The Need for Anit-Harassement Policies

While browsing through my RSS feeds today, I came upon this great article about cons and harassment. Before you read the rest of my comments, have a look at the original article on Wired.com.  Here's a brief excerpt of one of the key points:

Conventions need anti-harassment policies. Not because convention attendees are disproportionately boorish or creepy–they’re really not–or because of social obliviousness. Rather, the difficulty lies in the very thing that makes conventions conventions: the social phenomena that come into play whenever humans gather in large groups.

I have to agree with the author whole-heartedly.  I have not personally been a victim of harassment at a convention, but have been witness to various creephats.  When I was in that situation, I behaved much as Ms. Edidin described.  Because there was not a well worded anti-harassment policy, I did not feel either empowered or obligated to bring the offensive behavior to the attention of convention staff.

I know that I will be contacting the conventions that I regularly attend to ask if they can update their anti-harassment policies to include both the bans on harassement and the appropriate response from witness.  What are your thoughts?  Share you comments or stories in the comments section below.

Denver Comic Con - The Pictures are Up

It was a hectic three days at Denver Comic Con, but with hectic times comes fun. We saw lots of cosplayers and took lots of photos. You can find them on the main site here or on Facebook.

Denver Comic Con - Bad News and Good News

Stan LeeSo we have bad news and good news. The bad news is that comic book legend Stan Lee has had to cancel his appearance at Denver Comic Con this year. He had a last minute filming conflict for one of his famous cameos that happen in all Marvel movies.  We wish him well and will miss seeing him at the convention. But I would like to know what movie we are getting stood up for.

Good news is that Denver Comic Con has already gotten a replacement guest. The original captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, William Shatner. This means that we are lucky enough to have two of the original cast members for Star Trek at Denver Comic Con as George Takai was already set to attend. If you were one of the lucky few to purchase the gold and silver packages to meet Stan Lee then your tickets will be applied to the new William Shatner Experience. Denver Comic Con will be announcing more details on this shortly.

William ShatnerSo does the fact that we lost Stan Lee suck? Yes, you never want to lose a guest at a convention, and the fact that this makes 2 / 2 years that Denver Comic Con lost a head liner looks rather poor. But did they do a damn good job getting a replacement? Hell yes, if someone has to follow up Stan "The Man" Lee who better then William Shatner. Now only if Leonard Nimoy could have come with him.

Nostalgia for the Unremarkable

In 1997, two things happened that had a lasting impact on my life: I entered high school and the MTV series Daria premiered. Those in the audience keeping score will realize that by correlating these two facts, my age can be readily deduced. I am often taken aback when I revist a piece of beloved popular culture from my youth. Typically, as in the case of Michael Bay's run with the Transformers series, I am horrified that my memory has greatly inflated the quality of a story. In this case, however, the quality of the story is unchanged; but the context of my life has changed so much that what I get from the story is complete different.

ZeldaQueen and I recently found out that all five seasons of Daria (apart from the two movies Is It Fall Yet? and Is It College Yet?) are available on Hulu Plus. As is inevitable with my tendency towards geeky obsession, this discovery inevitably lead to much marathon viewing.  As I write this article, we are nearly finished with the second season. Regardless of how much I love the show, it has led me to some rather odd thoughts. Foremost among these are feelings of nostalgia for my time in high school. I find these feelings vexing for two reasons.  First, the content of the show is primarily about the everyday tedium of life as a high school student, ranging from parents who don't seem to understand your feelings to peers who have no interest in discussing your favorite new book. Second, my own high school experience, while not the subject of a gothic novel, was generally unremarkable.

As I have thought about this more while writing, the two points are more related than I had initially assumed. My memory of high school was that I spent much of my time loathing it as the worst, while most of the adults around me offered various aphorisms similar to "these are the best years of your life".  This dichotomy is also characteristic of Daria. Reflecting on this now, with the sense of perspective that comes from age, I can reliably say that high school was neither the best of times, nor the worst of times. In the end, high school, like every other stage of life, typically include good and bad, highs and lows. While this perspective contains a greater truth than the usual work of fiction, it lacks a compelling narrative.

Why should I feel nostalgic for high school and further, why should a show that reflects the discomfort of adolescence bring forth these feelings? I believe answer lies in one word: identification. When I was in high school, I felt that I was an outsider. I may have been involved in more activities than Daria, but that did not alleviate my feelings of alienation. I identified strongly with characters on the show, especially Daria and Jane. When I watched the show, I wished that I had been gifted with the quick wit and cutting sarcasm of these two girls. Even now, as a "well-adjusted" adult, I sometimes still find myself feeling like the outsider. What has changed, is that I now recognize that these feelings are incredibly common.

 At this point, I will likely have to go to my default behavior, experimentation. I think its time that I invite my brother over and have him watch the series.  I'm interested to see what someone ten years younger than me thinks about this series. At the very least, I should be able to return in a few weeks with some interesting anecdotes.

Marvel Giveaway

If you are a big fan of Superhero comics your in luck Marvel is giving away over 700 free issues... digitally of course. The way you can get it is through the Marvel Application (links provided below) The promotion ends tonight 11PM EST. So what are you waiting for go get some free comics!

Google Play Store: http://tinyurl.com/aocs35l
Apple Store: http://tinyurl.com/a5fpo7h

Denver Comic Con - Guest Spawns

Denver Comic Con has announced yet more guests that have their spawn points set to the Denver Convention Center. And with this most recent one we actually have 1/2 the cast from The Guild. We present none other then the one, the only, Felicia Day! In addition to her work on The Guild and Buffy The Vampire Slayer she has started a mostly geek focused YouTube channel called Geek and Sundry. She is a true queen of geeks.

 Next up is Allen Bellman and Ramona Fradon. Allen has been in the business since the Golden Age of comics. While only a teenager he did backgrounds for Syd Shores' Captain America in 1942 and not slowed down since. He record includes titles such as The Patriot, The Destroyer, The Human Torch, Jap Buster Johnson and Jet Dixon fo the Space Squadron, Young Allies and much much more. Ramona has been in comics since 1950 and was a key individual in ushering in the Silver Age of comics with illustrations of Auquaman and Metamorpho for DC. Then in the 1970s she pencilled almost every issue of Super Friends and her strip Brenda Starr was seen for 15 years in newspapers everywhere until she retired in 1995. Just recently she released The Dinosaur That Got Tired of Being Extinct for all ages.