Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir

Got skills, I'm a champion at D & D...

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:15:00 +0000

Okay, I'm not really a champion at D & D - although Weird Al is.

But I AM a gamer. And proud of it.

Not a gamer in the video-game sense - though I'm that too. I mean a gamer as in a player of pen & paper RPGs.

The reason I'm not a champion at D & D is that I haven't played actual D & D in about 25 years. But I play a lot of other role-playing games. Or more accurately, I run RPGs while Christina and our friends Gregory and Jennifer (and others, varying from game to game) play.

I've run (in the last five years) a superhero RPG, a Star Wars RPG, a Stargate RPG, and these days I play a swashbuckling RPG.

So what's an RPG? It's simple. You know how kids (and most likely, you, at some point) would play cops and robbers or cowboys and indians or Star Wars or whatnot? You'd be a character, chase after the other kid, say you shot him and he'd say "did not"?

That's the earliest form of gaming. You take on a character (or character type) and play out their adventures. The rules are there to define that character, to help avoid the whole "did not" "did too" element. Though in gaming, you rarely fight each other. More often, each person creates a character who is part of a team.

But that's the basics of gaming. It doesn't define what it is for me (or Christina, or anyone we play with). We're not just telling adventure stories (though there are adventures). We're creating characters, and telling the stories of their lives.

For us, as we've gotten older, gaming is a way to invent new, fully developed and well rounded characters and build an entire series of stories around them.

In other words, it's great practice for writers - which we all are.

The players create characters that ultimately wind up in our writings.

"Once In A Blue Moon" came from an idea we had for a fantasy RPG.

"The Tomb" is based on Christina's character from our Stargate RPG as well as a key character she teamed up with in that game.

Powers for many of the kids in our "New X-Men" run came from characters we created in our superhero game.

We're at work on a novel based on one of Christina's favorite gaming characters.

When we commit to playing a game, we invest all the same energy we invest in writing. But because it is for us and our friends, there's none of the hangups and frustrations inherent in writing for a living. There's no editor who might change the character concept. There's no pitch process before we even get to write.

A lot of writers write for themselves. They write stories and then if those stories find a market, great. If not, they've gotten better at writing. They've enjoyed writing.

We work so many jobs, most of which pay so little. We have to juggle so much paid work, that we don't get a chance to do spec work. And using our free time to write something with no way of translating it into paying the bills can be daunting.

So, instead, we use gaming as a way to stay creative, even in our free time.

So, for those of you who write and are frustrated by writing yet another piece 'on spec'... I recommend it. You'll be creating in a different way, generating ideas. And you'll be having fun.

For those of you who enjoy writing 'on spec,' for the sheer love of writing... I'd still recommend it. Because gaming forces you to view all stories as being inherently about a character. As a player, you focus on one character, usually in a big, vast world with large genre elements and huge casts. But you get tunnel vision when you play a character. You view the whole story through that character.

It's a great exercise for a writer who may get caught up in world building or complex plotting.

Now, I think well thought out worlds and intricate plots are good things. But viewing it all from a character's perspective helps you use those things to further a character arc. Because without a character arc, you rarely have a good story, no matter how compelling the world or well crafted the plot.

Anyway... my free advice for the day. Check out an RPG. Create a character. It'll help you as a writer, and help you think like a writer if you're not one.

Over And Done With...

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:22:00 +0000

The title of this post can refer to a handful of things, actually.

The first is the San Diego Comic Con. We left mid-day today and despite mild traffic, the trip back was a breeze compared to the trip down.

The second is my desire to spend any more time convincing Marvel and DC to give us more work. I'd rather focus on publishers that want to work with us.

The third is my desire to go to another Comic-Con. We see friends and colleagues there who we wouldn't see otherwise, so I can't say that we won't ever go again. But I can say that at the moment, I really hate going to the con.

The Comic-Con was a disaster, and one of the most dispiriting experiences I've had in a long while.

I've been teaching a few classes, and have collected a bunch of devoted and talented students, and I try to push them to follow their passion for writing comics or manga. But sometimes I worry that I'm not doing right by them.

Because there's something I have failed to tell them, something they need to hear.

This is hard stuff.

You put yourself out there, every day. And every time people reject you, it sucks. But that's not the worst part.

The worst part is the antipathy. There are so many people in a position to hire you, refer you, help you - and in so doing, if you're good at writing, help themselves - who just don't. Or can't. Or won't.

When people hate your stuff, you've made an impression. When you just don't seem to register, it eats away at you. It doesn't instantly (and thus, in some ways mercifully) crush you like rejection. It just saps your energy. It makes you doubt your ability to pursue your dream while never quite crashing down hard enough to actually kill that dream.

It takes mountains of stamina to push past all of that, and now I worry that I haven't prepared my students for that grim reality.

So, how do you cope with such soul suckage?

You focus on the positive.

In our case, we focus on the two absolutely charming and wonderful teenaged fans of Amazing Agent Luna who came to the con, dressed as Luna and Oliver. Twin sisters whose Mom made their costumes for them, they absolutely made the convention for us. If not for them, it would have been a total loss.

So, to Ashley and Michelle... thank you. You two have no idea how important it is for people in our position to know that people like what you do. You saved the weekend for us, and it'll be on the strength of that moment that I'll be able to look at the rest of the weekend and try to salvage any other good moments from it.

So, without going through the reasons why it sucked (because dwelling is a sucker's game, and one I am sucker enough to play way too often), here are the positives from the con...

1) Ashley and Michelle.

2) We got to announce BAD MEDICINE, and everyone at Oni seems as excited for it as we are.

3) I got to see a half-dozen of my students, who took time out of their busy con schedules to say hi, or stop in at the Oni panel.

4) We were able to help two friends get into the con for free and both seemed to enjoy the experience.

5) Our best friends in the world were there, and we spent a decent amount of time with them.

6) We got a chance to see friends who we only see at the con, and friends who left Los Angeles and who we miss hanging out with.

7) We met with one editor at one of the big companies who does seem to genuinely want to help.

There. Listing only the good stuff makes the weekend seem like less of a nightmare.

But I'm still done with Comic-Con.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

- Nunzio (accidentally posting from Christina's blogger account)

Comic-Crap

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:58:00 +0000

So, our first day at Comic-Con is winding to a close.

It sucked.

We had a meeting scheduled with a couple of editors at DC. Nothing earth-shaking, but we have an idea we think they'll like and we were also going to talk about where we can focus our pitching and our efforts to best be able to get more work and do more for DC. It was a noon meeting.

So to make sure that we were able to have breakfast, then do the (usually) 2 hour drive to San Diego and get here with plenty of time, we woke up this morning at 6, were out the door at 7, and had filled the gas tank, gotten breakfast and made it onto the freeway ten minutes before 8.

We cruised along for an hour, having about 50 miles to go at 10 minutes to 9. Absolutely perfect, so perfect we hoped we'd get there early enough to pick up our badges before the meeting and still have some time to spare.

Yeah, right.

Because that was when all traffic came to a halt. We'd seen a couple of warnings earlier - traffic accident at Los Pulgas. That was all it said. So we figured it might delay us for a 1/2 hour and we'd still have plenty of time to spare. But when we finally got to the traffic we realized just how massive an understatement the warning was.

Calling it a "traffic accident" was a bit like calling the Civil War a "domestic dispute."

It took us 4 1/2 hours to cover the next 10 miles. No joke.

There were no exits between when the slowdown started and the site of the accident. So we couldn't even exit, get on the freeway going back North, and find an alternate route.

We just had to sit and wait.

And not be able to use the bathroom. Or get a drink of water.

Our new (well, new for us, we bought it used) car has an external temperature sensor that displays on the dashboard. When moving along briskly, the temp was always between 70 and 78 degrees. When crawling along at 1-3 miles per hour, it was between 105-115. I'm sure a lot of that was heat being absorbed by and given off by the freeway. But it was also about that time that the sun (previously hidden behind some clouds) started to blaze. I now have one arm (my window arm) that is red like the St. Louis baseball uniform caps.

So we had to reschedule that meeting. Luckily, we'll still get to meet the editors, but they're only available at a time we were going to sign at Seven Seas on Sunday morning. Then, we were stuck in traffic so long after that, we had to cancel our 1:30 signing at Oni.

So our busy day, the day that was going to kick off a nice and busy con, started with a 6 hour drive, and two canceled appointments.

Then, when we finally get to the accident that basically shut down the Interstate - an accident we'd been cursing about, because it apparently happened at 5am and hadn't been cleared at 2pm - we see just how horrific it must have been. A truck jack-knifed and absolutely crushed a minivan. Both had clearly burst into flames, and the truck looked to have exploded. The foliage on the side of the 5 had been scorched away. There was no way anyone in the accident could have survived, at least not from what we saw (we haven't had the courage to look it up and see if anyone did). We felt so petty that we'd been so cranky.

But guilt doesn't make the bad mood from crankiness go away. It just makes it a different kind of bad mood.

Then we get to the hotel, and due to a screwup of my own making, wind up paying $25 more per night than we'd originally planned. Not a big deal, but just a nice little screw-you from the vacation gods.

We went to the Seven Seas booth to give a very cool gift to Jason DeAngelis. It was a gift we put together last night while packing, and we were pretty psyched to get it to him. When first we stopped by he was in a meeting. The next two times we stopped by, he wasn't there. And the fourth time... another meeting.

Now, just like the $25 a day, us not getting him his gift is hardly a major crisis, but it was just another disappointment in a day full of them.

The other thing about today is that it was CROWDED. The con usually is. But Thursday tends to be the light day. Today it felt like a Saturday in there. Neither Christie nor I are particularly good with large crowds. When we're enjoying the con, the large groups of people getting in our way, shoving us, and living in their own little bubbles vaguely annoy us and the annoyance builds until the end of the day when we are mercifully able to go back to the hotel. But when we've had a bad day already, it's like we need to leave the minute we set foot in there. "Oh, nice costume. Now die, please."

And then, we finally do our only signing of the day - what would have been our second Oni signing. A couple of friends stopped by, which was cool, but until 3 minutes before we left, no one came to get anything signed. When you spend an hour and a half at a signing and get one person who wants you to sign, it's depressing. When she doesn't even buy your book but just has you sign her autograph book (and I'm still not sure she knew who we were), it's all the moreso.

Sigh.

To top it all off, something I ate did not sit right, so we missed out on a big Oni dinner tonight. Lots of writers and artists who we're friends with, who we only get to see once a year, all treated to dinner by Oni and Oni's film producer partner. I'm not great with 25 people dinners, but it was something I would have wanted to do nonetheless, because if you get in the right seat, you can focus on a couple of people, have a good time, and get a little time in with everyone else. But when your stomach hurts, that's a sure ticket to sitting in the corner, talking to no one and ruining the night for your wife. So we (wisely, I think, but still unfortunately) opted out.

So now we're in our hotel room, hiding from the world.

I want a do-over.

I hope to get one tomorrow.

Tomatoes... we're back and we're pissed off!

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:02:00 +0000

So tomorrow (Thursday that is, as I haven't gone to bed yet so it may be construed as the day after tomorrow by some perspectives), we head down to the con. Christina's already posted our schedule - see a couple of posts below. We look forward to seeing any of you who can make it.

But before we head down there and do the flurry of signings, handful of meetings and one panel, we have one more milestone ahead.

Today (Wednesday, that is) is the official launch of our new weekly manga series, The Ninja Diaries.

It will run weekly in Metromix, and then be collected online. The first 4 pages will debut in today's issue, and all pages will be collected online at Metromix.com... they're up now.

We're very proud of this... for many reasons.

As an opportunity, it is amazing. Metromix prints 100,000 issues weekly, and there's a really good chance that collected pages from this may find their way into the Los Angeles Times(!). In fact, if you go to the times website today, you'll see that we made the front page of their site - 2/3 of the way down, right in the center. That kicks all kinds of ass.

As a collaboration, it's been fun. Jason DeAngelis at Seven Seas has been more involved in developing this than he was in Amazing Agent Luna and Destiny's Hand. But we're doing the writing, and it's felt very much like ours... just with a nice touch of Jason, too. The collaborative nature of it has been outstanding.

And as a story, we're very excited by it. We look forward to writing each page, and when you can do that, you're at the great part of writing for a living.

We've got meetings at the con, which hopefully may lead to work down the line. We'll be promoting 2 new books at Oni, and hyping the final volumes of Luna and Destiny's Hand.

But for us, the story of the con will be Ninja Diaries.

Check it out. We hope you enjoy it. Free copies of this week's Metromix will be available at the Seven Seas booth. Come by and we'll talk ad nauseum about this one, and sign your copy too.

If you can't make it, check it out on Metromix.com.

We hope you enjoy it... because ninja don't do disappointment.

(Long story... stick with us, you'll get the joke)

Too Cool For Words...

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:42:00 +0000

So I was perusing the internet (as that's what one does on the internet) and I found this:

the most amazing thing ever

But in all fairness to my husband, I shall post this on his behalf.

almost as cool

Preparing For The Madness

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:44:00 +0000

It's that time of year again. Once a year (whether we need it or not), we make the trek to San Diego for Comic Con.

And even though attendance promises to be over 100,000, we should be (relatively) easy to find at either the Oni Press Booth (#1834-1837) or the Seven Seas booth (#2649). So, to that end, I give you our 2008 Comic Con schedule.

THURSDAY

1:30 p.m.-2:50 p.m. Oni Press
4:30 p.m.-5:50 p.m. Oni Press

FRIDAY

12:00 p.m.-1:20 p.m. Oni Press
2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m. Seven Seas
4:30 p.m.-5:50 p.m. Oni Press

SATURDAY

10:30 a.m.-11:50 a.m. Oni Press
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Seven Seas
1:30 p.m.-2:50 p.m. Oni Press
5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. the Oni Press panel (room TBA)

SUNDAY

11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Seven Seas
12:00 p.m.-1:20 p.m. Oni Press

We will be eagerly promoting our new Metromix Ninja saga "The Ninja Diaries" which will have just debuted on July 23rd! We urge everyone to check it out (it's free!)

We'll also be happily talking up the final volume of Amazing Agent Luna due out the end of this year, the final volume of Destiny's Hand due out early 2009 and two new exciting projects from Oni Press (All Saints Day and Bad Medicine) also due 2009.

We may even talk up a project due out in the fall of this year, but we have to check with the publisher first to see if it's okay. (How's that for mystery?)

So come find us, say hi, and make the madness all worth while.

EDIT: Our schedule has now been updated to include our Seven Seas signings!

Ninja Warriors!

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:32:00 +0000

Hey all,

Remember the manga we said we were gonna write for Metromix?

Well, it's called Ninja Diaries. It's part romantic comedy, part ninja adventure. We won't spoil too much, but it's about a kunoichi (female ninja) sent to Los Angeles to find a lost legendary ninja in the most unlikely place.

We have fun both showing our love for Los Angeles, and skewering it a tiny bit. Plus, as chronicled in an earlier post, we both love ninja (especially Christina).

It's a weekly manga (one page a week, except for the first week) that debuts in the July 23rd issue of Metromix (in which we'll be the cover story and will get 3, maybe 4, pages to get the story rolling).

And to celebrate, Metromix is having a launch party at Secret Headquarters, a comic shop people have been hyping to us for years. We've been told this place is awesome, so we're pretty excited to check it out.

The launch party is on Thursday, July 17th at 8pm. You have to rsvp to rsvpla@metromix.com.

But if you're interested in Ninja Diaries, or in a fun weekly manga by us, or in ninja in general (especially those who are sent to Los Angeles on fun fish-out-of-water missions!) then check out Ninja Diaries in Metromix (the back 'issues' will be posted on metromix.com starting in a few weeks and also occasionally collected - ulp - in the Los Angeles Times). And check out the launch party at Secret Headquarters.

Hope to see you there!

Or not see you, if you happen to be a ninja.

Crimes, Misdemeanors and Baseball

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:35:00 +0000

We're wrapping up our vacation on the Oregon Coast with the Rucka/Van Meter clan. One thing that's happened over the last year is that Dashiell Rucka has become a baseball fan. She's 5 years old and watches League Of Their Own over and over again (skipping the "boring" parts so she can just watch the baseball action) and lists her favorite teams as the Chicago Cubs and the Rockford Peaches (see the afore-mentioned film to understand that second choice).

Now, anyone who knows me knows that baseball is in my blood. I love the game, even though (in this day and age) I really shouldn't. I love the New York Yankees, even though (in this day and age) that's almost impossible.

I can't quite let my love of the great game go. But these are terrible times for baseball. The excesses of the recent (read: steroid) era are coming crashing down on the sport. Whether it's home run records, or multi-Cy-Young wins, everything is tainted. And the arrogant denials of the Roger Clemenses and Barry Bondses of the baseball world compound the problem. They cheated, they lied, and when caught, they actually get angry at the fans and the media for finally waking up and realizing that cheating the National Pastime might (gasp) have been wrong.

It's like a bully who took your lunch money and pretended to be your friend getting angry at you when you finally say "enough." Sure, you could (and should) have realized how wrong it was before. But the actual wrongdoing was theirs, not yours. But Barry and Roger don't get that. They think they get to act indignant.

Which brings me to today's news.

Mike Mussina did not make the All-Star Team.

This may not seem like a crime or a misdemeanor to some. But it's a high crime, treason even, for me.

Mike Mussina is 39 years old. He's been an All-Star before. He's won 261 games in his career, and has a career ERA (earned run average for you non-fans, which measures about how many runs he'd give up in an average 9 inning game) of 3.70.

And he did all of this during the steroid era without a whiff of scandal.

He's a smart pitcher, one who has always brought thought and strategy to the mound with him. Hell, he even fields his position well (he's a 5 time Gold Glove winner).

And last year, his ERA ballooned to over 5. And the Yankee faithful turned on him. He was too old. His fastball had no gas left (partially true as he lost about 5 mph on his fastball, which was never a blazing one to begin with). Generally a healthy pitcher who'd give you a whole season's worth of work, he'd finally started to succumb to injuries, and the Yankee fans decided the old man should be run out of town.

This season started and he had a pretty bad spring, and started off pretty poorly for his first few starts. And again, the "faithful" wanted the Yankees to cut him loose.

Then an amazing thing happened.

Mike Mussina showed us what a man of 39, with no steroid or HGH enhancements to boost his fastball past the 39-year-old range, can do when he pitches smart. He locates his pitches. He changes pitch speeds. He fools hitters into bad swings, and while he'll sometimes dance in and out of trouble, he has for the most part been dominant.

He has 11 wins this year going into the All-Star break and an ERA lower than his (already impressive) lifetime average.

He is as successful as he's ever been, at an increased age, with decreased velocity.

(At this point, I must also note with some sadness, that many Yankee fans don't even appreciate this - they think the time is right to trade him, while his value is high. They talk about his 'inevitable' comedown, when they should just be impressed)

For a sport reeling from the revelations about the actions some players have taken to defy age and normal physical limits, he is a GREAT story. For a team that has Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte each playing out a personal mea-culpa-post-performance-enhancing-drugs rehab tour of shame (as well as the perennially stellar but asinine Alex Rodriguez), he is a GREAT figure.

For an All-Star Game that is being played for the last time at Yankee Stadium (which should never have been designated for the scrap heap simply to build a similar, less historic stadium with more luxury boxes), he is a perfect pick to add to the many young studs in the American League's pitching staff.

But he's left off the list.

What does it say for this sport that the man who shows us the virtues of embracing your age, playing smart, and playing clean is left off the last All-Star Game in the Stadium he's made his home for the last 8 years?

It says baseball is all about young studs and power arms.

And when those power arms get old?

Well, I guess there will be new performance enhancing drugs to help those aging stars maintain their velocity and stats. Because clearly, if they shift to the Mussina method - pitch smart, act your age - baseball will ignore them.

As I said, a crime.

I have no illusions that Mike Mussina will read this blog. But in the fantasy world where he does: Mike, I tip my cap to you. You're an All-Star in my book, and I hope the Yankees re-sign you so that you can get to career win 300 in pinstripes and retire a Yankee (and wear a Yankee cap into the Hall of Fame, where you already belong).

You are an inspiration baseball needs right now. And, typically, the sport has failed to grasp that.

(Author's confession. I also like Mike Mussina because when he pitches from the stretch, he bends way down low and when he comes up, he looks a bit like a vampire. Very cool)

Work & Play

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:48:00 +0000

Nunzio and I just finished a first draft of our film script Paradise Springs. It really is like giving birth to a baby. Okay, having never been pregnant I can't really make that statement. But there's such a high that comes with something like that.

2008 has been a weird year. It was supposed to be an amazing year. We had sold a TV movie, the strike ended, we had a film script to work on and then life kinda went on hold. As many have heard, I had surgery back in February. Sure it was going to disrupt life a bit, but not for long, right?

Well, it was for long. And that TV movie? That's on hold until the network decides what their future holds. And Paradise Springs... well we were trying to write it, but every time we went forward, it didn't click for us, and progress was hard to come by. And before we knew it, it was summer and the year was almost half over.

At the beginning of June, we sat up and took stock. We knew we were going out of town at the end of the month and we knew we had a truckload to get done before then. So we started going to the gym again regularly and we hunkered down with Paradise Springs, finding some solutions and pushing past our initial stumbling blocks. Meanwhile, we got the Metromix opportunity and raced to get a story and pages approved as quickly as possible. As we said before, first pages come out July 23rd!

Then somewhere in the writing of Paradise Springs, we discovered plot problems and circularity and things we just hadn't forseen in the plotting. So somewhere around Page 112, Nunzio says to me "we need to take an axe to this script and gut the second act." My eyes went wide... The panic grew in my stomach. "But, but... we have to turn it in in a week, " I sputtered. But my husband, the master plotter, started chopping away and damn if he wasn't right. Before I knew it we were back on track. And today... first draft!

[Of course now, we take the obligatory few days off, and then we read it to see if it makes any sense. Or sucks.]

Meanwhile, an editor at Marvel approached us about pitching an Aunt May story for Spiderman. Our agent called today about doing a possible manga based on a videogame. And we're getting ready to start work on the first issue of Bad Medicine.

I am so excited about heading to Oregon this Friday. Every year we rent a house on the Oregon coast with our friends and their kids for 4th of July. I love kicking back and relaxing. But I realize now relaxing is never as much fun as when you've just finished doing good hard work.

I look forward to the vacation. And I look forward to getting back to work on the many projects we seem to have floating in the air.

2008 may be a good year yet.

A Unique Opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:57:00 +0000

Nunzio and I had a meeting with MetroMix today. For those of you who don't know what that is (and I confess that I didn't know either until recently), it's a weekly L.A. newspaper (linked to a website) that publishes reviews of local bars and restaurants. They also review movies, TV shows, music. Anything and everything pop culture that's going on in Los Angeles. They had contacted Jason DeAngelis at Seven Seas about doing a one page manga each week towards the back of the issue. And Jason contacted us about writing said manga.

This poses an interesting challenge for us. MetroMix wants a manga that will appeal to the twenty-something Los Angeles crowd. Jason wants something that appeals to the manga audience and can eventually be collected and published as a graphic novel as well as have legs as a potential movie idea. Therefore, we need to script something that stands on its own as a one page story, but fits into a larger whole.

Needless to say, we jumped at the challenge.

And after talking to MetroMix today, we discovered two exciting things. One, they're planning to launch the manga in the issue that comes out the week of the San Diego Comic-Con with a three page spread as well as making it their cover story. This is great timing and gives us something we can show at the convention.

Additionally, they told us the plan would be to collect and bind the pages every twelve or twenty-four "issues." This would then be inserted into the L.A. Times which would be amazing exposure.

Anyway, I don't want to give anything away story-wise yet. We're still hammering out the details. But if all goes according to plan, the first three pages will debut July 23rd. So for all of you in Los Angeles, pick up MetroMix (available in those street side dispensers - the same type of dispenser where you get your newspaper or L.A. Weekly).

And for those of you not in Los Angeles, the pages will be published one week after they're in the paper on MetroMix's website - www.metromix.com.

Stay tuned for more information!

Home Again

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Tue, 27 May 2008 04:53:00 +0000

So this was the weekend I got to go home - possibly for the last time.

My mother just got a job as President of Naugatuck Valley Community College. This is a huge deal for her, a pinnacle of her career in education. I'm very proud of her, and think this is a great move for her.

The trick is - Naugatuck Valley is in Connecticut.

Aside from the logistical questions of family visits - Christina's family is in Boston, mine was in New York, and now mine will be split between NY and Connecticut - it also means that my parents will likely sell the house.

I grew up in this house and most of my memories are here - heck, we even buried 2 dogs in the backyard. But soon, they'll sell it, and the house will be someone else's - or more likely, torn down so someone can build a 2-3 family house.

But, then again, I haven't lived here in forever. It's not my home, and hasn't been for over a decade. It's always nice to visit and stay with my parents, but it doesn't feel like home. I slept in the basement while here, and while it is comfortable - it makes it clear I am a guest.

The things we hang onto from our youth are never quite the same when we revisit them in adulthood.

And yet, we are loathe to let them go.

So, while home (I swear this is connected in my head), my family and I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

I'd read mixed reviews of it - more positive than negative, but many of them laced with a jaded 'it's not quite the same, but it tries' attitude.

I went into it hoping it would be like coming home, but wary that it could never be quite the same.

George Lucas' weird assertions that no-one would like the movie, because it could never match the fan's anticipated version made me worry as well.

On some level, maybe he was onto something. Were the things I hated about the Star Wars prequels (though, truth be told, I only disliked the first one - I felt the prequels got better in sequence) things I tolerated in the originals? Clunky dialogue, too much showy stuff and not enough emotion, that sort of thing?

Or was he offbase, and just took the wrong message from the fan drubbing of his prequels?

Did we dislike them because they could never be all that we'd imagined? Or because they were bad?

And what about Indy? Would I hate in it things I tolerated or even admired in the originals?

Well, I saw it tonight.

And it was great.

Lucas is wrong. Because it wasn't the movie I wrote in my head (don't ask), yet I enjoyed it immensely.

It isn't perfect - the ending is weaker than the rest, and some of the Area 51 stuff pans out in the end to be a bit broad for my tastes, and one character has one switch of allegiance too many.

But it is a blast.

I recommend it.

Shut off the jadedness that comes with age. Just sit back and enjoy it the way you did the originals. I think you'll feel like you came home.

And when you can come home, enjoy it. Because it won't always be there.

And now for something completely different...

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:33:00 +0000

I was genuinely torn about posting today, because so much of my last day has been spent thinking about Ted Kennedy - the news has affected me way more than I'd anticipated. And my previous post, which was on the subject, isn't even 24 hours old.

However, there's news, so I wanted to post that...

Christina and I did an interview with Fanboy Radio, which was broadcast last week. The mp3 and podcast of the interview have been uploaded.

We talk about writing together, our TV days, our thoughts on current comics... about anything and everything. And at the end of the interview we talk for a bit about our upcoming books, ALL SAINTS DAY and BAD MEDICINE as well as our upcoming BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL arc (the one with King Tut), so we're excited we got a chance to talk about those.

It's about an hour long, because we love to talk (especially me). But we had a blast with Scott and our good friend David, who made this happen.

And since I've broken the somber mood, I figure I should also post my thoughts on last night's coronation... er, I mean, competition... on American Idol.

I was frustrated by the show last night, for several reasons. The first is that my guy David Cook didn't slam dunk this thing. But the second is the obvious pimpage going on with David Archuleta.

Round 1 - This is where I was a little let down by David C. His "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was very good, but it wasn't earth-shaking, and I was expecting it to be a crowning moment. That opened the door for David A., whose rendition of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" was one of his better performances all year. Still, he insisted on singing it straight but then adding weird runs to show off his voice, so it felt a little off, too.

I thought the First Round was a tie and I was sad that Cook didn't win that one, not even in my eyes.

Round 2 - Can we just put the songwriting contest to rest already? 2 Seasons now and 3 songs into it, and there hasn't been a really good song yet.

Cook's song was not very good, but he sang it pretty well.

Archuleta's song was awful, and syrupy and when I try to even remember it, I wind up hearing him sing "This Is My Now" (last year's 'winning' song) in my head - they're practically the same song, only this one had the obnoxious lyric that Sir Andrew mocked not-so-gently.

Ugh. Two bad songs. Both sung reasonably well. But I give the edge to David C, simply because his song didn't suck as much (the chorus was catchy, at least) and he sang it well.

Round 3 - This is where I realized that this show is never going to be, for me, what it should be.

All season long, they applaud David C for taking risks, doing new things.

So for his choice, he picks a song he hasn't sung before ("The World I Know") and he sings the hell out of it. This was his moment, and I thought he nailed it.

And Archuleta does the safe thing, retreats to his best performance of the year. And they're not even singing full versions (despite having an hour for 6 songs - any idea why we still got condensed versions of songs), so there's nothing new there. The best he can do is replicate how glorious the song was the first time, and the worst he can do is fail to recapture the glory. David A's performance falls somewhere in the middle - he warbles once or twice, which he didn't do the first time, but for the most part the song hits most of the same highs as before.

(And once again, he skips the line about "Imagine there's no heaven" - talk about playing it safe!)

So one contestant, who's been praised for being original and new, does a new song exceptionally well. The other, who has sounded the same all season, sings a song he's sung before, exactly the same way (and in my mind, not even as well)...

and who do they praise?

And worse, Simon (David C's biggest fan) goes after him for not singing one of the songs he sang before.

I call bullshit.

Round 3 went to David C, first of all on performance, but second of all, because his fans got something new, while David A's got something they've already heard.

So I saw a show with 1 tie, and 2 rounds to Cook.

The judges saw a "knockout" by Archuleta.

Ugh.

By the way, I challenge anyone to watch the end of the show again where they give the numbers for calling in over a montage of each contestant's three songs. Watch it again and tell me that David Archuleta didn't effectively make two classic songs and one crappy composition sound all like one, long, bland song. You could barely tell where one ended and another began. Now imagine an entire album by this kid. Great voice, but I wouldn't buy it.

Anyway, those are my thoughts, and above is our news.

Like I said, I didn't want to shove Ted Kennedy off the top of our blog. So if you're gonna post here about AI (or the interview), please first go one post down and post some thoughts of support for a great man who is now fighting for his life.

Thanks.

My hero's hero...

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:23:00 +0000

...has a brain tumor.

I'm traveling today, headed east for the first time in 2008, since Christina's incision is close enough to healed that traveling is no longer a problem.

I travel via Jet Blue, they of the free DirectTV.

Every time we travel on Jet Blue, there's some big event that gets the 24 hour news coverage. I find myself sucked in, but ultimately annoyed by the way they hover around a story, saying the same 3 things over and over and pretend it's news.

But this time, I was heartbroken.

Ted Kennedy is one of the greats. He had a role in the Voting Rights Acts, for God's sake. He has been fighting for the things I believe in since well before I was even born.

And Ted Kennedy is my father's idol. The man he admires more than any other man in America.

I get my ideals and politics from my parents - both are liberal. I remember vividly the image of my mom crying in 1980 when Reagan beat Carter. I was 10 years old, and that helps shape a person.

My Dad and I don't always agree - all three of his kids landed further to the left than even he is, and age has mellowed his liberal fire a tiny bit (though not much, I assure you). But if there's something he values, it's a man who fights the important fights - the ones worth fighting.

Ted Kennedy - to him, and to me - is that man.

I watched the news today and my heart broke a little. In part because it's such a hard fight ahead for a man who has fought so hard for so long.

But in part because I knew how hard my father would take the news.

I'm not a praying sort. Never have been.

But Ted Kennedy is in my thoughts. And I try to retain hope that the man who has overcome so much - and helped so many others overcome so many injustices - wins this latest battle.

Verbosity leads to unclear inarticulate things

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:00:00 +0000

One of the many joys of being a writer is the ability to play with words.

There are a handful of words that I love. Some are words that sound exactly like what they mean. Some simply don't get used enough and deserve a little recognition.

Today I share with you some of my favorite words.

kerfuffle
saunter
jalopy
unctuous
jaunty
impresario
ramshackle
ennui
cross (the adjective, not the noun or verb)
svelte
huck (though I may have made this one up. I can't find it in a dictionary.)
verbiage
scuffle
languish
saucy
wallop
chuffle (notice my love of words that end in -uffle?)
persnickety
bloviate
palaver
donnybrook (does anyone know where this term originates from? Bonus points if you do.)

Then there is a subset of words that I love. We're too unimaginative these days with the use of words like 'ho or slut or whore.
So I give you my favorite "ho" words.

trollop
hussy
lothario
tart

I'm sure more will come to me. They always do.

Kick, Punch, it's all in the mind...

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:37:00 +0000

I wish to dispel the notion that all I ever talk about is American Idol. So today I will discuss everyone's favorite subject...

Ninjas.

Okay, maybe it's just me. And maybe it's just the fact that Nunzio and I just finished working on a chapter of Amazing Agent Luna, Volume 5. But ninjas are cool.

And I think for as long as I live, there will never be another writing project that has been as easy and as fun to write as Luna. I fully expect to enjoy many more projects that I work on. But Luna holds a special place in my heart. It's a project that no matter how cranky I am, or unfocused I am, or whatever... by the time I've written some pages and I step away from the computer, my heart feels lighter and writing is the coolest thing in the world.

So in answer to the eternal question, Ninjas or Pirates? I will always answer ninjas. As a side note, this is a painful question for Nunzio because anyone who knows him, knows his love of pirates. And don't get me wrong, I LOVE working on our book Destiny's Hand. It's just not Luna.

And for anyone else out there who also loves ninjas, I make this recommendation to you. This is an extremely cool TV show worth checking out. And this guy is probably the coolest ninja around.

Also, this shows him being the cool ninja that he is.

And now, lest I disappoint expectations, I'm off to watch American Idol.

Feel free to post all your favorite ninja stories.

Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:19:00 +0000

So the other day, Christie starts talking to me about an article she's reading. It's about American Idol, but I promise this post has to do with more than just that show.

The article's about how the ratings are down, and it asks if the show's somehow cursed. Somewhere in the article it mentions that the two times the show airs wound up placing #1 and #2 in the ratings.

Now, the numbers ARE down, but the show is still the #1 and #2 shows of the week.

There's an obvious response, about how this is a manufactured 'story.' How being #1 and #2 means this is a successful show, so any article about it being cursed is, well, downright silly.

But beyond that, this article led me to wonder... why do we read articles about TV show ratings?

Which led me to wonder... why do we, as movie fans, read up about the box office returns for the weekend? And why do comic fans read how much the various comic books sold during the month?

Since when do we define how we view our entertainment by how much money it makes?

It's not just entertainment, it's everywhere.

Why do we know how much money A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Payton Manning, Tiger Woods and LeBron James make? Shouldn't we just watch the players or teams we love and worry about wins and losses?

This country is a capitalist one. I get that. But haven't we gone too far when we spend more time reading about which comics are making money and which ones aren't than we spend reading the comics themselves?

I remember, when I was younger, they'd talk about exit polls before the polls would close in that very state. They made that illegal (or at least discouraged the news folks from doing it) because they realized that hearing those results would sway the late voters. If your candidate was way behind in exit polls, maybe you figure it's a lost cause, and stay home.

But sometimes I think that happens in national elections. That when we hear about the results on the East Coast, the West Coast voters may change their minds about voting or not voting based on those results.

But an argument (and a good one, I suppose) can be made that election results are important news. Those are numbers we need to know about.

But can we say the same about Nielsen ratings? Or Comic Book sales numbers? Or box-office returns? Do those numbers really matter? Do they affect or reflect our enjoyment?

They can't, can they?

Yet, I see it on message boards. I've heard people say it. I've thought it myself.

"Oh, I won't check that new show out. I hear it's doing terribly in the ratings. It won't be on the air very long."

Suddenly, the exit polls are affecting the voting.

And again, I'm forced to ask why. These aren't exit polls, and this isn't an election. How many people watch a TV show has no bearing on whether or not that show is to your liking. How many people read "Checkmate" has no bearing on whether or not it's a good comic (hint: it is).

I know some of these statistics are time honored. The New York Times Bestseller list, or the Top 40 songs on the radio. But do we need to know those things? And do we need to know it about everything?

And by extension, even if we (for reasons that I don't get) need to know how much a movie made at the box office, do we need to know how much the movie star made to appear in it?

What do you guys think?

Music Of Tonight

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:05:00 +0000

So, it was Andrew Lloyd Webber night on American Idol - eagerly anticipated for the last few days - and now I feel compelled to post about said evening.

I also feel a bit scared that the website designed to promote our writing and professional career seems to have degraded into an Idol chat. But I've made my peace with it.

So onto the singing...

Syesha: "One Rock 'N Roll Too Many"
Biggest surprise of the evening for me. Of course, she won bonus points right off the bat for choosing a song from Starlight Express. But I thought she really rocked it and showed more personality in two minutes than she has all season. Minor misstep as I think she started the song a beat early, but big thumbs up from me on this performance.

Jason: "Memory"
Seriously, dude? How stoned was he when he made that choice? And how can someone young and in the prime of life pretend to sing a song in which you have the lyrics "I can smile at the old days. I was beautiful then"? So many questions, so little time. But the bigger surprise was that his voice really couldn't handle it. I think it was a wise choice to mellow it out rather than go power ballad, but the low register seemed to be killing him. My guess is that we've seen the last of Jason.

Brooke: "You Must Love Me"
I actually dug this performance. I thought the judges were way too hard on her. Yes, the false start was bad. But once she started over, I thought it was heartfelt. I didn't hear "strained." But I think I'm in the minority here. I've been reading some pretty harsh criticism online. After Jason, Nunzio and I said someone would have to crash and burn to save him from elimination. But when Brooke first finished and they ragged on her, I thought she had achieved the impossible. I think, however, that Simon chiming in and saying he would have started over too will have saved her for another week.

David A.: "Think Of Me"
I'm actually quite fond of this song, and I wasn't at all surprised that little Archuleta picked it. But god save me from the poppy junior version he went with. I agree with Simon. It was "pleasant." But that's about all. Can we say boring and predictable as well? And I seriously wanted to clock Randy upside the head. I hate HATE the obvious pimping. Let's try for a little subtlety at least. But really? "You are the one to beat!" says Randy. And here I thought, if you look at each contestant's body of work, that David Cook was the one to beat. Moving on...

Carly: "Jesus Christ Superstar"
I thought Lord Andrew was genius when he steered Carly away from "All I Ask Of You" to "Jesus Christ Superstar." And I sat on the edge of my seat eagerly awaiting the performance. I was sorely disappointed. I really expect more from Carly. I was her number 1 fan from the first day. But each week I get a little more discouraged. First of all, she BUTCHERED the lyrics. I mean seriously butchered them. And not a single judge called her on it. And second, her "big voice" just didn't quite deliver to me. I can't remember now if I thought the key was too high for her or what, but it wasn't quite the rockin' performance I wanted it to be. Still, it's a fun enough song that it doesn't take much to carry it.

David C.: "Music Of The Night"
This boy can really sing ANYTHING. And the thing is, objectively speaking, he's not that attractive. But he was so sexy singing this song. I truly believe he delivered on all fronts. And proved that he has all kinds of range. Explain to me again, why HE isn't the one to beat? But I'm also hoping that in about two weeks he ends his run. Just ask Daughtry. He knows the way to a brilliant career.

And there, for better or worse, are my thoughts. Next to go - Jason Castro. Bottom three: Jason, Brooke and Carly.

What's The Buzz, Tell Me What's A'Happening!

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:14:00 +0000

Okay, so my wife and Amy and Jordan have opened the American Idol can of worms on our blog, and Christie is now urging me to share the thoughts I've been spewing here at home with the world wide web (though mercifully, it's not world wide on this site. We couldn't fill a VW beetle with the population of this blog!).

So, my American Idol thoughts as we approach Andrew Lloyd Webber week...

Most people who know me know that I loves me some broadway musicals. Maybe it's the gay brother, who made sure I knew musicals growing up. Maybe it was rooming with Greg Rucka, who loved them as much as I did, in college. Or maybe it's genetic.

But I do loves the musicals. I really do.

And while Andrew Lloyd Webber is reviled in some corners, he's not reviled in this apartment.

Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita are two masterpieces. They get a lot of play around here.

Phantom of the Opera has a couple of GREAT songs that also get some play.

And, while it does little for me, my wife even listens to Starlight Express.

(Cats, on the other hand... I shudder at the thought)

Anyway, as you can guess, we're very excited for Webber week. A damn relief after Mariah week (another shudder for that).

I'm sad Michael Johns won't be here for it. He would have rocked on any number of the angry-man anthems from those musicals (the Judas numbers, or Che's songs).

So... what songs do we all want the Idols to sing?

I'll start the discussion with my thoughts.

I'd like to see David Cook handle the Judas songs, like Superstar or Heaven on Their Minds. Though he'd also rock out on The Lady's Got Potential or Oh What A Circus.

And I know that if Syesha sings Don't Cry For Me Argentina or Memory, I may need to pull an Elvis and shoot my TV. I'd rather see her sing Buenos Aires to try and get some life into her performances.

I'd love to see Brooke sing I Don't Know How To Love Him, or Another Suitcase In Another Hall.

I'd like Carly to stop trying to Diva her way through Glory Note after Glory Note while grinning like the Joker. She should relax and sing a less Diva number, like Another Suitcase In Another Hall. Or maybe she should mix it up and sing Gethsemane, even though it's usually sung by a man.

Jason should avoid the obvious stoner link to What's The Buzz, and sing High Flying Adored. Or he could sing There's Me, from Starlight Express (yes, Christie's bad taste is contagious). Plus, he could really have fun with King Herod's Song. But I'd imagine the Christ-mocking in that song will make it so no-one will sing it.

I'd like to see Archuleta sing something with a little life to it, something like Superstar or Goodnight And Thank You. But he won't. He'll sing Music Of The Night or Gethsemane. Good songs, and he'd sing them well, but he bores me at this point.

And that's what I want to see. I realize it's mostly JC Superstar or Evita, but hey... I likes what I likes.

The Numbers Game

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:06:00 +0000

When I was in high school, I hated math. HATED. Capital H. I was told, because I was a spatial thinker, that I'd do better when I hit geometry. So 10th grade came, I took geometry, I failed. In 11th grade I went back to advanced algebra and pre-calc and it never looked so good. The logic and plugging in of numbers made much more sense and I made my peace with Math.

I still preferred English class though.

Fast forward twenty years (good lord that's scary) and I find myself part of this weird Sudoku craze. Now Nunzio (he was on the Math team in high school and went to Bronx School of Science, so I shouldn't be surprised) LOVES Sudoku. He's been playing it for a while now. And I would occasionally rest my head on his shoulder and look down and offer a word or two of advice. But definitely not my thing.

Then two days before my surgery, a friend gave me a Sudoku book and a crossword puzzle book to aid in my recovery phase. The first week after the surgery I was way too tired and out of it to want to do much more than watch 90210 on DVD (graciously supplied by some college friends of mine who know me way too well). But as mentioned here on this blog before, the recovery period has been a lot longer than intended and about a month ago, I picked up the Sudoku book.

It's been non-stop ever since. And it's become this weird little tic. I have five minutes to kill before leaving for an appointment? Pick up the Sudoku book. Nunzio's class is running late again and I have to wait fifteen minutes for him? Good thing I brought the Sudoku book.

This has also led to playing Sudoku on the computer. Only the program I have is MUCH harder than the book. The ones marked "easy" are probably the equivalent to a "medium" or "hard" in the book. But I challenge myself and I work through the Easys and I move up to the Mediums. And I get more and more frustrated.

I have literally slammed shut the computer in anger and protest. "I have all the boxes marked!" I shout. "There's nothing more I can figure out." I stomp away and Nunzio offers to help.

Sometimes I let him. I come back. We sit together and we work through it. But as we've moved up to the Hard ones, he occasionally gets stumped too. I yell again. I even slam the computer shut again. I announce that I am never playing a stupid Sudoku again.

And then an hour later I'm back at the screen.

I think it's a disease.

Got a condo made of stone-a!

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:33:00 +0000

So, apparently, we've made the DC Nation page this week.

DC Nation is the 'letter from the publisher' page in the back of each week's DC Comics.

We wrote a story for Batman: Confidential (a book that features 'untold' stories from Batman's past) a ways back. They paired us with a legendary artist, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. But Jose is a very busy man, so we knew it would be a while before the art was done.

Then news broke that Batman: Confidential was being canceled. So we figured the story would go in our editor's drawer and be used to sub into a Bat-book when they fell behind schedule.

Our editor, Mike Carlin (a true gentleman and a fine editor) assured us the story would see print. Not just for Jose's art, but for the central idea, which he very much wanted to see happen in the DC Universe (more on that below).

But still, it would be a while.

So this week's DC Nation was guest-written by Mike Carlin. And he's talking about what's coming up for Batman: Confidential. No mention of it being canceled. Maybe that hasn't happened after all.

But either way, he mentioned our story.

Now, what's fun about this idea is that we get to introduce King Tut to the DC Universe.

Or perhaps we introduce a new aspect of the Riddler.

Or maybe both...

Either way, we got to bring a favorite TV villain into the comics.

In his Who's Who entry one day, it might list us as creating him.

That rocks.

Jose's art is amazing. The story was a lot of fun. And despite being a comic professional for a while, I admit I geeked out seeing our names in DC Nation.

Plus, we got to write someone asking Tut if he really was "buried with a donkey."

God, I love Steve Martin.

And some days, I really love my job.

No more crickets

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:11:00 +0000

So I was sitting at the dining room table, enjoying a cup of coffee and typing away on the computer when Nunzio says "What're you doing?"

"Posting on Amy's blog," I answer innocently.

"Why aren't you posting on OUR blog?" is the response I receive.

So here I am, posting on our blog. I admit it. The two of us have blog envy. We have friends with blogs and they get traffic and people engaging in conversations and our blog has crickets. Okay, not quite crickets, but we're not the main street running through the downtown of blogs.

But that's our fault. We don't post here frequently enough. So I'm here to start a new trend. Except there's just one problem... what to write about.

My husband's suggestion? American Idol.

So for anyone who's about to make fun of me, just remember, this was Nunzio's idea.

Confession time. I'm hooked on American Idol. I have been since Season 5. I guess among diehard fans that makes me late to the game. But I'm busy trying to make up for lost time. It's a little sad because Nunzio and I have long since been vocal reality TV show haters. Aside from being stupid (which they are), they also take away from our work pool. As freelance writers struggling in Hollywood, we rely on there being lots of jobs on scripted television shows. But as networks get more and more enamored of the reality TV show and how cheap it is to make it, our job pool shrinks.

We've even had some serious fights with Nunzio's family who are avid Amazing Race fans. But the general mantra in our house remains the same. "Reality TV bad."

Except I turned on American Idol one night. I'd been hearing lots about it. That Simon Cowell guy. He's so mean yet he always speaks the truth. I had a nagging curiosity. I would see for myself.

I've been watching ever since. And lo and behold, every Tuesday night I would curl up in front of the TV and watch the performances. Now our apartment wasn't that big so Nunzio could avoid hearing what was on the TV. And little by little, he went from a 2 second pause when he'd pass through the living room on his way to the kitchen to sitting down every time Chris Daughtry performed. And by Season 5's end, we were both hooked.

So here it is Season 7 and we're both watching waiting to find the next Chris Daughtry. Which isn't that hard because this season they have David Cook and he's talented in similar and yet different ways. And I occasionally stick my head out to my friends to ask cautiously 'hey, do you watch American Idol?' And I'm pleased that I've found a few "yeses" so that I can trade e-mails on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and vent my displeasure at the totally unfair cutting of Michael Johns.

I've also had to swallow my pride and admit to Nunzio's brothers that yes, I do watch one reality TV show now. Sadly, I haven't been able to get either of them over to the American Idol camp.

But there you have it. And this post has served two purposes. One, I have hopefully appeased my husband by posting on OUR blog (and not someone else's). And two, I have given you all fair warning if I start posting every Wednesday and Thursday with my American Idol thoughts.

The long and sucking road...

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:44:00 +0000

Christina's still not healed.

Now, this is not an epic crisis. She is healthy, has all of her strength back and most (not all, for reasons I'll describe shortly) of her mobility.

But her incision, from a February 7th surgery, is still not healed. She has a slice into her lower abdomen, about 10 cm across, that runs about 3 cm deep. It is not connected to the organ cavity (or whatever they call the area inside you where all the important stuff is). She's in no danger of bleeding to death, or having her organs damaged or their functionality limited.

She just has a big hole in her.

So, after said hole was infected (twice, even), the doctors decided open the wound up a bit (the skin had started to heal even though it was open inside) to clean it out. And then they decided to attach her to a wound vac.

Now, a wound vac looks like the picture above. A small device that she carries on a strap over her shoulder. From that device comes a tube, which connects to a suction cup, which is connected to a sponge which fills the incision. The sponge and suction cup are taped over her abdomen, with tape everywhere to create a nice seal, so the suction passes through the sponge, and only affects the wound.

Since she has to carry a machine around that makes odd sucking and gurgling sounds, which has tubes that basically have blood pumping through it (not much, but still), Christina feels a bit like going out is limited. Thus, the not quite full mobility. She could (and does) get around just fine. She just prefers to stay home.

But that's not the bad part. That started before the vac was attached.

You see, the doctor told Christina she'd need a wound vac because the wound wasn't healing. We went to the hospital, they cleaned the wound, inserted the sponge, taped her up, attached the cup, taped that, and then sent her to short-term recovery.

Where she (eventually we, when they let me upstairs) had to wait an additional 6 hours because... get this... the wound vac wasn't covered by our health care plan.

Now, we are freelance writers. We buy our own health care, no employer provides it. We buy into the best plan Kaiser Permanente offers.

But this device, which the doctor says is needed to treat a complication from a surgery they performed, which WAS covered, is somehow not in our plan.

So they say we'll have to pay for it ourselves. The doctor has been saying 3 weeks of wound vac. Kaiser is saying it costs $123.00 per day.

You do the math.

Almost $2600 (okay, I did it for you) for a device that is necessary, to take care of the complications (not her fault, most likely not theirs, it just happens) from a surgery that was covered in our plan.

And they don't tell us this until she's in the recovery room, with everything but the suction pump already attached to her wound.

Needless to say, there was much in the way of fit throwing.

We also offered to switch plans to one that did cover it.

Guess what? There is no such plan.

Not for self-providers. Only plans provided by employers are eligible.

Because being self employed prevents you from having wounds, I suppose?

The people at Kaiser, doctors, nurses, administrators... they all understood the ludicrousness of this. They all were doing their best to help. But the system had what seemed to be a fatal flaw.

But, to their credit, they made it happen.

We were sent home with the device, with assurances that Kaiser would cover it. We had to apply for financial assistance so that Kaiser will eat the costs rather than just bill us later. But we've now received calls from Kaiser, checking on Christina's state of mind, and assuring her those forms are a formality. They are paying.

But for one night, we were living in Michael Moore territory.

Now, we're back in a world that makes a bit more sense.

It's just filled with intermittent sucking sounds.

Sometimes you just like to hear yourself talk...

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:12:00 +0000

Or at least it seems that way when you hear an hour and a half long interview with you and your writing partner.

But actually I HATE the sound of my voice. Seriously. It makes me cringe.

Anyway, for those interested, we did an interview at WordBalloon with John Siuntres - a great guy. We talk about Jumpscars, our upcoming Oni work and everything else under the sun.

You can check it out at:

http://wordballoon.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=322148

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:22:00 +0000

In honor of "my people", I need to give a shout out to this most irrelevant of days.

I'm not sure when it started... a year or so ago, I think... Nunzio and I were in Boston visiting my family and while we were out walking, we passed a statue (one of many) in tribute to the Irish immigrants of Boston. As it so happens, I am half Irish (also half Scottish, with a few other random heritages mixed in). I decided from that moment on to speak frequently (and sometimes embarrassingly loudly) of "my people."

Now whenever we're in Boston, we always go to Kinsale's, a great local Irish pub, for a meal. Though somehow, we always end up ordering the "traditional" nachos. And I sing great praises of the potato, a wonderful invention, really.

I'm not a trained psychologist (though I did major in Psychology as an undergrad), but I think this strange behavior is a direct result of who my husband is. Nunzio is the son of an Italian immigrant and a Dominican immigrant. Family gatherings include a lot of great ethnic foods and hints of fabulous cultural traditions. And I'm left being Whitey McFreckles who sits at their table watching in great fascination and with much envy.

So, I've embraced my roots, donned a green shirt and plan to buy some Guinness before the day is done. And, oh yes, I'm a definite supporter of Carly Smithson on American Idol.

Now... on a more relevant note, Nunzio and I are doing a podcast tonight for Word Balloon. Not 100% sure when it will be available for download, but we'll keep you posted.

Anyway, I wish you all a hearty St. Patrick's Day!

Fumbling Towards Normalcy...

noreply@blogger.com (Nunzio DeFilippis) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:25:00 +0000

The strike is over, and we're awaiting the go-ahead for our feature script and awaiting notes on our TV movie treatment. And awaiting some payments as well, so the financial dark cloud that came with the strike is lifting soon, too.

The medical scare from last year was a Christina scare, but it turned out to be a very large fibroid (which is now surgically removed) and not anything major. And, miracle of miracles, her parents came out to help when she had surgery, and despite there being family issues (between her mom and her brother) that we could have been dragged into the middle of, the visit went smoothly and they were a huge help. And, as a bonus, we then got Greg Rucka and Jen Van Meter, our two dearest friends, to come down and help during the post-surgery recovery, and any time we can spend with them is a great thing, regardless of circumstance.

And my second attempt at teaching, despite having fewer students and being distracted by the more-pressing concern of tending to Christina's open incision, is going well, with another group of very promising students. I hope to teach the class again in the Spring.

Life is not all skittles and beer, though. Christina suffered internal bleeding after the surgery and developed a large hematoma. That hematoma started draining through the incision once the staples were removed and though that drainage has stopped, it kept the incision from fully healing. So we're five weeks removed from the surgery and she still has an open incision, which is healing slowly. Plus, as I said, we're waiting to move forward on these two projects, as opposed to moving forward (which would both get us paid more and give us that wonderful feeling of writing something that we'll see on a TV or movie screen someday).

So, life slowly inches towards being really good. So long as Christina is recovering, it is far from perfect, and the recovery feels like it's taking forever.

But whenever I get cranky about that, I remind myself that we're fumbling towards the end of the bad times, and (if all goes well), towards some pretty good ones.

One thing's for certain, the dark days of 2007 are over. Now we wait for 2008 to turn into something great and hope that I didn't just jinx it.