Saturday, July 27, 2013

Comic-Con 2013 - Saturday

Saturday sucked.

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Nokia 808 Pureview | It's not Comic-Con without campers

I planned to be in Ballroom 20 for the final Futurama panel and the Simpsons panel.  However, I was determined to get the Power Rangers Legacy Morpher from the Bandai booth, so I got up early and got in line around 4:30am. There were two lines, one for Hall H, one for everything else.  The everything line eventually got condensed and snaked around the lawn in front of Hall H.  Around 7am, they released the lines to the inside of the convention center.  People ran off to the Sails Pavilion for tickets to either buy stuff or get autographs, some went to the Ballroom 20, some went for the other meeting rooms.  I got in line for the exhibit hall.

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Nokia 808 Pureview | Waiting for the exhibit hall to open

The exhibit hall line got crunched around the escalator above Hall G.  It would snake its way back towards the Ballroom 20 line and then towards the Sails Pavilion.  Around 9:15, they let us in the exhibit hall.  I raced my way to the Bandai booth.  I was really surprised with how many people were already there.  I got in line before it got capped.  All this effort was for naught.  They sold out of all the Power Rangers stuff. 

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Nokia 808 Pureview | Meeting the lovely Ciara Hanna and the cast of Power Rangers Megaforce

I walked the floor for a bit.  I finally got that Fox poster tube.  I hung around the Nickelodeon booth since they had a Power Rangers signing at 11.  It was fun taking to the other fans in line.  The guys behind me were also in their thirties.  Meeting the cast was fun.  They are all like models.  After the signing, I went to the food truck and picked up lunch, then hit the con suite for a free soda. 

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Nokia 808 Pureview | This cosplay group makes total sense

For the past two days, I tried to finish the Adventure Time quest.  I never got to the end before the time was up.  This time I finished.  Luckily, some guys who were also doing the quest got me some answers so I didn't have to criss-cross the floor.  Once I finished the quest, I headed over to Nerd HQ.  I got lucky and scored a ticket for the conversation with Doctor Who.  When the tickets went on sale, they sold out instantly.  After a few tries, a ticket opened up and I bought one. It was really cool to be surrounded by so many Whovians while waiting in line.  The talk was fantastic.  It should be able to be viewed at thenerdmachine.com.

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Nokia 808 Pureview | Nathan Fillion moderated the talk with Doctor Who's Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman and Steven Moffat

Afterwards I headed over to the Wired Cafe.  The place was packed.  President Obama was back, which only made the crowding worse.  My friends weren't there and the regular DJ was gone as well.   I made my own little oasis on the terrace by the telescopes and relaxed while watching the crowds on the street below.

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Nokia 808 Pureview | The Mario Brothers at the Samsung Galaxy Experience

When the Wired Cafe closed up, I checked out the Samsung Galaxy Experience.  There wasn't much of a line to get in.  Inside, they had a photobooth, t-shirt printer, laser etching, info booths and an open bar.  Since I didn't have a Samsung phone and I didn't want to wait in the t-shirt line, I took off.  I stopped by the Shiftylook Arcade to complete the Adventure Time quest and get my medal.  While I was in line, I hooked up the people behind me with the answers for the quest.  After checking in, I scored a t-shirt and watched Rob Paulsen finish up the Countries of the World song.  I got my medal and then took off.

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Nokia 808 Pureview | Sonic and an Axe Cop

I saw a lot on the way back to the hotel.  I walked by the Sega Arcade where there was a giant Sonic out front.  Nearby, I got in line for a hamburger and chatted with a Norwegian goth chick.  I saw the San Diego Zombiewalk procession for the first time.  I stopped by the Vikings mini ship races and the Axe Cop area.  They were out of free pizza. 

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Nokia 808 Pureview |Marvel Zombies with an expecting mother

I went back to the hotel and dropped off my stuff.  There were a couple of parties I could hit, but I was too tired to walk out to the Gaslamp.  I headed downstairs to the con suite for a soda and went to the films room to watch Cockneys vs Zombies.  Slow beginning with a meaty middle.  The movie crashed before the ending, so I went outside to see if I could catch the fireworks from the San Diego Symphony.  I ended up at the 5th avenue landing and saw the Jackdaw pirate ship from Assassin's Creed IV.  Nearby, I saw the Hall H approaching.  It was 9:30pm and the line had stretched out to the marina already.  I started walking back to the hotel and at 10pm the fireworks started while En Vogue were performing their final encore of their hit Free Your Mind.  I went back to the hotel and crashed.

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Nokia 808 Pureview | The Jackdaw