.

Tonight, we told our 3yr old son that his "girlfriend" was coming to visit tomorrow (we'll be babysitting for some friends who have two daughters). Apparently, he didn't quite get the whole "tomorrow part" because right before bath time, he threw a fit, yelling:
 
"I want my girlfriend to COME!"



Not the phrase you ever expect to hear from your three 3yr old's mouth.

Creepy yet kinda cool.

ToyWiz  is taking preorders :)

Ahoy! Shiver me timbers, it’s Sept 19th again! So this is just a quick line to celebrate Talk like a Pirate Day!

…and…

Potential movie choices for “Parent Night Out” tonight, cause I know D. is gonna ask:

• District 9
• 9
• Gamer
• Inglourious Basterds
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I’m not sure this is playing nearby any more)

Day three came and went without a post. My bad, I came home that night with a raging headache and did nothing but take some aspirin and hit the sack. Day four was a late night, and this morning we ran out of internet service in the hotel and didn’t buck up for more.

So, here I am, back in the comfort of my own home (thankfully air-conditioned – it’s hotter here than it was in San Diego!), and madly typing away.

Nickelodeon: Are You Ready Kids? Ten Years of Spongebob SquarePants!

We (the kids and I, and H. and Z.) got in line early for the Spongebob Panel. I swallowed down some of Starbucks finest while the kids played their DS games and listened to impromptu Spongebob songs courtesy of my iPhone. Soon enough they were loading us into the room -- we got special seating, because I had G. in the stroller. 

It seemed like everyone was there – including executive producer Paul Tibbitt, creative director Vincent Waller and story editor Steven Banks. The cast included Tom Kenny (SpongeBob!), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick!) Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy!), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs!),  Dee Bradley Baker (Squilliam), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward!), Doug Lawrence (Plankton!).. the list went on!

They performed a live table read of the “F.U.N” episode. It was a hoot! I especially enjoyed the the F.U.N. song (accompanied by ukulele!), which I found out had more lyrics than I had previously known.

Q&A with the cast and crew followed, and we got to watch the yet-to-air episode, "Greasy Buffoons." We also got a quick read through of a scene for “The Idiot Box.”

I learned that there is no plan for another movie (*cry*), the the song “Sweet Victory” played in “Band Geeks” came off some random disc of music purchased by the company, and that lots of people preferred “Frankendoodle” and “The Algae is always Greener” as their favorite episodes.

The Rest of Day 3

I spent most of the rest of my time plundering around the con floor, And then E. and I went to the Gaslight district for dinner at Mary Janes, which had been transformed into Cafe Diem from Eureka by virtue of a deal between Syfy and the Hard Rock Cafe.

 

Day 4: Doctor Who!

After waiting about two hours outside under white tents, we were finally loaded into Ballroom 20. We were seated in the first third of the room, which meant we could actually see the stage and not have to stare at the projectors.

All eight of us attended and free comics for the fourth doctor were handed out (the colorized ones – I already own the bound soft-back compendium.)

The Sunday 10am Doctor Who Panel Consisted of RTD, David, Euros, and Julie:

We got to see the trailer for both “Waters of Mars” and “End of Time.” After “EOT” was shown, David called for it to be shown again, and it was!  Squee!

David was very animated when he spoke – and being the star of the show, he talked a lot. Net: I only got a few “good” pics – most of them were just to blurry:

   

Doctor Who was awarded a Guinness Book of World Records award for “Most successful show of all time.” Here’s a pic of RTD holding the Certificate:

I’m sure more was discussed, but honestly, I only had eyes for David. I am such a fangirl. (Sorry Deviledman!).

 

PicSpam from the con:

	New World of Warcraft statues coming, including this cool one of a goblin on a rocket!		Clone Wars had a presence :)
	Folks in costume!		Booth Babe wearing an actual LCD screen in her shirt!
	Snoopy		The “G4” folks broadcasting live from their perch above the Exhibition floor
	The Pokemon Booth was easy to find!		Zombie Dolls on Display at Sideshow

Day Two is done (at least for me.) D is still out at the Rifftrax Panel, but the kids and I are de-costumed and back in the hotel room for the night.

Here's today's highlights:

6BCF
Room 6BCF was the location for most of the panels I attended today. I was pleasantly surprised to find absolutely no line to get into the room -- for any of the times I went in.

Farscape
I'll admit I missed the very beginning of the panel. (I had PJ with me out on the Exhibitors floor, and lost track of time.)

Claudia Black and Ben Browder were there, as well as Rockne S O'Bannon and Brian Henson. Most of the chatter was Q&A about the now defunct show, but there was some talk about moving the series forward (and not just as a spin-off.) I walked away with the impression that there was nothing TV/Movie planned short term, and that I would need to continue to get my fix via the comic books.

They were awarded a "Guiness Book of World Records" Certificate for "Most special effects in a TV series." Go Farscape, still breaking records years after Sci-fi...err Syfy ...killed you off.

Quick Aside-- SYFY
Syfy ...I hate name. It sounds like an abbreviation for syphilis.
The rename really annoys me. I just keep thinking of this lyric from the Something Corporate song If You See Jordan...
  "I don't care if you dye your hair, you'll always be a little red-head bitch."

The Prisoner
"The Prisoner" is a six-part remake of the old 1970's TV series of the same name (the old one starred Patrick McGoohan). Most ambulatory con-goers recieved a free "Prisoner" comic entering into the Con yesterday (The freebies were handed out near the Marriot Hotel entrance to the convention center). I'm familiar with the old series because my hubby re-watched it about 7 years ago on DVD; if you aren't lucky enough to have a hubby like mine and have no clue what I'm talking about, then you probably just want to skip down to the Eureka info.

"The Prisoner" will be showing on AMC in November 2009. Jim Caviezel will play "Number 2"; Lennie James will play "Number 146".

The cast at the panel said that they choose the filming locations for 'The Village' to establish early the impossibility of escaping the 'The Village' -- they really want the audience to focus on the why instead of the where. The constant surveillance in the original show is no longer a remote possibility -- CCTV and cameras the size of flys have made it possible for everyone to be under consistent observation, and for the most part, we as a society don't heavily object. So what if being an individual was somehow detrimental to ourselves or society? This is the direction the show is heading in. We'll see how it plays out on screen.

Eureka
First, the good news: Eureka has been re-uped for a fourth season. Squee!  Congrats to the cast and crew!

Lots of folks were on the panel today, including, Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Erica Cerra (Jo Lupo), Neil Grayston (Douglas Fargo), Jaime Ray Newman (Tess Fontana), and Jaime Paglia (executive producer/co-creator). Added Bonus: They called Collin Ferguson (Sherrif Carter) overseas and woke him at 2am, which was bit scary and hilarious all at once. The entire audience sang happy birthday to him. Poor guy -- at least he was a good sport.

Lots of Q&A about the love triangle that is Sherrif Carter/Allison Blake/Tess Fontana. Even more chatter about the as yet-to-be-aired birthing scene for Allison (Allison was actually 8 months pregnant at the time -- if you see the baby moving in the sequence, she claims it's not a special effect!). 

Neil voiced S.A.R.A.H. for us during the panel (S.A.R.A.H. is the name of the AI in the house Sherrif Carter and daughter Zoe live in. In the show, Neil's character Fargo wanted Sarah Michelle Gellar to do the voice, and temporarily put his own in until he can convince her to participate.) I was extermely amusing, and all the cast agreed they they crack up whenever they're doing their walk-thru of the lines.

Other stuff to note:
I bought G. a "I <Godzilla> Tokyo" T-Shirt, and two "Robot" posters from a random artist.
I bought P. a pair of earrings and a DAL doll ("Pink Alice").
I bought D. two "Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes" posters.
...and.. <Drum roll, please>....
I got my Captian Jack Figure signed by John Barrowman! WOOT!

Well, Day One of Comic-con is officially over. Here's the scoop.

Panels
What Panels? I had a list of stuff I wanted to attend, but didn't make it to any of it. Oh well. I'll do better tomorrow.

E. took the kids for about an hour and half this morning (Thank you!) They played in the hotel room with Z. and H., while me and D. went plundering in the Exhibitors hall.

Hasbro Loot
I found out early on that the Hasbro exclusives were being sold via the "ticket" system -- Here's how it works:  First you truck up to the Sails Pavillion and get in line for a ticket. The kind people at the booth stamp your adult BADGE (no kid badges allowed), and hand you a ticket with a time frame on it. You return to the Hasbro Toy Shop down in the exhibitors hall at said timeframe, and wait in line to purchase your goodies (max 4 per adult).

The timeframe is mondo important -- The line doesn't start until the beginning of said timeframe, and if you try to line up beforehand they disperse you and tell you to keep on moving. Net result: about 200 people milling around in the booths on either side of the Hasbro shop pretending to be interested in random merchandise while surreptitiously checking their watches. I got lucky and got in line at 4pm just outside of the cattle maze. In all honestly it did move pretty fast (about 30 minutes from where I entered the line) and I got what I went in for. I also had a cool line buddy who was fluent in Dr.Who, which made the wait fly by.

Purchases: 3 "My Little Pony" Comic-Con exclusives, 1 "Littlest Pet Shop" Exclusive, 1 Gi-Joe "Destro" two pack (Because GI-Joe + Christopher Eccelston playing Destro == WIN.)

Dead Speed
Wandering around the exhibitors hall, I was entranced by this LCD screen showing Zombie comic-book artwork. So I went up to the booth, and the guy there starts his spiel : "Dead Speed has zombies, and 'Rippers' that go fast. In the future there's a virus that kills folks one organ at a time. 'Rippers' are sent into the city in fast cars to retrieve healthy organs for transplant. Basically, they have a bike, a knife and a cooler..."
At this point, a girl in the booth gently shook his arm and said "You had her at Zombies."

Much to my surprise, the "guy" at the booth was the one of two writers of the comic  -- Adam Lawson. The guy next to him was the other writer, Keith Arem. Both signed my book, and gave me gobs of freebies (posters, cards).

Net: I was glad to have missed my scheduled morning events for this happy random happenstance!

Other Random Stuff
I picked up a Godzilla T-shirt for Dave, and comic board done by Bob Piper, who draws for the Tick.

I also got a handy blue plastic poster tube (with strap!) for about 5 bucks from an art supplier on the exhibitors floor. Highly recommended for keeping your posters pristine.

"9"  (A Tim Burton Flick) is being heavily advertised by postcard-waving people outside the convention center. Apparently, there are nine numbered postcards featuring characters who's names are the number 1 thru 9. Collect all the postcards, turn them in somewhere, and you get something. I think one of the girls said something about a signing, but I don't exactly recall. In any case, I think I managed to get all but one just by virtue walking past these enthusiastic folks and taking what they handed me.

Goodnight all. Rocky Horror Picture Show is playing in the Horton Shopping area, but I want to get up early tomorrow for tickets to the Charlaine Harris signing. Wish me luck!

Wednesday "Preview Night" was chaos, but at least it was controlled chaos, well .. it was controlled chaos right until they opened the door to the exhibitors hall.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Badges
We arrived shortly after 3pm to pick up our badges. A kind Elite security member ("Red Shirt," anyone?) was directing folks down to Hall "C" where registration as located. We walked through the doors and were pointed toward an elevator (strollers are not allowed on the escalator) and then into registration where we were promptly served by the very first the teller at the very first table.
Badges: 4, Complaints: 0.

Munchies
Convention Center food always sucks. After grabbing our badges, we walked across the street to a steak house and promptly proved to be the waiters worst nightmare. We ordered fries for the kids, a salad and baked potato for D, and Clam chowder and salad for myself. No steak was ordered, nor were alcoholic beverages. Not a tip friendly meal. Sorry dude; at least you were cool about it.
Service: Excellent, Price: Outrageous, Kid friendly quotient: Low.
Chance of returning with the kids: Low to Zero.

Loot
Preview night is all about grabbing the Comic-con exclusives before all the other geeks who had the misfortune to only attend a portion of the con. Loot abounds -- everything from free bags/posters/buttons/pins/flyers to tickets for drawings to special limited edition items that are available for purchase.

I got the one thing I had ear-marked for myself: A Farscape Volume 1 "Special Edition" --with the Scorpious cover.
Bonus: Keith DeCandido signed it for me!

I also lucked out and found the table where John Barrowman ("Captain Jack", from Torchwood) will be signing throughout the weekend. Tickets for signing are $26 and they say John will sign anything.  (One con goer asked for clarification on "Anything", and the booth attendant was wise enough to eye her and asked "Why don't you tell me what you have in mind and I'll let you know if he'll sign it?") I promptly walked around the corner and picked up a Comic-Con exclusive Second Wave Torchwood Jack action figure for $20, so I'm all set.

Among the free loot, I got the kids posters at the Hasbro booth (booth may be too small a word -- Hasbro has the equivalent of three city blocks of floor space in con terms) which continues to amuse them into this morning. Go-Go Hasbro for giving away posters of "My Little Pony" checklists and "Super Heros" checklists.

Astro boy stuff was hard to come by on the floor, but I managed to get a single small poster and and a pin, which I've stuck to my lanyard. For my efforts, I also got handed a Twilight poster and trading card.

Transportation:
D left the con by about 7:30 -- He and the kids were done with the crowds. I went back inside until the they gave the "10 minutes until closing" announcement. Then I ran for the door, and onto the BLUE shuttle bus. (No Waiting! Bonus!) Then the bus pulled out into the stampeeding traffic. Oh well, 20 minutes later we arrived at the Westin Stop, and I hopped off.
At least I didn't have to walk :)

We've arrived in San Diego! We're in the hotel, and P.J. is crying. In my book, that means things are status quo.

In Grand Convention Tradition, I'm posting my pre-pre-con report. Here's the skinny so far:

The U.S.Grant Hotel

1. ...is non-smoking. A kindly bellhop (who shall remain nameless) mentioned that there's a fire escape one floor up that leads to the roof, where I could go for a breathe of fresh smoke. I've tried it out, and I feel dirty; My too-bright fuchsia 'do can be seen for miles around like a shining beacon, and you get a great view of several other hotel occupants rooms. Also, the door says "Emergency Exit" on one side, and "Not An Exit" on the other -- which means there's not much plausible deniabilty should I get caught out there.
2. ...has no pool. 'nough said.
3. ...is very high-class. If it was just me and Deviledman, It would be...well, it'd still be too high-class for my fuschia hair and my husband's blue jeans. But it's not just me and Deviledman -- it's us and our kids. My kids don't know what high-class means, much less how to act. But hey! The U.S.Grant is what we got from the get-a-comic-con-hotel-roulette-game, so they can just deal with my fuchsia hair, my family's blue jeans, my grubby 3-year-old's crayons on their pristine white sheets, and my cheer-leading obsessed daughter who wants to practice in their tiny elevators. I'm kind of actually waiting to see what happens when I come down through the lobby as a zombie.
4. ...is eight blocks away from the convention center. It remains to be seen if that's just too far to walk with the kids.
5. ...had maps of the shuttle service for Comic-Con printed out for us when we checked in. Bonus!
6. ...has free internet access in the lobby. In the rooms, you need to pay ($50 for five days). I'll save you the wondering -- I'm writing this from the hotel room.

Fine (and not so Fine) Dining
The U.S. Grant Hotel has a five star restaurant in it, which also caters the room service. But Kobe beef burgers and soft-shell crab sandwiches seemed a bit over the top. Instead, we had dinner over in the food court of the Horton Plaza Shopping Center across the street -- Pizza and Mongolian Grill and Panda Express out on the open air patio. The only thing marring the experience was the occasional pan-handler who wanted some of our dinner.
Note to self -- I still haven't given P.J. an adequate explanation of the phrase "pan-handling".

Pre-Con Information
Wed, July 22: 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM (4-Day Memberships ONLY). No info on where to pick them up; I can only hope it's obvious when we get there.


Since we're not sure what we're doing during the day tomorrow (San Diego Zoo, maybe?), I don't know if we'll be in line for our badges at 3pm, or wait until later. And Dave and I have yet to sync our schedules... If we do that tonight, I'll post them so at least folks can have a rough idea of where to find me.

OK .. Not really. Just thought this was hilarous and had to share.
Content provided by ken_redtail


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The Doctor Who Easter Special "Planet of the Dead" now has a trailer!

( Wanna see? It doesn't give away too much ... )

Season three isn't really a seaon -- It's a five parter called "Children of Earth".  No news yet on exactly when it will be shown, either for the UK or the US.

Want to see the trailer? :) I left it under the cut for those who don't want to be spoiled

( trailer below! )

Can I has dis framed, plz?

Things on my summer to-do list:

1. GI JOE: The Rise of Cobra (Movie)!  -- Arrives summer of 2009.  As a kid growing up in the eighties, I loved GI Joe, and was always jealous of my brother who got all the cool action figures. But the best part?  Christopher Eccleston (Doctor #9) is playing Destro!

2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Movie)! --Arrives in theaters on 6/24/09. Looks like there should be enough explosions to entice Deviled_Man.

3. X-MEN Origins: Wolverine (Movie)! – In theaters May 1st. I’m not sure if I’m sold on the choice of actor to play Gambit, but then, it’s be hard to match-up to the picture in my head :)

With all the major toy properties having big movie releases this summer, I think I’ll really need to invest in shelves to display my figures!

So, Dollhouse has finally hit the screen! The premise (quoted from the official Fox website):

“ECHO (Dushku) is an "Active," a member of a highly illegal and underground group of individuals who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Hired by the wealthy, powerful and connected, the Actives don't just perform their hired roles, they wholly become -- with mind, personality and physiology -- whomever the client wants or needs them to be. Whether imprinted to be a lover, an assassin, a corporate negotiator or a best friend, the Actives know no other life than the specific engagements they are in at that time.”

 

( More babble this way... )

 

( Pic Me! )

Which creature of the night are you? Your Result: Ghost   Life has beat you into a mere shadow, and you have little to gain or lose in the world. Quiet and introspective until roused, when you become a scarier, poltergeistier thing.
Cthulu Spawn
Sorceror
Werewolf
Vampire
Incubus/Succubus
Demon
Which creature of the night are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

My most awesome husband whom I love very much (Deviled_man!), took me to see LUDO for our aniversary at El Corazon in Seattle!!!!

It was an all-ages show, with three bands preceeding LUDO, but overall, it was very cool. Of the three opening acts, I liked "The Higher" best. They're a young group from out of Las Vegas, who's lead singer looks like a skinny Axel Rose and has a voice that reminds me of the lead singer from RUSH. The other two opening acts were "The Graduate"  (not bad -- the lead singer also played the drums!), and "Eye Alaska"  (a bit scizophrenic musically, but the crowd seemed into them.)  I bought two of the The Higher's albums -- I'll let you know what I think once I get a chance to really listen to them.

Ludo rocked. They opened with  "Lake Pontchartrain" which is my absolute favorite from their new album You're Awful, I Love you.  They also played "Go-Getter Greg", "Topeka" and "Drunken Lament."  Andrew performed "The Horror of our Love" solo (just him and a guitar), and some jerk tried to heckle in the middle of song -- but no worries, Andrew was still awsome despite the disturbance. I was amazed by the number of voices in the audience singing along -- this is only Ludo second trip to Seattle, so I didn't expect them to have a strong fanbase.

Ludo also played some of their older songs, like "Girls on Trampolines" and "Hum Along."  I was surprised when they played Part 1 of the Broken Bride, but it really made my night!


 

New figure include Ten w/some cute little adipose figures, Davros in his souped-up wheelchair, and the Vashta Nerada (the skeleton-in-the-suit not the-dust-in-sunbeams-at-dusk, but hey, I'm not complaining!)

New Who Figures can found over at Character-Online or Forbidden Planet.

And no, Deviled_man. You cannot get the Doctor Who Dalek Duvet Cover - Double

So, the whole "story-told-after-the-fact-via-videotape" idea's been done before (Can you say Cloverfield?) but it still looks like it could deliver a decent scare or two. If you want to know more, Head on over to the official site 

You know me, I love my horror flicks!

Four new shows with the original cast?

reddwarf.co.uk has the facts (or so they claim). : "As announced by Robert Llewellyn for Grant Naylor Productions this week at the UKTV seasonal press launch, the project is a short series of brand new specials to celebrate the 21st birthday of Red Dwarf."

read more ...