The Marriott Carpet Saga

Hello my friends, 

Tis the Eve of Dragon Con! It's one of the cons on my list to attend, and one of the ones more feasible than some to achieve in the next decade. While I've never been able to attend in person I've been lucky to have lots of internet peeps, like Epbot, who've allowed me to be part of the fun.  One of the things I love about this con is all the shenanigans... If you clicked that link, and I highly recommend you do, you might have noticed a carpet pattern appear a few times in that post. That carpet pattern is probably the most beloved carpets of Dragon Con, it's also the focus of this post, and also has a Cult apparently, that's still going strong. Some of you are familiar with the Marriott Carpet, but if your new to the geek community, or have somehow managed to not come across this in your years hanging in the nerdy spaces, then have a seat cause there lies a story.

The Metaphysical Store Troll finds humans obsession with carpets funny

The Tale of the Marriott Carpet!!!! 

According to this post from Geekmom the whole thing started with Dragon Con 2013 when a some people attached to Volpin Props showed up dressed as the carpet pattern that the Marriot Marquis had on their floors at the time. The con goers loved it so much so that other attendees wanted to get in on the fun, which I believe led Volpin Props to sell the pattern for other cosplayers, which led to a lovely letter from the pattern designer to knock of selling it. You can find links to Vorpin Props site and the article about the whole incident in Geekmom's aforementioned post. Well this carpet welcomed its fans for a few years after gaing fame, until sadly the hotel decided to update their carpet. As Geekmom puts it "fans went and "rescued" it from the trash heap and sold chucks of it on ebay and Etsy." I actually remember seeing all the buzz around this. I love how even a carpet can add to your con fun and even the legacy. I think it's nice people who attend this con want to preserve this little bit of history. It warms my geeky soul to see people do stuff like this within the community. I mean who else but us nerds are gonna preserve little things like this, and yes I use geek and nerd interchangeably. The fact this piece of fabric still is getting love is to quote Dean Winchester "Awesome".

A Marriott Carpet Reformation!!!!

So last night a post came on my Instagram,it was the reason for this post, that is gonna add a new leg to this tale. It was a post from one of my favorite cosplay groups Cowbutt Crunchies Cosplay. I first saw this duo on Adam Savage's Tested. Well this Dragon Con the pair is ushering in a carpet Reformation! They have made a 16th Century outfit made to resemble the new carpet. They wanted to show the 10 year old carpet some love. They'll be handing out their 95 Propositions this Saturday. So if you love the new carpet and bemoan it hasn't got love, then hear them out. So will a new cult be born? We'll see!

See this is stuff I love in our nerdy community. Just seeing this wholesomeness is a balm to my frayed geeky soul, that's been tattered by the online spaces taken over by troll herpes. Seriously internet jerks plus my neurospiciness I've taken some hits. But this, this is what we need more of.

Well I have to pat myself on the back. I actually finished a post in a day and not two months like the last one! And I'd like to say BOB behaved, but he didn't, BOB is my Evil PC Tower. I hope you all have a good day, and a good Dragon Con for those attending!

*Thrifty Geek* 

Metaphysical Store Troll: See ya a Dragon Con!

 Me: How'd you afford a membership? Why didn't you get me one? 

 

 

 

 

Summerween

 Hello Friends,

So it was hitting late 80's to early 90's here in the mountains of Western North Carolina the last few weeks, thankfully the temps have chilled al ittle now So I thought let's  invoke some Halloween in Summer with Summerween!

I'm actually shocked how much this has taken off this year. I've been familiar with the concept since I think the earliest mention of Summerween which was in the cartoon: Gravity Falls. According to fandom, Summerween is celebrated on June 22 or the second to last Friday of June, but as many of the people I mention in this post, you can celebrate anytime of the summer.

Bob Troubles 

I meant to post this closer to June 22, but Bob and my motivation to write became problems. Who's Bob? Let me get you antiquated.  This is Bob:

I bought him with part of my dad's stimulus check we got during the pandemic, because my old tower was giving up the ghost. So I went to Walmart and bought the cheapest tower that had everything I wanted. I knew it wasn't gonna be an awesome piece of equipment, but I figure it had to run better than what I currently had. Boy was I wrong, this thing not only was laggy as my old PC, it has proven to be worse. Plus he has this habit of erasing documents, I lost a version of a chapter for a book I'm working on, plus lost a writing gig cause it ate two weeks of work. I called HP to tell them something was wrong with their product, but that was a hopeless cause. I even have my Dean Winchester Funko Pop and Sam Winchester FBI ID hoping to put the fear of the Winchesters in whatever demon or entity that is possessing it. If your wondering why I call it Bob it stands for: beast of burden.

But you didn't come here to hear about evil tech let's get back to Summerween. Now I know we're heading into August a some of you guys or your kids maybe are going to be starting school soon, but there's time for one last spooky summery party, or heck even when school starts just utilize a weekend in the last bits of Summer.

What can you do for Summerween?

 Have yourself a costume party. Get your people together and dress up, adult, child, whatever your age just let go of normalcy for a time. Do summerized versions of Halloween concepts like instead of a headless horseman do a headless surfer.

Hold your own trick or treat event. Let it be a trunk or treat, table and treat, what have you use your imagination. If you say "but I don't have kids", so what, do it anyway. I mean many of us miss the thrill of trick or treating, so why not You can be as childish or as adult as you want to be with the offerings you want to give. 

S'mores! S'mores seems like Summerween  something that transcends one season. Got traditional or get funky with, heck set up a whole s'mores bar, just have fun with it. 

 

Other People's Suggestions: 

 I have come across some videos that will help you celebrate some Summerween: 

It's a Charming Life shows you a quiet Summerween in Sleepy Hollow with Watermelon carving, they do an elaborate on and the classic Gravity Falls one. They also take you on a trip through the town. I've always wanted to visit Sleepy Hallow, and as much as I would love to visit during the fall, it's as popular as Salem that time of year, but maybe a Summer visit?

Angie Bellemare gives you  Summerween BBQ  and Summerween Movie Night ideas using mainly things you have. I love this idea! Heck it doesn't even have to be Summerween themed for me to love it.

Kia Creates gives Summerween Ideas  including a suggestion for what I think is a must watch the "Summerween" episode of Gravity Falls. I also say not only the book, but also the movie Practical Magic I think would make a good movie to watch for the festivities.

As I was going to put this post to rest Just Lanchen posted a on the subject. 

Music:

If your looking for music for your festivities an artist I listen to Aurelio Voltaire and he's made a Summerween playlist of songs he's recording for his next album, but it's taking time so he's releasing each single as he finishes so we can listen to them while it's summer. These tracks are spooky and summery perfect for Summerween.

 

Well that's this post finally done! Only took over a month!  I hope it gave you some ideas for your Summerween celebration either this year or next. I'm hoping to try to start posting more, I'm not gonna hold myself to it cause it depends on Bob and my mental health hydra, and my laziness. Have a good weekend, get into a bit of trouble, but not too much! Happy Summerween you guys!

 

 *Thrifty Geek*