It occurs to me that others have written long and lengthy posts about the things they did at Shore Leave over the weekend. I’ve mentioned dribs and drabbles here and there–yes, the TARDIS USB hub is fantastic–but I haven’t done an all-encompassing thing. And since it’s Thursday (or something like that–my time sense has gone wonky), better late than never!
So, here goes!
Friday.
Left work at five. In the bar, 5:15. Because, when one goes to Shore Leave, one goes to the bar…
Highlights of the early evening bar time? Discovering that Amy Sisson thought Ross “Psiqueue” Vincent was a woman. (Hey, it’s an easy mistake to make.) Dropping a dime in Keith DeCandido’s shirt pocket. (No, I won’t explain.)
Then! The Writer/Editor Smackdown.
Then! The 2008 Pocket Books Upfronts.
Then! Milling about.
Then! The Meet-the-Pros Party. I signed a lot of books. Most personalizations weren’t anything taxing, but I went above and beyond when I autographed Jim McCain’s copy of Grand Designs. That should be framed for posterity.
Random quote of the evening. “I’d believe in god, just for a moment, because then I’d know I’m going to hell.”
As Meet-the-Pros wound down, I had a chance to mill about and touch base with a few people. Glenn Hauman, for one. Got to meet Una McCormack (and had my voice vanish mid-sentence while talking to her). Was called a “mad genius” by Terri Osborne.
Then! The bar. In general, what happens in the Shore Leave bar stays in the Shore Leave bar, but I’ll mention this—A story of Christmas magic, a vibrator, and a chocolate frother was told, and it was a scream.
The bar closed at two. But y’know, you’re only getting warmed up at two. And when Marco Palmieri’s day planner was brought out of the bar because he’d left it behind, it naturally became the focus of a prank to-do list. For the record, I hope Marco gets a movie deal on his script for “Being John Ordover.”
Saturday.
The morning’s a bit of a blur.
Glenn Hauman subbed for Bob Greenberger at the movie trailer panel. He showed a trailer for The Martian Child, adapted from David Gerrold’s award-winning story, and after showing it Glenn remarked that science fiction writers neither look like John Cusack nor hang with women who look like Amanda Peet. To which I shouted out from the audience, “Speak for yourself, Glenn!” Which got a nice laugh.
Then! A visit to the Dealer’s Room, and the purchase of the TARDIS USB Hub. (I really need to stop talking about that, y’know? Consider this the endpoint.)
At Noon was the “Morality and Doctor Who” panel. Frankly, I felt like a bit of a fifth wheel–I’m not sure I said anything useful or relevant to the discussion, but it was an intriguing panel. The argument was made that the Doctor is essentially a child without limits who has set himself up as a moral arbiter. It would be more interesting to run said panel once more people have seen season three (not going into spoilers), as there’s a lot in the back half of the season that would have been perfect fodder for such a discussion. Nevertheless, it was a fun panel, and I hope to do something like this again in the future.
At one I attended the Star Trek: Mere Anarchy panel. I was late in arriving, though, for reasons I cannot now remember. Might’ve been a potty break.
After Mere Anarchy I went to lunch with authors Mike W. Barr and Dave Galanter at a local Chick-Fil-A. Hadn’t been to a Chick-Fil-A since fuck knows when, and it was good. We ate, we talked shop, and it was a great bonding experience. I’ve always liked Dave, and it was great to meet Mike, someone whose work I’ve long admired. Good times.
Lunch ate up an hour and a half, and then I had a four o’clock meeting.
Six to eight is a complete mystery to me. If found, please return. Thanks!
Then, the Masquerade! Which was notable for two things. One, celebrity judge Claudia Christian’s drunken meltdown on stage. And two, the “Beauty and the Beast” costume skit which was fecking perfect.
Then, the bar! Again, what happens in the Shore Leave bar stays in the Shore Leave bar, with these two exceptions.
First, I walked up to a band and shouted, “You people are ruining my favorite songs! Stop it! Make it stop!” A band had taken up residence in the bar, and they were strangling old favorites. Not cool. The heckling impulse comes naturally.
Second… on second thought, I’ll keep what I said to Glenn to myself.
Sunday
The Author’s Breakfast was disappointing.
The “Doctor… Who?” panel went very well. I had no idea what Mike Barr and I would actually do, as there was no indication from the title what it would be. I’d decided that the best approach would be to treat this as a panel for people just getting into Doctor Who, and it was a lively panel. Mike cautioned me going in that he wasn’t well-versed in Whodom, and that actually worked out well, as he asked several questions that helped to focus the discussion. And in relation to Torchwood‘s “Random Shoes” I got to drop the classic line, “What the fuck!” Good stuff.
Afterwards Mike and I talked the Meddling Monk. Because nothing says old-skool fandom like talking the Meddling Monk. 😉
The Corps of Engineers panel. Well, I thought everyone knew that about porcine biology.
The Eye of Argon panel didn’t happen. Alas! We’ll give it another try next year, durn it!
And then, closing out the day, was Mystery Trekkie Theatre, which this year skewered the first season TNG episode “Conspiracy.”
Another Shore Leave down. At some point I talked to the Farpoint and Balticon people, so doubtless I’ll be turning up at both of those conventions next year. 🙂
Good weekend. Yes, it was.