“Striking Sparks” — Page Thirty-One
3MM FAN SURVEY- EXTENDED!
Hey all, Max here. Yup, Dad’s still out of town, and I’m in still charge. Ahh, the power… so, I’m plugging the 3MM FAN SURVEY for another week, as the responses for far have been great, and I’d love for Dad to come home to even more feedback. So click here for the 3MM FAN SURVEY!
AND I’m officially sounding the call- I’m asking you, the readers, to spread the word about 3MM to someone you know who reads comics. Dad and I really pour our souls into this thing and I, for one, sacrifice quite a bit of sleep every week to make sure that I get this stuff posted by Monday morning. It may surprise you that 3MM has NO LEAD TIME or “buffer” and NO PLANS FOR HIATUS – That means I have to ROCK these pages or else! Please, help us stay jazzed about this project by helping us to increase the readership! If you haven’t already, please “like” us on facebook! Get your tweet on! Vote for us on topwebcomics.com! Add us to your subscription lists on Comic-rocket or inkoutbreak! If you blog about comics, give us a shout-out! Recommend us to your favorite comics podcast! Or even start a thread in a comic discussion forum! We really appreciate it! Ok, I’m done. Back to Dad’s blog…
[DAD] Here’s where I wrote: “Mobs of terrified workers in panic.” That’s it. That’s all I wrote.
Damn, it’s so easy being the writer. Thank you, Max.
More below!
Bobservations
City Hall
Max and I actually visited City Hall to research these pages.
Los Angeles City Hall is a nice-looking old edifice in the Art Deco style. It looks kind of like the Daily Planet building in the old Superman serial, primarily because it was the Daily Planet building in the old Superman serial. Compared to government buildings in places like Washington DC or New York, it is perhaps a little lacking in grandeur (being half their age and budget) but it is quite decent for our area.
For story purposes we wanted some less-findable reference; emergency staircases, door handles, security cameras, sprinkler systems, etc. Stuff that we anticipated would be viewed with suspicion, but we were going to give it a try. We brought a couple of my cameras; cellphones are all very well, but their lenses are designed mainly to resist being rattled around in your pocket with keys and change. Sometimes what you really want is a zoom lens and decent glass.
So we went into City Hall, dropped the cameras and phones and keys into the security scanner, strolled through the metal detector, and emerged into the rather nice lobby, all marble and wood and brass. We asked the stern security guards if we could take a look around. And oh, did that get a reaction!
“Of course!” they beamed. “Welcome to City Hall! Observation deck at the top is open, great views, you have to take two elevators and a staircase to get there, but just ask when you’re ready and we’ll give you instructions. The Mayor’s office is on the third floor and the Rotunda is nice-looking, be sure to check it out. Café’s on the second floor. Restrooms are marked. Have fun!”
And they turned us loose.
Well, we saw the vast marble-and-brass Rotunda and went up to the Observation Deck, which gives a marvelous panorama of the city. And we went wandering around in the rooms where they hold press conferences, and no one bothered us. We didn’t see any guards at all.
So, pushing our luck, we began taking fire stairs down, taking photos of the stairwells and the various emergency and safety systems, and still no one bothered us. We got off on floors that were not for tourists, since they were just city workers, and I pushed open a door leading to a roomful of cubicles, and took a fast photo before they threw us out. The lady closest to the door gave me a sharp look.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she snapped.
“Um, just taking a reference photo for a project…”
“So you won’t be publishing the photo?”
“Oh no, it’s just for our own reference.”
“Oh! Well good, because I’m not wearing makeup.”
And that was it. We couldn’t seem to get in trouble if we tried. The general attitude seemed to be “Hey, you’re a citizen, we trust you!” It was both astonishing and refreshing. They just seemed pleased that we were interested.
I mean, it won’t stop us from destroying the place, at least fictionally, but we did appreciate the hospitality. If you’re ever in Los Angeles, I recommend a visit!
Although maybe not by helicopter.
— Bob out
I guarantee if you guys were brown, that you might not have had such a warm reception.
I remember this one show where this guy, dressed like a normal fella, decided to take pictures of a bridge. This was post 9/11, and he really wasn’t supposed to do that, but nobody stopped him.
Next day he does the same thing, only dressed in Arab sort of garb. He had 3 different kinds of security descend on him almost immediately.
Another story that personally happened to me last Apris also applies:
So I’m visiting Vegas with a couple friends, and we make plans to go see the Hoover Dam. The friend I traveled with knew someone in the area, so we he gives us a ride to the dam. As we come up on it, he points out the security guards on the way.
“I don’t know why these guards are here,” he says, “They’ve never stopped me before.”
“That’s because you’ve never had someone brown riding with you.” I say, mostly jokingly (I’m Chinese).
Sure enough, the security officer smiles and waves at our driver, but his expression immediately changes when he sees me in the backseat.
“So, uh, we’re going to have to check the back of your truck. Please pull over there.” And he says this while looking directly at me.
Mind you, we all burst out in laughter, and my friends admit I totally called it.
But besides that, have either of you ever read a book titled “Stiff”? There’s a whole chapter in it dedicated to what happens to human bodies when an airplane crashes. Pretty interesting stuff.
‘Everything changed when the fire nation attacked.’