It is difficult to give a basic impression after the fact. I wanted to update this journal at Dragon Con, but the free wireless access was over-crowded at the Hyatt, the Marriot wanted cash for theirs, and the communal computer at our hotel did not have Javascript enabled. In this wonderful age of technology, I was still completely cut off for the weekend. So, there goes my post idea of “Live from Dragon*Con, it’s Saturday Morning.”
Our hotel this year was very basic, but what it lacked in amenities (including the ability to control the temperature of our showers) it made up for in location and service. We were all of a block away from the Hyatt and were paying about $30 less per night than we had paid for the Holiday Inn (ten blocks away), in years past. The desk clerk at check in was enough of a smart-@ss to keep us well entertained even though it was after 10:00 and we were dropping from the 6+ hours on the road. The next day, after Victor discovered that his car had been burglarized, the hotel was very accommodating in his search for a glazier and they even guaranteed him a spot in the over crowded parking garage. (Incidentally, if you know anyone who happened to smash a window on a blue station wagon and stole a copy of Terry Pratchett’s Guards! Guards!, do us a favor and give him/her a good smack for Victor’s sake.)
This year, I have a couple of complaints regarding Con admin. One was the fact that we were turned away from the line for pre-registrations and, in fact, told that we would have been allowed to pick up our badges had we been buying on-site. It seems that, although Con admin knew in advance that Pre-Reg was up 30%, they did nothing to alleviate the badge pickup process. So, we missed the Thursday night concerts.
The first morning, I dressed in my usual pirate gear and, much to my non-surprise, discovered that this year I was just another pirate. (I take pride, however, in the fact that I was the first. Pictures from previous years going back to 1999 bear me out–before that, I spent a lot of time as a well armed harem girl.)
We arrived at the Pre-Reg line at about 9 am and got our badges a little after 10 am. After discovering that nothing in the con was scheduled to start until 1 pm, we hopped on Marta and visited Underground Atlanta. (I heartily recommend the leather shop, where I purchased a small bag that I used for the rest of the convention.)
After Underground Atlanta it was back to the convention to see James Marsters. Truth to tell, I am so fuzzy headed at the moment that I can’t remember everything we did and what days, but, James Marsters was a fun way to start a Con. We also saw Anne and Todd McCaffrey, and Peter David as well as others who my terminally befuddled brain are having a hard time processing.
We met up with Zag and her primary squeezable on Friday afternoon and exchanged gifts. It was something of a whirlwind Dragon Con visit for them, because they had a family reunion to attend in MA. Their plan was to fly in on Friday, fly out on Saturday evening, and fly in on evening, then leave on Monday afternoon. I messed things up completely by getting sick one afternoon. (For the first time in 7 years, I missed the masquerade.) So, if anyone has pics of Gomez and Morticia Adams from night, please send to me so that we can see them!
We did make it to the parade on Saturday (Zag and I as pirates and Linda as our captive-maiden-lady-in-underwear–she looked quite lovely in the blue damascus silk corset I made for her), even though we never got any info after signing up via email. We decided that, if it came down to it, we would crash. We did have to crash the parade and marched behind/with the Pern group and in front of the Klingons, who were quite entertaining. (Especially when, after they threatened to conquer the people in front of them, Zag and I turned to defend the Pernese.)
Saturday morning, of course, we attended Iron Artist. It was Don Maitz (last year’s Iron Artist) vs famous cartoonist Bill Stout. The subject was self portraits in the anime style. Bill Stout dethroned the reigning Iron Artist in a very close battle. (I think it was decided by all of three points.) After that, I went off to the Poser 5 Cloth Room class while the group scattered to the four winds. We met up, had lunch, and I went back to the hotel room sick with a sore throat, bad headache, and unsteady stomach. I have reason to believe that these ailments were quite common during this years Con. Please don’t ask me what that reason is.
Monday, we went to the dealer’s room (where I finally found an acceptable miniature for Hasame kun Hyaku in Victoria’s role-playing game) and also picked up the painting we won in the art auction (a small painting of the Raven and Death of Rats from Soul Music). After the Dealer’s room, we were going to meet Victor for “An Hour with Peter David,” but found out that it was canceled, so we headed home.
I am leaving out a metric ton of things we attended, including ARTC and the Brobdingnagian Bards. I also got separated from the group for about an hour on one of the lower floors of the Hyatt.
Such is life. They’re talking about not going next year and trying to make another Con in FL instead, but I have a hard time with the idea of not attending Dragon Con.
Pictures will follow as soon as I go through them.