Just spent Memorial Day weekend in Durham, NC at Animazement. (Hi, Bex!)
AWESOME!
Fantastic.
Well-run.
And they love us!

We print the con shirts for them each year (this is our third annum), and the con -goers are enthusiastic about OUR designs, aussi. Animazement is, if not my all-time favorite anime convention, it is tied with PersaCon, a tiny little family con near Huntsville, AL.

OK, Animazement was in Durham, NC. I'll bet G. Gordon Liddy is NOT the most popular personage in The Triangle. NC is NOT a hotbed of conservatism, and Raleigh-Durham is a major centre of academe. Hence my own amazement (pauses a beat...) at going to Ragazzi's Casual Italian Restaurant, and being asked by the Sweet Young Thang at the door....
"Smoking or non-smoking?".
The anti-smoking fascisti have NOT taken over the Triangle.
Wish I could say the same about North Alabamastan.
I am of two minds on this, because I was raised by a Smoker, one who was sure that my childish complaints were just showing out, who smoked whilst driving. With the windows shut. Thus I have a genuine antipathy toward cigarettes. Filthy, stinky, NASTY cigarettes.
Unlike cigars and pipes, which smell and taste lovely, which I enjoy, and self-medicate with.

The lesson here: Your dirt's dirty. Mine's not.

I REALLY despise cigarettes, as they stink, and are worthy of nothing more than burial. In the Sun.
Yet I LOVE liberty, and equally despise the Tyranny of the Whiners. Technology is such that ionising filters are affordable, even for small restaurants, and thus the problem can be solved with ease. But no, we must bring the Armed Might of the Givemint into the mix. The Smoker can no longer dine in comfort in many locales. Who does this hurt? Mr. Businessman. Ms. Restauranteur. So Huzzah to Durham, NC, for though the City Planners, et al, have banned all billboards, and require approved tapioca facades, they have allowed "smoker sections" in restaurants to remain.

Well, back from Mobicon!

I had an EXCELLENT weekend in Mobile. Great business, saw some friends, great business, good food.

Did I say great business? It was great!
Such is always relative to context. Mobicon is a small science fiction convention, and even so, it was a record-breaking sales weekend for Mobi. Next weekend Riatsila and I will be at Animazement in Raleigh / Durham, NC. We will do in two hours what it took all weekend for me to do at Mobicon. Yet I am highly pleased with the weekend in Mobile. As I am overly fond of saying, I did far better than had I stayed home watching TV.


Schmoozing with media folks, I met Billy West, the voice of Fry and many others on Futurama. He's an affable and articulate guy, screamingly liberal in outlook, yet not a mere kneejerk moonbat. There is an essential decency and sense of caring in many of the Left persuasion, but most I find are as surely mind-numbed robots as they accuse the devotees of Limbaugh. As I said, West has a life-experience and ethical base for his opinions, and the only real issue I would have with him is the apparent assumption that the Government should be the Source of all Care and Action. At any rate, he is a neat guy who has had a rough life, and has overcome to make good! He has a current 'toon project he's pitchin' to FOX, and we are talking with him about our doing his t-shirts. Here's hoping!

We are all thankful for the faboo weekend, and look forward to the next one!
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Well, Da Vinci did summat like $232 million world wide this weekend. Big fat hairy deal. People will ALWAYS pay for a lie, rather than listen to the Truth for nothing. This stuff has been around since the third century. The Enemy just trots out the Same Old Lies. The NEW AGE was just the same old song "You shall be as GOD!"

Sigh.
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Heyyyyyyy, Athena. Ex-Navy, now a Jedi.
She had the BEST costume at the contest this weekend. All made herself, but in a GOOD way, with imported fabric and such. Very detailed and accurate. I thought her light saber was an off-the-rack prop, but NO! She made it, too, out of hardware and machine parts. Again, very detailed, and very solid. She should have taken first, but, ahhh, well. The Dark Faerie won...and all that entails.
During the interim, whilst the judges did their judgie thing, a pair of very sweet people known as "Those Damn Pixies" put on the seven-minute costume contest. You get a three swatches of fabric, duct tape, and a pair of scissors. Then they tell you what you will be. Athena talked me into going up with two others. Our foursome was assigned Cerberus the three-headed Hound of Hell. Athena, a guy with a pony-tail and I were the dog, and the other gal was Hades, our handler. Athena took charge and got us working as a team. When pics are posted on the con site, I'll put one up here. We got second place. The Sweet Young Thing who was Hades plied the whip on me especially. (I kept snarling at the Dalek, and Tinkerbell. I'm a baaaaad boy...) Maybe she has Issues. (I kid, I KID!) But it was a good time, and it's neat how four strangers can work together toward a Task.
So, it was a great time, New friends, and good memories! Sometimes, it's not just work at these conventions. AND I saw TEX! Yo, bro! A fellow Gerry Anderson fan, and all that entails. He and his Mom survived Katrina, and are fine. She's going through dialysis, so remember her in your prayers, should you be the praying sort!

Lest anyone think that I take pot-shots from the cheap seats, here is Will Anderson's reply:

(Aardvark),

Thanks for the note!  I hope you get a chance to hear senator Sessions
today...

Will

______________________

I sent him a link to my blog, so he would know what was being said. Perhaps a dialogue can ensue/

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It's MOBICON time again! I'll be selling our Aardvarky goodness in Mobile, seeing friends, and all. Hence, I will not be HERE with you. I'll let you know how it all goes!
Even though it's only Wednesday, have a great weekend!

Oh, the pain, the pai-i-i-n.

I have a question for my esteemed reader.
What do you guys do about PAIN?

I am 49, still young by many measures. (By inside-my-head measure, I'm 11.)
I'm portly, looking more like a Grocer than a Burglar, but not in the "bury him in a piano box" league.
When I print a job, I generally need a day to recover, 'cos I hurt so much the next day.
It makes no sense. Muscle aches, joint aches, but to a degree which to me seems unusual, given the nature of my work. (T-shirt screenprinting) Beyond popping APCs (Excedrin) there's not a lot that works.

Any ideas?
Oh...going to the DOCTOR?
"Take two Excedrin and call me in the morning..."

Amerika Uber Alles

There. Maybe I'll be as notorious as the Voxster.

VD's WND column has stirred the pudding yet again, and has shown that most reactors in the Blog-O-Versetm have ZERO reading comrehension. Mention the Holocaust, and if you are perceived to be conservative, well, Katie bar the door, you must be an anti-Jewish, pro-Nazi slug whose Family Money was probably made in I.G. Farben and Bayer investments. Again the shirt with the Big Red Button: OFFEND ME.
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Our local Talk Radio wunderkind Will Anderson (Oooh, I used another German word. "Mein Fuehrer, I CAN VALK!".) has recently begun to refer to AM 770 WVNN as the only relevant talk station in Alabama, or suchlike. Ummmmmm, Will, you yourself cited an article where Russ and Dee Fine of 101.1 FM in Birmingham, had brokered a deal with Roy Moore to have a public debate with Gov. Bob Riley (if Riley agrees). Sounds like the Esteemed Competition is Actually Doing Something- other than having people just call in and whine and kvetch about how bad it all is. They have put on a number of rallies, (The Alabama Tea Party, f'rinstance), and are at the forefront of raising awareness and action about the illegal immigrant problem here in Alabama. I love ya, Will, but build a fire under someone and DO something.
Shucks, even Darla Jay got folks moving over that phony foster family hijacking a Central American girl's baby.

More to come....

The Dread Dormomoo speaks (by the hoary hosts of Hoggoth, to the praise of the eternal Vishanti!)

Herself commented on plans to send The Guard (which, I am told, Belongs) to the Border.
Sez she:

"They need to send Dick Cheney down with his rifle, and tell him that the illegals are quail."

...and you thought the Dormomoo thing was just a joke...

Dormammu Art by "Smilin'" Steve Ditko, (c) Marvel
The Dread Dormomoo.

There is an arch-fiend from the good old Lee/Kirby days of Dr.Strange named the Dread Dormammu.
From the halcyon days of watching "Animaniacs" with the kinder, as well as the same days of comic books and cards, the kids began to call me "Dadoo" (from Wacko Warner asking Death "may we call you Dadoo...?"). So it was only natural that they started "Momoo" as well. Since she is... firm in her convictions, and fierce in her loyalties, the persona of "The Dread Dormomoo" came to be.
Enjoy the pic. She's much prettier in Real Life, but I won't be putting a real pic, she being shy and retiring and all.

Happy Mother's Day!

Blam and DAST!
I hate bots.
(See the "comment" on Thursday's entry.)
But hey, my degree is only two weeks away...100% verifiable, this is a real deal!
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O happy day. O joy, oh rapture!
Pretty Lady has linked to my blog.
I just think that is neat. I shall reciprocate.
That's the way Things Are Done.
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As much as I appreciate [adult swim] for the excellent anime they have brought to our shores, well,
I believe that there is a bet going on at the Williams St. offices as to when the Great Unwashed will rebel and proclaim "This stuff is CRAP, and we won't watch it any more.".

...about the same time The Disillusioned Right will realise that the Republicans are interested in in ONE thing: Staying In at Any Cost.

HELLO! There are two extant Other parties. The Constitution Party, with heavy Christian influence. Being one meself, I do not see this as the Great Threat to Freedom, but the Media have itchy trigger fingers where the phony "Church/State" separation is concerned. Thus, the Libertarian Party is, to me, the only viable third party
around. The basic call to return to a no-frills government sized to Constitutional limits is a potent one.
I'm taking my name off of the "R" rolls, and joining the Libertarians.
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These guys do talk radio that is more than just talk.
__________________________________

I REALLY need for you to go to:
http://www.fairtax.org/
and do what it says.

You need it, too.

Happy Sunday to you all.

What a bigly, hugely, busy week!
WOW! But I am back, however briefly.
______________________________
"Horn Day".
I shall reward your complete lack of interest with an explanation. We live in North Alabamastan, and are thus near the end of Tornado Alley. Thunderstorms tend to take out their frustration about missing that Exceptionally Fine Trailer Park in Texarkana on us. We have an Exceptionally Fine Siren System in our area, and it is tested on the second Monday of the month. A thin warbling wail dopplers up to a piercing blast, then back again as the "sy-REENS" rotate on their mounts. Horn Day, an Alabama tradition. Parades, children laughing in the sun, yet with an undertone of dread, knowing that the klaxon presages the glowering gloom of Doom. But they put on a brave front. Hey, they could be having to duck and cover! (Note: this is the FULL Civil Defence film.)
_______________________________
I have heard no figures on the economic impact of the illegal alien boycott. I would welcome any. (I did hear summat on Boortz, but it seemed a joke.)
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When I was a kid, I do recall grim B&W animated public service ads for "alien registration". I always wondered if Superman had to register.

HAPPY HORN DAY!

(You figure it out.)

Have you any idea how tough it is to maintain a third-person style?
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Happy Sunday. The predations of the week's workload have taken their toll, and I am HURTING! We did the shirts for a local Christian music festival (Soulstock). It took 3 days of solid 2-shift work to get them done. Loen, Riatsila, IM and I all took turns at the job, with The Dread Dormomoo folding, counting and boxing. We will be able to do the same job in a half-day once our new automatic press arrives. At 49, I begin to see the folly of wishing away huge blocks of time ("I can hardly wait for the next episode of House...I'll be glad when two months are gone so the new press will be here"...like that.), but BOY, I can hardly wait for the new press! 8-color, 10 station; all we do is put the shirts on, and take the shirts off to run 'em through the dryer. We could max out at around 40 dozen an hour. 480 shirts printed an hour. Wow! We have grown from a little one-color poke-it-with-a-stick garage endeavor in the Spring of '91 to where we are today. Between God's faithfulness, and a lot of hard work, here we are. Yaaaaaay!
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It has been neat to have the comments picking up of late. It is an encouragement to continue this act of Intense Hubris, since, after all, everyone is entitled to my opinions, and would surely benefit therefrom! Hi, David. Welcome!
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I hope you all have a great week!

And now for something completely different...

When the Aardvark was a callow yout', and entertained thoughts of Becoming a Minister-in Western Protestant Mode- he also entertained thoughts of going to (then) Montreat-Anderson College for an associates degree in Recreation. Being unskilled at the Volleyball and such went far toward discouraging him, and besides, he would not have then gone to St. Andrews and met the Dread Dormomoo (y'know, no-one has tumbled to that name yet). The prospect of tossing dodgeballs at velocity at dozing parishioners still brings a teeny smile to the tip of his snout, however.

This Aardvark was also a Summer Camp Junkie. Camp Pee Dee, a Presbyterian Church camp, was mightily used to bring him into the fold, as 'twere, and they used him as a counselor, an Aardvark unaware.

It was there that The Aardvark collided with Bob Fakkema, a Recreation Leader par excellance, who was still going strong even after a massive stroke. Bob was a master of Group Dynamics, and could really get a crowd humming and working together. He supplied tons of recreation materials to help this one along the path to Rec. Leader.

Well, this is one of the gems he shared. It is all found here.
Anguish Languish by H.L.Chase.
Here is one of the best.

These must be read aloud with as little thought as possible . It is the SOUND that makes it work.

Enjoy...This one must go practise his "trust" exercises...

On the other hand, it all becomes a huge bore, with a few notable exceptions.

Ohhhh, you don't have a clew, do you? What you get for peeking inside my head like this.

Politics. Here in Alabamastan, we have a goobernatorial race heating up.

• Seigheilman- Dem. who wants to get a lottery in here for the children. Yes, let The Poor pay their fair share. At least I know what I'd get. I have a slogan for him: "Heute der LOTTERY...Morgen die WELT!".
  
• Bob Riley- the Repub incomp...er, incumbent, who promised no taxes, then proposed a $2 Billion tax increase which was shot down by the Peepul in referendum, who is now crowing that he lowered taxes, and created a huge $urplu$. He is Christianly against a Lottery in Alabama, and accepts money from Mississippi Casino Tribes to insure his againstness.
• Judge Roy Moore- (R) Running to Do What's Right. I have no real problem, other than the fact that I just don't want to get burned again by voting for an outspoken "Christian" pol. (See above, and Jimmuh Carter, and Dubya, to name but few.) Moore is a good man, with what I see as proven integrity. Whether one agrees with his stance or not, he did in no way compromise his stand or values. I just don't want to be disappointed. Again. Riley. George...
• Loretta Nall - Libertarian Candidate. Of COURSE she's about legalisation...There can't be a Libertarian in public without weed-talk. It is the Most Important Issue Of Our Time (besides abortion for Democrats...hmmm...I LIKE that wording...). But I'd vote for her just to Send A Message. And because she's hot. (I kid...I KID!) And she doesn't wear knickers.
  

To all those fearful of the predations of The Da Vinci Code movie, and to all those who Believe it:

It's based upon a fiction novel, which is based upon a conspiracy theory that makes Art Bell seem reasonable.

Tom Hanks also starred in The Polar Express.

You would probably do better to believe that one.