Messages

Thank you very much!  Yeah, I miss the days when saying "I spent $700 on materials and tools for this costume" was enough to blow people away, instead of being on the low end when it comes to competition.  I'm planning on just bringing Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly for this year.  It's comfortable, packs up easy, and is already ready to go.

Oh wow, that's way back!  I do still have the Legato coat, but it is like wearing a victorian house on a summer day, so it doesn't come out often.  I don't have any other panels this year.  in 2016, I did Cosplay: Overdoing It one night, Cosplay Fitness the next night, and then Nerd courting on the third night.  I was SO TIRED.  So this year I decided to just do Nerd Courting, as it's the most fun.  Plus, with work taking up more of my time, I have not had time to make any new costumes this year, so I didn't want to do a panel.  I am working on a life sized puppet of Mordin Solus from Mass Effect 2 for next year though.  It's going to be a little bonkers, and will be a great costume to feature in an Overdoing It panel again.  There are actually a few of us working on Mass Effect cosplays for next year, so it should be a fun time.

Ah, nice!  This would be my 18th year as well, but I missed last year.  I am going to post on Facebook too, I just didn't want to leave out the folks here who prefer this format.

[Friday, 10pm till 1am, Panels room 1 (18+ only)]

Hello, my name is Adam, and I have been hosting Nerd Courting since 2009.  After last years break, we are returning to Fanime for 2018, and I hope to see you there!  This question comes up every year, so I wanted to address it here first:
THIS IS NOT SPEED DATING.  It has nothing to do with it. 
Nerd Courting is a presentation and discussion about how dating works in the nerd community, and how we can better navigate those waters.  It's about providing useful, functional information, and being a safe place to ask questions about relationships, sexuality, and sex.  There is also a lot of humor, since this can be an awkward subject if taken too seriously.

I take questions throughout the panel, share many personal stories, and will lay down every piece of advice that I can.  There will also be a meet and greet after the panel, where the discussion will continue and be more open in topic.  This usually goes until 6 or 7 in the morning, so be ready! 

I hope to see everyone there! 

Friday, 10pm till 1am, Panels room 1   (18+ only)

-Adam

Yeah, I would way prefer to move around.  This has happened every year actually, I get to the panel room, I ask if they have a wireless mic, they say "You need to have requested that in your panel application" and I say "I did request that in my application.  It's the only thing I requested."  and they say "oh, well, we'll send someone to get one for you" and then they never come back.  I've given 5 panels at fanime over the years, and this has happened at all 5 of them.  I'm actually going to bring my own mic next year, heh.

Thanks for the feedback everybody!  I am going to try to be more connected over the next year in preparation for next year, so I made a tumblr and a twitter. 
http://fictonia.tumblr.com/
@fictonia

Add them if they are your thing!

Hello out there!  I felt that nerd courting went really well this year!  That being said, I am always looking to improve, so if you were able to attend, please pop in here and give me a quick review and any changes/additions/subtractions you would like to see next year!
-Adam

Hello!  Adam here, from Nerd Courting.  I am curious if anyone who went to the panel has some feedback.  What did you like?  What did you not like?  What can I do to give a better panel in the future?  Any other topics you would like me to cover?  Would you like to just say hi?  I want to be the best panelist I can be, so any feedback helps.
-Adam

Once again, the tentative schedule is from 10:00pm till 1:00am on Friday night, in panel room 3 in the Marriott.  I hope to see you there!

The tentative schedule is from 10:00pm till 1:00am on Friday night, in panel room 3 in the Marriott.  I am so excited!  Thank you for your interest!

@HunterZero:  Your right, I totally forgot!  It has always been  Breaking Up/Making it Last, I just forgot to post it that way here.  I have now corrected the original post. Thank you for noticing that! 

Make sure you hang around after the panel, the discussion will continue late into the night/morning!
-Adam

Good news everyone!  Nerd Courting is GO for 2010!  After the ridiculous success and popularity of last years Nerd Courting panel, I am excited to say that we have been approved for this year.  

For people new the panel, the basic concept is an exploration of dating rituals, and how they are different for people in the nerd community, as compared to society at large.  I will be covering the 4 primary stages of a relationship, including First Interaction, Dating, Sex, and Breaking Up / Making it last.  Real, legitimate information is presented throughout with a sense of humor and fun.  As sexuality is a big part of the discussion, this panel is 18 and over only.  

Just like last year, audience questions are encouraged and welcome through the entire 3 hours of the panel, and will be used to drive the direction of the conversation and specific topics of discussion.  With that in mind, are there any topics in particular you would like me to cover?  Please remember to keep your questions here PG so that I don't get yelled at to protect the innocent, but remember that at the panel itself, anything goes.  

Just a few more weeks, I can't wait!!!
-Adam

HELLO!!  Adam here, with CCRStars, Feeling great after an amazing time at Fanime!!!!!   So this is a feedback topic for anyone who attended either or both of my panels this year.  I want to know what you think, if you had fun, what you liked or didn't like or even just have you say hi.   I fully intend to do both panels again, assuming they let me, and I really want to improve them.   Hell, we can even continue our discussion here, it's not like I've run out of things to say.   :P   So speak up!  Also, come on over and friend us on myspace:   http://www.myspace.com/ccrstars

-Adam

Thats a great way to land yourself squarely in the friend zone.  Pretending that you have no interest in dating is not a good way to show a girl that you are boyfriend material.  And while you should probably toss out a "Hi, my name is ______" and not start the conversation with "would you like to go out with me?" it's still important that you make your intent of going on a date clear from the beginning. 

Girls like getting asked out, it's extremely flattering.  If a girl gets creped out, it's usually not the asking out thats the problem, but rather the way in which the guy asks her, or the way in which he presents himself.  Women are attracted to confidence, and it takes alot of confidence to ask a women you have just met out. 

Being confident means being comfortable and happy with who you are.  How can you expect a girl to like you if you don't even like yourself?  So rather than focusing on "whats the best way to ask a girl out?" it's better to focus on figuring out what things you don't like about yourself, and start working on changing them so that you are proud of who you are. 

Just make sure that it's who you are, and who you want to be, and not what you think others want or expect you to be.  When a girl meets that real you, if she doesn't like it, then she is not the girl for you, and you should pick a different girl to pursue.  If the guy she meets is some fake air brushed version of your personality, then she is going to be pretty disappointed later when she figures out who you really are.  I would like to keep going, but I am off to work on costumes!!!!!
-Adam

Hello all!  Adam here, with CCRStars, and I just wanted to let everyone here know about the two panels we are hosting at Fanime this year. 

Our primary panel is Cosplay: Overdoing It, and it will be Sunday evening, in panel room 3, which is in the Mariott.  We are the last show of the day in there, and the last of the 9 cosplay panels on Sunday.   I am not sure why they put all of them on the same day, but them's the breaks. 

So what are we all about?  Well, as the name of the panel implies, we are all about overdoing our costumes.  We don't just want to look good, we want to have the best version of our costume to ever walk the halls of an anime convention.  I am not going to talk about $10 costumes you can put together in an afternoon.  I am talking about choosing the best of materials, spending enormous amounts of time, and building the greatest costume you can, all while having a wonderful time. 

We hosted this panel at Anime Expo last year, and the response was so overwhelmingly positive that we decided to take it to fanime as well.  Humor is also sort of a trade mark of ours, so even if your just into cosplay a little bit, you may still enjoy our show.  If your curious to see the kinds of stuff we make, check out our profile, particularly our One Piece at Anime Expo '08 album, as it has more recent stuff.  You can also check our our myspace if you want:  http://www.myspace.com/ccrstars

Our other panel this year is Nerd Courting, which will be held Friday evening, in the Mariott, in Panel room 1.  This panel is all about addressing and understanding legitimate concerns and issues that all nerds share when it comes to dating.  To clarify, this is not a how to sort of thing, but rather an exploration of the process, and thus will be fun and useful to both guys and girls.  As with most things in life, humor is a big part of relationships, and so will be a big part of this panel. 

We will be covering the main stages of a relationship:  First glance, Flirting, Asking out, Dating, Sex, The Long Term, and the Breakup.  As you can imagine, we will be covering some very adult themes, especially during the sex part of the discussion, so this panel is 18+ only.  We are not going to be showing anything explicit, but I will be talking very openly about sex and sexuality, so we need to keep the kiddies out. 

Both panels are treated as open, dynamic discussions, so none of this "hold your questions till the end" crap.  If you have a question or are curious about an area we haven't touched on, raise your hand and ask.  I am happy to let your questions guide the direction of the panel. 

Anyway, this year is going to be lots of fun, so I hope to see you all there!!!

Adam,  CCRStars.

I am all for panels after midnight.  I know that for myself and most of our group, the only reason that we head back to the hotel around 11pm or so is because there is really not a whole lot to do.  If there were panels open, we would stay at the con much later.  Also, as a panelist, I am totally down with hosting my panels late into the night.
-Adam, CCRStars

Wow, I am amazed that my one little sentence has generated so much controversy.  So let me clear things up a bit. 

Sorry, PyronIkari, I am afraid that I don't think that nerds are "losers and anti-social" at all, and if that is genuinely how you feel, then I don't know if fanime is the place for you, as it is pretty much built on the idea of celebrating our collective nerdyness.  I think we just do things differently, especially when it comes to relationships, and that it is worth exploring.  I actually have a long list of things that I plan to talk about, covering the full time line of a relationship, from the first glance to the final break up, as well as various different types of relationships, and how they interact.  The idea is to discuss the psychological and sociological origins of nerds, with a primary focus on their dating habits.  But don't worry, the panel won't be nearly as stuffy as that sounds, Humor is a big part of our presentation.

Now, as I mentioned, this is not a "how to" sort of thing, but rather an exploration of "why."  In fact, this panel will probably be of more use and interest to girls, as it is going to be more along the lines of "These are the kind's of things going through nerd guys heads when they like a girl." 

To shift gears a bit, I want to say a big thank you to Raymei for your posts.  I too consider myself to be a huge nerd, and I am quite proud of it.  It's good to see that others feel the same way.  I also do not believe that the term "nerd" still has the negative connotation that it once did.

So anyway, I am sorry that there has been a misunderstanding here, and I would be more than happy to answer any questions about the panel. 

Adam, C.C.R.Stars
                http://www.myspace.com/ccrstars

Hello! Adam of C.C.R.Stars here.

My group and I hosted a panel at Anime Expo this year called "Cosplay: Overdoing It" and it was a pretty big success.  This panel focused on the more advanced side of cosplay, when money and time are not your first concerns.  We talked about what materials to use (and  avoid); tips and tricks for construction, and pitfalls that every cosplayer falls into...all with an eye for making a costume that is not just OK, but exceptional! 

Now, a group of us -- myself included -- are planing on attending Fanime '09, and we are thinking about hosting a panel or two.  I am curious to gauge opinions of whether or not a panel like this would go over well at Fanime. 

The second panel we are considering is on "Nerd Courting", which would not be a "how to" but rather an open forum to discuss why we nerds act the way we do, and understand why dating is so much more complicated for us.

Anyway, I am curious to hear your opinions and ideas.

-Adam, C.C.R.Stars.   
             www.myspace.com/ccrstars