6 Things To Do This Weekend In Geek Arizona [WE 05/01]
This weekend, Geek Arizona gazes at Patton Oswalt, Saturn’s rings, and dashing warriors.
There are some pretty wild, wacky, and messy things going on this weekend. I hope some of you can get to a few of these and will share pictures.
Thursday, Apr 28th
- Mr Oswalt enjoys stirring the geek-culture pot up a bit.
- Catch him signing is latest book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland.
- At Changing Hands Bookstore from 4pm to 6pm.
- Afterwards he’ll head to the Mesa Arts Center for some stand-up.
- Here’s my original post about Patton Oswalt coming to AZ.
Friday, Apr 29th
Rooftop Saturn Viewing [Tempe]
- Hang with other space junkies and gaze at The Big S on the roof.
- There will be experts on hand to answer your nerdiest space questions.
- At the Bateman Physical Sciences Building H-wing Main at ASU.
- Get all the details here.
Saturday, Apr 30th
- It’s the craziest, filthiest, costumiest race ever.
- Although a bit of a roadtrip to get to it, I admit.
- Looks like registration is closed, but you can still go watch the madness.
- Details on their site.
Jesse James’ Pre-Con Party [Glendale]
- It’s another big local comics party at Jesse James Comics.
- Meet local creators throughout the day.
- Then, stick around for a “Pre-Phoenix-Comicon Party” starting around 6pm.
- Event page and flyer here.
Let me know what you’re up to this weekend, or if I missed anything!
Like this:
Zombie Research Society Meeting
- I’ve been reminded that the Zombie Research Society is having a public meeting.
- This Saturday from 3:30 to 4:30 at Bookmans Phoenix.
- The bloody details.
- Thanks for the reminder, Zoe!
Redefining Video Games Event
- Check out lectures on Redefining Video Games at KIVA Lecture Hall at ASU West.
- Plus some gaming!
- Saturday starting around 8:30am and going all day.
- Details over here.
- Thanks to @flamillon for the tip!
Patton Oswalt – Zombie Spaceship Wasteland [Signing]
Your kids may know his voice from Pixar’s Ratatouille, but you may know him as the rich guy with the weird dead-wife fantasy in Dollhouse, or as Baxter Sarno on Caprica.
And you may even recognize him as (my personal favorite) the recurring D&D nerd from Reno 911.
Comedian/Actor/Writer Patton Oswalt is a very funny guy, and a bit of an influence in the geek community. His bold essay on Geek Culture in Wired a few months ago is still fiercely debated across the nerd-o-sphere.
Arizona is lucky enough to abduct Patton for an afternoon with his new and only book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland.
- Thursday, April 28th at 4pm.
- Signing at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe.
- I’m pretty sure anyone can stand around, but buying his book will get you seats and a ticket for a signing.
- Get all the details on Changing Hands’ site.
I’m really hoping I can make to this, as I’d personally love to meet Mr Oswalt.
Afterwards, you can catch Patton’s stand up routine at the Mesa Arts theater, at 7:30pm.
The Alien Warrior Comedian [Event Recap]
Well, my expectations were out of this world (get it!?) but The Alien Warrior Comedian did not disappoint.
The Gamers’ Inn in Mesa can get a little crowded on Saturday nights, and for almost an hour the denizens of The Inn crammed into the back to join those of us visiting.
It was all worth it, however, to witness the intergalactic immigrant.
The somewhat-expected bits about crop circles and [ahem] probes went pretty quickly as The Interloper outlined his mission on Earth then moved to more “current events” humor.
I kind of wish, with such a nerdy audience, that he’d focused more on the nerdier sci-fi jokes (he had a few good ones about time travel) instead of dwelling on more common stand-up sources. But to be fair, he was able to breath fresh air into some of the more tired themes. For example, instead of jokes about the difference between men and women, he’d explain the differences between Earth women and the women on his planet.
When he was done, he hammed it up a bit for my wife.
It was a memorable evening – The Alien Warrior Comedian will truly be hard to forget – and some of us even stuck around afterward and played BANG! (my current favorite card game).
Expect to see the full set of pictures on the Lightning Octopus Facebook Page later!
