This Week in Geek: Hurricanes and Roses

A showcase of this week's finest geek and geek related activities for the week. Mark your calendars.

On a whim, I searched Flickr for “hacking.” This was too fun not to share. (image by Paul Sobczak)

Today

• Hacktivism - Future Tense Event with Cory Doctorow - Livestreaming - 12:30PM
• Is hacktivism ethical? Or, perhaps more importantly, is it effective? Future Tense has some thought provoking discussion lined up (my favorite question in the queue is "What is the future of privacy, civic protest, and community building). I think the webcast link is here, http://www.slatev.com/ For some reason my google-fu is failing me.

Tuesday

• Future Tense - Invisible Armies - Washington, DC - 1:30PM
• Guerrilla tactics, asymmetrical warfare, invisible armies: whatever name the current generation of journalists assign it, the desire for surprise and the evolution of new strategies have been crucial since the beginning of war. Join Max Boot as he discusses his latest book on the subject with the New American Foundation's National Security Studies Program this week.
• HELL YEAH - MARDI GRAS - Global - All day
• If even the Catholics are drinking and whooping it up, you know it’s time to party. Do it to spite the Calvinists. That reminds me, Mardi Gras is probably a great day to donate to fighting breast cancer (American Cancer Society). Then, check out the parade in Clarendon.
• More Mardi Gras - Mardi Gras at Piratz Tavern - Silver Spring, MD - All day
• It’s been pointed out that I’ve neglected one of the most beloved geek hang outs in the DMV area: Piratz Tavern! They have my sincerest apologies. This place is definitely a great place to indulge in the glorious excess that is Mardi Gras: beads, giveaways, $2 shooters (wow, that’s both sexy and dangerous), and $6 hurricanes. Laissez les bon temps rouler.

Aubrey Plaza as Julie Powers so perfectly captures my feelings about Thursday. (image by Universal/Bryan Lee O’Malley?)

Thursday

• Deadlines - Valentine’s Day - Global - All day
• Joking aside, I’m not here to bitch about the holiday. It’ll make some people joyous and others miserable, and the rest of us will be enjoying our Thursday. I’m including it for the same reason I mentioned Father’s Day and Mother’s Day: TICK TOCK, BITCHES. ThinkGeek has you covered if you’re running low on ideas. Don’t forget that Feb 15 (like Nov 1) is discount candy day.
• Burlesque - Burlesque-a-pades in Loveland - Alexandria, VA - 7:30PM
• Wait, burlesque that isn’t at the Black Cat? That’s right. It may be shamelessly cashing in on Valentine’s Day, but the Birchmere is hosting its own burlesque night this week. While you won’t see the local acts we’ve come to know and love here at DCG, they’ve got a high talent pack of touring performers here to kick start your Valentine’s evening.

Sunday

• Gaming - Taste of School Daze at Labyrinth - Washington, DC - 1:00PM
• It’s an independant game creator running sessions for folks who want to learn. It’s a tabletop RPG, which is always a plus. It’s happening at a local game shop. It’s a fully published game that was funded via Kickstarter last year, and is now freely available from the author under CC license. And instead of going down the dark road my mind was focused on, it’s aim is to capture the fun and drama of a collision of The Breakfast Club, Buffy, Ferris Bueller, and the rest of those larger-than-life, 14-to-18-year-old stories. Go forth!

Longer Term

• Convention - Katsucon - National Harbor, MD - Friday through Sunday
• To call Katsucon an anime con would be missing the bigger picture. Yes, anime is the core fandom of the con, but over the years it’s become far, far more than that. Personally, I go for the cosplay, people-watching, and live music (and the games, the manga library, the industry panels, and the masquerade and... I... I may have a problem). But Katsucon should soothe all your needs.
• Convention - Wicked Faire - Somerset, NJ - Friday through Sunday
• I would say that Wicked Faire is like February Christmas, Halloween, Renfaire, and Happiness Itself all bundled into one big present, but I’m not sure that conveys enough excitement. This is a clear cut instance of “Do as I say, not as I do” because I can’t make it this year, so you must go in my stead and have enough fun for both of us. Do it for me. Do it for the children. Yes, the children who should go feed their secrets to the goblins.
• Convention - Farpoint - Timonium, MD - Friday through Sunday
• It’s a good week for cons in our region. Farpoint is a get-together of longtime geeks from the region, and this con is more American-media-oriented than just about any other con I know. Have you been squeeing over someone on TV, YouTube, or Netflix? If they’re even a bit geeky, there’s a good chance they’ve been through Farpoint’s doors. This year it's folks like Felicia Day and John Billingsley, so head north and don’t forget your autograph book.

Did we miss something? If you have an event you’d like to promote that isn’t on this list, leave a comment or email us. Other weekly recurring events are listed on our website (such as Rocky, CCG tournaments, crazy themed happy hours). For more information, check out the calendars at DC Geeks.