Stanley Love at FenCon

I can’t really say I attended FenCon. It’s a local SciFi literary convention. And while I really enjoy sci fi, these people make me feel like I don’t read enough or know enough about sci fi.  They are much more hardcore than I am; which is great. It's awesome people still work hard to put on these shows.

So I went to the show. I walked around a bit. Saw a lot of the same faces I have been seeing for the 20 years (yes, we are all getting older) and did some work and then left.

At FenCon; I got an autograph from NASA Astronaut Stanley Love. I have seen him at some Houston conventions but I never took the time to get his autograph.

His signing started and about 10 people were in line.  I knew they were would be the types that wanted to talk and get to ask their question that they knew was never asked before.  Hey, these are my people and I know how they think. I’m like that too.

So I wondered off and entertained myself for about 30 minutes. I can back the line was gone. I walked up and shook hands. He asked if I wanted a photo signed and I said yes. He asked my name and I gave it.

I asked if he was driving back that night.   He said yes. I assumed since he’s been at several Houston shows, he lived in Houston. He said he wanted to try to spend a little time with the family before Monday.  I totally understand. In fact, after I got his autograph I went home and just relaxed before I had to go back to work.

Autograph or blogger,  just because he rides a space shuttle for work doesn’t mean we aren’t all the same.

AH

#SDCC and Sean Astin and Profiles in History

At SDCC, the Profiles in History booth brought in Sean Astin for a signing.  And as is often the case with a booth signing, it doesn’t get nearly the response it would if the signer was up in the Sails Pavilion. 

I visited the booth on Preview Night to get the 411. Sometimes you need to buy something or get a wristband or whatnot.  So I ended up chatting with a couple of the stars from the SyFy channel’s Hollywood Treasure.   This was cool but would have been much cooler if I got to see the female of the cast.  Maybe next time.

So the next morning I got in line for Sean Astin. I was maybe 10 people back. It helped that it’s Thursday and early and people haven’t gotten their bearing yet.  I could see he was taking his time and talking with people.  He had a few helpers with him and the line was constantly moving. 

I picked out a photo and paid my money. One of the handlers commented on my UofA shirt. I asked if he was going there. He said his grades were too good to go there.   Okay, tough crowd.  I laughed and asked where he was going. I don’t remember where it was. It wasn’t UofA so it’s not important.

Sean Astin looked up at that time and started in on the UofA bashing conversation.  He said he won’t let his kids go there.  We all laughed.  It wasn’t spiteful. Everyone has their favorite college. The comment did loosen everyone up. From the conversation, I gathered one of the helpers was a daughter of his. I asked since she was here, did that mean she was his favorite.  They both laughed.  He reached over and hugged her and said yes, she was.  She pushed him away and said he says that to each of them separately.  Then he quipped how it was true with her. And she quipped back; he also says that with each of them.

He asked if I wanted it personalized. He asked if I wanted it signed in a particular color.  He signed. He reached out and shook my hand. I said goodbye and left.

It was fun and relaxed and the way you want it with a big star.

AH

#SDCC and Celeste Yarnall

There is no doubt I have a special place in my heart for Star Trek.  I have watched the episodes countless times in black and white.  Then I watched then countless times in color. Then I, of course, had to watch them a few times on video since they were uncut.

So actors and actresses from the show are always on my must have list even if they were in just one episode.  Often the lines are very short; which is means some quality time with the person.  Just looking over the photos at the table you quickly learn about their career.  A comment about a photo on the signing table will usually make the person sit back and want to share an anecdote or two.

Celeste Yarnall was at SDCC and in the Star Trek The Apple.  The photo I got signed was one I liked. If you have watched Star Trek as much as I have, you know the apples in the episode didn’t look like that.  I commented about the apple in the photo.  She said the hubby, who was with her at the table, photo shopped the picture. I can live with that.

We chatted some about other shows she did.  I had recently seen her in the Land of the Giants episode she was in. I told her how I watched the whole series on Netfix. She said that was a fun show to work on too.

As is often the case at SDCC, you have too much to do and not enough time.  I left with another Star Trek autograph and memory.

AH

#SDCC Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Debrah Farentino

The first time Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Debrah Farentino came out to sign it was a mob scene.  People were lined up for 30 minutes before the start. I was hustling off to another event when I passed both these women on their way to the signing table.

I didn’t recognize Debrah Farentino but I did recognize Salli Richardson-Whitfield. I saw her about 10 feet away and burst out in a big smile. Then I did something very silly. I stopped and waved like a 5 year seeing her favorite teacher.  There was no way Salli could ignore my 6 foot 250 pound presence so she smiled and waved and said ‘hi’. 

I then rushed off to wherever I needed to rush off to. Since I missed this opportunity and I saw the crowd waiting for them, I figured the next time they were scheduled to sign would be just as bad.  I had already written this off my wish list.

The next day I was again rushing off and I noticed the crowd was absent.  Just a few people were in line and the signing was scheduled to start in a few minutes.  I looked at the time and judged I could invest a few minutes if I could get to see these two quickly.

#SDCC and Kevin Bacon

There is no denying I was a leach this last trip to ComicCon.  It was not intentional.  And yes, I feel guilty. Not so guilty that I won’t show off a little. My friends that helped me with so many autographs this year also helped with this one.

I was having no luck at all with the Warner Brothers autographs.  In fact, I was having very little luck with any of the raffles.  So Ange gave me her wristband for The Following.  I took it. I shoved it my pockets and went on my business.

When it got to be time to line up I pulled the wristband out and flashed it. That caused some heartburn for someone. I was told I couldn’t be in line unless it was on my wrist.  They don’t want people buying and selling the autographs. I totally understand but I didn’t like it. Ange’s wrist is much smaller than mine and I couldn’t slide it on.

The wristband was a hard plastic and not very flexible.  It wasn’t going to stretch. It did have two snaps that secured it to the wrist. As I’m standing around, I thought I could break the first snap and that would give me the room to slide my wrist inside. Great plan and imperfect execution. While worrying about the time, the line, being seen monkeying around with the thing, I broke the snap of the outside snap.

That didn’t improve my ability to slide it on at all. Ugh. Sometimes I hate myself.  So I break the other snap with less subtlety as I figured they will see the damage and not let me line up anyway. I have nothing to lose.  I slide the bracelet on and get in line. I barely flashed it and I tried to act normal.

It's not really staying together as the snaps won’t work. If I had some glue things would be kosher…ish. But I just kept a low profile and waited. When it came time to cut it off, I used my other hand to hide the broken snaps and I pretend to be flexing the band to make more room for the scissors. The person doing the cutting never noticed the broken snaps and I walked up to the counter.

Of the 5 people that signed, only 2 of them I knew by sight.  The first was James Purefoy who was in HBO’s Rome.  I told him I loved Rome and got a great smile. I think that might be why I got a good signature from him.

The other of course was Kevin Bacon.  I was surprised Kevin Bacon would be in a TV series and also that he was at ComicCon.  There really isn’t a lot you can say to Kevin in a few seconds so I mumbled something about being very excited to see him and thanks for the autographs.

Two of the other signatures come from the writer, Kevin Williamson and director Marcos Siega.

The remaining signature is a mystery. 

Let me know if you know.

AH

#SDCC Emilie Ullerup

One of my favorite’s booths to visit at SDCC is the Holzheimer’s booth. They usually bring in 3 or 4 celebrities and their prices are reasonable. Also, even if there is a line for the guest, it moves fast.

So this time when I dropped by, Emilie Ullerup was there.  I remember her from Sanctuary. Since I choose this photo to get signed she told me about the weapon in her hand. Do I remember what it is? Sadly no. But she was happily excited about it. She asked if anyone on the set was using it. She called it her baby and took pride in learning how to use it.

Emilie was open and willing to chat about the show and her work. As always I try not to take too much of their time so I said thanks and good bye and moved on to another booth and signing.

AH