UPDATE! Flew goes con crazy!
Oct. 26th, 2004 01:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flewellynIf any of you were wondering where I was from October 22nd to 25th, why I wasn't doing LJ commenting, well...here's the answer. I was at ValleyCon, the local sci-fi/fantasy/anime/comic book/roleplaying/computer gaming/general geekdom convention. This is something I've done once before, but last year I was just a gawker. This year, I was...an art pimp!
Y'see, I was there because my good friend![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
achanchinou, also known as J, had arts in the art auction. She couldn't come to both this con and Necronomicon in Ft. Lauderdale, and besides, travelling long distances with a wheelchair is a bitch. So, my favorite wheelfairy decided to pay my con fee in return for pimpage! And believe you me, I pimped the hell out of her art. She's GOOD, y'see. Good friend or not, if I didn't think her art was up to snuff, I wouldn't have agreed. Check her stuff out at BlankPixel and see what I mean!
I even pimped the arts of another friend,limpingpigeon, while I was at it. She didn't have anything for sale, but she does good arts. Her stuff is up at picture_pages! I showed some of her Oekaki (Java drawing applet) stuff to some artists there, who were heard to say, and I quote, "HOLY SHIT! That's Oekaki?! I didn't know you could DO that with Oekaki!" Jessi, you hear me? You must start selling stuff at cons!
And how did the art pimpage go? Well, J sold four pieces, got lots of compliments from the other artists, and a few who said "She does web work? I need a webpage! I must contact her!" She had sent me a metric assload (by weight) of business cards, so I was ready to flash 'em. I think half of them are gone now.
Also, I'm not positive, so don't quote me, but as I was rummaging through the list of sales to sign for her stuff, I think I caught the name "Terry Brooks" next to one of her pieces. It went by very quickly, though, so again, not sure. I DO know he browsed the art room between signing books and stuff, and was enthused about several people's work, including J's. So it's cool either way.
Oh, yes, Terry Brooks was there as a guest. They had several truly awesome guests, namely Terry Brooks, Ben Bova, Lani Tupu (Crais) and Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) from "Farscape", and Dean Haglund from "X-Files" and "The Lone Gunmen". I got to talk with all of them except Ben Bova, which was okay, since I've never read his work.
That's the thing about ValleyCon that really rocks: attendance is high enough to make it worth their while to come, but low enough that you can actually TALK to the guys. Lani and Wayne were both wonderfully laid back, funny guys who enjoyed just shooting the breeze with people. I got to talk with the actors about stuff they were doing, stuff they did, how it went, etc. At one point, I asked them how it was working with Rygel on "Farscape." They responded like so: "Oh, bloody hell, he's a prima donna." "Always had to have the biggest trailer, never worked mornings." "Yeah, and always asking for food on the set." "Bah, Hynerians, what do you expect?" See what I mean?
Some woman also brought her pug doggie to the convention. Now, it turns out that Wayne Pygram absolutely loves dogs. So I was treated to the sight of Scorpius, the heinous villain, rubbing a dog and saying "Oooh, boodgeyboodgeyboodgeyboodgey!" Not something you soon forget.
On the personal front, I got to see lots of my friends from last year's con, including a cool bunch of folks from Wayne, Nebraska. (Yes, there are in fact cool people in Wayne, Nebraska.) This included the couple Matt and Jen (who looks just like Eliza Dushku; it's eerie), Jodie and Ryan, Laura and Keith (who looks just like a younger Willem DaFoe), and etc. Lots of etc. Their college sci-fi club sent up 18 members.
I also got to meet new folks, including a couple of gamer chicas who live a block from me, and a really cool computer geek chica who lives in town. We's hangin' out on Wednesday, too.
Let's see...what else...oh, yes. One of the features at this convention is "hospitality rooms". These are rooms rented by interested groups of people who enjoy being hospitable; they set up food and drink and games and movies and music, and decorate according to a theme. So, of course, there was a Star Trek room, a Star Wars room, a Babylon 5 room, and a console gaming room, among others. My two favorites, however, were the SpaceBalls room and the Whurld's End room, though for very different reasons.
The SpaceBalls folk were just wonderfully zany and fun. Their room had a game called "Comb the Desert", in which you would take a comb and run it through a tub of sand looking for prizes. It wasn't required, but most people who didn't find a prize would say, "We ain't found SHIT!" They also served food (space soup and space special; I had the soup) and drink (Liquid Schwartz, a combination of Mt. Dew and vodka; didn't partake). My favorite thing they did, however, was going around the convention center putting signs on everything. You had "SpaceBalls: the Vending Machine", "SpaceBalls: the Water Fountain", "SpaceBalls: the Swimming Pool", "SpaceBalls: the Registration Desk", "SpaceBalls: the Spiral Staircase", "SpaceBalls: the Toilet", "SpaceBalls: the Wall", etc. One of the SpaceBalls folk was a pregnant woman; on her shirt she had a sign saying "SpaceBalls: the Baby (Prequel)". They also gave Dean Haglund a shirt saying "SpaceBalls: the Dean Haglund". I saw him wearing it. (More on him later.)
The Whurld's End folks, on the other hand, were very laid back. They're a group of older folks, 30s and 40s, who theme their room after their custom fantasy setting. Their emphasis is on being friendly and hospitable and low-key, since so many of the other rooms are very energetic. "They're places to play, we're a place to chill" is their motto. Wonderfully welcoming people, great atmosphere, and good food. They served Guiness Stew and wild rice for food, as well as lots of cheese and crackers and veggies. I spent most of my "chilling and talking" time there.
Not that I wasn't out doing things, mind you. I was out running around talking to folks, pimping arts, and generally being a big furry nutball. I even got to be a little flirty, since the women at cons tend to encourage this. One example: when I was sitting under "SpaceBalls: the Spiral Staircase", a woman in a very short skirt began descending. I looked away to avoid looking up her dress (although I was tempted), and when she reached the bottom, I said "Don't worry, miss, I didn't look up your skirt."
Her response? "Why the hell not? What's wrong with you?!" God, I love cons.
One girl I did not flirt with was this gorgeous goth chica named Jamie. She came with another girl, Melody Taylor, who was there promoting her self-published novel (which I have read, by the way, and which is INCREDIBLE). I hung out with both of them lots, and really got along well with both Melody and Jamie. However, I did not flirt with Jamie for one simple reason: she is 14. She did not look 14, mind you, she looked at least 19. She had black medium-length hair (natural color), very pale skin (natural), red lips (natural again!), and dark eyes (natural, with only a bit of eyeliner). I swear, the girl looked like a goth Snow White. Absolutely entrancing. But, jailbait. I said as much, and had her go buy a "Warning: Jailbait" sticker from a woman who was selling them to underage congoing girls. Jamie, of all people, needed one very badly.
Oh, a word on Melody: she was very very very very very very very very very excited to meet Terry Brooks, whose books were a big inspiration to her as a child to start writing fantasy. She gave him a copy of her book at the signing table. She thought (and I thought) that he'd politely say he didn't have time to read it, but instead he took it gratefully, talked with her for about ten minutes about writing and how to break into the business, and then got her address so he could write her when he finished her book. I was frankly shocked. So was she, though she took it well while talking to him. When we walked away, though, I said to her "Okay, commence fangirl squeeing in 3, 2, 1, NOW!" At which point she collapsed and squealed "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Utterly adorable, and perfectly understandable.
Oh, what else? OH, yes, Dean Haglund. The man, it turns out, was not acting when he played an ubergeek on X-Files. He really IS that awesomely geeky. That was also his natural hair. When at the con, he was selling his personal laptop cooling system, "Chill Packs". They're those blue freeze-packs that you put in the freezer, but wrapped in a moisture absorbent material. Then you just stick one under the laptop, and no more overheat! Oh, and he was talking up his new show that he's putting together. You've heard of "Celebrity Jeopardy"? This is "Celebrity D&D". He'd get some celebs together and they'd play Dungeons and Dragons, and cut to scenes acting out the events of the game. Apparently, several channels are interested, and he's already got Vin Diesel and Dame Judy Dench (both hardcore gamers) interested in doing the show. How awesome is that?
He also did a comedy show, an improv, which was about the funniest thing EVER. He improvised an X-Files episode, using audience input. It was rather like a good episode of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" but with a geek theme. At one point, the girl who was doing the "be my arms" thing for him (an absolutely adorable and hyperactive half-Japanese girl in a schoolgirl outfit), tweaked his nipples on stage. He took this quite well. Also, during the "read sentences audience members have written in the course of conversation" segment, he picked one out...and some wag had written that girl's phone number on it!
Oh, it turns out the reason that his improv comedy seemed rather similar to Whose Line is because he trained with Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie. Who knew?
Hmm...I think that about covers everything of significance that happened. I got to pimp friends' arts, meet nifty folks, play computer games, hang out, watch ridiculous humor, talk to celebrity geeks, flirt with cute geek chicas, and just generally have the most fun I've had in five years. Plus, I was successful in my "job" there, the art pimpage, such that J's art sold well!
Nice work if you can get it, neh?
Y'see, I was there because my good friend
achanchinou, also known as J, had arts in the art auction. She couldn't come to both this con and Necronomicon in Ft. Lauderdale, and besides, travelling long distances with a wheelchair is a bitch. So, my favorite wheelfairy decided to pay my con fee in return for pimpage! And believe you me, I pimped the hell out of her art. She's GOOD, y'see. Good friend or not, if I didn't think her art was up to snuff, I wouldn't have agreed. Check her stuff out at BlankPixel and see what I mean!I even pimped the arts of another friend,
limpingpigeon, while I was at it. She didn't have anything for sale, but she does good arts. Her stuff is up at picture_pages! I showed some of her Oekaki (Java drawing applet) stuff to some artists there, who were heard to say, and I quote, "HOLY SHIT! That's Oekaki?! I didn't know you could DO that with Oekaki!" Jessi, you hear me? You must start selling stuff at cons!And how did the art pimpage go? Well, J sold four pieces, got lots of compliments from the other artists, and a few who said "She does web work? I need a webpage! I must contact her!" She had sent me a metric assload (by weight) of business cards, so I was ready to flash 'em. I think half of them are gone now.
Also, I'm not positive, so don't quote me, but as I was rummaging through the list of sales to sign for her stuff, I think I caught the name "Terry Brooks" next to one of her pieces. It went by very quickly, though, so again, not sure. I DO know he browsed the art room between signing books and stuff, and was enthused about several people's work, including J's. So it's cool either way.
Oh, yes, Terry Brooks was there as a guest. They had several truly awesome guests, namely Terry Brooks, Ben Bova, Lani Tupu (Crais) and Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) from "Farscape", and Dean Haglund from "X-Files" and "The Lone Gunmen". I got to talk with all of them except Ben Bova, which was okay, since I've never read his work.
That's the thing about ValleyCon that really rocks: attendance is high enough to make it worth their while to come, but low enough that you can actually TALK to the guys. Lani and Wayne were both wonderfully laid back, funny guys who enjoyed just shooting the breeze with people. I got to talk with the actors about stuff they were doing, stuff they did, how it went, etc. At one point, I asked them how it was working with Rygel on "Farscape." They responded like so: "Oh, bloody hell, he's a prima donna." "Always had to have the biggest trailer, never worked mornings." "Yeah, and always asking for food on the set." "Bah, Hynerians, what do you expect?" See what I mean?
Some woman also brought her pug doggie to the convention. Now, it turns out that Wayne Pygram absolutely loves dogs. So I was treated to the sight of Scorpius, the heinous villain, rubbing a dog and saying "Oooh, boodgeyboodgeyboodgeyboodgey!" Not something you soon forget.
On the personal front, I got to see lots of my friends from last year's con, including a cool bunch of folks from Wayne, Nebraska. (Yes, there are in fact cool people in Wayne, Nebraska.) This included the couple Matt and Jen (who looks just like Eliza Dushku; it's eerie), Jodie and Ryan, Laura and Keith (who looks just like a younger Willem DaFoe), and etc. Lots of etc. Their college sci-fi club sent up 18 members.
I also got to meet new folks, including a couple of gamer chicas who live a block from me, and a really cool computer geek chica who lives in town. We's hangin' out on Wednesday, too.
Let's see...what else...oh, yes. One of the features at this convention is "hospitality rooms". These are rooms rented by interested groups of people who enjoy being hospitable; they set up food and drink and games and movies and music, and decorate according to a theme. So, of course, there was a Star Trek room, a Star Wars room, a Babylon 5 room, and a console gaming room, among others. My two favorites, however, were the SpaceBalls room and the Whurld's End room, though for very different reasons.
The SpaceBalls folk were just wonderfully zany and fun. Their room had a game called "Comb the Desert", in which you would take a comb and run it through a tub of sand looking for prizes. It wasn't required, but most people who didn't find a prize would say, "We ain't found SHIT!" They also served food (space soup and space special; I had the soup) and drink (Liquid Schwartz, a combination of Mt. Dew and vodka; didn't partake). My favorite thing they did, however, was going around the convention center putting signs on everything. You had "SpaceBalls: the Vending Machine", "SpaceBalls: the Water Fountain", "SpaceBalls: the Swimming Pool", "SpaceBalls: the Registration Desk", "SpaceBalls: the Spiral Staircase", "SpaceBalls: the Toilet", "SpaceBalls: the Wall", etc. One of the SpaceBalls folk was a pregnant woman; on her shirt she had a sign saying "SpaceBalls: the Baby (Prequel)". They also gave Dean Haglund a shirt saying "SpaceBalls: the Dean Haglund". I saw him wearing it. (More on him later.)
The Whurld's End folks, on the other hand, were very laid back. They're a group of older folks, 30s and 40s, who theme their room after their custom fantasy setting. Their emphasis is on being friendly and hospitable and low-key, since so many of the other rooms are very energetic. "They're places to play, we're a place to chill" is their motto. Wonderfully welcoming people, great atmosphere, and good food. They served Guiness Stew and wild rice for food, as well as lots of cheese and crackers and veggies. I spent most of my "chilling and talking" time there.
Not that I wasn't out doing things, mind you. I was out running around talking to folks, pimping arts, and generally being a big furry nutball. I even got to be a little flirty, since the women at cons tend to encourage this. One example: when I was sitting under "SpaceBalls: the Spiral Staircase", a woman in a very short skirt began descending. I looked away to avoid looking up her dress (although I was tempted), and when she reached the bottom, I said "Don't worry, miss, I didn't look up your skirt."
Her response? "Why the hell not? What's wrong with you?!" God, I love cons.
One girl I did not flirt with was this gorgeous goth chica named Jamie. She came with another girl, Melody Taylor, who was there promoting her self-published novel (which I have read, by the way, and which is INCREDIBLE). I hung out with both of them lots, and really got along well with both Melody and Jamie. However, I did not flirt with Jamie for one simple reason: she is 14. She did not look 14, mind you, she looked at least 19. She had black medium-length hair (natural color), very pale skin (natural), red lips (natural again!), and dark eyes (natural, with only a bit of eyeliner). I swear, the girl looked like a goth Snow White. Absolutely entrancing. But, jailbait. I said as much, and had her go buy a "Warning: Jailbait" sticker from a woman who was selling them to underage congoing girls. Jamie, of all people, needed one very badly.
Oh, a word on Melody: she was very very very very very very very very very excited to meet Terry Brooks, whose books were a big inspiration to her as a child to start writing fantasy. She gave him a copy of her book at the signing table. She thought (and I thought) that he'd politely say he didn't have time to read it, but instead he took it gratefully, talked with her for about ten minutes about writing and how to break into the business, and then got her address so he could write her when he finished her book. I was frankly shocked. So was she, though she took it well while talking to him. When we walked away, though, I said to her "Okay, commence fangirl squeeing in 3, 2, 1, NOW!" At which point she collapsed and squealed "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Utterly adorable, and perfectly understandable.
Oh, what else? OH, yes, Dean Haglund. The man, it turns out, was not acting when he played an ubergeek on X-Files. He really IS that awesomely geeky. That was also his natural hair. When at the con, he was selling his personal laptop cooling system, "Chill Packs". They're those blue freeze-packs that you put in the freezer, but wrapped in a moisture absorbent material. Then you just stick one under the laptop, and no more overheat! Oh, and he was talking up his new show that he's putting together. You've heard of "Celebrity Jeopardy"? This is "Celebrity D&D". He'd get some celebs together and they'd play Dungeons and Dragons, and cut to scenes acting out the events of the game. Apparently, several channels are interested, and he's already got Vin Diesel and Dame Judy Dench (both hardcore gamers) interested in doing the show. How awesome is that?
He also did a comedy show, an improv, which was about the funniest thing EVER. He improvised an X-Files episode, using audience input. It was rather like a good episode of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" but with a geek theme. At one point, the girl who was doing the "be my arms" thing for him (an absolutely adorable and hyperactive half-Japanese girl in a schoolgirl outfit), tweaked his nipples on stage. He took this quite well. Also, during the "read sentences audience members have written in the course of conversation" segment, he picked one out...and some wag had written that girl's phone number on it!
Oh, it turns out the reason that his improv comedy seemed rather similar to Whose Line is because he trained with Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie. Who knew?
Hmm...I think that about covers everything of significance that happened. I got to pimp friends' arts, meet nifty folks, play computer games, hang out, watch ridiculous humor, talk to celebrity geeks, flirt with cute geek chicas, and just generally have the most fun I've had in five years. Plus, I was successful in my "job" there, the art pimpage, such that J's art sold well!
Nice work if you can get it, neh?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 11:56 am (UTC)I and my con hat are envious.
. . .
Is that even proper grammar?
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 11:58 am (UTC)Oh, sometime if I get the chance, I shall try to go to a con you're at. We could engage in hangoutage!
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 11:58 am (UTC)Con goodness. :)
Flewie is the best pimp - everyone should use him for such! :)
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 12:00 pm (UTC)Too late! You've been quoted 1467 times as of 3:00pm today. :D
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 12:27 pm (UTC)I'm sorry. Now I have to do this to you. And I hope the link works. If it does, you'll see a picture I once did of Scorpius as a 'neku chibi'. (http://orion.shaftnet.org/~thevault/collected_artwork/Random%20Characters/chibis/scorpiuschib.jpg)
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 12:30 pm (UTC)Really wrong.
I bet Wayne Pygram would love it.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 12:57 pm (UTC)Spaceballs: THe LiveJournal
Date: 2004-10-26 12:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 02:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 02:42 pm (UTC)Especially what with the 'You didn't look at my dress? What's wrong with you?!' bit :P
Also, I not much into Dungeons and Dragons (more of a Shadowrun type guy), and I don't like Vin Diesal either. I'd still probably watch a show like that though.
LJ Buddy!
Date: 2004-10-26 03:24 pm (UTC)Anyway I've added you to my friend's list and now I can bother you more regularly! Yah!
I just wanted to say ValleyCon was a blast for me because I got to see you there. Hence why I hugpounced you when I saw you there. You're my favorite guy to hang out with in Fargo, besides my boyfriend of course.
I was also really glad to hear your friend's artwork sold, I thought it was very cool personally.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to read Melody's book when I borrow it from one my my Waynite friends. Unfortunately I seem to have caught a bug of some kind and am now sick. I will be leaving to bed shortly on that note but I wanted to drop you another line. Check out my livejournal!
Jenny <>
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 06:35 pm (UTC)"Oooh, boodgeyboodgeyboodgeyboodgey!" Hee hee hee!
Man, I really wish that any con I'd ever been to (only been to about half a dozen local ones) was even one-tenth as fun as yours sounded! Great writeup :D
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 10:25 pm (UTC)GenCon with the malks was almost that fun, but I didn't get to meet or chill with any celebs there.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 08:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 01:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 06:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 06:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 08:43 pm (UTC)And Yay Celebrity D&D! I'd totally check that out. Did you know I <3 Dean Haglund? Sure you did.