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Fantasy Land

This Saturday and Sunday, I’ll be attending the second Science Fiction / Fantasy Convention at the Rockwell Center in Makati City. Sponsored by The Philippine Tolkien Society (yes, folks, there is such a group), the event brings together enthusiasts of… well, scifi and fantasy. You’ll find most everything there, from Star Wars to Star Trek, Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter. Budjette Tan and Gerry Alanguilan will be joining me at the booth.

The first convention was held last year in a small alleyway in Mile Long Center, right beside the THX theater, to coincide with a premiere showing of Star Trek: Nemesis. During that event, Gary Mayoralgo (of Taleweaver) gave me the unenviable task of sifting through and judging the entries of the “create your own Jedi” art contest. The irrepressible cosplayers were also present; the Borg and the Alien looked really impressive, but Queen Amidala lacked the jawdropping oomph befitting Naboo royalty. I also remember one of the Nazgul flirting with Karen Kunawicz, and I give him top points for attempting so without uttering a word.

For this year, I’m imagining a bigger event with a higher attendance, and I hope to see some friends I haven’t seen in a while. I’m also expecting to see Robert Wong hog all the attention again with his awe-inspiring oh-my-gawd-how’d-he-do-that APU exoskeleton.

Anyways, see you there!

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