alabaster

You’re right in that Japanese guests in particular depend on relationships. And these days we continue to reap benefits of lots of outreach and friendships made over the last few decades. I am happy that my successors continue to build on those, and make new ones. But that is true of US based guests too — agents become much easier to deal with when the guests really want to come. I feel very privileged in the friends I’ve made, both on behalf of the con, and personally. And I help out where I can with connections and back door invites. This year we got particularly and unexpectedl

Typically this gets updated a few weeks or so post con, because it takes time to reconcile all the various systems, people who upgraded memberships, etc. it’s usually @MattTheMinion who does this, I think.. Most of us older staffers are still recovering!

Hey guys, I am sorry I haven’t been around. I apologize for neglecting my duties here. I joke that I am semi-retired after 20+ years on staff (my first year on staff was when Cousin Sue was chair!), but that mostly means that I am not involved at the leadership level. There are a few reasons. First, the organization needs a steady influx of new blood, and I was deeply involved for more than a decade between the board and various convention roles. I was Chair and president over 15 years ago now, and stopped heading GR before we left Baltimore, though I never stopped being involved

Scored one from a friend who camps on the sites hoping.

Didn't you make it to Vegas? Or maybe I ran into you in Panel Ops or something? Honestly, I've met so many folks over the years who knew me from being on stage or from here, the data is often left untagged in the hard drive of my brain. Especially because at con I'm so exhausted....

I remember that! I miss going to NYCC and variations thereof. Nice to have fun at a con with. none of the work. I've run into quite a few of you here and there over the years.

In 1987 through the mid 90s, the bustling harbor place pavilions were packed every weekend and busy most weekdays. I even worked there over a summer or two. I say 1987 because that was my first real solo trip down there after high school graduation. Now, when I say packed, I mean every retail and restaurant space and then some was filled — all the shops, plus carts and temporary setups. One major cause of mall death across the board is obscene rent costs and rules that make it nearly impossible for anything but big stores to operate without losing money, in “tourist” areas li

I have a copy of every program. I also have a copy of all the primary t shirts from 2000-up, except one I think.

Short answer: some of the earlier ones are complicated by copyright issues, which we discovered when we tried to arrange something cool for our 10th. At least one of the early ones is probably not reprintable at all, if memory serves because it uses a character we don't have rights to. In other cases it's likely that either we don't have access to quality version of art, or don't have the correct agreement in place for reprint -- it was a few years before we got the hang of that stuff. But I've seen the odd shirt show up on eBay.

The short answer -- and remembering I do NOT currently speak on behalf of the organization -- is that we've generally followed the recommendations and requirements of the venue, because what choice do we have? And the venue follows city guidance. Everyone does. Just like we're stuck with the required food vendors and security contractors, and required to scan bags and restrict costumes. (Further disclaimer: there are a LOT of Ota staff connected with health care, public safety, and government, and we're pretty vocal when such things are discussed. It would be impossible to "go rogue" for som

We know the routine by now, right? They are almost certainly waiting until things are legally in place for them to cancel without being on the hook for the contracts. Like every other con.

Actually... it's probably worth looking into. Depending on the year and the concert and the specific terms involved, we might be able to do it. It would be a private screening for members only, and thus *may* be covered (for some of the shows) under existing usage rights -- but it would probably require a little digging to make sure we don't trip any surprises. I think we have even done it before, but each agreement may be different on those rights.

Just so you're aware: Guest suggestions have their own thread. Were you aware that we have *the* best Lip Sync show? Lip Sync For Your Cosplay? Jez created it and it got rave reviews.

Oh, I think it was probably spent on developing the game, because there were some prototypes and some functionality on display at the time. At a guess -- and it's purely a guess, I have no insider knowledge about it -- I think they may have lost a key partner on the dev side OR just underestimated what it would really take, and people only work for you for so long on promises and fun.

*Nods* Just to clarify, there really isn't any new information, so the old statement stands. As I understand it, It's on Studio Nasu and Kickstarter, legally and ethically, to deal with any remaining fallout. That's just a risk of crowdfunding, really.