A look into the weekend of cosplay, comics and tea
For those of you unaware, this past weekend was Hal-Con, the Maritime’s yearly celebration of geek culture. I took it upon myself to keep an event log as the convention went on.
Saturday, November 8th
1130 – Having showed up to the convention in my 1st/2nd Century CE Roman Gallic peasant outfit, I get some “My Little Peony” tea from the World Tea House booth. Phil, the owner of the World Tea House, is a pretty cool guy.
1200 – Diversity in Comics Panel: Panelists from various different parts of the comics industry, are present. The conversation went into some very thought-provoking areas. It ended with the unanimous recommendation to follow the newest Ms. Marvel series, which stars the Muslim teenager Kamala Khan, subject of much critical and popular acclaim.
1255 – Made friends in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) booth – they’re pretty cool. I was primarily interested in the 3rd/4th century CE legionary, but also met a 15th century French noble lady and a crusader knight of the 12th century.
1305 – Got “Swamp Thing Tea” from the World Tea House Booth. Phil tells me it’s a mixture of sencha and mint.
1337 – I’m annoyed people keep saying “Nice toga.” It’s a tunic!
1650 – World Tea House again: Inara’s Oolong (Wuyi Oolong). It’s delicious. Maybe I drink too much tea?
1700 – Steampunk 201: Journey to the Center of it all. Hosted by the Jules Vernes Phantastical Society, the panel sought to explain some of the history and nature of the steampunk and what the society views as inherent to the genre.
1714 – “What’s the difference between a Sonic Screwdriver and a magic wand? The colour of your scarf.”
2000 – The last event I attend of the day is the “George Melies, the father of Science Fiction Cinema” panel. It’s hosted by the Jules Verne Phantastical Society again. Melies is best known for his Le Voyage Dans la Lune (A Trip to the moon), but he was basically a tour de force for early film from 1896-1910, making 531 films in that span of time.
2016 – Melies would transfer from stage magic over to the screen – learning how to make a film camera by taking apart a projector. He’d be one of many to invent the film camera in or around 1896.
2024 – We’re shown a rare, restored colour version of La Voyage Dans la Lune. Cannes has been insanely compiling all the records, and have managed to restore the coloured completed version (which was coloured by hand) 109 years after the fact. I’ve never seen it in colour before.
2031 – It’s beautiful. I want to become a film historian.
2038 – There are quite a lot of scantily clad assistants for a 1902 production.
Sunday, November 9th
1000 – After waiting in line for an hour, it moves, and it does so swiftly. My first stop is by the World Tea House booth, where I pick up some Second Breakfast tea.
1005 – Show up a bit late to the Genderbending, Crossplay and Cosplay Panel. Panelist is primarily focused on the character, as with any other form of Cosplay. Genderbending and Crossplay isn’t substantively different from any other form of artistic decision.
1234 – “Tea, Earl Grey, Hot,” as I pay homage to the best Star Trek captain.
1252 – Sitting in wait for the Webcomics Panel, a member of the convention staff walks in asking if anyone has lost their scythe. No one had.
1309 – Peter Chiykowski (of Rock, Paper, Cynic acclaim): “Create comics you like, not because it’ll sell.” The consensus of the panel as a whole is on this. If you produce from the heart and with consistency, you’ll create understanding and expectation for your audience.
1429 – At the Introduction to Lolita Fashion panel I’m one of the three males in the room. I feel kinda awkward in my Roman dress, whose simplicity and utility is the opposite of Lolita fashion.
1433 – My bad, four males. One of them was dressed in Lolita fashion, so I didn’t notice initially, despite the well-groomed goatee.
1633 – On the bus back home from the convention. It was a lot of fun, but right now I’m just super tired. I’ve a big stack of Latin and Greek homework for me, and I’m not looking forward to what these next two days will be like. Crunch time for me.
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