The Liebster Award!

What!? Another award!?!? Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Thank you so much to Denise of Photos and Vibes by Deni for nominating me for this award!

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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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Eleven Facts about G. E. Gallas

I’m going to cut corners a little bit since I already answered a ton of questions about myself for other awards. So check out more than eleven facts about me on my posts Reader Appreciation Award and Very Inspiring Blogger Award. (^-^;;)

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Denises’s Questions

1. What makes you laugh?

I laugh at any number of odd things, especially at awkward situations I may find myself in. Oh, I can keep myself endlessly amused.

2. How do you like to spend your spare time?

Spare time? What spare time?

3. What’s your favourite book?

This question is impossible to answer. 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!

4. What inspires you most?

Artists who are extraordinarily dedicated to their work inspire me the most.

5. If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?

Wouldn’t change a thing!

6. Has blogging an impact in your real life?

Hmm, let me think about that one — not sure yet.

7. Would you meet in your real life someone you’ve met on the internet?

I have already met in real life a number of people I’ve met on the internet.

8. What do you find annoying?

Hypocrites — they are the bane of my existence.

9. Do you blog often?

Yes, I suppose so.

10. Which place of the world would you like to visit?

I would love to visit all over Scandinavia!

11. If you win, how are you going to celebrate on the blog sphere?

A celebratory post?

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Nominations

1. randomheadshots.wordpress.com
   
2. twistedworldofgravitation.wordpress.com
3. lichtyears.wordpress.com
4. hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com
5. lunajoonok.wordpress.com
6. anelephantcant.me
7. ohmyomiyage.wordpress.com
8. terabia.wordpress.com
9. creatingmiranda.wordpress.com
10. angrygaijin.wordpress.com
11. sommerstein0411.wordpress.com

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My Questions

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 2012 by G. E. Gallas

Zines and Me!

Rough sketch for zine idea.

As I mentioned before (here), I’ve only recently become interested in the world of zines. Not only do zines appear to be an incredibly flexible channel for creativity, but I think that this medium would be a great compliment to my graphic novels and children’s books. I like the idea of the zine being very hands on — a real artist book, the artist not only illustrating, but also cutting and pasting the finished pamphlet together. This process reminds me greatly of Andy Warhol, his factory, and 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy.

Before I begin any zines of my own, I’ve been trying to get a better sense of their mercurial world. At APE (Alternative Press Expo) 2012, I talked with Tugboat Press, who produce annual free comics and an anthology called Papercutter. Tugboat led me to Parcell Press, who seems to carry a vast array of zines, comics, etc. I also found “How to Make a Zine” on Rookie. I guess the one true rule of creating zines is that there are no rules!

As I ponder the pre-existing zine world, my own ideas for zines just keep pouring out of me. I scribble these ideas down furiously in a Gallatin notebook I received upon graduation and was saving for something important (who knew that important something was zines). Endless ideas — everything from opera parodies to The Death of Chatterton. I’m not sure when I’ll actually have time to realize these zines since I’m already working on so many projects that need to get done (The Poet and the Flea, The First Reich, etcetera, etcetera). I’m hoping to take a stab early next year, June at the latest. We’ll see how that works out…

Some useful zine-related websites I’ve discovered:

• Zines 101 has some basic but good advice. They suggest submitting zines to sites that review them (Broken Pencil, Xerography Debt, Zine World, etc.) as well as posting on online zine communities (We Make Zines, etc.) to get larger exposure.
• Zinebook.com has an extensive list of zine distributors and reviewers as well.
• ZineWiki: The Independent Media Wikipedia encourages zine creators to add new articles about their zines.
• Etsy, Storenvy, and Big Cartel seem to be used by a huge number of zine creators. There are definite pros and cons to all of them, but I think I’m leaning more towards Storenvy at the moment. (I’m also thinking of selling other products [T-shirts, tote bags, greeting cards, etc.] with images from The Poet and the Flea as well as my zines.)
• In San Francisco, Dog Eared Books, Needles & Pens, and other local bookstores seem interested in carrying zines. Not to mention there’s the East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest (Berkeley) and the San Francisco Zine Fest.
• I’m also considering self-printing versus printing with a printer. Most sites seem to recommend working with a local printer. In San Francisco – H&H Imaging, Your Printer, Autumn Press, etc.
• Update Nov. 6: Discovered issuu.com — seems like many zines publish online using this site. Pretty neat!!

Plus, I figure if I make enough zines, then eventually I can release them all in one book.

Any comments, suggestions, or thoughts would be truly appreciated!

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

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas

Brief Update

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

Tuesday, August 7th

1. Today, had lunch with the lovely Tina C.  She’s a really smart and wonderful lady. She gave me some helpful advice about The JET Programme (something I may do in the future) and the JLPT Japanese Language Proficiency Test (something I’ve been considering). We ended up speaking English with a bunch of random Japanese words thrown in (●´∀｀●). I’m not sure if she’ll be staying in SF, but I hope we can become friends!
2. Lately, been trying to practice my Japanese language skills thanks to my new iPad!  Downloaded the app “iBunkoHD” to read literature in the original Japanese (Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, Natsume Sōseki, Dazai Osamu, etc.). Downloaded another app “Japanese Advanced Phrases” to practice newspaper terms, 四字熟語 (yojijukugo: a word consisting of four kanji), idioms, etc.

Wednesday, August 8th

• Continuing work on The Flea and The Man…

Thursday, August 9th

1. Posted a new topic at a forum called Making Graphic Novels to promote The Poet and the Flea. Check out post here.
2. With a discount from Stage32.com, applied to the Emerging Screenwriters 2012 Screenplay Competition. Information updated on “Applications” post, here.

Friday, August 10th

1. Continuing work on The Flea and The Man…
2. Thinking of signing up with Top Web Comics: Comic Rankings. Any advice?
3. Finally connected with potential director/producer. He seems experienced, interested, and enthusiastic. Going to send him a few short scripts.

Saturday, August 11th – Sunday, August 12th

• Continuing work on The Flea and The Man…

Monday, August 13th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Trying to figure out the best way to scan The Poet and the Flea. Options, options, options…

Tuesday, August 14th

1. Continuing work on The Flea and The Man…
2. As recommended by a fellow artist, signed up with mlkshk.com. It’s a bit like Tumblr and Pinterest. Not quite sure how it works yet though… Forgot to mention, a few days ago, signed up with stumbleupon.com. Not quite sure how this one works either… I’ll figure it out eventually.
3. Spoke again with potential director/producer. He has lots of interesting ideas for Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend. Will speak again soon.

Etcetera

1. The Poet and the Flea: 37 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-18, 21-23, 27, 29-30 completed, and 19-20, 24-26, 28, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
2. Continuing to help fellow screenwriter/filmmaker Jay Dial.

To Do:

• Work on research, character sketches, etc. for Shannon.
• Schedule second meeting with Shannon for August.
• Attend The Pixel-Flick TV Actor/Filmmaker Alliance Second Meeting (August 18th).
• Finish The Man Who Never Smiled by end of August.
• Sign up with IMDbPro.
• Apply to the Bluecat Screenplay Competition (before October 15th).
• Sign up with Top Web Comics: Comic Rankings.

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

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas

Brief Update

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

These past few weeks have been quite the roller coaster…! （⊙□ ⊙；）ノ

Sunday, June 30th

1.  Through Meetup.com, discovered The Pixel-Flick TV Actor/Filmmaker Alliance (Pixel Flick Entertainment). It seems like this production company is interested in producing short films and web series. Will attend the first meeting on Saturday, July 21st.
2. On Stage32.com, received a very nice personal message from Ben Cahan (the creator of Final Draft) inviting me to join his website Talentville.com. I created an account there, but I’m not ready to post my work yet (perhaps after I hear from all the contests I applied to?).

Monday, July 9th

1. Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend: Unfortunately, have hit some snags and the project is on hold.
2. My full-length screenplay Who is Laurence Harvey? has advanced to the Second Round (the top 25%) of The 2012 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards!!!!!!!!! 
3. On Craigslist, have responded to a few posts about writing and creative projects. We’ll see how it goes…

Tuesday, July 10th

1. The Poet and the Flea: 37 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-10, 21 completed, and 11-20, 22-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
2. A special announcement about The Poet and the Flea coming soon!
3. Thinking of adding a “Links”page and a “Special Thanks” page to thepoetandtheflea.wordpress.com.
4. Slowly but surely working on the-poet-and-the-flea.tumblr.com.
5. Continuing to help fellow screenwriter/filmmaker Jay Dial. I’ve read his script so far, and I think it has a lot of potential!
6. Signed up with gotcast.com (www.gotcast.com/gegallas)… maybe I’ll find some more writing gigs this way?

Etcetera

1. My wonderful and talented friend just released the first promotional image from her upcoming webcomic… it looks stunning! Check it out: http://tealeaves9.tumblr.com/post/27095942591/at-long-last-the-first-promotional-image-for-my.
2. Bit by bit, working on my third full-length screenplay called The Modern Prometheus. The process has involved a lot of historical research about San Francisco. Every screenplay is a learning process!
3. I’m thinking about compiling a list of comic book-related (more on the small press side?) conventions for future reference. I would love to attend some local ones (Bay Area, California, etc.?) in the near future. And perhaps eventually fly out to other conventions. Any suggestions?
4. A while back, I created a facebook page (www.facebook.com/gegallas)… don’t forget to like me!
5. Also, a tremendous thanks to all of my followers here on WordPress and on Twitter!!

To Do:

• Attend The Pixel-Flick TV Actor/Filmmaker Alliance First Meeting (July 21st).
• Sign up with IMDbPro.
• Apply to The American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest (before August 1st).
• Apply to the Bluecat Screenplay Competition (before October 15th).

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

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas