Nerding Out, A Photo Essay

The Great Annual Nerd Trek (aka Comic Con) brought many great fun and exciting adventures as it always does.  There's nothing like being amongst my brethren in gorgeous San Diego.  I wish I could share them all with you, but that would make for a long post.  And really, you guys don't want to read about 4 days worth of geeky pop culture goodness.  But I did have my camera phone at the ready to document some of it for you.

Here's the thing you need to know about the San Diego Comic Con:  It's crowded.  Like 126,000 people crammed into one building kind of crowded.  The walkways of the main floor are clogged with two kinds of people--those who are in costume and those who block up the passageways in order to take pictures of those in costume.  This causes the gridlock that can make walking the floor an exhausting experience.

Never wanting to contribute to the problem, I take my pictures on the fly.  So here's a small sampling of what I saw walking around the world's biggest pop culture convention while trying not to cause gridlock, along with some of my Tweets from the event:

I don't care if they were dressed provocatively, the group of goth clown girls were scary.

Oh THERE'S Waldo!

Girl dressed as Picachu your costume is downright adorable.

Overheard: "I got you a shirt, you won't let me get a sword?"  
 

Uh oh, Batman's in the bar.

Bite his shiny metal ass.

 The car from The Green Hornet

From the bar inside Flynn's Arcade

Storm Troopers ready to throw down.

Yes, this was as freaky as it looks.

Yes, this was as freaky as it looks.

WHAT TIME IS IT??

Don't know what Jack could have done to piss her off so much.

The Pope of Comic Con offer blessings of nerdy peace.

To the guy dressed as Birdman: I applaud your bravery for wearing such a revealing costume without having much to reveal.

 

It took until day 3 to see my first Na'vi.

 

If that wasn't Jamie from Mythbusters who just walked by me, that was a damn good costume.

2 hours on the Con floor is not easy on the body, mind or wallet.

For the record, I was not a part of the "stabbing" at Comic Con. I'm a passive geek.

Overheard going up the elevator: "Watch your cloak, Jasper." 

Well my fellow Con geeks, I must bid you farewell. So long and thanks for all the fish. Stay classy San Diego.


Want more of my Comic Con adventures?  Check out Culture Brats and see how I was transported to the 80s.

The Inevitable Avatar Post, Part 1: Expectations

Expectation plays a huge role in the movie going experience. Whether or not you think you’re going to like a movie has a direct impact on whether or not you actually do like a movie. It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised by a flick you thought was going to suck, but it’s awful to be disappointed by something that seemed like it was going to be great. But what creates these expectations?

Rabid fanboys feed on any scrap of information about an upcoming movie, then make a snap judgment about the movie and post it on the web. After a while, these separate decisions meld together to form one collective opinion, commonly referred to as “buzz.” Buzz is what sets expectations for a movie and, like it or not, it has become the lifeblood of the modern popcorn movie. Most of the time, buzz is built as a movie is being made, but sometimes buzz can be created through anticipation. In the 20 years between Star Wars movies, fans grew so itchy for new Star Wars that it didn’t matter if the new movies weren’t very good.

Once upon a time there was a filmmaker who beat bad buzz. It seems hard to imagine now, but James Cameron’s Titanic was purported to be a colossal flop. It was over budget and over schedule. But Cameron had the last laugh when the movie was seen by everyone who could take in oxygen and made just over a kabillion dollars.

It’s been a decade since James Cameron’s last movie. He’s been out of the limelight for so long that there is a generation of young movie fans who think that McG directed Terminator. But those of us fanboys who are old enough to know better have been eagerly anticipating his next move.

In the aftermath of Titanic, Cameron wanted to make this movie he’d written called Avatar, but technology wasn’t good enough for him to be able to pull it off. At this point most filmmakers would move on to something else, but Cameron, in his interminably stubborn way, said ‘screw it’ and set about inventing the technology he needed to make his movie.

Three years ago, it was announced that Avatar was finally going into production. The project was shrouded in secrecy. The only thing that was known was that it was destined to be spectacular. We were told it was going to change movies forever.

That last statement is a dangerous one. It set the bar for Avatar impossibly high from the very beginning.

Last summer at Comic Con—the current birthplace of movie buzz—Cameron unveiled 10 minutes of footage from the movie. Fans waited for 4 hours to get a glimpse of the “future of movies” (which is a long time for anyone to spend in stuffy convention hall squeezed into a Stormtrooper costume). The immediate reaction to what they saw was…”meh”. The bad buzz began to build.

James Cameron is nothing if not a master showman and he’s always said that Avatar is meant to be seen in as large a format as possible in 3D. So a few months ago, 15 minutes of the film where screened for audiences in Imax theaters around the country. Reactions were again mixed.

At this point, it’s unclear if Avatar is going to revolutionize movies, like Star Wars, Terminator 2 or The Matrix, or go down in history as another overpriced, bloated flop alongside Waterworld and Ishtar.

I say let the fanboys throw barbs behind the shield of anonymity that is the internet. Let them debate if the aliens in the movie look as if a Thundercat mated with a Smurf. I don’t care. I’m in. Bad buzz or not, you had me at “a film by James Cameron.” I’m trying not to create expectations for the movie because the only way I will know where it belongs in the annals of cinematic and pop culture history is by planting myself in front of an Imax screen, strapping on a pair of 3D glasses and experiencing it for myself.

After 11 years of buildup, Avatar opens in theaters this weekend. My ticket is bought and I am anxiously waiting for my chance to see it.

To be continued…

Table Scraps Volume #4: Comic Con

I was all set to blog about this year's trip to the San Diego Comic Con in the days that followed the event. But then I got the stomach flu and by the time I recovered, it felt like the time had passed to write about it. But isn't that what the feature known as Table Scraps is all about--me posting half-finished blog pieces about the recent past?

Arriving in San Diego was much easier than it was last year. In the lobby of the hotel, I spied a man in his 60's in a Hawaiian shirt. He had the distinct vibe of somebody who was there for the Con. We made some pleasant chit-chat in the elevator. I said this was my 9th con. He said this was his 40th. And that he was one of the original founders of the show. I shook his hand and told him it was an honor, and he disappeared into a sea of nerds dressed as Stormtroopers.

The first few hours of the first day were strangely quieter than in the past few years. But I knew that was about to change, as nearly 150,000 of my chubby, sweaty brethren all packed into the giant building.

Later that evening, I overheard somebody asking a guy dressed as Batman if the Padres were going to be playing that night. Batman replied, "I have no idea." Dude, what did you think the answer was going to be?

There are no pictures of this year's show. Correction, there are tons of pictures all over the internet, but none have been taken by me. Last year's scant photos were an aberration. I usually forget to bring a camera. But I feel okay about that. Most of the traffic on the convention floor is caused by people stopping to take pictures in the middle of a crowded hallway.

I was walking the floor with a comic book writer, who goes to about 5-6 of these shows a year and has lost all patience for convention floor photos, had a solution to the traffic problem. He would plow his way through the crowd, nearly bowling over anyone who got in his way while bellowing, "Move people! Let's move!" It was both effective and cathartic.

There were a few really cool innovations in the toy booths. But the coolest is the toy you play with your mind. Yes, there is a toy that you can play with your mind! Needless to say, I want one.

On the last day, I pulled out of convention floor traffic and parked myself against a wall in order to check my phone. Somebody came up to me and asked me what I was in line for. Although there were people also standing on either side of me, we were clearly not a line. For a moment, I pondered telling this guy that I was waiting for tickets to an advance screening of Avatar or to shake Stan Lee's hand. But I decided to let him off the hook and tell him that there was no line--just a wall. Someday karma will return the favor.

Gone to San Diego

Pig in the City

It had probably been five or six years since I’d been to New York City. This fact not only stood as a betrayal of my east coast roots, but was severely depressing in and of itself. Last week that was all fixed, when I found myself on a plane to that proverbial city that never sleeps, which is the perfect place for a sleep-deprived dad who can’t manage to stay awake until the 11pm “Simpsons” rerun.

I was in New York to once again congregate with my fellow nerds at a comic book convention. Unlike the pop culture orgy that is the San Diego Comic Con, the NYCC has a different vibe, much like the city itself. New York City brings out the intensity in people like salt brings out the flavor in food. This was abundantly evident in the fans who dressed up for the show. Not only did they take great care in crafting their costumes, but many of them had developed signature super hero poses that were instantly struck whenever a camera was waved in front of them.

The costumed folk also created some interesting people watching. Unique parings popped up all over the convention center. Two wookies were being led by Snake Plisskin. Mario and Luigi hung out with Hagar the Horrible. Lara Croft strolled hand and hand with Indiana Jones. And in a scene eerily reminiscent of “West Side Story”, there was palpable tension between the wizards from Harry Potter and the Twilight vampires.

Thankfully I didn’t spend all of my time in the convention center. New York is a walking town, and even though I live in LA, where we are forced to sign wavers promising that we will drive everywhere we go, I walked and soaked in the city.

I never realized how much food there is in NYC. Just about every other storefront was a bodega or café or sandwich shop or fancy restaurant. This is so profoundly different from the skuzzy strip mall Chinese food and Donut emporiums that litter the City of Angels. I also took great pleasure in seeing more Dunkin’ Donuts than Starbucks.

While I ate in an excellent restaurant or two, I really enjoyed the street vendors. I grew up thinking that one should never eat food from a cart on the street. I think it may have been my dad who instilled this disdain in me. Hot dogs from carts were referred to as DWD’s (dirty water dogs). Though I had been to NYC many times with my family, we never got food from a street vendor. But here I was on my own in the big city and since I’m a grownup (at least this is what the kids in my neighborhood tell me), I figured it was time to take a chance.

Walking back to my hotel after a few drinks on my first night, I stopped at a cart and bought a dog. Turns out it was one of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had. It had been grilled on the same surface where gyros and kabobs had been cooking, probably all day, giving it an extra burst of meaty flavor. As a bonus, the bun was also lightly grilled on the same cook top, providing extra goodness. My only complaint about this dog was that I didn’t buy two of them. This was so far from the culinary abomination that I had been led to expect. I needed to explore more.

I ate some great food in New York. I was compelled to stop at the legendary Gray’s Papaya, which I’ve been curious to try ever since it showed up on an episode of “Seinfeld” along with its numerous appearances on the Food Network. I also made sure to by some honey roasted nuts from a street cart—the smell of which ranks up there with campfires and vanilla extract as one of my all time favorite olfactory sensations.

But this orgy of eating couldn’t last forever. I was soon on a very long flight back home, filled with a longing for my family, only to find WonderWife™ laid up in bed with a virus so nasty she could barely speak in coherent sentences. Sprout greeted me with a bunch of smiles, but really she’ll smile at an unplugged lamp if it’s placed in front of her. I was really looking forward to how the Bean would greet me, but he was engrossed in his 157th viewing of “Cars” and couldn’t be bothered.

Oh well, I’ll always have that hot dog.

The Geeks Come Out At Night (and the Day too).

In the weeks before my first Comic Con, I was vocal in my disdain towards the whole affair. I was sure it was going to be filled with a bunch of dorks dressed up in shoddy homemade Storm Trooper costumes talking about who would make a better D&D character, Picard or Kirk. And to some extent that was true. But soon after walking into the convention center that first time, I realized that I needed to come out of the closet and embrace who I really am…a geek. The “Geekboy” moniker was born on that day. I had a blast and came home with toys, t-shirts and an original animation cel from “Dragon’s Lair” signed by Don Bluth. That was 8 years ago, and every year since I make the pilgrimage down to San Diego to congregate with my brethren.

If you’ve heard anything at all about Comic Con over the past few years, it’s because it’s grown tremendously in size and stature and recently has caught the attention of the mainstream press. It now draws over 125,000 people and completely uses up every ounce of space in the San Diego Convention Center, a building which can be best described as ginormous. It was an event that flew under the radar for a long time. But the advent of the internet has provided us geeks with a voice and Hollywood has started to pay attention. You win over the geeks and you build the buzz. And buzz equals money. So over the past few years the Con has swelled like a baseball player on steroids into a mammoth movie and TV marketing machine.

The coverage you’ll read of Comic Con highlights the parade of stars coming in to show throngs of fans exclusive footage of their new projects. But when I’m in San Diego, I don’t partake in any of this. I’m there for the comic books, which ironically enough are an ever-decreasing presence at the Comic Con. I try to meet with as many comic writers, artists and publishers as I can. Usually, I get to meet some really cool and really creative people. I also get to meet a lot of freaks who pitch me some really…um…let’s just call them colorful ideas. Comic Con is an exhausting marathon event and you have to pace yourself. It’s easy to burn out if lucky enough to get into a party and get plied with free drinks on the first night. That is especially true if, like me, you love to drink. But especially true if, like me, you’ve just had a baby three weeks ago and are already low on sleep.

For me, the Con always gets off to a good start on the drive to San Diego. I love to drive and halfway there you get to pass an amazing sight. If you’ve seen THE NAKED GUN, than you know what I’m talking about. In the movie, Frank Drebin is driving with his partner, nursing a broken heart, and says, “Everywhere I look, something reminds me of her.” Then they cut to this:
I don’t know how I avoided a car crash the first time I drove past and discovered that this is a real building. Oh, how much would I give for the opportunity to talk to the guy who designed this for 5 minutes? I bet he giggles every time he drives past it too.

I’ll quickly move past the part where this year the drive took 7 hours instead of the normal 2 ½. If I’ve learned anything in life it’s that you can’t cry over spilled meat trucks.

This year, there were more pretty girls on the floor than I can remember from Cons past. There are always a lot of skin tight costumes at the Con, usually being worn by either booth babes hired to lure in the crowds or attendees who could probably stand to go up a size or two with their costumes. Last year, there was an army of models dressed as Leia in the now legendary gold bikini, hired by a toy company. They were absent this year, but in their place were a surprising number of hot girls on the floor. Many of them on the arms of geeks. If you ever wanted a sign that the convention has changed, it’s this.

The crowd had also had its share of people dressed as the Joker, which was to be expected. And the afore mentioned Storm Troopers were out in full. William Katt and Robert Culp were there hawking “Greatest American Hero” DVDs. And of course, what would Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con be without a Mark Hammil sighting?

It was a busy year, but I still managed to come home with some toys (Comic Con exclusives, of course), some new t-shirts and bunch of comics. So even though the Con has gotten bigger, noisier, hotter and harder to manage every year, I still can’t help but enjoy it for what it is—the annual pilgrimage of my people to our Mecca.

Stay classy San Diego.

I brought my camera, not realizing that its memory card only held 10 pictures. So here are some visuals of the Con, limited as they may be.

Indy Jones made out of Legos. Let's just try to ignore the fact that he's holding a crystal skull, shall we?


I have a special place in my heart for those who dress up.

Night Owl's ship from WATCHMEN.

Like I said, Storm Troopers a plenty.

I love this picture.

It's not abnormal to see a Jedi amongst the crowd at the Con.