Comic Con, Friday

2026-07-252026-07-31 SDSpiveyLeave a comment

As I walked down the road, on my way to the convention, I notice a guy next to me that I recognize. It took me a second to process through my muddy brain.

It was Doc Farrow, who plays coach Wayne Wilkins, on “Young Sheldon” and “Georgie and Mandy”.

I chatted for a couple minutes and took a photo. He gave me a button that promoted a short film he made, co-starring Lance Barber, who plays George Cooper on those same shows.

I headed into a room for a panel labeled “Kristin Kreuk: Black Star”.

What? The star of “Smallville” isn’t black, as far as I know.

“Black Star” is a new comic series that she, and a couple friends, spent the last couple years developing.

The story is centered in Winnipeg, where co-writer Peter Mooney is originally from, and takes place over multiple timelines. The title comes from a huge black star in the middle of the Winnipeg Muninciple building.

Their boxes just arrived the day before, so none of them had a chance to even go through them yet.

They were available at a booth in the main hall, but when I immediately went down afterwards, the lady at the booth stated they had sold out already.

I didn’t really want to buy it, but I would have liked to at least see the artwork in person.

I walked a little bit down the aisle and found myself next to someone else that I thought I knew. It was Brian Pulido, the creator of “Lady Death” comic series, among others.

My friend Russel is a big fan and we had met Pulido in Orlando or Tampa at another convention, again many, many years ago. My memory really is weirder than even I can fathom.

I found a panel on Star Trek and astronomy, with Rekha Sharma, who has played a scientist or alien in many shows and films. There was also a NASA engineer (wearing a blue jacket, which is what an engineering officer on ST is supposed to wear) and a xenobiologist (from JPL, I think they said).

Not much “astronomy” talk, mostly what they thought about “first contact” with alien life could entail.

I jumped around, from panel to panel to the main hall and back, ending the night at a viewing of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, followed by karaoke of audience members singing the songs of the show.

It stars Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle, and the Rookie), Neil Patrick Harris (Lemony Snicket, Doogie Howser, How I met your mother), and Felicia Day (The Guild).

It was created by Joss Whedon, which explains why it is so good.

I had not watched it since it came out, way back in 2008, so I had forgotten how funny and how good the singing actually is.

If you have never seen it (or even if you have) go watch it now. You will not be disappointed.

Comic-Con, Thursday

2026-07-25 SDSpiveyLeave a comment

I mentioned the noisy hinge to the front desk and they had taken care of it before I was ready to go out.

I walked down the road a little ways, to an Albertson’s, looking for something to eat for breakfast, on the run.

It was too early, so a clerk was removing all the old pastries from the shelves. New stuff was still in the oven.

I bought a small bottle of OJ and a couple small snack pies, apple and pecan. I was hoping to find a small fruit bowl, but couldn’t afford them.

I had gone too far in that direction, so I ended up having to come back to get to the convention center, taking a long flight of stairs, instead of crossing a half dozen train tracks. This lead directly to the convention center, but the only entrance open in the morning was on the other end.

Seriously, these people do not know how to organize a large group. There are maybe a dozen doors along the front, but they funnel 10,000 through only 1. They do utilize more later, but then the flow is significantly more spread out anyway.

There is an escalator that takes you down from the second floor, and then it is blocked off at the bottom, so that you must scan to go out, then you may re-scan in the next door to come back in. Why??? I have already scanned to get in the first place, so why do I have to go out?

There is another elsewhere, going up, where they have a long (60-70 ft) barricade at the top before you can choose which way to go, even if you then walk directly along the side of that escalator.

Nothing started until 10, the main doors opened at 9, so that people could line up (out of the sun) for whatever event they wanted. I headed upstairs and was one of a handful that was at the panel that I wanted, so I got a seat, right up front.

I just bounced from panel to panel, surprisingly not having to stand in line to get into any of them.

One was in the Grand Ballroom, well, it was actually called Ballroom 20, but I think my name would have been better. It could easily hold a few hundred dancers, without crowding. Also, it is the only room, that I know of, that was called a “ballroom” and not a “hall”.

There was a vampire discussion, with Ashley Greene and Peter Facinelli, who both played “Cullens” in Twilight, and the director, Catherine Hardwick.

They also had a K-pop boy band, N-Hyphen, who just released a vampire video, with many vampire themed songs. Although, from the preview, it looks very homo-erotic. I’m not sure if that was they were going for.

By 2pm, there were no more interesting panels, for a while, so I browsed around the main hall for a bit.

I came up to one booth, and looking at the artwork on the book cover, it looked very familiar. The artist asked me if I knew his work, and I replied it looked like a “zombie fetus” book I bought in Orlando 20-something years ago. He was very surprised, because he had only gone to that convention once. I loaned out the book I had to someone, and of course, never seen it again. So I bought the 25th anniversary edition and a sequel, $40. He autographed both, for free, which he normally charges for, just because of the previous purchase. I think he may have just been more impressed that I remembered it from that long ago.

“Artist Alley” has at least 100 artists in their booths, most of which had some awesome artwork displayed. But I have a limited bank account and really don’t want to carry anything at all.

Hunger was striking, and the food at the con was limited in variety, and very expensive. I headed back over to the “Gaslight” district, and found a Irish bar that had a reasonable priced menu posted out front.

I order a shepherd’s pie, only $16, but was disappointed in how small it was. It did fill me a bit, so I guess I should not complain for that. I sat about 10 minutes after I finished, waiting for my check, before someone came over to take my dishes, who was not my waitress, then waited another 8 for it to actually come.

The total was over $18, because of added sales tax, but also a “hospitality” fee. I presume that was the tip, so I left exact change on the clipboard and left. I don’t know who would have been tipped anyway, as the person who sat me, the person who took my order, the one bringing my order, and the one who brought the check, were all different people.

They were not that busy to have that poor of service.

I came back to the room, just to drop off some of the stuff I was carrying, including some swag I got from panels. Then I headed back over to the main hall, for a while.

The next panel I wanted wasn’t until 7, and it was just after 5, but I was hurting again, so I just went up to just sit.

There is a “food court” with a seating area, but every seat is taken up by people just sitting there, not eating, even though there are plenty of rooms with panels that they could sit in, and maybe be entertained.

One panel was really just a trivia contest, for Andy’s mint chocolates. Many of the questions and answers I did not have any clue about. Other questions, I was just way too slow for my brain to process.

One question was about a character that liked lollipops, no one was answering, so I joking called out “Kojak”. The host thought it was funny enough, so I got a chocolate.

San Diego

2025-07-242025-08-21 SDSpivey

I arrived in San Diego and it felt odd to not have to immediately pull out my passport. Every trip I have made, in many years has been international, in destination.

I headed towards the exit, but I had a thought while on the plane, maybe the hotel has a shuttle. So I asked at the info desk, “How do I get to the hotel shuttles?” He asked which hotel and I told him and he replied they had no shuttle.

Fine I will just Uber then. Holy crap, a mile and a half ride was going to be nearly $45. Forget that, I will just take the city bus.

It was not easy following the Google Maps directions, as there were so many different levels of “roadway”, but I managed to fine the bus stop and sat to wait.

Checking the directions again, I noticed it was 28 minute estimate for the next bus. It was only an 18 minute walk, so screw it, I’m walking. I had nothing but time anyway.

It wasn’t a hard walk. I found the hotel and check in was swift and easy. I dumped my stuff in the room and headed out to find food, as all I had so far was a tiny bag of chips on the plane.

I headed out with the intention of going to a Mexican restaurant I found in the map, 3/4 mile away. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go that way, as there is a fence surrounding the property. Trying to find my way around, I spot a Subway sandwich shop. It isn’t what I want, but I am hungry and I’m still in the hotel parking area still.

I am surprised, they actually have whole wheat bread, without oats and nuts on top. I can’t find that at home for several years now.

He makes my sandwich and then rings it up, $15.51!!! WTF, this same sandwich in Florida, or anywhere else, would only be $6+tax. But since it was already made, I couldn’t just say no.

I don’t know if it because it is close to the hotel or because everything in CA is high priced, but I went back up to my room to eat. Partly because I didn’t want to find out how much the drinks were.

After turning on the TV, which had a message welcoming me, by name, I flipped through a few channels, finding that the on-screen descriptions did not match any of the shows on any channel.

I decided to bring my Amazon Fire Stick, so I checked the back of the TV (which had a decent swivel base) and inserted it and switched the input to the second HDMI port.

It booted just fine, but when I went into the network settings to connect the WiFi, it had a problem. On my other devices, they would auto-load a webpage, then I would have to click a link to bring up another page to enter room number and last name (the password). Unfortunately, this device didn’t like doing that and froze on the network page, forcing me to cut the power just to get back to the home.

Oh, well, I guess I don’t need to watch TV anyway.

I do have a few episodes download on my iPad, and I can watch streaming on it as well, but so much easier to see it on the larger screen.

It is only 7pm, but it is ten back home. I am exhausted, so I just go to bed.

I am woken at 4:45am by several texts. I had a problem with my RV a week ago, so I had dropped it at a service center.

The CSR had put the wrong info into the work order, so several days were wasted. I had gone in on Friday to clear it up and got the work order fixed.

As it was later in the day and their estimator would not be in until Monday, I expected a call then. After landing, on Tuesday, I had a text from them, but I needed to get to the hotel, and then forgot about them.

Even getting a text at 7:45am would be too damn early, as I am a night owl. Besides they don’t even open until 9am.

I tried going back to sleep, but I was already awake, so I got up and showered. I had to wait a bit for the breakfast to be open, 6:30.

I wandered around the first floor a bit just looking around and found a tourist info stand and got a free San Diego map.

As I walked through the dining area, I glanced at the menu. $18 for just eggs!!! All the prices were high. Never mind, I’m going out on the town anyway, I’ll get something somewhere else.

I took a seat in the “business center” and browsed the map. I decided on going to Balboa Park, which I had seen at home also, so I took an Uber there.

The ride was pleasant enough and was reasonably priced. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I was getting out, I forgot to go to get food. And also, it was only 7am, nothing here would open until 10. I wandered about a little in the park, then walked to a nearby place to get a breakfast burrito. It was just a hole in the wall place, so I walked back to the park to find a bench to sit and eat.

I sat right in a puddle on the bench. Well, it will dry. The burrito was good, as chorizo is always good.

I wandered a bit more, finding a cactus with a tall flowering stalk. There were dozens of humming birds fluttering around, drinking its nectar.

There were also thousands of bees flying around, hitting every possible type of flower. None bothered me, so I didn’t bother them.

After so many trips to foreign countries, this was the most “alien” place I have been. Nothing felt “normal”, which I suppose is good, as what’s the point of traveling if everything is the same as home.

In Florida, most trees don’t have a lot of flowers, at least not for long. Here, every type of tree seems be blooming. There are pines and oaks, of course, but they are different species than Florida. There are so many different trees that I don’t even think I have seen before. I was looking at one tree and noticed a spiky plant in its branches, but as I look I realize, it isn’t in the tree, it was the tree. The base had long ago lost its spikes and appeared more like bark.

I spotted a baobab tree, with its tendrils hanging down, ready to become new trunks to support the tree. The sidewalk went under a huge magnolia tree, perhaps 75 feet across, with a trunk bigger than I could get my arms around even halfway. Our magnolias just go straight up, not out.

I see the twisted, gnarled trunks of perhaps mesquite bushes. There is a pine/fir tree that has a huge knotty base maybe 8 feet across, I would love to have that as it would have some fantastic grain pattern.

On the east coast, so many of our “ornamental” plants came from Europe and Asia, it is nice to see a variety of native plants.

Finally, it is 10 o’clock and the places are opening. I selected an art museum, as it was free. It wasn’t very large, but it had some nice stuff.

I walked past a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, but obviously, no plays at this time of day.

Then I went to the “Museum of Us”. It was a general history museum of humanity. They had some ancient relics but also some modern items. They had a room of secret confessions, people would confess something on a postcard and mail it in, anonymously. They were tame confessions, nothing criminal, like “I hate my mom’s boyfriend, I’ll never eat with him” or “I can’t tell grandma that I’m gay, because she’ll leave me out of her will.” Stupid stuff like that, but interesting somehow.

There was a room that explored our desire and disgust of eating different animals. My personal theory is that we eat ugly animals (cows, pigs, fowl), but not attractive (rabbits, cats, guinea pigs) or extremely ugly animals (camels, worms, insects) unless we have no other choice.

It also included a cannibalism exhibit. Starting off, they show posters of many movies that had a cannibalistic theme or content, like Silence of the Lambs, Robinson Caruso, or Apocalypse Now, before moving on to tribal ceremonies involving human sacrifice and famous cases of forced cannibalism such as the Donner party and the Andean plane crash.

Afterwards, I wandered about town, looking for lunch. I went far, walking through neighborhoods, just seeing the different house styles. Almost went up the ramp to Interstate 5, but caught myself.

I walked quite far, going through “Little Italy”, but I didn’t want overpriced Italian food. I did ask someone as I passed, where to find good, inexpensive food in that area, but he didn’t know, as he was a newcomer.

After walking many miles and hours, without finding a restaurant that wasn’t outrageous, I decided to head back to the room, to rest. I called for an Uber, but after several minutes, it still hadn’t found me a driver. I walked up to the next corner, for shade, and saw a Chinese takeout place, and it was reasonably priced. I canceled my ride search.

As I wait for the previous person to order, I notice, there is no bathroom, so I get my rice with orange chicken to go, and call another Uber, this time it was only 1 minute away.

I asked the driver where he was from, he just said “west Africa.” So I guessed Somaliland, and was not only right, but impressed him as well. Most of the world sees the entire area as “Somalia”, but Somaliland is a self-governing area that is fighting for independence. Further more, they are a “safe” area, unlike Somalia, which has a very high murder rate and pirates that attack ships in the Gulf of Aden.

I watched an English man on YouTube who travels a lot. He made a trip to Somaliland and at one point there is a money-changer sitting on the edge of the street, surrounded by piles of different currencies, in cash. He had never been robbed. That is something that even someone in the US could not do.

I ate my food, then crashed for a couple of hours.

I checked, there were people in the pool, so I got on my swim trunks and went in for a while.

While in there, I realized that I haven’t swam in many years. Probably the last time was when Sherri had rented that house for the weekend, that had a pool. There is nowhere local that is worth going to anymore and the good springs are too far away, so I haven’t gone into the water for a while.

The water was warm enough, but the wind started picking up and was chilling my head too much, so I had to get out.

Walking count: at least 6 miles.