August 11, 2025 • 27 mins
Dragon Con spokesperson Charles McFall joins us to talk about the magical world that is Dragon Con.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The news, opinions, commentary, and interviews. You need to start
your day, and you're listening to the West Carrol Morning Show.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Monday morning, eleventh day of August. I'm Wes, Thanks for
joining me. Got a guest this morning talking with us
about Dragon Con coming up Labor Day weekend in downtown Atlanta.
He is the spokesperson for the convention this year, Charles McFall. Charles,
(00:33):
I guess we should start for those people who don't
really know what they would be getting into when they
attend Dragon Con. Maybe they don't really quite know what
the convention is. Tell us what is Dragon Con?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Absolutely, Wes. Everybody can hit you with the facts, right.
We got five host hotels across the four city square block.
It's five days of costuming and fun people and things
to do. But I gotta tell you, for me home,
it is what you make it. Do you like science,
We've got science for you. We've got space tracked, science tracked,
(01:07):
all kind of stuff. You've got your kids, you want
them to do some cool things. We have kid character meetups.
We have a whole kids track. I run a digital
media track myself because I was a lifelong podcaster and
digital media creator. And we have everything's a call withent
a con so you can find what you love at
dragon Con. You want to watch people, we got the
(01:27):
people for you to watch. Amazing costume designs and funting
and celebrities and bands. It is the thing you want
to make it and it is just it is the
highlight of my year every year.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I like that you mentioned kids because obviously some people say, well,
you know, I hear that this is a convention that
goes on all hours of the night. You know, there's
the ongoing joke where people say, well, what time does
it shut down every night, and he say, well, Monday.
It shuts down on Monday, like that's when it closes down.
And people think, well, you know, maybe after hours maybe
(02:02):
you know, isn't quite right for the kids. And it
obviously depends on where you are at the convention sort
of what your interests are. But there's a lot for
kids to do during the day, and I like to
mention to people. Gaming is a big component of dragon Con,
and that covers all ages. That covers you know, adults
that want to play games that they've been playing since
(02:23):
they were kids, and of course kids have their own
games and there's you know, lots of things for them
to do while they're.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
There, oh a thousand percent. And gaming is is let
call every clinic or every facial tissue cleenex. Right. We
have tabletop games, so you do all the role playing
you want to dabble. We get entry level tabletop games
all the way up to the complex stuff. We have
hard games where magic gathering tournaments are happening and those
(02:49):
kinds of things. Then you've got regular board games that
are we've grew up with and that are new. You
get video games ranging from the newest technology to classic
games like Monopoly and things that we grew up with.
I'm sorry, I played video I play Monopoly Go, so
I'm thinking video games there with. But it's We've got
every video game from the early Nintendo on up to
(03:10):
the current systems. We have VR systems, and we even
have simulators where you can go fly your own spaceship,
like Star Trek style kind of thing going on. And
I believe I might be a little mistaken on this,
but I believe we actually have some escape rooms this year.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Nice. That's another aspect of gaming that I hadn't even
really thought about, and I think a lot of people
you know. They they've grown to love these escape rooms.
So I'm sure a dragon, especially as a Dragon Con
themed escape room, that would be pretty surreal, I think,
you know.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
For the kids also, I'm talking as an adult all
these cool things and kids can do that as well
obviously and introduce them. I introduced my children to card
games and those kind of things at Sons myself, but
that whole kids track, and there's lego panels where they
actually build and play. There are creat there's so many
(04:06):
different kid creator panels where they can go make stuff
that they then take home with them. So it is
it is a very family friendly environment.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Speaking of things to take home, you mentioned the host hotels,
and this is a convention that is different than others
and that it takes place almost exclusively in the host hotels.
And then there's America's Mart. That's where the vendors are
ye and that's where there's lots of stuff you can
take home.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Oh yeah, yeah, it changes from year to year, but
there's at least three to four floors in the America's
Mart where you have the comic vendors, you have the
book vendors, you have the cool stuff vendors, you have
the fun collectible stuff vendors. You've got everything you can
think of and stuff that you will never thought of
(04:56):
that will blow your mind there.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
And when we talk about the host hotel, each hotel
sort of kind of has its own theme and has
some different aspect of the convention taking place there. And
when we talk about hotels, sure, you can go outside
and walk across the street to the next hotel or
the convenient hamster tunnels that connect all the hotels and
you never really even have to go outside.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Yeah, the habit trails, as they're called, is a connect
the most of the hotels together, specifically the Hills and
the Marriotte and the Hyatt, and then you actually have
to Struts Street, but you can go from the Courtland
parking deck across a trail straight across up to the
(05:43):
America's Mart building. Yeah, you can follow these trails that
are covered from the environment, so you're not going to
get rained on, and you can go through most of
the hotels without ever having to go outside.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Rained on or extra sweaty. You mentioned you mentioned parking
in that Let's talk about parking. That's always one of
those things when people come up for one day or
they're coming up for the whole weekend. People are looking
for those places to park have their car being a
safe spot for the weekend. And then folks that come
up maybe just for one single day, looking for the
(06:14):
best place to park so that they can maybe on
Saturday get to where the parade's going to get started
or whatever. So parking always a concern at the convention.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
It is, and our biggest piece of advice is to
go with commercially owned parking lots, so that is the
one they have the signs out that have been there
for a while, to have the machines that you pay,
so sometimes they'll bring the people out. We're not saying
don't pay the people, but they're definitely top up parking
lots that you have to be careful with. But in
our four block radius there are tons of great legitimate
(06:45):
parking deck and open parking lots that are there for
you that will still keep you close to the com.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Let's talk about the charity aspect of dragon Con. Every year,
dragon Con partners with a nonprofit and may a significant donation,
not just financially but also through volunteers and other other resources.
And each year it's always a different nonprofit. This year
it's the National Alliance and Mental Illness of Georgia.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, no ME Georgia is very important. Mental health is
such a key factor in our lives. I myself have
been a paramedic for almost thirty years and I see
the effect of mental health in the latter off, in
our society and in our people. So we're very happy
to partner with NOMI Georgia that provide trained volunteers and
(07:35):
leaders throughout Georgia, provide peer led education programs, support groups
and all kinds of materials and solutions at no cost
to participant. So no ME Georgia is really doing a
big job in Georgia at helping keep our mental health
up the stuff so we can be healthy human beings.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Working as an EMT, you know a lot about the
importance of blood drives and the fact that we're always
short and always dragon con the annual blood drive is
always a huge event.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yeah, lifestyleth has partnered with us for a very long time.
Last year we had four thousand donors, over ten thousand
units of blood components put together. And I will say,
not only is it a good cause, it takes very
little bit of your time to donate there and make
a difference in the world, because you're right, we're always
(08:29):
short on blood products in the medical world. You get
a very unique and collectible shirt for doing it. And
I find that not only do you get when I give,
I get that satisfaction of helping. I get something cool
to take away. And who doesn't like something cool.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Everybody likes something cool, especially if it's a free souvenir
for dragon Con that you can take home and go, hey, look,
I did something to help. And also, at least for
part of the day, you get to wear that thing
on your arm, and that's that's a nice little way
because if you give, you have that on and you
pass someone who also has one on, there's an acknowledgment
usually because people who are doing it know the importance
(09:07):
of doing it, and it's really nice to be able
to sort of have that moment as you're passing each
other somewhere at the convention.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
It's in the most air conditioned space that we have
and all the conventions. If you get hot and eat
a rest, give the blood at the same time, you'll
cool off and you'll feel better.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
And you know, we always talk about when we talk
about DragonCon the importance of hydrating when you're there at
the convention, so that will at least motivate you to
pre hydrate before you give blood and then remember to
follow up and hydrate after the fact, because there are
a lot of people that will, you know, just kind
of forget to drink, or forget to eat, and sadly
sometimes forget to shower. We always remind people that too,
(09:47):
you know, you got to stay all of those things.
But that's all motivation to give blood and reasons to
do all of those things.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It is indeed, it is. Indeed.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Let's talk about some of the fandoms represented this year,
and I know we hit on some of the things
that the convention is and sometimes these specific fandoms that
get represented are big draw every year. This year, obviously,
we've got an anniversary Back to the Future. Some of
the stars from Back to the Future will be there. Also,
(10:21):
nice representation for Star Wars this year. We haven't always
had that at Dragon Con, so that's really nice. Some
of the more recent projects, obviously Mandalorian and the latter
sequel trilogy starting to get some representation too. Star Trek
is always represented well. William Shatner will be back. Cast
(10:42):
from Bones will be there, the magicians, the Aero Verse,
x men, ninety seven voice actors. There's a lot to
see this year.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
You just said it all. I I mean, heck, what's
your favorite? What are you looking forward to most?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
You know, one of the things I enjoy the most
about Dragon Con other than you know, like you said, home,
being there with friends, meeting new people, people watching. But
I always enjoy the reaction that the voice actors get
when they meet fans. And I always always like and
I've had conversations you know, with Rob Paulson over the years,
(11:19):
and Bill Farmer and you know, some of the really
great voice actors, and you know, they had had Tom Kenny,
SpongeBob especially, we had a great conversation about this. And
it's for some people, it's tapping into a specific moment
in their life, whether it's from their childhood or it's
a connection that they have maybe with their kids, and
(11:42):
it's just really tapping into that. And I always equate
it to if you've ever seen those videos of like
a mother singing to a young baby and the baby
just cries, and there's just something in the soul that
gets connected by the song or by whatever it is,
they're hitting a very specific place I think inside for
someone and it gets that reaction from that baby. And
(12:05):
I think that also happens with voice actors. They're seeing
them in person for the first time maybe and they're
hearing that voice come out of a face that just
doesn't look like the right face, and they're just connecting
with some specific moment maybe in their in their life.
And it's always and the voice actors are I mean,
everyone does a great job I think for the most
(12:26):
part when when their fans come up, but there's just
something about the voice actors when they get that time
with a fan and they especially with kids, they really connect.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
It's magic. It really is. You see their face by
that and on both sides of it, like you said,
and it is just some magical moments that are very
natural and like you take the path, it's a little
off beat, right, It's not just the on screen TV actors,
it is the voice actors. And we absolutely have comic
book artists like Shandra Free who wrote The God Machine,
(12:58):
and we've got great are authors. You can meet your
favorite authors there like Jim Butcher and Bab Mgoo. We
have everybody that can have a fandom is represented, so
you will find your favorite person at dragon Con. Hey
get to meet them and get a picture. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
And sometimes, you know, we were talking about kids earlier.
Kids maybe they have an interest in comic books in
a way where they say, hey, I'd like to be
an illustrator or I'd like to you know, maybe one
day they're interested in arts and they want to write.
It's an opportunity to talk to some of these people
that have done this as a career and get that
advice and tips on ways that maybe they could make
(13:37):
this a legitimate career option for those kids.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
And most, in my experience, most artists, comic book artists,
painting artists, every artist that is there at Artists Salt.
They love to give you their time of day. They
love for you to come by and talk to them
and have especially kids ask questions about hey, how do
I get started doing this? It's again, it's an other
magical moment. They light up, they're educating, they're connecting, and
(14:03):
you see some really cool art and possibly buy some
cool things to take hold.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Let's talk about memberships. Dragon Con is a convention that
doesn't sell you a ticket they sell you a membership,
they want you to be part of it, kind of
help own the convention. This is a convention that is
about the members it's not about a big corporate thing,
and it's one of the other things that sort of
separates this from other conventions. So let's talk about memberships.
For twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
We have five day memberships available, so those are the
ones that will get you everything from Thursday to Monday.
You get in and out of all the events, all
the hotels, all the panels. It's for me, it's the
best thing for your buck. But we also do sell
single day ticket so you will need to check on
DragonCon dot org. You go to the store and check
(14:48):
and see. Of course, you can get some QR codes
on site. We don't sell them on site, but you
can get the QR code and go to the store
at any time. And we have eternal membership. This is
the one that you for a lifetime. You pay one
time and you come back to the rest of your life.
So there's all kinds of ways to access the amazingness
of dragontonk.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Charles, thank you so much for your time. Looking forward
to seeing you're soue my friend.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Thank you, ask. I appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
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hundred o dccolumbus dot com more West Carol Morning Show
right after the break. All right, so for decades there's
(18:51):
been a debate do you eat more protein or do
you eat more carbs? Well, a new social media trends
suggests something different. It's just eating more or fiber. They
call it fiber maxing, and as you'd expect, it involves
eating a maximum amount of fiber, and as you'd also expect,
it probably involves a lot more gas. The idea is
(19:14):
to incorporate as many fiber rich foods like fruits, veggies, beans, say,
there you go, and whole grains into meals as possible.
The good news is fiber supports gut health, hormones, blood sugar,
regular bowel movements. Bloating is something that can happen, which
of course eventually leads to the aforementioned farting. Everything can
(19:35):
balance out in the end as long as you drink
plenty of water. The trick is to go slow, build variety,
stay hydrated, and listen to your gut. And that can mean,
you know, listen to what your gut is telling you
on the inside. It can also reference the aforementioned farting.
A new ice cream flavor is making waves because it's
(19:58):
inspired by breast milk. No, it's not April Fools today,
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(20:18):
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limited run of breast Milk ice Cream currently available on
the Freedo website, where customers are encouraged to latch on fast.
(20:42):
It's a good slogan. I like it. I don't know
about the ice cream though. I don't know if this
is the kind of tapping into some nostalgia that we
really companies are going for. But maybe maybe this does
that very thing, take some back to the very very
early days. A new Harvard led study has found that
(21:04):
eating French fries regularly could significantly raise your risk of
developing type two diabetes. Specifically, just three extra servings a
week were linked to a twenty percent higher risk Interestingly,
other forms of potatoes like baked, boiled, or mash did
not show the same effect. The way that potatoes are
prepared seems to matter a lot, with frying adding unhealthy
(21:27):
fats and compounds that may contribute to the risk. So
there you go. New research from the Animal Kingdom is
providing an interesting look at the social lives of female gorillas,
and as it turns out, they're just like us, you know,
like celebrities gorillas. Scientists spend twenty years tracking gorilla groups
(21:49):
in Rwanda and found that just like female humans, they
form tight bonds with other girlfriends. Researchers surprised to see
that when a female gorilla moves into a new group,
she often seeks out another female she already knows, even
if they've been apart for years. This is nice that
familiarity helps them climb the social ladder in the new group,
(22:11):
and also suggests that gorillas form real, lifelong friendships. Scientists
say this behavior isn't just important for gorillas, it may
also shed light on how human social structures evolved. Shoppers
love big box stores because they have everything you need
under one roof, but also because they have very lenient
(22:31):
return policies which allow shoppers to rent in quotes instead
of buy. Technically it's not really allowed, but many people
have purchased price the items just to use them once
and return them with a fake story about it being
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become known as weekend rentals. Whether it's buying a TV
(22:51):
and returning it after a sporting event, or an air
conditioner that you return after the heat wave breaks, or
maybe something that you wear to a party and then
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especially with inflation squeezing household budgets. Employees at stores like
Costco say the most commonly returned items are seasonal and
(23:14):
very predictable items like snowblowers, air conditioners, holiday decorations, and
portable generators among the things commonly returned. And finally, you know,
I've been saying a decent amount about cats lately. It's
not that I don't like cats. I promise you I
like cats, just fine. I'm allergic to some cats, some
(23:37):
long haired cats. Maybe that's part of what maybe makes
it sound like I'm being overly negative. It's just you
can be both a dog and a cat person. All right,
that's what you can be. I'm at this phase in
my life. I am much more of a dog person,
but I got nothing against cats. And just to prove it,
I'm doing this cat story for you. A you gov
poll says twenty one percent of people say that they're
(23:59):
cat people, compared to forty nine percent who said that
they're dog people. This isn't a backwards way of me
slamming cat people, That's not it. Twenty six percent said
they have no preference between cats and dogs. So let's
go to this where a pole was done. Total Vets
did this and they ranked, according to research and polling information,
(24:22):
the best cities for cats cat owners. They factored in
things like cat adoptions, cat cafes, vets, and cat friendly rentals,
and they say the best cat city is Miami, Florida, Orlando,
tewond Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and then Atlanta at
(24:43):
number six, Denver, Minneapolis, Tampa, and Riverside, California rounding out
the top ten. The worst city for cats, by the way,
New York, followed by Memphis and New Orleans. That'll do
it for this Monday edition of the show, thanks to
our sponsors and Patronspatreon dot com, Lash West Carol, thank
you for listening. I'll catch you back here tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
This is the West Carrol Morning Show powered by Overhead
Door Company of Columbus, the Holiday Inn Resort in Panama City,
and CSU's Coca Cola Space Science Center.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Overhead Door Company of Columbus has all of your garage
door needs covered, residential and commercial service and repairs. If
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repairs or service covered as well. Seven oh six three
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five eight forty five hundred. Seven oh six three five
eight forty five hundred Odccolumbus dot com. Get ready for
dragon Con twenty twenty five Labor Day weekend downtown Atlanta
with the dragon Con pregame show coming August twenty third
and twenty fourth to a radio station near you if
(25:58):
you live in the state of Jora or one of
the states near enough to the State of Georgia to
pick up a radio signal coming from the network of
stations in the state of Georgia that'll be carrying the show,
and there are many in Alabama and Tennessee and the
Carolinas that'll have a chance to hear it, even down
into Florida, or simply listen to it on the dragon
(26:19):
Con Pregame Show podcast. Wherever you listen to your podcast, yes,
where you're listening to this podcast. You can also find
past editions of the dragon Con Pregame Show podcast with
interviews with William Shatner, other stars from Star Trek, The
Walking Dead, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many animated stars, some
(26:42):
of your favorite Disney stars chances to hear interviews with them,
and this year's dragon Con Pregame Show will drop to
the podcast on August twenty third, and you can hear
this year's interviews. It's sponsored by Columbus State University's Coca
Cola Space Science Center. Doctor Sean Cruisin and I often
(27:02):
like to discuss the science behind the science fiction and
the connections between where science fiction sometimes leads to science
science sometimes leads to science fiction. It's just a weird
connection that's already there. It's built into it. And I
say it's weird, but it's really not. It makes perfect sense.
The two go together very well. Learn more about the
(27:24):
Coca Cola Space Science Center at CCSSC dot org. Learn
more about this year's dragon Con the website, which is
DragonCon dot org
The news, opinions, commentary, and interviews. You need to start
your day, and you're listening to the West Carrol Morning Show.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Monday morning, eleventh day of August. I'm Wes, Thanks for
joining me. Got a guest this morning talking with us
about Dragon Con coming up Labor Day weekend in downtown Atlanta.
He is the spokesperson for the convention this year, Charles McFall. Charles,
(00:33):
I guess we should start for those people who don't
really know what they would be getting into when they
attend Dragon Con. Maybe they don't really quite know what
the convention is. Tell us what is Dragon Con?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Absolutely, Wes. Everybody can hit you with the facts, right.
We got five host hotels across the four city square block.
It's five days of costuming and fun people and things
to do. But I gotta tell you, for me home,
it is what you make it. Do you like science,
We've got science for you. We've got space tracked, science tracked,
(01:07):
all kind of stuff. You've got your kids, you want
them to do some cool things. We have kid character meetups.
We have a whole kids track. I run a digital
media track myself because I was a lifelong podcaster and
digital media creator. And we have everything's a call withent
a con so you can find what you love at
dragon Con. You want to watch people, we got the
(01:27):
people for you to watch. Amazing costume designs and funting
and celebrities and bands. It is the thing you want
to make it and it is just it is the
highlight of my year every year.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I like that you mentioned kids because obviously some people say, well,
you know, I hear that this is a convention that
goes on all hours of the night. You know, there's
the ongoing joke where people say, well, what time does
it shut down every night, and he say, well, Monday.
It shuts down on Monday, like that's when it closes down.
And people think, well, you know, maybe after hours maybe
(02:02):
you know, isn't quite right for the kids. And it
obviously depends on where you are at the convention sort
of what your interests are. But there's a lot for
kids to do during the day, and I like to
mention to people. Gaming is a big component of dragon Con,
and that covers all ages. That covers you know, adults
that want to play games that they've been playing since
(02:23):
they were kids, and of course kids have their own
games and there's you know, lots of things for them
to do while they're.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
There, oh a thousand percent. And gaming is is let
call every clinic or every facial tissue cleenex. Right. We
have tabletop games, so you do all the role playing
you want to dabble. We get entry level tabletop games
all the way up to the complex stuff. We have
hard games where magic gathering tournaments are happening and those
(02:49):
kinds of things. Then you've got regular board games that
are we've grew up with and that are new. You
get video games ranging from the newest technology to classic
games like Monopoly and things that we grew up with.
I'm sorry, I played video I play Monopoly Go, so
I'm thinking video games there with. But it's We've got
every video game from the early Nintendo on up to
(03:10):
the current systems. We have VR systems, and we even
have simulators where you can go fly your own spaceship,
like Star Trek style kind of thing going on. And
I believe I might be a little mistaken on this,
but I believe we actually have some escape rooms this year.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Nice. That's another aspect of gaming that I hadn't even
really thought about, and I think a lot of people
you know. They they've grown to love these escape rooms.
So I'm sure a dragon, especially as a Dragon Con
themed escape room, that would be pretty surreal, I think,
you know.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
For the kids also, I'm talking as an adult all
these cool things and kids can do that as well
obviously and introduce them. I introduced my children to card
games and those kind of things at Sons myself, but
that whole kids track, and there's lego panels where they
actually build and play. There are creat there's so many
(04:06):
different kid creator panels where they can go make stuff
that they then take home with them. So it is
it is a very family friendly environment.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Speaking of things to take home, you mentioned the host hotels,
and this is a convention that is different than others
and that it takes place almost exclusively in the host hotels.
And then there's America's Mart. That's where the vendors are
ye and that's where there's lots of stuff you can
take home.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Oh yeah, yeah, it changes from year to year, but
there's at least three to four floors in the America's
Mart where you have the comic vendors, you have the
book vendors, you have the cool stuff vendors, you have
the fun collectible stuff vendors. You've got everything you can
think of and stuff that you will never thought of
(04:56):
that will blow your mind there.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
And when we talk about the host hotel, each hotel
sort of kind of has its own theme and has
some different aspect of the convention taking place there. And
when we talk about hotels, sure, you can go outside
and walk across the street to the next hotel or
the convenient hamster tunnels that connect all the hotels and
you never really even have to go outside.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Yeah, the habit trails, as they're called, is a connect
the most of the hotels together, specifically the Hills and
the Marriotte and the Hyatt, and then you actually have
to Struts Street, but you can go from the Courtland
parking deck across a trail straight across up to the
(05:43):
America's Mart building. Yeah, you can follow these trails that
are covered from the environment, so you're not going to
get rained on, and you can go through most of
the hotels without ever having to go outside.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Rained on or extra sweaty. You mentioned you mentioned parking
in that Let's talk about parking. That's always one of
those things when people come up for one day or
they're coming up for the whole weekend. People are looking
for those places to park have their car being a
safe spot for the weekend. And then folks that come
up maybe just for one single day, looking for the
(06:14):
best place to park so that they can maybe on
Saturday get to where the parade's going to get started
or whatever. So parking always a concern at the convention.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
It is, and our biggest piece of advice is to
go with commercially owned parking lots, so that is the
one they have the signs out that have been there
for a while, to have the machines that you pay,
so sometimes they'll bring the people out. We're not saying
don't pay the people, but they're definitely top up parking
lots that you have to be careful with. But in
our four block radius there are tons of great legitimate
(06:45):
parking deck and open parking lots that are there for
you that will still keep you close to the com.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Let's talk about the charity aspect of dragon Con. Every year,
dragon Con partners with a nonprofit and may a significant donation,
not just financially but also through volunteers and other other resources.
And each year it's always a different nonprofit. This year
it's the National Alliance and Mental Illness of Georgia.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, no ME Georgia is very important. Mental health is
such a key factor in our lives. I myself have
been a paramedic for almost thirty years and I see
the effect of mental health in the latter off, in
our society and in our people. So we're very happy
to partner with NOMI Georgia that provide trained volunteers and
(07:35):
leaders throughout Georgia, provide peer led education programs, support groups
and all kinds of materials and solutions at no cost
to participant. So no ME Georgia is really doing a
big job in Georgia at helping keep our mental health
up the stuff so we can be healthy human beings.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Working as an EMT, you know a lot about the
importance of blood drives and the fact that we're always
short and always dragon con the annual blood drive is
always a huge event.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yeah, lifestyleth has partnered with us for a very long time.
Last year we had four thousand donors, over ten thousand
units of blood components put together. And I will say,
not only is it a good cause, it takes very
little bit of your time to donate there and make
a difference in the world, because you're right, we're always
(08:29):
short on blood products in the medical world. You get
a very unique and collectible shirt for doing it. And
I find that not only do you get when I give,
I get that satisfaction of helping. I get something cool
to take away. And who doesn't like something cool.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Everybody likes something cool, especially if it's a free souvenir
for dragon Con that you can take home and go, hey, look,
I did something to help. And also, at least for
part of the day, you get to wear that thing
on your arm, and that's that's a nice little way
because if you give, you have that on and you
pass someone who also has one on, there's an acknowledgment
usually because people who are doing it know the importance
(09:07):
of doing it, and it's really nice to be able
to sort of have that moment as you're passing each
other somewhere at the convention.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
It's in the most air conditioned space that we have
and all the conventions. If you get hot and eat
a rest, give the blood at the same time, you'll
cool off and you'll feel better.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
And you know, we always talk about when we talk
about DragonCon the importance of hydrating when you're there at
the convention, so that will at least motivate you to
pre hydrate before you give blood and then remember to
follow up and hydrate after the fact, because there are
a lot of people that will, you know, just kind
of forget to drink, or forget to eat, and sadly
sometimes forget to shower. We always remind people that too,
(09:47):
you know, you got to stay all of those things.
But that's all motivation to give blood and reasons to
do all of those things.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It is indeed, it is. Indeed.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Let's talk about some of the fandoms represented this year,
and I know we hit on some of the things
that the convention is and sometimes these specific fandoms that
get represented are big draw every year. This year, obviously,
we've got an anniversary Back to the Future. Some of
the stars from Back to the Future will be there. Also,
(10:21):
nice representation for Star Wars this year. We haven't always
had that at Dragon Con, so that's really nice. Some
of the more recent projects, obviously Mandalorian and the latter
sequel trilogy starting to get some representation too. Star Trek
is always represented well. William Shatner will be back. Cast
(10:42):
from Bones will be there, the magicians, the Aero Verse,
x men, ninety seven voice actors. There's a lot to
see this year.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
You just said it all. I I mean, heck, what's
your favorite? What are you looking forward to most?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
You know, one of the things I enjoy the most
about Dragon Con other than you know, like you said, home,
being there with friends, meeting new people, people watching. But
I always enjoy the reaction that the voice actors get
when they meet fans. And I always always like and
I've had conversations you know, with Rob Paulson over the years,
(11:19):
and Bill Farmer and you know, some of the really
great voice actors, and you know, they had had Tom Kenny,
SpongeBob especially, we had a great conversation about this. And
it's for some people, it's tapping into a specific moment
in their life, whether it's from their childhood or it's
a connection that they have maybe with their kids, and
(11:42):
it's just really tapping into that. And I always equate
it to if you've ever seen those videos of like
a mother singing to a young baby and the baby
just cries, and there's just something in the soul that
gets connected by the song or by whatever it is,
they're hitting a very specific place I think inside for
someone and it gets that reaction from that baby. And
(12:05):
I think that also happens with voice actors. They're seeing
them in person for the first time maybe and they're
hearing that voice come out of a face that just
doesn't look like the right face, and they're just connecting
with some specific moment maybe in their in their life.
And it's always and the voice actors are I mean,
everyone does a great job I think for the most
(12:26):
part when when their fans come up, but there's just
something about the voice actors when they get that time
with a fan and they especially with kids, they really connect.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
It's magic. It really is. You see their face by
that and on both sides of it, like you said,
and it is just some magical moments that are very
natural and like you take the path, it's a little
off beat, right, It's not just the on screen TV actors,
it is the voice actors. And we absolutely have comic
book artists like Shandra Free who wrote The God Machine,
(12:58):
and we've got great are authors. You can meet your
favorite authors there like Jim Butcher and Bab Mgoo. We
have everybody that can have a fandom is represented, so
you will find your favorite person at dragon Con. Hey
get to meet them and get a picture. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
And sometimes, you know, we were talking about kids earlier.
Kids maybe they have an interest in comic books in
a way where they say, hey, I'd like to be
an illustrator or I'd like to you know, maybe one
day they're interested in arts and they want to write.
It's an opportunity to talk to some of these people
that have done this as a career and get that
advice and tips on ways that maybe they could make
(13:37):
this a legitimate career option for those kids.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
And most, in my experience, most artists, comic book artists,
painting artists, every artist that is there at Artists Salt.
They love to give you their time of day. They
love for you to come by and talk to them
and have especially kids ask questions about hey, how do
I get started doing this? It's again, it's an other
magical moment. They light up, they're educating, they're connecting, and
(14:03):
you see some really cool art and possibly buy some
cool things to take hold.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Let's talk about memberships. Dragon Con is a convention that
doesn't sell you a ticket they sell you a membership,
they want you to be part of it, kind of
help own the convention. This is a convention that is
about the members it's not about a big corporate thing,
and it's one of the other things that sort of
separates this from other conventions. So let's talk about memberships.
For twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
We have five day memberships available, so those are the
ones that will get you everything from Thursday to Monday.
You get in and out of all the events, all
the hotels, all the panels. It's for me, it's the
best thing for your buck. But we also do sell
single day ticket so you will need to check on
DragonCon dot org. You go to the store and check
(14:48):
and see. Of course, you can get some QR codes
on site. We don't sell them on site, but you
can get the QR code and go to the store
at any time. And we have eternal membership. This is
the one that you for a lifetime. You pay one
time and you come back to the rest of your life.
So there's all kinds of ways to access the amazingness
of dragontonk.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Charles, thank you so much for your time. Looking forward
to seeing you're soue my friend.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Thank you, ask. I appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Today's show brought to you by Columbus State University's Coca
Cola Space Science Center inspiring and educating the youth and
future STEM leaders and STEM career holders that really of
all ages. I mean they do it for school age
kids as school age kids visit the Coca Cola Space
Science Center, but they also do it through their university
(15:36):
programs where you can learn engineering, astronomy, physics, and the
careers in space and STEM fields are booming right now,
and you can learn more about maybe getting your degree
on their website CCSSC dot org. While you're there, also
(15:56):
check out some of their upcoming programs. They've got this
incredible collaboration that they do with the schwob School of
Music from Columbus State University called Music under the Dome.
It's unlike any concert experience that you can get anywhere else.
It's one of those things that when you're watching it
in Columbus, Georgia, you think, is this really in Columbus, Georgia.
(16:17):
I mean, this is a major city attraction that happens
right here in Columbus inside the planetarium at the Coca
Cola Space Science Center and the new season of Music
under the Dome. Check out upcoming dates for the shows,
and also check out when the next Astronomy Night's coming up.
(16:37):
Where you can get outside. Sometimes you do it at
the Cocola Space Science Center. Sometimes you get outside somewhere
outside the city lights. You don't want any light interference,
and you can do that as well upcoming Astronomy Night events.
Also on their website, it's CCSSC dot org. As Sean
Crusan says, Charlie Charlie SamSam Charlie dot org, I just
(16:59):
remind you that it's stands for Coca Cola Space Science
Center CCSSC dot org. Today's show brought to you by
Overhead Door Company of Columbus. For all of your garage
door needs, commercial or residential. Maybe you have regular maintenance
that it's time for. It's always good to get maintenance
(17:19):
on anything that has parts that move and have electronics.
The folks at Overhead Door Company of Columbus can take
care of squaring that away for you, and while they're there,
you can always ask them questions about some of the
maybe cosmetic changes you'd like to make to your garage
door maybe your curb appeal isn't quite what you want
it to be, and you need some repair work done
(17:41):
to the outside door. Maybe you need a brand new
garage door completely. Maybe it's making a noise when your
garage door opens and closes. Maybe it's some sort of
installation issue that you've got. With colder or warmer weather,
sometimes that stuff gets in and it's inconvenient. Maybe you're
looking at a situation where you'd like to add a
screen door to your garage door system that you can
(18:03):
put down and you can use your garage space as
a sort of outdoor but indoor. You know, if you
like to work on your own cars in there, or
maybe you just want a little man cavid you'd like
to be able to open the door up and not
invite all the insects in. They can do that for
you as well, and again they do after hours calls.
There's nothing worse than that thought of having your car
(18:23):
trapped inside your garage and your garage door won't open
and you need somebody to come help, And they do
those as well. Seven oh six three five eight forty
five hundred seven oh six three five eight forty five
hundred o dccolumbus dot com more West Carol Morning Show
right after the break. All right, so for decades there's
(18:51):
been a debate do you eat more protein or do
you eat more carbs? Well, a new social media trends
suggests something different. It's just eating more or fiber. They
call it fiber maxing, and as you'd expect, it involves
eating a maximum amount of fiber, and as you'd also expect,
it probably involves a lot more gas. The idea is
(19:14):
to incorporate as many fiber rich foods like fruits, veggies, beans, say,
there you go, and whole grains into meals as possible.
The good news is fiber supports gut health, hormones, blood sugar,
regular bowel movements. Bloating is something that can happen, which
of course eventually leads to the aforementioned farting. Everything can
(19:35):
balance out in the end as long as you drink
plenty of water. The trick is to go slow, build variety,
stay hydrated, and listen to your gut. And that can mean,
you know, listen to what your gut is telling you
on the inside. It can also reference the aforementioned farting.
A new ice cream flavor is making waves because it's
(19:58):
inspired by breast milk. No, it's not April Fools today,
it's not April Fools related. It is breast milk ice cream.
The new flavor, created by Frieda and Oddfellows ice Cream Company,
doesn't actually contain breast milk, but it does mimic the
(20:18):
taste using ingredients such as milk, cream, sugar, and colostrum
from cows. The combination is designed to provide a sweet,
slightly salty, and smooth taste with hints of honey. A
limited run of breast Milk ice Cream currently available on
the Freedo website, where customers are encouraged to latch on fast.
(20:42):
It's a good slogan. I like it. I don't know
about the ice cream though. I don't know if this
is the kind of tapping into some nostalgia that we
really companies are going for. But maybe maybe this does
that very thing, take some back to the very very
early days. A new Harvard led study has found that
(21:04):
eating French fries regularly could significantly raise your risk of
developing type two diabetes. Specifically, just three extra servings a
week were linked to a twenty percent higher risk Interestingly,
other forms of potatoes like baked, boiled, or mash did
not show the same effect. The way that potatoes are
prepared seems to matter a lot, with frying adding unhealthy
(21:27):
fats and compounds that may contribute to the risk. So
there you go. New research from the Animal Kingdom is
providing an interesting look at the social lives of female gorillas,
and as it turns out, they're just like us, you know,
like celebrities gorillas. Scientists spend twenty years tracking gorilla groups
(21:49):
in Rwanda and found that just like female humans, they
form tight bonds with other girlfriends. Researchers surprised to see
that when a female gorilla moves into a new group,
she often seeks out another female she already knows, even
if they've been apart for years. This is nice that
familiarity helps them climb the social ladder in the new group,
(22:11):
and also suggests that gorillas form real, lifelong friendships. Scientists
say this behavior isn't just important for gorillas, it may
also shed light on how human social structures evolved. Shoppers
love big box stores because they have everything you need
under one roof, but also because they have very lenient
(22:31):
return policies which allow shoppers to rent in quotes instead
of buy. Technically it's not really allowed, but many people
have purchased price the items just to use them once
and return them with a fake story about it being
defective or that they didn't need it. This practice has
become known as weekend rentals. Whether it's buying a TV
(22:51):
and returning it after a sporting event, or an air
conditioner that you return after the heat wave breaks, or
maybe something that you wear to a party and then
return it. Retail experts say weekend rentals have become very common,
especially with inflation squeezing household budgets. Employees at stores like
Costco say the most commonly returned items are seasonal and
(23:14):
very predictable items like snowblowers, air conditioners, holiday decorations, and
portable generators among the things commonly returned. And finally, you know,
I've been saying a decent amount about cats lately. It's
not that I don't like cats. I promise you I
like cats, just fine. I'm allergic to some cats, some
(23:37):
long haired cats. Maybe that's part of what maybe makes
it sound like I'm being overly negative. It's just you
can be both a dog and a cat person. All right,
that's what you can be. I'm at this phase in
my life. I am much more of a dog person,
but I got nothing against cats. And just to prove it,
I'm doing this cat story for you. A you gov
poll says twenty one percent of people say that they're
(23:59):
cat people, compared to forty nine percent who said that
they're dog people. This isn't a backwards way of me
slamming cat people, That's not it. Twenty six percent said
they have no preference between cats and dogs. So let's
go to this where a pole was done. Total Vets
did this and they ranked, according to research and polling information,
(24:22):
the best cities for cats cat owners. They factored in
things like cat adoptions, cat cafes, vets, and cat friendly rentals,
and they say the best cat city is Miami, Florida, Orlando,
tewond Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and then Atlanta at
(24:43):
number six, Denver, Minneapolis, Tampa, and Riverside, California rounding out
the top ten. The worst city for cats, by the way,
New York, followed by Memphis and New Orleans. That'll do
it for this Monday edition of the show, thanks to
our sponsors and Patronspatreon dot com, Lash West Carol, thank
you for listening. I'll catch you back here tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
This is the West Carrol Morning Show powered by Overhead
Door Company of Columbus, the Holiday Inn Resort in Panama City,
and CSU's Coca Cola Space Science Center.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Overhead Door Company of Columbus has all of your garage
door needs covered, residential and commercial service and repairs. If
you need a new garage door, or you're just looking
to upgrade or repair your current door, Overhead Door Company
of Columbus has you covered. Plus they've got your emergency
repairs or service covered as well. Seven oh six three
(25:38):
five eight forty five hundred. Seven oh six three five
eight forty five hundred Odccolumbus dot com. Get ready for
dragon Con twenty twenty five Labor Day weekend downtown Atlanta
with the dragon Con pregame show coming August twenty third
and twenty fourth to a radio station near you if
(25:58):
you live in the state of Jora or one of
the states near enough to the State of Georgia to
pick up a radio signal coming from the network of
stations in the state of Georgia that'll be carrying the show,
and there are many in Alabama and Tennessee and the
Carolinas that'll have a chance to hear it, even down
into Florida, or simply listen to it on the dragon
(26:19):
Con Pregame Show podcast. Wherever you listen to your podcast, yes,
where you're listening to this podcast. You can also find
past editions of the dragon Con Pregame Show podcast with
interviews with William Shatner, other stars from Star Trek, The
Walking Dead, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many animated stars, some
(26:42):
of your favorite Disney stars chances to hear interviews with them,
and this year's dragon Con Pregame Show will drop to
the podcast on August twenty third, and you can hear
this year's interviews. It's sponsored by Columbus State University's Coca
Cola Space Science Center. Doctor Sean Cruisin and I often
(27:02):
like to discuss the science behind the science fiction and
the connections between where science fiction sometimes leads to science
science sometimes leads to science fiction. It's just a weird
connection that's already there. It's built into it. And I
say it's weird, but it's really not. It makes perfect sense.
The two go together very well. Learn more about the
(27:24):
Coca Cola Space Science Center at CCSSC dot org. Learn
more about this year's dragon Con the website, which is
DragonCon dot org
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