I just realized I never posted my pics from Fan Expo 2009. Well, no time like the present to revist the past, right?
Tron Booth and Light Cycle
Mary McDonnell!
Linda Hamilton!
A Great Silk Spectre Cosplayer
Kami at the Booth
That’s about it! Okay, now someone tell me to get back to work on the novel!
–SJ
Phew! Back from 3 days of Fan Expo and extremely tired. No, never too tired to stop blogging. Here are some highlights from the weekend:
Pics or it didn’t happen!
The Illustrati Booth!
Batmobile!
The Winchesters' Ride - Supernatural
The Tron Light Suit
It was a wicked con – super busy, but really worth it. Unfortunately tomorrow is Monday and that means…. back to RL.
–SJ
“The enemy has been destroyed, sir. So have the forest, the city, your palace, your dog…”
Hey Ladies and Gents! If you’re in Toronto this weekend (or, you know, you live here) make sure you come down to Fan Expo at the Convention Centre! It runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday and will just generally be a wicked good time.
They’ve got Shatner, Adam West, Felicia Day and oh yeah, Kristi and the Illustrati gang in the artist alley. You can even pick up a copy of ‘The Gentlemen’, a comic I wrote, for only $5 at their booth. Check out Kristi’s Blog with a handy map to their table (just above the DC area). I won’t be at the table, but I won’t be far in case you want to chat. It didn’t make sense for me to get a table. What would I do; sell my sarcasm?
I intend to spend an unhealthy amount of money at this con and to propose marriage to Brian Azzarello no less than 10 times. Don’t judge me.
In other news, I’m starting work on a novel idea. Get it? Novel – new. Novel – book. Ok, ok, cutting back on the vocab jokes. It’s called ‘The Immortality Principle’ and I’m pretty stoked about it. I’ll be working on it for my Fall/Winter U of T course with Caitlin Sweet.
I’ll also be working on adapting ‘Until Death Do Us Part’ into a script so Kristi can illustrate it. We’re aiming for next Fan Expo. In colour! How exciting. And eventually, I’ll have to grow the cojones to actually submit the story to OnSpec or Tor or just whoever might want it, really. Buy my story! Love me!
I’ll try to blog a little more regularly and especially through the con. Can’t wait!
–SJ
“This is my point. For a piece of rock or clothes or something dead, who cares? But take something living and do that? Beam it up? What you done is ripped a man apart and then stuck his bits back together and made them walk around. He died. Get me? The man’s dead. And the man at the other end only thinks he is the same man. He ain’t. He only just got born. He’s got other memories, yeah, but he’s newborn. That Enterprise, they keep killing themselves and replacing themselves with dead people. That’s some macabre shit. That ship’s full of Xerox copies of people who died.”
–China Meiville
A cold, hard pain bloomed instantly in his stomach. It spread through his veins like ice, chilling and burning all at once. His fingertips went numb and cold, his chest tightened and his breath left his lungs in a sudden woosh. He blinked once. Twice. His vision swam and he felt suddenly nauseous. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to see the darkness behind his lids. Tried to focus on anything but what was happening in his mind. His nerves. His heart.
Betrayal.
“Wait.” He meant for the word to sound strong and powerful. He meant for it to command action. Instead, it escaped like a croak, desperate and pleading for life.
Hypnos turned mid-step to regard his brother, curious about his hesitation.
“Brother, are you alright?”
Thanatos clenched his teeth upon hearing his voice. Once it sounded like honey, weaving dreams of love and freedom. Now it sounded like a dischordant symphony; the very sound of which could turn his stomach and make his ears bleed. But it had another effect, too. The ice in his veins thawed and was reborn as fire. Something inside him reared and it felt like flames were licking his skin. He inhaled the air that had escaped him and felt it fuel the fire. He roared then, without warning. It was raw; painful and broken and angry. Then, like a tightly coiled spring finally free of its restrictions, Thanatos launched himself towards Hypnos.
Unprepared for the sudden attack, Hypnos had no chance of evading. Thanatos impacted with him, both hands on Hypnos’ chest, and shoved with all the force he could muster. Hypnos hurtled backwards at an impossible speed, hit the wall and crumpled to the floor.
“You betrayed me! My own brother!” Thanatos said, visibly shaking either from rage or pain.
Hypnos was still for several moments and Thanatos began to think he may have knocked him unconscious with the force of his shove. Then, quietly at first, a small, patronizing laugh. It grew steadily in volume and cadence. Finally, Hypnos pulled himself up and stood before Thanatos, wiping blood from one corner of his mouth.
“You pathetic little puppet!” Hypnos spat. “You steal a moment out from beneath our Father’s thumb and you think you can understand what’s happened here?”
“I’m nobody’s puppet,” Thanatos growled.
Hypnos laughed again, but this time it had the flavour of lunacy. “You’re everyone’s puppet, Brother. A tool used to sweep up with. A means to an end. A footnote in the masterpiece of the Gods.”
Thanatos took a step forward, but staggered. The fire had turned to dirty ash in his stomach.
“What you’ve taken from me, Hypnos,” Thanatos said softly, “I will take back.”
Hypnos grinned and shook his head. “How, Brother?”
“By force.”
He licked Karen’s earlobe and then blew on it. Why? I couldn’t tell you. It seemed as though human males had deemed it as an effective mating technique. Wrong. I can tell you right now that it just makes her feel damp and uncomfortable. She’s only moaning suggestively because she has low self esteem and is hoping the condom will break, thus locking you in to a long term (well, at least 18 years) commitment. No matter. I only needed to tolerate a few more minutes of this debauchery.
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!
Pro – wrote a book that appears on Time Magazine’s list of All-Time 100 Greatest Novels.
Con – committed suicide by hanging.
(This was from inputting the intro of Until Death Do Us Part.)
This was when I input Ghost of SI:7
Pro – It’s William Gibson.
Con – Your argument is invalid. It’s William Gibson.
That’s when I put in the Susan Calvin piece.
Pro – He sold a shitload of books.
Con – It’s Dan Brown.
Other sections of Until Death Do Us Part garnered me Vladimir Nabokov (think Lolita) for the office scene with the BJ, Ian Fleming (think James Bond) for the dance scene, Stephen King (I’d be ashamed if you didn’t know) for the Imogen club scene and, of course:
MF CHUCK PALAHNIUK for the war room scene.
Does an ego good, I’ll tell you that much.
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