still giddy

scroll to 34:40 to see how years of being a nathan fillion fangirl, finally paid off!

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!

self-gifting

august 2012

it's sunday. i'm feeling a bit run down and like i don't really want to get out of bed.  disneyland took it's toll on my body (my knee) last night, so i'm cruisin' the web trying to entertain myself.

oh look, new items on my nathan fillion google alert feed.

yeah, yeah, already knew he'd be at calgary comic con. checked the dates. couldn't go. wait. what's this?  philadelphia comic con?  and there is a 'nathan fillion vip package'?  a guaranteed photo op?

VIP’s get:
• Philadelphia Comic Con 4-Day Weekend Ticket
• Exclusive Nathan Fillion VIP Badge
• Exclusive Nathan Fillion Lithograph
• (1) Nathan Fillion Photo with Signature Ticket - You can have him sign this photo OR another item on-site.
• (1) Photo Op with Nathan Fillion
• VIP’s get onto the show floor 30 Minutes before regular attendees each day of the show!
• Guaranteed seating at the panel Nathan Fillion will appear on (Firefly/Serenity or individual)

package purchased. hotel reserved. flight secured. promise made (to myself) that after i finally meet the guy, i will stop trying so desperately to meet the guy.  i won't even follow his twitter feed during san diego comic con to see if i can 'run into' him somewhere.  okay, well, maybe we won't go that far...

the butterbeer experiment

two attempts yielded a tasty treat akin to the butterbeer offered at the wizarding world of harry potter.

the comic-con experience in photos (and some words)

for the commentary, watch in full screen mode.

for the rest of the photos AND videos, click here.

the comic-con experience in words

every year 100,000+ people converge on san diego in a celebration of comic books, tv and movies based on comic-books, tv and movies that have turned into comic books, tv and movies that maybe could have been somehow related to comic-books, tv and movies that have nothing to do with comic books (glee, for instance?) and basically all things followed, interested in, or obsessed about by the citizens of nerdlandia.

since moving to california, attendance at said celebration has been high on my bucket list.  not only have i considered myself a nerd, for, well, as long as i've had a concept of what a nerd is, but i also genuinely wondered what it would feel like to be among so many like-minded people.  kind of like the olympics for nerds. 

it was a miracle that i even managed to secure tickets.  as i've previously mentioned, the tickets sold out almost immediately, and i consider it a testament to my nerdiness that i prevailed, since doing so required having multiple browser windows running with click through and copy/paste address bars simultaneously working hard to get me through to the 'purchase portal.'  in fact, that alone earned me my right to be there.  

my participation this year was intended to be a one time deal, but, what can i say? i drank the kool-aid, and the kool-aid was goooood.  

i won't play-by-play the experience,  but i will mention that i had done A LOT of research before making the southward journey.  when you by your tickets, you have no idea who will be there or when, and in fact, the schedule is only released a couple of weeks before the event.  it's a bit of a crap shoot, but i, being the planner i am, didn't want to leave anything to chance.  i can't even begin to count the number of forums and websites i've visited or the people i talked to, and fortunately, the research paid off.  

my #1 priority (after meeting nathan fillion and having him propose to me) was attending the firefly 10 year anniversary panel, and i was successful (on the panel, not the other thing)!  there has been a lot of wonderful coverage about that panel (i've also got some video on my smugmug) and it was a really unexpectedly moving experience.  my favorite encapsulation would be geek god joss' whedon's answer to an mtv reporters question: was there something extra special in the air for you this time around?

whedon: yeah there really was. i would describe it as 5,000 people all tearing up about the same thing at the same time. that's a little weird. one has fantasies of success but that isn't what it is, it's so intimate, that's a one-on-one, we had an entire hall full of people having a one-on-one experience, including us with each other. i looked over at nathan and i didn't know if i could look at nathan because i was getting too emotional

it was a genuine privilege to be in the same room as joss whedon and nathan fillion and to have that experience.  it required a 4am wake-up call, waiting in line for 4 hours, sitting through two earlier panels (though one of them included joel mchale - so that was fine), and it was worth all of it.

now to the rest of the highlights!

favorite moments of the weekend, in quotes:

random guy on bus leaving a message on his own voice mail:  “hello future self. this is a message to see if there is a cell connection. ps you're having a great time”.

me: words i never thought i'd say: i'll be on the lookout for tall skinny ghostbusters.

random guy in line to other random guy: you know how star wars is like a space samurai movie?  that's kind of like how firefly is a space western.

random girl in line (in reference to 'community'):  i love how we can refer to that as the first paintball episode.

joss whedon (answer to audience question: many of us in this room camped out last night to get into this panel.  i wondered if you've ever camped out for anything?): yeah. camping.

astrophysicist neil degrasse tyson: pluto had it coming.

me: i feel like i'm in line with my high school drama department.

sam huntington (on sam witwer's character in being human): maybe aidan can flash back to pirate days and he can be a vampirate.

my friend jamie (during a discussion in a hot tub with two random guys about stan lee's recent penchant for hiring young pretty girls): so what you're saying is, stan lee is hugh hefner now?

and that is just a tiny sampling of the many overheard quotes and conversations that made me so happy.  up next: the comic-con experience in photos! 

10 steps to iphone madness

Step 1-Go to airport at 'normal' time. Check-in bag, evaluate crowd situation

Step 2-Call FedEx to confirm delivery by 3pm

Step 3-Board the crazy train and drive home to wait, hoping that you will not miss your flight

Step 4-Twiddle your thumbs at home, listening for truck sounds.

Step 5-Upon hearing truck sound run out of the house, sign something, get in car and FLY to airport

Step 6-Arrive at airport with two minutes to get through security before boarding

Step 7-Make it through security in 37 seconds, find a seat at gate while listening to announcement about how your flight is delayed.

Step 8-Reflect on how happy you are to have the phone in hand AND to have not missed your flight

Step 9-Debark the crazy train and return to 'normal' self

Step 10-Post to Facebook