On the road again: Balticon, day 0

Wow, was I tired today.  I awoke after two hours and forty-five minutes of sleep and felt like a zombie.  That is not enough sleep for me. 

Most of the day went to the drive from Raleigh to the con, a drive that ended up taking us through rush hour traffic--the only kind D.C. seems to have. 

Dinner was a delicious meal at Woodberry Kitchen; by good fortune, Kyle was able to come.  As I've said many times, if you're in this area, you should absolutely eat at Woodberry.  Everything we tried was very good, with the tomato soup with "adorable grilled cheese" and the sharp cheddar mac and cheese side dishes being particular favorites.

Tomorrow, the con starts in earnest.  For those planning to attend, look me up and say hi.  I'll be emceeing the opening ceremonies on Friday, and then on Saturday and Sunday I'll be participating in six panel discussions.

Now, though, I will crash!

On the road again: Balticon, day 2

Most of today went to working in my hotel room, which is sadly the norm for me at conventions.  I did manage to register, help a friend set up in the art show, and grab a late lunch. 

I spent the early evening helping debug the opening ceremonies, and then at 8:00 I was the Master of Ceremonies for them.  I got to spend a little time talking with a lot of fun folks, including Joe and Gay Haldeman, T.C. McCarthy, and Myke Cole. 

When I agree to MC an event, I focus most on what the event's organizers want.  Here, it is for the event to go smoothly and on time.  Entertaining the audience is also part of the job, of course, but the focus is on how the event goes.  So, I try to adopt that focus, make the event be the center of the audience's attention, keep it rolling along, and try to hit our time marks.  I don't try to make it be "The Mark Van Name Show."  This approach tends to mean that I maintain a smooth, calm affect, never take too long in my jokes or monologue bits, and keep the show moving briskly.  I think that's what the audience wants--it's what I have wanted when I attended the opening ceremonies of various cons--but the cost is that I'm not as entertaining as I could be.  I always wonder if I've chosen the right balance. 

After we finished the opening ceremonies, a small group of us headed to Woodberry Kitchen for a late dinner.  The meal was tasty, though not quite as good as in past years.  Still, the setting was lovely, the service good, and the food well above average.  If you live in this area and haven't yet eaten at this restaurant, you should head on over.

On the road again: Balticon, day 2

Much of today went to work, but I also got to participate in three fun activities.

The first was lunch at Mr. Rain's Fun House, which is the cafe on the third (top) floor of the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). The cafe's food was interesting and delicious. We started by sharing the Crab & Mango tartare appetizer, then had Kobe beef hot dogs with Mexican toppings--easily one of the best hot dogs I've tasted.

Fortified for our adventure, we toured AVAM itself. When I was last here, eight or nine years ago, I think, the place was a single building; now it encompasses three and an outdoor sculpture garden. I once again found a great deal of the work to be quite compelling. Many of the artists create compulsively, and I wonder often how far from them I am. If you're in the Baltimore area, go see AVAM.

The third fun activity of the day was a long dinner at the wonderful Woodberry Kitchen. A group of us ate here last Balticon after my show, but with Kyle not available this weekend, we hit it early. Once again, we ordered a rather substantial portion of the menu, and once again, every single dish we tasted was excellent. I recommend this place highly.

Now, though, I will return to working on the show, doing a second blog entry for you--shirts!--and other work that requires my attention. Onward!

On the road again: Balticon, day 4

The morning began too early for my taste, which is to say that it was still a.m., with a volunteers' breakfast. The goal was to let those who do the hard work of the con get to spend some time with its guests, which is in principle a goal I support. I was barely awake, however, so I'm afraid I mostly sat at a table, nibbled a bagel, and spoke with the few other folks sitting near me.

After that, we rushed to the Baen Books panel, where we fought the projector, ultimately triumphed, and did a ninety-minute presentation on upcoming Baen titles, cover designs, and so on. We also gave away a lot of free books, ARCs, and other stuff. The crowd was a pretty good size, and I think everyone had a nice time.

I exited that room with about one hour to go to my one-man show, Science Magic Sex. I spent part of the time reviewing the act, part setting up, and part waiting. The hotel escalator was having problems, so we started five minutes late to allow folks to get settled. I don't know the exact size of the audience, but all the estimates I heard put it well north of a hundred and possibly as high as a hundred and fifty, which didn't fill the room but was still big enough to give it good energy.

I had planned a fifty-minute set, which is the time the con asked panels to run, but I had a clear hour slot with a free half hour after me, so I did a bit over an hour. Everyone laughed when they should have, didn't laugh at the wrong times, and at the end I received quite a lot of very nice applause. Friends who I think are telling me the truth all agreed that the show was very good and of professional comedian quality, which is what I was seeking. We also raised some money for RIF through the t-shirt sales--though shirts still remain. I did get some notes I trusted, and I made some of my own--and will, no doubt, make more when I get to watch a recording. Still, to the degree that I am able to be, I'm happy with how it went.

Now, I hope other cons ask me to do it again.

Dinner was at The Woodberry Kitchen, a delightful place where we all ate too much but not so much that any of us was in pain.

I'm now off to walk a bit and contemplate more of today's work.