The Geekiest Weekend Ever.

Last weekend was Saboten-Con, the self-proclaimed "largest anime convention in Arizona", held at the Pointe Hilton Resort. I attended along with several Homestuck fans that I met back at Phoenix Comicon. The Hilton is incredibly nice on it's own, complete with several pools, a restaurant and a water park. When you fill it with anime geeks it becomes that much more entertaining.

The Price of staying in an actual room throughout the convention was steep. However, we made it affordable by employing a cunning method called "stuffing the room to twice it's occupancy". We managed to fit nine people in a suite meant for four. It was cramped, but ultimately worth it.

just look at the state of it.

 Saboten's content is a little more niche than Phoenix Comicon. I was simply referring to the whole con as "Homestuck Camp", because our group did not go to one panel. We spent most of our time dicking around the hotel and taking pictures with other Homestuck groups (of which there were several). In fact the only anime-related activity we did was watch the Adult Swim lineup in our room.
Obviously the costumes were the best part.

Chloe I stopped this girl just for you

I want to know how they were getting around

 

 

 

Of course we all came prepared with our own costumes. At 4:13 on Saturday many (but not all) of the homestuck cosplayers met up for a photoshoot that lasted two goddamn HOURS. The crowd got massive, and by the end there were nearly as many people taking pictures as there were people posing.

"Come at us, Bro"?

Kanaya disapproves

a Jack is fine too

 Getting into costume was more arduous than I thought. If you're going as one of the Trolls, every unclothed part of you must be covered in gray makeup. It took a good 30 minutes just to get an even layer on my face. I tried on my black wig; that was just not going to happen. I did manage to attatch some red eyelashes, even though squirting glue into your eye strikes me as a terrible idea. It was worth it for the pictures, apparently my character isn't frequently cosplayed.

the world must never know

I'm not likely to be dressing up in Troll makeup again anytime soon. After an hour in the shower with three kinds of soap my skin was still grayish. Other than that, It was a very good time. I had lots of fun and met more new people. Can't wait for the next one.

everyone's favorite picture of Guy, Rowan, and myself

30 Day Challenge? What 30 Day Challenge?

Alright. Time to pick up where we left off.

Day 13: Your Favorite Book(s)

 I've recently gotten into classic horror, and just classic literature in general. I feel like some books have been around so long, they'd think it's rude if you didn't read them. The vernacular used in some books can be difficult to understand depending on what era they were written in. To some it's moon speak, but I like the challenge.


H.P. Lovecraft started me on my classic horror kick. This is appropriate, as most horror writers that came after him have been influenced in one way or another by his work. My little anthology, Tales of H.P. Lovecraft, includes most of the classics ("The Shadow Over Innsmouth", "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Dunwitch Horror", etc.), but there are still several I'd like to read that weren't included.
Among others are Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley and The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. The latter was translated from French, and inspired one of Disney's darkest animated films.


As far as modern literature goes, if I had to pick a favorite I'd say that it's Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis (the guy that did American Psycho). The first time I read it it gave my brain a swift kick in the crotch. In my opinion the best stories combine realism with fantasy and humor with horror and tragedy. This book does it seamlessly. I've also just finished Snow Crash by Neal Stevenson, which was thought provoking but left a bit to be desired as far as the actual story went. Still a good read though.


What I would like now is a straight-up fantasy that doesn't even take place in the "real world". A story with actual magic and adventure would be a nice change of pace. A long time ago I read the Black Jewels trilogy by Anne Bishop, which is like an Anne Rice novel on steroids. It was pretty much what I'm looking for now, if a bit more screwed up.