Thursday, February 16, 2006

Thursday is Saturday Here

Thursday's Project:
Tackle Chapter 2 of STALKING THE WILD DIK-DIK. It used to be Chapter 1. And I've always hated it… because nothing happens. I arrive in Cape Town. I go to the dentist. I buy shampoo. I catch a bus to Namibia. I go on safari and look at animals, including a lot of dik-diks and rock rabbits. I flirt with Shawn, who I last saw in Cape Town in October, 2005. I take a bus to Victoria Falls. Big yawn. (I've done other chapters, just not Chapter 2.)

Thursday's Soundtrack:
Doris Duke. I'm A Loser: The Swamp Dogg Sessions. I love this. My Brit/Oz pal Sean in Sydney introduced me to Doris Duke through a mix CD he'd sent me before I left NJ. It's soulful, kind of Aretha Franklin-esque, but painfully honest in a Nina Simone way. Hell, I never said I was a music critic. Go ask Ed Ward if you want to know what genre it is.

This Week's Book:
THE NATURAL by Joe Klein. It's interesting stuff about the Clinton presidency. But last week's book was really enjoyable. INTO AFRICA by Martin Dugard. It's about Stanley and Livingstone and is a real page-turner. I bought it in Kampala in November and carried it around since then, never opening it. I finally opened it on the plane to Dubai, and that was the end of me trying to get any work done on the plane rides.

Today's Moments Worth Mentioning:
-Mr. Fixit, my company's finance and business manager, sadly saw the passing of one his three goldfish that he'd bought on the street for Chinese New Year. ("A bargain! 1 KD for three fish.")
- CanIndian Staff Writer got to go to a party at the British Embassy last night. He told me that since the embassy is not officially Kuwait, they have alcohol on site. He saw a lot of drunk Brits. (FYI, we work half-days on Thursday even though it's Saturday.)
-We read in the news that Frank Miller is making a "Batman Vs. Al Qaeda" comic called "Holy Terror." (Better DC than us, yikes!)
-Israel is drawing better cartoons about itself than Iran as a challenge back to Iran. Germans are drawing cartoons of Iranians. The world has gone mad, but I guess cartooning beats killing each other. AND WHAT ABOUT THE DANES? Is there nothing worth lampooning?
-And finally, Sven—COO and default-publisher when the big boss is away (I've yet to meet the big boss although I've harangued him a fair bit by email as he co-writes the comic I'm editing)—was in freefall and then stuck on an elevator. But I'll let him tell you about that as soon as he finds somewhere to blog about the terrifying experience. He still has no internet access at home.
-Last, I have seen no smashed cars today. But there's still a few hours of daylight left.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, Miller's been talking about the Batman vs. terrorists thing since 9/11. The mainstream media just now decided to pick up on it. After reading "Frank Miller Vomits A Batman Story (a.k.a. The Dark Knight Strikes Again)", and then being a sucker and buying the first few issues of All Star Batman and Robin, I can say that I'm completely underwhelmed by Mr. Miller's work these days. It's a shame, really.

-Rob

BTW, there actually was a Batman Elseworlds story called "Holy Terror" a few years back done by, I believe, Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. Took place in an Oliver Cromwell influenced oppressive theocracy. Quite a good story. I'd recommend it.

Peter Moore said...

Hey Marie,
Thanks for the heads up on Doris Duke. Downloaded it from my Russian friends and enjoying it now as I type. Funny that these tips have to come third hand now!

Jared said...

It was never about the Danes.

Marie Javins said...

I agree completely with Jared on this point. I don't totally understand what it's all about, but it's not about Denmark and some cartoons. I suppose in time it will all become clear.