The New Floodgates of the Mind

Headache again, already. That makes 3 days in a row now… Glad those Advil Liqui-Gels Migraine are so effective… I just hate how totally useless in thinking/making decisions I am when I’m trying to ignore the pounding of my brain…

brain…

brains….

…

Why can’t I just make a living as a “Person of the world?” You know, just spend every day walking around, meeting people who would ask for my help on everything from a technical problem to holding up a ladder to cutting costs to cutting branches to psychological evaluations to rescuing kittens from trees (because you know trees have a voracious appetite!)… Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Get the government or NATO (why not?) to pay me for being friendly, intelligent, and capable. Then, every morning I’ll wake up, check my email account (mikeoftheworld@savageland.com) for any request, prioritize them, and head off to do my good deeds. And if there are no requests, well, I’ll get paid anyways because I do have to live, you know.

How many threesomes sit around the bridge table every night waiting for a fourth in order to play a game? I’ll do it! How many lonely old men sit at park benches staring at those chess pieces that won’t move without someone else? I’ll do it! How many sad chefs are trying to create their next culinary masterpiece and don’t have anyone to taste them and express what works and what doesn’t? I’ll do it! How many illiterate people wish they could write a nasty email to someone but don’t know how? I’ll do it! How many fashion designers are looking for someone to give them an HONEST critique of their work? (potato sacks are in you moron!) I’ll do it!

Do you see where I’m going with this? What more credentials do you need? I’m the answer to all your problems.

Mike Aragona, Savage Knight and Diplomat, Man of the World

…now if only my head would just stop throbbing…

Hey Gang! I wanted to point out another Gabriel Morrissette book soon to be on the comics racks of your local comics shops! Mr. Comics will soon be releasing a mini-series entitled “Revolution of the Planet of the Apes” and Gaby will have some pages in there. In fact, a preview story is now available on the web in .jpg format and you can get directly to it from this link on the: Mr. Comics Website

Remember to keep supporting your Canadian creators and companies! (especially when they’re friends of mine like Gabriel and Ty Templeton… 🙂 )

Order now! Order often! :>

Well I’m in a hell of a better mood today than I was yesterday! Sure, I still have a lot of stuf to do at work but it does beat the alternative. NaNo is progressing slowly as it takes a whole different mindset to only aim for 1700 words per day (all that’s required to meet the 50k objective). Considering how quickly I created the last three novels these last two years, my heart, brain, and fingers are in a constant power struggle over having to “live” with not being close to finishing it already… (remember, back in 2003 I finished “The Anti-Bodies: Heaven Can Wait” in 11 days and “Wasted Youth: The Dirty Dozen” in 13 days)…

In other writing news, I was informed today that I was the First Runner Up in a Halloween Writing Contest. Yes, that made me smile and I suddenly had visions of running up to the “winner” and ripping off her crown… 🙂 So, I’ll end up being online again and also included in a limited-edition chapbook. Made me smile, indeed 🙂 What made me raise my eyebrows was after heading over to sciencefictionfantasyhorror.com and checking last month’s top 10 stories. Although I had three stories in September, I only had 1 in October. Marvin Knows, the #1 read story in September, wasn’t even on the top 10 in October! Sheesh! 😉

Time for a bit of Daddy News now! Last night when I got home, Chantale was feeding Kyle (who had apparently been feeding quite a lot during the day). I got changed and pretty soon Kyle was sat in his high chair, smiling happily. Chantale prepared some rice cereal (1 tablespoon cereal, 2 tablespoon breastmilk) and I began to feed it to him. Now, it was the third attempt to feed him and let me tell you that this time, his eyes just LIT UP when he tasted it! We had made it a little thicker and he just loved it! He literally gobbled it all up within minutes, not spilling or spitting anything up! And then, when it was all done, he grunted at me and asked for more! So, we put together another teaspoon of cereal and this time he ate it nice and leisurely – still not spilling a drop 🙂 A very happy baby indeed! He chased that down with another 6 ounces of milk before finally deciding he was tired and took a very short nap 🙂 What a wonderful, wonderfully happy experience 🙂

In other Daddy News, I worked out the schedule for James and Melyssa and will definitely be enjoying a lot of time with them soon! This week, they have Friday off so I’m picking them up on Thursday night until Sunday night. The weekend of the 25th is a regular weekend but then in December, I’m picking them up on the 3rd and taking them to the S.L. Kids Xmas party on the 4th. I get them again on the weekend of the 9th. Then, Xmas vacations! School is closed on the 23rd and I’m on vacation, so I’m picking them up on the evening of the 22nd! Then, depending on what Chantale and I decide for New Year’s, I’ll bring them back anytime between the 28th or the 30th. Yay! This year will mark the first year in a LONG time that I’ll actually be enjoying 10 days of vacation during the Xmas Holidays! Lots of baking and smiling will be had during that time! 🙂

Ahh… And now, back to duty! 🙂

Well, things have changed for the Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon in 2006. Here are some excerpts taken off their website (http://www.torontocomicon.com):

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I feel like I’m sinking…

This is a message to all those who are involved in one way or another with the Canadian School System. My good friend, artist Gabriel Morrissette, along with a few other artists, has been working with JackFruit Press on a series of books on the bios of our Prime Ministers. These books are written in a very easy style and filled with great pictures to highlight certain points. It’s a kind of book that I have personally found sorely lacking in schools. I’ll be bringing this matter to the attention of my kids school but decided to also point out the series here on LJ.

From their site: These books are both page-turners and powerful learning tools because…

All right, so I have to confirm that I will be playing the NaNoWriMo game again this month. Not as an all-out attack like the last few years, but more as a slow-and-steady route. Funny, as usual. The three different novel ideas I’ve been throwing around all year? Not one of them was the final picked for this NaNo. A completely new one – although, again as in previous years, one that has been fermenting around my brain for over 5 years now. Hm. I guess at this rate, I’ll simply be writing old stories every year, while getting ideas for new ones which I won’t actually write until they also become old ideas. Hm.

And in other news, my lovely wife came home with a 12-pack of Dr. Pepper last night. All for me. No wonder I wasn’t tired typing away into the late night…. 🙂

I was so exhausted yesterday I fell asleep at 9pm. This morning, I still could have slept more but I had to get up. However, unfortunately, I’m having a rough time making a go of it. I have paperwork to finish and have locked myself away in order to do so… BUT I’m just so fried hardly anything’s sticking… sigh…

In other news, a question for the locals:

I have a queen-sized foam mattress and bed which I no longer need. It’s been sitting in my garage all summer and now I would like to move it from there so I can begin parking the car there in the winter! Would any of you have need of them? Incredible bargain! You decide the cost – even if it’s $0.00! 🙂 If you do, let me know, and then come on over and get it! You can contact me via (aragona colba net) if you want to discuss outside of LJ.

back to word…

I realized I haven’t posted regularly for quite some time now. Where I would average at least a post a day, I’ve fallen into about a post a week. There are a number of reasons for this, probably more that I’ve already forgotten, but the main point would probably be for moments of revision.

I’ve been doing a lot of thought about what I want to use this blog for, versus what I used to use this blog for, versus what I expect out of this blog. Sometimes I want to post about everything… other times I don’t want to say a thing. It’s all very cyclical, just as it is with the folks I friend, unfriend, refriend, don’t friend. Sometimes I look at some blogs and wonder why I’m reading them. Other times, I wonder how and why I even added them! If I can’t remember a connection, chances are they get dropped. Sorry, nothing personal.

In terms of posting… well, considering all that’s going through at work right now, a lot of my day-to-day energy has been concentrated on it. I’m supposed to be leaving the Application Support department and working full time for the Core Technology department and the TAD – Tactical Agile Development initiatives in particular. I told my boss I wanted to move the first week of September. It’s now the first week of November and although I have begun my duties there, what I’m required for in AS still keeps me here much more than I’m supposed to be. (as of this week, I was supposed to be 80% TAD and 20% AS. Hasn’t really happened). I’m not sure when I’m moving to the 2nd floor, or what will happen to my current AS team. At least my PeopleSoft team has been reallocated so that was one less stress point relieved.

In terms of writing/ creating/ etc, stuff is still being produced. Nothing new to report on the submissions part but that’s okay as well. As I said above, my energies are pretty diluted right now. But, Comicopia was taken care of and mailed out. The Mysterious Minute-Men Collected Edition was completed and copies have begun to circulate ($15, order yours now!). And my mind also touches upon some of the earlier novels I’ve completed.

On the home front, our little dude just keeps growing! He’s currently over 15 lbs! Halloween pictures and a slew of other great photos can be found on Chantale’s site so be sure you check it out: http://www.theladyofthelake.org. Chantale is doing an awesome job keeping that site updated.

Phone ringing, gotta go.

It had been a while since I experienced a CSH story. I guess I was due.

Yesterday, I headed over to the local Konica shop to get copies made up of The Mysterious Minute-Men Collected Edition as well as some Comicopia member sections. A couple of years ago, I had a small issue with that shop whenever I brought in one-sided copies to be made into two-sided ones. Thus, since then I would always print everything up double-sided (thanks to the growth of printer technology). In this way, no one could be confused with my request. “They’re double-sided, keep them double-sided!”. Yesterday, it seems, that explanation was listened to.

After a 15-minute wait, I stroll on over to the counter and ask how things are going. The Comicopia stuff is still going but the Minute-Men stuff is done. I ask for the MM copies so I can at least put them in my bag and when she gives them to me… they’re much thinner than they should be. A quick glance shows that, yes indeed, instead of copying 2×2 to 2×2, she set the copier for 1 to 2. Thus, I’m missing every other page. Oops. No problems with the Comicopia ones, at least.

Finally, the large Copia count is done and she starts shoving them into a box for me to carry. Barely paying attention to the way she was stacking them. I sigh. We head to the cash and she tells me the amount. I’m somewhat surprised and give her my credit card. As she’s running it through, I’m looking over her copy numbers. Uhmm. Excuse me? I point out a very obvious error and it’s “uh-oh… sorry” time. She calls over someone else to help reverse the credit charge. He clears the screen by error. They both call someone else. He comes to see what they’ve done and then turns around and goes to call someone more senior. He finally sets it all straight and I get credited. Then, she punches in the proper amount and it’s about $70 less. Sheesh. I pay, get my stuff, and leave.

Sometimes I think it’s worth investing in buying or renting my own copy machine…