Hey there loyal minions!  Whew, I’m exhausted.  Last week was G20 summit preparation.  You can see the coveragehere. Then this weekend, the riots happened. G20 protests turned violent. Banks were vandalized, windows of local businesses were smashed, and a number of police cruisers were destroyed and set on fire. A number of local businesses including the Eaton Center, one of Ontario’s biggest shopping centers, was on lockdown, with no one allowed in or out, for hours. Also on lockdown this weekend were the hospitals, and most public transit in the downtown core was shut down all weekend. I got the chance to speak to both eyewitnesses and a few protesters about the out-of-control action on Saturday. However, I had no mic, so the sound on the footage was not up to speed and could not be used on the program. However, my photographer DID get some awesome images.

And, I’ve started a 365! That’s where you take a photo of yourself every day for a year. I never finish anything, so I predict this will last a whole two weeks. Here’s day 1, anyway:

And for those of you bored with paper-scissors-rock or even paper-scissors-rock-lizard-Spock, there’s a new game in town. MeetMonkey Pirate Robot Ninja Zombie(via Geekologie)

Screw it. I’ll still always pick Rock.

Also, it’s official! I’m hosting the Official Fan Expo Afterparty with the dudes from the Watchtower. Expect scintillating burlesque from Nerd Girl Pinups, hilarious comedy from Nerdgasm, and an incredible, BRAND NEW awards show you won’t want to miss. What kind of awards show, you ask? Well, stay tuned here and listen to The Watchtower Podcast on July 14th for the DL, and how YOU can participate!

Alright, time for me to cook dinner. Bye, loyal minions!

Loyal minions!  ‘Tis I, Kat Curtis, PODCASTER EXTRAORDINAIRE.  Okay,maybe I’m not a podcaster extraordinaire, but you know who DOES deserve that title?  Jeff Moss and Donnie Coulter over atThe Watchtower. I made my recent visit to those guys last night, and we talked about -what else?- comic books. I need to visit those guys more often, they’re rad and I always have so much fun on their show. We’re banding together to create a super-secret project that I can’t tell you guys about yet, but it’s going to be amazing and you loyal minions get to have YOUR say! Hooray!So if you go visit the podcast, you’ll see that we touched on a few comics in the Forecast that are coming out this week. Well, I wanted to give a more elaborate review on a few of them:
First up, SPIDERMAN PRESENTS: BLACK CAT #1.

Poor Felicia Hardy. You’ve had a rough life, not only in how you’re treated in the comics, but how you’re treated as a character. Well, it turns out Felicia’s bad luck continues with this story: the writing is alright, but the art is AWFUL and takes the book to almost unreadable levels. Considering this is coming off of a decidedly un-badass turn in Marvel Divas, I think the Black Cat has used up too many of her nine lives lately. I think you should lay low for a while, Felicia, and wait for a writer and artist that know how to handle you again.
RATING: N

HERALDS #3

I’ve been raving about this title since issue 1.  Kathryn Immonen is SUCH a good writer…blending action, exposition, passion and her unique brand of offbeat comedy seamlessly.  The art is gorgeous, and I’m LOVING Hellcat right now.  (I never thought I’d ever say those words!)  This series continues to be a must-read.

RATING: NNNN

BIRDS OF PREY: ISSUE 2:

Gail Simone continues to be one of my favorite writers as we see the entire world being turned against the Birds in this phenomenal issue.  Who is the White Canary?  Why is she so hell-bent on destroying our girls?  Gail’s incredible storytelling will have you on the edge of your seat, and Ed Benes’ sexy art will have you drooling.   This is a gorgeous, well-written book.

RATING: NNNN

FABLES #96

The saga of Rose Red is revealed in this backstory.  I love the art, and Willingham isn’t so much a writer as he is a master craftsman of tales.  Plus, it’s great to see a character I’ve always felt for, Rose Red, experience some long-awaited self-actualization.

RATING: NNNN

And our last look today, CROSSED: FAMILY VALUES #2.

I have to confess, I was worried about this series when it was announced.  I LOVED the original CROSSED, and I mean, who can outdo Ennis when it comes to dark and f—ed up?   I admit, I hadn’t heard of David Lapham before, so I wasn’t sure of his cred.

I needn’t have worried.  FAMILY VALUES is a twisted, well-written book that completely pushes every boundary, every button, defies every taboo there is.  Lapham has been incredibly creative, and the last page of the book is a visual punch-to-the-gut that I’m sure would make Ennis proud.  We also see foreshadowing that we might find out a little bit more regarding this strange plague that has turned most of the world  into the Crossed, the monsters of perversion and destruction that the book centers around.  I’m really excited for issue 3.

NNNN

Wow, some amazing new titles came out this week?  What did YOU guys read?

And hey, remember that my interview with Questionable Content‘s Jeph Jeques will air on Naked News tomorrow. I will be naked. Jeph will not. Also, news about the “Space Jockey” from the Alien movies, and Ryan Sohmer’s new comic! Click the link and sign up. See you there!
xoxox
Kat

Hello, loyal minions. This blog brought to you by the letter C, for coffee.

That’s right, I’m back on the juice again.
See, I’ve had nightmares and night terrors for as long as I can remember…they’re the product, I suppose, of an overactive imagination and a love of horror.

Image above by the talented NIX photography.

Well, lately my nightmares have expanded their repertoire…to this fun new thing called sleep paralysis. I lay there, feeling absolutely terrified, knowing all I have to do is wake up…but I can’t open my eyes. I can’t lift a finger. And I can’t scream.

It’s a pretty terrifying feeling.

So lately I’ve been dragging myself out of bed at the last possible moment, sucking back the coffee, and doing my best to stay awake during the day. According to Wikipedia, the best way around sleep paralysis is to get your sleep schedule in decent shape. But how can you do that when you’re awake every night from nightmares? BALLS.

Anyway, moving on. What else is balls is that I didn’t get to go to E3. I would have loved to have been there, if only for the Microsoft Kinect Star Wars demo. Seriously. I’m a PS3 gamer, but if anything is going to make me pick up another 360(I GOT RID OF mine after it suffered the red ring of death 9 times in 2006. I’d rather play my console than have it in the shop, you know?), it is going to be this game. Kinect looks badass. Sure, the motion controller is less accurate than the Playstation Move, but comparing the Kinect to the Move is like apples and oranges. You’ll pry my controller from my cold, dead hands, but motion sensors are undoubtably the future of gaming, and for sports games and swashbuckling, I have a feeling that Kinect is going to RULE.

And I got to interview Jeph Jeques of Questionable Content back at TCAF. This was super exciting for me, as Q*C has been one of my favorite webcomics since I started reading them. I’ve been with the story since about 2004, and I’ve watched the characters, the writing, and the art grow over the years and I feel like the characters are like family at this point. The interview airs on Naked News this Friday around 6 pm.

As for the spam I mentioned in the title of my last blog and forgot to write about, well, I’ve found a new fun thing about WordPress…the spam. Tons and tons of spam. Augh. So many Levitra and Cialis ads. ANNOYING. Anyway, I was going to ask you guys for a solution, but I asked Google for the info and ended up trying Akismet, which is a FANTASTIC anti-spam measure. I’ve only had a few spam comments squeak through since I installed the plugin. It’s beautiful.

Alright, kiddies, I have stuff to shoot, so I’ll leave you with this:

xoxox
Kat

Hey guys!
First up, the professional stuff. Our Women In Geekery Event continues on Naked News. Today at 6 pm, expect an interview with Digitally Blonde’s Carol Zara. Who is Carol? Well, Carol Zara has been featured on G4 TV’s “Women of the Web”, as one of the top three women of geek culture. She was nominated for Wired’s Sexiest Geeks. Carol is also awesome, fun, and ridiculously hot:

Yeah.  So go check her out, and then go see our convo.  Also on this week’s episode of the Naked Nerd- a review of Kathryn Immonen’s Heralds, and what happens when an IGN host meets God Of War for the Keep a Breast foundation.  Check it out here.

Now for the personal stuff: yesterday was my birthday. For those of you unaware, I’m vegan, something that garners me a lot of good-natured ribbing by some of my coworkers. For our birthdays here at NN, we always buy cakes for each other. Well, this year, the folks at NN went all out and made me a vegan cake!

And by “vegan cake”, I mean they iced a cabbage. A pic for the “pics or GTFO” camp:

Ah, cabbage. My most hated vegetable. When I rule the world, you shall be gone.

I was actually really impressed with their creativity. I knew they’d prank me, but I thought they were just going to stick a candle in a carrot. They actually went to some pretty decent lengths for this one. Thanks guys! Luckily, I brought in the Brooklyn Vs. Boston Cream cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, and they were a major hit. I made them at 2 am, though, and I was half-asleep when I finished, so when I woke up the next morning myself and my bed were both covered in chocolate ganache.

Also, I just picked up the graphic novel of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. So far, I’m not enjoying it nearly as much as the book…but I’ll give you the full review when I’m finished.

And I’ll leave you with my digital buzz video from last week:

Digital Buzz

If I’m able to play with photoshop next week, expect some awesome treats for you guys in this here blog.

xoxo
Kat