karl.tsakos.us/blog

Yes, I did it. Something for which I know some will look down upon me and for which I make no apologies. I went to the 2009 New York Comicon at the Jacob Javits convention center in Manhattan. An event which in four short years has grown to become the second largest comic convention after San Diego. And, a large convention it was. I have been to Jacob Javits before to attend other conventions including Mac World (while they were still held in New York). This convention was as large as I recall Mac World being. For comparison, at the same time as Comicon, the New York Times Travel Show was being held in a hall almost half the size as the Comicon’s.

The Comicon is a place first and for most for comic book collectors and fans. It is an opportunity to meet some of their favorite authors and writers from the genre. From the elderly statesmen who helped mold comics into the widely appreciated art form it has become to the independent writers and publishers of today. There is a giant section of the hall dedicated to the artists where the loyal can try to commission drawings of their favorite characters from their favorite artists. I would have said, “where they can commission,” but due to the sheer number of attendees, the artists were backlogged by the second day. That didn’t stop them from chatting with their fans or autographing a drawing or book.

Among my favorite autographs was one my friend Jim received. Jim brought the cover from the DVD for the movie Mystery Men based on the comic by Bob Burden. Even though the movie was live action, Bob signed the front cover. He then proceeded to flip the paper over and, while balancing the paper on the edge of a box, drew the head of Casanova Frankenstein, the villain from the books and movie. He then handed it back to Jim saying, “secret drawing,” because of course you’ll never see it unless you take the cover out of the DVD’s case.

Other attractions included acre upon acre of comic book sellers where you could buy everything from one dollar back issues of your favorite series to tens of thousands of dollar collectables. They also sold paraphernalia including figurines, games, and costumes.

There were other attractions such as the video game companies which occupied almost half the floor. I didn’t really spend much time in that area. There were also celebrities from the television and film industries. Although I didn’t see him, Joss Whedon was there. I did see Lou Ferrigno and Marina Sirtis who were there to sign autographs.

Other then meeting your comic and occasional film idols, the draw was the community. As with any gathering of fans, you had a great sense of fellowship despite the thousands of people on hand. You could stop anyone and strike up a conversation and have a common background from which to proceed.

That wasn’t the case for me. To be honest, I’ve never been a very big comic book fan. I’ve read a few in my time and enjoyed them. My friends often will recommend something I should read and I do and I enjoy it. But, I never seem to go and seek out new material on my own. I could name maybe four or five comic artists or authors and that’s it. More exposure than many, much less than the real fans.

So why did I go? Three reasons really. First, Jim invited me. Second, Having never been to such a convention I thought it would be fun. And third, and most importantly, for the fans. And what I mean by that is the fans who like to go dressed in costume.

It’s not like you think. These people aren’t crazy. These people are showing their devotion to their favorite pastime. They are sharing their favorite fantasies with the other attendees. There is a knowledge of what they are doing and that it’s silly and funny at times. Ultimately, they are doing it because it’s fun.

I thought it would be a great photographic opportunity to go and get some shots of people in costume and I wasn’t mistaken. There was everything from the serious, to the ridiculous, to the sexy. You can see the photos I took at the convention and see what I mean. Enjoy.

Just a few last minute items to wrap up 2008. An overall good year. As with all years, it has had its ups and downs. I won’t dwell on the downs, at least I won’t air them publicly. But there have been some pretty good ups as well. I purchased my first house in 2008. And the good news, no buyer’s remorse. It needed work when I got it and I knew that going in. Actually, it’s better then I had expected.

I haven’t forgotten about my goal from my last entry, to run in a 5 K race around the time of my birthday. I looked around a little on the interweb and can’t find anything that month in the area. Still, I’m looking and will be consulting with some runner’s I know to see if they can help me find something. In the mean time, I continue to run to reach my goal of being able to run a 5 K by early February. Today I ran in the snow, the only one out there, which is unusual. I quite enjoyed parts of running in the snow. There were parts I didn’t like, such as the icy snow blowing in my eyes. Still, it was an overall enjoyable experience. Also, I changed up my running as I said I would. Five minutes walking, twelve minutes running, three minutes walking, twelve minutes running, then walk home from wherever I am (approximately five minutes).

I also continued with my goal of taking advantage of the proximity of Manhattan and went in last Monday to see some exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I went in with Jim and Danielle who then took me to a restaurant they like followed by a visit to the NBA Store. Not only is Manhattan busy and crowded at this time of year, but the mid-town stores are doubly so. After that, we walked to Rockefeller Center to see the christmas decorations.

I was amazed by the sheer number of people who were there. I figured a few days after Christmas and the crowds would have diminished. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Before even entering the walkway to the skating rink the sidewalk was too crowded to move. I took two minutes to cross from one side of the sidewalk to the other if you were going against the flow of people. It was astounding. Of course, while the decorations were smaller then they appeared when I was a child, they were still impressive and really shouted out, “Christmas!”

I was there for two reasons, on was just to see the display and enjoy the season. The other was to take some photos. You can see the results in the photo section of this website. It was a bit challenging to get a good shot for several reasons. First, it was night and everything was lit by flood lights. Second, the large numbers of people meant you were often getting jostled. That combined with reason three, there was no way to position yourself to take any of the iconic shots of the center. I found myself taking advantage of my stabilizing lens (purchased this year) and ability to review the shots I just took thanks to my camera being a digital SLR. Many of the shots I took were taken blind with me holding the camera at full arms length above my head and snapping away. Don’t get me wrong, I’m quite pleased with the results and you will be too.

That’s it for now. Here’s wishing you a very happy and healthy New Year.

Today’s tale is one of coincidence, and it started yesterday.

Last night the band, which I will now start to officially call the P.C.M.A. (formerly sometimes called DeSk), wrote three songs. As the songs gelled, I recorded them for the band to review, but mostly so we would remember them a week from now.

This morning I bounced the songs (mixed them down) to MP3 files to share with the members of the P.C.M.A. As I did so, I had to give them names. These names seem to stick only about half the time. They get changed when we know what the song is about.

One reminded me of something from the ’80s with what to me seemed like a british sound. This was most likely because of the tone of the keyboard. So I named it Briton Memoir. Another wound up in a Ska or Reggae stile (even though it was inspired by a southern Californian song), but the tempo was halfway between the two. Somehow its title became Skaggey.

The last was a slow, mellow piece which featured the organ with the stops set to only play higher overtones. Obviously and predictably it reminded me of the sonar of a bat. But because of the slow, mellow tempo, it has a slight sleepy feeling. So, I called that piece Chiroptera Somnambulist which translates from the Greek and Latin origins as “sleepwalking bat.”

Now, since bats are known to be nocturnal, an interesting effect of a sleepwalking bat is that it would be out and about in the middle of the day.

Here’s where the coincidence kicks in.

Today, Christian and I decided to get out and go for a hike. Since we wanted a change of scenery, we decided to head up to Lake Minewaska near New Paltz, New York. As we walked down the trail by Awostoga Falls, we saw something flying in and out of the trees. I asked, “What is that?” Christian answered, “It’s a bird.” I corrected him, “No, it’s a bat!”

One in the afternoon on a sunny day, and there was a bat flying in and out of the shadows. Of course our first notion was that it was rabid and therefore completely insane. But, the more we watched it, the clearer it became that the bat was completely in control of its behavior. Clearly it was feasting on the gnats so abundantly present along the river. Occasionally it would alight on a tree and rest for a moment before continuing on it’s feast.

Christian noted that it seemed to be flying very slowly. I observed that it was probably flying at the same speed in the dark, but when you see them a dusk the quick glimpse makes them look like they are moving faster. Either way, it was a rare and amazing experience to have the opportunity to watch the little critter at work.

And work he did. We watched him for ten minutes as we walked slowly down the trail. At one point I tried to get a picture of him which proved impossible to do. As I had the camera to my eye trying to find him, let alone follow him as he darted around, he made a bee line right at us. Christian made a startled yelp and we both started and shrieked as it veered off just 6 feet from us. Thankfully, no one was around to see.

Our hike continued for another two and a half hours before we returned along the same trail. We briefly saw him again as he chased some more insects further down the trail.

All I know was that it was clearly not sleepwalking, or sleepflying. I don’t even know if that was normal behavior for a bat. Still, it was a pretty amazing sight.

So, If you were thinking you would find a big change here visually (if you somehow stumbled upon this site) then you will be disappointed. I haven’t had the time to research themes for designing my own.

So it appears I lied about the rapid change of the look of this site. I guess it is safe to say it will change as it changes.I have however been experimenting with the gallery plugin I added.

In doing so I have added a gallery of the trip I took to Acadia National Park last June. It is the first addition of many galleries I will be adding.