Emerald City Comicon 2017: Part 1, The Supersonic Fly-By

(Image:  The entrances to the Main Showroom)

Luck was with me this year as I was able to have two days off during the Emerald City Comicon (ECCC), and get a pass for the first day, Thursday, 2 March.  The doors didn't open until 2 PM, so I had time to prepare and even take a power nap before driving up to the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC).

I should have skipped the nap.

Traffic wasn't bad, but my luck ran out when I tried to find a place to park.  The WSCC's main garage was full, and so was the center's overflow lot--which I found out after driving around each of the levels--twice.

By the time I parked at the Washington Athletic Club, walked the two blocks to the WCCC and picked up my day pass at the Will Call Window, over an hour had gone by.

And the doors closed at 7 PM.  (Note:  This year, the ECCC expanded to four days, but for this first day, the con started four hours later than it normally does).

But I was hungry and needed something to eat.  So rather than spend any additional time standing in a line at a concession stand, or restaurant; I delved into the rations I stowed in my backpack.  While gnawing on a nutrition bar with the consistency of hardtack along with a few handfuls of trailmix, I skimmed through the program guide to figure out how I wanted to spend the 3.5 hours I had left.

Now I don't want to make this post sound like a rant about Seattle's traffic and parking problems, along with my poor time-management skills.  (By the way, it took me over an hour--just to get out of the Seattle city limits when I left the convention).

I'm merely posting this prelude so you can understand my frame of mind during my "supersonic fly-by" of this year's ECCC.

I was frantic.

So I decided to merely conduct a walkabout/shopping expedition, wearing my "lazy man's" Punisher outfit and a Thousand-Yard Stare on my face.

I think I managed to sound coherent when I talked to the few artists and fellow attendees I met.

Anyway, I spent most of my time on the Main Showroom and Artist Alley, along with a quick walk-through of the gaming area.

Here's a few more scenery photos I managed to take:

(Image:  Looking down at the Atrium from the Artist Alley level)

(Image:  Inside the Main Showroom)

(Image:  Another view of the Main Showroom)

(Image:  Entering Artist Alley)

My next ECCC post will be about the artists I met and the items I bought.

Stay tuned!

Preview: Monday on "Strange Inheritance"--Toy Soldier Story 2

I'm currently working on the pictures I took during my one-day visit to the Emerald City Comicon.

While trolling the internet, I stumbled across this trailer for tomorrow's episode of Strange Inheritance.

Although as a tabletop gamer, I don't find this particular inheritance strange at all.

Writing Some E Cards

Or reading Stern Rake Studio.

Then again, maybe not.

Anyway, no matter what you've been reading, I've been trolling Some E Cards for inspiration.

When I come down with writer's block, I'll write one or two using the Create Your Own Cards program.

My first one referenced Star Trek, and I filed it under the Workplace Category.

Then after seeing the little-used military-style images, I concocted several more referencing Murphy's Laws of Combat.

I'm not able to combine each "law" with an image because the sentence length is too long to fit into the picture.  So I've been skipping around a bit when I find an image that interests me.  Since there's no military category, I filed these under the Veteran's Day November Holiday Category.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

If I think of any more I'll post them here.

On My Way to ECCC!

As luck would have it I have some time off this week--enough to attend the 15th Emerald City Comicon.

However, when I got around to actually buying tickets, only one day was left.

I hope to make the most of it.

Afterwards, I'll post whatever pictures I manage to take and comment on any (mis)adventures I have.

So stay tuned!

Book Review: Zulu Dawn

After writing my double feature movie reviews last month, I decided to finally read the old copy of Zulu Dawn that's been occupying space in my library for, oh, I don't know for how long.

Zulu Dawn was written by Cy Endfield, who co-wrote the screenplay of the same name.

The book provides in-depth character backstories and introspection, as well as a more detailed narrative about the chain of events...

...that led up to the Battle of Isandlwana...

...along with its immediate aftermath.

Many of the scenes play out differently in the book than in the movie, but end with similar, if not identical results.

The Zulus themselves have a greater role in the book.  This part of the story focuses on the young warrior Bayele, who is selected for one of many scouting missions.  When he returns with news about the British invasion, he's chosen to lead a deception operation by allowing himself, along with two others, to be captured.  Only after getting thoroughly roughed-up, he and his comrades try to mislead the British about the location of the main Zulu army.

Bayele gains his revenge by killing Colonel Henry Pulleine...

...and Lieutenant Vereker...

...who's fate in the movie was never clarified.

Since I like the movie, I liked the book, even though it doesn't even show up on a Google search for the best books about the Battle of Isandlwana.

While Zulu Dawn may not be the most scholarly work, Enfield's narrative is very readable, especially when describing the chaos of battle.  Plus, after watching the movie so many times, it was easy for me to visualize the story.

Zulu Dawn gets a sunny 4-star rating.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Image from:  John Lustig's "Last Kiss")

For this Valentine's Day, I thought I'd hijack utilize images along the lines of Stern Rake Studio's webcomics and wargaming theme.

(Image from:  World of Tanks Weekend Special)

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Studio's "New" Miniature Display Cases

(A display case my wife found at a neighborhood garage sale)

I was hoping to get some gaming projects completed before I went back on duty.  Unfortunately, the amount of home projects and snow removal took up most of my time.

Despite my time constraints, I managed to organize my "new" miniatures into two of my "new" display cases.

Technically, the figures and the furniture aren't new, but they're new to me, or have been put to new use.

For the past year, I've been buying painted miniatures from fellow gamers in my area, especially my talented friend Dean, host of WAB Corner.

I've been wanting to post pictures of each new acquisition, but first things first, I needed a place to put them.

During the summer, my wife and I reorganized our DVD collection and assembled some wall-shelves we got from my friend Joe when he moved.  This freed-up a display case for my prized figures to reside in.

My wife bought the second display case, seen in the led photo, at a garage sale.

Once the necessary household chores were complete, I spent an afternoon sorting through figures and placing them in the cases.  A few figures will require some "super glue surgery" because I dropped them, or didn't pick them up properly.

Once I get some additional time off, I plan on doing a series of photo shoots to show off my new-found figures.

(This was formerly a CD/DVD display case)

Snow Day in Western Washington

A couple days ago, my wife and I took a road trip to south-western Oregon to visit an elderly friend.

We returned late Saturday night, and a good thing too.

It snowed all day yesterday, which started accumulating on the roads by mid-afternoon.

By early morning today, we had several inches of snow in our neighborhood, while schools across the region closed or delayed opening.

Here's a photo gallery of Snow in Seattle.

I've been hoping to post some game-related material this week.

But for now, I'm too busy shoveling...

The Adventure of the Sherlock Holmes Exhibit

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The following is a "photo album" I concocted using Comic Life illustrating our visit to the International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes while it was housed at the Pacific Science Center. 

Click on any image in order to get into "slide show" mode, and to enlarge the view. 

I'm not sure where the exhibit is heading next, but my wife and I highly recommend it.

We didn't buy anything at the gift shop, even when everything was on sale, because we weren't interested in the items, or already own them.
   

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