Post by Xeco Freemoon on Sept 13, 2005 18:52:33 GMT -5
Seda.
You missed very little and are likely a thousand dollars richer for not having gone. (More considering you're from Australia)
I can sum it up in a phrase. "Starwars: The Line"
Everyone was promised to have one to the special Vader figures reserved for each day they attended. I stood in line for over seven hours one day (behind a TON of people who had slept out on the sidewalk, IN THE RAIN) only to have them close the store early ("we're out of stock for the day, come back tommarow"). So... I got nothing while dealers cleaned up and cleaned them out.
Voulenteers had special badges that allowed them to waltz into the CIII store at will, skipping the horrendous line. Wish I'd been told that that would be a perk. As this was my first convention ever I guess I was screwed by not knowing the "in crowd".
Speaking of our glorious Fan organizations, they were too busy politicing and "recruiting" to be terribly friendly or social. Walking up the the JA booth was like expecting to meet some friends and finding them replaced with bank tellers. Of course, the level of organization on part of the JA was abysmal. It seems that if you are not a council member, you are little people. Despite the fact that I diseminated my phone (cellular) number, I received no call informing me about the Photo-shoot or anything else of group involvement. Dissapointing to say the least.
The Rebel Legion was hardly much better. Saying, "I'm a member" elicited the same responce from both groups as saying "My name starts with the letter 'R'". A blank stare and a vacuous, painted on smile as the eyes confess a desire to thrust a pamphlet into my hand rather than make conversation. Social skills seem to be very low on the list of priorities for some members of the JA and RL.
The 501st. WHAT A BUNCH OF not a very nice personS. Military, Cops, Jocks, Macho-"I'm no Geek"-Types. And when they put on the plastic uniforms, Oh kark, they really get pushy. I had the urge on several occasions to dash the brains out of more than one of these self important fan-boys. The thing that suprises me is how much I hear "We should be more like the 501st". Good luck with that, I want nothing to do with them.
[glow=red,2,300]DISCLAIMER:[/glow] I DID meet one person with grace, kindness and the ability to hold a conversation. She was very warm and friendly, and I was pleased to meet her if ever so briefly. Schph Gochi. /bow
For those of you who did not attend, I have a way for you to simulate CIII.
Find a small pasture or cattle pen with LOTS of fat, stinking bovines. The less room to move, the better. Dress the cows in a bunch of Anakin Skywalker costumes with the occasional Bikini Leia. Now get the local rednecks to dress as stormtroopers and constantly bark orders that make no logical sence. Now... wander through the cows for 4 days, shoving, pushing, getting pushed, getting crushed aside. Oh don't forget to bring lots of money to pay the farmer who owns the cows for the privlege. I myself spent about $1000 all told with travel and lodging, food and ... well thats it. So just hand your money over and KEEP MEANDERING through the cows. For extra-CIII feel, spend one day standing near the outer edge of the cattle pen and move forward two feet every ten minutes. Do this for 7 - 9 hours, and at the end of the day, read a sign saying "The CIII Store is Closed".
THAT was CIII.
Glad you were spared the pain. I'm only just now getting over the hate I began to feel for the capitalistic machine that I put myself through. I suspect that Gen-Con was just incapable of dealing with that size crowd, but then all the money must have blinded them as it came rolling in, so to hell with making the people happy. "Pack em in boys!!!" P.T. Barnum has nothing on Gen-Con and Lucasfilm. I'm pretty sure a lot of folks at CIII would have walked headlong into a bonfire if someone said George Lucas was giving a talk inside. Gen-Con knew it had a zombified audiance.
Xeco out.
You missed very little and are likely a thousand dollars richer for not having gone. (More considering you're from Australia)
I can sum it up in a phrase. "Starwars: The Line"
Everyone was promised to have one to the special Vader figures reserved for each day they attended. I stood in line for over seven hours one day (behind a TON of people who had slept out on the sidewalk, IN THE RAIN) only to have them close the store early ("we're out of stock for the day, come back tommarow"). So... I got nothing while dealers cleaned up and cleaned them out.
Voulenteers had special badges that allowed them to waltz into the CIII store at will, skipping the horrendous line. Wish I'd been told that that would be a perk. As this was my first convention ever I guess I was screwed by not knowing the "in crowd".
Speaking of our glorious Fan organizations, they were too busy politicing and "recruiting" to be terribly friendly or social. Walking up the the JA booth was like expecting to meet some friends and finding them replaced with bank tellers. Of course, the level of organization on part of the JA was abysmal. It seems that if you are not a council member, you are little people. Despite the fact that I diseminated my phone (cellular) number, I received no call informing me about the Photo-shoot or anything else of group involvement. Dissapointing to say the least.
The Rebel Legion was hardly much better. Saying, "I'm a member" elicited the same responce from both groups as saying "My name starts with the letter 'R'". A blank stare and a vacuous, painted on smile as the eyes confess a desire to thrust a pamphlet into my hand rather than make conversation. Social skills seem to be very low on the list of priorities for some members of the JA and RL.
The 501st. WHAT A BUNCH OF not a very nice personS. Military, Cops, Jocks, Macho-"I'm no Geek"-Types. And when they put on the plastic uniforms, Oh kark, they really get pushy. I had the urge on several occasions to dash the brains out of more than one of these self important fan-boys. The thing that suprises me is how much I hear "We should be more like the 501st". Good luck with that, I want nothing to do with them.
[glow=red,2,300]DISCLAIMER:[/glow] I DID meet one person with grace, kindness and the ability to hold a conversation. She was very warm and friendly, and I was pleased to meet her if ever so briefly. Schph Gochi. /bow
For those of you who did not attend, I have a way for you to simulate CIII.
Find a small pasture or cattle pen with LOTS of fat, stinking bovines. The less room to move, the better. Dress the cows in a bunch of Anakin Skywalker costumes with the occasional Bikini Leia. Now get the local rednecks to dress as stormtroopers and constantly bark orders that make no logical sence. Now... wander through the cows for 4 days, shoving, pushing, getting pushed, getting crushed aside. Oh don't forget to bring lots of money to pay the farmer who owns the cows for the privlege. I myself spent about $1000 all told with travel and lodging, food and ... well thats it. So just hand your money over and KEEP MEANDERING through the cows. For extra-CIII feel, spend one day standing near the outer edge of the cattle pen and move forward two feet every ten minutes. Do this for 7 - 9 hours, and at the end of the day, read a sign saying "The CIII Store is Closed".
THAT was CIII.
Glad you were spared the pain. I'm only just now getting over the hate I began to feel for the capitalistic machine that I put myself through. I suspect that Gen-Con was just incapable of dealing with that size crowd, but then all the money must have blinded them as it came rolling in, so to hell with making the people happy. "Pack em in boys!!!" P.T. Barnum has nothing on Gen-Con and Lucasfilm. I'm pretty sure a lot of folks at CIII would have walked headlong into a bonfire if someone said George Lucas was giving a talk inside. Gen-Con knew it had a zombified audiance.
Xeco out.
