The Soapbox Archives:
It's up to the guys to make sure they don't hit the follower's head when leading a turn. Mario Robau once told us in a class (about 20 years ago) that you're doing it right if you don't mess up her hair but she runs to the bathroom to check anyways.
On Saturday, I told a woman who was 5'10" that I'm not used to dancing with tall women. She said I didn't touch her hair once so I must be doing something right.
To the guy who broke one woman's barrette (hair clip): you're doing it wrong.
However it was pretty clear who the winner was going to be.
The difference in audience applause was amazing, but not surprising. This guy from Vermont had people asking to pose with him until the very end of the convention. It was funny to see him in line to get George Takei's autograph.
When René Auberjonois asked me what my name was and I told him "Benson", you could see his hesitation. I said, "You should be familiar with that name". :-) Rene is a big supporter of Doctors Without Borders. He offered to draw a personalized picture of "Odo's Bucket" for a $20 donation to that organization, a great deal even if weren't for the cause (his autograph alone was $25). He was a really nice guy and was willing to hold up the line in order to explain to each donor what the organization did.
This was a "Next Generation" reunion as most of the cast was around. Denise Crosby said that the show gave her better roles *after* they killed off her character. In case you weren't\ paying attention, that *was* Marina Sirtis on the season finale of NCIS and she said that she would be a recurring character, though she promised that she wouldn't look like "Golda Mier" next season. Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes had to cancel out and Whoopi Goldberg doesn't fly but Le Var Burton, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner, and Gates McFadden were there, as well as Suzi Plakson and Nana Visitor from DS9.
The funniest moment happened during William Shatner's appearance when he turned to one fan waiting to ask a question and he asked, "And what is your question, little girl?" The kid's respond was "I'm a boy".
When asked about the support his co-stars gave him after he came out, George Takei talked about the time Walter Koenig was hanging out with him after finishing makeup and Walter kept motioning for George to turn around. When George turned around, he saw a "gorgeous" male extra. At that point, he realized that his friends "knew". The only thing he could do then was turn around and say "Thank you".
Nichelle Nicols was as elegant as you'd expect (think "Norma Miller", but for Sci-Fi) who almost quit the show if it hadn't been for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King asking her to stay on because Lt. Uhuru was the first female African-American TV role that wasn't a "mama" or underling, but a leadership role. She talked about the time astronaut Sally Ride called her up to thank her for being the inspiration that got her into space.
Star Trek was always a great action show, but it wasn't never *about* the action. Every episode pushed the envelope (see "Plato's Children") and talked about social issues, particularly some that made people uncomfortable at the time. However, Gene Roddenbery didn't deal with the issue of homosexuality yet because it would have gotten the show cancelled and he wouldn't have been able to continue talking about social issues.
And for those of you who don't care about the philosophical discussions, you can always go for the souvenirs. They had bobble-heads of the characters from The Big Bang Theory...all dressed in Star Trek uniforms, of course. And two years ago, I got Chase Masterson's (Leeta on DS9) lip prints on an autographed picture. That's hanging in my office at home. :-)
The event is held on the beautiful campus of Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts, offer dancing and workshops for as short as two day to as long as 7 days. The campus goes out of its way to provide great facilities for the event and the food is great! (I don't remember college food tasting this good). The campus cafetaria offers opportunities to meet and talk to people you'll be dancing with that night.
I was at Beantown Camp in Beverly, Massachusetts all weekend and didn't touch the website at all (and didn't even feel guilty about it). I might get around to the email I received over the weekend. Or I might not. I'm going back up to Beantown Camp on Monday for their Barbecue Night by the ocean. And I think I'm stuck with making s'mores again. Tuesday is unpacking from Beantown and lots of laundry. Wednesday night is going to be a late night since the ice cream party doesn't start until after Gordon Webster finishes playing at Beantown Camp. Driving a couple of camp teachers for their 5 am flights is not going to be fun. Oh, yeah, so if I don't get to your information that I got for inclusion to this week's update, maybe you need to get the info to me earlier.
Whoops. Missed the barbeque Monday and the s'mores. Spent 5 hours at the Emergency Room. I'm 0 for 5 there (5 ER visits, none of it for me) but I didn't have my laptop with me so I didn't work on the website.
Got surprised, though. I would have thought that sick people would be more considerate of other sick people. In the Mass General garage, I saw a wheelchair in the middle of a parking space so if someone needed the spot, they'd have to take the time to move it. Taking 60 seconds to move the wheelchair to the elevators where they're needed must be an overwhelming task. As it was, there were plenty of spaces I couldn't fit into because people were taking double slots or just didn't park within the lines.