Just announced today is the dates for the 2009 Emerald City Comic Con!!
April 4-5 at the washington state convention center!

http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com

Here is a list of the people that are going to be here for the show!
(all taken from thier newsletter you can sign up for at thier website)

"Aside from the great list of guests we've already announced
(including first-timers Humberto Ramos, Barry Kitson, Darwyn Cooke,
Mark Brooks, Joe Casey, Chirstos N. Gage, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda
Conner, plus returning favorites such as Frank Cho, Stuart Immonen,
Adam Hughes, Steve Niles and Joe Linsner), we've just added another
half dozen new guests to the show including:

ADI GRANOV, who designed the Iron Man suits (and Iron Monger) for the
movie, will be making his first NorthWest appearance. He is currently
illustrating a four-issue miniseries written by Jon Favreau and also
a Spider-Man story written by Mark Waid.

Speaking of MARK WAID, the current Editor-In-Chief of Boom! Studios
and writer of the Brave and the Bold, Spider-Man and many classic
comics will be returning to the show in 2009.

MATT FRACTION, writer of The Punisher, Casanova (are your reading
this book? It's freakin' good!!) and Immortal Iron Fist will be
making his first ever appearance next year.

Indy legend STAN SAKAI is making his triumphant return to the Emerald
City ComiCon. Stan celebrated the 20th anniversary of his creation,
Usagi Yojimbo, with us in 2004 and is coming back in 2009 to
celebrate his 25th!

Eisner Award winning artist TONY HARRIS is another gentleman who
hasn't graced us with his presence for quite a few years. Since he
was last at the ECCC, he's continued his work on Ex Machina, along
with illustrating Spider-Man: With Great Power and the upcoming War
Heroes with Mark Millar.

Lastly, though he had to cancel early on for the 2008 show, BRIAN
MICHAEL BENDIS (you know, he's the guy who is writing that Secret
Invasion thingamajig over at Marvel, along with two Avengers books,
Ultimate Spider-Man, Powers and some other stuff too) has signed on
for 2009."

well things are moving faster than i expected... here is my latest project.. hope you enjoy

Art Donation for Vegas Show

Two of the best SL musicians are traveling to Las Vegas. Cylindrian Rutabaga and Keiko Takamura will be playing in Vegas on the weekend of the 1st of March. Their goal was to be apart of Singing Arc.. but unfortunately that opportunity is not a feasible option. I want to do a tribute show for them.. an art walk.... Anyone reading this please send some ideas.

Its just an idea now, but i hope it turns into something bigger.

~me~

Cylindrian in RL

I have the rare opportunity to know SL Musician Cylndrian Rutabaga in Real Life. Her music is influential on all aspects of my life and lifestyle. So being able to see her play LIVE.. not in second life, but in real life is absolutely overwhelming. Last Night, here in Raleigh NC, she took the stage at a local Open Mic. The energy in the room was peaked, the house band members set an upbeat mood with some great funk and rock covers. When Cylindrian had her chance to go and play, she rolled with the energy in the room. Instead of playing covers, like all the other talented musicians that were there, she played her original songs. Opening with "The Demon Song", she wowed the crowd. Being able to see the reaction of people who have never heard this wonderful singer was not at all shocking to me. Jaws Dropped, literally. "An Open Door" rocked the crowd just as hard as the first song.. Unfortunately she could only play 3 songs, and finished with "Tangled in Strings", which was written in collaboration with Jeff Lipsky aka Filthy Fluno (SL). I have heard her play this song before and it normally has a mellow atmosphere about it, but last night Cylindrian put all the energy of the crowd into the way she played it. It kicked ass.

If you have the opportunity, and the money, she will be playing in Las Vegas on March 1st along with 10 other musicians from Second Life. Check out www.singingarc.com to get details.

Juel Resistance (Suzan Juel)
Takamura Keiko (Amy Te)
Astrin Few (Sam Hokin)
Frogg Marlowe
Jaycatt Nico
Lyndon Heart (aka George Michael USA)

These are just a few of the artists that are going to be sharing the stage with Cylindrian. You can pick up her two CD releases at CDBaby.

Back to where i was going with my thoughts on this.. having someone this inspiring in my life is truely a blessing and i cannot thank her enough for the things she does for me.

Cooking for the Masses

My full time job is as a cook/chef at a local fine dining establishment. Not a bad job, seeing that i get to create all night long and people enjoy what i create through their dulled taste buds. At least that is what i perceive.. Besides the few regulars that i have grown to love and cherish, not many people appreciate the creation that goes on in a dining establishment. People get a masterpiece of flavor and bicker about the child who is sitting squealing because they are enjoying their food and/or life more than these people can even understand. So they pursue a free meal or a discount cause of the lack of respect for their dining experience... Sorry folks, you're in Public!!!! there will be other people invading your "Privacy" heh.

So in essence, I love to create and i know that nobody is ever completely satisfied, so i have decided to just go with my gut feeling---> If you cant appreciate what has been toiled over for your enjoyment and fulfillment then you can just go and f-off. But those few souls who actually take the time to stop and smell the canvas, or platter, or whatever has been created, should be recognized and honored... so tonight, after re-evaluating my view on other's opinions, i hereby announce my forfeiture of interest in 90% of all opinions. but the 10% that do matter need a solemn bow and a smile their way. For they are truly the eyes of the soul, forced to live 10,000 lives and still come out with an appreciation for the mundane.

I did a random piece of artwork today, as i was thinking about the "soul" and i came up with a bit of my dogma mixed in with some reincarnation idea. No clear thought passed my way when i was creating this, except i was listening to "Tool - AEnima". In particular, 46 and 2.. a great song about evolution and human progression. its not the quality that i am satisfied with, but it does show a bit about my Buddhist nature and living many lives with final appreciation for all of it.

enjoy, comment, critique, bash dash and hack and slash, I would love to get some more comments!

Oh, Osprey!!! thank you so much for the comment about "lost in meditation" the blue face painting. It means a lot to me... Osprey's Blog talks about Second Life. Apparently she had found my blog through Cylindrian Rutabaga's Blog. or i might be mistaken.. Either way it brings up an interesting point. Second life is a community of maniacs who assemble in a virtual 3d environment. A great place to expand your horizons, a marketing tool for creative minded people. It is completely engineered by the habitants of the world. I suggest you check it out if you haven't heard of it. Second life is where i realized my potential as an artist. I set up my first "virtual gallery" about a year ago in this virtual world. It gave me some worldwide recognition! I attribute my motivation for securing my artistic career to Second Life(SL).

In conclusion: Opinions are like A**holes, everyone has one, but they usually stink; Stick to your roots, they keep you grounded; Pink Floyd Rocks; and when you find a gem, (osprey), let it shine its brilliance on your ego... it makes you feel really good. :D

~jb~