Brennans at Nauset

This weekend, Neilson and I went to visit some friends who live on Cape Cod (all year round!). One of the highlights was running into a group of Brennans on Nauset Beach. Neilson spotted them at Liam's (Philbrick's). It is pretty funny to hear him tell the story. He basically told me, "I was looking at this little girl and thought, boy does she look like Eliza. And then I thought, gee that guy next to her looks just like Liam." And then he realized that there were in fact 5 Brennan cousins there--Eliza, Liam, John, Erin and Sean. We moved and sat with them--they were sitting right were we always sat, to the right of the boardwalk. Here are some photos of Brennans at Nauset through the ages. I think creatures of habit might be the appropriate term.
















You can see more shots of this weekend on Neilson's and my flicker accounts

More Comic Con

A few more pics from San Diego.


Calvin accepting award at the Eisner ceremony for Matt Baker, a pioneer African American cartoonist who was inducted into the Hall of Fame.


Derek Kirk Kim with Kolbe Yang, cartoonist Gene Yang's son at their table in Artist's Alley.


Ludacris is a Comic Con regular now.


Scott McCloud and Brian Lee O'Malley- Scott Pilgrim movie coming soon!


Homer.


I loved her outfit.


My friend Susan with the Poketo folks- great stuff as always! Susan and I had a wonderful time walking the floor and shopping.


Many fans.


Transformers. This is a franchise I don't really relate to, though they look pretty cool, I think its the voices.


All Con coverage must have a Wonder Woman pic.

San Diego Comic Con

Yes, its Comic Con time again. It is enormously fun, as always. I saw Hurley from Lost (Jorge Garcia) on the floor! He really is a fanboy! Did anyone notice Google is celebrating Comic Con with a drawing by legendary comics artist Jim Lee? Comics have certainly gone mainstream, though I guess there was always a major geek cross-over.

One thing about Comic Con, you don't get a lot of sleep. I will post again when I've had a nap, here are a few pictures for now.


Here he is! I sheepishly asked permission and apologized profusely for taking his picture, but I couldn't pass this up. Hurley on the floor of the Con!


Calvin chatting with Blair Butler of G4 Attack of the Show on preview night at the DC booth.


Calvin tweets (this happens often).


Man of Steel shakes hand of headless Victorian.


Ronnie del Carmen, cartoonist and Story Supervisor for Up- a lot of the Pixar artists do comics as well. His are charming.


Enrico Casarosa, another Pixar artist, author of The Venice Chronicles, one of my favorite books I've gotten at the con so far.

40-65-90

As some of you know, Grandmary and Trish (Mom) are in NYC. We are celebrating our joint birthdays--although they are spread out over 6 months, we all have "big" birthdays this year. 40-65-90. We have had a great time. On Tuesday, we went to Marinella, a neighborhood favorite and the site of many family celebrations, including Hosmer's 90th birthday and Eric's graduation dinner. Yesterday, we went to see 500 Days of Summer, which was a hit with us all, had an early dinner at Joe Allen's, a NY institution, then went to see the much-celebrated revival of South Pacific. It lived up to the hype.

Dinner at Marinella

40 Years Ago

Coney Island

On Sunday, Neilson and I headed out to Coney Island. I didn't go last summer, not even for the Mermaid Parade, and I missed it. I'm not sure what the state of the development plan is now with the economic downturn, but I'm happy to report that its seedy charm, for now, is pretty much intact. In recent years, Coney Island has gotten even better, in my opinion, as it has become a great place to get Mexican food. We had delicious tacos, took a dip, and drank icy Coronas on the beach out of brown paper bags, which we purchased from someone selling them out of a backpack. Later we had a Coney Island classic--soft serve twists. (When I was little, the only place I ever had soft serve was the one week we went Cape Cod each July. There must have been other places where I could have had it, but I don't remember it ever being an option. So, therefore, I still consider it a special treat, even though I now live in a city where it is sold on every other corner all summer long.)

Pie

My friend Elaine Tin Nyo makes the best cherry pie in the world. I am not exaggerating, it is perfect. Here's a picture- breakfast pie!



Her pie is not only fabulous, she loves to share it, and documents the process. She kindly brought me a slice on Saturday, when I was feeling under the weather, and she also got me to leave my apartment to enjoy a perfect NY sunny summer day. This made my weekend.

Elaine is a wonderful artist, here's a link to a project she's doing with a small group of artists at the Phillips Collection in DC, Touch and Taste, a project she started when on a residency in Korea.

Audrey in Repose

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Originally uploaded by neilsonabeel

Audrey really, really likes sitting on my computer, when she is not snacking on the spider plant.

Josephine In Action Again

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Originally uploaded by neilsonabeel

Josephine takes on a piece of string--while taking a break from catching up on her New York Magazines.

Asterios Polyp

I have to post about this great new graphic novel by David Mazzuchelli, cartoonist extraordinaire. David has an unusual history as a comics artist, he started with Marvel, did Daredevil and Batman comics, and moved on to be one of the most thoughtful "indy" cartoonists around. He draws beautifully, and finds the exact style appropriate to whatever story he is telling.

Calvin interviewed designer Chip Kidd and Pantheon editor Dan Frank talking about this fabulous book in PWCW. And If you're in NY, go to MoCCA to see an exhibition of David's work.

Finger Lakes Delicacies

Clockwise from top: lettuce, strawberries, sour + sweet cherries,raspberries, raspberries, strawberries


The cherries are wonderful (and half gone after an hour!)

Oswego- July 4th etc.

We had a great time in Oswego- exhausting, productive and fun. Here are a few pictures, many more on flickr


Flo at stands


Cold and windy





dread fruity beer.






4th of July dinner








OS 52 drives away


Flo with John's repaired and reinstalled railing.