Official business completed, we spent several hours wandering through the Comicpalooza exhibit hall.
Passing by a panel in discussion mode, I heard a young woman say that when she first became involved in cosplay, she was shocked that strangers came up and touched her. She wasn’t prepared for that. I wasn’t prepared to hear they touched her. Ick.
Nearby a poster read in part, “Cosplay is not consent.” If you want to touch a costume or pose with the player for a picture, ask first.
That cleared up something for me: You don’t have to ask to take a picture; you have to ask to pose with them for a picture. It’s smart to ask before taking any picture, because if you do, the subject will stop and strike a pose and smile, or, in the case of the mean, scary ones, snarl. But for just taking pictures of costumes in the crowd, no.
Concerning the use of photos of Comicpalooza attendees, the program states that attendees acknowledge and consent to being photographed, filmed, recorded, etc., and relinquish any reasonable expectation of privacy, and grant to Comicpalooza LLC an irrevocable, royalty and attribution-free right to use, publish and otherwise exploit (and allow others to use and otherwise exploit) any photograph, motion picture, image, recording, or any other record of attendance during Comicpalooza, in whole or in part, in perpetuity throughout the universe, in all media and means, now known or hereafter developed or discovered, for any promotional or other commercial purpose.”
I’d say that covers about everything. An Oxford comma is absent, however, so the meaning might not be as clear as one would think.
We saw many glamorous characters in many glamorous costumes. But the stars were the little people. I wish I’d gotten more shots of them.
The Houston Public Library bookmobile was excellent.
The big people, beasts, and thingies weren’t bad either. The Siberian husky was exquisite.
***
The spell check button is still missing from the WordPress toolbar. I’m beginning to think it was a figment of my imagination. I hope it comes back.
 Comicpalooza Day 2: Moppets & More Official business completed, we spent several hours wandering through the Comicpalooza exhibit hall. Passing by a panel in discussion mode, I heard a young woman say that when she first became involved in cosplay, she was shocked that strangers came up and touched her.
