Rabidly Whimsical Tenacity
Jan. 6th, 2010
11:38 am - In which strangers are nice...again...
So, I'm driving a couple of friends back from West Bank (or the W'ank, as we like to say), and we gotta go through a toll to get back into New Orleans. I hand the booth lady my dollar, and she shakes her head & points down the road.
"Naw. The person in front already paid for you."
A split-second while this sinks in. Then, I hand over my dollar.
"Then this is for the person behind me."
I wonder how long the chain continued - Jay sez I paid it backwards:)
Dec. 29th, 2009
12:53 pm - I finally know what I want with this book tour...
...and of course, it’s not like what I was told I was supposed to want. Here’s the truth of it:
I don’t much care about sitting in bookstores behind a table for 4 hours, alone & weird & uncomfortable. I don’t wanna do book shows – I don’t know those folks, they don’t know me, and it’ll take forever to get Lightsurfing out to them’s that might benefit from it.
Here’s what I DO want (I’m a little nervous about this idea, but I’ll get over it):
I wanna come visit. I want to hang out in your living room at parties that you might be having anyway, only I’ll have some books & art to sell. I want to read a couple of stories that I’d be telling anyway, and have people laugh, or cry, or get good juicy ideas for the cool stuff they’ve been wanting to do.
I want to answer questions about being an artist, or a writer, or a sky-diving ballet dancer. I want to talk about how making a living this way is not so very different than any other small business, and how a painter paying the mortgage with what comes out of her paintbrush has more in common with the guy that owns the bar down the street than she thinks.
I want to talk about marketing, and branding, and professionalism, and how all this stuff is absolutely necessary if you really want to make go of it on your own.
I want to share stories about community, and tribe, & rebuilding a life and a self in the wake of disaster.
Then, hopefully, people will be inspired to get a book or some art so I can make it to the next place. I’ll crash on the sofa, we’ll have a cuppa caffeine the next morning, and I’ll head down the road. I’d be like a traveling minstrel without the singing (except sometimes I sing. Mostly in the shower.)
People have been asking me these kinds of questions for years, but it’s always been at festivals when I’m trying to talk to (or paint) a thousand other people & can’t focus on the serious discussion at hand. This plan would fix that.
But, I can only do this if you guys are up for it. I talked to Pacita about putting together a tour of sorts to wrap around the conventions & festivals I already do. There’s just gonna be too much back & forth to hammer out all the details – it’s a job in itself. So, let me know if you’d be up for hosting one of these, and pop off an email to ‘cita at pacita AT materialis DOT com.
Who’s in?
Dec. 24th, 2009
08:20 pm - Because the cutest fish-tongue-parasite EVER begged for it:
...and yeah, that thing is REAL! I love that it's got so many little hands: mebbe it's like, 3 to eat the fish's food, two to masturbate, and the rest to say, "Hey! Howya durrin?" ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
marquisdd immortalized my crappy drawing of it (along with my tongue, on the menu board at Chef Chris's restaurant.) at his blog.
Have I mentioned I get obsessed with images? I do.
04:03 pm - So, I'm cleaning up scans for a new print run...
...and I realized that there were a couple of landscapes in one of them...and I don't DO landscapes. Except, y'know, for when I do:
Marrusscape 1
Marrusscape 2u2girl1966 reminded me about my "donate" button if you enjoy these art posts. So, if you do, and you want me to keep doing 'em, please toss something in the tip jar. Thank you!
Dec. 15th, 2009
09:59 am - As a wee Joo...
...I kvetched til my mother took me to see a mall Santa. We waited on line until the happy moment when I crawled up on his lap, scrutinized his punum, and said, "Hey! Your beard is scotch-taped on!"
And proceeded to pull it off.
And was yanked off his lap faster than you can say "Blintzen".
Bad, bad wee Joo. No Xmas prezzies for yoo:)
Dec. 11th, 2009
11:29 am - Livejournal is for when I have time, FaceBook is for when I don't...
...which has been de rigueur for the last five months. Several folks at Faire were worried that Jay didn't survive his rappel cuz I didn't update here, I updated there. Oops. He's fine.
So, if you wanna hook up on FaceBook, I'm "Miz Marrus" there, or you can be a fan of "Marrus".
And, brace yourself, book-pimpage is about to go into overdrive. Whatchoo waiting for???
Dec. 9th, 2009
08:46 pm - Lightsurfing is on Amazon!!
If you're thusly inspired, you can order it here, or stick it on your wish list so's someone else can foot the bill for you:)
Thanks to those of you who wrote such nice reviews! Please, let your friends know if you liked the book - I've gotta sell a lot more of these (like, 2000 altogether) before I can prove myself to a distributor. I'm about a fifth of the way there. Mmmmmm...a fifth:)
Dec. 1st, 2009
07:47 pm - Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated...
...well, not my demise, but certainly concern as to if I've fallen off the planet. The answer is, "Kinda, yeah."
I've been embedded in Faire, or some related travel since Labor Day - this weekend starts the 5th week of LARF. Since returning from New England, I've been rebuilding my booth during the weekdays, working Faire on the weekends, gotten slammed with 18,000 kids the week before Thanksgiving (which was marvelous, packed with friends, and a precursor to a three day work weekend), had my blond raise over $1000 for the Special Olympics for rapelling off a 17 story building (he lived), and just when it looked like it was gonna be quiet for a second, landed a storyboarding gig for this.
I got a miserable chest cold JUST before my interview. Mucinex is my bestest friend.
So, apologies for the lack of amusing pithiness here in Eljaylandia. FaceBook is easier to update from the road - I'm Miz Marrus there, or you can be a fan of Marrus.
In the meantime, the holidays approacheth. Don'tcha know someone that might want a book or some art? Sure you do!
Nov. 21st, 2009
10:55 pm - Jay's only got a few more days to raise $1000 for the Special Olympics!
...but he's more than halfway there. In his words:
On Nov. 24th, to raise money for the Special Olympics, I will be jumping off the 17 story Landmark Tower in Metairie (well, jumping with a rappelling rope attached).
I immediately asked if I could wear a cape…they said no, for safety reasons. I agreed to do it anyway.
The Special Olympics empowers so many people, from all walks of life…if you're in a position to give, you can do so here!
Thank you very much!
PFC William J Watt, EMT-B
Nov. 19th, 2009
07:07 pm - Because being a fire-eating, swift-water-rescuing, combat medic wasn't enough...
...Jay has decided to raise money for the Special Olympics by rappelling off the 17 story Landmark Tower in New Orleans.
If anyone would be interested in donating to the Special Olympics, please go here and give whatever you can. If he raises $1000 by the 24th of November, he can attempt the rappel, but regardless of whether he hits that goal, any donations will go to the real winners...the athletes.
Thanks so much for your help, and don't worry, he's been solidly chastised for doing this before clearing it with me. Nothing like finding out your partner is jumping off a building for charity - on FaceBook!!!
Please x-post with exhausting abandon!
Nov. 10th, 2009
01:43 pm - I need some help with the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Lightsurfing Tour!
I’m setting up a touring schedule for mid-January, to wrap around the Sci-Fi Con I’m doing in Williamsburg, VA.
Here’s where I’m gonna be. I’d love to find bookstores / bars / venues to do signings along the way:
January 7th, drive to Atlanta, mebbe set something up that night.
January 8th – drive to Greensboro – I may have a signing already there...
January 10th –I have a signing set up in DC. Details to follow!
Hey, folks in Baltimore & Richmond! Can you guys think of any places that might like to have me come in the 11th-13th?
January 14th-17th - MarsCon in Williamsburg, VA
January 18th – Drive the 9ish hours to Atlanta
January 19 – Back to New Orleans!
January 20 - Mardi Gras. Fall down, go boom, then do more local signings.
If you know places that might host me, please help, cuz I don’t know them, and I don’t know the people what run ‘em. So, if you want me to come to your town, sign some books, and have a couple of cocktails with you, please, give the store a call, find out if they’re amenable to doing a signing, and send me their contact info so I can set it up.
Please don’t just send me an email saying, “there’s this cool place down the street” – there’s no way I can cold call all these people (who often aren’t in when called, anyway) & chase down leads.
2010 looks like the year that everything changes. New ways of thinking, new ideas to put out into the world, new challenges. I’m a little freaked out & not entirely unterrified, but a good friend recently told me that my fear response seems to be to get very focused, wind myself up, and launch off the cliff.
Here’s hoping something out there catches me:)
Oct. 30th, 2009
11:01 am - Pulled in so many directions that I can barely keep a thought in my head:
In no particular order:
My booth at LARF needs a floor. A finished ceiling. Walls moved. A back end. In a week.
Galleries: Several contacted me just before I went on the road. Had to tell them all to hold til I got back. I’m back. Argh.
Book signings: I wanna do lots of ‘em. I’m about a 10th of the way to where I need to be to prove myself to a real, live distributor. Gotta find out who loves me, where I should do ‘em, how to afford the gas to get there. And I thought writing the book was the hard part! Bah.
MarsCon: I’m a guest at this in Virgina this coming January 15-17. They would like art. And me to be there. And there’s a kinky little bookstore in DC that wants me to do a signing. And another in Greensboro, NC. And a potential book party dinner in Atlanta. I need to figure out how to roll all this together.
I have yet to set up my show schedule for 2010. I mean, I have NOTHING past January. Frolicon, DragonCon, CTRF, FLARF, maybe? Dave Stickney’s show? Is Southern CT happening? Who knows!?
The website needs a total redesign, I should really do another print run (I used to be an artist, I think), and I still haven’t renewed my tax license for the show that starts in a week.
And I’m suddenly going to Anne Rice’s Vampire Ball thingie this evening, and, well, mebbe I should make an appearance for Halloween. I hear it’s kinda fun to do that in New Orleans.
The waves keep on rolling over me. I peck at the periphery but I’m so damned overloaded that I just want to hide.
Anybody wanna hire me for a dayjob??? Until that happens, please, buy a book or some art - Christmas presents, anyone?
Oct. 28th, 2009
12:19 pm - Right before I got home, I wrote a pome...
I love the in-between spaces
The not-quite-there places
The moments surrounding the now.
The eight-hour drives
Alone with just me
I delight in the music
Of my own company.
The road stretches out,
All I can do has been done
There's nothing for now
But be one with the motion.
No jangling voices,
just my own smooth rhythm
Knowing that I'll kick into overdrive
once I get where I'm going.
I'm jazz, my magic sings between the notes.
Out of time, out of space,
no holds on my soul.
Don't know what day it is
Don't much give a damn
And no one knows where in the world I am.
My temple, my church,
the peace of my heart
Jewel-brilliant appears
when I am apart.
Oct. 16th, 2009
02:29 am - Now THAT was a helluva party!
Wow, y'all.
Thank you.
I'd no idea that whatever it is I've done had affected you all as blazingly as it has.
I'm gratified, humbled, blown away.
Thank you for coming out, for playing, performing, philosophizing, dancing, making merry, and forgiving my drink-spilling flips off the second story of that luscious, padded, multi-tiered, ceiling-mirrored, human-sized cat tower. Jay MUST build me one as soon as he recovers from combat-medicing.
I'm chock full of shenanigans & tangents & joy & blessings. Must sleep.
Oct. 14th, 2009
05:56 pm - I'm posting this from 20 stories in the air...
...at the largest computer monitor I've ever seen. I hafta hold my head WAAAY back to see what I'm typing.
Safe in the midst of Manhattan at my gracious, growly, publisher's penthouse. I love showering here, cuz it's a trip to shave one's legs while looking out the window at the Empire State Building.
I'm enjoying my usual NYC galavant, which entails traipsing to all my fave shopping & eating haunts (some of which ain't dere no more, but that's just the way this town is), and pretending I don't have a pile of bills waiting for me swampside. Tonight, I'll see my best friend from high school, and an old buddy from my comic book days, and other assorted lovelies, with a side order of mojitos with booze-infused sugar cane sticks. I'm such a rockstar. Ahem. Pebblestar.
And tomorrow night, the party. It's not quite returning triumphant after war on the back of a golden elephant with trumpets blaring & confetti raining down, but it's damned close. I'm getting nervous over who's gonna show up, the publisher said I hafta say something eloquent (he couldn't have warned me a month ago???), and all the folks I don't really know so well who want facetime have roundly freaked me out.
But at the end of it all, I'm very grateful to everyone who's helped me, even if I don't know exactly what to do with myself now that I'm here. I'm so glad the book has resonated the way in which I'd hoped: entertaining, inspiring, & ideally, teaching people to invent their own joyous, mad path in the world.
Thanks everyone. See you tomorrow night. Be kind.
Oct. 7th, 2009
02:50 pm - Hurricane Marrus has hit Boston...
...and is deeply grateful for a bed, potential wine-laden nekkid hottubbing, and an honest to god internet connection unimpeded by bears crashing through the woods in New Hampshire. You think I'm kidding. I'm not.
I've been a traveling fool for...ever now. Being on the road like this is one huge, literal trip-toy. I am blessed to have so many fabulous, talented, generous, amazing people in my life. The trek up from New Orleans (which started 3 days later after the trek all over Texas, which was a single day later than the 4 day extravaganza that was DragonCon in Atlanta) took me to sabrina_pandora's, who whisked me off to BBQ & then Oni's Gods & Goddeses costume party. From there, up to Greensboro, SC, where I hooked up with burlesque performer (among so many other things) Foxy Moxy & her magickal partner Scott Fray who abducted me into body-painting a mother/daughter team for a photo shoot after a 7 hour drive.
Dinner that night, metaphysics & philosophy til 3am in the backyard, slept for 13 seconds, then breakfast and back on the road to Richmond, VA, for an hour lunch with a long-ago lover with whom I've happily reconnected after 17(!) years.
Then, stuck in DC traffic, then to Kasia's for conversation & booze, and tantalizing sleeping little girls with my absence. Then to Vermont to sing songs with Jordan & his kids, pick up my stuff, pack up the Elephant, get to Jodi & Matt's, twitch, and get to CTRF to set up the site.
Then, lots of rain. More rain. Damnit. But it's so good to see my Yankee Tribe, even if it means freezing my ass off. My car is home, boombox, heater, and now jungle gym. I've become quite adept at launching myself around the interior by various handholds to do whatever needs doing, even half asleep in a rainstorm.
So now, Boston. Dinner with Scratch and...? tonight. Tomorrow, Diesel Cafe around 7ish, with books. Should I even bother? It sounds awfully quiet out there, but I like the place anyway, so I'll just bring my sketchbook & tunes - if no one shows up, I can just take some time for me;)
Sep. 18th, 2009
10:56 am - Official Book Launch Party in NYC!
Please RSVP on FaceBook here, or if we're not already linked up, I'm "Miz Marrus". Here's what the press folks wrote for those of you not FaceBook-ly inclined:
Come celebrate the launch of the multitalented Marrus's new book, Lightsurfing: Living Life in the Front of My Mouth
"Lightsurfing is a totally captivating mixture of art, riot grrl energy, needle-sharp insight,
and personal adventure. I loved reading it."
-Cecilia Tan
---------Exciting Dance, Musical Performers, Artists and DJs aplenty ---------
Marrus! -Signing her book and bringing the love!
Vince Conaway -Dulcimer
Folkloric Fusion -Bellydance
The Fairytale Experiment -Multimedia Theatre Extravaganza
…and Many More To Be Announced!
Costumes Encouraged, Revelry Expected, Fantasy and a tinge of Debauchery!
Start Time: Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 8:00pm
End Time: Friday, October 16, 2009 at 2:00am
Location: Love NYC ( www.musicislove.net )
Street: 179 MacDougal Street (at the corner of 8th St)
City/Town: New York, NY
Price: Free!
After the party, I have a day to recover, and then, back to sleeping in my car in a field in Connecticut.
I'm such a rockstar;)
09:20 am - My blond...
...has been been selected to compete for the award given to the top graduate of his class, outta 350 guys who've all been there 3x longer than he has. He's also been trying to heal dead mannequins.
I'm so proud of him, and wish I could be here when he gets home, but I'll already be a month on the road.
Driving schedule:
Tomorrow - Atlanta, GA
Sunday - Greensboro, NC
Monday - Morristown, NJ
Tuesday - Bellows Falls, VT
Wednesday - deep breath, pack
Thursday - Marlborough, MA
Friday - Hebron, CT
Saturday - The Connecticut Renaissance Festival!!!
See all you Yankee Tribe soon!!
Sep. 16th, 2009
01:18 am - My publisher wrote an amazing piece about my book...
...and I'm re-posting it here. Thanks again to all of you who have written such kind things about the project!
"As many who've flipped through the pages of Marrus' new book LIGHTSURFING have pointed out to me, this project could not have been easy to put together. New, untested author, hundreds of sketches to sift through, dozens of paintings, the expectations of a fiercely protective fan base, Poppy! During the process I was asked several times why a guy like me with a company on a roll like mine would bother? Can't be the money for gosh sakes!
Well, the answer is I published the book because of my little girl, Evangelia.
Sure, as a 6 year-old she may be a bit young for the kink and the bawdiness of LIGHTSURFING, the darkness of some of its scenarios and the direness of others. But she'll be ready for all of that in good time. The real reason is that it has been too hard for me to find true stories of what it's like to be a girl who sees the world in a special way -- a way that often causes the world to align against her, because she is different, a world that makes every attempt to take advantage of her, because of her tits but also because of her talent.
I want Evangelia to know that if she remains on the path that she's on right now, it will never be easy. There are times where she will go hungry, in body as well as spirit. There will be theft, betrayal, meaningless tragedy...it will seem that Nature herself will conspire against her.
But somehow amidst the chaos, and Marrus teaches us this in her beautiful book, there is light. Evangelia will learn to recognize the light in peoples' eyes -- that flicker of awareness, of intensity, of sensitivity, intelligence, the light that tells those keen enough that there is someone alive here who is looking to fan the flames of possibility, to share, to become an ally even for a tiny instance.
My girl will walk into a room and those eyes will be incandescent in the shadows, and she will glide across time and space to meet them and be warmed by their glow. She will give to them with no expectation of anything in return, and they will give back more than she can imagine -- just as the lights in Marrus's life have given to her.
So much has been made of the humor and fun and visual splendor of Marrus's book. But I urge you all to look closer, listen harder to what she really has to say. In a powerful way, she has given back to us all in ways we're only beginning to discover...
Jeff Gomez
Publisher
Kissena Park Press
a division of
Starlight Runner Entertainment
Sep. 13th, 2009
07:59 am - Kitten-Raising 101
Often, when I go to play with a friend’s cat, the human associate of said kitty sez, “Oh, she doesn’t like to be touched.” Or “Careful, she bites.” Or “He doesn’t come out when we have company.”
And you know what? It’s not the cat’s fault that it’s that way, it’s the OWNER’S.
We get kittens because they’re oh-so-cute. We fall for the sweet image of kitty purring in our laps while we read, or because they’re so entertaining when they stalk our toes under the covers. We fall for the hype.
The truth is that kittens are lies wrapped in fuzzy adorableness. People who drowned the tiny monsters by the sackful had the right idea. Kittens are feral, evil, spiky demons who must be beaten into submission. Kittens are disgusting, egotistical, vicious beasts who terrorize with claws, fangs, and fickleness, and which, if left unchecked, will grow up to be aloof, nasty, chow-gobblers that leech off you for 20 years. And who wants that?
I have two cats. They come (most of the time) when called. I can trim their claws without a fight. I can give them meds. I can hold them upside-down, pull their tails (gently of course), and play with their toes & paws & lips even when I’m not cutting claws or giving them meds. They’ve learned that lots of weird things might happen, but they’re NEVER gonna be hurt, so they never have to be afraid.
My sofas aren’t clawed, they don’t get on counters, and they’re social when company comes over. People comment on how nice they are.
They didn’t get that way by accident. They got that way cuz I WORK with them. I interact with them, talk to them, encourage good behaviour, swiftly correct bad. They know to come to the sound of tapping on a window or floor – extrapolated from my tapping on a can of cat food. When the Doomsicle was a biting, evil hellkitten, his head was in my mouth every day to prove I was the larger predator and COULD EAT HIM. He no longer bites. Kinkwink sits & lays down on command. No, really.
They sleep with me, love on me, listen to me. I’ve trained THEM, not the other way around.
Here’s some secret cat knowledge that isn’t really secret:
There’s a difference between clawing the sofa and kneading it. Clawing is aggressive & marks territory. It also destroys furniture. Give your kitty a post to scratch and train them to that. Kneading is gentle, relaxed, and is accompanied by purring and half lidded eyes. If you smack your cat for this, you’ll make her crazy, confused & neurotic.
A cat slowly lowering his lids while maintaining eye contact with you has just given you the equivalent of a cat kiss. Do it first to a relaxed animal, and smile at the response. A tail held high is a the tail of a happy cat. If they lift it up when coming towards you, that’s a hello! Good to see you! A lowered tail shows fear or discomfort.
New parents of young cats tell me all the things that kitteh doesn’t want to do, and my response is “Really? REALLY? You're being topped by an eight week kitten??”
YOU are the alpha. They WILL get in line. Or else that cat will OWN you for the next 15+ years, and nothing's more pathetic than an adult human who's some pussy's bitch. I've seen it happen. It’s not pretty.
This PSA has been brought to you by the letter “M”. If any of you have Secret Kitteh Knowledge to add, feel free:)
Navigate: (Previous 20 Entries)