Browncoat pride abounded at the “Mighty Fine Shindig” Saturday 10PM at the Westin. Many of the attendees were dressed as their favorite Firefly characters, but the Jayne hats and Kaylee parasols dominated the crowd. Others showed up as Inara, Mal, and Zoe, and this reporter even spotted someone who could have been a Reaver victim.
The Marionettes panel took place Sunday at 2:30PM in M101 (Marriott). This cheery panel consisted of three makers of puppetry, their experience and love of the art clearly evident. Marionettes are considered to be the most technically challenging puppetry style. Learning the basics in this workshop with audience participation was a lot of fun. There are three things one must… Read more →
Mike Brotherton, astronomer/educator/author, Timothy Slater, astronomer/educator, and Stephanie Slater, astronomer/cognitive scientist captivated an eager group of science fiction writers and enthusiasts drawn to all things lunar, solar, and stellar. The Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for Writers made its Dragon*Con debut Saturday and crammed topics ranging from our solar system to the observable universe into a mere seven hours.
The speaker on the Science Track panel “Chemical Warfare—An Introduction” (Saturday 4PM) Erica Borgers Klonkowski, a biochemist at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, took the audience on a whirlwind tour of the history, development, and modern use of chemical weapons. A chemical agent, she said, is a chemical compound used in tactical warfare. Some people consider anthrax a chemical weapon,… Read more →
A lot of us have no idea how to prepare for a special moment in front of the camera with a celebrity guest at Dragon*Con. So, what does it take? A massive amount of work, that’s what. Craig Damon, of Craig Damon: Photographer, arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday just to get the layout of his room and to check his… Read more →
“A Wizard, a Dwarf, a Hobbit, and an Elf, Oh My!” started ten minutes late as the Saturday afternoon capacity crowd packed into Centennial II-III at the Hyatt. When, Billy Boyd, Sylvester McCoy, Craig Parker, and John Rhys-Davies came onstage, the cheers were nearly deafening. Boyd opened the discussion by talking about his band, Bee Cake, and how they chose… Read more →
Randal Schwartz and Johnny X were the hosts of this informative and funny panel on Saturday, 7PM, at the Marriott. This presentation was not about how to hack, but how to be private with your information while out in public. On the screen was a display he called the Wall of Sheep, showing recent users who had logged into the… Read more →
Friday afternoon, Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, Inc., led the panel on the Infinity Blade game franchise, joined by lead designer Ian Frazier and author Brandon Winn Sanderson. After beginning the panel with a video teaser of the upcoming Infinity Blade: Dungeons, the third installment of this popular iOS game, Capps started a discussion of Sanderson’s involvement in the… Read more →
