This was originally published in Watch The Skies November 2019 issue.
Philcon
I am always happy to be asked to be a participant at the convention put on by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. I was given a couple of different panels to be part of and I stepped out and took on my own panel for the first time ever. It’s very easy after years of participation to become jaded and treat an event like this as work, so it was nice to shake things up a little.
Attendance this year felt light. I had the opportunity to chat with a few vendors I know and they seemed to get the same feeling. Even the book launch party wasn’t as crowded as an event like that normally is. That being said, the majority of people I spoke to had an excellent weekend. There were some that had a less than stellar experience. Putting the conventions rules and posted policies to the test is never the way you want to spend a con weekend. I was sad to see this happen, but it was something that only effected me in a tangentially.
Programs had a couple of little hiccups. IF I hadn’t loaded up the schedule app on my phone I wouldn’t have found out about the change in my schedule. Given the number of panelists, requests, rules and topics I’m a bit surprised this sort of thing doesn’t happen more often. Speaks well of the program staff I think. I was able to get it sorted out easily – no real fuss. I got to talk about introducing people to board games, introducing people to urban fantasy, methods for finding new authors along with a solo panel. That’s right, me and only me! My first ever solo panel Rosie or the Roomba was well attended – despite being scheduled at ten in the morning on Sunday. I had the room to myself as nothing was scheduled ahead of me and I was thankful for the extra set up time. Bringing my own multi-media presentation was a bit of a challenge, but the technology end worked out very cleanly and neatly. I got a number of insightful questions and some very sharp consideration from the folks that attended the panel. I consider it a success and will likely attempt to do the panel again for another convention.
One of my favorite parts of this year was a young artist displaying in the art show. This young person wanted interaction and posted a hand made sign up with his art to say so. I’m not an Instagram person, but if you are you should head over and check out the work of @eanr’sart over there. I know at least one of this artist’s pictures was snapped up and taken home. I suspect a taste of success will continue to bring this artist back.
As always it was wonderful to see various members of my ‘convention’ family that I don’t get to spend enough time with. It was a fast weekend. I was on the way home again almost before I realized it. As always I hope to be invited back again next year. You should consider signing up and heading to the con too. That, after all, is how we’re going to keep science fiction conventions rolling far into the future.
I will be attending Philcon again this year as a guest. I am always grateful to be asked to participate. Schedules were recently announced. A number of my friends have posted their schedules already, but I held off just a little. I’m still adjusting to the idea of what I signed up to do…
Fri 6:00 PM in Plaza II (Two) (1 hour) INTRO TO URBAN FANTASY (3632)
[Panelists: Vikki Ciaffone (mod), Eric Hardenbrook, Elektra Hammond, Bruce Dykes, Michael Hanson]
Contemporary Fantasy, Portal Fiction, and yes, Paranormal Romance- what makes this genre distinct from other kinds of fantasy? What books make the best entry point into the various subgenres
Fri 10:00 PM in Plaza III (Three) (1 hour) CROSSING THE STREAMS (3619)
[Panelists: Aaron Feldman (mod), Eric Hardenbrook, Joseph Haughey]
The old policy of fan artists and writers carefully avoiding any contact with The Powers That Be is becoming untenable in the age of Social Media, where actors routinely retweet fanfic and fanart of their characters and more professional authors are going public about their history as fanfic writers. But some boundaries are still useful to maintain. How can fans and professionals coexist in this new status quo
Sat 11:00 AM in Crystal Ballroom Three (1 hour) HOW DOES A READER DISCOVER NEW AUTHORS? (3492)
[Panelists: Elektra Hammond (mod), Timothy Pratt, Elyse Rosenstein, Mary Spila, Eric Hardenbrook, Phil Giunta]
In a world where people are more likely to order new releases by their favorites off of Amazon than drive to a bookstore and browse, how do readers find authors they hadn’t previously heard of
Sun 10:00 AM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour) ROSIE OR THE ROOMBA? (3678)
[Panelists: Eric Hardenbrook (mod)]
Modern science fiction frequently depicts advances for the spaces we live in as dependent on the technology inside of them. What are some advances in the technology of the actual buildings around us today?
It’s the last one that caused me to hesitate. You read it right – that panel is all me. I have the hour all to myself. IF it all goes wrong, it’s all on me. So I’m going to start digging in and getting my program ready.
This review was originally published in Watch The Skies – October 2019 issue.
The
Bodhana Group is a nonprofit organization that advocates the use of
tabletop gaming as a directed therapeutic and clinical practice that
can benefit personal growth as well as enhance social and educational
services to individuals and families.
Over the weekend of October 11 through 13th
they also ran their annual convention “Save Against Fear”. IF
you’re in the Central Pennsylvania area and enjoy playing games, I
would highly recommend putting this event on your calendar.
This
year was the ninth year for the event and the third time I had
attended. I was not alone. The con this year brought in about 450
people from all across the area and nearby states. The convention
took over a large space in a local mall and used it all. There were
literally dozens of games running at any given time all weekend long.
Role playing games, computer simulation games, board games, card
games – even beta test games. There were at least six game design
groups set up and showing off their latest creations. Massive
miniatures displays and games took up the rear section of the game
floor covering everything from the Civil War to Star Wars. The
miniatures on display were painted in myriad colors and stood out
against all sorts of terrain. Some folks took the opportunity to
learn how to paint the minis and add spectacular bases to them. In
short, if you like to game this was the place to be.
Registration
was right up front. It was fast, clearly marked and a breeze to get
through. In fact, all the aspects of the convention were super
smooth. There was a bake sale if you needed a snack. Vendors took
over a section of the floor and brought a wide variety of items in
for sale, from art to books to the next set of dice that you clearly
need.
The game designers had a lot of interesting things to play test and
just have plain fun with.
The
single biggest part of the con was the game library. It’s massive. It
was overwhelming. When I say those thing it feels a bit like
hyperbole, but there were hundreds of games to chose from. The games
were all laid out along a huge set of tables and roughly divided into
sections based on how long it would take to play the game. If you can
name the game, I’d wager it was there. I know there are some skeptics
out there but when I saw Gnip Gnop, Payday, and Canasta next to the
Mork and Mindy board game I began to have trouble choosing what to
play. If there’s any criticism of the con it would be that. The game
selection was too much if you were even a tiny bit unsure what to
play. The best part would be the fine folks working all the tables.
All the people working were gamers and fans of the work they do. They
were happy to come up with a recommendation based on what you were
thinking and even an explanation of how to play if somebody in your
crowd didn’t know how to play.
The
convention had easy parking, easy access via the mall and was just
down from the food court. The staff was fantastic, the games and
programs were smooth as could be. I know I’m missing some of the
things that were going on (Oh yeah! There were raffles and a silent
auction too) but I think that’s what’s going to recommend this con
the most. There was a ton to do all weekend long. If you’re in the
area next October I would highly recommend you make your way there. I
know I’m looking forward to it already.
As I wrote the post title I was struck
by the number. The 53rd convention from BSFS. I know I’m
the “new guy” to many, having only really started at Balticon 27
but this convention has always seemed like my ‘home con’ if that
could even be such a thing (that’s 26 years for those that don’t want
to ‘math’). I’m not joking about the ‘new guy’ thing either. I know
at least one person that has gone to every Balticon. Part of my
recounting of number of visits to the convention stems from how many
people I didn’t see there this year. I came up with a dozen folks off
the top of my head that, through various circumstances or choices,
simply didn’t make it to the con this year. It felt oddly empty.
Logically it wasn’t, but it felt that way.
I will say that I was very impressed
with the con team this year. Registration *always* has problems with
my wife and daughter. I don’t know why – but the mistress of
registration remembered me and it was much smoother this year than in
years past. The con added a ribbon option this year for people that
wanted to have a clear definition of what pronoun they prefer. I
think this was an excellent option for those that were interested in
having one or felt they needed it. While I did not use one myself
(moving rapidly toward the land of the dinosaur) I did find it useful
from time to time. Thankfully I didn’t see anyone abusing it. The art
show was bigger than I’ve seen it in some time. There was a lot of
great work on display there – and I ended up coming home with two
new pieces. Programming was very strong. They got information out
early, had the schedule posted ahead of their normal time and were
quite active at the con itself… more on that in a minute.
It was an adventure to get to the
hotel. The interstate we take to get there was shut down and all
traffic diverted off to side roads. We managed to avoid the worst of
the traffic, but it sent us off into the wilderness for a while. A
longer ride there than normal.
I started the weekend off with 3 panels
on Friday night. I felt like the panels were decent and that I
contributed without being super awkward or out of place. Writing
military campaigns was my weakest of the day. Genre in the age of
binge watching was decent, but uneven. Bad movie adaptations could
have been better (I’m not a fan of throwing it to the audience right
away). On the upside I was told one of my statements / arguments
actually inspired a panel for next year.
Saturday brought all kinds of weird
with it. At loose ends with no panels for the entire day I could do
as I pleased. I took some time to wander the con and check things
out. I got to spend a lot of time in the art show. I checked out the
vendor tables. I got to sit and chat with my friend Jay and get
started on an upcoming project (totally a secret for right now).
While we were sitting and working, Jay needed to go and be on a
panel. I decided I would be supportive and headed to the panel with
him.
I’m not going to recount all the
details here, but that particular panel was not good. Jay told me I
was ‘not contractually obligated’ to stay, but I felt as if I was
abandoning him to a terrible fate. It devolved so quickly that I
bailed out after about 15-20 minutes. Apparently my fears were not
unfounded. I was told it got worse after I left.
This is the part where I explain how
the programming team was active during the convention. I was
approached later in the day by the head of programming (after being
pointed out by the con safety team and flagged down). I gave my view
of the events of the panel. The head of the convention was called
over. I was asked to recount my view of things again. The problematic
individual was subsequently pulled from all panels for the remainder
of the weekend. I’m not going to call that person out. I was a
witness and not directly involved with the event in question. I gave
my view on matters and that was enough for the incident in question.
I’m certain there were lots of hurt feelings over the whole thing. I
hope the person in question gives the whole thing some thought and
uses it as a learning experience rather than fuel for some kind of
grudge.
Quick tips from my point of view about
convention panels:
1: Being the moderator of a panel does NOT
mean you’re the primary speaker
2: The audience is there for ALL the
panelists generally, and sometimes for ONE in particular – and that
might not be you
3: There are panelists that know more
than you and people that have different experiences than you – let
them speak ( please note that the gender of said individual plays no
part in that statement)
4: Stay as focused as you can
(difficult, I know) on the actual topic of the panel and the stated
level of expertise it’s aimed at
5: Panelists are volunteering their
time. Being angry at them, talking them down, demanding they defer to
the moderator is generally the path to a really bad experience
That list is not all inclusive, but
relevant to the past weekend.
Saturday night featured a riot in the
streets of Baltimore – in front of the convention hotel. No, I’m
not joking. Thankfully I was able to avoid any issues with that, but
a handful of other con goers were not so fortunate. To my knowledge,
everyone came out the other side OK and relatively unscathed.
My Sunday at the con featured two more
panels. I got to talk about traumatizing your characters in your
writing (and why you don’t necessarily need to) AND I got to talk
about the future of energy. The trauma panel was really interesting
and I’m glad I got to be part of it. It was really well moderated and
the discussion was far ranging with many different opinions and story
telling tidbits.
The future of energy panel was an up
and down thing for me. I’m going to do a separate write up for the
actual content from my point of view because it was far more
interesting than I initially thought it might be. I’m also going to
see if I can use some of the notes from my fellow panelist Jim. He
had some great points and information. I hope the audience enjoyed
the panel as much as I did.
There was also shopping, chatting with
friends that were there, games in the game room and a fantastic
dinner out with amazing ice cream immediately following.
I had a nice, relaxing weekend. The
convention itself felt a little like things might be shifting or
changing, but that’s something to think about for next year. This was
a really good con.
I posted this initially on my Facebook page, but I am not really a fan of that place. Safer to keep a copy here where I can come back to it with less issue.
The convention has been canceled. This
is the last event the company behind Regeneration Who, Potterverse
and Intervention had scheduled to my knowledge. This cancellation is
unfortunate and difficult to process for many. I am still trying to
decide how I feel about the whole thing. Instant reactions are not
often the best reactions.
Running an event like this – any
event really – is a lot of work. It’s a lot of logistics and
arrangements and contracts and… you get the idea. It takes a team
of dedicated people. Events like these can be really magical to those
involved and to those making it happen. The key part of that is
‘magic’.
It is exceedingly rare to see events
create and capture that kind of magic over and over again. Magic is
fleeting, it is ephemeral. The misty parts at the edges of your
memories about all the great things going on tend to cover up those
hard working corners and the dusty bins containing all the pain and
the sweat and the frustrations. Sometimes the best possible thing is
to allow the magic to float and drift and remain as a fleeting
vision. Perhaps that vision will inspire others and another beanstalk
will grow from the magic beans acquired at something we created.
As part of the children’s program team
(and then head of the department) it was always my goal to create a
place where any of the young fans could create, express and enjoy all
the things that their imaginations wanted. When asked to provide a
job description for my position to the leaders of the con I told them
simply, “Children’s
Programming is the creation of a lavish 8 year old’s birthday party
that needs to be sustained for an entire weekend. It really isn’t
more difficult than that.”
It
was more difficult than it sounds. The ideas, the planning, the craft
testing and the clean up were a lot of work. It was worth it.
Teaching young fans how to imagine and create with their fandom and
then act in a way that will allow others to join and follow in their
footsteps was vital. Regeneration Who 5 would have been my 14th
convention doing this. Over the years of work there was always the
hope that we were doing it right, but it was just hope. This year I
got the best result I could have hoped for. I was approached by a
young fan I knew that had attended many of our events and spent a
great deal of time creating and imagining things in our program room
to ask me a question. This young fan had passed their 18th
birthday – and could they now become a staff member and join the
team to help create the magic.
That
was the goal. Achievement unlocked. Level up. I could not have been
happier.
Now,
particularly given current circumstances, I think it’s time to allow
others to carry on the magic. I don’t believe I will be part of con
staff any more. I want to keep a little of that magic and let the
fuzzy edges soften things. I want to see what others come up with. It
will take an awful lot to make me reconsider at this point. Change is
inevitable. Magic is fleeting.
Things are a mess right now. I have no answers for any of that. There are a lot of angry and hurt people out there. Hold on to the magic and give time the chance to soften the edges. Keep some of the magic within yourself but pass a spark on to others so they can enjoy it too.
Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the team. Thank you to my team – you were amazing (and totally made me look good!). Thank you to all the folks with kind words and encouragement. Please share this post if you feel the need to. I look forward to seeing you out and about in the magical world of fandom.
One of the panels I was on at Philcon was titled “A Creative Apocalypse” and the description was, “What creative and original – but scientifically plausible – ways are left for storytellers to destroy the world?”
I kind of struggled with this question initially. Creative I can handle, it’s the scientifically plausible that I was worried about. Part of me really wanted to separate out destruction of all human life from actual destruction of the planet, but that line of discussion didn’t get far. Not much of a story without the people (still horribly narcissistic if you ask me).
Then I seemed to recall something about massive ant colonies that spanned across vast distances. I didn’t have a chance to do any research on it, but it was in the back of my mind that I had seen this so I presented it (when I could) at the panel. I find a plague of bugs to be a less than ideal concept for the end of the world (YUCK!).
I took a moment to see if I could find the information I remembered and found this fun little piece about floating colonies of fire ants in Texas.
Smacking into one of those would certainly ruin your day, but it wasn’t what I remembered. Hunting a little more brought me to the mega-colony. Yes, it was a huge colony and it actually reaches far further than I seemed to recall. Crossing continents. Almost all of them, and they don’t’ seem to fight each other. This could be very bad news for people should these bugs ever band together.
A sharp-eyed friend of mine then pointed me to a whole different point of view. What if all the bugs GO AWAY?
Turns out we need them. We need as many variations and weird combinations as we can keep. We need to learn as much as we can to preserve ourselves. The bug-pocalypse could just be that we don’t have any. A distressing thought indeed. Now to turn that into a world ending story…
This was previously published in Watch The Skies (November 2018)
I was once again happy to be a participant at the convention put on by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society this year. I was given a number of different panels to be part of and as a bonus got to talk a couple of folks who had never been to Philcon along for the ride. Having friends along was a difference maker this year. It helped me to see the con with fresh eyes. It’s very easy after years of participation to become jaded and treat an event like this as work.
Attendance this year felt like it was slightly more. I have absolutely no basis for this observation other than feeling. I could (and likely am) totally wrong, but part of why I might have felt this way could be that I saw other con tracks that I don’t normally see. I paid more attention to the Anime track. There was more than one costuming related panel and there were even events for kids. I know the Anime track has been solid for years, but having somebody along with me who was interested in it gave it a fresh look.
My panels were well attended – except for one. Everyone who does panels at cons will eventually get a clunker. Having a friend walk to the panel room with me was the only reason I wasn’t there alone. Eventually the person that suggested the panel be on programming arrived. We had a nice chat and then she left early (can’t compete with the masquerade after all).
There were also a number of artists displaying their work in the art show. I recognized many of them and their work, but there were also one or two that I hadn’t seen before. I hadn’t been familiar with the artwork of Gary Lippincott, but I have realized my mistake after looking at his amazing water color work in person. Do yourselves a favor and go check out his work.
As always it was wonderful to see various members of my ‘convention’ family that I don’t get to spend enough time with. Jokes about alien abductions just don’t play as well anywhere else as they do there.
It was a fun filled and fast weekend. I was on the way home almost before I realized it. I hope to be invited back again next year. IF I go, I want to bring more friends. That, after all, is how we’re going to keep the things we love rolling along.
I spent the weekend at a local game convention with my daughter. It was time well spent. The folks at the Bodhana Group really put together an excellent weekend. This year was the second time in their location at the Harrisburg Mall. It was also the second time I got to attend the convention.
Great stuff – it’s local to me, affordable and filled with activity. Added bonus, I was only an attendee. I wasn’t part of the team putting the show on, I wasn’t working or speaking or any of the other things that I’ve come to associate with conventions. I was simply attending and enjoying the time with my daughter.
More Great Stuff – we had the chance to put in for door prizes each day, could pick up tasty tasty treats from the bake sale and got the chance to participate in the “play to win” promotion. Play to win is a super cool idea. Game companies donated a number of games to the convention. You could check out a game and play it. When you did, put your name on the list and you’re entered for a chance to win. Call them out on social media and get an additional chance to win. We came home with two FREE games this weekend just because we took the time to sign them out and test drive them. Combined with the door prize I won I think the winning balanced out what we paid to attend this year.
Even more great stuff – it really was a fantastic little convention. The people attending were nice and friendly. We got to play games with new folks and both learn and teach new games. We got to meet and talk to game designers. Test drove 3 different games that are still in development. Couldn’t pick them up as they’re still in development, but signed up to be notified when the games come out so we can get them then. All kinds of fun.
Really, the only down side to the whole thing involves the location. Being at the mall is excellent. It’s a ton of free parking, easy access and short walk to the food court when we chose to break for something to eat. Close to the house and easy to get to any time. The space itself is one of the large stores that hasn’t been rented out yet. It’s not pretty. It is as unfinished and worn out as you might think. The temperature was all sorts of out of control. It got hot enough in there to make a number of folks not feel well on Saturday afternoon – and I don’t know if the HVAC system was something the con could control or not, but it was a real issue. Also – just on a personal level – I HATED the chairs that were provided. To be fair, they DID provide chairs and tables for around 400 people. NOt easy. I still hated them.
If you’re in the area I highly recommend looking this convention up next year. They’ve already announced it – and as soon as registration goes up I’m signing up to go again!
For around 25 years now I’ve been attending the Baltimore Science Fiction Society‘s annual convention. It’s the convention I consider “home base” as it was the first one I ever went to.
Once again this year I am delighted to be an invited guest and will be speaking at a number of panels and attending a book launch (GO JEFF!).
IF any of you are headed to Baltimore this weekend and are interested, here is my schedule:
Finding Your Space in Fandom
[7] Room 7029, 5pm – 5:55pm
Fandom can be big, but we can find each other based on our specifics interests, mutual friends, and online hangout spots.
SMOFing for Fun (But Probably Not Profit)
[12] Club Lounge, 10am – 10:55am
Running conventions is fun, but it’s also akin to herding cats or nailing jello to a wall. Come talk to SMOFs about steering the group, organizing events, and keeping afloat.
What Makes a Good Book Review?
[12] Club Lounge, 11am – 11:55am
There are many ways to approach writing a review. How much do you recap? How much do you focus on the themes or characters? Should review from your own experience or that of the average reader, and how much of a review is just the rating?
Reading Outside Your Genre
[5] Mount Washington, 6pm – 6:55pm
If you only stay within genre you love to read, it can be hard to figure out where to best start exploring outside your comfort zone. How can you learn to enjoy books you might not otherwise be interested in, and how do you approach difficult-to-read and older styles of writing?
