Ground Control to Col. Hadfield

When I was a kid, I would spend endless nights in a Western Canada prairie field looking up to the galaxy with all wonder. As a budding geek, I found nothing more humbling than to watch the night sky pass over me and begin to understand how small we are as humans on this blue water marble. Part of my astronomy interest was fuelled by my mentor Cecile "Ceece" Person, a family friend but also a well known local physicist and astronomer. Ceece kindled my interests of the stars, planets, and all the possibilities beyond. Although my science journey ventured into the micro world rather than macro, Ceece was a big part of my inbred curiosity to "question everything". To this day, whenever I'm out in some farmer's field looking up to the night sky (which happens at least once a month), I often think of Ceece and how he would smile at me still being awestruck with the celestial heavens and proud that I ventured into a science career.

Regina, SK from the International Space Station.
Photo credit: Chris Hadfield

Mentorship is an essential spark for the next generation of science - no matter if it's within the laboratory under a microscope or on the International Space Station (ISS). For the past 5 months, the world has been treated with an intimate and informative look at life of being on the ISS thanks to Col. Chris Hadfield. It's safe to say that the Canadian Space Agency hasn't been on the minds of many Canadians (or the world for that matter) until Chris popped up on twitter and facebook to document his tour on the ISS. Thanks to the invention of social media, Chris managed to do what no one has done before: share his own personal daily wonder of being in space with those grounded on Earth. In the midst of all his normal astronaut duties and science experiments, Chris would take photos of cities (including my home town!),  natural structures, and sunrises/sunsets as the ISS passed overhead, diligently answer endless streams of questions from adults and children all over the world about science and space, and would share his humanity in a song or comical skit. Chris became the human face of the ISS and the space program - probably when this science program needed it the most. Chris' humbled efforts have fuelled the imaginations of people (both young and old) to encourage them to look up, ask questions, and be curious about ourselves. There's no doubt that Chris became a mentor to the next generation of the space program and science, but also he inspired people in the arts to create. "One giant leap...." indeed.

Just like Ceece inspired me, thanks to Chris' influence, somewhere, some clear night, there will be an extra kid in a field (most likely more than one), looking up to the night sky with the same sense of wonder that I still have. Who knows what good ripples of Chris' efforts will have on science and art in the coming decades.

Thanks Chris.

Watch Chris' last recorded song on the ISS; such a fitting farewell to his remarkable tour on his "tin can far above the World".

Thrilling the world

To be a legit child from the 80s there were two albums that you were required to own: Madonna's Like A Virgin and Michael Jackson's Thriller. The latter got more wear in my walkman. Although I was never a die hard fan of the late King of Pop, he did make unforgettable music and changed the way music videos were made with his epic zombie dance troop (for those unaware, MTV did actually show music videos, it isn't an urban myth!).

Early on in October, I was hanging out with zombies at the River City Zombie Walk where I got word about Thrill The World movement. I have seen many flash mobs and wedding dances where folks performed the Thriller dance, but I wasn't aware of this annual event where people around the world would dance simultaneously to the song. Oh the cool things humans do.

Curious whether the Edmonton group would allow public photographers on site, I emailed the head organizer Chels to get permission to take a few shots of the action. She gave me more than that: she named me the lead photographer of the event. Whoa.

Soon enough, last Saturday I found myself behind the scenes as people gathered to zombify themselves and take to the stage for the full 6 minute dance. This year there were 15 official dancers on the floor representing Edmonton's Thrill The World group (16 and 1/2 if you count a dedicated dad and his daughter on stage right). Chels blew everyone away with the level of organization of the event. It wasn't just a dance, but a charity event of Muscular Dystrophy Canada (the silent auction raised over $500) and a kids workshop to learn the Thriller dance. Everyone, zombie and human alike won that day. Mad Beaker Award to Chels and the zombie troop for thrilling our little part of the world. May you rise again in 2013!

The 2012 Edmonton Thrill the World dance group

After a month of being around so many zombies, I decided to indulge myself with the ways of the dead on All Hallow's Eve. When in Rome...

My eyeballs are normally this bloodshot.

A brush with comic con greatness

Deep breath. Confession time:

Hi, I'm Nanc, and I'm a comic con addict.

Luckily for me, the organizers of the Calgary Expo have got my back. After this year's HUGE attendance (over 60K attendees), they decided that that wasn't enough comic convention for Alberta and put together one in Edmonton 6 months later. I swear these expo organizers do not sleep.

On a cold October morning last weekend, Edmonton embraced its inner nerd for the first time. There was a lot of nervousness whether the con would pull any interest. The guest line up was impressive for the first con: the TV Batman reunion with Burt Ward and Julie Newmar (Adam West was planning to attend but unfortunately broke his back - insert clever Batman/Bane reference). Jewel Staite and Charisma Carpenter from the Whedon universe. Nichelle Nichols and Billy Dee Williams representing the Star Trek and Star Wars realms, respectively. For gamers they pulled together big names from Bioware and comic folks got to meet legends like Chris Claremont and Mike Grell.  As I stood in line waiting with about 500 people for the doors to open on the first day, I knew that this would become an annual event. And sure enough 14K people ventured out.

Because I'm a long time attendee of the Calgary Expo, I am familiar with some of the organizers - which includes Emily Expo (aka Lindsay Thomas). I didn't know if the Calgary folks were directly helping the Edmonton folks until I saw Emily on the exhibitor floor busily making sure that the guest panels were running smoothly. Emily is considered the face of Calgary Expo (literally! Check out the Expo logo girl!). The next day (back in the line awaiting doors to open), I saw and called her out on the spot - loudly. I thought she might be too busy to stop, but instead she high fived me. I took the opportunity to thank her for being such a great public figure for Albertan Expo cons and that her troops really deserve an award for pulling off not one, but now two big cons every year. Then I indulged myself to ask for a picture with Emily. You must understand that this is the woman who Patrick Stewart kissed on the hand - being in Emily's presence is like 2 degrees of separation to Captain Picard!

Best photo opt ever! 

Thanks Emily and the rest of the Alberta Expo team! 

The Fringe Factor

Every summer for the past 31 years, a little spot in Old Stratchcona comes alive with music, performances, and food. The Edmonton International Fringe Festival is the 2nd largest festival of its kind (Edinburgh touts the top rank). I've always loved the Fringe, its energy is so contagious that you cannot help to walk away with a grin on your face. In addition to its large selection of live indoor stage performances, the outdoor buskers and carnival colours make this festival a great nirvana for photographers.

After having taking a few photography courses, I thought I'd do something different at this year's fringe and apply for the fringe photography volunteer team. Back in April, I submitted my application with a small hopeful portfolio. Months went by with no word and I'd forgotten about it until 4 weeks ago when I got an email welcoming me to the multimedia team. I was glowing! Really? Someone out there thought that my photography skills were worthy enough for a festival THIS BIG? Whoa - easy there ego.

Soon I was sitting in the volunteer orientation, meeting the team leaders, and eventually checking in for my first shift. Each volunteer was assigned to photograph specific subjects for each shift: general festival (buskers/patrons), kids, vendors, volunteers. Most of my shifts were general festival (I was a new recruit, so they started me easy) but I did manage in a few extra shifts of kids' fringe and late night cabaret (photographing people in their underwear was a definite first for me, at least in public... uh, I overshared didn't I?).

"Chris without the hat" at his juggling best

To say that I had a great time is an understatement. I was a kid on Christmas morning, 8 times in 11 days (it was more like Hanukkah!). Having an official status within the festival allowed me to get closer to the action. It meant a greater connection to the performers, organizers, and fellow volunteers. I was able to talk to artists about their trade and learn more of the work behind the curtains that make this festival such a success. To top it off, I learned more about photography from seasoned photographers. One lesson was trying to find THE shot. There's so much action going on during any performance (not only the show itself, but the crowd's reaction or interaction with the performer), it's hard to not have a trigger finger. I did find the 75 shots/shift very limiting, but as the festival wore on, I found that I was taking more quality shots over quantity.

Living statue Daniel Anderson gets Fringe muralized!

To challenge the photography team, there were competitions for the top 25, top 10, and top photo of the day picks. I did manage to make top 25 lists with each day I had a shift (I think everyone made this list). I managed one top 10 list. But the gravy was snatching/snapping two photo of the day. Sadly, I can't show these shots off as the price to pay with volunteering is that all your submitted photos are owned by the Fringe which may be utilized for marketing/promotion purposes. The photos shared here (and my flickr account) were taken on my off days  - yes, this meant I was at the festival almost every day. Go me.

Would I do this again? Absolutely. In fact, this experience has encouraged me seek out more photography volunteer jobs. This is only the beginning.

Winnipeg's Dan and Kimberly Craig from The Street Circus dazzle the night crowd

Battle of the Cons

Another week, another con... these are the days of our lives.

I just returned from another convention - no, not a comic con (see my flickr site for pictures), but a science con. This is a rite of spring within the science world. During all those long months of slaving away in a dark laboratory at the tip of the whip from your PI who yells for "RESULTS?!!!" every Friday at 5PM, the doors are unlocked and we flock to various hotel/conference centre destinations to talk about how we spent ten of thousands of tax-payer dollars, attempt to "network" and "socialize" eventhough we're all awkward scientists, and flaunt "our lab is the bestest" posters while fielding "but your data is shit" questions from a disgruntled colleague who just realized that his project has just been scooped.

As I was sitting in this past week's science seminar talks, I couldn't help start a comparison of comic cons vs. science cons (the more honest story is that my mind wandered/eyes glazed over when some Chemist started gushing about NMR peaks). It's like the age old philosophical geek question: if Science and Comic cons were in a fistfight, who would win?

Venue/Location
Comic cons are held either in a convention centre (San Diego, Vegas, Chicago, etc...) or a hotel halls (Saskatoon, SK or Fargo, ND). It really depends on the star attractions that determines the attendee numbers (50K-100K vs 5K). Some cons (San Diego) require you to buy advance tickets YEARS ahead of the convention itself. People are often comment, "I thought it was just a casual gathering." 20 years ago, yes it was. Nowadays, if you are planning on attending a comic con, you plan it like a major holiday trip. Go big or stay home. However big cons attract the more interesting guests... no right-minded Hollywood big shot will fly to Fargo.

Likewise, Science cons vary in size depending on the draw. Each major science field has an annual MEGA con (for my field, it's ASM). I'm not a fan of the MEGA cons (50K+ attendees) as it's usually a free-4-all with overlapping panel talks and poster sessions that forces you to sprint all over the convention centre the entire time. Anyone you meet or want to meet there never has the time to chat with you. Like Comic cons, there are more intimate gatherings (100-300 attendees) in hotel settings. Unlike Comic cons, the location for these MEGA Science gatherings rotate. Although it's the same general stock of people, the venue is a convention centre in some metropolis city. I'm still waiting for ASM to announce Hawaii as their next locale - the isles will sink due to the sheer influx of scientists who descend upon that convention. Most likely this will be my scenario to such a conference.

Winner: Depends on category, so a tie.
Big cons: Comic (you may feel like cattle standing in the lines, but at least you buy 30 seconds of face time with Sir Patrick Stewart!)
Small cons: Science (you actually get to have a beer with a potential co-authour on your next project)

Big Shot Guest List
Comic cons thrive on nabbing the headliners. Calgary Expo managed to pull off the impossible in getting the entire original TNG cast together on stage. First time in 20 years. Can you imagine if some con was able to reunite the original Star Wars cast? Big names = big crowds = many people having geek-out moments (yours truly included).

Do Science cons have headliners? You betcha! They are called Nobel Prize Laureates. Once at a UCLA MEGA Science convention, I was having a geek-out moment when Sydney Brenner was introduced. The entire auditorium went batshit crazy as Sydney* shuffled across the stage to the podium to speak. Of course he didn't have an autograph session during this conference... but it's not uncommon to ask some big shot to sign one of their articles or memories books.

*ego subnote: if I did an Erdos-Bacon number relation between myself and Sydney, it's 3. My Master's advisor was a grad student in a lab from one of Sydney's grad student. Ergo, Sydney is my lab great grandfather. Oh yes. Oooooh yes!!!


Winner: Comic (sorry Sydney, as awesome as you are, I'd rather hang out with Sir Patrick)

Exhibitors
Need I to remind you that the Comic industry is purely an entertainment industry? It should come to no surprise that over 50% of the convention is wall to wall exhibitors trying to make a (big) buck on your disposable income in forms of books, pictures, art, buttons, toys, etc... I actually rarely/never buy anything at Comic cons. My con money is purely for autographs and/or personalized sketches. If I have books to be signed, they are already part of my personal collection.

Science (arguably) isn't entertainment, but it does spend a pretty penny. At the MEGA cons, you'd be surprised at the size of the exhibitor's hall. Every big (and small) biotech company trying to sell you its newest sero electronic pipette filler that comes in 5 fabulous scents! I hide from these sales rep everytime they darken my laboratory's doorway. However at the con, to lure you into their booth for the 15 min sales pitch, they do offer you free goodies.

Winner: Science (I enjoy my free annual supply of pens, highlighters, floatation devices, stress balls, science geek bumper stickers, rulers, T-shirts, boxer shorts, clipboards, calendars, timers, pedometers, wristbands, headbands, plush toys, etc...)

The N word
When I was a young Masters grad student, my advisor sent me to a MEGA Science con sans poster with the instructions "you will network". At the time, I thought this would mean that I would attempt to locate and procure ethernet access for my advisor. I soon found out that this really meant perfecting my social skills among the science population. No problem for me as I can strike up a conversation with anyone. However I soon discovered that it's true what they say about scientists in general... we fair better at talking with our data than people (one of the main reasons why there's an open bar). But so long as you speak science, you can network your way through any poster session. Often you hear about those racy hook-ups between some grad student and assistant prof (different labs... we hope). Yessiree, that's networking for a new collaboration (especially if the condom breaks). This past Science con, one speaker was a grad student who published in Nature and he was good looking. I was intrigued. I approached him during the dinner session, introduced myself, and found out that this boy could publish his data in Nature but couldn't publish his good looks with good personality. Major "full-of-himself". No problem, the next day's panel talk had a very cute biotech post-doc. Although his company's products were really of no interest, his personality was the closing deal with exchange of email addresses (he could darken my lab's doorway anyday).

Like scientists, Comic con fanfolks are equally awkward to be around... at least in the general public setting. However dress them up as a Jedi or a skin tight leather Catwoman, and they're Mr(s). Popularity. There's even geek speed-dating panel sessions; tho, I've always passed on them this far. Again I have no problem talking to people at the con (in and out of cosplay). I don't dress up, but I am very much a social butterfly as I am fluent in geek and very extroverted within the crowds. This past Comic con, I was approached by 2 media groups asking which newsmagazine I represented (they overheard my "interviews" of various people) and I had to break 3 fanboy hearts. Sorry boys, I was ultra busy networking with comic book artists and the TNG cast. Maybe next year, I will take you all up on those coffees (Ron, if you're somehow reading this... email me!).

Winner: Science. Although Comic con gives a more interesting flavour of the day, the Science con can lead to a new job offer (at least from a scientist's stand point - much different story if you're within the comic/acting industry).

The attire
Above I mentioned the cosplay at Comic con. About 60% of the attendees are dressed in their regular everyday attire (by which I mean geek T-shirt and jeans). The other 40% are full-metal-jacket decked out in costume. Comic cons provide a generally safe-environment for these people who spend thousand of hours and moolah on their favourite character. I say generally safe because there's always bullies. Although I don't dress up (I am honest with myself enough to know that I don't look good in spandex in public OR in private), I do admire those who do. Some are... what the? But most are hella awesome!

Science cons attire: oh what does one wear among the geeks here? In general, good pair of jeans/khakis and nice dress shirt/blouse. For the dinner session, a jacket/tie or skirt is usually the norm. But of course there's the fashion no-nos... like socks in sandals (facepalms).

Winner: Comic. Com'on, who wouldn't want to be in a hall where the norm is capes and tight leather suits? Ok, you don't have to agree with me on this point.

Seminar/Panel Talks
I have heard the comment from folks outside my science circle that when they hear me give a talk, it's like I'm speaking another language. So at Science cons, I'm certain that the people serving our food/drinks must feel like they are in foreign country. The interests of the talks are really based on what your interest is. I just came back from a carbohydrate conference, which is heavy on the chemistry side. I phail at chemistry-speak, so most of the talks I felt like I was on another planet. However when the talks switched to microbiology, ooooh the interest!

At Comic cons, you don't have to be a hardcore fanboy to understand the talks. You just have to have some general knowledge of the geek culture itself (or willing to learn it). Of course you miss out on a lot of subtle inside jokes. Kinda like watching the Big Bang Theory - all the jokes are funny on the surface and funnier than hell if you know the reference.

Winner: Comic. Yes science talks are intriguing and often inspire new ideas for my own projects. But listening to the comical banter between Brent Spiner and Wil Wheaton or hearing first hand Stan Lee's story on why the Hulk changed from grey to green in the comic books - highly more entertaining than any gene expression analysis.

Final Tally Count: Science con 2, Comic con 3. A squeaker folks!