Re: ConJose One-Day "Trip Report"

Every year I do a worldcon diary for one of the major
fanzines -- usually Challenger or Mimosa -- and for my
Listserv. If there's any interest, I'd be happy to run
it here as well. Warning: it's probably 3500-4500 words
long.

Let me know.

Somewhere, I also have a longish article for first-time
Worldcon attendees that I wrote just before last year's
worldcon in Philly. Again, if there's any interest, I'd
be more than willing to run it here.

Mike Resnick


> From: "Bellamy, Maria-English Teacher" <mbellamy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Reply-To: Science Fiction and Fantasy Listserv <SF-LIT@xxxxxxx>
> To: SF-LIT@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: ConJose One-Day "Trip Report"
> Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 08:35:32 -0400
>
> <sigh>  green, me.  sounds like a great time!  er..  how do you say that in
> Italian?  I would like to know!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NEHooligan@xxxxxxx [mailto:NEHooligan@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: Sunday, September 08, 2002 12:05 PM
> To: SF-LIT@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [SF-LIT] ConJose One-Day "Trip Report"
>
>
> Hi, all!
>
> Just a quick note to recount my time at ConJose.  My daughter and I
> purchased
> one day memberships to attend the World Con on Sunday, Sep 1.  We
> throroughly
> enjoyed this, our first time at a Science Fiction Convention.  Highlights
> are
> encapsulated as follows:
>
> Registration -- As I had no documentation to indicate that we had paid for
> the one day memberhips (and, in fact, the check hadn't cleared), I stopped
> by
> the "Solutions" desk a couple of days early.  There, I received a copy of
> my
> application form, and, when we got to the World Con early on Sunday, we
> were
> able to get our badges with a minimum of fuss and bother.
>
> Huckster Room --  Some great vendors for a variety of SF books,
> bric-a-brac,
> and costume paraphernalia.  As expected, we had to make several stops to
> buy
> books for author autograph sessions.  Surprisingly, some of the books had
> already been signed --  apparently, according to the sales assistant, not
> an
> uncommon phenomenon at the Con.  We didn't spot anything as a particularly
> great bargain, but the selection was broad and eclectic.  Everyone in my
> family got a T-Shirt and my granddaughtrer is now the proud owner of a
> stuffed one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater.
>
> Lunch -- San Jose was featuring a street fair on Sep1 that hadq a
> "tapestry"
> theme.  Despite a dligent, albeit frenzied, 30 minute search, we found no
> one
> who actually was showing or selling tapestries.  But we did manage to find
> a
> relatively inexpensive Pizza kiosk.
>
> Autograph Signings -- As I expected, not all of the authors who were
> expected
> to attend the Con actually attended.  ( I really wanted to bag a Tim Powers
> autograph, but he was a no-show.) Regardless what might have been printed
> ahead of time, the only "valid" list of authors for the autograph sessions
> appeared on the back of a chair near one of the doorways to the signing
> room.
> Lines for signings (with the exception of Fred Pohl) were generally not
> very
> long.  My daughter found Allen Steele walking out of the signing room and
> he
> graciously signed some books and chatted with us for a good 10 minutes.
> (We're big Allen Steele fans.)  As Mike Resnick recently pointed out, the
> authors appear comfortable being "on display" during the Con and all were
> gracious and cheerful when we approached.  We wer careful not to interrupt
> ongoing conversations.  Common sense courtesy  rules clearly apply.  (My
> only
> regret is interrupting a converation about diving that took place between
> Walter Jon Williams and my daughter as she was getting an autograph.  The
> "natives" in line were starting to get restless.)
>
> Seminar sessions -- We attended two sessions.  The first was Mike Resnick's
> reading, which we enjoyed thoroughly.  I think Mike read us a short story
> that will be nominated for Hugo/Nebula consideration next year.  Mike also
> read the preamble to his upcoming novel and gave a signed copy of the
> document to my daughter at the end of the reading.  When the novel comes
> out,
> she'll put the paper into the front of the book.  It's quite a keepsake for
> her.  The second session we attended was a panel on SF of the 70's.  We
> attended because Larry Niven and Allen Steele were on the panel.  Wendy, my
> daughter, didn't get much out of it.  Not her fault she was on ly 4 years
> old
> when the decade started.
>
> Dinner -- The ConJose folks published a great restaurant guide.  We went to
> an Italian restaurant located in a hotel just across the street.  A bit on
> the pricy side, but the recipes were authentic and the Pinot Grigio wine
> was
> a great match for the lasagna and gnocchi.  We noticed a few fellow
> conventioneers dining there.  In exchange for giving our waitress a few
> Italian phrases useful in a variety of situations (does anyone else out
> there
> know how to say "shithead" in Italian?), we got free desserts.  And who
> said
> that all that Latin in high school was worthless?
>
> The Hugo Awards --  Tad Williams was a terrific toastmaster for the event.
> We all got to wish Charles Sheffield well at the beginning of the ceremony.
> Speeches were, by and large,  short, to the point, sincere, and (in the
> best
> of cases) funny.  We were rooting for both Mike Resnick and Allen Steele to
> take home some hardware, but neither author won.  Maybe next year.  The
> auditorium was very warm. Our balcony location only exacerbated the
> situation.
>
> All in all, we had a delightful time.  Organizers, authors, and fen all
> contributed to a worthwhile experience.   If the opportunity affords
> itself,
> both my daughter and I will attend another -- perhaps NIPCON in Yokahama in
> 2007.
>
> One final observation --  my daugher, at the ripe old age of 35, was one of
> the "younger" people I saw in attendance at the Con.  Some jokes were made
> about aging fandom, and I, too, am concerned about where the younger
> generation of SF fans is.  I realize that there are econonmic factors that
> militate against youngsters  attending the Con, but I am concerned there
> are
> larger factors dicating an aging fan demographic.
>
> Thanks to all of you who posted in response to my queries as to whether I
> should attend the Con.
>
> Ron Bliss




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