Noctilucent clouds guide us to the airport. Sterling fire
greets us as we return.
This year the weekend flew by as smooth as China
silk. We had good flights, good neighbors, and no real waits even at the
airport. No trouble with TSA, which had at least twice the normal personnel in Tampa .
Registration took twenty minutes during which the line never stopped moving. We
were so uncertain what to do with all the extra time we had on Thursday that Karen
had time to paint my fingernails black. Idle hands. My avant-garde tribute to
her surgeon on her official five-year anniversary of completing treatment.
There were even more people at the Con than last year. The
Thursday night crowd was like a Friday, Friday like a Saturday. Saturday and Sunday
seemed just as full. Diversity was up with more African-American attendees and
panelists which I’m always encouraged to see.
We ended up with a less frenetic schedule, taking more time
off to hang with our Seattle friends,
managing to meet up with them for lunch or dinner and the odd panel just about
every day. I was glad to have the TracFone we’d bought for my father to text
and keep in touch. The Dragon*Con app for the iPhone was invaluable for
coordinating schedules and updates.
All the panels were generally decent. No walkouts. Music,
however, was a bust. Not much new or interesting (one walkout in the concerts
that could have been two). The final body count stands at 16-17 panels, 2-4
concerts, 8 CD’s, two shirts and a skirt with a pair of earrings and a necklace
on the way. The tracks divide out into 1
Pern, 2 Film, 2 Gaming, 2 Space, 5 Art, 2 Comic, 2 Writing, 2 Apocalypse
Rising, 2 Sci-fi Literature. Karen added
two concerts and a concourse performance over what I did, as well as an extra
panel (and we separated a couple times). During some of the down time, I wrote
out three pages on a new science fiction story and outlined the rest of it in
my head. This week’s project is to finish it.
Top five panels: Using the philosophy of Kant and Hobbes to
interpret the morality of Batman and Superman, and the lens of Buddhism to
examine Serenity (the most intellectual panel we attended, contrary to one
egotistical writer whose panel came in a distant third). Examining the dynamic
character identities by comparing and contrasting the accidental and essential
features of Batman and Hamlet. Tactical first aid, with as much tactics as
first aid, given by a SWAT-trained EMS (complete with a
room clearing demo). Writing intrigue and deception complete with a 5-point
identification system (and handouts) presented by a former Air Force
intelligence officer. The basics of storytelling in film and what to expect as
a writer.
The most resonant piece of observation I picked up: my writing
process is very similar to another well-known author who writes very finished
drafts with no outline without a lot of rearranging. Hearing that was
heartening. I still find I relate better to adapting the creative process
illustrators and artists share than anything I hear from the writers.
Thumbnails, sketches, pillaging the archives for reference, being mindful of
how the work moves the eye, those all make sense to me. The most fascinating
bit of trivia: The movie Pretty Woman was originally a dark script called 3000
(the amount of money Julia Roberts’ character charged per night) before Disney
decided to turn it into a Cinderella story. The most interesting detail: The
military performs triage in the opposite order of the civilian world.
Cool rumors: The Comics and Pop Art Conference, which runs
at Dragon*Con, is striking for an academic track next year. Theirs were two of our
top five. I would definitely attend more. And the exhibitors hall and dealers
room are moving offsite to the America’s Mart building (with 25% more room but
no additional dealers) which will free up a ton of room in the Marriott.
Over the course of the weekend, four hundred bookmarks and
business cards disappeared, including a handful in an impromptu marketing
survey conducted by a friend (which oddly contradicted the way the bookmarks
disappeared from tables). We’ll see if any of those make their way home by way
of hits.
This year was our tenth time attending in the past twelve
years. While I say each year that we make take the next year off, I know Karen
will attempt to book us a room in the Marriott in October. She already booked a
backup since we’ve been home. So we’ll decide next summer whether our cons go
to eleven.
In the meantime, I have an Amazon order to place for a game and
several recommended books.
(And now it’s time for the only reason people muddle through
this message, the out-of-context quotes. You’ll find them in the comments).
© 2012 Edward P. Morgan III
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ReplyDeleteNotes and asides:
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"Oh, yeah, we're going to stop soon." (in line at Registration).
“If you got a Utilikilt, I'd burn it. It's an affront to God.”
“There is a difference between a man skirt and a manly skirt.”
“Players: Why do we let them roll dice?”
“You don't break bad news when there's no exit.”
“We're not going home honey, we're just on the escalator.”
“Don't put any science in your science fiction… Or you can be George Lucas.”
“Thank you, ma'am, may I have another?” “Oh, this is going to be the best podcast ever.”
“If you ask ten writers how they got started, you'll get twelve different answers.”
“Writers write to justify the voices in their heads.”
“Hands to yourself. I don't want to see any monkey business. Unless it involves me. I'll be over in the corner.”
“Handouts!”
“I'm good… Oh, God, my innards.”
“There are no girl women in the Hobbit.”
“You should come to our house. Our beds sleep 16 people each.”
“When we said ‘go,’ 140 people went rushing out of the room. We released a Viking horde on Dragon*Con.”
“We got tons of people out of the way by shouting ‘My wife was going into labor.’”
“Nobody will mess with you. You're Tony Stark.”
“Do you want hepatitis?” “Sure!”
“Context is everything... Or not.”
“I’ve got fucking Snow White over here. Whistle while you work.”
“Jason will you get off me.” “I will but I have to wait until he's done.”
“I wrote Fahrenheit 451 not to predict the future, but to prevent it.” (Ray Bradbury)
“Metaphor is not propaganda.”
“He couldn't go to college during the Depression, so he read a library.”
“So I just went to the local high school, where I know the art teacher, and she found a girl that was appropriate for me.”
“If you painting isn't good, add a puppy. If it still isn't good, put a Band-Aid on the puppy.”
“Show me on the doll where the fire lizard touched you.”
“There not lesbians. I mean, they all talk about girls with girls, but…”
“When I read something like that and don’t like it, I consider it a personal failure.”
“He had a deadpan not a straight man.”
“Your gal’s not just a trooper, she’s a Navy SEAL or something.”
“Did you stair it?” “No, I think I’d die.” “I think I did.”
“I need to be on Floor 2. If only I knew what floor I was on.” (on Floor 2)
“I almost LARPed out loud.”
“I have to get a wig on. I have to bind my chest…”
“No one wants to see that junk hanging out. Boobies are prettier.”
“I have a 12 inch Aragorn at home.”
“It’s the most loving cruelty I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, man, she made you watch that?! Are you guys having kids?”
“Free bags are still free. There is still some good left in the world.”
“We WILL start on time. Or there will punching and roundhouse kicks.” “I’m rating this panel 5 stars right now.”
“How do we make it profitable rather than fine art and whatever happens happens?”
“I wouldn’t have that face unless I bumped into him. And I wouldn’t want to.”
“When you are exhausted and your bank account is as well, you know you’ve had a good con.”
Picture Notes:
ReplyDeleteThat's me holding this year's badge with the fingernails Karen painted the first day up there. Just a tiny bit of editing, straightening and color massaging on this one.