50th Anniversary Celebration of Star Trek at the EMP

We had the opportunity to attend an event at the EMP to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Start Trek this past May 20th. It was a packed event with at least 60% of the people dress up as their favorite member of the Starfleet or a friendly Klingon.

After the welcoming speech was made the curator of the exhibition, Mr. Brooks Peck, he introduced the guests of honor: Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) and Brent Spiner (Data) to a very clamoring audience.

Beside having lots of fun talking about "the scene" between their characters in the "The Naked Now" episode, they discussed how Start Trek is still relevant in today's culture, education and ideology even when it has been ridiculed and made fun as a fading fad of over the years. 

The exhibition contains original costumes, props and furniture not only from the original TV series but for several of the subsequent movies and TV shows and like Enterprise, Voyager and Deep Space Nine.

You can voice over your best "Khaaan!" impression and see it\hear it instead of William Shatner's original scream; also, don't forget to get transported to a stranded cargo ship, defeat a mysterious enemy and return back to the safety of your ship.

You can find photos of the event here (but you really need to see it live), and video of Denise and Brent here.

Beto Jubei.

Hello Kitty at the EMP

While we were living in California, Los Angeles or more specific, Little Tokyo was our second home since we attended so many activities and events in that area year round.

After moving to Seattle, our attendance record has gone south and we have missed some great events. A painful example of this consequence was the Hello Kitty Exhibition held at the Japan American National Museum in Little Tokyo.

But imagine our surprise when we found out that Seattle's EMP Museum will be the first institution to host this exhibition while it travels around the country.

Here are some pictures of the exhibition

And here you can watch a couple of videos

We love you Kitty.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Friday has come and gone and it was a classic case of conflict resolution exercise.

Premise: You want to attend the Bob's Burgers and Archer panels held at the Indigo Ballroom at 3pm and 4pm respectively. 

Hundred of people share the same interest on these panels as you.

What do you do? 

Answer: Sacrifice the earlier panels and wait in the line at the Indigo Ballroom at 12:00pm

On every convention you attend you will have at least two or more panels/events that run at the same time and/or are very popular.

Yesterday's sacrificial panels were the Technology in Costumes, and the 50th Anniversary of Lost in Space. Was it the right choice? 

Since we got into the panels we wanted, yes, the right choice was made yesterday, and probably today we will make more decisions like this.

Beto Jubei

One down, three more to go

 Day one at Comic-Con has come and gone.

It was not an excellent day, but it was a good day. We were able to attend several panels and we even explored the attractions located behind the convention center.

We attended a panel about the 75th anniversary of the Superman radio show (very educational), we saw one of the episodes for the reboot of the Thunderbirds TV show (it is amazing and cannot wait for somebody to pick up this series) we saw a NASA panel and it is official: humans are going to Mars in our lifetime (no joke).

Maybe the line management has improved this year or maybe not that any people attended today's festivities but we saw less people than usual. Amazingly Hall H and Ballroom 20 had no lines in the middle of the morning, and by 8:30pm the main areas of the convention center were practically deserted, we will see if this trend continues over the weekend.

Beto Jubei

Thank you sir, may I have another?

Here we go again...

I read an article on a web site a couple of days ago about the San Diego Comic Con experience. It talked about all the things you have to do to get a badge, an hotel room, a parking spot, dealing with the lines for everything, the struggle of moving upstream in a sea of people and, of course, the frustration of not been able to get into a panel after waiting in line for hours on end.

This is all true. We have been there.

We all have experienced at least one of these frustrations, and when we tell family members and\or friends about waiting in line for 2 hours just to get a raffle ticket that might give us the chance to get the (signature, toy or seat) for that show\actor\actress\personality that we like so much, we can hear what they are thinking, it is coming loud and clear: "what is wrong with you two?"

That is a good question. I am not a doctor but my best guess is that nothing  is really "wrong" us. We like comics, movies, Anime, Manga, Sci-Fi, Horror, costumes, movies and several TV shows, and I am willing to bet that the majority of the humans in this planet share if not all, some of these characteristics as well.

I will concede to you that "the San Diego Comic Con experience" is not for every one. You will not only need a pair of good walking shoes, but a state of mind that can shield you from the unavoidable frustrations that are part of this experience. In a convention of this size, it is almost guaranteed that stuff is going to go wrong at some point.

Just like a marathon, or mountain climbing, this is an endurance test and either you get so frustrated that you swear off Comic Con for good or you let it roll down your back, lick your wounds, check your schedule and go for the next panel!

I wonder how many marathon runners or mountain climbers like comics, movies, Anime, Manga, Sci-Fi, Horror, costumes, movies and several TV shows?

Beto Jubei

Coming to an End

AI show at the Masquerade Event

The 3rd day at Anime Expo was successful day.

Great panels, awesome costumes and very good masquerade event.

This is the last day of the event, sad, tired and a little bit melancholic. This convention was not without its basic problems, but overall we have enjoyed very much.

Beto Jubei

Good morning, how about some breakfast

Calcifer, don't burn the bacon!

Another day, another marathon.

Yesterday was an excellent day! We got plenty of pictures of great costumes, we attended several panels and they were glorious (I cannot wait to put the video up on our website.) 

Today we have a full schedule, again, not to mention one of the main events at Anime Expo, the Masquerade competition.

Now how about some scrambled eggs. 

Beto Jubei  

Day 2, need more time

What you have to do to fit all your panels in a day

This Is pretty much what you have to do to manage to see all the panels that you want to see, get the autograph for all the people that you want, and wherever "free time" you might have it will be used to get some food or walk around the huge exhibition hall.

Gambate!

Beto Jubei

It begins

And is not even the weekend

Last year's attendance at Anime Expo was a record breaking 80 thousand people and there are rumors of a possible 90 thousand people attending this year.

Registration was a breeze in comparison to last year's computer glitch and the exhibition hall looks awesome from the press room. 

Right now I am in line for the Yoko Man no panel with a another hundred people.

I am in my natural habitat.

Beto Jubei

Hello LAX, cough cough!

Caos thy name is LAX

We are finally here. After making a mad dash back to the plane because I forgot my wallet at my seat (I got it back), we got our bags, got into our ride, got some food at the local Danny's and I am ready to hit the bed.

I am been out of it all day today, I spent all night dealing with squarespace, my website hosting company, since they decided that the concept of "unlimited pages" has a different meaning for them.

I need to eat some dinner, get some quality sleep, some caffeine in the morning, maybe some breakfast and I will be ready for Anime Expo.

I hope... 

Beto Jubei