I am so excited to announce that I’ll be going to Seattle next month for the Emerald City ComiCon!

This is an awesome show, with a focus fucos on indie books and publishers. I think I’ll feel right at home, if I can keep myself from totally geeking out too much. (Yeah, who am I kidding?)

The schedule hasn’t been finalized, but I’ll be doing a performance from Happiest Days and maybe Just a Geek on Saturday, and I’ll be doing a more general Q&A about blogging, writing manga, being a geek, the burdens of being awesome, and writing humorous panel descriptions on Sunday.

I will have a booth to hang out in when I’m not empaneled, so I’m bringing copies of all my books, pictures to sign, and my glasses and my shoes, so I have them.

Details:
May 10-11
Emerald City ComiCon
Washington State Convention and Trade Center
Seattle, Washington.

As long as I have your temporary attention: I’m working on adding a convention in June to the 2008 Geektour. We’re like 99% of the way there, so I’ll blather on about it as soon as the last 1% is worked out.

Dear Ferris and Riley,

You’re adorable, and I’m happy that you’re playing with each other. It’s especially cute when Riley dives down with her butt in the air and bites the carpet while she wags her tail so Ferris will chase her.

But I’m trying to finish breaking this story, and every time you crash into my chair or run under the table you kind of disturb my concentration.

Also, running over next to me and panting heavily while you wait for the other to quit whipping the rope around and get back to chasing you is cute and everything, but I’m not "safe" or "base" so you can just as easily do your thing on the other side of the room.

Stop giving me that look. I’m not taking you for a walk until I get more work done, which I can’t do for all the reasons I’ve outlined in this note. I don’t care if you roll over on your back and wag your tail while you look at me upside down.

Hey, I think there are some birds on the patio. You should totally go out there and see how fast you can make them fly away.

Signed,

The Guy Who Feeds You

John Scalzi is doing this cool feature on Whatever where he takes lets readers ask him questions, to which he provides thoughtful and entertaining answers. I’ve thought about doing this (and did it for a brief time on Radio Free Burrito) but I’m not all that good at it, especially when John sets the bar as high as he does.

Today, he was asked a question about fame that goes something like this: ". . . you have the perfect type of fame. You are unlikely to be mobbed in the
streets, however, at certain places (ConFusion, for example, we were on
our way there when we had this discussion), you are among the most
famous, most recognized, and most well-respected people in the room. Do
you agree that this is the perfect fame level, or would being just a
little bit more, or even a little bit less, famous suit you better?"

In fact, it goes exactly like that, due to the power of copy and paste.

John’s answer is pretty much what I would say, if I were asked the same question:

I am famous in a very constrained and limited way, to a small number of
people, who have to go to a certain place at a certain time in order to
see me at all: usually a science fiction convention or a book signing.
Outside these constrained and limited circumstances, I am distinctly unfamous; indeed, as a late-thirties balding man of modest height, weight and physical attractiveness, I am practically invisible to
anyone under the age of 30, and visible to anyone over that age only to
the extent that they have to walk around me, or have to have some
limited amount of social interaction with me as we stand in a line or
some such.

I am not balding (yet) and I have the occasional "Hey, I think I know you from someplace . . . oh, you used to be an actor lulz!" thing, but for the most part, I, like John, have exactly the right amount of unfamousness. In fact, when I’m at a con, I never rise to the level of "most recognized, and most well-respected people in the room" because if I’m lucky, I’m standing in line to meet that person.

What if Charles Schulz Created Watchmen?

I saw this link on TotalFark this morning. It was created by Evan Shaner, whose mom says, "is a lovely, bright young man," who "should have been a pastor or a doctor."

On a whim I drew up a piece last week asking the question "What if Charles Schulz created the Watchmen?"
and holy crap I had no idea people were going to like it. I posted it
on Deviant Art and the darn thing spread like wildfire. So there you
go, I guess I should
draw more stuff based on jokes that might make Alan Moore angry. If you
Google my name you can find all the places this work has been brought
up, and most of them say something about Moore taking away the rights
from DC over this. Like he’s ever heard of me.

(But if you have Mr. Moore I love Tom Strong.  Please send more Tom Strong.)

If there is any justice in this damned world at all, it will storm the Internets like Mahir Rickrolling a LOLCat.