T Minus 28 and counting (or so)

T Minus 28 and counting (or so) was Originally Posted on August 31, 2003 by lavarock

With my tickets in hand (well, it’s an e-ticket), I have a definate date for the move. There is a chance I will not be ready by then, but I am pretty good doing things at the last minute However, with that 28 day clock ticking, things now begin to move into high gear.

A few days ago I went through the old computer room and set up two boxes. The first is “things to go” and includes anything I am likely to want to take with me. The other box is “things to throw” and, will, will get tossed. Over the years I have created many “blue sky” projects to finish. Perhaps it is a power surge protector which needs something replaced. Perhaps it is a CD reader needing testing or is an old slow unit. I need to decide what to do with it.

Years ago I helped at a public TV fundraiser and received a pack of old movie posters. Many are old and folded and have tape marks on them. I had always wanted to create a den with my big screen TV and movie projector, dimmable lights, nice sound system, a popcorn machine and as you entered the room, movie posters along the walls. Bzzzzzzzzzzz. Not gonna happen!

I checked online and these posters don’t seem to bring in much money on ebay. At a convention yesterday I saw a guy selling (or more correctly, ATTEMPTING TO SELL) posters for a lot more money. He had them mounted on foamcore. If he will give me a reasonable price, he gets them. It is unfortunate that I don’t have more time, but I need to dispose of them and not worry about the profit/loss. As I found out recently, I am penny wise and pound foolish. Still, after all these years it is hard to change.

I have sci-fi books in very good condition and could spend days looking for the best way to unload… errr find new owners for them. Ain’t gonna happen… tick tock, tick tock.

I decided to attend a sci-fi convention this weekend and am having fun. I met George Takei (Sulu from the original Star Trek). I had him autograph a copy of his autobiography. I had to remove the paper jacket cover so he would not see that it was on sale ($3.95)! From the jacket description and his description, it will be a good read. Part of the book describes the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent rounding up of all Japanese related people in the US for “detention”.

Because of the Hawaii tie in, during our photo op, I tried to teach George the Hawaiian “shaka” sign, a hand sign used to say “take it easy”. As you can see from the photo here, George appears to need more work. He appears to be off in another world at another time… https://www.itskona.com/dcp01878.jpg. As I mentioned, you can see I removed the jacket from the book. Now you know the REST of the story!

I was hoping to get autographs from a number of other stars at the convention/conference, but a few actors got jobs and decided not to come. I understand, but it would have been nice to see them. Some noteables who did manage to attend, Gil Gerard, Billy Mumy, Angela Cartright and Noah Hathaway. Although Angela did Lost in Space, some audience questions also covered her years on “Make Room For Daddy” with Danny Thomas. This group was discussing growing up as children in the movies and TV. One actor missing was Chris Demetral who did sci fi and played Martin Tuppers son on “Dream On”.

All in all, the convention was great, and certainly the largest I have been to. This one spanned more than 2 hotels and covered science fiction, fantasy, anime, writing, filmmaking, filking (don’t ask), costumes, role playing and collecting. A complete website about this type of convention is at http://dragoncon.com. Another convention I have attended in the past is at http://www.sfedora.com but have recently scaled back a bit.

because I am short on time tody, I can’t post the rest of the photos I took. However, imagine walking through the Hyatt or Marriott and seeing a constant stream of people moving along like ants on the trail of food. Some are dressed in normal street wear (some like me sporting a Hawaiian shirt and tan slacks). Some hoever, have dresseed up in their “personna” of an alien, space cadet or who knows what. A teen and his girlfriend sit on the edge of a planter, discussing which talk they will be attending next. They are well groomed and look like anyone else outside the hotel, except for the Star Trek cadet uniforms they are wearing. true, here at the convention they are just part of the background, but would turn heads outside the hotel.

A “wookie” passes by. People with more jewlery than Mr. T mill past, their faces multicolored and wearing strange robes. Speaking of robes, a teen walks past me looking a lot like Luke Skywalker, except he has a sword instead of a light sabre. I don’t ask, I’m just part of the passing crowd.

There are discussion about Stargate and where it is headed. Another discussion is whether they will bring back Farscape (another show dropped by the studios). There appears to be a complete 1 hour discussion about the alternative lifestyle appearing in sci fi.

The vendor/dealer areas are packed with people and goods. There are attendees sitting at tables where they roleplay. There are comics and books, swords and potions, wigs and costumes, knives and battle axes and the ever present toys and collectables.

In yet another area of the hotel are the actors, (we understand without much airconditioning) signing photos for people. Every convention offers this opportunity, and each varies in how it works. In this one, you pay a smaller fee to get in, then pay more for each autograph. I would have loved to have walked down the lines and grabbed autographs from Walter Koenig, Lou Ferrigno, Gil Gerard and Christopher Judge, but the cost was like $40 a photo! That is out of my price range at the moment. I have many of the other actors photos for the cost of a $5 or $10 photo. It just depends upon the format of the convention and the entrance fees. It’s a lot like “pay me now or pay me later”.

Anyway, onther day or two and I will be done with the conference and will be heading down the stretch towards the airport. I’ll be leaving the days of meeting celebrities behind and focusing on coffee and mac nuts. Hey wait a second, perhaps I can take the video camera with me to the conference and get Christopher Judge to say “What brings me back home from a mission through the Stargate? The thought of a hot cup of Kona Coffee from LavaRock Farms….” It COULD happen…!!!

Well, time to close out this blog because I have to head back downtown for the last day or so of the conference… all this with the clock silently ticking in the background. Tick tock, tick tock.