Elin's Journal

Mostly for my own purposes/memory...

Radio:
--get Untamed and Furrlough #190 color illos to smudge_dragon for header use on Radio Comix Online
--finish prepping Sin Factory sample comics
--wash table cover sheets
--pack con supplies (receipt books, markers, mini-easels pens, CASH BOX & KEY)
--get Radio Comix Online flyers printed
--check mail at PMB one last time
--process online store orders
--GET CHANGE!

Cosplay:
--check cosplay email one final time
--type up FAQ for information desk staff & print out
--pack cosplay stuff (Black Cosplay Binder of Doom, soundtrack CDs, badge stickers, notepaper)

Personal:
--choose & pack clothes
--pack toiletries
--charge DS and iPod (and find my freaking Animal Crossing: Wild World...)
--dye hair (pink)
--fix eyebrows & nails, shave legs
--scoop cat boxes
--groom cats
--clean out purse (too heavy again by half...)
--do dishes
--take out trash (Don't forget to put it on the curb Weds. night!)
--get house keys to denshousha and work out feeding information for kittehs
--work last pre-Kon shift at Day Job

TO-DO IMMEDIATELY POST-KON:
--call accountant to deal with state tax oddness (#1 priority!)
--bug the printers
--scan more pages for Radio Comix Online & upload
--get color illos to smudge_dragon for new online series (Tales of the Fehnnik, Pervert Club)
--finalize ISBN assignment for current books and BMI

Ooogh, so much to do. I so wish I could just escape into a video game for a few hours, some WoW or maybe some Sims2. Alas, that is not for me until after the Kon. (And until the post-Kon list is partially tackled...)

veltonkyle uploaded a low-res version to YouTube, so here it is.



Yes, indeed, a parody of the Daicon 4 animation, with A-Kon cosplay. I see so many old friends in this video, it gives me a strong sense of natsukashii every time I watch it over again. ^_^ Credits at the end, naturally.

It's fun to watch it back to back with the Daicon 4 animation! Kyle really nailed it, I think.

Anyway, enjoy!

(In other things, I officially have the Con Crud. Dammit!)

To do, in no particular order:

Radio Duties:
--pay printer!
--pack mail order and ship
--process orders
--make flyers to advertise RadioComix.com and SinFactoryComix.com
--pull the rest of the con stock; price as needed
--finish packing convention stock
--get change for Radio dealers' tables at the bank
--make sure shipping info for books at printer is sent off
--pack con supplies box (sheets, receipt books, pens, calculators, cash box, tape, scissors, signage)
--pick up debit card at bank
--make any deposits left
--make sure SFC site gets updated
--get start of Trouble Express squared away on RC site
--deal with more email

Cosplay Staff Duties:
--make sure all soundtrack CDs match entry forms (taking longer than I thought) --pro tip: proper labelling is your friend!
--test all CDs
--email all skit participants one final time for confirmation
--make Hall Contest entry form PDF; send to LM for printing
--send regular entry form PDF to LM for printing (for on-site walk-on signups)
--check cosplay emergency supply list; restock if necessary
--type up intro material for all entries; assemble binder for MC
--finish Cosplay Press Room schedule
--make staff schedule (Thursday night at Kon?- will need all staffers present)

Personal Duties:
--buy Feria bleach
--shave head, bleach remaining hair, dye hair pink
--pack and ship auction stuff
--do laundry
--choose and pack clothes
--fix eyebrows and nails
--go to Hobby Lobby to get mask-making stuff (yay, Wal-Mart had everything I wanted!); make mask for Masquerade Ball (already have dress)
--pick up some kind of hair clips for Masquerade Ball outfit
--get keys to denshousha for cat-sitting
--deposit paycheck; make sure rent/water is covered

Going to be busy times right up until we leave for the convention.

It has been crazy busy all last month and this month looks to get even busier, as A-Kon 20 approaches! Here's what is on my plate:

--turn in our last twp floppy comics to the printers; those would be Genus #91 and Genus Presents: Bun-Buns #1. After those two, we will be concentrating wholly on putting comics on our websites, and doing semi-annual perfect bound books and graphic novel collections of stuff that debuts online. The comic industry has changed, and we are changing with it!

--get more stuff prepped to post to Radio Comix Online. Coming soon: Havoc, Inc., Trouble Express, Bureau of Mana Investigation and a Furrlough section! Ebin & May has already started, and has been updating like clockwork, thanks to the tireless efforts of smudge_dragon.

--The Radio Comix Forum is back online, and already chugging along with our usual brand of lively discussion! Go check it out!

--As I said before, A-Kon 20 is coming up, and once again, I am working staff for the show (this is in addition to doing panels as a guest of the kon, and running the Radio tables in the dealer's room... I am apparently a glutton for punishment). Cosplay Staff, to be specific, which means I'm already up to my ears in entry forms and show scheduling. ^_^ Since it is the 20th anniversary of A-Kon, veltonkyle and I are trying to put together a video clip of past A-Kon cosplay to open the show with; fingers crossed we'll be able to get it done in time for the show!

--Still have to prep all the stock for A-Kon, and get it all packed up. Also, somewhat related, there's going to be a lot of work in the storage units in my future, as we finish the organization process there that matthigh started.

--Still have to get things arranged for Anthrocon; I'm running behind on that stuff, but hopefully I can get it managed in time.

--Chunking more stuff so we can move once our lease on the Radio apartment expires. Even though we just moved last year, there's still tons of stuff to go through, pack or get rid of. This is consuming my brain.

--Planning the wedding reception suarez and I didn't get to do last year. (We were married by the justice of the peace at the courthouse; the reception was always planned to be this year in October.) I admit, I am not concentrating on this enough and need to step up my game on it asap!

--Dealing with more day to day business stuff, mail order, auctions, etc. There's lots of that to deal with, and the auctions are important because I need to clear out more of this accumulate STUFF so we can move! To that end, auction plugs to follow this paragraph. ^_^ The FurBuy part is empty at the moment, but I will have fresh ones posted by the evening of 5/8/09, so check back!

AUCTIONS:
New eBay auctions are here in this link!
New FurBuy auctions are here in this link! (NSFW!)

That's everything I can think of now; no doubt I am forgetting something important! I'll make a fresh post when I remember it!

It's that time of year again, the time when I have to get with the A-Kon staff peeps I know and get things all arranged for the Radio Comix end of the show. Therefore:

If you are a Radio Comix artist/writer, and you are DEFINITELY GOING TO A-KON '09, you MUST LET ME KNOW NOW.

Reply via the comments, I need this information asap.

I just realized I haven't been posting much here. Oops. It was unintentional, mostly because I am just so busy all the time between the day job, life and Radio work, that I forget to do things like update here. Also, nothing particularly interesting or exciting has been going on, so I just don't post much. Hmmm.

My schedule at the day job has settled and I've worked the same shifts every week for almost four weeks now. This is appreciated, since it helps me work the Radio stuff in more easily, when I know what time I'm supposed to have "off". I'm sure it will all go topsy-turvy again once I have to head up to A-Kon, but until then, it's nice to have a regular schedule. Free Comic Book Day is coming up on May 2nd, so everyone is getting ready for that- we even have special t-shirts to wear (and yes, they got me a small one). Aside from the usual free comics, we'll be hosting Lea Hernandez (divalea) and Will Allison (willworks) to draw sketches for people, so that will be really fun.

Speaking of A-Kon, we're starting to get things ready for that show. Once again, I am staffing for the cosplay track, which should be interesting this year. We're trying some new stuff, and we'll see how it works out. Maybe it'll work great and maybe it'll fail utterly. Either way, it's a learning process.

Today being Monday, it's mail order day (which used to happen at the end of the week, but now happens Monday so we're not rushed). I'll be processing orders and dealing with auction stuff. Excitement! We're also in the middle of digging through all our backed up data CDs looking for logos for smudge_dragon, so she can start making more templates for the Radio Comix site. More templates mean more comics, more comics mean soon I can get the Project Wonderful ad boxes done for the site. Yay! (We don't have enough up yet to qualify, heh!) Once those boxes go live, I'll post here to let folks know, in case they want to buy some cheap ads. I also have to update the online store today. And the SinFactoryComix.com site got updated again as well, so we have to get the next update prepped for that.

I think the transition to online delivery of comics with eventual perfect bound collections is going pretty well so far, actually. I think because we're so small, it might be a little easier for us to change our focus and mindset. On the dead-tree front, two books went to the printers last week- Genus #90 and Furrlough #189 (the last floppy Furrlough issue). They should be shipping to the distros by the end of the month.

And of course, I am still doing lots of auctions, since we are moving again (what, already?!) this summer and I need to get rid of all this accumulated STUFF.

AUCTIONS:
New eBay auctions are here in this link!
New FurBuy auctions are here in this link! (NSFW!)

And don't forget to register at the new Radio Comix forum for more Radio news and chat!

We are safely home. The con was INSANELY busy, and I was all over the place. The Radio table sales were brisk, which will help enormously with the July month-to-month rent and the Anthrocon trip expenses. Many dear friends were seen and hung out with, good food was eaten, and the cosplay contest managed to go off without any fatalities or injuries. Almost nothing was purchased, there really wasn't much of interest to me this year.

On the drive back, we stopped at both the Czech Stop and the Dr. Pepper Museum, and both were filled with deliciousness.

I seem to have dodged con crud, but am just extremely tired since I worked my butt off at the con. (And as is typical, only got about four hours of sleep per night, I just cannot fall asleep easily in hotel rooms.)

All cats in all living spaces are doing fine, Indy, Bandito, Batty and Yubi. They seem pleased we are home.

I'll try to do a real con report tomorrow, tonight is for resting!

P.S.: The new Venture Brothers episode last night is making me regret the loss of our cable TV.... it was so good!

Two things:

Thing One: we are leaving for A-Kon today in about an hour or so! Thus, I will have little to no internet access until we come home on Monday. I don't believe the con hotel has free internet in the rooms or anything, so I will be incommunicado until I can get home to my own internets.

Thus, DO NOT PANIC if you can't get in touch with me during this time period. I will return!

Thing Two: divalea broke the story about TokyoPop's HEINOUS new "contract" for new creators- one that finally pulls away the mask and reveals that yes, they want all rights to your intellectual property and yes, they're willing to patronize and manipulate unwitting talent into giving up those rights. They even want you to give up your moral rights to your work! And hey, it's all written in hip, snappy lingo so as to be "down" with the kids. See, they're not evil, they're fun guys! Fun guys who want all your rights, is all!

THIS IS A BAD THING. Creators should always control their rights! ALWAYS. We creators should not be so desperate to get published that we lose the right to control the things we make. The history of the industry is littered with tales of people who ended up with nothing while large corporations reaped the benefits of their hard work. Many creators died before they were able to regain their rights to the things they created. Terrible deals like this one have existed in comics in every decade, and now, despite the Creators' Rights movements in the 1980's and 1990's, they are trying to make a comeback. It's NOT GOOD.

Read more about this at divalea's journal, where she is compiling links to other, brilliant commentary. Of special interest: Bryan Lee O'Malley's commentary at his journal, destroyerzooey and Nick Mamatas' commentary at his journal, nihilistic_kid. GO! READ!

I sincerely hope that people will pay attention to this, as the last time TP's horrible contracts came up, everyone who pointed out the badness was basically called old, out of touch, and a hater. People lost friendships over it (myself included), but the end result was that all of us "old haters" were right. The industry is now littered with people who were rooked out of their rights by TP or who were screwed over. For every creator who ends up with a decent deal (Svetlana, Rikki and Tavi), there are literally dozens who put their hands on the stove and got burned. Don't get burned. Be smart. Don't sign away your rights.

And above all: if someone, anyone in the comic industry is that keen on taking ALL the rights to your concept/work?! That means it's WORTH SOMETHING. Which means you can make something out of it YOURSELF, and then never have to worry about trying to wrest control back from someone else. Be careful out there.

Are you tired of hearing about it yet? I sure as hell am! The days have been horribly packed and busy. It's been solid 10-12 hour days around here, with short breaks for food and mental health.

Bullet-point updates before I get back to it, in no particular order:
--my rechargeable leg razor gave up the ghost this week, motor just gave out dead. Argh! Damn you Panasonic!
--Starkist zesty lemon pepper tuna mixed in with Mahatma instant saffron rice is delicious
--I cannot WAIT to get a haircut, because my hair is now to an awkward Prince Valiant stage that is making me absolutely crazy (and thus, I want to shave all of it off...)
--summer is clearly here, and thus, once again, my office is the hottest room in the house (in winter, it is the coldest!)
--I am reading Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers; it's fun
--stress levels have been high, but it's unavoidable and can't be helped
--I'm caught up on Doctor Who and have been enjoying it very much. I like Donna, she's sassy.
--all the cats are doing fine and have adjusted well to their surroundings (two here, two at suarez's house).
--allergies are pretty bad lately, must remember to drink lots of water so my sinuses don't get chunked up when the Sudafed dries them out
--I was sure there were more things I wanted to write about, but I'll be damned if I can remember them now
--I remembered one! J.K. Blacklin has a DeviantArt page now! He doesn't have anything up yet, but if you're a fan of his work in Milk, Genus and on the SinFactoryComix.com site, you should give him a watch!

Now, checklist again, skip it (it's really just for me):
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FIVE days left! (We go up on Wednesday this year, to lessen the stress of Thursday set-up.)

Obligatory Buy My Stuff Plugs:
eBay auctions are here! Comics, manga, toys, and more!
FurBid auctions are here! Furry comics and adult comics, plus art!
My Amazon storefront is here! Manga, manga, manga!
The Radio Comix Online Store is here! All the Radio Comix titles you could hope for, plus yaoi and adult comics from other companies!
The SinFactoryComix.com adult site is here! (WARNING: Not Safe For Work!) Now featuring Trump!

Final revised version, in the cut to save everyone's friends pages.

Everything I need to get done before we go to the convention:
( Read more... )

NINE (9) days left! (We go up on Wednesday this year, to lessen the stress of Thursday set-up.)

Obligatory Buy My Stuff Plugs:
eBay auctions are here! Comics, manga, toys, and more!
FurBid auctions are here! Furry comics and adult comics, plus art!
My Amazon storefront is here! Manga, manga, manga!
The Radio Comix Online Store is here! All the Radio Comix titles you could hope for, plus yaoi and adult comics from other companies!
The SinFactoryComix.com adult site is here! (WARNING: Not Safe For Work!) Now featuring Trump!