The Songs of Johnny Go

I'm more than a little disappointed that the events depicted in the top strip didn't happen.



The strip on the bottom has nothing to do with anything, it's just included in the image for the enjoyment of all. A bit of Kate Beaton makes everything better.

I have returned from Montreal (and their Fringe Festival) with a sore throat, speeding ticket (from upstate New York), and a bruised ego. But--like the showtune goes--alive! But alive! But al-iiiiiiive!!!

Major love and thanks to the Montreal Chapter of John Hefner's GIRLFRIENDS IN CANADA: bagelofdeath*, beckara, bimmin, viizou, and newly-acquired ladyfriend terheyt. ;)

But most of all, extra super special love and thanks to the great, the wonderful, the mighty little_dinosaur, who was able to house me for two weeks at her family's place, for which I'm still incredibly grateful and humbled.

Right! My To-Do list, much of which will be accomplished in hermitage at the Rehoboth Beach house:

1.) Plot out revisions for HEFNER MONOLOGUES in preparation for the madness that will be Winnipeg Fringe

2.) Not freak out and worry about Winnipeg Fringe

3.) Finally get working on the major overhaul revisions of the second half of DENT

4.) Waffle as to whether or not to buy the new iPhone

5.) Totally buy the new iPhone holy crap I'm such a tool

6.) Not die from the Fringe-stress-induced plague under which I'm now suffering

7.) Possibly write about my Montreal Fringe experience, if I can do it without angsting too much and manage to maintain perspective and humor OH GOD WHY WHY

8.) Oh fuck get on that Canadian tax bullshit that they sprung on me at the last minute.

And of course, there's the always-applicable task Number 9, Number 9, Number 9: "sleep." Which I shall attempt to get to right now. HA HA YEAH RIGHT.

Oh, and also hang out with people and have a social life. Maybe.



*I hope you realize, dear lady, that leaving today was not an entirely easy decision. You made it all exceedingly tempting. We need to figure out some way to logistically hang out and make up for the misspent time in Montreal. I'm not sure I'm up for the Montreal drive again, but hey, if you ever wanna make a long weekend of NYC or something, that might be worth considering...

( Warning! Scandalous ankles revealed behind the cut! )

If there are more pictures of me than angrylemur here, the simple reason is that I'm a much bigger ham. Seriously, though, what a way to end a wonderful week together.



Speaking of photos, man, dhairya, we're gonna need to do the new versions of the Two-Face and Typhoid Mary while I still have enough hair. Otherwise, we're gonna need to fashion half a toupee for the good side. Which actually might be effective, if done well.

Once I saw the photograph* accompanying the A.V. Club's coverage of Comic Con, an unpleasant thought occurred to me, and I immediately sought verification by calling up angrylemur, who actually is attending Nerd Prom.

I asked her, "How many Heath Ledger Jokers have you seen?"

Unflinchingly, and with a telling weariness, she replied, "Too many to count."

Yep, exactly as I feared.

Y'know, going to Ren Fest these past couple years, I've noticed that there always at least two Captain Jack Sparrows. Ren Fest peeps, you can verify this, can you not? How many do you see on any given day? How about season?

Now, I'm far from a Ren Fest purist, and while I love dressing up for photos and whatnot, I generally have little interest in outright cosplay. But it seems to me that the Captain Jack Sparrows (who also go to comic cons that way) and the Heath Ledger Jokers are cut from the same cloth: specifically, I mean "poseur douchebag with no sense of originality" cloth. I hear they sell it at Jo-Ann Fabrics now.

Seriously, how lame do you have to be to put so much time and effort in a Jack Sparrow or Heath Ledger Joker costume? Christ, people, show a little effort. But no, I fear we're just gonna be seeing more and more of these unimaginative, lame-o geeks in the coming years.

To a lesser extent, what's up with people who dress as Stormtroopers? Like, just regular ol' Stormtroopers, just like the same boring old Stormtroopers year in year out. What's the point? Aren't you trying to stand out and be cool?

I mean, look, Darth Vader's always gonna look awesome, but really, why would you want to be yet another plain ol' regular Darth Vader when instead you could be doing something like this:



Really. What's the point of being a geek if you're just going to be boring and vapid like everybody else? We could all learn a lesson from the awesomeness that is Hello Kitty Darth Vader.

God. And some people wonder why I dress up as Bill the Butcher at Ren Fest.** Christ, I should just take this as my cue to dress that way all the time. Just to provide some karmic balance.



*And really, what is up with that picture? Who's he trying to be: Griffin Dunne as Heath Ledger as the Joker?

**Well, aside from the fact that it makes me look AWESOME.