The first official day at DragonCon this year was fairly light for us, as far as Con events goes. I’m really glad that we decided to come up on Thursday this year instead of Friday, because we were able to start the Con out fresh and rested and without the hassle of waiting in line for registration, since that was all taken care of yesterday. It was a bit annoying, yesterday, though, to find that pre-registering no longer affords you a quick registration. It was the folks who were not pre-registered that got the short lines. Still, with attendance doubling since we’ve started coming, a few growing pains are to be expected.

As far as yesterday went, we got up here safely, despite almost being run over by a Marta bus, and got our badges after waiting in line for 3.5 hours at the Sheraton (with the Sheraton employees behaving in the same manner we have come to expect – rudely – but with the DragonCon staff themselves being phenomenal).  Since last year we had such a wonderful experience at Nikolai’s Roof, we decided to go eat there again this year, but it turned out to be the sort of disappointment that only a meal you look forward to for a whole year can be, when it turns out to not be as good. The service was poor, particularly in comparison with the animated and fun server we had last year, and while the lighter courses were still extremely good, the main course was over-cooked for both of us.

Today, we started the day off by eating breakfast at the table next to Larry Hagman (!), then we headed off to the Wikileaks panel, which didn’t turn out to be the objective discussion we were expecting. The host of the panel didn’t seem to have researched the matter beyond the bounds of what was necessary for his presentation. The Q&A after the presentation allowed for a more open discussion, however, where a lot of good points were put forth, including discussion of Wikileaks’ own editing of documents to support their cause and the fact that Wikileaks’ publishing their findings on the Great Firewall of China has allowed people in China to better be able to get around the firewall and access information outside, as well as provide uncensored information and news to those outside the borders.

Salvador Dali - image from Wikipedia

Since the High Museum was offering a discount to DragonCon attendees, we decided to go see the Salvador Dali exhibit there, which was absolutely wonderful. It was focused on Dali’s later work, which I knew very little about, being most familiar with his early surrealist art. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the paintings was the sense of dimension he was able to put into them, the way some of the images seemed to jump out of the canvas toward you and how some of the paintings were entirely different pictures depending on how far away you were standing from them.  B was particularly struck by the sheer size of some of the paintings. The exhibit really established Dali as one of the first true pop artists, who embraced his commercial popularity and didn’t understand the critics who would discount his work simply because it was popular to mass audiences.

We ate dinner tonight at Ray’s in the City, which turned out to be a much better experience than last night.  Now, we’re going to relax and watch some DragonCon*TV and get ready for tomorrow, which promises to be our busiest day at the Con. We’ll be attending the parade, so you can expect many, many more pictures (Saturday is always the biggest Picture Taking Day), and we’re heading to the James Randi panel, which is the main panel we’re both excited for.

Yes, yes, I know I’ve been a bad blogger lately.

Truth is, I’ve just been crazy busy. My days have been pretty much going like this:

• Get up, get dressed, feed cats.
• Go to work. Do work.
• Come home, feed cats, Exercise!
• KNIT! SEW! KNIT! SEW! COSTUMES MUST BE DONE!
• Collapse into bed.
• Repeat.

Somewhere in the middle of this, I also received my first commission. That is, someone asked me to write a story. In return for this story, I will get money.

This terrifies me. This is the exact opposite of how my story writing usually goes. Usually, I write the story first, and then look for a place to sell it,  receiving the requisite handful of rejection letters (or emails) before I find a place for it, if I ever find a place for it.

This is the first time someone’s offered to pay me before the story is even written. What if the story I write isn’t what they were really looking for? What if they don’t think it’s really good enough to merit their payment? Eeeep! There’s that panic!

So the last few weeks pretty much every ounce of spare time that I’m not spending working on my costumes for DragonCon (OMG ALMOST HERE), I’ve spent working hard on that story.

So in the middle of all that writing and sewing and knitting and writing and sewing and knitting….there hasn’t been a lot of room for blogging. Worry not, though, folks! I think I’ll queue up some excerpts from “The Boy Ran” for the next couple of weeks, and I’ll be liveblogging DragonCon again this year!

Related articles by Zemanta

• DIY fashion hits land of haute couture (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• We Drink and Write for Some of the Same Reasons (psychologytoday.com)

As most of you know, I’m an avid attendee at DragonCon every year. For those of you who don’t know what DragonCon is, it’s the largest general Pop Culture Fandom Convention in the Southeast, held on Labor Day weekend every year in Atlanta, Georgia. Most people would call it a sci-fi convention, but to do so would be to narrow it far too much. If there is anything in this world to geek out about, no matter what it is, DragonCon has it. There’s something for every sort of fan there.

The one unifying theme of DragonCon is that it is where geeks go to be geeks, no matter what sort of geek they are.

So here goes, the Annual (s)IB Survival Guide:

1. BRING COMFORTABLE SHOES!!!
   

   I cannot stress this enough. Unless you’re an athlete or work out regularly, you’ll probably be walking more in this one weekend than you walk all year. Total. And no, that’s not hyperbole for many of us. As cute as the thigh-high boots with the stiletto heels might be, you’ll hate yourself after a weekend in them.

2. MAKE A SCHEDULE WELL AHEAD OF TIME – Download the schedule grids as soon as they are available online and decide what you want to do, when.  Work out a tentative schedule for your Priority must-see items, plus some contingency options in case you don’t get into your first option. Leave time in your schedule to wait in line 3-5 hours for the big name panels. Make sure to allow time in your schedule to do those important things like bathroom breaks and eating. Remember: You cannot do everything. This is absolutely impossible, barring the invention of the time machine and/or the interference of our favorite Gallifreyan.. There will be things that you will miss.
   • The DragonCon schedules are still subject to change even during the convention. Be sure to pick up a copy of the Daily Dragon every morning (or afternoon, depending on when you wake up) to check on any changes that might have been made for the schedule that day. They are available at the info desks.
3. YOU WILL WAIT IN LINE:  Yes, I know that I said that in the schedule section, but you will be waiting in line a lot.  Leave your grumpy back in the hotel room and try to make the most of it and it can be fun.  You’re likely to meet some neat people in line, and you can costume-watch.
   • If you’re with a large group, it is acceptable to wait in shifts, particularly for families with small children.
4. DON’T LOSE YOUR BADGE – Your badge is required for admittance into any convention event, and you will have to pay for a new one if it gets lost.
5. PACK A SURVIVAL KIT – Bear Grylls might go into the wilderness with nothing but a shirt on his back, but you don’t want to go to DragonCon unprepared. Here are a few things that might be good to have on hand:
   • A basic Foot Care kit, including moleskin and bandages for blisters, gel shoe inserts, etc.
   • A basic First Aid kit, including, again, bandages, antibiotic ointment, pain reliever, antacid, allergy medicine/decongestant, any prescription medications, etc. Add condoms in there, if you think you’re likely to hook up. Be safe!
   • Bottle of hand sanitizer (to avoid the Con Crud)
   • Sunscreen. You can expect Atlanta in August to average over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Getting burned, if you’re prone to it, isn’t fun. Due to the same circumstances, extra deodorant is a wonderful thing.
   • An easy to carry and refill water bottle (and single-use flavoring pouches like Crystal Light makes, if you don’t want plain water) to save you money and help save the environment, by avoiding tossing plastic water bottles.
   • Bring your own snacks. They’ll be much cheaper than anything you can get at the stands in the hotels.  Double that for alcohol. The liquor stores and hotel bars love DragonCon goers, but you’ll spend anywhere from 3 to 5 times what you’d spend at home for the same drink.
   • A notepad and pen, for making notes for your blog (heh) and, of course, to write down contact info if you meet anyone neat.
   • Camera and lots of extra batteries if it’s not rechargeable. Bring twice what you think you’ll need.
   • For more suggested items to bring, see the Packing List on the DragonCon Wiki.
6. Set up a location and landmark to meet at if you get separated from your group.
7. DragonCon offers a Con Suite, where there is always something cold to drink and usually snacks, all of which are free. This year, the Con Suite is in the Hyatt, rooms 223 and 226.
8. SET A BUDGET AND STICK TO IT: I withdraw a specific amount of “mad money” each year to take to DragonCon. I am allowed to spend that money, and only that money, no more.  Keep your money and a picture ID safe in a money-belt, which are handy for tucking into pocketless costumes. Stick a list of emergency contacts in there too.
9. BE POLITE: I have heard so many horror stories told by actors after ComicCon.  On the other hand, I’ve heard tons of good things from the actors and guests about DragonCon. Let’s keep it that way. When in doubt, follow the advice of the Great Geek God, Wil Wheaton, and “Don’t Be a Dick.”
10. COSTUMERS:
    • Be sure to start your costume well ahead of the convention! You don’t want to be staying up late the night before you leave to finish your outfit.  I usually start my costumes about 2-3 months ahead of time, depending on how time consuming and/or expensive they might be. My Tom Baker Scarf, however, I’ve been working on since Christmas.
    • Bring a needle and thread and some safety pins, just in case, and some Febreeze to freshen it up if necessary, also some color-safe stain remover, if your costume can handle it.
    • Take into account your body type when planning your costume! Yes, there are a lot of totally toned young hotties going around in nothing but a few bits of string, but honestly, no one wants to be a couple steps down on the escalator with their nose inches from a stranger’s uncovered ass, no matter how toned it is.  As insulting as it may sound, I know no one wants to see my cellulite, and I’m fairly sure no one wants to see yours either.
    • I have heard, though I would not vouch for its veracity, that it is legal for women to go about topless after 10 PM in downtown Atlanta, provided their nipples are covered with pasties or the like. However, I do not recommend it, as I have seen some police officers get a bit testy about it. If you’re going to go uncovered or painted and are particularly well-endowed, carry a shawl or covering of some sort to wear until you get to your party.
11. LODGINGS & MISC.: Unfortunately, if you still don’t have a hotel room, with 29 days to go, you’re probably just SOL.  I am aware that a large number of people had their reservations canceled after the hotels were sold to become dorms, so there is an even larger number of roomless searching this year than usual.  The best place to find people willing to share a room and/or anything else you might have a need to ask is at the DragonCon Livejournal Community.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The year is what happens in between Dragon*Cons (hjhop.blogspot.com)
• Dragon*Con: The ultimate pop culture convention (chicagonow.com)
• Lady Gaga Official Costumes When You Want to Look Like A Galactic Drag Queen (geekpinoy.com)
• DIY Doctor Who Weeping Angel costume looks terrifyingly good (slashgear.com)

(Click Here for the Photo Gallery of the Con!)

Overall, the Con was just as awesome as it always is, though we saw fewer panels (we really only attended two) and attended fewer events.  There were fewer elaborate costumes this year, likely as a result of the economy, but those that were were some of the most amazing I’ve seen to date.  (Did everyone get  a chance to see that amazing Big Daddy Costume that won the Masquerade?)

BioShock Big Daddy and Little Sisters costume at DragonCon

The only really big disappointment of the Con was the photo-op with Bill Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, which had been the thing we were most looking forward to.  We found out afterwards that the stars themselves were upset about the way the photo op had been run – it was fairly clear that the photographer, Froggy-Photos, had over-booked to make more money and it was rather more like being herded vaguely and forcefully past the actors rather than actually getting to meet them, much less thank them for all that they have done and been to us.  Considering how much we paid for that photo, we most certainly didn’t get our money’s worth, and then to add to the annoyance and disappointment of it all, the photographer lost our photo, and those of several other people.  They re-printed them, but at that point we were disgusted enough that we’d almost have rather had a refund than our photo.  Not only did we have the expense of the photo, we had actually taken off work a day ahead of what we’d intended (losing pay for that day) and taken a hotel room for an extra night just so we could make it to that photo-op which, rather than being a wonderful experience, turned out to just be infuriating and disappointing.

Needless to say, we will not be wasting our money on any Froggy-Photo run photo-ops in the future, and I would suggest the same to others, no matter who the stars are. It’s not an opportunity to actually get to meet the stars, you’ll just get to walk behind them and don’t even have a chance to compose yourself before the flash and you’re herded off.

Dirk Benedict, Bryant, and Me at DragonCon

But before I get too ranty about that, the remainder of the Con, after that inauspicious start, was great.  Thanks to an additional Digital TV channel that got added this year, playing mostly tv shows from the 80′s, we’ve been watching a lot of the A-Team lately.  So we went to the A-Team panel that Friday with Dwight Schultz and Dirk Benedict, which was fun and really unexpectedly touching.  From there, we headed to the Walk of Fame, where we met Dirk Benedict and talked with him for a good long while about his books, one of which we bought and had autographed, and had our picture taken with him. As far as celebrities go, meeting him was the unexpected highlight of the convention.

The unexpected good things continued Friday night as we headed up to Nicholai’s Roof for what was undoubtedly the best meal I have ever put in my mouth.  Neither Bryant nor I had had foie gras before – we may be foodies, but we’re not exactly wealthy foodies – and neither of us like liver, so it was with some trepidation that we headed into the flavors that, for us, were experimental.  There was not one morsel I put in my mouth that was not absolutely heavenly.  If ever there was orgasm inducing food, that was it.

DragonCon Parade Banner

The parade was the next day, and as I said, the costumes were no where near as numerous or as elaborate as they have been in years past, which is understandable as everyone is tightening their belts this year.  Nonetheless, the parade is always fun to attend, and the people we ended up watching it around this year were pretty awesome folks.  We lined up well ahead of the event and had a chance to sit and talk with them for a long time.

We then headed to get in line for the Adam Savage panel.  To be honest, I didn’t expect the line to form as early as it did, but I’m glad I listened to B and we headed on over there.  We managed to be close to the front of the line.  The Sheraton employees proved to be just as rude and obnoxious as last year, but fortunately the DragonCon officials were having none of it.  (Seriously, you guys are my heroes!)  DragonCon continues to be one of those rare places where waiting in a queue for hours can actually be fun and interesting.

Adam was wonderful, as, of course, he would be.  I never did guess what his costume was at the Con (a chewbacca outfit that we must’ve walked past a dozen times and never recognized as him).  He proved to be yet another of those examples where it seems like the stars have just as much fun at the convention as the fans – something that seems to set DragonCon apart from other conventions of its kind.  He talked at length about how Mythbusters became so successful as an educational show rather by accident.  They had set out to entertain, and found out that the scientific method was simply the best way to do what they were setting out to do, and that it gave the show a natural narrative flow.

Saturday night, we went to the DragonCon at the Aquarium event, which was amazing and relaxing.  It was nice to get away from the congestion and the noise, and to sit and watch the whale sharks and mantas seeming to fly across in front of us was absolutely wonderful.

Most of the rest of the weekend was spent people-watching and relaxing and just generally being on vacation.  All in all, we had a wonderful time, and the things that we enjoyed turned out to be the unexpected things.

Related articles by Zemanta

• How to build a Big Daddy costume, in many complicated steps (joystiq.com)
• w00tstock, Three Hours of Geeks and Music With Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton & Paul and Storm (laughingsquid.com)

3:34:24 PM: Quiet, lazy day today. Watched the Stealth Science panel from our room on DCTV this morning.

3:41:12 PM: Bellydancer. http://mypict.me/ylet

3:48:44 PM: Elf! http://mypict.me/ylph

3:51:43 PM: Nice suit! http://mypict.me/ylrw

3:57:11 PM: Alice and the Mad Hatter. http://mypict.me/ylzT

6:30:28 PM: Jesus offering free hugs and dancing to Hotel California. http://mypict.me/ypty

6:33:53 PM: Jesus is replicating! There’s four of them!

6:34:14: Well, at least one of them is Buddy Christ.

9:30:48 AM: Staked out our spot for the parade.

9:33:33 AM: Adorable toddler Robin across road.

9:36:20 AM: Parade audience. Lots of kids. http://mypict.me/xsOj

9:51:05 AM: WoW troll spotted. #wow #dragoncon http://mypict.me/xtm7

9:52:38 AM: Starting to rain!

11:11:22 AM: Stay tuned for #dragoncon parade pictures! http://mypict.me/xw9g

11:13:59 AM: Predator! #dragoncon parade http://mypict.me/xwf7

11:16:30 AM: Cookie! http://mypict.me/xwl2

11:18:36 AM: Spaceballs #dconparade #dragoncon http://mypict.me/xwqw

11:23:21 AM: General Lee. #dconparade #dragoncon http://mypict.me/xwAd

2:08:48 PM: Got a signed Abney Park CD!

2:43:52 PM: Also, Ron Glass aka Shepherd Book sighted at our hotel.

3:13:24 PM: This Is Sparta! http://mypict.me/xEvw

3:15:29 PM: Chinese dragon http://mypict.me/xEyc

3:19:01 PM: Dress! @marillawen http://mypict.me/xECI

3:29:18 PM: In line for Adam Savage. @donttrythis

4:22:41 PM: Hooray for DragonCon staff insisting we be let back in the Sheraton. Sheraton staff were rude and mean. DC folks are heroes!

4:26:18 PM: #dragoncon Best pics are on the camera. Will upload them as soon as I get a chance to sit down.

4:56:22 PM: A bit ironic that the same people who were being so rude about us sitting in a hall out of the way are now blocking said hall to sell beer.

5:00:01 PM: Sheraton staff have been horrendously rude last year and this. Yell at people for sitting out of the way, then cause more chaos themselves?

5:01:53 PM: They need to learn that treating people with respect will be more effective and, you know, not piss people off.

5:04:00 PM: It will all be worth it to see @donttrythis.

5:47:39 PM: Adam Savage! @donttrythis http://mypict.me/xIKp

6:06:17 PM: Jamie walrus puppet! http://mypict.me/xJgk

7:23:49 PM: Back at hotel for quick break after awesome panel with @donttrythis. Got as much video as I could on our little camera.

7:24:19 PM: Heading to Aquarium shuttle pickup now.

10:38:06 PM: Phone cam can’t do this justice. http://mypict.me/xQ3T

7:19:02 AM: Leaving Macon for #dragoncon!

9:38:54 AM: Seen during registration: Snape playing with a beach ball. Good registration volleyball game. http://myloc.me/wNZh

9:44:13 AM: Collective wincing every time the ball goes near a chandelier. Most fun I’ve ever had in line.

11:16:10 AM: In line for Shatner/Nimoy photo op! #dragoncon

12:33:45 PM: Photo Op was pretty underwhelming, couldn’t even shake their hand or say hi, was herded away before it even hit us that we were with them.

1:08:58 PM: First costume pick of the con. #dragoncon http://mypict.me/wVlH

2:44:18 PM: Dirk quoting son: “Dad, your career is your hair!”

2:45:35 PM: Benedict and Schultz. http://mypict.me/wYeA

3:38:19 PM: The A-team panel was awesome! #dragoncon

3:54:07 PM: Costumes! http://mypict.me/wZRK

3:56:57 PM: The Incredibles! http://mypict.me/wZTF

4:51:02 PM: Final Fantasy http://mypict.me/x1aK

6:41:56 PM: Met Dirk Benedict, got an autograph and picture with him. He was extremely gracious and nice and talked with us a while.

10:27:20 PM: Highlights of the day: Dirk Benedict and dinner at Nicholai’s Roof. Fois Gras is good! Who’da guessed?

10:29:41 PM: #dragoncon As excited as we were for Shatner, the best things today were unexpected. More than made up for the photo-op disappointment.

It’s just over a week to DragonCon, and I will be liveblogging the Con via my twitter feed as well as blog posts here.  I’m still working on getting up the schedule of the events we’re going to attend as the DragonCon schedule still isn’t final, but as of right now, the schedule we’ll be using as a guideline looks something like this (of course, whether we actually make it to everything is very iffy. Things marked with ♣ are our “Definite, don’t Miss” events.):

DragonCon Schedule:

• Friday, September 4:
  • Arrival and Registration sometime Friday Morning
  • ♣ 2:30-3:30 PM:  Panel with Dwight Schultz and Dirk Benedict (Yay, A-Team!)
  • 4:00 PM: Tom Felton Panel
• Saturday, September 5:
  • ♣ 10:00 AM: DragonCon Parade – Expect lots of Pictures!
  • 11:30 AM: Browncoats Redemption Panel – About the fan-produced movie coming out soon.
  • 1:00 PM: The Signal LIVE! – The best Whedonverse Podcast, casting live from DragonCon.
  • ♣ 4:00 PM: Leonard Nimoy Panel on the Trek-track.
  • ♣ 8:30 PM: DragonCon Night at the Georgia Aquarium
• Sunday, September 6:
  • 11:30 AM:  Adam Savage – Stealth Science and Critical Thought aka How to Teach Science by Blowing Stuff Up
  • 1:00 PM: Patrick Stewart Panel on the Trek-Track
    • Eeeee!  Patrick Stewart Panel starts during the Adam Savage Panel! However will we Choose!?!?
  • 2:30 PM: Lou Ferrigno
  • 7:00 PM: Terminated: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
• Monday, September 7:
  • 10:00 AM: The Guild Q&A with Felicia Day
  • Home again, home again….

Related articles by Zemanta

• Rosemary’s Dragon*Con Appearances (visionaryliving.com)
• 2009 Parsec Awards Nominations Open (wired.com)
• Liam Neeson to star in The ATeam remake (telegraph.co.uk)

With only about four months to go, and limited time in general, it’s time  to start seriously thinking about con costumes.

We’ve had some vague, general ideas. B is actually beginning to get into the costuming aspect this year, and seems excited about a steampunk costume.  I already have the elements of one pretty much intact.  I got a wonderful tweed skirt with a bit of a mermaid-tail flair to the bottom of it for Christmas, and of course I have my beautiful corset from last year’s con. The fabric is a canvas map that is absolutely beautiful.

Example Bustle Belt from LoopTangle Blog

I don’t want to alter the skirt itself, since I want to be able to continue to wear it as a non-costume, too, but it does need a little something extra to give it that perfect flair.  A suggestion from my wonderful costumer friend @marillawen over on Twitter/WoW was to use a bustle-belt of some sort. She suggested some brown leather, perhaps some complimentary tweed, and I was thinking of adding some brown lace and chiffon to help further fluff up the bustle.

Now, I wanted to incorporate some sort of leather tool-belt into my steampunk costume (after all, what self-respecting victorian engineering lady would be caught somewhere without her spanner?), so my plan now is to somehow combine the two, sewing the bustle onto the back of a tool-belt.

I’ve been working on making some aviator goggles, too, but I think those will likely end up in the possession of B, because I’ve become somewhat entranced with ladies’ top-hats.  It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a suitable hat and spruce it up a bit.  I’d love it if I could find one of those miniature top-hats to pun on top of a nice big curly hairdo, but will likely make do with the full-sized sort.

Example of the sort of pants I'm thinking of making for B.

As far as B, he’s put forth the idea of being an aviator of some sort, a biologist, an engineer, etc. etc. etc.  He’s a pharmacist, so I rather thought the idea of a scientist would suit him well.  A belt with a suitable selection of sealed vials with little miniature plants in them would work nicely for a botanist of some sort, likewise with some “dubious” chemicals for a chemist.   A suitable pair of pants shouldn’t be too difficult to buy or make.   I already have a nice pattern for a tailcoat that will look phenomenal.

I likely have less actual sewing to do this year than I did for last . . . which may be a good thing, but gettng started much earlier will help to ensure that I’m not sitting there rushing to get things finished at the last minute again this year. I’ve also got a good, fairly clear picture of what it is I want to make. Now all I’ve got to do is aquire the materials and get to work.

Overall General Synopsis: DragonCon is FUN, FUN, FUN! Did you expect anything else? Come, you’ll see. DragonCon never fails to impress me at how well-run it is, considering that most of the staff are volunteers, and how well mannered, accepting, and polite everyone is. There are lines. There are always lines. There are crowds, and sometimes it’s hard to just get a bite to eat for all the people, but you can meet some really nice people in those lines and as long as everyone’s being nice to each other, it doesn’t seem to matter how long the queue is for an event.

Day One, Friday:
Jokers Spotted: At least 10
Jokers in Nurse’s Costume: 3-4, mostly girls
Creepily real, male, in-character Joker in Nurse’s costume with detonator: 1
Batmen: 1
….Things aren’t looking good for the Bat. He’s outnumbered.

4:00 PM: We went to the Battlestar Gallactica panel. Almost the whole crew was there, and though I’ve never seen the show, I had a lot of fun. Edward James Olmos, in particular, was hilarious. It was really nice to see the comraderie of the cast toward each other.

7:00 PM: Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog Of course, I cheered like the Joss Whedon fangirl I am, and sang along with more than 500 other folks to every song in the show. The shadow-cast did really well. The picture cut out a couple of times, but they got it fixed quickly enough, and the shadow-cast kept the show going perfectly.

10:00: The Brobdingnagian Bards Concert: There was a little confusion as they weren’t actually listed on the schedule, but we made it only a few minutes late. I love these guys. I have pretty much all of their cds and am an avid listener to their podcast. They never fail to make me laugh, and they wear kilts. There is no bad in this.

11:30: Abney Park Concert: The first not-so-great thing at DragonCon…the sound system simply wasn’t equipped to handle them, and there was so much reverb that it was difficult to make out the music. I’ve loved everything that I’ve heard of theirs, it’s a pity that, at least where I was seated in the audience, I couldn’t hear what they were playing and pretty much just got…indistinguishable white noise.

Day Two, Saturday:

10:00: The Parade, started with bagpipes and men in kilts. This, I think, is a good start for anything. Batman appears to have gotten reinforcements, there’s three of them now, as well as Robin, and Adam West in the Batmobile. He’s flanked by superheroes of both the DC and Marvel universes. The Jokers better watch out! Unfortunately, the parade was the place where we encountered our first (and only!) rude person of the Con. In a convention that has always amazed me by the courtesy of the people who attend it, her behavior rather stood out in comparison. Nonetheless, we found a good spot on the corner and got some good pictures, and I think the parade caught some Geek converts – a badgeless little girl who was Ooohing and Aaahing over the costumes, particularly the Star Wars people.

2:30: Living in Smallville – Michael Rosenbaum was absolutely hilarious. He didn’t really want to talk much about Smallville, he was more interested in discussing his newer projects, and he was a bit dismayed by people who insisted on calling him Lex, but he was extremely appreciative of the fans and played along with them to great effect. He even got down in the audience (much to the chagrin of the DC*TV folks who had to shoot him in the dark). The highlight, I think, was the fellow dressed as Zod in a handmade coat, who asked Mr. Rosenbaum to repeat his line: KNEEL BEFORE ZOD! – said line became a running joke throughout the whole panel.

THEN WE WENT SHOPPING. I got a corset from the wonderful folks at Brute Force Leather. They had some nice steampunky looking corsets, goggles, weapons, gears…. I’m not really into the goth stuff right now (I have been before!) so I get tired of corsetiers who come to cons with nothing but black…black….black….and the occasional blood red with black accents. Sometimes you want variety, you know? The Brute Force folks had some absolutely phenomenal fabrics I didn’t see anywhere else during the whole con. Maps, clocks, parchment, playing cards. I ended up settling on a canvas map fabric that had black lining.

Dinner: On my mom’s recommendation, we tried Daily’s, but, unfortunately, weren’t that impressed. The desert bar was something to see, though, and the key lime mousse we got for desert was phenomenal, but the actual entrees didn’t seem to be as good as you would expect for the price. Compared to similar higher-priced eating places we’re familiar with, the food just wasn’t as good.

10:00 The Shindig: I was rather shocked to arrive and find that I was the only person in the Giant Pink Fluffy Thing. There were tons of other Casual Kaylees there, and tons of pictures were taken, which I never, ever expected. I’m usually the one behind the camera, not in front of it. It was a wonderful party, but we ended up leaving fairly early in an attempt to get to the Vaudeville/Burlesque show. Unfortunately, we fell into the trap of Trying to Do Too Much At Con, and by the time we got changed into an outfit I could actually sit down in and got down to the show, it was full and had been closed. Probably would’ve been better to just stay at the Shindig, but by that point my feet were two giant pain-generating devices and we decided to head back to the hotel to rest up. Along the way, we ended up walking to our hotel beside James Callis, Edward James Olmos, and Michael Hogan…and despite me poking him discreetly in the side for several minutes, the SO didn’t even notice that he was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the people he idolizes. Meanwhile, it was all I could do to “act cool” and not go rabid fangirl, no matter how much my feet hurt.

Turns out they all were headed to the Colonial Fleet party, where they…partied with their fans. How awesome is that?

Day Three, Sunday:

11:00: Sean Astin, Remembering the Taste of Strawberries. This panel was, by far, the most touching of all of them. Of course, I have adored Sean Astin since I first watched Goonies as a child. He’s one of those actors that has managed to have the best of both worlds – a successful career in movies and a wonderful life at home. I honestly think he could have gone on the whole hour just talking about his kids, and I would have loved to hear it. He talked a great deal about his charity work and his upcoming projects, all of which I am extremely excited to see.

2:30: An Hour in the Firefly Verse: Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, and Jewel Staite were all there for this one. The main thing I can say about it is….Nathan Fillion is absolutely nuts. In a good way. He and Michael Rosenbaum should team up and be a comedy team, because they both had me absolutely rolling with la
ughter during their respective panels. The crew were still very much a crew up there, clearly fond of each other and happy to be where they were, and very appreciative of the fans, those Browncoats who became a true force to be reckoned with and still, to this day, work to get Firefly back on the air. Probably the highlight of this panel for the entire audience was when someone pointed out that since Firefly has been cancelled, Mal and Inara would never kiss…so they did, drawing it out with huge over-dramatic sighs for comedic effect.

For the rest of our time at DragonCon, we pretty much just relaxed and hung out, touring the art show and the Walk of Fame. It was an exhausting weekend, but well worth it, and we had a blast!

The Pictures:
(There are more, but these are a good sampling.)