And, you know, a toothbrush and socks and so on.

Geek packing.

- Sid 

Raygun Gothic.

During the high point of the Downes Age, they put Ming the Merciless in charge of designing California gas stations. Favoring the architecture of his native Mongo, he cruised up and down the coast erecting raygun emplacements in white stucco. Lots of them featured superfluous central towers ringed with those strange radiator flanges that were a signature motif of the style and which made them look as though they might generate potent bursts of raw technological enthusiasm if you could only find the switch that turned them on.

William Gibson, The Gernsback Continuum

I lost it recently - which is probably just as well, under the circumstances.  No, it wasn't my cool, or my peace of mind, or my faith in humanity (sad to say, long gone) but rather an eBay™ auction for a Buck Rogers Disintegrator Pistol, model number XZ-38 to be specific. 

I've made cautious forays into genre collecting with my Major Matt Mason purchases, but somehow the idea of owning an 78-year-old ray gun takes it to a different level in my mind.  To be truthful, the idea of spending over $150 on a rusted child's toy also indicates a different level to me, which is probably why I stopped there and let the next bidder take it for only eight dollars (and fifty cents) more.

The XZ-38 Disintegrator Pistol, produced by Daisy Manufacturing in 1935, was the follow-up to the astonishingly popular XZ-31 Rocket Gun* of the previous year, which had resulted in lineups of over 2,000 eager buyers at Macy's in New York when it was released.

The arsenal of Buck Rogers weaponry - there was also an X-35 "Wilma Deering" pistol and the XZ-44 Liquid Helium Water Pistol - is the first big science fiction spinoff merchandising success, reflecting the popularity of the Buck Rogers comic strip which was introduced in January of 1929.  The daily strip was based on Armageddon 2419 A.D., a short story by Philip Francis Nowlan which was published in the August 1928 edition of Amazing Stories, the classic Hugo Gernsback "scientifiction" magazine.

The eBay™ seller aptly described the XZ-38 as "Machine Age Toy Art", which is an accurate description of the Art Deco inspired design aesthetic introduced to the world by Buck Rogers and his spiritual partner (and competitor) Flash Gordon in their comic strip and movie appearances during the 1930s and 40s.

(I've always felt that the great failing of the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century television series with Gil Gerard was that its art direction was based more in the 1980s than the 1930s or the 2400s, whereas the ongoing cult popularity of the 1980 Flash Gordon film adaptation owes a strong debt to the faithfulness with which it reproduced comic artist Alex Raymond's distinctive illustrations.)

So this time I regretfully decided to pass on the opportunity to own a genuine piece of geek history - but, who knows?  Maybe next time I'll be up against someone whose mental rusted-toy-purchase governor is set twenty dollars lower than mine.

- Sid

* My apologies to everyone who thought that it would be the follow-up to the XZ-37.

 

As opposed to nerd glaze.

From: Sid Plested
Sent: April-25-13 8:33 AM
To: Wendy
Subject: Jane Lui
Jane Lui's web site is www.janelui.com – sometimes it’s not rocket science – and right on her front page is a link to a mashup video with Felicia Day.  (If you don’t know who Felicia Day is, sadly, you are experiencing geek fail.)
- Sid

Although I had to lead with the Felicia Day picture for the sake of nerd glaze (or geek fail, as the case may be), it is completely necessary to recognize Jane Lui herself: talented musician, passionate performer, and quirky sound effect guru.

- Sid 

"In the morning, she had forgotten."

I’m currently re-reading Dan Simmon's superb 1989 novel, Hyperion.  Simmons is a talented and versatile author whose work includes high concept SF like the Hyperion series and Ilium/Olympos cycle, horror novels like Carrion Comfort and The Children of the Night, and historical/speculative works like Drood.

Hyperion takes its structure from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, where each of the six major characters tells their tale to their fellow pilgrims. In this case, the pilgrims are making their way to the enigmatic Time Tombs on the distant planet Hyperion, where they hope to find the metallic Shrike, an anthropomorphic killing machine that will grant one of them a wish, and slay the rest. 

One of the pilgrims plans to ask that his daughter be healed - while doing archeological research in the Time Tombs, she has been afflicted with a terrible punishment, growing younger and younger each day, now with only a few days remaining until her life ends, ironically, by reaching its beginning.

I’m struck by the poignancy which Simmons gives to the situation through his description of the widowed father's reactions to the plight of his daughter as she grows younger and younger, losing her intellect and her memories one day at a time, bewildered and lost, up until the point where she says her last word: "Mamma".

For people like myself who have no children, it would be difficult to imagine how such a situation would feel, but Simmons creates a believable and tragic window into the gradual loss of a daughter.  It is made even more affecting by the father's inability to share his anguish with his daughter - because, if he does, she will simply forget.

- Sid

P.S. In passing, there is a marvelous wistful moment of whimsy at the end of Hyperion. It was such a perfect non-conclusion to the story that I was almost sorry that there was a sequel.

 

Well, he WAS playing the theme from Star Wars...

And when this fellow announced that he was a Narnian faun - I'm sorry, traffic noise prevented me from getting his name - my first thought was "Aren't you a little tall for a faun?" (As opposed to being a little short for a stormtrooper.)

- Sid

"Well let me ask you an important question then…what is your cup size?"

Me: This is not an interview, this is degrading. I’m done. (I walk away)

Him: (clearly dumbfounded and surprised) ..Come on, it’s all in good fun!

Me: Being degraded is fun? 

Mandy Caruso, Beautilation

Go to Google Images™, and type in "cosplay".

(Go ahead, I'll wait…)

What you'll see is an apparent Who's Who of characters from comics, movies, games, animé, and television shows.  A closer look reveals that it's pictures of people (and a few dogs) dressed as those characters or interpretations of them - mashups, steampunk, crossplay/Rule 63* versions - at conventions, studio setups, or appropriate locations. And there are a LOT of pictures.**

Welcome to cosplay. To slightly misquote the infamous Darth Laurie, every day can be Hallowe'en.

Originally, cosplay - an obvious combination of "costume" and "play"- was almost exclusively an homage to characters from Japanese animated programs, or animé.  Cosplayers would construct intricate costumes faithfully based on those of their favourite characters, and then have themselves photographed in appropriate settings for the characters they were portraying.  Cosplay originates in Japan in the late 70s or early 80s, and as it became increasingly popular, it made the transition to the rest of the world.

Having made that transition, it has become hugely popular on a global basis, to the point that a separate industry in cosplay support has developed, with companies suppling accessories, weapons, patterns and costumes to the cosplay community.  (I've listed a few stellar examples at the end of this posting.)

In spite of my own costumed appearances at Hallowe'en, cosplay doesn't really appeal to me as a hobby, for a very simple reason.  I'd rather make something completely original rather than duplicate an existing creation - not to suggest for a second that there isn't room for originality in cosplay, but it's generally a venue for duplication and interpretation rather than genesis. However, due to cosplay's enormous popularity, I consider it to have achieved a status as its own genre within the community, and follow it the same way that I follow books, comics, games and so on.  I admire cosplayers for their creativity and their craft, and the sense of commitment, accomplishment and enjoyment that they bring to their hobby.

That being said, cosplay has been the target of some of the stupidest comments and problems that have ever plagued a fan community.  Cosplayers have been the victims of three main problems: sex, race and entitlement.

Let's start with sex.  (As the bishop said to the actress.)  Comics and genre movies and games are all guilty of idealization and objectification of women to a greater or lesser extent, no argument there.  (I've commented on this previously, regarding Red Sonja and Wonder Woman.)  What this means to the cosplay community is that in order to accurately portray certain characters, women wear costumes that reflect the objectification from the original material - in other words, tight spandex and outfits without a lot of coverage.

The question of female empowerment has already been discussed here, and as in that discussion I can only comment from my own perspective.  Regardless, I think that any sensible person would agree that if a woman actually did decide to dress provocatively to attract male attention, there are easier ways to do it than by spending three months sewing a Poison Ivy costume and wearing it to a convention.

However, the problem is not the people in the costumes.  The problem is people who come to the false conclusion that because someone at a convention is dressed in a leafy bathing suit or spandex tights, they are a valid target for verbal or physical harassment.

Although she's probably not the first person to actively protest this kind of treatment, cosplayer Mandy Caruso certainly stands at the front of the line in terms of having both stood up to an abusive interviewer when dressed as Black Cat at a con, and in posting the details of her encounter on Tumblr for all and sundry to read.  Mandy's experience became part of a growing movement to address the issue of harassment at conventions, resulting in the recent Cosplay ≠ CONsent campaign started by 16-Bit Sirens, which has struck an obvious chord within the community.

Next we have the problem of race. Astonishingly, there are people who feel that cosplayers should only play characters of their own colour.  This particular bit of insanity was brought to the forefront several years ago when cosplayer Chaka Cumberbatch posted a picture of herself as Sailor Venus, prompting unbelievable comments like, "For a black cosplayer (not to be racist) she did an amazing job!"

Ahem. Everyone, I'd like to introduce Yaya Han.

Yaya Han is living the dream as far as the cosplay world goes.  As far as I can tell from her FaceBook page, she spends almost all her time visiting conventions, where, in addition to selling the products from her cosplay accessory company, she appears in the costumes she has made, judges competitions, sits on panels, and otherwise supports the community.  In the above photos (my apologies for lost copyright tags on one or two) she appears as Wonder Woman, Power Girl, Arkham City Catwoman, Baroness DeCobray, Carmilla from Vampire Hunter D, a Dark Elf, the Scarlet Witch, and a Granado Espada Wizard, none of whom are Chinese women in their original versions.

So what?  Ms. Han obviously possesses an incredible eye for detail, mad skills with a sewing machine, and a huge commitment to her hobby/profession. How unfortunate to try to limit that commitment by suggesting that she should only appear as Mulan or Chun Li because she's Chinese.  What a bizarre idea!  Does that mean that Canadians can't go to conventions dressed as Captain America?  (Any American readers who have the urge to say "yes", be careful about what you start. Wolverine was originally a Canadian...)

I think that what this really comes down to is the question of entitlement, or lack thereof:  the decision by part of the fan community that cosplayers - especially female cosplayers -  are literally just posers, without a "real" commitment to the genre.  Unfortunately the poster child for this sad philosophy is an actual comics professional, an artist named Tony Harris whose 2012 FaceBook rant against fake geek girls was so extreme that at first it was assumed that his account had been hacked. 

In spite of my jokes about wanting a higher geek rating, I don't for a moment think that there's a ranking system for geekhood - we are not better or worse than each other, we are just different in terms of what we know and like, and how we choose to express it. 

In a way, this blog is an example of that. I started this blog partially as a writing exercise, an ongoing motivation to sit down at a keyboard on some kind of regular basis and put words in a row. But I didn't randomly decide on science fiction novels, fantasy games, Doctor Who and comic books as topics - those are the things that I enjoy and are a large part of my life, and this blog gives me a way to have my own voice regarding them.

On that basis, I have nothing but respect for anyone, regardless of race, creed, colour, religion or cup size, who has made the same decision - the decision to commit, to have a voice, to tell the world what they love.  The fact that their voice may involve fabric and wigs rather than adverbs and HTML just adds depth to the topics that we're all talking about.

So, just to summarize: we're talking about people who have spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars to create costumes, who have then invested in plane tickets, hotel rooms and con tickets in order to show off their handiwork and share their craft with their peers, who then get hassled by slack-jawed mouth-breathers who ask them about their cup sizes or grab their butts - and there are people who don't think that they're serious enough in their commitment to be allowed - allowed - to wear the costumes?

To quote the Bunny, it is to laugh.

- Sid

SHOUT OUTS:

Mandy Caruso:
http://beautilation.tumblr.com/ 

Anthony Misano:
https://www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker
https://www.facebook.com/TheBatmanChronicles

Chaka Cumberbatch:
http://www.xojane.com/issues/mad-back-cosplayer-chaka-cumberbatch

Yaya Han:
http://www.yayahan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/yayacosplay
http://yayacosplay.deviantart.com/gallery

Svetlana Quindt:
http://www.kamuicosplay.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KamuiCos

Harrison Krix:
http://www.volpinprops.com/portfolio
http://www.flickr.com/photos/volpinprops

Catherine Jones:
https://www.facebook.com/gstqfashions
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gstqfashions

* Rule 63 states that for every fictional character, there exists a counterpart of the opposite sex:  Antonia Stark/Ironwoman, Prince Peach, Lucia Skywalker, Harlan Quinn - you get the idea. A formal example would be Starbuck in the Battlestar Galactica reboot.

** As a generalist geek, I cast a wide net, so I have a pretty good recognition factor for costume origins.  Ironically, considering that cosplay starts with animé, those are the outfits that I generally don't know, and I am unfortunately forced to categorize them in my head as "based on one of the thousands of Japanimation sources".