Boskone 2008
Feb. 23rd, 2008 12:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
squeequegBoskone report: Friday I left work and walked through the barren landscape of hotels, office buildings, and parking lots that is the Waterfront. I know there's more developments coming to this spot, but it's really a wasteland at the moment.
I did not go to the zombie panel, because I've had one too many zombie nightmares of late.* Attended the Hidden Biases in SF panel instead. The panel description for this -- Why aren't there more blacks or Asians, Jews or Catholics or Muslims or Buddhists in even our most richly imagined futures? -- felt uncannily like the "Why are there no great woman artists?" question (one answer: because the definition of "great artist" pretty much excluded women for a long time, and thus the question itself is a setup). However, while there were some clueless moments, it actually went pretty well. I didn't take many notes, other than Mojo: Conjure Stories written in big letters and underlined. (Added when going back over this writeup: Aha! It's an anthology, edited by Nalo Hopkinson.)
Unfortunately, I had to run immediately after that panel to the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading, where several very cool authors read from recent works. (Didn't get away from the zombies there. One involved a scene at a funeral home, in which a walking dead woman interrupts a wake. But it was a great reading!) I read from Spiral Hunt, but went over a little. I'll have to time myself better in the future.
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emjay_dee and her husband in the bar for a drink and talk, then went up to the Circlet Press release party for Best Fantastic Erotica. I got to see the Bronx Babes there, which is good because my brain shorted out the next evening and I completely missed their party on Saturday. Crud.
Talked tobeth_bernobich in the Art Show room and had mutual squee over novels. We also talked about how our current projects were big balls of suck, which brought on a chorus of the Suck Song, and then people started looking at us funny. I can't think why.
Saturday I came in and helped to offer tasty baked goods on behalf of Viable Paradise. The danishes were tasty. We will not speak of the muffins.**sigerson's appearance confused some and amused others, and I have to say it was a lot of fun to see her enjoying her first Boskone.
I know I did something between 12 and 2. I just have absolutely no memory of it. Weird.
Panels attended later that day: the Unexpected Uses of Technology panel (is there any new technology that can't be used for sex? And how long till we get supplementary hearts? I want mine on either side of my head, like a beer hat); Spear Carriers Are People, Too (Can you give redshirts more lines than "Captain Kirk, I think I've found something! AIEE!"? What happens when a minor character runs away with the plot?); a very brief taste of the Battlestar Galactica Endings: Roll Your Own panel (because some nameless genetic duplicate called me as soon as I sat down); and the If You Liked X, You'll Love Y panel (in whichsigerson and I proved yet again that passing notes in class is distracting. But not necessarily bad.***).
We joinedgtrout for dinner, spiriting him away to the depths of Downtown Crossing, and there were margaritas. And still more proof of my total lack of tolerance for alcohol. gtrout shared some of his most excellent fiction with us, and I think I was probably sober enough to make intelligent comments.
The Tor party that night is something of a blur, partly because of the Oh My God What Is This that had been brought in place of scurvy cure (and becausesigerson dumped the contents of her glass into mine when I wasn't looking, so of course I had to drink that too) and partly because there were just so many conversations swirling around. I don't think I made a fool of myself. Much.
Sunday I meant to arrive earlier. I really did. Blame the snooze button.
I did make it in time for the end of the Materials Science panel, which I attended not because I'm a crafter (though I'm in awe of those who are).**** But I did find out some very cool things about hillside kilns (is that the correct term?), raku firing, and so on. I think this is one of those panels that I'll just store away for future reference, say when I need to come up with an alien culture and how their art and life intertwine.
Took notes at the Religion in YA panel forsigerson. I can post them later, if anyone would like to see them. Made it up to jenwrites' reading, then down to the dealers' room (didn't buy anything -- weird), then home. With a stop at the grocery.
After which I stayed the heck offline and mainlined the end of Heroes season 1 withthomascantor. Hard to have a more perfect afternoon than that.
* It's gotten to the point where my subconscious is laughing at me. The most recent one was about zombie bunnies. Zombie Bunnies, for the love of God. What stayed with me even after I woke was the illustration of a white rabbit against a backdrop of stars, saying in a horrified whisper that it was time for the bunnies to return.
** They weren't bad muffins. We're just not going to speak of them.
*** This is also why my program has such comments as "dude! ask it!" "OMG YA" and "BEEEEZ!!!" written on it, most of which were totally irrelevant.
**** I have done some counted stitch patches, and I know some basics from discussions with crafty friends and family, but that's it. I keep meaning to knit a scarf forthomascantor, but at the moment I knit like a one-armed tree sloth.
I did not go to the zombie panel, because I've had one too many zombie nightmares of late.* Attended the Hidden Biases in SF panel instead. The panel description for this -- Why aren't there more blacks or Asians, Jews or Catholics or Muslims or Buddhists in even our most richly imagined futures? -- felt uncannily like the "Why are there no great woman artists?" question (one answer: because the definition of "great artist" pretty much excluded women for a long time, and thus the question itself is a setup). However, while there were some clueless moments, it actually went pretty well. I didn't take many notes, other than Mojo: Conjure Stories written in big letters and underlined. (Added when going back over this writeup: Aha! It's an anthology, edited by Nalo Hopkinson.)
Unfortunately, I had to run immediately after that panel to the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading, where several very cool authors read from recent works. (Didn't get away from the zombies there. One involved a scene at a funeral home, in which a walking dead woman interrupts a wake. But it was a great reading!) I read from Spiral Hunt, but went over a little. I'll have to time myself better in the future.
Joined
emjay_dee and her husband in the bar for a drink and talk, then went up to the Circlet Press release party for Best Fantastic Erotica. I got to see the Bronx Babes there, which is good because my brain shorted out the next evening and I completely missed their party on Saturday. Crud. Talked to
beth_bernobich in the Art Show room and had mutual squee over novels. We also talked about how our current projects were big balls of suck, which brought on a chorus of the Suck Song, and then people started looking at us funny. I can't think why.Saturday I came in and helped to offer tasty baked goods on behalf of Viable Paradise. The danishes were tasty. We will not speak of the muffins.**
sigerson's appearance confused some and amused others, and I have to say it was a lot of fun to see her enjoying her first Boskone. I know I did something between 12 and 2. I just have absolutely no memory of it. Weird.
Panels attended later that day: the Unexpected Uses of Technology panel (is there any new technology that can't be used for sex? And how long till we get supplementary hearts? I want mine on either side of my head, like a beer hat); Spear Carriers Are People, Too (Can you give redshirts more lines than "Captain Kirk, I think I've found something! AIEE!"? What happens when a minor character runs away with the plot?); a very brief taste of the Battlestar Galactica Endings: Roll Your Own panel (because some nameless genetic duplicate called me as soon as I sat down); and the If You Liked X, You'll Love Y panel (in which
sigerson and I proved yet again that passing notes in class is distracting. But not necessarily bad.***).We joined
gtrout for dinner, spiriting him away to the depths of Downtown Crossing, and there were margaritas. And still more proof of my total lack of tolerance for alcohol. gtrout shared some of his most excellent fiction with us, and I think I was probably sober enough to make intelligent comments. The Tor party that night is something of a blur, partly because of the Oh My God What Is This that had been brought in place of scurvy cure (and because
sigerson dumped the contents of her glass into mine when I wasn't looking, so of course I had to drink that too) and partly because there were just so many conversations swirling around. I don't think I made a fool of myself. Much. Sunday I meant to arrive earlier. I really did. Blame the snooze button.
I did make it in time for the end of the Materials Science panel, which I attended not because I'm a crafter (though I'm in awe of those who are).**** But I did find out some very cool things about hillside kilns (is that the correct term?), raku firing, and so on. I think this is one of those panels that I'll just store away for future reference, say when I need to come up with an alien culture and how their art and life intertwine.
Took notes at the Religion in YA panel for
sigerson. I can post them later, if anyone would like to see them. Made it up to jenwrites' reading, then down to the dealers' room (didn't buy anything -- weird), then home. With a stop at the grocery.After which I stayed the heck offline and mainlined the end of Heroes season 1 with
thomascantor. Hard to have a more perfect afternoon than that.* It's gotten to the point where my subconscious is laughing at me. The most recent one was about zombie bunnies. Zombie Bunnies, for the love of God. What stayed with me even after I woke was the illustration of a white rabbit against a backdrop of stars, saying in a horrified whisper that it was time for the bunnies to return.
** They weren't bad muffins. We're just not going to speak of them.
*** This is also why my program has such comments as "dude! ask it!" "OMG YA" and "BEEEEZ!!!" written on it, most of which were totally irrelevant.
**** I have done some counted stitch patches, and I know some basics from discussions with crafty friends and family, but that's it. I keep meaning to knit a scarf for
thomascantor, but at the moment I knit like a one-armed tree sloth.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-23 05:32 am (UTC)You were tons of help at the breakfast. many many thanks.
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Date: 2008-02-24 05:08 pm (UTC)