Geekery

I'd like to begin with an apology to any of my Save Saturday Service correspondents. Summer time is busy time and I have written maybe two letters in the past two months. But I haven't forgotten about you, I swear! I'll be making a better effort to write more letters just as soon as I get back from my next trip.

I said I've been busy, and this past weekend was no exception. I spent the day Saturday at Comic-Con, and had a great time. I don't know if it shows much here, but there is a geek inside of me. I've been known to complain that the casting of superhero movies isn't true enough to the character (and also argue that the characters can and should evolve), contemplate the best episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and weigh in on the debate between the hotter Harrison Ford role: Han Solo or Indiana Jones. When a friend started a graphic novel book club, I was all over that. There are webcomics I read reliably. So when a friend offered the complimentary passes she earned for volunteering, I was pretty psyched to go!

I used to buy tickets, but it's not important enough to me to buy the tickets a year in advance, which you pretty much have to do now. I bought tickets last year, because I wanted my boyfriend to see what it was like since he'd never been. Even though it's not really his scene, it's easy to find this he's interested in because it has grown so much and encompasses so many things. Further, there is no better place on earth better for people watching. I haven't traveled much but I still feel confident in that statement.

For the uninitiated, there are two basic aspects to the convention. One is the exhibit hall, with booths of all kinds, including those of individual artists, comic book vendors, DC and Marvel, LEGO, various movie studios, book publishers . . . I could keep going but you get the idea. The other is "programming," which is a blanket term for panel discussions, movie & television sneak peeks, gaming, film festivals, and probably some other stuff I can't think of right now. I try to avoid the movie and TV stuff, which tend to be just absolute madness in terms of crowds (although I wouldn't say episodes like this are common), but I do like to attend the panels, which vary greatly in their topics.

But the Comic-Con experience goes beyond that. People dress up as their favorite super heroes, graphic novel protagonists, anime characters, and, of course, movie roles (to varying degrees of success). Downtown becomes incredibly lively as the whole city gears up for it. This year, the transit service changed the Trolley signs across from the convention center to Klingon. A group organized a zombie walk, which was fun to observe. Comic-Con is really a neat thing.

Highlights for me this year included: finally caving and buying a Jayne hat, getting a 3-D photo taken, purchasing a sketch from Ramona Fradon, seeing the Family Guy*, Cleveland Show*, Futurama, and Simpsons panels (especially the clips/cast readings of the Comic-Con inspired episodes), and meeting up with friends for drinks and the conclusion of the Zombie Walk. My description cannot do it justice, so without further ado, I'll give you a few photos. I didn't take many, and none show how crazy crowded it is, but here's a bit of my Comic-Con 2010 experience.

Klingon signage

An R2-D2 just rolling around.

At the convention center.

I'm ready!

An exhibitor display of "You-Know-Who"

My disappointment that this is not the Big Three

is mitigated by my appreciation for this Flash costume.

Futurama panel with Matt Groening.

The panelists are seen on the screen

and in the far background.

The hero of Canton . . .

Emma Frost (in her diamond form) with

a character I don't know and Ms. Marvel

Mystique

Batmobile on the street.

At Quality Social, preparing for the imminent

arrival of the zombies.

The Zombie Walk wraps up at Quality Social.

Even zombies get thirsty!

*Not actually a fan of the shows, but not opposed and attending the panel guaranteed us seats for the Groening panels.

Save Saturday Service - Update

Thanks in part to Rachel's plug of my mail project, I've had quite a few volunteer recipients. Initially, only existing friends asked for letters, but now the number of strangers (or potential friends, if you will) has surpassed the number of participants I know personally. Additionally, I have now sent to four states (including California) and two (soon to be three when I write my next letter) countries other than the United States, and I've received responses from three of the letters I've written.

Since my original post, I have also been pleased to discover that I'm not the only one doing this sort of thing, and a great number of bloggers have hosted mail swaps, or offered to send postcards or letters, or posted entries about the joy of receiving mail the old fashioned way. And Annie at Snail Mail Lover has a whole blog dedicated to all things related to letter writing.

I'm having a wonderful time writing the letters and plan to continue the project as long as people are interested. So if you want me to send you something by post just send your address (formatted according to your country's guidelines) to mistymichael15@gmail.com.

Save Saturday Service!

The United States Post Office is asking congress for permission to cut Saturday delivery. Now this doesn't actually bother me that much as long as they keep the offices open on Saturday (which I believe is the plan). However, I have been thinking about how very nice it is to receive actual correspondence by mail. Maybe it's because I'm currently reading Jane Austen, but I feel there is a certain romance to the hand-written (or hand printed) word and sometimes I wish I wrote more letters and cards. So I'm going to. I know sending a few letters won't actually do enough to keep the USPS delivering on Saturday, but it's still inspiration enough for me (plus, the alliteration in "save Saturday service" is nice, no?).

Here's the deal: send me your address by email and I'll send you written correspondence by mail. I'm not promising extraordinary prose or even a lengthy letter (it may be a note or a postcard) but you will get something.