2Track's DragonCon 2001 Report

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=140 BGCOLOR="#9966CC" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04300a20ezthtv.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Renee OConnor and the Women of Science F"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>     |     </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#330066" FACE="Arial" ><B>Renee O'Connor and the Women of Science Fiction</B></FONT></div> <div> <B>2Track's DragonCon 2001 Report</B>   |   <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DragonCon 2001 Pictures"><U>DragonCon 2001 Pictures</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2Tracks Vacation"><U>2Track's Vacation</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Whats New in RocWorld"><U>What's New in RocWorld</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Awards"><U>Awards</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Banner Page"><U>Banner Page</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Renee OConnor: The Director"><U>Renee O'Connor: The Director</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Renee OConnor as Renee"><U>Renee O'Connor as Renee</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Renee OConnor: The Younger Years"><U>Renee O'Connor: The Younger Years</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Renee as Gabrielle"><U>Renee as Gabrielle</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Renee as other characters"><U>Renee as other characters</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gabrielle and Xena"><U>Gabrielle and Xena</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Renee OConnor and Lucy Lawless"><U>Renee O'Connor and Lucy Lawless</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lucy as Lucy"><U>Lucy as Lucy</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lucy as other characters"><U>Lucy as other characters</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lucy as Xena"><U>Lucy as Xena</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Claudia as Claudia"><U>Claudia as Claudia</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Claudia as Commander Susan Ivanova"><U>Claudia as Commander Susan Ivanova</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Claudia as other characters"><U>Claudia as other characters</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Claire Stansfield"><U>Claire Stansfield</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Claire as Alti"><U>Claire as Alti</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Claire as other characters"><U>Claire as other characters</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alexandra Tydings"><U>Alexandra Tydings</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" Janeane Garafalo"><U> Janeane Garafalo</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Linda Hamilton"><U>Linda Hamilton</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sigourney Weaver as Lt. Ripley"><U>Sigourney Weaver as Lt. Ripley</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sigourney Weaver as Sigourney"><U>Sigourney Weaver as Sigourney</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Carrie Anne Moss as Trinity"><U>Carrie Anne Moss as Trinity</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dina Meyer as Dizzy Flores"><U>Dina Meyer as Dizzy Flores</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gillian Anderson as Agent Dana Scully"><U>Gillian Anderson as Agent Dana Scully</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jessica Steen as Dr. Julia Heller"><U>Jessica Steen as Dr. Julia Heller</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Yancy Butler as Detective Sara Pezzini"><U>Yancy Butler as Detective Sara Pezzini</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Favorite Links"><U>Favorite Links</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <div> <B>2Track's DragonCon 2001 Report</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#CCFF66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="74ac8e80.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="232" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=340 BGCOLOR="#CCFF66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><U>2Track's DragonCon 2001 Report</U></B><B>     <IMG SRC="76278780.gif" border=0 width="120" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div>      Jeez, where do I begin!? What an amazing weekend! I wasn't sure how good it was going to be because it started out pretty crappy. But surprise...it turned out to be one of the best con experiences I have ever had. I've been trying to figure out where to start. I think the best way is to just go day by day. I missed Friday dealing with some personal things. Having to be in a wheelchair for the weekend made the logistics kind of tough. But we worked it out. As soon as I upload all of the pictures I took I will post them. :)</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Friday August 31st</U></B></div> <bR> <div> Wow! Was this a night to remember! After two and a half years of more fun that I can begin to write about we had our last Xena night at "My Sisters Room". A wonderful crew of ladies performed "Last Chance" for us. This was the "Sappho" script of Xena that unfortunately never came to fruition because of problems clearing permission for all the music. Yes, it was supposed to be the 6th season musical. Melissa Good, writer of the episode, graciously gave a copy of the script so we could see it. Let me tell you...there would have been NO doubt whatsoever about Xena and Gabrielle's relationship if this episode would have aired. I would have loved to see this. After the mini play some great music videos were shown. Then the guests showed up. Paris Jefferson, Tim Odmundson, Claire Stansfield, Alexandra Tydings, Claudia Christian, Steven Sears, Katherine Fugate, Melissa Good, and MaryD joined us for a few drinks and many more laughs. An auction was done to raise money for the Atlanta Cancer Initiative. Autographed scripts, pictures, action figures and kisses were auctioned off by our celebrity guests. Yes, you heard me. Kisses. It was WAY COOL! Claudia Christian is a wild woman! We also got to see the premier of her video "Taboo" starring Alex and directed by Claire. We saw the X-rated version. It was saucy! I, of course, bought myself a copy to enjoy in the privacy of my own home. <eg> All in all it was a pretty amazing night. Like I said, as soon as the pictures are ready you all will be the first to see them.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Saturday September 1st</U></B></div> <bR> <div> We checked into the hotel and got all of bags and booze upstairs. You should have seen the looks we got pushing around a concierge cart full of alcohol. :) PARTY!!! After obtaining our badges. (yes, we needed stinkin badges) we headed over to the dealers' room to shop and meet. I had kept my cast clean for five weeks waiting on this. My first stop was the Walk of Fame! The lovely and incredibly sweet Paris Jefferson was the first to christen the hot pink monstrosity. She played Athena on Xena. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="74c96be0.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="190" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> I really wanted a picture with her but the way they had the autograph tables set up it was hard for them to get around. And me being in a wheelchair I couldn't stand to get a good shot. So what does Paris do? She lays across the table into my lap like the goddess she is!! It was great. She was soooooo awesome! Then next in line was Tim Odmundson. Eli from Xena.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="74eaf970.jpg" border=0 width="175" height="151" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> He gave me a hug and drew a great little cartoon of Eli on my cast. :) He is such a sexy man. Tall, gorgeous blue eyes, and funny! He's got such a great sense of humor. After Tim was Claire Stansfield. Better known as Alti from Xena.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="752af8d0.jpg" border=0 width="175" height="141" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> She signed my cast and then almost popped me a good one when I handed her an old movie of hers to autograph. I have this thing when I like an actress. I collect EVERYTHING they have done. No matter how obscure or crappy it is. I've met Claire several times at cons and have spent some time hanging out with her. I've done this before so it wasn't like it was a big surprise. Yet somehow every time I see her  I seem to surprise her with what I've found. The same goes for Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite from Xena) and Claudia Christian (Cmdr. Ivanova from Babylon 5). I did it to them as well.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="754af830.jpg" border=0 width="175" height="131" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">        <IMG SRC="756af710.jpg" border=0 width="175" height="113" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Claudia came around the table and gave me a HUGE HUG with a kiss and took her picture with me. I love this woman. She is by far one of the nicest people I have ever met. And a PILL! She's really a nutter! We talked for a few minutes about the movies I had her sign. She laughed at some of them and said "You know some things never die!" :)</div> <bR> <div> I then went on to meet James Doohan (Scotty from Star Trek), Richard Kiel (Jawws from Moonraker), Dirk Benedict from A-Team, Erin Gray, and a bunch of others. They had some awesome guests this year.</div> <bR> <div> After the walk of fame we headed back to the Hyatt to catch some of the panels. Claudia and Alex did a panel on the British TV track. They spent an hour with us discussing their new series "Hourglass". I can't wait to see this. The story and premise is really cool. They shared some of the story lines with us. Apparently the characters they play find this rift in time and get shot back to the past. They meet up with Anne Bonney and  Margaret Meade (sp), the infamous female pirates. Visit Pope Jonas, the only female to ever be pope. Get accused of being witches in Salem, among other interesting situations. They said they are focusing on women in history that are kind of obscure or otherwise don't get a lot of attention. It sounds like a hit to me. CC said she really wants to focus on this series and give it a long run of 6 or 7 seasons. I know I could handle 6 or 7 seasons of seeing her every week. :) CC also said her character is going to be doing some work with swords. "Guns are for pussies!" That's a direct quote. Alex will be doing more hand to hand combat. They've sold the show to several foreign markets already and are looking forward to starting on it. A funny story...  In the middle of the panel CC 's cell phone rang and she was thoroughly embarrassed. Alex said that's only the second time she ever saw CC blush in all the years she's known her. She told the guy on the phone she was in the middle of a panel and asked to call him back. But apparently he wanted to talk. CC was cracking up so hard she was banging her head into the wall and crying herself silly. It was hilarious!</div> <bR> <div> After the panel we headed back up to our room to get ready for "Aphrodite's Shack of Love and General Debauchery"! It was my best friend Dawn's bachelorette party and we tore it up. The music started playing, the drinks were flowing, and by 3 am I was cruising around the lobby drunker than Cooter Brown accosting people in costumes! I finally got to meet my online bud of a couple of years, Kay. She flew in from Louisiana for the con and I was so excited. She's the best. She and Janice hung out with us until early Sunday morning drinking and laughing. That's one thing I really love about these cons. Meeting friends you've made online!</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Sunday September 2nd</U></B></div> <bR> <div> I can't believe I got my WAY HUNGOVER ass out of bed for an early morning panel. But I really wanted to see Erin Gray. She spoke on a panel called "Femme Fatales". You know I was gonna be there! CC was supposed to be there as well but apparently got mixed up with her schedule. Cassandra Peterson aka Elvira was there though. She was pretty cool. As well as Jenette Goldstein. She played Vasquez in Aliens. She was also in Titanic and T2. She was John Connor's foster mother for those of you who don't recognize her name. I guess it pays to get on James Cameron's good side. He seems to like her. :) She seemed alot nicer that the characters that she plays.</div> <bR> <div> After the "Femme" panel we headed back over to the dealers room. I had some more crappy movies for CC, Claire, and Alex to sign. We shopped, took pictures, then went back to the Hyatt for more panels. </div> <bR> <div> Sunday night was the Masquerade Ball. This is the best of the best costume wise. Anthony Daniels, C-3PO, from Star Wars was the host. God, is this guy hilarious. He made the ball so much more enjoyable. There were some really stand out costumes this year. And a great proposal. This woman came out dressed like CatWoman. Michelle Pfeiffer's version. She was escorted by her boyfriend who proceeded to propose on one knee in the middle of the stage in front of thousands of people. It was really cool. I took alot more pictures this year of the ball than I usually do. There was a great Xena and Gabrielle. I talked to the girl afterwards in the Gabby costume. She and her mother had made it. It's was almost a perfect replica of Season 5 Gabby's costume. It was awesome. </div> <bR> <div> After the ball we hung out in the lobby of the Hyatt and got lots of pics of all the costumes. My friend Andy, was Dr. Who. He had worked months on this cool robot. It was HUGE!</div> <bR> <div> Then I proceeded to go back to the hotel room and drink while we watched Xena at 3 in the morning!</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Monday September 3rd</U></B></div> <bR> <div> Hungover again, tired, running on about 5 hours sleep for the whole weekend I crawled out of bed at 9 AM!!!!! Katherine Fugate was doing a writers panel at 10 am that I really wanted to see. I was just as surprised as every one else that I made it on time. Katherine was wonderful, of course. She finished of my cast with a "Carpe Diem" and a smile. I wanted to see Astronaut Rick Searfoss on the Space and Science Track but he didn't show for his panel. By the last day it's pretty slow and everybody is anxious to head home. So that's what we did.</div> <bR> <div> It was really one of the best cons that I have been to in a while. All of the guests that I met were extremely gracious and personable people. It's refreshing to see people like that. Ones that truly appreciate their fans.  I'm writing this a short five hours before my flight. I'm going on a real vacation for two weeks. Dawnie is getting married Saturday and I will be in a dress for all of 6 hours. Then the rest of the time I am going to be as inebriated as possible on the beach. I will send out e-mails periodically on our ROC group list. But the site won't be updated until I return. Take care all!</div> <bR> <div> Peace,</div> <div> 2Track</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="76432420.gif" border=0 width="50" height="66" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> </tr></table></body>