9-21 to 9-23

9-21

I saw a lady coming out of the pet store yesterday with a German Shepherd on a leash.  The dog--my favorite kind of dog--was big and friendly-looking, with a wagging tail the size of the entirety of my mother's dog Remi.  I was walking back to my car, and I started to think of that story I wrote ("Rest Stop," I think it was called), where the dude wanders out into the snow after his dog, and encounters a witch or the ghost of a witch or something.  And I wondered if it might be worth it to follow up that story, to find out what became of that guy (Jordan, his name was), after his little run-in (literally) with the supernatural.  And I thought of that old line from The Talisman, the one that goes, "What does it profit a man if he should gain the entire world, but lose his soul?" (I'm pretty sure that's from an old radio serial, probably "The Shadow"), and thought that would be a fun angle: that due to his encounter with Evil undying, he now has incredibly good luck in his new life (was it Montana he was moving to?) . . . but none of it brings him happiness, because, to paraphrasing an old saying, his soul just isn't in it.  Who knows if I'll write that, but I thought maybe I'd have him team up with Will Choner in tracking down something valuable and lost, perhaps just a hiker who ends up off the trail out in the Rocky Mountains.  

Got one more chapter edited.  And I finished the Outcast that Big and I recorded a few weeks back (unfortunately, I kept cutting out mouth sounds as I went, despite NEVER bothering with that before, which kept things slow-going).  Guess that'll wait for October. 

I did a couple of miles on the exercise bike.  It's fun to try to see how long I can peddle as hard as I can.  My record is, um, about seven seconds.

It's been raining for hours, and it's so dark outside, I keep thinking I ought to head home (long before I normally do).  Thing is, if I took off now, got gas, maybe stopped at the storage unit or took a shower, I could still hit the library, then head down to my cousin's when it closed.  That sounds like a pretty full day, except it's cold enough that I feel like sitting here a while longer.  I think I'll edit (some of) another story I recorded last year.  

Well, that was a bust.  I lasted about five minutes before I thought, "This one's a stinker, isn't it?  Is there any point in doing the edit if I'm not running the story on my show?"  Only YOU can answer that one, friend.

I realized that the month is almost over and I haven't done a "Rish On Records" piece this month.  It's something I put out on my Patreon twice previous, and Gino Moretto even made me a cover for it:

So, I got one I recorded in August and started the edit, but then I looked at the clock, and an hour had passed, so I decided to pack it all in and say goodbye for another week.

Exercise: Yes (18)

9-22

Every year, there's a comic convention out of town that my cousin and I go to.  Each and every year, he brings his kids and I bring my nephews, and by the last day, Ryan proclaims, "Next year, none of you will be invited, since you can't behave yourselves."

There are worse things out tonight than vampires.

Exercise: Yes (19)

9-23

Every year, my cousin and I go to the local comic-convention (I guess I already mentioned that).  And it occurs to me that, in all the years Big lived here, the two of us only ever went to it together once (I remember because he ended up locking his keys in his car and after we asked a pair of local prostitutes if they would give us a ride, Big's wife had to drive over to bail us out).  This was more fun than the last couple of cons, even though I spent way more money, and my nephews found way less stuff they were interested in.

My cousin took all three of his daughters all three days, as well as their cousin, and I took my two older nephews all three days.  We chatted with a few vendors about what their lives are like (going from convention to convention, selling their wares), and artist Jason Palmer told me about his encounters with celebrities over the years (he wouldn't tell me if he was working on any official artwork for INDIANA JONES 5, so that can only mean one thing).  

I think my favorite conversation was with a dude selling high-end comic books (for example, he had the first issue of X-men for $15,000).  I asked him questions about scarcity and where he gets his books (most common answer: angry ex-wives or -girlfriends), told the story I always tell about the New Jersey family that found a copy of Action Comics 1 inside their wall--being used as insulation), and whether appearances by characters in the MCU and other films makes books' values skyrocket.  The guy was really personable and friendly, and didn't mind talking to me for an hour despite me not buying anything, and now I wish I'd asked him if he'd let me interview him on his podcast.  

I went to many, many panels (the first day, we skipped a few, but once the kids started getting tired, we went to them just to sit down), and had a good time watching Jodie Benson sing "Part of Your World" and listening to Bill Shatner talk about going into space and seeing the earth down below.  If this is the last con I go to, it was a fine one.

I climbed a bunch of stairs today, but I'm not counting it as exercise.  Ultimately, I was just too tired at the end of the day to go for a run or even do push-ups like I did yesterday.  I think about Big A., who has to write 1000 words every day, and I cannot imagine having to do that tonight.  It would be like passing a kidney st--no, it would be like CHOOSING to pass a kidney stone.  A better man than me, I guess, but I'm going to sleep.

Exercise: No