Gallifrey - Day Five

Yes, I know, Day Five is coming to you like a month after it actually happened. Better late than never though, eh?

Anyway, let me mention a couple of things that I forgot in the previous travelogue posts.

1. Whovians know their Doc Martens. I have a pair over 13 years old that I had gotten shined at the airport while I was waiting to board the plane to go to LA. I got many comments on them as people couldn't believe that they were that old and that I had never gotten the soles redone. People were actually feeling the leather because it looked so new. And I wear my Docs daily.

2. The Saturday night Scrabble game. It is a spectator sport when Lisa and Simon play. I felt horribly inadequate in my vocabulary as I watched them seriously get into the game and bust out words I'd never heard of. (Though I can proudly say I knew what 'bier' was. And not just from work.) I'd have challenged them, but I was terribly afraid the game would end with me in the corner, sobbing, and in the fetal position after I got my ass handed to me. Much more entertaining than any Scrabble tournament aired in ESPN2.

On to Day Five...

Day Five had me waking up relatively refreshed as I got the most amount of sleep since I hit LA. This morning I refused to give Starbucks any of my money and just drank the coffee the hotel provides in the room. I survived and it was actually rather good. Had a bit of fun drinking that coffee sitting in front of the Starbucks working some more on the post that would become the Special Edition: Lost Museum post.

Started saying goodbye to the hordes of new friends as people slowly went back home. Talked a bit about the Chicago TARDIS and heard some more convention war stories from those in the trenches. (By the way, they just announced the addition of Paul Cornell to the guest list for this year's event. Road Trip anyone?)

I actually left the hotel for protracted periods of time on Monday as Tim, Angelie and I hung out with an old friend of hers. We ended up in Santa Monica having sushi at this little place right on the water. I probably could've pointed to a fish in the ocean, said "I want that one", and have it on my plate in twenty minutes. As it was I went with the fresh sashimi which I speared inelegantly with chopsticks because I have no skill and I wasn't going to ask for a fork.

Then we went to this open air mall and walked around for a bit. We spotted a Borders that had a Seattle's Best shop inside. I was reticent to drag the others inside just to satisfy my coffee fix, but Angelie mentioned that she'd been so impressed with meeting Simon saturday night that she wanted to buy The Pirate Loop. It seems like Borders was reading her mind because look at how easy it was to find it.For the record I didn't do anything to their display. Some enterprising stock boy did it all on his own.

All good things must come to an end and we made our way back to the hotel to retrieve luggage so we could come back to Houston.

I've said it before and I will say it again, if you can manage to make it out to Gallifrey next year do so. It was by far the best convention experience I've ever had.

Gallifrey - Day Three

(Well, now that I've put up the Special Gallifreyan Edition of the Time Team I can actually post about Day Three of the convention without having to dance around getting the Time Team together.)

Day three began the way day two ended, with me on the floor passed out. I was awoken sometime after 7am when Angelie tripped over me. Apparently that caused a bit of a stir because she and Tim thought I had brought someone back to the room to sleep it off before they realized it was me sleeping it off. With others awake and the sun shining I was able to navigate the stuff on the my bed to find a patch for me to sleep on. Note I still didn't have it in me to actually clear anything off.

They went to breakfast with an old college friend and I slept a bit more. I finally dragged myself out of bed when the allure of food was too much to ignore. Due to the lateness of when I finally started to move I ended up missing the one on one with Sophie. I'm kind of sad, but then again I needed to have some solids pass through my lips for the first time in over 24 hours. A shower and a trip to Denny's for Moons over my Hammy later I was feeling slightly human again.

I caught a tad of the panel on whether there's too much Who. Sadly being in one of the side rooms meant that it was packed and very hard to hear what anyone was saying since no one was mic'ed. I stayed for a bit and then started in earnest to put a live Time Team together.

It all really started Thursday night when we introduced ourselves to Paul Cornell. If you read his blog on a regular basis you'd have seen that he said he would love to for anyone that read the blog and was going to the convention to say 'hi' and mention his blog. After helping to purchase a round of lagers for him, Steven Moffat and Simon Guerrier I did just that, saying I read his blog and thanked him for pimping this one. When he asked which one and I mentioned the blog's name that opened the door for some conversation. During the conversation Tim mentioned an email that I had sent a few months ago saying wouldn't it be fun if maybe on the last day we did a Time Team from the con, getting together anyone that actually read the blog if we found them to hang out with us. Somehow this turned into us asking Paul if he would like to take part in something if we could put it together. He was on board if we could make it work schedule wise and then we were off to the races. Then he mentions how we should ask Simon and Lisa as well.

I completed the Simon half of that later Thursday evening when I did the same conversation starting technique of mentioning his blog and thanking him for pimping this one. Conversation pretty much went the same as before, this time me being able to say that Paul was on board for a live Time Team, would he. At this point I decided we should do The Lost Museum so in theory all three would have something to talk about.

Friday had come and gone without being able to meet and talk with Lisa since I had to dash off to the hockey game. From talking with Paul I knew that Saturday night was probably gonna be the best bet for all parties involved. So I left the panel on Too Much Who? and went in search of Shaun Lyon, hoping for some help. This is basically how that conversation went:

Me: Hey, I don't know if you've heard of us or not, but I run a blog called the Audio Time Team where we're slowly going through the Big Finish catalog.

Shaun: Yeah, I've seen the posts on Outpost Gallifrey.

Me: Cool. I was wondering, what are the odds I could get a room to do a live one in? I've got Paul, Simon and possibly Lisa on board to join us.

Shaun: We're always looking for more fan panels. Drop me an email in 6 or 7 months when we start working on the programming.

Me: That's great. I'll do that. But I actually meant tonight.

Once I clarified that I didn't want to actively counter program against Ed and Jenny's wedding and that I wanted to do it during the 2 hour block in the evening where nothing besides the wedding was planned we were off the races.

I had the time frame and a place. Now I just needed to track all parties involved and see whether it worked for them or not. In between all this Tim and I managed to see Joel Hodgson and Josh Weinstein, formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and now part of Cinematic Titanic. It had been rumored as early as Thursday that Joel and Trace Beaulieu might show up. On Friday Joel's appearance had been confirmed. As with the Too Much Who panel we found the same problem with this panel. Tiny room, tons of people, and the room next door showing some kind of video with the volume turned up to eleven. Add to this Joel being a soft spoken kind of person and it was a losing proposition for us being in the back to really hear anything. We stayed for about 15 minutes and then slipped out of the room.

I made my way to the main room for the panel on Benny. Much fun was had as we learned the real reason Stephen Fewell got casted without an audition and that Simon is a fan of Withnail and I. Or at least of Ralph Brown from the movie. We also got to watch the guy who had blown the ending to The End of the World the day before offer his mea culpas for doing so. Afterwards I waited for Simon to leave the stage and find a free moment to explain that I had a room adn a time and was he still free.

After determining that he was still on I made mention how I hadn't had a chance to talk to Lisa as of that point. He said he could fix that right away to which Lisa must've overheard that because she turned around. She explained that she hated to love me and leave but that she had to dash off to an autograph session. She made it a point to actually find my name badge, read the name on it, and then say that she'd try to talk later. I said I understood and as she started to turn around I mentioned "Time Team". This got a look of recognition and an "Oh, then we definitely need to talk" response. I did my best West Wing walk and talk as I quickly mentioned the plan for the evening and got her agreement to participate. I used the resulting autograph session to not only get my cd covers from The End of the World and The Final Amendment signed, but to also solidify her participation in the live Time Team.

Hopefully you've read the post on the Live Time Team so you know how those few hours went. And if you haven't read it, shame on you. Go! Read it now! I'll wait...

For me the rest of the evening was spent hanging out with more new friends, tickled pink that I had just spent serious quality time with Simon and Lisa, and then drinking with Paul and Rob Shearman. The highlight of that that portion being teaching Paul about QI fanfiction and hearing Rob exclaim, "It's apricotty" when taking a sip of a apricot hefeweizen.

I finally rolled into bed around 2am, the earliest I had seen my bed up to this point in the convention.

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Now playing: American Bach Soloists - Kyrie eleison
via FoxyTunes

Special Gallifreyan Edition: The Lost Museum

Bad Redo: Not getting to do a story before Gallifrey.

Good Redo: Managing to get a full Time Team together at Gallifrey.

This is where my ego should pop in a say, "Yes! I'm the Mac Daddy!" (Who the hell am I kidding? I spent all Saturday doing that.) What started off a side comment to Paul Cornell Thursday night became a reality Saturday evening as the full team got together to do The Lost Museum. All fifteen of you that read this might notice that we were jumping ahead in the Benny range. This was because I didn't have Birthright on my MP3 player and we had a few guests to join us. Namely Simon Guerrier and Lisa Bowerman.

See? Look at the pictures taken by Tim.
















With Simon and Lisa on board we made the decision to jump ahead to let Simon comment on the first Benny audio he wrote. And really, how crass would it have been to go"I want you to do commentary on Jubilee"? Since we were in a dead zone in the wifi department we didn't do this "live" so the general format won't be chock full of direct quotes like it normally is. I promise that next time we'll be a bit more prepared, like not being in a dead zone and external speakers. And yes, there will be a next time.

Without spoiling too much for the corresponding chapter in The Inside Story, which Jason Haigh-Ellery promises will be out in a timely fashion shortly, Simon got the idea for this story while watching a documentary on the alleged looting of the Baghdad Museum. Initially everyone believed the American troops had done it, but slowly it was discovered that actually the museum staff were hiding the various artifacts to keep them from being destroyed. A rant by his wife on the museum and stories from a mate who had returned from serving a tour in Iraq also aid in the formation of the overall story.

He had wanted to do an expansive story to show how horrible the war that Benny and Jason end up in the middle of is. Gary Russell said he could do the story, but he was limited to only a cast of four. This lead to the translator portion of the story, realizing that Big Finish had never done such a story before. This allowed him to get around the cast limit by having a world full of aliens but all speaking in the voice of Jason Kane.

As we huddled around the laptop trying to listen to the audio we got a new fan in the form of Bill, who is the gentleman with the goatee in the photos. While we weren't making this a super secret we weren't actively promoting it either. For one I wasn't sure if everything would fall into place and second I didn't want to actively counter program against Ed and Jenny's wedding at the convention. Saturday evening was really the only time that worked for all parties involved. But we enjoyed having Bill, who was a fan relatively new to the world of Who thanks to airing of the first series on his local PBS station. Simon and Lisa gave Bill a crash course in Benny overall and how the third series two-parter Human Nature/Family of Blood was based on the New Adventure book Human Nature that featured Benny.

Eventually we get to the montage sequence where through various Jason Kane voiced translations we learn just how bad a time these aliens have been having since the war started. I note it's a beautifully done montage and ask Simon why he went the route that he did. He explained that he wanted to convey just how horrific and complicated the whole affair was. He goes on to explain that the Baghdad Museum was dedicated to showcasing "extinct" cultures, the ones that the Saddam regime tried to eradicate.

Benny's in the tub and Jason refuses an invitation to join her. I note this might be the only time Jason refuses such an offer. The museum guide, an acquisition probably from her time with the Doctor, is stolen and the chase is on with Benny hopping from rooftop to rooftop in nothing but a towel and her trainers.

Simon: Can I point out that we're got a visual gag on audio?

The visual/audio gag is followed up by a wonderful bit of rude dialog involving a chicken and its various uses. This joke is cemented by once again it being all told in the Jason Kane Hawking style voices.

Madcap hilarity segues to action which segues to angst as Markwood saves Benny and Jason. In the process Benny loses an arm and we get a lovely moment were Benny bemoans the fact that she can't put her arms around Jason. Simon notes that this was another attempt to tie things back to The Collection and remind listeners that she and Jason are in a relationship.

We slowly continue to discover the extent to which things are not as they seem within the museum.

Tim: This part reminds me of Douglas Adams.

Lisa: I was thinking the same thing.

Another sequence of gunfire ensues and Lisa teases Simon about padding the script. I note that even with one arm Benny is still able to control the situation. We also get more linking material back to The Collection as Jason tells Markwood about his family.

The battle rages on and we learn which alien screams are Simon's favorite and how to tell the difference between him and his brother, who are doing all the native alien voices. We get a variation on the theme of Jason Kane being Baldrick as a cunning plan involving a canister of anesthetic gas ala Jaws goes horribly wrong. The twist comes when in fact Jason does manage to save the day proudly exclaiming, "What have I been telling you? I'm bloody brilliant me!"

With Jason actually saving the day for once we begin to discuss the sometimes less than far treatment the character has received in the past. Simon notes that more often than not Jason was written as either a bit of a dick or pure comic relief. It's when he's allowed to be clever that we see Jason as a decent human being. Lisa points out that he's rather heroic in The End of the World and I chime in with that he's also incredibly heroic in Death and the Daleks.

We hit the final couple of scenes in the audio after the day has been saved.

Simon: These two scenes show how things are still complicated.

Tim: And is usually left behind in a Doctor Who story.

The audio finishes and the discussion continues as we debate whether the first season of Benny's was better than the first batch of Doctor Who audios. Eventually we heeded the siren's cry of food and adjourn to the lobby. For those of you keeping tabs of the booze and food we consume at our meetings there was no food but Sam Adams and margaritas were drank.

I'd like to thank some obvious and some not so obvious people for making this happen. The obvious ones are Simon Guerrier and Lisa Bowerman. While we thanked them profusely the rest of the convention it would be incredibly impolite not to do so here. I managed to throw this together haphazardly at the last minute, hence all of us huddling around a laptop with no external speakers. They could've told me to sod off, but they didn't, instead giving us a few hours of their evening. Thanks you.

The not so obvious ones are Shaun Lyons and Tom Wilk. Again, both guys could've told me to sod off as I tried to make this happen. Shaun allowed us to have a room that had no current programing and Tom allowed me to use his laptop. Without them this wouldn't have happened. Thanks guys.

Tune back tomorrow for a regular Time Team installment with the final two parts of the Time Ring Trilogy.
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Now playing: Keane - A Bad Dream
via FoxyTunes

Gallifrey - Day Four

Day four finds me relatively well rested as I get nearly 6 hours of sleep. Tim and Angelie: not so much. Apparently my snoring has reached epic proportions. I still do not believe the story involving my snoring and keeping half a plane up though.

I decide to forage for good at Carl's Jr and actually see the sun for at least a few minutes. It wasn't an earth shattering experience but it made my stomach stop growling so I can't complain. I also suck it up and get a cup of obscenely overprice coffee from Starbucks. In the lobby I set up shop, working on a blog entry that all fifteen of you that read this will see shortly. Eventually John and Dan, aka CaptainJackFaceofBoe, find me and we talk about how it's our first Gallifrey it won't be our last.

And yes, before I go any further I know I'm skipping Day Three. That's involved with the little surprise I have for you.

Much like Friday, there's not that much I want to hit in the panel department. We do make our way though for the Seventh Doctor roundtable with Sylv, Sophie, Lisa, Mark Ayres, and Andrew Cartmel. Nothing earth shattering though I think I could've lived without the image of a pair of Tom Baker underpants hanging in JNT's office. Speaking of JNT, probably the best bit for me was Sophie telling a story where he asked her to drop a few pounds. She as so mad that she actually put on weight and then when JNT saw her again asked what diet she was using because she looked great. Lisa then noted that that was a bit of the pot calling the kettle black. As a woman with a lovable panda bear shape I can say that story and then Lisa's comment was absolutely awesome.

Afterwards we hit the autograph lines again. We each had some items that we wanted signed that we didn't get signed during the first session. This was also Tim's first chance to get Lisa's autograph as he didn't make the Saturday session. I caused some giggles as I opened the Big Finish coffee table book to The Shadow of the Scourge page for Sylv, Sophie, and Lisa to sign. Got a lovely unsolicited inscription from Lisa. I also had fun torturing John with all the autograph combinations he could get while still working within the 2 item per guest rule.

We made it through that line and just went right back to queue for the session with Cornell and Moffat as none of us made the Friday session. The highlight of this session had to be handing Paul my copy of British Summertime and then watching as he showed it to the others at the table who hadn't seen the American version yet.

A couple more panels were hit and then it was time for closing ceremonies. The highlight here had to be Sylv playing the Doctor Who theme on the spoons and Mark Ayres forgetting which son he brought to the convention. Moffat closed out the proceedings with a well placed "Timey whimey, wibbly wobbly".

Of course though Closing Ceremonies didn't mean all the fun was over. Eventually we all made our way back up to the lobby where as usual the fun and drinks carried on well into the night. A bunch of us hung out with Lisa and Mark, discussing such items as Wal-Mart in the UK and which X Factor winner was actually going to have a decent career. This is where Handsome Timmy D completely forgot I was part of the group when he started a comment along the lines of "So, Lisa, as the only woman in the group you'd understand..." Much laughter ensued as Lisa pointed out I was right there and I noted that while I may have a jacket on I did have a couple of assets that would mark the casual observer that I was a woman. Mark was pleased that now his verbal gaffe would not be the biggest one of the evening. I totally understood though. When you're with a group of people and the only women are myself and Lisa I get that your eyes are probably gonna gravitate to her long before they look towards me. It was all good. I got free beer. :D

Later on the evening found me inside one of the bars with Cathleen and Keefe. I don't know how they managed it but they made friends with the guys running Regenerations in the UK and were quasi hanging out at Sylv's table. I obviously didn't talk to him but I can say I drank at his table and talked with his son.

Day four ended with me trying to get some sorely needed shuteye when I crawled into bed shortly before 1am.

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Now playing: Triumvirat - Illusions on a Double Dimple
via FoxyTunes

Gallifrey - Day Two

First, let me implore you to register as soon as possible for next year's convention. With it being same bat time, same bat place next year now is the perfect time to lock down that weekend on the calendar. While you notice I'll talk a lot about the mass quantities of booze I consumed this weekend, there was much more to do than that. There were a lot of night time activities I blew off because personally they're not my thing, like karaoke and masquerade balls. But ultimately I made a lot of great new friends that I can't wait till next year to see. Speaking of which, if you went to the con find me on Facebook.

Day two found me sipping overpriced water and muffins in the lobby at 8am sporting my plaid sleep pants and an apparently useless breathe right strip on my nose. Between excitement, the inability to get comfy, and the idiot who had the room before us setting the alarm for 5am I got maybe an hour of quality sleep. My time in the Methlab allowed me to wander downstairs to get my badge and program so we could start our plan of convention conquest. I can't tell if it's one I folded or not, sadly. The convention was jam packed with such nougatty goodness that you really needed to plan things out to hit as much as you wanted. Also I had tickets for the Kings game that night so I knew right off the bat that Friday would be screwed for me in the autograph department for the most part.

Tim and I wandered down to the dealer's room and I spotted the guy I had met the day before, Dale, along with John who had hooked up with us. Dale spotted us and let us come in early to take a look at his wares. By far Dale had the best table in the room. Mainly focusing on the Classic Series his table had a lot of goodies that the other tables didn't. Plenty of New Adventure and Missing Adventure books, awesome prints, hordes of DWM's and toys aplenty. The three of us wiped the drool off our faces until some other dealer not so subtlety hinted we should leave by whining about the need to guards on the doors. I think they were just jealous of Dale's supercool table.

I decided to make an attempt at sleeping since I didn't really want to hit anything until 2pm when McCoy and Aldred were signing autographs. Sadly this did not come to pass as housekeeping decided to clean the room and I was gonna be damned if I told her to come back. So I ended up wandering back down the now officially opened dealer's room and went back to Dale's table. John was purchasing the Ghostlight print, having pledged to beat Tim and I to it. I bought a Dapol white dalek toy that looked a tad like Special Weapons Dalek, The Return of the Living Dad by Kate Orman, and Burning Heart by Dave Stone. I also picked up the coffee table book about the first 50 audios and some of the other stuff done by Big Finish.

2pm rolled around and we got in line for autographs. I handed Sylv the cover for The Final Amendment and had to explain that he was indeed in that audio. Sophie got to sign my copy of Ace! and listen to me remember her appearing on a NJN pledge drive and singing. Tim took my photo as I talked to Rob Shearman, thanking his to taking a look at this blog and joining Nitro-9. Tim told Rob how he's one of his favorite writers as I handed Gary Russell The Final Amendment cd cover and had to have the same conversation with him that I had with Sylv regarding it.

I quick dumped the autographed items on my bed and headed downstairs for the 3pm interview with Lisa Bowerman. Remember where I put my stuff because this will become important later. Tim, John, and I managed to get front row seats to watch her be interviewed by Jason Haigh-Ellery, the grand poobah of Big Finish. This also means that they had front row seats to watch our reaction as after having successfully avoided spoiling how The End of The World ends, the first guy in the Q&A portion blows it. Jaws dropped, eyes popped, Lisa pointed out the guy had just blown the ending, and I didn't manage to cover Tim's ears in time. He says he'll probably forget by the time we officially hit that audio.

We kept our seats for Sophie and Sylv who were being interviewed by Gary Russell. He took a different tact in that he wrote down fifteen questions, would ask the audience to pick a number and then he'd ask the question associated with that number. This lead to a question being asked regarding favorite toys from childhood and whether they still had them. Sylv immediately looked down at his lap and the room burst into laughter as Sophie turned as red as her top.

5pm rolled around and it was time for me to hit the Kings game and for Tim and Angelie to head down to Anaheim. Remember this as it will become important later. I made it to Staples Center and I must say I have a new respect for Kings fans. As in I never had any to begin with. I just kind of figured the odds of legitimate hockey fans in LA was pretty damn small. But the fans were numerous, knowledgeable, and rowdy as they heckled the Calgary Flames fans who had traveled en masse to see the game. Sadly, for them, they watched the Kings make the Flames their bitches. I've never seen Dion Phanuef manhandled the way he was that night.

I made it back to the room around 11pm and dropped off my new t-shirt and hat on the bed to mingle with the other goodies. Again, remember the placement of said items later on. I wandered out into the lobby and ran into Dan, a friend of Simon's. Convention war stories were told and much beer was consumed. Eventually a bunch of us made our way to The League of Evil Geniuses party where I earned my Lab Rat ribbon. You see, various things/events had ribbons you could earn by participating and then hang them from your badge. To be Lab Ratted I had to drink whatever has offered. I went with the chili vodka which was given to me in a thimble with the proviso that I shouldn't drink it one shot or I'd blow out the back of my head. God was he right. I've never sipped a thimble of vodka before, but I had to this time. I finished that and followed it up with some Kahlua type drink which cut the burning sensation of chilis. This was topped off with some sips of champagne and absinthe. See? I told you I earned my badge.

Apparently Evil Geniuses need their sleep too and around 2am we were told that we didn't have to go back to our rooms but we couldn't stay in their suite. As a lovely parting gift, and as a way to erase the image of Zygon porn, we were given champagne to take with us. So Dan, myself a couple of others found ourselves in need of a party and place to finish the booze. Now, for some reason I had had it in my head that Tim and Angelie were gonna spend the night in Anaheim so I go, "Hey, my roommates are gone. My room is free and it's on the lobby." Off we go traipsing down the hallway like Withnail and I, hands full of plastic cups of champagne and Dan swigging from the bottle. While trying not to spill champagne from laughing so hard we reach my room and I hold up a silencing finger as I slip the keycard into the door.

Now, this is where I hope you remember at least the bit about Tim and Angelie. I crack open the door to find the lights off. This of course means they're back and asleep. So I quietly close the door, turn back around and incoherently mumble how the room is no longer empty. Off it's back to the lobby proper where we find people are still up.

Sidenote: much thanks to the Marriott. I don't know many hotels that would stand for large quantities of people to get pissed in the lobby at all hours of the night and breaking at least a glass a night.

We join the group and start to partake of the veritable liquor cabinet that the coffee table has become. Seriously, two bottles of Jim Beam, two bottles of Seagram's gin and lord knows what else because I can't remember. But I do remember that I discovered that Pabst makes Pabst Geniune Draft. I kid you not. It comes in a yellow can and everything.

4am rolls around I realize I've now been up for close to 48 hours with no real sleep. I start to head off to bed after stating my current time awake and Dan tells me that I should make it an even 50. I give it a go for another 30 minutes, but by 4:30 I've all but passed out on the lobby floor and I won't be that fan so I stumble back to the room. This is where I hope you remember the placement of my stuff. It's all on the bed and the lights are now off. In an effort to be courteous I decide that instead of trying to move stuff around on the bed in the dark I would just sleep on the floor. So I grabbed a pillow and huddled as close to my bed as I could.



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Now playing: Radiohead - Up on the Ladder
via FoxyTunes

Gallifrey - Day One

I got into LA around 10 in the morning on Thursday and was at the Marriott by 11. I go to sample some of the local cuisine in the form of the nearby Burger King. Eventually I just hang out in the lobby and slowly, like moths to a flame, convention goers find one another. I find it interesting how we could just spot another another on pure sight and instinct. Like we give off a pheromone that just tells other Whovians where we are.

I did get worried for a second. You might recall that in a previous post I noted that I was gonna be hanging out by the Starbucks and that if you read this blog I'd love to meet you. Late in the afternoon a small child wearing a "I'm with Creepy" t-shirt walks up to me and just starts pointing at himself. He acts like I should know him and I start to worry that he might be one of the ten that I know reads this blog. Not that I wouldn't want a child to read this, but you might note that I don't always watch my language. The child's mother quickly points him towards a woman sitting with the group that he really should've gone to. I quickly wipe the sweat off my brow.

The truck arrives with the goodies for the convention and myself, along with some new friends, decide to help unload it. One of the things we got to unload was the TARDIS. Obviously not the original but a pretty awesome fascimile of it. I'd have taken a photo but it's kind of hard to take a picture when you're carrying the top of the TARDIS.

After that we got roped into working in what we affectionately called the Nerd Methlab, putting together progams for the convention. I was able to lead the revolt for pizza and tasty non alcoholic beverages. This is when one of the new friends, John, had to give up after being up for nearly 24 hours and thinking that the type on the program was moving. We got liberated from the Methlab to help move in the sound and lighting equipment.

I made my way up to the lobby after the latest bit of sweat equity to check in with Tim and Angelie who had just arrived. Or I should say get with them long enough to get my room key since at this point I had procurred a pint of Sam Adams. It was 10 in the evening by this point and I thought it was time to buy a round or two as by now Paul Cornell, Steven Moffatt, Lisa Bowerman and Simon Guerrier among others were in the lobby. All three of us got to introduce ourselves to both Paul and Simon. We mentioned that we read their blogs and thanked them profusely for pimping ours. At least for me the rest of the evening after that was spent in the lobby hanging out and knocking back the booze. I was good and only uttered my Captain Jack Is A Poor Man's Jason Kane rant (tm) only once. And I got high fived by some other new friends, Cathleen and Keefe, who had read the piece I did for Shooty Dog #4. I finally decided to hit the sheets around 2am, having been up for nearly 24 hours when you factor in the time change.

Gallifrey 2008 Guest Update

I've grabbed the following from Outpost Gallifrey. This may officially now be my dream guest list and quite frankly what a lovely birthday gift I'm giving myself.

Gallifrey One -- North America's annual Doctor Who celebration in Los Angeles -- is announcing several new guests for the February 15-17, 2008 event, Gallifrey One's Nineteenth Symphony.

In conjunction with the Seventh Doctor theme of the weekend, Gallifrey One is delighted to welcome three guests who played an active part in the era: Andrew Cartmel, the script editor for the entire Sylvester McCoy years, who charted the course of the stories and character development from 1987 to 1989; Mark Ayres, the composer who contributed the incidental music for "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy," "Ghost Light" and "The Curse of Fenric"; and actress Lisa Bowerman, who guest starred in "Survival" before becoming the voice of spinoff companion Bernice "Benny" Summerfield for Big Finish productions. Meanwhile, Bowerman will be accompanied by the return of Jason Haigh-Ellery from Big Finish Productions, who will preview the company's 2008 Doctor Who releases. Also joining the convention for the weekend are writer/editor Simon Guerrier, whose work includes novels and short fiction for the Doctor Who lines as well as editing the "Short Trips" anthologies, and Steve Roberts of the Doctor Who Restoration Team, the group that for over a decade has remastered classic Doctor Who serials for the video and DVD era and produced many terrific extra features for the DVD sets. Gallifrey 2008 is also pleased to welcome back science fiction writer David Gerrold and actor/speaker/dealer Bob May from "Lost in Space"... with many other guests to be announced soon!

They join a lineup which already includes the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy and his companion Ace, Sophie Aldred; the 1996 TV movie companion Grace Holloway, Daphne Ashbrook; Doctor Who series writers Steven Moffat ("Blink") and Paul Cornell ("Human Nature"); writers Caroline Symcox, Keith Topping, Scott Alan Woodard, Dr. Arnold T Blumberg and many more. For more details on the convention, visit the convention website at gallifreyone.com/gallifrey.php.



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