I’ll be at Fan Expo 2009 this weekend in Toronto. Looks like it’ll be a good time. Really looking forward to the Ninja Turtles 25th anniversary panel.

I’ve been teaching a how to draw anime class for kids every day this week. The oldest student, and coincidentally the worst behaved, is only 9 years old. Not what I thought I was signing up for, but this is what I have to deal with. It’s been pretty exhausting, especially the trek back and forth from the heart of Toronto. As soon as I’m done on Friday, I’ll be headed straight to the convention center. I imagine that I’ll probably be pretty winded by day’s end.

Pretty winded right now, actually, so that’ll be it for this week.

Sayonara.

There was an incredible thunderstorm in the Toronto area today. The sky changed to a dark gray, the winds howled, and the thunder cracked quite audibly as it the rain poured down. I seriously pity anyone who got caught outside without shelter.

The worst of it lasted only a moment, but as the weather subsided, I couldn’t believe what I saw. The sky had become an otherworldly shade of orange. The entire house was bathed in this orange glow. Looking across the backyard, a surreal sharpness and clarity had overtaken the air, a stark contrast to the blurry chaos of the rain and wind that preceded it by meer moments. An absolutely massive rainbow hung overhead, the biggest I’ve ever seen, with very a wide arc. Each colour completely distinguishable from the last.

I took a picture from within my office to try and capture the moment. Unfortunate the unmovable window screen was in the way, but you can still see the unique colour outside. I have not modified this photograph at all except to resize it.

This was taken at 8:00 PM, and the sun hadn’t gone down yet. As the clouds started to fade, bits of the traditional bright blue summer sky revealed itself from underneath the orange haze. Now, as I type this, the sun is setting and the sky has gone from orange to purple, a different shade every time I glance back up at the window.

It was an unbelievable display of colour and light. I just had to describe what I was seeing in tangible terms so that I wouldn’t forget. I have never seen anything quite like this, and I wouldn’t ever expect to in a decidedly non-tropical place like Toronto

I think nature uses Photoshop.

Sayonara.

So my cousin got married last weekend. It was suggested to me by another cousin that I should write a report about the wedding and present it as a wedding present. This was a good idea that I had not thought of. I would have taken notes if I had the foresight. But, as the ceremony progressed, I knew from my own internal commentary that there was no way I would ever write any of it down. It was just too evil and cruel. Funny, but evil and cruel. Since this took place in a church, I wasn’t about to risk anything by violently satirizing the proceedings. Therefore I’ll just keep my thoughts to myself.

I’ve been quite busy teaching this month. I started a new teaching job at a local art academy not too far from where I live. It’s a Comics and Animation program for young kids. The class sizes are kept small and they seem to be interested. I’ve been having fun so far. This month’s classes are sort of a preview of what’s to come, and should there be enough new students, things will really kick off next month in a big way. I’ll talk more about it later.

This past week I also taught the second of 2 summer camp cartooning lessons at the private school I’ve been working at. It was much easier on my throat than the first one. I taught around 90 students over the course of the day, from grades 1-8. Some of these students were quite interesting characters.

There was one little girl who drew some kind of scary faceless monster and explained to me how this was a creature that was haunting her nightmares. It was interesting that she would share these things with me, someone she had never met before. So, I suggested that she try dreaming about a baseball bat to hit it with.

There was another girl in one of the older classes who was very short and presented me with a piece of green construction paper with symmetrical slots cut out of it. This likely originated from some sort of earlier craft project. She says that she made this for me. I said that I had just gotten there and we didn’t even know each other. So she shakes my hand and introduces her self. How cute.

Even funnier was this little boy with gigantic ears and a funny voice who asked if I could draw a “bawed“. I said “A baw-ed? What’s a baw-ed?” before eventually figuring out that he was saying “bird“. Yes, these people actually exist!

I think the other teachers got more out of the class than the students, but everyone had fun so mission accomplished, I guess.

Sayonara.

I did this.

TFAnimated Optimus Prime by ~ninjatron on deviantART

3 more on my deviantART page.

I started them a few months ago, only just recently did I finish the last one. The Transformers Animated style looks simple, but there are some interesting quirks to it that made it a challenge with these first attempts drawing it. They came out ok and people seem to like them.

Now I’m off to watch my cousin get married. I’m actually going to wear a tie. A cyan coloured tie, no less.

Look at what I got!

Right, so for those of you who think that this is just another Transformers figure, allow me to fill you in.

This figure is Swerve, from the Transformers Universe line. It transforms into a Chevy Aveo, and is fully licensed by General Motors. In fact, GM owns the distribution rights to this figure. There is no way to buy this guy in a store. The only way to get one is directly from GM on certain dates in specific locations.

Luckily, GM has been running a promotion in the Toronto area this summer, and it hit the Eaton Center this weekend. So, I made my way over there, filled out a survey, and walked away with this extremely rare and highly coveted new addition to my collection. It’s over now so don’t bug me to get one for you.

There was no packaging at all, so I didn’t feel bad about transforming him. For such a rare figure with limited availability that was given away for free, it sure is cool! This is a 100% new mold figure, not made from preexisting parts. It’s pretty crazy to think that something like this would exist. His details and proportions are quite unique, and sort of look like a cross between the style of modern Transformers and the movie aesthetic. He does not come with a weapon, no can he really hold one as his hands are sculpted in an open position. I will simply theorize that he is so awesome that he does not need a weapon.

They are selling for a lot of money on eBay. Only a few other place on Earth have gotten this promotion, as far as I know. It hasn’t even really hit the US yet. I’m not selling mine though. It will stay here, taunting the other robots over their lack of resale value. Because that’s just how Swerve rolls.

Sayonara.