Category Archives: Life

Wolverine and Hawkman

1. Wolverine takes off his clothes

There was a fantastic cosplayer as Wolverine/Logan. I snapped a few pictures earlier in the day, but it wasn’t until the costume contest that he really got my attention. As he walked on stage, the cosplayer took off his leather jacket. This guy obviously hits the gym. The crowd applauded.

Then, he took off his wife beater. Now, some people may describe it as the sound of thunderous applause, but I’m pretty sure what followed was the sound and crashing of 500 pairs of panties hitting the floor. I was sitting toward the back half of the room and I could see his clearly-developed abs. It made me drool. Until that very moment, I had no idea that I was into Wolverine.

He picked up his things and began to leave the stage, but the MC made a joke about his abs being painted on. Wolverine returned and threatened him with his claws. The crowd went fucking wild.

2. Alan Tudyk speaking in his King Candy Voice

Now, I was excited for the Firefly panel, but my favorite thing had nothing to do with the show at all. I was previously unaware that Alan played the voice of King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph, which was a sweet and funny movie that you should see if you haven’t already. King Candy is an over-the-top character and his lispy voice is perfect for the image. I can’t find an actual clip of if online — thank you Disney — but Youtube is full of impressions if you want to hear.

Anyway, a fan asked Alan to say something in his voice, and he obliged. He explained how he had played a racist character in the recent movie 42, and decided to say one of his lines, which happened to be along the lines of “Say Jackie, how many of these players’ wives have you crawled on?” It was entirely inappropriate but absolutely hilarious!

3. Wil Wheaton responds to Robyn’s question with a quote from George R.R. Martin

Wil Wheaton plays a jerk, but if you read his blog or listen to him talk, he realize that he’s a nice guy. He’s the nerd’s nerd. He represents the culture as a whole, and the way he talks about community is heart-warming. I remembering feeling all teary-eyed while he spoke. If you’ve seen this video, then you’ve got a good idea what Wil’s all about.

If that wasn’t good enough, Robyn had the chance to ask his a question, and it was about his favorite strong female characters. He started to list them off at first, but then he changed tactics. Robyn didn’t like it, but I loved it! Rather than name characters, he said he didn’t feel it was fair to answer that question based on gender. My inner feminist regaled.

But. then. he quoted George R.R. Martin. I don’t know and can’t find the exact quote, and Wil might not even have been dead on but it went something like this:

I like to write women as though they are people.

The crowd went wild. I fell in love. The end.

4. Michael Rosenbaum molests Robyn

You might know him better as the actor who played Lex in Smallville. Robyn, the friend with whom I traveled to Chicago, loves the show and the actor. She had her picture taken with the cast, and she went to all of their panels. His panel happened to still be going on when I got out of SciFi Speed Dating, which is the most forgettable thing I’ve done in a long time.

So I find Robyn’s panel room and I look for Robyn. I cannot spot her, but then I look up toward the center of the room where Michael is, and I see him pawing all over Robyn as he responds to her comment about how the show just wasn’t as good when he left. Later, Robyn told me that he’d queued her question but forgot about her. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have walked in at the very right time!

5. A biker dances in the street

Traffic was horrible, especially if you’re not from a big city. There were a lot of times when we could’ve turned off the engine and got out of the car for a stretch. We didn’t, but one biker did. Traffic was at a standstill under an overpass, and he was riding next to a younger biker. The older one, who was all clad in leather and had a big Santa beard, was listening to some classic rock. I’m thinking something like the Rolling Stones. He may even have said something about how rap sucked. I don’t recall exactly.

What I do remember, however, is him getting off of his bike and twirling his arms in a disco-like dance as traffic waited impatiently for the holdup to finish. It made me smile, but it was over too quickly for me to get out my camera.

So, there you have it. These are the top 5 moments. There were other awesome moments — check out my Facebook album here — and everything was enjoyable and exciting overall, but these stood out the most.

Like Frankenstein’s monster. Only cuter. I think.

Tomorrow I will be headed out of state for an extended weekend and all sorts of shenanigans at CONvergence. It’s not my first con, but this one looks like it’s focused on the fans and meeting other people. I hope to make some shiny new friends.

I know you’ll all miss me. Don’t cry too hard.

Even though I’ve been a “writer” for the past three years, I always put that word into quotations. I assume that the reason I got the job and have been able to maintain it was luck. I tell myself — and others — that it was a fluke. The fact that I’ve generally been able to increase my prices and work less while remaining afloat? I ignore. When people ask me what it is that I do for a living, I avoid the subject or downplay it as much as possible.

I think it’s time for me to stop that.

For three years, I’ve been a freelance writer. I’ve paid my bills and my taxes. I’ve had steady work. I even had some business cards printed up; although, I haven’t had much of a chance to work them. I’ve improved my writing skills, and that shows on all my blogs. I’ve become more familiar with AP styles, I’ve juggled HTML and I’ve dealt with ever-changing rules, cranky clients and incredible editors.

I guess that I’ve more or less persevered, and I should take credit for that. I got a job. I’ve kept it. I’ve gotten better at it and expanded my horizons when need be. I’m not just playing pretend. This isn’t just a hobby, and maybe I can do even more with it than I already have. I don’t know what, but for the first time I finally think that the option exists. It’s liberating, really.