Dateline :: San Diego

TRAVEL LOG: Back from Comic Con International in San Diego! At first I thought I'd never get there. Typical travel woes -- flight delayed at takeoff so missed my connection (by hours) in Minneapolis ... almost missed my later connection there ... was paged over the intercom and had to run through the airport (good thing I was wearing tennis shoes and a sports bra) ... then when I finally got to my hotel in San Diego, half my clothes were wet and sticky (the old "contents may shift during flight" applied to my hairspray in my suitcase). Luckily all was forgotten when I saw the great view (pictured above) from the hotel.


SAY CHEESE (or is it CHIPs?): Yes, my teeny bopper fantasy came true! Can't you still hear my heart pounding? I met my dream boat.
I was so nervous waiting in line, that when I got up to the table, I couldn't stop myself. From talking, that is. I actually ended up telling Erik Estrada the whole poster story. I mean really, me speechless? Did you think that was going to happen? He posed for a picture with me (above) and then said, aw, c'mon, we can do better than that. So he put my arms around him. I did not protest. And we got the nice snuggling shot at right. Then he autographed a picture for me and I floated off to lunch. Even though I couldn't stop smiling, I did feel a wee bit guilty. I called up hubby and said, "I just cheated on you with Ponch." He said, "Good for you!" Though, I know he didn't mean that! He was just letting an old lady enjoy her silly moment. (Thanks, hon!)

STAR POWER: If you follow celebrity sightings at all, you may have heard that Paris Hilton was out at Comic Con on Thursday, the day before I got out there. I saw other stars but was not able to get decent photos.

While working our magazine booth, I saw the pre-teen that plays Zack on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. (Carter knew what I was talking about and thought that was cool!)

I saw Breckin Meyer posing with some fans (he's pictured second from left). I first remember him from the movie Clueless, but he has been in other movies and has a production company now with Seth Green and someone else.

I'm not a big Trekkie or anything but I saw and took blurry pictures (not allowed to use flash unfortunately so not worth posting) of two cast members from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker, is still quite handsome. Levar Burton, who played La Forge, was there, too. You non-Trekkies may remember him from the Roots mini-series from way, way, way back when. (Yes, I am dating myself here.)

I managed to catch up with the distinguished Ray Bradbury and snap his photo. The longtime SciFi author (Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, you name it) and inspiration will turn 88 next month. He still drew a crowd of respectful admirers. That was pretty cool.

I also had dinner with the guy who writes the 24 comic strip, based on the action-packed television show starring Kiefer Sutherland. I learned the crew got to go to Africa to film a 2-hour movie to air in November as a prequel to the beginning of the next season. Cool! It was an entertaining dinner! Kiefer was somewhere at the show (I mean con), but I missed him. I did get to see his co-star, Adoni Maropis, who played Fayed in last season's story line. I got his autograph and photo (yes, I even snuggle with fictional terrorists.)

Probably a good thing I drew the line with the real stars and not all the wannabes in costumes. There were a ton of "Jokers" from the new Batman movie. Some Hellboys (yuck) and some Indiana Jones look-alikes (or trying to look alike). Then there was everything in between. Lots of characters I was clueless about. Some people I think just decided to color their hair or face or wear skimpy outfits. (I know what you guys are saying: Where are those photos? I felt too weird asking.) I may post a few of those but sleep -- in my own bed -- is a priority tonight.

Overall, I would say it was everything I expected (the geek factor) and more. I was surprised about the stars. It has really evolved into a Hollywood event (which many traditional comic book dealers have mixed feelings about). There certainly was a lot of energy and excitement everywhere. It was huge, almost overwhelming. So much going on. I for one, am looking forward to going again so I can see what I missed!!

Will I see MY "iron man"?

I am a bookworm at heart. Always, always had and have something I was reading or looking forward to reading. Stories that make me think or solve a riddle. Books that teach. Pages that offer me an escape or just plain entertain me.

The entertainment value of reading cannot be overrated when it comes to kids. If you can capture their interest in some way at an early stage, you may have a reader for life. That's where comic books come in.

As adults, we tend to think of them as picture books with light stories. True, I didn't learn a lot from Archie and Jughead or Uncle Scrooge the Duck, but it got me reading. These days, anyone who saw the new Batman movie over the weekend, will tell you comics can have some deep, dark, very adult story lines, too. That's why there are still millions of comic book readers of all ages out there. And this weekend, I expect to see at least 125,000 of those.

I'm flying out this morning to San Diego for the international comics convention, simply called Comic-Con. If you would have asked me a month ago if I was excited to go, I likely would have said something along the lines of, "Excited to go to Geek Fest? I don't think so. I'm just going because I have to for work." I've since changed my tune the more I've learned about the event.

It's not just about 40-year-old men living in their mother's basements with boxes (I think they call them "long boxes") filled with their super-hero stories. (Though I do expect to see some of that with the extreme collectors donning costumes.) The show has also become a key time for television networks and movie studios to unveil their next major project (last year Iron Man previews were huge) or offer up some of their stars for autograph sessions. It's a pop culture entertainment extravaganza!

OK, I confess that what got me excited was looking over the list of stars (past and present) doing autographs. Only a few people would understand my excitement when I saw Erik Estrada's name on the list (and the rest of you are probably groaning!). My first thought was that I wish I still had my poster of "Ponch" that hung on my bedroom wall as a teenager. But then I would have to explain to him why there is a hole where his flashy white smile should be. Darn lip gloss deteriorates paper, I learned, after many kisses good night! Now, I don't even know if I'll get the chance to see him, but if I do, I may just be speechless for the first time in my life (something everybody reading this blog would understand!).

So I'll be taking a few days off here but hope when I get back on Monday I'll have some exciting things to report! Now the question is, will I fit right in out there or finally be one of the "cool kids"? (No need to respond to that one! )

And sincerely, no offense intended to comic book buyers, readers or collectors. I am sure people say the same things about my scrapbooking cult! That's why hobbies are known as "passions."

Live long and prosper ... or something like that!