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My Aussiecon IV 2 - 6 September 2010
Sep. 12th, 2010 04:05 pmI think Aussiecon IV was a success. I still wish I could go back to the start, do it all again and this time visit all the panels and other happenings which I couldn't attend because I was somewhere else.
I'll now try to write this as though I haven't read any other reports and not assuming those who read this already know everything.
The Worldcon is the major science fiction gathering of our community, which has been held since 1939, except for the years when the USA was in WWII. Only four have been held in Australia, all in Melbourne, 1975, 1985, 1999 and 2010. I've been to all but the first one, which was held when I wasn't allowed to do interstate travel on my own. I haven't heard a reliable membership count yet, but numbers somewhere between 1500 and 2000 were being tossed about. I do know that over 130 travelled from Western Australia to the Melbourne Convention Centre to attend.
I was unwell on the day of travel, also the first day of the con. This was a damn nuisance, firstly because I had to negotiate all the nitpicking matters of travel of travel in quite an impaired state and then couldn't attend the opening or indeed, anything on the Thursday at all. I did appreciate the swanky hotel room and room service, part of my holiday present to myself. Also, I did not have to be taken off the plane by ambulance, which is more than I can say for my seatmate! She'd seemed quite ok, sitting there doing a crossword, then asking me to move so she could get out. She toddled off in the direction of the loo and that was the last I saw of her! I eventually became concerned enough to mention it to a stewardess, who said she had heart problems and was at the back of the plane being given oxygen. She was conscious when taken off, and able to talk. Anyhow, that's how I got the only vacant seat on the plane next to mine.
I then spent the next four days immersed in things science fictional, wandering around an aircraft hangar-like convention centre trying to find/bumping into various friends, some of whom I hadn't seen for a very long time. This brought me to the only real criticisms I had of the convention, which were no voodoo board and no fan lounge, at least nothing in the convention centre. You could sit out in the immense space of the ground floor, on the couches there, under the video surveillance from security. I know about this because a security person came to ask me to take my feet off the couch, adding would I please do this because then the camera operatives would stop asking her to come talk to me. Not really a place to relax.
The voodoo board, as seen at other Worldcons in the US, involves putting up the names of all the members in alphabetical order. If you have a message waiting, it is indicated by a pin through your name and there are then directions as to where you can find the filed message. What we had was a sort of huge message pad where the used up pages would be turned back to expose the next page. If you weren't quick, any message to you would be out of sight within hours so no, this wasn't too effective. I never knew when/where any parties were, except when I found out about the Harper Collins one by word of mouth. This was their 15th birthday party and an enjoyable event. Loved the black and purple decor.
What else? I went to quite a few panels, though choices were difficult at times with up to 13 selections at once. I almost never made it to the first panel of the day, because of problems getting out of bed/fed in time. In particular, there was a very good series of panels centred on YA literature, such as on blogs and social networking in the world of YA spec fic. Another very well done item was the panel entitled The Lovecraft Dilemma, which featured amateur productions done in the style of 1920s cinema, though they were actually very recent.
There was filking every night, in their own room, with a proper Bardic Circle and a wonderful array of talent and songs. I wish I could have gotten my hands on a recording by the fan from Singapore with his great Cthulu filk to the tune of Abba's Fernando. Very, very disturbing. I did note the chorus:
There was chanting in the air that night
The stars were right
Cthulhu
Dreaming there beneath the sea
Of destiny
Cthulhu!
I can't praise the Guest of Honour, Kim Stanley Robinson, enough. I enjoyed everything of his that I went to, particularly the environmental-theme panels and talks such as "The Future Overtaking Us" and "Climate Change and Utopia." He is a wonderful speaker and I managed only a few brief notes from the latter talk. This concentrated on the need for us, the top consumers (aimed at the USA but I'm sure including Australia) to share with the rest of the world to prevent desperation. The USA, Robinson stated, uses six times more energy than it needs and 32 times more resources than the Third World.
He talked about the great stress placed on the human species by its "technologising." For instance, the way we use holidays to "de-technologise," to go back to the Paleolithic era to which we are genetically suited. We are still only good at the things we learned then. Sports can be tracked back to the ancient pastimes of throwing rocks at things. All these low tech activities, walking, spending time outdoors, grooming and so on, add up to a low carbon burn. Robinson did admit that by travelling to Australia this year, he'd effectively wrecked his carbon credit and so have we all!
I missed the Masquerade because I was trapped in a fancy French restaurant but have since caught up with some of the costumes online. Others will have to report on the event itself.
Other highlights – the Post Apocalyptic YA spec fic panel and the Zombie/Vampire Smackdown, which was in the end inconclusive. At least, a winner was never announced, though I think the Zombie team had a point when they claimed it didn't matter how suave and intelligent you were, the shambling hordes were going to run you down in the end and just shamble right over the top of you.
I wrote down a lot of book recommendations from the YA spec ficpanel and also from the panel about the Best SF Novels You Never Read, which I'll sort out and post next time. This is getting a bit long and I've got to try to read my notes scrawled in pencil over the Pocket Program Guide.
Before I went to this convention, I was wondering whether it would be my last one, as I wasn't sure whether I still belonged in that world, whether as a writer or as a fan. Now I feel more invigorated than I did before, still not certain but more hopeful that I'll be able to stick around.
I'll now try to write this as though I haven't read any other reports and not assuming those who read this already know everything.
The Worldcon is the major science fiction gathering of our community, which has been held since 1939, except for the years when the USA was in WWII. Only four have been held in Australia, all in Melbourne, 1975, 1985, 1999 and 2010. I've been to all but the first one, which was held when I wasn't allowed to do interstate travel on my own. I haven't heard a reliable membership count yet, but numbers somewhere between 1500 and 2000 were being tossed about. I do know that over 130 travelled from Western Australia to the Melbourne Convention Centre to attend.
I was unwell on the day of travel, also the first day of the con. This was a damn nuisance, firstly because I had to negotiate all the nitpicking matters of travel of travel in quite an impaired state and then couldn't attend the opening or indeed, anything on the Thursday at all. I did appreciate the swanky hotel room and room service, part of my holiday present to myself. Also, I did not have to be taken off the plane by ambulance, which is more than I can say for my seatmate! She'd seemed quite ok, sitting there doing a crossword, then asking me to move so she could get out. She toddled off in the direction of the loo and that was the last I saw of her! I eventually became concerned enough to mention it to a stewardess, who said she had heart problems and was at the back of the plane being given oxygen. She was conscious when taken off, and able to talk. Anyhow, that's how I got the only vacant seat on the plane next to mine.
I then spent the next four days immersed in things science fictional, wandering around an aircraft hangar-like convention centre trying to find/bumping into various friends, some of whom I hadn't seen for a very long time. This brought me to the only real criticisms I had of the convention, which were no voodoo board and no fan lounge, at least nothing in the convention centre. You could sit out in the immense space of the ground floor, on the couches there, under the video surveillance from security. I know about this because a security person came to ask me to take my feet off the couch, adding would I please do this because then the camera operatives would stop asking her to come talk to me. Not really a place to relax.
The voodoo board, as seen at other Worldcons in the US, involves putting up the names of all the members in alphabetical order. If you have a message waiting, it is indicated by a pin through your name and there are then directions as to where you can find the filed message. What we had was a sort of huge message pad where the used up pages would be turned back to expose the next page. If you weren't quick, any message to you would be out of sight within hours so no, this wasn't too effective. I never knew when/where any parties were, except when I found out about the Harper Collins one by word of mouth. This was their 15th birthday party and an enjoyable event. Loved the black and purple decor.
What else? I went to quite a few panels, though choices were difficult at times with up to 13 selections at once. I almost never made it to the first panel of the day, because of problems getting out of bed/fed in time. In particular, there was a very good series of panels centred on YA literature, such as on blogs and social networking in the world of YA spec fic. Another very well done item was the panel entitled The Lovecraft Dilemma, which featured amateur productions done in the style of 1920s cinema, though they were actually very recent.
There was filking every night, in their own room, with a proper Bardic Circle and a wonderful array of talent and songs. I wish I could have gotten my hands on a recording by the fan from Singapore with his great Cthulu filk to the tune of Abba's Fernando. Very, very disturbing. I did note the chorus:
There was chanting in the air that night
The stars were right
Cthulhu
Dreaming there beneath the sea
Of destiny
Cthulhu!
I can't praise the Guest of Honour, Kim Stanley Robinson, enough. I enjoyed everything of his that I went to, particularly the environmental-theme panels and talks such as "The Future Overtaking Us" and "Climate Change and Utopia." He is a wonderful speaker and I managed only a few brief notes from the latter talk. This concentrated on the need for us, the top consumers (aimed at the USA but I'm sure including Australia) to share with the rest of the world to prevent desperation. The USA, Robinson stated, uses six times more energy than it needs and 32 times more resources than the Third World.
He talked about the great stress placed on the human species by its "technologising." For instance, the way we use holidays to "de-technologise," to go back to the Paleolithic era to which we are genetically suited. We are still only good at the things we learned then. Sports can be tracked back to the ancient pastimes of throwing rocks at things. All these low tech activities, walking, spending time outdoors, grooming and so on, add up to a low carbon burn. Robinson did admit that by travelling to Australia this year, he'd effectively wrecked his carbon credit and so have we all!
I missed the Masquerade because I was trapped in a fancy French restaurant but have since caught up with some of the costumes online. Others will have to report on the event itself.
Other highlights – the Post Apocalyptic YA spec fic panel and the Zombie/Vampire Smackdown, which was in the end inconclusive. At least, a winner was never announced, though I think the Zombie team had a point when they claimed it didn't matter how suave and intelligent you were, the shambling hordes were going to run you down in the end and just shamble right over the top of you.
I wrote down a lot of book recommendations from the YA spec ficpanel and also from the panel about the Best SF Novels You Never Read, which I'll sort out and post next time. This is getting a bit long and I've got to try to read my notes scrawled in pencil over the Pocket Program Guide.
Before I went to this convention, I was wondering whether it would be my last one, as I wasn't sure whether I still belonged in that world, whether as a writer or as a fan. Now I feel more invigorated than I did before, still not certain but more hopeful that I'll be able to stick around.