The Missing Links Found at Go! Daiko-Con!

The Missing Links Found a Go! Daiko-Con!

Last year when I went to Go! Daiko-Con my friend John Tenney, a paranormal researcher, surprised me by a visit at the con. This year, sad to say, John was out of state for a paranormal convention. I know he would have loved to see all the Missing Links running around not just because he enjoys a paranormal pun, but he also used to own a Japanese Toy store named, Neo-Tokyo and The Oversized Monster Cafe not too far from there.

Christopher Ayres and Axel Kosta pose for the paparazzi…

This year, in addition to Greg Ayres doing panels and DJing the dance, his brother Christopher also came and did his panels on martial artistry for stage and screen.

Greg Ayres and Tia Ballard in their It Gets Better panel

On Sunday afternoon I attended the It Gets Better panel with Greg Ayres and Tia Ballard in which they discussed the anti-bullying initiative. It is a pretty straight forward concept that nobody deserves to be bullied. It is primarily for teens but applicable to anyone. They encouraged those being bullied to get help from those around them. For those bullying the admonishment was, of course, to stop and be a protector and encourager instead. For those on the sidelines they encouraged them to get involved. In spite of the serious nature of the panel it was very open to audience interaction and humor. Tia had a box for folks to put in prayer requests. Though I didn’t take the time to fill out one of her notes I did drop in my business card as prayer sounded good to me!

Christopher Ayres catches one of Ian Sinclair’s bubbles in his mouth during the closing ceremony

During the closing ceremony, each of the guests was given a moment to speak to the audience. While Christoper spoke, Ian was blowing bubbles and Christopher caught one in his mouth.

Bubbles: Delicious and nutritious! (r maybe not!)

Bubbles: Delicious and nutritious! (or maybe not!)

The combination of soap bubble and Ian Sinclair breath apparently didn’t appeal to Chris as his first was his last. I would have warned him against eating them but he looked so excited that I didn’t want to burst his bubble!

The Lone Gunman sends a nerf bullet speeding towards the chief of security

Throughout the weekend the diligent security team kept things peaceful but during the closing ceremony the security crew mutinied and shot nerf bullets at staff, celebrities, and in the end, hurtling towards the back of the unwary security chief!

Once again Go! Daiko-Con was a great anime weekend and good to the last *POP* (of the nerf guns!) and things were still happing after I left af 5 p.m.

For more fun photos from Go! Daiko-Con 2012 check out The Weird Review Photo Albums and if you enjoyed the dance Saturday night, check out this bit of dance video from the Saturday night dance, or crank it up and join the dance!