DragonCon 2008 Top Ten

Even though it’s been nearly a week since the madness of DragonCon 2008, I’ve had time to fully absorb my experience. During this time of contemplation and nostalgia, I realized that a DragonCon top ten list was totally necessary. So, here it is. The list of things that I have realized made that weekend both unforgettable as well as my coming-out into official nerdom.

10. DragonCon TV bumpers. During those tedious and anxious moments before the panels start and you load your camera batteries, these Adult Swim rip-offs were awesome. Commentating on everything from Lord of the Rings to Anime, these had me and thousands of others laughing our asses off.

9. BSG fans. Where else can I go in the world, random meet people and start passionately discussing BSG? The answer is simple nowhere. Standing or sitting in endless lines, I loved meeting new people and hearing them gush over the show…although…those Kara/Lee fans can get pretty damn scary. Ultimately, it made me feel like a part of the BSG family that the actors so often praise.

8. Shopping. What can I say? This place had everything to make a nerd’s heart squee. Badges, t-shirts, cups, card…my cousin and I went spending wild and found some awesome little treats.

7. Costumes. Princess Leia and Darth Vader. More Storm Troopers than were ever probably a part of the Empire. Half naked, painted women smiling for pictures. I loved seeing the passion and fun fans can truly only experience in sci-fi. Hopefully, next year I will be out and totally representing my favorite fandoms as well.

6. The Night Life. Although I couldn’t really experience it this year because of circumstances beyond my control, it sounded pretty awesome. The Colonial Fleet party is the stuff of conventions legends that I fully intend to experience again next year. Bands, booze, and lots of fans makes a great time to be had by all.

5. Finally finding out what the fuck Blade Runner is really about. I took an hour and a half and EJO to do it, but I finally understand what that fucking movie is about. It was a moment akin to a revelation when EJO just says “Harrison Ford is a replicanet because…” and then I wanted to hit myself in the head and say “duh!” If I had actually paid real attention when I was watching the damn movie, I think this panel would have been even better than it was to me.

4. The panels. I made this holy BSG pilgrimage for these amazing panels and, for the most part, I was not disappointed. I saw the real attitudes and heard the real voices of the men behind the characters and got no spoilers as I expected. I wish the Stargate panel had been more awesome for my cousin, but it’s really the moderator, not the fans, which make these panels worth it. And the fan panels…well…that’s for another blog.

3. Having James Callis start down my blouse for a portion of his BSG panel. Whoever said breasts aren’t magical has never worn a low cut shirt to a sci-fi convention and sat in the front row. What’s the most awesome thing is that I totally did not notice that he was even doing it. What can I say…my chest has hypnotic powers over all men, famous and not.

2. Getting to see Becca. It had been nearly a decade since I had at least seen my cousin and we totally clicked. It was awesome to share and bitch about this weekend with someone else and she turned out to be the perfect person for the job. Wooo! Family members rock!

1. Saturday’s BSG panel. By far, the best BSG panel with EJO sharing so much juicy set side information and stories about Mary. The rest of the guys were lively and now totally comfortable with the audience and really let go. But what I will remember the most was the last 20 or so seconds of this panel. EJO, my spacedaddy, had a room of over 2,300 people on their feet as he basically re-enacted the most awesome BSG scene ever – the mini-series epic finale scene. He had that many people (as many people as were on the Galatica’s hanger desk in that scene) screaming “so say we all” at the top of their lungs with fists in the air – my cousin included. If that didn’t make a fan’s heart squee, I don’t know what will.

These memories are so awesome and I can’t wait till next year already.