Winnipeg Zombie Walk

BBBRRRRRRAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSS!

Zombie Colin

THE END IS NIGH!!!!

Last Saturday night zombies took over downtown Winnipeg.  It was a good time of disrupting traffic, drinking some liquor, hanging with friends, and dressing up like the undead.

The walk itself started on Arthur St before the horde made its way to Portage Ave, down to the University of Winnipeg and back around to Arthur St.

If you can't figure out what exactly a zombie walk is. Wikipedia has an article for that!

I may have partook in this zombie walk but I also may have shot some video.  Check it out!

PS - I also realize that my blog doesn't support the video in the framing of the site well.  So here is the direct youtube link if you wish to watch it full screen!!!! http://bit.ly/dbiFrK

NY Comic Con!!!

And how I spent way too much money!

So one of the reasons I flew to New York City was to attend the New York Comic Con (NYCC), but more specifically, buy some original art from my favorite creator(s).  I did just that.  As I purchased three pages of original art.

When I had first booked my tickets to the con I looked to see how many of favorite artists were going to be there.  I was disappointed I did not see a few artists on the list but the artist I wanted page from for sure was going to be there so I was not too disappointed.

I pretty much b-lined to Jamie McKelvie’s table in artists alley to buy a page.  That was the first page I bought.  It was from his (and Kieron Gillen’s ) beloved series Phonogram .  This is one of my favorites and McKelvie is probably my favorite artist.  I got what I came for and would not have been unhappy if I never returned to the con after walking out with that page.  Although only metaphorically, since I technically did not walk out with the page since Mr. McKelvie is shipping it directly to my house.

One of the artists not on the guest list that I was disappointed about was Tony Harris .  But low and behold my friend Sam (who traveled all the way from Australia!) found that some of Harris’ pages were for sale at Tom Feister’s table (the inker on the Ex Machina series for the first 25 issues).  So after Sam led me to Feister’s table, and $120 later, I had another page from a favorite artist.

Thinking I was done dropping money on original art I decided to check out a couple of the industries big name artists (not that Harris and McKelvie aren’t in this list), figuring that they would be out of my price range.  Of course, 95% of them were.  Those other 5% though…

Delving through those 5% I came across a few pages that were okay but I did not feel were worth the money.  Even though I really wanted an Amazing Spider-Man page (or Ultimate Spider-Man ), I could not drop $300 on one.  Then someone ( George I think?) pointed out that the pages without Spider-Man on it, just Peter Parker or other characters, were in the $100-$200 range and I could live with that.  Eventually I found a beautiful page from Steve McNiven .  It had Peter, Spider-Man’s mask, and web shooters on it, and it was in my price range.  SOLD!!!

So now my walls will be covered in original artwork!  Or at least they will be when I get off my ass and find frames for them.

Aside from art I picked up a few books for cheap, I was at a comic convention after all.  Two Vertigo books: Dark Rain and Revolver , a Brian K. Vaughn book Batman: False Faces , and the new Parker book from Darwyn Cooke , The Outfit .

I also picked up a bunch of t-shirts, because I clearly needed new t-shirts….

While I dislike large crowds a lot, it did not keep me away from the con.  Would I ever return again?  Probably, but only for the same reason I went this time, to hang out with internet friends I talk to daily (on twitter and/or email) and talk to the creators as I purchase some more original art.  Next time it would be better to stay for more than 3 nights so I can explore New York a little more!

The Great Burger Hunt The NYC Edition!

Skylight Diner and Five Guys Burger and Fries

New York City has to have good burgers right?

Well I spent four days in New York and I can vouch for that.  Every burger I ate was fantastic.  It also seemed like every third meal was a burger (or street meat, but that’s for another post).  Not that I am complaining about eating burgers all the time!

The first time George and I attempted to grab a burger was a waste of time.  We walked to Burgers & Cupcakes , which we both heard were fantastic, but the line up out the door for burgers was quite large.  After standing around for 15 minutes we decided the wait wasn’t worth it when we could walk down the street and find more delicious food.

So George and I walked down the street and found Skylight Diner .  A couple blocks away from our hotel room, and open 24 hours.   We both knew the chance of us returning at 4 AM was a good one, although it never happened, but we would return the next day since it was also close to the convention center.

Skylight Chili Burger

Skylight Diner is a decent sized establishment that has a huge selection of items on the menu.  I made a comment about waffles, but in reality waffles just meant I could get breakfast items anytime, and I love when I can get omelets for lunch or dinner.   They also had a good selection of seafood, sandwiches, and pasta on top of all the traditional breakfast items, and of course, burgers.

I settled on the Skylight Chili Burger, with fries, cornbread, a pickle and a little coleslaw.  George ventured into the sandwich arena and ordered some pastrami.  Although my burger was good, it was nothing special.  The black bean chili used really clashed with the taste of the crisp lettuce and fresh tomato.  I could imagine eating a bowl of that chili and finding it delicious but it just did not work well on the burger.  Describing the fries is easy as they were horrendously undercooked and had no flavor.

As our food showed up Ryan joined us and ordered himself a Bleu Cheese Burger.  Just as I finished my plate his arrived and just looking at his burger I realized I clearly made a mistake in what I ordered.

Bleu Cheeseburger

So when we returned to the Skylight Diner for lunch the next day, both George and I, a Bleu Cheese Burger was ordered.  It was beyond what I expected since it was a simple burger with just lettuce, tomato, and lots of blue cheese.  Normally blue cheese needs to be paired with something strong to offset the strong flavor of the bleu cheese itself but this burger did not have that.  I expected the overpowering flavor of the bleu cheese to be salty and really distract the flavor from the burger.  That did not happen though and I was left with a spectacular burger.  As a bonus, the fries were much improved from the next day.  Still nothing to rave about but they were cooked more so they at least had a texture to them and were not mush this time around.

As much as I wanted to eat more street meat (lamb over rice) on my last day in New York, George, Rich and Jon took me to Five Guys Burgers and Fries .  They had nothing but amazing things to say about this place.  So my expectations were really high going in.

Let me tell you that this burger, while expensive, and artery clogging (just an assumption), is probably the best burger I have ever eaten.

This burger has two patties, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, relish and mustard, plus I could have added grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, green peppers, jalapenos and my choice of A1 Steak Sauce, Bar-B-Q Sauce or Hot Sauce for free.   The Cajun fries were excellent as well.  Normally Cajun fries are good but too salty, I never thought these were too salty, just full of a lot of flavor.

This may have been the best $15 I spent in New York.  The only knock on this place is their menu consisted of burgers, hot dogs, fries, and a grilled cheese for vegetarians.

So does New York City have the best burgers?

Maybe.  I cannot argue against that since I only tried a small scale of burgers but I definitely could see an argument for it.  I will have to return one day to find out for sure!!

Bacon Cheeseburger

What I ate: Skylight Chili Burger with fries, slaw, bread, and pickle - $9.50 (before taxes)

Dollar Value: 3/5

Burger Taste: 2/5

Fries Taste: 0/5

Menu Selection: 5/5

Overall: 2.25/5

What I ate: Bleu Cheese Burger with fries, slaw, bread, and pickle - $8.50 (before taxes)

Dollar Value: 3/5

Burger Taste: 4/5

Fries Taste: 2/5

Menu Selection: 5/5

Overall: 3.5/5

Yes I know the two above are the same place but different days added a different perspective.

What I ate: Bacon Cheeseburger with Cajun fries - $15.16

Dollar Value: 2/5

Burger Taste: 5/5

Fries Taste: 5/5

Menu Selection: 2/5

Overall: 3.5/5

Skylight Diner

402 West 34 ^th Street

New York, NY 10001

212-244-0395

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

316 West 34 ^th Street

New York, NY 10036

212-564-6115

School, Football, Netflix, and New York City!

Yes I am a little busy!

So this past couple weeks has been pretty awesome.  Aside from my usual going out and having drinks with friends I have been busy with school, watching football (NFL/NCAA), catching up on movies I should have watched ages ago via Netflix Instant, and preparing to travel to New York City!  I may have said those last 5 words in a New York accent, which probably did not sound like a New York accent at all…

I leave for New York in 5 days!  Starting to get excited.  Although I still do not know what exactly I will be doing down there other than drinking with friends I have never met.  Quite a few Internet friends will be down for New York Comic Con, and I finally get to meet them in person.  Aside from a few New York locations (World Trade Center site, Central Park, Times Square), I am not sure what exactly I will see.  Maybe try and catch a Broadway show one night.  Will also be recording a podcast with The Nabe Society in person, discussing The Social Network and other movies.  Betting the view from the Empire State Building will be much better than the Manitoba Hydro Building!

On top of the Hydro building.

At least The Nabe Society won’t be able to rub in the fact that I don’t have Netflix now.  Because as of two weeks ago Canada finally got it!  Since that time I have watched Brick , Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog , Beer Wars , and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels .  Loving having the selection of Documentary and Foreign films at my fingertips and once we get a bigger selection of movies it will be fantastic.

On the weekends I have no time for Netflix, too much football to watch.  Been getting a lucky streak of having the Texas Longhorns and Minnesota Vikings on TV for about 3 weeks in a row.  So much better seeing the burnt orange play in HD on the big screen compared to streaming it my 17-inch computer monitor where it is pixilated.

Not all fun and games though since I am in school.  I am slowly getting into the grove of school again, after a 7-year hiatus.  Hating a few classes, loving a few, finding some very tedious, but I am having a decent time being back in school.

I think this month may have sporadic postings as I have a test right once I return from New York and I have an essay due the day after.  I got the next Great Burger Hunt on the way, and I am sure I will recap my time in New York but I may vanish again for a little bit.