New at Rising Star 17
DCI Sanctioned
Friday Night (October 17) Beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Sponsored by Ninth Life Comics and Games
This will be a Sealed Deck Tourney, with an entry fee of $25.00.
Fee includes one sealed Tourney Pack and two Sealed Boosters.
Booster Drafts may also be scheduled through the weekend if interest is expressed in them.
For more information contact
Ninth Life Comics and Games
706 Thorn St
Princeton, WV 24740
(304) 431-0021
manadrain_uu@yahoo.com
Since our last update, we have confirmed that Ed Trotta will be joining us. Ed has appeared in episodes of MacGyver, Max Headroom. Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager, and Angel. He is well-known for his performances of Abraham Lincoln, including the acclaimed one-man show, "Two Miles a Penny". He will be appearing on our stage at 5:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
"No battle plan survives contact with the enemy."
-Murphy's First Law of Combat
Or as someone else put it, "Life is what happens while you're making other plans". Frankly, our staff and presenters (often one and the same) looked at everything we had to do and realized, "We don't have enough hours to do all that." So, with regrets, we announce we've had to drop the following items from the schedule:
We were lookin' for a home, and we've found one at Bluefield State. Our first full-fledged event last year confirmed that southern West Virginia wanted a fan event, and now it's got one. From 6:00 p.m. to midnight Friday night, and 9:00 a.m. to midnight Saturday, fans, pros and the merely curious will be meeting in fellowship and fun.
People don't normally expect to hear about filmmakers in the hills of southwest Virginia. In fact, the thought brings to mind images of the Great Gonzo going to Bombay, India to become a movie star. The truth is that Tazewell County has a great creative tradition, and a place that has so far spawned not one, but three Star Wars fan films. Drennon Laney's most recent project, "Star Wars: Balance of the Prophets" premiered last year at Rising Star. This year, Drennon and the gang are back to talk about next-to-no-budget filmmaking, and their next project.
The music and comedy of White Plectrum has resonated through convention auditoriums throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He has serenaded Chancellor Gowron (Robert O'Reilly) with "Coward of the Klingons" and bowled Holly Lisle over with her own "The Lamentable Love of the Dragon and the Lady". Join White Plectrum (better known as Keith Brinegar) on Saturday afternoon for Filking 102 (you had to be here last year for Filking 101) and learn the techniques of the filker, and take part in the creation of a filk of our own. Then be sure to stick around for the concert Saturday night for a chance to hear your masterpiece performed live on our stage.
Ashley Holohan's "anthropomorphic" art was a hit at Rising Star West, so we've asked her to join us once again. Visit her table and take a look at the prints she has for sale, or commission an original piece, or get a portrait badge that shows your "furry" side. Be sure to check out her original pieces in the art show, and don't miss her in Saturday afternoon's art panel. While you're at it, stop by the table and ask about VT-SoAP- the Society of Anthropomorphics at Virginia Tech.
Did Rasputin get his doors blown off by the Batmobile? A lot's gone on in the town of Glidepath over the last year in Fragile Gravity, and things will only be moving much faster in the future. Pick up your copies of the first two collections of Fragile Gravity and be there when Chris and Barb face that most frightening of all questions, "So, what's next?"
The technology may not be quite that advanced, but the BSC Robotics Team continues to bring back awards from regional, national, and even international autonomous vehicle competitions. They continue to solve problems with ingenuity instead of money. Join them to see what they're up to this year.
Probably not. The internet and low-cost, high quality video equipment have brought about a renaissance in Independent Films. After all, can you really call them amateur when they're written by original series writers, directed by original series directors, feature effects by people who worked on one of the recent series, and star original series actors? That's why our Friday night main programming room is dedicated to independent films, including the long talked about Star Trek: Of Gods and Men. While you're at it, check out our anime room for some of the best of modern and classic anime.
From theatrical fighting and role-playing to the scholarly study of historical techniques, the art of the blade still holds our fascination, even in the day of sniper rifles and cruise missiles. This year, we've been blessed with the presence of both ends of that spectrum, with the Concord University chapter of AMTGARD, and the Abingdon members of the Association of Renaissance Martial Arts. Weather permitting, both groups will be performing demonstrations on Saturday afternoon.
Look for our usual selection of 'Clix gaming, as well as role playing, and even live role playing. We're hoping to feature a Battletech game. And, thanks to our friends at Ninth Life Comics and Games, we'll even have a Magic: The Gathering Tournament (as this will be a sealed booster tournament there will be an additional charge in the form of buying your boosters).
For our younger members, we're going to be adding a few events this year, including "Chopper Rescue", "RC Motocross" and a Coloring Contest (don't worry, there'll also be a category for grown-ups). Our anime room will be heavily weighted toward kid-friendly titles, though parents should check the titles for suitability. But please parents, Rising Star is not a baby-sitting service. Children under the age of twelve must be accompanied by a responsible adult (or is that adults must be accompanied by a responsible child?).
Where else are you going to find a day-and-a-half of entertainment for so cheap? Plus what you spend, in addition to helping put on the event, will support the David Reid Memorial Scholarship. Last year we made nearly $500 toward the scholarship. Our goal is to raise a total of $5000 to endow the scholarship through the BSC Foundation.