I wasn't hoping for this anymore, but: someone's uploaded James' whole Sunday Q&A on Youtube!! Link here. Thank you so much! (Embedding is disabled for this video.)
I'm super busy today, it being the last day of the month and thus a day when you can still plump up your paycheck a little bit. I get very skinny paychecks, so I can't make a lot of commentary, but I will later. As a whole, the Q&A covers a lot of familiar ground. There are quite a few "on some level"s. ;) James appears very cutely bundled up, in the blue plaid shirt, cap, scarf, and leather jacket of con glee. (There are so many zippers on that jacket, including in the sleeves. I find it quite fascinating.) The audience seems a bit stiff and doesn't laugh at many of his jokes. WTF? Are Belgian people different when it comes to humor? This must be a cultural thing. He should come to Finland, we're all crazy.
Highlights:
-He apologizes for the French things he wrote in the autographs, some of which apparently weren't correct. Heee! But he used Google Translate to check, so maybe it was actually Google Translate that was wrong. He promises a new autograph to those who got something nonsensical. I'd hang onto a nonsensical French autograph, it's more unique.
-In one of my favorite con moments, he tells people it's Sunday so he will now conduct a religious service, please kneel. Nobody laughs. *facepalm* It was really cute though.
-Edward James Olmos and his warmth comes up again. His children call EJO "Uncle Eddie". Awww! He doesn't do his EJO voice, maybe because this audience doesn't seem to get his humor too well. Too bad.
-He talks a bit about Eureka and the science of the shows, how so much of it is based on real science. He seems fascinated by this aspect, as am I.
-He mentions Baltar being very recognizable, and he's happy about "stepping into a new avatar" soon. Hmm????!!! Does he mean a main role or something else that will be really recognizable? Commence the Dr Who etc. rumors. He can't actually give any news about future projects, but he is working on something.
-There's talk about the finale of BSG and how he doesn't even know what Baltar and Six were, and how it was more about the dangers of technology (he mentions being quick on your thumbs on Twitter - hee! But some of use an actual keyboard for tweeting, James.) He's worried about people reading books less, which might lead to losing some of our cultural inheritance.
I think that's the most important stuff that came up. More later, possibly tomorrow when it's the first of the month and my work motivation takes a sudden slump.
Sunday, October 28
Hmm, I thought I made an update on Thursday but apparently I never published it. It's been a crazy week, but then there weren't that many updates anyway.
We have video! It's a bit of an answer about the old Battlestar Galactica. James watched it as a child and was shocked that they had to leave some people on the planet when it was destroyed.
"..with the idea that there's been a genocide on a planet. The one memory I have frmo being a kid is watching, Captain Apollo come down in his viper, and there's a sea of people who are refugees, but like he's only got two seats. And I remember thinking: Well they gotta save them, cos like it's a TV show, and it can't end badly, and whatever. I'm a lot older now and I still remember that one scene, because it really hurt! And we carried on that kind of legacy. The world has matured, not necessarily in a great way since the 70's. The thing that is interesting is in the 70's, after the world had been destroyed, they went to the disco planet, which we didn't do."
:D :D The disco planet! I wonder what he means about the world maturing, but not in a great way. Does he mean the world is less innocent? Or that it hasn't matured greatly or anything?
I don't think I've heard him say this stuff before. That's interesting. Shallow side note: his shirt is kind of insufficiently tucked in, so maybe his shirt, as well as his hair, has a life of its own.
And here's an article about him loving single malt! With two very.. awww-inspiring pictures, where he is qutite bundled up again! Apparently this guy sells the whiskey? And he ended up giving James some samples. That's - really kind of cool.
Edit: I need to brush up on my reading stuff properly before linking to it. This guy was responsible for driving him to the hotel from the airport, and whiskey just came up during the drive. And likes - the "peated malts from Islay". I have no idea what that even means, but cheers!
I don't know anything about such drinks, but apparently James is a TOSHAN MAN and that sounds so adorable I might start using this as his new nickname. (Why do I always love when he smokes, drinks, or eats anything? Ingesting things through the mouth = adorable?)
And - holy fucking cheekbones, Batman. The cheekbones seem to be making the form of a question mark, but the wrong way around. So he asks questions, but the other way around? He... thinks of stuff from a different angle? He.. Oh whatever, I'm trying to be deep and failing miserably. Time to call it a day and publish.
Tuesday, October 22: Les Con Temps Sont les Bon Temps.
Second Tuesday Update:
OMG - this is a really cool photo/drawing by *Boredman. The calm exterior hides a fanboyish interior, apparently. Awesome! I don't think anyone else has done this before. I hope James sees this, I think he'd appreciate the artistry.
Also, chest hair. But I'm trying to be slightly less gushy, because I just re-read the post and it seems a bit... dribbly. Bear with me, I have the flu. And stress. And he's just too cute. I've decided that I said "cute" too many times, by the way, so I will no longer use such a word in this post. (I'm not saying anything about the blog as a whole..)
Another adorable photo by kmeron. I like the faded tones, and this is a particularly nice shot of James's KindEyes. He does the delighted face, and it's one of those looks that just melt my heart. It's not a purely sexual thing, it's just that he looks so kind. His hair looks amusingly like it has its own life back there, which James may or may not be aware of.
On a more sobering note, a blogger says they felt very uncomfortable meeting James. This is always sad to read, especially since I worry about it happening to me - paying lots of money to meet him, looking forward to it, and then either making a fool of myself, or catching him on a tired day, or just feeling our chemistries don't match at all. And feeling sad, when everyone else is happy after meeting him. I don't know this blogger, but I got a feeling they might be like me, more comfortable observing than interacting. Half the time I don't talk to James on Twitter because I'm just so damn shy. And I've talked to him several times before, and he's talked to me. It's odd.
His Q&A later that day was inspiring. We got good background information, thoughts on acting and the techniques of the show, and some reflections on his identity as a Brit, and what that implied for the story arc in which Gaius was president.
Oo, that sounds fascinating. I hope there will be quotes and/or video. Am I too greedy? It's awesome that people are reporting anything at all.
Not to make this all about me, but I'm about 100 % sure I'd enjoy being in one of his Q&A's, even if - especially if - I wouldn't be asking a question. Maybe I identify too much with the meeting stories, like when someone has a good meeting I feel I had a good meeting, and vice versa. But maybe that's part of the fun - maybe part of the function? - of con posts. Hmmm.
First Tuesday Update:
(The con times are the good times - not sure if I got that right.)
Sorry for the day with no updates. I've been working hard while having the flu and it's.. my brain is totally hazy, so I apologize in advance for any weirdness. I mean, more weirdness than usual. Um.. nevermind, you probably can't tell the difference anyway.
James himself sounds like he had a blast! He praises Belgian beer and speaks French. I would have gone for Belgian chocolates myself, not a fan of beer. But then they say that Finnish beer is terribly sour, because when it first came here on ships, it got ruined on the way. So Finns began to make bitter, sour beer that Brits think is horrible. I wonder if I'd like the Belgian types.
And I love con times, because James always sounds so happy and benevolent to the whole world. He mostly does, but especially during and after cons. It's good to see how much he enjoys meeting the fans.
Merci Belgium - the beers here r beyond belief, name & number & the people whether they speak Flemish or French Sont super branchez! Merci x
"Branchez - connect". Hmm. OK. "sont super" = are super, so.. the people are super connect? I'm missing something here. I need to brush up on my French. There's a super cute picture of him with a beer, too, so check that out.
A cute pic here - he seems to be posing, so it's not a totally candid shot, but it looks self-deprecating. Heee. Also, it must be his Coke! How awesome is that! He drank Coke! I... I can be calm about this, really.
A better version of kmeron's Twitter pic, in black and white. Here you can also see his shadow. James has a lovely profile, really. I love his nose! The black and white gives a strangely old feel, like he's a professor in the 50's, telling the students about life, philosophy, and the joys of smoking. Actually, you can see TWO of this shadows, can't you? One is just wider. That's really deep and philosophical. Maybe that's the alternate reality James, who's much fatter. Either way, really cute hair tuft at the back.
And a cute - I should think of other adjectives but I'm too tired - one here of the signing situation. I'm getting curiouser and curiouser about that thing on his right wrist. Is it a con thing? Is it a watch? It kinda looks like leather. This is a mystery that needs to be solved. Also, COKE!!! This one's also from kmeron.
Here we learn that James was "chaleureux et accessible", chaleureux meaning warm or hearty. Awww. Also, one of his funniest autographs ever! (Note that Lee is also in the picture. Fanficcers alert!)
James Callis, at the photoshoot : "Hi Valerie, how are you". He basically just remembered my name from the autograph session the day be4 ♥
Awww, sweetie pie. He remembers people's names! Maybe he has some super strong memory, or maybe, if I go really fangirl here, the fans mean so much to him that he just revels in meeting each and every one of them and remembers it forever? The latter seems unlikely, but would be intensely flattering to all fans, so maybe I'll go with that one.
Also, someone tweeted that James was the best part of the con, but I can't find that one now. Either way, sounds like an awesome con.
And. I realized I could have gone. I mean, it's Belgium, it's really close to Finland compared to the US, the flights can be quite cheap. I could have been there and met James but I didn't even consider it. It came to my mind on Saturday, and I beat myself up a bit. There aren't that many cons in Europe, after all, and I may never meet James in person at this rate. But as it happens, a friend had her mother's funeral on Saturday, and my boyfriend's father had bypass surgery yesterday. I might have felt really bad to be far away from them at this time. So all is good.
Sunday, 7:12 PM Belgian time. SNUGGLY PIC!!!
OK, I guess I can stop with the Belgian times because the con is almost over.
I just saw this picture, from Marie who is very lucky indeed. While my fan envy meter reached a new high, it's a lovely picture, and look how snuggly he is with her and how his hair is. And I do like the plaid, which is obviously much brighter than it looked in the earlier pictures. Also, this is the first picture that wasn't from Twitter, so I can start advertising my post on Twitter. I'm needed again! Ye!
Another lovely one from GregNoirfalise. James' face looks slightly burned. Maybe he burned it in the California sun, or maybe it's just hot in those photo op studios. (Or maybe he hugged too many girls?)
And from crossbowwarrior here. It's a bit blurry but I love that you can see an expression, as well as a hair-pression(?). (Why do I feel like all of my comments amount to "gush, his hair/outfit/etc."? Well, as long as we don't have any quotes, that's all I have.
*swoons in an embarrassing fashion*
Sunday, October 21, 13:25 PM Belgian time. OMG Cute! :D:D
This just in: cutest outfit ever? It's cute because it's just so - James! Was he cold again? (Well, he did spend some weeks in LA according to his tweets. But I like the idea that he's just perpetually cold, it's very cute for some reason.) THE leather jacket! The cap! The scarf! He looks tiny and bundled up inside the protective clothing layer. Awwwww unbearably cute! Also, today it's blue plaid. I do like the plaid. Thanks to Radeon_sk for the photo!
Also: the cap again (C for Cylon?) and a bit of chest hair! Cheekbones ftw, btw. What strikes me about this picture is the red eyes - we seem to have two cylons here, one of them being James. Har har. Okay, old joke but still. Thanks to Greg Noirfalise!
And a signing picture - are those patched elbows? Ah, is that the coat he had on at "An Evening with James Callis", rocking the whole English professor look? I love his expression, it looks.. genuine. It's not a posing picture at all, which is why I love candid shots. And is that his Coke is that his Coke is that.. *calms down* OK, it's no big deal whether he drinks Coke or not, just because it happens to be my favorite drink. Ahem. I'm normal. Thanks to Robert (Rossert?) Leach.
It's a bit problematic that all updates seem to be on Twitter. I don't even feel like advertising this post on Twitter, because all people have to do is read the Twitter search for "James Callis" or "Gaius Baltar". I feel unnecessary. But then, Twitter search only pans for a couple of days, and then the updates are lost. So if I don't blog them now, they will be forever lost to those who don't follow the tweeters - right? I'm still doing the world a favor. I think. I will advertise when they no longer show in the search.
Saturday, 20:24 PM Belgian time. First Photos!!!
Oo, we have our first photos!!!! We have our first photos. I'm calm. I'm still calm.
Look, he's wearing red plaid! I love that shirt. He's looking quite fabulous indeed and look at that hair, swoon.
A blurrier photo, but you can see - more hair. That's a lot of hair. Wow. Also, James seems to have one of his touched, friendly looks on. I wonder what he talked about.
A close up reveals that his hair is very long indeed! That is some thick, long hair. Luscious, thick, long hair. Dark, luscious, thick, long, oh you get the picture. GUSH!!!
So these pictures are from his Q&A earlier. Thanks to ttinycourageous, Wilidrine, and kmeron!
Also, someone posted something in Dutch, but I think my dictionary-usage was of no help. I, uh, don't think James looked anything like a "matrimony battleship", so I must be misinterpreting.
Saturday, October 20, 12:48 PM Belgian time.
Eee! So another con and another con watch post. This time, it's in Belgium, which is not a hundred hours behind Finland, so I might actually get some updates while still awake. But who knows? It's a smaller con, so there will be fewer updates, and some will not be in English. I'm trying to brace myself here. Also, while James seems delighted at puns like "F.A.C.T.S. are Gaius Baltar is coming to Belgium", I'm not so happy because when you search for "James Callis F.A.C.T.S.", it (Google) just gives you - James Callis facts. It's a little more frustrating than usual, but I think I will be bitten by the con bug all the same.
Wow, Belgium is only ONE hour behind Finland! You see, we're at the top of the world and thus ahead of most other countries. A great place to be, except for the climate and distances. So James will be having his Q&A in approximately one hour. Eeee exciting!!!
So, updates later! In the meantime, I want to link to this: James appeals for Mexican playwright Legom. Donate if you can - you can help save someone's life. More videos for Legom here. The website with more details here.
