Laura's China episode to air this week

If you're at least an occasional visitor to this site, you probably know that Candorville is translated into Spanish for a growing number of Spanish-language newspapers. In fact, since humor often loses a lot in translations, many of the comics are entirely re-written, sometimes with entirely different themes and jokes. For that reason, I opted to have the translations done by someone who understands where I'm coming from and what I'm trying to say. More importantly, I wanted them translated by someone who's smarter and funnier than I am. Who better than my wife, Laura Bustamante?

What you may not know is, Laura's also a reporter/host for a nationally syndicated television show called Latin Eyes. Latin Eyes "(brings you) the best of Latin culture, music, travel, food & entertainment" every week, in English. Laura's interviewed people such as the president of Honduras, the band Jaguares, Latin American superstar Ricardo Montaner, and many others. Recently she travelled to China to host an episode and perform with her Ensambles, Ballet Folklorico de San Francisco in a festival in Beijing.

Be sure to check your local listings, or check out the Latin Eyes website to see where it airs in your area. If you live in the SF Bay Area, you can catch the show on KRON-4 this Saturday at 4pm. If you live outside the Bay Area, you can see it next Saturday.

Now maybe if she can translate Candorville into Chinese...

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Writer's Block

In my discussion forum, a poster recently asked the same question many of you ask via e-mail: What happens when you get writer's block?"

If you read Candorville, you may know that writer's block is Lemont Brown's constant nemesis. Lemont should have been a cartoonist. Comic strips, by necessity, are self-contained stories told in about four panels. If, like me, you like to mix things up and occasionally tell longer stories, then each day still needs to make sense as a self-contained chapter within that story. There usually isn't room for more than a single observation, or for the introduction of more than a single theme within the context of one comic strip. As our illustrious leader would say, "it's hard work" to do that day in and day out in sickness and in health, and still make it funny or meaningful -- or on a good day, both. But the one advantage this medium has over longer form writing is that it's easier to overcome writer's block.

It's been my experience that in the cartoon world, where what you're going for is a single gem of an idea each day, writer's block is simply your mind telling you it's time to get up from the drawing board and go talk to another living person. Ask how her day went, then go home and add a punchline. But change the names to protect the innocent.

If only Lemont knew how to draw...

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Today's a good day

Voter Turnout Is Reported as Heavy in Most Areas.
Regardless of who wins, this is turning out to be a beautiful day for America. Voter turnout is higher than I've ever seen. People seem to be hoping to encounter long lines. When I went to vote, people seemed more than happy to wait the extra time to get a paper ballot rather than trust their vote to an unaccountable electronic machine.

Americans are turning out in droves.

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Candorville in San Francisco

No, it's not in the San Francisco Chronicle (yet), but it is on San Francisco's toilets. Lemont Brown, star of Candorville, has been seen on several posters mounted on outdoor bathrooms and kiosks in San Francisco for the past few weeks. He's there to lend his support to the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development commission's annual Pool Toss. The Pool Toss is a fund-raiser where San Franciscans bid on the right to toss a celebrity into a pool at one of the City's swanky hotels. The money raised goes to a great cause: acquiring and renovating run-down buildings to provide the poor with affordable housing, and providing day care for the working-class (and largely unemployed class) tenderloin community.

Laura and I will be poolside tonight, trying to stay dry.

You can find out more about the Pool Toss or donate to the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development's fund at TNDC's website.

Candorville now running in Dallas and Santa Rosa

Candorville starts running today in the Dallas Morning News. Candorville has appeared Monday through Friday in Quick, a tabloid edition of the Dallas Morning News aimed at twenty-somethings, and in Al Dia, Texas' preeminent Spanish language paper (owned by the DMN), since 2003. Starting today, it'll also appear in full color, in the Sunday pages of the DMN!

Candorville also began running last week in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the great paper covering the San Francisco Bay Area for Sonoma, Santa Rosa and other Napa County cities.

We're honored to be appearing in those fine papers, especially since we have family in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and friends who read the Santa Rosa P-D.

The first person in each city to mail us a copy of the comics page will receive a free signed sketch of the Candorville cast, or a free signed print of the weekday strip of your choice. E-mail us for details.

If you live in Dallas or Santa Rosa and you like what you see, it would be a good idea to write to the paper and tell them so. If you live in Santa Rosa, click here to contact them. Papers need to hear from their readers to determine what you like to see. If you don't like what you see... um... disregard this last paragraph. I was only kidding.

Second Rudy Park book is on the way

Andrews McMeel - our publisher - just sent us the advance copies of the second Rudy Park book, and they look better than I'd imagined!

For those who don't know, aside from Candorville, I also collaborate on a comic strip called Rudy Park with writer Theron Heir. Rudy Park appears in nearly 100 papers and websites, and the first book - The People Must Be Wired - which came out last Fall, sold through its first printing in just a couple months. The second book, Peace, Love & Lattes picks up where the first one left off: Rudy's pining away for Darlene (who barely knows he's alive and resents knowing even that much about him). Mrs. Cohen, the cafe's resident cantankerous octogenarian, is at Rudy's throat. Armstrong, the cheap and greedy cafe owner is busy watering down the coffee and scamming his patrons. Uncle Mort is desperately trying to scream some sense into the cafe's apathetic, easily manipulated clientele. Randy is picking up chicks while trying to live down a reputation as a dumb jock, and Monkey is still hoping against hope for a bite of a Taco Bell taco. And an unexpected romance between two of the regulars causes both happiness and revulsion.

All this is set against our nation's year-long buildup to the war in Iraq, and there are guest appearances by Donald Rumsfeld (who tries to kick Rudy's @$$), Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft (still hiding in the pastry container, watching Rudy's every move) and Michael Jackson, among other celebs. The Rudy Park story really kicks into high gear in this book.

Rudy Park: Peace, Love & Lattes is available for preorder through Amazon.com, and will be in book stores throughout the country in just a couple weeks.

The first Candorville book will be released by Andrews McMeel in Fall 2005, followed by a second one in Fall 2006. Don't forget, anyone who writes a letter to your local paper asking them to give you Candorville will receive a free copy of the first Candorville book, and other assorted goodies - provided you send us a copy of the note, and the paper adds Candorville to their lineup within 1 year.

From an upcoming Sunday strip

A preliminary sketch from an upcoming Sunday strip (assuming it gets approved). This is Susan Garcia, one of the main characters. Rumor has it her looks and some of her personality traits are inspired by my wife (man, I have to get used to saying that - I've been calling her my "girlfriend" for 6 years!), Laura Bustamante. I have no idea how I got this lucky.

I'll post sketches here from time to time, just for those of you who take the time to check out the Candorville site.

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