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 Those sneaky, sneaky Canadians. That's not bacon. That's ham. Would I encourage this show? Oh yes. Let me count the ways. They are FunPub's target now. Like that other ham, William Shatner, they crossed the border and now Occupy America. What else could McBotcon *do* but retaliate and host their 2015 show in Chicago? This is the same show that Hasbro had the showdown with a few years ago - Tfcon blew them off - and Hasbro *blinked.* Remember Chicago, indeed. This is where our fandom came to die.
 Crazy Steve was right. We've lived to see the next cycle of conventions, folks. Does anyone remember when McBotcon was just Botcon, a small fancon started by two brothers in Fort Wayne, Indiana? Before it became corporate McGreedcon? Before it 'died' the first time in Chicago? Before it was 'rescued' by Hasbro and handed over to corporate handlers? Well, your Fandom has been 'rescued' again, folks. And with the best of intentions. Only now, instead of corporate greed - it's knock-off greed. Oh, you call them '3rd party.' I get that. There are some cool ones. One has to wonder if it's true - if, in five years, the market will shift so dramatically, that all toys will be 3rd party toys. Hasbro partnering with Shapeways was just the first step. They see the future. Here's my question: Who gets the money here? Hard working Americans? Think - no matter which side you are on (Funpub, or TFcon), where are you sending your money? Across the pond, that's where. To those fine folks featured in the TF4 movie. Nice folks, to be sure; but you are mortgaging the future of America in the process. Your children's future. This is why I like buying old toys instead of new. Less moral ambiguity. I never thought I'd see the day where I would be rooting for Hasbro - but oh boy, I really wish they would step up their game. In '99 or so (whenever the transmetals came out) I wished for nothing more than Hasbro to stop *making* Transformers. Now I may actually be alive to see it. Sniffle. My friends swear by these knockoff toys. And they do look neat. I almost bought that diaclone 'not-magnus' from kentucky fried toys. But I have a rule to never buy a toy that Maz reviews, so thankfully, that got me off the hook :-) Except- I may finally break the rule. Because it looks cool. Why? Because it looks like a toy *I already have.* Then why buy it? Because, like the rest of you, I am an idiot. I think I can recapture that feeling of nostalgia, that 'lightning in a bottle.' I know I can't. But I still try. So things that look similar to things I like tend to trick me. I can't seem to deprogram my material acquisition module. I keep sending my money to china, bankrupting my children's future, and ruining America, all for some worthless bits of cancer-causing plastic. Oh, but what cool bits of plastic.
It makes people look toward the future of that *other* beloved Fancon, DAIRYCON. The longest running Transformers Fancon in the United states. You know the one :-) Well, it's still here, folks. We'll be celebrating their *15th* Anniversary next year. Despite everything that's happened in the Fandom, we've survived, and thrived, with our humor fully intact. Why? Because we're just *that* kind of show. For Fans. By Fans. ... ... And we're moving to Canada for 2015. Cold temperatures don't bother us. And after we attended the Tfcon last Sunday, we've found them to be a friendly sort of lot. TFcon is here, so Dairycon will be there. It's the Convention Exchange Program! So, you heard it here, folks. Dairycon 2015 is going to Toronto Canada. And to honor the spirit of the new Fandom, instead of multiple exclusives - We'll have only one exclusive toy. It's going to be Windbreaker. An homage to a giant Transformer Fart. Because if a Giant Fart doesn't sum up the current State of the Fandom, what does? Pull my Finger, Eh? Can't say I didn't warn you.
 (See also: State of the Fandom 2014 | TFCon Sunday) |
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