Saturday 11 March 2006

Sci Fi is for Cool People!

Today was a tremendously awesome day. If not for some poor lighting (and thus, substandard picture quality) you all could get a better idea of how awesome today really was. My friend Brenton and I took a trip to the Grand Slam Convention over at the Pasadena Convention Center and I got to see a lot of great people. Have a look:

morena,adam,summer
The day started out with Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin and Summer Glau of Firefly/Serenity fame. It was incredibly amazing being able to see the three of them (Summer for the 2nd time) and hear their stories.
morena, adam, summer 2
They spent about 40 minutes kindly answering fan questions and it was good fun all around. As you all know by now, I'm a huge fan of the show/movie and so this really was special! In fact, it was their presence at this show that really convinced me to go!

Since the pictures I took don't really do them any justice, here's a bonus pic of Summer & Morena for good measure. Simply stunning...even more so in person.
brent
Next, we have a blurry picture of Brent "Data" Spiner of Star Trek TNG. He was only there to sign autographs and photos were strictly prohibited. After taking this pic, we were promptly told no photos so this was the only one we were able to get. If you can't tell, he's the grey haired guy in the middle of the photo.
lost
The people that drew the biggest crowd, surprisingly, were Ian Somerholder, Evangeline Lilly and Naveen Andrews of Lost. This was their first convention but they were very animated and interacted well with each other and the audience. I even went up to ask them what activities/places they enjoyed most about Hawaii (I got some shakas when I also mentioned I was a local boy). I've got a video of half of their reply so ask me to show it to you sometime.
jay
I had a nice conversation with this gentleman, Jay Laga'aia who played Captain Typho (Amidala's Security Officer) in the Star Wars (Prequel) Trilogy. We talked a lot about New Zealand since he's also from Auckland and he told me a great story about when he played tackle football here in LA (which also involved The Rock). We both lamented the limited rugby coverage here in the states and he was kind enough to pose for this picture. Kiwi's!
tim,chase,garrett
They came for a other reasons but the three people in the middle of this photo will always be known for Star Trek. Tim Russ (Tuvok), Chase Masterson (Leeta) and Garrett Wang (Harry Kim) came to discuss an independent film that Tim wrote/directed and in which Chase & Garrett starred in.
wes
Finally, the last talk that I saw was given by Wil Wheaton who is better known as Wesley Crusher from Star Trek TNG. I must say, I think his talk was the best out of everyone. He began by reading some excerpts from his latest book featuring anecdotes about raising his kids. He then did a Q & A during which he answered questions from many topics including VH1's I Love Toys special, Star Trek, Linux and being an actor. He was well-spoken and gracious when praised by the crowd. I certainly respect this guy a lot more after hearing him speak!
mbsign
Here's my prize acquisition of the day. I got my Serenity Comic Book signed by the one and only Morena Baccarin. There was a funny moment where I politely requested that she sign using a silver pen and, after she finished signing (in black), she remarked "Oh, did you just ask me to sign in silver? I'm so sorry!" As some form of consolation, she wrote the little "best wishes" message. I would've settled for a hug...?
souv
And here I am with my "Live Long and Prosper" fingers, yellow convention wristband, Hallenstein's shirt and signed comic! Also, I'd like to take this moment to apologize to Traci who thought this convention was next week. SORRY!!!

What an all around great day. It was even topped all off with a trip to Gordon Biersch for a bowl of Garlic Fries! Yum!!! Anyways, now it's time for Spring Break so off I go on a little adventure. What I'll be specifically up to is yet to be seen but I won't be in LA and I possibly will get to see Bic Runga while I'm away. On that note, I hope you SC students have a great break and everyone else, have an awesome week (of whatever it is you might be doing). Take care!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

haha! well yes i see your love on oc now, she doent have a big part but there she is! glad you are having fun. i;ve got one week of school left ugh