The Blog to Nowhere

- The local comic book expo announced Nathan Fillion as the first guest for next year. He was here three years ago, but I'm not going to say no to more Nathan Fillion. :-) The expo claims he really liked it the last time he was here and has wanted to come back ever since. Now that he has all of this free time, he can certainly do the con circuit. Plus, he can go visit his family up in Edmonton once the con is over.

I kind of want to believe that this is a lead up to a Firefly reunion. 2017 is the 15th anniversary since the show premiered. I don't think many of the cast are working right now so it wouldn't be that hard to gather them all together for a weekend. I'm only short three more signatures for my Serenity comic! If I can get the rest in one fell swoop, I will be super happy.

- I checked out the first episode of the animated reconstruction of "The Power of the Daleks" and it's okay. I can't imagine watching the rest of the serial like this. Like, I don't mind the odd animated episode here and there, especially if it's filling out an incomplete serial, but if you're going to do the whole thing, you really need better animation. I know, the BBC budget for this isn't huge, but something a bit more smooth would have been nice. The movement of the characters feels a little stilted or jerky at times and other times they're just standing there, not doing much of anything. Oh well, just more incentive to find more missing episodes.

- I also checked out the first episode of The Grand Tour aka The Show That Isn't Top Gear But Is Totally Top Gear But Just With More Money. It's more of the same when Clarkson, May, and Hammond were hosting Top Gear, and that's just fine. I really only watched Top Gear for the fun and weird antics the guys got up to. I do miss The Stig, though. He mostly just drove cars around the track, but when they did allow him to do other things, like have him riding the Tube in a four way race across London, he was amusing to watch.

- They finally started casting for the new Star Trek series! Michelle Yeoh will be playing a starship captain. She won't be the captain of the Discovery from the sound of things, so it's probably just a recurring role, but that's still cool. An Asian captain! I don't think we've really had one since we saw Sulu as the captain of the Excelsoir. Hopefully this leads to more casting announcements. They really need to get their butts moving if they want to make the premiere date of May next year.

- And Happy Whoniversary (yesterday)! Just over a month until a new episode!

Or, alternatively, the day John Barrowman stole the show. Even without seeing tomorrow's panels, which include Billie Piper's and Stan Lee's last appearance here, I can officially state that John's panel was the best of the weekend. Why?

( Panel talk behind the cut )

Last day tomorrow. I have to get Alan's autograph and his photo-op, but it shouldn't be too bad. I am missing out on Billie's panel, since it conflicts with Alan's photo-op, but if I hurry, I might be able to catch the end. It's also going to be Stan Lee's last appearance ever in the city. The man's been going non-stop all weekend.

Can't believe that this is my tenth year attending the local comic book expo. I can still remember my first year. The whole thing took place in one large room and the panel area was a tiny space blocked off by black curtains. The expo has come so far since then.

I didn't get up to too much today. Wandered the exhibitors' hall and looked at stuff that I had no money to buy. Found a friend's booth and hung with him for a little bit. The only cool thing I did was attend an Orphan Black panel. They screened tonight's episode and then had a Q&A afterwards. It was a blast to watch the episode in a room full of people. The episode always seems better when everyone is laughing at the same joke at the same time. You don't get that when you're watching on your own.

Space, the channel that airs Orphan Black in Canada, was handing out sheep masks before the panel:


The newest clone, M.K. wears one and damn, it's a creepy mask. You really don't notice on the show, but here, you can see every little detail. There should be a whole flock of these at the parade tomorrow.

Oh, and I did my Ace cosplay and one of the volunteers flagged me down to get a picture. He said Ace is his wife's favourite Companion. So that was nice. I actually removed a handful of the pins and buttons and it's amazing what a difference it makes. The jacket's not any lighter, but there's less stuff clacking around. Though, I nearly lost a pin, which nearly gave me a heart attack. I may have to consider super-gluing the pin backs in place so it doesn't happen again.

So, parade tomorrow. John Barrowman's back in town and he remembered to bring his cowboy hat from the last time he was here. I'd like to see William Shatner do that.

- I tried out axe throwing over the weekend and I'm still sore. God, I need to get into shape. But axe throwing was super fun. It took me a while to get into it, but I did manage two bull's-eye towards the end. I do have photographic proof, just not on my phone; my friend was taking pictures on her very nice camera. I do have pictures of me throwing the big axe they use to settle ties. That thing is heavy. The head itself is two pounds. Oh, and I managed to get the big axe to stick to the board. It didn't hit the target, but hey, I was just happy to get in the vicinity of the target. :-)

- I saw this neat write-up about Bill's outfit from her introduction video. I'm always amazed at how fast the fans are able to ID items.

The other cool thing about the article is that it points out some details that I didn't notice. Turns out that there are a few more patches on Bill's jacket than just the "Wow!" one. Gives the outfit a bit of an Ace vibe. I'm wondering if the jean jacket will be a staple of Bill's wardrobe. You wouldn't customize something that much without intending to use it a lot.

And only five patches total, if you include the writing on the back corner as one patch, so you won't go completely broke trying to find everything.

- Weather forecast for the comic book expo keeps changing. Sun, clouds, rain; no one can make up their mind. No rain on Friday is preferable, since that's parade day, but no rain all weekend would be even nicer. You have to walk to another building to get to the photo-ops area and no one wants to get their costume or nice outfit wet. Alas, this is Canada, where it can snow at any time of the year.

But if it does, god forbid, snow, then at least the guests have an amusing story to bring home. I still remember the year Matt Smith was here. It snowed on the Saturday and he was totally thrown off by the sight of people walking outside in the snow in only t-shirts and jeans. Canadians; we're made of hearty stuff. :-D

- Speaking of the parade, I managed to borrow a small Bluetooth speaker so we'll have music playing while we walk. We didn't have music last year and, I don't know, it just wasn't the same. I have about an hour's worth of music, which includes every variation of the theme song (including my favourite, the guitar remix from "Before the Flood"), Doctor specific tracks (like "I Am the Doctor"), every original song Murray Gold has written for the show (excluding "Silence is All You Know" since the tempo is a little slow), and everyone's favourite "Who is the Doctor" as "sung" by Jon Pertwee. Oh, and the disco version of the theme song by Ron Grainger. Still can't believe it was actually arranged by him and it wasn't a fan remix. All of this is on my phone so no bulky CD player to haul around this time. Yay for technology!

I'm sure by the end of parade we'll be sick and tired of listening to the Doctor Who theme song over and over. ;-) It's kind of amazing how many times it has been re-imagined.

- Ugh, spring. This is the worst time of year for my allergies. I can't stop sneezing. You'd think staying indoors would help, but nope. Time to crack open a box of antihistamines.

- I am so close to finishing my friend's Fourth Doctor scarf:


This isn't a true representation of where I am in the pattern, I'm 10 panels away from the end and one of those panels is 56 rows, but you get the rough idea. I can't wait to finish knitting this thing. The row upon row of garter stitch isn't tedious, but I would like to rest my wrists and arms for a bit. My friend's going to love it, though. I have to remember to snap some pictures before I hand it over.

- I'm only two episodes into Daredevil's second season, but man, those endings do compel you to keep watching. I try not to devour everything in one sitting, though. I know, I know, Netflix shows are meant for binge watching, but I'm old school. I'm used to watching one episode per week. It gives you a sense of suspense.

It's hard to judge a season from just two episodes, but it's not bad so far. The presence of the Punishes really makes Matt question whether his vigilantism is a good thing or not. I just can't get behind his red suit; I don't know what it is. The black ninja look was just so sleek and minimal, while the red suit is kind of busy. I mean, it's no more busy than Ollie's current Arrow costume, but that feels more organic somehow. But hey, if that's the only complaint I have about the show, then that's the sign of a good show. ;-)

- I managed to find a decent leather jacket for my Rose cosplay from "Doomsday". I mean, I have the wrist warmers so I felt compelled to complete the outfit. While it's not a great match to the jacket in the episode, you still get a sense of the costume. And now I have a leather jacket I can wear out. :-) That's always the nice thing when you cosplay characters who wear normal clothes; you can work the pieces into your every day life.

- Comic book expo is under six weeks away. I think I'm ready. I have my photo-ops sorted and my cosplays worked out. It feels like it won't be a big year this year; attendance numbers will probably be down. This year will actually be my tenth year attending the expo. It's crazy to think how far it has come since then. My first year, it was held in one big room and the panel area was this small space blocked off with curtains. Now the expo takes up the entire Stampede grounds.

As I mentioned on Sunday, the local comic book expo was teasing a big guest. They did the announcement today and, sadly, it's not David Tennant as I had hoped.

But it's still someone I want to meet: Alan Tudyk!

That means one more autograph to add to my Serenity comic book. Once I get Alan to sign it, that just leaves Gina, Ron, and Sean. Whoo hoo!

Hmm, I started collecting Firefly cast autographs back in 2007. That's two thirds of the cast in nine years by the time the expo happens in April next year. Not bad considering I didn't have to leave the city to get any of them. Now, if the expo can secure the rest of the cast and do a Firefly reunion, I would be over the moon. :-D

And off topic, but I noticed that Jenna Coleman is attending Emerald City Comic Con in April. Good to know she's still doing cons. Maybe the expo can entice her to come back to Alberta...

Well, CCEE is over for another year. Wow, that was a long weekend. I want to spend the rest of the week sleeping.

( Wherein Hayley Atwell is just a wonderful and awesome human being )

So yeah, overall, a fun weekend. I'm seriously considering heading up to Edmonton for their expo in September. I just want an expo where I don't have to run around like a crazy person. I rarely get a chance to hang out with my cosplay friends and take pictures. Running around getting autographs and photo-ops shouldn't be the only thing I care about.

Oh, and I totally forgot that Orphan Black premiered on Saturday. Time to play catch up.

Whew, that was a long day! I don't think I've ever attempted to get that many autographs done at once. Despite all the running around I had to do, it was a very satisfying day. But let me start at the beginning...

( A full day of geeking out behind the cut )

Last day tomorrow. Slack day. Hayley photo-op, then her panel, and then Arthur's photo-op. Then I can go home and maybe catch up on some sleep before it's back to work on Monday.

Whoo, the comic book expo has begun!

I happily got out of my meeting at noon. Take that suckers! You can take your own damn meeting minutes!

I like Thursdays at the expo. It's a very laid back day. You can get your pass and then wander the exhibitors' hall for a bit while it's not that crowded. And that was my downfall. I was wandering the hall and there it was: a rack of AbbyShot coats. I naturally freaked out because I never get to see these coats in person; I only ever see them online. So they had Eleven's purple coat (which I already own), Jack's coat, Mal's famous brown coat, and lo, the ladies version of Ten's coat. I will admit I have been eyeing the femme Ten coat since it came out. It's a lovely looking coat, but the price online is always crazy expensive.

Anyway, long story short, I bought the coat. :-)

I mean, how could I not. It's in Canadian dollars and there's no shipping or duty. I probably saved myself over $100.


The coat. It reaches down to my ankles, as it should, and the fit overall is very good. Definitely snugger than my femme Eleven coat. See, this is why it's always best to try it on in person. Now, I just have to build a femme!Ten cosplay around it. ;-) At least I already own the right sonic screwdriver.

Oh, and the expo somehow got Neil Patrick Harris as a last minute guest. Wow. Now I have to get my Dr. Horrible DVD signed. Once I do, that's all of the three main actors.

Okay, time for bed. I need to rest up for parade day tomorrow.

Wow, the comic book expo is pulling some great last minute guest announcements. Last week, Hayley Atwell. This week?

ARUTHUR DARVILL!!!!

Yay, I'm so excited! Rory is my favourite NuWho Companion. I totally need him to sign my Doctor Who 50th anniversary calendar.

It's going to be a packed weekend, but that's okay. :-)