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Well, I've been to the greatest TF convention ever, and I can now die a happy man. I wasn't going to type that sentence until I was safely on the ground, of course. :-) Flying, as some of you know, is about as exciting for me as dental work via my prostate. All in all, things went smoothly getting to California. Any minor hassles were offset by two things: getting to meet so many Autocon members, and getting the autograph of Peter Cullen, *the* voice of Optimus Prime. I can only imagine the months of buzz that his appearance will cause throughout the fandom. I've always tried to remain somewhat detached and professional in my love of the Transformers. I am fascinated by the toys, and the engineering principles behind it. I enjoy the differences in the product line, as well as my hunt for certain oddball items. I'm not the kind of guy you'd find getting into an autograph line 2.5 hours early for someone who voiced a cartoon character 20 years ago. Except this time I was. For those that missed out on the Peter Cullen panel, I can only hope that someone has a tape streamed on-line somewheres, because that was *the* single most wonderful thrill in my entire life, eclipsed only when I got to shake his hand in-person the next day, and get his autograph on my Prime trailer. I am brought to tears even thinking about it now. I don't need another toy, I could easily drop out of the fandom right now, and live solely on my memory of this weekend, because this was *it*. I can never possibly top this. I've waited 20 years, and it was worth it.
I could end the report right here. But I can't as there is more to tell, and unfortunately, I don't have a good segue into the next section, so hopefully you won't notice the abrupt track change...now. |
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Sat in on the Akayama-san panel. Very useful stuff. As is becoming usual, I've had to completely dump an inaccurate G article, and replace it with verified information (only one left to go). That info is now available via the Pre-TFs portion of the Vari-Quest site, and will be updated again in a timely fashion. The art contest was great. Yea, ok, fine, I admit it, I won diorama again. Why are you all looking at me like that??! But seriously, thank you to those of you who voted for me. Hoist's Repair Shop placed this year, but to be honest, I felt that either Northern or Esteban should have won. Their creations are head and shoulders above what I do during the wee hours in a damp basement. There were...moments late in the game when issues frayed on people's nerves. For the sake of harmony, I won't mention the specific things that come to mind. All I can say is, minor glitches were overshadowed by a sense of comradery. For those that may not be feeling the love at the moment, contact me, and I will send you some of mine. :-) I got to meet Ras, who may be small in stature but big as life. I met minibot connesiour Frank and his mother, who are absolutely wonderful people, and I look forward to seeing them again. Richard, you and your wife are the best, and I wish you could have stayed longer. The biggest Autocon group yet was here over the weekend, including the great group of returning regulars, such as Curt, Joebot and wife, Himawari, Mark...the list goes on. I apologise to anyone whom I have not specifically mentioned, as it is all a jumble in my head at the moment. Even the lurker Particle Man was there, big as life. :-) Poor Bryan, he's not used to getting up early enough to milk the cows. :-) And a special hello to Wilson, unofficial Autocon member for several years running now, and an official one soon. There are more, and hopefully I'll have their pictures up soon. There's over a hundred on my poor old camera. Apologies for not being able to say goodbye to everyone before I left, especially Joebot, darn-it. That seems to happen to us every other year. :-) With that, I end this short report. Others may choose to ramble on. Me, I've said all I choose to say. Is there more to tell? Yes. But not by me. :-)
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