The Costumes, Craziness, and Characters of Saboten-Con 2011 [Recap]

There aren’t just a lot of Anime fans at Saboten-Con, there are a lot of costumed Anime fans.

A lot.

The ratio of costume-per-attendee skyrockets at this convention. On my 2nd trip there I decided to attempt at blending in a little by wearing the one and only anime shirt I own – my sweet AKIRA shirt with Tetsuo freaking out with his new  arm.

Emboldened by my new disguise, I ventured out of my comfort zone to meet new people and chat up a few attendees. One gaggle of girls I met in a line told me they were having a blast. When I asked how they’d heard about it, they replied they didn’t know. They just knew it was happening.

They sensed it.

Another guest I forcefully interrogated from Canada told me it was his favorite con, and I even chatted up someone who wasn’t part of the convention but happened to be staying at the hotel. He was fun to talk to as he had no idea why he was currently surrounded by hundreds of teenagers in robes with blue and pink hair.

I did not talk to middle-aged-raver-steampunk-spider-man-guy, however.

Due to personal scheduling restraints,  I wasn’t able to meet with any of Saboten-con’s guests, or go to as many panels or events as I’d originally hoped.

Fortunately, costume photos are usually what people want to see when they read recaps like this. And so, I share with you my photo adventures in Saboten-con, Phoenix’s big ol’  anime convention:

Am I getting older, or are Time Lords getting younger?

Peace and love!

I like turtles!!!

The main floor was always packed, and security roamed – making sure everyone had space.

This guy was VERY excited to find something:

Meow meow! (Inside joke for Daniel Davis.)

I did get to hit up the Steampunk ball, which included Steampunk Captain America, and Steampunk No Face.

(And middle-aged-steampunk-raver-spider-man-guy.)

More costumes:

Ninjas! And a very committed furry:

They caught a Pikachu!

This guy’s dad is a jerk:

This Mario was adorable:

Typical Saboten-con activity:

Cid!

You look different than I remember you, somehow:

A few buildings over, the gaming area was alive and well:

Had fun, and wish I could have stuck around longer.

5 Geeky Things To Do This Weekend In Arizona [WE 10/02]

This weekend, Arizona goes to SabotenCon, raps about nerd-culture, creates comic books, & discusses ghost hunting.

Ahh, the weekend approacheth. I hope I can help you make the most of them with these lists.

Friday, September 30th

SabotenCon! [Phoenix]

• Perfect if you like giant robots, giant hair, giant eyes, and … okay giant everything.
• The three day celebration of all things Anime begins on Friday.
• At the Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix.
• I will be there in the evening, as well as Saturday afternoon.
• Learn more on my post about SabotenCon 2011.

MC Chris! [Scottsdale]

• W0rd, yo. MC Chris is gonna melt your bespectacled face off.
• Check out the guy whose rap albums have names like “Dungeon Master of Ceremonies.”
• At The Martini Ranch, around 6:30pm. Local favorite Mega Ran will be there too.
• Droppin’ some mad details!
• (Seriously, check out that flyer for an idea of what you’d be in for.)

Saturday, October 1st

24hr Comic Book Day! [All Over]

• Join local comic book artists and writers as they hunker down for one full Earth rotation.
• The goal is 24 pages in 24hrs, and local comic stores are joining in the fun.
• Here’s a list of Arizona locations participating.
• And Nerdvana has a few more details.

East Valley Paranormal Society At The Library! [Mesa]

• Learn a little about ghost hunting from a local crew.
• They’ll share experiences, secrets of the trade, show off some equipment, and take questions.
• Starts at 1pm at the Red Mountain Library.
• Details here.

Sunday, October 1st

Dan Aykroyd Returns! [Glendale]

• Looks like this original Ghostbuster isn’t done with Arizona.
• Dan is coming back, this time to a Sam’s Club, to meet fans and sign bottles of Crystal Head Vodka.
• Starts at 11am and goes to 1pm – no box-mart ‘membership’ required to meet him.
• Get your details.
• Thanks to the Arizona Ghostbusters for the heads up!

Let me know if I missed anything, or if you might get out and attend one of these!

6 Things For Geeks To Do This Weekend In Arizona [WE 09/18]

This weekend, Arizona talks like a pirate, gets techno-paranoid, calls forth The Browncoats, and more.

Last weekend was pretty epic – how will this weekend fare?

Thursday, September 15th

Video Game Trivia [Phoenix]

• Video games, trivia, swag, gamer cred.
• At the Cade Gallery starting at 7pm.
• I’m going to try to make it to this one!
• By the way,  the winner of last week’s Galaga contest took  home a freaking power glove.
• (I love the power glove… It’s so bad.)

Friday, September 16th

World On A Wire [Phoenix]

• A distopian-science-fiction-paranoid-retro-futuristic-cyberpunk-foreign-film-noir?
• Sounds right up my alley; I may have to go see this.
• At the Film Bar starting 6pm, with shows on Saturday as well.
• Learn more and watch the trailer here.
• (PS – Ever seen the German film Cargo? Pretty cool flick.)

Saturday, September 17th

AZ Collector’s Marketplace [Phoenix]

• Apparently these things happen every weekend, but I’ve yet to mention them.
• Browse, buy, envy, sell, peruse, ogle, brag, and do everything else collectors do when they get together.
• Seems to boast a ton of sweet 80′s pop culture stuff. Could be fun.
• From 10am to 4pm at their location.
• Learn more.

Anime-nia 2 [Mesa]

• Gotham City Comics is pulling out all the stops for the otakus.
• Trivia contest? Art contest? Cosplay contest?
• Yes, yes, and yes.
• And anime shows.
• From 10am until your bed time.
• Here’s the FB event page.

Talk Like A Pirate Day [Glendale]

• Okay, TLAPD isn’t technically until Monday, but Saturday is a weekend, so that wins.
• The Arizona Corsairs are doing their thang and everyone’s invited!
• Belly dancing, fire breathing, swordfights, & pub crawls.
• At the Westgate City Center from 7pm – 11pm.
• Learn more here.
• (Wow, I didn’t use any clever “pirate” terms!)

Sunday, September 18th

Can’t Stop The Serenity! [Mesa]

• Help Equality Now (Joss’ charity) and Kids Need To Read (Nathan’s charity)!
• Screenings of Serenity and Dr Horrible, and other Whedonish activities, I’m sure.
• At The Royale starting around Noon and going until 6pm.
• Learn all you need to from The Arizona Browncoats.

Hope to see some of you this weekend!

Oh and I wanted to mention that Bookmans happens to be sponsoring more than one of  the events up there. If you see them around, say thanks!