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Derrick Ferguson's Notebook - So What Did You Do This Weekend, Derrick?
10:16 am September 26th, 2005
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So What Did You Do This Weekend, Derrick?
I had a bang up time this weekend, one of the most enjoyable in recent memory as I got to hang out with my posse at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda. After taking the Greyhound from New York to Baltimore I was picked up by Russ Anderson and Tom Jakob, who flew in from Cleveland and we went back to the Anderson home where we were greeted by the beautiful and gracious Mrs. Anderson who couldn't have made us feel more at home as if we were family and spent the night watching 'Chapelle's Show' on DVD. "Oh, shit, It's WAYNE BRADY!" remains as one of the funniest lines I've ever heard and it still cracks me crack up hysterically no matter how many times I hear it.

Saturday we headed into Bethesda where we hooked up with Mike McGee, his charming cousin Carrie and I got to meet Jason Kenney at last. It was terrific finally getting to talk to him in person and we had a ball just kickin' the willy bobo. I'm convinced McGee's cousin is a superheroine since she kept disappearing and when she would rejoin us she would have on different clothes which quickly became the running gag of the day. Y'see, I figured she was flying off to save a town from a breaking dam or extinguishing forest fires with her super breath or stopping a bank robbery and couldn't remember what she had on previously.

The Small Press Expo was interesting and I'm glad I went. I didn't go crazy buying a bunch of stuff but Russ talked me into buying Rich Koslowski's "Three Fingers" which is a darkly hilarious twisted version of toon history told in a documentary style fashion and I'm glad Russ twisted my arm to buy it. And I met a fellow Broooklynite, the writer/artist Batton Lash whose comic strip; "Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of The Macabre" ran for about 15 years in a local newspaper called "The Brooklyn Paper" and "The National Law Journal". It's now a comic book called "Supernatural Law" and I highly recommend it. Batton Lash and I talked about Brooklyn and the obstacles he was facing dealing with Universal who have optioned "Supernatural Law" as a television series.

After the Expo we drove to Carrie's house where we spent a most enjoyable evening talking about movies, writing, comic books, politics, Frontier, Artifice, fan fiction, sex, drugs, the benefits of regular exercise...hell, I don't think there wasn't anything we DIDN'T discuss while consuming heroic amounts of alcoholic beverages foisted upon us by Carrie who I suspect had nefarious plans for us once we were all sufficiently swackered.

Mike McGee is always a lot of fun to be with. After I got over his appearance I was fine. Guy scared the shit outta me since he doesn't look the way he did in the picture I posted here some time back. The guy's got a shave and a haircut (two bits) and actually looks like a regular citizen now. And don't believe the stories you may have heard...McGee is actually funny as hell and he provided me with some of the best laughs of the day.

Russ is The Man as far as I'm concerned. We always have a great time together and he's got some fascinating and exciting plans in mind which I wouldn't dare of spilling here. I'll let him do it in his own way and own time. Tom Jakob is a guy that always impresses me with the depth and range of his artistic knowledge and we got to talk about him doing the cover for the paperback edition of "Dillon And The Legend Of The Golden Bell" which I'm in the process of rewriting now with an eye to getting it ready for publication by the end of this year. Keep yer fingers crossed.

I'm really glad Jason Kenney got to make it. I've known him online for so long I feel like we're old friends and it was good to spend time with him in person and I have the feeling we'll be getting together again soon. He's just that type of regular guy who you actually LIKE being around. And like the rest of the crew he's a guy who when he talks actually has something to say...he doesn't just talk to be talking.

Y'know, you always hear horror stories about how people meet on the Internet and when they finally meet in person it turns out to be a disaster. I consider myself especially blessed because Russ, McGee, Tom and Jason are guys who I've not only come to like and respect as tremendously creative artists but also as friends. We were sitting in the backyard having drinks and talking and at one point I just fell silent and looked around at them and thought how lucky I was to be associated with them and realized that this was a special moment that I would look back on with a lot of fondness.


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So if you ever have a chance to meet any of these guys, do yourself a favor and jump on it with no hesistation whatsoever. They're all standup guys and you'll have a great time. We're already making plans to hook up again next year at The Baltimore Comics Con and if you want to get in on the fun, start making your plans now.

So that was my weekend. How was yours?

Current Mood: relaxed relaxed
Current Music: None
21 comments or Leave a comment
Comments
Thread started by Black John Flint
john_flint From: [info]john_flint Date: September 26th, 2005 08:16 am (UTC) (Link)
I read three chapters on Brain & Behaviour yesterday. I want to mention the substantia nigra in a story sometime as a result, but that's about it.

> and we had a ball just kickin' the willy bobo.

When did you become Australian?
(Reply) (Thread)
dferguson From: [info]dferguson Date: September 26th, 2005 09:01 am (UTC) (Link)
'kickin the willy bobo' is an expression that isn't used much in Brooklyn nowadays but back when I was growing up during the 70's and 80's I heard it a lot. I used to ask my father where he was going and he would respond; "goin' to kick the willy bobo" which basically meant he was going to hang out with his buddies, booze it up and talk shit.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
john_flint From: [info]john_flint Date: September 26th, 2005 10:05 am (UTC) (Link)
Beats kicking Willy in the bobos, I guess. At least for Willy.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
dferguson From: [info]dferguson Date: September 26th, 2005 04:50 pm (UTC) (Link)
Sometimes I don't think you get the point I'm trying to make in my responses
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
john_flint From: [info]john_flint Date: September 26th, 2005 05:05 pm (UTC) (Link)
I get it, doesn't mean I have to respond legibly.
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Thread started by wordsmith1
wordsmith1 From: [info]wordsmith1 Date: September 26th, 2005 08:40 am (UTC) (Link)
I can't wait to tell Carrie she has super-breath. :)

I had a great time too, Derrick. You and yours are always welcome, as long as you don't mind the dogs.

"Does Wayne Brady need to choke a bitch?"
(Reply) (Thread)
dferguson From: [info]dferguson Date: September 26th, 2005 09:06 am (UTC) (Link)
Carrie is mad cool and a wonderful hostess. She really did a great job of entertaining a buncha rowdies and I still can't figure out how she did that thing where she was sitting on the floor without breaking her legs.

And don't listen to Russ, folks....his dogs are adorable.

"It don't sound cool and it don't sound funny....but I beat my (censored) like it owe me money."
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by tjakab
rednever From: [info]rednever Date: September 26th, 2005 08:58 am (UTC) (Link)
We really do need to do that again, hopefully sooner rather than later.

I posted a couple thoughts (though not as insightfully as Derrick did) here:
http://rednever.com/archives/2005/09/endings_beginni_1.html

Thanks for being the gracious host, Russ.
(Reply) (Thread)
dferguson From: [info]dferguson Date: September 26th, 2005 09:49 am (UTC) (Link)
Russ and Trelina were wonderful hosts in every way and they really went out of their way to make us feel at home and accomodate us. It was really a LOT of fun to watch 'Chappelle's Show' with them. You may have seen pictures of Trelina on Russ's personal website but you don't get a sense of how strikingly attractive she is until you see her in person. And her knowledge of movies and comic books is awesome. She's the chick a comic book/movie guy dreams of marrying.

As for Russ...that cat has a collection of original drawings and sketches from some of the biggest names in comics that boggles the mind. I was looking through them and said to him that he should have it immediately appraised and insured as he has some incredibly awesome pieces that...well, you just have to SEE it...that's all I'm saying.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Comment by Jason Sensation
lifeofjason From: [info]lifeofjason Date: September 26th, 2005 09:27 am (UTC) (Link)
Wow, you said it all better than I ever could, D. It was great to finally run into you and we definately have to get together again in the near future. Sorry I couldn't stick around with you guys later.
(Reply) (Thread)
Thread started by physician
From: [info]ex_physician553 Date: September 26th, 2005 02:27 pm (UTC) (Link)
For a second I thought you were Reed Richards with that stretching right arm, then I looked at the photo a bit closer....

Cool photo. That's the sort of thing that will just get cooler with time.
(Reply) (Thread)
frac_ture From: [info]frac_ture Date: September 26th, 2005 04:31 pm (UTC) (Link)
>>For a second I thought you were Reed Richards with that stretching right arm, then I looked at the photo a bit closer....

That's *exactly* what I thought at first, too! Sounds like you guys had a great time, though. Real cool...let us left-coasters know if you're ever headed out toward the Pacific, and maybe we can expand the met-in-person network.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
dferguson From: [info]dferguson Date: September 26th, 2005 05:01 pm (UTC) (Link)
If things go the way Patricia and I plan, we'll be heading out to the West Coast in 2007 and I hope to be able to see most of my West Coast posse then. If an opportunity comes up before then I'll certainly take advantage of it but 2007 is when we're planning our New York to California cross-country trip. And if I'm driving all the way over there I plan to see as many of my peeps as I can.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
efromme From: [info]efromme Date: September 27th, 2005 03:39 am (UTC) (Link)
HA! I was talking to Derrick last night and told him the same exact thing!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by mikeexner3
mikeexner3 From: [info]mikeexner3 Date: September 26th, 2005 05:02 pm (UTC) (Link)
I can just imagine you guys sitting around watching Chapelle's Show into the wee hours of the morning. You guys cracked me up the last time we got together with that. I went to a live show he had in Davis, CA this past weekend. I'll write about it later. Hopefully I can get to Baltimore next year.
(Reply) (Thread)
dferguson From: [info]dferguson Date: September 26th, 2005 05:09 pm (UTC) (Link)
We could have sat up all night watching "Chappelle's Show" if it wasn't for the fact that we had get up early the next morning as Bethesda is about a good hour's drive from where Russ lives.

But we did get to see the episode where Wayne Brady takes over Dave's show and they go hanging out one night; "Oh, shit! It's WAYNE BRADY" as well as the episode where Dave spoofs 'Sesame Street'
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
mcurtis From: [info]mcurtis Date: September 26th, 2005 09:02 pm (UTC) (Link)
The Wayne Brady episode is my favorite Chappelle Show ep. I mean... it's frickin' Wayne Brady! "Does Wayne Brady have to choke a bitch?" I use that line all the time.
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From: [info]unimatrix_one Date: September 28th, 2005 07:31 am (UTC) (Link)

They Showed That Episode This Weekend...
and that ending sketch is my favorite next to Rick James! If Comedy Central cant get Dave back, they should go for Wayne!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by electronictales
electronictales From: [info]electronictales Date: September 27th, 2005 07:17 am (UTC) (Link)

Wrong Coast
Man, I'm just on the wrong side of the continent for these get togethers. I'm going to have to get work on that teleportation device...

Did anyone else notice that the longer Derrick's arm stretches, the paler it gets?
(Reply) (Thread)
votemarvel From: [info]votemarvel Date: September 27th, 2005 01:02 pm (UTC) (Link)

Re: Wrong Coast
Count yourself lucky, I'm on the wrong side of the world.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
electronictales From: [info]electronictales Date: September 27th, 2005 10:16 pm (UTC) (Link)

Re: Wrong Coast
When I get that teleportation device perfected I'll send you the schematics...
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
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