Sunday, 5 September 2010
[NOTE: The photos will be added later. For now, just the Blog.]
[NOTE: The photos will be added later. For now, just the Blog.]
Frak frak frak frak frak. I came back to the hotel room last night to drop some stuff off before heading out to the parties, and decided to work on uploading photos to Flickr for a few minutes first. I fell asleep with the computer in my lap. By the time I woke up, the parties were long over. Darnit.
On a good note, it's stopped raining. However, the locals seem to say what we do in Florida about the weather: just wait a bit, it could start raining again!
It's Father's Day here in Australia. So, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.
* * * * *
I finally got the Sydney photos uploaded and labeled, and the blogs to go with them posted. I'm seriously thinking of posting the rest of the blogs tonight to get caught up, and doing the photos later. I can edit the blogs to put the photo links in when I get them done. Maybe on the train Tuesday, if I can get the air card to work.
I am eating Brekky (Aussie slang for Breakfast) in the Pensione Cafe. Eggs Benedict and cafe mocha. They do poached eggs with a runny center. I don't recall having them that way before. Then again, I don't have either poached eggs or Eggs Benedict often, either.
Now I'm off to the convention for a Noon panel on whether or not the Doctor should be a woman.
* * * * *
Started chatting with a fellow convention-goer on my way out of the cafe, and continued chatting all the way to the convention center. Turned out to be Andy Porter from NY. I'd never met him before, at least not that I recall.
Ran into Alan Stewart when I arrived, who said some of his friends wanted one of the "My Ribbon Is Better Than Yours" ribbons, so I handed out a few, then headed upstairs to look for the latest newsletter (looks like the Sunday morning edition hasn't come out yet). I ran into Steve Francis and chatted with him for a bit.
* * * * *
12:00 Panel: The Case for A Female Doctor. Panelists: Kerrie Dougherty, Cat Valente, Carolina Gomez, Paul Cornell, Tansy Rayner Roberts.
Lively discussion. Absolutely the most packed panel I've seen so far (available seating to people in them ratio). General consensus seems to be that the fans would love to see a female Doctor. Someone shouted out they'd like to see the relationship between a female Doctor and River Phoenix. The panelists started making Zombie jokes. Obviously the person meant to say River Song, not River Phoenix.
* * * * *
13:00 Panel: Fantasy Before Fantasy. Science Fiction Before Science Fiction. Panelists: Ben Chandler, Rani Graff, Carol Ryles, Helen Lowe. About the older stories that were fantasy and science fiction before the more current stories we think of in that genre.
This should be an interesting panel, but they've managed to make it dull and boring. They also keep mumbling and not speaking into the microphonse, so we can't hear them, and I am in the second row. I think I'd rather jam toothpicks under my nails than stay in here, so I am leaving less than 10 minutes into the panel.
* * * * *
Chicago was running unopposed for 2012, so it's no huge surprise that they won. I went ahead and converted my membership to attending so I don't have to worry about forgetting later and having to pay more because the rates went up. I also snagged a "Dave in training" ribbon from The Dave, who was handing out the "Dave" and "Not Dave" ribbons.
I adore this city for their availability of coffee. I might have mentioned that before. There are coffee vendors all over the convention center. While the prices aren't cheap, they seem to be the same as the coffee shops and restaurants.
If you've been attending AussieCon 4, June Madeley wants your help with a survey. It's part of a larger research project on SF Fandom and Worldcon. www.surveymonkey.com/s/aussie4 June is the woman from Canada that was in the Penguin Parade tour I went on.
* * * * *
14:00 Panel: The Short Half-Life of Television. Panelists: Ginjer Buchanan, Jeanne Meally, Danny Oz. Great discussion about TV shows that ended too soon.
I was SO happy that Danny Oz mentioned Prey. I loved that show, and it seems nobody I know has ever heard of it. I chatted up Danny after the panel, and it turns out that he has all of the episodes on DVD! Now I may have a chance at a copy as well.
* * * * *
15:00 Panel: Science Fiction and The Television Industry. Panelists: Paul Cornell, Melinda Snodgrass, Ian Mond. It wound up going all over the place in terms of discussing SF on TV, including illegal downloading and DVD sales. Still, it was quite an interesting discussion.
T-Shirt idea: I Crave the Nerdieness of Past Decades. (What is the proper spelling of nerdieness?)
On the way out of the room after the panel I stopped to talk to a woman knitting socks, and mentioned that I may need more yarn to finish the baby afghan. Two local residents sitting nearby very kindly gave me the name of three stores in the city where I could buy yarn! I will have to go and have a look. Otherwise I will have to make the blanket shorter than the design calls for since I misjudged how much yarn I would need for the whole thing.
* * * * *
16:00 No panels sparked my interest. Time for a bathroom break. 8-)
Art Show! I so often miss the art show, because I forget until it's too late. I should go now, while I am between panels.
I managed to sell the last of my TARDIS phone charms to the lady giving me a bidder number for the art show. I saw one thing I really would have bought, only it was already sold via Quick Sale. Sometimes I wish the Quick Sales weren't allowed. I didn't even have a chance to bid on it.
I did see a necklace for sale by one of the artists that I like, but it isn't yelling at me that I need to give it a new home.
* * * * *
17:00 Panel: Boxcutters Presents: Writing Doctor Who. Panelists: Paul Cornell, Rob Shearman, John Richards.
I spent too long in the Art Show, and now there's no room left to do anything other than stand in the doorway. No thanks. I'll pass on the standing for now. At least it's a really crowded, packed panel. I believe it beats the previous Doctor Who panel on number of people to seating capacity ratio. The rooms seem to hold around 200 people.
* * * * *
I've decided to try writing fiction again. I haven't done it in probably 20 years. No, more like 25. But I've had a short story rolling around in my head lately, demanding to be let out, so I think I will open the door. Or is it a window?
Whenever I get it done I promise to share.
* * * * *
The program book says the Hugos are at 7pm. The updated Sunday schedule says 8pm. I'm not sure which to believe. Guess I will go downstairs and ask at the information desk. Although, they're not likely to know as they've not known the answer to anything else I've asked them. But I'll still give it a try.
And the answer is… doors open at 7pm, ceremony starts at 8pm. That now gives me about 1.5 hours to hobble somewhere, eat, and hobble back. The knee is in really bad form today, and the Achilles tendon on my left loot is acting up again as well. Grrrrrrrrrrr…
* * * * *
Just ran into Toni Weisskopf and Julie (I am so sorry, I forgot her last name) in the hallway and gave them ribbons. I'm still looking for the person with "I Can Has Rybn" ribbons.
* * * * *
I think I'm going back to my hotel now to dump stuff. There is a Pizza place with Take Away just around the corner from the hotel.
* * * * *
Stuff dumped. Blog post email sent. Pizza place only sold whole pies, and since I neither want to eat a whole pizza, nor wait on them to cook it, I went next door to Michel's Patisserie and got a yummy grilled ham and cheese sandwich. I was so hungry I ate it on the way back to the convention center. But I'm still hungry. Oh, well.
* * * * *
2010 Hugo Awards
I am sitting in the auditorium now, next to Dave Clark from Berkeley. I haven't had a chance to just sit and chat with him in ages since he's usually working in the Dealer's Room, but he's not this time. The people I sat behind at the masquerade last night are in the row behind me, and the people from Texas in 2013 are in the row in front of me. It seems that I keep seeing the same people over and over again, despite the size of the convention.
The awards ceremony was nicely done, and went quickly. They opted not to show clips from each of the dramatic presentation entries, which helped cut down on the length of the awards ceremony. And for a rare occasion, there was a tie for Best Novel.
For a complete list of the winners, please use this link: http://www.thehugoawards.org/
* * * * *
On a good note, it's stopped raining. However, the locals seem to say what we do in Florida about the weather: just wait a bit, it could start raining again!
It's Father's Day here in Australia. So, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.
* * * * *
I finally got the Sydney photos uploaded and labeled, and the blogs to go with them posted. I'm seriously thinking of posting the rest of the blogs tonight to get caught up, and doing the photos later. I can edit the blogs to put the photo links in when I get them done. Maybe on the train Tuesday, if I can get the air card to work.
I am eating Brekky (Aussie slang for Breakfast) in the Pensione Cafe. Eggs Benedict and cafe mocha. They do poached eggs with a runny center. I don't recall having them that way before. Then again, I don't have either poached eggs or Eggs Benedict often, either.
Now I'm off to the convention for a Noon panel on whether or not the Doctor should be a woman.
* * * * *
Started chatting with a fellow convention-goer on my way out of the cafe, and continued chatting all the way to the convention center. Turned out to be Andy Porter from NY. I'd never met him before, at least not that I recall.
Ran into Alan Stewart when I arrived, who said some of his friends wanted one of the "My Ribbon Is Better Than Yours" ribbons, so I handed out a few, then headed upstairs to look for the latest newsletter (looks like the Sunday morning edition hasn't come out yet). I ran into Steve Francis and chatted with him for a bit.
* * * * *
12:00 Panel: The Case for A Female Doctor. Panelists: Kerrie Dougherty, Cat Valente, Carolina Gomez, Paul Cornell, Tansy Rayner Roberts.
Lively discussion. Absolutely the most packed panel I've seen so far (available seating to people in them ratio). General consensus seems to be that the fans would love to see a female Doctor. Someone shouted out they'd like to see the relationship between a female Doctor and River Phoenix. The panelists started making Zombie jokes. Obviously the person meant to say River Song, not River Phoenix.
* * * * *
13:00 Panel: Fantasy Before Fantasy. Science Fiction Before Science Fiction. Panelists: Ben Chandler, Rani Graff, Carol Ryles, Helen Lowe. About the older stories that were fantasy and science fiction before the more current stories we think of in that genre.
This should be an interesting panel, but they've managed to make it dull and boring. They also keep mumbling and not speaking into the microphonse, so we can't hear them, and I am in the second row. I think I'd rather jam toothpicks under my nails than stay in here, so I am leaving less than 10 minutes into the panel.
* * * * *
Chicago was running unopposed for 2012, so it's no huge surprise that they won. I went ahead and converted my membership to attending so I don't have to worry about forgetting later and having to pay more because the rates went up. I also snagged a "Dave in training" ribbon from The Dave, who was handing out the "Dave" and "Not Dave" ribbons.
I adore this city for their availability of coffee. I might have mentioned that before. There are coffee vendors all over the convention center. While the prices aren't cheap, they seem to be the same as the coffee shops and restaurants.
If you've been attending AussieCon 4, June Madeley wants your help with a survey. It's part of a larger research project on SF Fandom and Worldcon. www.surveymonkey.com/s/aussie4 June is the woman from Canada that was in the Penguin Parade tour I went on.
* * * * *
14:00 Panel: The Short Half-Life of Television. Panelists: Ginjer Buchanan, Jeanne Meally, Danny Oz. Great discussion about TV shows that ended too soon.
I was SO happy that Danny Oz mentioned Prey. I loved that show, and it seems nobody I know has ever heard of it. I chatted up Danny after the panel, and it turns out that he has all of the episodes on DVD! Now I may have a chance at a copy as well.
* * * * *
15:00 Panel: Science Fiction and The Television Industry. Panelists: Paul Cornell, Melinda Snodgrass, Ian Mond. It wound up going all over the place in terms of discussing SF on TV, including illegal downloading and DVD sales. Still, it was quite an interesting discussion.
T-Shirt idea: I Crave the Nerdieness of Past Decades. (What is the proper spelling of nerdieness?)
On the way out of the room after the panel I stopped to talk to a woman knitting socks, and mentioned that I may need more yarn to finish the baby afghan. Two local residents sitting nearby very kindly gave me the name of three stores in the city where I could buy yarn! I will have to go and have a look. Otherwise I will have to make the blanket shorter than the design calls for since I misjudged how much yarn I would need for the whole thing.
* * * * *
16:00 No panels sparked my interest. Time for a bathroom break. 8-)
Art Show! I so often miss the art show, because I forget until it's too late. I should go now, while I am between panels.
I managed to sell the last of my TARDIS phone charms to the lady giving me a bidder number for the art show. I saw one thing I really would have bought, only it was already sold via Quick Sale. Sometimes I wish the Quick Sales weren't allowed. I didn't even have a chance to bid on it.
I did see a necklace for sale by one of the artists that I like, but it isn't yelling at me that I need to give it a new home.
* * * * *
17:00 Panel: Boxcutters Presents: Writing Doctor Who. Panelists: Paul Cornell, Rob Shearman, John Richards.
I spent too long in the Art Show, and now there's no room left to do anything other than stand in the doorway. No thanks. I'll pass on the standing for now. At least it's a really crowded, packed panel. I believe it beats the previous Doctor Who panel on number of people to seating capacity ratio. The rooms seem to hold around 200 people.
* * * * *
I've decided to try writing fiction again. I haven't done it in probably 20 years. No, more like 25. But I've had a short story rolling around in my head lately, demanding to be let out, so I think I will open the door. Or is it a window?
Whenever I get it done I promise to share.
* * * * *
The program book says the Hugos are at 7pm. The updated Sunday schedule says 8pm. I'm not sure which to believe. Guess I will go downstairs and ask at the information desk. Although, they're not likely to know as they've not known the answer to anything else I've asked them. But I'll still give it a try.
And the answer is… doors open at 7pm, ceremony starts at 8pm. That now gives me about 1.5 hours to hobble somewhere, eat, and hobble back. The knee is in really bad form today, and the Achilles tendon on my left loot is acting up again as well. Grrrrrrrrrrr…
* * * * *
Just ran into Toni Weisskopf and Julie (I am so sorry, I forgot her last name) in the hallway and gave them ribbons. I'm still looking for the person with "I Can Has Rybn" ribbons.
* * * * *
I think I'm going back to my hotel now to dump stuff. There is a Pizza place with Take Away just around the corner from the hotel.
* * * * *
Stuff dumped. Blog post email sent. Pizza place only sold whole pies, and since I neither want to eat a whole pizza, nor wait on them to cook it, I went next door to Michel's Patisserie and got a yummy grilled ham and cheese sandwich. I was so hungry I ate it on the way back to the convention center. But I'm still hungry. Oh, well.
* * * * *
2010 Hugo Awards
I am sitting in the auditorium now, next to Dave Clark from Berkeley. I haven't had a chance to just sit and chat with him in ages since he's usually working in the Dealer's Room, but he's not this time. The people I sat behind at the masquerade last night are in the row behind me, and the people from Texas in 2013 are in the row in front of me. It seems that I keep seeing the same people over and over again, despite the size of the convention.
The awards ceremony was nicely done, and went quickly. They opted not to show clips from each of the dramatic presentation entries, which helped cut down on the length of the awards ceremony. And for a rare occasion, there was a tie for Best Novel.
For a complete list of the winners, please use this link: http://www.thehugoawards.org/
* * * * *
21:00 Parties!
Crowne Plaza, Corporate Left: Chicago in 2012
Crowne Plaza, Corporate Right: Brotherhood Without Banners
Crowne Plaza, Bridge: Hugo Reception
* * * * *
After the Hugo Awards I walked over to the Crowne Plaza to check out the parties. I found the same group of Aussie fans I found on Friday night, and started chatting with them again. Turns out that two of them are going to the States, and are leaving from Sydney on Saturday on the same Delta flight I'll be taking home! I wound up chatting with two of the guys, Darren and Sully, for quite a long time, mostly talking about all the things that are different between the US and Australia: words and phrases, holidays, seasons, sports, you name it. It was a great conversation. Next thing we knew, it was after 1:30 am! No wonder the parties were packing up. Darren and Sully left to drive home, and a woman named Adrianne who had joined the conversation about a half hour before we all gave up, walked back as far as the 7-Eleven on the corner with me. Our hotels are on the same block.
Now I am back in my hotel room, updating the notes for my blog, drinking Vanilla Coke, and eating Sweet Chili with Sour Cream-flavored rice cakes before I go to sleep for the night.
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