50 Days of Dragon Con Day 38

A Pet Peeve

I go to a lot of different kinds of panels.  I go to celebrity panels, writer panels, fan panels.  If you can think of a type of panel, I have probably been to one of them.  If you go to a panel with any sort of famous or seni-famous person there is inevitably one stupid person in the crowd.  Celebrities, authorities, filmmakers, whomever will have multiple panels through out the con.  Each and every panel if there is a time built in for questions the same questions get asked time and time again.  Some panels have good moderators that before the Q&A begins they put limitations on what kinds of questions can be asked.  These moderators are my heroes.  THANK YOU to all of you out there that put the limits out there.
Every celebrity panel you get a "Can I have a hug?" or "will you sign your name plaque for me?".  UGG it is so annoying.  For the writers, filmmakers and the such there is inevitably the "how did you get into the business?"  UGGGG REALLY!?!?!?!?!?!?!?  HELLO!! Some of these folks have been in the business for so long that their experiences are out of date and not really applicable to the current times.  These questions irritate and annoy more than half of the audience and yet they are always asked.  I can not imagine what the 'celebrities' think of all of this nonsense.  I really wish these idiots would get a clue and stop asking the same questions time and time again.
Thank you, once again, to the moderators who do not tolerate this and to those who put the disclaimer out there to begin with.

50 Days of Dragon Con Day 39

Blood Drive
I donate blood one time per year.  I donate at Dragon Con.  Years past there was a dreadful line at registration that often took more than an hour to get through.  Once you got through the registration line you picked up your program bag and headed out of the Sheraton.  On the way out there is the registration for the LifeSouth Blood Bank.  Years ago you could go through the blood bank  line and donate before some of your friends got through registration.  A few years ago a few things changed.  First, registration got a bit faster.  Second thing was that more and more people started to donate instead of the long registration line. Again, this is another line so it is a great place to talk to people.

I have a pretty desirable blood type so they always ask me to be a part of this machine that splits my blood up and then puts some of it back.  Pretty cool really.  This process takes a bit longer than the standard process.  No biggie really.   Sitting in the blood drive last year I was there (in a chair both in line and while donating) while Marc was in the line for the Dragon Con store.  LOLOLOL  He got done about 10 minutes before I did and he was standing in line the whole time.  HA HA.  This is yet again another line but, for this one you are sitting in air conditioning and have a new program to look at.  Pretty cool.

The folks at LifeSouth have been doing this drive at con for so many years they have the process down pretty perfect.  Everything moves pretty quickly.  They even give you snacks, drinks and a blood drive/con related shirt.  The shirts are always pretty cool.  The blood drive is in the Sheraton with registration.  They have moved their secondary location this year and it will be in they Hilton.  I am not sure where in the Hilton they will be.  I do know that the are now there.  I can not help bit think that this is a mistake.  In previous years the axillary drive was in the Marriott right behind the cross walk to Peachtree Center and the Hyatt.  They had a nice little niche and it did not add so much traffic to that already congested area.  Since donating is not on a specific time line there was not a great addition of timed congestion like the end of a panel will cause.  I know the folks that organize the con must have a reason for doing this and I kind of look forward to seeing what they do with that space.  If you get a chance to donate, this is a great place to do it and I whole heartily recommend it.

50 Days of Dragon Con Day 43

Who did that?

Every con is filled with celebrities in various themes.  There are movie and TV personalities, writers, artists, musicians, scientists, puppeteers and other professionals.  Moving anywhere through out the con you will bump into any number of people.  Now, they might be a 'celebrity' in an area that you are not familiar with so you might not know who they are.  Everyone, and I mean everyone who has attended con has at least one celebrity story.  Attend many years of con and you will have many stories.  Here is one of my many stories.  One day I was in the Hilton on my from the ground floor to the second and all of a sudden there was a shout and a blur. I was in a queue to get on the escalator.  The queue paused and stepped back.  There was a group of people coming at us pretty quickly.  All of a sudden someone breaks from the pack and takes a running leap onto the escalator.  As I am in watching I see and 80+ year old Stan Lee laughing and looking back down at us.  HOLY COW...not only did someone just do that, it was Stan freaking Lee.
Talk about cool.

50 Days of Dragon Con Day 40

All inclusive.
When I was trying to get my Mom to come to Dragon Con she had two major arguments against going.  One was that she was too old.  LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL You are NEVER too old to go to con.  The second argument was that she was not in the best shape of her life.  OMG!  I had to work hard to convince her that she would not be the oldest by far.  Also she was lucky.  While she may not be as spry as she used to be, she was able to walk.  MANY people who come to con have all sorts  of disabilities.  Hell, there is and entire department dedicated to helping those who may need it. 

I took all sorts of pictures of people of all ages, sizes and mobility levels.  Even with photo proof she thought she was in the minority.  Now, years later she is still surprised at how many people her age that were there.  I do not see why she is shocked.  Nerds, dorks, geeks, whatever you want to call us come in all ages and sizes.  There are people I have talked to at con well into their 80's.  My Mom has quite a few years to go before she catches up to them.  Disability services alone is unbeatable for what they do for people who need assistance.  OMG!  There are hundreds of people that Disability Services assist every year and without their time and generosity so many great people would not be able to attend. 

Facebook has Dragon Con groups for almost everything you can think of.  There is a group called DropbyDragonCon for those trying to lose weight.  A group for folks who are over 40 years old.   There is even a group for people new to con.  Not to mention all of the groups for the individual tracks themselves.  Check some of them out.

DropByDragonCon
DragonCon Newbies
Dragon Con over 40

I have been to many many cons and I consider Dragon Con to be my con or better yet, my home con.  Kind of like it is my home.  Of all of the other cons I attend, Dragon Con is the most inclusive of everyone of every size, shape, race, religion, mobility level, or any other person you can come up with.  I am so proud to tell my friends I come here every year.  I can not believe what an amazing job the con and all of the volunteers do to make this so accessible and enjoyable to everyone.  To all of the people involved in this con I not only congratulate you for such an excellent job, but I thank you for all of your dedication and hard work.

50 Days of Dragon Con Day 41

Travel

I have always had to travel long distances to get to Dragon Con.  First from the west coast and now from Colorado.  Airfare prices keep going up.  They keep adding fees and making baggage restrictions smaller.  As I do not have a lot of money, I try to save the money I do have and spend it at the con and not on luggage fees.  Each year seems to be a challenge.  I go before con and stay after so this is a full week.  I know I will buy things at con but still, I need to bring enough for before the con begins.  Cosplay has always been at a minimum because of travel.  Souvineers have always been limited because of shipping.  In the past I have resorted to shipping dirty laundry home and that cost me $50.00 so was not a big savings.  Also, shipping did not get my clothes home until over a week after I got home from con. 

Something I have found out is wait and study the airfare.  Yes, it is always a risk to buy now or should I wait longer or did I already miss the cheap point?  Study Study Study.  Use websites like Hipmunk help to compare prices.  I have found that paying for first class-yes it can be pricy-saves me in the long run.  Since Delta is the main airline in and out of Atlanta, I have been using them for the last several years.  I have chosen to pay an additional hundred or so dollars to get first class and then I get my carry on and also a free checked bag.  WOO HOO!!! I can not explain how much of a help this is.  On the way there, I pack my carry on suitcase and then put it inside of the much larger checked bag and check it.  YAY A less cumbersome time at the airport.  Then on the way home I have plenty of room for all of my collectibles, clothes and, anything else that comes my way.  This also avoids security asking me what all of my stuff is.  I do not have to worry about if I have enough of what ever solution to make it through the week in the tiny 3.4 ounce bottles.  UGGG That can be a pain in the butt too. 

For anyone who has to go the airline route, I recommend looking at first class and definitely watch airline prices....Study them and it will save you big money in the long run.

50 Days of Dragon Con Day 42

Lines

Dragon Con unlike many other cons does something I like.  They clear out each room after every panel.  This means you can not camp out in a room for 6 hours waiting for the one panel at 5pm.  YAY!  That being said, for some of the smaller panels and for all of the large celebrity panels there are lines to get into the room to see said panel.  The lines are usually organized and very few times do you have people cutting.  Yes, there is always someone holding a space for a friend or two.  That happens, no biggie.  I have never seen someone holding double-digit or more spaces.  When the room opens up they file you in and set you down in a very organized fashion.  There is not a way to hold several seats empty beside you.  I am so glad for that.  Especially with the recent news about the goings at San Diego Comic Con.

The lines to get into the rooms are not supposed to start lining up until 1 hour before the panel.  This does not always happen.  Lines sort of begin forming when the first brave and dedicated soul decides to start the line.  Lines are one of the best ways to get to meet people.  You know they have some sort of interest in what you are in line for.  Instantly there is something to talk about.  Often you can see games being played, books being read and even sometimes music being played.  I have been in many many lines and with the very rare exception I have had an excellent time and have met some of the best kind of people.  I have learned new things and seen other points of view.  It is wonderful to get into a debate about who is the best hero or worst villain of that specific genre.  This has happened on more than one occasion and I look forward to learning new things every year.

Take some time and enjoy the line you are in.

A line winding around the outside of the Hyatt

50 Days of Dragon Con Day 44

The best last panel of the con.

Every year Monday is kind of a bummer.  It is the last day of the con, I am exhausted from 3 hours of sleep for 3 days.  Many people pack up and leave for their drive home. I go home on Tuesdays.  On Monday there is still programming but it usually ends around 3.  Over the years I have had trouble finding good things to do on this last day.  Many of the tracks do a "how did we do panel".  These are great if you have been to many panels for that track.  I tend to wander between hotels and tracks and, well, the con.  With all of this wandering I do not feel all that great contributing when I did not go to the majority of their content.  One year I decided to go to one of these re-cap panels.  That last minute decision was one of the best I have made at the con.  I went to a Tolkein Track end of year recap panel on a Monday afternoon.  So far, all of the last panels on Monday in the Tolkein, non...zero...zilch have ended at their usual time.  They have all gone over.  Last year Larry the track director showed us pictures of his trip to New Zealand.  They were on the set of one or the Hobbit movies.  SOOOOOO cool.  For a Tolkein nerd such as myself, this was AMAZING!  If you are still at con Monday afternoon you should check it out.  This is a great way to end a perfect weekend.