Beyond Petroleum

(Courtesy Howard Bloom)

Travis Millard: Authors@Google

I helped organize this talk by Los Angeles-area comics artist Travis Millard at work in Santa Monica. It took place in February 2010 and just hit YouTube recently.

Dennis Woodruff at the Post Office

Dennis Woodruff is a Hollywood icon of sorts. For the last few decades, he's been making homemade movies about himself and the Hollywood experience -- as well as his search for Hollywood experience. At first they were available on VHS -- I have a thrift store copy of Double Feature -- and now they're on DVD-R.

He sells them out of his art cars, and he'll sell them to you if he meets you on the street. A friend reports that he spends much of his time chatting up pretty girls and overdressed men in Hollywood cafes. Apparently, he also goes to the post office.

Here's what my wife learned about Woodruff while she stood in line ahead of him:

1. He'd like to meet Eddie Murphy.
2. He thinks black men might know Eddie Murphy and isn't too shy to ask them if that's the case. ("Ask for an introduction," he says.)
3. He's impatient. (He said, "If this line doesn't move any faster, I'm going to blow up this place."
4. He writes his URL on his bills when he pays them through the mail.
5. He considers talking to people in public being an entertainer.
6. He doesn't like to waste money on Express Mail and doesn't think you should either.

Ladies and gentlemen, Dennis Woodruff.

Sardonic Motto Card #1

The Greatest Salesman in the World

The first book I read in 2010 was a slim volume, the 111-page 1968 parable written by Og Mandino. I first -- and last -- read the book about eight years ago, near the end of January 2002, on the recommendation of a friend who sold faucets and fixtures for Kohler. I often pick up books on the suggestions of friends. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. With Mandino's classic motivational tale The Greatest Salesman in the World, even though I've read it twice, it's a mixed bag.

As a book, pure and simple, it's a quick read. I read it in one sitting yesterday evening before going to bed. It's a clear and clean story about a successful merchant more than 2,000 years ago -- and the lessons he learned that helped him become a success. The major themes are pretty basic Positive Mental Attitude stuff, with a Christian corollary (and Christmas tie-in!) thrown in for good measure. The main thing (though a minor thing) that rubs me the wrong way is the text's focus on business and sales as the vehicle for success. Readers should feel free to replace "salesman" with whatever they're striving to be the best of: father, husband, son, brother, worker, friend.

Mandino, who went on to author other similar books and become a sought-after motivational speaker, overcame a struggle with alcoholism by diving into some of the best PMA writers of the early 20th century: Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, and Emmet Fox. In fact, this book so impressed Stone that he hired Mandino as editor of Success Unlimited magazine. Success Unlimited continues today in the form of Success magazine. You can learn more about Mandino's ideas thanks to Dave Blanchard's work.

Also of potential interest is the book's relationship to other business parables such as Animals Inc., Miller's Bolt, The Radical Edge, Sandbox Wisdom, and Who Moved My Cheese? I'm not the biggest fan of the subgenre, but if you're going to read one, go to the source.

Taking a Break

It's been a month since my last post, and I've decided that I'm going to take a blogging hiatus of indeterminate length. Rather than blogging, I'll be focusing my energies in participating in several print-based micromedia, including zines, amateur press associations, mail art, and related projects. I might post occasionally, but in general, there will be other places you can find me. If you're really curious what those are, let me know, and I'll point you in the right direction.

Recent Arrivals

It's been a good week-plus for zines and such. Here are some of the highlights:

Comicopia #108 (August 2008): The 18th anniversary issue of this international comics APA. ($6 133M) Savage Enterprises Publishing, 10 rue de la Valline, NDIP, Quebec, Canada J7V 9S5.

Musea #165 (August/September/October 2008): Writing on shared culture, the "art Olympics," and YouTube videos. (8S) Tom Hendricks, 4000 Hawthorne #5, Dallas, TX 75219.

Opuntia 66A (September 2008): Geology, pronghorns, and a literature scan. ($3 16S) Dale Speirs, Box 6830, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 2E7.

Rap Sheet #138 (September 2008): The official newsletter of the Small Press Syndicate. ($3 52S) Dale Martin, P.O. Box 442612, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Worry Stone #1: The first issue of Jerianne's new zine about the concerns of adulthood. (28XS) P.O. Box 330156, Murfreesboro, TN 37133.

Zen Baby #19: Christopher Robin's freewheeling zine of correspondence, poetry, news, reviews, and collage art. ($2 56M) P.O. Box 1611, Santa Cruz, CA 95061-1611.

Zine World #26: Perhaps the zine review zine of today. I contribute an article on censorship in California and Russia, as well as assorted zine reviews. ($4 62M) P.O. Box 330156, Murfreesboro, TN 37133.

ZYX #48 (December 2008): Progressive poetry, reviews, and collage art, including poems by A. D. Winans. (10M) Arnold Skemer, 58-09 205th St., Bayside, NY 11364.

Vote for My ChangeThis Manifesto Proposal

I submitted an idea for a ChangeThis manifesto, and it's currently one of the proposals you can vote for. Vote for my proposal, if you think it's a good idea, and help me get selected... I'd love to do this ebook and think it's a useful topic: How to best leverage the many business book summary services out there.

While you're there, check out the other proposals, as well. It's an interesting project -- and an interesting process!

You Don't Get There from Here #8

Carrie McNinch, P.O. Box 49403, Los Angeles, CA 90049; Web; Email
($2 36XS)

Daily, three-panel diary comic strips. Sent as trade for a Bundle of Wonder. Excellent.

ZYX #48

Arnold Skemer, 58-09 205th St., Bayside, NY 11364
(Free 10M)

Innovative poetry, and reviews of same. One of the best poetry zines I get.

Poet's Espresso: September 2008

1426 Telegraph Ave. #4, Stockton, CA 95204; Web; Email
($1, 28S)

Poetry from multiple poets in at least two languages, as well as local events listings.

A View #135

Michael Goetz, 1340 Brandywine Dr., Rockford, IL 61108
($1 16XS)

Simply drawn single-panel gag strips with an emphasis on puns.