Back in Austin

I left the World Fantasy Con hotel this morning and drove the couple of hours from San Antonio to Austin and through to Round Rock.  The drive proved to be easy, fast, and pleasant. 

I've already had work meetings, barbecue, ice cream, and more work--not the most fun dessert, but it is what it is.

Amazingly, the weather here may turn cold.  I do seem to have a talent for picking odd weather times to be in Austin, having been here for snow storms and floods. 

Now, it's time to crash.

An odd pair

An odd pair of events formed the bookends of my day.

The first was the World Fantasy Con awards banquet.  As a couple hundred (my guess) of us gathered in a fairly low-ceiling room in the hotel watched from our tables after eating banquet food, our increasingly aged group presented its annual awards.  I was happy for the winners, and the food was surprisingly decent overall, so as award banquets go, it was okay. 

The other was a showing of Thor: Ragnarok at a nearby theater.  I enjoyed the movie a great deal and found it both as much fun and as vivid in imagery as the reviews have suggested.  I definitely recommend it. 

Tomorrow, I change cities and begin the usual rounds of meetings.

Urban legends, barbecue, ice cream, and the UFC

After some work, I headed to my first--and only--panel of the convention.  The topic, "Urban Legends in the Age of Fake News," didn't excite me, in part because I refuse to accept the notions of alternative facts or a post-truth era.  Nonetheless, the panel seemed to entertain its audience, and the discussion moved along reasonably quickly, so I left feeling okay about the endeavor.

Lunch afterward took us to the Smoke Shack, a local barbecue joint that proved to be quite good.  We opted to share multiple dishes, including the brisket Frito pie, brisket mac-and-cheese, and brisket grilled cheese sandwich,

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as well as a two-meat sampler of brisket, sausage, mac-and-cheese, and creamed corn.

Every single dish was delicious, with the standalone brisket being the weakest link.  It was better than any brisket back home, but worse than yesterday's brisket at 2M.  The standout was the terrifying and life-threatening brisket grilled cheese sandwich, which was flat-out delicious--though obviously unhealthy.

After talking with friends, I retreated to my room to catch UFC 217, from the prelims to the PPV.  The only bad news was that I missed the first half hour of the prelims, because the football game on Fox Sports 1 ran long and the hotel didn't offer Fox Sports 2, which is where the Fox Sports programming gods moved the UFC. 

I had a great time watching the fights, which were uniformly strong.  The room-service dinner was passable--almost everyplace can manage a Cobb salad--and the fight card truly was great.  All three championship fights went to the challengers in great battles that ended in finishes. 

As a further treat, tonight I get an extra hour of sleep (well, we all do, but I do, too)!  I love that treat.

Of San Antonio barbecue and World Fantasy Con

San Antonio's barbecue scene has redeemed itself, thanks to a very good lunch at 2M Smokehouse.

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I had to go late to lunch due to work, so they were already out of almost everything, but we were able to snag some brisket and some pulled pork.

The brisket was moist and rich and flavorful--everything it should be, and way better than anything I've encountered back home.  It restored my faith in local brisket.  The pulled pork was also quite good, though the better barbecue joints back home can best it.

Overall, I left lunch full and happy to have had good brisket again.

I arrived here in San Antonio on Wednesday for the World Fantasy Convention, but you may have noticed that I've barely mentioned the con.  That's because aside from a quick tour of the art show, a fifteen-minute pass through the dealers' room, and a dinner with folks from my publisher, Baen Books, I haven't really been able to attend the con.  Work has kept me pinned to my room except for meals.

The same was largely true today, but I did manage to get out and participate in a longstanding WFC tradition, the Friday night giant autograph session.  In these gatherings, every author or artist present grabs a name tag, picks a spot at a table, plops onto a chair, and hopes people bring them books and other items to autograph.

This shot shows only one angle on the room, which for the fifty minutes I stayed was crowded and full of folks chatting, visiting, and getting books signed.  A few folks even brought me books to autograph, for which I was grateful.  I've been the person at the table whom no one visits, so having anyone bring by books is a treat.

Tomorrow, I have my only panel.

Searching for good barbecue in San Antonio

I used to tell folks back home that the worst bite of barbecue brisket I've tasted in Texas was better than the best bite I've eaten back home.

After a day and a half in San Antonio, I've learned I was wrong. 

It's still true that the worst bite of barbecue brisket I've tasted in Austin was better than the best bite I've eaten back home, but the magic might be available only in Austin. 

I've now eaten at two San Antonio barbecue joints--the highly rated The Granary and one of the local chain Bill Miller BBQ joints--and the brisket at both was thin and not well seasoned and basically on par with the best of what I can get back home.  Which is to say, not very good. 

I'm going to keep trying to find good brisket here, but this is not a very promising start. 

Wandering with the dead in San Antonio

After dinner tonight, we wandered the lovely Pearl area of San Antonio.  Day of the Dead festivities were in full swing, and multiple brightly colored altars glowed in the night. 

This sight stood near the entrance to the area. 

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This altar by artist Regina Moya was one of my favorites.

It celebrated the life of Emma Tenayuca, a labor organizer. 

I found all of the altars moving, as each reminded me of people I've known and cared about who have died.

Though it may sound morose, the walk was more touching and humbling than upsetting, a lovely stroll on a warm night through warmer memories. 

On the road again: WorldCon, San Antonio, day 5

Today was about as perfect a travel day as I could hope to have. 

My first flight wasn't until mid-afternoon, so I was able to sleep late and catch up on work before heading for the airport.  The cabbie didn't have much English, but it was good enough to find the right terminal at the San Antonio airport. 

Waiting for me there were first-class upgrades for both flights, so I passed them in comfort.

My layover in DFW was just long enough to allow not only the usual shuttle ride between terminals but also a quick walk to the nearest Red Mango for their delicious parfait.  Red Mango makes every day a little bit better!

Bandwidth on both flights was slow but adequate for me to work, though just barely.  Still, that's nothing to complain about, and I was grateful to have it.

The flight home even arrived a hair early--and my checked bag appeared on time!

As I said, a truly good travel day.

The only flaw in the day was the sadness I, and, I suspect, most SF fans, felt at the news of Fred Pohl's death.  More on that loss tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I resume normal life for the five days until the next trip!

On the road again: WorldCon, San Antonio, day 4

My noon first panel, despite what most would consider to be its more than humane hour, managed to sneak up on me a bit.  The topic, "The Rapture of the Geeks," afforded plenty of room for discussion, and we ranged far and wide on the resulting intellectual turf.  From practicalities to computing requirements to ethical considerations, we left no key topic untouched--and all in an hour.  The conversation lacked depth, as it inevitably had to do given the breadth of the issues we tackled, but it kept both the audience and the panelists interested.

A little lunch, a little work, some time in the con chatting with friends and attending panels, and then I headed for my second panel of the day.  The topic was philosophy and science fiction, but we ended up talking about pretty much anything even tangentially related to that topic that interested the panelists or the questioners in the audience.  A few folks bailed early, but more replaced them, and we ended with a full house.

Evening brought the annual gathering of the SF clan to honor its own, the Hugo Awards ceremony.  I've been attending WorldCons since the 1978 event in Phoenix, and I've missed only a handful.  I've sat in the audience at the Hugos at every one of the WorldCons I was at, and at every single one I've left with a complex, roiling mass of feelings. 

On the one hand, I'm happy for the winners and glad to be part of this community.  I love its silly rituals and its bits of pomp, its Big Heart award and its tributes to those who have died.  I am always happy to be there.

On the other hand, I'm saddened by never even having been nominated.  As I grow older, and as my own mortality stands ever larger in my vision, I'm having trouble avoiding the fact that it's past time to accept that I will probably never be nominated, much less win.  I remind myself repeatedly that the only reason to write is because I must, and that all I can do is produce the best work I can, but sometimes awards and other distractions are hard to handle.  I have to assume all the other artists and writers encounter similar feelings. 

Despite those complex feelings, I am genuinely happy for the award winners and sincerely glad that I got to see another Hugo ceremony.  I hope to watch many, many more.