Cons?! Omg Cons!

So being that the C0n FAirY has been quite broke lately I'm just going to mention some up and coming cons that I wish I could attend. (maybe one of you can go for me and let me know how it was?)

This weekend is Baltimore Comic-con. As has been the case, I'd never heard of this con til a couple of weeks ago when Danielle Corsetto of Girls with Slingshots mentioned she'd be going. Also Scott Kurt from PvP and Terry Moore from Strangers in Paradise will be there.

Panels I'd love to see if I was going Digital Comics and Publishing, Spotlight on George Perez, (being a big Buffy fan) Dark Horse Comics Buffy Season 8, The ACT-I-VATE Experience (i don't follow any of these artists but I love hearing what people have to say about webcomics), and lastly the Spotlight on Chris Claremont.

Alternative Press Expo or APE arrives in San Francisco, CA 10/17-10/18. I would love to go mainly to have started connecting with other artists for a webcomic H4773r and I are developing. SLG Publishing (known for Gargoyles and Emo Boy) with special guest artist Jamaica Dyer will be there along with a couple of local artists I know: Katgirl Studios/Lost Graphics and Speckley of Timothy Green.

A couple of friends of my will be attending Steam Con on 10/23-10/25 in Seattle, WA. Hopefully they will be kind enough to do a guest report upon their return. As far as I know this is the first time this convention will be held. I wish them the best of luck and fortune.

My hometown of San Jose, CA will be hosting World Fantasy Con on 10/29-11/1. I still haven't figured out what this con is about or why it's so expensive compared to other cons. The only reason I even heard about it is because Neil Gaiman tweeted about it.

And lastly, Yaoi-con which will be held on 10/30-11/1 in San Mateo, CA. This is one of the few cons that you have to be over 18 to attend, which of course makes it that much more appealing if you ask me. I'll be honest, I don't read any yaoi so I wouldn't even know who the special guests are let alone why they are special guests. But I wouldn't mind attending this con for the sheer titillation of it.

Other notable but not exactly con events: NorCal Ren Faire, which I will be attending! I'm going the last weekend of it 10/17-10/18. I may find a way to combine my usual ren faire garb with C0n fairy garb, we'll see. This faire takes place every year at Casa De Fruta in Hollister, CA. It currently runs every weekend now through 10/18.

I think Exotic Erotic Ball deserves an honorable mention here for the month. This expo takes place 10/23-10/24 in San Francisco, CA. I've never been but have always wanted to go since I was oh...16. Maybe next year. While it's certainly trashy I wouldn't mind seeing Tila Tequila or Coolio.

That's it for now. I'll be sure to update soon as I'm getting tweets from many cons about ticket sales for 2010.

Blizzcon Recap

So I didn't attend Blizzcon this year, as previously mentioned. But I thought I'd mention things that happened anyway. Since I was also unable to get the Direct TV/Live viewing up, all information is obtained through twitter and other various websites.

So a couple of days before Blizzcon someone leaked their annoucments here. H4773r posted a nice long blog about his feelings on, what were then, rumors. Also Gametrailers had a nice post on what they would like to have done to WoW. Having got that out of the way, lets go to confirmations on WoW.

Tweets began appearing around 11:30 on Friday, August 21st. News recap for opening ceremony events: Sam Raimi and the Wow movie; a single player campaign for SC2 would be available; and Diablo 3 will have a monk class.

WoW news: Cataclysm. Honestly, I have really mixed feelings about the changes. I don't actually keep up with Warcraft lore to care about how the Caverns of Time didn't make sense or feel anything strongly towards Cataclysm changing Azeroth's land. I am looking forward to being to play Goblins, and don't understand why Worgens are suddenly a playable race (but then I've always been a Horde Fan). Also since I'm not into running instances and such, I'm neutral towards heroic Deadmines and Shadowfangkeep. I'll have to read more about Archeology to see if it's worth any of my toons learning it. Previously, I've never cared to learn Enchanting, Jewelcrafting, or Inscription. While I obviously use items created by the previous listed professions, I've never cared to learn them myself. New zones are always fun to explore and I'm looking forward to the underwater zone. Also I'll have to look more into the Guild Advancement system. All my toons are in a guild, but it's never really made a difference for me. I enjoy the idea of being able to fly anywhere. Leveling to 85 will be a bitch. And I could really care less about PvP related stuff.

There was also the Guild panel on Friday. The whole run down of the panel can be found at wow.com.

Word from Geekgirldiva is that the Worgen starting area is "very Victorian" not to be confused with Steampunk. Felicia Day also thinks the new Monk class for Diablo 3 kicks some ass.

A lot of the incoming reports were about the same: lots of changes, most people seem excited, only a few are WTF?! Really?!

L.A. Times review.

Tech Rebpulic review.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone who I follow to give me a decent review of the concert. I love Ozzy and really enjoyed his WoW commercial. He is something I definitely would've wanted to see. As well as MC Frontalot, who played a set at Blizzcon. Bummer. If anyone would like to add under the comments what they thought of the concert it would be greatly appreciated.

So yeah, hopefully we'll be able to attend the next Blizzcon. I had a small discussion with H4773r about the worth of it all though. Having gone to Blizzcon last year in which they debuted Wrath of the Lich King, Starcraft II and Diablo III. All of which were playable. They didn't have much going on in the realm of panels last year and booths set up were fairly "meh." From the sounds of this year it was pretty much the same. Yes, there were a few differences that were huge: last year I got to see Patton Oswald stand up, this year there was an awesome concert. But really, if Blizzard is going to continue Blizzcon I expect to see more stuff and not re-hashes from the year before, especially if they're going to be charging more. Really, at this point we'll just have to wait and see.

Blizzcon Woes

Sadly, I will not be attending Blizzcon this year. I was lucky enough to be able to get tickets last year before it was sold out and had hoped to go again this year. Unfortunately, my work sucks rancid donkey balls and refused to give me the time off to go this year. Yet, another reason why I'm trying to leave. (in an ironic twist of fate, i was actually able to get in to battlenet and purchase tickets but of course didn't.) What really killed it for me is missing Ozzy. I actually like the "Prince of Darkness" a lot and have never seen him perform live. In a lame attempt to make me feel better, my boss told me that seeing him perform on his live DVD was the same as seeing him live in person, I tend to disagree.

Also I'm incredibly broke right now, so it is questionable whether or not we will even watch Blizzcon live. And of course I'm working this weekend, so I'd have to rely on H4773r to watch the entire weekend for me. Still debating of course, we have a couple of days.

H4773r is sad we'll be missing out on upcoming content. There are tons of rumors about for WoW on upcoming changes. Check out his blog for the rumors and what he thinks about it.

I know @geekgirldiva will be attending and is planning a tweetup for those interested.

Things I'm sad I'm missing: Ozzy (of course), the Guild (i love to fangirl stalk @feliciaday), Jay Mohr hosting the contests, the ability to play betas, and the PvP tournaments.

I really do hope H4773r can get us Blizzcon streaming and I'll be able to at least catch some of it.

--T1nk

San Diego Comic-con, Wrap-up

Things I missed because I didn't have 4 days passes: Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" and Johnny "Fucking" Depp, Amanda Palmer's NINJA session, all the Mythbuster sightings including their panel, the Kevin Smith panel. More chances to see Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, and Felicia Day. More time to explore the Exhibit Hall.

Things I missed completely out of ignorance: Greg Dean

Things I missed because we didn't get a hotel room: All parties to meet and greet, a live showing of Repo! with a shadow cast, hanging with GeekgirlDiva, talking webcomics with Scott Kurtz, meeting Grant Imahara at Hard Rock, getting tickets to get into autograph sessions, etc.

Lessons learned: Really even with a transit system that stays open later and opening up several parking locations in the area, you can not beat getting a hotel room close to the con. The transit system just doesn't run late enough for my liking and the money you'll spend on parking as well the headache that comes from trying to find parking makes you want to kill yourself. If you can, find someway to get a fucking hotel room. OR, have none geeky friends who owe you big favors to chaueffer you around for the weekend, i.e. dropping you off and picking you up at insane hours.

Also, I had a major contact malfunction. I'm going to be considering LASIK soon.

And to be completely contradictory, I'm considering attending APE without getting hotel room. But in my defense, APE is fairly local and doesn't sound like it has crazy parties going on. It sounds like more of a meet and greet for all alternative press. So basically I'm going to learn more about webcomics, as well as stalk more webcomic artists.

San Diego Comic-con, Saturday

Today was our last day to enjoy Comic-con. I really only had two panels to catch and the rest of the day was planned to wander the Exhibit Hall and get photo ops with people I'd missed the day before.

As per usual we were running late, but got there in enough time to catch everything. Also, H4773r was kind enough to drop us off again so we could enjoy the con. This time he parked on

Harbor and Sigsbee St. This was a good 6+ blocks away from the convention center and had free parking BUT I wouldn't recommend leaving any valuables in your car and leaving there late at night. It just didn't seem like the safest area.

My goal was to start at one end of the Exhibit Hall and work my way through all the alleys. That worked until I hit the main areas that had Marvel, DC, G4, WB, etc. The madness down those walkways was incredible. There was barely any room to move at all. Then I realized I

wouldn't even make it half-way through the hall before the panel started so I just gave up and started wandering.

I did find Frank Beddor and bought H4773r "Princess Alyss of Wonderland."

Shortly after getting something to eat and paying outrageous con prices we headed to our webcomic panel with Scott Kurtz, Brad Guigar, Dave Kellet, and Kris Straub. The panel was pretty informative and Scott Kurtz and Dave Kellet are pretty fucking funny. All the guys have collaborated to write "How to Make Webcomics" (which I bought). They also promoted their

sites webcomics.com and Webcomics Weekly (podcast). In addition they pretty much just talked about the biz: how you do everything yourself (from merchandising to advertising) and that it's the best way to retain all your rights; the importance of making something people want to read; that if you have 1000 true fans you can

maintain your business; and the most importance advice I learned from Kurtz "Solving the problem of where you're at." Meaning, let's say you have your comic online and have a few followers you might be concerned next with going to a con and setting up in artist alley. You should be solving that problem, not worrying about starting merchandise selling.

Right after the webcomic panel it was time for the Emo Boy panel. This upcoming movie will be

directed by Kyle Newman (also directed Fanboys) and will star Jaime King (from "Spirit" and "Sin City") and Lucas Cruikshank (of Fred fame). Newman also discussed other upcoming Vanguard films: Chupacabras, Alien Band, Space Chimps 2, and Oz Wars. Also we had the chance to meet and talk with Jaime King after the panel. She was incredibly nice, sweet and down to earth. By far a great actress to meet in person if you ever get the chance.

After Emo Boy I went back down the Exhibit Hall and got my photos with peeps.

GeekgirlDiva

MC Frontalot

Jennie Breeden

Scott Kurtz

We were in a rush during dinner time because H4773r and I were going to catch Aftercon. So we ate literally at the first place that was decently priced and had a vegetarian option, Jolt N Joes. By vegetarian option I mean veggie burger, but whatever.

We parted ways with Pievuhg and took a ridiculously long walk back to the car. We made it to

the Aftercon venue, the Casbah, after 7:00pm but it didn't and we found free parking nearby. The show didn't start til rather late, 9:30-ish. The guys from Cyanide and Happiness were there premiering two new shorts, as well as Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal show off new clips in-between sets. YT Cracker was the first one up, followed by MC Frontalot, and the MC Lars. There was a special guest appearance by Zealous1. I really enjoyed the show. The guys are so enthusiastic and have tons of energy and in general, put on a great show. The initmate setting is perfect. I love how MC Lars has his music videos playing along while he raps. The night ended, for us, with MC Lars playing "Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock." We missed Doomtree, but it was late and I was so tired. Only complaints, one, MC Lars encouraging the crowd to mosh and having the one douchebag try to be hard core. He almost got his ass beat by another concert goer who didn't want to play with him. Also, I guess there was someone "famous" there. I couldn't figure out who she was for the life of me, but she had a papparazzo following her, taking pictures, with an obnoxious flash. I could've taken her but H4773r doesn't like to encourage my violence and I hate lawsuits.

There were a number of things happening after Aftercon, such as the experiment webcomic meetup with Scott Kurtz, drinks with Geekgirldiva, Repo! with shadow cast and special guests, and Mythbusters at Hard Rock. Unfortunately, we didn't go to any of these BECAUSE I could no longer afford parking for another day and I was still so fucking tired.

(NOTE: Next year we WILL get a hotel room by the convention center and have more Red Bull onhand.)

San Diego Comic-con, Friday

As this was my first time, Comic-Con was quite overwhelming even with Pievuhg's help (she's con veteran). I had quite a few things I wanted to catch on Friday: Coraline panel, 9 panel, and catch whoever I could for autographs and photo-ops.

So we arrived a bit late to Comic-Con. Again, we weren't crashing at a hotel/motel anywhere near the con. We actually stayed with a friend of Pievuhg's, who lives on the only moutain in San Diego.

The Coraline panel I wanted to see didn't start til 10:30am, by the time we arrived at and picked up my badge (I had a mix up because of the single day passes) it was 10:00am. The line looked deceptively short-why? Because it turns out they had let people in early. By the time the room was full I was still waiting outside with three people in front of me. I used the time to put on my makeup and decided I wasn't going to leave until the panel was over, in the vain hope I would be able to get in to catch at least some of Neil Gaiman. Pievuhg waited with me until H4773r showed up (H4773r was kind enough to drop off me and Pievuhg while he looked for parking.) Once H4773r got there, he and Pievuhg took off. Pievuhg went to scope out the Exhibit hall and H4773r went to hold a place in line for us at Hall H. After much waiting I was actually able to get in and catch the last 10 minutes of Coraline, so just the Q&A portion of the panel. I was able to find out what kinds of media influences the director Henry Selick, such as the Kings of Leon. Also it was asked what project Neil was most looking forward to next-The Graveyard Book. And then Mr. Selick told Mr. Gaiman how fans would come up to him asking if Sandman would ever come to the big screen. It was determined that while there are no plans in the making, both Mr. Selick and Mr. Gaiman would love to see it happen. I met Pievuhg in the Exhibit hall and she walked me over to the Hall H line to meet with H4773r. I arrived to see my panel, "9", three hours early. I was glad I did. The line was gi-normus! The kids in front of us were veterans and gave us the low-down on how the line works and what to expect. I had been hoping to catch CBDL's Amanda Palmer session but the kids told me if I left the line I probably wouldn't be able to get back in. I figured I'd stalk Ms. Palmer later.

I had a small discussion about the "unfairness" of waiting in line. I think it's fair that once the

panel is over the hall/room empties out completely. If you want to see the next panel in that room, you have to get back in line. The kids explained how this was actually tried at previous SDCC's and how near chaos/riots broke out. One of the kids countered that her mom was

physically disabled and it would be difficult for her to leave a room like Hall H and then go back in line to see the next panel. And for the people like Topless Robot, who blog about all things in

Hall H, it's also unfair because they actually want to see everything in that room. First off, Comic-con is all about picking and choosing what panels/events you're going to see. And more often than not, you will miss things. Secondly, I believe people who actually want to sit through

all panels in one room actually only makes a small percent. Most people will sit through a panel they have no interest in just to gaurantee they have a seat for the panel they actually want. Thus, taking a spot for some poor bloke waiting outside who wanted to see the previous panel. Example, I really wanted to see the panel for "9". H4773r and I got in to see the Disney panel, before "9". I didn't mind catching the Disney panel, but if given the choice I would've skipped

Disney and only watched "9". But, like everyone else, once I got in the hall I wasn't leaving until my panel was over. As the kids explained it there probably really isn't a "good" way to satisfy

everyone.

Moving on, I really enjoyed the Disney panel from what I caught of it. We got to see some footage of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" in 3D, which is set for release Valetine's Day 2010. Pixar is working to finish a new straight to ABC Family cartoon called "Prep & Landing." It's going to premiere this holiday season and looks absolutely

hilarious and cute. We saw extended footage of Disney's new "The Princess and the Frog." I'm already in love with these new Disney characters, and excited it's following more a musical format. I have no doubts this cartoon will make it to Broadway. And lastly, Miyazaki took the stage and we were able to see some of "Ponyo."

Some of the room cleared out of the Disney panel and we were able to get a bit closer for the "9"

panel. Seriously, I just about peed my pants when Tim Burton came onstage. And then Elijah

Wood entered and he is just so fucking adorable. I really wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home. Also Jennifer Connelly was there, surprisingly Crispin Glover was absent. But essentially we got to see the trailer twice, and extended scene and learn a bit of how the whole thing came together. The worst part about it, the Q&A. Let's just say awkard geeks are terribly, terribly awkward. Even I cringed. (yeah i know it's super blurry, but trust me when i say tim burton, elijah wood, and jennifer connelly are in it.)

After the panel I had planned on wandering the Exhibit hall but learned Ms. Palmer would be making an appearance at the Comic Relief booth. I quickly rushed through the Exhibit hall with H4773r to get in line. Strangely, I actually ran into AFP while on my way to the Comic Relief booth. I mananged to get out a hi, and then waited a few moments while she and her manager went over some things. I then realized if I was famous and going to be doing a meet and greet

soon I wouldn't want to be bothered while working. So I said as much, along the lines of "You know what, you look busy and I'm going to the meet and greet anyway. So I'll see you there." Hopefully she appreciated it. When I got to the booth, they actually had "Who Killed Amanda Palmer" books for sale. Since I hadn't purchased one yet I bought one there. Luckily I did. It turns out only people who bought the book could actually meet AFP. She was in an open enough space that a number of passerbys stopped to take her picture. But I was so excited I actually got to meet her and get an autograph and photo. Hopefully next time I'll have a cool gift to give.

Having recieved my first dose of celebrity, I needed more. So H473r and I headed to the webcomic booth area. I got to meet Jennie Breeden, Scott Kurtz, and MC Frontalot. I already had the Devil's Panties Vol. 1 for Jennie to sign, but bought Devil's Panties Vol. 2 and tipped for alcohol money. Jennie is by far one of the best people to meet in person. Despite the comic portrayals she isn't awkward and very personable/down-to-earth and friendly to talk to. As much as I like pvponline. I didn't make any connection with Scott. I purchased his new Binwin poster and let him know that I really like the new Ding comics, but he just wasn't as talkative/didn't seem to care. MC Frontalot is a cool guy to meet in person, but I let H4773r do all the fan boy talking to him.

While at MC Frontalot's booth he decided to put on a impromtu rap session. It was a nice

preview to Saturday night's show.

We ended the night by having dinner at the Olive Garden. Yeah, all way down to San Diego and we stop at OG. Don't judge.

San Diego Comic-con, Prelude

It's the night before Comic-con and I'm quite excited and nervous. I wasn't able to score tickets for Thursday or Sunday, but have made plenty of other plans to keep me occupied. I have been running around like crazy for the past few days making sure I get everything I need ready for Comic-con. I am a list queen and checking off items appropriately. I decided at the last minute that I would cosplay as the C0n FaIry. I finally splurged on my tactical vest and everything else fairy-like I already owned.

I've spent some time reading a bunch of other blogs on what to expect because I'm a Comic-con n00b. I've made my tentative schedule of which panels I'd like to catch on Friday and Saturday. I'm really hoping to see the Coraline panel, CBLDF's "Who Killed Amanda Palmer," and Focus Feature: 9 on Friday, and Webcomic bootcamp, Kevin Smith and Mythbusters on Saturday. A couple of these overlap and with big showings in Hall H and I don't know how I'll manage to juggle everything. H4773r has told me he'll follow me wherever I go, so at least I'll have a buddy with the whole time.

I'm hoping to catch a few of the events held after con hours, but I'm very short on funds. I was hoping to catch a showing of Repo! and that same night a concert by Amanda Palmer. Luckily Ms. Palmer is going to do another NINJA party, which I'm hoping to go to instead. Also H4773r bought tickets for us to see After Con, my first live Nerdcore event.

I should attempt sleep here soon but will probably just crash on the ride down instead.

Here are some blog posts I've been using for research:

Comic-con

Shouting into the Wind

Unofficial SD Comic-con blog

Alltop

I'm also following quite a few people on Twitter for this event as well:

Entertainment Earth

Comiccon09

sdcomicon

Comic_Con

SD_Comic_Con

ToplessRobot

Agent_M

pvponline

geekgirldiva

amber_benson

jenniebreeden

feliciaday

DarkHorseComics

TychoBrae

ThatKevinSmith

amandapalmer

wilw

donttrythis

neilhimself

warrenellis

jimlee00

cwgabriel

(Yes, my cell phone will be going off constantly this weekend.)

Fanime, Monday

I got to the con on my own for Monday. I had to be at work later in the afternoon and wanted to catch up on stuff before I had to leave. I didn't get in as early as I wanted to, but I was still able to pre-reg for Fanime 2010. Tickets were for $40 for the entire weekend. Fanime is definitely one of the larger but also affordable conventions to attend.

I had been hoping that some of the dealers would be marking items down, but no such luck. I had been told in previous years the dealers room had great sales on the last day. Hopefully the trend will re-appear next year.

After making one last round through the dealer's room and A.A. and stopping to say hi to a few friends I called it a day and rushed to work. I did manage to snag a few "badges" from the A.A. room. Unfortunately I didn't get the card to the artist but will have pics up soon.

I had stayed for closing ceremonies last year and hadn't been impressed or entertained very much so I didn't feel to bad missing it this year. Of course, next year will be completely different and I'll hopefully get to stay the whole weekend, uninterrupted.

Fanime, Sunday

Again didn't quite get to Fanime as early as I wanted to. There weren't any panels I wanted to see early in the morning so I watched Ranma 1/2 for awhile until it was time for my panel to start.

The webcomic panel I attended this time was "Webcomic: Year One." Hosted by HellHasFoundMe, Timothy Green, and unfortunately someone's whose name I forgot to write down. Again these guys had a lot of the same advice as the previous webcomic, such as where to host (drunkduck, keenspot and using webpress with your own server were mentioned) and how important it is to keep with regular updates. I also was able to get an idea of when your webcomic becomes a lucrative career. And which comics had more appeal, episodic versus story line. All of the panelists were v. helpful. From my understanding year one is basically just advertising and promoting. By year two you can hope that through advertising you can pay for your own hosting. Also, it mentioned that talent wasn't the highest priority. If you have a good story line and consistent updates you will most likely develop a following.

I spent some time cruising the Dealer's room and Artist's Alley again. Also stopped in to watch people in the game room. Honestly, I hate playing video games with people watching me. I'm a horrible gamer and an audience just makes it worse. But I love to watch people DDR. I just find it fascinating watching "pros" go at it.

After the perusal I then caught up with a friend to watch the AMVs. I actually hadn't watched any AMV's before this, so I was throughly entertained. Unfortunately I arrived late so I couldn't participate in the voting. H4773r watched the Gurren panel while I was at the AMV's. From his account it was quite enjoyable and they answered quite a few questions. Again check out RedRoses's page for the complete panel discussion. Also check out here for the AMV winners list.

After the AMV's we went to dinner at Flames again.

Ended the night with more Anime Hell and speed runs of Sonic and Mario.

Fanime, Saturday

Got to the con pretty late and missed the webcomic panel I wanted to catch.

(NOTE: I have decided that next year I will be getting a hotel room for Fanime. I live in the SJ area, about 20 minutes drive to the convention center, but it's still a huge inconveinece getting to the con on-time. Plus I feel like we miss out on so much when we leave. )

While I waited for the Gurren Lagann movie premiere I did my shopping. I was able to get a nice sketch from Three Panel Soul artist Ian McConville. He's a really cool guy in person. I also bought my first round of manga (Ouran Host Club and R.O.D.). And last purchases were a WoW mage shirt and the Buffy killed Edward tee for a co-worker.

(NOTE: In the future I'll probably wait til Monday if I'm buying things at the Dealer's room, since theoretically they have sales but continue to make purchases in Artist's Alley as I find things I like. The reason for this is because a lot of the time you'll see a print or other item you like but the artists only bring so much with them. And if you wait to long it probably won't be there when you get back.)

Got to see some of the Gurren Laggann movie premiere. I hadn't watched the anime before and the movie hadn't been either subbed or dubbed yet, so H4773r spent a bit of time filling me in as the movie went along. If you want an excellent in depth re-cap of the Gurrenn Laggan movie check out RedRose's review.

The only thing I managed to watch was the Cosplay Spectacular. The line was huge this year. But I still got decent seats. This year I saw a big improvement over the entries. I opted not to stay the for the entire show, but out of what I caught the Pokemon guys were my absolute favorite.

Enjoyed Pizza My Heart for dinner this time. This a local favorite with an awesome surfer theme throughout. Think an Endless Summer pizza joint.

After dinner we decided to stay late and watch Anime Hell. Anime Hell is basically a bunch of anime, and anime related content. Anything from commercials, both foreign and domestic, short movie clips. I think we finally called it a "night" around 2am.

Fanime, Friday

Started Friday out by enjoying some Jack in the Box. It's within close walking distance of the con and makes for cheap food. Because, no matter where you go, con food is always overpriced. Also we parked at the downtown garage on Fourth and San Fernando. It's right across from SJSU. Honestly, this isn't the closest or even the cheapest place to park. But for us it was the most convienent. H4773r goes to SJSU and has a monthly parking pass, so for us it was the cheapest.

We got there fairly early to pick up our badges (they were pretty and shiny, oooo). As we approached we saw protestors. Apparently they are there every calling all the anime geeks sinners and what-not, but I didn't remember them. We started wandering a bit and checking out the awesome pocket guide (literally mini guide that had all the panel, event, and video times). Just so you know, while the con opens early most events/happenings don't start til about 2pm. Luckily the anime rooms open up around 12pm, so I was able to catch up on a couple of things I haven't seen before. We saw Onion Samurai and Charlie the Unicorn 3. Also managed a bit later to catch Tweeny Witches (F.Y.I. My friend, Julie Rei Goldstein does the voice over for Biris in Tweeny Witches: The Adventures OAV).

As soon as the Dealer's room and Artist's Alley opened up we went out to scout all the merch. Personally, I thought both we're pretty "meh." The Dealer's room was actually quite small and a lot of the merch wasn't terribly noteworthy. Plus, everyone jacks up the price at con. Having said that, I still walked away with two purchases: a Gurren Lagan messenger bag and DeathNote lanyard. And while the A.A. had more artist's than last year I just wasn't interested in buying yet another plushie, or button, or print.

Had some dinner. Came back to see the panel "Webcomics: Behind the scenes," which featured Nonsense Wars, Thunder and Lightning, and Ensuing. The panel was fairly informative, considering I know nothing about starting a webcomic. They were able to give us some practical advice on which services can be used to host (comicgenesis was mentioned), and re-iterated frequently the importance of updating your webcomic regularly. And while the panel managed to end on time, the Ouran Host Club attendees were fairly annoying busting into the room to grab seats (not a fan of those fan girls).

(NOTES: H4773r and I will be starting a webcomic later this year. So catching all the webcomic panels meant a lot to us.)

After the panel we quickly made our way over to catch R.O.D. OAV. I've seen this anime before but I really, really enjoy the story line. In fact, I purchased manga for it (volumes 1-4).

Friday night's dinner was enjoyed at Flames. Flames is a local diner that has locations downtown across from SJSU (where we went) and a second location on Hillsdale. The food here is pretty good and decently priced. I liken Flames to slightly more upscale Denny's with a bar. They also have pretty good desert menu as well. The only problem I have with the dowtown location is they have varied hours operation and it isn't posted anywhere. I have no clue what time they open and what time they close always seems to vary.

Finally we ended the evening by enjoying our favorite downtown SJ pub, O'Flaherty's. O'Flaherty's is a place we frequent every Friday. Yes, I was in full costume and didn't care. If you go, try the Mad Hatter. An interesting twist on Guiness.

Fanime, Thursday

Overall: thought the con went very well this year. They were much more organized than previous years; panels and events ran pretty smoothly and on-time; the pocket guide was so very useful and helpful; and the eateries available were much more on-hand and had better hours.

I didn't get a chance to pick up my badge on Thursday, even though we had pre-reg'd. So I missed out on the small happenings that happen on Thursday evenings. Truthfully, there isn't much that happens on Thursday other than the swap meet and the game room.

(NOTES: I pre-reg'd again for next year and plan on going to Thursday night events. I think I'd just like to soak in the atmosphere.)

We did, however, take in some of the SJ night life. For those who are 21+ and don't mind a little GBTLA action then I highly recommend Hunter's. Every Thursday has $5 Cosmopolitans (in tumbler glasses) and is ladies night (although all genders do show up for drinking and dancing). Really, all ladies night means is they have female go-go dancers on the bar.

What is the C0n FaIry?

Back in 2007 or so, at Fanime, I was sitting with my friends, exhausted after a long day of conventioning. I watched as cosplayers, attendees, exhibitors, and other such people passed me by. And I started thinking, I bet quite a few of these people have never been to San Jose before this weekend and no nothing about the area. Wouldn't it be nice if someone could give them direction? Tell them, for example, some of the best, cheap, within walking distance places to eat? What about if they needed a band-aid, or hairpins, or an aspirin where would be they able to get it? And cheaply? Or even a tampon or condom? Wouldn't it be great if there was some sort of con fairy who could guide them along? And thus, concept for con fairy was born. The first trick was to figure out how the heck would store a bunch of these items on me? Finally I decided on a tactical vest, complete with wings (I am a fairy, afterall), skirt and boots. I really enjoy playing my own character and of course, at some point she'll show up in FTL. Unfortunately, since I'm not very well known, no one really takes advantage of the stuff I carry. Perhaps, someday that'll change.

So some other important info, if you find the C0n FaIry around:

I DO NOT carry: alcohol, prescription drugs, illegal drugs, cigarettes, or lighters

I don't have a ton of room on me and I still have to carry my own crap, so the following are items I might have on me.

THINGS THAT I MIGHT HAVE ON ME:

Safety pins

Bobby pins

Travel sewing kit

Sunscreen

Lysol

Anti-bacterial gel

Hand lotion

Band-aids

Neosporin spray

Body deordant (usually AXE body spray)

Aspirin

Motrin

Aleve

Tums

Tampons

Feminine pads

Condoms

Granola bars (or other energy bars)

Water

5 hour energy shots

Breath mints

Gum

Vitamin C drops

Baby wipes

Con schedule

I may or may not have some recommendations on what to do in the area or places to eat near the con. Any other advice requested will be complete and utter bullshit.