Fan Expo

Last year, we saw the line up to get in, and thought there was no way it would happen, so we simply photogrpahed those in the line. This year, tickets were purchased ahead of time to avoid this problem.
After walking past the suckers in line this year, we got to the front, only to be told that WE were the suckers, cause all those in the line DID have tickets! How stupid was that. We went from Bremer Blvd, up Lower Simcoe St, west on Front, and basically back south near the entrance of the CN Tower. But, that wasn't all, as once in side, we snaked into a series of S lines, before reaching the entrance, where we lined up to get in again! During all this, those that had no tickets were in a different line, which was only about 1/2 the length of the Convention Centre, and watched as they went by us, in a single line, directly to the ticket booth, and into the show! Great idea to pay ahead of time, and get screwed for doing so!

One in the show, I was amazed at how busy it was. Everyone was packed into one hall, circling the aisles, pushed by those behind you. But, in that crowd were lots of dressed up characters.

There were lots of stars attending the show, including Dean Stockwell, from BSG, Quantum Leap, and many other tv shows and movies;



Michael Dorn, who was famous for playing Worf on Star Trek, the Next Generation;



Tahmoh Penikett from BSG;



Lance Henriksen from Terminator, the Alien franchise, and X-Files/Millennium;



And Summer Glau, most famous to me for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.



There were lots of cool costumes, especially those with contacts;







Various Batman Characters;





A Big Sexy Comics girl;



Star Trek fans;



and even Jesus got a wristband to attend!



There were also lots of models around too, including the Tru Blood Girls,







Including a lovely woman providing info on BlackBerry's



And the Tron girls!



A girl we last saw at the Pillow Fight was also taking in the show!



And no Fan Show would be complete without some members from the 501st Legion.







More Star Wars pics can be seen HERE, and more FanExpo pics are HERE.

Colin James - Living Green

The City of Toronto had a Living Green event at Yonge Dundas Square, and the highlight of the event was Colin James performing for the crowd. Unfortunately, we got there just after the event itself was over, but in time to catch the band in action!

Busker-rama

It was Buskerfest this past weekend, down on Front St of Toronto.
The event has been held here for the last few years. As I said in my previous posting, the one thing they need is more elevated stages. Well, it was the same this year! And unfortunately, its also becoming a victim of its own success. When I first used to see busker's, it would be at HarbourFront, and you always had a chance to see the act. Now, its so darn busy, that unless your there when it first starts, your in the fifth row of people, all of whom are, of course, taller than you!

Anyways, a great act was the Quebec Russian Bar Trio,

The men, Yves Gagnon and Marco Dieckmann, hold the Russian Bar, while Christine Bédard performs gymnastic moves that would be impressive on the ground, let alone of the bar.








Another act was FlameOz, which is really designed to be seen at nite.







The Stunt Double Circus who performed with pogo sticks;




The American group Calypso Tumblers, impressed everyone with their straight strength, balancing on each other, as well as tumbling and jumping!







More Photo's will be up on my picture site HERE.

T.O.M.

After seeing a few years of the warbird action at Geneseo, I decided that the opportunity to see 8 flying B-17's was just too much to give up. So, I headed down to the outskirts of Detroit, to see the Thunder Over Michigan airshow, hosted by the Yankee Air Museum.
The theme was the heavy bomber, and with 8 B-17, a B52 flyby, a B-25 and a huge (And I've got to say, strange looking!)B-24,



along with some more modern fighter jets, it lived up to its billing.

Arriving in time for the Friday re-enactors parade, a trip into the downtown of Bellevill led to the start up of the parade. Lots of American, British and German troops, and even a few civilians were on hand. It was lead by a honour guard from the police, and headed down the road.











Saturday we arrived just before the gates opened, and were quickly in a parking spot and checking out the soldiers. Great effort by these guys, with weapons, uniforms and vehicles.









Next was into the airport itself, with what is probably a typical event requirement for the Americans:




Once we were in, it was of to see the bombers up close. Nearly all were completely accessible, with no barriers. Some offered tours for a few dollars.



During the airshow, the did a continous loop across show center.













At the end, the 2 flights of four flew directly at the audience, and most landed afterwards, but three stayed up with a mustang to do a missing man pass



A ground battle, with air support opened the show,



and then the 3 Mustangs of The Horsemen thrilled the audience with the close formation flying.



The F-18 and F-18 were also on hand.





The Canadian Harvards joined up with there brothers, the US T-6 Texan, part of the SCREAM 'N REBEL team.



The best deal of the day for me came at the end of the show. A guy had a scissor jack, and for 10 bucks, you could go up and get a great view of ramp. Unfortunately at the start of the show, he drove away on us! So we waited til the end of the airshow, took a break, then tracked him down again. We ended up between the two groups of B-17's, and then drove down to one end to get some more shots. He felt bad about what happened (turns out someone was supposed to use the jack for the re-enactor battle, but the guy never showed!!), so he gave us an extra long view, and moved us around the ramp! Most of the crowd had left by then, and the light was from behind, so it was a great opportunity to get some neat shots.







I'm uploading a bunch more pictures at my picture web site.

Also, here is a youtube video of the B17's on the ramp, along with a P51, B24, and B17 on the taxiway.