Pulled another all-nighter this morning getting four pages out by noon. I have four more to go and should have them done soon. The pages took longer because of all the characters involved. Not to mention a few distractions like...

Leonard Wong's annual Comix and Stories show went on yesterday at Heritage Hall. Always a cosy event with lots of local talent it was fun to stop by before slogging back to the office. We met up with friends in the evening for a lovely dinner and chat at a nearby Phillipine restaurant called Rekados (mom showed up too). The curry chicken pina is my favourite dish there, goes great with rice.

A friend from out of town was with us so along with Vic we headed back home for a slideshow on the computer of our last couple of trips to the UK and Europe. He's a big fan of architecture so amazingly, his eyes didn't glaze over!

After that we left Vic at the apartment to play the final levels of Bioshock while my friend and I headed to the office where we met up with Ian, Roger and David (they took off for the arcade after the meal) I had trouble focusing on work which was more about stress getting the pages to work than everyone else playing Guitar Hero 2. Usually I can tune others out when I get into it, just wasn't getting into it.

We cut out around midnight, friends headed home, I packed up the pages to work on back at the couch. We got in to find Vicky reaching the final boss round which wasn't as big as I thought it would be but still pretty. The game is annoying in that it's basically four elements repeated over and and over: fight Splicers, fight Big Daddies, fight automated turret guns, and the same puzzle 'hack' game to break into machinery. That's it. And it goes on for hours! The repetition drives you crazy after a while and that's not even playing, that's listening while others play. The big redeeming quality of course is the beauty of the design but only just.

Eventually everyone headed to bed and I tore into work.

The out of town friend was having car trouble yesterday, I hope everything worked out at the garage this morning, haven't heard back from him yet. Probably should have left the phone on but I was exhausted. Had I answered a phone in such a state I'd have said something dream related, possibly very embarassing, or shouted rude epithets. For the best.

Tonight, a much needed shower and a bit of hand rest before diving back into these last pages tomorrow.

A car passed outside a second ago with a couple of girls screaming the lyrics to Life is a Highway out the window.

I really don't like that song.

Living in Vancouver has been very challenging this year due to several factors leading to a perfect storm of frustration.

The Strike
City workers have been on strike for over a month now resulting in community centers and pools being closed, garbage collection being halted and public venues for shows being shut down. Can't go swimming, can't go to the gym, the beaches are littered with trash and Stanley Park's sea wall is not getting fixed after last winter's windstorms so no biking or hiking around the park until later this year instead of this summer as promised. It's even tougher for the poor because food banks have not been able to give out food at community centers. People are going hungry here because CUPE workers and that fuckwit Mayor Sam Sullivan can't come to a bloody agreement.

The Olympics
The city has been turned upside down over this damn thing. Cambie Street, one of the main arterials into the downtown core has been a big hole for months so they can put in a RAV line to the airport that was pushed through council despite most people in this city not wanting it. Even worse, after it was forced in the line was changed from an unobtrusive tunnelling project to a much cheaper "cut and cover" operation which has literally destroyed a dozen small businesses down a once distinctive neighbourhood as the road work has made everything inaccessible to traffic and pedestrians. Fucking shameful.

Other road projects around the city have also strangled traffic and plowed through pristine woodland. Now they're planning to pave into Burns Bog for a new highway project.

But what really takes the cake is how everyone thinks that because we're having a two week party in 2010 every inch of real estate is suddenly worth three or four times than it actually is. Houses that went for three or four hundred grand five years ago are now being priced at over a million. Greed has run rampant as homeowners have started gutting, even mowing down beautiful single family homes, and building mulitple condos, basements suites are going for five hundred thousand. Condos in town, little boxes with little privacy, some as small as four hundred square feet are starting at three hundred grand. And that's not to exclude the skyrocketing rents where you can't find a crappy bachelor under eight hundred a month. It's insane. Yet another legacy of Mayor Sam's "eco-density" agenda to cram more people into the city.

And oh yeah, he's now saying these new condo developments won't be required to provide parking for residents in some lame ass attempt to get people out of their cars as if this were London or Paris (with a little help from hyperinflated meter and lot rates of course). He seems to forget that you need a car to get anywhere in the GVRD because Translink hasn't clue one how to provide for the people. The Main street bus used to go to the downtown core. We took that bus all the time until some jackass decided to end the line in the middle of nowhere in Chinatown. Now we don't take that bus anymore. There aren't enough cabs in this town because the city won't allow for more licences, how the heck do they plan to move hundreds of thousands of people during the Olympics?

I'm cranky today. There's more but I need some air.

Well grr, these four pages aren't quite done and I'm nodding off. I'll work on these tonight. It sucks to not make a FedEx time.

On another somewhat obsessive topic, I don't suppose there's anyone reading this out in Japan who can hook me up with one of Haruo Suekichi's jaw dropping, mindblowingly beautiful, handcrafted steampunk watches? I would totally make it worth that person's while if there is!

Four pages in progress. I'll send these out on Wednesday and finish the rest for the weekend. Want to make sure that last page's splash gets the attention it needs.

I've been watching Vic play Bioshock this evening and despite the occasional difficulties with the camera angles ("Fuck! Where am I pointed- I'm getting shot at! FUCK!") it's a pretty fun game. The 1950's designs and water effects are gorgeous. I like such things.

Just watched the Host on DVD and LOVED IT. My favourite (and very apt) description of this film is "Little Miss Sunshine with a monster". What makes it so damn charming is that it isn't just about a monster but a dysfunctional family coming together and finding individual redemption. It also crams in commentary on the unifying power of food, the impotence of bureaucracy, and of course the dangerous incompetence of the U.S. government. Brilliant and gentle while still packing a whopper of a visual punch, very impressive and very recommended.

Three roughed pages into the next batch, a movie and a trip to the PNE. An eventful weekend.

Superbad was great and felt oddly... Vancouver-ish. There are still moments where I laugh out loud remembering some line or moment. Rogen and company are brilliant.

There was a trailer for this hideous looking movie coming up though, some piece of shit Dane Cook vehicle. My god how awful does that look? See, unlike good stuff like Superbad, Knocked Up or the Office Cook can't bear to look like an idiot and in so doing comes across as a total asshole, and not in a funny way either. Why would anyone waste two hours watching such a crapfest? It's like the producers are counting on a reviewer to call it "offensive" just to get reactionary teens who don't know any better to show up in droves. But oh yeah, it probably won't be shown for critics right?

Wow, I'm all Meeee-ow over that, aren't I?

Anyway, the PNE was the usual fun with the added special bonus of mini golf in the rain. By hole nine we had to stop keeping score because the sheet was too wet to record any numbers.

Back home now, warm and slowing drying out. Tomorrow, back to work.

Five pages out today, seven more to go for issue #59.

The closed Storyeum theater is auctioning off all their stuff in the morning. Might be good to check out for things like costumes and props for upcoming shows, office equipment for the studio. Tempting. We'll see how awake I am.

Those 5 pages just need backgrounds. I'll have them finished tonight.

While working this morning I've been watching When the Levees Broke, an excellent documentary about the hurricane Katrina disaster, before, during and months after. It's stunning to see all these aspects of events everyone has seen on the news over the last couple of years condensed so you get a much clearer view of how bad it's really been, unfiltered through Paris Hilton claptrap and reality shows and shit that just doesn't matter.

And after watching this I can only say, and I'm sorry if you don't like to hear it, but if any of you voted for Bush's buddies after this fiasco you're a fucking idiot. Plain and simple. Fucking. Idiot.

Shame on you.

A weekend full of drawing a re-drawing panels and still not getting them to work ended with a drive out to Third Beach for a viewing of the meteor shower. Four of us sat on and under blankets gazing up at an impressive show of flares, flickers and the odd satellite racing by overhead, we joked about sand fleas and making wishes, giggled whenever a group of stoners down the beach Ohhhhed and ahhhhed with every bright flash. We jumped at the strangled cry of what sounded like a duck or goose on the water and wondered aloud whether it had just been made a snack by a hungry seal. Finally the hypothermia started to set in and we retreated to the car and its blasting heat vents.

Monday it's back to work. I have three pages nearly there and two in roughs. I should have these done by Tuesday with the remaining for #59 finished next week.

Tonight the script for issue #60 came in. I've been crying on and off over the last couple of hours. Whether it's the cold, being tired or just overwhelmed by the milestone I'm not sure. I'm not letting it all sink in yet, too much to think about.

Three weeks, including a visit to geek central where plot leaks loomed like Death Eaters around every corner, and not once were we spoiled about how Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ends. We finished the final chapter today and holy crap what a wonderful cap to an amazing series of books.

From the first night, burning through a hundred pages along with must have been millions of readers around the world (can you imagine that?), through the tears and the exultations, to the final pages that blew our minds along with our expectations, it's a beautiful, worthy accomplishment.

Bra. Vo.

The weather forecast is looking ugly which means movie night is cancelled this weekend but office tolerability is perfect for working. Four pages almost done so far.

Found info on the upcoming SUBCON in beautiful Dublin. I'm really looking forward to this show, especially since Ian and Vic will be there too. Yay! We're taking a few days afterwards to tour about Wales and England which should be a lot of fun. Great motivation to work my ass off.

And I hope to meet many UK Y readers! See you there!

And then it became downright chilly.

This morning started with some lulling rain and overcast skies that caused the temperatures to drop into what felt like the teens. In other words, it was great. The office, usually about ten degrees higher than outside, was actually tolerable and I got into a fantastic groove, two pages nearly done. Here's hoping the cool stays for a while.

The long weekend was wonderful, even if crazy hot. With Treehouse pages out last week and Y pages sent to Florida on Saturday I was desperate for a work free day and Sunday was the day. We met up with friends at Locarno for an afternoon of barbeque and an evening of movies under the stars. Diana had rented a generator and speakers for use with our digital projector and at sunset the portable screen was set up. The night started with some Don Hertzfeldt cartoons which got everyone warmed up for the feature


Raiders of the Lost Ark! And it was a blast! A spectacular sky, shooting stars, friends riveted to a movie with very little suck in it. We attracted a few spectators through the night though most fled by the end, probably due to a combination of the clear night chill and unrelenting mosquitos. Best of all, the beach cops seemed to be okay with it!

This saturday, JAWS! Woo! Must remember citronella candles!

After some last minute fixes, the Treehouse of Horror story is finally done! Holy cow but that was a rough set! Today I finish up Y pages.

The one advantage to working nights is sleeping through this crazy hot weather. Wouldn't be so bad if the city workers weren't on strike resulting in the local pool being shut down. Yeah, the pool that's only open for couple of months in the summer, the one everyone in the neighbourhood waits all year long to open. Normally I would support union workers but this just makes them the bully in that Ray Bradbury story set on Venus where the kid gets locked up in a closet on the one sunny day of the year. Thanks a lot guys, you suck.

Views from the past week...

From the hotel in LA, classic radio towers and old deco style.

Pulling into the Fox Lot for the Simpson's screening.

After the show, barbeque!

Mmmm, ice cream!

A visit to Grauman's Theater on Wednesday night,

Where Vic, ever the Steve McQueen fan found what she was looking for.

The sails of the San Diego Comic Con. And if you look a little closer,

A ship carrying about a dozen yachts drifts by.

At the con, hanging out with Richard Starkings at the Elephantmen booth.

Goofing off with Laura and writer Shane McCarthy.

Fletcher and the wonderful crew at the DC booth. I love these guys!

And another reason to close the curtains before engaging in an evening tryst. Especially when your condo is across the street from a hotel full of bored tourists with cameras.

On the flight home, a great view of Mount St. Helens steaming away on a sunny summer morning.

Aw dude, is the airport even OPEN at 5am?

I've had an hour's sleep. It's not fair feeling this crappy when there's such an incredible bed just a few feet away.

Dreaming of home.

You know that groaning noise Krusty the Clown makes, that UUUUUUGH sound? That's what this weekend has been like.

Woke up with a crazy charlie horse or something in my calf, leg just went TWANG and now I have an excuse to sit here and finish these Treehouse pages that have been kicking my ass all week.

Got to meet Zack Gallifinakis at the Hyatt last night, chatted about how much we all like Vancouver. His hair is wild!

I think Vic has decided to toss today and hang out at Laguna with Laura. Best idea ever. I hope she finds a lovely pool to relax in.

Lots of conversations, lots of meeting readers which has been great, lots of planning for the future. And of course geeking out. Back to work...

Oh Los Angeles. Thanks to our friend Dean we snagged a couple of really nice rooms at the LA Athletic Club, a dead charming facility that has cured my insomnia of the past few weeks. Huge bed, dark and quiet, sleeping like a baby. Love it.

The halls are filled with super creepy paintings...



And though it looks a lot like the hotel from the Shining, the haunted vibe is less serial killer/beribboned twin sisters than old timey boxers with handlebar moustaches singing jaunty tunes.


The lounge was perfect for working on those last Treehouse pages


And plotting the takeover of the world


And pointed out by Ian, the LAAC logo looks just like Woody Woodpecker!


Tomorrow we head out to Comic "Caanes".

Despite being exhausted from still more wonky sleep (I'd been up since 3am Friday morning and had about an hour's nap prior to midnight), we headed out to get our copy of the Deathly Hallows. The store was packed with people, some in bits of costume, a witch hat here, a maroon and gold scarf there and a trivia contest was going on. I swayed sleepily while Vic and Ian joked around. Got a glimpse of the latest issue of Details and the photo spread of Daniel Radcliffe backstage at Equis on the West End. We saw the theater when we were in London and despite being Ian's favourite play, it felt a bit odd to get tickets what with all the crazy, distracting hype over the nudity. I would like to read the play someday. Anyway, got our books and with the combination of excitement and rain I was a little more awake.

Back home we jumped right into it, me reading aloud to Ian while he made a quick dinner. After breaking between chapters two and three for some shrimp and angel hair pasta I was reading to Ian again and didn't stop until five in the morning when the pull of sleep was too much for both of us.

I thought all this tired would mean a good, solid stretch of unconsiousness but here's how my brain loves to sabotage my life: five hours later and I'm awake, if you can call it that, and not able to fall back asleep. Crap!

I feel very drained and am presently wondering how the heck I'm going to be able to concentrate on all this work. I'll be tackling the last of the Treehouse story today, hopefully getting most, if not all of it done before our flight tomorrow. Working on the road is not fun, working on two separate projects even less so.

Got a bit of work done on Y today but my sleeping schedule has gone all wonky so the main attack will be tomorrow after some more sleep.

We managed to get airline tickets all sorted out so I can now mention the neato news. Bongo sent Ian an invite to attend the preview screening of the Simpsons Movie! And it's at Fox studios! Woo! We were already flying into LA on Wednesday because we couldn't get a flight into San Diego in time for a Thursday panel so it wasn't too difficult to bump the time up a couple of days. Of course this means more work to do beforehand but it'll be worth it.

Oh, and Venus Zine just posted an interview I did with them a couple of weeks ago.


Okay, I need to go to bed now. Guh.

Whew, long days of working here. I've got 4 pages of the Treehouse story out today (crazy happy about them!), 4 more to get done for this weekend, and then 5 pages of Y to finish up this week (should take a couple of days).

Heading to California next week for nerd prom. We were originally set to leave on Wednesday but it looks like something has just come up that might require us to leave a couple of days sooner. I'll post more about it when everything is cemented. Could be fun!

Over the weekend we got out to see Order of the Phoenix with Roger and Louise, this time at the Silvercity in Richmond. We couldn't get in to the IMAX show but the regular screening was still fantastic. What a huge difference from the dismal experience at the Van East Cinema! And yes I can finally give my little critique of the actual story.

Naturally it was heavily condensed from the book but a considerably better job of abridgement than the fourth film. The transitions were smoother and the story just flowed well. The actors had more time to deliver some sweet, honest moments that made it feel... I guess quieter is the word I'm looking for. Less of the frenetic amusement park feel of the first two films, more grounded but still missing the richness of the third.

What grabbed me most was the fight scene at the end with wands and spells flying spectacularly in all directions. I was reminded of the disc fight scenes in TRON, with the flicking around the head and bright white light against the deep blackness of stone and marble. The added dialogue between Voldemort and Potter was eerie and right.

I know there are a lot of people who'll find a lot wrong with it but myself, I enjoyed it for the good, engaging film it was.

I'm not reading any Potter related threads until I've finished the last book. There are too many rumours screaming through the net right now and I really don't want to be spoiled. I managed to avoid them last time but Ian didn't and it just took away from the experience.

Oh Saturday...

After seeing the last two midnight screenings of the Potter series of films over at the Van East we decided to check out the Order of the Phoenix there last night. Nostalgia played a part sure, but also the fact that line ups aren't as crazy there and for a buck more you can snag some sweet views in the balcony seats.

It's a cheap, grubby little theater, very 1980's brick and the title board outside is in need of repair, but it has a nice local feel to it. The kid working the box office doesn't really know what he's doing, slowly punching totals on a dollar store calculator, handing out tickets from a raffle strip, a little blue stamp for the balcony seats. The popcorn is decent, not as artificial tasting as the big chain theaters.

But the charm wore very thin once the movie got going, even with the welcome absence of commercial ads before the trailers. The film was very dark which hinted at the management trying to save money by not using all the bulbs required to light the projector. Okay, a drag but still okay.

At the scene where we see Dolores Umbridge's first class is where the problems began, the "projectionist" who obviously wasn't an actual projectionist but some kid hired to push buttons didn't properly spool the reels and when the it changed over the frame was offset and divided by a third. Feet could be seen where the heads should've been. People yelled but there wasn't anyone in the booth and it took a long while for someone to be notified and the frame to be cranked back into place. Annoying, whatever, the movie continues.

About twenty minutes later, another reel change and it happens again. More yelling, this time Ian goes to tell the management about it and after another annoying pause, it's fixed.

And then yet again, this time at the scene in the Ministry of Magic where the first of the Death Eaters appear. Crap. Ian goes again, again the delay, crank, fix... but not really. There's an obvious chunk at the bottom and Ian goes AGAIN to talk to the management. When he comes back he's LIVID, the guy won't do anything about it, tough. So we sit fuming at this offset picture and it just stopped being fun. Afterwards Ian related the management's rude indifference and it just made me mad.

So to the Van East Cinema: you'll take the time to take our money but you won't make sure the picture is played properly. Well, you've lost a patron. I'm never going to see a show there again and I'll encourage anyone to do the same. Screw local flavour if it's going to taste this fucking sour.

And oh yeah, way to turn off the air conditioning halfway through the night. The place turned into a sauna.

I'll talk about the actual film when I've seen it in a better theater.

I've gotten back into the routine of things but there's still a lot of work to deal with. I spent the weekend finishing up the first half of the Treehouse story, it just went out the door. This week I'm back on Y to get caught up there. I'm hoping to get a batch of that out by the end of the week so I can tackle the last half of Treehouse on the weekend.

I'll be happy to be back on a single book again.

Found this neat little bit of trivia about the history of the ampersand over at (where else?) Neatorama:

The Ampersand
Origin: This symbol is stylized et, Latin for "and." Although it was invented by the Roman scribe Marcus Tullius Tiro in the first century B.C., it didn’t get its strange name until centuries later. In the early 1800s, schoolchildren learned this symbol as the 27th letter of the alphabet: X, Y, Z, &. But the symbol had no name. So, they ended their ABCs with "and, per se, and" meaning "&, which means ‘and.’" This phrase was slurred into one garbled word that eventually caught on with everyone: ampersand.

Got a batch out yesterday, not as much as I'd like but again, stupid cold. That and the recent humidity seem to have aggravated the asthma I haven't had any problems with for about 4 years now, I'm still coughing at certain triggers. Bleh.

On the lighter side, saw Ratatouille on Tuesday and loved it. It's a beautifully done flick with wonderful design, storytelling, and humour. Absolutely recommended, even more so for those who love to cook.

While I was sleeping off the all-nighter Ian went and saw Transformers. For a man who cried at the first Transformers movie I was very surprised to hear he walked out before the halfway mark. He couldn't be bothered to have his life wasted sitting through such a huge pile of crap. Wow.

How can I take the Transformers movie seriously when the lead chick looks like this? Is she just waiting for something to transform itself into a hot car so she can drape herself all over it for an FHM shoot?

Is she oxygen starved? Does she need a sandwich? Does she have trouble holding her head up? What the hell?

Very busy weekend. Working on pages to get caught up from all the time lost due to this ridiculous cold which has barely let me breathe or sleep all week.

On the super cool side, Ian got laser eye surgery on Friday and now he's seeing 20/20 after years of terrible eyesight. It's pretty overwhelming for both of us.

Last episode of Doctor Who for series 3: Oh my. A bittersweet end to a fabulous set of episodes this year (okay, the Daleks two parter was a mess but everything else, lovely). I'm really happy to see a show like this out there, stories that never forget the kids in their audience, smart and funny and never condescending with just enough scare to keep the 'watching from behind the couch' tradition alive and well. And adults can get a lot out of it too. It's Harry Potter for sci-fi fans.

Happy Canada Day! I'm guessing this means FedEx will be closed tomorrow.

This week is blatantly unproductive. Sunday I made it into the office and got some work done. Monday, totally wiped, stayed in bed shifting from freezing to sweating to glugging phlegm in intervals that made actual sleep nearly impossible. Tuesday, made it to the office, did some work. Wednesday, feeling thrashed and spewing goo, stayed home, missed the pub quiz. Made it out to the after dinner get together to protein up but then devolved into a shaky puddle watching classic Doctor Who under a blanket.

Fuck.

So it's Thursday, when I get up I'll be back in the office trying to finish these damn pages. I wanted to get them out today but I don't think I'll make the Fed Ex run... not without bursting a vital organ that is. Urgh.

Currently watching: New Comedians of Comedy, the series. I love these guys.

Why the hell am I getting e-newsletters from Blackcommentator.com?

Tried Buckley's cough syrup for the first time in my life. The ads always scared me off ("It tastes awful but it works!"). After this weekend and all the friends who swear by the stuff telling me I should try it I gave in and bought some.

A few horrific doses later and I think I figured out the closest description out there: It's like licking Vick's Vapo-Rub off the chest of a very hairy old man.

Eeeugh!

Listening to: Amon Tobin - The Foley Room

Yeah, Saturday was a total write off. Was all dressed and prettified, about to leave for the wedding when I started hacking up a lung. After apologising profusely I turned around, got back into my jim jams and under the covers where I stayed until evening.

I'm still feeling wrecked and in a constant cold sweat. After another sleep session (hopefully one with fewer dreams of hairless skunks running amok in a fancy condo it was my job to housesit, bleh) I plan to drag my ass into the office and get some work done. Fingers crossed.

On a bright note, new Dr Who was a bloody masterpiece. One more episode for series 3 and I'm both excited and petrified. This show has some of my favourite storytelling ever.

Had an annoying tickle in my throat on Thursday night and by Friday I was slammed. Feeling gross. Trying to sleep off as much of this bug as I can before heading off to a wedding in Mission. Oy.

Well it turns out it was just my computer's calendar set all wrong and it was really Wednesday all along. Ian saw this confusion all over my face on the way to the office today and asked me what was up. I told him I was bummed that the week had flown by and that it was Thursday. "no, it's Wednesday!"

"Oh. Really? Oh good."

Four pages in. Coming along.

Found this great video, best five seconds online. Enjoy.