I-CON 31

Now a little off topic from the whole music theme I have going here (and a little less formal)..
Since the New York Comic Con/Anime Festival is coming up, I thought I should take the time to discuss a similar type of event that I went to. Back in the spring, April 1st, I went to my first convention I-CON31 located at Stony Brook University. For those who are unaware, I-CON is a sci-fi/fantasy convention that takes place every year.

For me my two main reasons for going was that I had never been to any sort of convention before, and that Paul McGann who played the Eighth Doctor was going to be there. Since this was really last minute deciding to go, I didn't really get to prepare a cosplay. So I just did a quick Dib (from Invader Zim) cosplay with stuff I had lying around, since I already owned a shirt like the one he wears in the show and the rest is just all black. Anyway, like you would expect at a convention there were tons of people all in fantastic cosplays.

The whole convention was all across the campus of Stony Brook University. The main focus of all the panels was really science fiction related, but also a lot for anime. As from what I understand to be standard for cons, there was a whole floor dedicated to venders/dealers selling various merchandise. For any fandom, it is like a candy shop of almost anything and everything you can think of. There were even some tables, not relating to any fandom or series, that were just selling their work (some of which was of obvious fantasy as well as medieval/renaissance influence).

During the day there was a Doctor Who mega-panel, and the end of the panel I actually got to meet Paul McGann (which as you can see from the photo above I was completely thrilled about). I've loved Doctor Who since I was in middle school, and watched all of the Eighth Doctor through the present, with some old series episodes here and there. So I was just so psyched about this whole thing, and still can't believe I got to meet one of the Doctor's!

Earlier I had gotten to meet him when he was doing autographs, were I got a photo from the 1996 TV movie signed. But here he was  just so friendly to all the fans, taking pictures with people, and even suggested for everyone to come together for a group picture (that is below). I didn't get to meet many people, but with really only meeting one of the guests I am just glad it was him. So also, if you haven't watched the 1996 movie, you are missing out (as I am still with the audio drama's, but that shall be fixed at some point).

The Doctor Who mega-panel consisted Paul McGann (obviously), Daphne Ashbrook, Frazer Hines, and Colin Spaull. This was where they just talked about their involvement with Doctor Who, as well as answering some questions from fans, which was hosted by Ken Deep. It lasted for

Now here we have what was really completely wonderful, of Paul McGann reading the speech that the First Doctor originally said in the episode "The Dalek Invasion of Earth". This is just so touching and fantastic, seriously watch it now.

Aside from meeting the Eighth Doctor and going to view the Doctor Who mega-panel, I also attended what was about the last 30 min of “Doctor Who Lives On”, part of a discussion on The Lord of the Rings, as well as a bunch of time checking out the dealers floor. There was also a bit of time walking around the campus to the different buildings where things were being held, which takes time but also allowed me to see more of peoples costumes and what was occurring outside. Even though I only went to one day, and not even a full day at that due to it being last minute, I am eagerly awaiting the upcoming I-CON 32.