Firefly

September 06, 2004

Dragon*Con, Day 4

A somewhat calmer day, as Mondays generally are. Spent the morning at my table, and then went to the Star Trek track of "An hour with Peter David" (which for fans probably feels more like a week with Peter David, but okay). To my utter surprise the room was packed. I read the opening chapter of the next New Frontier novel, "After the Fall," which should be out later this year. Once again Caroline made an awwwww-inspiring appearance, this time decked out in a little yellow STTOS command shirt. She climbed up on a chair behind the table, beamed at the audience, and I did the Hammer thing again. Once again she boogied to it. The child simply adores being in front of an audience. Milks them for all they’re worth.

At 1 PM was a panel remembering Julie Schwartz which Harlan moderated. These types of memorial panels are never easy. All in all, it went as well as such things good, recalling Julie fondly but savoring his gruffness and kvetching as much as anything.

I went down to the dealer’s room after that and spotted Soupy Sales. I went over and immediately told him how much his show meant to me as a kid. He opened his mouth...and sat there. Mouth open. Like a toy that had run out of batteries. I stood there confused, uncertain of what to do, and the younger woman with him—his wife—immediately replied. We discussed the merchandise on the table and I bought two books. Soupy then worked on signing them, holding the marker carefully, and very softly I asked his wife if he’d had a stroke. She indicated that, no, he’d had some kind of operation (indicating the chest.) I don’t know what sort of surgery could cause someone to "lock up" like that. He did manage to say "Thank you" perfectly clearly several times, so I’m unclear what the deal was. But it saddened me greatly, seeing someone who I remembered as so vital just sort of trapped in his own body that way.

I went back to my table for a time, but by 4 PM the place was pretty much dead. So I’m back here in the hotel room, babysitting the snoozing Caroline, while Kath is at a panel and Ariel is prowling the dealer’s room. I’m worried about what will happen tomorrow with the rains predicted and whether it will interfere with our getting back.

PAD

Dragon*Con, Day 3

Correction to yesterdays blog: Turns out that Nathan Fillion did NOT say "You f*cked up." He said, "That’s f*cked up." So it was more an observation than a threat.

With Kathleen taking Caroline out early to visit her folks and go to church, Ariel and I wound up sleeping in and not waking up until 9:40. Tossing down an invigorating breakfast consisting of poptarts, we went downstairs and I took my first cruise around the dealer’s room. Came out with a new "Nightmare Before Christmas" wristwatch for Kath, an animated heart watch for Ariel, and a replica of Excalibur from "Holy Grail" made by the fine folks at Museum Replicas (no clue how I’m getting it home yet.)

So the day started out nicely enough. Little did I suspect the disaster in the making.

Continue reading "Dragon*Con, Day 3"

September 04, 2004

Dragon*Con, Day 2

As I write this, Kathleen is getting the evening off from Mommy duty. I’m here in the hotel room while she’s off hanging with friends while Ariel is, in all likelihood, at the concert being given by Chick Corea. Caroline was getting a bit fussy, reluctant to settle down for bed. So I’ve ordered up "Shrek II and Caroline, a huge fan of computer animation, is contentedly watching it in bed.

This was a pretty good day. Kathleen and I were both on a panel about where one’s muse comes from. From what does a writer draw inspiration. The basic answer for me is deadlines and bills. That’s about all the spur I need.

Went to the "Firefly" panel. Now...Jewel Staite (who used to work for me on "Space Cases" back when she was thirteen) and Nathan Fillion have been having a sort of bizarre contest since the earliest days of "Firefly." Basically they find new and innovative ways to flip each other off. It seemed that Nathan had the last word because, at the very end of the "Firfly" motion picture outtake reel, the words "For Jewel" appeared followed by an action figure of Nathan as Caleb extending his middle finger at her.

So apparently Nathan won the contest.

Not anymore.

Because when they started doing their Q&A, Nathan happened to call on the fat bearded guy in the third row. And I stood up on the chairs, and bellowed, "Nathan! On behalf of Jewel..." at which point everyone in the packed ballroom got to their feet, "Dragon*Con salutes you!" And a room filled with over a thousand people extended their middle fingers at Nathan Fillion. Nathan took it as well as could be expected, admitting "that’s a lot of bird," although he did darkly warn several times that we had "f*cked up." Jewel was beaming, pleased with her (no pun intended) handiwork. Adam Baldwin looked serenely bemused.

Continue reading "Dragon*Con, Day 2"

Dragon*Con, Day 1 and Day 2

Yesterday when pretty well. Had a 1 PM reading and the room was packed. Granted, it was a fairly small room, but on the other hand, if I couldn’t even fill that, it would have been pretty sucky. Read the "But I Digress" column about "the day before yesterday" which got a lot of positive comments when it saw print. Also read the scripts for "Fallen Angel #15" and the first issue of "Tempest Fugit," and the first chapter from "Hidden Earth," the new fantasy series I’m writing for Tor. The audience seemed to like them all; either that or they were doing a good job of covering their disgust.

Attended the Atlanta Radio Theater’s production of "Shadow Over Innsmouth," starring Harlan. Also it was the 25th birthday of Jewel Staite’s (Kaylee of "Firefly") husband, Matt, so we attended a birthday party thrown for him. Met Nathan Fillion (Mal) and Adam Baldwin (Jayne). Fortunately Jewel warned me ahead of time that he was not, in fact, one of THE Baldwin brothers, so I avoided saying something stupid. Also ran into Ernie Hudson of "Ghostbusters" fame in the elevator—just one of the encounters that makes Dragon*Con so entertaining.

I cannot recommend highly enough staying at the Marriott rather than the Hyatt. Not only is the elevator set-up better organized to avoid endless waits, but there’s no place in the main lobby for people to mass. Because of the way the Hyatt is set up, hundreds of people gather in the lobby and the atrium then becomes a funnel for the noise, so there is a CONSTANT racket. Plus the Marriott atriuim is lined with solid concrete walls, whereas the Hyatt’s atrium is lined with metal vertical rods, like a picket fence...perfect for a fast toddler to slip out of a parent’s grasp, dart through, and plummet fourteen floors. So we rest a lot easier here.

PAD