If you're an avid, rabid fan of the NBC TV series "Heroes", you would know about the recent Heroes World Tour during Aug. 26 to Sep. 2. that had 12 cast members and 3 creators travelling to promote Season 2 and Season 1 DVD and HD DVD releases. The tour was split into 3 legs, with groups of 4 cast members each trekking to destinations in North America, Europe, and Asia -- 8 cities in 8 days. The 2-hour fan event at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto featured a Q&A and autograph session with Jeph Loeb (co-exec producer/writer), Zachary Quinto (Sylar), James Kyson Lee (Ando), Noah Gray-Cabey (Micah), and Dania Ramirez (Maya). I got to briefly say hi and shake hands with all 4 actors. Sylar stole my power, but I lived, haha! 
(Yes I know, if evil brain-sucking Sylar really stole my power, I'd be dead.)
I also know that I run the risk of boring the non-Heroes-enthusiasts among my readers, so I'll try to balance the full-frontal geekery with other... stuff. I only have a vague notion of what that stuff will be... If you've ever seen ultrasound images of a fetus, they're generally grainy and out of focus. As the fetus develops, little toes, fingers, etc. become clearly visible. OK, so I never plan what I write in my blogaroo. I just type the abstract thoughts streaming through my head as they come into semi-focus. Lately, my head seems to be suspended in thick amniotic baby goo, which may explain the ongoing derelict state of my blog. One entry in September... 13 days ago.
Follow me on my 5-part series about my experience at the Heroes event. Ehrm... I have a lot of jumbled thoughts and grainy photos, so rather than dumping them all at once, I thought I'd dish out the crap in several parts.
The Heroes arrived at 12 noon and the event ended at 2 PM. I arrived an hour early, but there were a few cool fan activities throughout the square to help pass the time. I moseyed over to the anime artwork area where 4 young artists had set up their easels, canvases, and portfolios. I am only guessing... when I say that each artist had painted an abstract landscape that represents 1 of the 8 Heroes World Tour cities. The only one I liked:
My guess? Land of the Rising Sun... Tokyo, Japan. See the red sun and the Tokyo Tower? Apparently, Japan's last wild stork died in 1971 and all the storks in Japan are artificially bred. Super mutant brain-sucking evil birdies. OK, I didn't ask the girl or the other 3 dudes about their compositions. 
Maybe I was expecting a few dark post-apocalyptic scenes in the style of Isaac Mendez (Heroes) -- the sexy, heroin-addicted, struggling artist who draws his premonitions of future events, haha. 
Here are the other 3, in this order -- Paris, New York City, and Hong Kong or possibly Singapore. Hover your mouse cursor over any image to read its description. To cycle through all thumbnails, click on the first thumbnail to view full-size image:
I really enjoy observing artists at work... during the moments of creation. What are they thinking? Seeing? Doing? How? Why? I learn by observing.
Whether it's a painter confronting a virginal canvas, a sculptor staring at a raw chunk of stone, a student doing a fill-in-the-blanks quiz or a blogger in front of a computer screen... we are all humbled by the blank space.
Side note, trying to get unstuck in life... is hard work. Enough said. 
Oh, please remember to come back if you want to see more Heroes stuff!
Adieu for now, 
Super Hobbit
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Oh my! I love Heroes and Sylar!
Was he good looking in person as well?
Have a nice day!
OMG. I'm an anime fan, too. Naku, how I wish I could bring back my glorious days when I still bragged about my anime art. Teka, I'm changing my image na nga pala.
Unfortunately, I haven't watched the 2nd season of Heroes. I guess I have to wait for the uploads to be available.
Good luck on your PWA bid. You can do it. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I'm not yet a Heroes convert, but I chanced upon it on cable just this week. The episode that I caught was about the 2 Japanese guys who brought a sword to a store and the hero found his dad there. Seems interesting, but I'd like to start from the beginning. Will hunt down a DVD copy. Can't understand some of it yet.
Wow, love those paintings! The Hong Kong one reminds me of Hong Kong and my summer. (:
Great post. I'm not an avid fan of Heroes but a fan nonetheless. <3
A lot of the people I know would be pleased to slice you up alive if they heard you met the Heroes actors. I personally love the show too, but I never seem to be at the right place at the right time.
Not much a fan of the show, honestly. Only saw one episode and had no clue what was going on. Seemed like something I had to see from the beginning. Oh well. I did like the pictures though. :]
I have never seen an episode of Heroes. People are always telling me that I need to watch it because it's good, but I am so far behind that I figure it's just not worth it anymore.
I watched Heroes when I lived in the States. Then I moved to the UK and the episodes were far behind what was showing back home. So I quit watching it and now for the life of me can't remember where I stopped or if the UK episodes are caught up or past what I saw.
So I just gave up.
Sometimes I do the same thing and just write whatever goes in my mind in that moment. The interesting part is that those posts are the most successful.
I have read about anime in so many blogs, but I still don't know what is it.
I've never seen Heroes, but it seems you really like it.
I can completely relate to your last comment about watching artists at work. My friend whom I live with paints. She makes such great paintings and I LOVE watching her paint! I could watch her instead of TV, lol. :p
@Rad: Lee Pace played the role of Jaye Tyler's only brother "Aaron Tyler" (the theology student).
@Leah: Soon. Feeling… bleah. Thanks for the tag.
@Culture Shiok!: Yes, he is proud of his blog. He hopes a lot of people vote for him in People's Choice awards (Blogs cat.).
@Jhed: James Kyson Lee was the friendliest of the bunch. He kept waving to the fans and even went out into the crowd twice to shake hands with us. Sexy? Well, he's got… incredibly smooth skin.
Wait for Parts 4 & 5 for photos.
@Dre: No… and the World Tour ended on Sep. 2.
@Euri: I combined smilies from 2 sets: DeepMojo Mini Emoticon Smilies Set for WordPress AND Animated Chinese Emoticons for Comments. I renamed 22 from the above sets to match the file names of the 22 WordPress default smilies. If you just want the 22 I have on my comment form, just right-click on each emoticon and save the image.
@Pedro: Wow, you really thought that one out, eh? Worth republishing in a post, har. RE: No. 6, I like it! It could fly. And isn't "teLLeport" spelled with one L as in "teleport"?
I've seen Wonderfalls and I loved it. It was weird, funny and a little bit disturbing which is why I love it. I think I've seen the whole 13 eps on cable but I'm not sure. Lee Pace was in it? Was he the love interest bartender? I gotta see that show again.
Such a shame they had to cancel it, it was an intelligent show. We need to see more of that on TV.
You deserve the award because of your blog content. I'd rather read something good once in awhile than be bombarded with nonsense.
I really need to work on my painting skills so that I can rule the world… the world!
So where's Part 2? BTW, I tagged you.
Hmm, I've never heard of that before but I enjoyed reading your blog. Quite interesting. I think I'm gonna have to find out more about it all to fully understand it properly though, lol.
OMG! I'm so jealous of you! I'm such a big fan of Heroes! Sylar can steal my powers anytime he wants to! Just as long as I can hold his hand! LOL!
Oh man, I STILL don't get Heroes. I'm so out of touch with the latest TV shows! I've seen all the hype about Heroes and I tried watching one episode last season and I just couldn't follow. Sigh. I guess I'll have to start from scratch and rent the first season.
But wow, I'm still amazed that you got to shake hands with those folks!
Heroes! I haven't seen the last two seasons.
I've been watching House and they come on at the same time, which sucks 'cos I want to watch both. Oh my gosh, you got to meet Micah! I'm jealous now. 
Anyone already watching the new season? I really like it… but haven't watched the new ones yet…
Wow. That sounds like fun.
Philippine Web Awards Semi-finalist!!!
Max must be so proud! 
I don't watch Heroes and I don't intend to. I might get hooked.
I already have a lot of shows to watch on TV. Especially poker and sports broadcasts. 
I have friends who watch Heroes, so if ever they'd have a tour here, I wouldn't mind seeing them.
Ooh wow. The paintings are pretty cool. Especially the first.
I always wanted to see Milo Ventimiglia coz he is sooo delicious! Hahahaha!
Sounds like you had a good time! And was it nice, meeting those actors in real life? Were they nice?
Always nice to know. And those artists are really talented! I love the Paris one.
Not a fan of Heroes here. (I only saw one ep. but I never got to watch the others, way too dramatic for me.)
About the artwork you liked, perhaps it was trying to explain how the wild storks were gone. See, the tsunami killed them. 
Now I don't see how anime was linked to Heroes.
Whoah! Heroes! =O Heroes is the best. ^^
Aww, Micah is so cute! Lucky you. =(
Hey there, fruity! Nostalgia Manila dropping by, and this is the first time I've seen your blog. Great work! Would love to do a link exchange!
Please get back to me! I'd love to add you to my permanent Link List!
Looking forward to hear back from you!
I can't believe you just touched (and actually held) James Kyson Lee in your hands. O-M-G!
How does he look like? Is he hotter in person?! Gimme the details! LOL!
I thought I already commented here… I can't seem to find mine. Anyway, I haven't witnessed an artist while working at his/her art… One day, I'll try to have that experience, hehe.
Do they have a scheduled stop here in Manila?
I wanna be there, too. XP
P.S. Where'd you get your smileys?
Hello Super Hobbit! Need to watch the new episodes soon. Been so out of the loop.
And yes, it is hard to get unstuck. Just when you think you're finally out of the muck, things get sticky again.
What are those artists thinking? Nothing.
You should have used your seduction powers against Sylar and sucked his powers too… Whatever kind of power I'm talking about here.
"… full frontal geekery…", huh? Sounds strangely kinky.
And I love Heroes. Sylar can suck my power anytime. Hehe.
I don't do television, and I don't do handshakes, so good thing I stayed home!
6 years? Technically, I think I bumped into you in Feb. of 2006. I was travelling by way of train, or perhaps I was there because of a loco motive.
Please be a hero and telleport back in time to Oct 4. 6:26 PM 2007 and change:
"different medium" to "different media" and "is inspired" to "was inspired" and "imaging work" to "imaging works"
Save the grammar leader, save the world.
P.S. Predictions for Season Two.
1. Hiro will get it on with the Swordsmith's daughter whom he finds out is his great-great-great-great grandmother. At that point, Doc Brown will appear in his Delorean and ask him for directions.
2. Parkman and Mohinder will move to Boston where they can raise Molly in the type of "family" that is frowned upon in some other circles.
3. The Primatech Paper Company will be merged with the Dunder Mifflin Scranton office. Dwight Schrute heads ups the hunting down of the Bennets.
4. Nathan looks in the mirror and realizes how lame his beard looks. Seriously…
5. Ando realizes that he too has a special power: living in Japan for about three decades without anyone questioning him about his ridiculous Japanese pronunciation. Thrilled by his new revelation, he accompanies Mohinder to a White Castle to celebrate.
6. Heroes will be retooled as a musical half way through the season.
7. Hossein Viziri will join the cast and he will humble Sylar: old country style.
@Culture Shiok!: Hehe, nope, but Sylar (the actor) squeezed my right hand with BOTH his hands TOO firmly. Oww.
@Pedro: She's pleased. For someone I haven't seen in years, you see through the surface so well. Ultrasound, heh.
In Canada, we spell "traveLing" with two L's as in "traveLLing". You're so American.
@Evilgenius: Sylar is at your home. The next post is ___.
Did you feel like 'Sylar' will cut your skull open?
A friend of mine gave me a copy of Heroes when it was only at the 3rd Episode. I got hooked instantly! I even paid him so that he can download and burn copies for me. LOL. So yeah. Heroes rawks!
Here's looking forward to more pics on the event, kabayan!
Your thoughts on the art thing reminded me of the youngest daughter of one of my online friends, Manila Mom. Her bunso is a budding artist and she is really good! And I kid you not!
It seems the painting you like was inspired by Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa".
Ultrasound imaging works by measuring the time delay between echoes from a wave traveling through different media.
So, what exactly is a wave without a medium? What is a painting without a canvas? A sculpture without the stone or a blog without a blogger? Is it the pristine of the untouched medium or the unperceived form that is humbling? I am not sure, but I do know Hossein Viziri is humbling.
This comment has nothing to do with Heroes and should therefore be different as you requested.
Whoah! A series…
I wonder why Ando is the most active among the Heroes cast. Isn't Hiro the most famous? They even put him in a different storyline as the rest of the cast. And oh, Sylar. Hmmm… brain. Yummm.
I started at Season 2, so I get confused a lot, but I think I like it. Yay.
I haven't finish watching Heroes 1st season. I don't have time for a DVD TV series marathon ever since I hooked up with blogging.
You are lucky, you got a chance to watch them live.
Ahh! Heroes! That series keeps following me around. I really want to see the rest of it. I only saw the first two episodes of Series One.
Those paintings are brilliant. I like the Statue of Liberty best. I know what you mean about being humbled by a negative space… even I'm trying my best to make the space in the comment box look more meaningful by typing out an unnecessarily long comment.
Oh yeah, and I've already subscribed to your ultrasound fetus blog.
You know, at first I liked Heroes but by the third or fourth episode I just lost interest. The same thing happened with me and "Lost". Now I'm into "Moonlight". I wonder how long that one will last with me!
Then again, it is about vampires so it might have some staying power.
It is always great to watch an artist at work. Sometimes you can feel as though you understand exactly what is going on in their heads. I love the work that woman is working on in the third picture. I'd have loved to see the finished product.
I started watching Heroes when it first aired. Unfortunately, I missed a few episodes and now I'm completely confused as to what's going on. Hubby is going to rent the first season for me when it comes out on DVD, then maybe by the time I'm caught up on things - Season 3 will be on the air - heh.
Glad to see you enjoyed yourself. I agree that the image you chose as your favorite is quite gorgeous.
I missed the World Tour… busy working.
Hmm… you could've moved a bit to the right when you took that pic of Paris painting.
Where's Sylar? When's the next post?
I so envy you! Arrr!
I love Heroes, and I'm so glad that it's back. 
Hey, fruity the links for the 3 pics don't seem to work for me. Is there a geographical lock for the thing or something? Just wanted to let you know.
Oh my goodness, geekspasm! I'm so jealous of you right now it hurts, lol. I sure wish they could stop over here, but that's very unlikely… *sigh* Good thing I'd get to read your first hand experience.
My sister's a fine arts student so we get to see a lot of her paintings. And we often check out art exhibits. I tend to gravitate toward the dark and twisty ones though.
OMFGZ HEROES!!! *jumps out of skin for joy*
NEED MOAR HEROES TOUR DETAILS, fruity! MOAAAAR! Braaaaaains…
Yes, Mari would totally expect Isaac Mendez-ish stuff at an art booth at the Heroes World Tour.
A note: the Hong Kong/Singapore landscape was totally trippy. And the Tokyo one was the prettiest.
Waw! Heroes! I am very fond of Micah. Wala lang. That kid is just so cute and precociously amusing.
I hope he's still in the Season 2 of Heroes.