Finding a Hotel for San Diego Comic-Con International
The news feeds are buzzing today with countless horror stories about creators, media and exhibitors trying to find lodging for this year’s Comic-Con International. Apparently, the only way you’re going to get a room near the convention center this year is to shack up with a lonely furry. Seriously.
Over at The Beat, Heidi MacDonald weaves a tapestry of epic victories and crushing defeats in the quest for San Diego room reservations:
Just like when you’re hunting for an apartment in New York City, at moments like these you have to make a snap judgement. There’s no “think about it”. There is only “do”. We hit our sentimental favorite hotel, The Horton Grand, which is sort of out of date and yes, the staff is cranky, but, hell the toilets have pull chains. Old skool. We hit it again. Rooms available. Name, address, credit card…we kept forgetting to check the boxes to approve everything, so had a nerve wracking wait. A bad feeling crept over us. The blue bar moved so slowwwwwly. Would THIS be the year? Could this be the disaster we’ve avoided for so long?
She also checks in with a few big-name creators about their search for rooms, and examines some questionable factoids being thrown around by San Diego’s local officials. Yes, it seems that Comic-Con isn’t nearly as much of a boon for the local economy as a convention for "geographic information system software."
… Or is it?
At one time, GSP (the Greenville-Spartanburg Jetport in South Carolina) was the world's busiest airport for two weeks every other year, when the World Textile Exposition was going on. (Which is why it was officially an international airport from the day it opened.) By the 60/70s, it was literally simpler for corporate types attending to get hotel rooms in Atlanta and use air-taxi services to commute back and forth daily.
mike, I was at Ruby Tuesday's today and you won't believe what played — a mariachi version of Come Dancing!
Yeah, my guys Dash Rip Rock used to do a hardcore version of "Ticket to Ride", a western swing version of the Sex Pistols' "God Save the King", a heavy metal version of his them song called "Mr Rogers Goes to Hell", absolutely straight versions of "Barracuda" and "Love Grows (Where my Rosemary Goes)" and Fred would do the most incredible a capella version of "Mona Lisa" to cover whenever Bill or Hoakie broke strings…Their shows were strange and wonderful.
Ha! Dash Rip Rock! I caught a few of their shows around Albany, NY, a while back… great fun, each and every time.
Ah, Albany rock. Next you'll tell me you went to Blotto shows.
Nah. Although I did snag a Blotto album off the "free" table at my old alt-weekly office. I'm a sucker for old vinyl recordings.
We sometimes have this problem with SF cons, too. Corporate people are coming with expense accounts while we SF fen don't spend nearly as much money.