In A Kitchen Far Far Away...

Lately I've been on a cooking kick. Normally I hate cooking; I'm not a foodie at all. But we have a lot of pot lucks at work. The food court next door to work will be closed for two years for remodeling and in August I will take a lot of time off work, so I will be home a lot.

So I bought five cookbooks after doing some research. The Geeky Chef, The Geeky Chef Strikes Back, The Geeky Bartender, An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Cookbook of Hobbit Cookery, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook.

It's pretty clear why I bought these. The first three books don't just cover science fiction and fantasy moves. Properties like Pulp Fiction, World of Warcraft, 1984, Archer, and much more all have recipes. There's quite a bit of selections to choose from and to keep me busy for quite a while.

Flipping through the books there are not many recipes that call for hard to find ingredients. The most difficult ingredients are either used in such small quantities I can probably omit them or find a substitute. Like most cooking, the problem is that most ingredients come in big amounts but the amount in the recipe is very small. I'll have quite a bit of ingredients left over, which means I need to make a lot of food.

So far I have made Elvish Lembas bread and Bantha blue milk. The bread from Lord of the Rings turned out delicious but a bit too greasy, as I think I used too much olive oil. The Star Wars drink was delicious.

As always, thanks for reading.

Tokyo Comic Con 2018

I had intended to write a report about Tokyo Comic Con 2018 shortly after it ended. I completely forgot about it until last week. Better late than never, right? Here goes.

Tokyo Comic Con (or TCC) is the fourth or fifth convention I've ever been to. My very first con was when I was in my late teens and I went to a very small Star Trek convention in Billings, Montana. Several years later I went to DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia. I went there twice, the second time wearing a monster maroon uniform from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I hadn't been to any convention at all since moving to Japan, so TCC was my first.

Like a lot of things in Japan, TCC was run very smoothly, something Tom Hiddleston remarked on during his closing comments on stage. TCC is trying to differentiate itself from other Japanese conventions by modeling itself after San Diego Comic-Con; the focus is on American movies and comics and pop culture. Star Wars and Marvel were the big properties; they had the largest booths in the dealers area and most of the cosplays were from those two franchises. The costumes still ran a wide gamut of characters though; I saw a female Freddy Krueger, Jason, Bumblebee, Starfleet officers, and––to my mind the most unusual costume choice––Henry Jones Senior from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

The costumes were excellent and it was interesting seeing how different the same character was represented. Many of the costumes were very well made with great attention to detail and I could tell the players put in a lot of time and effort and money. Even some of the employees at the booths were in costume and looked good.

Unlike DragonCon, there were not many panels and discussions. TCC takes place in one vast empty area with two stages on each end. Here, there were mini concerts and a few panels where guests introduced upcoming movies, like Godzilla King of the Monsters. The main stage draws were the various costume fashion shows and contest. There were separate fashion shows for Marvel, DC, and Star Wars. Then a larger one including all genres where a grand prize winner was announced. I was overwhelmed by everything going on at the floor I sort of forgot about a lot of the shows, which is something I'll have to remedy this year. Last year I was sort of taking it all in, this year I'll be more prepared and I'll pay attention to the schedule.

No con is complete without guests and TCC had some big genre names: Peter Weller, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner, Ezra Miller, and Oliver and James Phelps. I met Ezra Miller and the Phelps Brothers. If I have one gripe about TCC it's the price charged for guests. Each guest had two sessions: a photograph session and an autograph session. Con goers had to pay separately to have their picture taken with the celebrity and then to get that photo (or something different) signed. The prices were much higher than I ever saw at DragonCon. Tom Hiddleston was the biggest draw and his prices reflected that: roughly $280 each for a photo and autograph. The cheapest was Peter Weller at $120 each. A con goer could easily spend more than $500 just to meet the guests. I splurged since this was my first time and bought a total of four tickets for photos and autographs.

I don't know why the prices are so high and I wish an explanation was given on the site. I know for DragonCon that guests are not paid. They are invited and their airfare and rooms are paid out of their own pocket; that's why they often charge for autographs. But the prices at TCC seem sky high. Perhaps the con is paying for guests flights and accommodations, I don't know.

But I'm not going to let that detract from my enjoyment. I plan on visiting TCC as often as I can. I made some new online friends when I ran into a group of Star Trek fans. Star Trek isn't as popular here in Japan as in America so it was great to see some fellow Trekkies.

I'm already planning my costumes for December.

As always, thanks for reading.

Happy Geekness Day!

July 13th is Embrace Your Geekness Day. As DaysOfTheYear.com states: "In an age of social media, mobile technology and gaming consoles, it’s impossible to avoid being just a little bit geeky. Don’t fight it; jump head first into Embrance Your Geekness Day and show the world how intelligent, technically savvy, and clever you really are!” I was invited by Sam Bowling of SingleHop.com to write a special blog post celebrating this great day.

Would I consider myself a geek? Yes I would. And I believe many people are geeks; they just don’t realize it or they refuse to call themselves that. What is a geek? What is a nerd? Are they the same? I think there is a difference, but the line between them is getting blurred. In my mind, a geek is someone who loves a thing, no matter what it is, with great passion. They are crazy about a show, or a comic, or a video game; something that catches their interest and hearts. Nerds, while also passionate, tend to be into ideas and practical or theoretical studies. Quantum mechanics, time travel. biology, computer programming, and the like. This article from the UK takes an interesting view. Again, it is my personal opinion, but I agree with the article: geeks love things and nerds love ideas. But the two terms are becoming intertwined, and maybe in a few years there will be no difference.

What makes me a geek? I’m a collector. I don’t have many interests, but what I am interested in, I’m deeply into. I love learning all about it. And if it has merchandise…my wallet better watch out. I love getting memorabilia and goods from some of my favorite TV shows and movies; which include Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Castle, Sherlock, superheroes, and more. I love buying useful items that resemble things from these shows or are products from the show. I have a pen that resembles the Tenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver, as well as replica Triad playing cards from BSG.

I believe one reason geeks love collecting things is the same reason sports fan collect sports stuff: it connects us with that reality and reminds us of the good times, even when we aren’t watching our favorite program or reading our favorite books. People love stories, and the genres of science fiction and fantasy offer fantastic other worlds to visit. And geeks want to hold on to those stories, those characters, just a little longer after the story ends. When a San Francisco 49ers fan is wearing a team jersey as he walks down the street, he is bringing a bit of the team with him. Their victories and defeats are there. It’s the same with writing with a sonic screwdriver pen or using a pizza cutter shaped like the Enterprise: we are carrying those stories of heroes, villains, love, and lost with us.

But for some reason, it is much more acceptable to wear a team jersey than it is a Starfleet uniform. Geeks and nerds are made fun of for their interests. But we shouldn’t. We have every right to proudly display our geekiness, just as every sports fan as their right to show their team spirit. But, as LeVar Burton always said on Reading Rainbow, you don’t have to take my word for it. Below are three of my favorite quotes about nerds, geeks, and our beloved but misunderstood culture.

“Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.” - Simon Pegg

I believe that actor Will Wheaton described it best in a YouTube video that was filmed during one of his convention appearances. A female fan had recently had a baby and asked him to explain why it was so great to be a nerd. His answer was epic. "My name is Wil Wheaton. It’s 2013. And you’ve just recently joined us on planet Earth. So welcome. I’m an actor. I’m a writer. And I’m a dad. Your mother asked me to tell you why it’s awesome to be a nerd. That’s an easy thing for me to do because I am a nerd.

I don’t know what the world is going to be like by the time you understand this. I don’t what it’s going to mean to be a nerd when you are a young women. For me, when I was growing up, being a nerd meant that I liked things that were a little weird. That took a lot of effort to appreciate and understand. It meant that I loved science, and that I loved playing board games, and reading books, and really understanding what went on in the world instead of just riding the planet through space.

When I was a little boy, people really teased us about that, and made us feel like there was something wrong with us for loving those things. Now that I’m an adult, I’m kind of a professional nerd, and the world has changed a lot. I think a lot of us have realized that being a nerd … it’s not about what you love. It’s about how you love it.

So, there’s going to be a thing in your life that you love. I don’t know what that’s going to be … and it doesn’t matter what it is. The way you love that, and the way that you find other people who love it the way you do is what makes you a nerd. The defining characteristic of [being a nerd] is that we love things. Some of us love Firefly and some of us love Game Of Thrones, or Star Trek, or Star Wars, or anime, or games, or fantasy, or science fiction. Some of us love completely different things. But we all love those things SO much that we travel for thousands of miles … we come from all over the world, so that we can be around people who love the things the way that we love them.

That’s why being a nerd is awesome. And don’t let anyone tell you that that thing that you love is a thing that you can’t love. Don’t anyone ever tell you that you can’t love that, that’s for boys … you find the things that you love, and you love them the most that you can.

And listen: This is really important. I want you to be honest, honorable, kind. I want you to work hard. Because everything worth doing is hard. And I want you to be awesome, and I will do my very best to leave you a planet that you can still live on."

And those parts about being teased for being nerdy or that you shouldn’t like the things you do… Doctor Who actor John Barrowman has a great response to that as well. At a convention, during the Q and A session, a fan began her question with, “I’m sorry for being such a nerd...” He interrupted her and said: “Don’t ever apologize for being a nerd. Not here and not on the outside. Don’t ever apologize for being a nerd because the non-nerds never apologize for being dickheads.”

Being a nerd or a geek is about wholeheartedly embracing what you love and not having to apologize for it.

photo credit: whatmattdoes via photopin cc