By -
Comic-Con 2012

Highlights:

  • Seeing the Game of Thrones, Total Recall, Walking Dead panel
  • Getting fun things for friends: Princess Mononoke poster & Penny Arcade stuff
  • Watching someone win a trip to outer space at the Big Bang Theory panel
  • Seeing all the fantastic costumes
  • Photo Album
Day 1 - Wednesday
  • Met up with Comic-Con roomies, Alison & Melinda (Paul & Karen's friends), at the airport
  • Sauntered over to the convention hall to pick-up my badges
  • Ate BBQ at the "sleazy" bar in the movie Top Gun (during the great balls of fire scene)
  • Walked around & bumped into the San Diego Symphony practicing for their Legend of Zelda concert the following night
Day 2 - Thursday
  • Spent the day treasure hunting for friends
  • Got a signature, sketch and orange juicer figurine for Henry from the Penny Arcade folks
  • Purchased a limited edition Princess Mononoke poster for Sam (waiting 2.5 hours in line & met lots of interesting people)
  • Looked at all the displays: Gandalf in legos, total recall car, Jabba the Hutt on barge
  • Marveled at costumes: mini-voltron, blinged out storm strooper, lots of xmen

Day 3 - Friday
  • Got up at 3:30am to wait in the Hall H line at 4am. There were about 150 people camping overnight. 
  • Met nice people from Vegas who held my place in line when I shuffled off to the bathroom.
  • When we entered the room at 9:30, I went to the front and asked if there was a single spot available. The first 2 rows were reserved for physically-challenged folks and 2 people kindly offered a spot between them. Got to know them really well since I was with them from 9:30 to 6pm.
  • Panel #1 - ParaNorman: Kid zombie movie. McLovin & a girl from Twilight are voices in the stop-motion film. It was ok.
  • Panel #2 - Big Bang Theory: Whole cast was there (except for Leonard). They were really funny &  I was impressed with their answers. Sheldon was asked why his favorite super hero was Flash. He asked a writer to answer for him. When asked about Higgs boson, Penny blurted out a funny comment. What impressed me was that they sent an audience member to space (spacex or something like that). Pretty neat.
  • Panel #3 - Walking Dead: Pretty much the whole cast was there. I really enjoyed watching the trailer about the prison & learning about the new characters. It's inspired me to read the comic books. 
  • Panel #4 - Game of Thrones: Going to be honest. I'm a little disappointed (maybe this wasn't worth missing the Firefly panel for....but oh well, I committed). Every other panel in the day had a radio or TV host be the moderator....and boy...that makes a difference. George (the author) moderated this session and it was a wee bit awkward. I LOVE hearing him speak...not so much this time around. That said, I did enjoying seeing George, Daenerys, Robb, Catelyn, Theon & one of the writers.
  • Panel #5 - Resident Evil: Another movie & they're bringing back their all-stars. The trailer looks good and I enjoyed the rapport on stage. Milla Jovovich mentioned that playing a character (in the beginning of this movie) without any fighting skills -- just panic -- was really hard to play. She's so accustomed to butt kicking. 
  • Panel #6 - Total Recall: Looking forward to this movie. This new world isn't set in Mars (like the 80s movies) -- it's somewhere beautiful & gritty looking. I really enjoyed the homage to the previous movie...they show a scene at the "airport" and as the large women goes through the xray, I thought....I know what's going to happen, that's the same woman from the first movie --- but NO. It was a just a tip of the hat :)
  • Panel #7 - Looper: The guy from inception and 3rd rock from the sun is in this time travel movie. Looks...kinda ok.
  • Panel #7 - Elysium: Matt Damon in a fast action flick. Looks pretty good. By this time, I was so anxious to leave the hall because I was uncomfortable sitting for so long. (Other people had the same idea). Towards the end, there was 4 empty seats in the front. 6 empty seats in my row (2nd row center) -- I spread out.
  • Later that night I saw the replay of the Firefly panel and it looked awesome. Oh well.

Day 4 - Saturday
  • I really wanted to see the Hobbit panel but couldn't bear to get up at 6am and wait all day long in the same hall for the panel.
  • Noticed that a few cool authors were signing books so I purchased 2 books (that I've been meaning to read) from a book store. 
  • Got my "Redshirts" signed by John Scalzi (really enjoying the book right now)
  • Got my "The Hero of Ages" signed by Brandon Sanderson. Told him that I loved to listen to his audiobooks while running.
  • Attended a "John Scalzi" panel that was moderated by Patrick Rothfuss, I just finished the books in Rothfuss' Kingkiller series and LOVED them. So, I was super jazzed to see him in person. 
  • Retrieved by Game of Throne free goodies from the fulfillment room
  • Zipped over to the "quick draw" panel where these amazing artists sketch things off the cuff (like a game). Very very impressive and funny. The Cartoon Voices panel afterwards was funny too.
  • I planned to watch the costume contest on a video screen but I was just too tired. I returned to my room to pack for my flight the next day.
Sketch from quick draw: how you know when batman is your neighbor

THE END

Popular posts from this blog

Quick Mombasa Update

By -
40km bike ride Since the kids were off today, Suzzy and I decided to take a 40km bike ride through the countryside and villages with a guide. It was a fantastic and really, really, really hot experience. I enjoyed shouting momba/boa to the kids in the villages. I also really liked learning about the various trees (cashew, mango, etc). The creek, beaches, forests, fields were all beautiful. Near the end, we biked to the top of a mountain for a panoramic view of the area. School The "Destiny" school is located in Motonga, a poor village outside of Mombasa. I've been helping out in the primary 2 class; kids range from 4-9 years old. Suzzy is helping in primary 3. What exactly am I doing? I'm administering reading tests (eg. the kid reads a list of words and sentences), grading 6 different tests, handing back papers, and recording scores. Suzzy and I also get to play with them, which is really fun. I introduced hopscotch to them and they really love it. They enjoyed p...
Read more

Walking Tour Sao Paulo

By -
Image
After finishing up our visa extension errand, we hopped onto a subway and headed for a self-guided walking tour of Sao Paulo. Subway The subway station was packed with throngs of people making their way around town or perusing clothing shops, bookstores, and food stalls. We ordered a sandwich and an empanada-like treat for a standing lunch. The subway system was really easy to navigate: good signage & labeling of trains. Such an efficient way to travel because the streets are full of stagnant traffic. It was nice to take a few connecting trains and walk the rest of the way. Walking Tour We followed Lonely Planet's (Kindle-version) 3-hour walking tour. It took us through the heart of Sao Paolo, past cathedrals, street performers, famous architecture & sculptures, and historic sites. Very nice! Sight along the way Back "home" We're staying at a small Pousada (Zilah) which offers a few clean, simple rooms above its eatery. It was recommended in our gu...
Read more

Yellow Fevah

By -
Yellow Fevah I almost didn't get into Tanzania - twice. 1) Immigration in the Dar es Salaam airport and 2) the Zanzibar ferry terminal (yep, you have to go through immigration again even though you're still in the same country), both wanted to see my yellow fever inoculation card. They were very strict and wouldn't let you into the country without proof of the shot. After pleading with different agents, I finally convinced the last guy to sneak me into the country. Whew! As you can imagine, I was really nervous when I had to go through immigration again at the Zanzibar ferry terminal. Luckily, I had a little more wiggle room with my immigration card (longer story)....so I was able to sail through customs. Worse case, I would have been shipped to the health center at the airport for an expensive shot....I think...I saw other East Africans being shipped over off to a "special health" area, so this rule isn't just for muzungos (white/yellow folks). Angry tout ...
Read more