Weyrfest

Looky who I found!!!

http://photos.dragoncon.org/main.php?g2_itemId=107330

Hiya everyone!

I didn't even bring a camera to DragonCon with me this year. I know .. bad Angel. However, Brent sent me an email with a link to see the pictures he took and told me to feel free to share them with the Weyrfest Livejournal community.

I think this link will work, if not, let me know. He has a lot of hilarious photos from playing werewolf as well as some nice panel and parade pics!

So thanks for the link Brent!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=AdventureBrent&target=ALBUM&id=5378381097335021745&authkey=Gv1sRgCPawgMKa79Cu_gE&feat=email

I move that Todd makes this shot his next book's "about the author" photo. What do you guys think? ;>

instead of adding onto the long winded post from earlier heh.  I won a cd with the songs from the Harperhall Trilogy.  Which is what I was intending to buy this friday off the website.  Suffice it to say I'm very happy.  I've always wanted to hear those songs played.  Though, I freely admit that it's hard to see when Brekke's Song plays.  I'm glad it was put in the prize pile this weekend.

I wouldn't know where to start picking which pictures to post... so here's just the link to Photobucket... :D

I'll have more when I get a hold of Vicki's camera and/or phone.

D*C Pics

I almost didn't put the link in, I'm still not recovered sleep wise!

Still getting into normal mode from the weekend.  I actually spent 5 minutes trying to find how to post to this community..... even though i've used it on other communities before heh.


to start off.  My brand old camera (as compared to new, which crashed before the con) went kaput friday.  

Once again I had to use the cell phone. heh

Got distracted by everything, and when that happens I generally forget the camera.  So I didn't take very many.


got an autograph from author Carole Nelson Douglas... when technically she wasn't giving them.  Probably has to do with the fact that I read her Midnight Louie mystery series and was the only fan of that specific one in the room at the time.  Or mentioned it anyway.  *grin*

had a lively discussion on the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie in the same panel I got the autograph in, and I wound up defending it.  Despite the fact I hate aspects of it.  Really weird.

There are things that can't be put into stories, such as the random predictions in the Delphic Oracle panel.  If you want to laugh hard, then come to the next Con.  Hopefully this'll be present there again.

Heard a tale from an old friend about a guy who got irritated waiting in line on the top floor for the elevator in the Hyatt.  So he climbed down from railing to railing, five floors before being caught by security.  "Steps" or "stairwell" isn't in his vocabulary apparently.


rather than cause an image load lag, I'm linking to the few photos I took.  


Barf from Spaceballs.   I'll give him credit for making me think John Candy was alive.
pics.livejournal.com/cwolf20/pic/00001wqs/s320x320

Tried to sneak a pic of Charisma Carpenter at the signing.  It didn't come out well.  (I prefer to actually pay when in the hall of fame, but I was low on cash for autographs)
pics.livejournal.com/cwolf20/pic/00002t8r/s640x480

Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible, The Guild, commercials, Buffy season 7 potential...etc)was definitely not sitting by her lonesome with few people coming by to see her.  She was also understanding of the fact that my phone deleted the first picture before I could save it.  So this was the 2nd photo.  oddly, they were in a hurry, but let me have the picture first. 
pics.livejournal.com/cwolf20/pic/000037fp/s640x480

Cobra Commander look-alike.  from the old series.  not the movie, and anime style they're working on.
pics.livejournal.com/cwolf20/pic/00004wwq/s320x320

If you're a fan of all of the Metal Gear playstation video games.  Here's "Snake In the Box"
pics.livejournal.com/cwolf20/pic/00005few/s640x480

S.M. Sterling and others at the Weyrfest Panel.  Where I was sitting, I could only get him and Todd barely.  Didn't want to interrupt by standing up.
pics.livejournal.com/cwolf20/pic/00006ch7

Now I remember yet again why I should never take photos from a moving escalator.  It's a Harry Potter character group photo session
pics.livejournal.com/cwolf20/pic/00007tkt

A Captain Hammer look-a-like.  To the point where every time I saw him i thought he was Nathan Fillon.  Even though Nathan's taller and broader in the shoulders.  And Shera.  Night vision setting switched off somehow... I really need to stop having bad luck with cameras...
pics.livejournal.com/cwolf20/pic/00009eaw

Todd after his reading of a novel that's coming out.  Sorry,  spoilers only exist in the room. heh
pics.livejournal.com/cwolf20/pic/0000a1px/s640x480

It's another Dragon*Con come and gone. Crazy, how the year before seems to take forever, and then, before you know it, Labor Day weekend is over. I hope everyone had safe journeys home -- and that no one else caught my cold!

I want to thank everyone for making this year's Weyrfest (known to your Pocket Guide as Anne McCaffrey's Pern) another great success. We're so thrilled to have such a loyal group of friends, and grateful for every new one we make. Whether you were new to our track or an old hat at this whole D*C thing, thank you so very much for your attendance, suggestions, and support (and for all the laughs!).

A BIG thank you is due to my staff: Angel Adams, my vivacious (and curvaceous!) Second, who put in 33 hours over the course of the weekend (and those are just the ones we logged); Susan "Garfield" Martin, who kept Todd in coffee and sugar-starved staffers in peanut butter crackers; Robert "Mom, Dad -- I'm Gaelic" Raney, new to us but not at all new to Cons (and who probably got more kisses from me this weekend than my own boyfriend); Nicole Kosoris, who helped us out for a second year, and who may in fact be sharing my cold (OMG SO SORRY Nicole); and Diana Blount, who contributed time and beautiful hand-painted dragon statues (and to whom I also owe another OMG SO SORRY, having accidentally decapitated one of the aforementioned statues). Almost everything that makes Weyrfest go well is due directly to the hard (and completely unpaid) work of these people, at the expense of their time and dollars, and you would be absolutely right to send them bags and bags of love letters and marriage proposals.

Huge props to our guests: Todd "I Love It When Cat Hits Me" McCaffrey, Jody Lynn Nye, Bill Fawcett, S.M. Stirling, Toni Weisskopf, Katherine Kurtz, Scott MacMillan, Chelsea Quin Yarbro, Janny Wurts, and Don Maitz. We had so much fun hearing your stories and learning about what makes you tick. (Extra kudos to Katherine and Scott for joining us, unscheduled, for Delphic Oracle!) Please do these folks a favor: visit their websites, buy their books, and hang their art on your walls. (I bought a mug from Janny! Now y'all go and follow my good example.) Please come back to us next year!

Much love and gratitude to our raffle prize donors and discounters: The Golden Cockerel, for offering us a great discount on their exquisite handmade wooden eggs; Mike Freeman and Tania Opland, for sending FOUR new albums, including two copies of their brand new Harper Hall CD, "Sunset's Gold," and two copies of Tania's new solo album; Andrea at The Copper Dragon, for donating a $50 gift certificate for our costume contest; Laurie "Shalyn" Hicks of The Dragon's Jewels, for donating two more of her incredible beaded dragons, in addition to two embroidered pouches and two beautiful embroidered book covers; Pixie Garcia and Wildside Press, for giving us BUNCHES of brand new copies of Anne's books; and Sarah "Aranel" Jones, for sending along daggers, books, and a pattern for my Steampunk Leia corset. ;>

Finally, a big round of applause for Celtic folk rockers Emerald Rose, who was only scheduled to play for us for half an hour on Sunday, but who generously indulged us for a full TWO HOURS with their unsurpassed talent and wit. We hope everyone bought their CDs -- and if you didn't, you still can via their website or iTunes. Watch this space for video clips from their performance (provided YouTube cooperates with me)!

Please, please, PLEASE post your pictures, videos, stories, and suggestions. (You don't have to use the comments to this entry -- this is an open community, so you can, and should, start a brand new entry for your stuff.) We'd love to know what you liked, what didn't really work, and what you want to see for next year. Only 359 days left! ;>

If you've read our schedule, you know that in addition to regulars Todd McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye, with occasional guest and trivia master Bill Fawcett, we've got some great new guests lined up. S.M. Stirling, Toni Weisskopf, Katherine Kurtz, Don Maitz, Janny Wurts, Scott MacMillan, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro are going to share what it's like to work with, write with, or live near the Dragonlady, or offer some insight into the writing and publishing process. We're very excited to have them, and hope you all are, too!

But I thought you all might be particularly interested to learn that the talented, be-kilted folk-rock band Emerald Rose has graciously agreed to take time out of their busy schedule to play for us on Sunday night! Starting at 8:30 p.m., the bards will get our open mic night started off right with an intimate concert just for Weyrfest, followed by a little time to sell CDs and answer questions about their music. We're stoked to have them, and expect to have the fire marshal banging down our door when y'all pile in to hear these incredible musicians!

At long last! I've delayed posting this until we knew for sure that our listed guests will, in fact, be in attendance -- but it looks like this is about as final as we're going to get until the Con (at which point all bets may be off, as sometimes happens).

As always, we have a dearth of panelists, and welcome -- nay, ENCOURAGE -- volunteers from among you, our adoring fans, to share what you know with a captive audience. If you see a panel you'd be interested in sitting on, please drop a note in the comments section, or fire off an email to me at spiderwriter[at]gmail[dot]com. The more the merrier!

All panels are in Vinings, in the Hyatt, unless indicated otherwise.

( Friday, September 4 )

( Saturday, September 5 )

( Sunday, September 6 )

( Monday, September 7 )

Updates could happen at any time, so check back for the latest information!

Okay ... as many of you may have noticed, I haven't worn any costumes the last few years. I just haven't felt like corseting it up. But I'm thinking I should encourage others to drag their sewing machines out of the closet and enter the costume contest by doing the same thing.

Now the real question becomes ... what to make?

What costumes are everyone else working on? Need inspiration!!

Oh .. I got a really nifty dagger that just MIGHT end up a prize? ::glances at Cat:: Then again, I've heard of rumors of another pretty nifty Costume Contest prize already.

So who's being what?!!

We have a preliminary schedule, but I'm not going to release it until it's finalized, since a lot of it is contingent upon various guests' availability and I don't want to make promises I can't keep. It has to be finished by the end of the month, so you guys will have a good solid month to plan!

I want to reiterate Angel's entreaties for costume contest entrants. I know it can be hard to get ideas, but I promise, we'll take just about anything! Anne's books take place in so many worlds and times, damn near everyone has been represented. Don't feel like you can't enter because your costume isn't good enough. We love you all!

Here are some entries (or just some candids from around the track) from past years to help you get inspired! (Apologies for the quality of some of these pictures. Some date back to 2003 and whatever crummy disposable camera I had to hand.)

In no particular order:






Former staffer Cheryl has tons of great costume photos (and a serious blast to the past) from '99, '00, and '01, and there's no shortage of awesome -- and recent! -- photos on Flickr.

All right? You now have no excuses or lack of inspiration. Go and achieve brilliance!

Just to let you guys know, I've finally found out where our room's going to be this year. We're back in the Hyatt, in Vinings. For your convenience, a map; for your inconvenience, it's in PDF format.

It's smaller than last year's room, with a capacity of about 90 people; it is, however, conveniently located right next to the elevators and escalators. No more knocking people into walls as you frantically run from the food court to make the panel you're supposed to be moderating, only you're running late because of those girls who couldn't friggin' decide what they wanted at Fuji Express, and you're all, come ON, ladies, just get the chicken, for Pete's sake, if you don't like it, you can get something else next time, and they're like, "Ummmm, do you guys have Pepsi or Coke products?" which leads to a two minute conversation about whether Mt. Dew is Pepsi or Coke (it's Pepsi, people, PEPSI), and you'd be looking at your watch but you don't HAVE a watch because every watch you've ever owned has died, and who has time to get new watch batteries? and finally you ask someone the time and OH NO YOU HAVE TO BE AT YOUR PANEL, they'll never let you direct in this town again, MOVE, people, MOVE-- wait, is that Tahmoh Penikett?-- no, stay FOCUSED, Charlotte, FOCUSED...

...

Anyway, we're just off the escalators, at the bottom floor of the Hyatt.

Fingers crossed we don't have a pillar in the middle of the room!

I want to second Cat's glowing thanks to everyone who did so much to make last year's convention such a wonderful sucess. Though I'm not about to promise passionate kisses to EVERYONE. Regardless of what she says. Now hugs ... hugs you can all have! ::Grins::

There is one thing I would like to make mention of however, in recent years the numbers and enthusiasm of participants in the costume contest have dwindled in pitiful pitiful ways. It seems that recently we'll have one or two people pour hours and hours of hard work into a costume and then have no one else in the contest with them.

Now one may think .. cool, that means they win.

But actually that just means they have no crowd to goof off with and the contest lasts all of 15 minutes and everyone is kind of let down by the lack of opportunity for hilarity and cutting up.

I'd like to say now, I'd like to have 15 REALLY GOOD female costume entries this year ... and at least 10 REALLY GOOD male costumes. Plus the smattering of people we bully into joining in just cuz its fun. ::Grins::

Please don't think you have to be PERN costumes to enter and win. Anne has a HUGE wealth of worlds to chose from. You can find an inventive way to bring in just about any culture you want.

But if everyone is tired of doing costume contests and would rather us do something else in that time slot this year ... let us know so we don't drag the wonderful Jody away from the awards banquet again for only a handful of participants. If we're going to do it ... lets do it right!!

Sooo ... who's got the craziest costume idea eh? I'd love to see someone finally top the year someone came as Thread.

Hey, all!

Been a while since I've posted, right? I'm so sorry I never gave the obligatory Official Recap of Weyrfest '08; suffice to say, it was a success, save for a few of my amateurish blunders (like, oh, I don't know -- leaving Trivia cards at home in Raleigh). I have no excuse not to have updated. I am lazy, number one, and number two, trying to recap four days of nonstop madness that, in hindsight, was pretty much all a blur, is sort of a daunting and harrowing task. Because I'm a coward, I run from daunting and harrowing tasks.

Which is why I needed to be saved on innumerable occasions by a wonderful, wonderful staff: Angel, Susan, Rheniel, Diana, and Alvin are not only terrific help, they're also terrific human beings on the whole. If you see them, kiss them. No, seriously, they'll like it.

(Angel might will almost certainly kiss you back. Passionately. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

But better six months late than never, right?

Thank you, too, to our wonderful guests, Anne, Todd, and Jody, who year after year prove worthy of their legions of fans. And to their runners, helpers, minders, whatever you want to call them: you are many, and you are invaluable, and you must promise never to leave me because I will curl into a ball and go into shock.

To that end: a final, hugely heartfelt thanks to the various and sundry non-official helpers and volunteers who got out of the car and asked directions when I insisted I didn't need no stinkin' map. This includes everyone who helped hang and take down art, participated in the costume and art contests, fielded questions from newbies, sat on panels, walked in the parade, laughed at my jokes, refreshed water for Weyrfest guests and staff, and, most fortuitously and gracefully, ran a game of Pern Pictionary as I held my head in my hands and lamented my complete inability to complete a simple task like REMEMBERING TRIVIA CARDS.

I will be less of a buffoon this year, I promise.

Information on various websites will start to be updated as we know things. As of right now, we don't know what room we'll be in, who exactly our next round of guests will be, what our schedule is, etc. etc.

WHAT WE NEED ARE YOUR SUGGESTIONS. As always. What did you like last year that you want to see again? What didn't you see that you absolutely must have? Who are your ideal guests? What can we do to make your Con better?

We, your humble servants, are here for you. So tell us what to do, already! And come see us again this year-- OR ELSE.

(Or else I will cry.)

Not sure if these links will work but I nabed these off flickr and put them on myspace.  The Pern group in the parade: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=63989509&albumID=2410073&imageID=36444699

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=63989509&albumID=2410073&imageID=36444701

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=63989509&albumID=2410073&imageID=36444702

Ok, I took these during Anne and Todds readings if anyone is interested they're on my YouTube channel : http://www.youtube.com/bdragond

Also, I have general DragonCon pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27868828@N05/sets/72157607058455396/

Ok, so Facebook wasn't the best place to put the pictures. How about Photobucket?

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b118/mom23reds/DC2008/

Let me know if this doesn't work.

I've posted my pictures (most of them) in my Facebook account.

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=152064&id=650835264

I had a blast this year and am looking forward to next year. Yes, I will return as staff next year.

Susan

Would someone please post the list to LJ and/or Yahoo Group?  I had to leave in the middle.  Thanks.

I finally paid the $$$ and will be at Dragon*Con!  Looking forward to meeting many (not to mention Anne and Todd) and reuniting with a few others.

BTW, any females looking for a last-minute roommate?

Gilder McCarroll
baterista9@aol.com
San Antonio, TX