Prepping for Dragon*Con 2008

Today, I head downtown to explore new worlds, seek new life and civilizations, and boldly go where, uh... I've never gone before. I'm headed to Dragon*Con, and I'm simultaneously excited and little scared.

I have no trouble getting my sci-fi geek on. After the DNC ended Wednesday night, I stayed up to watch an episode of Startgate Atlantis—you know the one where Dr. Weir dies for like the sixth time (the great thing about sci-fi is that when a character gets killed off, you can count on at least a couple more cameo appearances from their ghost or the robot built with their consciousness). I've also completed the entire video game Final Fantasy XII, and I own the extended edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

But browsing the Pocket Program, I'm not sure any of that qualifies me for the spectacle that is Dragon*Con, where the weapon policy states "Bladed weapons must be sheathed at all times" and where there are entire tracks for Dark Fantasy, Anne McCaffrey's Pern and Filking. What's Filk, you ask? According to Debbie's Filk FAQ, "Ask five filkers this question and you’re guaranteed to get fifteen answers…at least." But she prefers Gary McGath's definition, so we're going to go with that: "Filk music is a musical movement among fans of science fiction and fantasy fandom and closely related activities, emphasizing content which is related to the genre or its fans, and promoting broad participation. Filkers are people who participate in this movement." I have half a mind to go back home and get my mandolin.

Last year, we sent writer Brooke Hatfield to cover Dragon*Con for us and we published a series of her haikus in Paste. They included:

Singing Carole King
at Klingon karaoke.
I will die alone.

It would be easy to laugh at the ubür-nerdiness of some of the folks attending this weekend, especially panels titled "Emerging Infectious Horrors!" and "Beamed Aboard a UFO by a Psychic Sasquatch." But I have to remember 1) these are people that have wonderfully active imaginations and a refreshing lack of pretense. And 2) I didn't have to do any research to come up with The 10 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows, for Frak's sake. I've got no room to make fun of anyone. So it's Brooke's final haiku that will guide me as I walk among the Klingons, Stormtroopers and Vampire Slayers:

Pick one: ironic
detachment or unfettered
joy. (Joy is more fun)