Comic-Con 2013: Thursday Edition

July 18, the first official day of Comic-Con 2013 for me was insane. I knew I'd be hanging out in Ballroom 20 in order to make sure I made it to the Psych panel, which I was most excited about. I had also been looking forward to the X-Files panel, which I ended up missing for reasons that will be explained further into this post.

Anyways, I actually started the day with a massive headache that was verging on a migraine, and it didn't dissipate during the hour and a half while I waited in line for Ballroom 20 to open. However, I had prepared for such a possibility, and I did everything I could to make sure I'd be comfortable in my wait until I was let into Ballroom 20. I survived the wait, needless to say, and secured a seat in the third row of seating on the left side of the room, a few seats away from the aisle, but still able to see the stage from my position.

It was about another hour from the time I was seated until the first panel began, and it started late. That panel ended up being for the new CBS show Intelligence, which stars Josh Holloway, Meghan Ory, and Marg Helgenberger. We were treated to a screening of the pilot, which wasn't terrible. The show is about a man who has a supercomputer microchip in his head that allows him to connect to any information he wants via the worldwide information grid and the internet anywhere he is and at any time he wants. Overall, the pilot was intriguing, but I don't know that I'll be watching the show. I felt that it was very predictable, and the final moment of the episode was foreshadowed too much. The panel about the show was very short, and frankly, it didn't tell the audience much about the show. It felt very rushed, but fans were happy to have Josh Holloway in front of them (with short hair, no less). I zoned out, to be honest. I still had the headache. The next panel didn't help much either.

A new CW show, Star-Crossed, was the focus of the next panel, and it stars Matt Lanter, Aimee Teegarden, and Grey Damon. It's a show that can best be described as Romeo and Juliet meets Smallville meets the Civil Rights movement. The show focuses on a group of refugee aliens from another world crash-landing on Earth, wanting to make a peaceful home. Of course, humans are suspicious and segregate the aliens. The show could be amazing, but it tries too hard to push the equal rights agenda, and uses a lot of footage that seems like colorized versions of the protests seen when schools were desegregated when a small group of alien teens are allowed to go to a human high school. I really wanted to like the show, but I found it too predictable and my new friends sitting next to me in the panel were sort of shocked when I called out what would happen next after each scene ended. I was right approximately 95% of the time. After the show aired, there was a short panel with the cast that was awkward to say the least. The moderator tried to keep an upbeat attitude and act like the room really just loved the show. That wasn't the case, though. The whole room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief once the panel ended.

Beauty and the Beast was the focus of the third panel of the day. The panel had the show's stars, Kristin Kreuk and Jay Ryan, as well as the executive producers of the show, and was moderated by the one and only Jenna Busch, who is an incredible voice in the world of fandom. The panel didn't really give too much away about what's coming up, but as a non-viewer of the show, I found Jay to be very sweet and good with fans, even in a huge room of them. I'm still not sure if I'll ever check out Beauty and the Beast, but I know that I like the way the panel went and it left the whole of Ballroom 20 feeling happy and upbeat.

Finally, it was time for the panel I really wanted to see: Psych. I was thrilled to discover the one and only Dread Pirate Roberts was our moderator (Cary Elwes is awesome and kept the panel very high energy), and he clearly was having a great time, as was the audience. I really enjoyed the panel, especially watching Corbin Bernsen strike a pose at the front of the stage (because he didn't have an actual seat with his name tag on it at the table on stage). Corbin was hilarious, and he did a great job keeping the audience entertained as everyone else was brought out. Some of the other great moments included James Roday and Dulé Hill singing one of the songs from the upcoming musical episode, Psych producer Steve Franks and James having a battle of the new Twitter accounts (each started one and tried to get as many followers as possible - James won), and Maggie Lawson, Tim Omundson, and Kirsten Nelson just being silly and clearly having an awesome time on the panel. Thankfully, some people who saw the Psych panel posted it on YouTube, so anyone can go and watch just by looking it up.

My final panel in Ballroom 20 for the day was for Sherlock, to my disappointment, and even that I had to leave early. I only made it through about 15 minutes of the panel before I got up and left. However, on the panel was Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, and Sue Vertue. James Hibberd moderated. Sadly, nothing of note was shared before I left the panel, so I can't say much of anything about it.

After I left, I headed off to a mandatory meeting I had to attend for my job working the Eisner Awards this year. I had a great time at the meeting and my boss was fantastic and told the whole team about how I'd gotten James Marsters in as a presenter for the awards. The meeting was over pretty quickly, though, and I found myself exhausted. I met up with a friend of mine, and we took a rest against one of the walls at the convention center for a few hours until the panel she desperately wanted to see was almost upon us. I joined her there.

The next (and final panel) I attended on Thursday was the Behind the Music with CW3PR panel, which included a lot of talented composers this year: Geoff Zanelli (The Odd Life of Timothy Green), Robert Duncan (Castle), iZLER (Revenge), FM Le Sieur (Being Human), Chris Tilton (Fringe), Kevin Kiner (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and Michael Suby (The Vampire Diaries). The moderators were supposed to be Matt Lanter and Janina Gavankar, but Janina turned out to be unavailable for personal reasons. Instead, as her lovely boyfriend EJ Scott told me and my friend (we sat next to him during the panel), Deborah Ann Woll took her place as the co-moderator and did a fine job. She and Matt had a great list of questions to ask the panelists, and I was blown away by the responses to the questions asked. It was a great way to end my evening. However, once the panel ended, I flagged down Matt to talk to him a little. He graciously gave me a few minutes, and I was able to tell apologize for the audience response to the Star-Crossed panel, as well as explain why I thought the reaction was what it was. Matt took my comments into consideration, then replied by saying that the show is on CW and is meant to be a little schlocky. I hope it works out for him, since he seems to be a nice guy. Deborah stuck around for a while longer than Matt did, and she and I also chitchatted a little. She barely remembered me from previous interactions at past Comic-Cons, as well as a couple of True Blood events, but it was still nice to be acknowledged.

Overall, this was a great start to Comic-Con 2013. It's going to be a long (and yet short), probably bumpy ride, but it'll be lots of fun!

Comic-Con 2013: Preview Night Edition

July 17, 2013 was the beginning of Comic-Con for me this year. That was Preview Night, and it was quite a ride.

My Wednesday began with me rushing around to finish packing for my drive to San Diego, and then onto the San Diego airport to pick up my friend and roommate for this year's convention. Once she was retrieved, we stopped at our hotel and tried to check in, only to discover that our hotel wasn't ready for us to check in, so we hung out for a bit before deciding to go to the convention center to pick up our badges and prep for going shopping for a couple of this year's exclusive items.

After getting our badges taken care of, my friend and I spent the next three-ish hours sitting on our butts, waiting for the exhibition floor to open. It was painful and uncomfortable, but we survived without serious injury.

In the half hour prior to the floor opening, everyone waiting to get in had to stand up, and it was probably a slightly dangerous situation, as people tried to rush the door to get in first. Eventually, though, we all made it in and dashed off to whatever booths held the exclusives we wanted.

I chose to head to the Mattel booth to pick up a few of the exclusive Monster High dolls that were available this year, as well as a small gift for a friend. By the time I was done with that, my roommate and I were exhausted and took a cab back to our hotel. From there, we checked in, then brought our bags up to our room and promptly collapsed, exhausted. Though we didn't do much, it was a REALLY long day, and we were both looking forward to seeing panels the next day.

July 13, 2013 - REALLY Rough Night - RIP Trayvon Martin and Cory Monteith

Tonight is a night I'd like to forget. First, the miscarriage of justice that was the Trayvon Martin trial is a grim reminder that there are still so many racist people out in the world. I can't believe that George Zimmerman was found not guilty. Of course, not guilty is not the same as innocent, but it's a glaring reminder that people still judge others based upon the color of their skin. I can't abide by that. It's wrong.

Following that, I found out that Cory Monteith has died. I actually met him at the Season 1 finale taping of Glee. He was a wonderful man to his fans, and wanted to share his joy with them at the success of Glee, even when security wanted him to go back to the stage set.

My experience with Cory was thus:

At the taping of the S1 finale of Glee, I was coming out of the bathroom, and I nearly ran into Cory while heading back to my seat. He stopped and said hi. I told Cory about how I was there for my sister, who was underaged and unable to attend the taping, which was very distressing for her, as she's the one who had gotten me to watch the show to begin with. Cory gave me a HUGE hug and told me to give it to her, then asked that I thank her for him for being a fan of the show and supporting it. As my sister wasn't there, I ended up asking Cory for an autograph for her. He grinned while he signed, and I called my sister to tell her that I had a special surprise for her when I got home. Cory just couldn't keep a smile off his face, and it was contagious. I couldn't stop smiling either.

After I hung up the phone, I thanked Cory once again for being so kind to a fan. He gave me another huge hug (this time for me) and thanked me for being there. I admitted to being there in support of my former schoolmate Kevin McHale more than anything else. Cory's eyes danced in joy while we chatted, and he laughed when I told him about one of my memories of Kevin at school. He was so happy to be where he was, making others happy by doing his job.

Cory's death really hurts, based on that one experience. I really hope that the media allows Cory's family and friends time to grieve. I was just a fan who was lucky enough to have a moment with him, and I'm broken down over this. I don't cry easily, but for Cory (and Trayvon), the tears won't stop flowing.

Which Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character Are You?

Which Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character Are You?

More on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Created by BuddyTV

Honest to blog did not expect that result when I took the quiz!

Enter to Win Deus by Nely Cab!

Nely Cab, the author of the incredible book Creatura, has a new book out, and you can win it in various ways! The best way to enter is to check out her website here.

You can also enter to win the book on Goodreads.

Another option is to buy the book on Amazon.

James Marsters singing

Check out Upcoming book A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses by Molly Harper

I can't wait for this book, and it comes out later this month!

You can buy the book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. Be sure to check out what is sure to be an incredibly funny and touching romance! Learn more about the book on Goodreads.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indiebound

Molly Harper Giveaway!

Be sure to check out this awesome giveaway from Molly Harper! It's for swag that goes with her Half Moon Hollow series (which, if you haven't read, is hilarious and all sorts of wonderful). Check it out!

Click here to go to the giveaway!

Win Creatura from Author Nely Cab

Check out this awesome contest for a signed copy of Nely Cab's book Creatura! I've already entered to win; are you going to do the same?

Click here to go to Nely's site and enter!

Happy Birthday, Nely Cab!

Celebrate Nely Cab's Birthday with her by going here and entering to win her giveaway!

Another James Marsters Dream

I just woke up from yet another James Marsters dream. In it, a bunch of volunteers (including myself) were helping him clear out a storage room somewhere. Most of the items in the room belonged to James, but I found a hidden door to another room which contained a bunch of stuff that belonged to my family and had disappeared many years ago when we moved. James saw the stuff that belonged to my family, and he was excited over a couple of the finds (some DVDs of shows that are no longer on the air).

Of course, some of the stuff he wanted I had no use for. I looked at it, then grabbed it and followed James out to the main room. However, I did not stop there. Instead, I went out to several other rooms, desperately searching for my backpack and other items that belonged to me. It took a while, and along with my backpack, I found a couple other things I thought James would enjoy more than I would. I hurried back to the room where he was working.

I must have been gone longer than I thought because when I got back, James was the only one in the room, and he was cataloguing things that had been found. I walked over to him and patiently waited for his attention. Once it was given to me, I told James he could have some of the DVD sets I’d found. He was thrilled! James then asked what I wanted in return, and I told him I’d love to have lunch with him if that could ever be worked out. He pulled up his calendar, and asked me if Sept. 24th was good. I told him it was, and he told me that in order for our lunch to work, I’d have to meet him at the Metropolitan Opera House.

I gaped at him in shock, then asked exactly where that was. James didn’t reply; he just said that he had an early concert, and if I met him around 2, after the first show was done, he’d take me out to lunch. Of course I agreed to the arrangement, but I did ask how we’d find each other after his show. He told me that he’d give my name to the backstage security so that I could go inside and meet him there.

It suddenly dawned on me that this was really happening, so I walked a few feet closer to James and gave him a big hug. He winced and warned me to be careful of his ribs, so I loosened my grip a little and told him that I believe hugs are a great healer. He told me he agreed and then wrapped his arms around me too.

It was really nice to wake up with a huge smile on my face and the sensation of being hugged still surrounding me.

Molly Harper ARC Contest at Bitten By Books!

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Comic-Con 2012: Preview Night Edition

Due to a rather miraculous set of events, I actually made it to San Diego Comic-Con International for my fifth consecutive year, and it started on the perfect note. This year, I have a ‘professional’ pass, which is pretty cool. However, that’s not really where this year’s story begins.

My 2012 Comic-Con story actually begins a couple of weeks ago. My lovely godmother took me to a meeting for another convention, San Diego Comic Fest, which she’s working for. At the meeting (which was a couple of weeks ago), I participated in the meeting and offered up my perspective on several topics, which lead to me talking with some of the people involved and agreeing to help out myself. In fact, I’ll be helping to run Comic Fest’s table here at Comic-Con for a least a couple of days. (In case you’re wondering, Comic Fest is a loving tribute to Comic-Con and its beginnings. It’s the place to be if you want to see how Comic-Con began.) So, to quickly recap, I went to a meeting for another convention and agreed to help publicize their awesome event (in October). In exchange, I was granted a pass for Comic-Con. Now, I get to be here and have an awesome time.

Anyways, my friend Shanea and I came down to San Diego on Tuesday night to get settled in and prep for getting our badges. After checking into our hotel, we met up with other friends for dinner at The Spaghetti Factory. Dinner was delicious, and I had a great time. Afterwards, Shanea and I went back to our hotel and made sure our paperwork was in order to pick up our passes on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, we arrived at the San Diego Convention Center around noon to pick up our passes. We had to get in the professional line and wait for about 45 minutes before we both got our passes. From there, we drank coffee (yes, we paid for overpriced Frappuchinos from the convention center's Starbucks), hung out and had to fight with Comic-Con security over patiently sitting inside, quietly waiting for the exhibition floor to open instead of going outside and standing in line for the exhibition floor. There were extenuating circumstances; my friend is disabled and cannot stand in line for that long. The security people were incredibly rude and yelled at us and other patrons with disability passes and made us wait outside. It was highly uncool, and during the hours we waited (a few of those were outside by smokers, which about killed my lungs), Shanea and I chatted about last year’s Comic-Con and how we hoped to have an easier time of it this year.

Once we made it inside and went straight back to the bench we’d been sitting at previously, the same issues with security came up again, but this time one of the lovely folks running Comic-Con’s disabled services went and reamed out the security guard in front of his boss. It was wonderful, as they stopped harassing us (mostly) at that point.

By now, the doors would soon be open, and a beautiful woman and her husband joined us. I noticed her taking a video on her phone, so I watched curiously, and once she was done, I noticed the same security guard starting to eye her and her husband, so I warned her to watch out for the douchey security guard. As easily as that, the two of us started chatting, and she introduced herself. To my surprise, the woman was Nicki Hunter! She’s an absolutely lovely woman, and we chatted about the videos she was making (they’re for her youtube page, so check her out). We ended up working together to dash to Entertainment Earth’s booth for some of Comic-Con’s exclusives as soon as the exhibition floor opened. While waiting in the 20 minute line at the booth, we continued to chat over which exclusives we’d be purchasing. Nicki even took a video with me in it! I felt so cool!

Nicki and her husband eventually took off with their treasures, and I made my way to meet up with my friends so we could see how well all of us did with our treasures. (I made out like a bandit, so I’m really happy. A few select people *cough*my mom*cough* will be getting lovely surprises when I see them next.)

After comparing prizes with my friends, I went over to Sherrilyn Kenyon’s booth to say hello to everyone there. That’s a tradition, as Sherri is the reason I started attending Comic-Con five years ago. It was lovely to say hi to everyone there, and I ended up picking up an awesome bookmark to go with all my other purchases.

I also chased down the lovely Anne Elizabeth and she and I chatted for a while too! I haven't seen her in a couple of years, so it was wonderful to catch up and share stories about what's gone on in my life and how her career as an author has progressed.

This is where the excitement ended at the convention center, as Shanea and I both wanted to drop our stuff off at our hotel and get dinner. We did so, and made our way to The Cheesecake Factory in honor of our love of The Big Bang Theory. We had a late meal and brought our desserts back with us.

This was the perfect way to begin Comic-Con. I’m going to have SO much fun here!

Fruits of a LONG Search

WAY back in 2000/2001, I saw a show on PBS called Mythquest. I quickly fell in love with it, only to find that after the one season I watched, the show vanished. Since then, I've spent time searching for the show on DVD or rerun. As it's now 2012, that time adds up to YEARS of failed searches. The other day, I found ONE video that was for Mythquest on the internet.

I share with you all the fruits of my search.

Your Smile for the Day

Just a quick still from a movie in which one of my favorite men is in drag. Had to share the smile. :)

Having Fun at Barbara Vey's Blogiversary

This year marks the 5th anniversary of Barbara Vey's blog, Beyond Her Book, and I've been partying (online) all week, even with a fever, a migraine, and other unpleasant maladies. However, in a surprise twist, two of the participants in this party are getting married in about an hour! I just went "shopping" and found the perfect dress for the occasion!

Let me know what you think! ;)

A Letter to My 16 Year Old Self

UPDATE: My letter to myself has been posted on the Dear Me website!

My 23rd birthday just came and went, and one of the presents I received was a copy of Dear Me: A Letter to My 16 Year Old Self. It's a fantastic book, full of letters from celebrities to themselves when they were 16. Among my favorite letters were those by Hugh Jackman, Alan Rickman, and James Marsters. I loved the book so much, I've decided to write my own letter to myself, even though I was 16 less than a decade ago.

Dear Isis (yes, the pseudonym sticks, and quite well at that),

I know how difficult life is for you right now. High school sucks, you're a bit depressed, and overall, you feel that life is just passing you by. Trust me; that isn't the case. Though you feel like you're getting nowhere and have no idea what you want to do once you graduate from high school in two years, you WILL find your way.

Ignore the lack of dates and focus instead on your creativity. It will serve you well. Trust me; after all I am you, just 7 years older (and wiser).

In your personal life, things are pretty good right now. I know that your lack of real friends is upsetting right now, but I promise this will change. You'll discover some of your friends are true; but others you think are friends will turn out to be merely acquaintances. There is so much relief in knowing who your friends really are.

As for school, I know you take Theatre Arts to fill that creative void, but Mr. Whelan is not the be-all, end-all of theatre. Ask mom and dad to take you to more shows, and hang out by the stage door post-shows instead. There you'll find support from others like yourself who will encourage you rather than tear you down. Be prepared, sweetie; Mr. Whelan is going to say something awful to you that will cause you to lose faith in yourself. Don't let it happen, and let his words flow right off your back. Instead, take what he says with a grain of salt and you'll realize what you TRULY wish to do with your life. In fact, if I were you, I'd start looking at everything going on around you, especially since so much happens that you're currently ignoring and/or complaining about. Paying attention and opening your eyes will allow you to ask some amazing people really cool questions that also help lead you to your path.

Here's another big hint; start looking at making friends with the authors you read obsessively. You will discover that using social media to promote them (and yourself) will benefit you in the long run. You'll also have amazing new friends, even if you haven't met them in person (yet).

I know this all sounds vague, but you need to experience this for yourself so that you grow as a person. You're already wonderful, but you're not expressing yourself enough. Stop being afraid of failure and others' reactions. Let yourself live and experience new things!

Much love,

Your 23 year old self

PS - Be more cooperative and help with chores around the house. It'll save you a TON of grief!

Awesome Contest I Found

On a book blog I follow, there'a a HUGE contest going on. The prize is a MacBook Air and an Apple TV. Be sure to check it out! There's still 9 days left to enter!

http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2012/01/13in-macbook-air-and-apple-tv-giveaway.html

Ringer Personality Quiz

I'm a HUGE fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar's new show Ringer, and BuddyTV.com has a personality quiz. This was my result:

Which 'Ringer' Character Are You?

More on Ringer. Created by BuddyTV

So cool, especially since the show revolves around Bridget and her twin Siobhan.

Just Love This

Currently, my favorite actor is James Marsters, best known to most people as Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I found this GIF of him, so I decided to post it here so I can appreciate how gorgeous he is. :)