Looks like I missed out on the gravytrain that was WOWIO. Reports are that the ad-supported downloads have been replaced with prepaid downloads.
Just as well. Something about that setup struck me as unsustainable. Still, would have been nice to have some of that (mmm, startup money …)

A bit late, but hey, I’m on vacation this week. Check out the new page for “Children of the Revolution.”
Plus, “Something to build upon” continues too.

I took daughters E and N, along with their friend G, to Chicago Comics – one of the best shops in Illinois IMHO.
It’s not the “oh boy let’s go!” experience that it used to be, because the girls have been kind of disappointed in the offerings. They’re 12-years-old – almost 13 – and they need no prodding to read. On the contrary, we have to tell them to stop sometimes.
They’re not yet interested in romance, so I think that’s why they’re not all that interested in manga or things like the prose Twilight series. And they’ll opt for the original version over the remake/cartoon version any day – they looked at but rejected the graphic novel of “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures and aren’t interested in the Warriors graphic novels.
But they love stuff like Amy Unbounded, Amelia Rules and Tintin, and are pretty open-minded about trying new things I bring home that they might be interested in.
In spite of that, the last time we went to the comic shop, we had to look hard before finding “korgi” from Top Shelf. The only think I took home then was the latest “Atlas.”
This time, we nosed around for quite a bit. It looks like the manga section was moved or drastically cut back (I wasn’t looking for any so I’m not sure). They had an expanded selection of Tintin, and the girls picked up one they didn’t have: Red Rackham’s treasure.
While they perused the superhero comics with their friend, I looked through the small press/independants. The girls are not keen on shuffling through this stuff because sometimes the content is really adult and that makes them uncomfortable. But they also know that this is where I found “korgi” last time, so they know I’m looking for me and them.
For the most part I passed over things I would otherwise buy. I have a lot of books waiting for me to read, and I just couldn’t justify buying more right now. I like the Zot complete collection, and I’m always interested in anything by the Los Bros. Hernandez. I also admire Jason Lutes’ “Berlin” series and anything by James Sturm. Still, it just wasn’t the day for me to buy something.
I did find “Mouse Guard” and the girls were instantly interested. Reminded them some of the “Redwall” books. Friend G picked up three of DC’s “Trinity” series, numbers 6, 7 and 8.
Back home, all the books got passed around. I’d say the most tepid response was to the DC books. G picked those up because she liked the Batman move, and read some of the Batman comics geared to kids written by Josh Elder and Russell Lissau. But she had most of those books, and for whatever reason decided to try these. Maybe because of the low numbers.
But none of us really connected with the series or the characters. It just seemed so steeped in the DC Universe that they couldn’t buy into it. And we couldn’t figure out why the covers didn’t reflect the content inside the magazine.
Still, we found a few jewels among the offerings. I can’t help but think we’d spend a lot more money at places like these if there were more to appeal to these kinds of readers.
Hello, publishers!

And now, via The Beat, a rebuttal (of sorts) to the 12-year-old girl demographic’s view of the comic shop by the seven-year-old boy demographic.
I’m sure you’ll be shocked at what you’ll find.
For another perspective, All Ages Read has been doing this for a while.

I’m one of Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore’s Top Ten Bestsellers for 2nd Qtr 2008.

We had a block party this past weekend and went off really well. Discovered we had a jazz guitarist down the street, our Middle Eastern neighbors put on a dance show and we finally got a chance to meet the rooster that lives down the block.

Yeah, that’s one of the cool things about living in a city – you never know what you’ll encounter. Sunday, we hit a neighborhood festival and saw the English Beat perform. I love that band. Got to dance with my wife and kids to “Mirror in the Bathroom” and “Tenderness” plus a whole lot more.

A bit behind, but a new page for “Children of the Revolution” will be up soon.

New “Children of the Revolution” page is up.

Well, last Tuesday night I sprained my knee. Bad.
I need an MRI to find out how bad, but for now I’m doing OK. I’ve got crutches and I’m trying to make sure I don’t injure it more.
It’s wierd, though, I’m pretty lucky. I have a day job with benefits and aside from one sick day and some future time off for doctors appointments, it’s not going to keep me from work.
It does, however, make me think of all those people – like freelance artists – who don’t have insurance, or need to use their legs far more than I to work.
I don’t really have amything insightful to say here. But I’ve got to say right now I really feel how thin a safety net there is in this country regarding healthcare.

Well, I’m back home with my leg up on the couch. Everything seems to have gone well, but I’m a bit tired.
Turns out there was a tear to my ACL but that was fixed.
I don’t know what that means in terms of recovery time – but as soon as I can sit down at the drawing board I will.

New “Something to build upon” today, and – finally- a new “Children of the Revolution” tomorrow.