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A Comic Education

Jason and I are steadfast nerds so there’s no need to consult Professor X about whether we ended up at Salt Lake Comic Con again this year.

This looks like a family portrait.
This looks like a family portrait.
Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie, surprisingly, didn't make me feel like a shrimp.
Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie, surprisingly, didn’t make me feel like a shrimp.

Salt Lake Comic Con 2015 proceeded very much like its predecessors. We went to panels featuring Felicia Day, James and Oliver Phelps, John Barrowman, Anthony Daniels, Walter Koenig, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Studio C, Ian Somerhalder, Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie.

Every Doctor needs some Time and Relative Dimensions in Space.
Every Doctor needs some Time and Relative Dimensions in Space.
Ian Somerhalder surprised me when he squeezed in for a real hug instead of the customary celebrity hold.
Ian Somerhalder surprised me when he squeezed in for a real hug instead of the customary celebrity hold.

Those panels were more amusing than Darth Vader on a rollercoaster but we didn’t limit ourselves to just chanting like Ewoks for Anthony Daniels or giggling at John Barrowman’s lethal plane-fart stories. We also spent plenty of time on the exhibit floor snuggling with screen hotties like Ian Somerhalder and purchasing inevitable collectables.

You never know what diversions you will discover as you wander the exhibit hall.
You never know what diversions you will discover as you wander the exhibit hall.
Fashion demanded I pose with this AT-AT.
Fashion demanded I pose with this AT-AT.

Furthermore, we amassed something at comic con even more essential than Totoro truffles and lightsaber earrings. Yes, like Mario stashes coins, we gathered crucial trivia and tips. Here’s a bit of what we added to our memory engrams thanks to SLCC:

  1. Although they played the Weasley twins very gingerly, James and Oliver Phelps are in fact brunettes. For the record, they are also about a foot taller than me.
  2. Anthony Daniels originally thought playing a robot in a B sci-fi was beneath his Shakespearean roots. He’s a classy droid.
  3. John Barrowman sings like a diva and welcomes anything during his fan photo shoots except kissing on the lips… and I do mean anything.
  4. Ian Somerhalder may play an immortal that doesn’t give a crap but he does actually care about stuff and, more importantly, gives great hugs.
  5. After waiting in a bathroom line longer than pi, don’t expect the luxury of toilet paper.
  6. Chris Evans isn’t as imposing in person as he is on the big screen.
  7. The Emperor likes my Hoth dress. It’s true, just ask him.
  8. Walter Koenig’s lovely locks in The Original Series are real. Shatner’s are not.
  9. The Utah Symphony puts on one spectacular Sci-Fi Spectacular.
  10. Felicia Day is not afraid of a poop joke… or ten.
This Clockwork Man clocked me.
This Clockwork Man clocked me.
The Phelps twins even made Jason look stunted.
The Phelps twins even made Jason look stunted.

Salt Lake Comic Con, as always, was both a trial and triumph. The chaotic crowds on Saturday, by far the busiest day, made me feel a little like a bewildered Borg drone in an Icheb-infected cube. Still, widened aisles, RFID wristbands and an expanded ballroom made shuffling through the masses of superheroes and stormtroopers easier than in the past. An adequate supply of toilet paper in the bathrooms would have been nice though; I’m just saying.

Rachel October 9, 2015 1 Comment

An Update on the Outdated

A suit and tie may be standard professional attire but I prefer bloomers and a hoopskirt. Jason and I have been vintage dancing for a couple of years now. Our group of historical steppers gets employed to teach and perform at events pretty regularly. Of course, Jason and I slip antique styles on for our own affairs too. Here are just a few of our costumed occasions from recent months.

Last spring, our troupe was hired to demonstrate and instruct at the Once upon a Fantasy Masquerade Ball. It was a formal affair with a large number of attendees. The audience was rather enthralled by our antiquated maneuvers. According to feedback, we were the best part of the evening.

The Once upon a Fantasy crowd eagerly participated in our dancing schemes.
The Once upon a Fantasy crowd eagerly participated in our dancing schemes.

In July, we put on obsolete apparel to teach fancy steps at the Colonial Heritage Festival, which is an elaborate recreation of America’s early past and part of Provo’s Freedom Festival. Their ball was held on a grassy knoll and was just a few fiddles away from being completely authentic.

The Colonial Heritage Festival was founded to preserve the skills, culture and history of America's beginnings.
The Colonial Heritage Festival was founded to preserve the skills, culture and history of America’s beginnings.

Although Jason and I often don cravats and corsets for gigs, we also like to mix costumes with pleasure. We attended Steampunk Night at the Museum at the Hutchings Museum of Natural and Cultural History last fall in full regalia. For this event, the museum remained open late, served refreshments, added interactive exhibits, brought in friendly animals and organized educational games.

Prehistoric poop is just one of many reasons to check out the Hutchings Museum.
Prehistoric poop is just one of many reasons to check out the Hutchings Museum.

Since we obviously have a passion for steam-powered fantasy, we likewise went to the Salt City Steamfest, Utah’s steampunk convention, all geared up. We found ourselves twirling around that gathering too but just as jovial participants not patient tutors.

These owls were one of the fluffy additions the Hutchings Museum brought in for their steampunk night.
These owls were one of the fluffy additions the Hutchings Museum brought in for their steampunk night.

It seems like our vintage dancing group is being called to prance more and more. During the last month, we’ve performed at weddings, parties and senior citizen centers. Who knows, being behind the times may actually be fashion forward.

Rachel September 22, 2015 No Comments

Stoned Again Part II

Our last full day in Yellowstone, after eating a large breakfast at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, we moseyed over to West Thumb’s assortment of geysers, pools and mudpots with my parents. Right on the shores of Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb’s hydrothermal oddities seem like a replacement for a beach dreamed up by Dali.

The Thumb Paint Pots are a field of miniature mud volcanoes 3-4 feet high. There is nothing smallish about their peculiarity.
The Thumb Paint Pots are a field of miniature mud volcanoes 3-4 feet high. There is nothing smallish about their peculiarity.

Following their tour of West Thumb, my parents departed for home and Jason and I continued our park explorations on our own. We took what we thought would be a short stop at Upper Geyser Basin and ended up staying there the entire afternoon in a very ADD fashion.

Black Pool used to be murky with growth until it got too hot for microorganisms to handle.
Black Pool used to be murky with growth until it got too hot for microorganisms to handle.
Observation Point gave a different perspective of an old favorite.
Observation Point gave a different perspective of an old favorite.

First, we decided to hike to Observation Point, which gives a 160-foot perspective of Old Faithful’s bursts, and then we trekked to Solitary Geyser, a feature changed forever by us hopeless sapiens. After that, we thought we might as well stroll around and see if any features were currently erupting or would be erupting soon. We discovered that Castle and Riverside Geysers were scheduled to gush within the next few hours and, geyser gods permitting, we could probably catch both shows and read a few pages of some good books besides. It sounded like as decent of a plan as any.

Castle Geyser erupts about every 14 hours and has one of the most interesting cones in Upper Geyser Basin.
Castle Geyser erupts about every 14 hours and has one of the most interesting cones in Upper Geyser Basin.

I am proud to report that our reading and waiting were conducted expertly. We witnessed Castle’s ramparts flooded with insistent fountains and Riverside’s rainbow gracefully arched across the Firehole River. It was quite the double feature.

This feature was named Belgian Pool in honor of a Belgian man that fell in and died many years ago. Jason's shadow slipped in but suffered no serious injuries from the incident.
This feature was named Belgian Pool in honor of a Belgian man that fell in and died many years ago. Jason’s shadow slipped in but suffered no serious injuries from the incident.
With herds of bison roaming freely across unaltered hillsides, Hayden Valley seems lost in time.
With herds of bison roaming freely across unaltered hillsides, Hayden Valley seems lost in time.

In total, we wandered about five of six miles around the basin, often in circles, before the sun called it a day and we had to too. I guess time flies when you are staring at pressurized water heated deep underground by magma from an active volcano.

Riverside Geyser produces 75-foot columns during its picturesque outbursts, which happen roughly every six hours.
Riverside Geyser produces 75-foot columns during its picturesque outbursts, which happen roughly every six hours.

So next time you have a family member cancel on the same vacation two years in a row, be unperturbed. Be happy in the knowledge that your trip will go on and your enjoyment of it should too. For life is too short not to stop and smell the sulfur.

Rachel September 14, 2015 No Comments
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