Boskone - Friday 14th Feb
I checked out of the Tremont in the morning, then went and had breakfast at Dominic's Bar and Grill two doors down from the hotel. Took the "T" to Prudential, and the first person I saw on coming up out of the station and into the mall was Vince Docherty going into Barnes & Noble.
Since I had left joining Boskone much too late to find a room share, I was still looking for a place to stay the night when I arrived at the Sheraton, so I checked my bags in to their luggage room, then went to help set up paintings in the Art Show with Ira Donewitz.
After that I hung out in the bar with Charlie and Feorag until 6:00, talking about the Iraq war drums, orbital pinwheel designs, and the temperature at which C and F are the same (I worked out the answer later: it’s 32/(1-9/5) = -40 (appropriate for Boskone 40).
The con officially started without opening ceremony or other ado. The evening programme kicked off at 6:00pm with SF Movies and the Mundane Critics: Why they just don’t get it (Dan Kimmel). This was one of a number of 30 minute spots, a sort of programme item lite where a single participant would give a short talk then take discussion from the audience. The discussion was lively and moderated with aplomb and good humour by Dan. I introduced myself to Dan afterwards, and we chatted for a bit before I went back to the bar for the tail end of...
6:00pm Literary Beer (Gregory Frost, Charles Stross). This was like a Kaffeeklatsch, only in the bar. This works because the bar is much less of a noisy centre of fannish socialising than it would be in Britain. I met Laurie Mann there, which, since she kindly sold me her daughter’s membership, gave me an opportunity to say thanks and pay her.
I was introduced to Michael Devney who, at the request of mutual friends on the Readercon committee, had kindly offered to let me have the use of his house in Cambridge if I couldn’t find a room in the Sheraton. In the event I didn’t need to take him up on his offer at any time that weekend, but I am grateful for the peace of mind anyway. Thanks Mike.
For dinner I went out to Gyuhama Japanese restaurant with Ellen, Susan Murosako, Martin Hoare and Gary Feldbaum, and had sashimi. This was new for me, and I wasn’t sure about the sizes of the portions. It was okay, but the more experienced diners in the party assured me that the sashimi is usually better, and that it’s usually sliced more thinly. Gary said he had a spare bed in his room for the weekend except Saturday night, so that was my accommodation problem mostly sorted out. Afterwards, we went back to look in on Moshe Feder’s room party.
Since I had left joining Boskone much too late to find a room share, I was still looking for a place to stay the night when I arrived at the Sheraton, so I checked my bags in to their luggage room, then went to help set up paintings in the Art Show with Ira Donewitz.
After that I hung out in the bar with Charlie and Feorag until 6:00, talking about the Iraq war drums, orbital pinwheel designs, and the temperature at which C and F are the same (I worked out the answer later: it’s 32/(1-9/5) = -40 (appropriate for Boskone 40).
The con officially started without opening ceremony or other ado. The evening programme kicked off at 6:00pm with SF Movies and the Mundane Critics: Why they just don’t get it (Dan Kimmel). This was one of a number of 30 minute spots, a sort of programme item lite where a single participant would give a short talk then take discussion from the audience. The discussion was lively and moderated with aplomb and good humour by Dan. I introduced myself to Dan afterwards, and we chatted for a bit before I went back to the bar for the tail end of...
6:00pm Literary Beer (Gregory Frost, Charles Stross). This was like a Kaffeeklatsch, only in the bar. This works because the bar is much less of a noisy centre of fannish socialising than it would be in Britain. I met Laurie Mann there, which, since she kindly sold me her daughter’s membership, gave me an opportunity to say thanks and pay her.
I was introduced to Michael Devney who, at the request of mutual friends on the Readercon committee, had kindly offered to let me have the use of his house in Cambridge if I couldn’t find a room in the Sheraton. In the event I didn’t need to take him up on his offer at any time that weekend, but I am grateful for the peace of mind anyway. Thanks Mike.
For dinner I went out to Gyuhama Japanese restaurant with Ellen, Susan Murosako, Martin Hoare and Gary Feldbaum, and had sashimi. This was new for me, and I wasn’t sure about the sizes of the portions. It was okay, but the more experienced diners in the party assured me that the sashimi is usually better, and that it’s usually sliced more thinly. Gary said he had a spare bed in his room for the weekend except Saturday night, so that was my accommodation problem mostly sorted out. Afterwards, we went back to look in on Moshe Feder’s room party.