Author Archives: Randall A. Golden

Foods Beyond the Stephens Center: A Fan Expo Chicago 2024 Epilogue

August 22, 2024 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Anne sitting in a gastropub booth point at her lunch, a salad served in a giant metal mixing bowl.

Lunchtime Friday before the show — the latest installment in our MCC recurring feature “Anne Gets a Meal Three Times the Size of Mine”.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the third edition of Fan Expo Chicago at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. Risen from the ashes of the late Wizard World Chicago, which we attended eleven times, Fan Expo has put forth tremendous efforts to maintain the previous showrunners’ geek-marketed traditions for longtime fans’ expectations…

…and you already know how that went for us if you’ve been following along: four new jazz-hands photos, three actor autographs, a few new graphic novels, and perhaps too much exercise and anxiety amid the tens of thousands of attendees and the hours they all likewise spent in lines, many of whom had far worse experiences than we did. Ours possibly only felt worse as events were unspooling in real time. We’re feeling better now, except for the part where we had to return to adulting this week, with mixed results.

Given my penchant for verbosity — and what even is this blog if not my personal verbiage discount clearinghouse to a fault? — I tried streamlining those three chapters at least a smidgen by withholding the travelogue anecdotes that didn’t occur during the con itself or on the convention center’s grounds. That barely worked: those three chapters still totaled 7,454 words. Lord knows I’ve cranked out far lengthier write-ups, though those miniseries tend to contain more cosplay pics as incentive for casual visitors. We’re left with an entire chapter of outtakes for hardcore MCC followers who might have the vaguest interest in the non-geek details of our latest Windy City trip…by which I mean food pics and hotel complaints. The sort of quotidian microdrama you can find only here on MCC or in old issues of American Splendor!

The TL;DR version, if you even made it this far: ’twas a mixed bag. So now you know! Hope that helps!

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Fan Expo Chicago 2024 Photos, Part 3 of 3: Stars and Strifes Forever!

August 19, 2024 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Me doing jazz hands with a laughing Ella Purnell.

I’ve mentioned Fallout enough times over the past several months that it should be no surprise I’m leading with Fallout star Ella Purnell.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the third edition of Fan Expo Chicago at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. Risen from the ashes of the late Wizard World Chicago, which we attended eleven times, Fan Expo has put forth tremendous efforts to maintain the previous showrunners’ geek-marketed traditions for longtime fans’ expectations…

…by which I mean celebrity guests, Artists Alley, shopping, and generally eye-popping sights. Tens of thousands of fans showed up and were astounded to realize — in an unprecedented break from comic-con norms — almost none of the actor guests had canceled. Dozens of autograph booths were up and running, many of which had hours-long lines, some of which were on opposite sides of the designated walkway, each side sprawling enough to create a choking bottleneck between them. Saturday it became nearly impossible simply to walk through the Autograph Area in either direction. Couple that with a convention-center A/C system that struggled to catch up, and the confluence of issues made for an often uncomfortable exhibit-hall environment.

Anne and I are now over 50 but still out there in the geek fun-trenches, trying to indulge our youthful selves despite the potential physical damage. Under the circumstances, it’s kind of a miracle we lasted as long as we did and weren’t unconscious by noon. Nevertheless, we persisted for a while, until we didn’t.

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Fan Expo Chicago 2024 Photos, Part 2 of 3: A Single Measly Cosplay Gallery!

August 19, 2024 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
cosplay: Kraven the Hunter with a spear, standing off against Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.

Kraven the Hunter bellowing, “I know Scorpion! I have fought Scorpion! You, sir, are not my Scorpion!”

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the third edition of Fan Expo Chicago at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. Risen from the ashes of the late Wizard World Chicago, which we attended eleven times, Fan Expo has put forth tremendous efforts to maintain the previous showrunners’ geek-marketed traditions for longtime fans’ expectations…

…including hosting duties for all the cosplay! Everyone loves the costumes and the talents who create and/or sport them! Unfortunately, it’s with a deep sigh I must report we spent too much of Friday in lines. By Saturday we found more lines to stand in, exhausted ourselves beyond reason, and found the exhibit hall so uncomfortably hot and jam-packed with tens of thousands of bodies that we could barely inch forward, let alone ask others to brake in the middle of that crowded superbazaar to pose for us with thousands of other fans trapped behind them and seething with claustrophobic fury. We ended up fleeing Saturday much earlier than expected and forfeited all further opportunities to admire the numerous cosplayers on hand. Management regrets the retreat.

So here’s what we have to show for our hampered efforts, a cross-section of maybe one one-thousandth of the total cosplay turnout throughout this 3-day shindig. Sorry/Enjoy!

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Fan Expo Chicago 2024 Photos, Part 1 of 3: Mark Hamill Live!

August 18, 2024 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Us doing jazz hands with Mark Hamill, who's seated in a bar chair.

We’re no Muppets or Simpsons, but we tried to be good company.

It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the third edition of Fan Expo Chicago at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. Risen from the ashes of the late Wizard World Chicago, which we attended eleven times, Fan Expo has put forth tremendous efforts to maintain the previous showrunners’ geek-marketed traditions for longtime fans’ expectations. We were largely impressed with the results, even last year’s edition when the ongoing WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes necessitated strict guidelines on the actors’ interactions. Every large-scale comic-con has its snags, of course. For better or worse, that’s all in the game.

Judgments on their 2024 installment depend on whom you ask, how much they love wall-to-wall crowds, whether or not they needed ADA accommodations, and which stars they wanted to meet from the extremely long guest list. As our lead photo hints, this would promise to be no ordinary show.

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Indiana State Fair 2024 Photos, Part 7: The Year in Antiques

August 14, 2024 By in Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space: the album.

Featuring such timeless classics as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Earth”, “Beyond Antares”, and “Music to Watch Space Girls By”. Yes, really.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

One of the fair’s regular features is the antiques competition, chiefly displayed on the second floor of the Indiana Arts Building. No one’s ever posted the rules, criteria, rankings, or anything expository beyond signage implying, “Here are some antiques not for sale.” Contestants bring in ancient items they unearthed somewhere, a secret council convenes far from inquisitive eyes, prize ribbons are placed next to some of them, yadda yadda yadda, they’re at your Indiana State Fair.

Amid the quilts and ’50s baby dolls and blue-and-white dishware, a few items with historical value and/or pop culture cachet will catch our attention. We congratulate the winners of this year’s Antiques We Looked At for More Than Three Seconds Contest, sponsored by ConHugeCo, Inc.

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Indiana State Fair 2024 Photos, Part 6: The Year in Lego

August 12, 2024 By in Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Lego Pokemon!

Lego Pokemon! Lego Pikachu, Lego Geodude, and Lego Snorlax.**

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

Lego is a frequent sight at our State Fair. 4-H kids and competitors in other art contests routinely turn in works of Lego as their favorite sculpting medium. There’s nothing emphatically Hoosier about them. To my knowledge we have no Lego factory and no Legoland theme park. Indiana was not a beachhead for Danish explorers. The Lego Indiana Jones sets have nothing to do with Indiana per se, much as we might wish to contrive otherwise. But at our state fair there’s always room for Lego.

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Indiana State Fair 2024 Photos, Part 5: Food for Displaying, Not Devouring

August 11, 2024 By in Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Bluey made of cans, next to the letters NDY also made of cans.

Canned Bluey! Standing next to an Indianapolis “N-D-Y” photo-op setup.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

Our favorite part is the new food, but some of their most ingenious uses of food are available neither for purchase nor consumption. Exhibit A: the annual Canstruction contest! The charitable organization holds eponymous events nationwide in which engineers and other clever planners compete against each other to build the best sculpture made entirely from canned goods, preferably in recognizable shapes and not ordinary stacks with boring titles like “We Bought an Aldi”. After the judging and the public displaying are over, all those meticulously planned figures are torn down and the components are donated to local hunger relief charities, who in turn forward them to needy families. Thus these temporary installations live on only if everyone takes pictures of them.

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Indiana State Fair 2024 Photos, Part 4: Land of the Glowing Giants

August 11, 2024 By in Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Side view of a T-Rex lying down with its mouth open and its tail sticking straight out horizontally.

Flee from the mighty T-Rex that gapes to all comers with its muscular jaws! Or relax at the table and chairs under its butt.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

As if Artscape and the chainsaw sculptures weren’t enough art: on the north end of the fairgrounds, the relatively new space known as The Backyard — which in 2023 was covered in basketball courts and dubbed Hoopfest — hosted an exhibit called Illuminate, comprising a collection of giant-sized organisms that look impressive in daylight but are actually huge lanterns activated at night. Online sources allege this is its second annual occurrence, except the previous works were Asian-themed and those same sources swear they were stationed in Expo Hall. Considering our 2023 visit to Expo Hall turned up only caged critters, I’d be curious to know the building’s exhibition timeline. It sucks to discover just now that we missed something cool.

Not this year, though. Behold: Illuminate! In daylight! I haven’t been to the State Fair at night in 23 years, and there’s no way we’d’ve had enough energy to stay awake and mobile from opening to closing time, so please enjoy some giant unlit lanterns in sunshine! With neon paint that’s, like, a kind of glowing!

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Indiana State Fair 2024 Photos, Part 3: Where the Art Museum Meets the Chainsaw

August 11, 2024 By in Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Blue cube suspended in midair with a light in the middle of it. Each metallic cube side is intricately patterned to project shadows on the surfaces surrounding it.

What if the Cosmic Cube were bigger so it’s harder to steal, prettier than a 6-sided die, and held a more enlightening kind of power?

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

Every MCC miniseries devoted to the fair has at least one chapter devoted to the works of art we encounter in the various exhibit halls. Art took center stage this year courtesy of Newfields (f/k/a the Indianapolis Museum of Art), who stepped into the role of “presenting sponsor” and brought new flourishes to old spaces.

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Indiana State Fair 2024 Photos, Part 2: Let’s Pretend We’re Influencers

August 10, 2024 By in Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Anne and I doing jazz hands on a fake Olympics pedestal. The wall behind us is an ad for WTHR's local Olympics coverage with a photo of the Eiffel Tower filling the empty space where a bronze medalist should be standing.

Thanks to Indianapolis’ NBC affiliate WTHR, we can pretend we’re Olympians! Everyone loves the Olympics, we’re told!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

Our photo galleries typically showcase the places we’ve been, the things we’ve seen, or the events we experienced — i.e., the memories I want to retain that are also hopefully interesting and/or useful to anyone else in the universe besides just Anne. Sometimes we forget to take pics of each other, or I simply skip posting them because I already know what we look like. That’s the exact opposite of 99% of the entire internet; hence our perennially low traffic stats, apparently. I don’t get the whole “me me me” thing that constitutes a viable career for some folks, but I’m told that’s totally a thing and that an entire Insta-feed of selfies is in fact a form of psychologically responsible behavior and they have the tax forms to prove it.

For once, let’s give in to peer pressure from internetters half our age and compile an entire gallery of us and only us. As it happens, during our fairground day-date we wound up taking more photos of each other than usual (or having strangers snap the two of us), so here’s what it looks like when we’re enjoying each other’s company without worrying what anyone else thinks of us. Please enjoy! Smash those buttons! Share with your 50,000 nearest friends! If you don’t, you’re a judgmental, ageist hypocrite who enables body-shaming and you’re on the same side as the shallow, dump-worthy exes in every rom-com ever! It’d sure be a real shame if your S.O. ever found out! Cheers!

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