Dragon*Con Membership Newsletter, Vol 2 Iss 2

Dragon*Con Membership Newsletter

Volume 2, Issue 2

August 30–September 2, 2013

Atlanta, Georgia

It’s Official! Presenting our 2013 Charities We are excited to have had our members play a role in the selection of our official 2013 charities. After the selection of five charities that provide exceptional service in their category, represent different charitable needs, and are fiscally responsible (with a high percentage of every dollar donated going directly to charitable services), we put it out to you, our members, to decide which three would become our official 2013 Dragon*Con charities. Over 39,000 votes were cast during the two week voting period and we are proud to introduce the winners and look forward to partnering with each of them.

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

To receive 50% of monies raised and 50% of the company match

To receive 30% of monies raised and 30% of the company match

To receive 20% of monies raised and 20% of the company match

Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit dedicated to providing sanctuary for injured, abused and orphaned exotic, wildlife and domestic animals.

Noah’s Ark received enthusiastic support from our members for the wonderful work they do. They did a great job educating our members and promoting their mission on Facebook by posting daily pictures of the many animals they have rescued and care for and how we can make a difference.

We congratulate them on their first place win for our 2013 Charity!

Learn more at noahs-ark.org

The Georgia Conservancy’s work for clean air and water, land conservation, coastal protection and sustainable growth recognizes the connection between the environment, the economy and our quality of life.

It’s no surprise our members feel strongly about caring for our environment. The GA Conservancy embraced this contest in full geek fashion with clever sci-fi and fantasy themed Facebook posts and captions, and an enthusiastic appearance at the Braves.

We are happy to welcome them as our second place 2013 Charity.

Learn more at georgiaconservancy.org

Marcus Autism Center is the largest notfor-profit autism research and treatment center in the United States, treating more than 5,000 children a year.

The work that the Marcus Autism Center does is so important and touches the lives of many of our Dragon*Con members.

Their mission to help children realize their greatest potential is mirrored in Dragon*Con’s desire to support and encourage our member’s individuality and interests.

We are pleased to have them as our third place 2013 Charity.

Learn more at marcus.org

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Highlights From Our New 2013 Charities

Zuri at Noah’s Ark

Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary For the contest, Noah’s Ark created daily Facebook posts that introduced us to the many animals they care for, their needs, and the work the sanctuary does.

Calvin, a white-faced capuchin monkey who was rescued from an abusive owner and now has a safe and loving environment.

U-Squeak, the rhesus macaque who used in painful scientific research and is now being provided with healthy activities to deal with the trauma.

Zuri, the white Bengal Tiger who is in need of a special habitat due to the breed’s immune deficiencies.

GA Conservancy at the Braves “Enriching their lives and giving them a safe haven to live out the remainder of their lives” is the mission of Noah’s Ark, and our support will help them achieve that.

Georgia Conservancy

The folks at the Georgia Conservancy had a blast promoting their cause. They turned up at an Atlanta Braves game with Chewie in tow to get everyone energized.

And you definitely need to check out their spot on, geeky Facebook posts.

But more important is the work they are doing to protect Georgia’s environment.

They are actively working to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whales

Thank You for Your Outstanding Support Fundraising for our charities has been such a success due to the generosity and support of our members and volunteers. Since 2005, Dragon*Con has raised almost $224,000 for its official charities, which change each year.

In addition to the official charity fundraising that takes place during the annual convention, Dragon*Con has donated $265,000 of its profits to The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and other organizations.

In 2013, money raised from the following events will go to our 2013 Official Charities: Proceeds from all Braves game tickets 8/29 – 9/2/13 Our Fabulous Dragon*Con Charity Auction 8/31 – 9/1/13 Fundraising events put on by many of our 40+ tracks Additionally, Dragon*Con announced this year that we will be matching every dollar raised up to $50,000.

Thank you for your participation in selecting our 2013 Charities, and for your continued support in helping Dragon*Con make a difference.

DRAGON*TALK Membership Newsletter

Samantha Fotsch at Marcus Autism

Fought for new conservation laws

and worked to protect places such as Cumberland Island, the Okefenokee Swamp, Sweetwater Creek and the Chattahoochee River.

They work with landowners to encourage them to place their land in permanent protection, such as the over 100 acres of private mountain forest in Fannin County.

Our support helps them to “conserve Georgia’s land and water, for everyone!”

Marcus Autism Center

There are so many aspects to the work that the Marcus Autism Center does, but these inspiring stories really say it all.

Diagnosed with austism when he was a 1-year-old, Ryan Cartledge is now 18 years old with a bright future ahead of him. His father says, “Marcus Autism Center changed Ryan’s life.”

At age 8, Sean Ahlberg’s aggressive behavior was keeping him from enjoying time with his family and getting out into the world. “This past Thanksgiving, Sean said his first word— it was clear as day—he said ‘happy’.”

“They treated us with warmth and respect. Educating us as a family about how to care for Samantha’s needs at home as well as prepare her for school was the key to our success,” said Samantha’s mom Deborah Fotsch The funds we raise will allow them to continue to help children and families like these.

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Get to Know a Track

Horror Track

Urban Fantasy Track

The goal of a horror story is to elicit the emotions of intense fear and dread; to scare and disturb us; to get under our skin and cause us to confront our most primal fears.

Urban fantasy is fiction set in an urban area or recognizably real world, but has supernatural elements and characters that also inhabit this seemingly mundane world, creating conflict between the two.

Clive Barker Algernon Blackwood Robert Bloch M.R. James Stephen King

H.P. Lovecraft Edgar Allan Poe Mary Shelly Bram Stoker

Kelly Armstrong Patricia Briggs Jim Butcher Simon R. Green Laurel K. Hamilton

Kim Harrison Tanya Huff Sherrilyn Kenyon Adrian Phoenix Rob Thurman

Movies We Love

American Werewolf in London The Beyond Bride of Frankenstein The Exorcist Halloween House on Haunted Hill

Hellraiser Nosferatu Psycho The Shining Sleepy Hollow Suspiria

Blade Blood & Chocolate Daybreakers Day Watch Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

Lost Boys Night Watch Resident Evil Sorcerer’s Apprentice Ultraviolet Underworld

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

Being Human Charmed Dead Like Me Ghost Whisperer Grimm

Lost Girl

TV Shows We Love

American Gothic American Horror Story Bates Motel Dark Shadow Hannibal Hemlock Grove

Haven

Sanctuary Teen Wolf The Dresden Files True Blood Vampire Diaries

Abraham Van Helsing Candyman Alice Cooper Count Dracula Cthulhu

Freddy Krueger Hannibal Lecter Herbert West Norman Bates Pinhead Frankenstein’s Monster The Wolf Man

Acheron Anita Blake Harry Dresden Henry Fitzroy Sabina Kane Jill Kismet

Rachel Morgan Kitty Norville Chess Putnam Mercy Thompson Sookie Stackhouse Jack Winter

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” —H.P. Lovecraft “Look! It’s moving. It’s alive. It’s alive...”

—Frankenstein “Redrum. Redrum. Redrum.” —The Shining “Tell me, Clarice—have the lambs stopped screaming? —Silence of the Lambs

“When I was eight, my mother lost me to zombies in a one-card draw.” —Marjorie M. Liu “If you’re going to be bad, be bad with a purpose, otherwise you’re not worth forgiving.” —Vampire Diaries

Last year you knew it as the Horror and Dark Fantasy Track. This year, to give you more of the programming you love, we’ve split it into TWO tracks. We are happy to present the Horror Track, directed by Derek Tatum, and our new Urban Fantasy track, directed

by Carol Malcolm. Here’s a little chart to whet your appetite for what’s to come.

What’s the Genre About?

Authors We Love

Characters You Might Know

Famous Quotes

DRAGON*TALK Membership Newsletter

Manly Wade Wellman

Night Gallery Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Darkside The Twilight Zone Twin Peaks

“I died. I died and someone made a clerical error and I am in Heaven.” —Jim Butcher “I am a killer at my core, and I have to fight against that every day.” —Being Human

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J Kip Campbell

What’s Your Track

What's your track?

Kip Campbell From Alternate History to Young Adult Literature, we cover theJ gamut with this puzzle.

From Alternate History to Young Adult Literature, we've cover the gamut with this puzzle.

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ACROSS 1 Gary's first name 7 Zombie Food?

9 Schutzstaffel, for short 11 Richard's title 13 Oni 14 Operating system, for short 15 Sheep sound 16 Superman's family name 18 Clairvoyants 20 Gohan's father 21 Prudent move near zombies 23 They are always listening 24 Shadowfax's female subjects 25 ____ Me 27 Alien ICE 28 Peter Rabbit author, familiarly 30 32 33 35 36

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False witness Sparkly vampire (initials) Rear, to Capt'n Sparrow He played B., J.B. Uruk-Hai were made this way

38 41 42 44 47 48 49 51 52 53

Princess' accessory AppleJack's nickname Evil plan Robin Hood's practice piece Brain trace Evolution poison, for short S in TES ___ Baba Terry Good____ Worf, for example

DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Tetsuo or Akira Email title, many times The One Heart monitors Famous 03-K64 transport Dryads' homes Foo fighters, for short Shuttle flight design.

Ansari X-prize flight goal

10 12 17 19 20 22 24 26 29 31 34 36 37 39 40 42 43 45 46 50 51

Buffy's weapon Quaid, to some "I'm a ______ and I'm O.K." Emit energy Parasol Protectorate author, familiarly Mrycella, to Tyrion S.H.'s archenemy Sodium symbol Mulder lives for this Skinner's title Grimm wrote one Vampire minions Cthulhu sea deity Shadowrun, for example Dwarven ale container Galactica's intersystem drive Peace prize city something Something Old, in Middle English Horror writer's initials Silver symbol

Solution to this puzzle will be published in the next issue of Dragon*Talk DRAGON*TALK Membership Newsletter

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Greetings from the volunteers and staff of the Dragon*Con Store! Our mission is to create and sell high quality souvenirs that are useful, fun, and memorable—so you can take them home as a reminder of your experience, or as gifts for someone who wasn’t lucky enough to attend.

We’re always on the lookout for new ideas, or to fill a need that we see. We also listen to the feedback we get from you, our members, on what you want.

So on that note, we are very happy to preview some new items that will be coming to our online store and on sale at our two locations at the convention.

Baby Dragons

Because of your support of our green baby dragon in 2012, we’re bringing out a red one for 2013 . The little guy* is approximately 7” high with bendable wings and tongue. He also has a strap on his belly so he can sit on your shoulder, your head or wherever he wants to sit; although please watch for scorch marks on hair or clothing.

We heard your feedback last year (see, I told you we listened) and we will be able to sell the baby dragons for $14 each, for members, which is $4 less than last year.

*For the purposes of this conversation, we will refer

to the baby dragon as he. Whether it is a he or she, I can’t tell, I am too far away. You, the future owner, can make that determination when your baby dragon comes home with you.

DRAGON*TALK Membership Newsletter

In case you missed out on last years’s dragon, we have discovered a secret lair and will be bringing back a limited number of the green baby dragons.

Our dragons are being lovingly hatched and cared for until they are ready to travel to Atlanta. Because their wings are not large enough to carry them over the ocean, our baby dragons will be traveling by ship (hmmm, sounds familiar). They should arrive in the summer, closer to the show, and we will raise the flag on Facebook, Twitter, and our website when they arrive.

Zip Pouch ID Holder

You know how it is; you’re at the convention, you’re trying to travel light but you’ve got stuff: room keys, car keys, money, ID, and other small but important kipple.

So we’re introducing our zip pouch ID holder. It’s 3 1/4” x 5 1/2”, has a zippered pouch with an inside key ring, clear ID holder, and a back pocket. It also has a clip so you can securely attach it to your lanyard, belt loop, costume, wherever. It comes in red, purple, green, maroon, and black. We’re already excited about them and we think you will be too! They go on sale May 10 at a member price of $5.

Unnamed random Dragon*Con office staff happily posing in new polo shirts

Polo Shirts

At long last, we have new polo shirts! Our polos are soft, comfortable, and feature our logo embroidered in vibrant yellow and orange.

Our black polo is a breathable 65/35 cotton/polyester waffle weave. Our blue polo is made of 100% cotton pique. Because Dragon*Con members come in all sizes, shapes, and flavors, we carry a range of sizes from XS – 4X in the black, and XS – 5X in the cobalt blue.

Many of our volunteers are already sporting the new polo shirts. You can order yours online starting May 10 for the member price of $35.

Just the Facts Online at store.dragoncon.org At the Convention: Sheraton: Thursday – Sunday Marriott: Friday – Monday Look for the green and yellow banner!

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Announcements The Charity Auction will now be held on two days, both Saturday and Sunday.

The Science Fiction/Fantasy Track has been split into two individul tracks: Science Fiction Literature and Fantasy Literature Anne McCaffery’s World and Wheel of Time are merged into Fantasy Literature.

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You Are Cordially Invited To

HAVE FUN Dragon*Con Night at the Braves Thursday, August 29, 7:00 PM atlanta.braves.mlb.com Dragon*Con Night at the Aquarium Saturday, August 31, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM georgiaaquarium.org/dragoncon DRAGON*TALK Membership Newsletter

Membership Benefits Don’t forget, there are benefits to being a Member of Dragon*Con Special “members only” pricing on merchandise and workshops, and special offers throughout the year.

Specialized workshops you can participate in at the show, including some that are free. publications such as Informative Dragon*Talk, the Progress Report, and our convention Program Book.

And did you know you can buy your next year’s membership at the convention for only $65? It can be purchased at registration, at both Dragon*Con stores, and briefly online after the convention.

It’s our best price all year long.

Coming Soon We hope you enjoyed this issue of Dragon*Talk.

Here’s some of what’s coming in our July issue.

Our next edition of “Get to Know a Track”.

Answers to the crossword puzzle, plus a brand new puzzle.

Details on all the charity events at Dragon*Con. Pre-registration for the Saturday one day badge will be available in mid July; details in next issue.

Thanks for being members of Dragon*Con. We’ll see you in August!

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