Fourth Street Fantasy Quotes - Friday
This is a post with quotes (funny and mildly serious) from my notes during the Fourth Street Fantasy Convention. I think Scott Lynch came up with the best definition of this convention today: "Nothing is too small for Fourth Street - we're 150 cats looking for yarn."
Panel: Gesticulation, Body Language, and Communication
"I'm Jon Singer and I'm the last person to introduce myself on this panel - unless we drag up someone from the audience."
"Hello, I'm tall and you're purple, and that's all you'll ever find out about us." - Scott Lynch
"That's why people invented smiley faces and emoticons - because we desperately needed them" - Jon Singer
"This is why writers drink so heavily."
"This is the nerdiest thing that will have been said so far on this panel..." - Scott Lynch
"I agree with whatever Jon Singer said" - Scott
"Oh, the danger..." - audience member
[regarding the white board] We just let Steve write whatever he wants up there - it keeps him happy.
From book in Gregory McGuire's Oz series: "The nun made gesture that Nuns should never ever make."
"This leads us to adverb country - some adverbs put weight on gestures that they can't bear. Such as "He nodded evilly." How does one /nod/ evilly? Sagely, Singerly, yes. Evilly?" -Scott Lynch
Someone on panel: "shook his wrist evilly"
Roughly half of the audience, including me, put down what they were doing and shook their wrists experimentally - some making evil faces.
"What is the universal gesture for uranium 238?" - Scott Lynch
"Even cultures you didn't just make up have trouble communicating with gestures!" Theresa Mecklenborg
"If I [puts hand to ear] they know I didn't hear what they said. But if I asked, "What was that?" they thought I was challenging them." - Elise
"Freshly unconscious people do wierd things." Scott Lynch
"Food fights always have a place in every story." Dana
"Nothing is too small for 4th Street - we are 150 cats looking for yarn" - Scott
"Somebody tweet that" - Bear
"If Mike Ford were here he would write a story where all of the dialogue was in direct opposition to the gestures." - Elise
"It would be mildly impenetrable, though brilliant, because he had a morbid fear of being obvious." Jon Singer.
Panel: Suspension of Disbelief
In my scrawled notes I have this title written as "Suspicion of Disbelief" which I also think is awesome title.
"I was a voice major. I don't need a microphone." - Felicia
"Vampires - they can do all this other stuff but the moment they /sparkle/..." - Catherine
"I can handle suspension of disbelief in magic, but not in economics!" - audience member
Audience members trying to decide who was being called on: "You!" "No, you!" "Seriously you, I was just doing my hair."
"You could blow up the partheon today with a squid..." -Ginger
"I'd read that story!" - audience member
"Why should I believe in your FTL engine when you don't know how to handle a weapon?" - Brust
"There is a writer's trick... a cheap writer's trick... a cheap-ass writer's trick... if it doesn't work just plunk a lightshade on it and call it a lamp." - scott lynch
"I don't know about the technical stuff - but I do expect the writer to have interacted with another human at some point." - audience member
Panel: Gesticulation, Body Language, and Communication
"I'm Jon Singer and I'm the last person to introduce myself on this panel - unless we drag up someone from the audience."
"Hello, I'm tall and you're purple, and that's all you'll ever find out about us." - Scott Lynch
"That's why people invented smiley faces and emoticons - because we desperately needed them" - Jon Singer
"This is why writers drink so heavily."
"This is the nerdiest thing that will have been said so far on this panel..." - Scott Lynch
"I agree with whatever Jon Singer said" - Scott
"Oh, the danger..." - audience member
[regarding the white board] We just let Steve write whatever he wants up there - it keeps him happy.
From book in Gregory McGuire's Oz series: "The nun made gesture that Nuns should never ever make."
"This leads us to adverb country - some adverbs put weight on gestures that they can't bear. Such as "He nodded evilly." How does one /nod/ evilly? Sagely, Singerly, yes. Evilly?" -Scott Lynch
Someone on panel: "shook his wrist evilly"
Roughly half of the audience, including me, put down what they were doing and shook their wrists experimentally - some making evil faces.
"What is the universal gesture for uranium 238?" - Scott Lynch
"Even cultures you didn't just make up have trouble communicating with gestures!" Theresa Mecklenborg
"If I [puts hand to ear] they know I didn't hear what they said. But if I asked, "What was that?" they thought I was challenging them." - Elise
"Freshly unconscious people do wierd things." Scott Lynch
"Food fights always have a place in every story." Dana
"Nothing is too small for 4th Street - we are 150 cats looking for yarn" - Scott
"Somebody tweet that" - Bear
"If Mike Ford were here he would write a story where all of the dialogue was in direct opposition to the gestures." - Elise
"It would be mildly impenetrable, though brilliant, because he had a morbid fear of being obvious." Jon Singer.
Panel: Suspension of Disbelief
In my scrawled notes I have this title written as "Suspicion of Disbelief" which I also think is awesome title.
"I was a voice major. I don't need a microphone." - Felicia
"Vampires - they can do all this other stuff but the moment they /sparkle/..." - Catherine
"I can handle suspension of disbelief in magic, but not in economics!" - audience member
Audience members trying to decide who was being called on: "You!" "No, you!" "Seriously you, I was just doing my hair."
"You could blow up the partheon today with a squid..." -Ginger
"I'd read that story!" - audience member
"Why should I believe in your FTL engine when you don't know how to handle a weapon?" - Brust
"There is a writer's trick... a cheap writer's trick... a cheap-ass writer's trick... if it doesn't work just plunk a lightshade on it and call it a lamp." - scott lynch
"I don't know about the technical stuff - but I do expect the writer to have interacted with another human at some point." - audience member