toysrevil impressions @ stcc2008

I remember very clearly one week ago this Monday, I was writhing in pain, from my aching thighs, knees and calfs - wrought from going down on my knees for the umptieth time - to snap me some pictures of toys on display at lower-shelves (remember to do your warm-ups next time kids!) - the few days prior, leading up the weekend that was the whirlwind vortex that was the first ever (and my first ever) Singapore Toy & Comic Convention - and I can barely comprehend that all that was a week ago. And to be frankly, am still bruising from the experience, with a silent smile in my pop-lurvin' heart, of coz :)

/// CLICK THRU for more (but only if you really want to) :p

Thy Convention-Cherry Popper, left me hurried, flustered and ineffectual. Everything was on a truncated timeline - non-Convention blog-news were put on a holding pattern (and a week later they serve only as archival entries and perhaps more of a status quo of "thank-you-for-sending-me-news") and the mad dash to process and publish pictures of the Con overtook everything else, even pass my daily life and battered body ... my flustering left me dazed on most days (or was that the lack of sleep?) affected folks around me, which til today I do regret and most times think that it would've been easier if I'd gone at it on my lonesome - to spare everyone else the hassle and pain, ya know? (including my own) ... and in the end-game, perhaps my attempted Con-coverage was ineffectual - in the sense of "live" (or as 'live' as I could be LOL) within the time-frame of the Con itself - most times regulated to being a "bulletin-board" rather than informational posts (and more times than not due to lack of information from vendors) ... and a week later, I am still posting pics from the Con (and there's still loads more) who now serve an archival purpose, as well as a reminder of the week before that was.

And I can hardly keep at it - as fresh as a week-old event coverage can get - as I am thoroughly missing out on the news happening NOW, with Michael Lau's CSBOOTH15, Taipei Toy Festival, the upcoming San Diego Comic Con and of the daily inbox-bound goodies = all info and pics huddled tight in my folders, but awaiting their queue (EVERYTHING has a semblance of a format queue in my blog-publishing production-byline) ... And I sometimes think it'll be much easier just to post pictures without text, a virtual gallery silent-movie without the commentary, product info, credit or linkage - "FIRST!" - I would claim!

But what's the use? Tis not my blog-style and heck, folks take advantage of the fact that Singapore's time difference is behind Western-countries anyways -even tho we're a day early - and my news will ALWAYS be "Old News" anyways, innit? So what's the rush?

Tis my readers that are missing out on the news-flashes, and that's what eats at me some days (if I let it). Me? Ego-feeding is fleeting, and nigh intangible, for it feeds not my bills (which threaten to engulf me and my blog one fine day soon).

... But Yes, I have to move on and quick too.

Although tis NOT to say covering the Con was a total disaster or bad experience! Tis quite the opposite really! - it was an exceptional "experience" and a test of my own abilities to handle such an event, as well as putting into action the "theories" I'd concocted for a Con (did I mention this was my first ever? LOL). And hell, having my Con-cherry plucketh too LOL

The fair fact that this Con was not likened to other more established conventions where there be publicized or expected reveals or premieres of products - so I was not gunning for the "SEE THIS AWESOME TOY FIRST ON MY BLOG"-post - becoz there weren't much folks have not seen before - that would be commercially available anytime soon anyways. But that meant my focus was on "WHAT IS ON DISPLAY?" - primarily for the folks in Singapore, to hype it up for who may have happened to pop by my blog during said period, and decide to pop-by to add to the massive herd that had already pounded the con-floor LOL. (I personally hope I contributed to the 140,000 People Who Turned Up LOL)

But in that context, I faltered. Planned posts could not go up in time. It was a simple logistical timeline that went awry - here's an example (which started it all):

DAY ZERO [tagged]
- Take Pics til 10pm
- Reach home before 11pm
- Transfer Data by 3am
- Process & Publish posts by 5/6am
- Sleep by 7am
- Wake up by 10am and head down to Con by Noon-ish.

In the end, I was still up by 7am, but no Convention posts were forthcoming, as I was still prepping outstanding posts from before the Con. And of coz by then, everything snowballed, including bodily health. Tis times like these when I truly feel the extreme solitary state of blogging by my lonesome. And I lost my personal fight with exhaustion ... ain't as sprite and energetic as before, I reckon ... *cough*

And one aspect of the Con which still "hurts" for me til this day, was the conscious decision to forgo coverage on the "Comics" aspect of the STCC - realizing I would not be able to cope (if I'd wanted tangible decent coverage and not just pictures anyways) with the load. And by looking at other online coverage, I'd missed quite a few goodies. Hell, I even forgot to get myself a Dan Dare comic, much less get it autographed by Gary Erskine, like, maaaaaan!


Another aim of the coverage, was to attempt to SHARE with folks reading my blog - who were not physically in Singapore - with the experience that I was having. Without the resources to do "live" on-the-ground-coverage (even via the minimum of just visual and background audio - no need to hear my commentary LOL) - the next better thing would be instantaneous visuals.

The Convention hall on Level 6 does not support wifi, and there be no immediate internet ports. Closest I could muster was Twittering, but a Con without pictures? Is like telling your friend over the phone how hawt that babe or hunk was that you're seeing then, ya know? LOL


On retrospect, the fair fact that I would've definitely enjoyed the Con "more" if I was a regular "attendee" than a wannabe-media. But then again, the "kick would've been different (and less blog-fodder perhaps LOL) and I would've just walked away with bags of toys and a camera filled with snaps, and nothing else, innit? The irony being, I did walk away with a humble bag of toys from the last day at the Con, and they remain still in said same bag, placed where they have been a week ago now! ... So, maybe I didn't need the toys as much as the experience I'd gain from the time spent?

Having a "MEDIA" pass only gave us a phantom acknowledgment as we snapped away with glee, frankly no different from other regular attendees with much more supped-up cameras than my own feeble powershot - which I INSIST was looked down upon by many a vendors - NO JOKE. One scan at my Media-pass and one glare at my miserable camera, the smiles and cordiality fades pretty darn quick, lemme tells ya! It was funny until it turned sad (for me). More MEDIA PASS MYTHS here


My personal memories and highlights of the Convention were a simple spread out of FRIENDS and FANS. Of meeting and making new ones, and of being one :)

I'd enjoyed myself bugging Napat and Chaiwath @ the Monkey Planet booth, where it was predominately prototypes on display = which yielded my most satisfactory time at the Con really. Becoz we were talking about "ideas" and "concepts" and not literally have anything tangible to "sell" or "be bought" - as opposed to badger folks for discounts on toys (don't be looking at me) or have folks look at me dirty when I paw a display or two but not buying them eventually.


But making new friends are always cool. (I forgot to take the magazines with me Napat! Oh no! LOL). And what they've left behind for me, will be humbly treasured. Above shows a trio of prototype figures which Chaiwath did, along with his diorama (man, I lurve me my dioramas LOL) - *more on them at a separate post soon*


With the very (unfortunate) little interaction I've had with the visiting foreign artists (I feel bad, as if by talking to them, I'd be taking their time away from their fans, ya know? Ironic as I'm a fanboy as well) - I've not had a more humbling experience as I had with Touma and Yuki @ the TOUMART Booth. I'd appreciated (when after snapping pics with them) that they'd recognize the "TOYSREVIL"-name and were gracious with their time and kind attention for me - and am also happy that I got Touma interested in Transformers Animated toys via my blog - that he was carting a way a humongous Optimus Prime bought at the Con! *ENVY* (Touma-san, if you read this, I hope to see Optimus fighting it out with Bertie soon! LOL) ... and that, Yuki kindly let me wear his wrestling mask to have a round with Touma in his Knuckle Bear-mask on LOL


The most humbling experience would have to be when Touma and Yuki presented me with a signed-Slither, and what would be an eternally-treasured sketch of my TOYSREVIL-icon character, from his memory of my blog. Man, the manly-tears I held back shook me to my spine (I'm a simple man). I could walk away from the Con and have naught a single toy, and I would be contented with this sketch. I have your back, Touma-san. And you too Yuki-san!


One week ago today, my legs still ache. Thy energy still depleted, my drive somewhat running out of steam, and it has been a struggle to maintain the blog the past week. The finger on the delete-blog-button hovers not as often as it used to have, mostly becoz of inertia, I suspect ... mayhap the Con had affected me in more ways than just physically ... or maybe I truly need a long break away, or maybe I just need a change of scenery ... one thing's for certain, I'd definitely have to rethink my TTF-trip -to go as "attendee", "wannabe-media" or not go at all ... heh.

Hope you've enjoyed my coverage of STCC thus far and have fun at the Cons, you folks!