Tall tales

Magnet #1321 - Giraffe

Bought this one at NY Comic-Con a few weeks ago. Yes, yes, I know, I dunno, I end up buying the oddest magnets in the oddest of places. But NYCC has come to be the place where I buy my cute things, this giraffe being one of them. Wait til you see the rest of the set!

Just read a bunch of facts about giraffes - they have black tongues and spend 16-20 hours a day feeding, they sleep for about five minutes at a time, and no one's ever seen them bathe.

OH! And their tails are like 8 feet long! Like, I always knew giraffes were tall, but I don't think I've ever noticed how tall their tails were.

See what I did there?

I came, I saw, I geeked out. Lessons from #SDCC. - Guest Blogger, DC Sister

Magnet #1250 - Buy More's Nerd Herd

Betcha can't have just one. That's kinda how my sister feels about San Diego Comic-Con.

We went last year for the first time ever, and had a terrific time, so she decided to head back this year. And, as if that weren't enough, she decided to get tickets for us for SDCC 2012.

I was saving this Chuck magnet for when I finally caught up on the last season, but it's clear that DCSis totally needed to guest blog on this magnet, given her almost 100% successful stalking of her cuteboys. (FYI, Nathan Fillion and Richard Armitage, look out for the short Asian chick pushing me out of the way to get to ya'll next year.)

Anyway, here's her sound advice to one and all...and maybe we'll see ya'll out in Cali next year.

- joy

____________________________________

Last week I went to San Diego to attend this obscure little event called Comic-Con International.

You may have heard of it.

About 130,000 people queued up for hours to see panels and navigate a crowded convention floor? Why would anyone do that?

I'll tell you why. Because for some godforsaken reason it actually turns out to be...kinda fun!

You just have to want it.

Lessons I learned at SDCC that I will take with me next year. Because there will be a next year (Three words: Hobbit. Richard. Armitage.)

1. Venture off-site.
   Last year all we did were the on-site events. This year Zachary Levi, from TV's Chuck, held the Nerd HQ, where you could play video games, chill and listen to celebrity panels for a good cause. I went to see stars from shows I love. And got their autographs! And 100% of my money went to Operation Smile!
   
   And I got to sit so close to Zach that I noticed the wallpaper on his phone looks suspiciously like the little man in that magnet up above! Definitely the highlight of the con for me. That and the awesome live Nerdist podcast with Doctor Who's Matt Smith and Karen Gillan - also off-site.
   
   
2. Expect the unexpected.
   I sat through two panels I thought I wouldn't care about while waiting for one I really wanted to see. Those two panels? Some of the best I saw.
   
   Christopher Moore was so entertaining I'll have to pick up one of his books. Tsuneo Goda is the creator of Domo! I heart him! His panel was just delightful. [I'll insert here that I learned this last year, sitting through Seth MacFarlane last year for other subsequent panels. Never knew him, didn't watch his shows, but fell promptly in crush with his gorgeous smile. What? - joy]
   
   
3. Make sacrifices, not choices.
   Comic-Con isn't about what you choose to do, but what you choose to give up in order to do something else. It's the "Sophie's Choice" of pop culture: Which panel do you choose: Firefly vs. Torchwood? Joss Whedon vs. John Barrowman vs. Chris Hemsworth? Argh.
   
   
4. Be prepared.
   I would make a terrible paparazzo. That's probably a good thing. But it means my pics of Tom Hardy, Kevin Smith and Frank Darabont on the convention floor are...not good.
   
   But I am good at grabbing swag. Yay me for getting not one, but TWO Mockingjay pins. (Read The Hunger Games, folks; you'll thank me.)
   
   
5. Spread the love.
   I went to SDCC by myself. Yes, I know. AWWWWW. But I met superfun people, including Joy's blogger friend - The GoldenGait Bridge, her fiance and friend, not to mention the random strangers in line. There's nothing better than discussing which Chuck episode is your favorite or which Doctor is your Doctor (I had this convo several times with several people), than with people who get it.

The best thing about Comic-Con is that no matter what your into - comics, video games, TV, movies, celeb-spotting - there will be very little judgment or hostility.

Unless (apparently) you're a Twilight fan. Then all bets are off.

Protect Me!

Magnet #1064 - Protect Me!

Ah. If you know my Save the World Sister, you were likely expecting this magnet to be accompanied by another guest magnetpost on pandas from her. Eh, no worries, she'll be back talking pandas eventually, because somehow I've ended up with several panda magnets along the way.

We always manage to visit the Spicy Brown booth at New York Comic Con, and last time around, I picked up this pin magnet. Like all of their kawaii (cute) characters, the Protect Me Panda is freakin' adorable.

It's part of their Protect series, a best-selling collection designed by Kazuko Shinoka, and specifically aimed at helping raise awareness and funds for the WWF.

I picked it for this week, because the little panda kinda reminds me of my Aussie cousin. Halfway to 14, and on her first trip to America, she's now been exposed to about half of the 30 first cousins, in about 4 states and 1 District of Columbia.

I love spending time with my cousins, and this one was no different. We had a ton of fun hanging out, doing our walkabouts in New York, and a little bit in DC.

She's normal people size (which means a little bit taller than me), so was often hard to keep in mind she's only 13. Her age was all the more evident, when in the space of four hours, I had to explain what happened to the Twin Towers on September 11th (her mom brought her down to Ground Zero last week), Civil War/Slavery/Lincoln's Assassination (when we dropped by Ford Theater this week), and the Holocaust (when we visited the International Spy Museum and she learned about World War II).

I felt a little bit guilty, wondering how her mom would react when she learned that I'd explained those three examples of what a crappy world we actually live in sometimes. While a big part of me wanted to protect her, she did pose the questions, and I couldn't see a way around not answering them.

So I did. But all the while, I kinda felt like I was taking a bit of innocence away from the little girl from Down Under.

The protective stance continued, when we saw the September 11th footage at the Spy Museum - I wanted to cover her eyes, but also wanted to point it out to her. I winced when she winced when I explained how Lincoln was shot in the very theatre we were standing under, and that they eventually caught and hung the plotmakers.

And the next day, when we went to the Holocaust Museum (at her request), I wanted to pull her away from the graphic footage, all the while trying to help her understand the un-understandable. While it was a little hard, she made a few astute observations that showed she was soaking in the information. We ended the visit by buying her The Diary of Anne Frank, required reading at her age here in the States, but a book that she'd not yet heard of in Australia.

Oh! And that was something else I learned on this trip, trying to pick out the places and things that would the most interesting and worthwhile for my cousin and my aunt. I realized that no matter how much I love it, and love learning more and more about it, the plain fact is, American history is just not as interesting to those not from the U.S.

It was kind of a funny realization, one that seems to be uniquely American. I get that feeling whenever I travel in Europe, too. You know, when you walk around the corner and run into a building that's older than your country's history.

After all, it's really quite humbling to realize that your country's history, while interesting, is only about 234 years old, and really only about a spec in the terms of overall humankind's history.

Bam, said the lady* - Guest Blogger, DC Sister, #sdcc

Magnet #1005 - BAM!

All of geekdom wasted another two hours going after the SD Comic-Con badges that their registration vendor, EPIC, couldn't make happen. Again. Making this BAM! sticker magnet pretty accurate.

I had nothing to do but ride a train and hit refresh, so I sat back and watched the #sdcc hashtag fly by, laughing as each hatetweet and #EPICfail Tweet and Cafe Press shirt went by. But, it's not really funny.

On the business side, there's absolutely nothing funny about a vendor who doesn't deliver, twice. There's also nothing funny about slow PR crisis response, waiting too long to communicate with the pissed-off masses, and waiting even longer to call Time of Death on the registration proceedings.

I do feel terrible for the folks that were running around trying to fix the bad situation. But that time lapse allowed so much #sdcc vitriol to spew that it would make any and all corporate reputation experts' heads spin. So much goodwill was lost in those two hours, it's impossible to gauge. Will anyone boycott? No, of course not. Will people continue to mock the SDCC and EPIC brands? Most likely.

Now we wait for the next TBD reg date. In the meantime, the below post is from DC Sister, who was one of the lucky ones who got a golden ticket.

Take it away, Charlie!

- joy

____________________________________

So if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that Joy and I went to the San Diego Comic-Con this past summer. Yeah. Cool, right?

She and I (and maybe SaveTheWorldCouple) were supposed to have bought our tickets for the 2011 Comic-Con yesterday. You would think that after the big registration fail two weeks ago, the organizers would’ve come up with some solutions before they reopened registration yesterday. Too bad that didn’t happen.

Once again, I was obsessively pressing the Refresh button for more than an hour only to get server errors. Sigh. Oh well.

In the end, I got my badge at least before they closed registration once more for technical difficulties. Sadly, I have a feeling that one more fail means none of my group will want to go and I’ll have to sell my ticket back.

Oh, but I do so want to go!

Why? you ask. Why venture back into the fray of the great, graphic-T-wearing unwashed? Here goes:

- The stars. How often do you get to see/hear your favorite stars talk about their shows/movies? In D.C. it doesn’t happen often. I don’t like New York much, but I do get jealous when Joy gets to see someone like Colin Firth speak at a screening. (To brag, though, I’ve been on the set of The West Wing and met the cast when they filmed in D.C., so ... holla!)

- The spectacle. Dudes, a lot of people go to this shindig. Like a lot, a lot. And I hate lines; I like to blame the three-hour wait at Bloomingdale’s to meet Santa when we were kids. [This way to Santa! This way to Santa! - joy] But at this place? I don’t mind so much. Because, really, where else can you sit down for an hour or two in line and see Wonder Woman, Mal Reynolds, Chewbacca and a TARDIS pass you by in a matter of minutes? Best. People watching. Ever.

- The possibilities. The $64,000 question: Is it better to go in 2011 or 2012? Much of this hinges on what movies are coming out next year. Captain America had a panel this summer, but the film is scheduled to open Comic-Con weekend in 2011! Will the cast be there again? Will they have, like, surprise screenings? Because if so, I’m there. Richard Armitage is in this movie. It may be a bit part, but who cares. He’s. In. A. Movie. Like a big movie. What if he’s there???

Also, he’s gonna be in The Hobbit. I don’t even like that book! All I remember from reading it in sixth grade is the vocabulary word “fortnight.” I don’t really know who his character is either. But I do know I’ll be seein’ that ish. But will Richard, Peter Jackson et al. be at Comic-Con in 2011?

Presumably they’d still be filming in New Zealand, but could one or two of them - preferably someone whose initials are brought to you by the letters R and A - give an early sneak peek at footage, maybe to raise awareness? Or would they come in 2012, a few months before the movie releases in December? Bah. These are important questions!

They likely won’t be answered until well after we decide to give up our tickets. Alls I know is I’ll be kicking myself if I’m at home that week in July and there’s some YouTube video of Richard Armitage playing Just Dance with Zachary Levi on the Comic-Con show floor in San Diego or something.


*TM @NathanFillion, who *needs* to call me when we’re in San Diego...if anyone can successfully register, that is.

3 Octopuses & An Otter World Tour - #makeithappen

Magnet #999 - Fezzes are cool

(I promise. This is the last Doctor Who magnet, at least until the Christmas Special.)

Here's the thing. I love the BBC. I even love BBC-America (even though I haven't a clue what's going on with their programing right now).

And lord knows, I love me some Doctor Who.

But, I've been puzzled over why the big U.S. push. Why now? Why not when David Tennant was being hailed one of Britain's national treasures?

There's a part of me that thinks that the BBC underestimated the American Doctor Who audiences until they brought David Tennant and John Barrowman together at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. And by then, it was too late to do anything more with DT.

I figure, post-SDCC, they all got together in a big room and said, dudes, there's a new team in place, we have a little money in the budget because we have new talent, so let's go raise that U.S. awareness even more, shall we?

Which is how we ended up with a huge push for Series 5 with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan - I'm talking actual advertising dollars, including outdoor advertising all over the place (at least here in NYC), they closed the gap between UK/U.S. airings, and they did a whole PA tour around the U.S.

The only gap in this media blitz plan is why the lull at both SD/NY Comic-Cons this year. Would have thought they'd have made it over, or fielded a panel or two. Perhaps they were saving up for the big U.S. shoot, just around the release of the DVDs?

Brilliant plan, I suppose. Because the shoot and the DVDs give young Matt Smith something to talk about - in his big profile piece in USA Today, his podcast with (the suddenly oh so cute, when the hell did that happen?) @nerdist, and now a whole Doctor Who-themed Craig Ferguson show today.

I wish I had the link for the whole show, but it just aired like an hour ago, so I don't have it, but I'm sure someone will upload it asap. It was freakin' awesome. From Craig's (real or fake, who knows) outrage at not getting Doctor Who themesong legal clearances, to the sonics to the male/female Dalek, to Chris Hardwick's audition for Twelve, to Matt Smith's stay at the Playboy penthouse and meeting a girl in Vegas, and his incredibly cute socks, and his secret ability to play the harmonica for the Three Octopuses & An Otter band. Great episode.

Truth be told, I'm well aware that it just seems like we're getting bombarded here, but it's totally nothing like the ubiquitous PR blitz on the cover of every magazine, every talk show, reality show, quiz show in the UK.

Not that I'm not complaining, folks. Really, it's more like professional awe for all the hits that the PR team's managed to get for the show and for Matt Smith. Way to go, BBC kids! (I kinda just mourn for all the might have been's with my boy David Tennant, had he had the same sort of media support. Sigh. What? Ya'll know, David's my Doctor.)

Anyway. Yes. I'm spending way too much time on Cafepress. Why do you ask?

Besides, fezzes are cool.

eta:
Heh. I just realized, it prolly should be octopi. Still. Cute. And I would totally go see them, if it meant Craig, Matt and Chris on stage together dancing.

eta2:
And so, my friends, behold, the lovely Matt Smith/Craig Ferguson interview.

Pow!

Magnet #990 - Pow

A sticker magnet after my own heart. I totally made it yesterday, I think I got the sticker sheet from the vaunted dollar aisle at Target.

Last year on this date, I would likely have been saying Pow! due to work frustrations. I'm so pleased that I can use it for something fun instead.

I think every geek and their brother blogged about the San Diego Comic-Con ticket-(non)selling debacle last Monday. Well, according to their site, today's the day they're going to make an announcement about when they're going to open registration and start selling badges.

Or you know, maybe they'll just start selling badges?

Who knows?




(C'mon, you can't tell me no one reading this just answered with, "The Shadow knows.")

eta:
POW!

Oh, good grief. The SDCC announcement today was to let us know that they'll be ready to open reg on November 22nd. Really?

There's like a myriad possibilities that would take a good three weeks in between last week and the 22nd. New trade show vendor to handle reg. Ordering new servers. Reinventing the abacus.

Any way you slice it, I'd be willing to bet there's some poor team that won't be sleeping for the next couple of weeks to make that deadline. Good luck, ya'll.

And, I'll see the rest of ya'll on the 22nd!

Oops, we broke it!

Magnet #984 - NERD/GEEK

Yesterday, a hundred thousand folks broke the internet, losing two hours of our lives trying to buy tickets to next year's San Diego Comic-Con. Since I wasn't doing anything but watching TNT's 2-hour block of Las Vegas, while hitting the refresh button, it was no skin off my index finger.

But to the rest of humanity, it was surely a tragedy. Actually, more like a comedy, if you watched the #sdcc hashtagged Tweets fly by. Which I did. Superentertaining.

While 13% of the tickets were sold, according to the SDCC site, the rest of us couldn't get past Step 1, that's if the page loaded. We really had no one to blame but ourselves - it was like every cell phone in the world calling the Doctor - only instead of reaching him, we broke the site. Which doesn't make sense unless you've seen that episode. And, I won't lie, if you reread that sentence, it still may not make any sense.

Annnyway. I felt really sorry for whomever at SDCC that had to deal with the issue during those two hours (and beyond), because honestly, that kind of stuff happens all the time on launch days. No matter how much you prepare for the oncoming storm, the web teams just have to pray for server space, no hackers, no typos or wrong versions or wrong code or no QA, and a problem-free launch.

But, really, whoever heard of a problem-free launch? (This was slightly different cuz it wasn't a true launch - just a hundred thousand people waiting for 12:00pm to hit. Like that Rhodes Furniture commercial from the 80s where the guys are getting ready in the store to let all those people trample down the doors? Yeah. That. Only virtually.)

They finally got the situation under control, letting us know that the new reg date would be set next Monday, and even wrote a nice apology (PR Crisis Communications Rule #1, check!). So, when they finally get that new vendor and/or server space, or whatever it is they gotta do, I'm looking forward to all my fellow Nerds/Geeks (probably the same ones who ended up with this Cartoon Network button magnet from SDCC or NYCC) Tweeting and trampling down the virtual door with me.

To buy tickets we won't use until next July.

But whatever.

An open memo to Cartoon Network

Magnet #970 - Fanboy

Dear Cartoon Network:

Thanks for the fun buttons magnets at both Comic-Cons this year.

Also? Fantastic job with the CN Lounge at NYCC. Great team, very well-designed decor, and it ran like a little machine, that area.

Anyway, I'm not sure what the gender breakdown is for Comic-Con - either in SD or NY - but next year, don't forget to bring Fangirl/Fangurl buttons magnets with you to give away. Fanboys are supercute and all, but us Fangirls should get equal play. I'm just sayin'.

Please and thank you. :-)

Kisses,
joy

Who is Don Draper?

Magnet #969 - Don Draper

[spoilers here]

I refused to read any of the articles or Tweets about the Mad Men finale, so I don't know if everyone liked or hated it. What I can say is that I loved it. Like, loved it.

Who is Don Draper, indeed? It's a question we've been asking since the first time he graced our screens three years ago. And, I gotta tell you, after this finale? It's a question I'm still asking.

I think that's the beauty of this show. We may never know the answer, but we'll sure as hell be intrigued by the journey.

Earlier yesterday, a friend and I were talking about what we thought would be the big cliffhanger, and I threw out there that I didn't think there'd be a big cliffhanger, so all that's left was that he'd propose. Only, seriously? I actually thought he'd settle down with Faye. I'm happier than I should be (and just as damn snarky as Peggy and Joan) that it's Megan, but I really thought he'd do the practical thing and marry Faye and find a house in Stamford or Greenwich. It's what they do, those boys.

I do think I might be the only one happy that he's happy with Megan. Clearly, Don being Don, he won't be happy because he's just feeling all sad about Anna, but I don't remember Don being this puppy dog over any of his many women, so maybe this will stick? Even though, there's a part of me that thinks Megan's a little more devious than we think and that she really might end up as one of Peggy's creatives. (Though a part of me was scared Peggy was gonna go cry in the bathroom over Don, and that's a whole can of worms I don't want to see. Yet.)

The finale on the whole though was just fantastic. Freakin' Peggy and Cos nailing the pantyhose account, with Peggy writing copy on the spot for the clients? Awesome.

Bets freakin' out on Carla, classic. (Though, dudes, tonight, when Don pulled out that bottle from the cabinet? It reminded me that we haven't seen an honest smile from her in years.)

And Joanie, keeping Roger's baby? I kinda figured she'd do it, but damn, to pass it off as hub's? Can't wait til next season, though I'm calling it now. He's gonna get killed in Vietnam, and Joanie (the new awesome DOO at SCDP) is gonna be stuck on her own and Roger's gonna have to deal with the fallout and a new baby carriage.

Overall, I've had mixed feelings over this season. While I know in my head it's fiction, I couldn't help seeing the last year and a half of my career in this season - the beginning of a new agency, the animosity of a new regime, the fighting over office supplies, the fear of losing clients, false promises, beating the bushes for new clients, wondering if we'd be around in the next six days, let alone six months. It's some scary stuff. Watching Don go through it at SCDP has been painful on a professional level.

But, this was a terrific way to end the season...though, I would have loved to actually see the Drapers wandering around Disneyland.

Oh! I'll probably do a longer post on it, mainly because I have five of the six buttons magnets for it, but ya'll need to run out right now and grab this book, Mad Men: The Illustrated World. It's adorable. It's well designed, cutely written in the spirit of the show and the times, and I loved it so much, I bought it twice at Comic-Con.

Seriously. Go. Now.

All things kawaii*

Magnet #961 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Detective

Remember how a couple of days ago I thought I was totally unworthy to be at Comic-Con because I never read X-Men?

As it turns out, what I knew about the comics world? Was miles and miles and far and away much more than I ever knew about anime. Turns out, what I know about anime?

Could fill a thimble.

A tiny, supersmall faerie thimble.

I know! I'm Asian! I should know such things! But I don't.

I do, however, have young Asian cousins and their friends to teach me the ways of anime, which is why we spent today concentrating on the Anime Festival side of Comic-Con with two Jersey cousins and a cousin BFF.

The three of them were dressed up as Pikachu, Misty and Dawn. Fantastic outfits (handmade by the big sister), and given the "Pikachu!"s we heard from passersby, people totally knew who they were, and loved them for it. (And yes, I had to look up the three characters. Or, really just the two, since I've actually slept through seen the Pokemon movie - in the theatre.)

We went to a Hiyao Miyazaki panel. This is a UO, but I couldn't stand Spirited Away. Hated the parents becoming pigs, the main chick being so damned whiny, and honestly, I get crazy when random stuff starts happening in movies. I mean, I left that movie with a big WTF on my face.

But, this panel, which the three girls were so thrilled to go to, had a really great speaker...so great, that he's convinced me to add My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky on to the top of my Netflix list. (Ponyo's on Instant Watch, so maybe later tonight.)

We also went to another panel called "Anime, Manga, and Harajuku Fashion: The Secret of International Competitiveness of Japanese Pop Culture." Yep. And that's the same confusion I had on my face, when we walked in. But, that too, was a fairly interesting panel (with possibly the best translator I've ever seen).

The lead panelist, Takamasa Sakurai, is basically the Japanese pop culture ambassador, who took us through a bunch of cosplay images from around the world. And, if that wasn't enough, he brought on this superstar Kanon dude from An Cafe, this J-Pop band to be his co-panelist. I haven't a clue who the guy was, but my cousin and her BFF were absolutely floored by him. So ecstatic! (I feel fairly sure they'd have the same confusion if they saw me meet Duran Duran.)

Anyway, through this panel, I learned that Cosplay is global, that they'll be happy to show me around if I show up in Japan, and that if "everyone was otaku and lolitas, the world would be at peace."

Shoot. Today, I learned what cosplay really was (I was very confused, I totally blame the LARPing episode of Being Erica). And otaku. And kawaii.* And lolita.

Let it be said that I took Japanese 101, 102 and 103 at Carolina. I should have already known what this stuff was. In the end, that's just a fraction of what I learned today.

Here's another fraction: See this standee magnet I bought from the folks at Squire Sword? It's basically a supercute animation printout, mounted to foamcore, and it stands. It's freakin' adorable. But I squeed over it, and was like, "OMG! It's David Tennant! It's the Tenth Doctor! I must have it!" And proceeded to pull out my double-digit dollars for it. (They also had Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor, and K-9, too. But, I couldn't pass up the TARDIS. Adorable!)

And, like a silly fangurl, I took a picture of both my purchases and posted it to Facebook the first chance I got. And, seriously, just before I started writing this magnetpost (in honor of watching David's Single Father tv series tonight), my cousin - this time from California - corrected my ignorant ass and told me that he's NOT from Doctor Who!

He's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney! The best defense attorney in the land!

While it's still supercute, I was heartbroken it wasn't David Tennant.

But, you can see why I was totally confused. Right? Right? RIGHT?

*crickets*

Mind you, I'm still going to pretend it's David. It's damned close.

Just call me Excited!

Magnet #960 - Emotes!

Ok. Who is surprised that within the first 10 minutes of being at New York Comic-Con, I'd already bought my first magnet? Yep. I even went in the back way to the show floor, and still I managed to find this magnet at the Emotes booth.

Of course, I'm going to take that purchase receipt and head back there today to see if I can qualify for the "spend $20 and get the supercute Emotes bag free" deal. What? Hello. I know they're spelling my name wrong, but how can I resist!

Apparently, the mission of Emotes is to teach kids about emotions, and being able to put their feelings into words. It's a little too touchy-feely for my taste, but I am all over the JOI stuff. Plus, how cute are these characters!? I'm already planning on getting one of the books. And maybe the little figurine. And maybe the keychain. Yes. All to get the cute bag.

Although - can I just say? I've been on this declutter kick in my apartment, and I kept roaming around today rejecting practically everything I saw because I didn't want any more free comics, any more pens, any more totebags in this apartment.

For the most part, I succeeded. Hard to believe, I came home with only ONE new totebag for me. One! Ironically, it's from the publishing company that gave me my first job, but it cracked me up to lug it around. (Full disclosure, I also gave away this other superdupercute totebag, when I realized that while it had superdupercute figurines on one side, it had this trashy half-nekkid chick on the other side.)

The other trouble I'm having is finding superdupercool stuff for STWsis. The problem is that we scored her the superdupercool stuff from San Diego 2 months ago!

Though, the second we get to the floor today, I'm running right over to the Penguin Putnam booth to buy another copy of the really awesome Mad Men Illustrated World book (and another set of matching pins that are totally going to become magnets).

Let's just say that I'm overJOIed about that book!

eta:
OMG. It's JOI and me! It's JOI and me!

Comic-Con Confessions

Magnet #959 - Wolverine

I have a confession to make: I've never read a single X-Men comic. I've never watched the cartoon, either (just added to the top of my Netflix queue, though).

Because I always have to see any and all event/superhero movies, I've seen all the X-Men movies. So, in my head, Wolverine will always be hot Hugh Jackman, not this guy right here.

I'll go one further. Sometimes, comics make me crazy. It's kind of how I hate nonlinear storytelling - sometimes, the jumpiness of the panel layouts makes me nuts.

So now you know.

I know. It's shameful. Especially since in about 10 hours, I'll be at New York Comic-Con. For the whole weekend.

I think part of me knows that I just can't get into the seriality of it all - if I get hooked (which is totally possible and possibly scary), I'll be stalking Midtown Comics and Forbidden Planet all the time!

But hey. I'm happy to entertain any suggestions for stories to try. After all, I can just run out on the floor this weekend and buy them. So, suggest away.

Will you still love me?

Magnet #915 - Family Guy

Ok, ya'll. I thought I'd already mentioned my newest cuteboy crush, but I'm guessing I've just Tweeted the bejeepers out of it, instead.

I'm totally late to this bandwagon, I know. I first noticed Seth MacFarlane in his weirdo Hulu ad a while ago, and passingly thought, huh, that guy's kinda cute. But the ad was way off-putting, not to mention just confusing overall.

But at Comic-Con, I had to sit in Ballroom 20, through the Animation block of Family Guy and Cleveland Show (and Futurama and Simpsons) to get to @televisionary's V panel (and then Fringe and Vampire Diaries), and by the time my two compadres tried to run over to Hall H, not get in and come back, I was soooo charmed by Seth. Like for realz, yo. Like, more than (now-married) Dave Price. I mean, dudes, this guy's even cuter IRL!

He's cute. He's funny. He has a fabulously deep voice. He's got the cutest damn smile. He sings. (He's one up on Clooney, there.)

No. Seriously. On top of sitting through the Hoff roast (and Seth's intro 3 times), I even went and Netflixed a few Family Guys and American Dads just to give them a chance, and see if I've missed a whole phenomenon that I would be interested in. And because you know the second I discover a cuteboy, I have to watch his whole oeuvre.

Sadly, the answer is that I'm not missing anything. While I respect the work (animation's great, voices are awesome and hello, it's Seth and Seth Green!!!), it's really the 12-year-old boy humor that I can't find funny.

So the question is now...will Seth still like me, if I can't watch his work?

eta:
Heh. It's been awhile since my last fluffyOMGSqueeHe'ssodreamy post. Dave Price got married. David Tennant's been busy doing stuff I can't watch stateside yet. George has a movie coming out next Wednesday, but his GF is obviously keeping him occupied. Same with Joshua Jackson, especially since I proved unworthy by missing Pacey-Con. And poor John Taylor's been in the recording room, from what I can tell.

Yeah, it was time for some new cuteboy blood.

Sweetening the pot

Magnet #902 - Not so sweet

Another one of my Bored Inc. magnets I picked up from Comic-Con. It's kinda funny - I was gonna use this magnet for my first day back into work from Comic-Con, but since it turned out to be my last day at work, I decided I didn't want such a sourpuss magnet for that day.

So, I'll use it today, because there was a part of me that thought that La-la-land was all cupcakes, sunshine and puppies. But lists like this TV Guide list of actor per-episode salaries lead me to believe that life mightn't be so sweet for all of them.

(I should note here that if there was ever anything I learned from one particular ex-boyfriend, it was do not discuss salary. Ever. Not with friends. Not with family. Just don't do it. It just makes you unhappy in the end. So, it's something I never discuss to this day.)

But, since the information's now public (not that I know where it came from) and even though I find it a little uncouth to discuss such matters, and ridic that we're given all this information on anyone's salaries, and it's absolutely none of our business, I do find this entertainment business quite intriguing.

Like Mark Harmon (325k) making double Michael Weatherley (125k) - that difference kinda makes sense, because of seniority, and probably producer credits, etc. But how crazy is it that iCarly's Miranda Cosgrove (180k) is making so much more on a Nick show than Wizards' Selena Gomez (30k) on a Disney show? And how is Ian Somerhalder is at 40k on the CW's Vampire Diaries, the same as Shailene Woodley on that ABCFamily Brendavision show? And Chuck's Zachary Levi is at 60k at NBC, while old Chuck buddy Matt Bomer's at $100k on USA's White Collar, and both NBC/USA are in the same NBC Uni family.

See? While it's none of our business, it's still utterly fascinating.

It's weird, because they didn't release all cast information - so while Lauren Graham's at 150k, it'd be interesting to see Krause's or Coach's. Angie Harmon's at 75k as Rizzoli, but what's Gretchen Sasha Alexander making as Isles, I wonder.

I know, I apologize, it's totally none of my business. Still, I'm not really judgey about how much they make - per episode - they're actors, they work hard, they live a career based on their skills and their looks. I've never thought it an easy occupation. It can't be. Plus, it's not just the shows, it's the PAs, the marketing/PR they have to do, etc.

Oh, I could go on and on, comparing networks to networks, hour-longs to sitcoms, gender, seniority, BBC actors being employees of the state vs. Hollywood, etc. But, it's just a cupcake magnet.

My guess is that this list must cause a ton of people in the entertainment world some severe agita. I can't even imagine the myriad calls that will be made in the coming weeks over salary disparities. Crazy.

But, I can tell you, if this were Corporate America, and each company published this kind of list, with such readily apparent disparities? Man, there'd be total anarchy!

Fixing the world from far away

Magnet #892 - Happy Bunny's Fix the World

Nah, I don't really feel this way. It just cracked me up when I saw it at one of the Comic-Con booths. (Again, SDCC exhibitors, another booth I wouldn't have visited if they hadn't had magnets. IJS.)

My first instinct, now that I have some time to breathe and some free time on my hands, was that I wanted to run down to the Gulf and help in the clean-up efforts. But, I just read somewhere that they really don't want people to travel down there to help out. Which seems odd, but I guess understandable.

So, in the next couple of days, I'll be trying to find some way to be useful from NYC - some way that doesn't include calling people up asking them for money, anyway. I'm sure there have to be some sort of volunteer positions here in town, no?

It's actually kinda funny, a friend of mine Tweeted that BP's looking for some help, with people calling it the worst job in the world. There's a part of me that believes it - I mean, no company's rep has gone from so loved to so reviled so fast. But, there's a part of me that thinks, man, anyone who could possibly bring BP's corporate reputation back to the land of the living will win PR Person of the Universe. Man, what a job.

Good luck with that. And I'll be waiting over here with the cookies.

Life is sweet

Magnet #890 - Life is sweet

Ok. C'mon. How freakin' CUTE is this magnet.

Cupcakes, lollipops, candy, ice cream. It's like my own personal food pyramid. So many happy things at once. So. Darn. Cute!

You know what's even cuter? Almost everything at the Bored Inc site. We discovered these guys at Comic-Con* (hey, who says trade shows don't work. Wait, does one consider SDCC a trade show, really?), and they had tons and tons of superadorable stuff, but I had to settle for only a couple of magnets - otherwise, I would have gone home with every single one of their magnets, except maybe all the scatologically-focused ones.

I'm picking this one for today, because it's my sister's birthday today, and as she's explained before, she loves the cute-cute. It's also why I bought her this Mochimochi knitting book for her birthday. This way, we alllll benefit from her fun pasttime.

Anyway, sorry I'm not there today, and sorry I wasn't able to get Zachary Levi or Nathan Fillion to wish you happy birthday, but I hope you're having a terrific birthday anyway!

*Note to other SDCC exhibitors - you know what drew me to the Bored Inc booth and made me stay for a good 10 minutes? Besides the cute-cute, she had a ton of magnets at her booth. For sale. I'm just saying.

Enough of this pasty, waify s**t

Magnet #886 - Jocelynn Drake's Dayhunter

I got this magnet from last year's NYCC, from Jocelynn Drake herself. She has a new book coming today called Wait for Dusk, the next in her Nightwalker series.

I picked it for today, because it reminds me of the Supernatural panel we went to on the last day of Comic-Con. I mean, can you get any cuter than the Winchester Boys? Uh. No.

They had a great panel, for their supposedly last and final season, wherein Jensen Ackles said enough of this pasty, waify shit, let's show 'em how to really kill vampires.

Lore (Legend? History?) is a funny, funny thing. I mean, if you buy into the vampire thing, over the years, you learn that there are just certain rules about slaying vampires that everyone adheres to. The garlic, the holy water, the wooden stake through the heart, direct sunlight, etc.

But, it always cracks me up when those rules get broken. Suddenly garlic doesn't work, it doesn't matter if the water's blessed, the stake can hit near the heart, and the vamp can hang out under piers.

I can't wait to see more of what they can do on Supernatural, and how Dean (and Sammy) Winchester's gonna light 'em up and knock 'em down, and "teach folks how to do it right" - a Jensen quote, which was yet another of the many, many Twilight slams that happened at Comic-Con. Which kinda made me giggle a bit.

Until I sat through the Vampire Diaries panel...which (pretty boys and all) made me giggle a lot more.

See ya, Comic-Con! Back in a....

Magnet #884 - The Flash

Hmmm. I'm trying to decide if I'm coming back to Comic-Con next year.

This year was my virginal San Diego Comic-Con experience. Having done a couple of New York Comic-Cons, I kinda knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up last October for 4-day (w/o preview night tickets) - big crowds, long lines, tons of costumes. So, nothing really surprised me at the convention center.

We had a ton of fun, sitting through cuteboy panel after cuteboy panel, taking picture after far-away picture, and squeezing the floor in wherever we could, and we hit pretty much everything on our list.

I won't lie, we totally missed the big stuff - the Scott Pilgrim first sneak preview, the Harrison Ford/RDJ panels and a ton of fun activity and giveaways on the floor. But, I think that's the trade-off when you have to pick between either Hall H or Ballroom 20. And, I wouldn't really trade anything from the last four days.

Hmm, maybe the parties, though. We missed a ton of parties. Which was fine if you think about it, since first, we all know I hate breaking that fourth wall, and second, we're hoi polloi, and not A-listers. Besides, even if we made it in, I don't know that I'd even have fun there. (Well, except for maybe Zachary Levi's NERD party.)

So, do I need to come back again next year? Maybe not.

Do I want to come back next year? Yes.

But am I coming back next year? Stay tuned.

Open letter to Comic-Con Exhibitors

Magnet #883 - FearNet HD

Dear Comic-Con Exhibitors:

I read somewhere that magnets are the number 1-selling souvenir in the world.

This FearNet HD and the Three Musketeers 3D magnets should not have been the only ones I didn't have to buy at Comic-Con. I'm just saying.

Please and thank you.

joy

A Judoon platoon upon the moon

Magnet #881 - Judoons

Thursday was our first full day of San Diego Comic-Con, three Comic-Con virgins hitting the crazy Hall H - all day. Which is probably why I didn't see all the costumes out there, let alone any Judoon from Doctor Who.

I won't lie, costumes scare the crap out of me. It's the part where you can't see who's behind the masks. I get that's the point of them, but they seriously scare the crap out of me.

But it's been fun watching all the folks dressed up - it's like four straight days of Halloween. Since last night was the BBC-America Being Human/Doctor Who screening, there were several Doctors Tens and Elevens and Amy Ponds.

Oh! And a Tardis!