Category Archives: Conventions

Philcon!

Posted on by

It’s difficult to believe that my next convention is less than a week away. I’m very happy to have been invited to be one of the guests at the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society’s annual gathering.

It has taken me some time to sort of get into the groove with this convention as opposed to others, but I’m now at a point where I really look forward to seeing folks and having interesting discussions. I don’t know that any experience at Philcon will ever top Defend the Pizza. That’s a tough act to follow, but who knows right?

I hope you get out to the convention. IF you’re looking for me, here is my con schedule:

Fri 7:00PM in Plaza II (Two) – The Best of Military SF
Fri 8:00PM in Plaza V (Five) – Learning to be an Effective Panel Moderator

Sat 12:00PM in Plaza IV (Four) – The Changing Nature of Fandom
Sat 7:00PM in Executive Suite 823 – The eSpec Books Launch Party, Hour 1
Sat 8:00PM in Executive Suite 823 – The eSpec Books Launch Party, Hour 2

Philcon

Balticon 50

Posted on by

There it went.

I have tried to give myself a little time to get past the immediate reaction and allow for more thought. The problem with that is news of a convention gets stale rather quickly. I’ve been going to Balticon for a while, but not as long as quite a few folks. In fact I had a conversation with a man this past weekend who has attended all 50 of the conventions so far. It’s an impressive number.

For me, it was an impressive convention celebrating the 50th anniversary, but probably one of the worst for me personally. That makes it sound worse than it really was. Perhaps it was the level of expectation going in? I’ve got that sort of thing going with books and movies, maybe it was the same thing for the convention. If I go into a movie or a book with crazy high expectations – those expectations are almost never met so it feels like a disappointment, even it the work in question was actually quite good. IF I go with low expectations and get something crappy, I’m good. My expectations were met. If I go with low expectations and get something excellent… you get the picture. I’ve seen a number of folks on social media and other blogs say they had “wonderful”, “awesome” and “fantastic” conventions. My reaction wasn’t as positive.

I have had a lot of great cons over the years. I’ve really loved being a participant and not just an attendee at conventions. Balticon is the one that I consider my “home convention” and is the one I always give preference to. This year had real issues for me. Some of those things were directly related to the convention, some of them were all about me and some of them were outside the realm of things the con could control (and it’s not fair to blame them for those). I was also somebody that friends brought issues to (they know I’ve joined BSFS), presumably so that word would travel with somebody. That made it a struggle. When you’re the staunch defender, what happens when you don’t want to defend anymore? I got really, really tired of trying to help and defend things that I didn’t find defensible.

The hotel was new this year. That was important – the space was needed for a record number of guests. It also made for lots of people not knowing where anything was, long lines at the elevators, confusion about parking and frustration over added expense. Some of that was just the unavoidable nature of change. Some of that was trying to settle in to a new location. Some of that was people not communicating well and having their expectations not met. I could have worked with all that. I expected it.

I know some of the people involved and I know the intent was good. Programming was an unmitigated disaster from my point of view. Double booked rooms, double booked panelists, changes, deletions and random additions that weren’t communicated well just made a hash of things for me. I’m going to emphasize that again – for me. I am the D list person here and I understand that I’m not going to get priority or even a lot of attention. I got nothing for programming. Nothing. When I asked about this the response was a very snappy “well what do you want?” I want these things figured out before Saturday morning of a convention that starts on Friday for starters – and a little less attitude to go with the response. I get the stress. I work cons too. Snapping at me isn’t going to help anyone. It will in fact hurt the process and cause responses that aren’t necessarily deserved. I just stopped trying to fix it right then. There’s nothing I could do that would have made the situation better and anything I said in anger would not help. I stopped defending. I stopped volunteering to help. I walked away and just did my own thing the rest of the weekend.

I was not the only one in a situation like this. For me – a total ‘D’ lister – it’s not such a big deal. I’m sure I’ll get over it. I’ve already received an invitation to another convention asking me about my thoughts for programming. I’m going to hope for better, or at least in advance, there. The problem is I’ve heard from other people that should be the backbone of the convention – the folks you want to return again and again because they’ve got a solid following and some excellent knowledge to share – that they won’t be back. They reached their saturation point with the frustration and problems and have decided to just walk away as well. I was actually saddened by this. Conventions are where I get to hang out with these folks. Some I might not see otherwise. Most of all, I’m concerned for the next convention, and the next one after that. There was, rightfully, a lot of attention paid to the big names that were there, all the big names that were brought back. Those folks got a lot of attention and drew a lot of convention goers, but at what expense? I fear the damage done. Perhaps I just haven’t gone through this from the participant side of the fence before.

I don’t want this to to turn into some kind of doom and gloom sort of thing. There were a lot of fun things that did happen at the convention. There were great times, laughs and fun mixed with the frustration. I was super glad to have helped out with the Liar’s Panel again this year. I was one of the runners that dashed around the audience collecting up the donations for charity. There’s actually a photo and a little more detail over at Mark’s Journal. Raising a few hundred bucks for charity is a great thing and the panelists were really funny.

I also watched the Mr. Poor Choices III comedy show. I howled. It was fun and funny. The show was totally stolen (from my vantage point) by the sign language interpreters. How do you sign “the nut mangler gym shorts” exactly? Their expressions were wonderful. I went and thanked them after the show. It was great fun.

I got to connect with a lot of folks this past weekend. I think that was really what made it all survivable for me. I had dinner with folks I don’t get to see often enough, drinks with others that I was thrilled to sit and chat with and even a teeny amount of time in the game room (even though I can’t hang with the Power Grid guys and totally forgot my t-shirt – sorry John, I’ll get it right eventually).

I expect with time that I’ll gloss over 50 and other Balticons will be better for me. I really want some of the folks I talked to this past weekend to make some good connections. I’m hopeful that some of the connecting I did over the weekend will lead to future projects. I’m also hopeful that folks that said they were done would be persuaded to return. I am hopeful, and if I work hard and am lucky enough maybe I’ll be one of the folks brought back by special invitation for number 75.

50Logo

The Second Was the First

Posted on by

It has taken me a day or two to regain my footing and put together a few thoughts on the convention that was Regeneration Who 2. Now that the glitter has settled (and has failed to go away) I will attempt to put into writing the things that have been running around in my head looking for a way out.

I titled this piece the way I did because while the was the second Regeneration Who con it was the first to have a dedicated children’s program. It was also the first time I’d been in charge of a chunk of con program. Yes, I’ve been part of the Intervention team for years but this was different. It was my direction – and I’m the kind of person that criticizes myself easily twice as much as anyone around me, probably more than that really. I had a grand vision in my head.

No plan survives contact with the enemy… Wait. Perhaps that isn’t the right way to phrase that. My full vision failed to account for certain realities. My free time for planning crashed directly into aspects of my day job. Another volunteer organization I work with put unexpected demands on my time. I didn’t have enough knowledge of materials and cosplay materials specifically to pull off one of the things I thought would be a centerpiece of our program. I failed at a couple of points that I wanted to be epic wins and that’s exactly the sort of thing that frustrates me. The plan generally survived, but I’ve been going over it and over it in my head since then figuring a way to make it better.

I take the time to read Oni’s “real talks” and I suppose this falls into the same category despite my inability to master her specific… eloquence. I know there has been a lot of praise for what we did, and I am truly thankful for that. It makes the struggle worth it. I know there weren’t as many problems to the eyes of convention attendees as there were to my eyes, but I saw the things I could do better. I saw the opportunities to really let my small portion of the team excel and really push it all over the top. Eta and Channon deserve a huge chunk of the credit for all that we did. I wouldn’t have survived the weekend without them. My unofficial helper (my lovely wife) was indispensable as well. They were the glue that held my macaroni to the page. I will always strive to hit that grand vision and really nail it – always. I know my team will be there with me.

In the end it was not the grand vision, nor was it a centerpiece activity. It was a small, simple gesture that made it all come together. Share a hug with a teddy bear and make the whole world better.

Monty

It’s vital to have these moments and keep all of our kids interested in the joy that is sharing our passions. I can only hope to equal that in the years to come. I will be there – and maybe I’ll bring my teddy bear too.

Check out some of the other things we had going on and make plans to be there next year:

Children’s Program!

Shenaniganator – or – Philcon 2015

Posted on by

It’s been a week since I participated in Philcon 2015. I have held off a week in writing up my review partially because it was Thanksgiving week and that meant a busy schedule and partially because I wanted to take some time to consider how best to write up my thoughts on the whole venture. For anyone who has been with me for a while here at the Pretend Blog, I did remember my socks this year.

Last year was the first time I’d attended as an invited guest and I was a little surprised to have gotten another invitation this year ~ not through any misdeed or indiscretion, I just hadn’t really given it much thought. Thankfully I was able to secure a room and once again have the fantastic option of riding with my friend Mary. Travel and check in were smooth sailing.

There were a number of friends in attendance, but a more than significant number of friends that were not this year. The lack of attendance was palpable to me. There were empty seats in the lobby, empty seats at the hotel bar, empty seats in the gaming area and lots of empty seats in the panel rooms. I missed seeing many of my friends. I had commented last year on how the attendance felt really low to me, and this year seemed worse to me. Once again, I don’t have numbers to back me up or any kind of data for that matter. It’s just a feeling, but a feeling based on simple observation like: I could put my arms out to my sides and not hit anyone or anything in the dealers room. There wasn’t anything even vaguely resembling a crowd even in the middle of Saturday afternoon. Not encouraging.

Panels were totally up and down. I had six for the weekend and they all subjects I could speak to with some form of knowledge. I think that says good things about programming. Yes, the information about the panels arrived a little later than one might want (it was plenty of time for me as a non-moderator), but I did not ever encounter the “well I have no idea why I’m on this panel” person.

I really enjoyed the first panel called “Judging a Book By Its Cover” on Friday. Ray Ridenour was a good moderator and the panel was quite diverse. It was nice to have all the bases covered with Ray’s insight as an artist, a publisher and an author on the panel. I was really hoping to meet the editor that had been scheduled to be there, but he didn’t make it.

I also learned a great deal from the panel Military Culture In Science Fiction. It was easily the best attended panel of mine for the weekend. I did my best to have solid input to this panel but frequently found myself listening and getting caught up in what the others were saying.

I’d have to say the first was probably the best for the weekend for me. Most were decent. They did not all go well in my humble opinion. I’m not going to detail each panel, but when an audience member approaches you and another author after the panel and offers to buy you both a drink just for getting through I suspect the reviews wouldn’t be stellar.

The small panel attendance did have one big advantage. I had the chance to really chat with both the folks I was on the panel with and some of the folks in the audience. It was really good to meet others that are fans and genuinely interested in what others were working on. I might have even gotten folks to check out Watch The Skies so we can keep the connections rolling through the rest of the year.

Lastly, and I think somewhat sadly, I came to the conclusion over that convention weekend that I am no longer a Shenanigan-ator. I am not really even a good participant at this point. After really talking up and enjoying the memories of Defend The Pizza I know that Sawney HattonTheLoot was disappointed when nothing even remotely resembling a brawl happened on either Friday or Saturday night. The room parties on Saturday night were… not exactly what you would normally see as a party I think. We (and by we I mean the people I was with) decided we needed something to happen – and so the great game of Elevator Roulette was invented. I genuinely laughed the hardest at the convention goers that exited their elevator cab cane first much to Sawney’s chagrin. The details are fuzzy. I really enjoyed watching that, but was somewhat relieved it wasn’t my elevator that opened. I don’t think I would have carried things off as well as the others there. I am sure they would have been disappointed then and I know they were disappointed when they moved ahead with the “something needs to happen” concept. I will totally own the simple fact that I decided not to crash the reception that was sharing the hotel. I don’t know when I stopped being the shenanigans guy – but it was pretty clear this past weekend that I am no longer that guy. Maybe I’ll come back around to it some day.

Someday. As I typed that I had to genuinely wonder how many somedays Philcon has left. I don’t want to be the pessimist here, but this year didn’t convince me the downward slide has stopped. I do hope they pick up next year. I also hope they’re willing to invite me again and that I’ll have the chance to once again see friends and find out who the Shenanigan-ator will be.

PHILCON!

Posted on by

I was very happy to be invited as a guest to the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society’s annual convention. I have commented on this before, but I hesitated to post anything more until it was all ‘official’.

Now it’s official!

Here’s my schedule for the weekend:

Fri 6:00 PM in Plaza IV (Four) (1 hour)
JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS COVER (2175)

[Panelists: Ray Ridenour (mod), Maureen O. Betita, Gail Z. Martin,
Andi O’Connor, Eric Hardenbrook, Ty Drago]

A cover shapes the expectations the reader brings to the book. What
if it is deliberately misleading? Can a deceptive cover bring the
book to its audience? How hard is it to appreciate a story based on
its own merits when you’re comparing it to the story you thought it
was going to be

Sat 11:00 AM in Crystal Ballroom Three (1 hour)
HOW DO WE CHOOSE THE BOOKS WE READ? (2176)

[Panelists: Todd Dashoff (mod), Eric Hardenbrook, Deborah Stanish,
Joan Wendland, Carl Fink, Gary Feldbaum]

People with broad taste choose from many different story types. On
what basis do we make these choices? Why do some readers focus on
one sub-genre or one writer

Sat 12:00 PM in Plaza II (Two) (1 hour)
MILITARY CULTURE IN SCIENCE FICTION (2139)

[Panelists: Mike McPhail (mod), Christopher Weuve, Eric Hardenbrook,
Jack Hillman, John Skylar]

How accurately is it depicted in SF literature, and how has it been
extrapolated into future settings? Who is writing it believably

Sat 5:00 PM in Plaza V (Five) (1 hour)
HOW GAMING IS IMPORTANT TO FANDOM (2073)

[Panelists: Tony Finan (mod), A.T. Greenblatt, Joan Wendland, Eric
Hardenbrook, Muriel Hykes]

Despite being an intersection of innovative storytelling formats,
fantastic visual artistry, audio dramas, and community interaction,
Gaming’s place in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror is often overlooked.
How do card, board, video, and other games continue to influence the
way genre stories are told? How else has Gaming affected the nervous
system of fandom over the years

Sat 9:00 PM in Plaza II (Two) (1 hour)
FANZINES OF THE PAST, PRESENT, AND…FUTURE? (2179)

[Panelists: Steve Wilson (mod), Phil Giunta, Eric Hardenbrook, Chris
Fuller, Victoria Janssen]

Before online social media, before Fanfiction.net and AO3, before
podcasts and youtube, fandom’s creative outlet and primary method
of keeping the lines of communication open was the humble fanzine.
The advent of the Internet may have seen a downturn in their
production, but not in our desire to create and communicate. How did
fanzines get us where we are today? How much or our heritage still
lies bound between those now-musty pages, and what’s being done to
preserve it? Where do we go next

Sun 10:00 AM in Plaza II (Two) (1 hour)
WHY CAN’T I GET MY BOOK CLUB TO READ WHAT I WANT? (2173)

[Panelists: Evelyn Leeper (mod), Rodney Somerstein, Eric
Hardenbrook]

How do you propose a title in a way that makes people want to read
it? How does one run a successful book discussion group in general

I’ll be a panelist and not a moderator for any of these topics. I’m looking forward to the discussions and interesting tidbits I always pick up during these discussions. IF you’re in the area, get out to the convention. I love to go to these and if you’re a fan I’m betting you’ll love it too.

philcon_logo

Surprise!

Posted on by

I was genuinely surprised. I got an e-mail with an invitation to be a participant at Philcon.

I was surprised on multiple levels – not the least of them being that I have no new work out this year. Not that it’s a requirement or anything like that, just that it was a thought stuck in my head. I wasn’t looking for or expecting this invitation and it’s a really good feeling to have gotten it.

Sadly, I have also been lacking in my promotion of local conventions.

YOU SHOULD GO TO PHILCON! Head on over to their page and check them out!

I know there are some folks who are hesitant to attend conventions for whatever reason. I can say you will meet some excellent people there. I always look forward to these things. I almost always have an amazing time. This is a place where stories are born. Don’t believe me? Read this from last year: Defend The Pizza!

Pizza

Going Off Site

Posted on by

This was originally published in Watch The Skies.

A couple of weeks ago Watch The Skies did something we’ve never done before. We headed off

site and set up a table at a charity event. Any other time in the past 14 years when something

was going on, people were coming to us. This was new and exciting.

The event was the Carlisle High School SciFi Saturday. This was the second annual version of

the event. I have to say, the turnout and enthusiasm was far, far more than I expected.

The CHS SciFi club was working with a number of charities raising money and donations. The

charities included Project Share, Community Aid and Furry Friends Network. They lined up a

gymnasium full of folks interested in what they had going on and laid out a whole day filled with

events.

This was a charity event, but it really seemed more like a mini convention than anything else. The

participants spanned all kinds of genres. There was a media star there (no, I’m not saying who it

was – you should show up next year and see for yourself) there were artists, costumers, authors,

editors, comic book shops, and all kinds of fun stuff. A DJ set up in one corner. I heard the theme

to Land of the Lost at one point during the day – how often do you hear that blasting from a DJs

speakers? That Game Place was set up and running game demos through the course of the day.

There was a lot going on.

The school had club members ready and willing to help carry things in and out. Everyone’s space

was laid out on a map. Set up was quick and easy. In terms of logistics, I’m not sure it could have

gone better.

WTS wasn’t actually selling anything. We were there for promotional purposes only. We donated

a couple dozen cans of food to the food drive but that wasn’t the bid deal. The big deal was that

we gave away 90 books. That’s right, we were promoting science fiction, fandom and reading by

giving away books. I believe there were a lot of folks that didn’t know how to feel about what we

were doing. Yes, for free. No, it’s wrapped up so it will be a surprise when you open it. Gave them

all away. Many thanks should be given to Jeff Young (our fearless fanzine editor) for organizing

the book collection and getting our group all set up. It was a grand success.

In all, the only thing I can say was we didn’t see enough people show up. Sure there were lots of

folks in the gym, but it would have been better if it was packed. That’s the part where you come

in. If this even runs again next year (and I suspect it will) I plan to be part of getting WTS there

and participating again. What we need is for YOU to be there. I certainly hope you will be.

Star Lord

Balticon – Wrapping up the review

Posted on by

Taking my time and reflecting on the convention was a lot more satisfactory than trying to lump all this stuff together.

The weekend was well worth the effort. The panels I was part of were good learning points for me, and hopefully for others. I got to meet, hang out and party with some very cool folks.

The convention attendance looked smaller to me than years past, but it also looked younger and more eager than I’ve seen in a while. That part gives me some hope.

BSFS announce the Guest of Honor for next year and announced that they’ll be moving to a new hotel. I’m torn about this.

The GOH is George R.R. Martin. I am not a fan, but he will certainly draw a crowd. I’m not sure it will be “my” crowd, but attendance should be up. The new hotel is in downtown Baltimore. Many, many folks are excited about this. I am not one of those folks. I remember going to the Omni when Balticon was there and I hated it. Downtown where the parking is expensive and the meals aren’t convenient. I like the current location in Hunt Valley – but that isn’t my choice. I know at least two people that have already decided that convention isn’t for them so they’ll be going elsewhere next year.

I am going. I’ve made the choice already. I know there are a lot of folks very put off by the utter failure of the registration process this year. I’m going to call it an aberration. I definitely think that invited guest should get their own line, but we’ll see how it all turns out next year. I’ll give reg a chance to right itself. I’ll give the venue a chance. It’s not ideal, but I’ll try it. Who knows, it might be amazing. I’ll be happy to be the counter programming to the GOH. Nobody said I have to go to his panels, right? I might even ramp up my art show stuff for next year. I’ve got some time for planning.

Hopefully you’ll have some time for planning and you’ll get yourself out there to a convention too. Maybe you’ll even catch me on a panel someday!

Part 3 – The Panels!

Posted on by

I have works of humor and military science fiction as my most recent published selections. Last year was no different. So, straight out the gate last year I got put on a panel about creating magic systems… with the guest of honor Brandon Sanderson. The room was absolutely packed and they were NOT there to see me. It went really well and the GOH was very gracious in sharing the panel.

This year – I got 3 panels that were actually dead on accurate. I didn’t know about one of them until the Thursday before the convention, but it was right in my wheelhouse so it wasn’t a big worry to me.

My panels were: Fiction Writing for Gamemasters (and vice-versa), Getting Into Short Fiction, and Writing Interesting and Effective Short Stories. I was in business – these were things I could definitely talk about!

I was the moderator for the gamemasters panel and I think it went well. I did my best to learn something of each panelist before we started, but that didn’t really work out. One of the original panel got re-scheduled, one didn’t show, one was a con staff member that suggested the panel and one gave this as his sum total bio information “…is a writer.” I try to use the information I find on panelists to mold and direct questions more toward their strong suits. Much like any role playing game I’ve ever run, I had to wing it. It seemed to work. Perhaps all that gamemaster stuff worked out for me in the long run.

I was a panelist on the getting into short fiction panel. I think there was really solid stuff there and I hope the folks that came to the panel enjoyed it. I’ll be honest – I don’t recall as much of that panel as I’d like. I had back to back panels and I recall my last one more than the first one.

The “last one” was interesting and effective short stories. I think there was a lot of good stuff in that panel. I wanted to take notes from time to time. Part of what made it so interesting was the fact that a couple of the panelists had very different views on making short stories work. I had a handful of things I think were good points and really took pleasure in response to one particular question. When asked about a short story that really moved or changed me I told everyone about a book I really enjoyed. It has been out of print since the 80s, so there were a quite a few folks that hadn’t heard of it. The general murmurs and reactions really made me smile. I like to be able to share the things I enjoy and point others toward something they might like too.

All worthy panels and really good panelists. These were probably some of the best I’ve been on yet.

And in case you’re wondering – I won’t give you the details of the story I liked so much, but it’s in this book (if you can track it down):

MagicForSale

Balticon – A Review Part 2

Posted on by

Links and Connections

One of the cool things I’ve always liked about going to conventions was the chance to meet and chat with creators of all types. I hope that as a creator that I give back in the way I have always felt the con giving to me.

This year was no exception. In fact, I think I’d call it exceptional in terms of the variety of folks I had the chance to meet. I chatted with authors and artists, podcasters, programmers, students, publishers and all sorts of others. I found some amazing work along the way.

I didn’t get as much of a chance to chat with this new author as I wanted – but the art was interesting and the story sounded like it had potential: http://thehollowsun.com/

Found a card for the magazine – and I’m signing up for a test subscription: http://thedarkmagazine.com/

I didn’t get to chat with Sunny after the panel she was on, but her portal earrings were neat… I’m intrigued about the way she described her work and will likely check some of it out: http://sunnymoraine.com/

I was really taken with this artist’s work – please go and support her: http://www.stephanieburgee.com/

I shared a panel with the founder here: http://www.zombiesneedbrains.com/

Last, but certainly not least I got to meet and chat with Dave Robison. I am very happy I had the chance to add him to the circle of folks I know. Go and read his Magazine of speculative thought here:

http://www.vexmosaic.com/

There are always lots of folks at a convention like Balticon. IF you get the chance, you should get out to a local convention and get to know some of these folks!