Tag: family activities

That Time I Went to Phoenix Comicon and Stood in Line

I am a sci-fi fan, an IT geek, and I like to play dress up at Halloween.  I have never been to Comicon, or any con for that matter.  For the last several years many of my friends attend and cannot understand why I am not there.  So, this year I bought tickets for Comicon.  Actually, they do not sell tickets, you have to buy a Membership to gain entrance for one or more days. Fine, I paid for my membership and I am ready to explore everything “Con”, specifically Phoenix Comicon 2015, has to offer.

My guidelines and basic strategy:

I do not pay for autographs or for photo ops with anyone.  I do not care who you are, not gonna happen.

I do not wait in long lines for very many things.  Even Space Mountain has Fast Pass – totally worth it.

I really do not like crowds.  I love to people watch, but I prize my personal space more.

Authors Wesley Chu (middle) and Myke Cole (black Brooklyn shirt)
Authors Wesley Chu (middle) and Myke Cole (black Brooklyn shirt)

I attended a few hours Thursday afternoon and all day Friday.  Thursday I attended in regular clothes, then several friends told me that I would have more fun in costume.  It was not possible for me to have less fun, so Friday I wore a Steampunk outfit.  I attended several panels including science, costuming, and a couple SciFi/Fantasy author panels (the author panels were by far the best that I attended, and can be seen at BOOK events).

Star Wars photo ops
Star Wars photo ops

I walked around Mos Eisley (Star Wars area) and Lego displays, along with many other themed areas for photos. I waited almost an hour for the over-hyped 5 minute Zombie walk Friday evening (where there was little walking, Zombie security yelling “hold the line”, and play fighting).  I walked the entire exhibition hall, which is a very large shopping area full of comics, dust collectors, costume stuff, and other over priced items that I do not need to clutter my house. I ended up buying a few items for Renaissance Festival (2 vendors that do not attend AZ Ren Faire, but 1 that I actively stalk on Etsy).

Lego display
Lego display

Basically, I learned the most important/popular things to do at Comicon are:

# 1 Photos – People take lots of photos.  Pay to have their photo taken with celebrities, pose for photos in front of decorative backdrop, group photos with similarly dresses people, photos with SciFi themed props, and more photos.

# 2 Celebrities – Pay for photo taken with celebrity (#1 above), Pay (separate transaction, complete with separate line to stand in) for celebrity autograph, listen to celebrity in a panel lecture or discussion.

# 3 Panels – Watch celebrity panels (#2 above), attend various themed panels on a wide range of topics (most of which you can watch similar or better on YouTube/Netflix), run a panel (the criteria to run a panel is a pulse and ability to verbalize sounds).

# 4 Costumes – People dress up as everything.  I saw Harry Potter characters, Steampunk, Dr. Who, Super Heroes, Game of Thrones, Furries, and a crap ton of other outfits that I have no idea what they are.

Comic books and collectibles at Phoenix Comicon
Comic books and collectibles

# 5 Shopping  – Comic books, art, t-shirts, costumes, collectibles, and so much more to buy.

Action figures and stuff for purchase
Action figures and stuff for purchase

More Comic books
More Comic books
Long lines for an event that was overdue to start
Long lines for an event that was overdue to start

The panels and events were poorly managed resulting in long lines, and late starts for scheduled events.

This is my first, last, and only time that I ever will attend Comicon, and most likely any time of con in the future. Some people had fun.  Many of my friends look forward to this all year and have a great time.  Not for me.

The Buddy Holly Story

 – Guest blogger, Jack Benway contributes the following review of Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story presented by the Phoenix Theater League at the Orpheum Theater March 2015.

The Jukebox Musical Theater genre is growing on me, if for no other
reason than its combination of absurdity and audacity.

The genre takes somebody else’s already popular and well-known musical
body of work, weaves an (often contrived or minimal) narrative around
it, adds some choreography, costuming, and stage work, and delivers it
as a theatrical production.

Considering that a good rock-and-roll live show already includes
choreography, costuming, and stagework, it becomes clear that a Jukebox
Musical is really just extremely clever marketing to significantly
increase the ticket price of a cover band or retrospective musical
review.  Bully for them — bring on the clever marketing!

No rock band ever won a Tony Award for their live tour, but repackage
the songs of that same rock band, performed by others, as musical
theatre, and a trophy will be awarded in short order.

Buddy (the Buddy Holly Story) delivered the best that the Jukebox
Musical genre can offer.

Its narrative, describing Buddy Holly’s rocket ride to stardom and
tragic abrupt demise, contributed nicely to the mostly musical production.

The clever mechanism of radio show snippets for timeline advancement
made for rapid progression with minimal need for set changes or chorus
ensemble.

Its biggest miss was the use of chorus girls singing ad jingles during
the first act, which seemed out of place and a bit contrived for the
production as a whole — a good idea that wasn’t executed or implemented
to fruition.

The impersonator (er, actor) playing Buddy Holly was fantastic, as were
those playing the lesser roles of The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and the
Crickets.  The music was wonderful.  Costumes were appropriate but not
particularly noteworthy.

Buddy made me wish I could have seen Buddy Holly perform live, or at
least, take in a good Buddy Holly cover band.

Tempe Center for the Arts

A friend of mine won tickets for a Production at Tempe Center for the Arts and was kind enough to invite me.  I watched this beautiful facility built several years ago (2007 was just a few years ago, okay) and this was my first visit.TCA_1

Sunday afternoon offered a ChildsPlay production, with shows ideally suited for young people.  This is a great opportunity to introduce children to the arts and etiquette of live performance.  The show included intermission and a Q&A session with the audience after the show.  Such a great event for children!

The center has ample parking and a nice view of Tempe Town Lake.  The refreshment bar offers snacks, drinks (including adult beverages), and outside patio seating.TCA_3The center has ample parking and a nice view of Tempe Town Lake.  The refreshment bar offers snacks, drinks (including adult beverages), and outside patio seating.TCA_2There are multiple auditoriums for shows, gift shop, and gallery.  I am very glad that I have finally been inside Tempe Center for the Arts and I look forward to future events there.

 

 

Mayans in Cancun, Mexico | Exploring Mayan History Steps from the Beach

The most well-known Mayan ruins and archaeological sites are in the interior of Mexico and Central America which can be difficult to visit, often requiring long car or bus rides.  The nearest airport to Chichen Itza is Cancun and then it is still several hours travel by car.  There are two noteworthy Mayan sites located within Cancun.

El Rey
El Rey
El Rey
El Rey

El Rey is located along the Hotel Zone of Cancun, tucked away behind large trees and a small sign.  For 43 pesos (per person) this hidden gem is an old Mayan village for exploration.  The area surrounding the structures is cut back leaving very little shade.  The site opens at 8 AM for the coolest temperatures.  There are plenty of signs in both Spanish and English translation.

View of modern hotel in the distance at the El Rey site
View of modern hotel in the distance at the El Rey site

The entire site takes less than an hour to walk and take a few photos.

2014-08-30 10.54.32
The Mayan Museum, Museo Maya de Cancun, is just down the street from the El Rey site.  The museum opens at 9 am, one hour later than El Rey, allowing for a full morning of Mayan history. At a mere 57 pesos, the entrance fee is one of the best bargains in Cancun!

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Chichen Itza Travel Guide | Explore the Mayan History in Mexico

Explore the incredible ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza! Travel Guide with transit time, tours, the pyramid, beyond the pyramid, Mayan History in Mexico, and more!

Art, Museums, History, Science, Natural Wonders, and Archaeology are a few of my favorite things!  So what could be better than an archaeological site full of art, culture, science, an ancient pyramid, an astronomical observatory, and more located in a jungle? That was my motivation to spend the day at Chichen Itza Mayan archaeological site.

The Chichen Itza site is located in the Yucatan state of Mexico, the nearest village is Piste (pronounced pis-tay).  Our adventure started in Cancun, Mexico on the far East coast.  The cheapest way from Cancun to Chichen Itza is by tour bus, it is also the slowest and most restrictive.  We skipped that and arranged for a private car through our resort, paying $250 USD for private driver all day including fuel.  Slightly more expensive, but we set the schedule and our little car passed all the buses so we arrived before the crowds.  By car, it is a 2 hour drive using toll roads, or an extra hour to avoid the tolls.  Tolls are charged by type of vehicle, meaning that our private car paid approx $500 pesos for both tolls (approx. $42 USD) but van or bus is more expensive.

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