Escapist Expo 2012 & Slap & Tickle (Durham, NC)

I wonder if Russ would be able to, say, I don't know, rope into Yahtzee into our S&T?

I dunno. I have a feeling if I had too much whiskey in me and disagreed with Yahtzee enough I'd be tempted to say horrible things about his mother.

Or kick him in the knee.

And then kill myself because everyone would be making "to the knee" jokes again.

North Carolina OKs constitutional same-sex marriage ban

Suddenly I am cooling off to the idea of visiting NC this fall.

If I let politics decide my actions then I'd be living on a boat in the middle of the ocean.

Well, that's my personal view, at least. It sucks, but I view that sort of thing as temporary anyway. Eventually it'll be moot.

If it makes you feel any better, Durham county had the 2nd highest percentage of votes against the amendment.

I'm proud to have been born in Durham.

Oh, alright then.

So the only person that was able to definitively go is no longer able due to a previous commitment. I have another friend interested, but only if I can fill the hotel room up. So, anyone need a place to crash? I have plenty of space.

Are you a noisy sleeper? Does the hotel provide pillows of heterosexuality?

I evidently snore, but my friends I stayed with at PAX East introduced me to them nasal strips that keep you from snoring and said they were super effective, so I'll probably nab some of those.

As for the pillows...yes? I'll probably bring my own since I'll be driving down and will likely resume my token spot on the floor.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

I wonder if Russ would be able to, say, I don't know, rope into Yahtzee into our S&T?

I doubt it, but it's possible. As I understand it, they're pretty paranoid about letting him talk to me right now.

Not that far of a drive from the Chicago/Milwaukee area...hmmm..

Fletcher wrote:

As I understand it, they're pretty paranoid about letting him talk to me right now.

I feel like there's a story here that I want to hear but won't get to.

ccesarano wrote:
Fletcher wrote:

As I understand it, they're pretty paranoid about letting him talk to me right now.

I feel like there's a story here that I want to hear but won't get to.

Just worried about him jumping ship to the new hotness I'm sure.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

North Carolina OKs constitutional same-sex marriage ban

Suddenly I am cooling off to the idea of visiting NC this fall.

If it's any consolation, N.C. wasn't the first to pass something so stupid and vile. And, yeah, Durham and nearby Orange County (i.e. Chapel Hill) were the eastern outpost of Amendment One resistance.

For anyone going, downtown Durham is a lot of fun. Brightleaf Square (Main, Gregson and Morgan streets) is your nexus for food and drinks, and it's in walking distance from the CC. The Federal is a dark smoky (minus the actual smoking) bar that makes a hell of a burger. Another good restaurant row is Ninth Street, near Duke's East Campus. (You'll have to catch a ride.) I swear by the Blue Corn, so much though that I'm thinking about driving an hour to have an enchilada for lunch.

I may go one of the days but I won't know if my schedule permits until much nearer the date

Gonna toss out another request for roommates as the only people confirmed for the room I got are myself and my friend, and it would be nice to get at least two other peoples in there.

I wish I had more to write here, but Escapist hasn't had much to say. Nonetheless, June's almost over and before we know it September will be here.

EDIT: Based on what I could find, there's no more room at the Marriott City Center, the hotel that connects to the convention center (at least, not for the days I have it booked). So yeah, still space with us.

I'm out of town that week but back on Friday I think my daughter and I are gonna drive up on Saturday since we only live like 2.5 hours away.

I usually only read Escapist material when someone sends me something, but this seems like a good time. Plus, its only a 30 minutes drive for me.

The way they keep advertising it I feel like they're desperate for attendance.

It would help if they showcased vendors that would be there. You know some of the North Carolina Triangle studios like Epic gotta have a presence there, so why hide it? We're less than a month away.

...oh crap, less than a month away...

I can't begrudge them that. I want it to be successful too, as it's a lot easier to travel to than PAX.

Based on the video the convention center looks as if it should be awfully beautiful.

But every time I see that water tower I just feel like it should have the Warner Bros. logo (which opens up and the Warner Bros. (and the Warner Sister) leap out and do their crazy thing) painted on it.

So as I'm coming down in a car with some friends I'll be able to bring some board games, though I don't plan on overdoing it. Here are the potential candidates:

- Resident Evil: Deck Building Game (know the rules pretty well)
- Penny Arcade: Gamers vs. Evil (know the rules pretty well)
- Munchkin Quest (need to reacquaint myself)
- Mall of Horror (easy to reacquaint myself, easy to learn)
- Game of Thrones 2nd Edition (never played yet)
- Gears of War (never played yet)
- Order of the Stick (need to reacquaint myself, haven't played often)
- Space Hulk: Death Angel card game (still learning)
- Ninja Burger (need to reacquaint myself)

That's all I remember off the top of my head. I don't need the box for Resident Evil DBG and Space Hulk is easy to carry around, so those are probably a no-brainer to bring down. I'm thinking Mall of Horror since it's an easy game anyone can learn and only takes roughly an hour. Ninja Burger also doesn't take much space. Due to the nature of the convention, I'm tempted to bring Penny Arcade or Gears of War to see if it might gain the interest of passers by.

Any Durham folk with thoughts on S&T locations?

Oo snap, a North Carolina event. I'll make plans to attend the event. You still got a hotel spot Ccsarano?

More importantly, I plan on attending any S&T attached to the event.

Less importantly, who designed the expo website? It's atrocious.

While I have yet to attend an S&T, I'd recommend Parker and Otis if its earlier in the day, they close at 8, but have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Fullsteam has plenty of picnic tables, but it can get crowded in the evening. I have not been to Beyu Caffe myself, but I've been told it can handle larger groups (they have beer releases and tastings here often). There is also Bull McCabes which I think has plenty of larger tables, but you would get plenty of UNC/Duke ruckus here on a Friday or Saturday night.

My wife and I moved to Durham in July so this is a great thread for me to find.

Are people planning to go all three days or just one? I wanted to check before I picked up the passes.

I'm game for a meet up at any of the places listed above (Federal, Blue Corn, etc) and I'd suggest we all venture to Dames Chicken and Waffles (http://www.dameschickenwaffles.com) in downtown Durham.

Squee9 wrote:

Oo snap, a North Carolina event. I'll make plans to attend the event. You still got a hotel spot Ccsarano?

More importantly, I plan on attending any S&T attached to the event.

Less importantly, who designed the expo website? It's atrocious.

The expo website could be better, yes.

I currently have two others confirmed in my hotel room with a potential fourth. I don't see why we wouldn't be able to have a fifth. I'll ask the others just in case to make sure they don't mind a STRANGER DANGER FROM THE INTERNET crashing on the floor.

And yes you will get the floor, because for the past several years I've had to do the floor! It's my turn to hog a bed!

jonfentyler wrote:

While I have yet to attend an S&T, I'd recommend Parker and Otis if its earlier in the day, they close at 8, but have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Fullsteam has plenty of picnic tables, but it can get crowded in the evening. I have not been to Beyu Caffe myself, but I've been told it can handle larger groups (they have beer releases and tastings here often). There is also Bull McCabes which I think has plenty of larger tables, but you would get plenty of UNC/Duke ruckus here on a Friday or Saturday night.

Earlier I used this map to try and gauge nearby locations, and found a couple locations that stood out. My primary concern was walking distance.

Truth told, though, Durham doesn't look like a city where driving is as much an issue as other cities.

Parker and Otis looks to be a ten minute walk.

Fullsteam Brewery is also a ten minute walk.

Beyu Cafe is a 5 minute walk.

Bull McCabes is another 10 minute walk.

These locations all seem excellent. Better than mine, at least.

I wish they had a schedule up so we could plan a time better.

honeycut1 wrote:

My wife and I moved to Durham in July so this is a great thread for me to find.

Are people planning to go all three days or just one? I wanted to check before I picked up the passes.

I'm game for a meet up at any of the places listed above (Federal, Blue Corn, etc) and I'd suggest we all venture to Dames Chicken and Waffles (http://www.dameschickenwaffles.com) in downtown Durham.

I'm staying at the hotel from Thursday night to Monday morning with some friends.

As for Chicken and Waffles, I linked to that earlier. I've never had chicken AND waffles at the same time! I am so into low-brow food like that, I am all for it.

honeycut1 wrote:

My wife and I moved to Durham in July so this is a great thread for me to find.

Are people planning to go all three days or just one? I wanted to check before I picked up the passes.

I'm game for a meet up at any of the places listed above (Federal, Blue Corn, etc) and I'd suggest we all venture to Dames Chicken and Waffles (http://www.dameschickenwaffles.com) in downtown Durham.

I've always wanted to try Dames, but my wife refuses to go anywhere that does not use real maple syrup. I think chicken and waffles is best served with honey anyway. Oddly, my first time trying chicken and waffles was on a trip to Seattle.

ccesarano wrote:

As for Chicken and Waffles, I linked to that earlier. I've never had chicken AND waffles at the same time! I am so into low-brow food like that, I am all for it.

jonfentyler wrote:

I've always wanted to try Dames, but my wife refuses to go anywhere that does not use real maple syrup. I think chicken and waffles is best served with honey anyway. Oddly, my first time trying chicken and waffles was on a trip to Seattle.

Excellent! I'm looking forward to meeting some local goojers. Plus the expo and trying out some chicken and waffles will be great.

ccesarano wrote:
Squee9 wrote:

Oo snap, a North Carolina event. I'll make plans to attend the event. You still got a hotel spot Ccsarano?

More importantly, I plan on attending any S&T attached to the event.

Less importantly, who designed the expo website? It's atrocious.

The expo website could be better, yes.

I currently have two others confirmed in my hotel room with a potential fourth. I don't see why we wouldn't be able to have a fifth. I'll ask the others just in case to make sure they don't mind a STRANGER DANGER FROM THE INTERNET crashing on the floor.

And yes you will get the floor, because for the past several years I've had to do the floor! It's my turn to hog a bed!

I can get a, "slept in a house without causing catastrophes" reccomendation from Mojo and Floomi if you require. Feel free to PM me the details either way.