grail's daily photo log

Too tired.  See pictures.

Saw and/or met:

Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)

The guy who plays Captain Spaulding in the Rob Zombie movies

Michael Chikless (however you spell his name) from the Shield on FX and the Thing on the Fantastic Four

Jessica Alba

Natalie Portman

Charlize Theron

Karl Urban

Sam Jones (who?  He was Flash Gordon)

Tim Thomerson (who?  He was in a load of B Sci-Fi movies, like Trancers).

Erin Gray

At it again.

Maddy and I met our friends, including a CC regular who could only attend one day this year.  We had the famous buffett again, then headed out to the floor.

Today was much better that Thursday for people watching.  Loads of costumed geeks, nerds, and dorks (hey, I am a card carrying member, too!) to gawk at.  Maddy was a bit nervous, but by the end of the day was asking for pictures with most she saw.

One one big cele siting today:  Jamie Foxx was there promoting his upcoming movie Stealth.  Shook his hand and got a picture.

Headed over to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner (see pic).  We were pretty darn beat by that time, but the meal was excellent.

Okay, San Diego Comic-Con, Day 1.

I think I'll just hit the interesting spots and clean it all up later.  I'm exhausted.

Maddy and I arrived at 9:00 and parked in the joint Convention Center/PetCo Park parking structure.  The line for entry (opens at 10:00) was a giant snake, as usually.  Maddy and I head over to the Mariott for their famous buffet breakfast.  Delicious.

We head over to the CC, and completely bypass the line.  One of the perks about being a long-time attendee is picking up the tricks of the trade.  They let the line in about 9:30, but it's a trick.  The line head upstairs and is stacked up on the huge outdoor patio.  I estimiate that the upstairs line is anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 people long by 10:00.  When they open the floor, they let that line in, but open the front as well.  Security does their best to direct walk-ups to the line for the first 15 minutes or so, but by 10:30, it's walk in the front and right onto the dealer floor, no waiting.  It's the only way to do it.

We spent Thursday with friends, wandering through the 55 rows (about 3000 vendors) of booths, stalls, and pavillions of all sizes.  I picked up my pre-ordered items from Gentle Giant and Sideshow, and went to the 'Is that a sword in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?' panel.  It was a writing combat in a fantasy setting discussion, and was pretty good.  The big name was Robert Jordan (of the Wheel of Time series, in case you've never heard of him).  He was a bit pompus, but knowledgable about his medium.  The best one on the panel was Jim Butcher, who writes the Harry Dresden novels.  He was witty and very approachable.  It was a well spent 90 minutes.

I managed to get  a few autographs on Thursday, and took a few photos (check them out in my San Diego Comic Con section).

The floor closed at 7:00, and we headed for home.

Man, do my feet hurt.

I've been going to the San Diego Comic-Con for 17 year now (I did miss on in 1991, due to the fact that I was on my honeymoon.  The sacrafices we make...).  Preview night is something the Comic-Con (CC) promoters started in about 1999 or so, and it's become a huge deal.  Only those who pre-register for the 4-day pass are eligible to attend, and, judging by this year, that's a huge portion of the overall attendance.

This year I took my 6 year old daughter with me for the whole con (she been to the last 3 CC's, but never for more than a day or so).  Getting our badges was a snap, taking all of 10 minutes, and most of that was walking through the vast hallways of the SD Convention center to reach the badge staging area.  We arrived a bit early, in order to get in line for the opening of the vendor floor, but found that line to be overwhelmingly long (not all that unusual, actually).  So, I decided to take Maddy out to the Gaslamp Quarter (downtown SD) and get some dinner. 

I should explain that the line for entrance into the floor is let in through the rear of the convention hall, and that the main entries are closed until the line has been fully let in.  At least, in theory.  From experience, I know that the front entries are opened within minutes of the line letting in, but it's very difficult to get into the front lobby and have access to those doors.  The security personnel are basically line Nazis, and force anyone loitering outside to move to the line or disburse.

So, we leave the line, but the way back to the street is blocked (it's the way that they will be letting the line into the vendor floor).  The secuity lady informs me that we have to back track all the way around the hall (we are on the second floor) and exit through the other end of the building.  Yeesh.  As most of you are not familiar with the San Diego convention center, it is HUGE.  That is one long trek.  The solution?  Have a cute 6 year old with you.  When Maddy looks stricken at the thought of walking all that way, the secuity lady relents and lets us use the elevator.  What she doesn't realise (I guess) is that the elevator at this particular spot, doesn't go to the first floor, instead opening on the Mezzanine level.  Maddy and I wander past closed office after closed office until we finally find a stairwell, and exit on the first floor, right next to the B Hall entry. 

The best part, we are inside the lobby doors where security are patrolling, and they don't give us a second look.  As there are tons of vendors and staff milling about, we don't attract any notice.  (There are a handfull of fortunates, like ourselves who have managed to find their way into the lobby as well.  I can only assume that security was too busy to chase us out).  So, we camp outside the entry, and slip in as soon as the floor opens at 6:00 for preview night.  Excellent!

The first half hour was great, as the massive line waiting to get in gradually trickled through the door.  We looked at a few of the highlights (the Sideshow Toy pavillion, the WETA workshop, and the HUGE Star Wars section), but as there were no alternative programming available (the CC has tons of pannels, autograph session, movies, etc.), the only thing to captivate everyone was the dealer floor.  By 7:00, it was wall to wall people, so Maddy and I said goodnight and got some dinner.