EdKitten

If anyone's interested, a lot of the Book Festival's talks are on Youtube already. (I haven't checked the Festival's webpage yet, to see if the videos are on there.) On Youtube, Elliot's talk is at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnAmtoEYoVs The video's over 8 hours long, but Elliot's talk is around 6:15:23 -- 7:02:10.

A little before Otakon, I gave up seeing the boards, after many times of waiting 4 minutes each, and it never loaded. A little after Otakon happened, I tried again and it worked great, saw lots of people's comments about attending Otakon, hotels, etc. But after that, the boards sometimes load right away, sometimes not. I hope people don't give up coming here, since loading has been so moody. 🙁

Update: Just saw the map for the Festival -- they've switched locations for the Bookstore and Autographs -- they'll now be in Halls D and E.

Forgot to say the Festival usually sells the speakers' books. The place to buy books is usually in Hall B, or somewhere in that area (they usually have Halls A, B, and C open). Also, on the schedule, I couldn't find an autograph time for Elliot, so I'm not sure if he'll be signing books or not. 🙁 Hopefully, the schedule will be updated and include an autograph time.

Just found out -- Elliot will be talking at the National Book Festival at the WEWCC Saturday, August 12, 2023. It says this event will be livestreamed (the link is on the "Schedule" page). And it says videos of all programs will be available shortly after the festival. url: https://www.loc.gov/events/2023-national-book-festival/about-this-event/

Just remembered -- grocery stores usually sell masks in their first aid sections. But whenever I asked for masks they all said they didn't sell them anymore. Weird. They probably just gave me the wrong advice. Sorry about that.

Thanks! I forgot about CVS. Though I didn't know there was one across from WEWCC. I just go from the metro to the entrance(s) of WEWCC, so am really unfamiliar with that area. The Giants and Safeways around where I am don't sell covid masks anymore. Hopefully, the ones near WEWCC do.

I know covid masks aren't necessary (though Otakon recommends them), but since many places don't sell masks anymore, thought I'd list some places that usually have masks. I'm sure you all will bring your own masks, but just in case the elastic breaks or it gets lost, or something: Hotel front desks sometimes gives out masks for free to their guests. Metro information booths usually have them for free -- just ask the person in the booth for a mask. Union Station gift shops usually sells masks. Walgreens at Union Station -- I'm not sure if they still sell masks. WEWCC -

Excellent points! There are two places where I live that don't accept cash. There's a salad restaurant and a juice shop that don't take cash anymore. At first I thought that was illegal, because right on U.S. bills it says "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private." I called up the county's "Office of Consumer Affairs" (who help people who have trouble dealing with businesses) and a supervisor there said it is legal, and the owners of the stores can decide which forms of payments they'll accept. He said he likes to use cash too and didn't think it was a good idea

I hope they don't ditch the boards. I've learned so much from you all. 😀

A few weeks ago at the WEWCC, all the food places I went to, did not accept cash for buying food. They only accepted cards. I don't know if it'll be the same at Otakon, but it seemed like a WEWCC policy. I'm not staff, so I don't know for sure. Luckily, I had already purchased a gift card at a store, so I used that. There was a machine that changed cash into cards near Ben's Chili Bowl, at the food place, near Otakon's video gaming room. There's probably other machines around the WEWCC, but I don't know where they are. Just thought I'd post this, for your planning and bu

So glad you mentioned this! My little cell phone's screen is way too small for the internet. I use public computers to post here. A few days before Otakon, I'll go through the schedule via the public computer, and write down the things I'd like to see. There's always the chance that the schedule has changed by the time Otakon starts. So, for things I REALLY want to see, I'll check the digital boards at the convention to make sure those things haven't been canceled or moved to another time.

I hadn't experienced slow loading pages -- until today. 🙁

Has anyone been to Station Unity Con? It's held at the Gaylord National Resort and Harbor Hotel (near Washington DC). I just found out about it (from upcomingcons.com). It's produced by Katsucon Entertainment, and it's an annual 3-day fan convention for Science Fiction & Fantasy fans. Upcomingcons says it was held in 2021 and 2022. Sounds intriguing. It'll be held August 11-13, 2023. url: station-unity.org The Gaylord hotel is really gorgeous and great for cosplay photos. It's right next to the National Harbor. I usually take the metro to National Airport and take a

Thanks so much for the info and pics. It looks great! Hopefully, Otakon will have it open for us to munch out!