Today in Post Morti
Okay, so FanExpo is over for another year. Yay!
So, here’s my followup. I took Wednesday off to try to achieve some kind of calm with the world before the storm.
That didn’t work. I did get a massage from ketronic, which remains worth every penny.
Thursday Cynra & I drove down, checked into the Royal York (where we got a regular room instead of a suite! The nerve!*) and waited to see if anyone needed setup.
I’d split setup into two sections because we wanted to go to Barberian’s for dinner beforehand. Uday and his bride had given us a voucher for the place for our anniversary, and we wanted to use it before my doctor told me to quit meat entirely.
I’d had some trepidation about going there together. Cynra, you see, likes her meat well done. Now, when we’re at home, that’s no problem. I’ll slap a grin on my face and go bravely forward. At a gin-u-ine steak haus? I have no idea what their reaction would be.
Now, having been there, I’m sure they’d have just grinned and bore it. But in the lead up, I gently** suggested alternate dishes for her.
She ended up getting the grilled capon (rooster castrato) and I got the filet. I don’t think either of us had any complaints.
Now, I’m no expert. It’s entirely possible that the quality of the food also reflected the human propensity to have not been taken for a ride at a pricey place. But according to my palate, that was a great piece of meat. I even, after cutting it open, thought for a second “this may be a little more rare than I like it”, but after 2.5 chews, I knew it was perfect.
Cynra, with her much more sensitive tastebuds, found her meal to be a delight. Even the green beans were great. I even had a moment stepping out of the cool dark comfort of the restaurant where my eyes had to adjust back to the harsh brightness of the outside world.
Thursday night we did get the minis tournament and the board game guys coming in to setup their areas.
I had been concerned about the space I’d been allocated for this year, and for good reason. If the Warhammer events hadn’t been cancelled I would probably not have been able to accommodate them. Scratch that. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to.
In other issues, the maps on the MTCC site didn’t jibe with what we got, so the RPG room was missing tables (and, for that matter, AC).
Friday, in spite of everything, went off to a good start. There was an issue with staff ID that was mildly annoying at best. That is, there were none. People doing volunteer work only had the same armband as everyone else. Hence, they needed help getting in to do the work they’d agreed to.
A lot of my time would be spent in Charonic duties, ferrying the damned from hotel to convention centre.
There was a Freelancing panel which was enjoyed by everyone.
Saturday saw… problems. Fire codes shut the place down, which didn’t help anyone. The food court was diminished by the new location, and people couldn’t get grub. The main problem there was a failure to implement emergency protocols (i.e. tell everyone how to get Pizza Pizza to deliver).
Twitter’s inability to serve as anything resembling a reasonable news source was highlighted. Some dude in a Deadpool costume kvetching does not really equal a riot, people!
The GCBGB went well, as did the North American Catan Championship qualifier. The Battletech tournament was delightful, as was the WarMachine/Hordes National Tournament event. Steve Tassie, local gadabout, ran a gaming library with a variety of games available to play, which went well, as did the demos organized by some local board game designers. TABS also ran a variety of board games.
The RPG events ran by TAG went well. We’d been let down by the RPGA previously, but at the last minute a few DMs managed to get in touch with us to help run some LFR events.
GCBGB & the WM/H tournament both suffered from Western Inferiority Complex, where players from out west complained that it was a National event that they weren’t participating in. Well, dudes, whose fault is that? Survey says: Yours! WIC: never a pretty sight.
The DM Masterclass panel went well; they were packed in, which was good. Ed Greenwood remains a good draw; I received emails pre-con and requests at show for info on when he was signing, so we’ll get him behind a table next year.
After everything got wrapped up (“Oh, no, Battleforce could go another five hours” they said AT NINE), Madmanofprague and I headed to the Diamond dinner, where the boss was delightfully generous with drink tickets. Although White Russians remain smooth, Tequila is just awesome.
Sunday was much quieter. Last panel (State of the Industry) went off well. I actually got a few minutes to myself, and got to take in a bit of the show. I bought a few comics compilations, including Ultimate Hulk vs Wolverine. Not worth the wait.
I did have to hear afterwards that someone had tried to walk off with a couple board games, which is an unfortunate piece of news, but hopefully we can prevent it next year.
Company dinner followed closing; we grabbed a meal at Hot House, which is also good.
Overall, good weekend. I only got corralled by angry con-goers twice, which I consider some kind of accomplishment. The Jersey draws them like sharks!
robin_d_laws had some kind words afterwards, as did Mighty God King. Ed Greenwood emailed me and called me a Tireless Titan, and I wondered how many hit dice those had.
So, yeah. Some positive feedback is the best kind. I look forward to next year’s show, if I’m still running it.
Epilogue: Went to see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit at the ROM. Is it bad that of all my reactions to it, one of the strongest was “Man, I gotta read Dark Kingdom of Jade again”?
*A joke. I know, YOU got that, but that other person didn’t.
** Well, for me. “Oh, hey, they have chicken! And
So, here’s my followup. I took Wednesday off to try to achieve some kind of calm with the world before the storm.
That didn’t work. I did get a massage from ketronic, which remains worth every penny.
Thursday Cynra & I drove down, checked into the Royal York (where we got a regular room instead of a suite! The nerve!*) and waited to see if anyone needed setup.
I’d split setup into two sections because we wanted to go to Barberian’s for dinner beforehand. Uday and his bride had given us a voucher for the place for our anniversary, and we wanted to use it before my doctor told me to quit meat entirely.
I’d had some trepidation about going there together. Cynra, you see, likes her meat well done. Now, when we’re at home, that’s no problem. I’ll slap a grin on my face and go bravely forward. At a gin-u-ine steak haus? I have no idea what their reaction would be.
Now, having been there, I’m sure they’d have just grinned and bore it. But in the lead up, I gently** suggested alternate dishes for her.
She ended up getting the grilled capon (rooster castrato) and I got the filet. I don’t think either of us had any complaints.
Now, I’m no expert. It’s entirely possible that the quality of the food also reflected the human propensity to have not been taken for a ride at a pricey place. But according to my palate, that was a great piece of meat. I even, after cutting it open, thought for a second “this may be a little more rare than I like it”, but after 2.5 chews, I knew it was perfect.
Cynra, with her much more sensitive tastebuds, found her meal to be a delight. Even the green beans were great. I even had a moment stepping out of the cool dark comfort of the restaurant where my eyes had to adjust back to the harsh brightness of the outside world.
Thursday night we did get the minis tournament and the board game guys coming in to setup their areas.
I had been concerned about the space I’d been allocated for this year, and for good reason. If the Warhammer events hadn’t been cancelled I would probably not have been able to accommodate them. Scratch that. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to.
In other issues, the maps on the MTCC site didn’t jibe with what we got, so the RPG room was missing tables (and, for that matter, AC).
Friday, in spite of everything, went off to a good start. There was an issue with staff ID that was mildly annoying at best. That is, there were none. People doing volunteer work only had the same armband as everyone else. Hence, they needed help getting in to do the work they’d agreed to.
A lot of my time would be spent in Charonic duties, ferrying the damned from hotel to convention centre.
There was a Freelancing panel which was enjoyed by everyone.
Saturday saw… problems. Fire codes shut the place down, which didn’t help anyone. The food court was diminished by the new location, and people couldn’t get grub. The main problem there was a failure to implement emergency protocols (i.e. tell everyone how to get Pizza Pizza to deliver).
Twitter’s inability to serve as anything resembling a reasonable news source was highlighted. Some dude in a Deadpool costume kvetching does not really equal a riot, people!
The GCBGB went well, as did the North American Catan Championship qualifier. The Battletech tournament was delightful, as was the WarMachine/Hordes National Tournament event. Steve Tassie, local gadabout, ran a gaming library with a variety of games available to play, which went well, as did the demos organized by some local board game designers. TABS also ran a variety of board games.
The RPG events ran by TAG went well. We’d been let down by the RPGA previously, but at the last minute a few DMs managed to get in touch with us to help run some LFR events.
GCBGB & the WM/H tournament both suffered from Western Inferiority Complex, where players from out west complained that it was a National event that they weren’t participating in. Well, dudes, whose fault is that? Survey says: Yours! WIC: never a pretty sight.
The DM Masterclass panel went well; they were packed in, which was good. Ed Greenwood remains a good draw; I received emails pre-con and requests at show for info on when he was signing, so we’ll get him behind a table next year.
After everything got wrapped up (“Oh, no, Battleforce could go another five hours” they said AT NINE), Madmanofprague and I headed to the Diamond dinner, where the boss was delightfully generous with drink tickets. Although White Russians remain smooth, Tequila is just awesome.
Sunday was much quieter. Last panel (State of the Industry) went off well. I actually got a few minutes to myself, and got to take in a bit of the show. I bought a few comics compilations, including Ultimate Hulk vs Wolverine. Not worth the wait.
I did have to hear afterwards that someone had tried to walk off with a couple board games, which is an unfortunate piece of news, but hopefully we can prevent it next year.
Company dinner followed closing; we grabbed a meal at Hot House, which is also good.
Overall, good weekend. I only got corralled by angry con-goers twice, which I consider some kind of accomplishment. The Jersey draws them like sharks!
robin_d_laws had some kind words afterwards, as did Mighty God King. Ed Greenwood emailed me and called me a Tireless Titan, and I wondered how many hit dice those had.
So, yeah. Some positive feedback is the best kind. I look forward to next year’s show, if I’m still running it.
Epilogue: Went to see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit at the ROM. Is it bad that of all my reactions to it, one of the strongest was “Man, I gotta read Dark Kingdom of Jade again”?
*A joke. I know, YOU got that, but that other person didn’t.
** Well, for me. “Oh, hey, they have chicken! And