Newsletter Week of 22 May 2020
The Reference Library (book review column) • Analog May/June 2020 • read for free
In honor of Balticon weekend, let me say a little about sf convetions ("cons").
I started going to cons when I was 16, and I’ve been attending them ever since. In round numbers, I would say I’ve probably attended upwards of 200 cons big and little, near and far. I’ve met some of my dearest friends (including my husband) at cons; I’ve made professional deals and done a lot of promotion for my writing; I’ve learned a million things and had enormous fun.
People who’ve never been to cons always want to know what they’re like. That’s a difficult question to answer. Every con is different, sometimes in very significant ways. Also, every con-goer has a different experience of the con—as in the parable of the blind men and the elephant, one may get different and seemingly contradictory answers. Honestly, the best way to experience a con is to attend one—in the company of a friend who’s been there, if possible.
There is a very informal atmosphere at cons. Because of the incidence of “nerds” and “geeks” at cons, I find the atmosphere very friendly to autistic-spectrum behaviors. There’s a much greater tolerance for social awkwardness—just about everyone is socially awkward in one way or another. One doesn’t have to worry about giving offense by avoiding eye contact or not shaking someone’s hand. And discourse at cons is much more direct and to-the-point. As a matter of course, people are assumed to be very enthusiastic about various obsessions. All in all, a con is a fairly comfortable place for someone on thr spectrum.
Costumes and unconventional dress—hell, unconventionality in general—are encouraged, even celebrated at cons. I’ve commented before that when people live out their fantasies, you get to realize how pathetic most people’s fantasies are…but at cons, people have wonderful fantasies! When my baby-boomer sister-in-law walked into her first con, she said approvingly, “So this is where all the hippies went.”
- Ripped 8 DVDs to mp4
- Legion of Super-Heroes website: More cleaning up old entries
- Scanned 20+ books
- Added 600 words to my memoir
- Worked on the next gay erotic short story
- Wrote 500 words on Hunt for the Dymalon Cygnet
- Finished Sep/Oct Analog column
- Marginal progress on the Great Kitchen Rearrangement
Above: We have a new resident in our back yard.
This weekend's Virtual Balticon is the 54th annual Baltimore-area con. My first Balticon was #9, way back in 1975 (that's my con badge above). It was my second con (the first was the 1974 Worldcon in Washington, DC). The con was held at the Pikesville Hilton, which was too small a venue for the 783 fans who showed up. The Guest of Honor was Hal Clement. Although I didn't stay at the hotel, I see from a flier that the rates were $22 single, $29 double, and $34 triple. The flier also cautions that a taxi from downtown to the hotel cost about $6.
The Daily Crudsheet for Sunday was notable for two brief articles: "WHAT WET-SOCKED FAN wearing a tuxedo top charged into Fields drug store yesterday, ripped open a tiny box of cotton, grabbed a jumbo size cotton, threw $3 on the counter shouting `Keep The Change!', and ran out into the rain?" and "HUCKSTER ROOM night watchman Larry Rodman talked to passersby through the hole in the door where a doorknob wasn't. Last night a sign appeared: 'Talk to the man in the hole - 10¢.' How much Larry made is undisclosed."