If the animation above takes a few seconds to load, wait for it—it’s worth it. It’s by Swisidniak of DeviantArt, and it’s a doozy: a 6-frame animated .gif of the giant fish vomiting the Odd-Fish lodge. Amazing work! I especially love the queasy look the fish gets before he hurls, and how the the stomach goo coats the “lens” of the “camera.” If we ever have another Odd-Fish art show (and I’d like to), this should definitely be in it, playing on a loop on a monitor!

Swisidniak tells me that he and his friends are “creating our own mini Dome of Doom for fun . . . We are trying to follow all of the traditions but it is a bit difficult finding double sided flaming lances and flying ostriches so we expect we might have to improvise a little. We hope to finish it soon and plan on video taping the whole thing to put up on YouTube. There will most definitely be pictures, and many bloopers. ” I CAN’T WAIT.

Speaking of the Dome of Doom, this Sunday the theater group Collaboraction (with whom I did the Odd-Fish art show back in April) is going to haul out their geodesic PVC dome for another Dome of Doom costumed dance party!

This will be an all-ages, family-friendly event. It’ll be this Sunday (August 22) at Unity Playlot in Logan Square in Chicago (2636 N. Kimball) from 6 – 8 pm, followed by a Movie-in-the-Park screening of Where The Wild Things Are.

I’ll be judging the fights, along with Collaboraction honcho Anthony Moseley. The crazy costumed marching band Environmental Encroachment will be there as well!

Meet us at the Eagle Statue in Logan Square (Kedzie and Logan Blvd.) at 6 pm to march to the Dome of Doom for the open dance battles! Dress as a God or Monster, or get costumed on the spot by the Collaboraction team. Summer fun, and it’s free!

(Unsure what the Dome of Doom battle-dancing is? Here’s our brief video explanation:)

What else is going on? The lovely Kate Elstad interviewed me at the website Eve’s Fan Garden. I talk about how I’ve found that young readers are often better readers than adults, I make some book recommendations, and I lay out the dream cast for an Odd-Fish movie.

I’ll leave you with this great picture by Freya of Jo hiding in Snoodsbottom from the rampaging Wormbeards. I love Freya’s attention to detail: the Apology Gun tucked in Jo’s pocket, the alien clothes hanging from laundry lines, how the composition traps and squeezes Jo (and the viewer) into a confined space while Fiona and the other Wormbeards look for her.

Thanks, Freya! Hope to see you and everyone at the Dome of Doom in Logan Square this Sunday!