Received word from a few different people (friends and family) that they're actually reading these little posts. This delights me to no end, let me tell you.

I mentioned to my wife today that the tone of this blogger doesn't really sound like me, though. I find myself self-censoring somewhat, even in the few posts I've written thusfar. Not that I'm usually a foul-mouthed git, but, let's face it, I'm a slightly different me when talking to my wife as opposed to my colleagues, as opposed to my friends, as opposed to my pastor, as opposed to my mother... and so on. I find myself trying not to type anything that might embarrass my family, especially, which tends to dillute my thoughts.

As just about everyone close to me knows, I have a rather unhealthy fixation with the author Neil Gaiman, who provides his own blogger on his official site (read by thousands daily). I find myself trying to mimic the tone and warmth of his posts, which is very nice I suppose, but it's not always me. As with all my writing, I guess I'll find my own voice eventually.

(And speaking of Neil, I had the good fortune of meeting him last year, and even persuaded him to do a little self-portrait for me at his book signing. His assistant snapped a picture of it and posted it to Neil's website. It can be viewed here, for anyone who's interested.)

posted by Jeremy Bear 7:35 PM

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I dropped in on Steve Harpster yesterday to pick up a fax, and found him inking some pencils I'd brought him earlier this week. I think this may have been the first time I've ever seen another artist ink my work. Since Steve has a very slick inking hand, I knew he'd make something beautiful out of my chicken-scratch, but it was still odd to see. He wisely re-evaluated some of the figure work and tweaked details and compositional elements... but, there's something about giving one's pencils over to an inker that feels a bit like giving one's toddler over to kindergarten.

I suppose it's the same with anything. I've seen my scripts directed by others as well. It's always a moody combination of "ooh, I never even considered that. How cool." and "aargh. That's really not what I meant. Why would they do that?" A little sweet-and-sour.

All in all, it's a strange experience, collaborating with another artist ...and it's something I've done only rarely. And that's truly a shame, because I never fail to learn from working with other artists, especially those more seasoned than myself.

posted by Jeremy Bear 8:19 AM

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Tuesday, July 02, 2002

Funny story:

So, at around 4:00 today, the mover-estimator fellow dropped by. For those of you heretofore unacquainted with mover-estimator fellows, this is someone who comes to your place of residence before you make a big move out to California and tells you how much your posessions weigh in order to decide how much to charge you to cart your life across the great divide. Apparently, the wife and I weigh about 3,200 lbs., not counting our cars.

This is fairly good news. As it turns out, we can afford a moving company, freeing us up to enjoy the journey in my little 97 Nissan Altima. Huzzah, and drinks all 'round, then.

But, that's not the funny part. Wait for it!

The funny part: as you might expect, the mover-estimator-fellow was a real hillbillyish salt-of-the-earth good ol' boy. Stocky, wearing an armless t-shirt, gruff drawl. "Mr. Bayr? Ahm hahr t' estamaitcher stuff fer yeh."

Well, he's a very decent guy, straight-shooter, easy to talk with, heart of gold. The kind of guy you'd trust with about 3,200 lbs. of your home. Very warm, very efficient. His name's Jeff.

When Jeff asked why we're moving, I mentioned my screenplay work. He was genuinely interested, and noted that he writes stories and poems of his own from time to time. 'Now, that's nice," I thought.

Then Jeff asked my wife and me if we'd like to hear him recite one of his poems to us. We said Sure.

Immediately, Hillbilly Jeff launches into an epic-length treatise on death, religion, morality, history, disease, politics, and the human condition, all in rhyme. For 10 minutes we sat as he rattled off couplet after couplet of his worldview and What It All Means. We were stunned. This was easily a sizeable undertaking. And his recitation was as speedy and precise as Pinafore. From there, he went on to tell us of his Great Idea For A Movie, which involved a spoiled heiress, a deranged billionaire, and a massive plot to change the ritual of human burials to accomodate above-ground mounds, as opposed to below-ground graves.

It was all utterly surreal. But I have to admit: this man had a spark for ideas that was utterly refreshing, however unpolished.

Come to think of it, maybe it wasn't all that funny.

Good luck, Jeff, and God Bless.

posted by Jeremy Bear 8:43 PM

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Monday, July 01, 2002

Carey and I have set a moving date. It's officially July the 23rd, mateys, so mark it down.

Apparently a move to southern California is about 20 times more complicated than moving anywhere else in the continental United States, with the possible exception of New York City. Everything is a big, flaming ordeal, from finding an apartment all the way down to finding an apartment. To be fair, most renters have been very sweet with us, with a few glaring exceptions. The more we converse with the West Coast, the more it seems that Ohio is some sort of big inside joke that the rest of the country shares. It's a shame, really. "I promise, I didn't mean to be born here! Really! Please forgive me and allow me to live in your hip little state! I'll try extra hard not to infect it with Midwestern Bible-Belt germies! I beg of you... make us Californians!"

Doing some very exciting work on the freelance illustration end. Bible jigsaw-puzzles, a Christmas storybook... and a very enjoyable comic-book-style ad that I'm working on with Spaner Marketing in Canton. Unforntunately, it's rare that I get to work on projects that are exactly what I'd want to draw... thanks, Spaner.

I also must take this opportunity to thank Steve Harpster, illustrator extraordinaire, who has done more to help me with my illustration career in the past few months than I could have ever expected. You're one in a million, buddy. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Steve's work to anyone looking for a very tight, cartoony, commercial style. Very nice stuff indeed.

posted by Jeremy Bear 11:23 AM

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