October 2015 Loot Crate - Time

     Hello everyone, back again with another Loot Crate Unboxing post. This time we're unboxing the October Loot Crate. Please excuse the lateness but I've been quite busy with work and life and most importantly video games :) . I know I say this every month but this last month's Loot Crate was my favorite one so far, of all time, for reals. Loved every item in this box. I sense that Loot Crate has been tweaking their offerings every month and this time they hit one out of the park. October's theme was Time.

I'd like to try out a new format this time with just a quick round-up of all the cool gear. I'll post the pic, my likes and dislikes and maybe a little blurb. Hope you enjoy it because this is the format going forward.

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Sept. 2015 Loot Crate - Summon Theme

Remember when I was late with the August Loot Crate post? Well, I'm also late with the September post. Don't worry folks, I'm catching up! This month followed the recent trend of including less items, but the included items are of higher quality. I'm liking this trend as I rather not receive a large amount of crappy products. Here's a listing of what we got along with their manufacturer:

• EXCLUSIVE - Supernatural 1967 Chevy Impala (Greenlight Collectibles)
• Homer Simpson Golden Buddha (Kidrobot)
• Pokemon Laplander Hat (Bioworld)
• Summon Button (Loot Crate Labs)
• Hearthstone Foam Stress Ball (Blizzard)
• Hearthstone Collectible Coin and Card Pack Code (Blizzard)
• LC Magazine including the Summoner Wars card game (Loot Crate)

I don't have a favorite this month but I would like to highlight a few of the items.

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A game for everyone.

Who doesn’t remember the first day they put their hands on a video game console?

I´m from the NES generation (Nintendo entertainment system) and always remember the first day that I played Super Mario Brothers/Dunk Hunt for the first time. I'd play for hours trying not to lose (die) or fall into a pit; also shooting ducks and trying to hit one every time to avoid that annoying laughing dog (Every time that dog would appear I'd try to shoot him with the NES gun or Zapper). 

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Aug theme: Villains 2

We'll make this one quick as we're behind two months. The August 2015 Loot Crate theme is Villains 2. Villains were already a theme in July of 2014 hence the "2" this time around. Although this crate did not include many items, it did not disappoint. Glad this service exists, really enjoying the themes and the not so common items they include in every box. Below is a list of all items along with one special mention:

• Los Pollos Hermanos Apron - Using it for grilling! For those that don't know, watch Breaking Bad.
• Carnage or Venom 3D Mug (Surreal Entertainment)- I got Carnage, pretty evil looking. 
• Captain America Hydra Pin (eFX Collectibles) - more below.
• Villains 2 Button (Loot Crate Labs) 
• EXCLUSIVE The Joker Wooden Figure (DC Collectibles) - not my favorite but a nice paperweight.

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My experience at the San Diego Comic Con

(And some recommendations)

Part 2:

(Puedes encontrar la publicación en español en la parte de abajo)

          Nowadays the convention is a giant monster compared to what it was 15 years ago, you must be prepared with anticipation, since the moment that the event ends you must start planning for next year’s convention. In the early years you would just walk up to the badge vendors and register for the following year without having to wait in line. In recent years, people would have to camp out on the sidewalk overnight in order to buy their badges the next day. Last year you had to make your badge purchase online, badges sold out in 2 hours. It seems as time goes on, the possibility of getting a badge gets lower and lower. So if you’re one of the “chosen ones” that gets to attend the SDCC, you have the privilege of getting into the pre-sale registration lobby for next year’s badge sale. Note:  If you can´t buy a badge during the pre-sale, you still have another shot during the general sale.

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How to survive comic-con, part deux.

A follow up from the previous section, this will cover the items you will need to bring when you attend Comic-Con. The main item you will need is a camera!

Capture all the iconic moments, people in costume and celebrities that will be there. And bring a spare (fully charged) battery.  One thing to remember when taking pictures of people in costume, asking them nicely. Don’t be the creepy person taking pictures from afar. The worst they might say is “no” and then you move on.

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     During Comic Con 2015, CAPCOM's booth had a demo of Street Fighter V.  They also had a tournament happening on a big screen.  Below  is one of the tournament matches I witnessed.  Check it out:

     Today CAPCOM has revealed a new character: Vega. Vega is now included in the collection of characters that are coming out next year.  Lets keep in mind that V is the roman numeral, "five" and not "Vega". He will be wearing a shirt and will keep the mask but will have two distinct styles: one with and and one without claws.   Check out the reveal:

     His air combo is very similar to Spiderman's air combo from Ultimate MARVEL vs CAPCOM 3.   He's very quick so expect his opponent to be finished under a minute.  I do see a lot of constant hits from back and forth of his opponent. But knowing the aerial moves and keeping the opponent in the air makes him close to unstoppable.  If you are using him, I suggest to use "V-Gauge" wisely.   Below are couple of special moves that CAPCOM mentioned about Vega:

V-Skill: Matador turn:  Dodge the opponent's attack by turning around against the hit and a quick strike with his claws that can knock out the opponent.

V-Trigger: Bloody kiss:  Vega throws a rose to the opponent.  If it hits,  a series of claw attacks behind it will slice the opponent to pieces. 

     If you would like to try him out he will be available at Gamescom in Germany on August 4 and 5.  

     So how would you use or counter Vega's new moves?  

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July 2015 Loot Crate Unboxing

If you’re not familiar with Loot Crate, it’s a monthly subscription where you receive a box containing geeky items. Each month has a different theme, such as Covert Spy theme back in March and Fantasy theme back in April. A few of the items I’ve received are, an Optimus Prime T-shirt from the Cyber Loot crate, Game of Thrones Flash drive from the Fantasy crate, and special edition Field Notes notepad from the Covert Spy themed box. Every Loot Crate I’ve gotten up to this point has included a nerdy T-shirt, a Loot Crate Magazine detailing what’s in the box and a Loot Crate Button. Surprisingly, this month did not include a shirt but did include other fun stuff. Let’s see what’s in the box!

• Loot Crate Magazine & Heroes 2 Loot Crate Button
• Star Trek Air Freshener
• TV Series Batman Figure
• Legend of Zelda Sweatband
• Batman Multi-Tool Keychain
• Regrettable Superheroes book
• Wonder Woman Poster

Loot Crate Magazine and Heroes 2 Loot Crate Button

This month’s magazine and button kept with the Heroes theme as you can see from the images. One of the articles really surprised me with a racy picture of Wonder Woman & Batman! Each magazine also features the contents of the current month’s crate and a Mega Crate that one fortunate soul won. How awesome would it have been had I won that special edition Tomb Raider Xbox One or the Star Trek pool float?!

Star Trek Air Freshener

An otherwise unexciting vanilla air freshener, this one is shaped like a Vulcan hand. Really hoping it smells good, but I probably won’t open it any time soon.

TV Series Batman Figure

To my surprise, this was a decent quality figure. It came with a dry erase pen and blank speech bubble so you could make up your own superhero scene. I’ll be using this figure as a paperweight at work. I could definitely see myself writing something new in the speech bubble every day.

Legend of Zelda Sweatband

Not much to say here, just a sweet sweatband to wear everywhere you go. The insignia is not too familiar to me since I haven't played a Legend of Zelda game since Ocarina of Time. Coming soon to an office near you.

Batman Multi-Tool Keychain

This thing has two types of screwdrivers on it and a nice bottle opener. In practice though, the bottle opener was a bit awkward and hurt my hand when trying to take this bottle cap off this Coke. Pretty good idea but not very practical, I’d say just keep it wrapped up and hope it goes up in value.

Regrettable Superheroes book

This is my favorite item in the box. It’s a nicely made book about some of the crappiest superheroes throughout comic book history. The book chronicles heroes from the Golden Age, Silver Age and the Modern Age. Some of these superheroes are outright useless. Take for example, the Eye, which is just a floating eye that talks and apparently solves crimes. Other heroes were just really weird, such as Speed Centaur, a crime-fighting Centaur or how about Jigsaw, man of a thousand pieces. It’s so interesting to see the lengths comic book creators took to make successful comics. They would go so far as to make super awful characters. I guess not all superheroes can be popular.

Wonder Woman Poster 

This is a classic pinup style poster of Wonder Woman. I like pinup art so I’m really digging this poster. Not super big at 9.5 in by 10.5 in but makes sense because there’s only so much room in the Loot Crate box. See the whole set here: DC Bombshell Collection

In Conclusion

This was one of my favorite Loot Crates to date. I’m usually excited to see what clever T-shirt has been packed in the box and was slightly disappointed when I didn’t see one this month. Luckily, the rest of the items made up for the lack of a shirt especially the book and the Batman figure.

I started receiving Loot Crate back in March; a subscription was set up for me as a birthday gift. Ever since then, I’ve enjoyed many of the T-shirts and trinkets sent my way. Loot Crate gives me a bit of Comic Con every month which keeps my Comic Con withdrawals at bay!

Please comment if you have had the same experiences with Loot Crate and let me know which items have been your favorites. 

About the Author

Jorge Knapp is a native of San Diego, CA and a novice blogger. He has been playing video games since he could wrap his fingers around an Atari 2600 joystick. Was brought up playing RPG, action and fighting games. Currently playing Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm. His main nerdy interests are video games, anime movies and series, action figures and all things post-apocalyptic. 

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A set of helpful suggestions in what I believe most people need to have to be able to enjoy their Comic-Con trip.

     First off, start with your gear; take comfortable tennis shoes for the long walks and for standing in lines. Don’t buy new shoes and use them for the first time there, take the pair that you have used for long periods of time and don’t cause discomfort. And no open toe shoes (sandals, etc), since you will be stepped on, not a question of ‘if’, but a question of ‘when’.

    Next up, your pants. I recommend cargo pants, the ones that have side pockets on the thigh area. These types of pants are helpful to store tickets and any items that are easy to access so you don’t have to search in a big bag full of stuff.

     After that, your favorite comic, TV, movie or game character t-shirt :) 

     You should bring a light jacket, one you can fit into a bag since you will be there early morning to late at night.

     You'll also need sun block protection for when you have to wait in lines for events outside the convention center.

     Now, time to think about a good size backpack in order to stash snacks and a bottle of water. Also, try to pack a meal or two (a sandwich and/or other food items that can be eaten cold), unless you want to wait in line for a couple of hours or walk a couple of miles to get less of a crowd but still pricey food.

    


     A good little item to have is a portable battery to charge your phone since cellphones die pretty quickly when trying to get a signal in a room full of people. This way you avoid having to camp out next to an outlet. (if you can find one that isn’t being used) 

     This one seems a bit of a stretch, but bring deodorant, it helps everyone! Also bring a toothbrush or at least bubble gum. This will help you feel refreshed after a couple of hours of walking/standing. Obviously, you go to the bathroom to use the last items mentioned.


And the last, most important item you must have… a good attitude!

     *We are not the owners of the pictures/images displayed.

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     I've been going to Comic Con for almost six years.  I already got used to waiting in lines, standing for several hours, skipping meals, and being broke for a month.  After all of that, I still enjoy making new friends, seeing amazing costumes, checking out booths and panels, and last but not the least having a great time.

    Comic Con is a 5 day celebration of Comics, Art, and Pop Culture.  But not everybody is into those things. Yes, one of them is my fiancee, Shannon.  She does understand that this is a big thing for me.  From the toys I brought home, to the pictures and selfies I post on social media,  Shannon has been supportive and very understanding about it. I had a surprise for her.

     Shannon has not been to Comic Con at all. She doesn't like dealing with large crowds, long lines, and the hot weather.  This year , Comic Con 2015,  I got her a pass for Saturday and Sunday.  Below are some highlights of her first Comic Con.

     She was excited when we picked up her official Comic Con badge.  She does describe the feeling as being "exclusive".  The official Comic Con badge was the hottest and most exclusive thing that week.  Not everybody gets to have a Comic Con badge. A Comic Con badge gets you inside the San Diego Convention Center, into exclusive Comic Con events, and hotels, stores and participating establishments.
   
      She was excited seeing people wearing costumes.   From Spider Man,  to Superman,  soldiers marching with fake guns,  Wolverine and other video game characters,  anime characters with fake weapons, Shannon described it as "visual overload".  I asked her to take couple of pictures with them.






     Her very first official picture with a cosplayer was with Ursula from the Little Mermaid.

     

 

The famous Comic Con sign on the escalator.  It does have an awesome circular view.  The best part is seeing the massive crowd outside the convention center.






 





    She heard about the show "Walking Dead".
 Sadly she doesn't watch with me  since its too "bloody, scary, and violent".  I tried to explain to her that the story is not just zombies eating people, its also about survival, personality, and leadership.  So at the AMC booth, Shannon was scared but with some encouragement,  she had the courage to get close to a "real" zombie (and snaped a picture).











      I was really surprised when she mentioned that she knew somebody who had a booth at Comic Con.  Yes she knows Cutter Hays who is an author, artist, and an amazing sketcher.  Check him out at http://www.cutterhays.com/.

Our sketches done by Cutter.

         All in all she had an awesome time.  She  ran into couple of people she knew, took more pictures, and experienced my world.   Below are some more pictures we took.

   After that whole day, I asked her if we can come back and do it again next year.  She said yes!

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My experience at the San Diego Comic-Con
Part 1:

I have been a great fan of comics, anime, collectible figures, movies and video games since I can recall. I enjoy the stories that the authors are able to imprint in our minds and hearts; they let us live in unimaginable worlds and to be able to empathize with fictional characters that steal our hearts, makes us laugh, cry and others times just hate them.

Like a great fan of pop culture or the geek nation I enjoy all the events related to any of the later mentioned, but there is an international event that for me is the biggest, greatest and most important.  I´m talking about the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), an event I just can´t miss.

I´ve been attending SDCC for around 16 years, that time of the year is sacred for me, all the world stops and turn their heads to the event, there’s nothing else in my calendar except the Con. Those five days are a priority for me, starting with preview night (Wednesday for around four hours) and Thursday through Sunday (from 9 am to 7pm).

My experience began in 1999 when a friend of mine visited for the first time the Con and told me about his experience, everything he saw and what hooked me the most was the freebies J (in that time the companies gave a lot of posters, stickers, postcards, t-shirts and so on).  So the next year in 2000 I decide to travel to San Diego (I´m from Tecate, Baja California, Mexico that´s like 40 minutes drive to SD) to attend SDCC.  Those were the golden days of the Con, you just walk in and buy your badge without making lines, got a lot of freebies and I’m saying a lot (the bags that they (vendors) gave you there always ripped with all the stuff you could collect). You just passed by and in every booth there were freebies, walking by the exhibitors hall wasn´t an issue, you were free to walk without bumping with people every 3 seconds.

Two or three hours were enough to see the exhibitors hall, coming and going freely, even the A/C was cold enough.  The line for Hall H was one or two hours long so you could attend the conference you wanted without any problems nor camping out, you just walked by, enjoy the show and get out and were still able to enjoy the rest of the Con. The same goes for screenings and/or parties, you could arrive to the line 30 minutes or one hour early and you were able to enter.

As I was saying, that was the golden age of the SDCC because as time went passing by, the Con got more fame which means more people and well you know the ending of it (lines, lines and more lines).

Besides all that, at least for me, SDCC is still the best experience for a fan of the pop culture. But don´t feel relieved, you have to be prepared to survive San Diego Comic Con because now is very different from early years…

To be continued...

Mi experiencia en la convención de comics de San Diego. Primera parte:

He sido un gran fan de los comics, anime, figuras, películas y video juegos desde que tengo uso de razón, disfruto mucho las historias que los autores logran plasmar que te hacen vivir en mundos inimaginables o conocer personajes fantásticos que te hacen reír, sentir empatía o hasta llorar.

Como gran fan de la cultura popular o la nación geek disfruto todos los eventos que se realizan para darles promoción, pero hay un evento internacional que para mí es el más importante y no me lo puedo perder, me refiero al San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) o la convención de comics de San Diego California.

Tengo ya alrededor de 16 años atendiendo esta convención que para mi es un tiempo sagrado, todo el mundo se detiene, no hay nada marcado en mi calendario solamente ese evento y le doy prioridad a poder asistir los 5 días que dura el evento (desde el preview night o la noche previa que solamente abren el piso de exhibiciones por alrededor de 4 horas y de ahí de jueves a domingo en  horario normal).

Mi experiencia empezó en el año de 1999 cuando un amigo mío visito por primera vez la Convención y me hablo maravillas de todo lo que vio lo que experimento y lo más importante para mi son los “freebies” o las cosas que regalan las compañías (posters, tarjetas postales, stickers (calcomanías o pegatinas).  Así que el siguiente año en el 2000 me decidí a viajar a San Diego California para visitar la convención, en ese tiempo el día que fueras podías pagar tu entrada ese mismo día sin hacer filas para entrar al piso de exhibiciones , para recibir publicidad gratis solamente era pasar por algún “puesto” y podías tomar cosas gratis o ahí mismo alguna persona te lo entregaba, se caminaba libremente entre los pasillos sin andar topándote con gente o batallando para poder caminar o ver algo que querías comprar en algún puesto.  En dos a tres horas ya habías terminado de recorrer toda la convención  si había algún evento por fuera podías llegar media hora o una hora antes y alcanzabas a entrar, ya fuera alguna película gratis en el cine o algún evento o fiesta.

En aquellos tiempos las filas para entrar a “Hall H” era de una hora a dos horas, podías entrar a la conferencia  que querías y salir para poder seguir disfrutando de otros eventos en la convención.

Para mí fue la época dorada de la convención ya que conforme fueron pasando los años y se fue haciendo cada vez más famosa la convención, empezó a llegar cada vez más gente y empezó a cambiar todo, desde la forma de comprar tu entrada hasta las filas para poder agarrar cosas gratis.  Aun así sigue siendo la mejor experiencia para un fan de toda esta cultura pop pero en la actualidad debes de ir muy preparado para sobrevivir a la convención.  Porque hoy en día es diferente a como fue en los primeros años que asistí…

Continuara…

About the Author

Misa Moreno is a native of Tecate Baja California, Mexico and San Diego, CA. Bilingual Noob blogger (getting the hang of it) been a geek since he can remember starting with the love of comics with the classic X-Men, has loved action figures all his life and playing video games since he could put his hands on the first Nintendo Entertainment System, playing Mario and Duck Hunt. Currently enjoying Grand Theft Auto V online and also Gears Of War multiplayer...

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Welcome one and all to the introductory post of Con Chronicles! A blog about popular culture, video games, technology, and a bit of comedy.

About five years ago I began attending the San Diego Comic Con with my college buddies. Every year we would meet up a few days beforehand and share our plans for the upcoming event. Although our plans would not always turn out the way we wanted, we had fun nonetheless. Shortly after the comic convention had left town and many days afterwards, we would reconvene to share our crazy convention chronicles. This blog is a reflection of our adventures.

Our many adventures prompted us to begin writing in order to share our thoughts and experiences going to conventions and also the culture that surrounds these gatherings.

Expect to see TV show, movie and video game reviews, various collectible un-boxings, interviews and related media from a group of guys that are immersed in the culture day in and day out. 

Currently our staff consists of Joseph Aranez, Gerald Briones, Jorge Knapp, Marcos Mora, Misa Moreno, and Adrian Ortiz. As time goes, special guest writers may join in. (Blog will be bilingual, English and Spanish!)

Here's a brief introduction of our writers and what they will cover.

Joseph Aranez from San Diego California is an active reader and follower of trending topics in the technology and pop culture industry. He has been a big fan of classic Marvel Comics and biggest Dragon Ball Nerd. He is also knowledgeable in some console and PC games. Currently, he is working as an Integration Engineer for a start up company in San Diego. On the side he has started playing Heroes of Storm from Blizzard and patiently awaits another Call of Duty title.

Gerald Briones grew up in sunny San Diego. As an avid gamer, he enjoys video games of all genres. Some of his favorites include Chrono Trigger, Pokemon, and World of Warcraft. His other interests include Brazillian jiu-jitsu, finding ways to survive the zombie apocalypse.

 Marcos Mora, a beginner in the blogging world but an avid viewer of Anime and reader of manga. I have enjoyed watching anime while growing up with Dragon Ball, Robotech, Samurai Pizza Cats, Transfomers and many more. Have more than a couple of anime and manga series and a few action figures. A Comic-Con regular atendee for the last 17 years and counting. A frequent movie watcher from sci-fi to documentaries and play a couple of video games from time to time when there is some down time.

Misa Moreno is a native of Tecate Baja California, Mexico and San Diego, CA. Bilingual Noob blogger (getting the hang of it) been a geek since he can remember starting with the love of comics with the classic X-Men, has loved action figures all his life and playing video games since he could put his hands on the first Nintendo Entertainment System, playing Mario and Duck Hunt. Currently enjoying Grand Theft Auto V online and also Gears Of War multiplayer...

Adrian Ortiz also hails from San Diego, CA and as soon as he watched Gundam Wing and Dragon Ball Z, he was hooked on anime and manga. He also thinks Batman can solve any problem and is the only person that can defeat Superman. Adrian will cover anime, manga, movies and technology.

Our Readers may contact us via comments for now. Stay tuned for our official email and Facebook page.

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