July 8, 2011: Talk About ... Pop Culture

1. Today should be 79 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms.

2. True story: A man and a woman pull into a parking space at the Shops at 30 and want to eat at Rein's Deli after spendibg a day at the beach.  The man realizes he does not have a shirt, so he goes into a nearby consignment shop, buys a shirt, and heads to Rein's for dinner.

3. Today through Sunday, will be taking place at the Connecticut Convention Center and Hartford Marriott Downtown. Brought to you by Game Stop and Rock 106.9, this pop-culture event will include close to 700 hours of events geared toward collectible card games, Anime, webcomics, science fiction, fantasy, horror, role playing, comic books, video gaming, board gaming and much more.

Main events will include Buffy vs. the Dating Game tonight from 9:30 – 11:30 p.m., the ConnectiCon Masquerade on Saturday from 7:30 – 10 p.m., Ganon’s Power Jeopardy on Saturday from 11 a.m. – 12:30 noon, Death Match on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Drake’s Wheel of Fortune (where participants are selected from the audience at random during main events), and CosPlay Chess on Sunday at 12 noon. The event will also feature imformative panels, hands-on workshops, a Webcomic Charity Auction, guests of honor and more.

Visit http://www.connecticon.org for all the details, including ticket and parking information.

4. Keeping with the pop-culture theme, every week hundreds of new comics are delivered to stores across the country, filling their shelves to the brim. This is great news for comic book collectors. If you’re new to the hobby, here’s a quick list of area comic book stores to get you started:

• Buried Under Collectibles, 188 West Middle Turnpike, Manchester, CT, 860-643-7295
• Newbury Comics, 194 Buckland Hills Dr., Manchester, CT, 860-648-2411
• Omni Comics and Cards, 681 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, CT, 860-571-0138
• Heroes & Hitters, 1845 Silas Deane Highway, Rocky Hill, CT, 860-529-8824
• Matt’s Sportscards & Comics, 169 Elm St., Enfield, CT, 860-741-2522
• Most Excellent Comics, 920 Enfield St., Enfield, CT, 860-253-9277
• The largest comic book and collectibles store in Eastern Connecticut, Wonderland Comics, is located at  112 Main Street, Putnam, CT 06260, 860-963-1027 or 1-800-696-2510.

5. In other pop-culture news, beginning on Saturday, visit any local GameStop and try out NCAA Football 12 for the PS3. This first-to-play event will extend through the launch of the game on July 12. Also join the store beginning at 10 p.m. on Monday, July 11 to celebrate the release of NCAA Football 12. NCAA Football 12 will be available for purchase at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, July 12. Visit GameStop online for upcoming events as well as a store locator.

If you’re an Anime fan, visit the Anime News Network’s link to their Summer 2011 Preview Guide. A list of Anime conventions is also on the site.