And We Shall March

Chris Abani: Lost Interviews Found

"Lost" in this context means I've been looking for this article since a few weeks after stashing it in the morass of the hard drive last year, and found it again just now while roaming through the hard drive looking for something else. Here, it will be safe.

How does Los Angeles compare to Africa?
Well, the climate is a lot like eastern Nigeria where I grew up—around the Abakaliki Basin. And even though Nigeria is a former British colony, architecturally it takes more from America. If you drive through a small town in America, it literally is like a small town in Nigeria, the way the power lines are overhead, and all that sort of stuff.

The other thing I love about Los Angeles is that it’s so much like Lagos, which used to be the capital of Nigeria. Lagos is a city that constantly seems threatened, as if it’s about to fall apart, and it’s sort of held together purely by a sort of collective will, as it were. Los Angeles is the same way. It’s beset by natural disasters all the time. There’s really no reason for its existence. It’s in the desert, they have to bring water in. And yet it constantly flourishes and grows. So it’s almost like being back home in different ways.  So I love it here.

and later

You’ve said you’ve noticed an interest in this subject recently.
Well, social anthropologists have been studying this phenomenon for years in much of Asia. There was a lot of sex tourism where men from Europe would go to the Philippines to have underage sex. And it was talked about almost in a jocular way and nothing was ever done.

But with the fall of the Soviet Union, the poverty of the Eastern Block has made it a European problem. The German government is so aware of its citizens going into, say, Prague to engage in illicit sex with minors that they have a law that allows them to prosecute even though the act [was not] committed on German soil.

And it has begun to crop up in the media quite a bit recently. There’s a movie starring Mira Sorvino, called “Human Trafficking,” which deals with this in the Eastern European context; and the movie “Lilja 4-ever,” which comes out of Sweden, also deals with the issue.

But that’s really what happens when a trauma becomes a Western trauma. As with much of the world’s problems, they become public--or much more of interest--the moment they begin to impact the West.

Irish Double Chain Block - Now With More Blackitude

While my consultant and I try to figure out where this week's pre-loaded WeHo entries have vanished to, how about a post that was going to go up week after next to fill space?

Here's what the double Irish chain block looks like when executed in two types of mudcloth and white corduroy (from the Vintage Mom Cloth stash). Also, I reversed the traditional dark/light approach:

Blocks created out of one-inch squares, my preferred size. No-prize if you can spot the huge, glaring error! Any quilter familiar with this block will spot it in seconds. Other people either don't notice or think it was a 'creative decision'.

Even though it was done on the machine it took about 1.5 months to finish. This shot was taken after the piece had been squared off and before I started the long hell of binding. This is not a blanket or anything, but the front panel for a project I call The Needlessly Complex Skirt. There are 28 blocks for the front panel, 32 for the back. Who says quilt blocks can only be used for blankets? That's just stupid. I mean, how many blankets does one person need?

Piled on the table are some of the blocks for the back panel. I can't make the rest of them until I find more mudcloth close in color and pattern to the dark brown. (I ran out for reasons I can't quite remember right now.) A downside to working with mudcloth is each piece is individually crafted, so when it's gone you can't just dash to the garment district and pull more from the bolt. I've put the alert out to my two primary crack dealers, so I'm confident  something will turn up eventually. I hope it is sooner than later.

This shot might give you an idea of why I prefer to quilt by hand, even though it takes much longer:

Or not, if you don't quilt. Trust me, it's a pain in the ass to do the actual quilting on the machine. Even though this piece has no batting, it's just the top and the backing, it's still difficult to fiddle it through the machine.

No Glue Gun Girl post is complete without shot of Cuddle Kitty in the way:

WeHo Weekend Interlude: Trent + Williams = Yay

I'm not sure what you're supposed to do if what you would like is a simple cd, but the future never cares about those of us who are still trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Details via LA Brain Terrain.

(Update! If reading via feed, for this one you have to click over to the home port to see what I'm talking about.)

We Interrupt WeHo Pictures With Another Brilliant Idea - Now With More Joe Sacco!

When the press release, related to this, landed in one of the inboxes, I had another brilliant idea. Apparently one appearance in Seattle is the extent of Sacco's tour in support of the new Palestine edition. I know! WTF??? If you've heard tale of what his talks are like, or have read some of the better interviews with him out there in the mainstream media, this is devastating news.

Clearly a letter writing campaign is in order. I have taken the liberty of whipping up a template, and offer it freely here in service to the tribe.

Dear Joe Sacco You Bastard,

How could you do this to me?

It's bad enough I had to buy 1,001 versions of Love & Rockets because the publishers can't seem to make up their minds about what version they want to go with, but now after YEARS of  buying the individual issues, the paperback collections and the hardcopies of your work - which, in case you've forgotten, was not at all easy to find during your early days, THIS is how you reciprocate my faith and support?

The ubercool-looking expanded edition of Palestine is coming out, and what are you doing to support it? You're leaving your home somewhere in the general vicinity of Portland and probably taking a short bus ride to that store in Seattle run by your publishers (hmmm...coincidence??? I think NOT), where you will give a talk and show off the original art. From what I understand, that's it.

I am shocked and appalled. I no idea you were so selfish. Why no love for the rest of the country? Oh sure, you'll wander around war zones and everything, you'll get cozy with unsavory types, you'll sit in a conference room run your mouth with a bunch of academics, but you can't find a little bit of time for just plain folk?

Why can't your talk and your art come to - choosing a city COMPLETELY at random mind you - Los Angeles? It's only 2.5 states away from Washington. Here, in this the greatest city in the world, we have Meltdown (which has a gallery), and Secret Headquarters (which has gorgeous wood floors and beautiful custom shelving). UCLA, USC and the Central Library routinely hold very nice events where people such as yourself can show up and talk at normal people who have jobs and so can't just pick up and go to Seattle for a combined total of three hours of  live Sacco-ness.

Another advantage to Los Angeles is it's not filled with rain and hippies and people wandering around the forest with guns looking to take out hapless office equipment. Visiting might make for a nice, relaxing change of pace for you.

But I'm told doing events just isn't your thing. You'd rather stay in a damp, cold, unnaturally green temperate rain forest than bring your talk and art to the civilized lands. Well. I guess I finally see where we stand with each other, now.

I hope you're happy with yourself.

Love,
Your Fan

p.s.: I've enclosed every single copy of everything you've ever done with this package. Please autograph all of them on the title page, include a personal sketch on the front inside cover (please vary these), and do take care to date each entry under your signature. No need to personalize. These are ... um ... holiday gifts to new friends I will soon make on eBay. I didn't have enough for return postage, but I figure you or your publishers wouldn't mind taking care of that. It's the very least you can do. Thanks.

It might need to be edited a little, but you get the gist.

I'm thinking maybe if enough people generate their own Angry Letters Of WTF Kind Of Tour Is Showing Up At One Store In Seattle Protest, and we send them to him, and also to his publishers, he'll cave! He'll go on a 30 city tour! Or at least he'll come to Los Angeles. Isn't that a great idea? I thought so.

I have to say his failure to come to Los Angeles is seriously impacting his GHC nominee status.

Anywho, cut/paste of the press release that made me cry below.

Genius Alert!

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to welcome to Seattle the cartoon genius that is Joe Sacco. This Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, Fantagraphics celebrates the publication of Palestine: The Special Edition with two extraordinary events.

On Friday, October 26 from 7:00 - 9:00 PM we host an exhibition of Joe's stunning original artwork from Palestine. This also marks the world premiere of the deluxe hardcover edition of Palestine. It includes supplementary material including photographs, journal entries, sketches and more from his visit to the war torn region 15 years ago - an exquisite, modestly priced volume that is an essential addition to any comics-lovers library. Sacco will be present to sign advance copies.

This Saturday, October at 2:00 PM, Joe will discuss his groundbreaking approach to "comics journalism" in conflicts from the Middle East to the Balkans, as well as his pop culture and autobiographical works. If you haven't seen Joe speak, you're in for a treat. This artist is passionate, articulate and entertaining.

Fantagraphics Bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale Street at the corner of Airport Way S. in Georgetown, just 10 minutes south of downtown Seattle. We're open every day 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00. Phone: 206,658.0110. Come down and check out our new releases and complete selection of Fantagraphics favorites, including hard-to-find backlist books. See you soon.

Artist Reception
Friday, October 26, 2007
7:00 - 9:00 PM

Discussion with Joe Sacco
Saturday, October 27, 2007
2:00 - 3:00 PM

Shinar holding/fyi

Spotted on the shelves at EsoWon while in line for the Villalobos event. Jacket flap said it's a fantasy set in Africa. That's all I know right now..will look into it later.

A Note To New Visitors

This blog is normally not filled with pictures from one single event. Due to scheduling crunch elsewhere, the decision was made to post picts from WeHo in place of letting the place go dark for six weeks.  Normal service will resume sometime in November.

If you are featured in any of the pictures, yes it is perfectly fine to download them and put them up on your site. Just say where you got them from.

     -- The Management.

Not WeHo: Marco Villalobos @ EsoWon Books

Poet and author of African by Legacy, Mexican by Birth. From tonight at EsoWon. Full write-up and more picts next month. Just tossing this one up now.

Update (several days later)! Because why should it live only on my hard drive? Related.

Todd Mccaffrey @ WeHo 2007

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Writer of Pern continuation books and other works. Website. Random interview.

Anna Warren Boersig @ WeHo 2007

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Co-Founder of Illusive Arts Entertainment. Random interview. Company blog.

Yeah, SERIOUSLY out of alphabetical order. It took me a while to confirm the picture matched the person.

Another entry in the category of "What Cartoonists Do When you Say Act Natural" and also "Okay Act Natural, But Maybe A Little Closer Together."

Mark Anthony Masterson @ WeHo 2007

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Writer on Dorothy. Co-founder of Illusive Arts Entertainment. Blog. No interview found during initial search.

I had a great shot of him by a tree that was another entry in the category of "What Cartoonists Do When you Say Act Natural" and also "Okay Act Natural, But Maybe A Little Closer Together," but it appears to have vanished. grrr. Will keep looking and update later if found.

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