Pink Stormtrooper at G20 Protest

G20 Summit in London, 2009

Just one of many fabulous images from Dark Roasted Blend’s “Star Wars” for Your Mind, Heart and Soul.

Pink Elephants on Parade!

From the ever-fabulous Cake Wrecks blog, which I never would have found without my dear BFF.

Look out! Look out!
Pink elephants on parade
Here they come!
Hippety hoppety
They’re here and there
Pink elephants ev’rywhere
Look out! Look out!
They’re walking around the bed
On their head
Clippety cloppety
Arrayed in braid
Pink elephants on parade
What’ll I do? What’ll I do?
What an unusual view!
I could stand the sight of worms
And look at microscopic germs
But technicolor pachyderms
Is really much for me
I am not the type to faint
When things are odd or things
are quaint
But seeing things you know that ain’t
Can certainly give you an awful fright!
What a sight!
Chase ‘em away!
Chase ‘em away!
I’m afraid need your aid
Pink elephants on parade!
Pink elephants!
Pink elephants!

Jentasmic: Who Are You Calling Geek?

A Broke Hoedown family portrait: Jet, Spike, and Vicious from Cowboy Bebop (left to right). Just try to ignore the super-boring convention center background!

When anime cons have been at your local convention center or mall, have you scoffed at those wackos dressed up as their favorite anime or video game characters? It’s all a bit beyond the pale, eh? Well, somehow this week’s Jentasmic column on the relationship between Disney geeks and Anime geeks bring to mind a certain Kris Kristofferson song:

‘Cos everybody’s got to have somebody to look down on.
Who they can feel better than at anytime they please.
Someone doin’ somethin’ dirty, decent folks can frown on.
If you can’t find nobody else, then help yourself to me.

This week’s Jentasmic! column, written while I was packing for last weekend’s ConnectiCon multi-genre geeky convention, talks in more detail on the topic.

I guess I don’t need to tell you what Disney geeks tend to think about Anime geeks, but I won’t let that stop me. Disney geeks tell me that Anime geeks are just, well, weird. They dress up like their favorite characters, after all, and parade around in the convention center as if there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. They’ll even go out in public that way! And, well, the funny thing is, when Disney geeks are telling me how weird Anime geeks are, we never seem to get past the wardrobe issue.

Anime geeks, on the other hand, tend to think of Disney geeks as boring, mainstream, without any sense of adventure or imagination. Anime geeks see Disney films as lacking in significant plot or character development, and by association see Disney geeks as somewhat unimaginative dullards, to be satisfied by such simplistic entertainment.

I had a fabulous time at ConnectiCon, as you might have already guessed from the cosplay photos posted earlier this week. And it wasn’t all taking pictures, watching anime, and attending panels….I also co-led a panel with my spouse and son, “The Family that Geeks Together, Keeps Together” (ppt slides here). Those Darn Cats podcast listeners should expect to hear some discussion of and live audio from ConnectiCon (including snippets from our panel) in late August/September episodes, so subscribe now and beat the rush! Also actually, this week’s episode is awesomeness of an entirely different variety, as my BFF scored an interview with Devon Dawson, who voiced Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl with Riders in the Sky on the album Woody’s Roundup.

But I digress.

Next time you see those wacko cosplayers at the local convention center, maybe take a moment to ponder the look you get from your co-workers when you tell them you’re going to Walt Disney World again. Do you really want to throw stones from that glass house?

Lost Season 6 Promos from Comic-Con

From The Onion’s AV Club article about Comic-Con Day Three:

The biggest tease, though, was a series of commercials screened about midway through the panel, which suggested an alternate universe where Oceanic Flight 815 landed without incident. The airline had a commercial promoting 30 years of flight without an accident, followed by an ad where Hurley promoted a new dish at Mr. Cluck’s Chicken inspired by his Australian vacation. And then there was an America’s Most Wanted segment (complete with John Walsh) about capturing Kate, still a fugitive, but on the run for having killed one of her stepfather’s employees, not her stepfather himself (something Lindelof suggested would be important). Does this mean Lost’s sixth season will have undone all of the development from the first five seasons and that Jack’s plan actually worked? (Lindelof and Cuse nicely got right out in front of this by having Garcia ask that very question in pretty much those very words.) The two insisted we’ll have to trust them, though, Garcia pointed out, the last time they said that, we got Nikki and Paolo.

(Insert obligatory shudder at mention of Nikki and Paolo.)

I was glad to find the promo on YouTube, courtesy of TVOvermind:

Season 5 was a bit disappointing to me; seems to me it was a lot more fun getting to know the characters and the mysteries than the recent round of more expository episodes. I’m hopeful for Season 6, but even more so for the long-rumored Season 7, in which the producers tell us all major characters will return as zombies.

Epic Mickey: Steampunk Dystopian Disney World

From Offworld, a description of the upcoming video game Epic Mickey:

The project — a trip through a fantastical dystopian Magic Kingdom — is being headed by former Deus Ex designer Warren Spector, whose studio was acquired by Disney in 2007 (and who explained why this was such a perfect match in an interview with me at the time). The game was first confirmed to exist last December

More concept art is available at Offworld, including a mecha Goofy.

And a special note to my son: Unlike Kingdom Hearts, it’s confirmed that this will be available for the Wii. You’re gonna have to scoot over and hand me a controller.

Disney and Star Wars Cosplay at ConnectiCon 2009

Most of the cosplay at ConnectiCon is either anime or gaming characters, but since it’s a multi-genre conference, all sorts of characters show up! Here are a few Disney costumes I spotted last weekend at the Hartford Convention Center (and captured with my sub-optimal camera phone, unfortunately).

Alice in Wonderland, with the Cheshire Cat

Tink and Peter, woot!

The 501st Legion Connecticut Garrison! I was lucky enough to interview a representative; watch for this on the Those Darn Cats podcast in coming weeks.

Carl Fredricksen, from Pixar's Up. After I took his picture, he gave me a balloon. <3

The ultimate nerd showdown!!!

Prince Ali, fabulous he

Kiki, from Kiki's Delivery Service (an ever-popular costume for sure)

Maleficent, evil incarnate, seems strangely out of place against the backdrop of Convention Center striped carpet