FanExpo

Fast away the old year passes....fa-la-lah-lah...oh whatever.

Anyhoooo. For those of you not interested in my Deadrising escapades.....I have had an exciting week. I got all my hair cut off on Tuesday night. My hair was past my shoulders and now its an uber short pixie. I didn't tell anyone but the hubby of my plans so there were a lot of shocked faces at work. Just glad they didn't tackle me down to the ground, frisk me for I.D. and cuff me up as an imposter or something...oh wait....that could have been fun.

Friday I went to the tat salon and got him to re-open one of my old ear piercings, give me a new piercing because the cutsie-ear-gunner who did it the first time did it horribly WRONG and finally got my helix or upper cartiledge ear piercing. All done with needles. The piercer was impressed and called me a 'trooper". I just didn't want to have to work up the nerve to come back another time. Ha-ha. The two lobe piercings are doing very well, almost healed but....the upper ear....through the cartiledge is giving me some grief. I am told they take longer to heal.

Saturday I went to FanExpo....

The Good:

The line was MUCH faster than last year. We were in within 10 minutes. Excellent. Great improvement over last year's two hours!!!! My brother always buys the V.I.P pass and said this year's swag sucked and he was miffed he had to line up with the lowly others at the top of the stairs whereas last year they had their own entrance and waltzed in (alright, he doesn't waltz but you know what I mean)

I got to see the Kinect. Oh it is cute. It was much smaller than I thought it was. They had two TVs set up. One with a racing game for 2 people, one an obstacle course of sorts for 2 people. My reaction? On one side a bit excited....this technology....as well as the upcoming Move are rank with possibilities. It makes my blood go WHOSH every time I think of the future. On the other side, a tad disappointed because the two demos were very childlike. Kinda like the Xbox Ava. BUT, it is E for everyone and...this is only the beginning. I was gonna hang out and give it a try but that was when I started explaining the Kinect to the hubby and he leaned in to hear me over all the noise and whacked my recently (see above) helix piercing with the poster (see below) and I deserted the area in a panic that my eyes might water or I might squeak because it HURT LIKE HELL. Um...so...

Comics were great. I have a love/hate relationship with comics because I read fast, and usually only once so comics are not a great venue for me. I love them but I read too fast. They are like a box of chocolates, I consume them too quickly. So, while I like them, I have given them up. They take great dedication, to pursue the stories one must be willing and (financially) able. That is why I prefer manga because they are a little longer. But this year I wasn't interested in any manga. Just as well as the crowds were a bit thick so it was hard to see the products on the table, again.

I saw a statue of Marcus Fenix. I wanted it/him. I think he winked at me. I leaned in and I swear he gave me a sexy grimace so I gave him a minxy smile back and reached out to nab him...my boyfriend....only to pause mid way....forty-five dollars? Forty-five dollars!?! For a six inch Marcus Fenix? I paused, I pondered....the smile on his face faded, turned to disappointment...he was poly resin, he was a man's toy. A very artistic and beautifully rendered man's toy and forty-five dollars. I backed away. I didn't get him....but his memory lives on. As I ducked back into the mainstream flow of the people traffic I think a single tear rolled down his scarred cheek. In actual reality...none of the above happened except for my shock at his price.

There were Big Bang Theory t-shirts all over the place, many featuring Sheldon. I had to resist getting one. I knew I would only regret it the morning after. Think Geek is still my favourite for goodies. I do love Sheldon but there is my marital status, my age and of course that fact that he is incapable of a domestic cojoining because...he really is oblivious. Penny...(knock, knock, knock)...Penny....(knock, knock, knock)......Penny...(knock, knock, knock).  Okay that is my Big Bang Theory knock-knock joke...and if your not a fan....well, nevermind.

There didn't seem to be as much anime this year. I am not currently collecting any so it didn't bother me that I couldn't get to these products either.

There were more people of my generation...and some were even costumed up (I am not sure of this development but...more power to them). Steampunk was the obivious trend. Some excellent costumes for that venue but then again - they have their own gathering on Centre Island. Ernest Borgnine looks great. So does Adam West. Bert Ward - looks like the rest of us, overweight, older, just a guy. William Shatner wasn't gonna be there until Sunday. Last year Leonard Nimoy was there for the whole thing...and....he said I was 'sweet'. *blush* I missed the Cat Woman. She was in the litterbox or something. And I had some guy try to sell me children books for my children. GTFO! Somebody is obviously as horrid at determining age as I am. I said my kids were grown and gone and he was embarassed. I moved on.

Aliens on a stick were being carried by everyone! Unity is a wonderful thing and a mass of old and young, tall and small, thin and wide with cardboard Aliens stuck down their backs, (mid wrapping its arms around their heads) was collectively tribal. Beauty.

The Bad:

FanExpo is not the greatest place for gamers. Less so for overly mature female ones. I was constantly snubbed at the few gameplay displays because - they make the assumption I could not be a gamer. Grandmother to a gamer, maybe. Mother of a gamer, maybe. But a gamer girl? No. It is harsh but that has been my reality. I am what most gamers want to be, old but still gaming and a rarer bird because I am a much older female gamer. You never have to give it up and for an old mare like me to still be in the corral, girls are represented across the generations. Yeah...well...there is my little rant about how I feel so alone in a crowded world.

Ubisoft had a lousy booth. What? I mean....when we were there they had a TV (40" maybe) running a trailer for Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, the same one gamers have already seen everywhere. There is a dude on a low stool and when it goes into demo mode he is telling everyone how much more fluid it is, how much faster it is....but he never hands off the contoller (a Playstation controller btw) to anyone to actually try...whimper. Okay, maybe they are just being germ sensitive. Timmy doesn't wash his hands after he tucks his damp wanker into his pants as he comes out of the bathroom and snatches a chance at the demo. Do I care? No, no I don't. Bad Timmy for not having proper hygiene...just give me the flippin' controller and let me take the risks when I eat later. But no....we never get to sample....just watch....just listen.  Next to that is a smaller TV running....oooo....the Assassin's Creed Brotherhood trailer...wait, uh, didn't I just see that right next door? Next to that is two young girls, 8-ish playing some sort of Wii game involving dancing...only one has the chuks but both are dancing and both seem to think they are the single dancer on the screen and they are both singing along to the song. OUTLOUD! Cute for them. They are having a good time. I bail. I am not sugary enough I guess. There is an uncermonious table at the end with some posters of....Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. Does the hubby want one, the young lad asks the hubby-the-non-gamer. Hubby looks at me, I say "No" and hubby nods (huh?) and young lad rolls it up, snaps an elastic around it and...I force the hubby to carry it. (Which was a fateful error on my part: see the above) Why-oh-why is this Ubisoft? Why-oh-why is there no other trailers, no cardboard cut-outs or better yet, cos-players. How about a Big Daddy to freak the crowd. Sigh. Disappointing.

X-box booth was simply the 2 TVs with the Kinect. What? Nothing about upcoming games or exclusives. Sad, sad business my friends. I could have done better - I am not even sure that is a good thing.

So, its over. Nothing to be had but the glimmer of hope for next year. Insert immature response here: Whee-heee! Be there or be square

What is up with the hating on Canadians on 2old2play?