Comic-Con 2007 Debrief (in picture form)

Tim and Amy at the Art Center booth.

Tim next to one of the many ginormous posters.

Tim and mini-Optimus Prime.

Tim about to be decapitated by Balrog.

Freaking RIDLEY SCOTT!!!

Tim also passed JJ Abrams, and he literally bumped into Matt Groening, but didn't think of anything witty enough to say in time. There were lots of people in crazy costumes (pirates, superheroes, Star Wars characters, Blade Runner characters, Ghostbusters, etc.).

AND, Tim got to chat one-on-one with the great Syd Mead. (He was especially excited because he told Syd his name at the beginning of their conversation, and Syd remembered it later after talking to other people! Haha. Precious.)

COMIC-CON 2007!

Okay, so I'm not actually at Comic-Con, but Tim is, and his geekdom is flourishing like never before. Comic-Con is in San Diego, and it goes from Thursday the 26th to Sunday the 29th. Tim drove down with his buddy Paul this morning (leaving at about 5:30 AM), and I expect him back on Friday night, but that could easily slide into Saturday afternoon. Tim is responsible for manning the Art Center table from time to time, but mostly he's excited to meet his favorite artists (especially Syd Mead), get autographs and/or little sketches, and attend various events and symposia. He's also really excited for tomorrow, which is basically Star Wars day at the convention. I, however, am not particularly of the artist/geek persuasion, and therefore am not attending (although I would LOVE to go to the Lost panel!!).

In other news, Tim's 3rd term is winding down, and he'll be wrapping up his classes in another three weeks. (He's absolutely desperate for a break.) Oh, and some good news from the school front: he got accepted into the Entertainment Design program! Hurrah! He was elated and relieved.

We're really looking forward to getting to Disneyland again, but because we're cheapskates and only purchased the wimpiest of annual passes, we're completely blocked out of the month of July, and we're also blocked for most of August. D'oh! We miss our Disney good times. That euphoric chlorine smell in Pirates of the Caribbean! Those poignant afternoon parades! The whirring, rainbow landscape of the Mad Tea Party! The massive monster-ducks that live in Storybook Land! That one wiggly bamboo trunk that makes thunder noises in Indiana Jones! That happy and jealous feeling of seeing little kids get to wear Jedi robes at the Jedi Training Academy! Those yummy churros and pineapple whips! The beautiful, sparkly merchandise! And the castle... oh, the castle. Good times.

In conclusion, given that Tim and I often rave about Tarantino's on Green Street (the best pizza place around here), I've decided to include a photo of it:

We recommend the combination of a large Sal's Special and large Bianca. It'll last for a few subsequent lunches, too.

The Official Stats

Killian Michael is 7.2 pounds and 21 inches long! Oh, and his official aesthetic status is "Cute as a Button."

Cutie Patootie Nephew!

Awww, so wee and precious! Way to go Dana!!

Killian Has Arrived!

Tim and I officially entered the world of Uncle-dom and Auntie-dom at 3:22 pm EST today when little Killian was born at Abington Memorial Hospital back in PA (the same hospital where I was born, incidentally!). Congratulations to Jayna!!!! We are so excited and so happy for you. And we can't wait to see pictures of our nephew!

Fun and Frolics on the Fourth

Let me just start by saying that I love community events with that "small town" feel. Show me a farmer's market, an arts and crafts fair, a local sporting event, or a firehouse pancake breakfast, and I am tickled pink. This is even the case with county or state fairs, because even though they're much larger (and for some reason overrun with hot tub sales booths and seriously lacking in homemade baked goods), there's still something very nostalgic and Rockwellian about them. So, naturally, when Tim and I received a flyer for the annual "Historic Highlands" Fourth of July parade and party, I became downright giddy. (Historic Highlands is the lovely neighborhood of which we live on the fringes, unfortunately next to the Napa and the gas station.)

So, we started our July 4th festivities with a trip to this neighborhood event, a bowl of Muddy Buddies in hand and our picnic chairs over our shoulders. We found a shady spot and hunkered down to admire (along with several other onlookers) a Star Wars X-Wing replica wagon, which had been brilliantly constructed by a neighbor named Clay who, we later learned, was the second unit director of 300 and a former Art Center student (he's wearing the camo shorts):




Coolest mini-float EVER. His son had a really fun time getting pushed around in the X-Wing, but he voiced his concern a couple of times that the Star Wars music emanating from the vehicle was too loud, haha.

As it turned out, the annual Historic Highlands Fourth of July parade is THE shortest parade in the WORLD. It started at about 11:35 and finished at 11:38. It mainly consisted of a bunch of kids on sparkly red, white, and blue bicycles speeding by, along with a bunch of parents with little kids (or dogs) in cute patriotic clothing, and a few cool mini-floats like the X-Wing. (One kid was getting pushed around in a little pirate ship; he had, for some reason, chosen a black ghost costume with a pirate hat and a Darth Vader mask for his patriotic attire.) The morning concluded with a large lunch spread of hot dogs and dozens of yummy potluck items. It was good times! I love community events.

After the awesome neighborhood fun, we headed back home for some Twilight Zone on SciFi, and then left in the mid-afternoon for Takob's (Tak & Jacob's) BBQ/pool party at her folks' home in Yorba Linda. We played in the pool (one of us even went down the waterslide, but I won't say who), ate lots of guacamole (oh, and Tak's dad makes a wicked awesome cheeseburger), and chatted a whole bunch. I enjoyed playing with their mostly-blind-and-deaf dog Sassy, and also cuddling with Sassy's friend Buster (who guarded the slide and barked at people who went down it). Thanks Tak, we had a jolly good time!



By the way, here are some other pictures of us with Takob from when we found Nemo at Disneyland a few weeks ago. They're fun and crazy like us.

In other news, Tim has been ridiculously busy with schoolwork. His Third Term Review took place on Tuesday of this week, for which he had to prepare a collection of his most recent work to display at school for review by professors. Naturally, this is an extremely stressful process, because basically they come back with critiques on one's progress, and indicate whether or not one should remain at Art Center. Goo. So, here is some of Tim's recent work, along with his buddy Stanley that he's been working on for quite awhile: