Dragon*Con 2011 and water damage

Husband and I went for the second time this year, which was also D*C's 25th anniversary.

There are tons of pictures on the web, on Flickr, How Stuff Works, CNN, etc. I didn't take many pictures myself, unfortunately.

When it began, I wanted to go to sessions about Whedon, Dr. Who, Writing, and Alternate History/steampunk and Silk Road, the "Asian" track. For the first time this year there was a Dragon*Con app, which was so cool! With a few clicks, I could add the sessions I wanted to attend to my iPhone calendar. I double, triple, quadruple booked myself for nearly every time slot.

What I actually made it to:

• A few steampunk panels, including one about Steampunk and Orientalism, a term that makes me cringe. However, the panelist was very clear that it was a very Eurocentric term to include anything East and South of Europe. One person asked for recommendations for steampunk books set in Asia. The panelist said he couldn't think of any that are available in English.


• A reading by Jammy Wurtz. I want to broaden my reading horizons and picked that reading randomly. She gave out copies of her 4th book in a series of 7 to newbies. I was the only newbie. That one was alright. I wish I went to the author that preceded her; sounds like she wrote romance fantasy/sci-fi. Good thing I can look her up on the app or paper schedule.


• A fan panel where Snape, the Winter Queen from Narnia, and another villian explained their side. Was the weakest of the panels I went to, but they can't all be gems.


• Urban survival in case of zombies -- now I know what the Y2K survivalists are doing. Husband suggested that I take a class on how to use a shotgun. Hmmm.


• Market trends in sci-fi/fantasy -- It was an interesting peek into the business side of publishing.

Spent a lot of time wandering the exhibits. Didn't buy anything. Other than the cost of the membership, my money went to food and drink. A lot of drink. Which is kind of why I missed a lot of the sessions.

Another reason I missed alot of panels: the night before Dragon*Con started, some of the sprinklers in our condo building malfunctioned, spewing water. So I had to stay and take care of that with the maintenance people, calling insurance (which could not find our policy at first), etc.

All in all, however, it was a great time. Definitely thinking of going again next year. Thinking of making a little Jayne hat as a fascinator or headband. I'm not one for dressing up but would like to let my geek flag fly a little. Let's see what's on Etsy....