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Welcome to Balboa Park.

I am Nicoz Balboa.

I am a trans man living in France and I'm Italian.

I'm a mom because I have a -teen- daughter.

I am a tattooer and I do graphic novels.

And in this podcast I like to talk about my creative process in a broad way as a way of knowing myself.

Welcome to episode 13 of Balboa Park.

I'm in my bed which is my studio, until the day I will have a real microphone, what I find is like I use this wired headphone and I'm in my bed because it's the space which is the more soundproof space of my house so I'm sure that I don't have a big echo.

I'm sipping my coffee and I wanted to go to the gym but actually I'm in bed.

It's like 9.53 in the morning.

I should be going like in 45 minutes.

I should be going to my studio Strangeland

And so I was like, okay, I should shower or I should dress and go to the gym and all I wanted to do is watch at least another episode from The Crown.

and I as soon as I thought about this and the fact that Christmas is coming and I will not have a lot of time to record a podcast and I thought to myself okay maybe I should

record the podcast about The Crown not not the Crown like i'm not going to talk about the Queen and the royal family which i i don't care very much but about… but about the tv show which is my favorite show to watch while i draw because it's like having an aquarium!

Nothing really is going on in the show.

There is no thick plot with like changing of the story or something like this.

And every time I look up at the television, or at the screen, I see these very beautiful colors and landscape or interiors or

hairstyles, very vintage-looking, like now I'm in the 90s, before it was like the 80s or the 70s and so on.

And so I thought to come here and talk about how I love a show where there is no plot, where nothing happens and all the things that happen, I know them already

because

We already know what did happen in the royal family.

It's like in the tabloids.

So like in some way you are waiting for things to happen, but are things that you already know.

So there is no surprise.

(There is a little bit of a very light hint of propaganda for the royal family maybe).

I guess the fact that in the last seasons, they chose this actor to portray Charles, the now King Charles.

Now the actor is a very handsome man and very smart, but very sensitive.

I don't know anything about the royal family, but it's not something that came up to me when I used to see Prince Charles, but maybe I don't know very well.

But now they choose this very cool actor and they make the king of England now look like a very cool guy and very cute and very positive masculinity man

But I'm not into conspiracy theories, I'm not going into the rabbit hole of thinking: “oh, they did this show to prepare the things to make people like the monarchy”.

I don't care about this.

I just care about the aesthetic. and the fact that the polt is slow and *nothing* happens.

I like when there is no plot.

And for example, I remember when I was a teenager,

and reading for the first time THE CATCHER IN THE RYE from J. D. Salinger

In Italian the title is THE YOUNG OLDEN and in French they translate it in THE CATCHER IN THE HEART or THE HEART CATCHER or something like this.

So THE CATCHER IN THE RYE… It stays one of my favorite books.

And the first time I read it, when I was a teenager and I was studying at school, where we were obliged to study books with a real plot, with meaning and symbols and history.

And this book came to my hand, I don't know, maybe from a friend or I don't remember (it was 1995!)

And I was like, wow, nothing happens, nothing, like, just there is no, like, the plot, maybe there is in some way, but not how I was used to.

And I loved it because the plot and the story and the hero's journey is all in Holden Caulfield’s mind!

we can read his mind we can listen to his thoughts and it's beautiful because his thoughts are not heroic. I felt a pull, a connection, with this kind of narration i like when there is no plot i feel so much when the narration takes time and it's slow and i can see the small gesture, follow the small gesture, the small thoughts.

I like this so much.

In some way, I can think of a lot of examples about this, but the other day I was looking at this on Netflix, a movie from this Italian-Turkish director, his name is Ferzan Özpetek,

and since the 90s he's doing in Italy movies about stories, human stories, but often are like queer people/homosexual men’s s stories.

There is no big plot, just small human stories or human dramas

And it's so delicate.

And the other day I was seeing his last movie on Netflix, and it felt so good, especially because a lot of his movies take place in Rome, which is my hometown.

So when I'm in La Rochelle seeing images about Rome, it's like my heart breaks.

And so I was thinking about, I love to see a movie or a story or reading a book or a comic where there is no plot.

where there is not writer/storyteller/screenwriter show off!

I love this so much.

We can't have always have the same type of stories!

it's like, if you like music, you can't always listen to, I don't know, if you like metal music, you can't maybe always listen to metal.

Or if you like opera, you can't always listen to opera.

It's like sometimes you are in the elevator or you are in the car and you listen to the radio and it's cool.

It's like reading.

You can't always read one type of book because sometimes you are in the waiting room of your doctor and there is a gossip magazine and you want to read about the royal family or I don't know.

Like if you like reading, if you like listen to the music, if you like stories, but maybe the stories that match your emotions may vary according to what you're living.

And I guess it's okay.

Um, for example, I used to love a lot to watch CSI (es experts in French)

and in the early 2000 it was very innovative ! because they had this police investigation mixed with CGI in where you can see how the crime were about to be solved and how the bullet went into the head of the guy or something like this.

And I loved to see this.

I was like, oh, wow, the bullet did this!!!!!

And I remember my ex-husband at the time, every time he saw me watching the show, he was like:

-ah, you're watching CSI.

-Yes.This is amazing.

-and what's happening? what’s going on?

And I was always like:

I don't know, I don't understand the story, but I like the intrigue.

And it's like the other day I was drawing in my living room and I watched this series called REACHER.

This is a TV show, I guess it's Amazon or Netflix, I don't remember.

And there is these guys who play REACHER, which is so handsome, so tall and so muscly and a little bit on a spectrum because it's like very, very neat.

I don't know.

He always tells the truth and he's so cool.

And there is all sorts of intrigue because he's investigating on the death of his brother.

But at the beginning, we don't know that It's brother who's dead.

Sorry for the spoiler, but it's like at the very beginning.

And all this intrigue and this character, and I watch it because he's handsome, but I don't understand a thing.

He works with these two police people: one is this police girl and the other is an inspector.

And for the whole movie, the whole series, I was like, I guess the inspector maybe is not a good guy.

Maybe it's a bad guy and we will have a changing in the plot.

And I guess that is not true.

I never understand the plot.

And

Why am I talking about this?

I don't know.

I wanted to talk about this because sometimes inspiration can come from everywhere.

It's not because you write poetry that you only have to read poetry.

It's cool to enjoy all sorts of things and keeping an open heart.

And maybe when I write my graphic novels, for example, I have no judgment around what kind of story I want to make in my graphic novels or what kind of story I'm reading.

But I know maybe that I like when I feel this connection, maybe because I want what I read to resonate with what I feel. and with ADHD my feelings are a bit all over the place.

but….

I would like to hear from you.

Send me messages with a list of your three favorite stories.

It can be books, or TV shows, or movies, or comics, or graphic novels.

I don't know.

All them mixed together.

And with these, I finish this mail!

telling you:

Merry Christmas or maybe Merry Happy New Year.

because Christmas was yesterday (I’m planning and automating sending)

We are at the end of 2023 and beginning on 2024 and it's cool.

If you like what you hear subscribe to the podcast wherever you are listening it to

maybe you can rate it (with five stars :P ) and if you want to dig deeper and support what I do with the podcast you can even for free but just come and subscribe!

and if you want to know more this is my website: nicozbalboastudio.com with all in it!

Thank you and have a great holiday season.

I hope you feel loved.

I hope you feel seen.

I hope you are spending a good time.

I hope you are safe and

if you don't, remember that I love you and that I see you and I care about you so hit me if you need to talk and send me a message

bye bye

XXX

Nicoz

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicozbalboa.substack.com