Amazingly we survived 2010 with some great highlights and adventures. So what will 2011 bring? Good question. I have decided to call 2011 “The Year of NO” because so many things I have done in the past I will not be doing this year. Mostly due to timing not because I don’t want to. Let’s look at the list:
MINIs On The Dragon – April 27 to May 1
The BEST MINI event East of the Mississippi- Since Sue and I started going we have missed it once. We stay at the Blue Waters Mountain Lodge and have a wonderful time. Reason for skipping it this year- It occurs right in the middle of statewide testing.
A MINI Vacation In Vegas – May 19 to 22
The biggest MINI event West of the Mississippi. We went for the first time last year because it occurred the first weekend of Spring Break. Reason for missing this year- I’m in school and it will be crunch time as we close out the year.
San Diego Comic-Con – July 21-24
The BIGGEST Comic Convention in the UNIVERSE!!! Missed last year because tickets were sold out before I decided I wanted to go. Reason for missing this year- They sold out of some badges (those with Preview Night) at the Con last year and still haven’t been able to get registration to work properly. Compound that headache with the cost of flying and the cost of a hotel… thanks, but no thanks.
Groundspeak Block Party – August 18
Went to the Lost & Found event last year in conjunction with GeoWoodstock had a great time, would love to attend and go caching around the Pacific Northwest again. Reason for not attending- School starts the 15th.
MINI United – August 26 to 28
The Biggest MINI event in the World. Went to Silverstone (which kicked this comic strip off) and met some wonderful people and had a great time. Reason for missing it- School starts the 15th.
For those who love to say “being a teacher must be wonderful… you get all that time off.” What I give up for getting “all that time off” is the flexibility to say “I’m going to take a few days off” anytime between August and June. Not upset, just a cold hard fact.
Do I miss going to all those events and thingies? Not really. I’m planning on having a wonderful year. What will I be doing? I will be traveling & I will be attending a few conventions and events. I just don’t know which ones, yet. The only thing I have registered for is C2E2 in Chicago. Sue & I are also planning on attending GeoWoodstock in Pennsylvania in July. Sue and I have talked about actually traveling without an agenda (except for caching). It has been a while since we did that. A possible goal would be to finally color in the rest of the U.S. Map when it comes to caching, that might be a bit ambitious. But who knows we might be in your neighborhood. Look for the guy with the monkey in the Mini. I do hope everyone’s 2011 is fantastic, Happy New Year!
Here’s the deal… last year my creative project (outside of the comic) was Project: Pinewood, in which I went back to my days as a Cub Scout and made a pinewood derby car, using only a pocket knife and sandpaper. This was in honor of the centennial of Scouting in America. The car became a travel bug and is is presently wandering the United States from cache to cache. Being larger than most caches I completely understand why it hasn’t gathered the miles. So what should I do this year?
Here’s the plan it might work, it might not. I know a number of the readers of this comic also (because they have some geeky traits) watch Dr. Who. My plan is to create a geocache for each incarnation of the Doctor. These would all be decon containers (TARDIS) that I have added some decoration for the unique doctor.
My first idea was to have Cecil place the series as I had time to create them, and be done with it… then another idea started to germinate. What if those caching Dr. Who fans from across the country received a cache and placed it in THEIR community? What if each cache had part of the coordinates to a final cache filled with Dr. Who swag and a commemorative Pathtag? What if I just turned this whole project in to way too much work? Could it all be done in a year? A dozen caches placed around the country (the world?). I’d need to really learn more about Dr. Who (I remember Tom Baker – the fourth doctor, but not well.) I picked up the series with the 9th Doctor and still haven’t seen all the 10th Doctor’s episodes. What do you think? In the immortal words of John Belushi “Who’s with me?” Thoughts? Ideas?
I know many people travel during the holidaze which was one of the reasons I decided to take the comic on hiatus while I’m on the road. For Christmas my parents gave me a wonderful new scanner which will allow me to draw on larger paper, so hopefully you will see a worthwhile change when we get everything back up & running in January. I’m going to take this time to plot out some of the big geek odyssey events for 2011. I’m also planning on doodling a bit (seeing some of the sketches at the Indy Webcomics Group meet up got me thinking about some characters, and some tweaks I’d like to make).
I hope everyone is safe and sound, and enjoying time with friends and family. I’m enjoying the “frigid” weather in South Carolina (it’s around 37 this Christmas morning) with no snow wandering with Sue’s family on the beach. Hemi is at the “kitty spa” being pampered while we travel. Sue and I decided that Hemi might not enjoy the drive even though questions about his attendance had been raised. I am amazed at how much that cat has become part of our lives… I miss the little guy when he’s not around.
The holidays here, with Sue’s family, are filled with tradition- on Christmas Eve we have a Swedish smorgasbord with Swedish meatballs, potato sausage, ham, herring, etc. I often joke that I am “more Swedish” than Sue but she knows more about Swedish culture than I ever will. The evening usually involves “glogg” a mulled wine served warm. A card game finishes out the evening.
If you have noticed the Twitter feed Sue & Cecil had done a little geocaching once we got into town. The drive back promises more opportunities and who knows Cecil might reach 1400 finds before we get home. Looking for a Cecil or My Geek Odyssey pathtag? I know I will be dropping them along the way home. If you head out to the comic shop, yarn store, or to find a cache enjoy and stay safe & beware of alligators, or something.
I may not be as much of a podcast junkie as Sue and with time I really have slowed down on my podcast listening. There are a few I still listen to regularly (whiteroofradio, decoderringtheatre, & podcacher) unfortunately for me, one that had stopped posting for a while has started again. Webcomics Weekly has been on hiatus until the last month. The funny thing is I started listening to this podcast back when it was the “Blank Label Comics Podcast” the podcast itself has evolved from basics for web cartoonists (if you want that listen to early episodes) to the life of a web cartoonist- they even have changed their thoughts from what they had written in How to Make Webcomics & Webcomics.com. Nothing too bad, interesting suggestions and thoughts from people who have been able to give up real life and enjoy cartooning as a life.
I bring this up because this last week someone talked about “Should I quit?” the guys on this podcast rambled about a bunch of stuff but they also talked about (with 10+ years experience) the need for people who really want to create a webcomic and aren’t looking for a way to give up their day job. I guess even after the comments from my mother about “when I’m going to make money” I’m here because this is something I have always wanted to do. I don’t know if I was stupid not following the advice given to me in high school- there is something about having bit of life experience.
I’m still working on what I want this comic to become… but really I’m not trying to deal with getting enough money to support my comic book & Mini Cooper habit, I’m just trying to have some fun, and learn in the process. In 2011 hopefully you’ll see some changes to this comic (the only thing that is constant is change). After close to two years of playing, I have paid for three more years of keeping this site up and running so you haven’t seen the last of me… I’m putting together My Geek Odyssey’s Annual Report to our stockholders. Huh? When did we get stockholders? Maybe the government will bail me out too.
This weekend Cecil & I attended the UP! Fair at the Carnegie Center for Learning & Literacy in Lexington, Kentucky. Originally intended as part of the Indy Webcomics Group’s contingent- I ended up, instead of helping out a lot, just hanging out and going to sessions for the most part. While it may seem strange for those who know me, I’m really more of an introvert when it comes to these situations. While interested in a lot what was going on, I’ve been cornered by people who have a “fantastic” comic that they have put their heart and soul into that I then feel an obligation to purchase after hearing their story. This isn’t always the case, but it has happened enough times that I tend to be more aloof. If I talk to someone I am interested in what they are doing, and if I buy it I really do want to read it & hopefully share it with others.
The UP! Fair was geared more for small press and those interested in learning more about self-publishing. It also had a great component geared towards kids and getting them interested the creative side of comics. Compared to the “typical” Con I have attended this was intimate with small sessions that allowed for (almost demanded) interaction with the presenter. Similar to some of the Indy Webcomics Group meet ups. So what did I learn? a few interesting tricks in Photoshop, a little about some software that might help with the creation end.
A quick finger painting I did in Sketchbook Pro of Hemi
I did have a chance to play around with my iPad and a few of the drawing apps I have on it (Sketchbook Pro & Brushes). The funny thing was that this was dealing with publishing but almost everyone was doing all of their work completely digitally. FYI: If you weren’t aware- My Geek Odyssey is done the old-fashioned way on paper and then scanned into the computer for shading and limited color- yes, there is original artwork somewhere for every comic that has appeared.
After attending this I have to ask myself (and you my readership) is there a market for let’s say “My Geek Odyssey: Year One” as a book? Would you want to buy one?
To me birthdays are a great chance to reflect on the year and make plans for the future. So I’m sitting back thinking about the past year and everything that has happened and what still needs to be done.
This year I was able to do some pretty cool things-
On the MINI front I attended A MINI Vacation In Vegas, MINIs on the Dragon, the Mickey & MINI, Detroit Auto Show (& the Beachcomber) and MINI Takes The States.
Comic Book wise: there was C2E2, & the New York Comicon
With the comic- Gosh, the Indy Webcomics Group Anthology was published, I did a full set of comics for MINI Takes The States, and ended with close to 300 comic strips (290 if you you want to be picky). I also attended Webcomics Bootcamp – scary…
Geocaching- helped Cecil to reach 1000 caches (in Las Vegas), attended GeoWoodstock and the Lost & Found Event in Seattle, this lead to finding the triad (Project A.P.E. the Lilypad, & the Original Stash) plus the usual suspects (Moonshine, Midwest GeoBash, Spring Picnic, Fall Picnic, etc) plus corrupted a few people into caching.
Personally- none of your business, OK celebrated 20 years of marriage renewing our vows at the drive-thru wedding chapel in Vegas. Oh, and we got Hemi.
Next year- who knows what will happen? All I know is it will be an adventure.
MINI United will be somewhere (if they ever make an announcement about it so we know the details)
GeoWoodstock will be in Pennsylvania
I know I will be going to a few Comicons- the UP Fair in Lexington & Starbase Indy for starters
& My Geek Odyssey will be there drawing and coming up with stories dealing with Monkeys, MINIs, and geeky stuff.
I was asked on Friday (since I happen to be heading to my local comic shop after school) to see if I might be able to get some door prize donations for the school’s “Literacy Night.” Teachers – you should try to build a good relationship with your local comic shop if you can. So today I receive an email from Dan at Comic Carnival asking what he can do to help (thanks Dan). He has some titles he could donate but wanted to check with me about their appropriateness. Fortunately I happen to have copies of the comics in question and that leads me to this post and this question- “What is appropriate for elementary kids?” The comics Dan suggested were Avengers #1, New Avengers #1 or Secret Avengers #1. Marvel has their own rating system and two of the titles are rated “A” which means “Appropriate for ages 9 and up” one is rated “T+” or “Teenagers.” The first answer was easy- throw out the T+ comic because I sure hope we don’t have any teenagers at our school. So what about comics rated “A” what is in them and why the cut off of 9? I looked at both comics and they actually seemed to be completely different.
Avengers #1 (Bendis & Romita Jr.) seemed pretty straight forward although it starts off with a death there really isn’t much to it that I wouldn’t expect from a comic. Time travel story, lots of talking, and some fighting. No blood or dismemberment, no nudity, no “bad stuff” or things that kids will huddle around giggling over.
New Avengers #1 (Bendis & Immonen) You’ve got magic and demons and inappropriate language for school. Now I’m not one to have and issue with magic or demons (it is fantasy), but words can cause problems. I just remember giggling at George Carlin’s “Seven words you can’t say on television.” That said- I can understand the need for using certain words, but I don’t know if a 9 year old (that’s end of third grade beginning fourth grade) needs to reading them or hearing them. Can’t we just keep the world a little more candy coated for a few more years?
So how does a parent (or teacher) get appropriate comics for their kids? The rating system doesn’t work- It doesn’t work in movies, in video games, or in comics. We have to be the adults (“gasp!”) we have to read what the kids are reading, or see the movie, or play the video game to make sure it meets with our morals. That we are comfortable letting it impress a young mind. Everyone has a different belief as to what is “right.” There are some great comics out there that I wouldn’t even think about letting a kid in my class read until they are much older and have the experiences and maturity to be able to understand the content.
Comic Shops what can you do? Keep buying all ages stuff & don’t hide it in the back or behind a bunch a toys & lunch boxes. Make a prominent display of stuff that is good for young kids in the front of your store. Parents will appreciate it (most are scared to walk into a comic shop). Work with your local school and see about getting titles into their library, classrooms, cafeteria, playground. You are the experts in comics, team with an teacher and have them help you put together your “kid friendly- teacher approved” comic list. I would love to have every kid in the school reading good comics- it is still reading folks!
So is picking comics for kids a scary proposition? Yes, just like picking a movie, or TV show, any form of media is, or at least should be, if you care about your kids and what kind of person they will grow up to become.
Just the start of my fun with Al & Scout
For those who don’t follow me on Twitter (I don’t tweet as much as I could or should) you might have missed my post on Monday about my guest strip on Ed Cho’s “Al & Scout” a great all ages comic about two cats. Remember that Cecil made the observation long ago that the only way to have a successful comic in Indiana was to have a cat in it. Ed has doubled his luck by having two. It’s a great a strip updated on Mondays.
How did this happen? Well Ed and his wife decided that they would have a baby- now having a bouncing bundle of joy does require some adjustment. So Ed asked local cartoonists to provide guest strips while he adjusted to the life of a dad. I had read his strip and decided that it would be fun… and it was. I look forward to see what the other folks in the local community come up with and how Al & Scout really handle little Nina as she grows up.
I just did a “quick” and “simple” update for the site and once again lost everything for a few seconds… Why can’t my set up stick so I don’t have to keep telling WordPress where to find my comics? People wonder why I haven’t moved from the basic ComicPress set up… this is why! I still have a lot to learn. The crazy thing is I’ve done this enough times (after needing to call for help the first time- Thanks again Don) that I know some of the glitches I need to check out, but it still gets really annoying… One of these days I’m going to do a comic about this- Wait, I don’t have tomorrow’s drawn yet! No, you’d expect that wouldn’t you? I’ll need to save this for when you least expect it then- Wham! Ooktron comes back and… I’ll be quiet now- but soon, I won’t have to be… bwahahahaha!
