COMIC CON PLUS

July 24, 2010  Happy Pioneer Day.

Well I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye
I commenced to shakin' and I said "ooh-eee"
It looks like a purple eater to me
It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
(One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater)
A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (One eye?)
                                Alvin & the Chipmunks


I bought tickets for one day admission to Comic Con back in Dec 09. Today was the day so we woke up and ate breakfast and drove to the San Diego Convention Center. We parked about a mile away (advance parking was sold out) and walked to the center. The line to get in was short so our expectations were about to be dashed. We wondered around in the exhibit hall & then decided to try & see The Green Laturn, Sucker Punch and Harry Potter. We got in line behind the center and wondered about getting in. After being in line for an hour they announced the event was full. The hall held 6500 people but there were probably thousands in front of us. Why didn't they cap the line? Sucker Punch.

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.

All the world's waiting for you,
and the power you possess.
In your satin tights,
Fighting for your rights
And the old Red, White and Blue.
Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.
Now the world is ready for you,
and the wonders you can do
                   Norman Gimbel/Charles Fox

Now we knew. There were a couple of programs we wanted to see so we got in line for the one before the one we really wanted to see. You could stay in the room & move up if other people left. We sat in on "The World that is God of War" back with Ghost of Sparta. It is a video game. I no long play video games. I wasn't much of a gamer in the past. It was interesting but it lead to...

"Teching Out on TV" with Pauley Perrette (NCIS), Barrett Foa (NCIS LA) & Kirsten Vangsness (Criminal Minds). Now that was a great program and each person had a sense of humor during the discussion. B really wanted to see this one and it didn't disappoint. We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed for the next program.



"Comics After Paper" about cartoonist working on computers, e-readers, mobile phones & touchscreens. Very interesting and I knew about Robert Berry and Ulysses Seen. Since Ulysses is my all time favorite novels I knew about the attempt to bring it to Apple ipad and the problems. You can check it out here http://ulyssesseen.com/. All of the comics were funny and engaging, especially Dylan Meconis http://www.dylanmeconis.com/.

Then we saw "Dark Shadows: the Classic Series, the Comic Book, and the Upcoming Film. It ran from 1966-1971 and is still very popular. Two of the actresses were there Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott and they had a video from Jonathan Frid. A great program with personal stories. Great to see.  Look for a major motion picture of Dark Shadows featuring Johnny Depp & directed by Tim Burton if you believe the rumors.

We then wandered the exhibit hall. All during the day we saw great costumes and had a great time,  I especially liked the women with few clothes and thongs. There was actually a stabbing at one of the larger halls, but everyone seemed quite happy and enjoyed themselves. We left as the hall was closing scoring some free T-shirts at the end.

Our day was not over. B really wanted to see Kris Allen and he had a second concert open up at Anthology. Here is what Anthology is http://www.anthologysd.com/index.html. We have seen Jennifer Knapp and Jamie Cullum there. It is a very intimate concert venue with food. Two times we have been on the floor level less than 10 yards from the stage.

Sometimes we fall down, can't get back up
We're hiding behind skin that's too tough
How come we don't say I love you enough?
'Til it's to late, it's not too late
Our hearts are hungry for a food that won't come
And we could make a feast from these crumbs
And we're all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you, what would you wish you would've done?
Yeah, we gotta start lookin' at the hands of the time we've been given
If this is all we got, then we gotta start thinkin'
If every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying
                          Kris Allen

We walked back to the car, stopping at the Westin to have Cokes and relax. We were seated at the club and I had seafood linguini and B had ceasar salad and fish tacos. There was an opening band Grass Heat which featured his bass player Chris Torres. Then Kris came on and put on a good show. I don't care much for American Idols, but B has dragged me to more than I care to admit. There was a funny part see video.

http://www.twitvid.com/RAJBB

All in all a great day and looking forward to COMIC CON 2011. Very tired though.