Category: Events

Last Saturday, Fermilab had an open house, so naturally I went. I got a ton of free science stuff, including 2 Gyro wheels.

Directly past the security checkpoint, they handed us each a bag with a brochure, a pencil, and a VR box (only 1 per family). The VR is really cool, you put your phone in it and then use their program.

We wanted to see the Mr. Freeze liquid nitrogen show, but they were out of tickets, so we just walked through a couple Neutrino exhibits instead.

Then we went to the STEM fair, where I got about a thousand brochures. I also got to pet a raccoon fur. The picture above is one of the signs near the STEM Fair, showing some of the cool stuff in that building, most of which had tours and shows going on in them.

Finally, we went to see their buffalo. They were so cute! There are 2 bulls, 15 cows and about 11 calves.

I realize I already did a post on NationStates, but I feel the need to mention N-Day.

N-Day is an event that just happened in NationStates, where for 24 hours the users are given production, specialties and the ability to nuke each other. To do this, you have to be in a faction, which is usually formed by the region you are in.

Once you are in a faction, you can start using your production points to make nukes or shields. Which of these you make may strategically depend on what your specialty is: military, economic, or strategic (defense). You can always choose to make whichever one isn’t your specialty, though.

The picture above is of another event, called Z-Day, where instead of a nuclear apocalypse, there are zombies. You have three initial options: find a cure, kill them, or let them become a part of your population. I personally opted for the first option.

Alright, alright. That isn’t the name of the con. It’s just Adepticon – though I think the Home of the Minifigs part would be a great addition. I was surprised when my godmother (she comes up a lot on this site, doesn’t she…) asked me day of whether I wanted to come with her. Not knowing what it was, but having been told that it was mini-figures, I went Aw heck, why not? and came along with her. I was very impressed and excited with what I saw.

There were a lot of games going on, tournament games I couldn’t play since I didn’t have a badge. I didn’t mind, since that meant I just free-ranged the room and took photos of cool figurines.

There was a demo running at a table, which turned out to be Blood and Plunder. We went over because a) it had ships with cannons (ships are a less common sight in figurines; I have a thing for cannons) and b) the table was freaking awesome! You could see little islands kind of under the surface, and the table was filled in with resin. It wasn’t smooth resin either-it had current ripples pressed into the surface.

I played the demo (the simple version without wind factors) and enjoyed it immensely. I played the Spaniards, and when my opponent named the sailor his ship lost, I decided to name mine (Ferdinand, if you must know). My strategy was pretty much “Bold and Stupid wins the fight.” (Thanks a lot, Dirk and Guido!) There were Fortune Coins for each team, which when spent allowed a re-roll. I spent most of the game fingering a particularly shiny gold colored one, and when the game was over, when I reached to set it down they said I could keep it. I guess that Spanish ship had stopped at El Dorado on the way to the fight?

Wow, what an appropriate name for something I would post about! Capricon 37 (And The Children Shall Lead) was my first book signing (Yippee!!!), and my first ever panels.

As of the pictures, I should explain those first. Upper left: King of Tokyo, a board game where monsters are fighting over the city of Tokyo. Upper Right: Me at my book signing. Lower Left: A dragon I bought at the Art Auction. I buy a lot of Cheryl Storm’s work, and this is one of her dragons. Lower Right: Tokaido, a board game (see previous post).

My panels were Writing For Kids and And The Children Shall Lead (named after the convention title for this year). I very much enjoyed both, shout out to my fellow panelists, especially in Writing For Kids where I was the only child on the panel. There is so much I could write about, from the food in ConSuite and Green Room to the artists in Dealer’s and Art Show to the activities I participated in. Instead I will simply suggest: Come join us at Cap next year!

I would write about Critter Crunch, but I unfortunately missed it this year due to conflicting panels. Sorry, Critter Crunch!

(By the way, I have been going to Cap every year since I was 6 months old.)

Alas, another Windycon has come and gone. During this convention, I played Munchkin Cthulhu and Machi Koro (to name a few), went to The Melting Pot (mmm…), met a brilliant artist named Juan Carlos Martinez and bought yet another Cheryl Storm dragon (go figure)!

Let’s start with Juan: he makes flowers and others cool trinkets out of coins! One piece he was selling was a dalek! The coolest part was you could actually turn the dalek’s head, thanks to a magnet inside.

The charity this year was Save-a-Vet, where they rescue veteran dogs that can’t be adopted (due to trauma, having been trained to kill, or possibly having killed). Then they buy a house for the dog and hire a disabled veteran to live with the dog. Yes, it’s the dog’s house. If the dog wants to sleep in the sink, it will. In return, the veteran lives there rent-free. I bought a t-shirt to support the cause. (A $20 T-shirt, in camo colors, to be exact.)

I, as usual, did Critter Crunch. I, as usual, drove the Spider. I also drove Army Tank, which has a rotating turret. There are little buttons on the controller that “fire” the two separate guns. (Firing is a little LED light flashing red and making noise.) I, as usual, got lots of cool swag, including a toy dragon!

I spent some time with W9W, a group with a Morse Code set and a teletype machine. I got to try out both!

Most importantly, I had fun and socialized with people. After all, isn’t that what the con is all about?

Last weekend I went to Gamehole Con, a convention hosting our own smaller convention: Dorkstock. Dorkstock is John Kovalic’s convention, one I’m proud to say my mother is occasionally the con chair of.

My mother ran multiple games, including Chez Geek, Camden, and Unspeakable Words. No, no cussing involved. I promise.

I encountered Looney Labs again. With them, I played assorted Pyramid Games, Fluxx, Chrononauts, and Mad Libs! I also got free cake (it was Andy Looney’s birthday), a little plush flower, a Pink Hijinks set (Pink Hijinks is a Pyramid Game), and a special Fluxx card.

Over the weekend I also played Munchkin, and ran a game of Munchkin Oz. One guy brought in prototype games and we played them. I thought it was great and look forward to seeing them published.

Dad and I did Paint N’ Take. Paint N’ Take is an event where you grab a figurine, paint it, leave it to dry, then come back and take it home. It’s really fun!

 

Much have I listened to our friends Lizzie and Eric perform… also known as Cheshire Moon. They are close friends of ours and I’ve been listening to their music for a long, long time. My favorite of their songs is Wanderers, which is on the CD Crowes & Consequences. I received Crowes & Consequences in my stocking one Christmas, and have loved it ever since. I’m not sure what my second favorite is, but if you like YouTube, Cheshire Moon has a good selection of their songs here.

This particular occasion we were at a convention friend’s house, and, no surprise, I was the only kid there. My godmother, Marinda (who seems to be getting mentioned more and more), was also there. Mom had pre-ordered me a wonderful pair of handmade fingerless gloves (in TARDIS blue), which I wore for the majority of the show.

The next day we went to the Greater Chicagoland Pagan Pride Festival, where Cheshire Moon would be later in the day performing. Unfortunately, we already had a commitment for that afternoon, but since it was a gaming group, I didn’t feel bad about it. We ran into Eric, but couldn’t find Lizzie. I also wore my fingerless gloves to the Pagan Pride Festival, since they were cozy.

The first time I saw them perform live was at Capricon, a local convention. Possibly their geekiest song is Masters of Library Science (“And about that plush Cthulhu, well I can’t help it he’s so fluffy!”). *grins* Anyway, I love their work and would recommend them to any geek I know.

Every year I go to the Bristol Renaissance Faire, which is a great place to meet cool people and get tons of awesome stuff! To add on to that, there are plenty of interesting acts, such as one of the ones we watch annually, Dirk & Guido: The Swordsmen. Their motto runs along the lines of “We are bold and stupid men!”.

It was tremendously funny. We were also introduced to more musicians, The Dread Crew of Oddwood. We saw Adam Crack’s Firewhip show, displayed on the right.

There’s a lot of role-playing and lots of cool things to do. Every year we get sassafras and I go on the pirate ship. They have tubs you can smell. The best one this year was mermaid food, and the worst one was starfish armpit (probably because they have 5). All in all, I enjoyed myself very much.

Last Saturday, I did something phenomenal; something extraordinary; and most importantly: something super geeky! On Saturday, I did something I never thought I would have the pleasure of doing… I went to a live Weird Al concert!

This was also my first concert that wasn’t Cheshire Moon. Unlike the small events they have, the Weird Al concert had rows upon rows upon rows of people attending. It was, I will admit, a tad intimidating. Just to clarify: I have nothing against the small concerts or the big concerts as they both have their pros and cons.

Weird Al sang a handful of the songs through to the end, but a lot of the concert was medleys of different songs. I would have loved it if he had sung more of the Spider-Man parody of Piano Man. My favorite of the songs that night was by far the one about Anakin Skywalker.

As you see, I had a blast at the Weird Al concert. Did you know Weird Al is weird?

Today, I went to my first LARP (Live Action Role-Playing game). It was with a bunch of my mother’s LARP friends. We were playing Arkham on 5 Sanity Points a Day, a Cthulhu/eldritch-themed game. To go with the theme, I arrived with my Cthulhu schoolbag filled with 2 folders, a notebook, and a giant plush Necronomicon. Everyone loves the Necronomicon. It’s so cute!

When I was given the blurb about what to expect, my brain materialized an assumption: lunch was going to be at Pupusita Express and therefore be yummy; I would recognize some of the people there; and the LARP was going to be fun/weird/creepy/scare-your-pants-off-fandom, so I prepared myself… I wore shorts instead of pants.

When we got there, we were given instructions and a choice between characters. I ended up with Jackie Meadows, the hyperactive ten year old kid. So tough to play, right? Everyone joked it was typecasting.

I read my character sheet. Jackie was so skinny, hitting something wouldn’t do damage, so my special fighting ability was I could curl up on the floor and say, “I’m hiding, you can’t see me,” and they couldn’t see, touch, or harm me. However, in that maneuver, I wasn’t allowed to move or make any noise except childish whimpering. Humph.

My character also couldn’t resist lying. She would add a touch of exaggeration to everything she said. That was fun!

Jackie had a puppy, named Killer. He was so small she carried him everywhere. He was a Doberman, but since Jackie told tall tales, I told everyone he was part werewolf. Ha!

Everywhere we went there were “souvenirs”. Someone handed me a toy gun. I also received a plate. At one point we went somewhere and they confiscated Killer! I walked past the table, then told the people helping with the game what I was going to do. As I walked past I retrieved my dog. My puppy!

I love LARPs.