The Dance of the Laptop

In our house we have 2 smartphones, one cheap-ass tablet (my 15th work anniversary gift. Whee.), one netbook and one (ancient) laptop. Oh, and a prehistoric desktop but we don't like to talk about that much. Plenty of apparatuses for all things online except that only one works well enough for things like 'writing show recaps' and 'webcam appearances on radio shows' and that would be the laptop. Usually things work out just fine; Dyl's shows are on Wednesdays or Fridays (Comic Book Haul) and Sunday afternoons (Dylan Knows). My writing obligations are Sunday night (The Strain) and Thursday night (Defiance).  Little overlap unless one of us is called to pinch hit on Snarkalec Radio on Thursday night. And that's exactly what's happening this week.

So here's the dilemma: Defiance airs on SyFy at 8 pm. Kiddie bedtime is 8 - 8:30 so we DVR it and watch from 9 - 10, after which I stay up writing the first draft of the recap  and listening to Snarkalec Radio until 11:30/12:00. Snarkalec Radio goes on about 9:15ish and runs til between 10:30 and 10:45. (It's a lot of fun; you should really check it out.)


So, a long night but not insurmountable. However, Dyl's been asked to appear on tonight's episode of Snarkalec Radio which he really enjoys so that means that 1) no recording and watching later after kiddie bedtime as I take notes real time then craft the story around it and B) I won't have access to the only piece of equipment that I can actually write on until 10:30 at the earliest (I'm looking at YOU, Netbook, and your premature posting problem.)

The plan therefore goes something like this: I watch live and take notes, he puts the kids to bed, I log off from Google Plus so he can log in, he plugs in his headphones and prays there are no technical difficulties (Ha. Haaaaaa.), hilarity ensues for the next 90 minutes, he logs off, I log back on and pound jelly beans and Diet Coke like it's my job while trying to remember what I actually meant by the notation 'M weevil' and if I've reached the 'butthurt' mention limit yet.

Sure, we could avoid the whole thing by getting another laptop or an actually working tablet but that costs money we don't have and besides, where's the fun in that? There can be only one and I know where the jelly beans are hidden.

Comic Books: Enriching Lives, Encouraging Creativity

When my sister was teaching second grade, she always said that it didn't matter what her kids were reading, as long as they were reading and to this end, Dyl supplied her with a nice stash of kiddie comic books. They dove into the books, gleefully turning the pages, thinking they were getting away with something not realizing all the time they were reading. The length of the book was immaterial, the fact that it had pictures was besides the point; the kids were learning how to love reading and that is a special gift that can never be taken from them.

Dyl created his own comic stories when he was young which molded the way he approaches story-telling. The storyline, the art, everything was his creation to control. These days, Noelle loves hearing about daddy's comic books and thus inspired, went to work on her very first comic book: The Adventures of Eden and Elsa. (Note: this is still a working title). We are so proud of her drive that I wanted to share some of what she's been working on. Without further ado, here's a little taste of the next generation of comic book writers.

First let's meet the cast of characters. We have Elsa (Noelle) age 7, Noah (age 9) and Eden (age 5). Sadly, these siblings have no parents but they do have a pet cat and they live in a museum (I think; I'm still a bit unclear about that part).

One day, they wandered into an off-limits room filled with machines and went inside.

Gasp! The machines gave them super powers! But will they use it for good or evil?

Not content to just be kids, they decide to protect the planet as the Super Heroes Weather Guy, Fast Woman and Eden. Always on the lookout for trouble, they remain ready for action.

Thanks to Weather Guy's super long legs, they are able to spot trouble. With Fast Woman's speed, they get to the bad guy in no time at all.

Watch out bad guys, Weather Guy, Fast Woman and Eden are coming to the rescue!

Will our heroes vanquish the evil Goo Monster and it's Minions of Mayhem? You'll have to come back next month to find out!

Clearly, comic books* are wonderful, beautiful things that encourage reading and foster creativity and if anyone says differently, I'll sic the Goo Monster on them.

*Age-appropriate, of course.