2017 Saga Reader Survey

1. How would you describe the generation that you’re a part of? Baby boomer? Gen X? Millennial? Some weird new shit?

I’d call myself a baby Gen Xer or an elder Millennial. I was born on that knife edge.

2. If it’s not too personal, approximately where do you fall on the 1948 Kinsey Scale of Human Sexuality? If you own a computer, you are allowed to consult internet websites such as www.wikipedia.com for this question.

I don’t appear on any scale that assumes people want to have sexual relations with anyone or anything.

3. What song did you (or would you someday like to) dance to  with your spoiuse at your wedding?

I have no plans or desire for a spouse or a wedding. However, if it were to happen, I’d like it to be something weird and off-putting, like "The Bargain/Thénardier's Waltz of Treachery" from Les Misérables. Fuck the expectations of the guests. Also, a waltz is easy to dance to.

4. Roughly how many comic books do you own, print and/or digital?

Thousands. I have fifty drawer boxes that are pretty full of floppies and more in other boxes. If each box holds 200ish comics (they hold more) that’s at least 10,000. And that doesn’t count the collected editions/OGNs I have and the floppies I had bound into books back when I could drive across the valley to a bindery to pick-up and drop-off.

5. What kind of kisser are you?

Don’t know. Absent? I don’t like touching people or being touched by people. Haven’t found a person who I want to practice kissing with to learn what kind of kisser I am.

6. Ideally, who would play you in a movie of your life?

Most of my life my answer was Edward Norton. He’s thinner and better looking than me and I’d like to be presented that way if there were a movie about me. For someone closer to my age, maybe Gregory Smith. Is he still acting? Elliot Page is much younger than me, but I’d be thrilled if he was cast as me.

7. Well, what do you think about President Trump?

I try not to, but since you asked … when he was elected to his first term I thought he was like a little kid who didn’t understand how the US government worked. He thought that the being president was like being a king. I was glad that he kept being tripped up by the process. His second term is much scarier because of the way he keeps expanding presidential powers. Yes, I don’t like what he’s doing with them, but I’m afraid of what future presidents will do.

8. If you could have the power(s) of any of the X-Men, which character would you choose and why?

Blink. I want to safely teleport over long distance and bring a large mass with me. No more traffic.

9. What was the saddest moment of your life?

I feel like all my sad moments are petty. I was more saddened knowing there wouldn’t be any new writing from Rober Jordan and Ursula LeGuin that I was at the deaths of my grandparent. If that’s the saddest I’ve ever been, I’ve been pretty damn fortunate.

10. Are we actually living inside an elaborate computer simulation? Are you Sure?

How can we ever know, right? If I say yes, what’s my proof other than a feeling of the worldi not being what I think it should be? Even in The Matrix, Neo has to take it on faith that he’s been pulled into the “real” world. How does he know it’s not just another level of the program?

When I was little, I used to lay awake at night worried that we are all inside a giant’s dream. (The universe seemed too big to be a normal person’s dream.) What would happen when the giant woke up? Would the dream somehow continue in the back of the giant’s brain or would everything just be gone? Then I saw an episode of the PBS show Long Ago and Far Away titled “Rarg,” which is about a civilization that learns it’s in someone’s dream. They work to move the dreamer into the dream to keep him asleep forever and ensure the survival of their civilization. Once the dreamer is moved, he starts dreaming of flamingos and everyone and everything in the dream who aren’t the dreamer becomes flamingos. And I realized that I could become a flamingo at any moment and I worrying if reality is real never kept me awake at night again.

11. Would you please describe a recent experience with an immigrant?

Went to an excellent banh me place when I was in the valley the other day. It opened only a couple of weeks ago. I chatted with the owner, who came to the USA a few years ago, about how they make their baguettes and milk teas. While I was eating, he sat down at another table, pulled out a guitar, and played (and sang quietly) along with the great music that played. (It was acoustic versions of rock and hip hop songs. The one I remember was a delightful version of “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”)

12. If you had a G.I. Joe-style codename, what would it be?

Couch Control

13. Should recreational marijuana be legalized across your country?

Yes. And there should be better education about it, too.

14. If you could go on a date with a fictional character from any medium who would oyou select and why?

So, I’ve tried not to mention the answers that you go, but I think it’s weird that so many people chose a personification of death. 

For me, I think I’d like to go out with Genly Ai from The Left Hand of Darkness.

15. What would you like engraved on your tombstone?

I don’t want a tombstone. If one ends up existing it should be some pop culture jibber jabber like “Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah.”

16. Do you have a favorite late-night television host currently on the air?

I watch John Oliver each week. I guess he’s my favorite.

17. So far, how are you enjoying getting older?

I was old even when I was young. (No one called me an “old soul” or anything like that. I just felt and acted old. When I was in my 20s and people would ask me my age I’d say I was in my 60s because that’s how I felt.) One great thing was having my hypertension actually addressed. The pediatricians I had knew that my blood pressure was too high, but they blew it off, like I’d outgrow it. Years of constant migraines and multiple bloody noses each week later, I got some pills and back to normal level pain headaches once in a while and the occasional bloody nose due to living in low humidity. My niece suffers from migraines and bloody noses. I’ve been trying to convince her parents to have her blood pressure checked. Maybe a low level of medication could help her now instead of her suffering until she finally gets good enough healthcare when she’s an adult that she thinks she can go in for a checkup. I’m not being listened to, though. 

18. Do you mind that DC Comics is using the Watchmen characters in new stories even though co-creator Alan Moore probably wishes they’d rather not?

I do not like that DC has continued to use the Watchmen characters. It was a complete and wonderful tale that only becomes diluted when people who don’t understand what Moore and Gibbons were doing with the characters.

I haven’t picked up any of the pre- and post-Watchmen stuff. I did watch the HBO show back when Hulu used to do HBO for free weeks and remember thinking that there was no reason for that show to be related to Watchmen. It would have been just as interesting without using that shorthand as window-dressing. The performances were pretty great, though.

19. If you were going to be executed early tomorrow afternoon, what would you order for your last Breakfast?

Something that would make me vomit and give me diarrhea. I want to make my death as uncomfortable for everyone as possible.

20. Will we discover alien life sometime in this century?

Like extraterrestrial life, right? Because those things that live deep in the ocean are pretty damned alien. Probably not.

21. What is your greatest unfulfilled dream?

To visit the Moon and watch Earthrise from the surface.

22. Are you better at something than almost anyone? If so, please elaborate.

Okay, so I have the ability to tell a person something that can absolutely devastate them. It’s not something that I consciously do. It’s instinctive. I have two instances I’ll share:

The first was during the summer after my 4th- or 5th-grade year. My brothers and I were in a summer program that went on educational field trips twice a week for five or six weeks. There were these three girls, friends from another elementary school in the county, who kept picking on us. Maybe it was a three vs. three thing or they didn’t like that we spent the, often hours long, bus rides joking and laughing. Something about us bugged them. We mostly let it go, expecting that they’d get bored and move on and even tried to ask them to stop. They didn’t. They always sat in the seat in front of ours. On the bus ride back from our second to last trip of the summer, something in me snapped and I told the leader of the girls that her parent’s didn’t lover her, that she was a mistake who ruined their lives, and forced them to get married and be miserable. I told her that she was the cause of all the problems in her family because she was born and every moment she was alive she made it worse for everyone she thought loved her. She and her friends got quiet, in an uncomfortable way, and turned around in their seat. I looked at my brothers, knowing I’d gone too far and not knowing where it came from, and saw concern and questions on their faces. Quiet sobs came from the seat in front of us. I felt bad (I feel bad thinking about it), but I didn’t apologize and still don’t think I needed to because they pushed and pushed and wouldn’t stop when we asked. I stopped them. They didn’t sit near us when we did our final field trip.

The second was during a talk therapy session six or seven years ago. We were talking about this ability and she asked me what I would say about her. I said I didn’t think it was a good idea, but she insisted. I don’t know how other people are in talk therapy, but I listen as much as I talk. The therapists I’ve have said a surprising number of things about their personal lives. So, when she insisted I shut off my brain, opened my mouth, and told her that her children resented her because of the rules she made keeping them away from pop culture for them isolated them from the other kids and made them stand out as weird and they had a hard time finding others who would connect with them. I said that they loved their father more because he allowed them to explore some of what their peers were exploring; they loved him more because he at least made an attempt to alleviate their isolation rather than spitting out platitudes like they’d understand and appreciate what she was doing when they were older. I was lucky that we were close to the end of my session because we didn’t do much talking after I finished. She never brought it up again. And it’s probably just a coincidence that she decided to move closer to her grown-up kids a couple of months later, right? I mean she was only in town to complete her Psy. D, which she had completed 10 months earlier, so it wasn’t me. Right? *sigh*

I don’t like this ability and try not to use it on purpose, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.

23. What was the last feature Film, if any, you loved so much that you had to own it on DVD?

I recently bought a box set of the Thin Man movies. I’ve wanted them for years and thought that it would be great to watch one each day during my week long vacation a month or so ago.

I like physical media. I like being able to watch movies and TV and listen to music when the interbutt goes down. Also, I can lend them out if the other party still has a player.

24. Coolest birthday present you received before the age of ten?

The Castle Grayskull playset. So many different toys made it their home and served tea to their guests.

25. In case Hamburger loses your envelope (he will definitely lose it), would you please write your name and return address below, so that any/all prizes you might win could be sent your way…?

I’ll share my name when I sign the letter, but I don’t want any prizes or any recognition, really. All I want is for this most recent hiatus to end and the final 36 issues to be published soon.

2016 Saga Reader Survey

1. What was the #1 song in America on the day that you were born? (Warning: This question may require Google dot com, which definitely requires an internet connection, which could result in additional fees.)

“Tragedy” by Bee Gees. It was in the era of the last hurrah of disco. Also, not really one of their best.

2. To the best of your abilities, please draw a symbol that reflects your gender identity.

3. When you can’t sleep at night, what is the one thought you can’t let go of?

All of them. When I can’t sleep it’s because my brain is rushing with all the thoughts. It’s so full of thoughts that it’s essentially gibberish up there that won’t stop. Gibberish that circles around and around. It’s exhausting.

4. With the exceptions of Saga or any other book made by the creators, which one comic would you most like to share with your significant other (or alternately, your platonic best friend) right now?

I think everyone should read Groo by Aragonés, Evanier, Sakai, and Luth. However, if I’m choosing something they would like, well … honestly, I don’t really have any friend and I’ve never had a significant other.

5. Where did you go on your honeymoon? If you haven’t had one, where might you like to go?

Don’t think I’m gonna have a honeymoon, but if I did I’d like to go to the actual moon or, if we have to stay on Earth, Antarctica. The other would have to agree, though. It’s not a decision I should make on my own.

6. Hey, what do you think about sorbet?

I’ve never had a meal where they serve it as a pallet cleanser, but it can be delicious on its own.

7. Do you have any fetishes you’ve never shared with a partner?

No partner to share fetishes with. I assume the question relates to sexual fetishes and not the magical/spiritual things. I’m not a sexual person.

8. If you could draft any living person in the world to be President of the United States for one term, who would it be?

If I was sure he’d live long enough, I’d choose my living Grandpa. He’d work so hard to help everyone. He has such a big heart that he’s tried to keep hidden and I’d love for him to be put him in a position where he could use his compassion.

9. What brand of shoes are you wearing?

No shoes at the moment, but I am wearing Dickies branded socks.

10. How significantly has your relationship with your father contributed to your current situation in life?

This is a hard one because while I know that my dad cared for me he didn’t GET me. Like, he had special things he did with each of my brothers, but didn’t have anything with me. And there are behavioral choices that I made relating to how to be a parent and spouse, but I’m on track to be neither, so I won’t put any of those choices into practice. The impact is definitely there, but I don’t know how significant it is.

11. What are you nostalgic for?

The ignorance we used to have about the minutiae of everyone’s lives.

12. If you could only visit three websites a day, which three would they be?

I don’t know. I mean, I should choose email, but if I couldn’t use it because rules then who’s going to be angry? Do I only want to read three webcomics forever? Which ones? I guess my public library’s website so I can reserve books once I get back to being a heavy reader and My Comic Shop so I can continue to slowly fill in the holes in my collection and maybe a recipe site, something pretty good though, like America’s Test Kitchen.

13. What contemporary slang terms are you surprised to find yourself using regularly and un ironically?

SQUEEEEEE!

14. Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

No. We do not allow hereditary titles in the United States and Jesus Christ has done nothing that would be considered rescuing me, which is hard to do when you disappear a few days after a resurrection.

15. Have you ever been on a date to a bowling alley?

I have never been on a date. If I were to go on a date, I think bowling would be fun.

16. If you could have a conversation with the men and women who assembled your smartphone in China, what would you ask them?

I’d ask about their families.

17. On a scale of 1 to 10, how worried are you about ISIS?

Even at the time this survey was written, my concern for the USA was a 1 and the rest of the world was 3. I thought that it would collapse in on itself and wither away.

18. When ordering at a bar, what is your traditional drink of choice?

I don’t like the taste of alcohol, so when I’ve gone to a bar with people I usually cola because the soft drink that’s always been available.

19. If you weren’t so afraid, what would you be?

Able to make friends.

20. What level are you at on Candy Crush?

I stopped playing Candy Crush before this survey was written. I don’t remember how far I got.

21. Who are your parents bigoted against?

Transgender people. Which I never expected because they were so progressive and encouraging about the LGB part of that list while I was growing up. It also sucks because one of their grandchildren is transgender and they keep using his birth name instead of his chosen name.

22. Why David Bowie?

I had to look up what was happening with Bowie in 2016 and I gotta say, he lived a long, fruitful, creative life full of performances we can continue to enjoy. He was almost 70. To paraphrase a guy whose writing I enjoy: The death of an old man may be sad, but it is not a tragedy.

23. Which of your hobbies consumes the most of your free time?

I lost the ability to do hobbies when I was poisoned. I’m working my way back into food preservation and sausage making. (I like to know how both laws and sausages are made.)

24. Would you personally execute a convicted death-row inmate if it meant extending the life of your favorite pet by ten years?

No. My favorite pet died well over ten years ago. (My apologies to the cat I’m currently living with. You have a long way to go to be my favorite.) I guess I’d have ten additional years of memories, but I wouldn’t have the pet. Also, I don’t want to take a human life, unless it’s for food.

25. Have you ever been arrested? If so, what for?

Nope. I don’t do interesting things.

One Year Later

It's been a year since I was given a ASD diagnosis and I still don't know what to think about it.

I've switched therapists in that time to one who has more experience with autism. Although, I think most of her experience is with autistic children and their parents, rather than autistic adults. Also, even though it's been a few months, we're still feeling each other out. It's not bad, but please let it get better.

I wrote about my experience getting the assessment in March. I didn't know how to think about the diagnosis then, either. I thought six more months would help.

I've only officially told seven people about my diagnosis.

My mother and my father were all up in my business about why I was out of town two weekends in a row and the only way to get them to stop bothering me was to tell them.

I told my direct supervisor because I had noticed some behaviors that were called out in the past were, at least, partially driven by my autism and I wanted to explain to her. She also had a very kind reaction to the news.

Both of my therapists were told because I'm still trying to work on the whole depression and longing to be in Utah thing.

Finally, I told my brother and his son as we drove to a comic convention.

I don't feel ashamed by the diagnosis, but I don't want to put up with weird or shitty reactions.

Like, this summer I was at a birthday party for my cousin's three sons. (Two are twins who were born the day before their older brother's birthday.) I wasn't sure if the party was going to be indoors or out, so I brought my earplugs, just in case. At the party, other cousins were talking about their children and ADHD. One of the kids is twelve and the other is six. Eventually, they started talking about noise sensitivities. The cousin with the other child mentioned Loop earplugs and then tried to explain how they are different from normal foam earplugs, and the explanation did not go well. So, I pulled out my earplugs and handed the over telling my cousin to take a look.

I was being helpful.

The looks on my cousins' faces, and my mother's face (she was sitting next to me at the table), were not... good. Sort of questioning and angry and uncomfortable. My mom looked especially angry. There were no follow-up questions after they looked at and returned the earplugs. Still, the looks made me very uncomfortable.

So, yeah, there's all that.

My other brother, sister-in-law, and their son are visiting in a couple of weeks. My nephew was very curious about autism when I told them all about the assessment back when I visited them during the assessment. I may tell them when they're up. Maybe.

2014/2015 Saga Reader Survey

1. Who was President (or your nation’s political equivalent) when you were born?

President Peanut. Jimmy Carter.

2. And if it’s not prying, what is your gender identity?

None of the above fits me best.

3. Have you ever personally ignited a road flare, and if so, what were the circumstances?

I think I did, once, to light a bonfire on a beach, but I might be confusing something I saw on TV with a memory.

4. What was the first comic book that got you hooked on this medium?

The funnies in the newspaper were the beginning. Then my mom gave the Richie Rich and other Harvey comics she got as a kid to me and my brothers. But finding Justice League America and Justice League Europe on the spinner rack in the grocery store is what really pulled me in.

5. Approximately how many countries have you visited in your life?

2. The USA, where I live, and Mexico, which I visited for about 2 hours when my Uncle and his *not* girlfriend went to buy weight loss drugs while I was staying with him as a babysitter for a month. He lived near the boarder at the time.

6. Sexting: hot or absurd?

I think sexting is silly for me, but I can understand why others think it’s hot.

7. Where do you fall in the birth order? Oldest, youngest, middle? Or no siblings at all, you unfairly stigmatized only child?

I was the first child for my parents and the first grandchild for my grandparents, but the second great-grandchild for the great-grandparents who were alive at the time.

8. What was the last great novel (without illustrations) that you read?

The last novel I read was Carl's Doomsday Scenario, which was a lot of fun. The last GREAT novel I read was To Kill a Mockingbird, which I used to read every spring and I hope to start that tradition back up next spring.

9. How much would you say that you support Israel’s actions in Gaza on a scale of 1 (not at all) to 10 (completely)?

Back when the survey was written it was probably a 2 or 3, now it’s a 1. I wish the whole world would admit that Israel is never going to allow a second state, so they need to enfranchise all the Palestinians with minimum guarantees of representation in the Knesset and international security to protect the newly enfranchised people.

10. What are your ideal movie theater snacks?

Whichever snack I’m currently popping is my mouth while at the movie theater is the ideal snack.

11. Do you think your parents are proud of you?

I don’t think that they’re disappointed in me, but I don’t know if they are proud. I’m sure if I asked, they would say they are, even if they weren’t.

12. Have you ever gone hunting?

No, I have not.

13. What is your kryptonite?

I don’t think people often answer this question correctly. Kryptonite is something that causes Superman pain and can kill him. People will answer with a “tee hee, frappuccinos.” Superman does not go out seeking kryptonite without serious personal protection. People pay way too much money for the honor of ingesting frappuccinos. So, my kryptonite should be something I know harms me that I wouldn’t choose to interact with unless I protected myself. I guess a gas leak is my kryptonite.

14. If you were on Celebrity Jeopardy, which charity would you be playing for?

I don’t have any specific charities in mind, but it’d be for foster kids.

15. What is the worst thing you’ve ever been called?

I don’t know. Most of the things that I’ve been called to my face are either true (I’ve been fat for as long as I remember.) or never felt like insults to me. I assume the worst things I’ve been called were said when I couldn’t hear.

16. Favorite Saturday morning cartoon when you were a kid?

I always watched The Smurfs on Saturday mornings. I’d force my brothers to change the channel when it came on, even if they were enjoying something different.

17. What is the most embarrassing thing about your current browser history?

I think when I accidently opened a link to ChatGTP is probably still in my history.

18. If you were trapped on a desert island, what one video game would you want with you?

I think a The Legend of Zelda game. Either The Wind Waker or A Link Between Worlds.

19. When was the last time you needed to be brave?

I can’t remember ever feeling brave.

20. How many tattoos do you have.

None. Sometimes I think it would be funny to get the hanzi for penis on one inside wrist and the hanzi for vagina on the other. I’m in on the joke that way.

21. Have you ever seen someone die with your own eyes?

I have not.

22. What is the last music you actually paid for?

I bought the cast album for the two seasons of Galavant for my birthday this year. It’s delightful.

23. How many alcoholic beverages do you normally consume in a week? Truthfully?

Zero. I don’t like the taste of alcohol.

24. Do you think college is important?

Yes, but I want to acknowledge that college isn’t for everyone and it shouldn’t have to be, but so many jobs out there just expect someone to have some sort of a degree and the way high school counselors push college on everyone without a thought on what the student wants or needs almost makes it required. Ultimately, you may earn a degree, but you only really get out of college what you are willing to work for.

25. What do you hope your legacy will be?

I’m uncomfortable thinking that I might leave a legacy. The best I can muster is that I hope the people I knew remember me as being kind.

2013 Saga Reader Survey

1. In the parlance of these newfangled “chat rooms,” what is your A/S/L?

Moving into mid 30s when the survey was written/No thanks/Living room

2. And if you don’t mind us asking, where do you buy your comical books?

Mostly eBay. If I’m in a city or town with a shop, I try to drop in and spend a little bit o’ cash. Every little bit helps, right?

3. Okay, but when was the last time you climbed a rope or used a rope to aid in your ascent?

I’ve never climbed a rope. Not ever.

I seem to remember going on a hike and there was a rope you could hold on to as you walked up a hill. But that would have been decades ago.

4. Do you believe in any kind of an afterlife?

I don’t believe in an afterlife. I’m very afraid that there may be one, though. I hope there isn’t.

5. Who is the most famous person you went to school with?

The most famous person I went to school with, and actually knew, would be either the kid who give Marty McFly his gun back after the shootout in Back to the Future III or the guy who played the drums in the band in the 2003 version of Freaky Friday. I know that a failed NFL player and a woman who did adult films went to my high school at the same time as me, but I don’t think I ever met them.

6. In adolescent sex talk, what does “third base” represent to you?

In general terms, third base is when one gets to play with another’s crotchal area. Third base minus is over the pants. Third base is over the underwear. Third base plus is flesh touching flesh.

7. President Obama probably hasn’t had too much free time since he was elected, so which (non-Saga) comics that have released in the past five years would you most recommend to him?

My gut says go with something funny but also has intense moments to help the funny hit harder,  like the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire Justice League. He may not be in office, anymore, but I’m sure he needs to laugh more.

8. It’s your final meal; what would you like to drink with that?

I’m assuming you mean something alcoholic. I don’t like the flavor of alcohol and I’ve yet to have a drink with alcohol where the alcohol wasn’t the most prominent flavor. I remember being given a mudslide in college, sipping it, and asking if it had booze in it. The person who gave me the drink laughed and said yeah, but no one could taste it. I could. And it tasted bad.

9. On Star Trek: The Next Generation, which two character had a never-acknowledged love affair that only you know about?

I think Worf and Dr. Pulaski fooled around a little after sharing the tea ceremony, but she didn’t want a relationship and he didn’t want to be a booty call.

10. What is the best thing you’ve ever stolen?

Never stolen a heart, that I know about, which must be the best thing to steal. So, I guess it’s an off-brand Tootsie Roll from one of those barrels the grocery stores used to have. It wasn’t very good, because it’s almost a Tootsie Roll, but it’s the best thing I’ve stolen.

11. Who or what do you miss?

I miss being able to needing to laugh when something’s funny. I miss feeling that tickle in my chest at a good joke.

12. Have you ever had a possible supernatural experience and if so, what was it?

Not that I can think of.

13. Do you know anyone currently in prison?

I work in the HR department of a prison. I know lots of people there. Some of us get to go home each day.

14. Which field or fields do you consider yourself an expert in?

I’m not an expert in anything.

15. Have you ever been given an award?

I got some academic awards in school. I guess that counts.

16. Has Twitter made you a happier person?

No. I’ve never had a Twitter account and, like everyone else in the world, it’s made my life worse.

17. What did your parents almost name you?

My parents claim that they did not have another name selected for me. I think it’s unlikely, but if they had another name they’ve been unwilling to tell me.

18. Did you watch any of those videos that Chelsea Manning helped leak, especially that one?

Chances are that I did, but I don’t remember.

19. If you had to fight in any war in human history, which would you choose?

I don’t know. Something that was pretty short with a low death toll like the Greek Civil War.

20. Isn’t there someone you should finally apologize to this week?

I think I need to apologize to my youngest brother, but I’m going to wait until I see him in person in October.

21. What is the most important article of clothing you own?

T-shirts. They are comfortable and if they’re long enough you don’t need underwear and they can provide some warmth if the material is thicker.

22. Are you happily addicted to anything?

I’m not happy about anything and I don’t think I’m addicted to anything.

23. We’re having a dance! Would you like to come to our dance?

Are more than six people going to be there? If yes, then I will not attend.
Will it be loud or loud-loud? If loud-loud, then I will not attend.

24. You have to permanently give up either movies or television, so what’s it gonna be?

If it’s giving up things that were originally released in movie theater vs. things that were originally released on television, I’d keep TV. Large variety of genres and larger number of hours of stuff to experience. Also, I’d rather keep the Star Trek TV shows over the movies.

25. Finally, please draw a quick doodle of yourself, especially if you’re not an artist.

2012 Saga Reader Survey

1. If you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?

I was in my early 30s when this survey was released.

2. And where are you from?

The United States. California. Sierra foothills.

3. What are your reading these days?

I’ve recently started reading again after brain problems. I’m reading stuff that I bought while I was healing, but couldn’t focus on reading. So, clearly I’ve recently read Saga. I also read all of John Allison’s books, including Giant Days, The Great British Bump Off, Steeple, and By Night. Dan Jurgen’s The Mighty Thor from ‘97. I also read the first two Dungeon Crawler Carl books. All were good and I recommend.

4. Do you buy your funny books from your friendly neighborhood retailer, or from an online site like Comixology?

At the time this survey was released, I had moved back to the town I grew up in and there was no comic store. Shortly after, I went to a store in the valley that used to mail me stuff and set up with them. They closed two or so years later. I spent some time with Comixology, but developed brain problems and lost track of everything. As my brain has recovered, I’ve bought from eBay. I tried to go to another store in the valley, but they said that they would send me a list of comics each moths that they were going to order and I could select what I wanted. They would not order The Knights of the Dinner Table for me. Don’t know why.

5. Important: who would win in a fight, the Hulk or Rorschach?

I don’t know (or care) who would win, but the readers and comics industry as a whole would lose.

6. If a member of the Saga team were on the run from the authorities, would he or she be able to crash on your couch for a bit?

Probably, if they seemed safe to be around.

7. What is the worst recreational drug?

Meth seems pretty bad, but that only comes from observation.

8. Why won’t more people accept that Haywire is Stephen Soderbergh’s very best film?

Maybe they’re like me and don’t have an extensive knowledge of Stephen Soderbergh’s filmography.

9. What is your second greatest regret in life? Giving up on those piano lessons?

I didn’t take formal piano lessons and I have a hard time practicing music because I’ve been unable to learn to sightread music all my life. I guess my second greatest regret would be not going to see Cake in concert while I was in college. I only had like $37 at the time and it was a few week before my financial aid would be released.

10. Seriously, what is wrong with my eye?

It’s too beautiful and casts a spell of lust on all who see it?

11. What is the only truly excellent Mexican restaurant in New York City?

I’ve only been in New York City once for two nights. I was more interested in going to deli’s for corned beef and/or pastrami sammiches.

12. Ian Fleming once wrote that James Bond liked sex best when it had “the sweet tang of rape.” Does this change the way you feel about the character and/or life on this planet?

James Bond is a control freak, so it makes sense that seizing a woman and forcing her to do what he wants would appeal to him. I assume lots of people like to exercise control over their partners during sex. So, it doesn’t change my view of the character and life on the planet. I just hope it’s always consensual.

13. If you had to permanent give up chocolate of cheese (in each of their infinite varieties), which would you choose?

I’d give up chocolate. Chocolate tends to be only sweet. Cheese is used in way more savory and sweet applications. Cheese is more versatile.

14. When was the last time you watched a stage play, and what was it?

It was a few months ago. My niece was in a school production of 13, which is a musical. The school did a good job with what they had, but the play has … problems.

15. What do you think Image publisher Eric Stephenson’s darkest secret really is?

I don’t know if it’s dark, but maybe co-writing Wolverine with Rob Liefeld?

16. Which of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is most assuredly an atheist?

Venus de Milo

17. Have we dated?

I haven’t dated anyone.

18. Would you rather be trapped on the island from Lost with your mom or dad, and why?

I think my mom because we can easily amuse each other.

19. When was the last time you were naked in front of someone in a nonsexual context?

I assume I was naked in front a medical professional while I was going through lithium poisoning. There are weeks worth of time that I can’t remember from back then.

20. Are you Banksy, and if so, can we do anything to help?

If I were, I wouldn’t tell you. You can help by going out and doing some are yourself.

21. What had a greater impact on your upbringing, your favorite librarian or your favorite coach?

No good coaches were good for/with me. I had lots of good librarians.

22. What are you working on these days, anything creative?

I’m working on experiencing emotions again.

23. Wait, why did you abandon it?

I only abandon it when I’m too tired for anything.

24. Relax, I’m sure it’s great. Listen, why not put down this comic and work on your thing RIGHT NOW?

Emotions first. Creative pursuits come later.

25. Cool, but before you do, but if you were reincarnated as an inanimate object, what would it be?

A novelty flash drive people get free off a table from a convention or trade show that gets lost in luggage and never serves its purpose.

Parking Spot

 This has been a relatively shitty week AND other people have been parking in my usual parking spot. Coincidence?

...

Yes. Absolutely. It's a coincidence.

But it feels like these things should be connected.

Thank goodness for a long weekend and a "Weird" Al concert at the end of next week.

Compressed

 I've been on vacation for the past week. Well, "vacation" as in not being at work. Haven't been more than twenty minutes away from the house this week and that was for an appointment on Tuesday and then for breakfast with family on Thursday.

Aside from those things, I didn't really do anything. Okay, I did some chores -- swept up the house, washed and changed bedding, sharpened knives -- but I mostly watched TV shows and movies. (Got all the Thin Man movies on Blu-ray. So great.) (Also, yeah, I still buy physical media when I can. I can watch it when the inderbluts goes out and I can loan it to people, who still have players.)

What I wanted to do was write. Fiction. Uh, fanfiction. I couldn't, though. My brain wasn't decompressed enough to even seriously consider writing fiction until Saturday night. I even broke out notes I have for a story at around 10PM and didn't write a word. I skimmed the notes. I opened my preferred word processing program. I titled and saved the document. I looked at the notes again. I closed the document. And I went to bed.

Part of it is that writing fiction stretches brain muscles that I haven't used in a while. I forced it over a year ago, and it exhausted me. In bad and good ways. But I don't want to feel that way again. It wearied my brain for a long, long time.

Part of it is also that the notes I brought out -- the fic I most want to write -- are for a story from the point of view from a character I find detestable. Sandy Griffin. Oh, how I want to finish those last two parts, though. And Quinn has to be the final one. Begin with the one I like the best and end with the one who showed growth before the post canon's came around.

My brain is much better than it was a year ago or even six month ago. The fact that I have a want to write fiction is proof of that. Further proof is that I'm reading before I go to sleep again. Not a lot. One or two issues of a comic book or a dozen or so pages of a novel. I used to read a larger volume, but the fact that I pretty much didn't read anything for seven or eight years makes me... content that I'm able to read something again. Maybe I'll even be able to get back to my annual reading of To Kill a Mockingbird next spring. That would be nice.

And there are so many fics that I want to write. I have the notes I listed above. I have notes for more post canon Gravity Falls stories that are connected to the others I've written; one is an almost New Year's date between Dipper and Zia, a character of my own creation. I have notes and ideas for so many Daria fics, including the continuation of the crossover with The Tick, a Mack and Jane story based inspired by an Iron Chef from forever ago at PPMB (which is where I did my first non-lurk on that forum) that's been in my brain for more than 15 years, a Daria/Defending Your Life crossover only I asked for,and a series of stories inspired by the songs from the Semisonic album Feeling Strangely Fine. And then there's that The Good Place fic I want to write to challenge a couple of things presented in the show, but really I want it to be a comedic/depressing self-insert story.

As for today? Today was about preparing for next week. Five lunches are packed. Dishes are scrubbed. Laundry is folded and put away. My brain is preparing for all the people I'll have to deal with again. No, writing fiction was not in the cards for today.

Maybe I'll be able to decompress from work faster when my next vacation comes around in December.

Until then...

Be well.