Brendan Young Blag

Heather suggested we go to the Calgary comic convention, which I thought would be cool cause I’d never been to one before. I thought there’d be some comic book artists in booths and cool nerd-related toys being sold everywhere and that would be awesome. I didn’t expect it to have one of the best weekends ever.

We decided to head down on the Sunday because we had some stuff to do on Saturday. At the time we decided to go (about a week before the event), the website said that Tahmoh Penikett (perhaps better known as “Helo” from Battlestar Galactica) was going to be signing autographs. Being a big – if relatively recent – Battlestar Galactica fan, this was great news. Scrolling further down the list I saw that Geoff Lapaire, Jarett Cale, and Joel Gardiner from Pure Pwnage would also be there. This blew my mind. I’m not sure this is a well known fact outside a few people, but Pure Pwnage is one of my all-time favorite shows. That’s saying something considering it’s not a “TV” show. (If you consider yourself a Gamer, or if you like video games at all, I urge you to watch this show. It’s amazing. Start from Season 1 episode 1, noob.)

So the week went on and I prepared myself. I had my signed “Jeremy Bandana” (which they don’t sell signed from the store anymore) all ready to be re-signed, and a couple questions to ask Helo. I decided to check the comic con website again to see if I missed anyone who was also going to be there. The front page headline read as follows:

Well frak me.

I never would have guessed that I’d have the chance to meet the Old Man. The website went on to say there would be photo-ops with Adama at noon on Sunday. I guess we’d just have to leave a bit early, then.

Cut to Sunday morning, a little after 11 am. We’re beginning to stand in line to get an autograph from Edward James Olmos. I’m thinking of what to ask him, or at least something to say. I’ve got nothing. Heather says something to me like “I’m sure he’s used to talking to nervous fans.” I don’t remember much of our conversation at this point because I was so nervous. I notice the sign says “Autographed photos: $50. Photos with Edward: $20″. Turns out the photo-ops that were going on at noon were if you wanted to actually go in and get “professional” photos taken with Adama for $80. I was already willing to pay $80, and I just wanted to use my own camera. I decided to just get the picture with my own camera, to minimize the strain on my already wrecked nerves. Edward’s assistant (I’m guessing) – who is dressed like some kind of insect version of The Green Lantern – asks me what I would like. In a very quiet voice (at this point Adama is talking with the person ahead of us) I say I’d like both. A few more seconds of trying to think of something to say, and it’s my turn.

It’s pretty hazy, and I can’t remember who spoke first, but at some point he asked me my name and after I respond he starts signing the photo. He asks me if I’m a fan of the show, and I explain how I recently got into it thanks to a few people at work, and that I managed to watch the entire series in a few months and that I really enjoyed it. He smiles and says that I was lucky to have watched the series without having to suffer through the extended gaps between seasons that most fans – and apparently Olmos himself – had to wait out. He finishes signing the photo, and at some point his assistant comes over to take the picture. Heather was planning on taking the picture, but apparently Adama wouldn’t hear of it. So his assistant takes the camera and Edward James Olmos, Heather and I pose for the picture:

The photo reads:

Brendan
Thank you for taking the journey…
“So Say We All”
Edward James Olmos
“Admiral Adama”
4.26.09

The next 30 mins or so were a daze. I finally had to go put the photo in the car for fear of dropping it or otherwise tainting it. So, with the photo safe and my nerves returning it was time to take in the rest of the show. Hell, It wasn’t even noon yet.

I had to pass by the Noobstore booth (the Pure Pwnage store) a few times before I saw anyone from the show. Eventually I saw Jarett (who plays Jeremy) behind the table of merch talking to some noobs and signing their DS’s. He sees my shirt and asks if I want anything signed. I show him the bandana and explain that it’s one of the ones they used to sell from the store signed. He laughs as he looks at it and says he hasn’t seen one of them in a long time. Before season 1 ended no one know their real names because they didn’t credit the show. There was actually quite a bit of mystery around the show as to whether it was a documentary or a mockumentary (if you’re lost at this point, you’re gonna have to watch the show). He re-inks the old signature – as it’s fairly faded at this point – and signs it again with his real signature. I buy the first season on DVD and he signs that too. I go to buy a new “i pwn noobs” bumper sticker as well (as my old one is on the old mazda, which must be a metal cube by now) and before the merch girl charges me he tells her to just give it to me cause I’ve got one of the old bandanas. Sweet Deal. He says “Kyle” (Geoff) and “Doug” (Joel) should be around later, and that I should come back to get them to sign the DVD as well. I had to come back a few times but I eventually got Geoff and Joel to sign the DVD. I talked to Geoff about fans who still call him “Kyle” and he said it happens all the time. Joel was pretty quiet, I think he was just glad I didn’t ask him to say “Boom Headshot!”.

Signed bandana and dvd

All in all, it was a pretty amazing show. Everyone seemed to be there for the fans. Heather got a really sweet deal on two big hardcover comics worth $90 together. The writer gave her both books for $40 and signed them and even got the artist to sign one as well, and threw in a free print and signed that too. We both got some pretty phat lootz.

I’d definitly go to another comic-con.

“$49.99? No, I can’t spend that much on a nerf gun”, I said. “I’ll regret it right after.”

I was wrong.

The Nerf Vulcan EBF-25 could very well be a prime example of one of the best uses for 50 bucks on the planet. A mere squeeze of the trigger and your target is beset by 25 whistling darts of fury at the overwhelming speed of 3 rounds per second. 25 not enough for ya? Well, how another 25? Yeah, you read me right. Just when the enemy thinks you’re empty and comes storming towards your bunker to smoke you out, you’ve got another 25-round chain to wreak more havoc upon your foes. Yessir, no better use for foam than raining down on charlie.

A couple weeks ago I started what some people have dubbed “Project 365“, where you take a picture a day for a year. I haven’t blagged about it ’til now because now I have a few weeks worth of pictures to show off. I had already seen other people I know doing it, and when I stumbled across my digital camera and reflected on how little I actually use it, I figured I’d give it a shot. It was a redundant roundabout process, but I managed to resurrect my old Flickr account, so if you’re interested you can see what I have so far here. You can totally feel free to leave some comments or critiques.

It’s been real fun so far, and I haven’t even figured out all my camera’s functions yet. So watch out world-of-really-really-amateur-photography, here I come.

After seeing a tweet about Chyrp, I decided to try it out on my blag and it’s been pretty neat. Chyrp is – their website says it the best – “a blogging engine designed to be very lightweight while retaining functionality.” Lightweight, indeed. Stuff like the ability to tag posts, WYSIWYG text editing, and allowing users to sign up or comment are all examples of optional modules that you can download and install reasonably quickly. I don’t think I’ll be making the switch from wordpress just yet however. Chyrp feels a little slower while having less plug-ins and a smaller dev community than wordpress, but it’s definitely something I’ll be keeping my eye on.