Oh, is it August already?

In the small town of Joucas in Provence.

The last blog post I wrote was from back in April. So much has happened since then. I won’t go into details on everything, but the past several months have consisted of several highs, and several lows. I promise this entry won’t devolve into a woe-is-me narrative, but since writing definitely is an outlet of mine, it feels most appropriate to write down my thoughts in this medium. Besides, no one is pointing a gun to your head to read my musings.

The rest of April consisted of celebrating a late Valentine’s Day tea with Amanda at the Huntington Gardens, attending Permanent Damage 7 as just a fan this time, and enjoying the LA Times Festival of Books on USC’s campus. I walked away with a handful of books, and the whole experience made me incredibly happy due to the fact that the campus was packed with book lovers and book sellers alike. There has been an uptick in people reading again in recent years, and my own personal theory is it’s an affordable escape from the persistent horrors that plague us daily.

Tabling at the Santa Rosa Zine Fest.

 In May Amanda and I traveled up to Northern California to attend the Santa Rosa Zine Fest where I tabled and peddled my wares, specifically FUGU COMIX #4 and FARRAGO VOL. 2. I love NorCal, and it was nice to see my aunt, uncle, plus my amazing cousins while visiting. Also, getting to spend some time with Amanda’s guncles was a hoot. It was a great weekend, and I only wish that it lasted longer.

Also in May, Amanda took me to Ojai for my birthday. The present? Visiting the legendary Bart’s Books for the first time and spending hours browsing their amazing section. I could have spent all day there, but Amanda was about to die from boredom. While there, we randomly bumped into our old neighbors and good friends Bridget and Drew! It was a pleasant surprise to be sure. Bart’s was a little pricey, but I did manage to snag a few rarities. Additionally, the Ojai Library has their own used book shop, Twice Sold Tales, and they too had a fantastic selection and I bought a few more. It was a good haul that weekend.

The big France trip this summer consisted of Versailles, Paris, a drive down to Provence, and then ending in Lyon. Much like our trip from a few years ago to the Loire Valley, we drove a majority of the time during our stay. I journaled every day, but to re-write each and every thought down here would be a chore, and not entertaining to anyone. So I’ll provide broad strokes instead.

Versailles – Only Amanda had a ticket for Fêtes Galantes this year due to their official website constantly crashing months prior. She went with friends and had a good time. But for the events I could attend, I did! I wanted to get a new outfit and debut it this year, but alas, I got scammed by an Etsy store and the outfit never came. First event was at Vaux-le-Vicomte, an all-day event at the château of the same name, an hour’s drive southeast of Versailles. It was humid, long, and we were exhausted by the end of it. The second event was much more enjoyable; Soiree Jabots et Chandelles. It was a private party where everyone dressed up, and the venue space was furnished with 18^th century furniture. With bottomless champagne and little treats, surrounded by friends, it was a home run. I would definitely like to attend again in the future.

Paris – We took a day trip to Paris when we first arrived, and enjoyed pastries and Chantilly cream at Carette. The day consisted of lots of walking and taking the metro all over Paris, visiting the Petit Palais, Shakespeare & Co., Père Lachaise cemetery, and the Palais Garnier. We ended the day meeting up with friends for dinner at Le Loup. The night of Fêtes Galantes, I returned solo to Paris and spent the evening tracking down Invaders. I originally had 10 down that I wanted to flash, and ended up flashing 37! I walked several miles that evening, and celebrated by drinking the night away at Harry’s New York Bar. The company at the bar was incredible, and I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. Always a must visit!

Provence – We rented a car and drove down to Gordes in Provence, stopping in Burgundy halfway there to spend the night at an ancient Abbey. It would have made for an epic photoshoot, but it was pouring rain the following day, ruining our plans. When we finally arrived to Gordes, our bed and breakfast that would be our basecamp for the next several days was lovely and perfectly located right outside of Gordes. In the Luberon area I discovered Invaders by accident, and spent the rest of the week making sure we flashed all of the available ones in the area. A wonderful surprise! Gourdes as a city is epic to view from afar, but rather dull in general. Also, the limited restaurant options in the area all require reservations which was rather annoying. We visited several nearby chateaus and villages (Lacoste, L’isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Lourmarin, Folcalquier) to pass the time, and really get a feel for the area.

Aix-En-Provence – We had a day trip to the city, and visited a cat café! We also flashed all 10 Invader pieces. There was a King Louis connection at Hotel de Caumont, but it was only two furnished rooms. The main attraction was an art exhibition of Niki de Saint Phalle, who Amanda loathed (I enjoyed some of her works).

Lyon – Dropped off the car and checked into our hotel a top of the hill in Old Lyon, the Fourvière Hotel. Beautiful, stunning hotel. We visited Les Halles twice, both times just after they closed. But it was still an experience to walk around the different food stalls. Ate my weight in Lyonnaise food over the course of our stay, including a delicious Andouillette sausage with Dijon mustard sauce. Amanda wasn’t a fan. Food tours with fellow tourists who should not be allowed out of the house. Oh, and more Invader hunting (missed 3, next time). We ended our stay in France on a high note: dinner at Les 3 Dômes, a Michelin Star restaurant overlooking the city. I’d love to visit Lyon again. Amanda? Not so much.

Epilogue – France continues to have the best metro system in the world. I’m always impressed by it. Amanda is ravenous to return and consume all the pastries she can actually have over there.

So it was a very enjoyable trip, despite seeing all the chaos starting to form at home with the rise of ICE and other fascist tendencies from this administration.

In June I went to see Larry Charles talk about his new book, Comedy Samurai, while being interviewed by Luke Wilson at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. I was first in line to get my book signed by him afterwards, and mentioned to him my unforgettable experience of seeing Borat during the Myspace Black Carpet Screening back in the day, and how Amanda and I watch Seinfeld reruns every night. He seemed rather touched by my praise, and I left the interaction congratulating myself for not appearing like a fanboy.

For Amanda’s 33rd birthday later in the month, we dined at the legendary Club 33 in Disneyland. 33 at 33. It took a year of planning with some help from a person on the inside, but the fact that we managed to make it a reality was a victory through and through. A very expensive victory, but she’s worth every penny! The food was delectable, the drinks superb, and the staff took such excellent care of us that we truly felt like royalty. Now how am I supposed to top it next year?!

The month of July only had one major event, and that was Comic-Con. Amanda was working on TRON: ARES and PREDATOR: BADLANDS campaigns all week in San Diego, and I came down on the weekend just to see if anything must-see was happening. Spoiler alert: same old, same old.

I had a bout of depression several summers ago when I was still doing my video podcasts for Cammy’s Comic Corner. Comic-Con was always a busy time, because I was lining up interviews with creators, working with their schedules. Well, that one year in particular I had an epiphany of sorts that it wasn’t the Comic-Con I grew up with anymore, and the complete takeover by Hollywood made it all seem so utterly pointless. I canceled my interviews, citing personal reasons, and I was just so depressed during that entire week. Flash forward to this recent Comic-Con, and I’m having similar feelings. It’s just not a convention for me anymore. All I see are the same booths, same crowds, same, same, same. I only said ‘hi’ to a few friends, stopped by the Fantagraphics booth to pick-up some comics, and then I was outta there. I truly mean this: I don’t think I ever have to attend Comic-Con again. It’s just not a part of my life as it once was. Maybe I’ll revisit going in a decade, but in the immediate future? C’est la vie.

I’ve been slowly distancing myself from comics in general these past few years. Both mainstream and a little bit of the indie stuff. While I enjoy publishing and creating my own comics and anthologies, it’s become somewhat of an expensive hobby. And not once did I ever see it as anything more than just a hobby. I’m not foolish enough to think I’d ever be able to make a living from it, or a decent amount of income, so it always remained a hobby, albeit an expensive one since I’m paying for everything out of my own pocket. My bookshelves packed with graphic novels have slowly been getting culled. My long boxes were sold-off for a fraction of what they’re worth just so I don’t have to look at them anymore. The TCJ issues I’ve been collecting will probably be next if I’m being honest. I just don’t feel that fire and collector’s mentality as I once did.

So what does make me excited nowadays? I’ll tell you what: writing. I’ve been a busy beaver since February, and that flu that made me create a list of priorities. The TV series I’ve been writing these past several years, Abroad? I finished writing all six episodes. But wait, there's more! I came up with two ideas for film scripts. Not just any stories that could have been for novels or comics, but ones specifically to be written for film. I just need my editor/wife to give her thoughts and suggestions, and then I’ll share the next drafts with a friend of mine who has experience writing for television to get their input.

Just the fact that I completed all six scripts makes me feel triumphant. The only reason it took me forever to get to this point was because I made my foray into comics and put all my time and passion into that medium. Much like the comics, I’m not expecting the scripts to go anywhere. I can submit them to festivals and would be open to advice from established writers, but I’m not quitting my day job to be a full-time writer. There are hundreds of thousands of writers in this city, most of them have better connections than I do, so it’s in my best interests to set my expectations low. If any movement happens to be made? It’s an unexpected but welcomed surprise.

Finally, the other major thing that’s been a thorn in our sides is our living situation. We’ve been at this lovely townhouse for the past several years in Studio City. Everything would be considered perfect, except the neighbor we share a wall with. The husband is a smoker, and their child bangs on the walls and cries/moans constantly. The main issue is the smoking, because the building has a no smoking policy. We’ve sent photographic proof of the neighbor violating the rules for years, and the building management company has always claimed to have taken action, but never do. Anything they do is toothless, for the neighbor continues to smoke and it wafts into our place.

So back in June the building management company announced a rent increase starting in August. We’ve received 3% increases over the past several years, but this new one is 7%. Also, none of our other neighbors have received anything over 3%, only us. When we brought it to their attention that it felt like retaliation against us for constantly complaining about the smoking and requested several times their reasoning behind such a significant increase, they could never explain themselves. When we vented our frustrations to the building manager, never blaming her personally because she’s just the messenger, she took our conversation out of context and made it appear we were verbally assaulting her. Such a loyal, good little employee for them. Instead of having any reasonable answers for the increase, the building company took this “attack” on their employee as a reason to cease all communications with us, and scolding us for being horrible people. Talk about a convenient reason to not have to answer for their shitty actions! Because of this latest development, Amanda and I have started looking elsewhere for a new place to live. Ideally in the same area, because we’ve grown to love it. When we eventually move out, I plan to hire a local coven of witches to come put a curse on the building. That is not a joke. I will film it, open up a TikTok account, and plaster it all over the internet.

Wow, you read all of that? Stalker much? Thanks, I guess? Now back to our regularly scheduled horrors that is America.

Look! Dinah content to cleanse you palate!