Turn out the lights as you go...
Posted by ChuckMoore, Aug 9 2009, 05:16 PM
As of today (August 9th, 2009), I'm officially closing the doors in terms of updating this blog and moving to a NEW BLOG right here within Comic Related. Just follow this link and you'll be with me at my snazzy new blog home here at CR.
NOTE: Posts will soon begin disappearing from here and reappearing on the new blog. If you're looking for something you thought was here, please feel free to look there.
Why do I blog?
Posted by ChuckMoore, Jun 15 2009, 05:19 PM
It's funny how things you write in the past prove just as relevant today. I wrote this for an old blog I used to maintain outside of CR. John Wilson and I were talking and it reminded me of this post. I showed it to John and he convinced me to share it here. Cheers!
Originally Written on January 13, 2008
This has kind of become a blog on a quest for a reason to exist.
I’ve talked a bit about music. I’ve talked a bit about politics. I’ve covered some news I found interesting. I’ve even told you a few personal stories and quoted a few people I enjoy. What I haven’t found is the actual course I want to chart with this space on the internet and I believe every space should have a reason to exist.
For the life of me, I’m not sure what that reason should be as I’m not particularly famous and I’m not always particularly interesting (though I can be when called upon). If I were to chart my life here it would read very much the same each day. Work at the University of Kentucky and update a website focused on comic books.
My wife blogs about her life a little and covers her daily work with horses which is a great topic for her. She’s building a following on the internet in her own right. Over on my main website dedicated to comics, it's getting quite a good following. Writing for the sake of simply writing just doesn’t seem enough to justify a blog in today's cluttered internet.
Taking stock and looking for a topic or a point, I guess I have lived a lot of life in my time so far…
I’ve slept in the hotel where a would be assassin tried to kill then President Ronald Regan more times than I can count. I've walked the halls of the Watergate Hotel. I've sat in on congress as reproductive rights legislation was argued and I saw the Pentagon just days after the plane took down its walls.
I listened to amazing music in New Orleans just before Katrina hit and in Memphis well after the days of Elvis were done. I’ve swam in every ocean that borders our fine country and watched at different times legends such as BB King, Lou Reed and Dr. John play before packed halls.
I’ve been on the set as movies were filmed. I’ve joked around with Dee Dee Ramone and Ace Fraley in the World Trade Center before it fell and hung out with the Pixies backstage during their first round as a band. I organized concerts for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Violent Femmes. I’ve checked ID’s at a night club door while still only eighteen. I’ve introduced battles of the bands and organized many smaller shows for clubs. I’ve even taken in a drag show laughing at the humor of Miss Raven in Atlanta with some friends who are no longer with us today.
I was there on the front lawn of the White House when Bill Clinton took his first oath of office as President and stood in Florida as EPCOT Center was in its first few weeks of existence. I’ve watched with pride as my mother charted political campaigns in Ohio and watched candidates I support lose more times than they’ve won.
I’ve joked at funerals, ridiculed weddings, celebrated losses and cried at births.
I was sitting in front of a television watching as MTv went on the air, the bands took the stage for Live Aid, the Challenger explored and the World Trade Center fell.
I’ve owned and run seven comic book stores and given away X-Men #1 twice. I’ve read more comics than most and fewer than some. I’ve been a gamer geek and told a lot of stories about superheroes over the years. I’ve debated the physics of a broadsword on more than one occasion and made some great friendships.
I’ve managed a radio station and even hosted my own radio show (the Hammer Party) for a time. I’ve played music on the radio by bands no one has ever heard of both in the night and during the day. At one point, I had an on-air shift that followed Ashley Judd and I will forever lament the last show of the Resurrected Bloated Floaters.
I’ve walked the streets of more than a few cities at 3AM and rode the subways of New York long past the point of safety and long after the bars had closed. I’ve traveled to almost every state in the US (excluding Hawaii) and I’ve swayed to the sound of the Butthole Surfers as the strobe lights raged at a New York club called The World while a riot engulfed the streets of Alphabet City.
I’ve worked in sports promotion and I’ve been part of a merry group of travelers who supported the sport of powerboat and unlimited hydroplane racing giving me that feeling of running off and joining the circus. I’ve seen a boat go well over 200 mph on the water throwing a ton of water in the air and ridden in one that took me through a 90 degree turn just after hitting 100 mph. I’ve eaten pancakes with the fine people of Saskatoon, I’ve rolled with the punches in Bay City even stumbling upon an unexpected street concert by Cheap Trick.
I’ve seen powerboats hung from billboards in Florida by accident, shared a meal with the legendary Seebold family, heard tales of testing Mercury engines on Lake X, watched as boats almost flew into crowds during exhibition runs and heard tell of one boat that was actually lost in a rainstorm while driving cross country. I’ve taken photographs of these fine crafts which have been seen on the web, in magazines and even on t-shirts and been heralded with awards for my work.
One foggy morning I watched as a friend died during a testing session in San Diego (fare the well George Stratton) and seen more than a few people injured pursing a sport they loved. I’ve attended functions with August Bush IV, CEO of Budweiser, more than once and I’ve worked to support the series both while drunk and while so tired I could barely stand.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a father who laid out the map of the United States at the end of a school year and asked time and again in all sincerity… “Where do you want to go?” I’ve also been lucky enough to have a mother who made sure I had the support needed to get me there.
I’ve watched the sun set on the streets of Anchorage, Alaska at 11 PM at night and spotted a moose walking through those same downtown area well past midnight. I’ve raised horses and been a bit of a farmer (though my wife does more work than me). I’ve traveled cross-country by car more than once. I’ve flown cross-country more times than I can count even taking to the air the day the skies reopened after 9-11.
I’ve beat the house in Vegas and lost my shirt once or twice. I play blackjack with a legend coaching me and met a dealer who had worked the same table since before I was born. I fell in love with that city, not for it's lights and excitement but for the ghost of its past and the mystique of what it once was.
I know the love an amazing woman who has proven herself to be the greatest thing I’ve every known. I am happy in ways no man should be and driven to do more with each 24 hours than anyone expects. Those same hours always seem to fade away quicker than they should. I never feel like I’ve done enough but then I see how a man like Leonard Cohen can take a year to write a single song that just might change the world and I’m reminded I might be doing more than I should.
Why do a blog?
I don’t have that answer yet, but I know I want to write and I know the answer will come. I’ll find a purpose for writing one day soon. Until that time, I’ll just write. Read if you wish… I’ll try and keep it interesting.
Our time down south
Posted by ChuckMoore, May 12 2009, 11:53 AM
Right in the middle of all the recent sadness with my family, I was scheduled to run down to Florida with Katie for a conference for our day job. I got to spend the better part of a day with my dad just before the trip and thought about him a lot while I was there. It was an amazing, beautiful place to attend a conference and I thought I would share a few shots. Yea, I know it's not Comic Related as such, but they're still cool photos...
These shots were taken at the Bay Point Marriott Golf Resort & Spa. Amazing place to get away, but tough as all get out finding internet and cell access.
Dad
Posted by ChuckMoore, May 8 2009, 05:49 PM
My mom played a massive role in all this, but for today I'm going to focus on my dad. You see, today I lost my dad. He died at 3:15 AM. I woke in the night about 3:00 AM for no apparent reason and received the call that he had passed at about 3:30 AM. The picture on the left is a photo taken during my dad's last visit to my home. He was so strong and so alive. He was in a good phase where he was regaining his strength and really taking in life for the first time in a long time. In the shot he's watching our horses. Something he loved to do. His health would begin to fail far too short a time after this photo but that isn't what I'm here to write about this evening.
You know, as I look back, most of my memories of my father over the years center on two things... travel and comics. Certainly, he had his rougher years as his health declined and the world he lived in was filled with ghosts that haunted parts of any given day, but I choose to remember the earlier days and the strong, wise and caring man I called Dad. These were the days when he and I would load up in a motor home (or later VW Rabbit) and travel the country together. I choose to remember the endless hours spent raiding long boxes for the next big deal or the next book one of our customers were hunting back at the shop. I choose to remember the wonder the first time I walked through the isles of Capital City Distribution's back room where they restocked comic orders (and I had free reign to raid that stock). I choose to remember the first time I discovered Zippy the Pinhead, R. Crumb, Cerebus and the world of underground comics at Monkey's Retreat (Ro'z... you were such a friend to my dad, even dubbing him "Big Chuck" and I thank you so much!) in Columbus or the wonders of the Bookie Parlor in Dayton or any of the 100's of other comic shops we visited together.
You see, in the early 80's the internet was still in it's infancy and we filled our customer's back issue orders by hitting the highway and finding those books. Those customers would bring in their want lists and we would go hunting like a true comic book Santa... only our reindeer were auto miles and we delivered our comic presents to fanboys (and a few fangirls) 365 days a year. This led to an endless treasure hunt the likes of which any kid/early teen would be blessed to experience.
Some of my earliest memories of my dad involve him laying out a map of the United States on a table, smiling and asking me to point to any place I wanted to see. One summer, I pointed to Dallas, New Orleans, Washington DC and Orlando. Off we went and we hit all four. This was the way I grew up. One great adventure after another interlaced with school. Dad and I slept in the back of a VW Rabbit under the statue of liberty. Got lost in Harlem at 3 AM. Watched Pink Floyd: The Wall in the theater by accident (he thought it was a cartoon due to the animated sequences) when I was probably too young to see it. In my earliest days, he had to explain to me why a certain type of woman was dressed so strangely in the red light district of New Orleans. I remember him smiling as he drove me right down the center streets of Dallas, Texas. He introduced me to the painted desserts of New Mexico. He brought me through the darkest dessert night only to unveil the lights of Las Vegas over one final hill. Really, he showed me many of the back roads of this amazing country. We spent more time at Walt Disney World than I can count and, in the end, passed through every state except Hawaii and Alaska.
Sure, every life growing up has it's rough spots, but I choose to remember the magic. For me... I was lucky... There was a LOT of magic.
Probably one of my best memories of my father and comics is an utterly simple one. It involves the Wolverine mini-series. Dad knew I was an absolute fan of comics, but he never really understood what I saw in them. To him they were funny books. I clearly remember the day he sat down and read the four issue Wolverine mini-series by Frank Miller. It changed everything. I could see as he read each page that his face was changing. That book opened his eyes to the fact that there was a broader, magical narrative taking place in comics. It wasn't just kids stuff. After reading that series, he understood what I saw in these books and throughout the years he and I shared comic shops, he never stopped talking about Wolverine, that series, those amazing claws and that bear. That series brought us together in a new way and (along with a comic my mother found for me... thanks mom) altered the future of my life.
Dad will be missed, but dad will also be remembered. For me, I hope to remember much more than I miss.
Hitting a new stride
Posted by ChuckMoore, Mar 31 2009, 07:00 AM
With the advent of DSL at home, it means I no longer have to drive into my office (30 miles each way from my home) to do interviews. Satellite internet just had way too much delay. A conversation over Skype was all but impossible as one person would speak, there would be a delay then the other could chime in. Maddening to try and do and horrible to listen to as a podcast interview. Now, it's crystal clear.
There is really something to be said for walking into my home library, recording this week's Why I Love Comics and walking back out into the living room and watching some Battlestar Galactica with the good lady Katie and not having it involve 30 minutes to 90 minutes of driving. You see, she and I have previously always driven into work together, this led to a lot of driving as sometimes I would have to take her home before recording and sometimes she would stay at the office into the night. Life is just so much easier (on both of us actually).
I did some of the initial plotting of the new podcast archive last night. I'm gathering logos for all the shows and putting together write ups. We'll have a clearer picture and the weekly broadcast schedule posted there soon. As we've moved from one show a week to roughly five, we need to give you all the details on exactly what we're doing, when and how to tell one show from another.
You know, sometimes it feels like we're launching a full Comic Related radio station here at CR... hmmm... Stay tuned!
Hey look mom, a blog post!
Posted by ChuckMoore, Mar 29 2009, 02:29 PM
Hey everyone! Yes, I've taken some time out on this fine, rainy Sunday afternoon to blog a little.
Since returning from New York, now months back, I feel like every waking moment has been a bit about catching back up (and watching Battlestar Galactica). I don't know what it was about that show and the preparation for that event, but it seemed to put me behind by about a week and I've never quite found that week to reinsert into my life. E-mail hovers at about 200 behind (and that's just March), there are areas of the site that need polishing and there are things that need to be launched, but... you know... I couldn't be happier. There are so many irons in so many fires these days and it's all tremendously exciting and upbeat. I hope that makes sense... It does to me.
I spent yesterday with Darren, Krista, Jackie, Bill, Bob, Mike, Jeremy and Luke up at Comics2Games. As Jeremy worked his way through keying in sketch cards on ebay (auctions to benefit of the American Cancer Society), Luke and Bill held down the store. In the back, much of the core team of comicsXP met and worked out issues like the upcoming CXP Magazine, communication routes within the company, budgeting and a host of other topics. In just a few hours we advanced several fronts and I'm proud that I have a stake in what's being built.
We sent out a press release earlier this week detailing how comicsXP will work to benefit creators. If anyone knows me, they know that remains at the heart of a lot of what I do. I was excited to see the evolution of the comicsXP pay structure for creators be finalized yesterday. We always knew the percentage, but it's always interesting to define what is meant by the word "net" in net profit. Why in the world am I discussing this here? Just wait until we unveil additional detail on the payout to creators... You'll understand why it has me excited. You're going to be surprised just how attractive we're making it and how far we're willing to go to build something that can help the broader comic community. Sure, comicsXP is a company that wants to succeed, but there is a tremendous amount of heart and love of comics also feeding into the decisions being made. My philosophy that within comics and among comic creators, we all rise or fall together has never been stronger and I think through comicsXP, we're going to see a tool that may help a lot of people. I'm very pretty proud of what's being built.
So, (getting off that bandwagon) in an continued effort to catch up, we've really ramped up the technology at the Comic Related compound. DSL finally became available for our farm (farewell satellite "fair access" policy hell ... hello REAL broadband) and Katie and I both made the jump to iPhones. She's been kind enough to do a lot of the driving recently so I can focus on catching up with the many social networks and e-mail.
You know, just answering questions and communicating is becoming a bit of a full time job 'round here. When I think about the fact that people can send me messages through our forum, though Twitter, through Facebook, through MySpace, through ComicSpace, over AIM and trough e-mail, it's a fire hose that I simply sip from rather than drink. I need to find a way to pipeline all this data to a single spot that I can also respond from. I think the iPhone may be a good start, but there needs to be an app that brings it all together. I know someone out there is working on such a thing. I have my $9.95 ready when you are...
Well friends, spots to watch in CR over the next couple days... the podcast archive and the blog page. I'm doing some serious work to ramp up the resources in those two spots. We'll do a bit announce when each goes live, but that's where I'm working right now.
Cheers!
Tech Highs and Tech Lows
Posted by ChuckMoore, Feb 28 2009, 11:53 PM
Today had its tech highs and lows to say the least. I kicked off the day adding an iPhone to my digital arsenal. Sure my farm is off the beaten track but I get full 3G here so the net on my phone is amazing. My full computer… not so much.
Today, sadly, I was barely able to surf, let alone be productive. Given how far behind I’ve been, it wasn’t a day I needed to lose. That said, I did discover that DSL is now available for my home. I signed up immediately. I’ll have to break contract with the satellite provide HughesNet, but I’ve done the math… it’s worth it. I need a more dependable connection without bandwidth caps.
For now, I’ll muddle on and much like tonight, blog via my phone when all else fails.
Cheers!
Blogging and Podcasting
Posted by ChuckMoore, Feb 20 2009, 08:51 PM
Yes, friends I've passed back by my blog. How astounding is that?
Today, I spent the day knocking myself out at my day job, crafting press releases you'll be reading soon for comicsXP and posting updates to Comic Related (which didn't happen as early as I liked and trailed into the evening a bit later than I would have chosen).
Today I had the chance to tell a friend it will all be better, defend the work of another and sit back for a few moments and be proud of what I had written. All in all a good day that ended with a nice plate of spaghetti and some Battlestar Galactica.
Also, it looks like Eric Ratcliffe and I are going to be doing a review/interview show once a week. We'll still have the From the Monkeyhouse podcast extras a couple times a month PLUS a new live call-in show starting sometime in April. The Related Recap itself will always be on Wednesdays. What I'm toying with here is ways to up the ante just a bit audio-wise.
What do you think? Leave your thoughts below.
Cheers!!!!
Such a Great Saturday
Posted by ChuckMoore, Feb 1 2009, 03:27 PM
How can a Saturday be better than spending it with a mix of comic creators dreaming up new projects, evolving existing business ideas and plotting to take the comic world by storm. Yesterday was exactly that kind of day.
Attending the mini-summit along with me were Eric Adams, Darren Mueller, Krista Mueller, Jackie Hernandez, Bob Hickey, Scott D.M. Simmons, Brant Fowler, Bill Love and Katie Riley. A couple cool things that came out of the day...
-- A bit of story plotting for The Wannabez comic series
-- A firming up of the comicsXP presentation for New York Comic Con
-- The birth of a new web comics area coming March 1st to Comic Related
You will be hearing much more about all this, plus I'll be posting a full photo run showing the evolution of the new Comics2Games store soon over on the main site. We capped off the day with a massive group dinner and a few rounds of Mario Cart on the Wii. Fun!!
Careful What You Wish For...
Posted by ChuckMoore, Jan 30 2009, 08:50 AM
So yesterday I blogged that "I Didn't Want to Go Home". The irony of that statement wouldn't be realized for a couple hours, but it was not lost on me when it happened.
Let me tell you a story...
I wrapped up work yesterday and headed home. It was a beautiful evening filled with ice covered trees and beautiful skies. I made it back to the house and the snow was packed well enough that I could actually drive up to my garage, something I haven't been able to do for days. For some reason, as soon as I pulled into the drive and turned off the ignition it hit me. I turned to my wife and said quite simply, "We're in real trouble".
Surprised, she asked what I meant. I asked her if she had her house key with her. The answer was "no". Just moments earlier I remember that I recently gave our friend Kenny my key to the house. We've come and go through the garage. That works great... IF THERE IS POWER.
Yes, we were locked out of the house that was currently without power and heat. Not only didn't I want to go home... I COULDN'T. That said, I could see the key I needed hanging there through just a couple inches of glass. Oh well...
That key by the way... The only one that can access the house... It was in Huntington, WV which is over two and a half hours away. We called Kenny and he was kind enough to offer to start driving our way as we headed toward him and meet up somewhere on the highway. We decided to feed the horses before heading out and that's when the second shoe of the evening dropped.
Katie and I were walking side by side when she uttered those faithful words, "Well it can't get any worse". Literally at that exact same moment, I hit an ice pack and, as Katie put it, fell harder than she's ever see anyone fall in her life. Thankfully I hit square on my elbow and back with my head only barely bouncing off the ice. After laying there for a moment or two I picked myself up and we did the barn chores.
Our wonderful plans for a massive night out (hey, there's no heat at home so why not) devolved into a quick grab and go McDonalds dinner and a road trip.
Well, we met up with Kenny and he gave us what he thought was our key. None of us were actually sure as we had nothing to compare it to. Thankfully it did gain us access when we made it home around midnight.
Wait, I told you about the first two shoes to drop. How about the third? It involves gasoline. Sound fun?
As I mentioned yesterday, we ran the generator out of fuel in the night. On the way in to the house, we stopped off for gas. As the winds howled, I began filling the tanks with my smiling wife standing just on the other side. As I poured the gas, my elbow (which I hit in the fall) started to ache. I adjusted my arm, accidentally pulled the nozzle out of the can it was filling, hosed down my wonderful wife with gas that was ricocheting off the can and noticed she was no longer smiling.
Returning to a home with no electric, no hot water and being covered in gas, you can guess how much fun the next hour was. Yes, we finally made it to bed and got a little over four hours sleep before getting up and returning to the office.
Tonight, I DO want to go home. I welcome it in fact. (Basically, I don't want to jinx myself again.)
Okay, before I go, how about some additional winter photos...
I Don't Want To Go Home
Posted by ChuckMoore, Jan 29 2009, 05:00 PM
Tuesday evening I was happily curled up on the couch with my wife watching a bit of Battlestar Galactica and enjoying seeing it snow out the window. We went to sleep in the comfortable heat of a snug winter home. As the phone rang the next morning letting us know that UK was closed for Wednesday, I noticed that the alarm clock was dark. What followed is now approaching 48 hours of no electricity and no heat at my house. We had a nice generator which we used sparingly to keep a small space heater running (holding the house between 50 and 58 degrees) but any way you cut it, it was cold and a little uncomfortable.
So now, as the full on launch of comicsXP and New York Comic Con approaches and I have more preparation work than ever to do, the most technologically advanced thing I have at the house that works is a old school transistor radio. Half a million people were without power in Kentucky today. All in all, life could be worse for me and I won't complain.
So here I am in my warm, internet laced, utterly comfortable office thinking... I don't want to go home. Who knows. The power could be on. The power could be off. We'll know when we drive there.
While checking on the back of our farm yesterday, I snapped this shot down by the creek...
Our horses want to know when the storm will end and when we're going to share some additional hay...
What an amazing day!
Posted by ChuckMoore, Jan 21 2009, 03:05 PM
Yesterday was utterly amazing (and none of these are my photos)...
These photos were originally run on CNN throughout the day. Personally, I want to thank CNN for making this humble citizen feel like he was there in a way that couldn't have been duplicated had I been in the actual city. Nice!
Music continues and a week dawns
Posted by ChuckMoore, Dec 29 2008, 06:06 PM
I just can't get enough of Palladia. Watched concerts by John Mayer, Coldplay and Matchbox Twenty while working on the site today. It's a great way to get work done. It's just so refreshing to have a music network that ACTUALLY SHOWS MUSIC these days. Yep, I may just have a new favorite network.
Not much to report today. Up and in motion at 6AM. Didn't get quite as much as I wanted done, but how about that Watchmen update? Cassie never disappoints. I'll be back up early and at it again tomorrow.
I'm halfway debating dropping in a Wednesday podcast just for fun. We'll see...
The Week Ahead
Posted by ChuckMoore, Dec 28 2008, 06:35 PM
Warning... Non CR, more a kind-of-life post ahead...
Man, I have had a hard time getting back into my normal groove following Christmas.
It was a wonderful holiday, but I have to admit that I've felt a little "off" for a week or two now. I was pretty sick leading up to Christmas and following the holiday I've been basically playing catch-up with life. Thankfully, I'm off the day job until January 5th. To be quite honest, I still don't feel completely 100%. Also, my mom had surgery the day after Christmas and that has had me a little worried as well. She's very tired and has been through a lot this year. She deserves better.
Starting tomorrow, I'm going back to work but it's going to be 100% CR. As Katie sleeps on each early morning, I'm hoping to get up around 6:00 AM each day and start on that day's updates. I want to knock them out early as there are some significant site improvements I have planned for this week. I'll let you know how it goes...
Cheers!
The grand house shuffle
Posted by ChuckMoore, Dec 20 2008, 08:27 PM
What a day my friends. Who knew that bringing a television into a house would lead to every room changing? Over the course of the day, like puzzle pieces moving around a game board, we shuffled a mix of furniture leading to changes in several rooms here at the farm. I like where we ended up, but the domino effect was pretty interesting.
I don't know if it's the weather or the push to the coming winter break, but I'm feeling kind of beat today. I managed to get a few updates up and polished off a "bonus" Related Recap, but that was about all that was in the cards.
I did get a chance to watch Wall-E for the first time before calling it a night. What a great, great animated movie. Honestly, one of the best things I've seen in years. Complete and utter fun!
Cheers!
