Back on earth, part I
I'm back from FedCon XVIII in Bonn. It was packed full of people, it was thrilling, it was exhausting, it taught me about prejudices, it was crazy, but most of all it was a hell of a time.
I feel like sleepwalking just looking at the screen, but since I want to share my experience with you all I'm going to split my diary in several parts. You get the the first part today, all the other ones during the week.
---
You know the drill. Click the links and you'll see some of the less blurry pictures I took (or the imdb page of the actor so you know whom I'm talking about). Have fun and let me know what you think. Please refrain from writing anything about the mirror universe incident during Connor's panel. He's a sweetheart and smells extremly good and I don't want to hear anything different in my world with rainbows and unicorns.
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May 1
We started the friday pretty early ... try 5:3o early. Which is prorably why we looked like this and this. The train ride actually wasn't that bad, even with some delays we got all our connections ... it's just that the floor moves underneath me everytime I'm in motion for such a long time. Blah.
Our hotel in Bonn was pretty nice and after we had checked-in we took the subway to the Con hotel, where we got our con bracelet and everything else we'd need or not need during the next three days.
One of the best thing about a SciFi con is that people get to show off their beautiful costumes and it doesn't feel out of the ordinary to take a picture with Qui-Gon Jinn or the Storm Troopers. You also get proven wrong on all the prejudices you ever had. Sadly, I don't have a picture of it, but while we waited in the autograph line for Robert Picardo I noticed some boys in front of us you'd usually picture in a sports car driving to the solarium or to the hair dresser to have their hair bleached blonde. And what did they do? Fangirling! The whole nine yards! Yes, these boys even gave German mustard as a present to Picardo. Adorable.
The whole evening Patrick (not my Patrick, but a lovely guy anyway) walked around in his "Q"-costume and people wanted to take pictures with him ... why the heck didn't I take a picture of this? Aehm ... so you have to live with this. Patrick is the guy in red and black with the hat.
One of the first panels (panel = the star is on the stage and everyone in the audience who wants and is brave enough can ask a question) I went to was with Jeffrey Combs. He imitated the early Kirk with his long range gestures and accentuated speech. It went something like this (imagine with waving hands and lots of pointing fingers):
"WHAT - IS - THIS - ALL - ABOUT - I - DO - NOT - KNOW"
He finished this sequence and then went on with:
"And in the second season the writers got clever and made Shatner do this (once again with all the gestures):
SPOCK - EXPLAIN!"
Some time after six they showed our fanfilm ... with no proper introduction and no sound for the (for the plot important) first few minutes. I have a lot of nice things to say about the organization of FedCon, but their technique department is't included in that speech. It just sucked big time. *le sigh* Anyway, people laughed at the right spots and I think they had fun. Later some of them talked to Patrick and Co about it, so I will say it all went well in the end.
After that came the Opening Ceremony. I texted rei17 after it and I think my message went something like this: "BEST.THING.EVER."
Because you know what they did? WHAT THEY SHOWED US? NO? Ha, I won't tell you ... just kidding. It started weird with Marc something, the Master of Ceremonies [henceforth called M.o.C.], who wanted us to get our cell phones out of our pockets and turn them off. Ooookay ... well, I wanted to enjoy the Con, so I did what he asked. Then he said to put away your cameras and so on and I started wondering ... finally the staff closed all the doors (and the boys swore they saw night visions) and they showed us 28 freaking minutes of the new STAR TREK MOVIE!!!! It took my breath away. I'm scared I won't remember to breathe for two hours on Wednesday which would be kinda ... suck, you know. The film was packed with action, humour and the best special effects I've seen in my whole life. Star Trek morale or not, I'm sure I will enjoy this movie immensely and it will revive the franchise for a next generation.
When the lights went on again the actual introduction of the stars (and some people I still have no clue who they were) began. John Billingsley came on stage without a shirt ... not the only cloth he lost during the Con I can tell you. Robert Picardo talked German and asked for a new show to ruin (Stargate: Atlantis [SGA] being cancelled without no apparent reason and sadly he came to late to ruin Battlestar Galatctica [BSG] cause it had already finished its run). I don't remember which one, but one of the actors of BSG made us all stand up and answer to his "So say we all" with a loud "So say we all" in return (for all of you who've never heard of it, the sentence is a kind of "Amen" in BSG). Nichelle Nichols was the last one to appear on stage. She's one "old, old, old, oooooooooold ... sexy lady" - that's her talking, not me! But seriously, she's the grande old dame of Star Trek. She talks endlessly about important and interesting things and nobody ever disrupts her, because ... you know ... it's Nichelle Nichols! I think the Ceremony ended with standing ovations.
The last thing on that day was by far the most funniest thing for me during the whole convention. At the beginning of his panel John Billingsley came on the stage looking like this. I'm not sure why he did it, but I think I remember it being connected to have taken his shirt off earlier and not doing the same thing twice. Anyway, his wife, the most lovely Bonny Friedericy, got on stage as well to get her husband to put his pants back on. What followed was a brilliant hour long late-night comedy show including quotes from Billingsley like this (to a questioner at one of the mics): "Behind you is a woman who either wants to ask a question or is romantically interested in you" and John and his wife trying to distract Marc whatshisname, M.o.C., while "pantsing" (to pull his pants down) him. I can't do these two justice, but I'd be the first one to buy tickets for their show. They're hilarious.
tbc ...
I feel like sleepwalking just looking at the screen, but since I want to share my experience with you all I'm going to split my diary in several parts. You get the the first part today, all the other ones during the week.
---
You know the drill. Click the links and you'll see some of the less blurry pictures I took (or the imdb page of the actor so you know whom I'm talking about). Have fun and let me know what you think. Please refrain from writing anything about the mirror universe incident during Connor's panel. He's a sweetheart and smells extremly good and I don't want to hear anything different in my world with rainbows and unicorns.
---
May 1
We started the friday pretty early ... try 5:3o early. Which is prorably why we looked like this and this. The train ride actually wasn't that bad, even with some delays we got all our connections ... it's just that the floor moves underneath me everytime I'm in motion for such a long time. Blah.
Our hotel in Bonn was pretty nice and after we had checked-in we took the subway to the Con hotel, where we got our con bracelet and everything else we'd need or not need during the next three days.
One of the best thing about a SciFi con is that people get to show off their beautiful costumes and it doesn't feel out of the ordinary to take a picture with Qui-Gon Jinn or the Storm Troopers. You also get proven wrong on all the prejudices you ever had. Sadly, I don't have a picture of it, but while we waited in the autograph line for Robert Picardo I noticed some boys in front of us you'd usually picture in a sports car driving to the solarium or to the hair dresser to have their hair bleached blonde. And what did they do? Fangirling! The whole nine yards! Yes, these boys even gave German mustard as a present to Picardo. Adorable.
The whole evening Patrick (not my Patrick, but a lovely guy anyway) walked around in his "Q"-costume and people wanted to take pictures with him ... why the heck didn't I take a picture of this? Aehm ... so you have to live with this. Patrick is the guy in red and black with the hat.
One of the first panels (panel = the star is on the stage and everyone in the audience who wants and is brave enough can ask a question) I went to was with Jeffrey Combs. He imitated the early Kirk with his long range gestures and accentuated speech. It went something like this (imagine with waving hands and lots of pointing fingers):
"WHAT - IS - THIS - ALL - ABOUT - I - DO - NOT - KNOW"
He finished this sequence and then went on with:
"And in the second season the writers got clever and made Shatner do this (once again with all the gestures):
SPOCK - EXPLAIN!"
Some time after six they showed our fanfilm ... with no proper introduction and no sound for the (for the plot important) first few minutes. I have a lot of nice things to say about the organization of FedCon, but their technique department is't included in that speech. It just sucked big time. *le sigh* Anyway, people laughed at the right spots and I think they had fun. Later some of them talked to Patrick and Co about it, so I will say it all went well in the end.
After that came the Opening Ceremony. I texted rei17 after it and I think my message went something like this: "BEST.THING.EVER."
Because you know what they did? WHAT THEY SHOWED US? NO? Ha, I won't tell you ... just kidding. It started weird with Marc something, the Master of Ceremonies [henceforth called M.o.C.], who wanted us to get our cell phones out of our pockets and turn them off. Ooookay ... well, I wanted to enjoy the Con, so I did what he asked. Then he said to put away your cameras and so on and I started wondering ... finally the staff closed all the doors (and the boys swore they saw night visions) and they showed us 28 freaking minutes of the new STAR TREK MOVIE!!!! It took my breath away. I'm scared I won't remember to breathe for two hours on Wednesday which would be kinda ... suck, you know. The film was packed with action, humour and the best special effects I've seen in my whole life. Star Trek morale or not, I'm sure I will enjoy this movie immensely and it will revive the franchise for a next generation.
When the lights went on again the actual introduction of the stars (and some people I still have no clue who they were) began. John Billingsley came on stage without a shirt ... not the only cloth he lost during the Con I can tell you. Robert Picardo talked German and asked for a new show to ruin (Stargate: Atlantis [SGA] being cancelled without no apparent reason and sadly he came to late to ruin Battlestar Galatctica [BSG] cause it had already finished its run). I don't remember which one, but one of the actors of BSG made us all stand up and answer to his "So say we all" with a loud "So say we all" in return (for all of you who've never heard of it, the sentence is a kind of "Amen" in BSG). Nichelle Nichols was the last one to appear on stage. She's one "old, old, old, oooooooooold ... sexy lady" - that's her talking, not me! But seriously, she's the grande old dame of Star Trek. She talks endlessly about important and interesting things and nobody ever disrupts her, because ... you know ... it's Nichelle Nichols! I think the Ceremony ended with standing ovations.
The last thing on that day was by far the most funniest thing for me during the whole convention. At the beginning of his panel John Billingsley came on the stage looking like this. I'm not sure why he did it, but I think I remember it being connected to have taken his shirt off earlier and not doing the same thing twice. Anyway, his wife, the most lovely Bonny Friedericy, got on stage as well to get her husband to put his pants back on. What followed was a brilliant hour long late-night comedy show including quotes from Billingsley like this (to a questioner at one of the mics): "Behind you is a woman who either wants to ask a question or is romantically interested in you" and John and his wife trying to distract Marc whatshisname, M.o.C., while "pantsing" (to pull his pants down) him. I can't do these two justice, but I'd be the first one to buy tickets for their show. They're hilarious.
tbc ...