As we finish up the invites for actual factual mailing, I'd like to take a moment share our recent adventure to hear Joss Whedon and garner his signature on our wedding invite and save the date. Sometimes, I feel like people think we're a little off kilter for having a Firefly/Serenity (aka sci-fi) wedding, but there is a certain level of respect when you get the creator of your theme to sign your invite.
For those outside of the cult-like following, Joss Whedon is the creator of the shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse and of course, Firefly. He is also the mastermind behind last year's smash internet success, Dr. Horrible's Sing-along-blog. We've listened to interviews on shows, such as NPR's Frech Air, and when you listen, he seems like a quiet but smart guy. And in this house, quiet, smart guys are kinda kick-butt.
Joss Whedon's fans are so dedicated that every year, in honor of his birthday, cities across the globe hold theater viewings of the movie "Serenity" and raise money for the charity he supports, Equality Now. (Yes, we'll be attending the Boston CSTS on 6/20 and yes, I'll be posting about it.)
So when Rob heard that "the man" was going to be accepting an award from the Harvard Humanist Society AND that it would be open to the public, we decided we had to go. For the bargain price of $10 a ticket, we headed to Harvard's Memorial Church to see him.
*So it's May 30th and we're working on the invites, but yes, we did have one lone invite ready to be signed. Just because we had one, didn't mean we had the other fifty waiting in the wings.
We headed down on the Friday evening and chatted with other Browncoats in the will-call ticket line. Thankfully we were will-call, as it started to rain and our small line smooshed under the shelter of the pavillion. While in line, I learned valulable tips for attending San Diefo Comic-con (our honeymoon destination), such as the fact that the panel rooms don't clear out after each session and that people will stake out seats all day for panels occurring that night. I honestly would have never of thought of that. Good to know.
Once the doors opened, we scored seats about 9 rows away.
The presentation opened with a video montage that showcased moments in his shows that pointed to religion or humanity. Joss Whedon did make a short but very interesting speech and I have to admit, I'm really, really glad that we got the opportunity to see/hear him in such a venue. We were able to listen to him speak intellectually with a dash of sci-fi, rather than just all sci-fi, all the time. Even the questions from the Harvard Humanist group as well as from the audience, were a smattering of the two, hearty questions about humanism with a light dose of sci-fi appreciation.
Afterwards, the moment of truth came as we herded into the line for autographs. Only one item was allowed per person, no personalized, and no photos after a certain point (to keep the line moving). Although he seemed tired, he was very nice to all, and even included "Happy Wedding" on our invite. Yay! Rob gave him a save the date to which he replied, "If I come, I'm eating all the food." A very sweet gesture. We all know he's not really coming, but as a story-teller himself, it's all about the stories you get to share.
For more information, and better reporting on the event, check out The Signal's Season 5 #8 podcast or the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard story (bonus if you click the link at the bottom of the story for more photos, go to page 16 photo 242 and you'll see Rob at the end of the row in front of the lady wearing the green shirt holding a tripod in the aisle. Rob's in a purple long sleeve shirt and black sweater vest.)
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