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Post by Defiant1 on Dec 13, 2007 20:35:25 GMT -5
Hi Guys, I have written a larger piece along the same lines as my piece above, about literacy and comics "dumbing down" on my Blog, for anyone interested. You can find it here:www.wizards-keep.blogspot.comThere will be some interesting announcements too on, the Wizards Keep website, between now and New Year. Which you can find here: www. wizards-keep.com Just in case I don't get chance before then, could I just wish everyone on the forum: A Very Merry Christmas & A Very Happy New Year!!! ;D I liked the blog enough that I posted the link on some other forums I visit. I wanted to see what other long time collectors think. Do have a good holiday. I plan on doing nothing the rest of the year. I'm off work for the next 20 days. Take care. Keep us advised. Traffic is slow here, but a few regular members do check in occasionally. Reopened my reply to add this... I was going to add a comment but you require a log in. Google goes too far in their data mining. I don't want a data thread going through everything I do in life. An honest person should have nothing to hide, but their enemies don't need to know the combination to their safe either. Since the US is now a somewhat fascist country, I prefer to keep my online footprint fragmented. My whole reason for saying that is that I do support and agree with everything you said even if my actions on your blog don't seem to echo my words here. defiant1
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Post by Defiant1 on Dec 27, 2007 23:48:48 GMT -5
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Post by Defiant1 on Jun 7, 2008 17:22:09 GMT -5
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Post by Tim Perkins on May 10, 2009 7:55:48 GMT -5
Hi Guys, Thanks for the heads up a while ago about the "Worlds End" Ashcan, it's very much appreciated. They are still available and contain some artwork unavailable in the graphic novel due for release this year. They also come, if ordered direct from the website, with a £2.50 money back voucher, which can be redeemed against the graphic novel upon publication. If any of you guys are interested (and I know you will be, from all the conversations here) I am presently writing a series of Blogs about my time at Defiant. You can find these at: www.wizards-keep.blogspot.comThe first one was published earlier today. The Blogs are all quite lengthy and I have more of them to write up, but I will continue to post them up on the Blog over the next few weeks. Okay, when I first joined here I said I would scan some unpublished colour pages in my possession of the War Dancer comic drawn by Dave Taylor and painted by me, well, at last I have taken some out of the archives and will scan them over the new few weeks ASAP. I am also letting you guys know I will be making available some pages from my time at Defiant. These will include my run on Dark Dominion by Joe and Jeff with me on paints. The only exception being the complete issue six with Louis Small, which contained the most painterly pages I did for the books. They were never returned to me for some reason, and something I only found out after joining this group a few years ago and checking out the pages which were still in storage in my studio at that point. Plasm by Dave Lapham with me on the paints. Plasm - Home for the holidays by the late Dave Cockrum with me on the paints. War Dancer Pages by both Alan and Dave with me on the paints. Charlemagne pages by Adam with me on the paints. Good Guys pages by Grey with me on the paints. I thought you guys may be interested. I have not made the pages available on the Wizards Keep Website yet, as the workload here at the moment is crazy manic, but plan to do so ASAP. If you guys are interested in the meantime, please feel free to email me with any potential wants list and I will give you a price for the pages in question. As I say some of the pages will be put up onto the website for sale along with some of my other work for other companies soon too. Hope everyone is well. Best Wishes, as always, Tim... And now just to prove I will be scanning some stuff for you guys here on the forum; here for the first time ever is a page (including warts and all - the way it was sent to me at my studio in the UK from Defiant and then put through production in NYC) from the Dave Taylor Tim Perkins War Dancer book - I hope you enjoy it:War Dancer Issue 4 "Dancer Dreams" Page 26
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Post by Defiant1 on May 10, 2009 10:41:22 GMT -5
Really cool. I did not remember Dave Taylor working on a published book. I had to dig up the credits for that issue... Story title: | "The Dancer Dreams" | Date: | May 1994 | Cover Price: | $3.25 | Pages: | 52 (cover included) | Writer(s): | Alan Weiss, Jim Shooter | Penciler/Artist(s): | Dave Taylor | Cover Artist(s): | Alan Weiss (pencils), David Hillman (colors) | Inker: | Keith Wilson | Colorist(s): | Tim Perkins, Brian Moyer, David Hillman | Letterer: | George Roberts | Editor: | Joseph A. James |
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Post by magnusr on May 11, 2009 1:21:19 GMT -5
This is a great thread. Many good posts and images. Looked at your blog also. Great article about you getting to work for Defiant. Looking forward to more.
/Magnus
PS, if there was any doubt I can testify that the watercolours do fade in light (the subject was touched upon early in this thread), especially the blue. Touch wood, but in storage they seem to stay fresh.
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Post by thebluescout on May 11, 2009 8:57:39 GMT -5
Cool stuff! Looking forward to more as well!!!
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Post by vikingspawn on May 12, 2009 15:17:59 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing your blog here, Tim!
I just read the second one today! It's great to read about the early days of Defiant! I wish I interned there!
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Post by thebluescout on May 13, 2009 17:59:08 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing your blog here, Tim! I just read the second one today! It's great to read about the early days of Defiant! I wish I interned there!
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Post by Defiant1 on May 17, 2009 1:52:28 GMT -5
I just read the second and third. I guess what amazes me is how Jim authorized such lavish expenditures. Just because a budget is there, that doesn't mean you give people free reign to spend from it. I wonder if that approach was his way of fighting back from the scrutiny he faced at Valiant.
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Post by magnusr on May 17, 2009 7:28:20 GMT -5
I just read the second and third. I guess what amazes me is how Jim authorized such lavish expenditures. Just because a budget is there, that doesn't mean you give people free reign to spend from it. I wonder if that approach was his way of fighting back from the scrutiny he faced at Valiant. Jim firmly believes that spending on the creators pays back in the long run. Even at Valiant there are examples. The connection is very direct for instance when he paid the artists by the hour instead of by the page. That gave some very detailed pages that enhanced early Valiant books. In other examples the payback for the company is less obvious. It works for Google, but normally I agree that it's not a good idea. /Magnus
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Quato
Level 14
a.k.a. Defiant1
Quato a.k.a. Defiant1
Posts: 1,669
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Post by Quato on May 17, 2009 9:22:27 GMT -5
The general business approach is to make them happy but still minimize the amount of hard cash spent. That is the whole purpose behind recognition awards, casual day on Friday, and other truly lame motivation techniques in the workplace. Perks for the employees is fine, but every single reference I see to Jim's extravagant spending just makes me think it was doomed from the beginning. It reminds me of a date I had with a girl and she ordered two extrees. I watched her eat a portion of each, throw a portion away, and take the rest home. I was baffled as to why she thought it was okay. Haven't gone out with her since that day. Back when I was still new to the quality department where I work, I was talking about what drives quality with the quality manager. I said the key is to keep employees happy. I said "sometimes it might be as simple as making sure the vending machines have the right food in them." He scoffed and said "That's not our responsibility. I think the employees should make sure they have what they want and bring it to work." I replied, "If someone wanted twinkies in the machine and they were not there, they are going to be frustrated. They'll go back to their work station and be disgruntled about not having twinkies and their focus will not be on building a quality product." He looked at me and conceded I was right. On the other hand, you can create a euphoria that also takes people away from quality work. I know people who would have lived on the phone if they were given the freedom Tim was apparently given. After all, the more he was encouraged to take, the more it was like getting a pay raise. Who wouldn't try to take more if it was set before them and offered as if it was a free perk?
Defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Jun 19, 2009 19:07:31 GMT -5
Hi Guys, Thanks to all of you for the kind words. Glad you liked my last post here with the War Dancer artwork. I will sort some more as soon as the art is scanned. Re: the Blogs, I am really glad you are enjoying them. It really is fascinating for me to recall the days back then. As I write them I find myself remembering lots of other stuff. So much so that the way I have written them is pretty much like writing a comic arc or film script with notes set out in periods of time and added to as I have thought of new stuff. Added to that folks have appeared from out of the woodwork, which is really wonderful for me, especially being able to speak them once more, after such a long time. The more this had happened they have sparked off new memories for me of the time back then in the nineties. I reckon there are fourteen Blogs in total needed to complete the tales. I have uploaded part 08 tonight, which is quite a lengthy missive, I have to admit and have written the next two parts 09 and 10 with the remaining four parts partly written and notated. There are things, which people are now aware of, because of my writing the Blogs, which no one other than close friends, family and a few colleagues have ever heard me speak of. Like anything there will be laughter, sadness, illness, death; the full gamut that is life. In reply to the last post here, before this one, which speaks of incentives, etc, I have to say to be fair to Jim, it wasn't a gimmick. This was the way Jim thought his creative teams should be paid and looked after. Pizzas every now and again and soft drinks around the office were not the things that brought it all down, but then you will see that, when the final Blogging is completed, at least from my perspective. On a personal note, you have to remember I was going to be away for a couple more weeks when I set off for NYC the second time around, but that was to become a much longer sabbatical. I had left my, then, very young family back in the UK. Jim knew and understood this, so enabled me to feel it was worth it by giving me the expense account, etc. The nicest aspect of this for me is the fact Jim and the guys running it with him had enough respect for me and trusted me enough, in that short space of time to do so. I agree some folks would have abused that honour, but I never did and I know Jim knew that. I lived quite a frugal existence really. The events of which I am recounting, other than working, are the only ones I experienced in all the time I was out there in NYC, I am not leaving anything out. I lived well, but not extravagantly and respected what Jim was doing for me. We were working in tandem to get the same job done and to reach the same goals. No other comic company before or since has ever done that, in fact in a lot of cases, quite the opposite. The main thing is that I worked very hard. I had to for three reasons: 1.) I was being well looked after, other than working away from home, but I had agreed after speaking to my wife, Margaret about doing so. 2.) I was being given so much work. 3.) I am the kind of person, whose work ethic is such that working hard to achieve things is both an honour and a privilege. The remaining Blogs will show, as well as explain, just how hard the other guys worked too. Some of that will seem very amusing, or at least I hope it will. I still get a chuckle from the photos - I cannot say more, or I'll spoil the Blogs. You are completely correct when you say it was like getting a pay rise, it was. I wasn't encouraged to take anything, however. I was merely treated with the utmost respect by Jim and everyone else, and because of the kind of person I am, I gave it 1000% of my time, energy, and skills. At one point it nearly killed me, but then I am not going to say more, you will have to continue reading my Blogs to hear more about that. It was an experience, which helped me when setting up Wizards Keep. Jim and I share some of the same ideals, especially about honour, friendship and work ethic. Anyhow, the drawing board beckons once more for me to complete this latest batch of Hot Wheels pages, before returning to my "Worlds End" graphic novel. Thanks again for the kind words, everyone. It means a lot to me. I look forward to hearing what you think of the rest of the Blogs. I hope you enjoy the rest of my tales from the Dark Dominion. Have a great weekend. Best Wishes, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Jun 19, 2009 19:43:47 GMT -5
I'm going to confess that work and life sometimes distract me and I forgot to go back and look at a few blog installments. I did catch up on some after a little lapse. Another little lapse has occurred, but I will eventually go back and read then all. One inker felt that Jim had rejected so much artwork that it put scheduling in a bind and that some books had ultimately suffered. He said that last minute rushes caused a quality compromise where there would not have been one if the original submissions of artwork had been accepted. Without trying to paint Jim or any artists in a negative light, do you feel that in retrospect fate did throw validity to that claim? Do you feel that in hindsight, some of the books were rushed unnecessarily? or do you feel that the level which Defiant was trying to reach simply caused a strain on everyone? JayJay said that the Good Guys 1.5 story pages were some of the most detailed pages she ever colored because she was working by the hour instead of just by the page. On the other hand, I've seen some issues like Good Guy #4 maybe where characters faces weren't fully sketched in some far off perspectives and the colorist was left to define facial features and hair not just the color of such. Defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Jun 20, 2009 7:45:51 GMT -5
Hi Dave, No worries, the latest Blogs re: Defiant are quite lengthy missives, this latest one. part 08, especially. I never heard any complaints from any of the inkers that the work was being rejected by Jim, so I cannot comment. I do know that when I first went out, as I explain in one of the earlier Blogs, I was expecting to be slower in comparison to the US artists, but found I was incredibly fast compared to most. The methods I saw the pencillers, inkers and colourists utilising, were more time consuming and thus slower than I was working. This could have something to do with the weekly schedule over in the UK, at the time, and UK artists producing full artwork, so pencils/inks or pencils/inks/colours. The books were way behind schedule even when I first arrived in NYC and they were only being pencilled. Teams of inkers would then have group sessions, working on pages of a book, where necessary, although mainly they worked alone on the books. Again though, the laborious way in which I saw some inkers meticulously working didn't help either. I was expecting to be slower than the guys there, but found I was faster and so can only comment on my methods working on a very tight schedule. One of the upcoming Blogs deals with how fast I actually had to be, on occasion to ensure the books left for the printers on time, but like I said in my last post here, I want to save that for the Blogs. Re: your comment about Jim or the other artists being painted in a negative light, I do not feel this is the case. The other guys just had different working methods, which would have slowed me down. I often see Jack Kirby quoted as saying he was just trying to meet his monthly page rate to put money on the table for his family and I have to say I was pretty much doing the same. That's not to say I was ever skimping on any details, that was never the case, but then again it is all about employing tricks and I certainly utilised all of those in my repertoire to meet the demands of the deadlines. It is all about illusions and making people think they are seeing far more than they actually are doing. Something I learnt by the time I was at Defiant. I had been working since the mid-eighties on comic books, so already had quite a bit of experience under my belt. By the time the books reached me, most were late or close to being so, hence me being out there in NYC for so long, long after all the other guys had gone back home, except Charles, who had made NYC his home by then, by moving from California. I know there was a level, which Jim wanted the books to achieve and a specific look to set them apart from the look of the other publishers. This was something I agreed with and is part of my work ethic. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing well and to the best of one's abilities. I had been hired because of the 'uniqueness' of my style of painted colouring for the UK comics, so when I began working for Jim, I simply carried on as before. I was the only colourist allowed (for whatever reason) by Jim to deviate from the house style set up by Janet and the fan mail seemed to indicate the difference in style set DD apart from the other books and got a great reaction from them. The strain on me, certainly, was one of working long hours, away from my young family. I worked on many different books and I was having to shift in both style to ghost the house style set up by Janet and employed by everyone else, and also take account of the different moods of the books too, when doing so. I was also pencilling some stuff, inking some stuff (not all of it credited - it would have been daft to do so) and even helped with plotting some of the stuff too, before returning to painting DD. Everyone was doing what was necessary to get the books out on time. The trouble was all the books were constantly late. This meant I was always working on other things than the original one I was signed up to do, but this meant I was earning good money and it was exciting to have a hand in all the books. I cannot comment about Janet being paid by the hour, as she was on staff there, but I know she put a heck of a lot of work in to the pages she did as well as all the other responsibilities she had in the office too. I remember having many conversations with her in her office about my family - she really was concerned about me living in NYC for so long away from them. I was paid by the page, but, as I say, being so fast enabled me to earn a lot of money in comparison to lots of the other guys there. But all this stuff is covered in the Blogs, so I don't want to say more here yet. Yes, some of the artists left details out of the work for the colourists. I guess this was due to seeing the way Joe and I worked on DD, which was brilliant, but controlled. Joe and I discussed all the pages, with me suggesting he leave certain details for the painting. Pretty soon Joe could second guess me and sometimes, when I saw somewhere that would look good with the inks dropped out and the area fully painted I would over paint it, something I could do that the artists couldn't. This was down to my using acrylics, which for anyone who may not have used them, can be employed like oils or watercolours. I was using them in both ways, something the other guys could not emulate when using the Doctor Martin dyes, which can only be used like true watercolors. Anyhow, all will be revealed over time with the next Blog installments. I am just so happy that so many folks are reading them ( I have been receiving emails from all over the place about them) and hearing from me, just how much fun the books were to work on, despite the hard work and long hours to produce them. My days back then in NYC were the best I ever had in comics and I hope the Blogs prove this to everyone wishing to know about my times there. Oh well back to the drawing board again for me. Best, Tim...
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Post by VaultKeeper on Jun 20, 2009 9:52:07 GMT -5
Always a great read! Thanks for posting here, Tim!
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Post by Defiant1 on Jun 20, 2009 20:40:23 GMT -5
By all means, you don't have to duplicate what was in your blog. I just got back from a convention. Some of my upcoming posts in several of the categories will be commenting on things I saw & heard about ""working for Jim".
Defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Jun 21, 2009 4:00:32 GMT -5
Hi Guys, Thanks for the kind words, VK and you're more than welcome. Hope you had a great time at the convention, Dave. Please let me know when you post some of the stuff you mention about working for Jim, I would love to hear what other folks are saying. Best, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Jul 9, 2009 23:59:43 GMT -5
Tim has posted a couple more updates that are worth checking out.
Defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Jul 12, 2009 19:05:02 GMT -5
Hi Dave, Thanks for the mention again. I have just uploaded Part 11 tonight and will be publishing Part 12 later this week. That leaves just two more Blogs to write up fully from the notes (unless the two become too large for the space) and then the tale is told. I would like to thank everyone here for the comments on this website, the comments left on the Blog and the emails sent through the Wizards Keep Website. It means a lot to know you guys cared and continue to care enough in the work from back then to let me know. Hope everyone is well. Back to Worlds End for the rest of the working evening and then tomorrow it's onto the latest episodes of Hot Wheels. Looking forward to hearing what you think of this latest Blog. Speak to you all soon. Best Wishes, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Jul 12, 2009 19:55:28 GMT -5
How is the Hot Wheels comic distributed? I've never seen it.
Defiant1
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Post by magnusr on Jul 13, 2009 1:22:00 GMT -5
Looking forward to hearing what you think of this latest Blog. Ah, now I know where I surf next. /Magnus
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Post by Tim Perkins on Jul 14, 2009 15:13:36 GMT -5
Hi Dave, The Hot Wheels comic is a UK based children's comic, but I quite often ship them out myself, when people request them. Hope that answers that question. My Blog has shown the cars and certain panels and my Ning page over on Incoming.Ning has some examples of full pages. Eventually I expect to have some examples of the pages on the Wizards Keep Website too, but like a lot of things, at the moment, they are in a queue awaiting this being done. Thanks Magnus, always happy to hear from you. Now I guess we all know where you go... ;D In the meantime, Dave, as you asked, here are some sample Hot Wheels images, sans lettering: I am doing the full art chores here pencils, inks, and colours, and it's quite simplistic in overall style, but great fun to do!!! I'd be interested to see what you guys think of these and the new Worlds End artwork too. Hope you are all well and looking forward to hearing back from you again soon. Best Wishes, Tim...
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Post by Tim Perkins on Jul 27, 2009 21:04:03 GMT -5
Hi Guys, Sorry the Blog for Dark Dominion part 12 did not get published when I said it would, but things have been busy the last couple of weeks more so than usual, with Hot Wheels, "Worlds End", and some more commercial stuff and some retail stuff too, hence the delay. That said, the latest news I can give you is that I have just finished writing the full story of my time out in the USA at Defiant's Bullpen in NYC and the total Blog count is now 15 parts. So there are now four remaining Blogs to read. I will upload these ASAP and hope to have part 12 up there tomorrow evening. I just need to scan more artwork and photographs, and then I can upload the four parts and will schedule them to be published within two or three days of one another. The last two Blogs, which I split for convenience of length, were quite emotional ones for me, as I relived the sadder parts of my time involved with Big Jim and the gang. I hope to hear back from you when you read them, as usual. Hope everyone is well. Best Wishes, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Jul 27, 2009 22:56:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the update. My life has a lot of things keeping me distracted lately so I understand.
Defiant1
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Post by magnusr on Jul 28, 2009 3:17:00 GMT -5
Hi Guys, Sorry the Blog for Dark Dominion part 12 did not get published when I said it would, but things have been busy the last couple of weeks more so than usual, with Hot Wheels, "Worlds End", and some more commercial stuff and some retail stuff too, hence the delay. As long as you're just busy we're happy to wait. Haven't commented on them, but should mention that I enjoy the Hot Wheels samples. Looks like fun, just like comics were when I grew up. /Magnus
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Post by Tim Perkins on Jul 28, 2009 22:12:49 GMT -5
Hi Dave, Hope the distractions are good ones. Hi Magnus, Thanks for the kind words re: Hot Wheels. Yes they are great fun to do. You are the first to hear this: A forthcoming episode entitled The Chameleon, and using the Prototype H-24 car is one, which I have also written, which is great for me as it is the first thing in quite a while that is not my own creation to have me do a treatment on it. I saw the name of the car and got the idea for a story for it last year. I have also got got a second story in the inventory at Toontastic, using the car Cloak & Dagger, which I hope to run with soon. Meanwhile the latest Blog part 12 is now up on the Blog. It's a lengthy missive too. Hope you guys enjoy it. Have Fun! Best, Tim...
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Post by Tim Perkins on Aug 2, 2009 19:54:38 GMT -5
Hi Everyone, Just a very quick line or two to let you know the latest Defiant Blog[/color] is up now for you to read. This one is the first, which I feel may address, as I said the latter ones would, the issues that arose during my second major stint out in NYC. Just two more to go and then the tale is completely told. BTW: I would like to publicly thank Dave for his information, which lead on Friday to me reconnecting with my fellow Defiant painter Su McTeigue, now Laing. Dave you are a star, my friend and I cannot thank you enough!!! The Internet can be a wonderful thing, as you have proved to me here. I have a new lead now and I am trying to track down Benny Yung. Best Wishes, TIm...
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Post by Defiant1 on Aug 2, 2009 21:36:23 GMT -5
Glad I could help. As I tell people, I know a little of everything and a lot of nothing. It's amazing how that can be actually useful.
Defiant1
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Post by Defiant1 on Aug 2, 2009 22:19:56 GMT -5
Just read your latest. It does sound as if a lot changed after Christmas. You say Jim was out of the office around this time. How much had the lawsuit occupied his time prior to that?
Thankfully in Atlanta we don't get that much snow. I've only seen that much snow once. We have a bigger problem from ice storms where warmer air above rains to a freezing layer at ground level. It coats everything with a thick layer of ice and the trees can't handle the weight of the ice. They fall. One year it sounded like a war zone as limbs cracked and transformers on power poles shorted making loud explosion noises.
Defiant1
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