Gathering of the Nerds

I know I usually try to keep my posts to my adventures in archaeology or history but how could I pass up the chance to spend the day with so many like-minded nerds that wouldn’t bat an eye at having their photo taken with a sock monkey?

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This was my fourth time at Calgary’s Comic and Entertainment Expo (http://www.calgaryexpo.com/), this year was their 10th anniversary – nerds galore!

I like to see the big celebrities from some of my favorite movies, cartoons and tv shows and memorable ones from my childhood: Brent Spiner, Carrie Fisher, Wil Wheaton, Luke Perry, Adrian Paul, Sean Aston, Nathan Fillion,  Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, etc. There are also so many exhibitors with so many things you never knew you needed to be an ultimate fan.

But my absolute favorite thing is the people-watching. I love looking at all the costumes, my favorites are the super home-made ones where you can tell they’ve spent months at home working on it – such commitment and dedication! And some of the costumes are pretty gutsy too – a guy in a skin-tight, lycra body-suit – bold, very bold, or full body paint and a g-string – seems a bit drafty but you go girl. The group ensembles are always great too, not only are you decked out but you talked your friends into it too, well played.

This year saw some fun new things – parasol dueling (it’s more like a version of rock-paper-scissors than actual hacking at people with your lace umbrella) and quiddich was beyond hilarious – I’m not sure those kids really knew what they were doing. I commissioned a portrait of myself from an artist (Shawn J. Mueller; http://www.mullr.ca ) as well, fittingly he has done work for archaeologist before in regards to cartography and artifact drawings.  Overall, it was an excellent day – had fun gawking at the costumes and exhibits, met up with some rarely-seen friends (Rhea and Justyna!), and walked my tiny feet off!