Milwaukee Time Lords member, Dave Carey, has forwarded to me a link to his collections of images for your amusement.
You can find his images here in his Flickr album
He sent another message that you can also find Dragoncon photos
At the last meeting of the Milwaukee Time Lords at Mayfair Mall (10/4/2008), which is our regular meeting place for the first meeting of the month, President Howard Weintrob announced that our club will be permitted use of the larger community room, provided that it is not being used by a paying group.
When we initially obtained a room at Mayfair Mall (don’t recall the date), rooms were free for non-profit organizations. Later, the mall began charging for room use, but our club was “grandfathered in” with the old rules and so could have a room for free. But then we were assigned to the smaller community room at the other end of the hallway. At the time, we did not appear to have a big enough presence and enough members to warrant using the larger room. At times, this did not make sense — the larger room was either not being used for anything or occupied by a group smaller than our group.
Now, we have new management to speak to and a membership attendance roster nearly bursting the 25 person limit, both factors which helped us attain the larger room. We have been very responsible club members, who leave the room in a better condition than we found it (at times stuffy with cigar smoke, an oven or a refrigerator). We sometimes push the boundaries of our hours (5 pm to 9 pm), but compared to other problems the mall has faced in the past year, we have been very good citizens.
Apart from the larger space, this room also has a pull-down screen. And, I also note that it has a white board, so we can play our Win Lose or Scribble game to our heart’s content. With better control of the lighting, our gamers will be happy in the back, while we view our presentations in the front. I have also noted that the wireless hotspot from Panera Bread is accessible, so we’ll have the advantage of being able to connect if we want this service. (Perhaps we’ll do a podcast one day. Any guest or topic ideas?)
In the end, if you want something to go your way as a club, here are a few tips:
Please, go to Mayfair Mall and show them your love!
Monday, September 1st
Edward James Olmos Q&A - Excellent Q&A which was capped off with the “so say we all” that had become by now an established feature of BSG panels and events.
Earth at last? (BSG) - Hurricane Gustav landfall in New Orleans reduced panel to two guests: Richard Hatch and Tahmoh Penikett.
Skeptrack Sign Off Party - Wrap-up and review of new Dragoncon panel. New guests were impressed with the opportunity to reach a new audience with the message of critical thinking and rationality while having fun while doing so.
Interstellar Travel - Overview of space travel options. It was a bit anti-climatic for me after the very satisfying final Skeptrack panel.
At 5 pm I went around to collect any promotional flyers that were left (I paid a lot for them) and then left for my train to the MARTA parking lot and departed Atlanta soon after getting a tank of gas. I opted to drive all the way home, rather than stopping at a hotel as I had previous envisioned doing. It seemed to be best to leave the hurricane-affected area as soon as possible to avoid possible bad weather for driving and increased traffic. I arrived home in Waukesha, WI by sunrise Tuesday morning after three stops for fuel-ups and a late night dinner at McDonalds.
I plan to return next year. Don’t forget to start searching YouTube and other sites for Dragoncon media and reports as attendees return home and recover enough to post.
Now back to the reality of some new work ahead of me this month.
Sunday, August 31st - Convention Day 3
Supernatural How To (skeptrack) - Richard Saunders, Australian skeptic, shows us spoon bending, cold reading, dowsing and other tricks that so-called “psychics” use to fool the public.
The TANK - LIVE! (skeptrack) - Now renamed to “The Skeptics Zone”, Richard Saunders and company lead a discussion of the current state of skepticism in his country.
Skeptics Guide To The Universe (skeptrack) - Dr Stephen Novella presents his weekly podcast live at Dragoncon. Panel featured a hilarious video with podcast member, Evan Bernstein, interviewing various Dragoncon characters on skeptical topics. You can go here to get a copy of the show at the link.
Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey: New Series Doctor Who (brittrack) - This panel was so popular, it was moved to a larger room thanks to the excellent hotel service. Yay for Doctor Who and the Sheraton hotel!
Boomers to Millennials: What We’ve Learned in a Generation (space track) - Panel members of various generations, from “baby boomer” to “generation X” discuss the space program from their perspectives.
Robots Vs Humans (space track) - A discussion about the role of both humans and robots in space exploration
Ask the Boffins: the Science of British Sci-Fi (britrack) - Phil Plait and Kevin Grazier contribute to this Brittrack panel, discussing the science of Doctor Who, Torchwood and other British television shows.
Where Do We Go From Here? (skeptrack) - Skeptrack panelists discuss the current state of skeptism - Dragoncon has become an excellent venue to promote critical thinking.
ANNIVERSARIES PARTY - Brittrack party consisted of a meeting of British SF fans at their Sheraton room.
THE 1ST ANNUAL MAD SCIENTIST’S BALL - I wanted to attend to see their show which was heavily promoted, but the hall was full when I got there and there was a line to get in. I did hear the “singing” tesla coils from outside the room at the Hyatt.
Live Astronomy - I tried this again and got to view a few images that were obtained in the last session.
The two highlights of the day for me were the SGU live podcast and the British SF panel. I’ll be back with a few more photos. Go to the Dragoncon site for more and better photos than what I managed to get with my little camera.
I will post my fourth day after I get home. It’s been great having this free wireless access from my hotel room.
I hope my experiences and a view of the Dragoncon website will convince you to register for Dragoncon next year. There are so many ways to choose your fun. I only saw a slice of what this convention had to offer. I missed the Saturday parade in favor of the space track panel, though I heard it described how it was to have a large band of Star Wars stormtroopers marching down an Atlanta street.
Saturday, August 30th - Convention Day 2
Cassini-Huygens - 4 years at Saturn (space track) - Excellent overview of highly productive mission to Saturn. Good news: More years have been added!
Inside the Actor’s Gaffe: Torchwood (brittrack) - Anthony Lewis, Gareth David-Lloyd, James Marsters
Bad Astronomy and Death From the Skies (skeptrack) - Phil Plait promotes his new book due out in October that discusses all the ways our planet (and we) can meet a terrible end. (Terrific plot ideas for science fiction TV and movies — hint, hint)
Science Based Medicine (skeptrack) - Dr. Steven Novella discusses the current situation with attempts to redefine what is meant by “Standard of care”. You can read about this very effective counter to “alternative” medicine and quackery, by checking out this blog, blog that is the same name as this panel.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Reunion (American TV Track) - Avery Brooks, Michael Dorn & Cirroc Lofton answer questions about their roles in Star Trek and their contributions to social change regarding who we choose for our leadership.
So Say We All (American TV Track) - Edward James Olmos, James Callis, Tahmoh Penikett, Aaron Douglas, Michael Hogan, Kevin Grazier - Most excellent BSG panel ended with the entire crowd yelling with a hearty “so say we all” led by Edward James Olmos, just as at the end of the miniseries.
Issues in Education (skeptrack) - The current poor state of education (especially science) in the US and what to do about it was discussed.
Phil Plait Q&A (skeptrack) - This impromptu panel replaced a paranormal investigation topic panel that was canceled due to Bed Radford not being available in time for it. No one seemed to mind the change.
The Science in Science Fiction (space track) - Phil Plait and Kevin Grazier discuss the role of science advisers in science fiction television shows. - Kevin led us with “so say we all”, just as at the BSG panel I attended earlier. It got better where we had two scientists who are also HUGE sf fans, just like we MTL members.
Selling the Impossible (skeptrack) - Dr. Pamela Gay plays consumer advocate here and discusses the sorts of bogus products that are available on the market and how to fight back against it.
BSG - Colonial Defense Force Party - I peeked in the hall to view many in BSG character costumes. Aaron and Tahmoh were there to assist with the charity auction.
One of the most awesome experiences was viewing the Battlestar Gallactica trailer viewed by San Diego Comcon attendees earlier this summer at the science in science fiction panel. We viewed it TWICE, it was that good.
There’s so many reasons you should consider attending Dragoncon next year. Go to their site now and look at the excellent costumes in the photo section and the events scheduled for this year.
If you are an MTL member reading this, seriously consider this as a new and terrific way to promote our club. We’ve been missing out on this opportunity to forge new connections and meet new friends for our club.
I summarize my experience here with the list of panels I attended and each day separated by post.
Friday, August 29th - Convention Day 1
Welcome (Brittrack) - Orientation meeting for the British TV programming track.
Skeptics 101 (skeptrack) - Introduction to the new Skeptrack programming introduced this year at Dragoncon. Panelists James Randi (JREF), DJ Grothe (Point of Inquiry podcast), Jeff Wagg (JREF), Benjamin Radford (managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine), Phil Plait (Bad Astronomy website and now the president of JREF) and Richard Saunders kicked off a weekend of topics relating to how to encourage critical thinking in the public in a variety of subjects.
Why Magic Matters (skeptrack) - DJ Grothe interviews James Randi on the topic of how magic plays a role in skepicism and critical thinking.
Babylon 5 (main programming) - Jerry Doyle and Walter Koenig together in one panel. Isn’t this an awesome idea for a panel?
Science Based Medicine: Spotting the Quacks, Charlatans and Those Elixer of Life Salesmen (science track) - Physicians, including Dr. Ginger Campbell MD of the Brain Science podcast, discuss standard of care issues and the affects of CAM on their medical practice.
The Big Bang - Why It Is Real (space track) Dr. Pamelia Gay - Runs the excellent Astronomy Cast podcast. I highly recommend it.
A History of Planetary Probes (space track) - Overview of human space exploration from Sputnik to what lies ahead. Summary: LOTS of things blew up early in human space flight history. We got it wrong MANY times before getting it right later in the 1960’s.
Live Astronomy (space track) - The science teacher you wished you had in school led a panel which involved the use of a telescope alloted for our use for a few hours. Instructions and images were relayed completely online. I had to leave early to catch MARTA train and get back to hotel to get some sleep.
James Randi, DJ Grothe, Benjamin Radford, Phil Plait, Richard Saunders
All panels were excellent. I got a mix of science, science fiction and a history overview, along with current issues in skepticism. The Skeptrack is a new addition to the collection of tracks Dragoncon hosts. I encourge you to visit the links. They go to a separate page.
Day 1 - Registration and Preview
Thursday, August 28th
Hello. I am reporting to you from Dragoncon 2008, a HUGE science fiction/fantasy convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Here, I describe my experience after arriving in Atlanta at about 3:30 pm EDT.
After checking in at the Quality Inn Hotel, located about 10 miles NE of downtown Atlanta, I headed for the Chamblee Marta rail station just a few miles from my hotel. Once there, a nice person assisted me in using the ticketing machine to purchase rail passes. Here, you can use cash or a credit card to purchase a number of ticket options. I chose 10 tickets which are good for 5 convention days. I boarded the train and was off for the Peachtree Center Station.
Once I arrived at Peachtree, I found myself underground with a number of exits available. I took the one that led me to a food court. One amazing feature is a VERY long and scary escalator that rides up to a lobby. After getting turned around, I finally found my way to the Hyatt Hotel. A woman at the Dragoncon Information booth told me that the line to registration was around the hotel block. I found the end of the line and waited for oh about an hour or so. The line entered the building at the registration hall. Inside, the line snaked around and ended where I went to the booth with my name range and picked up my badge. I also picked up a convention guide (mostly guest photos). I missed the program book. I felt I did not need it because I had already prepared a schedule from online panel information sources.
Once I had my badge, I went to a flyer table in the registration hall to unload the MTL flyers and cards. I thinking, I’m probably going to need more later, from what I have heard about the number of pre-registrants. There’s a Fed-Ex Kinkos there in case I need to make more flyers.
I then went on a self-guided tour of the four hotels, starting with the Hyatt Hotel. I then visited the Marriott, just across the street from the Hyatt to the east. To the east of the Marriot is the Hilton. There I had a number of panels scheduled from the space, science and skeptic tracks. I would be spending most of my time there.
Last, I visted the Sheraton, located a block away to the south of the Hilton. The Sheraton is the location for the BritTrack panel programming in the Valdosta room. Now, having successfully marked off all my panel rooms, I felt confident that my weekend would go very well, but could see that I would be doing a lot of walking and hotel hopping. I headed on back by rail to Chamblee Station and drove home at a good hour at around 10:00 pm.
Here’s a picture of my hotel, just outside my room.
Quality Inn Atlanta GA
Doctor Who is 45 years old this year. What better way to celebrate than to view this excellent and amazing video? It features clips from each episode aired from its beginning in 1963, starting with Unearthly Child up through the end of the current season 4 of the new series. Key dialog and series moments are nicely woven into the series of clips. It also includes the specials, movies and animated productions of Doctor Who and its spin-offs.
Click the YouTube video below and enjoy!
Now that you have viewed the video, go to the excellent Wikipedia Doctor Who reference for any questions you may have or additional research on what you have just seen. Isn’t it great that they included clips from the missing episodes? (Apparently they have enough to show just clips.)
Compare old vs new. Contrast the various Doctors and companions that have appeared over the years. What changes? What stays the same?
What you are also seeing is the progression of television from the early sixties to present. Doctor Who is a rare constant throughout nearly a half-century of television history. Some technologies (such as CGI) were initially practiced on Doctor Who, with mixed results, as you can see in the 4th Doctor (Tom Baker) series. The series also provided excellent training and experimentation for other creative arts, such as costuming, make-up, props, set design and cinematography. Experience leads to better quality programming and many of the excellent productions we see and appreciate today. Standards and expectations are raised so that other productions, where ever they are (US or UK) need to satisfy that to gain approval by viewers.
So what is it that made Doctor Who such a long running show? Culture? Tradition? Fan support? Economics? It’s just plain fun to make and view? Let me know what you think!
As of this post, WordPress is installed on our server at Blue Host. The procedure was very easy and quick. I just had to download the WordPress files, change one file, create a MySQL database and then upload the WordPress files to the Blue Host server.
Having the blog on our server will enable customization and quicker downloads of pages.
Older posts are at our old web-based blog. I don’t see a way of importing the old posts. If there is a way to do this, please let me know.
We could still use the web-based account. Anyone interested in becoming an MTL blog pool admin, please let me know and I will transfer all rights to you. The web version can be accessed anywhere and allows more than one writer.
The web version should have a different name. Perhaps a special blog devoted to a specific topic of your choosing.
Respond with your ideas and suggestions.
As of June 11, 2008, Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane of Doctor Who) has been added to the guest list for ChicagoTardis. The convention, to be held November 28-30, 2008, is located at The Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard, Illinois.
For fans of both the classic and new series, the Sarah Jane character is a “bridge” between past and present. Compare her first entry into Doctor Who via The Time Warrior to the new series second season episode School Reunion and you will see just how far Doctor Who has come.
In the new spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, we also get a glimpse to the past in Sarah’s attic stocked with bits and pieces of her travels in the TARDIS. Apparently, at least some companions remember and cherish their time spent with the Doctor. Will we see anyone else come out of “hiding”? I hope so. I like reunions and get-togethers of past characters.
Keep your eyes open when viewing Season 4 Doctor Who. More surprises await. (Even the Doctor is not allowed to see his own spoilers.)
Come and help celebrate 45 years of Doctor Who. Register for ChicagoTardis today! Our club will be there, as usual, to greet convention attendees at our fan table.