Tag Archives: entertainment

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #12 of 12: The All-Star Saturday Grand Finale With Wall-to-Wall Paneling

September 26, 2021 By in Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Dragon Con Badge 2021!

The fun thing about attending Dragon Con fan panels is you can collect ribbons from them that can be affixed to your badge to make it, like, even badgier.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

It all comes down to this: Saturday, September 4th, our final day at Dragon Con 2021 before we spent all of Sunday driving home. Well, not all of Sunday — Labor Day Eve traffic was so light and unsupervised that, after adjusting for pit stops, we made it from Atlanta to Indianapolis in less than eight hours. We actually had extra time to ourselves when we got home, which was nice. But that was the next day. This is the day.

September 4th was also the week before the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, which has no relevance here whatsoever but very nearly counts as fun trivia, except it isn’t.

We’ve covered a large chunk of our Saturday activities already. I promise this installment won’t take nearly as many words as the last one. Thanks to the amazing colossal Dragon Con app, which includes an archive of your past shows, this one was easy to organize by time stamp.

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #11: Day One

September 22, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Sleestak skull, Land of the Lost!

The hard part about preserving a Sleestak skull is finding a caveman who’ll sell you enough lye to cover an entire severed Sleestak head.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

The first official day of our first official convention since the official start of the official pandemic eighteen months ago had its awkward parts, its mild discomforts, and its spots of disappointment. By all rights, everyone should’ve forgotten how to do conventioning and disasters should’ve abounded. But everyone figured it out because, hey, at least we got to have a convention. Despite the challenges and worries, the established Dragon Con ecosystem adapted to the necessary changes and thrived at a reduced level. Life found a way.

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #10: Day Zero

September 15, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Dragon Con line selfie!

Plenty of time for a selfie while waiting in the line to get into the line that would let us into all the other lines.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

Once nice thing about dragging out a convention photo-gallery miniseries for weeks after the fact is, strangers have stopped searching for anything relevant that we might’ve had to offer them in the way of memories or cosplay photos that intersect with their own, so I can ease down, scale back, and touch on the smaller and more personal stories no one else cares about except us. Our arrival in Atlanta, for example, marked our return to comic-con life for the first time since November 2019. In many ways Dragon Con was easier the second time around if we disregard the parts most drastically affected by the endless pandemic.

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #9: Winding Down the Parade

September 11, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments
Seed and Feed Marching Abominable and Jessie!

Marching bands: not just for normal people anymore!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

Okay, so last time when I said, “It all comes down to this,” I meant cosplay in general. But there’s far more to D*C’s annual parade than the costumes. They have marching bands! Geek cars! Community groups! Special guests! And more, more, more! Except we already covered all the “more”. Now we’re down to just bands, cars, groups, and two special guests. Then I can move on. Probably. Enjoy if you will!

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #8: Last Call for Parade Cosplay

September 9, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Dr. Henry Jones cosplay!

Don’t ask me how I nearly overlooked this pic of the Chibi Bunny I still don’t recognize, Dr. Henry Jones, Anna from Frozen, and Dash from The Incredibles.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

It all comes down to this: one final round of costumes from the Saturday morning cosplay parade through the heart of downtown Atlanta. Calling them “outtakes” seems unfair, but they were omitted from previous chapters for a variety of reasons. Some were redundant. Some had tiny flaws that bugged me. Some were probably arbitrary. Anyway, my fickleness notwithstanding, enjoy!

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #7: More Cosplay Parade Stumpers

September 9, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
Black winged cosplay!

Winged costumes are among the most elaborate, time-consuming, fascinating costumes around. And it bugs me when I can’t put a name to them. Shark ninja is cool, too.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

Yep, more costumes from that annual cosplay parade. Downtown Atlanta was busy and bustling with hundreds and hundreds of fans dressed to the nines and showing off their fandoms and their togs. We recognized quite a few. Our knowledge bases and pop-culture consumption habits don’t cover all of them. Media and genres range far and wide and hither and yon and recognizing every single name is impossible unless you’re the Dragon Con staffer who processed their parade application.

In this gallery and the previous one, many of the photos sport one or more characters we couldn’t put names to and Google failed to lend us a hand. Or it’s our aging brains holding back on us, which happens a lot. Some might also be the cosplayers’ own original characters that we never stood a chance at guessing. I hate posting costume pics without at least trying to identify the subjects. If you see someone you know, please feel free to shout it out. We do enjoy learning about new universes we don’t know, and we appreciate reminders of the ones we’ve forgotten. And yes, that was the same intro as Chapter 6 with one word changed. It’s been a long week and everyone else who was at Dragon Con has moved on with their lives except me, so it’s corner-cutting time. Enjoy anyway!

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #6: Cosplay Parade Stumpers

September 8, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
Overwatch cosplay!

Youngsters love Overwatch, don’t they? Here, have some Overwatch.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

Yep, more costumes from that annual cosplay parade. Downtown Atlanta was busy and bustling with hundreds and hundreds of fans dressed to the nines and showing off their fandoms and their togs. We recognized quite a few. Our knowledge bases and pop-culture consumption habits don’t cover all of them. Media and genres range far and wide and hither and yon and recognizing every single name is impossible unless you’re the Dragon Con staffer who processed their parade application.

In this gallery and the next one, many of the photos sport one or more characters we couldn’t put names to and Google failed to lend us a hand. Or it’s our aging brains holding back on us, which happens a lot. Some might also be the cosplayers’ own original characters that we never stood a chance at guessing. I hate posting costume pics without at least trying to identify the subjects. If you see someone you know, please feel free to shout it out. We do enjoy learning about new universes we don’t know, and we appreciate reminders of the ones we’ve forgotten. Enjoy despite our inadequate geek taxonomy!

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #5: Still More Cosplay Parade

September 8, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
R2D2 Suit and Mandalorians cosplay!

Sharp-dressed Artoo leads Mandalorians down the runway.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

As promised, another gallery from the annual Saturday morning cosplay parade through downtown Atlanta, this time with specializations in Star Wars, Futurama, chemistry, and more. Corrections and revisions welcome as always. Once more, with feeling: enjoy!

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #4: More Cosplay Parade

September 7, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Cult of Marriott Carpet cosplay!

The Cult of Marriott Carpet is one of those extremely specific Dragon Con in-jokes. See, there’s a Marriott with this distinctive carpet that looks like Jackson Pollock and Piet Mondrian made a map of Boston together…

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

As promised, another gallery from the annual Saturday morning cosplay parade through downtown Atlanta. Marvel unintentionally dominates this section, but they don’t quite have this one all to themselves. For past comic-cons I used to sort the costumes by company, by genre, or by whatever pop-culture divisions came to mind. That procedure takes extra time and has been suspended for the time being so I can save time and get these done for You, The Viewers At Home. Corrections and revisions welcome as always. Enjoy! Again!

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #3: Some Cosplay Parade

September 7, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Chuckles Scarlett Zarana Cobra Commander GI Joe!

G.I. Joe role call: Chuckles! Scarlett! Zarana from the Dreadnoks! Cobra Commander! YO, JOE!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

Same as 2019, one of our favorite D*C features was the annual Saturday morning cosplay parade. Each year hundreds of cosplayers team up in appropriate factions or categories, then march around the streets of downtown Atlanta in full regalia, or sometimes drive the route in their geek vehicles. Usually the lineup around the parade route is the best free opportunity for the public at large to join the festivities and get a taste of con life. As with many other aspects of the show, 2021 pandemic protocols restricted the live audience to Dragon Con attendees only, for whom COVID safety protocols were a requirement for participation. Locals were encouraged to watch on TV at home and weren’t supposed to show up. I have no idea whether the Atlanta PD actually cracked down on any badgeless looky-loos.

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #2: A Cosplay Sampler

September 6, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
2020 cleaning supplies cosplay!

A round of applause for those 2020 MVPs, the Hygiene Theater all-stars! Flanked on each side by a pair of…uh, RocketDoge?

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…

To our surprise and delight, thousands of cosplayers showed up in full effect to showcase their sartorial talents and represent for their fandoms, despite the mandatory masking protocols. Some used plain masks to make them easier to overlook; others chose accessories with matching elements or incorporated them into their costumes. The rules were very specific that attendees couldn’t simply throw on a Ben Cooper plastic mask or a Latex Halloween head and consider themselves compliant. The masks felt and looked odd in a convention setting for about six minutes until we all remembered we’ve been staring at masks, masks, and more masks for over a year now. In a world where everyone’s doing mask cosplay, they were just more visual blips that blended in to our kaleidoscopic surroundings.

Continue reading →

Dragon Con 2021 Photos #1: Return of the Jazz Hands

September 5, 2021 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Battlestar Galactica Jazz Hands!

Classrooms are small and cramped aboard the Galactica, but I will totally make jazz-hands lessons work for these promising students.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: in 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. As one of the longest-running science fiction conventions in America, Dragon Con had received rave reviews from our internet friends over the past two decades, some of whom recommended it to us more than once and, according to my notes, would never shut up about it. In 2019 we caved in, took the plunge, and had a blast. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday.

Continue reading →

My 2021 Reading Stacks #3: Stan Lee, Presented

August 30, 2021 By in Comics/Lit Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Abraham Riesman's "True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee".

The man. The myth. The marketeer. The misery.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Welcome once again to our recurring MCC feature in which I scribble capsule reviews of everything I’ve read lately that was published in a physical format over a certain page count with a squarebound spine on it — novels, original graphic novels, trade paperbacks, infrequent nonfiction dalliances, and so on. Due to the way I structure my media-consumption time blocks, the list will always feature more graphic novels than works of prose and pure text, though I do try to diversify my literary diet as time and acquisitions permit.

Occasionally I’ll sneak in a contemporary review if I’ve gone out of my way to buy and read something brand new. Every so often I’ll borrow from my wife or from our local library. But the majority of our spotlighted works are presented years after the rest of the world already finished and moved on from them because I’m drawing from my vast unread pile that presently occupies four oversize shelves comprising thirty-three years of uncontrolled book shopping. I’ve occasionally pruned the pile, but as you can imagine, cut out one unread book and three more take its place.

I’ve previously written why I don’t do eBooks. Perhaps someday I’ll also explain why these capsules are exclusive to MCC and not shared on Amazon, Goodreads, or other sites where their authors might prefer I’d share them. In the meantime, here’s me and my recent reading results…

I set this feature aside for a while because I knew which book would be next in line and dreaded how much headspace it would require. With its paperback edition coming soon, now seems a good time to exorcise it.

Continue reading →

Yes, There’s a Scene After “The Suicide Squad” End Credits

August 21, 2021 By in Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
The Suicide Squad Movie Poster!

Unquestionably the bloodiest film I’ve ever seen on an IMAX screen, or likely ever will see on one.

Sure, I could’ve been a better blogger and rushed to type my thoughts after being flabbergasted (at IMAX size, no less) by James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad while it was still cool on opening weekend and before everyone decided it was “over” because it didn’t make $400 million at the box office, as if the HBO Max day-and-date release was never a mitigating factor. What else is there to say about a film so nakedly audacious about its primary objectives, so cocky about its body count in all the trailers and interviews, and so thorough in exceeding its dark-humored, extreme expectations? Besides adding that, yes, I too said “wow” and “YUCK” more times than I could count?

Continue reading →

My Free Comic Book Day 2021 Results, From Best to Least Best

August 15, 2021 By in Comics/Lit Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Free Comic Book Day 2021 comics!

What I grabbed. Plenty of other titles were available for all ages from Kiddo to Perv.

It’s that time of year again, but slightly delayed! Saturday, August 14th was the 20th annual Free Comic Book Day, that annual celebration when comic shops nationwide offer no-strings-attached goodies as a form of community outreach in honor of that time-honored medium where words and pictures dance in unison on the printed page, whether in the form of super-heroes, monsters, cartoon all-stars, licensed merchandise, or entertaining ordinary folk. It’s one of the best holidays ever for hobbyists like me who’ve been comics readers since the days when drugstores sold them for thirty-five cents each and comic book movies were sad, cheapskate abominations.

Continue reading →

Yes, There’s a Scene After “The Green Knight” End Credits

August 5, 2021 By in Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Gawain in "The Green Knight"!

For standard heroes, yellow is not a good look…

Some Hollywood adaptations go through the motions of the full original story, typically regarded as a boon for new viewers unfamiliar with the original. Some of your more challenging renditions assume everyone knows the original text backwards and forwards, thus giving the filmmakers leeway to invert, subvert, satirize, or otherwise frame it through a cracked lens from an askew angle. With the visually majestic misadventure of The Green Knight, writer/director David Lowery (whose riff on Disney’s Pete’s Dragon was straightforward and exceeded every expectation) opts for the latter treatment and avoids the easy way out, the road taken by far too many King Arthur flops. The tale of Sir Gawain and his verdant nemesis recently came up in the BOOM! Studios series Once and Future, which benefited me as an advance refresher. Other viewers who came into it cold might have questions and argue about it with the driver the entire way home. Which is fine! Arguing about cinema is much more fun offline than on-.

Continue reading →

Yes, There’s a Scene After the “Black Widow” End Credits

July 16, 2021 By in Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
Marvel's Black Widows!

Never, ever mess with war Widows.

Nearly a decade in the making and fourteen months in the releasing, the next chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is here at long last, two years after Spider-Man: Far From Home capped off Phase III in theaters. Fans had to content themselves with Marvel’s new above-average TV fare on Disney+ (or, I guess, some comics) until the world was ready for Black Widow…or at least a lot of the world. Calling them “most of the world” might be an overstatement considering the pandemic has not yet been called off in numerous countries and states. Alternatively, Disney+ subscribers who can’t wait for the home video release in October can cough up thirty bucks and slightly expand that virtual library of above-average TV fare.

Continue reading →

“A Quiet Place Part II”: Prolonging the Silence

July 8, 2021 By in Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
A Quiet Place Part II

Sometimes it’s just nice to get out of the house.

If you and your loved ones are still debating whether or not it’s time to return to theaters and leave the safety zone where you’ve been harbored for the past year, might I suggest starting with the simplest of creature comforts? Emphasis on the “creature”.

Continue reading →

“Final Account”: Minutes from the Nazi-Occupied Neighborhood Association Meeting

June 6, 2021 By in Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment
"Final Account" movie poster.

A relic of the Before Times: a movie poster made of actual paper. I remember those!

Anne and I saw the new documentary Final Account in a county where masks were required of all patrons regardless of inoculation levels, in an auditorium where the A/C was on the fritz. Posted signs and the clerk warned us, but we insisted on proceeding anyway despite any consequences ahead. The environment was livable at first, but our comfort levels fluctuated as time went on and the air quality went from breathable to stifling and back again. Eventually we convinced ourselves to overlook our nagging concerns, but at no point could we simply sit back and pretend everything was fine.

Continue reading →

“Godzilla vs. Kong”: When Humanity’s Doom Was Super-Sized, Not Microscopic

May 18, 2021 By in Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
King Kong Waits.

“Waitwaitwaitwait — they signed me up to fight WHO?”

Once upon a time at the cinema, the deadliest monsters weren’t lurking in our own airways, weren’t infiltrating nursing homes to murder our loved ones, and weren’t other humans screaming in our faces about their hallucinatory conspiracy theories. In our shared realm of pure imagination, creatures fifty feet tall or more threatened our lives, our livelihoods, our close-quarters societies, and our very infrastructure that is the ultimate status symbol of superior lifeforms. In each rueful tale humankind was brought low by its hubris and its denial of its own frailty, screaming at the heavens as our deathblow came not from ironically itty-bitty microorganisms, but from amazing colossal oppressors who deemed us just as squashable as ants. Though they were arguably empowered by humanity’s sins, at least we could see them coming from a mile away and escape them if we had a cool enough car. In those days, dire threats to our entire species were much more fun.

Blame nostalgia for old-fashioned monsters, as opposed to today’s monsters outside our windows, as the primary motivation that drove me to see Godzilla vs. Kong in theaters and break my own rules.

Continue reading →