Anticipation (2009 Worldcon) Schedule

Home from my travels at last, I'm heading out again to worldcon in Montreal in a couple of days.  My program schedule is below.  My first reaction when I received it was to swear comprehensively, since I had no idea most of this was coming and have been on the road with no time to prepare for things.  Friday's schedule is particularly horrific, with five and a half hours of program in nine hours, three of which are me flying solo on a bilingual Regency ball.  (Update 8/4: one Friday item canceled, life much improved.)  I'm also unclear as to how "I do not like to moderate" turned into me moderating four items, albeit mostly not talking-head panels.

Not on this list: I'll be attending the Business Meeting as I have business to shepherd along and an interest in several potential constitutional amendments.  This will chew up much of Friday, Saturday, and possibly Sunday mornings.

For anyone wanting to catch up with me, Saturday afternoon is clearly the time.  I don't have a cell phone, so either use the Voodoo Board or catch me at the end of one of my panels.  Do NOT catch me at the end of the Regency Ball, as I will be dashing off to change costume before another item an hour later and will be in High Frazzle mode. 

Meals: Thursday dinner may already be spoken for with a non-fannish local dance friend.  Friday is a masquerade judges' dinner.  I do not generally wake up in time for breakfast.

The Schedule:

• An Introduction to Historical Costuming
  Thursday, 19:00-20:00, P-523B, English
  Sandra Manning (M), Susan de Guardiola
  Historical Costuming doesn't have to be intimidating.
  Our panelists will give you the basics that you need to start an enjoying the hobby of historical costuming.


• Regency Ball/Bal de l'Empereur
  Friday, 13:00-16:00, P-517D, English & French
  Susan de Guardiola
  Dance the lively English country dances and fashionable French quadrilles of the age of Jane Austen and the Napoleonic Wars.  Period costume encouraged but not required.  Dances will be taught.  (Yes, I'm going to do this partly in French, providing all and sundry the chance to laugh at my accent.)


• Dance Dance Dance  (Teen Programming)
  Friday, 17:00-18:00, P-516E, English
  Julie McGalliard, Sandra Manning, Stephan Laurent, Susan de Guardiola (M), April Koehler
  Disco, hip hop, French renaissance, modern, ballet, belly dancing -- we'll try them all!  (Presumably I will lead either disco or French Renaissance, since I don't know anything useful about the other forms.)
  


• Masquerade judges' briefing
  [Friday dinner; time TBD]


• Mask-Making (Teen Programming)
  Friday, 20:30-22:00, P-510B, English
  Susan de Guardiola (M), Fullmetal Sam
  Make a mask using a pinch-mask foam base.  (Note: I'd asked to NOT be moderator on this one, since I do not know much about this mask-making technique.  I'm still trying to correct this with Program...)  Item canceled.
  


• Workmanship Judge for the Masquerade
  [Saturday night; time TBD]


• Steampunk Costuming
  Sunday 11:00-12:00, P-511A, English
  Susan de Guardiola, Maral Agnerian (M), Fantastic Creations
  How to costume in the Steampunk style.  (Note: I may have to miss this one if Business Meeting business runs over.  Program is aware of this, and I should know in time to get a correction in the newsletter.)


• Mask Making (Kids Program)
  Sunday 16:00-17:30, P-510B, English
  Julie Zetterberg, Kerrie Hughes, Susan de Guardiola (M), Jacqueline M. Ward
  Make a mask! We'll use paper, cellophane, feathers and yarn to decorate a pre-made blank cardboard mask. Suggested for ages 5-10.  (Note that I may leave/end this one early if I'm involved in the Hugos in any way.)


• French SF&F in Europe
  Monday 11:00-12:30, P-511A, English
  Alain le Bussy, Susan de Guardiola (M), Jean-Claude Dunyach, Stephane Marsan
  French SF is much more than just Jules Verne. Come and find out everything you need to know about it.  (Note: my interest is in non-current stuff from the early 20thc backward, so I plan to ask a lot of questions and let my co-panelists share their expertise.)
  

Comments

[Marilee J. Layman]

You have to say "I will not be a moderator" and then if they make you one, not show up. Care to talk about what you have up at the business meeting? Of course, I may hear before you get to where you can answer.

[Susan de Guardiola]

The "Making the Web Eligible" proposal is something I have worked on, and while I think it's not going to be difficult to pass, I feel it important to be there to answer any objections. This amendment would make it clear that online works are eligible in several categories. In short (very short), websites would become eligible under "Best Related Work" (changed from "Book"), blogs would become eligible as fanzines, semi-pro blogs would become eligible as semi-prozines (if the category survives), and Editor-Short Form would include editing on the web. In the latter three categories, the primary change is adding an alternative to counting issues, which websites/blogs/etc. do not necessarily have in any discrete form.

Note that because I've been involved in pushing this amendment, should it pass, I will NOT accept nominations for Rixo in the fanzine category for some years, possibly ever, not that I think this is likely to be a problem on such a small and obscure blog. I didn't care for the unappetizing spectacle of book editors clamoring for a separate Hugo because they couldn't win one on their merits in the pre-split editor category, and I do not choose to appear as self-serving as they did.

(One may draw one's own conclusions about the motivations of, e.g., Patrick Nielsen Hayden in pushing both the Best Editor split and his behind-the-scenes push to make blogs fanzine-eligible. It's certainly convenient, shall we say, that it makes him eligible in yet another category after his immediate post-split win in the editor category.)

[Marilee J. Layman]

Yeah, as I was reading your first paragraph, I was thinking how you'd divide them. Days online? Links on the front page? Or formal "issues"? But I do think that's a good idea. There's too many good blogs out today.

I do have to tell you that I think PNH did the pushing for TNH, David Hartwell, and Kathryn Cramer.

[Serge]

See you around somehow, Susan. Somehow. Besides, I have your Dracula dvd. Bwahahahah!!!

[Fred]

Off topic, but there's a new Albus Severus chapter up: http://coyotegoth.livejournal.com/913045.html#cutid1

[Serge]

French SF&F in Europe

How did that go, Susan?

By the way, I've heard a few people wonder why they were on this or that panel. While I was waiting for my plane after the worldcon, I heard two women talk about that. One had originally been assigned a forensics panel because, in her interests, she had mentionned liking such shows on TV.

[Serge]

Also, Susan, how did that photo of me as a steampunk scientist come out? Meanwhile, Bill Heterodyne himself was with us and I can't believe I never thought of having the two of us photographed together.

[xeger]

Hm... looking at your panel list, I'm reminded that there's virtue to getting out of bed before noon... Ah well. Perhaps the next time ;)

[Serge]

xeger... there's virtue to getting out of bed before noon

Considering that I tend to wake up before 5am, does this make me extremely virtuous?

[Serge]

When I came home tonight, there was some mail for me. The latest issue of Locus, with a report on the worldcon and, in its center section, many photos, some from the masquerade. One of them is for "Twilight of the Gods" and you might recognize the tall person next to the red-garbed Egyptian divinity as yours truly. If you squint real hard.

[Nimmi]

When you play the Game of Thrones, you either win.. or die. Love that show. And the books, of cuorse. I'm almost done with Dance of Dragons, the latest installment.