TCAF 2009 - aka Awesometown!

I don't think it's necessary for me to give a detailed account of my fun times at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) this past weekend. Instead, I'll just point you to Myles' report since we were at the same places at the same times. I'm just going to take this time to show off my sketches from the weekend. There were so many amazing people and amazing artists that it was tough to see them all. I'm sure I missed tonnes of great artists - I think I need to be more systematic in my wanderings. Usually I just pinball around the venue avoiding the biggest crowds and finding people that have been recommended to me. I need to take on some more recon missions and discover my own hidden gems next time.

Timing was on my side on day one. After we arrived and wandered around to figure out the lay of the land, I decided to go to the info desk to find out when Brian Lee O'Malley would be signing. I was told that he had just arrived and would be signing in a few minutes. Since I had already figured out where he would be sitting, I bee-lined it to his table - grabbing Myles on the way - and we ended up about 3rd in line - a line which turned into a snake within seconds. Here's the best thing about Brian - a dude behind us asked if he would be sketching, and Brian turned around, saw the long line that had formed and said, "Yeah, I think I can do some sketches..." And do some sketches he did...here is my Stephen Stills:



My good timing continued while I wandered some more. This time, I ended up at Tara McPherson's table just as she was setting up. I mentioned that I didn't have my sketchbook the night before when we were at her gallery opening and asked if I could grab a quick sketch from her. She asked for a few minutes to set up, so I lingered until she was ready, and then I got this little piece of awesome:



There are a few artists from whom I try to request sketches of characters they've never done before. Usually it's someone who's style I love, so Jeff Lemire falls right into that category. I first asked for a sketch of Death, to which Jeff responded that he's drawn her a few times. I said I would think of something else and get back to him. A little while later, I decided to ask for a Cthulhu, but he wasn't comfortable drawing one without reference. Back to the drawing board! After some careful consideration, I settled on a Spock, not knowing if he would be into that at all. This is how our conversation went.

Me: "Ummmm....how does Spock sound?"
Jeff: "That sounds...pretty awesome."

Neither of us are real Trekkies, but he whipped up this bad boy pretty quickly, complete with an Enterprise, too!



OMG...this is going to take waaaaaay too long. I'm just going to point you to my web album instead. I'll add some descriptions so you're not left in the dark...

Just to sum up, TCAF is pretty much the awesomest of all awesomes...and it's FREE TO ATTEND. Next time, my niece should be old enough to check out the OWL Kids stuff, which should be fun. I wonder if they'll keep it at Met Ref. Small logistical and ventilation issues aside, it was a pretty neat place to have a festival. I'm already excited for TCAF 2011!!!

HOLY CRAP!!! I forgot to mention the awesome conversation I had with J. Bone about crocheting! On day one I noticed some AMAZING crocheted superheroes at his table, with a sign that said 'Not For Sale". There was a full bodied, crazy amazing Wolverine, and uh...eek! I can't remember who the girl doll is!!! But she has some kick-ass boots! And he made a cute little Spider-man with the eyes, and front and back logos all made from yarn! So, on day two I packed up my Cthulhu, Mysterio and Penguin so I could show him. J. is a crochet purest - he makes his dolls completely from yarn, all the details and accessories - everything!!! It's really amazing. I'm not good enough or patient enough to figure out my own patterns for stuff, so I use felt and baked clay to dress up my characters. Anyway, I had to come back and add this part cuz it was one of my favourite parts of the weekend! I can't wait to see some of J's other creations...I think he mentioned a Dr. Doom, which I can only assume is totally kickass!

A potentially lifechanging (albeit nerdy) mission...

Although you can't really tell, I am typing this entry using a keyboard setup called Dvorak (as opposed to QWERTY). While it is very slow-going right now, I think that it will someday change my life for the better. I only just found out about Dvorak this past weekend at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) when I purchased a copy of 'The Dvorak Zine' from Alec Longstreth for the low low price of one dollar!! Best loonie I ever spent!

I won't go into too much detail about Dvorak except to say it's a logically designed keyboard layout based on extensive research. Pretty much everything you need to know about it can be found here: http://dvzine.org/. Alec, Frunch and GCB are funny, informative, encouraging and helpful - they even explain how to set  it up in Windows, Mac AND Linux (yay for me!!!). I really hope to be able to adapt quickly and that it will help to ease my repetitive stress pain.

I expect it to be a bit hard to switch since QWERTY touch typist = old dog, and Dvorak = new tricks, but I think it's worth a shot!

First phase of mission: blog using Dvorak
Status: ACCOMPLISHED

Lis and Craig's Wintry Nuptials

YAY! Lis and Craig are married!!! And no one was eaten by a bear (take THAT, Jeremy!!!!)!!

The ceremony (as odd as this may sound for a January wedding) was held lakeside just south of Algonquin Park on Oxtongue Lake near Dwight, ON. As Office (US) fans, Sandra and I couldn't help but laugh every time we saw a sign that said "Dwight"...I think Myles would have laughed, too, but he was sleeping in the back.

It was a beautiful ceremony - very initmate with only family and some close friends - and the weather even cooperated! Sandra, Myles and I had to pull over in Barrie to let the white-out pass by, which ended up being a great decision because as we got back on the 400, an accident was just clearing up. I was concerned that the crazy storm would last until the next day, and we'd be forced to stand like a bunch of chumps in knee-deep snow freezing our buns off! But, somehow, things worked out: the skies opened up, the sun came out and we were actually pretty warm!

Here's a slideshow of pix to prove it!

And for yoinking purposes, or if you'd like to see the pix without the aid of a magnifying glass, here's a link to the actual album: http://picasaweb.google.com/ksong3000/LisAndCraigSWedding?feat=directlink

My Army of Cute!! MUAHAHAAHAAAAH!!!!

For a while now I've been toying with the idea of learning the art of needle felting, so I finally decided to buy a book that will teach me how. I plan to start with little animals and work my way up to designing my own line of superheros...I'm thinking I'll just ride the Hollywood superhero fad: Batman, Spider-man, Hulk, Iron Man and Superman. I want to try to get them all figured out before the next Fan Expo, though, since my friend, Niall, is planning to buy a table so he can sketch for the masses. I figure I'll just steal a little corner and try to hawk my amateurish crafts.

Anyway, while looking for the needle felting book, I came across this and just couldn't pass it up:



Apparently, there's a name for this type of craft: amigurumi - the Japanese art of cute little crochet dolls! I have to thank Tania for sending me a link to some video tutorials on the basics of amigurumi, because I'm really more of a knitter than a crocheter...although I'm not sure why. Crochet is so much easier and faster! I eased my way into amigurumi by tackling two of the "easy" patterns: the grim reaper and the ninja.

Here are my first two attempts:

    



The ninja is missing a little silver throwing star that I need to crochet and stitch under his sash, but I can't find the right embroidery thread...soon, though. Right now he looks a 'lil bland. I like how the grim reaper looks with his hood down, too, and I opted not to give him a spooky mouth - I'm partial to the cute emoticon-ish smile. I made the eyes and the scythe with sculpting clay.

Sadly, I lost my ball of white yarn (did anyone find it on the subway, by chance???), so I couldn't make the other two "easy" patterns in the book. The only other doll I had the right colours for was an "intermediate" doll: Nosferatu. He's not super difficult in terms of the crocheting (they're pretty much just variations of little stuffed balls), but he has so many little pieces to him (ears, collar, buttons) that it takes just as long to stitch him together as it takes to crochet him! He's also kinda tricky cuz he's hunched over and front-heavy, so you have to stuff him in such a way that he won't fall flat on his face. He's pretty much the best one, though. See for yourself!

    

Well, I probably won't try any other patterns until I get some more yarn. I need lime green so I can try my hand at that Cthulu! I've got his eyes all ready to glue on! I'm pretty sure I can handle the "intermediate" ones, but I'm not so sure about the "epic" dolls, like the monkey. EPIC!!! Yikes! Again, the main difference really seems to be all the extra accessories and the complex assembly. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

As for the needle felted animals and superheroes, Fan Expo isn't for another year...right?? :P

He bangs, he bangs...oh baby, when he moves, he moves!

Allow me to introduce you to Canada's very own William Hung!

His name is Jason Tam and he calls himself "Jaguar"...(??wtf!?!?)



So, my sister leaves me a message telling me to check out the Toronto auditions for So You Think You Can Dance Canada, cuz apparently there are quite a few talented and unique dancers in this fair city o' mine. Imagine my surprise when I see them introduce "Jaguar", a blast from my poker-playing past! Although, I'd never heard anyone call him "Jaguar", and his poker career was pretty short-lived. I don't know all the dirty details but, to the best of my knowledge, he was banned from playing poker cuzza all the BAR FIGHTING!!??! I'm sure my erstwhile Pirana colleagues can help fill in the gaps, though. (I'm looking to you, Mike and Genesis - I've already heard everything that Myles knows about the "incidents"...)

Anyway, it's pretty clear from his bit on SYTYCDC that he's quite a character (and a terrible singer/dancer). I'm sure he brought his little portable stool with him - the one he brings when he camps out in line at the Fan Expo, or the Toronto International Film Festival (he's a bit of a celebrity autograph whore, it seems). But, if you ever encounter him sitting on that stool, do NOT piss him off cuz, from what I hear, he'd think you were coming on to him, and he'd probably use the stool to smash your f**king face in!

He looks like a flower, but he stings like a bee...

Anyone can play guitar...

...but no one does it quite like Radiohead!

I just saw them again on Friday, for the 5th or 6th time, and I'm happy to report that they are still my most favouritest band ever! There's just something about seeing them live that transcends all other live experiences for me. I think a lot of it has to do with their dedication to producing crystal clear, album-quality sound - at the Molson Amphitheatre! They even made the SKYDOME sound great by putting up velvet curtains to soak up the otherwise unbearable reverb.

The only bad experience I've had seeing them live was at Arrow Hall in Mississauga, which wasn't really their fault...YOU try playing in a giant concrete box, in front of sweaty, teenage suburbanites who were really just looking for an excuse to form a mosh pit. Who the hell moshes at a RADIOHEAD concert??!!!? Thom Yorke gave 'em the whatfor, though, saying they were "at the wrong fucking concert", as far as he was concerned. As a treat, they played Banana Co. which was meant for the nerdy supa-fans that were familiar with their b-sides...*adjusts glasses*. :P

After the concert, Myles and I hung around the CNE to grab some food, since neither of us had time to eat dinner beforehand. While in the washroom, I overheard a conversation about how two girls who paid $160 each for lawn seats (that I got for $50) were turned away at the gate because they were 'too drunk'. SUCKAHZ!!! In an attempt to console the overly distraught puffy-eyed one, another girl told her that she didn't miss much because they didn't play the songs she wanted to hear (which I assume means Creep, and anything from The Bends...*sigh*). It's been FIFTEEN YEARS, LADY! They've been sporting a new sound since 2000, and even though it's very different from their early sound, they still take breaks and perform amazing renditions of No Surprises, Street Spirit, and Airbag, to name a few. My personal fave from the older songs they played was Climbing Up the Walls, which DOES lend itself to their new sound. (Here's their set list, in case you're interested...)

Anyway, I was pretty pleased that I got a chance to see them again. It's been a long, long time, since it's pretty near impossible to get tickets. The first time I saw them was in 1997 and I was EXTREMELY lucky to win tickets for their Opera House gig, which holds about 850 people. I even cut my vacation to Boston short, changing my flight to get back in time to see them, and I'm so glad that I did. The concert was a few months before OK Computer was released, so my sister and I were treated to a sneak preview of almost the entire album. And, as a super-special treat (prompted by the audience's refusal to leave the venue even after they brought up the house lights), Thom Yorke came out for a second encore (before 2 encores became a staple of their concerts) and played an acoustic version of Thinking About You. So very, very pretty...

Wow! I could ramble on for days about Radiohead!! Like, there was that time my best friend drove from Boston to Toronto and back to Boston to take me to see them in 1998. On the drive to the Worcester Centrum, I brought my Japanese EP release, Running From Demons, to listen to, and as coincidence would have it, they started the concert with Meeting in the Aisle as their entrance song, and played Pearly* as part of their set! This doesn't really mean anything to anyone, I'm sure, but the whole point being that these were both songs only available on the Japanese EP at the time...they were giving a little preview of the US EP Airbag/How Am I Driving, which was to be released about a week later.

Okay. I have to stop. I'm sorry. It's just that I love them so very, very much.

I'M WALKIN' HERE!!!

So, I nearly got hit by a car today on my way to work! Excuse me for a second while I let my heartbeat slow down a lil....there, that's better. My sister called me while I was walking to work to ask if I could babysit last minute, since she just scored some Feist tickets for tonight (lucky duck). I was hemming and hawing about whether or not I could, since Myles and I already have plans to watch the season finale of Survivor (DON'T SPOIL IT FOR ME, PLEASE!!!!) while eating leftover jumbo stuffed pasta shells that I made on the weekend. They're super yummy - stuffed with spinach, prosciutto, cottage cheese, and mozzarella....MMMmmmmm.

Anyway, I started to cross the street - my right of way, btw - and, some dude turning left hit the gas, presumably to beat oncoming traffic, and didn't see me 'til the very last second. He literally stopped maybe 5-6 inches away from me, causing me to instinctively put out my hand on the off chance that, through some strange miracle, I might suddenly possess super strength and be able to stop the car with one hand. Thank goodness I didn't actually have to test out that theory, though...so, there's still a chance that I have latent superpowers. I'll keep you posted.

My poor sister, though. I was still talking to her when it happened. I'm glad he stopped, cuz I'd hate for her to have heard me get squished! The dude looked stunned because he didn't see me at all, gave me an apologetic wave, and drove off, leaving me with an adrenaline high that will probably last the whole day.

I need a coffee...and a shot of whiskey.