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Links to my sites

Useful things on the internet

NearlyFreeSpeech.net - My webhost. You only pay for the bandwidth you use, so if you only transfer 1-2GB a month, that’s what you’ll pay for, and the prices are low. I can’t recommend this service highly enough if you run a small business or a personal website. If you don’t need 300GB a month service for $15/month, go for this, and that probably applies to most of you.

Shows and Conventions

I used to go to conventions a lot, but not much anymore. The following are the few shows I will go to, but I don’t go every year.

Small Press Expo - An alternative comics show. Walk around and meet the best young artists out there. That’s about it, there aren’t activities or events. There are a few informational panels and the Ignatz awards, but not much else. It’s worth it, though. These people aren’t hard-core geeks/nerds… these are real artists pushing the envelope of sequential art.
Comic-Con International - A great place to see the latest in pop culture. Nice large event where you go see celebs and neat stuff, then repeat over and over. Not much in terms of fannish activities, more like a big show that lasts 5 days.
Magfest -2 day video game music concert and 24 hour video gaming. This one is wild, barely fits my definition of a con. There’s a few panels but mostly this is about 24 hour gaming and the crazy concerts. This con is surprisingly high-energy, very metal and punk-ish. If you scare easily, don’t go.
Dragoncon - I haven’t been in quite a while and it’s not my favorite con. However I have to say of all the fandom cons I’ve ever been to, this is the party-est and most adult. You don’t need to be a geek to go (and I’m just barely one), you’ll have a blast. It’s more like a 4-day Halloween frat party and geeky info panels.

Fun Activities

Richmond Folk Festival - A successful offshoot of the National Folk Festival. Richmond has a great atmosphere for the folk fest. It’s very scenic and you will have a great time. World folk music, not just american folk.
First Fridays - Richmond’s first fridays artwalk is a lot of fun. Galleries open, lots of free treats, lots of fun and weird things to see.

Places to eat

Doumar’s - Norfolk is the home of the restaurant owned by the people who invented waffle cones for ice cream. This place is old-fashioned, you drive up and a server comes out to take your order. Then you get your delicious food on a tray that hangs on your window. The prices are very low and the food is just great.

Music

Genesis - Official site
The Waiting Room - This is a Peter Gabriel/Genesis tribute band. The lead singer sounds about 90% like Peter, so I recommend them highly. They’ll even sing Phil Collins era songs so if you want to hear what it sounds like when Peter Gabriel sings Collins songs, this is the only way you will hear that.
Dance On A Volcano - I haven’t seen these guys but I have seen Martin Levac sing for Turn it on Again, and this guy looks and sounds like Phil Collins 99%. If you love Phil Collins or Genesis, you owe it to yourself to see this guy in concert, it will be just like seeing the real Phil.
The Musical Box - These guys do exact replications of Genesis concerts from the 70s. They are probably one of the most successful tribute bands out there, they command a lot of money in large venues and sold out shows. In fact, Genesis has named them their official tribute band, going so far as to give them their old props and roadies to help their shows.
Porcupine Tree - Uncategorizable. Amazing schizo prog music. At first they sound like Pink Floyd, then Linkin Park, then Tool, then something else. You have to listen to understand.

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