Emerald City Comic Con - 2010

Another year, another comic convention here in the great metropolis of Seattle.

This show was the biggest ever, in terms of not only the guest list but also the sheer number of people who attended it.

There is just w-a-y to much to cover in this post, so I will simply touch on a few of the high-points of my weekend.

Friday morning started early... like 3:50 a.m. early!.... as I woke up 'cause I couldn't sleep anymore. I had to be up to catch a ride to Seattle so I could check into the hotel, then it was off to the airport to greet guests as they arrived.

I was at the airport with the Maimed Man from around 9:00 a.m. until 6:45 p.m.

We worked in tandem: he kept an eye on the flights and which baggage claim to meet them at, while I coordinated with the drivers outside and gave the guests their show packets. It was a great system and went very smoothly with both of us there.

We met a lot of the guests, including (but certainly not limited to) Erin Gray, Lou Ferrigno, and Leonard "Spock" Nimoy!

I also got to meet Terry Moore & his wife Robyn as they arrived. They remembered me and gave me hugs to say "hello".

It was a long day and very tiring, but after leaving to come back to the hotel we then went out to dinner with a bunch of the other ECCC volunteers.

Saturday morning, I got up early again and started taking my stuff over to the convention center so I didn't have to lug it there at the last minute.

It was about 6:30 a.m. when I walked up to registration and there was already a line of people waiting to get in. (The show didn't open until 10:00 and they still had 3-1/2 hours to go)

Then I got some breakfast at the Dragonfish with C. Burnham before going back to the convention center for the day.

People were still setting up their booths right until the time the doors were opened for the attendees.

I made my way around the show floor getting reacquainted with old friends and meeting a few new ones.

Then 10:00 rolled around and the people started pouring in.... literally!

Here's a pic of the crowd right before the doors opened:

And here's what it looked like on the inside just a few seconds after they opened:

There were three main places that people were making a beeline towards.

One was to get in line to meet Stan Lee.

Another to meet Leonard Nimoy.

And the third was at the opposite end of the building to meet Geoff Johns.

Those three areas quickly became a mass of bodies and chaos.

It took some wrangling, but eventually we got volunteers to manage those areas as best as possible.

As for the show floor, it was PACKED!

So much so that I had a difficult time getting around from place to place.

Still, I managed to weave through the crowd and make my way to the guests and bring them stuff they were asking for.

I ended up at the end of the day with blisters on two of my left toes and I was sore all over just maneuvering through the crowd and being on my feet all day.

Originally there was to be a "meet-and-greet" with Stan Lee right before the show opened for a few of us volunteers, but Stan got the the show floor too late for it to happen and then his line was overwhelming. I asked a couple of the promoters if there was even a chance of getting to see him, but it looked doubtful. So I gave up on my dream of getting to have my picture taken with him.*

I was busy the entire 8 hours of the show (not to mention being there a few hours early), but finally it was 6:00 and everybody was shooshed out for the evening.

A bunch of volunteers met up for dinner, but I went out with a friend and we met up with some of the comic writers from the show.

Along the way, I ran into Filip Sablik (the publisher at Top Cow) and Steve Rolston among others.

I was having a good time, but the evening began to catch up to me and I began to fade. So I bid them all a good night and headed back to my hotel room to try and sleep.

Sunday morning came and I got up later than I expected.

In fact, I had just enough time to take a quick shower before getting to the convention center and had to skip breakfast.

On my way, I was carrying an ice cooler on one shoulder and talking to my mom (who came for the show) with my other hand. The guy in front of me was nice enough to open the door and hold it for me so I could get in. It turned out to be none other than Joe Quesada! The Editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics!

I showed my mom and her husband around for a bit, and then I had to get busy as the doors were about to open again for the second day of the show.

Day two is always (THANKFULLY!!!) a bit slower, and I managed to meet a few new people and find out more about the books or art they were selling. I also was able to get a couple of sketches I'd been hoping to get this year and I picked up some new books to read.

The day went a lot easier with fewer attendees on the show floor, but my blisters from the day before began giving me trouble. I wrapped up each toe with a band-aid and continued to power on for the day.

As it drew closer to the end of the day, the crowds started to die down and people started to get their stuff ready to pack up.

Over the intercom speakers, they announced that this year's show was the biggest ever with over 14,000 people having attended it! (Although, I heard a little later that the number might have even been larger... so once I get the final total I'll let you all know)

The post-show dinner party took place across the street about an hour and a half later.

Hotness & I showed up a few minutes apart but mingled for a bit and then ended up sitting at different tables.

Since she works with the media guests, she tends to hang out with a lot of the volunteers from that group.

I am usually working with the comic book professionals, so I always end-up sitting with them at dinner and catching up.

After a couple of hours, they kicked us out of the resteraunt and sent us downstairs to hang out in the bar. Aaron Douglas (who was a guest at this and last year's shows) showed up and goofed off for a bit with all of us.

Then we headed out to another resteraunt for a few drinks and nibbles before settling down for the night.

We stayed at the hotel an extra night, so it was nice not having to rush home after staying out late the night before.

I got up Monday morning and had breakfast, then after Hotness woke up I took her to get something to eat.

There were a few guests in the hotel lobby when we got back and I got to speak with them and introduce them to Hotness.

Among them: Tim Bradstreet and Mark Texeira, both of whom Hotness has always enjoyed art they have done.

We finally headed back up to the room and packed up our stuff and made the drive back home.

It was a long, but very fun and eventful, weekend.

Much more so than last year's. (I was fighting off a cold last year, and by the end of the show I had no voice left and could barely walk anymore)

I'm resting up and looking forward to my trip to Calgary in a little over a month.

Lots of cool stuff happening then and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

* Oh yeah.

I had given up on ever meeting Stan Lee, when at about 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday I got a text message that said: "Hustle your butt down to the photo booth right away!"

I got there and found out that I was going to get the chance to have my picture taken with Stan after all!

Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to him for very long, but I did get to shake his hand and tell him what an honor it was to meet a legend like himself. Then 3 seconds later, our picture was taken and I was out of there and back on the floor helping guests.

The photo printer broke down during the show and I was not able to get my picture before the convention ended. Luckily I know the photographer and will be getting it in the mail soon, though.

Wedding Planning

Well, back to the blog again.

After proposing and getting engaged almost a year ago, I tried to come up with ideas for the wedding (what to wear, where to have it, when to have it, etc...).
I wasn't met with resistance by Hotness, but rather benign indifference. Nothing seemed like a bad idea, but it all seemed like it could be taken care of later.
So after a few weeks of trying to come up with ideas, I gave up and put it on the back burner until she wanted to sit down together and plan for it.

Nothing, other than talking about going to Las Vegas, was ever really discussed.... until about 2 weeks ago.
That was when Hotness dropped her wedding plans on me. And only 1 month before she wanted to make them happen.

She thought I was upset at first, but really all it turned out to be was that I was totally unaware of what she wanted to do until that moment.
So in one fell swoop I got the lowdown on what she wanted to do and the steps she'd already taken to make them a reality.
I was a bit speechless.
I didn't know that she was planning ANYTHING, and now I'm having to rush around and get stuff together to make it happen in less than a month.

It's not all that bad though.
I got my outfit already picked out, and last Saturday we found a dress for her that not only looks great, but totally suits her.
So those two things are taken care of.
This afternoon, we'll be heading out to pick up the marriage license.

Other than that, we're planning a very small, intimate wedding.
So right now, we're in the process of trying to get invitations made up so we can get them sent out as soon as possible.

In fact, we're not even planning on a real reception for afterwards because we'll have so few people there.
The reception we want to have will be much more elaborate so that we can share it with all our friends. But right now, we're not even sure when that will be. Originally Hotness wanted to have it on the anniversary of when I proposed, but it turns out that that's on the weekend of the Emerald City Comic Con. I'm cool with that, but for some reason she says "no". Then in April, I'll be gone for Calgary Expo again.
So for right now, that event is up in the air until we can find a time (and a place) to have it.

In the meantime, I'm just kind of in a fog.
My birthday is coming up and we're sort of 'half-way' to the wedding, so everything just seems kind of surreal right now. I know things are going to happen, but they aren't happening "right now".

I'm kind of rambling, aren't I?
Yeah, okay. Onto other subjects...

I went and saw "Avatar" the other day.
It was in 3-D and I was afraid that I might get motion sickness (as I'm prone to do at movies lately), so I dosed up on Dramamine.
What an incredible movie. And the 3-D only made it better.
I think if I'm going to get a Blu-ray player in the near future, THIS will be the movie that tips the scales in favor of doing it.

What else? Hmmm...
Oh yeah!
I TOTALLY geeked out yesterday when I found out that Stan "The Man" Lee would be coming to ECCC this year!
I only have to real goals in life, and in the grand scheme of things they are within reason.
1) To meet and get a picture taken with Weird Al Yankovic
2) To meet and get a picture taken with Stan Lee.
Looks like I can cross one of those off my list real soon! (and if anybody can help make that first one a reality, please let me know!)

I'd like to say I have a whole bunch of other stuff to talk (or rather, "blog") about, but I don't.
No news on the job search other than I haven't heard back from anybody.
Nobody has called me to even set up an interview. I'm still sending out job apps and my resume, and all I'll hearing back is the sound of crickets chirping.
I'm not depressed, but it does get a bit discouraging after a while.

I'll probably have more to talk about after this weekend.
My birthday is coming up and on Sunday Hotness and I are going to the opera (our second one for the season).
I should have SOMETHING to talk about again by then.

Going Mobile

I tend to run along a fine line between being a technophobe and a gadget-freak.
I like nifty gadgets and such, but I don't always feel that I need to have the latest-and-greatest whenever it comes out. In fact, I tend to shy away from some things because I feel that they invade my person space a little too much.

I went a long time without a cell phone for this reason. I felt if anyone needed to get hold of me they could call my home number, leave a message, and if they were somebody I wanted to talk to (i.e. NOT a telemarketer!) I'd call them back. I don't need to be getting calls when I'm not near a phone. But Hotness talked me into getting one and now it's with me all the time.
And it has come in handy. I'm constantly using the camera, and texting has become second-nature to calling when I need to relay a message but don't want to make an actual call.

I felt the same way about my first iPod.
I wanted something to listen to when I went to the gym, on a plane ride, etc...
I tried to find an mp3 player that WASN'T an iPod, simply because I wanted to support somebody other than Apple. (They had a H-U-G-E market presence and I wanted to 'support the little guy')
But I eventually broke down and got an iPod Nano (because everything else on the market was geared for use with the iPod) and loaded it up with songs. It's served it purpose at the gym, camping, on my plane rides to Calgary, and so on.
I can't say that I couldn't live without it, but I do appreciate it's convenience and portability.

When the iPhone came out, it was eye-catching but didn't lure me in with it's sleek design or it's functionality.
What bugged me most was that you couldn't replace the battery on it. So once it "died", you were stuck with buying another one, and so on.
That's not to say I still didn't like it, but I managed to avoid being sucked in by it's sexiness.

Until, recently that is.

No, I didn't get an iPhone. But I did upgrade my iPod to an iPod Touch.
I have a friend who works for a company that builds applications for the iPhone and iTouch and was very impressed with what it was capable of doing.... besides just playing music.

I can talk myself into rationalizing just about anything, so it didn't take long to talk myself into getting one.
Hotness didn't dissuade me, but tried to get me to explain my reasons for wanting one.
I explained to her that with it, I could:
1) check my email when I'm not at home (especially while I'm out job-hunting)
2) use various applications, or "apps", that are specific to my interests (more on this in a bit)
3) I could instant message for free with her when I'm mobile, particularly when I'm in Canada (instead of texting her at $.30 per international text... which adds up after a week!)
... not to mention just playing around with it for fun.

"Okay, if you think you'll actually use it for that go ahead and get it," she said.
So I did.
I didn't go crazy and only got the 8GB version. I figured if it worked like I thought I'd be using it for, I could always upgrade at a later date.

I have fallen in love with it during the week I've had it.
I could probably live without it, but I have already gotten accustomed to having it with me at all times.

I was able to check my email and update my Facebook status while at the local coffee shop before heading to a job search.
I went to dinner with Hotness one evening and sent an email to a friend about something I had just thought of (and would probably forget before I got back home).
I loaded some "kid-friendly" apps on it and have used it to keep my niece and nephew entertained for a few minutes when I'm babysitting.
Not to mention, using it as a day-planner. (Am I free to babysit on Monday afternoon? Lemme see... why yes I am. Anytime after 2:00 p.m.)

I've been searching the iTunes store for applications, mostly free ones, that I can use for myself.
There's a ton of them on there. A lot of crap and a lot of useful ones.
Obviously you get what you pay for, but for the most part I've been pretty happy with the free apps I've picked up.
I got a few games (to kill time and keep kids busy), and a couple of conversion apps (i.e. inches to meters, Fahrenheit to Celsius, foreign currency to U.S. dollars, etc...).
I also picked up a language translator, not that I need it all the time but "just in case".
And I got a sale price calculator that will determine the cost of something with original and additional mark-downs plus figure in the tax so I'll known what I'm about (or NOT about) to spend on a sale item. (Since I do a lot of shopping, this comes in very handy)

Did I need it? No, probably not. Obviously I've lived this long without having one and could've continued to do so.
But like I said earlier, I've grown accustomed to having it in the very short time of owning it.
It's also helped me realize that having an internet-capable phone is something I'll want to have if I can find the kind of job I'm hoping to get. Portable internet access will be a necessity for me.

So here I am, sucked in by another shiny object on the technology shelf but very happy with it.


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Coming up soon:
KISS in concert
Gluten-free cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving

Breakdance Competition: Batman Vs. Joker

No real content today, just fluff.

Have fun with this bit of interactive YouTube fun:

Cthulhu Cupcakes

Saturday was quite a fun and eventful day.

It was the day that some of the members of the Comic Stop Social Club got together to have a baby shower for Dr. Zoltar and his lovely assistant.

He (being a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft) and she (being very tolerant of his geeky ways) were given a "Cthulhu-themed" shower.

I wanted to bring something, as we are a bunch of snack-eating people, so I decided to make Cthulhu cupcakes.

I'd never made any before, so I did a quick Google search which directed me to here.

They were cute, but the Mt. Dew cupcake recipe is what really intrigued me about them.

This I had to try.

I should have started on Friday night, but instead I got started on Saturday morning.

It became apparent that I wouldn't have time to make the cupcake batter in the recipe but I could at least make the frosting.

So, going forward from there I got out my supplies and got busy.

The frosting recipe called for me to boil down the Mt. Dew and reduce it into more of a syrup to concentrate the flavor. So I did that while I started in on the cake batter.

I decided to use a white cake batter and just add food coloring to it.

I added a few drops of green food color and to add a little flavor I put in 2 teaspoons of lemon extract and the zest from a whole lime and half of a lemon.

Then I spooned the batter into the prepared paper lined pans and put them in the oven.

They came just fine with a nice pale green color.

While they were cooling, I mixed up the frosting.

It wasn't very green, so I added some food coloring to it. (Mostly some green but also a couple drops of blue to make it darker than the cupcakes)

Despite the amount of flour and butter in the frosting, it was still a little soft and tended to spread. But for the most part it stayed on top of the cupcakes.

(I've since found out that the frosting holds in place better after it's been chilled in the fridge for a bit, but it's a little harder to spread evenly)

Once they were all frosted, I got the garnishes ready.

I used "very cherry", "watermelon" and "peach" Jelly Bellys for the eyes and "Zappin' Apple" sour punch straws for the tentacles.

and made a few to get the look I was going for.

Then I left Hotness to finish them for me while I jumped into the shower to get ready.

They were VERY moist cupcakes and only had a hint of citrus flavor to them. (Less than I'd have preferred, but at least I didn't go overboard and make them too "lemony")

The cup cakes were a hit and went very well with the punch that was served

as well as the cake

The baby shower, itself, was a total blast and we all had a great time.
We all look foward to the "geekling" when she makes her appearance to the world next month.

Gamer Droid

No wonder Obi-wan used his Jedi mind tricks to keep the stormtroopers away.
With a droid like this Artoo unit, who'd want to give it up?!?

With eight... EIGHT!!!!... game consoles, a projector, and a sound system this droid rocks!

I tried to find more pictures and information about this project, but a Google search just turned up a bunch of sites repeating the same limited info.

Needless to say, somebody with a little too much time on their hands and lot of technical savvy deserves an award for this!

Coil Power!

In honor of Nikola Tesla's birthday today, here are a couple of geeks playing the theme from "Mario Bros. " on Tesla coils.



Yeah, it's a re-post.
But c'mon... it's Nikola's birthday. He deserves it.

Going REAL Old Skool

Heh!

Here's a game I bet NOBODY expected:

(found via Super Punch)

You can find a whole bunch of other "classic" video games here.

A couple of other good ones:

The Weekend In Review

I have temporarily lost access to the interwebs from my house. Otherwise I'd have posted about what went on this weekend, you know.... while it was STILL the weekend.

Oh well. Whatever.
Hotness will be coming back home tomorrow and she has all the info to call the people who can fix our connection. I'll just use my connection at work for now.

So anywhoooo.......
Hotness took off to see her mom on Friday.
I came home that evening after work and picked up the mail. In the mailbox were my copies of Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus and Fanboys.
I fed the cat. Got dinner for myself (some tacos! Yum!) and sat down to watch MSvsGO.

Alright before I go into details, we ALL know that this movie isn't going to be the summer blockbuster to beat all blockbusters. It was a 'direct-to-video' release, fer cryin' out loud!
So my expectations were set low to begin with.

The acting is cheesy, but Debbie Gibson (or, Deborah as she's calling herself now) does a fairly decent job. She's no great actress, but she actually does okay in this film.
Lorenzo Lamas plays a government jerk, so not much of an acting stretch for him.

The story starts out kind of quick and takes off without a lot of explaining and quickly jumps from one scene to the next.
For example: Debbie Gibson is a marine biologist studying whales off the Alaska Coast. (And by the way... apparently Hammerhead sharks, moray eels and hard corals also can be found off the coast w-a-y up north there).
There's an accident... caused by the military, go figure... that releases the creatures.
After that we're suddenly in California looking at a dead, beached whale while an oil drilling platform is attacked off the Japanese coast. All of this takes place in about 24 hours.

The one lone survivor from the Japanese attack is jailed in a FEDERAL prison, for reasons that never get explained, but yet he gets to talk to a civilian scientist about "what happened out there".
The prisoner draws a very detailed picture of the creature, despite it being night time when the attack happened and the entire oil platform crumbling and falling into the sea... with him on it.

The military (ours, of course) is already out hunting down this rougue monster (even though they don't know what it is) and after just one attempt to kill it, decide that this is way beyond their field of expertise. (The U.S. Military backs down after trying... and failing.. to blow up a big shark in the middle of International waters?) now it's time to call in the "experts". Those of course being Ms. Gibson, her renegade biology professor and the Japanese scientist who got detailed descriptions of a creature he couldn't identify from a survivor that was being held in a FEDERAL prison and yet was able to fly to the United States to share the "classified" information.

They discover something that "just might work" to capture the beasties and then they are off into the big wide Pacific Ocean to capture a shark that is big enough to take a bite out of the Golden Gate Bridge and can leap into the air to catch a jumbo jet.

Anyway, you can see how this is going so I'll stop there.
It's dorky and hokey and everything you'd expect from something of this (low) caliber a film.

One thing that really did bother me about the film, was the computer animation sequences were constantly recycled.
The used the same scenes every time they showed the shark. The octopus didn't have much of an appearance, but the few it had were also the same repeated scenes.
The submersible craft that they used in the beginning of the film to study whales looks exactly like the submersible craft that the military employs to hunt down the animals.
So that got old really quick.

The movie is only 90 minutes long, so it only seems like you've lost years of your life watching it.

After that movie was done, I popped in Fanboys.
This movie was laugh-out-loud funny. There are a metric ton of Star Wars references as well as other pop culture topics. There are also quite a few cameo appearances in it. For instance: William Shatner, Carrie Fisher, Ray Park, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes, and a few others.
Also Seth Rogan plays two roles in the film. One is a nerdy Star Trek "trekker" (NOT "trekkie!) and the other is a redneckish, Star Wars-loving pimp.

It didn't get a lot of good reviews when it came out, so it didn't last long in the theaters. But it was definitely worth watching and a good way to make up for having seen the earlier DVD.

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On Saturday, I had a double-dose of the ballet. My niece (4 yrs. old, by the way) had her very first ballet recital early in the day. I went and watched her dance (or rather, she didn't after she got on stage and became too shy in front of everyone).
Then I hustled home to shower, shave, and get ready for the ballet in Seattle that evening.

With Hotness being out of town I was left with an extra ticket. I had already purchased one extra because we we're bringing a friend with us, but now I had two.

I talked her boyfriend into joining us for the evening. She really wanted him to go, but he was trying to avoid it if he could. He & I texted back-and-forth and I talked him into going, after I told him the two of them could have my season ticket seats... for FREE.

He kept it a secret from her about him going, and she didn't know about it until he got dressed and told her he was coming along. Needless to say she was happy.

The ballet itself was a mixed bag of pieces.

There was a contemporary dance. A more modern dance. And a classical dance. So really we got to see a little of everything. I won't bore you the details about the individual pieces and sum it up like this: The first one was contemporary and in my opinion, way too long. It was accompanied by a piano. At first it was nice but after a while the "plinky plinky" of the piano get to be irritating and the dances all seemed alike. This one just didn't interest me.

The second one was very short and very modern. It involved only two dancers and was quite interesting to see them both interact.

The last piece was more of a classical piece and ended with about 50 ballerinas on the stage at one time. Quite a spectacle to see!

So the last two pieces more than made up for the hum-drum (in my opinion) of the first one.

Afterwards the three of us walked to Dick's for a burger and to wait for traffic to clear out before we went to Pomodoro for appetizers and flaming desserts.
We ate and had a wonderful time.
When the evening finally ended, I think I got home shortly before 2 a.m.

I slept in until the cat woke me up and then stumbled around the house for the better part of Sunday. I didn't really get anything accomplished, but it was nice to not have to be anywhere and just relax.

That was pretty much my weekend.
How was yours?

" I Thought These Things Smelled Bad On The Outside"

Hey!

Remember this little nugget of joy from ThinkGeek back on April 1st?

It was only a joke, but a very well-received one. So much so that some folks were going to to even try and make their own 'cause they thought it was so cool.

But check out this:

Tiny frozen Luke inside a dead Tauntaun as a craft project.

(more pictures here)

It's for an art gallery showing at the Bear and Bird Boutique in Florida this coming July.

The showing is called "Stitch Wars" and according to the site's description, it's a "group art exhibition featuring amazing handmade goods inspired by the most fabulous space opera ever made".

I'm sold. Who wants to vacation in Florida during mid-July through August? (Wait... Summer in Florida? On second thought, I'll pass)

(via Super Punch a few days ago)

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But wait! That's not all!

As if that wasn't enough geektacular news for you, check out this custom Nintendo Wii.

The case has been modified into a Metroid Wii:

(Lots of different pictures of it here)

(also via Super Punch)

Hanging Out And Staying Up Late

So I'm sitting in my room at 4:00 a. m. and there are 7 other people still hanging out in here with me.
It's the last day of "vacation" in Banff and nobody wants it to end so they aren't wanting to go to bed.

I'm looking forward to coming home (sort of) and blogging about my Calgary trip, but right now I'm just killing time listening to Josh Ortega talk (and talk and talk.....) while some of the artists are drawing in each others sketch books.
There's a Latin guitar CD playing in the background with a cover of the "Spider-Man" cartoon theme on one of the tracks.

I'd like to say to I want to go to bed, but really... I don't.
This is fun.
Hanging out in the room, listening to people in the comics business just be themselves without the typical convention type of conversation.

Well, hopefully I can sneak my sketchbook onto the table and get something while they're drawing.
We'll see........

Gamers Unite!

This:

is freaking cool looking.

Word!

Found out about it here.

But you can buy it here.

For Lack Of Anything Intersting Happening

Seems like a lot of us are on "blog hiatus" recently.

Other than my ECCC convention reports, I really haven't had anything happen worth blogging about.
Stuff is coming up that'll be worth mentioning on here, but nothing just yet.

So until then, I have some random crap I found on the interwebs that I thought I'd share with ya'll.


Some 'circuitry snacks' for all you budding electrical types out there.


These look like a a lot of fun to make! I'll have to find a reason for making them soon.
(By way of the Presfurfer)


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More geeky goodness.
A 'Missile Command' skirt.


Yeah. Awesome.
Too bad I couldn't get Hotness to wear one.


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Intersting news from Russia.
Hairdresser turns robber into 'sex slave'.
Rawr! You go tiger!





Well, that's about it for now.
Stay tuned.....

Saber Fight

Another video for you in lieu of actual content.



How come this kind of thing never happens at any of the cons?





* Safe for work... unless people in their underwear is a problem for your boss & co-workers

How To Demonstrate Your Enthusiasm For A Movie

I don't really have anything worth mentioning today except for this....

My good friend Imperfect sent this cartoon to me today. Being a comic book geek, it hit home.


And be honest... a few of you would TOTALLY by one if they marketed it.



More funny can be found at Basic Instructions.

Dr. Manhattan

Sorry if you check these posts via a newsfeed. The video source I had used for this last night didn't want to cooperate so I ended up deleting the post altogether.
Here 's the same thing, only from Youtube this time.
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Tidbits & Oddbits

Well what do you know?
Blog post entry # 500.
That's a lot of posts. Some with something important to say (to me, anyway), most with nothing to say really.
But that's a lot of posts.

So I wanted to have something really spectacular to talk about for this milestone, but to be honest I don't think there's anything that really qualifies as being "milestone-worthy".
So instead you get lots of little micro-posts to make up one nice big post.
Grab a mug or glass of your favorite beverage and celebrate #500 with me, won't you?

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Hotness and I have been re-watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" series again.
(Mmmm.... Alyson Hannigan. Oh! Sorry. Got distracted for a moment)

We never really caught them on TV or in chronological order when it used to be on, so with the magic of the DVD's we are catching them in order and remembering how campy and fun they were.

While watching an episode from season two I got to flex some NERD KNOWLEDGE and my geek prowess for Hotness when they made a reference to Locutus of Borg.
Hotness heard it and gave one of those laughs like "I'll laugh, but I don't know why". You know what I'm talking about.
So I got to educate her on who and what Locutus was.
She didn't run away laughing, but instead put her head on my shoulder.
I'm so lucky she loves me for being a dork.

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My birthday was just over a week ago.
I didn't make a big thing out of it on here 'cause it really wasn't. We didn't go out to celebrate or anything.
I did get myself a nice present, though.
I bought some new T-shirts on Thinkgeek.com that I can wear to impress my fellow geek friends.
Including a kick-ass "personal soundtrack" T-shirt. When I saw this, it screamed out P-O-T-E-N-T-I-A-L and I'm so looking forward to wearing it to one of our ECCC volunteer meetings. Up in Calgary. Out to dinner. Just about anywhere.
This thing is just frickin' awesome. I love it.

For future reference though.... next year is the big 4-0.
I've told Hotness I want to have a "pirate-themed" birthday party at the Comic Stop to celebrate. I was listening to Jimmy Buffet and thought that seemed like a good way to ring in my 40th year.

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Speaking of birthdays, last night we went out with friends for dinner and live comedy in Seattle.
Dinner was great, but then what isn't when it's accompanied by a margarita?

The comedy was okay, though. The emcee was a nervous guy with a thick European accent who made the typical "the difference in America compared to (insert country of origin here)" jokes. Followed by a couple of mediocre comedians before the headliner came on.
One of whom did his routine about dating and being a guy. The other did a bunch of Wal-mart joke references and even had to quote another comedian's joke to get his punchline across. Lame.

The headliner, however was very good. Or at least, he started off good.
His name was Daz Reed and he was actually very funny. That is until some stupid fat bitch in the front row started talking and would NOT. SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP.
His rehearsed routine quickly turned into an improv session and totally threw off his timing.
His jokes were still funny, but the scene became nothing more than partial jokes interjected with comments and insults to the heckler.
More than once he commented about it to the staff during his act, but nobody stepped in to put an end to her and ask her to leave.
He still managed to get some laughs and everybody in our group had a good time, but next time we go I will leave and ask for my money back if I have to have my show detracted by some idiot who wants to share in the limelight after more than a few drinks.

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Last night I dreamed about the comic book convention. Again.
Not a very involved dream, but memorable nonetheless.

In it, I was at the convention center before the attendees were allowed in.
Jewel Staite is one of the media guests this year. (what a second. Mmmm.... Jewel Staite. Sorry. Got distracted again.)

Anyway, she and a couple other people working at the show were at her table getting ready before the crowds came in.
I made my way over to let her know I was a fan and that I'd like to get her autograph at some point, but that I was working elsewhere on the floor and might not make it to see her during the day.
But when I opened my mouth, I just kind of stammered and totally forgot everything I wanted to say. I also dropped a book I wanted to get signed. So basically I just looked like a total doofus.
She smiled and then went to her table to get ready.

Hopefully I'll do better in real life and I actually get to meet her.

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Here's something from the "Things to Ponder" file:


That's pretty impressive and sobering.

You can buy this as a poster from here.


I found out about it via the Presurfer.

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Well, it snowed again last night.
Nothing compared to what we had during Christmas, though.
At least.... not yet.

I have to admit that is very pretty to wake up and see a big blanket of white over everything.
It's just when I actually have to go out in it and try and drive that I wish it was happening somewhere else.

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There's a case of eHerpes going around.
Normally I steer clear of such things, as to me they are more or less a blog version of chain letters.
But this one has actually been mulling around in what substitutes for my cranium and I think I'll succumb to it for the sake of anybody who's interested.

I'm supposed to link to the person who gave it to me, but technically I didn't have direct contact with anybody to "catch" it. So I'll just blame the first reported case I heard about it from.

1) I enjoy feeding birds. A lot.
That may seem like an "old person" thing to do, but I really look forward to filling up my feeders and watching the birds come and visit them. That is, when the damn squirrels and raccoons aren't tearing them down and breaking the feeders.

2) I wanted to become an artist who made record covers for rock bands after watching Xanadu way back in the day, just like Sonny Malone.
(I make personalized covers on CD's that I've burned, so I guess in a way I sort of got to live that dream)

3) I get teary-eyed watching sappy movies.
I'm not ashamed to say that I've leaked eye moisture at Pete's Dragon, E.T., Steel Magnolias (yes, I admit I liked it), Nell, and Big Fish among others
I even used to get a little misty over a particular commercial quite a few years ago.
And if you make fun of me, I'll punch you in the neck.

4) When I was very young, I used to think that even inanimate objects had feelings.
I used to feel bad for my left shoe if I put my right shoe on and tied it first. So I would try to alternate in order to not hurt it's "feelings".

5) I hate lists. Absolutely hate them.
"The top 10 sandwiches of all time"
"100 of the best rock songs"
"The 50 most popular movies"
"25 of the most beautiful photos ever taken"
....... blah blah blah
They are all matters of opinion with no basis in actual fact and it pisses me off when magazines or news sites post them as 'articles'.

6) Although I haven't done it in quite a few years, I like to tie fishing flies.
I've never actually gone fly-fishing, but I taught myself how to tie them when I was young and to this day can still name a few of them and what's used in making them.

7) I've never broken a bone in my body.
When I was younger I wanted to break something so I could wear a cast and have it signed by friends, but never did.
Now, I'm hoping that I can continue my "no-broken-bones" streak as I get older.

Bonus!
8) On road trips, I like to play a personal game by matching a mile-marker with a significant comic book issue number.
i.e. Mile-marker 181 = Incredible Hulk #181 (first appearance of Wolverine), mile-marker 4 = Avengers # 4 (first appearance of Captain America in the Silver-age), etc....

Yes, I am a geek.

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Well, that's it for post 500.
Please return your seats to the upright position.
I hope you enjoyed your stay and will continue to be back for at least another 500 or more.

I Wanna Sit In The Captain's Seat!

HOLY CRAP!!!

I would love to have one of these (but no way am I going to shell out the bucks for it!).

I could sit in it and play video games and yell "KHAAAAAAN!!!" whenever the mood struck.

Plus, it would look totally sweet in a room with the Carina Nebula all over the walls don't you think?

I'm A Kid At Heart

I really am, if you didn't already know that.

I've been thinking about the comic book conventions that are coming up and I'm getting excited to not only go to them but to be a part of them.
They're still about 3 months away, but that time goes by pretty quickly.

I'm close to 40 (I'll be 39 in a few days), but for those days at the convention I'm a 12 year-old.
Every year my enthusiam gets stronger even though I'm getting older.
Running around, hanging out with friends and peers, and the comic books. Oh! The comic books!

I guess what makes it really exciting is that I get to be with the guests on a more personal level, rather than stuck in a line waiting to see/talk to them.
Yeah so, I'm making sure they have water to drink so they don't get parched. And I'm taking them lunch when it's ready. Or making sure they have a chance to use the restroom.
It's not glamorous stuff, but it's more than some fans ever get to do.

And I've made a lot of friends doing it. Not just the friends through the comic store (who are all very cool and fun to hang around with), but the repeat guests that have gotten to know me and remember me every year.

It may seem funny to you if comics aren't your thing, but when the show is getting set-up and I'm there helping put up banners or move tables and a guest walks in and says "Hey Tom! Good to see you again this year." That makes me feel awesome.

I watch the guest list grow as the shows get closer, and I remember certain things about some of them.
Stuff that helps make it a fun show for them as well and make them comfortable being there.
* "Oh! Steve's going to be back. I'll make sure to have some energy drinks on ice for him so he won't have to go get them."
* "Hey, great! Greg's coming back. And he's bringing his kids. I'll be sure have some kid-friendly snacks handy for them in case they forget."
* "Right on! Brian and his wife will be returning. I totally have to bring him those concert CD's I promised him last time."
That kind of stuff.

And then there's also the fans I've met in line.
I met one who came all the way over from Europe just to be at Seattle for the show, and it was his first comic convention he'd ever been to.
Then there was the TMNT fan who had the four Turtles tattooed on his leg.
And there are a few fans who've been coming year after year that catch me outside before the show opens to show me their sketches and who they are planning to get more from this year.
Not to mention that I've now got my mom coming to the show and she has a blast meeting all the people that know me.

Also, I have the coolest girlfriend.
She not only lets me indulge in my adolescent endeavors, but is an active participant in the show as well.
It's fun to take the weekend off and spend it at the show and see her there having fun as well.

So can you tell I'm excited?
Less than 12 weeks to go for ECCC and I'm already freaking out (in a good way).

I'll most likely be talking about this more as they get closer, but I was thinking about it lately and just wanted to say how cool it is to still be a kid.

Orbicularus Pacmanicus

The fossilized remains of an ancient prehistoric Pac-Man:







(Just kidding! Found out about it here.)