So, this Saturday in Atlanta I'll be attending DragonCon, which claims to be the world's largest science fiction / fantasy / gaming / comics / etc. convention. And it probably is with about 20K+ people attending, though of course, there are all kinds of nerd-pissing-contest debates over how those figures are calculated.

There's no doubt it's a huge attraction for folk (and god-awful annoying filkers). Almost too big for the three downtown host sites, the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Hyatt Regency and Hilton hotels, to handle as the nerd-throngs overcrowd panel discussions on the Sacred Feminine in the Dragonriders of Pern novels, hog-up seats in the Stargate SG-1 outtakes screenings and fill the downtown streets between the hotels dandied-up as Klingons, Slave Leias and Gay Pirates. I attended last year's DragonCon for the first time since the early 90s and was astounded by the sheer mass of people and other types overwhelming the hotels' air conditioners. Hot and sweaty nerds in costumes, just what's needed to have a good time.

One of the most interesting events is the annual parade down Peachtree Street held on the Saturday morning of the convention. Everyone who's anybody in the costuming world gets geared up as their favorite fictional character and dutifully marches by the gawking non-costuming slackers. I particularly enjoy the d00ds dressed as Snowtroopers from The Empire Strikes Back. Only at a DragonCon can you see guys dressed in white robes and masks marching through Atlanta while being cheered by supportive and admiring fans. Reason alone to make it an event for the whole family to attend.

While I might sound critical of the affair and disdain its hardcore participants (okay, there's truth to that), I do enjoy the people/creature watching, running into old friends and checking out where Condom finds itself these days. It can be a good meter of what's going to be pop-culture in a few years. If you wanted to know where and how the whole leather S&M/Dominatrix scene drifted into the mainstream, you only needed to attend a couple of cons back in the 80s. While something like that might sound interesting, trust me, it can be cruelly obvious that some people need to work on getting some decent shame issues.

A friend of mine who blogs at Slightly Higher in Canada is much more harsh towards the people and scene in a recent response to an inquiry of mine about his attending this year's DragonCon:

"The last time I was at Dragoncon it was jam-packed with pathetic, desperate attention-whoring jerkoffs dressed either as pirates or Storm Troopers, wheezing their diseased breath in my face as their overtaxed cardiovascular systems attempted to cope with the stairs in the Hilton, leaving a trail of Burger King wrappers and Mountain Dew cans in their wake, furiously unlimbering their digital cameras in the hopes of catching an upskirt photo of some star-struck drama queen in homemade Victorian underwear. I cannot physically carry enough bullets to adequately dispense justice in this scenario.

Also, the dealers room sucked."

Course, he's an Absolute God of the AnimeCon community and everyone knows what they smell like. Really, it's not so much the smell of the AnimeNerds as their sickly CTR-green skin tones. Anyway, they have their own problems. Though, you gotta give them points for encouraging the Cosplay gals.

Anyway, if you're attending and want to say "Hi", I'll be the nerd in glasses.

Science Fiction | Conventions | Cons
DragonCon | Nerds | Atlanta
Parades | Geeks | Grouchogandhi

Delivered unto you by Grouchogandhi precisely at 11:20:00 AM