Cape Comic Con 2011: "Believe it or not, I'm walking on air..." Edition

You might think that Cape Comic Con was the place to be this weekend and, for me, that would be true. For Jefferson, it was his best friend Landon's 5th birthday party. It was elaborate. Kids played carnival games, earned tickets and redeemed them for cool prizes. Seriously. When the dust settled, we recharged at Starbucks, but you could still see the evidence. Red and green striped hair... check.









Temporary tattoos ... check.












Pretending (?) to barf ... check.












The guests at Cape Comic Con were excellent. Billy Tucci is the creator of the beautiful Shi and a fantastic Sgt. Rock series. He's also a helluva nice guy.









He designed the amazing print for the Con this year and was generous enough to sign it and draw an original Captain America sketch (for free!).












The Con is a fantastic opportunity to commission original art from world class artists. I learned from Ethan Van Sciver last year to ask artists who they like to draw, since you might end up requesting something the artist hates. I asked Billy Tucci what he liked and the Flash was the third thing he mentioned (Wonder Woman was first). Anyway, here is the extraordinary Flash sketch he did for me.












Jeremy Haun also attended the Con this year.









A fellow native southwest Missourian (he's from Joplin and has devastating photos on his phone), he does an absolutely stunning Batman. Thus, I commissioned Batman. Jefferson commissioned Robin.









A few years ago, DC imprint Wildstorm produced a miniseries of Chuck, my favorite TV show. Jeremy did the art and was selling the original pages of his penciled art. I bought issue #2, page 14. Pretty cool, huh?









Believe it or not, that is William Katt, star of stage and screen. You might remember him as TV's The Greatest American Hero. Jefferson knows him as the voice of Hawkman on Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Either way, he's very sweet and has the seductive smile of a Hollywood guy. Although he didn't act like he was too cool for Comic Con, he so clearly was.

St. Louis, June 2011: "That's a Winner!" Edition

Our quest to visit National League ballparks continues. Why National League? We don't want to have to go to Detroit or Cleveland. Following our brief detour in KC, we got back on track. This is more like it.









Jefferson joined the Cardinals Kids Crew, which is an incredibly good deal. For $22 you get a duffel bag stuffed with some silly bands, a bobblehead, ticket vouchers and a bunch of other things that we were still discovering days later (see below).












My seat.












The Cardinals instituted "dynamic pricing" this season. What that means is that tickets are affordable for the games against the Padres and exorbitant for the rest. Stub Hub was a little cheaper (thanks Season Ticket Holder in Section 442, Seats 1-5!), but we sat on the top row of Busch. Still, check out the view.









Me and a boy.









Mom and a boy.












First pitch.









Jefferson is getting more interested in baseball all the time and I think we can blame Mario. He has yet to master catching or hitting, but dude can throw a strike right into the pocket of your glove. He also throws a "crooked ball," which basically involves an elaborate wind up followed by throwing the ball straight down to the ground. He loves being at the ballpark ...









... but focusing on the whole game is hard for little guys.









You have to make your own fun.









The expression on his face perfectly represents how we all felt about this game. Cardinals winning, then losing, then tied, then in the top of the 7th, Alex Gordon hit a home run to give the bad guys the lead. This photo captures how we all felt at that point.









Then Matt Holliday saved the day with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th. In honor of Jack Buck, we went crazy, folks.









Epilogue ... once we returned home, Jefferson spent some time digging around his kids crew bag. He found a stick on beard, modeled after estranged closer Ryan Franklin.












That's a winner.

Exploring I-70, Part 2: "A Goat Licked My Hand" Edition

Before we left the KC area, we visited the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead in Overland Park. It's pretty great for a city park, but it has its drawbacks. For one, it's free during the week and can be outrageously overcrowded. Also, goats lick your hand.









Right after this photo, a bully-goat pushed all the other goats out of the way. Jerk.









I had a math teacher in high school who would say: "It doesn't take me all day to look at a hot horseshoe." Jefferson figured out that if you throw the goat food a) you can starve the mean goat and b) you don't get licked.









Mom told us to smile.









Hail the conquering hero.












When was the last time you had this much fun? Before you had a car payment, I bet.












Four hours of driving, one crazed lunatic blocking the highway, and one unplanned night spent and my aunt's house later, we were in St. Louis. Jefferson had been such a good boy on our trip that we rewarded him with a trip to The Magic House. Despite how I act, The Magic House is fun for dads too.









We were relieved that this thing didn't have any of that German E. coli on it ... just the good ol' American kind.









Look how proud he is to have caught this magnetic fish (note: I caught the fish)!












Who's the banker now, Uncle Joby?









The last two times we went to The Magic House, Jefferson wouldn't have gotten in this thing for anything. It's a three-stories high plant and there's no way to get hurt (except for rug burn off those leaves). He always liked the looks of it from a distance, but the closer he'd get to it the more freaked out he'd get. This time he scaled it with no fear.












Almost to the top...












Until next time...

Exploring I-70, Part 1: "Our 3rd Major League Ballpark This Season" Edition

The Warriors Three went to Nebraska. That basically involves driving all the way across both Missouri and Kansas. In Topeka, we wanted pancakes. We asked for a sign.












One summer in grad school I did some consulting work that required me to sit at the Kansas Supreme Court law library for hours, getting paid to write goofy emails to my future wife and dodge the Fred Phelps protesters out front. I must have driven by this place 20 times and never noticed it. The waitress recommended the banana-pecan pancakes. They were outrageous. Classic.









On the way to the Interstate, we saw this gentleman. He saw us taking this photo from the car and, as you can see, posed. He was dancing maniacally (we heard no music) and would occasionally bend over and kiss that flag. God bless America. And especially bless this guy.









Jefferson and I had a Freaky Friday incident in Nebraska. I blame the Unicameral.












White Castle started selling sliders in Wichita in 1921, became a chain (with no locations in Wichita), and continues to provide drunks with disgusting food that comes out almost as quickly as it goes in. Cozy Inn started selling sliders in Salina in 1922 ...









... at this location ...












... cooked on this griddle ...









... eaten by patrons on these six stools.












These are exquisite.









We've been lucky enough to go to Wrigley Field and Great American Ballpark to see baseball this season. Although the Warriors Three prefer the senior circuit, we got a good deal on Royals tickets.









When the Royals renovated Kaufman stadium they stuck a bunch of kid friendly stuff in the outfield concourse. This merry-go-round was fun, but Slugger gives me the creeps. The crown is part of his head. He reminds me of the artist rendering on the Sea Monkey package. We saw the "real" slugger later. Jefferson asked "Dad, what's inside Slugger?" I told him there was a guy in there. He said: "Um ... does he have sharp teeth?" Me: "The guy or Slugger?"












Although we were thrilled to be at the ballpark (yes, even watching the Royals), the real reason we were there was this li'l guy. My friends Len and Marcia brought Kai, who was as good-natured a baby as I've ever seen. And he thought Jefferson was hilarious. Of course, Jefferson brought his "A" material: hiding your hat and then making it appear again is killer stuff.












Our view. I sat behind an old guy who a) smuggled in a Popeye's spicy two-piece dinner (including red beans and rice) and b) saw Koufax pitch as a kid. In addition to the chicken dinner, his duffel bag was loaded with other goodies. He shared his Red Vines with all of us. Still felt jealous about him seeing Koufax. Honestly, I was jealous about the chicken too.









Stay tuned for Ballpark 4: Busch Stadium ... coming in June.