2001-05-01 3:31 p.m.
you're gonna be a star

so here's the deal. I want to write comics, at least short-term. It's writing, it's fun (hopefully), and it pays. I'm working on it, in fact...writing scripts and proposals with my brother, and going to meet lots of folks in the biz so they'll remember my name/face when I send them something.

I don't like that way of doing business, but apparently that's how it works, I'm told.

since you're meeting me for the first time (or maybe not), you don't know the path I took to get here.

um, so here it is:

I grew up in fairly relaxed middle-class surroundings, filling my head with lots of strangeness (Richard Bach, science fiction, comics), yielding a bit of a hippie futurist.

High school saw me jump into acting and music journalism, with chunks of time given over to learning programming and obscene amounts of reading (some of it obscene itself).

I went to college expecting to come out a genetics researcher, and walked out an actor/playwright.

I've worked as a freelance journalist in Athens, GA, a GC(I)G (Generally Competent (Internet) Guy) on an online photography magazine in Hollywood, FL, and been an opinions editor for Fox and a Web producer now.

what the hell exactly am I doing?

it doesn't make sense to me, but it does. I let my passions lead me as they will, and only rarely do I reign myself in and get back on some kind of path.

I went to Athens to write about everything that was in my head (sci-fi, music, GLBT issues, local theater). I came here (NYC) to see what would happen. What's happened has been politics, comics, electronic music.

My resume probably looks like I've got MPD.

I'm leading a diverse life, and if I lose my job here (which is looking kinda probable, I'm going to make getting out of NY for a while my focus.

Dan thinks I'm standing still. He doesn't get me.

I love creating religions on paper. It's funny to see what people will rally around in my head.

left turn:

I'm listening to a bootleg copy of R.E.M.'s new album, "Reveal" (the tracks assembled piecemeal off of Napster)...and while I don't love it, there's something oddily comforting about it. It's relaxing, if not particularly interesting. Instead of their old rock days, they've gone the way of drum loops and excessive amounts of warm keyboard-synth strings.

"All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" is a sad one...possibly the most ironic song they've written in a long time. They've lost a lot musically, but I still give 'em props for trying to do something new.

"She Just Wants to Be" is about Jill. Remind me to tell you about that. Maybe I'll just post the story for the world to see.