AnimeNEXT - FailCon 09

OK, this year's AnimeNEXT wasn't as fail as last year's AnimeNEXT, but it still fell short in many key areas such as organizations, communication, and quality panels/workshops/gaming tourneys. This year instead of the Meadowlands in Secaucus, they moved it to the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset, which is a much tinier building and they actually had half the convention in the Doubletree Hotel directly behind it. So the Artist's Alley and all the panels, workshops and gaming room were in the hotel while the Dealer's Room and shows were in the exhibit center. Also all the other hotels were across the street, like the Holiday Inn we were in - and this street was very busy. It's funny watching a bunch of otaku in full cosplay trying to dodge oncoming traffic in a Frogger-esque manner. The only plus the Secaucus location had over Somerset was there was a variety of restaurants within that one center within walking distance. I'm talking not only Dunks and Burger King but a Japanese restaurant, Red Lobster and Outback too. There was a variety in Somerset, but you had to drive everywhere.



One major fail was Artist Alley set up. Not only was half the Artist Alley in the hallway which made it very narrow and impossible to maneuver through the hall as retards just stood there in the middle staring at tables, but they didn't assign tables in advance. Instead, the artists had to check in on Friday morning barely 2 hours before the Artists Alley opened and picked locations on a first come first serve basis. On the one hand this was good because Inyx could pick a location that best suited our setup, but on the other hand it wasted a lot of time and added a lot of confusion.



Despite its shortcomings, AnimeNEXT was still pretty fun. The car ride wasn't so bad. There was hardly any traffic and we made good time. Thursday night we just settled into the hotel, got some Burger King and some bagels for the weekend at the nearest Stop n Shop. They had mylar balloons that said "ORGANIC" on them for display to proclaim that their produce was organic and I wanted to steal one but no one would let me. Friday we set up and got the ball rolling. Sales were slower than usual but not terrible. Inyx's boyfriend came up from Maryland and I called up my old Berklee buddy Zac who lives in Jersey and he drove over and we all went to the diner down the street. Everyone hit it off with Zac right away and we were all laughing our balls off the whole time. We were talking about great movies, music and sex...LOL. Saturday we did better sales. 3 of Flav's scarves sold. I didn't do as well as AB, but I still sold a bit and again the Brain Slugs were the hit of the con. Wig accidentally flooded the bathroom and there was water EVERYWHERE. It wasn't entirely his fault, the toilet was running a lot all weekend to begin with so it didn't help when he clogged it on top of that. But it was fixed while we were busy at the convention. Sunday went by fast and we went to Ruby Tuesdays for end-of-con dinner. It was my first time at a Ruby Tuesdays. I enjoyed their burgers immensely. And throughout the whole weekend was the usual anime/geekery/sexual innuendo-inspired hilarity that usually occurs. Inyx's boyfriend Chris is a great guy and he fits right in w/the crew.



The best thing about this weekend: My brain slugs are so popular, the guy who does the voice of Brock on Pokemon, Bill Rogers, bought Inyx's off her. So now a fairly famous anime voice actor owns something I made.



The car ride home was a little slower. We tried to avoid going directly through NYC, but the Tom Tom wanted us to take an exit that got us off 95 so we ignored it and trudged on, ending up on the New Jersey Turnpike and lots of traffic. It was mostly people trying to get on George Washington Bridge and some backup at the tolls and after that it was smooth sailing again. Still, we left the Ruby Tuesdsays at quarter to 7 and didn't get back to Revere until almost 1. Good thing I don't have to leave for work unitl 2 tomorrow. I still need some sleep. If I remember anything else specific I should share about the trip I'll post it, and I'll also post the pics on Flickr either before or after work tomorrow.



Also I'm another tweet sheep. Follow me if you care, it's orGAZm. I only joined because the owner of TShirt Hell was doing contests for money and free shirts, then I got hook on following my favorite comedians, Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members and such. In fact, if it weren't for Twitter, I wouldn't know that Kevin Smith was