While attending the Conquest KC science fiction and fantasy convention this year, I participated in the Story in a Bag contest.  For the contest, the conquest staff prepared a series of bags containing short sentences or words that had to be incorporated into a new, custom written story which the contestants had one hour to complete.  The best stories in each of three categories (science fiction, fantasy and horror) were judged within three skill levels (youth, adult amateur, and adult professional/published). 

Read more to find out the results.

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One of the main events at the 2007 Conquest Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention was the Conquest Idol Competition.  This was the first year for this event at Conquest, but its popularity will ensure that it will continue next year. 

The effect of listening to a bunch of dedicated nerds get up on stage and try to sing was both painful and hilarious.  The best acts, unsurprisingly, were those that embraced their bad singing and used it along with intentionally horrible song choices for maximum comedic effect. 

Though the singing was almost universally bad, the event was a blast and I hope to see what next year’s entrants can do.

Click “Read More” for additional photos of the event.

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Last weekend I attended Conquest, the 38th KC Science Fiction convention hosted by the KaCSFFS at the Kansas City airport Hilton. Con Quest is primarily a literary convention, and therefore the focus is mostly on the writing and appreciation of science fiction and fantasy stories. However, the convention featured several related events, including a massive gaming tournament with Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and the World Of Warcraft (WoW) card game, viewing rooms showing various independent science fiction movies and anime, LARP gaming, a LAN room, a dealer’s room, and an art show. Also, on Saturday night, there was a live show featuring “Conquest Idol” a singing competition, and a Masquerade.  Various quests of honor also spent the weekend hosting autograph sessions and panels dealing with their various areas of expertise. 

It was an interesting experience in many ways, and I learned a lot.  If  at all possible I will be returning next year.

Click “Read More” for additional photos of the event.

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This weekend, I will be spending some time at the Conquest science fiction convention here in Kansas City, MO at the airport Hilton hotel. This is the 38th year for the con, but will be the first time I attend. I met one of the con organizers at Naka-Kon a few months ago, and saw him again at Anime St. Louis/ShoMeCon last month. It seems to be a very well organized convention and they have a lot of interesting events, so it should be a good experience. I will be posting several updates and photos after the con, so check back for more next week.

On the way back from Anime St. Louis and ShowMeCon a couple weeks ago, we stopped at Quail Ridge Park just outside of Wentzville Mo, off I-70 and Highway 40/61 in St. Charles County to play a round of Frisbee golf.

The disc golf course at Quail Ridge Park is very well maintained and fairly challenging, with a wide variety of hole types, ranging from simple open distance shots to narrow paths in the woods. It is one of the shorter courses I have played, with most of the holes well under 300′ in length. The shortness of the holes makes the course fairly easy, so advanced players may be left wanting more challenge.

The park has very nicely kept facilities, with many clean public restrooms, water fountains and faucets, and a number of picnic shelters. If you live nearby this park, I highly recommend a visit, but due to the overall simplicity of the course, players who live very far from this park may not find it worth the drive.

Read more to see more pictures of the park.

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Here are a few more pictures from the Anime St. Louis Masquerade. Be sure to hit “Read More” to see them all. (more…)

One of my favorite features of anime conventions is the masquerade. Well over half of the attendees of anime cons generally show up in costume, and the masquerade is a great way to show off the incredible workmanship that goes into some of the costumes. Not only that, but the participants often perform short skits or performances as well.

The Masqerade at Anime St. Louis, while one of the smaller cons I have been to, had one of the best run Masquerades I have seen. Not only did it start on time, which is rare for a convention, but it also was run very smoothly and with minimal problems. It was a great show with many impressive entrants and several awesome skits.  I am looking forward to next year’s show already.

There are several more pictures after the jump. (more…)