Joe Day at LA Con 2009
My very first encounter of Joe, my very first con, was I nervous? Yes, giddy nervousness and lots of fangirlie moments. Highlights? Hanging out with Maggs (magaday) again and meeting face to face with GW's Syble (syble4),
vecturist and Lorr (lorr54), catching my very first glimpse of Joe as I neared the photography room, walking up to Joe for my photo session, and spotting him in the hallway after his panel.
First up for the day, meeting up with fellow Whumpers. Maggs and I were late getting to the Starbucks so we were worried we missed meeting Syble and her friend. Somehow we all forgot to coordinate with identifiers so we were just standing there looking like lost deer. What should we do? Shout out Syble?! Hey look, there's Ryan Robbins, standing no more than 10 feet from us! Anyways, Lorr joined us at 11 so our group was only missing one. Luckily Syble found us a few minutes later. She too was trying to figure out who Maggs and Skylore were in the crowd. She was smarter though... she asked why we were here (there were many events at the Marriott). We immediately figured it all out. From there Lorr left for her behind the scenes experience with Ben Browder and we registered and found our seats. Maggs and I were only a few seat numbers away from Syble and her friend Alvita but unfortunately those few seats were divided by the center aisle!
Ben Browder Panel - I LOVE Farscape, more so than the Stargate series (blasphemy) but I never felt the urge to delve into Farscape fandom. Despite that, I was still overjoyed to see Ben Browder up on stage. Bonus squee was when Gi Gi Edgley, Paul Goddard and Loni Tupu all popped in to heckle and say hi to Ben! Funniest question goes to Loni for asking who was Ben's hypothermia buddy during his Arctic filming shoot. Ben then describes that it is SO cold in the Arctic, you cannot touch metal barehanded without freezing yourself to it. Therefore, everyone needs a hypothermia buddy because in order to release yourself from the metal, you need to pour something warm onto the contact point. But since everything in the Arctic is frozen, the only warm liquid easily available comes from bodily fluids. Well, his first thought would be Amanda Tapping! But then, realizing that if his frozen body part was above Amanda's "reach" he would be in trouble. He needed a guy... with good pressure. He's a great story teller. I don't have vid for this but the lady to my right, Jennifer, did. Hopefully she'll send me the links.
Lunch with Maggs, Lorr, Vecturist, Syble and Alvita - lots of fun conversations but I distinctly remember talking about a certain Malibu property.
Paul McGillion's panel - Cute that I hear a tinge of Scottish in him (or at least I THINK it's his Scottish accent). He's sweet just like Ben. He met this girl and his father in the elevator and during the panel, the girl went up to ask him a question. He recognized her and invited her over so that her father can take a picture of them, knowing that those two had to leave soon.
Paul also brought his two nieces up on stage to help him with the trivia & prize giveaway. Those two were a hoot. They were tentative at first but quickly got over their stage fright. Uncle Paul thanked them by surprising the two with autographed pics of Twilight stars during his visit to Armageddon. The looks on the girls' faces were priceless!
Paul was asked about pranks on set. He talked about what Joe did to him and David during a Phantoms location shoot. Because of continuity purposes, once an extra was used for a specific role, they have to stick with that extra. Joe told the biggest extra on location that day to get on the litter to play the dead soldier, knowing that Paul and David had to carry the litter over and over and over again. To make it worse, Joe throughout the day filled Paul's medical backpack with rocks. During breaks, he would comment to Paul that he must be beat having to carry so many props and handle the litter. By the end of the day, with Joe already gone, the Props Master walked up to Paul and told him to look in his medical backpack - compliments of Joe.
When asked if he ever got back at Joe, he said no. But he did talk about wrestling Joe and choke holding him. That was one of his trivia questions... who won between the Joe vs. Paul wrestling match.
Next up, Joe's photo session. Cue the heart palpitations and the nervousness. I tried to calm down but I kept having a running monologue in my head as I got closer and closer to Joe, "Joe's in the room. He's RIGHT THERE. Don't look. Stay calm. Oh, he's soooo cute..." When I was nearly next up, the John Cleese lookalike, who was managing the line for Joe, was telling a joke so I was paying attention to him. Next thing you know, it was my turn and because I was listening to the Cleese man, there was a gap in the photo line. In my peripheral view, I saw Joe look over to me with questioning eyes, then he slightly bowed and gestured with his hands as if to say, "hello? I'm right here! Are you coming?" and I quickly went over to him. He smiled his megawatt smile, looked at my eyes, said hello, offered his hand for a shake and asked me how I am. I said I was fine, then I promptly forgot what I wanted to say to break the ice (how was Halloween with the family? Did you go trick or treating?) and instead said, "And how are you?" D'oh! At least I didn't squeak out my reply. Next thing I know, there's a flash and I'm over at the table collecting my bag and walking towards Maggs with a cheesy smile. I think I need more Joe encounters to get better at this.
Joe's Panel - If the room wasn't filled before, it sure was stuffed now! He's the reason I got into fandom and he is sooooo worth it! He's funny and smart. Love that he always looks at the person who asks the question. There was this lady from Australia who, during his reply, walked back to her seat. Joe's eyes followed her all the way to her seat as he talked about his love of Australia and New Zealand. Cute. He then fielded a question about what he would do if he could redo season 5. For those of you into skin peekage, check out the vid at around the 5 minute mark.
Here's a segment about getting into the business with the Pepsi commercials followed by a response to a question about the fire season in Malibu.
Wrestling with Paulie...
I believe this question was from Vecturist about directing.
Another Down Under question: What did the Atlantis boys do to hang out together during their Armegeddon visit? He also tells us that Jason Momoa is currently in Belfast with his family, filming his new role.
Next up was a question from Maggs about if he could jump into any current TV show now, which one would he like to do. Also, more skin peekage with bonus shirt tuck around the 2:20 mark! (Rest of segment was cut off - memory card full.)
Comment about Rockford Files...
And last question for the day... something about willingness to work in or outside of LA...
I like to thank Maggs and Jennifer for taking the videos for me so that I can take pictures of Joe.
Here's my personal favorite of the bunch.
The rest are here (click for bigger images):
After the panel, we quickly exited and ended up hanging out in the hallways. Shortly after, the halls emptied for the Martin Gero or Farscape panels. We stayed and ended up chit chatting. Honestly. Next thing, we saw a fleeting glimpse of Joe and Paul entering what we eventually figured out was their respective Wine and Cheese Parties. There we were, minding our own business (honestly) when a moment later, Joe escapes his room and enters Paul's - probably to say hello and to heckle him. We knew he had to return to his party eventually. What's a fangirl suppose to do? especially if said fangirls have high tech equipment and know how to use 'em?
Cue the Mission: Impossible theme...
I started setting up my inconspicuous spy shot, holding the camera down by my knees (at max zoom) as if I'm just relaxing my arm. After a couple of practice shots, I was ready. The girls continued to chit chat and when Joe stuck his head out, I started snapping. It was fleeting, as Joe did a slight run to his room. But the mission was accomplished. Maggs surprised us all too with her secret spy skills, putting to good use her iPod Nano, capturing the video version. We had a massive giggle fit.
Apparently, he spotted us too. Perhaps he noticed that the iris of my camera was winking at him...
After our spying session, we decided we needed a group picture with Joe and Paul and co-opted a ticket. After a break and drink at the bar, we lined up for the duo photo session, only to be disappointed that we weren't allowed a 7-some. We ended up splitting our little Whumpers Group into me and Maggs and Syble with Vecturist and Lorr. Happier and more relaxed, the pics turned out great. Maggs hugged Joe and I was comfortable with Paul. Syble squeezed Joe and Lorr yelled for Paul to stop touching her butt. That got some good laughs and a second shot! So lucky Syble got to squeeze Joe twice!!!
And lastly, the autograph session. Gold lines were super long and took awhile because Joe was kind enough to handle personalized requests. We regular ticket holders sat in our seat admiring the view of Joe and ended up chatting up with other SG fans around our seats. Vec gave Joe some coffee. Minutes later, I spotted Paul coming over from his own table and snagged the Cartel Coffee from Joe. Joe later received a bottle of scotch from a fan and you can tell he really enjoyed the gift. By the time we got to him, he was really relaxed.
I made a photo diorama cube using my favorite hot Vegas!Shep pic. He took a good look at it while he was signing my card. He was saying (not to me but in response to one of Maggs' questions) that it was great that fans show their appreciation and loyalty by such things as making (this) diorama. I was happy. We can tell Joe was pretty exhausted. It's been a long day.
Anyways, as it was late, Syble and Alvita departed (and apparently at the right moment since they luckily had another Joe encounter! ) while Maggs, Vecturist, Lorr and I hung out some more. Gary Jones and Paul McGillion walked by us, bidding us a good night as they headed out - cool and sweet! We kept saying we're going to retire but we ended up chatting more, about jobs, celebrities and science! Finally we called it a night, wishing everyone a good night and safe journey home.
All I can say is that I had a great experience. I totally get it now, why people continue to attend the cons - I love it for the celebrity panels, the celebrity encounters and most of all, meeting people from all walks of life and hanging out with people who get why I'm in LOVE/OBSESSED with SGA, Shep Whump and JF.
Thanks everyone for making my very first con experience fantastic and memorable!
vecturist and Lorr (lorr54), catching my very first glimpse of Joe as I neared the photography room, walking up to Joe for my photo session, and spotting him in the hallway after his panel.
First up for the day, meeting up with fellow Whumpers. Maggs and I were late getting to the Starbucks so we were worried we missed meeting Syble and her friend. Somehow we all forgot to coordinate with identifiers so we were just standing there looking like lost deer. What should we do? Shout out Syble?! Hey look, there's Ryan Robbins, standing no more than 10 feet from us! Anyways, Lorr joined us at 11 so our group was only missing one. Luckily Syble found us a few minutes later. She too was trying to figure out who Maggs and Skylore were in the crowd. She was smarter though... she asked why we were here (there were many events at the Marriott). We immediately figured it all out. From there Lorr left for her behind the scenes experience with Ben Browder and we registered and found our seats. Maggs and I were only a few seat numbers away from Syble and her friend Alvita but unfortunately those few seats were divided by the center aisle!
Ben Browder Panel - I LOVE Farscape, more so than the Stargate series (blasphemy) but I never felt the urge to delve into Farscape fandom. Despite that, I was still overjoyed to see Ben Browder up on stage. Bonus squee was when Gi Gi Edgley, Paul Goddard and Loni Tupu all popped in to heckle and say hi to Ben! Funniest question goes to Loni for asking who was Ben's hypothermia buddy during his Arctic filming shoot. Ben then describes that it is SO cold in the Arctic, you cannot touch metal barehanded without freezing yourself to it. Therefore, everyone needs a hypothermia buddy because in order to release yourself from the metal, you need to pour something warm onto the contact point. But since everything in the Arctic is frozen, the only warm liquid easily available comes from bodily fluids. Well, his first thought would be Amanda Tapping! But then, realizing that if his frozen body part was above Amanda's "reach" he would be in trouble. He needed a guy... with good pressure. He's a great story teller. I don't have vid for this but the lady to my right, Jennifer, did. Hopefully she'll send me the links.
Lunch with Maggs, Lorr, Vecturist, Syble and Alvita - lots of fun conversations but I distinctly remember talking about a certain Malibu property.
Paul McGillion's panel - Cute that I hear a tinge of Scottish in him (or at least I THINK it's his Scottish accent). He's sweet just like Ben. He met this girl and his father in the elevator and during the panel, the girl went up to ask him a question. He recognized her and invited her over so that her father can take a picture of them, knowing that those two had to leave soon.
Paul also brought his two nieces up on stage to help him with the trivia & prize giveaway. Those two were a hoot. They were tentative at first but quickly got over their stage fright. Uncle Paul thanked them by surprising the two with autographed pics of Twilight stars during his visit to Armageddon. The looks on the girls' faces were priceless!
Paul was asked about pranks on set. He talked about what Joe did to him and David during a Phantoms location shoot. Because of continuity purposes, once an extra was used for a specific role, they have to stick with that extra. Joe told the biggest extra on location that day to get on the litter to play the dead soldier, knowing that Paul and David had to carry the litter over and over and over again. To make it worse, Joe throughout the day filled Paul's medical backpack with rocks. During breaks, he would comment to Paul that he must be beat having to carry so many props and handle the litter. By the end of the day, with Joe already gone, the Props Master walked up to Paul and told him to look in his medical backpack - compliments of Joe.
When asked if he ever got back at Joe, he said no. But he did talk about wrestling Joe and choke holding him. That was one of his trivia questions... who won between the Joe vs. Paul wrestling match.
Next up, Joe's photo session. Cue the heart palpitations and the nervousness. I tried to calm down but I kept having a running monologue in my head as I got closer and closer to Joe, "Joe's in the room. He's RIGHT THERE. Don't look. Stay calm. Oh, he's soooo cute..." When I was nearly next up, the John Cleese lookalike, who was managing the line for Joe, was telling a joke so I was paying attention to him. Next thing you know, it was my turn and because I was listening to the Cleese man, there was a gap in the photo line. In my peripheral view, I saw Joe look over to me with questioning eyes, then he slightly bowed and gestured with his hands as if to say, "hello? I'm right here! Are you coming?" and I quickly went over to him. He smiled his megawatt smile, looked at my eyes, said hello, offered his hand for a shake and asked me how I am. I said I was fine, then I promptly forgot what I wanted to say to break the ice (how was Halloween with the family? Did you go trick or treating?) and instead said, "And how are you?" D'oh! At least I didn't squeak out my reply. Next thing I know, there's a flash and I'm over at the table collecting my bag and walking towards Maggs with a cheesy smile. I think I need more Joe encounters to get better at this.
Joe's Panel - If the room wasn't filled before, it sure was stuffed now! He's the reason I got into fandom and he is sooooo worth it! He's funny and smart. Love that he always looks at the person who asks the question. There was this lady from Australia who, during his reply, walked back to her seat. Joe's eyes followed her all the way to her seat as he talked about his love of Australia and New Zealand. Cute. He then fielded a question about what he would do if he could redo season 5. For those of you into skin peekage, check out the vid at around the 5 minute mark.
Here's a segment about getting into the business with the Pepsi commercials followed by a response to a question about the fire season in Malibu.
Wrestling with Paulie...
I believe this question was from Vecturist about directing.
Another Down Under question: What did the Atlantis boys do to hang out together during their Armegeddon visit? He also tells us that Jason Momoa is currently in Belfast with his family, filming his new role.
Next up was a question from Maggs about if he could jump into any current TV show now, which one would he like to do. Also, more skin peekage with bonus shirt tuck around the 2:20 mark! (Rest of segment was cut off - memory card full.)
Comment about Rockford Files...
And last question for the day... something about willingness to work in or outside of LA...
I like to thank Maggs and Jennifer for taking the videos for me so that I can take pictures of Joe.
Here's my personal favorite of the bunch.
The rest are here (click for bigger images):
After the panel, we quickly exited and ended up hanging out in the hallways. Shortly after, the halls emptied for the Martin Gero or Farscape panels. We stayed and ended up chit chatting. Honestly. Next thing, we saw a fleeting glimpse of Joe and Paul entering what we eventually figured out was their respective Wine and Cheese Parties. There we were, minding our own business (honestly) when a moment later, Joe escapes his room and enters Paul's - probably to say hello and to heckle him. We knew he had to return to his party eventually. What's a fangirl suppose to do? especially if said fangirls have high tech equipment and know how to use 'em?
Cue the Mission: Impossible theme...
I started setting up my inconspicuous spy shot, holding the camera down by my knees (at max zoom) as if I'm just relaxing my arm. After a couple of practice shots, I was ready. The girls continued to chit chat and when Joe stuck his head out, I started snapping. It was fleeting, as Joe did a slight run to his room. But the mission was accomplished. Maggs surprised us all too with her secret spy skills, putting to good use her iPod Nano, capturing the video version. We had a massive giggle fit.
Apparently, he spotted us too. Perhaps he noticed that the iris of my camera was winking at him...
After our spying session, we decided we needed a group picture with Joe and Paul and co-opted a ticket. After a break and drink at the bar, we lined up for the duo photo session, only to be disappointed that we weren't allowed a 7-some. We ended up splitting our little Whumpers Group into me and Maggs and Syble with Vecturist and Lorr. Happier and more relaxed, the pics turned out great. Maggs hugged Joe and I was comfortable with Paul. Syble squeezed Joe and Lorr yelled for Paul to stop touching her butt. That got some good laughs and a second shot! So lucky Syble got to squeeze Joe twice!!!
And lastly, the autograph session. Gold lines were super long and took awhile because Joe was kind enough to handle personalized requests. We regular ticket holders sat in our seat admiring the view of Joe and ended up chatting up with other SG fans around our seats. Vec gave Joe some coffee. Minutes later, I spotted Paul coming over from his own table and snagged the Cartel Coffee from Joe. Joe later received a bottle of scotch from a fan and you can tell he really enjoyed the gift. By the time we got to him, he was really relaxed.
I made a photo diorama cube using my favorite hot Vegas!Shep pic. He took a good look at it while he was signing my card. He was saying (not to me but in response to one of Maggs' questions) that it was great that fans show their appreciation and loyalty by such things as making (this) diorama. I was happy. We can tell Joe was pretty exhausted. It's been a long day.
Anyways, as it was late, Syble and Alvita departed (and apparently at the right moment since they luckily had another Joe encounter! ) while Maggs, Vecturist, Lorr and I hung out some more. Gary Jones and Paul McGillion walked by us, bidding us a good night as they headed out - cool and sweet! We kept saying we're going to retire but we ended up chatting more, about jobs, celebrities and science! Finally we called it a night, wishing everyone a good night and safe journey home.
All I can say is that I had a great experience. I totally get it now, why people continue to attend the cons - I love it for the celebrity panels, the celebrity encounters and most of all, meeting people from all walks of life and hanging out with people who get why I'm in LOVE/OBSESSED with SGA, Shep Whump and JF.
Thanks everyone for making my very first con experience fantastic and memorable!