Here we are for another wonderful installment of this week's intellectual properties design and development meeting.

Will's gone MIA again. Something about a truck showing up with stuff from Chicago in it sometime today, so he can't be bothered by trifles like this meeting.

I'm still sick as crap, so all I want to do is crawl under my desk with my NyQuil and pass back out, but instead, you all get the pleasure of reading all these letters strung together to make words, sentences and paragraphs. (Well, one line summaries, mainly. I -am- feeling like crap. Stupid weather. 60 degrees one day and up in the mid 90s the next. Oh Atlanta, I rue you.)

Well, this meeting is starting off with a bang. We have a new addition to the production end of things. Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Craig. Craig, this is everyone. Craig comes to us from drivethrurpg and previously from SCAD, so we have another artsy type here.

Mike Chaney is now telling us about this Turbo Negro cd he got called Ass Cobra. Now, he can't stop saying "ass cobra" or "ass cobra-la-la-la-la-la!"

Seriously. This has been going on for close to 5 minutes now. Nobody can get a word in edgewise.

What is happening here? I mean, I know I'm all crazy on NyQuil, but were we just having a conversation about how thick and meaty David Boreanez is? Apparently, he's a thug and got really fat during one season of Angel. I don't know what to say about that. Never really watched the show. Chaney says he put on a couple hundred pounds.

And now we're back to the "ass cobra."

There's an Icelandic drink that translates to "Black Death." It tastes like grandmother or possibly old, oxidized silverware. Thanks Rich.

Brian comments on how the bag he got from McDonald's looks very pedophilic with the young kid holding the older guy's hand and saying "I'm lovin' it."

Kelley joins us and asks eveyrone to send her a list of the artists and writers we use so she can pimp them in the upcoming Quarterlies. Rich tells me to get on it and start compiling. Sure thing.

On to the going around the table bit.

John: Scion second drafts coming in. Still redlining a couple of first drafts. Outlining Scion book 2. Moar powahz. Finished up outlining Oadenol's Codex (one of the next Exalted books) and is contracting writers for it. Working on the martial arts pdf.

Brian: Art coming in for Black & White Treatises. Still lettering some of the comics and should be able to hopefully finish up some things on the BESM and will hopefully be able to get that off to press this week.

Now, the phones have stopped working. Can't dial out. Meeting over. By the time we get back to our desks and start emailing around what everyone's doing this week, the phones start working again. Everyone back to the conference room.

Pauline: Amazingly still alive and safe after her Peru trip. Lots of catching up on emails, filing contracts, sending in pay schedules, sending out artist copies of books, compiling artist lists, wondering why her lip gloss is a threat to national security as it was confiscated on the way back from Peru.

Will: MIA. Also, Will has a huge head according to the people at Medieval Times. Well, duh.

Ethan: Cat herding the writers on Changeling and War of the Pure. Chaney interjects with a "Where do babies come from?" Ethan, stymied, recovers and keeps talking about Changeling.

Aileen: The Rage will hopefully get out the door to the printers by either Friday or Monday. She's also working on the Spirits cover and sending out artist copies of books.

Bax: Compiling artist and writer list for Kelley. Hiding under desk with NyQuil. Reading fan submissions from the contest for the Quarterly. There's a wonderful submission involving vampires, slavers and cyborgs all together. I mean... whoa. I'd heard people talk about submissions Justin used to get, but I never believed them until now. Seriously people.

Bill: Ah, more stuff I can't talk about as well as reading over some PDF adventures.

Pauline's phone is talking in a weird, japanese ghost story kind of way. we're all a little freaked out.

matt: Working on Legacies 2: Electric Boogaloo layout with Craig. Going over some Belial's Brood stuff with Pauling. Working up some Scion sketches for a meeting on Thursday (the meeting will be limited to exactly 10 minutes of jocularity). Working on Werewolf and Vampire PDF adventures. Heading back to SCAD with Chaney on Wednesday and losing a quart of blood to the "doctors" on Thursday.

Craig: Not looking the least bit overwhelmed in his first meeting will be working on Legacies 2 with matt and getting some BESM elements to Brian.

Chaney: Magnum Opus art is due on Wednesday, so he's in rough layout on the book right now. VTES is missing some art and some packaging text, but is otherwise ready for proofing. Slowly whittling away at Tome of Artifacts. No WoW books to report on this week. "Ass Cobra."

Aaron: More board game quotes coming in. Working on other projects I can't talk about, but are VERY interesting. Bunch of "licensing stuff" going on right now and he needs sketches for the Exalted board game minis scupltors. Brian once again says he's NOT an artist, but plays an art director on TV.

Rich: Drawing up some symbols for Belial's Brood and Magnum Opus and will be drawing up references for the sculptors and some Scion visuals for Thursday's meeting. 2008 schedule has been sent on to management for review and there are some other things going on that, once again, I cannot talk about.

And there we have it. I did get an email from Will that said the following:

"Bax, be sure to do the LJ thing today, though. Remember to introduce Craig and give him some schtick for the fans to immediately identify him by."

So, ummm.... Craig showed up and wasn't wearing any pants because he overheard Chaney talking about "Pants-Optional" Mondays. Really, I got nothing. Craig's a great guy. He just had his birthday over the weekend and much booze was consumed, so he was very hungover today (along with Oscar, Brian, Ned and a few others at the office). So there you have it, Craig's the new office drunk now that Justin's gone.

-Bax

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