Last week Dexter and I went to the Star Trek convention that is in Las Vegas. We went two years ago, didn't go last year and while we thought this would be our finale, next year is the 50th anniversary of Trek so it's a good chance that we will return. Plus it's kind of fun.
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| adapted ceiling main entry hall |
Held in the Rio Suites Hotel (where Penn and Teller reside, but they are off on Broadway this summer), the hotel is not a large casino but offers big spaces for conventions, and this event requires a fairly large space. The Rio also would win the "worst outfits casino girls have to wear" contest. Creation Entertainment seems to have scaled back the number of Star Trek conventions this year (none in SF for example) but certainly not reducing in scope the ones they are hosting. The Vegas one is big, the biggest and here's the guest list (huge, cool)...http://www.creationent.com/cal/st_lasvegas_guests.html
Certainly one of the largest factors that appealed to us would be the tributes to Leonard Nimoy that would be part of the program, and his humanitarian efforts, decency, stature, support and fairness were often mentioned. We knew that Dexter's primary teacher, Paul would also be at the convention and it was fun spending time with him. One night he bet $40 at a Roulette table, doubled the bet which paid for a solid off site dinner. I enjoyed our meal at the Gold Coast on Sunday the most and I think Paul was happy to have his much desired shrimp cocktail. Fremont Street was noisy, loud and busy. Dexter, do you remember the story of Paul wanting to take a photo for Carlos?
Another pull for us was the appearance of Patrick Stewart, who is probably the best looking 75 year old man alive. He handled crazy fan questions with grace and humor and spoke eloquently and seriousness about domestic violence and the group he has long supported in England, Refuge http://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/nov/27/patrick-stewart-domestic-violence
It's an issue he has spoken about before, and will again. When you have an audience of 4-5,000 there for fandom, they will listen. And for some, there will be a connection. Stewart is also pushing a Seth McFarlane show that he will starring in, which will certainly turn his image upside down. In its crude way, it looks fun.
George Takei is for us always someone we want to have at a Star Trek convention especially in how he's connected to the fans, and his use of social media. He's going to have a play- a legacy project open on Broadway this October, Allegiance.
This man insisted on being photographed with us. After that, he let me go.
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| this year, more props, fan sets and free photo ops. This life sized scale was pretty cool |
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| Dexter and Paul asked Brent Spiner (Data) to do the SOTA school Tech Mob sign. He complied. |
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| we liked the technology of the open air urinals. Fancy! |
Saturday night the Las Vegas Pops Symphony orchestra (some 40+ pieces) played music from the TV shows, and movies. James Darren, in fine voice. came out and sang three classic standards that his character sang from Deep Space Nine. That too, was a really enjoyable event.
an auction for Star Trek items, and this was a scale model (about table top size) of the Deep Space Nine station.
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| audience for Shatner- full house. a very large crowd |
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| nice pillar for the Deforrest Kelley room. |
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| Shatner with Joan Collins. Shatner tends to have this type of face likely making the people who spent the big bucks for this moment wince. He makes big bucks here! "Science is crazy, wonderful. Science Fiction is where we attempt to make sense of it. Here we are together as part of a fabric, a community, as part of an ongoing creation of a mythology called Star Trek" (words more or less, Shatner's) |
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| Paul and Dexter decide the virtues of time travel |
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| From the deck of the USS Mandalay Bay, or where we met our old friend Dennis. Dennis gave me his brother's Willie Mays baseball card- I remember when John had it decades ago. It was great seeing Dennis and he is getting older. I think he's older than me now. I mean to write that we are all getting older, and really it's just good to be here. Glad that there's still room for us on deck. We also went to memorabilia shop that had some very cool autographed materials. How anyone authenticates Civil War autographs (I was there!) is beyond me. Dennis also has the beard bit going too. Maybe it's a 30th Avenue thing. I thought I would impersonate Dexter in the next two photos and Dennis could impersonate me. I think I did a much better job than Dennis did. Although small, the Mandalay Bay aquarium is impressive, in its overall layout. Other than a too small tank for a white crocodile, the habitats for the fish and sharks are well thought out and attractive. |
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| this is actually Dennis and me, not Dexter, flexing |
I found this an interesting if perplexing situation. This open access tank now is the home to some good sized piranhas. Piranhas are relatively docile, only dangerous when excited by blood or if food sources are low. However in this tank they have been fed directly from the top of the tank, and now are the type of fish that respond to their reputations; that is, anything that could be bounced on the surface of the water is now perceived by these toothy fish to be food. The aquarium has one short rail and one worker between people and the water. I'm not liking that the worker is kept in the little space between the rail and tank; in a full shift over days, weeks, your hand just might slip or dangle. I'll keep reading those little sidebar new headlines.
Dexter and I didn't do much else in Vegas. Nights were hanging out Paul (dinner Fri-Sun, going out to see the most recent Terminator movie), then Dext and I in the hotel room watching TV. Betting was limited to contributing to Paul's roulette game, one shot at a $1 slot, and before we left, another $50 bet on the Giants it worked in 2012!). Before we headed to the airport to return the rental car, we spent a few hours at the Mob Museum, which offers a fairly extensive history of the mob in the US and in Vegas.
It was good to see old friends, share a few new experiences, be in the good community of Trek fans- yes, sometimes odd but kind and silly fans. You walk within crowds of painted colored people, Borg and Klingons, and Starfleet unis of every kind, sometimes bumping into actors and production folks, and no, we didn't dress up. As the old man said, Live Long and Prosper.
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| from the Mob Museum |
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| nugget pool and slide, from room view |
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| that's me going down the slide (if you sit up, you'll go down slower) |
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| a nice fundraising site by the cast. here's a fun link: Maybe I'm Omazed  |
Hi Sir,
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