Englishman In San Diego

Posting and writing under the moniker An Englishman In San Diego, all about San Diego Comic-Con, con and pop culture, I was honoured to be invited this year onto an Comic-Con panel all about the rise of the blogging and internet subculture that has risen around this amazing event. So, at 10am in Room 14A, one of the first panels of the entire covention took place: The Wrath Of Con Bloggers, arranged and moderated by Tony Kim, aka Crazy 4 Comic-Con and also featuring Alyssa Franks from the Friends Of CCI Forum and Megan Gotch from The Nerdy Girlie. For an hour, we talked about our humble beginnings in fandom, our motivations for translating that fandom to a presence on the interwebs, and what con blogging can achieve, not only for the people writing but also those reading. I recorded the panel myself but so did Tony - to some degree - this podcast is a combination of those those audio files - enjoy!

A Cup O' Tea One-Shot: A Conversation with Edward Tracy (director/co-writer, CAPTCHA) Recorded on 30th June 2015 We get the chance to talk to the man behind a Brit entry in this years Comic-Con International: International Film Festival - Edward Tracy, the director and co-writer of the short film CAPTCHA. We talk about the long process of bringing this highly ambitious and visually stunning short to the screen, involving a host of talent in front of, and behind, the camera, and eventually getting the chance to bring CAPTCHA to audiences at film festivals across the globe, in the intention of having it blow open the doors for bigger and longer projects... CAPTCHA, starring Doctor Who’s Arthur Darvill, Amy Beth Hayes [Mr. Selfridge], Nigel Lindsey [Four Lions/Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa], Danny Babington [Quills/Hart’s War], Kayvan Novak [Fonejacker/Syriana] and the voice of esteemed actress Zoe Wanamaker, is a film noir spy thriller, set in a ‘steam punk’ 1940’s London, where an unassuming government scient

Talkin' Comic-Con: A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego (28th June 2015) proudly sponsored by Dark Bunny Tees    Sunday 28th June 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/cvd4d7hdiaq1vpqbtvg43rbmr90 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJbR4LtoeTU ~~ TEARING DOWN THE SCHEDULES, SDCC 2015!! ~~ With only TWO WEEKS to go (eek!!), Leonard and Alyssa take a close look at the schedules that have been announced - as the Hangout goes live, the Sunday listings should go up and we anticipate to have the full line-up for this years event! Exciting stuff! So this could be the most live tear-down of the SDCC Schedules list of the year! Join Leonard, Alyssa and a series of Special Guests as we pick out the runners and riders for the best panels of SDCC 2015, negotiate the inevitable clashes and pick out our personal favourite Hidden Gems with a couple of friends from the Friends Of CCI Forum! -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Talkin' Comic-Con: A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego (21st June 2015) proudly sponsored by DARK BUNNY TEES Sunday 21st June 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/c08kokh0hbppr4d0n7sgnku2m5k YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj_cORf2CK4 ~~ #SDCCtoolkit: ARTIST ALLEY ~~ Continuing our series of episodes in which we look at the elements which make up San Diego Comic-Con and hopefully help in making YOUR con a more pleasurable experience. Join Leonard, Alyssa and a series of Very Special Guests discuss the best way to negotiate the massive collection of talent found in Artist Alley, how to ideally approach the Artists and how to get the most out your art hunting! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TALKIN' COMIC-CON: A CUP O' TEA WITH AN ENGLISHMAN IN SAN DIEGO is the weekly San Diego Comic-Con Hangout On Air taking place every Sunday (6pm GMT / 10am PT / 1pm ET) and hosted by Leonard Sultana. Each week, the

Talkin' Comic-Con: A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego (14th June 2015) proudly sponsored by DARK BUNNY TEES  Sunday 14th June 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT interact on the Google+ Event page: https://plus.google.com/events/cpndch8d5g40pns81rnfse8f73k or watch along LIVE on the YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IarTap9MIag ~~ FOUR WEEKS AND COUNTING!! ~~ With ONE MONTH to go, the news and updates are really starting to roll out - we do our best to sort out the wheat from the chaf and bring you all the essential headlines from the last seven days! Join Leonard, Alyssa, Mark Searby and Violet Krueger (Gender Biased Reviews) on this weeks Hangout - it's gonna be a rollercoaster! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TALKIN' COMIC-CON: A CUP O' TEA WITH AN ENGLISHMAN IN SAN DIEGO is the weekly San Diego +Comic-Con International Live Show, a Hangout On Air taking place every Sunday (6pm GMT / 10am PT / 1pm ET) and hosted by +Leonard Sultana. Eac

Talkin' Comic-Con: A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego (31th May 2015) proudly sponsored by DARK BUNNY TEES  Sunday 31st May 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/cpaeii6hs8tg7j6mg5g0nje7kv4 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR8af0bH2H0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL GUEST EPISODE: DAVID GLANZER (Marketing and Public Relations, Comic-Con International)! We were incredibly fortunate and lucky to have agree to join us on the hangout, the public face and the single ‘point of contact’ for Comic-Con International, DAVID GLANZER! This was our opportunity to put all of our questions directly to CCI, discussing the manic General Badge Sale back in February, the ever-constricting accommodation of the convention in San Diego, the collapse of the Convention Centre expansion plans, the move of WonderCon from Anaheim to Los Angeles and, of course the plans for this years event. As well as talking to David, Le

Interview: ReedPOP’s Michael Armstrong talks NYCC, SE:NYC and everything in-between…! It’s turning into Interview Week, here on An Englishman In San Diego! As well as speaking to CCI’s David Glanzer, LIVE on Sunday’s Talkin’ Comic-Con: A Cup O’ Tea with… Google+ Hangout, we are also incredibly lucky and fortunate to get the chance to talk to his opposite number for ReedPOP, Mike Armstrong! In the interview (moderated by your host, Leonard Sultana, and joined by guests Alyssa Franks and Michael Levinthal), we talk to Mike about the explosion of con culture on an international level – which ReedPOP have been instrumental in contributing to – the many different events that ReedPOP organise and, of course, the events that Mike is directly involved with: he is the Event & Sales Director for ReedPOP, focusing on New York Comic Con, C2E2 and Star Wars Celebration. Those aren’t tiny little conventions, they are globe-straddling media monsters that attract audiences, both physical and virtual, from across the globe.

Talkin' Comic-Con: A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego (24th May 2015) proudly sponsored by Dark Bunny Tees Sunday 24th May 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/c67gpvg6s5c7e1gdsmdi3bnlj6o YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlsTQcqCSXg ~~ #SDCCtoolkit: OFF-SITE & OUTSIDE COMIC-CON ~~ Continuing our series of episodes in which we look at the elements which make up San Diego Comic-Con and hopefully help in making YOUR con a more pleasurable experience. Join Leonard, Alyssa, Mark Searby and Catrina Dennis as we talk all of the things you can experience outside of the San Diego Convention Center, from off-site events, pop culture highlights and San Diego tourist attractions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TALKIN' COMIC-CON: A CUP O' TEA WITH AN ENGLISHMAN IN SAN DIEGO is the weekly San Diego Comic-Con LIVE Hangout On Air taking place every Sunday (6pm GMT / 10am PT / 1pm ET) and hosted by Leonard Sultana.

Talkin' Comic-Con: A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego (5th May 2015) Sunday 5th May 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/cbt0t67m2m47pgm0asa83c9pdak YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIonxBPH0kc ~~ IT'S FUN HAVING ISSUES!  ~~ Technical issues, health issues, psychological issues... Don't worry, only one of these were my problem! The rest was down to Bill Gates and his delightful Windows Updates programming team (somebody buy me a MacBook, stat!!) and my missus, suffering a slight mishap involving a step, her left ankle and a visit to Dewsbury Hospital A&E. (Oh yes, the psychological issues are all on me...!) While all of these are simply examples of 'life interrupting', it doesn't mean that SDCC news doesn't roll on regardless, meaning there's plenty for myself, Alyssa Franks and Mark Searby to talk about , what with parking, New York Comic Con - NYCC ticket sales, the release of Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Mark's looking forward to talking about t

Talkin' Comic-Con: A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego (17th May 2015) proudly sponsored by Dark Bunny Tees  Sunday 17th May 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/ch9k94lue3cpon127385u6t3nl4 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-fF5VDHnLI ~~ NYCC: THE TICKET SALE AFTERMATH! ~~ On Wednesday 13th May, thousands braved an online barrage of the New York Comic Con - NYCC servers in an attempt to land tickets for this, one of the worldwide highlights of the pop culture convention calendar. Join Leonard, Alyssa and Michael Leventhal as they pick over the aftermath of this immense sale. TALKIN' COMIC-CON: A CUP O' TEA WITH AN ENGLISHMAN IN SAN DIEGO is the weekly San Diego Comic-Con Live Show, a Hangout On Air taking place every Sunday (6pm GMT / 10am PT / 1pm ET) and hosted by Leonard Sultana. Each week, the best bloggers on t'web talk about San Diego Comic-Con, about con & pop culture and, for an hour or so, we invite guests to talk to us and get nerdy

Talkin' Comic-Con: A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego (10th May 2015) Sunday 10th May 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/c1rvem7so5i23h9s2efb8jo4abs YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah2mhDLQmsk ~~ SDCC TOOLKIT: The Big Rooms (Hall H / Ballroom 20 / and more)! ~~ The first of our SDCC Toolkits, in which we give the lowdown on what newcomers can expect when braced with the challenges of the big rooms at San Diego Comic-Con International. From forming lines, camping out, getting that best seat in the house, seeing the best panels and getting the most out of these Palaces Of Celebrity! We'll also be talking about: all the latest news regarding The Nerd Machine and Nerd HQ; the first Mattel Exclusives news; Disney's announcement, regarding Marvel Entertainment and Star Wars presentations at D23 Expo; Team Coco's shows at SDCC; and announced panel news, two months out from SDCC 2015! TALKIN' COMIC-CON: A CUP O' TEA WITH AN ENGLISHMAN IN SAN DIEGO

Talkin' Comic-Con: A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego (26th April 2015) Sunday 26th April 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/ctci2i3k4q7ab7f9dnkefbluv0s YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sVYjA39TWs ~~ WE'RE BACK!  ~~ Thanks for bearing with us - we took two wonderful weeks off to take a breather and prepare for the final stretch towards San Diego Comic-Con 2015! We've got lots planned for the next eleven weeks and we can't wait to share what's coming up with you. Join Leonard and Alyssa Franks  for the return of our little Comic-Con Sunday chats. Spread the word and let's gather all the Con Merchants we can! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TALKIN' COMIC-CON: A CUP O' TEA WITH AN ENGLISHMAN IN SAN DIEGO is the weekly San Diego Comic-Con International Live Show, a Hangout On Air taking place every Sunday (6pm GMT / 10am PT / 1pm ET) and hosted by Leonard Sultana. Each week, the best bloggers on t'web t

A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego: Talkin' Comic-Con... (29th March 2015) Sunday 29th March 2015: 1000 PT / 1300 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/cvove0h9v0l03k5erklvr91f3u8 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvKom5W7XO8 Edit: additional guests, added to the show! Kimberly Walton from The Nerd Element will be joining us to discuss the Hotel Sale, as will The San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog Editor-in-Chief Kerry Dixon! ~~ LET THE RANTING AND WAILING COMMENCE!!  ~~ Not everybody was ever going to be satisfied with the outcome of the Hotel General Sale - aka, #Hotelpocalypse  - but this year has proven to be particularly trying. With page loading issues, drop-down menu fails, re-submission emails and what appears to be a complete randomness to the eventual handing out of allocated rooms, there will be a lot to talk about on this Sundays show. Please join us: tell us your experience as we recap the hysteria surrounding the SDCC 2015 General Hotel Sale. We are a

A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego: Talkin' Comic-Con... (22nd March 2015) Sunday 22nd March 2015: 1100 PT / 1400 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/cgo8k4t45r7rjs5tnofq3adl8ms YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6cINA9q0ns ~~ IT'S THE FINAL HURDLE!! ~~ The one last element of preparing for SDCC 2015 has arrived - the General Hotel Sale, taking place this Tuesday 24th March. In this #Hotelpocalyse Special, we'll be talking the best way to tackle the Sale, the ideal rooms to aim for, the pros and cons of staying Downtown and further afield, and what to expect on Tuesday. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A CUP O' TEA WITH AN ENGLISHMAN IN SAN DIEGO is the weekly San Diego Comic-Con Live Show, a Hangout On Air taking place every Sunday (6pm GMT / 11am PT / 2pm ET) and hosted by Leonard Sultana. Each week, the best bloggers on t'web talk about San Diego Comic-Con International, about con & pop culture and, for

A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego: Talkin' Comic-Con... (15th March 2015) Sunday 15th March 2015: 1100 PT / 1400 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event page: https://plus.google.com/events/clh442qoo90lbkprqrqbma0mj10 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhuRqCAHbWM ~~ LET'S RAWK, LONDON STYLE!! ~~ Another average, hum-drum 'marking time' episode of the Hangouts, as we prepare for the Hotel Sales... What's that? Marvel might not be coming to Hall H? The new season of Agents Of SHIELD has started back up? And Leonard will be broadcasting live from +London Super Comic Convention ?? Ooh, looks like it won't be your standard show after all...! In the aftermath of one of the UK's biggest comics-led conventions, we'll be catching up with all the news from the last seven days - and hopefully grabbing a couple of guests from LSCC to join us. Hey, Sneaky Zebra are in town, we can always try and dig up some dirt and blackmail them to come along...! ---------------------------------------------------------------

A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego: Talkin' Comic-Con... (8th March 2015) Sunday 8th March 2015: 1100 PT / 1400 ET / 1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/c7umnvpb8b0e8hfc008u5i33dq4 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r7O0TwwqOQ ~~ MARKING TIME ~~ The Badge Sales have take place, the Hotel Sales are proceeding nicely, preparations are starting to roll out from all quarters - especially Comic-Con International who are in full tilt for their other upcoming event, WonderCon Anaheim. Time to take a little reflection on what you're doing to get ready for San Diego Comic-Con. Attending upcoming cons? (Alyssa will be heading to WonderCon herself and, next week, Leonard will be coming live from London Super Comic Convention ...)  ------------------------------------------------------------------------- A CUP O' TEA WITH AN ENGLISHMAN IN SAN DIEGO is the weekly San Diego Comic-Con Live Show, a Hangout On Air taking place every Sunday (6pm GMT / 10am PST / 1pm EDT) and hosted by

A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego: Talkin' Comic-Con... (1st March 2015) Sunday 1st March 2015: 1000 PT/1300 ET/1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/cls9kh9hn6ccmn9tj6gijh0pars YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58aFpyZqrkM ~~ A PLACE TO LAY YOUR HEADS... ~~ This week, attendees are able to buy Early Bird Hotel rooms - indeed, the next major hurdle for SDCC fans to finding places to stay during the course of the event. This Hangout, we'll be talking about hotels in San Diego and sharing recommendations for where is best to stay, the pros and cons of Downtown vs further afield, and the best prepearations for the impeding General Hotel Sale. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- A CUP O' TEA WITH AN ENGLISHMAN IN SAN DIEGO is the weekly San Diego Comic-Con Live Show, a Hangout On Air taking place every Sunday (6pm GMT / 10am PST / 1pm EDT) and hosted by Leonard Sultana. Each week, the best bloggers on t'web talk about San Diego Comic-

A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego: Talkin' Comic-Con... (22nd February 2015) Sunday 22nd February 2015: 1000 PT/1300 ET/1800 GMT Google+ Event: https://plus.google.com/events/csr9fsmhee6t6v1b04bog5jrqfo YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRz79q7FUFM ~~ THE AFTERMATH! ~~ By Sunday, if you're took part in Saturday's Open Online Badge Registration, you will know either way how the dust has settled on your efforts to land badges. Hope it's gone well - fingers crossed! Viewers either celebrated or commisserated with this Sunday's #SDCCOOR Aftermath episode, where we'll be tearing apart all the highlights and headlines of this epic badge sale (no pun intended!). Leonard Sultana and Alyssa Franks will be joined by The Mighty Jerd himself, Jeff Mueller - who is attempting for badges on Saturday - to find how he did and how the process went. We are also joined, last minute, by esteemed SDCC blogger, Tony Kim (Crazy4ComicCon) Best O' Luck!!! -------------------------------------------------------

A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego: Talkin' Comic-Con... (15th February 2015) Sunday 15th February 2015: 1000 PT/1300 ET/1800 GMT Google+ Event page: https://plus.google.com/events/cmkm7ko8u9fl5l01e5f2gqdcuns YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89y40hAEyDk ~~ ...BOO!! ~~ Just when you think you know what to expect, just when things are nicely settling into to the order of things... life throws you a curveball! For example, many seasoned +Comic-Con International commentators thought they knew how this month would pan out: an Early Bird Hotel sale, perhaps, maybe even a Pro-Reg Sale... We had gathered our guests for the Hangout - Jeff Mueller (The Mighty Jerd), N3rd Link and Mark Searby, all joining us barring availability issues, work commitments and pregnancies! - and started arranging things for this Sunday's Hangout... and then word dropped of the Open Online Badge Registration Sale, taking place next Saturday and all the plans changed, understandably! We'll be talking the ways you can p

A Cup O' Tea with An Englishman In San Diego: Talkin' Comic-Con... (8th February 2015) Sunday 8th February 2015: 1000 PT/1300 ET/1800 GMT Google+ Event page: https://plus.google.com/events/cecid9oqfctrjphhe55tfgsrqh4 YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZYzSQharfI ~~ IT'S THE BIG COSPLAY SPECIAL EXTRAVAGANZA!! ~~ One element which is considered by the general media as the most frivolous aspect of attending comic-cons is cosplaying. 'Nerds dressing up as Trekkies', they think - even The Big Bang Theory is guilty of misunderstanding this colourful, creative and, more recently, highly lucrative obsession of a very dedicated section of a comic con audience. We are going to be joined by some of the new celebrities of the cosplay community - Angi Viper and Mia Moore talk about the good, the bad and the beautiful of cosplaying. As someone who hasn't cosplayed before, I'm looking forward to finding out even more about this fascinating subject... We'll also be announcing the winners of last weeks Dark B