My Weekend At OSFest 8

"As One" by Arden Ellen Nixon

OSFest 8 - The Darkness Within - July 31-August 2, 2015

This past weekend was the eighth annual Omaha Science Fiction Education Society’s convention more commonly known as OSFest 8. Attending this convention is something I look forward to all year and this year, as in years past, I had a great time.  This year was especially fun because I was able to be involved more than I have in past years thanks to my friends of the IKV Raptor's Heart crew. My weekend was balanced between serving on panels and just being a spectator.  I was constantly busy and didn't have a minute to be bored.

Chrissy, Diane and I decided to head out a day early for a stop at the Strategic Air Command Museum in Ashland, Nebraska.  We had not been there is quite a few years and it was great to see how it has grown since I was last there, I think about seven years ago. They have added many new items and exhibits and I would recommend, especially if you are a military history buff, that you consider stopping there. Make sure that you have at least a few hours to spend to take everything in.

We stayed the night in Bellevue and headed into Omaha. The Klingons has asked for assistance with setting up for their very ambitious weekend, and I wanted to be involved, so I wanted to arrive early. I was not disappointed as I was put to work right away setting up displays.

One of the first panels on the program was the Dune Discussion panel hosted by John Shoberg, Pat Kennedy and me. We talked about the history and culture of the Fremen from that universe and the audience participation was very good.  As the discussion progressed, we talked about the Fremen in the books and films and the question came up about whether anyone would ever be able to make a really good film depicting Frank Herbert's creation. It was a great way to kick off the convention. If deemed worthy by my Dune Saga Podcast partners, the audio portion of this podcast will appear on our programming.

Even while the Dune panel was taking place, there was the first of the Klingon activities happening in another room. Trudy Myers was hosting a Klingon Pin Workshop, and thank goodness, it was a two hour event, so I was able to get in on it before it was over. The purpose was to take a blank pin and paint it to look authentic. I am no artist, so my effort fell a little short, but I did get to visit with Trudy for quite some time and that was even more fun than the painting.  As the panel was ending, Trudy gave me a few more blanks to go along with the ones that John had already given me and encouraged me to try again when time is not a factor.  I'm not giving up.

I also got to see a little bit of the Star Wars Match game taking place in the main gathering area. I have participated in this game before and it is quite fun.  It was nice to hear all of the creative answers to finish phrases that the host, Gene Ray Burn was throwing out. I wish I could have been more than one place at a time.

As always, the best part of attending a convention is visiting with friends and making new ones.  I had already had my dinner when Patrick Kennedy invited me to join his family, but I joined him anyway and had a cup of coffee while I visited with Pat and the Artist Guest Of Honor, Arden Ellen Nixon.

Following the opening ceremonies, I attended the Great Tribble Hunt, which turned out to be a game of Tribble dodge ball.  I had intended to participate, but when I saw that it was mostly kids playing, I decided to stand aside; they move way too fast for me.  A couple of the adults did get involved, and I managed to get my hands on a couple of tribbles that went astray, but my aim is not good anymore and I didn't hit anyone.  It was fun to watch the kids run around and expend some pent up energy at the end of the day.

By the end of the Tribble Hunt, it was time to visit with friends at the room parties. I wish to say congratulations to John Shoberg and Trudy Myers on the publication of their books, and thanks for the cake and conversation.

The next morning, I was up early, so I secured a large cup of coffee and sat down to read for a while and waited for things to get started. It wasn't long before my good friend Troy Rutter arrived and along with my family, we had a nice breakfast and visit together. Soon after breakfast, I helped Troy set up his display of a costume from the movie Ender's Game. He managed to acquire the exercise suit from the training scenes that was actually worn by the character Bean, as portrayed by Aramis Knight.

The first panel I attended and participated on was the Babylon 5 Fan Gathering. This was hosted by resident B5 expert Mitch Obrecht and along with myself, included Troy. Mitch kicked off the panel by trying to lead a talk about the possible Babylon 5 film that has been talked about on social media.  Somewhere along the line, the subject swerved off the topic and became a discussion about the economics of TV/movies and especially the recent Sharknado. I am not sure where the panel went off the rails, but there seems to be quite a lot of passion about the SyFy series depicting sharks being lifted into the air by tornadoes and subsequently dropped on our country's major cities.

At this point, I decided to take a walk through the vendor's room and visit with friends there.

Next up was lunch with the IKV Raptor's Heart crew. Their presentation, Dining On Qo'noS included some delicious culinary selections that while may have looked like normal Terran fare, were a very welcome change to the usual restaurant food. Everything was home made and prepared with great care to not only taste good, but looked good too. If you are reading this, thanks to you, Sharon and crew for a good meal and fellowship.

I really had to wolf down lunch quickly to attend Troy's Babylon 5 On The Web panel in the next room. Babylon 5 was one of the very first television series to have a presence on the internet thanks to the efforts of Troy Rutter.  Much of what he did has become an industry standard for promoting and maintaining a fan base for almost every genre television production available today. Troy explained that while in college in Iowa, he worked with others to create websites that gained the attention of the creator of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski who invited Troy to visit the show's location in California. As he tells it, he didn't waste anytime getting a plane ticket the very next day.  He was soon offered a position on creating and running the web activities of the show. Even though I had heard a few of the stories before, I still had a lot of fun listening to the ones I had heard before, and to hear new ones.

With nothing happening that I was involved in, I decided to take a stroll through the dealer's room and art display. I picked up a couple of CD's and a book that will come in handy for the Babylon Project Podcast that I am a co-host on. I also put in my bid on some art for Chrissy and me.  She found two ink drawings from Star Wars and the price was right. I choose one of Patrick Kennedy's Dune prints.  I also visited with Bruce Schindler, a local author that I met at the Buffalo County Fair who writes science fiction with an interesting twist; post apocalyptic western stories. I stopped and visited with Robert Collins, another author of scifi and fantasy, and arranged an interview to discuss a collection of short stories I finished last week from the Frigate Victory series.

The restaurant at the venue closes between services, so while my family, Troy, and I waited to get in for the taco buffet they were offering, I was approached by John who opened our conversation with a question, "Do you think we can get you into (Klingon) uniform next year?", to which I replied in the affirmative.  John then proceeded to tell me that a couple would like to renew their wedding vows at next year's OSFest, and he told me that he would like me to participate as a member of the wedding party! I was floored, to say the least. I agreed, after recovering from mild shock. So, I guess I will be building a Klingon uniform. Thank goodness I have almost a year to worry about that and a wife that knows how to sew.

After dinner, I wandered around admiring the costumes and took a few pictures.

I attended another panel with Troy on collecting autographs, a hobby of his.  Unfortunately, there were only two of us that attended, but we got a lot of interesting information and ideas for those that collect autographs. Troy's specialty is collecting autographs through the mail. He talked about how to tell if that type of autograph is authentic or not. He further explained that there are those celebrities that do indeed sign their own, some that have a secretary sign them, and even some who have a machine that will do it for them.  I learned that I am an IP'er, or someone who prefers to collect autographs in person.

The next panel I served on was called Legends Lost where I joined John Shoberg, Matt McKeever, Dennis Lynch, and Author Guest Of Honor Matt Rotundo where we discussed our thoughts and memories of Leonard Nimoy and Christopher Lee. What I expected would be a tearful remembrance of two of our icons actually turned out to be a fun and light hearted discussion with some good audience participation, and for me, a learning experience.  I was sorry to admit that I didn't know a great deal about Mr. Lee beyond my exposure to him as Dracula and Count Dooku. As John pointed out to me later, a panelist should not only contribute to a conversation, but should also take something away.

After the panel, Troy and I hung out and visited about films, television, and I took a closer look at the autograph collection. It is extensive and distinguished and he personally knows many of the people he has signatures from. Troy is a truly interesting man and has many fun stories to share. Along with that, he mixes up a very good Jovian Sunspot.

On the last day of the con, I was all set to attend a session on the Klingon art of Mok'bara, which is really Tai Chi.  I have always been interested in learning more about it, and figured that this would be a great opportunity, when suddenly the facilities' fire alarm sounded! As if the convention weren't exciting enough. Apparently, while moving one of the retractable walls by the dealer's area, a fire sprinkler was bumped and a weakened pipe burst causing water to be sprayed from the ceiling! Immediately, a bunch of people rushed in and helped with the situation until the Omaha Fire Department arrived. Fortunately, the water sprayed on the floor and beyond that, there was no other property damage. Within a half an hour, the situation was resolved and I and a few others learned about Tai Chi and where to find further information.

From there, I was privileged to co-host a panel on Star Trek Philosophy. Along with Matt McKeever, a very intelligent and thoughtful man, we began discussing Gene Roddenberry's vision of a utopian future exploring the galaxy encountering other races and interacting with them. In a sort of "good cop/bad cop" way, I took a more pessimistic track than Matt did and I think I might have derailed the topic when I asked if we, as a species, would be able to transcend above our nature. From there, the discussion turned to more of an economic and the want/need for material goods as well as other topics.  It was a spirited conversation and most of the audience got involved.

The last event of the day that I participated in was Klingon Jeopardy.  I not only participated, I was permitted to be the MC. The motto was "come for the chocolate, stay for the pain."  So, as is done on the show, the MC presents the answer and the contestant has to provide the question. So I might say, "a very young Clint Howard guest starred on this Original Series episode."  The correct response would be, "what is The Corbomite Maneuver."  If the contestant gets it right, then they get a piece of chocolate, but if they get it wrong, they get poked with a pain stick (which consists of a hand-shake buzzer on the end of a broom handle).  This was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed presenting the questions and acting silly for an hour.

By the end of that, I was pretty well conned out and ready to hit the road for the three hour ride home.

There was so much to do and see this year at OSFest 8. With over 90 panels, workshops, author readings, and activities, not to mention the room parties there was definitely no lack of programming. The only problem with this was that I wished I could be in more than one place at a time.

One of the best things about being at most any convention is to meet up with people you only get to see once a year, and to meet and make new friends. I did manage to sit down and just visit with friends for a while a couple of times and share stories, information, and laughs. I again would like to compliment and show my appreciation to the officers of the IKV Raptor's Heart for making me feel very welcome and for the huge effort they made to make this event a success. They were everywhere doing whatever they could to provide everyone who chose to participate a great time.  I would also like to thank James "Hawk" Hawkswell and the rest of the staff for their courtesy and professionalism. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating and did their part to make this a fun experience for everyone.

So now I begin looking forward to OSFest 9. I better get started making that Klingon uniform.

Darth Vader Force Choking Hawk.

Hawk's Revenge

IKV Raptor's Heart Display

More Klingon Swag

Troy's Display Of The Exercise Suit Worn By Bean In Ender's Game

Batman & Starlord With Their Kids

Star Trek Philosophy Panel

John Stands By With The Pain, Sharon With The Chocolate, I Read The Questions

If You Answer Wrong, You Get The Pain Stick

Sharon Dealing With An Unruly Contestant

Well, there it is...

QaplaH!

More Babylon 5 Essential Reading - Legions Of Fire Trilogy by Peter David - It Fills The Hole In Your Mind

At the end of the fifth season of Babylon 5, there were many questions that had been answered through the course of the series, but there were many questions left unanswered too.

When the series began, Londo was but a foppish buffoon that was put in a position of Ambassador on Babylon 5, a position that was, at first, not considered important by his own government.  When the Centauri sent Londo an aide, it turned out to be another seemingly buffoon named Vir Cotto. Londo debauched and drank through life on the station, not taking his job, or himself very seriously.  Then one day, a mysterious stranger named Morden approached Londo and asked what would normally be an innocent question.

Morden asked several of the ambassadors on the station the same question and got a variety of answers.  “What do you want?” seems such a small question, but when Morden asked Londo that question, and after trying to dismiss Morden out of hand, Londo actually gave an answer that started him down a path lined with the deaths of millions of beings.  Londo, in essence stated that he wanted to see his people restored to their former prominence in the galaxy.  Mr. Morden apparently had the resources to help Londo achieve that goal, but the cost was high.

Little did Londo know, but he had made a deal with the Devil, as sure as the legendary Faust did.

At any rate, at the end of the series, Londo had become Emperor of the devastated Centauri Republic faced with the task of rebuilding in the aftermath of what the Shadows had left behind.  Londo makes the supreme sacrifice to save what is left of his Republic by allowing agents of the Shadows, the Drakh, to place a Keeper on his shoulder that would monitor his every move and every thought.  When we last see Londo, he seems appears as a lonely and despondent ruler who is at the mercy of those that will rebuild the Centauri republic in their own image.

So what happened to Londo after that last scene in the television series?  What happened to Vir and how does he rise to become Emperor of the Centauri Republic?  And what of that vision that we saw during the series with Londo and G’Kar choking the life out of each other?  Those answers are explored in this three book series penned by Peter David.

The Long Night Of Centauri Prime: Book I Of The Legions Of Fire Series By Peter David (1998)

At the end of the series, Londo has become Emperor of Centauri Prime, but he also comes under the influence of the Drakh, agents of the Shadows who are determined to continue the agenda of their former masters.  The Drakh have planted nuclear explosives all over Centauri Prime and threaten to destroy the planet unless Londo submits to taking on a creature known as a Keeper.  This Keeper will watch every move that Londo makes as well as monitor every thought he has.  After Londo makes a speech to the Centauri people in the form of a giant hologram, telling his people that they will once again become the great society that they once were, he decides to take a walk around the city.

As Londo walks, he contemplates suicide, when he is suddenly struck in the head by a rock.  It is soon discovered that the person who threw the projectile was Senna, the daughter of Lord Refa, who has taken up residence with a family of refugees.  Londo offers her a place in his palace. When she refuses to accept his offer, Londo returns to his palace and learns that if he drinks enough, he can dull the senses of his Keeper and have time to himself.  He decides to take an opportunity to carry out his suicide plan.  Before he is able to complete his plan, his Captain of the Guard, Durla, escorts Senna into the room.  Circumstances have caused Senna to change her mind and take Londo up on his offer. This causes Londo to also have a change of heart; he believes that if he can save just one person on Centauri Prime, perhaps he will be able to make the difference that his people need.

The Drakh who is manipulating Londo, Shiv’kala, orders Londo to promote Durla to Minister of Internal Security.  At first Londo refuses, but Shiv’kala threatens to eliminate Senna if he doesn’t comply.  Durla is promoted and begins to advance his own agenda, transforming Centauri Prime into a police state that uses ruthless methods to keep order.

Meanwhile, on Babylon 5, the Drakh continue their plot to smash the Alliance with an attempt on the life of President Sheridan.  Thanks to Vir, this plot fails.  Vir then travels to Centauri Prime to investigate what is going on and is approached by Techno-Mages.

Vir knows that there is something going on that threatens to destroy his home world, The Techno-Mages have their own plan to set things right that involves Vir.  But thanks to Durla, Vir is being watched by Mariel, Londo’s former wife and it seems hopeless that things will be set right.

Armies Of Light And Dark: Book II Of The Legions Of Fire Series by Peter David (2000)

Picking up in from where the last book leaves off, Vir and the Techno-Mages head to a planet where there has been an excavation taking place for some time.  It not commonly known that many Centauri workers have been sent there and have been disappearing.

Vir and the Mages find a gate there that builds the cloud vessels that were responsible for the destruction of the Narn Homeworld. It is also learned that this planet killer is intended to be used against Earth.  Vir manages to destroy the planet and after returning through the gate, it falls to ruin and stops the plans the Drakh have of a swift victory for them.

Vir has become quite enamoured with Mariel, who is spying for Durla.  When Vir learns that he is being badly used by Mariel, he becomes angry and asks a mage to cast a spell on her to make her hopelessly in love with him.  But this is all part of a greater plan to turn Durla’s spy against him as Vir sends Mariel to Durla.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination attempt, Sheridan sends Garibaldi to Centauri Prime to find out what is happening there.  G’kar will accompany him as well as Lou Welch, who is charged with watching Garibaldi’s back.  After arriving, Garibaldi tells Londo that they are there to investigate a plant that is suspected of making munitions that can be used to start a war with the Alliance, Lou feigns and illness and stays behind as Garibaldi is  off to inspect the suspected munitions plant.

Lou, under the cover of a cloak that hides him from sight, follows a member of the Prime Candidates, an organization of youth that has been put together by Durla to support his activities and infiltrate high levels of government and spy for him. Lou follows Throk into their headquarters and is seen by Shiv’Kala, who is able to see through the cloak, and uncovers Lou.  Throk kills Lou.  Garibaldi is incensed at this and vows to get to the bottom of the situation, but Vir tells him that it is an internal affair of the Centauri Republic and that it will be handled internally.

Vir begins to gather and inform followers that will effect real change on Centauri Prime while Durla becomes Prime Minister and begins a purge of those that would oppose him. Londo makes a decree that off-worlders are no longer welcome on Centauri Prime.  This is generally taken as an attempt of Londo to show his power, but he writes in his journal that it is actually to keep others from suffering the same fate as Lou Welch.

Out Of The Darkness: Book III Of The Legions Of Fire Series By Peter David (2000)

In this third and final book of the series, Durla has assembled a huge fleet of warships and sends them out to destroy some of the smaller alliance worlds.  While Sheridan tells the Alliance that they should use the White Star fleet to stop the Centauri, they are unwilling to do so. At about the same time, G’kar is disguised as a Centauri and saves Durla from an assassination attempt, but is caught and is to be killed until Londo intervenes and makes him a guest, but will not allow him to leave Centauri Prime.

In the television episode, Objects at Rest, Londo had delivered a gift to be given to Sheridan and Delenn’s child on his sixteenth birthday.  The gift was an urn, but the Drakh put a Keeper in the base of the urn.  On the night of his sixteenth birthday, the Keeper in the urn frees itself and attaches itself to David Sheridan, who immediately steals a ship and heads for Centauri Prime where he is delivered into the hands of Durla.  When Londo learns of this, he confronts Durla and they struggle, but Londo’s keeper stops the struggle.  When Sheridan and Delenn arrive, they are arrested and are to be put to death.

Garibaldi informs Vir about all of this,  Vir heads to Centauri Prime to help with David’s rescue, but he also learns about the Drakh influence that has been there for a number of years.

Durla readies his fleet to begin attacking the major worlds of the Alliance and publicly announces the attack, but his plans are thwarted by Vir and his Legions of Fire when they detonate a bomb underneath the Tower of Power, the headquarters of the Drakh.  With the Drakh exposed, the people begin to realize what has  been happening.  Durla refuses to believe the evidence of the Drakh influence and attempts to launch the fleets, but is again stopped, but this time by Mariel.

Shiv’kala tells Londo to tell the Centauri people that the Drakh are friends that have been with them to help them rebuild and insists that Londo continue with Durla’s plans. When londo refuses, Shiv’kala detonates a third of the bombs that were planted on Centauri Prime, Londo finally agrees to what he is being ordered to do.  In the meantime, With the help of the Techno-Mages, Vir is able to locate all of the bombs and have them neutralized.

Londo calls G’kar to the throne room and asks G’kar to kill him to stop the Drakh influence. G’kar refuses at first , but is finally convinced that it is the right thing to do, but while he had Londo by the throat, the Keeper awakens and Londo begins to also choke G’kar.  Both die in the struggle.  When Vir arrives to help Londo, he finds what has happened and is immediately approached by Shiv’kala who attempts to kill him, but Vir manages to escape to centauri Prime.

Meanwhile, leaving Shiv’kala alone on Centauri Prime, the other Drakh abandon the planet, Vir makes a claim for the throne and returns to Centauri Prime, and with the help of Garibaldi, kills Shiv’kala.

According to what I have learned about this book series, it was written by Peter David from outlines that were given to him by J. Michael Straczynski.  That would make these books, without a question Babylon 5 canon.  And in my opinion, JMS could not have chosen a better writer for the job.

Peter David shows that he did do his homework as far as the characters are concerned.  As one reads the series, it is not hard to hear the voices of the characters, especially in Londo’s little quips.  The other characters that are familiar to B5 fans are also equally accurately recreated.  But one of my favorite parts of these stories was to see the growth that took place on the series carried on through these stories.

One of the most developed characters on the series was that of Vir Cotto.  When Vir first arrived on Babylon 5, he was such a buffoon.  He stuttered and more or less tripped over himself with almost every step.  This character grew to be very popular with me, as well as the fans.  As time went on, while still seeming to provide comic relief on the television series, he began to show backbone, standing up to Londo on occasion and asserting himself when needed.  But in this series of books, we see that Vir has become a force to be reckoned with and not anywhere the buffoon that he was first presented to be.

A major scene from the trilogy that stands out in my mind is when Garibaldi intended to go to Centauri Prime and handle things his way.  Vir backed him down and stood his ground with an attitude that even took Garibaldi by surprise.  In that one scene, Vir became a viable candidate to be a leader, and the emperor of the Centauri Prime.

As an avid fan of Peter David’s work, especially in the Star Trek, I really enjoyed these three stories and the way that they were written.  It is obvious that the author has a great deal of respect for the B5 universe and it clearly comes through in this instance.  As was the last B5 book I reviewed (To Dream In The City Of Sorrows), I consider this must reading for B5 fans who what to know what happens to Londo and the Centauri Republic after the close of the television series.

If there is anything that I didn't care for in these books was the term "Tower of Power" for the place where the Drakh were holed up.  Every time I saw this term I thought about that R&B group that appeared in the late 1960's that also went by that name.

As I read this, it got me thinking that perhaps the entire series was actually intended to actually be the rise and fall of Londo Mollari.  So much of the series centers on Londo, his triumphs and his failures, his mistakes, and the few things he did get right.  I have also heard this before from others, thought I might have heard it from JMS, and was told the same by my partner on the Babylon Project Podcast, Raul Ybarra.

One thing that is worth noting here is that the first two books in the Legions of Fire series are pretty easy to find, but the third book seems to be rare.  All three are out of print, so you might consider checking out your local library, inter-library loan, or if you have a friend who has the books or knows where to get them.

Well, there it is...

Q'aplaH!

To Dream In The City Of Sorrows By Kathryn Drennan - Essential Reading For Babylon 5 Fans

To Dream In The City Of Sorrows by Kathryn Drennan (1997)

Babylon 5 is one of my favorite television shows, so it would seem that I would have gotten into the books much sooner than now, but it just never happened.  I guess I had too much else to do.  I learned about this book when I became involved with The Babylon Project Podcast.  As my co-host and I discussed several of the first season episodes, Raul would mention To Dream In The City Of Sorrows and he kept telling me that it was an essential story that I should read to answer some of the questions that were raised in the first season. Some of the questions I had were…

• How did Sinclair become Ambassador to Minbar and how did he become Eltil’zha?

• How did Sinclair appear as his older self on Babylon 4 at the same time he was commander of Babylon 5?

• Sinclair proposed Marriage to Catherine Sakai, did they ever get married?

All of these questions and more are answered in this story.

[With the beginning of the second season of Babylon 5, command of the station is taken over by John Sheridan. Ivanova tells explains that Commander Sinclair has been permanently reassigned to another post, there is no more to that story until later in the series.  So, City of Sorrows picks up where the first season leaves off.

Not only has Sinclair been reassigned to earth, he is made Ambassador to Minbar.  As he goes about his duties there, he finds that he is being sequestered for some unknown reason.  He is unable to contact anyone to get advice and orders. Mainly his duties are to meet and greet visitors to Minbar from Earth.  When he decides that he is not able to function effectively as ambassador, he decides to resign and leave, but before he can get away, he is informed by a member of the Grey Council that he is to become the head of a highly trained group of people known as the Rangers.

Meanwhile, Catherine Sakai is busy running her business doing planetary surveys looking for the mineral known as Q-40 that is essential in the construction of jump gates.  She has no idea what is happening to SInclair.

This book also covers the back story of Marcus Cole, who isn’t introduced as a character in the television series until the third season as an important Ranger.  Marcus runs the family business of processing the Q-40 for use.  When his facilities are attacked and destroyed by the Shadows, who at this point are only making attacks on smaller targets, Marcus not only sees his family fortune go up in flames, but he sees his brother killed.  With nothing to lose, and as his dying brother directs with his last words, Marcus proceeds to Minbar to enter Ranger training.

With difficulty, Catherine manages to avoid being killed by the shadows who pursue her through hyperspace, and is eventually, with the help of Garibaldi, reunited with Sinclair on Minbar, where she enters Ranger training.

When a rift in Sector 14 is discovered that might allow Shadow ships to get through, the action of the story escalates to an even higher level as the trio set about finding a solution to the problem.

As far as I am concerned, This is essential reading for fans of Babylon 5.  It is a great story and one of the strongest points is that it is completely accurate as far as the portrayal of the characters and in their voice.  As one reads, one can hear the voices of every character that appears in the series. That action is fast paced and I would love to think that it would have made an awesome television film.

This should come as no surprise when one considers that the author, Kathryn Drennan was married to the creator of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski (JMS). According to JMS, Drennan is the only person who knows as much about the B5 universe as he does, and this story came out of the authors affection for the Sinclair character as well as her affection for Michael O’Hare, the actor who portrayed him.

If there is any question about whether this book is canon or not, it can be put to rest.  In the introduction to the book, JMS writes that the book is indeed canon and should be read with that in mind.  This is confirmed in an interview in which JMS states, “this one is 100% canon...it's also the most exhaustive attempt to tie in all the storylines done to date. Anybody wants to know what happened to Sinclair, it's in the book. That's a genuine chapter of the story arc.”

Along with penning the B5 first season episode, By Any Means Necessary, Drennan has a few other impressive credits including working with Carl Sagan on Cosmos, and for working with Michael Piller on Star Trek: TNG.  I find it very unfortunate that she has not written more extensively on other projects, whether they are B5 related or not.  This lady has some great writing chops.

Raul (Babylon Project Podcast co-host) and I discussed this book briefly and we are at odds (however friendly) as to when this book should be read.  I think that one should read right after the end of the first season, but Raul thinks that one should read just prior to the third season because of the introduction of the Marcus character.  Either way, even the casual B5 fan will really enjoy this story and it comes with my highest recommendations.

One day, I hope in the not too distant future, Raul and I will cover this book on our podcast.  Please stay tuned.

Well, there it is…

Q’aplaH!

My Weekend - OSFest 7 - Omaha, Nebraska - August 1-3, 2014

My Weekend at OSFest 7
August 1-3, 2014

There are many conventions that are larger out there, but I cannot think that, at least for me, there are any that could be called better than the Omaha OSFest.  You may find that to be a debatable point, and that is your right.  As for me, I love OSFest.

It was a busy weekend for conventions when one takes into account that Shoreleave was taking place on the East Coast and STLV was raging out west.  Someday I might be able to get to one of those huge ones, but I really enjoy Omaha’s hospitality and being able to hobnob with friendly people the likes of which seem to be very common in Nebraska.

Anyway, it seemed that this year’s OSFest attendance was down a bit from last year’s event (read my blog post from OSFest 6 HERE).  As I visited with people also attending, there were many ideas, rumors, and speculations as to why this was, which I will not go into here because there is really nothing substantial to talk about.  The atmosphere was also more subdued then last year’s event; far more relaxed and not so hustled.  That, I am sure, is due in part to the fact that I had been there before and the experience wasn’t new as it was last year.  However, in light of what I just said, it is not to say that there wasn’t plenty to do.  There were wall to wall activities, displays, demonstrations, and panel discussions, and all on numerous subjects that should have been able to appeal to everyone.

On Friday night, I participated on a Dune panel that I had proposed earlier this year.  I was joined on the panel by John Shoberg of the IKSRaptor’s Heart group and at the last minute, was also joined by Patrick Kennedy of PoKoArt (if you are a Dune fan, Pat is an artist who produces some very beautiful art and due to how Dune has influenced him, much of his art reflects this).  The Dune panel was patterned after a panel discussion held at this year’s Farpoint convention by my Dune Saga Podcast partners David Moulton and Scott Hertzog (access that panel discussion HERE).  I designed the Dune panel to be a broad discussion with audience participation to discuss the books and films.  It was well attended and some of the audience did indeed participate.  It was fun and I am hoping to do another panel next year on the same subject, however, as my partner John suggested, it will be a bit more focused on one aspect of the Dune universe.

After the panel was done, I found a room party to attend where Pat Kennedy and I discussed Dune some more; a lot more actually.

Maggie Egan at Opening Ceremonies.

Saturday was another busy day.  The Media Guest of Honor was Maggie Egan of Babylon 5 fame.  If you are not familiar with Maggie’s work, she appeared as Jane, the Interstellar Network News anchor in ten episodes of Babylon 5 and also came back in the same capacity in the Crusade series.  She has also appeared in numerous other shows and about 600 commercials.  What a pleasant person she was to listen to as she told her stories.  I was able to score an interview with her in the afternoon which will appear in a future episode of The Babylon Project Podcast hosted by Raul Ybarra and me.  I also attended panels with Maggie and got two autographed photos, one for me and one for Raul (I couldn’t very well leave out my partner, could I?).

Troy Rutter with a license plate signed by Jason Carter

I also met with Troy Rutter.  Now his name may not be as familiar, but he was also (and continues to be) a part of the Babylon 5 family.  Troy was the man responsible for all of the internet media that was involved with the show.  Long before Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, he was pioneering what we now take for granted today.  I was also able to have an extensive interview with him which will also appear on The Babylon Project Podcast in the near future.

By Sunday, I was pretty wiped out.  I attended a panel on the Philosophy of Star Trek which we discussed the extension of sentience to beings other than humans.  This panel was hosted by Natasha Mohr and Matt McKeever.  After that, it was time to head home.

Maggie and Me

All in all, it was another amazing weekend.  I brought home some things to think about and am looking forward to next year’s OSFest 8.

Here are some of the other pictures I snapped during the weekend…

Chrissy holding a blaster and wearing a "Fett" helmet.  She had the right shirt.

I found Q shopping in the dealer's area.

Chrissy and I with Boba Fett. That is an amazing costume.

Another Great Costume.

Cat Woman!

A Starfleet Officer tending her tribble.

The pictures cannot do the detail on these models justice...

John Shoberg of the IKS Raptor's Heart in full Klingon regalia.

Troy Rutter, Maggie Egan, and Mitch Obrecht at the B5+20 Panel

Art by Patrick Kennedy - Shai Hulud.

Also by Patrick Kennedy.

Chrissy chose R2.  A graphite drawing.

Autographed photo of Maggie Egan as Jane.

Well, there it is…

Q’aplaH!