con report

[ironymaiden]

CascadiaCon was surprising. it had a low-key feel with a smaller attendance than Norwescon, but it attracted panelists and exhibits that i might not have seen elsewhere. in an odd turn for me, my favorite panelists were all scientists: after hearing Henry Spencer, Jordin Kare, Forrest Bishop, Robert Winglee, and Stephen Gillett speak i'm feeling more than usually excited about science geekery.

book fairy twilight2000 sparked some great moments by passing out two copies of a book with the requirement that you give the second to someone you don't know, including a mini-debate over the smut level of Kushiel's Dart.

fangirlishly i attended a panel specifically to hear Larry Niven, where i discovered that elements in Known Space that i consider dystopic he considers inevitable and ultimately good. i later decided to skip the kaffeeklatsch where i could have sat down and talked with him in favor of more science.

i have NASA temporary tattoos.

matt_ruff did not read from Bad Monkeys :(

i met the guy who translated Hamlet into Klingon.

i heard the chicken story.

BarCon was better than ever in a smoke-free environment. scarlettina was in her element, putting me at a table with new-to-Seattle markbourne and giving C some Battletech fanboy joy.

we saw the pilot for Charlie Jade, which may be too cool to air in the US (c'mon CBUT, bring it home...) and a preview of the new Robotech series, which will be picking up where the original series ended. SakuraCon ran anime all day every day, and we popped in and out except for the morning where i had to watch all of The Cat Returns.

there were great dinners, highclass and low, with scarletbronte and with matt_ruff and L. i finally met Mr weezlgrrrl, and got to congratulate Ken Scholes on his Writers of the Future win. i saw Dennis "Stalking Cat" Avner in person (he didn't have his whiskers in, i was a little disappointed) and he seems to be a pretty regular guy.

i made my first art auction bids and my first wins, also a couple outright purchases, all from the clever Dave Howell. i needed to get a Wolfram & Hart Seattle sticker for hgross to commemorate the selling of his soul. the Unseen University is for us, which C chose over UC Sunnydale. my auction items were two of a series he calls "Happily Ever After" which are extremely subtle photomanipulations of banal travel scenes. i promise to show them off when the unpacking ceases and the partying begins.

Comments

Kushiel saga

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

I gave a copy of Kushiel's Dart to lilithmagna upon arrival in England and he did not put it down until he finished it. Then he called me and asked me for the author's name so he could buy book two (he was at a bookstore and didn't have it with him). When I left, he's started in on book two and his girlfriend had started in on book one.

Oh, I'd love to have heard that discussion!