Brief Update

★ Don’t forget to check out my graphic novel, The Poet and the Flea!

A new page every Wednesday!

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Here is a brief update on my current creative projects and endeavors…!

Tuesday, April 2nd

1. The Liebster Award: 4th Nomination!
2. Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
3. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.
4. Worked on notes for The Man Who Never Smiled.

Wednesday, April 3rd

1. The Liebster Award: 5th Nomination!
2. Zest Books Internship, Day #18: Worked on image research and editing.

Thursday, April 4th

1. Comics I Admire: “A Space Boy Dream”
2. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
3. Worked on notes for The Man Who Never Smiled.

Friday, April 5th

• Zest Books Internship, Day #19: A little bit of editing, a little bit of Facebook-ing, a little bit of photoshopping, and a little bit of mailing.

Saturday, April 6th

• Hanging out with family today. Went to see Oz: The Great and Powerful, which was pretty bad except for the opening credits and the Danny Elfman soundtrack.

Sunday, April 7th

• Did a bunch of scanning today.

Monday, April 8th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Worked on first zine.
3. Worked on notes for The Man Who Never Smiled.

Tuesday, April 9th

1. Keeping an Eye on Expos.
2. Updated the “Links” page — check out Lewis Manalo’s webcomic MetaMorphosis!
   
3. Submissions, submissions, submissions…!
4. Finished working on notes for The Man Who Never Smiled.

Wednesday, April 10th

• Zest Books Internship, Day #20: Worked mostly on mailing today… I think I put together over 60 packages. Wrote a blog post for the Zest Books official blog about upcoming titles Little Fish and Super Pop! with an accompanying illustration — can’t wait to see this go up online!

Thursday, April 11th

1. Ran some errands and worked on some preparation for the Cannes/London trip.
2. Worked on first zine.
3. Made an account with Storenvy and am beginning to set up my own online store.
4. Went with Wes to an event at San Francisco Film Society. Talked with some of Wes’s former employers and met a filmmaker named Joey who will also be at Cannes.

Friday, April 12th

1. Zest Books Internship, Day #21: Worked on some cover designs for an upcoming Zest Books title. Everyone really seems to like what I’ve done!
2. Invited to be an illustrator for an upcoming collaborative project with a small publisher. More details to come!
3. Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
4. Worked on setting up the online store.

Saturday, April 13th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Went to North Beach to eat really tasty Italian food. ( ´◔‿ゝ◔`)

Sunday, April 14th

• Date with Wes! Went to see The Place Beyond the Pines, which was interesting. Ate Vietnamese food afterwards. (・∀・)

Movie Theater on Van Ness!

Bun Mee on Fillmore!

Monday, April 15th

1. Feeling under the weather today.
   
2. Working on Blake Society talk!
3. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.

Tuesday, April 16th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Ran some errands and worked on some preparation for my Cannes/London trip.
3. Thinking of investing in a professionally printed preview zine of The Poet and the Flea to sell online and at expos. Looking into various local printers!
4. Still trying to figure out London.
5. Received through e-mail a sneak peak of what The American Pavilion at Cannes will look like (see below).

Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!

Wednesday, April 17th

• Zest Books Internship, Day #22: Worked on marketing/promotion for 47 Things You Can Do For the Environment.

Exiled to the boss’s office!

Thursday, April 18th

1. Interview today on Treasure Island. 
2. Registered for SF Zine Fest!

Treasure Island is a strange place…

Yep, very strange…

Friday, April 19th

1. Zest Books Internship, Day #23: Sat in on staff meeting. Created a blog post for Earth Day. Worked on WordPress, editing some content.
2. Worked on some upcoming blog posts.

Saturday, April 20th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Helped mom prepare for the art show next weekend.
3. Did some research on local printers.

Sunday, April 21st

• Elias’s 1st birthday party! Bit of a strange day… Wes and I went to Gabe’s house to celebrate his son’s first birthday. Unfortunately, we didn’t actually get to see Gabe since he had to take his father to the hospital for a broken leg. Later, Wes and I went to The Ice Cream Bar since it was so hot outside and we needed to cool off. Then, we ended up eating at Sunflower Vietnamese for dinner and later had dessert with my folks and Nikki the shiba inu.

View from Gabe’s backyard.

The Ice Cream Bar… again!

Monday, April 22nd

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Ran some errands for Cannes/London trip.
3. Worked on some upcoming blog posts.

Tuesday, April 23rd

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Cannes/London 2013: Pre-Travel Planning.
3. Cannes/London Trip Hiatus!
4. Working on Blake Society talk!
5. Jotted some ideas down for a future screenplay.

Wednesday, April 24th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Zest Books Internship, Day #24: Put together some interview questions for Dan. Worked on some button designs in Photoshop.
3. HOLY MOLY MACARONI! I just received the most amazing e-mail. (A secret for now…)

♪(┌・。・)┌

Thursday, April 25th

1. Working on Blake Society talk!

Friday, April 26th

1. Wow, received another awesome piece of news. Can’t really say anything yet, but everything is really coming together it seems!!
2. Zest Books Internship, Day #25: LAST DAY! Finished button designs and ordered them online. The office ladies took us out for lunch, which was very sweet.

Saturday, April 27th

1. (´∩｀。) Watched the first 2 hours of Sundance’s original series Rectify — words cannot describe how incredibly emotional this show is.
2. “On Paper” at Gallerie Citi!

Sunday, April 28th

1. Spring Cleaning: Wanted to clean up my room and get rid of a lot of junk before leaving for Cannes/London trip! Now that most of the junk is gone, it should be easier to pack.

Monday, April 29th

• Feeling under the weather today.

Tuesday, April 30th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Helped mom with some photos I took of her work for various purposes.

Wednesday, May 1st

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Even put together some important snail mail today!
3. Ran some errands for Cannes/London trip.

Thursday, May 2nd

1. Reblogged portrait of me by Matthew Curry. 
2. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
3. Finally got my hair cut! Now I feel like I’m almost ready for my trip. (◕‿◕✿)
4. Correspondence with a recruiter for a potential job.

Friday, May 3rd

1. Ran around EVERYWHERE today to finish up errands for the Cannes/London trip. Utterly exhausted!
2. Jotted some more ideas down for a future screenplay.
   

Saturday, May 4th

1. Today’s motto: 七転び八起き= Nanakorobi yaoki. Fall seven times and stand up eight.
   
2. Family Bonding Day! This is the last weekend before I leave for Cannes/London, so spent time with the folks. Ate lunch at a great Puerto Rican restaurant. Finally got to see Girl with a Pearl Earring and Rembrandt’s Century at the de Young.

Sunday, May 5th

• Date with Wes! Went to see Iron Man 3, which really wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. Ate tasty Japanese dinner at Sanraku. Hopefully will see Wes one more time before I leave!

Monday, May 6th

1. New suitcase arrived in the mail.
2. Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.
3. Continued correspondence with a recruiter for a potential job.
4. Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
   

Tuesday, May 7th

1. Ran some errands for the Cannes/London trip.
2. Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.
3. Working on Blake Society talk!

Wednesday, May 8th

1. Ran some errands for the Cannes/London trip.
2. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
3. Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.
4. Working on Blake Society talk!
5. Jotted down some more ideas for a future screenplay.
6. Dinner with Wes!

Thursday, May 9th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.
3. Packing for trip!!
4. Worked on some upcoming blog posts.

Friday, May 10th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.
3. PACKING!!!

Saturday, May 11th

1. Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.
2. Flight leaves San Francisco at 7:05 p.m. Will arrive in Nice, France at 6:10 p.m.

Etcetera

• The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-30 completed, and 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
• The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
• First Zine: 8 pages of illustrated work completed. Zine production pending.

To Do:

• Continue to work on The First Reich.
• Finish setting up online store.
• Continue adding blog content to The First Reich.
• Complete script for The Poet and the Flea.

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on facebook, tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas

Celebrating 1,000 Followers on Twitter!

It’s hard to believe, but last week  my Twitter account @gegallas reached 1,000 followers and over!

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all my followers, both on Twitter and WordPress. I truly appreciate your support!

Also, I’d like to mention a few cool people on Twitter (some of whom are also on WordPress)…

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Professional Moron (@CreativeMoron) – professionalmoron.com

Mr. Wapojif is a special creature. His nonsensical absurdity is sure to entertain!!

Recommended Posts: Do You Have “LOL” Tourette’s Syndrome? and Would You Go On A Date With a Planet?

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Vince Dorse (@vincedorse) – vincedorse.com and Untold Tales of Bigfoot

Not only is Vince a lovely person, but his Sasquatch is a lovable beast.

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Shannon Wheeler (@MuchCoffee) – Too Much Coffee Man Shannon Wheeler

Shannon left me this great tweet about The Poet and the Flea: “Just read it. I liked it. Blake is Dante and Ginsberg. You’re right.”

Check out his wonderful online comic strips — he’s been making ‘em since 1995!

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Levi Hastings (@leviathanleague) – leviathanleague.com

Take a look at Levi’s beautiful watercolor illustrations.

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Jessica Hayworth (@angrycomics) – angry-comics.tumblr.com/tagged/Comic

Been a huge fan of Angry Beige for a couple of years. Wonderfully surreal little comics.

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas

The Liebster Award: 3rd Nomination!

Thank you so much to Don Hoang Nguyen (nguyeningit.wordpress.com) for nominating me a third time for the Liebster Award! Don’t forget to check out Don Hoang’s quirky illustrations and comics.

To view the post from my first and second nominations, click here and here.

As I mentioned yesterday, I continue to accept these awards because I love being able to share/promote other talented WordPress bloggers by nominating them. So please take a look at the list of nominations below!!

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Rules

1. Post eleven facts about yourself.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and create eleven questions for people you’ve nominated.
3. Choose eleven people to give this award to and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.

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Don Hoang’s Questions

1. What is your favorite pizza topping?

Dolce gorgonzola, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, pear and golden raisins.

2. Where is your favorite pizza joint providing said favorite pizza topping?

The Quattro Fromaggi pizza at Pizza Nostra in San Francisco.

3. Transformers or Gobots?

Can I substitute my answer with Escaflowne?

4. Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Trek… used to love Voyager as a kid.

5. Picasso, Warhol, Duchamp or Ed Roth?

Warhol (I’m not just saying that because of Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy, okay?).

6. Would you rather wait at the Post Office or the DMV?

Post office! I really can’t stand the DMV.

7. True or False?

False.

8. Whom would you side with in a war: zombies, werewolves or vampires?

Vampires — especially Lord Hal.

9. Who or whom?

Neither.

10. Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

Only if Samuel Ramey can come too.

11. May I have the last donut?

I’ll think about it.

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Nominations

1. imoutoart.wordpress.com
2. drawingpains.com
3. amightypen.net
4. ptwinchell.com
5. freshfrippery.com
6. graffikai.wordpress.com
7. essencedetre.wordpress.com
8. thecomicbookist.wordpress.com
9. needleworksinprogress.wordpress.com
10. spacemansteve.wordpress.com
11. turquoisechildren.wordpress.com

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My Questions

I liked the questions I wrote last time, so I’ll use them again…

1. What is the strangest dream you’ve ever had?
2. What is/was your favorite subject in school?
3. When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
4. Who is your role model?
5. What is your favorite holiday?
6. What is your least favorite vegetable?
7. What is your guilty pleasure?
8. Are you an optimist or pessimist?
9. What are your short-term goals/New Year’s resolutions?
10. What did you last eat?
11. Do you have any special and/or bizarre talents?

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas

Internship at Zest Books!

Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!

Only January, and I can already check #10 off my New Year’s resolutions list (New Year’s Resolutions, Anyone?). I have finally gotten an official internship in a field of my interest.

At the end of the month, I will start working at Zest Books, a publishing company focused on readers in their teens and early twenties!

Last week, I had an interview with Ann (Marketing and Editorial Associate) and was hired for the internship on the spot. It’s a small office in a really cool building/neighborhood and, on first impression, extremely friendly staff.

For this internship, I really feel like I’ll be able to utilize a number of my skills (writing, editing, social media, Japanese language & culture, etc.). I might also have an opportunity to do some freelance illustration work for them as well, which would be absolutely amazing! Plus, the internship is only a couple days a week, so I’ll still have ample time to continue my independent projects like The Poet and the Flea. Most of all, I’m excited to learn everything I possibly can about the business side of publishing!!

One really cool aspect of Zest Books is their Teen Advisory Board. They have a number of teen readers who work as interns and help the publishers figure out what kind of books teens would like to read/see published. According to Ann, the current Teen Advisory Board is really into anime/manga and Doctor Who — so I think I’ll get along with these kids just fine!

Zest focuses on non-fiction titles, from memoirs to how-to books. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been really looking into their titles and have found a number of books that pique my interest. I’ve complied a list of my favorites below, so check them out!

1. Super Pop
2. Dear Teen Me
3. Dead Strange
4. The End
5. The Look Book
6. Reel Culture
7. The Dictionary of High School B.S.
8. Uncool
9. Indie Girl
10. Crap

Anyway, I’m really looking forward to starting this internship and will share my learning experience with all of you. Wish me luck!!

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For more Zest Books…

• Homepage: zestbooks.net
• Facebook: facebook.com/BooksWithATwist?ref=ts
• Twitter: twitter.com/zestbooks
• Pinterest: pinterest.com/zestbooks
• YouTube: youtube.com/zestbooks

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas

Brief Update

★ Don’t forget to check out my graphic novel, The Poet and the Flea!

A new page every Wednesday!

***

Here is a brief update on my current creative projects and endeavors…!

Wednesday, December 12th

1. Second day of cat sitting!
2. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
3. Helped my mom, the abstract artist, with developing her blog (irenezweig.wordpress.com).
4. “Correspondence with The Blake Society.”

Thursday, December 13th

1. Third day of cat sitting!
2. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
3. Worked on The Flea script.

Friday, December 14th

1. Fourth day of cat sitting!
2. Sent out some more fellowship/internship/job applications.
3. Worked on The Flea script.

Saturday, December 15th

1. Last day of cat sitting!
2. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
3. Worked on The Flea script.

Sunday, December 16th

1. Went to see The Hobbit with Wes and the folks! I was a major fan of The Lord of the Rings films when they first came out (and still am), so of course I was (and still am) super excited for The Hobbit. Even my dad, who was skeptical and didn’t really want to come, loved the movie (and even shed tears at the bromance between Bilbo and Thorin, I kid you not). (^-^) I know this is bizarre, but I think my favorite part was when the Great Goblin’s secretary cackled as he ziplined through the air!
2. Wes is so sweet and got me a Rose Vampire figurine from Super7 – IT’S SO CUTE!

Monday, December 17th

1. Signed up with Behance.net: www.behance.net/gegallas.
2. Worked on The Flea script.

Tuesday, December 18th

• Worked on The Flea script.

Wednesday, December 19th

1. As usual, great meeting with Gabe. Working out the next few steps for Elias & The City of Cats and thinking about our future projects.
   
2. 2:30 p.m.: Phone interview with The American Pavilion for the Cannes Film Program. I think it went pretty well. I’ll be hearing from them this Friday. Wish me luck!
3. Came up with a really cool idea for The Blanks screenplay collaboration. Wrote an e-mail to Gabe and waiting to hear what he thinks!

Thursday, December 20th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Applied to the Creative World Awards (a screenwriting competition). For more information, click here.
3. Worked on The Flea script.
4. Did some more research on fellowships/internships/jobs.

Etcetera

• The Poet and the Flea: 60 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
• The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.

To Do:

• Add more information to my Behance.net profile.
• Add more information to my Coroflot.com profile.
• Continue adding blog content to The First Reich.
• Continue to work on The First Reich.
• Continue to work on Elias & The City of Cats.
• Complete script for The Poet and the Flea.
• Sign up with Top Web Comics: Comic Rankings.
• Sign up with OnlineComics.net.

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas

Note on the Taishō Period

For many years, I have been fascinated by modern Japan — everything from the Meiji period (1868 – 1912) to current day. One of my favorite periods is a rather short one known as Taishō (1912 – 1926). What strikes me most about Taishō is the amazing blend of Japanese and Western aesthetics.

I think my interest in Taishō really began when I read Yukio Mishima’s novel Spring Snow (Haru no Yuki). This novel is actually a period piece — published in 1969, but set around 1912 – 1914. Mishima gives a detailed look at the Japanese class system of the period through a romantic tragedy (although I’m not sure Mishima saw this story as such).

My interest in Taishō developed further through a series of college courses on modern Japanese literature. I even did a project involving costume designs for a Taishō-set short story, involving research on fashion of the period from Kimonos and beyond.

I also find advertisements from this period interesting. Actually, the Shiseido ads from the 1900s through the 1930s are really remarkable! You can find out more about these ads on MIT’s Visualizing Cultures website.

Anyway, I just wanted to share a number of my favorite images:

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following images!!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas

Reader Appreciation Award!

Wow, I can’t believe I was just nominated for another award — that’s the 3rd one in a very short span of time! I guess my dedication is starting to pay off. Feels especially good after receiving a number of various rejections over the past few weeks.

I would like to thank The Geek Transition for nominating me and for these kind words: “She just released a graphic novel called The Poet and The Flea, and I think it’s pretty cool. You can tell she put a lot of work into it. Congrats on the premiere, G.E.!” Thank you very very very much!!

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Rules

1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Attach the icon to your site.
3. Answer the questions.
4. Nominate some other bloggers whom you feel deserve this award!

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Questions

Your favorite color?

As covered in my post “A Bit More About Me“: Since childhood, I’ve always favored blue. But nowadays everyone would accuse me of being passionate about the color black.

Your favorite animal?

Difficult question! I’m torn between llamas/alpacas, red pandas, and Shiba Inu (if a breed counts as an animal).

Your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

Tea! Especially Earl Grey, Darjeeling, and Chai.

Your favorite number?

I’m not particularly fond of numbers. Though I prefer odd to even — it’s a question of aesthetic!

Your favorite day of the week?

Don’t really have a favorite day. My least favorite day is Wednesday.

Your favorite flower?

I have developed a fascination with the history of tulips after reading The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas.

What is your passion?

As you can hopefully tell by my blog, writing and illustrating. Also, Japanese language and culture.

Do you watch television?

I am a junkie for high-quality dramatic series like Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men, including a million BBC shows like The Hour, Whitechapel, and House of Cards. I just fall in love with the brilliant writing, the multidimensional characters, and the amazing actors. I also love really cheesy Japanese dramas — right now, my favorite is Guilty: Akuma to Keiyaku Shita Onna (Guilty: The Woman who Made a Deal with the Devil).

Who is your favorite author?

Another difficult question! Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces is practically my bible (I mentioned I’m a Jewish atheist, right?). I’m also quite fond of Robert Graves’s I, Claudius, Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo, Yukio Mishima’s Spring Snow (Haru no Yuki), E. L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, etcetera, etcetera. My bookshelf looks frighteningly like a Penguin Classics library!

Do you like 80′s movies?

Not particularly. The closest I get are the BBC series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) and Smiley’s People (1982) starring Alec Guinness. And yes, I also love the 2011 version of  Tinker Tailor.

What social issues bother you?

Oh, don’t even get me started — we’ll be here forever! Just know that I watch The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and MSNBC (Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, and all of them) religiously.

How do you like your eggs?

Usually, I like them scrambled. But I also like them poached, especially for an Eggs Benedict!

When did you discover blogging?

I truthfully can’t remember exactly. I remember first using a computer when I was 4 years old. And I started using deviantART sometime in middle school, if that counts.

Why do you like to blog?

I don’t always like blogging, but I’ve discovered how incredibly wonderful bloggers are on WordPress. Unlike other social media sites, bloggers here seem to have a bit more etiquette. I enjoy sharing my work and receiving positive feedback from other talented bloggers!

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Nomination

G. Martinez Cabrera

• www.thehistoryofthings.com
• themarvelousreal.com
• Twitter
• Facebook

It’s been a true pleasure collaborating (Elias & The City of Cats) with Gabe thus far, and I look forward to our future projects!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas