That convention center in Seattle, I am convinced, is the fucking lair of the goddamn Devil.

Every time I go there, it's like the experience has been sucked out. I don't feel as though I belong, and the corporate rat maze atmosphere does not do the recreational conventions it hosts any justice. (SakuraCon, PAX, etc)

I do not want to imagine what Emerald City Comic Con would be like. Seriously, the only kinds of conventions I have any appreciation for are the ones that are really spacious, open air style, and such. Kind of like what I used to see for Emerald City Comic Con at the Qwest Events Center.

That event was like...one massive convention crammed into half the space of a single gigantic warehouse-sized room. THAT's the kind of open airness I like. Conventions are meant to be grassroots style, not corporate dingeroody. I don't care if there's a fucking glass walled and glass roofed skybridge in the convention center, it's still shit!

As of this day forward, I am not attending any "recreational" conventions hosted in Downtown Seattle's convention center for the rest of my life. That means my planned visits for PAX 08 and Emerald City Comic Con has just gone out the window.

It also doesn't help that my arthritis decided to kick in at the worst possible time - I was in pain for most the day, and the lack of comfortable seating space doesn't help.

Maybe my future convention of choice will be KumoriCon and San Diego Comic Con...if I can afford the lodging (and this year, that's a big fucking If!)

-NK