Fried from FenCon
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Hey, I owe a Journal entry, don't I? I also owe the FenCon report, and you'll get one, provided my muscles will allow me to stay in the desk chair and my eyelids stay open.
I have to say that the convention was a blast and I have to thank all of our guests and program participants for being so amazingly wonderful.
The convention started Friday, but setup began Wednesday evening when we unloaded the trailer and stacked all of the goods in ConOps. Then we brought in another load from a local warehouse for the Art Show. Thursday was spent setting everything up. We also had a meeting with the hotel, just so everyone could put faces to names and make sure there weren't any last-minute surprises. Guests started to arrive. Artist GoH John Picacio and I ran out for some fast food and ate at the conference table in my site. John is a new father and a really nice guy. (You may see me use the phrase "really nice" a lot.) He was very complimentary of Jimmy Simpson, our Art Show director. Oh, and John is an amazing artist. I picked up one of his prints over the weekend. Our Fen GoHs Andy Trembley and Kevin Roche kindly served drinks to all the staff on site. Again, those guys are amazing. I got to hang out just a bit with Filk guests Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff during the evening. If you haven't seen their viral video "Midichlorian Rhapsody," check it out on YouTube. It's hilarious.
Then, around midnight, I got an incoming Skype call. It was Spider Robinson, our Guest of Honor. Spider was unable to travel and graciously suggested he could attend virtually via Skype. It was quite an experience, but well worth it.
Friday morning I got to meet briefly with Ace/Roc editor Jessica Wade, who ran the Writers' Workshop. Later that afternoon I touched base with Toastmaster Joe R. Lansdale. I know Joe already, and he's a (all together now) really nice guy. He brought is daughter Kasey along to give a concert over the weekend. Also briefly got to meet our Science Guest of Honor, Dr. John Randall, a local nanotech fabricator.
Friday afternoon was Spider Robinson's "virtual signing." This was his idea. We set up in a room with a laptop, a printer, and Skype software. Attendees got to come in and talk with Spider for a few moments, and while they were talking we took a screen capture and printed it. Skype shows a large picture of the person you're talking to, and you in a smaller window. So this means everyone got a picture of themselves talking to Spider. It was very cool, and I'm glad he suggested doing this. Everyone who attended walked out with a picture and a huge smile on their face. Spider also performed a concert via Skype. I only got to see a few minutes, but heard it was a lot of fun.
Opening ceremonies was a lot of fun. The executive committee debased themselves by performing a skit based on "The Lumberjack Song." Yes, I never wanted to be a conchair. I always wanted to be - a scientist! It just got silly from there, and the audience learned why I only do filk if I can be drowned out by many other voices. I was also interviewed by Pegasus News, and you can find the video here. (Ugly mug alert!)
Saturday was a bit of a blur, but I do remember chasing tech issues down with the Skype connection and watching with jealousy as Paul conducted a beer tasting and did the rehearsal for the radio show. I was not involved with the radio show this year, and I can't tell you how hard it was to sit and watch. I did write (most of) the script, though. While they were rehearsing I was hanging up pictures from the League of Evil Geniuses that Kevin and Andy brought. Check it out online. It's hilarious. I got to hear a little of Jeff and May's concert. That's the problem with being the chair: Unless I'm on a panel I hardly ever get to sit through the entire thing. Saturday night was the Cabaret and Masque, followed by parties. Yes, it's the conchair's job to go schmooze around at parties. Gosh, it's a tough job sometimes, but I'll do it for FenCon!
Oh, the other thing Saturday was the blood drive. Our charity was Carter BloodCare, and they brought their coach out. I'd heard their goal was 20 pints and they collected 40. Wow!
I was up early Sunday morning for the Science Fact or Crap panel, hosted by our very own Dr. Otto von Schnapps. I think they must have rigged the questions, for I walked away wearing The Propeller Beanie of Science! I sat on a panel called "Steven Moffat Is My Master, Now!" Well, I sat there and didn't say much. We had some very smart and funny folks who were more coherent that I was. It was a good panel. Then I ran off to help iron out technical issues with Spider on the "The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Creative Process" panel. We finally got that going. The Skype stuff was cool and amazing, but it seemed that every time we moved to a different room with a different sound setup, we ran into different problems. Spider said to never apologize for the Internet, but I CAN apologize for the sound issues.
I also got to talk to Robert J. Sawyer a bit. He was in town to give a lecture to UTD, and they suggested he might want to attend after he was finished with their obligations to them. He sat on a few panels, signed some autographs, and seemed to have a good time. I hope we can get him back for the entire convention one year. Then I made it to the Dealer's Room for long enough to pick up a copy of Jeff and May's "Grated Hits" CD.
Next it was off to the Torches and Pitchforks session where our concom sits up front and takes slings and arrows from the audience. We always screw up somewhere. It's inevitable with an event this size. But there are things going on that we don't always know about, and it helps to hear what others thought we did wrong so we can do a better job next time.
Closing ceremonies followed. Spider was there virtually, and played for us as we stacked all the chairs after the crowd had left. What a guy. Really. After all he's been through, to still do this for us was just outstanding. I'm gushing, and sound like a terrible fangirl, but this is all true. Everyone I talked to was so happy that he could join us virtually. Jeanne did too, after a fashion. Her ashes - and spirit - were present all the time. This wasn't our first Ghost of Honor, but it was certainly our first virtual one.
The Dead Dog party was a lot of fun. Jeff and Maya and Kevin and Andy hung out and partied with everyone. I think I got to bed about 4:00. Monday morning we finished packing up and hauled everything away. Then I spent a couple of days doing nothing whatsoever. The rational, logical part of me said that I really ought to get out and walk, but my muscles threatened revolt if I went anywhere beyond the kitchen for more Ibuprofen. The muscles won out.
My thanks to everyone who attended FenCon, and to all our guests and program participants for making this event a success. Our theme for next year is Southern Steam (we're hosting DeepSouthCon 49) and I'm so pleased to say that Gail Carriger will be our Guest of Honor. Yes, Gail, I still need to pick up Blameless. I see a trip to the bookstore in my future tomorrow.
Now my muscles are begging me to please to go bed already...
Filed under: FenCon
Comments are closed
Midnight said:
Whoa is me.
Can you imagine the home... emptied... by that Fen?
Without even a tormentor for company.
Date: 9/23/2010 8:32:22 PM
Date: 9/23/2010 8:32:22 PM
Midnight said:
Whoa is me.
Can you imagine the home... emptied... by that Fen?
Without even a tormentor for company.
Date: 9/23/2010 8:32:22 PM
Date: 9/23/2010 8:32:22 PM
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