Tag: Dragon*Con

On Not Attending Dragon Con This Year.

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A large reason why things have been quiet blog-wise is because I am not attending Dragon Con this year (yes, they have lost the asterisk,  read more about that here if you are interested).   I know, I know, this is the worst.  This decision is a combination of finances and schedule.  The finances issue is part lack thereof, part my trying to get a reasonable amount of savings in order for both general emergency purposes and Honeymoon 2014.  The schedule has to due with the Jewish High Holidays being crazy early this year, September 4-6 for Rosh Hashanah, September 13-14 for Yom Kippur, and also my not being able to take off work for Dragon Con *and* the High Holidays in the weeks before CenterFest.  The combination of all these things has led me to make the responsible adult decision (boo) to not go to Dragon Con.

Naturally I am bummed out by this, and I’ve been even more bummed out recently since Comic Con just happened in San Diego, and since my Facebook feed is aflutter with Dragon Con costume-preparation statuses, and since I just got the Dragon Con 2013 progress report.  I mean, I know in the end that this is the correct decision–my wallet and my sanity will thank me–but the past 4 summers I have looked forward to Dragon Con, and it just feels off to not have that this summer.

To compensate I’m going to endeavor to check out some smaller, local conventions this fall–namely the Escapist Expo and NC Comic Con.  NC Comic Con is having a film festival at the Carolina Theatre (my favorite) and they are showing awesome movies, like The Crow, so of course I am there.  Hoping these two local cons, and also Halloween, can help me get my costume uber-nerd fix.

In the meantime, here are some photos I have been meaning to post.  I have Carolina Theatre connections through work, and in March I got an invite to the early-premiere of the first episode of this season of Game of Thrones.  HBO came in, rented out the theater, provided swag, and had a little photo booth.  Of course I pulled out my Melisandre costume, because when else am I going to wear it?  Made for some fabulous photos at the Iron Throne green screen photo booth:

 

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The last photo is of Nancy and me–Nancy made the dress, it was fun to hang out with her in a non-sewing studio setting!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we set a wedding date (yay!)–June 22nd, 2014, in Sarasota, Florida.  So, you know, I do have something for which to plan!

 

25 Days to Dragon*Con: Halfway There!

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Oh man guys, we’re halfway through the countdown, and we’ve only got 25 more days to Dragon*Con!

On 25 Days to Dragon*Con in 2010 I posted the trailer for the 4 Days at Dragon*Con documentary.  And then about a year ago, at the end of July 2011, I posted a link to the actual 4 Days at Dragon*Con documentary, and also had a giant mini-fame moment because I AM TOTALLY IN THE DOCUMENTARY.  If you want to find me start at the thirty-six minute mark, and then at thirty-six minutes, ten seconds, there I am, tearing up the dance floor.  Since this documentary was filmed at my first Dragon*Con (in 2009) I have so much nerd pride at having made it into the film!

Since we are at the halfway mark, I figure it is time for all of us to re-watch the film (or watch it for the first time, if for some reason you haven’t watched it).   EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT, you can get access to it here.   It will give you so much joy as we head into the final stretch before Con!

I hope everyone’s Dragon*Con preparations are going well!

 

31 Days to Dragon*Con: On New Discoveries

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Last year, after seeing tons of Dr. Who costumes that we didn’t get, Jon and I decided to watch Dr. Who.  The new seasons, of course.  And it was GREAT guys, Dr. Who was super fun, are you my mummy, etc.  Except, for the first few seasons I was hugely distracted by Rose Tyler‘s bad makeup and dye job–so either that was part of her character, or the makeup department was super low-budget at the time.

Rose Tyler
Rose Tyler (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seriously y’all, spider mascara.

ANYWAYS.  We’re not here to talk about makeup, we’re here to talk about shows that Dragon*Con has inspired us to watch.  My obvious one is Dr. Who, of course, and I’ve just started Torchwood. Also, Dragon*Con inspired me to play Portal and Portal 2, which is hilarious, because I never really played videogames.  As you all know, I LOVE PORTAL.  (I really love Portal).  I still really haven’t played any videogames besides Portal, y’all.  Portal is great.

Portal 2
Portal 2 (Photo credit: N0fX)

What about y’all?  What new fandoms has Dragon*Con made you pursue?  Or not pursue, maybe because of obnoxious fans?  Either way, has Dragon*Con opened your horizons?  Let me know in the comments!

Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) cradles a dying Doct...
Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) cradles a dying Doctor (David Tennant) after he has been shot by a Dalek extermination ray. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Yes I totally cried at that part, I’m sure y’all did too.)

 

33 Days to Dragon*Con: Band Profile, Erin Hill & Her Psychadelic Harp

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What a great name, right?  The description makes Erin Hill sound vaguely like Joanna Newsom, who is the only other contemporary musician of whom I know that is a frequent user of the harp.  I love Joanna Newsom, so this is a good sign.

Erin has a great story; according to her Dragon*Con profile, her “recent Kickstarter project, ‘Erin Hill (the Sci-Fi Harp Girl) makes a Music Video Album,’ ended in the Top 40 of Kickstarter’s Most Successful music projects ever. USA Today premiered the music video for Erin’s song ‘Lookout, Science’ as an exclusive in April 2012 and it was featured on the Kickstarter blog in May 2012.”

This is the video that was a result of that Kickstarter project, and it is 100% delightful:

Wasn’t that so pleasant?  Also that older woman with the red hair is Marni Nixon, who is famous for being the singing voice behind many fabulous movie musical leading ladies, such as Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady and Natalie Hill in West Side Story.  Fun fact!

Also Erin Hill has been in some of my favorite Broadway musicals, including the Sam Mendes Cabaret revival and also Urinetown.  ERIN HILL BE MY BEST FRIEND.  Seriously this woman should be my new best friend–let us be friends, Erin.

Here is some more of her music, which I am 100% loving because, hello, Broadway-veteran, sci-fi loving HARPIST.

Also this is fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zZePBRDJLM&feature=related

So, now I have a giant girl crush y’all.

Talking points:

–Harpist

–Kickstarter hero

–Broadway veteran.

TWO THUMBS UP.  EVERYONE GO SEE HER LET US ALL GO SEE HER LET US DO IT.

34 Days to Dragon*Con: Band Profile, Emerald Rose

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Emerald Rose is the other band I saw my first year at Dragon*Con.  They were playing at the Firefly Shindig (which I think no longer exists maybe?  I’m one of those people who very much enjoys Firefly but doesn’t quite understand all the hype, mostly because I am a bigger fan of Buffy and Angel, and also because I thought that Dollhouse had a much stronger and more interesting premise, and also I don’t really like Westerns.  Anyway).

Emerald Rose is a Celtic folk-rock band that is based in northern Georgia.   They have played many fancy places, including a few Lord of the Rings Oscars parties.  They’re one of the bigger draws at Dragon*Con, as far as I can tell.  Celtic folk-rock isn’t really my thing, but they were enjoyable enough.  Some awkward folkish dancing happened, if I remember correctly.  Basically awkward white people dancing.

Here is their Dragon*Con bio, and here is their website (I totally love that their motto is “Celtic Music That Rocks!). Here is their actually incredibly helfpul description on their website: “North Georgia‘s EMERALD ROSE has been recording and performing for around 20 years, weaving their musical spell on audiences as diverse as Irish pubs and festivals, sci-fi conventions, and Hollywood cast parties! Blending vocal harmonies, Celtic and world music instrumentation, unique and diverse songwriting, rocking renditions of Irish and Scottish classics, and an energetic performance style, Emerald Rose entertains.”  See?  Helpful.  Also, men in kilts!

Here is some of their music:

Talking points:

-Celtic folk-rock

-Men in kilts

-Strong Firefly allegiance.

One thumb up.  If I stumbled onto their show, I’d probably hang around for a bit.