The Y of the X

Jason and I recently attended Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience. The frequency at which we go to events like this may have you thinking that we are clearly deranged or it may have you feeling superior in your non-con-attending coolness. I assure you, we are crazier than you are cool and, frankly, we aren’t that crazy. Allow me to elaborate.

People attend “nerdy” conventions for all sorts of reasons and most of them don’t involve a communicator and a cube of butter. If you haven’t gone to one yourself, you should give it a shot and here’s why:

  1. Connection.

Where else can you congregate with other fans of your favorite TV show, cartoon, movie, videogame, or book series? Don’t lie, I know you have one.

Matt Smith, Billie Piper, and Karen Gillan joined FanX and the Doctor Who Ultimate Xperience, which was pretty ultimate.
Matt Smith, Billie Piper, and Karen Gillan joined FanX and the Doctor Who Ultimate Xperience, which was pretty ultimate.
  1. It’s cool.

Being a diehard nerd wasn’t always cool. I was one long before it was en vogue. However, for those of you that need the world’s permission to geek out, you now have it. Superfans outnumber sports fans these days. Those that wouldn’t be caught dead at one of “those conventions” are in the minority and clearly have delusions about their degree of refinement.

Matt Smith was quirky and peppy, all that a doctor should be.
Matt Smith was quirky and peppy, all that a doctor should be.
  1. Cosplay.

Whether you fancy becoming a Borg or just like to admire the slave Leias, the cosplay at these cons can be quite amusing. You can’t help but be impressed by the creative and elaborate ways people pay homage to their most beloved characters and genres.

FanX included scheduled cosplay meetups this time. This cosmic picture was taken by Bryan Rasmussen of Chiseled Light.
FanX included scheduled cosplay meetups this time. This cosmic picture was taken by Bryan Rasmussen of Chiseled Light.
  1. Celebrities.

I’m no celebrity stalker. Celebrities aren’t magical; they’re just flawed people like the rest of us. However, interacting with some of your favs from the big or small screens can be rather fun. At FanX this time we met Tom Felton, Nichelle Nichols, Paul Wesley, Felicia Day, Ralph Macchio, Anthony Michael Hall, Matt Smith, Billie Piper, and Karen Gillan. Nichelle Nichols, Billie Piper, and Felicia Day were particularly nice but we didn’t have a bad experience with any of the lot.

Felicia Day was every bit as funny as expected.
Felicia Day was every bit as funny as expected.
  1. Curiosity.

Never been to one of these affairs before? You never know what you might be missing.

It was pretty fantastic meeting Nichelle Nichols, a spunky, intelligent, kind, iconic woman.
It was pretty fantastic meeting Nichelle Nichols, a spunky, intelligent, kind, iconic woman.
  1. Merchandise.

You will find innumerable magnificent collectibles and unique originals at these cons. Trust me, you won’t walk away empty handed. I found a handmade chocolate-caramel sonic screwdriver this year; it was audibly delicious.

Since I am a nerdy foodie, these treats made by The Truffle Cottage were a perfect find.
Since I am a nerdy foodie, these treats made by The Truffle Cottage were a perfect find.
  1. Knowledge.

Interested in publishing your own book or learning how to fight like a Jedi? This is your chance.

Paul Wesley was even prettier in person.
Paul Wesley was even prettier in person.

My fellow Utahans, Salt Lake Comic Con returns in September and FantasyCon reappears in 2016. Don’t let your “I’m too cool for my shirt” attitude stop you from checking out these events. You may find that your shirt is a lot cooler than you think.

Hike n Bike

I’ve been planning on posting about our summer hiking and biking adventures for months but I didn’t want to do so until the season was decisively over. Well, since it is now February and it oddly feels like warm weather is nearly upon us again, at this point I think it’s safe to summarize last summer’s trail flings.

This nameless path up the North Fork of American Fork Canyon provided great views and no company.
This nameless path up the North Fork of American Fork Canyon provided great views and no company.
Silver Lake was secluded and stunning.
Silver Lake was secluded and stunning.

We frequented American Fork Canyon with both bikes and boots last summer; it was our most common outdoor playground. Besides a few trips to Lambert Park and Corner Canyon, it monopolized our mountain time.

The peaceful waters of Silver Lake doubled the expanse of the encircling summits.
The peaceful waters of Silver Lake doubled the expanse of the encircling summits.
This is my favorite meadow and a frequent pedaling point of ours in AF Canyon.
This is my favorite meadow and a frequent pedaling point of ours in AF Canyon.

We were rambling in AF Canyon on foot before the ski resorts even closed last spring, hitting both renowned and anonymous paths. Silver Lake, not to be confused with plainer Silver Lake Flat Reservoir, is about a 4.5-mile hike roundtrip and was our favorite destination discovery last summer. Its trail gains about 1500 feet but it’s too short to be too difficult. The lake is situated in a narrow basin surrounded by towering peaks and boulder-strewn hillsides; ideal about covers it. We walked around the whole lagoon at Jason’s request, or insistence really. Circumnavigating Silver Lake was a little rough, especially where chutes of rock chunks invaded the shore, but we had a good time boldly going where no man had gone for a few days.

Although barely a hike, Jason and I enjoyed walking to the Silver King Mine at Park City Mountain Resort.
Although barely a hike, Jason and I enjoyed walking to the Silver King Mine at Park City Mountain Resort.

As fun as our two-legged meanderings were, we pedaled in American Fork Canyon more than we trekked. We regularly visited our usual tracks, like Great Western and Ridge Trail 157, but we also checked out an area in the canyon we’d never been to: Pole Line Pass. Pole Line Pass separates Utah Valley from Heber Valley at a little over 8,000 feet. You have to travel 8 miles on a dirt road to reach it. Eight miles doesn’t sound like much but the path is pretty bumpy so our Subaru needed an hour to churn through it. Unfortunately, that left us less time than expected to fling ourselves, and our cycles, down Pole Line’s dusty crest but, taken as a whole kit and caboodle, it was still a gratifying adventure.

Heading south from Pole Line Pass, valleys hugged both sides of our path.
Heading south from Pole Line Pass, valleys hugged both sides of our path.
Fall is a terrific time to bike American Fork Canyon when cooler conditions turn the aspens and oaks into fiery forests.
Fall is a terrific time to bike American Fork Canyon when cooler conditions turn the aspens and oaks into fiery forests.

Summer, like its cooler counterparts, provides ample opportunities to get your heart tuckered out in scenic style. Jason and I are not ones to save our energy and waste a season. No sir, we like to expend and experience it all.

Films in Good Taste

As all of you are well aware, Jason and I have enormously good taste. Where we go fashion follows without reservation. Remember Jason’s Mario speedo? Need I say more? Here’s yet another example of our legendary discernment in action.

The Sundance Film Festival has been a January tradition for us for about a decade. We attend five or six films each year. It’s hard to choose which shows to go to, out of the over a hundred available, based on the small paragraph provided for each, especially without critics’ opinions to sway you. We know how to pick them though. On that note, I present to you our Sundance selections for 2015.

Dark Horse was an inspirational documentary about a racehorse called Dream Alliance bred by a group of regular Joes from a small mining village in Wales. This “cheap” thoroughbred took that sport of the privileged by its snooty hock and galloped all over it. Dark Horse was moving and funny and won the World Cinema Audience Award at the festival.

It was cool hearing from Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess, and Jemaine Clement during the Don Verdean Q&A.
It was cool hearing from Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess, and Jemaine Clement during the Don Verdean Q&A.

Meru, a U.S. made documentary, covered the story of three American climbers and their two attempts to scale the Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, a perilous route to the top of Meru’s 21,000-foot peak that had not yet been successfully ascended. What was so remarkable about this film, and probably one of the primary reasons it won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award, was its abundant footage of breathtaking scenery and heart-pounding action that was mostly taken by these mountaineers as they were navigating this hazardous fin.

Our Meru screening was followed by a great Q&A that featured the climbers and creators of the show.
Our Meru screening was followed by a great Q&A that featured the climbers and creators of the show.

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic this year went to Slow West, another movie we attended. Slow West was a Western of a curious sort. Although it took place in Colorado, it was made by a Scottish director/writer and filmed in New Zealand. Yet, it captured the spirit of America’s tangled heritage quite well.

John Maclean, the Scottish director/screenwriter of Slow West talked about his motivation for making a Western.
John Maclean, the Scottish director/screenwriter of Slow West talked about his motivation for making a Western.

Strangerland, an Australian-made picture featuring Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes, was undeniably hard to watch. It was part thriller and part psychological drama and all a bit raw and disturbing. The characters weren’t particularly likable but their portrayal of human nature was refreshingly candid.

I'll be famous tomorrow for sure...or possibly the next day.
I’ll be famous tomorrow for sure…or possibly the next day.

The last two shows we saw at Sundance were premiers. We enjoyed them but they weren’t awarded anything beyond our prestigious presence. Experimenter was a stylistic look at Stanley Milgram, the conductor of the Yale “obedience experiments.” Don Verdean was a satire about biblical archeologists that was written and directed by Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite fame. It had that same random funny-yet-awkward feel.

In total, we attended six films at the Sundance Film Festival this year. Three of them won festival awards and all but one were followed by a Q&A. I’d say that picking 50% award-winning and 83% famously-followed shows entitles us to a certain degree of confidence in our tasteful selectivity. Yup, we know about popular.