Find Us!

As mentioned before, Firefly cargo Bay can unload at Dragon*Con in aisle E tables 27 and 28. So... where is that?

RIGHT HERE:


And that- of course is in the BASEMENT of the Marriott Marquis. Although please stop by the lower lobby levels and see teh Bedlam Bards in the Exhibitors' Halls with the Southeastern Browncoats , who are also giving home to the Browncoats: REDEMPTION crew. Somewhere up there as well is the Austin Browncoats who are shiny shiny people. Be sure to make your rounds!

Until next time:
"I'm a business man, see? Roots in the community"

We have a Docking Bay!

I just got the official local letter from the good folks at Dragon*Con and Firefly Cargo Bay will be in aisle "E" in the basement of the Marriott hotel. The tables numbers are E27 and E28 but that won't much matter. You just need to find aisle E and then look for the banner with the FFCB logo on it.

SHiny stuff for sale! Big stuff, little stuff, Browncoat stuff, Dr. Who stuff, Whedon stuff, Princess Bride stuff, LOTS of STUFF!

So, 24 days from now, stop in at the 24th Dragon*Con and say Ni Hao!

Is It September Yet?

My mother always told me not to wish my life away, but it's hard not to when the movie Browncoats: REDEMPTION comes out in September.
Here is the latest trailer now live on their site.

SHINY!
(hey, I know some of those people in there!)

Until next time:
"Wacky fun!"

CONfirmed

Ni Hao!

I've been busy scanning the airline web pages trying to figure out the mystery that is best air fare rates. So far, I'm losing.

ANYWAY, I'm doing this because of the six cons I decided to work this year, I'm definitely in for four of them. The are, in timeline order...

Norwescon. I'm working this big con on my own, so if you're in the Seattle area and planning on attending, please be sure to stop by the booth! And bring food ;)

FilKONtario. My filk related merchandise will be in the interfilk bazaar being sold by the wonderful FKO volunteers. I'll be around the con itself actually taking part! Yea me!

Confluence. Returning to my home town with a full FFCB booth at this great con. Come to the 'Burgh and see all the new shinys I have!

Dragon*Con. Back for our 3rd big year! A full FFCB booth and the release of Browncoats:REDEMPTION Why would you *not* be there?!??! (psst: there will be more than a few shiny BC:R items available at the Firefly Cargo Bay booth in the Marriott dealers room-- BOTTOM floor!!!)

Also on tap, but not confirmed are Balticon with wonderful author GoH Tanya Huff. I should know by mid-March if they're letting me in the dealers' room. I'll post when I know for sure.

The last con of 2010 will be hopefully, SFContario. This is Toronto's newest scifi convention and looks very promising. They do have a music track and this should be of note to Browncoats in the area because we are working on (hush hush now--) BARDS WITHOUT BORDERS DEUX!!!!! That's right, ladies and menfolk, we're planning on getting the Bedlam Bards back through customs for music and mayhem! Hhmm.. and now that I've just broadwaved that I guess I really HAVE to make it happen now.... Well, I've never been known to be one not to overstep boundaries!

ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TOPIC TO DISTRACT YOU FROM MY PREMATURE ANNOUNCEMENT :)

I have completed the sequel to my (I'm so proud) very popular Youtube video Motivated by Firefly and am thrilled to present Still Motivated by Firefly. Enjoy!

Until next time:
"Some people juggle geese!"

OOOOO Ficial!

Got the official "yes you paid for your space in Dragon*con 2010" letter in the mail today. It's on their letterhead and everything, so, woot! Firefly Cargo Bay is confirmed for 2 tables in the dealers' hall again! *squee!*

Naturally there is no location of said tables yet, as it's not even '10, but WE'RE THERE!!!!!!!!!

Someone Took my September!

Wait? What? Last week of September? No no, it couldn't be- I just got back from Dragon*Con! Whoa! That went... well, WHOOSH!

Okay, I will spare you all the fangirl squeishness that was Dragon*Con for me this year and just give you the bottom line: It was a huge success! After last year's shipping fiasco that cost me more than I could have ever made, I was hoping to bring in about the same amount of sales as last year just to be on par with expectations. Well shiny Browncoats must have been saving their coin for D*C because sales were almost double what they were last year! (It also helped that we were in a slightly better location and that we had 2 tables instead of one).

What does this mean for all of you? More shinys! Yes, my con and merchandise budget is based mainly on what happens at D*C. Because sales were so phenomenal (and I'm not repeating it to brag- I'm repeating it to stress how stunned I am!) Firefly Cargo Bay will be able to go out to the black and hit 5 or maybe even 6 cons in 2010! And I'm aiming for some new ones this year (hit some of those border worlds I haven't seen yet).

It also means that I can afford to purchase or have made or buy the supplies to make brand new shiny goods for the the secret stash including some more of the official stuff from QMx, since I am one of their official retailers after all. Believe me when I say that I already have ideas aplenty for new shiny stuff!

On the down side, since Dragon*Con was so good sales wise it means my on hand stock is pretty well depleted. So far this has not had an impact on web site sales (after all, the Cafe Press site is usually always in stock of whatever you want) as everything that's been ordered since D*C I had extras of here. Rest assured I am working on filling up the crates again with all the Browncoaty Goodness I can.

There are some things that are going to be pulled out of the Cargo Hold however. Some sizes of the flags just didn't sell as well as hoped and have not had good enough sales to warrant a reorder. The remaining 16"X 24" Independent Flags have gone on clearance sale and when they're gone, they're gone (price reduction is now/ will be shortly evident on the FFCB products page for all clearance items). Same story for the Browncoat Car Flag. There has also been a price drop on the books Finding Serenity and Serenity Found. Check out all the new updates at the FFCB site.

Unfortunately, until further notice, the Companion Fan will have to be pulled from the site. My supplier only offers the fans in green and navy now instead of the Inara-ish burgundy. I have been looking for suitable replacements, but as yet have not found one of high enough quality.

So, okay, I think I've rambled long enough here. I need to get back to work updating the FFCB web site and restocking and getting my gorram butt in gear on working on those new items! Updates when things progress (or I remember to blog about it- whichever comes first!)

(Oh, and BTW I have reserved my spot for next year's Dragon*Con already- paid in full and on file- so FIREFLY CARGO BAY WILL BE AT DRAGON*CON 2010!!!!!!!)

Until next time:
"It's good to have cargo. 'Course that makes you a target for every other smuggler out there, but that can be fun too."

Are We There Yet?

In under 72 hours now I will be on my way to Geek Mecca! Yes, it's Dragon*Con time once again! *SQUEE!*

I'm very excited about all the secret shinys that will be previewed only at the Firefly Cargo Bay Booth in the BASEMENT of the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta this weekend. They're so new I don't even have them in Secret Stash yet! Naturally, there are the new buttons, but also at least 3 other items that have not been offered before.

OKAY! I can't wait! Here's a hint:


There- I feel better. And I didn't *say* anything! Oh, hey, I also have free Kaylee Strawberry Candies to give out, so, stop by for sure.

I'm packed, got my tickets and the shinys and pretties are already in the Marriott's storage locker. JUST GET ME THERE ALREADY!

Until next time:
"Don't usually see you two planetside"

Still Flyin'

The phone rang early this morning and the call made me feel like a goof. It was the dealer liaison from Dragon*Con. You know, the one I pestered so relentlessly for a week when I was placed on the waiting list for spots there. Turns out all that drama was for naught.

Yes, ladies and menfolk, we have a job! There are two tables reserved for Firefly Cargo Bay in the dealers' room of the 2009 D*C. I don't have the location yet (I wasn't about to ask for it when he had just given me the spots- I'll wait for a while before I pester again).

So, YEA! Firefly Cargo Bay will be working the hall. You have NO idea how relieved this makes me. Or, maybe you do. Anyway... SQUEE!

Until next time:
"of course, it makes us a target for every other scavenger out there, but that can be fun too."

DRAGON*CON DAY FOUR (SEPT 1)

When I got up in the middle of the night, I had noticed the bill to check out slipped under our door. This was odd because we weren't leaving until Tuesday. I put it on the desk and went back to bed.

First stop in the morning was front desk to have them reactivate our keys and make sure we still had a room for the night. On our way to the M store, George Taki passed us on his way to check out. Or beam up, whichever. We had breakfast at the booth while I rearranged to (happily) fill in the hole that were made by us selling out of things. Yea!

I took the opportunity to walk around the dealers' room for the very first time that weekend. i spent an hour and a half doing so and came back about $100.00 lighter. (Yikes!) Did I then stay and work the booth? Nope! I had a lunch date with college friends of mine who recently moved to Georgia. (Hi Tim! Hi Joanna! Hi babies!)

At lunch we talked of many things and they asked lots of questions about Dragon*Con and such. Joanna said they used to make so much fun of Dragon*Con when she was growing up (she's originally from near Atlanta). Shortly thereafter I told her I saw the whole Sean Astin panel she said "Sean Astin was there?" Then turning quickly to Tim said, "We're going to Dragon*Con next year!" So much for making fun of it, eh? We had a very nice, albeit brief lunch visit (and a shout out to the two bestest twin nine month olds ANYWHERE!) and then they dropped me off at the hotel once again.

I was going to go back to the booth, but took the chance to get back into the Hyatt. The numbers were way down on Monday-- like the attendance at a "normal" convention, and getting to and fro was much easier. There' s a really cool illuminated Dragon*Con sign in the front of the Hyatt that I wanted to take a picture of. I had seen it in passing one of the other days, but Directionally Challenged me couldn't find it again. What I did find was two Bards hanging out in the Hyatt. I ended up talking to them for an hour, which was nice.

FINALLY, I got back to the booth and heard FanGirl's report of seeing Walter Koenig in the Starbucks and also discovering that all the people that were in the hotel lobby all weekend long had turned into suitcases! (There were so many people checking out that morning that concierge had the suitcases lined up around the lobby in an orderly fashion- at Dragon*Con, even suitcases stand in line!!)


The booth was very busy and the ladies held their own. I had begun counting up inventory to use as totals on the customs paperwork. I was not looking forward to dealing with THEM again! I tried to make everything as accurate and thorough as possible. I was also tidying up and packing up what I could while I did this.

At 5 pm there was a mass destruction of the Dealers' room. Half the boxes that were full at the beginning of the show were packed empty in the crate (yea!) We took the Bards' stuff to them and helped load up their truck (which they call Vera) and said good bye to them (big frowny face)- only until October and The Browncoat Ball. (huge happy face) Then back to the crate. It got packed up and sealed in. Then- I hit a wall. I was soooooooo tired. I had some difficulty finding the Freeman representative in the exhibit hall, and there was some miscommunication, but all the paperwork got to the right people. Eventually.

I told the ladies I was done making decisions and wherever they wanted to eat was fine by me. We ended up in FanGirl's hotel room (since hers was made up and ours never did get that way this day) and had yummy pizza room service. We were all tired and got punch drunk and silly. Massive giggles ensued. Such fun. After this, my sister and I rode to the 47th floor of the Marriott just cause we could. We weren't the only ones to do so and the rapid glass elevator ride was good fun. We, naturally went all the way to the bottom floor just cause we could. We took some lobby pictures and then shared a brief elevator ride and conversation with James Hong

We then went ot the room to pack our stuff and try to get some sleep. Before drifting off I looked at teh clock. It was 12:03. I said, "Hey, Mar'e" She replied wisely, "What?" I said, "Happy Birthday!" She laughed and said thank you. and then we pretty much dropped to sleep.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We now return you to your regularly scheduled hotel."

DRAGON*CON DAY THREE (AUG 31)

As had become habit, on Sunday I woke up way early. In the time that I got up and got down to open the Dealer table, I had talked myself into going to the Sean Astin panel. I mean, the ladies had been doing so well without me already. (I can rationalize anything!). So, my sister went off to her photo op with Kevin Sorbo and I went in to open the booth. FanGirl appeared and I told her, "See ya!"

I walked over to the Hyatt and went down the hall prepared to line up out the door and outside- it was only an hour until the panel after all. I rounded the corner in the hall and was floored to see the end of the line. It wasn't outside. It wasn't even to the door. I thought "This can't be right. It's SEAN ASTIN folks!" But I was right and got to sit inside on the top step. I had a nice conversation with the fellow in front of me who turned out to be a filk fan. Much fun was had while waiting. I ended up in the 5th row center for the panel. I enjoyed every second of it. He's a very charming intelligent man with lots of wonderful stories. He can be long winded, but none of us cared, as everything he was saying was interesting. (and, yes, I video taped the whole thing)

I returned to the booth when it was over and was told I had to go to the Firefly panel which they moved to the Marriott. I knew this couldn't be, because my sister wanted to go to the Andromeda panel and FanGirl wanted to attend the Last Unicorn panel. These were all at the same time. I was told that FanGirl would rather see the video I took at the Firefly panel than attend her own. So off I went.

When I got upstairs, I needed to hit the washroom first. There I found Mary from Browncoat Fashions with her crew in tow. I saw Baby Kaylee (absolutely adorable!). I wanted to take a picture, but I also knew I *had* to get in that Firefly line. On my way there, I saw a proud Canadian Browncoat exactly third in line for the panel (Hi Magie!). I stopped to talk to her and found out they had already closed the line to the panel. (Turns out this was not true- the sign that said "Firefly Line Ends Here" only told people where to line up- not that they weren't letting anyone else in- this worked out okay in the end though). I handed my video camera to Magie and gave her a brief tutorial on it. My deal was that I'd give her a copy of the other two panels (neither of which she'd been able to get into) if she'd tape this one for me. She happily agreed. I warned her that I had just videoed the entire hour of the Sean Astin panel and the battery was probably going to die half way through this one (I *knew* I should have bought a backup battery!)

I returned to the booth and informed the ladies of the current Firefly Panel situation. Then I sent them each on the way to the panels they wanted to see. I then womaned the booth by myself for the first time. Time just dragged! Every time there was a burst of sales or activity I thought for sure another 1/2 hour had passed. No such luck. 10 minutes at the most. Eventually my sister returned with happy stories from the Andromedia panel and the time went faster.

Soon it was 7pm and we were able to close the booth and head up to the Hard Rock Cafe to (hopefully) meet up with (and crash) the Browncoat Cruise Reunion group. We squeezed in past waiting people to look around for our group. Cedric spotted us and called to me. We went over and saw there was NO room to put two more people. I flitted around a bit and saw Baby Kaylee again- all smiles, while two of her older brothers - jayne and mal- slept soundly at the table. I waved to Dave again and talked with Cedric awhile. I was trying to see if the staff would accommodate us- I really wanted to just hang out and visit with Cedric and Hawke- something I rarely get to do, and we were all in a festive mood. Alas, it was not to be as there *were* people waiting to be seated, and there *was* no room for us, and we probably would have taken forever to get served. So I said goodbye to the shiny bunch (big frowny face).

We headed to the food court of the mall to get something fast until it dawned on me that it was Sunday- going on 8pm. The mall would be closed. So we just hit the McDonald's. After waiting in line for about 8 or 10 minutes and not seeing anyone move I said to my sister, "WHY are we waiting for McDONALD'S ?!??!?!" We went back to the Marriott and grabbed something from the M store. (awesome little addition to a hotel- every one should have one!). We turned on Dragon*Con TV and watched the bumpers and the start of the masquerade while l we ate and I did the daily books.

After a while (and a balanced ledger) we headed tot he Filk room in the Hyatt. Cedric was playing when we entered- as a matter of fact, that's what helped us find the room! I became a Bloggerazzi and video taped Cedric's new "browncoat" song (and now I owe him a quarter for usng his term "bloggerazzi"!) During the song, a washer fell from the strap of his instrument (insert all sorts of jokes here). It was hard to find in the swirly carpet pattern, and several audience members tried to help- some on their hands and knees, some bent over, some standing. It was to this scene that The Great Luke Ski entered the room. Whithout missing a beat he said, "Oh, good! I'm just in time for avant-garde Twister!" I love the quick wit of the filking community! When what was lost was found, someone else performed and a little while after, Hawke arrived and the boys played again. Things continued this way until shortly before 11:30, when they called a break to "maximize the capacity of seating"- that's geek speak for "rearrange the chairs". Carrie Dahlby would be in concert then.

During this break I needed to leave the room. A few people got into this loud passionate (and I'm convinced alcohol induced) argument about the Lord of the Rings movies. One chick was so convinced that Peter Jackson violate the works of Tolkien and would hear of nothing else. I'm not a confrontational person myself and didn't like to be forced to listen to this debacle. I pretty much bolted out the door when chicky babe (I do not have enough respect for this being to call her a woman) began a point by saying, "say to women are raped and one gets pregnant and the other one doesn't. The one that doesn't says 'well, that's over and there's no consequences so it's done now' but the other one-" I was gone by that time. Had I stayed violence would have ensued. What she finished with, or how she ever related that to LotR I have no idea and never care to know. Insert slow burn here.

I sat out in the hall and deleted some files for the video camera and happily eavesdropped on Cedric talking to someone about filk and the Bards' music. It was closer to 11:30, so I headed back in. The gorram argument was STILL going on! Fortunately chicky and her hapless target shut up when Carrie started her music. Guy number #2- the loudest- kept going for a few minutes. Grrr Arrgh! Carrie's concert was a lot of fun, and she was followed by Luke Ski and joined him on several songs. they closed with Grease Wars which I absolutely LOVE- naturally I video taped the whole thing (I'm an addict- I admit it!)

Luke Ski's concert ended at 1:30 am and we headed to bed.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Geek girls are either elfishly anorexic or completely overly boobular."

DRAGON*CON DAY TWO (Aug 30, 2008)

Once again, I woke up very early- like a kid on Christmas morning. Saturday was the day of the Dragon*Con Parade! I had some give aways for the marching Browncoats, but realized I left them in the dealer room. I couldn't get in there until 9:30 and the parade started at 10. That meant I would have to grab the bag of goodies and then hoof it all the way down to the parade muster grounds within a half an hour. That would be cutting it close, to say the least! Grrr Arrgghh!

Fortunately, they let dealers in at 9 so I had plenty of time to get down there. Once there, the Browncoats were easy to find, thanks to the 76th Independent Battalion flying a very shiny Browncoat Flag. I handed out the goodies to old and new Browncoat friends (Ni Hao all!). Then my sister and I found a spot on the parade route (while we left poor FanGirl to woman the booth all by herself). I ended up recording the whole parade, or most of it anyway- with special emphasis on the Browncoats, of course. DVD copies upon request.

After the parade we headed to the Hilton. FanGirl had asked us to sign her up for "The Serenity Sandwich" (a photo op with both Alan and Nathan.) After I got her ticket I looked down the hall in the direction of some slight commotion I heard. There I saw Kevin Sorbo walking down the hall. My sister had said she would have liked to see him that weekend- meaning go to one of his panels- and here he was walking down the hall, about to pass right between us. I began to tell her to get her camera out, but noticed she spotted him. She froze and inhaled all the available oxygen in the room. She silently watched him go by as I grinned- her first fan girl moment! And she handled it with great dignity (I was so proud *grin*)

We returned to the dealers' room (one of us was floating- guess which one!) We stayed there until it was time for FanGirl to get her "Serenity Sandwich". During this time, she called on the cell phone and asked to talk to me. She hatched a plot to buy my sister an early birthday present (she was turning 39- again- on Tuesday) of a photo op with Kevin Sorbo. She asked if I thought that would be okay, or would she be too nervous. Had it been me- I'da freaked out and been way too much of a mess to do it, but I'm not the gutsy one of the duo (no matter what you've heard!) So I said "Sure! Go for it!" and returned to the booth with a big grin on my face. When FanGirl returned, she present the gift and needless to say, it was received very well. Best. Birthday. Gift. Ever. (and much better than what I got her which was nothing-- I was doing my River imitation!)

We all worked the booth until it was time for my sister to get in line for the Big Damn Hero panel. I went with her to hand out the last of my free stickers, so FanGirl held down the fort once again. I left my video camera with my sister. She recorded the whole panel, so eventually, I'll get to see it. DVD copies available on request (see a theme developing there?)

I returned to the booth (and it was about time I actually worked some hours at my own gorram booth!) We closed at 7 and then went to dinner (yummy Italian food in HUGE portions!) While walking back from dinner I was chatty from being tired and the drinks at dinner. I had just finished telling an admittedly not-that-exciting story when the ladies turned to each other and smiled knowingly. Me, being clueless as usual said, "What? The story wasn't that good." The two of them both turned at me beaming. "Karen, " said FanGIrl, "NATHAN FILLION JUST WALKED RIGHT PAST US!" I stopped dead and turned around in disbelief to see his silhouette (surrounded by about 1/2 dozen people- over which he was towering) continuing up the street. I stood there shocked and totally disappointed in myself. HOW could I have not seen Nathan walking up the street right towards me?!?!? FanGirl told me "Your Mal-Dar is waaay off tonight!" *Sigh* Yes indeed. This incident totally negates my Burbank elevator story. I *love* my Burbank elevator story! I decided that I was simply respecting his privacy (by being totally oblivious to his presence.) That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

We returned to the room and I did the books for the day (I am on a business trip, remember?) I counted the numbers three times and got three different totals. I decided it was time to put them aside. I got dressed in my pretties and we hit the elevator. I was thrilled when someone next to me said, "That's a very nice Arwen necklace" (you may remember that I won it at the FKO Auction in April). Not only did I appreciate the compliment, but the fact that he knew it was "Awen's necklace!" -well, I knew I was in a place I belong. *warm happy* (and thank you to whomever you were that gave me that comment!)

We headed to the Sheridan once again, for the Whedonverse track kinda claimed it as their own (mmwwhhhaa ha ha ha ha- so that's, you know, coming along. I've been working with a vocal coach.) This time they were a little more prepared for us with "cattle ropes" outside the grande ballroom. We were all there for the Mighty Fine Shindig. In line I spotted a Browncoat from Toronto (Hi Dave!) and ran over to give him a hug- then promptly ran back to my spot in line. We started filing in and because of the switchback pattern of the ropes I passed Dave again. I gave him a "line hug" as we passed each other. He got in before we could attempt the feat again.

The line was moving quickly and I was to be next in the door when the person letting people in held up a hand and said, "Just a sec." Instinctively I went "awwwww." (my sister said I was about to cry- well, gorram it! I was RIGHT THERE!) He said, "No worries, you're number 600. We just need to let the doorway clear a little more." I could see Cedric through the door, and Dave again, and several others I knew (or wanted to-- *ahem* I mean... oh, never mind.) Not long after, they let us in and we moved into the center of the room. Several photos were being taken of all the Browncoats dressed in character. One of my favorites was the BWAH! pose of the Mals:
I had a really great time at the shindig (although I could have done without the lights being turned way up, completely off and then messed with again. And when they finally left them alone I thought it was too dark- as my video will attest. Oh, and $4.00 for a Coke? Are you friggin kidding me? Hell, this is the city where they make the rutting stuff, it should be practically free!) By two a.m however, we departed and returned to our room. I once again added the day's numbers and they balanced to the penny (which always makes me happy when that happens.) At 3 a.m. I went to bed.

The parade had many great costumes- the giant Janye hat for example. But others stopped by the dealer booth or were spotted in one of the parts of the various hotels. The day's favorites for me were The Man in Black and Buttercup from the Princess Bride- done extremely well and "Eggar"- the guy whose body gets "put on like an Eggar suit" in "Men in Black" He looked like the guy, was dressed in the dirty tan overalls and attached rubber (?) cock roaches all over it and carried the shotgun. Priceless! We've decided we love the costumes you don't normally see, such as those mentioned. this also leads to the daily report of our words from the weekend:

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "There's always a Slave Leah."

DRAGON*CON DAY ONE (Aug 29, 2008)

Friday was the official start of Dragon*Con and I was up early-ish. We went to the hotel restaurant for the breakfast buffet. Pricey but very worth it. Tons of food, eggs, french toast, cottage cheese, fruit, cereals,, yogurts, and much more food than I could list here (or that you would care to read about.)

My sister and I went to the dealer's room to finish dressing the booth ("futzing"). The room opened at 1 pm and within the first 15 minutes there were 3 sales. After those, I abandoned the ladies to woman the booth for themselves. I had a VIP (very important panel) to get to. This was the Alan Tudyk/Nathan Fillion panel and the line was already out of the Hyatt and down the sidewalk and around two corners. I was worried that I wouldn't get in. I passed Cedric as he played and sang to entertain the waiting crowd. I got to the end of the line and asked a very nice lady if she would remember me and save my place while I passed out the free stickers that I had made to the people in line. Thankfully she agreed and I began with the people who had filed in behind us (Hi Artcat!). I had some doubt about making the stickers as they were a big expense and a ton of work, but after giving out less than a dozen of them I knew I made the right choice. People were honestly delighted with getting the free shinys and I loved hearing their reaction to my designs (and I was sure to put "COMPLIMENTS OF Firefly Cargo Bay" as not not invoke the wrath of any lawyers!) I got to the front of the line and still had stickers left. This was good, as it ensured (by the count of stickers vs the number of seats in the room) that I would get in to see the panel.

The two of them? One word: Hi-Larious! I had a fantastic time and was soooooo glad I got in to see them. I video taped the whole thing (copies available upon request). This was the only panel I considered my "must see" and I enjoyed every second of it. This is a crappy picture of the duo. The video has better images. (yea!) The panel had started late so I only got back to the booth at 4.

We stayed and womaned the table until 6 pm. Then my sister and I abandoned FanGirl so we could get to the Sheridan to line up for the Dr Horrible show. This is the first year the Sheridan is hosting events for Dragon*Con and by the stupefied looks on the faces of all the staff and security in the hotel, I know they didn't know what to do with us all. I'm sure they didn't expect that many people to show up for the event because they kept moving the line to different parts of the hotel to accommodate us all. Again, I had free stickers and was working my way from the back of the line to the front. With all the line moving, though, somehow I got turned around and ended up once again at the back of the line (?). No one got double stickers though. I might have walked through a star gate or something. The room in which Dr Horrible was held seated 1,500 people- and some got turned away at the door! Thankfully we weren't among them.

The show consisted of the original Dr Horrible being shown on a screen and actors, well, acting, on stage next to it. it was so well done with participants coming out into the audience and everything. Props to the Whedonverse track people for arranging this (especially since DH only debuted July 19!!). We had a blast and it was awesome to hear everyone singing along with the show. I video taped all but the last 2 minutes or so (my camera's battery died. I *knew* I should have bought a back up before D*C!!) DVD copies available upon request.

After the show let out, the two of us hoofed it back up the hill to the Hyatt to catch The Bedlam Bards concert. They were pretty much left off the bill and all advertising and schedules this year due to .... management problem which have hopefully now been fixed. This made them difficult to find and some people were telling us they didn't even know the Bards had attended this year. *big frowny face*. Because of these factors, the show was less well attended than usual. That did not stop the boys from putting on one heck of a good show (which you get from the Bards whether the audience is of one or one thousand). They got to play a little over an hour, and I helped serve as "Water Wench". Good to know that if my fictious husband ever leaves me, I have a fallback as a Bard Roadie!

Once the boys were done, "The Other B Bards from Austin" took the stage. They are more commonly known as The Brobdingnagian Bards(pronounced brob-din-nahg-EE-en). My sister asked if I wanted to stay for their show. I had heard some MP3s of their stuff, but never saw them live. The choice to stay there an extra hour was the best decision I made all day! If for nothing else than the fact of hearing "Bohemian Rhapsody" improved on recorder! Great performers, fun music of the celtic AND sci fi genres and just a great show. I video taped both of the Bards' concerts (DVD copies available upon request).

This made it nearly 11 pm, so once again we went to the Sheridan (it was easier this time as it was all down hill). We were going for the third consecutive showing of "Buffy Horror Picture Show". Once again, I had free stickers to give out in the line. But there was no line! In fact, the show was almost canceled due to low attendance. But near start time enough people had shown up. This was the Buffy episode "Once More with Feeling" with audience participation much like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." But not nearly as organized. It seemed more like drunks screaming at the screen and ignoring the actors on stage. We should have skipped it and gone to the filk room instead. Ah well, I'll know for next year.

The show let out at 1:30 in the morning and my sister was a bit concerned about walking back to the Marriott by ourselves. I laughed at her and said, "This is Friday night at Dragon*Con- we will NOT be alone!" Sure enough, tons of people (and police) were milling about the entire space between the Sheridan and Marriott and Hyatt and Hilton hotel. We decided to depart from the crowd and got to bed around 2 am.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: When asked how we were going to get through the crowd in the Hyatt lobby: "When in doubt, follow the viking!" (it worked- he served as a great crowd clearer! and he didn't even know it!)

"You're coming with us!"

Ni Hao once again!

Yes, I am back from Dragon*Con and slowly readjusting to life outside the Geek Mecca. *sigh* Reality sucks.

ANYWAY! I know some of you have been waiting to hang on every word of my tales from Atlanta as to live vicariously through me. So, let me start off by answering your foremost question: YES! All the bull that customs put me through was forgotten by the end of day one! (I won't say it was "worth" it all- because nothing is worth the reaming they put us through, but I digress as I am known to do.)

DRAGON*CON ADVANCE DAY (THURS AUG 27, 2008)

I will skip the details of my travels to Atlanta, because I know you all want to get to the Browncoaty goodness of it all. So we begin with me and my sister and FanGirl outside the airport deciding what mode of transportation we would take to the Marriott. We decided a cab (because they have van taxis) when we hear, "Hey Browncoat!" Someone had spotted FanGirl's Can't Stop the Serenity shirt and called out. She asked if we knew how to get to the hotels. We told her she could join in our cab and that was fun. She then mentioned her costume was Kaylee. FanGirl took the opportunity to plug our booth by asking, "Do you have a parasol, because she sells them." The Browncoat said, "Well, I sort of do... maybe... are you the one I talked to over email?" I asked her name and when she told me I was delighted to find out that we had randomly run into someone who I've been emailing back and forth with for the past couple of weeks about parasols! (Hi, Beth!) What are the odds among 40,000+ people eh?

So, we got to the hotel (after a $40.00 cab ride- won't do that again. Good thing there were 4 of us!!) and had very little wait checking into the hotel. Robert Englund checked in right next to me. Cool. We moved out into a clearing and decided to stash our stuff and then find someplace to eat. Richard Hatch walked right past us. Not the scary one from "Survivor" but the cool one from (both) Battlestar Galactica(s). This was *very* nice, as I fell in love with him as Apollo in the 80s. And, no, I didn't squee.

We ended up in the food court of a mall that was right by the hotel. This worked out well as we were very hungry for food fast. During our mini meal, Cedric called and said he was in the hotel lobby. Huzzah! Impending Bard Hug!!

We all got together and went to the dealer room to set up. Guess what? It was Oh. So. Easy. My crate was there (all banged up to hell, but the goods were still intact) and we started setting up. It took 3 hours (including futzing time) and it looked pretty shiny if I say so myself. Somehow we found space to display almost all of the good that the three of us had to peddle. It would turn out that we were tucked a little too far back in the aisle (which was an easy-to-miss aisle anyway) and Browncoats had trouble finding us. Only at a con could you give directions like, "When you get to the booth selling corsets, turn right and we're across from the guys offering leather shorts for sale."- and that STILL didn't narrow location down enough! Remember when I said, "If you can't find us, ya just ain't tryin'"? I take it all back- it's not you fault. Next year I hope to be able to get another aisle. With power.

Anyway! Back to the booth set up! Cedric was very helpful with his man parts (and, no, I'm not going to explain that any further than that. Let me just say that FanGirl figured she said the word "penis" more times in 2 hours with the Bards than she had in the last 2 years. Now there's an accomplishment of which the Bards can be proud!) But then the boys had to depart because they had to attend a Browncoat Wedding! Yes, really, two Browncoats got married at Dragon*Con and apparently it was a mighty fine shindig. I do not know if hats made out of trees and mulled wine was involved or not.

After we were pretty much ready to open, we left the lower levels and ran into Cedric in the lobby. We visited with him for a while and then made our way back to our room (on the 24th floor- no running stairs this con for me!) Finally we unpacked an moved in. Then to bed. Tomorrow was going to be my most busy day and I was psyched for it!

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Karen, don't lean on your booth" (it was on wheels and I was unconsciously and continually leaning on it as evidenced by the fact that the previous quote was said by Cedric, FanGirl AND my sister!)