To attend Madcon. The big draw, of course: Harlan Ellison, who looked for a while as if he were going to be ailing too much to come out, but changed his mind and decided to attend.
After that, I’m heading to Los Angeles to watch the recording session of my first episode of “Young Justice,” so that’ll be fun.
PAD
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Sounds good for a birthday.
Happy Birthday sir from a huge french fan.
My cyber-gift, a portrait of you made by David Lopez for me in a convention in belgium last year:
http://storage.canalblog.com/25/43/10612/46154056.jpg
Bon anniversaire monsieur David.
sounds like a good con…. too bad i cant attend 🙁
I was lucky enough to see you and Harlan together at DragonCon several years ago. Best wishes to both of you for a great con.
It’s been a little frightening reading Harlan’s webpage lately. here hoping that his ill health passes and this is just one of many more appearances to come.
And if you have never heard Harlan Ellison in person you need to. It’s performance art of the highest quality. You’ll laugh loudly, you’ll think, you’ll have your heart tugged at unexpected moments…I feel bad for those folks who let their animosity against the man rule out enjoying his gifts, they are really missing something special. It’s no surprise that I’d probably agree with him politically a very tiny percentage of the time but I wish he’d live forever and that there were a million more like him. Regretably, the latter is even less likely than the former. If you haven’t gone and you can go…go.
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And you get PAD in the mix too? Well boy howdy.
And if you want to hear Harlan in person, but don’t happen to have him hanging around, go to the Deep Shag Records website and order from the On The Road With Ellison CDs, currently up to v4. Each is a compilation of excerpts from Harlan’s live talks.
Side note – check out the Capital there if you have some downtime, never made it in on a work visit, but people say its spectacular…
As a proud FOE, please send him (and Susan) my well wishes and warmest regards.
HAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYY BIRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHDDDDDDDAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!
and Happy Sukkot!! not sure if you’re supposed to say “happy Sukkot” or “Rejoiceful Sukkot”!! In any case Have a wonderful holiday, birthday, and trip!!!
on a sidenote, will you be attending the NYC comicon?
Grey
Too bad Neil isn’t available to reunite the Three High Verbals.
Don’t think I’m going to make it to MadCon, although I’m still tempted to go up for the movie screening of Dreams with Sharp Teeth (even though I have preview tix for “It’s kind of a funny story” in Chicago the same night)
Sadly, I too won’t be in attendance this weekend. I understand that this might be Harlan’s last public appearance so that makes me doubly sad! I hope that this will be videotaped like his “Dreams with Sharp Teeth” appearances for the unlucky many who will be absent.
Have a safe trip and remind Jon Manzo to tell Katherine his Jim Henson story(He’ll know what I’m talking about).
Happy Birthday, Peter, from another “David!”
I apologize to you and your wife, Peter. I meant “Remind Jon Manzo to tell Kathleen his Jim Henson story.” I should pay more attention to the right side of the screen when I type!
I’ve had my taste of Harlan Ellison in person. I liked it very much, but any more — especially when there may be a drought soon — seems just greedy.
In point of fact, it was when he and our webhost Mr. David were appearing at a comic con in Chicago. They were doing an interview on stage, with David pitching and Ellison catching. Ellison, upon being asked “so what happened to the Last Dangerous Visions?” turned to David so none of us could see his face and growled “I know where you live.”
I got “Essential Ellison” signed by him and I thanked him for how much I enjoyed his stuff. He asked me what I enjoyed about it and I didn’t even realize the answer until he asked the question: Harlan Ellison, from what I’ve seen, has been and may remain as good as it gets for articulating anger.
I’ve moved from anger to bemusement these days — George Orwell has slid just past Harlan Ellison, but somehow I doubt Mr. Ellison would take any offense at being supplanted by his fellow essayist.
I don’t know at this end whether I want Mr. Ellison to carry through on his promise at being the worst POW that the Grim Reaper ever tangled with, or if I want to imagine him having a wonderful time gassing at an afterlife Algonquin Round Table.
We all got one Harlan Ellison’s worth out of Harlan Ellison, which seems a good deal.
When I was just a wee, impressionable college freshman, MIT hosted A NIGHT WITH NEIL GAIMAN, HARLAN ELLISON, AND PETER DAVID. (I made the mistake of bringing a girl along to watch me stammer out a nervous request for autographs while ambushing PAD and Neil on their way to the bathroom.)
Something clicked for me right around the time PAD came on stage and introduced himself as, “Peter David, or as you will later call me, ‘that fat guy who opened for Neil and Harlan.'”
Hearing Harlan, Neil, and PAD speak about the craft of writing connected with me in a way that even now, nine years later, still resonates. I’d say it sends chills down my spine, but I’m afraid of what Harlan would say if he found out such a cliche was used to describe the effect he had on the conception of a nascent writer.
I walked into that auditorium a film student, but walked out knowing that these people – these thoughtful, squirrelly, nebbishy writers – were my people. They didn’t make me want to become a writer. They made me realize I already was one.
Since then, I’ve grown up, gotten married, and written for TV, comics, features, and animation. But the trajectory of everything I’ve done – and will do – can be traced back to a fuse lit by PAD, Neil, and Harlan. And the fact that more impressionable young minds may not be warped by that trio anymore is a deep loss for us all.
PAD, if you could pass this along to Harlan with my sincere thanks and wishes for a speedy recovery, I’d be in your debt.
Bravo.