Tag Archives: Chicago

Star Trek to Chicago 2024 Photos, Part 3: Friday!

October 2, 2024 By in Conventions & Events, TV/DVD Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Anne smiling and posing with Cirroc Lofton at his table. He's at least 18 inches taller than she is.

Alternate take of that time we met Cirroc Lofton, best known as Jake Sisko from Deep Space Nine.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Creation Entertainment, one of America’s longest-running convention companies, runs an annual Star Trek gala in Las Vegas that invites scores of Trek cast and crew members to mingle with fans at Vegas prices and at a considerable remove from more than a few states. As a sort of outreach to us faraway fans, in 2024 Creation has launched a “Trek Tour” comprising much smaller versions of that vaunted Vegas show on the other side of the Rockies. This past weekend it was Chicago’s turn. The location was convenient and the guest lineup included so many missing names on Anne’s Trek-actor checklist, we did something we haven’t done in ages: we attended all three days, from the opening minutes Friday morning to the very end of the final panel Sunday night…

…skipping a Thursday night prelude where early birds could pick up their badges and see the vendors’ room before anyone else. We figured that’d be unnecessary because we weren’t convinced they could keep us occupied for three straight days, let alone bonus hours. Rather than holding court in a convention center, they set up shop at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, next door to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center (home of Fan Expo Chicago). They weren’t even using all the hotel’s meeting spaces — one ballroom was reserved for an unrelated neuroscience seminar. I presume those old scientists resisted any takeover bids from Creation and refused to add panels about Starfleet advancements in their field.

“Star Trek to Chicago” (Creation’s official name for the show; official abbreviation “ST-CHI”) was our first hotel-based con in a good while. I had to search the archives to remember our last such show (as it happens, HorrorHound Indy 2017). We also understood Creation handles some con aspects rather differently than the other companies we’re used to seeing annually. For Anne’s purposes, that guest list was worth setting aside our mild concerns and giving it a shot. We’re happy and relieved to report the show far exceeded our hesitant expectations.

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Star Trek to Chicago 2024 Photos, Part 2: Cosplay!

September 30, 2024 By in Conventions & Events, TV/DVD Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Anne posing with three different Uhura cosplayers.

Uhura Squad! Maybe they can save Paramount+!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Creation Entertainment, one of America’s longest-running convention companies, runs an annual Star Trek gala in Las Vegas that invites scores of Trek cast and crew members to mingle with fans at Vegas prices and at a considerable remove from more than a few states. As a sort of outreach to us faraway fans, in 2024 Creation has launched a “Trek Tour” comprising much smaller versions of that vaunted Vegas show on the other side of the Rockies. This past weekend it was Chicago’s turn. The location was convenient and the guest lineup included so many missing names on Anne’s Trek-actor checklist, we did something we haven’t done in ages: we attended all three days, from the opening minutes Friday morning to the very end of the final panel Sunday night…

Before we get into the anecdotes and panel rundowns, fandom law requires us to post costume photos ASAP. Please enjoy this modest collection of cosplayers who brightened our weekend around the show floor. We regret we can only represent some of the total cosplay wonderment that was on display throughout the weekend. We’re just an aging couple doing what we can for happy sharing fun. Enjoy! Corrections welcome for those we misidentified!

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Star Trek to Chicago 2024 Photos, Part 1: The Stars in Our Galaxy

September 30, 2024 By in Conventions & Events, TV/DVD Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Us doing jazz hands with Jeri Ryan!

It’s Jeri Ryan! You might remember her from such shows as Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Picard, Boston Public, Leverage, AMC’s Dark Winds, and more!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: my wife Anne and I are big fans of geek/comic/entertainment conventions. Anne’s first con was November 30, 1991; years later she introduced me to that world. Our hometown of Indianapolis would host a modest Star Trek-themed con every Thanksgiving weekend (and still does!). We attended several of them together, back when those were the only game in town for years. As we’ve expanded our travel capabilities over time, the past decade’s Midwest comic-con boom has afforded us far more options for geeking out together and in large crowds. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

The last Trek-themed show we attended was 2022’s Star Trek: Mission Chicago, a joint production between Paramount Pictures and ReedPOP (the producers of C2E2) that was meant to be the first in a series of large-scale gatherings celebrating the universe that Gene Roddenberry and his successors built. We attendees were impressed with the results; sadly, due apparently to insufficient attendance as measured by the unseen tricorders of The Powers That Be, plans for future installments were canceled.

Two years later, here we go again! Creation Entertainment, one of America’s longest-running convention companies, runs an annual Trek gala in Las Vegas that invites scores of Trek cast and crew members to mingle with fans at Vegas prices and at a considerable remove from more than a few states. As a sort of outreach to us faraway fans, in 2024 Creation has launched a “Trek Tour” comprising much smaller versions of that vaunted Vegas show on the other side of the Rockies. Two weeks ago they brought the fan-magic to Nashville; forthcoming stops are scheduled in New Jersey and Dallas. This past weekend it was Chicago’s turn. The location was convenient and the guest lineup included so many missing names on Anne’s Trek-actor checklist, we did something we haven’t done in ages: we attended all three days, from the opening minutes Friday morning to the very end of the final panel Sunday night.

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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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How We Spent This Blog’s 12th Anniversary: A C2E2 2024 Epilogue

May 11, 2024 By in Meta, Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Nighttime view of a cross-section of Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Lit-up things include many windows, a Marriott logo with the second T obscured by a building corner, and the lightsaber atop Trump Tower.

The view from our Chicago hotel under cover of darkness, where none might find us among the millions in the big city. Kinda like loners on the internet.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: I launched this wee blog on April 28, 2012, three weeks before my 40th birthday as a means of charting the effects of the aging process on my opinions of, enthusiasm for, offense at, and/or detailed nitpicking of various works of art, expression, humanity, inhumanity, glory, love, idolatry, inspiration, hollowness, geek lifestyles, food, and Deep Thoughts. MCC has also served as a digital scrapbook for our annual road trips, comic cons, birthday expeditions, and other modest travels. It’s a general repository for any other content that comes to mind and feels worth the time and effort to type up, proofread, and release unto a world-at-large that rarely visits websites anymore unless social media points them there.

I commemorate MCC’s every anniversary here, but this year my wife Anne and I were busy that weekend, preoccupied by the geek gala that was C2E2 2024. We spent the site’s 12th anniversary not really thinking about it — much like the rest of the world, really. Rather than dwell on my dozen years of toiling in obscure hermitage on this tiny, mostly unpaid quasi-boutique hobby-job, we can instead center our closet-sized soiree on two of our favorite topics that come up whenever time and experience permit: travel and food.

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C2E2 2024 Photos, Part 5 of 5: And the Rest!

May 2, 2024 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Me doing jazz hands inside fake Alien webbing beneath a looming Alien Queen statue at least 15 feet tall.

Hi, I’m a xenomorph host!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

My wife Anne and I just got home from the latest edition of the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition (“C2E2″), a three-day extravaganza of comic books, actors, creators, toys, props, publishers, freebies, Funko Pops, anime we don’t recognize, and walking and walking and walking and walking. We were undecided for months because this year it was scheduled the same weekend as one of our hometown shows, Indy Pop Con. Ultimately Chicago lured us back…

…and we had a great time pushing ourselves to the brink of exhaustion and possibly over its curb. We’ve shown you costumes, celebs, panels, jazz hands, and Artists Alley comics. But wait! There’s slightly more!

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C2E2 2024 Photos, Part 4 of 5: Artists Alley!

April 29, 2024 By in Comics/Lit, Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
A dozen new comics and graphic novels, one bagged Star Trek back issue, and a tin sign with Fallout's Vault Boy handing you some Nuka-Cola.

My Artists Alley loot pile, plus a few freebies, a Fallout tin sign, and a back issue Anne really, really, really wanted.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

My wife Anne and I just got home from the latest edition of the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition (“C2E2″), a three-day extravaganza of comic books, actors, creators, toys, props, publishers, freebies, Funko Pops, anime we don’t recognize, and walking and walking and walking and walking. We were undecided for months because this year it was scheduled the same weekend as one of our hometown shows, Indy Pop Con. Ultimately Chicago lured us back…

…not just with actors, but with their promise of comics! Lots and lots of funnybooks and graphic storytelling narratives for all ages, temperaments, and cliques. C2E2 consistently has the best Artists Alley of all the cons we attend regularly. Though the pandemic reduced their ranks a tad even for a while after the vaccines came around, this year’s lineup felt like its strongest in years. The Windy City once again welcomed hundreds of creators to the festivities — a mix of returnees and new faces, pros and wannabes, purveyors of handicrafts and sellers of reading matter. Longtime MCC readers know the latter is always my primary objective. It’d been a while since my last major book-spree. I’d missed the splurging.

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