The Introspective Geek

Remember my post earlier about my trip to Dallas?

Well... I'll be in Denver from May 17th to the 20th, this time on pleasure, not business. And, as we know, that's also the weekend of the Star Trek movie release.

Anyone in Denver? Anyone up for getting together? Anyone interested in seeing Star Trek together sometime that weekend? Hell, even Monday is available. :D

I'm going to a convention in Boston next weekend. At that convention, I'm going to be on several panes, but in addition to that, I'm doing a fanfiction reading. Yep, people are going to listen to me while I read my fanfic. Why would anyone want to do that?

So, I have 25 minutes in which to present a group of listeners with the best possible selection of my writing that I can read in that 25-minute window.

SUGGESTIONS???

I got everyone's comments on my last post. I've only been online sporadically because I'm on vacation at my mom's house now, and have been running around seeing friends I've not seen in a long time. I'm going to try to reply to some of them in a minute, but there's no way I'll be able to reply to everyone. Please don't be mad at me for not replying to everyone. I feel bad because it feels like I'm ignoring people, but I'm not.

Anyway, even though it doesn't seem like it now, there was more to the convention than just meeting Shatner. It was the singular most unexpected thing, that's for sure, and the flashiest occurrence, but it wasn't the whole story. Not even close.




So, that's it. Fantastic time at the Trek convention. I wish I'd been there for the whole thing, but how can I regret anything? It was fun. :)

You know, I think I completely failed to mention on my LJ (or anywhere else) that I was planning to attend Arisia in Boston this year. So... HI FROM ARISIA IN BOSTON! Yeah, to put it simply, unless I'm on my death bed, I'll be at Arisia every year. I fucking love this convention. I love the awesome people I meet, the incredible thoughts and ideas that are shared, and the epic levels of WIN I experience here from so many sources.

Too many positive things to list them all, and the convention isn't over yet, but to summarize:

1. Panels I've attended have been fantastic. I've learned a lot. And damn, I need to add to my reading list.

2. Panels I've been on so far have been mostly quite good, and I was very privileged to have the chance to contribute to the Gender panel.

3. As always, it's wonderful to see old friends. Just as wonderful to meet new friends.

4. My own challenges with my health have continued to be lessons in humility - eye opening, sobering, but also reminders that I'm not alone here. Two weeks ago, other than my migraines, I felt pretty damned good. On Monday last week, I started a flare-up. It's been rough here at the con, but I'm having fun. Just learning to balance things.

Anyway, it's late, but I wanted to chime in. More con details later. :)

Okay, remember how I said that I wasn't going to go to Infinitus?  And then I said I WAS going, but that I was kinda indifferent?

Infinitus was AMAZING.

Yeah, you heard me.  I'll give you guys a more detailed write-up later, but seriously, pinkfinity was right - this was the one HP con that you just shouldn't have missed.  The Night of a Thousand Wizards was really THAT incredible.  I was so happy to see people again.  And going around the park on Sunday was... okay, I'll save the details for later.  But really, you should have been there.

HPEF is doing another con in 2012.  I know, this isn't my primary fandom anymore... but the PEOPLE, man.  The PEOPLE.  No other group of people in the world are like the HP fandomers.

Now... if only we could limit the Wizard Rock to one room instead of letting it spill into every hallway, open space, and orifice of the convention.

The Damsels of Dorkington, a set of three lovely ladies plus one, are a comedy/satire/Shakespearean troupe who did a music video at VisonCon, a small convention in Springfield, MO.  They grabbed as many  "nerds" as possible to fill in to make the footage for the video.  You can see mizuno_caitlin  and coldfireserge at various points in the video, and if you look around 1:30 and 2:04, you'll see me.  I'm the Hobbit in the back, dancing on the table.  :D





Enjoy! 

I didn't realize that anyone had caught a video of this. I just watched it, and found myself crying at my work desk. (Be quiet, it's my lunch break, I'm allowed.)

Kate took questions from the audience.  I raised my hand.  That's me at the mic.

Take a look:



Have I mentioned lately how much I adore that woman?


*Edited because I found a better video!
And one more link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iEJx0oJ9I0

Dang.  I'm getting all choked up.  Seriously.  I'm so pathetic.

Okay ladies and gentlegeeks, time is getting short for the upcoming Slasher Fandom Reunion here in Kansas City.

For those of you who haven't been paying attention, let me tell you a little bit about it. This is a convention without the convention. All the stuff you love about convention without the formal programming to get in the way.  That basically gives us more time to do the naughty stuff we actually came to do anyway.

WHEN:  Friday October 9th to Monday October 12th, 2009 - the weekend of Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving.
WHERE:  Kansas City, MO, in the Westport/Plaza district, Embassy Suites.
WHO:  Slash-friendly fandom folks ages 18+.

The Non-Con has:
- NO REGISTRATION FEE.
- Suite rooms for $129 per night for up to four people.  (You should see these suites, guys - they're awesome.  Wet bar/kitchenette and all.)
- Free, hot, cooked-to-order breakfasts.
- Free cocktail reception each night we're there (yes, that means booze included for two hours each evening).
- A swanky swimming pool and hot tub.  HOT TUB.  Come on guys!  HOT TUB.
- A large gaggle of pervy slashy fandom friends.
- Drabble and Drawble sessions.
- Impromptu round-table discussions.
- An outing to a local drag show.
- Sightseeing and silliness in the best part of Kansas City.
- Reduced internet rate for our group.


So, what are you waiting for?  Go to THIS POST for registration information.  You need to register by this Friday.  Be sure to use the group code "HPF" to get our discount when registering, and for your room reservation to count towards the number of rooms we've agreed to book.

Then, please join the slasher_family community for more information, to find roommates, and PLEASE PLEASE let fiona_fawkes know that you've reserved a room.  We need to keep track of how many rooms our group has booked.  Visit THIS POST for the most recent information. 

And then... PIMP THIS LIKE CRAZY.




See you in October!

Okay, so the title should say it all, but seriously, there's so much to say. This has been so fucking fantastic that I can't even begin to put it into words, but as you all know me, I'm going to try.  I'm on the airplane right now, so I may have to cut this short and just post what I've written when they tell me to put the computer away.  So here goes...

( OMG COSTUMES )



I've got a picture of me in Quidditch robes, but that's something I'll upload later... because...

CELEBRITIES:  Yes, this is Dragon*Con, and yes, there are famous folks afoot.  Because pinkfinity is an amazing human being, she shocked and stunned and surprised me when I got a phone call on Sunday morning from one of her friends who was still at the convention telling me that she'd left a photo shoot pass to get my picture taken with Tom Felton.  Of course, I was still in bed when she called, hadn't showered, was over-exhausted from staying up WAY too late (duh, it's D*Con), and had planned to sleep in.  So, I rush through a shower, get into Quidditch robes, find out what time the photo op window was, and race to the Mariott from my hotel.  I get there just in time, and... okay, so I go in for my turn, Tom looks at me, grins and says, "Oh, hello Daniel."  I guess I make a good Harry if one of the actors calls me by the other actor's name.  Oh, and I got him to hold the wand and... I said, "Would you hold my broomstick with me?  I swear it's safe."  He gives me this look, then looks amused and goes right along with it.  Either way, he was pleasant, it was fun, and aside from the fact that the humidity totally flattened my hair, the photo looks great.

However, I spent almost ALL of my time in TrekTrak.

OMG TrekTrak.  I had the best fucking time EVER.  I got to see Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner.  Those two are a freakin' hoot.  And... I think I like Shatner a bit more now.  I'll tell you about that later.  I got to see Patrick Stewart.  And actually, the best parts were meeting and talking to the not-as-huge stars of the Trek universe.  Please allow me to state for the record that Kate Mulgrew is an incredible human being, and that whereas I was always a fan of Voyager and always liked her character, I am now a fan of HER, completely aside from her role as the fictional Kathryn Janeway.  But seriously, everyone I saw and met... they were all fantastic.  The other fans, the people who ran the events, the panelists, EVERYONE.  I don't even know how to begin talking about the amazingness that was TrekTrak.

And oh shit... my battery is running out.  We're getting close to home anyway.  I'll post more later!  STORIES.  OMG I have stories to tell...

Spent the weekend at the local sci-fi/fantasy convention known as ConQuest. 

I admit, I wasn't sure what to make of it at first.  I'm used to arriving at a convention and seeing people in costumes everywhere, and just FEELING the excitement buzzing throughout the hotel.  I arrived at the Crown Center Hyatt on Friday and I had to ask myself if I was in the right hotel.  I saw maybe a dozen fellow geeks.  

No problem, I thought.  They would come.  But no.

Attendance, including the gamers (who don't have a full registration) was barely over 600.  There were about 470 with full registrations.  Only a handful of people wore costumes.  There was a very limited programming schedule.  It was eerily quiet.

BUT.  And yes, that's a big BUT...

These people know how to party.  There were a couple of really awesome discussion panels I attended, but the real key to this convention is the tight-knit community and the parties.  SERIOUSLY.  Fi and I had a room on the party floor and... it was an absolute blast.  Cool people. 

So, I had fun.  Lots of fun.  It was very different from other conventions I've attended, but I enjoyed it for what it was instead of lamenting what it wasn't.  I'm going to go again, for sure. 

And FUCK I'M EXHAUSTED.