Next up in my dehoarding efforts: Autographs!

I love collecting autographs. I love the connection you get with a personal hero. Sure, it's a fleeting one, one they'll undoubtedly forget almost immediately. But you'll still have that memento, that proof that you once met this person and got to talk to him or her about the effect they may have had on your life.

I don't sell autographs I've gotten in person, for that reason and because I don't want celebrities to stop having those moments with fans for fear that their generosity of time will end up… well, on eBay, frankly. They give a lot of their time to fans and we appreciate it, we shouldn't run off and make a buck.

That said, occasionally I'll buy one myself, from a reputable source, to fill a hole in a collection. And if I later get the fortunate opportunity to get another directly from the actor or writer or musician in question, it leaves me with an extra. I figure the celebrity was compensated for the bought one (usually from a convention or arranged signing) so I don't feel as weird selling it myself.  So here's what's up so far:

Nathan Fillion and Gina Torres preprints: I can't stand auctions that aren't clear regarding autographs and preprints so let me say it outright. These are copies of original autographed photos, but they were not themselves signed. There's no indication that either actor ever personally touched these prints. That said, they're pretty cool and would nicely decorate a Browncoat's wall. 8"x10", one of each.

Morena Baccarin as Inara: Whereas this is an actual, signed-in-person, autographed photo. Authenticated by Creation Entertainment, with their certificate of authenticity on the back. 8"x10", glossy.

Amber Benson as Tara: This is a gorgeous photo. Signed by Amber at a Metro Entertainment signing (CofA included). 8"x10" glossy. Hard-to-see wear on the top from being in a frame.

Auctions for all three end next Tuesday night. Don't miss out!

Last weekend was Mini MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, and several notable "Buffy" stars were there. Charisma "Cordelia" Carpenter, Emma "Anya" Caulfield, Amber "Tara" Benson, and Adam "Warren" Busch. I was going to tell you about the Buffy Q&A panel they gave, but Phil of NeatEntertainment.com (and the panel moderator) just transcribed the whole thing, so I'll just send you there. Many of the photos on that page are from my Flickr set of the whole con.

The con was a lot of fun, if a bit smaller than I expected. The MegaCon folks planned this mini version a few years ago and made commitments just before the economy tanked, but they went ahead with it anyway. It was roughly half the size of their usual springtime con, which drew 32,000 people last March.

The big guests were supposed to be three stars from the Twilight series, but shooting conflicts forced them all to cancel. Still, the Buffy panel had to move to a bigger room, then had to connect the new room to the original room to make an area big enough for the crowds. You still got it, guys.

Also met Sylvester McCoy, the seventh Doctor. And Lisa Loring, "Wednesday" from The Addams Family. And a lot more, plus all the fanciful folks who populate the cons. Check my Flickr set for tons of pics and more details.

The massive props store 20th Century Props is going out of business and holding an auction for its final pieces, and there's quite a bit of familiar stuff in there. Wooden chairs, furniture and assorted background props from Firefly (such as the neon Chinese character sign to the right), what looks like the pool table from The Bronze, and much more. This is  a rare chance for Browncoats; props from Serenity pop up regularly, but three aren't many Firefly props available.

The two pieces pictured above, though, I don't recognize offhand. They're listed as being from Firefly; the first is "STATION, SPACE/BATTLE, KEYBOARD, FIREFLY" and the second is "CONTROL STATION, MILITARY/SPACE, MULTIPLE KNOBS & GAUGES, GR, FIREFLY". Anyone recognize these?

The auction runs from July 28 to August 1, and you can bid online. Happy hunting!

The Mummy with braces was featured on the hit Joss Whedon tv show, Buffy: the vampire slayer. In episode 4 of the second season entitled "Inca Mummy Girl," a male student tampers with the mummy's plate and awakens her. In turn she mummifies him and leaves him in her sarcophagus. Measuring approximately 5ft 5 inches tall,(165cm) the foam over plastic mummy is outfitted with a brown and green burlap wrap, Necklace, braces and a full head of hair. What every modern day teenager would look like had they been mummified. The mummy is in fairly good condition.

This brilliant remix shows what happens when stalkery vampires come after a real girl. Or a real slayer, anyway.

You might share some of that.

You most closely resemble one of the most popular heroes in the Buffy universe.

Congratulations!

If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in the following:

Nerds, Geeks & Dorks

Professional Wrestling

Love & Sexuality

America/Politics

Thanks Again! — THE 4-VARIABLE BUFFY PERSONALITY TEST

Fortunately we have Costas Efthimiou, a physics professor at the University of Central Florida, who has debunked the vampire myth once and for all. Sort of. His claim is that, given that vampires must feed on human blood and a human, once bit, becomes a vampire, humans would be eliminated within two and a half years.

However, fans of the genre are scoffing at his work, claiming that he has missed two major gaps in his logic. The first being that Mr. Efthimiou assumes vampires would never die themselves, whether from accident, starvation, vampire-on-vampire violence, or those pesky blond girls with their fancy spin kicks. The second is that, in most vampire-related mythology, a single bite doesn't change a human or necessarily even kill one. But other than that, his theory is a fine one.

He goes on with his undead trifecta by disproving ghosts and zombies. You can find his paper here.

Me, I think it's a smoke screen. Mr. Efthimiou would have you believe that there are no vampires, and so you'll take down the garlic and box up the extra crosses and go back to low-neck sweaters and never notice this physics professor of the night sneaking up on you…