N E W S L E T T E R S

Miscellaneous Mid-Year Musings

June 26, 2006

Back on the Track

About five weeks back Di and I started jogging. This was my fist real venture back into the world of exercise in several long years and it was Di's first venture into the world of jogging. In what I refer to as my jogging heyday, I was running between 7 and 8 hours a week. My weight dropped substantially--to the point where friends and family thought I was sick. In the years since that time the weight has slowly returned and my activity level has dropped considerably. So I was delighted at Di's suggestion but fearful that, having entered my 40s, running with any consistency would be a difficult, painful task.
Surprisingly it all returned quite easily. We are already doing in excess of 2 miles per run (this from an initial start of 5 blocks) and will likely work our way toward 3 or more miles per run. The weather at night is typically quite cool in Venice, so we run in the evenings, often as late as 9:00 pm. It's not surprising to see other joggers. If nothing else, Venice is home to a population that is concerned (if not obsessed) with physical appearance. We've already seen early benefits from running and are also doing resistance training at home. We've cut out the junk that clutters the average American home. Everything is organic, soy, mushroom, seitan, and tofu. I spent the first four decades of my life fearing the egg white omlette only to discover I prefer it to traditional yolk-based omlettes. Go figure.
June 2006 marks our third year in LA--we moved to Venice June 30, 2003. As a way of celebrating life on the west coast we threw a coffeehouse party in which we and our friends read poetry, short stories, and other creative works. It'll likely become a monthly or semi-monthly event. Just another reason we love LA.

Bill Mantlo Tribute Book Update

The manuscript is at 13,000 words. I've gotten terrific feedback from Tony Isabella, Butch Guice, Ed Hannigan, and a few others. I've scrubbed my initial plan to build the book as I write it and am, instead, going to complete the manuscript in its entirety before continuing with the design. Sincere thanks to everyone who is helping to make this book a reality.

NYSS Post Nine-Eleven Revisited

I've started the graphic novelization of my novella NYSS Post Nine-Eleven. The story revolves around the New York Super-Hero Syndicate and the changes the team endures following the September 11 attacks. Having completed the first half-dozen pages of breakdowns, I find the story is already evolving into something entirely different from what it began as. I'll let you know where it goes once it gets there...

NEXT: Holiday fanfare.