Sci-Fi Geekiness in Tampa Today!

So last night while keeping up on the Times Square car bomb, I came across a blurb that there was a Science Fiction Convention hosted by Vulcan Events all this weekend. From here on out I will call it Vul-Con. OBVIOUSLY, it wasn't well publicised. But, rather than sit on my ass all day around the house, I headed on over.

When I arrived, i was around noon, and the place was sparsely populated. This was basically the ENTIRE vendor's area. Very swiftly I realized that this was probably the smallest con I have ever been to. I didn't know who any of the six or seven people signing autographs were, but then again, not a huge Star Trek fan, so not really surprised. I did, however, recognize a couple names that were supposed to be there.
Swiftly bored, as there were few people and none in good costumes....or none that looked good IN them, I wandered back out to the lobby of the Double Tree where the Vul-Con was being held, and took a few photos of the BTTF DeLorean replica that they would light up. That amused me for a while.

hmmm....apparently the speedo doesn't even go UP to 88mph. No "Serious Shit" to be seen from this one, then.

Yeah. I know. It was done pretty well, and it was for a good cause, promoting awareness and to help look for a cure for Parkinson's. Plus, Christopher Lloyd was the title guest of the weekend.
I DID actually see him, he walked right past me when I was getting a Dew, and he walked RIGHT by a group of portly Klingons, who didn't seem to recognize him at all. Which made me laugh my ass off.
Lloyd seemed tired and only showed up for exactly the times he was scheduled for a photo op or autograph session.
You can only take photos of a lit-up DeLorean for so long though, so I checked my schedule and noticed that there was a Firefly panel in a few minutes. Since that was one of my favorite shows ever, I wandered my geeky ass on over.
John ran the panel, and it was the most popular thing there. That was a good and a bad thing. It was crowded enough that I couldn't get away from a pair of conventioneers that apparently hadn't discovered hygiene. I did my best to hold my breath for an hour. So, John, if you're reading this, I apologize for all the weird faces......but at least now you know why!!!

This is Michael Shanks. You may have seen him in Burn Notice (Victor), Stargate SG1 (Daniel), Smallville (Hawkman), and many other shows as a guest actor. Here he is entertaining the crowd by doing the helium voice. He discussed the reason Hawkman walked like he was constipated, how he wasn't a fan of SGU any more than anyone else in the audience, and his thoughts on what jobs an actor should take. Hint. Don't do a movie in Bulgaria!!! He was engaging, funny, and down to Earth while fielding questions from the crowd. Near the end of his discussion he also did a kick-ass Stewie Griffen impersonation!

After Michael did his talk, an absolute LEGEND in film and TV work came to talk to the crowd. I also got the chance to sit and talk with him for a bit, and was just amazed by the man and the things he has done.
Of course, as you can tell from the photo above, it was none other than Dean Stockwell of Quantum Leap, JAG, Dune, Air Force One, Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Langoliers and a few dozen others. He talked about Errol Flynn's practical joking, how he did some jobs for the interesting work (Quantum Leap, Dune among others), and how some jobs he did just to be paid (JAG, ect).
Over all.....I enjoyed myself, but they can certainly do much better at the next time they hold a Vul-Con.