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Friday, July 31, 2009
With half the month dedicated to conventions, July went by amazingly fast. One convention I was working, the other seemed like work! Okay, sure, there was a bit of working involved with Comic Con, but not nearly enough to warrant the planning, line waiting, and crowd navigating that ensued. Comic Con's gotten a might too big for its britches, I think. Between cons I was in Orange County, throwing off my usual routine even more. Add in the metric ton of GI Joe toys I had to archive, and it's no wonder this month was a blur!
posted by Phillip at 11:53 PM
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Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Slowly recovering from the con. Set up everything back in the LA house, trying to find space for all the books and toys I bought. Still a little out of it, but not as bad as yesterday. Mom had the idea to hit up Disneyland before our passes expired. (We're set up to get new ones, but don't need to renew right away.) I was dragging and not much fun, to be honest! Dad drove in, I took his car home, and he stayed with mom for a few hours. Me, I crashed out on the bed!
posted by Phillip at 8:00 PM
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Figured I'd post this to the blog, rather than my traditional mass email -
It's time for my annual survival guide to the San Diego Comic Con. Feel free to forward this to any of your friends who you know is going.
Since I've been going to this thing since 1997, I thought I'd share with you some tips that might make your experience a little nicer. Some of these are no-brainers, but it never hurts to get a little reminder.
Once again, the official website for Comic Con is http://www.comic-con.org.
The seminar schedule is already up.
Thursday is here: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci09_prog_thu.php
Friday: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci09_prog_fri.php
Saturday: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci09_prog_sat.php
Sunday: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci09_prog_sun.php
It's a good idea to at least glance through these schedules and copy down the ones that you may want to go to. Don't worry if the times overlap, nobody will stop you getting into a seminar late. And obviously, you're not bound by what your list says you have to see. Be sure to show up early to these things, especially if they'll be popular; lines tend to form.
Remember that there are three floors in this convention center. The first floor, the dealer room, is where all the money's spent. Here you'll see all the exhibitor and retail booths, as well as the auction tables. Expect to spend a lot of time here. The mezzanine level is actually only accessible through the escalators at the back of the dealer hall. It's really kind of a half floor, with only a few seminar rooms and a food stand. Generally, this is where smaller presentations take place and where fan clubs have some of their booths. If you see a listing that you don't recognize the numbering system of, chances are it's here. The second floor is where everything else happens. Registration is funneled through here, and most of the seminars take place in the adjacent halls. The large presentation hall and the anime rooms are actually located in the opposite direction from these. (You'll understand once you're there.) It's a bit of a walk to get to these rooms, but it's a nice place to relax.
If you're curious, this is the dealer hall map: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/forms/cci09exhib_map.pdf
Wednesday night is the preview night, wherein they open the dealer room in the evening only to those attendees who have signed up for all 4 days (like me). Therefore, if you aren't getting a four-day pass, do yourself a favor and skip the hassle of driving down through the traffic and wait times, only to find you can't go inside. The wait time to get in on preview night can be very long, so if you are going to go, bring something to keep you occupied in line. The registration process can be a tad long if you haven't already purchased your tickets online. That's generally what makes the line.
Dress comfortably. You'll be in San Diego in the summer. You may need a light coat for the night, but other than that, you should be fine. The convention hall can quickly warm up with all the people inside, so take that into consideration ( i.e., no leather jackets or wool clothing! Unless, of course, you're cosplaying...). Wear comfortable shoes. The convention hall is unbelievably big, and walking around in it for hours can take its toll on your feet.
Bring a backpack. Nothing sucks more than having to hold a bag for eight hours. Likewise, bring a poster tube. Posters tend to be a given when it comes to freebie handouts. The tubes keep them from tearing, bending, or unfurling. I generally find a way to attach the poster tube to my backpack, thereby getting another item out of my hands. Chances are it's also the best way to find me in a crowd. Look for a black backpack with an orange poster tube sticking up from it.
Make a list of things to buy. Of course, a shopping list isn't and shouldn't be the only thing you can get in your convention buying experience, but it helps to have a goal in mind when attending the con, especially for first timers. There's so much stuff available, it can be a little daunting deciding where to begin. Having a list helps with this, and keeps you a little more organized. Keep in mind, too, that there are a lot of convention exclusive items here. A comprehensive list of these can be found here: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci09_actionfigs_1.php
Bring a camera. Cosplayers, celebrities, displays, and even just friends all make for good memories. 2004's con had a full-size X-Wing on display. 2005's had a big rig covered in a tarp advertising the Transformers movie. The 2001-2004 cons have seen props and costumes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the New Line booth. You never know what you'll see.
Bring a cell phone, or stay near someone with one. It's how we keep in touch. Now, the cell networks get severely crowded there, so putting calls through can be a chore. Text messages may be a better option, since those don't have to go through immediately. Might wanna keep the phone on ring AND vibrate - it's noisy in there.
Restrooms in the dealer room are located just outside the front entrances, and in the rear wall alcoves. Trust me, this little bit of info comes in real handy.
Bring snacks, drinks, and your own lunch. Convention food sucks, is expensive, and there's always a line. You're just better off bringing your own food. I generally don't leave the convention hall for lunch, but I do for dinner. The hall's smack dab in the middle of downtown San Diego, so nearby there's the Gaslamp district, Horton Plaza, and Seaport Village - all good places to find some grub.
All right, I think that just about does it. I hope you take these tips to heart, and have some fun once the convention rolls around, huh?
posted by Phillip at 6:42 PM
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Sunday, July 19, 2009
Drove out to San Dimas for a get-together of GI Joe fans. First one I'd been to since November of 2007! Saw a few familiar faces along with a few new ones. Had a fun time and actually managed to actually sell a few of my leftover items. Somehow I left there with more money than I arrived! By mid-afternoon it was time to drive to the LA house for a barbecue Jason was throwing. Had more fun there, but didn't actually eat a whole lot. Filled up on burgers and hot dogs at the Joe meet! I would have liked to have stayed longer at both places, but my time was limited. Had to get back home before it was too too late and watch over Brit. The parents are in Hawaii until the end of the week!
posted by Phillip at 6:54 PM
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Since I'm watching Brittany for the next week or so, I drove into LA today to bring my desktop back to the Orange County house. I had kind of forgotten that this thing has trouble booting up, though. Took bout an hour to get it going right! I have a feeling one of my RAM cards is bad. Unhooking some drives didn't solve the problem, so I don't think it's my power supply....
posted by Phillip at 11:05 PM
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Thursday, July 09, 2009
For the G.I. Joe movie toy line, I've taken photographs of about 20 figures and a few dozen items. Now I just have to edit them in Photoshop, write up the code for the apges, and get them online. Unfortunately, I just can't get myself motivated enough to get it done! Bad time for a bit of burnout, no?
posted by Phillip at 10:28 PM
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Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Managed to live through AX, but I'm so very tired right now. So very tired. And what's this? Merchandise for the G.I. Joe movie is everywhere! Arrgh! I don't think I'm going to live through this summer.
posted by Phillip at 11:46 PM
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