For the last few months I’ve been busy–and tired–as all get-out, and as a result, I’ve felt that I’ve been neglecting some of my extra reading. Along with all the fiction and comics I like to knock off, (and all the DVDs I watch), I like to mix in a book on philosophy, mythology, history or religion. I feel that those kind of intellect stretchers helps me stay in balance.

Well, just last week I was listening to my hero Zig Ziglar on the ol’ iPod, and he started talking about a study conduFor the last few months I’ve been busy–and tired–as all get-out, and as a result, I’ve felt that I’ve been neglecting some of my extra reading. Along with all the fiction and comics I like to knock off, (and all the DVDs I watch), I like to mix in a book on philosophy, mythology, history or religion. I feel that those kind of intellect stretchers helps me stay in balance.

Well, just last week I was listening to my hero Zig Ziglar on the ol’ iPod, and he started talking about a study conducted a while back at the Thomas Jefferson Center in Pasadena, Calif. The study examined the top 15 values common in all of the world’s greatest civilizations and religions. So I thought that was a list I’d like to know about. If it worked for the greatest civilizations in history, then I’m thinking there might be something in there for me.

Here is the list- 15 Common Values:

1. Wisdom

2. Integrity

3. Love

4. Freedom

5. Justice

6. Courage

7. Humility

8. Patience

9. Industriousness

10. Thriftiness

11. Objectivity

12. Generosity

13. Cooperation

14. Moderation

15. Optimism

I don’t know about you, but that seems like a pretty good list to me. So what I hope to do over the coming weeks is to look at each value on this list. So if a discussion like that interests you, I invite you to check in now and again, as I hope to tackle them one by one. Not only as to how they’re defined, but how they play into my own life–and whether or not I think I’m living up to them!

At this point, I don’t want to guess how I’m doing. I’m afraid my score might be too low!

LOL!!

I know this isn’t exactly light reading, but I’m feeling like it’s a worthy endeavor, so I’m going to give it a shot. Hopefully I’ll rate okay, but the jury’s still out! Check back for updates …

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2008/08/23 08:53

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2008/08/30 08:39

Last I was so wiped out, I fell asleep at 8:30. Pretty rare for me, but it happens now and again. Liz and I went to The Police concert the night before at Madison Square Garden, and we didn’t get back until almost 12:30, so I needed the extra rest.

When I finally woke up, I reached over for Liz, only to realize she wasn’t there. I didn’t know what was happening, but I just figured that Liz fell asleep on the couch watching TV, and never made into bed. But when I came out into the living rooLast I was so wiped out, I fell asleep at 8:30. Pretty rare for me, but it happens now and again. Liz and I went to The Police concert the night before at Madison Square Garden, and we didn’t get back until almost 12:30, so I needed the extra rest.

When I finally woke up, I reached over for Liz, only to realize she wasn’t there. I didn’t know what was happening, but I just figured that Liz fell asleep on the couch watching TV, and never made into bed. But when I came out into the living room, I found Liz there, with light on, still dressed, watching TV and folding laundry.

Granted, I was in that grogged out zone, but for 5 am, this seemed pretty weird to me. Until I realized that it wasn’t 5 am. It was 9:30. [i]PM! [/i]I had only been asleep for an hour!

Well, after Liz set me straight, I went back down for another 8 hours, and I am not back with the world again.

A few weeks back I blogged–okay, okay, I was kvetching–about the overheated subways and just how outrageous it is that there’s no #$%! air conditioning on some of these cars in the middle of the summer.

Well, to show that I’m not totally off my rocker (on this one at least), a report came out in the paper the other day rating the subways according to how often the air conditioning works. And what subway line not only came in last–but [i]waaaaaaaaay[/i] dead last?

You got it? The A few weeks back I blogged–okay, okay, I was kvetching–about the overheated subways and just how outrageous it is that there’s no #$%! air conditioning on some of these cars in the middle of the summer.

Well, to show that I’m not totally off my rocker (on this one at least), a report came out in the paper the other day rating the subways according to how often the air conditioning works. And what subway line not only came in last–but [i]waaaaaaaaay[/i] dead last?

You got it? The E train. The same train that nailed me several times.

Call this a shallow victory if you will, but I’ll take it.

As much fun as Comic-Con is–and it is fun–it’s also hard work. Because our body clocks are still on Eastern time, we can’t sleep well, and so get up around 6 am. We drag ourselves over to the convention center to prep, and the doors open at 9:30 am, and we man the booths pretty much non-stop, except for minor breaks, until 7 pm.

After that we head back to the hotel for a quick breather, then head out for dinner and/or drinks, and then do it again.

No complaints here, but Comic-Con As much fun as Comic-Con is–and it is fun–it’s also hard work. Because our body clocks are still on Eastern time, we can’t sleep well, and so get up around 6 am. We drag ourselves over to the convention center to prep, and the doors open at 9:30 am, and we man the booths pretty much non-stop, except for minor breaks, until 7 pm.

After that we head back to the hotel for a quick breather, then head out for dinner and/or drinks, and then do it again.

No complaints here, but Comic-Con is a hard fun. Fun, but not easy. It’s work. My adrenaline was going all week. When you work the booth, you’re constantly selling. You always have to be on.

So after four days of all this mayhem, we have to break down the booth, ship our big stuff back, and then pack our bags for an early flight (after a night out, of course).

Sunday started out just fine. I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, the plane left on time, and it was a smooth flight.

Until.

We got word that New York was being hit by storms, so about 70 flights were being re-routed, including ours, and no planes were able to take off from New York. We had to land at a small airfield in Harrisburg, Pa., to refuel, and after about an hour or so, we got cleared to fly into New York. When I finally got there, it was pandemonium. Because of all the canceled flights and the late arriving ones, the baggage claim looked like the wreckage from a hurricane. Bags were everywhere. The arrival board had a long list of flights that said "Canceled." People were cranky and annoyed. At one point, my flight just disappeared from the board.

It was only after another passenger told me where our bags were coming out–no announcement had been made–did I find my bag. I literally had to climb over 20 or 30 bags, which were getting jammed in the conveyor belt due to overflow.

And then I had the daunting task of flagging a cab. Yeah right. After 20 minutes on line, I saw someone calling a car service, which gave me the idea to do the same. Another 20 minutes and my car was there. Had I waited for a cab, I might still be there.

All in all I was about 4 hours late getting home, so as I’m sure you can imagine, I was pretty frazzled. My buddy Ray, who flew into Tampa, had a similar experience. He left on a later flight, and rather than getting home around 10 pm, he got home at 3 am.

Needless to say I was pretty wiped out. Comic-Con was a great trip and I’m looking forward to next year … but I’m feeling it a bit this week. But when it comes around again, I’ll be rarin’ to go.

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2008/08/02 09:05

Oh, no.

Yer OUTTA HERE!Oh, no.

Yer OUTTA HERE!

Now what would a Comic-Con be without the exhibitionists, the fully fledged participants who bring out their inner nerd to fruition? And let me tell you, it was a quite a scene. Among the highlights there people dressed up as Stormtroopers. As Darth Vader. As GI Joe and Indiana Jones.

We also had, no surprise here, many, many Jokers, including one who visited our booth with some real inspiration. Man, he was in character. It was awesome. I’ve got a great picture of him in the PHOTOS sectiNow what would a Comic-Con be without the exhibitionists, the fully fledged participants who bring out their inner nerd to fruition? And let me tell you, it was a quite a scene. Among the highlights there people dressed up as Stormtroopers. As Darth Vader. As GI Joe and Indiana Jones.

We also had, no surprise here, many, many Jokers, including one who visited our booth with some real inspiration. Man, he was in character. It was awesome. I’ve got a great picture of him in the PHOTOS section.

We also had visits from Hulk, Thor, Spiderman and Superman, a few Batmans, and, here’s a great one — Batbum. I’ve got a good photo of him, too. His sign read: "Will Fight Crime for Food." I thought that was pretty good.

Scattered around we also had some life size Pokeman characters, goblins, elves, sorcerers, Predators, Plastic Man, and a crazy chick who just got her inner beast all decked in orange. Seriously. It was bizarre. (Yep, got a photo of that, too).

And, of course, we had our share of slender ladies in skin-tight costumes of all sorts and varying degrees of cleavage … not that we were looking. (YEAH, RIGHT! Our nerd detectors went off like wildfire!)

So all in all we got the Comic-Con experience, characters in all.

And what a scene it was.

I’ve got pictures galore from the San Diego Comic-Con. Go to the PHOTOS section, and enjoy! More will be coming throughout the week, so keep checking back for updates. Lots of great stuff!

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2008/07/30 20:47I’ve got pictures galore from the San Diego Comic-Con. Go to the PHOTOS section, and enjoy! More will be coming throughout the week, so keep checking back for updates. Lots of great stuff!

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2008/07/30 20:47

After each day working the booth, totally exhausted, we all gathered up for a few nights out on the town, hitting a different spot each night.

On Thursday, after getting shut out of a steak place we were all pining for due to a loooooooong waiting list, me, Rich, and a few buddies, Ray and Marty, wound up doing the pizza and beer thing. Not bad, not great, but it certainly hit the spot after a long day. Beer, pizza, talking comic and movies. It’s the geek version of playing poker.

FrAfter each day working the booth, totally exhausted, we all gathered up for a few nights out on the town, hitting a different spot each night.

On Thursday, after getting shut out of a steak place we were all pining for due to a loooooooong waiting list, me, Rich, and a few buddies, Ray and Marty, wound up doing the pizza and beer thing. Not bad, not great, but it certainly hit the spot after a long day. Beer, pizza, talking comic and movies. It’s the geek version of playing poker.

Friday night was the fancy-schmancy night, and we spent the big bucks at a restaurant called BluePoint Grille. I’d eaten there a few times before on my various trips, and so we jumped in for some seafood and steaks. I had the lobster. Yum. This night it was me, Rich, Ray and our other partner-in-crime Rich Koslowski (www.richkoslowski.com), and between the four of us we wracked up a $300 bill between the food and drinks. Pricey, but we got what we paid for. We had a great view of the Gaslamp District and more than a few laughs.

I won’t say where we ventured off to after that–some things that happen in San Diego stay in San Diego–but needless to say alcohol was involved, and we’ll leave it at that.

And then on Saturday night we went for our second annual trip to Brian’s, just a good food joint that offers a nice mix of fancier meals and comfort food. I had the Franky Burger, which is, stay with me … a burger with cheddar cheese, bacon and … peanut butter!

Yep. You heard right. Peanut Butter.

I have to admit, when I first saw that on the menu, I cringed, but the more I though about it, the more I came to think that it was just too weird to not try. And I figured that if I hated it, I could scrape the goop of and just and enjoy the burger plain. And you know what? That peanut butter burger was gooooooood. I know it doesn’t make sense, but [i]man[/i], it delivered.

More Comic-Con Reports to Come …

The San Diego Comic-Con might have all been under one roof, but there were really five separate attractions going on simultaneously.

* [b]Main Floor, Times Square Mayhem:[/b] The main section of the showroom floor was more the spectacle area. This is where you had the DC comics booth and the Owl Ship from the upcoming Watchmen movie. Where you had banners up for LOST and a massive display for the Sci-Fi Channel. In essence, the most densely-populated, mobbed-out section of the convention The San Diego Comic-Con might have all been under one roof, but there were really five separate attractions going on simultaneously.

* [b]Main Floor, Times Square Mayhem:[/b] The main section of the showroom floor was more the spectacle area. This is where you had the DC comics booth and the Owl Ship from the upcoming Watchmen movie. Where you had banners up for LOST and a massive display for the Sci-Fi Channel. In essence, the most densely-populated, mobbed-out section of the convention hall. It was like the Times Square of Comic-Con. Bright, shiny and the area you try to avoid at all costs. Looks good from afar, but it’s constant mayhem. Our booth is perfectly located on the outer edge of the Midsection. We get the flow, but not the strangling crowds.

* [b]Main Floor, Comics Wing:[/b] On the other side of us was the comics wing, where you can actually find dealers that sell–gasp!–comics. For a show called Comic-Con, there aren’t nearly as many comic book creators and vendors as you’d think, but if you were looking for them, that’s where they are. It’s also the wing where they sell T-shirts and toys, posters and artwork. It’s far less crowded and much easier to navigate. And quieter.

* [b]Main Floor, Artist’s Alley and Gaming:[/b] On the other far side of the convention hall, beyond the Times Square, is Artist’s Alley. That’s where 50 creators, mostly who do their own artwork, have just a table, rather than a big display, and they do signings and sketches. Good buddy Rich Koslowski was over there, doing sketches all weekend. It’s a great spot to get a little one-on-one time with the artists and not be totally overwhelmed by the crowds. The other corner was filled more with gaming–both new video games and gaming (Magic, etc.). Still busy, but not the madhouse of the main section.

* [b]Panels, Main Floor and Second Floor[/b]: Outside the main convention hall are the side rooms and ballrooms, where they have big and small panels alike. Rich, Ray and me sat in on the Watchmen movie panel, which had about 5,000 attendees. Ray also hung out and saw the HEROES, LOST and 24 panels. There were all sorts of other good stuff, like Family Guy, Battlestar Galactica and many others.

*[b] Signings[/b]: Also upstairs is the main signings hall, which is open and well lit, where you have this oddball collection of fading stars doing signings. This year’s batch included Erik Estrada (CHIPS), Erin Gray (Buck Rogers) and Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica), among a few others. It’s amazing how long the line for some of those are. And also up there is the art show, where you can buy statues and fancier comics art.

So that’s pretty much the layout of Comic-Con, in all it’s glory.

Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2008/07/30 07:50

Just back from the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, and what a trip it was.

The convention brought it’s usual flow of madness, from movie premiers to dressed up fans (pics coming) to visual extravaganzas. And yet the biggest highlight was the attention we got from Hollywood:

At the booth with me promoting [i]Finders Keepers [/i]this year was partner-in-crime Rich Henn, who is promoting his autobiographical comic Zoomies, and the comic-book supernatural thriller [i]Timespell[/i], we wrote toJust back from the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, and what a trip it was.

The convention brought it’s usual flow of madness, from movie premiers to dressed up fans (pics coming) to visual extravaganzas. And yet the biggest highlight was the attention we got from Hollywood:

At the booth with me promoting [i]Finders Keepers [/i]this year was partner-in-crime Rich Henn, who is promoting his autobiographical comic Zoomies, and the comic-book supernatural thriller [i]Timespell[/i], we wrote together.

On the other side of the booth was a writer named James Owen. You might not recognize his name yet, but if all progresses as it seems, you will. Rich and I first met James about 10 years ago at a comic book convention in Ohio. He writes and illustrated a comic book called [i]Starchild[/i], which did fairly well in the comics world, but then he kinda went silent after that, at least as far we knew.

Well, turns out that he reinvented himself as a novelist, and has been working on a fantasy series of novels called [i]Here, There Be Dragons[/i]. He has already written three, and is writing the fourth. And they’re selling. If you like books from C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, then he’s right up your alley.

The truly big news is that the producer of the Harry Potter movies has signed James Owen, and said that his Dragons books are going to be the follow-up movie franchise to Harry Potter. Warner Brothers is supposed to start filming the first Dragons movie in October. So James could wind up being [i]that [/i]big. Not to mention that James, and his brother Jeremy, who works with James, are just truly good guys. You can check out James online at http://www.heretherebedragons.net/.

So little did Rich and I know, when the convention started, who we were palling around with. You bet your you-know-what we’re aware of it now!

Meanwhile, Rich and I got a little Hollywood love of our own. At least a half dozen Hollywood producers and talent agents expressed interest in our various projects, so we are definitely jazzed about that. Of course, saying they’re interested and them actually doing something might be two very different animals indeed, but we’ve got a bunch of serious leads, and we’ll be pursuing them like mad. So who knows? [i]Finders Keepers[/i] might be getting a big screen adaption of its own.

More from Comic-Con ’08 to come …