From The Commercial Appeal
Apr. 5th, 2005 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
valarltdIt's good to be geek
MidSouthCon 23 participants immerse themselves in a world of fantasy
By Erin Sullivan
April 3, 2005
Lee Rushing opens the trunk to his Chevy Lumina, the blue one in the hotel lot with the bumper sticker that says:
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East and Juliet is ...
AAAAHHHHH!!!!! The Sun!
*foom*
-- Vampire Theater
Rushing opens a suitcase and pulls out a black robe. Underneath is 150 pounds (he says he weighed it) of rusted chainlink metal, which in a few hours he will wear over the robe. He hefts it up, proud. It was a great find -- perfect for his vampire character.
Rushing is 26, a student at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro who wants to produce for radio and television. In his off time, he dresses up as vampires and werewolves and trolls.
He was in Memphis Saturday for MidSouthCon 23 -- an annual science fiction and fantasy convention. It started out 23 years ago as a small group inviting science fiction and fantasy writers for readings. More than 1,000 people from all niches show up at the event -- from Trekkies to Star Troopers, racy vampires to prim maidens.
"We're a group of like-minded individuals who come together to immerse ourselves in another world," Rushing said.
"It's a way to relieve stress. Some come to it to get away from troubles. Some come just for the hobby."
In the hallways of the hotel, there are people from every race and age. There are doctors and lawyers, scientists and teachers, retirees and students. A graying grandfather with a button-down shirt tucked into slacks. A heavy woman in a red brassiere. Darth Vader's Imperial Army. Princess Leia. An engineer at the Mensa booth recruits applicants.
Rushing and his friend, Ally Rankin, want to dispel the stereotypes.
"We are not Satan worshipers," said Rankin, a 23-year-old FedEx employee. "We were the goofy geeks in high school, the creative individuals. This is where we let it out."
"The dorkier and geekier you are -- the hotter you are here," Rushing said. "If you're a geek -- you're a stud."
"And," added Rankin, who is a large, pretty young woman, "Big girls -- you are definitely in there."
-- Erin Sullivan: 529-5880
MidSouthCon 23 participants immerse themselves in a world of fantasy
By Erin Sullivan
April 3, 2005
Lee Rushing opens the trunk to his Chevy Lumina, the blue one in the hotel lot with the bumper sticker that says:
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East and Juliet is ...
AAAAHHHHH!!!!! The Sun!
*foom*
-- Vampire Theater
Rushing opens a suitcase and pulls out a black robe. Underneath is 150 pounds (he says he weighed it) of rusted chainlink metal, which in a few hours he will wear over the robe. He hefts it up, proud. It was a great find -- perfect for his vampire character.
Rushing is 26, a student at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro who wants to produce for radio and television. In his off time, he dresses up as vampires and werewolves and trolls.
He was in Memphis Saturday for MidSouthCon 23 -- an annual science fiction and fantasy convention. It started out 23 years ago as a small group inviting science fiction and fantasy writers for readings. More than 1,000 people from all niches show up at the event -- from Trekkies to Star Troopers, racy vampires to prim maidens.
"We're a group of like-minded individuals who come together to immerse ourselves in another world," Rushing said.
"It's a way to relieve stress. Some come to it to get away from troubles. Some come just for the hobby."
In the hallways of the hotel, there are people from every race and age. There are doctors and lawyers, scientists and teachers, retirees and students. A graying grandfather with a button-down shirt tucked into slacks. A heavy woman in a red brassiere. Darth Vader's Imperial Army. Princess Leia. An engineer at the Mensa booth recruits applicants.
Rushing and his friend, Ally Rankin, want to dispel the stereotypes.
"We are not Satan worshipers," said Rankin, a 23-year-old FedEx employee. "We were the goofy geeks in high school, the creative individuals. This is where we let it out."
"The dorkier and geekier you are -- the hotter you are here," Rushing said. "If you're a geek -- you're a stud."
"And," added Rankin, who is a large, pretty young woman, "Big girls -- you are definitely in there."
-- Erin Sullivan: 529-5880
