Niem Tran

Historic "Superman" Copyright News

2008-03-29T10:29:57Z

"In a stunning decision, the heirs of Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman, have been granted the copyright to Action Comics Vol. 1."

And, here's more from uncivilsociety.org

Q: If there are so many unresolved questions, why does this ruling matter?

A: This is a formal declaration by a U.S. court that the Siegels have regained copyright interest in Superman. However limited, it is a historic ruling, in itself a vindication of the family's and fellow creators' decades-long struggle to receive legal recognition of Siegel and Shuster's role in creating the character. Even if the Siegels settle with DC & co., they will do so with the satisfaction of knowing that a court had finally recognized Jerry's work.

The outcome strikes a chord with our fundamental sense of justice--as Journalista posted as I was writing this paragraph, "[s]ometimes the good guys do in fact win." That people feel this way is not surprising. Siegel and Shuster's creation generated an immense amount of wealth; it only seems fair that for them to benefit. Although some may object that it's too late--Siegel and Shuster have passed on--we should note that many creators work in part to provide a legacy for their families.

Last but not least, in a world where people all too often feel like cogs in a corporate machine, this ruling serves as a potent affirmation of the human spirit.

Awareness Test

2008-03-17T08:56:38Z

a truly impressive awareness test:http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

this was made in england, but the message is just as applicable here, especially in light of a recent local tragedy

via wanderingaengus

Jury Duty & The Seven Deadly Sins

2008-02-28T07:15:02Z

When I tell people about last month's jury duty experience at Superior Court in San Jose, they're surprised at how entertaining and inspiring it was. Isn't jury duty rather boring? Didn't it waste your time? Well, yeah, some of the testimony was incredibly dull, since the questions have to be asked in that precise, lawful, fact-by-fact manner. More boring is the actual jury selection process, which takes a while. During the trial itself, some particular witnesses' testimony was absolute nonsense, and some details they gave directly contradicted previous statements made to the police. This was quite frustrating.

But overall, I'm really happy I was in that particular courtroom at that time. It didn't hurt that the whole thing didn't take more than a few days out of our lives, instead of an inconveniently longer trial.

In order to try to convey some of the surrealism of the super-official proceedings (this is a courtroom after all!) contrasted with certain moments of sheer amusement, I will write about the experience using the Seven Deadly Sins as my rubric. This is not to make light of the case itself at all, which again, was a serious matter with strong allegations. From my and at least a few other jurors' perspectives, however, we gained a lot of knowledge and delight from the whole thing, and I mean to concentrate on that and keep you engaged with the Deadly Sins gimmick.

Before I get into this, I should first mention how inspiring Judge Chatman was. She really set the tone for how the whole thing went, and I can't say enough good things about her. By definition, you'd expect a judge to be authoritative, but on top of that, Sharon Chatman, an African-American lady, brought to her courtroom an engaging, respectful, humorous, and humane tone that affected all of us. She told us she used to coach women's basketball at San Jose State for ten years, and that she'd been a judge for the past seven. She gave us a whole rundown on the court system, and talked about how as a judge, she is not supposed to be a stone, but let her emotions show, while keeping them under control and not allowing them to interfere with her rulings. On top of that, she was quick to give props to her courtroom officers and the Spanish translators who worked for the court.

She decorated her courtroom with vases of flowers everywhere, which was a really nice touch, as a prospective juror who got kicked out said to her as he left. And, when someone would mention during his jury selection interview that their spouse was a housewife, she interjected and asked that person to please refer to that person as a "Home CEO" because what they do is "just as tough as what a CEO of a company has to do, if not tougher." She was a great ringmaster, but also came across as really down-to-earth.

I especially appreciated her understanding of our situation, how she told us, "I know jury duty is seen as a great interruption of our regular lives. I also get called in for jury duty, and do you think it disrupts my life? You bet it does. And I know that as individuals, to each of us and our work and family, we are very important. But there are some things in life that are bigger than each of us individually, and jury duty is one of these things."

Truly a remarkable, impressive person.

Okay, onward to the 7 Sins!

1) LUST

This case was a classic "He Said, She Said." A housepainter, George (not his real name) was charged with four counts:
1) Sexual Assault (Kissing on her against her will, groping her breasts)
2) Battery (She had a bruise on her arm in one picture that the defense presented)
2) False Imprisonment (Holding the Claimant against her will)
3) Trespassing (Going into her apartment against her will)

He said:
After working at a San Jose apartment complex for about a week, painting walls and doors, George strayed from his crew to make out with a gal, we'll call her Esther, whom he'd been flirting with. He gets her number, they mess around a little at her apartment, and it's all consensual. Next thing he knows, he's hit with these allegations. The Defense believes that because Esther discovered soon after the incident that Mike worked for the same painting company that her husband used to work for, she thought she'd eventually be discovered and concocted a story to protect her, this story being...

She said:
On the afternoon in question, George keeps asking for her number but she won't give it at first. Finally, to stop his pestering, she goes into her apartment to get a pen and paper to write it down. He follows her inside, and proceeds to do the things she accuses: kissing on her mouth, grabbing her breast, slamming her against the wall, holding her with both arms and not letting her go (the false imprisonment charge), until he finally leaves.

George pleaded Not Guilty to all four counts, and never testified. There was only half a day of testimony -- from George's boss, whom pretty much had only good things to say about him, then from Esther and her friend, whose testimony was unclear. Things were making so little sense that the case was thrown out by the prosecutor by the next morning.

Under this sin, I might add that the court secretary and stenographer were both really attractive women, in their early-to-mid 30's -- I guess the fact that we weren't allowed to talk them only added to their appeal. We were instructed to only speak directly to the bailiff, and since he was also good-looking, and physically fit with crew-cut blonde hair, I noticed some of the women on the jury did unnecessarily. It was a good-looking court! I almost felt like I was sitting on the set of Law and Order.

2) GLUTTONY

Judge Chatman had promised us fresh fruit each morning! Very cool. We could even make beverage requests. Alas, the case was finished before the first official morning and we never got the fruit. I had hoped for cornucopias of scrumptious red apples, perfectly ripe bananas, and luscious grapes, maybe some XXX Vitamin Water, my favorite flavor.

Another anecdote involving food occured at one point in the proceedings, while the attorneys were approaching the bench. And incidentally, one of the defense attorneys was a heavyset fellow whom looked like a young Rodney Dangerfield with those eyes, even sounding a bit like him, but more refined, less comedic.

During this bench approach, on juror, Mike, a middle-aged Chinese-American science tutor, beckoned the bailiff over.

"Jeff, hi, can I get some coffee?" Mike asked, pointing to the tray next to the court secretary. Jeff obliged with a smile. At this point, we hadn't been told that the drinks were also for us, so I thought Mike had quite a bit of chutzpah to request some coffee.

"Anything else?" Jeff asked Mike.

"Yeah, could I get a cookie too?" asked Mike, nodding at the lemon-creme cookies next to the coffee. He sounded like an eager kindergarten student.

Later, on our afternoon cookie, I grabbed a cookie for myself. As I followed the rest of the jury into the elevator, I remarked, "Mmmm, this cookie IS pretty good!"

Without missing a beat, a brunette gal juror smiled and said, "I don't think it's quite as good if it doesn't come directly from the bailiff!" We all erupted in laughter. I would've high-fived her if she wasn't at the other corner of the elevator.

3) GREED

For our jury service, each of us was paid the princely sum of $10.00 a day + gas money! Nice. But what's really priceless was the experience of being in court and having the privilege and responsibility to help figure out if there was enough evidence to prove the allegations.

It was also great to meet all these other people you'd never normally come across in your day-to-day life, and getting to know them a little.

In addition to Mike, I met Suresh, an Indian Cisco engineer; Mrs. Ramirez, a Mexican-American housecleaner; Karen, a vet technician; Jim, a retired accountant who used to play football in college; a VTA bus driver lady who resembled Rita Moreno and had her vivaciousness and pep; and a few other cool people.

4) SLOTH

According to Judge Chatman, the hardest-working officer in the court is always the court reporter/stenographer. Because whereas everyone else can have moments where they relax a little, the reporter must always be recording verbatim everything that's being said on the special stenotype machines, and thus, they are always working. Sometimes, witnesses would speak too quickly and Judge Chatman's reporter, Kimberly, had to ask them to slow down, but for the most part, she'd just be typing away. Kimberly told us that she'd studied rigorously for 5 years to do her job. Respect!

5) WRATH

At one point, Rodney Dangerfield was about to ask one of the witnesses a question that would've reveal some detail about her friend Esther, and Judge Chatman, in a startlingly angry, loud voice, admonished: "MR. RODNEY! DON'T ... EVEN .. GO THERE!"

I can only assume that this was sensitive personal information that didn't really pertain to the case. So awesome to see how aggressively Judge Chatman put the kibosh on that. It was at this point that the lawyers approached the bench and Mike asked for some sweet-smelling coffee and that yummy cookie.

6) ENVY

By now, you might be feeling envious that you weren't on this jury too. I hope if you're selected for jury duty, your experience will be just as interesting. But to be honest, I think we lucked out big-time.

The whole experience was so memorable that on our last day, after we'd gone over some questions and answers with the judge regarding the case, the same brunette who'd delivered that great bailiff-cookie line, raised her hand and told Judge Chatman, "On behalf of the other jurors, I just want to say thank you for making us feel so welcome in your courtroom, educating us about the process, and being such an amazing judge. I know I got a lot out of this, and I hope everyone else feels the same."

At this, we all spontaneously applauded her and the court officers, and it was clear from the way they smiled that they were touched by this compliment.

7) PRIDE

Ah, sweet vanity! During a break in the jury assembly room, one of the jurors, a nice Mexican-American lady with a bouffant hairdo, mentioned to me, "Anyone ever tell you that you look like Apolo?"

At first my inner nerd for Greek Myths was alerted. Then I realized who she must be talking about. "Cool, like the speed skater?"

Rita Moreno said, "Oooh, he's haaaandsome!"

I winked back, "I should hope so!"

******

Some sketches done in the jury assembly room:

Quick sketch of the courtroom:

And this is the letter of thanks each juror received from Judge Chatman. We also got a nice pen.

Barron's New Show opening tomorrow: VICTIMS

2008-01-30T15:08:33Z

"VICTIMS" a solo exhibit by Barron Storey opens at Gallery AD this Friday.
366 So. First Street
San Jose, CA 95113

Artist's Reception: First Friday, February 1, 2008
8 p.m. 'til late • free and open to the public
Music by Nate Nothing
Exhibit ends: March 15th, 2008

If you've been lurking on my journal, -- and I think there's a few of you although I don't get many comments except from people I know -- so it was touching to get a comment by one new person I didn't know when Kiki passed away -- anyway, if you know me, you may have heard me sing Barron Storey's praises before. But on the occasion of his newest show, I just wanted to share a few words about him.

Barron is one of the most focused, wisest, and most interesting human beings and teachers I've met. He's one of the main reasons I went back to school at SJSU, where I'd heard he was going to be teaching. As a longtime comics fan, his reputation for teaching some of my favorite comics artists preceded him. And he didn't disappoint.

His class was extremely challenging, and deeply memorable. I loved that he brought his journals to class for us to check out. I loved that leaving his class you were armed with new techniques and knowledge. His teaching wove such topics as Shakespeare, motorcycle-riding, and Amazon animal skull graveyards.

Even if I were feeling a little sluggish before the 6:30 to 9:30 classes, Tuesdays and Thursdays, his booming, dramatic voice and incredible storytelling always woke me right up, like a tonic.

So, Barron, you're the raddest, and congratulations on the new show, which I know will be stunning.

Listen to the InkStuds interview with Barron

Also see Jeff Avila's fine web tribute to Barron

Elvelyn Gennie: How to listen to music with your whole body

2008-01-30T10:35:23Z

VIA Barron Storey's mentioning her in this Artiscopic interview I found (First I'd ever heard of her)

VIA a mass email from Gallery AD and Barron about Barron's New Show Opening this Friday. "VICTIMS."

Kenbo and Amelia

2008-01-25T02:39:40Z

Jury Duty

2008-01-25T02:23:36Z

I'm on a jury until the end of next week. Can't discuss the case until it's over. This is the second time I've been selected; the first time was a scant year-and-a-half ago, so everything -- lining up to get inside the Hall of Justice to the so-so cafeteria food -- seems really familiar.

The other case I was a part of was neither a civil or criminal trial. We had to decide whether or not a convicted pedophile was ready to finish treatment for his mental illness outside of the state-run facility at Atascadero. We decided that he wasn't ready, especially after the star witness on his behalf, a doctor at the hospital, testified that although he was a model resident, he wasn't ready. That was really easy.

I also just got back from a terrific weekend in LA with a bunch of friends: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26812&l=84577&id=523356936

Shopping + Eating + Hanging out with good friends + Rock Banding = Awesomeness!!! This is my new motto.

Daft Punk vs. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "World Maps"

2008-01-07T06:12:43Z

Two of my favorite songs mashed together. I prefer the originals on their own, but if this played at a club like Medjool, I'd probably lose my s***

Kiki Cat

2008-01-01T02:40:30Z

In the past few days, I had noticed Kiki breathing more heavily and a bit spasmodically. She also seemed unusually lumpy with excess fluid throughout her body. For the last several months, she had nightly IV injections with Lactated Ringers fluids, to assist her poorly-functioning kidneys. So I thought the fluids might have stopped getting absorbed into her body. Another sign of failing health was her sudden incontinence -- she'd peed while getting the fluids the night before, and yesterday she'd been trailing bits of feces on the carpet. Really bad indicators, obviously.

This morning, I took her to see the doctor at AKAL Animal Hospital for a checkup. When we got into the room, Kiki was panting heavily, and Dr. Chahal seemed worried for her as he checked her out. The x-rays confirmed his suspicions: her heart was failing, and it was actually her heart fluids that were filling up her lungs and around her organs, and throughout her body. Although it would've been possible to drain the fluids, it would only be a very temporary fix. The best option was to put her down.

I phoned Thomas and Amy with the sad news, and they offered their condolences, as did my buddy Omar. Only yesterday I had mentioned to Omar and Tony how much I loved Kiki, how dear she was to me, and how much I would miss her when she was gone; I didn't think it'd be so soon that I'd have to say goodbye. I thought we'd have another half-year to a year together at least.

Doan stopped by to help me through the process. As Kiki got some oxygen therapy to help her breathe easier in her final minutes, I told her how much I loved her, petted her, kissed her on her head, and said goodbye. Thomas was on the phone with me while this was taking place. He had been the one to originally adopt Kiki, 12 years ago, a lifetime ago for us. I had been lucky enough to have taken care of her for most of her life. Although when we originally got her, I was tremendously allergic around cats, I somehow got used to her.

Kiki didn't actually take the lethal injection. After I'd signed the paperwork for the cremation plans, and entered the room, she'd already passed away on her own. "Natural causes," as they say. I don't remember seeing her last breath. She seemed to have already let go, and as the doctor was getting ready to give her the shot, even he seemed a bit surprised. This was about 12 PM. Doan and I wished we'd been able to see her pass, but that's okay, that she left us before we were totally expecting it. She deserved to be free from her pain.

It all seemed to happen so fast, even as I tried to slow down the experience so I could process it. The staff at the hospital were universally wonderful, and I thank them for being so kind and thoughtful in helping us take care of our beloved cat.

Sketchbook Drawings, 2003.

September 2007.

August 2007.

I will miss her beautiful kitten face and green eyes.

I will miss her walking past my legs and brushing against them.

I will miss coming home and having her greet me at the door.

I will miss her meowing and the pat-pat-pat sound her front paws made as she rubbed against the edges of cardboard boxes.

I will miss cradling her to my room to give her the nightly IV shots.

I will miss how she would want to go outside any chance she could get.

I will miss her sitting on top of my mouse pad while I worked on the computer, and her annoying me by getting in front of the monitor.

I will miss how she rested on my lap as I watched television.

I will miss playing with her. Even in her old age, she'd still want to play and chase string.

I will miss how she learned even in old age, how to "shake hands" for treats.

I will miss how she slept on my chest and purred through the night, and waking up to her on the bed, sometimes still on my chest.

Kiki Tran: July 31, 1995 - December 31, 2007

I love you, Kiki. Thanks for keeping us company and growing older with us. We were so lucky to have you in our lives.

Spider-Man and Batman beat up on someone not fighting back.

2007-12-22T01:31:55Z

In one of Barron Storey's journals, he'd written a quote by Dave McKean, and I'm paraphrasing: "Batman is a rich guy who dresses up and beats up poor people." This came to mind while watching this...from what I can gather, it seems like the dude had it coming, but still.

Nino

2007-12-20T11:46:33Z

Kiki 02

2007-12-19T17:21:44Z

Superman Retires. LOL

2007-12-19T17:04:26Z

Burgess Meredith rocks.

While we're at it, I think I've had this dream:

Pat at Barnes and Noble

2007-12-18T16:47:37Z

andy rementer artwork

2007-12-17T15:53:34Z

holy toledo ohio, this andy rementer guy is out of control! very cool stuff

35 minutes, listening to Radiohead's In Rainbows

2007-12-17T11:25:15Z

My favorites songs off the album are are Nude, All I Need and House of Cards.

Joseph Cornell

2007-12-15T18:01:39Z

Saw the SF Moma show recently and was just in love with how effortless, intimate, resonant, and beautiful a lot of these are in person. Really sweet choices in arranging his elements, like you could tell he cared a lot, but not so much that he overworked it. On the page they look kinda cool, but the three-dimensional objects are where it's at for sure.

Check it out if you can, the show closes January 6. i'll probably be heading back again sometime.

William Carlos Williams - Complete Destruction

2007-12-15T17:43:23Z

It was an icy day.
We buried the cat,
then took her box
and set fire to it
in the back yard.
Those fleas that escaped
earth and fire
died by the cold.

doodles

2007-12-15T17:06:24Z

i borrowed the color pattern from something j. otto seibold did

how i look in the morning when i can't sleep

2007-12-15T17:02:47Z

25 minutes, ballpoint pen

sir, you look like i feel.

2007-12-15T16:52:52Z

Nina (as Jem)

2007-12-14T21:23:30Z

Kiki

2007-12-14T08:14:08Z

James C.

2007-12-14T07:38:36Z

Girl with Chicken and Super Fiery Mario

2007-12-13T12:47:50Z