WorldCon Prep

[rolanni]

We prepare for WorldCon, yes we do.

kinzel has been a one-man ad agency: designing, printing, folding, and now boxing up various Items d'PR to be sent on ahead of us. For the first time since ...BucConeer... we will not have buttons to give out to unsuspecting and sometimes outright startled passers-by.

I've done what prep I can for my panels -- may photocopy a few passages for one of them tomorrow, in case things get chaotic, which they may, as the moderator has alas had to bail out of WorldCon at the last-but-one-moment. The proximate cause for the bail is quite exciting and I wish him well in it, but I was looking forward to seeing him again. Well. Another year.

The new LL Bean tote bag with ten (10!) pockets kaygo, is starting to fill up nicely and at some point I'm going to have to think about clothes, and the packing thereof.

Made the reservations for Wednesday night at Vinny T's (and the Extra Credit rolls in!), added Everything Now Known to the schedule list; made sure that my cell number is in kinzel's cell phone and vice versa, since we're going to be going in opposite directions much of the time. Which is perfectly fine and even welcome. kinzel and I are so used to collaborating, it's really not fair to put us on the same panel.

I've got extra batteries for the new camera. I intend to take lots of pictures, since this will be my last con (saving SheVaCon) for the foreseeable future. Hm. May get an extra, extra set of batteries, Just In Case.

Mozart's sleeping on the file box at the side of my desk and Scrabble's passed out on the catnip pillow behind the rocker. The pizza's in the oven and all's right with the world.

Comments

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

10? Wow. Does it have a cellphone pocket?

Have a great time at the con. Will you guys be cutting back?

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

It has a cellphone pocket. It has an outside water-bottle mesh pocket on one edge; a similar non-mesh pocket on the other edge; three zippered pockets on the outside back -- a flatish horizontal one for papers or a magazine or a pad; and twin vertical pockets each big enough to hold a paperback or a sandwich or a ray gun or Harwil the traveling plushy platypus. On the outside front is a big horizontal pocket double-sealed with velcro at the top and a zipper at the bottom. The zippered bottom is an excellent idea because the velcro seal is so tight I can't open it. Inside, there are several elastic-mouth pockets, and another zippered pocket. It's made out of some indestructible, waterproof matte black microfiber. Nice long straps, too, so I can sling it over my shoulder.

All in all, a most satisfying bag.

Have a great time at the con. Will you guys be cutting back?

I intend to have a lovely time at the con. I've got what I consider to be Just Enough work to do, with plenty of time built in to people-watch, chat, or (gasp!) attend panels as, y'know, a member of the audience.

And, yeah, after WorldCon, we're cutting 'way back on con attendance. kinzel will be going to AlbaCon in October as SRM Publisher; and we have a special guest gig at SheVaCon in February, where the publisher will be breaking the new book. After that, we're going to be spending a lot more time at home. I'm starting to crisp a little at the edges, so it's time to step back and Breathe.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Oh my. Sounds like my nearest approximation in my Ellington bag. It's a tote, too. Five exterior pockets--two of these are topped with an elastic cord to hold papers in place and such, while one has the zippers top and bottom. The reason for the bottom zipper is to allow you to slip the bag over the handle of the rolling luggage. I've done that, and it's pretty neat.

Inside, one large compartment with a smallish zippered pocket in the back and two web pockets at the ends. Then there's the smaller compartment, which has cell phone and PDA pockets, a couple of things for pens, a hook for keys, and a small web zipper pocket.

I will check out yours at the website, even though I need a new bag like I need an angioplasty. I'm a sucker for black microfiber--the Ellington is heavy brown canvas (duck?) with a fairly waterproof lining. Sturdy braided cloth handles. It's a good bag...but I wanna see yours.

I understand about cutting back on cons. It feels strange not going to Worldcon this year, but given how little fun I had at the last two (nothing to do with friends, just Stuff), I keep telling myself that I'm giving myself a break.

Had the perfect luggage for the trip, too. A hardsided roller bag in silver that is large enough to give even me pause. Maybe in a few years--I doubt I can manage Glasgow, and Anaheim just does not excite me. Columbus would be a good possibility in '07, but if Japan wins, forget it.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

TEN pockets? Oh, my...bag lust has been invoked.

I have 8 or 9 different bags hanging on the dining room chair. (It's a well-known fact that many writers are bag people. Where would we put the books, paper pads, bookmarks and pens, otherwise?)

So, when do you leave, and when do you return? Is this a driving or a train trip? Hope it's a great trip!

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I purely loathe handbags, but I love totes. Go figure.

Boston's just a step down the street, really. We'll hand things off to the house-sitter Wednesday morning, catch the train at Portland at be in Boston by noon. From experience, the taxi ride from North Station to the Sheraton will be, um, good for my adrenaline, but once arrived, everything will be binjali. Looking for a great con...

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I purely loathe handbags, but I love totes. Go figure.

Moi, aussi. A handbag is what I struggle to find that will carry everything and not get in my way. A great one should last 20 years and be buried with funerary rites. A good one should last at least 5 years, and be hard to part with.

I've had good ones, never a great one.

Boston's just a step down the street, really.

(For some reason, this reminded me of the time some editorial assistant at Warner sent a box of books to my then address but to Houston, not Hurst, TX. "Is that close?" he asked. "Ummmm....5-8 hours, depending on how you drive...." I replied. Those books are still sitting in the dead mail office in Houston, I'll bet, and they're worth a lot now...)

The idea of driving through multiple states in a day has a real appeal.

Have an EXCELLENT con.

WorldCon Panels

[kellialwydd.livejournal.com]

I'll be attending WorldCon this year. What panels are you on ? Are they ( Noreascon ) receptive to the Save Farscape/Watch Farscape movement ? I know they are giving them fan table space which at World Con is a big fat hairy deal, but what vibe if any have you received from them do far.

Re: WorldCon Panels

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I'll be attending WorldCon this year. What panels are you on?

Cool! Our schedule is here (http://www.korval.com/n4combined.htm). I'll try to get over today and plug in the room numbers, now that they're known.

Are they (Noreascon) receptive to the Save Farscape/Watch Farscape movement? I know they are giving them fan table space which at World Con is a big fat hairy deal, but what vibe if any have you received from them do far.

Understanding that I know not much more about the Save Farscape movement myself other than it exists and that several Friends of Liad are involved in it... No television, you see. Cramps my cultural literacy.

Bear in mind that a convention -- particularly a WorldCon -- is a hive-creature, but not a hive-mind. Which is to say, beyond the fact that all of the bits of the hive have agreed to create a WorldCon at a particular time-and-place, there is no One Philosophy of Correct Fandom Which is N4's Philosophy: Insurgents Will Be Shot.

There are probably people on the committee who think Farscape is a Waste of Time(R) and those who think it's Really Great Stuff(TM). The fact that the 'Scapers have a table in the fan hall is a big fat hairy deal at WorldCon -- thousands of people are going to walk by that table, and a good number of them will want to Talk -- and I'd take it not only as a Good Omen, but as a display of Good Intentions.