2012 Year End Review

Above, space shuttle Endeavour is towed through the streets of Inglewood in October.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

2012 is almost over.  For the most part, the year has been a productive one.  The only real item to mar the year was the failure of Mitt Romney to beat Barack Obama in the November election.  Otherwise, the year has been a good one.

Thankfully, I didn't have to attend any funerals for family members or friends.  Hopefully, this trend will continue through next year.  Knock on wood.  Unfortunately, one friend did pass away.  Comic Frank "Captain Rowdy" Lunney passed away in July.  Thankfully, we re-connected a few years ago.

The year started out with a get-together dinner (photo, left) in January in Burbank with Jerry "Karlos Borloff" Moore, his girlfriend Marta and Don Glut.  Following dinner at a local eatery, we migrated to Glut's and hung out there for a while.

Also in January, I bought table space at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention (photo, below right) at the Shrine Exhibition Hall to sell The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.  Despite the rainy weather, which dampened the crowd numbers a bit, we did pretty good as far as sales go.  I was thinking about doing the same this coming January, until I remembered that I now have to work Sundays (the day the show is held).  Oh, well.

In general, sales for the travel guide have been better in 2012 than it was in 2011.  Those sales led me to re-order a new batch from ComiXpress to cover the current holiday sale and next year's Mad Monster Party Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Japan tourism in general has improved over 2011.  As Japan's tourism improved, so has sales of the travel guide.

I started reading my collection of Ian Fleming James Bond books during this period.  I have a couple more to read as I have filled in the gaps in my collection.

My article, "Japan Safe For Monster Fan Tourists" made the rounds around the Internet in March.  It appeared in many websites, travel-related and non-travel-related, including the Anime News Network.

April saw the passing of Dark Shadows great Jonathan Frid, artist Thomas Kinkade, newsman Mike Wallace and American Bandstand's Dick Clark.

I attended this year's Monsterpalooza in Burbank in April.  While there, I had a reunion with friends Barbara & Jerry Weiler, who came in from Las Vegas.  Also at Monsterpalooza, I met actress Caroline Munro, got her autograph and had a photo taken with her (at left).  She still looks great!

In May, The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan received a good review in The Japan Times.




In June, Emi Ito, one of The Peanuts (of Mothra fame) passed away at age 71.  Writer Ray Bradbury died at age 91.

Comic Book writer and columnist Tony Isabella gave a good review of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan in Comics Buyers Guide (photo, right).

In July, I held the first of several yard sales of comic books.  I was pleased to be able to sell quite a number of them.

I donated a copy of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library.  It is now listed and available for researchers.  They were pleased to receive it.

In August, I made available The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan as an ebook at Amazon.com's Kindle Store.  Sales have been good and it is also available at Amazon's foreign sites.  I had been approached by several people about putting it out as an ebook, given the rising popularity of tablet computers.  So I did.  Amazon's ads (example below) for the travel guide are popping up all over the Internet, including in the Drudge Report.

I began my stint as a contributor to a new Japan travel-related website: JapanTourist in August.  My first article appeared in September.

In September, I was invited to join a panel (photo, left) on Japanese robots and monsters at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  Our panel had a standing-room-only crowd and I sold several copies of the travel guide following the panel.

While at Comikaze, I met the great comic book artist Neal Adams.  His Batman work of the 1970s is considered the "definitive" Batman and his influence on the character is still felt today.  I had a photo taken with him (below).

I am one of those who "never wins anything."  Well, my luck changed as I won a gift certificate to a Japanese restaurant in downtown Los Angeles through Japan Up! magazine.

In October, I trekked down to Inglewood to see the space shuttle Endeavour being towed to the California Science Center.  Figuring the crowds would be smaller in the wee hours of the morning (I was right), I went there at three-thirty and got some photos of the ship.  An estimated one million people witnessed the shuttle in the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles.

This year's corn harvest has been great.  We made 40% more this year than the year before.  I paid off a lot of bills and bought a few things that I wanted/needed.

Speaking of food, my "roomie" Jes is taking culinary classes and has been making some great dishes.  I am, at least, eating better and healthier with less reliance on fast-food.

Following the election, November has been relatively quiet.  Thus far, December has been the same, except that I had posted an article on "The Battle At Osaka Castle" at Japan Reference's Portal.

Here's to an even better 2013!

2012 Off To A Good Start!

2012 is already off to a good start!

The first ComiXpress.com sale of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan for the year was made last evening.


Some may think that it's silly to constantly promote the travel guide, the constant promotions are designed to keep it in "the public eye." The guide was designed for the long-term, not for some seasonal "splash" and it's done. Promoting it is to reach those who may not be aware it even exists. Promoting also avoids the old saying, "out of sight, out of mind." All the promoting work I do is akin to having a third job.

I plan on doing another round of promotional pictures with a new model in the next couple of months. I just have find the model with the right look to follow in the footsteps of Yuu Asakura, Ai and Miki Hayashi. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know.

On the upcoming Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention on January 15 at the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center, The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan will be available at a discounted "show special" price of $12.00 per copy. That's 20% off the cover price!

I hope to see you at the convention on January 15!

Earthquakes: 2012 Starting Already?

First, we have the 6.9 (or 7.0) earthquake near Okinawa, Japan. Now we have (can you believe it?) an 8.8 shaker, with tsunamis threatening Hawaii and California coastlines, originating from Chile.

Seven-pointers are rare, but they do happen. But an eight-point-eight is unheard of! Estimates of the death toll in Chile are around 300.

Could 2012 be happening earlier than we thought?

A Relaxing Weekend

Above, The Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon in Lake Elsinore.

A Relaxing Weekend

After weeks of stress from my mom’s final illness and passing in December-January, I was able to kick back and relax this weekend at my cousin Maria’s in Wildomar (near Lake Elsinore). Amber couldn't get the weekend off from work to also come down.

The order of the weekend was just to relax and do nothing. The drive from the San Fernando Valley to Wildomar was generally easy, if you want to call driving in a rainstorm “easy.” For the most part it was a good drive with only one snarl in the Pomona area where a few people collectively had a fender-bender. I took eastbound California Route 60 for the majority of the drive. There were several accidents on the westbound side of the freeway, proving once again that Southern California drivers can’t seem to master driving in the rain. As I always caution my daughter, watch your speed and distance between vehicles and all will be okay.

Once getting into Wildomar, the skies cleared a little, although occasional cloudbursts would still pass through.



I spent most of the day talking, reading and napping. That night, I was treated to a birthday dinner with my cousin, her husband Fred and my aunt Gloria at The Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon (above) in Lake Elsinore. I had the best steak in ages there. The Lone Star is a fun place to eat. Every hour, the waitresses and waiters would stop what they’re doing and put on a Texas-style dance show for the customers.

Above, Maria and me.

I was wondering if there’s a Lone Star Steakhouse in the San Fernando Valley, but there isn’t. The nearest one is in Long Beach.

Speaking of birthdays, Maria’s birthday is today (she’s only three days younger than me). When possible, we try to celebrate our birthdays together in some fashion.

Above, one of my mom's gnomes at his new home in Wildomar.

After dinner, we headed back to Maria’s house and watched the L.A. Lakers beat Portland. After the game, we watched a DVD of the relatively new 2012 end-of-the-world disaster flick by the director of Independence Day. It was entertaining, although I liked ID4’s characters much better. The special effects were spectacular, which were primarily computer-generated. I would have preferred miniatures. CGI can look good if used sparingly, but still seems too phony or cartoony to me after a while.

Of the Roland Emmerich movies I’ve seen, I would list Independence Day as the best, with 2012 a close second and Godzilla at the bottom.

Above, as I am an early riser, my cousin's four cats volunteered me into feeding them. Here's three of them.

Today, we all had a big breakfast at a local Wildomar eatery, Big Jim's.

Above, Maria's daughter Ashley and her daughter Crista at Big Jim's.

Before heading for home, I stopped at Ashley's house to see my mom's parakeet "Baby" (below) to see how he's doing at his new home. He is doing very well and Ashley's husband Tony has already trained him to sit on his finger, and he's only been there two weeks. Mom would be very pleased.



After this, I had to head back home. I’ve two hungry kitties to feed.