elderwitty | Saturday con report, part two (Joe autograph, Michael talk, Michael/David autographs, dessert party)

Back to the main room in time for the Joe autographs, managing to hear none of the SG:(F)U discussion. :D
Talked with the people around me, and their photo op experiences, and stories of other coms they had known. Commiserated about Bethany being forced to miss the talk and autographs. Hmm, I've just realized something - I wonder if she got Joe's autograph?

Our row is called, we shuffle in. Obviously, with the time constraints, they were saying "No personalizations", which sucks but is better than having Joe not be able to attend. Get to the handler, get checked off his list, lay down the photo, get the now-standard look, and give the same story: tired of signing headshots...something different...etc. He slides the photo over to Joe - same look, same precis. O - kay. He didn't have to verbalize it, the eyebrow said it all. He signed his scrawl, then added '"Sheppard"' underneath. Upon returning to my seat to compare with the others, they all asked why he'd added that. I can only imagine that, as it's not a photo of his face, he though I might forget who'd signed it. Oh, funny man! On the other hand, he showed no recognition of me or my shirt from the photo op, so maybe it was already in his secret safe hard boot reset space? :D

Dan Shea
...continues to be very, very enthusiastic. I took no notes.

Trivia Contest
Many people were winning the fabulous prizes. Sadly, they didn't include the panel, plucked from the audience. It's not surprising, though, as the questions were very obscure. The people did their homework before they came.

Michael Shanks
He came out, then modeled a shirt for us...sorta.

It says, TWEET THIS, as I'm sure you can't make it out. He then told us he wasn't on Twitter. Joe Flanigan is, Richard Dean Anderson is. He didn't know that RDA knew what a computer was - that's proof of how bored RDA is, right there. RDA is slimmer, more handsome - he's been working out, it seems.

I don't know who picks Michael's clothes, but the shirt was an excellent choice - and this is from someone who doesn't usually notice clothes unless they're hellishly garish.

He thought this hotel was better than last year's, and that the Meet and Greet was smaller, more intimate. Then, questions.

Q - How did you get Burn Notice?
A - An audition on tape

And, at this point, my insanity has kicked back in and I realize that I'm going to be transcribing this one, too. It just won't be this weekend. Watch this space.

So, just photos for now.

At first, it was fine.

Then we started worrying him.

Then it seemed to get worse.

Okay, I have no idea if that's true. I just thought they were funny, all in a sequence like that. :D

I hope I can figure out from the transcript what's going on here.

Please hold

First I was annoyed with this guy, but look how crisp his hair is. :D

Michael is not impressed.

Talk to the hand

Photo pick-up
Went to get my photo when Michael finished, and couldn't believe how many expressions David Hewlett had made in his! (They were laid out on tables for retrieval.) I think Joe saves his for the screen. :grin: Found mine, with the aforementioned crazyface, and hung around 'til the Michael photo ops were done, to ask the photog if they'd printed the wrong one. (Funny thing, when I showed the door guardian the photo, she didn't hesitate to have me wait. Hmm. :p ) Saw Bethany's with Joe and David and grabbed it up. Put it in the back of her con poster protective sleeve, along with her Micheal and Joe from earlier (that's what she wanted signed). Michael done. Michael left (back view is as nice as the front). Talked to photog - this was the best one, much glare on the others. Damn glasses! Whatever.

Costume Contest
While we waited for the autographs to reach our row, the costumed among us vied for prizes. Jenn pulled out her John and Rodney dolls and said that she should go up with them and be Brad Wright. I told her that to do that, she'd have to do this... I took Rodney, announced, "I'm Brad Wright" and tossed Rodney away, onto his head in the aisle. We laughed uproariously, and when the group of folks who protested the rough treatment was told the reason, they had a good laugh, too. Was fun!

A group shot in the lobby.

Onstage, left third

Onstage, middle (with Nox blurring to the front)

Onstage, right third

Vala won, and rightfully so. She had the attitude down, not just the look. The Ori was second, and I've no idea who came third.

Michael's autograph
The lady in charge of herding us (Tracy?) told those in Row A to go to David's line, then, when they were done, to go directly to Michael's line. Those in Row B - Michael, then David. Simple, right? Especially as they announced that, as they were running behind (as is apparently the norm), there would be no personalizations. By this time, most of my row/area are getting pissed. Part of the ticket price was "non-rushed autographs", and so far there hasn't been an instance of that yet.

Anyway, after Michael's line had gotten down to a certain point, Tracy (as she shall henceforth be known) sent Row C to him, then David. Ditto for Row D. Row E was sent to David, then Michael. At this point somebody did the math and figured out that it wasn't working, since David was actually delivering what Creation had promised. He was not only not rushing, he seemed to be making conversation with Every. Single. Fan. For, lo, he is a nerd and a geek and a fan and knows how we feel.
:D and also \o/

From that point on, the rows went to one side - okay, Michael's side - then returned to their seat 'til David's line died down enough to send them over there. This did cause some consternation in my area, but when anyone said they wanted David to hurry, I just pointed out that it was better for him to take his time with all, as that would include our time. Oh, yeah. We can wait. We can totally wait. :)

Row J is us! Got up to the handler, let him know I had my photo and Bethany's (and why). When he slid it over, Michael, who had heard the explanation, asked, "What game?" I think the phrase I'm looking for is caught flat-footed. I replied, "Um..I know there was a game. I...know there was a field... :nervous chuckle: That's all I know - I just met her yesterday." Someone in line opined that it was a Bears game. He signed hers (personalized it, too - 'My sympathy ploy worked!' I thought), then pulled mine over - again I got eyebrows. I explained the rationale, and he asked my name. "Oh, they said you weren't personalizing." "Ah, screw 'em!" "Good man! In that case, my name's Lisa." Signing and grinning ensued. Then back to our seats to wait our turn for David and compare the drawing Michael made on each photo. UFO? Self-portrait? Both camps had ardent supporters.

David's autograph
Finally made it to the wall leading to David. The lady who was checking off on our passes asked if we wanted just signatures, or personalizations. I said I thought they weren't going those. She said that - since David was asking everybody anyway - they were saving time by just doing it in the line. More \o/ for the mighty Hewlett.

Got up to the handler, did the Bethany dance, then laid mine down. The handler (in his red jacket) asked, "What's this?" "It's a fruit basket. I figured the guys might get tired of signing their own faces. Not that they're not handsome faces, just...if you see 'em all day - it could get tiring." Handler says, "I don't think David has that problem." David leans over and said, "He knows me too well." Eep. Apparently, he caught the convo after my row mate got his stuff signed, while he waited for whoever was with Bethany's stuff to appear. (I should explain that I had her name on a sticky note on the back of her plastic pass protector, and was putting it down in the hope that they'd take pity on the poor girl for missing it, and personalize. Worked two for two, too.)

David can apparently multitask, too, as he had caught part of the Bethany tale. I recapped it for him, how her sister sibling-guilted her into going to the game; what with the suite and the food and the warming up on the field with the team before the game. David did the same thing as Michael. "What game?" I'd just answered this and I still went, "Bwuh?" and looked to the girl behind me for help. Thank God - she came out with, "Bears game." David signed her con poster 'Bethany - you were robbed!' I figured a guy with siblings could relate. :)

He slid mine over. "What is this?" "It's a fruit basket." "Why am I signing a fruit basket?" "'Cause it's cool! Hey, consider yourself lucky - Joe got flowers." He signed 'Lisa' with a black Sharpie, causing me to go, "Uh. Too late, nevermind." "What?" "I was going to have you sign with one of these", and revealed the two Sharpies I'd been holding, and had forgotten. "Which one?" "I was gonna let you pick." He asked the handler which one, and he (the guy that they put in charge of getting David in and out efficiently) said, "Use 'em both!" So, David wrote with the red-violet one first 'Nice basket!?', then took the blue one for 'Love, [his name here]'. I thanked him, took my toys, and floated back to my seat.

Of course, I later realized that the reason I'd given him was neither complete, nor really accurate - and kinda denigrated Joe's flowers (and possibly Joe, a little bit). That's what led to the poem writing during the drive back. But that's tomorrow's story. :grin:

Hung around with Jenn 'til her row was called. Tracy used her phone and the mic to play 'Guess that Tune' with us for two songs, until when she realized that all she had on there was stuff from Buckaroo Banzai. (Which was how I got that second one right.) :grin:

Went off towards the Dessert Party. Before I got there, I ran into the woman in the seat in front of mine. We exchanged autograph details, and I showed her what David had written on Bethany's. She saw the one Joe and Michael signed, went, "Hey!" and pointed. Poor Bethany was sitting there waiting for me. It seems that the game was soooo bad that they left at halftime, and she'd figured that since I hadn't slipped the stuff under her room door yet, that she'd catch me here. Was sad all around. She didn't even stay for dessert, which was ice cream with toppings.

Dessert Party
Got my ice cream and went in. Room was dark, music loud, and new friends unrecognized at first. Luckily, Jenn and friend came in just then, and she spotted Kath, Sue, and group at a full table with a cool centerpiece. We left our stuff at the next table over (with three soon-to-be-friends) and took a closer look at their work. They built a centerpiece out of stuff they'd had on them! It was a Stonehenge-esque arrangement (complete Atlantis dvd set character cards, from what I could see), with a ZPM (4x4 Post-its) and other stuff (didn't get a good look) inside, and a jumper and X-302 (more 4x4s) outside. It was fabulous, and I fully expected them to win. Sadly, the table whose huge stargate left only three inches of open space between it and the edge of the table at every point - that had the correct glyphs - that lit up - won. :D

Back to the new friends table. We chatted, and one of the girls pushed her empty bowl into the center. The other followed. I would've, too, but it wasn't empty just yet. More chatting, more reliving, then my bowl joined the others. Now that it was a triangle, the upside-down plastic watercooler cup and empty cherry stems were used to garnish it. Dan Shea and Andee Frizzell had been circulating all along, and a couple minutes later, Andee sat down with us. "Hi" all around, then she asked if that was our entry for the contest. Nobody said anything (for about .2 of a second), so I jumped in. (pretentious artist voice) "Oh, yes. It symbolizes the need for universal health care in all the countries of the world, and..." That's when I couldn't hold it in anymore, due to the high eyebrows all around, especially on my tablemates. I busted up laughing. "Hey, I've been to the Modern Art floor at the Museum. That shit would fly!" Ahh, icebreaker. All laugh. A couple of minutes of chat, and Andee moved on. Never did see Dan. The enormous Stargate won the centerpiece contest, and those of us who weren't gonna dance drifted out of the room.

Jenn and I went back to the room and promptly porned the puny plastic people some more.