Blue is the colour

The following appeared as my Google Reader's "teaser text" for a Time Magazine article:

'Speaking in a Muslim kingdom, Benedict tries to unite Christians and Muslims against the tyranny of "reason"...'

That line doesn't appear to actually be in the article, at least not that I could find in a cursory read, which led to a somewhat less entertaining and/or inflammatory read than I'd hoped for.

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THE FEEL-GOOD BLOG POST OF THE YEAR, THIS ISN'T

Spent a couple hours this afternoon wandering up Jasper Avenue, asking local businesses if I could hang the latest Gilbert Bouchard - Missing Person poster in their windows/on their walls.

Every once in awhile, I contemplate doing some kind of volunteer work, and while I'm semi-ashamed to admit I never really have, certainly not on any kind of extended basis, stuff like this afternoon hammers home one of the things that's stopped me: it's depressing.

I started the walk feeling kind of good about myself: here's me, doing what is pretty indisputably a Good Thing, just for the sake of doing it. Then I have to deal with Other People, and ask for their help. Not at all in my comfort zone, but I force myself to do it anyway, because, damn it, it's not asking too much and it needs to be done. Out of all the stores, bars, and coffee shops I went into, only one outright refused to hang the poster--Mac's, around 117 street or so. A couple took a poster and promised to ask their managers if they could hang them tomorrow.

So people don't suck, and some were nicer than they had to be to someone who was asking them to do something for nothing. The standout of the afternoon was the guys at cannabis culture shop Shell Shock, who expressed something like genuine emotion over the idea of someone going missing in the bizarre fashion of Gilbert's disappearance. This is the primary reason I'm not going to make a joke about how getting a poster in there's a good thing because potfolk are renowned for their keen observational skills.

So, yeah. People don't suck, which should make me happy, and I'm helping out, which should also make me happy, and instead, I'm totally bummed. And that was just after a couple hours. If I were to get into volunteering, I'd want to do it at either the food bank or the suicide prevention centre, as both those things (albeit in different cities) helped me when I needed help. But I'm pretty sure if I tried offering either my time, rather than money, I'd end up needing help from one of them again.

So I guess what I'm saying is, happy Mother's Day.

And also, my feet hurt. Stupid non-winter footwear.

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TO-DO LIST

1) Phone almost everyone I've ever met.
2) E-mail pretty much everyone else.

I am never going to catch up on this stuff...oy.

A

Aaaand... Contemplate!

I can't wait to have enough disposable income to become an early adopter.

Or, to put it another way, I want one of the new Kindles. Hell, even an old one...I'm still a luddite, but T and I are pretty much out of shelf space, and the library doesn't carry everything I want to read, certainly not when I want to read it.

Which isn't to say a Kindle would either, but it'd be nice to be able to afford to find out.

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If I never encounter the phrase "supply content across multiple platforms" ever again, it'll be too soon. F*** content and the multiple platforms it rode in on. I want a story, created for the medium it appears in.

Which isn't to say I'd have a problem reworking a story for another medium, or letting someone else take a crack at it. One of my managers is trying to get screenwriters interested in a film version of The Holiday Men--a project I specifically created not to work as anything other than a comic. That tells me that, at the end of the day, you can twist pretty much any idea into a form that'll work as a movie. Preemptively twisting one into something that will theoretically be more palatable to Hollywood prior to anyone in Hollywood expressing interest it is a bit of a fool's errand, if only because what's palatable to Hollywood shifts on a second-by-second basis.

Or so it seems to me at the moment. Maybe when I'm not sore and tired I'll feel differently.

Oh, wait. I'm always sore and tired...

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DRIBS, WITH A DASH OF DRAB

The parents called last night but didn't leave a message, which makes me think I'm probably overdue to blog about...something. Mum seems to worry when I'm not doing the digital equivalent of standing on a street corner screaming incoherent gibberish at random passersby. It's how she knows I'm...well, not OK, exactly, but at least more or less the same as I was last time we talked.

The problem is, I don't really have much of a desire to blog right now. The stuff I'd like to talk about here I just don't have the time or energy to get into in any kind of worthwhile depth. So it's hit and run time...

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YOU HAVE MEHMEL

Calgary writer Jason Mehmel is doing everything he can to get his blog numbers up. And I mean everything, including asking if I'd mention it here. Which I've no problem doing, but I still find mildly amusing, as I generally work under the assumption that no one who didn't give birth to me actually reads this thing. And I'm pretty sure even Mum just skims it. Anyway, if you've got some time to kill--and if you're reading this, you do--you might want to check out the Mehmelblog.

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BECAUSE YOU REALLY CARE: WORK-FOR-HIRE COMIC PROJECTS I'D LIKE TO DO SOMEDAY & THE PEOPLE I WANT TO DO THEM WITH

FANTASTIC FOUR. I was originally going to say I wanted to do it with Mike Allred, but while he's definitely got a Kirby vibe going on, I'm not sure he'd want to deal with the way out cosmic feel I'd likely be going for with the project. Maybe Bruce Timm.

AQUAMAN, with Bill Sienkiwicz. Because it's dark, cold, and really kind of creepy that far underwater.

VAMPIRELLA, with Fiona Staples. Because Fiona wants to work on Vampirella and if I got to write it she'd be hard-pressed not to work with me again. Is it possible for writers to stalk artist collaborators?

DEADPOOL: ONE MORE POUCH, with Nick Johnson. To be followed up by the sequel DEADPOOL: BRAND NEW POUCH.

HELLBLAZER/DR. STRANGE, with Sean Phillips. Actually, I'd like to do almost anything that had Sean Phillips on art.

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STUFF & NONSENSE

Gilbert Bouchard is still missing. Damn it.

Big Hollywood Producer sent me notes on the last version of the screenplay. I had my standard response: freak out over how everything needs to be changed and seethe with fury over the dumb ideas I'm forced to deal with, then get on with changing the script to conform to the dumb ideas, then realize the ideas weren't really that dumb and the changes are overall for the good of the story, then resent having to do a bunch of work because I didn't have the not-that-dumb-after-all ideas myself.

The standard response would change dramatically if there was actually money involved. But there isn't, at least not yet.

We got a price quote for fixing (read as: "tearing off and rebuilding from scratch") the roof this morning. Ow.

A Canadian producer contacted PARTING WAYS artist Scott Mooney inquiring about the book. Unlike almost everyone else who's asked after the rights, this guy's actually gotten some stuff made, including what sounds like a nifty black comedy. It's not Hollywood, but it's close enough, so I'm going to assume absolutely nothing will come of this, but it's nice to think people other than Ty Templeton see something they like in the story, even after all this time out of print.

I haven't recovered from the Calgary Expo, much less Free Comic Book Day yet. Even if I was, the weather's grinding its heel into my face.

If you aren't already, will you be my friend?

Well, I tried, but there's just no way to put something like that previous sentence out there without looking pathetic. Fortunately, I'm used to looking pathetic.

Back to the grindstone. And by grindstone, I mean the couch in my office.

A

Calgary Comics and Entertainment Expo

Woof. Good weekend (even the part where I was called upon to improvise a commercial for the Gap on about an hour and a half of sleep), but today my entire body feels like it's been pounded with a meat tenderizer.

Brief impressions:

-Yanick Paquette is a really nice guy.

-I do love my Ship Burger with the works + guacamole. I really, really do.

-As I didn't have anything new to sell this year, I thought, "Hey, why don't T and I buy tickets and go as fans and that way I won't be stuck behind a table, I can be out among the people?" About fifteen seconds into the show I had an answer to the first part ("I don't want to stand in line waiting to get my badge and besides, exhibitor/guest badges mean I can get in early if I want"), and fifteen minutes later I had an answer for the second ("I intensely dislike large crowds of people, especially when I'm stuck in the middle of them.") All the more reason to get something new to sell out by next year, not that that isn't its own reward.

-"Evanier" is pronounced Eh-vuh-NEER, and it's a made-up name assigned to an immigrant Jewish family for no good reason.

-Svetlana Chmakova's as sweet as I remember her being. Nice people don't always finish last.

-I need to take some improv classes. And get more sleep.

-If the con continues to use the Hotel Arts as the official place to stay, Vicious Ambitious' Drink 'n' Draw is going to be the place to be on Saturday next year, much like it was this year, despite the Unicorn screwing the table reservation up.

-Calgary weather sucks.

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EDMONTONIANS: Gilbert Bouchard Missing Update

For the latest info, join the Search for Gilbert Bouchard Facebook Group.

A search for Gilbert will be taking place Sunday afternoon. Those wishing to help should go to the Jubilee parking lot at 1:00.

EDMONTONIANS: Have You Seen This Man?

Gilbert Bouchard is missing.

Gilbert is a visual arts writer/critic based in Edmonton, Alberta.

Gilbert hasn’t been seen since Monday/Tuesday morning around midnight. He’s white, brown hair, blue eyes, 5′10″ and 250 pounds.

A search party is being organized for Sunday.

If you have seen him or have any further information, please contact his family at 780-761-4156.

You can also contact Edmonton police at 780-423-4567 or Crimestoppers, 1-800-222-8477.

EDMONTONIANS: Gilbert Bouchard Missing

OK, this is a longshot, but once in awhile a longshot pays off, so just in case, from the 630 Ched website:

Your help is needed to find an Edmonton man.

Gilbert Bouchard hasn't been seen since early Tuesday morning. Bouchard is a freelance writer and theatre critic here.

He is white, stands about 5'10 and weighs 250 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

If you've seen him, call EPS (780) 423-4567 or Crimestoppers, 1-800-222-8477. (tc)