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10/21/2016 4:23 pm  #1


Alien Con

I don't go to many conventions outside of work, but I had to make an exception for Alien Con as it's occurring at the end of this month very close to my home.

It's being put on by this guy


It should be good fun. I've said in the past I enjoy watching Ancient Aliens, but I also state I enjoy hurling insults and small objects at my television, so your own mileage may vary with the show. I find the pseudosciences a source of inspiration for adventure writing. Crazed cults, interstellar progenitors, exotic ruins, this show has it all.

Last edited by Josh (10/21/2016 5:21 pm)

 

10/21/2016 6:10 pm  #2


Re: Alien Con

That actually makes way more sense now: the dude is just running a pulp game with a TV audience.


"It is all very well to point out that the man lacks facility; as he asserts, sheer force can overpower sophistication."
Jack Vance, Rhialto the Marvellous
 

10/22/2016 3:54 pm  #3


Re: Alien Con

Right. I see the phenomenon as lying somewhere in a modernized valley between Weird Tales and L. Ron Hubbard's monstrosity.

Last edited by Josh (10/22/2016 3:58 pm)

     Thread Starter
 

10/22/2016 7:27 pm  #4


Re: Alien Con

What an awesome convention, sounds like a blast - I'm totally jealous! Make sure to take some pictures for us. 


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 

10/23/2016 7:00 am  #5


Re: Alien Con

That's funny "Alien Con" is a confidence scam being organized thy that con-man.  I'm glad you find SOME value in his foolishness.  Enjoy!

 

10/23/2016 7:25 pm  #6


Re: Alien Con

Negative examples are valuable, yes. 


"It is all very well to point out that the man lacks facility; as he asserts, sheer force can overpower sophistication."
Jack Vance, Rhialto the Marvellous
 

10/25/2016 12:29 am  #7


Re: Alien Con

I saw the signs at the convention center while driving to work each day last week, Josh.  Definitely curious to hear what you think of it! :D

 

11/01/2016 5:07 pm  #8


Re: Alien Con

The convention was fun! I had a good time.

Now you have my general mood, here is the gist: I've heard several fellows around here distraught with how some cons were handled in the past, but this first Alien Con would make any of your past logistical issues seem a walk in the park.

Attendees, promoter and hosts alike were stunned with the turnout. They expected more interest in the mainstream shows like Battlestar Galactica and Ridley Scott's Alien franchise, but support for Ancient Aliens dwarfed them all. I heard early estimates from a convention worker who stated roughly 12,000 people showed up for the convention.

Giorgio Tsoukalos was like a rock star, he had massive lines he couldn't work through despite signing for three hours straight on multiple days. The AA theorists were originally scheduled to speak in halls that could only seat from sixty to two-hundred people at most, so you can imagine the issues that arose when literally a thousand people showed up for a panel.

That said, I was prepared for debacle. I knew the TV show was big, I deal with it at a public level working in a library. I knew the space they were working with having helped run Fanime Con there prior to its move to San Jose Convention Center. So, I took it all in stride knowing this was their maiden voyage. Not everyone had my background though. The promoter, Cosmic Con, cobbled together a Q&A session, and took complaints/feedback from other attendees who were most rightly upset about standing in line for hours only to be blocked from their desired event. Discounts were promised for future events.

Kevin Burns, the creator of the TV show and discoverer of Tsoukalos is awesome. He's genuinely a fan of old horror and sci-fi. He now understands the exact interest level in his production. He and the promoter scrambled to get more space at the last minute to expand the conference. That's a task harder than it sounds especially with multiple conferences happening all around the center at the same time. He and the promoter learned they can't treat the show as a comic convention which judges attendance based on showroom space (the artist alley and dealer room were big), but they need to base it on conference room seating. So, indeed, it needs to be less a CONvention, and more a CONference as that's what the attendees desire.

Producer Jon Jashni epiphanied during a panel the AA TV show can now sustain its very own gathering of this particular size, a level of achievement belonging to a handfull of other science-fictions/fantasies including Star Trek and Star Wars.

As for Tsoukalos being a "confidence man," I'd say he's no more so than Robert Ripley. But if you saw Ripley as one, then the whole world is a con, just choose your game.

Meanwhile, this was my favorite costume at Alien Con 2016.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton chained to their Alien Overlord. Sorry for the quality level, my phone is Ancient like those Aliens.

Fantastical!
Josh

Last edited by Josh (11/01/2016 5:54 pm)

     Thread Starter
 

11/02/2016 5:48 am  #9


Re: Alien Con

Looks like a hoot.  I'm glad you had fun!

I'm not surprised it turned out to be so popular in an culture within which reason and facts are denigrated in favor of feelings and beliefs.

 

11/17/2016 9:19 am  #10


Re: Alien Con

That costume--it's not just one person, right? RIGHT?

My god, they're everywhere. You nail shut the windows--I'll go get the gun!

 

11/19/2016 11:44 pm  #11


Re: Alien Con

Thanks for the summary, Josh!  I don't know anything about the TV show, but it sounds like there was a lot of cool stuff to check out (assuming you could still work through the lines to do so?).

 

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