I Was There in Spirit ... So Where's My Cut of the Money?

Yours truly with Otius Gojius and ... uh, that's all. Why, does it look like there's someone else in this picture?

So this is funny. I recently discovered that a photo taken on my camera and shared on this blog was offered to purchasers of a Japanese guest's autograph at a convention (emphasis on "con") over the weekend.

The only problem? Permission was neither sought nor granted for the use of my photograph. In fact, I was poorly photoshopped out of my own picture (movie posters were cheaply inserted over my likeness), though you can still see a bit of me in the pic standing next to the guest. The picture at the top of this blog post gives you an idea of what it looked like.

It was so shoddy that when I first saw it, I figured it was something a fan made for himself right before he walked out the door. (Oh, if only...)

Interestingly enough, a similar situation arose last year with this same con promoter, as his website (surprise, surprise!) reproduced a snapshot I took one of his convention guests in order to advertise his appearance there, and of course no one from that group thought it might be appropriate to seek permission first.

You know, folks, it takes more than a collared shirt and long pants to give you class.

The fans who paid to meet the convention guest in question sure deserved a lot better than what they got. I'm not sure if this was some misguided attempt to settle some imaginary old score; if so, the only ones who suffered were the show's customers. Meanwhile, I'm just thankful to be thousands of miles away from this kind of nonsense. I mean, this is the type of childishness I expect from Minya's Place!