Dragon*Con 2009 Retrospective

Another wonderful Dragon*Con come and gone! It was quite pleasant this year. It wasn't as crowded as last year (the trekkies were moved to another hotel,) and it was unseasonably cool. Still quite warm, but I'll take 80s over 100s (Fahrenheit) any day. Time for me to share my favorite moments.

Funniest Moment:
The following exchange took place in the Wheel of Time Sword Forms panel. The moderator had just explained that he had two black belts and nine years of stage fighting experience. One you man in the audience raised his hand and said, "Can I be your apprentice?"
"..sure, hang on." And then the moderator drained his water glass. "Here, refill this!" So, the young man did. Quoth the moderator, "Ok, what's your name?"
"Ish."
"Ish?"
"Ish."
"But...but...that's like the END part of a word!"
And then later, as the moderator was looking up something in his notes, he said, "Hang on a second, guys. Apprentice! Entertain the audience!"
Ish proceeded to do a little dance, and then someone from the audience piped up, "Well, that was only entertaining-Ish."

Most Surprising Moment:
So, I was one of three people to get pretty wet during the live Astronomy Cast podcast when a waterlogged ceiling panel decided to land on the audience. Poor guy next to me got conked in the head and soaked through. My left leg just got soaked. Something or other about condensation from the air conditioning duct collecting where it wasn't supposed to. It's towards the end of episode 151, whenever that gets posted.

Most Informative Panel:
That's a tough one. Either the aforementioned Astronomy Cast panel, in which I learned all sorts of nifty stuff about SETI, or a panel on quantum cryptography that I attended.

Funniest Overall Panel:
The webcomics panel, of course! Those guys always crack me up. Hilarity ensued.

My Thanks:
To whoever it was that recommended the Tales from Earthsea vocal album. It's lovely!

People who know me know that for the past couple of years, I've always tried to do something different every Dragon*Con. Last year I checked out the gaming. The year before I came in costume (as a hitchhiker, complete with "Disaster Area" and "Milliways" t-shirts.) This year, my goal was to try and actually make some friends! Sure enough, I had plenty of pleasant chats, got to know a couple people, and secured three e-mail addresses. I've e-mailed all of them. Now to see which ones e-mail me back! If this was successful, I might just try it every year.

So, anyway, another fantastic Dragon*Con. Looking forward to next year's!