easter

this year's easter morn found me sitting on a floor in a convention center waiting (for three hours) waiting to be let into a room where (supposedly) my boyfriend, nathan fillion, would be joining joss whedon's much ado about nothing panel at wondercon.

i had read, only a few days before that fillion had confirmed his attendance, and though i wasn't familiar with the event (turned out to be run by the same folks as comic con), there were still tickets available, and they were $10 each.  i immediately bought a ticket and reached out to my partner-in-geekdom, jami, who was happy to join me.

and because it was easter, and because it's jami, she even created little easter baskets for us!

when we were eventually let into the room, we chose seats in the first row of the second section (read = we were close). i took a seat next to a guy with an open laptop.  i asked who he wrote for and we struck up a conversation. it was enjoyable and helped pass the time.  his article showed up later that day on my 'nathan fillion' google alert . i know it was his because i had been reading over his shoulder a bit, and in the end, i thought he captured the experience quite nicely!

i'll admit that it wasn't everything i had hoped it would be.  when the name tents were put out on the table, i noticed immediately that there wasn't one for nathan.  and, it wasn't long before joss himself came out to apologize for nathan's absence. but for $10, and with the knowledge that i have a guaranteed nathan photo opp in philly in june, i couldn't really complain about how the rest of the day unfolded.


the rest of the much ado panel was introduced, and i was excited to learn more about the film.  i am in love with the kenneth branagh version. so much so, that i've described his benedick and emma thompson's beatrice as my 'perfect relationship' since i saw it.  i never anticipated that anyone would ever give that a run for its money, but if anyone can, joss can.

though alexis denisof and amy acker (both, formerly of buffy glory) were not on the panel, clark gregg (of agent coulson avengers glory) and sean maher (firefly, anyone?) were on hand, as well as many other cast members. and in the end, i was infinitely more excited for the june movie release.

following the much ado panel was the nerdist panel.  chris hardwick, nerd icon, host of the 'talking dead' (airs after the walking dead on amc), and creator of the nerdist empire, was in the building to chat about...well, whatever we wanted to chat about.

the highlight came when jami, who was too shy to say hello to him when she saw him at the highlight came when jami, who had once been   disneyland (so instead took photos of his backside), finally spoke to her celebrity crush.  she had carefully crafted a question. i was impressed at his obvious pleasure when she told him that she had formed a 'nerds in the middle' lunch group for kids in her school to celebrate all things nerdiness. and when she asked what he would have wanted to discuss/learn about if he had been in that kind of group, his response was both thoughtful and engaging.

after the nerdist panel, we moved a little closer for the arrow panel. this is not a panel i would have waited in line for. i watch the show, and i like the show, but i think i may still just be too attached to justin hartley's version of the character in smallville to really love the show.  it was about what i would have expected, with one exception.  the 'tommy' character on the show has never stood out to me. until i was sitting 30 feet from him.

holy moly was he a cutie!  he was the most self-possessed, well-spoken, charming one of the bunch.  and i might have sighed a little when i learned that he hailed from broadway.  when the moderator encouraged him to sing a little something, and he complied?  .i sighed a lot.  it also didn't hurt that it was a parody of a song from wicked (one of my favorites), which is probably the best known show in his repertoire.

at the conclusion of the arrow panel, jami and i decided to check out the exhibit hall.  we didn't end up doing much browsing though, and ended up deciding to stand in line on the off-chance that we might get in on the arrow autograph signing.  jami had made an ipad case from the bag she got at comic con last year...and it just happened to be for the arrow.

sadly, no luck. so we decided to head back into the arena to finish our day with the dr. horrible's sing-along-blog sing-along.  just something about a room full of strangers singing lyrics like:

he rides across the nation
the thouroughbred of sin
he got the application
you just sent in
it needs evaluation
so let the games begin
a heinous crime, a show of force
a murder would be nice, of course
bad horse

that just can't help but make you smile.

all in all a fun and unusual easter!