YES!!

After several more refreshes, the items in question finally showed up on HTS. When everything popped up, I called Prime to let him know what was going on and filled my cart.I placed my order for the SDCC exclusives at 11:10 CDT. There were no hang ups, no time outs, nothing. It was just smooth and easy.

Now if only Matty Collector could be this simple. Yeah, right. Like that'll ever happen.

--Weasel, dreading the credit card bill but still happy.

CTRL+ALT+Headslam

So as many of you know, San Diego Comic-Con happened last weekend. And as you may well be aware, with Comic Con comes exclusives. And as many of you might know, a good number of companies will place said exclusives on their websites so that you may purchase them if you didn't attend the show.

This is why I've spent the last three and a quarter hours in front of Alexa-1, refreshing the Hasbro Toy Shop page. Believe me when I say, this is easily the most boring thing I have ever done. All I have done since 8:30 this morning is refresh page, grumble, refresh page again, grumble, refresh page once more and groan.

Not fun. Not fun at all. But then again, Prime wants that Bruticus and who am I to disappoint him?

COMMUNICATIONS INTERRUPT: Wrong Bruticus, Nimrodimus. It's this one. And you're forgetting Rust in Peace Cliffjumper. And the Shockwave HISS tank. Incompleting goobercon.

So if you hear a high pitched yelp of "YES!" you'll know we finally placed our order. Until then, I'll just keep refreshing HTS. Wish me luck.

--Weasel, "I should count my blessings. It could be worse. It could be Matty Collector."

The BotCon 2012 Update Part 3

Current song stuck in my head: The Humbling River by Puscifer.

So today is Sunday, which means the 'Con is over. Am I sad? Yes. But it isn't as bad as it has been in previous years. I'll get to that later. Right now, it's time to sum things up.

April 28, 2012 Saturday

We got up and headed out at a time that we thought was early enough to beat some of the 'Con traffic, but it appears we were wrong. When we got to the parking lot at the Hyatt, the attendants were placing a large 'Lot Full' sign at the entrance. Thankfully, we were able to scoot in and park.

Prime, DA and I headed to the panel room to take in the first panel of the day: Dan Gilvezan and Buster Jones. You know damn well there was no way I was missing a panel with Dan. He’s just too awesome to miss.

It was a great panel and a lot of fun. Dan was hilarious as always and Buster was a good sport about everything. I think Buster was a little surprised at how much we as fans love him and his work. So if you missed the panel, you really missed out.

After that, I hit the club store to buy another BotCon convention comic and hit the line for the noon autographs. That session was for Dan, Buster and Simon Furman. Now, I’d already gotten Mr. Furman’s signature on a pair of comic books but I had a third that needed to be signed and I also wanted a sig from him along with Buster and Dan on my extra Con program. I think that may be a bit of a tradition now: grab an extra program, get a whole slagload of sigs on the cover. Hey, it’s easy to carry and isn’t expensive so why not? (^.^)

I got autographs from all three: Simon was gracious as always and Dan was just a huge sweetheart. I mean that. He is perhaps the sweetest, most charming and funniest guy you will ever meet. A true class act. As to how he puts up with crazy fangirls like me, I can’t even begin to fathom, but he does and I appreciate that. Buster was also wonderful: I thanked him for his work on Transformers as well as that on The Real Ghostbusters. He said he remembered his work on Ghostbusters and thanked me for my kindness. He was truly sweet.

After the autographs, I went back to the panel room and sat in for the Transformers Club roundtable and the Hasbro panel. Epic reveals in each, but they’re all over the net by now so there’s no point in mentioning them. Once those two panels were finished, Prime, DA and I stuck around for one of the most popular guest panels at BotCon:

Peter Cullen.

Before you ask, yes, I have met him and he is amazing. When he greeted us in the panel room, the man nearly brought me to tears: as he looked at the crowd, he said he saw so many familiar faces and we were one. We were family.

I admit it, my eyes were misting over at that point. To hear him, the voice of Optimus Prime, proclaim us as family…all I can say about it is ‘wow’. It’s truly overwhelming.

Once Mr. Cullen’s panel drew to a close, the three of us got ready for the Cocktail Reception, Dinner, Hall of Fame Ceremony and Casino night. Prime and I didn’t hit the alcohol all that much and neither one of us did so well at gambling (well, I stuck to bingo) but that wasn’t the biggest surprise of the night. No, the big surprise of the night was the fan’s choice Hall of Fame inductee. The choices were Arcee, Sky-Byte, Beast Wars Megatron, Rodimus and Wheeljack. The winner?

Wheeljack. I was more than a little surprised.

After the festivities were over (and DA, Prime and myself got tired of looking at scantily dressed girls attending a dance), we headed back to the hotel and crashed.

April 30, 2012 Sunday

The crowds weren’t as thick today; it was as if the Con’s ending was hovering like some vast, predatory bird on the fringes of the day. The three of us didn’t have to deal with the parking issue today and the lot didn’t seem quite as full. After parking, we headed to the panel rooms for the live script reading of Bee in the City 2.

If you missed it, you may be in luck—Pete Sinclair has said that it will be posted to YouTube. When it is, I will link it as you have to watch it to enjoy it. But it was a hoot!

Once that was done, I dashed to the Dealer Room to get the autographs of David Kaye and Garry Chalk. But we also had Abby Collins there as well and I got her signature too.

When I got out of the line for that, I loitered around a bit and waited for the last autograph session, another one with Dan Gilvezan and Buster Jones. You know how you’re at a function and you see that one person at the head of the line and you kinda hate them a little? Yeah, I was that person! I was first in line for that autograph session! I got Dan to sign my name badge and had him sign an ornament for a friend of mine who was volunteering at the show. (Hey, I owed her big time!) I also got Buster to sign it too. Happy? Oh yeah, I was.

I caught up with DA afterward and we talked; eventually we ran into Prime and we made our way to the Activision booth to see a demo of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. The game looks amazing, but pardon me a moment, for I must rant.

mini rant
Alright people, signs are posted for a damn good reason. I don’t care if you think your kid hanging off a statue isn’t going to hurt the statue--if it says don’t touch, then your kid shouldn’t be climbing on it. Seriously, do you let your kid play in the middle of the damned street thinking, "Hey, little junior dumbass is smart enough to get outta all them there cars’s way. Kid’ll be fine."? Sure he will…then the little dipshit gets hurt and YOU feel the need to sue someone because YOU are a fucking moron. If you are that damned stupid, do us all a favor and adopt a damn goldfish. Or better yet, raise a Chia plant. If either one of those get hurt or die because of your own idiocy, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself. And for the love of Primus, remain a shut-in and stay out of the public eye. We’re tired of dealing with you.
/end mini rant

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, better.

Anyway, after that, we all got posters. A raffle or two later and the Dealer Room was shutting down, as was the Con. Prime, DA and I wandered around, found Asuza-san’s table and took a look. Asuza let me have a Bumblebee toy for free and we bought a pair of Japanese Happy Meal toys from him. Awesome!

After chatting with some of our friends, the three of us headed outside and to my shock there’s Dan Gilvezan just outside the hotel. So I took the opportunity to hug both him and his wonderful wife and tell them goodbye. He said we’d see each other again, as I’m not getting rid of him that easily. Oh, yeah, huge grin on my face!

We got back to the hotel, chatted and around 7:15, took DA to the airport. We said our farewells, I hugged him good-bye and it looked as though some tears may fall. Well, until Prime yelled, "Stop crying!" We all had a good laugh at that one.

I’ve had dinner and now I’m going to bed. Yeah, I am sad that the Con is over, but not as badly as I have been in past years. As of right now, I’m wondering where our next reunion will be held. I can’t wait to see the rest of the family again.

--Weasel

The BotCon 2012 Update

(Bear with me, as I am completely exhausted. It's been a tiring few days. But it's also been loads of fun!)

I'm now currently in the great state of Texas, on vacation and ready to party at BotCon 2012. It's been quite an interesting few days, as you will see.

April 22, 2012 Sunday

Prime and I left a bit later than we would have liked; we had some last-minute packing (that I still unintentionally screwed up, in the end) and got a bit held up. But once we had that squared away, we loaded up Scamper and were on our way.

The drive itself was uneventful--we spent most of it listening to the Brewers game on 620 WTMJ-AM, the Brewers Radio Network flagship. They have a great signal, too. It wasn't until we were driving through the southern region of Illinois that the signal got bad enough to make us listen to something else, and by that time, we had already listened to the Crew lose to the Rockies (DAMMIT!) and heard Brewers Extra Innings in its entirety. Not fun, the losing part, but what are you going to do?

The rest of the trip again, was completely uneventful--although when we hit Saint Louis, the exit we took ran right next to Busch Stadium, home of the Cardinals, whom I do not like. At all. But the rest of the drive through Missouri was pretty decent and we got to our halfway point--Eureka--without incident. Prime and I checked into our hotel, hit a Walmart for the heck of it then came back to our room, ate and after buying tickets to the Texas Rangers game in Arlington, crashed. All in all, not a bad first day for a two-day road trip.

April 23, 2012 Monday

Prime had decided the night before that if we really wanted to hit the Rangers game, we'd have to leave a bit early. So we were packed, out the door and checked out of the hotel by 7:25. We got sidetracked and had to stop at another Walmart to grab a few things (mainly the dry goods foods, which somehow I had ALSO forgotten; Prime, however, had veered off to toys and returned with a couple of new electronic Bumblebee greeting cards, the Transformers Bot Shots series 2 Super-Bot, Bumblebee, and a Transformers Prime Arcee, then found a Bumblebee T-shirt I didn't already have, on clearance--he certainly can work a store), then get back on the road proper.

This time the drive was a bit more difficult--when we hit Oklahoma we were stuck on a US highway and not an interstate. So we'd cruise along at decent speed, have to drop down to 35 or 40 miles per hour when coming upon a town, and then ramp back up once past the town line. Just kind of annoying. Once we arrived in Texas, we could actually use an interstate highway, but that may not have been such a great thing.

People in Texas drive like idiots. I mean that. If they don't try and sideswipe you while merging into traffic, they will try and tailgate you. Or worse. I have never seen such Primus-awful behavior before. So if you ever come down to Texas, do not drive if you can help it. I do not kid.

After going through the traffic from hell, Prime and I arrived at our hotel and tried to check-in. Notice how I said "tried".

We were left standing at the front desk for about twenty minutes. There was no one there. There was absolutely no one in the lobby. Prime was getting irritated, I was getting irritated, it was not a pretty situation in the least. But finally someone came up and checked us in. Prime then asked where the hotel's business center was located, as we had to print off the tickets to the Rangers game.

This hotel doesn't have one. The blasted website wasn't truthful, it would seem.

Thankfully, the man running the desk had a printer and printed them off for us, so we grabbed them and dove back into the wonderful world of Texas road apathy.

We finally got to the ballpark at Arlington, but between the accepted horrible ballpark day-of-event traffic jam and their parking situation, we didn't get to our seats until the fourth inning. Once we grabbed some food and found our section, we headed to our seats. I had no problem sitting down, while Prime ran into a snag.

Someone was sitting in his chair. So Prime asked the guy to move. Here's where it gets ridiculous: the guy refused. He didn't want to get up and wanted to stay sitting in Prime's seat. Prime pointed out that he had the ticket to that seat and the guy still wouldn't move. But Prime was persistent and finally got to sit down.

I'm still in shock over this little incident: we've had people at Miller Park sit in other seats, but when the occupant returns/arrives, they will get up and go to their assigned seat. How difficult is this for someone to grasp? News flash: it isn't. So, yes, by now I have figured that Texas may have an abnormally high population of impolite jerks.

As for the game, it certainly was different--this was an American League game so we had a Designated Hitter for both teams. Also, they'll sing "Deep In the Heart of Texas" between the fifth and sixth inning and have an Ozarka Water "Dot race". Um, Arlington? Milwaukee does it waaaaaaaay better. The Sausages in the Miller Park Sausage Race can actually run and not shuffle. Just sayin'.

As for the game, the stupid Yankees won. And Mariano Rivera got another save, which I had no desire to see. (Trevor Hoffman is the all-time saves leader in my book!)

Once the game was over, Prime and I headed back to Scamper, hit a gas station to refuel and came back to the hotel where we crashed. All in all, a pretty decent day.

April 24, 2012 Tuesday

I slept until 11:30, I was that exhausted. But once I was up, I ate breakfast while Prime worked around online a bit. Prime got up with our friends Shawn (he likes fried chicken) and Stogie, and we headed out to shoot the slag with them for a while. We got to the Hyatt, met Ravyn, hung out for a while and then headed up to the room set aside for the Customization Class to help set it all up. After we got everything ready, we hung out with Shawn for a little longer--I got a bit tipsy on some Manischewitz Shawn brought--then we all broke it up for the night and went to our respective hotel rooms.

April 25, 2012 Wednesday

Here's where Prime and I split ways, so to speak: he's help with the Customization Class this year; I had a tour to take. While Prime helped people put together their toy--Shattered Glass Longarm, or, with a little bit of custom part addition, Classics Shockwave--I was wandering through Rangers Ballpark and seeing the immense Cowboys Stadium. I tried not to go too overboard on the souvenirs, but I ended up spending $33 on pins! Four came from the Ballpark at Arlington: a Texas Rangers logo pin, a 40th anniversary pin, a Nolan Ryan pin and a series pin for the Yankees/Rangers games. At Cowboys Stadium, I simply grabbed a Cowboys logo pin, which was clearance priced for $2. Talk about fun.

When I got back to the Hyatt, Prime was still helping out with the class. It seems that things were going a bit slower than everyone had thought, so I hung around with Prime and tried to be helpful. Once 7PM rolled around, Prime suggested I head down to pick up our pre-registration items, so I headed downstairs, hung out and got in line.

The wait was longer than the pick up. Usually, the pre-reg pick up starts pretty late but this time it was ahead of schedule and I was done pretty quickly. Prime came downstairs alongside the other class staffers to chat with me and we saw Karl Hartman. We chatted, I hugged Karl and had fun, as always.

Once I had our stuff, we all headed back to the classroom, helped clean up and set up for tomorrow, then went out for a quick bite of dinner. While we were out, DA called and said he was on his way. He met up with us, I hugged him, and we all sat around talking and goofing off until midnight. But all good things come to an end, so we headed back to our rooms and turned in for the night.

April 26, 2012 Thursday (Today)

Since there was nothing on my schedule, I had a chance to actually sleep in again, which I did. I got up around 11:30, got dressed and called Prime about an hour or so later. Seems he was on a food run for the class staff, so I asked if he could pick me up and drag my tail to the hotel. Today was the first day of sales at the Club Store and I didn't want anything to sell out before Prime had finished with today's project. You don't want to recommend getting between Stogie and his food (he's not himself when he's hungry, and Snickers doesn't satisfy like everyone thinks it does), but I wore him down on it, so I was taken to the Hyatt. We met up with DA and I spent a long time chatting with him, blowing time until I would have to stand in line again.

At around 4PM, I ran upstairs to the classroom, got a list from Prime and the necessary cash, then went downstairs to get in line for the store. I made pretty good time and was the fourth person in the cash line so I thought that things would go off without a hitch tonight.

Not so.

About thirty minutes before the doors opened, I got to take a glance at the sales sheet. It seems that the sales of the Souvenir sets were limited to one per person. That was a problem, as we needed a second one of the sets for a friend in the UK. So I called Prime, told him about it and he said he'd be down to help. At around 5:55 he showed up, we chatted, he filled out my sheet and I tried to hunt down another order form to no avail. It didn't really matter, though. We didn't get into the store until around 6:25. Once inside, Prime got an order form and filled it out while we waited to be helped.

Getting the toys didn't take too long and we were done in about ten minutes. Once that was finished, we headed back to the classroom, I helped clean and pick up any useful items and we broke it up for the night.

Tomorrow the convention actually starts and I can barely wait. I'll be getting autographs, buying toys, acting like a fool, hanging with my friends, you name it. It'll be great, as always. So until tomorrow's post, good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night!

--Weasel, having too much fun as it is

...this makes my brain hurt...

So apparently, there's going to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Okay, looks interesting but the Turtles will be aliens.

Now, the fans have been told to "chill the fuck out", but I'm still scratching my head. Aliens? Really? I'm trying to wrap my brain around it all, but I'm failing miserably over here.

Epic YES!!

So guess who's coming back to BotCon? C'mon, take a guess!

Okay, give up? Dan! He's coming back! :insert girlish giggle here: I can't wait to get to Texas this April!

--Weasel, jumping up and down in joy.

Color Me Excited

Current song stuck in my head: Praise You by Fatboy Slim

I am one excited Weasel. Very excited. Excited like you wouldn't believe. Why? Because of this: Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2. And according to Serebii.net, they'll be hitting the US in autumn of this year.

*insert girlish giggle*

The forums are going nuts and the speculation is amazing. Me, I'm trying not to giggle and squeal too much. Two new games means extra box room for me! I'm a GTS addict, if you will. Put up some poor, pathetic, lonely little Golett and I'll probably trade you. Well, within reason, of course.

Now all I need to do is get my shiny Golett, catch Kyurem and prep my shinies for the trip to the next game. (I have 66 of them. They are all Automatons. Oh yeah, every one is either a Golett or a Golurk! They're cute, they're adorable and I'll take them in a heartbeat.) And then I have to get Riser ready...

For those of you who don't know, Riser is my level 100 Golurk. "He" is the first Pokémon that I ever EV trained and I'll send him to every future Pokémon game. The big guy earned his nickname because he rose through the ranks and became the team leader--he got the win for me when I needed it most. I put him through a lot and he always came through. For a bunch of pixels, he's pretty spoiled.

This will probably be the first time in a very long time that I can say I'm looking forward to fall. Who would have thought?

--Weasel, "Man, it's going to be a long summer."

There are no words to describe the awesome

This is the coolest ring in the history of jewelry. I want one, but in Autobot. I'd also like it delivered in a yellow VW Bug or a yellow Camaro that sports black racing stripes. For that would be epic and all kinds of awesome.

--Weasel, "But how do you end the ceremony? 'Til all are one'? Eh, that might work..."

Round Four

Mark your calendars for June 29, 2014. Why? That's when we'll get Transformers 4. Yes, Michael Bay is back and yes, it looks like a reboot of sorts.

As long as they keep Bumblebee, I'm good. That's all I'm sayin' right now.

--Weasel, "It's about 18 months too early to put in for the day off, though. Slag..."

Quarter Century

On this day, 25 years ago, The Transformers: the Movie premiered in theaters nationwide.

Before you ask, no, I didn't get lucky enough to see it on its release date. I didn't even get lucky enough to see it on the release weekend. I actually saw it over a week later, after much begging and pleading. Being 11, I had to go to the theater with my mother, as she wouldn't let me go alone. We went in the early afternoon, making the trip in Dad's old blue and white Dodge truck, which is long since gone.

My first impression of the movie was one of surprise; there was a massive twenty year time skip between the series and the feature film. There were also Autobots onscreen that I had never seen before. Who exactly was Kup? Where did Blurr come from? Why hadn't Optimus Prime ever mentioned them before? Although I was a bit confused, I just rolled with it and followed the action.

And there was a lot of action. A lot of death, as well.

Contrary to popular belief, I did not cry during Optimus Prime's death. My mother spoiled that scene for me about a week before the movie's release and said outright that she didn't want to see me crying over it. I was a stubborn kid and I flatly refused to show any true emotion during that scene. All I did was bite my knuckle and soldier onward. It wasn't meant to be any sort of disrespect to Optimus--I did it to spite my mother. We never really have gotten along; there's quite a bit of baggage with that relationship.

That didn't mean that I wasn't heartbroken. I had admired Optimus Prime since I was nine. Seeing him pass on was like watching a member of my own family die and I wasn't allowed to mourn for him. In the next twenty-five years, I would make up for this, as I cannot watch this scene without tearing up. Even the music brings me to tears.

But it wasn't only Optimus Prime who passed on: Ironhide, Ratchet, Prowl, Wheeljack and Windcharger, just to name a few, were also cut down. There were so many Autobots dying that I lived in fear of what may happen to my sweet Bumblebee. He had been taken out of the action early and I feared the worst for him. Thankfully, he was one of the lucky few who were spared.

Later, I did admit that seeing Bumblebee in peril made my heart skip a few beats.

I was stunned to see Hot Rod become the new Autobot leader and, to this day, still shudder at the name of Unicron. For an 11-year-old, the movie was truly epic. I really didn't want it to end. However, nothing good can last forever.

Unfortunately, as soon as the credits began rolling, my mother insisted we leave. It would be years before I could finally see them in their entirety. It's another thing that I and my mother did not agree upon--I didn't believe I should leave the theater until the entire film is done. Mother didn't see it that way. And now, I am forced to wonder if I could have spotted the name Dan Gilvezan and committed it to memory, saving me years of raw vocal chasing and frustration. But I'll never know.

I was only able to see it in the theater once. I wanted desperately to go again. I truly loved what I had seen and wanted to experience it in all its glory for a second time but I knew better than to ask. Seeing a movie in a theater for a second time was out of the question. I wouldn't be able to do so until I was an adult and at BotCon. A gift to myself, I guess you could call it.

A lot has changed in the quarter century since the release of The Transformers: the Movie. The home I lived in has been sold and the dirt road I lived on has been paved. The cats that ran about the yard are only memories. The old mutt that we kept is gone. And quite a few of the things I thought I knew about my family and childhood have changed radically. But some things have not. After twenty-five years (and longer, really), I'm still a fan. I can't help but think that I'm a bigger fan now than I was when I was younger; those Robots in Disguise have helped me get through a lot in my life.

I'm a different person now than I was 25 years ago but Transformers will always be a part of my life. The Autobots and Decepticons are one of the few things that I can count on, that I can depend on, that I will always love.

'Til all are one!

Going Dork

Oh yes, I have seen Dark of the Moon. It is awesome and you should see it. Now.

...the slag are you waiting for? There are giant robots beating the slag outta each other in movie theatres across the US. You need to go and watch them.

--Weasel, begging Prime to see it again... and again... and again...

Earth Goes Dork

By the time you read this, I'll be in a movie theatre, wearing my Bumblebee RealD mask, soaking in the awesome that is Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

I will let you know how face-meltingly awesome the movie is when I have the chance.

--Weasel, gonna rock it dork style!

You've gotta know when to hold 'em...

Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done.

Click the title for musical accompaniment, if you'd like.

So today (technically yesterday) was the first real day of the Con. Prime and I got up, got ready and headed out to the 'Con. We got out and about a bit after noon, which was fine by me because the first autographs didn't start until 2. We ran into DA, chatted a bit and I got in line for the first autograph session. The guys decided to take in the live script reading that was happening at around 1PM.

Today Jack Angel was supposed to sign at 2, but he wasn't feeling well and couldn't make it. So in his place, Abby Collins was signing autographs. Who is Abby Collins? She's the daughter of a rather well-known but deceased voice actor. Seems she's trying to break into the voice acting biz and read the part of Minerva.

Oh yeah, when that came out, A LOT of fans were having minor strokes and coronaries. Her father is quite well loved by the fandom, even though many of us never had the chance to meet him. So there were a lot of excited and happy fans. Oh yes, I got Ms. Collins autograph and I truly hope she makes it in voice acting; she truly is a sweet person.

After that, I waited around for the second autograph session, ran into DA and we hung around in line and shot the shit. DA had a mild freakout when he saw the giant Grimlock costume; I got a kick out of the kid who was dressed as Wheelie. He even had a slingshot and nailed someone who was dressed as Devastator a couple of times. (Little bot's got some ball bearings, I tell ya.)

After I got my autographs, I headed into the Dealer Room, called Prime and met up with him. He was near a gigantic Transformers: Prime Optimus Prime statue. I got a couple of shots of that, spun the big wheel that was on display there and won a Transformers: Prime poster. Then, I took to wandering.

Stopped by the Kre-O booth and entered for a chance to win a Kre-O Bumblebee. I also got a Kre-O Optimus Prime figure and told the guy at the booth that if they ever needed to get rid of the big Bumblebee figure they had on display, I'd take him. He would be worshiped, of course. The guy laughed and said, "Oh, I bet you would." I think my reputation is starting to proceed me.

Before we were kicked out at 5, I got to take a few shots of the Autobot vehicles from the movie, caught up with Prime and got a pair of lanyards from the Transformers Universe video game booth. But at five, we all had to leave. Before I headed out, I ran back to the Bumblebee Camaro and said my good-byes and promised him that I would see him the next day.

After a brief stopover at our hotel, we got ready for Casino Night and went back to the Convention center. Prime went into the actual game room to earn some creds for the auction while I played bingo.

I tried, but I didn't win. I was hoping to win the 2008 Shattered Glass Rodimus for Prime but it didn't pan out. I really would have loved to get that figure; I've put Prime through enough hell and he deserves something for his time and trouble. Oh well, maybe next time.

Prime had amassed $800 in casino money, but it did us no good. We couldn't win a slagging thing at the auction. Again, maybe next year.

Once that was over, we ran into Shawn, hung out with him for a bit then headed back to our hotel. It's getting late and my stupid ass really should be in bed (gotta get up early) but you know me. I have to blog.

I'm happy. Dear Primus, I am happy. I feel so much better. I really wish this wouldn't end. But honestly, having this only once a year makes it extremely precious to me. Once a year I get to recharge my batteries and escape the slag that is reality. To have something like this to look forward to is a great help.

Two more days. I intend to enjoy the hell out of them. Until next time.

--Weasel

California Dreamin'

As I write this, I have "Unforgettable" stuck in my head. Heard it on the cab ride back to the hotel. Trust me, with everything that happened today, it's already been an unforgettable trip.

We didn't get off to such a great start; there was a slagload of road construction on our route and we hit it and hit it bad. At one point, we were at a slagging standstill with no one moving. By the time we got to the airport, we were pretty slagging late.

We parked, hopped a shuttle, printed our boarding passes and headed to security. Prime went through the body scanner; I did the pat down. It wasn't horrible and only took a few extra minutes, but when I got done, they were calling final boarding on our flight. Needless to say, we tore through the concourse and raced to our gate just in slagging time.

The flight itself was uneventful and we landed with no further problems. Once we got to LA, we hopped on the Super Shuttle and headed to our hotel. After a few hours of rest, I headed out and grabbed dinner for Prime and myself, then after dinner (and some PC time for Prime) we headed out to the Convention center and got in line to pick up our stuff.

We got to the Convention center and walked around a bit; I nearly freaked when I saw the huge banners proclaiming the Hall of Fame induction that would happen on Saturday night. Took a few pics, since they had last year's inductees and guess who was at the very top of the banner? You guessed it: 'twas Bumblebee. My baby got the top spot. Proud? You better believe it.

But it gets better. Oh boy, does it ever get better.

As we headed to the Convention center, we managed to get a peep inside. Prime and I could see vehicles inside. They were Optimus Prime and Ratchet. Seeing those two brought a smile to my face, but when we walked a little further and got a better look inside, my heart went straight into my throat.

Inside was a black GMC Topkick, a silver concept Corvette Stingray, and a yellow Camaro. A Camaro with black racing stripes on its roof. And a spoiler on the back.

Bumblebee. The real movie Bumblebee. In the Convention center.

Bumblebee is here. At the Convention. At BotCon. How many years has it been with me desperate to see him, to finally get the chance to actually be in the same room with him. And now I have that chance.

Bumblebee and I have... a history, if you will. When my life completely tanks and I want nothing more than to throw my head back and scream, Bumblebee shows up in some capacity. I've often said he's my guardian angel.

Considering everything that has happened over the past six or so months, how bad my life has been, how most days I've wanted to simply lay in bed and cry, the timing on this is perfect. My guardian angel comes through for me yet again.

Tomorrow, Prime and I will be in the Customization Class, where we'll be building our own Transformer figure. After that, I honestly don't know what we'll do. And I don't care. I'm at BotCon. Nothing else really matters now. I'm at the Convention.

I needed this. I really do.

--Weasel

EDIT: DA is now here. The festivities can begin in earnest.

I'm Leavin' On a Jet Plane...

...and heading to BotCon. My next post will be from Cali and I can hardly wait. (You're gettin' hugged, DA!)

--Weasel, too giddy to sleep. Almost.

Sympathy for the Devil

So last Friday, Prime and I hit the local theatre and caught a 3D showing of Thor. Now, I was kinda hoping to cut my "3D viewing teeth" on a showing of Transformers: Dark of the Moon but this was a good start. Before you ask: Yes, I enjoyed Thor but I didn't walk out of the theatre grinning like a fool. Instead, I rather half-stumbled out, feeling heavy-hearted.

I had wept for Loki. My heart completely broke for him.

I'm not the sort of person who has any real sympathy for the villain. Usually, I can't stand them and will laugh as they plunge towards oblivion. They deserve it. But with Loki, it was another story entirely.

Loki was a troublemaker, someone who tried to stir up trouble and make mischief. I myself, don't take a lot of things seriously. Most people see me as a bit of a flake. Everything is a joke to me. But we both act this way to mask the pain, the pain we both feel and don't quite understand. We both know that we're different, that something isn't quite right in our little worlds but rather than face that, we bury it. It's easier to deny the agony than face it.

Until fate brings it to the surface.

Loki wasn't Odin's son by birth. Instead, he was an abandoned Frost Giant infant, found by Odin and taken to Asgard to be raised as Thor's brother. Many years would pass before Odin would finally confess this truth to his adopted son and the anger that Loki felt, the blind rage in his eyes, brought me to tears. Loki screamed at his "father" demanding to know why. Why had this happened? Why had he not been told the truth? But the most troubling questions were the ones Loki never spoke.

Who am I? What am I? Where do I belong?

As Loki raged against Odin, I sobbed. He screamed what I could not but we both felt the exact same sting of a betrayal that would drive most others mad.

In Loki's case, it did drive him mad.

Loki tried to take over Asgard and destroy the Frost Giants. He did it, as he said in the very end, for his father. But Odin shook his head and disagreed. The truth is, what Loki did was a desperate plea for attention. He wanted nothing more than to be accepted, be seen as a hero, as "one of them".

He didn't want to be treated differently. He just wanted acceptance, which was something that was never truly given. Instead, Thor is accepted and regains favor with his father.

All hail the status quo and long may it reign.

There's no place for those who have been wronged and are "ungrateful" for the lies of loving their parents. Loki and I are outcasts. Society doesn't need us. We're too self-absorbed because we're hurt and pissed and miserable that we were lied to by those we were supposed to trust the most.

A child cannot lie to a parent unpunished. But a parent can lie to a child and there is no consequence. If the child does become angry and rebels, then that child is acting immaturely or foolishly. Doesn't matter how deeply the child has been hurt, that child is an ungrateful wretch who should be cast out, never to return.

The child who discovers his life is a lie rebels and is abandoned again. The robot that fears for its safety and kills its abusive master is defective and a danger and must be destroyed; the fact that it has been abused does not entire the equation. The sapient machines who have been treated as slaves by their human masters turn against them and are seen as evil. (Don't believe me? Watch The Matrix, then watch both parts of The Second Renaissance from The Animatrix. Your sympathy for humanity will quite likely drop to zero and you might hope that the machines win.) For those of us who were wronged, who were hurt, who ache and scream because our lives were based on lies, there is no true recourse. We're not really wanted by anyone or anything. It is enough to destroy the strongest of spirits.

But unlike Loki, I am fortunate. I have Prime. When I have been at my worst, lashing out as Loki did to try and make others feel miserable, Prime stayed by me. When I asked the worst questions of my life, questions that no one should ask a stranger, let alone themselves, Prime listened. When I cried, Prime held me. Loki didn't have that sort of support. If he did, things may have been different.

In the end, Loki fell. As he did, I wept openly knowing the sort of agony he was suffering. But he didn't die. Instead, he is the outcast and his brother is the favored one. On the outside, looking in: that is the best description of our situations. However, I can pick myself up and keep going, as I have those that care about me. Loki isn't so lucky. He will always remain the outcast.

And a part of me will always mourn for him. Call it sympathy for the devil, if you will. No one else seems to have any sympathy for him.

Random Thoughts

Just because I need to put something of freaking substance here, we'll do another quick installment of:

Random Thoughts

* I've earned my eighth badge in Pokemon Black and could challenge the Elite 4 at any given time... but I haven't. Or rather, I really don't want to yet. Once I whip the Elite 4, that pretty much ends the blasted story. If that's not depressing enough, I'll actually start running into some of the previous 493 in Unova and I love the new guys too much!

* We haven't had a decent spring around here. Period. It's either too damn cold, raining, or freaking snowing. Bob Uecker put it best: Summertime in Wisconsin. It'll get here eventually.

* The Brewers are in a slump. I could cry. Or scream. Or rage. Or all of the above. But it's only May; there's more than enough time to turn this around.

* Prime and I will be heading to see Thor tomorrow. I expect much in the way of awesomeness.

* Speaking of awesomeness, I have seen the trailer to Transformers: Dark of the Moon and. It. Was. AWESOME! Now all I have to do is wait until July... and we all know how much I just love waiting.

* And even more awesome: We have Transformers themed Baby Bottle Pops at my store. And they feature Bumblebee. Seeing as how I had a horrible couple of days earlier in the week, the timing is... well, I keep saying the little bastard's my guardian angel. And he just keeps proving it.

And that about wraps it up. Tune in next time when we clear out even more of the dust between the wrinkles of my brain. Until then this has been

--Weasel, signing off.

Friday Photoblog: "I Have, like, Six of These" Edition

The most AWESOME display case at BotCon 2010.
(Well...okay, three in this color, three in a metallic gold. And only two of each are ALL mine. So, um. Four. Sort of.)

Friday Photoblog: "No Foolin'" Edition

Behold Bumbleduck. Yeah, this exists. Color and Halloween versions, too.
(Kind of surprised Disney HASN'T made this line available in the US.)

Friday Photoblog: "Well, That's (not) Just Prime" Edition

The Hasbro Studios Panel at BotCon 2010.
(You know how you used to have Discovery Kids on your cable lineup?

You don't anymore, and these guys are a small part of 'why'.)

(Watch The Hub!)