April Fool, Not.

Really good day yesterday.

Let's back up. Saturday was mostly spent in Dan's editing suite working on the the audio mix for Ordinary Angels. He has the added stress of just having moved into his new apartment just last week, so it was really incredible to have his dedication on this "final" mix. We will have a test burn of the screening DVD to watch on the projector here at home on Wednesday, and any last tweaks can be done between then and Friday. Next Saturday is the wrap party & screening, and although I'm nervous as hell, I'm also VERY excited to see this finally come together... right now... over me. Sorry for the Beatles ref, but I hit the sack at 9:30 last night so I'm up with the dawn and a bit unrestrained in terms of my brainal workings.

Brainal. I'm serious. Look it up.

Aaaaanyway, Kayleigh came with me and filled her time working on her history report while Dan & I edited. Then we came home about 6PM, had just enough time to grab a bite and change clothes, and then we were off to see Muriel's production of True West at Youngstown. This did not look like a directorial debut. Brava, Muriel! Caleb and Shandalla were at the show, along with Conor and some other Twelfth Night folks, so it was cool to catch up. Soon they will be seeing a lot more of each other when they take on Oklahoma this summer.

Caleb & Shandalla came back to the house afterward, and we got to have some drinks and actually socialize. Nothing work-related, nothing businessy, just a few friends chatting - love that. And now that Caleb's off in Bellingham at WWU, I don't get to see him as often, so it was really really cool.

Sunday began as always with coffee at the bookstore with Ron. Then Gavin & Michelle arrived (in their new '06 Kia Spectra, which now means all three siblings are driving recent-model Kias), picked up the kids and the dog and whisked them away to their bi-weekly boardgame gathering at a friend's home, which left me with about 8 hours of potential alone time...

...so of course I went to the Qwest Event Center and hung out with Steve & JD and my comic publishing buddies for the second day of Emerald City Comicon. My spies within the ECC organization didn't know I was coming, so I went ahead and bought a ticket from a very attractive brunette (what's up, attractive brunette?), rather than trying to weasel into the show with my production badge from OA. Steve, JD and Brian Beardsley were given prime table space along one of two major causeways this year, and attendance was booming (guess it's good to know the guys who run the con). All day long we sat directly across from Peter "Chewbacca" Mayhew, who is a very slender, very tall man - albeit walking a bit creakily now. Margot Kidder had been there on Saturday (stationed next to Mayhew), but was absent Sunday when I was there.

Next to THEM was a booth with three of the major players from Farscape: Gigi Edgley, Wayne Pygram and Lani Tupu. Edgley is a teeny sprite of a woman (her IMDB listing says she's 5'7", but she sure doesn't look it) - and VERY cute. Like, stick her in your pocket (and while you're down there...) cute.

Had a blast hanging out with Da Bros. Chatted at length with Brian "Boom Boom" Meredith, comic book IP powerhouse and one of the founders of ECC, and made a tentative deal to shoot TWO commercial spots: one for ECC as they move into the Washington State Convention Center next year, and one for The Comic Stop, the shop Brian runs.

Mike Oeming was there, all five-foot-nothin' of him, giving his standard arm wrestle challenge. $10 buys you a sit-down with Oeming, and you throw down. If he wins, you get a signed copy of his $10 con sketchbook - so you're not out anything. If YOU win, you get a page of original comic art. So it's really a win-win for the challenger, and Oeming usually benefits the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund with portions of his winnings. Well, some of you know JD is not only a comic artist but a fellow workoutaholic like Oeming, and at one point JD had one of the con staff offer to sponsor him if he'd wrestle Oeming. Sooooo glad I brought the camera!

So after Oeming beat a big Polynesian dude and made a show of getting owned by a female artist, JD got pushed through the crowd. Oeming saw him and cringed, "Awww Jeezus!", which was worth the price of the day's admission. Oeming then demanded "left!", and JD agreed, knowing that his left was his better arm for the job anyway. They squared off, and JD lasted longer than any of Oeming's other opponents. At one point, dudes behind Oeming started shouting, "SPARTA! SPARTA!", and JD took the cue to give Oeming a gutteral warcry - which only phased him for a moment. Oeming mimed turning his baseball cap around backwards, and closed the deal. It was by far the most entertaining bit of the day (and much better than when JD was accosted by Special Man at a show a few years back). Anyway, I will link to the video clip once I have it uploaded to YouTube. [UPDATE: HERE IT IS.]

Steve, JD, Beardsley (joined by his wife and stepson) and I all went to a very crowded Red Robin for dinner, and after a beer and a chicken burger, I hit the road home. Arrived just in time to do a quick CoH mission before Gavin dropped the kids home and by then it was time to head to bed.

Good weekend. Lots of fun, lots of interactions - business and friends both.