So, my power was shut off the other day.  Everything is fine.  I just forgot to pay the bill…for several months.  I often forget just what it’s like without electricity.  We think that our houses or apartments are dark and/or quiet when we have everything shut off and there isn’t anyone else around but that truly is not the case.  My eyes are considerably more sensitive to light than peoples’ and my hearing has always been borderline super-human, which means that with the little bit of light created by the small LEDs in a few recharging devices throughout my apartment is just enough that I can effectively negotiate the mounds of garbage and bullshit more easily than anyone else.  The faint hum of electricity whirring through our walls is the most faint of white noise that admittedly I don’t notice until it stops.  This gives me some faint idea of how tinnitus feels.  With my power off for a whole day I couldn’t stop myself from noticing the void of sound.  Even playing podcasts on my phone much of that time, I just kept not hearing the electricity that wasn’t around me anymore.  And that night when there was just a faint stream of light coming through my bathroom window, one really understands the effect of light pollution.  Seeing so few stars in the sky most of my life and the few brief moments like this is boggling to the mind just how little it can take to get us back from where we are.  I’ve been in this circumstance many times before but this time, knowing that I actually had money on hand, I was able to appreciate and almost enjoy this experience.  Remembering what it’s like before the profound ubiquity of interconnectivity and electronic devices consuming our attention and time.  Don’t worry, my iPads and phones were charged so, I was able to draw most of the night.  So, I wasn’t having to battle with my own thoughts as much as I would’ve normally.  

     I’ve been thinking about when I was child and would almost daily take five dollars out of her purse when my “mother” was asleep and then walk about three miles to In-N-Out Burger to feed myself since she couldn’t be bothered.  I would be walking three miles of Van Nuys Blvd. in the middle of the night.  I didn’t have a walkman and it was about a decade and a half before the advent of the iPod, let alone the iPhone.  Point is that I would be making that walk without anything to distract me from my own thoughts.  Which means I was spending about two hours actively working to not break down weeping in public.  And then the hour or so walking back where I stopped caring about it and then break down weeping in public.  What I’m saying is there was a time when people not only could but had to think for themselves instead of just regurgitating the mindless prattle they picked up off the internet.  A thing I STILL can’t comprehend when the whole rest of the internet is actual and legitimate information!  Seriously, what the fuck?!  Anyway, and something one can learn on the internet is that ‘anyway’ is an adverb which means it doesn’t pluralize.  Anyways, it turns out is just the bastardization of the word anywise.  Try saying that to sound linguistically competent.  Back to my original point.  I recommend fully shutting down the power to your home sometime.  And I’m sure most of you don’t know, there’s a junction box behind a metal panel in LITERALLY EVERY HOUSE, APARTMENT, AND EVEN SHANTY!!!  It’s just a series of switches connected to the electric circuits of the domicile, which means you can cut off the power to entire rooms, and there is even a master switch that cuts off the power to the entire home.  Take a day and just turn it all off for a little while and explore your own thoughts for a day.  I mean, don’t necessarily try this if you have family members on sort of life support…or maybe you want that.  By now you know my experience with that circumstance.  Again, just give it a shot sometime.  You just might like it.

Ok, I’m finally writing about Indianapolis Comic Convention!  It was a fun show!  I really enjoyed despite having to go through TSA to get to it.  It was rather a pain in the ass trying to figure out what equipment to take with me and then pack it for air travel.  All the same, it was fun going to another convention in a different place.  I’m debating but leaning more toward going to other conventions but I’m going to schedule the arrangements a little bit earlier.  I found out to late about the Steel City Con this last weekend and there is another con down in Louisiana this coming weekend but the timing isn’t great for to make it.  But we’ll see how things play out in the near future when I work out going to other conventions soon.  In any case, Indianapolis, let’s go.

     I admit, it was a little jarring at first.  There were some similarities but then even those felt off a bit.  One thing I thought was interesting were the panels.  The programming was interesting.  Varied in scope and interests but the attendance in the panels wasn’t quite what I’m used to.  Really, most of the panels I attended had almost no audience.  It’s gotten me thinking about creative interest as it relates to geographical location.  I’m curious now about the regional accessibility to creative endeavor.  Shit, I guess I have to start making the rounds to other conventions so I can work this out.  Anyhow, the event floor was an interesting experience too.  The crowd was rather less crowded than I anticipated.  I even took the time to chat with a few more celebrities than I usually do.  I got to talk with Bruce Greenwood about how much I appreciate his work on arguably one of the most important  series, Young Justice.  I creeped out Denise Crosby, being a fan of Redshoe Diaries as I am, and I made a few cracks about Robert Knepper.  For the record, I’m a fan and appreciate his talent and skill as a performer.  I kid because I love.  But a bigger thing for me is that I got to shake hands with Mitch Pileggi.  I’ve always been a fan but he told a story in his panel that greatly endeared me to him further.  Then I met Katee Sackhoff finally.  I have a piece that was just kind of cool until she signed it and now it’s fantastic!  And the live recording of The Katee Sackhoff Show was great fun.  I enjoy Rainn Wilson far more now.  Sunday was probably the busiest day but even then the floor was simple enough to negotiate.  I’ll have to see if I can get hard numbers for attendance and all that and see how it stacks up to FanX.  Of course, I picked up some dice and Lego figures I don’t really need.  I got a couple nice 3-D pieces.  A Golden Girls Rushmore and a MST3K moon.  And I scored a VHS copy of Blade Runner and a documentary about Sam Kinison.  I can’t wait to have a few minutes to watch that.  I really enjoy the possibility of meeting new people with similar interests who are actually working to do things and get shit done.  I got to meet some people who produce their own video content, Trapped in Anime or trappedinanimetv on social media things, they make fun videos.  Someone else I met is an actor and game designer local to the Indianapolis area, Da’Rell Miller produced a self contained card game with his cousin.  Evidentual Myths is a quick play card.  They designed the game specifically to be played as quickly as five minutes.  Ya know, on a fifteen minute or lunch break at work.  A type of game I’ve always appreciated very much having spent the last two decades in a series of no-pay, dead-end jobs all too slowly draining the life from my being.  I haven’t had a chance to play it yet myself, what with my half-assedly packing and working to get moved.  I had a really good time all said.  I really think I’m going to spend a lot more time going to other conventions now.  Now I just need to figure out how to get paid for doing this so, I can afford to do it more.  Hint hint…

     Alright, I need to get going with the packing and all.  I just about have a plan worked out to get all my shit moved down efficiently.  Now, I just need to figure out how to trick Janina Gavankar into falling in love with me when I finish getting moved back home.  Then I can be happy, right?…RIGHT?!

I’m finally getting back to things.  First, I finally took a big-ish step today.  I pulled the cables from the table.  I’m officially packing up the studio.  The table is pretty well cluttered at the moment but it still looks, feels different.  I locked down an apartment back home, right in my old neighborhood.  I can’t wait to get back!  I just need to figure out the storage situation and then decide what to do about transportation.  I can use any advice anyone has.  I’m looking at either using some sort transport pod or just driving it down myself.  The pods will cost about as much as getting a truck but driving myself means three trips.  An idea I’m not opposed to but I’d really rather not come back here if it can be avoided.  Anyone who’s had to drive in utah, you get it.  I already have an idea how to work out my resin and other art projects and things, I kind of have an idea how to reestablish the studio in the new place.  I think I’ll need to modulate the whole setup so I can configure and tear down quickly when we need to record.  I can’t wait to walk Ventura Blvd. again, get donuts from the shop down the street, eat at my old In-N-Out Burger again.  I can’t wait!

     Now then, I mean to write about Indianapolis Comic Convention not long after.  Here I am now, finally.  It was a pretty good show.  But first, I’m going to talk a little about my first trip really anywhere.  I’ve never been able to just pick up and go somewhere.  Yeah, I went for the convention so I could do all this.  But I tend to need to a reason to do things like this.  It was interesting.  I’d never been that far east before.  It was an odd sensation being closer to the Atlantic Ocean than to the Pacific.  Otherwise, it wasn’t entirely terrible.  Of course I did see one or two confederate flags so, there’s that.  Growing up in LA I seemed to have this intrinsic sensation that everything east of Barstow was the deep south and then I was banished to utah and saw just how true that is.  And then seeing those flags anywhere just further proves that.  I went to a Hardee’s for food one night.  The menu was familiar and different.  I think I have a pretty good idea what it feels like to be in a parallel universe.  But anyone who knows me knows I judge a place by two criteria.  Their motorists and their cheeseburgers.  The latter first, I went to a Steak ‘n Shake.  Solid food, those burgers are huge and messy and I didn’t see a napkin in the whole place.  The fries are seasoned shoestring but good.  Those burgers, though, very yummy!  And the shakes are fantastic!  Their mix-ins for the peanut butter cup shake are ground just enough that you enjoy them but not so much that they jam up the straw.  Obviously, it doesn’t compare to In-N-Out and you know why but Steak ‘n Shake is pretty close to second.

     Now, the driving.  Overall, they’re not bad.  I did see some shitty driving but not as much as utahns and nowhere near as blatantly atrocious as utahns.  In general, closer to LA than to utah in regards to driving.

     In full, my perception of Indiana generally positive.  I may only go back for future nerd conventions but I will say that I don’t hate it.  Maybe I will go visit some time just to visit.  There are some interesting landmarks in the downtown area that I didn’t take time to really appreciate.  Also, downtown Indianapolis, That is a pretty good looking downtown.  I dare say, worth the time to visit.

     Now, I’ve written quite a bit here, so, I’m going to write up my review on the convention separately and post it on Tuesday.  So, have fun and I’ll be back later.

Well, Here I am flying across the country now.  All by myself just like a big boy!  I did it.  I’m heading to Indianapolis for the comic convention.  As you may know from listening to our podcast, Redstone Diaries, I go to Salt Lake FanX every year since the beginning.  If you’re not familiar with our podcast, you got the name, GO LISTEN NOW!!!  ALL OF IT!!!  I could use the downloads.  And who knows, maybe I’ll start making it out to the other conventions more regularly.  I believe this Indiana Comic Convention is organized by Dan Farr Productions.  The company that organizes the Salt Lake FanX.  I don’t have confirmation of this but I’ll let you know if I see Dan Farr running around.  I can say for sure that when you scroll to the bottom of the web page saltlakecomicconvention.com you’ll see the buttons that link to Atlanta Comic Convention, Indiana Comic Convention, and Tampa Bay Comic Convention.  I’m less interested in anything happening in Florida, for obvious reasons, but Atlanta might be a fun show too.  We’ll see how things shake out for me over the next few months.  More on that in a minute.  I’m excited to experience a somewhat different convention.  I imagine it’ll be configured similarly to FanX but I’ll be in a different state.  A different state, mind you, I never thought I would visit.  It’s nothing personal, I just thought the middle had nothing to offer.  And being stuck in Utah for so many years, well, there just wasn’t much evidence to the contrary.  Of course I say this all in good fun.  Except for the things about Utah, Utah knows what it did.  Who knows, maybe I won’t hate Indiana.  I’ll let you know in a few days.  I’m not sure yet if I’ll be doing my daily recaps.  I may just discuss the con in summation.  I was going to going to prepping some episodes to post but then I realized that I was planning to leave home one of the devices that I recorded our material.  Turns out that trying to do this shit is far less convenient when you’re not walking down the street to get to the convention.  This’ll be fun in any case.  I figured out something I’m going to get signed by Katee Sackhoff.  I’ll post photos when I get back to SLC but it will ultimately be framed.  Just not for a little while.

     The case with that being that I will indeed be moving back to LA by the end of this month.  When I get back after the con on Monday I’ll have two weeks to finish packing and get things going.  It looks like I’ve got an apartment, I’ll be taking care of the paper work for that this weekend and I have another job interview scheduled for this afternoon.  Provided I can figure out the time difference and not blow it first thing.  I’m not used to being this far east let alone inland.  It’s all somewhat disorienting.  But more than that, I’ve been awake for more or less thirty hours and it would seem that I’m somewhat less apt to sleep when at thirty-thousand feet.

Sorry again.  I’ve fallen short with everything again.  This last week I’ve been dealing with some emotional shit.  I’m getting through but I haven’t done any of the shit I’m supposed to be doing right now.  But I’m getting off my ass today do things.  I think I’ve pretty well decided to go to Indiana Comic Convention next week.  I’ve been looking into the pricing for travel and lodging and it’ll be pricey but that is mostly because I’m because doing all this the week before.  I really am thinking that by tomorrow I will have paid to do all this.  I did look at the programming and schedule on the app for the show.  It’s a solid lineup.  The celebrity guest list has a lot of interesting names on it.  A lot of people I’m interested to see like; Tony Danza I didn’t get a chance to see him when he was in Salt Lake for FanX a few years ago, Andy Serkis I’ve always appreciated the work he’s done moving forward motion capture which has become an extraordinarily prolific technology in all sorts of media now, a bunch of former Power Rangers, Star Trek alumni, I didn’t get to meet Mitch Pileggi when he was over here the con awhile back, Katy Sagal of whom I’ve been a fan since Married…with Children, Sonequa Martin-Green from The Walking Dead and Star Trek Discovery I haven’t watched that show yet but I loved Sasha, and of course, I’m ever a fan of Voice Actors across the board.

     One of the bigger things I’m excited for in this convention is not only will Katee Sackhoff be there but she’s also doing a live recording for her podcast and you all know how I feel about podcasts and podcasting.  I’ve been catching up on The Katee Sackhoff Show and I’m current again after sometime of falling behind on all the podcasts I follow.  That’s two I caught up on now, only a three- or four-hundred more to go.  My point is, she does a great podcast and I enjoy directing attention to great podcasts…in lieu of getting off my ass and doing my own.  If you’re interested is going to the live recording is a separate ticket from your convention admission which means it is a separate admission price point.  You can download the Indiana Comic Convention app in whatever app store, in the schedule for Saturday it’s listed at seven p.m., and in the information screen for that event there is a link for you to buy your ticket to The Katee Sackhoff Show recording.

     Yeah, I’m about to pull the trigger on this myself.  I’m getting pretty excited for this show after writing all this.  It’s looking like a it’ll be a fun show and I won’t have to deal with utah drivers.