(btw, if you would like to view the slideshow with the titles - I wasn't sure I liked them in there or not - click here and view them on my MySpace page) What an event! After hearing stories of long lines and facilities unable to handle the massive crowds drawn to these events, I still signed us up to attend. Having been to the Los Angeles Convention Center many times before for the California Gift Shows, a "to the trade only" show that comes to the area twice a year, I knew it could handle whatever massive crowd would be drawn by the saga that defined my generation 30 years ago this year.

As enormous as the convention center is, it still filled impressively, even on Thursday, the "Star Wars Fan Club Member's Only" Day.

Our generation has seen the advent of the "mega convention", with San Diego Comic Con being the first of the massive beasts to be spawned. Now having swelled to the unheard of number of 107,000 in 2006, it leads the pack on the West Coast of the United States as being the biggest - and possibly the only convention - to prompt the San Diego Fire Marshall to force the doors to close on Saturday. My husband and I have attended for 10 years now, having watched its attendance increase exponentially over that decade, and yes, it was even smaller than that many a moon before.

The Star Wars and anime conventions are also threatening to compete for this honor...Anime Expo in Anaheim, California, hosting 1,750 in 1992, it has swelled to 24,000 in 2004, 33,000 in 2005 http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/scoop_article.asp?ai=12618&si=121 and over 40,000 in 2006! ( http://www.answers.com/topic/anime-expo), "...which makes AX the largest anime and manga convention in the North America and one of the largest in the world."

Quite scary, yes it is.

Our generation came out of the "geek closet" with a vengeance, training our children to not hide their love of science fiction, fantasy and anime. We have become a force to be reckoned with as far as cities vying for the sheer amount of healthy income we generate for hotels, restaurants and any other service organization local to our invasions. They welcome us with open arms, but then have to run for cover if they aren't prepared for our numbers, easily as large as the largest Imperial Legions of Emperor Palpatine.

Next - Iron Chef Vader, the Wonderful Seth Green, his Robot Chicken and where did all these mailboxes come from?!?

)O( Luna