Blogs / Bad Astronomy

Last week, I moderated a very cool panel at Comic Con about the Science of Science Fiction, stressing science for good or evil in fiction. IMO it was a really good discussion, and now you have a chance to see for yourself! The full video and description of the panel has been posted on the Hive Overmind blog Science Not Fiction, and I’ve embedded it here for your convenience:

[Feel free to grab the embed for your blog if you'd like.]

Watching it, I was struck by how serious the discussion was. Not "serious" as in we were all sourpusses and frowny and finger-wagging — we laughed and joked a lot — but serious in that the depth of the discussion surprised me. I had a lot of fun up there, and somehow I was remembering that as haha fun. But now, thinking back on it, I had fun talking about deep philosophical topics — life, death, torture, memory, the knowledge of self — with smart people.^*

Smart people are cool. A panel full of them is awesomely cool, and it was a privilege to stand up there with them. Go give that video a watch. I think you’ll enjoy it.

And, of course, I can’t wait until next year!

I know the movie "2012" will both be cool to watch and suck awesomely in its portrayal of reality. I know I’ll want to see it, just as I know I’ll want to destroy it without mercy in a review.

In the meantime, it may be hard to top this terrific edit of the movie’s trailer.

All I could think of while watching it was, "Mitchell!"

I have one more name dropping episode for you. Even if you don’t like such blatant things, this is a good story.

Note: I have no pictures of this event. It all happened in the green room, where pictures are forbidden. And even if I had taken any, it would be impolite and impolitic to post them anyway.

So on Saturday of Comic Con I was setting up to moderate the Mythbusters panel. We had successfully navigated the route from the hotel to the convention center green room; that’s a large room reserved for panelists to give them some down time before and after panels and let them get away from the mob (and at 120,000+ attendees, I do mean mob).

The green room is not for any one panel, so other stars and such wandered in and out. John Barrowman and Naoko Mori were there, and I was working up the courage to go over and say hello. But first I had business to do with the Mythbusters, squaring away last minute details.

That only took a few minutes, and when it was done I was sitting around joking and laughing with some Discovery Channel folks, and also lamenting that I had done nearly, but not quite everything I planned on at Comic Con: I was still missing getting Anna Torv’s autograph for The Little Astronomer (which, if you read the previous post, you know I was able to eventually achieve), and seeing David Tennant.

I love love love David Tennant. I’ll miss him greatly when he leaves Doctor Who, as I consider his portrayal the best of all of them. My daughter loves him too, and last year drew a picture of him as the Doctor. As I said in Part I, she’s actually a good artist. Last year at Comic Con I was able to give Steven Moffat a copy of her drawing, which he enjoyed. I was hoping to repeat the effort with Tennant, but had completely blown the chance to meet him at an earlier press conference.

And just as I said this — and I mean that literally, the words had barely escaped my lips — when someone said, "Turn around."

I did. Standing there in the green room, not ten feet away, was Russell Davies, the man who rebooted Doctor Who, and standing next to him was David Tennant.

Holly. Flurking. Schmidt.

After the shock cleared, a bunch of stuff flew through my head. One was that a few seconds before I saw Tennant standing there, I heard the sounds of dozens of women screaming and had ignored it; just outside the room were the lines to get into the panels, and I assumed some random star had walked by. I was right, but it wasn’t random, it was the freaking Doctor himself.

After a moment, Tennant went over to talk to John Barrowman. Stirring myself, I took the opportunity to approach Davies. I introduced myself, thanking him for rebooting the series, and showed him the drawing TLA did. He loved it, which was cool, and immediately said, "Well, we have to get David to sign this for her!"

Man, I love Russell Davies. That was totally awesome of him.

So he flags Tennant, and we walk over. I introduce myself again, saying I love his work and think he’s the best. He demures, thanking me — he must get this literally dozens of times a day, but is ever so polite about it, and is quite the gentleman. I showed him the drawing, which he gushed over, and agreed gallantly to sign it.

I had two copies, so I gave him one, keeping the signed one for TLA. I thanked him again, and let him go to his personal business^*.

When I got home, I showed the drawing with Tennant’s signature to TLA, and she wigged out in an appropriate manner. We’ll be getting that drawing framed for sure, along with the one from Anna Torv, too.

I have a lot of memories from Comic Con, and while meeting David Tennant will always remain one of those Top Moments, seeing my daughter’s face when I showed her the drawing will easily be Number 1.

I am, in the end, a fan boy.

Being at Comic Con was wonderful on many levels. Moderating two panels was terrific, and made me feel like a rock star. Hanging with friends is always cool, and the exhibit hall — as large as a football field — was mesmerizing and awesome.

But I’m a fan boy. A lot of the folks deemed "celebrities" at Comic Con have produced something that has meaning to me. Sometimes, sure, it’s fluff, and other times it has depth. Either way, it has affected me, and I know it has others as well. That’s why I want to point out a few people I was able to connect with. I fully admit that at some level this is name dropping, but that implies wanting to bask in reflected glow, but in this case I think it’s more of a tribute to people who have affected me. If you still feel squeamish about this, then I suggest going elsewhere for a while.

First off, I want to thank everyone who came up and talked with me. One of the best parts of going to these conventions is meeting everyone. Skepticism is a tough, tough fight, and so a show of support from people means the world to me. Without that it’s like watching a tsunami plow over you. Knowing so many people have my back is heartening. I know where I rank on the Comic Con Scale, so it was very flattering when people came up to me to shake my hand or tell me they liked the books and the blog. And if they didn’t they didn’t tell me, and for that I’m grateful as well.

Next, hanging with the Mythbusters was invigorating. That show has done more for spreading skeptical and scientific thinking than anything I have ever been able to do, so it was an honor to be a part of it, even tangentially. I rarely get a chance to see My Close Personal Friend Adam Savage™ because he’s so busy, but he’s a good man and any time with him is better than none.

Walking the exhibit floor was surreal.
We stumbled on Naoko Mori and John Barrowman from Torchwood, a Doctor Who spinoff and something that seems to have really found its footing recently. It was a monster pleasure to meet the guys from Rifftrax –Michael Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy, late of MST3K, the men who kept me sane during grad school. Meeting them (and holy crap, Veronica Belmont, who was live-riffing with them!) was amazing. I also got a chance to talk to DC Comics writer Gail Simone, a woman made of win with whom I have exchanged emails many times but never seen before in meat space. She was terrific, as was her husband. I was able to see Wil Wheaton for a few minutes, and he is as warm and wonderful as always, sustaining my man crush at least until we meet again.

I have to give two special shout outs. One goes to Brea Grant, who is adorable and wonderful and let us tag along to a weird Hollywood-like party where we got lunch and free hats. The other goes to Zach Weiner who pens Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, my favorite web comic. It’s skeptical and snarky and scientific, and after our mutual treacly admiration for each other was complete, he gave me a signed copy of one of my favorite cartoons. Awesome. Put him in your feed reader now.

Saturday night was the swanky Entertainment Weekly/SyFy Channel party. I was able to get in due to the yeoman’s work of a friend I won’t name so that (s)he won’t get inundated by requests from other riffraff like me. But I will thank this person right here, because that party was incredible.

One of the first people I saw was Felicia Day, star of Dr. Horrible, and the web video phenom The Guild. She was clearly the Belle of the Comic Con Ball and I was thrilled she was at the party. She had just announced that Wil Wheaton was joining the cast of The Guild that day, which filled me with glee.

I got a chance to chat with her for a few minutes, which was too cool. She’s very sweet and approachable. And then Alan Tudyk walked up! I leaned over to Felicia and said "Introduce me!" and lo, she did.

Squa. Wee. He didn’t know me from anyone else, and I saw him getting his picture taken with lots of other fans, but geez, Alan Tudyk! Wash! His role on Firefly was simply amazing, and seeing him was an honest thrill.

I was star struck quite a bit, but I think the best fun was talking to so many writers. My people! I was gratified to find out how many would admit to working without pants on, a time-honored tradition. I talked with a whole pile of writers from "Warehouse 13" and other shows, which was too much fun. I heard stories of science gone wrong, production gone wrong, writing gone wrong. That was fun, and made me realize that blogging is not so ignoble as some would have you believe.

One thing that was particularly cool was that I got a chance to chat for several minutes with Anna Torv from "Fringe", who was just as nice and open as she could be. I had been keeping my eyes open for her during the whole convention, because she was the voice and model for the main character for the video game Heavenly Sword, which my daughter The Little Astronomer loves. TLA had drawn a picture of the character (I know she’s my daughter, but I have to say she’s quite a talented artist) which I had carried around the whole time Just In Case. I asked, and Ms. Torv graciously signed it, which sent TLA into heaven when I brought home the drawing. I found Ms. Torv to be a real person, something to be cherished in Hollywood.

And the night went on. I wound up dancing a bit with Felicia and — I kid you not — Joss Whedon. I walked past Hayden Panettiere, who threw herself on me… oh wait, no, she ignored me completely. That’s right, I remember now. So much for that.

Eventually, it was time to go. I started making the rounds, saying goodbye to old friends and new ones I had just made. I was just about ready to leave, when who do I see… but Seth MacFarlane.

Holy Haleakala! He created "Family Guy", and is an outspoken skeptic! I decided to press my rock star status that evening, and walked right up to introduce myself. I said I was President of the JREF, and that we were very, very big fans of his. He responded, "I love James Randi! I’m an outspoken skeptic!" and I said, "Yes, we’re very very big fans of yours," which got a laugh (I made Seth MacFarlane laugh! Aiiieee!). And then he agreed to get a picture with me:

At that point I had to leave for sure, as it was well past 1:30 and I had to be alive the next day. Reluctantly I headed out, knowing the day was done.

So that was my day of rock stardom and a chance to make contact with people I truly respect and admire… except I’ve left off one thing, a small thing really, but it’s enough to get its own post. So stay tuned for Part II.

The official mass market trade paperback version of my book Death from the Skies! doesn’t come out until September, but the awesome folks at Penguin Publishing (after I beg and whined) were able to get a few copies sent to Comic Con. I hadn’t seen it before, so it was totally cool to see it in its native habitat: on a bookshelf.

I had a signing at the Con, and it was fun to sit and chat with folks and sign their copies. I have done a few signings before, but it’s different when the book seems so shiny and new again!

And stay tuned; as soon as I write up descriptions and such I’ll have my pix from Comic Con posted.

As you read this, I’ll be heading off to Comic Con in San Diego! I’m very excited about this, because I get to hang out with old friends, which is cool even if it means I have to work and moderate some panels.

People have been asking what I’m doing when I’m there, so below is my sorta/kinda schedule. The two panels and the book signing are for sure, but the other stuff is tentative.

Thursday

4:30 I’m hoping to drop by the IDW booth to soak up some Brea Grant.

6:00 – 7:00 I’ll be moderating the Discover Magazine-sponsored Science of Science Fiction panel in Room 6DE.

Friday

2:00 The fabulous Jessica Stover has invited folks to meet her near "the left-most entrance to the exhibit hall" which is a little vague, but she is fabulous, so I’ll give it a shot.

6:00 – 6:50 I’ll be signing my book Death from the Skies! at the Mysterious Galaxy booth (#1119). Here’s your chance to get an autographed copy of a book I have hardly ever said anything about.

Saturday

7:15 – 8:15 I’m moderating the Mythbusters panel woohooyeah! That’s in Room 6BCF, and even though it seats 2000 you might wanna get there early. Adam™ and Jamie are doing autographs earlier that day at 11:30 – 1:30, and Grant/Tory are from 4-5:30, both in the Sails Pavilion at table AA2. I’ll drop by to heckle them, no doubt. And maybe to fawn a wee bit too.

Sunday

Nothing planned, but lots of Torchwood and Doctor Who stuff going on. That’s the place to look for me.

No specific day, just whenever I can:

If I get a chance, I’ll be looking around for the Rifftrax guys, too, and there may be a tweetup or two. Follow TorgosPizza for more details.

Speaking of which, I’ll be livetweeting as much as I can. If you’re not following me on Twitter, then whassamattayou?

I hope to see y’all there!

The comic strip FoxTrot takes on Comic Con this week. I have a hard time arguing with his point; last year carrying around my laptop everywhere destroyed my shoulder and back. But it was worth it. Oh yes.

And I’m totally chuffed about going again this year. In reality I have a lot of prep to do and I have to actually, y’know, work while I’m there. But sometimes my work can be pretty frakkin’ cool.

Tip o’ the Darth Vader helmet to my old friend Katie Berryhill.