February 19th, 2009
Gallifrey One: A Halfassed Con Report @ 01:43 pm
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2784 So… yeah. I went to Gallifrey One. The fact that I came home and spent three hours writing a post about a Lymond book probably says all you need to know. I’m just not that into Doctor Who anymore. It’s always sad to leave a fandom, and while I’ve had kind of a miserable experience in this one, I’m also just starting to get to know a lot of interesting people, and I’m sad to drift away so soon. But you can’t force yourself to be interested when you’re just… not.
Which is really too bad because Gallifrey is a great convention. I was so impressed by how well it was run. They had several tracks of programming, with a good mix of topics, and a great array of guests. They were the polar opposite of DragonCon in terms of being welcoming to New Who fans–I never felt out of place for being a fan of the Tenth Doctor, Simm!Master, Rose, slash fic, etc. They really did a great job providing programming for everyone, regardless of whether you’re into the old series, the new series, or both.
( Read more... )
( who_daily, please don't link.) Current Mood:  blah Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment. (Anyone can comment on public entries.)
February 12th, 2009
Gallifrey One @ 01:51 pm
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2779 So, um, who’s going to Gallifrey One?
I’m arriving tonight and leaving Monday morning. Hope to see some of you!
Current Mood:  cheerful Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment. (Anyone can comment on public entries.)
December 11th, 2008
yet another post of random disconnected babble @ 04:14 pm
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2748 * This just made me choke on my coffee. I think I enjoy The Meathead Perspective far more than I enjoy the actual band Nine Inch Nails.
* I’m not an Avatar fan, but I’m still upset by the blatantly racist movie casting. Just… what the hell? I’m glad to see that the fandom has already launched a letter writing campaign.
* This xkcd comic is awesome and totally nails the “nice guy” phenomenon. The wank it’s generated is severely depressing, though. “Women have nearly exclusive control over the nation’s sex supply, and that will never, ever change“???? *headdesk*
* jaydk and kalichan came over to my place on Saturday night for a very fun evening of wine and television. We watched the first episode of The Devil’s Whore, after which jaydk declared that she couldn’t stand to continue watching history be raped in such a blatant manner, so we switched to the first episode of Life on Mars (which kalichan had never seen!) to get the bad taste out of our mouths.
To be honest, I didn’t mind The Devil’s Whore–probably because I’m woefully ignorant about that period of English history, and because I was only watching for John Simm. He had his shirt off for a whole scene, so I got what I wanted out of the deal. :P
* This panel description has me dreading Gallifrey One. I think it might be best if I spend this convention drinking and chatting and avoiding most of the actual programming. >:( Still looking forward to seeing Phil Collinson, though. And hopefully to hearing interesting insights from the various new series writers who are attending.
* I’ve kind of reluctantly gotten into Spooks–I actually went out of my way to watch the season finale as soon as possible. I don’t love the show by any means. It’s pure genre, which makes it incredibly predictable; it never does anything that a spy drama wouldn’t do. But it’s quite a good example of a spy show, which makes it entertaining for what it is. Well, okay, mainly the entertaining thing is the lovely contrasts between Richard Armitage’s pale skin, black hair, and blue eyes. But occasionally he even gets to do some actual acting! And I kind of love the character of Ros–her competence and snark make her one of the more appealing female characters I’ve seen in quite a while.
* I’m re-reading Pawn in Frankincense despite myself. I forgot how funny this one is as it starts off! In fact, I think I forgot almost everything that happens except for the ending, which kind of blew the rest of it out of the water. It’s a totally different experience to read this series for a second time; everything makes so much more sense when you already know what’s going to happen. Dunnett’s style of keeping the reader completely in the dark for 90% of each book (and the series as a whole) is incredibly frustrating, but definitely rewarding if you’re able to put up with it. It also makes re-reading a whole new experience–you can actually appreciate the subtleties instead of just wondering what the hell is going on. It also helps that I’ve got a book of translations with me this time around, so I can figure out what the hell they’re saying when the characters suddenly switch to French or Latin.
* I’m resisting the urge to write a long song-by-song analysis of “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.” I know that no one cares about my interpretation of a 35-year-old classic album that I’ve only been listening to for two weeks. Still. It’s all I’ve been thinking about. I haven’t even turned it off at night, because it’ll play in my head if I don’t have it actually playing from my speakers.
* 5years.com is an incredibly helpful website if you suddenly decide to get obsessed with “Ziggy Stardust” 35 years too late. Plus I’m learning all this stuff about glam rock–now I totally get that scene in Life on Mars where Sam meets Marc Bolan!
* I bought this Best of Bowie DVD. It’s all so totally totally awesome for about the first 50 minutes, and then… 1974 happens. Good god. I think maybe I’m a fan of Ziggy Stardust, not of David Bowie?
* I wish I’d gone to the Bowie Ball last weekend. I totally want to go see this all-female Ziggy Stardust cover band in January. And I want to go see this thing at MOMA even though I doubt 1) I can get tickets, 2) that it’s anything I haven’t already seen on the Best of Bowie DVD.
* I finally figured out how to connect my computer to my TV wirelessly. It’s a combination of this and this and it totally works! My TV is a second monitor and I can just drag video files over to it and play them. Now I should probably cancel my cable TV, but I’ve gotten addicted to The Rachel Maddow Show and now I kind of don’t want to give it up. I suppose I could just watch that online too. And I might actually continue catching up on more of those old Doctor/Master episodes now that I don’t have to waste CDs on burning them.
Although I might just watch lots of YouTube clips of young David Bowie instead.
Current Mood:  bored Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment. (Anyone can comment on public entries.)
September 3rd, 2008
Gallifrey One? @ 04:10 pm
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2688 It sucks being at work. I just want to be at home hovering over Lucifer and watching him like a hawk. Yes, I’m an overprotective cat mommy. (I decided not to bring him here with me because traveling stresses him out and makes him eat less, and it’s important for him to eat.)
His morning shot went fine. He didn’t even react to it, actually, but it definitely went in. He’s such a sweet, gentle little guy. And his behavior has been normal–he’s alert and playful and fine.
I think I’m going to have to install a door in the middle of my apartment (there’s an empty doorway) so that I can separate the cats. I want Lucifer eating a set amount of wet food twice a day, but Angel throws fits if she doesn’t have dry food to graze on all the time.
In other news, I’m thinking about Gallifrey One. I really enjoyed talking to the New Who fans I managed to find at DragonCon. And it’s relatively cheap and easy to get to, and the guest line-up is great. I haven’t found much info on the programming, though, and on how interesting the topics are and how friendly they are to New Who fans. (I’m far more interested in fan-run programming than in celebrity guests, to be honest. I’d rather participate in a discussion than just be spoken down to from on high.)
Anyway. I’m thinking about it. Anyone ever been there?
Current Mood:  anxious Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment. (Anyone can comment on public entries.)
April 2nd, 2008
DragonCon 2006 (I totally forgot I’d taken these photos!) @ 01:27 am
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2247 I (just a bit belatedly!) posted my photos from DragonCon 2006.
I’m generally a terrible photographer, but I get lucky sometimes. These ended up being some of my favorite photos that I’ve taken:
( The Method from Godhead and Sarah from the Cruxshadows )
There’s also photos of the Cruxshadows, Godhead, Voltaire, George Romero, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau, Billy West, random pirates, the Snape trial, R2-D2, me and jaydk, and lots of random convention stuff. If you’re interested.
Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment. Current Mood:  optimistic
February 28th, 2007
randomness: star wars, nin, veronica mars, oscars, asoiaf… @ 06:12 pm
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2032 Jeordie White is a total Star Wars nerd. This amuses me immensely.
Also amusing is the latest Meathead Perspective. I think most of the reason I keep up with NIN these days is to make sure I won’t miss any of Meathead’s jokes.
Veronica Mars last night was stunningly bad. ( not really spoilery, but just in case )
I want the organizers of New York Comic Con to die slow, painful deaths. Preferably after taking off work, waiting outside in freezing windy cold for two hours, being treated rudely at every turn, and not being able to get the autograph of the person they wasted a vacation day to meet.
Seriously, I’ve been to plenty of conventions, and I certainly never had to wait in line for hours to get in at DragonCon or San Diego ComiCon, especially in freezing weather. And I never had to arrive hours early to wait in line and get some kind of special ticket to get into an event at a convention I’d already paid for. The whole thing is a fucking mess.
I skipped Saturday and Sunday, regardless of George R.R. Martin and Stephen King. I don’t care who their guests are in the future; I am never going back.
Huh. I haven’t ranted about anything in a while. That felt good.
Back to happier things…
I watched the last half of the Oscars on Sunday night, because I was channel surfing and came across Robert Downey, Jr. I always thought of him as a really good actor who was also cute, but somehow he’s turned into a really good actor who is drop dead gorgeous. I also realized that he has a movie opening on Friday that is directed by David Fincher (Fight Club!) and is getting great reviews. I’m very excited.
It was also cool to see Ennio Morricone get an award, since those Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood Westerns are among my all-time favorite movies, in large part because of Morricone’s scores. Although, yeah, his acceptance speech was a little tedious. Whatever, he deserved the recognition.
And it was cool to see Lucas, Spielberg, and Coppola together. The Oscars are pretty interesting from the perspective of someone who is kind of fascinated by the film industry, although the movies it tends to honor are almost always the boring ones that I haven’t seen. I like fantasy and action, and “Lord of the Rings” was too pretentious for me, so, yeah. My favorite movies last year were “Pirates 2″ and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” which only got technical awards. I’m not really an Oscar person, but the ceremony itself was more interesting than I expected.
I’m re-reading A Game of Thrones. I really need to re-read the whole series and take detailed notes (there’s so many lovely bits of foreshadowing and characterization that I note in my head and then promptly forget!), but some of the thoughts that particularly stood out:
( thoughts on the Song of Ice and Fire series )
Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
randomness: star wars, nin, veronica mars, oscars, asoiaf... @ 06:12 pm
Current Mood:  tired
Jeordie White is a total Star Wars nerd. This amuses me immensely. Also amusing is the latest Meathead Perspective. I think most of the reason I keep up with NIN these days is to make sure I won't miss any of Meathead's jokes. Veronica Mars last night was stunningly bad. ( not really spoilery, but just in case )I want the organizers of New York Comic Con to die slow, painful deaths. Preferably after taking off work, waiting outside in freezing windy cold for two hours, being treated rudely at every turn, and not being able to get the autograph of the person they wasted a vacation day to meet. Seriously, I've been to plenty of conventions, and I certainly never had to wait in line for hours to get in at DragonCon or San Diego ComiCon, especially in freezing weather. And I never had to arrive hours early to wait in line and get some kind of special ticket to get into an event at a convention I'd already paid for. The whole thing is a fucking mess. I skipped Saturday and Sunday, regardless of George R.R. Martin and Stephen King. I don't care who their guests are in the future; I am never going back. Huh. I haven't ranted about anything in a while. That felt good. Back to happier things... I watched the last half of the Oscars on Sunday night, because I was channel surfing and came across Robert Downey, Jr. I always thought of him as a really good actor who was also cute, but somehow he's turned into a really good actor who is drop dead gorgeous. I also realized that he has a movie opening on Friday that is directed by David Fincher ( Fight Club!) and is getting great reviews. I'm very excited. It was also cool to see Ennio Morricone get an award, since those Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood Westerns are among my all-time favorite movies, in large part because of Morricone's scores. Although, yeah, his acceptance speech was a little tedious. Whatever, he deserved the recognition. And it was cool to see Lucas, Spielberg, and Coppola together. The Oscars are pretty interesting from the perspective of someone who is kind of fascinated by the film industry, although the movies it tends to honor are almost always the boring ones that I haven't seen. I like fantasy and action, and "Lord of the Rings" was too pretentious for me, so, yeah. My favorite movies last year were "Pirates 2" and "Pan's Labyrinth," which only got technical awards. I'm not really an Oscar person, but the ceremony itself was more interesting than I expected. I'm re-reading A Game of Thrones. I really need to re-read the whole series and take detailed notes (there's so many lovely bits of foreshadowing and characterization that I note in my head and then promptly forget!), but some of the thoughts that particularly stood out: ( thoughts on the Song of Ice and Fire series )
July 26th, 2006
WriterCon Rocked @ 05:53 pm
Current Mood:  nostalgic
I think that if there was a heaven, it'd be a lot like WriterCon. You're surrounded by hundreds of brilliant, talented people, all of whom share your interest in delving deep into the meaning of TV, movies, books. Everywhere you turn, there's an old friend who you haven't seen in ages, or have never even met in person, or else there's someone you don't know but would love to meet. There's even yummy vegan food in the hospitality suite, so you never have to starve. And random strangers keep coming up to you and either 1) thanking you for your website or 2) complementing your shoes. And then when you finally go back to your room, there's three people so cool that, even though you're exhausted, you stay up another hour chatting. Heaven would probably have a nicer hotel, though, and in (my personal) heaven no one wakes up until at least noon. Aside from that, it was pretty much perfect. I just wish I'd had more time to talk to and meet everyone--there were so many awesome people that I did get to hang out with, but plenty more than I either missed entirely or passed in the hallway and went "OMG, it's you! We'll have to talk later!" and didn't see again. There's no way to list everyone, but just, y'know, to everyone who was there: I miss you! I want to go back! The whole weekend was awesome! ( Here's a more specific con report )So, yeah. The point is: WriterCon was awesome. And, seriously, if I could choose any social group in the world to hang out with, it would be the WriterCon crowd.
February 16th, 2006
New York Comic Con @ 02:53 pm
New York Comic Con http://www.nycomiccon.comFebruary 24-26 at the Javits Center in NYC $35 for a weekend pass Kevin Smith is the guest of honor. Schedule at a glance.I'm not going back to San Diego this year, but I think I'll check this out. Anyone else going? Also, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is playing that Saturday night, Feb 25, at Avalon (formerly Limelight, on 6th Ave at 20th St). Anyone want to go see them with me?
December 13th, 2005
(no subject) @ 12:59 pm
Current Mood:  cold
Current Music: pig - my sanctuary (original version)
NY Times article on George RR Martin. Neat! 10zlaine and I are going to see him at a convention at Harvard in January. Vericon. It's freezing outside. My hair froze on the way to work this morning. Ugh. Coldest day so far. (And my apartment is also freezing. Poor kitties.) I saw Depeche Mode again on Thursday night. I bought the ticket the day before--they must've released some reserved seats at the last minute--because I had an amazing view. Second row, elevated, to the left, right in front of the stage. Totally awesome--I'm so happy with it. And the show was really wonderful--they are such talented and charismatic performers. I think the only difference between shows was that Martin Gore sang "A Question of Lust" this time. Anyway--wonderful show, totally recommend seeing them. I was sick all weekend, and alternated between working on various projects and huddling in front of the TV drinking hot tea and re-watching S1 of Veronica Mars. Stuff I noticed in VM: - Logan is SO COMPLETELY WONDERFUL. (Sorry. Had to say it.) - "An Echolls Family Christmas" is my favorite episode. Every time the Echolls family comes onscreen, the show gets ten times better. And Logan/Weevil slashiness! Seriously, those two have awesome chemistry. - Duncan had more facial expressions last year, didn't he? WTF is up with that? He really is a robot in S2. - I really liked S1 Veronica. I totally, totally get the high school trauma thing, and the "covering your pain by being a badass" thing, and the rejection of a social group that you've realized is corrupt. I (*gasp*) identified with her, and liked her. I loved her anger, and the fact that she'd choose vengeance--she wasn't perfect, but was real. But what's horrible is to realize that she didn't reject the '09ers because she realized that they are corrupt and not worth her time--she just rejected them because they rejected her first. Really, she was just pining to get back in with them. And now that she has the opportunity to do so, she's immediately given up all that "independent," "interesting" stuff and turned into just another '09er clone. Look at her HAIR for God's sake--last year it was all funky and neat, this year it's all pretty blonde princess. She's tolerating DICK and putting up with 100 times more bullshit from Duncan than she'd ever have tolerated from Logan. It's like she started out as Chloe, but she's turned into Buffy. (*shudders*) And I've lost all respect for the character. And that SUCKS. I want to see her reject the '09ers, not because they were mean to her but because she realizes that she really isn't one of them and doesn't want to belong to their lame-ass social group anyway. Even if she could. -Okay, another S1 thing--the MotW episodes kind of sucked then, too. I didn't realize it because I was watching so fast and most paying attention to the arc stuff, but if I'd been watching week by week I'd have been pretty frustrated. Seriously, plenty of those mysteries are predictable and lame. In fact, I totally separate the arc stuff from the MotW stuff, and it's kind of startling to realize that those awesome scenes where Logan and Aaron are attending Lynn's funeral are actually spaced between some ridiculously dull plot of the week thing about a rap mogul's daughter. Who knew? "An Echolls Family Christmas" rocks because both the A and B plot are Echolls related. (Seriously, they should just make it "The Fucked-Up Echolls Family Show"--now that I'd love. Every time Logan or Aaron are onscreen, the show is ten times better.) Anyway. Just some random thoughts. As far as season two... last week's episode was ( VM 2xWhatever spoilers )Oh yeah, and on Sunday I went with jaydk to this play reading thing, because it featured her latest fictional obsession, Tom Pelphrey, who plays Jonathan on Guiding Light. (I've never actually seen Guiding Light, but from having Jane as a friend, I know allll about Jonathan.) So the play was decent (a bit Breakfast-Club-esque) and the acting was quite good. So that was neat. And other than that, I've just been madly busy. Website stuff, holiday stuff, eBay, etc. ( ebay worries )
July 16th, 2005
(no subject) @ 01:18 am
Hee... guess who just sat three rows back from Jason Dohring! And saw the whole Battlestar Galactica cast on their panel.... Comic Con rocks. Full report coming next week. :)
July 8th, 2005
(no subject) @ 11:38 am
Current Mood:  hopeful
Current Music: some bjork song, stuck in my head for no discernable reason
I'm leaving tonight for Los Angeles, where I will meet up with 10zlaine. lonners will be joining us on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we'll head to San Diego for Comic Con, which is going to be so totally awesome. (Pssst, VM fans? Jason Dohring is on the Veronica Mars panel. >:) I'll be back on Monday July 18. I know I have obligations to fulfill, but unfortunately it's been an insanely busy week (work, packing, trip planning, etc.) and I haven't gotten to everything. If you're waiting for something from me (fic archiving, Q&A response, mailed videotapes, etc...), I will take care of it when I return. I apologize for the delay. I'll be checking my email periodically, if you need to get in touch. NIN tickets for MSG are going on sale while I'm gone. I'll have to figure out a way to get online for those. Bye! :)
June 8th, 2005
San Diego Comic Con @ 12:28 pm
So I'm finalizing my plans for Comic Con, and I have a question for those who've been there: Is it safe to leave Sunday evening, or should I wait until Monday morning? It looks like the con is going to wrap up on Sunday afternoon, but are there unofficial events on Sunday night that I'd want to stick around for? Any info you can provide wuold be appreciated. :) P.S. Anyone else going to Comic Con?
February 22nd, 2005
mememememe @ 01:24 pm
Current Mood:  blah
Current Music: pig - my favorite car
This is a meme that's going around. I probably should've posted it yesterday, but whatever: Lurkers out there, yo, today's your day. Whether you're a LJ-lurker or from someplace outside reading this journal, you are the reason this journal isn't locked by default. So, come out and say 'hi' or something. Tell me what you're doing here, how you feel, who you are, whatever. No need to be shy. Feel free to post anonymously!I'm a bit curious about this, since I've been kind of friends-locking by default lately. Robot soldiers. So creepy. Didn't these guys see "Terminator"? I'm trying to think of 10 things I've done that most people probably haven't. Some of these things are kind of unmentionable, or depressing, or both, so I won't mention those. Let's see... what is there that is semi-interesting and suitable for public consumption?... I'm pretty boring, really.... 1. Went to a different school every year for 6 years. (Most dramatic was going from living in the middle of the woods in Indiana and attending Catholic school to living in a tiny apartment 20 yards from the beach in Puerto Rico the next year. And going swimming pretty much every single day that year.) 2. Co-wrote, filmed, and edited a 10 minute student movie about zombies. (And a bunch of other silly amateur movies, but that was the best.) 3. Got a perfect score (800) on the verbal part of the SAT. I think I got a perfect score on the writing part of the PSAT, too; I got a National Merit Scholarship out of it. 4. Hung out backstage at music venues all over NYC--Irving Plaza was probably the biggest--and met lots of different bands (including the Genitorturers, Switchblade Symphony, Godhead...) all before age 20. And slept in Penn Station, multiple times, and went to school the next day. 5. Was in the front row of a Marilyn Manson concert in their heyday, against the barrier, getting purple bruises on my hip-bones and dodging body surfers. Met John 5 afterwards and got a photo. 6. Read thousands and thousands of Buffy fics, and archived about one thousand of them. (Well, probably most of you guys have read that many.) 7. Worked behind the scenes at a bunch of Buffy cons; probably the most amusing thing was Alexis Denisof running off in the middle of a photoshoot to go pee, and making an announcement about it to the line before he went. 8. Watched the three original Star Wars movies at least 500 times each, and can still recite entire scenes. 9. Was onstage for an hour in London in front of 800 people with a panel that included BtVS writer Jane Espenson. ( paratti has also done this. ;) 10. Was on the front page of the local paper, in a photo and interview. (With 3 friends, after Columbine, trying to lessen the persecution of Goth kids.)
February 10th, 2005
(no subject) @ 11:19 am
Comic Con looks really cool. Anyone going? I'm considering. Anyone who's been there before, do you have hotel recommendations?
January 11th, 2005
bitch, bitch, whine, whine, pretentiously attempt movie criticism, whine again @ 06:39 pm
November 3rd, 2004
London Vacation/Convention Report @ 05:17 pm
Current Mood:  weird
I don't know what to say about the election. Bigotry and intolerance and hate and ignorance won. I love New York City, but I'm terrified of America right now. I met up with saussy for coffee this morning and we hugged and commiserated. She's such a darling person. I'm glad that I'm here in this city, surrounded mainly by people who believe in freedom and choice and equality. Even if our country is ruled by people who don't want us to exist. So anyway, I got back from London late last night. (I voted absentee, of course.) I had a wonderful time, so I'm going to try to write up a con report now. I loved the city, saw a ton of awesome sights including Stonehenge, Bath, Salisbury, the Tower of London, Highgate Cemetery, Hampton Court, etc. I also spent time at both conventions, saw an awesome concert by Christian Kane and band (attended by apparently half the cast of Angel), got up onstage for an hour in front of 800 people with a panel that included Jane Espenson, saw Marsters and Boreanaz together, did my first shot ever (of Jagermeister, oh my god) and actually sort of danced.... well, it was neat. [listening to Kerry's concession speech and I feel like I'm going to vomit.... okay, focus, London....] ( traveling to London )( Highgate Cemetery, Covent Garden, and the Original Bus Tour )( Hampton Court, Food for Thought, the Tower of London, the Thames )I am not really a big Marsters or Boreanaz fan so please don't read this if you do not want to hear criticism of these actors. I am only sharing my honest personal opinion. It is not meant as any kind of insult to those who do enjoy seeing these actors. ( Saturday at the Marsters/Boreanaz convention, the British Museum, back to the convention )( Sunday at the Marsters/Boreanaz event; being onstage in front of bright lights and approximately a gazillion people )( The White Room )( Stonehenge, Salisbury, Bath )( The Kane concert, featuring one of the most gorgeous men alive, plus nearly half the cast of Angel )
October 25th, 2004
(no subject) @ 09:52 pm
So, who's going to be at the upcoming con in London this weekend? *busy making plans*
September 7th, 2004
Dragoncon 2004 @ 01:21 pm
Current Mood:  exhausted
Got home from DragonCon last night. It was fun, but going to two cons in a row was exhausting. Not sure if I'll want to do that again. The Firefly guests (Nathan Fillion, Jewel Staite, and Adam Baldwin) were the surprise hits of the con. Very popular, packed the Q&A and autograph rooms, and were very funny and entertaining. I didn't do any of the Buffy stuff, as I wasn't interested. I wanted to do Harry Potter panels, but frustratingly, the few Harry Potter panels coincided with other stuff that I wanted to do more. So the only Harry Potter thing I saw was Harry Potter Jeopardy, for little kids. Well, all the HP programming was for little kids--it was the YA Track. They NEED a totally-Harry Potter track, with ADULT programming! All the HP stuff was packed, with lines, while the rest of the YA stuff was barely filled. I don't think I'll return next year if they don't have separate HP programming for grown-ups. The best surprise for me was Rogue from the Cruxshadows. He was on two of the panels for the new Goth track and he was WONDERFUL. Brilliant and articulate and interesting and funny. One panel was specifically about the history of Goth music while the other was about the Goth subculture in general. Rogue discussed the ideology/mindstate of "Goth" going back to the Romans vs. "passionate, non-logical, individualistic" outsiders. He talked about Beethoven as the first Goth musician, Byron and Goth as "modern Romanticism," early horror films like Nosferatu, plus the development of New Wave from Punk and all the obvious stuff. He was just so interesting and thoughtful. All the discussions were really fair and open-minded--they were talking about the positives and negatives of stuff like Hot Topic and Marilyn Manson from a really balanced perspective. Lots of celebration of the diversity of the Goth movement. I wish someone had recorded those panels; they were wonderful. The Cruxshadows themselves were awesome, of course. Unfortunately they didn't play until 2am, and we were let in at 10:30pm, plus had to wait in line to get in. Standing for four hours SUCKED. The opening band, Faith and the Muse, was terrible. Voltaire was good, but not worth standing for. My feet still hurt. But the Cruxshadows were worth it. And I got jaydk to stand up front with me, and she loved the show (even though she's so not goth and she doesn't like live music). Rogue sang to her, and autographed a CD for her, and gave her a hug. :) I saw a kid dressed as Remus Lupin (with the scars!), and shrieked, and took his photo. There were also a bunch of Harrys floating around, and a good amount of Snapes and Hagrids. Plenty of pirates, as well--several captain Jacks, at least one Captain Hook, and a bunch of generic pirates. They also did an interactive showing of PotC, but as it was at 10am, I didn't go. It was fun to go to the con, and good to spend time with jaydk and elizard100 and rockgoddes, plus the various other people I ran into like elfgirl and dwivian, Froggy and Jamie, April B. and Donna, poshcat and fer1213, etc.... And now, I must work, and then sleep for a very long time.
September 1st, 2004
(no subject) @ 01:56 pm
Current Mood:  awake
I'm leaving tomorrow night for Dragoncon. (Squee!) They're going to have lots of Harry Potter stuff, and the Cruxshadows are playing .... I'm very excited. Anyone else going to be there who might want to meet up at some point? :) I realized I never posted anything publicly about Vulkon Oakland. So I'll just say that Common Rotation is awesome ( everyone should check them out), the Trio is so entertaining, Alexis Denisof is articulate and beautiful and adorable, Vulkon is EVIL and I will never attend another of their cons, and the best part was seeing people and hanging out with my friends. And, y'know, I strongly encourage y'all not to give money to Vulkon, ever. But do buy lots of Common Ro CDs! So I feel bad about leaving again, because my cats will be lonely ... but it's only for four days, and my roommate is taking care of them. And I'll spend LOTS of time with them when I get back. I can tell they're being clingy, though--Angel spent last night sleeping pretty much on my face. (She was soooo cute, so I let her, even though I've been sneezing all day because of it.) Well, anyway, must go squeeze a bit more work in before I head off to another con.
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