Tidings from a Thunder God

Brad Meltzer wrote a murder mystery set in the DC Universe a few years ago. It was called Identity Crisis, and it was a damned good read. He went on to write Justice League Of America when it relaunched, and... to be honest... it wasn't as good. Thing is, the man can write one-off stories, but he seems to struggle with the pacing of a year long run on a comic book. This is a novel, so it'll probably be well worth reading.

The new novel is called The Book Of Lies, and he's also trying to save the house Joe Shuster and Jerry Seigel created Superman in. Weirdly, all the research he did for Book Of Lies ties Superman to Cain (the one that murdered Abel in the Bible).

Direct from Mr Meltzer, himself...

What's the connection between Cain and Superman?

The Book of Lies book trailer starring Joss Whedon, Damon Lindelof, and Christopher Hitchens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7vLMXk22Zg
Author Gets Slammed by Grandmother, the press, the world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svvoh66s2F0
But this next video is the true culmination of everything these past two years have been about:
Save the Superman House
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25R2kcJxQuc
So, as you may know, The Book of Lies goes on sale today and in honour of that, we're officially unveiling http://www.OrdinaryPeopleChangleTheWorld.com. This is my core belief. This is what I stand for. And this is what every project I've ever worked on has been about: To remind us that there is greatness inside all of us.

We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day.

The fact that you're reading this means (I hope) that you believe this too. So I put my dream in your hands. I put my book in your hands. And I appreciate anything you can do to share the above videos with the people you love and know. Some of you love Superman and will focus on the last one. Some love the novels, so you prefer the little kids and my grandmother. Some of you will love all three (hi, Dad!).

In this tough publishing world, where sales of ALL books are down in double digits, it does really matter if you can share these on the places you go (email, blog, myspace, facebook, message boards, etc).

And now it's midnight, which means we can let all of these loose on the world. Take a few minutes...share it with those you love. Then make an enemies list and share it with your foes. Wherever you put it is appreciated.

And for those who want even more details on Saving the Siegel House and the auction, please see below.

I'm headed off on tour, but please do come say hey so I can thank you personally. I know this sounds so pretentious, but I truly think we can change how books are sold. As I've said to many of you before, I know every author has family and friends, but they don't have our family and friends. Thank you for always being there. Always.

Much love,

Brad

ADDITIONAL SIEGEL HOUSE INFO

As you can tell from the video, the goal of The Siegel & Shuster Society is to save the house where Superman was created. It would be ideal to post something in your own words, but you can post this FAQ as-is if you would like. Your choice.

The most important thing to do is to mention and link to the auction, encourage people to buy a shirt, and post the video (see below for link) on all the places you frequent. The video shows the state of the house and tells people about the auction starting today. As you'll see from the list of people involved, this isn't about DC or Marvel. This isn't about competition. It's about the comic community as a whole, pulling together for a place that launched so many of our best dreams.

I just hope you know how much I and everyone working on this project appreciate you being involved with it. And while we know it's just a house, it matters.

Attached are also two signatures for people to download or see on your sig. Feel free to share them. Below, is the full FAQ. And of course, lemme know if you have any questions.

FAQ (feel free to edit as you need)

What's this all about again?
Today is the official launch of The Siegel & Shuster Society, with a celebrity charity auction that'll raise money to preserve the home of Jerry Siegel, creator of Superman. When you go to Brad Meltzer's charitable website http://www.OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com, you can:
- bid online for original Superman and comic book art and items by top writers and artists
- buy a Siegel & Shuster Society t-shirt (designed by the legendary graphic designer Chip Kidd)
- or just donate to the good cause.
The best way to show it is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25R2kcJxQuc
All proceeds of the auction go to the restoration of the Siegel house.

Who's involved in the auction?
This is a coming together of an entire community. The full list includes: Stephen Colbert, Jim Lee, Brian Michael Bendis, Brad Meltzer, Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, Joe Quesada, Neil Gaiman, Alex Ross, Dave Gibbons, Jeph Loeb, Murphy Anderson, Ed Brubaker, John Cassaday, Gene Ha, Greg Rucka, George Perez, Michael Turner, Adam Kubert, Andy Kubert, Judd Winick, Frank Cho, Eric Powell, Tim Sale, Walt Simonson, Joe Staton, Eric Wight, Dave Mandel, Mike Mignola, Rags Morales, Bill Morrison, Ivan Reis, John Romita Jr., Jason Palmer, Amanda Conner, Geoff Darrow, Ron Garney, Renato Guedes, Heroes, Dave Johnson, Chris Bachalo, Mike Bair, Allen Bellman, Dan Brereton, Ernie Chan, Travis Charest, and Ian Churchill, YOU, and even Jerry Siegel (see below).

How did this come about?
While researching his new novel, The Book of Lies, Brad Meltzer visited the boyhood home of Jerry Siegel in Cleveland, Ohio, where Superman was created. As Meltzer says, "The house where Google was founded is preserved. The garage where Hewlett Packard was founded is protected. But the house where Superman was born? I was in shock." After contacting dozens of comic book creators -- and thanks to the hard work of many in the city of Cleveland -- The Siegel & Shuster Society was created and is dedicated to commemorating and celebrating the creation of Superman in Cleveland by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. "I think sometimes people take things like this for granted because it started in cartoon form, but this is a house were modern mythology was created," Brain Michael Bendis adds. "Mythology that will never die away or disappear. There is no difference, to me, between this house and Mark Twain's house. We have to honour and exalt such creation."

What are the items in the auction?
You can win a walk-on part on Heroes, VIP seats to the Colbert Report, original Superman art (go see the art!), have your name in Bendis or Brubaker or Rucka's comic, or Meltzer's next novel. There's a rare original pre-Superman movie script from Geoff Johns, signed by Richard Donner. And Joanne Siegel told Meltzer that before Jerry Siegel died, he signed six Superman t-shirts that no one ever knew existed -- and then told her that if their family ever needed money, she should sell the shirts. Instead, she donated one of them to be auctioned off here. The signature is on a Superman: Quest For Peace(!) t-shirt. C'mon, baby, it's Jerry Siegel on a Quest for Peace shirt!

What can you do?
Forward and digg the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25R2kcJxQuc ). Go buy a Siegel & Shuster Society t-shirt. They're cool. They're designed by Chip Kidd. They can't be bought anywhere else. Bid on some of the auctions and spread the word by sharing the video, sigs, and http://www.OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com auction with your facebook, myspace, and live-breathing friends.

How much is the Siegel And Shuster Foundation trying to raise?
Depends on how successful we are. Phase 1 involves working on the exterior of the house: securing the roof, making sure the paint isn't rotting, doing the concrete work. That will hopefully protect the place from the outside. Joe Shuster's house (a few blocks away) was in such disrepair, it was torn down. The first goal is to collect $50,000 to deal with the outside. If we do that, then we'll go and tackle the much-needed-repairs on the inside.

Who lives there now?
The house is located in one of the tougher neighbourhoods of Cleveland and is currently occupied by an African-American couple who have lived there for approximately 20 years, who have put up with all of us who have come visiting, but who don't have the money to do these repairs. Rather than kick anyone out on the street, the goal is to repair this place for them. Why? It's the right thing to do. In return, The Siegel & Shuster Society has the right to buy the house when it eventually goes up for sale.

Is there a long-term goal to make a museum?
The long-term goal is still being decided, and that's why you're invited to join The Siegel & Shuster Society and help us with those plans. Meetings are held monthly in Cleveland -- when you buy a shirt, they'll have your name. But one of the dreams is that one day, buses full of students will drive from all over Ohio, from Michigan, from any nearby state, and come to the fully-restored house -- covered and decorated with children's artwork inside -- and see where one of the world's greatest dreams was born. Go to http://www.OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com to make it happen.

Well, I went back to work today.

Worked out pretty well, as it happens. Yr7 group I have first every alternate Monday weren't in lessons due to some big art project-y thing, and the Yr11 group I've got are off on work experience this week and next. That meant I met one of my Yr8 groups and both my Yr10.

The Yr8's seemed OK, as did one of the Yr10's. The others were a bunch of little shits (well, some of them were), that I may have to play Nazi Stormtrooper with. Ah well, such is life.

Recovery goes on. I removed my dressings when I got home and washed my leg with this lard-y stuff that I was given by the District Nurse, and after a few minutes of massaging the stuff into my skin with lots of warm water, I noticed the scabs on my leg were softening. In fact, some of them were lifting, so I helped them along.

After about 10 minutes of gentle cajoling, all the scabs, even the dirty great enormous ones that ran to several inches long had parted company with my leg, revealing new, pinky-red skin underneath. The only dressing that is now on my leg is a bit of Tubifast that I put on to cover the new skin and give it a little protection.

I go now. Need to have bath and stuff. No work tomorrow, but still got to call in at the JobCentre to sort out something about my claim, and then off to Guiseley in the afternoon to have a bit of a chat about characters and a look for schemes of work so I can be fully up and running before the end of this week.

Which will be nice.

T

Well, what a shitty start to the year this has been.

Went up to see in the New Year with Sarah's folks, ended up in fucking Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with cellulitis. Broke myself out of there on the 2nd of January and spent a further 10 days in Stalagluft Dewsbury, where I developed an allergy to penicillin. Probably due to the sheer amount of benzylpenicillin (that's also known as penicillin V, pharmacology fans!) I was getting pumped into me.

Swelling in various places has only really come down over the past few days, but my skin is still very dry. At least the overwhelming thirst I've had for about the last week as subsided, and I'm down to drinking much more normal levels of fluids.

And I'm starting to feel warmth again.

That was a strange one. When it was cold, I felt really cold. When it was warm, I still felt cold. It had to be really warm for me to be at a comfortable temperature.

Anyway, definitely on the mend now, and actually looking forward to going back to work. The dressing on my bad leg has shrunk, so I may well be able to get a normal pair of trousers over it, but I may be forced to wear a pair of non-regulation shoes for a bit while my foot and lower leg get much further down the road to repair.

Definitely no wearing of the New Rocks for a while.

Just spent the afternoon ploughing through the form to claim Incapacity Benefit for the time I was in hospital up to me going back to work (next week, if all goes to plan - got a mortgage to pay, after all). Taken this long because the swelling in my hands caused by the aforementioned penicillin allergy has only just gone down.

That was fun. But at least it may mean me squeezing some cash out of the bastards, which should make things a little more comfortable, money-wise.

First day of the Xmas holidays. Had a sparky round putting more light in the cellars as well as a couple of plug points. We now have a new bathroom, currently languishing in the spare bedroom so my Dad can fit it starting next week. I'll be going to pick Sarah up in about half an hour.

Went to see the Quireboys at The Cockpit in Leeds on Saturday. Absolutely excellent. They really have improved enormously since the first time I saw them all those years ago at Leeds University. Spike is a fantastic frontman, almost on a par with Ginger and Lemmy. The support band, Planet Of Women were surprisingly good, too. Very confident singer who seemed to be chanelling Tina Turner, as well as a couple of very easy-on-the-eye backing singers.

Must go round to Lou and Helen's tonight. Probably won't stop very long. Not feeling too good. Woke up this morning with a streaming nose. It seems to have dried up for now, but I don't think that'll last. Always seems to bloody happen on the first day of the holidays.

Ah well. Got something to go back to on the first/second day of term. OK, it's only a 70% timetable, but with Guiseley using me as first-choice supply and the other agencies looking out for work for me, I should be at least getting to somewhere near enough to 100% so the mortgage and the rest of the bills get paid.

Doesn't exactly hurt that the house has been downgraded to Band A.

Which is nice.

Right. Better go collect Sarah.

T

Interview ahoy!

Found out on Friday evening, while driving home, that I’ve got myself an interview at Guiseley High School on Wednesday. The downsides are the distance and the fact that it’s either 0.7 or 0.8 of a full timetable. Hopefully, though, if I do get it, they’ll be able to supplement that up to full time with supply days.

As I sit here now, I’ve just written the worksheets I’ll be using in the Yr9 revision lesson on Electricity I’ve been asked to plan. One is an “unscramble the words and write the definitions” thing, and the other two are for a bit of practical work.

All told, they’ve got to add up to half an hour. This should do pretty well, if they are a reasonable class (which I understand they are).

This should go better than the Holmfirth interview, since my voice is actually in full working order. Got to remember to ask them about filling up the timetable with supply work, though, since it’s only 0.7 or 0.8.

In other news, myself and Sarah went down to Brum yesterday to meet up with Charlotte, Luke and Wolf. A good time was definitely had by all. It was good to see those three again. Must try and do it more often.

The Cradle Of Filth gig on Saturday was a most enjoyable evening out. The Blank Canvas is quite a nice little venue, nestling under the arches at Granary Wharf in Leeds. The vaulted ceiling was probably the ideal place for an evening of Black Metal. Pity the sound was crap, though. Drums and vocals dominated the mix, and for a band like CoF, who produce some good guitar work, that’s pretty disappointing. Cathedral definitely were more comfortable with a Cradle audience than they were with a HiM audience. No screaming girlies who just wanted Ville Valo.

Since we’re on the subject of frontmen, Dani Filth was a bit of a letdown compared to the personality he shows in interviews and in studio blogs. I was expecting him to shine a bit more, and be (at least moderately) funny, to balance the darkness of the music. He ended up coming across as a grumpy, chubby shortarse in ill-fitting bondage clothing.

Not exactly the sort of image he was probably hoping to portray!

Realised about 5 minutes ago that I've missed Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 3.

Bugger.

Ah well. Now watching Top Gear.

Which is nice. I will console myself with that.

T

It seems as though impending unemployment has been put off for another fortnight. Steve Duffin didn’t come back on Thursday, as expected, and has signed off for couple of weeks. Which means I’ll be employed right up until the holidays.

Which is nice.

I’ve had another timetable rejig, this time giving all the exam classes I had been teaching to permanent staff. That did rankle a little, but is also entirely understandable. I’ve only been here a couple of weeks, and don’t know what the kids have been doing since September, whereas the permanent staff do. It does mean I’ll end up doing more covers as well as (hopefully) getting more free time.

Might even start writing that story I was thinking of doing for NaNoWriMo. Then cut it down into chunks if I finish it and cheat by posting up a few thousand words each day. Well, not cheat ENTIRELY… there’s bound to be things I’ll want to alter and generally improve upon for the NaNo version.

Went to do Xmas shopping at the Trafford Centre today. Got most of it done.

Which is good.

My sister's got herself a dog now, too.

Interesting. Staffy cross. Called Angel, apparently.

I'm currently watching the 50 Greatest Comedians thing, hence my mood being "amused".

C

No-one's rung up with any work for today.

Got some for Tuesday, though, and possibly Wednesday. Does mean trailing out to Garforth, but I reckon I've got a route worked out that looks fairly simple, and would seem to be the most efficient possible, even though it does require time on the M62. Looks like I'll have to be off early.

All this means, that with last week's wage due into my account on Friday, as well as the emergency money I've transferred in from my Halifax account, I've enough to pay the mortgage (with a bit of change) and I can start looking at paying off the credit card if I do get the Wednesday. Any more work this week, and I can start building up my savings so the next mortgage payment won't hurt as much!

Registration for British Gas online bill payment seems to have come through, so Sarah can pay the gas bill this time out (before we transfer the details to the joint account, like we've always planned to do).

We're getting there. Financially, this month has been pretty tight, but light is appearing at the end of the tunnel. I'd got quite used to having something well over a grand in the bank ready to roll, and I do kind of miss it. Must work on getting it back ASAP.

Right. Shirts and towels washed yesterday want putting out on the line.

Must go.

T

Tong was shit. A real hellhole that I'm not going back to.

Ever.

Friday night was a real relief. Went to Neil and Franya's for the Great Ormsheim bonfire and fireworks party. Before we went, myself and Sarah called in at Morrisons to pick up some food to take with us and some firepower to unleash on the unruly savages of Meanwood.

We were going to go for a packet of 5 rockets for £30, but the bloke in front of us in the queue drew our attention to the box of fireworks that came with the aforementioned rocket, and a big, fat box of a firework that was a display on it's own.

All that firepower for 33 of your Eenglish queed! Fan-bluddy-tastic!

OK, so we went to Neil and Franya's, and had a very pleasant evening unleashing the "ordnance", as Paddy The Axe named it, eating stuff and drinking other stuff. Even Sarah couldn't fail to be uplifted (and she needed some uplifting after a shitty day) by the company of The Vikings... especially when those Vikings are four big, hairy blokes getting all childishly excited over fireworks!

Saturday was a trip to the Royal Armouries with Cat and Jane (and her sproglets), which was rather an enjoyable time, looking in awe at all the sharp-edged death machines. Even saw the falconry display. Harris Hawk, Barn Owl and Lanner Falcon.

Very nice.

The evening was a surprise. We called in at Sainsbury's at the White Rose Centre for some food (including some evil ex-plant things), then decided at short notice to go to the Mirfield Show Ground to see a bonfire, and find out what £6000 of fireworks looked like.

Pretty impressive, as it happens.

We then went home and savagelly relieved Sarah of her fireworks virginity.

Even had her letting off some rockets.

Proper job!

Wonder if I'll have some work for tomorrow? Currently waiting to hear from Holmfirth High School as to when they want to interview me, and there's a possible opportunity for a job at Bradford Cathedral Community College and Guiseley School.

As inspired by Sarah, I'm looking at upgrading my phone when my current contract expires. Seen a VERY pretty phone in the Coming Soon part of the Orange website. The Motorola V6. Can't find it on the US or UK Motorola websites, so I can't find any way of researching it.

It is very pretty, though.

Want one...

Currently sat watching The Fog with Sarah. From what I remember, it's rather a good one. Made before John Carpenter lost his mojo.

Was going to say something else, but I can't remember what it was...

Ahhh... it's getting late... you'll have to let me off.

T

Saxon gig last night was excellent. Still got the tinnitus to prove it! Sarah even sang along to "Wheels Of Steel".

Which was nice.

Think we may have a convert to the Way Of The Yorkshire 'Eavy Me'al here.

Huzzah!

One thing I did notice about the tour. Guess which big English cities were conspicuous by their absence?

Manchester and London.

Can't trust a Manc... and the less said about That Lundun, the better...

T

Only been up a couple of hours. Had pain au chocolat for breakfast. Sarah has just (sort of) recovered from a migraine, so when I got up to get her something to eat, I left her in bed.

Things should get better later on. Off to see Saxon at Rios tonight. Really looking forward to that. Might even get the chance to meet them. Original drummer's back, so that'll be four blokes from Barnsley in the line-up again.

Which is nice.

If they play "Wheels Of Steel", I'll be happy.

T

Thought this was kinda cool...

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Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com</td>

T

Hello.

Welcome to the first entry in my LJ. I've also got a blog over on Blogger, but I thought I'd have a go at this too.

Down to business...

The supply scene hasn't really taken off yet. Got a day of work yesterday at Horbury School, which wasn't too bad at all. Yr10 class I had had some "characters" in it, but they were fairly easily squashed. I'd have no problems about going back there at all.

Might have some work for both tomorrow and Friday if everything pans out OK. Fingers are now crossed.

Off to have my dinner now, then I reckon I'll do some vacc-ing.

Ah, the excitement...

T