There are certain benefits to having a full fleet of nerdy friends. For starters, discussions on whether Gorn or Mugato is more impervious to Kirk Kicks or which Doctor has the most effective screwdriver are frequent and fascinating in our circle. Plus, it’s easy to find a companion for pursuing a Pathfinder quest or the latest Miyazaki flick. Also, having many geeky acquaintances means you always have somewhere to go when you happen to be dressed like a giant fox. On that note, our friends, the Rowleys, again hosted Rowley Con this spring, their annual tribute to all things gaming and geeking. It, once more, filled that twenty-sided void in many a heart and provided a loving home to unnaturally-sized foxes everywhere.
Jason took on Captain Kirk with this Friday facsimile. He had all the details down to the badge and phaser.
My Saturday duds consisted of long johns and various foxy parts. Jason looked suave dressed as my backup dancer.
While the busyness of the particular weekend that Rowley Con was scheduled on this year prevented Jason and me from cavorting our usual amount at it, we stayed and played enough to participate in the competition for total nerd domination. The challenge categories this time were Dance Central 3, Love Letter, Crokinole, TowerFall, and a zombie game with ambiguous victors. Although neither of us succeeded at securing placement as the grand winner, I did manage to win the Dance Central 3 contest, which, frankly, is surprising since I had never danced the competition song until the three times I performed it during this tournament.
Milo donned his best bowtie and sonic screwdriver for this Eleventh Doctor outfit.
Love Letter was one of the tournament games this year. I believe Brandi proved herself the most appealing suitor.
Many of the little kids preferred spending Saturday outside rather than amongst the congregated herd of nerds.
As is customary, Jason and I dressed iconically for this con occasion. We wore Starfleet uniforms on Friday and told everyone just what the fox says on Saturday. That’s right, I broke out my fox outfit, with some modifications, and Jason, in full feral splendor, dressed as my backup dancer. We were happy to see that a few other attendees actually sported costumes this year. I won the best female costume prize and the best male went to my brother Drew for his Doctor scrubs.
Andrew and Simone paid homage to the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond with these great costumes.
The prize for my award-winning costume was a unicorn mask. It found its way onto Bart’s head rather quickly.
Thanks Jeremy and Amber for hosting Rowley Con once again! Nerds may have sweet nunchuks skills but they’re not always competent in the gratitude department. So allow me to say thank you, on everyone’s behalf, from the bottom of my two hearts.
Utah was recently named the nerdiest state in the Union by Estately. I’ve never been prouder of my magical homeland. This epic announcement, fittingly, came only days after a record-breaking geeky gathering ended in Salt Lake City. Although Utah’s capitol hosted its first comic con just six months ago, the biggest inaugural con ever, a couple of weeks ago it shattered its own heroic numbers with Fan Xperience, a spring rendition of that costume-loaded convention. FanX’s over 100,000 attendees assured it a position as the third-largest comic con in the United States. Way to go my fellow Whovians, Trekkies, Dungeon Masters, Tolkienites, Pottergirls and LARPers!
Karl Urban got the girl and the gun.
Jason and I, of course, bought tickets to this fanatic affair months ago and have been debating our many apparel options for a while. We attended all three days in costume and I even went into work at 5:30 AM that Friday so I wouldn’t feel guilty about leaving early to touch Karl Urban.
I got to get in the actual Batmobile, talk on the Batphone and push some hood-popping buttons.
The delights of this convention, for an all-purpose nerd such as myself, are too numerous to be itemized but allow me to relay a few. First and foremost, we met the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, minus LeVar Burton. Besides talking with them all over autographs and camera flashes, we saw them onstage at the Star Trek Ultimate Xperience, an evening entirely devoted to my favorite TV show of all space and time. The genesis of the Galaxy-class perma-grin I’m currently wearing can be traced to that very night. On a side note, the Enterprise’s stellar crew does not disappoint in person. Our interactions with them were entertaining and moving; their wit and warmth made it so.
Getting a picture with this many members of the Star Trek: TNG cast fulfilled an intergalactic fantasy of mine.
Along with those star stars, we also encountered, i.e. got photos with and gawked at, Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin, of Firefly fame, Karen Gillan, of Dr. Who notoriety, and Karl Urban, who needs no filmography index.
This could only happen in an alternate universe.
Check out newstarship.com to learn more about the refurbishment of this fine set.
Our celebrity pursuits made FanX a strange mix of euphoria and listlessness. The lines for any sort of iconic contact seemed endless and self-replicating. On Saturday, between autographs with Patrick Stewart, pictures with the hunky boys of Firefly, and then pictures with Patrick Stewart, we were in line for most of the afternoon. But, given the choice, I, like Rory, would wait all over again.
The kids got their own TARDIS. I’m almost kid-sized but, apparently, I’m still too big to travel in short space.
I bought many geeky treasures in my wanderings on the convention floor. My acquiring tactics may have been a little too exuberant for rationality, I’d make a pathetic Ferengi, but my resulting stash is glorious indeed! I purchased an oil portrait of the Tenth Doctor painted by a local artist, piles of nerdy t-shirts, unique prints, Starfleet jewelry and steampunk accessories.
This shuttlecraft was lovingly made by The Seventh Fleet, a local fan club, over the course of a year.
I have humbly offered much advice over the years regarding comic cons, from one geek to another, but allow me to give another insight: expect uninformed volunteers and disorganized lines to be as prolific at these conventions as Gangers in an acid factory. Be skeptical when a staff member tells you that “these aren’t the lines you’re looking for.” And definitely get confirmation before you jump out of a place you’ve been lingering in for a while, based on someone’s instructions, in favor of a new spot someone else randomly directs you to or you may find yourself in a temporal line-loop without a dekyon emission to save you.
This DeLorean was definitely a blast from the past…or the future?
Salt Lake FanX confirmed that a comic con of a slightly different name does smell as sweet. For FanX certainly smelled ever so sweetly of musty costumes, fangirl sweat, foam armor, waxed concrete and star-induced drool, all the odors of nerd paradise. Yes, as Utah has proven by outranking all those other so-called cosplayers and level-20 wannabees, nerdery’s roots go deep in Salt Lake City. With that in mind, I propose we stop calling Utah the Beehive State and start calling it the Borg Hive State. I’m just saying.
Jason and I have slowly been amassing Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Lego sets over the last couple of years. As foretold, the mightily magnificence of these sets remained concealed in their boxes until the ring saw its opportunity to seize the greater part of our living room. Finally, this December, the time had come.
This stronghold of Rohan was formed by Jason.
This may not seem like nearly 5000 pieces of Tolkien’s world but that’s what it all adds up to.
We thought the release of the latest Hobbit movie a befitting occasion to create Middle-earth out of building blocks so we devoted a couple of afternoons to this epic quest and put together 4564 pieces of Tolkien’s fantastical land. This was my first experience constructing Legos and I have to say that it was more fun than I thought it would be. When you’re building a set you notice details missed by the uninvolved observer and you get the thrill of making something coherent out of nonsensical bits. Plus, forming Weathertop’s stairs or Bilbo’s door is reward enough for the incorrigible nerd. (Yes, I am incorrigible, obviously.)
The look on Frodo’s face says it all.
I have faced the enemy’s forces of paint and plastic and I have pushed them together with my own hands of skin. One Rachel ruled them all! (I suppose Jason was sort of involved too.)
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