wOct 7, 2007


Geek.Kon: First Thoughts

I have a midterm tomorrow morning for which I have only minimally studied, but I know that if I don't wrote about the convention right now, I will forget some things that I want to say. So I'll just do it and be done.

Firstly, the amount of press we've gotten about this con has been insane, and unique. Usually, sci-fi and anime conventions don't get news coverage. Antoine surmises that we get news because our con is new. I'm not sure what the deal is. Even CNN picked us up. (Antoine is in that clip!!) Here is WKOW's press (local ABC). The Associated Press picked us up, and I've been quoted in the Green Bay Press-Gazette, LaCrosse Tribune, Appleton Post-Crescent, and Wisconsin State Journal. So, the press coverage has been exciting, to say the least. In fact, if you go to CNN.com at the time I write this entry, we're on the front page, right up in the list of top headlines.

It was kind of weird walking around Geek.Kon, and knowing that I was partly responsible for it. It started as this thing where Louise (roommate and president of Sci-Fi Club) asked me if we should have an event combining her club and mine (Anime Club) for a day of fun. We applied for a UW Grant encouraging cooperation between student groups, and were denied the grant. We decided to have a convention anyway. We formed a group of people to plan this convention, and I have to say that out of that group, I might have been the only one not directly responsible for one aspect of the con. My help was solely in idea-offering, as well as random tasks - asking permission for sci-fi viewings, asking permissions for things, etc. Lots of other people did a lot more than I did, but I was still one of the many. We hoped for 200 people. We got between 1,500 and 1,800. In our first year.

I didn't take notes at any of the panels that I attended, but they were fun. In fact, I was on three of them!
Thankfully, sasha_feather has posted a report on the Heroes panel I was on.
I was also on an Anime 101 panel, which I think had a tad too many people and was kind of unorganized, and my Shojo Manga panel on gender, which I think went well. Maybe in the next couple of days, other people will post their thoughts about them.

I attended the fanfiction panel, as well as the Sci-Fi Roundtable panel that had Jim Frenkel, Joan D. Vinge, Sarah Monette, and Patrick Rothfuss. They mostly focused on writing and getting published, which was fun to hear about. All of the panels that I attended were fun.

The security team was awesome. After the con, half the security team and about half of the planning staff went out to the Nitty Gritty for dinner, and it was a lot of fun.

There were so many amazing costumes, and artists, and interactions going on. In the next few days, I hope to compile some round-ups of pictures, panel reports, and videos. For now, the Geek.Kon LJ community is a happening place. Also, for those who haven't explored our website too thoroughly, there are forums, and they are quite active (especially right now!).

Now I have to go and make myself study. Tomorrow's midterm will be....interesting. And holy crap, do I wish that TAs would not assign useless write-ups EVERY WEEK. YOUR JOB IS TO MAKE THE CLASS EASIER, NOT MORE DIFFICULT, KTHX.

Upcoming:
Post of Geek.Kon haul
Us in-town geeks totally need to hang out more often. Gretchen, heyfoureyes, sasha_feather and etc. OMG I could make you guys watch anime, and it would totally be awesome. We could rinse with Buffy.

Labels: , ,

scribbled mystickeeper at 11:07 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:

Way to pwn!!! HOLY POOO!!!!!

By Blogger Unknown, at 8:01 AM, October 08, 2007  

Whatever, Antoine is cuter than you are. If I mentioned everyone other than Antoine, then....I'd mention everyone. I could have mentioned me, too! I was the one who showed those WKOW guys around, so in most shots, I was standing right behind the camera.

By Blogger mystickeeper, at 12:36 AM, October 10, 2007  

Post a Comment