EDITOR'S NOTE:The following rants are the last gasps of the Operative Network 3.0 site, which ... ah who cares, just read if you want to.

9/19/01 6:30 PM PST: I haven't updated this site in some time. Why? I'm hip deep in redesigning the whole shebang (the new logo, as noted here, is the core of it). I've got so much going on -- a short story I wanna post, and actually a whole series of just fiction I wanna start posting because waiting on artists makes my head hurt (you didn't know I've been trying to break into comics writing for over a year now?) and blah. All the columns -- Spinnerrack and more -- are currently archived over there, and mostly OK, even though the grand majority of the pages don't have content on 'em, or aren't built, or whatever. I have a lot more writing to transfer than I could have ever imagined. It's kind of a massive undertaking, and I may be 35% done, so I hope to be done by freakin' New Year's. Anyway, you can review the new site, if you're brave, by clicking on that zany logo. Whoop whoop.

Anyhoo, my life remains the normal cacophany of madness, chuckles, lunacy, high fives, and despair. I'm trudging through the AOL gig (which I don't hate anymore, I just kind of tolerate, since my boss is so cool it offsets the unending horror of the work itself), I'm working on a number of creative things that often feel fruitless, I've taken back over the LA Herald Dispatch since my homegirl Lela has moved on to the LA Sentinel (which won't hire me, bastards), and I'm here, basically. Thus far, no one has had to die.

Funny true story: I'm up late, working on something, and Tom Green was on Kilborn (I'm not gonna link either since all my links sooner or later go wacky, unless I build the damned things myself). Anyway, Green is making an idiot out of himself, carrying a dog (he came out with two) through the audience on his shoulders, having a dog lick milk from his mouth, generally making the interview impossible to conduct. Kilby gets him to settle down for Five Questions (next to Yambo! it's my favorite Kilborn stuff), and the last one is, "Tell the audience something personal about yourself without them laughing." He's quiet for maybe six seconds, looks very seriously at the camera, and says, "I'm lonely." I swear the crowd didn't stop laughing for five solid minutes. Green looks like somebody kicked his mom, and sits back in the chair, hugging the dog, as Kilby segues to commercial. Kilby tries to shake his hand, and he's all sullen, like that really hurt him.

That's the way I remember it anyway. Hm. Carry on.

7/25/02 1 AM PST: I am not talking about Texas. I am back from Memphis and Texas, on a long drive (5000 miles in 8 days, all driving), sleepy and surly.

I have noticed that SpinnerRack is down. I can't say for how long, because its owners do not know. I'll be moving all my columns over and repurposing them all in Damage Control archive format. I don't wanna, but hey. I'll be posting my last column, a rejected one on CrossGen, soon. I think.

I'll also be at Comicon next weekend. Busy summer. I'm actually very happy about some things (which I can't talk about) and very frustrated by many others (which I won't talk about). That's all I have to say right now.

4/24/02 2:00 AM PST: Well, I am certainly not selling copies of the new Inspiration House CD, which is a record of my appearance on the KPFK 90.7 FM radio show, which happens at 10PM every Monday night her in Los Angeles. I was on March 18th, the CD (which is hand crafted and therefore in limited supply) is a record of that, and there's even a printed companion that has the text of every single poem included. But I'm not selling the CD for $5, because, uh, well, that's wrong, isn't it?

*Hannibal stares innocently at the skies*

The lunatics, er, helpful people at Mac.com are hosting the MP3s from the show, so enjoy a digital sample if you're so inclined. Information wants to be free.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Those bastards at Mac.com realized they were being played for saps, and stopped free hosting. C'est la vie.

1/21/02 3:00 AM PST: *Hannibal sighs loudly*

I turned 29 yesterday. 2 friends, my wife and my mom remembered. Got a TF: RID Ultra Magnus, which I've wanted for some time. That's cool.

I'm probably gonna start working for Toydirectory.com this week. It'll be a godless sales position. I frickin' hate that. Their business model is tolerable, but more like it was borne in the 1980s. Desperation being what it is ...

I've been filling in for my sick homegirl Lela Ward Oliver on the Los Angeles Herald Dispatch, a community weekly newspaper, as E-I-C. It's insanley easy. It also has production values that'd make me blanch if I had a fifth of concern for anything in the world anymore.

My iPod rocks.

The kids at Smokecomic.com are saying there may be a problem getting me an artist in time for my July debut (our quid pro quo deal was website for artist). Half the people I know say I should take their site down until they get me one. I hate to do that sort of thing, amongst Black people. It just feels so icky. I've made no decisions yet.

On the good side, my Seattle based collaborator is a frickin' genius and has some pages done that blow my wig clean off (quite a feat, seeing as I'm clean shaven). Our book is looks like it's gonna be great, and may serve as my July debut against my wishes (I gotta have something at Comicon, right?).

I have this one client, one I won't name but who was a very odd referral, who is paying little and bothering me constantly. Another client I have to chase down to get anything going at all. A final one is holding off on launching until she can finish some things that I thought were done last year ... I remember now why the last web design company I was in failed -- I hate clients, I hate talking to them, and it drives me nuts to have to do so. I love the work, the coding and graphics. The rest is crazy making.

Interesting conversations on my Cage column over at SpinnerRack ... actual intelligent discourse, which is a very refreshing change. I got more positive mail from that column than from anything I've ever done, so I figger the "calm, intelligent approach" has its benefits over the "screaming, ranting, mad bastard approach" I prefer. Eh.

Lessee what else is going on ... The Rock continues his irritating habit of losing and only sporadically entertaining me. I can see it's all a set up for Triple H to get the belt ... but still, yawn city. I hope things might change soon ...

Otherwise just another tedious week in my increasingly irritating life. Not bad enough to really complain about, but not good enough to ... well ... be happy about I suppose. Hm.

12/6/01 11 PM PST: Well, I still don't have a job, but I'm in a better energy place and things look tolerably okay otherwise.

I'm watching lots of wrestling these days. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and it's not necessarily a good thing. I found out that Al Snow is a regular at my favorite comic book store in Culver City. I also find the whiplash changes in character for Chris Jericho (who I have always loathed but my little brother Chazz liked), Stone Cold Steve Austin (who I've always found had some of the best catchphrases, a wondrous side effect of having your trademarked name owned by the company) and The Undertaker (whose brother remains a "good guy," instead of following 'Taker as he has his whole career) very tiresome. At least the fights quit duplicating all the same moves over and over again. Yawn.

I got the Smoke website online, and it kind of bangs. I'm almost happy with it, but not quite just yet ... we'll see. Ready to head into production for my own books now. Hm.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I severed my business relationship with What's Next Entertainment in somewhat acrimonious terms. I'll tell you about it sometime.

My comic book writing is slow moving. I'm spending much more time looking for ways to get clients. I've got an overdue proposal to one restaurant owner, some overdue designs to a client near her last payment ... I dunno, I'm trying to work it out.

I've become fascinated by pyramid schemes. Not like I'm gonna give them any money, no, but because each new "business" owner needs materials. Brochures. Letterhead. Web site. Business cards. I do all that stuff. I need to smack somebody and get things started therein. Gonna go talk to some pyramid scheme types tomorrow and see.

Anyway, just checking in and rambling. Carry on.

11/13/01 3:00 AM PST: Funny how it's always late when I update this. I need to get a job.

Anyway, freelancing slow days away. I will be launching the new website for Smoke (an indie comic of some quality, the current site is, to quote Grant Morrison, "shite," through no major fault of the creators) within two weeks (just in time for their ad to hit in Wizard), still working dilligently on the Integrity Recordings site for my dawg Robin Aguilar, being exasperated with some other freelance clients who can remain unnamed (names changed to protect the guilty), and contemplating returning to the ugly, ugly pages of hip hop journalism. Am I that bored? Is money that tight? Anyway, if you care there may be links up sooner or later to that madness.

People are getting the idea SpinnerRack is an anti-Marvel site. My constant railing on the current regime probably fuels a lot of that. I've cut back the column a bit to help with that. Smacked Diamond a bit recently, but ehhh ...

Completely missed my high school reunion last month. From reports I get back, it's no great loss. Happily married as I am, what was the point? The goal of high school reunions is to go back and nail people you couldn't get to sleep with you way back when. Who needs the drama?

Jay-Z pled guilty to stabbing a guy forever ago. I did some coverage back in the Damage Control days, and to be honest, I'd never have suspected this outcome. With more money than he obviously knows what to do with, Jay-Z is simply as dumb as a box of hair to have done it himself. Have we learned nothing from the Kennedy family? He deserves to be bootlegged.

Older I get, the more I like to avoid excitement. Settled into a very dull routine, with daytime TV and the PowerBook in the bedroom, for twelve or so hours a day. I need a regular gig, and for the world to make more sense. At least I have Huey Freeman, who I know can dig my scenario ...

10/16/01 3:00 AM PST: If you're checking this out from SpinnerRack.com, how's it going, thanks for swinging by. Whatever drama that was there is gone, and it was (as I expected) just two guys being guys and settlin' stuff. No story worth telling.

Every editor I've had since 1992 has made me think, "That was not an edit they should have done, people should see the real thing." They made cuts that I felt were irrelevant, that distorted the content or intent of the work, or just generally not done it right. I'd have to believe there's lots of writers who feel the same.

I'm sorry to say my current editor (and a guy I really like, for the record, Eric Stephenson) is no different. I hold no grudges for it -- it's business, something I can't be mad at, and they hold more responsibility than I do for the publications in question (which is also really how I want it, who needs the stress?). Unlike Spider Jerusalem, I'm not gonna get all medieval about it -- the web's too big and I'm too busy.

Nevertheless, my latest column for SpinnerRack has some edits I feel are just not right and distort what I'm trying to say. It changes the narrative thrust of the piece. I mean, "Ah, yes ..." what am I, the evil love child of X-Clan's Professor X and Andy Rooney? Come on, you know I didn't write that, and it sings of something missing. I don't mind editing for legal reasons, I don't mind editing for space. I mind editing and changing my voice. That's just plain wrong.

On the other hand, I realize that it's not my site and it's not my place to criticize a man in his own house. That also would be just plain wrong. So, as always, I publish the column I think the world should see here, live and uncut. Not out of anger, but because I feel the real thing should see the light of day. I have no beef with anybody, despite my absence from the site for a while.

Oh, if you missed last week's Soapbox commentary, in short Jemas (see appleheaded jackass in photo to the right) was so boorish and irksome that it made me look up from the high profile web sites and five figure proposals I'm working on to get a column out. To paraphrase Jay-Z, "can't leave comics alone, the game needs me."

I should note the only editor that stayed out of my way didn't know what the hell he was doing, a tall lanky guy named Jim at the late, unlamented V magazine at USC. Bygones.

Carry on.

10/8/01 3:29 AM PST: I should stop reading things on the internet.

I was able to read the information, misinformation, half information and uninformation about what's going on in the world, and be all right with it. My internal filters are hooked directly to the deflector dish (take a drink!) and they're working at peak efficiency.

Then Marvel president Bill Jemas gets it in his corn-cob head to spout off over on Comicon ... it just shook me.

I mean, here I am, something like three weeks late with a column (largely due to lots of work on a proposal for new business, hunting clients is hard y'all!) and this jackass does something so egregious, so irritating that it practically forces me to write a column.

Anyway, I forwarded the column on to Eric over at SpinnerRack.com, but considering he hasn't emailed me in ... hell, exactly a month now, I have to assume he's some kind of displeased with me and that the column will end up printed here. I'll give it a few days before I toss it up here for your review.

So here I am, middle of the night, a whole lotta stuff to do tomorrow, wife dead to the world sleep and headed into 13 days of work with no break, and Jemas' apple-headed ass got me up and agitated. Damned internet.

Anyway, I'm going to bed, if you got a problem with it, holler.

9/21/01 5:30 PM PST: At this time, I have plenty of opinions about the events of September 11th. On the other hand, I have no interest in making those opinions public for reasons both various and sundry.

Despite the vast amount of my work in print and online, I have been the recipient of some really shoddy guesses as to what that opinion might be. If anybody really wants to know, they should take me out for some lunch and I'll discuss it with them. Otherwise, I've moved on.

I'm a bit tardy with my column, for which I apologize, and I suppose it's forthcoming sooner or later. I'm not sure about that, for reasons I'm also not really interested in discussing publicly.

"Why are you saying what you won't say?" you might be asking. Because people keep asking me about these things, and I would hope that a note of any direction will mean a cessation of questions. Carry on.

9/11/01 3:29 PM PST: At this time, I have no comment whatsoever about the events that happened today.

8/26/01 12:32 AM: The facts, such as they are, follow ...

• Blast From The Past Part II: Sunday, I get a call from a number in the 901 area code -- one I remember as my childhood hometown of Memphis. This wigs me out, and I call back to discover this sister my mom used to babysit named Tracy Blanchard had looked me up through the web. Her parents, who were like a play aunt and uncle to me, still live in the same house on Neely Road, going on 30 years there. We chatted for about twenty minutes, catching up, and I vaguely promised to roll through Memphis when I go to Texas next year. It was really great talking to her, and it made me remember things I may have forgotten on purpose. I'm scared of what's gonna leap out of my past at me next!
• I got the strangest email from an old high school classmate, letting me know the reunion head was looking for me. I traded emails with this girl (Tami Scheidt, now a woman, I guess, I remember her as this sad thing in a cast much of senior year) and she encouraged me to come to the reunion. My wife likewise has been nudging me to make the drive to the Pacific Northwest. It's been a strange week, remembering that strange, strange time -- I also scanned some images from yearbooks to serve as templates for a penciller on my debut comic book, due out July 2002. I dunno ... I originally had huge plans to go to my high school reunion, after I saw Grosse Pointe Blank and Romy & Michele's High School Reunion in the same week, back in 1997 when I was single. I was gonna go back and sleep with every girl I couldn't get in high school. Well, the ones that were still hot. Now I'm happily married and that isn't even interesting anymore. My classmate (who originally forwarded the email) suggested I find a new goal. I dunno. The reunion's in late September ... we'll see if I can figure a reason to make the trip.
• Aaliyah died tonight. I don't know why, but that makes me a little sad. I mean, she was 22 years old, first of all, and poised to make a ton of skrilla, with a music career that was making it happen, slots in the next two Matrix films, and ... well, heck, she was cute, that goes a long way in showbiz. Personally, I thought she had no booty, which is a capital offense from which there is no recovery in my eyes (i.e. "that's why I never sought her out, since you can reach people in LA like that"), but I liked her music and I found her an entertaining human being. Plus she was a sister. She died in a plane crash coming back from a video shoot in the Bahamas. I feel kinda sad about it. I just wanted to holler, say my condolences to her family and peeps, and all that. No big message, no underlying theme, I'm just sorry it happened.
• I've been writing a weekly column called (for reasons that are largely unimportant) The Operative Word at SpinnerRack.com, the brainchild of Allen Hui and Eric Stephenson, my former colleagues at NextPlanetOver. It's all content all the time. Everyone is pretty happy with it, I suppose. I haven't taken the column all that seriously, phoning in an installment or three, but started doing it with much more interest and research, considering it real journalism again (against my wishes, really, since I didn't want that much work). Anyhoo, you can check it out over in their Columns Archive.
  EDITOR'S NOTE: SpinnerRack is dead, near as I can tell, and I moved all the columns over here. Enjoy.