Dragon*Con, part four
Sep. 7th, 2004 12:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dslartooHere's the final part of my Dragon*Con report. As before, I'm using a cut-tag to save your friends page displays.
Monday:
-- Leave us say I did not park in the same lot I had used the day before. :)
-- I had a quandary: go to the Tolkien trivia track, or go see Warren Ellis's final panel? Warren won out, though (I mean, fuck, this is his first con appearance in seven years and there's no guarantee I'll ever get to see him again), so I found myself in the Brit track again. Warren was obviously knackered and wishing he were just about anywhere else, but despite that, the early hour, and the fact that most of the audience was still half-asleep as well, he still managed to be entertaining and friendly to everyone. After the panel, I told him I was sorry I'd missed him in the Hyatt bar the night before, said thanks again for his coming over, and that I hoped we'd see him again next year. (Later, after I got home, Warren a quick summary to DPH, a summary which included the following cool news for us fans:
Raven, my personal wrangler for the show, kept asking if I'll go back. Bearing in mind the frankly bizarre size of the crowds I seemed to draw,
and my intent to establish deeper in other media next year, and the fact that there was not one single Creepy Hostile Fan Moment in the whole four
days --
-- I think it's pretty likely.
Woohoo! Warren Ellis again next year! Great news.
-- Ran into![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vill and ashtreza and we spent some time wandering the dealer's rooms and exhibitor hall (where we bumped, once again, into the infamous weetanya). Wee, I wish I'd had more of a chance to talk to you this year, but it was great to meet you anyway. :) Also ran into arkhamrefugee, watching over some of the guests from the Tribe track, as they signed autographs. Heya Badger!
-- Robot Battles! This's been a mainstay of the convention for years. It's pretty much the same as the various "robot battle" shows on TV: various radio-controlled robotic devices attempt to pummel each other into scrap, immobilize each other, or push the other off the stage for the title of Ultimate Robot. There are multiple divisions and multiple weight classes, with everything from simple wedge designs to tank-tread monstrosities to high-speed spinning robots with bladed projections for ripping the other robot to shreds. The host Kelly Lockhart is an insufferable wise-ass and is the perfect host, keeping the crowd amused in between (and during) the bouts.
-- I spent the remainder of the day shuttling between Robot Battles and ARTC's sister-group MRAP's performance of their musical "The Return of the King and I". Yes, it's a parody of the Lord of the Rings films. :) When there was a lull during the MRAP performance, I would run back to Robot Battles and watch for a few minutes before returning to the MRAP performance. The MRAP folk had worked their asses off and the performance got lots of laughter in all the right places from what seemed to be a very appreciative audience.
-- When the MRAP performance was over, I ran back to Robot Battles, but I'd missed the heavyweight round and finals. Ah, well. By now I was pretty goddamned tired and my knee was starting to hurt, so I headed home, ending another most interesting year at Dragon*Con for me.
Random thoughts from all days at the con:
-- You know you're at a con when you see a Predator getting his picture taken with Cap'n Jack Sparrow, Wolverine, the Spanish Inquisition, a trio of catgirls, Aragorn, and a (female) Boba Fette (wearing pastel-colored armor and with a skirt to boot).
-- Warren Ellis is just too fucking cool for words. Whether it's telling stories about running into a drunken David Carradine in the hotel elevator, doing a spot-on impression of Alan Moore, dissecting "Transmetropolitan", or talking about "the secret U.S. Constitution that was sold to Chinese prostitutes by Richard Nixon" (that's the plot of his upcoming novel), he just rocks. Hope like hell to see him again next year.
-- The ratio of eye candy to "oh my CHRIST you shouldn't be wearing that! My eyes! My EYES!" was MUCH higher this year than usual. I saw lots of beautiful people and many fewer, er, less attractive ones. :)
-- All of the Livejournal people that I met this year were utterly cool. Livejournal has been called the dregs of the Internet at times (and often it can be) but everybody I met just rocked. It was particularly good to meetwyldkyss, wicked_wish, weetanya and relevantpink for the first time, plus new friends weaktwos and vernard, and old friends zengoddess, kellinator, ariedana and of course the Badger Lord arkhamrefugee.
-- Addendum to last item: Livejournal seems to attract a lot of really hot women and they all look invariably good in con attire -- corsets, short skirts, bikinis, lingerie, leather, PVC -- it's ALL good, baby. :)
-- I wish the con would find someplace else to put the Walk of Fame. It's always too crowded and too hot. Rarely worth fighting through the crowds, especially if all you want is a handshake and the chance to say hi to whoever-it-is you want to meet.
-- My annual complaint: what the fuck is it with people who charge for autographs, or charge for taking their picture? This seems to be a common thing with actors and actresses; you never get it from authors or artists. I don't have a problem with people selling merchandise, or selling 8x10 glossies, or whatever. But if I'd like to have you sign a poster for a film you appeared in, I don't see where you get off charging me $20 to do that. It's partly because of me that the movies you were in made so much damned money, man. You're being paid a fee to appear at the convention as it is; why do you feel it's necessary to gouge people for the two seconds it takes you to scribble your name? Not to mention the fact that autographs aren't even that big a deal; I just like to keep them as mementos of the time that I actually met whoever-it-was. I last paid money for an autograph about ten years ago, when I was younger and stupider. Never again, thanks.
-- Somebody dressed up as a badger from the Dancing Badgers Flash video. Just in case you didn't get the idea, he was wearing a placard around his neck with the snake on it, with a big X through it. You could always tell where he was because you would hear a rippling chorus of "badgerbadger badgerbadger badgerbadger badgerbadger badgerbadger badgerbadger MUSHROOM MUSHROOM!" from passersby. Pretty fucking funny.
-- "Firefly" fans are positively rabid. If you haven't seen the show, don't mention it to somebody who's a fan. They will scream "You haven't SEEN IT?" loudly enough to make you recoil violently. :)
-- The "What the fuck were they thinking" award goes to the con staff for this one: What the hell were June Lockhart and Soupy Sales doing at this convention?
-- I think this is my first ever Dragon*Con where I did not actually buy a single thing. Go me.
-- Stuff I wish I had gotten to see but missed due to scheduling conflicts or simply not having enough time: Voltaire's performances, Craig Parker's multiple panels, Sala Baker's panels, Tolkien Trivia, the Cruxshadows concert, David Mack's "Reinventing Kabuki" panel, and the Needcoffee.com Gonzo Film Festival.
-- One of the funniest moments of the con, at least for me: people-watching from the balcony in the Hyatt one night, I see a police officer going down the escalator. Suddenly nine dots appear on the back of his head in three triangles: three sets of laser targeting cursors from the three Predators who are "taking aim" at him from a vantage point nearby. I saw several other people around me who were nearly killing themselves laughing, as I was.
-- Another great moment: the police officer who was trying to be stern and unbending while directing traffic in the Hyatt lobby and was completely undone by a voluptuous scantily-clad femme who decided to start kissing and fondling him. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with that.
So that was Dragon*Con. Tiring, with some bits of drama thrown in here and there, but ultimately a pretty good time anyway.
-- END OF LINE --
Currently playing: Various Artists -- Miramar Collection One. A collection of new age music from the now-defunct Miramar record label. Good music from artists like Tangerine Dream, Pete Bardens, Michael Gettel and Jonn Serrie.
Monday:
-- Leave us say I did not park in the same lot I had used the day before. :)
-- I had a quandary: go to the Tolkien trivia track, or go see Warren Ellis's final panel? Warren won out, though (I mean, fuck, this is his first con appearance in seven years and there's no guarantee I'll ever get to see him again), so I found myself in the Brit track again. Warren was obviously knackered and wishing he were just about anywhere else, but despite that, the early hour, and the fact that most of the audience was still half-asleep as well, he still managed to be entertaining and friendly to everyone. After the panel, I told him I was sorry I'd missed him in the Hyatt bar the night before, said thanks again for his coming over, and that I hoped we'd see him again next year. (Later, after I got home, Warren a quick summary to DPH, a summary which included the following cool news for us fans:
Raven, my personal wrangler for the show, kept asking if I'll go back. Bearing in mind the frankly bizarre size of the crowds I seemed to draw,
and my intent to establish deeper in other media next year, and the fact that there was not one single Creepy Hostile Fan Moment in the whole four
days --
-- I think it's pretty likely.
Woohoo! Warren Ellis again next year! Great news.
-- Ran into
vill and ashtreza and we spent some time wandering the dealer's rooms and exhibitor hall (where we bumped, once again, into the infamous weetanya). Wee, I wish I'd had more of a chance to talk to you this year, but it was great to meet you anyway. :) Also ran into arkhamrefugee, watching over some of the guests from the Tribe track, as they signed autographs. Heya Badger!-- Robot Battles! This's been a mainstay of the convention for years. It's pretty much the same as the various "robot battle" shows on TV: various radio-controlled robotic devices attempt to pummel each other into scrap, immobilize each other, or push the other off the stage for the title of Ultimate Robot. There are multiple divisions and multiple weight classes, with everything from simple wedge designs to tank-tread monstrosities to high-speed spinning robots with bladed projections for ripping the other robot to shreds. The host Kelly Lockhart is an insufferable wise-ass and is the perfect host, keeping the crowd amused in between (and during) the bouts.
-- I spent the remainder of the day shuttling between Robot Battles and ARTC's sister-group MRAP's performance of their musical "The Return of the King and I". Yes, it's a parody of the Lord of the Rings films. :) When there was a lull during the MRAP performance, I would run back to Robot Battles and watch for a few minutes before returning to the MRAP performance. The MRAP folk had worked their asses off and the performance got lots of laughter in all the right places from what seemed to be a very appreciative audience.
-- When the MRAP performance was over, I ran back to Robot Battles, but I'd missed the heavyweight round and finals. Ah, well. By now I was pretty goddamned tired and my knee was starting to hurt, so I headed home, ending another most interesting year at Dragon*Con for me.
Random thoughts from all days at the con:
-- You know you're at a con when you see a Predator getting his picture taken with Cap'n Jack Sparrow, Wolverine, the Spanish Inquisition, a trio of catgirls, Aragorn, and a (female) Boba Fette (wearing pastel-colored armor and with a skirt to boot).
-- Warren Ellis is just too fucking cool for words. Whether it's telling stories about running into a drunken David Carradine in the hotel elevator, doing a spot-on impression of Alan Moore, dissecting "Transmetropolitan", or talking about "the secret U.S. Constitution that was sold to Chinese prostitutes by Richard Nixon" (that's the plot of his upcoming novel), he just rocks. Hope like hell to see him again next year.
-- The ratio of eye candy to "oh my CHRIST you shouldn't be wearing that! My eyes! My EYES!" was MUCH higher this year than usual. I saw lots of beautiful people and many fewer, er, less attractive ones. :)
-- All of the Livejournal people that I met this year were utterly cool. Livejournal has been called the dregs of the Internet at times (and often it can be) but everybody I met just rocked. It was particularly good to meet
wyldkyss, wicked_wish, weetanya and relevantpink for the first time, plus new friends weaktwos and vernard, and old friends zengoddess, kellinator, ariedana and of course the Badger Lord arkhamrefugee.-- Addendum to last item: Livejournal seems to attract a lot of really hot women and they all look invariably good in con attire -- corsets, short skirts, bikinis, lingerie, leather, PVC -- it's ALL good, baby. :)
-- I wish the con would find someplace else to put the Walk of Fame. It's always too crowded and too hot. Rarely worth fighting through the crowds, especially if all you want is a handshake and the chance to say hi to whoever-it-is you want to meet.
-- My annual complaint: what the fuck is it with people who charge for autographs, or charge for taking their picture? This seems to be a common thing with actors and actresses; you never get it from authors or artists. I don't have a problem with people selling merchandise, or selling 8x10 glossies, or whatever. But if I'd like to have you sign a poster for a film you appeared in, I don't see where you get off charging me $20 to do that. It's partly because of me that the movies you were in made so much damned money, man. You're being paid a fee to appear at the convention as it is; why do you feel it's necessary to gouge people for the two seconds it takes you to scribble your name? Not to mention the fact that autographs aren't even that big a deal; I just like to keep them as mementos of the time that I actually met whoever-it-was. I last paid money for an autograph about ten years ago, when I was younger and stupider. Never again, thanks.
-- Somebody dressed up as a badger from the Dancing Badgers Flash video. Just in case you didn't get the idea, he was wearing a placard around his neck with the snake on it, with a big X through it. You could always tell where he was because you would hear a rippling chorus of "badgerbadger badgerbadger badgerbadger badgerbadger badgerbadger badgerbadger MUSHROOM MUSHROOM!" from passersby. Pretty fucking funny.
-- "Firefly" fans are positively rabid. If you haven't seen the show, don't mention it to somebody who's a fan. They will scream "You haven't SEEN IT?" loudly enough to make you recoil violently. :)
-- The "What the fuck were they thinking" award goes to the con staff for this one: What the hell were June Lockhart and Soupy Sales doing at this convention?
-- I think this is my first ever Dragon*Con where I did not actually buy a single thing. Go me.
-- Stuff I wish I had gotten to see but missed due to scheduling conflicts or simply not having enough time: Voltaire's performances, Craig Parker's multiple panels, Sala Baker's panels, Tolkien Trivia, the Cruxshadows concert, David Mack's "Reinventing Kabuki" panel, and the Needcoffee.com Gonzo Film Festival.
-- One of the funniest moments of the con, at least for me: people-watching from the balcony in the Hyatt one night, I see a police officer going down the escalator. Suddenly nine dots appear on the back of his head in three triangles: three sets of laser targeting cursors from the three Predators who are "taking aim" at him from a vantage point nearby. I saw several other people around me who were nearly killing themselves laughing, as I was.
-- Another great moment: the police officer who was trying to be stern and unbending while directing traffic in the Hyatt lobby and was completely undone by a voluptuous scantily-clad femme who decided to start kissing and fondling him. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with that.
So that was Dragon*Con. Tiring, with some bits of drama thrown in here and there, but ultimately a pretty good time anyway.
-- END OF LINE --
Currently playing: Various Artists -- Miramar Collection One. A collection of new age music from the now-defunct Miramar record label. Good music from artists like Tangerine Dream, Pete Bardens, Michael Gettel and Jonn Serrie.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-09-06 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 05:27 am (UTC)YOU HAVEN'T SEEN FIREFLY!?!??!
Date: 2004-09-07 06:43 am (UTC)Love that show. Sad that it didn't get the push it deserved. Ah well, the movie comes out the day after my birthday next year. Yay!
Looking forward to the Farscape mini too. Heheh.
-Packgrog
Firefly
Date: 2004-09-07 03:44 pm (UTC)