A Conversation with Bruce & Don

A very special, short conversation between Kid in the Hall Bruce McCullough and Don Cheadle, star of House of Lies and some movies you've never heard of.

Please pay attention - there may be a lesson in this talk.

My Yearly Gift To You

It's a little something I do for my pals in lieu of Christmas Cards....and something I thought I would share with my readers.

It's a 2012 Calendar, made with several photos via Flickr via Big Huge Labs, and quite honestly, I like doing this as a nice thank-you gesture. Please feel free to download and enjoy.

Gordon Dymowski - 2012 Calendar

Pictorially, My Excuse for the Lack of Blogging Activity

Yes, this has been a thin week (and yes, I know I need to do my usual blog summary) - mostly, I've been busy with work (I'm going to be pretty much filling in all of next week with one assignment, and catching up on my other workload, meaning lots more blog posts in the immediate future.

However, there's been some other things on my mind - and my planning (including my New Year's Eve plans) - so you may see some posts in the next few days, but most importantly - this is my attempt to get all of you "in the mood" for the rest of the month. enjoy!

And of course, possibly the greatest holiday song ever:

Your Neighborhood Bakery Moment of Awesome

This picture was taken at 6:30 am on a Sunday morning - it's a new-ish bakery that just opened up a few blocks from home.

I'm posting this because I'm a little tapped out blog-wise: been busy with freelance work, as well as an impending sense of dread about the holidays.

(Note - last year, while everyone else was gearing up for Christmas, including various items to surprise pals, I was fighting my mom's doctors about her care while she was in the hospital. So if I seem a little cynical and/or reluctant to get into the holiday spirit, let me just say that it's going to be a little tougher for me this year, as I'm feeling slightly more misanthropic than I have in past years. But please feel free to coordinate your let's-cheer-Gordon-up efforts. In fact, I welcome them, but know they won't be happening).

Still, I think this is a really cool photo, and wanted to share it. More stuff to come.

Propaganda Posters I Can Get Behind

 

Via Boing Boing

Think I Have Enough to Read This Summer?

My Busy Saturday

Two highlights from yesterday:

First, an all-too-brief appearance at Windy City Pulp & Paper, to meet fellow Comic Related Scribe (and, thanks to his run on The Green Hornet for Now Comics, a respected writer) Ron Fortier:

(BTW, Ron, found some Avenger reprints by the same people who do the Doc Savage and Shadow ones. Good reading will abound).

Then, it was to my 25th high school reunion. The evening ended...well, this pictures speaks louder than words.

(Yes, I am in the picture, and it's probably best that I'm relatively unseen. I stayed up way past my bedtime)

Snapshots of the Past

It all started simply enough - because of my being what the teenagers call a "social media guru", some fellow high school alumni suggested that I start a Facebook page for our upcoming reunion.

This, in turn, led me to go through my old boxes of photos - several of which were ruined by water damage due to flooding in St. Louis. (It's my own darn fault - never got around to switching them to plastic bins). But fortunately, amidst the damage, I found several key things...mainly, negatives.

'
Admittedly, photo technology was primitive, and I had a passing interest in photography. (In fact, many of the shots I took of classmates were of the you-shoulda-asked-first variety. But like many buddying photographers, I took pictures of my cats (Steed - a "counterfeit calico" - can be seen as a kitten in this post. He died about four years ago due to a mass on his liver). Despite the scratches, the spottiness, and the blurriness, there's something about these photos that makes me...well, not quite nostalgic, but amazed that I made it. Wondering if I ever really grew up...or if I grew up in the wrong way.

But the treasure trove - the one set of pictures that I'm glad I found - was (surprise, surprise) of a Doctor Who convention in (I believe) 1983 - 1984. (One picture shows Peter Davison: the other I'm presuming Nicholas Courtney). The quality is iffy (the negatives had some damage), and I may have duplicated shots (Flickr is misbehaving tonight). Please feel free to take a glance, please feel free to fill me in on the details, and enjoy!

Your Online Moments of Insanity

In order to help make the week a little more bearable, here are some assorted pieces of insanity both created and found online. Enjoy!


Courtesy my flickr account and flickr toys.



(Don't ask me where I found this. I have no idea.)



Taken when I saw Terry Jones at a screening of Monty Python & the Holy Grail - easily one of the highlights of the past year.

Hump Day Photo Challenge

A little something to help you get through the week - please decide which of these pictures is cooler:

Chef Bully, with some nice tasty treats:



Lola the Wonder Dog (via Rich):


Or a coworker's photo of Lazy Town puppets:

Summer Kitties!

Now, for your viewing pleasure, pictures of my cat....with my mom's cats.

Enjoy!

While My Laptop Gently Heals

Unfortunately, I got the mother of all viruses this weekend (while, ironically, updating my anti-viral software). Until I'm up and running - and in a cheap attempt to drive up my visitor stats - here's a picture from last year's Wizard World convention in Chicago. Enjoy!

Sojourn in St. Louis

Last Memorial Day, I took a bus trip to St. Louis. Maybe, at some point, I'll blog in more detail about it - how I caught up with old friends, realized life goes on without me, and found out that I can never go home again...but I can always visit.

Until then, here's a flickr slideshow. Enjoy!

Last Week In New York

Although my trip to NY was quick, short and sweet - here are some photos!




but it might not be too smart for me to leave, because



(via Golfwidow)

Wacky Ways To Waste Time At Work

My personal favorite - take pictures of my new cubicle with my even newer BlackBerry:



Now, this means that I can spend more time making fun of Wesley Crusher, er, I mean, pal Ryan.

It's A Viral Thing Part Deux

So the first part was a little confusing, was it?

Well, as part of an upcoming announcement, please indicate what the following pictures have in common:




(Note - none of these photos are mine: all are available via Flickr)

Happy Holidazed

Or, "Why Cats and Egg Nog Don't Mix"

(There's actually other reasons why cats and egg nog don't mix).

Anyway, I've got posts set up for tomorrow and Monday, but for right now....I'm enjoying the holiday.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Obligatory Doctor Who Post

Recently, I came across what every hardcore Doctor Who fan should have...a sonic screwdriver.




And so, of course, it's become quite useful not only on the job (frickin' Microsoft Outlook crashes - why can't we use Mozilla Thunderbird?)....



...but also as a convenient way to annoy my cat.



Nah, I'm not too sad of a fan, am I?

Unshelving a Meme

I was at work this morning, talking with pal/co-worker/fellow blogger Ryan about the whole Face Your Manga/Stop the Manga phenomenon, which lasted...about a week. For those not in the know - on Twitter, someone posted a manga-style avatar, which led to people adopting similar avatars....and then the inevitable backlash, resulting in several early adopters soon leaving...and several of those who left adopting a slightly that's-so-five-minutes-ago attitude. (They know who they are)

But anyway, I'm sitting at my office with my little collection of work books, including a tome about my favorite recreational drugs, my bible of influence, and leadership lessons from a fictional character. Ryan passes by, makes note, and heads back to his desk. Needing to discuss the pressing issues of the day, I head to his cubicle, remarking about my diverse book collection at home.

"You know what would really be cool?" he asked.

Knowing full well that I would not be able to write about my thoughts on my PG-related blog, I shook my head.

"If we started a meme where people posted pictures of their bookshelves...we could do a flickr stream, people could twitter about their bookshelves, and that would be cool..."

So in that spirit - and because, let's face it, I have no original ideas right now - I'm starting a meme. Take a digital picture of your bookshelf (or shelves). Post them on your blog and/or put them on flick. Let's get this meme a-rollin'!




My extensive graphic novel collection - and yes, I do need to clean up.


My office bookshelf, with the curious juxtaposition of Leonard Nimoy with Sherlock Holmes. Or Edgar Allen Poe next to Counseling the Chemically Dependent, with a thank-you to an old boss

Offered with Minimal Comment

Via fellow blogger/all around swell person Rich, here's the Minutemen picture from the upcoming Watchmen movie.

Personally, if this were done 1960s-Batman-tv-show style, I'd want a Minutemen movie.