Oct 16

Doxacon Seattle weekly digest (October 15-21)

Tickets button
Doxacon Seattle 2024 tickets are here!

Welcome to the weekly digest here at Doxacon Seattle! Below is this week’s collection of geeky daily tidbits and news from Doxacon Seattle.

But before you jump into those, we want to let you know that tickets for Doxacon Seattle 2024 are available for purchase! There is a $10 discount for early bird purchasing. If you’re planning on coming (and we hope you are!), now is the time to grab your ticket.

P.S. Vendors and volunteers have special discount pricing. If you’re a vendor or volunteer and need help sorting out the details, please drop us a line and we’ll happily help you out!

October 15 – Over four hundred years ago today (1582), the Gregorian calendar was introduced in Spain, Portugal, and pontifical states. Named after Pope Gregory XIII, it was created with the goal of keeping the celebration of Easter close to the spring equinox – something that the Julian calendar struggled with due to a miscalculation of the length of a solar year. Though the celebration of Easter continues to be a point of divergence between Christians of the East & West, the Gregorian calendar as a whole has been generally adopted around the world. Read more at History.com.

Check out this commemorative video, made on the 70th anniversary of The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

October 16 – Nearly 75 years ago today (1950) The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe was published! The first of the seven-book series set in the world of Narnia, C.S. Lewis’ story both sparks the imagination and conveys what is ultimately a Christian story. Still popular today, the stories of the Pevensie siblings (and their many friends!) delight readers around the world.

October 18 – On this day in 1922, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was formed by a group of wireless manufacturers. About a month later, it began broadcasting its first daily radio service. It was on the BBC that the first British monarch was broadcast (King George V), had the first regularly scheduled TV service, and through its coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, provided most people’s first time watching an event on television. And of course, for our purposes, the BBC has rich history of geeky programming that we have come to know and love! Read more about its history at the BBC website.

October 20 – This week features not one, but two publication anniversaries of great books. Today’s is the Return of the King published in 1955 and bringing the Lord of the Rings trilogy to its conclusion. Tolkien originally intended for the third book of his trilogy to be titled The War of the Ring, but conceded to his second choice of title. Read more about this anniversary at The Tolkien Society website.

October 21 – Today is the birthday of Ursula K. Le Guin (1929). An American novelist (so she preferred to be known!), she is perhaps best known by fans as the author of A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness. More generally speaking, she helped put speculative fiction on the map, helping it achieve more mainstream recognition and acceptance. Read more about her at her official website.

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The Intersection of Faith and Fandom

Oct 09

Doxacon Seattle weekly digest (October 8-14)

Welcome to the weekly digest here at Doxacon Seattle! Below is this week’s collection of geeky daily tidbits and news from Doxacon Seattle.

By the way, we uploaded another video from last years Doxacon Seattle – Tim Brown’s presentation Exploring Home: Here and There, Now and Then. Check it out at our YouTube channel!

October 8 – 78 years ago today (1945), the microwave oven was patented by Raytheon. Originally magnetron tubes were used to emit radar signals to detect enemy aircraft and ships during World War II. In the course of working with this technology, the capacity for quickly heating food was accidently discovered – and so the microwave oven was born! Read more at the IEEE Spectrum.

October 12 – Instituted in 1992 in Berkeley, California, to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Columbus in the Americas, Indigenous People’s Day was formally commemorated as a holiday by President Biden in 2021. Read about Indigenous People’s Day at History.com.

October 13 – In 1884, the International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. established Greenwich as the universal time meridian of longitude. The purpose was to unify local times – based on a global standard – for the purposes of worldwide communication & travel. Prior to this, complicated tables had to be maintained, often with varying time zones – in the United States, there was even one such table with over 100 local times! Thankfully, this was universally recognized as unsustainable, and so the prime meridian was developed. Read more at the Royals Museums Greenwich website.

October 14 – 97 years ago today (1926), A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh was first published. Based on a stuffed toy that Milne had purchased for his son (also named Christopher Robin!). The stories of Poor Bear (or just Pooh) went on to become beloved tales for children around the world. Pooh’s naivete was offset by his kindly and loyal nature, endearing him to those around him – and many generations of children. Read more (with suggested articles) at the Gottesman Libraries Teachers College.

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The Intersection of Faith and Fandom

Oct 04

Cancellation: October 7, 2023 Doxaday

Image courtesy Delegate Connect Images at Flickr (CC-by-2.0)

Unfortunately, we are cancelling our planned Doxaday gathering outside of GeekGirlCon this Saturday, October 7 (2023). Though we’re sorry to miss out an opportunity to get together this weekend, we’re hard at work preparing for Doxacon Seattle 2024 – we look forward to seeing you Saturday, February 10, 2024 at the Brightwater Center in Woodinville, WA.

(and by the way, if you’re interested in being a presenter or would like to be a vendor, check out the links and drop us a line!)

Oct 02

Doxacon Seattle weekly digest (October 1-7)

Welcome to the weekly digest here at Doxacon Seattle! Below is this week’s collection of geeky daily tidbits and news from Doxacon Seattle.

Remember that we’re going to be having our final Doxaday of 2024 – a meetup at GeekGirlCon 2023 (Saturday, October 7). Our plan is to get together at a restaurant outside of the convention center. To sign up, drop us an email at info@doxaconseattle.com – we hope to see you there!

October 1 – Today is the anniversary (1908) of the introduction of Henry Ford’s Model T. The goal was an affordable car that people could actually purchase. Combined with Ford’s moving assembly line, the Model T was both financially accessible and widely available. Read about it at History.com.

October 4 – In 1967, Sputnik 1 the first artificial Earth satellite, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union. Though only the size of a beach ball – and only surviving three months before burning up on re-entry, it started the beginning of the space age and the space race between the United States and the USSR. Read more about it at NASA’s dedicated web page.

October 5 – Today marks the birthday (1962) or two major cultural influences – the release of the first Bond film (Dr. No) and the first Beattles’ first single Love Me Do. Though certainly not the only things igniting hearts & minds, these both marked the beginning of long-lasting fandoms around the world. Read more at the BBC website.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

October 7 – 64 years ago today (1959), the first photographs of the dark side of the moon – normally not visible from earth – were taken by the Soviet space probe Luna 3. Taking 29 photos in a little under an hour, the space probe was able to capture nearly 3/4 of the far side of the moon. When it began transmitting later that month (October 18), seventeen of the images were successfully transmitted back to Earth. Though the satellite was lost just a few days later, the images were enough to create a map of the previously unknown side of the moon. Learn more (and with since-updated imagery!) from NASA.

Hailing Frequencies:
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The Intersection of Faith and Fandom

Sep 25

Doxacon Seattle weekly digest (September 24 – September 30)

Welcome to the weekly digest here at Doxacon Seattle! Below is this week’s collection of geeky daily tidbits and news from Doxacon Seattle.

In case you missed it, we want to be sure you see last week’s call for presenters for Doxacon Seattle 2024. Our theme for 2024 is “At the End of All Things: Utopias, Dystopias, and the Persistence of Hope” – if this is something you (or someone you know!) would like to present on, be sure to visit the post for details, submission guidelines, and contact information.

And as long as we’re highlighting Doxacon Seattle 2024, we’re looking to invite vendors too! If you or someone you know has geeky creations to sell, we’d love to talk details. Check out our call for vendors to learn more.

Also, also! We’re going to be having our final Doxaday of 2024 – a meetup at GeekGirlCon 2023 (Saturday, October 7). Our plan is to get together at a restaurant outside of the convention center. To sign up, drop us an email at info@doxaconseattle.com.

September 25 – In 1789, The United States Congress introduced the Bill of Rights, constitutional amendments drafted to protect the individual rights of the citizens. Though other amendments would be introduced at ratified in the course of history, the introduction of the Bill of Rights – debated for three months beforehand – helped lay the foundation for protections American citizens enjoy to this day. Read more at the Constitution Center blog.

September 27 – “Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared” – on this day in 1905, Einstein published his work introducing his famous question E=mc2 to the world. Though scientists across many fields are still exploring the implications, his work has helped us better understand physics and the processes of the universe. PBS has a helpful commentary on the impact of his work, along with an audio recording of Einstein himself explaining the equation.

A loving homage, albeit irreverently offered

September 28 – Star Trek: The Next Generation celebrates its 37th anniversary this year. First airing on this day in 1987, it built upon the legacy of Star Trek: The Original Series while forging its own path. When it first aired, no one knew that its popularity would enable it to run twice as long as its predecessor – seeing not one, but two sequel series and several movies! The various members of the crew of the Enterprise-D ended up not only starring in TNG, but went on to make appearances – or even hold starring roles – in the many series that followed, before eventually re-united more recently in Star Trek: Picard. As we celebrate the anniversary, be sure to check out the Honest Trailers video, created for the 30th anniversary (2017).

September 29 – In 1996, the Nintendo 64 debuted in the United States, the successor to the popular – but aging Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Powered by a 64-bit NEC VR4300 CPU, it was a far cry from the processors of today – but it marked a revolution for its time. Games such as Super Mario 64, Goldeneye 007, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time helped cement the system as one of the landmark gaming platforms for a generation. Check out’s CBR’s retrospective on the console.

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The Intersection of Faith and Fandom

Sep 20

Doxacon Seattle 2024 – Call for Presenters!

A panel at a past Doxacon Seattle

We are now accepting proposals for presentations at Doxacon Seattle 2024!

A presentation could be any of several things: a talk given by one speaker, a panel discussion, a workshop or hands-on activity, a one-shot gaming session, and more! Our theme for 2024 is “At the End of All Things: Utopias, Dystopias, and the Persistence of Hope,” and we are looking to build a unique, delightful, engaging event around our theme.

Does every talk or activity have to be focused on the theme? Absolutely not (although we may give priority to proposals that are particularly on-theme). What we DO ask is that every talk or activity be suited to our identity as a convention: a group of geeks exploring the intersection between fandoms and various expressions of the Christian faith.

If you’re interested in submitting a proposal, please click here for more information and guidelines, or email submissions@doxaconseattle.com with any questions.

Sep 18

Doxacon Seattle weekly digest (September 17 – September 23)

Welcome to the weekly digest here at Doxacon Seattle! Below is this week’s collection of geeky daily tidbits and news from Doxacon Seattle.

A couple of bits of news before this week’s geekery. First off all, we’re starting to upload videos of the various presentations at Doxacon Seattle 2023. You can check out the first video – The Camino and The Lord of the Rings, a presentation by Jayne Fury and Thom Ryng. More to come as we finish processing & preparing the videos!

Fans probably already know about it, but this coming weekend is the 2024 Rose City Comic Con in Portland, Oregon! It looks like a good time – if you’re still on the fence, check out their website for details.

Though its a repeat from last week, we also want to highlight our call for vendors for Doxacon Seattle 2024 – if you have geeky creations to sell, we’d love to see how we might work together. Visit the link above and drop us a line for more information.

September 17 – 45 years ago (1978), the first episode of the original television series Battlestar Galactica premiered on ABC. Though it only ran for a year, it remained popular on its own and spurred a much-beloved reboot/sequel series that ended up running for 2009, expanding on the foundation laid by the original. If you’re interested in re-visiting the series that started it all, check out Den of Geek’s episode-by-episode review of the series.

September 19 – 240 years ago today (1783), the first ‘aerostatic’ flight took place in Versailles. The experiment was a humble one – to use a piece of fabric and fire to to life a basket into the air. This first flight of what would eventually be called a hot air balloon did not carry human passengers – that honor was given to a sheep, a duck, and a cockerel. Happily, they safely ascended and returned (though perhaps less-than-thrilled for having been sent aloft). Read about it at the Châtaeu de Versailles website.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

September 21 – “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” With these words, the story of Bilbo Baggins began and we were introduced to Middle-Earth. Today we celebrate the anniversary of the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937), a book that once published has never been out of print! Read more – with further articles that you might find interesting! – at Columbia University’s Gottesman Libraries Teacher’s College.

September 22 – Speaking of hobbits, today is ‘Hobbit Day’ – the birthday of Bilbo & Frodo Baggins! It seems reasonable to conclude that the best way to celebrate these two heroic hobbits would be to follow their example, taking their lead from the long awaited party. Though you may not be able to put on quite the festival depicted in their story, may you find yourself a smaller feast, a fine drink, and good company to mark the occasion!

Hailing Frequencies:
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The Intersection of Faith and Fandom

Sep 11

Doxacon Seattle weekly digest (September 10 – September 16)

Welcome to the weekly digest here at Doxacon Seattle! Below is this week’s collection of geeky daily tidbits and news from Doxacon Seattle.

Though it may seem far away, we’re busy making plans for the Doxacon Seattle 2024 (Saturday, February 10, 2024 at the Brightwater Center). We want to highlight last week’s call for vendors for Doxacon Seattle 2024 – if you have geeky creations to sell, we’d love to see how we might work together. Visit the link above and drop us a line for more information.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

September 10 – On this day in 2008, The Large Hadron Collider – the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator – first started up. Run by the European Organization for Nuclear Research,1 it is used to investigate science at the subatomic level and the laws of nature. Read more at CERN’s dedicated page.

September 11 – Twenty two years ago today, the world was shaken by an unprecedented terrorist attack – three hijacked planes were crashed into the two towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, with a fourth target foiled by retaliating passengers.

Though the day’s events brought great sorrow & suffering, people came together across cultural & religious divides to support each other and rebuild. One such story is found at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church & National Shrine. Completely destroyed during the attacks, it was rebuilt from the ground up. The new interior features traditional iconography that reflects not only the religious foundation of the community, but also speaks to its embrace of the people it hopes to serve and inspire. The church fully reopened on December 6, 2022 – the feast of Saint Nicholas. Read more at the Smithsonian Magazine.

September 13 – The successor to the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., was released on this day in 1985 for Nintendos Family Computer or Famicom2. Though it wasn’t widely released in North America until 1987, it was wildly popular among all those who encountered it. Though Nintendo had made games before Super Mario Bros., it was arguably the springboard to Nintendo’s enduring success and a legacy that continues to bear fruit in the homes of children and adults to this very day. Read more about it at Kotaku.

September 14 – It is a rare feast day that is shared by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians, but today’s feast of the Holy Cross is one of them! Though it has different names (The Exaltation of the Holy Cross by Catholics, Holy Cross Day in the Church of England, The Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross by Orthodox Churches), the veneration of the cross of Jesus Christ unites Christians around the world. Read more at the Anglican Compass.

  1. Called CERN from the French Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire ↩︎
  2. The Famicom was the original Japanese variant of what would become the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES ↩︎
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The Intersection of Faith and Fandom

Sep 08

Doxacon Seattle 2024 – Call for vendors!

Do you make artwork, write books, or create a craft that would appeal to our little family of nerds? Doxacon Seattle is searching for vendors to sell their wares at our 2024 event on Saturday, February 10, 2024 at the Brightwater Center in Woodinville, WA!

As an event and organization, we focus on the intersection between various expressions of the Christian faith and all flavors of fandom— books, film, games, and more. Vendors’ wares do not have to be specifically faith-focused to be a good fit, but they should be faith-and-family-friendly, and the geekier the better!

Doxacon Seattle is still a small, growing convention; our vendor spaces are limited and may go quickly. At this point, we do not charge a specific vendor fee but rather ask vendors to purchase a discounted ticket to the event once they are approved. Vendor tickets cost a discounted price of $35. If you are interested in vending or have any other questions, please reach out to Erika at eheins@doxaconseattle.com

Hailing Frequencies:
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info@doxaconseattle.com



The Intersection of Faith and Fandom

Sep 04

Doxacon Seattle weekly digest (September 3 – September 9)

Welcome to the weekly digest here at Doxacon Seattle! Below is this week’s collection of geeky daily tidbits and news from Doxacon Seattle.

Happy Labor Day to you all! We hope that you are enjoying a relaxing day with family & friends. Looking down the calendar, we’re looking forward to BrickCon 2023 – the Bellevue-based LEGO fan exhibition. Check it out at their official website – it looks like a blast!

September 3 – 79 years ago (1944) Anne Frank was sent to Auschwitz. Her diary, published after her death under the title The Diary of a Young Girl. It is one of the world’s best-known books and is the subject of several plays and films. Read more at the website dedicated to her.

September 4 – “And now you know…. the rest of the story” Millions of Americans listened as Paul Harvey (whose birthday we celebrate today) closed his sharing of news, stories, and advertisements with these now famous words. Though he died at 90 in 2009, he helped inform the minds & hearts of several generations of listeners. Read about him at the website kept up in his name.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

September 6 – In Memphis, Tennessee, the first supermarket was founded on this day in 1916. Rather than having clerks gather items from lists presented by customers, Clarence Saunders decided to give shoppers a way to serve themselves. Thus was born the ‘Piggly Wiggly’, which still exists today! Read more about it at their company website.

September 8 – Today the first episode of Star Trek (now called Star Trek: The Original Series) aired on NBC in the fall of 1966. ‘The Man Trap’ kicked off a story universe that has spawned several television series, books, comics, and cartoons. Read about it at the Star Trek website.

September 9 – In 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization exchanged letters of mutual recognition. The PLO offered its recognition of the State of Israel and its commitment to peace while Israel recognized the PLO as representative of the Palestinian peope and begin negotiations as part of the Middle East peace process. Read the mutual recognition letters online.

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The Intersection of Faith and Fandom