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Friday, 13 December 2013 16:58

Star Wars, Steampunk and Smattering: San Diego Mini Maker Faire

Kittens, if the chilly, San Diego rain wasn’t a prompt to play indoors this December, the siren of invention, engineering,  technology and design was enough to lure a capacity-crowd of the curious to the first San Diego Mini Maker Faire. Ringing its knell from the warm beauty of the Spanish Mission-styled Del Mar Fairgrounds, this newest stop for the San Diego geek train proved bustling, hectic and promising. Besides, it’s Del Mar, kids! Even a permanent guest at the Hotel del Coronado needs a change of scenery once in a bit and this girl needs only an eighth of a reason to pop over “Where the Surf Meets the Turf”!

Billed as The Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth, Maker Faire at-large is a congress of imaginative folk and a place to share, and sell, ideas and wares. Known as the Maker Movement, this creative-following is gaining steam worldwide, with Faires staged from the Bay Area to New York, from Dublin to Rome, from Tokyo to Sydney. December 2K13 was San Diego’s initiation with its first ever, and hopefully annual, Mini Maker Faire. (Why Mini? Based on New York’s version, there is much room to grow.)

An all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors, Maker Faire worldwide is a cerebral wonderland for anyone with an imagination and the temerity to do something with it. Like a geeky cocktail party, minus the good booze (although some form of vile, domestic, beerwater was available at John Dillinger prices), the gathering is, as Maker Faire claims, a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness … part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new.
 
“In cosmological terms … S.D. Mini Maker Faire was what is known as a big bang event.” Photo: Jeff Kubina

Waiting in a very long, very slow, very wet line to enter San Diego’s first Faire, a talkative and cheerful USD student spoke authoritatively about the Bay Area venue, claiming it to be, with just a dash of good-natured condescension, “much bigger, way better and lots of actual symposia and lectures”. Fretting about the $12 entrance fee, wishing she had purchased the cheaper, $10 ticket online, she hoped San Diego’s effort would be worth it. Sizing up the hall’s exterior from under her fur-trimmed parka-hood, she sneered a bit and said with a twisted smile, “Kinda doubt it.”

Whilst the entry fee, plus $15 parking was relatively steep (Consider the Grand Dame of geek fests, San Diego Comic-Con, runs $12-$42/day) and the line was agonizingly slow (only two ticket windows), the cerebral and visual stimuli inside Bing Crosby Hall assuaged the lighter wallet and damp boots. Awaiting the rain- and line-weary crowds was a bevy of crafting booths, science experiments and technological demos, including a proverbial explosion in the popularity of 3-D printing: Yoda heads, TARDIS and Millennium Falcons proving the most popular products of the 3-D craze. The most inspiring, fascinating and useful of the 3-D buzz? Robohands: building appendages for those with hand anomalies, in mere hours! Don’t have $80K for a prosthetic? No worries. A set of blueprints and a 3-D printer (approx. $2K to purchase; a pittance to rent; maybe even one exists in your office) and you’ve got a hand by day’s end.

If one’s avocation, vocation or profession tends toward technology, real science, science-fiction or even steampunk, one would be pleased in the tightly-packed confines of the Faire. To boot, Comic-Con and WonderCon regulars would note some friendly faces on the periphery: San Diego Star Wars Society and San Diego R2-D2 Builders Club, to name a couple.

San Diego Star Wars Society and San Diego R2-D2 Builders Club shared a space and, as one would expect of them, brought a fan’s enthusiasm to the franchises. SDSWS is like AA, for Star Wars geeks. If they put out a calendar, Tina Fey-as-Liz Lemon-as-Princess Leia-as-hologram would be their centerfold. Meet-ups are a way for fellow San Diego Star Wars freaks to gather and geek out over any and all things SW. From movie marathons to cosplay-and-props workshops, from collecting and gaming to convention field trips and even charitable events (notably Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation: Fighting Childhood Cancer, One Cup at a Time), the simple goal of this SoCal space sodality is to have a good time with like-minded dorks.

If Thomas, a kindly Swiss San Diegan manning the booth, is any indication of the folk you’ll meet at SDSWS, this coterie of Chewbacca connoisseurs would indeed be a pleasant diversion from the leagues of snarky, snippy, Star-savants out there, of both Wars and Trek. Welcoming, informative and inclusive, Thomas was anathema to so many Star Wars experts blitzing about the planet, propelled by their own hot air.  Smiling and eager to chat, hopeful to bring anyone into the fold, even the wholly uninitiated, Thomas offered no snorts of derision or condescending blinks when fielding even the simplest questions from children and adults alike. Enthusiastically, and with the slightest Teutonic accent, he shared the simple mission of SDSWS: “Come and join us to talk about Star Wars and have a good time!”

If the future isn’t your gig, but futuristic is, Gears & Roebuck: Rusty Junk Emporium and The San Diego Steampunk Community (including the Adventures of Drake & McTrowell: Perils in a Postulated Past) were on-hand, in very wee numbers, it should be noted, to hawk a few antique wares, tell some tall tales and share the collective mission of steampunkers worldwide: “We fight with invention, we fight with ingenuity. Full steam ahead! All aboard!”

Generally a well-read, sartorially-intense and whimsical crew, the Victorian votaries are tinkerers extraordinaire, taking cues from the likes of  Jules Verne to Bill Gates. Steampunk inspiration reaches back to Sir Charles Wheatstone and his stereoscopic imaging (predecessor to today’s 3-D imaging) and forward to Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. If you’ve yet to explore this world, helpful steampunk primer by our own JennyPop. If you’re already in the know, and living in San Diego, the San Diego Steampunk Community just might have the perfect, Phileas Foggesque, space-age tool to scratch that ruddy itch.

Will the Maker Faire make it to San Diego again next year? The Maker Movement is gaining traction in metropoli everywhere.  Judging by the Mars-level heat generated in this sardine-packed venue, it seems plumb stupid to not capitalize again on the funky, inventive and creative nature of San Diego folk. However, like Michael Moore's jeans, the Bing Crosby Exhibition Hall was packed to the seams and ready to burst with the first, big breath. My recommendation, promoters? Air-conditioned pith helmets and Gigantor, Jules Verneesque floor fans as big as time machines on every aisle, and gratis, air-conditioned pith helmets with every ticket purchase. Otherwise, a grand time was had by most.

Full steam ahead and Merrie Christmas!

 

Follow @JennyPopCom #MakerFaire #StarWars #Steampunk

Published in Miss Hannah Hart
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Wednesday, 18 July 2012 16:39

You're Having Fun Wrong: A Pale, SoCal Geek's Summer Alternatives

Some are born Geek, some achieve Geekness and others have Geekness thrust upon them. For those of us whom are verily Geek-at-Heart, we shall not be shedding the title as quickly as a West Hollywood hipster sheds his iPad the moment Apple bids him so. Whilst many will claim the title of Geek, as to be Nerd/Dork/Geek/Wonk is très chic, it is a dangerous, double-edged lightsaber ... wait, they're columnar in shape. Anyhoo, we may live blissfully in our own, little biospheres; yet we are easy targets, like a wounded dolphin, or the only kid dressed up like a pilgrim the Wednesday before school lets out for Thanksgiving Weekend.

From sea to nerdy Cameron-submersible sea, forest to dorky Bigfoot forest, Skywalker Ranch and beyond the solar flares, this proudly pale populace has some serious ideas about what is fun and what is not. Summer is here and it can be a tough time for us, what with the sun, the outdoors and the prospect of a proper, dress-up holiday still months away. Never mind all that; we know what makes for real summer fun and with all due respect to the rest of you, to quote The Big Bang Theory's Dr. Sheldon Cooper, "You're having fun wrong."

Summer can be a bit of a free-radical situation for us: left to fend for ourselves amidst the plains and savannas of a deconstructed season, fighting against the harsh summer sun and the expected, traditional, normal outdoor activities of the average, summer reveler. In adult-life, as in school, just because it's summer, doesn't mean the wedgies cease. In such situations, it is only natural to seek the like-minded. When the broad landscape is dotted with the frequently unavoidable herds of roaming, aggressive, beefy, sunny, beachy, geek-squashers it is often necessary for the more fragile, the proverbial 98-pound weaklings, to gather and move in clusters. The sand-kickers can’t get us all if we move as one.
If it is entirely plausible that you could spend a joyful afternoon at Peet's Coffee having a serious debate about whether Han or Greedo shot first, you just might find the following summer alternatives to beach volleyball, backyard BBQs and 5K mud runs great fun indeed. I cannot advise on alternatives in your backyard, but as a Cali Girl, I will gladly walk you through some of my Golden State's finest, oft air-conditioned, cerebral, summer dork attractions.

  • San Diego Comic-Con: Certainly a toss-up, as to whether this should take the number one or two spot. In the end, it had to be crowned as supreme. Comic-Con is Mecca for con geeks the world over, even the new breed of geek: the poseur. C-C has become the new Studio 54. Few at the 1970s, iconic, NYC discotheque probably actually loved disco. Today, it's questionable how many Comic-Con attendees even read comic books, let alone have a passion for the medium. Still, decades after Richard Alf et al gifted the Geek World with the original SDCC and after all the poseurs have moved on, when The Big Bang Theory runs its course, the real fans will still faithfully flood the San Diego Convention Center each July, giving the San Diego Fire Marshal four sleepless nights every summer.
  • Disneyland: Like Salieri to Mozart or Sean Penn's Emmet Ray to Django Reinhardt, were there no Comic-Con, Disney would clearly reign on this list. If you’re fortunate enough to have an annual passport, chances are good you can’t get enough of Star Tours and its fifty-some possible scenarios, The Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, a Johnny Depp-frosted Pirates of the Caribbean and browsing ad nauseam the Capodimonte-laden glass shelves of Main Street's Disneyana. We Disney devotees do enjoy the occasional, audible snort of derision at new attractions and additions and love to regale newbies and family first-timers with behind-the-scenes Park trivia (especially those of us whom worked there). Overall, it is our church of sorts and if you don’t like Goths, stay away mid-September through January, for The Nightmare Before Christmas overlay at The Haunted Mansion is really, honestly, to die for, kids.
  • Renaissance Pleasure Faire: This one’s the original, yon friends. It's usually over before summer solstice hits, but you'll find plenty of other faires up and down the state. Yet, prithee, this is the Hamlet of Renaissance festivals. Oft simply called "Southern" or "Ren Faire", it’s been around since what feels like Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh were playing footsies behind hogsheads and if you’re well-acquainted with Faire, then you know the tacit rules of conduct: no polyester, no real names, no Victorian Gary Oldmans from Dracula, keep your tongue in character and do not ask us if our costumes are hot. It's almost always 100 degrees and with the exception of our cleavages, we're swathed head-to-toe in leather, velvet, suede and fur. What thinkst thou? Faire is no place for steampunk and there’s also an internal, heated and on-going debate about Captain Jack Sparrow, because he’s a "made-up pirate". Of course, most of the pirate guilds are themselves comprised of made-up pirates. I give you geek.
  • Conan: Deserving of a Larry King suspenders & glasses/Arnold sausage snap combo-pantomime, this day trip can’t be beat, even by the Masturbating Bear. Whether you're a lucky local of beautiful downtown Burbank or saving up your game tokens for a Golden State sojourn, a Conan taping is probably the second best taping you can attend in The Valley. Tickets are free, but the online lottery is hit 'n miss. Still, if you can nail a date and don't mind being in Burbank on a weekday, you’ll be better than just about everybody back home on the farm.
  • Huntington Library and Gardens: Word nerds, book geeks and art history-snarks, this is your perfect afternoon, except Tuesdays and only from 10:30-4:00 in the summer, 12-4 otherwise. Of course, if you want to miss traffic getting out of the Pasadena-area, you’d best try to be out of the parking lot by 2:30, 3:00 tops. Home to a Gutenberg Bible, an Ellesmere manuscript of The Canterbury Tales, scores of early-Shakespearean papers, Audubon folios and a selection of 18thC. French and English decorative arts that would make Sofia Coppola swoon, the quiet and hidden treasure of L.A. museums is clandestinely tucked away in upscale, residential San Marino, an old money suburb of Pasadena. If you’re drawn to English incunabula, powdered wigs, French Lace roses and think Joshua Reynold's Sarah Siddons as Tragic Muse is just downright hot, then you’d better get going. Traffic will be a total nightmare in about forty minutes.

As a bonus, I must toss in The Hotel del Coronado. Though not a geek-oriented destination in and of itself, unless you’re bonkers for Victorian architectural detail, it is home to our favourite geek ghost, Miss Hannah Hart, ghostdame of The Hotel del Coronado. What?! You don’t know Miss Hannah Hart? Zowie!, as she would decry! Best get yourself over to GoodToBeAGeek.com and introduce yourself to this sassy and brassy, 1930s, Old Hollywood dame whom finds your casual wardrobe and slack-jawed vernacular a disgrace. Boyz-o! Does she have some opinions about you!

Clearly, because we are Geek, I rest assured many of you will disagree with my list, if only to dispute its hierarchy. Moreover, I expect others will rant and rail over omissions and inclusions. Please, do share @JennyPopCom or @GoodToBeAGeek. Like learning a Hotel Del ghostie girl is as bonkers for Carl Barks comic books as I am, it's always a thrill to learn where more of my own kind roam at will, without threat or fear of a good swirly.

 

Published in Blog Archive
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Tuesday, 26 July 2011 19:22

I Call Your "White" People, Good Sir Lander, and I Raise You "Nerdy"

Things White People Like: an on-target compilation of, well, things we like. The full list, available at the official website, is frighteningly dead-on in its accuracy. My eerily, correctly identified personal faves on this list include: Asian Girls, Girls with Bangs, Being Offended, Hallowe'en, Standing Still at Concerts, Conan O'Brien, Coffee, Wine, Dogs, Vegetarianism, Art Degrees, Vintage, Grammar, Arrested Development, Netflix, David Sedaris and Breakfast Places. I must, however, distance myself from Apple Products, Music Piracy, New Balance Shoes (not a tennis shoe kind of gal), Banksky, Facebook, Barack Obama, Promising to Learn a New Language (speak a few already) and Ugly Sweater Parties (why?).

Well done, Mr. Christian Lander, creator of said-2008-list ... your pinpoint insight disturbs me. Now, good sir, I call your White Jonesings and I raise you ... Nerdy.

White people do indeed come in many whiter shades of pale. Yet, there is no greater, no more beautiful, no more translucent shade of pale than that of the White & Nerdy. It is a shade carefully honed and cultivated by days upon days of uninterrupted screentime, an innate distaste for the sun and a natural inclination toward nighttime, vampires, UFOs, ghosts and space ... all of which can only be enjoyed via moonlight. We do not find interest in Outdoor Performance Clothes, Wrigley Field, Snowboarding or Marathons. We do, as it pertains specifically to your list, like Asian girls, TED, vespas, Film Festivals, Oscar Parties and Black Music Black People Don't Listen To Anymore.

As I was on one of my beachwalks last week (a White People thing, I'm pretty sure) a fave tune commenced to thumping on my mp3-player, Weird Al's White and Nerdy. It gave me a little bounce in my step, an uptick in my pace, a tighter squeeze in my hamstrings and got zee leetle grey zells moving and before I made it to Gargamel's enclave, I'd devised a list of Stuff White & Nerdy People Like. Not sure if you're a geek, versus, say, a dork, a nerd or a dweeb? Miss Hannah Hart, ghostdame of the Hotel del Coronado might be able to help.

For your approval, my fellow White & Nerdys! (I am now flashing the W&N gang sign: left hand in a three-fingered "W"; right hand in an upside-down peace sign, an "N". Remember, always the "W" with the left hand, so the recipient can read it properly, otherwise it comes out left-to-right, like Hebrew, and you get the NW gang sign, which would be awesome, now that I think of it, for the F/V Northwestern. Either way. Plus, note that if you do an upside-down "W" with your right hand, you'll have the gang sign for the College of William and Mary. Go, Tribe!)

Photo by Lesli Devore, Flickr

Stuff White & Nerdy People Like

  • Comic Con
  • The Big Bang Theory
  • CNNGeekOut blog
  • Geek Pride Day (May the 25th)
  • Star Wars Day (May the 4th ... be with you)
  • geology
  • robots
  • Bill Nye the Science Guy
  • Steve Martin
  • The Muppets
  • Weezer
  • NASA
  • Star Wars
  • Star Trek
  • Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock
  • crafting historical and theatrical alter egos (including learning Elizabethan English, Klingon, swordplay, spells, etc.)
  • Wired magazine
  • Swedish Fish
  • action figures
  • sci-fi and fantasy novels with anthropomorphic animals
  • Weird Al Yankovic
  • using "one" as opposed to "you" or "I"
  • making and wearing costumes
  • hovering when someone borrows our fancy pen
  • lunchboxes
  • George Noory
  • UFOs
  • Ghost Hunters (not Ghost Adventurers ... there is a difference)
  • Bigfoot
  • George Lucas
  • Skywalker Ranch
  • Mystery Science Theater 3K
  • writing down, and working to memorize things like Pi, the Drake Equation, the hierarchy of performance art, et cetera
  • Disneyland
  • The X-Files
  • Renaissance Faire
  • jokes involving German, Austrian or Swiss scientists
  • Bill Gates
  • jokes involving Windows Vista, DOS, neutrons or nematodes
  • The IT Crowd
  • Microsoft
  • Microsoft-blue button downs
  • any and all digital media
  • Fry's Electronics
  • t-shirts with math or code humour
  • Voyager Golden Record
  • The Simpsons
  • Lisa Simpson
  • Jonathan Coulton
  • comics
  • comic books (yes, they are different)
  • peppering conversations with foreign language-bon mots
  • saying Linux
  • American Dad
  • Steve Smith
  • Roger the Alien
  • historical- and/or technical-inaccuracies of any kind (so we can first laugh, then correct them)
  • bad grammar/spelling (ditto)
  • George Will
  • dictionaries
  • shot-for-shot remakes
  • memorizing, then sporadically reciting, TV and movie quotes (including full dialogues with multiple characters)
  • role-playing
  • acquiring movie props (including the front-end of a film reel, usually cut and tossed, from an X-Files episode)
  • complaining about tech support
  • making lists

Did I forget anything? @CNNGeekOut tweeted me, "We pride ourselves on having plenty of geek DNA including ppl who cosplay, ppl with geek tattoos & ppl with geeky pets!" As Mr. Burns would say whilst slowly drumming fingertips, "Excellent, Excellent." Contact us here if you've desired amendments. LLAP and TTFN!

Know a geek or two? Feel free to share the list and pick it apart ... as I know the real geeks are wont to do.

Published in Blog Archive
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