Back in the Blog Saddle...

...and sorry I was away so long; Criswell predicted I'd be back, and so I am! I'll be catching up today and tomorrow, so check in frequently betwixt now and Friday.

First of all, the Garry Trudeau Center for Cartoon Studies day -- Monday -- was glorious. I'll be writing about it here in some detail, sans pics; suffice to say Garry's two hours with the students and faculty Monday AM was open, candid and quite amazing, really. Garry talked to everyone in the room as peers, fellow cartoonists, in contrast to his polished (and very funny) Monday night public presentation. For the students, he covered the expanse of his career, opening with the tale of his entry into the field, and fielded questions for almost 90 minutes of the two hours.

Monday night's event at the Northern Stage, Briggs Opera House in White River Junction was sold out, and Garry saw to it the paying customers got their $50 worth -- and more. He prepared an excellent, engaging and highly entertaining 90 minute talk, illustrated with video clip highlights (the 1977 Doonesbury TV special Garry did with John and Faith Hubley, a rousing tune from Rap Master Ronnie, two clips from his Robert Altman collaborations Tanner '88 and Tanner on Tanner, and a variety of clips from Duke's Motion-Capture animated interviews on Larry King, Today -- with Garry's wife Jane Pauley -- and more). Everyone had a fantastic time, a night to remember; CCS artists/students did well with their sales table in the lobby, as did Norwich Bookstore with three of Garry's latest books, and Garry signed everyone's purchases and items after stepping off stage.

[Note: Following up on my last post, I wasn't part of the program, and no regrets -- James and Michelle asked me to prepare to moderate, and I did, but once Garry arrived in WRJ on Sunday and explained his plans, James gave a call and I happily stepped down. Hey, no worries -- it was sweet to enjoy the evening sitting next to Marge in the audience; if CCS had needed me, I was ready. Otherwise, it was a pleasure to just savor the event, same as everyone else!]

More on Garry's visit to CCS in the coming days.

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A few friends emailed me in the past day or so to bring my attention (as I now bring your) to

Brian Hughes's Again With the Comics post, "Beyond Humanity Lies...The Hypernaut!"

I'm cool with Brian running this material, though I'll note for the record the copyrights are still the property of Alan, Rick and myself, and the copyrights and trademarks for The Fury, N-Man and The Hypernaut are my property (as of 1999). I'll alert Brian to that, but go take a look.

Brian had already dissected the subsequent 1963/Shadowhawk crossover -- here -- and it's good to see folks are still curious about this odd alternative universe Alan, Rick Veitch, yours truly and our cronies concocted waaaaaaaay back in '93.

As Marc Arsenault put it, "you've been Boinged, friend" bouncing me to

Mark Frauenfelder's BoingBoing: A Directory of Wonderful Things "Tales of the Uncanny -- cool Alan Moore comic from mid90s" post.

The beat goes on...
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Had I not been offline so many days, I'd have brought to your attention sooner the fact that

VT filmmaker Jayson Argento has pulled together a boat tour up north for this Friday, and here's the link for tickets if you're interested...

...a tour that includes my best friend (and Vermont's folklorist extraordinaire) Joe Citro!

Here's Jayson's most recent invite info:

"About a month ago I met Larry Holden for the first time. He, his wife Hanne and I became friends almost instantly as we sat and drank some beers by a pond somewhere in VT. He offered to be in my next film. The reason is because he is an incredibly generous person. He hadn’t even read the script. Larry believes in art and that it can change the world. Larry and Hanne are very close to the greatest and most amazing people I've ever met. To meet them is quite inspiring. A lot of you know me well enough to know that i am very picky about people and for me to make such a statement is no small thing.

This cruise is a chance to meet Larry and Hanne, learn about the film and how to get involved, have a nice dinner and some drinks, listen to some live acoustic music, meet our new film commissioner Joe Bookchin, get a chance to talk with my friend Joseph Citro (Author), Talk with me about whatever you want, support local art, and help make a Colchester VT boy’s dream come true. Hope to see you there.

if you haven't yet please buy tickets here.
www.stoneworksentertainment.com

Wednesday the 24th is the last day tickets are on sale. you have to buy them before you show up to the boat. We tell them how many are coming so they can make the food.

Don’t miss the boat. Friday Oct 26th 5:30 PM

Thanks,
Jayson Argento
cruise@stoneworksentertainment.com"

So, final day to pick up tickets.

Sorry again I didn't post this info sooner.

Be there, if you can.
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How Green R U?

Finally, HomeyM in Jamaica, VT just sent me the news that "Vermont has lowest carbon emissions in [the] nation"

(via this Howard Weiss-Tisman article in The Brattleboro Reformer),

which prompted me to follow the link to

the Eredux website's profile of Vermont; as Howard reports, "Vermont is the greenest state in the country. They have a lot to be proud of," said Ed Arnold, an information technology specialist with Eredux. "The best way to combat global warming is to think globally and act locally and we wanted this site to help folks see how their states and cities compare."

Look up your own state (or, via this link, your own town's profile) on Eredux's site, and see where you sit, Green-wise.

So, there ya go.

Have a great Wednesday, and see you here later today and tomorrow and ever after...