SDCC '12: Thursday Recap

I'm actually writing this early Friday morning on line to get into Ballroom 20. Yesterday was a whirlwind of waiting on lines and putting faces to names.


We started off the day checking out the Batmobiles. All of them. It was very awesome. The owner was there, and he showed me a pic of a Keaton-era Batmobile limo. That exists. I will now make it my mission to ride in it.


After that, Getsuyobi wandered the floor and took pics of cosplayers while I went off to finally meet Bryan Young in person. Yup, our favorite writer is a real person! It's one of the best parts of con, getting to meet people that you have chatted with online.


Then, I went over to the San Diego Blood Drive. If you ever get a chance, please give blood. It's a worthy deed. However, my time was exceptionally busy, so it took me two hours to finish draining.


After that, Getsuyobi and I went around town for a bit, checking out all of the popup stores. In case you haven't been to SDCC, not all the action happens in the convention center. Plenty of companies have popup locations available to everyone. We hit up the Magic The Gathering store for some variant art cards, then went to the Yahoo Movieland for pics related to Expendables 2, Paranorman, and Total Recall. While on line there (lines being a general theme), we heard about free AMD processors being given away a few blocks up. We decided to check it out and randomly found it at the Geek & Sundry HQ! Best part is yours truly got the very last spot for their autograph signing! Woohoo! Got a small hug from Felicia Day and a pic and some FaceTime with Sandeep, who I'm mildly obsessed with. And of course, a fee AMD processor from AMD.


If our day ended there, it would be complete but after a quick ice cream break, it was off to w00tstock 4.0!!!! Now the offical recap will follow with lots of juicy goodness about the 270 minutes we spent there but I will give this. Levar Burton on stage singing the Reading Rainbow theme song with Wil Wheaton as a backup singer.


Will our plucky reporters make it into Ballroom 20 for panels? Will they get coffee? Stay tuned to twitter for minute to minute updates! Until tomorrow, Wilderowens signing off!


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Review: The Day After and Other Stories by Wil Wheaton @wilw

Did you know that Wil Wheaton came out with a book of short stories? I got my hands on a copy of The Day After and Other Stories a few weeks ago and just got the chance to sit down and really enjoy it. It was part of a very short release in December, and I am so happy I bought it for two reasons.

One: It's wicked good.
Two: I got a tweet from Wil himself!!!!!!

Yep, so here is the story. When I bought it, I got a very nice automated email from Wil, thanking me for buying his book. So of course, I tweeted this:




To which I got this as a response:




Needless to say, I fell off my chair, then babbled incoherently for about twenty minutes. I did handle it better than I thought I would, especially after my first Wheaton encounter.

Oh yeah...so since this is a review, I should probably talk about the book. The Day After and Other Stories has four short stories, ranging in size and topic. Despite what I anticipated, these were not all sci-fi/fantasy stories. The element that ties the book together is that these are people stories. Each tale, no matter the length, touches upon the human condition. The title story, The Day After, is a zombie survivor story. One kid is trying to deal with his realization that his world is gone forever and there is no going back. Frankly, this story freaked me out but in that good way. You know, when you feel that connection to the characters. My favorite part is that he gives an intro for each story and his reasoning for writing it. One story, Language Barriers, is based on a conversation he overheard one day. Another story, Room 302, is based on a photo that a friend gave him. He even manages to bring his love of poker into a touching story about a bar patron called Poor Places.



In the intro for the book, Wil Wheaton says that he wrote this for his fans that wanted him to write more fiction. Well, the only fiction works of yours that I have read are this and The Last Unicorn (Pegasus Kitten) from Clash of the Geeks. Mr. Wheaton, I have to agree with them. You have great talent for drawing a person into a story and you should explore that.

Sadly, The Day After and Other Stories is no longer available, but I'm sure if enough people tweet him about it, he will cave to your demands. The Mob Shall Not Be Ignored! Until then, you should check out his bookstore, where he sells other literary delights!

Happy New Years from [insertgeekhere]!

Can you believe that 2010 is over?! We have been so lucky this year with the starting of [insertgeekhere] and we all want to say thank you for supporting us! Without readers like you, we would just be mindlessly babbling on a street corner. Again.

Here is a little recap of our favorite posts from 2010:

Pull The Trigger

Looking back to all those months ago with our first post where we just say hi to everyone.

Wilderowens Favorite Post of 2010:

Private Practice: Did you hear what happened to Charlotte King?

I love this post because its is not traditional geek. It was truly a great hour of television that covered a terrible event, and it deserved to be recognized.

Wysefyre's Favorite Post(s) of 2010:


I couldn't pick just one favorite. I have two.

Musical Friday - VideoSongs, An Educational Tour Through Music History
Not only did it make me laugh, but I loved being able to see the various instruments and voices that go into the songs.

My Epic Con Fails
Who hasn't had a wacky disaster or two happen at a con? I love this post because, not only are the situations funny, but I can also see them in a movie as a montage of the various mishaps which lead to the one con that proves to be the most perfect in every way one. Plus, regardless of what happened, Wilderowens got to talk to Wil Wheaton, and that by itself makes her and this awesome.

 Getsuyobi's Favourite Post of 2010:

This Month Let's Work on Respect

I'm a patient guy by nature, and it always annoys me when I see the uber-fan acting like a jerk and giving all us normal fans a bad name.   I know we'll never get to the nerd-utopia that we all wish for, but it'd be nice if everyone would take a look at themselves and assess their own actions for once.  Here's hoping for a friendlier fan in 2011.

From all of us at [insertgeekhere] we want to wish everyone a Happy & Safe New Year!  We'll look forward to more geeky excitement in 2011!

My Epic Con Fails

@Wilderowens here with a little insanity break.  I have been reading all of the NYCC reviews and recaps about other people's experiences.  Everyone loves to talk about all of the awesome people we meet or the cool stuff we do at cons. Well, sometimes it isn't always so easy or fun for us. I personally can think of 5 things I wish I could do over at New York Comic and San Diego Comic Con.  Please join me in lamenting over my Epic Con Fails:

     5 - At my first NYCC, I thought I was so prepared.  I had just made it into the Chronicles of Narnia panel and thought I had figured out all of the good stuff to do that day. I was so excited until I learned that I missed out on a easy to get into Seth Green signing. I had mistakely thought it was later in the day. The panel wasn't even that good.

     4 - At this year's NYCC, I had a guaranteed Frank Miller bracelet for his signing. I thought that was so awesome considering that they are so hard to get.  Except I couldn't find the person who had it for me in time.

     3 - At my second NYCC, I had my research done (I learned from my mistakes), and had everything I needed when I walked into the Javits Center....except my ticket.

     2 - At this years SDCC, I had another chance to meet Seth Green. I waited on line for two hours to   meet him and was second in line. As you now know from above, I had been dying to meet him for years. Now I had my chance. Seth Green is a classy guy.... I'm not so classy. I was so tired at this point and so driven to get this autograph (since this really was years in the making!) that I kinda went crazy. I had given my camera to someone for a pic and they asked if we were ready. I said loudly, "Let's take a pic!" and proceeded to grab Seth Green and put my arm around him. I even pressed my cheek against his. When I walked away and began to calm down, I realized how crazy I was acting.  I even considered going back to apologize, but that probably would have made it even worse.  Now this isn't the first time I have met or even worked professionally with a celebrity, but this was the first and only time I lost control.

     1 - At this year's SDCC, I made it to the Eureka screening, and sat through a weird Klingon play just to get in the second row. All for a good pic of Wil Wheaton. My friend, who didn't come, and I are both harboring huge crushes on him. Wil speaks and then sits down, right in front of me! I have brilliant plan of having him hold up a sign I wrote saying hi to my friend while I take a picture. I quickly write out a sign, turn on my camera and go up to him right before the screening starts to ask. For the record, Wil Wheaton is awesome. He says yes and holds up the sign. I step back to take the picture, my camera shuts down right then, the lights dim and his handler says "You have to return to your seat." Wil Wheaton hands me back the sign and says sorry. I had thought I might have a shot after the screening but he left early. That sucked so much, I thought I would die. I hate my camera.

After writing this, I am torn between laughing and crying at my exploits.  Please share some of your embarrassing experiences too so I don't feel so lonely!