The low track records continue with my first ever NYC day of 2016. Joresky's main reason for going was the Full House cast members in the city. For me, there were several reasons. One was the Full House cast members, and other reasons included Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman virgilization, and several "easy" shows that I have to catch up on. I arrived with and we parked at our usual place to get free parking. We waited in the car till we were in the clear, unfortunately during that time we dosed off and woke up with a parking ticket. Right there and then the day started off badly. We then go to our first spot with Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie in Full House) and Ginnifer Goodwin (who I had). Ginnifer did nothing but to my shock Jodie stopped and did combos. Even though the security guard tried to say only one I got two 8x10s signed plus the photo op. Went to the next spot for Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman but unfortunately they were there the day before although as I would later find out Taron was not friendly at all so even then I may not have had him. Waited for Candace Cameron to come out and sign my Full House photos but she did nada. I did however get an upgrade photo op with Whoopi Goldberg. Waited a bit more for Raven to come out but never saw her. It was then off to the next spot. We missed Graham Nash by about 20 minutes but no one actually recognized him to stop him. While we wait for him to leave I get photo ops with Wyatt Cenac and Ben Rappaport. Graham Nash then comes out but sadly despite my best begging and pleading for a photo op he tells me "sorry I can't". I then go after his car and he does a roll down where he signs a few but not for me. Now it's time for the Full House people. Creator Jeff Franklin arrives. Joresky asks for a photo he poses not realizing Joresky wants a photo WITH. He then does photo ops and I get one as well. Jodie Sweetin, Andrea Barber, and Candace Cameron all do nothing for no one.
At this spot we are also joined by markedout's Woodmo, his buddy Tony, and Tony's girl. And I also get a Penn Badgley photo op. On exits it was even worse. They closed the garage and none of the girls did anything for anyone leaving. Joresky then decides he wants to go to the Ryuichi Sakamoto CD signing which was a few blocks away. Sakamoto was also a member of the Japanese group Yellow Magic Orchestra. Joresky bought the CD and got the combo and I mooched a free photo op.
Next up we head to a spot for Forest Whitaker. We were hoping for some random celebrities but there were almost none. Angela Bassett and Gretchen Mol were there. I had Gretchen but sadly missed Angela. We waited more and more for Forest but never saw him and we heard conflicting stories on whether or not he was even in the building anymore. At this point we gave up and went to a very easy spot. Not getting Forest after all that time waiting in the cold was quite the punch in the face. On to the easy spot, first up was Joshua Jackson and got the photo op. After a while both Mahershala Ali and Tessa Thompson came out at once. We got photo ops with both then I had to chase down Mahershala for the autograph he goes "I'm in a hurry I have to go, I'll do one" then he signed one for me. Truly a sad state of affairs when you have to stress and struggle for one combo from someone named Mahershala After some dollar pizza slices, this ended the trek. Jodie Sweetin Whoopi Goldberg Full list of photo ops Signed 8x10s
Overall my track record has not been the greatest as of late. Perhaps it is due to the combo Gods telling me to stop. Let us recap. There was an event with Neve Campbell, Kevin Spacey, and others. My goal was autographs with Neve and Kevin and photo ops with the rest. I arrive at the spot and see several graphers waiting including some Masters. Turns out I arrived late but nobody got anyone so I missed nothing. The only hope was getting people on exits. We all wait on the side of the building we think people are coming out from. Eventually we see Elizabeth Marvel and I get a photo op. Paul Sparks is also nice as can be. One grapher who is essentially a minion of a Master that wasn't present told me he's going around the building to see if Kevin Spacey might sneak out. A short time later he came back with an autograph! Apparently he saw a car, waited, and 30 seconds later Kevin came out! I named all the Masters present and told him "they didn't get Kevin and you did" to which he responded "yea that almost never happens". Jayne Atkinson and Nathan Darrow come out but do nothing for no one! WTF? Jayne was actually a name I wanted because she was in Free Willy and Blank Check. When Jayne exited security was blocking and then went on a curse fest with a Master. The guard goes "you ain't gonna do anything" and the Master answers "neither will you you will get arrested" Neve Campbell comes out and is nice as can be. Wow never realized she was so nice. I managed to get autos. Michael Kelly comes out and I get one invalid photo op and one blurry photo op. But thankfully I already had a great shot with him from 2015 so I don't even count this one as a failure. On the way back home I get a text asking me about Spacey and I told him who the one person who got him was and how the others didn't get him and he responded saying "every dog has his day". Full list of photo ops Neve Campbell autographs A day later I decide to try for astronaut and moon walker Gene Cernan. I already got a photo op with him 5 years ago but his autograph is a lot of fuck money so I thought why not. I arrive at the spot and a few Masters are waiting for him. Finally he arrives but does nothing. One of the event handlers tells us to calm down and be patient. He will take our stuff and get it done. So we all gave him our stuff. He goes inside but comes back out saying he didn't do it. Gene starts speaking and I mooch inside the event and mooched some oh so delicious horderves. The desert especially was pretty divine. After he was done speaking he exited and so did I. But sadly still nothing for no one and his entourage even went so far as to get touchy and one other grapher cursed him out and yelled. One woman asked if she could have my card she'll give me something in the mail. I said I didn't have a card. A Master actually once told me it does no good to give them your info because they will never accommodate you, which honestly makes sense because if they can't spend 5 seconds signing an autograph why should they spend 5 minutes sending something in the mail? Defeated I try to salvage my evening and go to a Tina Fey spot. I already had her so it was primarily an autograph mission. I scout the area and notice some secret service cars. One grapher predicts it's for John Kerry. Turns out he was right. But since I had nothing for him to sign and have the photo op I didn't bother to run up and tackle secret service. Shortly after that grapher left. Then I go to the side I think Tina Fey is coming out of. Not a minute later I see a group of people exiting and Tina is with a handler. I try to ask her but I'm ignored. I try to follow and a secret service agent says "she doesn't want" and tries to physically stop me. However, being on a public street and Tina Fey being an actress not a politician his authority was 110% invalid and non-existent. Under no stretch of any imagination did he have any right to do or say anything. So I simply ignored him, stepped out of the sidewalk and into the street, and dashed towards her vehicle. I get to her and asked her for an autograph and she told her handler "I got this" and at this point a Master Pap popped up and begin filming her and asking a question. After this was over the Pap goes "they're celebrities it's their job, you're secret service what's it of your concern" he goes "I know just give them some space be a decent person". I then tell the guy "you're secret service she is an actress you are not paid to protect her" Overall a waste of an evening, but thanks to ignoring secret service I managed to get something over nothing, namely a signed Mickey Mouse headed Tina Fey photo.
Kate Hudson is someone who is pretty much impossible on the street, at least photo op wise. When I saw her in the past she signed but I stupidly tried for the photo op and failed. So when she was announced for a Bookends signing with photo ops guaranteed to happen, this was something I could not pass up. So I headed there with and markedout's MrTonyRuben. As I arrived I said hello to everybody I knew. It was awesome seeing everyone as always. It should be noted that this signing probably had the greatest number of NYC Masters I've ever seen in a single organized setting. This is further illustration on how impossible Kate Hudson is on the street. Also we were apparently early enough to wait inside which was nice. When I got up to Kate Hudson she wasn't very talkative to me but did the combo no issue. After the signing I decided to wait in order to try for extras. I had low expectations and sure enough she did nothing for no one. But one has to try. Hopefully guaranteed photo ops become a trend for book signings as I would attend more of them. On another note I was reminded why I don't hunt too much in the winter. It wasn't that cold and I wasn't out that long and my toes felt like they were frozen in ice even after I drove off. Photo op Autograph
The next day I decided to try for New Kids on the Block member Danny Wood. Not a huge name but a name I would most likely get and would not have to wait outside for. Plus I remember the song Step by Step from way back. I arrived and successfully mooch my way inside. I caught the tail end of the show. Each time he would say he was wrapping up, the crowd would boo, then he would go on, the crowd would cheer, and I would think "dammit". This happened a few times before he actually wrapped up for real. He then went back stage and the unique thing about this venue is you could watch the back door from within. No doors or curtains blocking view. I kept on waiting and eventually they told me they're getting ready to close up. So I moved away from that area but could still get somewhat of a view. I saw a merch area setup with the opening act. The name written was "Todd Carey". I googled him and saw that he was actually valid. So I asked for a selfie and he was more than happy to oblige. Then I saw a bunch of people leave through the back, I quickly run outside and around and I see him loading stuff up in the car. Meanwhile a bunch of fan girls are driving around and see him. They hesitate whether to go out of the car. I ask for a selfie and he agrees and when they see that they go out of the car and take photos with him. When they are all done I ask him to sign my photos and he does so no issue. This marks my second New Kids on the Block member since I already got Donnie Wahlberg. Danny Wood Todd Carey Autographs
Stonecold Steve Austin was doing a signing in Harrisburg. While I don't normally go for repeat wrestling names, I thought a name like that was worth Virgilizing. Plus I don't have an ideal photo op with him. I have one over the table that is not good quality, and one good quality standing shot where he is wearing shades. So a possible photo op upgrade was another reason to go. With the flight in hand, I chose to try at the airport since I had a better shot at multiples. Though I told my travelling buddies to keep the signing the next day as backup just in case. Of course the whole thing was not without snow issues. Due to this his arrival time was delayed from 5pm to 11pm. So I pick up my friend Don then go to markedout.com's adelta and it was off to Harrisburg. While it snowed on the way, it was nothing bad. And the highways were fine. We stopped at a Chinese buffet close to the airport and hung out there for a couple of hours. That was pretty fulfilling. We then go to the airport. I come across who was shocked to see me. I shook his hand, BS'd with him, and we buried the hatchet thus ending our long running feud. He also tipped me that two names, actor R Lee Ermey from Full Metal Jacket and former TNA wrestler and Eric Bischoff's son Garett Bischoff were both at the show. WTF? Neither one were on the guest list when I checked it before leaving. And in the case of Garett he wasn't even an official guest but he was manning his own table about some kind of gun course that he teaches. Additionally R Lee was someone I had missed last year. He was supposed to do an event with Dolph Lundgren and I was going to push away my plans for that event. But when Dolph cancelled I felt the event wasn't worth moving mountains for anymore. So this way my chance to make this up. Especially since he is up there in age. So thanks to I now had that chance! And Garett would be a nice bonus. To Danny: Thank you for the tips! I also saw former markedout member CHRIS COLLECTOR who was awesome to see again! Austin arrived and was mobbed, but he was VERY accommodating and did multi combos with everybody. Wow just wow! Here you have WWE stars of today that are barely mid carders who are dicks and sign initials when they do sign, yet you have one of the biggest wrestling names who is retired going out of his way for fans and giving nice detailed big autographs! This is truly incredible. I got signed two magazine covers, one incredible WM13 blood photo in a magazine, his entry on the WWE_E V2, and a trading card. PLUS I managed to get a standing no shades shot Sadly there is a slight smudge on the "S" on the WWE_E V2 autograph but it's nothing bad or intrusive. After this it was about midnight, and despite disgruntled travelling buddies I decided to invoke my backup day and stay for the show (one of the perks of owning the car and being the driver, you can make choices like that). We get a room for the evening and ready for the Great Outdoors Show. Before doing so we check a spot where Stonecold was staying. While waiting in there we definitely saw people from show but didn't know who they were. Adelta spotted UFC fighter Matt Hughes. We got photo ops and he was as nice as can be. He asked who we were waiting for and adelta told him Stonecold and he asked "oh is he staying here" and we confirmed it for him. HCIT. More time passed and at that point we decided to head up to the show. We park and find the NRA booth for R Lee Ermey and get a spot in line. While waiting I suggest to adelta to go get Garett. He objected to the idea but I told him our spot could be held and Garett is at his table R Lee is not. One thing for certain I have MUCH more experience juggling multiple people at cons than adelta. So we both went to Garett's table. He was conversing with someone about his program and when he was done we asked him for photo ops which he was more than happy to do. I then asked him to sign his business card which he did no issue, even rubbing it on his pants to remove gloss before signing it in gold. The other guy manning the table with Garett looked at us like we were crazy. We go back to the R Lee line, reclaim our spots, and are joined by
R Lee finally arrives and the line is sllooowww due to life stories being told
Finally we get up to him and he is super nice, conversing, signing, and taking standing photo ops. How I wish all celebrities could be that nice and accommodating. And for those wondering no I didn't tell him my life story. With all our meets out of the way I visited the Stonecold line where I said hi to everybody I knew. The highlight was of course meeting Mama We left the show then stopped by Burger King to eat then were on our way. Overall it was a good, fruitful, and relatively stress free time of indoor combos. Stonecold Steve Austin Matt Hughes Garett Bischoff R Lee Ermey
First I decide to get band members of Blue Oyster Cult. Two members are significant namely guitarist Buck Dharma and lead signer Eric Bloom. The rest fall into the "barely valid" category. Since it is cold outside I try to time it to arrive when it's close to over. Factoring in the start time, opening band, and the main show, I arrive and it looks like it is JUST beginning to let out. Wow I timed it almost right
I frantically park my car, as I arrive looks like the show JUST ended and the crowd cheered. I then mooch my way into the venue! As I wait around I ask if any band members came off the stage to sign but apparently not. Drummer Jules Radino is removing stuff from the stage and I get a photo op. Then I notice an area upstairs where people are waiting. I go upstairs and Buck Dharma is doing combos! I get a photo op and my items signed. Turns out I'm waiting just outside the dressing room, and little to no security! Wow just wow! Two other band members come out and I get photo ops. Now we're essentially waiting for Eric Bloom. This older blonde girl tells me "we look cute enough let's go inside" I say ok and go inside the dressing room. As she continues we see Buck Dharma waiting and I back out. As I go back to my original post one guy said "you chickened out?" and I say yes. I figure I better not strain things here because security is being so lax plus I already mooched my way this far as it is. Then the girl comes out. Eric Bloom then follows. I ask for a photo op he says to do it quick. As it flashes he goes "ahh fuck". I guess the flash was too much for him. Thankfully the photo op came out valid. He then signs my items. I wondered if he had vision problems because for one item first he signed half on the photo and half on the boarding. I then said "huh, no, here" pointing to a random spot on the photo. Thankfully I manage to erase the bad auto. Buck Dharma comes out to leave. The girl asks me to take her photo op with him which I do. She then says we need to exchange contact. As we go downstairs she gives me her email and phone number. She asks if I can walk her to her car which I accept. As we walk she mooches an American flag from a gas station. She was even parked in a private lot which was a towing risk. Damn this girl is bad ass. Walks in dressing rooms, mooches a flag, parks illegally. We took a selfie and she said to keep in touch. We then made out as she went in her car. On a separate note one guy had some kind of Rock and Roll "encyclopedia" type book he was getting the band on. While I did not check the exact era of this book I cannot imagine it was correct to get anyone besides the Eric and Buck on there. Also, this is probably the first time I go inside the venue and actually obtain combos from a band when a signing is not talking place. If I obtain music combos in side a venue either they are doing a signing or the whole band is barely valid. Full list of photo ops Autographs Next I decide to embark on a major and aging name: Mel Brooks. I essentially had three chances. Into the venue, out the venue, and at the airport the next day. I would be joined by
The first shot we had going into the event. We were 4 waiting. Then it was apparent that they were going to drop him in the side door. 1 left. We were 3. When he arrived the security guard didn't even let us close. We tried yelling out to Mel but he kept walking. After the fact some Masters called me asking what happened. I told them the situation and the general opinion was they won't mess with it because if he snuk in he will also sneak out. One Master would end up joining us though. He stated the same thing the others did, that the venue is hopeless. But the answer would be going to the next spot. I won't reveal how we found the details to the next spot, but there was one piece of info obtained that led us to the next spot, and that info was fished out all thanks to the Master. If not for him me and Joresky would never have obtained that little detail and hence would not have found the next spot. On exit, I saw from a distance Mel enter the car. Other graphers were yelling for him. Again security wouldn't allow us close. At this point it was off to the next spot! The next spot was one that I hate. Essentially there's a garage and a driveway. So best case scenario they go to the driveway and you're trespassing. Thankfully he didn't go to the garage. So we ask he and he says to do it quick. Jeremiah takes my photo op and Mel starts signing for the Master. This photo snapped by him was inversely proportional to the Christian Bale one he took in LA. Good thing I had the sense to check it because it is both blurry AND invalid! So I selfie and get my auto. During this a hotel employee is yelling telling us to leave the property I tell him "we will in a minute". Jeremiah gets his autograph and I take his picture. The Master gets 3 autos total (though 1 smudged and is garbage) As Mel was going inside the Master begged for the photo op and he did it.
Wow If not for the Master this night would have been a bust. Because it was thanks to him that we managed to fish out an important piece of info that would lead us to discover the next spot. The next day I had another chance at Mel Brooks at the airport. I figured why not try to virgilize. This time 2 Masters join. One of them said he hates airports because it is an "invasion of their privacy" as he puts it. He said if he were a celebrity he would never sign at airports. Despite that he has no issue being at the airport. Why? I guess obviously because results trumps personal ethics. As Mel Brooks arrives he signs for everyone and does photo ops. But then he cuts it and had enough. I managed to get 3 things done. I found the Spaceballs blu ray for $6 at Best Buy and some of the cards provided in the set made for some good items. As I was getting them he was even blaming me for stuff one of the others got saying "too much. Really I had to yell, NO THIS IS HIS THIS ONE IS MINE". Mel Brooks take 1 Mel Brooks take 2 Mel Brooks take 3
Autographs On a separate note, the girl I met in California got her first ever airport score, namely Mel Brooks! They grow up so fast....
and we parked at our usual place to get free parking. We waited in the car till we were in the clear, unfortunately during that time we dosed off and woke up with a parking ticket. Right there and then the day started off badly. 
although as I would later find out Taron was not friendly at all so even then I may not have had him. 
