Out of the Garden of Madness II.

Okay, this didn't disappoint me (that post is coming later), but this was definitely the most awkward moment at the Calgary Expo:

One of the visitors that day was a mentally handicapped young woman, who was posing with everybody in a costume while her friend/caregiver took pictures. She didn't know who Batman was, but she was having a great time, nonetheless.

At one point, another woman was walking by, wearing an "Aliens" T-shirt. It was pretty nifty, actually: there was actually a vinyl model of a "chestburster" sewn on to the front, with the graphic of a busted rib cage all around it. The first woman saw this and cried out. At first, I thought, "uh oh. Imminent trauma." But instead, it was a cry of joy.

"Baby! Baby!", she said, while petting the alien head gently.

The look on the T-shirt owner's face was one which I will quite possibly never see again. My friends, you can invite me to all the high society dinners you please, and I shall nevermore fear for saying the wrong thing; for I have now seen the true face of awkward.

Out of the Garden of Madness.

Well, I did take pictures, but there's not much about a collection of long-distance, low-light shots that make them worth sharing. Sorry. However, once you've seen Team Rocket try to capture Red XIII (of Final Fantasy VII) by throwing a katamari at it, it's hard to imagine the picture that would have done that costume contest justice.

Second highlight of the costumes: The fellow dressed as Indiana Jones who didn't just bring a whip, but could actually crack it. Rather terrifying, until we realised that unlike the real Dr. Jones, he wasn't making it up as he went along.

Most obscure costume: The final season of "Reboot"? Seriously?

"The Spirit of Cosplay" award: The man was about fifty years old. He was forty kilograms overweight. At least 10% of that weight was in his jowls. He wasn't an ideal Batman, and he knew it. That's why he was a perfect Adam West. Easily one of the crowd favourites (not counting the five-year-old Iron Man).

I wanted to see fandom at its finest, and I was not disappointed.

What did disappoint me? I'll get to that tomorrow.

Into the Garden of Madness.

So. Calgary Comic and Sci-Fi Convention.

Hmm.

I'll post pictures tomorrow.

They're most active at feeding time.

Wow. This is fantastic news...

There is a creationist museum in Big Valley, Alberta.

Just in time, too. At the rate things are going, in just a few years, there might not be any creationists. A vital part of our history, lost forever. Today, our children risk growing up unable to understand how people could think that hindering the studies of biology, geology, and astronomy could possibly be a good thing. Now, thanks to the creationist museum, we'll be able show them actual recreations of people who care more about their opinions than the facts around them. Our young (and our young at heart) can actually view creationists in their native habitat, and try to comprehend this bizarre yet fascinating subculture that once populated the face of the world, right to its very edge. An invaluable learning experience, to say the least.

And most importantly, children will be able to learn exactly how creationists missed the entire point of The Scientific Method. In the process, they might even learn a bit about science themselves. It's edutainment!

What's that?

You say it's a creationism museum?

Oh, well. Six of one, a half dozen of the other. I'm still going there next week -- it just seems I'll have to take pictures of the curators rather than the exhibits.

Does anyone in Calgary want to come with me, and see what it's like when people Inherit The Wind?

Casting Call.

Someone in the comments requested some recommended reading, and much like listing "your Top 5 movies", it's not the sort of thing you can answer quickly. You see, the problem with liking Arthur C. Clarke is that it's a bit like saying your favourite band is The Beatles. It's a perfectly good answer, but it's so perfectly true that it ends the conversation... unless you ask: "Which Beatle"?

Then it gets fun. (The Amazon links are the ones I'm recommending.)

Arthur C. Clarke: John Lennon. A humanitarian above all, he's the heart and the embodiment of science fiction -- and as he flourishes, so does the genre (much like another Arthur).

Isaac Asimov: Paul McCartney. I went back and forth on this one, but the truth is that Paul never would have written 2001. Paul was a smart guy, and ended up with all the glory. Asimov was also a non-fiction science writer, and he's the one with an award and a magazine named after him. Besides, Paul played bass, and Asimov's no stranger to Foundations.

Philp José Farmer: George Harrison. What a long, strange, trip it's been, indeed.

Robert Heinlein: Ringo Starr. People wince at Ringo's work once he left The Beatles... and Heinlein fans grimace at what happened afterwards with The Bugs. Really, there's little they have in common, aside from the fact that you just can't help but love the dumb lugs.

George Martin, Producer: Damon Knight. They're called the Damon Knight Grand Master Awards for a reason. He founded the SFWA, and although he wrote a few good stories, his true contribution was in bringing out the potential in others.

Pete Best, "The Fifth Beatle": Harlan Ellison. I still haven't read anything by this guy, but there are as many rumours and legends swirling around this guy as there are around Ringo's predecessor. On top of that, it stands to reason that the Fifth Beatle would be pretty bitter at the world nowadays.

There you go. A very long-winded way to recommend three books and a text. On the other hand, it would take me three textbooks to list my top five movies. Consider yourself lucky.

(Disclaimer: The Grand Master list is pretty exclusive -- it's only awarded to living authors. That's why so many names are absent... which is too bad, because I very much would have liked to compare Philip K. Dick to Yoko Ono.)

Would a re-invented wheel be edgier?

*blink*

Ow, my eyes... okay, maybe that was a little too much Wii this weekend.

Fortunately, this was primarily a reading weekend, and a good one at that. I found a garage sale with the sort of sci-fi collection that would get you on Antiques Roadshow. This is great, because I'm still trying to read at least one book by each of the 23 Grand Masters of Science Fiction. Leafing through them today, I'm aware that they're a breath of fresh air in a smoggy world.

For the most part, these authors weren't the million-sellers; these were the people that the million-selling authors read when they were kids.

There's an incredible sense of "play" in their works. They're writing a story first, and a genre second. If it served the story, they weren't above writing a happy ending. Even in the stories where everything goes horribly wrong, there's still a reassuring implication that it's just for fun -- although if you want to learn something from it, so much the better.

It almost seems like sci-fi authors have to work harder today, to make sure that their book stands out against this background. Usually, it results in an emphasis on deeper characters or harder science or closer relevance, and that's great. But it's vital to keep perspective on where you are, and not to make assumptions about the previous generation.

What touched off this entire post was the Battlestar Galactica commentary I watched this afternoon. The producer, Ron Moore, mentioned that the 1978 series was nice, but today's audiences were more sophisticated. For the record, the new Battlestar is way better than the old series, but that one comment set my teeth on edge.

One lesson I will always carry with me from Bio 100: "More evolved" does not mean "superior". If a tapeworm grows body hair, it's more evolved. It will then die when its host chokes up a living, squirming hairball. There are many words to describe that, but none of them are "superior".

Similarly, don't pat yourself on the back for having a sophisticated audience. Unless you're PBS, you're confusing "thoughtful" with "media-saturated". It's a valid reason for messing with a dated TV show, but never assume that newer is better.

I really hope I'm writing this because it's true, and not because I'm getting old and crotchety.