Wacky conversations lead to wacky super geeky t-shirts

Last Sunday, a simple crazy bit of posting on Facebook between friends led to the creation of the above t-shirt. A conversation that had involved Paul “complaining” about being Poked by five women over Facebook evolved into a warning about the dangers of Superman 64.

The letters glow in the dark. Paul coined the phrase. And I’ve been told by several people that I must wear it to Bristol International Comic Expo. I am of course, happy to oblige.

For those not in the know, Superman 64 (technically it was just called Superman) is often held up as one of the worst games ever made. It was originally released on the N64 in 1999. It is so badly regarded mainly due to there being an alarming number of problems with the game both technically and in terms of content too.

To have likened the game to STDs is not a giant leap due to how truly awful the game was.

First meeting of Truro Library’s Graphic Novel Readers and Writers’ Group this week!

No Hero by Warren Ellis & Juan Jose Ryp is what I'm currently reading

That’s right, the first meeting of Truro Library’s Graphic Novel Readers and Writers’ Group is happening this Thursday, 31st March. You know, it’s the group that I banged on about at the start of the month.

Of course this group will only be something if people other than me and some of my friends troop along to this. So please, if you can make it to Truro Library on the 31st March for 2pm you will be most welcome to join the group, regardless of how many graphic novels you’ve read or genre.

As previously stated, not only is the plan for the group to discuss comics, graphic novels and adaptations, but to also make use of the wonderful ICT facilities at the library in order to produce a graphic novel written by the group. But this won’t be for a little while yet.

So, come along to the first meet this Thursday if you’re in the area and really dig graphic novels. I hope to see you there.

Third draft of DISPLACED completed

What does a Starbucks Strawberries & Cream monster got to do with me completing the third draft of my graphic novel “Displaced”? Err, I’ll get to that in a bit.

Last night saw me finishing the third draft of Displaced with about as much fanfare as a dog that realizes that it can lick its own balls. It was never a question of whether I was capable of finishing it, more whether it would still be a coherent narrative by the end of the drafting process.

Apart from typos that I suspect are lurking somewhere in the 233 pages that it runs to, I think this third draft may well be the final draft. Now it’s a matter of my artist and colourist seeing what they can cook up in terms of concept art so that I’ve got something to take with me to Bristol International Comic Expo other than a synopsis and sample script pages.

Paul suggested yesterday that we should get some t-shirts made up before the expo, if we can, featuring some of the art from the comic. Though before I even seriously consider that, I need to design and get printed some business cards for myself. Got a robot themed design I’ve been playing around with that may work.

And so how are the monster creme drink and the third draft linked? It’s my victory treat for completing the third draft. It’s also a cheer me up treat after I wrecked my feet earlier and had to see a nurse to get my blisters dressed. I’m going to be wearing flip flops for a while…

My first blog post! (via Habitual Films)

My partner Paul has finally caved and started up a blog about his filmmaking exploits. You should go and check his blog out right now.

Being new to the world of writing blogs, this seems slightly daunting and yet strangely familiar. Nevertheless, this blog is a way for me to get myself noticed and (fingers crossed) get out of retail (my current occupation), once and for all. Thanks to the lovely Emily King, I’ve managed to build this WordPress blog in order to do just that. So first, let me tell you about the projects I’ve worked on specifically with Habitual Films: Consolidatin … Read More

via Habitual Films

So, what did I put Gran down as for the census?

A look at the results of the survey

On Friday, I asked for some suggestions as to what to put my Gran down as on the 2011 Census. This was due to the fact that her memory just ain’t what it use to be and she was having difficulties remembering her last occupation.

I tried looking for advice on the official website for the Census, even rang their stupid hotline, but could find no advice for how to deal with this. Hence turning to the net.

So, apart from the responses shown in the screen shot above, what else did people suggest? Well, here’s what I got in the “Other” field:

1. Pilot
2. SpaceMarine
3. Ninja Pirate
4. Batman!
5. Freelance Subversive (27B/6)
6. Rasputin, the mad monk
7. Outer space disk jockey
8. Solid Gold Former Human Lazy Susan
9. Prime Minister
10. Towel fuzzler
11. Counter-counter-counter-spy
12. Jason Bourne’s Mom – she, too, has had her brain wiped to protect State Secrets

Now I told my Gran about some of the responses and she really liked the idea of being put down as “Batman!” for her past occupation, but in the end she asked me to leave all that stuff blank and make sure I ticked the “Retired” box. So, I decided to respect her wishes.

Of course if the Census collectors come a calling asking for this missing info I will, quite frankly, ask them to go and talk to the Department for Work and Pensions. They probably have a better idea than any of the family these days.