ComiCONN was awesome!

I had a freakin' blast at ComiCONN!  It was my first comic convention, and I loved it.  I got to see amazing artwork, cool toys and products, lots of comic books (obviously), and I also met a whole bunch of really nice people.  Sure, they didn't have any big movie stars, but because it was a smaller, low-key event, you could really spend time talking with the artists, vendors and even a former G.L.O.W. wrestler - Roxy Astor!  I also learned that there's a classic movie museum up in Bristol!  It's called the Witch's Dungeon, and I can't wait to check it out!

Anyway, here are some of the fun pictures I took at the show:

 Zombie parody movie posters by Matt Busch!

 Dismembered G.I. Joe figures!

A working R2-D2!

Captain America cupcakes!

A giant Dr. Zaius head!

Authentic Japanese pachinko machines from CustomPachinko.com!

Not surprisingly, comic books!

  

"Wait," you might be saying to yourself, "if this was a comic book convention, where are all the people in costume??"  I'm glad you asked, because here they are!

 

So much for Jedi mind tricks...

The Joker and Hellboy!

 The god of thunder and his children, Supergirl and Batboy?!?  Way to piss off three different fanbases, guys.

 A bunch of random superheroes!

Two Thors, two Deadpools and two very confused kids!

And finally, my favorite costume - Alan Rickman, I mean Professor Snape!

Nerds rejoice!!

If Green Lantern, Captain America, Thor and X-Men: First Class haven't sated your appetite for muscly men in tights, have no fear - ComiCONN is here!  No longer will you have to head to the city and walk six miles to the Javits Center so you can stand in line for 45 minutes to get an autograph from the guy who once met the guy who sold the pencils to Stan Lee that Stan used to write one panel of New Mutants #97!  Now you can stand in those same long lines right here in Stamford!

This was right about the time when Marvel's X-comics

went completely off the rails and just I gave up.

I'm definitely going to check it out.  I've been saying for years that we needed something cool like this.  I even tried to pitch one to a local congregation and got a lukewarm reception.  I hope this is a big success and they make it a regular event!

My one piece of advice for the organizers: Princess Leia car wash.

Napa-tastic!

First, Fairway invited me to an awesome cooking demonstration and tasting.  Then Napa & Co. topped that last Monday night with a special "blogger dinner," featuring five amazing courses and dessert, all paired with wines.  Our little club comprised three ladies from CTbites, Dan and Kristien from OmNomCT, Frank from RestaurantsCT.com and a bunch of self-proclaimed Napa groupies.

Mary Schaffer and Charles Morgan, the owners of Napa & Co., were our gracious hosts and Arik Bensimon, their head chef, prepared some incredible dishes for us.  Just to make you hungry, here's the menu:

I'll send you over to CTbites' recap for pictures of the food because I just couldn't do it justice with my dinky camera.

I want to extend my thanks to Mary and Charles for inviting me to this amazing meal, and also to all the other attendees who made it even more memorable!

Gas pains

♫ ♪ One of these things is not like the others. ♪ ♫

♫ ♪ One of these things doesn't belong. ♪ ♫
♫ ♪ Can you tell which thing is not like the others ♪ ♫
♫ ♪ Before I finish my song? ♪ ♫

No, that third picture is not from a gas station in Europe. I took all three pictures on the same day at three different Shell stations in Stamford.

The Shell station on Broad Street near Goodwill always charges at least 50 cents more per gallon than any other station in town! How do they manage to stay in business?