SiliCon 2022 is upon us!

Adam Savage and Trip Hunter join G:\\Drive in the 90.5 FM KSJS studio to talk Maker’s Con, Science and Pop Culture promoting SiliCon 2022! Silicon Valley’s Premier Comic Con Returns with panels, workshops and more! Located at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, on August 27-28, 2022, Silicon will be featuring the best in pop culture, tech, science, makers, artist, cosplay, gaming, comic creator, authors and more! For college students, using code: KSJS gives you 10% discount on tickets for more information visit SiliConSJ.

In this interview with G:\\Drive or Glenn Howard from 90.5 FM KSJS, Adam and Trip covers questions of their experience putting on SiliCon along with its details, their life experiences, and advice they would they freely offer to all while inspiring us all to let our freak flags fly.

Interview taken place on 08/01/2022 at the 90.5 FM KSJS ON-AIR studio.

 

G: I wanted to start by saying thank you for meeting us at 90.5 FM KSJS to spread the word about SiliCon. How has the preparation been for this past three months or however long its been since you started? How are you feeling today about it?

A: I’m feeling amazing about it! I’m really excited about SiliconSJ this year. The preparation has been going, it feels like it’s been going non-stop since the beginning of 2020. Late 2019 is when I started my partnership silicon and obviously the pandemic fell upon us so we did not have an irl conference in 2020, but we were able to in 2021. It was a very intimate affair. Each of the last two years, it’s been such a constant occupation of trying to figure out the way to keep the energy up, to keep people interested in silicon, to keep spreading the word about making and the things that are important to us. We are so excited to have, what feels like a real-sized con this August. The preparations are going stunningly, we have some amazing guests, we have some wonderful science track panels. We are less than 30 days outs, so my head is down to the grindstone.

 

 

G: I got excited when when I saw some of the cast from The Expanse, so I’m definitely hoping I can meet and greet later next month with that or this month. It’s August 1st already!

A: Yeah!

G: So, how did you and Trip Hunter meet and how long did it take to plan the first one of these because I know it wasn’t originally called silicon. It was the Santa Clara Valley Comic Con?

A: Silicon Valley Comic Con.

Both: Yes

A: SiliCon has been around now for years, and I have been going to every single one. We were excited to have local con in the area when Wonder Con left Mascone for Anaheim. I met Trip that very first year. Trip is a remarkable human being. We took to each other mostly with terrible jokes. That was one of our first forays of understanding that we had similar senses of humor. Honestly, the entire association I’ve had with SiliCon , it’s always felt like I’ve been deeply a member of that family and we just decided to take it official in 2020.

G: This is kind of like an unlisted one, how much creative freedom you’ve had in controlling the direction of SiliCon compared to maybe other members on it.

A: That is an interesting word you use “controlling” because I feel tremendously creative freedom and very little control. That is– like in a good way. I have a whole bunch of collaborators. SiliCon is not only me by any stretch of the imagination. My partners in running it– the very small scrappy team that we put this con on with, are family. So it’s not like I feel a need to have a sense of control over that creative direction. What I feel is a set of– a sense of real creative alignment with my partners and putting on a con that we want to put on, giving fans the experience we hope that they have. Even down to making sure we’re creating the circumstances for fans to have an experience we did not expect. To have an intersection with the material that we didn’t necessarily even plan for because we love those happy accidents.

G: I’m curious about the materials because my perspective is going to be a kit for people to buy stuff on on demand, or how is that going to work for those who aren’t bringing their own stuff to create with?

A: Oh do you mean in the Maker’s Space.

G: In the Maker’s Space, yes.

A: One of the really key things to talk about I think, about silicon, is that we are the Maker’s Con. Each con over the years, I mean there are so many Pop Culture Cons around the United States and around the world. Many of the larger ones tend to find a niche and really sort of carve it out. San Diego Comic Con is without a doubt the 800 lb gorilla of cons. It is the industry con. It’s were Kevin Feige goes to show the slate for the new MCU phase. Dragon Con in Atlanta on Labor Day is absolutely thought of the Cosplayers Con. We want SiliCon to be the Maker’s Con. As such, we have allocated a huge amount of the actual con floor for a makers space. where there will be tables for constructing, tools at your disposal and you can buy boxes of all sorts of different kinds of materials to get your Maker on. There will be workshops and contest all weekend long. Sort of any intersection you want to have with it whether you are a kid or an adult or someone who just wants to get their hands dirty, that day. We have your experience at the Maker’s Space, at the con.

G: So that was expanded from last year for the maker event, like in size, what is available the wasn’t available before?

A: We have allocated about 20% of the con floor and we’re basically increasing the Maker Track at the con the con this year. One of the things that I feel grateful for, is that Mythbusters came to fruition right around the same time as the maker movement in the Bay Area and around the world was really ascendent. Some incredible tools were coming online laser cutters, 3D printers, what were called rapid prototyping now rapid manufacturing tools. On Mythbusters we got to watch that happen at the same time as we helped that happen and it helped us happen. We want to celebrate all that happen at silicon with this allocation, so that makers space will be a separated space, a corral, so you can see that cool things are happening over there.

G: That is so nice. I imagine there’s all sorts of additive manufacturing printers like if someone wanted access to SLA or —

A: I don’t think we’re going to be doing– we might be doing demo 3D printing on the floor but given it is a time intensive process I don’t think we will be offering 3D printing services during the con.

G: Fair enough. What impact are you hoping to have on first timers who are coming into the makers space.

A: To me the makers space is part and parcel of the con, so really the thing that catches most peoples eyes are first timers to any con are the costumes. It’s one of reasons I want to be there. It’s one of the things that drew me to my first con. The cosplay on display at SiliCon is amazing as it is at every pop culture con. The difference here is that want to remove the mystery of, how did they do that. We have makers like Bill Doran and Beverly Downen, Jen Schachter, one of the Tested’s own is really commandeering and leading this space so that the first-timer will not just see the tools of making, they’ll see the direct line of to how these incredible costumes come to fruition on the floor. And that they can play. That’s my goal, is that the first timer sees and experiences  a low threshold to entry. I am anti-gatekeeping in every place that I can find it. This is absolutely one, I want people to let their freak flag fly.

 

I want people to let their freak flag fly.

– Adam Savage

G: I remember before I was transferring into film, I was an industrial designer and I guess there was a good amount of gatekeeping in terms of the quality of the craftsmanship and I bet some people going in for the first time might feel intimidated like, is my work going to be good enough but I guess we just go out there and try it.

A: Well intimidation is a real feeling, absolutely you can look at some incredible costumes and feel like, I don’t think I belong anywhere near such an incredible execution and the answer is you totally belong there. In fact one of my favorite things to see at any con are the people that clearly pulled their costumes together in 10 minutes out of a back closet somewhere in their basement. Those are some of my favorites because they’re fearless and what anybody finds when they come to a con, even with the smallest amount of effort, maybe its even a big dumb pair of sunglasses, they’re going to find other people that are excited about the fact that they’re there and that they’re representing. If you are worried about coming to a con because you worry about being judged for the quality of your costume. Know that what you are going to find is a family that accepts you, no matter what level you have executed the costume on.

 

 

G: Well, this is starting to go into a more general interest but it’s related to the process of creating a costume whether it be a prop or a set. What is your typical planning process for any project you do? Do you start with some sketches and references or do you find yourself just jumping into prototyping and model making in your workshop?

A: Both of those are key elements in any given project that I execute and you know im going to be general as making props or putting on silicon. But the primary, the first goal is finding out what my point of view is. That is a research phase. Taking in a fire hose of new data, new ideas, new ways of thinking through a structure, talking to my partners and collaborators until there is something that makes sense to us. We’re in planning for silicon this year and we had been talking to NASA about a more extensive NASA presence at the con this year. and when NASA came to us with some offers of a panel they wanted to have, that’s a great point of view for us to have. That gives us a great handle with which to started to shake loose the rest of the con. In everything that I build whether it is a prop for a movie or something of my own design or even something as big as a pop culture con, I am first and foremost looking for my point of view is. What is the experience I hope people have, what is the experience I hope I have. All of those are the most primary questions. I am looking for the first point of view, I am not going to discover my whole point of view until the execution is almost done. In order to get started you’re looking for that first thine that you can’t stop thinking about. That first piece that captures your attention. The first part where you are like, Oh I think this is the oppion I have about this thing. I get a lot of questions from young makers about advice. We think when we’re young that we’re building information into our heads and we have remarkable brains when we are young. We pour all sorts of information and we hold it, its great! Then we think that as we get older we will be able to apply that information to solve specific problems and nothing can be further from the truth. It is all triage and it feels like all a mess when you are in the middle of it. My advice is you are going to know one thing at a time. One thing that is important to you and if you grab onto that thing that is important to you start working towards it with your collaborators and working through the problems you have to solve to get there. You’re going to find more and more parts that make sense to you, that reach out to you, that resonate with you. That is all different ways of saying, you know, that’s your point of view on the project that you’re putting together.

G: Continuing with point of view, I’m assuming that that would also go for any students, high school students, college graduates that are looking into getting to a creative field revolving around film and television. Say with visual effects, special effects, props, set but they might be seeing all of this and getting lost in the minutia of like, well what am I suppose to focus on, am I supposed to take that udemy course to gain these set of skills. How do you advise for any of us to go forward on something and kind of have faith in the process.

A: That is a really lovely question. First let me start by answering and say that I have very little formal education. I have a high school diploma. I have a few months at NYU and the school of visual arts and that is about it. My issues with college were personal. I was very arrogant young person and I thought being clever was enough to the point at which I dropped out. I just would like to state that as a caveat up front. That being said, I’m a big believer that people will be the best at the thing they can’t stop doing. When somebody is looking at, you’re asking specifically the  creative, film, theatre industries, video audio– there are so many avenues to travel down. I think if each of us investigated our own hearts, we know that there are things that we can’t stop thinking about. One of the reasons why I despise gatekeeping is, our experience and the stuff we can’t stop thinking about is deeply personal. Nobody else gets to tell us what is valid in that regard. So my advice is always, to move towards the thing that you can’t stop thinking about because what is happening there is that parts of you are showing up and waving the hands. When you gravitate towards those parts about yourself you find out more about yourself. I think we often gravitate towards industries in which the industry provides a certain amount of stress that we can take. Both my sons work in high end food service for a Michelin star restaurants. It’s a high pressure atmosphere, one is a server and one is a cook. Both of them really like the stress on a daily basis of that industry. It’s not always ideal but they are creatively fed by that stress. My first day on on a commercial special effects set was highly stressful but found that stress invigorating. I’m not advocating that one looks for stress, I spent a lot of buy life trying to find ways to mitigate stress but at the same time we like a pressure environment for solving problems. In general, I think human beings like to solve problems and high pressure environments tend to lop branches off your decision tree. I like the refinement of that kind of deadline. I hope that that is somewhat of a useful answer. People will tell you all sorts of things about which industries are more sensible to gravitate towards and I’m not sure that we always have a choice at what our career should be. Anybody who is young listening to this and is wondering what they should do, I want to point out that you have more time than you think you have. It is absolutely true that life is short however, if you are in your early 20s and you think that some ship has already sailed for you, you are not paying attention to the full landscape. because there are so many opportunities to try new things. I remember looking at a sculpture when I was 19 that had been welded together and thinking, welding! How there is a skill I am never going to have time to learn. There’s a few dumber things that have crossed my brain pan and a lot of dumbness have crossed this pan, and that was ridicules for me to think that though! Don’t limit yourself to based on what other people are telling you is sensible or not sensible.

G: I got to give a quick shoutout to a professor here, so John York TA 51 Theater arts for props and set, you can actually learn how to weld in that class. So any students who heard welding and got excited, there you can go do it this semester. If you’re not too late to register. Though you might be procrastinating at this point.

A: I will tell you one thing, a good friend of mine who didn’t know what they wanted to do when they went to a high level university, chose a major solely on the face that the major they chose, which at that point was biomedical engineering, gave them access to the largest number of tools and shops on the university. That’s all! They figured if they had access to every possible shop they’d be able to figure out what they wanted to do. They were right! I love theatre departments because theatre and film drift into so many other disciples. you really get this ground level of prop making, design, painting, story telling, writing, sound, visual and costume. All of these different art forms are available.

G: Not to mention the cross collaborations. Say if you are doing a science fiction film, and you need a professor to reference on a specific subjects, we have a computational linguistics professors here.

A: Amazing!

G: The whole resource at your finger tips people! I notice you really like science fiction looking at your filmography. Bicentennial Man, I know, truly touched me. It’s one of the few movie adaptations that I think is better than the book and that says a lot given Asimov is a genius and and he sailed as one of the greats but Robin William’s performance sold me on this machine that became human. I just want to ask, how did this begin? You started out as a child actor but what drew you towards working on those types of projects.

A: Actually I grew up on science fiction. Star Trek, the original series, was playing on television on every afternoon for a couple of hours though my whole childhood. When I was 10, Star Wars came out and altered the trajectory of my whole brain. Bicentennial Man was both a terrible and an amazing project. I and an awful supervisor on that project. It was also a fun movie to work on. Norman Griffin was the production designer, who was the production designer for Star Wars, one of my absolute heroes! Some of the designs coming out of his production design office were thrilling to execute as a model maker. I also had several amazing interactions with Robin Williams on that set and I’ll tell you a couple of them. In one, I came back from a bathroom break to find Robin Williams in full robot costume at my desk, in model shop. I walked over and he said hey they told me these tool boxes are yours. I should explain at that point in time were a pair of aluminum doctors bags that I had scratch build out of aluminum sheets and pop rivets. They were also on scissor lifts so that I could raise the tool boxes on either side of me and all of my tools would be at the quickest possible retrieval distance for my hands, so I can work as fast and as intuitively as possible. Robin Williams was standing there in a robot costume looking at my toolboxes telling me about his tanker grandfather and how he would have loved these toolboxes. He’s asking me questions about my process and at the same I’m looking at his amazing robot costume built by the incredible artisans at XFX. It was a fantastic half hour conversation, he is super inquisitive and lovely, generous person to talk to. He was a good listener, he loved hearing your stories, he was a good laugher. A few weeks later, I found myself showing up one morning at treasure island onto the set and I was crafts services, getting a bagel, cream cheese and a coffee, and robin was there doing the same thing. Robin and I are chatting about our bagels. That morning there was a news story of a boat that foundered off the coast of Florida with several tons of cocaine on board. It was all anyone was talking about in the new. Robin started riffing on this news story. He started doing impressions on the kind of people who would randomly show up and “help” in such a situation. He’s doing their speeches about how they could help with the situations about the foundering cocaine. In over about ten or fifteen minutes leads to some impressions of dolphins on cocaine and I don’t know quite how he did it, but he’s making these sounds that are clearly if you head it, oh that’s a dolphin that is coked up. Then there comes this moment that I am getting the funniest, most amazing, private comedy routine from one of the world’s great comedians. Just me! And I have to say, Robin, I need to go to work now or I’ll get fired. And you have to ask the world’s greatest comedian to stop making you laugh so that you can go punch the clock. I never imagine that such a thing would happen.

G: It must of been in your head all day. Just those jokes trying to repeat them.

**Adam Savage records our Legal ID for 90.5 FM KSJS San Jose.

G: I noticed with Tested, you got to interview Dennis Gastner for one of my favorite movies of all time, Blade Runner 2049. As someone who has been in that craft and have worked parallel to many great directors, how did that feel to have one of your favorite films get a proper sequcence nonetheless have its own unique spin on it because the soul is definitely the same between the two blade runners but they’re coming about 30 years apart. It’s a bleaker future. It’s a more industrial — not industrialist but brutalist as Denis Villeneuve would put it. I just like some of your thoughts on that.

A: Those early films that shape us, and Blade Runner is one of the earliest to shape me. When I first saw it in New York City in the mid 80s I lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn from 1985-1990 and at that point in time New York City had four, if not, five rep houses that is movie theaters that showed regular slate of really old movies. Blade Runner was something you could see once or twice a year in the theatre if you were paying attention to their schedules. Those early movies captures us, I think, because we have something to unpack out of them aesthetically, personally, situationally, narratively. Blade runner was so important to my whole social group in the New York in the mid 80s, we would rent it on VHS and watch it repeartly. It was very exciting when Blade Runner 2049 came out, even though I got to visit the set and spend a week with the incredible film makers, I was able to suspend all my disbelief upon sitting in the theatre and watching Villeneuve’s incredible vision. For me it’s one of those rare situations in which the first movie, Blade Runners shows up in the 80s and shifts my entire aesethic, narrative, brain in an interesting direction and thirty years later, Villeneuve makes a sequel and it does the same thing. It gives me a whole new aesethic direction that I’m fascinated by.

G: It almost has that Terminator 2 moment where you get a sequel different interpretation from a director who also loves the first project but obviously the time difference is further. Do you have a feeling it’s going to have that impact on at least my generation and younger people moving forward?

A: That is always impossible to know, no matter how much I think I can know it, I’m always surprised. I got to work on A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a Steven Spielberg movie starring Jude Law and Hayley Joel Osment, that began as a Stanley Kubrick film. I started hearing rumors about A.I. in the early 90s living here in San Francisco. I knew people in the film industry. I heard Stanley Kubrick was interested in this new science fiction movie that involved a submerged New York and a boy that never grows old. So when I finally got to work on it, I felt like I was working on another Blade Runner. I remember sitting in the theatre being quite disappointed by the film as it showed. I watched A.I. a few months ago and I was absolutely shocked by how much better it held up than what I remembered. It is a very compelling and intense story. There are some moments in it that no other movie has gotten to. There’s this bit in A.I. when the young boy is running around with his robotic teddy bear and says to the teddy bear, “what do we do now teddy?” The bear says, “now we run.” The idea of your toy telling you is time to run is one of the bleakest most amazing narrative moments I can think of. I am grateful to Spielberg for making the movie happen.

G: It’s definitely a shining moment for Hayley Joel Osment as well. The detachment scene of “mommy mommy dont let me”– because you have to think that level of programming to have the emotional attachment and to be able to sell that beyond the turing test. Well it looks like we have Trip Hunter on the phone!

T: Hey!

A: Excellent! Hey Trip!

T: Hello everyone!

A: How’s going sir?

T: Pretty well Adam, How you doing?

A: I’m doing pretty good this morning.

T: Good I’m Glad to hear it.

A: I’m talking movies, special effects and Silicon. What could be wrong?

T: Nothing! Hahaha. Three good topics!

G: Trip, now that you are on air, thank you once again for being a part of this SiliCon family and making the dreams come true for many people in the Bay Area who want to have a comic con that meets makers fair in their backyard. That is such nice resource to have for many people.

T: Thank you

G: I wanted to hear a little bit more about yourself, so one of the earlier questions I asked before you came on was how did you and Adam Savage meet and how long did it take to plan that first convention all the way back in 2014 before it was called Silicon?

A: Before Trip talks, I just want to talk about Trip for one second and sing his praises. He’s not only an amazing manager and my partner in throwing silicon. Trip is also a Maker’s Maker who every minute he is not managing one of the like seemingly 90 separate projects he is managing he is out in his garage making stuff all the freaking time! It is an austere example and I am always impressed, Trip.

T: Oh my god, coming from you that’s a huge compliment, thank you! I got involved in this, initially it was SiliCon Comic Con with Steve Wosniak and he was part of the event for the first couple of years. When Steve got this idea, and it was important to him that this was a science and tech as well as pop culture event. That was the genesis of what we became, what we started at. I was always a huge fan of Adam and when I reached out early and Adam was kind enough to say “yeah I’d loved to be a part of your event” and that relationship just grew. When Woz wanted to step back a little, I asked Adam if he was interested in getting more involved and he said yes and that’s the story.

G: Steve Wozniak is such a fun guy! My uncle met him for lunch once, and just the amount of generosity in a conversation, at least that I’ve heard, he can really share himself with another person.

A: Steve wants to spread the message of computer and tech literacy to the whole world. Spending time around Steve is exactly what you think it is, it’s exactly what you hope it is. Literally I dont use this word nearly ever, but it is a maverick brain that Woz possesses and it is a delightful to be around it.

G: that’s great!

T: That’s very true!

G: I wanted to get a sense for your excitement of any new introductions to this years Silicon. I know this is the second year where things are semi normal after covid, you guys had to go online for more of those sessions but you made it work. Im interested to see what do you want to see by the end of this August and what are you hoping to learn from it?

T: I think last year was so stilted. We were limited to to the number of people we could have in the convention center. I think it feels like to me, and I think Adam would agree, feels like th first year we can actually spread our wings a bit. Adam would you agree with that?

A: 100%. Last year was really lovely and how intimate it felt. The core that showed up really represented and that was delightful but its really nice to spread our wings at this point and feel like we can welcome a larger family.

T: We still dont want to fill the convention center to capacity, I think that would make people nervous. We are scaling it back a bit but it will be bigger than last year. We have this, I don’t know Adam if you’ve had a chance to talk about the theme of “Creating the Improbable”.

A: No, I was waiting for you for that Trip.

T: Our theme this year is creating the improbable and the idea behind that is Adam brings such a Maker expertise to this event and has attracted a very strong maker community and the beauty of that, people will walk into this convention hall with one perspection in mind of what they are going to experience and our hope is that they walk out feeling like makers. There is so much on the show floor for them to do and make. We have a 90 by 50 foot space that is designated to building. You can come and get materials, some for free, and sit down with some of the best makers in the world and make things! I think that is a cool component of what we are going to be doing.

A: Let me also expand because one of the things Trip and I talk about a lot both personally and with a team is that we define making as in the broadest terms possible. It is not just putting together things with your hands or gluing them together. Making is anytime you use your point of view back to make something that didn’t exist in the world. That could be a screenplay, it could be a table, it can be tank, and it can be a house. All of those are making so is coding, so is poetry, so is playing music. When we define it that expansively I hope we create a home for anybody to find their point of view and learn how to exercise it.

Making is anytime you use your point of view back to make something that didn’t exist in the world.               – Adam Savage

T: yeah, and Adam we do have some information that hasn’t been shared yet but we could! Adam do you want to talk about the live feed?!?!

A: Oh?! We can talk about that now?

T: We can!

A: Okay so, we have– this is the first time — I have several friends who are astronauts, who have been astronauts and been to space. But right now a good friend of mine is currently in space on the ISS, Astronaut Kjell Lindgren is up there with crew 4 and he is going to beam down virtually to Silicon and do a panel live from the ISS. This is something that’s been in the works for months. I literally said to Kjell I wanted to invite you to our con, but you’re going to be in space. He said how is that an inhibition, I think we can make that work? We are very excited to announce that.

T: Stay tuned, we’re going to do a little contest to ask people to submit eight to ten questions for him to answer. We are going to do a social thing for people to submit a question and if we pick your question, Adam could ask Kjell your question live which I think would be pretty cool.

G: Out of curiosity, what kind of latency are you able to get now days because I have that perseption of Apollo 13.

A: Right, with the quindar beep and the two second delay. The delay to talk to the ISS is less than you think. I’ve actually have had a couple of phone conversations with chell in prep for this. I didn’t know he was calling but my phone rang and said it was a Houston number, and I thought okay I do know some people in Houston, so let me answer it. It was Kjell from space and it was maybe a a 200 millisecond delay. It was like talking to Japan on the telephone.

G: That’s not bad at all.

A: I actually asked him, you’re calling me from space, dude are you in line of sight? He said yes I am looking at the coast of California right now, but that doesn’t matter because my signal he said is going up. The phone repeaters travel farther from Earth than the ISS’.

**Trip Hunter records our Legal ID for 90.5 FM KSJS San Jose

G: Question for both of you, what’s your latest side project Trip as far as the workshop? I know Adam mentioned you’re a workaholic when it comes to making projects on your free time.

T: You know during COVID, I started an epoxy and wood cutting board company because I wanted to build a bar in my house becuase all the bars were closed in park city. So I figured I would build one. I started making cutting boards and that turned into company called Blue Fig and now I make cutting boards all the time which is incredibly fun.

A: They are seriously beautiful cutting boards.

T: I purchased the CNC machine and learned how to make some really interesting places. If you have a location or a house on a lake, I can do a whole lake on the property.

G: I’m sure a lot of people will want custom orders from you now so I hope you can back log that. Finally wrapping up, and I want to circle back to the event. People want to know, are you going to dress up an walk around Trip as well as Adam Savage and if so what are some ideas that you have considered for this year?

A: Oh we are not giving anything away.

T: Well last year, Adam lent me his Batman costume which I’m a huge fan of Batman because he doesn’t need a superpower he just needs brains. Not saying I have them, but I can achieve that more easily than I can a superpower. That was first time I had dressed up and that was amazing.

A: That was the first time you dressed up for a con. You are a cosplayer extraordinaire in your personal life on Halloween.

T: That’s right. I’m usually a little too busy kinda running around but Adam put the gauntlet down and said no you have to do this. I did and I had a ball doing that. I had a couple ideas this year, but I am going to keep them under wraps.

A: I have to say, Trip sends me pictures of his and his wife’s costumes every year and it is always awe-inspiring the kind of things that they do. Also he said can I borrow a Batman suit, I gave him one, he put it on and after he came off the floor sweaty and uncomfortable, because every costume is sweaty and uncomfortable, the joy on Trip’s face having walked the con floor as Batman was so palpable. It was one of my favorite memories of last year man.

G: The sweat adds to the realism of Gotham too.

A: Oh totally! As for my costume, I am actually — when I leave here today I am going back and doing some of the final prep on my costume but I can give no hints because my fan base is way too smart at guessing every costume I’ve ever given a hint at in less than ten seconds so there is just no more hints.

G: Something I wanted to repent on that I’ve heard you said in pretty much any podcast revolving around conventions is that cosplay does not equal consent, and I know its important reminder, not to be a stickler on it, but I think it’d be great if you can kind of share what that means.

A: First and foremost, it means that the women who are dressed up at a con as some sexy characters are not there for your enjoyment and be mindful of how you speak to them. That you speak to them like people. It is a key ethos at a con not to just snap pictures randomly but to ask costumed person if you can take their picture. It is twofold, one it is them giving consent for the photo but two they are going to make your photos so much better. Everyone who has put on a costume has practiced a pose if not several and they are going to go into that pose when you ask to take a picture and its going to make your picture way way more awesome! That is a deep foundational ethos of the con, is the consent –that everyone who is there gets to be there on their terms and gets to have the experience they want as safely as possible. That is just a vital way to attend the con and the mental frame I’d like you to have if you come.

G: Yeah, I know everyone’s kind of swimming in their own minds at a convention so if you’re constantly being pulled aside for questions, its good to get the questions first but you might have to move on to a speech panel. do you have any advice to communicating that? That if you run into too many people you like and you want to get more time to spend with them later.

A: I think being overwhelmed at a con is to a certain extent is part of the experience of being there. Those of us who regularly attend con go to see our friends that we dont get to see in other places. We go to see new executions of incredible costumes we go to get those creative juices flowing. I remember the first mash up cosplay I saw that really floored me and it was the late aughts at the San Diego comic con. It was a hello kitty pink Darth Vader that was seven and a half feet tall. I saw that and I just thought I am not thinking big enough about where costumes and cosplay can go, that there is a hello kitty Darth Vader in the world makes me so happy. That is exactly the kind of pop culture mashup I’m here for.

G: And with the MCU’s Multiverse anything’s possible now.

A: Absolutely! Yes, we’re going to have Barbie Batman any second now.

T: Maybe that’s my costume!?

A: There you go Trip! You could pull it off dude.

G: Anyways it’s been a pleasure having you guys. Thank you for coming on the phone call Trip. Thank you for coming into the studio Adam, there’s coffee out there for you if you want it.

T: Thank you, the only other thing I’d add that there so much content at this con that we haven’t even begun to touch so if anybody’s interested in checking out the website, seeing some of the guest are coming. That’s at www.siliconsj.com

A: Absolutely, we covered maybe 5% of the incredible guests and panels that we’re going to have both Makers, Science and pop culture. We’re super excited.

G: Do you guys have any plug in for social medias as well?

A: I think the best way to get to all of our socials is through siliconsj.com

G: Okay, fair enough. Well we are out of time here. Once again, thank you Adam thank you Trip. Have a great day, a great morning everyone to your Monday and I hope you have a safe commute out there! and that you enjoy that initial ground. This is 90.5 Fm KSJS San Jose State’s Underground Radio Station, G:\\Drive signing off.

Video Transcribed by Caroline Mounga