From the Desk of Doctor Sheldon Cooper: Literally

Some departments at Warner Brothers this year had the unique pleasure of holding their holiday parties on Stage 25, home of The Big Bang Theory set! I was not able to attend - employees only for these functions, which is fair - but someone very special to me went, and was able to share some terrific photography with me. These are just a couple of choice photos, I have plenty more to share later.

From up closer than we ever get to see Sheldon's desk, a view of superhero figures high in the kitchen that I'd never seen before - Batgirl, Superman, and possibly Black Canary look on frpom above the cookie jar made famous in "The Bat Jar Conjecture" - one of the episodes I got to see live. The folder - usually visible on Sheldon's desk right where it is here, is labelled "Hemoglobin test results." If I didn't know about the random nature of such set dressing, I'd be wondering what our favorite physicist is doing mucking around in the life sciences?

In this wide study of Sheldon's room, I'm glad to see one of the "House of Secrets" posters that used to be visible in the back has moved to a spot on his bedside not generally seen on the show. I believe these are called "fly"walls - if I remember correctly - extensions of the set often containing details never seen on screen. Don't worry about the photo on Sheldon's bedside, by the way - it's not a prop from the show, but was placed there as a gag by one of the gals taking pictures at the party.

Happy Holidays to all who find their way here - Big Bang fans and Michael Jackson researchers from all over the world alike. And also, happy holidays to my family and friends who make it here, and those of you afflicted with that interest called "collecting" that enjoy hearing about my struggles with the accumulative urge.

Happy holidays!!

The Persistence of Vision Principle

I've said before that I watch pretty much anything that's animated. While that's not entirely true, more discerning viewers than I might have missed a surprise appearance by Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny from The Big Bang Theory on tonight's episode of Family Guy, "Business Guy." To summarize:

When Peter's father-in-law Carter Pewterschmidt is in a coma, Peter ends up in charge of his company, Pewterschmidt Industries. When Carter recovers, Peter stays in control of the company and as Carter's boss, forces him to do embarrassing things, like go cubicle to cubicle inviting coworkers to come over for a Big Bang Theory viewing party.

When no one wants to come over, Peter still makes him throw the party. Even his wife won't watch with Carter, but we get to see a clip of the show:

Sheldon: I'll have you know that I can bench press over 630 nanograms.

Leonard: Sheldon, that's less than two pounds.

Sheldon: Sounded better the way I said it.

Carter (watching): HA ha ha ha! Ohh, when I tell that joke at work tomorrow, people are going to be sorry they didn't come. This, this was a good night.

Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons recorded their characters voices! I think they did a pretty good job of animating the look of the living room set, too. But is this show taking a cheap shot at BBT? No, for Family Guy, this is a virtual love letter. And besides, at the end of the episode:

Carter invites Dr. House (actually voiced by Hugh Laurie) who he and Lois caught posing as a swamp monster, over to his house next week for a viewing of The Big Bang Theory.

Lois: Daddy, you don't have to do that any more.

Carter: I know, I know. I like it now.

You see, they were posing as swamp monsters to trick Peter into giving back control of the company. If you watch Family Guy, you understand. If you don't, but you want to see the BBT guys animated, you should be able to catch it soon on Adult Swim or Hulu.

Friends to Big Bang Theory in Two Moves...

I've always been a fan of obscure television. It's like, the harder a show is to see, the more interested I am in it. The less people have heard about it, the more I want to know about it. (Remember Struck By Lightning? The sitcom starring Jack Elam as the Frankenstein monster? No?). Whe I was a kid, with my first Beta VCR, the Syracuse papers used to always say on the tv page when a show was airing for the last time - and I would always tape it. That's why I have a Beta tape somewhere with the last episode of AfterMASH on it, and one episode of Dreams, the 80's trippy music video inspired dramedy starring John Stamos and Jami Gertz as members of a struggling rock & roll band. That's also probably why I bought the DVD set of the first season of Joey, the Friends spin-off starring Matt LeBlanc in the continuing adventures of actor Joey Tribbiani, moved to Los Angeles.

Of course, I also got it because of my interest in filming locations. The apartment house shown as Joey's on the show was less than a block from the apartment I lived in up until a year ago. There's a kind of a kick in seeing a real life location you know on TV in fictionalized form. (Notice how much bluer the sky is on tv....hmmmm)

As an aside, I want to relay a story Penn Jillette told on his radio about the time he guest starred on a fourth or fifth season episode of Friends. He said it was really interesting to observe the cast. They were all running around stressing about holding onto the level of fame they had obtained on the show. Only one of them was just enjoying every minute of it: Matt LeBlanc. So, in a way, it's kind of nice that he was the one that ended up with his own program for two more years than the rest of them.

Just recently I revisited Joey through the DVD set for the first time since they aired. I was kind of surprised to find that Joey's nephew Michael, played by Paulo Costanzo, really reminded me of the guys on The Big Bang Theory. Michael is a grad student at Cal Tech, and the humor comes out of his contrast with the less bright Joey:

Michael: Actually, right now we're designing a mock up for an escape module from the International Space Station.

Joey: (laughing) What are you, a rocket scientist?

Michael: (deadpan) Yes.

Sound familiar? But the similarity doesn't end there:

Notice that Michael tends to dress in a wide range of cool but nerdy t-shirts. Look familiar?

Well, I figured this unexpected little similarity between a fairly forgotten show and TV's new number one comedy might be fun about. I was more surprised, though, when I got to the third episode: Joey and the Party. In it, Joey and Michael throw a party to get to know their neighbors, and Michael's longtime rival Seth Tobin shows up with a girlfriend - meaning Michael is the last guy from his school to have a serious relationship. (Plot). So check out Seth when he shows up at the party:

That's right - Simon Helberg, better known as Howard Wolowitz on Big Bang. He's dressed more like Leonard, but his character is very similar to the Howard we all know.

Seth: I'm bench pressing 90 pounds. Can you bench press your body weight?

Even more like Howard, from the end, when he and Michael reveal that they've been jealous of each other for years, and his girlfriend is a fake:

Michael: Seth, why did you lie?

Seth: So I could beat you for once, ok? You got into CalTech's doctoral department, I got rejected. You've got this killer apartment, I live at home and share a bathroom with my grandmother!

I'm not, by any means, suggesting that anything on The Big Bang Theory was taken from, or even inspired by Joey... but it's likely that Simon had some great scenes on his reel when he was being considered for the part of Howard Wolowitz.

...I wonder of Matt LeBlanc gave him any acting tips?

Flashforward: Shrodinger's Tivo (spoilers?)

I'm really enjoying the new ABC show "Flashforward" - at this moment I'm one episode behind and just about to catch up. From a Quantum Mechanics point of view this is an interesting point to be: I don't know if that next episode, there in my Tivo DVR, is the best episode yet, or if it's just ok. Until I observe it, it's both, according to QM. Quantum Mechanics is a truly fascinating arm of science: it literally seems to break down to, for all intents and purposes, magic at the basics. We've observed a particle cease to exist in one spot and appear in another without existing in the space inbetween - teleportation. A split particle, whose halves vibrate identically from stimulus on one no matter how far apart they are may prove the key to faster than light (indeed instantaneous) communication over great distances in space - explaining how Captain Kirk and all those admirals could hold a conversation without delays in it light years apart.

The premise of Flashforward is that everyone on Earth simultaneously has a vision on what they'll be doing for 2 minutes and 17 seconds at the exact same time six months into the future. A fascinating idea. Some people see themselves in new jobs, which they go out and apply for after their visions. Others see unhappy changes in their lives that they hope won't actually unfold. Still others see nothing at all, leading them to believe they'll be dead in six months time. What's interesting, though, is that while many of them see themselves in a position that is created by the flashforward - like the FBI agent Mark Benford who literally sees himself investigating the cause of the flashforward, using clues seen in the future to guide his investigation in the present - none sees what is the most obvious thing that will occur at that moment: a pause, like midnight on New Year's Eve, as we reach the moment we have seen, feared, and anticipated for the last six months. One flashforward overhears a newsman on TV describing a senator's scandal - in fact, wouldn't he be saying "Here it is, we've reached the moment that changed the world when the global community saw it six months ago!"???

Of course, a vision of the future that merely reveals itself to

be aware of having been seen in the past (whew!) does not make for good TV. Rather than getting an immutable view of the future, the world in Flashforward seems to have been placed in a six month long Schrodinger's box - but given the view of one possible outcome. It's already clear on the show that's not the only possible future, as Agent Al Gough commited suicide to avoid his future vision of a world in which he accidentally killed the mother of two young boys. Despite having seen a future for himself, he now undoubtably will not fulfill it. Both states - alive and dead - were possible outcomes of the six month long box.

If you're not familiar with Schrodinger's Cat, Wikipedia can help you out here. Animal Man - one of the better, most underused characters in the DC Universe (for reasons I'll hope fully explain here one day) once described the thought experiment using a pizza, a hot pepper package in the box being either broken - making the pizza too spicy to eat - or whole, leaving the pizza edible. I only mention this because I really liked Animal Man, and I hung this comic on the wall for a long time.

Just as an aside, The X-Files once dealt with the question of future knowledge in a differentway. In the episode "Clyde Bruckman's final repose," Peter Boyle as Clyde warned Mulder that he would find himself in the dark kitchen of a hotel, chasing someone, only to be jumped and choked from behind. Mulder, finding himself in a dark kitchen and suddenly

realizing this is the vision described to him, whirls around with gun in hand to get the drop on his assailant - only to be set upon by the assailant, in the shadows that were directly in front of him, now choking him from behind. Mulder's vision was not a box with two possible outcomes, it was truly an immutable future, and any twist and turn he made to avoid it only brought him closer to it.

Poor Schrodinger's cat. Or not. As long as you don't open the box, it's okay to feel fifty percent sorry for him.

Fridge part 2

Well, I didn't quite manage to give away one of these snazzy 70's Superman magnets yet, though I did get some good guesses as to the geek interests seen on my fridge, below. Maybe five was too many to ask for. For the record, here's how I count them:

1) Freakies Magnets

2)DC Superheroes

3)Disneyland ride vehicles

4) Milk and Cheese (Evan Dorkin comic)

5) Star Trek monster magnets from the Las Vegas Hilton

6) Peanuts characters (Spike and Shermy from Schulz museum).

7) Mystery Science Theater 3000

8) Coca Cola machine

9) Young Simba from The Lion King

10) Lost (ABC TV)

The reason for keeping multiple Superman and Robin magnets, is they have different color schemes, so as a true completist collector I have to keep one of each variation.

This still leaves me with one Superman magnet I'm trying to give away - so maybe I should look for a Superman fan. I'll mail it to the first person who comments the answer to this Super-question:

What are two types of Kryptonite besides Green and Red?

Over at Questionable Content this morning, Jeph Jacques has depicted a typical interaction between a comic artist and a super fan.  Check it out here.

The fridge of a geek

Taking a close look at my refrigerator, it's clear it belongs to a collector. And, that I like Pollo Loco. Some of these magnets I picked up here and there, because they happened to fit my interests.

Chief here are the plastic DC magnets that I got as a kid. Very textural and bright, I bought these when I was a very young collector, and you don't see them much anymore. And who can believe they did a magnet of the Riddler? How cool. I vaguely remember they might've done the Penguin as well, and I'm always keeping an eye out for any I don't have.

There's also a complete set of Freakies magnets here. I'll be writing more about Freakies shortly, but basically they're cereal-selling monsters that completely captivated me in the early 1970s, despite their distinctly unappetizing appearances. You'll see seven of them on the fridge, that's all of them.

Now, I've got a spare Superman magnet (besides even the two you see here) and I thought it would be interesting to give it away to a reader here. So, I'll mail it to the first person who can correctly answer the questions below.

1) I count 9 different categories I collect on this fridge, including Freakies and superheroes. Please name five of the others.

2) I have two Superman magnets and two Robin magnets. Can you see why? (Hint: it's a collector thing).

Please send your answers to fancollectorgeek@earthlink.net. This is open to anybody, whether I know you, am related to you, or you live on the other side of the globe. I'll post in comments when someone has completed.

Enjoy!

Happiness is a little book

Growing up in the late 60's early 70's I have many, many fond memories of Peanuts characters in my life. I was way too little to read or understand the comic strips, but I remember cherishing a number of these little square hardcover books when I was a very little kid. Happiness is a Warm Puppy (first published in 1962) was a huge hit in the decade of peace, love, and bomb-banning, and this was very much the look of Peanuts merchandise at the time: Strict black line art printed on very heavy - not always particularly pretty! - colors. These may look odd compared to the mostly pastel stuff you see today from Peanuts, but back then shirts, banners, and sleeping bags with Peanuts characters and quotes are slogans were everywhere. (the torn dust-jacket here may throw you off - the title isn't carried through to the book below).

I couldn't help but share this odd example from Puppy. I can't help but think Charles Schulz couldn't have been entirely happy with this depiction of the kids in a tree. They look more like they were drawn sitting around a campfire, then had a tree drawn in instead. (They all also look like they're a second away from slipping off their branches!)

Happiness is a Warm Puppy inspired sequels, like Happiness is a Sad Song. It also inspired many parodies, some "ribald" as they would have been labelled back then, and some innocent. Probably the best known is "Happiness is a Warm Gun," a slogan seen in a gun magazine which inspired the Beatles song.

Much less known these days, I think it's safe to say, is this example from Johnny Hart's line of B.C. comic strip paperbacks. I didn't make the connection myself until I saw it on the shelf near the Peanuts books - but I'm sure it wasn't lost on the book-buying public back in 1972 when it was released. Hart preferred puns in his strips, and even book titles, but he probably just couldn't resist a little self-deprecating comparison to the number one selling Peanuts merchandising juggernaut he was "competing" with.

Well, they're all good reads, and remind me of my childhood. anytime I come across a B.C. paperback I don't have for a quarter, or one of those funny little square solid-color books for a good price, I still like to pick them up today.

The Quintuple Quandary Quizzification

I'm going to sprain a brain lobe trying to come up with a Big Bang Theory-esque title each time, but heck, it's fun. Here I am trying to post more than once a week, and about the whole range of my collecting and fandom, but I keep getting so much cool Big Bang theory stuff sent my way, that's all I'm getting on here. But I'm not complaining!

I had handed to me tonight (in the Pasadena Cheesecake Factory, no less) a hard copy of a very nice Warner Brothers Employee E-Newsletter that I'd never heard of, called "Behind the Shield." (Referring to the WB logo shield). In it last month was a "Five Questions With...Jim Parsons" column that I hope they won't mind me sharing with you now:

What's your favorite thing about playing Sheldon?

In a weird way, (it's) all the longer passages they give him to say-especially the ones laden with scientific terms. I mean, they are mind-numbing at times, trust me, but there is no satisfaction like the kind you get from not only memorizing these, but from making sense of them-both for yourself and the audience.

When you heard that "The Big Bang Theory" had been picked up for two seasons, how did you celebrate?

I lead a very lame life in terms of celebrations. So, there was no champagne uncorked or anything like that. I remember thinking immediately of all the new scientific terms this would mean I would have to memorize (or, in reference to the above question, "GET to memorize!").

When you're not shooting your own TV show, are you a big TV watcher?

I tend to always have the TV on, but this doesn't mean I am actually watching anything. I am unfortunately remarkably talented at singing commercial jingles and can identify most commercial products within just a few notes. this really can't come in handy any day...

What do you order from the Commissary on the Studio lot, and what's your favorite thing from craft services?

The Commissary has the most wonderful peanut butter cookies I've ever eaten. As far as our own craft services is concerned, Jeannette is such a wonderful human being-she not only always has something delicious set out, but is constantly asking if she can make one of us something in particular. I love her.

Who is the biggest celebrity you've seen on the Warner Bros. lot?

John Stamos. And I say this having laid eyes on George Clooney as well, but I have to tell you that I was more stunned to see Mr. Stamos. No offense, George...you're still number two in my book!

___________________________________

So, kind of fun to see something a little inside like this. this hard copy will definitely be a permanent part of my BBT collection, and I'm going to make a point of trying the peanut butter cookies next time I'm lucky enough to have lunch at the Warners Lot.

And also - I've seen both John Stamos and Arnold Schwarzenegger over there, and I was way more impressed when I saw Stamos too.

Great minds stun alike? :)

The Hofstadter-Cooper Haute Couture

I was very surprised to learn this week that CBS publishes a magazine called Watch! It's been around for about four years, and literally covers all things CBS, past and present.

I discovered this publication existed when a copy turned up on Ebay offering one of seven current covers featuring the Big Bang Theory cast elegantly dressed in a way beyond the means of their characters. As a collector of all things BBT, I snatched it up right away. (Hurray for "Buy it Now!")

Even better, the cover offers a way to order all seven different covers directly (or specific individual ones, in case, say, you're more specifically a Kaley Cuoco and/or Jim Parsons fan). Too impatient to wait for my Ebay purchase to arrive, I contacted the magazine and they were kind enough to oblige me with a copy of the ad to order from, reproduced below.

I suppose I shouldn't feel left out that I hadn't heard of Watch! - as you can see in the clip here, David Letterman had never heard of it when Neil Patrick Harris mentioned the publication sent him off on a luxurious trip on the Orient Express for the cover story in the last issue.

Letterman pointed out that he'd been working for CBS since NPH had a paper route and he'd never heard of the magazine, or been sent on the Orient Express by CBS...

Kids, and Big Bang Theory fans, you can check out the magazine's web site here. Best of all - free three year subscriptions (that's 18 issues) are being offered to the first 50,000 subscribers who sign up by next September, so it looks like you can get your first BBT issue for free! I'm looking forward to seeing this - it looks like a slick publication, and you can't beat the price.

Here's the offer for the collector covers - it should expand when you click on it.

Read!

James Mason... a thing like that! (aka Don Draper, eat your heart out)

Nobody needs some guy with a blog to tell them how good Mad Men is these days - you either are already watching it, already want to, or have already decided it's just not for you. I love the show, watching it on Blu Ray. I will caution that it's not one of those programs you can just leap into the middle of and appreciate - I tried to watch the 6th episode when it was first airing. and friends were first raving about it, and I could not get into it at all. Starting from the beginning, I found it totally engrossing, not just for the compelling characters and story; but for the carefully crafted glimpse into a world that just no longer exists: America, 1960. Mad Men is careful to not just use the early 1960s as an attractive setting, it reminds us how different that world was at almost every turn: after Betty's pregnant neighbor smokes and drinks, without a second thought. A new copy machine - the size of the Buick - is viewed in the office as something that could possibly cause sterility. The Drapers, after a picnic, cheerfully dump their trash on the grass and walk away - they're not bad people, it's just the concept of "litter" was not widely considered at the time. bits of the show remind me of my own childhood, even though I was born in 1966, I had plenty of time to deal with rotary telephones and televisions that required vertical hold. (Kids, ask your grandparents).

It's curious, also, to note that the Game Show Network offers a little glimpse into the real-life world of the early 60's right now with Password, Alan Ludden's word play game, running an episode each night. Currently they're showing programs from 1963, right in line with where Mad Men's third season is. What's interesting for me personally is the chance to see celebrities I've never seen out of character before, as themselves, as they were then. Carol Burnett is a delightful player, loves the game, and appeared in an episode playing opposite Garry Moore, her boss - long before she had her own show. Following are a few screen captures of recent moments"

They often include the original sponsor plugs, something the guys at Sterling Cooper would be glad to see.

Johnny Carson, delighted when his partner guessed "joint" on a difficult clue. Double entendre words that could relate to casual drug use are often greeted with a chuckle when the celebrities first see the word - then it's never mentioned again.

A very young Johnny Carson tries to come up with a one word clue for "allowance."
Jane Fonda vs. James Mason, 1963. I had never seen Jane Fonda pre-Vietnam, she is quite the 5th Avenue Hollywood starlet. To her credit, though, she was so engrossed with her partner, a typical guy who worked at a tool and dye company or some such, she chatted with him all through Alan Ludden's entrance.

Dahh-ling! Jane was simply delighted when Ludden asked "How do you play Password?" and her partner answered "badly."

James Mason stiffens noticeably when his rather boisterous partner smacks him in the arm for getting "Laundry" right.

The next time, he's ready for it, but he's also laughing.

Jane had this odd little move while trying to think of a clue for "blackmail."

Jane illegally gives the "sounds like" signal when she comes up with "hangnail" for "blackmail."

I'll be honest, I never expected to be much interested in the Game Show Network's programming myself, now I watch it nightly. It literally is a glimpse back into a simpler time. Darren McGavin, when giving the clue "tongue" for the word "lick" to his female partner, said "Please pardon the expression" first.

A simpler time.

By the way, about the Big Bang theory Comic Con Panel

I was right about there.

Why am I here?

And I don't mean that in any sort of a philosophical way. Why am I here on blogger?

I started this blog over a year ago, in part to understand and examine my own urge to collect things. As you can see by the list of labels over on the right side, I have many, many interests. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can become very frustrating when you're compelled to collect items from all those interests. And - you don't even know the half of it. I've barely mentioned comic books, and I considered myself a comic book collector ever since I was a little kid. I have a huge interest in original comic art, and zombie comics and movies right now, and they haven't even made it on here much. I feel like I have far too many interests, and I was tired of feeling compelled to buy something because it was cool, only to have it end up in storage - or, now, in a box in the garage. So writing here has helped me to deal with stuff I've collected, share and celebrate it, and feel like there's a use for it.

It has not helped me to stop collecting, however. I have developed a sense that just because something is cool, that doesn't mean I have to buy it, independent of writing here. I have actually bought a few things just because I wanted to talk about them on the blog, if you can believe it. Way back here I rediscovered my old collection of James Bond paperbacks, and I ended up buying a sort of rare copy of Live and Let Die to talk about there. And that's not the only time I've done that, either. I bought a stack of comic books I wanted to write about over a year ago. Now, with the move, it's going to take me awhile to find them, let alone write about them here!

Part of the problem with being a collector, for me, is I have a very hard time getting rid of things, too. This button above was something I wore at a trade show 18 years ago when I travelled around the country selling knee braces. It doesn't hold a lot of meaning for me, and has little or no value, but it's hard for me to get rid of. Good, bad, or indifferent, it represents a period of my life.

Something like this, though, is good for me to take a digital picture of, talk about briefly here, and actually throw away. This may not sound like much, but it's a step for me.

I have taught myself to have more focus in what I collect. Just because something is cool, doesn't mean I have to buy it. However, if it falls specifically in an area I collect on, it's fair game. I still collect animation cels - specifically, obscure or odd animation cels. One advantage in this is they rarely cost very much - most of my purchases were under 20 dollars apiece, like this original cel and original background from a Bill and Ted cartoon series. ( I say "a" series because there were two of them, believe it or not. One was better than the other, but now, I can't even tell them apart by just a cel). I really enjoy this piece, and the fact that they're reading a comic book in the image only makes it better for me.

I also am still really looking around for anything on or from Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel, the restaurant he owned at 826 N. La Cienega Blvd., "The celebrity end of restaurant row." My interest spilled out to the rest of the boulevard, too, largely because it was once such a big deal and now there's scarcely a whisper of "restaurant row" anywhere - even on Restaurant Row. I have a lot more to share both on the Lobster Barrel, the other restaurants that have occupied 826 La Cienega, and the rest of the boulevard. Why? Because I enjoy researching, that's why. (By the way, the mug here really has nothing to do with Alan Hale's restaurant, but come on - a lobster and a barrel - how could I resist?)
I've semi-seriously set out to get two items from every restaurant that I can on the Row, and I've had pretty good luck again without it costing much. Like from Ed Debevic's: Debevic's was a late entry on the boulevard, open when I came out here in 1990, and I dined there several times myself. It was famous for rude wait staff who dressed like 50's and 60's icons (my last waiter was Howdy Doody. Seriously) and danced on the tables and bars. they also had tiny, tiny sundaes which they gave you free for your birthday. I collected a menu and four of the tiny sundae glasses you see here, so that counts as two (different items to represent the restaurant for my collection).

So, I'm just taking a moment to reassess what I'm doing here: you'll see more of what I actively collect, what I used to collect, and what I can't believe I (or anyone) collected. More, of course, Big Bang Theory, and everything associated with being a fan of the show. And more of everything a fan, collector, or geek could want.

Your comments and questions are always welcome here; I appreciate nothing more than a good question I can do some research on. You can comment on the blog or write me at fancollectorgeek@earthlink.net - sorry, I don't know how to make that the kind you click on that conveniently pops open your email.

Also, follow me on twitter at fancollectrgeek (notice the second o is missing)! There, I post anything I'm watching that I recommend, and anything I come across that fits in the Fan/collector/geek categories. If you follow me, please just send a Horton hears a who type "We are here!" message so I know you're a real person.

Oh, and of course: we've got at least one more visit to the Michael Jackson auction to write up. It's a good one.

Thanks for listening - I'll see you in the funny papers.

Images of Comic Con '09

Exit: Silk Spectre, Enter: Harry Potter

Images of Comic Con '09

It's truly one of the odd things about Comic Con: you can practically trip over a science fiction legend like Nichelle Nichols without even realizing she was there.

Images of Comic Con '09

Okay, I don't have anything funny to say about this one - I just thought it was great to see these folks dressed up as Venture Brothers characters. Orpheus, Triana, Dr. Girlfriend, the Monarch and another Dr. Girlfriend. Fantastic.

This was just about my biggest geek moment at the con - the crowd sort of parted and they were right in front of me and I just said "Oh, wow!" They immediately moved into "take a picture" pose; I just snapped this one.

Just an aside - I was starting to fix the redeye, but I stopped. I enjoy posting photos here in a fairly raw form, so here you go.

Images of Comic Con '09

Dr. Henry Jones Jr. meets Dr. Henry Jones Jr.