Anglicon in photos

I tried to obey #3... I'm not sure I succeeded.



I love the dealers room!



I sat next to him for hours, but never got his photo!



An autograph session in full swing.



Terry Molloy and his bear Monty. Yes, Davros attends conventions with teddy bear.



Annette Badland is wonderful, if a bit naughty.






Dan Starkey poses with a skeleton and a guy in a lime-green jacket.



Terry enjoyed having his head floating around the con.



It's Fe-9, for those who are more cat people.



I don't know, I think this dalek is missing something...



British Soda tasting in the hospitality suite was fun!



My husband exits the TARDIS for his interview with Annette Badland.



Eric and Annette talk to the crowd. Eric finished the panel by having Annette ask the crowd questions.



Ah, a good convention with friends, fun and penguins.



And finally, a knitted Adipose for my friends in the posse. This was at the Rustycon table.

Now, some brief thoughts. I need to get healthier for next year's convention if the hotel persists in putting us as far away as possible from the convention space. Ug.

I volunteered a bit, had some fun, wrangled guests and spent some time in the craft room as well (me, in a craft room? preposterous!). Highlights of the con included long chats with Norm Lovett on a variety of silly subjects. On Friday night I noticed nobody was wrangling the guests, who had been left in the hallway alone. I ended up getting them where they were supposed to go and making sure everyone got on stage during the Match Game.

That's the spirit of a con. You pitch in when help is needed.

The volunteer party was amusing, and everyone was waiting for something to happen, so I started "singing" the Mahna Mahna song from the Muppet show. When I went into the scat, everyone laughed. Later, at closing ceremonies, I did it again and, to my surprise, everyone sang along again (I didn't think enough people could hear me, but apparently my growl of Mahna Mahna really carried!).

My friend Adi on Twitch has "Huzzah!" as a catchphrase when he is victorious in games. At the closing ceremonies, there was a short presentation of awards for the trivia winners, and I started yelling "Huzzah!" after each name was announced. Other people picked it up, and soon the entire crowd was yelling "Huzzah!" as each person got their prize.

Then the guests came out and Annette Badland started yelling "Huzzah!" after every statement. And then Terry Molloy picked it up. And Dan Starkey said, "Sontar-Huzzah!" which brought the house down. So, in honor of Adi, the con ended with a mighty "HUZZAH!"

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Red Dwarf: "Back To Earth part 3" - Way too meta. Meta beyond meta. This is The Mind Robber. It's nice to know that I exist. Um... I think the ending makes up for the rest, but I'm going to have to think about it longer to be sure.
• Heroes: "1961" - So she had a sister. Depressing episode, and no Hiro. Lots of flashbacks, which is only to be expected with a title like "1961". The pace was a bit too slow and that made the depressing aspects worse. Not the best episode.
• Primeval: "Episode 16" - Helen is a piece of work, isn't she? And... how is this one NOT a season finale? It sure feels like one. And once again we get the cute monsters, which I prefer to the future creatures. I'll note that this episode was up against Doctor Who, which was insane scheduling. Didn't anyone realize they'd have exactly the same audience? And now there's speculation that the show isn't long for the world.
• Food Detectives: "Nightcaps?" - I used to drink warm milk when I couldn't sleep, I never thought it worked, but it was something I could do. Looks like the tea is a good option if you want better sleep. Perhaps I should give it a try. The blood-spotted eggs weren't appetizing, but it's nice to know they are safe. I knew about sugar already, because of the weight loss I've done. The raw foods segment seemed sort of wishy-washy with no real conclusion.
• Heroes: "I Am Sylar" - A bit of Hiro and Ando, but not nearly enough. I think all the current plotlines were touched in this episode. That made it a bit crowded.
• Ghost Hunters: "Crossing Over" - Wait, Ghost Hunters is calling in Ghost Hunters International? Funny. I like Jay and Grant's exit after the briefing. As for the evidence, it wasn't that impressive, but I'm sure the TAPS folks will love hanging out at a haunted inn.
• Dinner Impossible: "Casino Craziness" - No salt, no sugar? And they change the rules on him? The house always wins, but this one is crazy. And, due to the sheer size of the place, Robert is sweating more than he ever has in a challenge. I wanted to try that VIP soup.
• Smallville: "Stiletto" - A bit of a romp with some dark edges, mostly concerning Chloe. It's ok.
• Primeval: "Episode 17" - And we're temporarily caught up with the show, as the crew deals with the aftermath of that non-season-finale season finale in the last episode. Throw in a complication in love life to the grief and confusion, and add a dash of evil civil servant, and we've got a good one. Helen got the wrong person, methinks.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released Apr 8th and 15th:

• Noble Causes #40 - Final Issue. Well, the final issue of this particular run. I live in hope that there will be more. Especially after that ending.
• Green Lantern Corps #35 - At ECCC Patrick Gleason asked me what he could do to make me like this book. So I paid extra attention to the artwork this time. My conclusion? The art isn't the problem. It's just that I don't really like cosmic type adventures, and this book is one big cosmic soap opera. Ok, the son of Daxam plot isn't bad. And I like Soranik although I don't like what is being done to her now. But the whole red/yellow/green lantern battles? Not my thing. The story is well-told, both through the art and words, it's just not a story I'm very interested in. (If I were to be goofy, I'd say the book needs more Aquaman, but according to the previews, that's what I'm going to get so I wish I'd never thought it.)
• Green Lantern #39 - Orange and Blue, Blue and Green, Green and Orange. I'm still waiting to see the Indigo lanterns.
• Northlanders #16 - !!!
• Captain Britain and MI 13 #12 - Vampires bore me. Even Marvel Atlantean Vampires. Ok, that's a neat twist, but still. I just want the vampires to go away so we can have an interesting story.
• Sub-Mariner Comics 70th Anniversary Special - I've never found Sub-Mariner to be quite as compelling as Aquaman, which is slightly odd as Namor has a more interesting history and is older by a couple of years, but he just didn't catch my imagination like Aquaman. Possibly because he looks different, whereas Aquaman could be a normal person walking among us. I don't know. But my childhood imagination took to Aquaman, not Namor. Still, I like Namor, and I like seeing his history, so I couldn't resist a reprint of his first tale. This collection has three stories, all set early in Namor's career, but all very different. The reprint of Namor's first tale is nicely done, and a good addition to any collection.
• Supergirl #5 - It's part of a mini-series, but I'm not sure I want to forgive all the references to the previous issues. That's mostly because I just don't like this series much, not due to its actual quality.
• Super Friends #14 - Second page squee! Aquaman is in the UN representing Atlantis! SQUEE! And Topo! Double-Squee! More Topo action, please! (squee!)
• Tiny Titans #15 - After the Aqua-Ohs in the last issue, this one was bound to be a slight disappointment. Aqualad wasn't even at Pet Club! Oh well, it's still a very fun book.
• Wonderful Wizard of Oz #5 - The wolves and the bees! It's nice to see the whole story told for once, even if it's a little... vicious. And the emphasis on the fact that the monkeys can be only called three times made me happy as well. Flying Monkeys aren't evil!
• DMZ #41 - Wow, are we up to issue 41 already? This is something of a standalone that looks as Zee and what she's up to now that Matty is out of her life. Nobody's got it easy in the DMZ, but a healer like Zee has it worse than most.
• Northlanders #16 - Ok, maybe that wasn't enough. I'm just not sure how to react to this one. A bit confused, and yet... it makes perfect sense.

I've learned that I will be getting five of the Free Comic Book Day comics from DCBS. This is probably a good thing, as it has been difficult to get through the stack of all the comics in recent years and I know I never got around to even writing my one-liner reviews for most of them. I'm not sure when I'll get them, I presume it won't be in the next shipment, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

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This week's movie was Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End. Yeah, it was only a matter of time before we finally sat down to watch this one. I have to say, my first reaction, before even seeing the movie, was that it was WAY too long. It clocks in at 167 minutes, which is about 40 minutes more than I want to spend watching pirates in one sitting. Still, despite that, it wasn't a bad movie. Too many plot threads, too much arcane knowledge to keep track of from previous movies, but mostly internally consistent. A few good fights, of course, and I'm sure it looked marvelous on the big screen. The first movie was definitely the best, and this one doesn't come close I'm afraid. And this is one movie that you have to watch until the credits end. Right, verdict? It was ok, nothing special.

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My library book this week was Powers by Ursula K Le Guin. This is the third book in the Annuals of the Western Shore series, and takes place before and at roughly the same time as the second book, Voices. The main character, Gavir, was captured as a toddler and became a slave. He's never known any other life, and is loyal to his masters. But he's being trained as a teacher to the Masters' children and knowledge brings disturbing discontent. I think this is the best one yet, although all three books in the series have made me think hard on different issues. Gavir's journeys, literally and figurative, make for good, thoughtful reading. I confess, I want more of this series. I want more of Orrec, Gry, Memer and Gavir.

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Agatha Christie this week was Murder in the Mews, a collection of four stories first published in 1937:

• Murder in the Mews - A suicide on Guy Fawkes night doesn't seem quite right. I got this one shortly before the reveal, but not enough before for me to say I actually solved a Poirot mystery.
• The Incredible Theft - Dangerous papers are stolen, possibly by a spy, and Poirot is called in. I didn't even come close to solving this one. I had the whole thing figured out, but was utterly wrong.
• Dead Man's Mirror - Poirot is summoned to a house only to find the man who summoned him has committed suicide. And no, I didn't figure this one out, either. I should have, all the clues were there. They fairly jumped out at me once the reveal was made. It's even a method Christie has used before.
• Triangle at Rhodes - On vacation, Poirot watches in dismay as a love triangle that will end in a death develops. I didn't get this one either, but it made good sense once it was revealed.

Taken as a whole, this is a great collection with four strong stories in it. And hey, Mr Satterthwaite makes an appearance, so I'm even more happy with it.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Heroes: "Turn and Face the Strange" - Hiro and Ando again! Yay! And a promised revelation of the start of the entire thing. I'm not that interested in the Sylar side of the story, except as it sets up conflict for Hiro to run from.
• Red Dwarf: "Back To Earth part 1" - It's like meeting friends you haven't seen for a long time, trying desperately to still be cool, but failing. Oh, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't nearly as funny as the first couple of series. The choice to not follow directly from the last aired episode was probably a good one, all things considered. Maybe it'll improve with the next two episodes?
• Ghost Hunters: "Titanic Terror" - What an incredible location! I wanna visit a haunted Aquarium! Ahem. The Titanic exhibit was interesting, even in the dark. The history of the second location nearly broke my heart. The family lost the house because of a tax bill. Ouch. The camera was definitely in the wrong place for the cabinet door opening. And they never mentioned if it closed.
• Food Detectives: "New York Pizza" - The food preservatives bit was disgusting, but expected. I always tap the sides of canned soda, because I knew before this piece that tapping on the top never works. I hate thin-crust pizza, I much prefer Chicago-style, so I don't think they picked the "best" pizza, just the New York pizza. But it was interesting that the water did make such a difference. The mineral piece was cool, particularly the iron-in-cereal experiment. Good ep.
• Dinner Impossible: "Yahoo Search Scramble" - That's an evil evil menu. I'm sorry, randomizing ingredients THAT much is insane. The two chefs had some ego-clashing, and the accidents and lack of good ingredients was also stressful. Add in Robert losing his voice, and this was an incredible episode.
• Numb3rs: "Animal Rites" - Larry gets a new love interest? The extremism of the animal rights activists was explained quite well, but I don't think all extremists can claim that excuse. Not sure of the math in this one, either the ethics or the reality.
• Primeval: "Episode 15" - A bit of a slow episode, with a nice haunted house theme. Lots of build up in this one with not a lot of payoff. But seriously, what is Helen up to? Her actions were very suggestive, but I don't like what they suggested.
• Red Dwarf: "Back To Earth part 2" - This show is in desperate need of a laugh track. The meta nature of this episode was almost overwhelming and VERY cringeworthy. Rimmer had a great moment after a discussion of the morality of killing holograms, and Lister chatting with fans was pretty good too. Still, the final episode will make or break this one.
• Supernanny: "DeMello Family" - Three young kids who never go out to play in their huge backyard, so much so that when Jo takes them out there they don't know what to do. This is the first time I remember Jo having to do the naughty chair method entirely by herself because the parents simply didn't understand it at all. And that father! He consistently underestimated his children, to the point of insanity. It was nice to see him realize just how smart his kids actually are.

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This week's comic book related review is Hikaru No Go Volume 14, which arrived in the last shipment of comic books, but I saved to savor it a bit longer. I've read it twice now, and will probably read it a few more times before I set it on the shelf with the other volumes. I really love this series. In this volume, the on-line Go game between Sai and the Meijin is concluded. A lot more happens in the volume, but if you want to know what it is, you'll have to read it yourself. I particularly like Akira's utter confusion about Sai's identity. Sai's self-realization is tough to read, and disturbing as well. I kind of like how Hikaru is staying true to his nature by just moving along, but I do wonder if he's headed for another humbling moment. I didn't like Kurata at first, but I admit he's growing on me in this volume.

I found fan-translated copies of all the rest of the series on-line. I decided not to read ahead, although the fan translations are often very good. I have sometimes gone through and compared the fan versions to the official, and found some interesting differences, but it's mostly been not too difficult to wait. After reading this volume, I'm finding it much harder to wait. And I really want to see the Anime too!

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This week's movie was Wonder Woman, the 2009 animated film starring Keri Russell as Wonder Woman and Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor. This was a fun film, with lots of good moments. The opening was brutal, and seemed to get more brutal as the sequence went on. Yes, it was cartoon violence, but there were moments of "ooooo... ouch!" and even "yikes." The story was familiar, although Steve's opening battle seemed to not have enough impact on his emotions. I did like Steve's big rant about sexism in the hospital room. I also enjoyed the side story with Artemis and Alexa. Nice solid animation. This was a good one. I can only hope they produce an Aquaman movie like this some time.

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My library book this week was The Winter Prince by Elizabeth E Wein. I saw this recommended on a blog, but when I started reading it I found myself saying, "Not another take on King Arthur!" Well, yes, it is and yet it isn't. This book focuses on Medraut, the eldest son of Artos and a product of accidental incest. Medraut's longing for acceptance and legitimacy drive his actions throughout the story. Add in his love/hate relationship with his mother and his younger half-brother, and you've got a distressing story. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with a child reading this, as there is more than just "simple" incest being constantly alluded to in the text, but it's certainly a powerful book.

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Agatha Christie this week was Cards on the Table from 1936. The funniest part of this book is one Mrs Oliver, a mystery writer who can only be based on Christie's own experiences, who helps Poirot a little in solving this one. There is no way on earth I could've figured this one out: I don't play bridge. But I am still kicking myself for not realizing that everyone would get their comeuppance in the end. Can't leave a murderer loose in a Poirot novel! I was a little surprised to see the solution to Murder on the Orient Express casually revealed to a character at one point in the story, but that's one reason I'm trying to read these books in chronological order. I think, once I finish these books, I'm going to watch the Doctor Who episode that inspired me and see if I can catch any more references. I bet I will.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist