Post-Traumatic Tech Disorder

From a recent interview with Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls, The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, and Wes Craven’s Red Eye):

How about something a little lighter for you the next time, like a comic-book character?

RM: Ah yes, Thundercats was on this morning! I would love to play Cheetara. I haven’t heard anything about an actual movie, but let me know! I’m so into graphic novels lately. I should look for one. Some of them are quite romantic. They make these really beautiful comic novels, and they’re so dark and twisted.

The girl has a Teen Choice award for Best Liplock, reads dark and twisted graphic novels, wants to run around a movie set in spandex, and has been previously quoted as saying:

“I want to try a lot of things that I haven’t tried. You know, I did a thriller [Red-Eye] after this, because it was so different and it was a genre I hadn’t worked in yet. Then I did a beautiful family ensemble drama. And next? I don’t know. I might go off to do a small independent in New York. I’m not sure. The quality of material is important, but, basically, I’m open to anything. I like to stay open to anything.”

Thunder… Thunder… Thundercats… nah, she’s just too cute to go there.

Thanks to Tom Spurgeon for the link.

Creative Screenwriting magazine has information up on their website about their free podcasts, which feature Q&A sessions with writers and directors (from the magazine’s LA screenings). Currently, they have Q&A podcasts for their screenings of Four Brothers, Fantastic Four, and The Island.

So, I’m here working on developing a bunch of characters (hashing out personalities, character flaws, appearance, mannerisms, and quick bio/history), and I look up and see it’s 3:30am. I should really go get some sleep, but there’s one little problem… I don’t even feel tired. It’s not an unusual feeling for me. I grew up dealing with that being a very energetic/hyperactive child.

But tonight, this total lack of sleepiness got me thinking. What are some good ways to start building up that sleeping momentum? I tend to fall asleep in class, but there aren’t really any classes in session this late at night. Drowsiness-inducing meds don’t work on me too well. So, I’m listing out some things I’ve done in the past to get to sleep at night.

• Read the PFE. Military folk will know about this one. For the non-military folk, the PFE was this study guide for the Promotion Fitness Exam. Basically, a promotion test came in two parts–job skills and general military knowledge (contained in the PFE book). It was written like an instruction manual (lots of passive voice and written in a tone addressing the lowest level of intellect in the military that might read it). Back when I was studying for those tests, this book put me asleep faster than anything.
• Workout madness. I remember going out for a run once at two in the morning in the middle of winter… when living up in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve also hit the weight room (whether it be one located at apartment complexes I used to live at or located in a gym I belonged to that was open 24 hours a day) late at night/early morning. And way back in high school, I even spent a good 45 minutes to an hour one night driving the blocking sled up-and-down my school’s football practice field.
• Sugar bomb. When I was younger and not really worried about how calories impacted my body (I was one of those lucky bastard kids that could eat all day long and not gain a pound), I would load up on sugary stuff to get to sleep. Pastries, candies, ice cream, chocolage pudding pies, and all that fun stuff. Sure, I’d be wired for about a half hour, but when that sugar low hit, I’d be asleep in no time.
• Don’t drink all this at home. I don’t really recommend trying this one. It worked at the time (some of my earlier days in the military), but that was mostly because I had too much stuff racing through my mind that kept me up at night. So, I drowned those thoughts out (pretty much spent every night for a long time at clubs drinking until 1-2am).
• Slow things down with movies! Especially if I sit back in a nice comfy recliner with a warm blanket and put on a movie that moved to a slower pace (usually movies I’ve already seen before). Stuff like Tremors, 2001, and Dead Poet’s Society.
• The ceiling stare. Stare at a single point on the ceiling and stare at it without blinking while counting backwards from 100 to 0. Repeat as necessary.

And apparently, just thinking about all these different things makes you sleepy… so I’m off to bed.

Topics covered in the last 24 hours for various writing projects:

• Projectile physics (particularly from high calibre sniper rifles)
• Eye shadow
• Endurance running
• Commercial jet schematics
• John Harvard
• State bestiality laws
• Momentum
• Inertia
• Costume fabrics
• Counter-mobility
• Swimming pool accessories
• Chihuahuas
• Psychological effects of electrical and chemical stimulation
• Documentaries
• Weight capacities of various everyday objects and structures (elevators, cars, streets, foundations, boats, etc)
• Cereal icons

Good thing I started that speed reading course a couple months ago. ^_^

It’s a busy week for me, but I wanted to get an update out here with some miscellania.

• Links to more Comic-Con reports (courtesy of the Comics Reporter).

• Pulse is getting a message board upgrade. Might have to fix my Comic Headlines program after they get done, but you’ll still get the updates from the other comic news sites. And if anyone hadn’t noticed yet, there are some new features over in the Comic Headlines section: RSS feed and an events section where you can hit the archive of the SDCC 2005 news links and visit the newly created Wizard World Chicago 2005 news page (just look for the link at the top or the “event news feeds” dropdown under the calendar).

• Seth and I will be at Wizard World Chicago next week. Table 9193 in Artist Alley (I believe it’s in the new Artist Alley section). Stop by and ask us about our Steampunk Faeries book (available at Chicago).

• Science time!

The FDA approved a pacemaker-like implant that sends electric shocks through the vagus nerve to the brain to stimulate the region of the brain that regulates mood. The device is being used as a new therapy for severe depression.

Ultra-lifelike android.

What’s it like living on a big radioactive mudball?

• “And I’ll form the head!”

Passerby: Hey Jeff, how was San Diego?
Jeff: It was good. Tiring, but good.
Passerby: Tiring?
Jeff: Walking around while carrying 20-30 pounds of stuff. I dropped my weight by eight pounds.
Passerby: Eight pounds? That’s a lot of walking.
Jeff: Actually, I think some of that weight was from my liver. It was slowing me down at night, so I chucked it.

Well, I have an article to finish up for another website that I said I’d get to them by tomorrow, so I don’t really have time to be as thorough as I was for preview night. But… there are some people out there that provided some nice SDCC coverage, so I’ll provide some links (and I’ll chat some more about SDCC later).

Day 1:
The Comics Reporter
The Beat (and The Beat’s Barcon report)
Augie De Blieck Jr.
Mark Evanier

Day 2:
The Comics Reporter (and an Eisner Awards diary)
The Beat’s Eisner wrap-up
Augie De Blieck Jr.
Mark Evanier
Broken Frontier

Day 3:
The Comics Reporter
The Beat, Saturday part 1 and news and notes
Augie De Blieck Jr.
Mark Evanier
Broken Frontier

Day 4:
The Comics Reporter
Augie De Blieck Jr.
Mark Evanier

The Day After:
The Beat

tagicon international: comicon, comics, conventions, San Diego

Made it into the preview night. I’ll be doing a more detailed report for Scryptic Studios after the con, but here are some quick bits from today.

• Finally met Ryan Ottley in person. Ryan and I worked on the Dungeon Bears story (you can read it up there in the published section) and an unpublished little one-pager called “Time Travel Management” (which he gave me the original artwork for today). Looks like things are going well for him with Invincible… a fun book (be sure to check it out).

• Chatted with Todd Roy, creator/producer of Kwoon. Kwoon is a new series coming from the Martial Arts Channel (which launches later this year… if you’re interested in having a channel dedicated to martial arts 24/7, be sure to call your cable/satellite provider and ask for it). It looks like a fun show… basic concept is “bad acting, good kung fu.” Quick note: what stood out about Kwoon was that amidst the flurry of press emails for Comic Con, they actually sent out a physical letter. That really stood out (and was probably the reason it was the first booth I visited).

• Chatted with my boss at the ‘Shoot, Chris Ryall. He also works for IDW Publishing along with Hero Happy Hour creator Dan Taylor.

• Also hanging around the IDW booth was Ben Templesmith and his wife. Ben’s really excited about his new book coming out in September called, Fell (written by that Warren Ellis fella). The interesting thing about Fell is the format. Each issue will be a self-contained 16-page story in a 9-panel grid format. And even though each issue is its own story, they will build up a larger story over time. Kind of like episodic TV… and those classic comics I read as a kid.

• Another person at the IDW booth (it was a gathering) was 24 (comic adaptation) writer, Mark Haynes.

• Chatted with Justin Peniston and Matt Filer from Quixotic Comics.

• Scott Kurtz was there and already burned through a box of his Skull plushes during preview night.

• Stopped by to talk with Rafael Navarro of Sonambulo. I met Rafael at the STAPLE convention in Austin. He has lots of great stories, so if you get a chance to stop by his booth here in San Diego, head on over and be entertained.

• Write Bros, Inc. is there and showing off their software (Movie Magic Screenwriter is what I use for writing comics and screenplays). If you’ve wondered what screenwriting software can do for you, they have a presentation where you can see it in action.

• Digital Webbing is all over the place. Echo 3 Worldwide had a booth and selling off BloodRayne comics left-and-right (and I got my comps… yay!). Epic Proportions is set up near by, and so is the main Digital Webbing booth.

• John Gallagher of Buzzboy was set up with some cool new t-shirt designs.

• Penny Arcade had a nice set up right across from Penny Farthing (I wonder if the Penny’s were placed next to each other on purpose). They have some cool CTS prints for sale… ask them about it. They’re also near the Keenspot booth, which looked packed compared to how spacious the PA booth was.

And that’s it for now… I gotta head out and do some drinki… socializing.

tagtastic: comics, San Diego, conventions, Comic-con, writing, martial arts

Twenty years ago today, Coca Cola gave in and unveiled its plans to bring “Classic Coke” back to the market. I remember that period of time when there was only “New Coke.” Coca Cola zombies in my school were quivering at their desks from withdrawal (luckily, I had a Mountain Dew addiction to fall back on). People were scouring the convenience stores for that Holy Grail of old recipe Coca-Cola. Grocery shoppers were bitching about their funny tasting Coke. And one curious scientific mind was testing out the blast radius of this New Coke after its aluminum shell had been compromised via homemade explosives [warning: don’t try this at home… don’t try this at all].

tagitis: cola, explosives

• Medical science has developed a future source of revenue for the online porn community. A device that can relay an artificial sense of touch anywhere in the world. Sure, they’re using it for a good medical purpose right now, but you know someone’s thinking about using the technology to take cyber-sex to the next level. Truly interactive DVDs. Online shows where the audience can actually lay back and really enjoy the show. Or even a tool used to keep relationships strong (a couple separated by distance due to work or other circumstances would be able to spend some intimate time with each other).

Source: New Scientist news service

• Clive Barker… IDW. Looks like IDW will be publishing a bunch of Clive Barker’s comic projects for the foreseeable future. Could be interesting. I’ll have to keep an eye on what shows up from that.

Source: Newsarama

• Video gamers may have quicker eyes. Uhhh… really? You mean all that practice staring at a TV/monitor hour upon hour and day after day, scanning your environment, and evading/targeting small objects as quickly as possible might actually improve your reaction time and visual abilities? Yeah, it seems like this is one of those crazy research projects just to do a study on something that seems so obvious, but they do have a reason for the research… to see if video games could be used to help rehabilitate the brain when it falters (due to stroke, old age, etc).

Source: Reuters

• And on the flip side… games and violence again. Research on whether violent games prime the brain for violence. At least, they do admit, “But finding out whether it is the games that make them violent or the violence that attracts them to the games has proved much harder.” I used to play a lot of games, and a lot of violent, shooty games. But… one of my primary reasons for it was to relieve stress. Bad day at work? Blow up some things to get that out of my system, so it isn’t buried deep percolating and waiting for an opportune moment. I’d go to work the next day, and I’d be fine. No aggression… no problems. Sure, I might get a little frustrated and cuss at the screen during the game (especially if I’m in the middle of a good game and lost my connection), but after the game, I’d be fine. I’m sure there are others like me… where does that lead their research? Would we be an exception to the rule or would that exception be the people that express aggressiveness after gaming?

Source: New Scientist news service

• I haven’t seen it yet, but apparently, BloodRayne: Skies Afire (original printing) is listed at $28 in the new Wizard price guide. Hehe… anyone need a copy? ^_^

• And derived from a Warren Ellis tradition of breaking down some stats for his website, here are a few of the interesting search terms that brought people to the site last month: “giantess”, “lesbian girls”, “cosplay tights”, and “frank miller”. ^_^

“2020 Visions” was a story idea I came up with while doing a bunch of psychic and paranormal research for another story. Like its title hints, it deals with hindsight…

In the future, police investigations benefit from the use of a new technology that allows them to download the sensory information from a person’s short term memory. Detectives can then experience everything a witness hears, sees, feels, smells, or tastes throughout the length of that individual’s short term memory. But one detective finds himself addicted to this sensory immersion. The rest of his life unravels, so he throws himself into his work. But one day while on the trail of a murderer, his world gets turned inside-out when his sole witness is an insane woman that can only see the future.

Research required: dynamics between sensory and short term memory; psychological disorder an “always on” precog could be misdiagnosed as having; other science and tech advances for the year 2020; legal ramifications of downloading a willing witness’ sensory memories