Jim Ottaviani

More virtual events: July 16 and July 22

If you can read this, you can join me for a couple of online events! Check the “Upcoming Events” link on my site for more info, but briefly:

July 16: In conversation with Kate Greene about her new book Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars.

July 22: A Comic-con panel with Maris Wicks, Gene Yang, and Chad Sell about “The Power of Teamwork in Kids Comics.”

I hope to see** you there.

**Even though, thanks to the magic of how online meetings sometimes disable audience audio+video, I might not actually get to see you, I’m sure you look fabulous!

Virtual Astronauts Events: May 20 and June 6

If you can read this, you can join us for a couple of online events!

May 20 (Wednesday), 1pm EDT
Live Chat: Pioneering Women in Aerospace
https://airandspace.si.edu/events/live-chat-pioneering-women-aerospace

Mary Cleave, Maris Wicks, and I will talk about our graphic novel ASTRONAUTS and the first women in space…Mary was one of those astronauts! Could it be cooler? Yes: it’s sponsored and hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum!

June 6 (Saturday), 12pm EDT
Comics Relief: “Space Comics”

Alison Wilgus (@aliwilgus), Maris Wicks (@mariswicks), and I will talk about space comics as part of a cool event sponsored by our pals (and publishers) at First Second!

More details in the events link when they’re available.

Astronauts Events!

Update, March 10: It looks like the March 14th event is not going to happen. Yes, it’s because of the coronavirus, and yes, Maris and I are very sad. As much as we love all events to promote the books, this one was special! But…we also understand; we will contain this disease by making good individual and group decisions, and cancelling this is both. We’re already talking about rescheduling, so please stay tuned. And please do what you can to protect your own health and the health of others. We’re all in this together. “Together” means a little further away from each other than we’d like right now, but closer again in the future!

We’re adding more as we go, so please check the events calendar here, or take a peek at our respective Twitter feeds (@gtlabsrats, @mariswicks) to figure out where we are, and when!

Running in 2019

It doesn’t always look it, but I like to run, and I just closed out another year of races with the always beautiful Detroit half-marathon, the race that takes you across the Ambassador Bridge at dawn and back into the U.S. via the International Underwater Mile™. I had my best time through the tunnel between Canada and the U.S. in a while (7:14) but I couldn’t hold on to that pace. A knee injury and a couple weeks of training lost to Blue-footed Boobies and marine iguanas and Galapagos Giant Tortoises (okay, no regrets!) contributed to low mileage before the race this year, and add in aging (ugh) and my calves started cramping and threatening to pull soon after that shock of cold air greets you coming out from under the Detroit River.

So, here are before and after shots of my body reminding me “There are now a lot more age groups younger than yours than there are older ones.” Actually, I never look like I’m having a good time while I’m running, even though I usually am, so that grimace may not mean what you think it means. But things did start to go south under Cobo Center and the People Mover, so maybe?

Anyway, I gave up at least a minute in the last 5k when on a better day I would have gained some time. But hey, I had some good trail races earlier this year so I can’t complain. (Good races for me, that is; no Kenyan egos were harmed by my presence, I assure you!)

Me less than a mile later. Okay, it’s really a Galapagos Giant Tortoise. But you knew that, right? (Because I don’t eat during a race.)

The real me, and not as unhappy as I look, I promise!

The nicest thing about the day: Apparently another runner was using me as a pacer. He passed me in the last kilometer and beat me by about 20 seconds but found me in the corral after the race and thanked me for helping him run his first sub-1:40 half. Well. Cool! I had no clue, but you’re welcome, and that changed it from a meh race to a good race. So thank you! I broke 1:40 too, which is okay, I guess, but given a stronger-than-expected start I wasn’t delighted with the weak finish. Not sad, since I figured that would be a respectable time given injuries and lack of training, but ya know, I’m never satisfied.

And next year? At the very least, I need to arrive early enough to park on a lower level. The post-race stair climb to the 6th floor parking level this year? Ugh. 🙂

Frank Sinatra and Stephen Hawking

If you come and hear me talk about the Hawking book—look, there’s an Events link right here on the site!—you might hear me refer to Gay Talese’s famous (justifiably so!) piece “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold”. Here’s a link to an annotated version of this excellent essay.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and that you can learn why I like it by coming to one of my book talks!

The Michigan Author’s Workshop

I had a great time at the Michigan Author’s Workshop last week, and got a chance to look around Midland — a place I’ve never been — the next morning before heading home. So, some photos!

The talk took place at the Midland Center for the Arts, a lovely place. My hosts (Helen and Chris) and co-presenter — poet David (D.R.) James — were excellent too.

Seven Saints and Sinners — Watching over me, not helpfully

We had some tech difficulties (“Oh, about that HDMI port we said you could use. It doesn’t actually work!” “Um. Okay?”), but in the end we got a big ol’ TV in there and watched episodes of “The Good Place” instead of my talk.

A saint — Do good sales mean a good presentation? (Maybe? Probably? I hope?)

Not really, but it was a close thing. In the end, I was able to show images — important when talking about comics — and people seemed happy with my discussion of comics storytelling, its tools, and the research process for Hawking. That is, if “book sales > than number of attendees” is a valid measure of happiness, anyway.

It ran late, so I stayed over night and the next morning, before returning home, I visited the Dow Gardens and the Alden B. Dow Home & Studio.

Alden B. Dow exterior — The chimney is built for climbing. (In a less risk-averse age, anyway.)

You can’t take photos inside, so you’ll just have to go see it for yourself. I’d heard about the home for years, so was grateful to get a chance to finally visit. Definitely worth it!

A fine event in a fine mid-Michigan town. Thanks again to Saginaw Valley State University. I’d go again!

Jim Ottaviani

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