TWH recap, part I
Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Wrote My Panel on the Plane...
So, there's no way I can recap in one post, so here's the first bit...
So, here's the problem with the whole four presentations/panels thing- one slipped through the cracks, as I'd expected. Appropriately, it was the one I felt most comfortable churning out quickly, as I could go on Slytherin pride rants all day long without so much as a notecard to guide me. Still, polished it off on the plane, with a bit of fine tuning on Thursday.
Got to registration, trying to prepare myself not to make a face should I be sorted into Gryffindor...no worries there, as I instead got to make a lovely cartooish I-just-got-hit-with-a-frying-pan face when the yellow lanyard was pulled out. Mostly, Bolton just laughed hysterically and I told him to piss off and we went back into Boston for dinner with friends.
Friday we woke up at the crack of dawn, I put on my modified Slytherin uniform (do they allow green converse at Hogwarts? hmm...) and we walked over to grab coffee for the road trip. I noted to Bolton that this was probably the last time for the next few days that people were going to look at me as though I was a crazy person...have I mentioned how much I adore fandom? So, we get to Salem, get Bolton registered (Gryffindor, so no bullying him to switch with me) and hit the nature/nurture character study panel at the Hawthorne. Good discussion, if a bit haphazard at times. I always want to have those debates around characters that don't get a lot of discussion on those points, like Neville. The Draco angle is always fun, but tends to run itself into the ground pretty quickly.
So then we hiked over to the Salem library, because my lazy ass hadn't finished the panel in time to print a draft before then, and did a bit of window shopping (bought an amazing skull ring) before meeting up with Carly and grabbing lunch before our panel started.
And then, perhaps the personal hilight of the conference, our "Sorted Lives" panel. To say that this went better than I'd envisioned would be a vast understatement. I'd gone to a similar panel at Nimbus, and it had almost immediately devolved into "rah rah" and "my house is better than your house" debate. Not the case here. I was so happy we left so much time for debate/discussion. Everyone had such genuinely enlightening, thought provoking, passionate commentary and questions, I was thrilled. I defy anyone in academia to tell me that a conference like this isn't valid in a scholarly capacity. Seriously, I've been to many conferences, and I routinely get more out of conferences likes this, that offer a balance. HP fans are intimidating intellectually, and I'm always honored to be in their ranks and in their presence. In short, very fun panel, and had tons of people come up to me all weekend and tell me they enjoyed it, so bonus points for that. So, one down, three to go, and Harry and the Potters left before the day was over...does it get better than that? No. No it doesn't.
I'd been a big fan of theirs for quite a while, but even I was overwhelmed by how awesome the concert was. Plus, got them to sign my old Save Ginny t-shirt, and I'm currently planning the dorktacular act of framing it sports memorabelia style with pictures beneath. Is it wrong that I find the elder Harry kinda dreamy?
More later, still recovering...
So, there's no way I can recap in one post, so here's the first bit...
So, here's the problem with the whole four presentations/panels thing- one slipped through the cracks, as I'd expected. Appropriately, it was the one I felt most comfortable churning out quickly, as I could go on Slytherin pride rants all day long without so much as a notecard to guide me. Still, polished it off on the plane, with a bit of fine tuning on Thursday.
Got to registration, trying to prepare myself not to make a face should I be sorted into Gryffindor...no worries there, as I instead got to make a lovely cartooish I-just-got-hit-with-a-frying-pan face when the yellow lanyard was pulled out. Mostly, Bolton just laughed hysterically and I told him to piss off and we went back into Boston for dinner with friends.
Friday we woke up at the crack of dawn, I put on my modified Slytherin uniform (do they allow green converse at Hogwarts? hmm...) and we walked over to grab coffee for the road trip. I noted to Bolton that this was probably the last time for the next few days that people were going to look at me as though I was a crazy person...have I mentioned how much I adore fandom? So, we get to Salem, get Bolton registered (Gryffindor, so no bullying him to switch with me) and hit the nature/nurture character study panel at the Hawthorne. Good discussion, if a bit haphazard at times. I always want to have those debates around characters that don't get a lot of discussion on those points, like Neville. The Draco angle is always fun, but tends to run itself into the ground pretty quickly.
So then we hiked over to the Salem library, because my lazy ass hadn't finished the panel in time to print a draft before then, and did a bit of window shopping (bought an amazing skull ring) before meeting up with Carly and grabbing lunch before our panel started.
And then, perhaps the personal hilight of the conference, our "Sorted Lives" panel. To say that this went better than I'd envisioned would be a vast understatement. I'd gone to a similar panel at Nimbus, and it had almost immediately devolved into "rah rah" and "my house is better than your house" debate. Not the case here. I was so happy we left so much time for debate/discussion. Everyone had such genuinely enlightening, thought provoking, passionate commentary and questions, I was thrilled. I defy anyone in academia to tell me that a conference like this isn't valid in a scholarly capacity. Seriously, I've been to many conferences, and I routinely get more out of conferences likes this, that offer a balance. HP fans are intimidating intellectually, and I'm always honored to be in their ranks and in their presence. In short, very fun panel, and had tons of people come up to me all weekend and tell me they enjoyed it, so bonus points for that. So, one down, three to go, and Harry and the Potters left before the day was over...does it get better than that? No. No it doesn't.
I'd been a big fan of theirs for quite a while, but even I was overwhelmed by how awesome the concert was. Plus, got them to sign my old Save Ginny t-shirt, and I'm currently planning the dorktacular act of framing it sports memorabelia style with pictures beneath. Is it wrong that I find the elder Harry kinda dreamy?
More later, still recovering...