From Sunbursts to Spirals to Spinning

DCI West

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Stanford Stadium

Palo Alto, CA

We had hotel breakfast and relaxed in the hotel room before going shopping at REI at a huge shopping center.  Bro didn't find what he was looking for, so we got back on the road to Cupertino.  Our hotel is across the street from Apple Park, the Hilton Garden Inn.  

We walked around the strip mall adjacent to the hotel, and decided on eating at a Scottish pub called Duke of Edinburgh.  The restaurant was built in Scotland and then brought over to the USA, and the interior does look like an authentic pub.  Bro has been on the quest for a Fish and Chips dish that tastes just like what we grew up knowing, and this one came very close for him.  There was a ton of shrimp on my Caesar salad, and I couldn't even finish the half-order that I requested, which I ate with a vegetable samosa.  We enjoyed our lunch and our beers.

Cheers with Beers

We enjoyed the comfort of our hotel room prior to leaving for Stanford, which was about 20 minutes away.  They have done some construction since we were here last year, and added roundabouts.  We were also coming from a different direction than I'm used to, so I was extra confused.  It's a good thing I wasn't driving.  We were able to find a parking spot in the lot, so we didn't have to park on wood chips, which is always a plus.  I bought a tank top with a dragon from the Mandarins booth, and am still considering getting the scarab tank top from the Blue Knights.  I went to the Troopers booth because I wanted to look at their smaller items, and the lady there was pushing their fold-up fans, which could also be used as frisbees, or just to scare the dog when you open them up.  I decided to get one, and Bro asked me if it was to scare his dog.  No, silly.  To scare mom or other people!

Our seats were in the top row, Section 214, Row 32, Seats 2-3, on the left 40-yard line.  I liked that I was able to stand whenever I wanted to without blocking anyone's view.  We were also at the top of the stairs, so there wasn't anyone sitting in front of us.  Also, we had a ledge in back of us, but I was afraid to put anything small there, lest the object fall to its death to the ground below.  They did not open the concession stands at our section, but at least there were hawkers selling water and lemonade (Stanford Stadium does not allow people to bring their own liquids, although I realized later that I could have brought my empty Hydroflask and filled it there).

Exhibition Performances

Alisal from Salinas, CA 

Voice of DCI Brandt Crocker pronounced it Sal-EYE-nas, which made all of the locals giggle.

Freelancers Alumni Corps

The Star-Spangled Banner was performed by Blue Devils tuba player Adrian.  Great job!  I love that they had a tuba player instead of the usual trumpet player.

Competition

BLUE DEVILS B

The acoustics in this stadium are much better than at yesterday's venue.  Great horn sound, including the solos.  I really like the arrangement of Elfman's "Dead Man's Party".   I also like the way the color guard uses their skirts to show off the yellow while they dance.  The show is not yet done.  I wonder what their props will eventually look like.  They seem to be frames for screens or something.

VANGUARD CADETS

Still no actual uniforms.  I love that opening fortissimo horn hit.  I need to memorize that dance.  Ouch, those flag drops were loud when they fell on the platform.

We're-just-going-to-wear-these-for-now uniforms

BLUE DEVILS C

Those cymbals are so little that they're like the ones the monkeys use!  The song from "Grease" that they use is "Hand Jive" during the transition into "Sugar Sugar".

I also have pictures of after the little guy fell,
but didn't think it would be cool to post them here.

<Intermission>

Concessions never opened, at least not at our level.  Weird.

TROOPERS

I didn't see the boot or the Troop's sword symbol this time, but I did notice the formations of arrows pointing west.  I wonder if one of those is what I previously thought was a boot.  

Troopers' Signature Sunburst

Go West, Young Man

After the Reverse Sunburst

11

MANDARINS

Oh, the premise is that this is what Shostakovich envisioned after hearing Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring".  The arrangement of the Doxology is amazing!  I like the color guard duet throughout.  I still don't understand the cheesy glowing cube thing, though.  One of these days, I might figure out why those two folks are on stilts.

Getting ready to dance to her death

The black uniforms look really good on the field

Final formation

ACADEMY

"I think, therefore I am."  I didn't notice yesterday that the people talking were actually there.  I guess I was busy looking on the field.  I explained "O Captain, My Captain" to Bro later, because he didn't understand why they weren't all doing that at the same time from the very beginning of that part.  He explained to me that the recitation of the numbers is the Fibonacci sequence.  Bro is not crazy about this show.  I'm just "meh" about it.  

BLUE KNIGHTS

When the color guard adds the sheer part to their pants, they shimmer like beetles.  I really like that effect.  I love their arrangement of "Rite of Spring", performed wonderfully by their horn section.  What is with the static in their sound system?  

An Egyptian Staff?  I don't know.  

Tossing a rifle, while balancing on a pyramid,
wearing shimmery pants

Spiral

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD

The color guard has uniforms now.  Are the drum majors ninjas? The pit members have their mouths covered by the same type of thing as the drum majors, to show the theme of Babylon, wherein the storyline is for the corps members to find another way to communicate since they do not all speak the same language.  Bro figured that the horn players couldn't wear the same thing since they need to actually play their instruments.  They're playing and getting spun around on their towers, and...wow.  Those snares!  Bro wants Miss O to learn the dance so he can post it.  He said this show looks really good in the big stadium.  Show is not yet finished, and they didn't play the closing number at all.

Spinning and Playing

Mid backflip

Color Guard

BLUE DEVILS

The color guard guys are only wearing the front half of a shirt.  Is that because they get hot?  Is that a thing?  Nobody hair dances like the BD guard.  Awesome trombone solo during "Natural Woman".  Eek!  That feedback!

It's like the painting!

Encore

Yay, an encore!  And it's VANGUARD!  

• Canyon
• The closing piece from their show!  It sounds amazing.  I guess they don't want to be moving those props all over the place before they're ready, because the music makes it sound like the field drill is going to be intense.
• Send In The Clowns

Scores

Open Class:

3) 37.75 -- Blue Devils C

2) 54.55 -- Vanguard Cadets

1) 56.10 -- Blue Devils B

World Class:

6) 60.10 -- Troopers

5) 63.20 -- Academy

4) 64.75 -- Mandarins

3) 67.05 -- Blue Knights

2) 72.10 -- Blue Devils

1) 72.70 -- Santa Clara Vanguard!!!!!

Not since 2007 has SCV scored higher than BD.  We are happy Vanguard fans today!

When we got back to the hotel, Bro saw that SCV's uniforms are, indeed, cream-colored, although they are different from what we saw yesterday.  I'm not sure we saw the new uniform today because we were far from the field.  

The recaps show that this is going to be a close competition between BD and SCV, and they have the top two scores nationwide from all of the shows last night.  Way to go, WEST!

Next up:  Moonlight Classic

Some People Call It "Temporary"

MidCal Champions Showcase

Friday, June 22, 2018

Veteran's Memorial Stadium - Buchanan High School

Clovis, CA

On Thursday night, I attended Drum Corps at the Cinemas in Downtown LA, and saw Blue Stars, Phregiment,  Boston Crusaders, Cavaliers, Bluecoats, and Carolina Crown perform at the new home for the Detroit Tigers, Ford Field.  My favorite of the evening was Cavaliers' show, which was based on Ravel's "Bolero".  It was a great start to the drum corps season, and now it's the West Coast's turn to show their stuff.

I drove to Bro's house and said hi to V and the kids, then we went to the Carl's Jr drive thru for some lunch before heading out to Fresno.  Ah, Fresno, where it is over 100 degrees.  Bro said that he might get gas on the way, and I said, "You're going to open the car door?!"  He laughed and we  had enough gas to wait, so we drove straight to the hotel.  This Hampton Inn and Suites is different from the one in which we stayed last year, so we're not by the railroad tracks.  Our room is bigger, too, and has a pull-out bed in addition to the double beds, and a little kitchenette, so that's nice!

We rested for a little while before going to what we think will be our traditional Fresno dinner place, Limon.  Bro wants to eventually try everything on the menu, so we had different items, and none of them disappointed us.  Mmmm....everything was delicious!  We noticed a certain seasoning on the french fries in our Saltada dish, and I asked the server, but she said that they signed a non-disclosure agreement about what they saw in the kitchen because their recipes are secret.  She did tell me that the base of the sauce was soy sauce, red wine vinegar, and garlic, which were not any of the ingredients that we were trying to pinpoint, so whatevs.  The dishes, along with our Mango Sour and Maracuya Sour, made us happy and I was kinda tipsy.  I remembered to drink water before leaving because I had read my trip report from last year and didn't want to be dehydrated again.

Passion Fruit and Mango Sours for the win!

Delicious Sirloin Saltado with secret ingredients

We parked outside the stadium and I made sure to bring my HydraFlask of water.  I did not want to be jealous of other people's water again.  Entering the stadium area was very quick and they did not have the grammatically incorrect signs this time.  One of the volunteers said the line was short this year because they got a thousand volunteers.  Wow!   We stopped by all of the booths, and Bro got an SCV messenger bag, and I got an SCV journal, which I will be using for my trip reports this year.

Me and my new journal

Our seats were in section CC, row 31, seats 8 & 9, right on the 50 yard line.  There was one row in back of us, so I didn't get to have a desk, but we were happy with our seats.  As we sat down, we could hear the judges behind us, getting their instructions.

The Star-Spangled Banner was a recording, and we could barely hear it.  I wondered if this indicated that there would be sound issues all night long, but Bro said that all of the corps had their own sound systems, so it shouldn't be a problem.  He was right.  I realized that I didn't get a program, so I had to ask Bro what was going on with the corps order and their repertoire, unless I had remembered it myself.

BLUE DEVILS C

Repertoire: "Candyland, Part Blue" -- I Want Candy by The Strangeloves; Sugar Sugar by The Archies; Stuck Like Glue by Sugarland; Sugar, We're Goin' Down by Fall Out Boy

I wanted them to have the flat game pieces like in the board game, but no such luck.  I mean, wouldn't that be cute?  Their color guard uniforms were still cute, though.  They do like their songs from "Grease", which I heard in transition somewhere in there.  The littlest trumpet player didn't know where he was going and once I noticed him I got completely distracted by him and didn't know what else was going on in the show.  So cute.

Mmmm....lollipops!

VANGUARD CADETS

Repertoire: "Off The Wall" -- Bicycle Race by F. Mercury; Sounding Board by F. E. Smith & R. Adamsons; Fly to Paradise by E. Whitacre; Rebound by F. E. Smith & R. Adamsons

They were wearing red tunics and black pants, very plain.

Sher: "So those are the 'We're-gonna-just-wear-these-for-now" uniforms?"

Bro:   "Some people call them 'temporary', but I can go with that."

I'm still giggling.

Nice opening hit, opening piece itself is really nice.  Interesting tech part, but they need to work on the transition into the ballad.  Nice horn sound, though.  I do like this show, and am looking forward to how it develops.

BLUE DEVILS B

Repertoire: "The Other Side" -- Danse Macabre by C. Saint-Saens; The Carnival of the Animals by C. Saint-Saens; Dead Man's Party by D. Elfman; Hello by Adele; Come Together by The Beatles; The Ecstasy of Gold by E. Marricone; A Time For Us by N. Rota

Because I didn't have a program, I asked Bro if they were doing a "Coco" show because of the sugar skulls.  Apparently not.  I did like their music, and I also like their color guard uniforms.  I do not remember hearing "Danse Macabre", so I'll have to listen for that next time.  Nice job, horns!

<Intermission>

I couldn't find people selling programs, nor did they just have a table selling water this year.  Bro said that all of the one thousand volunteers must have been dedicated to the ticket takers.  Maybe next year they'll get it right.  Lucky for me, I still had my water, but I wanted to get some for Bro if it had been readily available.  

TROOPERS

Repertoire: "The New Road West" -- Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance;  Toward The Splendid City by R. Danielpour; Canyon Echoes by R.W. Smith; Both Sides Now by J. Mitchell; New Road West by R.W. Smith

Love the traditional uniform look, as well as the change into the more contemporary look.  Yay, Sunburst!  A Reverse Sunburst, too!   I saw their symbol in one of the formations, and I thought I saw the shape of a boot, too. I love hearing pieces of the theme from "The Magnificent Seven" interspersed throughout the show.  I really like this show.  Bro hopes that no matter where they play, they point at the end toward Casper, Wyoming, the Troopers' home.  Happy 60th Anniversary, Troop, and welcome to California!

Traditional Look

THE ACADEMY

Repertoire: "Academic" --   The Imitation Game by A. Desplat; Annie Lisle by H.S. Thompson ; Academic Festival Overture by J. Brahms ; The School for Scandal (Overture) by S. Barber ; The Four Sections by S. Reich ; Keating's Triumph by M. Jarre

Why are they blue?  Oh, they're dressed as the "Dead Poets Society" kids.  I thought they were teachers.  Nice opening sound.  Those tables open? Were they opening them during the whole show, and I didn't notice until way later?  I like the transparent chalkboards.

They write on those boards later, in white

MANDARINS

Repertoire: "Life Rite After" -- Movement 1: String Quartet #8 In C Minor, Op. 110 - 2. Allegro Molto by D. Shostakovich; Movement 2: Spiriti by T. Doss; Movement 3: True Colors by T. Kelly & B. Steinberg; Movement 4: Spiriti by T. Doss

I love that the Mandarins are never afraid to embrace their dark side.  Their costumes DO look like Zurg!  Cadets tweeted a picture of Zurg to them a couple of weeks ago, and then someone tweeted a picture of Buzz Lightyear to the Cadets, saying they were hiding this as their uniform.  That would be hilarious.  Awesome solo dancing at the start, and very nice fire effect with the flames on the flags.  I like the horn piece after the cube thing lights up.  Why are those guard members on stilts?  I like how they shake their heads to make their antlers wiggle.

BLUE KNIGHTS

Repertoire: "The Fall and Rise" -- Sun King by The Beatles; The Rite of Spring by I. Stravinsky; Exit Music for a Film by Radiohead; Welcome to the Machine by Pink Floyd; Time After Time by C. Lauper & R. Hyman

I like the uniforms with the scarab in the back and the plain purple front; it looks really cool when they turn around.  Cool use of the pyramids on their sides.  "Rite of Spring" was very cool.  I like the formation when the pyramids are in a circle and the horns spiral out between them.  Great horn sound!  Wow.  They're almost finished with their show?  That's much more progress than they were at this time last year.  I recognize that eye/brow prop from last year.

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD

Repertoire: "Babylon" -- My Body is A Cage by P. Gabriel; Journey to the Center of the Earth by P. Graham; Metropolis 1927 by P. Graham; Apology by Z. M. di la Riva; Club Sound by Gent and Jawns

I guess the reason SCV has not given any sneak previews of their uniforms on social media is that they have not received them yet.  Or they will continue to wear what look like pajamas on the field: white with a V on the torso that looks like a check mark.  They use big platforms that look like they are building the Tower of Babel, but they use them in an innovative way, with the shorter platforms fitting under the taller ones.  All of that movement had me mesmerized  I worry when the different people do the acrobatic stuff on top, because I'm afraid they'll fall.  I'm a worrier.  The gymnastics are impressive.  Whoa...that snare ensemble solo!  I hope that their actual uniforms will stay on sufficiently so that they do not have to pull up their pants after the all-corps dance segment.  The horns sound great.  I love this show!

BLUE DEVILS

Repertoire:  "Dreams and Nighthawks" -- Including music from J. Adams, S. Dobson, P. Lovatt-Cooper, J.N. Howard, D. Glyde, C. King, D. Raksin, and Earle Hagen (BD did not list the names of the pieces)

Their set pieces look like parts of artist Edward Hopper's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", which they build at the end, which looks really cool with people in the positions just like the painting.  I do love the way that color guard dances.  Ooh, those trumpets play high!  That vocal percussion would have been more impressive if someone was doing that live along with the drummers, but I have an a capella bias, as you probably know.

While we waited for scores to be announced, Bro and I talked to the folks sitting next to him, whose son was in SCV 2011-2012, and now works with SCVC.

Scores

Open Class:

3) 36.55 -- Blue Devils C

2) 52.70 -- SCV Cadets

1) 55.85 -- Blue Devils B

World Class:

6) 58.05 -- Troopers

5) 61.55 -- Academy

4) 62.95 -- Mandarins

3) 66.65 -- Blue Knights

2) 70.70 -- Santa Clara Vanguard

1) 71.30 -- Blue Devils

The walk back to the car did not feel as long as earlier in the day because it was cooler.  On our drive back to the hotel, we saw an Applebee's and thought about the days when we were younger and probably would have gone there before heading back to the hotel.  Alas, we are older now and we need to play Disney Emoji Blitz before going to bed.  Such excitement.

Next up:  DCI West

Incredibles 2: The Jack Jack Bugaloo

My friends and I saw "Incredibles 2" at the El Capitan Theater.  I can't believe it's been 14 years since the first movie was released.  I remember the first one being the movie that brought to my attention the genius that is score composer Michael Giacchino,  I've seen it several times, so there wasn't really a need for me to see it again in the weeks before this one, but it would have been fun to go to the double feature.

View from across the street

View from the line 

The last couple of a times I was in the theater was for live action shows, and they had a DJ.  While that was entertaining, I was happy to see that the organist was back, and wearing red to match the Incredibles color scheme.

We only saw two trailers, one for "Christopher Robin" and "Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2".  I'm excited about the latter!  Then we got to see Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone dance.

First up:  Pixar short "Bao"

• So food can eat other food?  If he ate dumplings, would it be a form of cannibalism?
• I figured out she was dreaming when I noticed that the husband wasn't in any of the growing up scenes.
• Dangit, Pixar, making me cry over dim sum!

Then on to "Incredibles 2"!!

• AWESOME take of the Disney castle opening logo!
• Jack Jack vs. Sweet Rabbit: epic battle!
• That Elasticycle is cool.  It splits into two so she can stretch!
• Violet will always be my favorite.  Loved the bit when she was invisible and got ice cream out of the fridge.
• I don't know why I didn't think Frozone was that cool (no pun intended) when I watched the first movie, but now I really like his powers.
• "Is she having adolescence?"
• "I don't know that way.  Why would they change math?  Math is math. MATH IS MATH!"
• Interesting political element of the media's influence on the public.
• Jack Jack's power of morphing into Edna: hilarious.
• Why did Violet have so much water go out her nose?  My goodness, that was a lot of water.
• "No firing the baby in the house."

Great movie, and I liked it even more than the first movie, probably because we got to see more of Jack Jack.  I foresee a lot of Jack Jack costumes on babies at Hallowe'en this year.

Let's Go to the Gala

I saw "Ocean's 8" with Cindy last week.  I enjoyed "Ocean's 11" and "Ocean's 13", but didn't care for "Ocean's 12", so I hoped that the ladies would do justice to the franchise, and not be like that second film.

• I don't believe for a second that Danny died.  
• I wonder how many people are now going to try that trick with the hotel room.  I also wonder if hotels are going to do anything to prevent it from happening to them.
• I liked all of the characters on the team, but I think I liked Sarah Paulson's character, Tammy (the fence) most.  
• What's your real name? "8 Ball."
• The good thing about these heist movies is that after I see them, I'm more wary of people bumping into me, and wonder if they've just picked my pocket.
• Way too many shots of Kardashian.  I think even one would be too many.
• Ah, the revenge element.  I did not see the other twist coming, though...or the other bonus prize.
• Yen!
• James Corden is funny as always.  "Look at everything you have.  This, that, two of those..."
• Too bad there weren't any Bellagio fountains for them to meet at the end of the film.  I always liked that about the others.
• I did like seeing what Tammy did with her money, though.  There are just some habits you can't quit.

That was fun.   One of these days I need to see the original, starring Frank Sinatra.

DLR LotD 06/02/18

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Saturday, June 2, 2018

"Rabbit!" -- several times, by Cindy, Linda, and Sherry, no matter what kind of animal we saw

I've Got A Really Good Feeling About This

While sitting at Rancho del Zocalo during Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Night, I received a notification that tickets for "Solo: A Star Wars Story" had just gone on sale.  What a perfect time for my friends and I to purchase our tickets for opening night!  Punch it!

I realized when I got ready for the show that I didn't have anything Han Solo to wear.  I need to remedy that.  So I wore my Princess Leia pin instead, along with my shirt from Star Wars celebration.

Back to the El Cap!

• Ron Howard working with Lucasfilm on a Star Wars flick!  YAY!
• I didn't realize that Clint Howard was the mean guy at the droid fight where L3 is first shown.
• I didn't really like how Han got his surname, but I guess it makes sense.
• Ha, "The Imperial March" on that recruitment video!
• Loved, loved, loved the meeting between Han and Chewbacca.
• Also loved the shot playing homage to Han in the carbonite.
• Nice foreshadowing of Han maneuvering the vehicle sideways as he later would with the Falcon.
• Alden Ehrenreich did a fantastic job of being the essence of a young Han, even the smirk.
• That train was really cool, using both sides of the track and going sideways.  I'm glad I don't ride one of those on my daily commute, though.  That would not be relaxing for me.
• Donald Glover is so Lando it's almost meta.
• The closet of capes!!!  I would have done the same as Qi'ra and tried them, and probably would have held my own fashion show.
• L3 was less annoying to me upon second viewing, and I liked her a lot more.  I think she just talked too much for me when I first saw it.
• Hey, I recognize that helmet that Beckett is wearing!
• "Trust no one."  Is this the X-Files?
• "Assume everyone will betray you, and you will never be disappointed."
• WHAT is up with Dryden's red face and the marks?  He has anger management issues.
• Well, I didn't see THAT coming. I keep wanting to say "Crimson Tide".
• OK, so it was 12.something parsecs. 

The inside of the El Capitan had a bunch of murals of the different sets in the film.  

Downstairs, they had the costumes on display, including the capes!

Val and Beckett

Lando and the Cape Collection

Han

Qi'ra

Dryden Vos and Enfys Nest

Outside the El Cap:

I know he wasn't in this movie,
but it's STAR WARS!

Yay!

I saw the movie again a week later in my neighborhood.  When I saw a different movie at the AMC in Downtown Disney, I saw that they had all of the individual character posters hanging around the theater.  Oh, how I will miss this place.

I need to see this movie again so I can hear the "I know" after Lando says, "I hate you."  Also, I just need to see this movie again and again and again.

A Roommate, A Doctor, and A Gentleman

WhedonCon - Day 3

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Marriott - Woodland Hills

Bro and family had plans for the day, so I left their house earlier than I originally scheduled, and Dodie met up with me before the Sunnydale Mall opened.  Since we couldn't go shopping yet and both of us had already eaten breakfast, we wandered around the first floor of the Marriott.  They had a chess team to their decor.

Big Chess Pieces

Wall decor

We saw that one of the first panels of the morning was a panel regarding monsters and makeup, with James Leary (BTVS' Clem) and Camden Toy (multiple BTVS characters, including one of the Gentlemen).  James hadn't quite arrived yet, so the makeup artists (both had been on the show "Face Off") interviewed Camden by himself. Camden's father was also an actor, and when Camden showed an interest in the makeup box, encouraged him and they played with the makeup all of the time.  So when Camden became an actor, he had no problem with the different kinds of makeup they would use, or the amount of time it would take them to do it.  Camden was told that he needed to leave, but he was really liking the discussion, and hung around for a few more minutes, even after James finally arrived.  I really enjoyed this discussion, and it made me even more excited about our scheduled activity for the afternoon.

Leary, Toy, and Makeup Artists

Leary and Toy

James Leary was hilarious.  He showed up late because he didn't realize he had a panel to attend, and asked for coffee.  He didn't seem to need coffee as he was knocking over the water pitcher, and was pretty excitable, though.  The panel moderators asked the same questions of James that they had with Camden.  Next time we come to the Con and James is there, I'll make sure to go to at least one of his panels.

We then attended the panel "The Science of ...WHEDON!"  Panel members were brainy guys who taught science ranging from elementary school to CalTech.  The lady sitting next to Dodie really should have been the moderator or something because she almost took control of the whole thing with her loud statements.  I moved over because a very tall guy sat in the seat in front of me, and also because I was self-conscious sitting so close to her, because everybody turned to look at her for half of the session.  At least it was a small room.  I was grateful for the elementary school teacher, because he would draw while the others were talking so that we could visualize what they were discussing.  It was basically a Q&A with audience members asking questions like colonizing other planets if we use up Earth's resources, as well as how Thanos' Infinity Stones powers worked.  

Science of Whedon panel

We were hungry and went to Starbucks to get something to eat.  As we were waiting for our orders, a woman asked if we wanted to attend the Sunday luncheon because she had some extra wristbands.  OK!  We still ate our food because we didn't want it to get cold, and still needed to wait a few minutes after that before going inside, so I'm glad we ate.  

The Sunday Luncheon was in one of the hotel meeting rooms, and we sat down at one of the tables.  Dagney Kerr (BTVS Kathy) arrived first, and decided to sit by us.  I introduced myself and reached out my hand, but she had just washed hers and knew we'd be eating soon, so she offered to hug me instead.  Then later we heard the rules of No Photos, No Autographs, No Touchies, and No Selfies.  Oops.  Dagney confessed to hugging me and we were told it was OK for them to initiate as long as they had consent.  So no, I don't have any pictures from this event.  Dagney was really cool to talk to, and she is currently a playwright, but still does acting here and there.  She said that she really likes this Con because it's small and she doesn't get overwhelmed by the amount of people.  She hadn't eaten all day yesterday, though, so event organizers need to squeeze in some meal time for them next year.  This day was OK because of the luncheon, but she couldn't eat the sandwiches because of the meat in them.

Then came time for them to switch.  I was hoping that Sean Maher (Firefly's Dr. Simon) would come to our table even though he had arrived a few minutes late. He did!  Because he was late, he wasn't present when they handed out free keychains of the Mutant Enemy logo, which was on wood, just like the pin I had purchased on Friday.  I gave him mine, and he initially refused to take it, saying he would get one, but I insisted, so he took it and thanked me.  If Sean hadn't already portrayed my favorite character of the Firefly series, he would have quickly become my favorite that day.  He talked about his family and living in Michigan, and the show he is trying to develop.  I'm not going to say what it is, but I offered him the name of the series, and he liked it.  I even said he didn't need to pay me for the name.  Yes, Sean gave me a little hug, too.  I was so happy!

We couldn't stay to meet with Andrew Ferchland (BTVS' The Annointed One) or Gigi Edgley (Farscape's Chiana), because we had an event scheduled.  I'm disappointed that we weren't able to be present for the group picture, but I have these nice memories.  I keep hoping that they'll post some of the candids from the event, but I haven't seen any yet.

We then went across the hallway to another meeting room to make a Gentleman Doll with Camden Toy!   Yes, Camden was going to make one, too!  A couple of the gals from our table at the luncheon also attended this one.  We didn't have enough time to finish our dolls, so they gave us the rest of the materials we needed to complete them.  Camden got really involved in making his doll, and asked if he could get his materials, too.  They said they were going to give him a finished one, which he happily accepted, but I think he also wanted to finish his doll anyway.  That was fun!  I need to find time to finish all of these crafts!  

Cute!

We sat outside the next panel room for a little while and I people-watched as Andrew F came by and attended the panel.  I love that!  It was some kind of writers' panel, and he knew one of them.  We went inside, too, because we wanted to have seats for the Sean Maher Q&A, which was taking place right after that one.

Sean did talk about a little of the same stuff he talked about during the luncheon, but mostly received questions about his career.

• On what revival of a series would you want to be?
• Besides Firefly?
• Sean's favorite Simon line (mine, too!):
• "This must be what going mad feels like."
• Sean's advice to his younger self:
• "Fail.  Be imperfect.  I'm a recovering perfectionist."

Sean and moderator Ian

Sean Maher

We went shopping so we could get more Buffy bubblegum:  they're little stakes!  I bought some tea, too.  

We attended the Closing Ceremonies and were told that next year's WhedonCon will be closer to LAX to be more convenient for the guests.  We would also have a discount for next year if we signed up before the end of the month, and it would include a couple of perks.  Then we sang the "WhedonCon" song with The Fallen Stars again before we adjourned.

Dodie left before me because she had an appointment, but we both bought tickets to next year already.  We had a great time!

Thank you, WhedonCon, for a fantastic weekend!