Comic Genesis Forums

Posted: **Sun Feb 04, 2001 8:45 am**

Well, we're back! And I'm utterly exhausted, so I apologize in advance if this report lapses into Pig Latin.SheVaCon (short for Shenandoah Valley Convention) had the signal honor of being the first convention to feature Greg and me as guests. No, we were not GoHs. No, we weren't described on the guest list. No, we didn't get a free room.The best way to describe us, in fact, would be "volunteer speakers." <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">(No slight meant against SheVaCon, a splendid little convention which is working marvels in an age where most conventions are facing harder times. I just had to clear the fantasies of papal robes and hordes of screaming admirers out of my head, that's all.)Greg and I were well suited to the task of speaking on panels, of course... anyone who's listened to Greg knows that he loves to talk, and while I'm more softspoken MOST of the time, pick the right topic-- like anything to do with science fiction or FAANS.COM-- and prepare for the torrential rains.High points, for me, were sitting on a panel with the GoH, Elizabeth Massie, and chewing the fat about the differences between male and female writers... and spreading the word about online publishing in panels dominated by paper-and-staples heavyweights. We learned a lot from each other. Greg, of course, did a fantastic job discussing homosexuality in science fiction, discussing the military in science fiction, and oh yeah, summarizing the entire dang HISTORY of science fiction in about an hour.Not that the con was all about sitting behind tables. We met a charming and very atttractive lady whose name I will not divulge for fear of embarrassing her. She expressed an interest in me at first, but shifted attention to Greg during the traditional Saturday all-nighter.As we're both single, this could have been an Issue. The lady in question was concerned about that. But Greg and I have been best friends for years... FANS wouldn't exist without him... and he more than deserves that attention. Besides which, he's been as gracious and more for ME in the past.So... no childish jealousy, no fights, nothing really juicy. My life is so boring. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">Oh, and on the way back, we received nine new pages from Mr. Waltrip and ten from Mr. Thorvaldson, Jr. Ladies and gentlemen, you're in for a treat. They've both gone above and beyond the call of duty on these...

Posted: **Sun Feb 04, 2001 9:19 am**

Foo on you, T! You forgot to mention that you met another lovely young lady that happens to write on your list occasionally! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">

Posted: **Sun Feb 04, 2001 9:27 am**

Gaaa! Quite right! Kittenchan (Is it proper to capitalize here? Not sure), on behalf of herself and Mr. Godai, left an invitation to ANOTHER convention in six weeks or so. (I *am* gonna get back to you with an answer, Kit, I promise. Just have to put my schedule into some semblance of sanity first...)

Posted: **Fri Feb 09, 2001 2:08 am**

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Godai:
Dang I need to get me one of them
obsessed fan-girls.
Godai Yuhsaku<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without mine.
<IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin.gif">------------------
Tom the Fanboy
http://www.geocities.com/tee-moss
The House of Tee-Moss, home of Billberg University and the Pop Subversion League.

Posted: **Fri Feb 09, 2001 12:15 pm**

Um, er, wow. I didn't really expect T to bring up the young lady in question in his convention report. To be honest, I thought he and she were a lock -- they even went shopping together. If I had to guess, I'd have to say that my performance as Frank N. Furter was what caught her eye. I certainly can can-can. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">As for the rest of the convention, it was well-run I think. You had the standard anime and gaming and larping stuff, and SheVaCon also features a computer room for those who really need that Pong fix. We had a good crop of guests including John Ringo and Steve White, which still leaves me a bit amazed that I was even on the list. I was certainly back in fanboy mode whenever I was around the other guests, waving around my little autograph book and pumping for information on publishing schedules; except when I was on panels. Then simple professionalism demanded that I argue with them as if I were an equal. I even won a couple of times.Unfortunately most of T's panels conflicted with my own, so I only got to see him in action at the conventional vs. web publishing panel where his experiences in the comix trade proved pretty useful -- everyone besides us was a text only person.The alternate history panel was fun but I was a bit too diffident there. Steve White's a bit of a steamroller once he gets going and I mostly quibbled about details rather than arguing main points.The homosexuality in military science fiction panel was also alot of fun but there just wasn't enough material for the three of us on the panel to discuss to fill up the whole hour. I mean, once you talk about The Forever War, Steve Stirling's stuff, and some odds and sods of Piper and Turtledove, there's not too terribly much left that I've seen. We came to a consensus pretty quickly and then ended up talking about alot of other stuff. John Ringo's catchphrase for the last third of the panel was "Not that this has anything to do with homosexuality..." I was hoping he'd sign his book that way, but no such luck.The panel on the history of science fiction was a lot of fun (yes, I know I've used the phrase "a lot of fun" three times in a row now -- that's why T's the writer and I'm the editor), but an hour just wasn't enough time -- the whole weekend wouldn't really have been enough. Even trying to stick to bare outlines and a couple of anecdotes we ran out of time in the "New Wave" movement of the '60s and basically had to shout "Oh yeah, cyberpunk and web publishing!" as people left.One other good thing about the panels. The other guests kept on referring to me as just a kid and talking about all the things that happened "before your time." After hanging out with college kids, being the baby again felt fan-friggin'-tastic, no two ways about it.The con also had a good con suite (hot food on saturday) and a fairly solid dealers' room. One video guy, one bookseller, one gamer guy, etc. instead of wall to wall White Wolf and good luck if you want to flesh out that Bradbury collection like at some places. The bookseller helped me track down a short story I've been hunting for three years, and the sharp-thingies dealer gave me a sweet deal on a 19th century infantry officer's sabre. I walked out of the con very happy and very broke. I couldn't even afford an obsessed fan-girl at the end, but John Ringo was kind enough to share his. Very nice guy. Buy his books. Well, if you like military SF you should buy them. There are some sample chapters at the Baen Books website if you think my judgement has been compromised by loan of fan-girl. I don't know why you would, as Vulcans are immune from such stimuli. (strokes tribble)Greg------------------
Risus est telum ultimum contra tyrranem. Nullus dictator exercitibus allibus ridiculem vulgi longe resistare potest.[This message has been edited by Maccabee (edited 02-09-2001).]

Posted: **Mon Feb 12, 2001 6:15 am**

the problem with finding obsessed fan girls is that most fan girls are already taken <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">

Posted: **Mon Feb 12, 2001 10:25 am**

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Godai:
Dang I need to get me one of them
obsessed fan-girls.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>You, me and everybody else.Uh, everybody else who's male. And... well, ok, some females. Make that everybody else who's male (and some females), and doesn't already have said obsessed fan-girl.Right. I'm going to shut up now. (=-- Nathan Alderman,
all too aware that (no offense to any female posters) hanging around message boards is NOT the best way to meet lovely fangirls.

Posted: **Tue Feb 13, 2001 10:24 am**

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>all too aware that (no offense to any female posters) hanging around message boards is NOT the best way to meet lovely fangirls.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Try this:
1) Go to game convention with good-looking, smooth-talking, womanizing younger brother. 2) Let him hit on female GMs in order to score higher in tournament.3) When she calls a week later and your brother tells you to take the call and tell her he's not home, take the time to talk to her. 4) Make sure you let her know your brother's a jerk and she should be talking to you any way.5) Years later, marry this beautiful girl who not only understands your gaming habit, but shares it.True story <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">Animaniac
::How the Animaniac met his Angelpuff, your mileage may vary.::