The 11th annual Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition (OVGE) has come and gone, and as has been the case since the first year of the show, I was there with goodies from my game collection for everyone to try out, as well as some stuff to sell.
Power UP! Today was a day of dusting, battery compartment cleaning, screen-cleaning and general getting-ready for this weekend’s OVGE event in Broken Arrow. Everything, even my finicky Coleco Donkey Kong Jr. tabletop, is ready for action.
The theme of my display for this year is how much portable gaming has changed. (Spoiler alert: it’s changed a BUNCH.)
Extra batteries are on standby, and the mini-arcade is at the ready. Are you?… Read more
That’s right, I’m going to just sit by the doorway and play video game music on my guitar, and you throw quarters into an upturned hat!
Well, okay, so maybe not. Here’s what PDF Unplugged is really about. … Read more
I’m confirmed as a panelist at Konsplosion, this September in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The scheduling here is a bit tricky: I’ve been committed to this year’s OVGE since… well… last year’s OVGE. This year’s OVGE is the tenth anniversary show, the tables are already reserved, and I can’t really not go.
So the trick here is this: Konsplosion runs September 20th through 22nd. I will do three panels – probably back to back! – on the 22nd: Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, Brit Sci-Fi that isn’t Doctor Who, and the Early History of Video Games. I will have my books and DVDs there to sell/sign between panels. (The books and DVDs will also be available at OVGE the day before.)
I will not have a table at Konsplosion, but my good friends at the Facebook group River Valley Time Lords will have one. Basically, if you’re anywhere in the western half of Arkansas and you like time traveling police boxes, you probably need to be joining that group rightaboutnowish. Big Things are being planned in this area. This area needs cool geeky stuff, and I’m proud to have even a small hand in helping to make some of that stuff happen.
Anyway, that’s the update. Stay tuned!… Read more
Some quick notes on the book front, for those interested. … Read more
I’m going to be at Glitchcon in Springdale next month, showing off the various fruit that falls off of the multifarious branches of theLogBook.com – the books, the DVDs, the podcast, the ‘zine, the site itself. Heck, you can probably talk me into letting you hear some Kasatochi. I’ll have a table in the vendors’ room – drop by and say howdy! (Fear not, there are faaaaaaar more interesting things than me to see, including Steve Downes, the voice actor behind the helmet of Master Chief in the Halo games, sneak-previewing something perhaps Halo-related at his panel.)
I’ll also be hosting a panel of my own, though it’ll be unconventional to say the least. I’m going to do an early-history-of-video-gaming panel, and allow everyone to get their butts out of their seats and try stuff out hands-on. … Read more
I did five shows in 2012, and had fun at each one to some degree. I’ve also learned a lot of stuff. Did you know that, prior to 2012, I’d never been to a sci-fi or comics convention… ever? Seems kind of odd when one’s as big a fan of nearly everything as I am, until you factor in my aversion to crowds, nervousness at awkward social situations (to me, just introducing myself to people I don’t know is awkward)… basically, typical introvert. And instead of being able to zip around and See All The Stuff, never staying in one place for long, I’m rooted to one spot, because this is work. … Read more
Five years ago, a bunch of my buddies and I drove for hours – some for quite a few hours – to invade a retro arcade in Springfield, Missouri. It was quite a unique destination at the time – an old-school arcade, complete with pinball machines and nostalgic items all over the place, where you could get in for five bucks and play to your heart’s content. It’s not a bad business model: once inside, they have a concession stand to keep you there (and keep draining your wallet), and they’re probably counting on their patrons only sticking around for an hour or two. Which, with the three-hour one-way drive time to Springfield, was a bit enforced in our case – we had real lives and crap to get back to.
If I had a buck for everyone I’ve ever heard in the arcade collecting hobby talking about how they’re going to start their own version of 1984, I’d be able to start my own version of 1984. Fortunately, some local collectors have beaten me to it and opened up shop last weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and it’s gotta be said, the 40-minute drive (instead of a 3-hour tour, a 3-hour tour) may just make Arkadia Retrocade the happeist place on Earth for me and mine.
I’ve shown off my photos of other people’s stuff. Turns out that other people were taking photos of me and my stuff too. Be warned, you can’t unsee it. … Read more
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