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RADIO PLAY: The History

I posted this in the comment room, but Todd suggested I repost it here...

RADIO PLAYS...

Sometimes I just don't have anything Gargoyles for us to do. And I'm not sure if just doing old episodes is all that interesting. And the other things have been fun... at least it seemed that way to me.

Here's a history of the works of the GATHERING PLAYERS...

1998 - RAIN OF THE GHOSTS (an unproduced pilot I wrote)
1999 - THE ROSWELL CONSPIRACIES (a rejected pilot I wrote)
2000 - ROUGHNECKS: THE STARSHIP TROOPERS CHRONICLES (the last arc of the series, which I story edited, half of which was unproduced. Written by me, Jon Weisman Lydia Marano, Cary Bates and Michael Reaves.)
2001 - GARGOYLES: "Hunter's Moon, Part Three" (Note: this was the first time that we actually did something gargoyles related for the radio play. This included scenes that were cut for time from the original. Written by Michael Reaves.)
2002 - TEAM ATLANTIS: "The Last" (Unproduced episode featuring Demona and Fiona Canmore, written by me)
2003 - GARGOYLES: "The Reckoning" (Performed in honor of Gary Sperling, who co-wrote the script with Lydia.)
2004 - GARGOYLES: "The Journey" (my uncut version of the script)
2005 - DOC SHAKESPEARE (An unproduced pilot written by myself and Sam Bernstein)
2006 - GARGOYLES: "The Mirror" (written by Lydia Marano and Brynne Chandler Reaves)
2007 - GARGOYLES: "Clan Building, Chapters III, IV & V: Invitation Only, Masque & Bash" - (from the comic, premeiring chapter V before it was published. Written by me...)
2008 - Geez, I should probably figure this out soon...

Anyway, you can see that traditionally, we've only done something gargish about half the time. For me it's fun to get to see my unproduced work performed, and it does give the fans a little insight into the biz. In any case, I've never heard any complaints from the folks who attended.
Greg Weisman
OFF TO CHICAGO... ON A WING AND A PRAYER...


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Kelly L Creighton / Kya White Sapphire writes...

Youre sure you want the WHOLE thing, no links? What years, just this one, or all of them? Well, here goes. I apologise for the HUGE length of this... but its going to be all of them. :)

2000

2000 - YES! i went to the gathering 2000. it was so awesome. i could never capture all the awesomeness on this page, but ill relate what i can. HOORAY FOR GARGOYLES CONVENTIONS!

Thursday: i get off work at about 5:30, go home, pack, wait for Tore. Tore gets home and tells me he has to work sunday (and friday, but we knew that) so i decide to ask my bud Cyan to go with me instead. Tore leaves for raquet ball, but not before i tell him i wont be home when he gets back. i drive two hours north to Beverly Hills to cyan's house. i learn that Tore has locked himself out of the apartment. Cyan packs, and we drive two hours south to let Tore in the apartment. O.o

Friday: cyan and i get up at 6:45am and drive to orlando. we get to the hotel at about 8:40and look for the group who is supposed to room with us: Meredith and her husband. theyre not there. we go to the con suite, register and get name badges, waste an entire 24 exposure roll of film and run back and forth to the lobby, looking for meredith. by about noon im convinced that they got in an accident or lost. they finally arrive, and all is well.
during this time i meet Siryn, Damocles, Eden, Flyx, Kythera, Kyshandra, Vig, Blindside, Little Deamon, Karlyl and various other peeps (i wont remember til i look at the photos). Then went to listen to Thom Adcox talk about stuff. I LOVE THIS PART!!
Thom talks about being felix the cat, how he loved doing gargoyles, and how he swears a lot in real life. believe me- its odd to hear this man swear, especially after listening to him as lex for the past six years. imagine lex saying "its too weird. kinda fun... FUUUUCK!" *smiles*
went with meredith to cash her check. this takes at least an hour. bank of america sux. went to a little of the fanfic readings, wandered around the art room.
then aimee and kanthara came in and answered our questions about drawing. (ok so i asked too many questions, and only two other ppl asked anything at all. so what i worship those two!! ;P) and aimee doodled in my sketchbook while they looked for a big paper pad to demonstrate on. (no im NOT gona scan the stuff she drew- at least not til im in the mood to.)
went to dennys with damocles. went to opening ceremonies. clapped loudly. watched starship troopers (the series) which greg worked on. twas cool. followed damocles around for a few hours. by now most of my second roll of film is gone. went to bed around 2am.

Saturday: wake up to my watch alarm going off at 9am. go back to sleep. wake up at 10:15 to damocles pounding on my door. "youre suposed to be downstairs, modeling, remember?" OH SHIT! run downstairs, get instructed, learn the male model goes first, run back upstairs, brush my teeth, wash my face, change, (all this while trying not to wake Cyan, Meredith or her husband) run back downstairs, watch male model. then i model (clothed).
then i go stand post at the art room, not allowing cameras, bags, food or drinks. go swimming. drag others into pool. go to TGIFridays with all tha art chiks. listen to first act of radio show. go swimming. get ready for banquet. power goes out as someone hits a transformer down the street. finish getting ready in the dark. run down to the con suite. meet legolas. sit at table with legolas, little deamon, cyan, and some other ppl :P ask greg and thom questions at Q&A. our table "the table with no name" wins the trivia contest (WOOHOO!). power comes back on. finish my third roll of film.
run upstairs, get changed for masqerade. (im a wench! YAY!) watch the kids costume contest. take lots o pix of ppls costumes. go thru 4th roll of film. dance around, play LOTS OF TAG, get all kinds of bumps and scrapes. (from playing tag) act hyper, bother Gate13, (all night) stay up til... oh i think like 4am. go to bed.

Sunday: wake up at 9:30am. go downstairs and draw the female nude life drawing session. go to lunch with Gate13, coldsteel, and shugun raptor (were now known as "the 4 waters gang"). dont ask. go swimming. watch part of the auction. nap in the con suite for a couple hours. watch some gargoyles. learn that cyan has locked my keys in my car. spend next couple hours getting the lock popped. dont ask. (lets just say that Hudson and DarkHorse and all the other peeps that were chatting in that lil back room in A&B kick ass. they all donated money, cuz i had none, to get the lock popped. you guys rock. i owe u ^_^) watch some 3X3 eyes. go swimming. go to pizza hut with the 4 waters gang. watch more 3X3 eyes. get a couple pix of Thom and have him sign them for me. had planned to drive home tonight but too tired, so room with the 4 waters gang. go to sleep about midnight. have now finished 5th roll of film.

Monday: come home. boy im in pain. but what a great weekend. cant wait for next years ;P

2001

2001 - This year's gathering was very organized, and well planned. In keeping with tradition, this fact will be reflected in my Gathering 2001 Journal. Last year's event was haphazard and crazy, though no less enjoyable, and so my recounting of those events were scattered and random, and the picture gallery lacked any order besides alphabetical. This year, all images will include size tags, and I'm even setting things up in a nice neat table. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the organized and ordered insanity. :) -KWS

Thursday, June 21st
Tore and I woke up at 5:30am eastern time. Having been packed since the Saturday before, it was just a matter of brushing our teeth, throwing some clothes on and going. Luckily Tore and I had GameBoys to keep us amused on the long, four hour and twenty minute flight, or surely we would have gone mad. We arrived in LAX and headed for the ATM and bathroom. Immediately we were spotted by another garg who had been on the same flight, GoliathLugia. The three of us picked up our luggage and boarded the Super Shuttle. Now let me tell you, if you're ever in LAX and need to get somewhere, take the SS. These guys know how to drive. Roller coasters don't compare. This guy had the full size van zipping within inches of other vehicles at sixty miles an hour, pulling into spots and slamming on the breaks with mere milimeters to spare.

When finally we got to the hotel, we checked in with minimal trouble, though we notices that the front desk staff wasn't exactly the sharpest cutlery in the kitchen. We hurried to our 20th floor room and unpacked, and sat there, playing GameBoy. Zaius and MorningSong (among others) burst into the room, and MorningSong dragged me down to her room to see her very cool costume. A group of us, consisting of Tore and I, GoliathLugia, Zaius and Nick went to CityWalk to eat lunch. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, which was very expensive with bad food. I had ordered my burger medium well, and it was burnt to a crisp to the extent that I couldn't eat it for the taste of charcoal. By the way, the room keys only worked for about 2 hours before they lost their code. It took several days to fix. Every time it happened, they would ask for and ID, and I would say "it't in the ROOM!" Jason, the Concierge, got to recognize Tore and I to the point that he would just walk by the front desk and say "It's okay, I know them. Just code the key."

Tore insisted at this point, and had been for days, that he did not want to come all the way to the west coast and sit in a hotel all weekend, so we went to the Concierge's desk and talked to Steven and Jason to get a rental car. We grabbed Ylla and Andy Stoker and picked up a small sedan. Jason even gave directions and a map on how to get where. We drove down Santa Monica Blvd and Rodeo Drive. On the way we passed the Gateway to The Underworld and the Hitchiking Tree Stump. We walked along the beach, which had yellow sand and brown water, and enough trash lying around to fill a dumpster. Later Karlyl would tell us we had better be careful, the bacteria count may be up o.O I collected little butterfly shells with the intention of making little plaques for the four of us. I left the cup of shells on top of the car, however, and they are now spread about in little bits on Ocean Blvd.

With all this driving I soon found that L.A. is infested with Volkswagen Beetles. Tore was up by 14 by the end of the day, which is more than we've ever seen in one day, let alone been ahead by. I still find it unfair, since I was the navigator, and spent most of the trip staring at the map, since Tore consistently turned down the wrong streets and missed turns I had suggested. And then he would argue with my directions. *huff huff* !!

Anyway, on the drive back the four of us were being very silly on the way back from the beach. First of all, I really needed a hair brush, but Ylla did not have one. Andy offered his shoe- "It has really deep treads..." We also noticed a type of tree that at first was very cool. It had bone white bark and bright yellow-green foliage, which was thick and confinded to the tops of the long, twisted branches. But then we noticed that these trees seemed to have choked out all other native plant life, and the bone-likeness seemed to become evermore ominous. There were also several posters hanging from the street lamps. They were abstract, though appeared to have a man nailed by his wrists to a post. The banners simply read "Public Offering" and were hung every few hundred yards. We were very amused by this at the time, and it's kinky connotations.

By the end of the trip Tore had sucessfully learned to drive like a native, having cut people off, jumped into oncomming traffic, and generally been totally rude. We also discovered the existance of THREE Santa Monicas - Hwy 101/Santa Monica Freeway, Santa Monica Blvd, and LITTLE Santa Monica Blvd, which runs parallel to its larger sibling then veers east. The construction was also a source of amusement, as Tore pointed out the large trench encompassing the road. Andy's comment "open trenchamie" was enought to keep us laughing until we arrived back at the hotel.

Karlyl didn't arrive until after 9pm, and Jade Griffin perhaps around 1am. Tore slept, and I stayed up until about 2:00am L.A. time, for a total of 23½ hours of wake time. Interestingly enough, this day was the summer solstice, quite literally the longest day of the year :)

Friday, June 22nd

I awoke to Karlyl and Jade Griffin wispering. It was around 8:30. I was astonished that i didnt feel the need to go back to sleep. Tore and I went down to the art room and set up my artwork. Eden organized the whole art show! That will be my job next year, as I will be the art director. I finally got to meet some people face to face, like Stephanie Lostimolo! I also gave CrzyJen a back massage, since she was under so much stress. Anyway, Tore and I then went to the registration desk to get our badges. There were a lot of people milling about, watching gargoyles on the big screen TV. Tore tried to pull out cash, but the Budget Rent-A-Car had held $200 from his card, and not put it back yet. They said they would put it back when they got the car back, which they would get this morning.

We went to the fanfic reading. I won second place for the essay contest: "What Gargoyles Means to Me." I read my essay aloud, and hoped people werent too bored. We listened to Tigris Euphrates read the winner for poetry, and her winning entry for the Star Trek crossover. It was very good, I'm glad it one! Tore and I left the reading session early so I could try out for the Radio Play. I read Demona's lines when she tries to convince Goliath to join her cause. I'm not really sure what episode it's from. Awakenings, I think. Anyway, I left the room positive that the panel (Made up of Greg Weisman, Thom Adcox, and someone else...) would never in a thousand years use me for the radio play.

Tore and I browsed the artwork, but wanted to hold off from voting until everyone's work had been set up. We ate lunch at CityWalk (yes, CityWalk, AGAIN). We went through the dealers room, where I bout gargoyles trading cards (of which i only needed one to complete my set) and a lexington cup. Tore and I wanted good seats at opening ceremonies (because i NEVER get good seats for ANYTHING) so we went to the studio early, and got kicked out. Then MoningSong asked us to guard the door, which we did. When finally the doors opened, i launched myself from the stairs, around some people, and slid thru the door. We got front row seats. Karlyl and Al sat in row two, attesting that they were too good to sit with us ;P Then we got kicked out of the front row for the guests. And Kars and Ali laughed. Then they got kicked out of row two, for more guests. So anyway, I still got lousy seats. But I took many many pictures. Far too many to post them all here. Mwahaha. A lot of the pictures I took were around this time, so this section of the page is going to be spaced a little odd, to fit all the photos.

On a happy note, I finally got a good pic with Thom Adcox. Last year I had my picture taken with him. I finished off the roll of film, rewound it and tried to pop it out of my camera. But it jammed, and the whole roll got exposed to light. There goes that roll. I had another pic taken. The picture came out pretty good. I scanned it, but the scan was awful and horrible and dark. Before I got a chance to scan it agian, the actual photo got lost! Thats what happens when you let people look through your pictures before theyre in an album. This year I wouldn't let anyone touch any of the photos before I got them in an album!

Greg showed us the pitches to gargoyles, the concept stuff, and his developments for spinoffs. We've seen it before, and we can never get enough. I *so* want the original gargs pitch on tape. *shudders* Afterwards, Tore, Karine, Patrick, Ylla, Tristan, Djali, Karlyl and I all went out for Sushi. Merideth and Andy joined us later, but since Sushi at CityWalk can sit a maximum of eight people together, they got put behind us. I spent the meal poking Andy, so he and Mer wouldn't feel left out, and Mer spent the meal trying to snap my bra, which is impossible, as when I actually wear a bra (which is rare) its a sports bra. *evil laugh* MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Greg also announced the people who would be in the radio play, and I had a part!

I don't remember what else we did that night, but based on what Tore and I did all weekend, we probably went back up to the room and played GameBoy. :)

Saturday, June 23rd

Karine, Pat, Karlyl, Tore and I were running too late to go to CityWalk for breakfast, so we decided to eat at the hotel restaurant. o.O The prices were outrageous. I got corned-beef hash, two eggs, toast, hashbrowns and water, and my bill came to over ten dollars. The food wasn't even very good! Tore and I were running so late that I gave money to Karine to pay for my meal. Later we would find out that the hotel tried to charge more than the menu prices for everything, and insisted they could not fix it! Karine and Karlyl left a message for the manager, and we were all very miffed.

Anyway, Tore and I went to the voice acting Q&A, which had already started. We stayed for both sessions. I got up and read the part of Una in a small scene from MIA, and then tried to do a voice dub for an anima series I've never heard of. I guess I did semi-okay. I think it might be fun to do some voice acting, but Greg says if you don't have a passion for it, don't bother, as it is a very tough thing. I really want to be a scince teacher, and I don't see myself ever moving to LA anyway. It's much too expensive.

Afterwards, Tore and I went back to the art room and voted for our favorites, then went to CityWalk and grabbed a quick takeout lunch. I had a very good "chopped" salad, which I guess is the LA term for Chef Salad, and Tore got chineese food which gave him a sour stomach.

I got back just in time for RadioPlay rehersals. Then Tore and I played GameBoy until the actual RadioPlay. It was funny, Greg was setting up chairs for all of the actors. Tore came in and set a bottle of water on one of the chairs. I thought it was HIS water, and he was putting it there to save his seat. Greg picked it up and said "Is this mine?" and I said "No, it's my fiancee's." Greg then informed me that he had asked Tore to go get it for him. Boy did I feel sheepish.. Anyway, I played the part of Fox, and had only one line. Blarg. Oh well, at least I got chosen. I know I should be happy with that, but I'm self-centered and vain, what can I say?

After rehersals I wanted to hang out with Tristan and the bunch, but they wanted to see Atlantis at the IMAX. There were three problems with that: I'd already seen Atlantis, I couldn't rationalize spending twenty dollars to see it again, and Tore was very hungry, and we knew nothing would be open by the time the movie got out. So Tore and I parted the company of the masses and ate at Shanghai & Mein (S&M... huh huh huh...) which had EXCELLENT food. The best eggrolls I've ever had.

During the meal and for several hours afterwards, Tore and I played GameBoy. :)

Sunday, June 24th

Sick of the previous morning's experience with breakfast, Karlyl, Tore and I went to Carl Jr.'s for the morning. They had greasy food, but it was CHEAP! We walked down the hill instead of taking the tram, but hitched a ride back up. (We were on a darn steep hill!)

Tore and I went to the series production thingie, or at least what was left of it. We stayed for the voice actor's Q&A. I got Thom Adcox to sign my Lex cup, and went back up to my room to get my gargoyles trading cards and my script from the RadioPlay for the voice actors to sign. We stood in line for a good hour or so, but Kieth David left before we got a chance to have him sign things. His little boy was sick, and bored. How could someone be bored at a gargs convention? ;P Oh well.

Tore and I were going to watch TV in the video room, and sit down with a snack of peanuts and snapple, but I ended up helping Eden disassemble the Art Room. Now, before the con I had heard rumors of the G2002 chair not wanting to run the con. The threat of not having a gathering became very real. I told Jen that if need be, I would run the con myself, despite my lack of knowlege in such things. It's just that the thought of there not being a gathering is very frightening to me. It's what I look forward to all year! Anyway, Siryn was there to take the slack, and I offered to be the Art Director. Cindy thinks she might not be able to make it next year, and Siryn swore she wouldnt be both Con and Art Director. Anyway, so I'm diving into something I have no idea about, just for the sake of keeping this going. *BANZAIIII!*

I bought a piece of art by Tana, and found that someone had bought some of my art! I was totally amazed, and I can't seem to GIVE my art away. Someone bought Pyramid, and Greg's son bought my Cat Comparison pic! Imagine my delight! Tore and I also bought GoliathLugia's GameBoy Advance so Tore could give it to his eldest son, Brandon, and I bought some games. (I have since bought several accessories for my GBColor, including a light, AC adaptor, Car adaptor, two cases, several more games, etc. Me, addicted? NAW!)

About an hour and a half before the banquet I began to prep. Tore insisted I had plenty of time. Har har. I was ready just in time! We got upstairs to find... that they were running behind schedule. Oh well, it gave me plenty of time to go around and take pictures of everyone lining up. When they let everyone in to be seated, I tried to make a dash for Aimee and Stephanie's table, but it filled up rather quickly. In fact, everyone I tried to sit with kind of kicked Tore and I out. So we sat at an empty table. Soon Tigris Euphrates and a few other people who had also been edged out of other tables gathered with us. So we were the reject table, so be it. Then they started seating guests. And to my amazement, who should be called to sit at the table of rejects than Greg Weisman himself! Tore and I spent the meal stealing he and his wife's ear. I pretty much didn't stop talking the entire time. Like I said, I am my favorite subject :)

Thom and Crispin were generally silly the whole time. I didn't get any pictures. Lets just say you should have been there. And if you weren't, SHAME ON YOU!

After the meal (which was okay) I went back to my room to get on my costume. I went as my Avian Form which I don't really RP as anymore. Actually, I don't even have this form anymore, she is her own entity named Krynn Swiftwind. Im kind of disappointed with my actions, if not my costume. The costume itsself was pretty cool. Its just that I only walked on stage, twirled and walked off. EVERYONE else, even those people not in the cosplay, at least did something. ANYTHING. So I was kind of dull. This is one of the few points in the Gathering where I was actually depressed. I felt like a lamer. I was pretty much determined to be pissed for the rest of the night, but after changing out of my costume and coming back to the ball, they were playing Love Shack, and I can't be depressed to that song. See, a long time ago, when I was still a little girl, my brother and parents and I went to a bar and sang Kariokie (how does one spell that word?). My brother and I sang Love Shack. And all the bikers in leather, all the drunks, everyone stopped playing pool, stopped drinking, and turned to watch this (13?) year old girl and her brother sing Love Shack. I wish we had it on tape. Oh well, I will do better next year.

This night we also learned about an interesting law in LA. In this city, which you would think never sleeps, there is a law about noise, and how there shouldn't be any after 11pm. So here it is Sunday night, and none of us are ready to sleep. We decided to cram into as many cars as we could find and go somewhere, anywhere. A club perhaps. We asked many of the guests to come with us, but they all insisted they were too old. Too old? What? My dad is 62 years old, and he doesn't show such a lack of energy. I wonder if maybe a lot of the guests were just kind of weirded out by us.

We stood in the lobby of the hotel for at least an hour, trying to figure out where to go and who could drive. By the time we had plans, Karine pointed out, it was probably too late to go anywhere, and everything would probably be closing soon, since it was Sunday. So we just sat in the lobby, and talked. We gave spoons to Myr, who is unfortunately retiring this year. Kyffin even gave him the METAL SPOON! Tore was already upstairs, so I just went to bed.

Monday, June 25th

Tore and I were both semi awake. I heard a knock at the door, but was too far into the next world to care. Suddenly Karine is shoving two plastic spoons in my face, telling me some people at the door wanted her to give them to me. I took the spoons and stumbled towards the door, tripping at lesat twice. An entire MiniClan invasion force stood there. I Invited them in while Tore and I got ready. Then the lot of us went to CityWalk.

We all went to closing ceremonies, which is always a sad time. Tore and I pre-registered for next year. I also commissioned a picture from David Wong, which will be put in the gallery as soon as I get it. We sat aroiund trying to figure out what to do, and I took many pictures. I even took a picture of the concierge, Jason, who helped us with many things all weekend! The whole group of us went to the mall and ate at the food court, because I was still hungry. We got lost several times on the way to the mall. I mean SEVERAL. We made at least four U-turns, and several roads were crossed more than once. Now let me tell you, this mall was LAME. It was in burbank. First of all, the food courst was designed in such a fashion that you must walk the length of it to see what options are available. The food court at Countryside mall, which rules by the way, is in a semi circle, so immediately upon entereing you can browse all your choices and not take a step. Second, the food wasn't that good. But Tristan draw a neat picture in the mustard!

More reasons why the mall is lame: I was taking pictures of our group, and Kyffin was sitting on the floor waiting for the elevator to come. A security guard, who spoke little english, pointed at me and then to this little sign that said "no photographs" and then to Kyffin, and to the sign, which also said "no sitting on the floor." We were astonished. What idiocy! We thought of several reasons for these rules, but none of them made sense. Like I said, it's a lame mall.

We stopped in several stores, including KB Toys, Sears, and more. In ToonTime, I bought some stickers out of the machine. What were the two first pokemon to appear bot Tore and my favorites? It was interesting. I bought two more stickers, neither of which were cool, so we're giving them to the kids! ^_^

After the mall, Tore and I went back to our room to pack. I think I stole someone's deoderant. o.O anyway, after packing, we played more GameBoy. We wanted to go to the dead dog party, but it was canceled. Jen said it might be, since all the food had been eaten. But I even offered to donate large sums of money for food! I so much wanted to spend time with the gang! Later I would learn that Karine and Pat were invitied to hang with the staff upstairs, but I tried as much as possible to let it slide off my back. Afterall, they can't let everyone into their room. (Oh look, is that the reject's table again?)

So Tore and I spent a good deal of time... you guessed it... playing GameBoy. Okay, I admit,some of the times I was playing GameBoy, Tore was reading, but I don't remember which times were which.

Tusday, June 25th

The whole day was spent in travel. We had asked Jason, the concierge, to have a Super Shuttle waiting for us at 7:30am. The driver spoke little english, and in fact had "learning english" audio tapes playing when I got in the van. Tore and Karlyl spent about fifteen minutes at the front desk trying to figure out the room charges. You see, when we got in the room, people had opened up the fridge and said "food!" and I was like "no!" So we moved all the food to a drawer to hide it. What we didnt know is that the fridge was weighted, and so my card got charged for all the missing food. Well, we got it all straitened out. We drove to the airport, when I realized I didn't have enough cash to pay the driver. So I ran to an ATM, and in under three minutes had given him $40. He wasn't a nice driver though. Anyway, we board the plane, fly to CVG, then to TPA. We didn't even land until 10:10, and then we taxied for at least fifteen minutes. Tore and I got home well after eleven. Yes, we played a lot of GameBoy.

2002

2002 - Let's see. I was on staff this year. I've been working on the Gathering for several months (since almost immediately after last year's con.) Thus, despite the fact that I was in Virginia for a week, the con felt FAR too short. It needed to be about a month long, though I'd probably have died. As it is, I'm incredibly tired, But I want to write down everything I can remember, before I forget. So, here we go.

We were actually supposed to leave right after work on Tuesday. But no, Tore had to go out of town Tuesday morning, and he didn't get back until about 6:30. So I went to his house right after work and slept for an hour or so, and when he got home I went off to get dinner so he could take a nap. I had Los Mariachis, he had Shanghai Express. So we actually left Clearwater around 8:30pm. Tore took the first shift driving, with the intention that I would sleep and take over later. The problem is, I wasn't actually that tired. So I did very little sleeping. Anyway, I took over at about 3:30am, gave it back to him somewhere around 4:45, took the wheel again at something like 6am, and gave it back to Tore within two hours or so. He then did all the driving until we reached the Holiday Inn Williamsburg, at 10:30am. We made damn good time, probably due to his speeding.

All day Wednesday we read books and slept. We were so exhausted that we didn't even eat dinner, though we did grab lunch at a place called the Cornerstone Grill. I really liked the decor there... kind of industrial art-deco. We also (of course) found the nearest Wal-Mart and promptly spend $50 or so. Thursday morning we didn't really do anything structured, we had lunch at a small in with Zaius, Goliath116, and two guys from Tennessee who's names I don't recall.

Other staff members arrived later that evening, along with several attendees. Jubes, Si, her boyfrined Tempest, and Tore and I had dinner at a steakhouse Tore wanted to try. We discussed last minute things, then ran to Wal-Mart again to grab more stuff. (Tore and I ended up going to Wal-Mart something like a half dozen times during the week we were there.) We got back and started stuffing envelopes with Maui, Jessie and Kess (who arrived very late.) The envelope stuffing took several hours, and kept me up until something like 3am. Siryn and Tempest roomed with us Thursday night.

Friday morning, the art room setup. That was scary. A VERY big thank-you goes to BrooklynX, Norcumi, and the other guy who was helping (name? AHH!) and of course, Tore. Tore and I almost came to blows about how to set up the art panels, which were all odd sized. The setup looked very good though, and we got many compliments. After that I had to put up artwork for the non-attending artists, and record all the "last minute art" for the attendees. Dreamie, Winterwolf, Tore and I went and had chinese food at Mr. Liu's.

At opening ceremonies I got to read a poem (which is displayed in the Library) that I wrote for the Fandom. I almost cried as I read it... I really love the Fandom. Greg gave his usual shpeel, which we all love. We handed out the FREE STUFF Toon Disney had sent us. How cool is that? They sent us free gargs stuff, like shirts, hats and sweat-shirts. And then, Greg made the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. The fact that Toon Disney had sent us stuff was a good sign that we had their attention. Another good sign is that they are making Gargoyles pins, one of which I bought at the Gathering. But here is the big one: They are putting Gargoyles on DVD!!! Just one DVD so far, and it will come out sometime in 2003. We don't know exactly what's going on it- probably the first five episodes. But if it sells well, we will get more, and hopefully all three seasons! WOOHOO!

Karine and Adam arrived, so the four of us went back to Cornerstone Grill so I could try the Mahi Mahi from their dinner menu. I wasn't nuts about it, but I really liked the fried green tomatoes. Karine and Adam also got to try gritz. Eww. Anyway, somehow that night CrzyJen and I hooked up, and ended up talking girl-stuff until 3:30am.

Saturday is when I actually went to panels- Karine's how to draw panel, and Greg Gular's character design panel. I worked in the art room for a couple of hours, then went up to prep for the banquet. Oddly enough, everyone lost track of time and I had to clear out the dealer's room to get people to come to the banquet. The food wasn't great, but it was free. I sat with Karine, Adam, Tore, Sara Berkeley, Kythera, and someone I don't know. Then we went down to the masquerade/dance. There wasn't much dance music to be heard, so I danced at first (and pooped myself out) but by the time Karine came down she was too disappointed in the music selection to dance. So we pretty much sat at the other end of the room and talked to Greg. He gathered a large crowd, and we talked until late. Actually I left at a somewhat decent hour, something like midnight.

Sunday morning is when the lack of sleep caught up with me. I went to our morning staff meeting, then went directly back to bed. I was exhausted (a feeling I have yet to shake). I got back up around noon and started counting the votes for the art show. I was doing that up until (and during) closing ceremonies. Then it was strait to the art room to sell artwork and tear down the room. (Did I mention I was the Director of the Art Show?) I think Tore and I went to bed right after that.

Monday morning was the unofficial trip to Busch Gardens. I didn't take any pictures, since I didn't want to bring my camera. But Sara Berkeley and Tore and I spent most of the day together, with Dreamie and Winterwolf there often as well. Tore and I did all four big coasters, so SaraB and I scoured the park for a "Fear the Four" shirt that was small enough to fit me. We ended up getting a youth's small. It fits great! I got to see Greg Weisman at lunch, and dinner, and again when we met to all watch Imaginique. Then Tore and I rushed back to the hotel so we could pack, shower and load the car.

We got up early Tuesday morning to drive Kythera to the airport. I went to sleep in the back of the car, and Tore drove the whole way home. (On about 4 hours sleep. Woohoo.) I offered to drive but he wanted to do it, since he speeds more than I do and he wanted to get home >:) He wasn't out of it though, or I would have taken over. So anyway, we made it back to his house by about 5:30. Then I came home, threw my stuff on the bed, and started up the computer to type this. I wanted to forget as little as possible!!

2003

Thursday, June 26

Joey was supposed to have his Gargoyles music video done. Well, he was SUPPOSED to come to the Gathering with me. But last minute, as in 11pm the night before, he calls and says he can't go. But he assures me that he will still give me the money as if he were staying in the room, so he didnt screw the rest of us over. He was supposed to have the music video ready for the contest. But he didnt start trying to burn it until 6am, an hour before I'm scheduled to be at his house. The power goes out on his street. No video. He tells me he has a bad feeling about me going to NY, I tell him tough cookies, Im going anyway. I told him I'd call him later about getting ahold of the video. (Incidentally, I never got ahold of it. The drama went on for a couple days, over the course of which the vid was supposed to be uploaded to Joey's cousin's site. No file there. So I couldnt enter the vid in the contest. Its a shame really, that vid was awesome.)

Dad drops me off at the airport, and I of course start to doodle. Soon the whole page is full of characters, people I'm supposed to see at the con. I'm flying Song, which is part of Delta. A fun man named Wayne, one of the attendants (now known as "talent" starts quizzing the waiting passengers, since we still have an hour before we can start boarding. First question: "Whats the name of the new Harry Potter novel?" Of course, I yell out "Order of the Phoenix!" and I am rewarded with a lolly pop. Yay! :) I board the plane, which is decorated inside with lime green, orange, purple, blue and yellow. Very fun. The "talent" were a lot of fun too, joking at eachother. Good flight.

Get off the plane, ask where I can go to get ground transportation. I am told to take the shuttle, $13. Woo! I find the shuttle. A taxi offers to take me to the hotel for $38. I scoff and say "But the shuttle is $13." He says "But its the shuttle." To which I respond "But its $13." I took the shuttle. Driver has a russian accent, seems like a total asshole. We drive for an HOUR to get to Grand Central. First impressions of NYC: There's graffiti on EVERYTHING and the whole city smells of sun-baked garbage. Blech. Arrive at Grand Central, take a smaller bus to the hotel.

Check in at the front desk, drop off my luggage in the room. Several phone calls to Dreamie and Winterwolf to figure out where they are. Thank goodness for cell phones. I help Dreamie, WW, Aaron, Greg B, Leo and .. damn I dont remember the other guy's name. Anyway we started setting up the art room. Much scrambling for drills that WORK. We take a break and go to lunch at Sbarro. It's not pizza hut, thats for sure, but it would do. We get back, I go to the hotel room. Liz is there. She shows me her mime impression of the tiny-ness of the room. We exchange gifts: books, shirts, etc. We go back to the art room to continue set up. Women do most of the work, while the men watch. Finally the women get tired and ask the men to take over. Liz says she's hungry, so we make our exit.

Blimpies for lunch. We try to eat in the Sbarro restaurant, but get kicked out. (There is no seating at Blimpies). We wander up to the con-suite. I exchange cell numbers with half the gargoyles maffia. Liz and I decide we want to play DDR. We walk about 9 blocks to the nearest DDR. On the way we see a mom picking her kid's nose. Eew? What a dirty city. Liz and I play DDR Extreme. Some creepy people watch us, but dont say anything. We decide to go back to the hotel. Lamps around the subway entrances look like pokeballs. I notice the marquee from Times Square advertising the Trek Con. I begin singing "Our con is better, we have Greg Weisman...." Just then we notice Greg is leaning on the wall outside our hotel, waiting for Thom to arrive. Much squealing and hugs. (Well, I was the only one squealing.) We wait around for a while, before we find out Thom and Vic are already waiting in the lobby, they'd used another entrance. Greg says theyre going to dinner. Kathy Pogge says that Liz and I cant go. Later Dreamie says we CAN go.

Dreamie, Liz and I wait in the lobby. Everyone else has already gone to dinner and are supposed to call with directions. No one calls, no one answers their cell phone. We FINALLY get ahold of someone, then power walk about 10 blocks to the Sushi place. Unagi is yummy. We walk back. I get to meet Ethan, who seems pretty cool. Liz and I take the leftover sushi to (someone's?) room. Kythera, Hudson, Guandalug (sp?), Duncan, Zaius and Nick are all there, plus others. Someone eats the sushi. We exchange D&D stories. Liz starts drifting off against the wall, so I drag her back up to the room to sleep. I take a shower.. that shower SUCKED. The water pressure was so hard it felt like I was being stung by bees. The water wooshed out so fast it created its own wind. I kid you not. It was like the apartment Tore and I had. Blech. The toilet was funny though. It flushed so violently it felt like it could create a mini tornado in the bathroom. I did finally sleep at some point.

Friday, June 27

Karlyl calls my cell at 630am. I think I'd only been asleep for 3 hours or so. I run down to the lobby to let her in (you cant get to the elevators without a room key.) She stowes her luggage in the closet, then goes to wander the city for a few hours so I can get more sleep. She came back at something like 800 or so. She, Liz and I went down to City Perk Cafe in the hotel lobby for breakfast. We take our food to the con-suite so we can chat with people. We grab Liz's art to set it up in the art room. FLOSS! As we are doing so, Nixie calls my cell, she's waiting downstairs. I go get her, and meet Ganador. Nixie registers at the desk, we get to see Karlyl, Thundra and Djali. Kars and I help Liz set up her othercon art.

The three of us grab Thundra, Djali and Ganador and go for lunch and DDR. Lunch was okay, just subs from the place right next to the arcade. We play much DDR. Good times. Kars and Tuntun are now hooked on DDR. Djali has rediscovered her obsession. MUAHAHA! After DDR we wander back to the hotel. Karine is in the Lobby, I drag her upstairs. We all start arting in our room. (Note: much arting went on this weekend.) We all go up to Opening Ceremonies. We plug the Gathering 2004, which is going to ROCK. We listen to Greg's shpeel again (you know, the same one he does every year) completing his sentences for him. We help Karine set up her artwork. We go to the same sushi place from the night before. Unagi is still yummy. I tried Sake (sp?). The first sip was okay, but each progressive sip was more and more disgusting. I didnt finish even one glass.

We grab our sketchbooks and go to the 6th floor lounge to start arting. We are eventually kicked out by a security guard named Gonzales (remember his name, it comes back up later.) Karine informs us that our room does not lock properly. I go down to the front desk and talk to a man who doesnt seem to know what to do about the situation. Finally I say "Either fix the lock, or give us a new room." We got a new room. The beds were the same size, but the room was much bigger. Very nice. There are sheets on the bed, but no blankets or beadspreads. I go back downstairs and ask for blankets and bedspreads. The girls start moving into the new room. Liz tells me she left her expensive pens in the lounge- I have to get Gonzales to unlock the room so I can get them. Blankets come, no bedspreads. I insist on bedspreads, because I hate getting cold in the middle of the night. Karine rants for about an hour about the stress at her job. King size bedspreads are eventually delivered (for our full size beds.) I shower, then fall asleep.

Saturday, June 28

We all chat in the room while Liz and Karine shower. Good thing: Half of the room occupants are morning shower people, the other half are night shower people. Breakfast at City Perk again. We head to the draing Q&A hosted by Karine, Liz, Kythera and Nikki. At some point Matt (Artgolem) walked in. He came and sat down behind me, YAY! I show him the doodle I did on Thursday. He doodles too. Im so jealous of his mad art skillz. ^_^ After the panel the majority of us went up the the Dealer's room. Karine and Patrick started taking pre-registrations for 2004. I registered. We arted. Djali, Liz and I went to K Mart to get some munchies. Karine started her Cel-coloring panel. Laurean watched the registration desk. I went down to Karine's panel just to doodle. Came up with a decent image, which I may finish at some point. I then went back up to the Dealer's Room to take over the pre-reg desk. I double the number of people who pre-reg. I am an effective salesman when I believe in the product ;) Some people drifted in and out of the room, I got to chat with Laurean, Matt, Karlyl, Nixie, Liz, BrooklynX, and some other gargs.

I leave to start getting ready for the banquet. I take the money with me, I dont feel safe leaving it in the dealers room. We all start getting ready for the banquet in our room. Matt offers to leave to give us some privacy. That launches me into my "60 naked women, ass in your face, you have no idea." basic training story for the umpteen millionth time. So he stays. He says he can't go to the banquet, he doesn't have the money. I offer to pay for him to go, and wont take "no" for an answer. Matt and I race around the hotel trying to find a con-staffer who is willing to take my money. Lynati signs the back of Matt's badge. Thanks Lynatti!! The food was a little dry, the salad drenched with dressing. However the coffee and treats were yummy, Liz and I split one of each of the six kinds of yummmies. Matt had to leave... poo. I wish Matt could have stayed longer.

Random side note: I spent a lot of time trying to NOT be annoying this year. Did it work? I have a habbit of clinging to people (Greg W, new friends, etc.) And I think I alienate a lot of people that way. So I tried to be a little distant. I hope I didnt come off as cold to anyone. I just seem to push people away FASTER if I try to cling to them too much.

Karine, Liz and I really wanted to dance. But the "sound system" was just an old boom box with blown speakers. They didnt even have dance music. Liz and I played a few of my CDs for a while, but then decided we needed to GO somewhere. Liz, Karine and I set out to find a club. We walk something like 15 blocks only to find a club that charged a $25 cover and played rap. GAG ME. We headed back to the hotel, in the hopes of finding another club. Then we just wanted to find a bar with music. Then we just wanted to find something that was OPEN. We finally found a little tavern, and Karine introduced me to a couple of drinks. So the list of things that I can drink without gagging has grown. Yay!

We decide we'd better get back to the hotel and to bed, since we know we're going to get up early for Dim Sum. But we end up arting, chatting and giggling until very early in the morning anyway. Run Away! Ha ha ha ha.

Sunday, June 29

First thought: Arg, I dont want to get up. *Karine goes to take a shower* oh good, I dont have to get up yet. *Karine finishes shower* Liz! Youre turn! *tries to push Liz out of bed* Liz: My turn? Why does it have to be my turn? Me: Okayfine. *gets up*

Karine, Liz, Nixie?, and I wait in the lobby for Dreamie and Winterwolf. We walk to the subway and wait FAR too long for a train. We RUN all over Chinatown looking for a restaurant that serves Dim Sum. We SCARF our food down. Dreamie, Karine and I take a cab back: we MUST be at the hotel at 11am to open the dealer/art room. We get there: the room is already open, probably by the hotel staff. Im glad I didnt leave the money in there last night.

More arting while we sit and take pre-regs for 2004. I go to Dreamie & Liz's computer coloring panel, and find out Ive been doing it all wrong. Poo. We all go to closing ceremonies, where I take yet more pre-regs for 2004. I go to help Liz take her artwork down for the auction. Talyesin arrives, Karine leaves. I miss you Karine! Liz, Talyesin, BrooklynX and I go to Coney Island with a group of people. First we stop at the WTC memorial. Greg W tries to keep count of us, but the group is so amorpheus that he has a hard time of it. (Image concept by me, drawn by Liz.) Coney Island is colder than I thought it would be. That sucks, I was wearing shorts, thinking it would be hot. Liz and I run to play DDR, thus separating ourselves and Tal & BrookX from the rest of the group.

I pout for a while, mad that I let myself separate us from everyone else. Liz and I ride the Cyclone, that ROCKED. What a fun coaster. We stand in line for 20 minutes just to get some fries from the McD's at the park. The sign says "Smiles are Free" So Liz asks for a supersize fry, tripple thick chocolate shake, and four smiles to go. The guy doubles over laughing. We only ever got 2 smiles though. We find a couple of gargs, they tell us where and when to meet the group. We do so at 10pm. Everyone wants to go home, so we get back on the train (long-ass train ride.) We start planting subliminal messages in Greg's brain, and get him to start humming songs. Muahaha.

Greg says he wants Ice Cream. Then he says Pancakes would be better. Thus the 27 of us set off to find any place thats open and serves pancakes. Just like the club-selection, there is really no choice. We finally find an ice cream parlor thats open and partake in the yumminess. We go to the con-suite, but its crowded with people watching the Cowboy Beebop movie. Yay fun. So we (Liz, Dreamie, Kars, Nixie, etc) decide to leave and go art in the room.

Monday, June 30

Woken up by Dad calling me on my cell. Liz, Karlyl, Nixie, Tal and I chatted for nearly 3 hours. We go to lunch with Dreammie, WW & Aura. We walked all over the place for a while, and I finally convinced everyone to try Curry in a Hurry. I'd been craving curry for a month. It was very yummy, but very fulling. To the point where I couldnt finish my meal. A couple more private jokes were spawned, like "A muggle asked me where the Xavier (ex-AH-vee-ay) Institute was. I told him to Live Long and Prosper." and "I'd rather go back to being an accountant." Liz came up with a song, Dreamie helped finish it. "Amaretto, Vodka Amaretto, Amaretto, Vodka Chardinay." More arting in the 6th floor lounge. Nixie is thirsty, so she looks in the empty conference rooms for water. She found a pitcher and some glasses, so started pouring us some water. Later, some guys wearing suits filed back into that room. Nixie got a look of horror on her face, and hid the water behind the couch. This Nixie earned the name Master Water Thief.

Liz, Karlyl, Dreamie, Talyesin and I meet Patrick, Carol and Greg W in the lobby for dinner. We go to a restaurant that Greg used to go to with his dad. Good burgers. Greg, Carol and Patrick had to leave early to catch their plane. It took Katie, our waitress, several tries to get the right items on each of the checks... and in fact never managed to get it all right. She was still really nice about it, and had cool blue feathered earrings in. We took the subway back, but weren't really sure if we were on the right train. A cool guy named Tuck helped us figure out where we needed to go. He took a group photo for us, and talked to Liz in Japanese. We finally get back to the hotel, where Gonzales is on duty, so I take a picture.

Liz still owes me a characture. It takes her five tries to get it right- she says I have pretty normal features, so its really hard to do a characture. Tal, Liz, Dreamie, Karlyl, WW and I go out to find more DDR. The place that advertized DDR and Pump It Up was apparently not open, so we decided to skip it. We walked to the theater and saw the Hulk. It was very silly, Liz, Karlyl and I were laughing at the absurdity quite a lot. We walk back to the hotel. Tal, Dreamie and WW decide to go to bed, Kars, Liz and I go for drinks. I try some of Karlyl's Midori Sour, very yummy. We go back to the room, Kars realizes she's left her ID somewhere, but calls her dad and finds that she will still be able to get home anyway. We go to bed at some obscure hour of the morning.

Greg responds...

Whoo! It took me two days to read this one. But it was worth it. Big rush of memories...

Response recorded on February 10, 2005

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Aaron writes...

SUNDAY

Same plan: Get up early, sell pre-reg. Same flaw in plan. Once again, Greg showed up at nine. Once again, I begged for another hour. Once again, I went back to bed. Once again, Lynati and Greg came back.

Only this time I just threw them the forms and let them get on with it. Mara and I did get down there and spell them eventually. Lots of people showed up to register and just to hang out. That filled the day until the Auction.

Lynati and I traded footwear about then, so she got to wear my nice comfy jungle boots and I got to wear her really cool, but pinchy as all get out, gargoyle feet.

I spent way too much money at the auction, but I had fun doing it and it's for charity right? Mr. Andy is quite the auctioneer and I hope he'll consider reprising the role next year.

At the auction we finally figured out who Carol was. Yay! Unfortunately, she was leaving before Closing Ceremonies, so we couldn't really hang out much. Boo!

We went back and sold more pre-reg until CC. The end of a con is always bittersweet at best, so my impressions of Closing are kind of vague. The awards for Art Show were given out. Mara won "Most Nauseatingly Cute" for her picture of Chibi-Demona.

And then it was over. Another Gathering come and gone. We went and sold more pre-reg, operating from what was the registration table, since the dealer's room was closed. Siryn came through, almost in tears at having lost a $200 set of markers. (She did find them eventually)

After the dust settled, we were supposed to have a staff meeting. We went back to the sushi place, with like twelve people, which made the service slower, and talked idly about the con. Not much got done.

We decided to go for mini-golf after sushi. Following that, we decided somebody needed to grab Greg and bring him along. We needed to make yet another quick stop by K-Mart, but we figured that wouldn't be a problem.

Needless to say, by the time we got back to the hotel, everyone who'd talked about mini-golf was gone. Oh well.

Eventually, we ended up in the con suite swapping stories. I really wish Greg had come in ten minutes sooner when Hudson and Revel were telling medical stories, instead of when he did, which was the "stupid things I did while drunk" segment of the evening, but what can you do?

As the evening wore on, we migrated out to the volleyball court for "Story Time with Un'ca Hudson." Basically, an extended version of Hudson's Rant-fest from the night before.

All too soon, it came time for us to depart. (We had to leave at like 3 a.m. to make it back to New York to make our plane. Stupid discount tickets) We'd already promised GXB a ride back too, so we loaded the car with all our bags, and gods know how many T-shirts that Sarah told us we had to take at the last minute. (Apparently, they brought them down in a U-haul, and we had to get them back to New York in the convertible. A little warning would have been nice)

The trip back was wild. I blinked and lost time on four separate occasions. The first two were okay. The third one I unblinked and there was a state trooper behind us. He gave us a warning and let us go. I still don't know what for. The fourth one I found out we'd taken a detour into Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, to be precise.

I woke Mara up, semi-panicking, demanding that she navigate. (For me, being in another state from where you need to be is a panic situation. I'm not used to this hit five states and a district of Columbia in one day thing)

Mara: "Calm down. How do you know where we are?"

Me: "We just drove by the First Union Center! It looks exactly like it does on TV!" (I realize this means nothing to the non-basketball fan) "Trust me."

Eventually, we did make it back to New York, only to discover we'd lost my backpack somewhere. This made me unhappy. Plus, returning the rental car was an adventure and a half, and getting on the plane with no tickets and Mara's cat Anna was tricky.

But Hudson and Lynati found my bag, and eventually returned it, and the giant plush armadillo I bought in the DFW airport cheered me up some.

And that, as they say, is that.

Random quote for this year: "The fandom is so full of Sluggites that all you have to do to start a conversation is yell "My world is a crotch!" and see who responds."

Greg responds...

The real question is will I get to your rambles on G2003 before the G2005 con.

I love reading these rambles. It's like everyone has their own narrative, and they overlap at times, but it's great to fill in the mental blanks to see what else was going on.

Response recorded on July 13, 2004

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Aaron writes...

SATURDAY

We were supposed to get up early, head down to the dealer's room, and sell pre-registration for G2K3. Again, any plan that includes the words "get up early"...

Around nine, Lynati came and pounded on our door. I begged for an hour to shower, shave, etc. (Sometimes I just need to feel pretty) Only my feet carried me back to bed instead of to the shower... So, around ten, Greg *and* Lynati came and pounded on the door. Feeling bad about oversleeping, I wanted to tear down to the dealers room and start selling pre-reg immediately. Everybody else thought we should get brunch first. And I've got the only car... In retrospect, I probably should have just gone out and picked up some McD's or something. Hindsight is 60/20. We ended up at some buffet place, which was better then the previous day's IHOP, but still overpriced. (But what did I expect in a tourist town?)

So, we ate. And then we came back, and set up in the dealers room. Demona May gave us a receipt book, and drew a fancy sign for us, as well as a stack of calendars she had made. Thanks DM. Greg and Mara and I rotated at the table for a couple of hours, (I spent my off time bumming around the art room) until it was time for the radio play.

Radio Play was the Demona episode from the aborted Team Atlantis series. It was quite good, (the guys playing Mole and Vinnie, whose names escape me right now, were especially hilarious) and a fun glimpse of what might have been.

Afterwards, Greg produced yet another surprise, a tape of the actual voice recording of the episode in question. He popped it in the deck... And nothing happened. Somehow, the stereo didn't like the tape. So Greg asked if anybody had a boombox or a tapedeck or something. To which I replied, "Well, we could all go out to my car..." (Laughter from the crowd) Greg told them "Don't laugh, it might come to that." (More laughter) It didn't. A boombox was procured, and the episode played. I almost enjoyed the Radio Play more then the actual tape. Maybe because the tape didn't have Greg narrating to give us visuals with the audio.

Interesting things learned from the radio play. One, there were gargoyles on Atlantis. Two, the Praying Gargoyle is an Atlantean artifact. Three, the PG regenerates over time.

After that, we went back and did the pre-reg thing again, until the banquet. We got there late, and so we couldn't get a seat on the higher level where Greg was. And then the hotel staff, who'd been so great about so many other things, wouldn't let us push tables together to make more room. Apparently it was a fire hazard or some such thing.

The food was burgers and dogs, with a side of mac and cheese. Free, and therefore better then a kick in the head, as my grandmother is wont to say. We finished pretty fast, and I would have liked to stick around for Greg's Q & A, but consensus was that we wouldn't be able to hear or ask questions from down where we were, so we split. Hudson needed a hand moving the chairs in the Opening Ceremonies room, so we went and helped with that instead.

And then it was time to get ready for Cos Play. The major question of course, being whether Lynati would finish her costume on time.

While Mara was getting dressed, I hung out in the hall with Winterwolf, who wanted to know if I remembered any of Edwin the conjurer's lines from Baldur's Gate II. (Of course) Jen popped out of her room and asked if I had a black hair tie, (of course) and then I retreated to get dressed as well.

It wasn't the most authentic Xanatos costume, but it worked, and opportunities to wear that purple coat are rare, so I went with it. Mara made a stunning Fox, if I do say so myself.

Other costumes> Jen makes a freakily good Xanatos. I mean, really, it's scary. If we can ever get Jonathan Frakes to a Gathering, she has to do it again. Spacebabie will never again be mistaken for jailbait, and will probably have to fight off the propositions with a stick next year. Anthony "Gambit/Archangel/Dracon" Zucconi was a scary Elisa. Dreamie was a very purrlicious kitty. Edwin never summoned any creatures like that for me. And there were lots of other cool costumes belonging to people whose names I unfortunately don't know. But they were cool.

And then there was Lynati... Lynati was literally working on her costume up until the moment Mara threw her out of the room to go to Cosplay. She'd told me about it in the months leading up to the con, but the descriptions didn't do it justice. Once again, I am awed.

Oh, and Mara and I won best skit for our Eye of Greg thing.

Mara: (As Fox) Look David, I'm wearing your engagement present. The Eye of Greg Weisman.

Me: (As Xanatos) That's... great honey. But, won't that turn you into a sarcastic genius who's unable to give a straight answer to anything?

Mara: ... Maybe... All things are true.

So the winners were announced, group pictures were taken, and then we took Lynati upstairs to show her to the desk crew who wanted to see the costumes. (Did I mention the hotel staff was really great?)

Which leads to one of my favorite anecdotes from this con...

A little set-up. Across the hall and down a ways from our room there was a family of the mundanest mundanes ever. White, middle-class, 2.5 kids, dad's probably a CPA or something. I would love to know what they thought was going on that weekend. Anyway, we seemed to be (Eric Cartman voice) warping their fragile little minds.

They gave me the fish-eye as I hurried by in my purple coat and the little girl says: "Daddy, I'm scared. There was a girl with green hair walking around earlier." (Which I assume was Ayami. Seemed like a pretty non-threatening shade of pastel green to me)

And he says: "Just keep moving honey." As in, don't stop before we get to our room or the freaks will get us.

So, after the masquerade, we're taking Lynati back to her room after stopping by the front desk, and I spot the same little girl, with the door cracked just wide enough to put her head through, peeking out into the hall. And she gets a look at Lynati, and her eyes get about the size of Lexington's, and then she SLAM!s the door shut. I did not see any of those people for the rest of the weekend.

So we let Lyn get changed, and head back downstairs. Zaius and Greg Guler are talking about Minnesota, and Hudson is trying to organize a Weisman/Guler deathmatch with the dart guns. Both agreed, but sadly, Greg vs. Greg did not happen. Greg Guler disappeared, and after that there didn't seem to be much point in dragging Greg W. out from where he was comfy.

GXB showed up about then with Spacebabie in tow. She couldn't stay for the next day of the con (:( ) but she wanted to pre-reg for next year. So we headed back to our room once again, and got that taken care of. And then we hung out for a while. It is really hard to maintain eye contact with Spacebabie while she's dressed like that.

So, after twenty minutes of that, we drifted back to downstairs *again*, and found out that Greg vs. Greg was cancelled. But people were still really enthralled with the idea of Nerf mayhem, so Hudson and Chris decided to set up a tourney. We assembled as many of the weapons as we could, and commandeered half of the OC room. While the Quake players sketched out a layout, I made yet another trip back to our room, to change into my trenchcoat, vampire emoticon shirt, and skull and bones headscarf.

Nerf War is mucho fun. Everyone, I think, had a really good time, and everyone was a really great sport about it. Every match, after the first one, ended with a headshot rather then needing the judges to count hits. I ended up paired against GXB in the first round. Heh. Staff fight.

We're getting ready, and Hudson tells us to take off our coats, 'cause we'll trip on them. We declined.

So we take our places, and Chris says to lose the coats, 'cause we'll trip on them. Hudson says "No, they wanna have the Matrix fight." And then he set some rules for our fight. 1. No slowing time. 2. No warping space. 3. No flying through the air sideways in slow motion. 4. Hits on the coat count as hits.

And we fought. It's really quite a rush. Maybe even better then paintball, because the range is closer and thus the threats are more immediate.

I won. Barely. I finished Greg with a headshot a few seconds after his dart came so close that I felt the wind on my ear.

Hudson defeated Chris in a much anticipated match that did not lack for excitement.

Which meant I drew Hudson in the next round...

I thought I had no chance of winning. But I had to at least try. So I ditched the coat for greater mobility, and then my shirt, to draw on the power of Demona. That brought things to a halt for a bit as everyone who'd never seen my tattoo had to get a look. Spaz Kitty transferred allegiance from Hudson to me for the rest of the fight. But Chris' "Dude, is that permanent?" had to be the best response.

It was awesome. I'd studied Hudson's fighting style in his previous match with Chris, and tried to imitate it as much as possible. Which lead to a stalemate with both of us dual-wielding dart pistols behind cover just out of range from each other. Hudson, trying to get me to break cover says "You know I ****ed your mom, right?" I wait for him to make a move, and then pop up myself, yelling "Daddieeeeeeeeeee!" in a high-pitched tone of voice.

That pretty much set the tone for the match. Lots of misdirection and trickery. I managed to stay ahead of Hudson's fire with body control and a lot of luck, while Hudson opted for Jedi-like deflection with his own gun.

We fired every dart out of every gun in the entire room, until we were left with nothing but the ultimate last ditch weapon, the spring-launched Styrofoam glider, donated by Tony Z, which killed you if it hit anywhere. I got to it, dodged Hudson's last few darts, and then we strafed the length of the room, before I headshot him when he changed direction.

I beat Hudson! W00-h00!

After that totally unexpected result, I had thoughts about winning the whole thing. Unfortunately, I was eliminated in the next round by Sgt. Goliath. That match was kind of weird. Multiple witnesses corroborate that two of our darts hit each other in mid-air, nearly rebounding back on us, and I head shot him, but the dart was in the air when his hit my forehead with a mighty smack, leaving a mark that was visible for ten minutes after.

Eventually, the tournament finished, and almost everyone who wanted to try their hand got to, except for that one really tall guy. Sorry dude. But take heart that next year Nerf War will be an official event.

After we got kicked out at 2 a.m., I went briefly back to the room, but finding Mara to be sound asleep, I went and hung out with Hudson and Co. outside for awhile. I think I finally left around four, and then I accidentally woke Mara up, and we ended up talking until sunrise on...

Greg responds...

But weren't we using a microphone for the Q&A -- and frankly, don't I have the loudest speaking voice in Christendom?

Response recorded on July 13, 2004

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Aaron writes...

FRIDAY

Friday we were supposed to get up early and go with Hudson over to WalMart and buy more of those nifty guns. Can you spot the flaw in this plan? It's those three little words: "get up early." I don't like mornings as a general rule, and after a long day like the previous one... Nothing short of kicking in the door and throwing a bucket of water on me would have gotten me moving before noon.

So we finally get dressed, and head downstairs, picking up our badges and GXB in the process. Hudson turned up with many more guns, (but still not enough to go around) and told us they'd bought out the WalMart. After checking out the dealer's room and hanging Mara's stuff in the art room, hunger called, so the five of us, myself, Mara, Lynati, Revel, and GXB all climbed into the car and went in search of food.

Revel directed us to an IHOP where he'd been shortly before, with another group. The food was standard IHOP, passable but over-priced. We'd passed a Big K on the way, so we stopped and bought a bunch of stuff, including those huge blue Nerf guns we carried for pretty much the rest of the con.

So we returned, and after, I swear, something on the order of an hour trying to get the Nerf guns out of the packaging, we went our separate ways to get ready for opening ceremonies. Lynati went off to work on her wings some more, and we agreed to meet GXB back at our room in about an hour. This was a mistake on my part. One, it left us with very little time to do much of a final polish on our presentation, (which was only finished Monday before the con) and me with far too much time to freak out about the presentation. I've been terrified of public speaking for as long as I can remember, and this was no exception. How would we be received? Would I freak and babble nonsense? How would OtherCon go over? Ad infinitum. So I just laid on the bed and went quietly insane while Mara made fun of me in the guise of cheering me up. ;)

Then I channeled my freaking out into trying (futilely) to iron my vampire shirt. (The big, poofy, black thing with the ruffled front and cuffs I was wearing at opening ceremonies) A hopeless task, (and pointless, since the whole thing was hidden under my coat anyway) but it passed the time. Passed it too well in fact, since then I started panicking about being late. (Yes, it takes me twice as long as Mara to get ready to go anywhere)

So Greg B. shows up, and we have a mini-review of the presentation, before heading downstairs. We thought there might be seats reserved for us, but (thankfully) didn't want to take the chance. There weren't, so we got some about 2/3s of the way to the back of the room. Surprisingly, there was still a good view from there.

So, Siryn talks for a while. Poor girl. (Heh. Girl. I think she's a couple years older then me) Anyway, she talks, and the stress of the last year is just visible. My heart goes out to her. (My head, meanwhile, is still busy freaking out, so I have only a vague impression of what she actually said) Sapphire read a poem about the fandom, which Mara summed up by paraphrasing Stitch. "We're large. And broken. But still good. Yeah, still good."

And then it was our turn...

Our place toward the back made for a long walk up to where Si was standing, and I think we milked it a little. It was one of those moments I wish I could watch from the outside, to see the audience reaction. The three of us, GXB, Mara, and me, all in black from head to toe, including our trenchcoats, Mara and I carrying our Nerf dartguns at port arms, flanking Greg. The people who know us probably weren't phased, but I wonder what all those con virgins were thinking. I did catch the phrase, "only in New York" from somebody.

And so we pimped the con. We talked. And we talked. And we talked some more. I talked entirely too much. I got punchy and started threatening the audience with my dart gun. Talked about the hotel, location, rates, dates, etc.

(It has been pointed out to me by various people, that some of the things we said were somewhat derogatory to some of the previous staffs. I apologize for that. It was never out intent)

And we talked some more. We introduced the "Name the con" contest, and the mascot, Madison, or Maddie for short.

And then we introduced Death. The Other Mascot. He caused a bit of a stir. (Mara drew up these really great, really *big* pics of the mascots, and we showed them off)

And then we dropped the bomb, so to speak: OtherCon. Which took like half the presentation, introducing it and then answering some questions about it.

And then finally, we were done, and we got to sit back down.

And then Greg (W) got up to talk. He did a hand count, and the number of con virgins was unbelievable. Like, a third of the room. Amazing. He also had considerably bigger bombs to drop.

First up, Toon Disney gave us a bunch of free shirts, and hats, almost completely gratis. Reading a one paragraph Toon Disney advert was a tiny price to pay for all our bounty.

And then, the bunkerbuster: Gargs on DVD. In 2003. With Greg's commentary. Life is good.

Then he did the "litany" presentations, the ones we know so well we can recite along with Greg. And, as a bonus, there was a promo narrated by Jonathan Frakes, which I'd never seen before. Frakes described Gargoyles as "The next generation of Disney animation." Which I thought sounded really appropriate and cool for about ten seconds before I realized it's also a terrible pun.

And then, he showed the Bad Guys leica reel. Which totally freaked me out, because he forgot to do the "don't film this" disclaimer, and there were at least two people in the audience with digital camcorders...

And then we left, minus GXB, plus Lynati and Revel, to search for dinner. This is harder then it sounds. As so many people have already pointed out: What was with all those pancake houses?!? Are pancakes like, the state dish of Virginia or something?

We were really surprised to find a sushi place. So surprised, in fact, that to confirm that this was not a mirage created by our sleep-starved brains, we had to stop and consume large amounts of raw fish, rice, soy sauce, and wasabi.

The food was good but the service was slow, and we had to make another run to K-Mart for some things we forgot the first time, so we got back later then we intended.

We managed to make at least part of Hudson's Rantfest. Hudson had a really nifty-sounding announcement about starting an art archive that works like the fic archive does. It sounded pretty cool and I hope it happens.

After that, he just kind of rambled. Even if you're totally untechnical, like I am, just the way Hudson tells the story makes it funny.

That broke up just in time to make it to Rocky. Kind of a smaller audience then I'd expected, but people were probably tired by that point. And after that, we dragged ourselves to bed.

Greg responds...

What was with all the pancake houses? Of course, I love pancakes. And I'll tell you a year later in NYC, that night after Coney Island, I would have killed for an open IHOP or Dennys.

Response recorded on July 13, 2004

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Aaron writes...

THURSDAY

Got up, entirely too early, and started calling rental places. Maybe we should have gone with Rent-A-Wreck. (Next time, national chain) Don't rent from New York Rental. So, we rent a Chrysler Seebring convertible, which has a few dings in it. Or rather, in the dim light of the parking garage, it looked like a few dings. Out in full sunlight, it was a different story altogether.

It also had a tape deck. Ordinarily, I would love that. I love cassettes, and hate CDs. Ninety percent of my music collection is cassettes. But, I didn't think anybody still rented cars with tape decks, so we brought CDs for traveling music. Oops.

(Side note to all you car owners: Do you feel like you have a bond with your car? I mean, to the point where it's like a pet or something? That it knows you and you know it, and you compliment each other? Just curious)

And we're off. Six hundred miles by map through unfamiliar territory with an unbonded vehicle. What could go wrong? Oh, and our main route, I-95, apparently has a bad rep about road rage. I felt right at home.

So we drove. From New York, though New Jersey, (Where we stopped for lunch and bought 64 oz mugs for the rest of the trip. Oh, and the pseudo-leather thing that's supposed to cover the top when it's down blew off somewhere on the Jersey Turnpike. Recovery was not an option) Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., back into Maryland, (where we got royally lost), and finally into Virginia, to pick up Lynati at Dulles airport.

So, happy reunion there, car reloaded, (for such a big car, the Seebring has *no* trunk space) and we're off again... Back to Maryland, for Chinese dinner, and so Lyn can do laundry and pick up her wings.

On the way back from dinner, it starts *pouring*. Now, I've never driven a convertible before, and we drove all the way up to this point with the top down, (The source of the sunburn Mara and especially I was sporting the whole con) *and* I'm a spaz. So we can't figure out how to lock the convertible closed. So the roof's leaking, and most of it's dripping right on the door panel where the window controls are... And *something* happens, and my window goes down and STAYS down.

This, in a word, sucks.

Much swearing and meddling with a pair of needle-nosed pliers fails to fix the problem, but fortunately for us, that was the last rain of the trip. (It did eventually fix itself, kind of) Fortified by a newly-bought Pat Benetar tape, we set off again, through the wilds of Virginia, completing a "four hour" road trip in two and a half hours.

Some general observations before I go on:

1. Eastern states have no idea how to build highways. Of every place we went, only Pennsylvania seemed to get it right. In Texas, highways actually go *through* places. None of this "here's an exit, some undetermined distance down which there *might* be a town" stuff. Virginia was particularly bad about this. Back home, on the side of the highway, there're fast food places, 24-hour diners, roadside attractions, evil small-town cops with radar guns, and, most importantly, *gas stations.* In Virginia, the side of the highway is... trees. Nothing but trees for miles. On the sides and in the median. Trees, and big "No Stopping" signs.

2. Toll roads are EVIL. It's a tax on people's ability to move freely. Just the idea makes me feel oogy.

3. "Speed limit enforced by aircraft." WTH does that mean? If you go too fast, they chase you with choppers? If so, then, (A) What were all those VA state patrol cars we passed for?, and (B) Why didn't they come after me?

Back to the ramble...

So, we finally get to Williamsburg, and, after a stop at 7-11, find our way into the hotel. It's like, 1 a.m. by this time. We get inside, and run into WinterWolf and Dreamie, Kyt, and some other people hanging out in the lobby. Wolfie showed us his rental, (his Seebring was in much better condition then ours) and we unloaded all our junk. During that lengthy process, Jen, Patrick, and Kathy arrived. More roadtrip survivors! Mara gave Jen her art gift, and the elevator opened to reveal Gregs W. & B., and a woman I later realized was Carol.

(I wish we'd figured that out sooner. We really didn't get to hang out with her, except a little after the auction, and by then it was too late to have much of a staff meeting)

Eventually, after most of the other people decamped for a late dinner at Denny's, we ran into Hudson, who showed off the first of many nifty black dart guns to be found at a nearby WalMart.

We just sort of hung out for a couple of hours, talking of projects, and cons, and the fandom in general. Unable to interest anyone else in food, I was forced to eat the leftover pizza from Jersey. Such hardship. ;)

And then suddenly it was like 4 a.m. Ack! Bedtime.

Greg responds...

Now it's all starting to come back to me...

So Bishansky wasn't in the car with you? Cuz that would explain a lot. ;) (Sorry, Greg, couldn't resist.)

Response recorded on July 13, 2004

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Aaron writes...

And, my much belated Gathering Diary...

Okay, this was BlurCon for me, so apologies in advance if I leave anything out. Or put anything in that didn't happen. I was so sleepy it was hard to tell sometimes.

WEDNESDAY

Actually, this starts on Tuesday, since I wasn't packed until the last minute, and our flight was so early we decided to just stay up all night and then sleep on the plane.

So, I ran around and packing like a madman while Mara watched the first half of The Ten Commandments. (Dang, Vincent Price was actually young once?!?)

So, we leave, my mom drops us off at the airport, and we get to stand in line. For a looooong time. Next time, e-tickets.

We go through security, and I get stopped for a "random" check. This old lady empties everything out of my backpack, looks at it, (Including my disposable razor, which I know you're not supposed to carry on) and then puts it all back in, all of it the wrong way 'round, and then wonders why it won't close.

So we fly to Dallas. I lose my sunglasses somewhere on the plane, which irks me to no end. After I notice that, I also notice we forgot something a little more important: Lynati's feet.

"Did we tell my mom to mail that package?" "Um..."

So, a frantic phonecall home later, that's taken care of, and I buy a replacement pair of sunglasses. Which lasted about two weeks. They're broken now. Rassem frassem shoddy merchandise...

So, off to Laguardia. I slept the whole way, and didn't wake up until about ten seconds before we touched down.

"Hey, it's raining-" (Loud, bouncy landing) "Oh, we're here."

So, we drop our stuff at Mara's mom's place, and bum around New York a bit. I insist on a stop at MidTown Comics, because it's Wednesday, and even on vacation, I have to pick up my comics.

Dinner, and then bed until bright and early on...

Greg responds...

Wasn't the 2002 convention in Virginia? Did you just Phoenix Gate your way to 2003 in NYC?

Response recorded on July 12, 2004

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Forliya writes...

Hey, greg sorry I couldnt come to the gathering this year but theres been something going on in my neborhood in virginia! I keep hearing sounds like the gargoyals make when they are mad. please tell me what you think? oh and I'm still in love with goliath, and i'm writing a book called "The Run-Away's Hunter"!!!!

VIVA LA GARGOYALES!!!!!!!!!

Greg responds...

You lived in Virginia in 2002 and you didn't attend the Gathering in Williamsburg that summer?

For SHAME!!!!!!!! ;)

Response recorded on July 02, 2004

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kEVO writes...

alright,i'd like to begin by saying how much i truly, deeply love Gargoyles. it is the most incredible show i have ever seen. but i'll save higher efforts of ego inflation for later.

my question is about the Gatherings. i've noticed that when people have asked you about Team Atlantis or, in one case, who created the Praying Gargoyle statue, you told them the answer would be revealed at G2002. i was unable to attend this Gathering, cuz of the whole "no money" thing so will these answers be brought up in 2003 or here on Station 8 or will i just never be able to find them out? i'm gonna try to go to G2003, because it's very close to where i live.

which brings me to my next question. am i allowed to attend The Gathering even if i'm not staying at the hotel there? i know i should probably try to find these answers online before asking you but i figured since i was already here.

thanks for your time, sir!

-kR

Greg responds...

I hope you attended G2003 and are planning to come to G2004 this month in Manhattan. You do NOT have to stay at the hotel, though I recommend it. For more info, check out:

http://www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com/

Anyway, info on the Praying Gargoyle is available at every Gathering, starting in 2002. The short answer, however, is that the statuette was created by the Atlanteans.

Response recorded on June 01, 2004

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Todd Jensen writes...

I've been reading your Gathering rambles, and found them interesting, especially the part about the never-made Team Atlantis episode involving Demona. Pity that I didn't go this year and thus missed it (you don't suppose that you'll be able to play the "original radio cast" performance again at next year's Gathering?).

Although seeing Demona referred to as "the Gorlois" did feel a bit odd, since I'm more apt to associate that name with the Duke of Cornwall whom Uther Pendragon fought with over Igraine than with any gargoyles. Then again, come to think of it, you did once mention that Castle Wyvern was modelled on Tintagel, which was Duke Gorlois's chief stronghold.

Greg responds...

I now play the original cast performance (audio track) at EVERY Gathering. So if you want to hear it, you have to show up.

I didn't choose the name Gorlois (as the Atlantean word for Gargoyle) accidentally.

Response recorded on May 25, 2004

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Another Angel writes...

If the gargoyles were not to know who their parents were... how did they prevent inbreeding?
Oh, and the Gathering was so much fun this year- can't wait for 2003!

Greg responds...

I've answered this before. Sense of smell helps. Also most (though not all) gargoyles breed among their generation, procluding a mating with any biological siblings.

Hope you enjoyed 2003. I'm looking forward to 2004.

Response recorded on May 24, 2004

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Jim R. writes...

Hi Greg. Haven't posted anything in your queue for a while. At the Gathering 2002, I shook your hand and I believe I saw you in the parking lot carrying out Gargoyles backpacks. By the time you read this, you'll probably have forgotten, but anyway here's the link to my Gathering 2002 journal. It should still be there whenever you get around to seeing this.

Copy and paste --> http://www.dialwforwarp.com/gargoyles/journal.html

Greg responds...

As a rule, I don't follow links posted here. Better to cut and paste your Gathering Journals here. (One never knows how long links will last anyway.) But I made an exception.

Jim, I've gotta say, I doubt the guy you saw in the parking lot was me. I don't remember any gargoyle backpacks... and I didn't have a car.

But I'm glad you had a good time. Hope to see you in Montreal.

Response recorded on May 13, 2004

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kathy writes...

Gathering Journal Part 2

Saturday - Sleep is for Wimps

Unfortunately, it's also necessary for cognitive processes. I'm sort of blurry on the day part of Saturday. I know I talked to a bunch of people and had a good time doing it. I also know that I went poolside long enough to read for a little while until the game of koosh catch turned into a cannon ball contest and I got all soggy. (Remember this, it turns into a running gag on Monday).

Eventually it was time for the Radio Play. Greg's players did an excellent job and we got to "see" an episode of Team Atlantis that had a strangely coincidental tie in to Gargoyles. As an extra bonus, since this episode had been voice acted by the professional cast we got to hear their version too.

Lunch was a Mickey Dee's run. Then we tracked down an ATM at a 7/11. Hey, sometimes a little mundane is a good thing. But I wished we had been tipped that the banquet menu was hotdogs and hamburgers, I might have had something else for lunch. C'EST la vie. (or something) And hey! Karine explained what Sacre Blu! means.

After the banquet and a great Q and A with Greg and Greg, it was time to get ready for the Masquerade. I sat out this year. I actually thought about a costume for five or six minutes, but I opted for minimal baggage instead. That's okay. I put on a length of batique fabric and my sunglasses and went as "Lilo and Stitch extra # 37 which, since it included bare feet, meant I was comfy as we wore out another night with pizza and a marathon gabfest. Unfortunately, this meant that I was engaging in yet another Gathering Tradition: the loss of my voice.

Sunday or This May Be the Home Stretch for the Convention, but I've Got Two More Days

Yes, we did actually get to bed before dawn, but not by much. Saturday became Sunday while we talked and laughed and generally got silly. I was smart enough to put my stuff out before going out for the evening, so getting to bed was a minimal hassle. Again, it was a good thing my roomies are heavy sleepers because this was definitely a night owl weekend.

I was late for the Starship Troopers panel - I'm not sure why. I spaced and lost about half an hour during breakfast. It was a good discussion though, and there was some interesting insight into the mind of Sony execs and their marketing staff. I hope they release everything they have stuck in the vaults, because the videos have been really good so. Afterward was the post mortem on Team Atlantis which will be coming to video after a fashion to a retailer near you. Buy that too and show Disney that they've been shortsighted.

I was definitely starting to feel the last couple of days so though I popped in briefly for the Voice Acting Workshop (Suggestion to next year's staff - schedule that before tryouts - Please?) I mostly concentrated on setting up our next after-hours event - A dinner at a restaurant that didn't serve pancakes or waffles and a trip to the Yorktown Ghostwalk.

I slept through Closing Ceremonies so somebody else will have to report on that, but did wake up in time to round up all of our party of ten and head out of the convention.

The hotel recommended the restaurant whose name I think was the Whaling Company ( I was still having a godawful time hanging on to details by that point). The food was good, the company excellent and we made it out of the restaurant in time to make our bus at the Yorktown Visitor Center. Btw, this was my only blind panic moment of the evening, I was sure for several seconds that I'd misunderstood the guy on the phone and taken ten people to the wrong place. I was more than a little relieved when the person I asked for information turned out to be our tour coordinator.

The cruise was dorky. I didn't realize they were just going around in a big circle otherwise I would have hauled everybody above decks. But it was a chance for some of our party to catch a quick nap. By the time the boat landed and we were segregated out for another bus ride we had gained some more Gathering folk. We ended up a party of fourteen and when our tour guide Rita asked if we were some kind of a fraternity having an initiation ritual (Not sure but I'm sure it had to do with Kyt on a leash that was sending her thoughts that direction) I replied no we were all part of a family reunion, which really wasn't too far from the truth.

It was a pleasant night. The company was fine and the fireflies were pretty. We lost part of our group on the walk back to the car because they were gawking at the twinkly lights.

We got back to the hotel in time to catch a portion of the Dead Dog Party, but the conversation wasn't really in keeping with the mellow evening we'd already enjoyed so it was back to my room for more conversation and later after the party broke up, girly time with Jen and Mandi. So ended Sunday or rather Monday morning.

Monday - Or Look! Kathy's All Wet!

The official after Gathering event was a trip to Busch Gardens. We assembled in the lobby and jockeyed for car space and soon we were underway. Hats off and Happy Birthday to Jubilee for organizing so many people. We all made it to the park and remembered where we parked. (Germany 2) bought tickets and went inside.

The core of our group was Lanny and Derek, Greg, Jubilee and me. Kellie Fay, Torrey, Sapphire, Winterwolf and Dreamie made periodic appearances as did Denis, Scott, Mandi and others who I'm afraid I can't recall anymore (I'm sorry!)

Greg and I rode the Loch Ness Monster. Kellie became the official keeper of stuff for the first part of the day, since she both caught some kind of funky cold from the hotels ventilation system (Honestly, nice people, really nice people (did I mention how great they were?) but they need to change the filters and clean their AC system.) We couldn't help notice the number of ads that popped up during the day for Chiropractic Services. It seemed to be some kind of omen, though thankfully, it was meant for someone else!

Anyway, since Greg's quote of the day was 'Sure, whatever' and mine was "I'm in". We made the rounds stopping at roller coasters and water rides along the way. It was my day to be soggy. Pompeii, this odd ride that involved live flame and water was my first soaking. Not bad, kind of nice after the inferno that was the first part of the trip, but I got doused pretty good, which resulted in Lanny complementing me on my new spiky 'do and a wet tank top.

The pleasant sogginess was soon to be a thing of the past. Shortly thereafter most of us got on the white water ride. Huge fun. But, this time I didn't get a little wet, I got completely soaked. Wet denim does not equal comfy. So I squished my way out of the company of my friends for a few minutes to buy a pair of shorts and change clothes. Now I was "sporty" and only semi soggy. A vast improvement for as long as it lasted.

I avoided a couple of rides that seemed like a sure fire trip to vertigo land, but Greg and I rode nearly all the Deathcoasters except for Alpinefest, fright, whatever. I took one look at that and said "A big no." despite multiple promptings from Jubilee.

We saw the Irish dance show. The dancers stomped their feet off, but may I just say, Damn you, Michael Flatley? I much preferred the Swing show that provided our dinner entertainment and Imaginique that closed the evening and I still can't believe Greg slept through nearly all of it. I gawked totally awed. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We still had to ride the Flume. (A word that Greg was strangely enamored with.) And to no one's surprise, I was all soggy again by the time it was over even though Greg obligingly acted as human shield.

There were bumper cars and the Autobahn and an amazingly entertaining interlude at the German area when Derek graciously paid so that we could all flip frogs. I will express some relief that he didn't win the giant stuffed flamingo, but I like the little walrus that became mine by the end of the night. (Thank you!)

Oh! And Busch Gardens is known for its critters! I got to play with the Lorikeets and see wolves and bald eagles and of course, the famous Clydesdales.

We closed the park, stopping for ice cream along the way. Well, some of us had ice cream. Greg, "Did I mention I like to eat?" Weisman had this absurd banana split in a waffle cone. He entertained us thoroughly as he tried to eat this thing while maintaining his dignity. A perfect final act to a great day.

But all good things eventually end. We drove back to the hotel and said many goodbyes. And so ended Gathering 2002.

Fin

Greg responds...

I don't just like to eat. I'm damn good at it.

Of course, the disadvantage of reading these things two years after the fact is that it doesn't create any opportunity for dialogue...

But the ADvantage is that it's fun to be reminded and relive all these great memories. 'Sgetting me 'Syched for Montreal!

Response recorded on May 11, 2004

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kathy writes...

Hey Greg, I had a great time at the Gathering. And since you got me motivated, here's my Gathering Journal.
Cheers,
kathy

Thursday or If It's 1AM it must be Denny's

Another year has rolled on past and it's Gathering time again. I'm on the same flight as the Gregs (that's Guler and Weisman) from Atlanta to Newport News and we all get stuck at Hartsfield for an extra hour and a half as a typical summer thunderstorm rolls its way through. Eventually, it passes by and we're on our way only to be treated to another light show and a strange burnt umber moon in mid-flight.

We arrived in Newport News and there's Carol. She's been waiting for us for what probably seemed to her forever. We did try and call - honest! It's just everybody with a cell phone was having trouble that night.

Hotel yea! It's 1:00 in the morning and the lobby is packed with people checking in similarly delayed by weather. Fortunately, I knew I was getting in much later than my roommates Mandi and Christi so I asked them to leave a key for me at the desk. We're saved from making a big production practical joke out of Jen's surprise arrival when Greg sees her standing in the lobby chatting up a gaggle of other folks.

Stuff stashed, it's off to Denny's and what is becoming a late night tradition, driving some hapless waitress nuts while she attempts to deal with a table full of people most of whom haven't seen each other for a year.

Friday or Wait a Minute, Didn't You Plan This?

Friday after breakfast (nice people, honestly probably the nicest waitstaff I've ever run across, even if they were a bit dazed and confused) the day begins. I snag my badge early and chat a bit with Siryn and the others. Then I indulge in what is becoming another tradition, banging on Greg W's. door for an early (for him) morning wake up call. This year I'm on legitimate business, I'm delivering his convention badge and making sure he's awake and ready for his first Mug a Guest. A Mug, for anybody who's wondering, is an opportunity for a small group of people (usually less than ten) to chat up a guest on any subject they care to broach.

That duty accomplished, it's back downstairs to help out in the Art Room with set up, catch up with folks and try and attend a Writers Workshop. Kudos to Kellie Faye for an interesting exercise involving canon characters and a trigold set emerald. I did get a little twitchy, I'll admit. One of the downsides of staying up late is a certain amount of continual motion is necessary to stay alert. So I snuck next door to audition for the Radio Play. It was an interesting experience. I'm not sure why I got so bloody nervous, maybe because the last thing I ever acted in was "Sorry Wrong Number" (hey, I had the lead!) but that was in the 8th grade. Anyway, back to the workshop to hear everyone's writing sample and guess which characters they'd been assigned. I must have done something right, because nearly everybody guessed I'd been assigned Goliath.

After the seminar it was time for more chatting. I apologize to everyone for not naming names, but frankly, all the specifics have run together in a massive blur. I will say that I enjoyed myself thoroughly, that I was really glad to see where all some of you have taken yourselves, especially those younger folk who I've known for several years now and watched grow up. Also I've rarely laughed so long and so hard in all my life. Whoever tagged me "Betty", my ribs still hurt, thank you very much!

Opening Ceremonies - Wow look at all the fresh meat! Seriously, it was neat to see all the new faces at opening ceremonies. I hope you guys had a great time and will be back again next year. Greg brought out his stories - (Greg - you might want to have those tapes transferred to DVD so they don't get trashed) and the New York Crew made their opening pitch for next year. It sounds like an awesome amount of planning has already gone into 2003, which should translate into a terrific time for all. Go you New York Clannies!

But back to this year, and Si and her crew who did a bang up job. Free swag for all from Toon Disney! And all they had to do is read a short advertisement. And best of all Gargoyles DVD's coming soon (well, in a year or so) to a retailer near you! And because the excitement never stops, the announcement to run, not walk to your nearest Disney Store to buy Gargoyles lapel pins (only $5.00) new to stores now. Let's show those marketing people there's a consumer base for Gargoyles. If we buy the little stuff now, they may reward us later.

And finally, it's 8:00 and I'm supposed to be on a Fanfiction Panel. My fellow cohorts were to be Patrick Toman (because we write together as Madame Destine for the 3 people not in on that secret), Moon Cat, Spacebaby and Mara. Somewhere along the line we were supposed to get together and come up with a presentation but that didn't quite happen.

Oh well, what do you do when you have no formal presentation, but want to engage an audience? Go fishing!! Which is what I did. We started with slash since it seemed that some of our audience were slash writers (a nibble, but no real bite). Moved on to the whys of pen names (can't do much with that one).

Greg thought he was making us nervous so he bailed. Which was his loss because then we started in on deconstructing a character to figure out how to place him in an unusual situation (because not all adult oriented fic is about chains and whipped cream) and the conversation really started to fly.

We ended up deconstructing Anton Sevarius, coming up with a really strange back story for the guy and having a great time. I'm afraid I got a little manic, which is what I do when I'm nervous, so to my co-presenters Mea Culpa.

We finally wrapped things up and now I'm a little blurry. Oh right, we went to the Con Suite and enjoyed an excellent Chinese dinner courtesy of Lexy and Kai. (A long and happy life to you both.) And, as always when a bunch of people get together, we ended up talking until all hours of the morning. Greg was bogarting the bottled water so I swiped one just on general principals. Because, you know, sometimes you just gotta.

Eventually, I snuck back to my room, (my roommates were long out of it) and caught a couple of hours of shuteye.

TBC

Greg responds...

One of my favorite things about the Gatherings are the late, late night chats with fans-who-are-now-my-friends. (BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY WATER!)

Response recorded on May 11, 2004

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JEB writes...

Day 3 - Sunday, June 30, 2002

Woke up at 9:50 AM or so. Dad went out to get us breakfast, so we waited around a bit until he returned. As soon as we
were done and a time of 2 PM was set for meeting and heading home, I headed down to see the Atlantis Q & A panel. I waited a bit while the Roughnecks Q & A ended, but eventually just went on in when it went into overtime.

The Atlantis Q & A, when it started, was interesting; Greg described it as a panel on the "death of a show." The discussion, headed by the two Gregs, went into all sorts of tangents. The show was around halfway complete when it was axed, leading some in the entertainment industry to describe such a previously unheard-of circumstance as "Atlantis-ing a show." Basically, Atlantis: The Lost Empire did well enough when considering international revenues, but it was a failure in the U.S., and
internationally when compared to corporate expectations; so rather than create a series that made the movie more likable, such as the case was with the Disney's Hercules series (my opinion, I'll grant), they dropped the show entire. Greg also commented (regarding the film) that it felt like a film-by-committee and that certain parts (such as the over-long fireside discussion of the characters' backgrounds) seemed to indicate that the creators really wanted to do a musical. (On that note, he said that Lilo
and Stitch probably worked better because they weren't trying to make a musical.) The direct-to-video Team Atlantis movie will contain the three episodes nearest to completion (they'd been sent on to animators when the show was canned). The entire main cast from the film, save Michael J. Fox and the late Jim Varney, were involved in the show. Mike Mignola did conceptual designs for many creatures for the show, which (as he put it) he would combine into a combined "Frankenstein" whole. Many
elements (such as explosions) were considered too violent (quite a increase in the S&P since Gargoyles' era...), and were toned down; for example, the bit in "The Last" where Vinnie tossed a bomb into an animated gargoyle's hands and blew it up was reduced to Kida doing a loop-de-loop in the autogyro to throw the creature off. Basically, it seemed that Disney was doing what it and a lot of Hollywood, sadly, prefer to do anymore- aim lower. Unlike the early and mid-1990s, when Disney created kids' entertainment with appeal for the whole family, Disney now creates only stuff that can appeal to their vision of children's likes and dislikes. I was rather disappointed when I heard Team Atlantis was canned, not simply for the fact that Gargoyles would make a sort-of comeback during its run, but because it sounded like a promising show (heck, I felt like the
film was a pilot for an ongoing series more than a standalone film; how right my instincts were, eh?).

After Greg Guler left and the panel shifted to voice acting, I headed to the art show, browsed a bit more, and corrected the person watching the room on how to say my net-name (Jeb, not J E B, if you're curious) when she asked. Then I went to the video room and watched the first few episodes of Cowboy Bebop. (For some reason, I expected I'd dislike that show; now it's a favorite.) Halfway through episode three, the auction crowd gathered; figuring I might as well give it a shot, I signed up to bid. Many fine items appeared, including the radio play script, Greg's version of the script, and the recording of the actual VA's
material; original art from Roy Sato of the Gargoyles cast, some of which shot up as high as $510 in the bidding; a poster of CrzyDemona's Demona fanart signed by Marina Sirtis (which Greg B. won) and a Star Trek: Insurrection DVD, box signed by Jonathan Frakes; and Greg Guler's original sketch of a stone Goliath. I left a few times when the auction lasted past 2 PM; but my family showed up late, so I got some extra time. I negotiated to stay until 3 PM, and did so; tried to bid on a Castle Wyvern playset, but it got too rich for my blood (in other words, it topped $20). After it ended, I said good-bye to Greg B., browsed the art room one more time, said good-bye again to Greg B. as I passed him (and he said I'd better update MOA or he'd kill me), and walked upstairs. After my family unsettled themselves from where they sat amidst Abram Wintersmith and the Clan Olympians' rules-talk, we headed on home.

While lower-key than some prior Gatherings (I missed G2K1, but I suspect it was much less grand than that con), G2K2 was still a fun con. In a way, the lower-key approach helped, as it emphasized fan interaction more than activities. My thanks to Siryn and all the other con staff and volunteers for running such a smooth operation and making this con so good!

Greg responds...

Every Gathering has it's own flavor. But so far I've liked them all.

Response recorded on May 10, 2004

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JEB writes...

Day 2 - Saturday, June 29, 2002

Woke up around 8:50 AM or so. Since our room still smelled, Mom pointed out the problem to the front desk, but they chose to do nothing despite a promise to at least air out the room. My family and I decided to go eat breakfast at the pancake place next door, but it was heavily crowded with two busloads of tourists. We decided to eat elsewhere, and after about a half-hour of looking, we finally decided to go to McDonald's. (I might note that the McDonald's Chicken Biscuit breakfast meal is rather good.)

After that was done with, we headed back to the hotel; Mom & Dad went touristing, while Jack and I went to the con. Our
first stop was the Dealer's Room; I'm guessing the supply of Gargoyles merchandise still extant is shrinking, since there seemed to be much less to choose from this time. (There was plenty of non-Gargoyles stuff to choose from, but that wasn't what I wanted...) Even so, I was happy to acquire a Xanatos Roadster (with the non-armored Xanatos figure), and my brother bought a second Steel Clan figure. We then browsed the art room (some nice stuff!). Then Jack and I took our new toys back to Mom & Dad's room (our base while our room was supposedly aired out), and waited there a bit until the Gargoyles Top Ten was due to start.

When the time came, we headed down and started watching. They were aired in reverse order (10 to 1), and we saw the first four choices (#10 - "The Gathering" Part II, #9 - "Deadly Force", #8 - "Kingdom", and #7 - "Temptation") and the first bit of #6 ("Vows") before we went to the Radio Play. I took copious notes, though I'm sure I'm forbidden to post them in full online; however, suffice to say that the play was definitely worth attending!

After the Radio Play ended, Jack and I headed back to the video room and watched the Top 3 of the Top 10 (#3 - "Hunter's Moon" Part II, #2 - "Hunter's Moon" Part III, #1 - "The Mirror"). (The guy in charge thought "The Mirror" was #2, but that turned out to be a mistake.) The other two, #5 and #4, were "Future Tense" and "Hunter's Moon" Part I, respectively. Thus, the Gathering 2002's Gargoyles Top Ten were:

#1 - "The Mirror"
#2, 3, 4 - "Hunter's Moon" Trilogy
#5 - "Future Tense"
#6 - "Vows"
#7 - "Temptation"
#8 - "Kingdom"
#9 - "Deadly Force"
#10 - "The Gathering" Part II

Personally, I thought "Kingdom" was a rather surprising choice- perhaps the Brooklyn factor made it popular?

Just before the Top Ten ended, it was announced (a reminder for us) that anyone paying for a full registration was entitled to a free banquet. (A first for Gatherings, I believe, and a much-appreciated one.) Jack was getting rather hungry and had a headache, so we headed up to the room during the break between Top 10 and banquet, but Mom & Dad weren't back. We waited a bit- they finally arrived, but only with their own dinner and no snacks. Jack managed to get some of Mom's meal, and waited in the room to deal wioth his growing headache. (I waited for the main meal- Jack, unfortunately, doesn't really have that option considering his blood sugar.) As I wandered a bit, I encountered A Fan, who didn't know I was attending (and gave me quite the bear-hug; as in, ouch). I also chatted briefly with a Magic: The Gathering fan, who I tried to barter with over the Gargoyles comic I brought with me. Then, I headed back to the room to retrieve Jack, and we went to the banquet.

The banquet was interesting. I was sure the little area, adjacent to the swimming pool, would be far too small for the Gathering crowd; but it comfortably seated the bunch of us. Me and Jack had two open seats, so the Gregs sat at our table. Neither of us were quite prepared for that eventuality, so we were rather disappointing conversationalists. Over the hamburger, hot dog, and
macaroni & cheese meal the hotel provided, they did mention their late-comer-ness towards CDs and DVDs (Greg W. still
doesn't have a DVD player of his own; Greg G. also came in rather late with laserdiscs), a perhaps-failing they shared with us; and Greg mentioned his one-hamburger-a-day rule over his _second_ burger of the day. For some reason, we found it was much easier to talk to them individually; when Greg W. stepped away for a bit, we briefly discussed the fun of being at a con with Greg G., and when Greg G. stepped away, Jack randomly asked Greg W. about video games (he hasn't played them much since Pong). Greg W. also took a look at my notes on the Top 10 (and the Team Atlantis ep, though that wasn't what he wanted to see). He was also somewhat surprised to see "Kingdom" in the Top 10, as well as "Temptation" (which we agreed might be due to the Brooklyn factor). He did agree with "The Mirror" as a good candidate for stand-alone episodes in the #1 slot. Also mentioned the recording of the "Bad Guys" leica reel by some parties, which he said he noticed and planned to talk
about.

After Greg G. returned, the Gregs held the Q & A. Greg W. first mentioned that he wanted anyone who recorded "Bad Guys" to please destroy their tapes or give them to him, because he couldn't risk "Bad Guys" getting into the public domain. The rest of the session included many oft-asked questions, but with nicely witty responses. (Especially when Greg W. passed some off to Greg G., whose answer was always "Absolutely.") Greg G. discussed the upcoming Lilo and Stitch regular series, which will involve Stitch's fellow-experiments arriving on Earth. Sgt. Goliath also noted in one of his questions that many of the 20,000
soldiers on his former military post watched Gargoyles (to which Greg W. responded by asking him to get them all to sign something and send it to Disney). I also found out his personal Timeline of the Gargoyles universe is along the lines of 200 pages in length! (Man, I want to see that Gargoyles Encyclopedia book now... I wonder if maybe he'd have a shot with Mad Norwegian Press, who recently published guides for the Doctor Who novels and Transformers?)

With the banquet ended, me and Jack decided to hit Mom and Dad's room (where I snagged a package of delicious
toffee-covered peanuts; dinner didn't quite fill me), and then wait for the Masquerade in the video room. We watched a few eps of Trigun, a series new to us that proved very entertaining. As the Masquerade crowd gathered up, I signed my name to one of the three frames for the upcoming group photo, then headed in, but Jack stayed to watch Transformers the Movie.

The masquerade costumes included many unfamiliar characters, and even more cross-dressing (including CrzyDemona as David Xanatos and Patrick Toman as Fox). After the costume displaying was done, I went back to the video room, watched a bit of TFTM, then took Jack back for the group photo. Then, after chatting briefly with A Fan and Winterwolf, I took Jack back to the room at his request, and went down to watch the rest of TFTM. Along the way, I sold my extra copy of Gargoyles #1 to a collector in the elevator. Greg B. stopped by for a bit and did some good-natured MST3K'ing of the movie; Jack returned just as the movie ended. Between TFTM and the next movie, I signed my name to the other two photo-frames, took peeks into the masquerade, and talked with Duncan and Guandalug over plans for the new Gargoyles Fan Registry. Jack and I both stayed to watch Army of Darkness. (It was interesting to see a film with a crowd of people who knew it well enough to speak the lines along with the actors.) We didn't get to see the alternate ending (due to the person in charge not being informed of such), and we listened as Hudson and company made plans for a dart-gun war a la Quake.

As the quiet hour began, Hudson and his friends snagged half the masquerade room and began playing, with Jack watching; I stayed in the other half and listened to the late night conversations with other fans and Greg W. Eventually, around 1 AM, I tried to get Jack to go back to the room, but he stayed a bit more; after I informed Dad that we'd be back by 2 AM, Jack came back. I headed back down, listened until the crowd headed to Denny's, then went back to my room. After watching good eps of Superman: TAS (the first Bizarro ep) and Batman: TAS (the Clock King ep), I went to sleep.

Greg responds...

I knew I remembered that dinner. I do have a DVD player now. (A gift from my in-laws.) Still don't have a CD player that I can use conveniently, i.e. in my car. Still don't have cable.

Response recorded on May 10, 2004

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JEB writes...

Since Greg B. suggested I do so, posting my Gathering 2002 journal here. :)

Day 1 - Friday, June 28, 2002

After a four-hour road trip, we arrived at the Gathering around 4:30 PM. We'd planned ahead, purchasing two adjacent
rooms- Mom and Dad would have one, and would tourist around Williamsburg, while me and Jack would have the other,
allowing us a greater degree of freedom at the Gathering than at the last one the family shared (G98). However, our room was not yet ready, so we kept our stuff in the parents' room. Me and Jack went downstairs and registered, then headed back up and waited for Opening Ceremonies. Our room was also ready, so we moved in, but it was badly cooled and a tad malodorous. (It never really improved from that state. We suspect it was used by a pet owner previously, and the cleaning crew did a poor job of cleaning it up.)

We headed down to Opening Ceremonies (Jack's first!). I saw Mandolin as I waited in line, as Jack asked me a pile of
questions to cover his nervousness. After we arrived, Siryn tried to entertain us while things were getting ready with items like the Top 10 questions asked at a Gathering (including the now-famous "Mommy, what's a con virgin?"). We had two guests this time- Greg Weisman (thereafter referred to as "Greg W.") and Greg Guler (thereafter referred to as "Greg G."). After the opening began, Greg W. gave a speech about the show and the fandom, and how it's still vital (with many people making this their first Gathering) and how the people who'd attended all six Gatherings are our heroes, people who all Gargoyles fans owe a debt for their devotion. He also announced two surprising bits. Firstly, Toon Disney sent a bunch of stuff- Gargoyles baseball caps and sweatshirts, along with an advertisement that they wanted read- but it was all free! Then, Greg W. dropped the major bombshell- Gargoyles is getting on DVD! Our requests over the years have been heard, and this is also a significant event for one simple reason- Disney, on a hey-we-can-make-money-off-these-people level, realizes our fandom exists. And that is a GOOD thing for the show.

We also heard about G2K3, which will return to Manhattan (of course, I knew about it already, what with my loose
association with the Con Staff- that said, I kinda hid when I realized there was a risk of being dragged on-stage). Then, Greg W. went into his presentation. It was the same as since G99, but it was still as entertaining as ever- and Jack was seeing it for the first time, which made it cooler. After the presentation ended, everyone lined up with their tickets (handed to them at registration) to get either a cap or a sweatshift (I got the former, Jack the latter). I met with Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky briefly (thereafter referred to as Greg B.), then headed back to the room with our stuff. Jack stayed there, and we got dinner (Ledo's Pizza); after finishing, I left and wandered... about 30 seconds, before I ran into Greg B. again. I'd brought the Blockbuster-exclusive Gargoyles video he won in one of my eBay auctions, followed him back to his room (trying to sell him my extra copy of Gargoyles #1 along the way), and got him to finally pay for it. We also chatted about G2K, Lord of the Rings and other random topics.

He wanted to hit the adult fanfic panel, but I didn't, so I went into the Video Room and watched Tenchi Muyo! movie #2,
"Daughter of Darkness." Entertaining enough, if a little disturbing in parts. After that ended, I waited to go into the Fandom Address/Hudson's Rant; as the attendees gathered (though some preferred the MST3K session next door), I met with Zaius (under some new alias- Kaelynn, I think?) and Greg B. Hudson (and Chris Rogers) had a lot to say about server troubles, and also laid out their plans for the fandom- to remake Gargoyles-Fans into a site more akin to "Planet Quake" (or the late "Planet Namek"), regularly updated by a crew of people and including a wide variety of topics. The two Gregs stopped by for a bit and listened in. Hudson went on to mention my Gargoyles Fan Registry as one thing he wanted to pull in- I was very gratified when he recognized the work I did on the rather sizable site, and rightly pointed out that automating the process would make things much easier. When Hudson mentioned a rather crude scenario involving Bill Gates and the Manhattan clan, the Gregs high-tailed it out- whether it was coincidence, offense, or a need to avoid fanfic ideas (as the conversation was moving in that direction). Hudson's Rant, following the illustration of his and Chris' plans, was very funny; Hudson could make a good living as a stand-up comedian. Eventually, however, the show ended, and we all left; before I went back to my room, Hudson gave me his e-mail (after my cumbersome address caught him off-guard) to contact him later. I headed upstairs, and quickly went to sleep.

Greg responds...

JEB - I seem to recall that Greg G. and I ate dinner with you and Jack one night at that con? Maybe that's coming in a later entry.

Hope to see you in Montreal.

Response recorded on May 07, 2004

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Spacebabie writes...

Gathering Journal part II
Friday.

I woke up early and decided to find some breakfast. The hotel had a little resteraunt that sold breakfast. So in wa way we were all at a bed and breakfast.
After breakfast I just lounged around chatting until reg opened.

Reg opened. Recieved my badge and our manilla pack that contained a lot of stuff. I checked the schedual. The Badges were nice. They were on lanyards instead of on pins, and the lanyards were decorated with alien heads. The Lanyard fit with my Screen Name.

First thing I did was the Mug a guest with You. You paused for a pic((Wich the camera ate ::weep::)) and weintroduced Ourselves. Yes this was my officially second gathering.
Went to the dealers room and scoped out the merchandise, Bought an Ice Storm Brooklyn. I went to put it away when I stopped to chat with Leo and a few others in the hall. Mara and Aaron woke up. She gave me a picture that she made just for me. IT RULZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tried out for the Radio play and was at the Fanfic panel. Ate something and chatted with Greg B, Aaron((saw his tatoo)), Dreamie and Winterwolf.

Opeing Ceremonis was great, despite the fact that I was in the back. Saw the original panels as well as the panels for some of the spin offs. After I got a free shirt.

Afterwords I goofed off a bit and then went down for the adult fiction workshop. Both You and Greg G were there, but you guys left before we really got into a good discussion. Kathy brought u some interesting ideas on what to do with Severius.
Next was the MGK3000. Both eps wee from the Goliath Chronicles so they both deserved to be Msted.

Went to the 11:00 thing With you. It was fun, spent a lot of time just yacking. I stayed until 1:00 Then Sleepy time.

Tommorow part III.

Greg responds...

These gathering journals are such a time warp. A fun time warp, but a time warp none the less.

I'm pretty focused on Gathering 2004 in Montreal, and my memory immediately wants to go to G2003 in Manhattan. I've got to really stop and think to push back farther to G2002 in Virginia.

Of course given how far behind I am here at Ask Greg, I suppose we're lucky we're not going through G1999 journals.

I remember that Adult fiction workshop. Greg & I left because BOTH of us had the distinct impression that our presence was inhibiting people. Otherwise, I'm always open to a good adult discussion among adults.

Response recorded on May 06, 2004

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Spacebabie writes...

Not really a question, more of a gathering journal.
Thursday:
Upon arriving at the airport we noticed the line for Airtran was too long. Dad figured my large suitcase could fit overhead. We said farewell at the Scanner. After I went through they checked me out with the wand. Damn Underwire!
I got checked out again before I got on my flight. Went through my suitcase, bags and shoes. (Thank You Mr Reed)

The Flight was allright. Pretzels and diet soda for a snack. Got off and met Leo and his brother, Ed. We chatted while waiting for Revel.
After getting our room keys we bumped into more gathering members in the Lobby. Some remember me from 2000. Leo, Edward, Revel and I had dinner.

Walking back from the resteraunt it started to rain, so we sped up. We decided to lounge in the lobby and talked with the people there. The people behind the desk asked us to either be quiet or go to the pool.

I went to the pool, the water wa freezing. Mostly talked in the water with other gathering member. Afterwords I redressed bought a soda and talked some more. Went outside and heard some good stories. Mostly involving Walmat and Red necks.
Then I went to bed. Mooncat did not show up that night.

Okay I do have a question. How was your flight?

Greg responds...

Who remembers?

Actually, I think I had a nice set of flights to Virginia, passing through Atlanta and hooking up with Kathy Pogge. We got in very late, as I recall.

Response recorded on May 04, 2004

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matt writes...

about to leave for the Gathering 2002!!! woohooo!!!

1. to the best of your knowledge, would any of Broadway and Angela's three offspring have skin or hair coloring that their parents don't have? like perhaps a grandparents coloring or something?

2. will the Eyrie Building be epuipped with a rookery or was the original Wyvern Rookery transplanted with the castle?

3. how many eggs will be laid in the Manhatten Clan's rookery in 2008? will it just be Broadway and Angela's first egg or will there be others? will there be any beast eggs?

Greg responds...

Just a few short months until the Gathering 2004!!! woohooo!!!

1. I'm intentionally not nailing that down in my imagination so that I can feel comfortable giving the artist free reign. But it's certainly possible.

2. Both.

3. I don't care to reveal all that now.

Response recorded on April 29, 2004

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A TOUCH OF CANMORE IN THE NIGHT...

For those of you who missed the controversy over the following set of questions... You're lucky.

These questions waited a long time in the queue, but were deleted...

What follows is a bit difficult to read, so here's a primer.

<Lynati lists topics -- or perhaps they are old questions -- inside these carrots.>

[She then quotes ASK GREG inside brackets.]

Then she asks new numbered and lettered questions inside parens, e.g. 1a).

MY NEW RESPONSES FOLLOW IN ALL-CAPS.

From Lynati:

I'm in a Canmore mood this evening. Err, morning.

<Of Fiona's relationship to Robyn and her siblings, posted at two different times>

[Fiona is the twin sister of Jason, Robyn and Jon's grandfather. That is, she's their great aunt.]

DID YOU CUT AND PASTE THIS QUOTATION OR RETYPE IT YOURSELF? DID I REALLY MAKE THAT GLARING AN ERROR, SUBSTITUTING JASON FOR JACKSON.

[But I'm pretty sure that Jackson is Fiona's twin brother. That Jackson was the father of Aron who was the father of Charles
who was the father of Jason, Robyn & Jon. And I know Fiona's great-grandfather was Angus.]

This second list would make her their great-great-aunt. When you have a chance, will you look it up in your Canmore-bloodline list and clarify for us:

(1a)Is she Jackson's twin brother, or Aron's?

THE TWINS, JACKSON AND FIONA CANMORE WERE BORN IN 1888.

(1b)How many "great"'s properly belong in front of her name in relation to Robyn?

IN 1908, JACKSON'S SON ARON CANMORE WAS BORN. FIONA WAS HIS AUNT.

IN 1936, ARON'S SON CHARLES CANMORE WAS BORN. FIONA WAS HIS GREAT AUNT.

IN 1964, CHARLES' SON JASON CANMORE WAS BORN. FIONA WAS HIS GREAT-GREAT AUNT.

IN 1966, CHARLES' DAUGHTER ROBYN CANMORE WAS BORN. FIONA WAS HIS GREAT-GREAT AUNT.

IN 1972, CHARLES' SON JON CANMORE WAS BORN. FIONA WAS HIS GREAT-GREAT AUNT.

<At the time of 'Hunter's moon' were Jason, Jon and Robyn Canmore the only descendents of Canmore? Do they have any other family out there that they are unaware of?>

[There are probably a lot of Canmore descendants. They probably know some and don't know others, just like anyone. But they were the three who had carried on the tradition of the Hunter.]

(2a)Were Robyn and her siblings chosen to continue the Hunter tradition, or did they get a choice?

THEY WERE CHOSEN. AND THEY HAD A CHOICE IN THEORY, BUT GAUGE THAT RELATIVE TO WHAT YOU SAW IN "HUNTER'S MOON".

(2b)As they were trained by the "Canmore clan", does that mean that a large part of the family knows about "the Demon" and
the pledge to hunt her down, or is it kept a secret from anyone not pledged on the Hunter path?

IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU DEFINE "CANMORE CLAN". IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ANY AND ALL OF THE DESCENDANTS OF DUNCAN & CANMORE -- THAN NO, I DON'T THINK MOST STILL KNOW ABOUT DEMONA. BUT IF YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE BRANCH OF THE CLAN THAT RECREATED THE HUNTER TRADITION, THAN YES, MOST KNOW.

(2c)Were any of Robyn's cousins (and second cousins, etc.) offered the choice to become Hunters, and if not, did they receive similar training anyway?

I TEND TO THINK THAT THE MANTLE OF THE HUNTER FALLS ALONG A DIRECT LINE OF DESCENT AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.

(2d)Was Fiona Robyn, Jason, and Jon's primary teacher and trainer?

NO. BUT SHE PARTICIPATED.

[But I've charted so many Canmores that I get confused sometimes, and I don't have that chart with me. I can't remember for
sure. Ask me again later. ]

[She [Demona] was hunted (a) because she was the only one left (as far as they knew) and (b) because of a little mishap with
Canmore and one of his sons that I haven't told you about yet.]

(3a)Will you tell us about all of the Canmore's you have charted at 2002 (or whichever con is "next" by the time this post gets
through), including the above-mentioned "incident" that you have not previously told us about?

NOPE.

(3b)If not, will you tell us about most of them?

NAH.

Hmm...maybe you should just sell copies of the Canmore family list at the Gathering.

IT'S A THOUGHT.

<So what happened in Paris, 1920 that was so significant to the Atlantis and Gargoyles universes? >

[Come to G2002 and find out.]

<origination of the word "Gargoyle".>

[The etimology of the word gargoyle goes back a long way. It evolved at least in part from an Atlantean word. That's all I want
to say at this time. But hold tight. More will be revealed at the Gathering 2002 in Virginia Beach.]

<Who created the Praying Gargoyle? >
[If you come to G2002, you'll find out.]

<How powerful is its magic?>
[Potentially, very powerful.]

(4a)So, was the Praying Gargoyle created on Atlantis?

IT WAS CREATED BY ATLANTEANS -- BUT I'M NOT SURE IF IT WAS LITERALLY CREATED IN ATLANTIS.

(4b)Did the first gargoyles develop on Atlantis?

NO. GARGOYLES PREDATE ATLANTIS. AS DO HUMANS.

(4c) What did you have for lunch today?

NOTHING. TOO BUSY ANSWERING QUESTIONS.

(4d)In 1920, were Fiona Canmore and Demona fighting over the possession of the Praying gargoyle?

NOT REALLY, THOUGH IT PLAYED A ROLE IN THEIR CONFLICT.

(4e)If yes, and the Praying Gargoyle was hidden this year, was there any particular reason that Demona had to wait 60
years to reclaim it, or did she just figure it was too good a hiding place to leave the statue in until she needed it?

THE PRAYING GARGOYLE WAS DESTROYED IN 1920. IT TOOK 60 YEARS TO REGENERATE.

And, while I'm here...

(5a)...Does Demona really "know every remaining gargoyle" as she claims in "the reckoning", or was this just another one of her "I am right about everything (and therefore there can be no more gargoyles than I know of)" delusions?

IT SEEMS CLEAR TO ME THAT SHE DOESN'T KNOW EVERY REMAINING GARGOYLE, AS SHE CLEARLY DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT AVALON.

(5b)Which clans is she actually aware of at the time she makes that proclamation?

I'M NOT GOING TO TIE MY HANDS BY LISTING THEM AT THIS TIME.

(5c)As Angela learned about Demona's immortality in "Sanctuary", why was she crying after Demona's "death" in the reckoning?

IT'S ONE THING TO KNOW SOMETHING INTELLECTUALLY, IT'S ANOTHER TO TRULY ABSORB IT. ALSO, AS I'VE STATED MANY, MANY TIMES BEFORE, THE MANHATTAN CLAN KNOWS THE BASIC RULES REGARDING DEMONA AND MACBETH, BUT THEY ARE NOT AS SURE AS I AM THAT DEMONA CAN NEVER BE KILLED EXCEPT UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS IS ALL NEW TO THEM.

(5d)Did Angela and Goliath honestly believe that Demona was permanently killed by the roller coster collapse/fire, even
knowing that Demona is only able to truly die at Macbeth's hands?

THEY JUST WEREN'T 100% SURE.

(5e) Was Angela not aware of that stipulation?

SEE ABOVE.

(5f)Since Goliath knew, did he deliberately keep the knowledge that Demona would survive from Angela?

SEE ABOVE.

(5g)Have I forgotten something that makes a flaw in my reasoning here?

ONLY THAT YOU ARE THINKING IN ABSOLUTES. MOST PEOPLE (AND GARGOYLES) GO THROUGH LIFE WITH SOME DOUBTS, INSECURITIES AND UNCERTAINTIES. EVEN IF THEY ARE TOLD SOMETHING, THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM TO QUESTION IT.

Yes, I plan to attend the Gathering in 2002.

The last question is, will you have read this post by then?

OBVIOUSLY, NOT. BUT AT LEAST I GOT TO IT BEFORE G2004.


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The Cat writes...

Replying to Sep 12/Feb 14 Q&A.

Hey Greg,

As usual I'm stressed about college, since it is my first semester and all. Otherwise I'm well.

I'm glad Thom is okay. I haven't heard from Jeff in a while either. The last time was after Christmas, he sent me a card.

I'm not sure if ya'll be seeing me at the Gathering. It might happen it might not.

It is that whole question of: Can I kidnap my best friend, throw her into the trunk of the car and race head long to Virginia, while avoiding getting into a wreck and the cops? My answer to this question: I don't think so. Puck(don't ask me why she calls herself Puck, I haven't a clue.) is bigger than me and weighs more. Also, I don't trust myself behind the wheel of a car I just started learning how to drive.

It is also a question of: How well have I saved up money to go and whether or not I can sneak out of the house to go because much as I love my mom and tollerate my little brother, I'd like to go by myself or with just a friend.

So, I'll see what I can do. You'll know if I'm there I'll probably bug you the first day I get there.

Bye, The Cat

P.S. I know that you've said that we should make different posts for different topics and I guess this would be a multiple topic thing, but I'm replying to your reply so I figured just to post them all in the same area.

Choa!

Greg responds...

Hey Cat,

This was all so long ago...

I can't remember what my reply was or whether I saw you in Virginia or not.

Sorry.

Maybe Montreal?

Response recorded on October 24, 2003

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Wolfram Bane (wolfram_bane@hotmail.com) writes...

Pendragon

In Arthurian lore, Arthur Pendragon is generally born because his biological father, Uther Pendragon, took on the form of Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall and the first husband of Igraine, Arthur's biological mother. Uther was transformed through the magic of Merlin to appear as Gorlois, and essentially sexually assaulted Igraine by tricking her into taking him into her bed.

Given the moral focus that often is found in animated series, how would you have handled the situation surrounding the birth of Arthur Pendragon and Merlin's part in the events.

Greg responds...

I'm not revealing this at this time, though if you attended Gathering 2002 or 2003 you may have noticed a VERY indirect clue.

(The above is in itself a HUGE clue).

Response recorded on October 10, 2003

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Jimmy_Q writes...

You know, one of these days I would actually like to attend a Gathering. However, I've found that the past Gatherings have been around the coasts, Virginia, Florida, and the next one is to take place in LA? Here's my problem: I live smack in the middle of the country (Nebraska). With college and a part-time job, not only do I lack the time for a lengthy trip, but I'm not exactly swimming in money, either. I may be a wee bit hopeful, but what are the chances of a Gathering taking place in or around Nebraska in the near-future (within the next 5 years or so)?

Greg responds...

Well, here's the (abridged) history of the Gathering...

1997 - Fans got together and organized the first New York Gathering. Most of the work was done by Mae Li, who should be hailed by fandom as the woman who gave birth to our cons.

1998 - Out of the fist Gathering, a group of fans got together and organized the second New York Gathering.

1999 - Having completely exhausted the New York fandom, another group of fans got together and organized the Dallas Gathering.

2000 - Still another group of fans got together and organized the Orlando Gathering.

2001 - Survivors of the Dallas Gathering got together (with some fresh fan blood) and organized the Los Angeles Gathering.

2002 - Survivors of the Orlando Gathering got together (with some fresh fan blood) and organized the Williamsburg Gathering.

2003 - A new group of fans got together (with a few familiar faces) to organize this year's new New York Gathering. For info, check out http://gathering.gargoyles-fans.org .

2004 - A group of Canadian fans have gotten together and are already organizing next year's Gathering in Montreal.

2005 - Is up for grabs. As you can see from this history, there's no magic to it. Dedicated fans just decide to make it happen. In fact, it's a lot of hard work. But if you want a Gathering in Nebraska, organize a group of fans and put together a bid. You've got at least six to eight months to get your act together before next year's bidding process begins. Go for it.

As for attending before then... it's not necessarily as expensive and time-consuming as you may think. Look into cheap fares or ride sharing and/or room sharing. Just LOOK into it, before deciding it isn't possible. Give it a try. I guarantee you won't be sorry.

Response recorded on May 13, 2003

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Sasmoe writes...

Hi, Greg! I'm a rather new Garg fan. Well, I've actually been obsessed with Gargoyles for at least two years now...but I have seen very few complete episodes in English. So, it's taken me a while to get to the point where I am now-total comprehension of the series. Mostly, that's thanks to fanfiction (predominently Owen/Puck ;)) and episode summaries from other fans. (I love you guys!) My new obsession now is getting to the next Gathering! I've gone to the main website and seen some fanpages with little anecdotes and pictures... but it seems rather obscure. I'm guessing it's more of a 'you have to go and see' thing. Well, I'm trying, but I live in Massachusetts and getting to Virginia for a convention might not be the easiest thing I've done. :( Another question I had about the convention is some sort of play (or something) that has been mentioned several times. Being an actress, that naturally caught my attention. Will something of that sort take place in Virginia in G2002? Okay. My last and most obscure question is; how aware are you of the Owenite Nuns and other such groups? If I were you I'd just stay far away, but who knows...do you have any idea why they've all seemed to dissapear these last couple of months?? Thanks. ;)

Greg responds...

Well, I've been so slow (overwhelmed) getting to these questions, that I'm a bit late helping you answer your Virginia queeries. That con was a blast, but it was also nine months ago as I type this.

So maybe you should go for this year's con: Gathering 2003 in New York City, which has the virtue (among others) of being even closer to Massachusetts than Virginia was.

Check out the con's website at

http://gathering.gargoyles-fans.org

And yes, in Virginia -- and every year, including this year in Manhattan -- I audition from among the attending fans and cast and direct a "radio play" (a reading) of an animated script. In the past, we've done either episodes of Gargoyles (Like Hunter's Moon III) or scripts I've written that for various reasons, have never seen the light of day. Unsold pilots, or episodes of the cancelled "Team Atlantis". Show up, audition and become a member of the Gathering Players. It's a blast!

Finally, I don't know what the Owenite Nuns are, though I could guess. And I have no idea where they've disappeared to.

Response recorded on April 14, 2003


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