Tag Archives: Ohio

The OSU McDonald’s and More: A GalaxyCon Columbus 2025 Epilogue

December 19, 2025 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Statue of a red and gray college sports mascot with a buckeye nut for a head, standing in the corner of a McDonald's.

Brutus Buckeye, Ohio State University’s official mascot. His buckeye-headed self is right at home in the domain of Mayor McCheese.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: once again we went to Columbus, Ohio! In a failed effort to shorten the verbiage in that four-part, 5900-word saga, I held back all our non-convention-related pics from that weekend for their own separate gallery. I didn’t think our brief influx of visiting cosplay fans would notice the omission.

As it happens, most of our outtakes come from a single location. After we checked out of our hotel Saturday morning, we stopped for breakfast at a McDonald’s down the street, which usually wouldn’t rate a mention here. To our surprise, their lobby held an unexpected museum of sorts — several displays celebrating the assorted sports teams of nearby Ohio State University. We normally stay at hotels in and around the OSU campus whenever we’re in town for GCC, but somehow we’d missed this spot and their collection till now.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2025 Photos, Part 4 of 4: Con Stuff!

December 14, 2025 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Us doing jazz hands in a giant Funko Pop box. Anne is wearing a Santa hat and Christmas-themed Trek hoodie.

We’re Funko Pops! With extra points of articulation!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Anne and I enjoy attending entertainment and comic conventions together, whether in our hometown of Indianapolis or in adjacent states (or sometimes beyond). She’s been doing them since the early ’90s, and invited me to tag along as our relationship evolved from classmates to coworkers to neighbors to BFFs to married geeks twenty years and counting. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

This weekend we attended the fourth annual Galaxycon Columbus in Ohio’s very own Greater Columbus Convention Center. The show returned with another lengthy guest list for fans of all media across the pop culture spectrum…

…most of which we’ve covered: the actors! The cosplay! The panels! Artists Alley! But wait! There’s more! Not much more, but slightly more! Sorry if you were wishing I’d have dumped everything into a single 3000-word non-epic as usual!

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2025 Photos, Part 3 of 4: Comics!

December 12, 2025 By in Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Six graphic novels, an omnibus, a Godzilla T-shirt, a button and a flimsy cardstock con badge.

My reading haul this year, plus a little extra merch.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Anne and I enjoy attending entertainment and comic conventions together, whether in our hometown of Indianapolis or in adjacent states (or sometimes beyond). She’s been doing them since the early ’90s, and invited me to tag along as our relationship evolved from classmates to coworkers to neighbors to BFFs to married geeks twenty years and counting. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

This weekend we attended the fourth annual Galaxycon Columbus in Ohio’s very own Greater Columbus Convention Center. The show returned with another lengthy guest list for fans of all media across the pop culture spectrum…

…which included comics at the comic con! As the easternmost show that we attend every year, GCC recruits quite a formidable lineup of creators for their Artist Alley, a boon for us longtime readers that includes some folks who haven’t traveled very west yet.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2025 Photos, Part 2 of 4: Celebrities!

December 8, 2025 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Us doing jazz hands with Ben Schwartz, who's very into it.

Hey, kids! It’s Ben Schwartz, the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Anne and I enjoy attending entertainment and comic conventions together, whether in our hometown of Indianapolis or in adjacent states (or sometimes beyond). She’s been doing them since the early ’90s, and invited me to tag along as our relationship evolved from classmates to coworkers to neighbors to BFFs to married geeks twenty years and counting. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

This weekend we attended the fourth annual Galaxycon Columbus in Ohio’s very own Greater Columbus Convention Center. The show returned with another lengthy guest list for fans of all media across the pop culture spectrum…

…though our own to-do list was actually pretty short. After a couple of unfortunate guest cancellations and some hard thinking about whether or not we really want to meet every single actor we’ve ever seen in anything ever, we whittled our checklist down to just three of ’em, two of whom we’d already met before. Quite a few of our photos ended up falling into the “celebrity” category anyway, including pics from a pair of crowded Q&As at the Main Stage.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2025 Photos, Part 1 of 4: Cosplay!

December 7, 2025 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Two cosplayers as Dark Helmet's black-suited troops, carrying a giant comb between them.

Spaceballs: the Cosplay! Dark Helmet’s beach-combing troops.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: Anne and I enjoy attending entertainment and comic conventions together, whether in our hometown of Indianapolis or in adjacent states (or sometimes beyond). She’s been doing them since the early ’90s, and invited me to tag along as our relationship evolved from classmates to coworkers to neighbors to BFFs to married geeks twenty years and counting. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

This weekend we attended the fourth annual Galaxycon Columbus in Ohio’s very own Greater Columbus Convention Center. The show returned with another lengthy guest list for fans of all media across the pop culture spectrum. One could argue the guest list was too lengthy — dozens of actors lured thousands upon thousands of fans into the back end of the exhibit hall, where most of them waited hours in lines that I’m not entirely sure ever moved and may in fact have to spend Christmas there. Hopefully some dealers stuck around so all those line-mates could buy each other gifts.

Before getting into who we met and what we did: it’s cosplay time! Per tradition we compiled an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny gallery of the costumes we photographed during our two days in and around the halls whenever we weren’t trapped in long lines or traffic-jammed aisles. The humble duo here at MCC appreciates the makers and wearers who enliven every comic-con with their talents and their exaltation of various fandoms. We regret we can only represent a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the total cosplay wonderment that was on display this weekend. We’re just an aging couple doing what we can for happy sharing fun. Enjoy!

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High Street Outtakes: A GalaxyCon Columbus 2024 Coda

December 14, 2024 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Anne sitting in a sandwich shop in a red-and-black flannel cap and a Mandalorian tropical shirt. She's smiling really big.

The lovely lady dressed for winter and comic-con, in that order.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: my wife and I attended the third annual GalaxyCon Columbus in the heart of Ohio’s very capital, met one of my all-time favorite performers, and…well, kinda wish we’d taken more cosplay photos. We also took photos of what we did before and after the show, but I left those out of the recap because most post-con Googlers rarely care about the little in-between moments and because 4500 words was already a hefty dosage of us without the scenes from the periphery.

Sure, cons are cool, but those little traveling moments are also our thing, especially when they happen someplace we’ve become fond of over time. We’ve visited Columbus quite a few times now — for this show, for the awesome Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, that time we tripped over a surprise Pokemon tournament, that other time I ordered a huge As Seen on TV burger, or when we spent my birthday checking out their children’s museum and their art museum, among other wonders. Columbus is a welcoming city with a thriving art community, close in size and temperament to our own Indianapolis hometown in many respects. If for some reason Indiana collapses and we have to relocate — like, say, when polio returns in 5-10 years and devastates our populace — Columbus is one of the top three places where I’ll consider seeking refuge, assuming they’re still standing when the rest of America collapses into a self-made black hole.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2024 Photos, Part 2 of 2: “Weird Al” Yankovic and Everything Else!

December 9, 2024 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Us doing jazz hands with Weird Al, all of us wearing festive tropical-style shirts. Anne is also wearing a Santa hat.

The man! The myth! The master of musical mirth!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the third annual GalaxyCon Columbus in Ohio’s very own Greater Columbus Convention Center. The show returned with another lengthy guest list for fans of all media across the pop culture spectrum…though the two of us didn’t actually do a lot this time for a variety of reasons, and this year’s edition had a few logistical issues. Nevertheless, the show went on…

And what a show it was! We accomplished all our primary objectives, which was a shorter list than usual due to self-imposed budgetary restrictions. Frankly, we’ve had a long year of fiercely competitive, increasingly more expensive comic-cons and some non-geek expenditures we need to handle at fun’s expense. Also, unlike the last two GalaxyCons, there just weren’t a lot of actors on the list we wanted to meet that badly. We’d met several of them before, including the arguably biggest name, former teen star Hayden Christensen, who was at Indiana Comic Con last March. We had a couple of maybes on the list, but ultimately we had to be choosy.

I may also have been more nervous than usual because of an old comic-con war wound.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2024 Photos, Part 1 of 2: Tiny Cosplay Gallery!

December 8, 2024 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
cosplay: Granny with stuffed Tweety and Sylvester dolls, and Yosemite Sam with a pair of cartoon revolvers.

Granny and Yosemite Sam bring joy on behalf of the Looney Tunes.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: Anne and I enjoy attending entertainment and comic conventions together, whether in our hometown of Indianapolis or in adjacent states (or sometimes beyond). She’s been doing them since the early ’90s, and invited me to tag along as our relationship evolved from classmates to coworkers to neighbors to BFFs to married geeks twenty years and counting. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

This weekend we attended the third annual Galaxycon Columbus in Ohio’s very own Greater Columbus Convention Center. The con arose from the ashes of the top-notch but one-and-done GalaxyCon Louisville, and is a spiritual successor to the erstwhile Wizard World Columbus (née Mid-Ohio Con, which I used to read about every year in Comics Buyer’s Guide). The show returned with another lengthy guest list for fans of all media across the pop culture spectrum…though the two of us didn’t actually do a lot this time for a variety of reasons, and this year’s edition had a few logistical issues. Nevertheless, the show went on!

Before we showcase the latest additions to our celeb photo-op collection: it’s cosplay time! Per tradition we compiled an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny gallery of the costumes we photographed during our day-‘n’-a-half in and around the exhibit hall whenever we weren’t trapped in long lines or traffic-jammed aisles. The humble duo here at MCC appreciates the makers and wearers who enliven every comic-con with their talents and their exaltation of various fandoms. We regret we can only represent a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the total cosplay wonderment that was on display this weekend. We’re just an aging couple doing what we can for happy sharing fun. Enjoy!

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2023 Photos, Part 3 of 3: Who We Met and What We Did Saturday

December 8, 2023 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Us doing jazz hands with Denise Crosby, who also looks like Tasha Yar is about to pull off some martial arts.

It’s Denise Crosby! The only main cast member of Star Trek: The Next Generation who didn’t come back for Picard. This seems mean.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Anne and I enjoy attending entertainment and comic conventions together, whether in our hometown of Indianapolis or in adjacent states (or sometimes beyond). She’s been doing them since the early ’90s, and invited me to tag along as our relationship evolved from classmates to coworkers to neighbors to BFFs to husband-and-wife. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

Last year we attended the inaugural GalaxyCon Columbus in Ohio’s very own capital, which had arisen from the ashes of the top-notch yet short-lived GalaxyCon Louisville. We were happy the show went over well enough to merit a return engagement, with another lengthy guest list for fans of all media across the pop culture spectrum…

Saturday was a much different day for us than our hectic Friday had been. We had only one more photo op to go, one actor’s autograph to acquire, quite a few intriguing panels on the short-list, and a deep desire for as much sitting as possible, which would dovetail nicely with our panel-attending goals.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2023 Photos, Part 2 of 3: Who We Met and What We Did Friday

December 4, 2023 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Us doing jazz hands with Evangeline Lilly, who is extremely animate and into it.

It’s Marvel’s The Wasp herself, Evangeline Lilly!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Anne and I enjoy attending entertainment and comic conventions together, whether in our hometown of Indianapolis or in adjacent states (or sometimes beyond). She’s been doing them since the early ’90s, and invited me to tag along as our relationship evolved from classmates to coworkers to neighbors to BFFs to husband-and-wife. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

Last year we attended the inaugural GalaxyCon Columbus in Ohio’s very own capital, which had arisen from the ashes of the top-notch yet short-lived GalaxyCon Louisville. We were happy the show went over well enough to merit a return engagement, with another lengthy guest list for fans of all media across the pop culture spectrum…

Our final tally across two days: six new jazz-hands photos, four panels, eleven Star Trek-related talents (including one showrunner and one novelist), three Marvel actors, one Academy Award Winner, four comics makers, one former child star, innumerable lines, and more, more, more.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2023 Photos, Part 1 of 3: A Very Special Cosplay Christmas

December 3, 2023 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
My wife wearing a Santa hat and blue hoodie with a Starfleet insignia (drawn with Christmas lights wrapped around it) and the slogan "Trek the Halls". She happily hugs an elderly jolly man in Santa hat, beard, red vest with green Christmas trees on it, and a Vegas lounge jacket covered in red sequins.

IT’S SANTA! I KNOW HIM!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: Anne and I enjoy attending entertainment and comic conventions together, whether in our hometown of Indianapolis or in adjacent states (or sometimes beyond). She’s been doing them since the early ’90s, and invited me to tag along as our relationship evolved from classmates to coworkers to neighbors to BFFs to husband-and-wife. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

Last year we attended the inaugural GalaxyCon Columbus in Ohio’s very own capital, which had arisen from the ashes of the top-notch yet short-lived GalaxyCon Louisville. We were happy the show went over well enough to merit a return engagement, with another lengthy guest list for fans of all media across the pop culture spectrum.

Before we showcase the latest additions to our celeb photo-op collection: it’s cosplay time! Per tradition we compiled an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny gallery of the costumes we photographed during our hours in and around the exhibit hall whenever we weren’t trapped in long lines or traffic-jammed aisles. The humble duo here at MCC enjoys the panoply, and appreciates the makers and wearers who enliven every comic-con with their talents and their exaltation of various fandoms. We regret we can only represent a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the total cosplay wonderment that was on display this weekend. We’re just an aging couple doing what we can for happy sharing fun.

Continue reading →

Our 2022 Road Trip #32: The Final Four Photos and the Outtakes

June 3, 2023 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
The deeply forested Green Mountains from afar on a brightly cloudy day. Someone's house is in the lower right corner; a waterway runs diagonally along the mountain bases.

DAY FIVE: One last shot of those lush Green Mountains, along the road north from Quechee Gorge to Montpelier.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Since 1999 Anne and I have taken one road trip each year to a different part of the United States and seen attractions, wonders, and events we didn’t have back home. We’re geeks more accustomed to vicarious life through the windows of pop culture than through in-person adventures. After years of contenting ourselves with everyday life in Indianapolis and any surrounding areas that also had comics and toy shops, we chucked some of our self-imposed limitations and resolved as a team to leave the comforts of home for annual chances to see creative, exciting, breathtaking, outlandish, and/or bewildering new sights in states beyond our own, from the horizons of nature to the limits of imagination, from history’s greatest hits to humanity’s deepest regrets and the sometimes quotidian, sometimes quirky stopovers in between. We’re the Goldens. This is who we are and what we do.

For 2022 we wanted the opposite of Yellowstone. Last year’s vacation was an unforgettable experience, but those nine days and 3500 miles were daunting and grueling. Vermont was closer, smaller, greener, cozier, and slightly cooler. Thus we set aside eight days to venture through the four states that separate us from the Green Mountain State, dawdle there for a bit, and backtrack home…

…and it’s long past time for us to get there in this, the season finale. Before we get to the last mini-gallery for the last day of our trip, we take a look back at where we started with a selection of outtakes from the first six days. Why only six out of eight? Because by the time I got around to recounting Day Seven, I was pretty much posting everything there was, far as you might care. Anyway: enjoy!

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Our 2022 Road Trip #31: Cuyahoga, Gone

June 1, 2023 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Anne smiling and standing on a rocky cliff, but it's surrounded by the tops of tall trees so it looks safer than it is.

All those tall trees behind Anne disguise the fact that beyond this ledge it’s a long, long way down.

Eight days and one Cleveland later, we were exhausted and ready to go home, but stopped for one last tourist attraction anyway. Given all our choices along the way through Ohio, what better place for one last collection of outdoor greenery than The Only National Park in Ohio? It was no Green Mountains in Vermont, but then again, what is?

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Our 2022 Road Trip #30: The Cleveland Wahlbergs

May 28, 2023 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Anne with a huge smile hoisting a mug of orange Creamsicle. On the table is a Wahlburgers menu.

After a long week Anne enjoys the refreshing taste of an orange Creamsicle float. (Nonalcoholic, natch.)

Once we again we’re winding down another travelogue with chapters nowhere near as exciting as the ones in the middle. The very design of our vacations and my insistence on chronological storytelling together mean pretty much every MCC miniseries ends anticlimactically. Not once have we driven 4-to-20 hours out of town and scheduled the biggest and best attraction as the very last thing we do on our way home. If you’ve remained a longtime reader, I trust you understand the nature of the pastime.

Cleveland first appeared in our lives in 2004, when my car broke down on our way home from Niagara Falls. C-Town had a stronger costarring role in our 2013 adventures, replete with stops at a rockin’ museum, a Christmas movie house, an iconic comic-book legend’s house, the second-tallest Presidential burial site we’ve seen to date, and a memorial statue I helped fund. That was a good set of experiences.

This year, Cleveland was an anticlimax again. In some ways it wasn’t their fault. Some ways.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2022 Photos, Part 4 of 4: Columbus Is Our New Chicago

December 9, 2022 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
A bunch of toys glued to a car roof; downtown Columbus is hazy in the distant background.

A toy army prepared to march the streets of downtown Columbus.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Each year when there isn’t a pandemic fully raging, my wife Anne and I love attending entertainment and comic conventions throughout the Midwest and occasionally a bit beyond. We’re fascinated by the spectacle of each and every in-person nexus of geek cultures that presents a confluence of comics, artists, cosplayers, hobby artifacts, rare collectibles, IP-inspired handicrafts, talented performers and celebrity guests with fandom connections of varying levels of dedication and/or awesomeness.

This past weekend’s inaugural GalaxyCon Columbus (the one in Ohio) set out more than enough bait within reasonable road-trip range that the two of us were lured out of the house once more after previous 2022 outings to Star Trek: Mission Chicago, Indiana Comic Con, and Fan Expo Chicago. We’re the Goldens. This is who we are and what we do.

We’ve already shared all our stories from the Convention Center grounds apart from a few photo outtakes, but we’d be remiss to neglect the fun times we had in and around the neighborhood. Our third stop in town this year was at least as stimulating as the first two. Longtime MCC readers will recall when we used to find ourselves at Chicago cons a few times every year, up until the pandemic ruined everything for a while. This year Columbus has gone above and beyond in catching our straying eyes and luring us eastward instead of northward.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2022 Photos, Part 3 of 4: Who Else We Met, What Else We Did

December 6, 2022 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Books I bought at the show.

My latest loot pile. Thanks, GalaxyCon!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Each year when there isn’t a pandemic fully raging, my wife Anne and I love attending entertainment and comic conventions throughout the Midwest and occasionally a bit beyond. We’re fascinated by the spectacle of each and every in-person nexus of geek cultures that presents a confluence of comics, artists, cosplayers, hobby artifacts, rare collectibles, IP-inspired handicrafts, talented performers and celebrity guests with fandom connections of varying levels of dedication and/or awesomeness.

This past weekend’s inaugural GalaxyCon Columbus (the one in Ohio) set out more than enough bait within reasonable road-trip range that the two of us were lured out of the house once more after previous 2022 outings to Star Trek: Mission Chicago, Indiana Comic Con, and Fan Expo Chicago. We’re the Goldens. This is who we are and what we do.

Usually the concluding chapter of every MCC comic-con miniseries is the overlong recap of our experience in chronological order. This time the final chapter is more of an epilogue covering sights off the Convention Center grounds, while the recap novelette is this very entry. Welcome to storytime, in which we meet actors, attend panels, buy stuff, walk miles, and note how this con, more than any other we’ve ever attended, pointed time and again to the fundamental interconnectedness of all things.

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2022 Photos, Part 2 of 4: A Cosplay Sampler

December 4, 2022 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
A family of nine, each cosplaying as a different Doctor from "Doctor Who".

All the Whos down in Whoville: a family cosplaying as nine different Doctors.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Each year when there isn’t a pandemic fully raging, my wife Anne and I love attending entertainment and comic conventions throughout the Midwest and occasionally a bit beyond. We’re fascinated by the spectacle of each and every in-person nexus of geek cultures that presents a confluence of comics, artists, cosplayers, hobby artifacts, rare collectibles, IP-inspired handicrafts, talented performers and celebrity guests with fandom connections of varying levels of dedication and/or awesomeness.

This past weekend’s inaugural GalaxyCon Columbus (the one in Ohio) set out more than enough bait within reasonable road-trip range that the two of us were lured out of the house once more after previous 2022 outings to Star Trek: Mission Chicago, Indiana Comic Con, and Fan Expo Chicago. We’re the Goldens. This is who we are and what we do.

It’s time for the mandatory cosplay salute!

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GalaxyCon Columbus 2022 Photos, Part 1 of 4: The Stars in Our Galaxy

December 4, 2022 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Cast members from "Smallville" doing jazz hands with us.

It’s a Smallville cast reunion! Us with star Tom Welling (Clark Kent pre-Superman), Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang), the always ebullient Michael Rosenbaum (Young Lex Luthor), and John Glover (his dad Lionel Luthor).

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: each year when there isn’t a pandemic fully raging, my wife Anne and I love attending entertainment and comic conventions throughout the Midwest and occasionally a bit beyond. We’re fascinated by the spectacle of each and every in-person nexus of geek cultures that presents a confluence of comics, artists, cosplayers, hobby artifacts, rare collectibles, IP-inspired handicrafts, talented performers and celebrity guests with fandom connections of varying levels of dedication and/or awesomeness.

The last comic-con we attended before the pandemic was GalaxyCon Louisville 2019, which was a well-run show with a fair assortment of vendors and an eclectic guest list that suited our fancies. Sadly, subsequent negotiations between the showrunners and city officials broke down, and GalaxyCon Louisville disintegrated even before public health became an issue for con-goers worldwide. As consolation they’ve turned their attention and services to other cities willing to meet them halfway in providing for everyone’s geek-out needs. As it happens, this past weekend’s inaugural GalaxyCon Columbus (the one in Ohio) set out more than enough bait within reasonable road-trip range that the two of us were lured out of the house once more after previous 2022 outings to Star Trek: Mission Chicago, Indiana Comic Con, and Fan Expo Chicago. We’re the Goldens. This is who we are and what we do.

And what we do wherever possible is collect jazz-hands photo ops with actors from films and shows we’ve liked. Before I get into the usual rundown of events, let’s take a moment to celebrate the new faces who happily costarred with us in our little-five second bursts of joie de vivre and shall be added to our jazz-hands Pinterest board for posterity.

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Our 2022 Road Trip #1: The Accidental Convention

August 26, 2022 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Schwarzenegger and Anne!

Dey are Arnie und Anne, und dey are going to pump [*CLAP*] you up!

Since 1999 Anne and I have taken one road trip each year to a different part of the United States and seen attractions, wonders, and events we didn’t have back home. From 1999 to 2003 we did so as best friends; from 2004 to the present, as husband and wife. We grew up in families that couldn’t afford annual out-of-state vacations. We’re geeks more accustomed to vicarious life through the windows of pop culture than through in-person adventures. After years of contenting ourselves with everyday life in Indianapolis and any surrounding areas that also had comics and toy shops, we chucked some of our self-imposed limitations and resolved as a team to leave the comforts of home for annual chances to see creative, exciting, breathtaking, outlandish, and/or bewildering new sights in states beyond our own, from the horizons of nature to the limits of imagination, from history’s greatest hits to humanity’s deepest regrets and the sometimes quotidian, sometimes quirky stopovers in between.

We’re the Goldens. This is who we are and what we do.

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The Fantabulous 50s Weekend, Part 10: Sir, This is a Wendy’s

June 22, 2022 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Wendy's Way!

Every icon has to start somewhere.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In addition to our annual road trips, my wife Anne and I have a twice-yearly tradition of spending our respective birthdays together traveling to some new place or attraction as a short-term road trip — partly as an excuse to spend time together on those most wondrous days, partly to explore areas we’ve never experienced before. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

I’ve just now lived to see 50, and after weeks of research and indecision, we planned an overnight journey to the next state over, to the capital city of Columbus, Ohio, which had cool stuff that this now-fiftysomething geek wanted to see. Columbus, then, would be the setting for our first outing together as quintagenarians…

We saw comics and art in museums, and we had food in a museum, so why not make our logical final stop in Columbus a food museum? Well, technically, in a way, kindasorta? There’s only one small exhibit room, but the subject is rather large.

After the record store we returned to Dublin, home of the Wendy’s flagship store, which was opened in 2013 and built with an extra side room to house numerous artifacts and souvenirs from the company’s 52-year history. So they’re only a few months older than we are.

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