Jason Rodriguez - The Moose in the Closet

Coast-to-Coast Comicdom: An Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:28:00 +0000

I have downtime today! I slept 9 hours and gave myself 10 hours to take a 4 hour trip! I needed this slight break, I'm beat to fuck.

The road trip's been great. I'm in Grants, New Mexico now and driving out to Flagstaff today.I get to see the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, and Meteor Crater on the way - nice! I'm going to see The Dark Knight today, too. There's been two articles posted on DCist so far so far and the third's going up today.

Everything's fine, I'm re-energized, I'm meeting tons of cool people, and I have no regrets.

Grounds-eye view of comics coast-to-coast

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:16:00 +0000

So I have enough encouragement and interest in an article or a series of articles that feature a grounds-eye view of comics from coast-to-coast. I’m going to be doing it while on my San Diego road trip, making stops along the way to chat with fans, creators, and retailers to talk to them about how (and if) the comics’ boom is effecting them. Get a feel for how comics’ growth and mainstream acceptance is perceived outside of the East/West coast.

I can’t talk specifics about where this is going to be published, yet, I do have some interest and I need to start casting a wider net to bring folks in so I’m not doing it last minute. So here’re the major cities I’ll be cutting through:

Roanoke, VA
Knoxville, TN (Spending the night – July 15th)
Nashville, TN
Memphis, TN (Spending two nights – July 16th and 17th)
Little Rock, AR
Oklahoma City, OK (Spending the night – July 18th)
(Time Permitting) Tulsa, OK
Albuquerque, NM (Spending the night – July 19th)
Santa Fe, NM (Spending the night – July 20th)
Flagstaff, AZ (Spending the night – July 21st)
Phoenix, AZ (Spending the night – July 22nd)
Yuma, AZ
San Diego, CA (Spending four nights (July 23rd – July 26th)

If you know someone in those cities or situated between those cities, I’d love to see if I can squeeze them in. A little talk, grab a bite to eat with them, have a drink, take a tour of their comic shop, go see Dark Knight Returns (I’ll probably be in OK City the night it comes out), hook me up with some internet access, reading session…I’m open for suggestions. I already have some appointments in some of those cities but, as stated, I’m going to try to squeeze in as much as I can.

Road Trippin’: Albuquerque to Flagstaff

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:09:00 +0000

Three weeks from today I’ll be driving from Albuquerque to Flagstaff. I have it in my head that this will be the prettiest segment of the road trip since I’m taking a slight detour to cut through the petrified forest and the painted desert.

I used to go to Arizona as a kid to visit my Uncle Alex. I’ve been to Old Tucson, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon but the petrified forest and the painted desert were two places I never got to visit because they were always kind of out of the way. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited to finally get to check them out.

There are other great sites along the way, but I have the meteor crater pretty high on my list of must-sees. Then there’s “Standing on the Corner” Park in Winslow, Arizona that celebrates the Eagle’s catchy pop-tune “Take it Easy.”

I’m staying at a hostel in Flagstaff, my final hostel of the trip, I believe.

Road Trippin’: Santa Fe to Albuquerque

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:58:00 +0000

Three weeks from day and I’ll be going from Santa Fe to Albuquerque. I’ll probably be leaving Santa Fe a little on the earlier side. I’ve always wanted to see Albuquerque and along the way the Bonezone, the Tinkertown Museum, Chevy on a Stick and the Atomic Canyon. I think, for the most part, I just want to get down there for dinner, hang around a little while in the AM, and then take the ultra-scenic portion of the drive. Looking forward to it.

Road Trippin': Oklahoma City, OK to Santa Fe, NM

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:37:00 +0000

Three weeks from today I'll be driving from OK City to Santa Fe where my friends Bram and Monica will be putting my up for the evening. It's my longest leg at 8 hours and probably the one leg with the most stuff to stop of and see. I'll need to leave OK City early on Saturday, try to get on the road at 7AM or so, and just start driving.

What am I most excited about? Elvis Stayed Here Hotel? The Blarney Stone? The Devil's Rope Museum? The 19-story Cross? The Swimming Pool Shaped Like Texas? The Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument? Cadillac Ranch? Some of Route 66's best scenes? Or something that I'm not even aware of?

It'll be a long, incredibly fun, day of driving. I'm very much looking forward to it.

Road Trippin’: Memphis to Oklahoma City

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:12:00 +0000

Three weeks from today I’ll be driving from Memphis to Oklahoma City, the third-longest leg of my trip at seven hours. Three weeks from today The Dark Knight is released. I’m sure you can see my dilemma.

The way I see it, I have three options. I can catch an IMAX screening in Little Rock. The only problem with that plan is that I planned on grabbing lunch with my friend Elton Pruitt while in Little Rock. That, combined with a movie, would be a hug chunk of my day and there’s some great scenic driving en route to Oklahoma I don’t want to miss.

So the IMAX thing is probably out. Oh, what’s that? See the IMAX screening in Oklahoma City? I would do that but, you see, there apparently isn’t an IMAX theater in the ENTIRE STATE OF OKLAHOMA. Oh well.

There is a pretty cool-looking drive-in, however, that seems to play recent movies. I’m really hoping they have The Dark Knight showing since I’ve never been to a drive-in before. If they’re not showing it, it looks like I’ll be seeing it in some plain-ole Movie Theater. You may call it a wasted night for the road trip but, come on, we’re talking The Dark Fucking Knight here.

So, that dilemma aside, what else do I have to look forward to three weeks from today? The William J. Clinton Library in Little Rock, of course. I still have a soft-spot for that old pervert. A statue of Popeye in Alma. The home of Woodie Guthrie in Okemah. A whole lot of scenic driving. And, of course, some OK City attractions such as Flaming Lips Alley where I have to imagine I’ll be able to pick up some LSD.

Road Trippin’: Memphis

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:24:00 +0000

Three weeks from today I’ll be spending my second day in Memphis.

I’m trying not to set-up too much of an agenda for Memphis, honestly. I know I’ll be spending my evening on Beale Street and I know I’ll be going to the Stax Museum and Graceland. I’ll probably spend as much time as needed at the Public Library’s Music Collection and try to dig through articles from the 50s and 60s to help get a feel for the growing soul community down there.

I’m mainly trying to get a backdrop for the Sam Cooke book I’m working on.

And then there’s the barbeque, of course. Every meal will likely be pig slathered in barbeque sauce.

I’m really looking forward to Memphis. I’ll probably find myself going back down there sometime this winter so I’m just getting a little taste for now.

Road Trippin’: Knoxville to Memphis

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:09:00 +0000

Three weeks from today I’ll be making the trip from Knoxville to Memphis. I’m actually spending two nights in Memphis; there’s way too much to do there to simply spend one evening. Barbeque, soul music, and Elvis – Memphis is the city I’m most excited about.

Before getting to Memphis, however, I have to pass through Nashville. I want to have a picnic in front of the Parthenon, a replica of the Parthenon in Rome housed in the southwest corner of the city. If I make good time I’m going to stop at the Country Music Hall of Fame before lunch and wander the halls a bit. I’m not a hugs country music fan but, you know, when in Nashville.

Before getting to Memphis I’d like to stop off at the Rock-a-Billy Hall of Fame – a bit more my speed. That’s in Jackson, Tennessee. From there it’s a quick trip down to Memphis where I’ll be spending two nights in a hostel and my daytimes and evenings eating and touring. I’ll write more about my Memphis plans tomorrow.

Road Trippin’: DC to Knoxville

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:01:00 +0000

In three weeks I’ll be making the trip from Washington DC to Knoxville, Tennessee. According to Google Maps the trip should take a little under eight hours.

I’ll be stopping in Roanoke for lunch – I’d like to have a little picnic at Center In the Square before going over to see Mini-Graceland. I’m kind of psyched to see Mini-Graceland since I’ll be seeing the real one when I get to Memphis. It seems the landmark was in disarray for a while but it’s slowly getting put back together. I’m not sure what state it’ll be in when I get there.

Continuing on there’s the Big Pencil in Wytheville, Virginia. I figure that since this is a writing pilgrimage/research trip stopping off to pick up some new supplies at the Wytheville Office Supply shop that houses the Big Pencil would be a good idea.

A little passed Wytheville is the grave of Dr. Pepper. There’s really not much of a reason to stop there except to say I stopped at Dr. Pepper’s grave. I don’t even really like Dr. Pepper all that much.

That’s really all I have planned as far as the first leg of my trip goes. Time permitting I’d like to stop at some wineries on the way. I’m more excited about the view – it’s a pretty scenic route all the way down. I’ll be staying at a hostel in Knoxville for the night and some point before leaving Knoxville I’ll be sure to check out the Sunsphere because, according to The Simpsons, that’s all Knoxville has. I’ll also be checking out the world’s largest Rubic’s Cube, of course.

1986 Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:41:00 +0000

Back in 2005, I wrote about my undying love for the New York Mets that started in the fall of 1986. I was an 8-year-old kid, the city was on fire, and the way the World Series played out made me understand what baseball was all about. It was more than hero-worship through baseball cards - I fell in love with the sport on that day.

I cleaned out the apartment this past weekend and came across a video produced in 1986 - it was the "Let's Go Mets" music video along with a making-of feature. I remember getting this as a kid - I'm actually pretty sure I got it at one of those Mets' kids club things at Shea where we got to listen to the rookies give pointers on how to hit a ball. I watched the video and, not seeing much about it online, new it had to be archived for a new generation. So, without further ado, the 1986 Let's Go Mets video in six parts:

Rick Aguilera's ball tricks at about 1:50 on Part 5 mesmerized me as a kid. I still try to do that to this day whenever I have a baseball in my hand:

Incognegro

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:23:00 +0000

An excellent read from Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece. The story about a black journalist that passes for white, going undercover in the deep south mid-1900s under the penname Incognegro. The story has him investigating a murder that his brother has been accused of but didn't commit. Fast-paced read, in fact...

It was lacking some quieter moments - the whole thing just seemed to move and move and move. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it was such a powerful story that I would have loved a couple of moments of reflection; especially considering Warren Pleece's fantastic artwork. But beyond that little nitpick I'd have to say this was a great piece.

Buy Incognegro.
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Summer Reading
Read So Far:
Incognegro
The Men Who Stare at Goats
War Fix
The Yiddish Policeman's Union
Shortcomings
Cairo
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Up Next:
Lives of the Popes
The Left Bank Gang

The Men Who Stare At Goats & War Fix

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:35:00 +0000

Summer reading continues...

I finished two books yesterday. The Men Who Stare At Goats was funny 50% of the time and frightening the other 50%. It's the (supposedly) true story about a US military division that's been around since the 70s exploring different avenues of psychological warfare. One of the programs believed men could be trained to be super soldiers; the fifth level of that program try to teach people how to stop a goats heart by simply staring at it. Apparently only one person ever got to that level. The rest of the book is equally odd - subliminal messages and psychic spying and the program's ties to fuck-ups like the Koresh Branch Davidians and Heaven's Gate. On the whole it was an entertaining read but sometimes the story seemed to lack cohesion. Other than that it's a fantastic summer read.

Buy The Men Who Stare At Goats

War Fix was gorgeous but I think it was the result of an inexperienced comic writer with an inexperienced comic artist. Layouts were confusing and the writing sometimes seemed detached from the incredible visuals. I got to read a sample of the follow-up book and that's looking much better already.

Buy War Fix

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Summer Reading
Read So Far:
The Men Who Stare at Goats
War Fix
The Yiddish Policeman's Union
Shortcomings
Cairo
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Up Next:
Incognegro
(I need to make a library run - out of books)

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:27:00 +0000

Well, it's summer time. During the summer is when I do the bulk of my reading, averaging around 2 books a week (including graphic novels). I usually track what I'm reading on Good Reads but I think I'll do it on this blog as well as well, just to get some stuff posted. Of course, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

____________________________

I finished The Yiddish Policemen's Union yesterday. It was a fantastic book but I think it suffers from being Chabon's follow-up to Kavalier & Clay, one of my all-time favorite books. It seems like a lot of the themes from Kavalier & Clay were reexplored in a new environment and genre. It was still fanciful and heart-wrenching and clever as all hell, it just felt like it went back to the well a couple of times. Does that mean it's a bad book? Of course not. If this book was written by anyone else I think I would have been praising it to no end. I guess I just wanted a little but more.

__________________________

Read This Summer:
The Yiddish Policeman's Union
Cairo
Shortcomings
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Currently Reading:
The Men Who Stare At Goats
War Fix

It's Eisner Voting Time

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:14:00 +0000

Comics professionals should head over to http://www.eisnervote.com and vote for this year’s Eisner recipients. I’m not going to beat around the bush – my book Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened has been nominated for Best Anthology and any votes that can be thrown my way would be appreciated. I really don’t want folks to blindly vote for the book, however – I want you to know what it’s about, see if it’s your thing, and, if so, give it a vote. Therefore I’m reposting all of the reviews and features with artwork or full-stories from the book. Give it a look if you have the time, pick up the book at your local comic shop, bookstore, or library if you feel so inclined, and then make up your mind.

1 – The first page of every story in Postcards
2 – Publisher’s Weekly preview of Stuart Moore and Michael Gaydos’ Tic-Tac-Bang-Bang
3 – Comic Book Resources’ preview of Tom Beland’s Time

And in case you wanted to see some of our bigger reviews, head on over to USA Today, Daily Candy, Ain’t it Cool News, Bookslut , Washington Post, and the 2007 Kirkus Reviews’ Graphic Spotlight.

And then go vote in the Eisner’s. Even if you don’t vote for Postcards there are a still a lot of nominees that deserve your love.

Young Liars

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:17:00 +0000

Ok, so here's the deal. Anyone who knows me knows that I am deeply in love with the work of Dave Lapham. He wants people to try out his new Vertigo series, Young Liars (which so far has been on par with Stray Bullets, one of the best continuous series comics has ever seen) and he's offering up a cool promotion to get the word out. Below:

Yes it is a Vertigo book, and I'm trying my G#$damn hardest to make sure it's not cancelled. I'm putting my heart and soul into this thing and I'm trying to spread the word. Details below...

I just wanted to thank anyone spreading the word about Young Liars and everyone who will give it a try. It would mean everything to me to make this book a success. Not only because it's my living and my passion but also because it would allow me the freedom to get back to Stray Bullet, if even only on a limited basis.

Anyone who tries out Young Liars and sends it to me with a SASE will have the comic returned signed (personalized or not) along with a headshot sketch of any character you choose. Could be a Young Liars character, Stray Bullets character, Your favorite Valiant character, etc.

Spread the word on this. I'll do this for anyone who tries out YL.

Send all comics to:

David Lapham
P.O. Box 3911
Glendale, CA 91221-0911

Germany: Checking In

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:18:00 +0000

I have lots of pictures and lots of stories and I've only been here for one day...

Real quick: I got back to the hotel at 6PM to power nap and accidentally slept until midnight. Thinking my night was fucked I went out for a quick bite and a beer. I met some awesome locals and ended up stumbling home at 6AM. Good times, now I'm trying to wake up so I can go see some museums today.

Ich hatte gern ein halbes bier

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:13:00 +0000

Well, I'm off to Munich tomorrow. Communication will be sporadic. I'll keep an online travel journal but I'll be traveling solo for the most part so I don't know how exciting the trip will be. I know how to communicate at a beer garden so I should be good.

Wedding Planning: Location Scouting

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:23:00 +0000

Robin and I have been thinking about the wedding for the past couple of months but this weekend I think it's safe to say we finally started planning it. We went up to Boston to scout out locations. We checked out The Barker Tavern in Scituate (which, in Mass, is kind of sort-of pronounced "shit you it" and we couldn't stop saying "shit you ate"), the BU Castle in Boston, and Stonehurst, The Robert Treat Paine Estate (or, as I like to call it, The House of Paine) in Waltham.

Each hall had it's pros and cons but The House of Paine was all pros with one exception...price.

Ugh.

But I think we both loved the place way too much to let the price get us down, we'll just have to make adjustments elsewhere.

At any rate, here's a flickr photoset of the three places for you to love and enjoy.

www.flickr.com

Eximious Pictures' Wedding photoset

Well, that was a nice surprise.

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:08:00 +0000

I got the news of the nomination on Friday and I’ve been dying to talk about it. I told a few people, of course. My parents, Robin, and my friends Gennaro and Marcelo. Some of my DC Conspiracy crew. Some of the guys from the book. And I called up Tony Fleecs’ mom to tell her the good news, as well. Feel free to listen to that little exchange.

Oh, and I guess I also told Robin’s family. And some of the other people I’m currently working with on other projects. And I might have mentioned it to everyone that was sitting at a bar in Boston on Saturday. And Sunday. And a couple of my friends in DC. Like, all of them.

Ok, so I guess I didn’t really wait to talk about it. At least I didn’t post anything online.

But, look, I’m excited. I mean, really excited. This book started as a labor of love over two years ago. I got folks on-board quickly and they put a lot of energy into their stories. I put a lot of it together intending to self-publish it. Random House came along and picked it up but instead of simply handing it off I shook a lot of hands and did a lot of press and tried to get folks excited about this book.

It’s just nice, at the end of all that, to be nominated for the crème-de-la-crème of comic awards. I now know why people say it’s an honor to be nominated.

The other anthologies nominated this year are all top notch. Best American Comics, 24Seven, 5, and Mome. You know it’s a good year for anthologies when Popgun, Flight, and Hotwire Comix didn’t get a nomination. So, I’m honored – thanks to the judges and to all the folks that supported the book. See you all in San Diego!

Writing for Comics at the Bethesda Writer's Center

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:07:00 +0000

I'm on a panel this comic Tuesday to promote my Writing for Comics class at the Bethesda Writer's Center. Info below.

For Immediate Release

THE BETHESDA WRITER’S CENTER PRESENTS “WRITING FOR GRAPHIC NOVELS”

Panel 1

We’re at the Bethesda Writer’s Center (http://www.writer.org), America’s premier independent literary center. It’s 7:30PM on Tuesday, April 15^th. Four panelists are sitting in front of a crowded auditorium. This is a promotional event for the Writer’s Center’s upcoming Writing for Comics 12-week course.

Panel 2

Tight on Matt Dembicki. He’s the artist and writer behind the Day Prize-nominated Mr. Big. He’s talking a bit about self-publishing your comic.

MATT: When you self-publish, you find you have the freedom to do your comic the way you want to do it. You’re your own editor.

Panel 3

Cut to political cartoonist Carlton Stoiber. He’s talking about balancing a day job while making comics.

CARLTON: I maintain a consulting practice on nuclear security and safety issues by day and create comics by night.

Panel 4

Chris Piers is standing up now. He’s talking about the challenges writers face when collaborating with artists.

CHRIS: If you’re trying to find an artist with a full script in hand, you’re probably too late.

Panel 5

It’s comic editor Jason Rodriguez’s turn to talk. He’s discussing the business of comics and how someone publishes their work in the current market.

JASON: There’re a lot of publishers out there looking for comics. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of people looking for publishers.

Panel 6

Writer’s Center Executive Director and panel moderator Greg Robison’s giving his closing remarks.

GREG: We’d like to thank the generous grant from the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation. It’s paying for this panel and will also sponsor three high-school students looking to take this course. Contact the Writer’s Center for more information (postmaster@writer.org, 301-654-8664).

Jason Rodriguez: The Danny DeVito of Comics

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:51:00 +0000

I have my title thanks to the New York Times.

And as an added bonus Gawker told me to go screw!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have arrived!

Road Trippin’: Hostels

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:15:00 +0000

Oh boy…

So everyone that knows me knows that I’m a bit of a, how shall I say it…I’m a prissy. Look, I like nice things. I like expensive foods and four-star hotels and large plasma TVs for my high-def DVDs, X-Box 360, Wii, digital cable, etc. I like nice clothes and comfortable furniture and Old World Wine. It’s just how I am…

So I was thinking about my hotel situation. You see, this trip is going to be expensive. Anyone who’s ever been to Comic-Con knows that I’ll be spending at least a grand over the four days in San Diego alone (including the return flight home, of course). Combine that with the rental car, the gas, the food, entertainment money, and the hotels for the 8 days I’m driving to the convention and, well, even I have my limits.

Even the cheap hotels would be $40-$50 per night and I’ll be staying on some highway away from the city, most likely. Getting bedbugs. So I looked into camping – if I’m going to be away from the cities I might as well have some fresh air and friendly neighbors. But it’s just not worth it – it’s like $25-$30 a night for a campsite and I’d have to actually, you know, buy camping equipment. Oh – forgot to mention – I’ve never been camping before.

So I decided to look into hostels and I was amazed to find that they actually exist in America.

So I booked hostels for my overnights in Knoxville, Memphis, and Flagstaff. Four of the eight nights will cost me $15-$17 and all I need to do is share a room with several dudes.

Ok – there’s the practical thing again. I’m saving some dough. Probably around $40 a night for those four nights. And I get to do it while staying within the city limits. Awesome!

But, again, there’s also the real reason I should be doing this. Why lock myself up in some hotel room where I won’t meet anyone? Isn’t the point of this trip to meet folks, have an adventure, and hear some stories (so I can steal them)? I need to put myself in a position to do that…

I’ll be staying at the Knoxville Hostel, the Pilgrim House Hostel, and the Grand Canyon International Hostel. I looked into hostels for my nights in Albuquerque and Santa Fe but there seems to be only one place available in both of those cities and the reviews are mixed but the bad ones are…well…fucking frightening.

Never stayed at a hostel before. No idea what to expect. The best part is that staying in a hostel for four nights will loosen up my budget a tad for the other four nights. Maybe I’ll stay at a Days Inn!

My hotel in San Diego is gorgeous. There’s always that. I can go back to being my shallow self once the driving is done.

Road Trippin'

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:20:00 +0000

I was planning my yearly trip to San Diego Comic-Con. I already had my hotel; I booked it last year. My pro registration was sent in. Random House took care of the Eisner nomination stuff for Postcards; I was getting the groundwork laid out for some new books. The only thing I didn’t do was book my flight.

And I said, “Hey – I should drive to San Diego this year.”

There are practical reasons behind driving out there. My main character in The Know It All takes a cross-country trip, for instance, and seeing the route he would take is probably a bit of a necessity. I can also stop in Memphis and soak in some soul music; it’ll only help with the Sam Cooke book. Those two reasons, combined with the fact that I’m going to San Diego for Comic-Con, makes this trip a nice, fat tax deduction.

So, like I said, practical.

And then there are the real reasons.

For starters, I’ve simply never done anything like this. I went from high school to college working every summer, never really took a spring break excursion, and started working the week after I graduated. I’ve taken vacations, of course, but those were always so structured. Get on the plane, fly somewhere, see the sites, fly home and go back to work. I’ve taken road trips, I guess, but the furthest I’ve ever traveled by car as an adult was 7 hours and that was all on I-95. As a kid I took trips down to Florida with the family.

But this is different. I’m going solo. There’s something about pulling that safety net out from under you. On all my other trips I had the comfort of home by my side at all times – I didn’t have to pay attention to my surroundings if I didn’t want to. On this trip, however, I’m forced to mingle with the locals and other travelers or else I’m going to have a very lonely 8 days on the road. And I like that.

There’s also that romantic idea behind centering yourself. Let’s be honest, this time one year ago I was on top of the world. I recently proposed to Robin and Postcards was turned into the printer – I had the galleys in my hand. One year later and I feel like I’ve taken two steps backwards. Is that a bad thing? Not really – it didn’t turn out the way I wanted the first time so I’ll just have to try it again. But does it still bug me a bit? Of course it does. And centering at a time like this is always a good idea and nothing centers a person like 3,000 miles of road.

So I’ve heard, at least.

So I’m going. I rented a car. I took the time off of work. I plotted a route and have tentative stops:

Tuesday, July 15th – Knoxville, TN
Wednesday, July 16th – Memphis, TN
Thursday, July 17th – Memphis, TN
Friday, July 18th – Oklahoma City, OK
Saturday, July 19th – Santa Fe, NM
Sunday, July 20th – Albuquerque, NM
Monday, July 21st – Flagstaff, AZ
Tuesday, July 22nd – La Quinta, CA

I plotted those stops on Google Maps along with road side attractions I should keep my eyes open for:

View Larger Map

I even started making my rules for the trip…

1) Photograph everything
2) Video tape as much as you can
3) Use the voice record constantly
4) Write everything in a journal
5) Talk to someone everywhere you stop

There will be more, I’m sure.

I have a shopping list. I need a good tripod. A cooler that I wouldn’t mind leaving behind in San Diego. Postcard stamps. I need to get some audio books from the library.

I looked up AAA approved hotels along the way, just in case.

I have goals. I’ll update Twitter constantly. I’ll try and update Flickr and this blog every night. I’ll edit a video journal when I get back.

I still have more planning to do. More stuff to buy and more ideas for the road to come up with. But I’m doing this. And I’m very excited.

This just feels right.

'Fessing Up: Red Lobster

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:01:00 +0000

I’m 30 and Robin is 29. We’re well within the “upper-middle class” range; some may even define us as within the “high income” range. It’s safe to say that we love food but it’s probably more accurate to say that we’re restaurant aficionados. We love going to the latest and greatest in DC-area restaurants and filling up on plates that’ll make the average DC tourist say, “Wuh huh?” Sure, we eat at the occasional chains but always with a sense of irony. T.G.I.Fridays, for instance, where I’ll sit and swallow a steak and plantain sandwich, commenting on how well it pairs with whatever pinot noir they’re pushing that particular month. Also we can occasionally behave like 95% of the rest of America and pretend that we have this totally unique restaurant in our neighborhood called “The Cheesecake Factory” because, let’s be honest, their cheesecakes aren’t all that bad.

And that ends the list of national chains we’ll admit to frequenting. There’s no Applebee’s. No Ponderosa or Bennigans or Outback Steak House or Perkins or Golden Coral or Olive Garden or Chevy’s or Chili’s. Even Legal Seafood seems a bit too mainstream these days and we lived in Boston back when Legal Seafood was still an aspiring chain; we’d rather go to McCormick & Schmick’s.

Oh, yeah, and there’s one thing I forgot to mention. We fucking love Red Lobster.

Yeah, I said it. Red Lobster has been the butt of my generation’s jokes for far too long. I honestly don’t even know where the hate came from. Is it the tacky décor? The horrid uniforms? The schlock commercials? It could be the clientele, I guess. If you look at the Venn diagram you’ll note that the intersection – that perfect storm of everything our generation is not – represents the average Red Lobster patron.

So Robin and I are outliers but we’re proud of it. I’m here right now to tell you that there is nothing wrong with Red Lobster. The seafood is always fresh, the portions are outrageous, and their dishes are damn tasty. Their bar selection isn’t that bad and their deserts are delicious in a Disney Land sort of way (and that makes them SUPER delicious).

Last night we were trying to decide what to do. We were trying to decide who to call, where to go, if we should eat at home first, etc. I was the one who brought it up. I said, “Let’s go to Red Lobster.” Robin was excited by the idea – Red Lobster is a rare treat for us since they’re all so far away. We knew we couldn’t invite any friends along because Red Lobster is our dark secret (well, was our dark secret).

We drove out to the Red Lobster in Alexandria and sat at the bar for a little while. We ordered a seafood sampler. Bacon-wrapped scallops, fried clam strips, and crab-and-lobster stuffed mushrooms. The dish was a miracle and it only cost us nine bucks. The bacon-wrapped scallops were as good as one’s I’ve eaten in most places, the clam strips were light and tasty, and the stuffed mushroom…I wouldn’t be surprised if Jesus had them at his Last Supper. And no, I’m not being sarcastic.

It’s Lobster Fest time so it took us a while to decide on our actual dinner order. I got the lobster chops with grilled scallops, broccoli, rice pilaf, and a Caesar salad. Robin got grilled lobster and shrimp with this marvelous garlic-butter sauce and a baked-potato side and some broccoli. We split a half-pound of snow crab legs, had a couple of beers, and who could forget Red Lobster’s wonderful cheesy bread.

The cost for this shellfish and beer feast? $72. With tip. That’s basically the most two people could possibly spend at a Red Lobster. And for that price you get a meal that’ll cost you $72 per person at most high-end seafood restaurants and, honestly, it won’t taste all that much better.

Since we were on our own last night we decided to go all out – we went bowling after dinner and bought a bunch of scratch tickets. It was our way of fighting the establishment.

So I’m begging my generation: please give Red Lobster another chance. Ignore their large selection of “signature drinks.” Ignore their cringe-worthy marketing normally high-priced and sacred shellfish. Ignore the guy that’s yelling at his waitress because he hasn’t received his bread yet. Just sit down with your lady or your man, order an obscene amount of lobster and shrimp, be prepared to spend two hours there, and live a little.

You’ll find it’s not as bad as everyone says it is.

The Drunken Wine Critic: The Website

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:34:00 +0000

Completely smashed video and text reviews of the wines you could actually find in your local shop. Check it out, link it, love it, pass it around. Here's just a taste of what you should expect to see...