Star Wars Celebration V Analysis Part 3

This was a very big convention, with a lot of fans in attendance. That means the security staff had a lot of headaches controlling crowds for special events. Yet the absolutely worst line that I was in the whole time there was the line just to get into the convention area each morning.

Staffers had set aside an entire hall of the Orange County Convention Center just to house that line. First this seems to me, as a convention organizer, a waste of resources. Why rent an entire room whose sole function is to run a line of people arriving at the facility, and only first thing in the morning. Okay, they were expecting, and I understand they got, a tremendously long line for fans wanting to attend the "Main Event". This was the interview of George Lucas by John Stewart. Since my wife and I could not stand in a line overnight to get into the live auditorium, we arrived at the usual opening time for the convention and were able to get into one of the several simulcast rooms. Yes it was a good interview, yes I would have loved to attend in person instead of watching on a theatre style screen, but as was pointed out to us in a panel the first day: would it have been worth the single hour's entertainment to lose the rest of that day to exhaustion from trying to stay in the overnight line. There was too much to do to lose a day like that.

So why did security have to run everyone arriving before 10:30 AM through a line every morning. Your first thought would be badge check. At Megacon (which was held in the same wing of the Orange County Convention Center) in March, they were using a wristband system to control who should be in the convention areas and so ran everyone through a narrow check point to view those wristbands. But Celebration V had a large, colorful badge that you were required to wear that had different Star Wars characters on them for the types of badges they were (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 4-Day, etc.). This made them very easy to spot and interpret. I didn't notice security checking badges as the line filed in each morning and after the first arrivals had all entered the area, that room was not used again the rest of the day. After that I only noticed security checking badges when people entered the exhibits area. That is not to say they weren't checking them elsewhere, as the best security goes unnoticed.

Finally on this front was the closing of the back entrance to the convention center. The parking lots are behind the center and have an entrance with walkway (they have to go over the loading areas to get the front of the building and the exhibit halls). My wife and I used this entrance extensively at Megacon. She had limited mobility and the elevators and escalators helped her get to the walkway. We arrived the first day assuming that we would have no trouble using this method to get to the center's West Wing, where the convention was held, paid for parking, parked and found we were not allowed to enter this way. In fact we were routed around the entire center. Not a very handicapped friendly greeting for fans. Subsequent days there was a bus to shuttle people from the parking lot to the front, but even then the buses were not allowed to drop people off at the convention entrance. Fortunately, I was able to drop my wife off at the door, then park and take the shuttle myself, as I have not had to have one of my knees replaced. At the end of the day we were able to use the walkway and not have to walk again around the building. But it made for some tension to start off each day.

So what can we learn from this? Imagine yourself handicapped and limited in your mobility as you look at the facilities. Decide how you can overcome the limitations it imposes and don't add security procedures that aggravates those conditions for your attendees.

The Usual Suspects - Nov - Dec. Movie Schedule

The Usual Suspects, a group of movie buffs that meet weekly for the newest (or as close as they can get when you have a double release) genre film. Join them at the Westroads Rave Theatre every Saturday for the last matinee showing of the day. It will be a great time and a wonderful chance to talk about the film you have just seen and others you may or may not have enjoyed. Below is their November and December schedule:

November 6, 2010 – Megamind (Animation, Comedy, Family)
Director: Tom McGrath
Screenwriter: Alan Schoolcraft, Brent Simons
Starring: Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller
When super villain Megamind defeats his archrival Metro Man , the world should be his oyster. But instead, Megamind falls into total despair. It turns out that life without a rival is life without a point for him. So, he creates a new superhero rival, Titan. Unfortunately, the new hero wants to be a super villain, too.

November 13, 2010 – Unstoppable (Action, Drama, Thriller)
Director: Tony Scott
Screenwriter: Mark Bomback
Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Chapman
Unstoppable, a 20th Century Fox drama about a runaway train carrying a cargo of toxic chemicals. Pits an engineer and his conductor in a race against time. They're chasing the runaway train in a separate locomotive and need to bring it under control before it derails on a curve and causes a toxic spill that will decimate a town.

November 20, 2010 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Adventure, Fantasy)
Director: David Yates
Screenwriter: Steve Kloves
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Isaacs, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Julie Walters, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright, Jamie Campbell Bower, Richard Griffiths, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, Fiona Shaw, Helen McCrory, David O'Hara, Natalia Tena
The final chapter of the "Harry Potter" film series begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione leave Hogwarts behind and set out to find and destroy the Horcruxes--the secret to Voldemort's power and immortality.

November 27, 2010 – Faster (Action, Drama) (Note: This movie goes into wide release on the 19th)
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Screenwriter: Joe Gayton, Tony Gayton
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton
An ex-con is bent on avenging the death of his brother murdered 10 years earlier when double-crossed during a heist.

December 4, 2010 – Open

December 11, 2010 – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Adventure, Fantasy)
Director: Michael Apted
Screenwriter: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Richard LaGravenese, Michael Petroni
Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Gary Sweet, Bruce Spence, Arthur Angel, Shane Rangi, Liam Neeson
This time around – Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb – find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world. Joining forces once again with their royal friend Prince Caspian and the warrior mouse Reepicheep, they are whisked away on a mysterious mission to the Lone Islands, and beyond. On this bewitching voyage that will test their hearts and spirits, the trio will face magical Dufflepuds, sinister slave traders, roaring dragons and enchanted merfolk. Only an entirely uncharted journey to Aslan's Country – a voyage of destiny and transformation for each of those aboard the Dawn Treader – can save Narnia, and all the astonishing creatures in it, from an unfathomable fate.

December 18, 2010 – Tron Legacy (Adventure, Sci-Fi)
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Screenwriter: Eddy Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett, Michael Sheen
"Tron Legacy" is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that's unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidant, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

December 26, 2010 – True Grit (Drama, Western)
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Screenwriter: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Pepper, Paul Rae
Charles Portis' novel is about a 14-year-old girl who, along with an aging U.S. marshal and another lawman, tracks her father's killer in hostile Indian territory. While the original film was a showcase for John Wayne, the Coens' version will tell the tale from the girl's point of view.

NERDTRON DANCE PARTY: MONSTERS VS ROBOTS

They're at it again. Those overly energetic DJs from Nerdtron are sponsoring another Rave/dance this Saturday at the Comfort Inn & Suites on 72^nd & Grover. On October 16th the living dead, the blood sucking, fire breathing, tomb crushing Monsters will go heads up against the Transforming, laser blasting, binary coding, combining, mighty morphing robots.

Since they have the facility all day they are planning a variety of activities. From 1-9 PM you are invited to come and hang out with the Nerdtron family (free of charge) for DJ meet up & open decks, hula-hoop, break dancing & poi (the art of spinning glow sticks) instruction/exhibitions, along with tabletop, board, & card gaming in the hotels common area.

There will an official photo shoot from 8 PM until Midnight with roving still and video cameras later.

The main event, for which there is a $5 charge, is from 10 PM until 2 AM in the Main Ballroom of the Comfort Inn. The Nerdtron DJs; Kid Dynamite and 2600, will be launching a full on robotic assault, giant robots and all, as they go heads on against: the Monsters of Re-animated, The Knights of Slam-A-Lot (from Kansas City), The Kandi Kid Assassin, and Willis Voodoo. (Sounds like one of the movies TCM is running over Halloween weekend – see my earlier blog.) All this and free glow sticks – remember the poi lessons?

This event is a benefit for the Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival, so come out and have a good time knowing that you are helping to keep a great SF convention in Omaha.

Hammer Films Festival

I can go for months monitoring the schedule of Turner Classic Movies and not find anything I would like at a reasonable time of day. Earlier this year they ran a retrospective of Akira Kurosawa films and the ones I really wanted to see were on well past my ability to stay awake for. Then I let my eye wonder from the schedule and something like the Hammer Films Festival comes to the channel. So I missed the first two Fridays worth of movies but I (and you) still have three left.

Friday, October 15^th, they will be running the entire Mummy series of Hammer Films beginning at 7PM Central Time. THE MUMMY, the first in the series reunites Peter Cushing (as John Banning) and Christopher Lee (as the Mummy, Kharis) with direction by Terence Fisher (a name to watch for when viewing Hammer Films). It will be followed by THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB, THE MUMMY'S SHROUD, and BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB which is the order they were released in. If you can keep going, TCM is following those up with the 1984 film REPO MAN. This is a classic film well worth watching right up to the ending when they find out what is in the trunk of the car they have repossessed. With the SyFy Channel going to wrestling on Friday nights – this is a great alternative.

Friday, October 22^nd, we get four of the lesser known Hammer entries. X THE UNKNOWN, FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH (a film adaption of the BBC miniseries Quatermass and the Pit. It scared the pants off me when I was a kid), THESE ARE THE DAMNED, and THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY. While Hammer films actually adapted the first three Quartermass miniseries into movies, which at that time was the only way American audiences could get to see them, FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH was the best known and the only one filmed in color. It was directed by another directorial name to watch for Roy Ward Baker. It was written by Nigel Kneale, who wrote the script for both the movie and the TV miniseries. Have fun, be scared, but think nice thoughts about your neighbors – even if they are Martians.

Finally on Friday, October 29^th, after a full day of classic monster movies, TCM will be showing about half of the Frankenstein movies Hammer created. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN, and FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED all star Peter Cushing as the good doctor as he prefects his reanimating techniques through 19^th century Europe. Terence Fisher is again the director of all these films. And the classic horror movies don't stop there. Right up through Halloween night TCM will keep the chills going with the horror movies we all grew up with. It's going to be a tough weekend to get through but it will be great fun.

Comp bra ti tion

[komp-brah-tish-uhn]
noun~ the act or process of competing to make the most fabulous, awe-inspiring, funniest, or fanciest bra to raise money & awareness for the American Cancer Society.

 

Hello Everyone,

I think the majority of you who receive this email know me. My name is Chris Edmunds and I am a local costumer, seamstress, sci-fi fan and a cancer survivor. I am putting out a challenge to anyone who would like to participate, to help decorate bras for the local (Omaha) American Cancer Society. Locally some ladies have been decorating bras for a number of years and selling them at the Relay for Life every June. Now that I have become involved, I am hoping you all can help me get them more (and crazier) bras that they can either sell or auction at next year's event. The Relay for Life will be the second Saturday of June (11^TH) in 2011 at the new Elkhorn High School (Elkhorn South). The Relay starts at 5pm and goes all night (why? Because cancer never sleeps so the relay teams walk all night).

Since I am also new to this I asked a few questions and here are the answers:

1. We have found that padded bras are the easiest to paint/draw on.  Most people that buy them at the event usually want them for souvenirs.  But a whole bunch of people buy them and wear them over their clothes most of the night.  It's really, really funny.  Guys buy them and wear them too.  (Everybody has fun with that).
   
2. We usually get the bigger bras (36-40 and C cup) but we are not picky.   We hot glue anything and everything on them and when we paint we usually just use fabric paints
   
3. 
   Nothing vulgar. This is a family friendly event and the bras must be the same way. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun with this.
   

 

I have attached some photos of what the local ladies have done in the past plus some ideas from other events across the country. I want to thank everyone who is willing to help donate and/or decorate these bras. Please email me if you are interested in helping with this project and I will keep you up to date on how this challenge is going.

My love to you all and here's hoping that cancer never touches your life.

 

Chris Edmunds

cedmunds@cox.net

 

HISTORY OF THE RELAY FOR LIFE

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length.

Relay began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Washington, ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since then, Relay has grown from a single man's passion to fight cancer into the world's largest movement to end the disease. Each year, more than 3.5 million people in 5,000 communities in the United States, along with additional communities in 19 other countries, gather to take part in this global phenomenon and raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer. Thanks to Relay participants, we are creating a world with more birthdays, a world where cancer can't claim another year of anyone's life.

 

 

 

 

Change in Regime

by Trudy V. Myers

"The King is dead! Long live the King!"

I heard that line in movies, read it in books, and it left me confused for much of the early phase of my life. Until I figured out that they meant, "The old King is dead! Long live the new King!" It was both a recognition of the way things had been, and an expression of hope for the way things would be.

OSFest is experiencing a similar type of change of regime.

History and The Plan – OSFest 1 had one chairman, John Shoberg. The second year (OSFest 2) had two co-chairs, collectively known as 'John²' (John Shoberg and John Pershing). The Plan was that they would take on another co-chair for OSFest 3, and then for OSFest 4, Shoberg would step down while another person became the third co-chair. Spread the work around, train some new blood, all that sort of thing.

Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men. For whatever reason, John² did not select a helper for OSFest 3.

I think they learned their lesson, because after the 2010 convention concluded, they started looking around for a new co-chair. Maybe they could get back to The Plan, if they could find someone to become a new chairperson.

They found two.

The co-chairs for OSFest 4 are John Pershing, April Lindloff and Trudy Myers. John Shoberg has stepped down and while he won't exactly be sitting on his duff, his duties will be (somewhat) less than in the past. He remains a valuable resource for us newbie chairpersons to learn from.

This actually fits in rather well with the theme for next year's convention, which is OSFest 4.0 – System Upgrade. We not only have new co-chairs, we also have a new hotel, with more function rooms, bigger function rooms. So, if you thought OSFest 3 had plenty to do … you ain't seen nothing yet.

It doesn't have the same ring to it, but, "Co-chair 1 is stepped down! Long live the Co-chairs!" Nope, not the same ring at all. But what do you expect? We're busy putting a convention together!

The Usual Suspects - Sept & Oct. Schedule

The Usual Suspects are a group of movie buffs that meet weekly for the newest (or as close as they can get when you have a double release) genre film. Join them at the Great Escape Omaha Stadium 16 every Saturday for the last matinee showing of the day. It will be a great time and a wonderful chance to talk about the film you have just seen and others you may or may not have enjoyed. Below is their September and October schedule:

September 4, 2010 – The American (Suspense Thriller)
Director: Anton Corbijn
Screenwriter: Rowan Joffe
Starring: George Clooney, Bruce Altman, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido
Alone among assassins, Jack is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde, is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues romance with local woman Clara. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.

September 11, 2010 – The Town (Crime, Drama)
Director: Ben Affleck
Screenwriter: Peter Craig, Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite
Doug MacRay is an unrepentant criminal, the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who pride themselves in stealing what they want and getting out clean. With no real attachments, Doug never has to fear losing anyone close to him. But that all changed on the gang's latest job, when they briefly took a hostage--bank manager, Claire Keesey. Though they let her go unharmed, Claire is nervously aware that the robbers know her name...and where she lives. But she lets her guard down when she meets an unassuming and rather charming man named Doug...not realizing that he is the same man who only days earlier had terrorized her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.

September 18, 2010 – Open

September 25, 2010 – Guardians of Ga’Hoole (Adventure, Fantasy)
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenwriter: Emil Stern, John Orloff
Starring: Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Jay Laga'aia, Miriam Margolyes, Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Richard Roxburgh, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving
Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father's epic stories of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father's favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd's jealousy has terrible consequences--causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole--Soren's only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

October 2, 2010 – Alpha and Omega (Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family)
Director: Ben Gluck
Screenwriter: Chris Denk
Starring: Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Christina Ricci, Danny Glover, Dennis Hopper, Larry Miller, Eric Price, Chris Carmack, Vicki Lewis, Brian Donovan, Kevin Sussman
Kate and Humphrey are two wolves who are nothing alike. Kate's an alpha wolf – to her, discipline, duty and responsibility are everything. On the other hand, Humphrey is an omega wolf -- fun, friends and frivolity are what are important to him. In the world of wolves, alphas and omegas don't mix, mingle or mate – such is pack law. But when the two young wolves are captured by park rangers and taken far away, they bond despite their differences.

October 9, 2010 – Open

October 16, 2010 – Faster (Action, Drama)
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Screenwriter: Joe Gayton, Tony Gayton
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton
An ex-con is bent on avenging the death of his brother murdered 10 years earlier when double-crossed during a heist.

October 23, 2010 – Red (Action, Thriller)
Director: Robert Schwentke
Screenwriter: Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Karl Urban, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine, Felicia Day
"Red" is the story of Frank Moses, a former black-ops CIA agent, who is now living a quiet life. That is, until the day a hi-tech assassin shows up intent on killing him. With his identity compromised and the life of the woman he cares for, Sarah, endangered, Frank reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive. "Red" is based on the DC Comics graphic novel of the same name by Warren Ellis.