Saturday we met up with our good friends Kirk and Laura at Universal Studios around 5 pm. We thought the plan was to meet for dinner and to stroll through the Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. And it was..sort of. It turned out that Kirk and Laura wanted to treat us to dinner for our anniversary and had made reservations at a restaurant that Blog Girl and I had looked at back in October and said we wanted to come back and try; the interesting eatery known as Mythos, Grotto of the Gods.

Mythos is located on the Islands of Adventure section of the park in The Lost Continent. The interior of the restaurant is filled, or rather I should say the walls, ceiling and floor are shaped like incredible statues of mythical creatures and there is a waterway running throughout the restaurant. The water represents the River Styx and the mythical shapes are Perseus, Andromeda and Cassiopeia, among many others. Click on my Flickr Badge on the right and you can see pictures from inside the restaurant of the various mythical gods and goddesses.

I had the filet mignon with asparagus tips and fried onion sticks and it was delicious. Cooked as I asked (medium-well), flavorful, tender and juicy. We enjoyed the food and the chance to catch up with each other (mostly Kirk and I, as Blog Girl and Laura work together). The atmosphere of the restaurant, the decor, the lighting and the otherworldly ambience, made for a delightful experience.

After leaving there we walked through the rest of the Islands of Adventure section, passing through Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, Marvel Superhero Island and Dr. Seuss Landing before heading over to Universal Studios to enjoy the fun of Mardi Gras, or at least the early part of the celebration. Lots of pictures over on my Flickr page.

We finished up with an ice cream dessert and left for home around 9:30. We had a wonderful time and appreciated the gift of the fantastic dinner our friends gave us for our anniversary. Thanks, Kirk and Laura.

April is Autism Awareness Month. Autism receives as little as 5% of the research funding as other less common diseases.

A couple of friends have asked how the 10th Wedding Anniversary celebration went, so I guess I should post a little about it.

When Blog Girl awoke on Friday morning I had a nice card waiting for her, but that was all…for the moment.

At about 11am the dozen red premium (premium translates to about $30 added to the price) roses I had asked to be delivered at 9am finally arrived at her office, surprising her and making her the envy of the rest of the staff.

I have a gripe about florists (at least the last 2 I’ve used in the area where Blog Girl works) but this is not the place for that rant. Maybe some other time.

Blog Girl and I each got off work a little early to come back to the Blog Cave and get “freshened up”, as she likes to say, before heading out to a 5:50pm (that’s important) dinner at EPCOT.

Yes, EPCOT.

If you’re unfamiliar with EPCOT, that might seem like an odd choice of location for a 10th Wedding Anniversary dinner. But in the World Showcase section of EPCOT there is the French Pavilion (it even has a scaled-down version of the Eiffel Tower) and in the French Pavilion is a popular French restaurant named Les Chefs de France. Although 5 weeks after our anniversary we would be in the country of France itself (4 weeks now), we thought it would be fun to “visit” a little early by having dinner in a French restaurant.

We arrived a little early for our 5:50pm dinner (that’s important), so we went over to a little theater where they show an 18 minute film about France. Amazingly, in all the years I’ve been going to EPCOT, I’d never known the theater was even there, or what it showed. The semi-circle shape of the seats and screens gives you the impression you are flying through the sky over landmarks, castles, rivers and countryside. It only served to increase my desire to visit this beautiful country.

We arrived at the restaurant at approximately 5:45pm (that’s important) and as I stepped up to the podium where the Maitre’De was standing and greeted him with an excellent (if I DO say so myself) “bon jour”… he actually laughed and then stifled it. I asked him “What?” but he just kept looking down at the reservation book and, while smiling, told us it would be a few moments before our table was ready. I’m still not sure why he laughed. I used the proper form of greeting (if it had been after 6pm, and thus in the evening, the proper greeting would have been “bon soir”) and my pronunciation was decent, I thought. It’s not like I said “Bone Jore” or something like that.

Anyway, the meal was good, the service was excellent, the company was perfect and I discovered I don’t care for Creme Brulée.

After the meal we walked around the rest of the World Showcase, buying some things for Blog Girl at the Moroccan Pavilion and an Easter present for Mikey at the Japanese Pavilion before returning home around 8:30.

More about our Anniversary Celebration tomorrow.

April is Autism Awareness Month. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders to be about one in every 150 children.

MegaCon 2007 opened yesterday at the Orange County Convention Center and runs through Sunday at 5pm. You can get my take on the first day here, and ZenGrrl’s here over on Orlando MetroBlog.

As expected, today is a madhouse! Saturday is always like this. Friday is light because it’s a workday, Sunday because things are winding down. Saturday is most people’s favorite day to come. It began with the line to get into the parking lot stretching out to International Drive (when are they EVER going to build a parking garage for the West, or “old” concourse?), the long walk from the satellite parking lot that we had to be directed to because the regular one was filled and they no longer offer a timely shuttle service from that location, and then the shoulder to shoulder crowding within the “C” Hall as thousands of fans, many of them adorned in costumes of their favorite character from comic books, movies, novels and video games.

We finally made our way to the room for the first panel we wanted to attend, “Not My Character” which featured Brian Pulido, Mike Carey and my favorite, Barbara Kesel (I thoroughly enjoyed her panel at last year’s Orlando Comic-Con) speaking and answering questions about how they, as writers, take on a character that was created by someone else and move the character forward. They offered some very interesting insights into the process and their thinking on what works and what doesn’t.

After that was the “Marvelous Men” panel in the same room (no fighting the crowds) that included Steve McNiven, Mike Perkins, Tim Townsend, David Finch and, sitting in the for the absent Jimmy Cheung, Brandon Peterson, talking about what is happening within their own titles and across Marvel Comics as a whole. I stayed for almost all of this one, then ducked out early to attend the “What’s New In The DCU” panel right next door (again, no fighting the crowds) that was run by DC Comics Senior Editor Mike Marts, writer Jimmy Palmiotti, and artists J.G. Jones and Ethan Van Scriver as they discussed the possible ramifications of the “52″ storyline and it’s follow-up, “World War III”, the All-Star line and some of the non-superhero genre books (specifically Palmiotti’s Jonah Hex western).

After that I fought the crowds to go downstairs to the main dealer’s hall and there had to be 10 times more people there than the previous day. It took short, shuffling footsteps and was so crowded that I thought some people should have at least asked me out to dinner first. After scoping out the celebrity area I shuffled my way back out to the front hall and took several pictures of fans in costume. I was hungry but the food court area was completely filled (so much so that people were sitting on the floor in the front hall trying to eat) and I really did not want to eat at a place that serves worse quality food than the theme parks at even higher prices.

It’s 2:30pm now and I’m sitting in a chair in the front hall that I grabbed as soon as someone moved their ass out of it so I could write this and not have to sit on the floor. I’m watching a man inventory a pile of comic books he just bought, checking them off of a list he brought with him that he undoubtedly printed at home. I know, I’ve been there and done that. (Hey, I’m wearing my “Say No To Kryptonite” tee shirt! I know I’m geeky.) The crowd is mostly younger adults in the 18-35 year old range, but there are also younger teenagers and senior citizens in attendance. People in costume continue to stream through the entrance doors and make their way to the dealer’s room area. From my vantage point I can see the attendees of the Orlando Trucker’s Convention lined up at the hall entrance next door, staring at the parade of what I am sure they regard as weirdness (and let’s face it. it is) walk past them. Of course the sight of so many shapely young women in various stages of undress who are not asking them for a lap dance might be appealing to the majority of them.

Time has passed for me, but not for you unless you got up and stopped reading after the previous paragraph.

I went back to the first room we had been for a “Special Panel TBA” which turned out to be a tribute to MegaCon Guest of Honor Dick Giordano. Mr. Giordano has been in the comic book industry since 1951, working as an artist and inker, then serving as Editor in Chief of Charlton Comics and later as the Executive Editorial Director of DC Comics. In recent years, he and his creative partners formed Future Entertainment, a multi-media company. Comic book luminaries and legends such as George Perez, Adam Kubert and Brian Pulido, among others, took to the dais to honor Mr. Giordano. As a crowning touch, a proclamation from Orange County Mayor Crotty was read, designating February 17, 2007 as “Dick Giordano Day”.

The surprise tribute was over just in time for me to then head over to the “2007 Web Cartoonist Choice Awards” presented by CCA. A list of the nominees and winners can be found at their website. An interesting situation has occurred. I grabbed a chair and table at the back of the room after the Web Cartoonist Choice Awards ceremony was over to do some writing. The next event had been cancelled because the guest who was scheduled to appear was stuck up north due to the blizzard. In the course of 45 minutes 20 people or so have approached me while I’m banging away on my laptop, apparently under the impression I am in charge of something. Fortunately, I know what is going on and what the schedule is so I can direct them to the correct room or give the information they need, but it kind of troubles me that I LOOK like such a huge geek, LOL.

Time has passed, I hope you’re still here.

At 5pm, I joined Michelle for the “Meet The Stars” panel featuring a question and answer session with Battlestar Galactica stars Mary McDonnell and Jamie Barber. I don’t watch the show (I know, sacrilege. I’ll catch up by watching the DVD’s one day) but my friend Kirk is a huge fan so I was wishing he had been there to enjoy the interaction between the show’s stars and fans. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these performers and watching them and listening to how passionate they are about their show makes me want to watch it even more than before.

See you there tomorrow?

When I read my first Winnie the Pooh book, The House at Pooh Corner, some 45 years ago, I immediately chose Piglet as my favorite resident of the Hundred Acre Wood. He was quiet (I was shy), intelligent (I wanted to be), logical (my role model before Spock), noble (I had a bad “hero complex”), and bouncy Tigger sometimes made him nervous (bouncy people still make me concerned…I have to step back and regard them with an even more critical eye than usual. Interestingly, that is not the case with Blog Girl who is definitely bouncy and idolizes Tigger, so love must have some mitigating influence).

But enough about my psychoses.

According to the Chinese calendar, 2007 is the Year of the Pig. In conjunction with that observance, the Walt Disney Company and the People’s Republic of China issued the following press release:

Disney Declares the ‘Year of Piglet’

2007 may be the Year of the Pig, but Disney declared it the “Year of Piglet” by launching a brand new postage stamp that pays homage to Pooh’s best pink pal.

Inaugural Ceremony
The Stamp Launch Event took place on January 9 at the Shanghai Post Museum, where 170 people, including celebrities, members of the media, VIPs and Post Office officials, gathered to celebrate a very big day for the “very small animal.” The event served as Piglet’s first press launch as well as a forum to reveal various synergy programs between Disney and the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

CEO of TWDC China Stanley Cheung joined Mark Coleman, senior vice president, Global Stationery, China Post GM Mr. Rui and Shanghai Post’s Deputy Director Mr. Yang Wen Xin to officially ring in the Year of Piglet and inaugurate the stamp set. Following speeches, the group unveiled the new stamp and bestowed the first postmark on a mammoth Piglet-themed postcard.

Piglet Synergy
Some of the most exciting aspects of the Year of Piglet are the new synergy opportunities it creates for partners like Walt Disney Internet Group, Disney Publishing and Walt Disney TV. For its part, WDIG plans to promote the stamp by making its image available for mobile download and to insert promotional leaflets in each set that also introduce www.disney.com.cn, the official Disney China website. Charity activities inspired by Piglet’s stamp will also promote Disney’s China outreach program.

DPW intends to feature the Piglet stamp in three upcoming issues of Pooh Magazine, as well as offer gift-with-purchase and enter-to-win promotions that highlight Global Stationery products.

Promotions on Disney Dragon Club TV and posters plastered on all PRC Post Office walls will also maximize Piglet’s exposure.

With the stamp so ceremoniously launched and promotions in full swing, consider the Year of Piglet signed, sealed and delivered.

Here’s a picture of what the sheet of Piglet stamps will look like.