So I’ve been doing a pretty poor job talking about the shows we’ve been going to this year… this summer in particular was just packed… (Four shows in July? Whhhhyyy??) But I feel like we really should announce these things so lets see if I can get back into the trend…
Intervention (Sept 10-12 • Washington D.C.)
Intervention is a brand new show taking place in the D.C. area in two weeks that is being billed as an “internet convention,” which is to say a con for all the stuff from your online life. I’ll be honest, I don’t normally sign up for brand new shows, but I love the concept. It’s a nice departure from the usual anime/gaming billed shows… I feel like this is the kind of show that can understand where a video game humor/meme site is coming from!
And of course they’ve got plenty of cool guests from webcomics and video games, so I feel like this is a show you should really check out! Also my pal Caldy is going to be there (you know, the artist behind our Falcon Lunch shirt!) so that’s a pretty awesome opportunity in itself!
PAX (Sept 3-5 • Seattle, WA)
You might have briefly caught Penny Arcade Expo on the schedule last week, but in fact I will not be attending/doing a meet-up. PAX is a show I’d desperately love to do in some capacity, but it’s never going to happen because of the way the Penny Arcade Corporation does business.
However if you are planning on attending PAX this year and are a big fan of Halolz, we will seriously send you a free t-shirt of from Ninja-Bot if you wear it during the show! If this is something you’re interested in, send an email to store[at]ninja-bot.com and we’ll get a shirt out to you in time for the con!
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Posted by Shawn Handyside on August 27, 2010 · 1:07 PM
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So sometimes when we go to these big conventions, you’ll see groups of protesters outside the show protesting… God knows what. Well I guess the attendees of SDCC decided to do some counter-protesting, and I have to say this particular gentleman stood out (which is something he generally avoids doing).
Submitted by codemaster525 and Ed Abell
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Posted by Shawn Handyside on July 23, 2010 · 12:16 AM
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Categories: Conventions, Cosplay, Off Duty, Photo Op, Spiritual Enlightenment, Team Fortress 2, Too Much Free Time, Valve Software · Leave a comment (109 Comments) |
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I’ve seen my fair share of jokes around this guy’s dancing at E3, but really you just haven’t experienced it until it’s set to Guile’s theme!
By jaroshbarksdale, submitted by Chris R.
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Posted by Shawn Handyside on July 10, 2010 · 11:48 PM
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Categories: Awkward Moments, Conventions, Lords of the Dance, Microsoft, Musical, Uncategorized, Video Clips, Xbox 360 · Leave a comment (39 Comments) |
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New Instrument for Rock Band 3 Leads to New Guitar
Hero Instrument Announcement
By Halolz Senior E3 2010 Correspondent Mike Moore
During E3 Harmonix announced a number of improvements that are coming to their latest edition to the Rock Band series, Rock Band 3. Perhaps chief among them was the inclusion of a new keyboard controller, and a pro difficulty mode that more closely simulates actually playing the actual instrument.
Upon seeing the positive reception these additions have gotten from the press, Activision has decided to incorporate a new instrument into both the Guitar Hero and Band Hero series of games, the vuvuzela.
Activision hopes to take advantage of the instruments new found popularity at the World Cup in South Africa saying, “Everyone has been talking about this vuvuzela horn instrument lately. So we thought since it’s obviously so popular that it would make a great addition to our Hero franchises.”
From what we were able to discern from the Guitar/Band Hero designers, the vuvuzela will work much like the singing does. But instead of matching the pitch of the singer vocals, the player will need to match a varying level of loudness.
“We are also looking to possibly have harmonizing of the vuvuzelas, if players have multiple vuvuzelas hooked into the system at the same time,” the designers also noted.
[Image courtesy of Olybop]
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Posted by Michael Moore on June 24, 2010 · 4:44 PM
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Categories: Accessories, Activision, Articles, Bad Ideas, Conventions, Guitar Hero/Rock Band, Harmonix, Musical, Sports · Leave a comment (74 Comments) |
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Gamers Mistake Riot for Zombie Apocalypse
By Halolz Senior E3 2010 Correspondent Mike Moore
Many gamers, upon leaving some E3 after parties Thursday night, were confused to find a large police presence out on the streets of LA. The swathes of police in riot gear, and the prevalence of police helicopters, led many of these gamers to conclude that a zombie outbreak had occurred. It is reported that some offered their services to the police, boasting their Left 4 Dead stats and skills.
“We weren’t really sure what they were talking about,” said one unnamed police officer about his experience with one group, “They seemed pretty drunk, and seemed harmless so we left them alone. Eventually they went away yelling about umbrella and looking for pills or something.”
Reports seem to indicate that most of these after parties had open bars, which possible led to the gamers’ mistake in understanding the situation.
Additionally from what we have been about to piece together the police presence was due to the winning of some sort of non-video game event which occurred at the Staples Center arena. This was the same location Activision used for their press conference a few days earlier. We have contacted Activision, and are waiting to receive word if the two events were in any way connected.
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Posted by Michael Moore on June 22, 2010 · 3:11 PM
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Categories: Articles, Capcom, Conventions, Drugs & Alcohol, Left 4 Dead, Paranoia, Party Time, Resident Evil, Sports, Valve Software, Zombies · Leave a comment (67 Comments) |
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Well, time to fly back to Chicago! This time it’s for Anime Central, a fun little convention (actually it’s pretty big) featuring anime, gaming… and a bunch of my cool friends! In fact so many friends are going this time, maybe I should list them all?
• Jen (Mystic Revolution)
• Brion (Flipside)
• Scott (VGCats)
• Karian (Moar Than Three)
• Dave (SNAFU Comics)
• Hawk (Applegeeks)
We’re in the artist alley for this one (everyone except Hawk I think), so if you’re looking for our booths be sure to swing by there! As for Halolz we’ll have all the usual goods… plus one or two new things!
See you there!
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Posted by Shawn Handyside on May 12, 2010 · 8:39 PM
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Another show? ALREADY? Didn’t I just do two shows at the same time? Why are you guys doing this to meeeeee?
Well nonetheless, this evening I fly out to Chicago to get ready for the all new Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (or C2E2 for short) which is happening THIS WEEKEND at McCormick Place. I’ll be sharing a booth with my buddy Scott (VG Cats), and we’ll be doing a panel on Saturday at 5:30 pm in room E351 (wherever that is) and I’ll have some new stuff for you to check out… like for example… these brand new magnets!
I just started trying out these fancy 2″x3″ magnets (they’re really nice, but I don’t know how to describe them… they’re the kind that are all covered in clear plastic and have the wrap around edges) and so far people seem to be digging them! I’ll have some other familiar designs as well, but I thought I’d show you these two since their totally new! Of course credit for the joke goes to Mike for his original submission.
So yeah, Chicago-ites! Come by this weekend and say hi! It looks like this could be a big show and should be a lot of fun! See ya!
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Posted by Shawn Handyside on April 14, 2010 · 3:01 AM
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Categories: Conventions, Merchandise, News, Secret Items, Team Fortress 2, Valve Software · Leave a comment (9 Comments) |
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So, if you hadn’t pieced it together by now (between the page peel that has been running in the upper right corner of the site for a month and the constant talk of me being in Seattle), Sakura-Con is this weekend!
What is Sakura-Con? A fantastic anime convention taking place at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle! This is the third year they’ve been kind enough to have me out as a guest, and I’ve always had a great time doing it.
I’ll be doing a few panels over the weekend, including a Halolz panel Friday at 2pm in Panel Room 4 (I believe) and a Webcomics Panel Friday at 3pm (maybe?) I’m not 100% sure, check your schedule!
But yeah, Sakura-Con is a great anime show and if you are in the area this weekend I highly recommend you stop by! We will even have a new secret Ninja-Bot shirt based off of a recent Halolz submission! Is it yours? ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT! (or wait until I tell everyone on here)
Oh wait… the other way you could find out is by going to Anime Boston (which is ALSO this weekend) and stopping by our Ninja-Bot booth there! Anime Boston is a pretty decent show as well, and while I will not be there (obviously) feel free to harass my team of volunteers and maybe also pick up a shirt as well? They don’t care for shirtless people in the Hynes Convention Center so you should really make sure you have plenty of upper body clothing! (Lower half is completely optional.)
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Posted by Shawn Handyside on April 2, 2010 · 1:23 AM
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For all you folks who came out to PAX East this year, you may have caught this big display/backdrop thing that WoTC brought out for Magic: The Gathering. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought it was a little weird having your picture taken in a giant mass of tentacles!
By Hank G.
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Posted by Shawn Handyside on March 30, 2010 · 6:34 PM
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Categories: Conventions, It's A Trap!, Photo Op, Uncategorized, Weird · Leave a comment (56 Comments) |
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Finally… I’ve been so busy the last week or so I’ve had no time to put this together! You may have noticed on the con schedule I’ll be at PAX East (wandering around)… and although you may be able to spot me ahead of time wearing a familiar hat combination, a few friends and I are also doing an informal meet-up at the mall food court on Sat at noon. So until I think of a better name, be ready to attend…
HALOLZ/WEBCOMIC FOOD COURT MEET-UP MADNESS
Featuring:
Shawn Handyside – HALOLZ Editor, Former Artist of Staccato, Compulsive Shirt Designer
Caldwell Tanner – LOLDWELL, CollegeHumor, Creator of our FALCON LUNCH T-Shirt
Tina Pratt – Artist of The Paul Reveres, PUPTART.net, Creator of our MEDICS T-Shirt
Unconfirmed appearances by:
Brian Wilson – Artist of Geist Panik, Hookie Dookie Panic, HALOLZ Contributor
Mike Moore – HALOLZ Former Asst. Editor, Blogger
And everyone who comes to the meet-up gets some free gifts! Pretty awesome right? And if no one shows up it’s cool because we’re all gonna eat crappy mall food and make fun of you behind your back! And you don’t want that to happen!
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Posted by Shawn Handyside on March 24, 2010 · 4:25 PM
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Email your video game related LOLZ to and if it's good we'll post it!
Sweet zombie Jesus! Did you know the site has over 2,000 lolz? 
