The Toaster

FANCOUVER! A review of FanExpo.

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:30:08 -0700

Vancouver finally had it’s first major comic-con this past weekend! FanExpo has organized the Mecca of Canadian comic-cons in Toronto for 18 years. Before coming to Vancouver this year, comic conventions in Vancouver were usually nothing more than glorified comic book swap meets in community halls or hotel basements.

Creation Entertainment did put on Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Gallactica, Supernatural and Star Trek conventions in Vancouver for several years, but the target audience was fans of just one show, a very specific niche market. FanExpo Vancouver covered everything from comic books, to science fiction, to horror, to anime, to video games to animation and film.

So what was it like at the first ever FanExpo Vancouver ?

THE AWESOME

1. The Fans!

The place was packed both days. Vancouver fans turned out big time to support the event. I heard there were over 10,000 fans on the Saturday alone. Of course, with lots of fans come lots of awesome fan costumes! There were some truly amazing fan-made costumes. They really add a lot to the atmosphere.

(Photo vancitybuzz.com)

2. Fan Organizations

There were some awesome and very knowledgeable fan organizations at FanExpo. Two organizations in particular stood out to me: The Ghostbusters of BC and the 501^st Legion, a Star Wars group.

As mentioned they’re both very knowledgeable about their favourite film, but also very friendly and seemed to genuinely enjoy interacting with fans. They also made most of their own amazing costumes and props, and were there to raise money for charity.

3. Artist Alley

While there might not have been the big blockbuster names that some other comic-cons attract, there were some very talented and successful artists at FanExpo. Even if you couldn’t afford their work (some of it was surprisingly affordable) it’s a joy to wander by and take in the artwork. The artists I talked to were all very friendly and happy to chat with you and look at portfolios. Most artists were happy to autograph anything you brought with you for free. It was nice to see a lot of Canadian artists as well.

THE GOOD

1. Celebrity Guests

Being the first year of the event, the celebrity guest list was not amazing, but pretty darn good. There were definitely some big names: Adam West and Burt Ward (Classic Batman and Robbin), Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Michael Dorn (Star Trek TNG & DS9), Marina Sirits (Star Trek TNG), John DeLancie (Star Trek TNG, DS9 & VOY), Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), author Spider Robinson and the cast of Continuum.

The Q&A session were truly enjoyable, and having the hosts of Inner Space as moderators was a great idea. Now that the event is an established success, hopefully the guest list will be even more impressive next year - I’m looking at you Sir Patrick Stewart and Stan Lee, guest start attendees of Calgary and Toronto but not Vancouver :P

As with any convention you could expect to pay quite a fair bit for an autograph or photo-op. I also wish Alan Ruck would have done a Q&A session, but it was nice of him to come all the same.

Note: Marina Sirtis is quite the bitch, but in an endearing and hilarious way :P But very genuine and nice to fans.

2. The Vendors

The Vendors room was packed, you could easily spend 2-3 hours in there, at least twice that if you’re a comic book collector. Besides 1000s of comic books and graphic novels, you could find art, movie posters and props, t-shirts, hats, hoodies, costumes, artist prints, collectable cards, sports cards and autographs, characters busts and statues, video games, DVDs and BluRays, and vintage toys from the 1940s to 1990s as well as brand new toys.

There were some very good deals to be found, although not everything was a deal. A few vendors were way over priced, possibly on purpose given that they had a captive market.

The only knock on the vendors area is some of it was very repetitive.

(Photo vancitybuzz.com)

3. The Price

At $30 for two days, the price was very reasonable compared to other conventions I’ve attended.

THE BAD

1. Event Organization

I purchased tickets online the day they went on sale. After being told that those who pre-ordered tickets could arrive at 9:00am, an hour before the on-site box office opened, I arrived at 9:15am. Where I stood in line… for 45 minutes.

Finally at 10:00am we were ushered to the ticket pick-up queue, at the same time as people who were lined up without tickets. Huh?

That being said, having a pre-ordered ticket a few hours later in the day would have made a world of difference. Around noon the box-office line-up was down the escalator, out the door, past Canada Place, and turned up Burrard Street.

The website advertises workshops where “The pros give exclusive, live instructional training and give insider tips on what it takes to break into the exciting world of comic book illustration and storytelling.”

No such events took place. As someone who has just begun an illustration career, that was disappointing.

Also the event organizers failed to post a list of celebrity autograph fees, either before or at the event. There wasn’t even a price by the line up or on the name sign over the celebrity’s table. There have been prices clearly advertised at every other con I’ve been to, so “the celebrities never tell us” is a pretty weak excuse.

Conventions such as this often have “exclusives” for sale, some sort of collectable that is of limited editions and available only at the convention. This only exclusive for FanExpo Vancouver was pin with R2-D2 and C-3PO within a heart, with sales going to The Variety Club. I love raising money for charity, but this was not exclusive. You can buy the same pin in stores all around the lower mainland.

2. Security

I know this probably isn’t FanExpo and Hobby Star Marketing’s fault, as they likely had no say in the individual security guards, but my goodness were some of them pushy.

One security guard chewed us out while accusing us of trying to sneak into a Q&A session. Yes, the two of us with the shiny 2-Day pass bracelets were trying to sneak in. Perhaps it was more likely that we just didn’t realize the black curtains without a sign was the entrance to the main theatre. Our bad.

Once while sitting on a couch in a hallway, myself and many other attendees were asked to leave. Our crime? Despite still being within show hours, we were not attending a session or in the vendors room. Seriously? Then what are all those couches there for?

3. Use of Social Media

FanExpo Vancouver had a facebook profile, which they updated quite regularily with event news. However, hoping to have one of your questions answered by leaving a comment on the wall was boarding on futility.

They also had a Twitter account that did nothing but collect cyber dust until the week leading up to the event.

Given that their market is almost exclusively nerds, I would have though I strong social media presence would have been more important to them.

4. The Venue

The Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre is a very nice building, and I love how eco-friendly it is. Perhaps no one expected so many people to attend, but it just seemed overly crowded at times

The smaller session room was always standing room only, and I’m sure the artists/vendors room could be expanded in the future.

The main stage for sessions was standing room only for some guests. Also, the room had one heck of a big pillar in it, so many of the seats had an obstructed view. Someone had a nice idea to put a big screen TV on the back of the pillar for the audience behind it, but for some reason it was never used.

Unfortunately, the Trade and Convention Centre doesn’t have any bigger rooms. The only solution is a bigger venue (BC Place has free WiFi, just sayin’), or sell less tickets.

—

Of course this is the first year, and I’m sure many of these wrinkles will be ironed out for next years event, which I will not miss! Thanks to all the guests that came to Vancouver, and to Hobby Star Marketing for finally coming to the west coast!

Check out VancityBuzz for more event photos.

Tour de Nerdfighting 2012

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:22:00 -0800

The Tour de Nerdfighting 2012 show in Vancouver was awesome. When John and Hank Green and fellow Nerdfighters gather what else could it be, but awesome?

The sold out audience sitting in the Frederic Wood Theatre at UBC was already excited and raucous before Hank the Sock took the stage to thank everyone for coming and congratulate everyone on “being Canadian”. He then explained that although John and Hank Green do look just like the Scottish musical duo The Proclaimers, it was not a Proclaimers concert. Finally Mr. Sock introduced Vlogbrother and best-selling author John Green.

Thus began the “serious” portion of the evening. John came on stage looking very professional in a suit and tie (but not too professional, he was wearing sneakers) as he read a chapter from his New York Times best-selling novel The Fault in Our Stars. He then talked about the book and one of his inspirations for the story before inviting Hank to come out and sing some awesome songs.

Hank then left and John came back out to answer questions about TFiOS and his other books, thanked his publisher, the university, Hank and his wife Katherine, their driver Julie and John’s wife Sarah (aka the Yeti) whom he invited on stage for a rare appearance.

Hank then came back out for a timed Q&A session with John. Who ever was left answering a question when the timer ended, was punished by electrocution! (see video at the end).

Hank then played some more of his awesome songs, and at the end of the show there was even a brief Proclaimers Concert after all! (Watch Hank & John sing “Im Gonna Be (500 Miles)” in Portland).

The evening ended with an autograph session. I can confirm that a) John and Hank are real and not simply a series of ones and zeros and b) They are both very nice people.

I got my copy of TFiOS signed and Hanklerfish’d!

A big thanks to John and Hank for doing their first ever Vancouver Nerdfighter gathering! And for selecting Vancouver for their only Canadian tour stop! Thanks for Nerdfighters of the Lower Mainland for being awesome and making it a sold out event!

I love being part of a community that embraces knowledge, reading, creativity, compassion and making the world more awesome and suck less. DFTBA!

A coalition government in Canada? Oh the horror!

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:00:07 -0700

If see, hear or read someone use the word coalition in conjunction with controversy or illegal one more time … I may just hurl.

According to the constitution of Canada, multi-party coalition governments are both democratic and legitimate. It’s how the system works people - no matter what Harper may tell you.

This is not a endorsement for or against a coalition government. It just ticks me off to see a perfectly normal part of Canadian government being referred to in such a confusing (untruthful) manner.

There is no controversy. A coalition government joined the two Canadas together in 1864, directly leading to Confederation in 1867. That’s correct, Canada was born out of a coalition government. The scandal!

A coalition government of sorts also led Canada through the First World War. I’m just sayin’. Now back to the real issues please.

How many countries have you traveled to?

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:52:05 -0700

3, but 2 of them are really, really big. :P

Ask me anything

Extremely insensitive comment on Japan quake via CNBC

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:36:11 -0800

Extremely insensitive comment on Japan quake via CNBC:

motherjones:

“The human toll here looks to be much worse than the economic toll, and we can be grateful for that” so says CNBC’s Larry Kudlow of the Japan earthquake. If you listen closely at the end, you can hear his co-anchor add, “This is good news for the US economy.”

facebook and art censorship.

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:04:00 -0800

If your a fan of comic book art you’re probably aware of J. Scott Campbell already. If you’re not, then go check out his dA gallery! Do it right now - then come back and read this.

As I write this he is doing a “Too Hot for Facebook” event. Why you ask? Because his amazing art is being flagged as inappropriate and banned from facebook.

His art is available for purchase not only online, but also at comic book shops, book stores, pharmacies and grocery stores across North America (and no doubt elsewhere). However, apparently some of his artwork shows too much skin for the gentil world of facebook.

Rapunzel FF 2011 - [link]
Warlord of MARS 4 Dejah Thoris - [link]

In my opinion, there is nothing obscene about this artwork. This is nothing you can’t see on primetime TV or in a PG-13 movie. Heck, I’ve seen just as much skin in some friend’s vacation photos. Don’t you have to be 13 to sign up for facebook anyway? If you walk into an art gallery you can see full nudity and any age can get in.

What’s next? Banning his Spider-Man work because Peter Parker’s tights are a little too tight around the groin area? or maybe you can see his nipples through the spandex on a cold New York night?

This is the same facebook that allows applications that will tell you what kind of sexual lover you are, what sex position you should try or in which public place you should have sex. Porn stars and prostitutes have facebook pages, but this artwork is apparently too obscene.

Why should you care?

Right now this is just about Mr. Campbell. However, if you’re an artist like I am, then you ought to be concerned that this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. This could develop into a disturbing trend of art censorship on facebook.

If you feel like doing so, I would encourage you to spread the word about this and even to contact facebook and express your concerns. Now it’s almost impossible to contact facebook via facebook (weird I know) but you can send them a quick tweet! twitter.com/facebook (@facebook).

Will they read them? I don’t know, but it only takes a few seconds. Artists need to support one another.

Cheers,
Matt

UPDATE! This Spider-Man cover has been deleted by facebook, and J.Scott Campbell was suspended for 30 days! This is ridiculous! Any child can buy a Spider-Man comic book!

[IMAGE LINK] http://j-scott-campbell.deviantart.com/#/d3arc52

My thoughts on the NHL Guardian Project.

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:34:22 -0800

I must admit, when I heard that the legendary Stan Lee of Marvel Comics fame was going to be creating a superhero for all 30 NHL teams, I was pretty excited. I grew up reading comics, I still have rather large Spider-Man collection under my bed collecting dust (and value I hope).

When you attach Stan Lee’s name to something, you automatically expect nothing but the best. You expect amazing. Let’s look at just some of the famous characters he helped create.

Spider-Man, Angel, The Avengers, Beast, Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Cyclops, DareDevil, Doctor Doom, Electro, Fantastic Four, Galactus, Jean Grey, The Hulk, Ice Man, Iron Man, King Pin, Kraven, Lizard, Scorpion, Magneto, Mysterio, Doctor Octopus, Punisher, Rhino, Sandman, Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, Thor, X-Men and Professor X … just to name a few.

I admit it’s hard to create a unique superhero today, believe me I’ve tried. Just as Hollywood seems to be running out of unique story ideas, the human imagination seems to be running out of new and cool superheros.

For example, many of the NHL Guardian Project heros jump out as Marvel or DC “knock-offs”.

The Penguin look exactly like Cyclops in a Penguins uniform.
The Hurricane clearly has the powers of Storm.
The Blackhawk just screams Iron Man to me.
The Sabre is a combo of Hydro Man and Silver Surfer.
The Flyer is obviously Angel / Arch Angel.
The Lightning is a combo of Electro and Silver Surfer.
The Shark is possible the coolest idea, with only a hint of DareDevil.
The Canuck is also fairly unique, if not a little silly looking. Along with the Shark, he rates highly on the unique chart.
The Canadien is odd. He got the powers of Rogue, the Iron Man suit, and lost an arm for some reason.
The Oiler is simply Juggernaut with an oil filled super soaker.
The Devil is cool and looks bad-ass. The actually worked off a local legend, rather than just re-hashing Marvel heros.
The giant, shape shifting Eagle known as The Capital also ranks highly on the uniqueness scale.
The Red Wing and The Blue Jacket look like some Japanese mech-warrior or Transformer wanna-bes.
I suppose it was tough to anything other than the Human Torch ripoff for the Calgary Flame.
The Star has not only the powers of Electro, but also the same colours.
While the powers may differ, could The Coyote look anymore like Wolverine? The Coyote is even a loner and drifter as well.
The Avalanche just screams Mister Freeze, you can’t deny it.
The Maple Leaf is some sort of Swamp Thing meets an Ent from Lord of the Rings. I don’t know why the mask is there, he’s a giant tree.
The Senator and The King are just so generic it’s boring.
The Panther is almost an exact copy of the Black Panther from Marvel. It gets the lowest marks for creativity.
I suppose The Ranger was an obvious choice for a Captain America clone. The New York uniforms are very Americana.
The Duck isn’t too bad, kind of an underwater Iron Man. Not bad.
Finally, is it just me, or is The Wild, The Bruin and The Predator all the same character? One look!

Furthermore, the art for this project was disappointing. The art is equally as important as good writing. While the character bios were lacking in creativity, great art could have really propped this project up. Instead the art was good, but not great or exceptional.

I would like to take a moment to compare the art of the NHL Guardian Project with a couple artists who I think are the best in the biz today.

The NHL Guardian Project

J. Scott Campbell

Todd McFarlane

Jim Lee

You can see the difference can’t you? That’s the kind of art work I was hoping for and expecting. Todd McFarlane would be a great fit for the project. Born in Calgary is a noted Hockey and Sports fan. The one time co-owner of the Edmonton Oilers also produces the popular line of Hockey figures from McFarlane Toys. I may actually have bought the graphic novel if someone of his calibre was involved.

But I guess at the end of the day, this is all for the little kids - the fans of tomorrow, not fans my age who have grown up with comics and super heros.

MY TOP 5 NHL GUARDIANS (Based on appearance, creativity and uniqueness).

WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:03:07 -0800

I’ve always wanted to drive from the west coast of Canada to the east coast, in the Summer of course. If I was to visit your planet, what local would you recommend?

What exactly do you do for a living?

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:32:14 -0800

Currently I am an artist, graphic designer, character designer, concept artist, illustrator and cartoonist. Exactly.

Ask me anything

I choose to Remember ...

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:21:00 -0800

I choose to Remember men like my Grandfather, who selflessly gave up 6 years in the prime of their lives, faced death and lived in squalor, so that we may have a better today. He was, and in an inspiration to me.

I choose to Remember the more than 100,000+ of those brave men who never made it home alive. Generations of Canadian lost, many of them known only to God. May their names live on forever more.

I choose to Remember, so that God willing, the world may never go to war again - slaughtering upwards of 107 million people. May we see peace in our lifetime.

I choose to Remember the men and women, sons and daughters, brother and sisters, mother and fathers, currently in danger around the world, ensuring our freedoms and way of life. God bless and protect them.

I choose to Remember the “enemy”. To bury the hatchet, and move on without further bitterness and distrust. So many young men just fighting for their country, a sign of a good patriot and loyal soldier. Many of them forced to fight, either by force, or fear of social/political pressures and family dishonour. Now a badge of disgrace worn by their descendants. Young children mocked and bullied because of their grandparents, who later moved here to simply offer their family a better life.

So many of us know, or knew, someone who fought in wars. How to do you choose to Remember? or perhaps more importantly, why do you choose not to Remember?

“We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.”

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Expeditionary Force WWI

Lest We Forget. Thank a veteran or soldier.

If life were more like Star Trek.

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:27:07 -0700

I wish life was more like Star Trek. At the end of every day all your problems would be solved, wrapped up in a nice neat package.

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells"

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:36:10 -0700

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells”

- Dr. Seuss

Wilfred Laurier on Canadian Citizenship.

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:18:00 -0700

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes a Canadian and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet a Canadian, and nothing but a Canadian.

There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is a Canadian, but something else also, isn’t a Canadian at all. We have room for but one flag, the Canadian flag…. and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the Canadian people.’

Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier 1907

I couldn’t agree with this more, finally a prominent politician that feels the same way I do about immigration. It’s just a pity he was in office over 100 years ago. We need more politicians like him, men and women who aren’t afraid to speak their mind, who aren’t concerned with bending over backward to every minority and special interest group.

If you want to immigrate to Canada, and become a Canadian citizen, you should do so “in good faith”. Your heart, mind and soul, every faucet must become a Canadian. You must be loyal to Canada, and only Canada.

Canadians in general don’t appreciate nor tolerate discrimination, but it becomes increasingly easy to discriminate when immigrants don’t learn at least one of our official languages, our customs and our laws. When immigrants are ungrateful for what Canada represents, or when one ethnic communities group together in isolation from others. Isolation and an inability to communicate in an official language only slows our growth and divides our nation.

I grow tired of hearing immigrants using language as an excuse for ignorance of our laws, and of immigrant communities wanting special laws and exemptions. I’m sick of hearing immigrants complain about Canada, and tell me how much better their homeland is. If it’s so great, why do you not move back?

People come here to live in one of the greatest nations in the world, to have a higher standard of living or for better opportunities. If you want what Canada offers, you must embrace what has made it great.

Don’t get me wrong, Canadians are proud to have a multicultural nation; a mosaic rather than a melting pot. However, if Canada is to move forward and become a prominent world leader, and we know it can, we must do so united as Canadians. We must consider ourselves to be Canadian. Not French Canadians, Indo-Canadians, Chinese Canadians or African-Canadians. No more hyphens. I think of myself as a Canadian. Not an Anglo-Scottish-German-Russo-French-OnlyGodKnowsWhat-Canadian. I am Canadian, and damn proud. That is what the future of our great nation must be.

Matthew Bleasdale,
(No hyphen) Canadian

"Erasers aren’t for people who make errors, but for people who are willing to correct their..."

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:45:33 -0700

“Erasers aren’t for people who make errors, but for people who are willing to correct their mistakes.”

- Unknown

"Ars longa, vita brevis. Art is long, life is short."

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:54:00 -0700

“Ars longa, vita brevis. Art is long, life is short.”

- Unknown.

A lesson in everyday art at the MOA.

Tue, 25 May 2010 18:22:58 -0700

I visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia this past weekend. Despite it’s location very near my residence, it was my first visit to this Vancouver jewel. If you appreciate anthropology, history and/or art, I highly recommend it. While it has exhibits from around the globe, the museum’s primary focus is on British Columbian and Canadian First Nations peoples.

I’m a big history buff, and while the First Nations people of Canada have a rich and diverse history, what always strikes me is the art. Simply put, it’s amazing.

Most of us in BC are familiar with First Nations art, it’s everywhere. The beautiful craftsmanship, colours and detail of the totem pole dot this land. Galleries and gift shops are filled with everything from masks, to carving, to prints, to massed produced coasters and t-shirts.

The art influences local graphic and logo design, sports teams uniforms, public mural and sculpture, and even the look of the Olympic Games. It’s a huge commercial industry. Some people feel it has become over used and gimmicky in the Vancouver lower mainland.

However, the art that fascinates me is not what you’d find in a Robson street boutique gallery or an YVR airport gift shop. The First Nations peoples of Canada had an appreciation for art and detail that permeates the mundane and everyday.

The amount of care, craftsmanship, tradition and detail was put into common items that we now take for granted is truly awe-inspiring. We live in a country with strong roots to the European tradition, so it’s easy for some us to slip into a modern euro-centric view of traditional art: paintings, photography, sculptures and etchings, neatly displayed in an almost sterile setting.

The First Nations peoples, however, mixed art with functionality and necessity. Beautiful weaving, beads and embroidery create a palette of colour on mats, baskets, hats, sweaters, parkas, pants, leggings, mittens, shoes and boots. Skilled carvings adorn house posts, simple tools, cutlery, bowls, combs, canoes, kayaks, and even weapons. Some of it tells a story, some a family history, others depicts the natural world around us. One thing all this art shares in common is the time and dedication that would put into crafting everything.

Pablo Picasso once said “art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”. Centuries earlier, the First Nations people took that statement even further and mixed art with the everyday life. What would our world be like if art filled our everyday lives? If aesthetic, quality and craftsmanship were more important than speed, profit and fame? Perhaps here is a valuable lesson for western society, a mindset long forgotten.

Photo

Thu, 20 May 2010 22:29:04 -0700

Summers Would Never Be The Same ...

Tue, 18 May 2010 11:00:00 -0700

Do you remember the dawn of the Super Soaker water gun? I sure do. It was the summer of 1990, and friends and I had gathered in the Cul-De-Sac for another water fight. We had the usual arsenal of hydro-weapons: the traditional squirt gun, buckets, water balloons and the garden hose.

Our screams and laughter must have attracted some boys from just down the street, and they came running. Their arrival, however, would change the summer water fight in our neighbourhood forever.

They came armed with the latest in H20 pumping technology. The size of the weapon and it’s neon glow struck us with awe. Surely it was from the future, or at least from a really expensive toy store.

I’m speaking of course, about the original Super Soaker 50. It held more water, and utilized manually pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt guns. It immediately made everything else obsolete. Never again would a dollar store water gun be good enough.

As the sun began to set, we all scrambled home to tell our amazing tale to our parents, and beg them to buy us one. I remember I finally convinced my grandmother to buy me one. She didn’t understand it’s significance, but none-the-less took me to several different malls before we found one (they were all sold out).

Some weeks later of course some rich, spoiled kid, traded up for the Super Soaker 100 - and the water fight arms race was born. Kids today just don’t understand the kind of power that they wield. They don’t remember the way it used to be; tiny little streams in short bursts, traveling only a few feet. Remember kids, with great power, comes great responsibility.

The traditional, puny squirt gun.

The Super Soaker 50

The King: The Super Soaker 100

"An artist needn’t be a clergyman or a churchwarden, but he certainly must have a warm heart for his..."

Mon, 17 May 2010 16:56:56 -0700

“An artist needn’t be a clergyman or a churchwarden, but he certainly must have a warm heart for his fellow men.”

- Vincent Van Gogh

Photo

Thu, 06 May 2010 17:04:04 -0700