GATHERING 2009 - Saturday, August 22nd

GATHERING 2009 - Saturday, August 22nd

3am - Went to bed.

8am - Woke up, with five hours sleep being the most I'd had in any one night in over a week.

9am - Staff Breakfast. Usually, I'm all about telling you what I ate at every meal, but I just don't remember. Orange Juice and a croissant, I think. But also... uh... not sure.

10am - Jennifer and I were joined by Gargoyles/Spidey Voice Director Extraordinaire Jamie Thomason for our second round of auditions.

11:30am - Casting session. We only had thirteen slots for fans to participate in the play because of the LARGE pro "turnout". You see, most years I ask the pros to participate and we get one or two saying yes. But this year SIXTEEN said yes. So from a fan standpoint, we had an embarrassment of riches. Over forty people auditioned and most of those did great, so we decided to cast the thirteen slots, plus STEAL a role from Thom Adcox and give that to another fan, PLUS cast a couple of fans as understudies in case someone didn't show. (But everyone did.) We posted the cast list...

12pm - Lunch in the staff room with Marina Sirtis, Keith David, Karine Charlebois, Greg Bishansky, Thom Adcox and Keith's son Owen. It's always great to see Keith, but it was very cool to see Marina again, whom I haven't seen in years. And, man, has Owen grown!! Broccoli soup, salad, and... see, can't remember!

1pm - Gargoyles Voice Acting Panel with Jamie, Keith, Thom, Marina and Elisa Gabrielli. Fun stories told. Marina and I have very different memories about how she was cast. (I'm right, but I'd never say that.)

2:30pm - Spidey Voice Acting Panel with (again) Jamie, Keith and Elisa. Plus Dee Bradley Baker, James Arnold Taylor, Ben Isaac Diskin (what's with all these three name guys?), Steve Blum, Daran Norris, Deborah Strang, Vanessa Marshall, Josh Keaton, Andrew Kishino, Phil LaMarr, Crispin Freeman and Eric Vesbit. More fun stories. Jamie and I disagreed about how many characters we auditioned. And once again, I'm right. It's a blessing and a curse, as Monk would say.

4pm - Radio Play Rehearsal. We barely had time to do one full read through of the ridiculously long and over-stuffed radio play. There was really no time to direct the actors at all, beyond telling them to project louder, though Jamie and I tried to give an occasional pointer.

5:30pm - Radio Play. Gotta say, thanks to my shameless pandering in the script and the amazing talent of my cast, we really had a phenomenal success with the three night mess of a bloated script I wrote. Got lots of laughs, even a few gasps. Pros were spot on, of course, including some Gargoyles folks who hadn't played their characters in years. But our fan cast was great too.

Here's the cast list:

THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN MEETS GARGOYLES
“Religious Studies 101: A Handful of Thorns”
(Radio Play)
CAST LIST
NARRATOR - Greg Weisman
DEMONA/DOMINIQUE DESTINE - Marina Sirtis
SPIDER-MAN/PETER PARKER - Josh Keaton
GOLIATH - Keith David
LEXINGTON - Thom Adcox
ELISA MAZA - Zehra Fazal
BROOKLYN - John Clemens
CURT CONNORS/LIZARD - Dee Bradley Baker
BROADWAY - Crispin Freeman
ZAFIRO - Joshua Poole
MAY PARKER - Deborah Strang
GREEN GOBLIN - Steve Blum
OBSIDIANA - Elisa Gabrielli
KRAVEN THE HUNTER - Eric Vesbit
HARRY OSBORN - James Arnold Taylor
DOCTOR OCTOPUS/OTTO OCTAVIUS - Michael McAdam
J. JONAH JAMESON - Daran Norris
MARY JANE WATSON - Vanessa Marshall
ELECTRO - Crispin Freeman
VENOM/EDDIE BROCK - Ben Isaac Diskin
GEORGE STACY - Lucas McClain
BIG MAN - Keith David
CALYPSO EZILI - Jennifer L. Anderson
ASHLEY KAFKA - Elisa Gabrielli
ROBBIE ROBERTSON - Phil LaMarr
LIZ ALLAN - Kaitlyn Robrock
SALLY AVRIL - Jennifer L. Anderson
GWEN STACY - Sarah Williams
MATT BLUESTONE - Eric Tribou
GREG BISHANSKY - Greg Bishansky
KENNY KONG - Andrew Kishino
COLONEL JUPITER/JOHN JAMESON - Daran Norris
NED LEE - Andrew Kishino
VULTURE - Seth Jackson
FLASH THOMPSON - Ian Bassett
SHARI - Zehra Fazal
FANCY DAN - Phil LaMarr
GULYADKIN - Dee Bradley Baker
CARNAGE/CLETUS KASADY - Ian Bassett
HOMUNCULUS #1 - Dee Bradley Baker
HOMUNCULUS #2 - Phil LaMarr
HOMUNCULUS #3 - Steve Blum
HOMUNCULUS #4 - James Arnold Taylor
HOMUNCULUS #5 - Thom Adcox
SMUGGLER #1 - Andrew Kishino
DOMINIC DRACON - Seth Jackson
BLACKIE GAXTON - Steve Blum
EMILY OSBORN - Kaitlyn Robrock
TINKERER - Thom Adcox
SEYMOUR O’REILLY - Steve Blum
SILVER SPOON MANAGER - Crispin Freeman
ANGELA - Sarah Williams
PUMPKIN BOMB - Nicki France
THAILOG - Keith David
MARIA CHAVEZ - Elisa Gabrielli
FREDERICK FOSWELL - James Arnold Taylor
ALAN O’NEIL - James Arnold Taylor
ROSIE THOMPSON - Vanessa Marshall
MARGOT YALE - Marina Sirtis
MORGAN MORGAN - Keith David
JASON IONELLO - Ben Isaac Diskin
RAND ROBERTSON - Phil LaMarr
BRENTWOOD - Fox Anderson
CHAMELEON - Steve Blum
NORMAN OSBORN - Eric Vesbit
DILBERT TRILBY - Steve Blum

Thanks to the entire cast. You guys were amazing, and totally saved my butt.

7pm - Once the play was over, all the tension and adrenaline that it had generated over the last week or so melted away, leaving me nearly comotose. I went to dinner in the hotel with my wife Beth and my son Benny. I didn't eat much. Clam Chowder, a roll, a coke and a shrimp cocktail. I was all but passing out. Fortunately, I got a second wind... and I'd need it.

9pm - Blue Mug w/Thom Adcox and the staff of Blue Mug Productions: Mara Cordova, Kalia Sartre, Jennifer L. Anderson and Boswell Bosley. I had to duck out for awhile, and I hear Edmund Tsabard showed up and pretty much insulted everyone in the room. (So what else is new?) I came back, by which time Edmund was gone. I picked up my water glass to take a drink, and someone told me that Thom's chihuahua had sipped from my glass. Someone else pointed at another glass and said that was the one the dog had lapped from. I shrugged it off and sipped from my glass. Then Jen told me Edmund had used that glass. I did a spit-take. I mean do you know where Edmund's mouth has been?!!! I hate to do anything to promote anything that reprobate is working on, but the work of the rest of the Blue Mug staff is so good that I'll ignore his contribution and recommend BlueMugProductions.com to all of you (who are 18 or over). I've seen the work, and it's really good!!! By the way, whomever took my Vox-made macrame Greg doll and put an eyepatch on it to turn it into an Edmund doll: UNCOOL!!! I don't even see the resemblance anyway!

11:30pm - After the mug, a few of us -- Jennifer, Mara, Eric and Tony -- went upstairs to the staff room. I had a virgin jello shot. Black Cherry!

More tomorrow!

GATHERING 2009 - Friday, August 21st

GATHERING 2009 - Friday, August 21st

12am - Went to bed. I was completely exhausted from the last few nights of working on the Radio Play instead of sleeping...

2am - So of course I wake up two hours later.

6:30am - Finally fell asleep again.

10:30am - Woke up, having missed staff breakfast.

11:30am - I went downstairs to check out the Art Room-in progress. Aaron gave me a very cool Phoenix Gate pin. (Thanks, Aaron!)

Noon - Had my mug-a-guest with Leah, Fan, Abbie, Eva, Kathie and others. I'm embarrassed over how little I can remember already, I'm afraid.

1:30pm - Jennifer Anderson and I held the first batch of auditions. Some real good people.

2:30pm - Back to the art room. I also bought two copies of the Bad Guy Trade, one for myself and one for the Sperlings.

3pm - By this time, I was pretty hungry, so although they had JUST eaten, Tony and Andrea Zucconi accompanied me up to CityWalk so I could get a Tommy Burger, fries and a coke/Root Beer semi-suicide mix. I ate; we chatted.

4pm - We headed back down to the hotel/con.

4:50pm - My wife Beth arrived at the con. We hung out, waiting for Opening Ceremonies to start.

5:40pm - Opening Ceremonies. I got the ball rolling. We had a bunch of con virgins -- for whom this was their first Gathering. And of course we had four people who had attended ALL thirteen Gatherings: myself, Gathering Co-Chair Patrick Toman, Bad Guys artist Karine Charlebois and a Fan. Gathering Co-chair introduced her staff and then they presented me with a very cool macrame doll of me, commissioned by the staff and created by the talented Vox. I then stood up again and talked about the great programming we had in store for the weekend. Then I presented Patrick and Jennifer with the Fan Guest of Honor, represented by great prints of Puck and Demona by Karine and Kythera of Anevern. Next, I spoke a brief tribute to the late Gary Sperling, and we presented his wife and kids with a copy of the Bad Guys Trade and another fantabulous print by Karine. After that came the Rocky Horror Gargoyles Show, i.e. the same old schpiel I always do. Showed the Pitch, the Jim Cummings version of the pitch, the promo, the Frakes presentation piece, the New Olympian and Dark Ages pitch, the Bad Guys animatic and "The Last" animatic -- nearly finished and almost entirely done by fans.

8pm - Having eaten a late lunch, I decided to skip dinner. But I hear Edmund Tsabard and the staff of Blue Mug Productions (Mara Cordova, Kalia Sartre, Jennifer L. Anderson and Boswell Bosley) had a dinner business meeting at Versaille up at CityWalk. Edmund had Ropa Vieja, Plantains, Beans, Rice and a coke.

9:30pm - A few of us hung out in the staff suite upstairs on the hotel's top floor. Liz, Patrick, Mara, Jen, Nikki, Eric, Seth, Sammy, Rebecca, Fox, Sydney, Steph, Scott and Marina all stopped by at one point or another.

11:59pm - I went back to my room...

More tomorrow...

GATHERING 2009 - Thursday, August 20th

Well, gang, I'm back from the final Gathering. Had an amazing time. Truly. I'll start my conjournal now. One day at a time...

As always, all times and quotations are approximate. Please forgive any mistakes or omissions.

GATHERING 2009 - Thursday, August 20th
I was up all Wednesday night, prepping the scripts for the Radio Play, which I had written over the three (largely sleepless) nights previous.

7:30am - Finally went to bed.

11:30am - Got up. Drove to my office in Beverly Hills to finish prepping for the Gathering.

6pm - Finally finished prepping. Drove home to pack.

7pm - Left for the Universal Hilton. Parked and checked in and unpacked in my seventh floor room. The staff then gathered to go to dinner at Bucco de Beppo's in CityWalk. It was a big table. I think a complete list of those present would include me, Liz Chesterman, Mara Cordova, Joe, Susan Leonard, Sammy Behr, Seth Jackson, Eric Tribou, Jennifer L. Anderson, Kythera of Anevern, Rebecca Bochner, Patrick Toman, Tony Zucconi, Andrea Zucconi, Cindy Kinnard and Karine Charlebois. I had garlic bread, calamari, spaghetti and meatballs, apple gorgonzola salad, two kinds of fettucini, green beans and manicotti. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to check out the rooms for the con.

10:30pm - I went back to my room to continue prepping my script for the radio play.

More tomorrow... please post YOUR ConJournal here at ASK GREG! Thanks!

Gathering 2009 - Los Angeles CA

Gathering 2009 - Los Angeles CA

Okay, gang, I leave tomorrow for the Gathering. This is our last one for the foreseeable future, so I plan to make the most of it. We've got a TON of programming (including panels on both Gargoyles and The Spectacular Spider-Man and ElfQuest, production panels, voice panels, writing panels, comic book panels), a TON of professional guests (Comic book pros, animation pros, actors, artists, writers, sculptors, directors, etc.) These guests include Frank Paur, Victor Cook, Sean "Cheeks" Galloway, Greg Guler, Thom Adcox, Keith David, Josh Keaton, Steve Blum, Crispin Freeman, Wendy Pini and Demona herself: Marina Sirtis.

We have screenings of exclusive Gathering footage, like the Bad Guys reel and the pro/fan Team Atlantis collaboration. I'm bringing the only once-before seen footage clip from Spectacular Spider-Man ONLY shown at ComicCon last month. And Michael Reaves, Gargoyles writer and story editor, is bringing his STAR TREK webisode, professionally produced and starring George Takei himself as Sulu.

We have a Radio Play (that has nearly killed me to get ready in time) that presents an ORIGINAL Feature-Length crossover between Gargoyles and The Spectacular Spider-Man, with EVERY voice actor guest performing with fans.

We have a Banquet with a pro/guest at every table. We have our "Mug-A-Guests", i.e. a chance for a small group of fans to chat with individual pro/guests. We have the Masquerade and Dance.

We have fan/pro discussion panels on Gargoyles Biology and Culture, mythology, ABJD, Fanfiction, etc. We have Mature Content programming -- including Edmund Tsabard and his Angels at the Blue Mug.

We have Universal Studios and Universal CityWalk right next door.

And we have the opportunity to purchase all three Gargoyles Trade Paperbacks, both volumes of Clan-Building and Bad Guys: Redemption. Plus the auction features more gargoyle merchandise than you could possibly carry home. Great art at the art show.

And a few surprises...

Anyway, if you're anywhere near the Universal Hilton in Los Angeles, we hope you stop by. Let's make this last Gathering the best one yet!

And I'll see you back here at Ask Greg next week...

Oh, and as always, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE post Gathering journals here at ASK GREG!!!!!

Thanks,

gdw

CONVERGENCE converges with the GATHERING

I just got the following e-mail from a buddy on the staff of CONvergence (http://www.convergence-con.org/), which is taking place NOW:

Hi Greg!

I'm at CONvergence, and I am seeing flyers all over the hotel
advertising for the Gathering. They are having over 40 guests? Wow!

So thanks to those posting our flyers at ConVergence (my second all-time favorite convention). Have a great con!

But don't miss the Gathering, which as of yesterday actually has OVER FIFTY GUESTS attending! Fifty and counting. Soon the guests will outnumber the fans. ( And, dude, I wish I was kidding.) You will NEVER find a better fan to pro ratio at any convention ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!!!! Sign up now at http://www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com/g2009/ !!!!!

Last Gathering

The announcement has been made that the current Gathering of the Gargoyles (the thirteenth annual) will be the last in this form. I'm saddened by this of course, but even more saddened by some of the vitriol I've seen toward the constaff. So I posted this at Station 8:

Hey folks,

Thought I should speak up. In part to defend my friends, I suppose, but also just to make my position on all this clear.

I'm the person who suggested we end the thing. Me. Frankly, I was simply horrified to discover how much of their own MONEY the con staff was putting toward the convention year after year... with it costing them increasingly more with each succeeding convention and with attendance falling at a steady clip. And that's on top of the incredible amount of hard work that these people put in. There have been other individuals and groups who have run individual Gatherings here and there, but most burn out after one year and don't do it again. This group volunteered their time year after year. Stuck with it when others wouldn't. They deserve praise, not scorn.

Are they my friends? Of course. Are they loyal to me? I think so. I like to think I'm just as loyal to them. Are they cliquish at times. Yeah. I've noticed that too. It happens with any group of people who work very hard together to do something and, frankly, feel largely unappreciated for their efforts. They get tight.

But I don't buy the notion that this is an impenetrable clique -- especially since new members join the group all the time. I've known some of these folks for over a decade. Others, just for a couple years. And even if you aren't admitted to this so-called "Inner Circle", what difference should that make? The Gathering is big enough for multiple cliques. Big enough for you to bring your own clique. The Gathering has interesting and informative events whether or not you're in ANY clique.

When someone asks "Why would I want to give any money to hang out with people who have no interest in including me?" I think the question itself is off point. They're throwing you a convention! They're including you! Does that mean they have to personally enjoy your company? Personally, spend time with you? That's unreasonable. You may be great. You may be annoying. I don't know. But they don't have an obligation to coddle you. Just to put on a great show, which I think they've done year after year.

And you're not paying to spend time with them anyway, you're paying to attend the con. Or not. No one's holding a gun to your head, but then don't complain if the thing isn't somehow able to continue indefinitely on SOMEONE ELSE'S DIME.

Don't get me wrong. No one is going to miss the Gathering more than I. I think there's some real truth to the accusation that the thing became Greg Weisman's annual ego boost. Because without a doubt it is a HUGE ego boost for me personally. Year in and year out, I have a blast. I'm treated VERY well, and I enjoy that treatment. I'd be lying if I said otherwise.

But it's not as simple as that. For starters, the reason that the con has consistently featured me and the various series that I've worked on is because I'm willing to do the work to help put the convention together. Frank Paur, just as an example, is ALWAYS welcome, but he doesn't always choose to come. I ALWAYS want to be there. So it's something of a not-so-vicious circle. I provide the convention with contacts -- and the convention uses those contacts to hold panels on Starship Troopers or WITCH or, this year, The Spectacular Spider-Man. All of which is an attempt to INCREASE the attendance by bringing in other fandoms and exposing them to Gargoyles. It's worked to some degree, but not enough.

I've also provided contacts for shows like Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin and Kim Possible, and we've had panels on those that I wasn't a part of because my involvement on those series was nearly non-existent. But I knew those guys, so I got 'em to come. I'm sure everyone would have loved it if I had gotten, uh, say, the Avatar/Last Air Bender guys to do a panel on that show. Trouble is, I don't know those guys. So no luck.

And, hey, I did create the show that we're theoretically celebrating. I am the guy who's fought to get the DVDs and the comics, etc. It's because of the fandom that I never gave up. But it doesn't change the fact that I'm the guy who never gave up. So maybe it's not SUCH a bad thing that I've been the primary beneficiary of the con. Or maybe it is. I'm not going to worry about it.

What I am going to do is enjoy the last convention. I really think we'll be going out with a bang with a ton of special guests. And, ironically, because of the low attendance the BEST FAN-TO-PRO RATIO you'll find at any convention EVER!!! If you can't afford to come this year, we're very sorry. We'll miss you. Really. But if you can, you should try, because once again, I think it'll be a great show.

But of course I'm biased. ;)

And as Jennifer pointed out, if anyone else wants to have a Gargoyles convention in 2010 or 2011 or 2198, no one's stopping you. I'm still willing to attend, still willing to help. Or willing to stay away, if that would be best. But I'd advise thinking long and hard about both the time commitment and the financial aspect of it before jumping in. Cuz it's tough. Not for me. It's easy for me. But for whomever happens to be the constaff in any given year, it's a lot of work and not cheap.

Now, I suppose for some people, all I've done in this post is prove their point. I'm tight with the constaff. They're tight with me. All true. But they've still put out an open invitation year after year to friends and so-called-foes alike. All they're really saying is that they're done. You think you can do better? Go for it!

Greg Weisman

UPDATE as of January 2009

Hey gang,

Today's my last day at Sony. I'm packing boxes. (Well, actually, I'm doing this and procrastinating on the packing, but you get the idea.) The last of the Spidey crew is laid off tomorrow, when we deliver the last episode of Season Two. The fact that we're all leaving does not preclude us all from coming back to do a third season, of course. But we've been told that the EARLIEST we could get a pick-up is March, when the series premieres on Disney XD. If I'm available, believe me, I'll be back. But I'm hustling up work now, so we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, the second season has already premiered in Canada. Hope you Canadian fans are enjoying it. We're really proud of the work done on all 26 episodes.

Meanwhile, on the TRADE PAPERBACK front... As of today, ALL OF THE CREATIVE WORK on the GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS REDEMPTION trade is completed. Totally done. As for the Gargoyles trade, there is ONE lettering error that still needs to get corrected, and THEN ALL OF THE CREATIVE WORK on GARGOYLES CLAN-BUILDING VOLUME II will be done. I do NOT yet know when either trade will be released. That's a Dan Vado question. But I'll post info here as soon as I have it. I will NOT be responding to every rumor or speculation. I'm only going to post when I know something definitive. But believe me, I have no interest in keeping this info from you. When I know, you'll know.

It's been brought to my attention that there's a Goliath sculpt out there that looks pretty darn cool...
http://www.toyark.com/news/attachment.php?do=fullview&attachmentid=3072
http://www.toyark.com/news/disney-toy-news-38/bowen-releasing-new-gargoyles-goliath-statue-722/
As usual, I would never ask fans to spend money they need for necessities, but if you do have disposable income, then nothing helps the property more than dollars spent on products based on it.

Also, IGN's recently presented us with a few nice little honors. Spidey won Best Hero of 2008 (Spidey beats Jack Bauer!) and Best Animated series of 2008... plus we were nominated for Best New Series too. Also in their top 100 animated shows of all time, Gargoyles received #45 and Spectacular Spider-Man was #30. I might quibble about some of the included shows and some of the rankings (Jonny Quest was ROBBED!!!!), but it's nice to have both shows in the top 50.

Check out:
http://bestof.ign.com/2008/tv/15.html
http://bestof.ign.com/2008/tv/5.html
http://tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/45.html
http://tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/30.html

Finally, preparations are well under way for the Thirteenth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles in Los Angeles (G2009). This year, it's Goliath meets the Spectacular Spider-Man, as we'll be having panels and guests from BOTH shows! Confirmed guests include myself, Vic Cook, Thom Adcox, Keith David, Josh Keaton (voice of Spidey/Pete) and Phil LaMarr (voice of Rand Robertson, Joe Robertson and Fancy Dan). And that's just the tip of the guest iceberg. Expect a metric ton of pros (writers, artists, voice directors, actors, production people) to sign on over the next few months. The ratio of fan to pro at this convention will top anything you can find anywhere. Don't miss it!

http://www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com/

And that's it for now. We'll reopen ASK GREG for questions and comments when Spidey premieres in the U.S. in March or when one or both of the trades are released, whichever comes first.

Take care,

Greg Weisman

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Thursday, August 28, 2008

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Thursday, August 28, 2008
The hotel was playing some unfriendly games. I was semi-awakened by a phone call from the hotel staff asking if I knew where to find "Mr. Sweeney", a member of "my party". I should have taken them to task, but I was too sleepy, so I just mumbled that I didn't know any "Mr. Sweeney".

I was then awakened again by a call from the hotel staff telling me that my room and taxes were not paid for. This is a pretty serious thing to tell a guest of the con. And in near-immediate hindsight, I realized it was a ploy on the part of the hotel to try to use me to force the hand of the Convention Staff to pay them for my room (and other guest rooms) in advance as opposed to at the end of the convention (which is typical). Anyway, this statement woke me up pretty quickly. The guy tried to tell me that the hotel needed my credit card number by 1pm. I had been prepared to go downstairs that morning to give them my credit card number for extras like in-room movies and room service, but not for room and tax which is supposed to be covered by the con. I made it clear that if the hotel insisted on this, I would simply check out. I could hear the guy back-pedaling on the phone, as he realized that his ploy might backfire. He'd lose out on five nights of registration, including the one night I had already spent there. He tried to fumfer, telling me I should talk to "Mark" on the constaff to get it straightened out. I told him I didn't know any "Mark" and that this wasn't an issue I was going to "deal" with at all. If the hotel wanted me to leave, I'd leave.

Of course, there was an element of bluff on my part as well. I didn't really want to leave. So I called my guest liason Shane, who told me not to worry about it. Half-an-hour later he called me back and said it was dealt with. But I determined that I wouldn't give my credit card to the hotel for ANYthing including room service. I'd pay cash for those charges at the end of my stay. And I also determined not to have any charges at the end of my stay. It was somewhat petty, but I didn't want to give any money to this hotel.

12:30pm - Jennifer L. Anderson and Patrick Toman (chairpersons of the Gathering 2009) arrived and we hung out for a bit.

1pm - David Hedgecock joined us, and we went to IHOP for lunch. I had the International Passport Breakfast with Eggs overeasy, bacon, sausage, hash browns, Swedish Pancakes and Tomato Juice.

4pm - Jen, Patrick and I went to see Pineapple Express. Not a great movie, but I have to admit I laughed a lot. So I'd give it a thumbs up.

6pm - Dinner at the Macaroni Grill with Jen, Patrick, David and Lanny Fields (multiple Gathering attendee). I had a Caesar Salad, coke and lasagna.

8pm - David and I had our first Gargoyles panel. Middling attendance, but we had fun.

9:30pm - Returned to my room.

11:30pm - A pretty impressive storm with impressive lightning displays, 100mph winds and HAIL! I was watching television, when the entire hotel blacked out. I watched the storm for awhile and then tried to read by the light of my cellphone...

MORE TO COME...

CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Sunday, June 29, 2009

CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Sunday, June 29, 2009

1am - Returned to my room and ate an apple.

2am - Went to sleep, which for me is early.

8:30am - Wake up call.

10am - Had the Gargoyles and Bad Guys panel with Karine. Fewer questions about Gargoyles #9 then I would have thought, but it was fun.

11:30am - Gargoyles Biology and Culture panel w/Lynati & Kimberly. A perrenial favorite of mine. Not sure anything quite as revelatory as last year in Tennessee, but it was fun.

1pm - Spidey panel w/Keith, Thom and Jennifer. Again, no major revelations, but I like talking Spidey. Next year we're probably going to do a series of Spidey panels at the L.A. Gathering 2009.

2:30pm - Went for stir fry lunch with Sammy, Jennifer, Thom, Adam and Laurean. Good stuff. Afterwards, a couple of us went to Jamba Juice.

4pm - Though we were told we didn't need to get back to judge the Iron Artist competition until 4pm, by the time we arrived it was all over. The medium was macaroni and the theme was the Ultra-Pack.

4:30pm - Sat down to watch the end of the auction, and then we had our signing.

6pm - Banquet: Salad, roll, Chicken, potatoes, carrots, asparagus, tart. I sat with constaff mostly: Nikki, Seth, Sammy, Susan, Jennifer, Karine, Patrick, Greg, Rebekkah. During the Trivia Contest, Matt led his table to victory.

9pm - Masquerade. Fewer entries every year. I hope we can reverse that trend. But what was there was pretty cherce:

Best Canon:
1st: Hunter/Aaron
2nd: Shari/DTaina
3rd: Archmage+/Chip

Best Original:
1st: J.W./Jennifer Rynmoor
2nd: Gypsey/Noel Leas

Cutest Couple: Ranmaru & Arazia

Thom Adcox Memorial Award: Justin as Odin

No Gorelisa award this year.

Best in Show: Patrick Fisher as the Tourist Gargoyle

Also, Karine had a kick-ass Hunter costume.

There was dancing next. I even swing-danced Jenn-Bob right off a table.

MORE TO COME...

CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Friday, June 27, 2009

CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Friday, June 27, 2009

10:30am - Wake-up call gets me up. I slept for nearly twelve hours. Guess I was tired.

11:30am - I head up to the con to collect my box of RadioPlay scripts. Say hi to some people. Tour the dealer's/art room, which is a work in progress at this point.

12:00pm - My first panel of the con(s). Thom and I hold the Voice Acting Seminar that we've done in previous years. Phoenix gets up to play Demona and does a great job. We also do the Griff, Leo, Una, Goliath scene and a couple different runs at a Peter Parker, Spider-Man, Symbiote, Uncle Ben scene. Everyone does pretty darn well.

1:30pm - First round of auditions for the Radio Play, w/Keith, Thom, Josh and Jennifer helping with the casting and Sammy manning the door. Vox stops by to give me the crochet'd Goliath she made for me. It's pretty amazing, as is the Hunter she's made for Karine and all the rest. Tthe one that makes me laugh the most is the Owen... which was the last to sell. No accounting for taste.

3:00pm - Mug-A-Guest. I remember having fun, though none of the questions stand out in my memory at the moment.

5:00pm - Opening Ceremony. (It's been pointed out to me that it's a Ceremony not multiple Ceremonies.) We opened with a full hour plus of music videos. Susan then stepped up to offer opening remarks and intros. Jen pitched G2009 in Los Angeles (check out gatheringofthegargoyles.com). Susan thanked her staff, including Nikki, Jennifer, Greg and Patrick (who am I forgetting?). Then I went up to do my schpiel and show the now-familiar pieces: the pitch, the promo, the New Olympian and Dark Ages pitches, the Bad Guys reel (much of which is now canon thanks to the comic) and "The Last". The fans have made great progress on "The Last" - but there's still more work to be done. If you're interested in helping, contact Vashkoda.

After opening ceremony, it was time for a Blue Mug Productions Dinner. Edmund Tsabard, was out whoring, so I sat in with Jennifer, Mara and Karine (who has since had to bow out of the project, much to our sorrow). We got a lot done/decided in preparation for the Monday panel. Plus the food was great: Edimame, Rangoon, Dumplings, Miso soup, Shrimp Pad Thai. Then a stop at Ben & Jerry's after dinner for a Banana/fudge/Cherry Garcia sundae.

I stopped by my room to call home, then came back downstairs to the bar (Indigo... I think the restaurant I mentioned yesterday was called Blue or something). Later a small group of us (Susan, Jen, Mara, Karine, Seth, Sammy, Rebecca, Gore, BrooklynX, Patrick, Thom & John) went up to Susan's room to hang out and laugh.

MORE TO COME...