Aresef

The full list of artists has been announced for Virgin Fest. There goes the neighborhood. Bob Dylan, people.

A TV spot? Where would it run? Baltimore TV stations?

I think Right Stuf handles permissions for them at the moment. Not sure though.

You didn't like Voices of a Distant Star? I just saw it recently, and I loved it. One Piece. Just throwing that out there. Oh, and yaoi. *gets attacked by fangirls*

Funimation isn't going anywhere. Between the perennial cash cow that is DBZ (especially in the wake of the movie, however horrible it will likely be), dependable shows like FMA, and money-printing licenses like Afro Samurai, I think Funi is pretty safe

The MARC Train Penn Line (which starts at D.C.'s Union Station and stops at Penn Station in Baltimore on its way north) only runs Monday - Friday (not weekends). However, the Baltimore Light Rail runs every day, and you can ride that to Penn Station to pick up a different train. From the convention center, you'll ride north (look for trains with either Hunt Valley, Timonium, or Penn Station destinations). If you get on a Hunt Valley or Timonium train, get off at the Mt. Royal/University of Baltimore stop and switch to a Penn Station train.

Maybe the schedule for each day and the updates could be loaded into a Powerpoint or something and loaded into the nifty LCD screens that went up on 300 level by Starbucks and Einstein Bros. Because Otakon updates are more entertaining viewing than CNN. And I want a Party Plaza!

http://www.virginmobilefestival.com/#/home/ They put up the headliners. And somewhere some rich music fans are wondering where all of Baltimore's hotel rooms went. Oops.

The venue certainly isn't outdoors. It's at the First Mariner Arena, a couple blocks away from the BCC. It's perfectly fine.

How about a panel on how to run a panel? That said, the major holdup to when we'd be submitting the app has been cleared. One of our key panelists finally got his act together, so he's all in. We should be getting our stuff together soonish.

Looks like I'm holing up with a friend at the Brookshire. It's a little further away than other hotels, but it's reasonable.

I think we'll revamp and rename the toku panel to focus on the legendary heroes of the genre. And probably end up mentioning Hiroshi Miyauchi several different times in several different capacities. It'll be epic. I just need to rally the troops to put our proposal together.

It's up on the website. http://www.otakon.com/forms/panels_08.asp You're just not looking hard enough. ;-)

One helpful thing for us is the MTA's Camden Yards rule. Service keeps running for an hour or so after the game ends, schedule be damned. Friday and Saturday are both night games. Pray for extra innings.

It'd be great if Light Rail and Baltimore Metro took a cue from DC and extended their weekend hours. Though I foresee some whining from residential areas (specifically the miles and miles of NIMBYites the train passes between Falls Road and Lutherville).

Since I do press stuff, when the con is over, I'm not even really done. I still have photo uploads and editing and all sorts of other stuff to hammer down. Sure, the bulk of the work is done, but bah. I also feel a little depressed because some of my friends are only in town for Otakon. Though that's what makes it so awesome.

Aw hell. I made it my new routine to go to VFest every year, but of course, I have my priorities,and chilling with 40,000 drunk people, while fun, doesn't compare to partying at Otakon with 22,000 of my closest friends. And while it's not Woodstock, it is pretty big, and a lot of fun. Second hand pot smoke notwithstanding. Tickets for 07 were $100ish for one day and $180 for both. The first year was just one day and wholly worth it (Chili Peppers, The Who, Gnarls Barkley, SOLD). The second year, meh. Amy Winehouse, while not falling-off-the-stage blasted, was there but not really, ya know

Or just have the Little Gamers guys contribute a cake badge, like the other badges they've made over the years.

I realized my snarky comment earlier, while it gave an idea of the kind of money I spend at Otakon, was not an answer. Here's what I plunked down in 07. Transportation: less than $10 total for MTA passes and one short cab ride back from Lutherville LR Thursday to get my friend settled at my place briefly...it's good to be a local. Hotel: $120ish, because we roomed with friends in the Hyatt, though since we stayed at my place Thursday night and Sunday night, it could have been much worse Food: $50+, CalTort, Aramark, and Light Street Pavilion mainly, with a couple trips to Tir Na Nog (

Well hey, I was one quarter of the volunteers at T-Mode '07 (let's not get into that...). I'm not staff, but you can advertise in the program book. That info will be put up on the site when they put it up. And any surface in the BCC, like the ledges on the walls and pillars and such on the new side 300 level, is fair game for whatever you wanna drop there. AA and DR tables haven't been announced yet.

I've spent almost a year now trying to raise Towson U's club back from its near death experience. Ya know, drama and whatnot. Programming is key. Get stuff that will put butts in seats. Last semester we hosted three special screenings outside our meetings. We picked three guaranteed trump cards--Grave of the Fireflies (war classic, got a history prof to offer extra credit), Versus (zombies, guns, ass-kicking), and Afro Samurai (I don't need to explain this). We started pulling stuff from Operation Anime, Funimation's club support program. We solicit suggestions from members. Activiti

It also intersects with Katsucon, so if you're in DC anyway...

Depends on circumstances. For 2007 I woke up at a decent time Thursday and headed to BWI to intercept a friend. Then I got to the BCC to cover the pre-reg line madness around 2 I think. Assuming the Otakon clock starts there, I was doing Ota-stuff right up to closing Sunday.