Come visit to me at the San Diego Comic Con from 1-2 pm at booth 1018! I'll be doing signings and sketchings and be really honored to see you!

Jen

Hey everyone, I have great news.

Are you going to the San Diego Comic Con? Well I am, and this year I'll actually be doing signings. Unfortunately, I am only going to the con from Thursday-Friday because I wanted to spend more time in CA with my parents this year. Two other days are going to be dedicated to my Las Vegas bachelorette party (wooo!)

Anyway, here are the details: I'm going to be at booth 1018 on Thursday from 1-2 pm doing signings and sketches. Please swing on by. Brooke Eldowney of 9 Chickweed Lane and Pigborn will be signing right before me and that's flippin' SWEET! I am very honored and I hope I get to meet some of you this Thursday!

Also, my friend Sharon Ma is doing a photography project for Parsons. I really want to encourage you to visit her site and see her wonderful photos. You may also notice that she has a prompt: "What does Coney Island mean to you?" (Coney Island being the theme) and it would be great if you could write down your thoughts on her online gallery. You don't have to be a New Yorker or have ever visited Coney Island to participate. Maybe your response will be informed by her photographs or maybe you have a vague idea of what Coney Island is or represents based on things you've seen or read in the past. For me, Coney Island was always crystallized in a painting by Paul Cadmus called "Coney Island," which is proudly displayed in the Art of Americas building at the LA County Museum of Art. I have to say that this image pretty much continues to sum up Coney Island for me. It's definitely a place I would recommend going to though, if only for the people watching and for riding the Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone (don't sit in the back car!).

Anyway, enough chatter! Go visit Sharon's photo gallery!

(Written from my bedroom in Los Angeles, where the weather is mild and unoppressive even during a heat wave)

Jen

Happy Bastille Day, my French readers!

Edouard and I went to the Bastille Day street fair last Sunday, which was like a regular NY street fair but more French (there were more crepe and baguette stands than usual). It was fun. Tonight there is some sort of "Wines of Provence" tasting somewhere in Manhattan to celebrate Bastille Day, so maybe we'll do that.

It's pretty unlikely though.

Jen

Happy Fourth of July, my American readers!

In NYC, Macy's is once again shooting fireworks from the Hudson River (for many years it was shot off from the East River), which means that Edouard and I will have a good view of it this evening. Yay.

Until then, Edouard and I are heading to the NY Aquarium in Coney Island this afternoon to take advantge of Bank of America's "Museums on Us." If you're a Bank of America customer, you should see which museums are offered to you for free on the first weekend of the month.

Jen

See, I told you that you wouldn't have to wait long until my next blog entry.

Today I'm talking about nails. More specifically, nail biting. People who know me really well know that I'm an absolute terrible nail biter. I honestly don't think I personally know anybody on this earth who bites their nails as rigorously as I do. When I was in first grade, I bit my nails so badly that one of my fingers actually got infected, which caused the nail to be ripped off on someone's fuzzy sweater. I was so embarrassed and tried to hide it, but someone found the nail and I was literally dragged into the nurse's office.

I haven't had an infected nail since then, but my nail biting was still pretty bad. I don't bite just the nail- I bite the skin around it. I was never proud about it, obviously, but for some reason some people like to point out my ragged finger tips to me as if I don't know how bad they look. I remember one time in 8th grade someone asked me if what I was doing counted as a form of cannibalism.

So yeah, if you see someone with really terrible nails, I'm telling you now that it's better to just quietly sit sorry for them, because severe nail biting in some cases may just be an example of one's obsessive compulsive behavior. We know how bad it is and we've probably tried to stop, but it's incredibly difficult for a number of reasons.

I took the liberty of diagnosing myself with dermatophagia, because I don't actually chew the nail so much as I chew the skin around the nails. I never chewed out of anxiety but rather because I found immense gratification from "grooming" around the cuticle... and even though logically I knew that my chewing made my fingers look worse, I just couldn't help myself.

Since I've met Edouard, my nail/skin biting has been curbed a lot and there are even periods where I've stopped completely. I suppose this is a good sign because my dad was supposedly a bad nail chewer too, and he stopped after he married my mom. Anyway, my nails haven't gotten to the point of looking perfect until a couple of weeks ago, when Edouard and I had to do our engagement photos.

I knew I absolutely had to have good looking fingers because wedding photographers, as you probably know, like to take close ups of peoples's hands- especially the bride's hands- for the "ring shot" (gee, that sounds dirty). Thus, I went in for my first ever manicure. It was the first time I could actually get a manicure done because it was one of the first times that I wasn't embarrassed by the condition of my fingers. After I was done, my fingers looked flawless and adult like.

Since my engagement photos, the skin around my finger nails got a bit rough again and some of my nails started splitting at the sides (they're not very strong). I found it tempting to bite them again. But no- I put my foot down this time and went in for another manicure yesterday. The urge to bite is again at bay.

So I've decided that, at least until my wedding, I absolutely have to get regular manicures (I'm thinking once every 2-3 weeks) so that my fingers don't look like they came from hell. It's more money than I've ever spent on nails, and I feel a little guilty about it because it seems so frivolous, but I refuse to have embarrassing hands on my wedding day. Think of all of those close up hand shots and other hands I have to shake!

Jen

Wedding day is approaching. In 4 days, I'll hit T- two months, which makes me a little nervous b/c that doesn't feel like a lot of time for last minute detail planning and because this is obviously a pretty big step in one's life. Even though I've lived with Edouard for about two years, the whole wedding thing makes it seem more offiicial. It's exciting but I also hate changes- even good ones. In that respect, I'm very conservative and fearful, which I'm sure is something a lot of people don't know about me, because I do stuff like go abroad on a whim, or backpack in strange countries where I don't speak the language. Anyway, I'm most sad about not being able to do wedding planning anymore. I missed my calling in life, it seems. =P

Sooo, for movies watched while inking: The Pianist- probably one of my favorite WWII/Holocaust movies. Adrien Brody does an excellent job and it's interesting to see the character development of the protagonist, Szpilman, who was an actual Polish musician (the film is based on his autobiography). Un Secret- a French film also about WWII and the Holocaust. It's a really good family drama, actually. I would recommend it. It's probably more depressing than The Pianist though, and I know some people can't handle brooding movies. I also saw Monster's Ball, which I had a hard time following b/c it's a very quiet movie (when Halle Berry isn't screaming) and my TV was struggling to project itself over the roar of my A/C. Nonetheless, I enjoyed what I was able to get from the narrative and the plot, and I like understated endings. Halle Berry was particularly excellent and I see why she won the Oscar that year for Best Actress. Lots of really graphic sex scenes- if you're a bit prudish, you may want to skip this one. Finally, I decided to watch all 3 seasons of the Comedy Central TV show, Strangers with Candy. I had only seen the pilot and one or two other episodes when it was on TV, but for one reason or another I wasn't able to follow it regularly. This show is not the best (some episodes were not particularly entertaining) I found it enjoyable. It has a really mean and dirty sense of humor, and is full of non sequitors, which I like. I forgot that Stephen Colbert is in it so that was a nice surprise, and I like Amy Sedaris, especially since she's a big supportor of rabbits and the House Rabbit Society.

Anyway, that's all the news I have for now. I'll try not to wait too long for my next entry!

Jen

So remember all that suff with my cervix? Cervical cancer scare? Lesions? LEEP procedure?

Ok, good.

After my LEEP procedure, I needed to go for another pap smear in 6 months to make sure everyting was ok. That was in January. The first pap I gave was inconclusive so I had to go back the next week and do it all over again. The pap came back clean but they asked that I come back in another six months to make sure everything was still stable. I think this is especially important because I still had some scarring from the surgery back in January.

So I went in for my second pap smear this year last Friday and I just got the results back today: it came back clean with no abnormalities!

What a freakin' relief. I don't have to go back for another year! It's so nice to not have to go back to the gyno every other month!

Anyway, I'm glad to have inspired some ladies who read this comic to get their hoo-ha checked out. People have only recently been talking openly about cervical cancer even though it's something that takes the lives of many women each year. If you haven't gotten your annual, make an appointment. Before you go, pop an advil and remember that it's only going to take you 5-10 min tops. Embarrassed to go? Trust me, these people have seen it all.

Jen

Edouard and I took our engagement picture this Sunday. The session almost didn't happen because it was raining off and on and because there was a tornado advisory, but we lucked out and the sun came out shining by the time we were ready to meet our photographer. It was perhaps a tad windy, but it made for some dramatic shots.

In my opinion, the most important elements of a wedding are the food, the drinks, the music, and the photography. These are the things that I believe shouldn't be skimped on if you can help it. That said, photography is also one of the elements of a wedding where you can definitely avoid pissing all of your money away.

New York Magazine listed a bunch of photographers who ranged from a minimum of 3,000 (which I think is the average cost of a wedding photographer in NYC) to a maximum of 10,000!! There wasn't a huge difference between the more expensive photographers vs. the cheaper photographers except for maybe that the pricier people were more renown. Many of the times, however, I did not see anything in their portfolios that warranted such a high price tag.

When I went out to first look for a photographer, my reception venue recommended two different studios in Manhattan. Both were charging around 5,000 dollars, which included 2 photographers, engagement photo session, an album, 6 hours of their time, and digial proofs. I was underwhelmed by both of their portfolios. Don't get me wrong- most of the photographs were very nice (except for one portfolio I saw, which had a handful heinously bad stuff in it) but they were also very stiff, formal, and reminded me of stock wedding photography (obligatory close up of dress, close up of shoes, bride looking wistfully out a window, etc.). One photographer asked what I was looking for in my wedding photography so I told him I wanted images that were more artsy, editorial, and photojournalistic. Then he said "We can do that! You're a whimsical sort of girl aren't you?! We can do that whimsy!" Laser beam eyes would've been great at that point.

Anyway, it took a short succession of recommendations initiated by a friend but I eventually found the photographer who suited my tastes. Arek, the photographer, and his assistant, Ilona, who is also his wife, are young, creative, and have an amazing ability to capture fleeting moments and the beauty of a NYC gutter.

Arek is still editing the rest of our engagement photo shoot, but he sent us some teasers and I was pretty blown away. I mean, not to toot our own horn or anything but Edouard and I look super hot. Like, jeans ad hot.

FIERCE!

And yeah yeah there are mushy pictures too but I wanted to show you what I meant by "editorial style." I'll post more pictures when I get the rest from Arek! In the meantime, visit his website to see more of his work.

By the way, he is (at the time of this posting at least), about 75% less expensive than the other photographers I saw and includes pretty much the same things in his packages. He also has a la carte options (for instance, you don't have to order an album if you don't want to), which is good, because it allows you to be more flexible.

Jen

Hello GoComics.com readers- sorry I fudged up the update on the syndicate's site. That was all my bad.

As you can see though, the proper comic is up here. I'll see that the gocomic's site gets straightened out.

Someone on GoComics asked if this storyline is based on real life experiences. My response: in my experience, all teens are totally awkward.

Jen

Today I'm going to blog exclusively about the "movies watched while inking."

Since I last blogged about the movies, I found myself picking a theme for the next few film selections. I decided to go with movies about inspirational teachers who turn terrible schools and students around. There were three movies that I watched that fit this category: Lean On Me, Stand and Deliver, and To Sir, with Love.

Lean on Me: I was actually shown this movie when I was in 6th grade though I don't remember why, but I always suspected that it was because the school I was attending at the time was in dire need of straightening up its student body- maybe the teachers just needed some hope that things would turn around. As for me, I couldn't stand it anymore and I transferred to another middle school for the 7th and 8th grades. My 6th grade year was so awful that I even fessed up to my parents that I was miserable there. Thankfully they were on the same page and Los Angeles started doing open enrollment (where one could choose to go to any school in the district rather than your neighborhood school) anyway, so all was well. Anyway, this is a nice feel good movie based on a true story and Morgan Freeman shows who's boss.

Stand and Deliver: This is a dramatization based on a true story about a math teacher, Jaime Escalante (who passed away recently in March), who challenges his students at Garfield High (located in East L.A.) to a higher level of achievement. He offers an AP Calculus class, which was previously unheard of there, and ends up having 18 out of 18 students pass the Advanced Placement exam. This movie was only ok- I felt that it was very unfocused overall but the general message was good. It's too bad Garfield High has slipped in its educational standards since the 1980s. It seems that the school made some poor decisions when it came to organizing their educational departments (like many schools it seems) and that good teachers are still hard to come by.

To Sir, with Love: This is a British drama film starring Sidney Poitier (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) and also deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. I would rank this above Stand and Deliver and somewhere near Lean on Me- whether you rank it above or below probably depends on how much sentimental drama you like (something I think Lean on Me has more of) or which decade's culture you can tolerate more: the 1980s or the 1960s.

After my thematic movie watching was over, I watched Nell, which was about a woman (Jodie Foster) who made up her own language after pretty much being isolated from other people for her entire life; Love Object, a pretty decent horror/pscyhological dramedy about a man who becomes obsessed with a girl at work and his real doll; and Up, which I've already seen but wanted to see again because it's, in my opinion, probably one of the better movies Pixar has made. The climax of Up is a really great metaphor for how people should see and live their lives. I personally thought this climactic moment was beautfiul, but I know some people didn't see it that way and just interpreted this scene as getting from point A to point B. My advice is to watch it again (if you didn't see what I'm talking about the first time), and to consider what it actually meant for Carl Fredricksen to get his house back up in the air. You know what else makes this movie great? It makes you want to cry within the first 10 minutes. That's some powerful writing and character development going on!

Off to Kansas City (first time in the Midwest!) to a wedding. Congratulations Lisa and Scott!

Jen

Eesh, another birthday!

Now if I'm ever found dead in a ditch somewhere they're going to describe me as a white female (b/c they probably won't pick up on the fact that I'm half Japanese) in her late 20s. Two more years 'till 30. Wow.

This weekend Edouard and I were in the Dominican Republic. We were there for various reasons but one of them was for my birthday. It was a nice trip and my first time to the Caribbean, although we actually didn't spend a lot of time at the beach b/c we were in Santo Domingo, which doesn't have any beaches. Even still, we had a lot of pool time and that was good enough for me!

The other thing that made this trip interesting was our canceled flight! We were supposed to get back in Sunday but due to mechanical problems with the plane, we had to wait until yesterday evening to come back. JetBlue gave us vouchers for our transportation to and from our all inclusive resort in Boca Chica (also paid for by them), which was like 10x better than the place we were staying before (it even had its own beach!). Thanks, JetBlue!

Even though a billion people looked at my passport yesterday, no one wished me a happy birthday! =( Oh wells.... I came home and had lots of birthday e-mails/facebook messages so all is well.

Jen

Sorry about the lack of update yesterday. I was stranded without internet access!

Jen

Happy Mother's Day, mom. I will call you later.

Edouard and I picked out our wedding invitations yesterday. We were originally going to look around on Etsy (which is where we got our Save the Dates) to find a designer, but we found that someone there isn't necessarily much less expensive than going to a place like Kate's Paperie, which is where we ended up ordering our invites. Additionally, I thought that even if it did cost a little more to go to Kate's Paperie vs. someone at Etsy, it would be fine since dealing with Etsy designers can often be a longer process than one would like. Plus, at least at Kate's Paperie, I can see samples of all the different kinds of papers and typography right away.

My friend Andrea got married last year and she told me that her wedding invitation consultant told her that picking an invite is a difficult and overwhelming process and that she would probably need multiple appointments before she ended up picking the design that she wanted. Andrea picked out the second invitation she saw.

Edouard and I weren't quite as efficient as my friend, but we were pretty fast about it (we only looked through two books of samples), and as I learned while sitting with the other soon to be wed couples, some people do indeed take multiple appointments before they choose their invitation. I guess they want the entire look to be cohesive and perfect, but it is my belief that the invitation selection process is a huge trap in terms of getting brides to be to become totally obsessive-compulsive over little meaningless details. No one is really going to care that much that you chose the thicker ribbon over the thinner one. In fact, it's probably going in the garbage as soon as the invite is opened (this is why Edouard and I don't have ribbons on ours, though I admit that I love invites with ribbons).

Anyway, it took us 2 hours to pick our invites, wait for our consultant, and give her all of pertinent information required for printing. I paid half the balance, and we should be getting digital proofs on Wednesday.

Easy as pie.

Wedding planning is actually not too difficult in general, by the way. It's all a matter of keeping your priorities straight, being organized, and not getting obsessed over the details.

Movies watched while inking: While last week I seemed to have revisited my childhood, this week was a week of disturbing violence and gore (perhaps to balance out the saccharine sweetness of An American Tail). This week I saw a movie based on a book, which in turn was based on a true life story about a girl who was locked in her aunt's basement and totured by her aunt and her cousins. It was called The Girl Next Door and it was very very disturbing and hard to watch. It's the kind of movie that makes you hate humanity and leaves you completely disgusted knowing that there are people in the world who are that hateful and low. After that, I decided to bone up on my French so I watched a some French movies. I started off with Crimson River, which was an O.K. movie about cops trying to find a gruesome serial killer. There were parts that were good but I felt that the movie lost its drive once the old cop and the young cop start collaborating on the case- it was a little cheesy. After that, I meandered back to the depressing (a lot of French films are depressing), and saw Le Secret, which was about a boy who discovers his family's WWII secrets. It's not a gruesome film in any way, but it will leave you feeling quite sober and contemplative. After Le Secret, I watched La Pianiste, which was based on an Austrian book called Die Klavierspielerin. The book and the film focus on the life of a masochistic piano teacher, who lives with an incredibly overbearing mother. It's an incredibly depressing story and the movie was difficult to watch at times. There are some acts of violence that are disturbing, but it's even worse to see the protagonist's psychological problems get darker and more out of control. I definitely do not recommend this movie to my parents- my mom would find this movie especially horrible to watch.

Jen

Happy Mother's Day, mom. I will call you later.

Edouard and I picked out our wedding invitations yesterday. We were originally going to look around on Etsy (which is where we got our Save the Dates) to find a designer, but we found that someone there isn't necessarily much less expensive than going to a place like Kate's Paperie, which is where we ended up ordering our invites. Additionally, I thought that even if it did cost a little more to go to Kate's Paperie vs. someone at Etsy, it would be fine since dealing with Etsy designers can often be a longer process than one would like. Plus, at least at Kate's Paperie, I can see samples of all the different kinds of papers and typography right away.

My friend Andrea got married last year and she told me that her wedding invitation consultant told her that picking an invite is a difficult and overwhelming process and that she would probably need multiple appointments before she ended up picking the design that she wanted. Andrea picked out the second invitation she saw.

Edouard and I weren't quite as efficient as my friend, but we were pretty fast about it (we only looked through two books of samples), and as I learned while sitting with the other soon to be wed couples, some people do indeed take multiple appointments before they choose their invitation. I guess they want the entire look to be cohesive and perfect, but it is my belief that the invitation selection process is a huge trap in terms of getting brides to be to become totally obsessive-compulsive over little meaningless details. No one is really going to care that much that you chose the thicker ribbon over the thinner one. In fact, it's probably going in the garbage as soon as the invite is opened (this is why Edouard and I don't have ribbons on ours, though I admit that I love invites with ribbons).

Anyway, it took us 2 hours to pick our invites, wait for our consultant, and give her all of pertinent information required for printing. I paid half the balance, and we should be getting digital proofs on Wednesday.

Easy as pie.

Wedding planning is actually not too difficult in general, by the way. It's all a matter of keeping your priorities straight, being organized, and not getting obsessed over the details.

Movies watched while inking: While last week I seemed to have revisited my childhood, this week was a week of disturbing violence and gore (perhaps to balance out the saccharine sweetness of An American Tail). This week I saw a movie based on a book, which in turn was based on a true life story about a girl who was locked in her aunt's basement and totured by her aunt and her cousins. It was called The Girl Next Door and it was very very disturbing and hard to watch. It's the kind of movie that makes you hate humanity and leaves you completely disgusted knowing that there are people in the world who are that hateful and low. After that, I decided to bone up on my French so I watched a some French movies. I started off with Crimson River, which was an O.K. movie about cops trying to find a gruesome serial killer. There were parts that were good but I felt that the movie lost its drive once the old cop and the young cop start collaborating on the case- it was a little cheesy. After that, I meandered back to the depressing (a lot of French films are depressing), and saw Le Secret, which was about a boy who discovers his family's WWII secrets. It's not a gruesome film in any way, but it will leave you feeling quite sober and contemplative. After Le Secret, I watched La Pianiste, which was based on an Austrian book called Die Klavierspielerin. The book and the film focus on the life of a masochistic piano teacher, who lives with an incredibly overbearing mother. It's an incredibly depressing story and the movie was difficult to watch at times. There are some acts of violence that are disturbing, but it's even worse to see the protagonist's psychological problems get darker and more out of control. I definitely do not recommend this movie to my parents- my mom would find this movie especially horrible to watch.

Jen

Ooops! I accidentally wrote "than" instead of "then" in today's comic- I committed my own personal grammatical pet peeve. My bad!

This is the kind of stuff that happens when you're juggling a million balls and not getting enough sleep!

Jen

Happy May day.

Sorry it's been a while since I've written in the blog, but the last two weekends have been crazy busy. I was at two different Egyptology conferences: one at Princeton and the other one in Oakland, CA. The Oakland Egyptology conference was the big annual event that most Egyptologists go to. It's hosted by the American Research Center in Egypt. This was my first time I attended the big annual meeting, and it was not only educational and useful to my dissertation research, but it was also a lot of fun. It's nice to throw back some booze with various professors and famous names in the field.

The meeting up in Oakland was also neat because my family drove up from Los Angeles to see me. We went to Alcatraz, which was everyone's first time there. They make you do an audio tour, which made me groan at first, but it was actually pretty good (and interesting for once)... and if you get tired of it, you can always just turn it off and walk around freely. If any of you are going to the bay area, I recommend going to Alcatraz and getting some lunch at Fisherman's Wharf (sourdough bread bowl clam chowder soup!) afterward. Nothing like going to a former high security prison to rev up your appetite!

Edouard and I also got our first wedding gifts from Crate and Barrel! How exciting! A formal thank you will go out as soon as I get my stationary!

Movies watched while inking: Ira and Abby- I really didn't like this movie. It pretty much encapsulated all of the bad things about New York City and New Yorkers. It's also incredibly cynical about love and marriage even though it's very clear that the title characters didn't really take marriage that seriously anyway. Then I watched What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, which I liked a lot more. It's a slow going character driven movie, a genre that I enjoy a lot. After that I decided to revisit childhood and watch Follow That Bird! which features all of the Seasame Street characters. I forget that Edouard didn't grow up with Seasame Street so I had to explain who everyone was and sing him the theme song- totally weird. I continued my walk down memory lane by watching An American Tail, which I actually think I appreciate more as an adult, and also An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, which is basically as bad terrible as I remembered it to be.

Jen

So I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I'm taking French classes at the New School every Wednesday night with my friend Andrea. The last time I took French was in 2005 at Santa Monica College. I loved taking French. It's a language that I've always wanted to learn how to speak fluently, but unfortunately I could not find the time to continue taking French classes while I was doing my coursework for grad school. Heureusement...now that I'm mainly working and researching for my dissertation, I find that I actually have more time on my hands, which is why I decided to finally go back and resume learning French.

I'm always a little thrown off when people ask me WHY I'm taking French. I mean... have you seriously not noticed that I'm a bit of a Francophile? I've been a Francophile for over a decade... I had my RETAINERS colored like the FRENCH FLAG.

But whatever, I get that some people are just asking out of curiosity or to keep the conversation going but I'm still baffled that me saying "I just want to learn it" is not always a good enough answer. I mean... since when was wanting to learn a new language not a good enough reason?

I guess people just want to know why I chose French of all languages, which is odd considering a) my comic is called "C'est la Vie" b) I openly love France c) I'm marrying a Frenchman and d) A good amount of Egyptological scholarship is in French. I dunno guys, it seems pretty clear to me.

Interestingly, I find that when I tell people I'm learning French because my fiancé is French it somehow seems to confuse or offend (!) them more. I'm confronted with "But Edouard speaks English" or my personal favorite, "You're learning just for HIM??" I dunno, call me old fashioned but I think it's nice when someone takes interest in their significant other's culture. Edouard went to Obon festival with me last summer and no one gave him grief about it!

So yeah, I admit it. Edouard has become an additional reason why I want to learn French. Sue me.

Finally, thanks to everyone who swung by the MoCCA Art Fest this weekend! It was a blast.

Cinematic inking adventures: Les Poupées russes, which is the sequel to L'Auberge espagnole. Les Poupées russes is a bit darker than L'Auberge espagnole but is a good reflection, I think, of what it's like to be approaching 30. I'm not that fond of the main character, Xavier, because he's a bit of a self centered jerk but he's likeable enough to make you want to root for him from time to time.

Other films from the past year: Remains of the Day (I really liked it though some people would argue that it's too slow), Au Revoir Les Enfants (I love this movie but it's really really depressing), The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (another really depressing WWII film), Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (the most depressing documentary I've ever seen. It seems to have a very powerful affect on a lot of people, however-myself included), Casablanca.

Jen

Yesterday's comic started some debate on the GoComics.com page. The debate had nothing to do with the storyline, nor was it the usual deconstruction of the comic and comics in general by a certain GoComics.com reader... this time the debate was centered around Monsieur Smokey; namely, his origins and his role in the comic strip. There were suggestions that Monsieur Smokey was inspired by other comic sidekicks and that he fulfilled the same role as Dogbert from Dilbert or Snoopy in Charlie Brown and that maybe his character design is inspired by Eeyore from Disney's Winnie the Pooh. I know last week I told you all about Barthes's Death of the Author but all of these suggestions about Monsieur Smokey are so off base that I have to come in and say something.

Monsieur Smokey is based off a stuffed bunny that I have had since I was 6 years old. She has come with me everywhere and I am very protective of her. Most people probably look at her and think she's a ratty old stuffed bunny that smells bad but I look at her and see a sentient being. Of course I know she's all fluff and not real, but I have invested so much love and time and conversation with her that she might as well be real to me. Smokey has been a wonderful companion for over 20 years and because of this, I knew that any person who mocked Smokey and my relationship with her was not worth my time. She is that important to me.

Smokey is very different from Monsieur Smokey though. For one, she's a girl. Secondly, she's very innocent and playful. Very much like Monsieur Smokey, however, she gets very jealous of other rabbits and sometimes humans. Initially, she did not trust Edouard, who I think in turn was naturally wary of Smokey at first, but they have come to have a great father-daughter like relationship.

Anyway, I decided to make Smokey a boy in the comic because for some reason it seemed to make more sense to me at the time. Originally, the comic was only Monsieur Smokey and Mona and I think I felt like the comic would be better if there was some "male perspective."

So that's the story behind Monsieur Smokey. Feel free to question me further.

Cinematic adventures while inking CLV: Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog- so funny and it's great to see Neil Patrick Harris in this. I wish it were longer so that it could be on Broadway. Un baiser s’il vous plaît (Shall We Kiss?)- described as a French "romantic comedy" though I personally found it to be completely depressing. I didn't like it. I thought the primary characters were completely unlikeable and pompous.

Movies seen earlier in the year while inking comics: The Science of Sleep- a good French romantic film that features a lot of stop motion animation; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- a film that I never got to see when it came out. I see why everyone loves it. The storytelling is really good in it; Falling Down- a story about a man's nervous breakdown in Los Angeles. I had luke warm feelings about it but Michael Douglas did a good job and I like movies set in my home city.

Jen

So I'll be at ArtFest this weekend at table F-37 from 2-5 pm on Saturday and Sunday. It's at the 69th Regiment Armory (68 Lexington Avenue NY NY- b/w 26th and 25th Streets). Weekend passes are 15 dollars while Sat and Sun day only passes are 10. Come by and say hi! My table is doing "sketch specials"- everything is under a dollar!

This week in the movies: The Importance of Being Earnest (Rupert Everett and Colin Firth)- you can never go wrong with Oscar Wilde. Lo, a very strange romance-horror type film. A somewhat predictable end but interesting to watch. Le Placard (The Closet)- a French comedy about a man who is fired for being too boring and dull. He decides to pretend he is gay, with his neighbor's assistance, in order to keep his job. While the premise may seem really dumb and I'm sure an American version of this would be terrible, don't let that keep you from watching it. I also got to learn a lot of French slang.

Also, people apparently tell Edouard that he looks like Rupert Everett. I see some resemblance, I suppose, but I think he looks way more like French indie actor, Louis Garrel.

Jen

Well right when you think you're going to have time to do stuff for yourself these deadlines start popping up left and right. First was my financial aid application for my school then it's been various wedding planning stuff and right now it's making sure I have my Met fellowship proposal and dissertation proposals written. Both need to be done by the end of the week.

I have to write the Met a new fellowship proposal because they have renewed my fellowship for next year. This is great because I don't have to worry about money for another year and because I get to take advantage of their wonderful staff cafeteria.

Career wise everything is going well but I wish I had more time for my comic. One of the things I've been meaning to do is to customize CLV's twitter page, which I have not officially announced yet b/c I want to wait until it's set up nicely. Oh well, I'll force myself to find the time soon.

STREEEEESS.

This week I finished up Fried Green Tomatoes. I'm glad I rewatched it as an adult because as a kid I definitely missed the very strong lesbian overtones of the movie. I just thought it was a girly story about b.f.f.'s. Boy was I off. Right now I'm in the middle of watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. So far, so good. It's weird to see Jack Nicholson and Christopher Lloyd so young.

Other movies I saw while doing comics this year: My Family (Coppola's "immigrant saga" of three generations of the Sanchez family in Los Angeles), Peggy Sue Got Married (a pretty good time travel movie by Coppola), Rachel Getting Married (dark, emotional drama about a girl who is allowed out of rehab for her sister's wedding. Anne Hathaway does a really good job), I've Loved You So Long (a dark, brooding French movie about estranged sisters), Hors de Prix ("Priceless" in English- a really funny movie with Audrey Tautou. I think my parents would like it), Happenstance (an ok movie with Audrey Tatou- it's about chance, coincidence, and romance), Paris Je T'aime (vignettes by different directors- all tell a love story about Paris. I really recommend this movie. WAY better than its sequel, New York, I Love You), He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (to me, a so-so drama about an erotomaniac- played by Audrey Tatou- but I have to give the movie credit for a really good set up and climax). The list goes on...

Jen

It's interesting to see the debate going on in the comments box at GoComics.com. I'm impressed with how well some people know the characters and the archive in addition to how well some can deconstruct a medium.

You know, sometimes I don't know where this comic is taking me. There are days when I feel like it could end in a month and days when I feel like it could go on for another year. Today I day dreamt that I came up with another comic that is more autobiographical- a strip that would capture a few years of my life here in New York... but I think I decided that it would be too ego-centric for my taste (this blog is pushing it!). If I'm to do another comic project, I'm much more interested in telling Ancient Egyptian stories such as The Shipwrecked Sailor. I think it would be cool.

Oh well, for now I'll just sit back and read what people have to say about this comic. I am reminded of Barthes and his essay "Death of the Author," which is why I'm going to sit out on these conversations.

By the way, I've been seeing more ads for cervical cancer in beauty magazines and on TV. It's about time.

P.S. I think from now on I'll make note of what movies I watched while inking my comics. That could be a blog of its own really. This week: Julie and Julia (good, but I was way more interested in Julia Childs than the blog writer), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (nice to see that so much has changed since then), Notting Hill (not terrible for a rom-com), Bridget Jones's Diary (I've actually never seen this movie from start to finish), Quills (very racy and Geoffrey Rush is pretty awesome in it). Currently watching: Fried Green Tomatoes (saw it when I was very young and don't remember it at all). Started watching but refuse to finish: Breakfast with Scott (it's like a really stupid sitcom).

Jen

So it looks like I'm going to be making an appearance at this year's MoCCA Art Fest at the Sequential Art Collective's table:

Saturday and Sunday, April 10th and 11th, 2010 at the 69th Regiment Armory (68 Lexington Avenue NY NY)

Me and a bunch of other cool artists and creators are coming together to hand out cheap sketches, comics, and zines, which is what MoCCA Art Fest was originally all about. If you ask nicely, I'll even do your name in hieroglyphs- and even though it would be inaccurate to do so, I will even put your name in a cartouche.

Anyway, I hope some of you can make it. I wasn't able to go last year, but it was nice meeting some of you at the 2008 Art Fest. I really do enjoy seeing you. I often forget that people I've never met read my comic and it means a lot to me to know that my art extends beyond my familial and social circles. It's a great pick me up after a long, hard day and it makes me feel appreciated.

Jen

This morning numerous facebook statuses informed me that there was an earthquake in L.A.. It measured about 4.4 on the Ricther scale, which isn't too large but it's getting up there and it was centered in the Pico Rivera area, which is about 11 miles away from downtown L.A..

Anyway, I hope everyone's all right. I guess this calls for a call to mom, dad, and grandma later.

The one thing I do not miss about L.A. is its earthquake. The Northridge quake was quite traumatizing for me (I was 11)- I couldn't sleep well for weeks after.

Jen

On Thursday, a woman was killed by a train ("subway" for non NYC residents). This sort of thing happens quite often in NYC and I'm always left in kind of a shock when it does, but for some reason this particular accident affected me more than usual. I think one of the reasons for why this is, is that it happened at the 77th St. station in the Upper East Side, which used to be my "home station" when I first moved to New York back in 2005. I know the station really well- both the uptown and downtown platforms- so when I read the story about this accident I could picture the events with a disturbing level of clarity.

The 48 year old woman, identified as Rose Mankos, was a lawyer who previously worked for the state. She is gone because she exercised some poor judgment on her part despite being accomplished and successful. I just wish I knew what was going on in her head when she decided to jump from the platform to the train tracks to retrieve her nylon LeSport Sac bag, which carried gym clothes, deodorant, and a cell phone. She lost her life over completely replacable things.

According to eye witness accounts, the approaching 6 train blew its horn about eights times while Rose first tried to hide under the platform and then tried to climb back on top of the platform (which is incredibly high, btw). At some point she gave up and just stared back at the train as she clung to the side of the platform.

It's my impression that most train accidents in NYC happen very suddenly and in the blink of an eye. I think the fact that this woman had to stare death in the face and realize that she is about to lose her life over gym clothes and a cell phone, is what disturbs me the most.

The obvious lesson here is to not jump onto the train tracks for any reason. I think the larger lesson is to remember to keep things into perspective. Things are just things- it doesn't really matter how "important" they are or how invested you are in them. Sometimes you have to leave those things behind or let them go.

Jen

Today is the anniversary of Nibbles's passing. She was a good bunny, a loved bunny, and I still think of her all the time. I made sure that Chloe knows she has a big sister out there in rabbit heaven.

Also my talk went well at the Met. I think people thought it was interesting and they all seemed really "into" it. One of my old professors from UCLA, who is a fellow this year at the Met, was there and that was pretty cool to have her talk to me as an equal. Curators from the Louvre were there and talked to me after my presentation, which was pretty awesome. My entire department (Ancient Near Eastern Art) as well as most of the Egyptian Art Department came and now I'm having lunch with them tomorrow. Yaaaaay. At the beginning the moderator told everyone that this was the first professional paper I was presenting and afterward everyone told me that if he hadn't said that they would never have known. I was shaking like a leaf though... I've just learned to not show it in my voice.

So yeah... good for me!

Jen

Well today's the big day. The idea of giving a talk at the Met is the sort of thing that was very abstract to me. I understood that such things happened at the Met, I just never imagined that I would be the one doing that someday. I feel very honored.

I feel good about the talk itself but I'm nervous about the Q & A. I hope no one acts like a jerk. Please cut me some slack, it's my scholarly debut!

Jen

Teeth covers came up in a somewhat drunky conversation I once had with a friend about 3 years ago. My friend is the one that actually came up with the idea and I decided that it was going to go into my comic someday... I just needed to find the right time. What makes the right time now you may ask? I'm actually not sure if I have a good, logical reason for you. It just felt right to do it now. I'm relying on my artistic gut!

This Tuesday I'm doing my talk at the Met's 2010 Fellows Colloquia. My talk is called "Animals on Parade from Elam to Egypt: Narrative in Ancient Art (3000-1200 BCE)"- my friend Ava came up with the title. Anyway, I feel ok about doing this. Overall I'm much less nervous about this than I was with my orals so that's good... but this is definitely one of the more important talks I've ever given.... and they estimate 100-150 people being there. Thankfully I've been practicing it several times a day so this should be second nature to me by now. Wish me good luck nonetheless!

Jen