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Also, bring stuff to eat, because you might not want to pay for con food. My "go to" is prepackaged tuna fish with crackers. Worst case, you're near the Gaslamp District, so finding a place to chow down won't be too hard . . . depending on the crowds, of course. Oh, and you're into DC Comics, they've been handing out prizes for most thought-provoking questions at their panels. I actually won a lenticular-covered Forever Evil #1 at NYCC last year by wondering out loud how the Court of Owls could breathe in their mouthless masks. Just a little something to know if you're into swag. ETA: This is me in an owl mask in 2012. You understand why I had to ask about the breathing.

If you can't get to panels, don't sweat it too much. I remember having to wake up extra early on Sunday the last time I went to CCI so I could get into the Doctor Who panel. I don't know if it was Hall H, but it was cavernous, and I managed to get in to see an extended trailer for "The Waters of Mars" and a teaser for "The End of Time." Plus, David Tennant was there, so I count that as meeting a Doctor, even though I wasn't anywhere near him. I'm heavy into sketches, so I usually hung out at the DC Comics booth to get freebies. Last time, I wound up with 20 overall, which is a four-day record for me. However, if you're getting into the convention on a Wednesday and you need your fix, a convention might not be the best place for new releases. I wound up going to a shop near a trolley stop to get my weekly dose. The guy there was closing down for the day, but he took pity on me and let me browse and shop.

I don't know about "once in a lifetime," since the All-Star Game was in the Metrodome in 1985. However, it took MLB almost 50 years to find Flushing for the Mets' second ASG, so your milage may vary. caprice . . . my mother is going to Toronto as well, though she's leaving the conning to me. What locales would you recommend? In my head, there's the CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum, the shoe museum (as seen on The Amazing Race), the new aquarium near the Rogers Centre, Casa Loma and maybe the Zoo if she still needs a panda fix. She's not as into sports as me, though, so the Hockey Hall of Fame would be a no-go.

caprice . . . you'll forgive me if I use capitalization, since I'm supposed to be a writer last I checked. Also: what sorts of activities does MLB have in Minneapolis? Last year, I just went to FanFest at the Javits Center for, like, half a day. It was nice . . . I didn't get autographs, but I took lots of pics.

Hats off to both of you. I see CCI as Geek Mecca, in the sense that you gotta go at least once in your lifetime. I'm a little bitter that it's 3,000 miles away from where I live, but I hope to go back for a fourth time soon. Remember to pace yourselves, drink plenty of fluids, and allow yourselves enough time for delays. Getting from one end of the hall to the other is an ordeal with the crowds, so don't rush it. ETA: If you have time to sightsee, do it. It's a beautiful city, and the weather is usually awesome. I recommend at least half a day at the San Diego Zoo. Once again: drink plenty of fluids. Lots of fun animals, and they got pandas. I find them a little overrated, since they tend to lie around all day, but they are cute anyway. As for me, I'll be going to Fan Expo Canada out in Toronto in late August. I'm hoping to get some sketches, see some panels, and check off Casa Loma off the list of locales covered in the Scott Pilgrim books. Last time, I was only able to go to Honest Ed's Discount Store, and I got lost trying to find Sneaky Dee's.

From what I remember from the TWoP forum, the Japanese delegation didn't have much time to prepare for the course. I'm thinking even Makoto Nagano in his prime would have trouble fighting jet lag. Given the somewhat mutated nature of the contest, I tend to dismiss it as a competition. ETA: How about Kevin Bull? It wasn't enough to be the first to beat Cannonball Alley and only one of two to finish the second course, but the way he beat the Alley . . . damn. Grab the third ball with the legs, hang upside-down, then flip off onto the landing pad . . . wow. I don't think he planned it that way, but it worked.

Editor's Note: Discuss One Piece Here! This is the place to talk about others talking about One Piece. For instance: One Piece exhibition in Taiwan draws in fans, many of them in costume. Trailer for U.S. DVD/Blu Ray release for Film Z. Word of warning: this is a post-timeskip story, so most of the crew will be looking different. Also, Chopper is dressed as a cow. I'm sure there's a reason for that.

Christopher Eccleston open to coming back to Heroes. Dude, do not tease us about that. Maybe it's because Claude was only seen in the first season, but there was something so magical about how he shoved Peter off the roof of a tall building in order to get him to fly.

I'm going back to Toronto in late August. Yes, Fan Expo is involved, but I'm hoping to see Casa Loma before I start comic conning my brains out. Caprice . . . how close to the Twin Cities are you? If you're close or there, do you plan on going to any pre-All-Star Game activities that'll more than likely be set up in the area?

How many Ma Hoytenberrys equal one Alcide? I'm thinking at least ten. Damn, that was funny, though . . . watching Violet get her Temple Of Doom on like that. I know, Violet's a bit one-note, but she just fulfilled my wish for that old bat to die. And hey . . . she had a heart after all! Who knew? Once again, I'm having fun, even if we're denied the appearance of a werewolf/vampire hybrid. Poor Alcide. Like Terry, he was too sane for Bon Temps. Wait . . . so vampires can't feel drugs if they're swallowed, but bong hits are cool? I'm not getting the logic, though that might be the point of this show. Rev? Lettie Mae couldn't save a person from drowning with a comically oversized life preserver. Good idea to see Willa off, bad idea to think his love's worth salvaging. And, natch, we find out that Tara's dead-dead (true dead?) off-handed from Pam. Thanks, Pam! Sheesh. ETA: Sookie is an idiot . . . but in this town, she belongs in MENSA.

You too, the fresh maker? I blame my time watching Cromartie High School for making that connection right away. Are there any fathers in anime who don't harbor dangerous secrets? "Hi, Eren. Listen, I'm going to give you a key and inject you with Titan Juice, so try not to remember all this until you need to do so. That's a good boy." Just so I'm clear, Zoe is the crazy one with Levi, yes? I don't see any gender ambiguity with her . . . though my "go-to" for that is Crona from Soul Eater. That was a tough nut to crack.

In Samaritan's defense, Honor Guard more or less pushed him into the date with Winged Victory, going so far as to cover his rounds (along with the First Family).

Three of the more patriotic episodes will be broadcast tomorrow on Comedy Central starting at 2:52: "Charlie Gets America All Over Everybody's Ass," "The Gang Cracks The Liberty Bell" and "The Gang Wrestles For The Troops." It's hard to pick a "go to" episode. The Jersey Shore episode resonates with me, mostly because, hey, who wasn't tired of Jersey Shore? I once got a free phone charm from a few artists a while back at an anime convention . . . I was the only person to point out why the Lorax in an inner tube screaming, "RUM HAM!!!" was so funny. "The Gang Gets Analyzed" (correct title?) was also funny, since we had Kerri Kinney (who played insane deputy Trudy Wiegel on Reno 911!) as Dee's shrink. Also: Dennis overanalyzing everything and Frank's breakdown and revelation that Dennis and Dee ate a triplet in utereo. I don't even question that. Oh, and the Christmas special was funny, even if you have to deal with Frank getting "birthed" out of a sofa. Watching Charlie go sickhouse on a mall Santa never gets old.

Well. I think this is a thesis on what becomes of living weapons whose existences are too dangerous for the world around them . . . and all I can think of is, "You bastards killed Root Beer Guy!!!" For serious, they killed the amateur hard-boiled novelist-turned-leader of the Banana Guard. And you just know that Colonel Candy Corn is gonna try and "tap" Cherry Cream Soda. Very distressing, even with the awesomeness of the Tandem Psychic Elephants, or whatever they're called.

I don't understand . . . if Jeff Lemire is supposed to be critically acclaimed, then how come he's off? Or did he quit voluntarily?

Bill Simmons had Johnny and Derek Jacoby on his podcast. I won't "watch" it because I'm not into podcasts and I hate Johnny . . . also, I would've figured SImmons to be a CT guy based on Boston roots alone. Meanwhile, StopBeingPolite.com speculates on the next season of The Challenge. It's speculation based on whom received what sort of calls from BMP, so it's next to bullcrap, albeit interesting bullcrap.

I did a search for "Bon Temps, mob," and this is what I found . . . True Blood ETA for the birthday girl . . . hope I'm doing this right . . . Supernatural (BTW, typing in "Castiel baby" wound up with some weird results)

Went out to see the US/Belgium game. It was fun, even with the loss, what with Tim Howard making a tourney's worth of saves in a single game. I'm hoping this will be the start of bigger things for soccer in the USA, and that Ann Coulter can * Snip *

Where would True Blood be without Jason Stackhouse?

I forgot about Ms. Harris. Loved her going for Arlene's leg before dying, looking to the world like she was trying to munch on much more than a femoral artery. Poor woman, semi-hilarious death.

Anybody else have a good laugh? I swear, Bon Temps is the only place where the title of Village Idiot has to be rotated daily. Note to the mob: it's shit like that that keeps your damn names from the opening credits. Fuck you, Kenya, for turning to the mob. And I hope a vampire eats Ma Hoytenberry soon. She's too ugly to live. I was grinning like an idiot at the Eric/Jason slash scene. It's like watching fanfic develop. Shit, if slash writers took over the show, who would notice? I knew it was a dream . . . I was also thinking that the entire town would've stoned Sookie while Jason was sleeping. Poor girl . . . she sleeps with two vampires, and she's never gonna hear the end of it. Lettie Mae becoming an addict for vamp blood . . . I should've seen it coming. In other news, it looks like Rutina is going to be in dream fodder for the time being. I feel bad for her and Tara. The St. Alice signs were too much like that one episode of The Walking Dead, to the point where I kept looking for "BAD WOLF" against all odds.

Heads-Up: I was poking around the schedule, and I found that NBC is going to rerun the "USA vs. Japan" challenge from earlier this year. Personally, I'd like to dismiss it as too mutated, but some of you might like it.

We have our share of fauna here on Staten Island. In fact, I could've sworn seeing a deer last week when I was walking in a park. I don't think we have any animals as famous as our wild turkeys. You can read about 'em here . . . I don't think they're that aggressive. A few weeks ago, I kept driving my car into a walkway on a red light in order to make sure two turkeys didn't get in my way when the light turned green.

I don't think we can call Sakura "useless" ever again. Or at least for about a hundred episodes. She bashes puppets, manages to (temporarily) take down Sasori, and takes a sword for Lady Chiyo. Out of curiosity: do any of you guys get haunted by the chattering noise the puppets make? Nah, me neither. Little Kakashi/Naruto this week, and no Team Guy. Just so y'all know.

I don't think it's one episode in particular as it is a convergence of tired, tired behavior. Like the banana costume. And the bobblehead doll. And how he usually skates into the final mission while facing minimal endgames. And his shitty behavior during The Island, culminating in screwing Paula over in favor of Evelyn. And his association with disgraced "stars" Evan and Kenny. And the lawsuit against Entourage over the moniker "Johnny Bananas" that didn't work out for him. Also, you have CT, who is proof positive that you can be redeemed after being a total thug, and Johnny suffers by comparison. PS: The endgames thing is what prompted Jordan to talk about "[earning] your stripes." The message was garbled, but I agreed with Jordan wanting Johnny to sweat a little, so I can't totally hate him for being a meathead with a complex.