(no subject)

[shadowkat]

A couple of things..

1. I have a very dry sense of humor. One online friend, D'Herblay from the ATPO Board, after meeting him in person -- told me that I had one of the funniest driest wits that he'd ever come across. It is a defense mechanism. And I inherited from my father and brother. Unfortunately it does not always come across very well online -- a lot of people take my self-deprecating dry humor literally or seriously. I mock myself all the time. But as my father puts it -- dry sardonic senses of humor aren't necessarily appreciated by fellow humans. I state this by way of an apology -- also you probably shouldn't take half my personal posts seriously, particularly if they are somewhat snarky in character. Some people find me hilarious, others...my wit goes over their heads and they get offended. Don't.

I've also been told that I'm hard to get close to or get to know, which perplexes me, because I think I overshare, and need to apply filters.

2. Fan Conventions.

I was thinking about this today. I can't do them. If I was going to do them it would have been between 2002-2010, when I was obsessed with Buffy, or obsessed with Farscape and BSG. Although really only Buffy and Angel.

For one thing, crowds and me are unmixy things. I spend the entire time hunting the exit ramp. I don't do lines well. Hate big groups of people -- anything over twenty people is going to make me crazy. Actually prefer groups limited to five - ten. I remember a friend being bummed out that fifty people weren't coming to her party, only about ten-twenty were, I was relieved. I don't hold parties -- the idea of throwing a party scares me. It probably has a lot to do with my mother who had anxiety attacks every time she entertained.

I also do not like meeting famous people. I've met a lot of them -- it makes me uncomfortable. I'm talking to someone whom I know more about than they know me, talk about uneven playing field. And the idea of having them sign an autograph -- ack. I can't do this -- I had to have a friend get an autograph for me.

I also can't abide being worshipped or worshipping things -- fame scares me. There's something almost cultish about it.

So conventions scare me. It may because I haven't had the best of experiences at the business ones that I had to attend in the 1990s. I don't know.

How do you feel about them? Do you go? If you do -- do you meet new people or just stick with people you already know?

Comments

[rahirah]

I go, and I enjoy them, but not for meeting famous people. I like meeting internet friends, and I like the panel discussions, the cool stuff you can get in the dealer's room, the art show if there is one, the costume contests, and so on. I would not sign up to meet the actors one on one if you paid me.

[shadowkat]

Now, see, I could get behind doing that. That sounds like fun...but I'd have to have a group I knew I was meeting up with. (Which I'm guessing you do.)

The pre-paid $250 evenings one-one with actors...(shudder).

But the panel discussions look really interesting. I actually enjoy watching them.

[cactuswatcher]

I've never been to a convention. I'm not sure I ever had any idea what I would do at one. My ATPo friend Cheryl used to go to the Phoenix convention every year during those years you said you might have have thought about going to conventions. Since then she said she felt she was getting out of place among all the college aged kids. I asked her what she did at the conventions and she couldn't exactly explain. She loves autographs, but wouldn't get them at conventions because they charged for the signing sessions and she didn't want autographs she had to pay for. She really liked Christian Kane, who played Lindsey, on Angel and went to see his band play, no doubt went to any panel he happened to be on at the Phoenix convention he came to...

I've had mixed experiences meeting famous people. I met a guy, a poet who won a Nobel Prize for literature about a decade after I met him. He came off as a prize jerk. His poetry was in fact very good, but beyond his offensive behavior, the manner he insisted on reciting all poetry not just his own, bordered on being ridiculous... I had a chance meeting at a store with a young up-coming politician in Ohio, who got all puffed up when he realized I recognized who he was... I was at a symphony concert when I noticed my Congressman (this one from Missouri) sitting nearby. It was a pretty blah concert. It got a lot of polite applause when it was over. The Congressman however lept to his feet (the only person I saw in a crowd of thousands that evening do that) clapping wildly. I thought either he hasn't been to many symphony concerts or he just wants everybody to see him... I saw a famous baseball player at an airport. At that point he was retired and that day it was clear he was interviewing for a managing job with the local minor league team. I was sitting at the end of a walkway and he was coming directly toward me. I gave him a big grin and seeing I wasn't going to bother him, he courteously nodded to me and went on his way. I thought there goes a really nice guy. He later successfully managed the Yankees... Some famous people are jerks, some are glory hounds and some are just decent people. I don't go out of my way to bother them, or try to inflate their egos.

[anoyo]

I like conventions, to a degree, and I like certain types more than others. The really big, super corporate ones are fun for the faces they bring for the really big panels, and I do like doing autographs and meet and greets, but I do like the smaller ones better. When you can go with friends, wander around, and enjoy things without being basically eaten alive by the vendors and nine million optional panels.

[trepkos]

I like them. I like to show the TV stars that I appreciate their work, ask them questions, and find out what kind of people they are, and see how they interact with their co-stars informally. I like to learn about the business, and hear their stories at the talks - I've never been to one that was dull. I wish I had someone to go with though, because the last couple I went to, I knew no one, and it was less fun. I met a few people, but they all had groups of friends there with them.

[fresne]

I've been going to San Diego Comic Con since 1990, so... I like the group energy. Been to a variety of cons otherwise. Mainly it's about in person interaction. Famous people, interesting. Mid tier famous are a bit more fun.