Posts tagged Dragon*Con

The Year in Review or “WTF HAPPENED IN 2012?”

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4 months ago
by Tom in

This is that time of year when folks begin posting about how this year they’re planning on changing a zillion things and making thinks different somehow.  For me, though, I’m not looking forward to changing… I’m looking forward to continuing.

2012 was a hard year, but that’s not a bad thing.  As friends and colleagues will tell you – I tend to be a workaholic.  I love it.  I love the feeling to things getting done and the creative process attached to it in my little geek universe.  My friends (my team) and I put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into a number of projects that are now continuing into 2013.

Hell.  We’re already in production for two unannounced things in 2014.

Seriously.

The best way to look forward, though, is to remember where you’ve been.  SO, here’s my recap of one of the craziest years of my life.  Enjoy.

JANUARY

  • Reflected on a pretty exciting life thus far in this blog post.  No clue what the year was about to bring.
  • We were in the thick of planning InvaderCON II: DOOMCON that month, too.

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

  • Back in Los Angeles again… this time to visit E3!
  • Return to Los Angeles at the end of the month to set up for Anime Expo and Project Anime.

JULY

  • Survived the hell, horror, and amazement of Anime Expo 2012.  My eyes were open to a lot of things that one week in Los Angeles.
  • Found out a cheesy horror film I did in 1991 was finally coming out on DVD.
  • Read the Steve Jobs book.  I’ve revisited a lot in that book since then (after years of being told that I am “an asshole just like Steve Jobs.”)
  • Returned to Los Angeles for Anime Expo follow up meetings… and new perspective.
  • Ran, successfully, InvaderCON II: DOOMCON in Los Angeles.  Amazing things happened.
  • Finished laying the groundwork (after months of set up) for what has since become Talent For Cons by booking voice actors in Anime Expo and Florida Supercon.
  • Announced a new show for the Jacksonville market called WasabiCon (since EXPcon had fallen completely off the radar.)

AUGUST

  • Ran events at Gen Con in Indianapolis again.  Good times!
  • I spent a lot of this month recovering from the Anime Expo/InvaderCON/Project Anime stuff in July.

SEPTEMBER

  • Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia.  I helped some Edgar guy host events at a party at the Hard Rock Cafe there.  While there, I saw a sci-fi celebrities drunk daughter dance on a stripper pole.  (I love my life.)
  • Lots and lots of catch up work that month…

OCTOBER

  • Wound up visiting EPCOT on the 30th anniversary of the park’s opening.  Turned out it was a clever day to take my friend Marc Perez there for his first time.
  • Launched the very first PinUpalooza.  It was a lukewarm event (after getting dates bounced around and whatnot) but we proved the event was a solid concept.  Already planning Year Two.
  • Because one con just wasn’t enough, we ran WasabiCon that same month, too.  One of the best cons assembled in two months EVER.

NOVEMBER

  • Took another cruise for my five year wedding anniversary with one of the most patient women on the planet.  This time we found ourselves in Belize and Cozumel, Mexico.  (It seems that I still need to write a blog post about this since I didn’t see one while writing this.)
  • Spent Thanksgiving with my dad… because that’s what family does.
  • Got blind sided (for the first time in my life) by a surprise birthday party.  I have some amazing fucking friends.

DECEMBER

  • Launched ANOTHER new event in 2012 – Cosplay Christmas.  It was holiday goodness that will return in 2013.
  • Went to Busch Gardens for the first time in yeaaars.
  • Was a groomsman in the AMAZING wedding of Troy and Kim Doerner.
  • Returned to Los Angeles for the first time since July to start work on Project Anime 2013 again.  Saw some geeky stuff.
  • Spent the first Christmas in 13 years without my wife… but got to spend it with my dad.  My heart was happy, but my lungs were in pain.  (Long story.)

SO – cities I found myself in during 2012:

  • Atlanta
  • Cozumel
  • Indianapolis
  • Jacksonville
  • Los Angeles
  • Orlando
  • Miami
  • Naussau
  • San Diego
  • Tokyo

And now for that part we all do during a perceived time of renewal – plan for the future.  So what are my goals in 2013?  I have a couple of things to work on, sure, like anyone else.  I like keeping things simple, though, so here are the three things that I will concentrate on in this new year.

  1. Lose weight.  (Cliche, yes, but truly needed at this point.)
  2. Blog more.  (In reading about my past year, I realize that I didn’t write as much about most of it that I should have.)
  3. Continue onward.  (I created a lot in 2012; now I have to build it up even more.)

So here we go…

We Be Cool

Does Beast Wars Suck? Sure does! Just ask this STANDING ROOM ONLY #Transformers panel room at #DragonCon 2011!

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1 year ago
by Tom in

The line outside to get in was a forty-five minute wait.  Thanks to everyone who showed up to our panel in the Dragon*Con 2011 Animation Track.

#DragonCon was TASTY! (and other photos from @KTMcA)

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1 year ago
by Tom in

Katie McAwesome has posted her Dragon*Con photos.  Here’s the link to all of them.

Here’s ME!

Tom noming some pork ribs with way too many hands in the photo

Tom passed out in his spilled ice

Ah, Tom and Ken. So special.

DARE! The Transformers Panel Ultimate had a full room

This is not my after #DragonCon blog post. It is, though…

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1 year ago
by Tom in

A post about something I did because of Dragon*Con.  I spent last night doing a clean install of the OS/Apps on my Samsung Galaxy S (Epic 4G) phone.  During the con, the damn thing would stall – crash the occasional app – take forever to load.

In short, it started acting stupid.

The cause? Well, I have learned that just because you CAN move apps from the phone to the microSD card it doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

So things seem to be fixed, and this post is testing the WordPress app on the phone.  Look for actual Dragon*Con stuff in the next few days.

Review: A Confederacy of Dunces

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2 years ago
by Tom in

A Confederacy of DuncesA Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You can credit the South Florida radio talk show The Love Doctors with my reading this book. “Doctor Rich” Dickerson would constantly bring up A Confederacy of Dunces as an influence in his life, so I figured I might as well dedicate some time flipping through the pages.

I’m glad I did.

I bring a unique perspective to this book as a self-proclaimed pop culture geek. It’s from that mindset that I realized that this book is (wholly by accident) about the genre convention stereotype: “the fanboy”. The main character, Ignatius Jacques Reilly exhibits the following qualities:

1. Socially awkward to the point of being overly social. You know the type.
2. He dresses outrageously and is never without his mismatched hunting cap (much like cosplayers out of costume.)
3. He gets into long winded nonsensical arguments with about random things via letters (very much akin to online “flame wars” on fan forums.)
4. He cites Batman comics as the only impactful literature of the time.
5. He still lives with his mom while in his thirties.

A Confederacy of Dunces is a satire that depicts the ridiculous antics of various folks in New Orleans on the 1960s. It is profounds in its biting commentary on people and essays have been written about the book and the deceased author (if you haven’t read the story behind him, DO IT) – yet none that I have found point out the obvious (at least to me) connection to current stereotypes in fandom culture.

If you’ve ever walked the around San Diego Comic Con or Dragon*Con, I suggest you take some time to read this and see how alive and well Ignatius is in today’s society.

View all my reviews

Working Out with DOCTOR WHO: Carnival of Monsters (3rd Doctor)

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2 years ago
by Tom in

The list keep growing!

Which somehow brings us to “Carnival of Monsters”. This series of Doctor Who is a great example of why sci-fi fans loved (and love) this show.  It’s tongue in cheek science fiction with some brains in its storytelling.  The concept of a contained world in miniature isn’t new, but it’s cleverly conveyed in this story.  (A more recent example would be the last scene in the first Men in Black movie.)

THE GOOD: Science fiction is well presented… for the 1970s.  The story isn’t dumbed down for the audience and we’re presented with the concept of a number of characters from different planets interacting with each other.  While the story isn’t very deep, it is a lot of fun.

THE BAD: Every once an a while, silly style of an era can really sneak into a timeless story and date it.  The characters of Vorg and Shirna are constant reminders that you are watching early 1970s sci-fi with their dialogue and mannerisms.

THE CHEESE: The same “The Bad” – Vorg and Shirna.  Why don’t we see more of these cosplays at conventions like Dragon*Con?!

My Boring Ass Life Last Year: 2010 In Review

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2 years ago
by Tom in

I read a lot of books, went a lot of places, and did a lot of things.  Life, in my humble opinion, is meant to be lived like a video game.  Each level should be more exciting than the last – so I’m looking forward to what crazy shit I pull off in 2011.  InvaderCON is already going to be amazing.  The Florida Anime Experience is already on deck to be epic (keep watching; we’re still making stuff “official”).  Shannon and I are already discussing where to go for our annual anniversary trip in November.

My geek life will hopefully cart me off to some pretty amazing locales for some blog-worthy experiences.

This will be my ninth year writing about my life online for the world to read about me.  If you’re still with me, thanks for taking the time to read about my boring ass life.  I write to stay sane and to maek sure my grammmar skills stai intact. Hopefully the writing is entertaining enough to keep all five (ten?) of you still reading.

Have a wonderful and eventful 2011!

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