GeekGirlCon
Well, I checked out GeekGirlCon today, and it was pretty fun. I'm glad to see it succeeding, and look forward to seeing it grow. (It seriously will need some growing room. Thank god it was a nice day, so we could hang out in the courtyard.) There were indeed lots of girls there, all ages shapes and colors, and it felt, at least to me, like a positive atmosphere.
My friend and I ended our day sitting on a bench outside, going through our swag bag, while nearby, a trio of little girls dressed as various versions of Princess Leia were fighting each other with blasters and lightsabers. (The littlest girl suffered a minor disaster when her fingers got whacked with a lightsaber. Her mother handed her a longer lightsaber. "It has a better reach.")
Best part of the day: I ran into an old, old friend in the dealer's room. Now this guy looks exactly like another guy I know, who I met because I thought he was my old friend, and only halfway through the conversation did I realize it wasn't who I thought it was. So here before me is the original guy. I took his picture, just so I could prove to myself next time I saw the new guy that they did indeed look alike. And then, it just so happened that I ran into my new friend's wife, and was able to show her the picture. She agreed with me, and I am free of thinking for the past five years that I'm crazy.
Getting my friend home proved to be a bit tricky, since Occupy Seattle had blocked off her bus stop, and the police didn't know anything about where it was being rerouted. But we went to the next stop up the street, and got there just in time for her bus.
You know, I generally support the Occupy protests, and I'm glad the mayor is supporting them, but I wish they could be a little more focused. Pick a message, offer a solution, and stay on topic. The average person, looking at the protesters, may well just see a bunch of incoherent hippies with illegible cardboard signs who block traffic and generally make life difficult in the short term.
I did like the flyers I saw posted around that told individual "I am in the 99% stories." Those produced sympathy in me, and not annoyance.
But I cheered with the crowd as I walked past. What I was cheering at, I don't know, since I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I am part of the 99%, and I'd like some goddamned health care.
My friend and I ended our day sitting on a bench outside, going through our swag bag, while nearby, a trio of little girls dressed as various versions of Princess Leia were fighting each other with blasters and lightsabers. (The littlest girl suffered a minor disaster when her fingers got whacked with a lightsaber. Her mother handed her a longer lightsaber. "It has a better reach.")
Best part of the day: I ran into an old, old friend in the dealer's room. Now this guy looks exactly like another guy I know, who I met because I thought he was my old friend, and only halfway through the conversation did I realize it wasn't who I thought it was. So here before me is the original guy. I took his picture, just so I could prove to myself next time I saw the new guy that they did indeed look alike. And then, it just so happened that I ran into my new friend's wife, and was able to show her the picture. She agreed with me, and I am free of thinking for the past five years that I'm crazy.
Getting my friend home proved to be a bit tricky, since Occupy Seattle had blocked off her bus stop, and the police didn't know anything about where it was being rerouted. But we went to the next stop up the street, and got there just in time for her bus.
You know, I generally support the Occupy protests, and I'm glad the mayor is supporting them, but I wish they could be a little more focused. Pick a message, offer a solution, and stay on topic. The average person, looking at the protesters, may well just see a bunch of incoherent hippies with illegible cardboard signs who block traffic and generally make life difficult in the short term.
I did like the flyers I saw posted around that told individual "I am in the 99% stories." Those produced sympathy in me, and not annoyance.
But I cheered with the crowd as I walked past. What I was cheering at, I don't know, since I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I am part of the 99%, and I'd like some goddamned health care.