Consolidated Awesome

Contains elevated levels of awesome, adventures, and experiences.

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Board games, RPGs and adventures with friends this weekend in Philadelphia at PAX Unplugged 2023!

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We’ve had a few adventures over the past month or so and are hoping to have many more (with more of the group) very soon! Photos 1-3 are a few that I got from our Wildfire adventure. Jordan, dracoling and bugz all drove up together. Met at the event with Bitz and Scott. Photos 4 &5 from TCAF haul day one and two and 6 is from a nice garden in Toronto. If You have an event you think we should attend let up know! As always more adventures to come 😊

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Consolidated Awesome joined with the AlohAvengers again this year to participate in the Polar Bear Plunge to support Special Olympics NJ at Wildwood NJ. This year our team of 44 plungers raised over $33,000!! Thank you so much to all our supporters and fellow team members! 

This is a great event that we love to participate in each year and have a great time dressing up, being silly, seeing friends and running into the ocean for a good cause. Check out AlohAvengers for more events all year long, and of course check back for more Consolidated Awesome.

-Bugzhu

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SPX 2016 day one haul.

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"We're here!" - @dracoling and @kbbugz

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Aimee posted a great account of her fire spinning adventure with us on her 40 before 40 blog! Here's the link to take a look :)

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Last week Consolidated Awesome went on a trip to the Franklin Institute for the last day of the Pixar exhibit. We had me, @dracoling , Dad, Jess, Nerpski, @skellyscribbles-blog and Rob. It was a grand adventure! I loved how the exhibit gave wonderful insight into each step of the process for putting together a movie. The amount of detail that goes into each step is incredible! They had a ton of "hands on" displays throughout the exhibit so you could see how each step works. Dracoling and I played with the lighting displays and the stop motion animation sections together. Got a great pic of Jess (above) getting an "Ants eye view" of the tree from A Bugs Life, from the display on camera angles and perspective. It was such a fun time seeing the science behind Pixar and spending time together!! SPX is coming up next! Hope to see you there ~ @bugzhu

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Well it’s been a busy few weeks with the Consolidated Awesome Crew. We had Wildfire and Aimee’s 40-before-40 First Burn event.

Wildfire was amazing! I took a few new rope dart classes and a zen class, which was very inspirational; Jordan took way MORE rope dart classes; dracoling took some new classes (Fire eating and fleshing) and some old (intro to multisphere) and even sort of taught his own renegade class on locks on the porch =) Jess, Nerpski, Bitz and Scott were all doing tons of stuff too (firebreathing, volunteering, relaxing on the porch). This event is so crazy in that you can be so busy and do nothing almost at the same time. 

No matter what was going on during the day we always made sure to find each other near the burn field at night. Sometimes we’d just hang out and see how the day was, sometimes we’d grab someone to safety us for a burn/spin session. But it was nice to know I never had to wander far to find my friends. 

40-Before-40- So my friend Aimee is trying to do 40 new things before her 40th birthday! An awesome idea that we here at Consolidated Awesome are super behind. (She does really great blog posts about them too, which i will link to ASAP)

Aimee had heard about our fire spinning from dracoling and I after recital (and Jordan and I at a party) and was intrigued but nervous. I told her we’d set it all up and she’d have a great time. So after a while we finally found a date that worked (and wasn’t raining) and had a party in dracoling’s yard, which also happened to be the 1 year anniversary of him buying the house! Scott, Jordan and dracoling Taught her a few basic moves with several different props till we found which one she might be comfortable spinning. Then after a tasty little dinner we started spinning fire; I spun poi, Jordan rope dart and a little staff, Scott spun lots of things. Finally we got Aimee up to take her turn with the fire staff! With Jordan as safety and Scott spinning off the excess fuel, Aimee did a really good job spinning for the first time! She says she even may come do it again with us =) Another item checked off her list!

Since things were so busy I didn’t get a chance to take as many photos as I would have liked. As I find more i’ll post them up here! <3

Bugzhu

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Consolidated Awesome summer update! Things have been busy so far this summer. Lots of normal stuff (beach, WORK, a day trip, work, etc) but one of the fun events the CA crew was able to make it to was the AlohAvengers Beef-n-(polar) bear to benefit Special Olympics. Started plunge raising early this year ;) Lots of fun games, good food, and plenty of drinks were had and all to support a great cause. @dracoling even won a HUGE picnic basket from the raffle, yay picnics :) More on the AlohAvengers here: http://alohavengers.blogspot.com/?m=0 Keep checking back for more updates! Coming up we've got Wildfire retreat, a 40-before-40 event and of course SPX ~bugzhu

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Beyond the Canopy

I was having a rough day so I decided to break out some comics!

Picked up “Beyond the Canopy book 1″ by Jonathan Griffiths ( @greliz ) from TCAF a few weeks ago.  Really enjoyed this book! Made me laugh out loud several times, super cute/fun art and interesting characters. Story focuses around Glenn, a young sprigg who wants more out life, but isn’t sure he’s ready (and who can’t relate to that). Soon he gets wrapped up in bigger things than he was expecting with magic sticks, fending off smarmy skeletons and friday night fisticuffs! I’m very glad we also picked up book 2 so I can continue following the adventures!

Book 1 is the first 4 chapters of the series (with TONS of cool extras). “Beyond the Canopy” is also available online here  and updates Tuesdays and Fridays.

~ @bugzhu  

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Food: Burg’s Bar and Grill

On Sunday of TCAF week @dracoling and I had hit that part of the day where it’s not quite lunch and not quite dinner and you just need to eat something you know is good. We decided to head to Burgs for “lunch”. We had been there last year at the beginning of our Canada trip while they were in the middle of some construction. They had been tasty and friendly then, and we were quite happy to find out that they were happy and friendly still!

He had the fish and chips which were SO tasty and gone SO fast that i did not get a chance to take a photo! I had the Canadian Burger (Burger, Cheddar Cheese [YAY] and Peameal Bacon). I had never had peameal bacon before but it was very tasty. Reminded me of not quite ham, not quite porkroll, not quite normal bacon. The burger itself was perfectly juicy and the fries were delectable. I also had the Brickworks Cider, I’ve fallen in love with it on this trip, which came in a fun mason jar.

I have to say this place has definitely become a staple of our trips and I would go again. For more about Burg’s check here

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Mill Street Brewery Toronto

So on our first exploring day before TCAF we decided to explore the distillery district of Toronto. However by the time we got to the district from where we were both @dracoling and I were ready to really eat before we explored much of it. 

We ended up picking Mill street Brew pub from the restaurants in the area and were very happy with our choice! Although neither of us drink beer we usually have a good time in the pub atmosphere and it’s always interesting to see what breweries have to offer that is new and different.

Starters: The fresh made, on tap root beer was certainly something original and very very tasty. Not too sweet with a nice vanilla finish. We also had some paprika tots that were slightly spicy but very fun and great pairing with the rootbeer.

Dinner: I honestly can’t remember what dracoling got because mine was so delicious it’s all I want now that i’m writing this.

I got the Chicken and Chorizo Pie and it was so wonderful. The top only crust was so buttery and flaky and puffy it was so fun to eat! The interior of the pie was fantastic chicken, perfectly spicy chorizo, bell peppers and spinach to round it all out. I would highly recommend getting this. As you can see above, I destroyed it. And although it was a smaller round pie it was very filling too!

More info on Mill Street Brewery and Pubs: Here

- @bugzhu

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Flimsy! TCAF book review

So while at TCAF I picked up “Flimsy’s Guide to Modern Living” and “Flimsy Kitten’s Party Puzzle Book” (Which i really picked up because it was cute, not realizing it was puzzles =P But i loved it anyway!) Both by Rachael Smith. 

First of all Rachel was super friendly and very fun to talk to at her table, she came all the way from the UK for TCAF! 

Flimsy is a very adorable, funny kitten who gives advice, drinks wine and has parties. I really loved Flimsy’s Guide, the advice is all very sound and presented in a very fun way. I laughed my way through the whole comic! saying at several points “oh, this is SO me” or shaking my head at silly Flimsy.

The Puzzle book is very cute as well. Puzzles and word searches are a little kiddie but still fun! Made me grin at the end of a LONG day. 

Check out more from Flimsy at @askflimsy

More from Rachael Smith (who has some other amazing comics and art) at: www.RachaelSmith.org

~ @bugzhu

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TCAF Haul - Day Two

This may look smaller than Day One, but we got some REALLY big books day two. 

I had my eye on Rachel Smith’s I am Fire! and Artificial Flowers (TCAF Debut!) since yesterday and it was really nice to meet her in person. She traveled all the way from England to be here for her first TCAF.

Three Word Phrase looks like a hilarious collection, @bugzhu picked that one up on the author’s recommendation. 

Oyster War is a book that I feel like we’ve seen posters and promo for and kept meaning to buy, so it was great to get it at TCAF.

Beyond the Canopy caught my eye immediately and after reading the first chapter last night I’m happy to say it looks like it’s going to be an excellent read.

@bugzhu also fell in love with Barbara Yelin’s art at the Word Balloon Academy presentation she did on Friday and had been debating getting her book IRMINA all weekend. I’m proud to say I finally poked her into getting it and when she came back she had the biggest grin of the whole weekend.

We had another excellent TCAF, but the adventures aren’t over yet! We’re in the Toronto area for another day (or so) before heading home so we’re off to see what other fun is out there!

Thanks always for reading, and stay tuned for the next Consolidated Awesome adventure!

~ @dracoling

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7 west cafe review

So in researching fun places to go/eat while at TCAF I found an article about 7 west cafe. Mainly appealing for the facts that they’re 24/7, close to my hotel and “have great Mac and cheese”. What I loved about 7 west: To start with the building (once inside)and decor was adorable, Beautiful arched doorways, old pews for bench seats, great looking tables. We sat downstairs and it was super chill. Upstairs seems to also be very nice. For dinner dracoling had the Mac and cheese with bacon. It was huge! Very fluffy cheese, a little sweet. Different then expected, but very very good.

I had the pesto pollo (pesto and sun dried tomatoes on penne with chicken) and it was INCREDIBLE. I’m not alway a huge fan of sun dried tomatoes because they come out hard, these were a great texture, easy to eat and flavorful. Really enjoyed the dish as a whole (HUGE) and would definitely get it again if/when I go back.

Since the portions were so big we ran out of space for dessert but all their cakes looked incredible. I’m definitely heading over for a midnight snack before the trip is over. Highly recommend!!

Price- while it was cheap it was very reasonable for a nice dinner. (I think our entrees were $16 each) here’s their website for menu, pricing, photos etc :) http://www.7westcafe.com

*edit* we made it over LATE Friday night and had the double layer Carrot cake and the strawberry swirl cheesecake. Both were delicious. Carrot cake was moist and the icing was the perfect amount of sweetness. Again would highly recommend!

-Bugzhu

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Drinking and dice made a story at the cool kids table at TCAFête. Inspired by Rory’s Story Cubes (and plenty of good spirits [and beer]) we went on an adventure!

Writers include (in no particular order and with apologies if I forget [or misname] anyone): @dracoling, @bugzhu​, @caitlindmajor​, @mkhoddy, Amelia, Nick, @lukehumphris, Keith, Jason and Justin. I might be forgetting people, and I’m not sure how to tag some of you because we just met! Please feel free to correct me.

@bugzhu was right, these cubes were totally worth bringing. I had a ton of fun. 

~ @dracoling

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TCAF 2016 Day One

TCAF Haul Day 1. Some SUPER exciting stuff in this pile! @bugzhu is reading Flimsy’s (of @askflimsy fame) Guide to Modern Living right now and cracking up. I’m trying to decide if I have time to read something short from the Toronto Comics Anthology vol 3 (even bigger than last year!) before the TCAFête.

Feet hurt, but it was a GRAND first day for TCAF 2016. If you’re at the event, be sure to check the second floor for Harry Bogosian and J N Monk. Star Hammer looks like a really fun reluctant magical girl story and Demon’s Mirror is nearly 350 pages of vibrant artwork that dragged me across the room and made me buy it. I haven’t gotten to read more than a few pages, but it looks like it’s going to be a really good trip.

Meeting webcomic artists I’ve followed over the years is always hard for me (hooray social anxiety), but I was very surprised and excited to finally meet @angelamelick and pick up some of her Wasted Talent books as well as a great comic print. She’s also got some cool travelogues that I may go back for, because what’s better way to say “thank you for producing awesome content” than buying it with real money and then… you know… actually saying it!

When we stopped over to visit @caitlindmajor​ at the Tinman Creative table I got my first look at Super Science Friends and for a description of that one I’m going to have to quote the website: “Super Science Friends is an animated series about a team of super-powered scientists (Freud, Einstein, Tesla, Darwin & Tapputi) who travel through time fighting nazis, renegade soviet cosmonauts and their own scientific rivals!” How could I _NOT_ buy these immediately?

I think I’m going to go start Star Hammer, and then head off to the party. See you in the next post. Until then, keep being awesome!

~ @dracoling