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Living by Joe Wilcox
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My Comic-Con Luck Runs Out

I dreaded this day but mentally prepared—or so it seemed. San Diego Comic-Con 2017 Early Registration commenced this morning. Passes sold out in about an hour, and I got none for any of the four days or Preview Night. I attended continuously, starting in 2009—the first six years as registered press. For reasons unknown to me, SDCC did not “verify” my media status for 2015 or 2016, but I was able to register and pay for the entire event.

Open Registration is still to come, and the convention changed the press submission schedule for the July 19 (Preview Night) – 23 event. Past years: December. Now it’s end of April. Before the new week starts, I will resubmit legitimate materials that, if my luck isn’t exhausted, might lead to press certification and attendance. 

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Living by Joe Wilcox
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Look Who I Met at Comic-Con

I spent today, with my daughter, at San Diego Comic-Con 2016. Finally. My praise to the organization for providing shockingly accessible accessibility services for the temporarily or permanently disabled. Because of corrective eye surgery two days ago, I fit the category for this Con, and hopefully none other. SDCC graciously gave Molly an onsite pass to be my attendant. In introduction, my impaired vision frames an unexpected encounter with Christopher Gorham.

When the surgical procedures are complete, I expect to have as good eyesight as my youth, but without the need for glasses. I wore a pair of dummy ones today, to protect the operated-on right eye (e.g. plastic with no prescription applied to them). Thus, the left eye is a complete blur without a corrective lens. On the right, my vision for things far away is exceptional. But my personal space, out to about a meter, is blurred out; my visual range will normalize sometime after the dilated pupil normalizes. So, yeah, Molly’s assistance is helpful. 

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Society by Joe Wilcox
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Red Shirts Mark My Comic-Con Blues

I won’t attend all, or even most, of San Diego Comic-Con as planned this week. SDCC is the only event I look forward to all year. But an opportunity came to undergo corrective surgery in one of my eyes (the other follows in a few weeks) sooner than expected. I will be at the Con Wednesday night but not Thursday (gonna be under the scalpel—or is it laser—that day) and probably not Friday (when is the post-op exam). Perhaps the surgeon will okay Sunday and hopefully even Saturday.

My eighth year of attendance is a bust, but I am super fortunate to get July 21st for the surgery. I had looked forward to Star Trek’s 50th year, which will get big celebration throughout the four days and Preview Night—starting with the “Star Trek Beyond” premiere. Given my truncated plans combined with my paying to attend (no press pass), I will go as a participant rather than a documentarian for the first time. 

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Society by Joe Wilcox
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Take the Pledge and Stay Off the Internet This Saturday

You spend too much time online. Take a break from the Net on November 14th. Show us all that you aren’t a connected device junkie—that you can step out into the real world and enjoy fresh air and sun, and prove your ability to talk to real people face to face (pack the breath mints!).

Aren’t your thumbs tired from texting and Facebook Liking? Don’t your eyes need a break from squinting at flat-screens? If you must stare at a screen, make it a big one—catch an early matinee. Take the pledge to give up the Internet for one hour. You could even go 90 minutes. Turn off the PC, smartphone, or tablet. Join others taking the challenge. Let’s everyone start at 8:45 a.m. PST and commit to staying offline until 9:45, or later. You’ll feel better for it. 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Meet the Fujifilm X-T1

Someone please explain the mysteries of retail marketing and sales, because they baffle me. Last week, I quite unexpectedly purchased the Fujifilm X-T1, which got clumsy break-in during San Diego Comic-Con 2015. The story I tell is true, a point necessary to emphasize because I wouldn’t believe it if not for my real-life experience.

Last November, I asked: “Fujifilm X100T or X-T1?” After making comparisons, seriously evaluating my budget, contemplating my past experience using the X100, and considering the benefits of nearly-silent leaf shutter and ND filter to compensate for the Southern California sun, I chose the fixed-lens camera. Besides, I have used only mirrorless digicams since Sigma DP1 in early 2008 and, with brief Olympus PEN sojourn, only non-interchangeable lens shooters. 

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Living by Joe Wilcox
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Comic-Con House of Worship

I lied, but didn’t mean to. Turns out that my “Final SDCC 2015 Reflection” isn’t. I have another. Whether or not you believe in the existence of God, or some kind of deliberate creator, ponder this observation: Comic-Con, more than any other gathering, reveals how much human beings need to worship. Some evolutionist might argue that such innate genetic trait leads us to manufacture deities and religion. God believers could point to the fallen human condition and idolatry replacing pure faith.

Whether you accept either, neither, or something else, nevertheless ponder what San Diego Comic-Con and events like it represents: People gather to worship what or whom they see as being greater than themselves—fictional superheroes, artists who create them, writers who tell their stories, actors who portray them, and directors, producers, showrunners and others who bring them to film and to video. 

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Society by Joe Wilcox
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Uh-oh! Red Shirts!

What an Uglydoll way to go. I wonder how long these will last? Star Trek Uglies are this year’s San Diego Comic-Con exclusives. Just beam me up some, would you? But Preview Night wasn’t their time for big sales. Long lines queued elsewhere.

Each day of SDCC has its own distinct character. Preview Night is the big geekfest. It is not the pretty people gathering. The group fulfills a wide range of stereotypes that says nerd. The fewest cosplayers are seen of any day, also. You would think Star Trek would appeal to these types, and perhaps it does. I observed more of a Dr. Who, Orphan Black, and The Walking Dead crowd. 

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