San Diego Comicon - July 25th, 2008

I started to post more pics of Alaska, but Juneau will have to wait for a day I don't have anything else to post. I'm over Alaska and still feeling the afterglow of Comicon. Jim, Debbie Chuck and I flew down to San Diego for the day to attend. This event is a madhouse people! I've never been so exhausted from doing so little. Really, all I did was stand in line, sit a bit and then mosey around and do some shopping. I've spent countless hours (years in fact) training for this very thing at malls and shopping districts that I should have been in Olympic form for it, but damn it kicked my butt. It was one of the more pleasurable butt kickings I've had though.

The high point of the event was also the low point for me. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz writer and star Simon Pegg (love him!) was there to discuss his BBC show Spaced, which was just now being released on DVD (rent it, it's funny!). The panel was very enjoyable, video to come if I ever learn how to upload. At the end there was an announcement that he would be signing autographs in autograph area 6. Woohoo! I'm getting Simon Pegg's autograph! DENIED! After finding area six and getting in a line that stretched all the way back to Terre Haute, I overhear (after about 15 minutes of standing there) that you need a special orange ticket (that you had to "win" in some lottery earlier that morning) in order to get an autograph. WTF? I confirm this with the official looking woman guiding people around to Terre Haute. Needless to say I was crushed. I debated staying in line but did I want to wait for an hour or four only to be shooed away? No, I did not. I noticed he was standing in front of a window so I made my way around and managed to get about 3 feet from him.

Simon (in hat), so...very...close!

Now, I was wearing a Peggster.net teeshirt, that's a fansite of his, that I bought to endear myself to him should I get within distance. He's 3 feet away and the only thing seperating us is some clear glass. I thought "Okay, I press my chest up against this glass so he can notice my 'devotion' and then pound like hell on the window. He'll have to turn and see me. If I can't get an autograph, maybe I can get a wave." and I sure as hell would have done it if Jim had not found me at that moment. I must be maturing because I just couldn't do it with him staring at me. Maturing sucks! So I did nothing and we left and went to the Showrunner's panel.

I'm sure I'll regret it always.

This kid was just ahead of me in line and he too was heartbroken to find out you needed to win a ticket. Poor kid was dressed like Shaun and everything! He even remembered the red pen. How could they not let him get an autograph?

Here are some folks in costume...

~ Stormtrooper Elvis!~


Me mocking a non-Elvis stormtrooper.




Deb and I talked a bit of smack about half naked girl here, but if I'm honest I have to admit that if my ass looked like that I'd wear that costume too, every day.

Jim and his hat love Slave Labor Graphics! Sadly, when he got Jhonen Vasquez' autograph I was at the Spaced panel with our camera so he wasn't able to get a photo.

Season 4 coming soon to DVD!

The Dharma Initiative was booked for the day so I wasn't able to take the assessment test. (pout)

Seth "Scott Evil" Green himself was there. He's much taller in person.

It's the new "Pull my finger" Darth Vader!

Tura Santana from the Russ Meyer film "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Debbie and I happened to see her a year or two ago when she was celebrating her birthday at Forbidden Island.

Obscene finger gestures of the rich and famous...

Lately I've been seeing a rash of celebrities flipping their birds, so I thought I would share these photos with you good people.

I decided it was fitting to start with the current leader of the free world.

A role model for us all!

Icy Straight

Okay, continuing with the tedious vacation pictures...

This is pretty much the whole of Icy Straight. Mostly gift shops built in to what was once a cannery. Oh, it does have the longest zip line in Alaska.

This is the boat that ferried us to the dock.



A very friendly cat who's fur remains on my wool coat to this day.



These plants are all over the place.



Jim listening to how this canning machine worked.
My butt ain't fitting in there, sorry.

Spaced is awesome!

To assist me in gearing up for Comicon this Friday, BBC America happened to play a Spaced marathon over the weekend and it is a wickedly funny show. The adorable Simon Pegg (Love him! Can't wait to see him on Friday! Woo flippin' hoo!) stars along with Jessica Hynes as two 20 somethings sharing an apartment under they guise that they are a couple. It was just released on dvd yesterday so run out and rent it! You won't be sorry. If you've seen Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz (which I recommend you do asap or your life will cease to be fully lived) you'll be familiar with the humor and styling.

Here's a rather long clip from Gatherings where they throw a housewarming party.
Watch it! Love it! Make things out of foil!

Ketchikan

The sign pretty much speaks for itself.

This was the restaurant that hosted our Chef's Table excursion. The food was really wonderful! My favorite was their twist on the hot wing. Since they don't raise a lot of chickens in Alaska, they made a spicy shrimp and paired it with a bleu cheese dipping sauce. It's the shrimp on the left below. I can't remember how they prepared the other shrimp, I'm really going to have to get a notebook.

I wish I had some more of these right now!

These were the appetizers. The crabcake was fabulous!

This is our host for the lunch though sadly I can't remember his name. I hope I can remember to get that notebook. Someone remind me. He was a really nice guy. His father is a fisherman and has been all his life, he and his brothers would fish with him. His sister was engaged at the time and they were planning a huge party for her wedding and I got the impression it was going to be crazy fun and lousy with fish.

Here are some of the dogs from the Dogsled Summer Camp. They were a happy bunch of dogs. A bit stinky, but very happy.

Jim and sled.

I love this guy, look at that ensemble.

I do wish there had been time to catch the Lumberjack show. Hopefully there's a next time.

Get down with your bad self Helen Mirren!

63 years old this month and she's rockin' that bikini!

Vavoom! Go Helen!

Saxman Native Village - Sitka

I got your totem pole right here!

The best shot I could get of the Lincoln Totem Pole. There's a raven on his head.

Below is a picture I found online so you can get a better idea of what he looked like. Interesting conception of his legs I must say.

I promised Jim I would get a shot of him and the Seward Totem pole and ended up with this less than flattering photo. It was harder to get them both in there than you may imagine. I tried to get him to smile but he refused. I'm posting this pic anyway, that'll teach him.

The story goes this totem pole was erected when Secretary of State William Henry Seward visited the Saxman Indians without proper understanding of the potlatch. They showered him with gifts and expected the courtesy to be returned one day. When Seward never reciprocated the potlatch, this totem was erected and his ears, mouth and nose painted red to note his stinginess. The young lady at the gift shop said that his granddaughter (great granddaughter?) had paid a visit and was livid it was still up. Maybe she should shower them with gifts?