Jim Ottaviani's Blog, page 11
August 25, 2012
Neil Armstrong
The last words I heard from Neil Armstrong were
Late one night, late in the summer, I was avoiding writing by checking email and there in my inbox was a message titled "Your book." The address was one I didn't recognize and looked bogus. Spam, but when you're serious about procrastination you look at those messages too.
It opened with "I have been traveling much of June and July and the mail has been piling up in my absence." and closed with "Sincerely, Neil Armstrong".
I yelled loud enough to wake the neighborhood, and ran out to the back porch where Kat was reading...possibly watching a movie. Who can remember? I had just received an email Neil Armstrong! The one person, if our species manages to survive another thousand years, that everyone will remember from the 20th century.
And it was helpful. He and I exchanged another email or two, and that was it. Zander, Kevin, and I sent him a copy of the book when it came out, but didn't hear back. It's okay; I imagine his mail never stopped piling up. And those last words to me were spoken like a true engineer. That's the person I wanted and needed to hear from. The engineer/astronaut. I smile every time I think about what he said, and I think about it often.
But now that I look back at those messages, I see that my memory isn't accurate. His last words to me were actually these:
I have no objection to your quoting me in your book or asking another question (although I am not committing to an answer).Here's the context: In 2007 I was in the middle of writing T-Minus , and had sent letters (on paper!) along with a copy of one of my books to a number of Apollo astronauts. I had questions about technology and processes, and a number got back in touch. I ended up speaking at some length with both Buzz Aldrin and Alan Bean. Thrilling, and helpful.
Late one night, late in the summer, I was avoiding writing by checking email and there in my inbox was a message titled "Your book." The address was one I didn't recognize and looked bogus. Spam, but when you're serious about procrastination you look at those messages too.
It opened with "I have been traveling much of June and July and the mail has been piling up in my absence." and closed with "Sincerely, Neil Armstrong".
I yelled loud enough to wake the neighborhood, and ran out to the back porch where Kat was reading...possibly watching a movie. Who can remember? I had just received an email Neil Armstrong! The one person, if our species manages to survive another thousand years, that everyone will remember from the 20th century.
And it was helpful. He and I exchanged another email or two, and that was it. Zander, Kevin, and I sent him a copy of the book when it came out, but didn't hear back. It's okay; I imagine his mail never stopped piling up. And those last words to me were spoken like a true engineer. That's the person I wanted and needed to hear from. The engineer/astronaut. I smile every time I think about what he said, and I think about it often.
But now that I look back at those messages, I see that my memory isn't accurate. His last words to me were actually these:
Good luck.Thank you, Commander Armstrong.
August 7, 2012
District Comics: Out now!
I just got my contributor copy, and it's a handsome volume. You can order your own copy of District Comics via the usual suspects...or even better, if you're in the DC area, go to the launch party at a bookstore and get yours signed by some of the contributors. (Though, alas, not me. I think I'm done with travel for the year.And speaking of contributors, my partner on the story "101 Miles of Monument" was Nick Sousanis. Visit his site, and see why I asked him to him to join me. You'll be impressed.
July 27, 2012
Feynman: At an airport bookstore?!
It really did happen, thanks to Compass at SFO! And, of course, Hark! A Vagrant. Thanks for the tip, Wow Cool!July 2, 2012
Primates: Here's proof(s)
In case you wondered, here's how I spent last weekend. Primates , with art by Maris Wicks. Coming in 2013. It's real! I'm excited. (And now, many errors, many of them mine, will not appear in the book. Thank you Jill, Adin, and Calista!)
June 27, 2012
Turing teaser over at Tor.com
Leland Purvis does the art, I do the writing, you do the reading. It's great when things are simple like that.
June 21, 2012
District Comics at the American Library Association
I wrote (and Nick Sousanis drew) a short story about two of my favorite things in DC: the Metro and the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. How do they relate? Well...you'll have to read the story in
District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, DC
.If you're attending the American Library Association conference in a few days, you can get an early look via Matt Dembicki. You can see his schedule at his blog post about ALA.
I enjoyed doing it (that's the common theme for every comic I've written) and hope you'll enjoy the results.
Speaking of strange intersections, I now need to get back to writing about Dr. Dolittle, Alan Turing, and a bat. I can't say more about how they all relate and how this will be published just yet, but the topic has been on my mind for ages.
May 24, 2012
New Neil Armstrong interviews
Hearing from Neil Armstrong, live and in person, for almost an hour is uncommon. He's a great interviewee, even after all these years of repetitive questions. Even better, the combination of Google imagery side-by-side with the actual Apollo landing footage in Part 4 is marvelous. So go, watch:
Part 1 - Space RaceThanks to CPA Australia for making this happen, and to Sharyn November for tipping me to it.
Part 2 - Blast Off
Part 3 - Giant Leap
Part 4 - Presidential Pride
May 9, 2012
Feynman's Birthday at the AIP: Friday, May 11, 6:30pm
I hope you'll join Leland Myrick and me at the American Institute of Physics this Friday to celebrate Feynman's birthday. I don't know if we'll have cake, but we will have books!
May 2, 2012
That's not the real subtitle, but you can now get May 1, 2012
Jim Ottaviani at TCAF, May 5-6 in Toronto
The Toronto Comics Art Festival is one of my favo(u)rite shows of the year, and I can't wait for this one because Leland Myrick and I will be right next to each other talking, signing, sketching (him, not me!) and planning our talk** all about
Feynman
.
So, come visit the Toronto Reference Library and meet me at table 125, then move on to talk with Kate Beaton, Guy Delisle, Gabriella Giandelli, Jeff Smith, Gabriel Bá, Alison Bechdel, Tom Gauld, Kazu Kibuishi, and Bryan Lee O'Malley. And that's just a few of the guests.
If history is any guide, it will be great.
(**The talk is not at TCAF, but at the American Institute of Physics on the occasion of Feynman's birthday. That's next week in the DC area -- though Feynman's birthday is everywhere -- and I'm not sure if it's open to the public. If/when I find out more, I'll give a shout.)
So, come visit the Toronto Reference Library and meet me at table 125, then move on to talk with Kate Beaton, Guy Delisle, Gabriella Giandelli, Jeff Smith, Gabriel Bá, Alison Bechdel, Tom Gauld, Kazu Kibuishi, and Bryan Lee O'Malley. And that's just a few of the guests.
If history is any guide, it will be great.
(**The talk is not at TCAF, but at the American Institute of Physics on the occasion of Feynman's birthday. That's next week in the DC area -- though Feynman's birthday is everywhere -- and I'm not sure if it's open to the public. If/when I find out more, I'll give a shout.)
