So, after a busy and thoroughly enjoyable four days of Dragon*Con, I am writing from the comfort of my apartment in Tulsa, rested and reset. How’d the rest of the con go? I had planned to write more but the excitement of D*C interfered…I’ll try to keep this from being rambly.
The parade on Saturday morning was good, but a little underwhelming for me. Everyone else enjoyed it thoroughly, and there was a lot to enjoy. It was broken down into sections; there was a Ghostbusters section, a Superhero section, a Stormtrooper section, etc. There were a few floats, several vehicles (the Mad Max vehicle/section was really impressive) and the Steampunk folks even boasted a modified Segway. I guess I just expected more elaborate costumes. Makes sense in hindsight; who wants to walk a parade route in some huge, extravagant costume and risk damage? There were a lot of non-cons there, and from what I understand the Con registration building was overwhelmed afterwards with folks that were unaware and happened to catch the parade.
Afterwards, Indi went to take a nap (last night + early parade) and I did what ended up being my favorite thing to do: wander, take pictures, and people watch. I found a lady with a tell-tale “!” above her head, denoting that she had a quest ala ‘World of Warcraft’. I got a chocolate gold coin out of the deal, and would’ve had more if I’d found the quest turn-in lady, but I never did. Once Indi got up and about, we were walking around and ran into Jason Carter, who played Marcus on Babylon 5. Indi got her picture with him (and a drag off his cigarette) which caused her to jump around with extreme happiness. Saturday night we went to a ‘Quiz Show’ panel (similar to the British show ‘Would I Lie to You?’ and etc) that consisted of games played by MST3K folks and Doc Hammer. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.
Sunday was magic day for me. I spent a lot of time on my own (everyone else went to a Brent Spiner panel while I attended to my own matters) and saw some celebs. I met Claudia Christian (Susan Ivanova from Babylon 5), was greeted by Brent Spiner (on his way to the panel that everyone else was waiting in line for) and Star Trek’s Q (John de Lancie) put his hand on my shoulder and announced he was going to go give Jonathan Frakes some trouble as he walked through a line I was standing in. I noticed a lot of ‘famous’ Con folks just walking around amongst everyone. Even Kevin Sorbo, who is quite highly regarded. I didn’t see anyone get mobbed or overwhelmed, mostly just waves and hellos. Anyway, Sunday consisted of much people-watching, some drinking, and good times.
Monday was the drive home. Saying goodbye to Dragon*Con wasn’t as hard for me as it was for some of the others, as my wits were frayed and I was ready to come home and rest. It was a long, fabulous weekend full of fans and friends. I met some new ones and felt at home amongst strangers. Everyone was friendly, polite, and the one fight we saw break out came from a few non-cons trying too desperately to pick up nerd chicks. Everyone was eager to show off their costumes, or fan knowledge, or gaming skills (the Hilton’s basement was filled with table-top gaming tables). It was a celebration of all things geek or nerd. I was very happy to be a part of it.
I can’t wait to go again next year.
Rhys' Pieces 