California Democratic Party Convention

Standing ovation for Nancy Pelosi

I’ve been a Democrat my entire life. In fact, one of my earliest memories is of me keeping a manual tally of delegate votes during the 1960 Democratic National Convention (DNC), when John Kennedy was nominated. I was six years old and have wanted to be a party delegate ever since.

Although I haven’t served as a DNC delegate (yet!), the national political situation has become so dire that I’ve been feeling the need to do more than just voting and donating money. So I answered a call for volunteers to help-out at this year’s California Democratic state convention in San Diego. I completed the requisite volunteer application form, describing my extensive experience planning and participating in other (non-political) conventions, and was soon invited to participate. I attended the convention today, helping one of the ethnic caucuses.

Tim and I follow the political scene very closely, but we have little knowledge of how candidates are selected, etc. Turns out the state convention is extremely important as this is where endorsements—which translate into campaign funding—are generated. Support is courted through the official party caucuses that represent various political constituencies: veterans, labor, seniors, Chicanos/Latinos, women, environment, Native Americans, etc. I was hoping to help either the women’s or environmental caucus, but was ultimately overjoyed with my assignment.

The caucus chair wasn’t expecting any help and so was pleasantly surprised to have me and another first-time volunteer. He quickly asked us to assist the staff member registering attendees before they entered the relatively small (only 60 seats) meeting room. A short business meeting was held before the floor was opened to candidates, who were each given just one minute (!) to explain their platform and solicit votes. Although most of the campaigners were apparently scheduled in advance, candidates could sign-up on-site in case there was leftover time to speak.

Non-caucus members were welcome to attend, but only members could vote. Therefore, much of the activity at our desk consisted of registering and collecting dues ($25) from new members who wanted to vote. While the staff member and the other volunteer handled that task, I signed-up unscheduled candidates who wanted to speak. I then physically carried their business cards into the meeting room and handed them to the caucus chair, who added their names to the agenda until there was no more time.

 John Chiang (in glasses), running for governor

The caucus meeting was almost two hours long, so we had lots of time to watch the state’s political world pass by. All four Democratic candidates for governor—Gavin Newsome, John Chiang, Delaine Eastin, and L.A.’s own Antonio Villaraigosa—walked by us several times. Most of them were with just one or two companions, but Chiang surrounded himself with a large retinue of folks carrying signs. At one point, both Villaraigosa and Chiang entered our tiny caucus room, causing a big flurry as their followers tried to get inside, too. A convention organizer happened to walk by, just then, and was amazed at the overflow of people spilling out into the hallway. “We’ll have to assign you a bigger room next year!” she said excitedly. We nodded knowingly.

 Antonio Villaraigosa (right), facing right, with supporters holding signs

By the way, I asked the caucus staffer if the proceedings automatically stopped for big-name candidates and she said no—they would not be allowed to speak unless they had signed up in advance. We were outside the room and so couldn't see if they actually spoke or not. We did hear later, however, that the women’s caucus went crazy when congressmember Nancy Pelosi (who we had seen rush by earlier) unexpectedly entered the room. Big-name candidates do get noticed even if they don’t speak.

Other impressive candidates who caught our eye were state senator Ricardo Lara, who had a HUGE crowd following him and chanting (“Lara! Lara!”), and Katie Hill, congressional candidate from Santa Clarita/Palmdale, whose camera crew seemed to film every little thing she did. Everyone who walked by either wore a t-shirt or carried a sign promoting one candidate or other. Quite a show!

After my shift ended, I joined everyone else downstairs for the general session in Hall F. Speakers included Lupe Valdez, the first openly gay Latina running for Texas governor, L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti, and Pelosi. They were all received warmly with Pelosi getting a standing ovation. After a while, I decided to grab a quick snack at Starbuck’s and was shocked to hear jeers when I returned 20 minutes later. I did not recognize the speaker, but apparently not all Democratic candidates are created equal! He was followed by Ricardo Lara, whose supporters screamed and waved signs. For a moment there I thought I was at a national convention, watching delegates cheer for their favorite presidential nominee. So much excitement!

 Pelosi signs on every chair in the general session

There were far more candidates to see and hear, but I left the convention early so Tim and I could start heading home. Such a fascinating—and exhilarating—experience. I might just have to do it again next year . . .

Taste of Liberty Station

Tim at Liberty Station, former Naval Training Center in San Diego

One of the best things about retirement is being able to up-and-go whenever and wherever you want. This week, for instance, was wide open, so we decided to take a quick trip down to San Diego. Researching things to do, Tim discovered a big "taste of" event at the new public park, Liberty Station, on Wednesday evening. He quickly bought tickets while I investigated hotel and Amtrak options.

On the southbound train

I've been reading about Liberty Station ever since it opened last year. The site of the former Navel Training Center (NTC), the land and its historic 1920s buildings were purchased by the city of San Diego and developed into a public space surrounded by galleries, trendy restaurants and a small, but hip, enclosed marketplace. Even more importantly, however, the now Liberty Station/former NTC is where Tim underwent boot-camp when he was a young sailor in 1968. Lots of changes over the past 50 years!

Naval Training Center sign

 

Former North Chapel now houses Five Guys, Panera and other 
franchise businesses

We decided to spend the night in Old Town San Diego, a short bus ride (#28) to Liberty Station. The event started at 5PM.

Although the environs are not as glorious, Liberty Station reminded us of San Francisco's Presidio, another former military base that has been "re-purposed." Arriving at Liberty Station, we were given a map and list of the 22 restaurants providing "tastes" of their menu items. These included Dirty Birds, which offered chicken wings "done 2 ways," THE LOT (an assortment of flatbreads), Fireside by the Patio (crispy pork belly), and Officine Buona Forchetta (cannoli). The best, though, was Liberty Public Market, the former NTC commissary that now houses several high-end eateries. We were again reminded of San Francisco: a similar but much smaller version of the recently renovated Embarcadero and its fabulous food shoppes and restaurants. Our favorite Liberty market samples: Roast Meat & Sandwich Shop (pork loin and lemon kokuho rice) and Le Parfait Paris (fruit-filled cream puffs). I don't eat meatballs, so the chef at Pasta Design whipped up a plate of focaccia bread and marinara sauce just for me. Very tasty!

Crafted Baked Goods (mini-moonpies)

Cool neon signs

Pasta Design

Le Parfait Paris

We spent two hours sampling food, walking around, reminiscing (Tim), and meeting new people. It was a wonderful evening and one I'm hoping we'll be able to repeat again next year. Highly, highly recommended.

Bubbly!

Hillary in La Jolla

The media, waiting for Hillary in La Jolla

 

About three weeks ago, I got an email from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign,  saying she was going to be in Southern California for two fundraising events: an expensive one in Brentwood, on Thursday, and a more affordable morning “conversation” in La Jolla the day after. I decided to join her in La Jolla on Friday.

The event was at the home of Joan and Irwin Jacobs, well-known San Diego philanthropists. Doors opened at 9AM, so I left the house at 6AM. Despite Tim's fears that I was leaving too late, I made it to La Jolla in two hours. I knew I had arrived at the right place as soon as I saw the media trucks and protesters already there. I was way early, so skipped the free valet and parked in the neighborhood.

A friend, who had attended political events at the Jacobs’ home before, warned that Hillary’s people might confiscate my camera, so I walked over to the house to checkout the situation. I was told I could take still photos, but no movies. They then advised me to return at 9AM.

I was walking back to my car, when one the newscasters swooped over and asked if she could interview me. I was the only person on the street.

“Sure” I said, and suddenly three cameras and microphones were in my face.

They asked what I hoped to ask Mrs. Clinton. “I’m less interested in asking her anything than I am in hearing what she has to say,” I replied.

Was there anything in particular I wanted her to address? “Education,” I said, internally rolling my eyes, since even I knew that’s not a very sexy or presidential topic.

Had I met Hillary before? "No, but I met her husband when he was touring with his book, several years ago."

What should she do as president? “Carry on the good work of our current president and keep us out of war in the Middle East.”

Why am I supporting Hillary Clinton? “She’s a Clinton, a woman, and she’s already seen the world from inside the White House,” I enthused. “I think she’s wonderful!”

They then took my name and moved on to other folks, who were by now filling the street. Even though it was still well before 9AM, I decided to head back to the house, where others were starting to enter.

I’ve been to many political events and so was not surprised to be greeted by secret service agents, dressed in black suits and wearing visible earpieces. But these men were far nicer than usual. I was politely asked to open my purse and hold my arms straight out to the side. After being quickly scanned by a portable metal detector, I was directed to a table, where I gave my name and then asked to enter through a door to the right. I noticed a table with nametags, which I glanced at, but quickly realized those were the people who had given the maximum donation to meet Hillary. They were entering a door to the left.

The rest of us, who were nametag-less, were pointed toward a large open room, roughly the size of our house. On one end was a small stage; on the other, two medium-sized tables covered in gorgeous pastries, individual quiches (not from Costco!), lovely fruit bowls, and salad. Since I was one of only three people in the room, I asked one of the servers, who were walking around with trays of orange juice and mimosas, if I could help myself to the food. “Please do,” she said, as I filled my plate with quiche and a savory scone.

Huge paintings filled the walls. Later, I noticed a large Chihuly glasswork in the backyard, near a Deborah Butterfield horse sculpture that was very similar to one I love at UCLA. I was reluctant to snap photos until I saw others doing so. Obviously, we were all in awe. I felt like I was  in a private art museum.

En route to the bathroom: beautiful art on the walls

People were friendly and introduced themselves before moving on to acquaintances or the food table. One man was biding his time, while his wife mingled with Hillary on the other side of the house. We could see the nametag donors through tall windows, across the pool courtyard, but couldn’t see Hillary. Then, after about an hour-and-a-half, people started making their way from the other side to our room, where we all waited for Hillary. She finally appeared at 11AM and spoke for 30 minutes.

Me, with nametag people in the background, behind the pool

Hillary was warm and personable and talked about everything, including—yes!—education, which she addressed first, probably because the room was filled with liberal professors from UC San Diego. Though she mentioned “women” only once (when she alluded to a woman’s right to choose), she very much represented a female perspective, speaking several times about her 10-month-old granddaughter Charlotte and how she now sees the world differently because of her. At one point she castigated Republican candidates, who make light of climate change by saying they’re “not scientists.” “Well, I’m not a scientist either,” she insisted. “But I have two eyes and a brain and a granddaughter and I want her to live in a better world." She definitely had us all at hello!

Hillary: blurry photo, but nonetheless inspiring!

P.S. Watching the news coverage online, this morning, I was surprised to see myself being interviewed on channel 10.  Amazingly, I got the last word!

 That's me at the end of the video!

Comic-Con 2010

Yes , it has gotten ridiculously crowded and many of the programs no longer focus on science fiction or fantasy, let alone comicbooks. Still I continue to be drawn to Comic-Con like a junkie to her fix. I adore being in a room full of people who love the same TV shows and movies I do. Plus I thrive on the spontaneity of not knowing exactly what's going to happen next at the Con. It would break my heart not to go to Comic-Con only to find out later I had missed a once-in-lifetime sighting of my favorite TV star or film director.

So here are the highlights of this year's Comic-Con, which we attended Thursday and Friday:

Flashmob: The Hoff

Not able to get into the much coveted Hall H, where most of the big-name movie stars (e.g., Angelina Jolie; Will Ferrell) were hawking their upcoming films, we decided to walk into the Gaslamp district for lunch. I was grumping about having missed the Tron panel, when Tim yelled, “Look!,” pointing to a double-decker bus, blasting loud music. “It's David Hasselhoff!”

Sure enough, there was David Hasselhoff (star of Knight Rider and Baywatch) dancing atop an open-air bus, surrounded by scantily-clad women, and lip-syncing to one of his songs. Now we’re not Hasselhoff fans at all (who even knew he could sing?); but seeing him stop traffic with his crazy performance was so unexpected that we joined about a hundred others as they followed him down the street, whooping and hollering. Before we knew it, the Hoff, as he’s affectionately called by his fans, was dancing on the sidewalk while the crowd went wild.

“Only at Comic-Con!” I yelled to Tim, as he madly snapped photos. It was my very first flashmob! (Click here to watch one of several YouTube videos of the scene.) My mood perked-up considerably!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Among the most formidable fans on the planet are those who follow Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind the popular Buffy the Vampire-Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse TV shows. Whedon also writes best-selling comicbooks, featuring characters from his shows, and wrote and produced Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a 45-minute musical that premiered on the Internet two years ago. I own the DVD and the Dr. Horrible soundtrack, which I love.

With nothing else to do Thursday night, we made our way back to the convention center, where we joined about 400 other Dr. Horrible fans to watch the DVD and sing along with the film. Lyrics and an abbreviated script were distributed, directing everyone when to yell things (e.g., callbacks, such as, “Damn Big Hero!” or “How evil is it?”) at the screen. (It makes a lot more sense if you know Dr. Horrible!) Whole families were there, singing and having fun—it was an absolute riot. Even Tim got into the act, yelling and singing along. His favorite song: “A Man’s Gotta Do [What a Man’s Gotta Do].” (Again, it makes a lot more sense if you know Dr. Horrible!)

Ballroom 20


Determined to see the panels of at least some of my favorite shows, I arrived at the convention center at 7:30AM on Friday. Lines were already forming for Hall H and the smaller Ballroom 20. I queued up for Ballroom 20, since that’s where the cast of The Big Bang Theory, one of our favorite sitcoms, was scheduled to appear at 12:30PM. Tim joined me around 8:30AM.

An interesting assortment of fans (approximately 3000) got up early to wait on line with us. Standing next to me was a woman from Canada, who was there to see the stars of True Blood, the HBO vampire series that was being featured at 5PM. Others were waiting to see celebrity panels from Stargate Universe, Caprica, Bones, and, of course, Big Bang Theory. You can usually tell fans’ allegiance by their costume or choice of t-shirt, though we ourselves tend to wear nondescript Disney and sports-related [Tim] clothing.

We entered the ballroom at 9:30AM and sat next to a woman in full-blown military gear from Stargate Universe. Most of the people around us were there for the duration and so had packed enough food for the entire day. We brought pastries and apples.

First up was Stargate, which I’ve never seen, and then Caprica, which is one my fave SyFy Channel shows. Tim read the newspaper while I cheered and made note of upcoming plot developments. But, really, the both of us were just marking time till the cast of The Big Bang Theory arrived.

At 12:15PM someone brought musical instruments on stage to do a sound check. Hmmm, very suspicious—were the actors going to treat us to a musical number? Then sheets with lyrics to the Big Bang theme song appeared. Obviously we were going to participate in another sing-along! But instead of the actors, out walked Barenaked Ladies, who proceeded to perform the show’s theme song! Now I don’t know Barenaked Ladies (BNL) from a hole in the ground, but I do know they’re a world-famous alt-rock band, so I started screaming along with everyone else. It was one of the most exciting surprises we’d ever experienced at a Con, as you can see for yourself here.

Buoyed by the appearance of BNL and a terrific Big Bang panel, I asked Tim if we could stay for the 3PM Q&A session with Joss Whedon, creator of Dr. Horrible, etc. (see above). He said yes, though we were both pretty hungry by then (pastries and apples don’t go very far!). We read magazines through the Bones panel and then, finally, Joss came out to roaring applause. (I think it was Entertainment Weekly that called him one of the current “gods” of pop geekdom.) He announced several projects he’s working on and then took questions from the audience. After almost an hour, a strange-looking man in a hat and obviously fake mustache approached the mic and asked Joss which actor he enjoyed working with the most.

“What a weird question,” I thought to myself, when Tim whispered excitedly, “That’s Captain Hammer!!,” referring to Dr. Horrible’s arch-nemesis.

“Huh?” I said, scratching my head.

Joss then coyly responded that his favorite actor was Nathan Fillion. Before we knew it, the man at the mic began removing his hat and fake mustache, revealing that he was indeed Nathan Fillion, the actor who plays Captain Hammer. (Good eye, Tim!) If screams could be harnessed, San Diego would have had enough energy to light Pet Co stadium for a week! Quite the thrill.

Star Trek

I noticed that episodes of the classic Star Trek series were being screened at the Marriott, so we ended our day adventuring through the “final frontier.” The hotel ballroom reminded me of the old Star Trek conventions Karen and I used to attend in the late 1970s when a big part of the festivities involved watching 35mm episodes of the show. This was in the dark ages before VHS, so getting to watch Trek back then was a very big deal. Not so much today, of course, when Star Trek reruns play every day on TV—not to mention the countless repackaged DVD collections, many of which I own—still it was fun reliving my youth with like-minded fans.

The audience at the Marriott was small but hardcore. We watched “Arena,” first—the episode where Kirk fights the cheesy-looking lizard creature called the Gorn. We affectionately laughed at the sillier moments and yelled out warnings to characters about to be killed. Even Tim, who had never watched Star Trek till he met me, got into the spirit and yelled at the screen. It was cathartic and fun, even though a normal person would have thought we were insane! We left after two episodes.

Tim’s reward for being such a good sport: free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream samples outside the convention center. Here he is with Cherry Garcia.










P.S.

We hopped the train back to L.A. at noon on Saturday. As crazy as it was on Thursday and Friday, the Con is always much worse on the weekend, so we fled. Nevertheless, I was sad to go, because I really, really love Comic-Con.
Where else can I feel so completely removed from the real world?

There’s talk of moving Comic-Con to Los Angeles (hooray!) after the San Diego contract ends in 2012. We’ll see. Until then, I’ll be schlepping down to San Diego come July.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Comic-Con 2009

Despite reserving my hotel room a year ago and buying my four-day pass back in February, it looked like I was going to miss last weekend’s Comic-Con due to work and family obligations. But just as the sky is always darkest before dawn, late Friday I decided I couldn’t stand it and, like a junky, declared I had to go to Comic-Con! Though Tim didn’t have a ticket, he came along, too, lured by the promise of eating only at restaurants sanctioned by Guy Fieri. We were on the road south by 7:00 the next morning.

Our first stop was El Indio, one of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ best San Diego eateries and our personal favorite Mexican restaurant. I had a plate full of taquitos for breakfast—YUM!

Tim then dropped me off at the convention center. The Con was strangely quiet at 9:30AM. In fact, for a moment I actually forgot it was sold-out (125,000 tickets!) and thought the recession had finally conquered geekdom. But reality set in as soon as I ran into a nest of Predators and the fun began. I wasn’t in the mood to stand on long lines to see panels about True Blood or Lost, so focused my energies on the massive exhibit hall instead. The big themes this year: TV remakes (new versions of The Prisoner and the cheesy 1980s series V), sequels (Iron Man, Twilight), 3-D (Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, Tron), and anything having to do with vampires.

I had missed Johnny Depp, who made a surprise appearance on Thursday (boo hoo!), so was on the lookout for whatever celebrities I could see. Nichelle Nichols, Uhura of the original Star Trek, was there (as usual), selling autographs for $20; but this was not nearly as scandalous as Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker), who was selling his signature for $100 (the nerve of some former science fiction icons!). I also saw Edward James Olmos and James Callis from my beloved Battlestar Galactica, plus the entire cast of the TV show Chuck (the boys were all sporting summer beards).

I was bopping around quite satisfied with myself, when suddenly everything ground to a halt. It was a complete human gridlock. I was grumbling, until someone announced that Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man 1 & 2, was standing atop the two-story G4 (TV’s gaming channel) booth! Everybody burst into spontaneous cheering. I called Karen.

“Quick, turn on G4!” I yelled. “I’m in the background screaming and waving at Jon Favreau!”

“Where are you?” she answered, not knowing I had decided to go to Comic-Con after all. Not surprisingly, she couldn’t see me through the hordes.

As always, the attendees’ costumes were a highlight of the day. My favorites: (1) an amazing yellow Bumblebee from the Transformers movies and (2) Darth Vader in a smoking jacket, which made me laugh out loud. Women seemed to be more voluptuous than ever—some wearing hardly anything at all—while fans of all ages continued to dress like the Joker, in all his incarnations, Batman, Klingons, and various Star Wars characters.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Tim had gone to the movies. We reconnected after 2PM and headed over to our hotel. As promised, we ate dinner at Luigi’s, a small pizza joint that Guy Fieri loves. To say we were disappointed would be a huge understatement, especially since we’ve had much better pizza at our own LaRocco’s in downtown Culver City. In keeping with the theme of the weekend, we then went to see the latest Harry Potter film at Horton Plaza. Back at the hotel, we could see fireworks exploding above Sea World. It was a perfect evening.

I was tempted to return to the Con Sunday morning, but had breakfast with Tim instead at the Studio Diner, yet another of Guy Fieri’s recommendations. Located next to San Diego’s only fully functioning film studio, the restaurant is decorated in kitsch movie memorabilia; but again, the food was nothing spectacular. Could Guy actually be losing his touch?

We hopped in the car and headed back to L.A., but not before stopping once more at El Indio for some last minute taquitos. YUM!

Comic Con 2008 (Day 1)

It’s July, so that means it’s time, once again, to schlep to San Diego for Comic Con, the largest pop culture convention in the U.S, if not the world! I was so bummed that we spent only one day at the con last year, I made hotel reservations way back in August so we could be there as long as possible this year.

Thursday/Day 1: We had tickets for the 11AM train, so I got up at 6AM to pack and get ready. As I’ve written before on this blog, what you wear to Comic Con is very important. Tim and I don’t do costumes, but we do wear carefully selected t-shirts that indicate our allegiance to certain TV shows and movies. This year I wanted to honor “Dark Knight” by donning the Batman t-shirt I bought in 1989 when the first movie came out. But after hunting for it for almost 20 minutes, I had a fit and declared a moratorium on all movie/TV t-shirts.

“That’s it!” I announced. “I have far too many t-shirts! I don’t care how good they look or how free they are, I refuse to bring home any more t-shirts!”

I could almost hear Tim thinking, “Yeah, right. We’ll see . . .”

We arrived at the train station an hour early and knew we were in the right place when a young man approached us wearing a shirt labeled NERD. Tim then elbowed me as Jim Parsons (Sheldon on the TV show “Big Bang Theory”) walked by. We were on our way.

Oddly enough, everyone on the train was going to either Comic Con or the Del Mar racetrack. Our heads almost swiveled from eavesdropping on so many interesting conversations. We learned not only which programs to attend at the con, but also which horses to bet on at the track! It was a lively trip.

After checking in at the hotel, we ran down to the convention center, where we had an hour to kill before our first panel. Mustering our strength, we dove headlong into the always crazy exhibit hall. Even on Thursday it was ridiculously crowded. At one point I thought I saw Avery Brooks (the captain on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) walking alongside Patrick Stewart (my all-time favorite starship captain). I held my breath.

“Damn, you guys look good!” an exhibitor yelled, as everyone stopped to snap a photo.

Turns out the “captains” were just two fanboys in costume.

At 3:30PM, we went upstairs to stand on the first of many lines that weekend. The panel was on the new HBO vampire series “True Blood,” premiering September 7. Oscar-winner Anna Paquin, who plays a waitress who falls in love with a vampire, was there, as were several of her costars. We were handed red tickets to exchange for “True Blood” swag while we watched clips from the show. We then sat through a panel on “Dexter,” the Showtime series about a likable killer, played by Michael C. Hall. I was already in ecstasy!

Worried that it was getting too late to collect our swag, I motioned to Tim to hurry as we exited the room. We raced past the autograph tables and several former celebrities waiting to greet their fans. We then entered the “Fulfillment Center” and showed our tickets.

“Red tickets over there,” a bored staff member said, pointing to the right.

We were each handed a backpack containing a “True Blood” comic book, the paperback novel “Dead Until Dark”, on which the show is based, and, of course, a t-shirt. Tim got a white shirt that said “FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS DRINK FRIENDS.” Mine was red and admonished that “REAL BLOOD IS FOR SUCKERS.”

“I LOVE THEM BOTH!” I squealed, completely forgetting all about my t-shirt moratorium.

Comic-Con 2007

Comic-Con hit San Diego again with a big "BANG! POW!" last weekend. What started 38 years ago as a rather casual annual gathering of local comicbook collectors has turned into a mega-million-dollar extravaganza that attracts some 130,000 fans and media hounds from around the world. According to the LA Times, Comic-Con has become a “pop-culture” phenomenon.

Since getting into the con on Saturday was such a nightmare last year, Tim and I decided to go on Friday instead. Activities began at 10:30AM, so we reserved seats on the 7:20AM train heading south. We arrived at L.A.’s magnificent Union Station at 6:40AM.

“What do you think the geek factor will be on the train?” Tim asked before we even got to the station.

“HUGE!” I replied.

And sure enough, the train was overrun with young fan-boys and -girls wearing dark t-shirts sporting the logos of various rock bands and science fiction movies. Clothes—and, of course, costumes!—are a big part of the Comic-Con experience.

The train arrived in downtown San Diego at 10:10AM. From there, it’s a 15-minute walk to the Convention Center—just enough time to make the first big panel presentation of the day at 10:30AM. Warner Bros. studio was sneak-previewing its upcoming movies, including “Get Smart,” the remake of one my favorite 1960s TV shows. Although the movie’s main star, Steve Carell (who plays secret agent Maxwell Smart), wasn’t listed in the program, Tim and I were betting he would indeed show-up since Comic-Con has become the biggest movie-hype fest on the west coast. We raced off the train.

Thank goodness for advance online registration because we were able to run right in and get our convention badges. The line outside the Warner Bros. event, however, was daunting. Even though the auditorium (the infamous “Hall H”) holds 6,500 people, the room was already at capacity, so we gave up and headed over to the exhibits. Boy, was I grumpy the next morning when I read that not only did we miss Carell, but The Rock (who plays super Agent 23) was also there.

The exhibits were a rush, as usual. Some of the creative geniuses behind the sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” including actresses Sean Young and Joanna Cassidy, were there signing posters for the 25th anniversary DVD of the movie. At the Disney exhibit, we stood on line to see an enclosed display of costumes and photographs from the most recent installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

The most impressive exhibit, though, had to be LucasFilms, which showed clips of the various “Star Wars” movies on three screens that could be seen from just about anywhere in the hall. At one point, everyone in the immediate vicinity looked upward as Luke Skywalker proceeded to use The Force to destroy the impenetrable Death Star. As a group, we’d probably all watched that scene over a thousand times total—still, there’s nothing quite like seeing “Star Wars” again on a big screen.

LucasFilms also provided a mini-exhibit of “Vader Project” artworks from the “Star Wars” convention back in May. Our favorites were “Carmen Mirandarth,” made up to look like Carmen Miranda, and political satirist Robbie Conal’s tribute to the Dark Lord (Dick Cheney) and his minion (George W. Bush).

After walking around and gawking at exhibits for about three hours, I insisted on sitting down. So we made our way back to Hall H, where clips from the upcoming movie “Shoot ‘Em Up,” starring Clive Owen, were about to be shown. Now I’ve loved Clive Owen since he played the title character in Disney’s movie “King Arthur,” so I was absolutely thrilled when he and director Michael Davis came out to talk about their new movie and answer questions. Owen, who usually plays a rather stoic leading man, was funny and very cute. The audience—all 6,500 of us!—adored him and the film.

On that high note, Tim and I left the con and headed into San Diego’s Gaslamp district to get something to eat. The geek factor was huge there, too, but we didn’t care because we were officially geeks now ourselves. After gobbling down a couple of tasty pizzas, we made our way over to the train station, where we boarded the Amtrak back to reality. Only 360 days left till next year’s Comic-Con . . .

7/30/07