Allright, and here comes my final installment...
Miscellaneous Shout outs
Rel: Always a true and unmitigated pleasure to hang out with you man. I mentioned at The Garter that I was really enjoying myself at the time because--though I like strip clubs just fine in general--what I really liked best was that I was hanging out with a "Band of Brothers". You, Sir, are responsible for the lion's share of that Vibe
Fusangite: Your name is here as a formality. I've known you too many years for a 3-line shout out to have much new meaning. Nice to see you Stuart. I wish you still lived in Vancouver.
Fett527: I was totally not expecting to see you at the con, given the fluctuations in your private life of late; but was really happy to finally meet you and hang out with you. See me next year regarding your TBR Pin.
Truth Seeker: Always a pleasure sir. Sorry I didn't get you your books a little sooner than I did (when I handed them to PC with instructions to add them to your mailout), but your work at CM is appreciated, and hanging out with you at the con even moreso.
Reveal: Sorry my character in
Escape from the Embassy Suites was so awesome when compared to, well, yours
. It was cool to finally meet you man, I expected more of a "HWILD AND CARAZY GUY!!!"...that you were as
legitimately cool as you were, and so lacking in pretense, was a pleasant surpise. See me next year about your TBR pin.
Old One: Thanks for sharing the good times Phil
Your generosity with Sandwich makings, water and soda in the wee hours of Saturday morning is all that kept me from an
epic hangover the following day. See me about your TBR Pin next year.
Buttercup: A pleasure as always. I wish I had actually just sacked up and braved the mindbending heat to go have lunch with you guys, give me another chance next year. You are one of my first Gen Con friends, and certainly one of my favorites
Piratecat: I've got nothing to say to/about you that I haven't said in a dozen other threads already. Always a pleasure, sir.
Psion: The first friendly face I saw this year after the horrendous start to my trip. Thanks for not only running Spycraft 2.0 for us, but arranging to have the
game's creators sit in on the session. Solid.
Cthulhu's Librarian: Cutest boy at EN World? About time you got some recognition for it
Start
working that gimmick next year, and see if you can turn it into "Girl-Purchased Drinks"
Crothian: Didn't see you too much this year Chris, but your very
presence lends a sense of "foundation" to the EN World community at Gen Con.
Diaglo: Already mentioned earlier in the thread, but for the sake of completeness: I'm not a huge fan of
Diaglo, but I'm proud to call
David Temporado a friend. See me next year about your TBR pin.
Twin Rose: My original "Partner in Crime". Glad you could make it this year buddy, I know it was a close thing.
Hellhound: I've got nothing to say to you that you don't already know. I love your whole family and tend to think of them as an extension of mine when I am in Indy. Hope I kept the girls sufficiently full of
Dippin' Dots
D20Dwarf: Nice to see you again man, and thanks a ton for the early morning game. How did we not play poker this year? You really need to stop fearing my game
. Glad to hear the con went so well for you business-wise.
Maddman: Awesome to finally put a face to a name. Come join TBR next year...we'd love to have you.
Francisca: The low point of the con for me was that I missed playing that Car Wars game with you guys
Let's plan to rectify that next year. Yes, it will cost you your top ranking...but I think that's got to be a small price to pay.
QueenD: It's always so awesome to see you. I tend to run myself into the ground at the con, and your presence alone is fairly rejuvenating. I've never met someone so relentlessly positive and upbeat, who doesn't come across as a pollyanna. You
are that person. Also...I
love the pictures you took of me (I'm vain that way)!
The Universe: Gaming with you was a
scream. Your portrayal of that CPA/Superhero was about as spot-on as I've ever seen a convention PC be played. All good man
Hope you guys make it next year.
Xath: I've always quite liked you, but this year I actually spent enough time hanging out with you to like you this much --> <-- more than ever. And, goddamit, I
still owe you your birthday drink (thanks to that wierd she-male bartender who didn't seem to know, well,
how to make drinks 
). Also...that Lidda costume rocked hard. See me next year about your TBR pin.
Klaus: I really,
really hope you are back next year as I know what your presence next year would indicate. Good luck, sir. I have my fingers crossed for you. See me next year about your TBR pin.
Obryn: Genius (or Lazy Sod) that I am, I never made it over to Gamer Olympics. Nice to see you, however briefly, though.
Fiery James: Always nice to see the Fiery Dragon crew. I forgot to deliver that
Too Dark Park T-Shirt before leaving though. Sorry bout that. Also, sorry about your door and about crippling your illustrator for Saturday. Sorry I kicked your dog too
Joe and Suzi: How I forgot to purchase a copy of
Silk Road is beyond me (I'll rectify that post-haste). How I managed to not sit down to dinner/drinks with your guys is
really beyond me...rectify it next year?
Keith Baker: Sorry Keith, no idea what name you post under here. Really nice to jaw with you and your Mrs. at the ENnies, then at the Airport. Good luck with the "As Yet Unnamed Product" we discussed. Sounds like a winner.
Bill Webb: ALL HAIL THE GOLDEN GROGNARD
Dave Stebbins: When I get old, I want to look like Dave
The guy is about 6 years older than me and looks better than I ever have in my entire life. Must be all the clean living
See me next year about your Full TBR pin, and another for Ladytoll.
FickleGM: I was worried that you were unable to hold your liquor towards the end of the evening. I had been misinformed
You showed all of the traits that make for a good member of TBR. Alos, nice work in
Escape from the Embassy Suites
The Year of...
And now...the moment you've all been waiting for. Well, not all of you...Fick already leaked this info on Circvs Maximvs (that'll teach me to discuss private info in confidence
).
Each year I declare the Gen Con experience to be "The Year of...(some Gen Con attendee)".
The criteria is not anything startling...just the person that to my mind seemd to most
prevalent at the con. More times than not, it's someone I met there for the first time.
The winner from the First Gen Con I ever Attended was my good buddy and
Magic: the Gathering artist,
Anson Maddox
The last year Gen Con was in Milwaukee, the winner was
Creative Mountain, whome we now know as
MarkCMG
The first year Gen Con was in Indy, well...I forgot to do it :\
Ok, so I'm not the organizational tour de force that Dextra is for the ENnies)
Last year's winner was our own
Rel...
And finally,
without further ado,
Teflon Billy declares 2006...
THE YEAR OF KIZNIT
Seriosuly, I don't think I can put it any better than the Rel himself did as he handed over the tiara and the sash....
[bq]Kiznit was like I thought he'd be but he wasn't WHERE I thought he'd be.
I thought that with it being his first year and coming alone, PLUS not being a terribly active ENWorlder, that he might kind of hang around on the periphery. He was everywhere! He was in
all the cool games. He was at
all the cool parties. He didn't sip from the GenCon cup. He drank it down to the bottom and crunched the dregs in his teeth!
[/bq]
...and seriously. That was pretty much the case. I remain unconvinced that Kiznit isn't twins as every time I arrived somewhere, or sat down at a game, or hell
looked up, Kiznit was there.
And we are all the better for it.
Congratulations to you Kieran
Most of the Houston gamers I know are the sort that stay home to play their games, and rarely visit FLGSs (there aren't that many good FLGSs in Houston, for the size). Houstonians are even underrepresented at our own OwlCon, IMO.
(that was me on the balcony trying to help you locate him.)
