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[general_jinjur]

forward-looking:

i got my wiscon schedule.
Gadgets: Then, Now and When - Cyberpunk and steampunk are alluring gadget-heavy genres: what roles do gadgets and their inventors play in characterization and world-building? What gadgets exist that we never dreamt we'd see, and which do we think we may see within our lifetimes? What are the fictional

Comments

[runningdog]

i can't help but think of Duncan Idaho from the DUNE series of books on your topic of 'Technological and Supernatural Identity Construction.' He was the best friend of Paul Atreides who was killed then cloned as a gift/assassin to Paul until Duncan fully recovered his memories and overwrote his programed 'assassin memory key.' Duncan was later cloned again and again to serve the Atreides family. A backup was always ready. i love science fiction. Certainly better then reality.

[general_jinjur]

okay, yes, exactly. i had a different example in mind to use for eventual extension to books, but this is better - the duncan idaho ghola is *so* interesting (though i remember being totally skeeved by his storyline, particularly in chapterhouse - but i haven't read that since it came out, so maybe i need to take another look. excellent.

What? What?

[jinty]

What sort of conference of awesomeness was this? It looks like it's this PCA/ACA, am I right? When I first saw the initials in yr post I thought it was a librarian thing but aha, ::reads more closely while still not quite awake::, that's what you were contrasting it with!

Sounds like an absolutely amazing time and one to definitely try to make sometime. Don't suppose you're going to the Finland one too? Heh!

Re: What? What?

[general_jinjur]

yes! i was lame before, and forgot to link it. it was great! i can't manage finland at all, but who knows - perhaps we'll have won the lottery and can make it next year.

[aphelant]

Oh man, some of those sound so cool! I am having thinky thoughts about next year. Definite thinky thoughts.

[general_jinjur]

thinkiness is something of which i highly approve.

[fiddlergirl]

Wow, those sound like really interesting conferences! I'm going to have to see if I can track down any of the papers (can't tell immediately from the PCA/ACA website if they're available but if nothing else maybe the university library would have access to the journals/proceedings...) because, damn, I need to read that Slytherin paper.

Do you think Wiscon would be accessible to someone who's a fan of science fiction but isn't *active* in fandom (i.e., me)? I am actually really interested in this stuff (I really enjoy your fannish posts!), but my fan-activity is confined to my own head and sometimes those within hearing range, so far.

[general_jinjur]

they were interesting! i think that much of what's presented does get published, but i'm not sure if there's a mechanism that does that automatically or not. some of the papers i saw were chapters of dissertations-in-progress (or completed and defended and about to be published, actually, in one case). if nothing else, in my experience, contacting the presenter may yield a copy of the paper - i didn't post the names, but they are all in the pdf of the conference schedule, which is on the site.

and yes. i think wiscon is probably one of the more accessible gatherings, because it does have an academic track and because, while it does include sf media, it's primarily literature-oriented (or conceptually literature-oriented). i would love it if you would come! and, honestly, i know what you're talking about - i am leery of cons because i am so new to being active in fandom, socially. though i do have a history of peering in from the edges. are you really considering?

[fiddlergirl]

I can't go this year, but I'm considering it for next year! It always sounds extremely cool.

[general_jinjur]

to clarify - most people in sf media fandom are also in sf lit fandom, in my experience. but most of the people in sf literature fandom are not media fans, in my experience. and literature fandom is slightly different - less socially immersive? this is all my impression and i may be very wrong. but in any case, i think that less socially immersive = easier to wander in. and by easier, i mean that the etiquette has fewer setting-specific quirks.

ymmv.