04-27-10 San Diego's Comi-Con Convention

We gotta save Comi-Con.  This is the only place in the world where Captain Kirk can be having an argument on the trolley with a couple of Klingons.  "You humans never honor your treaties!"  It's too great an event to miss, plus too great to become sold-out, too.  And, moving it away in unthinkable!

ABC-Disney has a new cruise ship with a comic book theme.  It's a family cruise, essentially Disneyland on an ocean liner.  Events of kids-only, whole family, and even parents-only.  The kids are in day care, being entertained by Mickey Mouse, while mom and dad are in the hot tubs, inside the locked "parents only" section of the ship.

Take a shower, put on some fine clothes, and pick up the kids for dinner and a movie!  Obviously, this ship needs to be present at the comic book convention, for marketing purposes.  But why not market cruises (and also San Diego) in general?  Let's bring in a dozen cruise ships for the convention, so that they can market cruises, including those which include the convention itself.

Transportation to Comi-Con by cruise ship, or from it, or both.  While here, compare notes.  Do you like Princess or Carnival better?  Which of their ships do you prefer?  Want to tour a few?  Most visitors to the comic book convention have never been on a cruise.  Your ticket gives you access to the whole bunch.

Short on display space, extra display space can be brought in by ocean, in the form of the ships.  All of them have large ballroom or dining areas, capable of such use as convention space.  And, there's great marketing potential for cruises, too.  Have a cocktail, relax in a pool, and read our brochure.  Did you know we have a special Sci-Fi cruise, featuring some of the characters and actors?

Possibly, the casinos could be open, too, via an agreement with the State and various gaming Indian Nations.  San Diego could even maybe arrange the tour of a few Navy ships (or former ones) while everyone is here.  I predict the extra pools, slots, bars, and so on will be such a big hit that Comi-Con will want the cruise ships brought in from now on.

It's a temporary idea, until the Convention Center itself can be expanded.

Patent Pending.  John Kitchin, NZ9F.com

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Editorial on Comic-Con, 7-24-10:

Comic-Con was once a great, fun event.  Before the marketing people took it over, it was nostalgic, fun, oriented to family, and promoted reading skills.  Now, it's a big trash dumpster where the latest in cheap-and-fast Hollywood ideas get the piss glitzed out of them.  I ran into many San Diegans the past several days who said they're no longer interested in it.  Me neither.

San Diego identifies with Comic-Con, because it was born her and grew along with us.  But despite our marketing successes at selling it out as a fun trip to San Diego, we've never gotten credit for making the exhibition what it was.  And, that's sad, as moving it is a lose-lose situation for everyone. 

I came up with the idea of an alien attack, and petitioned San Diego City Hall, but the real credit goes to TV-6 and MTS, who actually made it happen, for publicity.  My reward, per usual, was to get my press pass denied.  I'm used to that, so I featured "Orgasmo" (Osmondo), the Mormon Missionary superhero who becomes a porn star and fights crime using an adult toy weapon.

I was treated with similar disrespect on Opening Day of the Del Mar Racetrack, so I entered the hat contest with a hat too outrageous to be considered, and made jokes about the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club being a club sandwich containing horsemeat.  You can find it on my humor page, www.nz9f.com/bite_me.  I also have a rendition of the song "Where the Surf Meets the Turf", called "Where the Hurds Meet the Turds."

I do have a following, and it shows, despite continuous efforts to have me discredited, dishonored, disrespected, and ignored.  San Diego is the epicenter of the entire Reagan-Bush mentality of oppressing the poor, telling lies in the media, and controlling behavior and wealth by rigging the processes of employment and housing.

I call for relief from the situation by huge new taxes on horse racing, yacht moorings, private aircraft, private swimming pools, limos, protective services, vehicle armoring, jewelry, fine art, high-end fashion, shopping malls, and sending cash out of the country.  Higher inheritance and import taxes are in order, as well as higher income taxes on the wealthy only.  Ordinary people need tax cuts, such as the elimination of all sales taxes, and elimination of all Social Security Taxes on incomes of less than $300,000.  A Net Worth Tax makes the most sense in paying for Social Security, SSI, Disability, and other entitlements.

In San Diego, a fair Minimum Wage would be $22 an hour, with violations demanding jail time for the employer, and a border-crossing fee of $22 per person crossing, per time crossed.  Exemptions and exceptions would be granted to both.

John Kitchin, Editor, NZ9F.com Wire Service

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