ScoutB writes: gramma and I attended the Canadian National Science Fiction Expo this past weekend and it was wonderful! I'm sure she is going to post an insanely detailed report any minute, but I'm feeling impatient. So, here is my little report, my little moments, and my favorite photo EVER. G took the pic and, yes, I owe her a million!

* There was only about 350 people in the room, which was great. Very intimate feeling.

* Only Elijah...when I saw him before, he was with Sean Astin; it was nice to spend time with just him.

* I asked the first question of the day [insert squee here]. I saw the mic and saw that nobody went right up there. At ORC, there were huge lines as soon as he was in the room. He sat down and said hello and all that, then said, "Well...does anyone have questions?"

* I was squatting down in the center aisle with my camera (which they were allowing...and people weren't staying there, so it didn't jam up), so I jumped right up to the mic and said yes.

* He said hello and asked me how I was (!) and I said something or other (!!)and returned the question. He said he felt "great" b/c he had gotten 9 hours of sleep the night before. A tangent then ensued about his promotion schedule (he'd been in Edinburgh just prior to this). I'm still standing there, trying to keep my knees from knocking.

* He then got back to me and I asked, "I don't think you have a celebrity playlist on itunes; if and when you do, what will you put on it?"

* I was up there for over 4 minutes while he replied and went off on other tangents! He said, "Good question" right off. :)

* He did look at me a lot while he answered...I did a lot of nodding and smiling and trying to stay focussed.

* He said he had a playlist coming out September 6th! It has a song on it that he had to include from Hooligans: part of the promotion. He said it's a song that "might not have been one *I* chose..."

* He paused like he was done with his answer, so I prodded, "Can you tell us anything else that's on it?"

* He said, "I don't know!" - meaning, I think, he couldn't remember while on the spot (he has said he gets nervous at these sessions, too, which is amazing). He then mentioned a song by Sly and the Family Stone that "may be one of [his] favorite songs ever" and went into another tangent about the Langley Music School.

* Nobody asked stupid questions like "Boxers or briefs," which is amazing. It seems there's always one annoying fan who does.

* Even those who asked for hugs (and got them) started out with decent questions about acting, music, his experiences, etc.

* The autograph session was fast (despite an announcement that "Elijah has requested that people not be rushed through"), but brilliant, as you can see from the pics. I gave him another CD of Detroit music and he was interested enough to open it while I was standing there. No, he didn't mention the other one, but I'm hopeful that he'll want to and be able to keep it b/c he got so few gifts at this event (at ORC, he got tons).

It was wonderful!

Other than this session, the whole thing was great. Lots of anime/manga fans...horror people...Star Wars...lots of costumes and lots to see. Interesting.

It really was a perfect weekend. Gramma and I had a great dinner on Friday at a place with live jazz and ate out on the sidewalk on Queen Street: great people-watching. On Saturday, as our bliss lingered, we ate in Little Italy (where there was a street fair going on) and had a great dinner. Sleep was elusive that night. :-]