Star Wars Celebration: A "Casual Fan's" Perspective

The Force is strong in this one!

 This last weekend, I attended Star Wars Celebration 7 at the Anaheim Convention Center.  Like some conventions, this one moves around from city to city every year, and it even reminds me of another Hasbro Toys –centric convention, [Transformers] Botcon.  Since this IS a movie year, and I don’t have a chance to go to this convention every year, I jumped at the chance to go to Star Wars Celebration, despite its VERY HEAFTY $150 price tag for 4 days… that’s almost San Diego Comic Con pricey, and that’s NOT even the highest rate a paying convention-goer can choose.   

Wondercon Friday Wrap-up

Wondercon, aka baby Comic-Con started this Friday (April 3rd). Here is your day 1 wrap up. 

I saw so much great DC and Disney cosplay today. Lots of Harleys and Elsas as usual, but also a few unexpected characters and combinations.

My first stop was to donate blood for the Red Cross. I was cosplaying today as Abaddon from supernatural so I felt a little extra dorky until I finished up and ate at the snack station next to a Booker Dewitt. 

The "Spotlight on Rick Remender" panel was inspiring in a punk rock kind of way. He spoke about the benefits of creator owned comics as well as his inspirations and personal demons. For instance "Low", a post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi comic, published by Image, became a way for Remender to explore his own negativity and depressive state. The author also mentioned he has trouble being truly happy with anything he writes as he always feels at completion it could have been better if he'd worked on it one more week.

After the Remender panel I did some wandering, got lost, and then made my way through the vendor hall. The hall is actually two put together... Which lead to me getting lost again. Thankfully I ran into a Castiel Cosplayer who helped me find the right way out... Oh the irony.

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The convention really does a great job with food. There are 6-8 food trucks just outside the convention center and several cuisine options inside the vendor hall. In addition, I saw a falafel stand, coffee shop and the usual snack carts. Wondercon has food covered way beyond comic-con's stinky armpit nachos and junk food.

I went to the Geek & Sundry panel, which advertised prizes. I won nothing, but found the panel enjoyable though it was mostly a promotion for their twitch channel, web shows and upcoming Tabletop Day.

I ended the day with a panel hosted by U.C.B. aka "The Upright Citizens Brigade", an improv troupe I have completely drunk the Kool-aid on. They performed a "Tournament of Nerds" in which 8 improvisers face off defending their favorite characters. First it was Jon Snow vs. Wolverine, then Harley Quinn vs. Rocket Raccoon. Other character highlights; The Black Lotus MtG card, Strongbad and George from Sienfield. The final battle was between the Avengers (yes, all of them) &  Jon Snow with Tony Stark predictably taking it all. It was the highlight of my day.

If you're at the con, I'll see you Saturday. If you're not, look for Saturday's wrap up here on Ace of Geeks!



Rose Marie Fox lives in Los Angeles with her pet bunny/monster. Comic-con is her favorite holiday.

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The Librarians and the Rule of Three Recap!

This episode opens in a high school student's bedroom. He's getting ready for a science fair presentation. While he puts on his tie, he reviews the periodic table and rehearses his presentation. As he finishes tying his his tie, his body starts to petrify and something strange flows through the veins of his outstretched arm. The paralysis completes as a single tear runs down his cheek.

This Christmas, Don't Try to Change People with Presents

Anyone who knows me knows that, if there's one thing I take very seriously, it's Christmas presents. I've been considered the "good gift buyer" in the family for years, and I take pride when I can find a great present for even the toughest potential giftee. (I'm looking at you, Mom. ) There's something about finding that one thing that the person didn't know existed, but really speaks to them as a person, that fills me with a particular type of joy. The secret, of course, to any great gift is knowing the other person - listening to what they have to say. The nuggets that come out of their discussions about their personal lives are a roadmap to the perfect gift.

Thankfully, we geeks are easy these days. The last decade has seen the People Who Manufacture The Stuff finally notice us as a marketable entity, and there is a plethora of awesome merchandise for pretty much any flavor of geek in your life. But for a lot of people, this time of year is a time to hide who they truly are, not celebrate it.

This is the time of year where adult males don't ask for My Little Pony toys. Where young boys don't ask for dresses, and young girls for pant suits. There's an image that people are expected to keep up at Christmas, and a lot of people feel like they can't be themselves, for the fear of being judged by the gift givers. This, frankly, sucks. The whole idea of Christmas is one of acceptance and love - this time of year is designed for us all to tell each other how thankful we are to be in each other's lives. That's what presents are meant to represent. It's not a contest or an obligation, but a way to express your love for another human being who means something to you.

So this Christmas, I'm putting out a personal appeal to the families and friends out there who are buying gifts for someone considered a little "different" by the idiotic, mainstream society we're all supposed to follow. Don't buy your kid that sports jersey because they need to "toughen up." Don't buy that little girl who wants to be a scientist a barbie doll set. Listen. Listen to what they have to say, listen to the subtext they may be trying to hide from you. Don't use Christmas day as an attempt to mold someone into something they're not. Use it as a time to celebrate what they are.

People assume that the most selfish people are the ones who are excited about receiving presents. But sometimes, that selfishness comes from the people who are giving them. Learn to love your friends and family. Don't try and change them.

Mike Fatum is the Editor in Chief and Podcast Co-host of the Ace of Geeks. He knows when you've been sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He has no idea if you've been bad or good, that's kind of subjective, don't you think?

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The Geeky World of Body Building

• What is the signifigance of C6H12O6 and C5H10O4 being so similar? 
• Why have some Branch Chain Amino Acids been utilized in an attempt to treat certain cases of Hepatic Encephalopathy? 
• Why is friction an important factor to take into consideration when utilizing this equation: W=fR,1? 

Review those (rhetorical) questions that I posted for just a moment. What type of the person do you think would be most familiar with the answers to those questions? I polled a pretty wide group of people for their replies. Most, if not all, said something to the effect of biologist, biochemist, doctor, or research specialist. However, each of the three questions make up a fraction of knowledge which the majority of dedicated bodybuilders posses. Surprised? You shouldn't be.

How to Stop Being Called a Fake Geek Girl - Don't Engage. by MelissaDevlin

Do we really need yet another post on fake geek girls? Yeah, maybe one more. But not for the reason you think.

Look I know there is supposed to be geek pride, and geek culture, but with geek anything comes a lesson everyone needs to come to at a certain point in time.

STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS.

Seriously, just stop. If someone calls you a 'fake geek girl,' it is a sign of massive insecurity and it's probably from someone who doesn’t want to admit he’s attracted to you. Don’t stand there debating how many comics you’ve read, how detailed your knowledge of Star Wars is. Take a cue from non geek girls and roll your eyes and move on. Because it is about one thing and one thing only:

Attention. Yours.

That little troglodyte has, for the time being, got your focus as you try to prove to some nameless stranger, exactly what? Why you belong? He’s not the gatekeeper to geek culture, there are none. You don’t have to justify yourself to anyone. Skip the battle because the confidence you seek is internal.

I’m sorry my feminist friends, this is not about equality, lack of representation, a hostile environment, it is all about playground politics. Yes, it is about power. The power to incite irritation, to be remembered, to lash out at a sexually attractive young woman who is just trying to enjoy her wonder woman costume or what have you. But the bottom line is the problem won’t go away by complaining about it, fighting about it, writing post after post about it, because the more ire, aggravation, and frustration you give to the topic, the more power you have thrown at your troll.

That’s all the person is doing. There is no thought involved. The guy who yells “get back in the kitchen” is just repeating what he read on World of Warcraft that day. It’s unoriginal, uninspired, and worthy of a good belly laugh. Because if you really want to cut a bully down to size, you find the humour.

Is it stupid? Yes. Does it suck? I guess, if you care what other people think. Does it matter? Not really. Can we ever get it to go away? Yes. But not by challenging it and fighting it, but by diminishing its role in our lives. By making the statement irrelevant and out dated. By not taking insult. By recognizing it as impotent hostility and regarding the speaker as a slightly backwards child in a sea full of wonderful people.

Because most geeks just want to talk to you about their passion, the reason they identify as a geek. And if you (like me) are a little rusty on your geek culture they don’t toss you out as a fake geek girl, they start bringing you up to date pronto. (Never seen Firefly? We’ll fix that!) I know that in a usually accepting environment it can be a splash of cold water to encounter a troll. Let it roll off your back and move on.

Life is too short to argue with people who have already closed their minds. And including a boring, trite, pseudo-jab in your conversation is nothing if not a marker for someone who doesn’t think for himself. Why, good lord, why would you engage in an argument with someone like that?

Be free geek girls. Say this in the mirror a few times. “I don’t have to prove myself to someone who can’t even come up with an original insult.”

Melissa Devlin is a writer and avid gamer who lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

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Wizards of the Coast Announces FREE Dungeons and Dragons!

We were already pretty excited around here about the next edition of Dungeons and Dragons. After playtesting as "D&D Next" for about a year, the new edition will finally launch this summer in a series high quality, hardcover books, starting with the D&D Starter Set on July 15th. But I hear you out there - the economy sucks, and paying $60-$80 for a bunch of books just to play feels like a tug on the wallet. Why not stay with the huge amount of 4E or Pathfinder books we already have?

Well, if you're that worried about paying too much for D&D...how about paying nothing?

Are you an Ambassador, or a Gatekeeper? by John Garcia

I couldn't resist. -Ed

One of the first times I had to look up the word “Geek” was after watching one of Kevin Smith’s  “Evening With” shows. He gave a sort of an etymological flashback of the word, telling the audience that a “Geek” in its original meaning, was a circus performer who bites the head off of chickens. I thought about it, and decided it was a proper definition.  In addition to being a synonym to “freak,” as one who lives outside the mainstream, a sub-category of geeks do it for the acclaim, attention,( and sometimes alcohol) because they are so desperate for such things that they would sacrifice their own dignity.