My experience at Day 1 of 2021 New York Comic Con October 9, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Art, Audio, Audiobooks, DVD, Health, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Politics, Radio, Technology, Trains, Travel, TV, Video, War, Wrestling.2 comments
Other New York Comic Con recaps: 2012 Day 2, 2014 Day 1, 2017 Day 1, 2018 Day 1, 2019 Day 1
I returned to the Javits Center on Thursday for the first day of this year’s New York Comic Con, my sixth time at the event. It was also the first time I set foot in Manhattan since a failed trip to Lisa Hilton’s performance at Carnegie Hall, nearly two years ago.
The days and weeks leading up to my trip were filled with trepidation. I felt anxious about what to expect. Would there be a capacity limit? Would I get scolded by staff or security? Did I waste my money on a badge? Why did William Shatner have to go to space, leading his events to be moved to the evening?
The day turned out to be as exciting as it was my last time at NYCC in 2019.
Under the assumption that I’d be meeting Shatner, I tweeted him about my concerns:
Been going back/forth on replying, but here goes: I have Asperger Syndrome, & I’m going to day 1 of NY Comic Con on Oct 7. I’m worried about what to expect, including photo op w/you that I bought. I’m hoping staff are nice, not angry/scolding. Will wear mask, of course.
Mike Chimeri
He replied encouragingly. I was hoping to link to that reply, but it seems to have been taken down.
Regardless, that led to many more replies from fellow fans. One fan in the UK made this suggestion:
Hi Mike, not sure if you have the same in the States, but in the UK we have a scheme where people wear a lanyard with sunflowers on, this signifies that the person wearing the lanyard may perceive life differently and to be a bit more understanding around them.
Mark ELVIS Goddard, @GBsBestElvis
They are just a subtle way to let people know to be kind I work in the tourist industry & if a customer is wearing one we automatically know 2b kind & maybe a bit calmer around them, but they don’t have that awkward conversation of explaining why they don’t do lifts for example!
Mark ELVIS Goddard, @GBsBestElvis
So, I paid about $8 for a set of artificial sunflower heads. They shed like dog fur, but I proudly put one in my ticket holder above my badge.
My day began like any other Thursday since last April, in the days when the Javits Center was a field hospital for COVID patients: edit Wednesday’s Instrumental Invasion aircheck, make a scoped version for my blog, publish the blog post, and share the post on social media. That left me about 45 minutes to eat breakfast (a bowl of cereal), shower, and get dressed and packed.
An Uber driver picked me up around 9:00, dropping me off at Wantagh LIRR station within ten minutes. Once there, I bought my ticket and walked to my usual spot on the west end of the platform, above Wantagh Avenue. The train arrived at 9:28:
I was hoping for the new M9 railcar, but it was the old M7. Oh, well.
I listened to much of my aircheck on the platform and then on the train.
Penn Station has changed drastically since last January, as seen in these photos taken on the way back from Javits:
When I arrived at Javits, my Clear app vaccination voucher was scanned, then my badge, and I went through security. It was hassle-free, thankfully. I took the first photo at 10:42, snapping away until I reached the autographing area in hall 1E:
Knowing I’d be meeting Dee Bradley Baker, earlier in the week, I ordered a compilation DVD on Amazon of Phineas and Ferb episodes centered around Perry the Platypus, Dee’s character. Assuming I’d be seeing William Shatner’s panel at 11AM and getting a photo op at 12:10 PM, I bought a 1PM ticket for Dee. Thankfully, it was accepted at 11:00.
As I waited in line, I saw Dee and other celebrity guests assembling behind the curtain. I waved to Dee and he signaled back to me, pointing two fingers at his eyes and then toward me, as if to say “I’m watching you.” That was flattering. When I was next in line, I learned that photos were not allowed at the table; autographs only. I asked the representative if he had a photo op. Yes, at 3:40, an hour and 50 minutes before the rescheduled Shatner photo op would have been. I was fine with that.
Dee and I spoke briefly as he signed the DVD box art:
To Mike!
Dee Baker
Agent P (Perry’s code name in the O.W.C.A. [Organization Without a Cool Acronym])
Dee’s autograph
Then, he graced me with Perry’s signature vocal effect. We said our goodbyes and I proceeded to the sales table to buy my photo op.
It took half an hour because neither my credit nor debit cards worked and I had to withdraw cash from an ATM, then going on the line for cash payments.
I had 3 1/2 hours to spend until it was time to wait in the queue. What to do?
First, I bought lunch at the food court: chicken fingers with waffle fries and a Sprite. I ate as I finished listening to my aircheck. When I went to out my Bose SoundLink wireless headphones away, the ear cushion for the right channel came loose. I had to buy a replacement set from their website.
After that, I proceeded up to the show floor:
What?! Jerry “The King” Lawler and Jim “Good Ol’ J.R.” Ross?!
I was a big pro wrestling fan growing up, along with my sister Lauren and cousins Chris and Sam (Samantha). After another ATM trip, a dream of mine was fulfilled: an autographed photo…:
To Mike!
“King” Jerry Lawler (WWE) HOF 07
Jim Ross
WWE HOF ’07
Jerry and Jim’s autographs
…and a photo op with King and J.R.!:
As you can see, I wore my 2020 U.S. Open shirt, previously seen in my pretend Winged Foot photo.
Before the photo, I told King that I didn’t know he’d be there. True to form, he quipped that he didn’t, either, but found himself and J.R. there anyway, or words to that effect. Don’t quote me. All I know is my comeback was “yeah, that’s how it goes,” meaning that’s what happens. After the photo, I told J.R. how long I’d been a fan and that I really enjoyed his two books, Slobberknocker and Under the Black Hat, which I listened to on Audible. He thanked me. (I synopsized Under the Black Hat in my latest “audiobooking” post.)
I took some more photos on the show floor…:
…then went back to the food court for seltzer (sparkling water) and a cookie. I engaged in conversation with my table mates, then called a few friends, and texted Lauren and Chris with a photo of the photo:
There was still plenty of time, so I sought out room 1E01: the Quiet Room:
As the name suggests, it’s a place where you can silently contemplate. I used my time in the room to charge my phone and draft the post you’re reading now.
My plan to pass the time worked. 3:15 came and I walked to the queue:
I spent the next 20 minutes or so chatting with my fellow queue members, then it was time.
I handed a staff member my ticket, put my belongings on a shelf, and was reunited with Dee. Here is our photo:
I was looking straight ahead, so I didn’t know what expression he made. I love it: Jack Benny-esque.
I said goodbye again, grabbed my belongings, picked up my photo print, and left the Javits Center. I may not have seen and met William Shatner, but I made many lasting memories. I’m so happy with how the day turned out. I will definitely be back.
Incidentally, there are articles on Bill’s 6:45 panel – which I would have seen if it was still at 11AM – on CNN’s website and Mediaite. Mediaite’s article includes a YouTube video of the panel (by Gragon Productions):
I watched on Friday night. It was like I was there in person.
10/13 UPDATE: Bill’s space trip was this morning. I didn’t realize it would only be a few minutes, but those few minutes were literally awesome for him. Watch the Blue Origin webcast replay:
10/14 UPDATE: Then, watch the moment of apogee inside the capsule:
10/17 UPDATE: Blue Origin had one more video up their sleeve: a recap:
Back to October 7.
Here’s my photographic journey back to Penn Station:
I reached Penn at 4:05…:
…and took the 4:12 bound for Wantagh, which was another M7:
When I arrived in Wantagh at 5:02, my mom was waiting to drive me home. As it turns out, the Penn-bound train was an M9:
Back in my room, I took photos of all the day’s belongings:
POSTSCRIPT: While perusing the New York Comic Con site on Friday afternoon, I noticed George Takei, Bill’s Star Trek co-star, was in the Q&A portion of his panel. So, I watched, periodically taking screencaps. In addition to Star Trek, he fielded questions about the animated film Kubo and the Two Strings, the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, his political activism stemming from internment during World War II (I ached as he told his story), and fond memories of Leonard Nimoy, another Star Trek co-star. One anecdote in particular was about how George saw Leonard perform in the play Equus on Broadway and Leonard returned the favor when George performed in the L.A. production. After the last question, George stood up, thanked the fans in the hall, and gave them Spock’s Vulcan salute. Now, how about those screencaps?
Well, thank you for making it this far. My next task is to chronicle the return of WCWP Homecoming Weekend. Till then, so long.
Instrumental Invasion, 10/6/21 October 7, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.add a comment
The October 6 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was, yet again, recorded over three days: three segments on August 19, two on the 20th, one on the 21st. Pickups were also recorded on the 21st.
The playlist was created and annotated on August 18 and the script was drafted before recording on the 19th.
“Completely Yours” by Patrick Bradley was the latest recurring song to account for its presence on the smooth jazz radio charts at the time of recording. I first played it back on March 24.
After playing later versions of Cedar Walton‘s “Sixth Avenue” (with Eastern Rebellion) and “The Hello” by Chuck Loeb last week, I decided to play the originals this week. Cedar’s original recording of “Sixth Avenue,” on Soundscapes, was excerpted by The Weather Channel for local forecasts in the late 1980s. “Seguaro (sic)” by David Lanz and Paul Speer was heard into the ’90s. Chuck Loeb’s original 1991 recording of “The Hello,” on Balance, featured Nelson Rangell on alto sax. Since saguaro cacti are native to the Sonoran Desert, I got to reference Nelson’s whistling cover of “Sonora” by Hampton Hawes, a staple of his live repertoire. Here’s one such performance at Smooth Jazz for Scholars in 2012:
As for this week’s show, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
The aircheck includes a community calendar spot I recorded and my show promo.
Instrumental Invasion, 9/29/21 September 30, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Radio, Rock.add a comment
The September 29 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over three days. The first hour was recorded on August 12, two second hour segments on the 13th, and the last segment on the 14th. It marked the end of an 11-day stretch where I worked on three shows. A pickup was recorded a week before air to acknowledge the passing of percussionist Doc Gibbs, heard at the top of the show on “Marco Polo” by Bob James.
The playlist was created and annotated on August 11 with the script drafted before recording on the 12th and 13th.
Midway through recording, I received a liner from fellow WCWP alum Alan Seltzer, who hosts The Grooveyard on Saturday nights. The liner debuted on this show after, fittingly, “Groove On” by Euge Groove.
“Deep Into It” by Paul Brown was originally heard last October 7. It was Paul’s latest single at the time of recording, as was “Right Around the Corner” by Nick Colionne, which was new to the show.
There is a music video for “Last Train” by Bill Heller, shot in part at Bill’s house and the Huntington LIRR station. Watch:
As for the show, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 9/22/21 September 23, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The September 22 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the second straight recorded over three days: one segment on August 8, three on the 9th, and two on the 10th.
The playlist was created and annotated on August 7 before the last two segments of last week’s show were recorded. The script was drafted on the 8th before recording this week’s first segment.
This was another show with segments containing songs 8 or more minutes long and only two songs in a segment.
I began the second hour with a Bob Hope catchphrase, “but I wanna tell ya,” and ended it with Edward R. Murrow‘s sign-off, “good night and good luck.” My use of the latter was to extend the last talk break so that I’d hit the post for “Day One” by the Jeff Lorber Fusion. This was the second week in a row where the Fusion closed the show.
As I noted after “Kari” by Bob James and Earl Klugh, the song was sampled on “Bob Ross Goes to Hollywood” by Birocratic:
Click here to download this show’s aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 9/15/21 September 16, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, TV.add a comment
The September 15 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over three days. The first hour was recorded on August 5, while the second hour was recorded on the 6th (segment one) and 7th (segments two and three).
The playlist was created on August 4 and annotated on the 5th. The script was drafted before each recording session.
I made a programming mistake in the third segment of hour one, which required careful editing and cutting down on the second talk break. Otherwise, it was the usual instance of segments running short with extra liners and elongated speech to compensate.
With construction in progress at the new neighbors’ house next door, I had to limit some recording to the evenings. Evening sessions are not easy as drowsiness sets in and my nose stuffs up. So, you can tell when I recorded based on the sound of my voice.
My talk-up for “Up All Night” by Kim Waters referenced USA Up All Night, USA Network’s Friday and Saturday night series. When Rhonda Shear was host, she read the title as “USA Up!…All Night.”
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 9/8/21 September 9, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Video Games.add a comment
The September 8 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP, the 75th show overall, was recorded from July 26 to 29, alternating between one and two segments per day at times when construction was not in progress next door.
The playlist was created on July 25 with annotations carrying into the 26th, followed by the script draft.
As noted at the top of the show, I played through two versions Super Mario World over a couple of weeks in July, beating the game and finding the last of the exits on the 24th.
I played the Super Famicom version on an FXPak Pro flash cart…:
…and the North American Super Nintendo version via Nintendo Switch Online:
It was the first time I had completed the game in over 25 years. For more on my experience with Super Mario World and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, check out my post on Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the SNES Library by Pat Contri.
As for the September 8 show, I chose not to acknowledge the 75th show milestone. I’ll save that for the 100th, if we get that far.
I learned last Friday that I had been mispronouncing trumpeter Tyler Mire’s last name while talking up “(It Gets) Better” by Ken Navarro. During the live listening party on Facebook for I Will Still Be Here, Ken pronounced it “meer” while I thought it rhymed with fire. I had submitted this week’s show, wherein I played “Straight Out the Gate,” the morning before. So, it was too late to correct my mistake, the third time I’d played a song with Tyler on trumpet. If I ever play any of those three songs again, rest assured I will use the correct pronunciation.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 9/1/21 September 2, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Video, Video Games.add a comment
The September 1 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded an hour per day on July 22 and 23 amid construction next door.
The playlist was created on July 21 and annotated on the morning of the 22nd. The script was drafted before each recording session. That means the first hour was drafted on the afternoon of the 22nd and the second on the morning of the 23rd.
As usual, some segments ran long, requiring fast delivery or removing sentences, while others ran short, requiring padding, swapping out short liners for longer ones, and extra info. For example, I wasn’t planning on listing all the Hubert Laws albums Chick Corea played on.
I referenced the 1989 film The Wizard while back-selling “The Wizard” by Joyce Cooling. It’s a film I had heard about, but didn’t see until last September on HBO Max. It surely made moviegoers want a Nintendo Entertainment System, Power Glove (Lucas Barton loves it!), and Super Mario Bros. 3, key to the film’s climax. SMB3 was released in North America two months after The Wizard released.
The Power Glove was mentioned in The Gaming Historian‘s video on the U-Force, which creator Norman Caruso posted eight hours before airtime. Watch:
As for my show, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
The stream audio was fine this week, clear as a bell in both channels, but there was a glitch toward the end of the first segment of hour 2. The stream (or automation) froze for about three minutes, resumed, froze again for several more seconds, resumed again, then jumped ahead to the next segment. For the part that didn’t air, I copied from my segment files and applied a multiband compressor filter.
9/3 UPDATE: Ken Navarro hosted a listening party tonight on Facebook for I Will Still Be Here, and I learned I’ve been mispronouncing the last name of trumpeter Tyler Mire. It’s “meer,” as in meerkat. It doesn’t rhyme with fire. Last week’s show and next week’s show, which I submitted yesterday morning, also have that mispronunciation.
Instrumental Invasion, 8/25/21 August 26, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Blu-ray, Comedy, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, TV, Weather.add a comment
The August 25 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was again recorded two segments per day, from July 15 to 17.
The playlist was created and annotated on the 15th and, again, the script was drafted as I recorded.
A few segments ran long, which required me to cut out information, such as what I hoped to share about The Goonies, which I watched on Blu-ray back in February.
The rest of the segments were barely short, requiring minimal padding.
I continued my tradition of playing songs that were excerpted for local forecasts/Local on the 8s on The Weather Channel. That included “Mirage” by The Rippingtons, “One Thousand & One Nights” by Shahin & Sepehr, “Go Wes Young Man” by Chris Camozzi, and “Happy Feet” by Steve Oliver. I first heard “The Way to You” by Nelson Rangell on CD 101.9. The point where I ended my talk-up is where the radio edit began.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
For the second week in a row, the left channel audio was barely audible. That means this aircheck is once again mono from the right channel.
Instrumental Invasion, 8/18/21 August 19, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, Food, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Rock, Travel.add a comment
The August 18 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded two segments per day from July 8 to 10.
The playlist was created on July 7 and annotated on the 8th. This time, I drafted the script as I recorded.
Since the show aired on my father Bill’s birthday, just as March 10 was my mother Lisa’s birthday, I chose to play “Daddy’s Got a New Girl Now” (even though I’m a boy) by Spyro Gyra and David Benoit‘s cover of “Secret Love” since he recorded it with his father Bob. As usual for my dad’s birthday (which he shares with David), we went out for dinner at Sushi Time 560 in Bethpage.
I also made sure to include Road Runner sound effects leading into “Roadrunner” by Boney James. I said “meep meep” myself when talking up the song in my overnight Homecoming Weekend show in 2017 and coming out of Lee Ritenour‘s “Road Runner” last December 2.
“Hipster” by Alexander Zonjic was previously played on January 6. I referred to irony, at the root of hipster culture, in both talk-ups.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
The left channel audio was barely audible, so the aircheck is mono from the right channel. (8/26 UPDATE: The next show had the same problem.)
Instrumental Invasion, 8/11/21 August 12, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Sci-Fi, Technology, Video.add a comment
The August 11 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over three days. The first hour was completed on July 1 with two second hour segments recorded on the 2nd and the last on the 3rd. Pickups were recorded on the 3rd and 4th (in the morning, before intermittent fireworks began).
The playlist was created and annotated, and the script drafted, entirely on June 30.
Since I was eager to play the McCoy Tyner Big Band version of “Fly with the Wind,” I swapped out the 1984 and earlier segment for a second 1985 to ’95 segment.
Some segments ran short, others were a little too long. In the last talk break, I forgot to acknowledge Trevor Neumann in the horn section of “Wayman” by Steve Cole.
I had the talk-up for “I’ll Love You Later” by Jay Rowe in mind ever since he played a solo piano version last year during one of his Facebook Live streams. For the sake of example, here’s his stream from May 25 of this year:
There’s a reason I played “Godzilla” by Nelson Rangell. While I have never seen a Godzilla film, not even the latest, I appreciate the franchise. I owe my appreciation to James Rolfe‘s explanatory 2019 Cinemassacre video, “Godzilla for Beginners”:
His spoiler-free review of Godzilla vs. Kong on March 31 set me up for if I ever watch it:
One more thing: Last Friday, James posted a behind-the-scenes video regarding his recent Angry Video Game Nerd episodes. That included outtakes from Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown, the first episode of 2021. The outtakes inspired me to clip them and add “Floaters” from the YouTube audio library, which is heard at the end of Technology Connections videos, to play underneath. For fans of that channel, “Floaters” has become synonymous with “le bloops,” bloopers from a given video. It came out this way, complete with Technology Connections-inspired captions:
As for this week’s show, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
MikeChimeri.com 