VanCon 2016: Friday - Lobby and Karaoke
Aug. 27th, 2016 01:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hells_half_acreWoo! VanCon write-up post.... even though I'm not attending the Con!
Today I woke up at a leisurely 10am, had a bowl of cereal, and made it to the Con hotel by 11:30, where I set up shop in the lobby. The lovely Westin Bayshore hotel has free wifi! Yay!
(What a great lobby view!)
I spent the day writing the first chapter of the next installment of the demented'verse - I got a lot of work done! About 2-3000 words, I'd say. So, first chapter done, yay!
I also got coffee with Jules from the SuperWiki, accidentally causing her to miss the Jason Manns panel - but we were able to chat about summer movies, Comic-Con, and the fact that Super Handsome Asian Demon is an Australian actor, which I didn't realize because he obviously puts on a convincing American accent. So, his name is now Super Handsome Asian-Australian Demon (SHA-AD?) and I will continue to hope he doesn't get killed off.
Then I went home for dinner - I had pasta. It was adequate for my nuitritional needs, but nothing to write home about.
KARAOKE!!
But first FIASCO!
They nearly didn't let me in!!! OH MY GOD, I was so upset. Apparently they changed the rules and you need wrist bands to get in now?!?! But their website and schedule still say that it's FREE, which you know, means FREE, there's no stipulation in there about needing a con ticket.
I was about to either punch the dude trying to kick me out or burst into tears or both - but luckily two of the female volunteers recognized me as a Con regular and one of them asked if I had a ticket for another day that weekend. I said I had a ticket for tomorrow night, and she declared that "good enough" - but I still argued that it shouldn't MATTER. You can't claim something is free and then have it not be! I spent both time and money to get myself downtown for karaoke - MONEY I DON'T HAVE. Anyway, needless to say, I'm very greatful that my friend kindly bought me a ticket for tomorrow night so that I didn't have to lie (I'm a really crap liar and wouldn't have even thought to until afterward), but I am definitely using some of my lobby writing time tomorrow to write a letter to Creation about this. You can't false advertise like that. IT BREAKS HEARTS.
Anyway, once I calmed down and convinced my body that I didn't have a use for all the panic adrenaline it was flooding my system with, I was able to enjoy the night. Special thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
raloria for laughing it off with me. I was very thankful to have someone at my side through that brief fiasco.
But it was sort of a karaoke disaster, oh man... one fan summed it up well at the end of the night by saying that it was so bad it was good. Like - they were using youtube for the karaoke songs, and they didn't have adblock on - so we had to wait for some commercials! And then the quality was varied because apparently they hadn't vetted the videos beforehand! The most hilarious one was when there were porn lyrics for Sexy Back - like, really raunchy nonsensical porn lyrics. They stopped the video, Matt apologized humorously, and then they restarted with the proper one, but HONESTLY. Then, because they were dependant on youtube and wifi, there were a few times where the song just cut out because of buffering. Seriously, you do karaoke 14 billion times a year, you'd think you'd have invested in a reliable system by now.
But, our hosts and celebrity guests still made it a fantastic night! The special guests were Tyler Johnston (Samandriel), Osric Chau (who came out as Deadpool for a whole song and I couldn't tell if he was Osric or Tyler until he took off the mask at the end of the song.) Erica Carroll (Hannah), Brendan Taylor (New Doug!), who Briana introduced hilariously - and man, he's good at rap songs. Julian Richlings (Death) danced around like a maniac and I still love him to...death. :P Ummm... there was Briana, Kim, Matt, and Rob, of course... who else?!?! That might have been it.
There was a 12am cut-off, it seemed, so we wrapped up with a great rendition of Carry On - though at that point, my voice was wrecked from wooping and singing along for two hours, so hopefully you can't hear me warbling out of tune in the video thatraloria was taking while standing beside me.
So, tomorrow I plan to do much the same as today - I'll head into the con around 11ish, and hang out in the lobby all day - if any of you guys reading this are at VanCon, you're welcome to come find me anytime to say hello. I'll be in the main lobby, on my little green and grey chromebook, writing either a strongely worded email to Creation or working on my fanfic. I'm quiet and maybe don't seem approachable, but I promise that I'm friendly and I like meeting people!
And then I get to go to the concert tomorrow - provided Creation don't change their minds about that too and kick me out (I keep telling myself that won't happen, because I have a ticket and everything - but now I'm super paranoid about having even the tiniest of my dreams crushed.)
Today I woke up at a leisurely 10am, had a bowl of cereal, and made it to the Con hotel by 11:30, where I set up shop in the lobby. The lovely Westin Bayshore hotel has free wifi! Yay!
(What a great lobby view!)
I spent the day writing the first chapter of the next installment of the demented'verse - I got a lot of work done! About 2-3000 words, I'd say. So, first chapter done, yay!
I also got coffee with Jules from the SuperWiki, accidentally causing her to miss the Jason Manns panel - but we were able to chat about summer movies, Comic-Con, and the fact that Super Handsome Asian Demon is an Australian actor, which I didn't realize because he obviously puts on a convincing American accent. So, his name is now Super Handsome Asian-Australian Demon (SHA-AD?) and I will continue to hope he doesn't get killed off.
Then I went home for dinner - I had pasta. It was adequate for my nuitritional needs, but nothing to write home about.
KARAOKE!!
But first FIASCO!
They nearly didn't let me in!!! OH MY GOD, I was so upset. Apparently they changed the rules and you need wrist bands to get in now?!?! But their website and schedule still say that it's FREE, which you know, means FREE, there's no stipulation in there about needing a con ticket.
I was about to either punch the dude trying to kick me out or burst into tears or both - but luckily two of the female volunteers recognized me as a Con regular and one of them asked if I had a ticket for another day that weekend. I said I had a ticket for tomorrow night, and she declared that "good enough" - but I still argued that it shouldn't MATTER. You can't claim something is free and then have it not be! I spent both time and money to get myself downtown for karaoke - MONEY I DON'T HAVE. Anyway, needless to say, I'm very greatful that my friend kindly bought me a ticket for tomorrow night so that I didn't have to lie (I'm a really crap liar and wouldn't have even thought to until afterward), but I am definitely using some of my lobby writing time tomorrow to write a letter to Creation about this. You can't false advertise like that. IT BREAKS HEARTS.
Anyway, once I calmed down and convinced my body that I didn't have a use for all the panic adrenaline it was flooding my system with, I was able to enjoy the night. Special thanks to
raloria for laughing it off with me. I was very thankful to have someone at my side through that brief fiasco.But it was sort of a karaoke disaster, oh man... one fan summed it up well at the end of the night by saying that it was so bad it was good. Like - they were using youtube for the karaoke songs, and they didn't have adblock on - so we had to wait for some commercials! And then the quality was varied because apparently they hadn't vetted the videos beforehand! The most hilarious one was when there were porn lyrics for Sexy Back - like, really raunchy nonsensical porn lyrics. They stopped the video, Matt apologized humorously, and then they restarted with the proper one, but HONESTLY. Then, because they were dependant on youtube and wifi, there were a few times where the song just cut out because of buffering. Seriously, you do karaoke 14 billion times a year, you'd think you'd have invested in a reliable system by now.
But, our hosts and celebrity guests still made it a fantastic night! The special guests were Tyler Johnston (Samandriel), Osric Chau (who came out as Deadpool for a whole song and I couldn't tell if he was Osric or Tyler until he took off the mask at the end of the song.) Erica Carroll (Hannah), Brendan Taylor (New Doug!), who Briana introduced hilariously - and man, he's good at rap songs. Julian Richlings (Death) danced around like a maniac and I still love him to...death. :P Ummm... there was Briana, Kim, Matt, and Rob, of course... who else?!?! That might have been it.
There was a 12am cut-off, it seemed, so we wrapped up with a great rendition of Carry On - though at that point, my voice was wrecked from wooping and singing along for two hours, so hopefully you can't hear me warbling out of tune in the video that
raloria was taking while standing beside me.So, tomorrow I plan to do much the same as today - I'll head into the con around 11ish, and hang out in the lobby all day - if any of you guys reading this are at VanCon, you're welcome to come find me anytime to say hello. I'll be in the main lobby, on my little green and grey chromebook, writing either a strongely worded email to Creation or working on my fanfic. I'm quiet and maybe don't seem approachable, but I promise that I'm friendly and I like meeting people!
And then I get to go to the concert tomorrow - provided Creation don't change their minds about that too and kick me out (I keep telling myself that won't happen, because I have a ticket and everything - but now I'm super paranoid about having even the tiniest of my dreams crushed.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2016-08-27 08:52 am (UTC)Yeah, free means free - no admission. Don't know what stunt Creation was trying to pull tonight, but it was NOT COOL AT ALL! So glad you were one of the lucky ones to get in.
There always seems to be something crazy about VanCon's karaoke. A couple of years ago they had computer problems, too. All that money we contribute and they get shiny new speakers and screens, but karaoke is still falling apart??? But it was still great fun and holy smokes, what about that gal that was behind us for a little while? I swear her screams were gonna make me deaf! Piercing, man! :P
Okay, I've gotta get to bed!
no subject
Date: 2016-08-27 09:01 am (UTC)Ugh, Creation - they put on a good show, but I really wish they didn't have the monopoly in America. They're all about lining their pockets... usually I like to think the best of people, but clear that they're in it for the money, not the fans. Though, I suppose we're lucky that they obviously also make it worth Jensen and Jared's time, so we get a LOT more conventions than any other show on the planet.
And yeah, my ears are still ringing. :P
Goodnight! See you tomorrow!
no subject
Date: 2016-08-27 03:34 pm (UTC)And YES, that completely sucks that "free" doesn't mean "free" anymore. >:-( So daytrippers who are planning on buying a one-day ticket can't attend the "free" event? Bullshit, Creation. Stop being such turdballs. Frankly, they've gotten so mercenary lately, I'm gritting my teeth. (All that being said, I had an amazing time at Pittcon, but it wasn't so much Creation as the fangirls I hung with, so.)
Have fun, ladies! Looking forward to updates!
no subject
Date: 2016-08-27 05:29 pm (UTC)I often think that Creation cons go well and are fun DESPITE Creation, not because of them. Especially since Richard/Kim&Briana started hosting, and Mark Sheppard/Others took over planning Saturday Night. It always seems like Creation makes positive program changes after pressure from the actors, and the environment is a friendly one because of the fans... but if there's no pressure from the actors to be better, Creation is fine with being horrible.
Anyway, my two cents. I know I was talking to one woman in line who had gone to an Asylum Con in Britain, and those apparently are super badly organized in terms of photo-ops, wasting time in line, having a guaranteed seat, etc. So, I guess Creation might win at basic organization and that's about it.
But yeah... monopoly means that we don't have a choice. Or, rather, our only choice is either a Creation Con, or no cons... or once a year flying to Rome for Jus in Bello.