The end of Dcon 2009

It was fun, but it always goes fast. As usual, this Dcon was over before we would have liked. Now it's back to the drudgery of every day life, but not without a few tips for next year.

Book your room for Dragon*Con 2010 now. The rooms go a little quicker every year, and it's a good idea to put your name down ASAP. Alternatively, you could spend some time looking into condos for rent in the immediate Dcon vicinity. It's a little more expensive, but you'd get a kitchen and could potentially save tons on bringing your own food instead of dealing with the mall restaurants.

Get a flip cam for Christmas. You'll want this when you attend all the hip panels at next year's Dcon. Sure, you could take awful photos of David Gareth-Lloyd from a football field away, or you could have a really sweet video of him talking about his character dying in "Children of Earth." Think about it, won't you?

Take tons of pics. You can never take enough.

So, stay cool, have a great summer and see you next year.

This is why steam punk is hot

Steam punk, for some reason, was everywhere at this Dcon. The concept has been around for years, but people with top hats, Victorian dress and chrome glasses were a tour de force in downtown Atlanta.

Here are a few pics that try to capture the magic. The following is Dr. Forrester, of MST3K fame, with a martini that cost too much:


This next pic is DJ MDMA and Forrester fooling around with a steam punkish gun. As mentioned, notice the tall hat and clunktech glasses.

And as if to make everything I've just said about this Dcon untrue, here's a pic of a gingerbread man.

More pics to come!

Crazy mad Saturday

It's three (or for some of us, four) days into the con and things are getting surreal. I'm going on maybe six hours of sleep over the past few days, and there are people who've got me beat.

The reason for staying up until 3:30 a.m. - con walking. The costumes Saturday night were amazing, myself included. Come back for pics, which will be up in a few hours.

In the meantime, remember - stay away from the bars at the hotels. You'll get ripped off for the equivalent of half of a martini.

Thursday night pics

I never did put these pics up from Thursday night. Here goes:



This is my current fave pic from the con. On the left, Barry Bostwick, best known for being Brad Majors in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." On the right, Alan Ruck, who to me will always be Cameron from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Why are they together in this photo? Because it's Dragon*Con, and that's how the con rolls.

This one is from 47 flights up in the Marriott. Nice view, but the elevator ride there was heinous. It's best to keep an $8 martini in your hand to deal with the pressure, but that's another awful con story.

Inside the (dead) head of Ianto Jones

Luckily, I stumbled onto a panel with David Gareth-Lloyd (Ianto Jones from "Torchwood") and James Marsters (Captain John of the same show, Spike from "Buffy"). The ballroom the panel was in was packed, and Gareth-Lloyd pretty much had everyone feeding out of his hand.

The main discussion was about Torchwood's third season that aired on BBC America just a month or so ago - Children of Earth. Let me spoil something for you - Ianto Jones dies in the fourth episode, so the panelists kept on hammering the subject into Gareth-Lloyd for the whole time while Marsters sat up on the stage twiddling his thumbs.

Best part, though, is when the first person to ask a question wants to know their favorite and most hated questions to answer. In this sing-song, high-pitched voice, Gareth-Lloyd says: "What's it like to kiss John Barrowman?"

Watch the show to find out what it's all about, and keep reading. More to come.

Meeting the Ghosthunters

So, I'm at the media party Thursday evening, enjoying some casual drinks when I start talking to these three guys who say they're with the show "Ghosthunters."

OK, vaguely cool. This is just after I've embarrassed myself in front of the guy who played Cameron on "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" so I need to redeem myself. I start talking to these guys, asking about their jobs hunting ghosts and whatnot.

Everything seems all right, but then comes the shocker: none of them has ever seen a ghost. Here they are, travelling the country in search of the supernatural, and they've never had a personal experience with a wraith, specter or some other such creature.

There was only one thing to do - get another drink.

Pics from Dcon

OK, so the pics are actually from last year. They'll be more to come.

So, without further wordsmithing, here's what I got:

The above pic is of your dashing blog host, costumed as Dr. Clayton Forrester of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fame. The beverage I'm holding is actually for medicinal value.






This here is what you call a Weeping Angel and a rabid football fan from Dcon 2008. The angel is from "Blink," perhaps the best episode yet from the refurbished British sci-fi show "Doctor Who."

The football guy just happened to be wandering around that night.

Remember, keep watching the skies ... and this blog.

Countdown to D*con!!!

I hope you're planning on how you're escaping from work early on Thursday so you can get to the con, check into your hotel and head into the wide vastness that is Dragon*Con.

If not, you're going to miss out. Rule No. 1 - register on Thursday, if at all possible. If it's not possible, then register on Friday.

If you wait until Saturday, a big part of your con experience will be standing in line, outside, for hours. This is not an exaggeration.

As for me, I'm planning on hitting a media party Thursday night. Check back for pics and details when the con kicks off.