July 22
Comes the flood (of people)! The Saturday session of each Comic-Con has become very notorious for having MANY more people attend then any of three other days (as I noted in the initial entry about this year's Con.) So much so that I considered skipping it entirely this year and attending on Sunday instead.
I finally decided that I was going to make an effort to confront my traditional reaction to very crowded situations (getting super stressed).
As it turned out, I should have skipped Saturday and gone on Sunday instead. What really caused me to stress out even more than the astonishing crowds was getting a good look at the sanitary conditions in the Convention Center. To be blunt, there were no where near enough janitors on duty. They were completely unable to keep up with the amounts of trash that were being generated and the amounts of usage the restrooms were getting. I found that to be rather alarming.
Well, at least I was able to get to one really good presentation. This was a talk by the artist Shag, during which he commented about and showed photos of his life and how his personal artistic style grew and developed over the years. I think Shag's art is very entertaining, so I was happy to see and hear him in person.
It's way too early for me to say if I will or will not go to Comic-Con next year, but if I do I will most definitely not go on the Saturday!
(Part the third)
(Part the second)
(Part the first)
(My photos of the Con are available here.)
Monday, July 31, 2006
Comic-Con International 2006: Part the third
JULY 21
A highlight on Friday was the Bruce Timm Retrospective; I greatly enjoy the style of animation he created for multiple Warner Bros. series that were based on characters in the DC Comics universe. This retrospective was done largely as an interview. The interviewer (whose name I unfortunately failed to make a note of) asked Timm questions about multiple aspects of the series, and he replied with lots of details.
A "clips reel" of highlights from each of his series for Warner Bros. was also shown, which the audience loved.
But the really BIG event on Friday was a presentation on the new movie "Snakes on a Plane." This occurred in the Hall H that I wrote about earlier. I knew that would likely fill up all 6500 seats, at least partly due to the fact the big star of the movie, Samuel L. Jackson, was going to attend. Another factor being the incredible build-up about the movie that has occurred on the Web for the last several months.
I admittedly got into the admission line late. By the time I was in the line, it was running along a considerable portion of the outside of the Convention Center, going around a corner of the building to one side of it, doubling back, going back around the corner, going inside, then doing some more snaking around (I know, bad pun! Sorry) before finally going into the Hall. So, by the time I was in the Hall, I ended up in a seat quite a long ways toward the back. Which was no worry because there were many large video screens hanging from the ceiling to display live what was happening on the stage, thanks to at least one camera that was near the stage.
The presentation for "Snakes on a Plane" was hosted by Kenan Thompson, who acted in the movie. First guest was David R. Ellis, the movie's director. The two of them chatted about making the movie, then the movie's chief snake handler, Jules Sylvester, came out to show some of the actual snakes that had been used during filming. He first came out carrying an albino python on his shoulders, that was one of the larger variety of pythons. After talking about snakes in general (including emphasizing that snakes are NOT trainable, so he prefers not to be referred to as a snake trainer. Oh, and he said he brought 450 snakes to the start of filming, and when filming completed, he had 500 snakes. :-) ), he moved the albino to the director's shoulders, and then brought out another python of the same type that had standard coloring.
After putting away the two pythons he and four of his assistants brought out to the stage an example of one the larger varieties of anacondas. All these people were needed because it was about 9-feet long (and not full grown)! Wow.
A major surprise was then unveiled. Namely, the world premier of a 10-minute continuous clip from the middle of the movie! As the lights went down, an announcement was made that there was to be NO photography of the video screens while the clip ran, which I thought was understandable. I'll just say about the clip that it was VERY intense. It really impressed me, and solidified my desire to see the film when it does come out in theaters, which will be August 18, 2006.
As the clip ended, and just before the lights came up again, we heard the one line from the movie that the Internet has already made famous. (For those who may object to profanity, I'll just provide a link to a site that reveals the line.) The lights came up, and there was Samuel L. Jackson, microphone to mouth. The crowd loved it!
The remainder of the presentation was lots of fun: Jackson answering several questions from Thompson about the movie, and the whole panel answering questions from several members of the audience.
(Part the fourth)
(Part the second)
(Part the first)
(My photos of the Con are available here.)
A highlight on Friday was the Bruce Timm Retrospective; I greatly enjoy the style of animation he created for multiple Warner Bros. series that were based on characters in the DC Comics universe. This retrospective was done largely as an interview. The interviewer (whose name I unfortunately failed to make a note of) asked Timm questions about multiple aspects of the series, and he replied with lots of details.
A "clips reel" of highlights from each of his series for Warner Bros. was also shown, which the audience loved.
But the really BIG event on Friday was a presentation on the new movie "Snakes on a Plane." This occurred in the Hall H that I wrote about earlier. I knew that would likely fill up all 6500 seats, at least partly due to the fact the big star of the movie, Samuel L. Jackson, was going to attend. Another factor being the incredible build-up about the movie that has occurred on the Web for the last several months.
I admittedly got into the admission line late. By the time I was in the line, it was running along a considerable portion of the outside of the Convention Center, going around a corner of the building to one side of it, doubling back, going back around the corner, going inside, then doing some more snaking around (I know, bad pun! Sorry) before finally going into the Hall. So, by the time I was in the Hall, I ended up in a seat quite a long ways toward the back. Which was no worry because there were many large video screens hanging from the ceiling to display live what was happening on the stage, thanks to at least one camera that was near the stage.
The presentation for "Snakes on a Plane" was hosted by Kenan Thompson, who acted in the movie. First guest was David R. Ellis, the movie's director. The two of them chatted about making the movie, then the movie's chief snake handler, Jules Sylvester, came out to show some of the actual snakes that had been used during filming. He first came out carrying an albino python on his shoulders, that was one of the larger variety of pythons. After talking about snakes in general (including emphasizing that snakes are NOT trainable, so he prefers not to be referred to as a snake trainer. Oh, and he said he brought 450 snakes to the start of filming, and when filming completed, he had 500 snakes. :-) ), he moved the albino to the director's shoulders, and then brought out another python of the same type that had standard coloring.
After putting away the two pythons he and four of his assistants brought out to the stage an example of one the larger varieties of anacondas. All these people were needed because it was about 9-feet long (and not full grown)! Wow.
A major surprise was then unveiled. Namely, the world premier of a 10-minute continuous clip from the middle of the movie! As the lights went down, an announcement was made that there was to be NO photography of the video screens while the clip ran, which I thought was understandable. I'll just say about the clip that it was VERY intense. It really impressed me, and solidified my desire to see the film when it does come out in theaters, which will be August 18, 2006.
As the clip ended, and just before the lights came up again, we heard the one line from the movie that the Internet has already made famous. (For those who may object to profanity, I'll just provide a link to a site that reveals the line.) The lights came up, and there was Samuel L. Jackson, microphone to mouth. The crowd loved it!
The remainder of the presentation was lots of fun: Jackson answering several questions from Thompson about the movie, and the whole panel answering questions from several members of the audience.
(Part the fourth)
(Part the second)
(Part the first)
(My photos of the Con are available here.)
Comic-Con International 2006: Part the second
JULY 20
The highlight of Thursday for myself was the formal presentation by the U.S. Postal Service of a new set of stamps that feature superhero characters from DC Comics. I am NOT a stamp collector, but I have become a fan of DC Comics, so that made me curious to see the presentation.
When I entered the meeting room this happened in, I was pleased to find each person was getting a free first day of issue cover that had one of the stamps on it, along with the unique cancellation mark that was only available July 20 in San Diego post offices and at the Con.
For each of the selected superheroes, there are two stamps:
The presentation included remarks by a couple USPS officials from Washington, D.C., concerning the general process of selecting what images will go on commemorative stamps, and specifically about working with DC Comics on preparing this set. There were also remarks from the president/publisher of DC Comics.
A very nice touch was that the artist who had created each image was there, or in those cases where the artist could not be there, a member of their family was present, and each of them was asked to stand to be recognized by the audience.
(Part the fourth)
(Part the third)
(Part the first)
(My photos of the Con are available here.)
The highlight of Thursday for myself was the formal presentation by the U.S. Postal Service of a new set of stamps that feature superhero characters from DC Comics. I am NOT a stamp collector, but I have become a fan of DC Comics, so that made me curious to see the presentation.
When I entered the meeting room this happened in, I was pleased to find each person was getting a free first day of issue cover that had one of the stamps on it, along with the unique cancellation mark that was only available July 20 in San Diego post offices and at the Con.
For each of the selected superheroes, there are two stamps:
- A reproduction of a comic book cover that featured that superhero.
- A portrait of the superhero.
The presentation included remarks by a couple USPS officials from Washington, D.C., concerning the general process of selecting what images will go on commemorative stamps, and specifically about working with DC Comics on preparing this set. There were also remarks from the president/publisher of DC Comics.
A very nice touch was that the artist who had created each image was there, or in those cases where the artist could not be there, a member of their family was present, and each of them was asked to stand to be recognized by the audience.
(Part the fourth)
(Part the third)
(Part the first)
(My photos of the Con are available here.)
Comic-Con International 2006: Part the first
Each year in July San Diego hosts Comic-Con International, a gigantic four-day blowout of popular culture. I had attended the previous two years on the Saturday only. As I learned, the Saturday session is always by far the most heavily attended of the four days, and as a result I found the experiences overwhelming, at least partly due to my tendency to get very stressed in highly crowded situations.
So, this year I decided I'd try attending all four days, and hopefully get a better experience by spreading it out. I preregistered through the Con's web site earlier this year. Registration confirmation letters were sent out in June to everyone who registered for the four days up until that point in time. The point of sending such letters at that time only to the 4-day registrants is that those people are admitted (if they wish) to a Preview Night on the Wednesday evening before the Con officially starts.
Preview Night involves admission to the Exhibit Hall.
The major areas of the San Diego Convention Center are exhibit halls on the first floor, and various sizes of meeting rooms and spaces and ballrooms on the second floor. There are eight exhibit halls, designated as halls A through H. Basically, each hall can be used on it's own, or any number of the halls can be used together, all determined by positioning of sliding barriers. For Comic-Con, halls A through G are used together as one gigantic exhibit hall. (Hall H is used for major events about specific topics; during the Con is seats up to 6500. I'll go into more detail about Hall H later, as I did attend one event there.)
On Preview Night (July 19 this year), the Exhibit Hall is open from 6 PM to 9 PM. This Hall is used by all manner of people and businesses that hope to sell their goods and/or show off new material that is not yet ready for sale to people who attend the Con. During Preview Night, they have their booths staffed and ready to make sales. Examples of the businesses:
I wandered through the Hall and purchased several comic-collection books.
One highlight of the evening was that shortly after the doors opened a woman came on the PA system and said (sounding very irritated): "There is no running allowed in the Convention Center. Yes, I mean you in the green and white baseball cap!" (Approximate quote.) That got lots of laughs.
(Part the fourth)
(Part the third)
(Part the second)
(My photos of the Con are available here.)
So, this year I decided I'd try attending all four days, and hopefully get a better experience by spreading it out. I preregistered through the Con's web site earlier this year. Registration confirmation letters were sent out in June to everyone who registered for the four days up until that point in time. The point of sending such letters at that time only to the 4-day registrants is that those people are admitted (if they wish) to a Preview Night on the Wednesday evening before the Con officially starts.
Preview Night involves admission to the Exhibit Hall.
The major areas of the San Diego Convention Center are exhibit halls on the first floor, and various sizes of meeting rooms and spaces and ballrooms on the second floor. There are eight exhibit halls, designated as halls A through H. Basically, each hall can be used on it's own, or any number of the halls can be used together, all determined by positioning of sliding barriers. For Comic-Con, halls A through G are used together as one gigantic exhibit hall. (Hall H is used for major events about specific topics; during the Con is seats up to 6500. I'll go into more detail about Hall H later, as I did attend one event there.)
On Preview Night (July 19 this year), the Exhibit Hall is open from 6 PM to 9 PM. This Hall is used by all manner of people and businesses that hope to sell their goods and/or show off new material that is not yet ready for sale to people who attend the Con. During Preview Night, they have their booths staffed and ready to make sales. Examples of the businesses:
- Brick-and-mortar vendors of comics and/or book-based comic collections
- Publishers of comics and/or book-based comic collections
- Other book publishers
- Web-based businesses related to comics
- Publishers of board games
- Makers of electronic games hardware
- Artists
- Costume makers
- Jewelry makers
- Cable television channels
- Movie studios
I wandered through the Hall and purchased several comic-collection books.
One highlight of the evening was that shortly after the doors opened a woman came on the PA system and said (sounding very irritated): "There is no running allowed in the Convention Center. Yes, I mean you in the green and white baseball cap!" (Approximate quote.) That got lots of laughs.
(Part the fourth)
(Part the third)
(Part the second)
(My photos of the Con are available here.)
Sunday, July 16, 2006
License Plate Watch 16
It's a two-fer!
Both were seen Saturday, July 15:
Both were seen Saturday, July 15:
- On a Mercedes-Benz: "OYLG 39". I haven't a clue what it means, but thought it unique enough to make note of.
- On a VW Beetle: "I MODUL8". Hmmm, modulate what?
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