I Cross Stitched A Crossbow

Whedon Con - Day 2

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Marriott - Woodland Hills

I had a bowl of Lucky Charms this morning and was disturbed by the fact that I was eating marshmallow unicorn heads.  Yet I was getting ready to go to a con wherein the major draw is a TV show about vampires.  I'm an enigma.

I met Dodie in the lobby and we went to room C for our first panel, the very long-titled "Top 10 buffy or angel episodes (that inspire us to be strong)", hosted by Ian of The Passion of the Nerd podcast. They started late because there were issues with the sound system, so Ian had to rush through the last few episodes on his list, but we really enjoyed it.  I shed a few tears remembering the emotional punches of some of the episodes, and hearing Ian talk about their effect on his own life, and probably on many of others in the room.  I am now looking forward to hearing his podcast.  We got a chance to talk to him later and tell him how much meaning the talk made for us.  I didn't know when I was getting ready this morning that I'd be in tears before noon.

Dodie had not eaten anything yet, so we went to Starbucks for brunch, and fellow con attendees talked to us as they passed our table.  People at this con are very friendly!  

We walked back to Room C for the "Squee! Buffy Fan & Alumni Documentary".  They were still having sound issues, but we were eventually able to see a rough cut of the work in progress.  I'm interested in seeing the finished product, mostly because I'm a fan of Buffy.

We stayed in the room for the "Once More With Feeling" singalong.  Yes, in the room with the sound issues.  But add to that the wi-fi issues, and it was crazy-making.  They eventually just had someone play it on their phone and we sang along if we knew the lyrics.  A gal dressed as Anya with a very shiny gold skirt did a great job with her bunnies solo.  They finally got the video to work, but we needed to leave because we had a schedule to follow.  We also knew that we wouldn't get to see the whole thing since they started from the beginning despite our having sung about half of the episode already.

Buffy and friend leading the singalong
The gal working on the laptop reminds me of Angela.

We went up to the craft room for Geeky Cross Stitch by Geek Girls Forever/Geek Girls Society.  I had already decided on the Bless This Crossbow pattern the day before, but then had trouble again when I saw other ones.  They were so cute!  I went back to my first instinct and later bought a Star Wars themed one to make some other time.  My goal was to at least finish the crossbow during the crafting session.  I have done cross stitch before, but it sure didn't seem like it when I proceeded to break my hoop before I even started stitching.  The lady helping us (also the pattern maker) was very kind and gave me another hoop because it happens so often that she brings a bunch of extras.  Dodie's pattern was a T.A.R.D.I.S., which had a lot of blue floss.  We were there for a while with our craft faces on.  My love for crafting was renewed this day, and  I would join the club if the meetings were closer to my home or job.

Bless This Crossbow

The Gather App never sent me notifications of our different panels, so I forgot that we were supposed to go to the Sean Maher Q&A.  Instead, we got in a long line for James Marsters.  Camden Toy walked by.  Twice.  From the same direction.  The second time, I asked him if he was twins.  We later realized that we were in the line to take photos with James Marsters. Oops.  We wanted to go to the Q&A.  So we left the line and went to Room G, where we heard the last portion of the "Wonder Women of Whedon" panel with Dagney Kerr (Buffy's roommate, Kathy), Mercedes McNab (Harmony), Julia Lee (various Buffy characters, including Anne), and Miracle Laurie (November on Dollhouse).  

• Mercedes McNab's most memorable scene: when she first becomes a vampire
• Harmony's fight with Xander - "We didn't know that they were filming in slow motion, and we thought we looked so stupid fighting like that.   Then we saw it later and we liked it."
• To Julia: who, in all of the characters you portrayed on Buffy, was your favorite?
• Anne, because she was able to grow and get better.
• What character in the Whedonverse, not on your show, would you want to be?
• Miracle Laurie didn't even let the person finish the question before saying, "Xander.  That's what we're talking about right now, right? A character on another show?  Definitely Xander.  He's so funny."
• Dagney never watched the show either before or after she was on it, because she feels like she would never be able to move beyond it if she had.  So she couldn't comment on what character she would like to play.  "I watch 'The Bachelor'.  I'd want to be the girl that's a mess, and gets drunk in the pool, and everybody's, like, 'She has GOT to go.'"

Moderator; Dagney; Mercedes; Julia; Miracle

We moved up a couple of rows once the panel was over, and I was glad we were there early because the room was packed for the James Marsters Q&A.  He was introduced by the guy cosplaying as Lorne, whom we saw the day before, getting his makeup applied.  He hosted Karaoke at Caritas the night before, too.

James Marsters arrived, cheekbones at the ready.

Spike has arrived!

James said, "Oh, don't make me the bad guy!" when he was asked if he wanted to call on the people with their hands raised.  So "Lorne" called on folks instead.

• Great question (and answer) about the difference between stage acting and film acting, and what it was like to play Spike for TV.  
• I was very theatrical, and when I first worked with Giles, I thought, "I'm gonna wipe the floor with him."  Then he stood there with his coffee, delivering his lines, and he was so good that I started to take the Tony Head Acting Class.  Every chance I got, I was sitting on an apple box just watching him and learning from him.
• Favorite place he's ever traveled to: has traveled all over the Western World, but most of the time doesn't get to explore.  But he does love the Sagrada Familia designed by Antoni Gaudi.
• James' favorite part outside of the Whedonverse: Buzz Aldrin in "Moonshot".  He got the part by coming in with a hangover and being surly and they said, "That's so Buzz!"  Then James proceeded to talk science to our audience.  So he's cool, gorgeous, AND smart!  Love him.
• How JM found out that Spike would be failing in love with Buffy:
•   I was watching Riley, and I said to Joss, "If you ever want me to be shirtless on camera, you need to tell me, because we need to work hard to look like that!"  Joss told him, OK, you've got the whole summer.  JM: What?  JW:  Yeah, Spike is going to fall in love with Buffy.  JM:  Oh, just for a couple of episodes or something, like a spell.  JW:  No, you're going to be having sex with her all year.  JM:  So that's how I found out that Spike was going to fall in love with Buffy.  I love SMG, but as a kid sister.  So I had to try to fall in love with her romantically, and I couldn't do it.  It wasn't until I saw her working the drive through and being an adult, basically a single mother, having to take care of her family, and she had to be nice to people.  And I was, like, <makes a dreamy face>.  SMG turns around and sees me like that, and says, "WHAT?  It's the chicken hat, right?  Everybody's been making fun of me all day and I hate it!"  And I was like, "No, no!" but I couldn't actually tell her what I was thinking.
• First kiss with Buffy: took 14 takes because it was so technical.
•   Sarah told me, "James, stop ACTING!  I want to go home!"
• Who was your favorite kill?
• I don't know.  After working 12-20 hour days, my short-term memory is gone.  We would play a game in the afternoon, and ask, "What scene did we do this morning?" and nobody could answer.  I do remember that the make-up guy loved me because I would sit for anything.  If you look at the other actors, you'll see a little bit of blood along the hairline.  But I was willing to have blood all over me.  The make-up artist would say, "The vampires would go for the carotid artery and the blood would spray all over the place."  So sometimes he would just have a bucket of blood and take a handful and throw it on me.  I was like, <open arms> "Yeaaahhhhh!"
• Would you rather play the hero or the...
• <interrupts question> "Villain, villain, villain, villain.  When you're the hero, you have to run around and save the day all the time and suffer guilt.  But if you're the bad guy, you just lurk in the shadows, and when the good guy comes along, you just clock him.  Bad guys don't have feelings, they don't care."
• Great last question of the day:  It's 2018, the world is on fire.  Where is Spike?  
• "Spike would be taking a flight to DC.  And he'll have been dieting so that he'll be hungry.  Yup.  He's hunting."

He's awesome.  I love how much he enjoyed playing Spike, and enjoys talking about it with the fans.  

That was it for us for the day, so I went to Bro's house and we went to The Boiling Crab for dinner with their friends, followed by dessert at Creamistry.  What a great day!

Next up:  Day 3 - Talking to the Talent

Welcome to WhedonCon

Whedon Con - Day 1

Friday, May 18, 2018

Marriott Woodland Hills

I heard about WhedonCon a year or two ago when I was still new about going to cons.  Last year, with several cons under my belt, the event came up in my FB feed again, and I said, "Well, what the heck.  Let's go for it."  The con is run by fans for fans of all things Joss Whedon, and is produced through Fandom Charities.  Buffy The Vampire Slayer (BTVS) is one of my very favorite shows, so I thought it would be fun to hang out with fellow fans.  I bought my ticket in September, and waited several months for the actual event.  Somewhere along the way, I forgot to tell other people that I was going, and I mentioned it to Dodie.  She had time and wanted to go, so she gladly join me.  Mind you, Dodie has been very generous in giving me many things for my Buffy fandom, so she was not surprised that I was going to this con.  She had never heard of it, though.  Well, that's because this is just the third year, so it's still new to lots of folks.  

I had taken the day off work, and drove to Bro's house, where I'd be staying for the weekend.  Bro and I had Thai food for lunch, and the lunch special includes a dessert of mango and sticky rice served in a cup with a cute little spoon.

I then made my way to the Marriott at the Warner Center in Woodland Hills and obtained my credentials.  I think it's cool that the hotel has a booth set up for people attending meetings and conventions like this.  Dodie was at the Starbucks inside the hotel, so I met up with her and planned out our day. First up was the Opening Ceremony.  I had never been to an opening ceremony for a convention, nor do I remember seeing one listed in the other cons' programs.  It was basically a welcome and thank you for coming, and the organizers introduced themselves.  They all seemed like friendly people, and Dodie and I talked to them at various times during the weekend.  The ceremony ended with audience participation in the new theme song for the convention (we sang "WhedonCon"), by The Fallen Stars.

Isn't his guitar cool?

While we were perusing our programs and checking out the events, Dodie saw that the Geek Girls crafting session with Camden Toy only had 7 slots left.  Not wanting to miss out on this occasion, and seeing that it was one of the less expensive extras, we decided to order tickets, then made our way to our first panel.  

Or at least we thought it was a panel.  It was actually the Geek Girls Open House to see what crafts would be available during the weekend.  We got excited when we saw the Gentleman (BTVS) doll that we'd be making on Sunday.  I also liked some of the cross stitch offerings, which we had also added to our schedule via the Gather app.  

We then went shopping in the Sunnydale Mall, AKA the big room with all of the booths and signing tables.  I bought a pretty brooch that looked like a cameo of a unicorn, and we also bought some tea.  I also bought a wooden pin of the Mutant Enemy vamp, and got a discount because I was the first person to buy one that day!  Add to that a reusable straw with a case and a straw cleaner, and I was done buying stuff for the day.  We saw someone getting makeup to look like the karaoke club dude from Angel.  We decided to finish looking at the other booths another day.

Love the name of this tea!

Afterward, we met a lady who said this was his first con last year and her favorite, after having gone to a few after that.  She led us up to the hospitality suite.  I didn't know what was happening, because I didn't understand when she said "Con Suite".  It was a place on the 17th floor that any of us could go to chill and have coffee/water/lemonade/iced tea.  How nice!  We each got a ribbon to add to our badges.  I was just happy about the name the con organizers had placed outside the room.

We went back downstairs and talked to the lady some more, and a guy walked by that she knew and he gave us leis and invited us to the con's T.A.H.I.T.I. pool party that was taking place that night.  I chose a pink one.  Dodie and I made our plans for the next day's meetup time and went home, since we weren't doing any of the after-hours stuff.

When I arrived at Bro's house and got out of the car with the lei still around my neck, Bro came outside as he was about to leave for an event at the niece's school. The look on his face was priceless.  

I hung out with the nephew for a bit until V came home and we went to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner.  I love hanging out with my family.  Once Bro and the niece got home, we watched "Jumanji".  That was fun, although I wished it was funnier.  It's just nice to be able to hang out with the family (and have a free room for the weekend).  Thanks, y'all.

Crispy noodles with chicken.  Tasty gravy.

Next up:  Day 2

I really like the artwork on the program.

My Body Is Instrument of Death

I met up with my friends at the Hollywood Arclight last Thursday to watch "Deadpool 2".  We watched the film in the Cinerama Dome, and we were all sitting together this time.  YAY!

• Opening credits: pretty much what I was thinking.
• "I was fighting a caped badass, but then we discovered that his mom is named Martha, too."
• I almost fell on the floor, I was laughing so much during the scene with the baby legs.
• Cute X-Men cameos!
• I was wondering why nobody said anything about Josh Brolin's Thanos, and then the moment happened, which made me really happy.
• Also: "Bring it on, One-Eyed Willy."
• I did not see a unicorn and am disappointed with the false advertising.  I did, though, like the raining down of bullets a la "Flashdance", shown in the poster.
• Love the lyrics when the choir sang the score.
• Peter might be my favorite X-Force member, and I just might start following him on Twitter.
• Added soundtrack to MP3 cart, mostly for the MTV Unplugged version of "Take On Me".
• Bye, Yukio!  <waves>

That was fun.  I want to see it again, and not just because I want to see Brad Pitt's cameo.

Some photos of the costumes in the main lobby:

Bedlam

Mr. Pool

Domino

Dinosaur Eats Man. Woman Inherits The Earth.

Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary Celebration

Universal Studios Hollywood

Friday, May 11, 2018

My friend Linda loves dinosaurs.  I love "Jurassic Park".  So does our friend Liz.  We got tickets for the 25th Anniversary event at Universal Studios and met at CityWalk.  Linda happily parked in the Jurassic Park lot, which was good, because I had stuff to put into her car after I came over from work on the Metro.

We walked in and got Liz's and my credentials (Linda arrived early and had already received hers).  I was kind of glad that the lanyard was plain because I had just bought one with a JP when we were there a month ago.  

We're InGen guests!

I wonder how different each night's
 itinerary was from ours.

There were signs for the event that looked like the ones in the movie.  Hoping they wouldn't be knocked down by Dennis Nedry, we followed the arrows.

I waited for the globe to turn to get
the proper letters in the photo.

They had a store that was all-JP, and we weren't even at the event yet!  I had bought a bucket hat at CityWalk because of the periodic drizzle dampening us that evening.

I'm under there somewhere.

The score to JP was playing as we descended to the lower lot on the escalators.  We were standing by the event stage when the event started, and they told us there was special food at the Jurassic Park Cafe, so we went there to check it out, even though none of us were hungry.  I quickly decided that I needed dessert as soon as I saw what was offered.

Dinosaur Egg on chocolate mousse and icing

Amber Jell-O with chocolate mosquito

Logo cookie

Footprint Cookie

These were, like, Flintstones-Big

The first time I sat in this cafe, I lamented that they didn't sell Jell-O so I could reenact the scene in the movie when the raptors show up to hunt the kids.  So, OF COURSE I had to get the Jell-O cup!  Linda's dinosaur tried to eat it, but was unsuccessful.

We then watched the panel of effects artists that worked on the film.   Some kind of raptor battle happened on the other side of where we were standing, so I only saw a raptor head or two, but not the actual action.  An official walk-around character Dr. Hammond helped the official Muldoon character calm the situation.  Jurassic World director Colin Treverrow moderated the discussion with First Assistant Director John Kretchmer, Cinematographer and Ship Captain portrayer Dean Cundey, and Visual Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren.  The video of the panel is currently on YouTube.

John Kretchmer

We shopped a little bit, then decided we needed to have protein, and had dinner at the place by the Transformers attraction.  I got a couple of cookies for the family to enjoy.  We walked around a little bit and finally found the place where they had the prop exhibits and activities.  I don't know why it took us so long.  It's not a big area.  I guess it was just hidden well, and since we didn't get on the actual ride, we were not in a place to see it.  We saw that the line was long, and the Ls convinced me to go to the activity area and rejoin them in line afterward. 

 

Model of raptor and egg

I might want one of these signs at my house.

Dinosaur not to scale

Mattel display

Hamster Ball

This pteranadon was huge

More replicas

I couldn't find them when I returned to the exhibit line, so I waited for them, and insisted that they join me to take a picture with the green screen.  It turned out to be free!

Aaaaahhhh!!!!

I don't know why the lady was telling everyone that the last tram to the theater was leaving at 9:30 when the guy earlier said that they'd start loading at that time.  Whatever.  We got our photo print, made a quick pit stop, and walked to the tram, which picked us up behind the area where we had eaten dinner.

During the tram ride, they showed clips of the film, as well as some making-of moments.  It was pretty cool!  Some vehicles were parked outside the theater at CityWalk, and we picked up our tickets.  Universal had reserved all of the theaters for event goers to watch the film!  Although I didn't get to see the props back at the park, at least I got to see the displays at the theater.

Are they heavy?  Then they're expensive.
Put them back.

Life found a way

Ellie's outfit

They are quite efficient at this theater.  They had popcorn ready for purchase, and you pick up whatever is ready, then pay at one of the many registers.  If you want to order the non-regular items, you can order and wait for those.

Before they played the movie, they showed a film of different fans' renditions of scenes from the movie.  I really enjoyed it.  Then they showed us 5 minutes of the new Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.  EXCITED!!!  It was really great to see Jurassic Park on the big screen again. The dinosaurs will never cease to amaze me.

We walked to the other side of the building to look at the props they had on display.

No menthol?

Not my Jell-O

Triceratops feet maquette

Nedry's raincoat

We said goodbye to Liz before going to the parking lot to see the other vehicles on display, including the cool motor home.  It was big!

Love the dilophosaurus!

Replica of Motor Home from Lost World

This does not get old for me.  I need one.

California Division

I wish I had a replica vehicle so I could
get this sticker.

The event was enjoyable, despite some of the hiccups of employees not giving out consistent information.  Thank you for hosting, Universal Studios!