After the Salute Is Over...

It was a great three days in Los Angeles, although I wish it was a bit longer.
The Sereniy Salute attracted a lot of fans, but Creation Entertainment admits it's not as popular as it used to be. That's why any future con that doesn't include cast members from Twilight (aside from Bella, Edward and Jacob) will be bunched together into mega-conventions. That makes sense because you save money in the long run, and there's hope we can a Whedonverse con a year from now. This will be good news for Dollhouse and Dr. Horrible fans, or should be.

This was also my first experience with LAX for the first time since the Wolfram and Hart Revue. My difficulty in trying to get to my hotel made me miss Adam Baldwin (darn it!), but I think I should have scheduled an earlier flight to get more time to get to the con. If I can afford it next year, I will remember that. My hotel, a renamed Travelodge, was great. It was a bit fancier than my usual place, a Super 8 near Ralphs on Hollywood Boulevard, but it lacked a mini-fridge and microwave that Super 8 does provide.

I also found out there was a Metro Rail stop a half mile away, which solved my transit problems. I was able to go to Conan O'Brien and the Cartoon Dump revue with no worries about when my next ride was coming from.



Now a few words about Conan O'Brien....the studio at Universal isn't that big. I'd say it's the same size as Jay Leno's old digs. I was luck to get a seat above Andy Richter's podium, and a nice view of Taylor Lautner. Max Weinberg was back after he was with Springsteen for a few weeks. His band rocked the house again, including Pinder's "Hold That Note" trick. In fact, it was even better than when Conan was in San Francisco a couple of years ago.
I'll come back when I get a chance. I did ask for December 9th, but I'm guessing they won't choose my request this time. I could go standby, but I already asked for a ticket to Jimmy Kimmel for that date. When I found out William Shatner was coming in a couple of weeks, I had to jump at the chance. I'm already confirmed for Bonnie Hunt for the next day, followed by the Santaland Diaries.

It's also getting close to Christmas, and the major shopping places, especially the CityWalk and Hollywood and Highland have their Christmas tress ready to be lit. For me, I'll settle for the tree lighting ceremonies back home. I will say there are some incredible holiday trees near the Staples Center. If I had more time, I'd visit them, too.

Back in Sacramento

It was a great five days of fun, that I wish was a bit longer. Apparently they have some cool events happening next weekend, like a soap box derby for grownups in downtown Los Angeles. Oh well, there's still fun when Firefly alumni visit SoCal just before Thanksgiving...and I have to use up my free ticket voucher from Southwest sometime.
My pictures from the Emmy bleachers were better than I thought, but would have been perfect with an ideal picture from Christina Hendricks. I also wish I had snagged a seat filler gig, but I will try for that next year. You can see my Emmy photo album here.

As for other photos, here's that Fox promo ambulance letting people know about House...



Then there is this, the premiere of a romcom with Kristen Bell called When In Rome. Apparently she plays a girl who steals some coins from a "fountain of love", and suddenly three guys are trying to woo her...and yet Lee Pace is in the movie as the guy she doesn't want. Yes, I know...
The issue isn't the movie, but how it's being premiered...



This is at a vacant theater at Melrose that's being rented out for one night, and the name of the movie is taped on a blank marquee. Now, I also hear they aren't giving this movie a wide release until January, but this should have been done better, like a silk-screened sign. Not only that, it was supposed to be shown last month. I guess The Ugly Truth and All About Steve scared them off.

So, my future travel plans include a Firefly weekend, where I will stay in a Travelodge just a few blocks away from the con (shades of the Wolfram and Hart Revue). After that, it depends on whether the Oscars pity me and let me on that bleacher, too, next March.
Hmmm...700 seats, 145,911,256 entries.
Well, maybe I'll get a better TV by then.