The Latest on Everything.

Ok, well, some things have happened, so it's time for an update. Here is what is new in the life of Ninja.

FanExpo Canada is this weekend. I will be there all 3 days, as usual, so come say hi to me. I hope everything goes well, because I really need to go and have a good time for a change!

I was out of town last weekend. The circumstances were not exactly happy though. It was not really much of a vacation. But I had to go, and I did what I had to do.

Now, at the end of a summer that has been full of frustration and disappointment, something decent finally happens. I've known about this for about a month, but didn't want to count my chickens before they hatched until I was 100% sure. And now I am sure, so I can talk about it.

I got a job. I will be teaching comic books and cartooning art at a local private school.

This is pretty much an extension of what I do for Comic Book Masters. It was all set up for me, and I didn't have to be interviewed or anything like that. I got the job based on my reputation alone. I'll be teaching during their after school programs twice a week, once for younger kids and again for older students. It's a long program that goes all the way to the winter, and if this goes well I'll be hired again for another term, at which point I'll be teaching anime to the older ones.

This is all sort of ironic since I really don't want to be a full time teacher or anything like that, and it seems like teaching is really the only thing I have going for me. I mean, I didn't really even try to get this job, it just sort of happened. But I could use the work, and I like to think that I'll be making a difference in people's lives by exposing them to art.

I met with my future employer yesterday. Again, the job was mine before I had met with or even spoken to anyone, I just had to go in to get the details in person. The people at this school are quite serious about their after school programs, and I'm pretty much going to be treated like any other teacher working there, with a name tag and everything. That means I have to appear professional. The person I had spoken with was worried before she met me that I was going to look like a freak. But since I let my hair grow out this summer, I think I was ok in regards to looking like a somewhat normal person. But still, I am an artist so no matter what I do I'm probably always going to look like one.

After the meeting I did something really stupid. I need to take transit to get to the school, but it's not that far away from my house. So, since it was a nice day, I figured I'd just try to walk back home instead of taking the bus. It was a long walk, and while it's not one I'd ever wish to attempt again, it was doable. Unfortunately, I did this between 2 and 3 PM, when the sun is at its harshest. I wasn't wearing a hat or anything, so my face and forehead got baked into a nice shade of red. Not the smartest thing I've ever done. My hair turned a lot blonder too, which wouldn't be so bad if my forehead didn't look like a tomato.

I'll be going back to school in another sense as well. Later in the evening on the same day that I start this new job, I'll be going to a different school to start Japanese lessons. Yeah, after learning on my own and picking up little bits of the language here and there for years, I am finally taking the plunge and doing it right. The class is pretty much for newbies, so I don't know if I'll be ahead of the game or not. But even if the class moves too slowly for me because of what I already know, I'd rather learn in a structured environment. I think this will be good for me.

GaoGaiGar was supposed to have been released on R1 DVD this week, but so far I don't think anyone has found it and it seems like it has been pushed back. I was really looking forward to picking up this weekend, so I'll be disappointed if it's not out. Oh well.

So I guess that's everything I can talk about for now, but I am sure there is more drama yet to come.

Sayonara.

A Warning from Al.

Whatever it is that you are doing right now...

DON'T DOWNLOAD THIS SONG!

Al won't like it if you do.

Sayonara.

Random Fun.

Hey, I updated my deviantART page. You should look at it some time. Read my journal there and ask me any questions you want. It's fun!

And, just for the hell of it, here's a random video. It's the awesome Japanese rock band Go!Go!7188 giving a live performance of their song Kunoichi!

Sayonara.

The Flaming Eyebrow Festival.

Well, times have been tough, and it hasn't been easy to play with the cards that I have been dealt this summer. But life goes on, and somehow I will be ok.

So, enough doom and gloom around here for now. I got this funny flyer in the mail this past week. It's an advertisement for the Toronto International Film Festival. How I wound up on their mailing list, I do not know. I have never attended TIFF, and it's highly unlikely that I will this year. What makes this flyer interesting, however, is the artwork on the cover. Now, seriously, take a look at this.



What in the hell is going on here?

There's all this blue space, and then there's white on the top and bottom, and then there's a giant snow creature with huge flaming eyebrows. What does this mean? What does this have to do with movies? What does this have to do with anything? I don't get it!

How much money did this artist make for such a bizarre and confusing painting? How is it that I can have such a hard time finding work when this strange, pretentious piece of art gets such wide distribution?

Whatever.

That all said, I just can't stop staring at it. I don't understand what it's about, why it exists, or what relationship it has to the Toronto International Film Festival, but still, I keep on looking at those fiery eyebrows. Perhaps the ambiguity of all that is what is so appealing in this case. Hang this painting up in a gallery and I probably wouldn't care very much, but send it to me in the mail with the intention of selling me movie tickets and that, in a roundabout way, gets my attention. I'm still not going to do anything else about it though.

But honestly, what the hell is up with those eyebrows?

Sayonara.

Interesting. Or not.

I suppose I should write something interesting in here, but I don't really have anything worth talking about that I'd be willing to share with everyone. So this will all remain mysterious. Ooooh.

Oh, I did buy some new bandanas today. That's somewhat interesting, I guess.

Sayonara.