Barack Obama described his first year in the Senate using the phrase 'like drinking from a fire hose'. That's Comic Con after sitting on the 5 freeway for six hours. We got to the convention center and wasted no time trying to find the Kevin Smith panel we were supposed to attend. We were told it was in one place and then told it was in another. Finally we found what we thought was the hall where the panel was. Our glide to the doors was intercepted by tall humorless guy (the one in black pictured below).

We explained to him that we were on the list. He explained to us that we needed to stand in the line.

"Everyone has to enter the hall from the outside where the line forms." He informed us. "Press, professionals, those on the list - it doesn't matter you still have to come in from the outside - that door right there where the line forms." We were being detained. Shamed. Put in our place. This went on for a good 10 minutes. Until finally he said,"Now if there *was* a line you'd have to go out there but since there isn't a line then you can just go in. But you always have to go outside in order to come inside."

It was like being at the DMV only with more pointless bureaucracy doled out by people proud of the fact they can recite the rules.

Then we actually got inside - the room was a third filled!

And it wasn't the Kevin Smith panel after all - it was Dark Castle's panel about their direct to video labels. Grr.