4TF vs. MegaCon 2010

Hi Everyone!

I need to have a brief aside before I discuss the convention...a confession of sorts.

It's time that I face the fact that and straight-up admit that I really am horrible at keeping up with timely recaps. If it's not one thing, it's another...and I literally have just not had the time. Writing does not come fast at all for me, and to make matters worse I tend to over-think and over-write and often have to reign myself back in. Between conception, research, writing, editing, proofing, grabbing screen shots, and then converting it into html for the blog format, I spend an average of 20+ hours on each article. If some kind of wrench is thrown into my normal schedule, I end up not getting it finished in time. Right now I owe you all 2 recaps, which are both still in progress, but I will be moving forward with this past week's episode Recon and play catch-up later.

Anyway, this past week I didn't get a chance to write because I attended the 2010 MegaCon, which is pretty much Florida's "Comic Con" held in Orlando. After an historically craptacular drive through a rainstorm named Hell, I found myself at the Convention Center a wee bit too late to get parking at the building I needed access to. It was then a second, shorter adventure in the rain from my parking spot to the West Complex which was what seemed like 10 Wal-Marts away. (What, you didn't know Wal-Mart is a unit of measurement?) I felt bad for the folks who were in serious costume. There were tons of saggy ears and wet fur but that did not stop a somewhat hefty crowd from pouring into the place ready to get their geek on.

One of the more entertaining aspects of the experience was the fact that MegaCon was not the only event going on at this convention complex. There was some kind of barbecue grill show, and there was a home show with a fair amount of fancy older couples which may or may have not been linked to the barbecue affair going on. At another end of the building there was what looked like graduation ceremony with people in their traditional cap & gowns getting photos taken in the hallway with their entire families. And then to top it all off, there was a cheerleading competition. That's right, and they were little 10-year old girl-cheerleaders with mother chaperones who were visibly horrified at some of the space oddities coming to and from the MegaCon end of the building. Yes indeed, twas a fine melting pot of cultures clashing on this fine day!

The convention itself was pretty exciting. I got there just in time to catch the last half of the Billy Dee Williams Q&A Session. One of the nicer things about smaller conventions such as this is there are not normally huge lines to get in to a panel, and you are at the most 20 or so rows back from the guests because the room size is much more condensed. BDW was very entertaining, and turned his answers into mini-stories. There was however a slight problem with his mic and there were times when he was hard to hear. I had a chance to ask him about how he ended up on LOST playing "The Cobra" in Expose'. He talked for a good 3 minutes about how he was friends with Jimmy Kimmel and the path eventually led him to the show. Unfortunately the video that I took is almost absent of sound when BDW actually speaks. I am waiting for one of the other folks who took footage to add it somewhere online, so when i find a clip I will post it. That was pretty much the highlight of my time there.

There were a few more Star Wars alumni at the convention, along with a lot of Star Trek folks including original cast member Nichelle Nichols. There were also some really great panels on Independent Film making. But then there were some events that just seemed like they did not belong, almost as if MegaCon was just desperate to fill time and space. The belly-dancing panel was every day, because it's...so...sci-fi...?

I spent most of my time on the floor admiring the artists that were in attendance. As far as the costumes went, it was the standard free-for all of weirdness. There were the classic costumes...Princess Leia slave-girl, Storm Trooper, Random Anime Animal, The Joker...and then there was the guy just wearing the cardboard box. The booths on the floor were a bit repetitive and felt like eventually you were seeing the same sellers over and over. It was mostly a lot of comic and anime/manga retailers, with the occasional toy shop or trading card dealer thrown in.

In general, the crowd was young and excited. Although cosplay is not really my thing, I couldn't help be happy for the masses that seemed ready to explode with the joy of just being there. MegaCon was overall huge with Star Wars, Star Trek, and anime events. There were even play-battles and group dances. Other areas left a little something to be desired, but for a local convention, it was great. It sounded like a lot of people who went had never been to a comic convention before, and if you can't make it across the country to San Diego for the big one in July, smaller gatherings like MegaCon can help fill that special void in a sci-fi geek's heart.

Until next time!
a.N.