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Transcription Matt Refghi: Alright, we’re at Dragon*Con 2012 and I’m here with Justin who decided to dress as Walt Whitman. From Breaking Bad, and yet, he seems to be – Justin: Walt Whitman? It was Walt Whitman? Matt: Wasn’t it? Justin: Uh, I think it was Walter White. Matt: Oh! Justin: Walt Whitman was the writer. Matt: Jesus, Walter White. Justin: Yeah. Matt: That’s right, okay. (to cameraman) We’ll restart? Justin: I think that was good, that was good though. Matt: Yeah, it’s fine, it’s just. Justin: It was a nice gap, I liked it. Matt: Oh, you mean, like a natural mistake? What do you mean? Justin: Well, yeah, you were like, yeah, “Walt Whitman, he made meth too!” … Read more

Transcription Matt Refghi: Hi, everyone, I’m here with a cosplayer, and I’m not entirely sure what his costume is, but it feels like Steampunk. If you could just explain a little more about the costume. Baron Bon Bar: Yes, it is Steampunk. I’m a Steampunk bartender by the name Baron Bon Bar. German, Baron Good Bar. If you can check this out, I’ve got my shotgun. Matt: (laughs) Baron: I carry the bardolier (?) , and the Bar Back – Matt: Oh, wow. (laughs) This is – Baron: – which caries two fluid gallons which is pneumatically displaced through this glove. Matt: That is… community service if I’ve ever seen it. That is excellent. Baron: Well, that’s what Dragon*Con’s all … Read more

Transcription Matt Refghi: I never expected to encounter this at Dragon*Con, it seems that Batman has met his end. So what are you going to do, Harley, now that Batman is gone? Harley Quinn: Well, now that the Bat is gone, Mr. J wants me to go after Robin, little nancy-boy. Matt: Well, Robin’s the only left right now. Harley: He is. Matt: So he probably has new tricks up his sleeve. Harley: Robin is a six-year-old loser, he can’t do anything to me. Matt: (laughs) Okay. So I was wondering, is this your first time at Dragon*Con? Harley: No, this is fourth year, and it’s just as amazing as always. Matt: Excellent. Is this the first costume you wear? … Read more

Transcription Matt Refghi: Alright, so I’m here at Dragon*Con 2012, and I just saw this gentleman. I have to ask: did you wake up this morning and think “today, I’d like the rabbit to carry me around?” Michael Mirth: (laughs) That’s ri – well, he said so, actually. Matt: Yeah. Michael: I didn’t have much to do with it, really. Matt: That’s – alright, that’s pretty elaborate. Michael: I’ve been wanting to bring this costume to Dragon*Con for about seven years, since I’ve made it. But I never had a trailer, because it’s so large – it wouldn’t fit in my jeep. Matt: Yeah, it’s pretty elaborate. Michael: Yes, there’s a lot of parts to it. Matt: Alright, so where … Read more

Transcription Matt Refghi: Alright, so we just arrived at Dragon*Con 2012, and we encountered Moss from The IT Crowd. How are you doing, Moss? Maurice Moss: (British accent) Doing well, thank you. Matt: Alright, I see that you have a cup there. Moss: (British accent) Absolutely, I’ve searched the canteen completely and most thoroughly, and I’ve actually found my cup. Matt: Woah. Moss: (British accent) It’s very, very distinctive because there’s a picture on the base. Matt: Okay, alright. How do you differentiate between that cup and the other cups. Moss: (British accent) Well, mainly the picture is what does it, although I do see Richmond drinking from it from time to time, which makes me a little bit vexed. Matt: I thought … Read more

It’s no secret that I’ve been less active with this blog, as of late. I won’t go into the details, but I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into a certain project, one that I can’t yet reveal. What I can say is that it’s something that I’ve been working on for a very long time, and I’m really looking forward to introducing it in the near future. Today, however, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be releasing a series of interviews that I hosted from Dragon*Con 2012. I’ve always wanted to expand into video, and this turned out to be a great way to do so. You may recall that I’ve previously mentioned wanting to start a … Read more

It was around the time where I was getting to be too old for Halloween, so I didn’t do the whole candy collection thing. Instead, I served as a candy dispenser for the kids who wandered over to my parent’s place. I decided I would also dress up to entertain the children that passed, but I wasn’t exactly sure of what I would do. All I knew is that I had a mask, and a monk’s robe. The mask was designed to make my head look like a large, sinister skull. Not quite unique, I know, but this one was different – when I first saw it, it struck me as being particularly high in quality. As a result, I … Read more

If I were asked to identify one primary annoyance associated with a web development career path, it’d be the abundance of browser inconsistencies. From the consumer’s point of view, the web is an endless source of content, and they are given the ability explore that world. Browsers permit such exploration, but the resulting experience depends on a multitude of factors, most of them transparent to the consumer. There’s an organization known as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and their entire goal in life is to ensure the long term growth of the Internet. In accordance with this objective, the W3C took the time to define standards for the core technologies they created, such as HTML and CSS. Yet, the reality … Read more

After my second consecutive visit to Atlanta’s Dragon*Con, I decided it was time to give my hometown a chance. In Montreal, the closest we have to Dragon*Con is Montreal Comiccon, which was first held in 2006. Dragon*Con is a much older convention – it dates back in 1987, and comprises of multiple large hotels (lobbies, conference rooms, ball rooms), whereas Montreal Comiccon’s primary space is one large convention hall. As a result, the scale of Dragon*Con is far from being matched by Montreal – which means the celebrity guest list is also a bit disappointing, in comparison. Despite the differences, I attended Montreal Comiccon this year – and in my opinion, it’s worth doing so at least for the costumes. After all, it is still … Read more

While I was in Atlanta earlier this year, I tried to convince my sister to buy herself an iPhone. Though I consider myself a PC enthusiast, I can’t deny Apple‘s prowess when it comes to delivering a superior user experience. So, with a firm belief in the iPhone, I proceeded to explain the many benefits of the device. When my sister started showing concern for the inconvenience of re-arranging her cellphone plans, and the associated cost, I suggested first trying an iPod Touch. After all, that’s how I came to own an iPhone – I had first tried the iPod, and was amazed by the experience. I then realized that carrying a regular cellphone plus an iPod would be a … Read more