BSG Exhibit AND Jane Espenson? Frak Yeah!

A very special event is coming to a city very near to us….in conjunction with Geek Girl Con in Seattle the weekend of October 8th and 9th, BSG and Caprica writer Jane Espenson will be appearing at the Science Fiction Museum  for a 90 minute talk.  What better time to arrange a trip down to the Museum to see that BSG Exhibit we’ve been talking about for so long!  And, to top it off, the folks at the Sci-Fi Museum have given the 13th Colony our very own portal to buy discounted tickets:

For tickets to the Sci-Fi Museum (and Experience Music Project), follow this link for tickets at $15 rather than the regular $18 at the door:

https://estore.empsfm.org/store/index.asp?code=13th%20Colony%20BSG

For tickets to the Jane Espenson event called “Oral History Live! with Jane Espenson” follow this link:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/192821

**Note, if you are a Geek Girl Con pass holder, use the code MEMBERS ROCK in the discount section to get a half price ticket for Jane’s talk – $5 rather than $10.

**Note, the Jane Espenson talk is extra, not included with your EMP/SFM admission ticket

Jane Espenson, and a bunch of other cool guests, are appearing on a Whedonistas panel later in the day as part of Geek Girl Con.  If you are interested in the convention, check it out here:  http://www.geekgirlcon.com/   My husband and I will be attending the convention, so I hope to see you there!

PS>..and yes, GEEK GUYS are also very welcome!!

So Say We All! in San Deigo

For you frakkers who are lucky enough to be going to San Diego Comic Con (No, not jealous, not one bit….grrr) there are a couple of special BSG things to watch out for.

The makers of some really cool replica BSG costume items like the double tanks, ANOVOS, are getting together on Friday afternoon from 1 – 1:30 at Booth 2913 to take a really cool picture of all the BSG fans in their costume gear.  (Interesting tidbit: Mythbusters very own Grant Imahara tweeted recently how thrilled he was to get his ANOVOS BSG Duty Blues in the mail!)  And if you don’t have ANOVOS gear, you can still show up and take part.  When the photographer says “On three…1, 2, 3” you just know you all have to say “So Say We All!” as loud as you can.  And if, like me, you won’t be able to make it to SDCC this year, you can watch the event on Ustream here.

Also on the apparel front, female BSG fans should keep an eye out for the Her Universe booth, where they will be unveiling some new BSG items specifically aimed at female fans.  They will have just 300 of their new Cylon toaster necklace.  Since the creator of Her Universe is Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, you can find her merchandise at the Lucasfilm Booth 2913-F.

There will be a “Battlestar: So Say We All” panel on Thursday morning, hosted by Richard Hatch,  featuring BSG Science Advisor Kevin Grazier and writer Michael Taylor.

For those of us who can’t be there…have a great time at SDCC!

Walking on Kobol

Episode #3 of the 13th Colony Video Files is up on Youtube.

Episode 3

Capilano River Regional Park in North Vancouver was a popular location with the producers of Battlestar Galactica.  They went back several times for Battlestar Galactica, The Plan and Caprica.

We’ve done something different with this episode, trying to give you an impression of how close together some of the various locations (and different planets!) really are.  From the parking lot off Capilano Road, you can get a clear view of The Lions, which were seen in Caprica‘s “The Heavens Will Rise” and in Battlestar Galactica‘s Season Two episode, “Home Pt 2.”  A short walk to the south where there are some picnic tables and a wooden fence is where Jordan Durham was shot later on in “The Heavens Will Rise.”  If you walk over the Cleveland Dam, turn left and walk up the hill, you will see a trailhead on the left that heads off into the trees.

You are on Kobol!  The first 500 metres of the Upper Shinglebolt Trail is where several sequences for Season Two of  Battlestar Galactica were shot.  We know The Plan was in there filming scenes at the camp of the Caprica resistance, and we suspect this is where Sam Adama and the Graystones went into V-World on horseback, looking for Zoe.

We’re going to take a couple of weeks off before we do the next episode.  It is winter in Vancouver, so it’s raining almost constantly.  Wonderful atmosphere for Cylon Earth, but much harder to shoot in.  I’m holding out for some sunshine! So Say We All!

Post Dragon-Con Post

Wonder why it’s been a month and no report about Dragon*Con from Frik or Frak?

Frakked

‘Nuff said. Recovery continues. Truly, a real report will follow soon….from Spacepug. Frik will never be the same, I’m afraid.

Meetup with 13th Colony @ Dragon*Con

There will be a gaggle (a horde?) of 13th Colonists attending Dragon*Con this year, from Canada, the US and overseas.  So, we’re going to schedule our very first non-Vancouver Meetup:

Friday, September4th at 7pm at the Consuite (Room 226 Hyatt) is where we will gather, and then possibly move to an alternate location for food and/or drinks.  We ought to be easy to spot…look for some shiny 13 stickers prominently displayed and we guarantee a lively conversation about Battlestar Galactica.  For the steely eyed amongst you….Frik and Frak, our mini-mate mascots, will also be in attendance.

We’re really looking forward to meeting 13th Colonists, our blog readers, and just BSG fans, from all over!  Look forward to meeting you…So Say We All!

Spacepug

We Are Coming, We Are Coming…

…to Atlanta!  Several members of the 13th Colony will be on hand for this year’s Dragon*Con in Atlanta.  We’re not just coming from Vancouver, but places across the globe, including bloggers spacepug and gem, as well as our excellent reviewer millari.

If you’re a reader of this blog and plan to attend, let us know in the comments below.  We’ll be pretty easy to spot thanks to the spiffy new stickers Frik and Frak are showing off below!  If you see us around the con, come up and say  “hello.”  The best part of these last couple of years running this blog has been meeting fellow BSG fans from all over the world, both virtually and in person, and this is just another great occasion to do so.

And what a great year for BSG fans to gather at Dragon*Con.  Guests this year include:  Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta), Dirk Benedict (Starbuck, for the original fans), Edward James Olmos (Adama), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Kate Vernon (Ellen), Luciana Carro (Kat), Mary McDonnell (Roslin), Michael Trucco (Anders) and Richard Hatch (Zarek, Apollo).  Also attending (just not “officially”) will be Aaron Douglas (Tyrol).

Hope to see you there!

Starting Rumours

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, eh?

President Laura Roslin and VP Tom Zarek recently spotted in the wee hours of the morning in front of one of the Las Vegas strip’s famous landmarks.

What do you think they’ve been up to?

(Honestly, traveling with BSG mini-mates has got to be way more fun than garden gnomes!)

Cross One Location Off the List

I wish I could say that the title of the blog post means we’ve found another site we’ve been looking for (I’ve been too busy enjoying our late arriving summer to actually BSG location scout!) Sadly, I’m going to recommend that fans do not venture out to one of the locations we spent some effort tracking down.

In “Litmus” from Season One, Helo is on the run from the Cylons on Caprica and unbeknownst to him, he is being watched from above by his pursuers as he climbs down a fire escape and walks down a graffiti-covered alley. The actual shooting location is near the cenotaph on East Hastings Street in Vancouver. Originally, the actors playing Sharon, Six and Doral were standing on the roof of the old Woodwards building, which has been torn down to allow construction of a new building.

The construction project has turned that alley into a dead end, and with no through traffic, it has become a popular spot for drug deals, addicts shooting up and prostitution. And that’s just based on what I saw in the few minutes we were there last week. It was never the nicest place in town by any means, but it has undergone a big change, even from a year ago. There is blood, urine, broken needles and used condoms. It really is worse than the post-apocalyptic scenario you saw on TV.

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside can be exciting, full of history and creativity. But for many it is a place of poverty, misery and violence. I thought I should caution any visiting Battlestar Galactica fans thinking of venturing down there. It is the roughest edge of our beautiful city.

The 13th is a Friendly Tribe

by spacepug

Organizing a fan club has its perks. Occasionally, you get to meet people like Dwight and Nancy. Visitors to Vancouver from the East Coast of the United States, they joined the 13^th Colony earlier this year and introduced themselves via email. Late last week, we got to meet them in person. As is our habit, the evening started with coffee. Since this is Vancouver, naturally we ended up at a sushi restaurant. In between, we took them on a short walking tour of some of the Galactica filming locations in downtown Vancouver, including the Central Library, which was prominently featured in Season One of BSG, when Helo and Sharon walk around deserted Caprica City. Incidentally, the library was also the location of the cast and crew wrap party, held a few days ago. We traded theories about where the show is headed, and bragged more than a little bit about how great it is to live here.

We hope our visitors enjoyed themselves. We certainly enjoyed having them here.

In Search of the One True God

Frak travels far and wide in search of the One True God!

Actually, Frak recently accompanied Spacepug into Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec. Frak didn’t say if the experience brought him any closer in his search for the Cylon god, but then again he doesn’t say much. Spacepug however, found herself reluctant for the first time to photograph a Cylon in public. Sacrilege? Not sure, tried to be discreet and took the shot anyway. With religion and the debate between monotheism and polytheism becoming so prominent on BSG these days, figured it was called for.