Nuketown

Easton, Pa.

Lehigh Valley Comic Con arrives August 15

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 08/02/2009 - 7:46pm

Lehigh Valley Comic Con will be held Saturday, August 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Schnecksville Fire Company. Admission is $5 ($4 with college ID) and kids 12 and under are free.

The guests of honor include artists Joe Staton (Green Lantern, Scooby Doo, Justice Society of America) and Brian Kong (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings as well as illustrations for the Yankees, Mets and other Major League Baseball teams). According to their flyer, they'll have plenty of comics for sale (doh!), comic paraphernalia as well as games like HeroClix and Magic: The Gathering. You can learn more at www.lehighvalleycomiccon.com.

I've heard of the Lehigh Valley Comic Con before, but never attended one. The venue seems a little small (although I have to admit I've never been to the Schnecksville Fire Company to know how big that building is) but it could be worth checking out.

Baseball Nerds Unite: IronPigs Host Star Wars Night

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sat, 05/02/2009 - 4:30am

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs -- the AAA affiliate of the Philadelpha Phillies -- is hosting a Star Wars night. That's right: Star Wars. And baseball. On the same night!

The event is being held Thursday, June 11, 2009 from 5:45pm - 10:45pm at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pa. According to the team's Facebook page, fans are invited to dress up in Star Wars costumes for the event, but that level of geekery is not needed. There will also be Star Wars triva and movie clips between settings and a "Pig Wars" commemorative cup.

While I'd love to go, I'm already going to a game two days later, on Saturday. I don't know that I can justify two games in one week ... but I'm sorely tempted.

Pinball Wizards Convention Scheduled for May 1-3, 2009

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 03/31/2009 - 11:38am

The 16th annual Pinball Wizards convention is being held May 1-3, 2009 at Allentown Fairgrounds AgriPlex. How I managed to miss this for the first 15 years it was held, I have no idea, but I've got to figure out a way to go this year. They've got game tournaments for adults and kids, a pinball-related flea market, vendors, machines for sale and a whiole slew of pinball machines (about half of Ag Hall, from what I hear) that you can play as part of the admission price.

Admission for adults is $15.00 per day while children (6-12) get in for $6.00 per da. Learn more about it at www.pinballwizardsconv.com.

Haunted Walking Tour of Easton

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 10/14/2008 - 5:30am

There's going to be a "Haunted Walking Tour of Easton" on October 24 and 25, 2008 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tours leave from Centre Square, Easton, Pa. The cost is $7 in advance, $10 on the tour date. Tickets are available at Pearly Baker's Ale House, Porter's Pub, the Csmic Cup, Partyology, Connexions Art Gallery, Easton Yoga and the Easton Farmer's Market.Learn more by visiting the Scarecrow Festival page on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/eastonscarecrowfestival

Considering a gaming club in the Lehigh Valley

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 6:00pm

City of Easton Shortly after graduating from college, I tried starting a gaming club in the Lehigh Valley, Pa. I was fresh off having helped create the Role-Playing Underground when I was a student at Lock Haven University, and I was desperate to get a new campaign up and running.

It failed. We had a few meetings, and I was able to find enough people to get my own campaign off the ground, but in the end I didn't understand the fundamental difference between a college game club, and a real-world one. In college, the club was about recruiting people for your game. In the real-world, it was about playing games

Quick note: for those who might have been drawn to this post by the casino going up Bethlehem, Pa., I'm talking about role-playing, card, board and war games, not gambling.

Ultimately, I was able to patch together enough players from the club and some local cons. Once I had a group of my own, the need for the club faded. So did the club.

OOF 8/17: Picnic in the Park

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 08/17/2008 - 11:38am

I'm doing the bachelor dad thing while Sue's away at a PowWow this weekend, so I figured it'd be a good thing if we started off our day with some exercise. I packed some zucchini bread and milk for the kids, loaded up the wagon our baseball mitts and Lucas, then walked to the Cosmic Cup for morning coffee while Jordan road her bike. Coffee in hand, we walked back home, deposited the bike in the side alley, then walked down to Nevin Park for breakfast under the trees.

After that the kids and I ran around on the playground equipment and swung on the swings, taking occasional breaks to play catch. All in all, a good start to the day, the only downside to which was the whining from Jordan about how tired she was on the walk back home.

It wasn't a hard work out, as things go, but it got my heart pumping climbing the hill back from the park, and tired out the kids so I think we can declare mission was accomplished.

Geek on the Water

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Mon, 05/12/2008 - 7:44pm

Jordan and I canoeing on the Bushkill Creek.

Jordan and I went canoeing on the Bushkill River on Mother's Day as part of an effort to get Jordan, Luke and our friends Jess and Dylan's two-year-old twins used to the idea of being in a boat. We started off putting all four kids in the boat, and then Sue and Jess dragged them up and down the brook for a while (exceedingly cold work, given that it was only about 70 degrees out, the water was far colder, and they were standing in it). Once the little kids had had their full of the water, I took Jordie out in the (slightly) deeper water. The water was about two feet deep in this picture, giving us just enough clearance to go paddling.

The dent you see in the side of the canoe is not from me; rather it's a legacy of a disastrous family canoing trip on the Delaware River when I was a kid that ended with said canoe colliding with a rather rock after our first encounter with rapids. The canoe is in good shape in spite of its Titanic moment, and Sue and I have had it out on the Delaware a bunch of times, though not much since the kids were born.

Synthetic Culture

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 03/11/2008 - 7:47am

The Elucidator is a quarterly print magazine published in Easton, Pa. It's the sort of thing that people outside of the town might never expect to be here: a magazine reviewing local culture, life, and arts. It's "Chew" and "Imbibe" columns check out the Lehigh Valley's bars and restaurants, while "Listen" reviews a variety of music, and regular photo essays explore life in and around Easton.

Like I said, it's nothing you'd expect to find here. Unless, of course, you actually lived here.

Easton's changed a lot over the years, in some ways for the bad (gangs) and many ways for the good (the arts). There's an established arts community, multiple art galleries, some cool downtown events -- including beer, garlic and shad (yes, shad) festivals.

Jonathan Coulton in the Lehigh Valley?

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Fri, 01/25/2008 - 12:35pm

Geek musician/singer Jonathan Coulton (Skullcrusher Mountain, Re: Your Brains) lives in Brooklyn, New York, which isn't all that far from the Lehigh Valley. Yet to the best of my knowledge, he's never played here, which is something I'd like to change.

There's a Lehigh Valley "demand" for him in Eventful:

http://eventful.com/demand/D0-001-000000412-0

This is basically a webified way of asking someone to come play in your area; by accumulating votes we can show that there's enough folks in the Lehigh Valley to make it worth his while.

Click the link and vote if you'd like to see him perform in the area.

Jazz (and Kids) at the Cosmic Cup

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 09/19/2007 - 8:22pm

The Cosmic Cup had live jazz tonight (with my boss on drums, so I stopped by with the kids for coffee, hazelnut chocalate gelato, and good music. We didn't stay long -- Jordan was tired after a big day at preschool -- but the kids seemed to enjoy it, and it was a great break from the regular routine. Luke really liked it, and spent half the time bouncing up and down on my lap, smiling at my friends, and occasionally pretending to be shy.

All in all, a good outing -- I hope Troy hosts more live music and other nighttime events this semester. On a related note, he's got a new post up on his blog so stop by and show your support with some comments (which will hopefully inspire him to blog more frequently).