The last time I attended Zenkaikon it was at the Valley Forge Convention Center, but since that is now a casino, they have had to relocate to the Expo Center at Oaks. You might remember Oaks as the site of GameX and Too Many Games; two gaming cons one sadly now defunct .

I am just saying I have been to cons there in the past, that made really effective use of the space, I mean you went inside and could tell there was an actual convention going on.

Zenkaikon… not so much.

What staff described as a “transitionatory space” was essentially a dark empty warehouse that was not really setup as a convention space at all. I had a few problems with this as both a con-goer and a parent. There were no real boundaries telling con-goers where they could and couldn’t go. When I first walked in honestly I didn’t know where the convention was until I was told sarcastically, “right here.”

This made for a really strange con experience, because folks just seemed to disperse unsupervised throughout the space, which was very badly lit. There was of course a dealer’s room that seemed normal. It was just badly setup for con traffic, as there was more space in-between the tables than in walkways for the actual foot traffic.

While the experience was far from optimal the con-goers as I have seen them do in the past made the best of the situation. I think my personal highlight was all the great Adventure Time cosplay I saw. Sadly since Zenkaikon is moving now to Lancaster, this will probably be the last time I attend this convention. I wish them luck with their new space and with that I leave you with some of photos of the con and some of the cosplay I came across.

There’s less than two weeks until Wizard World takes over the convention center and the event’s organizers want to let you in for free…if you’ll winning to prove just how nerdy you are.

Starting last Friday, fans wanting free passes can submit pictures of themselves dressed up as their favorite sci-fi/TV/comics/movie character at the Wizard World Philly Facebook Contest Page. If the Book of Faces isn’t your bag, you can also tweet @wizardworld with the hash tag #wizardpic to have your pals retweet your entry. Wizard Entertainment will take the five most popular Facebook pics and the five most popular twitpics and then choose three folks who will win:

- Grand Prize:  A VIP pass to the Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con (includes celebrity autograph of the winner’s choice), the ability to bypass all the lines at the convention — trust me, this will come in handy — and five free tickets to Snow White and the Huntsman.

- Second Prize: An autographed photo of the winner’s favorite celebrity who is appearing at the con, as well as three free tickets to see the upcoming Charlize Theron film that isn’t Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman.

- Third Prize: Two free tickets to, you guessed it, Snow White and the Huntsmen.

These winners will also be placed in the running for a national contest for round-trip airfare for two to any 2013 Wizard World event with VIP tickets and a two-night hotel stay. Not too shabby. (Full contest details can be found here).

So get out your cameras and get cracking. And be sure to check back for Geekadelphia’s complete Wizard World Philly coverage in a few weeks!

Do your dominos make too much noise? Are your hands tired from having to physically flip your dominos over and place them on the board? Do you have a hankering to play dominos with your friend, but you’re in Center City and they are ALL THE WAY OVER in Fishtown?

Well, have we got and app for you! ‘Domino!’, produced by local Philly developers Flyclops, is a beautifully produced iOS rendition of a game that has been around for centuries.

The game covers the classic version of dominos. You play multiple rounds, and first to 150 points wins. The game also integrates with Facebook, making it easy to connect up with friends for turn-based action. Don’t have any friends? You’re in luck! You can play against strangers or play against the computer.

‘Domino!’ is available now for download from the Apple App Store.

Meet my good friend Marisa McClellan. A celebrated blogger (and now a published author!), Marisa runs the wildly popular Food in Jars blog, where she teaches the Internet how to make delicious canned nibbles.

Yesterday Marisa’s book, Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round, hit stores everywhere via Running Press, a lovely publisher here in Philadelphia. The book is fantastic, the photography is beautiful, and you should absolutely pick it up immediately.

Seriously. Do it now. Here’s a link to Amazon. You’re welcome.

In honor of her book release, Marisa’s our Geek of the Week. Enjoy, and make sure you visit her blog at foodinjars.com.

1. What made you decide to launch Food in Jars? Why canning?

I started Food in Jars in early 2009 because my job as the editor of Slashfood (AOL’s now-defunct food blog) was ending and I wanted to stay in the food blogging world. I grew up canning with my mom and have been entirely obsessed with jars for years, so it was something that was always part of my life. At the time, there weren’t really any blogs out there dealing with canning, so I figured it would be a good niche for me. At the time though, I had no idea that canning would effectively become my career.

2. A lot of times when a blog lands a book deal, we see those blogs go quiet, start updating less. You? You don’t stop. How did you find a balance between writing on the blog, pursuing your other writing interests, and working on your cookbook?

To my mind, it was never an option to stop writing the blog while writing my book. One of the reasons that I got the opportunity to write the book was that I had an engaged community of readers. A large part of my value as an author was that audience. I had to continue to feed that relationship and develop that community so that there would be people welcoming the book when it was finally released. So I kept writing.

I will say that the summer of 2010 was really hard, because that’s when I was developing all the recipes for my book and was still working full time. I spent all my free time canning and making sure all the recipes for the book worked, while also continuing to invent stuff for the blog. It wasn’t so much about balance as it was general brute force.

3. The photography in the cookbook is stunning. What was it like working with Steve Legato?

I absolutely love the images that Steve made for this book. He was wonderful to work with. He spent a considerable amount of reading my blog before the photo shoot, so that he could get a feel for my style of photography. The result of that is that the feel of the book is similar to the blog. I couldn’t be more pleased with how the book looks.

4. Back to food blogs, who are some of your favorites? Any local favorites?

There are so many excellent food blogs out there these days that it’s really hard to pick favorites. If I’ve forced to choose, a few of my all-time favorites are Local Kitchen (a fellow preserver located in New York State), Remedial Eating (so much lovely photography) and Mostly Foodstuffs (a friend with a tendency to make the most delicious fruit-infused spirits).

Around these parts, I’m always on the lookout for new posts from Messy and Picky (confession: authors Albert and Kate are dear friends), Mac & Cheese (blogger Taylor is expecting her first baby!), The Cozy Herbivore (Sara May is also a pastry chef down at Franklin Fountain/Shane’s Candies) and Madame Fromage (Tenaya was my advisor when I wrote my masters thesis. Be kind to your professors, as they may turn into some of your closest friends).

5. Philly is full of fabulous foodies, many of whom likely have cookbook-writing-aspirations. Have any advice for them?

Find a niche (what could make your book stand out?). Start a blog and build an audience (you are a heck of a lot more valuable to a publisher if you can point to a group of people who are already engaged in what you do). Keep trying (Before I got my contract with Running Press, I spent nearly a year working with another publisher. When the deal there eventually fell apart, I gathered myself up and started over). Be prepared to compromise (once you do get a deal, you rapidly learn that it takes a team of people to create a cookbook. These people have worked on many, many cookbooks. They often know better than you. Figure out when to defer to their judgment and when to stick to your guns).

6. Is there another cookbook coming up? I’ve heard from a reputable source it’s going to be called Food in Jars II: Jar Harder.

Love that title!

Right now, I have a couple ideas for future cookbooks, but nothing is official yet. Working on this book has been so engrossing that focusing my energy on a new proposal has been more than I’ve been able to manage. I’m hopeful that soon, I’ll get my act together and get those ideas down on paper.

7. Anything else you’d like to share?

Just two things. The first is that if this canning thing intrigues any of you readers out there in Geekadelphia land, don’t forget that I teach canning classes. You can find me at Indy Hall and Greensgrow all summer and fall (schedule here). The second is that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my husband and fellow geek, Scott McNulty. You should buy his books too!

The trade collects issues 8 through 11 of the series, again written by Raven Gregory. Here he takes the story of the Little Mermaid, which Grimm Fairy Tales has already visited in issues 25 and 26 of that series (both included in this collection) and takes it to the next level. We meet Erica, a young girl who knows nothing about her past and has lots of questions. When she falls into a pool at her 18th birthday and is transformed into a mermaid, a chain of events are put into motion that will involve The Dark One, Esmeralda the Sea Witch and the future of the Grimm Universe itself.

Gregory is still one of the best, if not the best, writer Zenescope currently has working for them. He can take something like The Little Mermaid and give it a completely new spin that you just don’t see coming. The book is tightly plotted and provides a ton of background on some of the more important characters in the Grimm Universe, especially The Sea Witch. Gregory does a lot to make her more sympathetic in the eyes of the reader, but still maintain that bitchy exterior Zenescope readers know so well. It’s a tough balancing act that Gregory somehow makes work.

As for the art, much like other Zenescope books, it is handled by a group of Zenescope regulars, each very talented and with their own strengths. The best of the bunch by far though is Matt Triano; his style is perfect for a book like this that features the ocean and underwater creatures. I would have loved to see him draw the entire story arc and I think this might be something Zenescope might want to look at. I understand having different artists for each issue provides variety, but a single artist on an arc gives a book a sense of continuity and flow that using a different artist each issue just doesn’t. Just a thought.

Myths & Legends vol.2 is another well done, entertaining book that gives the reader a glimpse into possible future events in the Grimm Universe. If you’re a fan, I don’t need to tell you how good it is. But if you are looking for something new and different, Myths & Legends could be right up your alley.

Lucky for you, Zenescope was nice enough to provide us a copy of Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends Volume 2 to give away to one Geekadelphia reader! Just leave a comment about which Zenescope title is you favorite and we’ll pick a random winner at the end of next week. Please make sure to leave an e-mail address with your comment and books can only be sent to addresses in the United States and Canada.

The Chernobyl Diaries is yet another entry in the ever expanding reality horror sub-genre. This time the set-up is almost a mash-up of Hostel and Paranormal Activity with a group of 6 young American tourists going to Chernobyl for an “extreme tour” of the devastated post meltdown city. Things go wrong, of course.

The film is the directing debut of Bradley Parker who worked as a visual effects artist on films like Fight Club and Let Me In. The film writer’s have credits ranging from the original Paranormal Activity and the classic Titanic 2.

We have 50 passes for two to check this film out this Thursday, May 24^th at 9:00pm at the Ritz East Theater. Want to go? Simply go to www.gofobo.com/rsvp and enter the code GEEKADNYTQ. It’s first come, first served. Once they are gone they are gone. In the meantime, check out the trailer below!

Be aware you will not be allowed to bring in cameras, camera phones, or other recording devices into screening, so leave them in the car. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. Theatre capacity is limited and passes won do not guarantee seating. So please show up and line up early, this is a highly anticipated film and the screening will be packed so be warned.

Some people love fantasy. Then there are people who are so utterly enmeshed in it that they’ve gone so far as to bring it to an academic setting (where it belongs – am I right?). One of those people is Philadelphia’s very own Dr. Donald Riggs, who will be teaching a course this summer on A Game of Thrones at Drexel University.

The course, simply titled “A Game of Thrones,” will explore the differences and similarities between the first book in the series and the first season of the HBO series based on it. It will be offered through the Pennoni Honors College on Thursday afternoons from 2:00 to 4:50. It promises to be just as epic as the tale it focuses on.

Dr.  Riggs

This is not the first time Dr. Riggs is teaching a class this rad. He often teaches whole courses on Lord of the Rings, and, in fact, he’s also teaching a course this summer on The Hobbit. Several years ago, he ran Tolkienfest, an entire day of celebrating the work of Tolkien, here at Drexel University.

My favorite class I’ve ever taken with him was centered around Dune (yes, it was glorious). I’ll be sitting in on as many Game of Thrones classes as I possibly can this summer.

For more info, visit Drexel University’s official website.

Blip Festival New York is upon us and between May 25th and the 27th, the Gramercy Theatre is going to be full of 8-bit artists from around the world to show off their circuit bent wares and a musical and visual masterpieces. Organized by 8BitPeoples since 2006, Blip Festival shows off the latest and greatest that the chip tune community has to offer.

Philly is familiar with the retro sounds of 8-bit music and because of 8 Static, this city has become a veritable breeding ground for a new brand of musicians using old Nintendos and a bit of ingenuity to create some groundbreaking sounds. Three local artists in particular have been invited to perform at this auspicious event.

Chipocrite can be found all over Philadelphia writing intricate compositions with a gameboy and a bass for the likes of 8 Static, GameStop ads, and Lebowskifest Philadelphia. We also love him because he was kind enough to cover a rockin’ version of the Game of Thrones theme for the first annual Philly Geek Awards. He’ll be sure to treat the New York chip tune scene to some incredible songs.

“Beauty from corruption, destruction from chrominance” is that mantra of Chromacle, a digital and video artist who can sometimes be found here in philly delighting eyeballs at the monthly 8 Static over at Philly MOCA. His clever amalgamation of shapes, colors, and lights adds incredible depth to 8 bit sounds coming from vintage gameboys and the odd NES.

Enso is another visual artist lending some lights to the sounds of Blip Festival. His low-res atmospheric shows are a hit here in Philadelphia and will be sure to dazzle everyone at the Gramercy Theater and possibly put them in a psychedelic trance.

Our home grown 8 Static veterans will be sure to blast the roof off of the Gramercy and it would be a shame for you to miss out on their audible exploits.

Tickets range from one day passes to the full three day shebang. You can snag them here. Also make sure to check out the schedule so you can go cheer on our local 8-bit extraordinaires!

What if you could use science to make sure that your significant other is the one? That is the premise behind the romantic comedy Losing Control, a film by native Philadelphian Valerie Weiss.

The story of the movie follows a young scientific protegee who is trying to get results from her long term experiments as well as her long term boyfriend by using the scientific method. The cast includes Miranda Kent and Reid Scott and the film is written and directed by Weiss.

She explains that the genesis of the film came to her while in school.

“While I was in grad school I wondered what would happen if a woman in her 20’s could understand science and use it to her advantage in gaining control of her love life,” Weiss explains. “It made me wonder what if you could use your brain to make sure you have an everlasting romance.”

Losing Control is playing at the Landmark Ritz at the Bourse starting through May 24th and Weiss will be holding a Q&A session after the 7:30PM shows through Wednesday.

So head out to the Ritz at the Bourse, support a Philly native and learn all about better love through science.

Losing Control @ the Bourse
Now through May 24th, 2012
400 Ranstead Street Philadelphia, PA 19106
www.losingcontrolmovie.com

On this month’s episode of the Geekadelphia Podcast Jo and Dan sit down with Melissa from Operation Nice to explore her pursuit for niceness everywhere. We also talk about some up coming events in Philadelphia, and how we’re excited for this year’s Geek Awards.

You can also right click and save as the file, here. Listen to it on the go, while you’re jogging, whatever. Enjoy!

Operation Nice
www.operationnice.com

Follow Jo Pincushion @JoPincushion
Follow Dan Tabor @danthefan