The Bad Influence Speaks

Hump Day Quote: Gilda Radner

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.

Gilda Radner

Dragon*Con 2012: Panels

BISis and I cut back some on the panels this year to reduce stress and line standing.

Celebrity Panels:

I think the celebrity panels get bigger and wilder every year at Dragon*Con. BISis and I started the con off with John Barrowman's 10 am Friday panel with Rob Levy and Kai Owen. He was a wild man who mooned everyone after being introduced. Then he spotted a guy dressed in a headdress and speedo part of the way through the panel and got him to come up and be hugged/groped. I didn't get any pictures since we were so far back, but I'll link a video of the panel (uploaded by cos2mwiz). It was too fantastic to miss.

 

 

I drug my sister to see the Friday Josh Gates Destination Truth panel. She doesn't watch the show, but loved the book when I lent it to her. He was as funny and charming as you'd think from watching the show. She actually drug me and AT to the Saturday panel. I think we would have gone to the Sunday one as well if we hadn't had Braves tickets. I don't have any pictures from either panel because the man does not sit still well enough, but I do have video from the Friday panel. It's uploaded in 6 parts. The first is embedded and the rest linked below.

  

Dragon*Con 2012: Destination Truth Friday Panel with Josh Gates part 2

Dragon*Con 2012: Destination Truth Friday Panel with Josh Gates part 3

Dragon*Con 2012: Destination Truth Friday Panel with Josh Gates part 4

Dragon*Con 2012: Destination Truth Friday Panel with Josh Gates part 5

Dragon*Con 2012: Destination Truth Friday Panel with Josh Gates part 6

 

 

We also managed to snag great seats for the Sunday Eureka panel. BISis got the time wrong and got us there early. We were 23 and 24 in line. This one I do have pictures from. Niall Matter, Tembi Lock, and Kevin Grazier were fairly silent. Colin Ferguson and Jaime Paglia stole the show and went on to prove that hung over panels are the funniest ones out there. I laughed so hard I cried through most of it.

 

Fan Panels:

This was a big year for me. Last year I was only on one panel. This year I was on three. It still feels weird to introduce myself as 'Maggie from badinfluencespeaks.com.'

The first panel was Celluloid Tales: The Year in Film on Friday with Matt Frasier, Ryan Guthrie, Alex Ware, and J.A. Steel (who is a producer).  We covered our thoughts on the movies that have come out so far including Brave, Hunger Games, Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, and Dark Knight Rises, and briefly touched on upcoming movies (I'm really looking forward to Skyfall). J.A. is a producer and had some fascinating insight into the ins and outs of movie making.

Second panel was Eureka: No More Buttons For Fargo on Friday evening with Amanda Marron, Ryan Guthrie, Elizabeth Stacy, and Matt Frasier. I was much more active in this panel as we talked about our favorite moments from the show. I guess the fact that I can quote rather extinsively from it helps.

Third panel was on Saturday afternoon, Superheroes and Beach Blankets, with Henry Hanks,  Bill McIntire, Tom Morris, and Chris Snellgrove. We discussed the 3 superhero blockbusters of the summer, Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, and Dark Knight Rises. Actually, Dragon*Con is the sole reason I saw DKR. I'm not much of a Batman fan, but I enjoyed the film. I'd love to see someone continue on where they left off. A audience member brought up the point that maybe [Robin was a code name so he'd know Bruce was all right and not actually his real name.]

I actually have a picture from this panel thanks to AT. My sister proved useless again this year at taking a picture of me on each panel. From left to right: Henry Hanks, Tom Morris (as Shrek), Bill McIntire (dragon hat), me, and Chris Snellgrove. (By the way, that Haven sign was a problem in every panel I sat on. It kept falling. I hope that isn't a bad omen for the show.)

Saturday Night Drive-In

I don't know who is chosing the creature features for this MST3000 style panel (I suspect Joe Crowe, the new head of the Sci-Fi Classics track). This year's movie, Mega-Python vs. Gateroid, might have topped Sharktopus from last year. Essentially it was Team Debbie Gibson vs. Team Tiffany. I'm Team Tiffany, by the way. It was truely and hysterically horrendous. I laughed myself silly. The production company also helped out by providing several DVDs to be raffled off. BISis won a copy of Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies. I can't wait to see it.

 

 

Dragon*Con 2012 posts:
Overview
Gadgeteers Showcase
Costumes

Hump Day Quote: Kim Harrison

Being poor is not an indication of potential or worth. It's a lack of resources.

Kim Harrison, A Perfect Blood

Hump Day Quote: Sherrilyn Kenyon

As the old saying went, a TV can insult your intelligence, but nothing rubs it in like a computer.

Sherrilyn Kenyon, The Guardian

Dragon*Con 2012: Gadgeteers Showcase

This is the second year BISis and I have swung by the steampunk showcase at the Westin. By the by, we found it's best to go later because it's less crowded. As usual it had such gorgeous creations.

Dragon*Con 2012 posts:
Overview
Panels
Costumes