FIFTEEN MINUTE BREAK July 11, 2003

A Hodge Podge of Shit.

Just my fucking luck! I'm coming down with a case of something that's making my sinuses go out of whack! Just in time for San Diego, too. I hope this clears over the weekend or I'm not going to be able to make human contact with anyone over there. No shaking hands, no hugs, no kisses, and no playing assgrab.

I just sent out my last ever Deposit Man newsletter- it's been a year and a half since I wrote the last one. Since I got work done at 1 today, I just sat around at my desk and e-mailed everyone on the list I kept in a yahoo notepad. Of the 250 or so people I have on the list, 61 have already came back. Not really good at keeping up with things. Have to collect more signatures while in SD.

Another thing I did today on my off hours was do some translations from English to German for a new villain I created for The Deposit Man named Haupt Carl. He's sort of a an overweight fat fellow who suffers from infantile syndrome, wears a big diaper, and covers his face in a French Cortesan mask and old World War I German helmut while flinging around old german hand gernades. He's mounting a army of stillborn cupid size angel babies to wage a war between Heaven and Earth. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Well preparing myself for another time conflicting weekend.

Tonight, I'm going to pick out what I need to take to SD- pack up all the free CDs and cassettes, I'm going to bring down. Decide what clothes need to be dry cleaned in the morning. Make popcorn and watch the second half of my Taken screener and a episode of Farscape.

Saturday morning I'm watching the new Justice League episode that premiered last week that someone at work taped for me along with the new Ren & Stimpy and Stripperella. Then I'm off to the cleaners. Then I'm going to get my hair trimmed or at least my neck shaved. Then I'm going to see a little bit of the Mark Waid signing at Earth 2 in Sherman Oaks. Then I got to go up to my store, Rookies & Allstars to drop off some copies of my books and all the freebie CD's for Erica to pick up to take to her booth. Then Approximately at six, I'm sitting back and relaxing with some beers and new smokes and blasting all six of my new Yes related CD's including 2 sent by my ex-editor, Scott Goodell. I'm looking forward to listen to the new Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood collaboration, Conspiracy- The Unknown out of all six.

Sunday- try to catch the new Pirates of the Carribbean and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen flicks. Hope there's enough daylight to go down to Venice and pick up some baggies and swimming trunks. Zip back up to the Valley, do some writing and watch a Wonder Woman tape from my Columbia House club and this super- hero special that aired on the History channel. Then it's back to the grind for a half a week until I amtrak down to Diego.

See? It's not easy being me.

~

Coat

~

Coat

FIFTEEN MINUTE BREAK July 10, 2003

Last night was quite a milestone in Deposit Man brainstorming session history (as if there really is such a thing) as I got all the people currently on the book involved to talk to one another by setting up a phone conference. None of them have ever spoken to each other before. I had Alan talk to Oliver and l had Oliver talk to Larry and we all got our heads together and thought out a plan. One thing we seriously considered on is to release Larry from his lettering duties and do the books from now on with computer fonts - and both Oliver and Alan do have capable lettering fonts on their computers to do the word balloons and captions- but I'm hoping it doesn't start to look like a Marvel comic project- as I really abhor the lettering fonts in their books. But we're also seriously considering re-lettering the soon to be released Deposit Man and the Last Great Gate of Mortality Act One book in time for Vegas - we're going to test a page to see how it works out. So it's great everyone got to meet or speak with each other.

My tech support guy, Alan Sinder has now got my preview peek at the new artwork here:

http://us.f415.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter/25_26DepManweb.jpg?box=Inbox&MsgId=6233_4523911_194900_951_86681_0_86710_112846_4294891691&bodyPart=2&filename=25_26DepManweb.jpg&tnef=&YY=3064&order=down&sort=date&pos=0

Don't ask me how it all works- but man, that's lot to paste up. I'm glad Alan is around to navigate me through this computer stuff from where Mark left off.

Also, hopefully this blog will be going out live when I start my new yahoogroups.

Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/depositman

Group email address: depositman@yahoogroups.com

I'll be bringing a lot of goddamn freebies to hand out to all good girls and boys who are attending San Diego Comic Con International. Stop by booth #1947. I'm going to have CDs, cassettes, and lps, along with the new Deposit Man Purple postcard colored by Oliver Simsonsen. Also I'm expecting some promos from Clive Nolan's Verglas Record label to give out at the convention too (of course, I can't forget the old disclaimer - offer good while supplies last). Clive is a world reknown keyboard player who has worked and recorded with bands, most notably Pendragon, Shadowland, Strangers On a Train, and Arena. In addition to those bands, he also does some timecrunching collaborations on projects with Rick Wakeman's youngest son, Oliver Wakeman amongst others.

I'll talk more in length about him in another entry.

I hope to get them in the mail this weekend.

~

Coat

FIFTEEN MINUTE BREAK TAKE TWO July 9, 2003

Yeah ,basically I was going off on a rant yesterday about one of my fave local bands who are stupendously huge in Germany- They're called Spock's Beard and their just released album, Feel Euphoria is probably in the top forty out there by now. Somehow all this crap about me being on a first name basis with the band (they recorded their first album- The Light a few houses away from mine in Sherman Oaks, Ca-
but somehow I hit the wrong switch before posting it and everything went fiddle faddle.

Probably just as well.

I was also going off on a tangent on how the people I live with has this secretary at the office of where I do my night time writing was going through some files I have on the computer and was telling everyone at a 4th of July party about my plots for a sequel series to the Deposit Man - and also I think she molested me after I became intoxicated on Cranberry Juice and Vodkas- I passed out after four of those puppies and I passed out on my couch in my bedroom blasting away ELP on my stereo. I heard the next day from my former roomie and editor that she was in my room 'trying to wake me up' to see if I wanted to go see the fireworks display in Woodland Hills.

I don't care if she made a grab for the gonads, I'm more pissed off that she read my plots on the computer and try to tell people at the party about them.

Anyway, C' est la Vie - tomorrow's another day. It's not like this wacky tabacky Secretary she has any connection to the comic book biz anyway.

Another thing in preparation for the Comic con, I'm bringing down a whole of bunch of sampler CDs and tapes from the Alternative music department next door to me. The department is moving to a bigger facility that houses the whole entire Warner Music line, including Atlantic Records and Rhino Records- so it's real nice of them to hand me down all this shit that they're going to throw out anyway. I'll find good homes for them down in San Diego.

Alright, tomorrow I'll probably find something to bitch about. The new Spock's Beard album has really mellowed me out today.

~

Coat

Sonofabitch!

I was working on a entry and I deleted it by mistake! Fuck does that suck!

anyway, I'm going to pick up the new Spock's Beard album



Goddamn, does that suck. Losing my entry like that.

Fucking technical difficulties.

~

Coat

FIFTEEN MINUTE BREAK July 7, 2003

I have a week and a half to prepare for San Diego. I'm not entirely sure what the gameplan is going to be yet. I'm still waiting for offical word from my boss whether of not that I will count these as sick days or 'floater days' (at one time my company once referred to them as Harry Potter days on the cusp of that movie's success). Basically floater days are personal days that you are reimbursed for after working for the company a certain amount of time. I don't take days off here at work because I have to accumulate time off to go to conventions and such as it pertains to my personal side gig as a struggling small independent comic book writer. There are plenty of other conventions I would love to see across this country, let alone across the globe, such as SPX in Baltimore or the mid-Ohio con in Columbus, or the Dragon Con in Atlanta- but for the foreseeable future, they are not to be because of my committments to my employer. (editor's note: my boss literally just stepped in with the form for me to sign as I was composing this).

A new convention that is catching my eye right now, that I'm making plans on attending is the new Extrosion being held in Las Vegas in connection with a Diamond Retailer Seminar on October 31-November Check out www.LasVegasComicCon.com for details on attending. It's going to be very convenient for me to attend since my father resides in the area and it's only going to a hop and a skip from the Mandalay Bay resort of where the convention will be held.

So with it being Monday and all- I thought I would start a little shopping list of things I will need to take with me and it will be useful of checking in on this entry of those last minute items as I prepare to pack. Hey, maybe this will help those attending who are reading this as well-

Now I already had some things done beforehand such as making Hotel reservations and I've recently acquired a new credit card just for the occasion- although my limit expectations was lower than I expected. I also went on the lot to buy a special badge holder- because those passes that the convention staff gives you have the tendency to fall apart or snap off while you're fast sauntering back and forth on the convention floor.

But in no particular order, and I'll probably adding more to this as the week flies by.

Next Monday I need to go to the mall to buy slacks.

Need to take my suits to the cleaners.

Buy new sneakers.

Buy new shoes.

Buy new underwear- because there's nothing worse than wearing old underwear and I find it very irritating when sweating up the crotches of the old ones with those itchy scratchy skid marks. Fresh underwear is easily identifiable from old underwear, whereas, you know fresh underwear was just worn yesterday as opposed to old underwear which you have been wearing nearly all your life. Also, buying new underwear gives you a good reason to throw out or incinerate your old underwear.

Anyway, enough of underwear.

Next Sunday after I see Pirates of the Carribean and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I'm zipping down to Venice Beach to buy a few of my ' what did someone at a party I attended to referred them as?' oh yeah- leisure pants! I call them cheap 10 dollar Baggies myself and I usually make it a annual chore to buy new Baggies in time for San Diego. One or two black pairs and maybe one of those with kaleidoscopic looking patterns or prints. What can I say? Only in Southern California - because they would certainly look out of place walking around in New York City wearing them. Trust me, I've already done it.

Also while I'm there, I might as well pick one of those cheap 5 pair tube socks that go for $ 5.00, and sunglasses too.

After I leave work next Tuesday, I'll check in my employee store to see what's the latest in fashion.

Maybe a CD Walkman?

Purple post cards promoting the new upcoming Deposit Man book.

A few boxes of 'free giveways' to place on Erica Grant's table for those who purchase products at our booth.

I'll probably be going on and one with more stuff as I think it up.

Tomorrow, I'll be dipping in a recollection of this party I had at my house on July 4th and although I was mightily inebraited early on, I find out that someone has been poking around in my affairs.

Not very pleased about that.

~

Coat