We woke up pretty early on Sunday morning (since my two roommates have IMHO overly complicated morning rituals) in order to get to the BLOGGERS' BREAKFAST on time.  It was set to start at 9am, and the place was surprisingly crowded.  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, since this was one of the "big" events that people had to choose between with their different ticket levels.

Donuts, coffee, and juice were provided, which was a nice touch (just don't get caught in that stampede for the Krispy Cremes).

I felt sort of bad for the bloggers present at the event, since most of them got lost in the shuffle between Jennie "Tanster" Tan and the cast members.  Seriously, who would you rather ask a question? Random blogger, or Brian Baumgartner?  As you can imagine, most people chose option "B."  But hey, that's what you paid the big money for, right?

Brian explained how he got started blogging, his decision to write as his character, and his undying love for OfficeTally.  Bobby Ray Shafer was a bit more brief, partly because he'd lost his voice for most of the weekend.  Kate Flannery popped in a bit later, talking briefly about her TV Guide blog.  I guess Andy Buckley was just there for moral support, since he proclaimed his complete and utter ignorance of all things computer related.
(For the full audio of the panel, download the podcast below)

After the BB, we headed across the campus to the Scranton Cultural Center for the big WRITERS'S BLOCK panel.  I had an awesome seat for this event, as the press was assigned the upper balcony.  I sat front row center, with no one else in front of me.  I struck up a conversation with the three people around me, and found they worked for NBC.com-- one was in charge of video production, another for writing copy, and the last was in charge of the whole Dunder Mifflin Infinity website.  Very cool.  A few minutes later, a woman came up and said everyone had to get out of the first two rows because NBC wanted them... my new buds said I could stay, though, so I was the only one down there with them.

It was very cool hearing the writers discuss the show, since we rarely seem to get their point of view in any of the extra material.  Greg Daniels, Mike Shur and Jennifer Celotta did most of the talking, although Mindy Kaling and B. J. Novak (a surprise drop-in) also got most of the audience questions.  (For the full audio of the panel, download the podcast below)

After the panel, we got to see the first 8-10 minutes or so of BRANCH WARS, which I thought was hilarious.  By all accounts I should have hated it -- most of the humor was totally "over the top" and silly -- but I found myself laughing louder than I have in a few weeks.  Maybe it's the return of director Joss Whedon... I don't know.  I just know that I was digging it and look forward to this Thursday.

There was a final VIP cocktail party next, and I managed to sneak myself in and chat with most of the writers.  B. J. Novak was only there for about 10 minutes or so, and he was getting mobbed, so I had no chance to talk to him. Writer Mike Schur (a.k.a. Cousin Mose) was also getting mobbed.  The lesson here? Acting is better than writing :)

With that, our magical weekend came to a close.  Sigh.  We'll always have Scranton.




Category:Convention -- posted at: 10:37pm EDT
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That's What She Said is a weekly podcast dedicated to NBC's Emmy Award winning show The Office. Every episode of TWSS includes TV episode clips and commentary, news, reports on upcoming media appearances of the cast, a selection of podsafe music, and much more. If you have a news item, piece of gossip, comment, constructive compliment, or are interested in promotional cooperation, please contact us:

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