... one could conspire to get nabbed running a traffic signal on Sunset Boulevard reeking of rum, or marry conspicuously with a seventy-two day divorce sequel to slam the dunk, but there are safer ways to rack up stage-time and tally a twitter following ... look no further than actors who've played science-fiction characters ... we, as a species, needn't delve into the charade chest of cheap trix - provided there's no objection to venturing into the lion's den to meet 'n' greet the fanbase ...
... the cool thing about this is that fandom is no respecter of borders or division, chapters of sycophantic adulators spring up everywhere on the globe, perhaps even beyond some say ... and for the most part, the rank-and-file fan is a big-hearted afficionado of the genre who has the chutzpah to bring the proverbial mountain to Mohammed ...
... and move mountains they do ... calling them Conventions, cash is pooled, hotels are inveigled, dealers enticed, punters wooed ... the carrots-on-the-stick are us, performers who've brought characters to life by lending ourselves to the cosmos, and the cause ... on this occasion Northampton, England plays host ...
... there's no call to wear costumes off set ... truth be known, actors don't own 'em anyway and the attendees don't need the competition for their own sartorial creativity ... the interest is in the encounter, the photo-op, the collectormania and camaraderie when common interest binds an admixture of personalities ...
... with judgementalism at minimum, everyone is free to express passions ... whether it's adolescent idolatry, gratuitous hugging, sharing a preferred song with anyone who'll listen, playing Pied Piper to a string of gents while coquettishly sporting sexy new knee-high boots, or paying tribute to fictitious aliens by dressing up and acting out until the bar closes, the field is wide open ...
... but, apart from the common colds which get communicated and the odd hangover proliferated for posterity by phone-cams, there is usually no safer arena for runaway individualism ...
... engaged celeb guests get the most out of such a milieu too ... ego value is inestimable but if you don't take yourself too seriously and can walk the fine line between madness and mission, you'll be able to pull off anything ... I found humility when faced down by a young woman with a soccer ball seemingly glued to her feet, and only regained my pride by rocking a party with judiciously selected oldies, remixes and reggae (from a hard drive that goes everywhere with me for just this purpose) ...
... satisfaction with my own DJ-ing would have been enough to provide a fitting punchline to this exercise in shameless self-promotion had I not been comprehensively upstaged that same afternoon by a macho, mind-reading monkey named Chico ...
... but that's another story for another day ...
