Was going to go see the Aaron Eckhart starring Underworld-esque monster movie I, Frankenstein tonight. Alas, it was only available to be seen in 3-D. I pretty much hate the modern day 3-D Hollywood movie trend. I've never sen a 3-D movie presentation that made me get on board with the pitch that this is the best way to watch movies. And no movie originally presented in 2-D achieves any advantage of being put through the 3-D wringer. When silent films became talkies, when black & white became colour, when special effects got better and better...all of those things can actually help to tell a cinematic story. The best 3-D can do is represent a somewhat blurry Mjolnir flying towards me once in a two hour movie. Plus, it gives my friend headaches. So, go to hell 3-D. Maybe I'll see I, Frankenstein in glorious 2-D somday, the way the gods intended us to see motion pictures.

One of the greatest travesties on the history of this planet of ours is that Divine only lived 42 years. Check out one of cinema and entertainments greatest icons as Divine is paid deserved tribute to in I Am Divine - tonight at the Mayfair at 9:00pm.

Went to the free preview screening of That Awkward Moment. It's kind of a male version of a NYC Sex & the City wacky misadventures of dating romantic comedy. The movie stars Michael B Jordan and Miles Teller (two potential members of the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot), and Zac Efron in another example of a role in which he desperately attempts to distance himself from High School Musical teenage heart-throb-ness.

It might seem like a crass cinematic point to complain about, but I find it so bizarre that an R rated movie filled with all kinds of sex, crudeness, dark comedy and low brow humour isn't allowed to have any nudity. There are even a number of rather in your face graphic sex scenes, in which there's a noticeable amount of carefully placed sheets or strange amount of clothing. Gone are the days of Porky's or even American Pie I guess. Gory torture filled horror movies or Superman killing thousands in a battle with his nemesis are ok by Hollywood censor standards...just everyone be sure to keep your clothes on

Sure, Ben Affleck's Argo won a bunch of awards, got a lot of praise, and made a lot of money. Like any "based on a true story" movie though, there is often more "based on" than specific truth. I enjoyed the movie, but it's not to unbelievable to guess that the tale was greatly Hollywood-ized in its adaptation to the big screen. I bare a movie no ill will for this. Anyone who is looking for absolute truthiness in their motion picture entertainment doesn't quite understand what movie entertainment is for I think.

One of the big omissions from Argo was that none other than the greatest comic book artist of all time assisted in this elaborate rescue scheme. Jack Kirby provided a bunch of the production design art used in the fake production package used in the endeavor, and that fact was sadly omitted from the story.

Luckily, the new documentary Our Man in Tehran corrects that omission, as Jack's art is briefly seen up on the big screen. You can learn all about Canada's heroic involvement in the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, AND see some Jack Kirby art tonight through Thursday January 30th at 7:00pm at the Mayfair.

Sad teevee times indeed, as Abed will no longer be able to do his morning talk show with Troy on Community. At least he went out with a bang in a great high concept bit of insanity that you would expect from Community when it is firing on all creative cylinders. This episode involved the school delving into a bit of imagination delusions that was Lava World, a Mad Max-ian non-floor touching wasteland of chair walking and not quite life or death battles. I wish that he was leaving to do a Spider-man movie. I will look forward to his appearance on the inevitable very special episode next season.

Watched the last couple episodes of the first season of Sleepy Hollow. In true episodic television fashion, it wraps up with about half a dozen or so cliffangers. Many shows that I enjoy never make it out of their first season of episodes. Considering my favourites checklist (The Tick, Firefly, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Clone High, Freaks & Geeks, Undeclared...etc) it's amazing when a Lost or a Battlestar actually make a run of it. I will be very upset if this first season of Sleepy Hollow ends up being the only season of Sleepy Hollow.

I got an original animation cel from Lloyd Kaufman, from the cartoon based on his most famous movie character icon. My name is on it, which means that you can't have it.

The only possible excuse one might have to miss out on the Canadian Premiere of Return to Nuke 'm High volume 1 at the Mayfair, is if you were occupied having dinner with the films director. I will brag in a humble manner, making the cult movie geeks jealous I'm sure, that I spent the evening at dinner in conversation with the legendary Lloyd Kaufman and his amazing wife (who just retired from her job as Film Commissioner for New York). If you ever have the opportunity to do the same, I highly recommend that you spend some time with these two.

We have a very special guest joining us the next couple nights at the Mayfair. Legendary cult indie filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman will be joining us to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of Troma Entertainment. Join us Friday and Saturday night (Jan 24 and Jan 25 at 9:45pm) to meet Lloyd, get some Troma merch, and watch his latest cinematic epic, Return to Nuke 'Em High volume 1. Oh, it also just happens to be the films Canadian Premiere!

Ended up having to flee Halifax about 12 hours earlier than anticipated. A snow-ma-geddon onslaught was imminent that would have instigated us staying in town for an extra two days 'cause all the flights were being cancelled. That would have greatly hindered some back to Ottawa plans greatly. We managed to get onto a bright and early flight and made it back to the nations capitol. There was slight panic when despite having e-mail proof in our favour, it ends up that the travel agency didn't properly contact the airline. They also somehow tagged on a $22,000 fee. Which was interesting, because short of hiring a private plane, there's is not a charge that big even available. Luckily the lady checking us in was smarter then the travel agency and we saved $22,000 bucks off our travels.

It was close though, end of the world lookin' storm clouds were looming as the plane was being prepped for departure. When we landed, the big screen monitor in the baggage claim area were showcasing a broadcast from some poor CBC weather person forced out into the snowy anarchy of the streets of Halifax.

In a last minute addition to our east coast travels, did a quick day trip over to PEI just for the heck of it. I was happy to sit in the back of the car and read comics on the way to another province that I can now check off the Canadian travels checklist. Now I just gotta hit Newfoundland and I've collected a complete set...then onto the northern territories!

Under the 'learn something new every day' category, did you know that Japan loves PEI / Anne of Green Gables? I had no idea. PEI is a Japanese travel destination hot spot, they even made an anime adaptation of the story. I would guess that it is slightly less violent than Akira.

Last night I got a belated Christmas gift in the form of a Shazam Domo. It has the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury...and all the adorable! It's a belated tiny vinyl Christmas miracle!

My east coast comic store mega-tour concludes with my second comic store appearance in two days! I'll be at Strange Adventures in Halifax to sell and sign some Zomkeys comics from noon o' clock until 4:00pm. I feel like a regular Neil Gaiman! Strange Adventures is one of Canada's greatest comic emporiums, if you are in Halifax, do drop by and say hello (and then buy stuff!).

We have made it to the brave new world of Halifax, after our swell visit to Moncton. Much appreciation to the staff and to everyone who visited me during the comic signing at The Comic Hunter today. Thanks for making me feel like a big shot as I Sharpied my name onto the cover of the rampaging monkey comic book that I wrote.

Old board games are cool. We played Dungeon, the parents basement dwelling geek classic today. The more unpolished the Dungeons & Dragons-y art on the box the better. Take that video games!

Dropped by to visit the fine folks at The Comic Hunter in Moncton today. Delivered a batch of Mirror Comics, so if you live in Moncton, be sure to drop by the store for all of your Mirror Comics needs. I'll be back at the store on Saturday morning starting at 11:00am for a brief couple hours for a comic signing visit, to try and sell off some copies of Zomkeys. I'd visit longer on Saturday, but we're off to part two of our whirlwind east coast Canadian tour in Halifax (the next day at Strange Adventures) right after we flee The Comic Hunter at 1:00pm. East coast Zomkeys domination! Please come and buy all the things so I don't have to bring them back to Ottawa. Paper is heavy.

What's the most exciting thing to do while in Moncton? Why, get caught up on weird Netflix movies of course! We watched Chocolate, a Thai martial arts extravaganza from the director of Ong-Bak and The Protector. No Tony Jaa rescuing elephants in this one, but it does have an autistic teenage girl with mutant like kung-fu powers brutally battling her way through an ongoing onslaught of endless gangs that owe her ailing mother money. That old story! My favourite movies on Netflix are the kind of stuff you'd find way in the back on dusty shelves at third tier video stores.

Flying off to the wilds of Moncton today for some belated post-Christmas visitings. Flying Porter, the best airline in all the land and sky. Why? Because, they will give you all of the almonds you can eat! Endless almonds! I will eat all the almonds. Visiting friends is ok too I guess.

If you don't live in Ottawa, that means that you don't have a Thimble Cakes in your home town. You should move to Ottawa. They are that good.

For not the first time,one of my bestest friends and I exchanged the exact same gift at Halloween. This year, we unknowingly swapped the same book, Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half. I just finished reading this brutally honest and hilariously funny autobiographical blog collection of her work, along with a bunch of new original material. As much as I love her stuff, I'm not quite sure how to classify it. With the inclusion of super simplistic cut & paste looking character drawings accompanied by archaic early era computer lettering, it's technically a comic book I think. I do know that it's so funny (especially the dog stories) that it makes me cry with laughter.