tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12616542024-03-07T22:07:20.497-06:00Michael Lee's Train of ThoughtMichael Lee's Thoughts On Technology, Culture, Science Fiction, or whatever else interests him at the time.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.comBlogger1339125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-85152331453122573552018-09-03T16:53:00.002-05:002018-09-03T16:53:23.592-05:00Writing for Twin Cities GeekHey. This is still here!<br />
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I haven't written here much, but I've started to write for <a href="http://twincitiesgeek.com/">Twin Cities Geek</a>. The articles that I've written are listed on <a href="http://twincitiesgeek.com/twin-cities-geek-staff/michael-lee/">my staff page</a>. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-20866214700556638912017-08-20T13:58:00.002-05:002017-08-20T16:34:40.454-05:00Worldcon 75 WSFS Division Post-Con Report<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnsNPeFfr_T9EdQKLu4veOPZVR4wKm13rjUi5mkHJ2FWTAGblcAgyI6B1kCRQsWoD5xDenVqsZT1auRW3MU-JQHjJ97HH5nDJ5gXoMm1cZMzet7Im8taYqt18rZliflhfderc/s1600/IMG_0670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo of Michael with Hugo by Fia Karlsson" border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnsNPeFfr_T9EdQKLu4veOPZVR4wKm13rjUi5mkHJ2FWTAGblcAgyI6B1kCRQsWoD5xDenVqsZT1auRW3MU-JQHjJ97HH5nDJ5gXoMm1cZMzet7Im8taYqt18rZliflhfderc/s320/IMG_0670.JPG" title="" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">It has been a long five year journey since I was one of a number that gave Eemeli Aro $20 at the Chicago Worldcon. I’ve been to Helsinki four times, made countless friends, had some relationships strengthened and others strained. I suppose this is to be expected for my most involved Worldcon convention volunteer experience, but overall it was a positive experience.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I was WSFS (World Science Fiction Society) Division Head for Worldcon 75. After being a part of the bid leadership I felt a natural obligation to participate as a DH for the con, and after many years working a large convention at home on CONvergence I wanted to work on something that would be unique for Worldcon, but also one that would work just as well based in America as in Europe. I’d also run Site Selection the year prior in Kansas City, so had some opportunity to gain experience going in, and learned much more through the process.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Because Worldcon 75 was filled with people that had never worked - and in many cases never even attended - a Worldcon before, WSFS Division served as a bit more institutional knowledge than I imagine it normally would. I hardly consider myself a Worldcon expert; many many people have attended or worked more - but for a variety of reasons we didn’t have others with much more knowledge on our committee so we managed the best we could. I wanted this to truly be a Finnish and Nordic Worldcon, and I think we achieved that goal, but figuring out how to get there was sometimes tricky.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I broke my leg two months before the convention. Fortunately I had healed up enough to be mostly mobile, but I was nowhere near 100%, and would occasionally just hit the wall with exhaustion. That meant things fell to others at times that I could not pick up, and I underestimated my own abilities. We should have planned for that with more assistance on site to help with some gopher talks.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I knew when I went for the WSFS DH that Nicholas Whyte was quite likely willing to be the Hugo Administrator, and given my previous experience with him at Loncon I was excited to work with him, and that was true throughout the entire time. The people that he chose all did an incredible job, and seeing Colette Fozard move on to become a Vice Chair stabilized the top of our organization and generally reduced my own stress about the convention.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Having the Hugo ceremony on night 3 instead of night 4 made night 3 busy with Site Selection counting and the Hugo ceremony, but it had a positive impact on the business meeting, as Hugo related business was handled after the award ceremony but not on the last day when people wanted to get out of town. I’m hopeful that the business meeting won’t need to spend as much time in post-Hugo deliberations in future needs, and I think there are valid reasons for both night three and night four depending on the tastes of each staff and the particular circumstances year to year.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">One hiccup was that instead of printing more copies of the embargoed Hugo Results for after the ceremony, we had a bunch of additional Business Meeting agendas. Printing extra copies of massive documents like that proved impossible on site by the time this was discovered, and provided for an unnecessary amount of stress. This might have been easier back home in the US. We had sufficient copies for the business meeting and the results were swiftly posted online, so this wasn’t as poor as it could have been, and I know that not everyone likes to have all of the detailed results thrust upon them while leaving the ceremony.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Our partnership with events was good, and with what I saw they produced an outstanding ceremony. We could have prepared a little bit better for shipping Hugo Awards home, and I think some of the Award logistics (as opposed to the ceremony and reception) could have been a little easier. I’m not sure we have a great accounting of what needs to be produced for finalists or their expectations. We should have had one additional staffer available on Hugo night as Kate was unable to fully enjoy being a Hugo Acceptor because of a bunch of emergencies that sprung up at the last minute (such as the photo copy of results).</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We delegated the selection of the base to the Chairs, as it was our strong opinion that the base be Finnish. I’m pleased with the result there.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Nicholas Whyte has done his own writeup, and I highly recommend that as well. [<a href="http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2865435.html">Part 1</a>] [<a href="http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2866074.html">Part 2</a>] [<a href="http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2866499.html">Hugo Packet Debrief</a>]</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We had done Site Selection for the Kansas City Worldcon, and we knew Dublin was unopposed, so much was easier there. I was happy that Johan Anglemark signed on as a Site Selection admin as I wanted to see someone Nordic in the division, and he did an outstanding job.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Despite some mild trolling I participated in of some people opposed to electronic site selection, we never seriously considered it. I’m convinced that generally the current method works for now, and given the political opposition I think there are other ways to improve the process. Note that emailing signed scanned ballots to someone else to print out and hand carry is allowed.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Electronic validation of voters against the registration database is something that worked and can be improved for future Worldcon site selection. Carrying around all of that Personally Identifiable Information on paper at Kansas City was nerve wracking, and something that could be improved without changing the overall traditions of a paper based site selection. I gather we didn’t save Dublin as much time after receiving the data as we hoped, but that may be something that future Worldcons could improve.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We accepted Dublin’s Advance Supporting Membership rate without sufficient consideration; which had differing amounts in Euro and USD. This was an error, as people would want to shop for the rate that was cheaper when they mailed items in, and our credit card banking was in Euro. Currency rates are complicated, especially for mail in ballots.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I suggest that the deadline for new business get pushed back two weeks. The current deadline was difficult due to travel arrangements, and it also means that items get added at the last minute without the opportunity to discuss before the convention.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We had a great deal of anxiety about the room size when we realized more people were going to show up to the convention than when we had chosen the room over a year ago. Fortunately, those concerns weren’t warranted and the room was ideal. Note that the Business Meeting is one that can’t turn people away due to WSFS constitutional requirements, and it’d been a disaster if we had been forced to swap with larger rooms. (I pretty much lost a night of sleep in fear.)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We struggled a bit with our local tech team due to cultural and communication issues. They did their job well - but the Business Meeting is a strange and particular beast. The tech team did an outstanding job of which I am grateful - but I think it was more difficult for all of us than it should have been.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Having both online streaming (as provided by W75) and the official videographer provided by Lisa Hayes was useful. I think we need the truly permanent record to be provided by someone in the room, and as the Hugo ceremony demonstrated, streaming is still not always reliable (or viable!). There was some confusion and tension by having two teams, but I think recognizing two different sets of requirements and having a backup was good there. This was a meeting that had some potentially important moments in WSFS history so keeping a record is good.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The online CART translation worked reasonably well; I think it’s slightly more effective if you can have the CART transcriber in the room, but when finances or logistics do not allow it, it’s a good alternative to be aware of. I don’t think CART should be optional; accessibility demands something there.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">In retrospect, we should have had a local person as part of the Business Meeting team as a liaison to handle all of the logistics of the room. They wouldn't have needed to be a Business Meeting expert ahead of time, but could have assisted with some of the mechanical tasks.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">All of our top table staff were experts in their positions; I think it’d be good for future Worldcons to provide opportunities for new people to take on all the roles.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Having a printer in the room was a major win, as it could print one or two page additional reports effectively without needing to go elsewhere.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I am pleased we were able to have coffee. We had forgotten that we might need to explicitly order water, but they were able to provide that when we requested.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I am overall pleased with how things turned out. This took a greater emotional toll than I had expected, but in the end I feel mostly positive that our division worked well, and that the convention as a whole was successful.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I could not have done this at all without Kate Secor as my deputy DH, and it would be much more accurate to describe her as a co-head. I believe every position in a convention committee should have at least one back up, and this was especially true here.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I also thank all of the people that were on the WSFS team at some point during our journey: Nicholas Whyte, Kathryn Duval, Colette Fozard, Brent Smart, Jo Van Ekeren, Johan Anglemark, Michael Pargman, Mark Linneman, Kevin Standlee, Don Eastlake, Linda Deneroff, Paul Dormer, and Lisa Hayes. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I’d also like to thank honorary WSFS Division Members Hugo Ceremony Head Joshua Beatty, Con Office Head Phil Davies, DevOps DH Eemeli Aro and DevOps Project Manager Daria Medved.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We also had support from a variety of people that were on the Chairs team at some point during the two years before the convention, usually by staying out of our way. Thanks to Saija Aro, Colette Fozard, Jukka Halme, Crystal Huff, and Karoliina Leikomaa.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Also thanks to everyone in Design, Exhibits, Facilities, Finance, Programme, Social Media, Tech, and Web Team. If you think I forgot you, forgive me.</span></div>
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Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-21084118217812880982014-10-01T07:50:00.001-05:002014-10-01T07:50:32.359-05:00Really Early Registrations available!We've just started to collect memberships for next year's JOFCon.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
You can register at <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/jofcon-minneapolis-2015-registration-13350637115">JOFCon Minneapolis 2015 Registration</a>. We have a limited supply of Really Early Registrations available (at the time of writing only twelve left!) -- and they'll only be at the $40 rate until they're all gone or we announce a hotel (which will be soon!). Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-80812740707106911452014-09-27T12:50:00.001-05:002014-09-27T12:50:48.106-05:00JOFCon Minneapolis/St Paul October 9-11, 2015.I'm now planning the second JOFCon to be held in the Twin Cities area on October 9-11, 2015. After six years on the CONvergence board of directors I wanted to have an event to discuss the various issues involved in helping to run SF and other geeky conventions. Interested in learning more? I've got a <a href="http://jofconmsp2015.blogspot.com/">website</a> all set up, and more information will be posted there.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-21503313996980288812013-01-27T16:55:00.001-06:002013-01-27T16:56:14.227-06:00Capricon<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm headed to <a href="http://capricon.org/capricon33/">Capricon</a> in a little less than two weeks and I'm on a bunch of panels. A couple of them are outside of my traditional comfort zone, but I'm excited about that. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It should be fun!</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie - Friday, 02-08-2013 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming)</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Long novels are often reviled, but they give the author a change to build an extremely in depth world for readers to lose themselves in, as well as more time and space to develop realistic characters. Who makes the best use of all those words and pages? Why is longer better?</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Michael Lee, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Marah Searle-Kovacevic</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Joy Ward (M)</i><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Fandom a-GoGo: Fannish Productions - Saturday, 02-09-2013 - 10:00 am to 11:30 am - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming)</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">For generations, fans have expressed their love of SF/F by making things like fanzines, fanart, fanfic, and fancasts that celebrate our genres and communities. These fans discuss their productions and others that you might want to check out.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">James Bacon, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Michael Lee (M), </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Lynne M. Thomas</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Ben Yalow</i><br />
<i><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;" /></i><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">The Obligatory 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Panel - Saturday, 02-09-2013 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming)</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">After 50 years, 11 Doctors, and 47 companions, what is there left to say about Doctor Who? Believe it or not, quite a lot, as our panelists will demonstrate.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Tonya Foust, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Michael Lee (M), </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Rich Lukes, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Jody Lynn Nye</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Michael D. Thomas</i><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">A Hard Hobbit to Break - Saturday, 02-09-2013 - 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm - Botanic Garden A (Special Events - Programming)</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">We've all seen a third of the movie: Bilbo! Gandalf!! Hot Singing Dwarves (with beards, not a euphemism)!!! Gollum!!!! Peter Jackson's J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth is back! It's time to speculate about the forthcoming two thirds of the trilogy.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">David Abzug, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Jennifer Lawrence, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Michael Lee (M),</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Susan Stoltze, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Tom Trumpinski - </i><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">So Awful, It's Awesome: Guilty Pleasures - Saturday, 02-09-2013 - 8:30 pm to 10:00 pm - Birch A</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Do you love mega sharks battling giant octopuses? Was Richard Grieco your favorite Loki? Is Sherlock Holmes better when he battles unbelievable CGI dinosaurs? These panelists talk about their favorite so bad it's awesome things from the past few years.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">David Abzug,</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Tere de la Torre, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Michael Lee, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Dave McCarty (M),</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Leane Verhulst </i><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><br /></i>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-53158122949437569492013-01-08T17:25:00.003-06:002013-01-08T17:30:02.689-06:00My Arisia ScheduleFor the second time, I'm going to <a href="http://2013.arisia.org/">Arisia</a> out in Boston at the end of next week (January 18 - 21, 2013). I had a fantastic time last year, and this year I made sure I knew I was going long enough ahead of time to get on panels.
I'm on a couple of panels:<br />
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<b>Sunday 8:30pm</b><br />
Doctor Who: The Dissertation of the Daleks — Media, Panel — 1hr 15min — Revere (2)<br />
We continue our celebration of all things Who with a look at the Daleks, one of the Doctor's oldest and most persistent adversaries. Why are they so popular? When will they return? And how can they be stopped now that they don't need to climb stairs?<br />
Samantha Dings, Forest Handford, Victoria Janssen, Michael Lee, Adam Lipkin (m)<br />
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<b>Monday 10:00am</b><br />
How Fans Hurt and Help Public Faces of Fandom — Fan Interest, Panel — 1hr 15min — Burroughs (3E)<br />
Last year, Stephen King said Stephenie Meyer "can't write," and the "Twi-hards" came to defend her. Twilight boards were filled with reasonable discussions of the criticism, while sites like the Entertainment Weekly blog were filled with ill-informed attacks on King. Many fans have said they would never read the Twilight books because of the public image of Meyer's fanbase. How does the public face of fans help or hurt an author? Can fans do anything to change the perception of their fandom?<br />
Randee Dawn, Shana Fuqua, Michael Lee, Paula Lieberman, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert
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I'm not throwing a party for <a href="http://www.convergence-con.org/">CONvergence</a> (or anything else) this year (I'm taking the year off of doing that) -- but I'm sure to be around the convention, volunteering (because you do), and finding ways to keep myself busy.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-78390118859561721562012-09-04T17:20:00.001-05:002012-09-04T17:20:18.507-05:00Chicon 7 - Back from the WorldconI'm slowly recovering from my trip to Chicago over the weekend for <b>Chicon 7</b>, the 70th Worldcon.
This was one of those conventions where most of the items of programming I got to were ones that I was participating in. All of the panels went well, though a few of them were in smaller rooms than they should have been; I was astonished that the Brit SF TV panel would be SRO at 9:00 AM, and of course a Doctor Who panel will frequently fill the room.
The Star Wars panel I was on was quite possibly the best Star Wars panel I've been on, and one of my favorite panels at the con. First of all, I sat next to James Kahn, who wrote the Return of the Jedi novelization. When that novel first came out, I got it for my birthday, and so I read it before the film -- perhaps giving me my first experience with spoilers.
My other favorite point on that panel was my realization when we discussed the impact of Star Wars on the world, that I said that without Star Wars, we would have had no ILM. Without ILM, we would not have had Pixar. No Pixar, Steve Jobs doesn't have had a second act after he leaves Apple for the first time, so he doesn't return to Apple. And therefore, without Star Wars, we would have no iPhones.
Our other big endeavor of the weekend was the Minnesota Magpie room. We had GREAT help from Joel Philips, Jody Wurl, Eric Heideman, Matt Strait, Joe Pregracke, Matthew Gress and Missy Hayes, George Richard and Andy Murphy, and others as well. The parties went fantastically well in the evening, but I don't think any of our plans during the day were as successful. I'm OK with that, and I think much of that had to do with being on the top floor, but it will be worth considering for the future.
It was also exciting to have multiple friends, previous CONvergence guests of honor, and future guests of honor visit our party, including several shortly after they had won the Hugo. We were frequently the last party going every night.
One of the other real highlights for me as well was that I was able to talk to conrunners and fans from around the world -- they are becoming better friends and colleagues each time I see them, and I am very excited about the future of fandom. One of the things I like about the Worldcon is that it's been going on for nearly 75 years -- it's really the FIRST convention. I think there are some real challenges -- and I'm probably going to Dragon*Con next year instead of Texas for some of those reasons -- but I'll be in London in 2014, and I'm very excited to see Worldcon go to Kansas City in 2016.
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-92142924434373180722012-08-22T18:06:00.000-05:002012-08-22T18:07:23.561-05:00Chicon, Magpies, and MeFirst of all, I have the times for the panels that I'll be on for <a href="http://www.chicon.org/">Chicon</a><br />
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<table border="1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: start;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="margin: 0px;" width="12%">Fri Aug 31 9:00:am</td><td style="margin: 0px;" width="12%">Fri Aug 31 10:30:am</td><td style="margin: 0px;" width="76%">British SF Television: Why Are Their Programs So Good?</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="margin: 0px;">Gold Coast</td><td style="margin: 0px;">From Doctor Who to Red Dwarf to Primeval, SF programs on British TV have been good. Why is that?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table border="1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: start;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="margin: 0px;" width="12%">Fri Aug 31 4:30:pm</td><td style="margin: 0px;" width="12%">Fri Aug 31 6:00:pm</td><td style="margin: 0px;" width="76%">Star Wars at 35</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="margin: 0px;">Gold Coast</td><td style="margin: 0px;">May 2012 marked the 35th anniversary release of the original Star Wars. How did this film change SF movies and what would the world look like if it had never been? Are today's kids seeing it as the first movie in the series or are they now watching it in episode order? And if the latter, why would anyone continue after The Phantom Menace?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table border="1" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: start;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="margin: 0px;" width="12%">Sat Sep 1 6:00:pm</td><td style="margin: 0px;" width="12%">Sat Sep 1 7:30:pm</td><td style="margin: 0px;" width="76%">Doctor Who: Is It Still a Kid's Show?</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="margin: 0px;">Buckingham</td><td style="margin: 0px;">Has the "kids show" gotten more grown up with the last three Doctors? Was it an adult show even before the original cancellation? When, and how, did the transition happen, if it did?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
We're going to have some small-group Krushenko's discussions in the Minnesota Magpie party suite during the convention as well. (The room will be available at con)<br />
<br />
<table>
<tbody>
<tr><td>FRI</td><td width="15%">3:00 PM</td><td>History of Minnesota Fandom<br />
(Eric Heideman, facilitator)</td></tr>
<tr><td>FRI</td><td>4:30 PM</td><td>Classic MN SF Authors Clifford D. Simak, Gordon R. Dickson,
John Sladek and beyond<br />
(Eric Heideman, facilitator)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>SAT</td><td>3:00 PM</td><td>Minnesota-Based Conventions and Organizations<br />
(Michael Lee, facilitator)</td></tr>
<tr><td>SAT</td><td>4:30 PM</td><td>The Minnesota Writing Scene<br />
(Eric Heideman, facilitator)</td></tr>
<tr><td>SUN</td><td>3:00 PM</td><td>Why Minnesota Will Never Host a WorldCon<br />
(Michael Lee, facilitator)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Also, the Minnesota Magpie party suite will be hosted by different groups each night. It'll be one of the major places that I'll be during the evening hours.<br />
<br />
Thu - MNSTf/Minicon/Mpls in 2073 <br/>
Fri - Seamstress Guild<br/>
Sat - Geek Partnership Society (GPS)<br/>
Sun - CONvergence<br/>
<br/>
<p>I'm really excited about this -- it is going to be a full, and exciting, week. Hope to see you there!</p>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-71628482715862448522012-08-12T07:21:00.001-05:002012-08-12T07:24:12.871-05:00Worldcon PlanningAs we're only a couple of weeks away from <a href="http://www.chicon.org/">Chicon 7</a>, my spare time is looking at <a href="http://blog.michaell.org/2012/06/chicon-7-and-minnesota-magpies.html#links">Chicon 7 and the Minnesota Magpies</a> and going to my second Worldcon.<br />
<br />
I've got more planned than I did last year at Reno -- I'm on multiple panels (and I'll mention those once the schedule is final and public), I'm helping keep an eye on social media and tweeting from <a href="https://twitter.com/chicon_7">@chicon_7</a>, and I'm helping to put together the suite representing Minnesota during the convention.<br />
<br />
We know what nights the various groups are going to be hosting in the room:<br />
<br />
<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr> <td><br />
TIME</td> <td>PARTY HOST</td> <td>TIMES</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Thursday</td> <td>MNSTF/Minicon/Minneapolis in 2073</td> <td>9:00 PM - LATE</td></tr>
<tr><td>Friday</td> <td>The Seamstress Guild</td> <td>9:00 PM - LATE</td> </tr>
<tr><td>Saturday</td> <td>Geek Partnership Society</td> <td>After Masquerade - LATE</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sunday</td> <td>CONvergence</td> <td>After Hugo Ceremony - LATE</td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We're also hoping to have some other things in the room, especially for people that are helping us fund the room. (If you're able to help, let me know!)<br />
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I'm really excited by this and hope to see you there!Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-16097518306695163432012-07-15T08:35:00.003-05:002012-07-15T08:36:46.174-05:00CONvergence 2012 in AftermathI think for many people working on <a href="http://www.convergence-con.org/">CONvergence</a>, this was a particularly challenging year to get through. It's so very big now -- approximately 5900 registrations, and 5500 people actually attending. And d<span style="background-color: white;">espite the challenges, mistakes, miscommunications, and flaws (and I'm keenly aware of every single one of them, both ones that I'm a directly a part of as well as others), this was a successful and memorable year, and I think we're on a good path for the future.</span><br />
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I had some fun panels that I was on -- the Avengers panel was a highlight, with Lyda Morehouse correctly predicting that the Winter Soldier was in Captain America's future, and the love of Shwarma just increasing. I was happy to spread the convention love at our Conventions beyond CONvergence panel, since there are so many things beyond the one weekend both locally and around the country, and there are so many successful different flavors.<br />
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I completed a 25 year goal of mine to have Sophie Aldred at a Minnesota convention, and her appearance on a totally warped version of Just A Minute was epic beyond belief. <br />
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I was also very happy to see that we had people playtesting the upcoming version of Dungeons and Dragons -- and the future of D & D panel was a particular highlight. I might actually have to play a game sometime, as it has probably been 20 years since I last played the RPG, but I have fond memories (and have enjoyed the recent board games my brother has worked on).<br />
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The musical highlight of the weekend was seeing <a href="http://mariancall.com/">Marian Call</a> perform, and I hope she comes back to Minneapolis again so I can see her perform again. <br />
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I joke occasionally that we're on the road to Fafnircon, and that's a possible future that we need to manage towards. Our current facilities do cap us at a point, even if there isn't an explicit cap in place. And that building can still handle larger conventions -- we aren't the largest convention that building has seen, and that building has now hosted multiple generations of science fiction, fantasy, and related fans, so it really is a home away from home for all of us.<br />
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And of course, coming next year is CONvergence 2013:<br />
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I can't wait.<br />
<br />Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-56804153102970163672012-06-25T21:04:00.001-05:002012-06-25T21:04:49.579-05:00My CONvergence 2012 ScheduleWe're just a few short days away from <a href="http://www.convergence-con.org/">CONvergence 2012</a>. As always, it looks like it's going to be really massive, and there's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into this year's convention. The volunteers who help run it and keep it going do a lot, as well as everyone else who attends.<br />
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There are a lot of things that I'm looking forward to on the <a href="http://schedule.convergence-con.org/">Schedule</a>. Three highlights of mine:<br />
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<li><a href="http://mariancall.com/">Marian Call</a>, Mainstage Thursday 8:30 PM</li>
<li>Sophie Aldred (Ace from Doctor Who) - especially her mainstage interview, and I've wanted her to come to Minneapolis since she was first in the series in the late 1980s. </li>
<li>Dungeons & Dragons Next Playtesting - I doubt I'll get a chance to do this myself, but there will be a lot of opportunities to playtest the upcoming version of the definitive fantasy role playing game, and I hope people have a lot of fun with it.</li>
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I'm sure that I could list another half dozen items, but that's just a great start.</div>
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My own schedule consists of:</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Convergence Events Open Meeting (Thursday, 9:30 AM)</span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Learn about what CONvergence Events is working on outside of CONvergence. If you love the convention, here is your chance to enjoy our events all year round! </span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Avengers (Saturday, 11:00 AM)</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By the time the convention arrives, we will know if the combined testoserone on screen was a success or failure. Did Joss satisfy the faithful? Are we looking forward to a sequel or dreading it?</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">If I Could Restart The Universe (Saturday, 12:30 PM)</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The 52 reboot gave DC writers the chance to build a new universe for their character. if you could build a new Comic universe for your favorite character, what would you do? </span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Conventions Beyond CONvergence (Saturday, 2:00 PM)</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are a lot of other conventions out there from the large Dragonconand Comiccon, the historic Worldcons, and conventions like Diversicon, Arisia, or Capricon in every city around the country. What makes each unique? </span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Matt Smith Continued (Saturday, 5:00 PM)</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Doctor, River, Rory and Amy Pond returned to do battle with The Silence and all manner of other things that go bump in the cosmos. Discuss your favorite moments from the second half of Matt Smith's second season! </span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once Upon a Time (Sunday, 12:30 PM)</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This show remixes fairy tales with a modern take for weekly television. What makes this show such a huge success?</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I'll also be a part of Opening & Closing ceremonies. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It's going to be an epic event -- we're going to have over 5,000 people there, and hundred of people will help pull together to make it happen. Hope to see you there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-48128149221464025312012-06-07T14:55:00.002-05:002012-06-07T19:29:43.218-05:00Chicon 7 and the Minnesota MagpiesOne of the things I've been working on this year is <a href="http://www.chicon.org/">Chicon 7</a>, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago this upcoming labor day weekend.<br />
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One really exciting part of this is that several of us are planning a party suite at the convention to celebrate Minnesota Fandom, and to be an outpost for our communities. That's especially true for people that might not have attended a Worldcon before, or as a place to gather together. We've got representation from <a href="http://www.convergence-con.org/">CONvergence</a>, <a href="http://www.geekpartnership.org/">Geek Partnership Society</a>, <a href="http://www.mnstf.org/">Mn-stf</a>, <a href="http://www.mnstf.org/minicon/">Minicon</a>, <a href="http://mpls2073.livejournal.com/">Minneapolis in 2073</a>, The Seamstress Guild, and I really welcome representation from across Minnesota-based fandom. I'm very proud of what SF&F Fandom has built in Minnesota, and want to represent that when Worldcon is as close to Minnesota as a Worldcon is ever likely to be anytime soon.</div>
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One part of this is that Joel Philips, Minicon's current chair and the head of consuite at Chicon (so we know it's going to be awesome), made a call out for people when making a room reservation at the Hyatt, so all of the people that wanted to be together in a late night party atmosphere with Minnesota fandom connections could be together. As a party of that, besides telling Joel, we referenced Magpie on our hotel reservations form. So we referred to this as "Minnesota Magpies", and I made some ribbons using a logo that Emily Stewart put together that I used at Minicon and also plan to use at Chicon to identify people participating in the room.</div>
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I wanted more than just a ribbon though, so I went ahead and created a <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/magpie5">Cafepress</a> store so I could create a shirt and apron with the Minnesota Magpie logo, and I thought I'd open it up to other people to order shirts or any other material that they wanted.</div>
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One of the advantages of this is we can offer a pretty ride range of choices to people without encouraging any set-up charges, because out budgets won't allow that. But if people order from this store, some of the money will go back into making sure that we can afford the suite as a group, as well as helping all of the groups participating with getting the food and drink that obviously we want in a good party room. </div>
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I'm really excited about this. I definitely have my own magpie tendencies, and I'm really looking forward to a great experience at Chicon 7. Minnesota has a varied and diverse fanbase here for Science Fiction and Fantasy and all of those related Geek Culture things -- we've got a number of conventions that have run a long time, and there are more organizations, groups, and activities than anyone can track. So this is one part of celebrating and having a lot of fun.</div>
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So if you're interested in Minnesota Magpie stuff, please <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/magpie5">check out the store</a>!</div>
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</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-80162778969387830282012-03-19T17:58:00.001-05:002012-06-07T19:30:08.534-05:00Lords of Waterdeep<br />
Tomorrow, <b>Lords of Waterdeep</b>, the <b>Dungeons and Dragons</b>-based boardgame that my brother co-developed with Rodney Thompson comes out from Wizards of the Coast.<br />
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I had a chance to play this once when my brother was in town for my wedding last year -- so in a very real sense, we played this game as my Bachelor party. Nerdy, yes. Relatively low-key: yes, but that's how I wanted it. But it was also awesome, and I've been waiting almost a year for the game to come out, and I pre-ordered it (because I'm not getting a free copy!) the day it became available.<br />
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While I was my brother's first Dungeon Master for D&D, I stopped playing the game in my teenage years. I didn't have the time or energy to be a lifestyle gamer. It's a lot of work.<br />
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But I have huge affection for the D&D mythos. Even before my brother started working on the product, I've always believed it's one of the great geek franchises -- like <b>Star Wars</b>, <b>Star Trek, </b>the superhero universes of DC Comics or Marvel, <b>Doctor Who,</b> <b>The Lord of the Rings,</b> and so on. <b>Community </b>doesn't do a <b>Pathfinder</b> episode -- they do an episode about Dungeons and Dragons.<br />
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I am a fairly regular board gamer -- and some of my favorite games are games like <b>Ticket to Ride</b>, which I'm a hardcore player of on the iPad especially. And I like some of the games like <b>Dominion</b>, and other games with that sort of flavor as well. I've enjoyed the other D&D Board Games my brother has worked on like Legend of Drizzt -- especially as they give a bit of that D&D flavor, but in a limited time scope, but Lords of Waterdeep is the best of the games yet, and something that deserves to be played very widely.<br />
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Here's a video about how to play the game, with Rodney Thompson.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9d1LZ9Q4YU0" width="560"></iframe>
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I think this is a very good fan review of it as well, and gives a good indepth look at the artistic design of the game.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/44nNhtKjkP8" width="560"></iframe>
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You will be able to get the game at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786959916/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=michaellorg&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0786959916">Amazon.com</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=michaellorg&l=as2&o=1&a=0786959916" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, of course, as well as your local gaming shop like The Source Comics & Games here in Minneapolis, as well as other places.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=michaellorg&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0786959916" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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It's a moment of sibling geek pride for me, obviously -- but more than that, it's a game I can't wait to play again myself, on a final board with graphics and artistic design.<br />
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<br />Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-41940060564105174522012-01-29T22:08:00.000-06:002012-01-29T22:08:28.820-06:00Arisia WrapupOh yeah...I should write up about my <a href="http://www.arisia.org/">Arisia</a> experience here.<br />
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I had a fantastic time at Arisia. I'd heard about the convention for years -- it has an origin story is almost identical to <a href="http://www.convergence-con.org/">CONvergence's</a>, and some friends and acquaintances have attended for years and so when I was able to combine it with a work trip, it was a great opportunity.<br />
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One of the things that was especially nice was since I knew people already, I was able to get in and volunteer right away. It's the reason why the fan-run volunteer conventions are the best -- it's a co-operative activity that everyone does together, and even if you want to make it a "show", it's community based. <br />
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Every convention experience is unique for the individual then -- and so perhaps since I was there right away as a volunteer, it wasn't that much different from a CONvergence experience for me -- by the end, when I had five minutes I'd visit my new friends in the Programming Nexus/Operations area, because that's where I ALWAYS go when I have a few extra minutes at a convention.<br />
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I took reams of notes -- it was nice to be at a convention that had the same sort of audience as CONvergence, and roughly the same size, and I looked at everything as a student of how you can make good convention experiences. How can you make it good for all of the various constituents and communities, since we know that the best conventions can have a huge impact on their members lives.<br />
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And that's awesome.<br />
<br />Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-1711330353528006092012-01-28T12:13:00.001-06:002012-01-28T12:18:57.344-06:00Capricon PlansSince you can still pre-register at the last minute, good time to mention that I'm planning a trip to Chicago for the science fiction convention <a href="http://capricon.org/capricon32/">Capricon</a> in a few weeks.
I'll be hosting a party for <a href="http://www.convergence-con.org/">CONvergence</a> over the weekend, and will be partnering with some of the other local MN conventions as well with the party, as we're also planning ahead for Chicon later in the year.
I'm going to be on a bunch of panels as well.<br />
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<b>Avengers Vs. X-Men</b> - Thursday, 02-09-2012 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Botanic Garden A (Special Events - Programming)
Marvel is planning a major crossover event. Who will win this fight? A discussion of how Captain America punching Cyclops in the face might affect the Marvel Universe.
Javier Grillo-Marxuach
Michael Lee (M)
Les McClaine
Frank Salvatini<br />
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<b>So You Want to Throw a Con Party...</b> - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 10:00 am to 11:30 am - Birch B
So you want to throw a con party? Learn how to do it effectively, safely, and with pizzaz.
Kim Kofmel
Michael Lee
Terrence Miltner (M)
Marah Searle-Kovacevic<br />
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<b>My First Doctor- The Classic Doctor Who Panel</b> - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 11:30 am to 1:00 pm - Botanic Garden A (Special Events - Programming)
Whether he wore a scarf or a leather jacket, he was still the Doctor. Journey back with us into the vortex to late night PBS in the 1980s or the SciFi channel in the 00s, as we look back at the first time we watched Doctor Who.
Javier Grillo-Marxuach
Michael Lee (M)
Kristine Smith
Dr. Michael Unge
Joy Ward<br />
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<b>We Do It in Groups: Fandom and Social Media</b> - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm - Elm
Fans can now constantly stay in contact with one another online through social media services such as Facebook, LiveJournal, and Twitter. How does this affect the fandom experience? Is it replacing clubs and conventions?
Kerri-Ellen Kelly
Michael Lee
Leah Zeldes Smith (M)<br />
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<b>Cons That Are Almost as Cool as Capricon</b> - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Birch B
Come and hear about other regional conventions that are nearly as cool as Capricon. (CONvergence, WisCon, Windycon, etc.)
Michael Lee (M)
Dave McCarty
Joseph Stockman
Kathryn Sullivan<br />
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<b>Conrunning for the Unbalanced</b> - Saturday, 02-11-2012 - 10:00 am to 11:30 am - Elm
Are you enjoying your convention experience? Do you sometimes wonder if you should volunteer to help run an awesome convention? A bunch of convention committee veterans discuss what it actually takes to plan an SF/F event.
Michael Lee
Dave McCarty
Helen Montgomery (M)
Marah Searle-Kovacevic<br />
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<b>Podcasters Are My Secret Friends</b> - Saturday, 02-11-2012 - 11:30 am to 1:00 pm - Birch B
In the last few years, there has been an explosion of SF/F themed podcasts such as the Hugo-winning StarShipSofa, the Nerdist, the SF Squeecast, Galactic Suburbia, Writing Excuses, and Escape Pod. Chicon has even added a Best Fancast category to this year's Hugo Award ballot. We discuss some of our favorites.
Michael Lee
Lynne M. Thomas
Michael D. Thomas (M)<br />
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<b>My Sarah Jane</b> - Sunday, 02-12-2012 - 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming)
Come squee and reminisce about Elisabeth Sladen. We will discuss her impact on both the old and new series and on Doctor Who Fandom.
Alex Bledsoe
Dermot Dobson
Michael Lee
Lynne M. Thomas
Michael D. Thomas (M)<br /><br />
Should be fun!Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-35837309251752399502011-12-14T22:39:00.003-06:002011-12-14T22:40:10.366-06:00Convergence Events Board ElectionsI decided to run again for the Convergence Events board in the election in January. It's a hard job, especially when you both try to keep your own opinions as well as working collaboratively with others. But it's also especially rewarding, and I think Convergence Events can use my experience within the organization as we go forward.
Like every candidate, I wrote up some responses based on some pre-existing <a href="http://www.convergenceevents.org/about/bylaws/convergence-events-board-of-directors-election-rules/2012-board-candidate-profile-michael-lee/">questions</a>.
One thing that makes this particular election difficult for me is that I'm going to miss the actual election meeting, and I'm missing it because I'm going to <a href="http://www.arisia.org">Arisia</a>, in part because I feel that part of my role as a director is to be an ambassador for the organization at other conventions around the country, as that's one thing that I've felt CONvergence could do a little better at.
Because I'm not going to be able to make the meeting, I'm especially open for people to ask me questions, here as comments on this post, or via twitter, or via facebook, by email, or by any forum.
Thanks,
MichaelMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-18609508408294579242011-09-12T23:32:00.000-05:002011-09-12T23:32:52.465-05:00Speak Out With Your Geek Out: ConventionsI suppose I should <a href="http://www.speakoutwithyourgeekout.com/">Speak Out With My Geek Out</a>.<br />
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But then, I probably have for years, and helped others speak as well, by working and volunteering for conventions.<br />
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I've been involved with <a href="http://www.convergence-con.org/">CONvergence</a> here in Minnesota since the very first year back in 1999; it allowed me to bring together my love of science fiction and fantasy in all of its various forms -- specific brands and media types, both the classics and next year's model. Unless there is a larger one that I'm not aware of, it had more members this year than any other non-profit, volunteer-run Science Fiction and Fantasy convention in the world -- and perhaps for a few years before that.<br />
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But there are lots of other conventions, and the best elements of all of them is the chance to band together and celebrate your favorite things. You see this in lots of ways; the cosplay and parade at <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org">Dragon*Con</a>, the Hugos of a <a href="http://worldcon.org/">Worldcon</A>. Even the big dog & pony show of a San Diego Comic Con is at its best when the Hollywood machine responds to the audience with what it loves -- something that is much more difficult behind a TV or movie screen.<br />
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And we see conventions reach out into the rest of the world -- locally I think about things like the over thirty thousand that <a href="http://www.animedetour.com/">Anime Detour</a> raised for the Red Cross for Japan. The various activities of <a href="http://www.geekpartnership.org/">Geek Partnership Society</a>. <br />
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And this isn't unique to activities in Minnesota -- if you look at something like <a href="http://con-news.com/">con news</a> you'll see conventions every single weekend. Some are very focused, others are extremely wide-reaching. That's as it should be; one size doesn't need to fit all. You can have <a href="http://www.fencon.org/">Fencon</a> or <a href="http://www.arisia.org">Arisia</a> or <a href="http://www.gallifreyone.com/">Gallifrey One</a> or <a href="http://www.capricon.org">Capricon</a> or any number of other conventions.<br />
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That's one way to celebrate whatever sort of geek you have...Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-28295585871251033272011-08-25T19:29:00.001-05:002011-08-25T22:10:29.057-05:00Renovation: A First Worldcon ExperienceI attended my first <a href="http://worldcon.org/">Worldcon</a> recently, <strong>Renovation</strong> in Reno, NV. I've been going to conventions since I was teenager, primarily locally, but I've attended both <strong>Dragon*Con</strong> and <strong>San Diego Comic Con</strong> on the national level. I've been actively involved in <a href="http://www.convergence-con.org/">CONvergence</a> for over a decade, and while CONvergence last year was bigger than Renovation, there is a tradition, legacy, and reach to Worldcon that is unique in fandom.<br />
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The Hugos themselves are awesome, though I was embarrassed by the production values of the Hugo ceremony itself. The Hugo Award itself has high production values. I came out thinking that they don't really know what they have, and I was a bit bothered by that. This was perhaps an unusual first Hugo experience for me, since I am friends with the editors of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1935234048/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=michaellorg&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1935234048">Chicks Dig Time Lords</a> and had more than the usual personal investment in seeing them win. But I think even when people complain about the Hugos, it is because those awards mean something to a wider group of people than just those that attend Worldcon.<br />
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I was also highly envious of the main ballroom for Masquerade and Hugos - it fit 2,000+ people, and the stage was immense. It was glorious.<br />
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The Masquerade itself was very good, but considering I had heard about Worldcon masquerades forever, I was less impressed than I expected to be. But I suspect I had unreasonable expectations -- as it really was a very solid and enjoyable masquerade. I knew that Paul Cornell running Just A Minute masquerade half time show would be excellent, and I was not at all surprised to discover the Seanan McGuire was an immediate master of the game. There was very little hall costuming, but I believe the weather and location may have hampered that.<br />
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This was a multi-campus convention; and the distance between the two host hotels required regular bus service. And these were full commercially obtained busses. Overall, I felt the bus service worked well, though there were some people frustrated by long wait times. Oddly enough, I felt better about the buses when I saw professionals like Larry Niven and special guests like Dr Demento take the bus.<br />
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I saw some improvements i would make in how they could take take advantage of what they had - the parties were in one building, and the Hugos and Masquerade were in another, and the other building had more of the membership. That meant I went to parties the first twonights, but then stayed in the Peppermill the other two, where I had my hotel room. There were limitations because casino hotels are not great social spaces for conventions. However, I think in a multi-campus solution there should be at least a small consuite or other designated social space as much as possible - there wasn't a great 'Barcon' or 'LobbyCon' type social space. They had 'event' panels to keep people in the Peppermill in the evening after Masquerade and Hugos, but I was a little disappointed in my chance to chat and be social on both evenings.<br />
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That's all a function of the location though -- and one of the things about Worldcon is that it is a largish convention that <strong>travels</strong> -- you don't have to go to Atlanta or San Diego every year, but it may end up in areas that don't otherwise see a convention like this.<br />
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They had a very intriguing 'Art Night' that I did not attend, and I heard many very positive things that made me regret not attending.<br />
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Programming had plenty to keep me interested. My favorite item was seeing <a href="http://www.otherhandproductions.com/">Other Hand Productions</a>'s production of <b>Whatnot</b>, a puppet show that was unique, artistic, and wonderful. There were a variety of other items I attended, some on convention and non-profit running, some readings, and the usual sorts of discussions. Of course, one of the strengths of Worldcon is that the concentration of professionals is higher than you'd have at any regional, even a larger one like CONvergence. That has some benefits, but then you do get circumstances where you pull in a pro to talk about something from a fan context and it's actually not as in depth of a conversation as you might be able to manage elsewhere.<br />
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I had a personally very positive volunteer experience in programming ops - I was thanked regularly, had fun, and would absolutely do it again. They have two levels of volunteering rewards - one that after a certain amount of hours you get a volunteer t-shirt, and another that will get you some level of reimbursement. I knew from my years of experience on CONvergence that even volunteering a little bit at a volunteer-run convention enhances your experience of the convention, and thankfully that was true here as well.<br />
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Consuite was heavily hampered because the convention was only allowed to serve separately pre-packaged food, due to hotel or legal restrictions. I think this is something that you can't expect to be the same at every Worldcon, and I certainly expect a more robust consuite in Chicago next year.<br />
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Registration was very smooth. I liked the landscape version of badges, and the thin wide ribbons are turning into something that is democratic and not exclusionary, but silly con fun. With the ease of ordering ribbons online you have something that lots of people made little ribbons to trade and share. Instead of pre-printing all of the badges they printed out labels that were attached at registration.<br />
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Most of the other facets of the convention were what you expect - dealers was OK and was blessed with plenty of space in a main convention hall along with the art show. They had a teen lounge as well as children's programming and a separate child care, all of which seemed well received.<br />
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I attended parts of the WSFS business meeting. OMFG. This is Roberts Rules of Order taken to extreme. You CAN influence things - there were some elections, and a fair amount of votes about future Hugo categories. But it is a legislative fight, and things move VERY slowly, as just about everything needs to pass a two separate consecutive Worldcons. WSFS is very much like the early US underer the Articles of Confederation - it's very weak. There is no Worldcon, Inc. - each year is put on by a different organization. Nothing happens fast at WSFS, though, and while I see a desire to improve Worldcon and an effort to make it relevant to 21st century fandom, it is not going to be quick -- and may not be quick enough. There is, oddly for 'fans of science fiction', a definite conservative (not in the political sense) streak.<br />
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Minnesota is well represented at this Worldcon - there were about 60 MN registered and I saw about two or three dozen people that I recognized from the area.<br />
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Parties were OK, not as many as I've seen at CONvergence and a lot of one night parties. I don't know how typical this was, as Reno has very little SF convention history, and many of the people the were not local and like me, may not have had the capability to bring in additional supplies.<br />
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Over all, I had a really positive experience. I met a good amount of people and strengthened bonds with some acquaintances. I'm certainly planning on attending <a href="http://www.chicon.org/">Chicago</a>, and I think every science fiction fan should, at some point, try to make an effort to attending a Worldcon, especially when it is near them. I'd like to see a MASSIVE turnout from Minnesota next year. <br />
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Also, with the rise of electronic distribution of the Hugo voters packet, a Worldcon supporting membership has never been more financially appealing, and instead of complaining about the Hugo results, you can nominate and vote and be a part of the process. <br />
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Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-69780958278418875702010-09-08T21:08:00.000-05:002010-09-08T21:08:36.060-05:00Everything About Dragon*Con is TrueDragon*Con is terrible, awesome, wonderful, crazy, literary, illiterate, celebrity-focused, and fan-focused. It's a convention where I can casually run into Stan Lee in a bar, and then wait hours to see him in line. Registration takes ten bazillion years to get in, and the crowds are insane, but you have an incredibly diverse Dealer's Room.<br />
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Oddly all of these things are true. Dragon*Con is a mass of contradictions -- it is both the best convention and the worst convention I've been to at the same time. <br />
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The Dragon*Con Parade is glorious. It's not just one ghost-buster car, but six. You haven't seen that many stormtroopers in one place without special effects or CGI. It felt like the entire Green Lantern Corps is there.<br />
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So yes. Everything you hear about Dragon*Con is true, both good and bad. It is the Nerd Mardi Gras.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-14038667769610439672010-07-19T18:51:00.000-05:002010-07-19T18:51:38.030-05:00Why CONvergence?Oh yeah. <a href="http://www.paulcornell.com/2010/07/ten-things-about-convergence.html">This is why</a>. Thanks Paul!Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-53562544812711010902010-07-06T21:42:00.000-05:002010-07-06T21:42:36.441-05:00CONvergence was AwesomeI couldn't possibly write up everything about CONvergence last weekend. It was quite incredible in lots of ways, even though my glasses broke on the first day and I spent the rest of the weekend either looking nerdier than usual with taped up glasses or blind as a bat.<br />
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Thanks to everyone involved -- it's an amazing co-operative enterprise, and being a part of it is incredible and re-invigorating.<br />
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A highlight was the following animation from opening and closing ceremonies.<br />
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<object width="400" height="224" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/466578978641" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/466578978641" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object><br />
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<object width="400" height="224" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/466587058641" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/466587058641" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-70613879871453686432010-03-25T19:48:00.001-05:002010-03-27T14:58:54.893-05:00This blog has moved<br /> This blog is now located at http://blog.michaell.org/.<br /> You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click <a href='http://blog.michaell.org/'>here</a>.<br /><br /> For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to<br /> http://blog.michaell.org/feeds/posts/default.<br /> Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-55959869006401261442010-01-07T00:28:00.001-06:002010-01-07T00:29:26.475-06:00Great LOST interviewI really like this interview from the Hollywood Reporter with <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/features/interviews_profiles/e3i856fd022b069b3fe5545bd8a3005aef8">Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof</a>. <br />
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I also like how they're realistic about the future of LOST -- and really, any reasonably successful franchise comes back and is revisited at some point. <br />
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I can't wait for the last LOST season to start, as one of my favorite shows of the past decade.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-76845446301411588472009-12-16T22:48:00.000-06:002009-12-16T22:48:10.537-06:00Taking the Geek out of Science?I'm a bit frustrated by <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34437233/ns/technology_and_science-science/">this story about Geeks driving out Women from Computer Science</a>. <br /><br />I'm all in favor of women in Computer Science, and Science and Technology jobs in general. I'm a big believer that these are good jobs and careers.<br /><br />But I'm not at all comfortable with the idea that "typically geeky" stuff like video games and science-fiction stuff can not appeal to women. <a href="http://www.convergence-con.org">CONvergence</a>, as a large Science Fiction convention, is evenly split between men and women. I know lots of women geeks -- some in technology careers, and some that aren't. <br /><br />But I've tended to encounter more women through my science fiction geek travels than I do through most of my IT travels. <br /><br />I certainly can't really evaluate this research based on this news story -- I mean, besides clearly getting the impression that Women Don't Like (and aren't) Sci-Fi Geeks. And that may be more a comment on the reporting than the underlying research. Because I don't believe that is at all always true.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261654.post-45969133830012652002009-12-16T18:20:00.000-06:002009-12-16T18:20:08.044-06:00Why Lifehacker is awsome, or Google Contacts Can Kill Duplicates in BulkOne of the things that had been very frustrating for me over time is that I was seeing a lot of duplicate contacts in my address book. This was being made worse by me trying to synchronize my contacts with my Mac address book, my iPhone, my prior smartphone, and Google Contacts.<br /><br />So seeing the article on <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5427716/google-contacts-can-kill-duplicates-in-bulk?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lifehacker%2Ffull+%28Lifehacker%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">Lifehacker about mass merges of duplicates</a> was just about my favorite post all week.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04829607039428723839noreply@blogger.com0