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Ambrosia writes...

Hi, Greg!
*Greatly* enjoyed the radio play. Thank you so much!
So...
Did the cut scene of Hunter's Moon III between Elisa and Jason in the decimated clock tower actually happen in the gargoyles universe, just off camera?

Greg responds...

Uh... I'd like to think so, yes.

Response recorded on September 05, 2001

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VF writes...

Some comments about the 2001 Gathering

I am a communications director at a university and can truly appreciate the vast amount of work that goes into event planning, so thanks to all the people who worked so hard on the Gathering 2001. I had posted a note in the Station Eight Comment Room a few weeks before the convention, expressing some slight trepidation about my two daughters and myself attending the event because I felt like a bit of an outsider, but we wanted to show our support for the series and encourage its revival. Several people, including you, Greg, responded in the Comment Room and were very welcoming and put my concerns to rest.

Or so it seemed.

Imagine my thoughts when, shortly after the Opening Ceremonies got underway, my now-infamous daughter says, quite out loud for just about everybody to hear: "Mommy, what's a con virgin?!" Yes, that was my 4-year-old, Caitlin. So after blushing a bit and trying to quietly explain the term to her, all I could think of was that maybe I'd have to carefully scout out any future sessions and try to pre-determine their age-appropriate level.

But I didn't have to worry. The weekend was really very nice. I'm not very good at remembering names, so unfortunately I don't know the names of the kind people we encountered. The women in the Art Room, for example, were so accommodating and welcoming when both of my daughters became inspired to draw Elisa (as a human and as a gargoyle) and Goliath pictures and submitted them to be displayed. The girls were so excited that we had to drop in and see them ... often.

The purchase of some Gargoyles coloring books and stamps and a Goliath mug, the art table that totally occupied my daughters' time while I sat in on your Mug-A-Guest session, hearing the writers discuss their work on the show, the voice actor panel, the Radio Play (thanks for the great choice of material), the Video Room - all were very interesting and fun for this con ... uh ... first-timer.

It has been interesting to read other people's diaries of the Gathering since, including one from Aaron. I didn't know it until I read his summary, but he mentioned watching my other daughter, 6-year-old Jessica, who, during the Radio Play, spent more time turned around watching Aaron's friend, Mara, while she sketched. Mara (whose name I didn't know at the time) was kind enough not to mind Jessica staring mesmerized at her work. Jessica really has an affinity for art, and Mara was very encouraging and gave Jessica one of the sketches she had done. It was beautiful.

I also had the pleasure of meeting your wife, briefly. We compared notes a bit, this being her second - I believe she said - Gathering that she had attended. She, too, assured me that although newcomers may feel awkward at first, her estimation is that it's a pretty nice group of people who make up the fandom. I concur.

While my girls and I had perhaps only modestly participated in the Gathering, it was fun and I hope it will do some good to perpetuate what I think is a really great program that deserves to be revived. So thanks for all your work and that of the con staff and the guests for all the time and energy invested. My daughters and I certainly appreciated it.

Greg responds...

VF - Thanks for coming AND for bringing the girls.

Obviously, your daughter Caitlin provided one of the comic high-lights of the first night. I hope that didn't scare you too much.

But I wouldn't have encouraged you to come if I didn't think the con was 99% kid friendly. I think I'm a pretty good dad, and I know my wife is a great mom. And we wouldn't bring our kids (then ages 6 and 4 -- though Erin would be quick to point out that she is 7 now) if we didn't now KNOW that the con staff and fans treat them with respect and understanding.

I'm glad you all had a good time. And I'm VERY glad you took the time to post here and let me know.

Response recorded on September 03, 2001

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Kelly L Creighton/Kya White Sapphire writes...

Just got done reading the Greg Weisman section of the archives. Time for a LONG rant.

I wanted to tell you at the gathering, but I forgot. which angers me to no end, because i went on and on about this at work for months before i left for LA. in awakenings, elisa makes the number three on her hand. you said how odd it was that the japanese animation studio had her make three in that particular way, with the thumb, index and middle fingers. the reality is that thats the PROPER way in AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE to make the number three. they must have looked it up to see "how americans do it." what people usually do as three, with the thumb holding down the pinky, is actually "six" in sign language. and the thumb holding down the index finger is "nine" (with the middle being eight and the ring finger being seven.) a 'hitchikers thumb' is ten. :)

speaking of awakenings, the "nice mask" comment isnt in the "movie". i was mad. i pouted all night last night.

re: goliath and elisa needing help to have a child
technically, theyre closely related enough that they prolly could have a child. that child would not be fertile tho. a Stallion and a female donky can have a hinny, a Mare and a male donky can have a mule, but neither a mule nor a hinny can have offspring. though, in your book, a garg and a human may be way farther from eachother than a donkey and a horse. despite the fact that donkeys and horses arent nearly as related as they look.

I know you dont think this way, but humor me for a second. if you were an animal, what would you be? Tore (my fiancee) would be a polarbear. he likes red meat. he likes the cold. he LOOKS like a polarbear, even when hes not overweight. he acts like one. people give him the respect of one. and he's all white collar(fur) on the surface, and blends in with the crowd(snow) but underneath hes jet black(covered in tattoos, a closet freak ;P) it took a long LONG time to find an animal for me. im nocturnal. im cute. im mostly herbiverous, but not completely. i like florida's hot and muggy weather. i sleep a lot. we went through many rodent and lemur species before settling on flying squirrel.

on the topic of what names mean (oh wise one :) my full name is Kelly Leigh Creighton. Kelly started as a gaelic name, i think spelled calleach, pronounced ka-LEE-ack(phlem sound here). Then the irish clan the O'Kellys took the name. and they were a big factor in the liberation of ireland. so it became fashionable to name boys Kelly. then in 1958 i believe, there was an actress named Kelly. so it became okay to name girls kelly. which is more the case now. anyway, Kelly means "warrior of the king" or "female warrior" Leigh is an english word still used today (in britan) which means "meadow". my last name, Creighton, started as a scottish name, and then spread to england and ireland, where it took many diversion such as Crichton, etc. my family roots have been traced to scotland. it means "near the creek." so fully, my name means "Female warrior of the King, in the meadow near the creek." i always wonder if i will find a meadow near a creek with some unmarked grave in it or something.

along the same track, have you seen the gargoyles code? its a long string of letters and symbols that, if you know how to read them, describes one's character. part of the code is for real life, and asks how obsessed you are. the maximum obsession is defined by one who would be willing to be a test subject for a mutagen that might make them a gargoyle. im one of those silly people. are you? doubt it... (thats not meant to be offensive, i just doubt youre that kind of person :)

at the gathering, while talking about all the spinoffs, specifically i think you were talking about 2198, you said "and its really sad that im still working on this." actually, i dont think its sad at all. im pretty happy about it. because it really is something special. and we all believe in you. its pretty cool that youre as obsessed with your own shows as your fans.

i also recently learned that you dont drink, and think smoking is pretty haneous (sp?). that rules. its nice to see other people out there like that, not just in the fandom too. its really rare these days. not that i didnt respect you before, but i really respect that, and in a way, appreciate it.

i read about how you fell out of the bunkbed when you were little. that reminded me of my bunkbet gymnastics. i hate using the ladder, since i can never find it when im sleep walking. (i sleepwalk a LOT). so ive trained myself to grab the bar on the side of the bunk, or if there isnt one, the lip underneat the bunk, and flip over the side to land on the floor. thing is, if i lose my balance i land on the edge of the bunk below, instead of the floor, and wake whoever is sleeping there. usually, though, since im sleepwalking, i wont remember that i did it unless they confront me about it in the morning. so no guilt ;P

on sleepwaling: i have recently discovered that any time someone tells me im dreaming, i get very angry at them and insist im not, even if i am. i have instructed my parents (specifically my mom, my dad did it anyway because he thought it was funny) to just agree with me, pretend i make sense, and send be back off to bed. o_O

ive wanted to tell you about my religion for some time, but ive been a little nervous to, because its a touchy subject with some people. but after reading your views, i feel like i can at least give you a short version, and it shouldnt be too bad. basically i believe that there are an infinite number of universes, all connected by a void. everything is true, in some universe or another. and some things can travel thru the void into other universes. so basically all religions are true, because there are an infinite number of universes. i simply choose to pray to an alternate set of dieties than the normally accepted ones. which isnt to say i put any less faith in God or Budda (sp?), etc. I just choose not to pray to him/them. which i think this kind of falls into your beliefs anyway, since you belive in alternate universes, and that all things are true. which is basically what my religion preaches. so youre Raptorian and didnt even know it ;P

theres actually scientific evidence coming to light to support the "theory" of alternate universes. cold dark matter, morphic fields, time as a fourth dimension, the possible non-existance of time... its fascinating. this thing that i knew all along is now getting proved by science. basically, the theory of cold dark matter states that there is a force in the universe that is more powerful than gravity. but it only partially exists in this universe, so it is hard to see and study. and most of the force it exerts is exerted in another universe, so were not even getting the full effect. morphic feilds is the theory that everything in the universe is connected by lines of force. this explains why when an atom is split, and two electrons go zinging away from eachother at high speed, one can look at the north/south orientation of one electron and know that the other electron is the exact same. because they are connected. which is why dogs know when their owner is comming home, even if the spouse does not. which is why people can sometimes instinctively know that something is wrong with a loved one, even if miles away. why twins, if separated, can still sense what the other is doing, even if they dont have a twin. why sometimes we can predict the future, or get flashes from the past. morphic fields trancend even time. there is also a theory that states that time is the fourth dimension. basically, since were three dimensional creatures, we can see the EDGE of things in TWO dimensions (meaning you can see the edge of a planar surface), and we can COMPREHEND things in the THIRD dimension (you cant see the edge of a 3D object, a coke can for example, the edge curves away from you and you cant see it. technically, it has no edge). fourth dimensional beings could see our EDGE, and comprehend the fourth dimension. we, as 3d creatures, can only measure what we think is the passing of time. a two dimensional creature could only measure the third dimension. of course there is another theory, who's own creator admits that its just a neat theory he came up with and doenst actually believe in. he said that maybe time doesnt exist at all. maybe we think time passes, just like when we watch a movie we think the pictures are going by, but its just many still frames. as in there is an alternate universe for each second in time. and we only think there is motion because at each second, we have the memories of all the things that have passed before. its an interesting theory, but im more inclined to think of time as the fourth dimension.

anyway, im done rambling for the night. please feel free to comment as you see fit, or not at all :)

Greg responds...

Whew...

Random responses...

I think that humans and gargoyles are biologically much further apart than horses and donkeys.

I already AM an animal. Homo Sapiens, I believe.

Even after your explanation, I'm still not sure what the Gargoyles code is. But no, I wouldn't want to be a mutagen guinea pig.

And I was being a bit fecetious and/or self-deprecating (given my audience) at the Gathering when I said it was 'sad'. Obviously, I enjoy still thinking about the property.

I do think smoking is a fairly heinous and shockingly stupid habit. Though I generally try not to preach. As for alcohol, I see nothing wrong with drinking in moderation -- for most people. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people.

I'm Jewish. And a bit pagan. I believe in the religion of the Three Musketeers: "All for one, and one for all." Or something like that.

Time has also been referred to as the fourth dimension in the sense that it spots any point. You can spot a point in three dimensions and still miss it if you don't also measure it's location in time.

Response recorded on August 30, 2001

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Vashkoda writes...

KW Sapphire asked how much Demona could bench. Well, I already know how much Lex can bench:

http://crossroads.dragonmists.org/fantasy/avalon/jack-lex1.mp3

(this is a few years old, but I believe Thom's character was complaining that the name "Jumbo Jack" was biased against short people. You may have to actually live in a state that has the "Jack in the Box" chain to understand this commercial).

Oh, and I only have Day 1 up now, but eventually I'll have my Gathering report up here: http://crossroads.dragonmists.org/fantasy/avalon/gathering/g2k1_1.html

Greg responds...

Would you mind cutting and pasting your diary here?

Response recorded on August 24, 2001

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Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

Since Aaron mentioned it in his Gathering Diary, I figured now would be the time to ask.

I bought a copy of "The Hunter's Moon" Part 3 Radio Play script at the auction. I don't want to post it on the internet without your permission, so may I put it up?

I'll understand perfectly if you'd rather I didn't. I'll abide by your decision.

Greg responds...

Up to you. But thanks for asking.

Response recorded on August 24, 2001

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Aaron writes...

Monday

We headed down in time for the 3x3 eyes Q & A to look for Thom. But Mr. Punctuality is nowhere to be found. Turns out he left earlier to feed his dogs. So we stake out the only way in or out and do eventually waylay him for a bit, ostendably so he can pick up the stained glass Lex he bought. (And so he'll do the line) "C'mon, Greg's already going to rag on you for being late anyway." ;)

Thom does eventually record the line, so I also have a recording of Thom pretending he's Riff Raff, which I need to get to Lynati.

We attend closing ceremonies, which are always kind of bittersweet, and get pre-reged for next year.

After that, we sadly see Lynati off in a cab, and Wolfie, Dreamie, Warpy, Josh, Mara and I all piled into Wolfie's convertable and headed off to a chinese place Josh recommended for lunch. (Funny thing though. An hour later we were hungry again) ;)

Mara and I actually stayed until Wednesday, but that's the end of the Gathering stuff. Except for some...

Random Stories: I don't remember exactly when or where I heard these, but I thought they should be shared.

Crispy apparently had a running war with the hotel staff. He emptied his mini-bar and put his own stuff in it, which you weren't allowed to do. The staff takes it back out, and restocks the minibar. Crispy re-empties the minibar, and puts his stuff back. The staff swaps it again, and leaves him a note saying to cut it out. I don't even want to *think* about his minibar bill.

Why does Duke L'Orange sound just like Brooklyn? Apparently, when they created the character, he was supposed to be *French*. But they didn't like that, so they tried making him English instead. Apparently, they didn't like that either, so Jeff, just goofing around, starts doing his Brooklyn voice, and they're like "That's it! That's perfect!"

What were all those norms in formal wear doing at the hotel? On Friday, they were there for a wedding in the Roof Garden. A wedding that, according to Greg, trashed the place. On Saturday, I was heading up the escalator to get my auction cash, when I passed Myhr going down. He asked if I knew what was going on in the other big room downstairs, and I guessed it was a wedding. He shook his head and said "It's somebody's 18th birthday." Which blew me away. I said "When I turned eighteen, I got a cake and twenty bucks." Myhr says "I got thrown out of the house." "You win."

To sum up...

1 Coke from the hotel minibar: $2.65
Sushi dinner for two at Wasabi's: $40.00
Eye of Greg: $65.00
One week of Mara's company: Priceless.

Thanks for listening to me ramble, Greg. And see ya next year.

Greg responds...

Looking forward to it, my friend.

Response recorded on August 23, 2001

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Aaron writes...

Sunday.

Sunday was a weird day. As I kept remarking to people, "This four day con schedule is really throwing me off." (This was in no way a bad thing, it's just that all the other cons I've been to have been three day affairs, so I felt like I should be rushing to things that weren't happening yet)

Mara and I wandered over to City Walk and spent too much time and money on souvenirs for other people, and T-shirts with witty saying on them. We also spent most of the time sharing a really great slushy from a little shop nestled in between two huge ones. If you're ever there again, I recommend the place highly.

We thought we got back to the hotel in time, but, um, various factors made us really late to the VA autograph sessions. (Had I but known Cree Summer was going to be there... I would have had her autograph my copy of Street Fairy) By the time I got there, Cree and Keith David had left, and Jeff Bennett had to run off to his Mug-a-Guest. (Again, I kept forgetting most of the guests actually *lived* in the city we were in. It wasn't like previous years where they're trapped with us for the duration) Warpy and I were actually supposed to be the last people in line, but a few more people showed up and I didn't have the heart to turn them away. I lost Mara and Lynati for a while here, but found them again by the time I was near the finish. The remaining VAs, Crispy, Elisa, Neil, Gregg, and Thom were all still signing away tho', and I got some more names for my giant puzzle. Neil, Gregg, and Elisa especially seemed really tickled that this many people would line up for them. For my part, I thought they were all very nice, and I was impressed that Elisa recognized her character. Thom looked like he was going to fall asleep in his chair, and complained of being hungry.

Thom also, at that point at least, had apparently seen Moulen Rouge three times. Mara'd seen it four times, and the two began an animated conversation about it.

And then... The auction!

I'd like to thank Myhr for being such a great auctioneer, and Draconis for stepping in when Myhr's voice started to give out.

I have, apparently, gotten a reputation as something of an auction maniac. "God of the bid", I believe was the phrase. I don't know how that happened. ^_^ I certainly wasn't close to Demona May and Heather Rice, (Two big spenders who were conspicuously absent from the auction this year), or whoever bought The Mirror for eight hundred odd dollars. But I do love an auction. Always get a good seat down front, and bring some pretty girls to distract the auctioneer if you can.

I was bidding for myself, Mara, and (sometimes) Lynati, and eventually for a pool to get one of the Carl Johnson CDs, so it might have looked like I was rolling in it.

I did mess with Jannie a little, as she'd promised a couple of weeks before to give me a run for my money. I did *not* bid against Siryn, (Don't annoy next year's con head) but anybody else was fair game to be bid against. And bid I would.

Apparently, there was some feeling that I was simply raising the bids for the sake of doing so. I swear that I bid on nothing I wasn't interested in, I simply wasn't *as* interested in some things as I was in others. And anyway, it is for charity after all. And since I wasn't allowed to give blood, I let myself go a bit at the auction, along with encouraging others to do the same. "C'mon, you can go without food for a couple of days..."

I have no idea what our final haul was since I lost track of what I bid on vs. what I actually got, but there is one standout: The shrinky-dink Brooklyn, a.k.a. The Eye of Greg, acquired for a meer three times what Greg thought it would go for.

The two stories I know are going to make the rounds are:

A. When I'd gotten up to get autographs from the crew, but was still multitasking on the auction. I'd just finished thanking the crew collectively for their autographs and the work they did on the show when I heard one of a pair of bidders who'd been going back and forth go to $35. So I yelled $40. Apparently I don't multitask as well as I thought I did, because I outbid Mara. Oops. (She got me back later) It wasn't my fault, Draconis was standing between us. And then I got outbid by a young woman sitting in the second row. So I stomp toward her, mock-angry, still going back and forth, making "Smite" gestures at her every time I outbid her, walked past her, all the way back to my seat, and then asked "What are we bidding on again?" Which broke everybody up. (Except maybe her) So I turn to look at the items on the block, some of the Hardwired action figures, and say "Oh, I don't want that. You can have that." (If you're reading this, I'm sorry, I thought it was a different set of action figures. One of the Demona/Elisa ones)

B. The script for Hunter's Moon Pt III, the radio play version comes up, and I want it. Naturally, I'm not the only one. Sadly, the auction was winding down, because it really only came down to me and Greg B. He bid fifty bucks, and I asked him if he got it, he'd put it on the internet for all to see, right? And he says no! And to me, in auction mode, he sounds sincere. So I do the only thing I *can* do under the circumstances: Put the bid up to $60. And he's like "I was kidding! Of course I'll put it up! Sixty-five!" So I made him swear on his word of honor that he would put it up for all to see, (Of course, I don't know if I should have trusted the word of a guy whose personal heroes are Xanatos and Megatron... Just kiddin' Greg) and quit bidding.

After that, we scarcely had time to pick up our things before running back to the room to change for the banquet. We came in late, and ended up at a table with a bunch of people we didn't know, Lynati, and I'm afraid I've completely blanked out on the name of the gentleman who was our guest.

Dinner was interesting. Definately the fanciest meal I've ever been to. (I really should have remembered to grab a coke out of the minibar) During the meal, we could see Thom and Crispy getting up and going back and forth between their tables. This was the subject of much debate at our table, so I got elected to go over and find out what was going on.

I have no idea what started them off like this, probably something at a panel earlier, but they were one-upping each other. At least that was what Thom told me. As near as I could piece together, Thom went over to Crispy, pretending to be a waiter, and said "I'm sorry sir, your Visa has been declined. You'll have to leave." So Crispy comes back a bit later and says "FBI sir, you'll have to come with me." So Thom thinks about that for a minute, and goes back with "Don Johnson wants his outfit back." (And, to be fair, Crispy *did* look kinda like something off Miami Vice)

So Crispy goes over and kisses Thom. And everybody claps. Including, after a moment, Thom. Sort of acknowledging that Crispy had won. So I, hating to see Thom lose, go over to and tell him to go lick Crispy's ear. That should guarantee a win. Thom kinda thinks about it for a minute, and then says that he'd already given Crispy his due. "But that would have been good tho'."

On the way over to the dessert buffet, (my favorite part of the meal) we pass Greg's table, and he notices that I have The Eye of Greg on, and asks how much it went for. I tell him $65, and he says that it "wasn't worth anywhere near that much, but thank you." I protest that it's a Greg Weisman original, and besides, I'm sure it has magical, creative powers. Greg says that he'd gotten kind of used to wearing it, and I offer, in all sincerety, to give it back to him. (Lest he, I don't know, try to reclaim it later, Odin-like. How he'd do that I don't know. Write me into Team Atlantis at the Vinnie character, maybe. I didn't say any of that at the time tho') Greg says, no, for me to keep it, and then says "You know I licked it, right?" "Really?!?" "No, not really."

We stayed, probably too long, for the artist awards, and then ran down to get changed. Really, we should have practiced this before. Various problems, mostly with my costume, took forever. (For all would-be Gorebash award contestants, you cannot fill condoms with water and then cram them into a bra. They WILL break. Use jello. Do *not* use pudding, because that has oil in it, and that will eat the latex and make a *huge* mess. Don't ask me why Hudson knew that...) Anyway, then we had to blow dry my dress... With me in it...

So we get in the elevator with two norms, one of whom says "Do I even want to know?" I just tell him that cross dressers always get great responses, and leave it at that.

When we get there, horribly late, but Slash is still playing. Thanks for stalling for us, and the other late arrival Slash. We get to go on, to much applause, and I get a little silly, performing for the crowd. Thom starts yelling for me to come over and give Lydia Moreno a lap dance, and I act like I'm going to do it, but at the last minute I sit on his lap instead. So after that photo op, I slink over to Greg, who says that he's "not as good a sport as Thom is" (Greg's words. I beg to differ) so I don't sit on his lap. Seth comes running out of the crowd, and stuffs a dollar down the front of my dress, and we leave the stage. There's one more act, and the judges leave for a bit. I've got some great photos of "Dueling Foxes" in here, along with pics with Patrick "Reno" Chavez. Jen remarks that she "can't wait until these hit the 'net."

The judges come back. Wolfie and Dreamie have won the Thom Adcox Memorial award, Mara and I have won the Gorebash award, "Because no one worked harder for it." as Greg put it.

And then I got to spring a gag I'd been planning since before G2K, giving Thom a pair of official Backstreet Boys underwear. I meant to do it in Orlando, but I chickened out. But I figured I'd already put on a dress and fake boobs, so what did I have to lose? Thom accepted them with a smile and a laugh. Thom also promised to record a line from Rocky Horror for Lynati the next day. Thom is the greatest sport in the history of the world. :)

After the dance broke up, Mara, Lynati, and I drifted back to our room, and had a long conversation about fic before turning in.

Greg responds...

Aaron, Sounds like you had a great time. You're diaries are a better advert for the G's than anything I can think of. Thanks.

(But i"m glad you stayed off my lap, lady.)

Response recorded on August 23, 2001

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Aaron writes...

Saturday

Saturday was hang with Lynati day. We got to make a much more thorough creep through the Dealer's room, where I bought Mara a pair of little black wings, which she wore the rest of the day, Lynati got herself a tail, and I had to talk myself out of buying a pair of really cool gauntlets on the grounds that the claws were made of plastic, and therefore useless. I also spent waaaaaay too much time at the edged weapons rack. In retrospect, I kind of wish I had bought that giant broadsword, even if getting it home would have been an adventure, if only because the picture of me holding it didn't come out. (That would be the giant broadsword I tried to lift one-armed and nearly dropped on Kanthara. Sorry Kat) Then we realized that Mara hadn't put up her art yet, so we hauled over to the art room and started hanging stuff. (Next year, we have *got* to get an H-rated section for the art show)

During most of the time in the art room, we'd been having a great conversation with Lynati about her ficverse. I am *really* impressed. (I'm pretty sure this is all circumsptect enough to get by, especially since you already said you don't like the idea of the gargs universe being a multiverse)

My ficverse is kind of like a puzzle. Occasionally, I get a few more pieces to fall into place, and it sheds some light on things. Lynati... Lynati has notebooks devoted simply to the bloodlines of her characters. Can you imagine trying to keep bloodlines straight in a *multiverse*? Lynati is mad cool.

We wandered from there until we ran into Jen, (Who did ask if she could kick Josh's @$$. Hey Josh, I think she likes you!) and got sent over to the storyboarding panel to fill in the audience. (Poor guys, they got stuck in the hardest to find room, no wonder they were lonely)

After that, it was back to that art room to make sure we weren't being outbid on anything, and eventually we gathered a bunch of TGS posters around us. It was kind of like having a live TGS room. Greg came through with his family, and we all started genuflecting when they were leaving. Greg's response: "Don't do that in front of my kids, guys."

We made a quick trip back to the room for lunch, if you can call one piece of left-over pizza each lunch. We had to, since it would be the only food we ate all day.

And then it was time for the radio play. Hunter's Moon Part III, the expanded version, reedited by Greg for the occasion. (Hmm, I don't remember Demona grunting and groaning so much in the TV version) It was a blast to listen to, especially with the presence of actual gargs VAs, (and Crispy's impression of Broadway is scarily accurate) and full of material I expect to see start turning up in fanfic soon, like Charles Canmore's line about "We can no more stop hunting The Demon then breathing the air.", and Jason's admission that none of them even know *why* they hunt gargoyles, aside from family tradition. Greg Bishanksy would eventually end up with the script, and hopefully he'll be putting it up soon, so you can all see it. (That is okay, right Greg?)

I spent most of the Radio Play listening while splitting between watching Mara draw, and watching the little girl in front of us watch Mara draw.

(Another thing about this year's con: There were kids! And they didn't belong to Christine or Greg. I know the fandom hasn't spawned that much since last year, so the show must be catching on with it's "intended demographic." Kick@$$!)

After the radio play, we got another example of why Thom is the coolest guy in the world. If anybody knows about cleaning up audio, I have a kinda scratchy minitape recording of Thom saying something really funny.

3x3 Eyes was showing in one of the video rooms, so Mara, Lynati, Warpy, and I followed Greg, who declined to stick around and watch it this time. Unfortunately, either the staff forgot the second tape, or it grew legs and walked off. (I hope not) So that makes twice I've seen the beginning, without ever seeing the end. I guess I should just give up and buy the DVD, now that I *finally* have a player. Warmed up from the night before, and working with material we'd seen already, we were soon MiSTing it in fine form. We were on a serious roll, which carried on through the first four eps of the Utena dub. I'm beginning to suspect that Zelgadis sounds like Crispy, but Touga *is* Crispy.

With the credits rolling, and Spawn apparently cancelled, we were turned out. But nobody wanted to go to bed yet, so the four of us ended up deciding to check out the roof garden where the banquet would be held the next day. Heh. I'm not sure what I had pictured, something open-air with potted palm trees all over the place maybe, but it was a little less roof, and a lot less garden then that. The floor to ceiling windows did provide a pretty nice view of LA at night, however.

So we stayed there for I don't know how long, having one of those wonderful non-linear conversations, mostly between Lynati and I, about our respective ficverses. So here we are, having this loud conversation about fic, and even acting out some of it, when who walks in but Greg himself, followed by the rest of the con staff. We stayed for a while after that, trying to be quieter, but eventually we all grew tired and went our separate ways.

Greg responds...

I hope we didn't kick you out.

And Greg can post it if he wants, I guess.

Response recorded on August 22, 2001

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Aaron writes...

Friday.

It was the weirdest thing, being in the west. I kept waking up at like seven a.m., due to not being adjusted to the time change. LA has some beautiful sunrises. (Got some nice sunsets too) Still didn't make it out of the room before ten tho'... Heh. "Every time I try to leave... Someone keeps pullin' at my sleeve..."

Anyway, we went in search of registration, and found it, along with Jen, and one of her twin daughters. Which still freak me out. Jen doesn't look like she's had four kids, nor does she look old enough to have had four kids. Not only that, but her eleven year old is *taller* then me. (Future WNBA standout, I guess)

We also ran into Warpy, the Cutest Couple from last year, (Who were sporting a great "Let a gargoyle sit on your face" button) Vatana, my old auction partner from G99, who I don't keep track of well enough, and Lynati, who we would end up adopting, and spending most of the con with. Lynati's cool.

Which leads me to another point. How many people remember their first con? (If G2K1 was your first con, then obviously you do) I remember mine. (G99 in Dallas) It was fun, but like most firsts, losing your con virginity is also kinda scary. I remember being on my own in a strange city, not really knowing anyone, feeling kinda out of place. I mean, I met people in Dallas, but I felt a little too intimidated talking to *The* Greg, or even *the* Christine Morgan, to really do more then sort of float around their periphery. (Heh, that was when I even knew who people were. When I met Jen in Dallas, all I knew was that she was a pretty lady who responded to my offer to split a pizza with the words "F**k yes!") I know Mara had a similar experience when she first got to Orlando.

I know I'm supposed to be talking about *this* year's con, but bear with me, there is a point to this.

The point is that we, the people who've been here before, the older guard, (I wouldn't call myself old school, since it's the people like The Morgans, The Andersons, and the Wittenbergs, who were going to Gatherings when I didn't even know there *was* a fandom who deserve that distinction) need to do some more voluntary newbie adoption. If you see someone in Virginia who looks a little dazed, a little lost or a little overwhelmed, and they're sitting by themselves... (Had to include that. If they look all of the above, but are surrounded by people, they're probably Con Staff, not newbies) Anyway, if you see someone like that, go over and say hi. Introduce yourself. Invite them to join you. Make them feel welcome. Because we were all newbies once. And because newbies *are* the lifeblood of the fandom. Without them, there is no growth, and really, no hope of getting our beloved show back. And they're more likely to keep coming back, and bring others with them, if they have a good time. So adopt a newbie, and eventually they, in turn, will adopt their own. To quote a movie nobody saw, they won't pay it back, they'll pay it forward.

Whew, I didn't expect to get so into that. But anyway...

Right next to registration there was a nice big TV showing garg eps, and well, we couldn't resist MiSTing them good naturedly, along with a group of about twenty or so. Eventually the tape ran out, and since no replacement seemed forthcoming, I grabbed something I'd brought, a tape with a bunch of fan videos, mostly by Brad De Moss. We got to watch about half of them there before decamping to the con suite to watch the rest. (BTW, could someone who was on staff remind me of that one staffer's name? She was about my height, i.e., short, kind of curly brown hair. I was supposed to see about getting her a copy of that tape. My email addy is JCarnage@Yahoo.com Thanks)

While we were in the con suite, Thom and Greg showed up, and, to me at least, it looked like they'd come as each other, since it looked as if Greg had taken off his beard and given it to Thom. When I remarked on this, Greg misinterpreted, and said, "When did I wear khakis?"

We made a quick trip back to the room to dump off our registration stuff, and then hit Crispin Freeman's panel. I wish Greg could have made it, because I think he really would have appreciated a lot of what Crispy said about the hero's journey, mythological archetypes, historical gargoyles, and such.

(After the panel, Crispy also told a story that might be of some interest to Slayers fans. Apparently, due to recording schedule, Crispy was supposed to do a bit where Zelgadis says "That... is a secret." like Xellos does. Only they hadn't done any recordings with David Moo yet, so Crispy had no idea how he was supposed to deliver the line. So the Voice Director, (or VD as Warpy would later remark) told him, "Don't worry, just say the line however you think it should be done, and we'll make him do it like you did it." So Crispy does the line, and it sounds pretty cool when he does it. Not quite as cool as when Akira Ishida does it, but pretty cool. And then they called him back the next day... (Insert hilarious impression of David Moo by Crispy here) and said they'd have to do it again. Yes folks, bad as he was, David Moo could, and did, do worse.

Conveniently, the "Writing Successful Crossover Fiction" panel featuring Mara, Christine, Tigris Euphrates, and Gencie Salter was in the same room, so we didn't have to move much. Not having a set agenda, the group wandered merrily for over an hour, entertaining the masses and making a lot of humorous references to the "Other Panel" which is apparently extremely entertaining if you can find out where and when it's being held. (I think I showed off my tattoo for the first time this con in here. I seemed to be showing it to more people then last year, but then I think Mara just likes any excuse to have me take my shirt off in public) We also met Josh, and made his list of people he's pretty sure exist.

After the panel broke up, we took a quick look around the dealer's room, and then ran into Hudson, who told us he was forming a "Gargoyles Mafia" out of everyone who brought enough black clothing. After happening by accident at the last two cons, Clan Mafia now officially exists. And, even better, it's integrated now, Mara, Lynati, and (I think) Kanthara being the female contingent of CM.

A quick run back to the room to change into more evil-looking outfits, and Clan Mafia assembled, waiting to make an entrance at Opening Ceremonies. (Poor Kai. He tried, he really did. Black T-shirt, slacks, and wingtips, but I don't thing he's really cut out to be CM. Sorry Kai) While we were waiting I had kind of an interesting Admin to Admin to Admin talk with Kai ("Oh, so you're the sucker that got my job.") and Hudson, who has made me his Padawan. One day, I too shall be able to smite people like he does. ;)

I love hotels with mirrored walls, and CM looked pretty cool, if I do say so myself, doing that Reservoir Dogs walk down that wide hall, all of us flanking Hudson. (BTW, if anybody has a picture of that, or of later, when we're doing the group photo, please contact me at the addy listed above, because mine didn't come out)

Opening ceremonies were their usual blend of old and new. (Hee-hee, I wonder how long it'll be before Greg starts making *us* tell his stories. We know them better then he does) The highlight was Lexy receiving her "Warpy" (As we nicknamed the little bald statuettes later) for being Fan Guest of Honor. Congratulations Lexy. No one deserved it more.

Other notable points included Greg's ace podium-moving crew, (Can Patrick Toman supervise or what?) a really nice letter from Ed Asner, who said he wanted to be there so bad he considered crawling to LA, and a message from Frank Welker. The original was lost, but Greg summed it up in his usual inimitable manner. "Frank says he doesn't do conventions, because truthfully you people scare him." I'm not sure if he was kidding or not. Greg also showed off one of his contributions to the charity auction, a shrinky-dink Brooklyn, which would come to be known as The Eye of Greg.

And I want to echo Patrick's thanks to Scott Sakai and his crew. The AV setup rocked! (And it's probably be the closest we'll get to seeing gargs on a big screen anytime soon. Sigh)

After OC, a showing of Awakenings was scheduled, but most of CM decamped after being told it was the movie edit. We again adjourned to the courtyard in front of the hotel, and hung out by the "Mountain Dew fountain", so named because of the color of the water in it. (The observation was made that for their prices, we should get an *actual* fountain of Mountain Dew) Ordering pizza for twelve is always complex, but we managed. While we were waiting, Hudson regaled us with stories of how the dotcom fallout affected he and Chris, and a really funny one involving Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It!" and a patrol car... Another one of my lost pics, Mara and Lynati doing a really, um... interesting looking stretching exercise happened somewhere in here.

Eventually, the pizzas arrived, and we returned to catch the last of Awakening Part V while scarfing pie. And then it was time for the moment I'd been waiting for, Garg MST3K.

I admit to a bit of professional jealously here. I wondered at first why, if gargs were to be MiSTed, Mara and her trusty sidekick (That'd be me) didn't get to host. But Jade Griffin and Beedoo! do episodes, not fic, and do them pretty well, so it worked out. Eventually and appropriately enough, The Gathering, Parts I and II, were MiSTed. If anyone knows where the final script wound up, or if it's even up yet, please direct me to it.

Gargs fans tend to be pretty funny people, and this group proved no exception. The two episodes were MiSTed with much hilarity. Although I think the best gag may have been between episodes, on a joint effort between Hudson and Josh. (Which is funny in and of itself, considering the cr@p Huds was giving him earlier about his Mac Geek shirt) The blue screen you get from an empty VCR came on, and Josh shouted "It's a blue screen of death!" Hudson promptly responded: "This con has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. Please reboot your con head, or strike any attendee to continue."

Again, much appreciation for the big screen, since it made physical comedy possible. At one point, I simply reached up and made it look like I was groping Titania. Which started Josh picking Oberon's nose. I'm told that Greg, who unbeknownst to us, had been watching the whole time, put his hand over his eyes and shook his head at that point.

Greg responds...

Pure fiction. I never covered my eyes. Sometimes my head does shake of its own accord, however.

Response recorded on August 21, 2001

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Aaron writes...

(This was written for the TGS room, so if it doesn't seem addressed directly to you, that's why. And it's really cool of you to solicit our Gathering Diaries like this)

Okay, the Gathering was both a blast and a blur for me, (And I spent the whole con in close proximity to Mara, so I was a little distracted) so if I'm leaving someone or something out, please remind me. Thanks. And before we go any further, I'd like to give mad props to all the Staff, volunteers, and guests, who made G2K1 such a special event. You guys kick @$$.

Thursday.

I managed to grab five hours of sleep by virtue of sleeping through a ringing alarm for an hour, before being shaken awake by my mom. I throw on my clothes, stagger downstairs with my one giant bag, (Which, by virtue of being older then me, has no wheels on it) and go tearing off to the airport. And I was off... To Houston that is. For those not familiar with Texas geography, I had to fly east before I could fly west. Fun huh?

The flight to LA was the longest two and a half hours of my life. (Heh, that's what the lady on the plane said it was. I realized after some quick calculations (Bear in mind, I suck at math) that she wasn't factoring in the time difference between Houston and LA, so the flight was more like three and a half hours. And they showed "Air Bud: World Pup" for most of the flight. (Shudder) I was finally so bored I turned to the guy next to me and said "So, what do you do? And please don't tell me you sell soap." Of course, he didn't get the ref...

In retrospect, Josh was right. I should have shelled out the extra $ for tickets into Burbank instead of LAX. Between scrubbing our initial approach for reasons I could never find out, being towed to the gate, baggage claim, etc., I started looking for Mara about thirty minutes late. Little did I know that I would still be looking for her two hours later. LAX, if you've never been, is a big place. I know, because I got some bad directions, and went on a walking tour that included five of the seven terminals in it.

Much later, having been all over the place, having tried to drag a hand truck up a flight of stairs, paged Mara several times, dealt with the mind-numbing stupidity that is the Spirit Airlines staff, been back and forth through security, (people wearing black trenchcoats, collars, finger armor, and carrying three pairs of sunglasses, a minitape recorder, a minimaglite, a lighter, and a lucky coin do not have an easy time with metal detectors) made an urgent phone call to New York to make sure Mara'd even gotten on her plane in the first place, and fended off religious types intent on pressing books on meditation on me by threatening to beat the cr@p out of them, I gave up. I was wandering aimlessly somewhere in terminal six when some impulse turned me back the way I had just come. And then I saw a figure in a black trenchcoat walking toward me...

Cue the Romeo and Juliet music, slow down the film, do the scene that's been parodied a thousand times. I had a brief thought that with my luck, I was probably running toward Hudson, but that was dispelled as she started running toward me. I still have no idea what I did with the hand truck, but I had other things to think about at that moment. Like my first kiss. :)

I went from bummed to wonderful, and stayed there. That was the last time I would feel more then mildly vexed for a week. This is also when life took on a faint air of unreality...

After some time sitting on a bench catching up, and a quick call back to NYC, we grabbed a shuttle and headed for the hotel. The shuttle ride may have taken as much time as the flight. Highlights I can share included a sign that said LA, Population: Way too many, and Mara's remark that LA looks just like New Jersey, except it doesn't smell.

After check in, the first Gathering attendee we ran into was Slash's mom, followed by Demona May, who had a room right down the hall. She seemed geared up for a loooooooong conversation, but we declined, having been up since early that morning. So we finally found our room, and... Let's skip ahead to that evening. (Heh. BTW, how many people noticed that the logo under the room number looked like a multi-colored Hunter's mask? "But what could leave clawmarks in solid plastic?" ;) )

Eventually, we wandered back downstairs, in search of sustenance, and decided to cheat a bit, and see if we could find a Pizza Hut instead of letting one come to us. We were sent off in the direction of the City Walk, a five minute ride away via a trolley with really bad shocks, and wandered around the place for a bit, freaking the mundanes and taking in the local color. Eventually we discovered the world's only grilled pizzeria, and decided that there was a reason it was the only one, so we headed back to the hotel.

Returning, who do we find waiting in front of the hotel but Hudson and Zaius, (Whose name I can finally remember after three Gatherings. Sorry Z) who were waiting for their own pizza, from Pizza Hut no less.

So we shot the breeze for a while, which the hotel staff must have loved, (Four people in black trenchcoats hanging out in front of the main doors) and caught up generally, before leaving to order our own pizza. When the gargfans are hungry, the pizza will appear... On the way back, we ran into Warpy, and had a short conversation, during which I was mostly marveling at how cool Warpy's accent is.

Greg responds...

Sounds good so far...

Response recorded on August 21, 2001


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