Michael Lee's Train of Thought

I'm slowly recovering from my trip to Chicago over the weekend for Chicon 7, 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.

Labels: chicon, fandom, magpie, worldcon

First of all, I have the times for the panels that I'll be on for Chicon

Fri Aug 31 9:00:am	Fri Aug 31 10:30:am	British SF Television: Why Are Their Programs So Good?
Gold Coast		From Doctor Who to Red Dwarf to Primeval, SF programs on British TV have been good. Why is that?

Fri Aug 31 4:30:pm	Fri Aug 31 6:00:pm	Star Wars at 35
Gold Coast		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?

Sat Sep 1 6:00:pm	Sat Sep 1 7:30:pm	Doctor Who: Is It Still a Kid's Show?
Buckingham		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?

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)

FRI	3:00 PM	History of Minnesota Fandom (Eric Heideman, facilitator)
FRI	4:30 PM	Classic MN SF Authors Clifford D. Simak, Gordon R. Dickson, John Sladek and beyond (Eric Heideman, facilitator)
SAT	3:00 PM	Minnesota-Based Conventions and Organizations (Michael Lee, facilitator)
SAT	4:30 PM	The Minnesota Writing Scene (Eric Heideman, facilitator)
SUN	3:00 PM	Why Minnesota Will Never Host a WorldCon (Michael Lee, facilitator)

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.

Thu - MNSTf/Minicon/Mpls in 2073
Fri - Seamstress Guild
Sat - Geek Partnership Society (GPS)
Sun - CONvergence

I'm really excited about this -- it is going to be a full, and exciting, week. Hope to see you there!

Labels: chicon, convergence, geek, magpie, minicon, minnesota, worldcon

As we're only a couple of weeks away from Chicon 7, my spare time is looking at Chicon 7 and the Minnesota Magpies and going to my second Worldcon.

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 @chicon_7, and I'm helping to put together the suite representing Minnesota during the convention.

We know what nights the various groups are going to be hosting in the room:

TIME	PARTY HOST	TIMES
Thursday	MNSTF/Minicon/Minneapolis in 2073	9:00 PM - LATE
Friday	The Seamstress Guild	9:00 PM - LATE
Saturday	Geek Partnership Society	After Masquerade - LATE
Sunday	CONvergence	After Hugo Ceremony - LATE

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!)

I'm really excited by this and hope to see you there!

Labels: chicon, fandom, magpie, worldcon

One of the things I've been working on this year is Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago this upcoming labor day weekend.

Labels: chicon, convergence, magpie, minicon, worldcon