Posts tagged Gen 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

I’m flying home from #GenCon – that convention about gaming and stuff.

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9 months ago
by Tom in

This was my third year going to Gen Con to host anime panels and related events… at a gaming convention.  As odd as that sounds, it make perfect sense if you ever go TO Gen Con.  The convention is a 45 year old-

That’s not a typo; the convention is older than me.

-45 year old event that started near Lake Geneva (hence “Gen” Con) by Gary Gygax, the famed creator of Dungeons & Dragons.  The over forty thousand people that show up for this thing annually are proof positive that card games, board games, and the dice industry are all alive and going strong.

This year I actually got to SEE some of the convention and I even (gasp!) played a card game.  Plans are already in place for Wasabi Anime to return next year (which should make the My Little Pony fans very happy.)

For now, I’m just looking forward to going home, getting some rest, and (possible) changing the world dramatically over the next few weeks.

Stay tuned.

Last day of #GenCon. Damn, folks. I’m tired!

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1 year ago
by Tom in

Yesterday was a blur.

I had panels practically back to back starting at 10:00 AM and (happily) all of them were VERY well received by anime fans at Gen Con.  Well… almost all of them.  There were some pissed of Beast Wars fans (as usual.)

:)

After busting our asses for the day, Lyn, Tracy and I went to dinner at St. Elmo’s Steak House and had some amazing steaks.  Lyn and I, though, were the only two gutsy enough to try their famous shrimp appetizer.  The sinuses were cleared!

Today Shannon gets here.  This afternoon I see an old high school chum.  Tonight I fly to Chicago.

I leave you, dear reader, with this photo of me making an ass of myself yesterday:

It’s Saturday. It’s #GenCon & (bonus!) some @ManvFood love. Also: Check out @TentacleChris & @CosplayDeviants!

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1 year ago
by Tom in

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day.  Going on an obvious lack of sleep from the hotel situation the night before, I pressed on with the help of Starbucks and 5 Hour Energy shots.  The photo above is one of the last things I remember before heading to my room and passing out… Tentacle Chris playing to a packed house of hundreds for the Cosplay Deviants Hentai Cafe at Gen Con.  Yes, he is purposely grabbing his junk for the sake of the photo.

The Wasabi Anime panels were a blast.  I was VERY happy with how well The Miyazaki Panel and Anime Retro: Neon Genesis Evangelion went.  The feedback from the attendees was overwhelming.  It’s amazing how deeply quality entertainment, even when animated, can touch people.  Great stuff.

In the midst of all this going on, Lyn, Tracy and I still found the time to hit up a local Man v. Food location.  Here’s a preview (and a great photo.)

The morning after; Back at the Westin; Welcome to the #GenCon Anime Track!

1
1 year ago
by Tom in

The photo in this post was taken from my current point of view this morning: the Wasabi Anime table at the Westin overlooking the anime events track.

Yes, we made it back to the Westin after last night’s adventure.

After my late evening (early morning) blog post, the @StarwoodBuzz Twitter contacted me and said they were looking into my situation. Around 2:30 AM I got a DM (Direct Message) asking if it was too late to call me on the phone.  It was at that point that I became suspicious that their social media customer service department must be somewhere on the other side of the globe.

The man’s accent when he called me confirmed it.

He was polite, apologized for the situation and said that they had contacted the hotel and opened up a “customer service ticket number” (or something along those lines.)  I have been promised that someone will get back to me via phone or email.

This morning a cab was out front of the Sheraton at 8:15 AM as promised and when we arrived back at the Westin they checked us into a room immediately.

Right now, though, I really miss those couple of hours of sleep I lost last night.  I am happy to report that the AMV Stand Up! Panel was well received and the Cosplay 101 panel is playing to a full room as I type this.

As an added note: I just wrote this from my cell phone. Whoot.

More later…

Welcome to #Gencon, now get the hell out of your @StarwoodBuzz hotel! (Thus begins my trip to Indiana)

2
1 year ago
by Tom in

See that picture of me?  That was taken from my Toshiba netbook on an Airtran flight right before I started watching Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone.  In that photo I am about to make use of my awesome new Sony noise eliminating headphones to eliminate the noise of the children on the plane returning home from Disney.

I was in a happy place in the photo.

That was almost five hours ago.  The “happy” is all gone now.

The flight landed on time in Indianapolis.  Tracy, Lyn and I caught a cab for the thirty minute drive to our hotel downtown: The Westin Indianapolis Hotel.  We got there around 11:30 PM.  All three of us were ready to get some sleep so we would be ready to start our Wasabi Anime events scheduled at Gen Con 2011.  Keep in mind that all of our events take place in the Westin.

(This is where the happy starts to go away.)

I’m tired and I really want to get in a couple of hours of sleep, so I am going to slack off at this point and use on the laziest of writing tools known to bloggers – the bullet point list of events:

  • We have had a reservation at the Westin Indianapolis confirmed for some weeks now.
  • The manager at registration informed me that they had oversold the hotel and that there was no room for myself and my team.
  • The offered to put us at a Sheraton for the night… 15 miles away.
  • Since we obviously have no options, we accepted.  The manager said the cab would be paid for and the Sheraton would take care of us.
  • Once we arrived about thirty minutes later, the cab had no idea what I was talking about and insisted I pay.  I called the hotel and had them speak to him to clear it up.
(Just wait.  It gets worse.)
  • The Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel & Suites informed me that they do not have any rooms with two double beds (which we were supposed to have at the Westin) and that they could get me “a roll away or a pull out couch.”  I explained that this wasn’t acceptable.
  • I called the Westin back AGAIN and (after the two managers talked) we have been comped two rooms so the ladies and I have our own spaces.
  • Tomorrow, I have to get up, packed and be in the lobby at 8:15 AM to make it back to the Westin to set up for events by 9:00 AM.
By my calculation, the Westin’s failure has cost me at least four hours of my time between having to jump back and forth from hotels and the need to pack and repack.  I (allegedly) will have a room back at the Westin tomorrow and I can’t wait to hear from them (or from Starwoods’ Twitter) about how they are compensating me for my lost time/sleep due to their mismanagement of rooms.
To be continued (and hopefully about fun stuff and the convention, too!)

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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