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11/27/02 - See, this half-strip thing is a life-saver, already tonight I had another rough night. just not doing well these days. The holidays? Who knows. Anyhow, I mean, everything's fine, just emotionally so occupied elsewhere Bruno seemed insurmountable. And I was even thnking that i had done a small stirp so recently, i surely couldn't do another again (and will have to tomorrow to balance the printed page break), but I needed to, and there it is.
That said, i do adore today's strip. i think I had lost something in cat for a long while, and lately it's been reborn. Very pleased.
Although, coming up with the title of her novel presented a challenge. I really wanted to call it "Banana Poopcake" but "Lost in Autumn's Dress" seemed much more appropriate.
So..... fingernails. They're so much longer. I haven't bitten them for about three weeks. But it's odd, I haven't had any fingernails from biting them since at least elementary school. Seriously, with my two ring-fingers always maintaining the shortest at about 1/8 of an inch. Seriously gross.
But now they're long (meaning still unfathomably short to normal people), and it looks really odd to me. Like transparent scarabs or cockroaches alien-implanted upon my fingers. And when i scratch my head, nose, ears, it HURTS! And almost every time I zip up my fly after peeing, one catches on my zipper and scrapes up it, surely soon to catch and break. Is this truly better? Is being able to pick up coins really that important? Although it they do make cool noises scraping across the bumpy plastic of the keyboard at work or cast iron pan at home (don't confuse the two, or you'll have well-cooked work and food of questionable tolerability). Who knows, but for now, it pleases, amuses, and intrigues me.
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11/28/02 - So there was a power outtage yesterday, about 2 minutes after my alarm went off. A very strange morning. Quick take a shower while there was still hot water in the building. Shower in the dark (no bathroom windows). Eat cold cereal and just try to be quick taking the milk to and from the fridge. No email, and no (ritual) check to see if the page has uploaded.
Coincidentally, somewhere in California, I guess the server was down or something, and so the page did not auto-update (which it usually does at 6:00am NYC time). I find out later when I get to work and don't have ftp there. I mean, isn't that just a bizarre experience? I almost felt I was slapping fate in the face when I took my first break (lumped up with my lunch) to run home and fix it. Was there a purpose? Some meaning to it all?
Don't be foolish, of course there wasn't. My silly banana poopcakes.
So yes, oh, Thanksgiving. I do hope all you who celebrate it have a good one. As much as I get all twisted around due to my negative feelings towards what it hypocritically represents mixed with screwed up emotional isolation issues etc, it was always my favorite holiday. The warmth and smell, both created by food. Savory as well as sweet. Penuche fudge (so frikin' hard to make). And being vegetarian, we always had veggie lasagna (yeah, the recipe in Bruno book#3). Always liked it. Food and people you care about. Hard to argue.
Anyhow. Hm, so yeah, today's strip. Something about it really caught me. Just this one small panel, the sentimentality in it, the subtle humor, the history, her costume, her association with halloween and thanksgiving, her relationship with Dana and Samantha, her history and sadness and comfort with drinking, so much. This little panel, and the format of daily strip. Even though the strip is a serial and each one, after they appear, the strips can only then really be read in a sequaence with the others. But alone, it causes a pause, and this pause is so pregnant with history and feeling and even a silly, yet really supportive and tremendously caring humor from Dana. I don't know, it just felt so different from anything else I've read. Not necessarily a good or bad thing, just stuck me as I watched this strip appear on the paper.
Anyhow, me, I haven't made the drunken decision Bruno has made, stay at home, or venture to Kip and Jenn's. We'll see how I feel at 2:00.
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11/29/02 - So yes, did go out, had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Kip (who's blog is finally going again, yay!) and Jenn. Lot's of veggie dishes (did y'all know I've been a vegetarian all my life?). Anyhow, had lots of nice chats and good food. Hilary, you rock, even if I don't drink cola or eat Turkey.
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11/30/02 - Well hey, Happy Chanukah. Ummm... yeah, that's all I have to say today. :)
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12/02/02 - Speaking of gifts....
Well, so it's the holiday season. I'm not a big one for gifts or merchandising, myself, but I know that it's a joyous time for so many, and people like to express that through gifts.
The best gift, in my opinion, is a hug, maybe some chocolate. Or give money away to an special interest group, and then send your loved one a card saying you gave it in their name.
But, of course, if none of those things do it for you, I should really be a good business-person and mention Bruno items. :)
There are still many excellent Original Bruno strips for sale. Original strips which, once gone, won't come back for a good long time, if ever.
The books are, as ever, for sale at www.moodycow.com. I accept credit-cards, either through the site, or if you prefer, by check, money order, or paypal. And for those who haven't visited there for a while, you can now request through the site to have your books signed or have them sent to a third-party address (if It's a gift or such). I send everything first class (usually priority) or air mail (for out of country), and I send it within 1 or 2 days. And actually, also of note, I only have 17 copies of Book#1 left, and I have no money to print more, so it'll be a while before more get released. Get 'em while they're here (and sorry if/when this causes an inconvenience!)
And I added some more T-Shirts through CafePress, as was requested (click on the image).
(this last one has been modified, as was requested, and as amused me too, so that she is talking about programming rather than her novel.)
Anyhow, so that's it. Buy if you wish, don't buy if you don't. All help support the strip, so all support has my thanks. :)
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12/03/02 - Nothing much to report today. Was really hungry and so i went out and ate a small pizza with pineapple. Wrote in my diary a lot. Brooding, you know. Walked up to Lewis & Clark Park and sat on the brick wall looking at the lit up city. I spend a lot of time alone working, but I don't spen enough time alone, just thinking. I don't know. I feel okay tonight. Just a little tired.
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12/04/02 - First off, thanks to all you who supported bruno this week through buying things. I hope you like 'em. :)
Secondly, a database is being built so that the entire archive of bruno can be word-searched, or you'll be able to read the entire archive following the story of a secondary character, that sort of thing. If you're willing to lend a hand in transcribing a month's worth (within a month), please email rph, who's compiling it all. You can reach him at rph@liou.de.
And as well, so i went to Mary's club again. They've been very nice to me so far, and allowed me to source-photo the entire place (off-hours of course) and I've watched costumes, dances, routines, tipping, the whole bit. Tonight I went to find out about the table dances, which I'd never seen happen there, but I knew it supposedly existed. And now I know. Such is research (and such painful research it is).
And so I did. Normal price for the industry as far as I know, although steep for my pocketbook. And the dancer was really nice (and very attractive), and we even discussed Bruno briefly. And I learned that it's pretty rare that anyone asks for a table dance at Mary's, in fact she'd only done one a couple of time before. All just more little tidbits of info for the strip.
But anyhow, on the topic of stripping, I'm proposing a field trip. This coming Wednesday, December 11, at 7:00 (until at least 9:00), I'm going to be at Mary's (I'll even show up a little early), and I want you all to come along. Seriously, if you judge strip-clubs, then it would be good to know what you're judging, and if you like strip clubs, then whoo-hoo fun. The rules are this (if you want to hang out with me) that every dance set is 3 songs (tease, top, bottom). You have to tip at LEAST $2 per set. If you're really poor, then $1 is acceptable, but only because there'll (hopefully) be a group of us.
And feel free to bring your Bruno books as well if you want them signed, I guess this will be my first kinda' official book signing.
Oh, and they do have mexican food there if you're hungry. And just so you know (big surprise) the drinks are weak, although it'd be good to get one, to support the club itself.
And remember, it's okay to be turned on by them, just as it's okay to not be. It's just gonna' be a fun evening. No pressure. Me, I'm really attracted to naked women. But I respect those who aren't, or who aren't within this format.
And my sincerest apologies to all you under 21 for this tease...
Anyhow. That's it. Hope to see y'all there.
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12/06/02 - So, it's been a long time since I pulled an all-nighter, and technically, Wednesday night I got an hour's sleep. But that's just not quite enough for me.
Not that I was doing anything special. A short Dinner with someone, a freelance thing, Bruno, and then packaging some Bruno orders. But it was time consuming, and such was how it was.
The funny thing was that a new project was going to start on Thursday (they told me when I got to work) where I would be watching hours and hours of video-taped depositions. The project was actully postponed until Friday, but the idea, of hours of watching someone someone sitting there, looking uptight and boring in a suit, which at other times actually sounds a bit neurotically fascinating, made me worry. I was terrified I'd actually fall asleep at work, which definietely doesn't jive with work ethic. Definitely tired enough that i wouldn't have trusted myself to drive, if I had a car, or a place to go.
So yeah, thus I was inspired to put in a "deposition" punchline today. So yeah, after work, i returned a couple brief phone-calls, and then crashed until 10:00, well.... I didn't seem to wake up, or my alarm decided not to go off, or in my sleep i turned the alarm off and then back on again, but I woke up at 2:00, and now at 3:37, I have the strip done (and with my frazzled state of mind, yet again, the small-sized strip, has saved me pushing myself too hard. I hope I don't get too used to this!). So yeah, a bit late, but fun. And now I just have to finish up that freelance job, and then maybe catch a couple more hours of snooze.
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12/07/02 - My good lord. Bruno done by eleven, nothing else I need to do tonight, and no need to get up early in the morning. Wow. I mean, I'm sure I'll wake up around 7:00 anyhow, but still, NO PRESSURE. It feels so good. I'll have to pick some up at the store and keep it in the cupboard along with the nutella, just for busy-busy weeks like these.
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12/09/02 - So listen, the whole stripping thing. I've been a bit blinded I'm afraid, and ignored the fact that I've likely made a lot of you uncomfortable. I know that many feminists disagree with stripping, and I haven't been sensitive to that. I am NOT apologizing for the topic being in the strip, I think it's an important thing to explore, both because it's such a sensitive subject to so many people, and because the impression of the industry is based on media and general stereotypes. I have NEVER seen a comic or movie try and deal with the industry in any honest way I believed at all. It's been very difficult to write, to try to approach it without judgement, and it continues to challenge me. But I would like to apologize for not even discussing the fact that many of you are probably even upset by this story line.
I have received several emails from people saying that they were upset by the current story (and yes, i have received as many who support it). I recognize that I'm challenging and even upsetting many of you. My goal is not to upset anyone, simply to explore ideas, often ideas ignored by other mediums (or treated merely sensationalistically). And the comfort I can provide, is that the story will continue past this. I generally deal with issues as long as I still have things I feel I have to say about them. But yes, like anything else, it will pass.
And I have stated that I'm attracted to women's body's, but I wanted to note that i am not drawing this sequence to "get off" on it. I am friends with several women who have been strippers, and many others who are pro-sex feminists. I try excessively hard to never show disrespect towards any group or gender, but even gender groups can disagree on politics among themsleves. So yes, i am attracted to women, but it is unrelated to why I've been drawing this sequence.
So anyhow, my point being is that i know you're out there, and not really enjoying all this, and I wish it wasn't the case. I hope i have not shown any disrespect.
Anyhow, that said, i hate to do both these psosts at once, but, this Wednesday, the 11th, the field trip to Mary's from 7-9 is still on (see details below). And if you plan on coming, please R.S.V.P. me today (though you're still welcome to come, even if you do not). The reason being, that if a whole bunch of people are going, i want to call the club and give them some notice.
And it's okay to come even if you disagree with strip clubs. My main hope is that some people will go who have never been. Whether you say "wow, this is awful" or "hm, this actually seems very decent", just to have first-hand experience so you can actually think about it rather than base your feelings just on media. All will be welcomed (except you underage kids, sorry).
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12/11/02 - Just a reminder, if you are curious to experience a strip club (for enjoyment or curiosity), one that is safe and friendly, and be among friends with no expectations, come tonight to Mary's. The info again, is:
Today, Wednesday, December 11, at 7:00 (until at least 9:00), I'm going to be at Mary's (I'll even show up a little early). The rules are this (if you want to hang out with me) that every dance set is 3 songs (tease, top, bottom). You have to tip at LEAST $2 per set. If you're really poor, then $1 is acceptable, but only because there'll (hopefully) be a group of us.
And feel free to bring your Bruno books as well if you want them signed, I guess this will be my first kinda' official book signing.
Oh, and they do have mexican food there if you're hungry. And just so you know (big surprise) the drinks are weak, although it'd be good to get one, to support the club itself.
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12/12/02 - OKay, so I'm a wee bit discouraged about last night's event. I mean, I had a great time, Kip and Jenn were there, as well as Kevin, umm... and Eric, plus some good friends, as well as friends of Jenn's were all there. And it was a really nice cross section of people I know, all mixed, and having a really good time. In fact, I could hardly ask for a more enjoyable evening spent chatting among friends. And since we were the table who was doing the majority of the tipping, the dancers were happy with us too.
But, no Bruno readers came. Only one RSVP'd, and they didn't make it either. And I thought, maybe just 1 or 2 might come, but none came. So yeah, kinda' discouraged. I mean, who knows, maybe I was self-righteous to think that i could impose this on others. I didn't want to impose. Hell, I don't know what i was thinking. I was only trying to ask people to consider this issue which, hell, all of us have already made our mind up on anyhow. But it really doesn't matter. I had a great time lat night with my friends, and I'm very curious and sometimes terrified as i explore this issue of stripping in Bruno, and life will roll on and on.... In two years I'm sure she's be studying buddhism in Tibet while learning the trade of yak herding.
Anyhow, today's strip. I had it lettered, and planned to just do the rest when i got home, but I'm tired, a bit down, and am off to bed. So I got the characters in, and that's all that's up for today. I mean I'm fine, I wouldn't even say depressed. I just want to go to bed. I'll try to finish it up tomorrow and post it alongside tomorrow's strip.
Oh, and Kip wrote a commentary about the stripping storyline last week, which I missed because I've been swamped. But read it now here. Eloquent and insightful, as ever.
Oh, and if you want a good quick silly jab at our foreign policy on Iraq, check out today's Helen, it made me laugh outloud, Peter Zale can turn a joke so well.
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12/13/02 - I try not to get Bruno political, but this week... mannnn... sometimes, i can't keep her mouth shut. Since Bruno supposedly could be any of my friends, I'll let you know, that almost every one of my friends is grumbling and bitching about all this.
Just for reference, the landmine thing is regarding an international Mine Ban Treaty, of which we're (I believe) the only large power who hasn't signed it, and it was supposed to go into effect on New Years, but it's been announced we plan to use them in Iraq (not that we plan to attack Iraq without just cause, of course).
Bush just pushed legislation yesterday to allow organizations (religous) which discriminate in hiring practices to get public funds if they provide social services (yes, religious organizations have been able to before, but they actually had to follow the rules of fair hiring, etc)
And Trent Lott, if you've managed to miss it Lott, in speaking of Thurmond's 1948 presidential campaign which very much opposed anti-lynching laws and de-segrgation, Lott said "I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." He apologized by saying his words were "poorly chosen and insensitive; I regret the way it has been interpreted." No, he most clearly did not say, "I'm sorry that I said anything racist", or "I apologize. And I dobelieve in equal rights".
(To respond to today's strip/blog, go here.)
p.s. - it appears that Jenn blogged about going to Mary's, if you're curious.
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