Tag Archives: San Diego Comic Con

Last Day of Comic Con

Barbara Vey -- July 16th, 2012

Last day of Comic Con is Kids Day. I love watching their faces as they see larger than life characters, toys and aliens. It surprised me that more weren’t dressed up, but I found out that Saturday was a costume contest and that’s why so many were in their element then.

You do get an event guide and a commemorative issue of Comic Con when you get your I.D. badge the day you arrive and register, but I think they should be sent out way ahead of time. These are some thick books and it takes a long time to read. I’d like to be able to highlight what I want to see. There are lots of ads that alert you to thing you may miss otherwise, but it’s hard to read it while walking around the convention floor. I realize a lot is online, but I found there were times I tried using the search and it would say “No Matches Found” when I knew that person would be there. Just give me a physical guide and yellow highlighter and I can map it out faster and easier.

While going through Publisher’s Alley (my name for it), I noticed that A Wrinkle in Time has come out with the 50th Anniversary Commemorative edition. I heard a lot of people commenting on the fact that they couldn’t believe it had been 50 years and how many memories the book brought back. At the same time, I was shown many new books, some by debut authors and I wonder which, if any, of them would end up with a 50th Anniversary Edition.

Luckily I did talk to a few fans who managed to get into some of their favorite panels. Kaitlyn said, “I attended the Teen Wolf panel. It was REALLY cool how they gave the audience an advanced screening of Monday Night’s episode. The cast members seemed to be really good friends and entertained the crowd.”

Kim fought the crowds to see the one show she never misses, “True Blood panel, as usual, didn’t disappoint. Anticipation was thick in the room as thousands waited for the dynamic team of cast members led by Creator, Alan Ball. At the beginning of the session we enjoyed a trailer which let us know the excitement of Season 5 would keep in True Blood fashion, hot, action-packed, and a tremendous thrill ride. The cast members teased Joe Manganiello about his “Magic Mike” movie which led into many panel members doing the body roll, which included Alan Ball standing on a chair and body rolling for the audience. I can’t wait to see what Season 5 has in store for me but I can guarantee it will have a hard time competing with the fun of the panel.”

I was sorry not to see Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in person, but that was a mob scene. One who managed to catch a glimpse said, “It made my day!”

Bottom Line: Looking at the faces of those leaving as the doors closed on another year of Comic Con, it seemed to me that the convention made a lot of people’s day special.

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Saturday at Comic Con

Barbara Vey -- July 15th, 2012

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Sean Astin

Finally had my first celebrity sighting at Comic Con. Sean Astin was at a booth signing autographs and mugging for the many cameras aimed his way. I wish I could have gotten close enough, but Sean has a huge following of all ages and I would have been trampled.

Jane Espenson and Barbara Vey

I also stumbled upon Jane Espenson signing. In case her name doesn’t ring a bell, let me list some of her credits. She’s written for Once Upon a Time, Warehouse 13, Buffy, Angel, Torchwood, and Battlestar Galactica to name a few (you can check them all out on IMDB). It was a total fan girl moment for me and when I asked her about doing a Drive By Video for me, she said she was booked this year, but I could contact her for next year. SCORE! (Ok, yes, I love all creative writers.)

Panels are almost impossible to get into unless you’re willing to camp out for hours at a time and my days of standing or sitting on the floor that many hours are over. I also heard that one highly anticipated panel was delayed 3 hours and then canceled completely. Pretty sure there were some unhappy campers there.

James Rollins

I was happy to see James Rollins signing his new book Blood Line at the HarperCollins booth. He’s thrilled to be coming to Milwaukee for my Reader Appreciation Luncheon in April and was surprised to hear that his table has sold out already, but I’m not surprised.

While I was at the Harper booth, I noticed a poster of Archer. Now, Archer is an animated series on FX that focuses on Archer, a sexist spy whose mother runs the spy organization. The whole show is totally politically incorrect and in my opinion, hilarious (yes, I must have a very warped sense of humor). The irony here is that HarperCollins had this giant poster right next to the children’s section of books. I’m sure that any child, seeing animation, naturally assumes it’s a cartoon they should be watching. Yikes! Hope their parents realize the show is adults only. Oops on you Harper.

Now, here’s a few more pics I snapped as I was walking around.

Thundercat

The con floor

Hmmm

View from my room

Orange man??

A tired Spiderman

Bottom Line: Today is Kid’s Day. Can’t wait to see their costumes.

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Pictures from Comic Con

Barbara Vey -- July 14th, 2012

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It is so fun to walk around the convention center. You just never know who or what you’ll see. Here’s a few pictures from my day at the San Diego Comic Con.

Ok, for some reason, the cursor won’t go to the bottom of the page, so here’s my:

Bottom Line: Just another normal day at Comic Con.

: Paranorman

Predator

: Military guy

: The Tick and Arthur

: Authors Kelly Armstrong, Shawntelle Madison, and Sylvia Day direct from a romance panel

: Author Anne Elizabeth at her booth

patient from Coma

: Merida from Brave

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San Diego Comic Con

Barbara Vey -- July 13th, 2012

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It’s finally here. I’m at the San Diego Comic Con. Those friends of mine who know what it is are jealous. Those friends who have no clue what Comic Con is think I’m just going to a big costume party with nerds. Well, they’re both right.

Every year that I go, I understand it a little better and don’t waste so much time just wandering around. There’s so much to see and do you really need some plan of action. In the past, I’ve always just got up in the morning and hoped for the best. This year I actually looked at the schedule ahead of time.

Gail Carriger

Yesterday I hit all the publishers booths but found only one author signing. Gail Carriger was in full costume (or maybe she always dresses like that) promoting her steampunk book, Soulless. The book promises “Vampires, werewolves and parasols.” Gail assured me it’s a parody, so I’m going to have to give it a try when I get home in a couple of weeks.

Marjorie Liu and X-23

Marjorie Liu saw a young woman dressed as one of Marjorie’s Marvel comic book characters, X-23. She said, “It’s kind of surreal to see your characters come to life.” Marjorie also told me “Anthony Bourdain strode past me, and I got into an elevator with Tricia Helfer, Tahmoh Penikett, and Michael Trucco (Battlestar Galactica).” I told her if I were there I would have asked if I could take a picture. But, what else is new?

Barbara Vey Zombie Attack

At the Max Brooks booth (World War Z), I had my picture taken as I survived a zombie attack. I don’t know how scared I really look since I was really laughing through the whole thing. They also had a Zombie App you could download for your phone. This is the creative fun stuff I like at Comic Con.

I haven’t spotted any celebrities yet, but as usual, there’s a lot of characters walking around and I’m easily distracted. I’m off to take a bunch of pictures today of the creative people I see. Tune in tomorrow to see my photo album.

Bottom Line: I would never survive a zombie attack because I think I run slower than they shuffle along.

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Friday at Comic Con

Barbara Vey -- July 23rd, 2011

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Mekhi Phifer, Alexa Havens, John Barrowman

Mekhi Phifer, Eve Myles, John Barrowman of Torchwood

They give you two really thick books when you register for Comic Con. They’re filled will information on the exhibitors, schedule of events, panels, autograph signings and locations of booths. Since it opens at 9:30, I arrived a few minutes past only to find out that if you want to get autographs of the big guns here, you need to stand in line (that’s a common theme here) and receive a ticket (or wrist band) at 9 a.m. It was in the fine print of the program. So, I really couldn’t get near any of those people yesterday. Let me just say that the security here is tighter than for the president (seriously).

I tried, unsuccessfully, to get into the Torchwood (although a friend with an in at the conference let me in to take a quick picture) and William Shatner panels. It was torture to stand outside and hear all the laughter coming from both rooms. I opted to browse the main floor of the convention center. There are rows and rows of comic books, t-shirts (one booth boasted over 200,000 in stock), artwork, books, toys, games and gadgets. I barely made it half way through before lunch.

The movie and television studios have huge spaces and large crowds as they offer free stuff. There are giant screens all over that promote movies, tv shows and video games. They are packed in like sardines there. I try to avoid it.

Anne Sowards and Patricia Briggs

Lisa Kessler was at the spotlight on Patricia Briggs. Patricia was joined by her long-time editor, Anne Sowards. Together they discussed Patricia’s publishing journey as well as the future of her popular Mercy Thompson series. It was exciting to see so many readers line up at the microphone to ask questions, eager to learn more about the author and the series they love. Patricia also delighted her fans with some personal stories from home, including introducing her husband who sat out in the audience.
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Saul Rubinek, Joanne Kelly, Eddie McClintock

Although I couldn’t get into the Eureka panel, I finally made it into Warehouse 13. The actors all seemed genuinely surprised at the filled to capacity ballroom. Eddie McClintock even ran through the crowd taking pictures before the panel started. Although they talked about how much fun they all had making the show, they refused to give out any spoilers. Executive producer, Jack Kenny, did admit that it was like running a day care with the cast.

Vyxin and Kent

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I also caught up with one of my favorite teams from The Amazing Race. Kent and Vyxin, who were just on the All-Star edition last season, gave me some insights into what it’s really like to speed travel the world. It’s stressful and exhausting but a lot of fun. They both agreed that they’d do it again.
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Steven Moyer, aka Vampire Bill, Anna Paquin aka Sookie Stackhouse, and Alan Ball the exec. producer

Lisa Kessler attended the True Blood panel along with thousands of other TB fans. They gave us a sneak peek into what’s in store the rest of this season! Without giving away any spoilers, let me just say… WOW!!! This is going to be a great season!!! When they turned over the microphone to fans, one woman asked the question that followers of Charlaine Harris’ were wondering…”After following the book so closely for Season one, why have you ventured away from the books in recent seasons?” Alan Ball the creator/producer of True Blood explained that the books are “Sookie’s story”. You only see what Sookie sees in the books, but on a television series, he’s able to open up the world a bit and show you what’s happening with the other characters. He said he tries to keep the rules of the world she established the same, while taking creative liberties with the other characters’ plotlines. He also promised we would be learning about more supernaturals this season… WooHoo!

Jenna Busch (moderator), Laeta Kalogridis, Marjorie Liu, Marti Noxen, Gale Anne Hurd, Jane Espenson,

I finished the day with a panel called Girls Gone Genre. The panel consisted Marti Noxon (screenwriter/producer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Mad Men, Fright Night), Gale Anne Hurd (producer, The Walking Dead, Terminator, Aliens), Jane Esperson (Torchwood: Miracle Day), Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar), and Marjorie Liu (writer, X-23, Daken: Dark Wolverine, Black Widow, Dirk & Steele novel series). They talked about the difficulties in trying to get strong women movies made and I found it interesting when it was suggested that The Terminator should have been called The Sarah Connor Story because it really is about her, but obviously that’s not a title that would necessarily resonate with males. I felt very empowered when I left, so a great way to end the day.

Bottom Line: I’m sure this is not what Walt Disney had in mind when he created the Disney Princesses.

Not so Disney Princesses

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Off to Comic Con

Barbara Vey -- July 19th, 2011

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Well, I’m off to Comic Con in San Diego. Every year more and more authors seem to attend. Not only do they write books that appeal to the Comic Con crowd, but many have branched off into graphic novels and comic books.

Comic Con is a huge convention that spans several football fields. Attendance is around 140,000 rabid fans that come for the panels, television, movies, collectibles and comics. It’s a diverse group that just seems to enjoy a good time. I’m prepared with my video camera and hope to get some interesting people to talk to me.

If you’re going, let me know and we’ll try to connect. If you’re not going, check out the list of attendees and let me know if you have any questions you’d like me to ask.

Bottom Line: My favorite comic book characters were Scrooge McDuck and Archie…probably won’t see them there.

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Comic Con: Celebrity Sighting at Cafe Diem

Barbara Vey -- July 25th, 2010

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Dr. Who and his screwdriver

I spent a couple of hours just walking around the convention center. Actually, I was barely moving because of the crush of people. It was more like shuffling your feet until you wanted to stop and look at something and could get over to it. There were lines forming everywhere for free stuff, autographs, photo ops and to buy stuff.

At the BBC booth, they were sold out of the sonic screwdriver (or whatever it’s called) that Dr. Who uses. I kept hearing, “We hope to get more in soon.” Over at DC Comics, they had limited edition action figures made just for Comic Con, but you had to go to the second floor sales pavillion, get a ticket for a lottery drawing and then hope to get picked just to have a chance to buy the thing. Warner Brothers was giving away free t-shirts, but again, you had find a guy in a red t-shirt and stand in his line for a ticket to come back to the booth and then they’d make the shirt for you. I saw a sign for an autograph session with Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz and then another one for Human Target stars. The lines just kept wrapping around and around. I found out I’m just not a line person, so I passed on all those things.

Rick Riordan

I did go upstairs to the separate autograph hall that had more breathing room and saw Rick Riordan signing his Percy Jackson books. He took a moment for a picture. Charlaine Harris was also there and even though she was signing for the last person in her line (because she was doing a panel next), the security wouldn’t even let me go up for a picture. I tried to explain that I knew her and just wanted to say hi, but it was like they were guarding the President. Finally I got the attention of the bookseller and he passed along a message, but geez, that was frustrating.

Marjorie Liu signing at the Marvel booth

The lines for panels were several hours long and once in the room people could stay all day for each different session if they wanted to. That meant that those in line for later groups might not get in. Not a perfect system. While everyone was basically fun loving and in good moods, news traveled quickly when one person tried to take a seat saved for someone else and ended with one stabbing the other in his eye. Glad I wasn’t there for that, but it’s really amazing that, for all the people there it was the only incident I heard of.

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Robert Carlyle and me

Had dinner at my favorite place, Cafe Diem. It’s normally called Mary Jane’s, but for Comic Con it’s converted into the restaurant from the SyFy channel’s Eureka. I was keeping my eye’s pealed for someone from one of the shows to come in when I spotted Robert Carlyle from Stargate Universe (he was also in The Full Monty). I almost tripped over my feet with my camera in hand and asked for a picture. He was very gracious and with his lovely British accent said he just stopped in because he heard his name was on the menu. Next I noticed David Blue who plays Eli Wallace on the show (one of my favorite characters) and he was adorable while he patiently smiled for pictures with his excited fans. I saw I guy I thought I should have

David Blue and me

known and when I asked him who he was he explained that he was the creator of the show. I thanked him for it, but didn’t get a photo. Maybe I should have, just to be nice, so I’m apologizing now in case he’s reading this.

More pictures from Comic Con.

Dresses made from the Comic Con bags

Mad Hatter and Captain Jack Sparrow

Silver Surfer

Sean and Ian

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Bottom Line: One day to go…can my feet handle it?

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Psyched at Comic Con

Barbara Vey -- July 24th, 2010

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Stephen Collins and me

Great start for me on Friday. My first interview was with one of my favorite actors, Stephen Collins, at the Hard Rock Hotel restaurant. I thought it would be really cool to be sitting out in public with such a cool, famous, good-looking guy and I was right about that part of it. The bad part was that it was so loud in the place that it was almost impossible to ask/answer questions. Of course, that just meant we had to scoot our chairs a little closer (please let me not have bad breath). Yes, total fan girl mode here.

Stephen, with trademark dimples flashing, patiently answered my burning questions. How amazing was it to be on the first Star Trek movie? At the time, it didn’t do that well. No one was sure how the tv show would translate to the big screen with fans. But it was great fun to do and I attended my first Star Trek convention last year. The panel drew 3,000 and I found the fans to be intelligent, loyal and enthusiastic. One of my favorite movies of yours is Jumpin’ Jack Flash with Whoopi Goldberg. Well, when they changed directors, they wanted to recast the movie except for Whoopi. Lucky for me Richard Dreyfus and Michael Keaton turned it down. (I’m glad too.) Tales of the Gold Monkey is being released on DVD and I watched the show when it first was on television (loved it). Were you hoping to follow the success of Indiana Jones? Actually, it was pitched to tv before the Indiana Jones movie and turned down. After the success of the movie, the studios came back to the writer and said, “What about that show you pitched a while ago?” I had never watched the Indiana Jones movie, so I really didn’t base my character on him. Ok, at this point his publicist started to push me off my chair, but I did manage to get a quick picture with Stephen and I asked him if it was ok if I said, on the blog, that I love getting lost in his dimples. He gave me a huge smile and I was lost.

Cast of Psych

Now, here’s what went on at yesterday’s press panel for Psych, who’s tagline reads, Fake psychic. Real detectives. The cast came by the press tables by ones and twos, but the most common question centered around food. On the show, food is always discussed by Shawn and Gus, but the question was, “Why no food at the police department…like donuts?” There are donuts and snacks behind Juliet’s desk and they’ve been there since the beginning, they just keep shellacking them. I asked about a musical episode and James Roday said they’ve talked about but nothing yet. He also mentioned a Twin Peaks episode that he wrote and directed with some of the original Twin Peaks cast coming on board. When asked about sticking to the script, Dule Hill admitted that sometimes James goes off into another area, and Dule will just follow along. It’s obvious that they all have a great time with the show and it comes across every episode.

I do have wonderful videos and as soon as I get help transferring them to the blog, I’ll let you know.

Sherrilyn Kenyon and Vyxsin

While cruising Comic Con, I checked out the autograph areas and saw Vyxsin and Kynt from The AmazingRace. I loved watching them compete and they are as delightful in person. Turns out that Vyxsin is a huge romance fan and was thrilled to meet Sherrilyn Kenyon. Since Vyxsin is from Los Angeles, I told her about RT being there next year and she’s planning on stopping by.

I also caught up with Ardrian Phoenix signing at the Mysterious Galaxy booth and David J. Williams at the Bantam booth.

David J. Williams

Adrian Phoenix

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I know Heather Graham asked me to look for her daughter, Chynna, who’s working at a booth in Artist’s Alley, but it was packed with tall, beautiful women dressed in costume. I felt like a Munchkin around them. Sorry, Heather.

Bottom Line: Missed Nathan Fillion, William Shatner and Dexter yesterday. Today wearing x-ray glasses made to single out those on my “Must Meet” list.

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Comic Con: From Spartacus to Bruce Campbell

Barbara Vey -- July 23rd, 2010

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Me and the Spartacus Guys

I wish I’d have worn a pedometer here because I am putting on some serious mileage. The costume wearers aren’t only confined to the Convention Center. There’s a lot to be seen on the street.

Ray Guys

Me and the Men in Black

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After cruising through the main room of Comic Con on Thursday, I headed over to the Hard Rock Hotel to interview independent writer/director Larry Blamire. I was sent the DVD for A Dark and Stormy Night, a campy tribute to the 1930′s scary dark house movies. While watching it, I kept waiting for Abbott and Costello to pop out. Highly entertaining, it brought back memories of Saturday afternoon movies and Larry admits that he likes his movies to be the kind that “the whole family can enjoy together. When movies were more than just special effects.” He also did The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and Andrew insists that we have already seen this movie and enjoyed it. Larry was kind enough to do a Drive By Video and explain how his films are perfect for romance readers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oReyoDQykI4

I apologize ahead of time in case the video doesn’t show up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. If anyone can tell me what I’m doing wrong, I’d appreciate it.

LdyDisney

Met up with Twitter buddy, author Lisa Kessler (LdyDisney on Twitter) and her hubby for a quick lunch. They live in the area and enjoy Comic Con, but their daughter really gets into it. She sews costumes to wear everyday and was Tinkerbell when I saw her. Coming up she’ll be wearing Alice in Wonderland’s Bridal Dress.

I finally made it to the press room and got to interview the casts of Burn Notice, Psych and White Collar. Thank goodness I met Tracy Sebastian because she had an amazing camera, took terrific pictures and then sent them to me. Be sure to check out her blog. Since there’s so much to write about each show (and I have video), I’ll space them out over the next couple of days. First, Burn Notice.

Barbara Vey and Bruce Campbell

Burn Notice is about “A spy recently disavowed by the US Government uses his Special Ops training to help others in trouble.” The cast of characters is one of the best parts of this series and I was thrilled to meet the amazing Bruce Campbell in person. I even asked him if he would have his picture taken with a grandma (yes, I used the grandma card). There’ll be video of him coming up next week when I finally get a few minutes to download and edit it. Bruce said how much he enjoys playing Sam and working with Emmy nominated Sharon Gless is amazing. They have some great guest stars lined up including Burt Reynolds. After meeting Bruce, Andrew told me I now have to go and watch all the Evil Dead movies.

Me with Sophia Nash

Next I ran about a mile to a cocktail party given by EOS/Avon/HarperCollins. I was hot and sweaty, but the cold wine went down well. I was offered a skewer of fruit balls (watermelon, honeydew, cantalope) that I looked so good I shoved the whole thing in my month and nearly choked to death. I asked the waitress why it tasted so odd and she said the balls had been soaking in rum for 3 days. Ewww! I had to eat a bowl of potato chips to get the taste out of my mouth. Sophia Nash was there looking like a model and it’s always a pleasure to talk historicals with her. I felt like I belonged on “What Not to Wear” in my capris and sneakers, while Sophia sparkled in her little black dress and 5 inch strappy heels. (Note to self: keep spare outfit in purse.)

Finally, I did another mile or so down to the Harbor House Restaurant where I was delighted to share the company of Syndee Barwick (DC Comics), Mary Elizabeth (Mysterious Galaxy) and others in a designated “Girls Night Out.” Outside the restaurant was a lighted Cinderella carriage (with horse) to take us back to our hotel, but since my butt was dragging and I felt more like the bride of Frankenstein than Cinderella, I limped back to my room to rest up for what I’m sure will turn out to be Freaky Friday.

More Comic Con Photos:

Dog Walking...Comic Con Style

Wonder Women

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The winner of the Rizzoli and Isles jigsaw puzzle from yesterday is Gina. Please send me your snail mail address and I’ll send your prize to you. barbaravey@gmail.com

Bottom Line: Just heard that Angelina Jolie is here, but I haven’t seen her yet. Now if it was Brad Pitt who was here, I still wouldn’t be sitting in this room.

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Gearing Up For San Diego Comic Con

Barbara Vey -- July 21st, 2010

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I swear I spend more time going through my email than anything else. This is especially true at Comic Con time. Everyone and their uncle are sending out press releases from movies, tv shows, authors, publishers, artists, games, wrestlers, candy bar eating contests and yes, even comic books.

Even though I have a full schedule of interviews lined up, there’s lots that I’m sad I couldn’t get into. Castle, True Blood, Chuck and Bones. But I did score on Psych, Burn Notice (ah, Bruce Campbell), White Collar, Stephen Collins and a red carpet event at the Hard Rock. Of course, you never know who I may run into just wandering around the convention center or even on the streets of San Diego with my Flip video.

Bella's shoes

I spent Tuesday afternoon meandering around the area and went into Nordstoms for the first time. They have the nicest sales people and many were romance readers (always nice to hear). I also met Bella there who just got the most amazing shoes. The funny part was that her sister’s tennies had no laces. Poor thing.

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Mike Frey and Shauna LeValley of George's

While I was checking out the construction of the Carpe Diem restaurant (from the SyFy show Eureka), I stumbled across Georges on Fifth. This steak house building was formerly owned by Wyatt Earp in the 1880′s here he ran a saloon and gambling hall called “The Oyster Bar.” Their brochure explains: This was one of the better known and frequented saloons in the city. One of the reasons for its popularity was that upstairs was a brothel called the Golden Poppy. The uniquie feature was that each room was painted a different color and each lady wore a dress the same color as her room. They even offer tours there.

It’s still pretty quiet here compared to what’s about to hit the city, but I can’t wait for all 140,000 people to show up.

Bottom Line: You can never see too many Storm Troopers.

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