I got up super early this morning to be ready to book my room at the Marriott for Dragon*Con 2010. The block opened at 8am. They made it really easy this year by giving it its own site, but at the same time, it has its flaws.

I got on the site at 8am sharp, but half of the pages would not load for me at all. Just the top portion would load and then my status bar said 'done' (this is what kept happening). I got all the way to the confirm room page, and then it told me one or more rooms I requested were unavailable. This turned out to be Thursday. All that was left was September 3-6 with a King bed, so I took it (even if I get stuck with a King, that sleeps three people and you can get a rollaway bed). The girl said that if there are cancellations later that you can change your reservation, so I will be keeping on top of that.

Rumours are flying about more rooms being opened up later, but who knows. I need that Thursday night, though. I just got word via Twitter that they are opening more rooms in 2 hours. I guess we'll see? I will edit this entry if something changes!

I've gone through all my photos. I took so many photos of the Leonard Nimoy/William Shatner panel, that I just had to choose the best 16. I am starting with those because they're still making me laugh. Seriously, I spent that entire hour either grinning like an idiot or laughing hysterically. Mostly laughing. They are so funny together. The first and best panel of Dragon*Con 2009, for sure.



( more photos from the panel )

And if you want to watch the panel, jane_says recorded it. Here's part 1.


( more photos of everything else )

Thursday:
We left for Atlanta around 7am, after a bout of luggage tetris. I drove roughly two hours, then Jesse, the Jane, then me again. We stopped for food once and gas twice. We arrived in Atlanta around 3pm. Our check-in was 4. Traffic was not bad at all around this time, so 7am is now the official leaving for Dragon*Con time for this group. Checked in at the Marriott, then headed over to the Sheraton to pick up our badges. Saw the other half of our party, who were searching for Vernard. We found him, skipped the ridiculous line, and had our badges in about 30 minutes. Afterward, we went to donate blood and I almost passed out this time probably because I should have eaten first. Got a free Vampire Diaries mug along with my t-shirt, ribbon, and sticker. They didn't have the pins out and I forgot to get one later. :( After this, we went to get food. There's a Moe's in the food court now! :D

Friday:
Woke up around 6am and went over to the Hyatt to get in line for the William Shatner/Leonard Nimoy panel line with Jane. The panel was at 10 but streatched all the way outside and around the building. Jane brought her video camera and was the first person to post video of the entire panel, which you can watch right here. We were in the sixth row back, excellent seats. It was so surreal seeing those two and being in the same room. They were hilarious and after the panel, my face hurt from laughing so much. Directly afterward, I headed over to the photo op line at the Marriott to get my "sandwich" photo that I paid too much for, but was so worth it to me because when the hell would I ever have this chance again?! And surprisingly, I don't look retarded yet again! But Froggy's sucks, not only because of shitty prices, but also confusing lines and because this time, they hurried everyone through the line like cattle and you couldn't really even say hello to the people you were getting your picture with. Rude. I love this pic, but I think that I still like the first one I had with Leonard better, since he is smiling big in it. Anyway, it gave me a :D face for a while. Rode in an elevator with the chick that played Dualla on BSG and some dude in the elevator said, "Hey, you know you look just like Dualla!" and she's like, "...Yes." Then she got off and he was like, "OMG that was her, wasn't it? I just made an idiot of myself!" LOL. Decided I wanted to get into a costume, and became a Vulcan for a while. My eartips are awesome. Had one drink, which is a shame.

Saturday:
Meant to wake up to watch the parade, but failed. I woke up right when it started. Put on my Vulcan makeup and Starfleet uniform again for the Star Trek photo gathering on floor 10. Soon after, I think we wandered the dealer's room and exhibit halls. Went over to the Hilton to buy autograph tickets for Leonard and Bill. They were on lunch until 3:30, so then I went and wandered through the walk of fame. Why I didn't get Tom Felton's autograph this day, I do not know, but I am mad at myself because I didn't get it at all. More on that when I get to Sunday. Saw a sign for where Patrick Stewart was signing, but I had no idea where it was and there seemed to be conflicting information on how much his autograph was. Once again, I am fucking angry with myself for not going somewhere to find out because I found out later on Sunday that it was only $60. ARGH. Anywho, I went back to my room to wait for it to be time to go back and get my photo signed by my two favourite Trek men. I waited for probably an hour, but once they got back from lunch, the line moved fairly quickly. Kate Mulgrew walked by me as I waited. I don't like the way they had them set up though, behind like, a ticket counter or something and not at a table. Shatner didn't really engage anyone and I was too dumbfounded to speak to him. I'm not even sure if he looked at me. o_O I can't say I am surprised, though. So he signed my photo and then it was over to Leonard. He was just as fantastic as before. He made eye contact, said hello, signed my photo and then I gave him the fanbook with a short explanation of what it was. He was a bit surprised and he said, "Oh! Wow, thank you. That's very nice, thank you very much!" I said, "I hope you like it," and he thanked me again. I have no idea whether he read it or not (though I am sure he did, but I'll come to that later). Yes, I was still dressed as a Vulcan because I am a giant nerd. After this, I was rather on a high. Found out later that Shatner had decided to stay through Sunday, so that was cool. On my way to get food after getting my autographs, a Stormtrooper confiscated my damn droid hunt card. I tried to walk realyl fast as I passed him, but he caught me and I was like, "DAMN IT!" and he just laughed at me. After that, Jane and I went to Adam Savage's panel. We were in the back, but at least we made it. He was very funny and he said he was going to come back next year. Unfortunately, I did not spot him in his costume, but later found out he was dressed as Chewbacca and I am pretty sure I saw him by Pulse, but didn't know it was him. I was going to go to the Star Wars trivia contest, but ended up going to the Aquarium instead. My Starfleet boots are well worn in, but need some gel inserts next time I wear them. After the Aquarium, we went to find the BSG party, but it was dying down. However, we got to watch a bunch of them do "Thriller". I was in a corset by this time and couldn't really participate. Soon after, I headed back to the room because Leonard Nimoy had a panel at 10am that I wanted to go to. but I couldn't sleep and there was a little bit of drama, so I ended up over at a café at the Hilton until 4am with Rini and Jane.

Sunday:
Once again, had to wake up around 7am to go to a panel that was scheduled at 10. I woke up late, but this panel was in the Marriott, so not as far for me to go. Immediately, I went outside out room and looked down to see where the line was. It wasn't too long, so I hurried and got dressed to go down. As soon as I got down there, it began cirulating that it was now also including Shatner. The line grew and grew. I wasn't too far back, middle of the fourth row I think? This panel was conducted interview style. I had hoped he might mention the fanbook, but he didn't. I do think he read it though, because of a comment he made. Something was mentioned about his filming Catlow in Spain and he said, "If you saw that, then you saw my naked butt!" to which the audience cheered, and there was a letter int he fanbook which, toward the end said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you for making Catlow!" I may be grasping at straws, though. He also mentioned his new photography project called Secret Selves. At first I thought the Shatner thing was a rumour since he hadn't shown up, but then he totally, like, crashed the last 20 minutes of the panel. Unfortunately, Jane's video camera died right before this, but I recorded it with my regular camera. We'll have that panel online soon as well and I will add it to the Dragon*Con 2009 playlist I made on the Spock Lives YouTube channel. Patrick Stewart was scheduled for a 1pm panel, but I was so ridiculously tired and in need of a nap, that I missed it. I regret this immensely. I woke up in time to go down and wait for Tom Felton's panel at 4pm, which was highly amusing. He said he wanted to come back and I hope he does, since I missed out on his autograph. I had hoped he'd be signing after the panel, but they had a sign up saying his appearance was completed. :( We completely missed the "Thriller" practices and attempt, but I can't wait to see video. Went back to the room, watched some of the Masquerade, then went over to the Hyatt and stopped into the consuite. Tried to get drunk, but failed, despite finding an entire full bottle of perfectly fine Vodka just sitting all lonely in a lounge area of the Hilton. Went to Vernard's party at the Westin hotel and passed Peter Mayhew on the way out of the Marriott. V suggested I try to get involved with the TrekTrak for next year, so I am going to look into it. Completely missed seeing Mel, but Shannon got my banana bread from her, which is DELICIOUS. Also completely missed seeing Teija this year somehow and we broke our tradition. :( Next year, we have to make up for it. We pre-packed our crap for the morning and tried to go to bed early, but were up until 4am again. Also, totally missed the pirate party. :/

Monday:
Check out was at noon, so we got up around 10. Made sure we had all our crap, then headed out to play the elevator game. Played another round of luggage tetris, then got refreshments and headed off to make a last round of the dealer's rooms and such. I got a couple of decals for my car: the Batman symbol and an Imperial logo. And Jane got me a silver Star Trek science delta, but I think I'm going to save that for when I get a new laptop. :) I am, however, going to buy two larger science logos to put on the little triangle shaped part of my back windows. We finally headed out around 2pm and arrived home at around 11pm. I miss the con and I can't wait until next year. I've already got costume ideas. :) Also, as I somehow miraculously didn't get sloshed at all this year, I am making up for it twofold next year. Also, there is talk of either borrowing Jane's parents' van or renting one next year. If we rent one, we won't have to pay for parking. I feel like I did a lot this year, but at the same time, I feel like I didn't. I completely missed some of my friends, though I did see Bethany several times. Oh, and the weather was extremely nice!

I will sort through all my photos tomorrow (for Dragon*Con: Part 2), but for now, have these two (TOO EPIC FOR AN LJ-CUT, SORRY BBS):


IT'S A SANDWICH AND I AM THE MEAT! (AND STFU I DO NOT HAVE A B-FACE, JESSE.)
Also, Bill's crazy weird denim shirt cracks me up. And what is that face he is making?! LOL! ILU SHATNER. AND OMG, LEONARD, OOOOOH~! I JUST—OOOOOOH! BABY. I AM MAKING MY MOM PUT A COPY OF THIS IS THE GOD DAMNED LIVING ROOM. EVERYONE SHOULD SEE IT. HAHAHAHA. XD


NEWEST PRIZED POSESSION. I have had this photo for years and it was perfect for this opportunity!

I briefly talked about this in an earlier post and I have now had time to outline the details of this project and they are as follows. A post will be made to Spock Lives and a project page will be added to the Fandom section. I will also be pimping this in various Star Trek communities; apologies if you see it more than once. It took me a little longer than anticipated to get this post ready because I wanted to go get the scrapbook so I would have exact measurements of the pages.

Content:

• What » Letters, fan art, poetry, fanfic, doodles, cosplay/costumes, collages. Must fit on an 8.5x11 inch (21.5x27.9cm) page, can be vertical or horizontal. Two works max per person, please.
  
• How » Digital files and scanned images will certainly be accepted, but if you would like to send a hand-written letter or original artwork, you are encouraged to do so. :D
  
• Do Not » Submit questionable content. No smut fics, obviously (though he knows they exist), no stolen art or written words, etc. I think you know where to draw the line. ;)

Organization:
» The book will be put together in a scrapbook, which is why original content is encouraged. It will add a nice personal touch to the book, which I think Mr. Nimoy will appreciate.

Delivery:
» I will personally deliver the book to Leonard Nimoy at Dragon*Con in September.

Deadline:
» August 21. Dragon*Con is September 4-7 and I will be leaving for Atlanta on the 3rd, so I must have time to finish the book before the convention. Please do not procrastinate.

What I Need Now:
» I need comments — will you commit and what would you like to submit? I also welcome any suggestions or questions you may have. Spread the word. You do not need to have a LiveJournal to participate, though this is largely being organised through LiveJournal.

Submission Guidelines:

• Text Submissions » Hand-written letters will be accepted and are encouraged, so please write legibly. Scanned letters and typed letters will also be accepted. If you are sending a digital file, .txt documents are preferred. If you are scanning a document, please make sure it is in JPEG or PNG format and between 150 to 300 dpi. Content must fit on one (8.5x11 inch/21.5x27.9cm) page.
  
• Artwork Submissions » Hand-made art will be accepted and is encouraged. Scanned art will be accepted. If you are scanning artwork, please make sure it is in JPEG or PNG format and between 150 to 300 dpi. Content must fit on one (8.5x11 inch/21.5x27.9cm) page. No traced or vectored images. Do not submit artwork that is not your own.
  
• Regarding Hand-made Items » I have absolutely no problem providing my personal address, but I will not post it publicly. Please e-mail me (amie@spocklives.com) or send me a personal message here on LJ and I will reply with where to send your submission(s). :)

Updates:
» June 18 — I have made a list of people who are interested in participating and so far there are 35. I've already received the first submission — from agent_tomato. :D
» July 25 — Received chggzmarx's letter.
» August 03 — Have received five submissions from four different people so far, only one of them handwritten. Three weeks until the deadline, hope everyone submits on time!
» August 17 - A total of nine submissions has been received thus far. Four days until deadline. I hope I get flooded at the last minute with stuff. :/