Tidewater Comicon 2014

Last weekend, Elizabeth, Dave & I visited the local comicon down in Virginia Beach.  It was Dave & Is third con this year, and Elizabeth's first.

It was easily my second best con, especially for it being in its first year.  Both of us thought it was better than the Richmond Wizard World we attended back in August.  (We also attended what was my first con back in March, going out to Seattle, Washington to attend Emerald City Comic-Con.  We attended all 3 days for that one.)

I was able to get a couple of comics signed.  The Monsters variant of Justice League United that Kelley Jones did, and a random issue of Masters of the Universe that Pop Mahn was the artist on.

For being such a small con, I was impressed with the amount of artists and talent that was there.  I was able to come away with a lot of cool art (both original and prints), which I will share now.  (I apologize for the glare on some of these.)

First up are two prints Elizabeth picked up from Pop Mahn's table.  The left, Skeletor looking pretty awesome upon a throne of skulls.  On the right, we have Batman & Martian Manhunter duking it out with a White Martian.

Next up, just a cool looking print from Angela McKendrick.  Not sure if she is a local (local being Virginia) artist or not, as Dave and I also saw her up in Richmond and I picked up a few mini-prints from her there.  You can find her on DeviantArt here.

 Last print belongs to Elizabeth, one she picked up from artist Matt Slay.  Leonardo is her turtle, and she really liked this print.  Slay was super cool and personable.  Dave and I both got commissions from him, and Dave also picked up a few prints, including a pretty awesome looking Raphael that he had done for a signing with Sean Astin.  You can check out his DeviantArt page here.

This was the commission I had done by Matt Slay.  While talking with him, he mentioned he was doing a variant cover for the upcoming IDW cross-over The Real Ghostbusters/TMNT.  So when it came around for me to decide on a character to get done, I went with Egon Spengler.  Love how it turned out.  Dave had a Casey Jones done, which was also very impressive.

These are all mini original pieces of art both Elizabeth & I picked up from the talented Lee Lacy.  He had a lot of movie/tv characters to choose from, and I will admit it was hard to choose.  I was going to try and stick with a horror character theme by choosing The Cryptkeeper and The Tall Man (from Phantasm), but found it hard to pass up one of my movie mentors, Mr. Miyagi.  Elizabeth ended up picking up the trio of bumbling burglars Fester, Marcus, & Hammer from 3 Ninjas, one of her movies.  Lee was actually surprised someone knew the trio, and was happy to see his choice appreciated.  I will most definitely keep an eye out for him at future cons.

Lastly is the pre-con commission I had done by the talented Eryk Donavan.  Dave had a Judge Dredd done by him when we were at Wizard World, which turned out awesome.  I learned he was a local talent, so I contacted him if he was going to be at Tidewater, and then asked for Michael Myers from Halloween.  I love how it turned, and I'm already planning for future horror icon commissions from him at any future cons I see him at.  Check out his work by going to his website here.

Tidewater Comicon is already planning a Spring 2015 show.  It will be a 2-day event, May 16-17.  I am already looking forward to it, and to seeing the local show continue to grow.

Happy 32nd Birthday

I had a great birthday this past weekend, spent with great friends and an amazing wife.

Yesterday after church, Elizabeth, Lindsey, Brian and myself spent the afternoon with pizza and homemade cookies (easily some of the best I've ever had) and watched Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.  Two films Elizabeth had never seen, and that are on my 40 Films before 40 list.

(For those that don't know, when Elizabeth and I made 40 Before 40 lists two years ago, one of the objectives on my personal list is a list of 40 movies Elizabeth has never seen with me.  It is a wide range of movies, mostly favorites of mine that I want to experience with her,)

It was a great afternoon, and surprisingly, she liked Bogus more.

After Bri & Lindz left, we relaxed at home and I began playing Batman: Arkham City, one of my birthday gifts.  I also took the time and called my parents and grandparents, as I had missed a call from them.  And it is always nice to talk with family.

Dave came over later that evening, and we ate leftover pizza & cookies, and ended up watching The Serpent & The Rainbow, which he had just bought at MovieStop.  (Movie will get its own post shortly, as I am considering it as Movie #1 in my 31 Days of Horror challenge).  He also had his gift for me, which was Volumes 1 and 2 of Chew, Omnivore editions.  A great gift, since I just got into Chew earlier this year.

One final gift I've yet to experience, but that is because it hasn't happened yet.  Elizabeth, Dave, and I will be going to a hockey game next month, which should be lots of fun.

06/19/2013

So, it has been over a week since I last updated, so I'm taking time this morning to do so.  I really need to get into the habit of writing more often, even if it's just a small update.

Work is continuing to be great.  If you had told me 6 months ago that I would find I job I was completely happy with and looked forward to each day, I would of called you a liar.  It's an amazing feeling to not be stressed and to actually enjoy work once again.  It may not be 682, but nothing will ever be.  I truly love my job, and the fact that is also serves as a ministry is awesome.

Elizabeth and I had a great time last Wednesday at Chuck E. Cheese with the kids and their parents.  Thursday we went to the Rathbones to get copies of the new Sunday School curriculum.  We had a pretty big storm come through around 5 that day, and they had lost power, so we ended up hanging out with them and playing cards, eating pizza, and just enjoying the company of one another.  It was a great time.  Eliz and I are really looking forward to the pre-teen ministry going forward.

On the movie front, I watched my 100th movie of the year.  6 months earlier than 2012, when movie 100 was watched in December.  So, I've forgotten if I set a goal for this year, but I think 200 is reasonable, if I continue on this track.

97) Raiders of the Lost Ark - Dave and I took the opportunity to see this on the big screen and went to Cinemark last Wednesday afternoon.  It was fun, and a great movie to experience in a theater.  The first  3 Indiana Jones movies are wonderful adventure films, and I would look the chance to see Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade in theaters as well.

98) Constantine - Elizabeth and I had a date night the other night, and this was the movie drawn.  (I'm not sure if I've explained this before, but I will put movies on a slip of paper and have E draw one or two, and that is our selection for the night.  We came up with this idea, as when I am left to choose, I get moody and indecisive, and the night gets ruined.)  I really enjoy this film, and since I was introduced to the character via film and not comic books, the characterizations that were changed I can deal with.    It's a fun, atmospheric supernatural/action/thriller, with a good cast.  I've always like Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz, and they both do excellent in this film.

99) Bad Company - This was a little thriller that somehow slipped under my radar, especially for being a Joel Schumacher film.  Which is odd, since it was released during my BBV days.  It was pretty decent, given the concept is highly unbelievable, LoL.  A CIA agent is killed in action, so his twin brother (they were separated at birth) is recruited to replace him and trained to help finalize a deal that is going down for a nuclear weapon....in just 9 days.  Add in that the two main characters are played by Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock, maybe I can understand how this did get by me.

100) Knight and Day - Another date night bowl selection for Elizabeth and I.  I really like this film, and it is one of the films within the past 5 years that have made me like Tom Cruise.  Maybe it's the memory of us seeing this film together at the drive-in that adds to the likeness factor, but it's just a fan action romp, one where you don't have to think much, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

06/03/2013

This past weekend was great.  Elizabeth and I had company in town with Roc, so the 3 of us hung out Thursday night playing Life.  Friday night Brandi joined us for pizza and another round of Life, and Dave made an appearance.  And after the 2 of them left, the 3 of us played some intense rounds of Hoopla.

Saturday was movie marathon day at TOS.  We did a "Ben Stiller" theme, which included 4 movies: Heavyweights, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Zoolander, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Yes, I know: Stiller only has a brief cameo in Anchorman. But Raj and Eliz made the movie choices, and I think it's one they quote a lot and wanted to watched together.

After the movie marathon, Eliz and I walked around the Pirate festival that was going on in Hampton this weekend.  It was lots of fun, even though we didn't buy anything.  Neither one of us was hungry enough for the food, and we didn't see anything souvenir wise that was worth it.  We did get to see a cool game though called "Water War", where two people/groups launch water balloons at each other to see who can get the wettest.

Yesterday was a wonderful day at church, as we played Jeopardy in Sunday School class for end of the quarter, and then there was a luau in Children's Church for end of the year.  It was lots of fun, and I look forward to seeing how the children's program moves forward in the fall.

And to top the weekend off, Elizabeth and I had a date night in last night, catching up on some comics and then watching a movie.  We finally finished up Geoff Johns Green Lantern run.  I can't believe it's been 9 years.  Part of me doesn't even want to continue with the GL books, since it ended so perfectly, and it will be a hard run to follow.

So, a couple movies to cover.  I won't cover all 4 movies from the marathon, but I do want to cover one of them. :)

83) Heavyweights - I had forgotten how good this movie was!  I'm pretty sure I've only seen it a handful of times since seeing it in the theater in '94, so it wasn't ingrained into my brain unlike other films.  First off, it's probably one of the first films Judd Apatow worked on (he was writer/executive producer).  Then, Ben Stiller is great as villain Tony Perkis.  A lot of humor and warmth, and quotable, and made evident by Elizabeth.  I currently own a Full Screen DVD (one of the few that I do allow in my collection), but a Blu-Ray was released in Dec '12, which I will be upgrading to eventually.  Not just for the Widescreen transfer, but because it is also loaded with extras, which the DVD has none of.

87) Up - Why why why did I wait 4 years to see this movie?  This was the selection Elizabeth made for date night last night, and man is it great!  First off, it takes a lot for me to cry during a film.  Not get emotional, but to actually shed a tear is work.  But this one had me crying within the first 10 minutes of it, and the thing is: I knew what was coming!  I had actually watched the opening of the movie online, knowing what kind of story Disney/Pixar was able to pull off in a span of 5 minutes.  But the movie itself is just wonderful.  Great characters, beautiful landscapes, and just a wonderful story.  Easily one of my top 5 Pixar films.

88) First Blood - I remember catching Rambo movies on TV when I was younger (probably on the USA network), but it must of been mostly the 2 sequels, because I watched First Blood last night, and realized I had never seen any of it.  A good early '80s action flick.  The scene where Rambo takes the cops out in the forest was easily my favorite part, and the interaction between Rambo and Col. Trautman.  I look forward to  seeing the sequels with the eyes of film love I've acquired since my childhood.   

This was a pretty good catch-up.  I'm back to mostly mid-shifts this month at work, so I will probably continue to watch movies during my down time.  I am back into reading regularly as well though.

02-14-2012

Elizabeth and I had a great time this weekend helping out at the Weekend to Remember.  We attended last year, and that is how we got involved with FamilyLife.  Friday night, we helped out at the registration table, and the rest of the weekend we were just helping out where needed.  We love being involved in the FamilyLife ministry, and already look forward to next years event.

Been on a movie kick recently.  Just knocking some library rentals out, plus hanging out with Dave again.

I watched Kung Fu Panda 2 Sunday night.  I really enjoyed it, and it will be something to add to the collection eventually.  Not sure if I would say it's better than the first one, but that's only because it's been a while since I have seen it.  I'm a sucker for most kid/family films, and it's hard for me to not be entertained by one of them.

Monday, Dave came over and we braved watching The Thing (2011).  In the end, it wasn't a bad movie.  The pacing was off a bit, and knowing how the movie ends because of John Carpenter's The Thing, I think it was hard to not judge the film.  I enjoyed the acting for the most part, and thought the effects were decent.  As a prequel to Carpenter's film, it was nice to see how things played out.  After watching it, I read about how the director and his team made sure that all the details were right, and had stills from the Norwegian site as seen in Carpenter's film so they would be correct, which I thought was very cool.  I might eventually buy it, if found at a decent price.

After that, we watching Terminator Salvation.  I really enjoyed it.  I loved the concept that Sam Worthington was a Terminator, but didn't realize it.  Christian Bale was John Conner was great, but Bale is one of my favorite actors so I'm always impressed with his work.  And I had forgotten that Kyle Reese was a character in this film as well, which I thought Anton Yelchin did a good job at.  Seeing the post-Judgment Day world is a good way to progress the franchise, and I'm hoping that Bale and Yelchin return for any further chapters.  Also, the surprise "cameo" (it's CGI) of Arnold as the T-800 was nice.

Dave also came over this afternoon and we watched a Chang Chen film, Ten Tigers of Kwangtung.  It was  an enjoyable film, told mostly in flashback (the movie is pieced together by 3 different people adding to the story), and has some great fighting, which is really the reason we watch Chen films to begin with.  That and the kills.  And the finale to this one doesn't disappoint.

02-09-2012

I guess watching the Terminator franchise has put me into a sci-fi mood, as my movie watching this week progressed into the genre.

I watched Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines a few nights back, and I still enjoy it.  It's a little corny at times, but it has a really great car chase scene in it involving a lot of destruction, and then I like that we get to see SkyNet begin its takeover.  I remember seeing T3 in theaters the summer it came out and being shocked that Judgment Day arrives at the end of the movie.

Still haven't watched Terminator: Salvation, but that's because I'm going to watch it with Dave so I have to work it into the schedule.

Last weekend I borrowed Billy's Blu-Ray of Blade Runner, just to see what kind of stuff was on it and to see if it was worth upgrading eventually.  And it totally is.

I watched the final cut of Blade Runner Monday night, and it looks amazing on Blu-Ray.  I seriously couldn't believe I was watching a 30-year-old movie.  I couldn't tell much between Ridley Scott's final and director's cut, but it has been quite a while since I have last seen the DC.  I think the more I watch this movie, the more I like it.  I don't know if my mood changes, or I just see a bit more with each viewing.  But there are a few movies that I've been impartial to at first, and then the next time I really like them.

So, as good as Blade Runner is, the BR has a special treat that is right up the alley I've been looking for recently, with making of documentaries.  Not only does it have a disc filled with informative bits about the characters, Philip K. Dick, and other things, disc 2 is a 3-1/2 hour documentary about the making of the film.  Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner is so much, I've yet to finish watching it!  I'm about a little over half way through, and watching it has made me appreciate the actual film that much more.  The turmoil behind the scenes and on-set makes me wonder how this film ever got finished and released in the first place.

Last Saturday, we threw a surprise party for Brandi's 40th.  A group of us (Brandi, Gina, Brian, Amanda, Jamie, Billy, Jeff, Sheila, Dave, Elizabeth, and myself) all went to dinner at County Grill, and afterwards we went ice skating at IcePlex, where we were joined by Rocky, Rachel, Katie, & Angel and his family.  I had never been ice skating before, and it's been over probably 15 years since I had skated.  But, I decided I would at least give it a try.  And I'm glad I did, as it was a lot of fun!  I never fell down, and I actually was able to get away from the wall and skate.

Sunday night, after the new discipleship classes and fellowship was over, Elizabeth and I went over to Gammy's house to watch the Super Bowl with Lindsey, Brian, Bud, Kathy, and of course Gammy.  We also played Farkel, and I ended the night as reigning champ so we'll have to go back and play sometime soon.

The game was good, and very tense during the final 2 minutes.  I didn't see many of the commercials, but I did watch the movie ones online, and I seriously cannot wait until G.I. Joe: Retaliation comes out.

"All righty then!"

Last night Elizabeth and I went over to Brian and Lindsey's and watched Ace Ventura: Pet Detective starring Jim Carrey and Courtney Cox.  It was my first time watching it, and I found it entertaining.  It was a fun time with friends, as we played Apples to Apples afterwards, and I played around with Olive for a bit.  That was a lot of fun, chasing her around on the floor and throwing her ball for her.  She also knows some very impressive tricks!

For the movie, like I said, I enjoyed it.  Growing up I wasn't really into the comedies of the '90s, but I'd say over the past 5 years I've started watching them, mainly because a lot of Elizabeth's favorite movies are comedy.  Jim Carrey is pretty hilarious as Ace, and I look forward to watching When Nature Calls.

Been watching a show on NetFlix called Deadliest Warrior, which I find pretty entertaining.  They basically take two warriors (IE Samurai VS Viking is the episode I'm watching now) and tests their weapon and fighting skills, take the data and input it into a computer simulation and find out who is the better of the two after 1000 simulations.

Should be a pretty good week.  We're going to Gina's tonight for a game night, including Rocky's game that he invented himself.  From what I've seen and heard, it should be a fun time!  I also borrowed two movies from Brian last night, so I'll probably have a Jack Ryan marathon this week.  I've been in the mood for this for some time now, but the library doesn't  have Patriot Games, even though it's in their database.