Groonkly Bits

I’ve held back on the HOTW and VOTW of late. The side reason is the sweet new layout and relaunch(crosses fingers. punches wooden table.) I’m planning. The big reason is it becomes too much of a schtick if done too often. I’m not saying I’m above a constant schtick, only that churning one out weekly gets boring and tried.

‘You should wait for something special to share,’ I say to myself. ‘Something meaningful.’

Then I learn podcast famer Johnny Johnny, aka Kevin Gamble, from Tiki Bar TV saved a woman from the L train, not to mention electrocution, in New York City the other day.

Methinks that’s a bit special, yes?

See, I was waiting for the L train at 3rd Avenue just minding my own business when this lovely lady in her 50’s decides to peer down the track to see how far away the oncoming train is. You know the one I’m talking about; the one with the 6 foot drop from the platform that leads down to two metal rails?

When all of a sudden… she falls over the edge.

She hammers the back of her head on the second rail and goes basically limp. I figure the next train is about 60 second away, so I immediately leap over the edge and basically break all forms of first aid protocol.

To know the rest, you must go to his blog. It’s his moment of glory after all.

(Thanks to Ponzu for the heads up and Digg.com for making the Google search so easy.)

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It is said that it will fly 27 miles without refueling. It has a flight time of 9 minutes. They say it’s a wee bit safer than previous models. There is a possible max speed of 83 mph.

I’ve decided, nay, I know the Jet Pack T-73 is the gift for me. Reach deep in your pockets, children. The $200K price tag includes training. A bargain like that can’t last long! And when you buy it for me, I’ll be the first blogger beaming you posts from 250 feet in the air.

Give until everything bleeds, damnit. I want my Christmas to mean something this year.

*The vid is not of the Jet pack in question. That video is one of the earlier models. You can give me that too, while you’re being so generous. Once received, the Groonkly God will smile down on you with warm, loving joy and resist the urge to poop on your head.

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Without any pomp or circumstance, I submit this instant Hero in my book.

Definr

The thing’s faster than geek lightning and now lives on my Firefox.

EDITOR’S NOTE: So I threw a little pomp in here. I’d like to see you do something about it.

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I’ve mentioned to friends for some time now that THE OFFICE’s Michael Scott needed “a win”. Without that, he remains at the incompetent buffoon level, which although true, doesn’t help his character’s viewability in the TV-verse. Let’s say, it doesn’t help it for me.

Last night’s OFFICE was just the right size for concentrated funny. And last night Michael Scott got his win.

Corporate were idiots for not accepting his commercial.

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Last week, members of Panel & Pixel shared their love of a documentary that aired on BBC. The show, “In Search of Steve Ditko,” featured documentarian Jonathan Ross revealing his geekish tendencies and showing lots of love for artist Steve Ditko.

Ditko was Stan Lee’s co-conspirator on a little Marvel book you may have heard about: Spiderman.

In his journey, Ross talks to several old geeks, the wonderful Alan Moore, the lovely Neil Gaiman, and Mr Excelsior himself, Stan Lee. That particular interview is the first time I’ve ever seen Stan “The Man” Lee at a loss for words. Many a comics geek who ever followed marvel know that’s a rare bird indeed.

If the universe is fair, I’ve managed to understand the wylie meta video search site Trooker.com and you’ll be able to sit back and watch all 54 minutes of the, oddly intriguing and a bit mystifying, search for the legendary Steve Ditko, uninterrupted.

(BTW it’s not my documentary as the Trooker embed claims. It’s Jonathan Ross’. When I figure out how to be smarter than Trooker, I’ll have that title fixed and sent to the pound.)

UPDATE: The Law has come down hard and destroyed any chances you have of seeing this wonderful thing. Be sure to thank them for their generosity.

UPDATE 9/25/09: YouTube saves the day.

No Comments | In: Comics, Hero of the week | tags: interview, jonathan ross, marvel, stan lee, steve ditko. | #

Roughly a year ago, Neil Gaiman posted a Simple Will that artists of all kinds may feel free to use in order to protect their intellectual estates. As I strive to become more professional, or just paid, for my artistic endeavours, I begin to wonder what to do with my non-shared scribblings. Do i leave them for my Mom or Dad? Do I pass them on to friends? Do I release them into the internets to be thankfully ignored by the netizen masses?

Since I am not published(yet). Is anything I make creatively worth the bother to protect legally?

These little thoughts creep into small cracks of my mindspace and take up far too much energies. Gaiman shared and, being and actual, factual professional writer of words, talked in great detail on the ways not protecting your work can cause untold problems for those that survive you.

It’s a PDF file, which you can, and should, if you’re a creative person, download here:

http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/SIMPLEWILL.pdf

As Les says, your options are:

1) Recopy the document ENTIRELY by hand, date it, and sign it at the end. No witnesses required.

2) Type the document, date it, sign it IN FRONT OF at least two witnesses, who are not family or named in the Will, and have each witness sign IN FRONT OF YOU and the other witnesses. Better yet, go to a lawyer with this form and discuss your choices!

Giving Neil Gaiman’s full blog post a read would not be out of the question. In fact, I recommend it.

I’m fairly certain I don’t have any property that’s worth all the worrying I give it. I am sure that if you want specific effects to go to even more specific people, having a will of any kind will make sure your wishes are carried out to the fullest of your intentions.

I’ve learned this time and time again: it never hurts to have a backup plan.

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These guys became my personal heroes for showing their love of Brad Bird‘s RATATOUILLE.

All the days are done now. My Dragon Con 2007 set is complete. I didn’t take half as many pictures last year. I’ll have to rectify that next year. At least I think there will be a next year.

*Crossing my fingers as I type*

The Ratatouille are My Heroes

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There is something spectacular, no, WONDERFUL lurking on a Mr Neil Gaiman’s livejournal page. It is a two page comic that he and Mark Buckingham did for Alan Moore’s 50th birthday. The two page comic seems to have orignated in a book named “The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore.” A book I have set my sights on owning.

I am not going to repost the images as that seems wrong to do. Don’t ask my why. (Although if you did ask me why, after disregarding my request not to, I’d be forced to say that prepping an image that would end up unreadable on this page and you’d have to click through anyway seemed like a waste of our mutal time. So I cut short the middle man.) I will share the link with a smallish panel and you, gentle reader, can step into Alan Moore’s ideaspace on a whim.

What is Alan Moore doing these days?

Thank you, Scans Daily for sharing Mr Gaiman writings and Mr Buckingham’s drawings for all to see.

I have a hope, a dream even, that someone writes/draws a thing this spectacular about me on my 50th birthday.

If I dare live that long.

In the meantime, I find myself considering using a rather elagant walking cane, wearing a refined vintage suit, and walking about the streets of Huntsville spelling out the fates of the locals. Only if they ask me to, of course.

Having the skull of a Buddhist monk might not be a bad idea either.

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No, I haven’t forgotten. You would be rich if you had a dime every time I typed that. You won’t be rich though. I have no money to give you.

I have only my love and burnt edges of contempt. Stay away from those edges.

Why does Walken scare me while he does something as mundane as cooking chicken?

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Squeeze the trigger. Never pull.

Sharing a link to a website that sells replica rayguns is quaint. Sharing a vintage infomercial selling “working” rayguns that rid your dates of fetted swamp beasts and repel moon monsters from your ice scream socials, now that’s worthy of noting.

Two please.

(thanks to: warrenellis.com, exemplary youtube)

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