Coordinates go: Germany's FedCon, Phoenix Comicon!

Ach-tung!

It's been 11 years since the big stage there, and five years since the small… but I'm thrilled to be headed back to Germany this weekend to see all our Deutschlander Treklanders at FedCon, Germany's biggest Trek/sci-fi media blast now in its 23rd edition.

And what's wild is, the good folks at Phoenix Comic-Con the next weekend have me back again to share, host and Trek up the place amid that multi-genre boom show—the place where Star Trek Continues had its world premiere of Episode 1, and where STC is among the fun duties I'll be handling again.. that one with Todd "Spock" Haberkorn, anime star deluxe and the only STC castmember who missed the 2013 premiere. Seems fitting.

But as for Dusseldorf's big show, well… time was we were regular visitors to the third-biggest Trek national market in the world, but the fallow Trek years took a toll on everyone. The Germans and their conventions have always been the most operatic, and at the same time the most party-minded, of any in the world. Or perhaps it's just the scale of FedCon—where even though it's not been all-Trek for some time, it's still a big bash for those of the Nacelle and Redshirt League.

What will be a blast is doing my third "Dr. Trek Show" crowdfunder-meetup for The Con of Wrath at PCC on Saturday night… what will be historic is doing one in a private home near Phoenix on Thursday night....and what will be amazing is doing it for the first time in Germany.

In fact, for as many old German friends as I know will be coming, I've not had the chance to visit and swap stories of all my new projects since Trekland launched, "On Speaker" went to CDs,  the Trekland Trunk opened up,  Stellar Cartography came off the presses and of course the Hollywood Sci-Fi Museum (now in Kickstarter!) and the Enterprise in Space non-profit projects have come about, with me taking a board seat on each.   Not to mention The Con of Wrath. And Trek Continues.

It all remands me how we've had the entire social media, end of TV Trek, rise of JJ moviedom, Blu-ray remasters, fan film boom and so much more just in that decade I've been "away" from my second convention home. I can't wait to mix it up—and my thanks to Dirk Bartholomew for getting me back.

Aside from a "Between the Cracks" show and "Dr. Trek", we'll also be doing an old-fashioned Vegas-style Rapid Fire trivia, and also a "Captions Logged" live show of blooper caption contestants modeled after what "Lost and Found" in my Titan Trek mag column has evolved into. Fun stuff, guys. Want to see a so-so translation?

Whew. Closer to home, two days later and I'll tee it up again for Phoenix: here's my schedule, with a panel each day and PLUS our Con of Wrath event on Saturday 9-11 pm in MY ROOM for another zany evening and my gratitude.

"Star Trek Continues" coming with me for a big-screen viewing back home at SoonerCon 22—this weekend!

It's red-dirt return time again for me!

Every time SoonerCon rolls around each June, I not only get to go back home for a visit with family and old friends, but meet a ton of new ones as well.

So here is ever-booming SCon next weekend, and the schedule is out: it's  another great lineup of guests and a program/panels list that's bulging at the seams at 100+ events. I'm in there as a special guest on a few of them—my own stuff, plus a couple of actual panels (see below).

But what's really new is a request for my usual Con of Wrath benefit meetup to add a special big-screen HD showing of "Pilgrim of Eternity", the debut of Star Trek Continues we premiered at Phoenix ComiCon that has gotten over 125,000 combined online views. I was honored to be a last-minute addition to play Dr. McCoy in this best-ever feel of a 60s episode with some surprise guests and cameos.

In fact, you can see "ST Continues" Friday night on the BIG screen at the Reed Conference Center/Sheraton, as SoonerCon is trying out the Reed and adjoining Sheraton, et al hotels in suburban Midwest City this year, just five minutes east of downtown OKC's Bricktown nightspots and only four blocks from Rose State College campus (and a former home of ours!).



And everyone who checks into our meetup deal Friday night gets a free limited-edition "Phoenix premiere" poster of "Pilgrim" (left) —plus a chance at a drawing for a cast-autographed version!

Only the Phoenix crowd of 3800, and a couple other cons where producer/Kirk Vic Mignogna has brought it since, have experienced the big-screen treatment.  So, fellow Okies and indie fans, look for us at 9-12 pm Friday night (leaving your Saturday night free). As usual when I'm at a live con, your donation for The Con of Wrath is just $20 (or more) for your screen credit and this private meetup with prize trivia, rare Trek video and recent doc clips shot in process, including George Takei. And here in OKC, you get the "Pilgrim" on big screen, too!

(If you want to see what all the STC hubbub is about first, check out STC at its webpage, like the Facebook and follow Twitter for updates on the next episode ... and even catch some of our rave reviews from the likes of Slate and Breitbart and Pearls of Geek, among others...)

But solo or group, here's the rest of my "organized" schedule for SCon:

FRI - 5PM-F  (group panel) "Out of Darkness: The Iterations and Resilience of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek"   

FRI - 9 PM-THEATER  - Our Meetup Benefit for Wrath of Con featuring Star Trek Continues on the bigscreen—plus all the rest of the goodies.

SAT-1PM-THEATER My "Between the Cracks" Trekland 2013 show: "JJVerse Reaction Edition" show   

SAT-2PM-F  (group)" Cinema So Far: 2013 in Fan Genre Films"

SUN-1PM-THEATER "What Do You Crave, Trek Peeps?" —This is a special one I requested— i just want to hear what, if any, Trek fen feel they are missing in their addiction.  Is it possible to know what you don't know?  Besides having new Roddenberry Universe back on the weekly small screen?

Also, this year I'm going to unleash on SoonerCon a stick of shirts, fliers, programs, buttopns, etc, from SooneCons and ThunderCons past ('80s and '90s) that should find good homes —and for a good cause: once again, the Infant Crisis Services of OKC.

Can't wait! And, this year, to catch up with some of the faces of folks I have not been able to get to know from the new fandom of my stomping grounds that have come along the past decade or so. I'll have a table, yes, but I won't be chained there—it's gonna be a minglin' year. Better follow SCon along on Facebook and Twitter, too.

LA ALERT: Whoa, WonderCon: Meetup & Trek co-panels in Anaheim

Annnnd this insane month of March—from Seattle to Orlando to our Con of Wrath shoot in OK/NorTex that has depleted my postings!—comes to a close "back home" THIS weekend in Anaheim with WonderCon—via not one but three panels, plus a meet-up for the doc, of course! And you're all invited.


WonderCon, sprawling San Diego Comic-Con's little brother, is again back in Anaheim while its normal digs at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco are being renovated. As a comic-ccn it covers comics, authros and anime plus games and all things sci-fi/fantasy/horror genre—but Trek increasingly plays a bigger part, you TLers. But by not being quite the behemoth of SDCC, it's not so sold-out and intimidating—and there still are Friday and Sunday one-day passes, all at the Anaheim Convention Center just south of Disneyland.

My buddy and increasingly famous Bridge Saver Huston Huddleston has graciously offered me space in his restoration Enterprise-D bridge chair area, sure to be a high-traffic hit with all the photo posers. So, between panels on Friday and Saturday, we'll have Trekland: On Speaker CDs and fundraiser Klingon PADDs and info all about all stuff Trek Tour and Star Trek Continues for all the SoCal folk who never get where I'm at ...

PLUS I hope you can catch me at any of these panels (or support those linked)—if you use THESE links, you can "signal" you are intend to attend, and join the crowd...

FRIDAY: 1:30 p.m., Room 213

At 1:30 the psychology/fan duo of Dr. Andrea Letamendi (UCLA) and Dr. Ali Mattu (NYU) have slated "The Psychology of Star Trek vs. Star Wars," and I'm on to represent guess-what, along with writer Hugh Sterbakov (Robot Chicken, City Under the Moon). Surely we can all call "IDIC" and just get along, right? Brian Ward of Shout! Factory is along to moderate, to boot. "Join" us early on Facebook?

BONUS FRIDAY PICK! 2:30 p.m., Room 300DE

PLUS, right after that, stay in Trekland for a bonus and head over with me to Room 300DE to experience "Star Trek: Into High Definition" about all the amazing Blu-Ray remastering projects with Brannon Braga, Mike and Denise Okuda, producer Roger Lay and director Robert Meyer Burnett. Enterprise S! is out, with TNG S3 not far behind ...


FRIDAY: 6:30pm, Room 208

Later on, also be on the panel of folks with dreamer Huston and his co-hort Brian Uiga as they update fans on the non-profit "New Starship" Star Trek Enterprise Bridge Restoration and Sci-Fi Museum that has taken fandom and potential marketers by storm since we first helped break the news and vet the source and then had our follow-up.

I actually have to bow out midway through this one so as to conduct a long-delayed interview for THE CON OF WRATH on-site (yes, work!), but after being at Huston's chair/table area all day it won't be a loss.



SATURDAY: 7 p.m., Room 210BCD

After a day of seeing everybody on the floor, we'll close off the panels at 7 p.m. with our annual "Between the Cracks" Trekland show for 2013—with even an angle on that JJ thing right around the corner, plus some looks back at TNG and DS9 and ahead at our Star Trek Continues world premiere May 24 in Phoenix Comicon!


And finally ... for your after-panels, after-buying pleasure while stuck in "strip mall town"...


SATURDAY, 9 p.m., Room TBA adjacent

Somewhere along Friday we'll announce the adjacent site (a fun place with spirits, hopefully) of our first CON OF WRATH Meetup-Fundraiser for Anaheim, running Saturday 9-11 p.m. in the usual format of fun, prize trivia and rare Trek videos and doc sneak peeks that we've done the past year at my live events... like Seattle ... San Diego (right)... Vegas... and many more. If you plan to pop in your $20 and make the party, you could even "Join" the meetup Event page on Facebook, just to give me an idea ...


BONUS SUNDAY PICK: I won't be on-site Sunday, but the usual uspects are back at it with an ALIEN ARMAGEDDON debate panel 3-5 p.m. akin to the infamous Starship Smackdown at SDCC, at 3-5 SUNDAY. Treklanders will especially know Robert Burnett again and Daren Dochterman, Jeff Bond and moderator Mark A. Altman among the herd.

Now, if I ever get caught up with March—I'll tally up how Seattle and Orlando meetups have been, and thank all the folks who turned out and helped there.

From here, though, we thankfully take a breather— and I'll next see you out on the con trail over in El Paso April 26-28!

MegaCon, megacool: See you in Orlando!

Whoa, this MegaCon in Orlando this weekend must be a big deal. Even if they did invite me.

I mean, yet another TNG cast reunion—the first in the Southeast—is a huge draw, yes, But I've got tweeps telling me they're coming in from Europe for it! (And tickets on site and area retailers ARE still available.)

I know I've been slow to let you know what's what—but on the heels of a great weekend in Seattle for Emerald City Comicon last weekend, plus That Secret Non-Fiction Trek Book sucking up my time—there's barely been breathing room. But have no fear!—I will be all revved up and ready for Orlando, only my second trip to a Florida con after we hit the Vulcan Away Mission there a ways back—where not only did we make a lot of new friends, but the generational turn of fandom made yet another direct connection on me. Right between the eyes.

Yes it was my first trip there, but boy was everyone embracing. I already have a special in-joke Voyager script page ready this time to show @LorrieS68—and all y'all. And Nicholas Roche shocked me with this hellacious custom "Faces" photo job of me to sign for him!

Umm... yes, overwhelming is the word.


So, coming up at MegaCon, here's the scoop:

—SAT at 2 p.m. (Rm 222, Mr. Dixon) we've got our updated "Between the Cracks" Trekland show with that JJ flick only a few weeks away‚ much less all the other hot Trek stuff going on I can and cannot yet talk about! But I'm sure we can poke fun. And hopefully have some Q&A too.

—SUN at 10:10 am (Rm 224C-H) we've got a reward for all you bright-n-shiny risers: An outpost edition of our Rapid-Fire Trek Trivia with a lot of cool prizes, of course.

—PLUS— a first for NorFla*: After the TNG cast reunion at 6:30-8 p.m, I'll throw a MegaCon-sized meetup-fundraiser party from 9-11 p.m. for THE CON OF WRATH, as we have done over the past year's cons. For $20 and your usual crowd-funded screen credit, you also get a crack at prize trivia, rare Trek clips, doc sneak-peeks...  and my mouth loosened with libation for about any Trek story you can pry out of me. Meet us at the DENNY'S private room (wine and beers available), right there at 9880 International Drive just down from the OC Convention Center—and stay tuned: it's a good time to tweet with me @larrynemecek or on Facebook at Trekland to keep up as the weekend goes along.

—And I'll be at my table in the signing room, with photos, attic prizes like old scripts, my Trekland: On Speaker CDs, and Klingon PADD fundraisers for The Con Of Wrath...and a lot of Trek yack. Any requests? For relics or loose-lips topics?

The fact that a chunk of our Star Trek Continues backers and crew are all over NorFla, plus the fact our Kirk and executive producer and Good Captain JTK, Vic Mignogna, is a MegaCon guest as well, is just icing on the tribble cake for this trip. Who knows what hijinks may ensue.

I'm a little scared. This may be an awesome weekend.

If you are in the area—which apparently includes Scotland and Germany—come out an make it even awesomer!




*I don't know whether or not this is a marketing handle for the North-of-I-4 region of Florida... but it ought to be. I enjoy saying it even more than typing it.

Lag's over— just in time for Grand Slam & Gallifrey!

You will please excuse my absence the past three weeks from TREKLAND, guys'n'gals—although you might catch me at the right moment late-night at Trekland on Facebook, and on Twitter. (On a break. In tiny, tiny little time windows.)  Did I spoil you with that flurry of posts and videos here in December?

You see, deadlines and shoot schedules are a cruel master*. But what I need to let you know this week is that I'll be on hand for two—count'em TWO—conventions this President's Day weekend in SoCal:

—This FRIDAY, I'll be at the annual Gallifrey One con at the LAX Marriott—nominally a huge Who con, my buddy Shaun Lyon has enough "media" guests and programming in that there's plenty to support crossover Trek fans.

My "Between the Cracks 2013" panel show is at 1:30 pm for an hour, PLUS I'll be tabling as well with news of some Trek stored stuff to sell, hopefully locally.

—And SATURDAY, for the resurrection of their big Grand Slam Sci-Fi Summit brand, I'll see you there while sharing a table with De Kelley biographer Terry Rioux (her book at left), with Tour and CD info a-plenty.

And Sunday? Who knows where I'll perch. You'll hear about it on Facebook and Twitter, at least.

On BOTH sites, I'll have Trekland on CD copies for sale, info on what's different for the 2013 Trek "LA2Vegas" film site tour... and I hope to have night-time meetup-fundraisers again at one or both cons for The Con of Wrath, as we gear up for a new film round this March. Con fans across the country came out all last year, but I've never had one of these "shows" in my home town—well, new home, anyway.

And part of the magic is that they are impromptu—so stay tuned on all subspace Twitter and Facebook channels if you are not present but nearby, and want to jump in.

And then, I promise—more Trekland here very very soon.* A bunch has been going on all over, in case you too are behind.






*Let me just say—quickly for now—that I still have our David Goodman video series to finish posting, PLUS video from the Star Trek Continues shoot in January (and yes, I have still-fresh thoughts on that incredible odyssey of playing McCoy to share, when I catch a breath). I've even picked up a fan club (oh boy). Plus all that other Trek going on on Blu-rays and such. (I hear there's a movie or something, coming.)

Thanks: Our 'Wrath of Con' fundraiser is a hit at Vegas

So far this convention year, I've not gotten in a single stand-alone post about those meetup-fundraisers for The Con of Wrath in a timely way—but what better place to start than with Vegas Khaaan!

I mean, look at this last-cycle crowd (below)! And yes.. that's my HOTEL ROOM. That was a risk.

I mean, San Diego and the comic-cons have more bodies, but only Vegas Trek Khhaaan! could truly field the passion and "get-it"-ness for a Trek-based historic documentary—and human nature, of course.

So, I'll indeed reflect on the Official Las Vegas Star Trek Convention for 2012 soon—the 12th in Vegas and the 11th for Creation. And recap our debut Geek Nation Tours' "Hollywood2Vegas" Trek film site trek, soon.

But today, I have to say it was a blast to "go for it," and finally host the VegasTrek version of the event I first cooked up in Seattle for Emerald City CC.

In many ways, it was a first-of-its-kind.

For one thing, the Rio's lack of decent meetup space and those famous "every room is a suite" quarters led me to risk ...hosting it in my own two-queen-bed room! Just in case, I limited it to 30—plus, no real eats or bevs. And everyone still had a blast, even with a little come-and-go.

Too, it was amazing to finally have a complete AV system for clips—video AND audio. White closed-space walls, no band or fan noise, new mini-speakers from San Diego, and a projector—saved, at the 11th hour, TWICE when I was separated from my intended unit:

First, Paul Walker and crew of the USS Las Vegas, the big local Star Trek club, offered their  projector as a fill-in loan ... but with a half-hour til show time I realized it had no VGA cable! Even THAT was saved when ASU/NASA speaker and Phoenix buddy Dr. David Williams did his Bugs-n-Daffy impersonation and pulled a VGA cable, without missing a beat, out of his near-empty shoulder bag—just  as I had written off video yet again. (Who WRITES these shows?) But a big THANKS to them both for saving Star Trek... well, at least this corner of it.

So with all that... we not only raised more funds for THE CON OF WRATH, but it was great to hear gasps at some of the old and new clips. It was also great to have some of our H2V "Tourists" come by, too.

I also have to thank, quite in shock, the unexpected and generous donations made point-blank at my table on Sunday and around the floor. It's truly made it possible to press on with the project, at this stage.

Look for another live meetup--somehow, somewhere--at my next guest jaunts to the El Paso Comic Con Sept. 14-16 and then Starbase Indy's con Thanksgiving weekend in November. If I can do one for Walter's Star Celebration weekend without being a distraction, I will.

Of course, you can always check out the online donor page and gift list using Paypal.

What's up for us? We're catching our breath, launching into tape transcripts with more staff help, and planning the next step—so stay tuned as our "shadetree" project picks up steam.

Meanwhile, my DP Neal Hallford is still feeling his loss—so please give his stolen Redrock unit Fundrazr replacement project a help if you can.

Comic-Con 2012 and another fun "Wrath" meet-up

All the recent news and events delayed my simple Comic-Con wrap up after San Diego, but I do want to make some points and share some pics ... as we look forward to ramping up for Vegas Khhaaann.

I especially want to thank everyone who came out for my big gamble: the latest edition of my 2012 meetup/fundraisers for THE CON OF WRATH—Comic-Con size (right)! To have two dozen come and go to make it was very gratifying and encouraging—especially doing this on the wing. To have everybody have a great time was just a kick.

Yes, these brave Treklanders get big props from me for the support in making our documentary... and purely from my Tweets/Facebook feed, and the announcements made at our 7 p.m. panel just before.  We shoot for no-overhead sites during cons so as to get the most bang from our donated bucks as possible, and Seattle and Phoenix, so far, are pretty big shows. But Comic-Con San Diego was a whole new huge scope unto itself, and biting off this same set-up on the scale of SDCC was a big risk to take if the logistics and venue were a disaster, and that's too much to ask of any Trekfans kind enough to come out. Aside from our louder-band-than-normal, everyone had a great time, enjoyed the trivia, clips, prizes and talk ... and I met all kinds of new fans who will now follow our progress feeling a small stake in it. (A big thank-you also to manager Mike at Hennessey's and waitress Jenna, who got this together on a day's notice and played patient with our audio-visual tech weirdness.)

Remember, as a relatively new and small-scale player at SDCC (ie, not a studio marketing guy, and just since 2006), I was lucky enough and thankful for the second year to have had my panel accepted (right)—the second flirtation with my "Between the Cracks" slideshow format, which is pretty flexible. I advertised it as a TNG anniversary celebration from my archives, but of course was thrilled to also offer the world-premiere of our new teaser for THE CON OF WRATH, put together for the occasion by my DP, Neal Hallford. (You can see that, and more, after I sneak-peek it at Vegas Khaan, as well)

So a big THANK YOU as well to the 500-some who turned out at 7 p.m. Saturday for "Trekland: Between the Cracks!" And to all of you who signed up your new names to our news list there. As usual, we ran out of time, but —if Eddie and his bunch have us back next year—we'll have some real Q&A quality time in 2013, I promise.

Otherwise, realizing how few pics and parties I got in this year at Comic-Con made me realize I'm working way too much there and playing way too little!


My normal gang o'guys was disrupted this year due to birthday plans for buddy Lee Wochner—my web guru/marketer at his Counterintuity Inc. and my entree into SDCC in the first place—so I had to shift "residence" mid-con and commute in with my Con of Wrath DP Neal (helping me set up, left).

Still, it was great to be a red-carpet  guest at Rod's Trek Nation/White Room premiere showing on the big screen... meet up a lot of old friends out of the blue, like Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore, or some totally out of the blue like the great John Eaves himself (right) ... and table once again a few hours in Autograph Alley, and see who else could find me. You never know, you know?

Just took one costume pic all weekend—and "she" had nothing to do with Star Trek, of course (do YOU know who she is, below? I can't believe I have to tell you. ). But I love the unique costumes—rare, skewed or with a sense of humor, like Dragon Con—and not just the obvious and trendy recreations that I feel Comic-Con has fallen into. Vegas Trek is tilting toward the more and more rare/unique in cosplay all the time, a good thing—and time will tell what 2012 brings there in a few weeks. Stay tuned ...

Meanwhile, how cool is it to take a big bite out of Comic-Con and not get bit back?


Thanks to Dwayne Day, Jana Hallford, Stephanie Sullivan, and Justin "BayouCon" Toney for help with the pics. Best coverage ever!

Peeps time! See you back home at SoonerCon 21 in OKC

Of course it's cool because I get to visit family ... but the recent restart of SoonerCon and my guesting trips there get me back to my sci-fi and Trek "family" as well—lots of old familiar faces (and all the newer ones since the L.A. move, too.)

Plus, SoonerCon 21—next weekend, June 15-17 at the downtown Sheraton— is one helluva a grass-roots convention in its own right, its subtext showcasing Oklahoma's fandom explosion: filmmakers, pro comic artists, steampunk, costumers, small press, as well as the usual litfan, gaming, anime, and media hijinks. They're on Facebook, too.

Especially cool this year is that I finally get a chance to bring another "Meetup/Fundraiser for THE CON OF WRATH"—my documentary, of course—to the hometown crowd on this 2012 convention "crowdfunding" party tour: 10 pm.-12 midnight Saturday in The Boardroom: the usual hijinks but with a red dirt flavor I'm sure. Special guest: fellow Okie and onetime fanguy-turned-San Diego game designer/filmmaker Neal Hallford, my DP!  If you are an SCon attendee and on Facebook, click on the Meetup/Fundraiser FB Event page and come on over!

I can't wait—and here's hoping the FIFTH one will be the biggest and funnest one yet.  Just bring enough run & coke, and no one gets hurt ...

I only regret that the lovely McKenzie Westmore, host of SyFy's Face-Off whom I helped get to SCon, had the dang show change shoot dates on her and force a last-minute cancellation. So....next year for OKC, she promises!  (Maybe even with her dad, Trek makeup maestro and Oscar winner Michael.)

So, bottom line: If you are in the Oklahoma/Arkansas/Kansas/Texas region and have NOT made your SoonerCon plans, DO IT NOW.

Meanwhile, my own panel schedule:

Friday 4-5 PM: Speed Drawing Competition, Host

Saturday, 4-5 PM: Real Panel: "Hope In Warp Speed:  The Ethics of Star Trek in the 21st Century", moderator, with Eric Flint as a panelist

Saturday, 6-7 PM: "Larry's Trekland:  Between the Cracks 2012": from the archives as usual, but with a SoonerCon twist

Saturday, 10-12 PM: Meetup/fundraiser for CON OF WRATH, per above

... and some table time for the TCOW and TREKLAND, of course.

And while in town, fanfolk, take a break and go south one hour to see the National Toy and Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, right on I-35. I kid you not. (Take that, East/West Coast fan snobs. If there are any.)

See you at Emerald City—I actually MADE it!

I’m sorry to have missed the opening Friday fun, y’all. But we’ll make up for it today: please stay tuned for a surprise event tonight —follow us on @larrynemecek or come by the table for more….

And Sunday: see you at noon in our “Trekland” poll and forum “Star Trek: The State of The Franchise” featuring YOU... in Room 4C1-2.

So here's where I usually write the standard "hey, can't wait to see everybody and do all the fun panel/table event stuff" story for Seattle's Emerald City Comic-Con that started Friday. Hard to believe it will be my third time in the house, this being their 10th anniversary...

Buf I almost didn’t  MAKE it.

See, a donor to The Con of Wrath has provided  us with stand-by miles, to help with the shoot and promotion, and here I was using them for the first time—with him holding my hand during my rookie plunge. I even started out at 6 a.m. Thursday just to anticipate  for “bumps’ and delays, and still leave a time cushion. But how was he or I to know this was apparently Spring Break Secret Ski Weekend? As one airline wag at Burbank put it, “I never saw so many ski poles go through here in one day!”

Seriously, all flights everywhere across the western U.S. on this major airline suddenly became overnight oversolds, with unsuccessful  stand-by riders piling up by the hour.  Since 6 a.m Thursday.

So, 6 a.m. Friday started out camped with DP Neil and his Jana in their San Diego home,  me hoping like mad that a few shining seats to Seattle from Houston  (of all places)  could be reached from San Diego, with no one in line before me —at least,  that was the picture at  5 p.m. Thursday.  Same-day tickets at this late stage, of course, would be astronomical. 

I was actually just an hour away from having to give up the trip, missing the chance to see all our friends in Seattle and hold up the honor of Trekland among the assembled genres and franchises.

Really… I was on the verge …

I think I’m in the clear now. As I write this I am finally inbound to Seattle after 30 hours of chasing an empty seat as far away as Chicago and Dulles/DC.  By another glimmer-of-hope story, we stumbled into a smaller airline ‘s decent prices, gave up and just bought  one—and what  a down-to-earth deal out of Long Beach, of all places. Thus my new slogan: “If it’s beyond your reach… try Long Beach.”

In all my con-going days, I’ve never had one like this trip—and the ever-tighter ratcheting of   frustration was not intended. I thank our donor now and always, as I do everyone whatever   they offer to help with.

All this to say that, once again:

I’m sorry to have missed the opening  Friday fun, y’all. But we’ll make  up for it today:  please stay tuned for a surprise event tonight—follow us on @larrynemecek or come by the table.for more….

And Sunday: see you at noon in our “Trekland” poll and forum “Star Trek: The State of The Franchise” featuring YOU .... in Room 4C1-2.

And our thanks to Jim D. and the whole ECCC staff for having us back again.