2013 Conventions, Trips, Musings

[AltruisticCrono]

Discussion for 2013 can go here. Planning/preplanning is encouraged to get hotels booked ASAP.

Have at you!

[whicker]

Anime Milwaukee : February 15th - 17th, 2013 : Downtown Milwaukee Hyatt, WI
of note: maid cafe (cupcakes and parfaits) well I'm out
Distant World's concert on the 14th (no girfriend)
Nobuo Uematsu will be at the con and concert.

Kitsune Kon : March 22nd - 24th, 2013 : Appleton (Paper Valley), WI
of note: upgrading dance experience. (calling it The Amplifier)
Gaming room was decently sized and located if you think about it.
Late night 18+ programming for more mature (less maturity) people.
Downtown appleton offers upgraded dining experience and liquor store.
$30 till Feb 28

Midwest Gamic Classic : March 23rd - 24th, 2013 : Milwaukee (Brookfield), WI
Of note: DEALER'S ROOM is incredible. Replace your decaying hardware.
Whole range: Arcade-Atari-NES-Genesis-SNES-Playstation-N64-XBOX-PS2-PS3-360
Hands on gaming museum by era. onsite lunch food.
Whole hotel becomes (pay for) arcade, most games still a quarter.
Reports of electrical upgrades needed this year for all the machines.
Downside: Stuff shuts down early at 8 PM, IOW GET THERE EARLY!
$30 Saturday, $35 weekend.

No Brand Con XII : April 12th - 14th, 2013 : Eau Claire, WI
of note: focus appears to be on music concert this year.
reports of optimal layout for a con and being able to riff movies.
smaller type convention, decent room choice (2 room suites for cheapos).
$30 until March 12

Anime Central : May 17th - 19th : (O'Hare Area) Rosemont , IL
of note: expect crowds and terrible roads but isn't this the point?
See other related thread.
$53 weekend until April 1st. After April 1st it's too late.

Tomah Tractor Pull : June 20th - 23rd, 2013 : Tomah, WI
of note: don't think too hard about the concept.
This is a non-thinking event where metal is tortured.
The only high-tech stuff is the machining of parts (no electronics).
Loud, sandy, smokey, but haven't lost my hearing yet (earplugs mandatory!)
$22 a session

Rapids Fireworks : July 4th (Thursday) : Wisconsin Rapids, WI
of note: It's on a thursday, which is optimal for a cherished Wisconsin activity.
You shouldn't go to work friday morning. Find a way not to.

AirVenture : July 29th - Aug 4th, 2013 : Oshkosh, WI
of note: Random shenanigans, messing with vendors, evening concerts, surprises.
Abusive heat and sun, guaranteed there will be severe weather (I love it!)
Presentations, historical context, pretty paint jobs, military planes, acrobatics.
By far still the least expensive way to see inside of airplanes.
Preregister (June 15) : $26 daily member + 1 daily guest $26 + student (6-18 yo) $18
non-member: $41 preregister, $43 onsite.
become a member: $40 membership + $28 = $68 get magazine, free museum admission,
support EAA's lobbying efforts to make general aviation more accessible.
(Govt still in the business of taking away rights slowly and steadily).

Geek.kon : August 23rd - 25th (earlier!) : Madison (Mariott West), WI
of note: still the most variety of stuff. marks the end of summer.
convention area is separate from hotel so it's 24 hours and noise
doesn't matter in the convention area (but hotel must be library quiet).
$30-ish, but preregistration will reduce price.

Daisho Con : November : Wisconsin Dells (Kalahari), WI
too early to talk about.

[whicker]

As for the list so far,

Personally, I'm up for Midwest Gaming Classic (March 23), Anime Central (May 16?-19), Rapids Fireworks (July 4-5), AirVenture (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday), Geek.kon (Aug 23-25).

I'm on the fence regarding No Brand Con and Tomah Tractor Pull.

If somebody could please accommodate, there is the possibility to do both Kitsune Kon and Midwest Gaming Classic. Saturday morning and afternoon is sacred, however. Then saturday night could still support Eric's DJ-ing. Brookfield to Appleton is an hour and 45 minutes (2 hours with parking in Appleton).

I miss remixed cat being on this board... there's no activity

[lumina]

Whicker, Nobrandcon just announced Chris Sabat as a guest. You know. that amazing man who voiced Vegeta in DBZ. But don't be on the fence about it, it's still really nice, despite it being a con you guys may not typically go to... because it's smaller. (Not Wausaubicon small though. Sheash that's way too small)

[whicker]

I guess the more I think about it, the more nobrand sounds appealing.
It's still a whole month before Anime Central.

[AltruisticCrono]

I will not be attending Kitsune this year due to unfortunate family expenses, but will be going to the Midwest Gaming Classic for one day instead. There wasn't much discussion for this con. For any event in the future that doesn't have a thread and you are planning to attend, feel free to create or request one for any event to rally the troops.

No Brand (likely) and Anime Central are on my list.

[Seority]

I want to try camping again!!! >3<!!
I suggest goin to Wolf's woods to do so, since you apparently need a stupid "Camping Permit" to camp in public camping spots...

I know summer is a ways away, but it still something to consider. ^^

[whicker]

Seority, this year I'd be more interested in the camping thing. But I'd still like to get a feel about where and what instead of being a surprise. I haven't really actually ever truly camped overnight as an adult, not scared, but I don't know how to prepare because I don't have a feeling for what is and isn't provided for at a given campground, and what equipment you or anyone else is bringing, and what equipment I should bring. Talking about such things ahead of time would ease this anxiety.

Also, holy cats, you just joined AnimePlanet and you've got everything already selected and rated? How long did that marathon last?

[Seority]

I agree we do need some more plan time for camping this year. I'm sorry if I made it a surprise last year. >3<;
First we need to decide where we want to go. Every place has a cost to it in some way. We can all chip in to buy a camping spot somewhere. We could go to the free camping spots, but one of us will need a camping permit, and those, I assume, cost money. We can also go to Wolf's father's backyard, for free aside from the fact that, it's a backyard.
After that the usual stuff to need is tents, sleeping bags, maybe a mini grill, stuff for campfires, bug spray, flashlights, marshmallows, DS's, you know the necessary stuff.
When is a matter of when people get the time off. That and maybe not during the hotest days of the year is preferred. ^^;

As for my animu count, I took a good day to go through the entire list and find things I have watched over my past decade or so as an otaku. A lot of them I wasn't able to rate because I haven't seen the anime in so long, or didn't watch it all the way through.
It is quite a lot though... I hope to hit the 1 year marker eventually. ;D The picture is of Hiiro No Kakera, it's an otome anime based off a dating simulation game. It only took me about 5 mins to make lol.