Tattooing is an art form that has been around for centuries, and we know that many of you are tattoo enthusiasts. Well, The Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention is coming to the Philadelphia Convention Center and you should totally go! This is a great place to meet fellow tattoo enthusiasts and get some great ideas for your next piece!

The 13th Annual Philadelphia Tattoo Art Convention runs February 10th through the 12th and is the longest running show in the country, and this year will be even more exciting! The Convention will feature entertainment by the world famous Enigma, live bands such as Murphy’s Law, suspension acts, and a sultry burlesque show.

There will also be awards given out throughout the weekend. Best Back Piece, Leg Sleeve, and Tattoo of the Day are only some of the categories. An original art gallery and live painters will be creating things throughout the event. See over 200 of the world’s best artists tattooing all weekend long, and Amy Niletto from LA Ink will even be there!

Ticket prices are $20 per day or $40 for the weekend. Tickets are sold only at the show.

For more information, visit Tattooed Kingpin’s official website. Oh! And look for me on Saturday! She’ll be on the hunt for anyone with a geeky tattoo they’d like to show off.

The Philly Auto Show is not the domain solely for the petrol-head. Geeks like cars too. In fact, without geeks and boffins, some of that sweet tech you have in your new car may never have made it there at all. Satellite navigation, radar-guided cruise control, infrared night vision, and launch control all sound like things we might want in our Fifth Element hover taxi, but they are only a small part of amazing tech that can be found in the new, green, and exotic cars you’ll find at the Philly Auto Show.

From Jan 28th to Feb 5th, get (insert motoring pun here) for some of the sleekest and most cutting edge cars to ever hit The Pennsylvania Convention Center floor. Cars large and small will be there for you to oogle, sit in, push every button on the dashboard, and pretend you are belting around the Nürburgring at 170 mph. There is also sure to be a man with a rag over by the Ferraris waiting to sop up your puddles of drool.

In honor of the upcoming show, we have a short list (in no particular order) of some of the geekiest cars from film and real life. If there’s any one you think we should add to the list, drop us a message in the comments section below.

The Ecto-1: Who seriously didn’t want to ride round NYC to bust ghosts in this glorious bit of geek transport. Little known fact: It looks even cooler covered in slime.

The Back to the Future DMC Delorean: The Delorean may have been a complete failure in real life, but when Doc Brown got his hands on it to turn it into a flying time machine, it cruised easily into the hearts of every movie geek.

Peel P50: Small cars are geeky. The Peel P50 holds the record for being the smallest production car ever made. Never mind that it was hopelessly impractical and didn’t have a reverse gear, it was so awesomely small that you could easily drive it around your office building.

BMW Concept Car: No list of geeky cars would be complete without some iteration of the Batmobile. But this is a little something different. BMW created a concept car that’s able to change the shape of it’s fabric outer shell. You can even open and close the headlights to make it look like it’s blinking. It’s very ffective for winking at pretty girls on the sidewalk.

Reliant Robin: Because of it’s three wheel configuration, the reliant robin spent more time crashing than going around corners. But, since you only needed a motorcycle license to drive it, geeks loved turning it into all sorts of incredible things.

Undoubtedly, none of these cars will be at the Philly Auto Show, but like looking at a Lamborghini’s that will be there, it’s still fun to dream.

Philadelphia Auto Show
Jan 28 – Feb 5th, 2012
www.phillyautoshow.com

The Pennsylvania Convention Center
1101 Arch Street, Philadelphia PA 19107

Toy Story taught me that whenever no one is looking, children’s toys come alive. That thought is terrifying, just like the weeping angel statues in Doctor Who. I’ll have to recruit my friends to take shifts staring at my old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures. Don’t you dare call them dolls.

Some say this is an irrational fear and the only way to conquer such a fear is to face it head on. There’s no better place to be surrounded by old toys with questionable pasts than the Antique Toy Convention in Philadelphia. I’m going to overcome this one way or another!

The Antique Toy Convention shared the same space as the Pennsy Flea Market. When I initially walked in, I was thrown off by the Michael Jackson impersonator dancing by the CDs. True story. I eventually found the Antique Toy Convention tucked away in the corner of the flea market and after paying my $5 ticket I knew I was in the right place.

Bins of random action figures sat under tables laden with glass cases full of match box cars. Every vendor’s table reminded me of my old toy boxes. I did my best to respectfully rummage through their wares and not dump out entire bins onto the floor like a 7 year old at their friend’s house looking for a cool toy. It was tough.

Since there were plenty of people there to keep an eye out, I wasn’t too worried about toys scurrying around the displays or hitching a ride in my bag in order to make their way to their previous owner. In fact, I was reminiscing the good times I had with toys. I swear that some of my old toys my mom threw out ended up at this place. I wanted to buy all of my old toys back and show my mom in defiance. I’m too old for toys, you say? Ha!

The convention allowed me to peer into the world of people passionate about collecting toys. I overheard a story of one man’s quest for Mars Attacks trading cards that paralleled the quest for the Holy Grail. Overhearing conversations about the best way to showcase a toy collection in their home showed me there are toy geeks out there who are serious about these objects meant for children.

Toys are not alive, but they bring imagination to life. They won’t run around having adventures on their own, unless you want them to.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

I had a wonderful time at Wizard World this year! I went around and interviewed all the different cosplayers at this wonderful convention. I had some laughs, learned some life lessons, and most of all… got my geek on! I even recruited Dr. Who cosplayers to help me with the ending of this segment.

Don’t miss Wizard World next year! It’s a great time where you can meet fascinating people, buy some great geek swag, and stalk your favorite celebrity. What can go wrong with that mix?

Here’s a video of some of the people I met this year. For the extended cut, go to www.reel9productions.com!

Wizard World Philadelphia will offer you plenty of opportunities to rub elbows with the comic book elite… but what about after hours? It’s not surprising that folks tend to stay close to the convention center to grab a drink. Where do your favorite comic creators like to hang out when the con closes its doors?

Geekadelphia found out!

The Marriott Lounge was mentioned by artist Brian Quinn (Blood River) but it does tend to become the place where a lot of creator sightings happen.

Writer Tony DiGerlamo (The Web Comic Factory) mentioned the legendary McGillin’s, “the longest operating bar in Philadelphia, you can’t miss it” in the alley street of Drury Lane.

Formally East Coast artist Michael Avon Oeming (Powers, Mice Templar) swears by Tattoo Mom’s for drinks while local artist Scott Derby gave a shout out to Sugar Mom’s. “Great beers on tap, great jukebox, and old friends Bowman and Chad behind the bar. What else can you ask for?”

If you’re looking for places a little farther outside the convention sphere, Zenoscope editor-in-chief Ralph Tedesco swears by Ladder 15 in Rittenhouse.

Marvel editor C.B. Cebulski swears by DiNic’s sandwiches in Reading Terminal Market, so much so that he’ll head there first thing to wait in line.

Some other establishments that got mentions include Black Sheep (from Mike Oeming), Modo Mio and Umai Umai (Ralph Tedesco), Khyber Pass Pub (Scott Derby).

What about cheesesteaks though? It was the lone super artist Jim Lee that proclaimed “Geno’s!” as his favorite place to eat in Philadelphia.

This past weekend was the TooManyGames convention, held this year at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA.

If people didn’t get their fill of video games this weekend, then they clearly did not try hard enough.

We had the pleasure of hitting up the Expo on Friday evening when the event was kicking off, right when they were about to host a screening of “The Wizard.”

Event highlights included:

• Vendor marketplace area stacked with video games of yesteryear

• Artists with all sorts of 8-bit goodies and paintings

• Indie game developers promoting their products

• Panels and Q&As from the Independent Game Developers Association, Chase Masterson (Of Star Trek DS9 fame), and the Angry Video Game Nerd

• “The Arena”, featuring consoles from Atari 2600 to the consoles of today

• Video game tournaments like Bubble Bobble, Halo: Reach, and Super Smash Bros Brawl

• LAN parties galore featuring StarCraft II, Call of Duty 2, and CounterStrike

• Board game zone with all the geeky classics like Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Ticket to Ride

Head Organizer Chuck Whitby said that this was the 8th year of TooManyGames, and he was hopeful they’d see 5,000 people pass through the doors this weekend.

As for me, I enjoyed seeing all the cool vintage stuff that the vendors were offering, including classic NES and Game Boy games. There was even non-video game stuff, as a vendor there selling a copy of Fireball Island. Does anyone else remember that game? No? Oh, ok. WELL IT WAS AWESOME.

I also tried my skills at Pitfall for the Atari 2600, and man, was it tough. Too many alligators! Too many scorpions! Too many pits!

However, there plenty of video games at TooManyGames, and next year you should definitely check it out.

Heads up gamers. Too Many Games, the gaming convention that takes over the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks every year, is back for another fabulous weekend of games, vendors, artists, music, and networking.

The annual expo takes place the weekend of May 6th, and fill an 80,000 square foot space full of gaming goodness. Not to be confused with a traditional gaming convention, Too Many Games brings a ton of vendors hocking rare and unusual wares normally not found at other cons. Rummagers and collectors, take note. This is where you want to be.

Other highlights include chiptune artists George & Jonathan, X Hunters, Arm Cannon, and Geekadelphia favorite, Chipocrite performing over the course of the weekend, and one of the largest LAN parties on the East Coast, sponsored and hosted by GXL.

Tournaments, contests, raffles, panels, movie screenings, cosplay competition, arcade games… there’s a ton going on, too much to highlight in one post. So please, head over to Too Many Games’ official website, to get more details.

We’ll see you there.

Too Many Games
May 6th – 8th, 2011
www.toomanygames.com

Excited con-goers wait to get in at Zenkaikon 2010

Break out your sailor fuku and your cat ears! Our favorite local Philadelphia anime convention Zenkaikon is back for another weekend of panels, guests and cosplay!

It’s hard to believe this is only the con’s 5th year in existence. I fondly remember the days when the entire convention was held in two tiny hallways.

Zenkaikon has since grown into quite the affair, bursting out of those two narrow hallways and taking over most of the Valley Forge Scanticon Hotel in King of Prussia. Zenkaikon was a great time last year, despite some of the overcrowding issues. And as the convention has proved year after year, it can only get better.

Shopping away at Zenkaikon

The convention will run this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 18th to the 20th. The con will feature guests like voice acting  extraordinaires Vic Mignogna and Todd Haberkorn with musical guests Gelatine and Rose Noire.

Registration is a mere $55 for the entire weekend, $25 for Friday and Sunday and $35 for Saturday at the door. Get there early whichever day you plan to arrive so you have plenty of time to register.

See you there!

Zenkaikon 2011
March 18th – 20th
www.zenkaikon.com

Scanticon Valley Forge Hotel
1210 1st Avenue, King of Prussia, PA 19406
(610) 265-1500
www.scanticonvalleyforge.com

Am I geeking out over an electric car? I do believe I am.

While I’d gladly run on dino juice until the Triceratops come home, times are a-changing. Straight out of Motor City, General Motors is rolling out the highly-anticipated Chevy Volt. Having already been named 2011 North American Car of the Year, it’s finally here: the industry’s first E-REV (extended-range electric vehicle).

What does that mean exactly? Well, it runs on pure electric power and its small 1.4-liter gasoline engine can generate real-time energy to keep it going when the charge in the car’s primary battery is depleted.

This difference separates it from conventional hybrids, as running on electric power is its primary purpose. According to GM, the Volt has a range of about 25-50mi on electric power alone. Using the battery power first, and then electricity generated by the on-board gasoline-power generator nets in a very respectable range of about 340mi. In more common terms, this boils down to 93mpg equivalent in all-electric mode, 37mpg in gasoline-only mode with an overall fuel economy rating of 60mpg combined.

Fun fact: the car’s primary power source weighs over 400lbs and comes in the form of a T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack that sits low in the rear of the car. The low center of gravity this creates reportedly gives the Volt some impressive handling for what one would normally expect from an economy car. Good handling would be great to pair with its 149-horsepower engine with a comparatively-whopping 273 lb-ft of torque.

While I could rant on and on about the engineering, I can’t ignore the interior technological gadgetry. The Volt has not just one, but two 7.0 LCD screens taking the role of traditional gauges. The center-mounted one is a touchscreen (because real buttons are passé) that’s used to access the (Bose) sound system, navigation, climate control and a range of geeky stat-oriented powertrain status and efficiency information.

To guide all these awesome computerized feats is the latest version of OnStar and the Volt’s very own dedicated iOS/Android OnStar mobile app. The app does a slew of things from scheduling or checking the status of remote-activated charging (the Volt can be plugged into any residential electrical out to recharge its lithium-ion battery), or view various stats on miles driven using gas and/or straight electrical power and of course calculated, average mpg.

To top things off, GM and Powermat, a pioneer in wireless charging technology, announced a commercial agreement that will eliminate the need for charging cords for personal electronic devices in many future products, starting with the Volt.

Excited yet? The car will be in all major markets within the next 18 months. However, you can check it out the Volt and sneak peaks at other exciting GM vehicles such as the Sonic or Cruze starting this Saturday at the Philadelphia International Auto Show. Can’t make it to the auto show but interested in some serious coverage on the Volt? Check out ChevroletVoltage.com

PS. General Motors declined to make comments on Transformers 3. They are however, involved.

The Too Many Games convention is almost here, bringing with it some fun competitions, awesome musical guests, and an epic sale of sweet gaming swag. It’s the 10th convention in a row, and it hits Sunday, September 19th, at the Crowne Plaza Reading Hotel in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

This year, Too Many Games is sponsored, in part, by NYKO. The 3rd party peripheral manufacturer is hosting a gaming tournament… involving The Conduit. Strange choice for a title, but meh. You kids have fun.

They’ve also got some outstanding musical guests lined up, including Geekadelphia favorites Animal Style and Chipocrite. Other guests include Ro-bear, X-Hunters, and JJ Demon.

For updates on the go, you can follow Too Many Games on Twitter. For more info on the convention, visit Too Many Games’ official website. Happy conning.

Too Many Games
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
www.toomanygames.com