Jimmy's Juke Joint

Clerks 2

Clerks 2. I can't believe I forgot to mention that I saw it. I was so caught up in recovering from Comic-Con, and still am, that I keep forgetting details. Alzheimer's will do that to you. So, will drunken binges. Like the one I've been on since '94.

But, yes. Literally about an hour after our interview with the lovely Rosario Dawson, I felt inspired to go see it. I walked down about 10 blocks from the convention center to a local theater and checked times. I thought about seeing it that night,but didn't want to miss out on any potential dinner or drink times with peoples. There was a showing in about 20 minutes. Woo hoo! I got my popcorn and soda and settled in for the movie I had been waiting all year to see.

To my surprise, the show wasn't sold out. It was opening weekend and Comic-Con at that. Kevin Smith's playground. I suppose everyone had planned on seeing it later that evening. All good for me! More room to stretch out and relax. As the movie began, there was some early 20's kid sitting about 4 seats to the left of me. No one between us. The first 5 minutes, he kept making snarky comments. He was clearly a fan, so I was baffled as to why he would want to disrupt the movie for others. Especially, after Kevin's much publicized battle with film "critic" Joel Siegel over his disruption at a previous press screening. Go to the July 18th post and then scroll up to the 19th, click on the link there for audio. You'll laugh and shudder all at once. Anyway, this little punk kid kept making little comments. I had waited very long for this flick and was not going to let some little bitch ruin it for me. And the things he was saying weren't even funny. And, not to spoil here, but an example. Randall is on and says something random about girls. The idiot yells out, "You can't get girls, Randall!" And laughs at himself. As I said, this went on for a few minutes. I had a chat with myself. Warn him nicely or be ghetto? I went with the nice route with just a dash of ghetto. "Dude...could you please cut the comments? I've waited a long time to see this. Thanks." Sternly said with glaring eyes. He looked back at me surprised and seemed like he was trying to think of something to say. Luckily he didn't. Then it would have been all ghetto! All that "just a movie" argument is stupid and inane. Then don't go see one, fuckers!

Anyway, after fuckball shut his mouth, I sat back and took it all in. All of the foul mouthed raunchy humor. Going back to the well with Jay & Silent Bob. Dante and Randall. New characters in the form of the aforementioned Rosario Dawson as Becky. And in a star turning role, Trevor Fehrman as Elias. A few celebrity cameos sprinkled in as well. Mostly from people that have been in past Smith features. Like Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams and Ethan Suplee. But, just a bit into the movie. Something happened.

Sure, the raunch and debauchery were all there. But, I heard a faint beating. Is that....is that...heart? Why yes. It is! I had heard that this film had a bit of that in it. Rosario herself had said it in our interview. Smith has always put in a bit of the serious undertones in his movies. Some more than others. This had a terrific blend of both humor and depth. He always says he has limitations and knows them. He jokes that he's a hack. But, I gotta tell you. The man can write. He just loves writing the raunch. But, when he gets serious, it's quite good. He proves this constantly. If you don't believe me, check out his 8 or 9 part story in his blog about Jason Mewes' heroin addiction. Touching and moving and heart wrenching.

I'm not going to spoil things for you. Go see it. I realize Smith's humor isn't for everyone. It tickles me that due to his many successful and funny appearances on Jay Leno, that some of that crowd might have went to see it. In horror and shock! And some people are claiming it failed at the box office with only a $10 million dollar opening. Uh....people forget how to do math? It had a modest budget of $5 million. So, doubling that in it's opening weekend is pretty good! In 2 weeks it's done about $18.5 million. Not bad.

Of course, I fucking loved it! Gonna see it again. And then by every special edition DVD that comes out. Smith is one of the few who packs his DVD's with great commentary and tons of extras. But, why wait? Go see it!

Why? Well, seeing the clerks 12 years later and what is going on with them. Jay doing the Buffalo Bill scene from Silence of the Lambs. Pillow Pants. (You have to see to understand.) Elias, the warm hearted, border line retard. Rosario dancing. And much more!

Oh yeah....and a donkey show.

Don't say I didn't warn you. Clerks 2 rocks. See it now!

More Comic-Con Stuff

Thought I was done, didn't you? Well, I neglected you for a whole week to attend this shindig, so the least I could do is spend days telling you all about it! This is just random news and stuff from the Con!

Most popular superhero t-shirt of the con? Look up at the picture. Yep, Green Lantern. Seriously. Yes, the guys in the pic are in costumes. But, I'm talking t-shirts. I figured Batman, Superman, or Spider-man would be the big winner. Nope. Green Lantern t-shirts were everywhere! Not sure what it means, but clearly it is easy being green.

Some news for you:

• Bryan Singer appeared and said there will be a sequel to Superman Returns and he will be directing it. Hinted at an alien menace. Look for it in 2009.
• The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie teaser trailer is out. Yes, there will be a movie!
• Tarantino teases at doing Kill Bill animated prequels.
• Rosario Dawson strongly suggests that Angelina Jolie will be in Sin City sequel.
• Producers of Lost reveal that the underwater hatch is a possibility, Rose & Bernard do NOT work for Dharma, and the Tom Cruise of Brazil will be joining the cast for season 3.
• Veronica Mars producer reveals that a full season 3 is not guaranteed. Needs audience support to survive.
• Marvel Comics reveals that the there will be on ongoing HALO series. The graphic novel based on the uber-popular X-Box video game was just recently released to big sales.
• Marvel Comics to release a "lost" Stan Lee/Jack Kirby issue of Fantastic 4.
• DC Comics announces comic related direct to video animated films.
• Nicolas Cage and son to create comic book for newly formed Virgin Comics.
• Joss Whedon announces who will play Wonder Woman in upcoming film. And that person is yours truly, Jimmy Aquino. I look great in a tiara and bracelets.

Just imagine me in that outfit! Okay, don't. Ya got me, ya mooks! Obviously, that last tidbit was not true. Or is it?

Lots more happened. It's being reported all over. I can't do all of your work for you. Google away, bitches. Google away.

My Comic-Con Story, Part 3

Sunday, July 23rd: I started the Lord's day with a lovely view of the back of our ghetto ass hotel. Yep, empty jacuzzi all brown and green. Dead palm trees. Overall debris. Classy! I headed to church and prayed for all of the heathens worshipping false gods like Superman, Thor, and The Happy Tree Friends. I must have passed out from all of the communal wine, because I woke up in Father Kelly's "quarters" all naked and articulate. I guess it was some holy cleansing I needed.

Joe and I head to the con. There was a special panel on comics podcasting and we were invited to be a part of it! B. Clay Moore, writer of Battle Hymn and Hawaiian Dick, was the moderator. The panel featured podcasters Joe Gonzalez (my co-host of Comic News Insider), Josh Flanagan (iFanboy.com), Bryan Deemer (Comic Geek Speak), Scott Hinze (Fanboy Radio), Lene Taylor (I Read Comics), John Siuntres (Word Balloon), Chris Marshall (Collected Comics Library), Charly La Greca (Indie Spinner Rack) and Augie de Blieck, Jr. (Comic Book Resources). It was about 1 1/2 hours long and covered everything from how we got started, technical equipment, guests, segments, numbers, methods, etc. All in all, a good turnout. I expected the audience to be me and a couple of other co-hosts from the other shows. About 50+ people showed. Not bad!

Shortly after, we rushed off to the Scifi.com Pulse panel. David Eick, producer on one of my favorite shows, Battlestar Galactica, was part of the panel. A publicist I know was able to get us an interview with him after! Great guy and really passionate about the show. I kept asking questions even when we were being told by his people to wrap up just because I had so much to ask him! My apologies, Mr. Eick! He seemed to take it in stride and have a good time though.

I run over to the Browncoat raffle. I had bought about $50 in raffle tickets and had high hopes! Though,with my luck, I was sure I'd win the stuff I donated or something signed by Cassaday. Or the George Lopez stuff. I was hoping for the endless sponge baths from Morena Baccarin. But, my hopes were dashed since it wasn't part of the raffle. Just a product of my overcharged brain! Lynn was doing a great job as raffle woman. I'm sure it got tiring just saying names and numbers all day. As I entered, she got to the stuff I donated and then some of the stuff Cassaday signed. She gave me a look and we both kind of giggled. Sort of a, "I bet you'll win one of these" looks! I hung out for a bit and then bounced to get some eats and a drink with Cassaday. Came back to the con for some last minute walking around and wheeling and dealing!

And just like that. Comic-Con 06 aka Nerdgasm 06....was over.

I made some great purchases, drank way too much, ate some scrumptious food, met a ton of people, made some good friends, got stellar interviews, and just had a fucking blast. A Whale's Vagina is a great town. I'll be there next year.

Especially if she's there.

And mos def if James Brown Superman is there.

See you at Comic-Con 07. Bitches.

My Comic-Con Story, Pt. 2

Friday, July 21st: I arrive, a bit hungover, at the con and head straight to the end of the Who Wants To Be A Superhero panel. I really wanted to see the whole thing and hear about the show. Just for the pure kitsch of it all. Plus, all of the contestants were there in costume. I had been in touch with one in particular, Tonatzin Mondragon aka Lemuria. We had been trying to plan an interview at the con. As the panel ends, I see her in the front row and introduce myself.

"Hey, I'm Jimmy Aquino from Comic News Insider. We've been emailing." She either recognized me from our MySpace page or just my name. She replied something like, "Great to meet you!" Of course, all I heard was, "I'm hot! Look at me!" She explained how it was a big press day and they'd be all over,but we'd set up an interview later. I'd find her at a signing or something. Gave her my card and watched her walk away. For hours.

I head over to the autograph hall and see some of the old TV and movie stars. And there he stood. FLASH....AHHHAAAHHH! HE'LL SAVE EVERYONE OF US! Sam Jones. Flash Gordon. Sitting next to him was the lovely Melody Anderson ("Dale Arden") whom I met and chatted with at the NYC Comic-Con. I had to purchase a picture to get a picture taken with him. All good and fine. It's a living. Though, he was playing the salesman. "You know, for just $20 more, you can get a picture with both me and Melody!" I explained that I met her already and have pics. He kept pushing as Melody sat at the table screaming her lines from the movie, "Go, Flash, Go!" But I held my ground! Take that, Flash! For a minute there, I thought he was gonna break out the Bore Worms. I escaped unscathed and ran back into the convention floor.

I had told Joe about meeting Rosario Dawson the previous day and thought we'd swing by her booth again. Just to say "Hi" and see if she had time for a quick interview. Saw her boy, Jason Lewis, whom I am now finding out he had a major role on Sex and the City. He and I chat a bit and I introduce him to Joe. Rosario sees me and comes over. And yes, she agrees to a quick interview! She's bubbly and fun and really smart. We had a blast! That interview is on the recent Episode 47 of our podcast.

We run around some more and then hit dinner at The Strip Club. Yeah, we like it. That's what was playing on one of the video screens at the bar. A silhouette of a girl dancing naked. I never left the bar. That damn truffle macaroni and cheese was some good eating though! I'm craving it now. I wonder if I can have our cute waitress, Lauren, come deliver it to me personally. Hmmmm.....

The Eisner Awards were that night as well. They are the Academy Awards of the comic book industry. We didn't go. We went last year and it was more boring than an old fat dog in church on a Sunday morning. We did hear later that my boy, Cassaday, won Best Penciller/Inker for the 3rd year in a row! He and Joss Whedon also won Best Continuing Series for Astonishing X-Men. Congrats guys!

Of course, we run over to the Hyatt dinner. There was much traffic all over downtown. As we were walking over, some random woman passes by me, looks me straight in the eye and says, "So, did you find the ice?". Bewildered, I just decided to answer with a "Yes." Maybe I was supposed to answer in code. Something like, "A blue panda walks the moon naked." Then she would have given me some special package. Curses! I missed my secret spy moment! We get to the Hyatt and it's packed! I find the crew that I had been hanging with. Layman and Baron. Great guys and we were having a blast. Jenny shows up and we run into John McCrea. He's a well known comic book artist and a funny dude! He's worked on a ton of books. I heard him talking about one of them. A book called Dicks. About 2 bumbling private detectives in Ireland. Irreverent and gross and hilarious! Anyway, I hear him and ask. "Are you talking about Dicks? I LOVE Dicks!" McCrea and his friend start cracking up and he says, "That's why we named it that." Realizing what I sounded like, we continued coming up with more ways to misinterpret the title. "I could devour Dicks for hours!" Or "For a good time, there's nothing like Dicks!" Yeah, we're children. Get over it. Cassaday shows up after a late dinner meeting and a few of us end up in a friend's room.

Word of advice. Never pass out at a party in a room full of artists. Especially if Sharpies are present. This guy got off lucky. He was half asleep/half aware. We'd yell stuff at him and he'd randomly answer. But,never opened his eyes up. This went on for quite awhile. Any time there was a lull in conversation, we'd yell at him. Then, we started plotting ways to mess with him. Best plot I came up with was to roll him into the elevator. But, we figured he'd wake up. So, some of us started putting straws and crap in his hair. Finally, he jumps up and grabs the last person to drop something in his hair by the legs. It all happened so fast! I don't even think he realized what he was doing. Like he was sleep walking. He kind of wakes up, gently drops the person on the bed next to all of us sitting there. He goes to the bathroom and then leaves. Never to be seen again. We were all afraid to leave. Thinking he was waiting to ambush us at the elevator. Eventually, we figured that was a good point to call it a night since it was 5 a.m. So, we did.

Saturday, July 22nd: I arrive around 10 a.m. and head straight for the Lost panel in Room 20. But, the line was super long as you can see. They had already let in hundreds and we're slowly letting in the rest. They cut the line off about 100 people in front of me. Curses! I missed some good stuff. For you Lost fans, go to Jay & Jack's site. They have a vidcast of some of it. Funny stuff.

Upset, I head over to the big 6500 seat Hall H. I was able to catch the end of the 300 panel. It's the movie version of the comic book by Frank Miller. It looked awesome. I moved up front and got pretty close for the next panel. Grind House. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's double feature homage to 70's slasher/horror genre films. Rodriguez had started shooting and showed some of his footage. Fuckin' awesome shit!

Rose McGowan with a machine gun leg. Need I say more? Yeah,she and Marley Shelton, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Rosario Dawson are all in it. Yes, I have a ton of shots of Rose in the photo albums. She purty. Me likey.

Next up was Kevin Smith's panel. One of my favorites! However, about 30 minutes left of the Grind House panel, a gentleman who works for Comic-Con gets on the mic. He says Kevin is stuck in traffic,but is on his way. I worry because his panel was from 1-2:30 and we had an interview lined up at 2:35. Grind House goes over time to help out a bit. Around 1:30, the same guy announces that he had just talked to Kevin and he was still far away. Not sure if he'd make it in time and maybe they'd reschedule. Defeated, I give up and leave around 2 p.m.

I run around and get to the interview spot a bit early. Jay and Jack of the previously mentioned fan Lost podcast find me and we all finally meet up. We had done an interview with them a couple of weeks before after lending them our Michael Emerson interview. Great guys and really funny! They hung out a bit and watched us do our interview with Blair Butler.

Queen of Geek on G4's Attack of the Show. Blair was awesome! Really knows her comic book stuff! And, she purty. We have been chatting and she will start doing a regular monthly segment on our show. Maybe twice a month. We'll see. She's gonna try to give our podcast a shout out on the show some time soon. Fingers crossed! After the interview, I run over to catch the Veronica Mars panel. Yeah, I'm a big dork. I'M AT COMIC-CON FOR PETE'S SAKE! You haven't figured that out yet? Unfortunately, I can't stay for the whole panel. Well, not too unfortunately.

Cassaday had lined up an interview with Joss Whedon after the 2 of them had finished their autograph signing. Visibly exhausted, Joss graciously takes us into the Marvel room with John and gave us a great interview! John joined us as well and we had a fun time. It was quite loud and we felt like we had to scream at times. Here I was. Sitting with one of my writer/director idols. I had a slew of questions to ask and tried not to ask things he always gets asked. Yet at times, I just went blank. Guess I was nervous and all. He, being Joss! He joked a lot and it was just really chill. Look for that interview in the next week or 2!

We were a bit tired and decided to head back to the hotel to chill. I wanted to get back in time to watch the Masquerade. All of the people dressed up. However, I passed out for a couple of hours and didn't head back til later. All good. Joe dropped me off at the Hyatt and a few of the California Browncoats met up with me. The rest of the crew was at the Hilton bar, so we walked over there. I met several of the SoCal and San Francisco Browncoats. Great crew and they really made me feel welcome. We hung a bit and I dragged a few of them back over to the Hyatt with me. Melissa, Louise, Lynn, James, Arielle, Kim, and a few others joined in the madness that was the Hyatt. It looked like things were heading to a close and people started heading out. I shoulda known better! We head up to one room party. It's pretty low key, but quite a few big wigs in the biz are there. We end up leaving and heading to our old hot spot. The same room party we had been in the past few nights. This time, it was swinging! Shortly after, it was busted. But, us lucky few got to stay and hang. Yes, once again. Til really late in the morning. More bourbon than blood in me, I decide to cab it back to the ghetto.

...to be continued.

My Comic-Con Story, Part 1

I'm back safe and sound from the San Diego Comic-Con! You've all been salivating at your keyboards awaiting my story. I told you not to do that! You're keyboard gets all wet and gooey. Of course, that could be from more than saliva. (Collective "Ewwwww!"). My loyal readers know I have the gift of gab. For you newbies, one thing to remember about me. My autobiography will be titled: More Loquacious Than Laconic: Loving the Sound of Your Own Voice (In 12 Volumes.) So, get a drink, sit back and enjoy the ride. Also, while I'll have random pics here and there, you can see all 200 of the ones I took over there in my photo album. I've a feeling you can figure out which one. If you can't. Then you're stupid and need to be put down. Just call me. I'll gladly help.

Tuesday, July 18th: I arrive in San Diego after a night of work and no sleep. And had only about 4 hours of sleep in 2 days. Elsa, my showmance from the Selena Forever tour way back in the day, picks me up and we head back to her place. My podcast partner, Joe, was not arriving until late Thursday, so I stayed with Elsa the first couple of days. I drop my bags off and my buddy, Cassaday, calls. Yes, John Cassaday. That one. His plane arrived early. We had planned on doing lunch and Elsa graciously agreed to drive us around. We pick him up from his hotel and head straight for...

That's right. In-N-Out! Home of the Double-Double. And did we double it up! We had talked about that being our first stop for weeks now. For those that don't know, this is the best burger joint ever. Period. John and I devoured our basket of burgers as Elsa watched incredulously. Eating her grilled cheese. Whaddya want? She's a model.

Elsa then drives us over to La Jolla. Why it's pronounced "La Hoya", I'll never understand. Just like I don't understand why Texans pronounce Houston as "Hewsten" instead of the correct New York City way of "Houseton." Anyway, it was freakin beautiful. We went to the beach and saw a seal beach. Apparently, the seals just thought it was a cool place to lay out and took over. And we puny humans can do nothing about it! Beware. I think these seals are aliens trying to take over the world. Starting with our beaches. Don't let their laziness fool you! They are plotting. Or just sleeping. I always get those mixed up. After observing nature, we head towards some bars on the beach. First, I call Joe up and we record a quick Pre-Comic-Con show via phone. Elsa was driving and kept piping in and John kept calling to interrupt. They couldn't mess up my flow though! After I sign off, we hit a bar on the beach and start with the drinking! It's never too early. The bar hopping starts and we hit a few dive joints.

My ghetto girl, Diana, former co-worker who lives back out in SD, meets up with us. We hit the Strip Club for dinner. I know what you're thinking. An odd place for eats! But, between lap dances, those ladies can cook! Nothing better then watching a girl spin around a pole while making your macaroni & cheese! Okay, you got me. It wasn't that type of joint. It's a place called The Strip Club Steak House. It looks like a gentleman's club. And we all know I know what those look like. However, it's a steak joint where you cook your own food on the grill. Awesome stuff! We got some wine and ate up! More drinks followed and we finally called it a night around 2. Props to Elsa for hanging that late. She's not a big drinker or partier, but she hung in there with us pros! I couldn't believe I lasted as long as I did with the little sleep that I had gotten. But, the party genes awaken at night! Elsa and I head back to her crib for some much needed sleep.

Wednesday, July 19th: I slept in and felt nerdily invigorated. This night was preview night. An extra special day to get in early if you bought a 4 day pass. My nerdgasms were already starting. I get to the convention center around 5:15 or so. I had been in touch with Lynn, one of the SoCal Browncoats. What's a browncoat? People who like wearing coats that are brown! Kind of. They are what the fans of Firefly and Serenity are called. The former being Joss Whedon's short lived TV show and the latter being the movie. Just go watch it! I'm tired of telling you already! You will be turned.

The preview night didn't start until 6 p.m.,but I was going to go in early since I had brought some donations for the charity raffle that the California Browncoats were having. Lynn met me outside and handed me a temporary pass to get me in before 6. Sweet! Yeah, needless to say, Lynn rocks! I walked around the practically empty floor. Well, except for the hundreds of exhibitors. Still, the floor was easy to walk through and I had about a good 20 minutes of uninhibited strolling. Then, at 6:05, the floodgates opened! Literally, thousands poured in. I did most of my shopping this night. Buying several books, shirts, etc. Didn't go crazy, but still managed to spend a gajillion dollars. I need to stop budgeting by lap dance. "Hmmmm...well, that costs $80. 4 lap dances. Okay, sold!" I spent a couple of hours there and finally left around 8 to meet Cassaday and friends for dinner. Red Pearl Kitchen. If you're in SD. GO! Good food, lots of sake and fun had by all. Hit the Hyatt and met a ton of comic book creators. Judd Winnick, Jimmy Palmiotti, Adam Kubert, and Kyle Baker among others. It was closing in on 2 a.m. Early for a New Yorker like me,but Elsa still had to come pick me up. I showed mercy and called it a night.

Thursday, July 20th: I took my time getting there since there weren't many panels that I was interested in hitting. I decided to meet Cassaday for lunch at his hotel. As we're sitting there, he tells me to look over my shoulder. About 4 tables back. Stan Fuckin' Lee! Yes, that's his real middle name. I think. At least that's what my inner monologue said. If you don't know who Stan Lee is then I'm going to have to kick you in the baby maker. Or kick your baby. 1 of the 2. Or both. Depends on how surly I'm feeling. Okay, I'll be nice. Stan Lee helped create Marvel Comics and most of their core group of characters. 'Nuff said, as he so famously coined years ago. Nowadays it's just, "EXCELSIOR!" I have no idea what that is supposed to mean, but hey....it's Stan the Man! He could say, "Fiddlesticks & Fried Bat Balls!" for all I care. Hmm...not a bad little saying. Maybe that will be my sign off from now on.

A friend of Cassaday's named Jenny joined us. I had hung out with her a bit the night before. Very cool, smart and funny girl. Of course, we started drinking. She had a margarita and they left the shaker to pour any remaining goodness. It seemed to be the endless shaker, as she poured several times. The waiter had warned to hold on to the top when pouring. By the 3rd pour, I guess she had forgotten and the whole thing fell into her glass. Yep, that's the shot up there. We laughed at her for hours until she balled up and cried. And by that, I mean she was a great sport about it and laughed right along.

We enter the con and Elsa's doing the whole booth babe thing for some random company. That's her with the blue hair. Run into a friend, Deric, who was there promoting his comic book, Living In Infamy. He introduces us to his friend Jason Lewis. Cool cat and we hang for awhile, walking around checking things out. Deric whispers in my ear that he was on Sex and the City. Seeing as how I've seen maybe 1 episode of that show, I had no clue how big a role he had and didn't recognize him from any other shows or movies. Jason and I are chilling and he says, "Hey, want to meet my girl?" Of course, I agree and we walk over to a booth. As we walk up, I notice Rosario Dawson signing autographs at this big booth. Jason leads us behind the tables and approaches Rosario. "Jimmy, this is my girl, Rosario." WHOA! WHAT THE FUCK? His girl is Rosario Dawson?! Yep. She sure is! We all chatted for awhile. She was so cool and down to earth. Jason gave me his email and got my info so we could hang whenever they are in NYC. 2 really cool and genuine peoples! Naturally, had Jason not been there and they weren't together, she would have immediately fell in love with me. I did notice her checking my badonkadonk out. Hey, it's a nice one.

After more walking the con, I cab over to the Bayview Suites in National City. About 5 miles from the convention center. Looks nice, doesn't it? Looks can be deceiving! Di had forewarned me that National City was called Nasty City because of it's ghetto-ness. Joe wasn't getting in until much later, so I wanted to check in and drop my bags off.  I get there and it was mos def a ghetto area. Liquor store, liquor store, gun store, liquor store and chicken shack. I'm barely exaggerating here. I get my room key and head up. Key doesn't work. Back down. I get another room on another floor. Key works! I walk in and it smells like hooker's ass on dollar night. The light switch doesn't work. It's cheap looking. It's not dirty, but it just feels dirty. Whatever, I'm just there to sleep anyway. On my way back down, there was no down button for the elevator. And, what a deceptive name. Bayview Suites. There was no bay. No view. And certainly no view of no bay! And they certainly weren't suites. They were barely rooms. Anyway, I grab a cab and head back to the Gaslamp District.

I grab some eats and hit the Hyatt. The crowds had shown up! The previous night, it was just us and a bunch of comic book guys hanging out. This night saw hundreds of people crowded into the 2 lobby bars. Ran into a few people and eventually moved upstairs to the other bar. Yeah, the 2 girls in the pic were part of my posse. Their names? Does it matter? As long as they aren't "Baby Mama", then we all good! More drinking and we moved back downstairs to the other bars.

We noticed these 2 girls walking around. They were there the night before. 1 was a tall blonde. Pretty smokin' too! I could only get a backside shot in this pic. She seemed to be hanging out with a bunch of fat comic book fanboys. Which immediately led us to believe she was working. Yep, we were right. The other girl told 1 of our friends that they were "adult entertainers." Which could mean anything. They're adults. And they entertain. Were they fire breathers? Jugglers? Mimes? Fire breathing jugglers who mime? I guess I'll never know. More drinking in a friend's room until the wee hours. Way too much drinkage. Joe had arrived around midnight,but went straight to the hotel to sleep. I stumble in and pass out on the couch. Anxious to attend the con, but not looking forward to the hangover in the morning. But, like my Aunt Edna always said, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time." Of course, she was a bank robber, but I got her meaning. A better saying from my other aunt was, "If you play, you pay." Hmmm...maybe not. She was a hooker. Thoughts of crazy aunts led me off to sleep. Or maybe just the insane amounts of bourbon. Tomorrow's another...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

...to be continued.

CNI 47

Comic News Insider: Episode 47 is now available for free download! Click on the link or get it through iTunes. Yeah, that's our new postcards. Front and back. Pretty swanky, eh? Joe did a great job with the photo shopping. And Bucky, the CNI dog! Sweet!

We just got back from San Diego Comic-Con and immediately recorded this special 1 hour wrap up show. We do a day by day account of our....uh....accounts!

We met the infamous Jay & Jack from The Lost Podcast with Jay & Jack. That's them with us over there. Jack on the far left and Jay next to him. Great guys. Really funny! Check their show out! We're on last Thursday's show, 7/20. They have some great shenanigans from the Lost panel on Saturday.

We cover everything from comic books, superheroes, movies and TV. And yes,that's Rosario Dawson over there. And yes, we interviewed her. It's great how I met her. Just serendipitous! She was so sweet and fun and gave a great interview. She recently wrote a new comic book which we discuss. Of course, we talk about Clerks II and the famous donkey show! Just go see it!

We also share an interview with Blair Butler. Don't know her? Well you do now! She's the resident Queen of Geek on G4 TV's Attack of the Show. Talk about all kinds of awesome! She knows her stuff about comics, buckos! Not just a pretty face! She was extremely busy, but took a quick 5 minutes to talk to us. And, stay tuned....we may have her on more often. She really likes talking comics and doing podcasts and might have a regular segment on our show. We'll see if we can work something out, but she's pretty excited about it! How rad is that?!

We cover it all. Tease some upcoming interviews with David Eick, producer on Battlestar Galactica, and the man himself, Joss Whedon! That's right. We got him. Mad shout out to my good bud, John Cassaday, for making that happen.

Give us a listen. I promise much enjoyment. Or some. Or a bit. Hey, there's something!

As always, contact us:

[email protected]

www.myspace.com/comicnewsinsider

212 501 6246

Thanks for listening!

Back from Comic-Con

I'm back from Comic-Con 06! Or Nerdgasm 06, if you prefer. And if you went, then you'd agree. Nerds were gasming all over! I know you are anxious to hear all about it. And I'm quite anxious to tell you.

Just not today.

Take it easy! I know I've been gone a week and haven't posted since then. Trust me. The wait will be worth it. I'm still detoxing....uh..recovering from the whole shebang. Give me a couple of days and I'll have the story and pics up.

Until then, a quick tease, and you know how I love to tease...

Batman, Grindhouse, Rose McGowan, skinny Spider-man, bourbon, James Brown Superman, Elvis Stormtrooper, Blair Butler, Browncoats, fat smelly guys in tights, booth babes, drinking galore, Joss Whedon, Strip Club Steakhouse, Rosario Dawson, Veronica Mars, $6 bottled water, old friends, ghetto hotels, hookers, seals, sake, and Hyatt after parties.

And that's just the first day. Stay tuned, bitches!

Comic-Con Bound!

That's right. I'm heading to San Diego for Comic-Con in just a few hours! Woo hoo! Yes, nerdgasm. And many more to come. Ya know what I'm saying?! Huh?

I'm going for a whole week. Or I may never come back. Whatcha gonna do about it? I do love San Diego. Got a few peeps out there. My girl, Dirty D, is ready to hit the party scene and show me around! A few others will be showing us some joints as well.

I'll be staying with Elsa for a couple of days when I arrive. She of the Selena Forever tour way back in '00. Yup, that's us back in the day. I know. We look hot. Everyone thought so.

Joe, my podcast partner, will be arriving Thursday and we are getting a hotel close to the convention center. I'd stay with E the whole time, but she's a bit further away and I don't want to hassle her schedule too much.

Cassaday is arriving the same day and our first stop will be the Mecca of burger joints. In-N-Out! Animal style, bitches!

Most likely, no blogging while I'm out there. Too busy interviewing, reporting, playing, drinking, on panels, at panels, drinking, stripping, tricking, eating, shopping, etc. Take it easy! I'll do my full Con report in various parts upon my return and I will take many a picture. (Hey, I'm Asian.)

Stay tuned!

SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!

(If you get that, then you are a fellow comic book nerd. Welcome.)

John Cassaday Site Update

As most of you know, I am the Administrator for my good buddy, John Cassaday's, site. Who is he? If you don't know, then allow me to tell you. He's a rock star comic book artist. 'Nuff said.

Okay, I'll say a little more. Currently, he is artist on Astonishing X-Men with writer Joss Whedon. Yes, that Joss Whedon. Is there another one? He's also doing another book called Planetary with writer Warren Ellis. Yes, that Warren Ellis. Is there another one?

John and I recently updated his website. Still in the process of doing it,but got some good new stuff on there. I'm slowly getting the bibliography together as well. Won't get to it until after the big trip to San Diego for Comic-Con. Which I leave for tomorrow!

Go check his site out. It rocks. Just like me. And the fact that I'm Admin for the site? Double rocks.

Jesus Is Magic!

Sarah Silverman is a fucking genius. I don't use that word often. Fucking. No, wait. I use that word way too often. What word? Is? Oh, right. Genius. I don't throw that word around much! Well, unless I'm talking about myself. Or Lisa Whelchel. I know. Everyone thought Tootie was the smart one. Not so! Hey, you take the good, you take the bad. You take them both and there you have the facts of life.

I finally got around to watching Sarah Silverman's sexy,brilliant, musically outrageous and hilariously gut busting movie, Jesus Is Magic. And just like me...genius. Pure genius. It's totally irreverant and puts everything and everyone on a skewer and roasts them deliciously over the fire! Jews, Asians, 9/11, the Holocaust, AIDS, homosexuality, blacks, porn, rape, incest and lollipops are all covered. Yes, it's all funny. In your face comedy! Hell's yeah! Be afraid. It's uncomfortable and absolutely genius. Did I mention just like me?

Go rent it. Fuck. Go BUY it. Sure she's funny. But she's got pipes too. Big ones. And yes, she can sing too. If you don't like it, I'll punch you in the baby maker. Because my opinion is better than yours.

Haven't you learned that by now?