Raising money to buy books

Balticon's main charity is BSFS Books for Kids, a longstanding focus of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) on buying books for area kids who could not otherwise afford them.  The Liars' Panel, an event I've run many times, raises money for this charity by making people pay a buck each to challenge a panelist when they think that person is lying.  If the panelist is telling the truth, all those dollar bills go into bowls that runners use to collect the cash.  If the panelist is lying, the panelist pays ten dollars into a bucket.

Today, I had the privilege of participating in and moderating a Liars' Panel with Joe Haldeman, Mur Lafferty, George R.R. Martin, and Jody Lynn Nye.  Over the course of 85 minutes we answered questions I had previously distributed to the panelists and told both lies and outrageous truths.

I'm happy to report that this panel set a Balticon record by raising $850 for the charity.

In this photo, four of the people who took care of the money--Boots, Rebecca, Eric, and Christine--join me with the baggie of cash I then delivered to the con.  (Jennie, who ran the money-collecting effort, took the photo, and a few other folks, whose names I unfortunately don't have, helped collect bills from the audience.)

Everyone laughed a lot, we all had a good time, and we did a little good.  Not a bad outcome for a con panel.

Later, I introduced George R.R. Martin's reading, at which he entertained a very large audience full of fans of his series.  The reading was quite entertaining, if dark, and the audience loved both it and the brief Q&A session afterward.

My last con activity of the day was a large group dinner with the returning and current guests of honor and many con staffers.

Everyone at Balticon treated me very well, and it was a great pleasure and honor to act as the Toastmaster for the con.

Busy day

I worked until the wee hours and so awoke at 9:30 after not much slumber, but today was not the day for sleeping late.

First on my agenda as Balticon 50's Toastmaster was introducing artist and friend John Picacio, who then did an hour-long presentation on his art.  I generally try to keep introductions short, because the real starts are the people doing the presentations, and I kept to that practice here.  John showed a lot of very cool art and offered some insights into his creative process.

After a half-hour break, I debuted a new spoken-word/comedy show:  Mr. Poor Choices III:  That Moment When.  A blend of old and new material, the show seemed to come off well, and everyone in the audience laughed every time they should.  I would have preferred a bigger crowd--under a hundred folks showed up--but I had a good time entertaining those in the house.  The two women who were signing the show deserve special mention, because I gave them a lot of challenging work, and I even dragged them into the act at times, yet they stayed cool.

After an interval of only twenty minutes, I conducted an interview with Guest of Honor George R.R. Martin.  (You can read about it and see a few clips from it in this Baltimore Sun online story.  Having to watch these clips over my fat gut is a sobering experience.)

I dashed straight from that event into the Baen Traveling Road Show, where editor Jim Minz gave me a chance to discuss my most recent works.

I grabbed a snack--a hot dog--and then it was time to introduce George R.R. Martin and John Picacio for their writer/artist chat.  We ultimately agreed the flow would work better if they just jumped into it, so I enjoyed this conversation from the audience.

My final event of the day was a publisher dinner with Jim Minz and many Baen writers.

Tomorrow looks positively slack by comparison, with only three more events.

Balticon kicks off with a feast

Specifically, the con tonight hosted a dinner, The Feast of Ice and Fire, in honor of its main guest, author George R.R. Martin.

Click an image to see a larger version.

I was lucky enough to attend, thanks to the con.

In addition to the five courses on the menu, the meal also came with its own souvenir:  a special Balticon 50 glass.

Martin ate each course at a different table and was a very genial and entertaining host.

Tomorrow, the con begins in earnest, and I fulfill my first duty as Toastmaster by hosting the opening ceremonies.  I'm quite looking forward to it!

The Feast of the Seven Kingdoms

is the name of a special dinner that Chef/Proprietor Sean Fowler of the excellent Raleigh restaurant Mandolin held earlier tonight.  The party occupied all of the larger side of the restaurant; the other portion was closed.  As the title of the special meal implies, Fowler and many of his staff are big fans of The Game of Thrones books and TV series from creator George R.R. Martin.  In a pre-meal presentation, Fowler said that as he was reading the books he paid particular attention to the meals, and he found the cuisines well thought out and interesting.  He was able to base all of the courses in the dinner on dishes from the books.

Click an image to see a larger version.

The first of the eight courses was just a small snack, and it contained crickets, not locusts, because Fowler's team could not readily obtain the latter.

(Sorry for the blurry photo.)  I've never eaten crickets before, so I didn't know what to expect.  What we got was a sweet, crunchy snack that I quite enjoyed.

The octopus and clam dish smelled and tasted of the sea and was delicious.  Fowler's crew prepared the octopus perfectly.

The presentation was also just right, with a good blend of rustic pot and rough-looking (but, again, delicious) chunks of octopus.

Before anyone complains, no, despite what the menu says, Fowler did not serve us actual horse hearts.  The tartar was of beef heart.

Some in our group found the chunks of meat a bit too large, but I thought they were just right.  All agreed it was quite tasty.

The best dish in the meal--a collection in which every course was extremely good--came next:  the lamb-stuffed grape leaves.

From the sauce to the leaf to the incredible mixture of lamb and spices and fruit inside, this dish was perfect.  I have never tasted a stuffed grape leaf as good.  Several of us implored Fowler to put this one on Mandolin's regular menu.

And on the meal went, each course lovely and so very good.  The bacon-wrapped trout:

The beef and barley stew:

The boar, with apples and mushrooms:

The final course, the dessert, was a lovely and tasty simple tart, decorated in flowers.

If Fowler does anything similar again--and now I hope he does--I will most definitely be there.  I encourage you to attend, too--after I buy my tickets, of course.