31 Days, 31 Pictures

I actually did it.  I took 31 pictures in 31 days and didn't forget even once. #photoadayaugust starts tomorrow and I'm super excited.  Let's see if I can carry this out as long as possible.  It's way more fun than I thought it was going to be : )

So without further ado, here's July 2012 in a nutshell.

Sweet on Sorkin

I have always been a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin.  In high school and college, I adored the West Wing...even though I could only truly "get" about half of what was said.  His writing is so smart and so quick, that you (maybe just I) have to pay super-close attention or you'll (maybe just I'll) miss the whole point. SportsNight was good but I'd probably enjoy it more now.  And Studio 60 was high on my list of favorites for reasons other than plot...I kinda love Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford.

So imagiine my excitement when I heard that he was writing a new show for HBO: The Newsroom.  What I love about Sorkin and what most people find off-putting is that he's an eternal optimist, extremely intelligent and an uber-liberal. What is to most people, him being "elitist" is to me, a beautiful view of what the world could be.   The first episode had all the qualities of Sorkin that I love, but for once it was almost too much.  The episode was over-the top idealistic.  Jeff Daniels is brilliant as Will McAvoy and can easily pull off the Sorkin banter as well as the wordy diatribes he's so fond of.  But I wasn't sure how "exciting" a newroom could be week after week and I definitely wasn't sure of the people surrounding Will McAvoy.  Big names but not the greatest characters. 

Cut to 6 weeks in and I'm happy to say I was utterly and completely wrong.  The show has finally hit its stride and it's riveting television!  Sure, Sorkin reuses a lot of what he's written before (see the Sorkin video I posted a few weeks back) and I've already found at least 2 plot devices that were used in the West Wing.  But...if it's not broke, why fix it?  Jeff Daniels continues to astound me week after week.  He's truly an amazing actor  and I'm constantly wondering why I haven't noticed that before.  The other characters are finally coming together as well.  The classic Sorkin humor, word play and heart is all there.  Even the concept of the newsroom is being kept exciting by focusing on the biggest stories from the last 2 years.  I'm super happy with the direction this show is going in, and I'm so glad that I decided to stick with it. 

So what if he's idealistic, at least he's writing a story with an actual plot, and  actual characters with actual brains. He's a very bright spot in a sea of utterly trashy reality shows and competitions. 

So, I guess you could say, I'm a fan.

A pretty fantastic opening, and a classic Sorkin speech all rolled into one. (And all in all, fairly true...) PS: Language is a little strong so beware.

App-y Goodness

I've said numerous times that I LOVE technology!  I usually go on binges with apps though. Sometimes, I can find tons that I just have to have and other times I'm content to use the ones I already have.  This week, I've found quite a few that are just about perfect.

1. 2012 London Olympics: NBC has outdone themselves with this free app.  There's video, stories, medal counts and more.  It's everything you need and want to know about Team USA.  If you download the extra Live app, you can watch footage that isn't being seen in prime time.  The only thing I'd warn is to be careful if you are trying to avoid spoilers.  I made the mistake earlier of checking in and seeing the end of a race that I wanted to watch in primetime this evening.  Oops!

2.  HeadSpace: As I wrote, a few days ago, I'm trying to give the meditiation thing the old college try.  3 days in, and it's going pretty well, thanks to this app.  It's free (which I love!) and simple to use.  They provide you with progress tracking, the science behind it and cutesy animations.  What's not to love?!

3.  Pinterest: It's official, I'm a Pinterest addict.  The app is streamlined and works just as well as the website does.  My only complaint on this one is that they don't have an iPad app.  Perusing all the fun and crafty things on a 5 inch screen is slightly disappointing.

Be sure to check them all out if you're looking for a good waste of time.  Enjoy!

Olympic Love

I've seen lots of reviews about the last night's Opening Ceremonies.  From what I can tell, not many people enjoyed it.  In my opinion, (which is probably biased, since I LOVE the Olympics!) the ceremonies were positively outstanding and absolutely London.  Opening Ceremonies, since the beginning of their time, have always been long and philosophical and over the top.  If you go in knowing that, you'll have a great experience.

That being said, Beijing's in 2008 were not my favorite.  They were HUGE and over the top but they were almost too spectacular.  They seemed to spend too much money, make it too "out there" and too much about China, not enough about the world athletic community.  In my opinion at least.  London's on the other hand, were huge but really tried to make it about the bigger picture which is what the Olympics are really about.  They are to bring the world together for a few weeks every few years to celebrate the best of the best and athletics in general.  And London seemed to do just that.

The movie shot by Danny Boyle that opened the show, set the tone.  It was artsy, creative and fun.  Then, came the performance led by Kenneth Branagh, of England moving from puritan to industrial times.  It added the Wow factor, that all opening ceremonies must have.  I adored the ode to GOSH and J.M Barrie.  The children and doctors & nurses seemed to be having a blast.  And Voldemort, Cruella and Hook battling Mary Poppins?  That was just icing on the cake! 

The neatest part for me was that England was able to show their sense of humor without going over the top.  The performance of "Chariots of Fire" with Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) on the organ was priceless.  Atkinson is one of their most cherished comedians, and having him involved seemed like a great aside to England as a whole.  They then moved on to an even bigger and sweeter musical spectacular capped off by everyone's favorite Beatle: Sir Paul.

From beginning to end, I thought it was positively perfect for London.  You could tell all you need to know about the British from the choices that were made in the ceremonies.  They chose to go smaller rather than grander than Beijing.  They knew they couldn't out do China, so they went for more quality rather than quantity.  They do cheeky humor and fantastic literature really well. Lastly, they've produced some of the world's most famous musicians and music.  They showcased the best of what England had to offer dazzling millions in the process.  And afterall, isn't that what the Olympics are all about?

Friday Five

1. The Olympics: I'm so excited I can almost hear the bugle playing the Olympic song! Go Michael Phelps (a Maryland boy, don't you know?!) USA! USA! USA!

2. BookRiot: Thanks to Pinterest I found this site.  It's the perfect site for all things book and book lovers.  I predict that I will waste loads and loads of time browsing this site.  I've already been informed by the 2 30 things to read before you're 30 lists, that I've only read 8 of these books.  Therefore I have 9 months to read 52 books...I need to get on the ball!  I also found this, which is just the cutest.

3. Internet History, Technology and Security Class:  This is the free course I'm taking through Coursera.  So far I kinda love it.  The professor seems to be a great teacher and cool guy.  He also seems to be the perfect teacher for a course like this.  He's totally invested in making Coursera something viable in education world.  As an ISD geek, it's pretty awesome!

4. Opening Ceremonies: Since it's taken me sooo long to write this post, the Olympic Opening Ceremonies have now started.  And so far they're awesome!  I love England!

5. The very fact that it's Friday.  You've heard me mope all week and most of the moping had to do with job stuff.  Now that it's Friday, I can relax!  

Ohm...

I don't usually buy into the new age-y, touchy-feely stuff.  But after the crummy week I've had, and since my goal for this blog was to try something new, I thought I'd give it a shot.  Thanks to a clever article in the paper, I realized, there's an app for that!  So I downloaded the "Headspace to go" app and decided to wing it.  According to the article, and the handy-dandy intro video starring the company's president, there are 10 easy 10 minute guided meditations and you are supposed to complete 1 a day, focusing on certain aspects each day.

Now, I've tried meditation before.  In a class in high school, we were guided through one.  I really didn't see the point and I wasn't so much relaxed, as I was sleepy.  So I pretty much knew what to expect and it was as expected.  I layed there, I breathed, I relaxed...I almost fell asleep.  But my brain did slow down a bit.  If nothing else, I stopped thinking about everything and focused, so I'd say that was an accomplishment.  We'll see how it goes for the next 9 days.  Maybe, in 9 days time, I'll be calm, centered and the very picture of elightenment...OR I'll be asleep.

Sunnier Days

After last night's mope fest, I'm starting to get back in the groove a bit.  I still haven't really gotten over the grumps, but an evening with some great girlfriends, Chinese food, and Ice Cream have started to clear some of the fog.  Everything else seems to be going well.  The class I'm taking (Internet History and Security) is totally nerdy and totally interesting  I even got a 100 on the first quiz.  The weather here has been beautiful.  And it's already Wednesday night (3 down, 2 to go!). 

It's just this darn nagging job situation (and lack of a significant other: but I can only deal with 1 major life issue at a time).  If I could figure this all out, I'd be A-OK.  Instead, I melt down every few weeks which solves nothing.  Isn't there a fairy job-mother out there that can help?  It really doesn't have to be an amazing job, just the perfect one...

Just One of Those Days

Do you ever have "one of those days" when you just kind of hit a wall?  Today is one of those days for me.  I've been grumpy since I woke up this morning for no good reason, and since then I've gotten progressively grumpier.  I won't bore you with the details because writing any more might bore you to tears.  And I'm sure the "sun will come out tomorrow" and all that jazz, but tonight, if no one minds, I'm just gonna mope...

NewsHound

I'm not usually glued to the news.  I do check on CNN most mornings but I get the general headlines and move on with my day.  But in the last week, I've been obsessed with checking for updates on all of the stories going on in the world.  Between the start of the Olympics and all that's going on with the security issues, the Joe Paterno/Penn State conundrum, and the heartbreaking tragedy out of Colorado, I've been hooked on reading all the updates and opinions. 

The Olympics obsession is a usual bi-annual (does that mean every two years or twice a year, I always forget? you know what I mean) occurrence for me.  I'm not much on sports but I get wrapped up in the pomp and circumstance of the event and will usually cry at least once as some unknown American stands at the podium with a gold medal around their neck crying and singing the National Anthem and makes their way into the hearts of millions of Americans. So I'm used to reading and re-reading stories about that.  It's magnified this year because it's in London which is a city I just happen to love.

The stories coming out of Colorado on the other hand are heart-breaking and painful to hear. My heart goes out to the families that have lost so much.  But it's also uplifting to hear the stories of bravery from fellow victims, as well as the SWAT team members that took him into custody. The whole country is riveted and repulsed by this one man who used his intelligence for evil.  If people, like the shooter, would focus their powers on the good instead of hurting so many families, think what they could accomplish.  It is a powerful story that I'm sure will be headlining for sometime to come.

It's this new darn Penn State fascination I seem to have acquired that's perplexing to me.  I knew just about nothing regarding State College PA, up until about a year ago.  Then the horrible stories broke and I somehow became an expert.  How does this happen? Today, I was glued to CNN when the sanctions were announced.  Here's my issue and I promise not to harp, I just have to get it off my chest and everyone else is tired of listening to me : )  The kids that are entering Penn State this year who are bearing the brunt of the astronomical fines and fees were about 4 years old when everything with Sandusky started.  Why are we punishing them?!  Also, the 60 million dollars that the NCAA has taken from the school should go into a trust for the families affected by Sandusky.  That is all I have to say about that.

Honestly, I am really not usually this well informed.  But I think I may have drank the 24/7/365 news-cycle KoolAid, because I'm hooked.  What's depressing to think about is that when these stories have floated from our memories, I'm sure that stories equally affecting and terrifying will be there to replace them...and I will most likely be reading about them.

Wonderful Weekend

Even though, I missed the quilt yesterday we made the best of a cool day in DC.  We visited the American and Natural History museums at the Smithsonian.  Then, we walked down to the White House, which I'd never seen.  All in all it was a pretty great day.

These photographs were taken by amateur nature photographers and displayed at the Natural History Museum.  We amused ourselves by captioning them.

"Oh, ugh...this is gonna hurt..."

 "Seriously?"

 "Cheese!"

"Look Ma, No Hands!" 

The Ocean room at the Natural History Museum

 

 

 

The White House: I kept expecting Josh, CJ, and President Bartlett to walk through the gates.. : ) 

 

 

Oh, Kermie 

 Michele Obama's Inaugural Gown: Gorgeous!

 My favorite Doisneau photograph

 The first set of Jim Henson's puppets: So cool that you can see the beginnings of his famous characters.  Little green dude looks a lot like Oscar the Grouch and the guy behind him looks like Ernie.  And of course, Kermie hasn't changed much.

 The Hope Diamond

Today started with Brunch.  Then I found an amazing new Scrapbook store which I'm sure will cost me some money.  Finally, I made a delicous (even if I do say so myself: ) dinner inspired by Pinterest.  Unfortunately, I was in such a rush to get everything out on time, I forgot to take pics so you'll just need to visit here, here, here, and here to get the general idea. 

Another, fabulous but all too short weekend.  Here's to a wonderful week!

Quilt 2012

Well, it seems that the weather gods conspired against me today.  My hope was to see around 38K panels of the National AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed on the National Mall.  What I got was about 10 panels...  The weather has been hot, hot, hot all week.  But in the last 2 days it's decided we need to know what it feels like to live in Seattle, because it's poured buckets!  So I completely understand why they weren't able to exhibit something so fragile, but that doesn't stop me from being disappointed.

The team was able to display a few panels for all to see, and in various spots around town, other panels were put being shown as well.  They also had volunteers reading the names of each person who had a square made in their memory.  We listened to quite a few, but I'm sure the reading of 48 thousand names, lasted all day and into the evening.  It was sobering to realize that each name read was one more person who wasn't here anymore due to this horrible disease.  But it was uplifting to see the amount of people that were there, even in the rain and chill, to support the cause.  There were red ribbons, and The Last One tees supporting the cause everywhere.  And a steady stream of volunteers, facing the crowds and reading a portion of the names.  I would have loved to see the quilt in all its glory, because I'm sure the feeling of support, love and compassion we were all feeling would have increased exponentially.  It's wonderful to know that so many people are committed to stopping this one disease today.  If only this love and compassion had been there when the pandemic had first started, some of these people would not have had to die thinking they deserved it just for being who they were.

Remember.  Understand.  Share the lessons.  Act.

 

 

 You might notice what I just learned today, that each square that is created, is the size and shape of a grave. 

 

  

 Created by members of the Bristol Myers Squibb team, who was the major sponsor of this weekend's events.

 

 

 Stage where all the names were read.

 These few panels were displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.  The yellow panel below was created to honor Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, who died from the disease in 1991.

 

 

And of course, an artsy Instagram.

Friday Five

1.  Hate to keep harping on this but I'm LOVING the #photoadayjuly challenge.  It's so fun and easy to keep up with.  I cheat a little and usually plan my pics ahead of time, but I actually love thinking about what's up next. (Click here to see all of the #photoadayjuly challengers)

2. In an apparent effort to be viewed as an even bigger geek/nerd than I already am: I would wear pretty much any of these shirts.  Although my personal faves are this one, this one, this one and this one.

3. Reading a second book that's just as good as the first.  After feverishly reading and finishing "666 Park Avenue" last Saturday in 24 hours, I bought and started reading the follow-up: "The Dark Glamour".  I was worried it would be a let down since the first was so good and usually follow-ups aren't so hot.  But so far it hasn't dissappointed.  I'm not reading it as quickly since I actually have to do that crazy thing called work during the week, but I foresee having it finished by Monday.

4. Barley: The absolute cutest, most adorable dog I've ever seen!  I found A Beach Cottage blog a few weeks ago when I was turned on to the photo a day challenge.  Then I found her dog. O-M-G!  Check him out here.  He's got his own fan site.  Apparently, he's so beloved by the blogger's readers, that she devoted a whole page to a photo gallery of him.  How can anyone not love that face?!

5. I'm a self-titled Chocolate fiend, so any new chocolate (especially dark chocolate) gets me mucho excited.  Today, in Target I found "Exclusive" chocolates from Dove: Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Caramel Promises.  They're apparently so exclusive that I can't even find them on their website.  But Oh my goodness, are they to die for.  I made the mistake of having them on my desk at work, I think I polished off 6 of the darn things before the day was over.  My initial reaction was "too yummy for words!" Delicious!

School's In!

Unlike most people, I kinda always loved school.  Of course, when I was in the thick of it, with 4 papers and 3 tests all in the same week, I hated it like everyone else.  But each August, I was excited to get my class schedule and new supplies.  I loved learning who my teachers would be and seeing the syllabus full of what we would learn that year.  And I loved learning new things!  Ok, I loved learning non-math-related new things...If it has numbers, I'm out.  So since I've graduated from grad school, and I'm not feeling a doctoral dissertation, I've been a little new-thing starved. 

So I've been scanning the internet for some free (operative word here) learning and I've found a plethora.  First up, and this one still surprises me, is YouTube.  I've been wanting to learn Adobe Creative Suite for months now.  But without having the program to practice on (1100 is a little rich for my blood for a program I don't even know how to use), using training books is pretty impossible.  But if you search YouTube, there are hundreds of video tutorials on all the programs in CS.  Too cool!  The library access to LearningExpress is pretty helpful too. I actually feel pretty good about using the program now.  I'm sure there'll be a learning curve, but I at least know the interface and how to do some introductory things.

The second and COOLest is the website Coursera.com. Colleges from all over the US and Canada are adding courses for people to take completely for free.  You won't get actual credit from taking the course, but you will get certificates saying you did the work to pass the class.  Even course supplies like books and lectures are available online for free.  The courses include technology, education and science.  But the most remarkable thing about these courses is that they're through high-end colleges.  Johns Hopkins, Princeton, UC Berkeley, Duke, etc.  Pretty amazing huh?  I haven't taken any courses yet, but I'm starting one on Monday in Tech stuff.  Thinking it might help with the eLearning stuff...we'll see.  Can't wait!

The View From Up Here

So as you can see, this is still happening...Good news: I have water again.  Bad news: It's coming from another building which means no real pressure.  Oh and it was 103 degrees today...So all in all, a pretty great summer so far...

Weekend Preview

A few years ago, I bought this book at a Bargain Bookstore, started reading that day and had it finished by the next.  It's fantastic and uplifitng cover to cover.  I knew a little about the AIDS Memorial quilt and the NAMES foundation from school, but never knew anything about Cleve Jones, the man who started the foundation all those years ago.  Hearing the how and why of the mission creation, made it that more memorable and fascinating to me. 

Since then, I've been dying to see the quilt in person.  The NAMES foundation is housed in San Francisco, which means the quilt stays there most of the time.  Every dozen or so years (It's been 16...) the quilt is displayed in Washington DC.  They lay all the panels on the National Mall for all to visit.  The quilt has grown in size since it began and this time they won't be able to display the whole thing. Come Saturday, I'll finally get to see the 38,000 intricately and painstakingly designed panels that are so full of love and memories of survivors and victims of this horrible disease. 

If you're interested visit here, to find more information on the cause and the event.  Then visit here, to find more information on NAMES and the overwhelming work they do.

Water, Water Everywhere (Not Exactly...)

After a weekend of having all kinds of air in my water pipes (It's almost a game of Russian Roulette when you turn the faucet on...), I came home to absolutely NO water today.  That makes for a fun afternoon.  Luckily, I was already going to the bestie's house for dinner so I just needed to throw some clothes together to stay at the parental's house.

It turns out that I should be thankful even with no water.  It could have been much worse if I lived a little lower.  Apparently, my building's water main broke Friday afternoon, completely flooding the 4 condos on the bottom floor.  I'm sure none of those people had a happy relaxing weekend like I did.

So Thank you to the Water Gods and the real estate Gods that made me buy on the top floor!  I can do without the water for an evening.  It's the very least I can do.

Sunday Funday

My Sunday was spent doing all kinds of wonderfully ordinary things.  I had a wonderful brunch with the parentals at Rams Head in Annapolis. (Firehouse biscuits: Yum!)  Then drove over the bridge to the outlets which would have been more fun if I'd had an unlimited source of income but, alas, not so much.  Then back to Naptown for a yummy dinner at the Chart House.  Topped off by finishing a fabulous book.  (666 Park Avenue: Not usually into the witches, zombies and vampire kind of Sci Fi but this was more chick-lit-y so it was so much better than the ridiculous Twilight.  Of course, I'm now being cursed by all the sparkly vampires who worship Twilight...) 
Anyway, Happy Sunday!  On to a hopefully peaceful week!

Crafty Saturday

My only goal for the day was to do something (anything!) crafty.  I hadn't scrapbooked or made anything in weeks so I could feel the creative juices flowing due to my new Pinterest obsession.  Well, I achieved my goal and then some for a change.  Yay!

First up are the strawberry popsicles that I talked about yesterday.  They were so much better than I had hoped and were a perfect healthy sweet treat.  I'm definitely going to be making them again soon.

  

Yum!  Yum! Yum!

Then came some Pinterest-inspired cards.  I always keep all of my scraps when I do a project, but I never seem to use them.  A few months ago I found the perfect layout to use up some scraps.  I probably could have made 1000 of these particular cards with all the scraps I do have but I stopped at 8.

  

Then came my own design, which may or may not have come to me in a dream...These were in my head when I woke up this morning so I'm super excited to have them turn out so cute.

These are second-rate knock-offs of this super adorable card and this pretty card.  I definitely need to invest in that nifty chevron paper and some stamp sayings.  They would have made these cards much more chic...



 

Lastly, a 40th birthday present for a friend whose family just got back from an Hawaiian vacation.  Ecstatic that it came out exactly how I pictured it in my head.  Hope she loves it as much as I do! (*ohana = family in Hawaiian)

Friday Five

1.  This story from CNN on ridiculous Higgs-Boson jokes.  I know they are totally geeky but they made me smile.  My favorite: "The Higgs Boson walks into a Catholic Church. Priest says "What are you doing here?" HB says "You can't have mass without me." Ha! 

2. Cookie Monster singing "Share it, Maybe."  Sure it gets a little repetitive after the first minute or so, but, hey, so does the real song.  It's super clever and adorable and how can you not love anything made by Jim Henson Studios?

3.  Let me start out by saying that until earlier in the week, I had no real idea what an "Infographic" was.  But now that I've started hitting Pinterest pretty hard, I have a pretty good idea.  They seem to be everywhere.  I even found a book on Amazon about creating them and using them in presentations (that I've naturally pinned to my super creatively titled board, Work Stuff).  As someone in training and as a visual learner, I can't believe I've never really used or seen them before.  But they are a super cool and focused way to get information across.  As someone who endlessly edits periods and typos ALL day LONG, this one is my favorite.  Its only downside is that it's so small that I can't enlarge it and hang it on my desk.  I'm thinking I'm going to need to add these to my toolbox...

4. This recipe for Strawberry Popsicles.  I bought popsicle molds in the beginning of the summer with allusions of cooling off with fresh, healthy popsicles every week of the scorching summer.  This weekend, they finally came out of the box.  I just whipped them up and I can only hope they will be as tasty as I think they will be.

5.  As much as I hate to admit it: Pinterest is one of my faves this week.  You need only look here to see that I've been attacking it and have found WAY too many good ideas to keep me busy.  My plan is to spend the day scrapping tomorrow, working on a few of my fun finds.  I have to start sometime or I'll be crafting and baking until I'm 90 at this rate!

This Place Thursday: Geek Edition

In celebration of the biggest geek fest of the year starting today, we'll be visiting Comic Con for This Place Thursday.  Up until a few years ago, I had never heard of Comic Con.  It's been around for decades but it's seemed to really explode in the last decade or so.  For those of you not geeky enough, Comic Con International is the largest Comic/Pop-Culture/All things geek convention in the US which is held in San Diego every year.  Hundreds of thousands of nerds, geeks, and all around pop-culture fiends flock to the city to be treated to panels, parties, exhibits, and stars galore.  It's a mecca for a lot of people, me being one of them.

So, in 2010 I got the crazy idea to see what the big deal was.  Tickets are surprisingly affordable.  It's that darn flight and hotel that get you every time!  And of course since I couldn't fly across the country alone, I dragged the bestie along. 

Now I must be honest, I am a certified nerd.  I love The Big Bang Theory.  I have a picture taken in front of a prop Stargate.  The songs of Dr. Horrible are on my iPod.  I'm a Whedon-ite: Go Browncoats!  I wrote an entire post on the Higgs-Boson particle.  I saw the Lord of the Rings trilogy on their opening days.  I know about, understand and LOVE steampunk.  You could say I have the geek-cred but I really didn't want to attend for that reason.  Seeing that stuff was just a happy by-product! No, the bestie and I were much more interested in the USA Network panels that were taking place on Thursday.  For 3 glorious hours we listened as the casts (and semi-casts: BN I'm looking at you!) of Psych, Burn Notice, and my personal favorite, White Collar cracked jokes, told stories and kept every one of the 1500 con-ers in the room rolling in the aisles.  It was fabulous!  We had great seats, which were to be expected, since, to actually get into this particular room we had to sit in line for 4 hours before hand. 

That's the thing about Comic Con.  Everyone else is just as big a die-hard as you are.  You have to do the work and pay the price if you want to see the greats. You need a solid plan of attack, of which we had none.  Due to this pain in the neck, we pretty much spent the majority of the day sitting on the floor twiddling our thumbs and people watching, which just happens to be the other thing about Comic Con.  People watching on a regular everyday street can provide about 5 minutes', give or take, of enjoyment.  Comic Con people watching should be its own sport.  In no other place can you sit and watch Dr. Horrible, Darth Vader, Pokemon, the Ghostbusters, Dexter, the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp was big that summer: Creepy!) and Captain Tightpants himself (not the real one unfortunately) walk by like it's an every-day occurrence.  It's magnificent!  It would be even greater if I wasn't so afraid of getting caught taking their pictures but I snapped a few so I guess that's progress.  I wouldn't say the 4 hours blew right by, but it definitely made them more bearable. (Of course, dreaming of the Neal Cafferey I was about to see didn't hurt either.)

After the panels (which I'm sure can be found on YouTube if you really try.  They are well worth the hour!), pretty much everything good had ended for the day, so we trolled the floor for a while, then left.  Of course, since the convention takes place over 4 days and most of the stars that come, stay the weekend, if you don't have weekend tickets, you can star watch all over the city.  At the hotel I saw Patton Oswalt and Grant Imahara (Mythbusters).  And while having dinner on the water, Deidrich Bader and his family strode by. I was kinda hoping to see Nathan Fillion or at least the other 2 dudes from Mythbusters, but not so much.

Overall, it's an experience of a lifetime if you go into that kind of thing.  Even if you don't, it's shiny (token Firefly reference) and fun and a super cool experience to have.  I would recommend planning your attack very carefully and getting tickets for the whole weekend.  San Diego is a beautiful city but I could have roamed the halls of the SD Convention center for hours!

Below: First set are pics of the floor and exhibits.  The next 3 are the panels.