Question: I have to go away for two weeks, so I"m setting the VCR. Is the finale a two hour episode?

Sure, people love my customer service, but in the end, more of the stuff they need is readily available across the way.

It depends. I went to two Creation Star Trek conventions back in the ST:TNG days and a Buffy one last year, and the main positives for me regarding those types of experiences are the chances to buy merchandise that may not be readily available if you walk into a store (although now with the internet, it's not as hard as it used to be) and cast Q&A type events. Yet, after forking over the admission fee and then adding on the sub-packages that permit you to be herded through a line for autographs or photos and spending additional money on merchandise and other crap, I always have a "Why did I even spend that much?" moment afterwards. The cost to enjoyment ratio always feels off to me.

Just looking at the "official" Lost con info, I'm soured by the no cameras in some events disclaimer and the friendly reminder that autographs are available for licensed merchandise, or in other words, the stuff they sell you.

I'm not totally against cons. If Joss & Co. turn up at Wizard World Philly, I'll be there, but that's inexpensive in comparison to some of these Creation events.

On the other hand, I've found the cost to enjoyment ratio to be great at your events, Allyson. Considering that the cons I've been to are just driving distance affairs, but your events have cost me plane fare plus hotel rooms and rental cars, etc., that says a lot. Are they directly comparable? Not quite because they're not exactly the same sort of event. But what would I rather spend my money on? The fan event, for sure.

Read HiddenSky's post many times.

Allyson, you're chronically selling yourself short, and not looking at fandom the way I look at fandom.

I know you can't, that you refuse to, do advance promising for your events. But I've skimmed the show boards after both W&H and D:LA and people seem to sincerely wish they'd gone.

I don't know from promotion of this sort of stuff, but you don't seem to be involved in shindigs that engender regret in the attendees. People like them, and like what you can offer, and a fair number of them cite the things you can't guarantee as gravy.

I don't know if more people saying this makes a difference -- that there can be people who want a D:LA and people who want a Lostie Con, and even people who want both. If you were doing Lost cons, then, yeah, this'd be stinky. But as far as I can tell, you were never in that business.

Done now.

I offically do not care if any Buffiista ever sees any Lost castmember in the flesh.

It is all about the writers, all the time.

I gotta admit, I care not one whit for the writing on Lost.

Some pretty people on it, though.

I gotta admit, I care not one whit for the writing on Lost. Some pretty people on it, though.

Doomed.

The show?

Doomed.

Pretty people do not make a show.

Well, I don't respect the writing.

But pretty can get you quite far, if you exploit it right.

Some people like the writing -- they can mob the scribes. I'll just kick back and look at the eye candy. Don't need to meet it.

I think that on an episode-by-episode basis, the writing is actually pretty respectable. It's just over the season that it's not holding up. I mean, I don't spend a lot of time wincing at clunky dialog when I'm watching.

Not being pretty, I'll take your word for the facts.

Fuck all that faux modesty!

I be pretty. Lost has lyrics. Maybe we are both easy.