So much for a break-I got home and my house looked like a tornado went through it. Cups half full of water on every table and counter, beer bottles and caps everywhere, clothes all over the floor, and the front bathroom was a bloodbath due to the tooth my son lost over the weekend. My convention high quickly fell apart.

This con was big for the anime and comic book crowds, but the scifi part of it was pretty quiet. I felt sorry for some of the actors that looked bored just sitting at their tables! Boy have cons changed; used to be for $20 you got an 8x10 autographed photo, and a photo with the actor taken with your own camera. Well now this “photo op” craze has taken over, where you buy a separate ticket and show up where the “studio” is set up at a certain time for your photo. So now it is $20-$50 for an autograph, then another $30-$50 for the photo op. The pix do come out gorgeous, though, I can’t argue with that. Most of the cons I go to, the photo op company is Froggy’s Photos. They do a fantastic job and the staff is great.

 

Had a great time meeting up with old friends and making new ones.

 

Mark Goddard-Don West, Lost in Space

 

I had a great conversation with Mark Goddard. He didn't want to end up a struggling actor, so he left it all behind to become a teacher. I had met him before at Dragoncon ’06, and I had told him I was thinking about teaching. This year I was able to tell him that I’m finally taking the courses I need to get certified. And I had to share this list of amazing coincidences I realized after reading his bio:

He was born in Lowell, MA (so was my husband)
He went to college in Worcester, MA (I did too)
He’s a teacher at an alternative high school-ok this is where it really gets crazy:

My mom is a retired teacher from an alternative high school in MA, which is ironically called the “Goddard School for Learning”; it was named after the father of liquid fuel rockets, Robert Goddard, who happens to be a distant relative of Mark’s. Now, Robert Goddard set that first rocket off in Auburn, MA where I graduated from high school, on March 16, 1926. My youngest son’s birthday happens to be March 16. And that where it ends!

 

 

Adrian Pasdar-Nathan Petrelli, Heroes

 

Adrian was definitely the big ticket item at the con. His autograph table was roped off from the rest and there was constantly a line. No conversations with this guy. And he had this Hollywood bodyguard that looked like an FBI agent standing at attention and barking orders at the volunteer staff.

 

 

Steve Bacic-Andromeda, SG1

Kyle Schmid & Dylan Neal-Henry & Mike, Blood Ties

 

The first one I approached after arriving at the con was Dylan Neal. Always trying to find a way to start a conversation with an actor, I went up and said “my kids wanted me to tell you that they really liked the movie Chupacabra you were in” (one of those made for SciFi movies that actors would rather forget they did; it just happened to be on the weekend before the convention). He just about hid under the table. I told him it kept my kids entertained for two hours, and that was worth gold. He was happy to know that at least two people were entertained by that movie. Dylan turned out to be a sincere and charming guy, very easy to talk to. Weird coincidence: the weekend after the convention, my son was once again watching some god-awful horror movie on SciFi Saturday Night. I jokingly asked “anyone I know in this one?” His reply: “Just the other guy from Blood Ties, the one with the long hair.”

Kyle was a sweet guy. The girls were definitely there to see him! Poor Dylan was very gracious in recognizing that. It was the first scifi con for the both of them. I don't think we scared them, I see they're already booked for some other cons...

 

 

 

 Julie

It’s very cool when you get to experience the first con “high” through someone else’s eyes. My friend Maria’s mom Julie is a huge, I mean HUGE fan of Blood Ties. Her mom is 85 years old! After much cajoling (she was worried about her hair, her shoes, you know how moms are) we set it up; I ran to the Kinkos at the con center and rented a wheelchair (after enduring an espresso-triggered hot flash), bought her ticket, and met them in the parking lot. To see her face when she met those guys for the first time…that’s what I was waiting for! She went from 85 to 15 in a second! It was so precious that Maria & I were able to provide that moment for her mom. She was completely amazed by all the people with costumes, and had a fabulous time. But now, we’ve created a monster; not only can she not wait until the next convention, she wants to wear a costume! I tell you, it’s addicting…

 

"Todd the Wraith" doll my artist friend Wolfie created.

Some people get all the talent. Wolfie is a brilliant artist, check out her website: