So, back to the actual Con… for those wanting to skip to the good parts, check out my Flickr photos to check out the images. Also, over at andrewdoak.com I’ve got additional cellphone images from the show and my Twitter stream while I was there (Tumblr was having some RSS issues with my posts and finally grabbed them all at once, as opposed to every hour while I was posting).

Of the sessions I attended, the best were in the beginning and the end. The Friday and Sunday sessions were awesome. Kevin Smith is always a treat to listen to, the new Punisher War Zone footage is simply crazy, and the first episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (that would be the first FULL episode they showed) is stupid crazy funny; simply the best footage I saw there. People were loosing their shit over The Watchmen trailer. I was pissed we couldn’t get into that panel; crazy long line. And while were on it, the lines were crazy, but the staff was fantastic. Jeff and I were going out of our way to be nice to them because they were dealing with, among other things, trolls, fairies, superheroes & random goth kids.

On the main floor I believe it’s appropriate to describe it as pandemonium. Studios booths mixed with comic dealers mixed with artists mixed with authors mixed with long lines for autographs mixed with idiots who look up and continue to walk mixed with cool-ass toys mixed with the smell of mom’s basement and Doritos. I got a couple books, didn’t get my copy of The Watchmen signed, bought the kids too much junk, and got a ton of promotional schwag. I couldn’t find to issue of LOBO where he kills santa, so that was a disappointment. Gav will have to find it on his own (Amazon actually has a couple copies from dealers available for like $10). SciFi had a crazy booth, as did LEGO and DC. DarkHorse had some fantastic books. I should have packed less cloths to allow myself more stuff. Next year I will plan better.

So, as a first impression it was an amazing experience. Things I would do different for next year:

1. Bring water, snacks and Airborne
2. Pack less cloths, more space for junk
3. Only go for a couple days, not the full 4
4. Prepare myself for the lines and get there early (2 hours early) for those that I can’t miss
5. Bring a couple books I would like signed and get the signed
6. Wear sneaks, not boots or flips
7. Purchase a poster tube carrier and a more ergonomically sound messenger bag
8. More cash (i was getting pinged when I used plastic)
9. Believe in the impulse, if I want it, buy it, so I didn’t have to hunt back to find the booth later in the crowds
10. TAKE MORE PICTURES… bringing my pro kit and HDCam would have been the smartest thing to do
11. Dress up. As what, I have no idea, but I need to do something

My first Comic-Con was awesome. Looking forward to next years 40th anniversary for the show. And hopefully my favorite book (which is being adapted into a film for 2009) Y: The Last Man will have more exposure then.

I love Indy. I owned the VHS and now the FIRST DVD box-set of all his earlier adventures. I am looking forward to XMAS when I can ask for the early Indy TV series. Ty and I are stoaked for the LEGO Indy Wii game since we loved the LEGO Star Wars series. So when the wife and I decided to venture out and see a film in a tornado (eh, kids had a babysitter), I strongly stated we were going to see Indy!

Wife - Indy, you sure you don’t want to see IronMan?
Me - See, IronMan is going to look awesome on our flat-screen with the sound, while I have to see Indy in the theater. I really want to see IronMan, but again, it’s Indy… you have to experience him in all his glory and movie-theater-pop-corn-and-candy glory. It’s Indy!

So why was a yawning (literally) half way through? Why didn’t I mind when the babysitter called because she was afraid of letting the dog out he’d get gobbled up by a tornado? Why did I *gasp* actually look at my phone to see what time it was, and how much more pain was I going to have to endure? Where the hell was my Indy? Come-on, don’t give me that crap about how old he is! Connery was balls rocking as Jones Sr. And Indy was awesome in the fight scenes… so what was it? There was not sharp wit. No snap (sorry, whip pun) in his delivery. He was soft spoken. He moved in slow strides without the saunter. There was no crazy in his eyes… now I guess they wanted that focus to be on the new Jr. Jr. Indy, but it missed. And is it me, or did the film drip with more sappy “gee-shucks” moments then a freaking Drake & Josh episode?

$18 for the movie (2 of us). $12.40 for 2 bottle waters and a small popcorn. She sneaked in candy I bought her while she was in the hospital, so lets say another $1… $31.40 (not counting the gas; lets not forget the gas) + babysitter money which the wife took care of, and the fact that the kids ate all my snacks because they were “scared of the tornado… dude, all my CoolRanch were GONE when I got home…” I’m going to say it was an expensive night that should have resulted in a little more escapism, less reality.

Indy, you’ve let me down. Maybe it was the mitigating factors already described. Maybe the intent was for me to be bored with you so I could better accept the new kid. Maybe you are just too “old” and no longer salty or crazy. No matter what, I’ve got you in 3 previous films (not including a whole TV series I’m drying to catch up on) and now I KNOW I’m going to like IronMan that much more.

You know, I don’t even spend this much time with my friends…

I think she got the humor in that. That’s about it. I’ll probably start to add new content here that relates to the crazy shit I find online, but odds are you’ve probably read about on DIGG or reddit already. You know what, no, I’m not going to link those services. I’m just not. If you, as a person who reads random shit by a random guy online, do not know what DIGG or reddit are, then I am just ashamed. And frankly, neither of the services need my link weight… maybe I do need more sleep… more sleep, less heartburn causing toxins.

The first of these concepts to actually become a toy will be the Honda Racer, the design of which is inspired by the ‘H’ in Honda’s corporate logo. There’s room for a driver and navigator in the side-by-side shape of the concept that features a paint scheme inspired by Honda’s participation in F1 back in the day.

I’m a little pissed they used a “fictitious” V10 VTEC, but pleased that it’s not a 4 banger. This is one cool ass car.

“I totally forgot, we have tickets tonight to the Coterie at Crown Center… meet us there at 6pm.”
“(doing something else and paying little attention to the conversation) You get a sitter?”
“It’s a kids theater… you listening to me?”
“(no) yeah, 6pm, k…”

I get to Crown Center, walk over to Halls to check out some boots I saw on Zappos (the designer was suppose to be in stock at Halls), they don’t have any, so I head down to people watch. Family gets there, we head into the theater with a slew of our friends and sit and wait. Now, I can handle cross-dressing men (glass houses after all), and I can handle intense apple shifting evil teachers, I can even handle spooky 19th floor references to “Madusa-Look-a-Like” but I draw that line at multiple “Butt” references and bizarre provacitive cross-dressing-salsa-dancing for an audience of small children.

They enjoyed the show. Chloe did say “I didn’t like the loud slapping (of the ruler the crazy teacher continually slapped against the table) and I didn’t like the EVIL…”

After 90 days of strict eating, almost all water, fruits, veggies, whole grains, no fast food, natural root beer and no cool-ranch chips I have dropped 32.6 lbs. The “official” weigh-in for the groups in Friday, but 90 days is today, and I’ll be damned if I have to wait till Friday to eat some cool-ranch and Wendy’s Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers.

Old photo from Eddies place. Hard to believe I was that small. Hard to believe Eddie had a motorcycle. I’m in his gear. I was wrong; he was 60, not 49 (I was off in my head as to my parents age). I will miss you Uncle, very very much.

Edward “Uncle Eddie” Timmerman
2.24.1948 - 4.10.2008

I mean, come-on. There are worse things (of course), but I am here for a freaking funeral, I did request early check-in, and now I have to sit in the freaking lobby for 4 hours because check-in isn’t until 3pm!?!? Hyatt, you are no longer going to receive my business. If I wasn’t so damn tired I’d call another hotel and get another room… maybe I should… **CORRECTION** I was given a room at 12:15pm, and it’s a nice room, so I’ll just make sure to be explicit in the future about early check-in.