Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo

This past weekend Mr. J & I made a trip down to Calgary for the Comic & Entertainment Expo.

We drove down early Saturday morning in order to make the 11:00 AM Voice Acting workshop for Mr. J. We arrived around 10:30AM, and found ourselves standing in line for about 40 minutes, even though we had purchased our tickets in advance. It seems as though they weren't appropriately staffed when it came to collecting tickets, providing a 'goodie' bag and ushering everyone through the doors - they only had 3 people for that. I noticed later on that day (around 1:30) that there were still people waiting in line.

We arrived at the Voice Acting workshop about 10 minutes late, but we didn't miss too much. We were entertained by a couple (Yuri & Tara) who work in the industry - they regaled us with stories of their experiences. I think Mr. J got some useful information.

There were a number of 'stars' at the Expo - Edward James Olmos (see picture below), Margot Kidder (wow, has she ever aged), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Sean Astin (see picture below), James Kyson Lee (Ando), Jewel Staite (Kaylee), Voice actor of Rhino - Bee-Awesome!!!, and many more.

Sean Astin - taken from afar.

Side shot of Edward - luckily I didn't get in trouble for snapping it.

We didn't actually meet any of the stars, except for Mark Walton - voice of Rhino from Bolt. I am conflicted about meeting movie stars. Yes, I enjoyed watching them in their show/movie - but what am I really going to say to them, 'hey, I liked you in X', or 'You were awesome'. That just seems lame, and because I didn't have any burning questions, I was satisfied with just 'seeing' them. I guess I just don't get worked up about meeting celebrities.

We spent quite a bit of time on 'Artists Lane.' The baby's room is going to be themed 'SuperHeroes', so with limited 'hero' options in the world of 'decorating the nursery', we figured a great way to theme the room is with hero artist sketches. We picked up (and ordered) a number sketches at the Edmonton Comic event - Zatanna, Batgirl, HarlyQuinn, and a signed pic of Ando. In Calgary, we picked up our Edmonton order of Batman, Superman and Captain Marvel (DC version), and purchased a number of other great 'hero' sketches. We will be laminating some and framing the others. I think the nursery will be cool. Now we just need to decide on paint colours for the room. 'Super Baby' (as Mr. J calls him/her) is going to be inundated with comics and superheroes upon birth.

Anywho, I got sidetracked there a little.

Sunday, we walked around the event some more, visiting with various people that Mr. J knew, and attended our final workshop on Breaking into Voice Acting. It was hosted by Helene Rousse from Total Casting. She provided a wealth of knowledge on how to get started to what to put on your demo. Mr. J and I recorded most of the talk, so Mr. J will be able to reference back to it later on.

It was a great little weekend, and prepared me a bit for GenCon. Not in terms of what to expect - I know it will be nothing like I experienced - but helped me understand how tired I'm going to get, and how many snacks and drinks I will need to take with me - 7 month pregger Mama is going to need to be prepared for anything.

We also managed a nice little visit with Uncle and Auntie.

Best Breakfast Ever!!!!

This morning we met up with Bne and his friend at Barb & Ernie's Old Country Inn. It's a German restaurant that's been the mainstay of Edmonton for over 30 years. I can't believe it's taken me over 2 years to discover this amazing weekend breakfast joint.

Bne was in town, and we decided to get together for Sunday breakfast. I didn't want the usual - Denny's or Ricky's, so Bne suggested Barb & Ernie's. I remember hearing about the place, and did some research before deciding that would be our place to eat and visit this morning.

AMAZING!

First of all, there menu is large and diverse. You've got the regular bacon and egg, pancake, french toast, Eggs Benedict flair, but with a German twist - can't forget the bratwurst, or how about German Bacon Pancakes!?

I decided on the french toast with wild berry topping and whip cream. I was thoroughly impressed. It was delicious, and I managed to eat every last bite. Bne tried the German Bacon Pancakes - which were quite tasty, and Mr. J had the 3 Hotcakes with topping order.

He was for warned by the waitress, 'you know, there as big as a plate!' Mr. J paused momentarily, and placed his order again, 'I'll have the 3 Hotcakes with Strawberry topping.'

Now, granted we all thought that was quite a bit, but if anyone could handle it, it would be Mr. J. Although, I think we were all thinking of a fairly round standard size plate (8 inches). Still large, but nothing more that. We'll were we all surprised when the orders came.

The plate was a large oval sized plate, and his 3 pancakes not only completely covered the entire plate, they were spilling over the sides. And these pancakes weren't flat (as we all know when we make pancakes at home, they don't always turn out as fluffy as we'd like), they very fluffy - perhaps a good 1/2 inch thick.

We were continually amazed through our meal at the size of the pancakes. Bne's comment definitely captured the essence of Mr.J's eating experience: 'You've definitely broken the rule: Don't ever eat anything bigger than your head.'

Mr. J managed to eat 1.5 pancakes, and he took the rest home. We got some advice from Ernie on what to do and what not to do if Mr. J decides to re-heat the monstrous pancakes.

It was a fantastic way to spend Sunday morning. The next visitors who come, we'll be hitting up Barb & Ernie's, so be prepared.