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Messages - Mayhem

#1
Quote from: MPLe on June 02, 2011, 04:30:03 PM
Quote from: Mayhem on June 02, 2011, 02:43:01 AM
stuff
Doug, I already told you that we are looking into this. Continuing to express your dismay at the decision that was made is only causing a scene when there shouldn't be. I understand that you were hurt and personally offended by the decision, but if you have any faith in me, you'll let me handle this.

OK, I'll leave it in your capable hands Milton.  :)

EDIT One reason I keep bringing it up is I keep getting Conflicting information such as "This rule is unlikely to go away in 2012", But for now I'm taking my concerns private.
#2
Quote from: Kupo on June 01, 2011, 04:53:12 AM
Started a yearly thread where I ask others what they dislike about the FanimeCon experience. Might as well start a new thread asking what they like about the Fanime Experience to bring some more positivity to this place!

My favorite part .... The End  ;D.
#3
I think some one needs to dive into California Penal Code Section 538D, 10 USC, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 45, Sections 771, 772 and SCHACHT v. UNITED STATES.

As a U.S. Army Combat Veteran (Infantry), I find myself completely disgusted with this entire mess.

Take a look at my original rant on facebook - as a warning it's not for children or people with week stomachs.

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150199744677776

Here is one of the more informative responses I have made on this issue.

QuoteConsidering my back ground both in the military and Law enforcement ... I'm familiar with with the law it is not Illegal when it comes to military uniforms or even if I had put "US army" on my Costume which I didn't out of respect as I'm covered under several portions of 10 USC, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 45, Sections 771 and 772. and thanks to SCHACHT v. UNITED STATES I really don't have to worry about those exceptions.



With Law enforcement uniforms it gets a little more tricky as per California Penal Code Section 538d which clearly makes impersonation of a peace officer a Crime and This subdivision shall not apply if the uniform is to be used solely as a prop for a motion picture, television, video production, or a theatrical event, and prior written permission has been obtained from the identified law enforcement agency. You have to be careful with this even when it comes to Security and Security Officers. All it takes is one LEO that wants to flex his authority muscles and someones con is ruined.

http://law.onecle.com/california/penal/538d.html

There is no such state law that applies to military uniforms as costumes unless you use them to deliberately pass for military personnel such as to gain access to restricted military facilities.

Unlike Law enforcement The U.S. military has no authority over civilians outside of military installations unless martial law is declared.

Again my costume had nothing on it that said US ARMY, It simply had some funny milspec monkey patches and a Press and Photographer Name tape. this was a BDU that used the ACUPAT cammo Patern THIS IS NOT THE ACU UNIFORM USED BY THE UNITED STATES ARMY. No military in the word uses this Uniform and Popper had a very limited run on this SO you can no longer purchase this style of uniform You can however purchase the modern ACU uniform in ACUPAT Cammo at your local surplus store.

We still have people walking around in full cammo and even in modern uniforms. I saw a guy Walk around in a flight suite with captains rank and a a 1st Cavalry Division patch - something I would never have done unless I duplicating a specific Anime Character for accuracy. I even saw a guy in a raccoon city PD outfit (resident evil) compete with the word "Police" on it.

What got me jumped was the Cammo pattern my stuff uses. If I had been wearing ACUPAT Cammo Pajamas the would still have crawled up my Butt, However if they where woodland or real tree the Probably would have let me slide.

I had absolutely no prop weapons on me unless you count the Camera (Speed Grapher)

WHAT REALLY CHAPS MY REAR is we got no warning until after con started. at this point I'm already out allot of time and money I'm never going to get back.

Oh and  Army Regualtion 670-1 Does not apply to civilians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Combat_Uniform
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Dress_Uniform
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Camouflage_Pattern
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_camouflage_patterns
http://milspecmonkey.com/store/patches


here is another good read

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/theorderlyroom/a/uniformwear.htm

One solution is to prohibit the combination of real Branch, Unit, and Rank insignia on More Modern uniforms. Or no Masks (face must be visible) or even no prop weapons in modern "realistic" uniforms.

Eventually this is going to get out of control and even people like Kris Adalrik Doodha who do authentic reproduction and re-enactments are going to get bent over.

The entire "work within their comfort zones" issue doesn't fly, Hardgay and some of more Risqué costumes are OK but a Vet can't wear a military like "uniform" on memorial day weekend because it may make a vendor uncomfortable just because my cloths use an ACU cammo patern.

Lets be honest I could have went back to my room, dropped my con badge, left my "uniform" on, and walked the area around the convention center (off Property) and in my Hotel as well as the local businesses and there was nothing Fanime or even SJPD could do about it, until I actually went to an area that required me to be an "Attendee"

Right now I can go walk around San Jose in my "Uniform" and No one, Not the king god of anime conventions, or the all mighty SJPD could do jack about it.

Now Here's a little scenario for you

I wear my ACUPAT BDU's ... heck Lets make it ACUPAT ACU's Clearly marked PRESS, and Photographer, with some silly mil-spec monkey patches, and my actually Press Patch, with my ACUPAT Maxpedition Colossus Camera bag, and nikon DSLR.

Some one else wears Black swat Pajamas, A black K-POT on their head, With Raccoon City PD and Umbrella patches, a holster with a CA legal toy gun in it.

You get some one to wear one of the Nazi SS like costumes (these are actually more dressy uniforms but have the SS and symbols and Swastikas on them) with no props.

and Lastly some one dresses up like Hard Gay.

We all go for a walk around separate local K-6 elementary schools. Who do you think is actually going to get hassled by PD the most? Only one us is actually breaking the law and will probably get the Felony Stop treatment by the local swat they will also probably spend some time "Downtown" even if they don't get charged with something like CPC 538D.

So to me ... even from a legal or liability stand point the addendum makes no sense at all.

#4
Day one.....

ADDENDUM

Other FORBIDDEN costumes include the following:

Modern Paramilitary
Modern Military
ANY costume that could be misunderstood as threatening in the current political climate
Any ROVER has the power to decide what meets the criteria for a forbidden costume.

...... Welcome to the suck!
#5
Quote from: SquallLHeart on June 01, 2011, 10:02:46 AM
the only con i know that's dying (*cough*.. died..) is AX..  ::)

I may get to find this out. I Missed 2008 and 2010, 2009 was lame. I have Been hitting AX since 2000 myself, I covered AX as Press in 09 and some staffers had it in for us (Press). I get to Cover AX as press this year and possibly AM^2 so I will get to compare all the big Cons this year.

What I found lacking this year was the every changing, retroactive, Nazi Gestapo, rules on Coplay costumes and Prop weapons for peace bonding. I covered that in my earlier rant and It will be both in my con review (toned down) but will also go into the official rant (no mercy). This behavior makes it very difficult for a cosplayer to feel comfortable or confident about cosplaying, I know I will never cosplay at Fanime again as you have no idea weather you will really get to wear your costume or you just wasted allot of time and money because some one got a wild hair up their derriere. I'm not even sure I will be returning to Fanime after this year.

I think the Fanime leadership needs to learn to stand up to the City of San Jose, I honestly think they need us far more then we need them so sometimes you gotta Just say No!

"On the Floor" Staff was uninformed, Communications as always ... sucks. You couldn't talk in con ops without getting shushed by someone and the personnel working the radios had a hard time hearing anything. They probably should have put the radios in the next room. Information trickles down from the top tier leadership to the folks on the ground like a bad economic plan. Some of the Volunteers were a little on the rude side.

What I find funny is Fanime staffers are some the most screwed over staff I have ever seen. The only thing they get for free is their badge. They really don't get their hotel room at a reduced rate as all Fanime does is find them roommates and they split the full price, If one of the roommates skimps out or don't show the others pick up their share ... Most payed more for their hotel then I did mine. Staffers get a T-Shirt but they have to pay 10 bucks for. Even AX gives their staffers more. Some staffers work up to 6 hours per day for 4 days, that's $192 bucks worth of work at Minimum Wage for a $65 badge I'm surprised some one hasn't gotten sued yet. Many cons offer at least a free hot and cot - usually housing and a single meal plus some other perks.

The new Coplay hang out seemed to be a huge success and I think it needs to be expanded on. However this is going to require the cooperation of cosplayers staff and Fanime leadership and I don't really see that happening especially when the leadership drops the ball like they did with costume and prop rules.

Fanime was running way behind schedule. They lost the big ball room to a wedding. The Con schedules got pooched, nothing seemed to open on time like registration and housing.

Saturday and Sunday seemed very crowded, Fanime may want to consider a new venue like Moscone center, expanding into the Huge south hall, or cap registration and or raise rates. as it stands now we have to start making choices as to which events we want to attend more so then ever before. It was no mistake the B&W ball took place the same time the Masquerade ball did.

Fanime Leadership really needs to get into better planning and planning far sooner; we have 12 months, use them. Allot of conventions start planning for next year's Con last year. Wolfgang from what I hear will be Chairing Fanime 2012, I wish him the best of luck.

These are the low points of the con, this is what led me to feel let down, the ever changing musical cosplay costume policy was what really chapped my Arse this year, and practically ruined it for me. However there were some High points and positive notes to this convention which I will not go into here. They say this can be a learning experience and one should learn from their mistakes Hopefully Fanime can do this before they become AX.
#6
Quote from: SquallLHeart on June 01, 2011, 10:02:46 AM
the only con i know that's dying (*cough*.. died..) is AX..  ::)

I get to find out. I Missed 2008 and 2010, 2009 was lame. been hitting AX since 2000 myself, I covered AX as Press in 09 and some staffers had it in for us. I get to Cover AX as press this year and possibly AM^2 so I will get to compare all the big Cons.
#7
Quote from: kaizoku on May 30, 2011, 11:33:45 PM
get over it.

Now why would I do something like that?
#8
Quote from: zeroelement on May 30, 2011, 02:13:14 AM
Na i think most of everything was done LAST min. The app that was out was Fan Made days before the con. Schedule was out late for it was made late. Not much time to print it out. I think the voulenteers who do this are doing a good job but everything needs to be set in stone sooner.

This seemed to be the running theme this year at the staff meetings was every one was talking about how "Behind" everything was, and how something wasn't done yet. Part of this problem is it seems the most stuff doesn't start get rolling until about 6 months before the con.
#9
Quote from: SukebeStudios on May 30, 2011, 04:30:42 AM

Dude, careful. You don't want to bring logic into this. They might get mad. After I started thinking about it...complaining about Fanime is like talking to a brick wall. The only thing they end up doing is saying something like, "If you were displeased...VOLUNTEER!" I think Fanime is too big for them to handle and it's falling apart. Sooner or later, they're going to screw up enough where TOO MANY people are displeased.



I've been going to staff meetings since Jan. I was going to staff this year but It conflicted with my Press obligations and that pays for the con. Half my friends are on Staff every year, and my daughter is staffing this year. the concept of "If you were displeased...VOLUNTEER!" doesn't really fly anyway because you have to be way the heck up the food chain to be able to effect these decisions, Unfortunately I don't know if it's altitude sickness or the pod people effect, but once you get to that level people seem to loose the ability to "find their arse with both hands and a road map" and "lead ants to a picnic".

QuoteI will grant them this. The things they DO get right generally outweigh the bad...so that's probably why not as many people notice.

This would probably be due to the people on the ground/Floor adapting and overcoming to the situation best of their ability, I don't think this really has anything to do with the upper leadership. Two big problems with Fanime (and most cons when they reach a certian size) seems to be the upper leadership is out of touch, and the ability to communicate between divisions/departments. Its also almost imposable to pull or shift extra human resources from one. department to another on the fly. Except for maybe the rovers who seem to be the "Goto Guys/Gals"

Staff for fanime also has the least reward of any convention I know of so you know these people are in it for their love of the cone because they don't even get a free T-shirt out of the deal .... they have to pay $10 bucks for that.
#10
Quote from: zeroelement on May 30, 2011, 02:09:08 AM
@Mayhem
Its illegal in California (as far as i know) not just fanime rules. Mostly patches saying anything close is not liked and if its CPD or something like that they and you get in trouble.) They failed to tell everyone but they had to uphold the law. But yea dressing up like miliarty or cops is a BIG no no. Anime and video game ones are often clear they are not military. If your outfit was patchless/wordless (aka no U.S Army) and not 100% semi or current current it should of been fine.

Considering my back ground both in the military and Law enforcement ... I'm familiar with with the law it is not Illegal when it comes to military uniforms or even if I had put "US army" on my Costume which I didn't out of respect as I'm covered under several portions of 10 USC, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 45, Sections 771 and 772. and thanks to SCHACHT v. UNITED STATES I really don't have to worry about those exceptions.



With Law enforcement uniforms it gets a little more tricky as per California Penal Code Section 538d which clearly makes impersonation of a peace officer a Crime and This subdivision shall not apply if the uniform is to be used solely as a prop for a motion picture, television, video production, or a theatrical event, and prior written permission has been obtained from the identified law enforcement agency. You have to be careful with this even when it comes to Security and Security Officers.

http://law.onecle.com/california/penal/538d.html

There is no such state law that applies to military uniforms as costumes unless you use them to deliberately pass for military personnel such as to gain access to restricted military facilities.

Unlike Law enforcement The U.S. military has no authority over civilians outside of military installations unless martial law is declared.

Again my costume had nothing on it that said US ARMY, It simply had some funny milspec monkey patches and a Press and Photographer Name tape. this was a BDU that used the ACUPAT cammo Patern THIS IS NOT THE ACU UNIFORM USED BY THE UNITED STATES ARMY. No military in the word uses this Uniform and Popper had a very limited run on this SO you can no longer purchase this style of uniform You can however purchase the modern ACU uniform in ACUPAT Cammo at your local surplus store.

We still have people walking around in full cammo and even in modern uniforms. I saw a guy Walk around in a flight suite with captains rank and a a 1st Cavalry Division patch - something I would never have done unless I duplicating a specific Anime Character for accuracy. I even saw a guy in a raccoon city PD outfit (resident evil) compete with the word "Police" on it.

What got me jumped was the Cammo pattern my stuff uses. If I had been wearing ACUPAT Cammo Pajamas the would still have crawled up my Butt, However if they where woodland or real tree the Probably would have let me slide.

I had absolutely no prop weapons on me unless you count the Camera (Speed Grapher)

WHAT REALLY CHAPS MY REAR is we got no warning until after con started. at this point I'm already out allot of time and money I'm never going to get back.

Oh and  Army Regualtion 670-1 Does not apply to civilians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Combat_Uniform
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Dress_Uniform
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Camouflage_Pattern
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_camouflage_patterns
http://milspecmonkey.com/store/patches
#11
QuoteADDENDUM

Other FORBIDDEN costumes include the following:

Modern Paramilitary
Modern Military
ANY costume that could be misunderstood as threatening in the current political climate
Any ROVER has the power to decide what meets the criteria for a forbidden costume.

Do we get told this Months in advance? ... No!
Do we get told this Days in advance? .... No!
Do we get told this on Day zero? .... No!

I get told this on day 1 just before opening ceremonies, and I get told I should have read the rules (which were not amended to reflect the new rule until after my entire ordeal). I get made to feel like crap about not reading the non-existent rules, and When Fanime realizes they Screwed the pooch, do they rescind the the rule till next year (this really should not have been much of a problem) ... no! I get bent over the counter, and they Do me like virgin at a drunken roman orgy! I don't even get the courtesy of a kiss and some lube! All this while being apologized to like I was some sort of molested alter boy the church doesn't want embarrassing them. Thanks fanime! I blew a few hundred buck on a costume I cannot use, not only because of someones lack of intestinal fortitude, but because of their absolute laziness to to keep the fans and attendees informed in a timely manor.

Honestly I do not feel I'm obligated to not talk about this in either my review or rant. If I wanted the sand paper condom treatment I would have gone to Anime Expo as standard attendee. With all the B.S. I have had to put up at Fanime this year I will most likely not be attending next year, and I get paid to go to this! (at best I'm asking for more money).

This was my first attempt at playing dress up at a convention and I have been attending Anime conventions for over a decade, so here I am, about to get my Cospay cherry popped so to speak, and the experience has left me so disappointed (darn near traumatized) That I doubt I will ever dress up even for Halloween in fear that I will get jumped by the fun Nazi and beaten by her killjoy stick.

I would rather be spending my Memorial day weekend honoring my fellow soldiers that have sacrificed their lives for my freedom, then getting made to feel ashamed for my own service to this country.

Yes! I'm still Angry about this.
#12
All of the Hotels Blocks where reserved for fri, - sun, to the best of my knowledge (according to Ramada Management) That is all Fanime Housing can offer you. This may be because those be the only days Fanime grabbed in their blocks as allot of people don't want to do day 0 or stay a night after closing. Fanime could end up holding the bag on those extra days not used. Best bet is once you get a Fanime Hotel call that hotel up and get the same room for Day zero and/or closing as you need inform them you already have the 3 days from the block reservations. Remember your may pay a little more for day Zero and the night after closing then you will for rooms in the housing block.
#13
Define Creeper.

Hopefully this doesn't become some sort of age discrimination.  ;D
#14
Hotel and Facilities / Re: Fanime already Grabbed Hotels?
December 13, 2010, 01:25:39 PM
Quote from: MikeColle on December 10, 2010, 02:02:55 PM
my question is hotel parking, whats the rates for these hotels that are at fanime that? last year i paid $40 a day for parking $20 at the hotel and $20 at fanime. is there a cheaper way to do the parking?

1) Wait till housing opens.
2) Look for hotels really close to the convention center (IE Google Maps)
3) Call the hotels and ask about parking cost.
4) select the available hotel that best meets your needs.

Always get information on your hotel and it pays off to shop around. Check to see what amenities they provide. Look for freebies and hidden cost.

Quote from: EvilBunnyKid on December 09, 2010, 04:50:15 PM
I just got a call from my hotel (Ramada Limited) and they said that the reservation I had already wasnt accepted because FANIME took all the rooms and that if I wanted the deal then I would have to wait for FANIME to open their reservation site...does any admin know when they are going to do this?  And how they are going to do this?  Like a first come first serve?

I've never done this through FANIME before and Im a little worried that I wont get a hotel rm at my favorite hotel...Also!...All I need is a single...Just one for me and my Boyfriend...

When I called in early November all Ramada had where singles. Fanime probably had an expansion clause in the contract and decided to take advantage of the option adding more rooms for housing.

Nearly all the hotels in the area are booked as Fanime Contracted all the close Hotels. This took me by surprise this is Fanime has never touched the Ramada in the Housing contracts and I reserve my hotel butt crack early in the year. There are very few hotels with rooms equipped with dual queen bed's available for fanime outside the housing contract. There are some singe rooms available right now and far more then two Bed equipped hotel rooms, but I would recommend waiting as the discounts Fanime Housing can afford you would probably be considerable considering the size and amount of rooms reserved by these contracts.

My original problem was some of the people in Press, Industry, and Vending have to submit budgets as early as December and November. This becomes especially critical if we need to get our expenses approved for reimbursement and concessions. These Deadlines are normally controlled by TAX schedules.

As fans and Normal attendees the additional housing contracts are good news and can potentially save you allot of money. If you can wait, IMHO, you should wait.

Check the Main site regularly. Fallow Fanime on Facebook and especially twitter - You can set up TXT messaging alerts. You can also set up Email alerts on this forum to replies to your post.

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#15
Nearly all the hotels in the area are booked as Fanime Contracted all the close Hotels. This took me by surprise this is Fanime has never touched the Ramada in the Housing contracts and I reserve my hotel butt crack early in the year. There are very few hotels with rooms equipped with dual queen bed's available for fanime outside the housing contract. There are some singe rooms available right now and far more then two Bed equipped hotel rooms, but I would recommend waiting as the discounts Fanime Housing can afford you would probably be considerable considering the size and amount of rooms reserved by these contracts.

My original problem was some of the people in Press, Industry, and Vending have to submit budgets as early as December and November. This becomes especially critical if we need to get our expenses approved for reimbursement and concessions. These Deadlines are normally controlled by TAX schedules.

As fans and Normal attendees the additional housing contracts are good news and can potentially save you allot of money. If you can wait, IMHO, you should wait.
#16
If your looking for cheap fast food you have McDonald and SUbway close. If your looking to really save a buck and you have a refrigerator in your room there is a Safeway close by you can get thinks like bread, lunch meat, cheese, cereal milk, and the like at. only warning on safeway they can be little on the expensive side for soft-drinks but still way cheaper then fountain drinks at a fast food store or the $3-$4 drinks at the convention center.
#17
Fanimecon Has already locked down it's blocks for 2011. I can confirm that Fanime has a contract with the Ramada now. I found out the hard way when i went to reserve my room and couldn't. I got a hold of the Ramada regional manager and they told me that It looked like I would get a pretty good discount but I had to reserve my room threw Fanime as per their contract. I could not reserve it threw the Ramada online or on the phone This is for a 2 bed - (3+ person) room only.

Hopefully Fanime will be able to get housing up and running in the next month. I hope .... pray ... cross my fingers ... sacrifice chicken (KFC).
#18
Fanimecon has already locked down its hotel room blocks for it's reservation system. Right now your probably better off waiting until Fanime opens housing, as most hotels have no rooms available during the convention on their reservation systems, and those that do only have single bed (1-2 person occupancy) available.
#19
Hotel and Facilities / Re: Fanime already Grabbed Hotels?
November 19, 2010, 11:38:51 AM
Thats exactly what is going on. Fanimecon has all the local hotels locked down for the convention. However my problem is fanime hasn't opened reservations for those rooms they have contracted yet.

According to the regional manager of the Ramda all double bed (4 person occupancy) and one third of the regular rooms (2 person occupancy) are contracted out to Fanimecon for the 2011 Convention. All the other Hotels in the area are the same, no double bed rooms available, as they have been contracted out to Fanimecon.

Essentially if you want a double bed room (occupancy 3+) you have to wait until Fanimecon opens their own reservation system for those rooms. You can still get a single bed room (occupancy 1-2) at some of the hotels (not the Marriott), It will be cheaper to wait, but If your like me, and need to make a reservation now, your kinda screwed.

My personal problem is I go as press and my group has to have our hotel room reserved really early, this is one reason I use the Ramada as up until now Fanimecon has passed them by and I can reserv a room from the end of the convention to the end of the year. I almost reserved it at the end of the 2010 convention now I'm regretting not doing it. If Famine doesn't open hotel reservations soon I may have to Drop it or pay out of my pocket. Hate to have take AX over Fanime as Fanime is my favorite convention.

Correction: the Hilton has rooms open for reservation including Double bed rooms for $371.50 - $399.00 per night and single bed rooms for $341.50 - $371.50
#20
Hotel and Facilities / Fanime already Grabbed Hotels?
November 19, 2010, 11:15:10 AM
I went to reserve my Room Today for Fanime 2011 and the Ramada told me that Fanimecon grabbed all of the Double bed rooms. It's nice that Fanime is thinking ahead and added the Ramada, but there is no way at this time for me to actually reserve my room. I don't see any way to reserve rooms threw fanime yet. Did Fanime have to grab all the double bed rooms? Hopefully I'm not screwed now as I have to get all my stuff together for Fanime by the end of the year. I knew I should have reserved my room at the end of 2010.