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.

Oui, We Wii!!!!!

Thanks to a fortuitous serious of events, beginning with the upcoming birthday of my friends' little girl (which coincidentally is also my mom's birthday!!) and ending with a phone call from Myles, we are now the proud owners of our very own Wii!!

As the way things often happen when I go to visit Tania, an impromptu celebration involving the Rave family and friends took place. This time, the excuse was Maya's 4th birthday. I was given the task of picking up a present for her at Toys R Us, since it's on my way to the subway. While there, I couldn't help but notice all of the signs saying, "Wii Consoles Available".

Myles and I have been trying to buy a Wii for a few weeks now, but with no luck. The last effort was particularly disappointing, with the Shoppers' Drug Mart having sold their last console that very morning...even worse, I was supposed to check a few days earlier, but never got around to it! Curse me and my crippling laziness!

So, there I was at the counter, paying for the cute lil' flower-shaped cd player, with Tinkerbell sitting atop it, debating on whether or not I should just go ahead and buy the Wii. I'm not very good at making these kinds of decisions on my own, so it was a good thing that Myles called me at that very moment. With a slight twist of my rubber arm, and the convincing argument of, "if I was there I'd buy it, but I'm not...YOU are," I added the Wii and WiiPlay to my purchase. Yay!

We had loads of fun breaking in the console at Tania's. I'm even a little stiff today, from all that boxing! I'm pretty sure Myles and I are going to get our money's worth outta this machine. I'm gonna go set it up now, so I can practice posing those stupid Mii's so he won't kick my ass next time!

W00T!

Sketchy McSketcherson

Hmm...it's been a while since I've posted anything. Sadly, it's mostly because nothing really happens to me that's worth writing about. Or, if I could write about something, I'm usually too uninspired or lazy to do so.

Well, all that changes TODAY!!! Heh. That makes it sound like I'm turning over a new leaf, or something. I am not. I'm just posting a couple sketches that I got at the Hobbystar Fan Appreciation event that took place this past weekend. If you want some in depth coverage, you should check out Myles' article. Digital Kontent (www.digitalkontent.com), along with friends, Shane Heron and Brian Boodnarine, set up a table where they pimped their wares and raffled off loads of free stuff.

I spent the first day not really feeling very well - I was just getting over a cold - so, I just tooled around and bought a bunch of trades. I was too indecisive and just couldn't figure out from whom and of what to get sketches. Sunday I was feeling better, and finally ended up getting a few sketches.

The con was lots of fun. I love that Digital Kontent has a table at these things - I must say, it's really nice to have a place to sit and chill when you need to take a load off, or a place to store all your purchases.

The highlight of the con for me was talking to Michael Cho. He's part of Transmission-X and his web comic, Papercut is my absolute favourite. Also, he's Korean! So, we had the typical Korean exchange:

Michael: "Are you Korean?"
Me: "Yes."
Michael: "Do you speak Korean"
Me: "No."

I don't know how many times I've had that conversation, but it's probably equal to the number of times I've met a Korean. Anyway, I'm a really big fan of Cho's art and his style, so it was nice just to chat about that. And, as if that weren't enough, he was kind enough to indulge me with a Butternutsquash sketch, which I asked for because I LOVED the guest strip he did for them a few months back.

Holy Matrimony, Batman!!!

Okay, so I just found out yesterday that my best friend got MARRIED!!! I knew he was engaged and that they were planning to get married in the fall, but I had no idea that they already got hitched!

It had been a while since I'd spoken with him, but we finally had a chance to catch up over Google Talk (I love me my gmails, boy howdy!) and after a few minutes of chitchat, he suddenly mentions that he's married! And, no, it wasn't shotgun. They just found a day that was supposed to be lucky for the both of them, and his wife is a little superstitious, so they quickly threw together a little civil service. It all makes perfect sense and I'm super happy for them! They're still planning to have a proper ceremony in the fall...IN CABO! Well, that's the tentative plan, anyway, and I'm gonna try my darndest to be there to celebrate with the happy couple!

CONGRATULATIONS, ANDREW AND CHARMIAN!!!!!

In other news, I got yelled at by a cop this morning. I just ignored him, though. I'm such a rebel! Actually, I had my headphones on so I couldn't really hear him. The police had blocked off the intersection by my work, but the dude that was directing traffic didn't say anything to me as I crossed the street. Just as I was about to go up the steps to my building a cop pulls up, turns on his little warning siren, and starts frantically waving his arms. I was literally five steps away from my building entrance, and he's yelling at me to get off the sidewalk - it was either, take the five steps to my building, or backtrack 50 steps ON THE SIDEWALK to the other building entrance building. So, I took a step forward and he started to FREAK OUT. Since he wasn't making sense, I just went ahead and took the 4 remaining steps to get me "off the sidewalk."

I found out afterwards that a window on the 17th floor of my building was somehow knocked loose (perhaps due to the strong winds??) and pieces of glass were apparently falling to the ground. Whoops. I guess he had pretty good reason to yell at me, after all. Sorry, Mr. Officer. Thanks for saving my life!!!!