EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Summer is a bear, stuff is happening, I gotta slow down on the videos over the summer.
The tension of “family v. zine guy” always is high when the kids are out of school, but it is especially high this summer. I have a rising college freshman and two highly engaged young teens. We’ve been pushing “experiences over stuff” for the kids at Christmas, and the IOU’s are coming due in June and July. Plus, circumstances have my wife working from home for at least the next month. Throw in a couple precocious Boston Terriers (one who needs to be watched like a hawk…he’s an overgrown puppy), and it just makes life hard when it comes to “zine time.” There is backstory to just about every caveat, but I think that covers the landscape.
Then, the challenge of making FANzine Live hum like it has for almost two and a half years now. Reading a week’s worth of zines – not skimming them, but actually READING them so I have something worthwhile to say when I record – takes anywhere from a few hours to all day (with family-related interruptions). That’s generally Monday. Then, if all goes well, I record the week’s videos on Tuesday. Editing and posting happens from Wednesday to Friday. Some videos, like those Reel Short Looks, can be edited in 30-45 minutes. Other, more detailed videos can take hours to get right. The Phoenix Masters posts (#SundaySteveWillis, #HumpdayHutchinsons, #NobleHeadFriday) are probably another 45-ish minutes apiece. All of these things go faster when uninterrupted, which just doesn’t happen when the kids are home.
(Did I mention that my computer has been giving me fits? Darned overhead camera keeps freezing…it’s been a while since I cussed so much.)
As I type on Wednesday night, I haven’t read the zines for next week’s videos. I haven’t even organized myself to read the zines for the week. Then, I leave for a week on Friday. When are the zines going to be read? When are the videos going to get cut and edited? I have no idea. I’m running the dad taxi, packing for the trip and handling a few other household items. It’s just a different speed, one I can’t say I like (I truly enjoy the FANzine Live process; I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t!).
The challenge, then is simple: Either take a break or go crazy trying to make it all happen on the homefront and with FANzine Live.
I think I’m going to take a bit of a break.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop FANzine Live. I’m just going to take a break. Realistically, that means I’ll be much more sporadic during June and July. I’ll try to do some videos and share what I’m reading (like the AMAZING 30×30 book from Conundrum Press), but don’t expect a ton.
Also, Phoenix Productions is still humming along. Strange Times #7 is all but complete as I’m awaiting physical proofs from Amazon as I type. Heroes Now #6 is in process. I have the masters for The Collected Cranium Frenzy by Steve Willis Volume Five scanned. I won’t be stopping work on those projects over the summer; they’re just not date-specific. When they’re finished, they’re finished.
If memory serves correct, the French take a two week break in August – Les Grandes Vacances. Businesses shut down, folks leave for the beach and other vacation spots. Not a great time to visit France, I gather. But the folks return, the businesses and schools fire back up with activity for another year, and everything returns to normal. Burnout is avoided, souls are rejuvenated.
In a way, I’m looking at this extended summer break in the same manner. I’m going to take my break, enjoy a little more time with my family, do some traveling…and come back strong in the late summer.
The first day of school is August 19th — just saying!
If you find yourself missing FANzine Live (God luv ya), might I suggest you check out some of the videos in the library? YouTube tells me that there are 540 of them right now, split between:
- New Releases
- Classic Zines
- Crowdfunded Zines
- World Zines (and Ukraine Zines)
- Steve Willis & Morty the Dog (and The Cranium Frenzy Project)
- The Hutchinson Brothers
- First Person
- Phoenix Productions Spotlight
- Editor’s Note
- Reel Short Looks
…plus some other material. Point being, there’s a lot of inspiration waiting to be checked out…especially if you weren’t in on FANzine Live from day one.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for understanding. I’ll certainly be around, just without constant deadline pressure for a little while.
Be good!
Phoenix Productions 