Dragon Con is Coming: The Game is Afoot! Gaming in Con Culture!

Over 140,000 Square Feet of Gaming Space Dominates AmericasMart, Featuring ‘Round the Clock Gaming Plus Panels with Top Game Designers, Voice Actors, and Industry Experts 

eSports Tournaments in 15 Different Games, Live Streamed on Twitch

Overwatch Payload Tour Stops at Dragon Con to Celebrate Cosplayers in the Overwatch Universe

ATLANTA – July 26, 2018 – Dragon Con, one of the largest gaming conventions in the nation, will roll out a basement full of games, from the latest and most popular video games, rarely seen board games, and the first role-playing computer game played by the man who wrote it almost 40 years ago.

“Dragon Con’s gaming program is for players, whether you’re a hardcore gamer or just have a casual interest,” said convention co-chair David Cody. “Players can join friends playing the most popular games available or take some time to tryout games you can’t find anywhere except Dragon Con. Our games library features hundreds of games that can be checked out by any Dragon Con member.”

Some 85,000 people are expected to attend Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy, and sci-fi convention, in 2018, filling downtown over the five-day Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 to Sept. 3, with events and activities across AmericasMart Buildings One and Two and five host hotels – Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Sheraton Atlanta.

Taking up more than 140,000 square feet in AmericasMart Building One and the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, gaming at Dragon Con will feature the full array of gaming including PC and console games, board games, miniatures gaming, role-playing games, collectable card games, and even LARP games. A large selection of modern arcade games from Japan and Asia not usually seen in the United States alongside classic American cabinet-style arcade games will be available for ‘round the clock free play.

The gaming hall opens at 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 30, and stays open through 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 3.

Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch Payload Tour stops at Dragon Con this year to celebrate the fantastic Overwatch-oriented cosplay with a photo experience that puts cosplayers into the game.

They will be joined by several members of Blizzard’s in-house creative team including historian Sean Copeland, senior writer Andrew Robinson, and senior writer Christie Golden. We will also have a trio of voice actors from the Overwatch franchise, including Anjali Bhiman, who voices Symmetra; Charlet Chung, who voices D.Va.; and Lucie Pohl, who voices Mercy.

Video game pioneer and American astronaut Richard “Lord British” Garriott, who created the Ultima and Tabla Rasa games, will play his first published game – 1980’s Akalabeth: World of Doom – on an original, fully restored Apple II computer. Akalabeth is widely considered to be the first role-playing game written for computer.

eSports, sometimes called professional gaming, has seen a surge in popularity over the past decade with the growth of spectatorship fostered by the introduction of live streaming platforms. Amazon-owned Twitch, Dragon Con’s broadcast partner for its tournaments, has approximately 1 million viewers at any given time for its eSports and related programming.

Tournaments will include Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite, Injustice 2, Brawlhalla singles and doubles, Streetfighter V: AE, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, Gundam Versus, Tekken 7, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Rivals of Aether singles and doubles, Smash 4, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and League of Legends.

Dragon Con attendees can watch professional players and teams compete against each other live, while their gameplay is broadcast to overhead screens. Gaming fans at home will be able to watch the gameplay via Twitch.

In addition to the Overwatch guests, key gaming guests for 2018 include voice actors Kellen Goff, Heather Masters, and Julie Shields from the Five Nights at Freddy’s game franchise, voice actor Mark Meer, best known for his role as Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect trilogy, and former Epic Games president Mike Capps, whose company developed Fortnite, Gears of War, and Unreal Engine.

The Kids Gaming Adventure, a series of 45-minute sessions designed to introduce 6 to 12 year olds to board games, collectible card games, roleplaying, miniatures, and LAN-based video games returns for 2018. An accompanying parent is required at all times.

About Dragon Con

Dragon Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor Day in Atlanta. Organized for fans, Dragon Con features more than about 3,500 hours of comics, film, television, costuming, art, music and gaming over four days. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information on the Overwatch Payload Tour, please visit https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/news/21659397

Coming to a Convention Near You! HWWS Joins the ACES Stable of Stars!

Asylum Convention and Entertainment Services - ACES Announcement

 Melbourne, FL, Oct. 5, 2017--    It's time! An announcement full of greatness! Today we welcome quite a few new members to our ACES family - Hangin With Web Show, GW Pomichter, and Cosplay Michael!
The Hangin With Web Show is an internet based web talk show series that highlights the work of aspiring, independent as well as well established artists, authors, filmmakers, entertainers and creators within the arts and entertainment industry. As the world wide web has shifted the arts and entertainment paradigm, show host and creator G.W. Pomichter, an independent author himself, founded the show to assist in sharing the growing community of creative arts professionals with a hungry and growing internet audience.  
     The show is hosted and directed by G.W. Pomichter (an author/creator and a professional journalist, who has penned more than 400 byline articles for The Hometown News and Florida Today) but it would not be possible without the talent and hard work of its staff.
     Sage Ia: Sage is a consummate professional who works both on set as the show’s artistic relations coordinator and scheduler, but behind the scenes as a co-producer and the show’s social media marketing director. Sage is a native of Pittsburg, PA, and has her Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Organizational Management from Eastern Florida State College.
     Deanna Marie: Deanna is the Hangin With Web Show’s co-producer and serves on set as a camera and sound technician, and as well as show host G.W. Pomichter’s P.A. In addition to these functions, Deanna also serves as the show’s primary merchandizing, advertising and marketing executive director.
     In addition, show host G.W. Pomichter is a seasoned journalist, a published author and web media “artrepeneur,” producer and director.
     G.W. Pomichter is a professional author and journalist and the producer and creator of the Hangin With Web Show. G.W. Pomichter is a graduate of Florida Air Academy and Eastern Florida State College.
     G.W. Pomichter, a trained news journalist, is now a full-time author and the director, producer and host of the Hangin With Web Show, a web talk show series which features new, established, indie and up-and-coming artists, authors, filmmakers, and entertainers from throughout the arts and entertainment industry. Pomichter’s IMDb presence has continued to grow in popularity where he routinely ranks among top show hosts and celebrities.
From his first published book, Mapping the Road Less Traveled — a handbook on political campaigning, G.W. Pomichter has gone on top write and publish The Lucky Marks Mystery Series, a detective crime noir featuring 2 novellas and a short story, and Yesterday’s Tomorrow, a dark near future dystopian alternative history which follows two families in the aftermath of a terrorist nuclear attack on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.
     As digital media pros and YouTubers® become frequent guests at conventions throughout the pop culture community, it is a valuable asset to have such guests that are working and providing coverage of the event and its other guests, while meeting fans and satisfying audiences. The benefits of combining coverage with presence are clear and can be seen at some of the nations most popular cons.
     In addition to Hangin With Web Show and G.W. Promithcer we are pleased to announce “Cosplay Michael,” who made his first appearance as a featured Cosplay guest at Tampa Florida’s Necronomicon 2016, and since has attended both large and small events including as a panelist at world famous Comic Con International in San Diego California. Cosplay Michael has a growing social media presence and is well known in cosplay for his energy and enthusiasm for the community. His attendance at many conventions is anticipated by cosplay guests, professionals and even some celebrity guests. Look for him at: www.facebook.com/cosplaymichael/

Make sure you check out our new family members at:

WEBSITE: https://www.hanginwithshow.com
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_C2z2k60d6lOj8DFMWDGEA
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/HanginWithWebShow/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/HanginWithShow
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/hanginwithwebshow/
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6337920/

The Digital Paradigm Shift: A Tidal Force in Arts and Entertainment

The human being is an inherent story teller. From drawing on cave walls to sharing fireside tales and singing the bard’s histories through village squares, we have striven to pass on our experiences and the truths beyond their facts for as long as we could communicate one to another. Today, in this tradition, those compelled to tell, draw, paint, film, or sing the human tale have found new hope in the digital age.

In or about 1440 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. His goal was simple: to spread the gospels of the Holy Roman Empire throughout Europe. By 1500, more than 20 million volumes were said to have been published and distributed throughout the Continent.

This invention did much more, though. It brought the written word into the lives of millions previously unable to read, and ushered in a new way for storytellers to spread their work. It created a new industry, in printing and distributing the written word. The invention had one draw back, however, it was limited in it’s ownership, and writers and story tellers were rarely the owners, so publishers with access to the technology controlled exactly what was produced and marketed to the masses.

Visual art began as early as human beings could gather in small tribes, and arguably before they formed villages or communities on any large scale. By the middle ages, however, like the written word, art was oft paid for and limited to the aristocracy. Art patrons commissioned work, attended to artists and more often than not, enjoyed the art that was created as a perk of their investments. A similar history of music runs parallel to that of art. Once created at the fire side, by the time people gathered into cities under the rule of some aristocrat or another, great musicians, like artists were few and their work was distributed to only those with means.

The modern filmmaking can be traced to the 1890’s. Revolutionary in it’s early day, creators flocked to be a part of the new story telling medium. Equipment costs, filming locations and distribution, though, took a hold in the early 20th century and again removed the art from the artist and firmly embedded it in the hands of the business interests most able to afford the production and distribution of the art.

None of this is bad. Under the guidance of those with a vested interest in the arts and entertainment industry, the arts flourished, making its way into the hearts and minds of nearly every human being on planet Earth.

The invention of the television in the late 1920’s and its mainstreaming in the 1960’s, brought storytellers and artists into people’s living rooms. As before, however, the cost of doing so with such a new technology was high, and exactly what was produced and broadcasted depended on those industry professionals at the top of their fields and not always the artists who were creating the content.

It’s been 30 years since the mainstreaming of the internet. Beginning with such home services like AOL, and later ISPs, the internet, created in the 1960’s for scientists and engineers, the shift toward the masses has made the nebulous internet a commercial boom, and has had one seemingly open ended side effect, as well. It has given the arts and entertainment community a cost effective and accessible way to share, distribute and even create their various art forms.

The advent of "print-on-demand" publishing has put an accessible printing press within arms reach of writers. Music platforms such as Soundcloud™ and Reverb have put recording and editing tools at the fingertips of musicians. Youtube™, Vimeo™ and a host of others has given independent filmmakers access to distribution for movie and film projects.  All of these and so many more have had another welcomed effect. Each of these platforms, as well as the growing social media community platforms like Facebook™, GooglePlus™, Twitter™ and countless others from Instagram™ to Reddit™, give content creators and artists access to global audiences in a way never before imaginable.

As a journalist and a creator, while Amazon™ has become the world's largest retail distributor, and the number of Facebook users has toppled the 1 billion mark, it is impossible to dismiss or ignore this shift in the arts and entertainment paradigm.

Today, there are more than 50 million internet based content creators worldwide. Authors, artists, Filmmakers, special effects designers, artisans and creators of all kinds are flocking to the internet to share their hard work with an audience that seems hungry for greater and greater quantities of artistic media content, with no signs of their appetites slowing in the foreseeable future.

It doesn’t matter what one’s tastes are. It doesn’t matter if a creator is experienced, at the top or bottom of their profession, or if a type of art or literary genre is too obscure or fringe. There is an audience for nearly every kind of creative output.

No longer do existing matrixes for distribution and competition speak to the creative desires of the masses. The advent of “binge watching” TV shows and movies via streaming services such as Netflix™, Hulu™, Amazon™ and others, or via production company or personal “Apps,” has meant that one time competitors for attention can share the light on center stage. E-readers mean that writers aren’t competing for that $20 dollar bill for a hardcover book, but instead, 20 can share it through online e-book services. Artists no longer have to compete for limited gallery wall space to be discovered, but can post via social media or websites and be seen by a mass audience.

Of course, these shifts are not without drawbacks. To be seen in the growing seas of creative content on the internet, an artist or creator must learn new skills. These skills are those that were traditionally only known by insider industry professionals, and are essential to success. Production skills like layout and design, film and photo editing, copy and content editing for authors, and the daunting skills of marketing managers to help attract and grow audiences, must be acquired. As it has shifted the way art is made and distributed, so to the Internet has also become a kind of online school for arts and entertainment creators. One can find DYI videos on almost any subject to assist in acquiring the skills to succeed, or even target audiences with one’s work.

In the new millennium, the edges and boundaries of success have been pushed back and away from creative minds in ways never before possible. Today, it is most reasonable to tell a child to work hard and become any thing they desire to be, and it is becoming more possible than ever before in human history.

In the 21st century, it IS possible. Anything is possible. If you desire a creative career, outlet, hobby or a legacy captured in the increasingly digital record, don’t just dream, but do!

Create, Aspire and Inspire!

ONEDAY CHARITY EVENT AIMS TO RAISE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS FOR ONE ORLANDO FUND

The Hangin With Web Show Scheduled to Cover Charity Event by the creators of Heroes & Villians Fan Fest & Walker Stalker Con     

     ORLANDO, FL -- On September 17, 2016, fans of TV’s top shows will have the opportunity

to meet their favorite stars at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, while

raising money for the victims and families of the Pulse Nightclub attack.

     Dozens of well-known actors from The Walking Dead, The Flash, Arrow, and other shows will

meet fans, sign autographs and take photos ( see full list ). Most importantly, 100% of the profits

raised from ticket sales, autographs, professional photo ops, and vendor sales will be donated

to the One Orlando Fund.

     James Frazier, who created and runs the popular Heroes & Villains Fan Fest and Walker

Stalker Con events, is an Orlando native, as are several others on his team.

     “I grew up in Orlando, graduated from high school there, got married there, and had four of my

children there,” said Frazier. “Last week, my heart was broken by a senseless tragedy. I

wondered, what can we do? How can we help? This September, we're inviting our community of

fans to come help us raise as much money as we can for the families that were impacted.”

     "From our actors and photograph vendor to our volunteers and the Orange County Convention

Center, everyone involved has stepped up to make Fan Fest Orlando possible. Our hometown

needs us. We've always supported each other, regardless of race, orientation, or creed, and this

makes that more clear,” said Jackie Prutsman, Orlando native and VP of Fan Fest.

     At this very special one day Orlando event, attendees will be treated to a merging of activities

regularly held at separate events, Heroes & Villains Fan Fest and Walker Stalker Con. This

means that stars from a wide range of television shows and movies will be in attendance

interacting with fans, and attendees can participate in an array of interactive experiences. More

than 500,000 people attend these Fan Fest events annually.

Activities in Orlando include:

     ● Free panel sessions led by the stars of some of the TV’s most popular shows.

     ● Action heroes and cosplayers roam the convention floor, making for interactive

experiences attendees will never forget.

     ● Vendors who deal in the comic, entertainment, zombie and other genres and industries.

There are even a number of opportunities to volunteer at the event, which can be found on the

Fan Fest Orlando website.

In Orlando, attendees will be treated to sessions with guests including:

● Stephen Amell ( Arrow series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 )

● Lauren Cohan ( The Walking Dead, The Boy )

● Chandler Riggs ( The Walking Dead )

● David Ramsey ( Arrow )

● Emily Kinney ( The Walking Dead, Arrow, Flash )

● Josh McDermitt ( The Walking Dead )

● Michael Cudlitz ( The Walking Dead, Band of Brothers )

● Greg Nicotero (Executive Producer & Director, The Walking Dead )

● Alanna Masterson, Christian Serratos, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Ross Marquand, Seth

Gilliam, Sonequa MartinGreen (The Walking Dead )

Game of Thrones Reactions/Review S6E10 (The Winds of Winter)

Wow!  SPOILER ALERT:  WE give this episode 5 Stars for its ability to deliver everything viewers have been looking forward to and setting the stage for an epic future at the same time.  Many shows can tie up loose ends and wrap a season, and many others capture the imagination for coming episodes and season, but Game of Thrones season finale manages to do both with almost flawless precision!

This Season 6 finale of the hit HBO show Game of Thrones, based on the best-selling George R.R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, brings one of the series' best seasons to a climactic and dramatic close.  Season 6, episode 10 is titled "The Winds of Winter," and despite it's chilling and fitting title, delivers a smokin' hot finish to the 10 episode season arc.  For fans around the globe, it also pays off some fan theories (R + L = J),  and much anticipated vengeful carnage.

Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff have stepped up their already blockbuster level filmmaking to bring fans and viewers an episode sure to delight and thrill audiences everywhere.  Echoing The Godfather, all family business is settled, and the body count clears the board and sets it for the Ultimate "Game of Thrones"

Watch TV: It's not the "boob tube" any more (It's Literature)

Modern Fiction by Firelight

"Literature -- an expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest."

The tradition of storytelling dates back to the earliest human beings.  Those early homo-sapiens sat beside the fire and passed on their histories, their hopes, dreams and fears in the flickering orange hues and the creative juices of humanity began to flow.

Soon, these oral stories inspired visual representations.  Early people scratched their stories in stonewalls in caves.  Later, these caverns replaced by monolithic stone constructions, again adorned with tales from the endless creative depths of human consciousness. 

Born of this well of creative spirit, the rudimentary foundations of written language were formed, and from this, stones gave way to papyrus, and then modern paper.  Gathered around the campfire, carving in the flickering torchlight, writing under the candlelight and lamplight, still people created and shared their stories.

In all of these mediums, human beings poured out their collective dreams onto the page.

In the 20^th century new storytelling technologies were birthed into the industrial world.  The film projector poured light out over crowded theaters and soon one creator’s dreams were the collective observations of audiences.  From there, the sounds and voices of these creations filled the air between the streams of photons and immersed movie goers in imaginative and fanciful worlds flickering in hues of grey over the silver screen.

The advent of color in motion pictures blurred the lines between the creator and the audience, making images more lifelike and, when needed, even more fantastic.  But even as the fires of industry burned brightest for storytellers, a movement arose to bring the collected content of human creativity back to the tribe and family, where it was born.

In 1900 at the World’s Fair, the first television was introduced.  In 1937, the first television network was formed and by the 1960’s, the television was fast becoming a household appliance.

Although early decades saw largely the expansion of technology without true purpose, lending credence to expressions like “boob-tube” and “idiot box” because of its uses for pure entertainment and amusement, it wasn’t long before storytellers heard the siren’s song of those tiny boxes in living rooms across the world.

More channels and greater variety in programming soon became the ethos of the medium. 

In recent decades, the technology has led to larger, thinner flatter screens, donning the walls of multiple rooms in our homes.  Broadcast television, born in 1950, gave way to cable and then to satellite signals and today these paradigms of storytelling are currently shifting again to Internet delivery services connecting viewers of many cultures and geographic regions through the global tether that is the world-wide web.  But still, despite it’s reputation and it’s reach, these technological advances have returned the flickering light around which we gather to the fundamental social unit — the family, the tribe.

In all this, one thing remains a constant.  It is the desire, nay — the imperative — of human beings to gather beside the flickering embers, and whether as members of the family, or as citizens of the global tribe of humanity, listen to and tell our stories.

So many may lament the imagined loss of past “golden ages” of literature and then film or even radio, but for that longing and for the nostalgic harkening of lifestyles long past, there is in these changes some consolation.  It is comforting to think of those early human beings, so disparate than we in their struggles for survival, seated in the setting sun’s last rays, beside a flickering amber glow to share their stories of hope, their fears of what lay beyond, their histories and their dreams, so like we in the 1080p glimmer shown over carpets, couches and easy-chairs. 

So, before you judge that tiny box or massive screen, consider its implication.  It is the modern campfire.  Consider, if I might ask, that it is not merely the latest gadget, but it is your end of a thing string that tethers humanity to the first of us — today’s stories to the first stories — today’s truths to the first truths of our existence.

Just another thought "thunk" by a storyteller no smarter than you.