With laughter, hugs and kisses, NDK 2010 comes to a close

I actually started writing this particular post over a week and a half ago. My NDK musings were more fresh then but, as has been the case for some time now, I haven't had much time to actually put my thoughts down lately. Work....go figure. Hopefully, I can get better at putting these posts together in a more timely manner.

This year's NDK was kind of odd to me. Sure, I did have a very good time but the problem was that I'm not sure that I got out and enjoyed it as much as I should have. To start off, more members of the Krew didn't make it this year and then I didn't hit NEARLY the amount of panels that I usually do. I mean, I did hit the "History of Robotech, Part 1" and the "Robotech and the Legacy of Carl Macek" panels. However, I missed the "Robotech Free-for-All" on Sunday. In fact, I missed a panel on Satoshi Kon, the Giant Robot Rumble and "The Late Show" program. Missing "The Late Show" was especially bad because I was the one who came up with the idea and I really wanted to see what they did with it.

So, what did I do at NDK this year? Well....I did spend most of con in "party mode" with my friends who did make it.
We spent quite a bit of time in the atrium at the bar (our tabs were HUGE), walking through a depleted artist's alley (some of my personal favs were missing this year) and browsing through an impressive dealer's room.

This year was also odd in that we didn't have any part in running karaoke for the first time in over 10 years. Due to a..."misunderstanding"... my friends who have run NDK's best and longest running karaoke room were not asked back. We found ourselves fielding questions from karaoke regulars all weekend about the "how's" and "why's". To be honest with you, it was this decision that ran off more of the Krew as karaoke was their "clincher" for coming to NDK in the first place. That said, the 3 main members of the karaoke-crew did come to NDK and we spent most of our time at con together. I was proud of them for not letting that horrible decision keep them from participating (and having fun) as attendees.

So, going back to the panels I did make...
The "Robotech and the Legacy of Carl Macek" panel was PACKED...In fact, I was very lucky to get the front-row seat that I got. What really made the panel fun for me was listening to Rebecca Forstadt talk about working on the TV show. As she was the voice actress for Minmei, it was kind of weird listening to her talk as I kept thinking, "OMG, Minmei is talking to me!" She was a very gracious guest as was Barbara Goodson (Marie Crystal and Sera).One funny thing about this panel was Kevin McKeever (marketing coordinator for Harmony Gold) was texting throughout the panel and my Godzilla ring-tone kept going off every minute or so...

As is the case with me and cons, in general, I like taking pictures of cosplayers...


Easily one of my favorite cosplay pics from this year's NDK (they were VERY nice). Steam punk was pretty much everywhere at the con. There were cosplayers, panels and even the program was steam punk-inspired.

Yoko from Gurren Lagaan was on the menu (yet again) this year as I was looking for any and all things Yoko.

Some of my favorite Yoko cosplay...

Then there was the Yoko merchandise...below are some friends with a Yoko body pillow. You know, I never thought that I would ever purchase one of these but I ended up getting one as well.

Unfortunately, I didn't get as many cosplay pics as I normally would, and with Madarame not making the con this year, my cosplay pics are pretty meager to say the least.

One of my favs...

Not necessarily a cosplay pic but this is a friend of mine (Mr. Funny Cap) who donned this cap when we went out for breakfast on Saturday to the Original House of Pancakes. You should have seen the looks we got that day. Of course, we weren't the only con-goers there since it is just a few blocks away from the DTC Marriott.

With much sadness, on Saturday night we said goodbye to one of our favorite con guests, Wendy Powell. The con program guide said that it was her "fourth and final NDK appearance". When we first saw that line, we were alarmed to say the least as we thought it a mistake to determine how many times a guest could come to NDK. I mean, if the fans still want to see her and she is willing to come, then we should be able to see Wendy as many times as we want to. However, most of our concerns were answered by Wendy herself as she told us that she was leaving the voice acting biz to become a teacher. There were some tearful hugs and goodbyes. Man...is it selfish of me to hope that she comes back someday?

Sunday was spent checking out of the hotel and watching football early and getting autographs in the mid-afternoon.

Mr. Funny Cap was busy cracking me up while we were waiting in line by doing some Minmei imitations. That dude knows all the words to all of the Minmei Robotech songs...hilarious...

So post-con, we went out for a little bite to eat at Red Robin. While there we played the "Who would you be in this manga/anime?" game...it was a terrific way to top off the weekend as we just transferred our gekkiness to another "normal" business.

I was voted the Shin Mitaka (from Maison Ikkoku) of the group. Not really sure what that says about me...anywho, as I didn't post anything from my trip to ComiCon, I will need to dust off the pics I took from that particular trip soon.

DECULTURE!!!