It's back! Celebration Japan was a blast! The Rebelscum team is now packing up our gear and heading back to North America, where we'll soon be descending upon California for San Diego Comic Con! (Yes, this means I'm going to be doing this all over again!) So now that the bulk of the reporting from the show is done (although there are still a LOT of galleries, podcasts, videos, and special reports that are coming!), I'm bringing back the updates with a few personal stories that you may find interesting. (Or you may not...but my family does, so there!)

July 23rd - 12:47pm
I've just posted up all of the galleries from Japan. >Whew!< There's probably a few more that got lost in the mad shuffle, but that's all I have time for right now....because we're now in San Diego and it's almost time for Comic-Con!

But before I wrap this up, here's a photo I snapped in the collector's hall. G4's Attack of the Show reporter Blair Butler was there interview Duncan & Chris for an upcoming Star Wars special! I'm a HUGE fan of AOTS, so it was very cool to see Blair at work.



So that's it for now....see you next week for the next installment!

July 23rd - 1:28am
Whew! I'm settled in at last! I ended up going to the wrong hotel (not my fault), and instead I ended up going to see The Dark Knight with the Rebelscum team! What a great movie! Lots of action, lots of great comic book moments, and I loved every single minute of it...even though I'm DEAD TIRED, I became a total fanboy right there in the theater in front of everyone....sweet! To make it even better, the trailer for Watchmen played before the film....OMG! I can't wait for THAT movie either!

After the movie, we went to the convention center and I got some great info on that I won't reveal here...you'll just have to check out the site over the next few days. Trust me, there's some MIGHTY cool toys coming that will UNLEASH the Force....and not just CLONES, but there's plenty of those as well. Stay tuned!

July 22nd - 2:50pm
It's boarding time for the flight. Next stop, San Diego!
When I get to the hotel (change clothes and take a much-needed shower), I'll add some of the coolest Japanese souvenirs I picked up this weekend! Later!

July 22nd - 1:40pm (US Pacific time)
Finally back in the US, specifically the San Francisco airport. I was finally able to sleep on the plane, but not after watching Batman Begins on the plane! I'm VERY eager to see the new movie, The Dark Knight (which should come as no surprise if you've been following all the Batman updates over at Cool Toy Review that have been 'running on autopilot' the past few days)...I called home, and my son tells me that it's a fantastic movie...."especially the second time"!! GGrrr....I'm planning to see it tonight after I check into the hotel in San Diego. I also hear it's broken a bunch of records

Here's another travel tip: can you tell me why I can fly all the way from Japan with 2 bags and a tall box, but I can't fly between two airports IN THE SAME STATE without being charged extra? And every airline is different, so if you're planning a trip, it might be a good idea to check and see what the rules are ahead of time....otherwise, you'll get charged extra for the extra bag. (And here I thought I was being smart with my suitcase-in-a-suitcase trick.) I can only imagine what Jimmy Mac is going through, since he has two connecting flights!

July 22nd - 5:50pm
There's no rest for the weary! Even after a week of field reports, interviews, and updates, there's still a lot of work to! We can't just sit around and lounge around, can we? Of course not! Our readers/listeners demand more! So, Jimmy Mac and I have been working hard here at the Narita airport in Japan, but we're not alone! StarWars.com's Bonnie Burton has joined us and she's hard at work right alongside us! Ah, the glamorous life of the internet media! (Not to worry, Bonnie...I won't mention anything about that thing you didn't tell me about! ;) Who needs anthromorphic aliens, anyway?)


July 22nd - 10:45am
Time to head to the airport for the long flight back to the US and get ready for San Diego Comic Con! More to come...

July 22nd - 7:43am
I haven't been able to really sleep much on my visit to Japan, which has left me completely drained. 4:00-4:30am seems to be the magic hour to wake up for some reason! No matter what time I fall asleep over here, I still wake up at that time. Yesterday was a tough day, because in addition to the lack of sleep, I didn't eat much. I'm a little tired of sushi, so I understand why there are McDonald's and Big Boy restaurants here...just to give visitors a change of pace.

Well, I've got some more stories to get out before I leave, and i have to start packing up for the long flight back home. But first, I wanted to say thanks to Rebelscum reader Dale, who suggested I try out some Mitsuya Cider...which I REALLY like and I have bought a few times from the vending machines here. (It's not the ONLY beverage I bought from said machines, but that's another story...) Thanks Dale for the suggestion!