On Learning the Marvel Method

marvel-comic-logoLast summer I got an email from a friend who works in the video game field. She wanted to know if I’d be interested in talking to her boss about writing something. I said “sure,” and then this crazy adventure began.

Now, to be fair, this wasn’t the first time she’d contacted me about something like this nor the first time I’d said yes. The last time it happened we tried to make it work and, for a variety of reasons, it didn’t. No hard feelings, just wasn’t a good fit. Still, it was nice to be thought of again. So I sent her boss an email with all my bona fides and awaited his reply. Continue reading “On Learning the Marvel Method”

What famous or important people have you encountered in real life?

how-to-become-a-famous-actorFor me, this question about what famous or important people I’ve encountered in real life is a bit different as I’ve spent most of my adult life involved in various aspects of entertainment, often with people who would get recognized and stopped for autographs while walking down the street. Continue reading “What famous or important people have you encountered in real life?”

What is one of the best photographs you’ve ever taken?

Life is an open BookPhotography has changed quite a bit since I was a kid, so the exploration of today’s question, about the best photograph I’ve ever taken, feels like it’s going to be a bit roundabout and circumspect. I mean, first off, we have to talk about the word “best” don’t we? What does that even mean? “Best” according to whom? Continue reading “What is one of the best photographs you’ve ever taken?”

Which sports teams were you a fan of as a child?

8e15fe0e54d462b5c16ba845aa6041b1It’s an interesting question this week. The problem, really, is that I wasn’t so much interested in sports teams when I was a kid. At least not of the big four organized sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL). Of those, I suppose baseball would have been my game and the Dodgers my team, but that didn’t really have much to do with me. Continue reading “Which sports teams were you a fan of as a child?”

Goldie

IMG_0239A couple of years ago, I decided we needed a pet. Not just any pet mind you. Oh no, we needed a fish.

As I’ve mentioned many times before on here, I got a dog, Laika, back in 2009, about 4 months before I accepted a job to move to Hungary to teach English in a small farming village called Mezőtúr. Laika left us back in 2016 and while I would love to get another dog, that’s just not in the cards at the moment. Neither is a cat, for similar reasons. Continue reading “Goldie”

Who was one of your favorite high school teachers? What made them great?

08m-sxHigh school was such a long time ago, I’m not sure how this answer is going to come out. I graduated in 1985, which basically means that most of the folks I graduated with have kids who have also already graduated from their own high schools (and have probably already celebrated their own 10-year reunions and started to forget about their own experiences, so what chance do I have of having actual coherent memories, all of which is just crazy to think about.) Anyway…this is about my own favorite teacher(s) so let’s see what we’ve got. Continue reading “Who was one of your favorite high school teachers? What made them great?”

How has the country changed during your lifetime?

ch-ch-ch-changesI have a feeling this is a deceptively complex question. How has the county changed during MY lifetime seems like it should be easy, I mean after all, I’ve been around for more than half a century, and in that long, things are bound to change, right? Continue reading “How has the country changed during your lifetime?”

Family

Monki runningHad an interesting moment today. Monki and I had a fight. Not a big one mind you, but an important one. See, every day, we change the calendars. Over here in Lithuania (and maybe the rest of Europe, I can’t really say), calendars come with a piece of elastic with a little red square for putting over the date. Handy, right?

Anyway, this is just something we do on a daily basis. There’s three calendars in the house at the moment, one in the living room and one in her room, on which she likes to “X” off the days as they happen, and there’s a page-a-day Marvel calendar in the office. And this last one is where the problem occurred.

Continue reading “Family”

How did your parents pick your name?

names-have-power-960x960-1What’s in a name?

As Shakespeare said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But is that really the case with all things? I’m not so sure. I mean would he have had the same career if Archibald Leach not changed his name to Cary Grant? Sure, the looks and talent would have been the same, but then, the arts are rife with stories of name changes for a variety of reasons. Continue reading “How did your parents pick your name?”

What Is Your Favorite Joke?

comedy-greshams-940x601-1To be perfectly up front here, as I start writing the response to this week’s question, I can tell you the answer is “I don’t know.” In general, when someone says, “Tell me a joke,” I instantly freeze up and can’t think of a single thing. Which isn’t to say I don’t know any jokes, certainly, or have jokes I fall back on (which I’ll get to) but a favorite joke? I just don’t know. Continue reading “What Is Your Favorite Joke?”

Where Did You Go on Vacations As a Child?

Compass 01This week’s question is another one involving travel/vacations. That’s okay, I like traveling and vacations. This one, though, is about vacations as a child which, by default, implies they were family vacations. At least in my case since the folks are still married, to each other, so there’s no inter-family drama involving who gets to claim Disneyland. Continue reading “Where Did You Go on Vacations As a Child?”

Monki with a Tool Belt

chico bon bon copyWe’ve been talking about getting Monki a new bed for a while now. She’s four and a half, sure, but she fits just fine into 122/128 (that’s 7/8 for you Americans) and she tends to thrash a bit when she sleeps. What this means is that the bed she’s had for the last couple of years is actually getting a bit too small. Now, a couple of things have been interrupting this conversation. One, beds are expensive as hell (and there’s a whole host of subcategories that go along with that) and two, we weren’t sure how a new bed was going to fit into her room. Continue reading “Monki with a Tool Belt”

What were your grandparents like?

natuskadpi141200009This week’s question gets out of the realm of personal stories and moves into ancestry and personal history: What were your grandparents like? Well, when I was born, I had three of my four grandparents still around, as well as quite a few of my eight great-grandparents. And it wasn’t long before my paternal grandmother remarried the man who I would grow up knowing as “grandpa” and my maternal grandmother would pass from cancer. Continue reading “What were your grandparents like?”

How did you get your first job?

boardAgain, not sure how best to answer this. As I answered last time about bosses, I was working from a young age doing performance stuff in theatre, on TV and even as a model on trade show runways. Heck, the first dollar I ever made (the folks still have it in a frame on their wall) was when I was young and doing the “robot” at a restaurant while the family was eating. Someone stuffed that buck into my pocket when I wasn’t looking. I also delivered newspapers and worked in the school cafeteria (this was important since I needed a job to pay for my own phone line and while it was only an hour a day and minimum wage, when you had few other expenses, it did the job). I’ve had a lot of jobs, but ultimately, I think this is about the memories and the effect getting the job had on me*. So instead of “first” job, maybe I’ll just talk about some other jobs I’ve gotten and how I got them. Continue reading “How did you get your first job?”

What a long strange year it’s been…

inspire-innovation-challenge-way-to-change-to-inspire-innovation-challenge-way-to-change-to-concept-inscription-187529094It’s been a year, huh?

I mean, heck, it started off swell!

We saw in the New Year watching fireworks from the balcony and anticipating what 2020 was going to bring. We made our usual lists of things we wanted to accomplish in the coming year, read our jar full of accomplishments, kissed at midnight, and met the new dawn full of hope and brightness.

Well that didn’t last long. Continue reading “What a long strange year it’s been…”