BEDA 3: PAX East

WARNING: The post you are about to read is LONG! ... You have been warned.

Alright, I'm finally tackling this post. ... About a week late, but still ... ANYWAY! PAX East! Let's get the
show on the road! ... Or the recap, I should say.

Friday
Ryan and I started our trek up to Boston around 8:30 in the morning after a bit of a late start on his part, but there's nothing wrong with that. So, we got up to the Boston area around 1 or so after making two or three pit stops on the four hour or so drive up. We couldn't check in to the hotel so we dropped our luggage at the hotel and trekked over to the convention hall, passing by the Boston Public Library, which looks quite nice! We arrived at the convention center and proceeded to grab swag bags and lanyards and get on one of the many lines that we would wait on during the con. I hopped on my laptop to check to see how things in the wonderful world of the internet were going ... and they were going well. Oh, and while we were getting on line/waiting on line, I ran into VT from the PAX East forum and Chuck, who I know through Dailybooth. VT was part of the Cookie Brigade, handing out cookies and collecting donations for Child's Play, and he had a cool multi-compartment cookie pouch thing. I got chocolate cake balls from him and, to be frank, they were delicious!
As the opening time got closer and closer, the line slowly moved until the halls and theaters opened for the attendees. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it into the keynote, so instead, I hung around the Bandland area after taking a short walk around part of the Expo Hall. While there, I saw Jonathan Coulton himself and got a picture and chatted a bit before he had to go off and take care of other matters. And I also picked up 2 buttons from Scott Kurtz and got a wave, too. I saw the Wil Wheaton signing station, so I decided to get on the line that was forming. As a result, I was five to ten people from the start of the line. While waiting, I found Aeryn/Erin from the forum and she recognized me as The Doctor, which made me quite happy.
After getting Wil's autograph, picture, and a wave (and not getting into the first Penny Arcade Q&A panel), I headed downstairs for the cosplay photography shindig that we set up through the forum ... but nobody showed up. I cosplayed as The Doctor on the first day for ... more or less nothing. After that, I headed off with Chuck and his cousin Steve to meet up with Kristina for dinner at a sushi place a short walk away from the con. We ate, chatted for a bit, and then went our separate ways: Chuck, Steve, and I headed back to the con and Kristina headed back home. It was at that point that I decided to get on line for that evening's concerts.
After waiting for what seemed like ages, I was able to get in, but I chose seating up above the floor of the main hall and I'm glad that I did. I needed a rest after walking/standing for a good portion of the day. The first act on around 8:30/9 was The Protomen. I didn't really care too much for them, as I'm not the biggest metal-head. However, I had heard a bit here and there about Anamanaguchi, the second band on. I only stayed for about 15 to 30 minutes of their set, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, especially the announcement that they're doing the music for the Scott Pilgrim video game ... and they proceeded to play the theme tune.

I headed out of the con around 11:30 after some miscommunication between Ryan and I due to dying/dead phones. I trekked back to the hotel after running into a guy named Ian who was dressed as Roger Linus from Lost, which made my night a bit. After a whole series of events, the outcome of which was me getting me own room key, I entered my room, got a bit settled in, got a few videos uploaded to my computer from my camcorder and got the Anamanaguchi one converting. After unpacking a bit more, I ended up turning in around ... 1:30 ... maybe 2.

Saturday
This was easily the best day of the con.
Ryan, Mike, and I all woke around 8 and Ryan and I straggled out of the hotel room and made our way to the cafe-type place that was adjacent to the lobby around 9. Ryan got some food and some drink and I got some drinks. We hung for a few while he ate. We then departed for the con, but not before swinging into Dunkin' Donuts for a muffin for me. I ate while waiting on line for the doors to open.
Once they opened, I made a beeline for Bill Amend's panel, which I quite enjoyed. And I made it a mission to prove to Bill how badly Neil Gaiman can cause a site to crash? Don't believe me? Follow Neil on Twitter (@neilhimself) and wait until he Tweets a big important link of sorts. The site will be down for a matter of minutes ... maybe half an hour to an hour at most. Depends on how fast the servers can recover.
After Bill's panel, I hung around the Bandland area and Expo Hall for a bit more (getting a CD from Paul and Storm, a signed panel from Bill Amend, and checking out a bit of the Draw-a-Strip panel) before heading to the musician Q&A. There, I suggested two potential song titles to Luke of Anamanaguchi and posed the plausibility to JoCo, Paul and Storm, and Anamanaguchi about coming up to play at my college ... and I'm working on getting them up in the fall to play. I also informed Anamanaguchi about the success of the video of the Scott Pilgrim theme tune from the night before ... and they thanked me. ... THEY THANKED ME! :DDDDD
... *calms down* After that, I hung around the Bandland area once more before heading downstairs for the second of two cosplay meet-ups/photoshoots. The photographer didn't show, but I did meet a few cool cosplayers from the forums, including Shea (the 10th Doctor in a brown suit), Justin (the 4th Doctor), Keane (Kilo), Aeryn (Codex), Heler (The Music Meister), and a few others. Around 4:15/4:30, I headed off to a pizzeria about a five minute walk from the con for a Tweetup. There, I met Amy, Jared, Jared, and ... Gary, I think? ... and a few other cool people. A short while after, Chuck arrived, and we all chilled there for another half hour to hour before Chuck and I headed back to the con. Once we got back, I got on line for the concerts, and after more waiting, I got in on the floor section, which was essentially standing room, but was fantastic nonetheless.
First up was the Video Game Orchestra, which was pretty cool. Following them was Paul and Storm and Wil Wheaton parodying the Trolololo video.

And following them was Paul and Storm. And following them was Jonathan Coulton. Overall, this was a fantastic concert night and a fantastic end to a fantastic day.

Sunday
Sunday was the last day. We all found our way out of bed with ... 5 or so hours of sleep and showered, dressed, packed, and checked out. We brought our luggage to the car and walked back to the con, stopping at the Dunkin' Donuts for nourishment. We got in around 10:30 or so, so we didn't have to deal with a line, thankfully. I more or less hung around the Expo Hall and Bandland area for the day, except for popping in to the tail end of the "Pitch Your Game Idea" panel, which was quite amusing, to have a guaranteed good seat for the second Penny Arcade Q&A panel, which was quite humorous and touching at the same time. After that, I hit up the "Geek Is No Longer a 4-Letter Word" panel, which was alright. I then proceeded to walk around the con, looking for IGN banners in an attempt to complete a word jumble for a chance for a trip for 2 to PAX Prime in Seattle. Sadly, I didn't win. But I did manage to find Alex, who I had been following since after the ARG for The Dark Knight.
After deducing how long it would take the closing ceremonies to end, I contacted Mike and Ryan, found them, took care of some food issues, and we all hit the road. Apart from making a few short stops, we made it back to my place in good time. And that was the end to a fantastic weekend.

And you know what the best part about it was? I felt at home.

And for your viewing pleasure, all of this post distilled into a 5 minute video.


And all the concert footage in one neat little playlist.


Until tomorrow! Allons-y!