An A To Z 2010 Encyclopitcionary

National Post cartoonist Gary Clement wraps up the year that was. Look it up in yer encyclopitcionary! Happy New Year, everyone!

Previously on Popped Culture...

Schoolhouse Rock: I'm Kind Of A Big F*cking Deal

Have You Tried Throwing Rocks At Her?

A Bad Month for Cartoon Characters

FanExpo 2010: Cosplay Like You Mean It

I am in awe of the effort put in by cosplayers — they put Halloween to shame. And my greatest thrill during an afternoon at FanExpo Canada, was meeting Zaphod Beeblebrox, the president of the galaxy! The fact that he is blurry has less to do with me drinking Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters with him than my lousy photography skills coupled with an iPhone. Apologies for the rest.

Meet the Invisible Woman, who was more visible than I expected.

Ned and Chuck from Pushing Daises! Of course it just made me miss the show all over again.

The Punisher.

She-Hulk and, I dunno. Anyone? Guesses and suggestions welcome in the comments.

Little Sister from Bioshock? That's my guess.

The (or An) Original Batmobile. Not sure why there was a girl sitting on top of it or why, now that I have looked closer, she appears to have no legs below the knee.

Geek 'em up early — Little Wonder Woman and Little Night Owl? Probably not, but it amused me to think so.

Proton pack — don't go Ghostbusting without it.

I don't know. Anyone?

I should know, but I don't.

Dr. Henry Jones Sr.

Domo was the first guy (mascot?) I saw when I walked in.

Halo's Master Chief, about to kill a anime conventioneer.

Another blank for me.

Bombalurina from Cats?

The Waldos. They weren't all that hard to find.

A pantheon of Disney characters.

Flaunt it.

Plastic Man stretched everything...

Guesses? I'm sure it's obvious.

I think she said yes.

Harvey Two Face and a Batman made from Duct Tape.

Cobra Commander seemed annoyed I was interrupting his shopping.

Anime? But of what I have no idea.

Kick-Ass!

Wonder Woman, Flash and the Silver Surfer were so fast I was unable to get a picture of them fast enough. Or maybe it was Flash's fault - he doesn't work well with the iPhone.

Rings a bell but I'm drawing another blank.

Boy Wonder has grown up a touch.

Batman and his Batcamera.

Someone I recognize battling a Sleestak.

Some sort of military cat. Impressive in any case.

Harley Quinn and the Joker.

Mad Hatter.

French revolutionaries? I'm sure I'm missing something.

No idea, not even a clue.

Darth Vader and pal, moving at the speed of blur.

Just a typical line at FanExpo.

I love that even the interviewer is in character.

Even Iron Man needs to make a buck.

This guy isn't dressed up, he just felt this way after all day at FanExpo.

Previously on Popped Culture...
I Play, You Play, Cosplay
Viddy Well, Little Sister, Viddy Well

Flaming Lips: Do You Realize?

Do you realize?
That everyone you know someday will die
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

I saw an amazing performance this week by The Flaming Lips in Toronto, a true spectacle that left me in awe. These aren't my videos — my camera phone isn't up to the job, but they give you a great sense of being there.




One of the highlights was the sing-along to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

And Wayne Coyne did crowd surf in his space ball / hamster ball and @phrichards got a great shot. If you ever get a chance to go see this bad don't pass it up.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Pavement? Rattled By The Rush

Geek Menagerie: Toronto Comic Arts Festival

I had a great time at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival on Saturday and I can't believe that I hadn't been before. I came home with a bag full of stuff (more on that later) and met a few of my favourite pop artists like Brandon Bird whose Elysium is above.

I had a great chat with Scott Campbell (above, Picnic With The Draculas) and found out that he is going to be having a show at Gallery 1988 with Olly Moss, which came up because I was wearing Moss' Spoilt tee.

I also got to see the real life version of the Time Machine poster from Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics. There were plenty of others so if are in Toronto the show is on again today. Check it out.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Two Warriors Come Out Of The Sky
Great Movie Showdowns
Rise And Fall Of The Nazi Dinosaurs

Go To Sleep, TTC...

On Thursday, OGLE, a rider on Toronto's transit system posted a photo of a ticket booth collector enjoying a deep snooze at work, then sent it out on Twitter. It then went viral. It showed up in my feed a few times that day, I laughed and passed it along. By the next morning it was all over the media, gracing front pages and websites.

The TTC sprung into damage control, vowing to investigate, while the ticket collector's union went the unusual route of blaming the photo taker: "It is very discouraging that the picture taker and, apparently, other customers, made no attempt to determine if there was anything wrong with this TTC employee," said Bob Kinnear, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union.

"A simple knock on the glass might have determined if the collector was, in fact, asleep, or whether he was unconscious as a result of some medical problem."

He's clearly not  dead, just enjoying a good nap. The interweb responded (above, via @boyreporter) and soon the now dubbed TTCSleeper started showing up everywhere...

Ahh, it's so nice that Homer finally found a compatible work buddy. Lenny and Carl are great, but they don't know how to relax. Sector 7G has never been in better hands. (Oswald Cobblepot! via Keadin)

                           

indigirl had another explanation for the incident — perhaps he wasn't snoozing, but just having his brain remapped. Is the TTC a Dollhouse?

Meanwhile JakenBear still wasn't sure that the ticket collector wasn't dead and cast a new Weekend at Bernies sequel. Yay.

The Death Star trash compactor? Wow, that guy can sleep though anything.

I'd never noticed the TTCSleeper in Edward Hopper's Nighthawks before, but he does fit in rather well.

And once there was a TTC Sleeper Last Supper this meme was in full force. From Hugh Elliott at wheniwas19. See more photoshops at Mondoville.

Beware of social media, folks, it can bite you in the ass. Funny too.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Suddenly Last Supper
Breakfast Hawks
Teh Lolcats Theme Song