Month-late Musings: New York City

I'm a procrastinator. That's what I am. So, I'm writing about our trip to New York about a month late. Deal with it! I will rely heavily on photos, though, since I have a terrible memory. Here we go!

We were supposed to leave the day that the Air Canada flight attendants were planning to go on strike. Luckily, they had to give 2 days warning, which allowed me to scramble and get tickets out of Toronto a day early. This gave us one extra day to explore New York before the comic-con started! I found us an affordable last-minute room at the Best Western Presidents hotel. A little kitschy, but nice enough and centrally located (we got in late, but went for a little midnight stroll only to discover Times Square just around the corner!!).

We ended up in the JFK room

We didn't have an agenda for our 'extra' day in New York, aside from checking out NBC Studios, so we just wandered around, which is our favourite thing to do when we travel, anyway.

M&M wall!!

Lego wall!!

Myles admiring the Lego NYC scene. I told him to make a goofy face, which he did with considerable ease. :P 

It was a bit too early for the ice rink, but this is where it would be...

We spent most of our first day at the NBC studio. It was a bit worrisome because we both slapped down a bunch of money on our very first day at the NBC store, which we thought might be a bad sign, but we were very good with spending for the rest of the weekend, so it all worked out fine.You'll see that there is a noticeable lack of photos from our day at NBC. They have pretty strict rules on taking photos....well, it's just one rule, really: DON'T. So, you won't see photos of us at the Jimmy Fallon monologue warm-up, or on our NBC tour where we saw Anna Farris, Bobby Moynihan, Nasim Pedrad, and Paul Brittain on the set of SNL (from the viewing window above the set). We considered waiting in line for tickets to the taping, since it's on Myles' bucket list, but there are some wacky people who basically set up a tent city outside the studio two days in advance. No thank you! Maybe we will try for the actual ticket giveaway that happens in August...

Just one of the many things I purchased at the NBC store.

About a month before our trip, I started looking up Korean restaurants in New York that I might want to try. I found two and twisted Myles' rubber arm while leading him to "Korea Way", which is a tiny little street just off of Broadway near Times Square (hence, very close to our hotel). Myles agreed, as long as we could have a real "New York pizza-pie" at some point on our trip. Done and done!

Let's see how New Yorkers do Korean!

Pork dolsot bi-bim bap!! YUMMMMMM!!! This place had ojinga-jjut ban-chan, which Myles dislikes, so MORE FOR ME!!! Wheee!!!

Big surprise!! Myles ordered kimchi jigae!!!

Myles and I are kinda slowing down when it comes to comic-cons. We don't obsess about getting there super early, and scheduling our every move, like we did in San Diego a few years back. Nope. We just go with the flow now, which often meant wandering around in circles around the con floor, and poking our heads into panels, and leaving early, whenever we felt like we were done for the day (in SD, we stayed until they kicked us out, every night!!).

Adventure Time with Finn and Jake was surprisingly popular (but very well-deserved). There were sooooo many people dressed as Finn and BMO (not very many Jakes, though).

Close-up of Finn on top of the HUGE inflated Jake!

Umm...I don't read The Goon (I know I should), but I still think this car is awesome.

More details of the Goon car...check out the giant con bag that Myles is carrying! It's a staple of any self-respecting comic convention.

The great thing about buying our convention tickets in January was that I knew exactly what days we would be in New York City. This was a very key piece of information because as SOON as I heard about the Matt Stone and Trey Parker musical, The Book of Mormon, I scooped up tickets for the Friday night performance. And it was a good thing, too! After the show was nominated for (and eventually ended up winning) a zillion Tony awards, it became the hottest (and hardest to get) ticket in New York! The musical is everything you would hope for and expect from the South Park creators, and more! It was far and away the best part of our entire trip. After it was over, we lurked around the stage door and Myles had his program signed by the cast, including Josh Gad!

I hear this might be coming to Toronto. It is a "must-see"...and most likely a "must-see again".

This dude was the understudy for the lead, but he was pretty fantastic, so no complaints here!

I loved this guy (I really should look up their names...). He was the lead on "Turn It Off", which was probably my favourite number in the show (but they are all so good!!).

Hehe...Myles almost walked away, thinking he didn't really need to meet the cast. But, knowing what I know about how he enjoys some celebrities, I suggested that he wait a bit for this dude: Josh Gad! Myles thinks that no other person could possibly play the role of Elder Cunningham. It really did feel like it was written for Josh.

We took another trip to Korea Way to find a restaurant that specializes in hand-made kalguksu (thick noodle soup). Myles is not a huge fan, but he went anyway and tried the sujaebi (hand-made doughy dumplings) and really liked it! We also shared a bottle of baek soju (kinda like a sweet saki), which went really well with our dinner.

Mine had seafood with noodles and dumplings. Myles just had kimchi with dumplings. I would totally go back!!!

Myles is hoping that we can get baek soju at the LCBO. I am, too!

Sunday at the con, we were pretty much done. There was just one panel that we wanted to see: David Cross talking about The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, moderated by H. Jon Benjamin, followed by Seth Meyers moderating a Portlandia panel with Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, and Jonathan Krisel. It was crazy entertaining and a super awesome way to end our time at the New York Comic-con.

My pictures of David Cross and Jon Benjamin are on my other camera and I'm too lazy to copy them over. This picture of the Portlandia panel will have to suffice.

I accidentally took a video of Myles with Seth. Thanks to Colette who yoinked this still image for us!

On our last night, Myles wanted to check out some stand-up comedy, so we started trolling the internet to see if there was anyone we wanted to see. Myles actually knows quite a few comedians, and was super-excited that Dan Naturman was doing a set at the Comedy Cellar (the club that is featured in the opening credits of Louis CK's tv show, Louie). Of course, Myles is probably one of very few people who would actually recognize Dan, too. So, when he saw him just hanging outside the club, he had to get a picture with him. Right after I snapped the shot, Colin Quinn came out of the bar, saw me taking pictures, and posed for a picture, too.

Louie, Louie, Louie, Looo-ay!!

I think Dan Naturman was a little surprised that someone recognized him before he went on stage. Heh.

On our last day, I kept my promise to Myles and we set out to get a slice of real New York pizza pie! Taking my sister's advice, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and found Grimaldi's Pizzeria, a famous coal brick-oven pizza place! We knew it would be good, once we saw the line-up outside. It was such a beautiful day, that we bought some ice cream and enjoyed the view of Manhattan before we packed up and headed back to Toronto.

Walking along the Brooklyn bridge on our last day in New York.

The line-up was pretty long when we got to Grimaldi's, but there is a super cool dude that helps seat everyone very quickly. We only waited about 15 minutes. When we left, the line-up was twice as long!

There are a million and one things we could/should have done while we were in New York, but if you do it all, then you have no excuse to go back! I'm not sure when we'll find our way back there, but I hope it's soon! 

Film Appreciation (or lack, thereof)

There's a bit of a void in the summer time when it comes to television shows - well, network shows, anyway. We get a few cable shows (Weeds, Entourage, Men of a Certain Age, to name a few) but the seasons are so short that they come and go so quickly. So, what to do, what to do? Well, here's what my co-worker and I decided to do: start a film club!!

It's not a film club in the way you might think of, say, a book club where the members gather together once a month to hold erudite (some might say 'pretentious') discussions about their feelings regarding the narrative, or character motivations, or the author's intentions, or what have you. No, this film club is just a lame excuse to make my peers watch movies that I haven't seen in a while, or have been meaning to watch. The format is pretty simple: pick 3 thematically (and I use that term very, very loosely) linked "films" (that term is also used loosely) and watch 'em within the week.

I started with a "cold war" theme - that is, movies that have stuff about Russia/Communism during the Reagan era. So, of course, I went with: Spies Like Us, Rocky IV (which is probably my favourite of the series, but admittedly not the best...I guess I'd have to rank them I, II, IV, III, VI, V), and RED DAWN!!! I don't know anyone who has seen Red Dawn, but it is chock full of awesome teen idols of the 80s - Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen (!!), Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell (remember HIM??!?!) and Jennifer Grey. I'm not sure why I remembered this particular film from my childhood, but it was the reason I came up with my cold war theme. I was just really in the mood to watch it again, and you know what? It's actually better than I remember...probably because I could actually follow the politics and plot (as far-fetched and ridiculous as they are) better as an adult than I could as a kid.



Week 2 was up to my co-worker who chose the word-based theme of "Dude". So, naturally, we watched "Dude, Where's My Car", "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", and "The Big Lebowski". That was a fun week. He offered up "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" as a 'bonus', but really it's more like punishment, so I declined.

Like I mentioned, when it's my turn to choose a theme, I just pick a movie that I want to see then come up with a theme after-the-fact. Is that cheating? Who cares! Not anyone in the club, that's for sure! I had recently watched Semi-Pro and Everything Must Go, so now I'm on a Will Ferrell kick. Time to watch Blades of Glory!! I added The Cutting Edge and Youngblood, so the theme ended up being a progressive one: From Hockey to Ice Skating, or Vice Versa. It works best if you watch The Cutting Edge second, but it's not essential. Also, it seems as though I am subconsciously on a Patrick Swayze/Keanu Reeves kick (Keanu does the most horrendous and hilarious French-Canadian accent in Youngblood).

Myles is playing the home version...I tell him the themes and the films and he watches them, too. I think he skips a few, which is understandable. Seriously, there are no rules! I think he's hoping to be able to choose the theme one week which worries me because the other day he asked me if I heard of a movie called, "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes". I'm not sure if we should give him programming privileges...I just don't want to have to watch a Disney movie from the late 60s, starring a teen-aged Kurt Russell who gets zapped by a computer, thus turning him into a walking computer.

Actually, come to think of it, maybe I do...he could pair it with ZAPPED!!! Scott Baio, FTW!!!

Building Sand Castles at the Ex

No, not me...and not really castles. But, yesterday at the Ex (Canadian National Exhibition, for you out-of-country sorts who happen upon this post through a series of errant clicking), Myles and I caught a glimpse of the International Sand Sculpting competition. Regrettably, I did not take pictures of all of the sculptures (there were 6 in total), created by representatives from Canada, USA, Italy, Australia, Japan and...uh...Germany? I can't remember where the last one was from and I don't have a picture of his sculpture, but rest assured that it was as equally magnificent as those by his fellow competitors. [Edit: I just checked the site and the final competitor was from Ireland.]

This is by the entrant from Australia. It has a fantasy feel (the artist was working on a large dragon head while we were watching). 

Without much to say about each sculpture, I think I'll just let you see what I saw - and perhaps you, too, will be as much in awe of the sheer talent and creativity of these artists as was I. 

I HAD to take a closer shot of the cat. The detail is pretty impressive. The grain on the wood and the texture of the stone border look very realistic!

This one from Italy was my favourite. The detail is so fine, it looks like it could have been sculpted in stone!

Myles liked this one from the US the best. He was most impressed by the cloth connecting the people. This was the only piece with a title: The Blind Leading the Blind. This sculpture has home field (beach??) advantage. The Canadian artist has a unique science fiction style - look at all the eyes!!

I'll have to keep an eye on the CNE web site to see who wins the competition, which I think ends today. My vote is still for Italy, but Myles argues that it's pretty 'traditional'. He likes "The Blind Leading the Blind" but, while the patience and skill required to create the thin cloth is undeniable, I did not really like the people themselves. Maybe he spent more time refining the details on the people after we left...I hope they post pictures on the web site so I can see the finished sculptures. [Edit: Myles is now singing a new song about how he actually prefers the Canadian one, then the Italian and THEN the US...that is a far cry from what he ORIGINALLY expressed, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt...THIS TIME. ~ks] We had a hard time figuring out what the Japanese sculptor was making. One side looked a bit like Alice in Wonderland, and the other seemed to have a scuba diver??? Very strange, indeed.

If you get a chance to see them in person, I would recommend you do so, because these pics really do not do them justice!!

The Merry Old Month of May!

I recently uploaded a bunch of photos from my phone to my picasa web albums and found a few that I felt like sharing - all from stuff that went down this past month:

During TCAF, Myles and I met up with Niall and his friend (whose names escapes me...Rupert, maybe?) at TCAFête, which was held at Pauper's Pub on Bloor Street, and after grabbing a booth we decided to start up some comic jams! Well, I steer clear of paper and pens, since I don't have any artistic abilities, but Niall and Rupert (??) started up these pieces. I'm not sure how they ended up, or if they even caught on, but it was fun to start them off, anyway.

A pretty funky dragon-monster by "Rupert".

A menagerie of aliens from the creative mind of Niall Eccles!!

Myles LOVES comic jams, even though he is slightly less skilled at drawing than others...I like this piece of a balloon flying a kite, but I forgot to take a picture of his other piece that I liked even better - it was a slice of pizza and an eggplant on a disco dance floor. Heehee...very cute, indeed.

My eldest sister bought a book called 365 Things to Do with Paper and Cardboard, which has turned out to be a great babysitting tool. A few weeks ago, Zoë and I created these cute little cardboard mice. Zoë was in charge of all executive decisions regarding colour and style, and she decorated the dresses and the bows with polka dots. I took care of the cutting and taping - grown up stuff!! I love that they can't stand up on their own until you add the tail. We've made a few other paper projects since...only 362 more to go!

Most of you will have seen these guys pop up in my Facebook photo albums. They are the best ever gumball machine toys! The Spider-man, Iron Man, Wolverine (at the front), Thor, Hulk and Captain America came from machines Myles and I found in Vancouver/Whistler when we were there last year. A few weeks ago, after seeing Thor, we discovered that there is a new set! Dr. Doom, Venom, Cyclops, The Thing, and Wolverine (brown suit, in the back) are the newest additions to our collection. We still need Daredevil...I have a feeling we will try tonight when we go to see X-Men: First Class. *fingers crossed*

And finally, I need to share these pictures of the weirdest carrot I've ever seen. I don't even know how this happens - the two pieces were actually fused at one end, but I broke them apart out of sheer curiosity. *shudder*

TCAF!! (Better Late Than Never!!)

Eesh...almost 9 months since I posted here. Meh. No excuses and no apologies! Just going to forge ahead with a post about a recurring event documented on this here blog - the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), which took place May 8th and 9th at the Metro Toronto Reference Library (ugh - I'm such a procrastinator). Anyway, this year was extra cool because my super-talented, artist friend Niall, who is currently creating a "Character of the Day" for each day of the year (!!!) set up a table and pimped his wares  Check out his project here: www.nialleccles.com

Niall Eccles and his Character of the Day project at TCAF

As per usual, I spent my time at TCAF hunting down my favourites, discovering new talent, and buying a buttload of books!

A view of the main floor before it filled up with the masses...it was shoulder to shoulder by the afternoon on Saturday.

More awesomeness from the bizarre mind of Scott Campbell.Check out Great Showdowns  where he posts his drawings of classic movie showdowns. I am partial to The Princess Bride showdown between Inigo Montoya and the Six-Fingered Man.

Ken Turner has an amazing style, strongly influenced by Tim Burton. I think he only heard me say "kay" when he asked how I spelled my name. :( 

I will never NOT get a sketch from Graham Annable. He's just too awesome to miss. I think this is another Spock/Mysterio piece, carrying on from last year's theme. That's MY interpretation, anyway. I could be way off, though...

I was worried for a moment that Dustin Harbin cancelled because he was not in his usual spot by the water, but was relieved when I found him with Koyama Press. I like to stock up on any new comics he has for sale and was pleasantly surprised that his Diary Comics #2 came with a free original art page. It took me forever to choose just one, but I finally decided on a page with puppies and Hurley from Lost!

Poor Myles missed out on Sunday, so he wasn't able to get in line for Pendleton Ward of  Adventure Time with Finn and Jake fame. He was a last minute addition to TCAF, and he was selling a CD at his signing table with a bunch of random recordings and a choose-your-own-AUDIO-adventure! My favourite track was him playing and singing Sea of Love (Cat Power version) on a piano he found in his hotel while drunk at 4am. He's apparently a man of many talents.

If you've read my previous convention reports, you will already be well-aware of my adoration for all things Nate Powell. I misunderstood and thought that his new graphic novel, Any Empire, would be available for purchase, but when I spoke to him he said that it's actually going to launch at San Diego next month. BOOOO!!! Oh well, I got my sneak peek of the pages when I was at the SDCC a few years ago (he even remembered me!!! I think that means we are BFFs...heh). I will just have to wait to buy it like a regular chump...unless I can find someone to pick it up for me in SD!!

Did I ever tell you how amazing Top Shelf Productions is? Besides publishing works by a bunch of my favourite artists (Jeffrey Brown, Jeff Lemire, Nate Powell, and Andy Runton, to name a few), they are also smart enough to employ the incomparable Leigh Walton who has a sneaky way of getting me to try out all kinds of new books. This time, he convinced me to buy Lucille because the French author Luduvic Debeurme, was in North America for the first time and I shouldn't let the opportunity to have my book signed pass me by. Lucille is a beautifully told story of two teenagers fighting their personal demons and finding each other. And now my copy has this beautiful sketch on the front page. Thanks so much, Leigh, for being so good at what you do!


My "fun find" this year was a children's book series called Guinea Pig: Pet Shop Private Eye, by Colleen AF Venable. I picked up the first two books of the series for Myles, who was particularly drawn to the titles: "Hamster and Cheese" and "And Then There Were Gnomes". The stories are really cute, but the art by Stephanie Yue is even more adorable! Now I can't wait for the third book, "The Ferret's A Foot".   

Okay. That's enough of that. TCAF is probably the convention that I look forward to the most. I'm glad that it now occurs annually instead of biennially. I'll have to come up with a new theme for my sketchbook before the next one, though. It's probably about time to retire Mysterio...maybe. 

[EDIT: Something strange happened and my original post disappeared...I found this version but it wasn't the *final* one...it was missing stuff about my "fun find" which I've rewritten. ~ks]