Comic Con: a microcosm. Part I
The eco-system of Comic Con is much like any other, filled with swarming lifeforms engaged in life and death struggle. For nearly a week, this throbbing orgy pops into existence, thrives with unrivaled furor, then dissipates, leaving only barren Mrs. Fields cookie booths and signs for $20 Snapples.
On the Exhibition Floor, for example, reefs of sellers attract hordes of sack-laden creatures walking or even rolling in a turbulent morasse. Like filter-feeding barnacles, these multicellular organisms waft about hoping to extract nutrients from passerby creatures in exchange for parts of themselves. Often they will hand out attractive objects or remove protective coverings to entice an exchange.
Around the floor and outside in various corridors, autograph hounds carry sketchpads and objects to be marked, striving for good spots in queues where their prey are sitting helplessly. At other times, they seize prey as they walk out from panels. Panels are unusual social gatherings in which speakers of various species communicate with large groups of organisms. Some of these are there to gain knowledge. Others wish to express their praise or dissatisfaction to the speakers. Still others are there to rest after a hard day of hunting. Photo snappers (often enlisting the help of spontaneous accomplices) stun their prey with an intense light, capturing the victim's image while immobilizing it with a quick arm hold to the neck. For reasons not entirely understood though, the victim is nearly always set free. Meanwhile, wannabe artists flash reams of paper filled with patterns at mature artists as part of a bizarre ritual to impress and ultimately join their tribes. Schmoozers approach prominent members of tribes with bits of paper and verbal discourse, in hopes of reciprocation. Toy collectors ravage the reefs until their sacks are full, after which, having no more room, they return to their temporary nests to empty them. Periodically, they will invite others to view their catch.
more later...
The eco-system of Comic Con is much like any other, filled with swarming lifeforms engaged in life and death struggle. For nearly a week, this throbbing orgy pops into existence, thrives with unrivaled furor, then dissipates, leaving only barren Mrs. Fields cookie booths and signs for $20 Snapples.
On the Exhibition Floor, for example, reefs of sellers attract hordes of sack-laden creatures walking or even rolling in a turbulent morasse. Like filter-feeding barnacles, these multicellular organisms waft about hoping to extract nutrients from passerby creatures in exchange for parts of themselves. Often they will hand out attractive objects or remove protective coverings to entice an exchange.
Around the floor and outside in various corridors, autograph hounds carry sketchpads and objects to be marked, striving for good spots in queues where their prey are sitting helplessly. At other times, they seize prey as they walk out from panels. Panels are unusual social gatherings in which speakers of various species communicate with large groups of organisms. Some of these are there to gain knowledge. Others wish to express their praise or dissatisfaction to the speakers. Still others are there to rest after a hard day of hunting. Photo snappers (often enlisting the help of spontaneous accomplices) stun their prey with an intense light, capturing the victim's image while immobilizing it with a quick arm hold to the neck. For reasons not entirely understood though, the victim is nearly always set free. Meanwhile, wannabe artists flash reams of paper filled with patterns at mature artists as part of a bizarre ritual to impress and ultimately join their tribes. Schmoozers approach prominent members of tribes with bits of paper and verbal discourse, in hopes of reciprocation. Toy collectors ravage the reefs until their sacks are full, after which, having no more room, they return to their temporary nests to empty them. Periodically, they will invite others to view their catch.
more later...
Labels: ecosystems
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