***** WARNING ***** WARNING *****
This post is long…it took me a few days to write and edit (I am sure there are still mistakes…shrug) and this is the first time I have EVER written my GalactiCon Memories out like this and once I started expanding it was too much fun to not keep going. Be forewarned, I ramble on at points in my retelling of occurrences and there are some really long sentences in this (and some additional ramblings in “( )” that can be considered very odd…), BUT the Microsoft Word Review Editor didn’t say they were incorrect…so I am leaving them in! (BTW, the “Grade Level” rating from the Word Review Editor was 11.6 and the Reading Ease rating is 59.0. What really means is that the sentences are too long and I, as stated above, ramble when writing stories like this, because the Word Review Editor calculates the grade level based mostly on length of words and length of sentences and reading ease is based on a mathematical computation in which a numeric association is multiplied by the quotient of the total words/total sentences is added to another numeric association multiplied by the quotient of the total syllables/total words from which you subtract another numeric association…you follow that??? If not, you can learn more about it here:
readable.com/readability/flesch-reading-ease-flesch-kincaid-grade-level/. Leave it to a lawyer to jump into the realm of readability by using mathematics!!! I would wager you didn’t know you were gonna learn the high-level basics about calculating reading ease on the Filsinger Games Discussion Board.)
If you don’t want to read the entire post (which I highly recommend you do to get the FULL FEELING of my GalactiCon 35 experience), then the following ABSTRACT hits the main points. BTW, I would also recommend getting a tasty beverage of your choice before you delve too deep into the GalactiCon Literary Classic you are about to enjoy, I am sure it will read better with one! (And I if I might, I would recommend a refreshing can of GalactiCon Pilsner! That would be the perfect pairing for the summer reading activity you are about to undertake!)
***** END OF WARNING ***** END OF WARNING *****
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ABSTRACT: (it’s definitely more of a Table of Contents in paragraph form than an ABSTRACT…):
Intro, Road Trip to GalactiCon, Parking Story #1, Pete Promotions GWF Event from GalactiCon, interlude with a Tim Hortons Factoid, First Ever GalactiCon Destroyer Park Golf SuperChallenge, Supper at Ilio’s (actually, there are TWO Pre-Dinner Stories before we get to the “eating” part of “Supper at Ilio’s”), interlude part one of Friday Night in the Jamestown La Quinta Inn Lobby, backtrack for a New Release Story, interlude part two of Friday Night in the Jamestown La Quinta Inn Lobby, GalactiCon Saturday, A “GalactiCon Surprise” (or two), The GalactiCon Auction!!!, Parking Story #2, GalactiCon Saturday Night (and EARLY Sunday Morning), GalactiCon Sunday, GalactiCon 35 Side Story Time, The National Comedy Center, Sunday Supper and Dessert…Solo Style, Road Trip from GalactiCon, Shout Outs, Congratulations, Thank You(s), and (finally) The End.
Now, go on…get your beverage…and read on!!!
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Of course, my GalactiCon recap post is a few days (ok more like a week…) later than everyone else’s, and likely will be as long as GalactiCon is held over the last weekend in June because during the first week of July I will be hanging out with my favorite Little Dude (my Grandson Asher) celebrating his birthday. This year we celebrated Birthday #2!! (I got lots of steps in pushing him around his house in various Little Tykes vehicles! Being a Grand-Faja is AWESOME!)
My road trip up to Jamestown on Thursday was eventful only due to the ridiculous traffic around Baltimore AND
~KB~ texting me while I was driving. My replies to him were mostly one-word answers to his questions with his reply to me, "Thanks for the riveting conversation". My longer reply (though not much longer) when I finally hit a stop light in one of the one-light towns on my route was "Driving...windy road...into sun". I was literally driving on one-lane curving backroads of PA while staring straight into the setting sun, and Butcher is giving me crap about one word text replies…sheesh. (I love you Brother, platonically!)
Parking: Story #1. When I pulled into the Jamestown La Quinta Inn about 10:30 p.m. the only parking sport available were two spots blocked off with cones. I was guessing they were blocked because they were right next to the trash area, but when I asked the young man working the desk if he knew why they were block, he replied with, “There are two spots blocked by cones?”. When we finished my check in, he walked outside with me and said he didn’t know why they were blocked because the hotel doesn’t block spots. So, I moved the cones and parked in one of the spots. When I woke up way too early on Friday to the call of nature there was a piece of paper slid under the door asking me to move my vehicle in order for the garbage truck to be able to get to the trash area. (Saw that coming, didn’t I?) I moved my car and luckily someone had already left leaving an open spot that I gladly occupied. When I went inside, I chatted with the young lady at the lobby desk and she said, while shaking her head, that the young man should have known that Friday was trash day…communication between employees for the win! She also told me that parking was free on the street overnight and over the weekend; this info was shared widely amongst GalactiCon attendees staying at the Jamestown La Quinta Inn.
Since I was up and had a few hours before I had to get on the road for Friday’s activities in Buffalo, I pulled out the dice, cards and charts (not to mention my game mat) and held my fed’s “Annual Card from GalactiCon!” (Well, it’s annual from GalactiCon if I am attending in person, otherwise it’s my “Annual Card during GalactiCon”). This year’s event was hosted at Phoebe Civic Arena on Saturn and featured 16 matches of GWF 2130 action that was capped off with a Main Event in which Aethran Overmaster reclaimed the Galaxian Championship from Sur!
After putting everything away, it was time for me to be off to the surrounding areas of Buffalo, NY! Let me tell you, Brother, there may be 4 Tim Hortons in Jamestown, but there is WAY MORE than 4 on the route from Jamestown to Destroyer Park Golf in Akron, NY!
I fully agree with everyone who was there, Park Golf is a fantastic version of golf! In the case of Destroyer Park Golf, throw in the bonus of The Destroyer Museum; what more could a wrestling fan who used to play golf (badly, I might add) ask for in an afternoon on the link??? Well, maybe a can of beer! And in this situation, a GalactiCon Pilsner! A tasty refreshing beverage perfect for the links at Destroyer Park Golf! 10,000 THANKS to Tim for making Park Golf happen and Promoter (J) for making GalactiCon Pilsner happen! (On a side note, I need to find a Park Golf course closer to my part of the galaxy OR
stu ,
Mike M , and I, along with anyone else who would like to donate, really do need to look into funding to build a course!) The team lead by Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) and long-time Champions of the Galaxy Promoter Pete Beck recorded the following scores (list in order of how the names were entered on the scorecard) Jack: 75;
DK II : 61;
Mike M : 61;
Vegas : 73; and
Sinestro24 : 66. Oh Yeah, even though the other team didn’t total their scores, the team of Jack, Mike M., Zeke, Andy, and I were declared the overall winners of the FIRST EVER “GalactiCon Destroyer Park Golf SuperChallenge”! (I came up with the event title while writing this post and was blatantly borrowing from the “Club Galactica SuperReport” title-stylization. We should have named the event while we were playing, but since that didn’t happen, I took the liberty of naming it, however if anyone thinks of a better title it can be modified before the SECOND EVER GalactiCon Destroyer Park Golf SuperChallenge!) As Mike M. said in the post-round discussion, it was never a contest because we had a “Lieutenant Colonel (Retired)” leading our team and the other team, which was composed of
TDalton ,
Tournament Master ,
stu , Milton, and
malicelover , only had a captain (Tim was captaining)! (We aren’t bringing the Navy into the rank hierarchy discussion because their whole Officer Rank structure is screwy…the Navy has to do their Officer’s Rank their own way because they are they “Navy”, blah, blah, blah…I joke, kind of…)
And then it was onto Ilio's for Supper! Which for some reason was more a of challenge for some folks to get to from Destroyer Park Golf then it should have been (…eh hem, Todd and Jack, I am talking about you two!). Not that he knew, after about a few minutes of driving I realized I was following Todd’s vehicle on the way to Ilio’s and since we were going to the same place I just continued to follow. We were making good time and about 1 mile from the exit there was as 18-wheeler going a bit slower than traffic; being the “polite caravan buddy” driver I am, I get over to hold the lane for Todd’s vehicle to get over in front of me to pass the truck. I flashed my headlights, but Todd’s vehicle is not getting over to pass?? I flash my headlights again, again, does not get over. Well since I guess he doesn’t realize it’s me flashing my headlights, I kept my speed and passed Todd’s car. I then see that Jack is driving and think to myself, “okay, Todd likely had a few too many GalactiCon Pilsners while playing Park Golf and Jack has driven in Los Angeles and all over the east coast, plus he’s likely got a map app showing him the way, so they are good to go”, I mean this is the exit, they gotta be GTG, right? (Read on, go ahead, Read On!) I get in front of the truck and start paying closer attention to Google Maps because now I believe I am in the lead of a two-car caravan (well I thought I was!); a couple of turns later I pull into Ilio’s parking lot thinking that Todd and Jack are going to pull up any second…but they don’t??? Okay, maybe they got stopped at a light since they were back a little since they were behind that truck that was going a little slower than I was that last mile. I head into Ilio’s and start going around to see everyone who is in the dining room. After a going around the room, I end up talking with
TOM for a minute and he asks if I have seen Todd or if I know his ETA because Todd is the guy the restaurant staff is expecting to talk with to get dinner moving along (BTW, at this point there’s a low rumble in the room due to the number of hungry Filsinger Games Promoters waiting patiently at the tables for service to begin). I tell Tom that Todd was behind me on the freeway and that he should be arriving any moment, but I also tell Tom that I will text him to confirm and since I knew that Jack was driving, Todd should answer. I text Todd…and nothing...5 minutes go by and still nothing…10 minutes and still nothing…Tom looks at me with an inquiring look on his face…I shrug, show him the unanswered text, we both look around AND voilà, in walks Todd and Jack! Tom talks to Todd and Todd starts talking with the staff to get dinner going. I waited a few minutes then asked Todd what happened on the road? He chuckles, “We missed the exit.” I ask Todd if he saw my text, he looks at this phone and says, “I do now.” We both laughed and a minute later, dinner was served!
The other “fun pre-dinner story” is that when we were getting ready to leave Destroyer Park Golf, Tim tells those of us milling around the cars that he is going to go home to change before going to the restaurant. We joked that he was going to get “all dressed up in a suit for dinner while we are all wearing the shorts and tee shirts we golfed in”. He waved us off and we headed out. Before Tim arrived at Ilio’s, I was got to talking with Kurt Beyers (The Destroyer’s son and special guest at dinner), about the history of his dad learning about Park Golf as well as some of the “technical” stuff associated with certifications for courses when Kurt asked about Tim not being at dinner yet even though most of the rest of us who played had already arrived. I told Kurt that when we last talked at the course, Tim said he was “going home to change” and we had joked with him about doing so and that he would showing up in a suit (wait for it…wait for it…); low-and-behold in walks Tim attired in slacks, a nice button-down shirt, AND a SPORTCOAT looking like he was going to meet clients for work! Kurt and I laugh at his time and when I question Tim about the get up, his comment went something like, “Hey, I come here often and have to keep appearances up.” Kurt and I just shook our heads.
During dinner I was lucky enough to be at the table with Tom, Alex (who was it was great catching up with and talking about his travels to Colorado, Montana, and Hawai’i),
tystates , & a few other Promoters (sorry, I forget whom…). Dinner was delicious and while Alex and others at the table had seconds on the main courses, I got seconds on dessert! Before leaving Ty and I walked through the bar and the entrance area to check out the mementos from Ilio's career (both in wrestling and in the restaurant business) and even got to talk to Ilio’s son about where the family is from in Italy (which is close to where my mom’s family is from in the old world). I got a picture with Ty in which Ilio’s portrait is looking over our shoulder with one of his belts in the background.
And then it was time to head back to Jamestown’s La Quinta Inn with new sets in hand where I hung out in lobby solving a few of the world’s problems and discussing what little we all read from the new sets with Butcher, Andy, and Barry drinking a few cans of GalactiCon Pilsner.
Oh yeah…the New Releases! Hmmm, here’s another GalactiCon 35 story, right Mike M. and Todd? As dinner was wrapping up at Ilio’s Mike M. and Todd start handing out the new releases to the Promoters that had pre-ordered; I am talking with a few other Promoters when Mike M. and Todd come up to me and tell the envelope with my order wasn’t in the box with the rest of them. I tell them it’s all good and they can give it to me when we get back to the hotel. THEN I get the “look” from both of them, and it dawns on me that the envelope with my order is not at the hotel, it’s safely back in the Fed HQ satellite location in Philadelphia with all of the other orders that are waiting to be mailed out after GalactiCon. BUT, as they are fast on their feet and looking to make the Filsinger Games customers happy on such a joyous occasion of new sets being released, Mike M. and Todd confirmed which sets I had ordered, and an on-the-spot decision is made to give me Todd’s envelope because he and I ordered the same items! Crisis Averted!!! Promoter Pete Beck received his order at Ilio’s as was expected when he made his order! (Yes, I just went third person in this story) (Even if the envelope I was passed has Todd’s address on it, it was now mine! I wonder what junk snail mail lists I should sign Todd up for??? Maybe his car needs an extended warranty, or he needs a new credit card??? Hmm, I wonder.)
And THEN it was time to head back to Jamestown’s La Quinta Inn with new sets in hand (even if they were in an envelope addressed to Todd) to get the last parking spot in the parking lot where I hung out in lobby with fellow Promoters drinking a few cans of GalactiCon Pilsners before getting knee deep into the Myth Worlds handbook!
My Saturday morning plan was to wake with time to do my morning hygiene routine, eat, and finish reading the Myth Worlds handbook, but that did not happen as for some odd reason I slept a little longer than I had planned (it might have been the GalactiCon Pilsners…maybe…just maybe???). I did get my morning hygiene done, grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Jamestown La Quinta Inn, and then raced off to the Jamestown Starbucks on the WAY OTHER side of town for coffee. (Okay I got a latte, I admit that I drink steamed milk with a little coffee flavor, and I had stars expiring on 1 July that I needed to use…I mean I earned them buying way too expensive lattes so might as well use them to get a way too expensive latte!). I arrived at JCC between downpours and after claiming a seat for my backpack and saying hello to everyone, I found Troy in order to make my draw for the GWF Tournament. Since I was a tad late, I didn’t know who was left available and when I unfolded the paper with my pick, I had a pleasant surprise at seeing “Pinnacle” (Internal reaction, a big shout of “YES!”; External reaction “kept it cool.”). My journey through the tournament went like this: Round 1: Win via pin fall; Round 2: Win via FACE OF ETERNITY (or as I liked to say “Pinnacle turned his opponent into stone!”, I was going with a “Myth” theme giving Pinnacle Medusa/Gorgon-like powers with his finisher!); Round 3: Win via pin fall; Round 4: “Turned another opponent into stone” with FACE OF ETERNITY; and Finals: a loss to Shayne who was controlled by Todd. In the Finals Pinnacle did get one shot at turning Shayne into stone with FACE OF ETERNITY but I did not get needed 5 or 6 roll to make it happen. While Pinnacle has a very good Level 3 Defense (4 “hurt – 2”s, a “down – 3 (lv), and the Pin with a rate of 5(2)) Shayne’s Level 2 Offense was too much to overcome; it was just a matter of time before Pinnacle had a few tokens and Shayne used SHOWDOWN to get the win. I was bummed, but it was a fun run with Pinnacle, and I am really looking forward to using him when I play Myth World. I did not play in either the Indies or Lucila Ball Women’s tournaments as I was working my way around the room catching up with the Promoters, I knew from past GalactiCons and meeting the new Promoters attending in person for the first time. I drew Tully Blanchard for the Legends tournament, but I was not long for the tournament as I won one in Round 1 and then lost in the Round 2 to Inoki (…pretty sure it was Inoki).
It was then time for a “GalactiCon Surprise” and since we already had received the “unmasked” Killing Machine, aka Bounty Hunter, card (which, BTW, is fantastic!!!), the question had to be “what does Tom have in store for us?” Well fellow Promoters, it was a “GalactiCon Moment” as Tom announced the “Original Filsinger Artist extraordinaire” Chuck Charter was in attendance! It was awesome having Chuck at GalactiCon and getting to hear him talk to the group at large during a special panel and then getting a chance to talk to him one-on-one. We talked about a few of the original pieces I have been fortunate to win at auctions and that led to a discussion with him and Tom talking about a few of his drawings that were displayed in Jack’s “Travelling Museum of Filsinger Games Historia”. It was very cool hearing them talk about how they came up with stuff based on Tom’s ideas and Chuck’s interpretation. Chuck would point out characteristics on a drawing and then say which other artist(s) inspired the style or feature…yeah, it was very cool. Another surprise was Tom Rickert doing a group discussion about his experience working with Tom on art and coloring for the cards. Since I have ZERO artistic/drawing ability, to me is great getting to hear how both Chuck and Tom R. go about doing what they do/did to make characters come to life.
The GalactiCon Auction!!! One of my favorite parts of GalactiCon and other Filsinger Games Events. I had the winning bid on an original Chuck Carter drawing of Reynard B. Guile, which Grant had commissioned by Chuck when he attended GalactiCon in 2009. It is an awesome addition to my collection of GWF original art. While I didn’t win the original art for The Collector (another Chuck Carter Original) I did have the winning bid on the auction for an uncut sheet of Murdok cards in a coloring scheme that was not used for his CWF Future Shock 2116 card. When Mike M. and I talked about it, he explained the colors were too dark for what he and Tom wanted, and this was the only sheet printed with that color scheme. (Did I mention that one of my favorite parts of GalactiCon is the Auction? Getting the chance to own a one-of-a-kind piece like this makes the collector in me happy, Happy, HAPPY!) The Finale of the auction was something special! After having the winning bid on the original art for the Wolf card that was included as a bonus CotG card in the original Legends Boxed set,
throwingtoasters re-donated the piece to be re-auctioned. He has done this to increase the donation going to the Hall of Fame, but this time stands out because the proceeds from the auction for this particular piece of art were donated to Promoter
jimsteel to help with his recovery from his recent accident. Grant is a FANTASTIC member of our community for his unselfishness in doing what he did (and knowing him, will continue doing in the future.)
After being part of Saturday’s ring tear down crew, I got to experience “Parking Story #2 at the Jamestown La Qunita Inn”. Here goes…I was 99% sure I was going to end up parking on the street near the Jamestown La Quinta Inn, however my military service left some nagging injuries which entitle me to handicapped parking. Most days I don’t even think about using handicapped parking spots, but sometimes when parking is short supply and the handicapped spots are the only one left available, I will park in one. My 1% hope of getting a spot at all was squashed when I pulled into the parking lot behind a white sedan that took the last spot, one of the handicapped spots. I made the turn to verify there were no spots open on that side of the parking lot and as suspected, none were available. So, I turn around to head out to the street to park, when the previously mentioned white sedan turns the corner. In my head, I am like “Oh Yeah, gonna get a spot!”. Then, as the white sedan crosses my path, there’s Keven Melesky driving by extending me a very well-known international hand greeting. (Yes, he was flipping me “The Bird”.) While I am flabbergasted over Kevin’s use of sign language, I turn the corner, pull into the reserved handicapped spot, put the hang tag up on the rearview mirror, smile as I watch Kevin drive by to park out on the street, and then walk into the luxurious accommodations after stretching my back (as I seem to need to do when I get out of the car nowadays). When I see Kevin in the lobby, we joke about his sign language as well talking about my use of the parking spot that he had to vacate. Another Win for Me in relation to the parking situation at the Jamestown La Quinta Inn!
After taking a break in the room to read the rest of the Myth World handbook, I headed across the street to Shawbucks to catch a late dinner and hang out with the Promoters who had gone over earlier. (Because I asked Grant to tell the tale, I got to hear the “Origins Story” of the international superstar of stage and screen, Toiley T. Paper, who I follow on all of the social media platforms I am a member of. If you ever get the chance, ask him!) When it got too loud at Shawbucks (man, I sound like an old man saying that it got to loud in a bar/restaurant…smh), those of us who were still hanging out went to the Cherry Lounge to hang out a while longer. It was a much quieter scene at the Cherry Lounge and
Matt ,
Swarm , and I were able to talk without having to shout, “what did you say?”. After closing the Cherry Lounge (it sounds like that might have been late, but it was probably closer to 11:30 p.m. than “late” when the Cherry Lounge closed), it was back to the lobby of the Jamestown La Quinta Inn for a few GalactiCon Pilsners and then a post 03:00 a.m. bedtime. I won’t go into the story of Barry and Milton walking through the lobby around 03:00 a.m. on their way headed to Buffalo International for their early morning flights as it has been told a few times already…BUT my advice, if you can do it, make your travels plans to stay until Monday and start your trip home (or wherever you are headed) closer to midday. I can pretty much guarantee will not have to check out of a hotel at 03:00 a.m. to catch a flight at an airport over an hour way if you travel at midday on the Monday after GalactiCon. For Mike M. and Todd’s situational Awareness, during early morning Monday lobby discussion, those in attendance determined the locations for the next 5 years of GalactiCon; they include: Stamford, Connecticut for a takeover of WWE HQ; Washington D.C.; Toronto, Ontario, Canada (start working on getting your passports now folks, you are going to need it to get to this GalactiCon!); Las Vegas, Nevada (NOT Las Vegas, New Mexico, sorry New Mexico); and then a triumphant return to Jamestown, New York for GalactiCon 40 in 2029!
Sunday morning came quick (yeah, it did). I had time for my morning hygiene routine but didn’t have time to grab breakfast at the Jamestown La Quinta Inn (can you believe that?!?!?) because if I had stopped to eat there, I would not have made it to Venue 31 for Sunday’s GalactiCon festivities. Thank goodness Todd and
mikefortune were looking out for everyone as Todd made a Tim Horton’s run for donuts and Mike Fortune put out the spread of “Canadian Snacks” as he does every Sunday at GalactiCon (it’s way better than the Taco Bar that was available a few years ago in Chicago…just saying…). I drew Danhousen for the comedy tournament and did not get a repeat of my success from the day before in the GWF Tournament (I think I won one match then lost the next…though, I honestly could have lost in the first round, I just don’t remember.) I got Star Slayer for the Canada Cup and ended the round robin with a total of 20 points (for those who have never been nor participated in the Canada Cup, 20 points is not a good total…nope…not at all.) However, there will be a rematch between Star Slayer and Rundar...DEFINITELY! It was a hotly contested match in the round robin which Star Slayer won, but the match could have gone either way. The best part of the round robin for our pool was Jack saying "Ruunnnnnndaaarrrrrrrrrrr!” every time he rolled something positive for Rundar.
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GalactiCon 35 Side Story Time! (Some of you are thinking right now, this whole thing is a “side story”!!!) Since the Jamestown Tarp Skunks baseball game was rained out on Saturday there were more than a few of us that were disappointed because we were planning on getting Jamestown Tarp Skunks memorabilia (hats…we wanted to get hats, as in the hats the players wear during games). On the walk over to Venue 31 from the Jamestown La Quinta Inn, one of the routes went by a shop that had Jamestown Tarp Skunks hats on display for sale! Since I was kind of in a rush to get to t Venue 31, I didn’t pay attention to the shop’s hours, but when I mentioned it to Mike Fortune, he said he had seen the shop as well. I told Mike Fortune and Jack (the three of us that were disappointed that we couldn’t get hats due to the rain out) that since I was staying until Monday, I would go by the shop and get hats for all three of us. It was a solid plan…until we walked back to the Jamestown La Quinta Inn after the GalactiCon Sunday festivities has ended and looked at the sign with the shop’s hours seeing that it was closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday…that was a major, Major, MAJOR bummer. For those of you thinking, “Why didn’t you go to the game on Sunday, Pete?”, there was no game on Sunday…but there was a game on Monday! And since I was staying until Monday (you all see where this is going right?), I told Mike (and Jack later in the afternoon during another adventure that has a story yet to be told) in this post) that I would stop by the stadium to see if I could get into the team shop to get us hats. Fast-forward to Monday morning, I go to the stadium and see the gates are open, but when I go in, I only see the ground crew milling around getting ready to work on the field when one of them asked me if I need any help. When I told him what I was looking to do, he told me to go to the office as he knew someone was already working for the day. Off I go to the office behind home plate, and I do the “Hello, anyone here?” think to which I get the “one second.” reply. A young man who comes out of an inner office and asks how he can help, and I tell him I am on a mission to get a Tarp Skunks hats because we were unable to do so on Saturday due to the rainout. He says, “Of course I can help. Running the store isn’t something I usually do as the GM, but I am sure I can figure it out.” SUCCESS! One large gray Tarp Skunks hat for Mike Fortune, one large blue Tarp Skunks hat for Jack, and one medium blue Tarp Skunks hat for me! And I got to meet the Jamestown Tarps Skunks GM…AND I have another Very Cool GalactiCon story! (Not nearly as controversial of a story as over leaving my family at home in Biloxi, Mississippi to go to GalactiCon while a hurricane was churning off the coast of Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico…said hurricane made landfall in Alabama! Trust me, the family was going to be fine, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone…you get to understand a little about tropical systems living that far south and on the coast.) Keep an eye out for Jamestown Tarp Skunks hats being worn at upcoming Filsinger Games events!
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After Sunday’s GalactiCon Festivities ended Todd, Jack, and I went to The National Comedy Center, a short walk for me from the Jamestown La Quinta Inn and an even shorter drive from them from Venue 31. If you are a fan of Comedy in any of its forms (Film, TV, Stand-Up, Sketch, Late Night, Books, Comics, etc.), you gotta go to The National Comedy Center! (You really, Really, REALLY Gotta!) It’s mostly interactive exhibits and displays and you can spend a whole lot of time going through all of them. They even have a drink service, to include adult beverages, in which the waitstaff is walking though the center and will bring your beverage right to you as you peruse the exhibits and displays! (Todd partook in this service and even got to keep his glass as a souvenir!) And they even have a “Comedy Karaoke” stage where you can give a go at performing a routine of your choice…Jack and Todd both killed during their sets, actually Jack killed both of the routines he did! And they even have a “Joke Battle” exhibit where you take turns trying to make your battle buddy laugh! (I made Jack laugh, Todd and I went to a draw…but since was the only one to get score point during a battle, I declared myself the winner of the three-way match!) For me, one of the highlights was talking to Jack in the George Carlin “clean” exhibit and of course I brought up Carlin’s "Seven Words" routine (#1: It is one of my all-time favorite comedy routines! And #2: If you have never heard/seen it, have you been living under a rock for forever? Go look it up and laugh away!) because…well, if you need a reason to talk about that routine you have missed out on something special. As we progressed through the exhibitions we came to the "Blue Comedy” room; for those unfamiliar with Comedy lingo, “Blue Comedy” features foul language. There is actually an exhibit explaining why it was called “Blue Comedy” in the Center…go there and you can learn all about it! So, as Todd, Jack, and I walk into the Blue Comedy room, the doors slide open, and center-front is an exhibit displaying the “Seven Words” in great big lettering! All three of us start cracking up and Jack and I look at each other, point at the display, and have a second laugh. Little did we know that the designers of The National Comedy Center have strategically hidden a camera that snaps a few pictures of guests and their reactions when the doors slide open. As I walked around the initial display, there was a second that had the reaction pictures on display, and I was able to get a copy of ours (I uploaded it in the pictures I posted on Facebook...trust me, you will know it when you see it!) The final interaction when you leave The National Comedy Center is a personal recap of what you did and they summarize for you what your favorite comedy style is based on what you interacted with through your visit…and they also give you a card with a “Joke to Go”, here’s mine: "I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down." Next time you find yourself near Jamestown, New York and have a few hours to spare, I highly recommend going to The National Comedy Center!
After we finished our comedy experience and departed The National Comedy Center, we said our last GalactiCon 35 goodbyes (well, it my last GalactiCon goodbyes) as Todd and Jack headed east and I walked back to the Jamestown La Quinta Inn to figure out what I was going to do for Sunday supper. After Googling restaurants by Lake Chautauqua, I decided on going to the "The Empty Pint", the Southern Tier Brewing Company's brewery on site restaurant. They have an outdoor stage upon which a local band was playing live music, I kicked back, relaxed, and enjoyed the music (which was not too loud) while eating a very tasty cheeseburger. And of course, when in Jamestown until the Monday after GalactiCon, I am having ice cream on Sunday evening for a treat! So, while still enjoying my mostly full belly at The Empty Pint, I did some Googling for ice cream and decided on Big Tree Ice Cream…it was a very good decision! As I was completely satiated, I headed back to the Jamestown La Quinta Inn to take a closer look at all of the great stuff I received at GalactiCon 35 and to end the day at a much earlier time than I had the two days prior!
Monday morning arrived which meant it was time to head back to the “real world”…darn. After SUCCESS was achieved in getting Jamestown Tarp Skunks hats to start the trip home to Maryland, it was an uneventful drive home on one-lane, winding roads in New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Really, other than listening to the Euro24 games (that’s a soccer tournament for those that didn’t know) on the radio, the only thing I remember was watching the outside temperature reading change for a nice 68 – 72 to a warmer 85 – 90 as reached the outskirts north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. If all remember from the drive was the outside temperatures changing, yeah that can be considered “uneventful”.
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A HUGE SHOUT OUT to the Promoters who shared their creative genius with the rest of us in person GalactiCon attendees. You guys are AWESOME and come up with some great stuff for everyone! Don’t Stop Using Your Creativity! We all truly appreciate what you guys do and that you make it available to the rest of us!! (While this is just a SPECIAL Huge Shout Out for your GalactiCon 35 creations, the rest of us are grateful for what you create year-round…please don’t ever limit us to your creations just at GalactiCon!!! My recommendation for those of you who weren’t able to be at GalactiCon in-person to get these creations…reach out to the Promoters below and inquire to see if they have any left or if they have .pdfs they will share.)
Here’s the list of the GalactiCon 35 Promoter Made Creations that I came home with:
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Swarm : Kronos Grand Re-Opening, featuring Big Superstar & Galactic Giant, Kronos LEs 2024.
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throwingtoasters : Champions of the Galaxy Foreign Objects deck.
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Brocster : NDW Royal Coup 2137 & an LE variant of a member of the Royal Coup.
- Sam Luptak: "Big Guys, Small Frys, Buckeye, Supersized, Womanize, and a Lot of Surprise!"
- Jack: Vision & Storm Child, 2024 GalactiCon SE version.
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Thomas (TK) : Yakuza & Geisha, 2024 GalactiCon SEs.
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malicelover : Mickie James & Kana, CFC GCON XXXV/25th TNTHOF release and The Eliminators (Perry Saturn and John Kronus), CFC Summer 2024 release.
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~KB~ : The Brain, 2024 GalactiCon SE.
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Congrats to all Tournament winners! (Except you, Todd…because you beat me in the Finals of the GWF Tournament and I am holding a grudge for a little while longer!) A Special Congratulations to Larry (a Virtual attendee) who won the GalactiCup using Big van Vader. As has been said previously in this thread, but bears repeating because it was a HISTORIC GalactiCon occurrence, Larry is the first Promoter in GalactiCon GalactiCup history to use a Legends of Wrestling card to win the Cup.
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Mike M. and Todd, we don’t say it as much as we should, so here goes, THANKS FOR ORGANIZING AND EXECUTING ANOTHER ABSOLUTELY, FANTASTIC, STUPENDIOUS, AND ALL-AROUND FUN-FILLED GALACTICON!!! With all you guys do (and have to deal with) to make GalactiCon happen, along with keeping the rest of us entertained, happy, and (mostly) fed, you deserve the Champions of the Galaxy Medal of Commendation! (You are gonna have to coordinate getting the Champions of the Galaxy Medal of Commendation from Tom!!! Good luck with that…lol…Michael Brata is still waiting to get his for winning the cosplay contest from GalactiCon 2021 in Phoenixville/Philadelphia!)
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If you made it this far, you can tell that I thoroughly enjoyed myself at GalactiCon 35. It was great seeing all of my fellow Promoters in Jamestown; you all make it way more fun than ought to be allowed over a weekend! It’s both fun rolling the dice versus you AND catching up on what’s happening in your corners of the galaxy with you and your family! Already looking forward to seeing everyone at GalactiCon 36 in 2025! (Wherever it is going to be held!)
If you are one of those who needs proof of some the escapades told above (there are not photos that I am aware of for some of the happening…to reiterate, THAT I AM AWARE OF…), go check out the pictures I posted on Facebook and re-linked to the Filsinger Games Promoters Group here:
www.facebook.com/share/p/YtfEx6eRRmX52duU/?mibextid=oFDknkI would like to think you have been mostly entertained by my ramblings above and in seeing the pictures, AND that you will have the unshakeable urge to attend GalactiCon 36 wherever it is held in 2025!
