Feathered Friends
Tag: FanExpo Canada
#FanExpo 2016
I came, I walked, I shopped 🙂 I saw celebs (from a distance) even took a long shot of the real stars of AmHor Freakshow. But the only tee I ended up with was the official Expo limited (to how many they could sell) tee-shirt. Two hours Thursday, three hours Friday & I pretty much had my fill of dodging bay carriages, cosplay impromptu photo session in the middle of narrow retail aisles. By 1 pm Friday even shopping became a hazard as it was impossible to stop long enough in front of a spot to buy something with the pressure of people pushing you along so they could also not buy something.
The scariest part (so far) was the continuing mess at Union Station. I hear it’ll be ready for the next Olympics in Toronto. I’m surprised no one has used it yet as set for their low-budget slasher film. all those hoardings are ripe for blood spatter & the newly narrower platforms are perfect for that accidental nudge.
New FanExpo trends: customized hard-shell luggage – with logos & colours of your fave: Wonder Woman, My Little Pony, Iron Man – you get the picture. I’m sure it make it easier to spot on a luggage carousel but calls even more attention to it than you might want. Other trend: mystery boxes only $35 for $50 worth of merchandise – come on! Now if it were $35 for $100 worth of crap that hasn’t been sold for the past year I might think yeah.
The horror zone – or should I call it Game Of Thrones Central (since when is Thrones horror anyway?) – was over run with swords & a heaping helping of Walking Dead. I suppose there is no other current horror franchise – more American Horror Show would have been great to see there – HMV didn’t even have the box sets of past seasons, wtf. Each year it becomes harder to find ‘old school’ – too much Hunger Games & no Bride of Frankenstein.
I did annoy several of the comic book retailers by asking if they had any Katy Keene – one of them did know who it was. Not that expected her to show up here anyway. I did buy another Godzilla action figure – travel size this time 🙂 (http://wp.me/p1RtxU-16x)
The Scope of Things
Dave got a telescope for his thirteenth birthday
it needed a tripod to hold it up
if the screws weren’t tight enough
the heavy head would drift down
he showed me how to focus on stars
the faces of the moon
people’s roofs living rooms
to see what they were watching on TV
prying spying was sneaky fun
when we looked at the Milky Way
I would hum the Star Trek theme
we made notes of constellations nebulas
when we came to Earth
we had no guides for these creatures
we observed from our ufo
as it hovered unseen over their homes
peering into their windows
as they shuffled from living room to kitchen
sat on the floor to eat chocolate ice cream
directly from the carton
scratched their private parts
which was about as exciting
as those dull Earthlings ever got
never found an open bedroom curtain
for some flash of undressed flesh
for my thirteenth birthday
I got a microscope
to prepare me for science in school
I made slides of hair spit
Dave and I took turns looking at trapped squiggles
water had uncountable live darters
snot was creepy
our shit swarmed with so many things
I had to wash and wash afterward
we tried the microscope through the telescope
puzzled by things so far
we couldn’t touch them
so small we couldn’t feel them
wondering where did we fit in
on going 🙂 when new podcast are posted:  Deliciously iTunes
November 1 – 30 Participating NaNoWriMo
December – Thursday Dec 1st – Toronto, 8 pm, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St.
http://www.queerslam.com/season-3-dates.html
Early 2017:
my first local feature in over a year: location date TBA
April season 3 FINALS –Â Friday April 15th Buddies in Bad Times – early show – 7pm start
http://www.queerslam.com/season-3-dates.html
June 2-4: attending: Capturing Fire 2017 –
check out these poets from Capturing Fire 2015:Â https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx5KD1eDccdjdTdQ28kZRNg
Hey! Now you can give me $$$ to defray blog fees & buy coffee in Washington – sweet,eh? paypal.me/TOpoet
Like my pictures? I post lots on Tumblr
Dead of Summer
Dead of Summer
Donnie Aucoin was twelve
he died swimming
his dad explained Donnie was where
he could swim as much as he wanted
Ellie Buckland
went to the hospital
she was anemic or something
she faded away
the teacher told us
Ellie was now in Strawberry Fields
she was eleven
Frankie Cameron, also eleven
visiting his grandmother in Toronto
was hit by a car
I don’t know where he went
Toronto seemed far enough away
that’s when I first wanted to die
so my parents would say
what a great fun kid I was
that everyone liked me
that I would be missed
no more school
no more homework
my dad wouldn’t get angry at me
for forgetting to take out the garbage
no one could pick on me
in bed on summer nights
smelling lilacs across the street
I’d pretend how wonderful it would be
in that cozy coffin
everyone would come up to my silver coffin
see my head on the gold satin pillow
look at my sweet little face
be sorry for not asking me to Jamie’s party
for making me stay after class
for knocking the hamster cage over
which I didn’t
but I’m not going to rat out who did
and he would feel so sorry
he wasn’t a better friend
when I took the blame
he’d tell Mrs. Butterworth
he had been the one
she would come over to my little coffin
put her warm hand on my cool cheek
tell me how sorry she was
then give me one of the peppermints
she kept in her desk
before I knew it I would be asleep
disappointed when I awoke
alive
to remember
I forgot to take out the garbage
again
 tree fall
This was written for a Coffehouse Cabaret (remember them) at the Renaissance Cafe. They did regular musical theme nights: Delta Blues, Bob Dylan & others. Musicians were encouraged to do cover versions. I wrote some about or inspired by the theme style or band.
So I have pieces about the Doors, Dylan, Neil Young and more as a result. I’d usually read something by the band – for the Beatles I read In My Life – one of my favourite Beatle lyrics.
 it’s that time of year again
If you missed it ‘strawberry fields’ is the Beatles reference. Strawberry Fields, which for some I reason I thought was a cemetery, turns out to be a children’s home near where Lennon grew up, either made it logical for this nostalgic look back at kids in my life.
The names are real enough but composites of names I remember – some of the deaths are real but often I had no names to put with them – like the boy who got killed by a car. I did have a teacher named Butterworth though. Not sure if she kept anything in her desk.
 crushed 0 speed bike
I did attended a summer funeral too – but for the mother of a boy I knew. The death fantasy may have sprung from her open coffin but it was one I entertained from time to time. Right down how much people would be sorry they’d been so mean to me. I did often forget to take out the garbage too – yet another of my constant disappointments for my Dad.
October 10-12 – attending – Gratitude Roundup http://www.torontogratitude.org
October 19 – feature – Cabaret Noir – Pinebow https://www.facebook.com/events/1651892755035275/
November 1-30 – participating – NaNoWriMo 2014 – http://nanowrimo.org
Brazil #3 !! Olá – deixa-me cair uma linha
#FanExpoCanada 2014 first day
Did things a little different for FanExpo this year. past years I’ve gotten down to the Convention Centre by 11:30 to be in the line up for the 2 pm opening. There is some line-up community atmosphere but the sun and standing makes that atmosphere less appealing as I get older. Last year I had portable stool – fine in line by a pain to tote around all day.
 lights, my camera, no action
So I opted to arrived around 1:30 by which time they had start to let the line-ups in. In fact there was no premium pass line up by the time I arrived. Less to carry meant more space for shopping once I picked up my official t-shirt & premium pass swag bag. The swag isn’t as good at Bloody Words, but good enough. Loved the Star Wars lunch pail.
 snow bite & various dwarves
The first day is my walk around, maybe pick up a few things – I’m on the hunt for American Vampire 4 & 6. Didn’t find either 😦 ‘Oh we left that at the shop’ doesn’t cut it. I made myself take more pictures – this year I would snap a Spiderman taking a piss, I was too shy last year. But I aim to avoid those, by now generic, cosplay snaps.
Crowd flow was good for the few hours I was there. Union Station is hell though – I’ll give it miss Friday by getting off at St. Andrew’s & walking down. On the way home I got into conversations with people about the official Expo bag I was now carrying.
Day Two I’ll go through Indie Alley, see what celebs I can catch signing autographs with my telephoto lens, plus lots of cosplayers everywhere shunning us shutter bugs (as if). I’ll have my eye open for those American Vampire books, drop by a ChiZine, hunt for some Tartan Asia that I haven’t seen.
October 10-12 – attending – Gratitude Roundup http://www.torontogratitude.org
October 19 – feature – Cabaret Noir – Pinebow 
https://www.facebook.com/events/1651892755035275/
November 1-30 – participating – NaNoWriMo 2014 – http://nanowrimo.org
The Killer In The Morning
with a shout the killer awoke
from a dream
someone smothering him
a pillow over his face
he’d never use a pillow
or anything that hid the face
the best part of the kill
was in the eyes
that I can’t believe you are doing this
combined with the actual pain
as his hands crushed the wind pipe
squeezing
hollow bones in his strong hands
he could crush an apple
the hardest granny smith
he’d hold it up so juice splashed his face
like a warm summer shower
cleaned and ready
the killer sat at his kitchen table
looked out at the sunny day
at people on their way to death
death at his hands
maybe not right now but soon
sooner than they expect
at least one of them would die today
he knew that
the knowledge armed him
gave him power
gave him a reason to live
to be there amongst them
each of them ripe for his desires
the headlines no longer cowed them
they had little fear
a killing a day
the papers screamed who will be next
the tv clatter box went on and on
flashed from his latest victim
to breakfast cereals
that would help you lose weight
ha he laughed to himself
I have a program
that’ll give you a permanent weight loss
don’t bother calling
I’ll find you today
it is a good day to die
the bat in the hat
#NaNoWriMo and Crazy Circles
Even with my last two nano novels in various stages of editing I can’t keep from thinking about this year’s model. The other’s were started pretty much from scratch. This year I’m considering go back to two novels I started at various times and have put aside.
 warning – plot holes
One was started when I took Caro Soles novel writing course at George Brown – so far in the past I can’t even find any remnants of it on various computer files, back-ups or even print-outs. If there are print-outs they’d be dot matrix. Yikes – almost as hard to read as my handwriting.
Over the summer I’ve searched for this start – through old note books, old piles of print-outs & not a shred has been found. The plot is quite intact in my brain mind you but I have no recollection of character names.
 winter wreath
One of the reasons I put it aside was a push in the class to build a present day family crisis for my hero to balance the crime he was caught up in. I found that family business too mundane to stick with but it got me bogged down, so I gave up on the novel altogether. Plus I knew who did it & why.
So I may resurrect it and do what the fuck I want to with the plot for the nano experience & then if I feel I need that family turmoil bs I may tackle it once more. The hero would be ideal for a series as well – a forensic document expert primarily dealing with photographic evidence –
 can I steal this for my nano notes
Because it helps when it’s all relative, his first case leads him into his past when I spots, on a TV show about cold cases, an old photo of himself & another boy – the boy is one of several children who disappeared around the time the photo was taken.
August 28-31 – attending – FanExpo Canada http://www.fanexpocanada.com
 Super snacks fanexpo 2013
October 19 – feature – Cabaret Noir – Pinebow 
https://www.facebook.com/events/1651892755035275/
in ransacking my archives I came across a notebook from July 1981 – this piece was in it:
Crazy Circles
He spun in a slow circle in time to the curve of violin, his good arm controlling the speed & his good leg controlling the direction. The hot July sun glinted off the chrome of his wheel chair as he glided easily around the potted plants on the terrace.
The other patients resented him, or rather, resented the sounds of him. The brief curve of violin merely introduced a throb of rock blasted at nearly top volume on his radio. The volume matched, or is it betrayed, what I assumed to be his inner rage. Bitterness instead of courage.
Blue gym shorts & a cast on his foot was all he had on. The rest of his body brown from what must have been many previous days of wheeling in the sun. It was a [good] strong body, firm, healthy, despite the obvious flaws. His left arm ending just below the elbow – it looked more like a defect, an incomplete part, rather than something lost in an accident.
I wanted to stop looking at him but the volume of his radio kept pulling my eyes back to the flex of his muscles as he spun another crazy circle in the sun.
 google goggles
Another Day @FanExpoCanada 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELqkzPEAdvU&feature=youtu.be
Day two of Expo was fine until the invasion of the baby strollers. It can be hard enough to avoid cosplay swords, capes and gown hems without having to dodge baby carriages at the same time 🙂 after a stop at Starbucks for a coffee & an oat fudge bar, I arrived by 11. No lineups and great crowd flow. By noon it was getting packed. After a while I couldn’t tell where cosplay ended and street wear began.
Bought some tee-shirts, added another Archie exclusive to my gallery. Had an ice cream. Took some pics. I like splitting the exhibition areas into two spots – north and south – it did create more space in each. Moving from one to the other was smooth as well. The SportExpo was in the north area as well the autographs. This kept fan line ups from taking over as they did in past years. The walkway to the north also allowed for a fun photo op.
Things to keep in mind – never stop at the top or bottom of an escalator to orient yourself & then get pissed because people bump into you. Sitting alone at a table for 8 doesn’t give you possession of the other seven chairs – don’t get miffed if someone else wants to sit there. Don’t get miffed if you can’t get a clear cosplay photo because the swarms of cell phoners taking pictures too.
Much like 2012 I enjoyed my two days at Expo, was glad to get home & take off my shoes. But 2 days is more than enough for me. But I could be talked into another day if anyone’s interested in braving the Sunday crowds.
Â
https://www.facebook.com/events/1651892755035275/
Â
Life Everlasting
death wants to get laid – simple as that
each time someone is willing to comply
they die
so death never gets laid
leaving death unfulfilled
frustration rules each encounter
disappointed by thousands at a time
pleasure is no longer expected
death has a big load to shoot
a geyser a volcano
to make the atomic bomb a firecracker
death’s orgasm will black the sun
cast a shadow over the world
but once he comes he will be gone
that’s right once death gets
that longed craved for satisfaction
he’ll leave us alone
gone – b’bye
there will be no more death
just life everlasting
I am caught on the balance
of doing it for the human race
while knowing it can’t be done
that as willing as I am to
to stroke the engorged member of death
I know that it’ll be my demise
I have no choice
eventually death will give opportunity
for me to do the bump and grind
that gets us both sweating to the point of surrender
but before death can get release
I’ll die
though I could be the one
that makes death come
the odds aren’t in my favor
the invitation into death’s bed
often comes when we least expect it
riding in a car
walking down the stairs
asleep at night
working at keeping our bodies healthy
eating enough anti-free-radicals
that one should be getting younger
not older
all this done
to make us ripe and ready
for that wild date
at least we know
death will bring flowers
 2013 milling around
