I have suddenly found myself in the position of itinerary planner and driver for Mysterium 2007, which takes place this weekend in Santa Monica, CA. If you are in the area, and you love Myst or URU, stop over at the Comfort Inn on Santa Monica Blvd. each morning at ten this weekend for a fun-filled day of activities! More information about the event can be found in this thread.

Today I woke up to some exciting news:

I wanted to take a moment to thank you personally for your submission for this year’s Mysterium logo, and also to extend my congratulations! Your Hollywood Walk of Fame star logo was selected for the official Mysterium 2007 logo! We truly appreciate your artwork, as well as all you have done over the years in the community. Congratulations and thank you!

What does this all mean? Mysterium is a convention of fans celebrating Myst, a computer game dynasty that has seen five games, several books, and more recently the online spinoff URU. More importantly, Myst – and the company behind it, Cyan – has been a great inspiration for me. Some of the first computer games I ever played were Cyan’s “The Manhole” and “Cosmic Osmo,” non-violent titles that valued exploration & imagination over mindless destruction (although there is a time and place for that as well).

I have been participating in the Myst community for a long time, but never in an outgoing way. Myst, as many know, was a groundbreaking title that broke records and set precedents for the computer industry. And it was made by a small team, led by the Miller Brothers, in a garage in Spokane, Washington. That brotherly/garage mentality greatly impacted my then six-year old self, and it can be argued that it was a major driving force behind the creation of Penguinbros.com.

Having my design chosen to represent Mysterium is to me an important achievement because it’s a real opportunity for me to give back to a company and a community as a way of saying, “thanks.” And we brothers Penguin will continue to give back to each of our supporters who make this endeavor all worthwhile.

Now I’m off to see my brother in the big city. Maybe he can tell you what’s going on in his life…

Day 1: Traveling by train with my school chums Sally and Dante, we arrived in Grand Central Station in the late afternoon. We waited for a long time for a bus to take us to the Jacob Javits center which never came. To get to the convention, we had to take the subway. This normally wouldn’t be difficult, but my friends were dressed as Batwoman and the Punisher. We naturally attracted a lot of attention from passersby (my favorite response was a street musician playing the “Batman” theme on his saxophone as we passed).

It was particularly windy as we approached the Javits center. I was prepared, but Sally/Batwoman was suffering. When we got inside we were immediately shifted outside to wait in a twisting line. Luckily, we got to the convention floor in really no time at all. I stuck with my pals for a bit, but the draw of the SLG booth was too powerful. I’ve got a friend there in Landry Walker, you see.

Other folks I got to see were the Dumbrella crew, the man behind Dr. McNinja, and Garry Black of Jet Pack Pets fame. Very Nice.

Landry and I had been planning for some time to go at it in Mario Kart DS. We had a throwdown then and there – no contest. I was the undisputed champ. Jhonen Vasquez saw what we were doing and lamented that he hadn’t brought his DS. I joked that he should bring it tomorrow. Yeah, right; did he wanted to get beaten too?

After this my brother showed up (we didn’t travel together, if you’ve been paying attention). He had a lot of homework this weekend so he made a point of visiting the Con on Friday to get the whole thing done with in a single go. I estimate he “did” the the con in twenty minutes, seeing and meeting just as many people and things as I did in the last few hours.

We then met up with our friend Pinguino, and traveled with her to the restaurant NINJA New York. It was a wacky experience being served by ninjas, but Red referred to it derisively as a “Ninja Goofy’s Kitchen.” Still, seeing friends, and especially seeing my brother, was a great experience. Even though we are only hours apart we don’t get the opportunity to hang out that often, so the NY Comic Con was kind of a blessing. But enough with the sappy talk.

Day 2: After spending a comfortable night on Red’s bed (as he uncomfortably slept on the floor), we parted and I subwayed to the convention. Upon arrival I bothered Landry again. Then I found my school friends from simply walking around. Today Dante was dressed as the Marvel character “Multiple Man,” and Sally was “Dark Phoenix.” While Multiple Man had a difficult time being recognized by the crowd, Phoenix couldn’t walk two steps without ten different people asking for her picture. It was highly amusing.

I saw more of the convention with Dante, like the artist alley and the food court. But I didn’t eat – the con had totally sapped my wallet. One of my favorite purchases of the day was an old Batman comic (more on that some other time). Then 4:00 came and I was at the SLG booth, when suddenly the stars alligned and the DSes were whipped out: it was me, Landry, and Jhonen Vasquez hitting the Mario Kart DS.

I won seven times, Jhonen won twice, and Landry once. But a rematch is going to happen: I guarantee it. That was pretty much the highlight of the convention, and I left on that high, knowing I had soundly thrashed the SLG booth with my elite skills (Evan Dorkin included, but with my backpack and not my skills. Sorry Evan).

So, my final thoughts? This was a much better convention than last year’s, where I barely got in. They expanded the space, which really made everything that much more enjoyable. It was a lot of fun going with my friends, but it was best being with my brother. Oh, and a final aside: I stayed last night at my friend Doug Lee’s apartment. He hooked me up with a Nickelodeon Hat and a Apple t-shirt. The Nick hat was cool because I don’t have any wearable swag from working there. The Apple shirt is unique because it’s only get-able at the Cupertino Apple Store. So that’s the end of my report! I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope to bring you more news from upcoming conventions :wink-wink:

Someday soon you’ll be able to buy these. Just a heads-up.

EDIT: The link has indeed become unavailable for non-subscribers. I have archived the article here for your convenience.

The second Residents themed update is this week’s antiART. Before I post it, I should probably mention where it’s sourced from. In 2004, Red Penguin and I were commissioned to do a one minute music video for The Residents for their Commercial DVD. The video, which we’ve never made available until now out of respect for the band, is called Secrets.

So if you seen the video by now, you may recognize this image of the “Spider City.” It’s the cityscape backdrop in second shot featuring the spider towards the end. I’d post the other backdrop, but Red made that one and I don’t know how he’d take to that (maybe I should ask?)

We’ve reached the end of it, but it’s only just beginning! Stay Tuned!

But that’s not all! Because the Residents (and Museum of Modern Art representatives) liked the video so much, it was chosen as one of six to be screened at a MoMA event on October 19th. At this Residents retrospective (which will most likely be attended by Hardy Fox and Homer Flynn of the Cryptic Corp) our movie’s going to be thrown up on a big screen in front of a packed theatre. Is that cool or what?

So if you are in the New York area, you will have a unique opportunity to meet us, the Penguin Bros – in person! In the days approaching the event I will explain how things will go down in greater detail. Until next time, WOOOO!

Here’s a deal. Red Penguin and I will be in San Diego for the San Diego Comic Con. We don’t have a booth – this year – but we have a presence anyway. Look for us in these distinctive t-shirts:

If you find us, and mention Penguinbros.com (so we know you’re not just a crazy person) we’ll offer you a copy of The Finch! That’s right, The Finch! It’s done, and we have a limited amount of copies that we’re offering for free or 25 cents. We’re very proud of the comic, and truly believe it’s worth at least 25 cents. But hey, if you’re not good for it, take it for free. We won’t think any less of you.

Well, that’s it for now. Hopefully we’ll have something more to show post-Con but until that time comes, enjoy yourself.