Sins of collecting

This goes along with the poll question I have on the right side.

Please feel free to respond to the poll and comment on the blog.

Also, let me know of any other sins you’re seen/committed.

Confusing the person with another –

Yes, I’ve seen it. I’m always careful about that especially with authors. Those photos on the back of the book don’t always look like the person signing.  And if it’s a table of several authors, I try very hard to match names to faces or books with names as the people in front of me get their books signed. I’ll even very quietly ask the people running the event if they can help me with who’s who.

Kae, the wife, and I attended a Texas Rangers dinner. It was a fun event where we dressed up and got to hang out with the several baseball players and their girlfriend/wives.   It was an event you could approach the players and ask for an autograph.  At the time the Rangers and the Dallas Stars (Hockey) teams were owned by the same person and the players between the teams did interact.  I saw Brett Hull at this baseball event and asked him for an autograph. I only brought baseballs for signatures and as he saw me with the ball he preemptively stopped me saying he didn’t play baseball. He thought I had confused him someone else.

I told him I knew he played hockey and I knew who he was. He relaxed and asked if I had something else to sign other than a ball. I told him no, but it would be a neat story to tell. He smile and signed.

Told someone you loved them in something they weren’t in –

Not me, but I saw it. It was funny in a painfully embarrassing way.  My friend DeeVee is friends with Kenny Miller. They are close. Kenny was at ComicCon and DeeVee told me to look him up. So I did.

I came over to Kenny’s table and he was talking to a fan. The fan had the autograph in his hand and just chatted away. I politely remained a few steps back but I was listening and watching. The fan didn’t know when to stop. Kenny was in a few movies (I was a Teenage Werewolf, Attack of the Puppet People, etc.). I listened as the rambled and finally said he loved Kenny in other movie. Kenny paused. Kenny politely said he wasn’t in that movie. Now, I don’t know Kenny’s  IMDB credits. But I figured if he said he wasn’t in a movie, he probably wasn’t. The fan never paused and told him emphatically that ‘sure he was’. He played character ‘so and so’.

Again Kenny paused and calmly said – I think I’d remember that. Again the fan just rambled on and gave some bits of dialogue from the movie. A train wretch. I stepped up and said something to interrupt them.

What have you been in? –

Candance Kita was signing. She is a beautiful lady and she draws people to her table just with her looks. She crossed my radar when she was in a short lived series called Complete Savages that Mel Gibson helped produce and he even directed a few episodes. Mel had a reoccurring cameo. Candance worked with Mel and she always died at the end of his scenes.

I was excited to met her and get her signature. Another guy was in front and looking over her photos and her swim suit calendar.  He was a moth draw to her beauty. And then he asked – Now what have you been in?

She didn’t miss a beat. She started rattling off movies. Then I jumped in and said – Complete Savages.

You could see the relief in her face. I was her hero. I knew who she was. It wasn’t going to be a day of no one knowing her. 

She turned to me and asked if I liked that show?  The other guy was ignored and soon left. He wasn’t going to get an autograph. He was checking out a ‘hot chick’. Everyone knew it; he just didn’t admit it to himself yet.

We talked a good 15 minutes.  She told me about working with Mel and how funny he was. She loved the character she played and they both created a list of future death scenes for the show.

At the end she gave me some extras that she signed. I also got a big hug like we were old friends.  

I immediately told the wife so I could make her jealous.

Talking about someone else’s autograph you want –

Another ComicCon experience. I was standing in line to get Bill Amend to sign a book of FoxTrot. I love that comic strip. The line wasn’t long but it was slow. Bill was talking with people and doing little doodles along with his signature; just like a lot of artists do.  The signing was at the Andrews McNeel booth so of course they had lot of different books on display to promote their artists. One of the books was for Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson.

The guy behind me tried to start a conversion with me. He didn’t have very good conversation skills and I did my best not to engage. That didn’t stop him from talking though.  As the norm with people willing to hold conversations with themselves, he was loud and his voice carried. He talked about anything and everything. Then he saw the Calvin and Hobbes books and the thus was spoke – Now that’s an autograph I’d really like to get. I cringed. My eyes quickly darted to the front of the line to see if Bill Amend heard. He had to have heard. He was only 5 or 6 feet away. Like a pro, Bill Amend continued talking and drawing.

I got the front of the line. I handed over my book. Bill looked at me and asked if I would prefer Watterson’s autograph instead. Bill heard alright. And he thought I made the comment. I admit I was caught flat footed. I didn’t think I would be associated with this sin. I panicked. I felt no shame in admitting that I threw that other guy under the bus.  With pupils dilated with fear, I said in no uncertain terms – not me – that was him! And I even turned and pointed. Bill signed my book. I took it and I did not wait to see what happened next.

As I mentioned, let me know your experiences with these sins.

AH