“Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot….”
2018 will go down as one of my favorite years. It included a few firsts, a couple of great returns, and one or two surprises as well. The year started off with a bang as I got the chance to attend Aro Lucha’s first professional wrestling event in Beaumont, TX. The show included matches featuring a lineup of legends such as Blue Demon, Jr. and Super Crazy, and fan favorites like Chavo Guerrero, Jr., John Morrison, Taya Valkyrie, and Hurricane Helms. It also included independent stars and up-and-comers like Thunder Rosa and Sammy Guevara. All in all, it was a great event and I hope to see more shows such as this one.
The beginning of the year also brought Black Panther to the big screen. Not only was the film a really fun feature, I got to review the twelve inch Marvel Legends Black Panther figure based on the film. The movie has definitely left a significant mark in cinema and in American culture, and I look forward to T’Challa’s next solo adventure.
As the year rolled along, I attended CyPhaCon in Lake Charles, LA. While it wasn’t my first time to attend the event, it was my first time to attend it as a member of the press. I got to meet Farscape and Star Trek Continues star Gigi Edgley and got to catch up with a lot of friends that I’d been missing for quite some time.
I also had the opportunity to attend a field trip with my son’s class at NASA Johnson Space Center near Houston, TX. I got to see a little bit of Star Trek history whenever I got to see the Galileo from the Original Series. I also got to see a massive Mars exhibit, attempt to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and land a lunar module in the ocean, play with a Mars Rover, and see all sorts of other wonderful things.
Towards mid-year, I took my first trip to Austin, TX to visit family. While there, I visited the University of Texas-Austin, shopped and walked along Congress Avenue, saw the amazing Congress Avenue Bridge bats as they headed out into the night to feast on bugs and other small creatures, and visited a multitude of historical sites and museums.
Just a few weeks later, I took my family to San Antonio, TX for our summer vacation. We visited the Alamo, Sea World San Antonio, and ended up making an impromptu return trip to Austin due to a family emergency. Despite a hectic couple of weeks, we made a lot of great memories during that time.
I also had the opportunity to attend the Fifth Chapter of Calcasieu Serial Fest, once of my favorite local events in Lake Charles. The festival celebrated the work of Kirk Alyn, the first live action Superman, and other classic serials from the 1930’s and 40’s.
With fall just around the corner, I got ready for my return to the Texas Renaissance Festival. I missed it last year and I planned to enjoy as much of it as I could once I got back. It’s one of my favorite festivals of the year and this year was no exception. I finally got to take a photo with the King! I also got to see Gypsy Dance Theatre, Clan Tynker, and other wonderful shows.
Just a couple of weeks prior to attending TRF, I returned to one of my favorite cities, Biloxi, MS, for a long overdue visit with all of my Mississippi squad at Gulf Coast Fan Fest. Some of the highlights of that event included meeting Ming Chen from Comic Book Men, David Naughton from An American Werewolf in London, and one of my favorite cosplayers, Iron Mwar.
I also assisted with the Lake Charles Film Festival. Not only did I get to see some excellent independent films and excellent documentaries, but I also got to meet Jay Underwood, best known as the star of The Boy Who Could Fly and the unreleased (but highly accessible on the web) Fantastic Four film produced by Roger Corman back in the 1990’s.
The year came to a close with an excellent Thanksgiving celebration, a fun Christmas, and the chance to see Aquaman a week prior to everyone else. I also became a part of the DC Universe (but I can’t quite explain all of that just yet), landed free Aquaman toys to review, and won some really cool prizes as well.
This year was great. Sure, there were a few downers that occurred, but they were far outweighed by the positives that happened for me and my family in 2018. I was greatly blessed this year, and 2019 is going to have to amp things up if it wants a positive review one year from now!
To finish off this post, here are a few of my favorite photos from this year and one new one featuring professional wrestler, Thunder Rosa, who I got to see a second time (and finally get to meet) in 2018 at a Hurricane Pro Wrestling event in Beaumont, TX. Thanks for reading, and I hope that you have a wonderful 2019!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 