The Thrilla in Vanilla

I sat down earlier and started making a list of all the stuff I need to start putting together for SPX this year, hoping to get a head start on the work - a couple new mini comics, new shirts, new buttons, tiny paintings, prints...

...and then I remembered that I don't have a table lined up this year!

Oh well. I guess it will be nice to be able to go and just hang out and actually spend the weekend looking at comics and goofing off. I believe I'll be signing at the New Reliable Press table at some point (You Ain't No Dancer 3 will be debuting), so I am still planning to have some new mini comics with me for that, and also for trading as I walk around the rest of the weekend. Other than a few mini comics, I don't plan on bringing much of anything down with me.

I do have another batch of shirts in the works, which I'll be selling online. I'm thinking about maybe taking pre-orders this time around and only printing enough to fill the pre-orders, simply because screen printing shirts myself is a lot of work! Expect to see a mock up of the new shirts sometime in the coming weeks. I can tell you that they will be available in two different colors, I think yellow printed on dark maroon shirts and a yet to be decided color printed on light blue shirts.

ugh .. so .. i fucking hate my job ...i hate all the anxiety it entails ... every little thing that should just be a who cares write off in any situation is a very dramatic sometimes grounds for firing ..... i always leave feeling depleted and worrying im not gonna have a job tomorrow .. and sometimes i wish it would happen .... i wish i didnt need the money ... and i wish i didnt like my friends there ..... cause goddamn i hate it. ugh ... ok ... im gonna go nap and play ff4 ..... blah

p.s. these are my thursday and friday updates.

11:26 I wish I could go do prepress for our customers. For what they pay the people who do it for them now... #

11:57 Judging by the Newsarama preview, that new AMBUSH BUG series is gonna be a great sendup of current comics, esp. DC. #

11:57 There's a SCOUT Vol. 2 TP? Damn it, overlooked that one. #

19:47 An audio interview with TIMESPIRITS writer Stephen Perry: tinyurl.com/5ogcb6 #

20:04 If I live to be a million, I'll never understand setting email accounts to receive other email accounts... #

21:19 Watching Altman's POPEYE, proof that even the mighty stumble upon occasion. Good cast, good Nilsson/Parks songs, even a Klaus Voorman app... #

21:20 ...but jeez is the execution incoherent and sloppy. #

21:22 Saw this in its theatrical release in 1980...hasn't gotten any better. The last 30-45 minutes of this flick seem like 30-45 years. #

21:25 I have no reason to believe Mark Waid can capture what made THE INCREDIBLES so...incredible. Cooke on art is interesting, though. #

21:50 Ah, "Swee'pea's Lullabye". One of Nilsson and Parks' best later compositions. Sweet little short tune, even a bit moving. Shut up, you. #

08:05 Yawn. #

08:22 If I was following you but lost you thanks to Twitter's latest burp, please let me know. Oh. Wait. #

08:43 I won't be getting that DEMON omnibus because I still have my original comics. But I'm interested in what others think about it... #

10:01 This is a man who got fast tracked to management at Donnelley instead of me- he spells "they're" "their". Life is good. #

10:01 Personal gridge tweet, pay no mind. #

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You are an Airbender!

The Sky Bison taught the first airbenders how to bend the air around them. While they cannot fly, airbenders can soar in the air for long distances by using a glider. Most important to airbenders is the concept of non-aggression. When they fight, they do not attack but defend themselves through circular movements that confuse their opponents.

Which Element do you Bend?

via banana_cave at the avatar_fans site.

(link)

Wright: ...It looks likely that I will do "Scott Pilgrim" next and then "Ant-Man" straight afterwards.

CS: You have a great cast that's been announced for "Scott Pilgrim" so far.
Wright: There's some more interesting people buzzing around as well. It's going to be a big ensemble, that film, and there's a lot of fun people we've already been talking to, so there's more to come with that.

CS: [Bryan Lee O'Malley] still has a couple more issues of the story to finish, so have you talked to him about where the story is going to go so you can include some of that in the movie?
Wright: The only book that isn't written is the sixth, but our film takes on a slightly different trajectory after the second book and it includes elements from books three, four and five. In some cases, Bryan has used lines in his books from our first draft of the screenplay (chuckles) which is like strange performance-style transference, and it's been brilliant being able to pick his brains throughout this. On one hand, it's a very very faithful adaptation and on the other hand, it definitely molds events from those books into a three-act movie structure, so that's been interesting.

CS: And you know that Mike Cera has this insane fanbase of women, which you might have seen at Comic-Con last year, but it's gotten even bigger since "Superbad" came out. Essentially, every single woman wants him.
Wright: Michael Cera? Yeah. I know he's got a lot of growing up he can do if he wanted to.

CS: Once you figure out if the strike is happening, do you know where you'll shoot the movie? Would you go back to the U.K. for it or do it here?
Wright: No, it wouldn't be in the U.K. It'll either be here or Toronto. It would be really crucial to kind of shoot in Toronto, so that's what I'm aiming to do.

Hey ya'll! Typing this in San Diego! It's beautiful here and I shan't sleep a wink tonight! Already blog-worthy things have been happening, but that will wait for later. It's like Christmas or something.

Oh, the media I have seen. Here's two-line reviews of stuff I watched in the last few weeks.

Ratatouille was good, solid pixar work. Characters outshone the plot, if that can be called a flaw.
Be Kind Rewind was a poorly made movie with a lot of soul about poorly made movies with a lot of soul. So close.
Cloverfield had a clever concept, and a good execution. Still, I don't need to see anymore movies in that style for a while.
Hellboy 2 was great fun, but was a little trite at the end. Can't wait to see the DVD documentaries on all the marketplace creatures.
The Dark Knight was fantastic. I was worried it would be too scary for kids, but now I'm worried that it's too boring (Who could possibly be the third movie villian? Only this guy).
We got robbed on our Watchman Trailer. People are going nuts about it, both positive and negative, but I'm finding it hard to have any emotion for it.
Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog was a lot of fun. More NPH! More low-rent Superheroes!

This is interesting. Here, is Sean Tevis's site, featuring an XKCD-ish comic that'll hopefully net him a spot on the Kansas State Representative ballot. It's worked amazingly well so far, with over 3000 people donating (unheard of for someone running against a Representative incumbent). And here, is a black and white comic, scanned and printed by homophobic and disturbing County Commissioner Brent Rinehart, with art that would offend even the least discerning 8-year old (so bad it is hilarious). Despite both coming out around the same time, one seems to be a positive indicator on the future, the other, a disturbing artifact of the past.

A WASP Knife for shark-protection that uses compressed gas to explode and freeze the target's insides. I wonder how long till we see it as the tool of some movie or TV serial killer? Seriously, I'll put money down on it being in an episode of CSI.

Virtuoso violinist can induce subharmonics on the violin, only that's suppose to be impossible. She's going to be a supervillian, I just know it.

St. Louis police turns the forfeiture policy into free car rental for cops and family.

Rabbi decodes a secret name of God, suggesting that God may have always been androgynous/duel-gendered.

Joss talks about Dr. Horrible, more importantly he mentions that Ben Edlund of The Tick showed up for like five minutes and put in Bad Horse and Moist, who were both so clearly Ben Edlund characters, I'll be amazed if they don't show up in Venture Bros.

The Real Ghostbusters cartoon finally coming out on DVD for the low price of...$180. Yikes. Still, it's a pretty impressive package, and a hell of a lot of episodes.

Gamer Symphony Orchestra has some pretty sweet tunes, including a rather wonderful cover of Still Alive.

Scott Pilgrim flash animation ad. It's pretty cheesy.

Damn you, Batman! You've got to take it down a notch!

I woke up feeling like crap, achy muscles and all. >_< Today was another physio session in the morning, comics and lunch in the early afternoon, and when i got home, i flaked out unconscious for an hour or two.

This evening, i've been doing laundry for my weekend trip, and watched Reservoir Dogs, finally. It was pretty good, although i prefer Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill.

"I already told you I don't know anything about any fucking setup; you can torture me all you want."
"Torture you? That's a good idea. I like that."

I've almost worked my way through my backlog of commissions! For a while there it was pretty hairy, but I only have three more to do now. Thanks to everyone who has been patiently waiting! I've been stuffing the packages with all kinds of extra goodies to make up for the delays.

As soon as I manage to clear my desk of these last few commissions I'll start taking a new batch of commission orders. I'd take more now, but I really need to get these last few finished first, these last few people have been waiting for a long time. I'm working on a number of deadline projects right now, but I've been trying to squeeze in time for commissions whenever possible.

Bard on the Beach

Good line-up this year. I'd like to see all of them, but then I read they are $33 bucks a shot. So... anyone up for King Lear? It's the only "major" Shakespeare play I haven't seen performed either live or filmed yet. I love The Tempest but it looks like the hardest one to get tickets for. Titus Andronicus could be good gory fun as well, and probably the least likely to sell out.

Film Noir Series

Pacific Cinematheque is showing a slew of classic noir films in mid August. Again, I would love to see them all, but time and money is an issue.

Last night i watched the direct-to-DVD movie Superman: Doomsday, which is Bruce Timm's adaptation of the comic storyline from 15 years ago. Much had to be cut out, including the Justice League's role, and the fact that there were actually 4 claimants to be Superman (not counting Superman himself), and Superman revealed his identity to Lois after she fell in love with Clark, not Superman.

Anyway, it was a little disappointing. I generally enjoy the Bruce Timm animated series, but the movies seem kind of flat. The character moments are too subtle to be caught by the limited animation style.

The Japan Foundation had another show, 'The Calligraphy Exhibition "Japan-Canada Cultural Exchange" will feature 11 pieces of modern calligraphy works by Master Calligrapher Ms. Shiko Kataoka. The delicate brushwork compliments the Tanka and Haiku (Japanese poems) that are presented on rare and beautiful washi (Japanese paper) in the form of folding screens, framed works, folding albums and hanging scrolls.'

( Some photos at the Calligraphy Exhibition )

Then it was a quick run into the ROM to see the newest permanent installation, Quetzalcoatlus, which is the world's largest pterosaur skeleton reconstruction. The wingspan is 12 m (39 ft) - it's the biggest flying creature ever known.

People building sand castles in front of the ROM?

I made a last minute decision yesterday to go into the city. First stop was the Gardiner Museum of Ceramics, starting off in the restaurant 'Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner'.

My lunch was 'House Made Pastrami on Rye Bread', with a small glass of 'Stratus Cabernet Franc Niagara Peninsula'.

( Some photos at the Gardiner )

Purely sculpture.

10:56 lobg=long #

13:05 What the hell? A 49 cent Paul Westerberg album? Why doesn't anybody TELL me these things! www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001CZCBEA/ #

18:42 Hey, the Comics Curmudgeon dude is on Jeopardy! #

20:55 Finally watching 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. I could take it a lot more seriously if the main vamp didn't look so much like Bat Boy from the WWN... #

21:08 Boy, for a film with such a novel premise, they sure do leave no horror movie cliche unturned... #

21:35 Boy, has this flick gotten tedious in the last 30-45 minutes or so. #

21:52 Well, that's a solution of sorts! (geez) #

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My laptop has been officially retired. For the last week or more, I've only been online when I can snake Audra's work computer for a few minutes. I hope, before school starts, to trip on the corner of an MSI Wind poking out of a patch of dirt. I could subsequently dig it up and dust it off and put it to good use. Due to the passive influence of my dad, I am thinking of even maybe letting it be a Linux machine and not wussing out and going running to cry in the skirts of XP. I'm a grown up, right?

Speaking of my dad, he has been visiting with us since Friday! I may have mentioned before that he is a native Edmontonian, having grown up almost entirely within a few blocks of the apartment Audra and I have lived in for the last year. We have been touring around the city, so he can see how it is and tell us how it was. On the weekend we took an overnight trip to the farm his sister and her husband live on and operate. My 67-year-old uncle is a superhero, casually mentioning the herculean tasks he undertakes as a matter of course like they were nothing, since to him they almost are. My aunts (there was an extra one this time, I met my dad's youngest sister for the first time this weekend!!) are lively and kind and one of them rides a motorcycle and one of them is a domestic impresario. When the youngest confessed that my dad was her favourite brother, I felt kind of a surprising surge of pride in him. Not everybody gets to be someone's favourite brother! (I managed to cheat my way into that exclusive circle by having only female siblings - suckers)

Audra and Dad have always got along great and the conversations have been scintillating. I only wish Mom could have made it out, too, but hopefully she's making the most of getting a bit of rare solitude back home. Last night Dad met our friends Brad and Morgan and Jessica and tonight it was Kelley and Erin and Ryan and it's not everyone you want to make sure your dad meets, but I have the lucky circumstance of not only having a cool dad, but cool friends. So basically everything was great about the last few days. Dad goes home tomorrow evening and we are kind of in denial about it. Audra especially - I'm more stoic, being a boy.

We're selling the furniture out from under us. We've sold the record shelves, the bed frame, the kitchen table, a book shelf, my turntable desk, the dressers... it makes for a messy existence, but not for long. Everything else we're boxing up and shipping out in less than a week. Dudes we are moving across the country again in less than a week. We can hardly believe it, and neither can our cats.

I don't know what else to say right now except that I think you're great and I hope you're well. Catch you in a little while.

So, like many others, I'm working on some of the Marvel masterpiece sketch cards right now. I personally have not really read any super hero comics since high school and so my knowledge of the marvel universe is a little bit rusty, but I wanted to do this anyways because I was obsessed with Marvel trading cards as a kid. I still have a few binders of them in a closet somewhere. I'm mostly just drawing all of my favorite obscure cornball villains anyways, so it's ok I think if I'm not totally up to date on who was most recently punched by the Hulk and who is ruining Peter Parker's life and who Reed Richards is trying to stop from making a big mess of the space time continuum.

I've also done a few cards so far that reference one of the most closely guarded secrets in the Marvel universe: the fact that Captain America was in fact once captured by some bad guys and injected with a serum that turned him into a werewolf. I kid you not! Usually when I mention this to people they don't believe me that such a story arc ever could have taken place, but it did! My brother and I still have all the issues in which Captain America was known as CAPWOLF.

Holy crap, bike sold within six hours of posting it on craigslist. If I'd been patient I probably could have gotten my asking price, but I got what I expected so I am pleased. First person that tested it bought it!

Now, to book a truck!

and, maybe pack?

tomorrow