COMIC CON 2010: has Comic Con outgrown San Diego?

Comic Con 2010 San Diego is a wonderful Mecca of pop culture (and this trip was made possible by the Kings Inn Hotel). Comic Con is a combination of a toy convention, TV production confab, and comic book writers meetup all in one.

At one stop you can see a giant booth for Fox Television next to Lionsgate, then Mattel's down the path a bit, and Hallmark Cards has the kid-friendly Hoops&Yoyo just over there. Stan Lee's in Room 33 cracking jokes (I was there). The whole array is dizzying and on this "preview" day, already very crowded.

The question on the floor, literally, is "Has Comic Con outgrown San Diego?" Some who raise the question point to the availability of hotels, but a deeper look reveals that some hotels aren't getting business because they're trying to price gouge the visitor. Still, that problem has others raising the question more assertively. Indeed, it seems every media person's asking someone the question.

Can San Diego handle Comic Con? I'm going to leave that question open for discussion, but I will observe that Comic Con's attracting more than the 125,000 people who have badges. Moreover, it could grow to a point that it draws twice that many people, and up to 300,000 people.

Already, and again this is "preview day" the San Diego Convention Center's having a problem with people who are so tired from the miles of walking they do, they just want to sit on the floor. The SDCC's having employees tell them they can't sit down, which isn't what a sweaty walker wants to hear. Would that happen in Los Angeles or Chicago? Just a question.

Several veteran Comic Con-goers have said that San Diego's willing to make adjustments to keep Comic Con, but the convention just may fare better in another city. 'It's like a LeBron James thing," observed one man who comes annually from New Jersey and was thinking of how The Chosen One left his home team the Cleveland Cavaliers for The Miami Heat, "Do you leave San Diego? The city that gave birth to you?"

That's a question that will be on the minds of many comes Thursday, when Comic Con 2010 is expected to burst at the seems of the San Diego Convention Center.

You have to be here to see it. Comic Con's an incredible event.

Stay tuned.

Glassman tops list to face McCain

Tuscon Vice-Mayor Rodney Glassman

Former Tucson Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman, U.S. Senate candidate from Arizona, freshly bouyed by his SEIU endorsement, took command of the 2nd Democratic primary debate today while besting three other Democrats: former State Representative Cathy Eden (his closest competitor in the polls according to Rasmussen,) Randy Parraz, and John Dougherty.

Arizonans are enjoying debates on both sides of the contest, and it seems Glassman has gone a long way to impressing voters that he will be the best candidate to take on presumptive GOP nominee John McCain in the fall. (J.D. Hayworth trails McCain significantly in most polls.)

"John McCain and I might both love town halls, but the difference is that I would host more in Arizona than I would in New Hampshire."

Rodney Glassman

During a debate earlier today on Yuma's KAWC Radio, Glassman discussed the necessity for securing the border, a hot-button issue in the South-West in general, and Arizona in particular, and outlined national security priorities. Already known as a strong advocate for military veterans, Glassman has also recently announced a plan to ensure high-quality medical services for veterans on the Navajo Nation.

By some reports over 70% of Arizona residents support the recently enacted immigration enforcement law, which has drawn national scrutiny and a series of challenges, and this is sometimes seen as an issue that likely drives more support to GOP candidates.

Glassman also explained how he would go about bringing jobs to Arizona, saying he'll build on this success and continue to campaign on jobs, education and how to finally bring Arizona's concerns -- rather than rigid ideology -- to the U.S. Senate.

"I look forward to talking to the people of Arizona about what they want, and don't want, out of Washington," Glassman said. The lively debates are providing Arizona voters an excellent chance to see the candidates in both parties, and discover where they differ from one another, but it's already shaping up to be a likely Glassman vs. McCain election in November.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, Democratic Campaign Manager (in Minnesota,) journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

In San Diego for Comic Con - On Comic Con, Shirley Sharrod, Andrew Brietbart

San Diego, CA - After a long morning of flying this blogger's in San Diego for Comic Con 2010, thanks to The Kings Inn Hotel, home of The Waffle King.

There are two topics of note to this space that are trending on Twitter today: Shirley Sharrod and Comic Con. Shirley Sharrod is the former USDA regional director who was stripped of her job after a smear attack by conservative Tea Party attack-blogger Andrew Brietbart. Comic Con is the amazing San Diego-based (but for how long?) convention that brings together Hollywood and animation and science fiction. You know you're in the right place when the airport PA announcer says welcome in a Darth Vader voice! This is Mecca for sci-fi fans.

But first Shirley Sharrod.

Shirley Sharrod is a reluctant hero who, before the NAACP on March 27th 2010, gave a great, long speech on the evolution of race relations and how it impacted her. Andrew Brietbart saw her speech, and so blinded by racism, took it and edited it to make it sounds as if Shirley Sharrod was giving a racist message. If anything, she was giving one that's uplifting and here it is in full:



Andrew Brietbart should be jailed for what he did. Saying he's sorry is bullcrap. Andrew Brietbart gave zero thought to how his smear job would effect Shirley and her family. He is an awful, awful, sad man.

Shirley Sharrod should get her old job back and not some civil rights job. President Obama should make everything as it was before Andrew Brietbart decided to act in a criminal way. Throw him in jail!

Or better yet, send him to Comic Con to be thrown to the gallows and punished in a way he would not forget.

Comic Con: it's great to be here.

I've got to wrap this up because Comic Con press registration is on, I need to take a shower and get down there, and Stan Lee's press event is at 5 PM, and Hallmark's is after 6 PM. It's preview day at Comic Con.

Follow me on Twitter and don't forget to take advantage of the food deals of 15 percent off at the Amigo  Restaurant and 20 percent off at The Waffle King at the hotel just by mentioning my blog, Zennie62!

Stay tuned.

Andrew Breitbart defamed Shirley Sherrod; Brietbart could be in trouble

Andrew Breitbart (right)

Taking a Comic Con break to look at what else is happening; Google Trends reveals the ugly story of what happened to previously unknown Shirley Sherrod.

Conservative hit-blogger Andrew Breitbart's known for his extreme approaches in attacking liberals, but what he did to Shirley Sherrod, a goverment worker who gave a speech to the NAACP this year and regarding a matter that happened 24 years ago, was that he apparently made a new video to claim she was racist, and went way too far.

While he says he intended to harm the NAACP, he picked Shirley Sherrod to do it. She did not ask for this. Breitbart altered a video to twist her words.

Andrew Breitbart may be a target for the U.S. Department of Justice' Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (“CCIPS”) which is in the Criminal Division. The website, which was forwarded to this blogger by the DOJ on another issue, covers various types of crimes that involve a computer.

If Breitbart altered the video of Shirley Sherrod to make it look like she was making a statement he then called racist, he's certainly guilty of defamation of character against Shirley Sherrod.

Breitbart may also be guilty of Internet harassment. He certainly should be made a high-profile example to discourage others from these uses of the computer and The Internet to harass a person. Enough is enough.

Computer Crimes: The DOJ's Information.

If you believe you're the victim of a cybercrime, here's a link to another DOJ web page called "Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, United States Department of Justice."

DO NOT RESIST using this resource.

COMIC CON 2010: San Diego's Kings Inn Hotel sponsors Zennie62 at Comic Con

YouTube, Metacafe, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, StupidVideos and Viddler

Kings Inn Hotel 

Zennie62 will be at Comic Con 2010. Kings Inn Hotel San Diego, a great hotel with a cool pool and two full service restaurants, and which is known as the "best waffle spot" in San Diego, is sponsoring Zennie62.com at Comic Con and thanks to San Francisco's SpritzSF marketing!

The Kings Inn Hotel is at 1333 Hotel Circle South in San Diego, just 12 minutes from the airport, and an equal number of minutes from the San Diego Convention Center, where Comic Con is held.

What's neat about The Kings Inn Hotel, aside from its close-to-the-airport location, is the free Wi-Fi (perfect for video-bloggers like me), and their massive interest in all things Comic Con. All way down to their own mascot: "Sir Wafflelot", the waffle king.

SirWafflelot

For a guy like me, who loves waffles, Sir Wafflelot's going to meet his match. Expect Sir Wafflelot to be a big presence at Comic Con, not just at the San Diego Convention Center, but in Zennie62 Comic Con videos, too!

If you're at Comic Con, staying at The Kings Inn Hotel, and spot me, Zennie62, while you're at the Inn, please say "hello" and be in one of my videos. Tell me what you think of Comic Con 2010! Bonus points if you're in costume for Comic Con!

Zennie62 all over

Zennie62 is more than just me, it's our great bloggers like Tom Hayes, Suzannah Troy, Nikky Raney, and blog partners like Aimee Allison and Doc Gurley.  It's also partnerships with The Hearst Corporation and the YouTube Partner Program and The Blip.tv Partner Program.   All of this makes up zennie62media.

At Comic Con, Zennie62 will be covering the debut of movies like The Expendables, starring Sylvester Stallone, and Thor and Captain America, and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, and Hatchet 2, and going to a lot of great parties and events, and most of all meeting a lot of great, creative people.

And not getting a lot of rest.

Stay tuned!  Zennie62 at Comic Con video uploads start Thursday!

Comic Con 2010: Hatchet 2 revives slasher horror film genre

Comic Con 2010 gets bloody.

If you remember "Jason" from the Friday the 13th series, then you know the name Kane Hodder, the man who has the distinction of not just playing him once, but four times, is also known for his role as the gruesome Victor Crowley, in Dark Sky Films' production of Adam Green's Hatchet 2 .

The great news is that Hodder, Green, Danielle Harris, the slasher movie queen of the 21st Century after starring in Rob Zombies' Halloween and H2, and the entire cast of Hatchet 2 will be at Comic Con 2010 in San Diego.

On Friday, Kane Hodder Tony Todd , R. A. Mihailoff (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Danielle Harris (Hatchet, Hatchet 2, Halloween), Tom Holland (Child's Play), and Adam Green (Hatchet, Hatchet 2,) will be on a panel called "Old School American Horror," at 6:30 PM PDT in Room 32 AB at the San Diego Convention Center.

Hatchet II 

The cast of Hatchet 2 will also have an autograph session before the panel, which starts at 2:30 in room AA20.

Video-blogging with the Cast of Hatchet 2

The other cool news is this video blogger will be shadowing the cast of Hatchet 2 on Friday evening, with a camcorder. I think I'll use the less intrusive and fun Flip Camera. But I digress.

Hatchet: The Slasher Movie

Hatchet is the 2006 movie based on the story of Victor Crowley, a person who was subjected to abuse from kids in his neighborhood due to his born deformities. On Halloween night, a group of kids try to scare Victor by throwing fire into his house. In trying to save him, Victor's father accidentally kills him with a hatchet, which he used to try to get into the house, not realizing that Victor was on the other side of the door.

Video from the first Hatchet:



After the incident and 10 years later, Victor's father dies of grief. During that period of time, a series of awful murders takes place - all done as it happens, by Victor.

When Victor's discovered by tourists and a woman named Marybeth (Danielle Harris), they try to kill Crowley in various ways; he survives each attempt. Finally, Victor gets his revenge, killing each one of them, until it's down to just he and Marybeth. The first Hatchet ends as Victor has Marybeth underwater.

That's where Hatchet II picks up.

Stay tuned. And subscribe to YouTube.com/zennie62 for videos from Comic Con.

Degrassi Season 10 Premiere: Review by Nikky Raney

A review if the season 10 premiere of Degrassi:

Mike Bloomberg's New Deputy by Suzannah B. Troy

I went up to the new deputy in town, deputy mayor Stephen Goldsmith before the breakfast hosted  by Crain's began and interviewed him.  I ask him if perhaps Bloomberg hired him, a Republican, late in the game because Bloomberg wants to run for President.  You can hear it and watch on my YouTube channel.

Eric Engquist, the reporter hosting this event  for Crain's, is a smart man, good reporter but he sounded like little lord Fauntleory when he said firehouses too close to each other are redundant and Goldsmith agreed.   Goldsmith wants to close them.

How can you push development and close firehouses?  Besides fires where people have died every so recently how about the constant infrastructure breaks including man holes covers exploding and gas leaks and the FDNY answer those calls as well which are so many since Bloomberg pushed a reckless tsunami of development.

Based on Goldsmith's non-answers he is anti-gay marriage and he was so wishy washy and like his hand shake limp and unwelcoming -- he is in big trouble and I don't see him lasting as long as Dan Doctoroff who I would write and call about infrastructure concerns and he said no worries until the steam pipe explosion that looked like a terror attack by Grand Central.

This guy could not handle a few tough questions at a breakfast by 2 news reporters in front of a mostly white audience of business people...he won't last as long as dollar Bill Dan Doctoroff.

He did mention something about a 3.75 billion dollar deficit -- I think he did and of course he happened to mention closing fire houses and getting rid of emergency boxes.

Marshall Fine's off base attack on Comic Con proves he's 20 years behind

Frankly, I've never heard of Marshall Fine and he's probably never heard of me. Now, as of this writing, we've heard of each other. He's not going to forget me after this, because I'm blogging specifically to attack his off-base take on Comic Con in The Huffington Post.

Marshall Fine is 20 years behind the times. 20 years ago movie studios could largely afford to ignore comic books as material for movies. But over that time, something funny happened: it seemed Hollywood got remake and sequel happy and, having redone everything from King Kong to Friday The 13th, realized there was this new thing called digital media and people were playing with comic book-style characters on video games.

Hmmm...

Then Hollywood listened to Marvel Comics' claim that they actually had good human characters that people would pay money to see in movie form with a good story.

And you know what? Spider-Man proved Marvel Comics right. The first installment was just plain good, and with all of that, the first Iron Man movie was even better, and considered by many to be Oscar Best Picture material for a time in 2009.

To write a blog that asserts comic book movies are in some way low-brow is, in itself low-brow. To dismiss geeks and nerds and Comic Con itself as something weird and undesirable, as Fine does, rather than guys who get laid and are creative and girls who are sexy and are creative, and a convention of the new and exciting, is just a plainly laughable expression of jealously.

Geeks and Nerds rule at the center of an ever-increasing tech pop culture. Comic Con is Mecca. Hollywood knows it.  Marshall Fine, should know it too.

Come on, Rip Van Winkle. Wake up.

Thor / Captain America Marvel Comic Con Panel promises to be huge

Thor's banishment from Asgard

With all of the buzz about Angelina Jolie making an appearance at the famous Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center for Comic Con 2010, some Monday buzz promises to make Saturday just as big an event.

First, there will be an 11:15 AM Comic Con autograph session with the directors and talent of Marvel Studios' Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.

That means you'll get to meet Thor's legendary director Kenneth Branagh and stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). Then they're followed by Captain America: The First Avenger director, Joe Johnston, and stars Chris Evans (Captain America) and Hugo Weaving (Red Skull).

To attend the enormous event, you'll have to get a special ticket. Marvel asks you to come by the booth #2329 early Saturday morning to participate in a lottery for the right to go to the sessions.

Marvel Comics Entertainment is making the first theatrical film installment of Thor and of Captain America. So to have an evening panel cryptically titled...

Marvel Studios: Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger— Producer Kevin Feige and special guests give you an inside look at the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hall H

...means something big is in store for the San Diego Comic Con audience that will certainly gather well before 6 PM and then rush in to get the first seats. And why not?

Thor and Captain America are comic book legends of such magnitude they seem almost real. In the digital age, their on screen presence promises to extend their life by many decades.

The New Set Photo

The new set photo above has been flying around the web and from the looks of it, paints the picture that Thor is a big budget blockbuster.  The speculation is that this is Thor's banishment from Asgard to Earth.   I think Quint of Ain't It Cool News got it right on.

Thor and Captain America in 3-D

I'm personally not a fan of the rush to 3-D for movies, even though, if it's going to be done, Thor and Captain America are perfect vehicles for it. But what's bothersome to me is the impact Avatar had on my eye: they hurt a bit afterwards. Moreover, according to The LA Times, the movies will not be shot in a 3-D way, but use a reportedly more elaborate conversion process.

It's clear Marvel Studios Producer Kevin Feige doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of Clash of The Titans, which was hammered by Avatar Producer / Director James Cameron as a 2-D movie trying to be a 3-D movie, but feels passionate about the need to have 3-D conversion used for both films.

Stay tuned.

Hammer Films back in business and comes to Comic Con San Diego

Hammer CEO, Simon Oakes will come to Comic Con San Diego to discuss Hammer Films presentation of its latest offerings Let Me In and The Resident, and the recent casting announcement of Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe in the movie Women In Black.

If you've wondered where you've heard the name Hammer Films, here's a video hint in the form of a "Tribute to Hammer":

Now you get it? Christopher Lee, who you probably know as Count Doooku in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Now, as in Hammer Films lore, Lee plays a villain.

In the 1980s Hammer Films stopped production due to a loss of American funding and had remained in hibernation.

Exclusive Media Group has revived the brand and is taking it back to the business of horror movies.

At Comic Con, Hammer Films will produce the panel for Let Me In on Saturday July 24th at 1:30PM in Hall H at San Diego Convention Center.

It's great to have Hammer Films back in action!

Stay tuned.

Jessi Slaughter's Mom talks about Internet harassment to her daughter

The latest in the most awful story of Internet troll harassment done to 11-year-old Jessi Slaughter, is in the form of a long interview Jessi Slaughter's Mom gave to the blog MomLogic.com.

This blogger was informed of it via a contact at Warner Bros, which owns the division called Telepictures, which in turn produces The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tyra Banks Show, Extra, TMZ.com and TMZ on television.

Jessi's Mom Dianne Leonhardt spoke exclusively to MomLogic.com. Here's some of that interview:

momlogic: How did all of this Internet drama start?

Dianne Leonhardt: On Thursday evening, it all started. I got a phone call from a guy [representing] himself as a police officer and inquiring about an alleged missing person -- a kid -- who knew or was associated with my daughter. I asked for the missing kid's name and my daughter said she didn't even know who he was. Something didn't seem right; the call seemed weird. So I asked the "officer" what the police chief's name was, and he hung up. The phone rang again, and I told the guy that if he was a real police officer to send a unit to my door. My daughter became more upset because someone had posted a photo of her over the Internet using her head with someone else's body. My daughter was sitting by the computer, and that's the video where my husband was screaming for all of this to stop. We shut the computer down and we were very upset.

ml: When did the actual police get involved?

DL: We all went to bed that night, and then at 1:15 AM, my doorbell rang. Our dog started barking and we heard bam, bam, bam ... someone was banging on our door. It was the Marion County Sheriff's Department. An officer said an anonymous tip had come in that our daughter was hurting herself. He wouldn't tell us who called the tip in, but he made me wake my daughter up to make sure she was OK. The officer was really rude and my daughter kept denying that she made any videos. She kept saying, "I didn't do any of this!" He was here for about 15 minutes.

The next morning, my husband and I were sitting in our home when the doorbell rang again. Another sheriff's department officer was banging on the door. This time, they had another anonymous tip from someone in California claiming my daughter had female prostitutes coming in and out of our home from ads posted on Craigslist. Again, my daughter denied making any of these videos. In the meantime, my mother-in-law called from Michigan, saying she'd gotten a message on Facebook from a man who sent a photo of my daughter with some other guy. I have no idea how they even found her on Facebook! I put the officer on the phone with her and he took down the information. I then went onto my Facebook page and the same guy had sent me a message, too.

After the officer left, I had messages on my voice mail from a man asking me for sex. The guy left his name and number. I also received a death threat on my voice mail, so we called the police back. It was from a bogus number, so they couldn't trace it. The same number has been calling for the last two days, all day and night. We believe it's the same person.

ml: Were you aware that your daughter had been making and posting these videos online?

DL: Jessica has a webcam and a computer. All of her friends have webcams, too, so they video chat with each other. I knew she'd made a video to apply for "America's Got Talent." She sings and sent an audition video in. I had no idea she was making other videos. I have seen her chatting with her friends, but not making videos.

The rest of the interview, which you can see in its entirety here, reveals a young girl who indeed was taken into protective custody, has apparently lied to her Mom about the videos she made, and is existing in a kind of "hell hole" of a place that is protective custody and with defined hours for the children and visitation times. Jessi told her Mom she didn't make the videos that have her using the term "pop a Glock," and I'm sure her mother would want to know where she got that term from.

What's also disturbing is that Jessi's Mom seems to be in a state of denial about the whole thing. At one point she tells Mom Logic.com that "I haven't watched the videos" - she should.

U.S. Department of Justice is sleeping on this

What Jessi and her Mom and family are going through is totally nuts. She tells MomLogic.com this:

DL: I heard there were over a million views online of people looking at these videos. My phone has been ringing nonstop. I have let my phone go to voice mail, and people are calling and leaving crazy messages. A car company called because [someone] used [Jessi's] name requesting information on a vehicle. Domino's Pizza called because [someone] used her name to order hundreds of pizzas online. Pizza Hut called confirming an order for more than $1,000 worth of pizza; a girl left a message on our voice mail saying, "Hope you're enjoying the pizza." Now I am hearing [that] people are saying online that Jessi killed herself! She's an 11-year-old girl! We're trying to figure out what she posted and what she didn't -- what's real and what's not. We've received many threats. This is out of control. People think this is funny, but they don't realize the damage they're doing.

As I've written, what's going on is against the law and it's a total shame the U.S. Department of Justice is not taking a stand against these out and out federal offenses. What's happening to Jessi Slaughter and her family isn't funny. It reflects a very sick society.