C2E2: Cool happenings to look out for!

C2E2 starts tomorrow and let me just say I am jealous! I have always wanted to go to C2E2 since it's inception in 2010, I envisioned knocking out one of my bucket list items by attending a game at Wrigley then hitting up the convention to complete the trip. Unfortunately that has not been an option for me yet but that has not stopped me from researching and planning what I would consider doing!

So without further ado here are some cool happenings that caught my eye on what is available at C2E2:

SCAVENGER HUNTS!

POWER UP WITH C2E2’S MOBILE SCAVENGER HUNT!
I am not sure why but scavenger hunts have always peaked my interest. I am not sure if it is the competition of completing it or the prize that can be won in the end. C2E2 looks to be having a pretty fun one that requires downloading the Official C2E2 Mobile App then trying to locate a bunch of QR codes scattered all over the convention floor!

Here is a link to get more info on the scavenger hunt at C2E2:

http://www.c2e2.com/Whats-Happening/Events-I-Q/Power-Up-Scavenger-Hunt/

Operation Anti-Reach: C2E2 Edition
Young Justice fans this one is for you!
http://christopherjonesart.tumblr.com/post/48843092401/christopherjoneswebminion-i-made-a-young

FREEBIES!!!

The title says it all right? Who doesn't love freebies! There will be a lot! Just visit the comic publisher booths that I mention later in this article and I am sure you fill your bags with a bunch of goodies. It is also a good idea to keep track of Twitter and Facebook for other surprises that may pop up. 

The number one thing to do when Marvel is at a convention is to download their app - Marvel Events App it will have everything they plan on doing on that app. So signings, giveaways, etc will be there.

Here are a few more contest and other that made me pause and take notice: 

Archaia Entertainment LLC are running a Foursquare, Instagram and Twitter contest all details can be found here - https://www.facebook.com/events/434507266642329/

FEARnet is running a booth contest where you can win the PS3 video game Dead Island Riptide -http://instagram.com/p/Yf7o7BkFne/

FUNimation - Check-in on Foursquare at the FUNimation Channel C2E2 panel on Sunday, 4/28 at 12:15pm CT. Room W470a. Free giveaways at the panel! - https://www.facebook.com/FUNimationChannel/posts/539845066058600

Star Wars Action News 

Going to @C2E2 this weekend? Get one of our free collectir's badges. The first 100 people who Find a Star Wars Action News host get this awesome badge with a code on the back for an exclusive T-Shirt design download! - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151427447067153&l=96f94ef08d

Tim Seeley - ‏@HackinTimSeeley (twitter)

By the way, the first REVIVAL cosplayer I see gets a free 'CBLDF exclu. issue 9.' There's a still a few days until C2E2...

Christopher Jones - ‏@ChrisJonesArt (twitter)

Remember, show me at @C2E2 that you follow me on Twitter & receive a FREE button or Disco Nightwing mini-print! #C2E2 

Andy Price - ‏@AndyPriceArt (twitter)

First person at the show to bring us a box of Fannie Mays gets a free $10 size head sketch! @c2e2  #Bronies

Dear Dinosaur the Webcomic is running a cute first get type contest 

If you are at C2E2 this weekend, here is a fun challenge! The first person to get a sketch of Dear Dinosaur in Artist Alley wins an original Dear Dinosaur page! Just post a picture here or to Ryan on twitter (@RyanSchrodt) along with the name of the artist to win! -  https://www.facebook.com/DearDinoComic?v=wall

PANELS AND SIGNINGS!

Looking over the panels offered there are definitely a couple I would have liked to attend such as the DC Entertainment - ALL ACCESS, Beer & Comics and Felicia Day Q&A panels on Friday. The Travel Channel’s “Toy Hunter” – This is Not Your Ordinary Child’s Play!, DC COMICS – THE NEW 52, PETER PANZERFAUST – FROM COMICS TO SCREEN, VALIANT 2013: HARBINGER WARS AND BEYOND and The CHEW Panel panels on Saturday. The Marvel: Next Big Thing, We Are BOOM! and MARVEL: X-Men panels on Sunday.

They have some cool guests that are attending and signing (fee and free) that can located here - http://www.c2e2.com/Whos-Coming/Autographs/

ARTIST ALLEY!

This is the area that I love to spend most of my day at as it gives me the unique opportunity to communicate with the creators (if attending) of the comics that pre-occupied most of my time as a youth and still till this day as an adult. Here are a few that I noticed (not in any particular order):

• Alex Ross
• Len Wein
• J. Michael Straczynski
• Michael Golden
• Olivier Coipel
• Tony S. Daniel
• Rick Remender
• Amanda Conner
• Amy Reeder
• Ben Templesmith
• Steve Niles
• Bill Sienkiewicz
• Chris Samnee
• Doug Mahnke
• Scottie Young
• Joe Eisma
• Humberto Ramos
• J. Scott Campbell
• Kurtis Wiebe
• Jim Cheung
• Tony Moore

There are way too many artist to list here so peep out the list and see if your favorite creator is attending:

http://c2e213.mapyourshow.com/5_0/exhibitor_results.cfm?type=pavilion&pavilion=ARTC

BOOTHS!

Since Marvel (booth #1119) skipped out on WonderCon seeing their booth at C2E2 definitely caught my attention and the biggest booth to boot. I usually focus on the comic publishers so 2000AD (booth #1030), Archia Entertainment LLC (booth #1019), Athleta Comic (booth #903), Avatar Press (booth #1111), BOOM! Studios (booth #913), Dark Horse Comics Inc (booth #801), Valiant Entertainment (booth #1029), Zenescope Entertainment (booth #729) and add in Capcom/IGN (booth #809) are booths that I would have visited.

PARTY!

It is always nice to unwind and let loose at an after con event here are a couple that are going on.

C2E2 After Party! April 26th 6pm

http://www.chicagonerds.com/c2e2-after-party/

Nerd City's Live Art Luau April 26th 8pm

http://artluau.bpt.me/

"SKELETOR'S EVIL PLAN": A C2E2 AFTER HOURS EVENT April 26th 9pm

http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/253219?wrKey=B5324FA5221CA8B0C8C309C824A618BC

Super Hero / Super Villain Bar Crawl April 27th 5:30pm

http://shsvbarcrawl.eventbrite.com/

Threadless + CBLDF Party! April 27th 8pm

http://threadless2013cbldf.eventbrite.com/

So those are just a few things that caught my eye while I was day dreaming about attending C2E2 one day. Hope my followers that are going to C2E2 let me know their experiences and highlights so I can live vicariously through them.

SDCC SYFY "Haven" Party

When: 

Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 8:00pm - 11:00pm

Where: 

Side Bar Nightclub, 536 Market Street, San Diego, CA 92101


Cost:  

Win tickets at the eOne booth (4021) on Wednesday & Thursday

Details: 

Entertainment One announced today that the "Haven" party will take place at Sidebar San Diego on Market Street in downtown San Diego this Thursday, July 12th, from 8pm-11pm.


You can win tickets to the event by visiting the eOne booth at SDCC on Wednesday or Thursday. The cast is said to be at the party and you can bet the party will be "Haven" themed in its entirety!


No word yet as to whether or not "Haven" Season 2 will be sold prematurely at the Con (release date is not until Sept) but we can all hope for such good things. Also be aware that "Lost Girl" will be having a panel and a signing, which is definitely something to salivate over given the "Lost Girl" Season 2 finale.


SyFy is going all out this year and SDCC is going to be off-the-chain! Good luck to you all in your troubled "Haven" endeavors!



source examiner.com

Google Event: Comic-Con Photo and Video Experience

JOIN THE GOOGLE+ EVENT EXPERIENCE


UPDATE: The iPhone Google+ app has been updated to include Events so update your phones!!!


Comic-Con and technology are two of my biggest passions in life.  Any chance I get to combine the two is always a welcomed opportunity.  So when "Party Mode" for Google+ Events was introduced at this years Google I/O keynote I was ecstatic of the possibility to use this new technology for Comic-Con.  My idea on what Google+ Events can do is provide a visual experience for people who couldn't make it to SDCC plus at the end provide a nice encompassing visual of SDCC overall.  What "Party Mode" for Google+ Events does is allow people using an Android device (must have the latest Google+ app installed) to upload pictures or videos to an Events page in real time just by clicking a check box!  I couldn't believe that this new feature was being rolled out two weeks before SDCC it was kismet and I needed to try this.  I hope you all will also try along with me and participate in this experience as the results can be spectacular!



You don't need an Android device to participate in the Google+ Event so please join and contribute.  Here is an article from PC World showing how to use Google+ for an iPhone.  So you can take photos/videos with your iPhone and it can be uploaded to a private folder on your Google+ profile.  From here you will have get Google+ notifications of pictures/videos that were taken during the event and ask which you would like to upload post to the event.  Just click the photos/videos that you would like to post and click the share button on the top right.  This is great as you can do it during or after the event and it will post the pictures/videos in line according to it's time stamp!  Google+ Events makes it so easy!

Update: With the Google+ app being updated now iPhone users can join the event via their phone and now see the pictures in real time!!! 

The only real requirement to participate in a Google+ Event is to have a Google+ account.  I hope we have a big group for this as the more people that participate the more coverage of SDCC there will be and the possibilities endless for what can be covered!  So lets try and get a large group of people who are willing to participate and make this amazing! Please spread the word and let's see how this turns out!  Please e-mail me or contact me via twitter @evico if you want an invite or have any questions in general.


For people at home just join the Event through the link at the top of this article and you can see what people attending who are participating are seeing through their pictures/videos.  I am not sure how many people will participate but I promise I will take as many pictures as I can!


I have added an intro video to what Google+ Events is and also instructions on how to use "Party Mode" for Android users.


IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE USING "PARTY MODE"
Any photos/videos taken by your device during the Event when "Party Mode" is checked will upload automatically!  So if there is a shot/video you DO NOT want uploaded please uncheck "Party Mode" on it.  Instructions are listed below on how to turn on/off "Party Mode"

Turn On Party Mode:

If you’ve RSVP'd that you’re going to an event, you’ll get a notification on your phone asking you to enable Party Mode when the event begins. You can also enable Party Mode from the event page on your phone 2 hours before the event begins.

1. Touch the  icon in the upper left and select  Events
2. Touch the event for which you’d like to enable Party Mode
3. Switch from ON to OFF using the checkbox 
4. If you would like to check-in to the event, you can do so by accepting the notification and making sure the Also let them know you’ve arrived checkbox  is selected.

If you’re having difficulty getting Party Mode to turn on, make sure that your Instant Upload Sync Adapteris on.

Note:

• Sync must be enabled; you can adjust this setting here.
• While Party Mode is on, you’ll see an ongoing notification  in the tray reminding you that the photos and videos you take will be shared.
• Party Mode can only be used for one event at a time.
• If Party Mode is on when another event starts, you will not receive a notification; the photos and videos you take will still automatically upload to the first event.
• Party Mode will automatically stop sharing your photos and videos once the event has stopped.

Turning Off Party Mode

1. Tap the navigation icon in the upper left, touch  Events
2. Select the event for which you’d like to disable Party Mode
3. Switch from ON to OFF using the checkbox 
   **You can also select the Party Mode notification from the Android tray and switch from ON to OFFusing the checkbox 

SDCC Preparation Tip: Keeping Your Phone Charged for Con!

With the San Diego Comic-Con just a week away there is so much to prepare for when getting ready for this ginormous convention.  It is easy to miss some items that we take for granite everyday... like charging your phone/mobile device.  If you have been to Comic-Con then you know it is packed with so much to do and see that you can literally spend days just color sequencing your daily schedules and it can still change when you hit the convention floor.  With so much to worry about you definitely do not want to be troubled by a dead cell phone/mobile device slowing you down and potentially ruining your convention experience.  There is so much occurring you can ill afford to waste time by plugging your phone/mobile device into a wall socket or power station outside the convention center and wait for a decent amount of charge to get back on track.  The solution lies in external power sources for your phone/mobile device.

Since I had an upcoming convention planned I decided to test some devices I got to keep my iPhone 4 charged for SDCC.  With moderate use (calling, texting, internet and tweeting) my iPhone has a power lifespan between 3 - 5 hours which is definitely not acceptable for the San Diego Comic-Con!  Since I plan to use my phone extensively at SDCC I needed to find a solution for my power problem.  After doing research and setting a budget for my power need I decided to go with the Eton Mobius Solar Case ($60 - $90) and two Richard Solo 1800 external batteries ($30 - $50) for my power set-up.  

Eton Mobius Solar Case

Richard Solo 1800 Battery Pack

I decided to do a couple of test runs of my power set-up at Google I/O to see the most I could get out of each device.  Since Google I/O is a three day conference that starts at 7am and ends at 7pm I could run a couple of scenarios to see how long I could go before actually needing to plug-in to the wall.


First Day Test - back-up battery

My iPhone with moderate use: twitter, email and taking photos went from 100% to 30% in 4 hours 7:30am - 11:30am at this point I plugged the Richard Solo 1800 external battery to my iPhone and with moderate use again it charged back to 80% in 2 hours and 20 minutes.  So the 1800 gave me 50% charge back without interrupting what I was doing. 

Second Day Test- solar case then back-up battery

My iPhone with moderate use: twitter, email and taking photos went from 100% to 30% in 4 hours 7:40am - 11:40am at this point I switched the power on the Eton Mobius solar case.  With moderate use again my iPhone charged back up to 70% in just over 2 hours.  So the Mobius gave me 40% charge back without interruption. In 2 hours my iPhone dropped to 30% again I then plugged in the 1800 and my iPhone recharged to 80% in over 2 hours with moderate use.

Third Day Test - two back-up batteries

My iPhone with moderate use: twitter, email and taking photos went from 100% to 30% in 4 hours 8:00am - 12:00pm at this point I plugged in one of the 1800's and with moderate use it charged back to 80% in 2 hours.  My iPhone dropped to 30% in just over 2 hours and 45 minutes at this point I plugged in the other 1800 and my iPhone recharged to 80% in just over 2 hours.

After these test I could see that Day Three gave me the most power throughout the day as I was able to go 14+ hours before reaching 10% of battery life left.  So in conclusion the Richard Solo 1800 external battery consistently recharged back 50% each day while I was still using my iPhone and the Eton Mobius recharged back 40%.  Not great but good enough for me.  So for Comic-Con I will be running the Mobius and two 1800's which should easily keep me charged and connected throughout the day!


There are so many devices out there besides the one's that I used at Google I/O for my test that can provide power to your phone/mobile device.  Here are a couple I researched on that I would have loved to have tested but it just wasn't in my budget.  The PowerBag back pack looks like a great option as it is a power source plus it is functional at the same time for all the SDCC swag you will be picking up.  It is supposed to be able to charge the average smartphone up to 4 times which would easily cover you the entire day!  

MyPowerBag.com - review

The other option I was looking at besides the Eton Mobius was the Mophie Juice Pack Plus ($50 - $100).  The solar capabilities of the Mobius swayed me but I read exceptional reviews about the Mophie Juice Pack Plus stating that it can charge the iPhone back to 80% - 90% in a couple of hours from 20%.  Mophie also has external battery packs but they seemed to be a bit too big and expensive for my purposes.

Mophie Juice Pack Plus - review

With so many different devices out there it should be easy to find a combination to provide your phone/mobile device with the power it needs to last the entire day. There is no perfect solution as people have different mobile habits but the main goal is too keep your phone/mobile device charged!  I was happy with the performance of the Eton Mobius and Richard Solo 1800 at Google I/O and will be running that combination at Comic-Con.  I would love to hear what combinations you all use or plan to use to keep your phone or mobile device charged please comment to let us know! 


I apologize to my Android, Windows and Blackberry followers I did not have the opportunity to test those devices but from what I understand they run through power faster then an iPhone does.  So if any of my followers has information on these devices they would like to share or questions please comment on this article.

Zagat Best Basement Party

When: 

Saturday, July 14, 2012 at 10:00pm - 2am

Where: 

315 7th Street at K in San Diego at the YouTube Fan Lounge

Cost:  
FREE RSVP 

Details: 

Party with Google+ Local, Zagat and YouTube, along with all of Comic-Con's best, in this space turned basement. We'll have couches, old-school video game consoles, your favorite classic board games, a DJ spinning retro tunes and a photo booth for preserving those memories this time around. Not to mention upscale versions of your favorite after school snacks! And unlike those halcyon days past, this time the booze will be both legal and free.

#SDCC Swag Contest!!! My Thank You For Following @evico

UPDATE: The number drawn by Random.org is 19 congrats to Sandi Panda!!!


I wanted to first say thank you to all my followers on twitter!!!  I was blown away to see that I had passed the 2,000 follower mark last week and wanted to show my appreciation to all of you for following me by having an #SDCC swag contest.  


I have been fortunate enough to attend the San Diego Comic-Con for numerous years and have accumulated so much swag that you all get to benefit from my contest!  

So follow @evico and participate to win some swag.  The winners will be able to pick what swag they want.  I have too much to list but if you have an idea just let me know I probably have it ;)  So follow the contest details listed below to enter.


Once again "Thank you!!!" and good luck!!!





Contest Details:

• Must follow @evico
• Tweet @evico and just tell me you want #SDCC swag for one entry
• RT any post from @evico starting on 7/3/2012 with the hashtag #SDCC for additional entries
• One additional entry for commenting on this post (limit to one entry)
• Contest ends on July 9, 2012 at 5pm PST
• Winners will be drawn randomly through random.org that night
• I will only ship to US and Canada (shipping is expensive otherwise) but if attending SDCC or have a friend attending I will hand deliver the swag :)

Food Trucks: Invasion of the Pier – During Comic Con!

When: 

Thursday - Friday, July 13 - 14, 2012  - 4pm - 11pm 

Where: 

Broadway Pier, San Diego, CA 92132

Transportation:   

 $1 shuttles from the Convention Center and featured hotels.

Cost:  
$6

Details: 

Everyone has been asking, “What are the food trucks doing for Comic Con?!”


Well, here’s your answer!


It’s the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s Invasion of the Pier: Bites, Brews & Bands on the Bay!


source www.sandiegoairandspace.org