I've made it to Helsinki, where tomorrow I will start attending this year's World Science Fiction Convention, aka WorldCon.
The travel day included the usual mix of boredom and stress. I'd planned to show you pictures of my strange hotel room--which I will change tomorrow--but it's +7 hours here, so it's quite late, and I'm very tired.
I will say that even the urinals in the rest rooms at the Savoy are posh.
Early evening this Friday, I'll head to Europe for about two and a half weeks, a time centered around the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) in Helsinki. This event is the first WorldCon in Finland, and it's also my first trip to Finland--or any Scandinavian country.
I don't know yet what, if anything, I'll be doing officially at the con, but I'll definitely be going to the usual events, some panels, and so on. If you're also going to be there, drop me a note if you'd like to get together, and we can try to make that happen.
Sandwiched around the con will be some time in London and in Edinburgh--my first trip to that city and to Scotland.
I will, of course, report on my adventures here.
I find it important to remind myself that what matters most is that we do the work. The socializing and the networking and the schmoozing are all well and good, but if we don't write the books and stories, then as authors we are just pretending. I need to put my focus ever more squarely on doing the work.
The continuing sucky bandwidth is the reason for short post. Today included meals with friends, time in the dealers' room, and the Hugo awards. I always find the Hugo awards emotional, both because I've cared about them since I was quite small (I would look for the "Hugo winner!" designation on books) and because I've long dreamed of being nominated for and winning one (quite unlikely). This year's ceremony was a smooth, professional affair that started almost exactly on time and ended in two hours, maybe a hair less--a good job by all involved.
My congratulations to all of the nominees and to the winners!
I'm sorry, because I had planned to post a few pics each day and write more, but the bandwidth here is so bad that I can't even stay connected for long. Heck, I can't even reliably send email.
So, the brief version:
Today, I participated in my last two con functions.
First up was a panel on finance for writers. Each of the panelists brought a different perspective to the topic, so the conversation was far more interesting and lively than I had expected. The audience stayed engaged throughout, so I can't complain.
Next was a writing workshop in which I and another professional writer critiqued manuscripts from three folks still trying to break into the field. I'm a firm believer that what happens in workshops must stay in them, so I will say only that I think the participants got value from the critiques. (I should note that I normally turn these down and have for some time, but the organizer is a friend who needed one more person, so I was happy to help.)
I hope to sleep a great deal tonight.
After a decent night's sleep, I grabbed lunch, visited with friends, and did my first Worldcon program item: a reading. Readings are frequently dicey affairs at which no one shows up, but I was lucky enough today to have about ten folks listen to me read. I count that as a win.
After the reading, I signed a few books for folks who had brought some, and then I spent time in the dealers' room and the art show. I enjoyed both, as I usually do.
I watched the Chesley awards and then headed to my second performance of the day: a short comedy set at a "Comedy Tonight!" panel. Three of us took turns doing sets, the audience laughed a great deal, and we all had fun. Another win.
After dinner with friends, I tried hanging out with tons of other writers and fans in the hotel bar, but my heart just wasn't in it. So, I caught up on email, read, and will now get another good night's sleep.
The arrival of the rest of the fans has left this hotel's bandwidth a splintered shadow of its former self. Everything I try online takes so long I need to read between operations. Trying to upload a photo I end up encountering network failures that thwart me.
Maybe tomorrow, but for today let me say that the con is starting well, but the hotel bandwidth is beyond bad.
and I want you to help make sure I get to go. Specifically, I hope in late August of 2018 to be flying into New Orleans for that year's World Science Fiction Convention. You can read more about the bid here.
Running against New Orleans--committees from each city mount bids on which SF fans vote--is a group from San Jose. Their bid info is here. These are perfectly fine folks, and San Jose is a perfectly fine place, but it's not New Orleans. It's not even close.
I've written about this situation before, but now we're coming down to the wire. If enough people don't buy a membership (supporting or attending) to this year's WorldCon and vote for the 2018 con to be in New Orleans, we could face the specter of another con in San Jose. I could face that fate, and I'd much, much, much rather be in New Orleans.
Really, who wouldn't?
At next week's WorldCon in Kansas City, I'll spend some time hanging out in the New Orleans party at the convention center. Please come by, see me, meet the fine folks behind the con, and vote for the Big Easy.
Let's send the WorldCon back to New Orleans in 2018!
At this year's worldcon in Kansas City, members will get to vote for the location of the 2018 World Science Fiction Convention. (If you want to vote for the 2018 worldcon's location and aren't a member of this year's, you can become a supporting member of this con.) The two choices are New Orleans and San Jose.
Think about that for a moment. New Orleans, a great town with amazing food, parties all the time, and music that never stops, or San Jose, a very nice place in Silicon Valley where you can definitely eat okay and take plenty of naps.
This should be an easy choice.
I mean no offense to the fine group of fans who are putting on the San Jose bid, but they've recently had both a worldcon and a World Fantasy Con, and they are stuck with San Jose as a location.
New Orleans is the clear choice for a great time. I know the people running the bid, and they love SF and are completely dedicated to putting on a fantastic con for us all. If you're worried about the heat, relax: the con's hotel is big enough to hold everything under one roof, so you don't have to go outside if you don't want to. Though trust me, you will want to.
How committed to New Orleans am I? In a break from decades of con-going tradition, I aim to help campaign for them at the con.
Vote New Orleans, and let's have a giant SF party there in 2018!
On my recent trip to London, for the days before and after the Worldcon, I stayed at my favorite grand old hotel there, the Savoy. A superb hotel with lovely rooms and excellent service, the Savoy nonetheless barely understands the ice requirements of Americans--or, at least, those of this American. As I've explained before, including in yesterday's post, I love ice and always seek it at hotels. Thus, I had a problem at the Savoy.
I initially tried solving it simply by asking for ice. They filled the room's lovely (and cleaned daily) metal ice bucket--but with seven admittedly large cubes. Seven. As if each was precious.
I tried again.
Six cubes this time.
I pondered the challenge. Six or seven cubes lasts one glass of Coke Zero, and then I'm out. The Savoy clearly was not going to understand the amount of ice I want.
As is usually helpful, I tried to consider the situation from the perspective of the others involved, in this case, the hotel. No one would need much ice. Really, who needs ice? Six or seven cubes is perfect for a mixed drink or two, more than enough for a guest and even someone a guest might be bringing back to his/her room. You don't need ice in quantity for anything, really...
...except, perhaps, to keep champagne cold.
Ah, I could work with that.
The next time I was leaving the room, I called for ice, but this time I said when I'd be returning and requested a couple of large buckets of ice. They thoughtfully asked whether I would like two champagne glasses. Of course I would, I replied.
Upon my return, waiting for me were two gloriously large buckets full of beautiful ice! Standing on either side of one of them were two equally lovely champagne glasses.
Deep into the night, I drank my icy cold Coke Zero from first one and then, just for fun, from the other lovely champagne glass.
Oh, yeah: I can work a hotel.
Savoy folks, if you are by some miracle reading this, I love your establishment, and I apologize for gaming the system, but given what the rooms cost, I don't feel too bad about it.
And I'll definitely try it again, should I be lucky enough to visit there once more.
The convention wrapped up today with some morning and early afternoon programming. I left the con hotel and headed back to my favorite one in London proper; I like staying where I know the area and much is within a mile or two on foot.
I spent the heart of the afternoon at the Tate Britain, enjoying both the parts of its normal collection on display and its British Folk Art exhibit.
The museum had given several of its large rooms to a commission it had made to Phyllida Barlow. Just about all of it, including this example, left me cold and uncaring.
The high point of today was the Hugo Awards ceremony, the SF/F community's annual gathering in celebration of the best of its works of the years. I've dreamed of winning a Hugo since I was quite young, so I've gone to the Hugos at every WorldCon I've attended. I find them bittersweet affairs, having never been nominated, much less won, but I wouldn't miss them.
Publisher Toni could not attend, so I was her designated acceptor, should she have won in the Best Editor Long Form category in which she was nominated. (As deserving as she is of the award, and she very much is, she did not win it; the estimable Ginjer Buchanan won it in the year in which she retired. Well done, Ginjer!) Because I was to accept for Toni, I got to attend the pre-awards reception and then sit down front with the nominees. It was quite a lovely experience; I hope one day to repeat it on my own behalf.
On the walk to the reception, I saw these buildings, which I absolutely adore.
In an amazing move due entirely to my having a reading scheduled at 12:30, today I for the first time took advantage of the free breakfast buffet that comes with the hotel room. I see these things rarely, almost always preferring to sleep through them, so I approach them with the wariness of a jungle explorer encountering a new and oddly smelly breed of giant snake.
I'm happy to report that I survived the meal, even after sampling the eggs, floppy bacon, sausage, and cold baked beans; I had to approach the classic English breakfast.
I'm even more happy to report that, to my amazement, people I did not know attended my reading. In fact, the audience numbered 18, and I knew only two of its members. I presented them with five very different options, and a few brave souls opted for my short story, "Reunion," so they carried the day and I read all of it that time permitted. Those in attendance seemed to enjoy it, and I had a pleasant time re-reading it after not seeing it for multiple years. All in all, as best I could tell, a successful reading.
In a small area on the edge of the dealers' room and not far from the art show, for reasons I don't quite understand, today the con featured a small exhibit of fancy breeds of pigeon. I approached this exhibit with even less enthusiasm than the breakfast, but curiosity made me go.
I am so very glad I did. Pigeons can be awesome! The breeds on display were lovely and each completely different from the next. In this shot, the curator is holding a bird whose feathers shimmered in the light.
LonCon 3, this year's WorldCon, was in full swing all day today. I had worked until very, very late last night, so I slept rather late today and missed all the morning activities. I also spent a big chunk of the late afternoon and early evening working, but I managed to fit some con activities into the day as well.
Before I talk further about today, however, I have to show you Mr. Whippy. (Don't blame me for where your mind just went.) Mr. Whippy, a staple of multiple old British comedies, had a truck at the convention center yesterday.
The morning went to work and sleep. Lunch was an alarmingly authentic meal at a nearby Chinese restaurant; I am simply not ready for the degree to which tendons and skin figured prominently in the various offerings.
The opening ceremonies of the convention revolved around a small play and were the silliest in my memory, though I confess to having missed many of these occasions.
I then wandered the dealers' room, which was refreshingly full of books, and the art show. Both provided pleasant browsing and the chance to see some books and art not normally available in the U.S.
After a few hours of work, a group of us headed back into London proper for a marvelous dinner that I will cover later in its own blog entry.
Though I had hoped to hit some of the con parties, work, rather than socializing, filled the rest of the day until now, when I hope to fall over and go boom.
Tomorrow, I hope to see more of the con!
Sleep and work and sleep and work ate the morning, and then it was off for lunch and a walk around Covent Garden. In the course of this stroll, I ran across one of my favorite restaurant signs.
A trip home from the West Coast always starts earlier than I like, and today’s was no exception. Aside from the hour at which it began, however, the morning went well, with a smooth checkout, a short cab ride to the airport, and quick and painless passage through check-in and security. The Reno airport even offered free wireless, so I was able to work up to the minute they called us to board.
By using accumulated airline miles I was able to ride in first class on the way home, which was a blessing for my back and for work. The first leg even offered bandwidth, so I was able to stay current on work until we hit DFW.
Airline food, like all other aspects of air travel, has declined greatly in quality in the last few years. Lunch today was a salad with bits of slimy and gummy barbecue chicken on it. Accompanying this treat was a hummus that resembled congealed, molded baby puke. Dessert was a cookie of dubious origin, something brownish, crumbly, and vaguely sweet. Thank goodness Diet Coke and the water they pour come from containers others have prepared.
The day's best food news was that the stay in Dallas was long enough that I could grab a Red Mango parfait. I am, as I’ve noted earlier, one local Red Mango establishment away from being addicted to that stuff.
The next flight did not offer bandwidth, but I was able to work via stored email.
The only non-work time of the flight went to the dinner, compared to which the lunch was haute cuisine. A piece of salmon-like pinkness that I dared not touch sat atop the driest rice I’ve eaten since I tried a few grains of raw rice. The roll was dry desert sand held together with dark magic. The dessert was a cruel joke on cheesecake, a gelatinous mass straight out of the tentacle of a Lovecraftian elder god. Yum.
All that said, I cannot really complain. I had comfortable seats with shoulder room and could work. I made it home only a bit late. My luggage took its turn on the carousel and appeared before me. Asking more from a pair of flights than those things is just being greedy.
At the Reno airport this morning, a fair number of fans were praising the con, noting how well run it was, how well the facilities worked, and what good times they had. Upon reflection, I have to agree. The folks behind the Reno WorldCon did great work and put on one of the better WorldCons I’ve attended. Well done, Reno WorldCon staff and volunteers!
The morning arrived entirely too early for my taste, as it usually does. After a business meeting, we grabbed some lunch and then attended a panel on The Fisher King. All of the panelists had a lot to contribute on the topic, but none really seemed into it, so it never jelled.
Next up was a very interesting panel on cover design. I gained some insights, which is always nice, and I enjoyed listening to the art-director panelists discuss their work processes.
I passed a little time playing blackjack, made a little more money, and headed out with two others to see Conan the Barbarian. I'll review it more fully later this week.
Work filled the next few hours, then dinner. The food here has been consistently good--not great, but always at least adequate and usually a bit better than that. I have no complaints on that front.
I chatted with Griffin for a while afterward, then headed back to work, pack, and so on.
Tomorrow, the long journey home.
One thing you have to love about casino towns is the ability to get breakfast at any time of the day or night.
I slept as late as my obligations would permit, then caught up on work before showering and heading out. First stop was the Baen upcoming books panel, where Publisher Toni gave me the mic to talk about the paperback of Children No More, The Wild Side, and the upcoming No Going Back. The audience was great, as always, so the talk was fun, as was the rest of the slide show.
By the time the panel ended, we were past due for breakfast and lunch, so we found the casino diner that was still serving breakfast. That meal is always best in the early afternoon, so I quite enjoyed it.
Three of us headed out shortly thereafter to a local theater to catch Fright Night. I'll post my review of it in a later entry.
More work filled the time until we cabbed over to the other con hotel for the Hugo awards. I've gone to this ceremony at every WorldCon I've attended, which is all but about five of them since 1978, and I've always found it a touching celebration of the SF community. Of course, like so many other writers, I've also always imagined myself receiving one, but now, four books and somewhere around a dozen and a half stories into my SF writing career, I don't expect that will ever happen.
You can find the winners at many places online, including on the con's site, so I won't list them here. My congratulations to them all; well done, folks.
We were lucky to share a cab back to the hotel before most of the fans had made the trek, so access to the parties was easy and quick. After a few stops, though, I reached my social limit and returned to my room. Lest the melancholy of not being anywhere near the writer I had hoped I would be overtake me entirely and lead me to more self-pitying whining, I'll stop this entry and focus elsewhere.
After a very late night, I woke from two hours of sleep to do a work phone meeting and a bunch of work email. I then crashed for a few more hours and felt much better getting out of bed the second time.
Work, lunch, and then to Tim Powers' Guest of Honor speech. Its structure in many ways was like that of his novels, appearing to wander a bit here and there but ultimately proving to be a coherent and thought-provoking whole. His main thesis was that he wanted to look at the world from the fantastic angle, as opposed to the "stick to what is possible" approach of mainstream fiction, and that in this more fantastic perspective there is great value. I completely agree.
The next several hours went to the dealers' room, where I browsed the best selection of books of any WorldCon in recent memory, talked to multiple booksellers, and signed all the books of mine that I spotted. Wandering through books is always relaxing for me, so I quite enjoyed the time there.
Dinner was a Baen gathering that Publisher Toni hosted at a local steakhouse. Our table included several other Baen writers: Lois McMaster Bujold, Eric Flint, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Chuck Gannon, and Walter Hunt. I quite enjoyed talking with all of them and getting to know them a bit more.
After some time in a local pub with Griffin and Jerry (I'm a cheap bar date: one Diet Coke will do me), I played eight minutes of blackjack, won a little money, and retired to work and then to sleep.
Along the way, I completely forgot to finish and post this blog entry, which is why it's late. Sorry.
Posts
All Comments
