Nigel
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Posts: 5,098
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Post by Nigel on Jan 20, 2014 20:04:07 GMT
I booked my ticket today, woohoo!
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Post by Bogatan on Jan 20, 2014 21:12:03 GMT
Ah good point.
Nick whats going on this year?
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Post by Marc Graham on Jan 21, 2014 9:17:14 GMT
I have a "pass for life" - whether that gets me a pass for AA2014 - dunno. Might make it, but no idea how funds/annual leave from work/etc will be by then, so I'm making no plans. Generally disappointed with last year to be blunt.
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kayevcee
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The Weather Wizard
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Post by kayevcee on Jan 21, 2014 12:44:15 GMT
Nick whats going on this year? A valid question. I've booked the same layout as last year although it's clearly not enough space any more. I spoke to Billy at Memorabilia and he says some more tables might be available so we may be able to book an extra block. I'll contact him about it on Facebook. As for who has their attendance covered by Toy-fu, I believe it's me, you, and... two other people. I'll find out. I checked my emails and don't have anything about the 2014 booking but it is done. Only spent about 300 quid on new stock so far, and £250 of that is from Marc! I need to pull my proverbial finger out! Need to find out if there are any worthwhile car boot sales in Brum too. -Nick |
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KoshNaranek
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Post by KoshNaranek on Jan 21, 2014 16:56:59 GMT
Nick, as I'm not likely to be doing BotCon this year, I can help out again at Toy-Fu if needed as I'll still need a convention fix!
- Tony
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Post by The Doctor on Jan 21, 2014 18:08:52 GMT
I am skipping AA this for reasons that appear to be the same as Mark's!
I will however be donating more stuff to Toy-Fu as the quest to get all my Transformer collection down to the size of two storage tubs continues.
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Jan 21, 2014 18:09:54 GMT
I am skipping AA this for reasons that appear to be the same as Mark's! I will however be donating more stuff to Toy-Fu as the quest to get all my Transformer collection down to the size of two storage tubs continues. -Ralph Nooo how will I get my Ralph fix  |
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Post by The Doctor on Jan 21, 2014 18:12:09 GMT
Come to Scotcon!
-Ralph
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Post by duffism1981 on Jan 21, 2014 18:54:13 GMT
I had a great birthday weekend at my first AA last year, so I bought my ticket for 2014 in September. I just hope I can find a better deal on travel arrangements this year. 8 hours on a bus home was not fun, and I do not want a repeat this year.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 21, 2014 18:58:09 GMT
Or Swincon: The Lego Show |
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Jan 21, 2014 18:58:36 GMT
Aww, no Ralphy.
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Post by legios on Jan 21, 2014 22:11:13 GMT
I am also not going to be able to make AA this year - Finances are a large part of it, and also I'm not entirely sure that I am actually enjoying the Convention part of it the last couple of years (the working for Toy-Fu part, and the slouching about in the bar chatting to folk parts remain great but I'm not sure that I've got much out of the "Convention" side of it recently, best to take a year out and see how I feel).
Like Ralph though, there may well be some Toy-Fu donations to make their way to Nick in due course.
Karl
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Jan 22, 2014 10:55:21 GMT
I will probably pass this year as well. It was nice to see folk again and see the stock on the dealer tables in person and I did enjoy the content of the two panels I sat in on. But this was despite the noise and chaos going on nearby from the signings. I didn't think much of the venue, it's services or location.
As someone who has run and regularly participates in conferences and conventions myself there was just too much at AA that I was noticing that was being run sub-optimally and unhelpfully in terms of structure, content and staff management for me to enjoy it. I gather these matters are not new nor unnoticed from previous years and so should have been addressed by now.
Maybe I'm just not the right audience for AA.
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Post by The Doctor on Jan 22, 2014 18:03:19 GMT
No, you are, but until the obsession with 'pack every attendee and activity into one big room' goes away that appears to be how it will be. I have tired of it and as attending requires me to save up for months (increasingly difficult on frozen wages) then it's an easy pass for me. I do enjoy meeting up with folk for banter and would rather focus on fan meet-ups this year when finances/annual leave/other commitments permit!
I do hope that folk who attend AA this year have a good time. Hopefully I will catch you at other occasions in 2014. Never say never, but I doubt I'll be back at AA for as long as it is in its current location and has 800 bloody people crammed in a room thus making it hard to actually relax.
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Jan 22, 2014 18:14:25 GMT
I actually prefer the big room setup. It makes you feel like you're less likely to miss out on anything (especially if you're manning a stall) and it generally has a nicer atmosphere than ones I have been to where everything is in separate rooms, as there tends to be lots of dead spots with people shuffling in and then out, or missing panels completely. Imagine if every room at AA was like the 'secondary panel' room!
I prefer the more friendly meetup style things, and I think AA has got a bit too 'corporate feeling', but given the attendance levels that is only to be expected.
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Post by The Doctor on Jan 22, 2014 18:22:59 GMT
Well for those who are going, Toy-Fu will have my Brave Max among many other splendid items from my collection.
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Jan 22, 2014 18:39:00 GMT
I would love to, I just need to work out if I can afford it! |
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Post by Bogatan on Jan 22, 2014 18:39:18 GMT
The problem for me isn't that it's in a single room, but that the layout so far hasn't worked. People trying to talk to guests are drowned out by the panels, especially when the hosts get on the microphone as they seem to be screaming at the top of their lungs. And those trying to listen to the panels have the AA booth to one side (usually quiet but not always, guests and lines to the other and the dealers behind them. Individually I don't think any is a major problem but combined it's a sound overload.
This year I'd like to see the Guests on the back wall, The AA booth amongst the dealers and the chair moved in to the space left by the guests and AA. Arrange the speakers so that they aren't drowning out the dealers area and that should stop the audio arms race.
Oh yeah and have some organisation for the lines. It was getting a bit desperate last year.
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Post by blueshift on Jan 22, 2014 18:43:45 GMT
I have to agree about the loudness, though nothing beats the year where they had that rock band playing first thing Sunday morning when we were all hungover and right next to the stage!
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kayevcee
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The Weather Wizard
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Post by kayevcee on Jan 22, 2014 19:33:29 GMT
That was the first Toy-fu! I was on about three hours sleep and thought I was going to die. The edge of our table literally backed onto the speakers!
-Nick
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Post by legios on Jan 22, 2014 19:57:14 GMT
No, you are, but until the obsession with 'pack every attendee and activity into one big room' goes away that appears to be how it will be. That is pretty much the root of my issues I think. Once you get a sizeable proportion of 800 people in one room, with a sound system going as well, the combination of volume and overlap of sound means I find it quite oppressive. It isn't the volume - I've stood close to the flightline when the Thunderbirds are screaming by hundred metres or so - but the nature of the sound which makes it more than a little uncomfortable for me, and probably contributed to the anxiety I was feeling by Sunday afternoon of last years show. The fact that the hotel is far from anywhere other than the airport means that there isn't a lot else to do and means that the opportunities to decompress felt a bit limited this year as well, which probably didn't help me. Indeed, I hope those who are going have a great time. I may be back at AA in 2015, I don't know at this stage. I just know that it isn't for me this year. Karl |
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Post by blueshift on Jan 22, 2014 20:00:36 GMT
The fact that the hotel is far from anywhere other than the airport means that there isn't a lot else to do and means that the opportunities to decompress felt a bit limited this year as well, which probably didn't help me. Ah yes I too have fond memories of that pizza place we ate at where two men burst through the wall, fighting |
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Post by The Doctor on Jan 22, 2014 20:15:53 GMT
Ah yes. The locals.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Jan 22, 2014 20:17:48 GMT
The fact that the hotel is far from anywhere other than the airport means that there isn't a lot else to do and means that the opportunities to decompress felt a bit limited this year as well, which probably didn't help me. Ah yes I too have fond memories of that pizza place we ate at where two men burst through the wall, fighting They did a halfway decent pizza in there, quite tasty. I was more thinking of the opportunity to nip out to the comics shop and just do non-transformery stuff for an hour or so as a but of a spacer though, and also the lack of availability of nearby eateries and pubs if one wanted to head out or a meal without making a major excursion of it. Karl |
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Post by Bogatan on Jan 22, 2014 20:21:48 GMT
Oh man that was the weirdest thing.
I do miss being able to go for a proper wander. Even if the nec was properly open it would be something to do.
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Post by legios on Jan 22, 2014 20:39:06 GMT
Oh man that was the weirdest thing. I do miss being able to go for a proper wander. Even if the nec was properly open it would be something to do. Ah, the NEC, I have never seen that in any other state than as an empty, echoing, abandoned Moonbase Alpha-type space. Karl. |
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kayevcee
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Post by kayevcee on Jan 23, 2014 8:11:15 GMT
I was there for Memorabilia back in November. There were legions of people- just a constant stream down the walkway from the train station. There was some kind of motorbike event and a "better homes" style trade show on in the area we're familiar with too. I swear half the shops were still closed! I think that Subway down there is actually abandoned!
-Nick
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Jan 23, 2014 10:22:51 GMT
I'll be going to Spring Fair at the NEC in a couple of weeks - a huge trade fair that fills the entire place! As to things to do outside AA, there's this to look foward to from next year - you may have seen the construction work across the lake last year - www.resortsworldbirmingham.co.uk/ |
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Post by Marc Graham on Jan 23, 2014 11:26:09 GMT
I'm slightly concerned by the fact that AA have announced a band (which I'd never heard of) will be playing again this year, still recovering from last time.
They seem to keep doing things that to be brutally honest - no one really is likely to have asked for. I wonder if there was another viable european convention would AA still be running this way?
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Post by Bogatan on Jan 23, 2014 11:41:59 GMT
As long as its restricted to saturday night I dont mind some extra entertainment. If I dont like it I head to the bar.
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