Friday, Oct 2
Due to a number of factors beyond my control (like having class until 4 then needing to reg and eat), I wasn’t able to attend any panels this day. I was, however, able to spend a few pleasant hours in Hospitality, grazing on munchies and chatting with fen, and an even pleasanter couple of hours sampling the various gin type products at the Montreal room party.
Saturday, Oct 3
12:00 pm : Politics of Science Fiction. After an unusually long trip from unconsciousness to wakefulness, I made it for the second half of this panel. Thankfully, it was not about any form of Puppies. Sadly, it was mostly about the politics in science fiction, rather than the far more interesting topic of the politics of science fiction. I personally think that there is an area of surprisingly broad consensus of opinion represented in both science fiction and its fandom, and that would have been great fun to discuss. As it was, it was still a very interesting half a panel and I enjoyed discussing books like The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Leguin.
1:00 pm : Future Was Then. A panel about retro futures. I love this subject because it provides such a rich bounty of perspective on how we view the world and how we look upon the future. Admittedly, we did not do the greatest job of sticking to the topic in this panel, but I have never considered that a particularly high priority. I did manage to bring up one of my well-ground axes, the one about how many very intelligent people were sure that we would all be standing in our government allotted three feet of space by now due to overpopulation despite the fact that basic mathematics would have shown that to be total bullshit. So that made me happy. And it was a good discussion overall.
2 pm : Free Period.. There was nothing on that I particularly liked, so I took this time to mosey on up to Hospitality and see what there was to eat. Pickings were mighty slim at 2 pm, after the lunch rush, but I was able to cobble together something vaguely like a meal and, more importantly, talk to strangers. I had a very nice discussion with two older ladies, one of whom was named Elizabeth (damn I suck with names), and went into my next panel feeling quite good.
3 pm : Pulp Movies. The basic jist of the panel was the question of whether or not it would be possible to make a good movie based on the old pulp heroes of the past like Doc Savage. That was the stated purpose, anyhow. I think it was actually just an excuse for some older fen to discuss the beloved pulp heroes of their youth. But the panel was well moderated and so we kept to the topic surprisingly well. I have no skin in the game, and hence no real opinion on the issue. Certainly anything’s possible, despite disasters like Jack Carter and The Lone Ranger.
4 pm : Handling Stress. I went to this panel assuming it would be about how to handle stress in your life, seeing as going back to school has put so much more of it into my life. And largely it was, but apparently, according to the con book, it was also (?) about how the characters you write about experience and deal with stress. I suggested we combine the two missions by talking about how to handle stress in your life by transferring it to your characters. That got a big laugh. And while I can’t say that I gleaned any valuable stress busting tips from the panel, that big laugh did me wonders.
5 pm : Justify The Science Flaw. The fifth incarnation of this panel, and I have been there for every one of them, and loved every minute of it. The idea is that the moderator shares examples of flawed science from popular media and challenges his panel, made up of actual scientists, to come up with an explanation of how that wasn’t really flawed science after all. These explanations are, of course, extremely absurd, and I always end up laughing myself silly (short trip) as all these high IQ people have a wonderful time being very silly about science. This time was no exception.
6:30 pm : Second Free Period. The previous panel went to 6:30, and my friends’ panel went till seven, so I had half an hour to kill. I pondered joining my friends at their panel (about Lovecraft), but decided I would be better off going back to our room, room 124, and taking a half hour Introversion Break in order to recharge my social batteries.
7 pm : The Quest For Food. My friends arrive, and it is time to venture out into the world to obtain sustenance. Being native to the area (this convention took place around 6 blocks from where we live), we were able to guide our friends from out of town to one of Richmond’s many fine eateries, and there, we feasted.
12:30 am : Having lingered too long chatting with my friends about various and diverse topics, I missed the room party for the HMS Calisto and was forced to once more entrust myself to the fabulous folks at the recurring Montreal party. This time, there was more than gin around, and I was able to try Kraken brand rum, something I had been wanting to do partly because of its name but mostly because of its inky blackness. It was surprisingly complex for rum, and tasted quite good, especially with a mixer. (What can I say, I am a cocktail drinker, not a ‘snap back a shot of this’ drinker). I had a fairly deep snootful of the various alcoholic offerings, then floated on back to our room, took my sleeping pills, and slept well. Damn well.
That’s it for the con report for last Saturday. Tomorrow, I will do one for Sunday, plus add whatever general marks about the convention I have floating around at the time.
I will talk to you nice people again tomorrow.