Oh man, it’s finally here: the big weekend. Tomorrow alone is gonna be pretty damn epic: A. go to my jobby-job in the morning (btw, have I ever mentioned what my new day gig is? it’s nothing special really, just copywriter for an Orthodox Jewish video game accessory company in Williamsburg… see, hardly worth fussing about), B. head directly to the NYCC immediately afterwards, C. a few hours later, join up with Katie and some other friends in Fort Greene to catch a Swans show, and D. if there’s any time left over, check out the tail end of the Babycastles Manhattan opening night party!
Which leaves me barely enough time to finish up my presentation for Saturday night at the con; taking a break from it this second, which is also why I’m not at Capcom’s Street Fight(er) Club 3 this very second… or at least I heard on the grapevine it’s going on now (been too way too busy to follow-up). Hence why I’d better keep this post short and sweet! So from the very top…
The Arcade Reborn In Times Square
And back to Babycastles; for those who haven’t heard, we more than met our goal of $6,000 by reaching a hair past the $9,000 mark! Thanks to all your help of course…
This past Monday was day one at the new space. Here’s some pics from that evening…
And here’s how it was shaping up by Wednesday, day three….
BTW, be sure to check out the article on Babycastles in the latest installment of EGMi, featuring pics from the THREE: FORT90ZINE release party this past May and FORT90 X BABYCASTLES from this past August!
The MTA Still Sucks, Rock Band 3 Is Hawt, & The New Metroid Is Okay, I Guess
Guess I’m mostly determined to be at the Manhattan space tomorrow night due to the fact that I couldn’t make it out to the last shindig, the big pre-Chashama party at Silent Barn this past Saturday, featuring The Copenhagen Game Collective. And that’s cuz the subways were completely fucked up. There were literally no trains going to that part of Brooklyn! And I can’t believe they just raised the fare, AGAIN.
Have I mentioned how much bloody worse mass transit in NYC has gotten? Now MTA goons are flat-out antagonizing riders, to the point that they almost want to get punched in the face, so they can go on their two month long (minimum) paid vacation. Remember last time, when I went out to Greenpoint to catch Chikara Pro with Steve Totilo? Well I arrived late to of course, cuz the L train was just sitting there in the 8th Ave state in Manhattan for a good solid 15 minutes. Since no one had any idea what the hell was going on, since the conductor was far too busy chatting it up with friends on the platform (two booth attendants I believe from the looks of it) to make any sort of announcement,, decided to interrupt and ask what the deal was. Which the aforementioned pals did not like, and answered for the guy with: “The trains is not fucking moving anywhere; YOU’RE not fucking moving anywhere!”
When I became justifiably annoyed with being cursed at for absolutely no good reason by his cohorts, the conductor immediately got in my face with the “I don’t need your attitude; I will call the copes to have you removed from the station by force if you don’t get out of my face.” Mind you, he was the one who had gotten out of his conductor’s station to confront me and grandstand, to then make it seem like I was the reason for the delay. When it finally dawned on me the perfect solution to put such assholes in their place: take a picture. Oh God, they HATE that! Unfortunately it came out super blurry, but that’s definitely what I’ll be doing from this point forward (with my back up camera, which I won’t be too upset with it when it’s knocked out of my hands, onto the train tracks). Which I’ll then compile for a Tumblr or something (alongside my way over due cable access on).
But yeah, was not able to make it out to Babycastles Queens this past Saturday, so instead, it was just the Clock Blocks release party, where I made some new pals! Creighton and Caldwell from CollegeHumor to be exact! Who will be filming my big Saturday night presentation at the NYCC?!?! But yeah, the highlight of that evening… other than waiting forever for a M train that would never arrived (to compensate for the L not running), and being told by another MTA asshole that I had to take the F (many of which I had let pass by, due to being completely unaware of how I supposed to get on) to the J and then to the M, which was only running in Brooklyn for whatever retarded reason, and like I was complete idiot for not knowing all this (despite the fact that there were ZERO signage to inform riders of this service change, and trust me, I was far from the only one who was in the same exact position), which was when I officially threw in the towel and took another super expensive cab ride home… was hanging out at an iPhone game release party, surrounded by dudes as they played another game on my own device, the now banned from the App Store Suicide Girls dating sim.
Sucks that Gabe couldn’t come out this past Tuesday for the Rock Band 3 bar night-thing. Am still looking for pics of myself, Creighton, and Caldwell, all jamming to Crazy Train (one dude kept taking pics, mostly since I was channeling Ozzy?s mannerisms on stage in an uncanny fashion). At least I have one of my two new College Humor buddies expressing their excitement over the new pro-guitar that’s been built for the new game with Mariana from MTV Games; sadly you can?t see any of its 47+ buttons…
As for what I’ve been playing… to be honest… been way too busy to really dig deep into anything! Though there is Metroid: Other M. And like so many others, absolutely love how the game plays, absolutely hate what they’ve done with Samus herself. Isn’t it nice how everything is genderized in that game? I actually do appreciate the attempt at adding some depth to her character, it’s a risky and bold step forward (though keeping her silent and all bad ass would not have been the worst idea in retrospect), but making her a whiney, insecure girl deep down inside was not the best possible route. Though sexist characterization in a Team Ninja game? Who woulda thunk it!
No More Mister Nice Guy
Back to the weekend, the MTA wasn’t the only thing that left a bad taste in my mouth. My fellow New Yorkers haven’t been much help either.
On Friday night, the gf and I went to see the new 3D Resident Evil movie (lots of fun btw, and hey, Milla clones, can’t go wrong with that) and immediately afterwards Katie recovered a lost cell phone. It was the folks who sat immediately next to us, and I sorta remembered who they were (cuz they arrived late, and there’s nothing more annoying that folks getting in the way during a 3D flick). Katie suggested that we deposit at the box office, but I remember hearing from friends who worked in theaters how the lost in found there is basically a grab bag for free stuff among employees, and was hoping to magically run into them in the crowded lobby. Which is what happened! Was able to present the lost phone (a fairly brand new, and pricy looking Blackberry no less) to its original owner. And the dude just looked at me, all surly and annoyed. It was his wife who had to force a thank you out of him. WTF.
This is actually the second time such nonsense has gone down. Right before Travis’s birthday gathering, I found a purse on the street, and went through it only to see if there was any contact info. Which there was; a stack of business cards. When I called the woman, the following conversation went down:
me: “Hello?”
woman who lost her purse: “Who is this?”
me: “Hi, my name is Matt, and I just found your purse.”
woman who lost her purse: “How did you get this number?”
me: “Well, like I said, you lost your purse and I found your nu…”
woman who lost her purse: “No I didn’t.”
me: “Excuse me?”
woman who lost her purse: “I didn’t lose my purse.”
me: “Well you did, I have it right here.”
woman who lost her purse: “But no I didn’t it.”
me: “How else could I have gotten your number? Listen, I’m right in front off…”
woman who lost her purse: “But I DIDN’T LOSE MY PURSE!”
me: “Lady, would you just check and see if you have it or not?”
woman who lost her purse: “I DIDN’T LOSE MY… oh wait.”
When she came to pick it up, she had a friend with her, who gave just flat out said “Check to see if he took anything” right in my face. And it was only then that I knew how much money was inside… easily $400 in twenties. Which I should have pocketed, because this lady was, just like the guy after here, completely unappreciative and even annoyed. I dunno; if a complete stranger had taken the time to track me down and recover either my wallet or cell phone, I’d at the very least thank that person profusely. So from this point forward, I’m taking Katie’s advice: holding on that shit for ransom.
Unicorn Forum?
At least the weekend ended on a high note; Katie and I finally made it out to the local renaissance fair! We live near the Cloisters, and they hold one ever fall, but we’ve always missed out. Till now…
… We were both blown away by how many people there were! Tons of folks in medieval garb. Yet no one in Starfleet uniforms. Sad…
… Seeing someone dressed up as Harry Potter at such affairs seems hardly special, but when said person is an old woman? Didn’t think so…
… Katie up close, admiring the woman’s Sailor Moon backpack…
… And never mind those two older dudes from before hitting each other; the real down and dirty action was the kids’ pit…
… This guy was super cool…
… And this guy… he does a web comic! Shocking, I know…
Even more good news from that day; finally did some long overdue cleaning and organizing around the apartment, and recovered this…
Both Katie and I thought we had lost it!
The Hectic World Of Comics In NYC
But time for some bad news; recently found out about Forbidden Planet’s decision to get rid of their mini comics and zine section. Such a shame; I’ve gotten SO much positive feedback from folks who stumbled across the FORT90ZINE from that place alone. Once again, case in point. Have yet to go to the store and see if it’s still there or not (just been too damn busy). Funny thing is how I still owe them come copies of UNLUCKY, which I had assumed they were no longer interested in, but was told by my mini comics agent (yes, such a person exists) has advised me to full-fill my order still. This and the recent loss of Rocketship, has not been good for local small/independent press people.
At least there’s that big upcoming zine show in Brooklyn later this year! Which is invite only. And I wasn’t invited. lulz. But there’s also… believe it or not… Babycastles! Though I’ll talk about what I have brewing on that end when the time is right.
… Cuz right now, I just want to remind everyone that the New York Comic Con/Anime Fest is happening THIS WEEKEND! Though a reminder might not be necessary; I can’t recall a time in which so many out of town pals, primarily comics peeps, have been converging. It would seem the show has finally arrived! Anyhow, and once more, I have two things running this weekend:
The first is The Best (And Worst) Games From Japan That You’ve Never Heard Of going down this Saturday night at 7:45, in Panel Room 3! And as noted previously, I’ll be joined by my two pals dmauro and Isfet. Those who have seen my presentations in the past will know what to expect! Was assuming a packed house, it being Saturday night and all, though now that I discovered that I’ll be going head to head with a Square Enix panel, not so sure anymore!
And the second is How To Get A Job In Video Games the very next day, Sunday morning at 10:45, in Panel Room 4! Much like last year, I’ve assembled a bunch of friends, all quite active in the game industry today but on different ends, to talk about their professions for those who wish to get in the field. Included will be artist Allan Norico, designer (as well as EIC of the NYC Game Industry) Brandon Van Slyke, producer and publisher (as well ad designer himself) Dave Gilbert, plus journalists Tracey John and Anthony John Agnello!
And of course, expect another photo-filled con report sometime afterwards, filled with all usual hijinks. Plans thus far calls for a repeat visit to Chipotle with Hilary and myself for some margaritas, followed by posing in pics with goofy cosplayers! Though I believe more on the “correspondent” tip this time, primarily through Mallory and Mia? Shall be a memorable weekend indeed…
One more time and don’t forget: both the Manhattan space opening tonight (the event is officially called Babycastles: A Retrospective and the location will be hence forth be officially referred to as The Showpaper 42nd St Gallery; event details can be found on the website and Facebook) plus the New York Comic Con all this weekend. Hope to see you all later this weekend, at one place or the other. Hopefully both!
