This is one of our favorite New Year's Eve songs. It was commissioned by NPR in December 2001, when everyone was happy that year was over. It still works today. Enjoy.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Time for an anthem to come back
This song came out after the Dixie Chicks were vilified for objecting to the second Gulf War on stage in London. It became an anthem during the later years of the administration as Bush lost support. Almost ten years later, it still has some power. Freedom doesn't mean much if you don't use it and accept the risks like they did.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Web Series Review - Dragon Age: Redeption
The first episode of the new web series Dragon Age: Redemption premiered this week. And I have to say it's off to a good start.
The ads and trailers have been saying "Featuring Felicia Day" but she's a bit more involved than that. She's also the writer and an executive producer. She also plays the lead Elf Tallis. The role is worlds away, fittingly, of other roles I've seen her in on The Guild, Eureka and Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog. In all of those roles, she plays a quiet, shy girl who doesn't seem to like conflict. And with the first two, a first-rate neurotic. Not so much in this.
Within 30 seconds of coming on screen, she's flipping a cleaver (seriously, a big one) across then room then flipping a guy on to a butcher block to make pork chops. She is still kinda quiet, mostly because an assassin who can take out a guy twice her size really doesn't need to get that loud. And she's over the conflict thing.
The production overall is very good, with the only bad CGI was at the very end as Tallis lops off a bad guy's head. The writing is solid, almost Whedon-like, direction good and the acting entertaining. All in all, a good show. I look forward to the next ep.
The ads and trailers have been saying "Featuring Felicia Day" but she's a bit more involved than that. She's also the writer and an executive producer. She also plays the lead Elf Tallis. The role is worlds away, fittingly, of other roles I've seen her in on The Guild, Eureka and Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog. In all of those roles, she plays a quiet, shy girl who doesn't seem to like conflict. And with the first two, a first-rate neurotic. Not so much in this.
Within 30 seconds of coming on screen, she's flipping a cleaver (seriously, a big one) across then room then flipping a guy on to a butcher block to make pork chops. She is still kinda quiet, mostly because an assassin who can take out a guy twice her size really doesn't need to get that loud. And she's over the conflict thing.
The production overall is very good, with the only bad CGI was at the very end as Tallis lops off a bad guy's head. The writing is solid, almost Whedon-like, direction good and the acting entertaining. All in all, a good show. I look forward to the next ep.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
New Show for Syfy - A Game Show?
This just came across our feeds today. SyFy has announced that they have gotten the American rights to Total Blackout. A game show. Done in total darkness. Hosted by Jaleel White. In other words, by Urkel from Family Matters.
This is the same network that cancelled Eureka (okay, it's not over yet, but still) and it's other hard sci-fi shows. The new "show" joins Face Off, Ghost Hunters, Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files, Hollywood Treasure, Haunted Collector and Paranormal Witness.
While I can almost see Ghost Hunters, because of the geek factor, could we have a science fiction network that actually plays, I don't know, science fiction. Just for a change of pace?
This is the same network that cancelled Eureka (okay, it's not over yet, but still) and it's other hard sci-fi shows. The new "show" joins Face Off, Ghost Hunters, Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files, Hollywood Treasure, Haunted Collector and Paranormal Witness.
While I can almost see Ghost Hunters, because of the geek factor, could we have a science fiction network that actually plays, I don't know, science fiction. Just for a change of pace?
The Avengers - New Trailer
Just so people don't forget that this blog started as a geek news site, here's something one of our friends let us know about. Try not to squee too loud. Don't want to scare the animals.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Occupy Chicago First-hand
I'd heard a little about the Occupy Wall Street protest a few weeks ago, but hadn't thought too much about it. There's a few reasons for that. One, daily life keeps me busy enough. Two, I thought it would be just another action that I've seen mentioned on Facebook that would fizzle out before long. Finally, I'm actually always iffy about things people get really loudly passionate about. I reserve my passion for my loved ones and my obsession with Firefly.
That changed this past week when the protest in New York and those that had started in other cities finally broke through to the mainstream media. I was still iffy though. Seeing the photos of crowds and seeing the videos of people chanting kept reminding me of the anti-globalization protests in the late 1990s. The same ones that led to riotting in Seattle. Kinda colored my point of view a bit.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Wizard World Comes to Chicago
By Tom Wray and Phillip Powers
Windy City Banner
Our editor Tom Wray actually went into fanboy meltdown at meeting Kai and Vivica. Both were friendly and very classy people. The editor, on the other hand, was reduced to croaking while he shook Vivica’s hand and let out a squee heard by dogs in Schaumburg when meeting Kai. He’s getting medication now and is much better.
Some of the celebrities had very long lines, Patrick Stewart among them. The line for autographs from literally half the cast of AMC’s “Walking Dead” stretch halfway around the Ronald E. Stephens Convention Center. The Joss Whedon pantheon was represented by Felicia Day (“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog”), Charisma Carpenter (“Buffy,” “Angel”) and James Marsters, who also held a concert on the Saturday of the con. Old school fans also had chances to meet Gil Gerard and Erin Grey of the early 1980s “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.” Erin, by the way, is still looking great.
Also the “Boondock Saints’” Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flannery as well as David Della Rocco were there and the lines were insanely long to meet them. There was a screening of the movie too.
There were cos-players (people dressed as their favorite characters ) from shows such as Firefly and Torchwood and animes like Bleach and Naruto and from video games like Final Fantsy XIII and Infamous 2. Running contests were held in the lobby of the convention center for the best costumes, with winners being decided by applause.
Chicago-area fan groups were also there in force, with the Chicago Ghostbusters bringing their own Ecto-1. They even let our writer Phil try on one of the proton packs. People could also see the 1960s-era Batmobile, the Delorean (do we really need to say from what movie) and the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine.
There were also lots of vendors selling just about anything you can think of and the sheer volume of comics was enough to make any geek pass out with excitement. T-shirts, patches and even swords were available for purchase. Name a sci-fi fandom and they were present and being sold to.
The prices of the vendors were surprisingly high but still affordable and the snack bars prices were up there as well case in point three pieces of not so good pizza two bottles of water and a bottle of iced tea cost twenty seven fifty.
There were panels going on all day each day of the con as well as Q & A’s with the celebs. From James Marster’s concert to panels with “Walking Dead,” “Evil Dead,” “Boondock Saints,” and more than we can list here. The was even a chance to talk with the children from the 1971 “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
The con drew a huge crowd, with the crowds outnumbering the actual residents of Rosemont. The traffic from people coming in actually filled the streets of the small suburb to overflowing. If attending next year, the Blue Line El is definitely the way to go.
Windy City Banner
Wizard World, Chicago's largest comic con, took place this last month and it was huge. There were celebrities, cosplayers and, of course, miles and miles of comics. We attended as members of the press and were in awe of the magnitude of it.
First of all let’s talk about the celebrities that were there. Patrick Stewart of “Star Trek” fame was there as was Levar Burton. Vivica A. Fox from “Independence Day” and “Kill Bill” was there as well as Kai Owen and Gareth David Lloyd from “Torchwood” and Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca in the original “Star Wars” movies just to name a few.  |
| WCB supporter Jeff Woods, actress Vivica A. Fox, editor Tom Wray and writer Phil Powers at Chciago Comic Con. Tom was at that point in full freak out. |
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One of the few Kaylee's we saw. Stormtroopers were every- where, however. |
Also the “Boondock Saints’” Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flannery as well as David Della Rocco were there and the lines were insanely long to meet them. There was a screening of the movie too.
There were cos-players (people dressed as their favorite characters ) from shows such as Firefly and Torchwood and animes like Bleach and Naruto and from video games like Final Fantsy XIII and Infamous 2. Running contests were held in the lobby of the convention center for the best costumes, with winners being decided by applause.
Chicago-area fan groups were also there in force, with the Chicago Ghostbusters bringing their own Ecto-1. They even let our writer Phil try on one of the proton packs. People could also see the 1960s-era Batmobile, the Delorean (do we really need to say from what movie) and the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine.
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| Phil starts his training with the local Ghostbusters franchise. |
The prices of the vendors were surprisingly high but still affordable and the snack bars prices were up there as well case in point three pieces of not so good pizza two bottles of water and a bottle of iced tea cost twenty seven fifty.
There were panels going on all day each day of the con as well as Q & A’s with the celebs. From James Marster’s concert to panels with “Walking Dead,” “Evil Dead,” “Boondock Saints,” and more than we can list here. The was even a chance to talk with the children from the 1971 “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
 |
| This was as close as they let us get. Our insurance is paid up, we wouldn't hurt it. Maybe take on the Kennedy... |
The con drew a huge crowd, with the crowds outnumbering the actual residents of Rosemont. The traffic from people coming in actually filled the streets of the small suburb to overflowing. If attending next year, the Blue Line El is definitely the way to go.
Overall, however, the con was a resounding success. We’re looking forward to next year. When we’ll bring hiking boots to go along with our own cosplay.
Game Review: M.S. Saga: A New Dawn
By Phillip Powers
Reviewer
Being a longtime fan of the all the Gundam series and a fan of RPG games, I was excited to find out they made M.S. Saga: A New Dawn, a RPG Gundam game.
The basic story is somewhat the same as most of the Gundam series plots: basically a young man forced to fight in a war using a mobile suit called Gundam. The game’s story starts with a young man named Tristan, after having seen the orphanage where he grew up destroyed before his eyes by a black mobile suit, vows revenge on it. The game includes mobile suits from many of the Gundam universes including the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Mobile Suit Double Zeta, and the mobile for the original show character’s counterattack just to name a few.
The gameplay is basic RPG style: you wander around a world map from place to place following a story while you randomly get in to fights. The battle system is pretty simple- you have a three-person party in the front row as your main attack force but if you have any people in the back row, then you can switch them in at anytime during battle. As for the fights, it's simple, you have the attack command, the boost command which is basically special attacks, the defend option, a charge option to store up extra energy for use with the boost attacks.
The real stars of the game are the mobile suits though. You can modify the mobile suits up to eight times in three categories for a total of twenty-four times in all. Then you can outfit them with a single melee weapon, two handheld ranged weapons, a single shoulder mounted weapon, and if possible two ranged weapons attached to the arms of the mobile suit provided the suits payload space can hold that many. The early weaker suits you will have to find the best payload deployment that suits its best type of offense either melee or ranged. As you get farther in to the game you will gain access to the better suits with bigger payload space to hold more weapons and have better stats. There is a nice amount of extra stuff to do if you want to deviate from the story which is nice, but a lot of it can’t be done until late in the game.
However as good as the game is, there are a few bad points to it. First, the max level cap for the characters is only fifty, so it does end up getting tricky towards the end of the game and even the best suits in the game are not really exceptional in the bonus dungeon. In a few of the boss fights, they were able to wipe out my entire party in a single attack. They were using the best suits, all fully modified, and the best weapons in the game so it does require some strategy, but it could have been quite a bit better in the whole modifying the suits department. You can switch out actual parts like the arms or legs and such, but doesn’t make up for the down points of the game.
All in all, it’s a decent game I would recommend to fans of the Gundam series.
Reviewer
Being a longtime fan of the all the Gundam series and a fan of RPG games, I was excited to find out they made M.S. Saga: A New Dawn, a RPG Gundam game.
 |
Developer - Bandai Platform - PlayStation 2 Release date - February 21, 2006 Genre - Role-playing game Mode - Single player |
The gameplay is basic RPG style: you wander around a world map from place to place following a story while you randomly get in to fights. The battle system is pretty simple- you have a three-person party in the front row as your main attack force but if you have any people in the back row, then you can switch them in at anytime during battle. As for the fights, it's simple, you have the attack command, the boost command which is basically special attacks, the defend option, a charge option to store up extra energy for use with the boost attacks.
The real stars of the game are the mobile suits though. You can modify the mobile suits up to eight times in three categories for a total of twenty-four times in all. Then you can outfit them with a single melee weapon, two handheld ranged weapons, a single shoulder mounted weapon, and if possible two ranged weapons attached to the arms of the mobile suit provided the suits payload space can hold that many. The early weaker suits you will have to find the best payload deployment that suits its best type of offense either melee or ranged. As you get farther in to the game you will gain access to the better suits with bigger payload space to hold more weapons and have better stats. There is a nice amount of extra stuff to do if you want to deviate from the story which is nice, but a lot of it can’t be done until late in the game.
However as good as the game is, there are a few bad points to it. First, the max level cap for the characters is only fifty, so it does end up getting tricky towards the end of the game and even the best suits in the game are not really exceptional in the bonus dungeon. In a few of the boss fights, they were able to wipe out my entire party in a single attack. They were using the best suits, all fully modified, and the best weapons in the game so it does require some strategy, but it could have been quite a bit better in the whole modifying the suits department. You can switch out actual parts like the arms or legs and such, but doesn’t make up for the down points of the game.
All in all, it’s a decent game I would recommend to fans of the Gundam series.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
OK Go Becomes Coolest Band on the Planet
This video has been floating around on Facebook a couple of day and we had to share. Former Chicago band OK Go, famous for the song "Here We Go" and it's cheap yet dazzling video and for working with the radio program "This American Life," has taken the next step to coolness (as if they had far to go). May we present OK Go and the Muppets.
Monday, August 22, 2011
2011 Hugo Winners Announced
World Science Fiction SocietyRenovation, the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention, has announced the 2011 Hugo Award winners.
BEST NOVEL
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Ballantine Spectra)
BEST NOVELLA
The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (Subterranean)
BEST NOVELETTE
“The Emperor of Mars” by Allen M. Steele (Asimov’s, June 2010)
BEST SHORT STORY
“For Want of a Nail” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s, September 2010)
BEST RELATED WORK
Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O’Shea (Mad Norwegian)
BEST GRAPHIC STORY
Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse,
written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by
Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM
Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner)
BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM
Doctor Who: “The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang,” written by Steven
Moffat; directed by Toby Haynes (BBC Wales)
BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM
Sheila Williams
BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM
Lou Anders
BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST
Shaun Tan
BEST SEMIPROZINE
Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan, Sean Wallace;
podcast directed by Kate Baker
BEST FANZINE
The Drink Tank, edited by Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon
BEST FAN WRITER
Claire Brialey
BEST FAN ARTIST
Brad W. Foster
JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER
Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer
of 2009 or 2010, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo Award).
Lev Grossman
The 2011 Hugo Award winners were announced on Saturday evening, August 20, at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. Jay Lake and Ken Scholes presided as masters of ceremony, with additional presenters including Renovation Guests of Honor Tim Powers, Boris Vallejo, and Ellen Asher, along with leading genre writers George R.R. Martin and Robert Silverberg.
The unique 2011 Hugo trophy base design was revealed at the ceremony by designer and Hugo base design contest winner Marina Gelineau.
See the Final Ballot Details for a full breakdown of votes, subsequent placements, and nomination counts.
BEST NOVEL
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Ballantine Spectra)
BEST NOVELLA
The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (Subterranean)
BEST NOVELETTE
“The Emperor of Mars” by Allen M. Steele (Asimov’s, June 2010)
BEST SHORT STORY
“For Want of a Nail” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s, September 2010)
BEST RELATED WORK
Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O’Shea (Mad Norwegian)
BEST GRAPHIC STORY
Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse,
written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by
Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM
Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner)
BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM
Doctor Who: “The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang,” written by Steven
Moffat; directed by Toby Haynes (BBC Wales)
BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM
Sheila Williams
BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM
Lou Anders
BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST
Shaun Tan
BEST SEMIPROZINE
Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan, Sean Wallace;
podcast directed by Kate Baker
BEST FANZINE
The Drink Tank, edited by Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon
BEST FAN WRITER
Claire Brialey
BEST FAN ARTIST
Brad W. Foster
JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER
Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer
of 2009 or 2010, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo Award).
Lev Grossman
The 2011 Hugo Award winners were announced on Saturday evening, August 20, at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. Jay Lake and Ken Scholes presided as masters of ceremony, with additional presenters including Renovation Guests of Honor Tim Powers, Boris Vallejo, and Ellen Asher, along with leading genre writers George R.R. Martin and Robert Silverberg.
The unique 2011 Hugo trophy base design was revealed at the ceremony by designer and Hugo base design contest winner Marina Gelineau.
See the Final Ballot Details for a full breakdown of votes, subsequent placements, and nomination counts.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Morena Baccarin Off Chicago Comic Con Schedule
By Tom Wray
Windy City Banner
Wizard World, producer of the Chicago Comic Con, announced this week that actress Morena Baccarin will be unable to attend this year's even because of film schedule conflicts.
Morena, for the uninformed, is best known for her roles in "Firefly, "V" and "Stargate SG-1."
Wizard World said that all Photo Ops and Dual Photo Ops will be refunded. If you purchased a Morena VIP, you will be able to switch to another package.
Windy City Banner
Wizard World, producer of the Chicago Comic Con, announced this week that actress Morena Baccarin will be unable to attend this year's even because of film schedule conflicts.
Morena, for the uninformed, is best known for her roles in "Firefly, "V" and "Stargate SG-1."
Wizard World said that all Photo Ops and Dual Photo Ops will be refunded. If you purchased a Morena VIP, you will be able to switch to another package.
Video Review: Thundercats
The newest review from GayComicGeek. And it turns out the revival of "Thundercats" is actually pretty good.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Anime Review: Code Geass
By Phillip PowersReviewer
Code Geass is an interesting anime it blends mechs and political intrigue so well. It starts with the empire of Britannia invading Japan using a type of mech called a Knightmare which they had just invented and it uses a precious mineral called sakuradite as its main power source. Japan is the main exporter of this resource so it stands as why they would get invaded. After the war Japan was renamed area eleven and the Japanese are now referred to as elevens. The main character is Lelouch Lamperouge a Britannian student attending the Ashford Academy in area eleven. Lelouch is a very smart kid and excels at his studies when he attends class however he likes to skip some days to go into the city and gamble with nobles at chess. One day he tries to save some people in an accident when he meets the mysterious C.C. a young lady held in a containment box in a truck. After that fateful meeting he gains a special ability to command anyone to do anything he says. The power is called Geass and it is the power of kings but he is warned that it will lead him to a life of solitude.
During the encounter we also find out that he is actually Lelouch Vi Britannia direct son of the current emperor of Brittania who was thought to be dead.
From then on he continues to hide who he is by coming up with an alias known only as Zero as he tries to fight with Britannia to find who killed his mother.
As the story goes on he meets his old childhood friend Suzaku who is Japanese and an honorary Britannia in the military. As he makes his way through his siblings to try to find an answer he makes friends into enemies and some enemies into friends. As the story goes on he gets closer to finding his answer until he gets caught and bought before his father when the series gets rebooted and sort of restarted for the start of second season. When the second season starts it’s like the start of the show all over again but it’s different at the same time. All the while Lelouch does get closer to the answers he seeks and when he does he takes some drastic measures however I will not go into it here so not to spoil the story.
As for how I like the show it was very good and I liked it very much and hope that there is a third season for the show which would be great.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
VIDEO GAME REVIEW: Final Fantasy 7- Older but Good
By Phillip Powers
Video Game Reviewer
It’s been a long time since I first started playing video games but the most memorable one and still my favorite even today is Final Fantasy 7. Yes, it is an older game having come out in ’97. But it was the first real RPG I ever played and the first Final Fantasy that I played. Even so, it remains a great memory for me.
Some of the best parts of the game lie in the battle system. It was the first Final Fantasy to introduce limit breaks, a special attack that can be used after taking enough damage and you can learn more powerful ones the more you use this special attack. It was also the first Final Fantasy game to be rendered in 3D polygons allowing for a full 360 view of the world.
It even allowed you to raise a chocobo for the first time, which would allow you to find some special items and dungeon. It also introduced character-specific ultimate weapons which when found only a certain character can equip, but when they do it is the best weapon in the game for them. The magic system was also a slightly newer innovation much like the sixth installment which had magicite. This one has items called materia which lets you use the type of magic associated with it. Materia does level up which can open up to better stronger magic of the type and when materia reaches master level it splits into a fresh one and you get to keep the mastered one.
Alas, there were some bad points for as good of a game as it was.
Some of the optional bosses were really quite challenging and there was a certain optional dungeon that was slightly difficult. There are also two characters that you could possibly miss if you are not the explorative type also some special material that can be missed if you just breeze through the story.
All in all, it was a very good game that I would recommend to others that they play it and hopefully they enjoy it all the same.
Video Game Reviewer
It’s been a long time since I first started playing video games but the most memorable one and still my favorite even today is Final Fantasy 7. Yes, it is an older game having come out in ’97. But it was the first real RPG I ever played and the first Final Fantasy that I played. Even so, it remains a great memory for me.
Some of the best parts of the game lie in the battle system. It was the first Final Fantasy to introduce limit breaks, a special attack that can be used after taking enough damage and you can learn more powerful ones the more you use this special attack. It was also the first Final Fantasy game to be rendered in 3D polygons allowing for a full 360 view of the world.
It even allowed you to raise a chocobo for the first time, which would allow you to find some special items and dungeon. It also introduced character-specific ultimate weapons which when found only a certain character can equip, but when they do it is the best weapon in the game for them. The magic system was also a slightly newer innovation much like the sixth installment which had magicite. This one has items called materia which lets you use the type of magic associated with it. Materia does level up which can open up to better stronger magic of the type and when materia reaches master level it splits into a fresh one and you get to keep the mastered one.
Alas, there were some bad points for as good of a game as it was.
Some of the optional bosses were really quite challenging and there was a certain optional dungeon that was slightly difficult. There are also two characters that you could possibly miss if you are not the explorative type also some special material that can be missed if you just breeze through the story.
All in all, it was a very good game that I would recommend to others that they play it and hopefully they enjoy it all the same.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Browncat Ball 2012 call for bids!
PLEASE FORWARD AND RE-POST THE FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENT
About the Browncoat Ball (BCB)
The inaugural Browncoat Ball was held in Chicago in 2004, with the goal of establishing an affordable, annual, nonprofit event created for fans by fans,
capable of bringing Browncoats from geographically diverse locations from all over the world together to celebrate Firefly, Serenity and our fabulous fandom. The BCB has been held in San Francisco (2006), Philadelphia (2007), Austin (2008), Portland (2009), Charlotte (2010) and will be held in Providence (Warwick, RI) in 2011.
Hosting the BCB is a labor of love. While the central BCB Steering Committee will share planning materials and tips and offer assistance in the fundraising and promotional process, the 2012 hosts should respect the fact that it is hard work to host a successful BCB, but it is extremely rewarding.
Since the BCB is a small event and cannot sustain comping volunteers, a guiding principal of the BCB since its inception is that everyone pays their own way (attendance, lodging, airfare): committee members, volunteers and attendees alike. This way, the attendees do not subsidize the volunteers or committee members.
About the Browncoat Ball (BCB)
The inaugural Browncoat Ball was held in Chicago in 2004, with the goal of establishing an affordable, annual, nonprofit event created for fans by fans,
capable of bringing Browncoats from geographically diverse locations from all over the world together to celebrate Firefly, Serenity and our fabulous fandom. The BCB has been held in San Francisco (2006), Philadelphia (2007), Austin (2008), Portland (2009), Charlotte (2010) and will be held in Providence (Warwick, RI) in 2011.
Hosting the BCB is a labor of love. While the central BCB Steering Committee will share planning materials and tips and offer assistance in the fundraising and promotional process, the 2012 hosts should respect the fact that it is hard work to host a successful BCB, but it is extremely rewarding.
Since the BCB is a small event and cannot sustain comping volunteers, a guiding principal of the BCB since its inception is that everyone pays their own way (attendance, lodging, airfare): committee members, volunteers and attendees alike. This way, the attendees do not subsidize the volunteers or committee members.
Video Review: Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon
Another new feature we hope to bring more now to the WCB. Reviews from Paul, also know as GayComicGeek on YouTube. (Check out his channel. Cute and geeky. Win-win.) Today, we have his review on Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon.
Firefly Rap - It's Shiny
We promise, we'll get back to some serious stuff soon. But we had to share. While we love all our geek brothers and sisters, our first love is Joss Whedon's "Firefly" television show. And this talented actor and musician has given a but more shiny love. Share the joy with friends.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Anthony Michael Hall To Attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con
ROSEMONT, Ill., – Actor Anthony Michael Hall, who gained fame for roles in 1980's “Brat Pack” films SIXTEEN CANDLES and THE BREAKFAST CLUB and later starred in “Stephen King's Dead Zone” among dozens of film and television credits, will attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, August 11-14. Hall joins such other distinguished celebrities as Patrick Stewart, Bruce Campbell, Christopher Lloyd, Morena Baccarin, Felicia Day, Lou Gossett Jr. and James Marsters at the event, which will bring together thousands of fans of all ages and dozens of celebrities and industry professionals to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more.
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