The Con Chair's Corner

Hey everyone! MTAC is throwing an event next week for the kickoff of Anime Bento! Come hang with us and meet Steve Yun, writer of Robotech: Shadow Chronicles! Come see the flick with us next week at Opry Mills!

More info here.

So, I have been getting more excited about Dragon*Con as it nears. I like going because it is a chance to be more of a run-of-the-mill fan than a con organizer. Also, I get to exercise skills that don't get enough attention, like shooting video. It's also one of the few cons that brings together such a wide array of fandom, and when I can reasonably blend with peers. (An anime con is always still just me, a con chair, visiting some other con and not blending that well.) It's a working vacation of sorts, and I get to stop giving orders and just carry them out as a staffer.

But this year's Dragon*Con is really topping off nicely on GUESTS. I mean, there are a lot of great guests tis year. And while I am not an autograph type, and only sometimes a photo type, I recognize the value of guests to those who are... and also the guests a con has are a status symbol. Me, I like having a conversation in the non-con setting with a guest, like when I worked in VIP Transport and would drive them to and from the con. But nonetheless, there's a lot to be seen in the way of guests:

Among the tracks cleaning up is the Whedonverse. They're packed with guests like Adam Baldwin and Ron Glass (who was a very nice person to drive for, BTW). Then there is the complete bombshell guest list of Trek Trak, including John de Lancie, Johnathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Nichelle Nichols (who I once ran and bought a Jefferson Starship CD for, so she could learn a song to sing with them), Robert Picardo, Brent Spiner and then some. It's a big year, since it's the 20th anniversary of TNG... yeah... makes me feel old. So yeah, couple all that with the lineup from American SF TV, and it's a packed roster.

Anyway, I am also excited to see (possibly moreso than the "real" celebs) the guests from the first Who Wants to be a Superhero season, including Fat Mama, Major Victory, and of course Feedback. I have to say I will get a photo with Feedback. That's one every fan should have.

The Anime Track is doing better this year, under new leadership (not mine... I tried...) and with ACTUAL GUESTS. Yeah... I know! Guests! How bout that? And they didn't even have to pay for their own, room! (Lisa joke...) They've got my friends Kevin McKeever and Vic Mignogna as well as a little bit newer face, Michael Brady. Not sure if he's DOING an appearance for them, but he's at the con.

Speaking of friends, I think it's fun that Steven and Suzie are guesting this year, as well as Kelly, old standard as usual. Also of note to me is the return of Chris from The One Ring, who I've not seen at Dragon in a few years. (Bio is outdated.) They're Mac heads over there, and we always would chat and swap.. uh.... digital assets.

Last but not least, the wrestling nerd in me is looking forward to the presence of Gail Kim, and The Luchagors, and I think someone mentioned that Christie Hemme was showing up this year, too. Crispy, don't forget to make sure WE are filming wrestling! :)

So yeah... big show. I don't really have the money to be going (never do), but it's a yearly tradition I cannot just give up. See you there, if you go!

Hey everyone!

They're getting votes on what Transformers to put in the sequel! Go check it out and share your opinion.

I'm not real happy that I chased down Hasbro for MONTHS trying to get an ounce of support from them for MTAC Prime, then I see this today.

A single website got a really cool kit, but a WHOLE CON can't get like... an action figure?

Still... cool stuff. Congrats to Seiberton, at least.

Crap.

I only have till the end of the week to get my video ready for the ultimate Transformers fan contest. I am watching some entries... and I knew when I saw Jester involved that I was ska-rewed. I have to really work on an angle... because NOBODY is making a better video than him.

I figure my best competition is him, the dude who legally changed his name to Optimus Prime, and possibly the hot girl with the Soundwave outfit. After all... I am the only one of them who can say that I threw a convention for 3000 mecha lovers.

My video will focus on the fact that a TRUE ultimate fan lives TF's in his entire life. Like a religion. It should be pretty cool. Not... JESTER cool... but yeah.

Must make shot list... and seek an on-screen endorsement from Neil Kaplan... ;)

So, it's a beautiful morning. Sanjaya has been kicked off American Idol and I am caught up on sleep.

Oh yeah... and there was an Anime con this past weekend that KICKED ASS!

It was a lot of hard work, and not without it's bumps, but MTAC PRIME is now over, and it was a fun time all around. I want to thank everyone who came out to geek off with us, and all those who worked. And there are many of both. 3000 people (or more... still counting) showed up at the Marriott to celebrate giant effing robots.

There were lines... some stuff was late... the weather blew monkey butt... HOWEVER, you cannot kill the spirit of a good con, and we all reveled in Anime for three days despite the variables. It was one of our most successful years ever, and we learned a lot, too... we can't wait till next time.

Next year... it's MTAC INFINITY, celebrating Godzilla and other Kaiju. It's gonna be HUGE... featuring MTAC's first Japanese guest, and KAIJU BIG BATTEL...

So, stay tuned. There are some things about next year that we're changing, and we'll bring you the news ASAP. Thanks again, and we'll see you soon!

Sure-fire way to wake up tired...

Dream about running the con.

I woke up and thought it was the Monday after con, and time to go downstairs and load up trucks. Interesting...

Now I'm staring into my cereal bowl... wondering why the peaches have to be the same color as the flakes. Makes it harder to track down the peaches!

Must be this weather... it's CON WEATHER out there. :)

Image from upcoming Megatron origin comic...



... and I reckon that's about all I gots to say about that. :)

I don't care if this won't fit my big head... I gotta have one!

Oh.... now lookie there.



Ain't she just about the purrrrtiest thing you ever did see? ;)

Ooh... is that the Con Kitty? Why yes. Yes it is.



Sneak peek. Stay tuned for more. Trust me. You'll all love it. :)

Back from Ohayocon and actually able to try to type. Still sleepy, though.

As far as the con is concerned, Operation Save Ohayocon™ seems to have gone well. That's really more a joke than anything else. I would not be comfortable saying we "saved" them. Rather, we were happy to help where we could. Friday, Cole called me to their walk-in reg area and I was enlisted to do the one thing I did not want to do for them - fix registration.

But, we had friends in need. I decided that if I was going to do something, it would be done the best I could. Now, Cole and Sparr and Chris were set to take money, but I saw a serious flaw in the setup, and reorganized the way things worked. I adapted my feeder line to them over the whole day until I had a well-oiled machine. I gotta say, those three guys made me very proud this weekend. They took the congoers as fast as I could cram them in.

And trust me. It was fast.

The line was easily, say, 500-800 feet long with an uncountable number of people in it (at least 2000). Average wait during the day was 2 hours. Then... I got the 2000 copies of the walk-in forms that I needed.

It was 5pm.

I made a promise to myself. Regardless of my voice going out. Regardless of feet that could not walk any more. By 6pm, I would have that sumbitch terminated and everyone would be lined up INSIDE the registration room.

I succeeded by 6:10. The room was able to close ON TIME at 8. The next morning, same thing. One hour wait from the same basic spot. No line the rest of the day. I'm proud of that, really. I think my actions certainly spoke for me, as they did for Cole, the money-taking MACHINE that he was. Really... those guys all three made me very proud.

I was also proud to be able to walk around a con where the staff recognized all us MTAC people by way of accepting our promo badges we made. The rule was basically MTAC goes wherever they need to.

We had a nice booth, and our Con Kitty was with us on the trip to make fanboys feel all funny inside, and look cute -eh- face it... HOT in photos. I will have to post some of them later, once I get to build the gallery. On the note of Con Kitty, I have to say that nothing makes a guy feel more... confident... than to be the escort for such a completely gorgeous gal. I think I have the best job in the con, and she's an excellent sport - as is her hubby, who was kind enough to loan us our mascot for a few days.

Didn't get a lot of sleep, and did a LOT of driving, complete with a breakdown on one of the cars in the caravan. But, it was a good trip. Some bumps. Lots of good stuff.

Ohayocon had a great show. Buncha cool folks, they are.

Anyway - getting sleepy again.

Dig if you will.... Barricade.



Go ahead. Clicky. You KNOW you wanna see more.

DIG THIS! There's a 40-foot statue of Optimus Prime in China!