Here it is my report from Connecticon 2009


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Pre-Con to Thursday


This year’s trip to Connecticon began actually at another Con, Anime Boston where I hung out at the Connecticon booth with Spoonroo and Dj Kraze discussing the topics of the day, and setting in motion the events that would lead to Connecticon this year. As time passed, preparations were made, and for me, who could see the convention center from my place of work, it couldn’t come fast enough. A gathering at Remie’s house soon afterward would enhance the spirit, as I stuck a small bag of swag from Sarge’s comics in my car and headed off to meet with him and his motley band of…er..rock banders….they were all there, Remie, Tyler, Kevin, Cels, the fonz, (not the fonz.).

Jumping ahead. A month before the con the ridiculous pre-con coverage began with my lunch hours spent heading to the con center or nearabouts and covering what no other journalist or non-journalist dared to cover, a con center before a con! Thankfully the authorities didn’t press charges, but Abe Lincoln has yet to be unfrozen from his carbonite tomb.

Finally con week approached. Sleep decreased, my focus at work remained steady but wavering, and the costumes neared completion. They were all relatively easy to construct and certainly barely across the cosplay line, but Doctor Tomoe, The Brigadier, Turd Ferguson, and Pirate Lincoln were just the type of characters expected at the Con upon the River.

I was slowly losing my mind as the Dalek, Dalek, Dalek video indicated.

As Thursday dawned there was but one problem, one key piece, the Brigadier’s Beret was sitting an hour away. Doh! So rather than getting in my car and driving 3 minutes to the con center I got in my car and drove two hours round trip. But I did get a chance to see the fiancé one more time before her own trip. 

I arrived back at the con center with WCCC blaring at about 6:30 pm. The reg line was frozen as something was getting set up. I thanked my lucky stars and my lucky charms that I was a panelist and retrieved my badge from Con Ops. After waiting in a line of two people I turned to staffer Spoonroo and decried “line con” he laughed in the “yes I’m laughing but we may kill you anyway” laugh Anime Boston by the way solved their line problems in one year producing some of the fastest lines in history this year. Anyone burnt by 08 should go back, they fixed it.

Badge in hand I began to wander the grand assembly hall searching for those I knew. People were already in cosplay which was awesome. It was just setting the stage. I ran into Remie, his gf, Kevin, Tyler, and company as they waited in line awhile. Then Pantsman and his gf arrived and I spoke to them briefly, before returning to the Remie group here after to be known as RKT (pronounced Rocket). Somehow we parted ways at some point and next I was running into Phu and Adam, both of Lianne’s circle of friends, though I had known Phu in high school enough that he made it into my unpublished novel (how’s that novel comin…a little novel…writin…anyway..) We spoke as men do, with our voices. 0_o What does that mean… Anyway Phu’s status as a leader of men in the Army got him busted down to one striper in the Coast Guard. Apparently on land he commands, but at sea it is me. (The Penguin said it, look it up)

Soon I was racing back home in The Neptune to prepare for the next day. Naturally I got practically no sleep.

Friday

As Friday was the only weekday the con was being held I made sure to get up especially early. Even so my con prep took forever as well as the all important shower. Remember if a con goes three days one must shower at least three times if not more. That’s a rule. It’s a variant of the energy can neither be created nor destroyed thing. I got through Hartford at 7 before the traffic built to a standstill and pulled into section 2B of the parking garage, where I usually always park. I chose my first costume of the day. Burt Reynolds/Turd Ferguson and grabbed the cardboard podium. I was soon standing outside on the stairs where the two reg lines were gathering. Captain Gin Ichimaru was directing traffic as volunteers and con staff surveyed the scene. Gin Ichimaru would be the first recipient of and “Awesome Costume” card of the convention. I stood off in the corner and was recognized and photographed which was quick work. The line started to move a little after 8 and the next few hours is a blur. RKT arrived with Remie as the 4th Doctor with K-9 trailing behind him, his GF as Sarah Jane, and Kevin as THE MEDDLING MONK. It did not take long for them to be barraged for pictures. This would become a theme for the entire day. I hung around as Turd Ferguson for awhile and awaited Tesh’s arrival from Boston. Thankfully the bus was relatively on time. We wandered around for awhile as I gave her the tour of the con center, alternately running into people  I let Tesh borrow my camera as we were having a battery shortage. She snapped some photos and I gave out a few awesome costume cards though my courage to do so varied throughout the con. Now I’m going to aggregate the first day a bit as I started slipping from costume to costume, first into the brigadier then Dr. Tomoe from Sailor Moon then back and forth as needed. I got a few people recognizing me as the Brigadier though usually I was just a hanger on to the 4th doctor. XD As Dr. Tomoe however I ran into several Sailor Senshi including some of the multiple Sailor Saturn’s in the house and Sailor Moon whom of course I knew from facebook.  Several people recognized me as the mad doctor though I would soon be confused for several other doctors throughout the con. It was nice to finally cosplay as a Sailor Moon character and his personality and mine match pretty well ^________________________________________ ________^ Soon afterward Queen Beryl comes up with a flyer for one of the cosplay events and said from one villain to another. Nice!

At some point I was approaching an escalator and Starsparkle and her friend were traveling down one we recognized each other and I like back jumped off the escalator to the floor (like a fool) but we conversed and I delivered the Spock bumper sticker.

Somewhere along the line food was consumed the dealer’s room was visited, and artist’s alley was visited as well. Of course Dr. Tomoe came at a cost, wearing the eye thing really messed up my vision for an hour so I determined to be more careful the next day. Tesh headed back to the hotel for a bit and I joined up with RKT and others for a rousing game of UNO, followed by a mediocre game of Apples to Apples, where I got no good cards. Kevin and I were struggling mightily against the tide of oddness. Tesh returned to the group and joined in. I was somehow Turd Ferguson again…can’t figure out when that happened.

The Dealer’s room had a very nice selection of stuff, especially food. So many flavors of Ramen and Pocky in all the colors of the rainbow. I love the packaging too. I was of course on the hunt for Sailor Moon stuff as well as cheap Gundam Seed. The first was easily found, not so much the second. Though I had to watch the money situation. I did come away with a Sailor Moon mug though and a nice print of a tv/movie poster as well as a few Star Trek prints as well.

Near the dealer’s room was the food area, as well as the boffer tournament, some intimidating leaders were barking commands in a really cool fashion to keep the games in order. I think they could really upgrade this event to pure spectacle due to its mortal kombat nature. I wish I had time to watch it too much but it makes an entertaining excursion while eating.

7:30 was rolling around and it was time for the Doctor who photo shoot, our group joined with a large torchwood contingent, yet somehow not one of three 10th doctors arrived. We gave Captain Jack Harkness (played by the well known Axel) a hard time declaring UNIT would have done a better job organizing it. XD Still a lot of people took pictures and it was the first photoshoot I was ever in.

I know I ran into Ray at some point during the day. He was one of the Presidents of the anime club during my years at school and we talked too. I ran into a lot of people and talked to even more, it was kinda funny. Phu and Adam popped up at some point as well but I forget the context.

On the first floor of the con center a group of people had assembled and were doing something, it looked interesting, not sure what it was.

The Anime Dating Game and Connecticon the Musical were both going to be held at the same time drawing the attention of many congers. Others headed to the Vampires Don’t Sparkle Panel. As for myself I wandered the con. I believe that thanks to youtube, most of the good main event moments are caught on film and some of the true magic of conventions is in what goes on outside the panel room whether it’s the light saber battle between Inu-Yasha and some guy, A gundam charged by a kendo swordsman, Godzilla dancing to techno, or every Bleach Captain marching into the con center together. I watch out for those events. Of course there is the cosplayers as well which make the con amazing and surreal. The cosplays this year were amazing whether in terms of craftsmanship or in terms of just awesomeness. Deathscythe was dressed as Unit 2 from Evangelion, Darth Vader and a small legion of Stormtroopers were in the house, the Kingdom Hearts, Naruto, FMA, and Bleach characters always add to the background and of course I’m oversimplifying the sheer vastness of characters. There was a Jareth even! It is just not possible to cover all the ground, I’d recommend watching videos to see the sheer magnitude.

Tesh returned to the hotel and Aarana and Nigoki were on their way there. As for me I headed for the Nerdfit panel, surviving Con Zombies. The Nerdfit guys consisting of the Internet, Glen, and the other guy, as well as their associates are lunatics who can be vulgar, but yet insightful and hilarious. They are also great friends to Cosplay Court Case. Before I arrived at the panel I put on the Pirate Lincoln costume. As I wandered the con getting odd looks I considered the costume a success.

(Sung to the Battle Hymn of the Republic)

Mine eyes have seen the sails of a merchant ship to port!
My name is pirate Lincoln, been a plundering since 1854
My mercy ended slavery, but your pleas will be ignored.
You're going to walk the plank!

Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
You’re going to walk the plank!

I sail from hidden bases with my strong and nasty crew.
The scurveyist bunch of scalywags Abe Lincoln ever new.
When we pull in beside your ship that's the end of you.
You're going to walk the plank!

Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
You’re going to walk the plank!

A house divided cannot stand is what I've known to say.
A house bombarded with cannon shot will end up the same way.
I joined up with the pirates because the ninjas get low pay.
The ninjas get low pay!!!

Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
The ninjas get low pay!

Four score and seven years ago the founding fathers fought off the king.
They saved the country from his oppression and everything.
Too bad they're not around to day to save the day again.
From Lincoln and his men!!!

Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
Glory Glory Pirate Lincoln!
You’re going to walk the plank!

I walked into the Nerdfit panel and The Internet glances over at me and utters WTF. Victory! Their panel was great and informative dealing with the seediest of characters at conventions. I emerged from the panel found out Tesh had had a problem with the hotel but it had since been hopefully resolved. I walked around some more as Pirate Lincoln and descended an escalator. The steampunk crowd on the balcony above looked down and went “irate Lincoln” I raised my sword and they let out a cry. Nice.

It’s all a blur at that point really. I made my way back home to rest and prep for the next day. Of course I managed to hardly sleep as well trying to upload videos and literally fell asleep at my desk.

Saturday.
I got up a little later but not much later and drove to the con center, parking in section 2B. Surprise surprise. I headed inside hoping to go light on the cosplay for awhile due to the heat and chaos of the day before. But as I walked up the stairs I saw Sailor Senshi and a lot of them! Win. I walked around the con a bit but soon hurried back to the car and got the Tomoe costume back on. I soon found the Senshi and approached giving out Awesome Costume cards. They were thrilled and the Saturn yelled “apa” we took some pictures, I took some pictures, and I handed out some of the Sailor Moon sticker packs I have for these occasions. It was a small army of them, all but Venus. Very cool.

I think out of laziness I just stayed in costume, but slid the eyepiece to one side to prevent sickness. Soon Aarana was there with Tesh and Nigoki. Aarana was Super Sailor Moon and of course I came up as Doctor Tomoe. XD Soon people wanted pictures of us in Battle. Cool.

Also while we were down there a group of Resident Evil zombies attacked a Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy group and a great battle was fought. It was also during this time that several Resident Evil police cosplayers stood in the background unaware.

I showed them all around the con before Nigoki had to report to the Anime Boston booth to make up for some late arrivers. Anime Boston succeeds because of hard workers like him.

We found food for Aarana and Tesh and we sat with the Sailor Moon I knew from before in her Seramyu Sailor Moon Outfit, along with an Eternal Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter Seramyu. 

It was closing in on noon and I dispensed with the Doctor Tomoe costume grabbed the Turd Ferguson one and also carried all my Cosplay Court Case materials back to the con. The Court Case was set for 2:30 and I think the three of us spent two hours getting everything ready. Starsparkle passed by and we talked for a bit and then she headed off to do things. At 2:10 we headed up to the panel room, the line was masssssive, but staff was nowhere to be found. I hear that there was a volunteer shortage this year at CTCon because I know the staff is very good at what they do, so they likely had just too much going on. With such a large crowd, visions of AB08 filled my head where the crowd was so big that things were tough to keep under control. But thankfully I had major help. Pantsman, his gf, Deathscythe, The Prince from Katamari, Storm Troopers, Bwentali, Tesh, and Aarana all helped get the room set up as I kept things under control outside. Unfortunately we still opened the doors and got set late just due to the situation but it was survived. The internet and nerdfit arrived as well. With the room as set up as it could be the crowd was let in. I took to the stage and as usual stumbled over my words. Nevertheless thanks to everyone’s help and Tesh filming the event we got things underway, and a group of great cosplayers came up to argue the case. Plenty more details can be found in the Youtube videos. We put Link, Riku, and Cloud on trial for Tomfoolery, and then a group of people including Gendo, Raven, and others for stealing the Batmobile though later Batwoman was implicated and that was just silly. Glen turned into Billy Mays, the Internet cleared the room repeatedly and there was a chase. Oh and the Katamari ball went flying into the crowd like a beach ball at one point. Aarana led the crowd at the end in a rousing rendition of Death Note-O even though I chickened out on wanting to sing it.

Death Note-O
I wanna be the god of death
Like no one ever was.
Final justice is my real test,
I know this is my cause.

My powers travel across the land,
There’s no place to hide.
Each criminal will understand,
That they’re all gunna die.

Death Not-o!
It’s you and me!
I know it’s my destiny.

Death Not-o!
L you’re my best friend,
And I’ll beat you in the end!
Death Not-o!

My cause is true,
Misa Misa helps me do it to.
Defy me and I’ll end you!
Death Not-ooooo!!

Gotta kill em all, gotta kill em all,
Death Not-o!

I am extremely thankful to all who helped me, and all who participated. I cannot thank them enough.

That ended my role in the affair. Tried, and hot I carried all the stuff back to the car with help and I worked to cool down a bit. I think we went through the dealers room then. I can’t for the life of me remember the next few hours. Aarana soon prepared to head home I hope she enjoyed it. Tesh went to rest. It’s a long day at the cons, and I was left to roam. I became Pirate Lincoln again for a while to menace the Masquerade line (Which had already started forming by the time Cosplay Court Case finished) this line would eventually encompass three floors and be so long that people were not going to be able to get into the room. Pirate Lincoln did not get as much attention this time though so I packed him away and just went Business Suit. At some point on Saturday I ran into Luke the former President of the Anime club when I was Vice President. I was the Starscream to his Megatron. He was running his own webcomic and I bought the samples to have a look. I also ran into Ray again and his wife.  or was that Friday….well I ran into him Saturday too. The cosplays continued to be amazing out there. I believe it was on Saturday that Optimus Prime arrived as well. I was attempting to get more “Awesome Cosplay” cards out but I mainly lost my nerve and only gave them out to people I was already talking to. Plus so many costumes don’t have pockets. Long story…

I also know a few times at the con people introduced themselves and I like either didn’t hear or didn’t realize and sorry about that ;;; I’m so forgetful at times. I also ran into Ned who was Vash at some point too. The masquerade doors open and the lines flowed in soon emptying the cons of most people. I attended the Connecticon Match Game run by the geniuses at Geeknights. They’re a hilarious bunch of guys and despite some needed changes to the program it was a hilarious setup. My hats off to them. I returned to wandering to keep an eye on the con during the dead time. There was of course the usual dance convoy of about 50 people. There was also the oddity of Sebastian the Cat being followed by a bunch of people in close line. He would stop they would stop, he would turn they would hold steady. He lead them all into an elevator and then dashed out of it as they raced after him. This continued on for some time. Ray and Matt from the anime club elders were there and we chatted. Oddly enough this guy stumbled up to Matt and asked if he was an accountant, he then revealed the mask he wore as part of the cosplay (that he had taken off to cool off) within a minute someone hurried up asking for a picture. Ray and I both laughed. I believe this was the Bond girl group, not certain. I was somewhat tired. Mercifully the masquerade let out at some point. Deathscythe had picked up a craftsmanship award, the Seramyu people had won an award as well. Starsparkle emerged from the Masq and gave me the lowdown on it. We talked for awhile when two other anime club members appeared, these from her time at the club. We chatted for a long time which was cool, about Otakon, anime, Zachary Quinto, whoever he is…and then perhaps another highlight of the con occurred at 11:30. The PA system comes on. (Paraphrased) “Attention congers, it is now 11:30, math indicates that you have 30 minutes before the con center closes….” Followed by laughter as the person at the other end loses it and the laughter spreads throughout the entire con center for a good thirty seconds. We dispersed as a group soon after and I headed home. I then attempted to upload my videos but fell asleep at the computer before I could. DRAMATIC!

Sunday
Woke up a bit later than expected and drove to the con arriving at nineish. Not much was going on and I was clad as Doctor Tomoe. The cosplayers were still around in force though. I ran into the Seramyu group though they were now dressed as the Messiah of Silence, School Girl Hotaru, and Michiru. We took some photos though I was a bit more awkward, due to never having done a photoshoot like that before. The Doctor Who one was just me standing, this one was a bit more intensive so I hope I didn’t screw it up too much. They had cool costumes though.   

And then BEN arrived from Toronto. “They pick up your trash yet.” I remarked because at times I can be an a$$. He was there with family and I gave them the briefing on the con. I then wished them well and they were off.

I made sure Tesh got some real food into her (as it was hard to get) and I didn’t realize Cosplay Chess had become Cosplay Deathmatch which was just battles no chess. I highly encourage Connecticon to continue this, and leave Chess to Anime Boston. Deathmatch looks extremely awesome. Unfortunately I didn’t realize there wasn’t chess so I got there too late lol. Hoping for some good videos. I ran into Remie and company again for a bit, they apparently were up to chicanery. We soon parted ways.

I also visited the Caf-Fiends table and the Dear Pirate table in Artist's Alley among others but I bought stuff from each. There were so many deserving artists though.

I headed to Nerdfit’s panel which was just silly and inexplicable.

I came upon Starsparkle and another anime club member. She had slept in even later than I. We stood on the top floor looking over the rail at the con below and all the activity of the con as it slowly winded down, though there was still a lot of people around. We talked awhile, the other anime club member headed off, there was more talking about ramune and noodles, which I need now. lol and Phu and Adam returned. We all talked and Starsparkle headed off. I then conversed with those jokers and we came up insanity which will not be revealed here, and then Phu outlined role playing. I’m surprised it came up. Heh.

Tesh’s bus was late which sucked but at 5:45 it arrived and she was on her way back to Boston. I headed back to the car and headed off leaving a sizable number of people at the con center. Connecticon 2009 was over.


I happen to be an anime fan and a sports fan as well as a college student and alumni at some schools here in CT so most of what you see in the favorites and even in my art will be related to that.

Anime: I like a lot of animes, too many to list, but I'm a huge fan of Sailor Moon, and that's just the way it goes. I travel to several cons a year (as money allows.)

Sports: I follow a lot of sports...Football (NFL & College), Baseball (Major League, Minor League, and College), Hockey (Major & Minor league.), Basketball (NBA, WNBA, and College), Gymnastics at the college and elite level (It's an overlooked but amazing sport, Volleyball (College, I've just realized how fun it is to see a game.) Soccer (College, maybe MLS someday.) and more...





Due to some scheduling issues I've largely had to focus on Volleyball and a bit of Football. I'll be trying to get to more games within the New England region. More to come. Gymnastics in the winter naturally.

Causes:
Check out the Fundraiser for Glory!