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RIPOSTES 2006-05 (May)

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Matt Fews writes...

Saturday August 7th

Having being dropped off at 9:00 at the Dorval bus station, I took the 211 downown, from there, took the Orange line to Square Victoria.

I had no trouble finding the hotel.

Upon entering the hotel, I took the escalator to the Mezzanine where I signed up for a day pass.

Having been given a badge and program, decided to take part in the Trivia challenge, being somewhat good with trivia myself.

When that was finished, I ventured into the dealer room, where I picked up a T-shirt and deposited a 3-D jigsaw that I had to the auction.

At the point, I headed up to the Con Suite where I scarfed a whole bag of B-Bque chips(Broadway would be proud).

At 12:30, went down to see the auction and was bummed that the item that I wanted was already sold.

Oh well, at least this presented me with the opportunity to purchase a copy of PGA back in the dealer room.

I was totally flabbergasted by some of the artwork. Man I wish I knew how to draw like that.

Then came the radio play, Kudos on all of you who were brave enough to participate in it.

After it ended, I seized the moment to have Greg sign my program.

Back up to the Con Suite I went for more of Season 1.

Before I knew it, it was 6 in the evening, I was bouncing off the walls in anticipation for the arrival of Keith, that I handed my program after writing my address on the back of it to someone who told me that they would have Keith sign it for me.

I guess in all the excitemnt/confusion, I had no idea that it was Kanthara that took my program from me.

And so ends my First(and hopefully not last) con experience.

Greg responds...

Maybe next time you can stay and hang...

Response recorded on May 12, 2006

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Kelly/Sapphire writes...

From your G'04 journal: "Kelly told us all of her obsession with Dr. Doom. (How obsessed is she? Well, let's just say I found myself getting jealous.)"

You know I love you, Greg! :D *smooch* ~ And I was glad we got you during dinner instead of Keith. If only because I'm more comfortable around you, and have more fun talking /with/ you, having an actual conversation. As opposed to listening to a bunch of people ask random questions.

Greg responds...

Cool, I'm glad SOMEbody wasn't disappointed to get me over Keith-isn't-here-yet-David. ;)

Response recorded on May 12, 2006

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W.I.T.C.H. Season Two Premiere

Hey gang,

Season Two of W.I.T.C.H. (i.e. the season that I story edited and produced) is currently slated to premiere with an episode I wrote ("A is for Anonymous") on Monday, June 5th, 2006 on Toon Disney (with a rerun airing on June 10th on ABC Family's Jetix block).

I'm very proud of this season of W.I.T.C.H. It's one of the best things I've worked on since Gargoyles and Roughnecks. I had a great writing staff and an incredible cast, including some familiar-to-Garg-fans voices (Kath Soucie, Thom Adcox, Ed Asner, Bill Faggerbakke, Elisa Gabrielli, Rocky Carroll, C.C.H. Pounder, among others).

If you've read the comic books or seen the solid W.I.T.C.H. first season, I think you'll truly love Season Two. If I do say so myself... IT KICKS ASS!! And if you've never seen W.I.T.C.H. before but are any kind of a fan of my work, please check us out. I promise you won't regret it.

Incidentally, we're having a LARGE W.I.T.C.H. Cast and Crew reunion at the Gathering 2006 in Valencia on Sunday, June 25th. So check that out too.


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Gipdac writes...

I believe you've said Arthur had some adventures before the events of "Pendragon", so, I was wondering…
1. When did Goliath & Co. arrive in London and meet Una and Leo (in "M.I.A.")?
2. When did Arthur arrive in London and first meet Griff (in "Pendragon")?
3. What day in 1920 did Goliath travel back to first meet Griff ("M.I.A.")?

Greg responds...

1. Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx arrive in London and first meet Leo and Una on January 23rd, 1996.

2. Arthur arrives in London and first meets Griff on May 19th, 1996.

3. I have not pinpointed a precise date in 1940 for when this took place. (Note, however, that the year is 1940, not 1920.)

Response recorded on May 11, 2006

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Gipdac writes...

One thing I've always wondered is how long Goliath & Co. were on the World Tour; as I near as I can tell, Guardian first contacted Elisa in early to mid December 1995 and the Avalon Quartet arrived back in Manhattan on July 9th, 1996 (Alex's birth date). So,
1. When in 1995 did Guardian arrive in Manhattan, get arrested, meet Elisa and find Goliath?
2a. Was it his first time in New York? 2b. Was it his first time in the U.S.A.?
3. How long did the main events(or 1995 events) of the Avalon series actually take?...It seems like it all happened in one Avalon night (which would be like a week and a half in the real world, right?) from the time Katharine, Guardian and Magus were placing out dinner at sunset to the time Goliath, Elisa, Bronx and Angela left.
4. On what date did Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx arrive in Wyvern (or the main events of "Shadows of the past" occur)?

Greg responds...

1. The Guardian arrives in New York on December 27th, 1995, but it is after midnight on the 28th before Tom and Goliath meet at Belvedere.

2ab. I'm not answering this at this time.

3. The Archmage's first attack on the Avalon Clan is on December 22nd, 1995. Goliath, Elisa, Bronx and Angela leave Avalon for the first time on January 1st, 1996.

4. The quartet arrive in Wyvern on January 1st, 1996. The events of "Shadows.." take place across the night of the 1st and 2nd of January, 1996.

Hope that helps.

Response recorded on May 11, 2006

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Anonymous writes...

Quick comment on a statement you made.

"After a few years of this, Brook's attitude toward the Gate changes. Pretty much a 180 from the way you see it changing."

So I guess that means he dreads seeing the Gate, since that'd upset whatever life he's managed to make for himself since he returned, eh? "Run away!!!'

Oh, feel free to answer this sarcastically. I know it's just a petty way for me to sound like a know-it-all. I'm probably wrong anyway.

Oh yeah, and great show. Hope it comes back.

Greg responds...

I'm not sure of the context of your quotation. (And is that a direct quote or a paraphrase?) Who does the "you" refer to? What preceded it?

I'd love to be able to tell you that I remember every conversation and post and exchange, but the truth is that I don't. Without the context of the quotation, I can't reply with confidence -- let alone sarcasm.

Let that be a lesson to you all. If you're going to reference an old post, give me a complete reference.

Response recorded on May 10, 2006

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Ellen writes...

GATHERING JOURNAL, PART ONE

Let me establish one thing right off the bat: I love Montreal. I love its looks, its style, its earthiness, its vitality. I've carried a torch for that town ever since I first vacationed there as a high school student, exactly thirty years ago. My affair with it culminated in my two years as an undergraduate transfer student at McGill University (due to scholarship eligibility issues I had to do my freshman and sophomore years elsewhere). Those years as an honorary "habitant" ignited a passion in me that's never been extinguished. I love Chicago, but oh, you kid.

So, last year in Manhattan, when I learned that this year's Gathering was to be held in Montreal, I was thrilled to have a long-overdue excuse to get back there. This, combined with another opportunity to enjoy a meeting with my writer friends (et alia) such as I'd just had in New York, meant that my attendance this year was never in question.

THURSDAY

Being the mother of a very active four-year-old keeps me busy, and the day I left for Montreal was no exception. It was my son's last session of day camp, so I had a blessed couple of hours to myself to pack amid the usual chaos before having to run off to the store to buy flowers and chocolates for the day camp staff for putting up with my bottle-rocket offspring. My husband was able to get home from work by late afternoon, which allowed me time to put the finishing touches on my preparation. Then it was time for the boys to take me to the airport.

Ah, sweet freedom.

The sun receded into the west as we flew east, and was gone for the night by the time we reached Quebec. As the plane descended, I peered out the window, looking for familiar landmarks. I found the silhouette of Mount Royal against the urban landscape in the distance, and spotted the four-way beacon atop the Royal Bank Building just beyond it. I grinned spontaneously and felt the thrill that the sight of this old flame of mine always gives me. That sealed the deal: I knew that this was a can't-miss weekend.

Well, okay; it missed on one account. Due to what was determined to be human error at Bell Mobilité (if the U.S. Cellular folks were giving me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth), my cell phone was inoperative while I was in Montreal -- during the three days out of the whole year when I really, *really* needed the blasted thing. Nice job, guys.

I arrived at the hotel fairly late. Especially after spending time phoning people and trying to get my phone to work, I decided that I'd be inviting trouble by attempting to stay up much past midnight. I knew from last year's experience that I'd be getting entirely too little sleep that weekend anyway, so I did the sensible thing and called it a night.

FRIDAY

Friday started out with breakfast with Kathy, Leo, Denis, Alex Garg, Kelly ("Sadistic Cow"), and Rob. I was particularly delighted to meet Denis and Kelly face-to-face after meeting them online. I regret not chatting with Rob, however, especially after learning that he's the Lord Sloth of S8 comment board fame, who was kind enough to offer me a cyber-cookie the first time I posted there. My apologies, Rob. I didn't mean to slight you.

Breakfast *did* feature the first of several good chats I had with Kathy, however, and for that I'm pleased.

We headed from there up to the mezzanine to register. There I greeted my "adopted nephew" Dylan and met his fiancée Mary, greeted my dear Philly pal Allaine (who chastised me, good-naturedly but rightfully, for not alerting him when I went to breakfast), greeted Spacebabie, greeted Silver and her mother, greeted Sarah the Great...so many faces, familiar from last year, and how nice to see them all.

And I finally met Christine Morgan and her family. As I've said many a time, she is my first and best inspiration in this delightful little world of fan fiction writing, and having the chance to shake her hand at long last was a special treat.

I then sat down to study the packet of information I'd just received from the hardworking con staff. I was pleasantly interrupted by my breakfast companions inquiring whether I was game for walking around the city with them. Naturally, I was -- once I'd changed into more practical shoes, that is.

We walked past the Basilica of Notre Dame de Montréal and wandered through Chinatown, then headed north to Sherbrooke, my companions amiably agreeing to head back eastward along one of the city's main arteries. We turned back south on University and ended up at an indoor food court at Place Ville Marie.

We'd nearly stopped for sandwiches along Sherbrooke, and I was ever so glad we waited. Kathy and I ended up ogling the food stations lustfully, in a state of total sensory overload and not knowing how to decide among the sushi, custom-made pizzas, mussels, fresh fish... Then we came across a cozy little seating area that featured salmon and beef tartare, and it was game-over. Kathy had the salmon canapés; I succumbed to the temptation of the raw beef. We each had a glass of wine, and we shared an utterly delightful conversation, over the course of which I began to discover just how fascinating an individual she is.

Predictably, we made it back to the hotel frightfully late for John/Flanker's discussion of real-life weaponry and its equally realistic use. This was typical of the weekend, though. The limit to the number of hours in each day made everything a trade-off -- sacrifice a half an hour here for the same amount of time there, try (and, of course, fail) to be in two places at once, make the best choices, on the spot, under the circumstances. I wouldn't have given up a moment of my lunch with Kathy, but it cost me the opportunity to hear John speak for longer than I did. And he's an excellent speaker, too. In the end, I settled for being (very) pleased just to have met this impressive young gentleman.

I had a little time to myself before the opening ceremonies, so I made a dépanneur run. Dépanneurs (the name literally means "breakdown service," in the automotive sense) are convenience stores that dot the city of Montreal, and the nearest one was in the train station. I stocked up on all the essentials -- extra water, Diet Coke, beer, and Coffee Crisp candy bars. I returned to my room with my booty and dressed for the evening.

Between Greg and his presentations and MAui and Abe with their Clan Olympics hijinks, the Opening Ceremonies were thoroughly entertaining. The inclusion of the words "uncut" and "unedited" in Greg's announcement of the December 7 DVD release drew a spontaneous shout of joy from me, and I wasn't by any means the only one. As for the Clan Olympics, it's always a treat to see Allaine loosen up. As for Dylan (he of the well-stuffed shirt), he's always loose. I'll be watching closely to see whether his cries of "Acadie!" and accompanying flag-waving make it onto the DVD.

After that it was dinnertime -- late, of course, as befits Montreal. Princess Alexandria, Allaine, Dylan and I ended up at an Italian-style sports-bar-type place downtown (after a few wrong turns owing to my dismal memory of the layout of downtown). This was truly a special occasion. Great conversation and good food with friends we see but once a year (if that). Priceless.

When we got back to the hotel, we headed to the con suite for the Blue Mug-a-Guest session. I agree that it wasn't terribly blue this year, because we were all preoccupied with the release of the DVD. (My guess is that next year's session in Vegas will be back on its proper track of impropriety.) One of the highlights for me, however, was the chance to lean over to Gorebash and compliment him on his Station 8 Gargoyles site. He'll never hear such remarks as often as he deserves.

In theory, I could have sat and listened to the Boss talk all night long and then some, but when his flesh proved weak and he took a potty break, mine proved weak as well, and I embraced this opportunity to go collapse into bed. After all, I did have responsibilities the following morning.

(To be continued.)

Greg responds...

Always nice to see that people are also making the most of the environs of the Gathering. It's one of the things that makes the Gathering special and different. New places to explore. I never (or rarely) have the time to explore, but I'm glad someone does.

Response recorded on May 10, 2006

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Yggdrasil writes...

Gathering Journal

Thursday August 5, 2004

The day started off on a sour note, as I spent the first three hours of my morning proctoring a genetics exam. For those of you who don't know, proctoring involves sitting around and doing nothing for three hours. Anyways, the exam wrapped up and it was off to Montreal. Since I live in Ontario, it was only a 6 hour adventure. The only rough part of the drive was passing through Toronto. In Canada, Toronto has two seasons; winter and construction.

I made it into Montreal by about 8:00. After checking in and dropping off my stuff, I made a quick jaunt down to the lobby to say hello to anyone who was there and then went for a walk in the city. After 12:00 it was time for bed after putting some final touches on my presentation.

Friday August 6, 2004

It Begins. Picked up my registration package, said hello to several more people and then dropped into Con Virgin 101. The room was pretty empty, but the event did help to set the tone for the Con. Thanks for your info Sapphire.

In the afternoon I listened to Flanker's combat discussion (I provided the projector), and had a chance to meet Aaron, Hudson and Greg B. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around downtown before the opening ceremonies. I found a nice café by the docks, and pretty much ate there for the duration of the con. It may have taken about 30 min to walk to, but it was worth it.

The opening ceremonies were a series of revelations. Since this was my first gathering, many of the events and information were new to me. The Bad Guys promo was great, ditto for the Team Atlantis tape. God I'm such a geek, I'll take Gargoyles however I can get it. The Clan Olympics started with an ouch, one event and several injuries already. After the opening ceremonies there was a brief pause, where I acted as a stand in for team Canadian Body Massage. I had to skip out early, since I wanted to attend the Blue Mug a Greg. I didn't have any real questions, but I had heard that the event was a riot…it was.

Even though this was apparently the tamest Mug in memory, it was still informative. I only asked one question about whether Greg would do a commentary if they did the 3rd season. The only thing that will haunt my dreams is the shot sequence presented by Leo. I have no idea what was going on, but it was weird. At about 2:00 we were kicked out of the suite, so it was off to bed.

Saturday August, 7 2004

Saturday was a complete blur. I attended a few talks in the morning, the auction and radio play in the afternoon and then it was time for the banquet. The banquet was a very pleasant affair. Keith David was late, but it gave my time to talk with the people at my table. It was nice to put names to the faces that I knew from the TGC CR. Sarah, Revel, Spacebabie and Kathy it was nice to meet with you. I know I'm missing two people at our table, but your names have completely left my mind.

When Keith David finally arrived, pandemonium ensued. Of the entire evening, I will always remember one event. When someone asked how Keith used Goliath in Pitch Black, it led to an elongated diatribe about his relation with the director. I got to become the personification of that director. I guess I just sat in the right seat, but I got to have Keith David tear a metaphorical strip off of my hide. Memories abound.

I only attended part of the cosplay, but wow. I was amazed by everyone, but Korul (?) that was something else.

Sunday August 8, 2004

Sunday I gave my Biology talk with Whitbourne and Lynati (See I can be taught). This was a blast. I had a prepared talk, so I presented first. Considering that it was thrown together over about 5 hours I thought it was quite good. Lynati gave a quick talk about here research into Gargoyle biology and then we opened the floor to questions. Discussion covered stone skin, muscle mass, gliding, bone composition, and although no genetics really came up, I was able to contribute. After the talk I had to bail and head back to Ontario. If I manage to make it to Las Vegas next year, I would love to team up again for Gargoyle Biology part 2.

Well there you go. I'm sorry that it's so rough, but time is not on my side.

Yggdrasil (Greg Perry)

Greg responds...

Hey, I appreciated you contributing. Hope to see you soon.

Response recorded on May 09, 2006

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Anthony "Archangel"Zucconi writes...

Gathering 2004 Journal
By
Anthony "Archangel" Zucconi

Thursday, 5 Aug 2004
0500

The morning had finally arrived. Today begins the trip to The Gathering. I look forward to this all year. This is my family reunion, or at least that's what I tell anyone who asks where I'm going, and I am excited. The excitement is a good thing because this early in the morning it's the only thing keeping me going.

The first flight from Melbourne, Florida to Atlanta was pretty uneventful. It was in Atlanta where the fun began. While waiting for our connecting flight, my wife and I noticed that the girl standing in front of the ticket counter was wearing Gathering nametags from past Gatherings. She looked very familiar, but neither of us was sure who she was. I told my wife that she looked like "Sapphire" but it had been a year since I'd seen her so I didn't trust that to be true. She came closer and I was able to read her name tags. I was correct; it was Sapphire (Kelly). She was just two seats away from us and she hadn't recognized us. It was time for the fun to start. I began talking to my wife about this person standing right next to us as if we didn't want her to hear us; however I spoke so loudly that it would be impossible for her not to hear. My wife caught on to this immediately and joined in the game. You could see by the look on Kelly's face that she was racking her brain trying to remember who we were while acting like she couldn't hear us. Finally she remembered, so we all sat around and talked while waiting for our plane.

The plane ride was fun. On the way the toilet broke and the flight attendant had to inform everyone as politically correct as possible as you could only deposit "liquid" waste. He held up an empty water bottle to illustrate his point. He requested Kelly draw him a little cartoon of the incident to remember it by.

When we finally arrived we had to find transportation to the hotel. I was planning on taking a cab, but luckily Kelly had been there before and knew about the bus. This made for some more play money. On the bus ride Kelly showed us her videos from "City of Heroes" which was more then enough to get me hopelessly hooked. (Thanks for killing my budget Sapphire) When we arrived at the bus stop, we still had a couple of blocks to walk to get to the hotel. Luckily I spotted it before we stopped because the buildings there were blocking any view of it.

We got to the hotel, checked in, decided to meet back in the lobby in an hour, and went up to our room. We were on the 7th floor. Apparently the hotel didn't think it would be wise to keep all the Gathering attendees on the same floor, so we were spread out all over the place. The rooms were nice though, not like some of the horror stories I heard from last year in New York. After a quick change and refresh we went back to the lobby. We were late because of my wife. Every married man reading this will know why. They'll also know I'm going to pay for writing that in this story. We met up with Sapphire again and headed up to her room. There we met up with Trishana (Karlyl), Julie (Chamaleongirl), Taylor, and Liz. We all hung out for a while talking (Julie told me the meaning of all the words I didn't understand in "Waltzing Matilda") and watching videos until hunger got the better of us, so we left in search of food. Liz knew of these glass doors in the hotel that lead to an underground alley where there where shops and food, but apparently only Harry Potter could enter the alley, because we never found it. Instead we found another alley with food and shops, so we ate there. They had a Subway which really hit the spot. There was also a place called Second Cup. This must be the Canadian version of Starbucks, which I was in dire need of. After that we headed back to the hotel. We hung around for a while waiting for this big dinner with Greg that was promised. It was supposed to be at 9:00, so we all went to the lobby at 9:00 and nobody was there. Someone got in touch with the Staff and found out it got pushed back to 10:00, so everyone just waited. Then down comes Laurean (Siryn) to tell us that the staff decided to make dinner "Staff Only". Thanks for waiting until 10:00 to tell us this. If I wasn't tired I was tempted to go anyway, but I know where I'm not wanted. It had been a long day so we headed off to bed.

Friday, 6 August 2004
0800

Everything was due to start today so we got dressed and headed down for food. We decided to try out the restaurant in the hotel. That was a mistake. The buffet they offered cost 15.00$ CAN and the food was horrible. The pancakes couldn't be cut and they tasted like cornbread.

After breakfast we went off in search of registration. They weren't excessively late this year so we got our packets pretty quickly. It was good to see all these familiar faces again. After a nice meet and greet session we headed off to set up our stuff in the art room. I love this because it gives us a sneak peak at the art early, and this year had some good art.

After we set up Andrea wanted to see the "Perspective" presentation, so we split up for a while. I wanted to hang out with people so we agreed to meet up at 1:15. After we met up I wanted to see the "Understanding Combat" presentation, but I quickly became bored because I do that for a living. We ducked out and went to the "Voice Acting Seminar" with Greg Weisman. Keith David was supposed to be there to, but he was M.I.A. (Gratuitous Gargoyles Pun) I had a lot of fun in here. I ever got to play the part of Demona. (Eat your heart out Jen) After the seminar I waited to try out for the Radio Play while Andrea went to the "Costuming Seminar". My tryout went well, but I really blew the attempt at an English accent.

Finally it was time for Opening Ceremonies. This had all the same stuff we look forward to every year, plus they added a Clan Olympics event right in the middle of it. Greg played the audio recording for "Team Atlantis" which when you just listen to it without the visuals sounds really dirty.

After Opening Ceremonies it was time for food. We decided we were craving McDonald's so we set off on at quest for a Quarter Pounder. The first McDonald's we came to was closed, along with everything else. I guess Canadian's don't eat after 7:00.
We finally found one that was open and the quest for the Quarter Pounder was fulfilled. For anyone who's wondering, they actually call it a Quarter Pounder, but they say it in French.

We returned in time for the Blue Mug-a-Guest with Greg. It's wasn't as "Blue" as usual, but Greg didn't have Tom there with him. We suggested that we call him since it was only 8:00 in L.A. After a lot a fun it was time for bed.

Saturday, 7 August 2004
1000

There was not to much going on early so we took the chance to sleep in. Little did we know, but this would pay off later. We got dressed and had some quick snacks to tide us over until tonight. We headed down to check out the Gathering Auction. There wasn't very much good stuff up for bid this year. I guess Gargoyles merchandise is running out. I decided to offer up 2 of my CDs to the cause. I had to run out in the middle of the Auction to rehearse for the radio play, so Andrea had to tell me how they sold.

The radio play this year was "The Journey" and I was Quarryman #1. I love being part of the radio play, but I always ask for small parts because reading isn't something that comes easy for me. Maybe next year I'll take a chance at a bigger part, but I make no promises. The performance went well and it got filmed for the DVD so maybe we'll all be stars.

Now it was time to prepare for the Banquet. This is our chance to dress up before we dress up. We headed down to the Banquet Room and were waiting around to get in. We found Kelly there so we started talking when who should show up but the DVD camera crew. They were looking for anyone with cool Gathering stories, and they had come to the right place. They let us do some acting at this point because they wanted to film us telling someone our story not telling the camera. Andrea and I told Kelly the story of how we met, fell in love, and got married all because of the Gathering. Then Kelly told us her Gathering story. Finally I told Kelly my skydiving story for fun. I hope they get on the DVD.

Now it was time to be seated. We were told to leave one empty seat at every table because some lucky table would get either Keith or Greg. Karine first announced that we would get Keith, but she misspoke she meant to say Greg, so we had to settle. Dinner was good, but not nearly filling enough for what it cost. Just once I wish the price of the Banquet was for quantity and not quality. I like to feel full after a good meal. As the meal was ending Greg ducked out to go find out where Keith was at because he still hadn't shown up. Just after he walked out Keith walked in. I tried to get everyone to keep it quiet from Greg for as long as we could but that didn't work. However Keith got to get even with his "Ladies and Gentlemen, Greg Weisman."

Now it was time to prepare for the Masquerade. I was reviving the costume that got me my wife, "Tony Dracon". Andrea went as "Bad Elisa". We headed down again and got lined up and ready to go. As we lined up they put Kelly first. The skit that she kept so secret was going to happen and we weren't going to get to see it. Next year they need to let the costumes go in first so they can see the skits. The costumes were great this year. Andrea and I were named "The Cutest Old Married Couple". After a lot of pictures we began the party. We had a decent attempt at Karaoke. It's wasn't as good as we wanted do to equipment problems, but we managed.

Sunday, 8 August 2004
0200

The night was drawing to a close. Andrea and I joined a small group in the con-suite to wait out the rest of the night with Greg since he decided to remain awake all night because he had an early flight. Now as far as what happened in that room I'll never tell, but "Mime's" the word. Everyone said their goodbyes and as Greg left to shower and pack we were off to bed.

1000

We woke up and headed down to close out the art room. I only sold 1 CD this year. Of the 10 I made 1 went to Greg, 1 to Keith, and 2 were donated to the Auction. Do the math and you'll see I'm still left with 5. These 5 went to the people who made this Gathering special for me. If anyone who received one reads this, thanks. In the Art Room Liz told me that Andrea had won a lot of awards for her art, but made me swear not to tell her. After that we listened to Keith talk for a while.

Closing Ceremonies wasn't quite the same without Greg, so we need to start planning the Gatherings around his daughter's birthday in the future. Afterwards we had our first business meeting where we elected our Board of Directors. I would have loved to serve on the board, but to steal a line from the show, "My time is not my own."

Finally a large group of us went to play Laser Tag. This was a great step up from the Nerf War we usually have. The Laser Tag arena even had Gargoyles hanging from the ceiling. The games were great. That's probably because I was on the winning team, but I had fun. Finally a smaller group of us went out for food. Andrea and I split a pizza. Then it was back to the hotel for sleep. We had an early flight.

Monday, 9 August 2004
0500

It was time to get going. We checked out and headed for the bus. The problem was we never found where to by the tickets and I was in no mood to look. Luckily there was a cab stand right there so we took one to the airport. After 3 plane rides we were home and this year's Gathering was officially over. I'm left with a feeling that having our family reunion only once a year is just not often enough.

Greg responds...

Tony, I hope to see you and Andrea in Valencia next month. Wouldn't be a true Gathering without our cutest old married couple.

Response recorded on May 09, 2006

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BrooklynX writes...

Ok Greg, here's my 2004 Gathering Journal. Was nice seeing you once again. :)

Aug. 3 -

Spent most of the day finishing up the last of the packing, getting a haircut and picking up some more chocolate for the trip. Headed out to the airport just after 8:30 pm for my 11:05 flight. Got to the airport just after 9 and checked in my one bag. After that, went to go through the security point. The T.S.A. folks all noticed my Weird Al shirt.

Oddly, one of them called me an experienced flyer when I put my laptop into a bin to go through the X-Ray machine. Truthfully, I just read the sign to make sure that's what I had to do. Had to take my boots off before going through the metal detector. And got told by another that the 'SSSS' on my ticket meant the computer had randomly selected me for extra screening. Went through that and got a Mt. Dew to drink while waiting for the flight. Sat down by my gate, got out the laptop and started to type up my Gathering journal. Flight took off about forty-five minutes late, but didn't bother me too much. On the just over 5 hour-long flight, I slept maybe two hours.

Aug. 4 -

Was groggy when I got to JFK where I had a two hour layover before going into Rochester to meet up with Scott (Abram). Discovered JetBlue had free wireless access at their terminal, so I got on the net while waiting. Hit the Duknin' Donuts for a light breakfast during the flight to Rochester. Landed there an hour later and spotted Abram on the way to baggage. Retrieved my bag before stopping at Best Buy to pick up Doom 3.

On the way to his house in Penn Yan, NY, we hit a Denny's so I could eat an actual meal. Stopped off where he got some chocolate that I was supposed to not know about. Short drive later, was at his place. Took an hour nap and met Sarah the Great. Had dinner sometime and watched Hellboy. Conked out just after 1 am.

Aug. 5 -

Woke up sometime after 7 am to get ready for the drive up to Montreal. Breakfast was a bagel and some greatly needed water. We hit the road before 8 am after some interesting twisting and turning of the luggage to make it all fit. We piled into the car and headed off for Montreal with Scott driving and Sarah navigating. I took the seat behind Scott since I knew the Border Agent was going to ask questions. We managed to make pretty good time and we stopped at the Duty Free store where I bought a bottle of brandy for Karine.

Answered all the questions Customs asked of us and maybe a hundred feet or so away, Scott half yelled "Suckers!" even though my window wasn't all the way up. Thankfully, we didn't encounter a problem because of that and we shared a laugh over it. Stopped at a service center along the way where I got some food from Wendy's and some Canadian currency. It was the same one I stopped at with Siryn on the way up for the Live Meeting and this time I noticed the maple leaf instead of an apostrophe. Funny the little things you notice.

Along the way, I spotted the familiar exit that one take's to Karine's place. Granted I only went along that path once with Siryn for the Live Meeting, I still remembered it. We got to outer edge of Montreal around 2:30 pm. As we worked our way into downtown Montreal, I pointed in the general direction of the hotel. We passed through one tunnel and then as we went into another, I pointed out how I didn't remember going through a second one to get to the hotel. Our lovely printed up directions had failed to point out the exit. Go figure. Ended up pulling a massive u-turn and parked at the hotel around 3 pm or a little after.

Of course, the parking garage was just as evil as I remember in February. Grabbing my backpack, I headed up with them to the lobby. Checked in, got the four keys and ran into Karine and Patrick. Started helping them move things up to the con suite. Saw most of the rest of the staff as we went to work on sorting out things for the packets. We managed to pack the packets quickly and efficiently. Before too long, Patrick returned with Greg and the lot of us was off to dinner, minus some folks who thought there was going to be a rather large group of us going to dinner. Hopefully no hard feelings for them since we reduced it down to just staff and 2005 staff.

The place Karine has wanted us to go to had just closed the kitchen, so we went to another place a short distance away. Didn't get to munch on crepes, but got to chew on a three cheese pizza. The pizza was ok, but not what I would call 'good.' After eating, we went back to the hotel and decided to meet up at 9 for breakfast. Went down to my room and met my two other roommates and made sure the alarm was set for 8:30. After that, called it a night.

Aug. 6 -

Got up about 15 minutes before the alarm went off. Got up, showered and got ready for the staff meeting. Of course, I realized I had left my backpack up in the Con Suite. Once most of us showed up, we headed out to get breakfast. Service was slow seeing as there was one person working the tables. I had eggs, bacon and toast. We decided on who was going to work what job and I went for registration. I didn't work this for very long. Ended up going down to help Karine and later on, up to watch the Con Suite.

Kicked out everyone some time after 4:15 so I could close it up and bring down the VCR. Forgot a set of cables, so I had to run up to grab those. Ran back down to find out I needed a tape to test the setup. More running around and by the time I came back with the tape, Patrick had shown up with one. So I returned the tape I had gotten to the dealer's room. Came back down and found a seat for Opening Ceremonies. At one point during it, Greg asked what more can you want and somebody yelled out Thom. While we on the staff wanted to get him, it does cost a lot of money to board his dogs.

Greg announced the two disc DVD was coming out on Dec. 7th, which I mentally filed away. He also presented a Power Point presentation with some quotes from fans dealing with the upcoming release of the DVD. Clan Olympics started during opening ceremonies with some sort of ball relay. Somewhere in there, Greg played a audio tape of an Team Atlantis episode that never got made. I believe it was called "The Last." Also, we on the staff presented Gorebash with "The Fan Guest of Honor." He really deserved it. After Clan Olympics was done, things got moving along again.

After everything finished up, several headed out to get crepes for dinner. Our group was Greg, Karine, Mark & Mark, Zehra, Kathy, Laurean, Ian, myself and somebody else. Person's name escaped me at the moment. I ordered the Nelson, which had Maple, apple and bacon and it was very good. Our server had a slight lack of grace when bringing out the food. Dropped a couple of plates that smashed on the table. If I ever make it up to Montreal again, I'll have to ask Karine to take me back to that place.. After dinner, the lot of us headed back.

Managed to hit the blue mug a guest for a short while before running down to get the VCR. Tried to make it back into the mug a guest, but the room was too packed for me to get in. Decided after a little while to call it a night and lugged the VCR down to my room.

Aug. 7 -

Got up around 8:15 or so. Got ready for the staff meeting and met up at the Con Suite. We went down to the hotel's food area and snagged some food there. I grabbed the radio from the room Opening Ceremonies had been in and dropped it off in the Con Suite. After that, came back down to work the registration desk for the day. Chatted with Ian for a bit after setting my laptop. Don't remember what we talked about, but did get a few walk-in registrations. Managed to write a little before starting to play Doom 3 for most of the day. Of course, got my butt kicked several times over.

Got to watch some Clan Olympics stuff while sitting there and also missed the auction and radio play. Well, missing the auction didn't bother me too much since I didn't have that much money to spend this year. Did want to see the radio play, but oh well. Will have to make the effort to see it next year for sure. Was told to shut down early and brought the stuff up stairs. I think some time during the day I got two commissions from Cindy and two commissions from Liz. They were commissions they had done for me, so we decided the Gathering was the best place for me to get them.

Ran by the dealers and art room and just missed the voting for the art show. Oops. The art was pretty impressive this year; just too bad I didn't have the money to buy anything. Well, will have to correct that next year. While there, I managed to snag a sketch of Chaos by Kythera. Nothing like adding more art to the pile. After the room closed, I went downstairs to where the banquet was going to be held. Kept an eye on the door as more folks began to filter downstairs.

Around 6, we started to allow folks into sit down while Cindy and I checked to see if folks had the Banquet sticker on the back of their badges. Karine reminded them to keep a seat open at each table so we could auction off which table would get Greg and which one would get Keith when he arrived. Karine had Becca pull the first number and I believe somebody else to pull the second. I sat at a table with Norcumi, Quindar, and three other fans. About 15 minutes or so later, Lynati showed up and she joined us. Mostly chatted about what it takes to run a con.

I think about 7:30, Keith David and Patrick arrived. A few folks at their table managed to keep their food waiting for them. The Q&A session started up a few minutes later. Most of the questions were directed at him and I felt sort of bad, since he wanted to eat. While the Q&A was going on, the group in the next room started getting loud. I went to go see if I could get them to turn the noise and ran into Daniel, our hotel contact. Asked him to speak to them and he did. They started to get loud again and then he went and told them: "If you don't turn it down, fifty angry gargoyles will be after you." Group didn't get loud again.

Around 8:30, we stopped the Q&A so Keith could rest up a little bit. With some help from Ian, Norcumi, Quindar, and a few others, we started moving tables and chairs around for the masquerade. Once set up was done, we started letting folks in and got things moving again. The costumes this year where rather impressive. Siryn dressed up as Tom, Kaylee as Princess Katherine, Patrick as Puck, Alan (Jen's husband) as Macbeth, Lynati as Ophelia, Mandolin as Banshee and there were others, but can't remember who dressed up as what. Name forgetting aside, the costumes were impressive this year.

After the awards were given, a bunch of us took photos while they set up for the Karaoke. A little while later, the karaoke started up. I mostly sat out in the hallway talking with Silver about my character Chaos while she did a sketch of him. Showed Greg what Puppy Pack art I had and a little later on, showed Keith a few of the cels I had gotten from the show. Peeked in there briefly while Keith sang, though I don't remember what song. Took a couple pictures of Arno dancing with somebody, but can't remember the person's name.

Went back outside to chat with Silver some more while she started doing a sketch of Gadget. At one point, I though I heard somebody signing "Blame Canada." Oops, turns out the person was signing "Blame Gargoyles." Listened in slightly and heard folks trying to sing "Y.M.C.A." Snickered quite a bit because most of them couldn't seem to remember most of the lyrics. Silver debated about inking the Gadget picture, which I convinced her to do while we chatted.

I decided after that to get some sleep, so I said goodbye to Greg before heading up to my room. Told the folks that were gaming in there that they had half an hour before I was going to kick them out so I could get some badly needed sleep. They left just before midnight and I crashed for the night.

Aug. 8 -

Got up around 8:30. Got ready and went up to the Con Suite, though I got there a few minutes after 9. Karine, Patrick, Laurean and took a short walk to get breakfast from a nearby place. I got a bottle of Coke and a muffin for breakfast. It was the first caffeine I had the entire weekend. I set up registration and missed the Gargoyles Biology panel I wanted to go to. Chatted with a few fans, though I don't remember their names. Yeah, shame on me.

Got two walk-in registrations and closed up at noon. Went back down to sit in on the second Keith David mug-a-guest, which was the only one he did that day. Missed part of it when doing a little running around, but oh well. Around 3, we did the Closing Ceremonies. Karine rattled off what each of us did in turn and when she got to me, she went, "Shaun. Registration desk and self proclaimed con bitch!" Got lots of laughter on that one. Cindy did the art show awards and after everything was done, we started up the line for signing by Keith.

Got called upstairs briefly where the lot of us on staff got to see all the chocolate Abram had gotten for us. After that, I went back down and managed to get a cel signed by Keith, along with a photo. Wandered back up to the Con Suite for a little while. I chipped in $5 to help with the food for the staff dead dog party, even though I wasn't going to be there for part of it. Met up with Norcumi and Quindar for dinner, since we had wanted to get together for a little while to talk. After dinner, we came back to the hotel and chatted for about 2 hours.

They went upstairs to rest and I went back to Karine's room. Got to chat with her husband Adam and a couple of their friends for a while. Party broke up and I wondered back down to my room to start preparing my stuff for the next day.

Aug. 9 -

Woke up around 8 and started to get ready for La Ronde and the trip back to New York later in the day. Most of us packed up early, but our fourth disappeared for a while. Managed to check out close to 10. Got my ticket for the park and headed off with the group. Got to ride the local transit system out to the park got to wait on a hot bus for the ride over. A couple of us took a group pictures. Karine wondered where Christen and Becca had gone. I helped her look, but failed to spot them.

We wandered off to find a few others and ran into Patrick, Rob and Cindy. I quickly got some money and a bite to eat since I hadn't gotten breakfast. First ride we got on was "The Dragon." Talk about a very lame roller coaster. After that, was the Ferris wheel, walking and fudge. More walking before running into Leo, Karlyl and Laurean. After that, we hit the "Le Vampire." That one reminds me of "Top Gun" at Great America. Cindy and Rob left to rest and then our group got lunch.

Went to watch the diving show, but noticed it was packed. Went up on the slowly spinning tower before the others left to go back to the hotel. I walked around a little before finding Abram and another fan. We chatted a while before a small group of us headed out. Got back to the hotel and took off for New York. Stopped part way along for food and stopped at the duty free store. I picked up a shot glass before we crossed the border. Customs guy asked quite a few more questions than when I went through in February with Laurean. Along the way, I conked out for a while.

Got Abram's place, where Sarah, Scott and I crashed around 2 in the morning.

Aug 10 -

Got up around ten for a light breakfast. We saw Sarah off before sitting at Scott's place for a couple hours. Got dropped off at Rochester around 3 and checked in. Here, the T.S.A. went through my suitcase and once again, got selected for the random screening. Stopped off at the little gift shop where I picked up "The Teeth of the Tiger" by Tom Clancy. Spent most of the flight reading the book. Not too shabby, but not what I would call one of his better books.

Got into JFK, where I had to walk through half the terminal to get to my next flight, which was boarding when I landed. Got my seat and waited for take-off. Got off the ground a little over an hour later than originally scheduled since the flights going west were backed up due to a storm. Flight was pretty smooth and I tried to sleep, but just couldn't once again. Got in an hour later than planned. Got my baggage and headed for home, bringing to an end another wonderful and fun Gathering.

Even though I didn't pre-register for next years at the Gathering (didn't have the funds), I will be there next year. Being in Lost Wages, eh, Las Vegas next year, I can drive there.

Greg responds...

Cool. Hope you're making it to G2006 this year too.

For those who STILL don't know about the Gathering and how much fun it was, is and will continue to be, check out www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com.

Response recorded on May 05, 2006


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