a99kitten's Musings

I love Margaret Thatcher so was excited for the film. I think Meryl Streep is one of the best actresses alive so was happy to see her in it. But I didn’t love the movie. Didn’t hate it. Worth watching. But I feel they treated her very superficially.

She was the single most powerful woman in modern politics (sorry Hillary – you lose. In a big way.) I think far more should have been shown in the movie about what drove her, what she felt, why she felt it.  She changed the course of Britain. They touched on it a bit but you could get that much from reading her wikipedia page. Instead we get her dealing with old ghosts. Literally.

It’s rather funny to watch her old speeches and to see what she was against and railing on is exactly what is destroying the EU today. And the US. Funny and sad…

Meryl Streep did a fine job of course. And there were lots of recognizable British actors: Giles from Buffy, Viserys (not looking freakish!) and Ser Jorah from Game of Thrones, Ann Boleyn’s Dad from The Tudors. But Colin Firth and The King’s Speech was a FAR more powerful movie. And of course Elizabeth. But when you throw in sword-fighting and knights, it’s not really fair now is it?

I liked it. Great cast for sure. Helen Mirren was of course superb. Interesting story. One that seems like it could have been true. But it wasn’t (at least that we know of…)

The bits that show the pure evil that was Nazi Germany as well as the depression that was Eastern Europe (still is in a lot of places?) makes you love the good ol’ USofA. I assume the bad guy in this was loosely based on Dr. Josef Mengele. Or Satan. Actually, Satan probably isn’t as bad. Pretty horrifically sick what humans can come up with.

I recommend the movie for sure. Although, without spoiling the ending, I can say that if I was Helen Mirren’s character, I would have handled things differently.

Also, I prefer seeing her shoot bad guys with a big-arse gun and a smile on her face (see Red!!!) :)

To be clear, I LOVE the movies. I love watching good movies. And I love seeing the gowns and jewelry. But I think the incredible amount of award shows and self love the Hollywood community participates in has surpassed the ridiculous line.

Plus the Oscars aren’t based on a truly BEST movie, actor, etc. If we are picking best actors, Leo DiCaprio would have won by now. Hands down, best actor of this generation. And Brad Pitt and George Clooney wouldn’t be nominated. Are they likable? Sure. Of course. Fun to watch? Sure. But best actor? No, not so much. If either wins tonight, they should go and watch any movie from Leo’s career. And then throw in The King’s Speech from last year to switch it up to non-Leo. And then they should return their Oscar.

A few years back when I read about the value of the gift baskets the presenters receive in order to present (because they were having problems getting people to commit to present) all I could think was “Gross.” Again…don’t get me wrong…I’m all for cool stuff and fun gifts. But come on?? You are being asked to give out awards to your own friends and co-workers (possibly yourself) and you need to be bribed to do so?? And free suites at hotels where you cruise around and get free stuff? But then I have to listen to you preach about income inequality, socialized insurance and the unfairness of Wall Street and bailouts? Ok….*pat on your head*

I look at old clips from Oscars years and years and years ago and they just seemed so much cooler (as do the stars and movies.) But I think the Oscars were the only show in town. And they were proud to be nominated and of course, happy to win. Nowadays, it seems more of a circus. And a me-me-me series of events. I mean really, celebrities are surrounded by people that cater to their every whim. Everyone says yes to you. Everything is done for you. Talk about living in a bubble that is so far from reality it’s comical. But that’s probably why the “average person” is so drawn to it.

Think about it…if bankers, VCs or CEOs had 6 or 8 different conventions or award shows every year, giving themselves kudos and awards, drinking champagne, attending fancy parties publicized everywhere that went on for weeks, wearing expensive gowns and jewelry, well…they’d be hated and called the 1%. Much like they are now. But Hollywood is somehow different? Yeah….

But I will pop my Taittinger tonight and tweet some snark about the Oscars. And also be happy when the actors I like are shown in cool outfits. It’s NOT the SuperBowl, but it’s fun anyway. :)

Have to say, I thought this movie was going to be more upbeat. I prefer my sports movies upbeat. Think Rocky! Major League! Blind Side! Heck…The Color of Money!  :) I did like the winning home run in the bottom of the 9th by the 1st baseman who was given his second chance on the As. That was feel good. But that was kind of it.

The acting and casting were good. Philip Seymour Hoffman was almost unrecognizable as a baseball manager and Robin Wright Penn (does she still use Penn?) has a small role as Brad’s ex-wife. But (SPOILER!!!!……if you don’t follow baseball anyway) he loses again. BUT his system is considered a winner so receives a huge offer from another team (The Red Sox who do go on to win the World Series using his system) but then turns that down to stay in Oakland where he is still losing to this day.

And you could say “well the team was his family so he wanted to stay with them.” That would be a fine argument, but it was made clear that he didn’t view it that way. That it was business. He didn’t fraternize with the players so it could stay business. So he could trade or cut them if needed. And they (the players) understood how it worked because they were professional ball players.

I suppose you could argue he wanted to stay in CA to be closer to his daughter. But I don’t think they made that clear at all if that was the defining motive to stay.

And, perhaps most importantly, Brad didn’t look all that cute in it. What is up with that?

So then message here was….?

p.s. it was funny that Brad was eating in most scenes like in Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve.

These 2 are so crush worthy :) Squeee!

Cannot wait to watch this again when my DVD gets here!!! One of my favorite recent movies for sure. And I think my favorite comic book movie so far. Of course, I’d have to re-watch them all to make sure :)

Heh…Santa….James McAvoy is funny.

It’s #mobweek on AMC. They are showing The Godfather right now. It’s clear I will get less done today. A lot of running around during commercial breaks!

The Godfather series is in that select group that I will watch a gazillion times and just leave on whenever they are playing even though I have the DVDs. And Godfather part one is on my favorite movies of all time list. Love Michael.  And yes, I will still leave Godfather part 3 on even though it’s not in the same league. Still has Michael Corleone and I think Andy Garcia and George Hamilton are fantastic in it too.

Goodfellas, Scarface and Casino are great. But The Godfather is the crown jewel of mob movies. Period. But later when they play Goodfellas, I will probably leave that on too :) But they are playing tons of good movies all week. I should record the entire week! I hope they do this annually like Shark Week!  :)

When I imagine my trip to Italy that I WILL take some day, I imagine being able to walk around a lot in the sunshine in sundresses to little towns and get food and wine like Michael does with his bodyguards. I kinda doubt it’s really like that (simple and quiet) anymore but who knows. Maybe? This would also allow the caloric intake to be justified!

AMC is running mob tidbits with the commercials. Henry Hill, other relatives of old mobsters, crime reporters, former detectives, etc. Hysterically, Rudy Giuliani is hosting AMC’s Mob Week.  I assume he won’t be running for any office again?

One of the bits showed the Cosa Nostra org chart – very clearly lays out Boss and then Underboss. Storm says “See!!! I am the Underboss!!! I’ve always said that!!! Angelus is the boss and I’m the Underboss and all the other dogs on the beach or in the dogpark need to respect our chain of command!!! We are the Siberian fluffy mob! Mom, let’s get that org chart and hang it up!!”  He totally just said all that to me…

:)

LOVED IT!!!!

Bought the tickets a couple days ago using my free Fandango codes from Groupon. Yay! Picked a Saturday afternoon show because husband had a couple out of town meetings on Friday and wasn’t going to be back until Saturday AM.  He is going out of town again but said flight wasn’t until Saturday night so we chose the 1:40pm showing. While I very much wanted to see it Friday, I would wait the half a day.  It wasn’t a Star Wars or Indy film after all. :)

Husband called me around 10am today saying he just got on the road about an hour ago. Huh? You said you were leaving “early”. I should have asked whose definition of early we were using. Grrr.  Oh…and that he checked his flight and it was actually leaving at 4:55 and not after 7pm like he thought (that’s the arrival time.) Doh! So he had to drive 3+ hours (always bad traffic on weekends so definitely a lot of +), pack for a week trip and then we would drive to the movies, watch a 2 hour movie after 20 minutes of previews and get him to SFO in time to check bags. Uh…sure…OK.

He did hit a lot of traffic. And got home after 12:30pm. And still had to pack. And we left the house in his truck at 1:04pm. With an empty gas tank. But we needed to take his truck since his surf case wouldn’t fit in my Rover. And hit traffic on Highway 1 because well…it’s the weekend. Tourists.

He says on the way “well, worst thing is I miss my flight and have to pay the $100 change fee for the next one. No big deal. I promised you this movie” Huh?  No big deal? Did the aliens from this movie abduct my husband??? Pretty sure yes…yes they did. Got to the theater at 1:39. I raced in while he parked. I scored us great seats though! Also – got to see the Mission Impossible trailer again. CANNOT wait to see that!!

I deliberately wasn’t reading any reviews of C&A because a) critics are generally stupid and b) I didn’t want any opinions or parts of the movie in my head while I watched it. So if you are like me – STOP READING.

The movie started and I would like to state for the record that I was NOT the only one who kind of quietly but still out loud said “YAY!” when Harrison Ford’s name came on the screen :) #geek #stalker

It was non-stop from the moment it started.  Everyone in it is fantastic. The action was fun and the effects never took over the movie. And a big thank you to Jon Favreau for deliberately not filming it in 3D (he talked about that at Comic Con last year.) I’m sure some effects would have been cool in 3D and all but his decision to go with an old Western movie feel definitely made a difference in the tone/feel (for the better) of the movie.

There are a couple scenes where you jump. So maybe not so great for little kids? Depends on them I guess. Personally, the Harry Potter commercials with Voldemort look scarier to me!  In one scene, our entire row jumped! And then we all giggled at ourselves for it right after. Hehehe.

Harrison Ford has some great lines. He plays a pretty grumpy guy and he made me giggle a lot with his grumpiness.  Kinda reminded me of my old boss actually. Seemingly grumpy with a soft (ish) gooey center. A couple lines were definitely Han or Indy lines :) I truly love Harrison Ford. How is he 69??? Oh, and Daniel Craig is totally awesome too! Although I think he had like 10 lines. He was more facial and action type acting. And Olivia Wilde (who is beyond beautiful.) And Sam Rockwell. And all of the other actors. But…well…no one is Harrison Ford, not even James Bond. ;)

There are a few scenes that are obvious winks at Return of the Jedi.  And one BIG wink and smirk to Indiana Jones. That…or I’m a goober who reads too much Star Wars and Indy into everything :) But I don’t think so. Well, I do think I read Star Wars and Indy into a lot of life, but that’s because they are SO awesome. And so applicable!

Oh! – the aliens want our gold. Me too! This also explains the gold bricks promotion at Comic Con.  But seriously…I want the gold too.

And there is a dog in the movie. So really – this makes the movie pretty darn near perfect. A husky would have made it perfect. But then we would all wonder what the heck a husky was going in New Mexico.  So, that’s OK :)

If you want a super fun popcorn movie that makes you smile – GO! If you only like art house crap…err…I mean indie films to make you think or ponder your emotions you should stick with Netflix tonight. Although…it may be too late since you might have stopped reading by now because I told you to earlier :)

Took the day off from panels today. There were a couple that I wanted to see (Immortals and Snow White) but I had to sleep in a bit after a very laaaate night last night at the Fright Night event so was going to miss the Immortals start time by the time I got ready and Snow White was smack dab in the middle of the day and I had no idea what kind of lines there would be since Kristen Stewart is in it.

So we tried winning gold bricks for Cowboys and Aliens and sat outside in the sun while doing this. We did get gold bricks! YAY! But no premiere tickets – boo. Oh well. Guess a regular viewing next week when it comes out! Still cool to have a gold brick :) Plus sitting outside was nice after being mostly cooped up inside for the past 2 days. Then went to lunch off-site and stopped by the Chuck Jones gallery. Man, there is so much artwork there that I want to buy. So, so much. A couple cool Marvin the Martian pieces to go with my tattoo :) Although my favorite had to be 2 items of Marc Anthony and Kitty. That cartoon is one of my all-time favorites.I literally get a little misty-eyed every time I watch it:)

There was a Grinch piece that was great too. I had NO idea that he did that animation. There were a few other pieces there that weren’t Chuck Jones such as a signed poster from Star Wars Celebration IV and a JLA (a very red theme) and DC Villians (a very green theme) canvas that were both fantastic. As well as X-Men and Avengers. I love the canvas art. Like I said – so, so much cool stuff.

Then we toured the floor and checked out a lot of the cool booths and took pics of booths and some cool costumes. Oh and I bought a Soft Kitty BBT t-shirt and 2 SDCC exclusive JLA tumblers. I love the JLA artwork they are using for the SDCC exclusive stuff this year. The colors and images really pop. I mentioned to the guy that John Barrowman mentioned his tumblers in the Torchwood panel yesterday and he laughed and said he heard that from someone else. He said he has been very busy so he owes that guy a beer :)

Oh…and ran into Sam Witwer who plays Adian the vampire on SyFy’s show Being Human (adapted from BBC series.) I LOVE this show and love Aidan’s character the best (the vamps are usually my faves.) Also – he is hot ☺ And I saw him by accident. I was walking by the Star Wars car and saw a small crowd and thought it was a Star Wars-related crowd so stopped to see what was going on. Then I saw him and was like EEKS! So I tapped his arm and asked if I could take a pic with him and he said sure. So then I asked another guy looking at the car if he could the pic and he did – yay! I told Aidan…err…Sam that I really loved the show and he was so nice and touched my arm and said thank so much for watching it and that he really appreciated it. How sweet! AND HOT! ☺ So that made up for Underground Toys selling out of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man I wanted since I was walking back from there all pouty when I saw Aidan…err…Sam.

After walking so much all day (again) my ankle was d.u.n. So I came back to the room and have been icing it. We were invited back to the gallery for an event and tequila tasting tonight which would probably be fun since Randy Martinez, one of the Star Wars poster artists, is going to be there. Plus, there is an HBO documentary called “Superheroes” being previewed tonight at our hotel that sounds interesting. I want to see it but I might choose to get dinner downstairs (or even room service – my favorite!) and call it a night early. After so little sleep since Tuesday night and last night going to bed after 3 plus walking so much every day, I am tired!

Today was really the last day for SDCC since there is nothing I wanted to see panels-wise on Sunday so I planned an outing/tour at the Wolf Sanctuary in Julian as they were totally booked Monday. So I gave up an extra SDCC day (typically my floor day) to spend some time with awesome wolfies. I am VERY excited about this. I have been donating to them for years now but have never had time when down here for a tour or visit so this will be very awesome! Kinda funny since the SDCC has been so about the vamps – now I need my wolf fix since I am missing my huskies so much!

Today was a busy day!! Up at 6am. Well actually my alarm was set for 6am but I woke up at 5:58am. Got ready and met my friend who graciously got in line at 6:30! The line was looooooooong. They made 1 giant line for everything but Hall H this year. We high-tailed it over to the Ballroom 20 line and were about 1500-2000 in line. So no problem on getting in – yay!

They let us in around 9:15 I guess and then the panels started at 10. I don’t watch Torchwood but have heard of it on twitter and tumblr. I didn’t know it was a Doctor Who spin off. So I know nothing of the show but the cast was awesome! Totally made me want to watch the show. The lead (John Barrowman) led us in song at the end of the panel – we all were singing Annie’s “Tomorrow” as the panel ended. He was a giant crack-up who I think must live on 5-Hour Energy shots. He was cracking jokes and puns every 2 seconds! And looks so much like Tom Cruise it’s weird. I am a little afraid to get excited and start watching  the show since that happened last year with Stargate: Universe and I bought the season 1 and 1.5 DVDs and caught all up in prep for season 2 and then they cancelled the show during season 2. What the frack.?? But Torchwood is on Starz and not SyFy so maybe better luck?

Then it was The Walking Dead panel.  I watched 2 (maybe 3) eps last year and stopped after the horse death. I just could not go on. But this panel and the scenes for Season 2 that they showed us convinced me to watch the last 3 eps in Season 1 (they made a short season). It does look really good. So I’ll give it another try. Much like with Game of Thrones books, I will just fast forward past the sadness.

Then it was Big Bang Theory!!!! Such a great cast. Last year’s panel was super fantastic and this year’s was awesome too. They are just so funny and great with the Q&A. Love, love, love them.

They cancelled the Bones panel for some reason (have never not had David B at a con – boo!) so I high-tailed it over to Hall H. Husband was already inside saving me a seat but it took me about 2 hours to get in. Ugh. But while in line I talked to the guy behind me. He had 2 tix to the Cowboys and Aliens premiere. I saw him take them out of his bag and said “those are so special.” He asked “do you know what these are?” I said “Sure do. And I’d kill anyone in this line to get them.” He looked at me and tried to judge how serious I was. Then I said “Nah, kidding…..maybe.” and smiled. I was quite jealous! I will add that all of the texts for the free ticket giveaways stated you had to have a SDCC badge. So that’s good. Still too many of them off-site and unable to get to if a Con attendee in reality, but at least it’s something I guess. Maybe Jon Favreau read my blog rant last night :)

Finally got in for the Sony panel – yay! They had the directors and cast for the Ghost Rider movie. It does look fun and Nic Cage is always kooky at panels. The director seems a bit insane. They showed some stunts that HE was doing to get certain shots. Very cool. So I will probably see it on DVD.

The next movie didn’t really belong at Comic Con genre-wise but it looked damn funny. Called “30 Minutes or Less” with Jesse Eisenberg, who was not there, and Danny McBride, who was also not there but sent a clip introducing the movie and apologizing for not being there and it was hysterical!, and then Aziz Ansari who was there and he was FUNNY! Definitely want to see this movie.  And I need to add Parks and Recs to my tivo line-up. I only have BBT for comedy and need more!

Then Total Recall time!!! Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston and John Cho. They were all great! Fantastic Q&A with both the moderator and the audience. The movie footage looked super cool and fun. Also – Colin and Kate are hotness. I definitely want to see this. And I was against a reboot/remake/retelling going in.

Then finally Spiderman. When I first heard of this reboot I was like “are you kidding? It’s only been a few years since the last Spidey with Tobey Maguire?!?” But the footage we got to see with Andrew Garfield as Spidey and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy looked excellent! Plus Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Denis Leary – great cast! Again – I will see this one for sure.  And Andrew Garfield is kind of adorable. But what the heck? He is British ( I had no idea from The Social Network) and he is playing Spiderman and Henry Cavill (Brit) is going to be Superman – what the heck??? The Brits are invading!! Oh well…that’s ok…love the accent.

While husband was in Hall H, and me out in line, he saw the Fright Night panel (yes, another reboot) with Colin Farrell. And he won a ticket for a special premiere tonight. So we went over after the Con and the ticket was only for 1 admission but the bossman at the door let me in too (he must have liked the wolf ears I was still wearing!) Tons of yummy food and drinks. The place was decorated in gothic vampirey and slayer mode. Very cool. With all of the weapons that thy have in the movie on display.

Then the cast showed up! And I wiggled in and got a pic with Colin Farrell – yay!! He is so hot in real life. Yum. But he was also extremely nice and patient with people pushing in and asking for pics and autographs. Very, very cool. I also talked to Anton Yelchin and told him that I loved him in Star Trek J  Funny thing – Colin Farrell is much taller than I expected. I guess not all actors are short.

Squeee!

We then got to see the movie (with free popcorn, soda, water and candy!) The movie was super fun. I barely remember the original but the story came back to me as I was watching it.  Very fun, campy horror movie. Oh – and it was in 3D. So some cool effects. A very fun event. And funnily (my word), it’s the first movie I have seen entirely in 3D. I have not been part of the crown rushing out to see 3D movies. Not very cool of me I know. But I just don;t care unless it really enhances the movie. This movie was campy and fun so the effects being thrown at you were blood and vampires and stuff so that was pretty fun. But some of the movies they have done in 3D, I’m like “Hmmm….really?” I’m sure Avatar was amazing in 3D but James Cameron filmed that in 3D. Didn’t just add it as an effect. So my take is if it will enhance the story or my enjoyment – cool. If it’s just a way to add a few flying things and get a few more dollars in ticket prices – no thanks. But then I do most of movie watching at home from NFLX anyway.

Then walked back to the hotel at 1:30am where I am now icing my ankle which is the size of 2 ankles. But a fun, long day at Comic Con 2011!!  Not sure what the plan for tomorrow is yet. But I need a bit of sleep. And would like to try for my Con shirt (if any left in small) And you know what? I have not even checked out the Star wars booth yet. Sacrilege. Total Fail!!! Need. To. Do. Saturday!

Today was crazy! A good crazy. Comic Con crazy. Woke up, looked outside and saw the GIANT line for people waiting to get their badges (happily picked mine up yesterday), got ready and was outside the main hall doors at 9:28am. They were late and didn’t open at 9:30am. There were grumpy, sweaty geeks ready to storm the doors. And they said so. 2 of them said “Don’t make us geeks sweaty and grumpy. You won’t like us when we are sweaty and grumpy. “At 9:35am, the doors opened and a giant collective cheer went up and then everyone raced to the main floor.  Stuff like that makes the Con and crowds fun.

I found several of the Con exclusive that I wanted and bought a few for a friend who couldn’t come.  I missed out on Squirrel Pool at Gentle Giant. That sucked. Especially after seeing several go up for sale on eBay this morning. Jerks. I hate scalpers. And eBay. They ruined the collectibles market forever.  And this coming from a good old fashioned capitalist.

Hasbro had a couple things I really wanted. And the line at the Hasbro booth has always been out of control busy. But this year you had to go upstairs to a room to wait in line to get a ticket so that you were now special enough to get in an even longer line at the Hasbro booth to wait to buy stuff. Give. Me. A. Break.  And then I saw several guys later with bags and bags and boxes and boxes of the Hasbro toys. How much do you want to bet they are all up on eBay now.  Jerks. And I mean Hasbro, eBay and the scalpers.  All guilty.

BUT – while I was looking around trying to find a booth I ran right into a booth with Peter Mayhew signing! Right then! NO LINE! I do already have his autograph from my first Con ever but I decided to get another J I went up to the booth and while I was deciding on which picture to buy/use (so wished I had the Chewbacca action figure that my brother gave me last October before he died. I did almost bring it just in case but the decided against it so it wouldn’t get damaged), the guy that was at the both helping with the signing looked at me and asked “So…you like Chewbacca.” Huh? Who me? With the Chewbacca backpack and Chewie toy in my hand (that some guy who walked up to me just handed me after saying “you look like you love Chewie” I’m still wondering if it has a GPS chip in it or something and he is stalking me!)

Anyway, got a Han and Chewie pic and he signed to me J Yay!! And he said thanks for being such a big Chewbacca fan. Like how could you not?? J

The floor is hard – so much to see and check out  – total sensory overload. Times a million.  There is s till so much I want to see there but not sure if I will have time. That’s a bummer.

Ran to meet my friend in line for Ballroom 20 to see the Game of Thrones panel. And we hoped to see Ringer too which was right before it. In line for 3 hours. Yikes. But we did make it in! Sarah Michelle Gellar was GREAT! Super cute and funny. Adore her even more now. And the rest of the cash was fantastic too. I shall definitely check out the show – Tuesday at 9pn on the CW – go set your tivos! She was cute when a fan asked her what character she would dress up as to go to Comic Con. She said “Well, if I went as Buffy, I KNOW most of you would see me and say ‘OMG – look at that girl – she is an awful Buffy!” LOL!!

The GOT panel was utterly fantastic. The cast was funny. Had great answers to all the questions. Totally got into answering the questions. Loved them all. And I shall put the books back on my Kindle after deleting them after some repeated animal sadness on the show. I will just fast forward through those pages. The actor who plays John Snow made me one of the fans after answering who his favorite cast mate was with the husky who plays his direwolf. Ok – I like you :)

We then hightailed it over to Hall H to see the Jon Favreau and Gullermo del Toro panel. They were both awesome. Jon has been good in every panel I have seen him at SDCC.  But Guillermo stole the show. He was swearing up a storm and then finally noticed the sign to the panelists saying to their watch their language since it; s a family audience. But his commentary was great!

We got about 7-10 mins of footage from Cowboys and Aliens. Of course I think it looks AWESOME!  Jon had a great little bit about how social media really shows him how different a clip can be perceived.  He said after he released the full trailer with Transformers 3, he saw tons of AWESOME comments on twitter but then just as many “YUCK. Weird. How can you mix those 2 genres” and “how unrealistic”. He was like umm…unrealistic. OK. But machines turning into the trucks – that’s OK. Well alrighty then. He then described his approach to movies like this and how he wants to make the movie perfectly set in its genre and take that 1 little thing that changes it (like in Iron Man all the world was the same except for Iron Man.) In this, it’s a western. Cowboys like we are used to seeing in the movies. But this thing occurs and they have to deal with. But they are still cowboys. Still out in the west riding horses, living their lives in little towns, etc. Nothing is different but this one thing. Hearing him describe it made perfect sense.

Bit of a peeve concerning this movie though. Jon made it seem like he was bringing the world premiere here to SDCC for the fans. His fans. Fans of the genre. Of the graphic novel. But all of the promotions for the tickets have been off site. Too far off site for anyone who is attending SDCC to go. And they are all open to the public. So it’s really a premiere for San Diego and its residents. Because if you are a true Comic Con fan, you are busy all day with panels, signings, being on the floor and never-ending waiting in line for all of these things. So you can’t just run off site 10 blocks away on a minute’s notice. So I do have to say that’s been very disappointing.

Even tomorrow, he announced a signing he was doing where he would give away some tickets. Yay! But no – it’s offsite – at the Hard Rock. In the middle of the afternoon. So no – I will not be going. Because there is no guarantee I will even get in the signing, or then get a ticket. The only guaranteed thing is that I will miss everything going on at the show. Which is why I am here. So that’s a bummer. And I feel a bit mis-leading to say this is for the Comic Con fans. When not a single giveaway has been at the Con. Except for the 1 pair he gave a kid who asked him a question at the panel and was wearing a Cowboys and Aliens shirt. Which was cool of him.  Oh well. A bummer for sure.

Overall a very fun day though. But I guess SDCC has gotten too big. There was a line that was supposedly 1.5 hours long to buy the official t-shirt. To me it looked even longer. Give me a break. Every other year they basically had to give those away on Sundays. But they said “there was a limited amount” in the program. WHY? It’s a frackin’ 2011 Con t-shirt. Make enough and just sell the bastards so people walk around with them and the con gets free advertising.  I do want one. But no way am I waiting that long to buy a t-shirt.

Lines for panels. Line for tickets to get in line for panels (to wait again.) Lines to buy ANYTHING. Lines to win a chance to maybe be pulled from a lottery to be 1 of 100 to get an autograph. WHAT? Come on. So maybe I am just longing for the good ol’ days (3 years ago) that you could see any panel. Buy anything. As long as you were there an hour early. Now – if you want to buy 2012 passes, you had to get in line at 5am this morning to wait for them to start selling them at 8:30am. Jeez. No thanks.

I am still having fun. But I do wonder how long I will keep coming. It’s get more and more expensive and more and more crowded. This year I am just recovering from a broken ankle plus a plus dealing with a pinched nerve so can’t run around too much so I think experiencing longer and longer lines has annoyed me. And then to not even be able to buy what I wanted because scalpers got it got them all or there’s even more lines for them elsewhere – GAH! I almost lost it when trying to plus my iPhone in to charge in the ladies restroom in Hall H. This woman was taking up 2 plugs and then tied taking a 3rd for friends phones. The lady who was using the 4th was like wth? I am only charging to 30% so other people can use the plug, I looked at her “Breathe…we are at the con….have fun….” But really… I wanted to smack the lady in the head too.

I know there are more funny tidbits (correcting the KTLA reporter when he said Star Trek when he meant Star Wars, the costumes, the booths) but I need to go to sleep now so I can get a half way decent night’s sleep so that I can do what? Get up at 6am to get in line….sigh…