Getting My Geek On

I had planned on a Portland epilogue when I left on the red-eye Monday night.  But I was a victim of the dreaded middle seat.  To my left, a gentleman who smelled of mildew and onions.  To my right, a woman who slept fitfully, tossing her jacket around so that the sleeve kept hitting me in the face as I tried to rest.

I deplaned with hair that looked like it was styled with a blender.  What makeup I had worn at the start of my trip was gone, probably on the sleeve of my restless neighbor.

Traveling is so glamorous.

Needless to say, I walked around on Tuesday doing an unintentional imitation of The Walking Dead.  On Wednesday, I was packing again.  No time to do the beauty of Oregon justice, I was too busy getting ready to get my geek on.

Yes, Route 65 here, reporting from Wizard World Comicon 2015 in Philadelphia.  This is where the weird REALLY lives.

Dr. Who, Wonder Woman, Batman.  I'm not talking about graphic novels or television shows; I'm talking about some of the costumes.  It's so much fun to see the lengths some folks go to in recreating their favorite anime/video game/super hero character. Where else can you watch Link from Zelda walking down the same aisle as Darth Vader?  A younger crowd proliferates at these events, and I think it's a pity more older folks don't get in on the act.  Personally, my inner child gets a real kick out of hanging with a crowd that, at times, resembles the bar scene in Star Wars.

Not a costume.  Real statue.

There was a promo going on for Jurassic World which employed the use of Oculus Rift, the virtual reality glasses from Samsung.  Virtual reality glasses?  I am SO in! 

In line, that is.  Fortunately, the opening day crowd
 wasn't overwhelming.

And the wait was worth it. The technology adjusts your view with the movement of your head.  Shift your head right and left, look up and down, etc., the view changes as seamlessly as if you were standing there.  Combined with the 3D effect and stereo headphones, it is totally immersive.

Since, in this case, the content was tied to the movie, I experienced the awakening of a brontosaurus...who proceeded to sniff me! 

Awesome!

I just know that this experience will transform entertainment in the future.  But I'm going to wait until they program it so that something besides a brontosaurus is sniffing me. 

George Clooney would do.