I went to FanExpo!

 Yep.  Over Thanksgiving weekend, I went to FanExpo.  And a cuddly Best Boy came too!

Okay, yes, my husband came too (it was for his birthday).

I meant this sweetie:

I'm packed, mommy. Let's go!

He crawled in to nap in the crate until it was time to go and then he didn't want to get out until five minutes before it was time to leave and then he didn't want to go back in.  When he was back in, he just turned into 'bread'.

When you're traveling with a pet, their safety is your priority.

 At first, I was worried he wouldn't like the bumpy trip to the car as a very, very slowing descended and ascended stairs, several sets of which were either uneven or masked to look like a floor and not stairs, or which moved and I had to adjust and cling to the rails for balance.

I met a kitty in someone's backpack made for carrying small pets at the convention.  The poor thing was backed as far as is could and had an expression of 'what is all this craziness?'.  I wasn't able to cheer it up from behind its owner by making silly noises or gestures.

Meanwhile, my cat just chilled, no matter how bumpy the ride as I carried him.  When I set him in the car and fastened a seatbelt across the handles, however, he tried to punch his way out of the carrier and tried to knock the frames down.  Every time the car moved, he cried (he stopped when the car stopped, such as at red lights or waiting to merge).  

Being carried along the street and into a strang-smelling hotel?  Back to chilling.  

He cried for a few seconds after being released from the carrier, since the room was entirely new.  After Hubby showed him his temporary food (two camping tins) and his new litter box (a cardboard box lined with a garbage bag with litter crystals so no dealing with urine), all it took was a few sneezes on the furniture and he decided he owned the place.

Picture: Forgt the towels, steal this bed for me, mommy

We left our kitty in the hotel, once he was used to things.  We put a harness and a leash on him, in case he decided to bolt out of the room to explore when we returned.  Yes, there were too many dogs on the street, let alone at the convention to try to carry our kitty around.  As much as he likes (or is indifferent) to new people, he doesn't like dog smells and is too much of a wuss if any dogs go after him.  

We checked on him every few hours (I have never been to a geek convention that sold food, so we ate lunch and dinner at the hotel as usual).  

My kitty has a strange habbit of wanting to be in between his people and sitting on stuff we are using.  Thus, the hardest part of traveling with him has been keeping him from sitting out our fries and hamburgers and preventing him from knowing over drinks.  It is also difficult to lean over to reach your food when you have a cat on your lap, determined to stay there for hours.

I live here now

This shot took five minutes to get right

This is how we got the shot above

No cars this time, Mommy!

Kitty didn't want to leave, since that meant going back in the carrier, but he didn't fight about going back in.  He was quiet and calm as we waited outside for the car to take us home and he cried every time the car moved again.  He seemed to have forgotten about his experience once he was home.  He had a snack, had a drink, licked himself, and then took a nap on our bed.

No, I did not manage to meet Mark Hamill or Tony Todd at the convention.  I merely managed to pass on a note asking for advice when I will be alone in Canada (hopefully temporarily) and gave Mark a present. I did attend a find even hosted by Peter Cullen.  No, that is not his voice, but his brother's.  I asked him for advice too.  I will update this entry if I hear from any of them.

I did see these guys: 

I was pretty sure he was staring at my boobs

I did not let them  see my phone or I'd be there all day

My hubby with his favorite superheroes

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Spider-Man #38 Sider-Man vs... Joe?

Not to be confused with The Villain Previously Known as Joe

Even the cat is laughing at him

Short story shorter, the guy's a failure.

 To be fair, his opponent is made of concrete.

So Joe decides to be an actor instead.  Then, during a shoot, he gets the usual villain-creating backstory.

It's still the 70s and this is already a cliche

Oh, just walk it off.  that's how you cure villainy in the Marvelverse.

Meanwhile, the actual main character is doing something he rarely does--goe s to work.

Because everything has to be about ME!

So, instead of trying to help the lady or even do his job, he leaves.

So far, we've had several pages of what should be a simple sentence for each scene (or less). This is the comic equivalent of a meeting that should be an e-mail (or a post-it note).

Oh hey, ned Leeds is back. Let's see what he has to say.

Apparently, he thinks this is a Soap Opera.  Why can't anyone think this comic is a Super Sentai?

I'm sorry, but who cares?  Betty is a jerk to both of them, very wrong for Parker, and don't both these guys have jobs?   I'm not the only one who thinks this as Jameson breaks them up.

Back to the boxer/actor. He's told to beat up the extras. Why? What'd they do?  Aren't fights in movies and shows supposed to be fake and only LOOk real?

When was Lon Cheney known for fight scenes?

Hes' so into the fight, that he bashes through the set and studio walls and continues to fight random civilians.  Now that's dedication to your craft.

Peter, while wandering around wondering about Betty for no reason, hears screams and decides he'd better turn into Spider-Man and do something productive.

But... it IS cheap

Y'know, Spider-Man has a point there

Somehow they end up on top of a car.  That doesn't last long as.... Joe throws Spider-Man off.  It's HIS car to weck.  If Spidey wants to wreck a car, he can go talk to the Raimis.

The writers were apparently as bored as the readers with that, so they decided to write a different plot.  

How will changing your suit work as a disguise?

That's the older Osborn, just FYI.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you can't put 'some guy' as your employer

Who is going to accept bills cut in half?  Even banks would be suspicious.

I think there are a few steps mission in that logic

The comic gets bored with that and decides to make fun of Peter at college.  Sounds like an improvement to me.

Can I join?

They're protesting a protest?

There is a LOT of talking, resulting nothing.  Peter doesn't want to join a protest when muppets and Concrete have already joined.  Joe needs a nap.  Mr. McTotallydisguised still wants Spider-Man. Why are peopel pad so much money to wasted five pages with this?

Dr. Teeth before he tooth fashion advice from Elton John

Surely concrete knows what to protest

What's the point of this scene?  Filler?

He's jealous  you all look so good with Youngblood's disease

And... the comic got bored with itself again. At least Spider-Man is back to being Spider-Man now.

Maybe you should make that plan before you get close to him

Because he might challenge you to a dance-off, apparently

Meanwhile, telling Joe to calm down doesn't calm him own.

After a page of fighting, Joe gets back to the gym to yell at everyone.

Concrete is still not impressed with this guy

So Joe started fighting them.  Honestly, I don't know who is winning, but a fight between a super-powered guy named Joe and Concrete is already awesome.

If Concrete is telling you how to do your job, you're already five steps behind

Which one? Spider-Man or Joe?  Either way, it sounds like a good idea

Honestly, I have no idea who is winning.  The generic gym guys are getting some damage in, so either the gym is selling Super Soldier Serum or superpowers mean nothing against someone who constantly works out.  Why are random people at a gym trying to beat up Spider-Man?  Because they heard about the bounty.  Is it normal for hitmen to hang out in Planet Fitness?

Actually, dance classes are supposed to be more common than free-for-all fights

 in gyms

When did Concrete change clothes?

The police explain it was the chemicals that made him go on a rampage, so they won't bother arresting or charging him or anything.  Oh, and his rampage on the movie set scored him an acting contract with the studio.  Problem solved.  Why did anyone need Spider-Man again?

Put your clothes back on!

Spider-Man then decides to fight the remaining thugs--who have all changed into suits--on the ground. Why?  He can just web-sling away without even anchoring his web to anything.

The irony!  It's too much!

After winning the fight--or at least Spidey says he did--he gets mad at a store mannequin.  And then he decided to beat up the object purely because it looks like Ned Leeds--a guy who did absolutely nothing to him and wanted to be his friend when it was Betty who threw tantrums and acted petty.

Given how many times post-2000 writers want to break up Peter and the woman he ends up MARRYING and HAS A CHILD WITH, due to nonsense, I'd say Betty and Peter deserve each other and Ned deserved far better.

Meanwhile, Aunt May is visited by a trufula tree

Aunt May tries to introduce Peter to Ms. Trufula Tree, but alas, she's gone.  She probably read One More Day and 2020's comics.

Peter mopes, watches a few seconds of TV, and then goes to bed.  this has to be the most pointless comic yet.

 WHAT THE HELL IS HE SWINGING ON COUNT: 5

An age old rant and why we need to stop arguing for this in science classess

 It’s been over 20 years and we are still teaching in science class ‘evolution is a choice to believe in and the other choice is the Christian Creation Myth’.  Myth. MYTH.

At this age, you should be smart enough to know this makes no sense in science class.  Ye adults, two or three times as old, were not that smart.

            To some, this was instituted out of fairness.  To others, this was about teaching children what was ‘right’ and the families of the students would encourage them to make the most ‘mature’ decision of what to follow.

            There are several problems with both of these; one of those problems being me.  I was not raised Christian.  In fact, it was not until after I went to college that I knew anything significant about the religion.  All I understood was that some people believed in God and Jesus.  I was Wiccan at the time, previously having ascribed to a philosophical version of the religion of the Greeks (no, really).  One of my godmothers was of the Celtic in faith and the other took faith from various tribes native to California.  I was close to both.

            In all fairness, all religions should be taught to the rest of the class.  If it would be wrong to exclude how the first woman was created from the rib of the first man, it would also be wrong to exclude how the first woman was forged in order to torment the titan that gave fire to humans.  Both hold religious significance to at least one attendant of the class and to discriminate against a minority, be they Greek Faith or Christian in faith, would be unfair.

            When it comes to what is right, both contain as much logic in terms of science” none.  But if ‘right’ means ‘moral’, there is still the same problem.  Which creation myth holds the best moral?  In Christianity, women are told to serve men and endure pain as punishment.  In Greek, women are a punishment for men disobeying orders because they had no foresight.  How is it either moral or scientific to demand eternal subjugation and pain on half the population because of what one person did something they weren’t smart enough not to do a millennia ago?  Is evolution kinder than either of these, favoring individuals purely as those who pass on genes and behavior until their influence or family line dies out?

            How do morals fit into biology in the first place?  How do omnipotent deities or nearly omnipotent ones factor into mitosis or chlorophyll?

            Maybe we should be teaching the obvious answer of keeping science and religion separate instead so the adults can learn from their children what the Founding Fathers decided in the first place?

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An eerie poem for the seasonal holiday

 I fell in love on Halloween

I met a woman no other had ever seen.

She had eyes that were the world

Upon a glistening, perfect pearl.

She was a mix of song and season,

Soft and stark, rhyme and reason.

She was beauty upon beauty intertwined

Then she showed me this was not her time, only mine.

We lay on red silk sheets, side by side

Then she showed me how she died.

I’d witnessed her passion, her mind and thoughts, dreams.

She stood before me, and came undone at the seams.

Everything fell out, spilled out, kept going.

The crimson stained the silk, covered toes, would not stop flowing.

I drowned and lived, drowned in blood, drowned in tears.

I saw what no one ever sees, I heard what no one ever hears.

I stood aghast, watched in sorrow, at how a body was now a fen,

And in my sadness, and as I mourn, I make it flow again.

This time in ink, a deep thick black, aptly morbid.

I have to tell that I’ve watched a thing so sordid.

She bled and oozed and fell apart.

I still live, and will die, with a broken heart.

I may bed

And I may wed.

But I still grieve.

I fell in love, on Hallows Eve.

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Spider-Man #37

What does tentacle rape have to do with the robot?

 

 Someone needs a better hobby

No one talks like this.  Hell, no one thinks like this.

Meanwhile, someone is watching this watcher and that's nowhere near as cool as it sounds.  Then Spidey punches the guy.  And then threatens him.  And then he forces the guy to give him a ride.

And a hat

Somehow Spider-Man can tell Foswell's car, that he had the other guy follow, is stolen, but when the cos follow their car, he bails and instead of following Fosswel by web-slinging, he just gives up.  I can't explain why; I'm not a genius like Parker.  Also, I have no idea where his hat went.

Concrete, what did you DO?

Meanwhile, Jameson is yelling at everyone, from the new secretary to Peter.  Also, the artists can't decide on what color the sky should be.

 I have no legs!

Foswell reports on Professor Stromm, the guy who was released from prison to Jameson, who tells Foswell to go talk to Stromm and see what's up.

I shall have my revenge on Captain Picard for stealing my look!

After two panels of that, the comic moves to Peter and Gwen in a pissing contest. If it were any more childish it would be literal they'd both be in the unisex bathroom arguing over who was cheating.

Flash comes over, concerned about Gwen and Peter leaves because he doesn't want to hurt Flash because he can't control his strength.  What were they fighting about anyway  Peter acts like an ass even when trying to apologize.

That makes no sense, genius

Meanwhile...

I was expecting a robot

The robot is mentally remote-controlled.  Cool, but why a tentacle monster?

My next step will be to remove the doorknocker from the side of the stairs

Despite the robot being able to climb walls, it walks straight for a police officer oddly dressed security guard in what I think is broad daylight.

The place can only afford one security guard and not enough to fight tentacled robots.  So the thing wrecks the place.  Why not just resort to arson?  I'm pretty sure that's cheaper.

See?  You didn't need a robot to set things on fire.

Go back to work, Concrete

Spider-man swings into action! And then gets his ass kicked.  I can't say I didn't see that coming.

Is this really suitable for kids?

I don't recommend getting it off, Spidey

The dialog is seriously not helping

Spider-man jumps into the fire to make the robot stop... um... that.

The robot leaves, not having been built very flame-retardant.  Apparently, it was disposable.  No, I'm not kidding.  He says so in the next scene.

As Spider-Man leaves, people suspect he started the fire.  Why, though?  didn't they see him swing into the building?

Anyway, next scene and... hold up:

That's a hairdryer.

Concrete hears ya.  Concrete doesn't care.

The lab that was burned down belongs to Norman Osborn, father of Harry Osborn, a pointless classmate of Peter's.

Jameson comes over to talk with them.  What about?  Insurance.  How riveting.

You already are, remember?

Spider-man can't find Fosswell because the guy took off his hat.  So, since he's a genius, Spider-Man just looks around the city randomly.  All he gets is heartburn from hanging upside-down.  He's been upside-down a lot before and will continue to do so forever, so I think he should see a doctor.

Meanwhile, Stromm creates another robot.  I wonder if this one is also disposable.  I hope they're recyclable.

Well, enough of that two panels.   

This comic can't decide which plot to stick with, so it decided to do both at once.

While Spider-Man sneaks up on Fosswell, Fosswell is sneaking u on Stromm, who turns ut to sneak up on Fosswell.

Fosswell disappears rather literally, just after Strom's lackey asks if Stromm wants Fosswell eliminated. Instead, Stromm has him brought into the building.  Probably because the alley is so narrow it can only fit two people and the lackey is on a smoke break and not leaving any time soon.  It's Fosswell or the Robot, so Fosswell is moved to move room for the robot.

Spidey wants to follow Fosswell, but he remembers he's contractually obligated to have a fight each issue, and the robot is the only option for that.

Is this sexual harassment for a robot?

Spider-Man stealthily follows the lackey and Fosweel.  then, after two panels, decides 'fuck it, I've got webshooters.'  Unfortunately, the lackey thinks the same thing and it runs the hell away and locks the door behind him, trapping Fosswell and Spider-Man.  ...Until someone needs to go outside again.  Spider-Man escapes through the air duct.  Apparently, air ducts were both big enough and strong enough for a grown male back then.

Stromm says 'Yeah, sure, Spider-Man has spider-related powers and is looking for me, but I wanna play with my robot!'

"Not really. I don't really know how to translate interpretive dance through property damage."

While the robot destroys everything BUT Osborn, Spider-man finally arrives.  Honestly,  I can't tell if they are fighting or dancing.  After 6 panels, Spider-Man is as bred as I am and resorts to throwing stuff.  that doesn't work, but at least it lets Osborn escape unseen by the camera on the robot.  Spider-Man gets hit, but after that, the robot notices Osborn is gone, so Stromm thinks he's dead.  No, I don't know why.

Either Spider-Man chases the robot all the way back to the hideout or Stromm moved his lab to Osborn's basement.  Either way, Spider-Man beats the crap out of the robot in front of Stromm.  I guess he forgot to hit the thing in order to win.  Concussions seem to make Peter smarter for some reason.

Somehow Fosswell unlocked the door from the other side --or it took him this long to realize it wasn't locked-- and decides to shoot the lackey, who showed up out of nowhere.  After the robot breaks, Strmm picks up its head of it and tries to shoot Spider-an with the laser.

Maybe if you tried aiming

Stromm gets his toy yanked away so he decides to confess a secret.  What is it?  Who knows, he's shot by a mystery person.  From outside.

HOW?

Jonah comes by to congratulate Osborn now that Stromm is dead. Geez, wait for the funeral at least.

I'm a rich white man with a  gun.  What are they going to do?  Yell at me?

WHAT THE HELL IS HE SWINGING ON COUNT: 7