The Similarities of the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference and Comic-Con
I wasn’t originally going to write such a tongue in cheek perspective as my first post from the Wine Bloggers Conference (#wbc11), but over the past 24 hours there has been virtual gnashing of teeth, wringing of hands and pulling of hair. That’s not typical of the wine blogger community that I’ve gotten to know and it bothers me. So, instead of kvetching, I thought it would be fun to discuss the top 5 reasons why Comic-Con, the largest comic convention in the world, is similar to the Wine Bloggers Conference. I promise that more serious posts will come soon discussing what I learned about Virginia wine and the conference. And, clearly I need a new camera or to drink less wine before taking any pictures. But, try to visualize in spite of bad photography.
The Elephant in the Room
1. Comic-Con had the deadliest warrior competition: vampires vs. zombies episode where “authorities” held endless debate on which of these mythical creatures would come out on top in a fight to the finish. The Wine Bloggers Conference had the pretentious wine pose off with a fight to the finish between @suburbanwino @thewinesleuth and myself. The competition was so tough a winner was never decided or everyone quickly lost interest.
The Wine Sleuth Rocking the Pretentious Pose .. So Sad I Didn’t Get Joe
And then my try
2. Ballroom 20, a normally bland conference room was transformed into a masquerade party, sponsored by HBO’S True Blood at Comic-Con. The meeting room behind the bar at the Omni was transformed from a room with florescent lighting to a club scene that went until after 4 a.m. We even had a robed guest.
Comic-Con’s Masquerade Winners
Who IS That Robed Man?
Richard Rocking the Before Pic
Fast Forward a Few Hours
Last Call!
3. Cartoonist and author Patrick McDonnell, creator of the award-winning Mutts comic strip was a speaker at Comic-Con. We actually had a live dog who may or may not have received a scholarship.
Mutts Creater, Patrick McDonnell
Unofficial Mascot and Winner of Aromas Tasting
4. A main focus of Comic-Con’s seminars was how to create a character-driven story. The main focus of the Wine Bloggers Conference was how to find your voice. Both were designed to capture the hearts and clicks of readers.
5. Pop culture icon, Pee-wee Herman, took the stage at Comic-Con. Hell, we had Thomas Jefferson in costume. I now appreciate Thomas more. And, the Monticello tour alone with @pmabray and @palatepress was worth the heat.
No Caption Needed
Thomas Jefferson .. Not The Costumed One
Again, this was just meant to get folks to lighten up a bit. We went to a conference with good wine and some amazing folks – bloggers, winemakers, top wine writers and industry people. Yes, at times, it did feel a little like the Wayne’s World sponsor clip. But, at the end of the day, as bloggers, we are offered an unbelievable deal to attend. I look forward to turning those 20 pages of notes into some tangible blog posts about Virginia wine and I’ll see you in Portland next year.
2011 Wine Bloggers Conference
Need Wine, Will Travel
This is why I love you. Cheers my friend. Now I must go explain to that baby in the picture why he still has a few years before he’s actually allowed to pop that bottle open to share with his brother.
See you in Portland!
I appreciate the lightening up of things. Even I- Mister Lighten Up- am contemplating a “serious” post about everything. I have a million thoughts about everything.
The biggest thing I took away, though, is that I had a damn good time with friends I’d never have met if not for “wine blogging”. Sure, some of us likely angered others. Perhaps we didn’t set a “higher standard for serious wine blogging” (which sounds silly when you use the word “blogging”). And I guess I don’t care, because it takes a hell of a lot of different voices to get the message out to a diverse audience.
Or something like that.
see… I can’t even give a light-hearted comment on a light-hearted post…
Joe, all I know is that I’ll grant you a rematch any time. You were one of the people that made my #wbc11 fun. All I know is I learned something, I had some good wine and a fabulous time with my friends. Also always interesting that the folks that I interact with the most on Twitter are the ones I gravitate toward in real life too.
Thank you for the humor. I’m very sorry to have missed the pretentious wine pose off. Sounds like it should be an annual event. 😉
Slightly upset there aren’t any shots of the dance partay 😉 We’ll just have to do it again! Was lovely meeting you, let me know if you ever make it to NYC!
Great post, Melanie! I had to mute my concall to laugh out loud! Next tyear in pOrtland! Whoo hoo!
RJ, consider yourself in the pretentious pose off pre-qualifiers. Better start working now – competition is fierce.
Constance, I would have had to leave the floor to take a picture. I am very happy, however, that they don’t exist. I’m in New York often, so let’s plan another dance off 🙂
Liza, my fun roomie! I can’t wait to do this again next year in Portland
Mary, I really did intend to ask you first. And, I did gift the corked bottle of wine to both of your sons 🙂 Cannot wait until next year.
Love it! I’m sorry we didn’t meet. ( I lived in San Diego the past 20 years. Comic Con is insane and a very good time.
Cheers!
Tina
@winescop
TIna, so wish we had the chance to meet. By chance, did you ever go to Comic-Con? I’d love to get a perspective if I was right 🙂
Great post Melanie! And great to meet you at WBC11! Need to get down to Dallas so will let you know when I’m in town. 🙂
Shannon, so great to meet you at WBC11. Please let me know when you are coming through and we’ll set up a fun outing!
Melanie, thanks for your humorous analysis of the conference and the positive reviews of Virginia Wine! We were thrilled to have you and the rest of WBC11 in Charlottesville. We would love to see you here again soon, and hope you will make use of our website to find hotels, restaurants, and of course, wineries and breweries.
Mark my words – I will be back. Loved your hospitality and really enjoyed getting to know more about Virginia wine!
We enjoyed your visit to Chrysalis and hope that you’ll come back soon.
Alan, thank you so much for your hospitality. I hope to have the pre-trip post up early next week. The work thing got in the way – I’ve been slammed since I got back.
Don’t forget that both conferences are also typified by high prevalence rates or Asperger’s Syndrome and groupthink.
I’m an excellent driver (grin)….