Minneapolis - a Mecca for Cartoonists?

In her popular comics blog The Beat, Heidi MacDonald today asks the question "Minneapolis - a Mecca For Cartoonists?" (in reference to this webpage). If you are a Minneapolis cartoonist, you probably already know the answer to this... you can share your opinions on the subject in the comments on her blog.

For those of you pondering the question, I refer you to this previous post on this blog on the last five years of activity of the Minneapolis cell of the Cartoonist Conspiracy.

UPDATE: I think Heidi got the link from Tom Spurgeon's excellent Comics Reporter blog... unfortunately, Tom doesn't have a commenting system.

Art School Summer US Premiere

Conspirators Dave and Mary Sandberg have completed a feature length cartoon, Art School Summer, which is having its US premiere in Minneapolis on the 12th! Bill Plympton is the only other animator I'm aware of that has made feature length animated films basically on his own (although their probably have been some others), so big congratulations to them on this amazing and rare accomplishment.

Art School Summer
Saturday Jan 12th at 7:30
Premiering at:
MCAD
2501 Stevens Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55404
In the big auditorium 150

The screening is free but seating might be in short supply.

Note that my understanding is that the film contains a whole lotta content that is not suitable for people under 18... so if you are under 18, please don't try to attend. If you are 18 or over, you won't want to miss it.

There will be a reception afterwards in NE... information on that at the event.

The Twin Cities Rock Atlas in this Week's City Pages

If you're in the Twin Cities, do yourself a favor and don't miss this week's City Pages (December 19, 2007). Kevin Cannon has done an absolutely stunning spread on pages 50 and 55 titled The Twin Cities Rock Atlas that has to be seen to be believed. It highlights numerous music oriented locations around the Twin Cities. It isn't currently online, which is good, because only print could do this justice. The text for the piece is written by City Pages' Peter S. Scholtes (and written well, although it unavoidably and painfully covers the art!)

One of the most outstanding things about Kevin's work is his vast skill at distilling things down to the bare minimum of what they need to be effective. This has never been more evident than in this piece. If you think of icons of Minneapolis, you probably think of the big Grain Belt Bottle cap, the cherry in the spoon, and maybe First Ave. (pictured in the tiny excerpt above from the spread). This spread makes it seem like icons are everywhere, as Kevin beautifully distills the architectural souls of probably a minimum of 50 Twin Cities structures. Not many cartoonists could pull this off, and Kevin makes it look easy.

Happily, City Pages is apparently going to make it into a poster... I don't yet know how they will be making them available, but I sure want one.

I just got an update from Kevin on the posters:

I think CP is going to give away the posters for free.
Word is that they'll be available at the venues that
are on the poster. I'm working on a (Big Time Attic) blog post that
shows the process of making the poster, and there
you'll be able to see all the easter eggs hiding
behind the text (actually there aren't many easter
eggs, but I do have a little Conspiracy guy standing
next to diamond's)...

24 Hour Comics Day Minneapolis Coverage

I just wanted to note that if you are reading this blog, you will not automatically receive event coverage of the Minneapolis event which happened this weekend... and David Steinlicht did a phenomenal job covering it, so I really encourage you to check it out.

Thanks much to David for foregoing drawing to blog on our behalves... thanks much to Danno for organizing the event and talking me into doing it for the fourth year in a row... thanks to our extremely generous sponsors The Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Big Brain Comics, Wet Paint, Pizza Luce, and Grumpy's for sponsoring this again this year... and, of course, thanks to everyone who participated.

24 Hour Comics Day Minneapolis Banner

Here's a banner for the Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy cell's blog to cover our local exploits during the international 24 Hour Comic Day event this weekend. I encourage all you participants out there to put it on your websites, and go check out the blog by clicking the banner, if you haven't already.



You can subscribe to the Twin Cities event blog here.

Here is the international event site for 24 hour comics day.

Here is the group blog for the international 24 hour comics day event.

You can subscribe to the international event blog here.

Thanks much to David Steinlicht for blogging for us during the event!

Come Jam In Minneapolis Thursday March First!

The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy meets at 6:30 until 10:00 the first Thursday of every month at Diamond's Coffee Shoppe in Northeast.

Generally, we draw collaborative "jam" comics, socialize and drink caffeinated beverages. Afterwords, we often have uncaffeinated beverages somewhere else.

The meetings are open to anyone who wants to draw with us, and the results are posted here sooner or later (and sometimes even printed).

Diamond's Coffee Shoppe
1618 Central Avenue Northeast
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Bus info here.

Please spend some money at Diamond's while you're there, even if it is just a cuppa coffee... they are excellent hosts, and we wanna stay welcome there.

Big Time Attic is now officially hosting our monthly jam meetings at Diamond's... they will be supplying us with a big old plate of pastries or something each month. Thanks fellas!

PUNY Digital Drawing TONIGHT!

Mark your calendars if you want to learn some tips and techniques for drawing for Flash:



Minneapolis based animation and design studio PUNY presents "CLEAN STROKES: Digital Drawing Techniques For Flash." This presentation will feature various digital drawing techniques for creating art that is used in animation and video game art for clients like Cartoon Network and DC Comics. Presentation includes digital inking techniques for traditional artists using the inexpensive 4X6 Wacom Graphire tablet and a "sculpt and stroke" technique using the mouse. Extensive Q&A to answer particular questions about importing or creating art in Adobe Flash.

http://www.punyentertainment.com

When: February 21st 6:30 social 7:00 Presentation. Admission is free and open to the public. Free pizza and refreshments.

Where: FlashMN at Easel Training
More info and directions here: http://www.flashmn.com/

Participate in The Gross Comics Project

This month, some members of the Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy cell embarked on the Gross Comic Project at our monthly Saturday Open Studio. It isn't what it sounds like.

Like 24 hour comic day, the goal of the Gross Comic Project is to produce a certain number of pages in a certain amount of time… in this case 144 pages in 144 hours… a gross of pages, get it? 12 hours a month for a year.

Unlike 24 hour comic day, however, the goal of these comics is quality more than speed… if we are going to invest this much time in it, we want to produce something fun, readable and well-drawn, rather than just quickly produced. To that end, we allow all the planning, drawing, and even working on actual pages outside of the monthly 12 hour sessions that a cartoonist chooses to do. However, the 12 pages should be completed by the end of the 12 hours.

If you go over, that's fine, just get it done as quickly as possible after that... if it takes you until the next month, though, I'd say that would be a definite failure.

Here are the completed first month's 12 pages from this weekend:



Here are the first 12 pages of Kevin Cannon's Oceanis.



Here are the first 12 pages of Zander Cannon's Heck.



Here are the first 12 pages of Steven Stwalley's Ezekiel Fishman Versus the Martians.

Note that this project was inspired by the stellar work Kevin Cannon is doing on his 288 Hour Graphic novel Far Arden. Since he is doing a Gross Comic this year as well, I think he will probably hold some sort world's record for this sort of thing (he probably already does). That's right, Kevin will be doing (at least) 432 pages in an hour this year... more pages than there are days in the year!

We have at least 6 other cartoonists joining us in this undertaking next month... Dank!, Shad Petosky, Tim Sievert, Maxeem, Curtis Square-Briggs and Eric Lappegard.

You can join us too!

We'll link to all participants from this blog... just send the link to us, or put it in the comments.

Our next 12 hour session in Minneapolis will be at the next Minneapolis Saturday Open Studio (where it will be every month). The Saturday Open Studios happen on a different day every month, so you'll have to check the site for the dates. The next two are March 17th and April 21st at:

Minnesota Center for Book Arts
(Just down the street from Big Brain Comics)
1011 Washington Ave S, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: 612-215-2520

Those of you participating other places may want to consider doing it on the same day, because it will be more fun to have all this stuff hit at once, but it isn't a requirement.

Judging from the pages so far, I think this is going to be a pretty amazing project to look back on in a year.

Dreamhaven Robbed, Needs Help

Neil Gaiman recently posted that excellent Minneapolis comics and book store Dreamhaven Books was recently robbed, and is having serious financial troubles. This is a great time to go hit their amazing discounted graphic novel bins...

"We had a break-in on Saturday night. They got a bit of cash but wreaked terrible havoc on the store and my office. Damages will be costly but insurance should cover a lot of it. But after the lull in current business, this really will hurt. I don't like charity but if you could encourage people to maybe buy an extra book off us soon, it may help. Three bookstores have closed in the Twin Cities in the past two months and I don't want to make it four." - Dreamhaven owner Greg Ketter

You can find them online at www.dreamhavenbooks.com. Their current catalogues are up there, for new and for used stuff. There's cool new stuff. There's stuff on sale.

Sat. Open Studio, Feb. 17, noon-4 p.m.

Saturday Open Studio
It's danged cold outside edition

Sat., Feb. 17, noon-4 p.m. MCBA

We'll be somewhere in the Book Arts Building. If you don't see us right away, ask the friendly person working in the bookstore.

This is open studio time for all cartoonists, so come and hang out and draw. There's plenty of room for everyone.

(During this session Stwalley may be try to convice you to draw 12 pages a month for a year. But you don't have to agree to that in order to attend the Sat. Open Studio.)

Minnesota Center for Book Arts
(Just down the street from Big Brain Comics)
1011 Washington Ave S, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: 612-215-2520

Future Sat. Open Studio dates:

March 17

April 21

JAM TONIGHT IN MINNEAPOLIS! (February 1st)

The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy meets at 6:30 until 10:00 the first Thursday of every month at Diamond's Coffee Shoppe in Northeast.

Generally, we draw collaborative "jam" comics, socialize and drink caffienated beverages. Afterwords, we often have uncaffienated beverages somewhere else.

The meetings are open to anyone who wants to draw with us, and the results are posted here sooner or later (and sometimes even printed).

We're currently seeking people interested in participating in beta testing a cartooning textbook... please consider participating! Read more about it here.

Diamond's Coffee Shoppe
1618 Central Avenue Northeast
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Bus info here.

Please spend some money at Diamond's while you're there, even if it is just a cuppa coffee... they are excellent hosts, and we wanna stay welcome there.

Big Time Attic is now officially hosting our monthly jam meetings at Diamond's... they will be supplying us with a big old plate of pastries or something each month. Thanks fellas!

Kramer's Ergot Gallery Show in St. Paul this Month!

Ahhg! And I'm gonna miss the opening! It should be a great show... info here.

Kramers Ergot

January 28 - February 25, 2007

Opening Reception:
Saturday January 27, 2007

7:00 to 9:00 pm

Art Speigelman says of Kramers Ergot: “If there's a future for comics, Kramers Ergot seems to have bottled it. The first really new paradigm for an avant-garde comix anthology since RAW. A lavish package where the whole is even greater than the sum of its parts!”

Having published the sixth volume in 2006, Kramers Ergot continues to exist in a unique cultural spot where narrative, comics, contemporary art and the avant-garde collide. This exhibition features a selection of artists from the acclaimed comic art collection.

Sammy Harkham, the editor and founder of Kramers Ergot will be present at the opening reception. The opening reception will also feature a music performance by New York band Ambergris, accompanied by the ritual unrolling of a 19th century music video (a large scroll).

Sat. Open Studio Jan. 20, noon to 4 p.m.

Saturday Open Studio
It's cold outside edition

Sat., Jan. 20, noon-4 p.m. MCBA

We'll be somewhere in the Book Arts Building. If you don't see us right away, ask the friendly person working in the bookstore.

This is open studio time for all cartoonists, so come and hang out and draw. There's plenty of room for everyone.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts
(Just down the street from Big Brain Comics)
1011 Washington Ave S, Suite 100Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: 612-215-2520

Future Sat. Open Studio dates:

Feb. 17

March 17

April 21

Jam in Minneapolis this Thursday, January 4th

The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy meets at 6:30 until 10:00 the first Thursday of every month at Diamond's Coffee Shoppe in Northeast.

Generally, we draw collaborative "jam" comics, socialize and drink caffienated beverages. Afterwords, we often have uncaffienated beverages somewhere else.

The meetings are open to anyone who wants to draw with us, and the results are posted here sooner or later (and sometimes even printed).

Diamond's Coffee Shoppe
1618 Central Avenue Northeast
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Bus info here.

Please spend some money at Diamond's while you're there, even if it is just a cuppa coffee... they are excellent hosts, and we wanna stay welcome there.

Big Time Attic is now officially hosting our monthly jam meetings at Diamond's... they will be supplying us with a big old plate of pastries or something each month. Thanks fellas!

MCBA Sat. Open Studio, Dec. 16, noon - 4 p.m.

Saturday Open Studio -- Christmas-in-December edition.

Put off that holiday shopping and draw some cartoons.

Sat., Dec. 16, noon-4 p.m.
Minnesota Center for Book Arts

We'll be somewhere in the Center for Book Arts. If you don't see us right away, ask the friendly person working in the bookstore.

This is open studio time for all cartoonists, so come and hang out and draw. There's plenty of room for everyone.

The Minnesota Center for Book Arts
(Just down the street from Big Brain Comics)
1011 Washington Ave S, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: 612-215-2520

Danger Duck

David Steinlicht just posted his hilarious 24 hour comic Danger Duck from the 24 hour event we had in Minneapolis a little while ago... in color yet! Here it is for your reading pleasure.

More Cartooning Events this Weekend in Minneapolis

The following info was posted on the message board by conspirator Cedric Hosnstadt, who is also a member of the National Cartoonists Society... the NCS has a bunch of cool events going on this weekend with the crew they have in town for Fallcon. Here is the info from Cedric:

I know this is short notice, but the North Central Chapter of the National Cartooists Society is having their annual chapter meeting this weekend in Minneapolis to correspond with FallCon. Some well-known members include Bill Amend (Foxtrot), Michael Jantze (The Norm), Tom Richmond (MAD Magazine), and Jerry Van Amerongen (Ballard Street).

Here's some free events open to the public:

1. Friday October 6, 6-8pm there will be a "meet the cartoonists" gallery opening at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The exhibit, called "eyeToons" features over 80 cartoons and illustrations from members of our chapter of the National Cartoonists Society. More info here.

2. Saturday Oct 7, 1:00pm - Panel discussion at FallCon entitled "Ask the Cartoonists!". Discussion will focus on the future of cartooning, impact of the internet, breaking into cartooning, working with publishers and syndicates, and Q&A from the audience. Panelists are Michael Jantze, Tom Richmond, Jerry Van Amerongen, and me (Cedric Hohnstadt).

3. Saturday Oct 7, 7:30pm - MCAD Auditorium - Slideshow presentations by artists Michael Jantze, Tom Richmond, and Jerry Van Amerongen. I've seen Tom's part of the presentation before. He talks about his experiences as a parody artist for Mad Magazine and it's a great presentation.

Finally, I will have a table at FallCon. Stop by and say, "hi".

Again, this is all free! Hope to see some of you there.

Make sure to let them know the Cartoonist Conspiracy sent you!

FALLCON THIS WEEKEND!

FALLCON IS HERE! Fallcon is the most creator-friendly convention in the country... they generously offer free table space to all cartoonists, amateur or professional, and they put on a fun show. Check out the enormous guest list for this year... it should be quite an event. Even if you're not going as a guest, I imagine you'll want to check it out anyhow... don't miss checking out the art in the display cases, which is always extremely cool.

Here is the form to send to be a guest, assuming you are not already too late, which is most likely the case.

Send it to:
Midwest Comic Book Association
P.O. Box 131475
St. Paul, MN 55113

Make sure to note somewhere if you want to sit in the same area as the Conspiracy. We are taking names for volunteers to man our table at the convention, so let me know if you're interested by replying to this email.

>23 and <25 Hour Sequential Art Event Box Set

The Minneapolis >23 and <25 Hour Sequential Art Event this weekend was a blast... Thanks much to Minneapolis Conspiracy Events Monkey Danno for all his efforts in making this a huge success. Thanks also to our sponsors The Minnesota Center For Book Arts, Wet Paint Art, Big Time Attic, Pizza Luce, Grumpy's, Sip Coffee Bar, Big Brain Comics.

I believe we had 34 cartoonists participating... not sure how many completed 24 pages, but I'm pretty sure it was a majority. I can't wait to read them. What will certainly be one of the best, Kevin Cannon's comic, is already online:

http://www.bigtimeattic.com/blog/2006/09/24-hour-comics-day.html

Kevin has done it for the past two years as well, and now has produced three of the best 24 Hour comics I've ever read... they don't read or look at all like they were produced in 24 hours. Kevin was born to do this stuff... I keep hassling him to do it once every month and he could have a 288 page best-selling graphic novel in a year. If you agree with me, you should hassle him too... I desperately want to read "The Ballad of Armatage Shanks."

Any of the rest of y'all who get your comics from the event online, send me the links and I'll post the links to them in the blog and the gallery.

We will be collecting all of the >23 and <25 hour comics from folks who want to collect theirs in boxes at the October Jam meeting at Diamond's on October 5th. To do this, simply print 100 of them into mini-comics and we'll collate them into a box with a groovy Bob Lipski cover. Boxes will be for sale (in limited quantities) to the artists for 50 cents each, after which you can sell them for whatever you want (ten bucks will most likely be the suggested retail) and hopefully recoup the costs of printing your minis.

<25 But >23 Hour Sequential Art Event Tomorrow!

The Minneapolis Conspiracy's 3rd Annual <25 But >23 Hour Sequential Art Event is tomorrow! We currently have 32 participants. Get some sleep tonight, fellas. Click on the below poster to read all about it.



Note that 24 Hour Comics Day is on October 7th... we're doing this tomorrow because October 7th and 8th is the same time as the notoriously creator friendly Twin Cities comics convention Fallcon.

Minneapolis Public Library Survey

The Minneapolis Public Library system is seeking feedback on their 2007-2009 budget plan, which you can give them here. There are a number of difficult choices they are faced with right now due to underfunding... if you use the libraries, you'll probably want to let them know how you feel about these issues.

REGISTER FOR FALLCON!

Fallcon (October 7-8) is one of the most creator-friendly conventions in the country... they provide free tables space to cartoonists who request it! Don't miss it.

Here is the form to send.

Send it right now to:
Midwest Comic Book Association
P.O. Box 131475
St. Paul, MN 55113

Make sure to request to sit next to the Cartoonist Conspiracy if you wish to sit next to us.

See you there!

Whole Lotta Scanning Goin' On Part 9

Here's the ninth big jam... this one is from July 2006. Click the image to grab the low-res, reader's pdf.

The theme this month is M.O.D.O.K. As in "Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing." As in the giant head villain created by the late, great Jack Kirby. Cool... What other theme do you need? We should do M.O.D.O.K. every month.

Whole Lotta Scanning Goin' On Part 8

Here's the eighth big jam... this one is from June 2006. Click the image to grab the low-res, reader's pdf.

The themes are "Apocalypso," and... ah... I dunno. "I am the Walrus," maybe? Anyone know?

Whole Lotta Scanning Goin' On Part 7

Here's the seventh big jam... this one is from May 4th 2006. Click the image to grab the low-res, reader's pdf.

The themes are "Babies Can't Do Anything," "The Rattlesnake Twins," "Betrayal," "IQ Tests," "Couch Jumpers" and "A Mother's Love."



Below is a small jpg of the lovely instructional sign Big Time Attic made for this particular jam.

Whole Lotta Scanning Goin' On Part 6

Our posting of the missing jams is now resuming (three more big jams and many miscellaneous pages remain to post)... Here's the sixth big jam... I believe this one is from April 2006 (although it may have been the June one... someone please confirm)... click the image to grab the low-res, reader's pdf.

The themes are "Tales from the Vatican Vault" and "Country Music."

Whole Lotta Scanning Goin On Part 5

Here's the fifth big jam... this one is from March 2006... click the image to grab the low-res, reader's pdf. Again around 2MB.

Only one topic this March... in solidarity with our Danish cartooning comrades I bring you "Fun With Fundamentalism."

Whole Lotta Scanning Goin' On Part 4

Here's the fourth big jam... this one is from February 2006... click the image to grab the low-res, reader's pdf. This one is just over 2MB.

The themes for this month were "Süperman Vs. Albert Einstein" and "People I'll Never Sleep With.")

Whole Lotta Scanning Goin' On Part 3

Here's the third big jam... this one is from December 2005... click the image to grab the low-res, reader's pdf. This one is 1.965 MB.

The themes for this month were "Sneaky Pete Beats the Devil" and "The Dogs of War."

Whole Lotta Scanning Goin' On Part 2

Here's the second big jam... again, I'll be posting these for the next week. I'm not sure which month this one was done in... lets call it August 2005... I'm pretty sure it is either that or October (if anyone knows definitively, please let me know). Click the image to grab the low-res, reader's pdf. This one is 2.177 MB.

The themes for this month were "Godzilla Vs. Osama Bin Laden" and "Fluffy and Nice: A Fluffy and Nice Story For Children" and "Pluto is No Longer a Planet."

Whole Lotta Scanning Goin' On

We've let the Minneapolis jam scanning get horribly behind over the last year... I've decided to see what I can do to remedy some of that this week... watch the blog for a whole lotta comics this week!

Instead of posting the individual jam pages at this point, I've decided to post the individual months as PDF files... these will ultimately be available in the gallery in both low-res versions (for viewing online) and hi-res versions (for anyone downloading to reconfigure and print anywhere they want under our creative commons license... note that if you participated in the jam, it can be for non-commercial or commercial purposes... otherwise, it's just non-commercial).

All scans are greyscale, unedited as-is from the original pages... print versions will be 300 DPI.

Here's the first one from July 2005... click the image to grab the low-res, reader's pdf. This one is just over 2MB. The themes for that month were "Obscure Stories About Blues Musicians" and "16 Pages to Live."



Also note that I just uploaded the first 6 months of jams from the Rice, MN cell... you can grab that here. That one weighs in at 7MB.

Cartoonist Conspiracy Mentioned in Pioneer Press

There's a great comic strip by David Steinlicht and Julio Ojeda-Zapata in the St. Paul Pioneer Press today about Free Comic Book Day... you can see the whole thing here. Best of all, it shows a bunch of characters from local cartoonists, and makes a nice mention of the Cartoonist Conspiracy in the panel shown below.



Pictured in the panel, clockwise from left, would be the little girl in Zander Cannon's "He Becomes Who Kills Him: A Horror Story" mini-comic from the Lutefisk Sushi Volume B box, one of Sean Tenhoff's Bean Men, Bob Lipski's Uptown Girl, my character Soapy the Chicken, and one of Ken Avidor's demons.

The strip also mentions Twin Cities locals Sam Hiti, Ryan Kelly, Dan Jurgens, Patrick Gleason and, of course, Charles Schulz.

Thanks much to Conspirator Steinlicht and Mr. Ojeda-Zapata for the plug!

Don't Miss MicroCon!

Today if you're in the Twin Cities you won't want to miss MicroCon, the second largest comics convention in the area (the first biggest being FallCon, which is put on by the same folks in the Fall).

Hosted by the Midwest (formerly Minnesota) Comic Book Association, the Twin Cities conventions are no ordinary comic conventions... for one thing they offer free table space to any cartoonist who requests one. This is a rare and generous thing for a convention to offer, indeed.

As a result, you have a huge number and variety of cartoonists doing all sorts of comics... much like the Conspiracy, participating cartoonists include everything from seasoned professionals to rank amateurs... drawing every sort of comic you can imagine... manga, superheroes, funny animals, smut, and even stuff that doesn't neatly fall into a genre.

Beyond that, the conventions always have a good vibe (cartoonists not having to hustle to make enough bread to cover a table space definitely are a part of that, along with the free food for creators, and the general friendly respect given to all creators by the members of the MNCBA). Really, it's gotta be one of the best conventions in the country to be a creator at.

Jam War!

Jam War was a blast... much blood and ink was spilled, but many gorgeous pages crawled from the wreckage at the end of it. I wish I could post some, but can't until after judging is completed.

We want to print a book of all the Minneapolis Jam War losers as a mini-comic, so email me if you want to participate in this mini. My team almost certainly will be included... we had a blast losing, though.

Thanks! to Danno for organizing!
Thanks! to Shad for handling everything computery!
Thanks! to Drivas for funding and involuntarily lending us all his lovely visage!
Thanks! to BTA for the paper!
Thanks! to Jeff Rathermel and Book Arts for giving us such a great space to work in!
Thanks! to Wet Paint for providing supplies and letting us stock up at a discount!
Thanks! to Reiner and Grumpy's for the drinks and discounts!
Thanks! to Nat Gertler for conceiving and organizing the national event!