I've Got Kitty Pryde

I Decorates!

2011-12-13T09:53:00.000-05:00

FINALLY. I said I was going to do this Thanksgiving weekend but I spent that weekend playing Zelda in my pajamas, so no. Finally got 'round to it this past weekend. Here are some pictures!

I used to always get a real tree in my old apartment, but that one was much bigger. So last year I bought my first fake tree! I figured, if I was gonna get one, I might as well make it easy on myself and get a pre-lit one. Oh man, SO nice. And I got this nice skinny pencil tree to fit right in this corner (where I keep a fan in summer months)!

Here's a little close up of one of my favourite ornaments! ;-)

He has a great responsibility to make my tree look good.

The tree-topper that has adorned my tree for the last 5 years or so! I don't even remember where I got him, but I'm guessing at some sample sale at work!

Hulk SMASH if you no give presents!

I decorate as much as possible, including lights in the bathroom, in my room, around the door outside and one the windows. I also decorate the banisters with red ribbon and THESE guys at the ends! :)

Here's my kitchen table thiset-up (it's one of those ones that like comes out of the wall).

Yes, that is a Chris Giarrusso Mini Marvels as Peanuts framed card!

I have these guys (their names are all Harry) above my doorway (they used to be in my bathroom in the old place) and I've been decorating them for Christmas every year (just below them are these little Sanrio stamps I just got of the characters with Santa hats on!)!

Don't mess with me or you'll end up like the Harrys.

And last but not least, my favourite decoration, I've had it since I was 10 or so!

Merry Christmas, dudes! Cowabunga!

So there you go. This smart-ass atheist still loves Christmas. It's not about Jesus for me (nor for a lot of people, REALLY) and never really has been. I just love the holiday cheer! I love the decorations, the parties, the music (YES, the music), the family time, sending out and getting cards (I MISS SNAIL MAIL) , giving/receiving gifts, just the general good feeling! (And really, you KNOW all this Christmas tree stuff, etc. has NOTHING to do with Jesus in the first place, right? ;-P)

So happy holidays everyone!!!!

<3,

Jen!

The End.

I Gets Another Religious Blog Comment!

2011-10-21T09:16:00.000-04:00

I haven't been keeping up with this. I know it, you know it, we ALL know it. I'm sorry! I know I don't have a TON of readers but it's pretty cool to have the amount that I do...or rather, DID. Unfortunately with the twitter and the tumblr, I just go straight there when I want to share something. This blog is definitely better for longer form posts and I have plenty of ideas for things I want to post, but... I just don't. (A big reason is that blogger is now blocked at my job so I can't post during lunch which I used to do.)

Anyway, I still get emails when I get a comment (which obviously isn't as often lately), and one of the posts I get a lot from is the "Kirk Cameron is an Idiot" post (one of my favourites)! And yesterday I got this comment that made me happy. haha Happy because I see comments like this on atheist blogs I read and it's just exciting to get one of my own. :) And it's not a cruel one, just a misguided one. So I thought I'd share it and my response. Let me know what you think!

Anonymous said...

I feel so sorry for you Jennifer! You sound like a really lost soul! Apparently youve never lost someone that you love so much or believing in a God and a heaven that promises we will see our loved ones again wouldnt be so hard for you to accept! I will keep you in my prayers because not only is there a heaven, theres also a hell!

October 19, 2011 9:14 AM

Jennifer Juniper said...

So let me get this straight. You feel bad for me because I HAVEN'T lost someone I really love? (Which is not true by the way.)

You seemed to be confused between WANTING there to be a god and an afterlife and whether or not there actually IS one. SURE it would be nice to know that when I die I will see the family & friends I've lost again, but that's just highly unlikely. Simply wanting it doesn't make it true.

Not only is there not a heaven, there's not a hell. Don't waste your time praying. Go out there and live the life you DO have to its fullest!

Memory Lane

2011-06-07T22:47:00.000-04:00

I took a Google Maps trip down memory lane, "walking" around the neighborhood I lived in when I "studied" in London for three months back in 2001. I can't believe it was 10 years ago that I lived there! This is the building I lived in, my flat was on the top floor, which our landlord had had priced at $1 million pounds back then.

The Landward! My flat # was 45!

Flat 45 was at the top floor!

Should'a spent more time here!

The Victory pub was directly across the street and I regret never really spending any time in there. I was near tears looking at this and I'm sure I WILL be in tears when I'm in London in September and walk around there as I do every time I go back to London. I went back to London every year for 5 consecutive years after my semester there, but I've not been able to afford it since 2006. I'm so happy to finally be able to go back to my second home. I would give so much relive that time again. It's definitely in the top 3 greatest experiences of my life. I still really wish I could live in London again. As long as I'm loving working at Marvel, though, I just can't do it. Maybe one day...

I also used Google maps to "walk past" my favourite street in London (at least of the ones I've seen). I used to pass this little street on the way to school and I just feel in love with how cool it looked. Funnily enough, only until I was there in 2005 with my friend did I ever actually walk down it. It just seemed so private, I felt like I shouldn't. This street is Montagu Mews West. "Mews" streets are super awesome, I wish I could live in one, but they must be super expensive. Man, why can't I just be rich and have everything I want!?!?

Well, at least I get to go back and visit soon! I really can't wait, I think about it every single day. Yay! (And also, I'm EXTRA excited to visit Berlin for the first time too and try out some of the German I've been studying!)

The End.

Oh the Rapture. LOLZ!

2011-05-22T11:39:00.000-04:00

So yesterday came and went and nothing happened. SURPRISE! Not much to say, but I felt I had to post SOMEthing. Man, it's sad how gullible some people are. I mean, I KNOW I am at times, but THIS... THIS is just insane. Anyway, here are a couple of my favourite post-Rapture related things I saw on facebook:

Why the Rapture didn't happen (posted by my friend Chris Giarrusso):

And this funny little video (posted by Truth-Saves.com):

So there you go. I'm sorry but I just don't feel bad laughing at these people. I do feel A LITTLE bad about those that spent their life savings trying to spread the word. Oh well. I HOPE they learned their lesson.

The End.

PS As an added bonus, my friend posted this little gem: The Onion strikes again! It's about some dumb people's reactions to an Onion article, b/c apparently they'd never heard of it. Come on, people! My PARENTS know what the Onion is!!! What's even more worrisome are these ideas about abortions... Condoms are silent abortions??!?!?!!? Yes. No wonder we have more people than can be fed in this world. Sigh.

Space Invader (FINALLY)

2011-05-17T23:10:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to post about this since July but I've been stupid and lazy, but a recent facebook post from a friend has spurred me into action.

OK, so I admit, before Exit Through the Gift Shop I knew nothing about Space Invader or any of the other awesome street artists out there (though I had passing knowledge of Banksy), but as I fell in love with Banksy I also fell in love with Space Invader. As I mentioned in my Exit blog, I know I used to see a Space Invader on a building along the West Side Highway. I would look for it every time I drove there and it made me happy every time but also very confused because I couldn't figure out why it was there. I thought it was maybe a sign from a store that had since closed. But now that I know it was put there by someone that just likes to put them there, it's even more awesome! Unfortunately, I haven't seen it since and I think it's been removed.

So, I've really wanted to find (& photograph) my own Space Invaders. I tried to figure out through his website where the ones in NYC are. I found one that was just by the Prince St. station but it too, was removed. I could still see the remnants (why anyone would feel the need to do this, is beyond me), so I decided to make it even more obvious and added a little note:

You can see there are still a couple of white tiles there and all the tile glue. Sigh. Like THIS is so much better to see than the space invader that was there.

Well! When I went to the San Diego Comic Con last year, a friend informed me of this awesome street art exhibit that was on display there at the time. So I made sure to go there (and the person behind the desk assumed I was a college student and let me go in for free! hehehehe). The exhibit was awesome but I couldn't take pictures. But I was told that Space Invader went around and put a bunch of his little guys in the neighborhood. I found a website that gave the locations of all of them so instead of spending time at the convention, I took a couple hours to walk around and find them, I think I got all but one that the website listed. Here they are!

That last one is awesome because the eyes are mirrors so they look different from different angles!

Then on the last day I was explaining these guys to some other Marvel peeps at dinner and on the way back to the Hyatt, someone says "Hey Jen, is that the things you were talking about?" And sure enough it was! And it wasn't listed on the site so I was EXTRA excited! And I wrote down where it was in case anyone else wanted to find it: It was at Island St. & Front St. right by or on The Children's Museum! And here's a picture:

I've since tried to find one that I saw on his site near Queens Plaza but I had no luck. If you know where it is tell me! There's another that I think is on Northern Boulevard or thereabouts that I still have to get my ass to. AND what my friend posted on facebook was another one he saw in Williamsburg so I will have to be making a trip out there soon.

I just absolutely love these things. It's such a cool thing to do to spruce up a neighborhood! haha I just wish people didn't take them down! I mean, I know part of their charm is that they are not permanent but I love them!!! Man, if I saw one near my house I would freak out. And I would walk by it every day just to make myself smile.

So anyway Mr. Space Invader, if you see this, THANK YOU! :) And to everyone else, if you know where any of these are (particularly in NYC or even London since I'll be back there this fall), TELL ME!

The End.

Ricky on The Daily Show!

2011-04-15T14:18:00.001-04:00

Ricky was on The Daily Show yesterday and it was great, but they went over and had to put the remaining bit on the Comedy Central website. This happens more and more frequently lately, but this is the first time I've ever actually went and looked for it! I'm sharing it with you because it's awesome. And so VERY atheist! ;-)

The Daily Show - Exclusive - Ricky Gervais Extended Interview Pt. 2
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Here's of the "Easter card" he showed Jon. Click here to read his Easter message!!

Blasphemy!

The End.

My Friends Are Super Cool! or I Can Colour!

2011-03-30T14:41:00.000-04:00

So if you don't know the work of Jacob Chabot, you should. He is one talented muthafuckah! I've previously posted a sketch he did for me in one of my Sketchbook Series posts. WELL, I've got more Jacob goodness for you.

Commie Colossus vill crush you!

So a month or so ago, I was proofing an Essential X-Men book and I came across issue #124 which has one of my favourite covers. Mainly because I'm obsessed with all things Russian (since I loved studying the language for 4 years in high school) and it's got Colossus with CCCP overalls on it, but also because it's so silly. It's a Commie Colossus calling himself The Proletarian! Trying to kill his friends! Because he was brainwashed by... well, I won't spoil it. But it's silly and awesome and I love it.

SO ANYWAY, Jacob and our other talented friend Chris Giarrusso have done these aweome X-Babies or Mini Marvels versions of classic Marvel covers in the past, so I emailed them to tell them that one of them should draw a kiddie version of X-Men #124. I honestly did not expect either of them to do it as they are both always so busy drawing for actual MONEY that I wouldn't expect them to take time out to draw this thing for free just cuz I wanted to see it. Jokes were made, it was just a fun thought.

Then, a few weeks later, I get an email from Jacob that said "Hey check out this thing I drew without any sort of provocation." (haha) with THIS attached:

Don't do it Baby Proletarian!

HOW FREAKIN' AWESOME IS THAT!?!?! I was shocked and amazed that he actually did this! And SO happy! I LOVE the li'l baby Lenin on his overalls too... hehe BABY COMMIE COLOSSUS! Too fantastic.

Now to explain the OTHER title of today's blog, I asked Jacob for the high-res version so that I could colour it. I so rarely get to colour stuff, and all the classic stuff is the best b/c it's only flat colouring which is pretty much all I can handle. So without further ado, I present to you, the COLOUR version of this fantastic Jacob Chabot homage cover!

As I've said, Jacob has done other X-Men covers like this, one of one of my favourite X-Men comics of all-time: X-Men #171. (I'll leave you to figure out why.) I have actually started colouring that one too and will post it when I'm done. Now if I can just get Jacob to GIVE me the originals for FREE... hmmmmm... ;-)

Oh and Jacob, YOU RULE! ♥♥♥♥ THANK YOU!

The End.

The Book of Mormon!!

2011-03-24T19:10:00.000-04:00

Trey Parker & Matt Stone have done it again!

As we're not allowed photos, this is all I've got.

Two nights ago I saw The Book of Mormon, a new Broadway show created by the South Park guys, Trey Parker & Matt Stone. To say I really liked this show would be an understatement. This was one of the best Broadway shows I've ever seen. It was as funny as you'd expect something by these guys to be and man, they really know how to make funny songs actually GOOD. It's no easy feat, but they've managed it time and again on South Park and this show is no exception. I'll be singing "Tomorrow is a Latter Day" and "Scary Hell Dream" for awhile to come. (And I'll be buying that soundtrack the MINUTE it's available!)

I don't want to give any of it away, but they do a good job of giving a condensed version of what Mormons believe (it's ridiculous, to say the least), with a narrative and without being TOO mean. (To be honest, I would've liked it to be a LITTLE meaner. haha) The cast is fantastic and likable and boy do they work hard. There is a LOT going on in this play. The sets are simply amazing as well. There really isn't anything bad I can say about this! There's also been many, MANY blogs about this, so I don't want to get repetitive, but I just wanted to make it known that I LOVE THIS SHOW! (I even read a blog by a Mormon who loved it and encourages other Mormons to go see it!) Honestly, there's a VERY good chance I will be seeing this again soon.

The only pic I dared to sneak before it started.

Tonight is opening night (I went to see it during previews month...it's cheaper. haha), and I have a feeling it's going to be sold out nightly, so I'd look into getting tickets as soon as possible. I PROMISE you will not regret it!!

The End. Tomorrow is a latter day.

Cursing Revisited!

2011-03-23T14:12:00.000-04:00

Just in time for my cursing blog, my Get Fuzzy calendar had a few days of adorable Satchel's way of swearing. Thought I'd share!

#&@!!*$#

I love Satchel.

Bucky is such a jerk.

One of my all-time favourite comic strips. I've been getting the desktop calendar for 4 years now.

The End.

Watch Your Fucking Language!

2011-03-20T11:42:00.000-04:00

I was directed to this fantastic short clip about swearing (from a bog I frequent called "The Good Atheist") in witch the bloody brilliant Stephen Fry basically says "Fuck off!" (Side note: it also contains clips starring Hugh Laurie! ♥♥♥♥)

I love this. I've been saying this for years. "Swear" words are what we make them! If we all suddenly decided "blanket" was a swear word, it would be. They're fucking WORDS. They're used for effect just like ANY other word! Don't tell me when I can and cannot use them!

That being said, I do try to curb my foul mouth around children, old people and my family. It's just a manners thing I suppose, but I don't think I NEED to do it. I wouldn't cry if I accidentally did. With kids I suppose it's more A) I don't want to hear it from their parents and B) I don't want to have to explain what the words mean to them. Fortunately, I avoid kids like the plague so this is not a huge concern for me. haha With old people, again, I just don't want to hear it and I don't want to be mean to them if they yell at me, so I'd rather just avoid the situation altogether. Family...I don't know, just how I was raised I guess.

But I get shit for in the office on occasion (though mostly, it's just the volume of my voice! haha), and I think it's silly. It's amazing how people are sometimes SHOCKED when I curse a lot! I think it also has to do with being female. I'd probably get less attention from it if I were male. Which ultimately, I think, is why I love it. I love breaking that male/female barrier. Any fucking thing HE can do, I can bloody well do too! ;-)

It's pretty funny to me, though, when I think back to the fifth grade when all my classmates were cursing and I refused to. I don't really know why. I listened to my parents, I guess. I was raised a little nerd, which is why I didn't get drunk before I was twenty-one and never smoked a cigarette. I'm not complaining, mind you, I think these are all good things. One can be a little rebellious in their lives without harming oneself (hey, I had a mohawk at 14!). Needless to say, by junior high I was cursing here and there...and by the time I started working at Marvel, I had been given the (short-lived) nickname "F-Bomb."

The ironic thing is that if everyone were to stop caring about curse words or just use them all the time, they would eventually lose their meaning and would cease to be shocking!

The Fucking End.

Airbender Happiness

2011-03-18T12:47:00.000-04:00

So if you read this blog, you know exactly how I feel about M. Knight's craptacular live-action adaptation (see previous blog: "Fuck You, M. Knight") of what I feel is one of the greatest cartoons ever created, Avatar: The Last Airbender. Do yourself a favour and WATCH THEM. So good.

ANYWAY, if you HAVE seen Airbender, then you know how good it is, and you'll be delighted to learn (if you don't already know) that there will be a new cartoon mini-series following the events of Airbender starting up next year! It's called The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra and HOLY CRAP I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS!!!!

BEWARE: SPOILERZ AHEAD! (Both of the original show and what I've learned of the new one.)

Originally slated for 2011, the show has been delayed until 2012

It's basically the story of the NEXT Avatar!! Following in the pattern, the next up would be water, but being as she's the Avatar, she has to learn airbending from the NEW last airbender, Aang's son Tenzin! Since Avatar's only appear once the previous one has died, Aang will obviously not be alive in this series, but as we've seen in the show, Avatars can communicate with past Avatars in the spirit world, so we're sure to at least see Aang!

While I am definitely sad that I know I won't see Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko and ESPECIALLY Appa & Momo, I am still SUPER excited for this! Same people involved so I expect it to be just as good. And I can at least I can HOPE for maybe flashbacks from Tenzin growing up or something. Maybe one of the old characters is still alive and a crazy old person like King Boomy from the Earth Kingdom.

Another great thing about this show... J.K. FRAKKIN' SIMMONS!!! He's slated to be the voice of Tenzin!!! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?

Well, anyway, just thought I'd let you know. This makes me happy after the debacle that was M. Knight's "movie." Ugh.

So those who have not seen the awesomeness that is The Last Airbender, you've got a year to catch up! Hop to!

The End.

Those Crazy Comics!

2011-03-17T13:25:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of ridiculous comic book panels that I love! Enjoy!

Is this racist? Not sure, but it's definitely hilarious!

You really gotta know your Marvel comics to know why this is so insane. If you've got the time: Cosmic Cube on wikipedia.

So careless, Hellcat!

Please also notice the awesomeness that is Thanos having his name written on the side of his helicopter!!

The End.

PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE!

2011-03-15T13:13:00.001-04:00

So I saw the Pee-wee play!!! Yes. Just add that to the incredibly long list of reasons to love living in New York City! Now let me start by saying something that you'll probably get mad at me for: I wasn't really a huge Pee-wee fan. I know, I know. I just didn't remember ever being REALLY into it. I knew I watched it as a kid, but I would've called myself a fan. That's all changed now. :)

First, let me just tell you HOW I got to see this show. Frakkin' FOURSQUARE, that's how! As you may have known if you follow my twitter, I'm a little addicted to foursquare badges. They do absolutely nothing and I can't even get stickers of them like you can from GetGlue. But I still need to get as many as I can. I will just walk around the city to check into places to get badges. ANYWAY, a few months back, when the Pee-wee show on Broadway first opened, Pee-wee started a little campaign with fourquare, in which one could earn a Pee-wee badge by first being his friend on foursquare, and then checking into 2 or 3 places Pee-wee checked in to. There were plenty right near my office, so I got this fairly easily. It's a great badge, it looks like his suit. I was happy. I did not know anything else would come of it.

THEN, a couple months after that, I get an email that basically says: "Dear Foursquare Badge-holder, We're having a drawing for free tickets to see Pee-wee on Broadway for a special taping of the show to air on HBO. To enter, blah blah blah." So I entered. AND I WON! 'Twas VERY exciting. Luckily I had nothing planned for that day, so I went.

And it WAS GREAT! I realised once the show started that I knew A LOT more than I thought I did about Pee-wee. I remembered SO much! I completely forgot about Penny, which was my favourite bit on that show. Not to mention Ptery and Globey! Of course there was Chairy, but I never forgot her. It was a GREAT show. Funny and fun and very nostalgic. If I hadn't been watching the last ever production, I would've been telling EVERYONE to go see it. So I'm super glad I got the chance and I thank you very much, foursquare!

But it gets better! More fourquare awesomeness! SO, at the end of the show, Pee-wee mentions that in a couple days there will be a foursquare PARTY at the new Bowlmor Lanes in Times Square (the original is in Union Square) for a select few of the badge-holders who ask to participate. I get ANOTHER email asking about this and I RSVP and the next day I'm told I can go! WOOT! Now, while this was a bowling party, I really didn't feel like bowling, so I just sat at the bar with my friend and tried some of their food. About an hour in, Pee-wee shows up and makes his way around the entire party saying hello to everyone that came. SUCH a sweetheart. He even actually OFFERED to take pictures without me even asking! I absolutely adore him now. He won me over. Too bad it's at the end of the Pee-wee train... I don't know how much more he can do with the character, but I'm considering buying the DVD set of the show... :-P

So meeting Pee-wee was definitely the highlight, but the whole experience was really cool and I only have foursquare to thank. So no longer can I be made fun of for my badge addiction! :-) (Side note: I also got $5 admission to the Whitney with my Whitney badge the other day — that's a $13 savings people!!!)

Anyway, last thing I want to tell you peeps, is that the HBO taping I went to IS AIRING THIS WEEKEND! March 19th, to be exact! Set your DVRs and watch this! I will admit, if you know NOTHING of Pee-wee, you might not enjoy it quite as much, but it's still a good time. Check it out: Pee-wee on HBO!

Trailer

The End.

I Suck

2011-03-15T13:09:00.000-04:00

I'm just posting that I suck for not posting. I might just pretend that time hasn't passed and just post about stuff I've been doing as if I just did them. haha

Yeah... that's the ticket!

The End.

PS I blame twitter! All my good stuff goes there!

Guns & the Second Amendment (as explained by SNL)

2011-01-18T14:43:00.001-05:00

I don't like guns. I don't like that I've lived with people who own guns (because of their jobs), I don't want a gun in my house and I kind of think it's creepy that people want to keep guns in their house. I DEFINITELY think it's creepy when they want to carry them ON them wherever they go.

Recently (well, like 9 months ago) I actually went to a gun range for the first time because I made a promise to a friend. He had convinced me to try it with this line: "Nothing scares Conservative Republicans more than a liberal atheist that knows how to use a gun." And I will NOT deny that it was fun. In A COMPLETELY SAFE AND CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT. This place was STRICT. You always had an instructor next to you, YOU were not allowed to load the gun and if you even turned slightly away from the firing direction, you would be stopped and reprimanded (here I am with a rifle with my instructor). In those conditions, I can't help but admit I had a BLAST (pun intended)! :-)

But the personal ownership of guns...I don't know. It's just creepy. Granted, it MAY come in handy in self-defense (although, at least in NYC, I believe you have to keep it locked up so that could hinder it's actual use), but there's too much risk of unintentional damage. You always hear about people accidentally shooting themselves or family members. And I actually went to collage with a kid who's friend accidentally shot and killed him. It's terrible. And personally, while I supposed I'd rather kill or be killed...well, I REALLY don't want to kill anyone.

Anyway, I think guns are a little too easy to come by in this country. Though, I'm not sure how to fix it because the criminal always seem to find ways to get illegal things...but I feel like being able to buy guns in a Walmart or something, with like a week's wait or whatever, is just not enough. And why do people need to own them so badly!? And so MANY! One of my favourite comedians, Eddie Izzard, makes a joke about kids only having to go to their "grandfather's arsenal" to get ahold of guns. There's that like 6-year-old kid in Bowling for Columbine that Michael Moore talks about who takes someone's gun to school and kills a little girl. There should have been NO WAY for that kid to get his hands on a gun!!!! But people teach their kids to shoot guns from very young ages! And I suppose it's good for them to at least KNOW how to handle it, but...I don't know, I feel like their not old enough to REALLY understand the consequences yet.

Maybe it's because of where I live that I don't want a gun? I recall being in a London hostel back in (I think) 2004 where this older gentleman was (co-ed room hostel) was staying for a night or two to look at some artifact or something (the hostel is right by the British Museum). He was from Texas and somehow we ended up talking about guns (weird...) but when I said I would NOT want a gun EVER, he was surprised. He said he thought we all wanted guns up here but out government wouldn't let us! I said I didn't know that many people that actually wanted to own a gun (and even the ones that did, wanted them for recreational purposes, not for protection). He didn't understand, he asked about protecting ourselves or our property and I said that's what the police were for. He said the police would take a half an hour to get to his home by him. Which I suppose, if that were the case, I might want my own protection as well. I don't know.

Anyway, this all comes up because of what I thought was a great and funny little bit on SNL's Weekend Update last Saturday.

Well, anyway, I don't really know what's to be done about this. I think a lot of it might be because of something like what I was talking about with that Texan. I think our country is just so damn large that the experiences I can have are so completely different some someone in, say, Texas. It DOES seem to be more of the southern states that are so pro-gun, but that might not be true and just my perception.

What do YOU think of the gun situation in our country?

The End.

PS Here's the Eddie Izzard bit that I love!

PPS One last thing, one of my favourite Eminem lines is from the song "Who Knew": "So who's bringing the guns in this country? I couldn't sneak a plastic pellet gun through customs over in London."

Sketchbook Series #9

2011-01-11T14:56:00.001-05:00

I know, I know, I've been neglecting the blog... I can't help it! There's too much social media out there! I've got my twitter, facebook & now I even mess around with tumblr (I call it "Kitty's Pryde Supplemental, so check it out if you like this blog at all — which I assume you do if you're reading this...)! And of course, this blog. I will try to be better. I figured I'd start with a new Sketchbook Series as I have neglected THAT too. :-P

This one is from Bill Plympton who is AWESOME. I got this when I first started the sketchbook at MOCCA. He was telling me about Idiots & Angels, an animated film he was working on at the time (which this sketch is from). It was FINALLY completed towards the end of last year. I saw him again on the Comic Book Club. Unfortunately, I think I missed it's limited run in the theater here, but I will definitely pick it up when it's released on DVD.

If you don't know who he is, you should. I have a few of his books with his very interesting and often very funny cartoons. You MIGHT recognise his work from MTV as well! His cartoons used to air inbetween stuff. Like THIS one:

Anyway, I love this sketch, it's a prized one. And he was very cool on the Comic Book Club and at MOCCA. A really good friend of mine — who, along with his brother, introduced me to Bill Plympton — mostly just likes to make music, but recently ventured into the world of publishing with his first self-published collection of cartoons, The Blurry World Vol. 1. I suggested they attend MOCCA last year and they did. Much to his happiness, he was able to get a copy of his book to Bill and was complimented for it, completely making the MOCCA experience so great for him.

I like this guy. :) Check out his stuff!!

The End.

I Was a Spider-Man Handler

2010-12-06T13:58:00.000-05:00

So this Thanksgiving was a pretty cool one for me as I got to be one of the Spider-Man balloon handlers for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade! Marvel managed to work it so that we could get some of our employees in on the Spidey balloon action. Last year was Spidey's return to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since his departure in 1998. I stupidly did not volunteer to help him get through the day which I remedied this year. It was a great time.

I had to get up around 4:30AM (the downside to all of this), get to the New Yorker hotel by 6AM, change into the awesome outfit you see above and take a bus uptown to 81st St. Where Spidey was "parked."

This is my assistant Alex and I on the bus:

My other assistant, Nelson, on the bus. He brought his own special hat. Lucky!

Here's "parked" Spidey. You can see the netting on him to keep him tethered.

Spidey's balloon neighbors:

We had a little time before we had to grab hold of our ropes, so I walked around the immediate vicinity to get some pics of what was going on around us.

There were a TON of these awesome penguin peeps.

I made a lame joke about having our ducks in a row here, but then heard the announcer make the same joke. haha

These are "Springtime" clowns apparently (the sign you can't see says so):

Some cupcakes. Obviously.

"Sleepytime" clowns:

Some pirate ship I thought was cool:

These guys were my favourite. No idea what they're FOR though...

HOOPER'S STORE!!! Made my day! :-) Big Bird's mailbox is there too!

Woodstock. I believe this float followed behind (or maybe he was in front) of the Snoopy balloon:

If you look closely, you can see Snoopy peeking out behind the trees! I was in a rush to get back to Spidey so I couldn't get closer, but I kind of love the way he looks there!

On the way back to my post:

Unfortunately, my handler duties prevented me from taking pictures DURING the parade. (Though we snuck a few, you can see them on the Marvel Trades blog that Nelson regularly updates here.) But here's Spidey being deflated almost immediately after we passed by Macy's...

Then they roll him up and everyone lays down on him to get the most helium out that they can.

After we were all done, I got to see some of the other balloons turn the corner on their way to deflation:

This is one of the Pokemon floats that followed the Pikachu balloon. I think its pretty. :)

Oh and this Macy's train. I am down with this. haha

All in all, it was a great time. It was about 6 hours from when I got to the hotel to get my costume to when I got back to take it off. Then I had to rush home and shower and drive out to my aunt's house for dinner. I'm AMAZED I didn't take a nap once there. I almost ALWAYS nap on Thankgiving. This time, when I've been awake since 4:30AM, I end up playing Scene It: Box Office Smash for XBox (I'm addicted to this game now) with my cousin's until 2AM! Ridiculous. But a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving. There's a good chance I'll volunteer again next year. :-P

The End.

Break for Funny Political Video

2010-11-02T11:55:00.001-04:00

Don't Ask Don't Tell is a huge pile of bullshit. Just another way to suppress the rights of people that OTHER people find "icky." I cannot believe this still exists. (You suck, McCain.) But then again, I can't believe there are actually laws that prevent gay people from getting married. Seriously?! Do you listen to yourselves?! You think it's OK to actually tell other people they do NOT deserve the same rights as you do!? That is UNBELIEVABLE. That is so far beyond arrogance. It'd be FUNNY if it wasn't so damaging. ARRRGHHH!

Anyway, funnyordie.com (love that site) has a great video up about this very issue! Watch and enjoy!

G.A.Y.S. (Guys Against You Serving) from Thomas Lennon

And while you're at it, check out Louis CK's comments on the gays...

Love that guy.

The End.

Busy Bee Part 2

2010-10-28T12:29:00.001-04:00

OK! SO! After getting home at 4AM, I was VERY lazy on Saturday and didn't make it to the convention until around 5PM. Yes. I spent a mere 2 HOURS at NYCC (not counting my booth shift on Friday) in total. I just went directly to Artist's Alley to hang out with friends and get a few sketches. I managed to get three from Katie Cook, Declun Shalvey & Leandro Fernandez (I don't have them scanned right now, but I'll post 'em eventually)!

After that a bunch of us went out for dinner. I forget the name of the place, but THIS is what I saw on the wall on the way out. Why?!?!?!?!?!

Saturday night was also the Marvel after-party, hosted by none other than the famous C.B. Cebulski! I was PLANNING on not staying out too late because I had to be up at 8AM to drive to Pennsylvania the next morning...but I should've known better. Here are the only pics from that night I will share...

Me, Jeph Loeb & Brea Grant!

And this is me with Scott Porter (of the famous Friday Night Lights that I have to watch soon)!

This guy decided around 2AM that we should turn the party into a karaoke party! It was a great idea. Everyone went nuts and had a fantastic time. I left AGAIN around 4AM, but this party was still going STRONG. Scott was a sweetheart and definitely helped turn this party up a notch. (Also, Brea was so adorable that night when she sang! haha)

So, as I mentioned I had to get up at 8AM the next morning. Which I managed to do (ok, 8:30!). And this is why. For the 8 weeks preceding this day, I had be VERY good about keeping up with the gym 2-3 times a week (a big deal for me as ever since I stopped kickboxing, I've been VERY lazy). What finally got me motivated? THE WARRIOR DASH!

What is the Warrior Dash, you ask? Well, it's an approx. 3 mile race complete with obstacle! There's climbing cargo ropes, schlepping through ICE FUCKING COLD WATER and over logs, climbing up muddy hills, crawling through mud under barbed wire, jumping over fire and MORE. So after 4 nights of drinking and being out late, and about 4 hours of sleep, I took a 3 hour drive to Quarryville, PA to compete in this.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect to win. Actual athletes will compete in this. My main goal was to a) FINISH it and b) NOT be the last of my group of friends. And in these two things I succeeded! WOOT!

Yeah, they give you a little finisher medal at the end which was pretty cool. The race was really fun. It would have been MORE fun had I properly prepared for it. I was out of breath JUST WAITING AT THE FINISH LINE. And the hardest part of the whole race was the RUNNING. I HATE running and my stamina is CRAP. Most of the obstacles were fairly easy to complete, but all the running throughout was ROUGH. Also, at about the second obstacle — climbing up and over these truck-like constructions — I jumped down off the second one and really hurt my leg, so I had to go through most of the race with THAT pain (which I'm JUST this week FINALLY getting over). But I made it through in 45 minutes! 7th out of my group of 16 friends! (Approx. 3800th out of 5111 people. haha) The best of us did it in 24 minutes (I have no idea how that's possible! :-P) and the last of us I THINK in like 58 minutes. Still pretty fucking impressive!

Throughout the race, Brightroom Photography was taking pictures of us, this is the only cool one of me that I found from the very end (I really wanted one crawling through the mud-pit under the barbed wire) but I'm not buying it b/c they are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Jerks. (Hence the copyright logo over it, it's just the preview so you can choose which to buy.)

Here's a great group shot someone took of us. So fun.

After the race, you get hosed down (though it only does so much) and a free beer. You can also buy more beer and food and stuff. It really is a lot of fun and we're already planning on doing it again next year. This time I WILL GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP!! :)

Oh and these were my poor knees at the end of it...

So, that being the ROUGHEST part of my crazy-busy month of October, there's still so much more to come! The following Tues, I finally went back to The Comic Book Club (a weekly, live talkshow about comics that's REALLY funny) since my friend Declun was a guest on it and I had been neglecting the show (I used to go very frequently). I LOVE the guys who run the show and since I hadn't been there in so long, I hung out afterwards with them AGAIN a little too late that I should've. Oh well. It was fun.

I then followed it up on Wednesday with a ladies night with some of my favourite ladies. We had a delicious meal at Josie's East with lots of girl talk. I actually made it home at a decent hour THIS time. The other thing to happen to me on Wednesday was my good pal Scott Adsit (who plays Pete Hornberger on 30 Rock) invited me and a friend to watch the 30 Rock live episode from the luxury of the SNL Green Room! I decided to bring Declun because I honestly can't think of a bigger fan of the show (and also because my poor little cousin who I originally asked was out of state and couldn't come).

So then on Thursday we went to the SNL studio (EEEEEE!!!!) and did just that! There was free pizza, sushi, wine, coffee and cookies in there. I saw Brian Williams in there (too nervous to talk to him, he's AWESOME) and watched the HILARIOUS east coast taping of the show on the many big screens they have there.

The guy who runs the 30 Rock twitter account took a pic of our group hanging out in the green room before the taping started and posted it on twitter:

Scott took us around for a tour of the set in between the east and the west coast tapings. We got to meet Tina Fey, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, John Lutz, Jack McBrayer, Bill Hader, Judah Friedlander and more. (I actually have met Tina, Bill & Judah before and they are super awesome.) We then took this awesome picture in front of their fake FOX news set:

Then we went back to the green room to await the west coast taping. We noticed that the screen where we watched the show was just showing the floor of the set (meaning the camera was just sitting on the floor). So when Scott left to go tape the next show, he found it and brought Rachel Dratch to say hello to us:

I have to say, it was pretty hilarious to see that in the room all of a sudden. haha I wonder what everyone else in there thought of that...

Anyway, the second taping was just as awesome as the first and included a couple of little differences that made it fun.

I got a couple more shots of the SNL studio before I left. Here's some retired costumes that are great. That's Church Lady in the middle who I LOVED when I was a kid:

In this very hall, I also met MATT DAMON!!!!!! Just a quick handshake and hello, but that was so cool. He's so awesome.

Part of the 30 Rock set being taken down at the end.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics from what followed but we ALSO went to the after party!!! Free booze, free cupcakes, mini hamburgers and other snack foods, and even free milkshakes!! I met Dot com and Tracy Morgan bumped into me. Talked to Jane Krakowski about the fatty milkshakes and stood there while Alec Baldwin talked to her right over my shoulder (it was very crowded). Had a great time hanging with Scott and his lovely lady Sandy, and also Christina Gausas who is such a doll! (She and Scott do a 2-person improv show at UCB theater called Adsit & Gausas. The next one is 11/10! GO!)

So, yet another late night home, but WELL worth it. I had such a great time and now Declun owes me for the rest of his life. haha I was so wiped out I just spent the entire weekend home playing Final Fantasy XIII, watching TV and knitting. I needed to replenish for the REST of October....

To be continued...

Busy Bee Part 1

2010-10-17T14:33:00.000-04:00

Holy crap! October has turned out to be the busiest month for me! The last two weeks have completely drained me (to the point of just sitting in my room knitting and watching TV this weekend)! And I've still got more to come!!!

OK, first, last Tuesday I went to see Sam Harris talk about his new book, "The Moral Landscape" at The Great Hall at Cooper Union. It was really interesting and I bought the book and had him sign it. His book is basically about the idea that morals CAN be determined by science. Obviously there's more to it than that, but you can just read the book. haha (I've only just started.)

(After the talk I walked over to Luke's Lobster again...holy jeez that shit is DELICIOUS!)

The next night, my super cool awesome pal, Brian Bendis took me to see "A Life in the Theater" by David Mamet, starring Patrick Stewart & T.R. Knight.

This play was great! Patrick Stewart was so great!! So adorable and funny! Funny thing about this play was that it was running in London when I was there in 2005. I really wanted to see it but the people I as traveling with didn't want to, so we didn't go. So it's really cool that I finally got to see it. Only problem is, instead of T.R., it was JOSHUA JACKSON! Whom I love. (WATCH FRINGE!!!) Ah well. If you like going to the theatre, I recommend this highly! This was also sort of the first night of comicon partying, so I went out after this to hang out with some of the creators that already made it to NYC. I tried to make it home at a semi-reasonable hour and left at around 12:30. However, what would normally have been a 40 minute trip home turned into a nightmare with the Q only going to 57th St. (after waiting 15 minutes for it), then waiting 10 more minutes for the N, which then only went to Queensboro Plaza (first stop in Queens) because of an investigation at the next stop. So then I had to take a shuttle bus home. Ugh! Took an hour and a half. Blerg. (Although I was very annoyed by this, I have to say, the MTA was crazy quick with getting those shuttle buses there, so I was very pleased about that.)

Anyway, the next night I went to City Winery to see Fran Healy (the lead singer from Travis) perform. Oh man, I love that guy!!

City Winery is a really cool place. I had a fancy cheese plate. Soooo gooood.

He was just so cute the entire time. He's awesome. And his new album is great. I'm hoping for a new Travis album too. They're definitely one of my favourite bands!!

I actually got to meet him last year (along with Andy Dunlop from the band) when they did this AWESOME show that was just the two of them going through their catalogue of songs throughout the years, talking about where they were as a band at the time and stories behind how some of the songs came about. It was one of the best shows I'd ever seen. And they hung around after to sell CDs & t-shirts and meet anyone who wanted to! They were total sweethearts and Fran actually took the picture of us with my phone:

Anyway, after that excellent performance, I booked it over to The Village Pourhouse (on Restaurant Row) for the CBLDF Comicon party. I had an awesome time there (helped by all my drinks being bought FOR me! hehe) hanging with all the comic peeps visiting, good friends new and old! As I had taken the day off on Friday, I had no problem staying out all night, I think I headed home around 3:30. I love walking through Time Sq. that late because it's the only time you see it empty. Freaks me out in a good way every time!

The big M&M screen is one of my favourite things in Times Square. :-P So awesome!

While I DID take off from the office on Friday, I actually had a 5-hour shift at the Marvel booth at the con. This ended up being the most time I spent at the actual convention (spent about 2 hours in artists' alley the next day, and that's it). I had a good time at the booth, the best part being the pictures with the Cap shield! :-)

After the con, my super cool awesome pal Joe took me to see the GORILLAZ!!!!! First we stopped over at 5 Guys Burgers & Fries for some delicious burgers (seriously, GO HERE). They have a little tack board where you can write/draw stuff and post it. This was my favourite one (only funny if you know about the terrible interenet sensation "Two Girls, One Cup" which I have never actually seen but have had described to me. I don't want to throw up...):

Anyway, the Gorillaz KICKED ASS!!!! They are touring with Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of the Clash! And they had special appearances by Mos Def & LOU FRIGGEN REED!!!

Snoop wasn't there, but they had a pre-recorded video of him on screen.

That's Lou Reed up front in the spotlight. I love the drawing of him they came up with.

So they basically had their videos playing up on that screen the whole time. It was pretty great. They were seriously amazing.

More good times drinking with Comicon peeps that night at The Irish Rogue. Ended up getting home probably around 4AM again, which meant I wasn't getting up until AT LEAST 12PM...

To be continued...

(Balloon) Training Day

2010-09-27T00:03:00.000-04:00

I'm going to be one of the balloon handlers for the Spider-Man balloon at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade! So today I had to go to a mandatory training session. Aside from having to be up at 7AM on a Sunday, it was kinda fun. It's pretty easy stuff, but I just had to learn the hand signals and stuff.

We practiced on the Super Grover balloon (I think Spidey is close in size, maybe bigger) which might be a retired balloon. But he's classic.

There was also this little practice balloon... it's a clown... but it's the creepiest fucking clown! WHY would this be a balloon!??! This definitely gave children nightmares!

I took a bit of video of it and added some music. Enjoy!

Looking forward to the parade for the first time ever! (I'm not a parade person, but being on the inside makes it more appealing. Mainly because I won't have to deal with crowds!)

The End.

I love Dawkins!!!

2010-09-20T18:52:00.000-04:00

Also, I didn't know you could "renounce" your baptism... I should look into that... Though my mom might have a heart attack...

The End.

Today is September the 11th

2010-09-11T12:49:00.000-04:00

I know everyone's got a story about this day; where they were, what they saw, how they heard, who they were worried for. Since today is the day and I'm thinking about it, and I recently read a friend's blog post about her experience and how it affected her, I figured I'd do what she called the "inevitable NY blog post."

So I WAS in Manhattan that day, but I was far from World Trade Center. I was in college, just started my final year at Fordham University in Lincoln Center (Google map it, you'll see, pretty far away). At this time I would have a night class on Monday night and a morning class on Tuesday mornings so I would crash at my friend's dorm room since I lived on Staten Island and it's a long commute. I remember that Monday morning on my ferry ride into Manhattan (which affords an AMAZING view of Manhattan), it was very foggy and the twin towers looked so cool because the fog made the tops of them disappear. I distinctly remember wishing I had had my camera because it was such a cool image. Ugh. I hate now especially hate that I didn't have my camera.

So Monday goes as normal and Tuesday morning I woke up a little earlier than usual, so I went to the school library to go online before class. My class was at 10AM, so I probably only got up around 9. Everyone in my friend's dorm was still asleep so I had no idea yet what happened. When I signed on to AIM, my friend immediately IMs me that two planes hit the towers. We went back and forth a few times while I thought he was just fucking with me. I seriously thought he was lying until I looked it up. I spent my remaining few minutes there with him messaging me everything he was seeing on the television before I went to class. The whole thing was swimming in my head, something completely unbelievable. Then I realised my mother worked right by there! As a kid I would go with her to visit her office sometimes and walk around that neighborhood at lunchtime looking up at the towers They made me dizzy because they were so tall and they looked like they would fall over. I'll never forget that.

So once I realised my mother was so close, I started frantically trying to call her to no avail. I could see everyone in the halls also trying to call others or talking with wide eyes. We were all waiting for the "classes are cancelled" announcements, but it didn't come right away, so we went to class. I remember my morning class was philosophy because I HATED that class and the teacher that I had. I remember being infuriated with him because the class was all riled up and he told us to stop and pay attention, that we were far away from the towers and were not in any danger. Seriously? Ugh.

The announcement came about 10 minutes later, though, and we ran outside and continued our frantic calls. I still could not get through to my mom so I finally called my dad and had also not heard from her yet. I didn't know what to do so I just went back to my friend's dorm room. Normally, you have to have someone come down and check you in to bring people in, but they just abandoned that and I just went right up to her room. We spent the rest of the day up there watching everything on television, huddled together under a blanket, sometimes crying, with me periodically trying to get through to my mom. I can't remember when I did, but I did and she was fine, but she was being told to stay in her building because of all smoke and ash and stuff. You know, I don't really remember much after that. Once I knew my mom was safe, I guess I kinda just checked out. Oh, I think I remember my friend putting on Spongebob to distract us, but we kept putting the news back on.

I'm pretty sure my mom made it home ok that night, I don't think she had to stay in her building over night. But there was no way for me to get downtown to the ferry because I couldn't get past the Trade Center. So I stayed over again. I remember being so desperate to just be back home and everything be normal. I remember walking to the train and spazzing out because it wasn't running downtown or something, calling my parents crying and just like "I WANT TO COME HOME!" So I took the train to Brooklyn instead and my parents were able to drive there and pick me up.

I know I don't have like the most terrifying story, I wasn't close enough to actually see anything and I (THANKFULLY) didn't lose anyone. But man was that scary. Especially because my mom was so close. I'm so lucky that I was around close friends and that my family was safe and that I was safe. Unfortunately it was no so for everyone. This was a fucked up thing that happened to us by some fucked up people. I just hate how some people use it to justify treating certain other people like shit. Don't let it do that to you and don't accept it when you see or hear others doing it.

I'll just end this by saying I absolutely LOVE this city. It's got is dirty, dark side that isn't so great, but there are so many wonderful things and wonderful people here, there's no other place I'd rather live. I'm lucky to have been born and raised here and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now I really wish the bureaucrats would get off their asses and rebuild Ground Zero!!!! (Personally, I think we should rebuild the towers exactly as they were. I thought it then and I think it now. Nothing would prove our strength more than that.)

The End.

San Diego Comicon 2010

2010-08-18T14:58:00.000-04:00

Finally! (Though I think I'm getting this one done a lot quicker than last year...) As you can see, we had Odin's throne at the Marvel booth this year. (If you don't know who Odin is, you need to brush up on your Norse mythology!! He's Thor's dad and in case you didn't know, Thor — the movie — is coming out next May, directed by KENNETH BRANAGH!!!!!) So that's me up there, wearing the InuYasha ears I picked up this year. (I buy some type of ears at nearly every con I go to. I need to stop.)

So, I was in LA for a few days prior to this (and I may post some pics from that portion of my trip as well). I drove down to San Diego in turned out to be a very fun "road trip" (I use the term loosely...it was under 3 hours...) with my friends Zane & Brea Grant (I met them LAST year at Comicon!) as well as new friend Vera!

We rushed over to the con for Zane & Brea's signing (they write a cool comic called We Will Bury You for IDW — check it out!). And THIS was the first thing I see as I near the convention center:

(I added the little titles. :-P) Really?! REALLY?! We need this at Comicon!? There was supposedly a big group of West Baptist asshats protesting on Friday — apparently we worship our comic book heroes as gods, when we should be worshipping god (cuz I'm sure all these fanboys think Superman created the WORLD) — but after I saw this, I figured that was enough for me. Those kids were just a few feet away from her. While I actually think "Fuck God" isn't the BEST way to go about showing how awful this woman is, they're hearts were in the right place and they had the balls and patience to stand there while awesomeness was just through the doors behind them!

Anyway, the NEXT thing I see is THIS and my spirits were immediately perked up! Go Optimus!!!

Here's Zane & Brea signing at the IDW booth, less than 30 minutes after we arrived in San Diego...
And one with my Hipstamatic app on my iPhone! Man I love that app, too bad my 3G is so frakkin' slow and can't handle it (oh man, I can't wait for my iPhone 4!!! My 30th birthday present!), so this is the only pic I took with it.

While at the IDW booth, I learned that The Last Unicorn, one of my favourite animated movies of all time (it's really good, watch it!) is being adapted into a comic! AND the guy who wrote the original novel, Peter S. Beagle, was based on was there signing!!!

He was SOOO sweet!! Talked to him for a little bit, got him to sign the first issue AND I picked up another novel he wrote and had him sign it. It's called Tamsin. I just started it and it's about a girl named Jennifer who lives in New York City and has a black cat!!! WHAT?!?!?! Too weird! AND she moves to England. Granted she doesn't WANT to, but I LOVE England! Coincidences freak me out. :-P

Anyway, the other really cool things that we had at the Marvel booth. Firstly...THESE:

Yep, that's Thor's, Odin's & Loki's helmets. I love how Odin's sorta combines the other two. Loki's looks crazy cool.

Then on Sunday they traded them out for the Captain America shield, which I missed (but I'm sure the internet has pics of it), then swapped that out even later for the Infinity Gauntlet!! So cool! And from a certain angle it caught the light and looked like it glowed!!

Also, at some point, they opened the doors behind the throne to show off the Destroyer!!!

But the best thing I think we had were the actors themselves!!! Here's Loki & Thor:

And Red Skull (ELROND!!) & Captain America!!

The guy playing Thor is Kirk's dad from the new Star Trek movie. He is a giant. And he is beautiful. O_o haha

So aside from Marvel, here's some other random cool things I came across:

This was outside the hotel across from the convention center. They usually have some crazy thing going on. I think last year it was a Heroes carnival thing. I have no idea what this was for, but it was cool.

Another thing outside that I don't know what it was for. Just on some lawn. haha I just liked it.

Technically Marvel, but not at OUR booth...I really rather like the Armored Adventures cartoon!

People dressed as Katamari!!!! Awesome! This was at a demonstration of this dance game. All weekend I walked past new costume people trying to dance. haha

Legos and Harry Potter! What's not to like! As soon as the Lego Harry Potter game is available cheap/used, I'll be playing that (unless it coincides with Fable III, nothing will keep me from Fable III).

A cool Star Wars toy set up over at the Hasbro booth...

Luke's in there!!

I think this was also at the Hasbro booth...sweet.

The Green Hornet car (which I later learned was called Black Beauty) with some hot chicks.

On Sunday night I saw them packing up the Ecto-1!!!!!! This was arguably the coolest thing I saw this weekend! Black Beauty is also in the truck. This drew quite a crowd so the crew put the lights and sounds on for us and it played the Ghostbusters music!!! So cool.

Stopped by Christina Strain & Adrian Alphona's table! One of my favourite colourists and one of my favourite artists! And awesome people! Christina put me & Adrian up in LA before the con this year! She rules!

The last day of the con I saw a ton of these AWESOME fox hat/tail sets. I eventually asked someone where they got them and apparently it was a raffle or something, then she told me where I could buy them online and I forgot. So if you know, PLEASE TELL ME. (Or better yet, buy me one! haha :-P) That dude looks suspicious of my picture-taking...

The other super cool thing at the con was the Walking Dead booth where they had a set up to take pictures in. VERY cool. I can't wait for this show, the comic is so awesome. (Don't tell Kirkman I said that!)

They had like movie screens behind the windows showing zombies walking up. Creepy!

So here are my pics on this set. I'm not sure my photo-acting skills came through, so I added balloons. hehe (I love working in comics!!!)

(Interesting fact, I heard they had "God Forgive Us" written there for preview night but were "compelled" to change it after that. Ridiculous, but not surprising.)

Buffy fans should remember the line in the balloon I added here:

And a pretty famous horror line...

The girl taking the picture told me to lean in to get a close up with this guy. I had to do SOMETHING. ;-)

Outside at Tin Fish, a zombie waits for her lunch...

I think my favourite night at the con was Friday night at the Marvel party. I had such a good time with some of my favourite people in comics. Also, we had a visit from this cutie pie:

The sweetheart that he is, he offered to call my mom (who is a huge Heroes fan) and leave her a message (it was like 3 in the morning in NYC). Needless to say, my mom was thrilled. Better than any silly souvenir I could've gotten!

After the party we made a pit stop at the Subway near there, the only place open 24 hours! Clearly this was also a lot of fun! I tried to take the picture myself...

Then someone offered to do it for me! ;-) That's Lee Douhig in the bag and someone I can't remember, Gerry Duggan & CB Cebulski with me in the front! All great dudes!!!

Had to get a 2010 pic with Brea. We swapped hair lengths from last year!! haha (And we both changed our colours!)

I semi-stalked Steve Niles. If you follow us on twitter you may have seen me threatening to run him off the road as we were both driving to LA at the same time. I'd assumed at that time that I'd actually be able to hang out with him, but this right here is the only time I ended up seeing him at the convention. And he didn't see me. I sent him this picture and stood there waiting to get it for a minute or two before giving up and walking away. I didn't wanna skip all the people waiting in line to meet him and I figured I'd run into him later. Oh well. There's always New York Comicon!!

Gotta get a pic wearing Lee's hat every year now! :-P

I didn't spend the entire time at the con, I walked around a little bit (at one point going on my own private scavenger hunt for Space Invader pieces which I will blog about later). Here's some stuff around town I liked:

I love old run down building signs like this!

And I also like new, modern, cool signs like this! I saw this and wondered what this store could be for:

Then I saw this on the door. How silly of me! Of COURSE it is!

This mural was on the way between my hotel and the con. Cool, huh?

View from the hall window at my hotel.

Some really pretty walkway near my hotel!

Anyway, back to the con. On the last day this chick came by to take pics on the throne. I thought her Imperial Forces costume was SO COOL (and she's VERY pretty), so I took these pics. My co-worker emails me a few days after I get back telling me this is Adrianne Curry, first "Next Top Model" winner and wife of Peter Brady! She also posted pics of herself at this con! I didn't even know who she was. I like that she's a geek!

Then there was the breakdown. I always love watching this. It's kinda sad, but in a cool way...if that makes sense...

I'm sure I missed some cool parts, but without photographic evidence, I probably forgot. Thanks for sticking with this post if you got the whole way through. If you made it this far, here's a treat for you!

On Sunday night, I walked behind these INCREDIBLY drunk ladies on the way to meet up with Marvel peeps. I couldn't help but take a picture. YOU would have to, don't lie. ;-)

Soon I'll post about Space Invaders and possibly some LA pics too! (Then I have to go back and post about some other things I'm still pissed I never posted! ARRGHH!

Later, peeps!

The End.

An Epic Epic of Epicness It Was!

2010-08-13T18:52:00.000-04:00

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD!!!!

Seriously YES! If you haven't read the books, YOU MUST! Go! Go get them NOW! YOU WILL LOVE SCOTT PILGRIM!

But whether you have or not, you will enjoy this movie if you are a fan of fun (and DEFINITELY if you are — or ever were — a fan of video games.) I had a GREAT time with this movie! It's got laughs, loves & action! And definitely managed to capture the heart of this comic (unlike SOME adaptations I know...sigh...) There's awesome comic and video game type effects throughout! All the kids do an excellent job! I was a little worried Michael Cera would just be Michael Cera, but he actually did a great Scott! (Still hate his hair though...haha) Young Neil & Wallace were my favourites (I've always been a fan of Keiran Culkin!). Knives kicked ass and so did our Todd (played by SUPERMAN) & Lucas Lee (our very own, CAPTAIN AMERICA)! I also really loved Roxy! The chick from Parenthood (Mae Whitman) was PERFECT in that role! (::sigh:: I LOVE Parenthood...) So yeah, this movie comes HIGHLY recommended. I can't wait to see it again!!!!

Oh and here's how I went to see the midnight screening. Dressed in full nerd gear. Ramona t-shirt, a replica of Ramona's bag (thanks Etsy!) & the Ramona & Scott rubber bracelets I got from Comicon (excellent idea Oni!)!

The End.

I Am Lucky

2010-08-08T19:28:00.002-04:00

To have a very loving and supportive family. While I know none of them are HAPPY I'm atheist, I never have to deal with this...well...just DISGUSTING behaviour. I fell bad for this girl and others like her. While I did have a tiny bit of brainwashing to break through, I'm pretty lucky that religion didn't...TAKE OVER in my life. It's kind of a background thing. My family still loves me just the same and for that I will be forever grateful.

If you don't know what some atheist go through when "coming out" please read this. And THIS is actually NOTHING compared to some other people around the world! It's sad.

http://atheistexperience.blogspot.com/2010/08/coming-out.html

Oh, that reminds me of this video. I can't even IMAGINE someone in my family acting this way.

hahaha Like Christmas gifts will make you believe in god! And if god were real, he'd be able to tell that the only reason this kid SAYS he believes is because he wants gifts!! I'd think god would be even MORE pissed about that!! haha

The End.

It Was a Good Night

2010-08-06T09:17:00.000-04:00

Quick post about last night: It was good.

haha No, that's not all, I just want to plug a few places I frequented last night!

Had a DELICIOUS (but kinda expensive for a little bit, but mine was a birthday gift! hehe) lobster roll from Luke's Lobster. I went to the one on 7th St., but there's one uptown too. I suppose it IS lobster & that's like the go-to rich person's food, so it being expensive makes sense. It was REALLY good, though.

Had a nice pitcher of Brooklyn Lager over at Grassroots Tavern on St. Marks. (No, not by myself!) I really like this place, not too crowded & fairly cheap. Cash only though! Annoying! Be prepared!

Then on the way back to the train I passed the best thing ever! (Actually I passed it GOING to Luke's and thought it smelled delicious, and was just what I needed after lobster & beer...) It's a food truck called Wafels & Dinges! They serve waffles with dinges. haha ("Dinges" is Belgian for "toppings" apparently.) SO DELICIOUS. I got like a waffle ice cream sandwich. (I can't see it on the menu on the website...) It was two crispy waffles (like a cone, but better) with vanilla ice cream in between. And you can pick your dinge to go on it. I had the Spekuloos spread that was recommended. It's like a gingerbread flavour. REALLY good.

Seriously, this shit was amazing. I just had to share. I tell you what, New York City frakkin' RULES!

The End.

I Am Thirty

2010-08-03T13:39:00.000-04:00

I keep saying it, hoping it will stop being scary. It doesn't.

haha I guess it's not so much that I feel OLD as that I'm that much closer to it being over! I know, I know, I have plenty of time (barring a terrible accident, which I like to avoid), but still. THIRTY YEARS HAVE PASSED. And it's not like it FELT like thirty years! I'm not like at this stage thinking, "Whoa, that took FOREVER, man, I got so many more of these years to get through!" That shit FLEW! It's crazy!

I know I'm not the only person in the world to think like this, I'm sure pretty much EVERYONE does. But that doesn't change the scariness for ME. ::sigh::

And yes, part of the scariness is that when it's over, THERE'S NOTHING. It's scary! It's impossible to imaging non-existence, which freaks me out! And before any of you religious-types says some dumbass thing about being right or whatever, here's this: Just because I'd LIKE there to be an after life (though, even that I'm not sure I want, all possible outcomes are kinda scary), that doesn't mean there IS one.

I think that's what's going on with a lot of religious people (I'm saying most or anything, but I know they're out there). They WANT there to be an afterlife, religion COMFORTS them, so they refuse to REALLY think about it for fear of convincing themselves it's not true. But I can't TRICK myself. I can't FORCE myself to believe something I don't. It's literally impossible! And if there WAS a god, wouldn't he be able to TELL that I was faking anyway??

So I guess that's kinda more why I'm scared of being 30. That's thirty years of a relatively short existence GONE. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty happy where I've gotten myself in those thirty years. I don't think I've not done something by now that I should have. (Luckily I have ZERO desire for children, otherwise I'd be freaking out about THAT too.) I mean, I'd like to have more money and have been able to see more places in the world, but I've still got time for that.

I think this is also why I pack my days full of stuff to the point of exhaustion. I just don't want to waste what little time I have! I don't want to miss out on anything! I don't want to miss out on meeting amazing people and making new friends and doing fun things with all of them. Sure I'm tired all the time, but it's worth it. Though I'd really like some more time to just go home and play video games!! Too bad I have to work! ;-) But I am lucky to enjoy that as well. I'm relatively happy and that's a good thing. But...THIRTY! I seriously can't believe it!

Ah well...that ends THAT rant. Stay tuned for my SDCC post coming soon!

The End.

The Bendis Board is Full of Nice!

2010-07-29T17:42:00.002-04:00

If you don't know, I frequent the Jinxworld Brian Michael Bendis Mess age Board a lot (admittedly, not as much since twitter happened...). It's a great message board, mainly about comics, but which discusses many other things as well. And it's full of awesome people. It's a community of fans and friends and I love it and the people on it. (Well most of 'em... haha) (Yeah, I'm talking about YOU, McKeever!) ;-)

Anyway, a bunch of these fantastic peeps did a very nice thing for me and put together a beautiful book of drawings for my 30th birthday (yes, it's coming very soon...). Coordinated buy The Cable Guy, he gave me this fantastic book at the San Diego Comic Con this past weekend (which I will post about very soon, promise!).

I would like to share these with you here:

Dazzler by Chris Burke...

Rogue (hehe with Lockheed peekin'!) by Andrew Huerta...

Marvel Girl by Aaron Bir...

Rogue by Brent Peeples...

Spider-Woman by Andy Kuhn...

I remember this following one! Pat Loika! My buddy who is forever helping me out!! Thanks!!!

I also know this one! My good friend and pain-in-the-ass, David Mack!

Storm by Brian Defferding...

And of course, he knew to go to one of my favourite people ever for one! Chris "G-Man" Giarrusso!

And last but not least, this kick-ass Rogue (w/Gambit! <3) Jeremy Dale...

You can tell they know me by their character choices! ;-)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

The End.

Fuck you, M. Night

2010-07-09T18:19:00.001-04:00

Seriously. Fuck you. I’m done with you. I had your back with The Village, I actually REALLY liked that one. I was on your side with Lady in the Water. I said, “You know what? This was a little different than the other movies. So what? It was still entertaining.” I even thought The Happening wasn’t terrible. I enjoyed it. I didn’t think it was GREAT, like Sixth Sense or Unbreakable, but I still had a fun time watching it.

But The Last Airbender? Holy wow. This movie was AWFUL.

I know there have been a shit-ton of bad reviews. I didn’t actually READ them, but I’d heard said that it lacked the emotion and humour of the animated series. Man, that’s an UNDERSTATEMENT. I went into this movie WANTING to like it. PREPARED to give it more chances than many other have. I’ve often seen movies and enjoyed them (to some degree) regardless of the feelings of the general public, so I thought, “Maybe I won’t LOVE this, but I bet I’ll at least like it somewhat!” No such luck.

Be prepared, there are be spoilers ahead…

First off, and now I know this doesn’t affect story at all, but it is REALLY annoying and completely pulls you out of the story for anyone who was a fan of the cartoon, but for some unknown, DUMB reason, M. Night has changed the pronunciation of a bunch of names!! Aang is now pronounced “Ah-ng,” Avatar is “Ah-vah-tar,” Sokka is the WORST, pronounced “Soak-ah” — ugh, it makes me shudder just THINKING about it — Iroh is “Ee-roh”…I think that’s it, except for, no joke, someone says “Yin & Yang” and pronounces it “Yin & Yah-ng”!!! What the fuck?!?! WHY?!?! It’s not like you’re adapting the movie from a book where no one has said these names out loud! What POSSIBLE reason can there be for this?!!? Arrrghhh!! Made me so angry and annoyed the whole time. And SOAK-AH just sounds stupid.

Secondly, the acting. Ohmygod, TERRIBLE. Just AWFUL. Reminds me of the terrible acting in Twilight. Only I care less about THOSE movies. Everyone is just so fucking STIFF! Yeah, dude from Twilight, you are JUST as bad in this as you are in those!

Third, yes, NO emotion, NO humour. There’s like ONE joke and it’s so poorly delivered, no one laughs. And honestly, if I hadn’t seen the cartoon I wouldn’t have given a rat’s ass about any of these characters. That’s the BEST thing about the cartoon! You REALLY start to care about them! Not so in this. Not at all.

And holy CRAP, don’t get me started on the bending!! Jeebus! It took them FOREVER to bend! In the time it took them to bend something, they could have been punched in the face! There was like ONE scene with Aang doing some super-cool QUICK bending. Oh, and get this, the fire nation can’t CREATE fire in this version! They can only manipulate it! (Now a friend of mine says he never liked that about the cartoon since none of the other benders could create their elements, BUT, I think it’s a nice trade-off since fire doesn’t exist on it’s own like water, air & earth do. But either way, just stick to the fucking show!)

Zuko! Holy Christ! If you thought he whined too much about his dad on the cartoon! This kid is the WORST! And he’s not bad-ass enough! In season 1, that kid was an a-hole! This one’s a little bitch!

The ONLY thing it had going for it was that Appa & Momo are still adorable. But they’re BARELY in it and completely useless. The scenery was gorgeous, and the few times they DID bend, it was kinda cool. Oh, and the characters LOOKED the part OK. Except for the Fire Lord who was oh-so-NOT-AT-ALL-SCARY. Sigh.

Man, the PACING on this thing was awful too! It’s so rushed! I know it’s a lot to fit in a movie, but it CAN be done! Some shit can be cut out, like the Blue Spirit bit where he rescues Aang. Leave that out, so you can flesh out the story more. SOMEthing! Like, the kids leave the water tribe and then they’re just in the Earth kingdom helping an occupied section. No discussion, nothing. Ugh. It was just so weird. But really, the acting man. Just terrible. I don’t get it.

So, I’m basically saying, “don’t bother.” I mean, I know if you’re as big a fan of the cartoon as I am, you’ll still want to see for yourself. But be prepared. I THOUGHT I was prepared. I wasn’t. This was one of the worst adaptations of something I liked that I’ve ever seen. Serisouly. Worse than Eragon. Simply awful. Which is so depressing.

You know, the whole time, I’m thinking, “Man, Peter Jackson would have made this shit AWESOME."

The End.

Just go buy the real thing:

Oops...I Did it Again...

2010-07-07T09:46:00.000-04:00

I fucked with my head! haha

So far, I'm loving it. I'll be honest, I wasn't very happy with my hair the last time I did it. I liked it some days...but I just don't think my hair works well that short. So I'm growing it. In the meantime, it's black now.

1) I honestly think this looks soooo much better.
2) It's cheaper and easier to maintain.
3) It's actually going to be better for my hair. Constant bleaching is what killed my hair to the point of having to cut it all off in the first place!
4) I still have a little bit of colour in the front. There's blue there, it's just really dark. It'll lighten up after a few washes. And I can always dye that front bit different colours. (So SOME of my hair will still be getting bleached...)

I feel better now. Hopefully it'll start growing quicker. My hairstylist (who's awesome! Lemme know if you need one and you live in NYC, she's great!) says the summer is when your hair grows faster because the heat opens up your pores. Dunno if that's true, but here's hopin'!

Anyway, just sharing, as usual. And also as usual, I'm going to promise to post some more stuff more often! I swear I will! At the very least, I'm going to California next week so when I get back I'm sure I'll have a shitload of stuff to share!

Aaahh...THERE'S that blue! Just needed a little light!
;-)

The End.

We Got Dicks Like Jesus!

2010-06-24T01:16:00.000-04:00

I love this fucking song. Thanks to my pal, Shizzie, for hookin' a sister up with this. Every time it pops up on my shuffle, it makes me laugh. Awesome. Enjoy!

Here're the lyrics!

My dick cost a late night fee
Your dick got the HIV
My dick plays on the double feature screen
Your dick went straight to DVD

My dick - bigger than a bridge
Your dick look like a little kid's
My dick - large like the Chargers, the whole team
Your shit look like you fourteen

My dick - locked in a cage, right
Your dick suffer from stage fright
My dick - so hot, it's stolen
Your dick look like Gary Coleman

My dick - pink and big
Your dick stinks like shit
My dick got a Caesar do,
Your dick needs a tweezer, dude

My dick is like super size
Your dick look like two fries
My dick - more mass than the Earth
Your dick - half staff, it needs work

My dick - been there done that
Your dick sits there with dunce cap
My dick - V.I.P.
Your shit needs I.D.

It's time that we let the world know
Dude, you gotta let your girl go
D.S. is the best in the business
P.S. we got dicks like Jesus

It's time that we let the world know
Dude, you gotta let your girl go
D.S. is the best in the business
P.S. we got dicks like Jesus

My dick need no introduction
Your dick don't even function
My dick served a whole lunch -in
Your dick - it look like a munchkin

My dick - size of a pumpkin
Your dick look like Macaulay Culkin
My dick - good good lovin'
Your dick - good for nothin'

My dick bench pressed 350
Your dick couldn't shoplift at Thrifty
My dick - pretty damn skippy
Your dick - hungry as a hippie

My dick don't fit down the chimney
Your dick is like a kid from the Philippines
My dick is like an M16
Your dick - broken vending machine

My dick parts the seas
Your dick farts and queefs
My dick - rumble in the jungle
Your dick got touched by your uncle

My dick goes to yoga
Your dick - fruit roll -up
My dick - grade -A beef
Your dick - Mayday geek

My dick - sick and dangerous
Your dick - quick and painless
My dick - 'nuff said.
Your dick loves Fred

It's time that we let the world know
Dude, you gotta let your girl go
D.S. is the best in the business
P.S. we got dicks like Jesus

It's time that we let the world know
Dude, you gotta let your girl go
D.S. is the best in the business
P.S. we got dicks like Jesus

HAHAHA "We got dicks like Jesus" is frakkin' GREAT! :-P

The End.

Lorelai Gilmore, How I Wish She Were Real

2010-06-10T13:57:00.000-04:00

And my friend. I love this woman. haha

My co-worker is currently watching the Gilmore Girls series with his girlfriend and he said to me today "So we saw the 'culs-de-sac episode.'" This is how much I loved this bit in that show. It was YEARS ago but I guess I talked about it so much, he remembered how much I loved it. It was the opener to one of the Season 4 episodes and it had me laughing so hard I almost peed. And just reading the transcript of that bit nearly did it to me again.

This also shows more of my nerdiness as it's frakkin' GRAMMAR humour! I present this to you now, enjoy...

RORY: It’s culs-de-sac.

LORELAI: No way!

RORY: It is.

LORELAI: The plural of cul-de-sac is culs-de-sac?

RORY: Yes.

LORELAI: That doesn’t even sound like English.

RORY: That’s because it’s French.

LORELAI: You know what I mean.

RORY: I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

LORELAI: Words should sound right to be right.

RORY: That’s not how it works.

LORELAI: So, what, the plural of yo-yo is yos-yo?

RORY: Yeah, ’cause that sounds so natural.

LORELAI: As natural as culs-de-sac.

LORELAI: Hey, Luke.

LUKE: Look at this.

LORELAI: Who, Lane? She’s super waitress, able to leap tall pancakes in a single bound. Or is that pans-cake?

RORY: Very funny.

LUKE: It’s not gonna work out.

LORELAI: Oh. What, she’s so good.

LUKE: She’s too good.

LORELAI: Oh, calm down.

LUKE: When there was a lull, she cleaned the menus without being asked.

LORELAI: Do you mean mens-u?

RORY: Stop it.

LORELAI: So, now, why do you have to get back to campus so early? Classes don’t start for a couple of days.

RORY: Yeah, I have a lot of stuff to do. And it’ll be nice and quiet with no roommates around.

LORELAI: Where are the rooms-mate?

RORY: Um, Janet’s mountain climbing, Tanna’s home, and Paris went skiing with her boyfriend.

LORELAI: So you’re just ignoring the plural thing now?

RORY: Yeah.

LORELAI: Boy, maybe this Lane/Luke team isn’t gonna work out.

RORY: Yeah.

LORELAI: Where do you think Luke will go?

RORY: I don’t know. Maybe a big chain will take him on.

LORELAI: I wonder if he has a forklift license.

RORY: He could redeem recyclables.

LORELAI: You mean recycs-able?

LORELAI: So everyone in the entire world knew the plural of cul-de-sac was culs-de-sac?

RICHARD: Yes.

LORELAI: Okay. So Mariah Carey is out with some friends and she’s had a couple cocktails, she glances down from the roof and says, “Oh, look at all those culs-de-sac.”

RORY: Why are they on the roof?

LORELAI: It’s a rooftop bar.

RICHARD: How have you been saying it?

LORELAI: Cul-de-sacs.

RICHARD: And no one ever corrected you?

LORELAI: No, because that’s the way it should be. Even if it isn’t technically correct, it should be pronounced that way.

RORY: Mom, Mom, just let it go.

LORELAI: I will never let this go.

I NEVER forgot "pans-cake" and "recycs-able." Fucking hilarious. I only wish Rory told her about "passersby" b/c that always annoyed me and would have blown her mind! haha (Not that "passerbys" sounds much better.) Seriously, I would love to have conversations like this all the time. I need the Weird Science kids to make me a Lorelai to hang out with. ... But then...if they COULD...would she REALLY be the first person I would have them make me...? ;-)

The End.

PS I also totally love Lauren Graham as Sarah Braverman on Parenthood. Which is a totally amazing show that everyone should watch. I've seen like 10 or so episodes and EVERY SINGLE one has at least made me tear up, if not cry. So good!!!

Oxymoron

2010-06-05T10:49:00.000-04:00

Emphasis on the "moron." ;-)

Saw this downtown while walking with a friend. Just had to share... hahaha Pfft. "Science"!

The End.

Sketchbook Series #8

2010-06-03T17:36:00.000-04:00

I've been lazy. Well not REALLY lazy, just blog lazy. Which is probably because my ACTUAL life has been the complete OPPOSITE of lazy! Too busy! Blerg! No excuse, I know. Well, since I haven't posted in awhile and all the stuff I WANT to post is going to take too long right now, here's a filler sketchbook post! I haven't done one in awhile (they seem to be my go-to filler posts, but they have pretty art!), so here you go! This is by the super cool Chris Giarrusso! I chose to use his today because yesterday we enjoyed awesome milkshakes together! (He chocolate, me vanilla w/banana.)

I'll explain this a little. Not too complicated. That's meant to be me & Lockheed (it was drawn like 2 years ago, hence the long hair). Everyone knows I love Lockheed. Well, if you didn't, you do now. So yep, that's me loving Lockheed, and him loving me right back. ::sigh:: Oh and the little faces are a sort of inside joke from back in the day when Chris worked in the Marvel bullpen, basically relating my mood to my hair colour at the time. ;-)

If you don't know Chris Giarrusso and his awesome work, then you are living under a rock and you need to go buy his books now!!!! They rule!

The End.

I ♥ Google ... Again

2010-05-21T11:49:00.000-04:00

So awhile back I posted about how awesome Google is. Well, they've done it again! Go check out the Google homepage to see their awesome tribute to Pac-Man's 30th Anniversary! LOOK! How cool is this?!

But that's not even the best part. The best part? If you click Insert Coin, it actually becomes playable!!! YOU CAN PLAY PAC-MAN ON THEIR FRAKKIN' LOGO!!!! Too awesome.

Thank you, Google. I love you.

The End.

Update! Gedrges over on twitter let me know of a cool tip! Click Insert Coin twice (insert 2 coins) and a friend can play along with you as Ms. Pac-Man! (The keys for Ms. are like W,A,S,Z or something, as opposed to the arrows for Pac-Man.)

My New Love: Banksy

2010-05-14T14:03:00.000-04:00

How cool is that?! I've seen his stuff online before — friends of mine directing me to find it — but I never really looked into anything about him or his art. After seeing Exit Through The Gift Shop last night, however, I'm hooked! Banksy is a street artist. And until now I never really knew anything about this amazing movement.

Street artists are AMAZING. And Banksy is like their king. haha Well, not really, but he seems to be the most famous one. One of the really cool — and also really frustrating as a fan — thing about Bansky and other street artists, is that the art isn't permanent!!

Many of these images are gone! Especially ones done in controversial places. On his website, he posts a notice from like the parks department over at Alcatraz asking that people not deface their parks with graffitti, saying they're not there "to argue about whether or not this is artwork." What I find interesting though, is them directing you to see the "historic graffitti from the Indian Occupation." Though if guys like them weren't around back then, there wouldn't be any to look at. In 100 years, maybe Banksy graffitti will be protected somewhere. Let's hope so.

I mean, personally, I'm not a fan of "tagging." To me, it's just ugly scribbles stupid kids feel the need to draw so people notice them. Political graffitti, or just plain artwork, can be fantastic, however. Obviously, someone might not want it on their houses, but some commercial walls are improved with stuff like this! :-) Part of me hates that it's often cleaned off or that I can't own a Banksy original (or even reproductios — he doesn't do 'em), but on the other hand, it really just adds to it's specialness (is that a word? ;-P).

I guess I can settle for just looking at these pictures...

Oh yeah, he's British. Did I mention that? ;-) heh Just adds to his appeal. I wonder if he's hot... In my imagination, he ABSOLUTELY is. ;-P

In any case, Exit Through the Gift Shop is actually NOT a movie ABOUT Banksy. As he tells you at the very start of the film, it's a documentary about a guy who was trying to make a documarty about Banksy, but Banksy thinks his story was way more interesting.

But there's plenty in it about these street artists which has sparked a new interest for me to obsess over. And it's pretty fucking funny too. Here's the trailer:

Oh and check this out? Recognise this?

It's the cover to Blur's album Think Tank!! I love Blur...and I never knew. Ugh. I actually I think I have some special version of this CD with a different cover. Booooo...

So now I'm going to be scouring every wall as I walk around. If I ever come across a Banksy original, I might just pee my pants from excitement!

The End.

PS One of the other artists mentioned in the movie is Space Invader, who I also love. And I SWEAR I've seen one of his little dudes on a building along the West Side Highway. Every time I saw it, it drove me nuts because I didn't know why it was there! I thought it was maybe part of a sign for a store that closed down. If it's his, it would make me SO happy. :-)

IRON MAN 2!!! Hell. Yes.

2010-05-10T15:53:00.000-04:00

So, now you've all had a chance to see Iron Man 2 (what!? You didn't see it opening weekend?! Are you feeling ok?!?!), tell me what you think! Personally, I LOVED it! OK, I still think I like the first one better, but this was a damn good sequel (and I was even more excited with the extra-after-the-credits scene in this one — I hope you stayed to watch it!)!

My minor problems with it (which didn't deter from my enjoyment)... SPOILERZ AHEAD!

First, I know the general public laps this shit up (and I know it was also to help sell costumes) but I HATED the scene with the little kid thinking he's going to blow up the robot. Sure Iron Man notices that one little kid in all that mayhem and saves him with time to comment. Fuck all the other people.
Second, I didn't like that Whiplash just became Iron Monger (Obediah from the first movie) at the end. And also that he would remove his helmet/face plate IN THE MIDDLE of the fight.
I would have liked it if Natasha had more of an important role.
Didn't love Sam Jackson playing himself when he should have been playing Nick Fury.
While Don Cheadle did I a good job, I would've liked having Terrance Howard back more. Plus Howard is better looking. ;-P

There may have been something else, but clearly nothing too important as I don't recall it now!

What I especially liked about the movie:

Pepper Potts RULED.
Loved the Iron Man/War Machine banter throughout.
LOVED the suitcase suit!
Robert Downey Jr. killed it AGAIN.
I love Agent Coulson.
As previously mentioned, the extra scene.
The Hammer/Stark rivalry.
Oh man. Black Widow. ::drool::

Seriously. She was so hot in this and there's nothing I love more than a hot chick KICKING ASS!

Go see it if you haven't! And check out this kick-ass art book my department put out for it!

And if you didn't get the first one, it's now out in paperback!

The End.

I ♥ Tim Minchin!!! He's My Hero!

2010-04-29T23:50:00.000-04:00

THIS is Tim Minchin.

He's like a comedic musician. I don't know TOO much about him yet, but you can bet I'm going to become an expert. I will be ordering his comedy albums very shortly. But he's obviously very smart. haha And I agree with his ideas. And he's an atheist. I love him.

But the reason for this post right now is due to this video on youtube. This gem is only the most recent wonderfulness I've found from the fantastic Tim Minchin:

How fucking awesome is that!? Man, I want a fucking MP3! So genius. And SO RIGHT! FUCK THE FUCKING POPE! Covering up child rape?! Are you fucking kidding me!? All the "good little Catholics" should be up in arms about this! They should be fucking pissed that it gives them such a bad name! ARGH... OK I'm going off topic...back to Minchin.

The first thing I ever found of his was this (also awesome, though not quite as serious a topic as the above):

If you don't love these, then I have no idea why you even bother to read this blog. ;-)

Hope you enjoy!

The End.

PS OK, you got me. I am also very, very attracted to his accent. Hrrrrrrr...... ;-)

PPS Buy his stuff! I'm sure going to!

PPPS The guy responsible for the animation in the fucking pope song, is Fraser Davidson, who is apparently really fucking talented!! See here:

EDIT: Here's the Pope Song lyrics! (Just in case you miss a few words - or you want to memorise them like I do! haha)

Fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker he’s a fucking motherfucker!
Fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the fucking fucker
Fuck the motherfucker he’s a total fucking fucker!
Fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fucking fuck the motherfucker!
Fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucking Pope!
Fuck the motherfucker, and fuck you, motherfucker
If you think that motherfucker is sacred.
If you cover for another motherfucker who’s a kiddy fucker
Fuck you, you’re no better than the motherfucking rapist.
And if you don’t like the swearing that this motherfucker forced from me
And reckon it shows moral or intellectual paucity
Then fuck you, motherfucker, this is language one employs
When one is fucking cross about fuckers fucking boys.
I don’t give a fuck if calling the Pope a motherfucker
Means you unthinkingly brand me an unthinking apostate.
This has nowt to do with other fucking godly motherfuckers
I’m not interested right now in fucking scriptural debate.
There are other fucking songs and there are other fucking ways
I’ll be a religious apologist on other fucking days.
But the fact remains that if you protect a single kiddy fucker
Then Pope or prince or plumber, you’re a fucking motherfucker!
You see I don’t give a fuck what any other motherfucker
Believes about Jesus and his motherfucking mother.
I’ve no problem with the spiritual beliefs of all these fuckers
While those beliefs don’t impact on the happiness of others.
But if you build your church on claims of fucking moral authority
And with threats of hell impose it on others in society
Then you, you motherfuckers, can expect some motherfucking wrath
When it turns out you’ve been fucking us in our motherfucking asses!
So fuck the motherfucker, and fuck you, motherfucker
If you’re still a motherfucking papist.
If he covered for a single motherfucker who’s a kiddy fucker
Fuck the motherfucker, he’s as evil as the rapist.
And if you look into your motherfucking heart and tell me true
If this motherfucking stupid fucking song offended you
With its filthy fucking language and its fucking disrespect
If it made you feel angry, go ahead and write a letter.
But if you find me more offensive than the fucking possibility
The Pope protected priests when they were getting fucking fiddly
Then listen to me motherfucker, this here is a fact:
You are just as morally misguided as that motherfucking power-hungry, self-aggrandised
Bigot in his stupid fucking hat.

KiCK-ASS: The Movie!!!!

2010-04-26T22:42:00.000-04:00

OK, so I finally saw Kick-Ass last week and I LOVED IT!!!! And I'm not just saying that because Marvel published the book or because I'm friends with the awesome dudes that created it! I swear!

There were certainly some changes in the story, but I think they made for a better movie. Some things work better in a comic or book than they do on the big screen. Especially when you're shooting for a wider audience.

Well anyway! It was so much fun! "Super" heroes, VIOLENCE & cussing! What more does one need! The kid who plays Dave "Kick-Ass" Lizewski does a pretty good job. But the star of the show, in my opinion...

Holy shit. That girl is so fucking awesome. I mean, I loved her in the comic, but she's even more KICK-ASS (har har) in live action! Holy balls! I want to be her so bad. And be her I shall. Last year, while watching Star Trek I decided I would be a Starfleet chick and such has happened this time. I'm SO going to be Hit Girl. Though I have to say, just doing a quick search does not yield very good results on costume bits. The wig will probably be the only easy part. And I think I can make her belt. We shall see.

And I have to say, Nick Cage? Not so bad! He was actually kinda funny at times! Far cry from his role in Ghos...um...nevermind! Nick Cage rules! haha OK, not really, but I didn't hate him in this.

So if you've had any reservations on this, ignore them! hehe It really is a lot of fun. Especially if you like violence. Watching a 12 year old slicing & dicing in a purple wig is surprisingly fulfilling. haha Well not that surprising for me, as I'm not a fan of ze childrens. THIS is a child I could love. ;-)

AND if you like to read the series...well...what's stopping you!

And check out the cool "making of" book too!

The End.

SNL Does It Again!!!

2010-04-18T23:37:00.001-04:00

All I have to say here, is WATCH THIS!:

If you don't know why this is great, THIS is why! How frakkin' RETARDED (I said it again, Palin) is this?!??!!?

OK... so I was gonna post the video but apparently it's gone off youtube. Here's the song to some lame images:

Skepchick, which rules, has an awesome blog about it here.

That's really all I had to say. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!!

The End.

PS For your ease in understanding why I love this parody, here's the lyrics to the original Insane Clown Posse song. (I have hated these assholes since I was in high school ... which was a loooooong time ago now ... and this just validated it for me!)

If magic is all we've ever know
Then it's easy to miss what really goes on
But I've seen miracles in every way
And I see miracles everyday
Oceans spanning beyond my sight
And a million stars way above em at night
We don't have to be high to look in the sky
And know that's a miracle opened wide
Look at the mountains, trees, the seven seas
And everything chilling underwater, please
Hot lava, snow, rain and fog
Long neck giraffes, and pet cats and dogs
And I've seen eighty-five thousand people
All in one room, together as equals
Pure magic is the birth of my kids
I've seen shit that'll shock your eyelids
The sun and the moon, and even Mars
The Milky Way and fucking shooting stars
UFOs, a river flows
Plant a little seed and nature grows
Niagara falls and the pyramids
Everything you believed in as kids
Fucking rainbows after it rains
there's enough miracles here to blow your brains
I fed a fish to a pelican at Frisco bay
It tried to eat my cell phone, he ran away
And music is magic, pure and clean
You can feel it and hear it but it can't be seen

Music is all magic
(Are you a believer in miracles)
You can't even hold it
(Do you notice and recognize miracles)
it's just there in the air
(Are you a believer in miracles)
Pure motherfucking magic Right?
This shit'll blow your fucking mind
(Do you notice and recognize miracles)

Music is a lot like love, it's all a feeling
And it fills the room, from the floor to the ceiling
[ Find more Lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.org/RFGe ]
I see miracles all around me
Stop and look around, it's all astounding
Water, fire, air and dirt
Fucking magnets, how do they work?
And I don't wanna talk to a scientist
Y'all motherfuckers lying, and getting me pissed
Solar eclipse, and vicious weather
Fifteen thousand Juggalos together
And I love my mom for giving me this
Time on this planet, taking nothing for granted
I seen a caterpillar turn into a butterfly
Miracles ain't nothing to lie
Shaggy's little boys look just like Shaggy
And my little boy looks just like daddy
Miracles each and every where you look
And nobody has to stay where they put
This world is yours for you to explore
there's nothing but miracles beyond your door
The Dark Carnival is your invitation
To witness that without explanation
Take a look at this fine creation
And enjoy it better with appreciation
Crows, ghosts, the midnight coast
The wonders of the world, mysteries the most
Just open your mind, and it ain't no way
To ignore the miracles of every day

(Are you a believer in miracles)
Magic everywhere in this bitch
(Do you notice and recognize miracles)
it's all around you, you don't even know it
(Are you a believer in miracles) Shit's crazy
(Do you notice and recognize miracles,
So many miracles, the magic miracles)

Are you a believer in miracles
Do you have time for the miracles
Do you notice and recognize miracles
So many miracles, the magic miracles
Are you a believer in miracles
Do you have time for the miracles
Do you notice and recognize miracles
So many miracles, the magic miracles
Are you a believer in miracles
Do you have time for the miracles
Do you notice and recognize miracles
So many miracles, the magic miracles
Are you a believer in miracles
Do you have time for the miracles
Do you notice and recognize miracles
So many miracles, the magic miracles

The 2010 Jen

2010-04-12T11:39:00.001-04:00

So as mentioned repeatedly on twitter, I was sick of my mess of hair and planned to cut it all off. So I done did it.

I figured I may as well put a "before" picture, so here's one of my Kurt Cobain impression. ;-) I bought this glasses for 5 bucks during the Staten Island St. Patrick's Day parade because the sun was killing me and I though they were ridiculous, which made me love them. Someone pointed out that they looked like Cobain glasses. Which my shitty-looking bleach-blonde hair, it was too good to NOT take a picture of before I cut it all off...

The above hair was just so dead from being bleach multiple times...I wanted it gone. Even though last year I was determined to grow it long. I have no patience.

Here's the midway point. Hair cut off but not yet bleached. Took this picture for my mom so she can see me with my natural hair colour for the first time in like 12 years! I had the idea that I might leave it like this for a little bit, but I really do hate this colour, so no dice....

Here it is all done from a couple angles...

Was going to wait two weeks, but couldn't. Had to put my signature pink in. I just love having pink hair so much. Really ANY crazy colour, but pink lasts the longest without fading to a shit colour...

Now with more glasses!

I've gotten positive responses from this new do, so I'm happy! :-)

The End.

PS Here's one taken with my favourite new iPhone app: Hipstamatic! So cool. This one's taken with the Roboto Glitter lens!

Mr. & Mrs. Fitch!

2010-04-05T11:27:00.000-04:00

I am lucky enough to have a friend who works at Second Stage Theater who can sometimes hook me up with comp tickets for plays they run there. (Last time I saw Becky Shaw — mainly because I loved Kelly Bishop in Gilmore Girls!) Which is a good thing because A) I'm broke & B) it gets me to see things I wouldn't normally see.

While I do like John Lithgow, I'm not what you would consider a fan, so I probably wouldn't have bothered to see Mr. & Mrs. Fitch. But luckily my friend offered up a couple of tickets on a night I happened to be free, and am I glad he did!

I LOVED it! I was REALLY great!! So funny, so clever. Lithgow was FANTASTIC. And so was his co-star, Jennifer Ehle! It's basically about two gossip columnists who run out of juicy celebrity gossip and what they do to get back in the gossip game! It's just a two-person play, but they bounce off each other so well, that's all you need. And did I mention it was funny? Oh and I HAVE to mention the FANTASTIC set!!! It all takes place in their apartment in Manhattan and WOW. I would kill for an apartment like that. GORGEOUS. And not to mention they had a copy of The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel (P.S.) by Michael Chabon on their table! hehe I love recognising book covers from far away... :-P

Oh and speaking of far away, if you haven't been to Second Stage, it's a great little theater. And because it's little, there are no bad seats. I highly recommend seeing a performance there. They tend to have good shows too.

Unfortunately, it's last performance was yesterday, but I think shows like this travel around, so keep a look-out in case it shows up where you live!

The End.

PS While waiting around for my friend, Lithgow came out and signed some people's stuff. I didn't really have anything to say so I let him be. I was surprised to see him take the subway, though! :-)

Desktop Finds...

2010-03-19T14:25:00.000-04:00

I like these posts, they're easy!

Anyway, as I troll the interwebs or even just from friends or my job, I find images that I like and I copy them to my desktop. And then they just sit there and clutter it up. So to make good use of them, here's what I found today when cleaning up:

AWESOME David Finch cover that I'm in love with. I think everyone here should tell him to give me the original for free because no one will appreciate it more...and I'm broke. :-P

Super cool drawing of me Chris Eliopoulos did for me after I whined for a drawing of me:

Super cool Terry Moore piece he drew and posted up on twitter this week:

Awesome Zombie Jesus I found on the Atheist Experience:

I don't remember where I found this, but I love it:

Looking for Delirium reference I came across this! So pretty!

And this. Apparently it was a limited print. I want one so badly. I really wish M ike Allred would make more...

One of my good friend Rob Steen's super cool little dudes:

Awesome. I forget where... Huffington Post article maybe...

Yeah, this was a Huffington Post article image. Lost their C... hehehe

And it wouldn't be me without a jab at religion! (I know, Zombie Jesus, but that was just cool, this is hilarious!) Don't remember where:

The End.

Iron Man & Handsome Men

2010-03-10T10:35:00.000-05:00

Sunday night I watched the Oscars (I'm actually glad Bullock won and that new girl will have plenty more chances, so I don't think she was "robbed"), the best part being the AWESOME John Hughes tribute that brought a tear to my eye.

But AFTER the Oscars, I stayed up late, even though I was exhausted from the weekend, sat through the news and then Jimmy Kimmel: Live After the Oscars so that I could see the KICK-ASS NEW IRON MAN TRAILER! Go watch it if you haven't. I can't WAIT for this movie!!! (Which I just realised comes out the day I go on a mini-holiday with my mom, so hopefully — likely — the Marvel screening will be a day or two before then...)

Now, as I said, I had to sit through Jimmy Kimmel. I never liked The Man Show and I usually don't attach "funny" to this guy in my head, but I do admit I loved his response to "I'm Fucking Matt Damon" that his (now ex-)girlfriend Sarah Silverman made: "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck." Anyway, I didn't think I would like this show, and while I DID turn it off as soon as Robert Downey Jr. and his Iron Man 2 trailer were done (sooooo tiiiiiired), I enjoyed it up until that point. And here is the main reason why: The Handsome Men's Club. Frakkin' awesome. See for yourself:

I just absolutely LOVE "show of handsome"!! haha And Jim from The Office is fantastic in this! hehe Love this skit.

The End.

PS IRON MAN 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I'm very excited!)

Yeah, God LOVES His Children

2010-03-09T15:52:00.000-05:00

Another case of fanaticism harming children. These people would rather pray for the health of their child than actually getting him treatment. I'm just glad the judge had the sense to charge them for it (though if you ask me, 16 months is not enough time).

Faith Healer's Get 16 Months for Son's Death

OK, you know what? As an adult, if YOU are suffering from a curable disease, fine, pray your ass off and let yourself die, I don't care. But to do that to your kids?! Are you kidding me?! And your grandkids?! It's just disgusting. AND against the law. That's it! Just blame the law! God can't get mad at you for following the law, can he? I guess maybe he can, since clearly he's asking you to be a dumbass when it comes to the health of your children.

I don't get it! Why would "God" "bless" humans with the intelligence necessary to cure illnesses, only to tell you not to USE it?? Ugh. I guess it's for the same reason "He" "gives" us the desire to fornicate, only to tell us we shouldn't, or "creates" gay humans, only to tell them they're abominations and will go to hell if they act on their feelings.

Nothing short of DISGUSTING.

It's such a shame, I really don't think we'll EVER be rid of this backwards way of thinking. I just hope we can get less of them in positions of power... sigh.

The End.

Testing...Testing...

2010-03-09T11:42:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to test out this new BlogPress app on my phone. Seems pretty frakkin' cool, so I thought I'd try it out! Maybe this will help me keep up with my blog more often.

So, I thought I'd share this cute squirrel with you. Saw him running up the tree and had to take a picture. I swear it looked like he posed for me!

Squirrels are frakkin' adorable!

Anyway, I guess that's it for this test. Now to check online from my computer to see how it turned out!

The End.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:5th Ave,New York,United States

Quotable Atheist/Religion and Children

2010-02-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

Ever since I got this awesome book "The Quotable Atheist" edited by Jack Huberman, I regularly post a quote from it on twitter. Pretty much every day (except the weekends), unless I'm off or home sick (since I leave it at my desk).

Today's quote was pretty long, but very important to me, so I posted it along 4 tweets. (If you didn't know that's what a twitter post was called, you need to get out from under your rock. ;-P) I also wanted to post the little biography of the speaker that the book offers, but that too, is long, so I decided to post the whole thing on the blog instead and just link to it.

Quotable Atheist quote of the day:

"We are told that religion is natural; the belief in God universal. ...It is an interesting and demonstrable fact, that all children are atheists, and were religion not inculcated into their minds they would remain so. Even as it is, they are great skeptics, until made sensible of the potent weapon by which religion has ever been propagated, namely, fear." -Ernestine Rose

Ernestine Rose (1810-1892), was a Polish-born feminist/abolutionist/atheist. Her father, a rabbi, broke with tradition and taught her to study the Torah in Hebrew. Created a monster. She rejected the Bible by age 14, left home at 17 and by 24 was giving speeches against slavery and for women's rights and religious freedom. A minister in Charleston South Carolina, forbade his congregation to listen to "this female devil." A Maine newspaper said she was "a thousand times below a prostitute."

Now that's MY kinda gal! I WISH I was HALF as cool as this chick! What she says here is also very important. One of the worst things about religion is the child abuse (and I'm not even TALKING about the rape of children by priests everywhere that's covered up by the Catholic church, this is a whole 'nother brand of horror...). Children are taught to fear god and hell in a way that is just disgusting. I know it's not the same everywhere. I wasn't THAT scared of it (though I didn't understand why my pets wouldn't meet me in heaven and I thought that kinda sucked), but I have heard horror stories of kids that are told people of other religions would not go to heaven only to realise their friends were of these religions. Can you imagine that? "If you're good, you'll get to go to heaven when you die, but your little friend Mary is doomed to burn in hell no matter what. Sorry."

What the fuck!? And just that idea alone is horrific! You will BURN IN HELL for ETERNITY just for the simple act of not believing (or merely believing in the wrong way)! Something is messed up right there. Argh. Speaking of which, there are places in this country where the religious actually create simulations of hell! To scare them! Are you kidding me?! And people are OK with this!!

I shouldn't be surprised. I read about THIS today, which makes me sick. Adoptive parents beating a child TO DEATH because of their religion that tells them to beat the silliness out of children to put them on the right path to god! It specifically tells them HOW to "disciple" (read: BEAT) their children.

I'm getting really pissed off. I have to end this now. But seriously. Religion sucks.

The End.

KICK-ASS!!!!

2010-02-22T11:19:00.000-05:00

Kick-Ass kicks ASS! If you haven't heard of Kick-Ass, that sucks for you. But luckily, I've just fixed that. Kick-Ass is Mark Millar's creator-owned series published by the Marvel Icon imprint. Mark Miller kicks ass, if you didn't already know, and this is just another in a string of excellent comics by the wee Scotsman. (I'm his friend, I'm allowed to call him wee. ;-P) He's the fella that brought us Wanted which was eventually made into a major motion picture starring the (in my opinion) ultra-hot James McAvoy, as well as Morgan Freeman and the beautiful Angelina Jolie. He also wrote very many fantastic books for Marvel, including The Ultimates & The Ultimates 2, Ultimate X-Men & Fantastic Four (all great).

Kick-Ass (drawn by the VERY talented, long-time comic artist, John Romita Jr.) is about a young fella who wants what most young fellas who read comics wants...to be a super hero. Frak. I want that! Though I don't think I'd like to get the taste of really that awaits this young fella as he tries to make his dream come true. Anyway, rather than have me explain any more of this, you can just check out the trailer for the movie! That's right! Another of Mark Millar's creations is about to be released as a major motion picture! (I just really like saying "major motion picture.") Here, for your viewing pleasure, the age-restricted trailer (put in your birthday to view):

And either before or after you see this, you should go pick up the hardcover collection of the series (this collection edited by yours truly, look for my name on the credits page :-P), available in one of two covers, shown below:

The mass-market, everywhere cover (my personal favourite)...

OR the Direct Market Only cover (which means you can only get it at a comic book shop):

(As you can see from the covers, it's NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE! hahaha)

As a special bonus for you, my loyal blog readers, here's one of Johnny's penciled page from the series. I won't tell you when/where/why this happens:

Sooooo...nothing left to say except GO READ AND/OR SEE THIS BOOK AND/OR MOVIE! ;-) heh

The End.

PS Here's a picture of me and the wee one the last time he was in town. Love that guy! <3 onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp90/igotkittypryde/-1-1.jpg">

Cash Cab

2010-02-17T23:29:00.000-05:00

So not too long ago I found out that Cash Cab doesn't just randomly pick people off the street for it's "surprise" cab trivia game. A co-worker and some friends regularly go to trivia nights at different places around the city and one night they were approached by some people that asked them a bunch of questions and asked them if they wanted to be on a show. They said to meet them at something like 11AM on a particular block. Most of the crew couldn't make it as they had day jobs. One of 'em COULD make it and it turned out it was Cash Cab! Technically, it is sort of a surprise, but still not like they would have us believe.

Basically, what I'm saying is, don't go taking a bunch of cabs in hopes you'll get Cash Cab. ;-)

I LOVE Cash Cab though. Last winter while on a trip to Buffalo with some friends, we were exhausted after the 8-hour drive and while waiting to get dinner we watched like 4 episodes in a row. I swear there is NO GAME I like more than trivia-related games! I LOVE answering questions, even if I don't know the answers! :-P Which is probably why I used to answer all those ridiculous surveys on myspace all the time which would annoy all my friends. hehehe

Anyway, this all came up because I came across this today. INCREDIBLY frustrating! WHO DOESN'T KNOW THIS!?!?! And when do I get picked for Cash Cab?!? ::sigh::

ARRRRGH! ::sigh again::

The End.

Twitter!

2010-02-16T19:56:00.000-05:00

Twitter has ruined my blog! Now whenever I see/read/find something cool, I post it on Twitter and it then becomes redundant if I post it here!

Arrrrgh!

The End.

DIE ANTWOORD!

2010-02-05T18:08:00.001-05:00

(THE ANSWER!)

A friend at work pointed me in the direction of Die Antwoord today.

I don't know if these guys are serious or not, but I don't give a shit! Awesome and hilarious! Watch and learn suckas!

The End.

I Know Nothing of His Music...

2010-02-02T00:35:00.000-05:00

But I LOVE Michael Bublé!!!!!!

Another home run, SNL. Thanks you. ;-)

The End.

Scientology Strikes Again!

2010-01-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

Came across this on the interwebs: Scientologist's "heal" Haiti quake victims using touch

Yeah, you read that right. I'd say more, but I really don't have to. You'll see how stupid it is for yourself when you read it.

::sigh::

The End.

Wow, this guy is an IDIOT!

2010-01-26T15:13:00.000-05:00

This guy: Health Ranger

Found on the Atheist Experience, this guy was pissed he didn't win some Health Shorty Award or some shit (some Twitter award) and so, wrote an article claiming to tell people what skeptics "really believe."

I read the article in the form of someone debunking said article. Pure idiocy. This guy just makes shit up! It's long, but worth it. Please read!

Here's my favourite bit! Completely ignorant!! (Blue is "The Health Ranger," red is the smart person's response.)

• Skeptics believe that the human body has no ability to defend itself against invading microorganism and that the only things that can save people from viral infections are vaccines.

This is absolutely hilarious, because it really goes to show just how little the Health Ranger knows about basic, grade-school science. The reason vaccines work is because of the immune system. When the immune system is exposed to new pathogens, it develops weapons to fight them, so it's already prepared the next time there's an encounter. What vaccines do is make the initial encounter harmless. Instead of encountering the pathogen in the wild and hoping your body survives long enough to develop the virus-specific weaponry, you encounter the virus--or parts of the virus--in a controlled situation. Your body is made aware of the threat and prepares accordingly, so that when you do encounter the wild pathogen, you're already ready.

It's the difference between trying to fashion wooden stakes and crosses in the middle of a full-on surprise vampire invasion, and finding a weakened vampire crawling into town so you can stockpile stakes and garlic before the dangerous ones show up. I know which situation I'd rather be in: forewarned is forearmed.

It's just unreal.

The End.

I'M OUTTA THERE!

2010-01-26T13:23:00.001-05:00

I mentioned last time that there were some big things coming up in my life, but I wasn't quite sure what yet, but now I am:

I'm FINALLY leaving Staten Island!!!!!! I'd say "Praise the Lord" if I believed! ;-)

This is huge, HUGE! AND FANTASTIC! (That's what she said.)

So here's the story, if you're interested. I have been living in a house I rent with two roommates for the last 5 1/2 years. It's a nice-sized house with plenty of storage, a yard and a garage. And it was pretty frakkin' cheap. It's been very nice living there and I love my boys (what I call my roommates) very, very much. SO I was very sad (though happy for him) when one of 'em told me he was getting engaged and moving out. There was also a chance the other one was going to be moving out as well. My first instinct was panic. What will I do? Where will I go? Can I afford to live on my own?!

I first heard about this in November, but he only got engaged a few weeks ago. Came home one night and told me it was done and that he was probably going to leave by April 1st. ACK! I had exactly ONE idea for who could move in to replace him and that was assuming the other one was staying! Then! Through the magic of facebook, a friend from college posted that he needed a new roommate in his two-bedroom apartment in QUEENS!!! At first I immediately dismissed it. While a great place to go, I thought I wouldn't be able to afford it and that he would need someone sooner than I would be ready.

I slept on it. Woke up the next morning and it was all I could think about. I'm actually originally from Queens, so I kept thinking how cool it would be to go back. By the time I got to work I figured it couldn't hurt to take a look. Texted my friend and he seemed excited by the prospect of having me as a roommate (which certainly helped convince me). Then I started working out expenses and how I've been cutting back lately in preparation for this and I realised it was actually doable!!

Of course, I ran it past my mother making sure I could borrow a little money if need be for moving or whatever and was given a green light. All I had to do was see the place and I was in! Took my mom to see it and we both loved it and she liked him. She said she was relieved to see that it was a nice place with a nice person and became more excited for me (though, yes, she's sad I won't be 10 minutes away anymore).

And so, less than a week after I was told my life was changing, I made a decision that would change it even more. My current commute is AT LEAST an hour and a half EACH WAY. After this move, it will be cut to just a 1/2 hour! AMAZING. I get 10 hours of my life back every week! While I do have a little less space, I still have a nice amount. I am currently going through all my crap and trying to purge, which I really needed to do anyway. My new roommate is an awesome dude who I've known for 11 years (though I only really saw a couple times a year). We have a lot in common, including a love of video games! He's got an XBox & PS3 to which I am adding my Wii! SWEET.

There's tons of shit in my new neighborhood, tons of friends already live there. This is going to change everything, which is just what I need. Shake things up a bit! I'M SO EXCITED!

Ugh...but first comes the actual move and THAT'S going to be a nightmare... :-P

The End.

I Don't Know What to Say!

2010-01-14T23:19:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I've been negligent...I've been a bit boring lately. Just been playing Rock Band, catching up on my DVR shows and just general sluggishness. I did get a new HDTV also, which has made playing games on my XBox UNREAL! I don't know how I've survived so long with a REGULAR old TV.

I've posted this all over Twitter and facebook, but I'm going to put a new pic here. My frakkin' AWESOME Rock Band! ;-) I call it Cringer Loves Swiftwind. (The obvious choices of Greyskull & Masters of the Universe were taken...sigh.)

Well, hopefully I'll try to keep up better! Some big things going on in my life coming up, hopefully good, but shouldn't be too bad regardless, so I might be a bit distracted. Sorry, my loyal fans! haha (I know that's a myth. :-P) Thanks again for bothering to read this nonsense! <3

The End.

I Love This Man...

2010-01-03T03:57:00.000-05:00

And not just because he's British. ;-) I really need to pick up his new book...

Frak Jesus!

2009-12-27T22:46:00.000-05:00

I found the UNITED FRAKKIN' STATES in MY beer!!

Jesus in pancakes, Jesus in potato chips...but I find the good ol' U.S. of A. in my beer! Score!!! No one can ever say I'm not patriotic now! :-P

The End.

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-24T11:21:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!! I hope you all have a fantastic holiday! I love Christmas, I love my family & I love my friends and it's nice to have a time once a year where everyone is getting/giving gifts, making cookies (and other goodies) and listening to fun songs that remind us of our youth. I will always love Christmastime above all other times. Right now I'm listening to Dominic the Donkey (for the 100th time) finishing up baking for the family, about to make some string beans for the dinner, then off for the likely traffic-filled drive to my aunt's house.

Anyway, here's a few things for you for Christmas:

My FAVOURITE Christmas elf...

The wonderful Marvel Christmas e-card (that's a picture of what was hanging in the office, click it for the card!):

And lastly, I leave you with this new addition to Mark Walhberg talks to animals. He slips up right off the bat, but I still really like it. :-) Andy Samberg is great. <3

Happy New Year too! Thanks for reading my nonsense all year!

The End.

Also, How 'Bout Them...

2009-12-22T16:12:00.000-05:00

GIANTS??!?!!!!

Just had to say something! Last night's game was awesome! Where the hell have THESE Giants been lately?!?!? I hope they stick around! :-)

(And of course it's the first game in WEEKS I watched by myself. My usual crew was all split up. Though I did enjoy a few beers, some of my fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and get my Christmas wrapping done! :-D)

The End.

An Atheist Christmas Gift!

2009-12-22T15:32:00.000-05:00

I got an awesome Christmas gift in the mail yesterday! Fellow blogger and atheist Jake Bell sent this shirt to me (found on TShirtHell.com):

Now... when to wear it!? Honestly, I love it, but I'm unsure when/where I should wear this. I have a t-shirt with a Dawkins quote that I bought for myself, and LOVE, but have yet to wear. And I've been trolling Cafe Press, et al., itching to buy more atheist shirts...but...

Well, I know I'm very outspoken about this. Everyone around me knows and I've ALWAYS been one to make my opinions known. But this is different. Even when I still believed in god, I rolled my eyes at people with Jesus fish on their cars, etc. OK, so you love god, why do you have to show it off...

Then again...I suppose it's the same thing as wearing band or comic book (or ANYTHING) t-shirts. You like it, you want to support the thing you like and you wouldn't mind like-minded people noticing that you're like-minded. Hmmmm... (Stream-of-consciousness blogging this is! haha)

Still, though, I hate being accused of trying to force my "beliefs" on other people. (For some reason, people just don't understand how NOT believing in something is NOT a belief in and of itself. I BELIEVE there's no god, the same way you BELIEVE there are no tooth fairies.) Though I suppose wearing the shirt isn't forcing anything...plus in THIS case, it's funny, too. :-)

Huh. OK. Well, in either case, I'm waiting until after Christmas to do that. No need to get people all upset. (Though I don't think those I work/play with would care, but you never know.)

I've been thinking about this a lot today. As you may or may not know, I post a quote daily (Monday-Friday, unless I'm not at work) from The Quotable Atheist on Twitter. Today I found one I liked, but hesitated to post it. In the end, I posted it, but cut out a little bit of it, replacing it with a elipse (...). Here's the quote, I'll put the bit I cut in italics:

"Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business." -Jesse "The Body" Ventura

I did this because I know I have a few Christian friends that might read that and I didn't want them to think I thought they were weak-minded. While I DO think the only reason they are religious and believe in god is because they were brought up that way, I don't necessarily think it's weak-mindedness that keeps them there. Often it can be the case, but I don't think it's always so. But I did like the rest of the quote because that is what bothers me so much about religion. You only have to look at how gays are treated (or how the Christian right would LIKE them to be treated) to know what I'm talking about.

I was STILL a little uncomfortable as I often think of this when I post these quotes, so I went further and posted this (took 4 tweets! hahaha):

I just want to say that I don't hold that all religious people are idiots or evil. And I'm not trying to FORCE my non-belief on anyone. I just think that religious ideas should be kept OUT of the way the country (& the world) is run & the bad stuff that comes from it shouldn't be tip-toed around. To my religious friends, I'm sorry if I offend you, but I'm not talking about you. If you were one of these people, I wouldn't be friends with you in the first place. End disclaimer. ;-)

Got a couple of positive responses from that. I just hope it gets my point across. I understand that religion might help some people and that if they just keep to it to themselves there's no harm. But there's just too many out there that try to make everyone live they way THEY think is right and they're basing it off old "holy" books with atrocities within their pages and what "holy" men who want power tell them. Aaaaanyway... kind of a tangent...though maybe not entirely. Just wanted to put that out there.

The End.

PS I really kinda like THIS shirt.

PPS I'm going to give you the little blurb for Jesse Ventura that The Quotable Atheist had for him. He seems so frakkin' awesome! :)

Jesse Ventura (born James Janos, 1951- ), a.k.a. "The Body": former governor of Minnesota (1999-2003), professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, radio talk show host, mayor, Navy SEAL and, briefly, bodyguard for The Rolling Stones. Modeled his wrestling persona on "Superstar" Billy Graham — the wrestler, not the Jesus tag-team partner. As governor (Reform/Independence Party), described himself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal; supported gay rights, abortion rights, medicinal marijuana and church-state sep. Vetoed a bill to promote recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. Achieved the highest approval rating of any governor in U.S. history. His supporters' slogan: "My governor can beat up your governor."

How cool is that?!?!

OK, I'm On a Tear Tonight...

2009-12-08T02:24:00.000-05:00

Sorry, just catching up on a lot of blogs and stuff. I was reminded of the Brookstone firing incident where a man was fired for telling a lesbian co-worker that what she was doing — marrying another woman — was bad stuff. Of course HE sees her talking about her upcoming wedding as pushing her gay agenda in his face. It should be noted that when he thought he was marrying a man, he was interested in her wedding plans, so the argument that she shouldn't be talking about her personal life in the workplace doesn't fly.

You can read the full story here (a Google search will give you the same story told from gay-friendly as well as many anti-gay perspectives, but the video they're getting it from is always the same).

I recommend reading the comments. There's some nicely worded rebuttals to the religious, anti-gay nutcases.

And speaking of them...this guy took the cake in the comments section and I had to just bring it to the forefront:

Wade

November 16th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

This man is not a bigot and was not judging the woman. Please get your facts straight before posting comments. This woman knew she was offending her Christian coworker by talking about her homosexual relations. This is sexual harrassment and intolerance on her part. This man went and prayed before gently, out of Christian love for all and in a non-judmental way, trying to inform the woman of what she might not know – that homosexuality is a sin against God and no man-made laws can or will ever change that. He did this out of a desire for this woman to have happiness and the abundant life God wants for all people, but that this woman will never have as long as she continues in this sin. We are all sinners, but should be striving to not sin – not embracing the sin. Regardless of any who reads this believes or does not believe, this woman will continue to be punished by God because of the sin of homosexuality until she begins striving to end this sin in her life. And, she will only be alble to achieve this with God’s help. This Christian man was doing his Godly duty to attempt to help this woman even he had to put his job at risk. Satan in the world will always fight back against Christians who stand up for God and he will use those who are weak in God like the supervisor who fired this Christian man. This man is a hero!

This really just...well it's just horrifying. THIS is why I hate religion. I know, I know, religious people are not ALL like this (I know religious people who are not, but they are not literally following their religion to the letter)...but this is what religion breeds. ::sigh:: I think I'm going to bed now. Maybe I'm getting so angry because I'm cranky... Nah, I'd be this angry no matter what time it was! :-P

The End.

If You Don't Believe in Santa, You're Going to HELL!

2009-12-08T01:11:00.000-05:00

Crazy, huh? This guy writes a great post about what it feels like to be an atheist, using the analogy of being a non-believer in a world full of people that honestly believe in Santa Claus. It's a great read and can help explain how an athiest feels.

What It Feels Like to be an Atheist

Now, as far as atheists are treated, I'm lucky to not have had many of these experiences MYSELF, but atheists are often treated as such. (Helps I was born and raised in NYC.) But as for how religion affects the world, he's pretty spot on.

(My only gripe with this analogy is the presents-giving portion of the Santa story. Do the people in this Santa-loving world actually GET magical presents under their trees? He never addresses that bit. But there's no such equating quality in god-belief (ie: believers don't actually get magical presents from god once a year either), so I guess it's okay to gloss over that bit.)

Anyhoo, I thought this was cool and wanted to share!

The End.

SNL Still Kicking Ass!

2009-12-03T11:20:00.000-05:00

So I watched last week's SNL last night (aaah, love that DVR). It was just another example of how good this show has been in the last few years. Now I know not every sketch is great and some episodes are weaker than others (I was disappointed, for example, that Seth Rogen's episode a while back was kinda crap).

I didn't expect much from this one as I couldn't care less about the host, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but it turned out to be really great. I even enjoyed the opening political bit which I haven't been lately. It was upsetting because I have faith in Obama and it totally made fun of him, but they were spot on and it was amusing. Gordon-Levitt was a bit strange, I must say. He strikes me as being slightly crazy...I can't quite explain it. His opening dance number (yep, a dance number) was pretty impressive all things considered, but was also a bit weird. (His good-bye also freaked me out a bit for some reason... :-P)

Anyway, the fake commercial they typically do after the monologue was PHENOMENAL for this episode. Granted, I'll eat up anything that makes fun of Sarah Pa lin, but this was superb. They re-cut the trailer for 2012 (in itself a ridiculous thing)...it's too great to explain, watch it here. It's not available for embedding, I'm assuming the linked website got some special permissions. Too fantastic. WATCH IT!

Also awesome throughout the episode was Al Gore's appearances. I don't know why, but I love this guy. His appearance on 30 Rock for Green Week was also great. And he DOES make fun of the fact that NBC calls him up every time there's a Green Week. He even sat through that insane"What Up With That?" sketch. haha Those are ridiculous!

I WAS able to get the Mellow Show clip from Hulu to embed. This was great. Dave Matthews, who was the musical guest, does a pretty great impression of Ozzy. I'm so curious how they came up with that. Like, did they ask him first who he though he could impersonate, or did they just take their chances with Ozzy and he nailed it? If I ever run into Bill Hader (who actually plays Dave Matthews in this same sketch!) again, I'm going to ask him. (Not that unlikely as he's written a comic for us with Seth Meyers. It's collected in Spider-Man: The Short Halloween Premiere Hardcover! Check it out! ;-P)

Last but not least, Andy Samberg didn't disappoint with his digital short. It's absolutely ridiculous, but I love it. Not as great as Dick in a Box or Mother Lover, but it's still pretty entertaining. Enjoy!

You can watch the full episode on Hulu if you feel so inclined. I recommend it!

The End.

PS Spoiler if you didn't watch that Palin video yet... but this was the scariest part in my opinion!! haha

Some REALLY SMART Palin Supporters (That's Sarcasm)

2009-11-24T08:24:00.000-05:00

I know this isn't ALL the Palin supporters out there, but it's still pretty funny. How can you be SO supportive of a political person to stand in line for hours waiting to meet her if you know practically NOTHING about her policies. Its so sad how easily people are brainwashed!

The End.

PS Didn't think I'd be using that Palin tag again after the election. Ugh.

In Honour of New Moon

2009-11-21T19:03:00.000-05:00

I'm actually looking forward to New Moon despite the fact that the FIRST Twilight movie was a pile of poo. Mostly this is because of Jacob. As I've mentioned before I am in love with Jacob. Not so much the actor (though he's gotten pretty cute), as the character, but either way, they're both in the new movie. I'm also pretty excited for Dakota Fanning being in it. I love that girl. I'm hoping the fact that the first movie (miraculously) made a bunch of money, they'll spend a little more on this one. THe "glitter in the sun" effect in the first one just made Edward look sweaty. Ew.

ANYWAY. So I was watching Saturday Night Live from a few weeks ago, with special guest Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift, as some of you may know, is DATING the actor who plays Jacob. You might also know that HIS name is ALSO Taylor. This I find to be ridiculous. It is probably the reason that the Digital Short for the episode was made, though. And THAT was fantastic. I present it here for you. Enjoy!

Ha! Love it! And Taylor does a great job impersonating the ridiculously over-acted Bella. ;-)

The End.

For the Love of Music

2009-11-16T16:40:00.000-05:00

Warning! The following post is very corny! ;-P

So I fucking LOVE music. I know that's a fairly general statement. I mean, LOTS of people love music. But that doesn't take away from how much I love it. And recently I've been loving it even more. I've been having a rough time of it lately, not being at my happiest (love, home and money problems...yes, I am the ONLY ONE with these problems. ;-P).

But it's amazing how much better I can feel when listening to some good music. Sometimes it's the lyrics, some songs have hopeful lyrics or there's something in them I can relate to. But often it's just an emotional response to the music itself. Either way, I'm crushing on music HARD lately. ;-)

For example, yesterday while driving somewhere, I put on a Kaiser Chiefs album and the music just perked me right up. I put it louder and there was like a swelling in my chest that put me in a much better, I-could-kick-the-world's-ass-right-now, mood.

And this past Thursday, I got to enjoy An Evening with Fran Healy & Andy Dunlop (of Travis). It was amazing. Billed as "A Chronological Acoustical Journey Through The Travis Back Catalogue," the pair played all their hits in between telling stories of how the writing of these songs came about — complete with a slide show! Fran did pretty much all of the talking, and he did it well. Charming and funny, I fell in love with him. (Though I kinda already was.) It was definitely in the top three shows I've ever seen.

And the music made me cry. But in a good way. I really think Travis' songs are just beautiful. And Fran even talked about how music was priceless which was great to hear when I was standing there, tears in my eyes, big smile on my face and just a powerful feeling that everything will be ok. (Sadly, the feeling kinda faded as the show moved further into the past...)

See? Told you it would be corny. Sometimes it just has to be done! :-)

Anyway, here are some pics...

Fran with his hot tea. Haha Just think he looks adorable with his guitar and teacup! :-P

I got to meet them after! Stuck around until 1AM to do so! It was really cool of them to do this (I believe they hung around to meet anyone who wanted to after every show on the tour). They were super sweet and Fran took this picture himself! Well done!

Fran joked after seeing this picture that he needed a haircut. I agree actually. He looks so much cuter with short hair. Both of them do actually:

Very loosely related: This weekend I played DJ Hero at a friend's house. And I kicked ass (for a first-timer). I need this game! Too bad it's so frakkin' expensive...

Oh and I just came from a wedding which is why I'm wearing that fancy dress! :-P

The End.

Funny Religion-Related Things Found on Internet

2009-11-05T17:31:00.000-05:00

Just a couple funny religion-related images I found on the internet! (Wow! Just as the title suggests! :-P)

Found this on Blag Hag (one of my new favourite blogs by a fellow atheist Jennifer!):

This was twittered by the same Jennifer and found here:

Sent to me by my co-worker (here's the link):

I can't remember where I got this, think I found it on twitter...hilarious!

The End.

Re-livin' the 80s!!

2009-11-03T13:33:00.001-05:00

So a local bar where I live (Cargo Cafe) had a fantastic event last weekend... An 80s Prom! I was wary of this at first, but as I started to gather materials for the big dance, I got more and more into it...

The decorated the bar very appropriately, calling it the Cargo High Senior Prom 1984...

Lace gloves & bangles are key, as well as the top-of-the-head ponytail (complete with bow - though I only had one with skulls on it :-P)...

Yes...I'm dancin' to 80s music. You would too. You KNOW you would...

Someone took a picture of feet, I'm in the upper left corner. It's one of the only pics where you see the effort I put in! Pink fishnets, mis-matching socks AND mis-matching Cons!! :-)

Really not much more to say, except this party was FANTASTIC. A live band played 80s covers, there was a space set up for the classic couple prom pictures, complete with pink and blue backdrop, and lots of people looking fantasticly ridiculous! :-)

The best part of this is that I was a mere 0-9 in the 80s, so I never got to fully appreciate it until after the fact. I've no doubt this is what I would have looked like had I been a teen in the 80s! :-P

PS If you're ever on Staten Island, Cargo is a cool bar with great food! Check it out!

The End.

Party Girl

2009-10-27T23:41:00.000-04:00

haha Just wanted to post this funny pic of me I found...more of these might be coming as I've been on a reminiscing kick!

I like beer:

The End.

Regretsy Rocks!

2009-10-20T10:48:00.001-04:00

OK, so I DO like etsy.com. I DO! I've seen some cool stuff on there. But, REGRETSY.COM, now that shit is FUNNY!

My co-worker sent me the link to this fine product (b/c of my love of Twilight of course), which introduced me to the site and I instantly fell in love:

Please note the comment under the listing: "Oh this is a great idea. Giant vinyl lettering on your wall that tells every new sex partner you'd rather be fucking a dead teenager." HAHAHAHA (Doesn't offend me though, b/c I love the one that turns into a giant dog... ;-P)

So basically, the site just finds the most ridiculous crap being sold on Etsy and brings it to your attention with quite hilarious comments on the subject (they DO link to the products, though, so if you actually like something, you can go buy it!). Here are some more examples:

I cannot believe these things exist!! And this one below, might taste good, sure, but yes, it looks disgusting:

I can already see the hours wasted looking at this stuff... ah, I really am thankful for smart-asses!

The End.

So THIS Happened...

2009-10-19T19:15:00.000-04:00

Yep. That's me and my new BFF, Paris Hilton. No, that is NOT a cut-out. ;-) OK, so we're not BFF's, but I did get to meet the hyper-intelligent hotel heiress. :-P

There was some sort of Comicon countdown charity bowling party-thing, free for professionals (like myself) at Bowlmor Lanes in Union Sq. a few weeks ago (so much for my TIMELY postings...) which was why I was there. There was ALSO a party for the grand opening of the new bar on the top floor called Carnival (which looks pretty cool, by the way), which was why PARIS was there. Also, apparently to have her picture taken while "bowling." She was just like posing with the bowling ball before each roll, with camaramen just in the adjoining lanes. VERY important we have pics of Paris bowling!

I just couldn't resist the picture. Although, I was a little shy about asking for it until a fellow co-worker stepped up and asked. To be honest, I was afraid of her many body-guards... haha

Here're a couple other pictures I snapped while waiting, further proof of her non-cut-out-ness:

Oh, the people I meet...

The End.

Sketchbook Series #7

2009-10-08T14:02:00.000-04:00

Finally finished Twilight...still have yet to finish Veronica Mars... Eventually, hopefully, I'll actually get back on track to post stuff as they happen (will post soon about a roller derby I attended a couple weeks ago). Meantime...sketchbook series!!!

This sketchbook series post is from... ANDY MACDONALD!! Oooooh! Preeeetttty!!!

This weekend is the Baltimore Comicon and up until today I was going to go. Events occurred however preventing this from happening, so sadly I won't be there. If YOU are attending, please stop by Andy MacDonald's table! He's an amazing artist (as you can CLEARLY see above)! While he's done a few comics for us over here at Marvel (Punisher War Journal, Miss America Comics 70th Anniversary Special), I think his primary work is featured in NYCMech and I believe he contributed to the Tori Amos inspired collection Comic Book Tattoo!

I recommended getting a commission from him as he does a wonderful job. He's also got some pretty cool t-shirts available. (I got one of this robot shark, super cool!) If you DO stop by, say hello for me!

The End.

PS For the ladies/gay lads...he's QUITE a handsome fella, that alone is enough reason to stop by! haha ;-P

AAAAAAH!!!! INFURIATING!!!

2009-10-02T08:45:00.000-04:00

Found on The New Atheist:

This makes me so frakkin' angry!!!! Firstly, the kids' songs are harmless. It's not like they're droning on about the light that shines from Obama's face or anything. One of 'em just says "Hooray" for his accomplishments or something and talks about how all "colors" of people are equal. OK, so that guy shouting about Obama saving the world is a bit much... But really?? We're the best country because we respect "God's authority"?! NO other country does this?! What about Israel? I can't imagine a country that prays more to god and follows religious rules, etc. Their country is torn to shit. And anyway, I don't really think we're the best anymore. (Not sure if I ever did, I don't know everything there is to know about all other countries to be able to make that call.) But certainly we're not the greatest place to live right now. And it started BEFORE Obama. (Cuz I'm sure that's what this asshole would say to that.)

Man, I've only seen snippets of the shit that spews from this guy's mouth, mostly just repeated clips of him calling Obama a racist. Yeah. Genius. I think this is the longest I've watched him and I think about the limit of what I can take.

Just frakkin' horrendous.

A VOID! We have a VOID to fill because we don't believe in god!! AAAHHH!! This shit drives me CRAZY! How the hell can someone assume that shit about other people! And the stuff he says we fill it with? Are you says people who believe in god don't want or say those things? Arrrggh!!!

I have to stop now. Blech!

The End.

Neglect

2009-09-30T00:22:00.000-04:00

I've been neglecting you, blog. First it was to watch Veronica Mars. I stopped doing that b/c I'm afraid of the ending. I fell in love with this fella:

His name is Logan Echolls. I am nervous as to how the show will end (was cancelled near the end of Season 3), so I have been putting off watching the last 8 or so episodes.

THEN I got into this Twilight nonsense! They're ridiculously girlie, young adult, romance novels, involving vampires that glitter in the sun and werewolves that change whenever they want to and protect people. As if you didn't already know. I've read the first two (each only took two days) and I'm on the third. I'll have read the forth by middle next week, I'm sure. I love them. And now I love THIS fella:

Though I don't actually like this actor or anything (I mean, he's OK...certainly better looking than the creepy-looking kid who play the vampire lead), but he's the physical representation of the character in the book that I've fallen for, Jacob Black. ::sigh::

So these things have kept me occupied. It's getting a bit ridiculous. I expect soon to be living completely in a fantasy world made up of all my favourite books, movies & TV shows. It's sad. Pity me.

Meanwhile I have dreams where Hurly from Lost is a classmate of mine and in some weird gathering to talk about a reunion, he freaks out like in a vampire-esque rage, I'm told he as an iron deficiency in his blood, he tries to attack us, I stab him in the back with this giant steak knife and run, he chases after me (pretty fast, all things considered) until he catches up with me talking to an older woman walking her dog who offers him a poundcake. About then I wake up. Ridiculous.

The End.

PS As I mentioned I haven't finished either Veronica or Twilight...PLEASE...NO SPOILERS!

EDIT: OK, after watching the New Moon trailer, I find the Jacob Black actor much hotter...though, he's only 17 and that makes me uncomfortable! haha

Uuhhhh...so...yeah...

Kirk Cameron Is An Idiot

2009-09-22T13:01:00.000-04:00

Mike Seaver, say it ain't so!

Check this shit out (found on this site via twitter follower). Kirk Cameron and that idiot Ray Comfort will be handing out free copies of Origin of the Species, with a "special" introduction by Ray himself, hoping to give college students an opposing viewpoint to evolution. I'm hoping most of these students will read it and laugh. I kinda want one myself. You know, as a novelty item.

There are many problems with this video, but I'll only just mention a few. Firstly, our liberties are not GOD-given, thank you very much. If that were the case, we'd have practically none. ESPECIALLY women (which is amusing since he says some shit about Darwin's hatred for women). Another pile of bullshit is that NO ONE is telling ANY children that they can't read bibles in school (assuming it's not DURING class). If there's private reading time, or maybe during lunch, that a child decides to use reading the bible, that's FINE. They're not allowed to pray?! Get the fuck out of here. The only thing that's not allowed is that the SCHOOL and/or TEACHERS can't MAKE them pray or read bibles. ::sigh:: I'm getting all worked up here.

Either way, my first thought was what would Kirk say if atheists started going to churches and handing out free copies of the bible with all its contradictions and HATRED OF WOMEN and all its bullshit pointed out printed in a special intro at the front. He'd have a fucking shit-fit, saying how DISRESPECTFUL to their religion it was. It's funny b/c he claims that these students at these colleges are BRAIN-WASHED by atheist teachers and not given an opposing point of view. But what do you think the parents of Christian children are doing?! (I know, I know, not ALL of them. But I'm generalising the way Kirk does.) Creationist-believing parents do not offer their children the Bible and Origin of the Species and say, "Use your heads kids, decide which you think sounds more logical."

Ugh. If you watch the second video in the link at the top, you'll see a girl ripping this video apart, she has many of the same ideas as I have. She also brought up a good point that she (and I agree) doesn't think Kirk would be too happy with free Korans being handed out in schools.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, all this crap is summed up with what our government is SUPPOSEDLY based on: SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. Man, how HARD is that to understand?!?!

Argh!

The End.

PS Haha This kinda goes against what I said about praying being allowed in schools (and it is, on the students OWN time), but I still like this quote from who knows where:

[EDIT: This guy basically says what I said, only better. He actually references specific laws...haha]

The Long-Awaited SDCC Post

2009-09-01T12:53:00.001-04:00

Long-awaited by ME, anyway, I doubt anyone was holding their breath in anticipation... :-)

So here we go! I'm missing a few photos from my destroyed laptop, but I'll add them in if I ever get my stuff back...

Anyway, I had a great trip, lots of partying and not seeing everyone I wanted to see! The best part about cons for me, is getting to hang out with all my friends from all over the country (and actually, the world), so its disappointing when some of my favourites are in the same place as me and I still get to see them for only a few minutes (or sometimes not at all). But that's the problem with the San Diego Comicon...it's just so damned big! I LOVE this con for the same reason, though... haha Good thing there are other cons to catch up with my pals! (Next up: Baltimore Comic Con!!)

This year, I stayed with a rather new, but awesome friend, Robyn (AKA Twyst!) in a hotel with a creepy Shining-esque hallway (thanks to the very-helpful Pat Loika!)...

Speaking of Twyst, she had a fun little project during her trip (her first SDCC!) in which she took pictures of people and places "hanging out" with the Mighty Mugg Spider-Man! Very cute stuff, here's my entry:

Pretty clever if I do say so myself! (And I did say so...a lot. haha) ;-)

Almost as soon as I got to the con, I ran out to have dinner with my good friend & pain-in-the-ass, Sean McKeever. I do not have a picture with him, but he took this while waiting for our DELICIOUS sushi!!! Last year was the first time I had any real sushi (before was California or avocado rolls only) and I'm so glad I did, as now it's one of my favourite foods. This was taken outside Sushi Itto in the Gaslamp area. Highly recommended.

I have only a few pics of the Marvel booth, but here they are! I LOVED these Iron Men suits on display...I think there was actually one more I didn't get in the shot...

This is as much of the big Thor wall as I could get in one picture. My co-worker, Mark Beazley was responsible for commissioning this 6-part cover for the 6 issues of Thor: Tales of Asgard which reprints old Thor comics with modern colouring. (They look great, go pick 'em up if you like the old comics!)

It's been Marvel's 70th this year and we've been showing that off wherever we can (I think the logos look cool!) This is the front of the giveaway table.

The front of the signing table.

I thought this looked really cool, this hung from the ceiling!

Cutest Thor I've ever seen...

Random booth shot from the Marvel pics on Flickr. I'm in it! :-) I don't know what was going on at our booth at this time, but clearly it was popular!!

Maybe it was during THIS! Jon Favreau signing!! I could've gotten something signed and/or a picture with him, but I'd already had a much cooler encounter with him AND RDJ two years ago...hehe

So anyway, the first night I was there, I tried to get into the IDW party but it was HEAVILY guarded (thanks for the invite, Schmidt! haha)! I believe it was at the Hard Rock Hotel and in the hall where we were waiting I took some pictures of some cool baseball memorabilia behind glass in the wall...

So instead of the IDW party, I stopped by the Aspen one which was cool, but left that to go to the Brutal Legend party. Fantastically, my co-worker...let's call him Agent M...had a few VIP passes and was able to get me one. Up in the VIP bleachers I found my pals Gerry Duggan & Phil Noto (with whom I had a lot of fun with the entire weekend). At this party GWAR played! Here's where I'd post a couple of pics of that had my hard drive not died... ::sigh:: They weren't amazing pics or anything, but you can see the cool costumes they were wearing. I'll add them in if I ever get them back...

Anyway, Friday I got a chance to walk around the con a bit. Though after only a couple hours, I was exhausted.

Evan's awesome toys! (I've got 'em, of course!)

These guys have cool costumes on their own, but they look so much cooler all huddled together! Rebel planning meeting!! Woo!

The only reason to watch the Transformers movies... I love Bumblebee!!!!

I believe there was a contest to win this car, too...

Castle Grayskull! Awesome.

I bought this for Evan & Sarah's daugher...still haven't given it to her yet...oops! (It's Cheburashka, by the way!)

Bought this AMAZING Momo hat (Momo's a character on Avatar: The Last Airbender, if you didn't know) off a fangirl who made them! I saw this girl wearing one and ran over to ask where she got it, her friend said "I made it!" I was disappointed until she said "But I'm selling them!" Made my frakkin' day!! SO well made, too! You can't see in the pic, but there's even a tail hanging off the back!

One of the many cool things I bought at the Tokidoki booth (also got a cool tokidoki for Hello Kitty handbag, a Hello Kitty dressed in Mozzeralla cotume doll and some little keychains). This just looks awesome! Figured my laptop was old & dirty enough to cover it up (normally I love the all-white Apple look). Have been told that maybe that sticker caused the crash...but that's just ridiculous! Right?!?!

Passed by this on my way to my hotel. Meant to go back in, but never got a chance. I went there the first time I was in San Diego (2005...I was 25) and was carded when trying to go into the 18 & over section of the store! haha I love lookin' young! ;-)

Friday night was an AWESOME night! My friend Gerry brought me backstage to Brian Posehn & Doug Benson's comedy show! It was awesome! Also performing was Graham Elwood, Chris Hardwick, John Roy & Patton Oswalt. All very funny and very nice guys! Here's Brian, Patton & Doug from backstage taken with shitty iPhone zoom app! haha

I also met Mike Allred & family and Anthrax's Scott Ian that night, also a nice guy and a huge fanboy! A bunch of us went out to eat that night and this creepy thing on the wall was staring at me the whole time. ::shudder::

On the way back to the bar, we passed a playground and had a little fun there. I'm waiting for the VIDEOS FROM GERRY...but I may NEVER see them... sigh... ;-)

Anyway, I think this is the night I ended up stealing Lee Duhig's hat...all right, I borrowed it. I'm not mean!

Spent a LITTLE more time on the con floor the next day. As you might be able to tell Star Wars stuff tends to attract my attention...

The reflective glass made these hard to get pics of, but they're pretty damn cool! I love Legos almost as much as Star Wars!

So after that wiped me out and I was starving, I grabbed my friend Paul Azaceta (my usual breakfast buddy at Wizard World Philly) and got some lunch. Didn't feel like going back into the madness just yet so we took a walk behind the Hyatt along the water. There was all this cool stuff back there!

Like ships...

And parrots!!!!

The guy taking care of them (and trying to raise money to keep doing so) just came over and put this guy on my arm without warning! Was SO COOL!

Did the same to Paul, but on his shoulder...and as you can see, Paul was a little worried! (Mostly afraid it would try to grab his earring...) haha

There was all sorts of shops back there as well as face painters, balloon animal makers & caracture drawers. One such caracature artist tried to call us over to get one done by calling out "Hey pink hair & extremely straight eyebrows!!" haha I'll never let him live that down... ;-)

Found this on the side of a building on the way back to the con. Made me very happy. (Here's why if you don't know.)

Also saw this back there, some type of contest where you can win this if you donate blood, I believe. I shoulda done it... :) I would TOTALLY drive this!

When we came back in, I caught Jaime Hernandez signing at the Fantagraphics booth and commissioned this in my sketchbook (maybe I'll eventually get to it in my sketchbook series of posts...) Jaime was VERY nice, as well. This is Hopey!

Immediately after that I talked to Sean Chen & Leinil Yu at the Marvel booth and showed them my sketchbook. While I was busy talking to someone else, Leinil surprised me with this drawing!! Sean promised one too, and don't think I won't collect!! :-)

That night was yet ANOTHER awesome night! I went to the PopCult party with friends John Cassaday & Jimmy Aquino and made two NEW friends Zane & Brea Grant!!

Found these on the Beat...

Zane, Brea, me & John:

Brea, Jimmy, me & Zane (just realising now how colourful Brea & I looked that night!):

After THAT party we went to the Radical party which was ENORMOUS and had Gene Simmons & playing with his son. A bunch of Marvel peeps were there but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get in. Thankfully Brea can get ANYWHERE at Comicon so not only did she get me in with her & her brother, we got to go to the VIP section! Didn't stay there long though, as we abandoned it to hang with the MUCH cooler Marvel crew!

Took a nice picture with CB there. He had a great Japanese phrase for this situation: "Ryo te ni hana" which means "a flower in both hands." Awww, Ceebs!!

LOVELOVELOVE this next picture, taken by Zane, on our super-fun pedi-cab ride to the Hyatt bar after the Radical party. I was well drunk by this point (open bars will do that) and I believe I gave the guy a $10 tip on top of Brea's tip! hahaha He definitely charged us much less than most of those guys do and he made it fun like a rollercoaster, so I'm fine with that! :)

Of course the night I get the drunkest, I have an early morning panel to be on the next day! I made it by the skin of my teeth, a mere 3 minutes late, but with my voice a-shambles! haha This was the second year in a row for me on the Women of Marvel panel and it was a lot of fun. Took this from the Marvel Flickr page, that's me & Laura Martin. (Other panelists included Christina Strain, Emily Warren, Marjorie Liu & Colleen Coover!)

After the panel I got another visit from one of my FAN CLUB members!! Right?! I don't know how I deserve that but this is the second year in a row I've been given a birthday present from my Unofficial Arizona Fan Club!! Clearly the nicest people in the world! Thanks so much, peeps!!!

Had an even MORE amazing sushi dinner with a friend on Sunday, followed by gelato! Yum! Took this picture because I'd never seen gelato with a chili pepper in it before...

No, I didn't try it. Not that much of a chocolate fan, let alone SPICY chocolate...

Finished up the night at the Hyatt bar again, which is much more calm on Sunday night. Was falling asleep talking to some friends so I walked back to my hotel. Ran into Mark Brooks & his wife Lisa on the way there and had a nerd attack talk about the AMAZING news we found out this year...that Tokidoki & Marvel are teaming up to make some AMAZING products (look out for it next year)!! CAN'T FRAKKIN' WAIT!

Had a lovely breakfast with Twyst in the morning (my first Huevos Rancheros) and flew home around 3PM. An arrival at home at 1AM was a good excuse to come in late the next day! :) (The later flight was $100 cheaper. Totally worth sacrificing sleep!)

All in all, this was as great a San Diego trip as any, maybe even better! Other than the Gwar pics, I can't remember what else I lost, but thanks to my facebook mobile uploads & twitpics, I managed to reacquire most of the important ones! :)

Hopefully this was somewhat interesting and if you haven't made it to the San Diego Comicon, I recommend you do so at least once! And bring friends, much more fun that way! :)

The End.

Wow.

2009-08-31T12:05:00.000-04:00

So Disney is buying Marvel. I don't know what to say! I have no idea how these things work. I'm going to go with the idea that this'll be awesome!

It'd be nice if we all got free tickets to Disney World... :-P

The End.

PS Writer Brian Reed had this to say: "Face it Tigger, you just hit the jackpot!" Hehehe...

PPS Sent to me from a friend... hehehe Love it! http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/9/2/

Sketchbook Series #6

2009-08-27T14:35:00.000-04:00

So it appears I'm going to take my sweet time posting about the San Diego Comic Con. I DO still want to do it, but as my hard drive failed, I've been pre-occupied. I do believe I uploaded SOME photos, so I will be able to do SOMEthing, I definitely lost some as well. ::sigh::

So in the meantime...Sketchbook post!!! Today's spotlight is on Reilly Brown! He's a nice guy and very talented artist whose work has been gracing the pages of Marvel comics for awhile now, on books like Cable & Deadpool and New Warriors.

For me, he did this BEAUTIFUL Rogue! (As most of you know, she's my favourite!)

He's the only one that used both pages! And what a great idea!!

::sigh:: Man, I wish I could draw... not that I ever REALLY put any effort into it... can't it just come naturally, please?!?! :-P

Thanks, Reilly, for helping make my sketchbook rock!

The End.

I'm A Stupid, Dumb, Moronic Idiot

2009-08-21T12:44:00.000-04:00

My hard drive died and the "geniuses" at the Apple Store said they could not recover the data.

I haven't backed up in probably 2 years. So I've lost so many photos I can't even tell you.

It's all I can do not to cry right now at work.

I thought it was nearly impossible to lose data! People are always like "even if you delete stuff, IT'S STILL THERE!" So why does this happen to me?!

I hate the world. And my dependency on computers...and my ridiculous sentimentality that makes my heart ache b/c I lost some pictures.

And I hate myself for not being more responsible with something that means so much to me.

The End.

PS I have a minuscule glimmer of hope in that maybe some of my nerd friends will be able to get something off of my old hard drive which I have asked to be returned to me. ::sigh:: Probably won't work, though.