The unintentional sports report, and a political report

Sports and politics are two sectors I rarely engage in, yet my last two rounds involved both those (albeit the sports one being unintentional). 

First we have a cold day in January. There was an event with tons of celebrities, yet only a couple were known to the public. One of those was Beyonce. Even though I didn't think there was a high chance to successfully score her, I figured "gotta play to win" so I would try. 

So I waited in the car so as to keep as warm as possible, then when the time was right I began to freeze my ass off waiting along with other reporters and paparazzis. 

People go in. Kal Penn was an asshole. Then a car pulls up and who is there? Samuel L Jackson and Magic Johnson! 

I couldn't believe it! Sadly Samuel was an asshole and said "hell no" to a photo op and I could not get to Magic due to the crowd. I also see Janelle Monáe‎ one on one (by then everyone had left) but I had a photo op with her already. There were also other ways to enter the spot and as I found out later Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Beyonce, and many others showed up. 

So far all that time waiting in the cold was for nothing

I debated with myself, do I cut my pain and suffering short and go clubbing, or do I wait in the hopes that I can, at the very least get Magic Johnson and Samuel L Jackson. After much soul searching I decided to wait. 

Going out I first get a Rachel Ray photo op. James Taylor goes out but I already had him. Then Samuel and Magic go out. I try for Samuel first of course and he goes "ohh hell no". What a horrible feeling to have Mace Windu right by me, only a handful of people present, and by pure 110% chance no less (since no one knew he was coming), and yet not be able to get him  This marks my first A level failure for 2014. So now it's up to Magic Johnson to salvage the evening. While I am not a sports fan, he is a name I actually know who he is and is actually a want of mine. I ask him and he agrees to the photo op. Since he is tall I hand my camera to someone who COULD NOT FUCKING PRESS THE BUTTON TO TAKE THE SHOT

 I then follow him across the street and try to call for others to come with me but others are not as resilient as I am 

I beg him for the shot and take it, but it came out blurry  I then plead my case further he says last one till and I'm in the car! I took the shot and thanked him, and upon looking at the shot my reaction was this face  I got a good shot and my evening, while not what I would call extravagant was officially not a total waste (thanks to some begging and pleading of course)

Of course, if I had gotten a Samuel photo op that would have made it ultra worth it to freeze out in the cold. But sadly he decided to be a all the way through. 

Billie Jean King came out. I went up and asked for a photo op and she looked at me with silence for a second, her expression was kind of this face then she goes "oh you mean with me? Sure!" And I got a photo op. Looking at her bio on wikipedia that's a pretty huge score.

More people were expected to be out, but the fact that there were like three other ways for people to exit (one of which included driving out) and the fact that it was like 2 AM and freezing cold, I decided to call it a night. Making this report a major sports report, albeit unintentionally as I wasn't venturing to get them (but glad I did). 

Magic Johnson

Bille Jean King

Full list of photo ops 

Next round would take place the warm indoors and in my favorite setting, the airport. I had flights for two possible presidential candidates, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Rubio from all I heard is ultra nice and signs multiples. 

It was me and one other grapher. I made a pact with him that I would get my photo op first then he would ask for autos after which I would ask for autos. Ted exits, I ask for a photo op. He marks out over my camera and I get a photo op. When the other grapher asks for autos he declines. We of course follow him outside and he says "look I don't mind signing on the street but you guys are at the airport waiting, and you will sell them, etc etc". Both of us beg and plead our cases till he breaks down and says "I'll do one each" and we each score an auto. 

Next up is Rubio. Made the same pact with the grapher. While waiting Nancy Pelosi randomly comes out! And WTF, she is doing photo ops! All the times I've seen her it's pulling teeth to get her to sign anything and I've NEVER seen her do photo ops. So I approach and ask and she does it! I could not believe it! The shock wasn't even from scoring someone I really wanted a photo op with, but the fact that I scored that particular photo op. 

Moving on, Rubio comes out and I ask for a photo op which he happily does. When the grapher asks for autos he goes "sorry not today my hands are full and I'm busy". He did have luggage with him and his two kids, but dammit I wanted autos. He says to "come back Thursday" referring to his outgoing. This is the first time I've ever seen the target actually tell us when his next flight is. I followed outside to attempt for graphs but he politely declines saying he has an interview to get to. I stuck around till he entered the car with his kids but he had no change of heart. 

While autograph wise this round was sub par as I was expecting more from both, photo op wise I got all I aimed for and then some. 

Ted Cruz

Nancy Pelosi

Marco Rubio

Ted Cruz autograph

First round of 2014 meets

As the saying goes, you gotta play to win. And there were some good gambles on both Orlando Bloom and Cameron Diaz. I sadly did not play but those that did won. Orlando Bloom was particularly painful cause it was my info that I sent to those that did play. On one hand I was very happy to help out a friend/ally, but on the other hand it was painful not to get it myself. 

Bloom and Diaz would have been an extravagant way to start 2014. 

However, let us look at what I did manage to rake in. 

There was a screening with Vanessa Hudgens, the star of the high school musical movies and also in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island starring The Rock. I was going to try her at the event but last minute I found the flight. With only an hour till the flight landed, I RUSHED to the airport. 

I arrive and there were two paps and a grapher. YES! I made it! With about 10 minutes to spare. When she came through the gate she goes "oh damn" as she sees us. But she was cool though her handler was trying to rush her. He goes "we gotta get to the event" and one pap goes "she's not due till 2 hours there's time". 

She did a combo with me no problem. I got her on a magazine. Then as she walked to baggage and I managed to beg her to sign a Journey 2: The Mysterious Island poster.

I did think of going to the event to improve my photo op and get more autographs, but I figured I would save myself the time and effort and simply go home. 

Photo op

Autographs

Photo of her signing for me


Next up, Harry Belafonte was coming to town. I found a train for him and decided I wanted to improve my combo to correct my blunder from December 2013. 

So we arrive and I ask for a photo op and he poses! YES! Success. A grapher asked him for an auto and he says no autos. After he does another photo op I try for the auto and he gestures no with his finger. I thank him and that was it. Partial success as I improved the photo op and not the autograph, but it was the major part of it! So I was pleased. 

Photo op

Video of him rejecting the autograph


To further reinforce "you gotta play to win" I chose not to do his outgoing since he was so rejective of signing. But the other grapher did and apparently Harry hesitated but signed one 


Next up is something different from all the actors, singers, wrestlers, etc. 

Co founder of Apple and inventor of the first desktop computer, Steve Wozniak AKA The Woz! 

In terms of popularity, he is the third biggest name computer wise, the biggest being Bill Gates and the second being Steve Jobs. In terms of important though he is right up there with Bill Gates. 

I meet up with Joresky at the spot, which would mark my first combo hunting endeavor with Joresky in 2014. 

We arrive and security decides to be  saying we can't stand here and it's private property. 110% bullshit but since there wasn't a valid combo on the sidewalk we humor them and stand off the sidewalk into the edge of the street. He goes "if that's what you want to do". 

Shortly after more rent a cops show up. About 5 total. A few minutes later one guy tries to come up to us and tell us we can't stand there. I say "no I think we're staying here, you can call the cops if you want to". A few seconds later I move a few inches away next to a lamp post and I say "we're standing here, that's our final offer". He agrees to that. 

While waiting two old ladies offer us general seating tickets to the speech for FREE. I really needed a bathroom so if nothing more this was a ticket to piss and crap. 

We wait more and finally The Woz arrives. At that point we no longer complied with any rent a cop requests and simply went for what is legal. We walk (with Joresky training behind me) and one guy tried to stop me. His hands touched my coach and I give him a VERY firm but polite "DON'T TOUCH ME" complete with a hand gesture. And touch me he does not as I approach The Woz and ask for a photo op. He says it's ok and he poses for us. We tried to get autographs but he says "on the way out" and we say ok. 

After he was inside I chose not to curse out the security guard since 1) we still wanted autographs and 2) he didn't get grabby with me and did comply with my demand. 

Once inside I piss and crap and we listen to his speech. Towards the end we leave in order to complete our combos and make my time and effort a little more worthwhile. We wait but then Joresky has the brilliant idea to check the front. And how nice it was that it was all glass and we could see him attend a private reception and know exactly when to strike. Of course security guards watch us as we wait. 

He leaves out the front and we approach and his wife (I assume) goes "oh wow you guys waited all this time" he was nice as can be, signed my four photos and chatted with us a bit. 

All in all a great meet. 

Photo op

Autographs

Final rounds of 2013 meets

After the long and grueling weekend, I decided to take a nice long break from combo hunting. Of course Joresky kept on going. As a result of my desire to relax, I ended up paying the bitter price since he ended up with some A-list scores in Will Smith and John Goodman. But let us take a look at what I did get. 

About a week after my arctic like adventure, I decided to go for Rick Springfield. Even though I had a photo op, I figured I'd improve it and get some autographs. Even though it was cold the venue has a high success rate and I could wait in the relatively warm car while waiting for him to come out. 

So me and other guy get to the venue and the show is over. People are waiting. Rick shows up from the distance and fans scream for him in the freezing cold, some even tried to play the handicap card by showcasing people on a wheelchair. But he didn't come over and got in the vehicle. I was getting ready to rush to his hotel before he stopped his van and began to sign. So I rush out of the car. He is signing people's stuff with a pen! Goes to show you what amateurs most people are, not coming prepared with a sharpie 

Anyhow, so I hand him my two albums and a sharpie. What happens, he takes the albums but not the sharpie and signs one of my albums with a PEN  I scream and point to the sharpie, he takes my sharpie, resigns that album over the pen and signs my second album. 

While technically not a total bust as I got one properly signed album, I was expecting more success for this. I still had a third album completely unsigned plus I wanted an updated photo op. So I figured we would go to his hotel where there would be no crowd and no stress. 

He arrives, and we start with photo ops! He accepts to do them graciously. While posing with me he looks at my album noticing I have something. Then I hand him a gold marker and he signs on the perfect spot even inscribing "thanks". While it sucks one of my albums is basically ruined, the overall result is a success! 

photo op

Signed albums (bottom one signed twice)


About a week after that I decided to re try for Malcolm Jamal Warner AKA Theo from the Cosby Show. I had previously failed with Joresky, this time I was solo. And the weather was good so I thought it was a good chance for a second try. And I told myself that this try would be my last one for this endeavor of his. 

I arrive and scope out the situation. Turns out there is a Q&A with him and the other actors. So I mooch my way into the Q&A and take my seat This honestly helped me big time cause the guy blends in. I honestly don't think I would have recognized him walking around. The price is of course sitting through a long and boring Q&A that I had no interest in. 

After the Q&A I saw him doing combos, so I rushed there. They then said he couldn't take photo ops here due to the copyrighted scenes  No fucking fair he was doing them a second ago! I did get him to sign my two 8x10s and tried to plead more for photo ops to no avail. I asked him if he was going to be in the lobby he said no. So I exit the building in order to try my luck further. I had some autographs and I knew how he looked like, so it was now solely a "get  photo op" mission. I wait outside, I see other actors come out. Then for a second I look in the lobby and I see him  guess he lied to me. I go in and I get my photo op no issue. He then goes "thanks for coming" and I shake his hand. I then run to my car and drive away so as to be forgotten by the staff as I plan to return there in February. With this addition, the only photo op I am missing from the Cosby Show is Phylicia Rashad. 

Photo op

Signed photos


Fast forward and it was now time for WWE! I wanted to get some of the lower tier names I don't have. Namly

Eva Marie 
Rene Young
Jo Jo
El Torito 

Of course, I really wanted Brock, but I wasn't realistically expecting to see him. 

Of the people I did have, this is who I wanted autographs from

Great Khali
Aksana 
Daniel Bryan
AJ 

Plus I wanted a goat faced Daniel Bryan photo op and a modern day CM Punk photo op. 

Anything else I get would be a bonus. 

Unfortunately of all the names I mentioned, Jo Jo, El Torito, and AJ were not even in town. 

I start at the hotel. Me and one other friend go around another way and sneak into the hotel, bypassing the field of vision of any security. We had a perfect spot where we could see who was coming and get our combos, and still hide from security. I see Booker T, Jamie Nobel, and Finlay, but did not really need them so I didn't bother them. Then I see Great Khali by the elevator and get my photo op with him signed! First success. After this Summer Rae and Eva Marie show up! I really needed Eva but felt bad asking Eva for the photo op and not Summer lol. So I get a photo op with each and I had their autographs to the WWE_E V2 inside cover! Shortly after we see a man, woman, and two kids come inside, sporting WWE clothing and programs. THIS is where our cover is blown. Security sees them walking around then comes to us and kicks us out  We had pulled perfect stealth but it got ruined. Furthermore, the family didn't even get kicked out as they had room keys 

Outside it was pretty much dead. A crew bus came in and one guy named Kerwin Silfies is apparently some sort of director/producer for WWE since the first Wrestlemania. So I figured he's a valid combo, and asked for a photo op. He tells me to come over so I do. Then the security guard decides to be a  about it and stop me. I tell him that I was told to come over and Kerwin says it's ok but he would hear nothing of it and would put his hand in front of my camera. Kerwin then says, "let's go over there" and we talk to the sidewalk and I get the photo op. He then says "thanks for being a fan". After that the security guard gives me lip. I thought he was going to threaten to call the cops but he did not. So I just let it be. Few minutes later the security guard comes back again (note I hadn't tried anything since he gave me lip) and this time he does threaten to call the police on me. To which I reply "go ahead and call them". His reaction was a mixture of this face  and this face  As he has hand and bodily gestures and angrily walks back into the hotel, as if he's getting ready to call the cops.

I guess they always expect people to be afraid once the word "police" is mentioned. But this trick doesn't work with me. Though it was time for me to leave cause I needed to sleep and gear up for the morning I chose to stand my ground and stay put anyway. Minutes later the guy came out and still saw me standing there, but there would be no stand off. Shortly after that, realizing there were no more combos to be had and that no cops were actually coming, I decided to call it a night. 

The next morning I woke up in the car and for a second my head was confused as I didn't know where I was. Took me a few seconds to realize where I was and why I was here. I guess that's what happens when you don't get too much sleep. But this is where the major haul would be. 

On another note, to prove to most that I don't always save money, I chose garage parking for about $6 more than the outdoor parking. It was worth it to 1) be able to simply walk to the spot and 2) sleep in the car while it's somewhat indoors rather than completely out in the cold. 

As I arrived I found out I missed The Miz, Great Khali, and a couple of others. But no one I needed.

Photo op wise got a dual shot with Summer Rae and Eva Marie, got upgrades with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan from the Wyatts, among others. 

Sadly Daniel Bryan did not do photo ops but I got him to sign my No Way Out 8x12 (still needs AJ). 

Autograph wise I got Aksana to sign two photo ops. She goes "oh wow blonde hair" then upon the second one which is dark haired Askana she goes "ahh that's better". Personally I prefer her as a blonde, but that's just me. 

Brodus Clay, Alicia Fox, an Uso, Roman Reigns, and Brad Maddox are examples of people I just let go by as I didn't need at all. I told Alicia "have a good day" and she smiled back and said thanks. HCIT.

We also had a thuderbuddies  moment. Me and other graphers see a short White guy covered up in a hood. We all think it's CM Punk. I go to get him he goes "that's not me" and throws the pen down on the WWE_E, blemishing it (at least he didn't sign it). Turns out we all thought Justin Gabriel was CM Punk! Dammit! 

Now on to the real CM Punk, he is wearing is ear phones, walks like no one existed, ignored everybody and did nothing for no one! This really sucks as I did want a combo with him. 

Others who did nothing for no one were Seth Rollins and Wade Barrett. 

On the WWE_V2 I scored

Booker T
Darren Young
Dolph Ziggler (spirit squad entry)
Jack Swagger
Fandango (Johnny Curtis entry)
Mark Henry (he actually signed a couple but no one asked for photo ops)
R Truth
Rosa Mendes
Road Dogg (single entry)
Bella Twins 
Bray Wyatt‎ (Husky Harris Entry)
JBL (APA entry, wish I had the first WWE_E on me as I never got JBL on there)
Luke Harper (inside cover)
Erick Rowan (inside cover) 

Afterwards it was calm, there was barely anything going on. I still didn't see another want of mine that was in town, namely Rene Young. This upset me cause I did want more than one first time photo op out of this whole ordeal. And I was afraid she passed right by us. I was actually closely inspecting every young looking blonde to make sure it wasn't her. We wait and wait and I was getting uneasy, but then she and Dean Ambrose showed up! YES! I didn't need Dean on anything so I get a combo from Rene Young who was nice as can be. Had her sign the inside cover of the WWE_E V2. 

While I didn't need Dean Ambrose he was a total douche. One guy went up to him for an autograph, he signed the 8x10 on his head then put an X over it. How happy I am I got him when he was a total nobody and happy to be doing a photo op (at that same spot no less). Goes to show you that you never know.

While there were more people coming, no one else was worth sticking around for in my book. I happily left the spot and headed home. 

Full list of photo ops

Photos I got signed

Inside cover of the WWE_E V2

Look how much better GOLD sharpies look. On the upper right you see a silver Brad Maddox that you can barely see. On the right side in gold is Summer Rae and Eva Marie. On the left side are Rene Young, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan. Gold is officially the new sliver. 

A long and icy weekend

I tell myself, two days a year I suffer in the cold for combos, and these two days were sadly upon me.

However, before those two days would happen, I would start with some flights.

Day 1

This starts with a Jane Lynch flight that has nothing to do with the dreaded two days. Had it not been a flight I probably wouldn't have bothered with her. The main reason I wanted her was because of her role in Wreck It Ralph. 

So I arrive at the airport and the witching hour arrives. I ask for a photo op and she says "sure". Then another grapher asks for an autograph and she signs. She expects me to ask and has the sharpie ready, I present the photo she goes "I don't like that one" then I present her another one she goes "I'll sign this one". This is the photo she would not sign

A rare quick and easy success here! 

Jane Lynch

Day 2

This days was the warm up for the dreaded two days. It included some incomings for the event. 

Now I mapped up a plan for myself. Go to the airport get a Glenn Close autograph on a Cruella DeVille photo (already had a photo op), dash to the train station and get singer Harry Belafonte (daaayyy-oooo), then drive to another airport for actress Anna Kendrick. Then drive back to the first airport for any other flight I wanted to do. And by now I know with combo hunting you are always playing roulette, so I braced myself. 

After picking up my order of photos, I go to the airport. Looking at the list of flights I have I see that Brendon Urie is arriving a few minutes before Glenn Close. So I figure might as well get him. When he comes out he's as nice as can be, happily doing combos. 

Then it was time to wait for Glenn Close. Here is where a kink is thrown into my plans. She was taking her time coming out and I had to rush to Belafonte at the train station! Eventually she does come out and does one autograph per person. She said "no thank you" to any extras and to any photo ops. Not a huge deal as I already had a photo op. 

I then rush to the train station, hitting traffic and going past the speed limit. When I arrive I find out that his train came in 10 minutes early  Had it been on time odds are I would have been on time! But with Glenn being late and Harry being early, this did not work out as well as I had hoped. 

Moving on, it was off to Anna Kendrick. I drive there and arrive with a good 20 minutes to spare. She arrives and sees us then puts on her shades. She does combos with everyone and signs whatever. She was super duper nice! I wish I had more than just three photos for her. 

After this success there were two more flights I was interested in trying, namely Don Henley (original Eagles drummer) and Jazz musician Chick Corea. I had nothing for Chick so I whizzed by a record store and picked up some $1 to $3 vinyls. 

Now I was hesitant to do Don Henley since he's known to be a total asshole. But I was already there so it was tempting. However, turns out the flight was cancelled. So that was that. 

Then I tried for Chick Corea. I looked hard in order to spot him, but sadly to no avail. I don't know if he walked by me or didn't make that flight. But after wasting $5 on parking I decided to call it a night and rest up for the dreaded two days. 

Anna Kendrick

Brendon Urie

Autographs from first two days

Day 3

Day 3 which is day 1 of the two days of the year I dread most! 

I had three layers of socks on, three layers on pants, and the top was a sweat shirt, jacket, and coat. 

In a conversation I had with a long time grapher, he arrived at the spot saying " this is the day I dread for 365 days of the year". I told him that these are my sentiments as well, and the week before I was like "oh God it's next weekend". Then I said "yet we both keep coming here". His response was, and I quote, "it's part of the job" and I agreed. 

The guitarist Orianthi was one of the first I've seen. Going in she was rushed and I got a sub bar photo op, but I got a better photo op going out including two photos signed. 

Anna Kendrick also showed up but I virgilized her the day before. I did get her on a blank going out. 

Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys also did photo ops. Both were nice. 

Now here is where things got turbulent. I saw Florence Henderson who I got before but I had some items to get signed. Also opera singer Martina Arroyo who was on a wheelchair. I asked her for a photo op and she agreed. But wait, Shirley MacLaine‎ was also coming in! This was my top want for the whole weekend! So I had to ignore the others. I got her to sign then asked for a photo, she said yes but waved at the camera and that ruined the photo  Then I begged for another cause it didn't turn out, and she looked at the camera! Upon the second shot my reaction was this face  I COULDN'T BELIEVE I SCORED MY TOP WANT! 

To boot, I even scored yet another autograph! Besides me she only did one other photo op with an old lady, and that was the last photo op she did for the entire weekend! This was my major victory! From then on, everything was just gravy. 

Harry Belafonte showed and only did a few autographs, which I got one. Billy Joel I sadly failed to get even though he signed going in but did nothing going out. At least I already have my combo from him so while that sucked cause I had albums, it wasn't catastrophic. Carlos Santana also signed a few and I got him on an 8x10. 

Next up was Chick Corea, who did a photo op with me and signed two of my albums. On the way out I would get two more done! 

After Orianthi comes out I got a photo ops with Rufus Wainwright, Barabara Cook, Christoph Eschenbach, Marina Arroyo, Mix Master Mike again, Brendon Urie no hat, and Sheila E, among others. Glenn Close also doesn't do photo ops but signs, and I manager to get her on one.

Barabara Cook was actually someone I failed to get two years ago, so that was a nice conquest there. I actually begged for this one before her handler begrudgingly said "ok come on take it" as he rolled wheelchair seated Barabara Cook towards me. And Marina Arroyo was being rolled away on a wheel chair but after I called for her she goes "I promised this guy" and she was rolled to me so I got the shot. 

For Glenn Close I didn't think she'd sign here which is why I went to the airport the day before. Of course I regret that decision now. I did end up with two autographs from going twice but hindsight being 20/20 should have skipped that flight and gone to the train station. 

Besides that Herbie Hancock was cool and Buddy Guy not so much. But I didn't need either one as I had them. Don Henley the drummer of The Eagles didn't even look at anyone. 

Country singer Garth Brooks was awesome as can be. Did combos with everyone and didn't rush. I had a photo op so I didn't need that. But I got him on two photos. 

Some other non-celeb notes from this round. 

This event featured an appearance by the infamous . A grapher who has seen my explicit photos even asked me "who do you think is the bigger pervert, you or him". Of course he had to be home by 5pm so he had to leave the spot no later than 4pm. 

An old couple commended me on my begging abilities, since begging here got results more often than not.  

After this me and Joresky got some food at Pot Belly. Joresky wanted to get comedian Joe Torry, a total  name for me. But not like there was something else going on at that time. After his show he did combos with everyone who wanted. But I think me and Joresky were the only non  who were there. Joe Torry himself was more than happy to be doing combos. 

Then we try for Malcolm-Jamal Warner who played Theo in the Cosby Show. But he apparently left via another door. 

Later we try the hotel, where I managed to score a bit more. There was lots of chaos and I had misses, most notably Harry Belafonte, but I did score another Shirley MacLaine‎ autograph. I can't believe I didn't have more stuff cause she racked! Again hindsight is 20/20. Tony Bennett did a roll down and I gave him an 8x10 which he signed in blue sharpie on the darkest spot. And I also scored another Garth Brooks autograph. Not mega extravagant here, but fruitful nonetheless. 

After this it was time to get some VERY much needed shut eye. 

Day 3 photo ops part 1

Day 3 photo ops part 2

Shirley MacLaine photo op Take 2, with a partial photo bomb 

Day 4

Day 4 which is day 2 of the two days of the year I dread most! And this was one of the worst, and the weather was EXTRA bad, with snow and frozen rain. My feet were cold even with three layers of socks!

Photo of the weather

People all bundled up waiting for combos (with ninja suited Joresky giving a thumbs up)

The first score that day is Orianthi with no shades, who I also get on a blank. After a couple of more people trickle in Snoop Dog arrives. Now I'm normally not a fan of his type, but he's a good all around name. He's been in WWE on multiple occasions, he's been in movies, and he's even been in Epic Rap Battles of History, where he played Moses in Moses vs Santa Clause. Going in he signed a couple of autos, mine being one of them, but said he has no time for photo ops and that he'd take care of us on the way out. 

On the way out he made good on his promise. I was beginning to beg for that photo op and he told me to calm down cause he'll take care of me. Awesome! I was in! I got the shot and I also got another autograph to boot! This is now my second biggest score, after Shirley! 

Next up was Kathy Bates. She did nothing going in but going out she did combos with some and I got one! Tony Bennett does a couple of autographs, and I get one of them. Also got a photo op with Michael Bearden  among others. I also get Mix Master Mike on some blanks. And musician Steve Winwood did quick autographs going out but no photo ops. I got an autograph on an 8x10.

Now for red carpet. This is usually blown up but thanks to the ice cold weather, the crowd was very modest. Cal Ripken Jr. was the first to show up. I get him to sign a baseball (which I sold on site). But despite lots of begging and pleading I failed when it came to the photo op. This is a photo op I have been unable to get for the last few years. Kathy Bates shows up and signs for me. She remembered taking a photo op with me earlier but I explained that I wanted a no shades shot. She was hesitant but did it anyway! Linda Carter then shows up and I get an autograph. Don't need a photo op with her as I have that. 

One big failure included Billy Joel who only went over to the side I wasn't at 

Harry Belafonte does nothing for no one. He looked at the photo I had for him and goes "you have a sense of humor" (it was a photo of him with the Muppets). Carlos Santana does nothing for no one. 

Exiting is sadly a 50/50 crap shoot as there are two main doors they leave from. At the door I was at I saw Linda Carter. Got a photo op just because she was doing them. Then we hear that Billy Joel did autographs at the other exit! I guess virgilizing Billy Joel was just not in the cards for me. Since most of the action seems to be happening at that door, we head there. I get a Renne Fleming photo op, and she was nice as can be. Then I hear that Cal Ripken came out the other end. Oh shit, not another photo op failure in Cal! I run there in the hopes that he is still there, and he is standing, I ask for a photo op! SUCCESS! THE CAL CURSE IS BROKEN 

Back to where all the action is, this is where I made a stupid move and stepped away for a minute. During that time Harry Belafonte does combos. I return and he is leaving. I quickly manage to go up to him to ask for a photo op. He jokes with me and goes "does your mother know you're here". He takes the photo op even though someone is saying he has no time. I said "he said yes" and I took it. BUT WTF! FLASH IS OFF 

But wait, I quickly open the flash for a retake, which he does! Unfortunately he does seem to be looking slightly away, but I do think the photo op is passable. Even the no flash one you can still see who both people are. Still a big rookie blunder on my part. Could have had a perfect combo here, instead I got a less than ideal photo op. 

Some other notes, Carlos Santana still does nothing. Baryshnikov‎ signs but doesn't do photo ops. I try to call over Florence Henderson and she goes "one minute" but never reuturns. Also got a Kyle McLachlan photo op. 

I thought about doing hotels in the morning, but I was just waaayyyy too pooped. I decided to go home, where I slept for about 10 hours. 

Sunday photo ops

Kathy Bates

Snoop Dogg

Harry Belafonte

Cal Ripken Jr

Now to showcase autographs from two days in the cold:

Chick Corea signed albums

Orianthi and Harry Belafonte signed photos

Kathy Bates and Snoop Dogg signed photos

Shirley MacLaine‎ signed photos

Tony Bennett, Glenn Close, Carlos Santana, Linda Carter, Steven Winwood signed photos

Garth Brooks autographs (upper right one sold to markedout.com board member cubsfan)

Orianthi, Mix Master Mike, and Anna Kendrick signed blanks

All in all, while I was plagued with some bad luck and it wasn't without some screw ups, I would say the good outweighed the bad, and I was very successful, with my best photo op being Shirley MacLaine. Given her age how many more chances of that will we have? It sucked to be in the cold, especially the last day, but the cold was a blessing as it kept the crowd far away from the spot. Had the weather been good there is no way this would have been as successful.

Couple more music meets

First up I set up to meet country singer Alison Krauss. She is actually a  name for me but my main reason to meet her was because I was commissioned by someone to get her to sign his vinyl album. There were a couple of opportunities I chose the early morning one, mainly because it would be super cold that night. 

We were two waiting and we finally see her. She begrudgingly did one per. I asked for the photo op and she refused. Begging and pleading did no good. 

On my way home I let the person know mission accomplished. He was very happy and moments later the money was in my paypal account. 

While this mission was a failure photo op wise, it is a success cause my main goal was getting an autograph that someone was paying me to get. Still would have been nice to get a photo op out of it.

Alison Krauss signed vinyl


Next up is singer and former member of Destiny's Child Kelly Rowland. The main reason I wanted to get her was because she was in Freddy Vs Jason. I found a flight on her, and this is always my preferred method of meeting. 

Besides me there were also two paps. There was fear among the paps that she got on an earlier flight, but that was not the case. 

So the witching hour comes, she shows up wearing big ass shades. I figure that it's not perfect but it will do just fine. But as soon as she sees the cameras she covers her face with a scarf 

Of course that didn't stop me from asking for a photo op. When I did she goes "are you ready" I said I was and I got a photo op. Of course it was garbage. 

Minutes later I ask for an autograph and she does it despite her people saying "we don't have time". She wanted to give the pen back but I asked for another and she did that. 

While the pap was taking pictures I was following and one of her people was telling me "you got it already right" and I said I did but "he's my ride" which was my excuse for following. The real reason was to see if an opportunity for a better photo op or even another autograph would arise but no luck there. They then all left in their car. As that happened I was minutes away from a $10 parking fee, so I rushed to the payment machine as fast as I could and the fee was only $5. 

I left the airport really upset because my main goal was the photo op. It was really upsetting especially since my latest endeavors haven't been too successful photo op wise. 

Let's recap: 

Dave Davies: first photo op was no good, had to rush to his hotel for a second chance. Got a passable but less than ideal photo op. Had to beg and plead for it no less. 

Stephen Speilberg: Stood out in the cold for only one autograph despite begging/pleading failed to get a photo op

Alison Krauss: Similar situation as Speilberg. Though the photo op wasn't the main goal it's still a valid photo op failure. 

And now this! It seems as if photo ops are becoming harder and harder to obtain. And to reiterate that point I would have to go out of my way for a second chance at a Kelly Rowland photo op? Really? Really? 

Against my will I decided to try for her again to properly complete my combo, this time outside the venue. We were 15 people there. Besides myself there were only two other White guys and both were flaming gay. 

When the witching hour came there were like 3 guards in front of us! Only a couple of people got photo ops, and somehow I was one of the VERY lucky ones to score a photo op! It was chaotic and guards were being  about it! I couldn't believe I scored. As it turns out she made "vagina" lips in her pose with me. I wonder if she recognized me from earlier which might explain why I got that fantastic pose! And to boot, no shades, no scarf, no hat, nothing! The difference between the shots is night and day! 

So to add to that running list showcasing why photo ops are becoming harder to get:

Kelly Rowland: first photo op was no good, had to go out of my way for the second, got a great shot but only managed to get it through the skin of my teeth! 

Kelly Rowland take 1

Kelly Rowland take 2

Kelly Rowland autographs

On a side note, the photo of her signing for me at the airport made the daily mail in the UK! I PDF'd the news article for my archives. LINK