Comic Con Day 5: The Last Day At Summer Camp

Sorry for the lateness of this entry, but after such a full week at the Con, I'm still trying to catch up. I'm worn out to my very bones, but it's the kind of exhaustion you only get from meeting gorgeous celebrities and having them profess their love to you... via an autographed photo. It's quite a satisfying feeling.

But now that I've had a few days to process it all, I wanted to take a quick look back at Sunday. The final day of Comic Con 2009 was a lot like that final day at summer camp -- those of us who have been there the whole time are walking around just a little more slowly, remembering all the fun things we did, all the cool people we met, and just soaking it all in one last time.

"Oh look, there's the Playmate from 1998! She's so sad...we're going to miss you, lady trying desperately not to age!"

"There's the Twilight booth, where I nearly got decapitated by a 14 year old girl grabbing a poster!"

"The Star Wars booth! I can still smell the nerd sweat from all the chubby Jedi-wannabes permanently soaked into the carpet after they stood there for three hours watching clips from the movies up on that big screen."

"The G4 booth, my home away from home this week, and the site of me becoming even more famous than I was before! I'm going to miss you, and miss being on live television..."

...that's literally me in the center, with the green hat on, showing off my rub-on tattoo of Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn. And so my already considerable fame grows.

It was a bittersweet day; a lot of kids were there because it was some kind of family day or something, so a lot of the booths had giveaways targeted to the youngest fans. Basically, that translated into "stay away from the WB booth or you'll get run over by 400 strollers."

But it was still Comic Con, and plenty of people were there for the first day all week (clearly not the most dedicated Con-goers, since even I knew that you can't wait until the last minute to register or you'll be out of luck). It was kind of sad seeing the costumes on Sunday, because those of us who had been there all week knew that we'd seen the best of the best on Saturday, and that the Sunday cosplayers were just a day late and a dollar (or more) short.

Since Saturday is essentially the thrilling climax of the Comic Con story, Sunday felt kind of like those nine different endings from The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (which I heard mentioned at least three times during the week). Not that the endings were bad, it's comparable in that, just when you think it's all over, it's still going. So it was with the Con; I kept thinking that the floor would be empty when I turned around, but every time I circled back to the main area (around the movie/TV booths), there were still plenty of people.

I did catch a few photo gems that I missed earlier, including the best statue ever:

...a sign that drew a lot of agreement, in both scream and non-scream form:

...Princess Leia, in the only costume truly recognized by the nerd community:

...the pope (Wait, the pope? Really? Does he have a comic book coming out?):

...me with Blair Herter, correspondent for G4 and apparently a former contestant on Road Rules back in the day:

...movie expert Chris Gore in a pink baby T-shirt:

...and, just to round things out, the G4 International Sexy Ladies Show girl, still somehow in that bathing suit and still somehow able to smile about it:

All in all, Sunday at the Con was fun; I watched a trivia contest hosted my Mr. Herter in the G4 booth (the winner got some really cool stuff, including a life-size replica storm trooper helmet... goodness sakes, I think I need to get away from all the nerds before I become any more like them), I picked up some more swag, I bought myself a Guy Fawkes mask (from V For Vendetta, of course) and just took it all in one final time.

If we're going to use the camp analogy, let's take it a step further and identify some of my favorite things from the week, using camp terms to complete the thought:

Camp Counselor: Olivia Munn, who was clearly the person I was there to see, and she did not disappoint. From the Running Of The Munns (I hope I don't have to pay royalties to use that) to the autograph session and everything in between, she helped make Comic Con '09 the highlight of my year so far. I think it's too late, I'm already a nerd.

Camp Song: The Attack Of The Show theme, which a room full of nerds hummed on kazoos for the AOTS panel. Also, the Star Wars theme, which can make an entire convention hall of nerds freeze in their tracks and look heavenward to find the source of their greatest dreams come to life.

Coolest Cabin: For me, it was the G4 booth, not only because of Miss Munn and the live coverage of the Con, but because they made their celebrities accessible, they gave away a lot of free stuff (I have an AOTS T-shirt, a handful of buttons, a stack of rub-on tattoos, a green poker visor, and an autographed picture of Olivia Munn given to me after one of the handlers saw that I had Olivia and Kevin's signatures on my forearm), and they always had something going on worth checking out. As I chatted briefly with the handler who gave me the autographed Munn photo, I mentioned how much I loved their booth, and I literally said, "See you next year!" like every kid at camp does. Otherwise, I enjoyed the Iron Man booth (with the four Iron Man suits), the Twilight booth (for giving away sooooooo much), and the Hasbro booth with the G.I. Joe suits.

Lamest Cabin: clearly the WB/CW/whatever that network's called booth. For one thing, it was massive, it was right in the middle row, and it was horribly designed in terms of accessibility. Whenever they had celebrities, they were tucked away under the second story where you couldn't see them. When they didn't, they had some Rock Band thing in one of the corners, but it was always packed and you couldn't really see what was going on. They didn't hand out swag; you had to wait in a line and circle around the booth a couple times before you got to the counter and they handed stuff to you. If the Con was indeed summer camp, the WB booth was the cabin full of kids who had poison oak.

Mess Hall: I didn't actually buy anything to eat there, although they have a few concessions areas, as well as some Starbucks locations, inside the convention center. More little snack carts were positioned here and there, but none of it looked all that good, and was pretty expensive (like, movie theater expensive), so I settled for some homemade sandwiches. Peanut butter, honey and cinnamon sure hit the spot though, and you need a good source of energy like that to survive the Con floor for five days.

Favorite Camp Activity: Going to my first panel was lots of fun, and the gang from AOTS put on a great show. Along with the clip they showed us:



...they really brought us all together with the kazoos and the nerd rave. If they had had a Con-wide softball game, that might have trumped the panel... but it still would have been close.

Hope To See You Next Year: Obviously I'll be hanging around the G4 booth again next July, getting on live TV and having gorgeous starlets falling in love with me... again. But I really just want to see the things that make Comic Con so special -- the costumes, the crowds, the larger-than-life booths and the general craziness. And if the International Sexy Ladies Show girl is there again, that wouldn't hurt either.

So with a full Comic Con experience under my belt, I feel like I learned a lot; not only about comics, movies and television, but about myself and my fellow nerds. This whirlwind adventure got me pumped up, took my breath away and left me pretty exhausted, but most of all, really showed me a great time.

Next year, I'm going to see what I can accomplish with my press pass, maybe set up some pre-scheduled interview time, and hopefully try to stay more informed about the new releases and accompanying celebrities that will be there.

And maybe over the winter, I'll write a letter to some of the new friends I made, remembering all the fun we had this summer at Comic Con.

Comic Con Day 4: Hit That High Note

If Comic Con was the ideal baseball lineup, then Saturday definitely fits as the cleanup hitter.

Sorry, that analogy is not the way to go for this demographic. Hang on...

If Comic Con was Episode IV of the Star Wars saga, then Saturday definitely fits as the moment Luke blows up the Death Star.

That's much better.

Saturday at the Con is the climax of everything that has been building for the previous three days. The masquerade ball is Saturday night, so all the nerds bust out the prime costumes. The exhibitor booths pull out all the stops with their giveaways. Celebrity sightings are big and frequent. The floor is jam packed. And G4 network's live coverage of the event kicks off, complete with a gorgeous hostess (see previous blogs here) dressed up as a variety of superheroes (more on that in a bit).

The energy in the convention center is buzzing. You can see people walking with just a little bit more of a spring in their step. The overheard conversations are almost frantic with excitement and anticipation. Noises of every kind imaginable are coming from the big booths in an attempt to capture your attention for even the slightest of seconds. Comic Con Saturday is almost alive in its own right.

The day started with a sign of things to come -- the official outfit of the nerd:

That's right: socks with sandals. Right from the get-go, I knew it was going to be an amazing day.

This being my first year at the Con, I had made it a point to try and experience the event like a typical nerd (which wasn't hard, given my eighth grade school photo, which I hope we don't have to mention anymore). I wanted to wait in lines, grab swag left and right, run after beautiful women just to have them scribble on something, and cheer for things I've never heard of just to get a free t-shirt thrown in my general direction.

Having gone to a screening on Wednesday, learned some valuable lessons about lines and swag on Thursday, and acted like a completely crazed fan on Friday, I thought I was ready for whatever the Con could throw at me on Saturday.

And then I saw this guy:


...and I nearly peed my pants. Seriously, he was easily 6'6" and ripped, plus he didn't really say much, and when he did talk it was something about joining the resistance. And thusly did my Saturday at Comic Con officially begin.

I got to the convention center early to wait in line for a drawing that would determine who would be allowed into the Attack Of The Show autograph session later that afternoon. After a good hour in line, I manged to pick a winning ticket on my first draw (those drawing a blank ticket could return to the back of the line to wait for another chance until all the winning tickets had been drawn). Now, I don't want to sound weird, but I have to admit -- I actually prayed that I would draw a winning ticket. It wasn't a crazy deal like, "God, I'll never lie again if I get this!" or anything, but in my head, I remember literally praying to God that I really, really wanted to make it into this session and asking Him to let me get it. Whether or not you believe in this sort of thing, I have to say...drawing a winner on the first try didn't happen very often from what I heard in line. Not that God is overly concerned with my desire to meet famous people... but the point remains, I got in and I was super stoked.

But I had a few free hours before the next big event on my schedule, the G4 Network's live coverage of Comic Con, which began at 1 p.m. I've been on television a few times before, as I'm sure you'd expect from someone of my gratuitous level of fame, but as I mentioned, I wanted the full Comic Con fan experience, and if getting in the background of a live TV show isn't on a nerd's must-do list, then I guess I just don't know nerds at all.

So once again, I headed for the exhibition hall for a look around. I had heard that Saturday was a big day, and it makes sense for all the reasons we mentioned before, but I was not prepared for what I saw and heard (and sometimes smelled).

I guess it was the combination of so many people having their attention pulled in so many different directions -- it felt a little bit like being in a big nerd amusement park, only instead of rides there were celebrities everywhere. Every time I turned around, I saw...

Rob Zombie:

...Jamie Kennedy:

...Tyrese Gibson:

...comedian Doug Benson:

...Yvonne Strahovski (if you don't know who she is, you should Google her right now...do it!):

...Nina Dobrev (you may not know who she is now, but you will):

...Billy Connolly (from the immortal TV show Billy back in the early 90s, as well as The Boondock Saints, The Last Samurai, and Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events, to name a few):

...Kathy Najimy (from Sister Act and Rat Race, among others):

...and I'm sure there were more that I didn't even see. There is always something big going on at the Con on Saturday, it is beyond impossible to see everything.

I made my attempts though, and despite the crowds, I soldiered on. When the constant jostling, the heat, and the body odor of the crowd got to be too much, I found a little spot by one of the stairways to grab a seat and catch my breath (and upload my photos for my many adoring fans). But the electricity of the floor kept pulling me back in, and I powerless to fight the alluring call.

Plus, the chance to get on live TV will make regular people do the weirdest things, and for someone as famous as I am, I have to say that I guess I'm not entirely immune to this phenomenon. Actually, I'll just play it off like whatever I was doing was on purpose to get the full fan "experience." I don't think anyone will question that.

So I headed over to the G4 stage, which was a two-story structure tucked away nearly in the corner of the exhibition hall, with a commanding view of the floor:

The network's coverage of the convention began at 1 pm, but, as with everything at the Con, people started gathering much earlier than that to secure their chance at television immortality. Even though I got there around 12:45 pm, I still managed to find a few gaps and slip up towards the edge of the stage. At that point, this happened:

That's me in the green hat, and this was on television. And so my already considerable fame grows.

Of course, just to make my family proud, I had to do something to draw attention to myself, so I did this:

Yep, that's me showing off a rub-on tattoo of Kevin & Olivia I put on my right shoulder. Again, this was on live television. Granted, it was on the G4 network, so only a few mill... um, thous... OK, it was like 60 people who saw this. And it was totally worth it...

Now, I'm typically not a "screaming masses" kind of guy, but it was pretty fun to just hang out with the other fans and act all crazy every time the stage manager waved his hands. But with the stage elevated, our view was pretty much this:

...which was cool from a behind-the-scenes standpoint, but was difficult from a neck pain standpoint, having to keep looking up like that. I enjoyed using my camera to zoom in and read the teleprompter to see what they were supposed to be saying, then hearing them ad-lib for minutes at a time before they were forced to return to the scripted text. One of my favorite aspects of Attack Of The Show is that the hosts have such great rapport with each other that you don't feel like you're watching a show as much as you feel like you're watching your good-looking, really funny friends hang out and entertain you. As much as I watch the show (I have my DVR set to record it every afternoon so I can watch it later), I was really excited to see the live coverage.

And they didn't disappoint... at least, not entirely. The show was three hours long, and even though a lot of it was happening in front of our eyes, there were a lot of pre-taped segments and commercials, so there was a lot of down time. They did a good job of keeping interest somewhat alive by having Kevin & Olivia come down into the crowd from time to time:

...but even so, I just couldn't stand there the whole time. I'm sure some veterans of the Con were able to handle it; three hours is a cake walk compared to a line leading to anything Star Wars-related.

One other incentive was Olivia dressing up as various superheroes, beginning with Wonder Woman:

...and continuing with Batman villain Harley Quinn:

...Lara Croft, Tomb Raider:

...Marvel villain Emma Frost:

...and Watchmen heroine Silk Spectre, which I failed to digitally capture.

Kevin did his part, dressing up as Mammogramo (as you can see in the above picture), as well as a Japanese raccoon:

with some... well, let's just say that he's not storing those acorns away for winter.

It was interesting to watch the choreographed chaos that is live television unfold before my very eyes, and see really how much the hosts put into pulling it all off. I don't know where they get their energy, but Kevin & Olivia kept things going for the entirety of those three hours, and even had to shoot some alternate endings for the show after it was all done. I was exhausted just watching, so they must have been pretty much done. Olivia still had a Star Wars-related internet series to present afterward (Olivia Munn + Star Wars = no way in Hello Kitty would I try to wait in that line), so apparently she has the stamina of a Navy SEAL. Or she injects pixy stix straight into her bloodstream every commercial break. Whatever she does, it's working.

But I had to conserve some energy for the grueling line I knew awaited me for the AOTS autograph session. I had drawn a winning ticket, but I heard that there were 599 others just like mine, and I had learned by now that nothing this big happens at the Con without a line forming hours in advance. So with the live show wrapping up at 4 pm and the autograph session set to begin at 5:30 pm, I headed up to the autograph area at about 4:10 pm to jump in the back of the line.

Turns out I was about eight tenths of the way to the back by the time everybody showed up, and my line neighbor was a pot-growing fledgling comic artist named Mike (who would have been one of the most entertaining people ever had I not been so sleep-deprived and nervous about meeting Kevin & Olivia). I sat for a good 40 minutes on the bare concrete floor, then stood back up for a good 40 more minutes before a triumphant cheer from the crowd finally announced the arrival of the talent.

The G4 team kept the line moving quickly, but still allowed everyone time to talk briefly with the hosts and get a poster (and/or some other items) signed. When I got up there, I first saw a glimpse of Olivia and my heart started really thumping, I kid you not:

I didn't really know what to say, despite the fact that I had been rehearsing a few different options in my head for the entirety of the line wait. What came out was this:



I'm amused/mortified at the audible change in my voice when she started talking/looking at me. As a reformed (reforming?) dork, I felt like I had made significant progress in my 28 years on this planet. This event showed me that I have come nowhere near as far as I had thought. I will grant that she is an extremely beautiful woman, and that a man would have to have no soul to not feel a little nervous around her, but I was reduced to a stammering, quasi-coherent bundle of nerves before I even knew what was going on. I still don't really know what happened, and I'm at least glad I have the video to look at for reference.

Despite my buffoonery, I managed enough of a recovery by the time I transferred over to Kevin's station to have something resembling a conversation. We joked about my autographed forearm as a potential Craig's List item, and I got him to say something cool about me, which turned out to be (as it always is with these two) something dirty (and awesome). I walked away with my head in the clouds and an extra bounce in my step, even though I felt kind of like an idiot as soon as I started thinking of all the other cool responses I could have said to both of them.

But I also got to thinking about why it's so hard to have a normal interaction with somebody famous -- specifically a celebrity I follow with a passion.

My answer, after some deliberation, is that when you watch someone on television consistently, they start to become a part of your life. You laugh at their inside jokes, you remember the crazy things they did, and you identify with them in little ways that give you a sense of real connection. The thing is, it's a completely one-sided connection -- the only thing the celebrity sees when they're putting on the show is a camera. When the real-life meeting finally takes place, you still feel the connection, but the celebrity reacts to you as the stranger you are. They do a great job of being very friendly and making you feel like you're part of what they have going on, but it's still vaguely off-putting to be confronted by the sensation of disconnect, especially when you feel like you've established a link, however superficial it may be. All of this, plus the general nervousness involved with meeting someone new and not knowing how they'll respond, makes it difficult to have a truly natural, real interaction. I know it's easier for some people than it is for others, but I think overall that it's an odd phenomenon no matter what happens.

Either way, I ended up with this:

...and a whole lot more costume sightings, including scary chainsaw girls:

...an awesome Joker and henchman (who were smart and just camped out in this spot to allow for other people to take photos):

...an R2D2 unit that hopefully had a midget inside (you know, just for authenticity's sake):

...Spiderman:

...Mexican Superman & Wonder Woman:

...Thor, Magneto, and... a girl...?:

...my personal favorite, Swag Man (a costume made entirely out of things handed out, plus some duct tape):

...a group of Predators (or rastafarians?):

...Alice and The Mad Hatter:

...Disney princesses Tinkerbell and Snow White:

...and Snake Eyes:

I was pretty jazzed up at that point, so I hit the floor again for a quick lap or two, and kept the camera rolling for a few thoughts:





It was a great Saturday, and as I wedged myself into a trolley seat for the ride back to Qualcomm Stadium, I was exhausted but thrilled. The Con's big day was an experience I'll never forget, and I know a little bit more of what to expect next year.

I just hope there isn't a line for it already.

Comic Con Day 3: Munn-day on Friday!

The pinnacle of my life thus far...and I'm only exaggerating a little bit...

Ah yes, Comic Con Friday.

Like a circus without a ringmaster, the Con hits another gear on Friday with a influx of new arrivals who aren't dedicated enough to take off of work on a Thursday, or who aren't dedicated to just not have a job in the first place. What a bunch of corporate sellouts.

I, on the other hand, claim the good fortune of a job that allows a trip to Comic Con to be classified as "work," with only a near-constant stream of professional e-mails blowing up my phone every 17 seconds as a downside.

My press pass came in extra handy this morning, because (as I'm sure we all knew), today was Olivia Munn day! Everyone's favorite sexy Asian tech show hostess (if you've never heard of her, rest assured -- you will, and soon) had a full schedule, beginning with a meet and greet with her exclusive fan club at 1o am. Those of us in the OMFG (Olivia Munn Fan Group) received a clandestine e-mail from some sort of intern signing Olivia's name this week, and there were a lot of fans wating outside the Atom.com booth, where Miss Munn was announcing her partnership with the company in producing some Star Wars-related Webisodes that will debut soon.

The thing is, the Con doesn't officially open until 9:30 am, so the people with the non-famous person badges had to wander helplessly outside, while a quick flash of the press designation (and, I'm sure, the recognition factor reserved for those of us in the upper echelons of celebrity) quickly allowed me entrance to the nearly-deserted floor.

There were still about 20 fans already there, lining up in an orderly fashion (which I'm getting better at) and alternating between quasi-awkward chatting with their neighbors and anxiously checking the doorway for signs of Olivia. But within seconds of my arrival, the floodgates were opened and the steaming mass of humanity known as Comic Con surged into the main hall. It took under a minute for the line to wrap completely around the booth, and still people came. By the time Olivia showed (at about 10:15), a horde of people converged on the site like zombies to a sorority girl. She managed to get into the booth and say a quick hello to the group before starting the individual photo/autograph sessions, but the crowd was still growing dangerously.



I managed to get her attention with the pie I brought for her (yes, I bought her a pie; she's a well-known pie aficionado, and she mentioned in a recent article that she especially likes the quality offerings of the Julian Pie Co., so I figured it was a no-brainer). Sadly, I have no video evidence of what transpired (I think I hit the wrong button...grr), but here's a basic synopsis of what the "conversation" was like:

Me: (gesturing towards pie and smiling, saying nothing)
Olivia: (smiling) You brought me a pie?!? That's great!
Me: Yes, I did, because I know you like them, and I am not desperate and creepy, I promise.
Olivia: Oooh, what kind is it? (Not seeing the label on the box she is holding in her hands at this point)
Me: I think it's apple mountain berry...did I mention the not-creepy thing already? Just want to make sure we get that across.
Olivia: (Thinking for a second) You know, with all these costumes I'm wearing for the show [Attack Of The Show's live broadcast on Saturday], most of them are pretty skimpy, so I'm on a diet. And you bring me pie? F*** YOU!
Me: (still silently holding onto one end of the pie box, wondering if I should offer to split it with her)
Olivia: I'm just kidding, I love it! Thank you so much! (Puts it down with her stuff to turn her attention elsewhere)
Me: (as she's walking away, trying to be kind of loud but actually speaking in almost a whisper) Hey, that's...yeah...I'm not...creepy...

And...*scene*.

Well, it wasn't exactly that, but it was close. She literally did say the line about the skimpy costumes and she did also say "F*** YOU!" right to my face -- but we get each other's sense of humor that way, so everybody laughed. It was the coolest cussing out I've ever been a part of. If I can manage to get in to the AOTS autograph session on Saturday, I think I'm going to ask her to help me re-create that moment on video -- complete with awkward line delivery and a turn-to-the-camera-thumbs-up finish. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Anyway, before my part of the line could even get inside the Atom.com booth, some killjoy from Comic Con came in and said that there were way too many people in that area and that the whole thing had to move outside. Olivia and her entourage made a break for the front doors, but she didn't get 20 feet before the crowd closed in around her:

She signed a few autographs, took a few photos, but about 45 seconds later, the security team was plowing her through the crowd towards the rear entrance. Wow that sentence sounds dirty...purely unintentional...my apologies. But a pretty accurate visual of what followed would be that of an old-fashioned fox hunt, only instead of English horseman chasing a helpless woodland animal, substitute in a chubby, hustling horde of nerds trying not to obliterate the other innocent convention-goers in a mad dash down a back hallway, up some stairs, and out onto the steps at the rear of the convention hall overlooking the harbor. And I'm quite proud to say that my level of fitness is such that I easily kept pace with Miss Munn and her security goons, even up the stairs (two at a time, thank you very much), while the rest of the geeks were sucking on their inhalers and cowering away from the sun like it was an attacking dragon.

But the now-infamous Munn Run '09 soon concluded, and the business of once again forming an orderly line was underway. I will say this, for as much as lining up is hardwired into the DNA of the Con veteran, it took a rather stern warning from the security officials to finally get the crowd to stop pushing. Once the excitement of the chase died down, the crowd (herd?) settled back into its normal state of calmly waiting in line:


Olivia took time with everybody, including yours truly (as you see in the photo at the top), to sign autographs, take pictures, chat briefly about anything and everything, and even to accommodate some of the more... original requests:

...or offer some of her own suggestions, for some reason:

She was gracious, despite the inconvenience of having to change the location; she was warm and friendly, she was genuinely excited to be there, and none of it came across as false or contrived in any way. That seems to be the hallmark of Olivia Munn -- the best of both worlds. She's gorgeous, but approachable. She's smart, funny, and engaging, while also being real and not above dropping an occasional f-bomb or talking about poo (which we'll mention more on later, if that's any incentive to keep reading). She's a celebrity, but she still very much considers herself a regular person with the outstanding fortune of being able to essentially be wacky for a living (and have people virtually worship her all the while).

The people around her seem to feed off this attitude, and we, the fans, got to see some of how that works in the Attack Of The Show (AOTS) panel.

For starters, this was my first panel, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I'd hear stories and seen clips from previous years, so I knew what the format would be like -- but I had no idea what was going to happen with the lines, the seating, the cooperation of the fans, etc. So I headed up to the meeting room about an hour and a half before the 1:15 pm scheduled start time, since I was told that popular panels like AOTS typically have people "squatting" in prior panels to save seats. This I found to be more than true, and with a sly bit of sidling into the middle of a moving line, I managed to get into the room and into an empty seat about ten rows back. I did, however, have to sit through the panel for Nickelodeon's The Fairly Oddparents, which included some cartoons that I thought were written by middle schoolers, but somehow drew uproarious laughter from most of the grown-ups in the room. I spent some time checking my phone and uploading photos. That was much more entertaining than that cartoon.

But, after a program change during which only a handful of people abandoned their seats, the AOTS panel began in all it's glory. The show's hosts, Munn and Kevin Pereira, were joined by special correspondent/writer Blair Butler and two producers or something that nobody really cared about. They began with an introduction from Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs, or at least somebody with a turtleneck and glasses, and we all got to hum the AOTS theme on kazoos that were handed out before the panel. It's a tough theme to hum on a kazoo, mostly because the actual theme music is kind of electronic and drum driven, and doesn't really have a melody as much as a computerized, robot-esque rap of the show's name. Butler said it best when she said it sounded like "we're being attacked by thousands of bees!"

The panel itself was great; they talked about how they come up with the most popular segment on the show, which is "Around The Net." Basically, they have interns sift through the billions of internet videos out there to come up with 20 potentially show-worthy clips. The hosts and writers debate and come up with the top five, and rank them accordingly. Since the No. 1 video usually leads to some kind of stunt or skit or various other hijinks, they're usually pretty awesome. The recent example they showed us was a video of a little kid trying hot sauce and freaking out, which led to the hosts having a shot-for-shot competition to see who could drink more tabasco. For the record, Kevin "won" with 11 shots, but both he and Olivia went into pretty graphic detail about how awful the next few days were for them as the hot sauce made its fiery exit. And Olivia unabashedly discussed the topic, an unusual move for someone of her sex appeal status, but somehow she pulled it off, like she always does. Bravo.

Another highlight was a clip they put together of a trailer for a new (and fake, for the record) live-action Inspector Gadget movie that seemed inspired by the movie Taken, about a man who rescues his kidnapped daughter. I'm sure it'll be on the internet soon enough...if it isn't already. Since Olivia has a part in the upcoming Iron Man sequel, she talked about that until Kevin revealed that he, too, had a part in the movie, and that he had brought a clip. I won't spoil it for you, but... OK I'll spoil it, it's just him, waving in front of a green screen, dubbed into a clip from the first Iron Man. Classic setup, great acting, punch line... punched.

Oh, and then the panel ended with one of Kevin's dreams coming true: a nerd rave.



If you pause the clip at about 4 seconds in, and look to the left of the screen for a red dot in the middle of yellow, green and white lights... that's me. I had a red glow stick for the nerd rave. And I rocked that red glow stick's face.

After that, I have to be honest... I was pretty much done. I managed to find a quiet little corner to have a quick bite to eat and write down some notes, then I walked the floor for a while before deciding to call it a day (at about 4:30). Olivia still had her Star Wars-related duties to attend to, but I was led to understand that the only way to get access to a Star Wars event at the Con is to have been born in the room where it was scheduled to take place, otherwise it was already full.

Not that I didn't have a few more random sightings, including Danny DeVito:

...some goth cheerleaders...? (That seems contradictory...)

...the coolest and simultaneously nerdiest kid ever (aka Master Chief Jr.):

...a walking, talking car named Bumblebee:

...a "Twilight is gay" t-shirt:

...G4 TV personality and comedian Chris Hardwick:

...and whatever this is...?

By the time I got home, I was pretty pooped -- not quite like what was described in the hot sauce aftermath, but probably just as sore and confused -- and ready to just sit and relax...

...and gather my strength for tomorrow, when AOTS shoots a live show from their two-story stage on the floor at the Con. If you get G4, make sure to watch the show, which starts at 1 pm Saturday, to see if your favorite reporter/blogger makes it into the background on live television.

Whatever goes down, you know I'll be right back here to tell you about, so check back in to see what kind of trouble I get myself into next...