the misery that she'll have to put up come Wednesday.

But we have 3.5 months of hurricane season to go.

And I still have Perry Como on my mind when I think about "Seattle".

By the way...

2008-08-18T04:05:12Z

I'm also on MySpace too -- check it out.

Why I want to move to Seattle -- Reason #1

2008-08-18T03:27:49Z

Hurricanes.

"Fay", merely a Tropical Storm, is expected to hit Florida by Tuesday as a cat-1 Hurricane, especially where I live.

And since we don't exactly know where it's going, my guts churn, anxiously thinking about it.

This is why hurricanes are the worst in my personal list of disasters -- not only because of what they are, but of all the uncertainty of where it would go. The days of hoping that it won't hit you where you live.

Jenn, a comic-strip colleague of mine, has recently moved to Seattle. My high school friend Shelley wants to move there too.

Three years. Mark my words. I want to be out of Florida and living in Seattle (or anywhere around there) by 2011.

"The Mundance Circus" website -- new and improved

2008-08-11T04:29:09Z

I recently overhauled my website -- same as before, but now with a new background, new link buttos, some rearranging, and more links. And there's more where that came from (time pending). See it at:

http://www.animeexpressway.com/

Have you ever have the feeling that you're just being ignored?

2008-08-09T07:10:51Z

I've been online with "The Mundane Circus" and "The Pretty Gladiator" for about 3.5 years. This is what I got to show for it in Google:

Google results for "The Mundane Circus"

Google results for "The Pretty Gladiator"

Also, I got no "fan mail" or even hate mail regarding this matter.

What am I doing wrong?

Wanted: an agent

2008-06-02T23:58:31Z

Previously, I have mentioned a person who gave me a name of someone who would help me find an agent for my book. That person responded today -- not only does she NOT know that person, she is unwilling to give me her agent, nor is she willing to help until January 2009 at the earliest.

While I still have the addresses of the three editors, the progress on my book practically stops here until I find an agent -- I am unwilling to publish it myself (where chances are I would only see peanuts in return, if at all), and I'm unwilling to go at it alone, as it would likely end up in "slush pile hell".

If anyone has any ideas on how to find a good agent, or knows one that would be willing to take me on, please let me know.

PG update -- Next step: an agent

2008-06-01T23:23:27Z

Recently, my therapist sent my latest "Pretty Gladiator" manuscript to a friend of hers, who works in the publishing business. She loved it, but, to get a second opinion, she sent my manuscript to a friend of HERS, who helps take care of LGBT works. And that editors' suggestion -- send it out at once. She gave me a list of three editors of major publishing companies (all LGBT-related publishers), as well as the name of someone who would give me a best agent of someone who would shop my book around. And those who arent self-publishers know that having a good agent is very important in sending out your manuscript (so I heard).

Here's hoping.

A book that deserves to be banned

2008-04-24T04:12:23Z

This is my first actual Live Journal post since forever. And this time around, it's for a good cause.

The next time you're at your favorite comic shop, book store or comic convention, and you see an art book titled "Colorful Illustrations 93°C", pick up the book, hand it to the dealer...

...and tell him to take it off the shelves, sooner than immediately.

The reason being is that book features illustrations and interviews that were illegally lifted from various websites, without knowledge or authorisation of the illustrators, or even the copyright owners that the illustrators worked for. In addition, all these illustrations were available on an accompanying CD-Rom, which may lead the buyer into thinking that the images can be reproducted.

The book, which retails for US$100, was published by a publisher in "Hong Kong" under an assumed name; the phone numbers, addresses, even the ISBN numbers are also false. I have placed "Hong Kong" in quotes, as the book may very well have been published in China, where copyright violations are of epidemic proportions (otakus who bought the notorious "HK DVDs" of anime will understand).

For more details, see:

http://apefluff.com/colorful-illustrations-93c-please-do-not-buy-this-book/
http://thelittlechimpsociety.com/theape/colorful-illustrations-93c-part-two/#more-6848

...and pass it on to everyone you know.

(Special thanks to Donna Barr, a colleague of mine.)

So, what happened?

2007-09-16T06:36:20Z

I apologise for the delay since my last post, as I was away in Orlando and Jacksonville, and after I got back, I was under the weather with a cold. Here's what happened since then:

1. First and foremost, my grandmother died last Thursday, 9/6. She died in her sleep, painlessly. She was 87. I found out about her death after calling my folks during my Jacksonville trip. My dad told me to keep on my vacation schedule as usual. We already knew that grandma's funeral would be immediate family, and we opted not to go, as we already saw her one last time, merely four days prior to her death. As for how I felt when I got the news? Personally, I didn't feel sad or engrieved -- but it had me wondering about Grandma for much of the remainder of the trip. I also hoped that it didn't develop into a moment like Florida's reaction to James Evans' death on "Good Times". (Which didn't.) Anyhow -- my grandma's in a better place now; chances are she's making friends with Adele and Rosie in Heaven. She loved angels, like I did. Now, she's an angel herself.

2. Apart from the Orlando leg from the trip (which was for training for my company), my trip to Jacksonville was enjoyable, but uneventful. Jacksonville's a nice place, but it doesn't stand out much, in comparison with the Tampa Bay area. It did have some nice bridges downtown, such as FEC's railroad bridge (adjacent to the Acosta Bridge) and the Main Street lift bridge. I got to see both of them in action when I was downtown that Saturday. (Remind me to go on a weekday if I ever go to downtown Jax again -- apart from the riverwalk, it's dead on weekends.) Jacksonville is also home of "Chamblin's Bookmine", one of the most-extensive bookstores that I've ever seen. They literally have hundreds -- even thousands -- of books in every category. I picked up a few books when I was up there. Could've bought more, though, but I don't want to end up donating some of them to my local library's bookstore (which I already did, twice, to lighten the load for the coming move to Austin, which I have a feeling it probably won't happen until closer to Christmas).

3. As for the rest of my trip -- meh.

In Orlando, I bought some books at the local library. I also stayed at a local hotel on International Drive -- it looked a little too run down, the AC kept me awake all night, the bathroom sink leaked underneath, and my room had no wastebasket.

Mount Dora's always nice -- I went there again to get a couple more Suzy Toronto prints at a gift shop there (a store in Ybor City used to have them, but dropped them the last couple of months).

Fernandina Beach was also rather nice, with a historic downtown -- Rafi and Theo especially loved it.

St.Mary's, Georgia -- don't ask.

Palatka -- Quite dead on Sundays, though I did visit a local antique store there. The local Burger King is where I experienced "sticker shock" -- their sandwiches are a buck more than back at home -- or at an oasis on the Florida Turnpike -- or Jacksonville-- or Orlando. Yes, it's that expensive.

Micanopy -- a nice, quaint town, bustling with antique shops downtown, plus a Smiley's antique mall on I-75. This trip, I've been into town, but not Smiley's, but I've been to Smiley's on two occasion's before -- and it's huge.

That's all for this trip. Hopefully, my next trip will be to Austin, for an indeterminable amount of time (hint, hint). But chances are, I may end up going somewhere else first.

Turn For The Worse

2007-09-05T03:47:12Z

Doctors now say that Grandma is likely to die from lung cancer (found in the liver) within 7 to 10 days.

In my opinion, if she makes it to the end of the month, that alone will be a miracle.

(P.S. -- On business in Orlando tomorrow (9/5) and on vacation in Jacksonville through 9/9. See you Sunday.)

Michigan Trip, The Conclusion (part 2)

2007-09-03T06:45:21Z

Today (9/2), we had a long trip home back to Florida, leaving Bay City at 12 Noon and arriving at Bishop Airport in Flint at about 1PM. We had a bite to eat, then went through security. We left Flint for Atlanta, shortly after 3PM, arriving in Atlanta around 5PM. We continued to Tampa about 6PM, after a brief layover.

For the flight to Atlanta, I got an aisle seat. For the flight to Tampa, I got a window seat. However, it was in row 30 (out of 31 rows), and was right next to the jet engine, meaning that I didn't get much of a view on the way home.

Also, I had XM radio to keep myself entertained -- in fact, I had my CD player in my checked luggage for the flight home, as I would spend all my listening time listening to XM. With a wealth of listening pleasure with no commercials, no wonder traditional radio stations are quaking in their boots, as satellite radio has given local stations competition that they cannot possibly match. (But that's another topic.)

It was shortly after 8PM when we left Tampa Airport back for home. When I returned home, I unpacked and caught up on my internet business. I also watched the first couple of hours or so of Jerry Lewis' annual MDA telethon, an annual Labor Day tradition. (I wonder what the telethon will be like once they find a cure, or if Jerry dies, whichever comes first. Hopefully the former.)

It's been a nice trip to Michigan -- too bad it's for grim circumstances.

I won't be home for long, though -- I'm going to Orlando on company business on Wed. 9/5, then Jacksonville to "get away from it all" the following weekend, in what could be the final fling before the move to Austin -- which is now sometime before Thanksgiving.

Michigan Trip, The Conclusion (part 1)

2007-09-03T06:17:03Z

I am now once again in Florida, after a long plane ride home. Before the trip, we said our final goodbyes to grandma. I gave her my final kisses, told her that I love her very much, and shedded a few tears. Everyone in our family had similar reactions.

Her condition today was the same as the past few days.

My dad has given her a couple of more weeks before she dies.

Personally, in her present state, it will be a miracle to have her make it to October alive.

September is generally a cruel month for all of us, as bad things generally happen that month -- in fact, 26 years ago today, 9/3/1981, my first gramdma, my mom's mother, died of breast cancer. I was only three days into sixth grade, and middle school, when she died.

Michigan Update 8/30, part 2

2007-08-31T03:56:03Z

In more happier news:

Yesterday (8/29), the flight from Tampa to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Flint were largely uneventful -- it was a smooth flight all the way. Also, the airline I was on, Airtran, had free XM radio -- which is what radio should be. (Sirius is another great choice, but it has what XM doesn't have -- CBC and Radio-Canada.)

Because of space considerations, I left Nathalie and Adele at home, and took Rafi and Theonie with me. Rafi was in checked luggage; Theonie was in a carry-on bag, under the seat.

I would've uploaded the pictures right now, but unfortunately, the cellular internet device (I am using my parents' laptop) is blocking the other vacant USB port. I'll show them to you later.

It was a 45 mile drive from Bishop Airport in Flint to Bay City. After a stop at my aunt's to see grandma (see below), we went to a hotel. My aunt paid for my parents' room at a special hospital rate; I paid for my own at the same rate.

We didn't do much Wednesday, other than to visit, eat out and get supplies.

Today (8/30), we didn't do much else, other than ride around in the country and visit. I was hoping to take some pictures of the "girls" and visit some shops, but that will have to wait until tomorrow (8/31).

Though I did go to Meijer's (a great retail chain) to but some boxers -- which will have to double as swim trunks (the only ones I found were on clearance -- and XXL) and some cute kids' shirts for Rafi and Nathalie (also on clearance).

That's all -- for now.

Michigan Update 8/30, part 1

2007-08-31T03:34:49Z

I am writing this from my hometown of Bay City, Michigan, where I am visiting my grandmother. And, sad to say, she is nowhere near as well as she was in the past.

When we first visited her yesterday (Wednesday 8/29), she could very barely speak, and hardly move at all.And when she did speak, I couldn't understand what she's saying, as her speech has become very weak. Luckily, my aunt and uncle, who has cared for her the last several years at their place, has been giving her the extra care and attention needed. And she also is supported by the local hospice organisation, so she could live her final days as comforably as possible.

Today (8/30), we paid her another visit. While all of us talked about the past by her bedside, she kissed me, twice.

We've been told that the reason why she was incapacitated like this was due to the pain medication -- only up until earlier last week, she was walking around and talking, like she usually did. But then, the pain kicked in, so severe, that she needed medication. And the medication was so strong, it had not only relieved the main, it also blocked her gumption to do anything.

My dad said that it is likely that she'll be gone within a couple of weeks.

I hope it's much longer than that.

In more happier news...

2007-08-28T04:20:44Z

Today (8/27), I received my copyright certificate for "The Pretty Gladiator". I am now officially an author.

My only regret is that my certificate looks more like a fax of Form TX on security paper, instead of a certificate looking like a certificate.

Going to Michigan on Family Business

2007-08-28T04:13:43Z

This Wednesday (8/29), my family and I will be flying to Michigan for a few days, coming back Sunday 9/2, the day before Labor Day. The reason being is that my grandma is dying of liver cancer (just diagnosed last Monday, 8/20), and we would like to see her one last time before she dies.

My grandma provided part of the inspiration for "The Mundane Circus" and "The Pretty Gladiator". It's her love of angels that made me appreciate angels -- and led to the creation of Adele and the Sistetrhood. Also, I had grandma in mind when I created Chloe, Rafi's grandma.

In our family, she's the last remaining grandparent -- my other grandma died of breast cancer in September 1981; and my grandpas died in 1972 and February 1993 -- the last grandpa (a WWII veteran) of stomach cancer.

When we were kids, we were always instructed to "respect your elders". And you probaby received the same advice.

Sage advice, indeed. Grandparents are a valuable resource, in everything you do.

"The Pretty Gladiator" -- The Sneak Peek

2007-07-15T03:33:32Z

As I mentioned earlier, I've recently finished my first book, "The Pretty Gladiator". Tonight, I've placed the first two chapters online at my website. You can read the sampler here:

http://www.animeexpressway.com/madanna/prettygladiator/

The Adobe Reader (or similar) is required to view, though many of you should have it already.

Please let me know what you think -- feedback is always welcome.

I'm finished!

2007-07-06T02:36:56Z

I've finally finished my book, "The Pretty Gladiator". I acknowledge that there are still some rough edges to be ironed out, but it's good enough for the next step.

I had Kinko's make two copies -- one for my therapist (who said she has connections with the publishing industry), and one for the Copyright Office.

I'll have a sample up on my website very soon.

Wish me luck.