WonderCon 2014

WonderCon was during Easter weekend again this year, so you would think that it might not be so busy. Wrong. So wrong. I went for Saturday only and I thought there were a lot more people there this year than last year. There were also a lot more cosplayers this year, which was really neat to see. There were a ton of incredible costumes. I parked next to the most impressive Loki (#lokihatesyou on Instagram), he was a strong Tom Hiddleston doppelganger. I was excited to go to WonderCon because so many people I follow on Instagram and Twitter were going to be there, and I was hoping to meet some of them. I managed to catch glimpses of Mandie from Geeky Glamorous, Katrina of Feoranna Cosplay, Andre Black Nerd of YouTube fame and Xander from season two of King of the Nerds. All were surrounded by lots of people when I saw them, so I didn't get pictures with any of them :( I also got to stop by Miss Alphabet's and Mike Vasquez's (aka Mike Goes Geek) booths. I bought some stickers and prints from Mike, his Adventure Time mashups are pretty awesome. (Side note: We had an AT&T U-Verse service guy out here on Tuesday and he saw the prints, and he was going on and on about how great they were lol). 

The stickers I purchased from Mike.

This was the first convention that my husband and I have gone to without our children, but because it was such a last minute decision to not have them with us, we still didn't have time to make a plan to attend any panels, so we didn't. If our children decide that they don't want to go to SDCC with us this year, we are for sure catching some panels there! We did get to walk the show floor a few times over though, and that was pretty nice. I noticed that while the free swag seemed virtually nonexistent this year, the prices on merchandise was already being reduced while we were there. In the past, I have only seen vendors do that on the last day of a convention, so maybe they were planning on it being a slow day on Sunday. 

I was a pretty bad blogger while I was there. I didn't take very many photos because I was feeling like crap (the stomach flu hit my family hard last week, you can read about it here.). The only pictures I took were of these two amazing Steampunk dresses by Silver Leaf Costumes. I really like the Captain America one (like if I had brought $500 with me, I would have bought it right then), but the Iron Man one is bad ass too. I just have preferences towards blue and stars, so Captain America has the advantage.

Also, Funko Pop! Vinyls were everywhere! So many booths had them, I almost thought I was at a Funko convention. I guess they are having a moment :) I did get to see Jay Barchuel at the How to Train Your Dragon 2 booth, albeit from afar. He was doing a signing there, but I wasn't able to get in the line for that. Luckily they don't set ridiculous perimeters like they do at SDCC when celebrities are around, so my husband and I were actually able to stand at the side of booth and see him. I should've taken a picture of him, but I was getting pushed around a little bit by other fans, and my phone is brand new, so I didn't want to risk breaking it (I am notorious for breaking my phones by doing virtually nothing to them). 

I did take a picture of some religious protesters outside the convention center though. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw the video I posted of them as well. I would like to say this: I have nothing against religion. In fact, I help teach our 1st and 2nd grade boys class on Wednesday nights at my stepmom's church. Do I attend church regularly? No. Do I sin? Of course. Everybody does. So it really got to me that these protesters thought they had the right to stand at the convention center and yell and scream so many hurtful things to people.  It had a very Westboro Baptist Church feel to them and the things they were screaming. And its people like them that give organized religion a bad name. They called the convention itself a sin party. They called the girls there whores. They said everyone there was a pervert or homosexual and that dressing in costume was a sin. Really? They were trying to get people to hit them. They were recording it for who knows what (I'm sure its on YouTube, but I don't feel like searching for it), but luckily nobody took the bait and actually touched them. They got in a lot of people's faces though, trying to get that reaction. They yelled at a lot of girls, trying to shame them. I don't know if these two were part of the yellow sign holders (if you've been to a convention, you know who they are), because the yellow sign holders usually stay quiet. But these guys were just ranting on and on. It took about twenty minutes of them spewing hatred before Comic-Con officials came outside to try and break it up. They didn't seem too concerned with it though. And really, there isn't a lot they can do....constitutional rights and all that. 

Don't feed the trolls.

Except we did. 

Overall, WonderCon was great. Its the new SDCC really. The caliber of exhibitors and cosplayers is vastly improving, not to mention growing,  and so is the volume of attendees. I just wonder if its going to remain in Anaheim, or return up north. I know next April is the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, so that seems conflicting. Either way, I'm sure I'll be attending. And if you've never been to a convention before and want to test the waters (and you're on the West Coast), I suggest WonderCon as your first one. I know I said its the new SDCC, but its still not so crowded that you can't move around and you get all the experiences of a larger convention. 

WoW Wednesday - BlizzCon 2013 The Recap

Hello Everyone! This post has been a long time coming, so thank you for your patience! My computer issues have been solved for the moment (had to wipe the husband's old laptop and start anew. Mine is still completely dead), so things should be getting back to normal. This post was supposed to go up last Wednesday, but in all the computer mayhem, plus a death in the family, it was lost in the shuffle. It wasn't all horrible though, my lagging gave me the opportunity to find a great contributor to write about her experiences with the virtual ticket aspect of BlizzCon. So yay for that! Lets jump on in, shall we?

I think the biggest thing to come from this year's BlizzCon was the announcement of the new expansion. We all knew it was coming, but finally the confirmation was here. Which should have been a big deal except....a few days before BlizzCon, I saw a post on MMO Champion that said that Blizzard had copyrighted the name Warlords of Draenor in Australia/New Zealand. So really, the news was already out. But its nice that Blizzard made it official :)

Some fun things to come out of the expansion are the garrisons (which seem a little Everquest to me, but I'm still down), level cap raised to 100 and the race remodels.

If you want to see lots of cool pictures from BlizzCon, check out this post from Mandie over at Geeky Glamorous. She got some pretty awesome shots and it looked like so much fun! I am determined to go next year.

And here is TradeChat's video recap of BlizzCon:

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But enough of my ramblings. I am proud to introduce the first (and hopefully not the last) contributed post, written by Kimberlee.

My Thoughts on Virtual Blizzcon 2013

Most. Underwhelming. Xpac. Announcement. Ever.

Ever.

Don’t get me wrong, I like some of the changes that they’re planning to roll out with Warlords of Draenor, like the long overdue item squish. I’m also more than a bit happy that my tabards, toys, and all that stuff will FINALLY have their own tabs rather than occupying my ever dwindling bag space, void storage (no expansion, seriously?!) and bank (also, the bank toon and 5 bank tabs I have there).

But, let me go back to my previous rant for just a moment… Because… Heroes of the Storm got a cinematic but the new expansion didn’t. Every expansion has had a cinematic trailer, except this one. To say I was completely unimpressed with the announcement trailer would be an understatement. Blizzcon gave us in-game footage, concept sketches, a few shots of the new areas that are still under development, and a look at the racial re-skins. None of this felt terribly inspiring, and I think it fell far short of the bar in terms of setting the stage for the feel of the expansion in the way that previous releases have shown us. Re-watch the announcement trailer, and then go back to watch the announcement trailer for Cataclysm, or Pandaria, or ….. You’ll see my point.

We did, however, get a look at the new Alliance and Horde capital cities of Karabor and Bladespire Fortress. Did anyone else notice how, again, the Alliance got a kind of "pretty" starting area while the Horde are shoved into a wasteland of a slightly different flavor? Anyone? But I digress, as much as the cinematic was a TERRIBLE set up for the new world, I think that Draenor, as it was presented in the panels, will be a challenge and hopefully a better version of the things we loved about Outland.

Anyone familiar with the Warcraft book series will be well versed in the lore that is the foundation for Draenor. Those of you familiar with the Warcraft games, specifically 2 and 3, will recognize characters like Grom Hellscream. Hopefully we’ll also see some familiar faces, like Rexxar, since we’re going back to the time before the first war.

While I could go on about all of the impending changes, and a rant about 10 levels without flying (oh, how times have changed since Vanilla), let’s take a quick look at the thing we’re most excited for:

GARRISONS

Customizable housing is long overdue, I’ve been expecting it since Conan released theirs. Thank the Old Gods it won’t be like the housing we’ve seen in games like Ultima. While I’m fairly certain this is going to involve at least a bit of a "mini game" concept, and it’s going to be another level-grind to get to max garrison size, I think the ultimate utility of NPCs who will complete tasks while you’re afk will more than compensate for any inconvenience. (If it’s well executed.) I’m also hoping that eventually we’ll see some of the housing storage utility, like those in games like Star Wars Galaxies.

At the end of the day, I bought the Virtual Ticket for the pet, because I pretty much can’t help myself when it comes to in game collectibles. Presentation aside, I think Warlords of Draenor has the potential to take the playability of the game to a whole new level for all players, regardless of raiding or guild affiliation.

Keeping Up With The Cons- Stan Lee's Comikaze and Bak-Anime

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic Halloween. I know I did. Today's Poppin' Off has been replaced by a Con update.

As you may know, I have been looking forward to Stan Lee's Comikaze (November 1st-3rd) for months. I watched Fangasm and loved it, applied (and was denied) for a press pass, and obsessively read any information I saw about it. I thought for sure I would be going. Well, as it turns out, I'm not. I had hoped to go on Sunday, but my husband doesn't really want to, I don't have any friends and I don't want to go alone (plus, I have huge anxiety issues driving in LA)....and now to completely clinch it, my kids are sick. They need their mommy, so here I will stay. I am very disappointed, but hey, there's always next year :) Anyway, I thought I'd share what I think will be neat at Comikaze, and if you happen to catch any of them, please share your experiences with me! I love living vicariously through others.

  The cast of Fangasm is there! 

According to Molly McIsaac's Instagram,

 they will be at booth #1725 and signing
Friday 4-7pm, Saturday 9am-3pm and Sunday 9am-2pm. 

They will also be on the Hot Topic Main Stage Friday at 7pm
 for Fangasm: The Interns Reunite! Panel.

Photo from Geeky Glamorous.

I read all of these blogs and think these ladies are amazing. Its all about geeky girl fashion.

 I wish I could go to this panel. 

Megan from The Nerdy Girlie (photo from her site)

is going to be on the Super-Heroines of Pop Culture panel. Saturday at 12:30pm Room 301B.

I love her blog and think shes going to kill her first panel.

*The Geek Fashion Show on the Hot Topic Main Stage Friday at 6pm
*Blizzard Storytelling Saturday Room 306AB at 3pm (for the WoW lover in me)
*Her Universe "Year of the Fangirl" Photo Shoot on the Hot Topic Main Stage at 11am
*LeVar Burton on the Hot Topic Main Stage at 3pm on Sunday

Those are just some of the great things to see there. There are also Comikaze exclusives by Funko Pop!, Tokidoki and TOYNAMI (among many others). I hope all of you attending have a blast!

If you're in the central California area but aren't attending Comikaze this weekend, and are feeling like a smaller convention, then you might want to check out Bak-Anime in Bakersfield. Held November 2nd and 3rd at the Marriot Hotel, it promises plenty of cosplay, panels and vendors. The panels seem to focus mostly on developing cosplay outfits, but there are some autograph signings and a Sherlock panel as well. The guests scheduled are Jennifer Hale, Liam O'Brien, Sam Riegel, and Akai Sky. It costs $20 for Saturday only, $15 for Sunday only or $25 for both days. Children 8 years old and under are free.

Flyer from their Facebook page.

Poppin' Off- Espionage Cosmetics Nailed It

Eternally late to the party, I am finally able to write about the awesome Kickstarter that Espionage Cosmetics had for their new nail wraps.

I had read about them on so many blogs (Geeky Glamorous, The Nerdy Girlie, and Geek Pinata to name a few). And pictures of them kept popping up on my Instagram feed. I kept visiting the Kickstarter page, wanting to make a pledge, but something was holding me back. My horribly bitten nails. I bite them like crazy, and I doubted that these awesome wraps would look great on stubby nails. But on the last day the Kickstarter was open I decided to pledge $25. I think these nail wraps are incredible, and there's certainly a market for it. Espionage Cosmetics received 1,185 backers and raised $71,999 for this project (they had set their goal at $20,000). I'm also using the nail wraps I get for pledging (I chose Zombie Killer, Make It So and Turtles) as motivation to finally stop biting my nails. 

Even though the nail wraps aren't available right now, if nerdy makeup is your thing, you should definitely check out the Espionage Cosmetics website and pick up some of their other stuff.

Poppin' Off- Video Games Live

Last week was a heck of a week. I spent a lot of time in Southern California. It was nice, but man am I exhausted.

A couple of weeks ago, Mandie of Geeky Glamorous was having a giveaway for a set of tickets to see Video Games Live in Irvine. I was super excited. I had first heard of VGL through the opening screen of WoW. Blizzard had paired with them and was offering a discount on tickets. I really, really wanted to go, but with San Diego Comic-Con being that same week, my husband and I had to save up money for potential purchases, so we didn't get to buy them. Well, I entered the contest for the tickets and I won!!! I was so excited. I mean, first of all, I'm a fan of Mandie's site, so winning something from there was pretty cool. Secondly (and most importantly), I was thrilled to be seeing VGL! 

We got to Irvine a few hours before the show, so we killed some time at a movie theater. It was at an Edwards Cinema, but it only played independent films which was really neat. There was this lady in the bathroom that was making all kind of sexual noises, which was mystifying since she was only putting on her makeup. Anyway, we saw The Hijacking, which was good but a little long. We left for the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater after the movie was over. Parking was ten dollars for self parking, and even though the gates had been open for a while, we still managed to get a pretty good parking spot.

Our seats were amazing. Down pretty close to the stage and on the aisle, and I didn't have anyone tall sitting in front of me obstructing my view :) There was a costume contest before the show started and I'd just like to say, if you're ever in a costume contest and there's a child also entered, expect the child to win. There was this girl that had an amazing costume she'd made to be a character from Final Fantasy something.....Twelve I think it was, she really should have won. But there was a little boy dressed in a store bought Mario costume (I know, my son wore the same one for Halloween last year) who ended up winning instead.

The show was played by the Pacific Symphony and the Glendale Concert Choir (it was the choir from the community college), and they all did an amazing job. They played songs from old school video games, and scores from games like World of Warcraft (my favorite) Chrono Cross. At one point, they had the winner from the Guitar Hero contest go up there and perform The Pretender by the Foo Fighters. Tommy Tallarico  challenged him to get 400, 000 points on the hard setting, and the winner asked if he could do it on expert instead. He got around 390,000 points which I thought was pretty cool. There was a meet and greet after the show with some of the composers, but we couldn't stay because we had a long drive back home to make(and at midnight, traffic through L.A. was still horrible lol, we didn't get home until almost 3am). The show was so awesome that I was hoping to catch it again when they were doing the free concerts at Comic-Con, but I was unable to make it. The concert in Irvine was amazing though, and I'm so glad that I got to go.



P.S. I'm still itching to do that giveaway! Twenty (20) follower on Bloglovin to make it happen :)

Keeping Up With The Cons- The Time Has Come

San Diego Comic-Con has arrived. Last night was preview night and today starts the full on convention. I wish I could be there all four days, but I will only be there on Saturday. And even though I will only be there for one day, I have been reading every article and blog post I can about what to expect and what to bring, where to visit, etc. I have been to conventions before, but not one as epic as Comic-Con.

Planning snacks for myself and my husband is pretty easy, but I also have to plan for my two small children. And not only do I have to bring them snacks, but some forms of entertainment, because I know they will get bored. I plan on packing a small backpack for each of them with their snacks of choice, a small coloring book and box of crayons, a puzzle in a bag and their Nintendo DS's. My backpack will include snacks, water, wallet, pens and a notebook, and my Instax.

I'm hoping to visit the Hello Kitty Wonderland, the tokidoki booth, Blizzard Entertainment's booth,   welovefine and the Nintendo Gaming Lounge. Also I want to see what Nerd HQ is and maybe check out the Geek and Sundry lounge.

Here is a list of my favorite blog posts outlining the finer points of Comic-Con:
*Geeky Glamorous has a great list of things to do outside the Con.
*Mia Moore did a big list of helpful posts peppered with her own experiences, very helpful.
*Holy SDCC Batman! The Nerdy Girlie has so many helpful posts on Comic-Con, you'd be a fool not to check them out. (she's also doing a SDCC photo challenge on Instagram that looks like tons of fun)
*Of course, the official Comic-Con site is going to have crucial info.


Follow me on Instagram (krystellemt) and Twitter (@krystellemt) for updates of my Comic-Con experience. Lets nerd out together!

Keeping Up With The Cons- SDCC Exclusives

So freaking excited! I just found out that tokidoki has some exclusives coming to San Diego Comic Con. I am a huge tokidoki fan. Check out the ever growing list here.

Also, Geeky Glamorous did a nice roundup about a week ago of some of the stuff that's going to be available, so make sure to check that out here. The link at the bottom of that post is especially helpful (here it is).

If you know of any exclusives that aren't listed here, please leave a link in the comments section. San Diego Comic Com is about a week away and I'd love to update my list!

Monday Mix Up #1

A small little list of links to help you procrastinate the start of another week.

* This video from Jimmy Fallon, Felicia Day, Chris Hardwick etc singing We Are The World Of  Warcraft.
*Super Mash Bros. All About The Scrillions is my favorite.
*Adorable postcards from rarrarpress. The Its Really Not That Far postcard is my favorite.
*Ion television. I love all the reruns of Criminal Minds, Numb3rs, Cold Case and House.
*Kick Ass 2! So looking forward to this.
*Here's a cute little marriage proposal, courtesy of Good Morning America via Yahoo's front page. I  must say, if I was the girl, I would feel so bad taking all that down! Its so sweet :)
*This tote from Geeky Glamorous. I have been obsessing over it! I wish I had money so I could buy one.