Dragon*Con: The Recap (Part III)

Something I forgot to mention about Dragon*Con: the art auction! Throughout the weekend, there was a big room of original art, and you could bid on the pieces through a silent auction.

I first went on Saturday, and immediately forgot my years of eBay training and just bid on some stuff - two paintings of Doctor Who as a hamster (the Fourth Doctor and Tenth Doctor) and four super-cheap drawings of Universal Studios monsters.

Then I realized, "Crap, bidding on these is binding, and I might not be able to fit all these in my suitcase." I returned to check and see if I was still the high bidder, but the Who hamsters went fast (damn it) and I eventually lost the monsters, too. So the art auction was all for naught.

But anyway, Sunday, bloody Sunday. Woke up, breakfasted with Kalika, and went to a panel on Doctor Who. At first, I was impressed by this kid dressed up as the 10th Doctor, but my respect for him waned as he quickly got bored and pulled out a Game Boy DS. Can't say I blame him, though, the panel spoke more about their opinion on the series rather than any interesting spoilers or insights.

My favorite part is when a girl dressed up as Neil Gaiman's Death (always a popular costume) asked something about the "Dialects." This confused everyone until they realized she meant "Daleks." This should give you an idea of the lameness of the panel, if this was my favorite moment.

Ainsley and I then headed to the Miss Klingon Universe Beauty Pageant. This, too, was a bit disappointing. I had high expectations for the talent competition (who wouldn't?), but it was plagued with microphone problems. One Klingon sang "Baby Got Back" with different lyrics. Two did comedic sketches. And one gave the Klingon marriage speech and dedicated it to Michael Dorn (Worf), who was one of the judges. That was pretty awesome, and then Michael Dorn went onstage and gave her a huge, dramatic stage kiss. But she still didn't win.

I spent another several hours with Cakey, and then got dressed for the Harry Potter Yule Ball. I wore my priest outfit again (since I didn't think the gnome attire was appropriate for the nightlife), and even though Lynn and Kalika repeated warned me about this dance, I was super-psyched.

It was simultaneously the worst and best part of Dragon*Con. The worst, because it was mostly awkward, overweight teens who are obsessed with Harry Potter. And the best, because Lynn and I were dancing in the middle of them. Granted, we got there at about 11:30, when most of the party died down (imagine parents also dressed in Harry Potter gear, patiently waiting for their kids. Oh, man, it makes me cringe in the most delicious way ever), so we missed it at its peak, but one girl DID fall down while dancing. Oh, God, that's cruel and it still makes me laugh. She fell down right next to us!

Note: This was also the only place I drank alcohol during the entire convention.

I am totally going to the Yule Ball again next year.

Oh, but we did witness one thing of beauty. As we were leaving, these three little kids (maybe 8 years old at the most) ran by, screaming and throwing glitter. And I thought, "I don't know if I'll ever have as much fun in my life as those kids are having right now," because they were really having a blast.

The nice part is thinking how they had to gather the glitter, like scraping it up from the floor, until they had enough to fill up their tiny fists. Then they organized it, "OK, on the count of three, we're gonna run and throw the glitter!" And then doing it.

That might have been my favorite moment of Dragon*Con.

Within 15 minutes, we left headed for the Mad Scientist Ball. It was filled to capacity, we waited in line, but when we got in, the dance party was over and instead it was a concert by ArcAttack!, a "high-tech musical collaborative, utilizing robotic drums, singing Tesla coils, sewer pipe organs, and other homemade musical instruments." Tesla coils! Purple lightning! Video game music (most of which I sadly couldn't identify)!

And then after that, we finally found an amazing dance party that was playing all '80s music (my favorite kind of music), but by that point, I was too tired and sore to really move much. 18 hours of holding Cakey will do that to you, and I finally gave up and went to bed.

And that, my friends, was Dragon*Con! Amazingly, the only outfit I didn't wear was the gnome one. Who woulda thunk?