Just got home from my travels late last night.
Things I found that made me happy while I was away from the Internet:
A worn copy of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly on a shelf of old paperbacks in a mom and pop store in Germania, Pennsylvania, which the proprietress gave me for free.
A rack of zines, of which I bought ten dollars' worth, in a store with the alarming moniker Regulator Books in Durham, North Carolina.
A CD of blind folk musician and NC native "Doc" Watson's music at an incredibly cool record store in Durham called Offbeat Records.
True North Carolina BBQ at a cookout in a remote cabin near Carrboro, North Carolina.
That the Durham Bulls mascot's eyes light up, and smoke blows from its nostrils, when somebody hits a home run.
Updates on my adventures with the Polonia Brothers to come. Until then, give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Hellshocked!
Why writers are never invited to the set: one of my scripts finally being put to use, leveling some dolly track during the shooting of HELLSHOCK.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Green Meat Stew
Against all logic I have survived six weeks in comic book writer John Layman's "American Idol" style blog competition. Here is what he said this week, and I get the first review of RAZORTEETH to boot:
John Oak Dalton wrote me last week recommending I Netflix his movie "Among Us" rather than "Razorteeth," fearing perhaps Razorteeth would be so horrendous it would merit him instant eLAYMANation. (Sorry I did not write you back, John... busy week.) Nonetheless, Razorteeth showed up in my mailbox, and I'm about 45 minutes into it, and it's horrendous. On the other hand, Episode III was just as bad, and that cost me $6 freakin' bucks. Plus, there is something inherrently charming about a movie whose entire special effects budget, as far as I can tell, consists of two plastic fish and a bucket of red food coloring.Previous Odds: 6-1New Odds: 13-1
Those fish weren't plastic, believe me. They stunk to high heaven. The red food coloring, however...
I'm probably going to get the boot next week from the competition as I am going to be way, way offline, probably until after Memorial Day. Then I will undoubtedly be back with tales of HELLSHOCK, the Polonia Brothers, and more. Until then, give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
John Oak Dalton wrote me last week recommending I Netflix his movie "Among Us" rather than "Razorteeth," fearing perhaps Razorteeth would be so horrendous it would merit him instant eLAYMANation. (Sorry I did not write you back, John... busy week.) Nonetheless, Razorteeth showed up in my mailbox, and I'm about 45 minutes into it, and it's horrendous. On the other hand, Episode III was just as bad, and that cost me $6 freakin' bucks. Plus, there is something inherrently charming about a movie whose entire special effects budget, as far as I can tell, consists of two plastic fish and a bucket of red food coloring.Previous Odds: 6-1New Odds: 13-1
Those fish weren't plastic, believe me. They stunk to high heaven. The red food coloring, however...
I'm probably going to get the boot next week from the competition as I am going to be way, way offline, probably until after Memorial Day. Then I will undoubtedly be back with tales of HELLSHOCK, the Polonia Brothers, and more. Until then, give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
The Vow Pt. 19
Teen sidekicks in peril in the first of my last four episodes of "The Vow," my serialized comic from way back in 2001.
The Vow Pt. 20
Bustin' caps in this episode of my serialized comic "The Vow." The usual crap drawing.
The Vow Pt. 21
Man-Dozer and Ms. Protector have philosophical differences about super-baddies in this penultimate issue of my serialized comic "The Vow."
The Vow: The End
GameFace gives Tim a second lease on life, and a happy ending. Hope you enjoyed it.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Sketches from the Front
I don't know if these will show up in the movie, but I thought they were cool. One of the characters in HELLSHOCK wants to be a "Stars and Stripes" cartoonist, and carries around a sketchbook. I asked my good pal Tom Cherry (who I did the 24 Hour Comics Challenge with) to channel some Bill Maudlin action for the sketchbook, which he did with some aplomb.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Ken's foot, Hitler's ass
Ken VanSant ready to kick some satanic Nazi ass as Lt. Bonham in HELLSHOCK, which starts principal photography Saturday.
Wire Mother
Hawk-eyed reader Joe found this, proving that I wasn't crazy when I talked about the Journey video game. And thanks for that.
Amazingly, I lived through another week at comic book writer John Layman's American Idol-style blog competition. He had this to say:
While I like internet personality test, I don't like those stupid interview list thingies. John Oak Dalton posted one that largely concerned music. I like that he admitted he (like myself) is too told for emo, but he loses points for not mentioning Alice Donut or the Cramps. I figure his Nazi Zombie photo balanced that out, and kept him alive for another week. That and the fact I'm waiting to see his movie Razorteeth on my Netflix que. Anway, John Oak Dalton lives another week.Previous Odds: 4-1 New Odds: 6-1
Give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Amazingly, I lived through another week at comic book writer John Layman's American Idol-style blog competition. He had this to say:
While I like internet personality test, I don't like those stupid interview list thingies. John Oak Dalton posted one that largely concerned music. I like that he admitted he (like myself) is too told for emo, but he loses points for not mentioning Alice Donut or the Cramps. I figure his Nazi Zombie photo balanced that out, and kept him alive for another week. That and the fact I'm waiting to see his movie Razorteeth on my Netflix que. Anway, John Oak Dalton lives another week.Previous Odds: 4-1 New Odds: 6-1
Give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Summer and Lightning
Will Pfeifer had this meme, which he cribbed from someplace else, and I cribbed from him, which looked fun for today:
Of all the bands/artists in your CD/record collection, which one do you own the most albums by?
Probably Johnny Cash.
2. What was the last song you listened to?
I think it was “Always Late” by Lefty Frizzell off of Sony’s 100 Years of Country Music Compilation.
3. What's in your CD player right now?
A couple of $1.00 classical music CDs I got from a cut bin at Target.
4. What song would you say sums you up?
“Never Been Any Reason” by Head East.
5. What's your favorite local band? Killjoy Confetti, as I work with lead singer Carrie.
6. What was the last show you attended?
I think Tori Amos at a club in Bloomington, Indiana, or They Might Be Giants on the streets of Milwaukee in front of GenCon.
7. What artist do you consider to be very underrated? The late lamented October Project.
8. What's the worst band you've ever seen in concert?
The Cars, with opening act Wang Chung. The Cars played everything fast and never spoke to the audience.
9. What band do you love musically but hate the members of?
Fleetwood Mac.
10. What is the most musically involved you have ever been?
I sang in a garage band called “The Johnnies” that didn’t make our high school variety show slate, even though we had our own homemade cassette tape.
11. What show are you looking forward to?
I can’t afford any, but if I could build a time machine, Elvis at his last show in Indianapolis and the Beatles on the rooftop.
12. What is your favorite band shirt?
My Neil Young “Harvester” tour t-shirt that I wore all through China and wore to threads.
13. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day?
Bob Dylan.
14. Metal question- Jeans and Leather vs. Cracker Jack clothes?
Too old for this question.
15. Sabbath or solo Ozzy?
Sabbath, natch.
16. Commodores or solo Lionel Ritchie?
Commodores, natch.
17. Blackjack or solo Michael Bolton?
Too young for this question.
18. The Eagles or solo Don Henley?
Eagles, unless the question is “or solo Joe Walsh.”
19. The Police or solo Sting?
The first album my first girlfriend gave me was “Synchronicity,” so the Police.
20. Doesn't emo suck?
Too old for this question.
21. Name 4 flawless albums.
“Blood on the Tracks,” Bob Dylan; “Out of the Blue,” Electric Light Orchestra; “Nomads Indians Saints,” Indigo Girls; The Beatles, “Let It Be.”
22. Did you know that filling out this survey makes you a music geek?
I leave no geek stone unturned.
23. What was the greatest decade for music?
The late 60s to the late 70s.
24. How many music-related videos/DVDs do you own?
Does “Jesus Christ Superstar” count?
25. Do you like Journey?
I even played the “Escape” video game at a local video parlor. Or was it “Frontiers?”
26. What is your favorite movie soundtrack?
Dead Presidents, bar none.
27. What was your last musical "phase" before you wised up?
Probably listening to “The Wiz” and “Grease” soundtracks over and over.
28. What's the crappiest CD/record/etc you've ever bought?
I’m not sure, but the first thing that popped into my head was when my brother and I visited Gatlinburg Tennessee as kids and a moonie tried to foist a record on us. I wish I had that record now.
29. Do you prefer vinyl or CD's? I never thought CDs would win over tapes. I thought, “CDs are just little records, and who wants those?” So I’m not qualified to answer this question.
30. What is your guilty pleasure CD, that being the CD you love but would be ashamed to admit you have in your collection? John Denver’s Greatest Hits.
Give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Of all the bands/artists in your CD/record collection, which one do you own the most albums by?
Probably Johnny Cash.
2. What was the last song you listened to?
I think it was “Always Late” by Lefty Frizzell off of Sony’s 100 Years of Country Music Compilation.
3. What's in your CD player right now?
A couple of $1.00 classical music CDs I got from a cut bin at Target.
4. What song would you say sums you up?
“Never Been Any Reason” by Head East.
5. What's your favorite local band? Killjoy Confetti, as I work with lead singer Carrie.
6. What was the last show you attended?
I think Tori Amos at a club in Bloomington, Indiana, or They Might Be Giants on the streets of Milwaukee in front of GenCon.
7. What artist do you consider to be very underrated? The late lamented October Project.
8. What's the worst band you've ever seen in concert?
The Cars, with opening act Wang Chung. The Cars played everything fast and never spoke to the audience.
9. What band do you love musically but hate the members of?
Fleetwood Mac.
10. What is the most musically involved you have ever been?
I sang in a garage band called “The Johnnies” that didn’t make our high school variety show slate, even though we had our own homemade cassette tape.
11. What show are you looking forward to?
I can’t afford any, but if I could build a time machine, Elvis at his last show in Indianapolis and the Beatles on the rooftop.
12. What is your favorite band shirt?
My Neil Young “Harvester” tour t-shirt that I wore all through China and wore to threads.
13. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day?
Bob Dylan.
14. Metal question- Jeans and Leather vs. Cracker Jack clothes?
Too old for this question.
15. Sabbath or solo Ozzy?
Sabbath, natch.
16. Commodores or solo Lionel Ritchie?
Commodores, natch.
17. Blackjack or solo Michael Bolton?
Too young for this question.
18. The Eagles or solo Don Henley?
Eagles, unless the question is “or solo Joe Walsh.”
19. The Police or solo Sting?
The first album my first girlfriend gave me was “Synchronicity,” so the Police.
20. Doesn't emo suck?
Too old for this question.
21. Name 4 flawless albums.
“Blood on the Tracks,” Bob Dylan; “Out of the Blue,” Electric Light Orchestra; “Nomads Indians Saints,” Indigo Girls; The Beatles, “Let It Be.”
22. Did you know that filling out this survey makes you a music geek?
I leave no geek stone unturned.
23. What was the greatest decade for music?
The late 60s to the late 70s.
24. How many music-related videos/DVDs do you own?
Does “Jesus Christ Superstar” count?
25. Do you like Journey?
I even played the “Escape” video game at a local video parlor. Or was it “Frontiers?”
26. What is your favorite movie soundtrack?
Dead Presidents, bar none.
27. What was your last musical "phase" before you wised up?
Probably listening to “The Wiz” and “Grease” soundtracks over and over.
28. What's the crappiest CD/record/etc you've ever bought?
I’m not sure, but the first thing that popped into my head was when my brother and I visited Gatlinburg Tennessee as kids and a moonie tried to foist a record on us. I wish I had that record now.
29. Do you prefer vinyl or CD's? I never thought CDs would win over tapes. I thought, “CDs are just little records, and who wants those?” So I’m not qualified to answer this question.
30. What is your guilty pleasure CD, that being the CD you love but would be ashamed to admit you have in your collection? John Denver’s Greatest Hits.
Give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Look out! Nazi Zombies!
The first picture from second-unit shooting on HELLSHOCK, courtesy John Polonia. Medic Todd Carpenter is soon to be in need of medical attention as a zombie Nazi comes a-creepin'.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Gold of the Amazon Women
On Friday night my wife was feeling a bit blue and I was tired and there is no better cure for that than the old movie channels on cable. We found Ship of Fools that my wife wanted to see because she likes Katherine Anne Porter and I wanted to see because I actually hadn't seen it (and I have rated over a thousand movies on Netflix thus far). She generally likes silly pastel sixties movies and I like 40s noir and b-movies and this was a 60s movie in B/W so it was a nice compromise. As I mentioned, I was tired and fell asleep and woke up at the end wondering who was getting carried off in the coffin (it wasn't Vivien Leigh, I saw her). Then I dozed back off and woke up around 3 a.m. and it looked like Anita Ekberg was splashing in a fountain and it suddenly struck me that La Dolce Vita was on. So I sat there at three in the morning and watched it and thought: I still love movies. It's a nice thing to remember once in a while.
Give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Monday, May 09, 2005
The Vow Pt. 18
In this second shot of my serialized comic "The Vow" today, we see the political fallout of a superhero battle, and some philosophical issues, all in ten ill-sketched panels.
The Vow Pt. 17
I finished drawing my serialized comic "The Vow" on September 9, 2001, so I felt really bad about this sequence in the following days, where we see the wake of the EMP explosion and Despot-9's appearance as a Middle Eastern strongman. Odd karma.
Friday, May 06, 2005
The Fugitive Fingerprints
Turned in grades for my scriptwriting class today, which has kept me away from the keyboard for a bit. Bleeding from the eyes from reading half a foot or so of scripts will do that.
However, I squeezed in a little time to talk to my pal Gwangi about a favorite comic book character, The Green Lama, over at his Old Time Radio site. Our discussion is here. I tried not to talk out of my butt too much.
Shockingly, somehow I have not gotten voted off John Layman's American Idol-style blog competition again this week.
More second unit shooting on HELLSHOCK this weekend; principal photography starts in about two weeks, and I'm hoping to report from on-set.
Give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
However, I squeezed in a little time to talk to my pal Gwangi about a favorite comic book character, The Green Lama, over at his Old Time Radio site. Our discussion is here. I tried not to talk out of my butt too much.
Shockingly, somehow I have not gotten voted off John Layman's American Idol-style blog competition again this week.
More second unit shooting on HELLSHOCK this weekend; principal photography starts in about two weeks, and I'm hoping to report from on-set.
Give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
The Hollywood Ghost
I was riding high the other day, thinking things were going my way; then I stepped in a cold puddle of cat puke when I got out of bed yesterday morning, and we had a late frost, and my Yahoo Fantasy baseball team took a tumble out of first place, and other ominous portents hung heavy in the air. So now I am hunkering down and waiting for the rainbow again.
The good thing about being a screenwriter, as opposed to a director or an editor or what have you, is even when you have nothing to do you are still working--thinking up ideas, moving pieces and parts around in your mind, garnering life experiences. For a writer, thinking is working. For everybody else in the industry, it's a blank tape.
Give me a yell at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
The good thing about being a screenwriter, as opposed to a director or an editor or what have you, is even when you have nothing to do you are still working--thinking up ideas, moving pieces and parts around in your mind, garnering life experiences. For a writer, thinking is working. For everybody else in the industry, it's a blank tape.
Give me a yell at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Microcinema Day 2005
Today is Microcinema Day; hug a zero-budget filmmaker, if you see one. And weigh in on your opinions here at:http://www.microcinemascene.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1282&st=0&#entry6496.
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