Travel Blog: SDCC 2010: The Summary

Hey all,

I've been meaning for quite some time to write down my thoughts and ruminations from this years San Diego Comic Con since I epically failed doing an update from the actual event. I did not take an exorbitant amount of pictures this year, something I always MEAN to do but never in truth actually get around to. Still I have uploaded a few pics with captions down below for your viewing pleasure. I can easily say this, SDCC 2010 was one of the best comic con experiences I have ever had.

I've faithfully been attending Comic Con since 1992 and the key to making it a fresh and enjoyable experience each year is that you have to grow along with the show. Comic Con is such an undeniably different experience than it use to be, if your tastes and likes haven't evolved along with the show, then you are in danger of losing the core element that is Comic Con, an unabashed love of popular culture. Because that's what it is now. A pop culture con. Sure comics are still a huge part of that experience, but it's so much more. Comic Con is more now about the experience of whatever passion you have that falls under a much larger umbrella of popular arts, from films, TV, video games, actors, actresses, web features, Asian culture, manga, underground, urban art, and yes comics. It's really Nerd Prom.

This year was a markedly different experience for me. Every few years my interests change into what my driving force at Comic Con is. For a while it was solely comics, but over the years I have flirted with many other areas of interest, to manga, to films, to Star Wars, to my vinyl art phase of the past few years. This year though, was about meeting this online community of friends I have become a part of. A while back I joined a message board for an actress named Olivia Munn, co host of Attack of the Show. Over the past year as I've ventured deeper into social media and on the forum, many of these people have become friends to me.

This was the first year that a large number of them would be in attendance at Con. It was an opportunity to meet a group of people whom I had been chatting with for such a long time where we would all be in one spot at one time, a group of people gathered from all over the world. This was a unique opportunity to be sure, where we had members from New York, Texas, England, Australia, it was a chance for a disparate group of people to meet for the first time.

Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself though. It can't be said enough that my favorite thing of all about Comic Con is getting the chance to hang out with my best friend Jason for 5 days. We have both been attending Con since 1993 (I went one year before) and it is an ingrained part of our life, a tradition and custom that we both look forward to every year. This year was no different, despite his ardent claims of me "cheating" on him by hanging out with other members of the forum. = )

Wednesday is preview night at Con and it's usually my favorite night of the trip. Wednesday is usually the least crowded evening (except the waning hours of Sunday before close) and everything is fresh and new. It's impossible to see everything in teh slim 3 hour window you get that night, but it is plenty of time to make a few key visits and one of my favorite stops is artist Tara McPherson. Tara is an artist I've mentioned on the blog plenty of times before and she is always a wonderful person to talk with. I'm a huge fan of her artistic style and even her personal style. Her artwork is hugely influential in my writing, inspiring me personally. Also the fact that she remembers me every year is another bonus. I bought a great print that she designed this year that's hanging in my house and I plan on adding at least one more next year.

We made a few other pit stops and I got to chat briefly with a few of the forum members before we continued the rounds. Thursday was the big day for our meet up though. One of the forum moderators had talked to Olivia Munn and she had invited 16 of us to a special private meetup with her in one of the restaurants at her hotel. I can tell you that all day Thursday I was very anxious and excited to meet with her and I really don't remember much of the actual convention itself. I know that many of us meet the the G4TV booth to talk where I learned the details of the meetup. That night we all met Olivia at her hotel and she bought us all dessert. It was honestly fucking incredible.

She was completely down to earth, funny, and despite only really having 30 minutes to hang out with us, she spent much closer to an hour (maybe 45 min) talking, taking pictures, and joking with all of us. To be a part of that and to have her thank us for being fans was mind blowing and easily ones of my favorite comic con moments ever. Add in to the fact that this was also really the first time that many of us met for the first time in a group. It was pretty crazy. I think it was also a moment where I realized that anyone who would go to that kind of effort for her fans when she clearly didn't have to was someone who was very special. I appreciated it.

Friday was a day spent in signings, from an Olivia signing in the morning, to being able to chat with another artist that I love, David Mack, was a huge deal. David is the writer and artist of Kabuki and a beautiful painter. One of my favorite super heroes is Dazzler, this very 70's Disco themed hero that in all honesty is pretty cheesy (but then again that's a part of the appeal to me). David did a wonderful brush and ink sketch of her in my book that I really thought was amazing. Just watching his process and method was fantastic. The other truly epic thing that happened on Friday was meeting my friend Shawn. It's a well known fact my love for the 1992 Christian Slater film Kuffs is pretty unabashed. A running joke is my constant lording of the film over others incessantly. Shawn actually painted me a picture of Kuffs. It's gloriously epic. It's a three dimensional image of the films movie poster in black and white. Made from what I think is foam, he shaped each piece and painted it. It's one of the most awesome presents ever given to me. Friday night Jason, his girlfriend, Autumn, and a few other friends Matt and Lauren, all went out to eat at a great little English pub just outside the Gas lamp district.

Saturday was another big G4 day. They broadcast a 4 hour live show from the Convention and a bunch of us wanted to watch it. We managed to snag some prime standing room seats for the show. Many people crowd the booth, which itself is an elevated platform on the show floor, making it hard to be able to stand and watch the show as Fire Marshall's constantly clear the crowds for safety purposes. We got a prime seat though and manage to watch about 2 hours of the broadcast (and even made a few appearances in the background!) before being ushered along. From there we headed over to the joining hotel to watch the live Attack of the Show panel. It was another opportunity for so many of us to meet up again and chat. It was fun, funny and a great experience.

That night Olivia had a book signing of her autobiography. Olivia secured 16 VIP passes for those of us who had been at the dessert meet up and made time to thank us again and take pictures while she signed her book for us. It was kind of surreal being there and seeing other people look at us in all honesty, pretty jealously. She spent the first 15 minutes signing stuff for us and taking pictures again before she started on the rest of the line. This signing was at a Borders downtown and a lot of people had been there a long time waiting. After the book signing and much hugging, about 20 of us wandered down into the Gaslamp and ate a huge dinner at Rock Bottom. It was a great way to end the night and bond with these people, these friends.

Sunday was dedicated to a few things. One was entering a trivia contest at the G4 booth where I placed pretty well, walking away with several T shirts and a gift certificate to ThinkGeek.com for $100. It was pretty cool. Finally my obsessive knowledge of Ninja Warrior and Harry Potter paid off in dividends! I also spent some time diving through some old comic bins looking for X-Men comics. My big comic kick lately has been writer Chris Claremont's X-Men run from the late 70's to the early 90's. I'm nearing in on completing his run and I managed to find a few key books that I needed. Along with that I helped Jason dive through the bins looking for classic horror comics and covers, he has really been drawn to the outrageous covers artists like Nestor Redondo and Joe Kubert did in the late 60's and 70's.

Add in these factors plus being able to hang out with my best friends, I truly loved comic con. I walked away with a couple of wonderful pieces of art, met two of my favorite people in the world, and had the chance to embrace an entirely new group of friends. Olivia's treatment of me at the dessert meet up was truly unique and one of the most memorable things I have ever done at con. Plus my friends being there. I am the type of person to who friendship means a lot to and the people I met at Comic Con were far nicer than I expected. And I got to hang out with my best friend Jason. A guy couldn't ask for a better trip. See you in 2011!



Olivia Munn Fan Group at her Book signing.




It's Kenneth Braghn, director of Thor.



One guys sweet Darkseid costume. I really wish I had snapped more costume pics this year.





Olivia at the dessert meeting, signing an autograph. I liked the very intimate nature of the pic. And of the event.



Ms. Munn and me at the dessert meet up.


End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: Chicago

Hey all,

Well, I am home and ready to relax from my travels this past month. Chicago wasn't as exciting as Orlando or San Diego, a lot of it was simply hanging out in my hotel, studying for my classes or watching TV. I even lost the Internet from Wednesday to until I left as the wifi was down inside the hotel. So I didn't get to blog up on the last few days of my travels. So today I thought I would take a few minutes and end cap these travails.

Wednesday was actually where things started to pick up on the trip. Much of Sunday through Tuesday was bland, staying in my room, eating my meals alone, it was so bad I actually went to a movie on Tuesday by myself. I was looking forward to Wednesday though, as this meant a trip downtown into the heart of Chicago. I grabbed the shuttle that bussed us down and finally got a chance to talk to some people with similar interests, and despite having my own agenda in the city, I agreed to meet a few of them at the Navy Pier later to watch a scheduled fire works show. This was one of the first mixed group events that happened, so you didn't get a whole lot of interaction with other tables within your classroom setting, or even meet the other classes.

We got into Chicago after a pretty long shuttle ride and I made a beeline for a store called Rotofugi. It is a wonderful little vinyl toy store in Chicago with a huge selection of toys and artwork. I spent a good 30 minutes just browsing and picked up a few souvenirs to take back. I was amazed at the amount of selection they had, I took a few pics which you can check out below. They had some rare stuff and plenty to chose from, but nothing I thought I had to have so I stuck to some small items, though he did set me up with an online ordering site to get some plus sized shirts with the store logo on it so I am excited about that.

On the cab ride over (as the shuttle didn't get me close enough) I had also saw a small comic book store nearby. I hoofed it through what wasn't the greatest part of town, but browsed the store which had a wonderful small press section, where I found two books I had been desperately searching for. Transmetropolitan vol 2 by Warren Ellis and Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzuchelli. Polyp is a new book that I was looking for in San Diego, but couldn't find. I have even had issues locating it at my central store in town, so I gladly payed the $30 for the beautiful hardbound book. Expect a write up later this month in my Word Balloon Column detailing the read.

After browsing I cabbed back downtown and ate dinner at Portillo's, a really great Hot Dog and Italian Beef joint. I ate a Chicago Style dog, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, relish, mustard, and a huge dill pickle, with a hot dog on a poppy roll, plus half an Italian Beef sandwich, shredded beef soaked in au jous sauce, sweet peppers, and Swiss cheese, with fries and a beer, for like $12. It was amazing! Next up was to head downtown to the Pier and the crazy story that follows.

I was lost, looking for directions towards the Pier, I didn't want to take another cab and I was told it was about a mile walk, something i thought i could handle in plenty of time before I was due to meet my party. As I am looking for directions, this large black guy comes up to me and asks if I am lost. I say Yes, I am looking for the Navy Pier and he says to follow him. As I am following him down the street it occurs to me if he leads me down one of these dark alleys I will probably die. But I follow anyway. We reach a street corner and he turns to me and asks, " Do I party?"

This is usually code for doing drugs, at least in the movies, So I say no. He asks, " Do you wanna buy some coke?" I reply, "I've got school tomorrow." That has got to be the gayest response to someone trying to sell you drugs of all time. I mean I had HU classes yes, but I am 32 saying I got school. Terrible. Anyway he looks at me and says fines, points me to the left and says a free trolley will pick me up and take me to the Pier there and goes on his way. Sure enough, a trolley DID arrive and take me down there. The people of Chicago where nice, even the drug dealers!

Anyway, to make a long story short, I finally made it to the Navy Pier and met up for fireworks and beers. I had a good time hanging out with some folks from other tables, even getting a little flirty with one girl until I found out she was married. We watched a really fun fireworks show an split a cab back to the shuttle. All I know is 5 people splitting one cab is a pretty tight experience.

Thursday was marked by a night of studying and a few beers down at the hotel pub. It was fun just hanging out and studying and getting a chance to be in a relaxing situation with some of the people I met. We all turned in fairly early, especially with no ability to get online, I felt a good rest would do me great.

Friday was the last day of class so that meant taking the assessment (I did okay, missed 3 questions) and graduation. Overall I was happy with the class but it probably would have helped me out more 2 years ago when the class was meant to be taken, and not 3 years into the position. Still I was grateful for the opportunity to learn and network, and to meet one of McDonald's living legends in Fred Turner, the founder of HU and creator of our first systems manual back in the early 60's.

The graduation ceremony was held over a lunch, with a nice meal of beef brisket and potatoes. We got our diplomas and mingled, before heading back to the room to change and check out of the hotel by 2pm. I hung out in the bar for a few hours with a couple of the girls in my class and caught a free limo ride to the airport, to wait 2 hours before my flight. That was the plan at least, until the flight was delayed by rain by nearly 2 hours. The weather had been beautiful for the whole week while I was there, not to hot nor cold, just perfect. Until Friday, which was reduced to a rainy grey drizzle. I enjoyed the rain to be honest, until it delayed my flight so long.

Still after that delay and the headwind the plane caught I didn't get home until nearly midnight, and I had to work at 7am. All in all I was glad to have taken the trip, but I was more glad to just be home. Below are a couple of pics from the trip, hope you enjoyed the Travel Blogs, I am not sure when my next trip is scheduled, but I'll continue to update as it happens.



Fireworks at the Pier!



Several shots of Rotofugi




Inside




Outside



Fred Turner, one of our Founding Fathers.

Hope you enjoyed the pics and everything. I will be back this week with two movie reviews as well as new Flash Fiction and I am still sitting on some poetry. See you soon.


End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: Chicago!

Hey all,

Typing this here from Chicago and I gotta say that the trip is the height of un-eventfulness. I am here for some advanced training for work and I arrived on Sunday. I got in early enough that I had plenty of time last night to troll around town. I am staying a couple of miles outside of Chicago in Oakbrook, home of the corporate office and a wonderful resort called the Lodge. I took their complimentary shuttle into town and walked around a huge mall last night and picked up some new reading material.

I had a nice meal at a place called Houlihans and had a great meal at a really inexpensive price. A huge Caesar salad, steak and baked potato, and bourbon pecan pie all for less than $15.00, it was great! I headed in early and surfed the web, catching an early bedtime for class.

Up early for class today and it was fun, if a little repetitive. I ordered some pizza and am chilling in my room right now. My room mate (assigned randomly by the hotel) is here with a huge group of people, like 9 total so they are out every night partying and that pretty much leaves me alone. My wok group in class is also a bit different. Three of the seven have actually done this class before and are simply here for a refresh, while two others are both from Boston and know each other. Another speaks primarily Spanish so that leaves little old me, but that's okay. So tonight I am content to hang around the room and watch a movie. I will be online tomorrow with a new poem, commencurating my 500th post! See you then!

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: SDCC!

Day 5: The Recap!

Hey all!

WOW! It's Monday and we are finally home, posting my recap of Sunday (and the Con as a whole) from the comforts of my own Internet connection in my very messy office. It's definitely a bittersweet feeling, sad that another con has come and gone (number 17 for this old guy) and happiness that I am back at home. I will post up a quick Sunday recap, and then my thoughts on Comic Con as a whole.

Sunday is children's day at the Con, with most of the panels and large signings set up for the youth in attendance. As such there isn't a lot of panels or events going on and Sunday makes a great day for shopping, trying to find out those last second deals and key purchases. We only had two thing son the agenda today, one being my best friend Jason getting the chance to work behind one of the tables in the small pres area. Josh Howard, who creates a book called Dead at 17 (currently available through Image Comics) left the con a day early and Jason, along with his friend Matt Hebb (a really great penciler and friend) got to sit behind his booth and do sketch cards. They both turned out some really great stuff (Matt drew an excellent Spider-Woman [in COLOR!] for me) and Jason turned out some really intense cowboy and zombie cards, a bit of a tease for our (hopefully) upcoming collaboration. They hung out at the table and drew and talked to people so that was really cool.

The second was to get Autumn through James Jean signing. I had waited yesterday but Autumn had a panel to go to so she got in line today. James Jean is a wonderful illustrator of books, best known for his work on Fables as the cover artist. Autumn had picked up his new art book as well as his new book of prints. It was a pretty quick line, about 45 minutes, but he signed everything she had taken and even did some small sketching in the book. I also got to chatting with one of the very wonderful ladies from Tara McPherson's booth while in line so that was cool. We talked about art and music and general thoughts on Comic Con so I enjoyed that a lot. Being such a huge fan of Tara it was nice not to be looked at as weird by someone as close to her as she is, to be just a fan and be kosher.

I spent the big part of my day searching for some comic books. It wanted to get back to my Con roots and buy some comics. Over the past few years I have mostly bought imports or hard to find stuff, this year I wanted to dig up some old X-Men and Spider Woman comics, which i did doing one of my favorite comic con past times, trolling through the dollar bins. Well in this economy the dollar bins are closer to $2.00 bins but still I managed to load up on some seriously great X-Men, from the mid to late 100's and nearly complete my Spider Woman run. Don't ask me why, but my two favorite Marvel characters, Dazzler and Spider Woman, both have had series published around the same time ans both ended about the same time. The books were not teh greatest quality in terms of art of story, but it's more about the character and the times, rather than the content. The X-Men hold up really well, coming from the peak of writer Chris Clairmont's epic run.

We ended the day browsing for souvenirs for work folk and trying to get some last second discounts from some of the vendors. Overall it was a great experience and a wonderful reminder of why i love coming every year so much. Con started out for me as an excuse to meet the writers and artists of my favorite books, and it still is that to an extent. Then it became about finding all the cool stuff or buying things that I couldn't get anywhere else. For a time, it was even about just being with my friends. Even the last year it was about checking out the vinyl toys. Con is constantly changing what it means to me, and this year, more than others, it reminded me of why I love Comic Con so much. Its the only place, and the only time, in the world where you aren't judged for what you like, what you read, or how you dress. Someone else is into the same things you are, likes the same people, and has the same interests. It is really one place where I feel welcomed.

I had a great time at Con overall, I am going to post up some of my favorite pics from the annual Masquerade and from out on the floor. Every year they run a great costume contest and put it on Saturday night, plus I'll add on some of the folk I saw just on the floor. Enjoy!



James Jean, one of my favorite artists.



The ruthless, terrorist organization Cobra. Great group work at the Costume Ball.



And the other great toy of my youth, He-Man's enemies Skeletor and Evil-Lynn. Great work on both of these costumes, using a vinyl based paint instead of a body stocking.



A really detailed Minotaur costume that impressed Jason and I a lot.



Next to Dazzler, Spider Woman is my favorite character.



Silk Spectre, of Watchmen. there where a lot of them this year but this was one of the better ones.



My all time favorite costume from Comic Con. The Comedian and Original Silk Spectre, as shown during the rape sequence in Watchmen. It was wildly inappropriate and wrong, and I thought it was genius. They posed for some really wrong, but funny pictures and even had blood on Silk Spectre's face. It was horribly inappropriate and wrong, but the black sense of humor worked for me. Is that wrong?

Well, that about sums up the end of Comic Con. There is still another branch of Travel Blog though next week as I leave for Chicago Sunday! Thanks for reading and I'll be back tomorrow with Sunday's missed Flash Fiction post.

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: SDCC!!

Day 4!

Hey all!

Saturday is typically the busiest day at con and this year was no exception. It was pretty crowded but I had a great time. Started off my day making for the Attack of the Show autograph signing, with the G4 networks Olivia Munn, Kevin Pereira, and Blair Butler. The signing was a raffle ticket event, meaning you drew a ticket in order to stand in the line for signings that night. I was one of the lucky 400 who made it and I got to meet Olivia (and the rest) again. It was really cool, I even got my picture taken and hopefully will make an appearance on the G4 website for my kick ass shirt (which reads Hopeless Romantic Seeks Filthy Whore) It was a big hit! The drawing was at 10am, but the signing wasn't until 5pm, so I had some time.

After getting my ticket I made my way into the hall and chatted up several different artists, including current Captain America artist Steve Epting and Lenial Yu, New Avanegers artist. Then I made my way to finish my custom vinyl. Yesterday I had taken a blank Teddy Troop, a large vinyl bear with a huge helmet to get some of my favorite urban artists to sketch on it. I had done the same last year with a blank Munny vinyl, so this year we changed it up. All in all I got some really great sketches, By Frank Kozik, Tara McPherson, Attaboy, Buff Monster, Peak-a-Boo Monster, Brendt Peters, Kathy Olivias, Ron English, Angry Wobats, and Kano. The piece is packed. I promise posts on the new vinyl as soon as I get home.

In the afternoon I headed out to meet James Jean, another favorite artist of mine to get some stuff signed. At Con this year he released 2 new projects, the third volume of his art, called Process Recess 3, and a collection of prints called Kindling. I picked up both of course and had him sight those, plus a collection of covers he had done from one of my favorite series, Fables.

Then the rest of the day was devoted to the G4 AOTS line which took several hours, but it was fun and worth every minute of it. After the line ended, the con closed and we had a great meal at an Italian place called Buca De Beppo, sharing it with several of my friends. After one last stop at the con to take a few picks at the masquerade costume contest, we headed for the hotel and some sleep. There is an awful long day ahead of us tomorrow, a full day of con then on the road home.

Oh a quick note. I had my first traditional Filipino dessert from restaurant called Jollibees, a sort of fast food restaurant. I ordered a Halo-Halo, a drink I was told was made with ice cream and ICEE. This one was crazy but it had shaved ice, milk, ice cream, jelly candies, soy beans, and Ube, a delectable creamy topping.

I posted a few pics below, nothing major as the Internet is acting up for my today. Also I will do a separate post with all the great costumes I have seen. Thanks for reading!

a

Olivia says Hi!





Blair Butler, just before running off to an appointment.




KP signing at the show!




Crazy ass restaurant. Jollibees!

Okay. Expect another couple of updates Monday as we are traveling tomorrow night. Thanks for reading!!!

End of Line,
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: SDCC!

Day 3!

Hey all!

Friday was one of the busiest days of the con for me. The plan was first off to go to the exclusive Olivia Munn fan meeting that was held. Now it was supposed to be for people with special invites only, but word got out and the booth was a giant clusterfuck. The booth was surged with people, so bad that they closed the booth down after about 30 minutes of the event. Olivia tried gamely to keep us going, but the Con Nazi's chased up clear upstairs and out onto the back patio. We got to meet Olivia outside, with the ocean and the boats behind her. We literally where running down the rear hall to get to the stairs and outside. It was a large running herd of folks that did trickle off a few folks. Once outside, we dubbed it the Running of the Munns. To keep things moving, she partitioned the line to fan group folks, and everyone else. I met a couple of guys from the forums and we got a chance to meet Oliva and take a picture.

She was totally cool, talking to everyone and signing autographs. Definitely one of the best things to happen period. It was cool being able to chat with some of these guys and kind of put a face to the name. After that I tried to get into the Attack of the Show panel with a couple of the others forum members but after a 2 hour wait we got cut off. After a few goodbyes, I decided to head down to the floor and see what I could see. I did manage to get some sketch work done on a custom blank vinyl toy by some of my favorite artists: Buff Monster, Tara McPherson, Frank Kozik,and Attaboy. I want to try to get a couple more tomorrow, maybe Kathy Olivas or a new artist named Peakaboo Monsters. Pictures of that to come when its done!

It was a really great day! I even got to see a really great costume of my all time favorite super hero, 1970's disco Dazzler! It was awesome! I know there is probably a ton of stuff I am forgetting, there is so much at each day it is nearly impossible to remember it all.

Enjoy some new pics below!



Olivia Munn, Queen of Comic Con, surveying all her subjects.



Olivia, Olivia have you seen me and Olivia?



Consternation, or maybe gas? This was snapped right after what is now known as the Running of the Munns.



Hand to God, I swear this is the coolest costume... ever. For real.

Con was its usual awesome self! Be back tomorrow with another update, thanks for reading! Oh, and for some reason the pics are posting funny, so sorry about that but my whole Internet setup is kind of messed up so hopefully you guys are okay with it.

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: SDCC!

Day 2!

Hey all!

Thursday was an intense day with an even bigger day planned tomorrow. Headed into the floor and made my way first thing to the Kid Robot booth to get a hold of the SDCC exclusive 8 inch Dunny by Shane Jessup, a sweet black only variant. There was only 200 made, and I was number 200 so I feel really lucky to grab one. I waited in line and got it signed too so it was a bonus! That took several hours actually, but as one of only 3 items I was certain that I wanted, I had no problem waiting. Heck while I was standing in line I did an interview with Kid Robot's online web feed, The Kronichle so that was fun!

After that I tracked down renowned artist Bill Sienkiewicz and got a signature and a sketch. I really overpaid for it and am suffering a serious case of buyers remorse, but he is one of my favorite artists and drew one of my favorite characters for most of the series, Dazzler. So I did get a very cool Dazzler sketch, but probably not worth what I paid for it. Oh well. A few less foreign comics will now be bought eh?

Then I wandered the floor for a while, meeting comic great Jeff Smith as well as running into G4 correspondents Blair Butler and Alison Haislip. Alison gave me a signed photo and both posed for pictures. I spent a little more time at Tara McPherson's booth getting her art books signed and then started routing around for the other two items on my list, James Jean's two releases, the print set Kindling, and his new art book, Process Recess Volume 3. I got both and am very much looking forward to finding James on Saturday and getting them signed.

After the con we headed for some dinner at Joe's Crab Shack for some crab and drinks and after a pit stop at the car we headed out for a live art show downtown. Artists Buff Monster (who Jason is a big fan off) and Attaboy (someone I quite like) both where there painting, Buff even paint a live model. It was pretty hot. I took a bunch of pictures and will post a couple up today, be on the lookout for more as the week progresses.

Tomorrow is some exclusive time with one of my favorite celebs, Olivia Munn, so I am off to bed. Enjoy the photos!



Welcome to Geek Vegas!!!




The end of a very long line for an exclusive...



Vinyl artist Mr. Shane Jessup.



Alison Haislip and yours truly.




Blair Butler caught in the headlights. Fucking classy right? My shirt says so.


I will post up more pictures tomorrow, including stuff from the live art show and when I get back home I'll scan in my sketch.

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog; SDCC!

Hey all!

Day one of Comic Con has come and gone! Well technically it hasn't, just preview night, but still. For those out of the know, the San Diego Comic Con: International, or SDCC as I will hereby be referring to it, is the largest comic and pop culture convention in the world, with over 125,000 attendees every year. Everything from new movies and DVD releases, to vinyl toys, comic books (both old and new) to celebrities stumping their current gigs can be found there.

This marks my (gasp!) 17 annual trek to the show and by has it grown. Each day the hall is packed more and more, and preview night was no exception. The Con officially kicks off Thursday, but individuals who pre-register for 4 days get to have a sneak preview for 3 hours on Wednesday. As an old pro of attending, you know that Wednesday is usually the best day to spring forward on the Con exclusives and get the stuff you KNOW you are gonna want while supplies still last.

Truthfully, you don't so much see the con itself as run to each booth and pray that you are there in time to get access to the exclusives. We actually had a really good night, Jason managed to get almost everything he was looking for on the first night (which could be a bad thing) and Autumn found several items on her wish list. As for me, my exclusives don't drop until today, though I did find a wonderful black and white hardback comic called Bouncer from France. It is entirely in French so I can't read it, but I want to study it for purposes of the comic that Jason and me will hopefully be working on.

The highlight of my night was meeting one of my favorite artists, Tara McPherson again and actually having her recognize me. Kind of cool to be remembered as a fan that checks out her stuff every year and she signed a couple of vinyls for me this year, though I will make at least one or 2 more trips to see her and get some more stuff.

Today its all about landing my vinyl exclusive and just checking out the booths and the con hall. Taking some pictures and having a good time at the hall. I am not really on the lookout for anything else, except for a couple of early release products for artist James Jean. I will have pictures and more to update on as the con progresses. See you inside!!


End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: Orlando!

Day 4

Hey All!

There isn't a whole lot that happened on day 4 as it was mostly a travel day. We had a late flight out though and went for a great little lunch at a wonderful seafood place where we had mango salsa shrimp and crab meat and butter dipped crabs legs. As my main entree I had some really excellent fresh fish tacos. After that we took a cab back to the hotel and caught the shuttle to the airport.

We had a very fast flight and were home nearly 30 minutes early. It was a smooth trip and I got some really great reading accomplished, finishing both the Groucho Marx Autobiograpghy I had picked up as well as some new comic graphic novels, Transmetropolitan Volume 1 and Planetary Volume 2, both written by Warren Ellis with art by Darick Robertson and John Cassaday respectively. Mostly I listened to my IPod and read, but I did manage to get a total of three poems written in the interim. One I posted earlier this week, the other two I will post over the next week or so.

My brother picked me up from the airport, as I had agreed to see the new Harry Potter film with him this weekend and decided to see it after the flight. We met Jason and Autumn at the theatre and I will also post up on that over the next couple of days.

In the end, I think that the Convention was both a good thing and a bad. Despite the good times I did have, there were long stretches, typically on the convention floor, where the whole affair seemed insular. Like there was some group that I just didn't click with. I never stayed with one person to long on the floor, and would wander with different people in and out of the exhibits at my leisure, sometimes just preferring the solitude to some of their company. I know part of it is just me, but another part really felt alone in that big hall. Alone because I will never have that same level of camaraderie with people that I don't really want to know, for the most part. Maybe I just need to shut up and play the game, but then again, I never really wanted to get ahead that way.

I will be back online later tonight hopefully with a bonus poetry post and again tomorrow with new Flash Fiction. Thanks for reading and enjoy a few more random pics of my time at McDonald Peak Convention.

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At the PEabody Hotel, they keep ducks in the lobby, lounging by a fountain in the center entrance hall. The ducks are led out after an hour or so.



Duck gone ass up!



Another pic from the Disney Hollywood walk, Mickey's Sorcerer's Apprentice hat. They launched some great 3D fireworks from the hat.


Thanks again.
End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: Orlando!

Day 3

Hey all!

Day 3 started off with the after effects of a bad hangover. We had an awful lot to drink Tuesday night so Wednesday kind of dragged into a harsh fucking wake up. On a bit of a personal note, I don't travel well when it comes to using the bathroom. I tend to block up internally and explode when I get home. Well after the drinks and events of the night before (and one dry heave) I didn't feel well at all until all of that came unlocked but as soon as I did, I felt loads better.

Wednesday was the big day though. The last day on the floor and the day I had to sing karaoke. We went in for the the con (gratefully skipping breakfast) and I polished off the last two event booths I had and my final learning elective. I finished up around 2 and had a few hours to kill before the closing ceremony so I wandered the floor and boned up on my IPod to prep for singing. I did manage to sample some of the new food items we are going to be offering, like frappes and smoothies. The smoothies were excellent. Strawberry and banana and wild berry. The frappes were pretty good too, but I am not much of a coffee guy.

After the closing ceremony where they gave away an assortment of cash prizes and a vacation to Orlando, Oh and a new Ford Escape (no worries, I didn't win) I headed back to the hotel to freshen up. There was a final gala party for all the managers that was held at Disney's Hollywood Boardwalk. It was incredible! I got to go in as a VIP as a part of the karaoke team early to have a private meal (sausages, fajitas, barbecue chicken and pulled pork) complete with free drinks! OK, it was just beer and wine as well as a specialty fruity mixed drink that wasn't bad. I ate and was actually pretty nervous about singing at this point.

See for the second round the rules changed. We would sing accapella one song to either a casting producer or director of American Idol. No music, no screen with lyrics, just you, a producer and a barrel full of nerves. I sang Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues (the damn song had been stuck in my head all day). I tried to put all the emotion and stage presence I could into it but I could feel myself laying an egg as I did it. After 30 seconds we stopped and he said that I was not the next American Idol. Basically he said I had no vocal range and jokingly said, "On the bright side, at least it's over!" I headed back to the VIP room in shame, but not before getting a tour of the stage and the singing area.

By this point all the rest of my team had gone through general admission and eaten so we met up to hot some of Disney's great rides. First off, Star Tours, the Star Wars themed ride that is basically a motion ride. It was fun to ride on but a little disappointing in the end though the sets were incredible! The Park had a couple of really fun rides, the Aerosmith Roller Coaster was a lot of fun, entirely indoor and in black lights and neon, it starts off incredibly fast and rockets into 360's, loop the loops and corkscrews that was a lot of fun. Next up was the Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror, a ride that that starts you off in an elevator, then you plunge up and down over and over, each time varying when and where the drops will occur. I actually came out of my seat multiple times we had so much force being applied! The best part was one of our supervisors, who we tricked onto coming on. He loves roller coasters, but hates those drop rides. We told him it was another coaster and he freaked out!!!! He was screaming like a girl it was hilarious. Th picture it snaps actually show him clutching to the arm of the female manager next to him. Funny!

We actually rode both the Tower of Terror and the coaster twice, before heading to Disney's Great American Film Ride, a sort of animatronic salute to some of the greatest movies of the past, with a little live action thrown in. A lot of our party hated the 15 minute ride, but I loved it. Animatronic versions of some of my favorite classic stars, John Wayne, Jimmy Cagney, Gene Kelley, Indiana Jones, and a great Wizard of Oz scene with an animatronic Wicked Witch of the West that was almost lifelike. I think a lot of people don't have the same appreciation for classic cinema that I do, but that's okay, I had a great time. My only regret was missing the Muppet 3D movie as everyone saw that while I was auditioning at American Idol.

The final action of the night was free Ice Cream and popcorn as we watched a special 3D fireworks show that highlighted the McDonald's theme of the night. It was short, but visually very cool. Then it was back on the bus and to the hotel. We stopped for a late night nosh in the diner at the hotel and then actually went to bed at about 1:30am, early considering the previous nights exploits. I was tired and exhausted, so that is why this is up late. I intend to post a brief post on the last day of travel from Orlando later today, but for now here are some of the pictures I snapped.



Caught in the sights of an AT-AT in front of Star Tours!




C-3PO directing traffic inside the ride.



A group of us on The Great American Film Ride (before they told us to stop taking flash photos!)



My one shot to be the Next American Idol....



An early Day shot of The Tower of Terror!

Hope you enjoyed the sampling of pics I took. I have a few more of the last day in Orlando that I will post up later, as well as some poetry and a movie review over the weekend. Thanks for reading!

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: Orlando

Day 2
Hey all,

Sorry I missed the blog dump last night. Let's just say it involved a lot of drinking, but I will get to that in a bit.

Tuesday morning came bright and early and with a minimal amount of fuss. I did have a few drinks the night before, but there were almost no after effects the next day. We headed down to the convention itself for the opening ceremony and to prowl the convention floor. Mind you this IS a McDonalds convention, so its not always the most thrilling stuff you are looking at, but all the convention staff try really hard to keep the events and activities fun and exciting. The bummer was that cameras were not allowed on the convention floor itself, so I don't have that many pictures.

I spent most of the day on the floor completing my booth activities, we have to do this punch card of 15 booth experiences, plus 2 learning electives or the whole day and get a special pin at the end of each one. I actually did all but one of my electives, and 2 booths the first day, so my second day would be light. Overall I learned a few valuable assets that I can apply to my business and did a bit of networking.

That night though is when things got out of control. We had a "free night" which actually meant an organized dinner with our whole market. We went to B.B. King's Restaurant, which offered a variety of soul and seafood combinations, mostly barbecue. I had the catfish and the B.B. House Brew, a nice amber flavored beer. For dessert, Deep Fried Snickers Pie (YUM!) and a PINT of Pabst. After dinner we headed to a bar called Adobe Gila's and proceeded to get our drink on. I seriously had to much to drink and lost actual count after about hour two. It is very hard to quit when people keep buying you free rounds of Rusty Nails...

We did leave and hit up a popular dance club, but got bored quickly and went back to the bar, where we stayed until it closed. All I can say is that there was a lot of drinking done and honestly in the morning most of us was feeling it, especially me. Up until today, I have had exactly one hangover. Now you can mark me as having two. To be honest, I shrugged it off after a couple of hours, and an extensive stint in the restroom throughout the day but mostly I just think it had been a long time sine I drank that much.

OH! I also broke into the second round of karaoke! Amazing right? I entered it as a goof, but actually made it in on my Johnny Cash cover of "A Boy Named Sue." It was a huge surprise and the grand prize is an all expenses paid trip to Vancouver to carry the Olympic Flag at the next Olympics!!! We have to sing in front of one of the American Idol producers or directors for the show on the final night, one accapella song and 2 others of a set play list. I am nervous but excited. I will post an update on that as soon as I get the results. Down below are a couple of pictures that I did manage to snap. Enjoy!



Myself and a few of my co-managers outside the hall.



Fried Catfish at B.B. Kings!



Now that's what I call dessert!

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Travel Blog: Orlando

Hey all!

Welcome to what will probably be a fairly rare recurring feature, though over the next few weeks will see a huge blog dump. I decided since I will be doing so much traveling, Orlando, Chicago, and San Diego over the coming weeks that I should keep a travel blog. Anytime I do any kind of trip, I will attempt to update the days activities on the blog.

Departed Phoenix around 9 am this morning and had a fairly mild flight, just over 4 hours non stop. I had really hoped to get some work done on my laptop, but the seat arrangements made it impossible to get the screen all the way open,, though luckily I brought my journal and managed to write some poetry. I will attempt to upload them over the next few days. Mostly I sat and listened to my IPod, easily one of the best purchases ever. I also finished a really wonderful book, the autobiography of Groucho Marx, entitled Groucho and Me.

After arrival we checked into the quite luxurious Peabody Hotel, the one that has the ducks that walk through the lobby once a day. After a quick freshening up, we headed for the opening ceremony.his year the opening ceremony was really just a meet and greet, not the usual RAH-RAH chants of the past. See usually it consists of a series of speeches by corporate big wigs who tell us how great it is to work for us. Then it will be interrupted by some bands or music and games, then more speeches. This year was a very casual setting, better meal services than in the past, but at least the bar was open. Beers and wines only of course. Still I entered the annual karaoke contest, doing both Journey's "Don't Stop Believin" and Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue" I pretty much sucked but at least it was fun. In the spirit of fun though I did get one of those Henna tattoos. You know, where they airbrush a stencil on your you. I got a pretty sweet Tramp Stamp (on my lower back) of a heart with angel wings. I was laughing so hard that it is totally crooked but damn it was funny to see people's expressions. The only downside is that I am gonna be scrubbing at this thing for a good week! Ahh, the fickle price of comedy.

After a few hours of revelry, we headed back to the hotel for another fresh up, and proceeded to hit a few bars with some of the corporate team. Hey, I got a series of free drinks so it was all good. Eventually we settled on a piano bar that was playing some pretty good music. We stayed about 2 hours, listening to everything from more Journey to AC/DC. I think everyone had a good time, plus it didn't cost me a penny and that suited me fine, especially 4 Rusty Nails later.

A quick jog home and it finds me in my hotel I decided to throw this post up, and I will try to post every night I am here. Down below you can see a few of the pics I snapped. See you tomorrow.




Me singing some Johnny Cash



Me at the "American Idol" Kareoke Judging, Dawg.



Out on the Town



Crazy building that was Closed, built totally upside down, right across from our hotel.


End of Line.
Gerrad!