Nichelle Nichols at Central Canada Comic Con (C4) 2012

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending Nichelle Nichols' Q&A at Comic Con. I must say, she is one of the most adorable ladies I have met. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it up to the second floor in time for her photo-op (it was filled to capacity), but she returned the next day and I was lucky enough to get a photo taken of the two of us professionally (I love her smile so much):

Being older, she tended to repeat a lot of the same story and forget what the original question was. I don't think any of us minded, however - she was still simply her adorable and charismatic self. 

Video was actually allowed during her Q&A, and I got quite a bit of it. Here is a video I put together of her speaking about how she got the role of Uhura, how Uhura got her name, about the short skirt she wore on Stat Trek TOS, and about the first interracial kiss on television (Plato's Stepchildren) and how it was received by the public:

The best part of all was when a member of the audience asked her if she would sing a song for us. She sang one of her favorite songs, "Summertime", and it was absolutely beautiful:

I am so glad that she was asked to sing, because it truly was a remarkable experience and she seemed so happy to be singing for an audience. She is just as beautiful and sweet as she always seemed on screen. I am really glad I was able to see her in person, because I never used to be very find of her (and I still stand by most of the opinions in this post). I am so glad she came to our city.

T'Laina Character Sketch by Robert James Luedke

At Comic Con on Friday, I spent most of the day walking around looking at the booths and exhibitions. My favorite booth belonged to the amazing Robert James Luedke, which showcased his illustrations and artwork. My favorite work of his was of Tom Baker - unfortunately I not get a photo of his booth, but he does have a gallery here.

The greatest thing that happened at the Con on Friday is that I found this man, saw that he did commissions, and decided to pay 35 dollars for a sketch of myself as a Vulcan. It was worth every penny:

He even texted me when he was finished  - it took him about an hour. He also told me that while he was looking at the photo he took of me - he realized I had no eyebrows and that I reminded him of Lisbeth Sanders (a huge compliment).

This is definitely one of my favorite drawings of all time, and I made sure to thank him later. If you would like him to draw a picture of you as your favorite character, make sure to commission him! More information on that is at his website here.

C4 Comic Con Adventures Day Two and Three

Day One

For the last three days, I have been spending my days at C4 - Central Canada Comic Con 2012. It was - as usual - an amazing experience with beautiful people, intricate costumes, and great displays and exhibitions.

Day Two

I got up early in the morning to get my costume ready - Robes, ears, a headdress, six inch heels, my dress, tights, makeup... I decided to do my makeup and ears before I left the house, and to bring the rest of my costume with me on the bus. Luckily I had my amazing mother to accompany me, and she helped me carry my stuff when I was in costume later in the day.

After going through the same process as Friday in order to get my mother into the convention (with the additional steps of getting into costume and posing with people for pictures), we got in line for Nichelle Nichols' Q&A. The Q&A was absolutely amazing, and she ended up singing for us at the end. I got her singing on video and took pictures, which I will be posting later.

After that I got professional photos taken with Marina Sirtis and Sir Patrick Stewart (separately) and walked around the convention, having my photo taken and talking to people. One person came up to me and asked what Legend Of Zelda character I was.

A friend of mine dresses as a Klingon every year, and volunteers at the Con. We happened to both be dressed up at the same time for once, and I got a photo:

I also came across this wonderful young lady who came as the Borg Queen, and she agreed to have her picture taken with me. I neglected to ask her for her name, but she was wonderful:

Finally it was time for the Q&A session with Sir Patrick Stewart which I had gotten passes for the day before. He was absolutely amazing - intelligent, down to earth, and hilarious. I also got my photo taken with him professionally. I will be posting photos from the photo-op and Q&A in a later post.

Here is a photo of me waiting patiently in the conference room for Patrick Stewart to come on stage. Whenever I sat down, the layers of my costume separated and had to be reset:

On the way back upstairs, I saw the most amazingly adorable family. The father was the Eleventh Doctor, the mother was Amy Pond, and their three children were dressed as Daleks. One of the little girls was in a stroller, and instead of a Dalek skirt and hat they actually dressed the stroller.

Here is a closer look at the skirts:

Finally, it was time for the costume contest. After being in six inch heels for ten hours already, my feet were so sore that I never wanted to stand or walk again. Unfortunately, I had to stand in line for another few hours.

I had never entered any kind of costume contest before - I had worn a Vulcan Priestess costume before, but after fixing it up and adding embellishments (Ozhika in traditional vulcan script, red lined with black instead of plain holes in the chest, ribboned edges, etc.) I decided that this would be the year - I even brought along my hand-sculpted Vulcan meditation lamp. I entered Miss C4, which was a great experience, and the Sci-fi/Movies/Fantasy category  which I won. I honestly did not expect to win at all - when they called second place, I though I knew for sure that I would not win because her costume was so much better than mine, and so were others! As my prize, I received a trophy and 75 dollars in gift certificates for comic and costume stores.

I met a husband and wife who were dressed as a Klingon and Borg. Her husband had made her bat'leth with materials like aluminum foil and either duct or electrical tape (I can't remember which). He also had a mouth piece which made everything he said sound like it was actually being said by a borg drone. Their costumes were both amazing, and they were really nice people:

Oh, and remember I said there was a second place winner who I thought had a better costume than me?   Here we are after the contest (she is dressed as the Diva Plavalaguna from The Fifth Element, one of my favorite movies):

I also had my picture taken with the Best of Show Costume winner - by far the most impressive costume I had seen all day. I forget what character she was, if it was a character, but I do know that it was from World of Warcraft.

Finally, after more photos and waiting, I got to take off my hot costume and painful heels. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring anther pair of footwear so I had to put my heels back on to go home. I was so exhausted by that time that I kept falling asleep on the bus. It took an hour to get home on the bus, and so my mother and I were playing games on our phones and taking pictures.

I spent the rest of the night watching Canada's Worst Driver and taking photos of myself in my costume (because this was probably the last time I will ever wear it... probably) before collapsing into bed.

In this photo you can see the bulletin board in my room, and I am holding the trophy I received for my costume:

Day Three

I woke up today (Sunday), ready for the last day of Comic Con. I had to do a couple of things today - first the Marina Sirtis Q&A session (which was amazing and, once again, will be posted about with photos in a later post), and then a photo-op with Nichelle Nichols. I was supposed to have had my photo taken with her yesterday, but I was (along with hundreds of other people) kept downstairs because the main exhibition room was filled to capacity. Because of this, I missed her completely and they asked her to come in today. She is absolutely adorable, and I am so glad the photo-op ended up working out.

I didn't wear a costume today, just a sweater, jeans, and chucks (along with my new Tom Baker scarf). I also re-bleached my eyebrows this morning because the marker I used for my Vulcan brows dyed parts of them brown. I spent most of the day in the conference hall:

I had some extra time after the photos and Q&A, so I decided to walk around one last time to look over the merchandise. I'm glad I did, because I just so happened to find an Ambassador Sarek action figure:

I also ended up purchasing an Andorian action figure (wearing a fuzzy pink jacket for some reason), a small Spock in the environmental suit from The Tholian Web, the Star Trek Chronology, Star Trek TNG SkyBox Episode Collection Cards Seasons three and seven (the full sets), and the 200th issue of Starlog.

All in all, this year's Central Canada Comic Con was absolutely amazing. It was not organized very well, but that is a difficult job - I don't blame anybody for that. Everything worked out (for most people), I met some amazing people (and some of my heros), I entered my first costume contest, and I have added some amazing items to my collection.

If you have never attended a convention, I would highly recommend that you consider involving yourself in and upcoming con in your area. They can be a lot of work and running around, but I feel that it is all worth it in the end.

C4 Comic Con 2012 Adventures Day One

For the last three days, I have been spending my days at C4 - Central Canada Comic Con 2012. It was - as usual -  an amazing experience with beautiful people, intricate costumes, and great displays and exhibitions.

Day One

I didn't bother dressing up on the first day of the convention. I just wore some jeans, my IDIC shirt, a sweater and some comfortable boots. I met a friend on the bus to the convention center, and we kept each other company for the rest of the day.

After waiting in the long line-ups and running back and forth between different ticket booths buying passes, we finally made it to the final admission line. I met one of the local dealers on the side, and he informed me that he had just gotten in 12 inch Doctor Who scarves. I absolutely adore the First Doctor, so instead of going up to the main exhibition room, I handed in my ticket, got stamped, and ran back to the smaller room to get the scarf of my dreams. Only after purchasing and donning my new scarf did I go up to the main exhibition floor.

There weren't actually any Q&As or photo-ops that I were interested in on Friday, so I took the day to do some shopping, take some photos, and familiarise myself with the setup.

I almost got a bat'leth for 150 dollars, but I really don't have room on my walls to put it up - and I don't have any shelf space either. In fact, my shelves take up my walls. The exhibitor did let me hold it and have my picture taken with it, however:

There was also a large (small) TARDIS cutout which I had my picture taken with:

I picked up quite a few items, two of them being a Vintage Mego Spock Figure and Mego U.S.S. Enterprise Action Playset (with a spin action transporter) for him to sit inside! Surprisingly, I only spent 50 dollars for each of them.

I also purchased a Limited Edition Captain Kirk snapback cap from 1994 (with the words "Captain Kirk" in large letters on the back and "Star Trek" written on the side). From the few sources I have found on the internet about this cap, it is rare. I don't believe that unless I actually have proof, and I don't care. It cost me ten dollars, and I love it.

The next photo is not the greatest quality, but it shows my entire haul from the first day. Not already mentioned are my box of Star Trek TNG stardiscs, Empty TARDIS box of Jelly Babies, Triforce drawstring bag (to hold my rupies), Strangers in the sky (one of my favorite novels about Vulcans) read by Leonard Nimoy and George Takei on cassette, 1996 Beavis and Butthead TV Talker, Star Trek TOS Fotonovels, and a TOS comic lot.

I also got an amazing portrait drawn of myself as a Vulcan in Starfleet, which I will post at a later time.

I met an old friend on the bus ride home, whom I excitedly (and loudly) spoke with (spoke to) about my comics and action figures, and about Star Trek/Doctor Who in general (to the amusement of the passengers around me).

I spent the rest of the night at home, putting the final touches on my costume for the next day.

Day Two

Ethan Phillips at Central Canadian Comic Con 2011

One more overdue post before I go to the Comic and Toy Expo tomorrow, this one involving one of my favorite Star Trek actors of all time - Ethan Phillips. Ethan Phillips not only played Neelix on Star trek Voyager, but he also played Farek (Ferengi) in the TNG episode "Ménage à Troi, Ulis (Ferengi) in the ENT episode "Acquisition", and the head waiter in Star Trek: First Contact.

I had the privilege of sitting in the front row during the Q&A, but there was no flash allowed so most of the pictures I took were blurry. A couple of them turned out, however:

I got to ask him a question midway through, and I chose to ask him how he felt about the relationship between Neelix and Tuvok. He turned to the crowd and told everybody that I just asked him if he "had always been this good looking", and that he had been (I must agree). He went on to answer my question though, and talked about how - first of all - Tim Russ is nothing like the character he played. I can personally confirm this - he is a very up-beat and blatantly humorous man, nothing like Tuvok. He went on to talk about how Neelix "wore his feelings on his sleeve", something that Tuvok both found distasteful and secretly admired.

Hopefully he will come back to the city in the future, as I would love to see him again. As for this weekend, I will have a chance to speak to Michael Dorn and sit in on/participate in his Q&A. There are also a few guests that are as of yet unannounced - I will be taking pictures.

Nana Visitor and Chase Masterson at C4 2011

This weekend I will be attending the Comic and Toy Expo, so I have decided to hunt down the rest of the photos I took at the 2011 Central Canadian Comic Con and stick them on here before I take any more. I am such a procrastinator, I doubt these pictures would ever get up if I don't do them now.

At the Con I was constantly running around and getting into lines for Q&As and autographs/pictures. One of the Q&As I managed to get into were for two of my favorite DS9 actors - Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys) and Chase Masterson (Leeta):

Unlike the Shatner and Frakes Q&As, I was in the seventh row. I didn't mind being there at all, as it was still quite close to the front. The only problem was that it made taking pictures more difficult with the camera I had at the time - unfortunate, because they looked so incredbly beautiful.

Anybody could tell that Nana and Chase were friends  - they seemed very close, joking with each other beforehand and during the session. They giggled when they saw cameras flash and posed for the rows of fans for about five minutes before they started. They were absolutely adorable, and two of the nicest people I had ever met.

The stories they told were amazing, and Chase actually got quite weepy while talking about her experience with a stalker and legal case - a fake matchmaking (extremely sexually inviting) profile was made with her real name, phone number, and address readily available. She was soon receiving threatening and perverted phone calls, and had to relocate with her son for several months. When she took legal action in 2003 against the hosting company, the hosting company won because it had not created the profile itself - thus being protected by the US Communications Decency Act. This obviously had a huge impact on her psychological well-being, but she seems to have (for the most part) moved passed it.

Did I mention the Joker was there? He just walked up behind them and crouched down to talk to them. He was actually working at the con, and did the introductions.

C4 Comic Con - William Shatner - Photos and Video

One of my favorite parts of Comic Con was seeing William Shatner again. I got in line right away, so I could get as close to the front as I could - fortunately, there was an empty seat in the first row. We had to sit the room for an hour before the show, so I conversed with some of the people I was sitting with. We talked about Star Trek and Doctor Who, and watched Night Court (with Brent Spiner as Bob Wheeler) on somebody's iPhone.

Finally, he came down the stairs and made his way to the stage:

This time he was wearing jeans and a leather jacket, as opposed to the suit he wore for "How Time Flies". He looked amazing, and hearing him answer questions was great. Fortunately, we were allowed to take video (which I did!). Unfortunately, the sound was terrible. So here are some quotes from the session:

• "And if you can move one molecule, you can move... two. And you still have nothing..." (When talking about the transporter and how scientists are working on teleportation technology) 
• "I am involved in trying to invent shows... Um, one - I'll tell you about because I'm in the process of doing it right now. It will open with a monologue by someone, maybe me, like the Twilight Zone - where the guy says 'I  think people are basically bad. They scheme, they plot... they conspire all the time. And here are some of the conspiracies.' And the hour will be a conspiracy that may or may not exist. Was there a JFK conspiracy? But this is from the point of view of the conspirator.
• All I know is, that you hear about... as you get older your brain's more foggy (?), and sticky, and - and you lose... it doesn't have to happen. I'm here to tell you, it doesn't have to happen if you just allow yourself to be creative in your own way.
• I struggled for twenty years trying to come up with a couple thousand dollars in the bank, brought up three kids, it was tough. I got ahead, the last several years, I have a little money. And I got a little prestige.
• But I'm doing it! It's the one percent! I've never been one of the one percent! I'm telling you, if you can ever get a limo to drive you to a private airport to get get on a private plane and go someplace... do it!
• You know, I've grown as an actor, I'm growing all the time - I'm finally finding out how to do it... you know, it's such a shame.
  

He also speaks about how people get addicted, his site "MyOuterSpace", "Weird or What?" and horse competition he was in the day before. He also tells us that around the time when one of his children was born, he was watching the television and a March of Dimes commercial came on. He watched as the "tiny tim" polio poster child made his way across the screen, and this affected him greatly - he was lucky, his child was healthy. But sickness can happen so suddenly. He is now a spokesperson for March of Dimes.

One person said to Shatner - they heard that he does math problems in his head before a show. He got a big laugh out of that one, and told us that the only math problem he does is "I'm one... where's my other one?".

And remember the show "How William Shatner Changed the World"? He tells us about how Paramount would not let him use "How Star Trek Changed the World" or even "How Captain Kirk Changed the World".

Now, for the video! I will leave you with part one, and the links to the continuing videos. I hope you enjoy - and I do apologize for the sound quality. (Also you can hear me giggling throughout the entire thing.)

Part Two (on the brain, his horses, how his life has changed, and March of Dimes)
Part Three (where he talks about "stupid Paramount")
Part Four (on Weird or What, acting on stage, and doing math problems in his head)
Part Five (where he explains his "singing" and his spiritual views)
Part Six (where he talks about careers and such)

C4 Comic Con - Jonathan Frakes - Quotes and Photos (Updated)

One of the special guests at the Central Canadian Comic Con (C4) was Jonathan Frakes, best known by Sci-Fi fans as Commander William T. Riker of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I took a lot of pictures, but as there was no video allowed, I had to depend on my terrible note-taking skills for quotes. Here are some of my favorites:

He was legitimately singing opera here. Seriously. It was amazing.

"When I first started on 'Star Trek,' I went to a convention in a little town called Syracuse, New York and everyone was still indignant that our show had come on the air because they were very heavy into Kirk and Spock and they really didn't like the idea of a new 'Star Trek.' I was waiting in the dealers' room to go on stage and at a dealer's table they were selling those action figures of the thinner versions of all of us... with Geordi LaForge $35, Picard for $50, a limited Data for $50 and the sign at the end of the table said, "buy any action figure and get Riker for free."

"I was more interested in where do you go to the bathroom on the Enterprise? What do you EAT? And why no POCKETS in the space suits? Don't get me started on my space suit. And what about this... (does an exaggeration of Riker's walk). Why did he walk like that all the time?"

"Wheaton is walking next to me and says, "you know Frakes, I can tell by the clothes that you wear and the music that comes out of your dressing room that, you used to be cool. Little shit."

"In real life, I play the trombone but I don't play it well. And on the show when you hear somebody playing the trombone and it sounds sort of not so good it's me. When you hear the trombone and it sounds really good on the show, that's Bill "

"Picard. Come on. Pfft, Kirk or Picard. You saw 'Generations.' Two captains in search of one good hairpiece."

" I wish 'Gargoyles' was STILL on the air! The greatest job. First of all, you go to work in your pajamas. Secondly, they've always got bagels and cream cheese. Thirdly, you sit around in a circle with other funny actors. It was a great gig. Marina, Data, um, Kate, Keith David, it was a great group. And it was one of those jobs where they would gather us all, like when we do the 'Family Guy' stuff they'd find us and we'd just have to do our lines. But with 'Gargoyles' we'd actually get together in the room and do the show. I liked that gig. I want it BACK!"

"So Nana Visitor... she sends Thomas Riker to some Cardassian prison and leaves him there for years! For years I was in the prison! ...Still in that bloody prison! I'll speak to her about that this evening."

"That was a great space bird." (after standing on one leg, other leg stretched out behind him, flapping his arms for about five seconds)

It's a really bad quality pic, but "That was a great space bird".

"In my country, we have wireless mikes." (after trying not to trip on the cord, and yelling at a Klingon (in Klingon!) who was trying to untangle it.)

"I try to encourage actors to find any other career... It's a really GLAMOROUS profession and it ALWAYS works out! EVERYBODY gets rich and you stay young FOREVER!"

"(Talking about Twitter) Spiner's got a million and a half, LeVar's got a million and a half, I just, I just joined, feel free to sign up. Jonathan S. Frakes. Who is that pretty girl who called me Franks when I came up here?" (He was, in fact, introduced as Jonathon Franks.)

"I'm not much of a Sci-fi fan, oddly enough... But I am enjoying Person of Interest."

"But oddly enough when Star Trek started, I didn't really know that we were joining part of the popular culture and thought we'd be under a rock or something. I didn't understand the power of the original Star Trek and didn't understand the passion. And then Roddenberry, may he rest in peace, was so great. He believed so heavily in his optimistic view of the future. I auditioned for 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' six times over several weeks, and each time as it got closer and closer to them finally making the decision I'd have to go into Gene Roddenberry's office and I'd sit there and he's sort of you know, he was like a coach. And he'd coach and say your audition is going to be great today, you're the guy I want to play Riker, and he said to me in the 24th century there will be no hunger, there will be no greed, and all the children will know how to read."

"Deep Throat Nine" (As he called Deep Space Nine throughout the show)

"I started to look at the original show and at that time got the VCRs of the show and watched those. And my wife Jeannie Francis who is a big Kirk fan she had Kirk posters on her wall when she was a kid. And then I go home for Christmas after the first season to see my mom and dad in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and I went out to the refrigerator to get a beer and a refrigerator was on the back porch and I go to the refrigerator and on the door is a poster -- this big -- a picture of Patrick Stewart. 'Oh, I just love Patrick Stewart.' Mom??! I'm in THE SAME SHOW! The other half of that picture is ME! 'He's so beautiful. And that voice… numba one… to BE!' (Imitating Patrick Stewart). Humbling."

"The 'Nemesis' movie was, my thoughts on why it didn't do well, awkward, be very careful Jonathan you are using your outside voice… speak diplomatically. I think that the core audience of our movies, which was you guys, wanted to see the Star Trek family which is Patrick and Brent, etc., And that movie was sort of about Thomas Hardy's character. The guy who was by the way, not only Inception, he's like the hottest thing. He's like a huge movie star now. And it's fabulous. He got his start in that movie. So I always thought that that movie, in addition to not being directed by me, was problematic because it was about a character who none of us really knew. I'm not sure that's what the problem was. I also think that Paramount with their infinite wisdom was really, incredibly, greedy, in terms of we had our show on the air, that they put Deep Throat--'Deep Space Nine' on the air, no, they put 'Voyager'then 'Deep Space' then 'Enterprise' and then we did 'Generations' and 'First Contact' and 'Insurrection' and there was just too much Star Trek. And 'Nemesis' was the first star trek movie to lose money. We made nine movies that all made money and as you know that's what projects into the future, so when 'Nemesis' stopped to make money the franchise came to a screeching halt until J.J. rebooted it brilliantly a couple of years ago. What's your theory about why it was a stinker? Or was it a stinker? Some people liked it."

"I'm serious. It's all work with me… Except for this one time. Michael Dorn, dear sweet turtle head, is up on the, you know, back end of the bridge, and old baldy is sitting there and I'm over here and the beautiful and talented Marina is over here. And Dorn had in his hand, because for years he's wanted to do this -- raw egg. So he leans over the bridge, and SMASHES it on Patrick's head. Albumin everywhere. Yolk down that British face. That's a lie. That's a boldfaced lie. It never happened. It would've been great though, right?"

"You know how we use to get hit by phaser fire from enemy ships? And we'd all rock around and be thrown around the bridge, and Marina would be over in her seat, and when we got hit her hair would lay back and she'd look over and her breasts would be full, and I'd be over here rocking and throwing my self around like Riker, and Patrick would be sitting over in his captain's chair, the ergonomically built for his back captain's chair, which was stolen by a fan at one point… And he would all be, very stoic. And under his breath, I heard this many times (imitating Patrick Stewart), "Oh Jonathan… Jonathan… 25 years in the Royal Shakespeare Company… FOR THIS??"

Just as I suspected (and was told by other Star Trek cast members), Jonathan Frakes is a very funny man and a great performer. At one point, a couple of people were attempting to take video of him talking. He walked to the front of the stage, leaned down, and yelled - "NO VIDDEEOOO!" It must have been a personal request, because video was permitted for every other guest.

I went and got a picture with him after the Q&A, which was very rushed and taken professionally. I looked up at him and said, "I love you". He hesitated for a moment before saying "and I you". I felt like a really big creep, but I don't really care. It was great seeing him, and he is just as handsome as ever. I just wish I could have been less awkward is his presence.

C4 Comic Con - Finished (and Signed!) Captain Kirk Painting

Comic Con is finally over. I enjoyed it immensely while it was on, but there is nothing more exhausting that being in a giant building filled with people - running around to be one of the first people in line to see some of Star Trek's most celebrated people.

I was fortunate enough to get the painting I had done of Captain Kirk personally signed by Mr. Shatner. I was so excited and nervous, he had to keep asking me what I said when I told him I had painted it. He told me it was "very well done", however, and was really nice and somewhat shy/gentle about it.

Over the next week or two I will be posting pictures and/or video I took from the Q&A sessions - including Jonathan Frakes, Ethan Phillips, Nana Visitor, Chase Masterson, and the one and only - William Shatner. I will also be posting pictures of some vintage collectables that I came across (and now own) so check back! I will be very busy.