So I just got back from Dragon*Con, the convention for science fiction and fantasy fans, held in Atlanta, Georgia. The event took place across three hotels, the Hilton, the Hyatt and the Marriot Marquis. An estimated 40,000 people attended, and I believe it – the place was packed to the gills with people ranging from children to seniors. It was pretty stunning based on the crowds alone.

Perhaps most fascinating was watching the people who were into cos-play (costume play). I’d guess that the majority of the people who attended for the entire four days were heavily into dressing up as their favorite characters from sci-fi, fantasy and anime. Most of those create their own costumes, and let me tell you, they put their heart (and pocket book) into creating these amazing costumes. Some were simple, like the various Buck Rogers or Indiana Jones knock-offs, while some were incredibly elaborate like the stunning General Grievous – this must have taken months to create. Now, before I go any further, I need to admit that I totally screwed up and forgot to bring my camera. I was in a bit of a hurry when I packed, and I may have been just the slightest bit hungover, but that’s neither here nor there. A lot of friends had cameras so I’m sure I’ll be able to find some good pics to post soon enough.

Along with the esoteric costumes and characters were some, as I was told, that are always expected. The 501st Stormtroopers were there in force, with people coming from as far away as England to participate, as well as heavily armed squads of StarGate SG1 troops, Space Marines from the Aliens series of movies, and many, many more.

I’m a huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy novels, and as you might expect, computer and roleplaying games. However, I’ve never been much for cos-play. It’s always seemed like a lot of effort for little gain. From what I saw at the Con, I’m wrong. Those people had a blast!

The one character that stands out most in my mind is another well known attendee who comes as Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean. This guy not only dressed up in the costume (which was perfect, BTW), but truly assumed the persona, down to the swagger, the grin, the look of disbelief when someone wouldn’t instantly believe what he said. One lady I was drinking with said she almost fell out of her chair when “Johnny Depp walked by and winked at her, all dressed up as that pirate guy”. I think I broke her heart when I told her that wasn’t really the esteemed Mr. Depp.

There were also some costumes that would be hard pressed to get a PG-13 rating. Wonder Woman was a vision of lustful beauty as she vogued for the cameras, her ample cleavage *almost* spilling out with every twist and turn and pose. Leeloo, from The Fifth Element, one of my favorite sci-fi characters of all time (Chee-kun Goood!) was so sexy I almost dropped my beer (though that NEVER happens).

That’s about it for now. I need to decompress from the drive back, get rid of this hangover (I’m beginning to see a trend here), and get ready to go back to work. Oh – and V for Vendetta is starting in a few minutes.. gotta hurry!

I ran across a very interesting web site – Viral Webs – a directory of social networking and other “Web 2.0″ sites.

It lists social networking sites like MySpace and xPeeps.com, free blogging host sites like thumblogger and blogspot.com, news and other infmoration sources – including articles – and a lot of other good information.

Webmasters will like the listing of places you can submit your blogs – directories and such – and also a list of adult sponsors who offer RSS feeds for blogs or other uses.

Viral Webs also has an all adult directory at adult viral webs

The site was built using search engine optimization software from Axandra. It’s called Arelis, and is part of a larger software package called IBP, or Internet Business Promoter. Very interesting stuff. I bought it and will be working with it this coming week. It seems Very promising.

There’s a page at Viral Webs that describes the Arelis software.

You can also download two free e-books on Search Engine Optimization (Successful Search Engine Optimization) and reciprocal linking strategies (How To Get High Quality Inbound Links) from that last link.