questionable photo op
Yesterday Dexter and I made it to a morning of Wondercon at the Moscone Center. Dexter went with his friends GC, Jake, Calvin and GC's mom, Tina who had as much fun as anyone.
It spoke to her inner geekdom. Before it gets too crowded later in the day the event is enjoyable as spectacle and for the crazy excess of stuff. Some people wander in costumes, ranging from obscure and clever to super heroes that seem very un-super hero fit, if you can imagine.(see the photo of the Flash, age 60)
I enjoy walking through the movie and tv tables of veteran actors that had busier days, and now just enjoy meeting with their fans, or see this as the best opportunity to make a living. Hey, there's the guy that played the lizard Gorn in the original Star Trek, there's veteran actor Malachi Throne, look! still muscular Lou Ferrigno (the Incredible Hulk) surrounded with his boxes of photos and posters and is kind of a quiet guy. Someone from Little House On The Prairie (Nellie?) wanted to talk to me about the John Waters movie, Eraserhead. I think she was tired of all the people walking by her table. She was in the movie. My head was a tiny dot once in an episode of the Streets of San Francisco. What was more exciting was waiting outside Marcia of the Brady Bunch's trailer. I'm rewriting this one and it's beginning to have some eerie stalker tendencies. (D&O, not really!)
Then there are all the artists and writers of the profession selling anything they can- plus the larger amounts of dealers and collectors. Side rooms of panels and television and movie pitches for upcoming features, Christian Slater pushing his new tv show speaking about how cool it was to meet Lou Ferrigno. I did find items for Oliver's birthday and some comics for the boys. I purchased two card sets of shows for myself (hey, only $5 each) and a Lord of the Rings card set for my sister.
The best story for me is that I saw my brother and he mentioned that he might go see Jane Wiedlin, former band member of the Go-Go's, star of a season of the Surreal Life, and now featured in her own comic, Lady Robitika. He used to joke about my fondness for the Go-Go's years ago so I proposed that we go to visit Wiedlin together. Brother excused himself to find something so I wandered over to her table, where she sat with her friend and producer of the comic, Bill Morrison (Simpsons/Futrama) only to find my brother already there. He hands me his new 3D camera -first time I've gotten to hold it and asks me to take a photo of him and Wiedlin, neglecting to ask Wiedlin first. Brother walks behind the table so I ask very quick. She's a good sport/ I'm thinking about the stalker she had years ago/ Morrison finds the awkwardness funny/ a picture is taken/ my brother pulls out an old cassette that Wiedlin says (it's the biz!) that she can only sign for $20. So all along brother's been a Go-Go's fan (at least a Wiedlin fan). If I known this, we might have gone to a show together...
Speaking of shows, many years ago '81? '82? I was visiting my friend John Grant who was going to school in Berkeley. The Go-Go's were headlining at the Greek Theatre (w/the Blasters) and because the cost of the show was too much for us, we had an idea that if we went up into the hills and through the bushes we could find a way in. A bunch of other people had the same idea and we were soon followed by a crowd of about 15 people, who were loud, clumsy, drunk. If we didn't lose them, we certainly would be caught. Fortunately we set a pace that only one other person could follow, a young woman, dressed in her best Go-Go's attire. Soon we had left the pack behind.. We continued on for some time and distance. John found a spot that was not in spotlight but relative darkness; a blind spot. From a thick patch of bushes was a short clearing where we could hop the fence and sneak in. It was a perfect plan.
John went first. Up and in. Easy. We were almost there. But she had to pee. Right then. Couldn't hold it. This was suddenly like a scene from the Great Escape (although we were attempting to escape in) where just when it was within our grasp...but I admired how far she was able to go, an outsider. I couldn't leave her. How could a 1o second delay hurt anyway? John, puzzled by our absence was calling on the other side of the fence, "c'mon. hurry." And in those 10 seconds, security either heard or saw him. We were busted. At least we didn't sneak up behind the Go-Go's.
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