Neil Gaiman is coming to Winnipeg.

Neil. Frakking. Gaiman. Is coming here.

I’ll let you think about that for a moment.

Okay, enough thinking. Do you know how cool that is? Think of the coolest thing that you have ever imagined, no matter how impossible that might be. Like that dream you had with the unicorn penguin with rainbow wings and the chocolate fountain of youth. Yeah, that one. This? Cooler than that. Infinitely cooler.

I would squee, but that would be most unmanly. So instead, I will merely say that I have internally ruptured something from sheer joy. My awesome meter overfloweth with awesome. My nipples explode with delight.

I think you all get the picture.

In my own personal pantheon of the coolest writers ever, there’s King, there’s Lovecraft…and there’s Gaiman. And not necessarily in that order.

One month.

And then he will be here.




Squee!

Tags: a great disturbance in the force, awesome, geekiness, inappropriately excited, neil gaiman
Current Location: Neverwhere
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Cruxshadows - Wake the White Queen

Back from New York. And past the Halloween madness that was last week. It all seems a bit like a dream.

For the record, New York was unreal. Un-freaking-real. Every street holds a thousand stories, and around each corner is a new bit of wonder. I could have easily spent twice as much time there as I did…if I could have avoided burning out. Which, truthfully, is somewhat doubtful. An amazing place, but though it burns twice as bright as most others, it also burns twice as fast. I was quite happy to come back home. Ironic, that others go on vacation to relax, while I return home to do so.

So. Some notable sights and events that I saw and did while I was in New York. Let’s see. Went to the top of the Empire State Building. Wandered through a good part of Central Park. Spent plenty of time in Times Square. God, but I love Times Square. If there’s a beating heart of the world, New York is it – and if New York has a beating heart, that place is Times Square. Just being there is intoxicating. The living center of civilization. Of the universe. I never failed to feel that way.

Shopped at Macy’s (which already had their Christmas section on display), hit the Metropolitan Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Guggenheim. The former two are big – really big. Like, I-lost-a-football-field-in-here-somewhere big. Wandered along Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue. Saw the Big Piano in F.A.O. Schwartz. Caught some plays: Hamlet with Jude Law, Wishful Drinking with Carrie Fisher, Oleanna with Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, Avenue Q with…er…a bunch of Muppets, and Wicked with a bunch of flying monkeys and a couple of witches. All superb. I dined in restaurants, on the street, ate pizza, bagel, hot dog, shish-kabob, schwarma, lamb pita, and cheesecake. I had the buffet at the revolving restaurant at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square – magnificent view. And now I have been to both Marriott Marquises, which is pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself.

I saw the Bacon Brothers live at B.B. King’s Blues Bar, partied at several nightclubs and bars, and hung out with the uber-rich at the St. Regis and the Plaza hotels. I did the three hour Circle Line cruise around the island, ate at Katz’s Deli on Houston, wandered through Greenwich village, the Financial District, Midtown, Hell’s Kitchen, Soho, Nolita, Litte Italy and Chinatown. I perused CDs in a record store on Bleeker Street while Bob Dylan played in the background, got interviewed on Wall Street, and landed a seat in the second row at the David Lettermen Show (the Don Rickles episode on October 15^th – you can just see me at the bottom right a couple times, if you squint).

I spent a fair bit of time in and around Rockefeller Center, did the NBC Experience, took the tour of Radio City Music Hall (saw a Rockette!), and watched the ice skaters in the famous rink (yes, there was ice, and no I don’t know how they do it when it’s warm out). Took in the New York Library and relaxed in Bryant Park. Saw Grand Central Station. Strolled through Battery Park, paused by Ground Zero, perused a great many books stores. The Strand in particular was amazing. No bibliophile should miss it.

All this to say, I had a pretty damn good time. And the people were super friendly, surprisingly. At least, surprising to me. New York has a reputation for being tough, but I found people there to be nothing but kind. Also, everyone looks like they belong in a movie. Don’t ask me what it is, but I felt it the moment I arrived. Like I was one of many extras in some movie that was being filmed, if only I could see the camera.

I can honestly say, I did what I set out to do, and so much more. It actually blows my mind what I managed to accomplish in two weeks. And I’ve omitted many of the coolest moments. So many of the best moments were the little, unexpected things – the street performers, the hustle, the friendly people, the tourists. Urban rapping in a bathroom in a hidden club in the middle of nowhere. Electric violin played in the subway tunnels. Hawkers calling out in perfect unison. Pigeons and street art and slick ads on billboards. Almost every moment had something interesting in it. I can barely even recall it all.

And so now I return back to reality. But it’s not so bad. Because I have no doubt – someday, I shall return to the Big Apple.

I can wait.

Tags: 2009, awesome, complete, more fun than you can shake a stick at, new york, travel
Current Location: Home
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Ghostbusters Soundtrack - Magic

It’s the run up to New York. One week and a bit. And everything is going completely frakking nuts. As usual.

( Watch me lose my mind behind the cut... ) 

Tags: i must be insane, new york, travel
Current Location: At least three different places at once
Current Mood: Amped
Current Music: Carnivale - Main title theme

I am going to New York City.

Hotel booked. Flight booked. All that’s left are the gory details. Bloody hell, but I’m glad that’s done.

Been a busy month. After Dragon*Con, it seems like I’ve been on the go non-stop. Birthdays, anniversaries, work celebrations. Beer fests. You name it. And the planning for New York consumed most of the rest of my time.

Also my glasses decided to break last week. Spangggg is, I believe, the sound it made as it snapped. It was the day after the “we hit our target” work celebration, and I was more than a little hung over. It was also a Thursday morning.

I was a bit late for work that day.

So I’ve been wearing my faintly archaic contingency glasses. My cousin likes to call them my “Harry Potter” glasses. The first few days felt pretty weird, but I’m starting to get used to them. I may have my old ones back tomorrow. The optical centre says they’ve managed to repair them, but I’ll believe it when I…er, see it.

At any rate, with the main New York items off my plate and done, I now I feel like I have a small moment to pause and relax. Ahhhh.

But only for a moment. For there is still much to do and not enough time in the day.

Besides, let’s face it, if I wasn’t overloaded with things to do I probably wouldn’t even know what to do with myself.

Tags: i'm so glad it's done you have no idea, new york, spangggg, travel
Current Location: Between here and there
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Spider Lilies - Within

Well, I’m back from Dragon*Con. I had soooo much fun, it’s crazy. I’m still in post-con mode, which is a little like being shellshocked by candy-coated bombs exploding with joy. Or something like that.

Before I forget, here are the highlights, in no particular order:

-The costumes. Duh, of course the costumes. Each year I think I can’t be surprised anymore, and each year I’m amazed at the creativity and variety of the costumes.

-William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Patrick Stewart. Their panels were awesome. Stewart in particular seemed a bit taken aback by all the affection being heaped upon him.

-Meeting old friends and making new ones. I’m becoming more and more convinced that all the coolest people go to Dragon*Con.

-The concerts. They were uniformly awesome this year: Abney Park, the Cruxhadows, Ayria , Faith and the Muse. Jennifer Parkin of Ayria was obviously overwhelmed (and visibly a little flustered) by the audience’s enthusiasm, which was very sweet.

-Late night dances. These kept me up way past the time when I should have sensibly turned in for the night. But so much fun. I rarely dance, and never all by myself, but there was definitely some head bobbing action going on. At this rate I figure I’ll be making like Fred Astaire within the decade. Just you watch.

-Swag! The dealers rooms & exhibitors halls are like crack to me. Seriously. I can keep on going through the aisles for hours, always finding something else that’s shiny and cool. If I bought everything that caught my eye…well, there wouldn’t be much for everyone else, that’s all I’ll say.

-Comic Book Quick Sketch Contest. I won a prize, for best individual character! For my efforts, I have a really cool shiny plaque and some art swag. How cool is that?

-Sleep, I need it not. Every night I slept less than the night before. On Sunday, I didn’t sleep at all. I went from the late night dance to talking with some cool folks to taking a quick shower and a bite to eat, and then just in time to take in a panel. Things began to get a little frayed around the edges, and I’m not entirely sure if certain memories actually occurred or were merely hallucinations, but all in all it worked out rather well. And I stayed up late on Monday night too, and got up early on Tuesday morning because, well, in for a penny in for a pound, right?

-Farscape, B5 & BSG panels. These were all fantastic. I saw cast members I’d not seen before in person, and they were all quite engaging and interesting. There really was not a boring member in the bunch. Lots of fun was had reminiscing. A highlight was when a moderator showed the Farscape cast an old photo of Ben Browder from his football days. The expression on Ben’s face alone was priceless.

-Dressing up in costume for the first time. It was very different being on the other side of the costuming thing. It was hot and uncomfortable and no one wanted to take my picture and I really can’t wait to do it again next year. Bizarre, I know. But I really felt like I belonged. If I can figure out a way to add in a nuclear-powered air conditioning backpack, I might just be fine.

-Meeting some of the artists. This year I found myself talking to the artists more than in the past, which was great. I had some really fun conversations about everything under the sun.

-Wandering Atlanta. After Dragon*con is over, what else is there to do but explore the city itself? And I must say, I am growing more and more fond of Atlanta each year. The city really does have a vibrancy that I hadn’t noticed before, and that I’m not sure I’ve seen in another city. Downtown during the day is so alive that I could just wander around for hours doing nothing else. It's also a very beautiful and scenic city, which certainly doesn't hurt.

And that’s pretty much it. I’m sure I’ve forgotten lots of cool stuff – there was so much that happened in so small a time that my brain was overloaded for most of the weekend. So partial amnesia is to be expected. But whatever I’m forgetting, I’m sure that it was fun.

Anyway, today was my one day to do nothing but decompress, and it’s now way late. Time to go nighty-night.

And who knows. Perhaps I will dream of Dragon*Con...

Tags: 2009, atlanta, costumes, dragon*con, more fun than you can shake a stick at
Current Location: Home
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Ayria - Horrible Dream

T-11 days.

Tags: costumes, dragon*con, ertw
Current Location: The future past
Current Mood: geeky
Current Music: Abney Park - The Wrong Side

The photos from my trip to China have finally all been uploaded! You can see them here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eloketh/collections/72157608695211261/

I spent an unnatural amount of time sifting, merging, organizing and tweaking these photos. If you find that you like any of them please let me know so that I can, in some small way, justify my actions to myself : - )

On the whole, I am quite happy with how the photos came out.

Enjoy!

Tags: 2008, about frakking time, china, complete, i'm so glad it's done you have no idea, inappropriately excited, photos, travel
Current Location: Somewhere between the photons
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Max Payne Soundtrack - Heaven to the Max

And all I can think is: it’s about frakking time! : - )

Tags: about frakking time, sun, weather
Current Location: Home Sweet Home
Current Mood: Warm
Current Music: Sheryl Crow – Soak Up the Sun

Just saw Moon starring Sam Rockwell.

Wow. Just wow.

Good science fiction in movies is so rare these days. Great science fiction...well, it's certainly been a while. I'd almost forgotten what it was like.

Brilliant, brilliant film. Not much action. Most of it is just one actor. No doubt a lot of 'regular' folks would be bored to tears. Must be why it's only showing at the local 'Indie' theatre. So sad.

Still, a miracle it got made at all, I suppose. A throwback (in the best sense of the word) to the thinking man's Sci-Fi of yesteryear. A wonderful little elegy to life, death, meaning, loneliness, and what it means to be human.

Tags: moon, movies, sci-fi
Current Location: Lunarscape
Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: The silence of airless space

I have a costume.

That’s right. You heard me. For the first time ever, I will be bringing a costume to Dragon*Con. I have given in and decided to join the assembled masses in their sartorial madness.

The costume’s not flashy. Nothing lights up. Nothing really glows or sparks or makes noises. It certainly is not what you’d call ‘professional grade’. And it’s not as innovative or impressive as I would like.

But it’s mine. Oh yes. Muhahahaha.

It took me a bit of time to put together, finding a piece here and a piece there, but it’s pretty much done. I took home the last few pieces just today. I may add one more item to the ensemble. We'll see.

At this point, I haven’t had a chance to try it all on at once, so I’m still not sure exactly how it’s going to look all put together.

I sure hope it doesn’t suck.

Well, here’s hoping that I don’t look too foolish.

T-minus 48 days and counting…

Tags: costumes, dragon*con, i hope it doesn't suck
Current Location: Here and there
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Battlestar Galactica Original Theme