Soon we’ll back to regular updates and I’ll roll out the new website, but in the meantime, here’s our third week of art devoted to some of my favorite comics online.  This week we move away from longform narrative comics and head for strip land, with Arthur (duck) and Flaco (lizard) from Dave Kellett’s Sheldon.

There are many strips online that I enjoy deeply, but Sheldon is the only one that makes me feel like I’m a little kid again, pressing my nose with delight against the daily newsprint funnies while I wolf down a bowl of Rice Chex before school.  Calvin & Hobbes was a strip at the time which, even if I didn’t get every joke, was so exuberant that I loved every panel.  I think 9 year-old me would’ve felt the same way about Sheldon.

As it is, 26 year-old me happily returns to Sheldon every day, snerking at the obscure “grown-up” or pop culture jokes and quietly enjoying the sheer silliness of it all.

Dave Kellett is also a bonafide funnybook scholar and a stand-up fella.  Bless the internet for bringing him to us in this day and age!

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Not completely bento-related, but I use falafel in my bento's occasionally:

'In Pita made the Foodbuzz Top 9 today! The Foodbuzz Top 9 is a photo-driven collection of top-buzzed posts within the Foodbuzz community.

Check it out here: http://www.foodbuzz.com/top9 and be sure to let your friends know.

You may also see your photo in some of the dynamic Top 9 ads running today in the Foodbuzz community. Congratulations again, and thanks for being a part of Foodbuzz!


Cheers,
The Foodbuzz Editorial Team'

Now, 'in pita' is the title for my picture accompanying my falafel recipe, and this meant that my frikkin' recipe made it into the top 9!
This morning it was 5th, but now it's 4th! Look!

Click to enlarge

-proud momma-

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/half-lifetime.html

The editor at CBS Sunday Morning asked if I had any photos of my son Mike back at the period when I first had the idea for The Graveyard Book - late 1985. I looked. We really didn't have any. I wandered next door and asked Mary (his mum, my former wife and for these last five years my friend and next-door neighbour) if she had any photos from back then. "No," she said. Then, "Do you mean those transparencies? I have them in an envelope somewhere." She vanished and came back with a large manila envelope from a long time ago. "Here."

Half a lifetime ago -- literally -- I was nearly 25, and working for magazines. Henry Fikret, who photographed a lot of the interviews I did, volunteered to take some photos of me and my family, and he did.A week later the envelope arrived, and I realised that everything he shot was on colour transparencies -- like huge slides -- and I was never sure what do with them, other than being fairly sure I couldn't take them down to Boots the Chemist and have prints knocked out. So they stayed in their envelope, and they kept their secrets, and were forgotten.

Yesterday I had the transparencies scanned, and finally got to see lots of pictures I had never actually seen before of Holly as a baby, Mike at the time that I would have watched him riding his tricycle around the graveyard, and me... at exactly half my age: A young journalist who had sold a very small handful of short stories and two non-fiction books, with dreams of writing fiction and comics. At the time I was dressing in grey, but was getting tired of the way that you would buy something grey and take it home and discover that it was a blueish grey or a brownish grey, and wondering if I'd have the same problem if I just started to dress in black.

And half a lifetime on, it seemed like it might be good to put one up here. I checked, and Mary didn't mind. What odd clothes we wore back then. What big glasses. And look, my hair is practically normal.





So long ago, and it went like the blink of an eye.

is now up.

AND we're back!

the short is everything is fine, I lost a few high res comics, and gained a new hard drive, logic board, and CS4 suite.

The long: after everything was said and done, and some hardware was replaced, it was recommended that something in my software was also causing the bad mojo. I had to manually reinstall everything, and in that process, get a new copy of adobe CS4 creative suite. I did, and it's great. it's taken me a bit to reconstruct everything. Because the initial backup was bunk, I had to restore data from the second backup, which I don't get as often. I lost 14 strips, which eventually I'll have to re-draw. but it could have been a lot worse.  
Morals of the story are:
1. hard drives fail and applications are occasionally screwy.
2. back up your shit
3. getting with mac with Applecare is a smart smart move. 
4. All of you are very patient. 


it's good to be back on the drawing board again. 

more later. 

Just posted Review: Wicked: Witch & Curse by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié - Part 2: Curse

Little Star is by now over 6 months old. I started supplementing her diet with the odd spoon of parsnip puree, because soon, my milk will no longer be sufficient to supply her with all the calories she needs. I do plan however to breastfeed her until she is at least one year old or older (WHO recommendation is one year).

Starting her on other foods than my milk makes me feel very nostalgic, because I LOVE breast-feeding her. Point is, I could wax passionately about the joys and benefits of breastfeeding for hours. I adore breastfeeding and I already feel sad when I think about the day where I won’t be breast-feeding anymore.

The best moments in my day are those where I can cuddle up in bed with my little one and she latches on to me and starts suckling. She’s so totally, utterly adorable when she does that.
Sometimes, she will latch on with the ferocity of a young shark and sometimes she’ll start drinking as daintily and politely as a well brought-up lady straight from a Jane Austen novel.
Sometimes, we’ll gaze into each other’s eyes for a while. Sometimes, she’ll totally focus on drinking and then I get around to catching up on my reading while she’s comfortably snuggled against my chest and my belly.

Both of us are pretty hard-core when it comes to breast-feeding though. I’ve breast-fed her in the middle of a market, while showing a repair-man our washing machine and while sitting out in the garden with friends, chatting the day away. In a pinch, she’ll gustily drink my milk ANYWHERE. ^_^

Also, my breast has served as comforter, beloved play-toy and occasional pillow. When she cries (which is a rare occurrence indeed), I offer her my breast and it usually only takes her a few seconds to calm down again. Sometimes, when she’s playful and not particularly hungry, she’ll just take a few sips until the milk starts flowing and then she’ll let go…which turns me into a veritable fountain of milk, spraying the stuff all over the place. She seems vastly amused by the noises I make on such occasions.
In the late morning and in the evening, she will go to sleep while drinking at my breast. She’ll start feeding full-force, but soon her eyes droop. She usually stays latched on for a while though and any attempts on my part to unlatch her are met with furious suckling, drawing me back in, even though she’s asleep. Once she’s tightly asleep though, her mouth will go slack and I can withdraw.

My milk is awesome. Unlike bottles, it is always there, zero preparation time, it has always the perfect temperature, it’s hygienic, there’s no additional cleaning of stuff involved, it’s easy to carry around with me (all I needed was a bigger bra! Yay!), it’s got all the nutrients she needs, there’s no allergenic potential, the taste changes depending on what I eat, so she already gets acquainted with a wide variety of foods, it’s the perfect occasion to cuddle up with her and get some restful mother/daughter time….

Yes, I really, absolutely, totally LOVE breast feeding. ^_^

This weekend i was a Berlin guide for japanese high school students from Osaka Uenomiya high.
It was really great ^.^ they where all sooo cute~~~
Starting Saturday with the well.... good students ^^;; We went to the Zoo and Aqaurium and after that they only wanted to do ... SHOPPING XD well its understandeble ... because they had a really tough program the days before and only were doing the things their teachers said... my group was kind of ... rich... one spend 100 € on chocolate, 50 € on tea, and i think over 200 € for gifts like Berlin straps, bags ect.... the others bought wallets also for 100€ and watches O.O well i never saw so much money in only 1 hour..... going from one person to shops... after i took them back to their hotel i got some nice presents ^.^ calligraphy set and a school shirt ^.^
sunday was sports day XD ALL the sports man where there (even though they didn't looked like it XD) the others had various sports player in their group but i had the whole Kendo club from their year ^^ they were so so cute like the others on saturday ^^ and they were happy when i talked to them in japanese because ...welll ... English was .... not even there ^^; we also wnet to the Zoo and Aquarium and after that .... PASTA for lunch ^^ it was so adorable when they tried to copy me eating spagetti ^.^ after that we went to the movie museum here in Berlin and after that ?? guess.... SHOPPING but not as the day before because they did't had so much money ^^;; so only small presents for the family but they were so into the Berlin Ampelmännchen http://www.ampelmann.de/ and of course saussages ^^;; and ham ... we had some time left so we went to the ALEX and went on the television tower. they really liked it even though it was so foggy .... i was so sorry for them ;_; and most of the group only had one way cameras ;_; poor boys...and there were so many ... gypsies (those woman that beg with their children here in Berlin) and my poor students were so scared >< i really wanted to do sometihing to those woman ò.ó ... i got a mug with sushi on it from them and a MINI SHINAI *.* of couse from the Kendo club ^^ from the Samurai as the teacher said ^^;; (in the morning when we left and in the evening when we returned... we were always the Samurai group ^^;) and .... a school shirt
Today was well ... i don't know how to describe them but i think best way is ... Nerds?? or hhopeless students ? well theyy had very strict teachers and well they were not that nice with the students as the other teachers the other days ... poor students ... but i have to say they were as lovely as the others .... ok you could see that they didn't had as much money as the others or were good at sports or something .. but really nice ... today we started at television tower ...and today with no problems with those gypsies .... it was as foggy as yesterday so ... well no sight ;_; but there we met another group and well their guide only could speak english and somehow they were happy to speak to someone who could understand them ^^;; with this group we went to eat at a restaurant with a system were you get a card and with this card you can go to the different counters and get food and after you finish you go to the cashier and pay .... BUT .... BUUUUT explain something like this to japanese kids XD After lunch my group only wanted to go to the Adidas shop, Nike-town and the Ka-De-We oh and the Aquaruim.... but the needed (ok 1 needed) so much time in Nike-town that we were a bit in a hurry ^^;; because the teachers were so strict we had to be at the hotel ON TIME .... like no minute later than 4.30 pm .... and they were so so scared to be late ... well we managed all in time and Aquarium in only 30 minutes was a bit ... well ... short ... they wanted to stay longer ;_; but i had to drag them out because of the teachers ... and they took so many pictures of us together it was really cute ^^ but unfortunately i didn't made any ;_; from them i got a t-shirt, a shogi set, a fan (yeah for Daiso ^.^) a Ogura castel strap/tag... and of course .. a school shirt ^^;; the third one ...

and i really have to say i was really lucky with my kids because they were all nice and stuff ... others had a bit more difficult ones ^^;

but now i'm so tired .. three days in a row ... running through Berlin .... is hard.... my back i hurting and my feet are ...well ... DEAD ^^;

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/for-those-who-read-this-blog-for.html

(Serena Altschul and some author in July, sitting on the trampoline after two days of interviews. None of which, oddly enough, were done on the trampoline.)

Mr. Neil,

I DVR'd yesterday's installment of Sunday Morning and after zipping through it back and forth multiple times cannot seem to find you, though the description indicated the correct episode. Was it bumped to next week? Have you been sucked into an alternate Neil-less universe?

A concerned reader,
Mary

I'm afraid it was bumped by the Fort Hood Massacre.

I checked: The profile CBS did of me is apparently still going out, probably some time in December, although no-one seems certain when. I was told that we could help ensure that it is broadcast (and possibly make it come out sooner than December) if CBS think people would actually like to see it. Which means that if you do want to see it, you can help the process along if you write or email CBS and (politely) tell them so:

ADDRESS:
CBS News Sunday Morning
Box O (for Osgood)
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019

E-MAIL: sundays@cbsnews.com

...
Dear Neil Gaiman, I ask for half-a-moment of your time (I would not presume to ask for more). This Spring 2010 I am teaching a Topics in Literature class on YOU at Winona State University (Eng 225: Neil Gaiman). Easy enough to select representative novel (American Gods), short stories (Fragile Things), children and YA (Graveyard Book), but here's the rub: I will likely only assign one Sandman graphic novel to students. I have been debating which is most representative, most worthy of inclusion, most amenable to class discussion and student scholarship. Then I thought I'd ask you. I know you suggest above that, for questions of this sort, we consider you a dead author, but I know you're not. When I came to a similar impasse about which of Ursula Le Guin's works to include in another class, she actually replied and offered her input. I extend the same offer to you: which of the Sandman volumes would you like to see on the syllabus?
Thank you for your time,
Nicholas Ozment, English Instructor
WSU

It's a hard one. I think if I were teaching I'd either go for Season of Mists or Fables and Reflections, because both of them have stuff to teach -- those nice chewy bits that people can like or dislike, argue with or discuss. I know a lot of teachers like to teach Dream Country because a) Midsummer Night's Dream won awards, and b) it's short and c) it has a script in the back. Your call. And good luck.

...

I mentioned recently that there were some beautiful new Polish and Russian book covers for my books that I'd seen at signings, which got me thinking. The International Cover gallery on this website is incredibly out of date.

It's at http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Neil's_Work/International_Covers.

And though I get a lot of foreign editions in, and will at some point head down to the basement and rummage around and scan some (this week's mail brought the two-volume Japanese edition of Anansi Boys, on the cover of which Fat Charlie is not only Very White, but also Very Thin, and the complex Chinese - ie. Taiwan and Hong Kong - edition of The Graveyard Book) I thought that blog readers, being, as you are, all over the world, might be a better resource for knowing where to look for foreign covers.

Was your basement finished when you purchased your home or did you have it finished for your basement library? If you finished it yourself, how difficult was it? Also, I thought I saw a dehumidifier in one of the Photosynth pictures. Do you need one because of the books?

I'm asking because we have a full unfinished basement that we would like to have finished. We are running out of room for our books also. I don't think we don't have as many as you do though. :)

Any other suggestions for such a project would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
C.

No, when we got here the basement had a clay floor that puddled when it rained. We hired some nice builders and spent a lot of money finishing it, putting in drainage tiles, underfloor heating and all. There's a dehumidifier there in the summer and a humidifier in the winter, because after the first few years I noticed that binding glue and leather book covers were both cracking and flaking. There's now the equivalent of a large house in basement rooms beneath this house, filled with books and CDs and suchlike stuff.

And finally, a few photos from the China trip, taken by Ian Ford (or in one case, on his camera). Ian's a travel guide who now lives in China who helped organise my travels, and came along with me for part of the journey.

Amanda and I in the silk clothes that my publisher had given us as a thank you for coming, and because they are terrific.

I'm holding the Galaxy Award for this year, given to the foreign author most popular with Chinese reader-voters. This was my second year of winning it, so I have retired from the competition and said that they have to find a new favourite foreign author now.

My maternal grandfather died a couple of years ago.

We were very fond of each other – he took me to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (a full day and a half drive) from 7th grade through my high school graduation, a gift of immeasurable impact.  He was a bright, curious, caring, and endlessly enthusiastic man. He reacted with genuine joy whenever his didactic little granddaughter held forth on erudite topics.  I still remember his delight upon hearing me tear apart the production of Romeo and Juliet that was one of the first productions we saw together at OSF.

I didn’t ask for anything of his after he passed away; my mother knowingly brought me a few things that meant a lot, but all in all my memories were the most vivid token of our relationship.  Recently, however, his last wife sent my mother a number of his old files.  Including one entire manila folder full of every letter and picture and document I had ever sent him, or that my parents had sent him relating to me.

So I’ve rediscovered verything from short stories I wrote in second grade to novellas I wrote in middle school to graduation notices and e-mails and silly cards.  I haven’t quite had the strength to go through all of it yet, but one thing I did find:  the poem below.  I remember this odd, apocalyptic little poem quite well but had no record of it myself, so knowing that he had it all along is very touching.

And, now that he’s gone, the poem – being as its topic is a girl with a fondness for the departed – takes on a sweet poignance.

Anyway. Here it is.

Annie stayed.

Annie McSalva stood that day
but no one was there to enjoy her stay
only the ghosts had not gone away

Annie remained for the ghosts.

Annie McSalva walked down the streets
her feet tapping sidewalk to various beats
She looked in the theatres, all empty seats

Annie played Hamlet for ghosts.

Annie McSalva read all the books
out loud, in the library, and none gave sharp looks
the ghosts listened well in their crannies and nooks

Annie read on for the ghosts.

Annie McSalva swam in the pond
that led to the gutters and sewers beyond
but nobody stayed to drink that which was fond

to Annie, who swam with the ghosts.

Annie McSalva lay in the sun
and thought that the world had only begun
but the ghosts whispered back that it almost was done

Annie survived with the ghosts.

photo by Nocturnal Bob

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Wir erinnern uns: Im September 2008 kontaktierte mich erstmals der gewisse namhafte Verlag und meldete Interesse an meinem Vampir-Manuskript an. Nach diversen Mails, Telefonaten und einem persönlichen Treffen mit zwei Lektorinnen, die mir ein Mittagessen spendierten, folgte letztlich doch eine Absage. Die Gründe:

1. Man will sich lieber auf Übersetzungen englischsprachiger Fantasy-Bestseller konzentrieren, als neue deutschprachige Autoren zu fördern. Das ist schneller, billiger und "sicherer", denn was sich in den USA wie geschnitten Brot verkaufte kann für den deutschen Markt nicht schlecht sein.

2. Die Vorlaufzeit für einen neuen Roman beläuft sich üblicherweise auf ein Jahr, inklusive Schreiben, Lektorat, Produktion usw. Bis dahin könnte aber der Vampirtrend schon längst wieder vorbei sein!

Zu 1.: Ich habe es schon mal geschrieben: Mit dieser Methode schaden sich die deutschen Verlage langfristig selbst. Hierzulande gibt es mehr als genug junge Talente, die man jedoch zugunsten angloamerikanischer Autoren oft ignoriert. Traurig.

Zu 2.: Tja Leute, ich hatte bereits ein fertig geschriebenes Manuskript zur Hand. Das war im September 2008. Hättet ihr es genommen, wäre das Buch ein Jahr später, also ungefähr jetzt erschienen. Und, ist der Vampirtrend vorbei? Lasst uns mal nachsehen. Die Amazon-Bestsellerliste für Science Fiction, Horror und Fantasy listet am 9. November um 19:40 unter der Top 10 ganze 8 Vampirtitel, ebenso die Fantasy-Bestsellerliste von Libri.

Aber nicht nur der Buchmarkt ist von Blutsaugern infiltriert: Ende des Monats kommt der zweite Teil der Twilight-Saga ins Kino. Es gibt insgesamt vier Bücher, d.h. zwei weitere Filme stehen uns wohl oder übel noch bevor und jeder von ihnen wird der momentan herrschenden Vampir-Hysterie einen neuen Beliebtheitsschub verpassen. Allerfrühestens nachdem der letzte Twilight-Teil im Kino gelaufen ist wird sich die Begeisterung langsam legen, und das kann noch mindestens zwei Jahre dauern - wenn nicht länger.

So viel zum Thema "Vampire will in einem Jahr keiner mehr", ne?

The opening of the Wall at Berlin Bornholmer Strasse 1989 (with subtitles, even)



Twenty years later these scenes still bring tears to my eyes.

I wish we would actually celebrate this day with confetti and parades. Because we should. We really, really should.

Ich war dieses Jahr ja schon auf mehrere Cons, darunter auch Fantasymessen und mir war von vornherein klar, dass für Vee-Jas solche Cons eher Verlustgeschäfte sind, da wir einfach ein anderes Klientel bedienen- aber ein solches Chaos habe ich selten erlebt. Müsste ich die Fantasy Days mit einem Wort umschreiben, fiele mir "absolutes Desaster" und "pure Langeweile" ein, denn ungefähr das beschreibt diese 3 Tage.

Womit will man anfangen, wenn schon von Anfang an klar war, dass es nicht funktionieren kann von 0 auf 100 eine solche Convention aus dem Boden zu stampfen- da helfen keine Showacts und Special Guest wie Wolfgang Hohlbein, Yume, Ring Stars und Einsblume... all das bringt wenig, wenn einen ganzen Tag (am Freitag) lang bei der Hauptbühne die Technik versagt und somit etliche Acts und Shows ausfielen, immer wieder der Zeitplan verschoben wurde und keiner wirklich wusste, wo was wie stattfindet.
Das Hauptproblem waren die fehlenden Besucher, was an der mangelnden Werbung und dem extrem hoch angesetzten Eintrittspreisen lag- keinerlei Aushänge in den Städten Düsseldorf, Köln oder im Ruhrgebiet, kaum Werbung in Form von Flyern oder Tageszeitungsanzeigen. Kaum einer wusste von der Con und wenn dann waren vielen Eintrittspreise von 25€/Tag einfach zu viel. Zudem fand kurz zuvor nicht mal 60km entfernt die Spielemesse Essen statt, kein Wunder das keiner mehr Geld und Zeit für diese Con hatte.

Die Orga hat sich viel vorgenommen, viel versprochen und sich dadurch mit allem übernommen. Viele Händler waren verärgert, kaum einer konnte seine Standgebühren wieder einnehmen, einige fuhren sogar schon am Samstag Abend. Die vielen Patzer und Technikprobleme taten ihr übriges, leere Besucherräume bei den Shows frustrierten die Acts und ich kann mir vorstellen, wie deprimierend es sein muss vor nur knapp 30 Leuten aufzutreten, wenn die riesige Halle knapp 2.000 Leuten Platz bietet.
Selbst bei den Lesungen von Markus Heitz und Wolfgang Hohlbein war kaum jemand da, die Plätze waren zwar besetzt, doch ein wirklich volles Lesecafé stelle ich mir anders vor.

Bei uns war dementsprechend wenig los, besonders Freitags und Sonntags war kaum jemand in dem kleinen Vorraum des Lesecafés. Der Level X lag zu weit ab vom Schuss, ein Schulgebäude als Constätte war einfach nur unpassend, da sowas einfach nicht zu Fantasy und Mittelalter passt. Da waren die vorherigen Conplätze in Form der Burg Satzvey einfach schöner und passender. Die Besucher verliefen sich zwar in den Gängen, doch viele Händler wurden gerade deswegen nicht entdeckt, da sie kaum zu finden waren. Der Frust war groß, die Langeweile ebenso. Workshops haben wir gehalten, jedoch kamen zumindest zu den Tuscheworkshops niemand. Am Freitag fiel der erste Workshop aus, weil dieser um 13.00Uhr angesetzt war, die Besucher jedoch erst um 14.00 Uhr eingelassen wurden (aha...)

Die "Fantasy Days" waren einfach nur ein großes Desaster, da nichts funktionieren konnte und es von Anfang an nicht wirklich konnte- Manga und Fantasy passt selten zusammen, da gerade Fantasyfans Manga nicht ausstehen können. Zudem war trotz des Versuches diese beiden Zielgruppen zusammen zu bekommen zu viel auf Fantasy gerichtet (was nicht schlecht ist)- man hatte fast nur Fantasylesungen und Gaststars, keinerlei Mangakas oder Ehrengäste aus diesem Bereich (wenn man mal von den Showgruppen absieht). Es war überhaupt das meiste an Programm auf die Shows ausgerichtet, aber das ist nur meine Meinung.

Ergo: Für Aussteller ein definitiver Reinfall, für Vee-Jas ein definitives Nicht- Wiederkommen. Es war schön einige Leute wiederzusehen, mehr war auch nicht drin. Die Con lohnt sich weder für Besucher, noch für Aussteller und ich glaube nächstes Jahr wird (wenn die FD wieder stattfinden) keiner der diesjährigen Aussteller noch einmal dort hinfahren...

 oh well. I really want to write a con report but I don't know how to start. telling you about all the things that went wrong might take all day, shortening the list by telling you about the things that were fun gives the wrong impression .. I'll do my best to do a mixture of both, probably.

If I have to explain this fantasy fair in one word, *disaster* is probably a good choice. On the side of the vendors, only one person I talked to lucked out and didn't loose quite some money. The various performances had so many technical problems and  missing athmoshpere and, worst of all - almost no spectators - it was just sad. The many helpers were from the lack of information, organization, care and, well, things to do, as frustrated as everyone else. I feel totally bad for the few visitors who paid a substantial amount of money for empty halls, ruined performances and cancelled workshops.

We made do, of course. The vendors among themselves tried their best to be  cheerful, help each other and find some sarcastic kind of humor in a situation that might very well lead a few of them into insolvence. there was plenty of time to chat among ourselves, the few workshops I saw were pretty good, as were some of the performances - especially the taiko drummers that were the last real act on sunday. The girls I work with are great, even when things go wrong. I met engelszorn, a great digital artist I talked to on the net but never met before - and of course a whole lot of people I only see at conventions usually. 
Its not like we didn't have fun at all - and some things might have worked out - with more visitors, other organization and maybe a different location. I sold probably 4 items at all. Its so strange - it sometimes feels like the better I'm prepared, the worse I do. But then, everyone suffered from the same problem.

I don't think this convention will ever see the light of day again. I'm not sure if its funny or just insulting that one of the orga people must have said something like "The image loss isn't so bad, we'll definitely do a new convention next year." but perhaps she was just delusional.

If the whole thing had been a bit less expensive and blown up from the start, maybe we would be nicer about it. 

well, I#ll just stop here and not go into any real ranting. Its past. Can't do anything about it now. This was my last convention for this year and I'm pretty much relieved about that. 

Posting it here cause I highly doubt it would ever connect to my profound career as author. ^^°
(I typed it directly in my notebook - which is strange. Even stranger - it popped up in my head right in English.



( Mere instinct )