“What’s up, B? Wa-sa-bi! / I’m searchin’ the city for sci-fi wasabi.”

[2muchexposition]

All the cool kids are posting their con schedules, and people keep asking me where I’ll be when, so watch me pretend like you care about my WorldCon schedule. Some places I know I’ll be:

• Thursday, September 2 @ 1:00 p.m. in H204: Did We Win? SF and its Takeover of Popular Culture. With Moshe Feder (m), Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Joe Siclari,

Comments

[moonlightalice]

Wish I could go! Enjoy yourself!

[2muchexposition]

You know, if you really wanted, transport is cheap, you could prolly get by without a badge (or occasionally borrow one), and there’s plenty of space in our hotel room. The last, even when divided by four, is still a little expensive, but I’m counting on having enough fun to make it worth it.

[moonlightalice]

Aw, that's sweet of you, but 1) I'm working this weekend 2) I'm seriously broke. Sigh...

[2muchexposition]

Hmm. I admit that it scares me a little bit, but Teresa and I talked it over and we think it will be okay if I prepare a lot, decide how I want the panel to go in advance, and properly convey that to the participants. One small advantage is that the panel is on the last day of the con, so I'll hopefully have a chance to talk to all three of them before Monday. As I told Priscilla, it would be scary anyway, because it's my first time; might as well throw myself into the deep end. :)

[sheepisher]

Ahh, there's so much I could learn from that Worldbuilding 101 panel - sounds fascinating.

I guess you couldn't really use this example, but I did once read a novel by a Dean-Koontz-alike in which our protagonists were trapped in some kind of geographical / meteorological anomaly which dampened cell-phone signals, so they were unable to keep in contact with each other / the outside world.

Sounds semi-plausible if hazily researched, non? Well, that was until the three-quarters climax, where our intrepid author suddenly writes himself to a hole and needs a working cell-phone to get himself out of it. So he just bullsugars about how the cell-phones suddenly work because the clouds are passing / hills have shifted a bit to the left ...

Can't remember the details really, because at that point whatever mild lingering curiosity I had to make it to the end of the book was unceremoniously snuffed like an un-blown birthday candle.

There may have been a point to all this. I wouldn't bank on it though.

[2muchexposition]

Heh. No, it's a good point, actually, in the category of: don’t try to fudge details with a class of readers who have written multiple volumes about how much of their favorite space operas could ever be plausible. SF readers are smart. If you try to cheat, they’ll notice and hold it against you.

Someone should also have a word with that author’s editor. :)

[sheepisher]

Yes, they certainly should have a word.

The sad thing was, that part of the book - the cell phone anomaly - wasn't meant to be SF ...

[ecmyers]

Well, I guess I'll sign up for the kaffeeklatsch then :)

Only... what makes you think you're going to get any sleep after the party, anyway?

I haven't checked out the Con schedule yet, but I almost certainly should. Looks like I'll have to attend a couple of these panels, in any case. To lend "moral support." Yeah, that's it.

[2muchexposition]

> Well, I guess I'll sign up for the kaffeeklatsch then :)
Yay! It's good to see that your training remains intact. :)

> Only... what makes you think you're going to get any sleep after the party, anyway?
Well, I guess not sleeping until after is an option, but if there are other panels I want to go to right after mine, I might have to stick it out until even later. Anyway, I'm an adult now: I should be able to make myself go to bed by at least 7, right?

> I haven't checked out the Con schedule yet, but I almost certainly should. Looks like I'll have to attend a couple of these panels, in any case. To lend "moral support." Yeah, that's it.
Ugh. Me too. Quit reminding me how much stuff I need to get done. Including, like, calling you regarding hotel details.
You know, if you follow me around to all my panels and heckle me, you're going to make me regret I ever posted my schedule.

[viridian]

Where's this con, btw?

[2muchexposition]

It's in Boston. See http://www.noreascon.org/ for more details.