Dragon*Con 2005 report, pt. 5

Monday, 9/5

We got packed quickly on Monday morning. Experienced con-goers all, none of the three of us had packed much or strewn it about. and we were checked out by 10:30 or 11. The Hyatt had started handing out custom Dragon*Con room keys on Friday, and we’d missed those by checking in on Thursday; but they were giving away blank ones Monday morning, so I snagged a couple for Rain and myself.

Final con wandering occurred. On one of her few breaks, Rain dragged me into the Exhibitor’s Hall where she bought my anniversary present (she jokes that WizKids bought it, since the money came from the sale of a bit of her terrifyingly vast Limited Edition figure collection).

The con forced valet parking on us Thursday, so we were glad to be able to fit all our stuff on a single luggage cart for when they brought the car back around. We made it out by 1, grabbed lunch, and hit the road. Thanks to good planning, we were back in the land of less painful gas prices by the time we needed to fill up. (We stopped for gas at Fuel Club. I’d say more, but we all know you do not talk about Fuel Club.)

We listened to all 12 half-hour episodes of the original two Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio series in the car on the way back 🙂 I got home at around 11:30pm, was greeted by a loudly indignant cat, and just as in the days before, had not trouble at all dropping swiftly to sleep.

Thus endeth my first Dragon*Con experience. I wanna go again next year.

Dragon*Con 2005 report, pt. 4

Sunday, 9/4

Sunday I decided to finally drag out the only costume I’d packed, my Enterprise uniform. On a whim, I headed to the Dealers’ Room where a booth was selling animal ears, and found a pair of ‘cat ears’ which perfectly matched my head hair. The combination had unexpected results; all day, people decided I was dressed as John Candy from Spaceballs, and I was in too good a mood to correct anyone. I must have been asked to pose 7 or 8 times, so my vanity was well stoked. Costuming felt good. I will be bringing more outfits next time.

I suppose it’s possible that more people saw Spaceballs than ever saw an episode of Enterprise.

Headed to one of Connor Trineer’s panels in hopes of a picture with him, but the line outside the ballroom in question stretched practically into the next hotel. A shame, as he was always my favorite part of Enterprise. I wandered instead into a MSTing of The Empire Strikes Back, which to my great surprise, was hilarious. I’d always assumed you couldn’t MST an actually good film. Another panel with the actors who portray the Weasley twins in the Harry Potter flicks had been cancelled, so I wandered about the con for a while, making most of my actual purchases.

It was either today or the day before that I picked up my favorite bit of loot: a brand-new copy of Fourth Edition Shadowrun, personalized to me by Mike Mulvihill (inventor of Shadowrun) and Jordan Weisman (inventor of FASA and WizKids). My wife rocks, BTW.

The masquerade was broadcast on the hotel TV network, so we opted to watch from the comfort of our room. Some of the costumes were incredible – the three Warhammer 40K Space Marines, painted not realistically but as if painstakingly detailed by a giant with a telephone-pole sized paintbrush, were completely stunning – but believe it or not, Technicon and Rising Star’s masquerades run smoother and more professionally. Honestly! Perhaps at Dragon*Con’s level, it’s just too much to easily handle, but we local con staffs have nothing to be embarrassed about.

EDIT: Oh, and speaking of such, they had one filker, a relatively famous one on the con circuit, cover the kids’ costume judging; and another one cover the main judging. Keith, we have to get you to Dragon*Con. The first guy had fair material, but no singing voice to speak of. The second guy might be useful in extracting information from suspected terrorists. White Plectrum may not be as well known, but honestly – not as a fanboy at all – it’s a better act.

Masquerade over, and the hotels start truly rocking for the last evening of the con. The noise several floors up is quite distinct, and according to people’s photo journals, some of the best hall costumes of the weekend came out. Sadly, your hero is old and tired. I didn’t leave the room after we turned off the TV, and conked out before midnight.

Dragon*Con 2005 report, pt. 3

Saturday, 9/3

It’s been over a week, so lots of stuff about the con are fading. But I still remember a bunch, like the Lisa Hayes costumer in the elevator in a nice SDF-Macross dress uniform (original TV series). I think she was pleased someone recognized it. There were 3 or 4 uniforms from the old V miniseries, and even a large group of Stonecutters from the Simpsons. While Neos and Trinities and Agents weren’t hard to find, I was pleased to see a well-done Morpheus who looked the part.

The only panel I managed to attend all day was a panel on casting makeup appliances from liquid latex. It was very informative, and there’s no doubt that it makes a lot more sense to buy unless you absolutely need a custom piece. Sadly, the first thing one needs for the process is some sculpting ability, which I’m short on; I took it better, though, than the one fan who got very angry that the panel wasn’t going to teach her to sculpt.

I was pleasantly surprised by one attribute of the con. Crowded it was, and rhaps‘ head probably would have gone all ‘splody by mid-Friday. But it wasn’t the packed mosh pit I’d expected – I rarely had much trouble getting to where I needed to go, and never felt dangerously short on elbow room or oxygen.

When dinner rolled around, we tried to eat at a nearby Steak and Ale, but it was a 90 minute wait, so we ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe in Atlanta (my first time in a Hard Rock!) instead. Still lots of congoers there, and some even in costume. I felt sorry for the half-dressed catgirl in a tearful argument with two males outside another restaurant on the way back.

When I got back to the con, I hooked up with a hot gamer chick, headed up to her room, and slept with her. (Translation: Rain’s roommate let her know she’d be out all night, so I got to cuddle my sweetie for the first time all weekend. Too bad sleep was all we could manage *smirk*)

Celebrations, arrrrr

P.S. Happy belated birthday to jdunson, too 😉

Lucky seven rolls around

Happy seventh anniversary to my beloved wife raininva!

I don’t know what the traditional seventh anniversary gift is, but it probably has nothing to do with the gifts Rain and I got for each other (both of which can likely be viewed at Rising Star).

I love you, Rain!