Subject: Neo's First WorldCon (long) Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 23:37:06 -0800 From: rufferta@cts.com (Stephanie Mortimer) Organization: CTS Network Services Newsgroups: alt.fandom.cons This was my first WorldCon, and my second SF convention. Since I have asked a lot of you, over the last few months, a lot of questions ("What should I do?" -- "What should I see?" etc...) I decided to report back. SMoFs will find nothing new here, but perhaps other neos may find the information useful. (Remember, everyone is unique and your mileage may vary.) Brief Description of the setting of the 54th World Science Fiction Convention: Two large hotels (The Marriott and The Hilton), and the Anaheim Convention Center are only a short walk apart. The lobby floor of the Marriott and the first four floors of the Hilton contain ballrooms, meeting rooms, and areas set aside for specialized interests (filk, furry fandom, gaming, fan lounge, con suites, films, art, a library, Timebinders, and so forth). The Convention Center contains Center Stage, rooms for panels, a large area for dealers and for exhibits of fan history and sf paraphenalia, and the central information desk. At any given time, up to 5,000 bodies (mundanes, people in costumes, and professionals) are on site. The material I had been given at registration helped me find my way around with no problems. The Pocket Guide, with its 148 pages of maps, daily schedules, and other information, was especially useful. I also could get more help at *three* Information Desks, from the daily guides, the STAT! ("Newszine of Sector General"), and from widely-distributed flyers of many kinds. I was at WorldCon for five days and four nights. This was what I did on one day, Friday, August 30th: ------------------------August 30, 1996------------------------------- 8 a.m. AEROBICS led by John Douglass. By the end of the hour I was just lying on the floor, twitching in time to the music, looking at the chandeliers. It was *fun*! Shower, change, breakfast, then panels: (Note: Panels were scheduled to last an hour, with a half-hour space between panels. If the panels actually ended on time you had a few minutes to catch your breath, eat, or shop before the next one. This is just a bare outline. I refer you to the reviews of more experienced writers like Evelyn Leeper for detailed information on the different panels. Names of panelists were taken from the program guide -- there may have been changes.) 10 a.m. "A LOOK AT PAST FUTURES" with Harlan Ellison, Hal Clement, David Gerrold, Larry Nivens and others listed. They reviewed predictions about the future they had made in 1972. 11:30 a.m. "SCIENCE FICTION OF THE '50's AND '60's" with Harlan Ellison, Frederik Pohl, Robert Sheckley and Robert Silverberg. 1 o'clock: "PARODY, PASTICHE, AND HUMOR' with George Alec Effinger, Jon L. Breen, John DeChancie, Jon L. Breen, James Brunet, and Jody Lynn Nye. 2:30 p.m. "SCIENCE FICTION OF THE '70's AND '80's" with Ed Bryant, Gardner Dozois, Harlan Ellison, and George R.R. Martin. 4:00 p.m. "NOT TONIGHT, DEAR, I HAVE A DEADLINE". Authors' and artists' spouses discussed what it was like living with them. Harlan Ellison was in the audience and left the room yelling something like "Tell the Truth!" after his wife Susan told everyone that he had no bad habits. 5:30 p.m. on. After that, my brain was full, so I schlepped my contribution to the B5 Party Hosts, went to dinner, and got ready for the parties. One of the first things I did was help a friend kidnap a handsome young man from the Babylon 5 party, so that my friend could have a tall escort around the floor at the Regency Ball. (We let him go when we found out he hadn't met JMS yet.) The rest of the night I visited some of the 24 parties listed in STAT! Some time after 2 a.m., at an unlisted party, I found myself listening to a famous author and realizing that I was not talking coherantly - my brain was already in its pajamas. As I made my braindead way back to my room the halls were still full of laughing and talking fans... __________________________________________________________ SOME DEFINITIONS: WHAT ARE THE HUGOS?: The Hugos are annual awards to s.f. writers, artists, publications and dramatic presentations, decided by WorldCon members. One of THE most important things about WorldCon, in my opinion. There are many other important awards given out or announced at WorldCon, but the Hugos are paramount. HUCKSTER ROOM: An area where dealers offer their wares - from rare books to trophies for your wall ("You want a stuffed dragon head? What kind of dragon?") FAN LOUNGE: (In the Hilton). A place to rest, meet other fans, and read and learn about fanzines and fandom. On my first visit it reminded me of a large F.A.O. Schwartz. The tables were decorated with toys, and little plastic multi-legged creatures called "Bolters" moving aimlessly across the floor. Each time I came back the decor had changed, and there were often special events: At Chaz Baden's Jell-O Tasting Party I found there was no limit to what you could do with Jell-O. One minor touch that really impressed me: a coffee grinder to make sure they had fresh coffee! CON SUITE: (In the Hilton). At this WorldCon there were *two* Con Suites. Primarily places where you could rest, talk, and eat, they also had many organized events - mostly focused on eating (Like "The Chocolate Orgy" where I heard that 100 pounds of chocolate, in various forms, was consumed in less than an hour.). The "Consume" schedule could have been a mini-con. FURRY FANDOM: Fans who like furry anime, stories, or role-playing games. Apparently some of them take over the persona of their "furry" character. Some of them have tails. MASQUERADE: This is not a party where people dress up in costumes, it is a contest between costumers whose work is shown on stage before an audience of thousands. Many of the organized presentations were extremely theatrical and professional! See if you can find pictures -- words can't describe it. PARTIES: Everyone kept telling me: "Don't miss the parties!" but I wasn't enthusiastic about attending, because of prior misconceptions. It turned out better than I had expected. Here's a brief description of the kinds of parties you might find: Informal: Just new and old friends getting together and having fun. Con-Wide Parties: Part of the program, like the Ice Cream Social, that were held in large public places for hundreds of people. These also included The Regency Ball and several other dances. Most other parties were held in hotel rooms or suites. Bid Party: You know that people holding WorldCon memberships vote on the site of future WorldCons? Good. Well, the groups that are bidding for your vote have parties to influence you -- sometimes years in advance! Examples this year were "Zagreb in '99" and "Australia in '99". Provender, entertainment, even door prizes! Mock Bid Party: One example "Babylon 5 in 2257." Hosted by B5mod moderators Jay Denebeim and Cheryl Martin, food included Bagna Cauda, home-made marzipan, and a variety of snacks and beverages. J. Michael Straczynski was there, and Wendymatica, and some very impressive Centauri.... Fan Parties: Fans of "Forever Knight" had a party, so did "Time Meddlers" and "Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters" etc.... Special Parties: Writers had parties, so did Costumers, Libertarians, fanzine publishers, newsgroup members, witches, the Illuminati, and so on... Business Parties: Sponsored by publishers or other business interests. One example was the launch party given by Tor Books, L.A. Con III, and NESFA Press for Guest of Honor James White in the Fan Lounge to celebrate his two new books, "The Galactic Gourmet" and "The White Papers." (There was an array of exotic food which was probably intended to be decoration, but I ate a tribble....) I'm sure there were other kinds of parties, but I hope this gives you an idea. HOW DO I LIVE WITHOUT EMAIL? This WorldCon had an excellent Internet Lounge with banks of computers set up so you could browse the net and check email. The volunteers who staffed it were especially patient with newbies. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO MEET PEOPLE? I have no idea, being a cave dweller myself, but I suppose you could go to things you enjoy, and talk to people there. Wear buttons expressing your interests, maybe? WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO MEET AN AUTHOR OR CELEBRITY?: If You Just Want to Look: I attended panels where I saw legends like "First Fandom"'s David A. Kyle, Sam Moskowitz, Julius Schwartz, Forrest J. Ackerman, and Erle Korshak! There were also a lot of authors and celebrities mingling with fans -- One morning I shared a down elevator with Frederik Pohl, and traded places in an up elevator with J. Michael Straczynski. Larry Niven sat down in the audience in front of me at one lecture (I found out I had been pronouncing "rishathra" wrong) and I kept running into things when I recognized someone like David Brin, C.J. Cherryh, Harlan Ellison, Robert Forward, Frank Kelly Freas, David Gerrold, G. David Nordley, Vernor Vinge, and Ray Bradbury (RAY BRADBURY!). (bump). Just walking around like ordinary people. Gee Golly Gosh Wow! Autographs: There were many autograph sessions scheduled in the dealer's room, and authors and celebrities would also sign autographs after a panel or reading if they had time. Kaffeeklatsches: The "Kaffeeklatsche" gave you an opportunity to meet an author or celebrity for coffee with only a few other fans. The sign-up sheets filled up quickly, but if you were lucky you could actually sit down and talk with someone like Joe Haldeman or Barbara Hambly. Wow! Classes: Authors like James Morrow and S. M. Stirling helped the beginning writers at the Writer's Workshops. WHAT IS FILK?: Originally a typo of "folk", "filk" music generally refers to old familiar songs whose lyrics have been replaced with less traditional ones. I love filk, and WorldCon had *lots* of it. I especially enjoyed Dr. Jane (Dr. Jane Robinson, Dr. Jordin Kare, and Dr. H. Paul Shuch) singing about computers, paleontology, and radio telescopes; Kathy Mar singing "Velveteen Rabbit", and the Bawdy Songs Circle with Joe Bethancourt and Leslie Fish (Leslie sang "V'ir Tbg gur Yrneavat gb Tvir n Oybj Wbo Jvgubhg gur Phz Pbzvat Hc Lbhe Abfr Oyhrf"). I'm sorry I missed Joe Haldeman's "The Ballad of Elvis's Sexual Orientation" with Larry Niven, Leslie Fish, Jane Robinson, Kathy Mar, and a herd of others... ------------------------------------- Afterward: I had two major misconceptions about WorldCons, which I had picked up from reading old narratives and books like "Bimbos of the Death Sun." I was expecting major foul-ups -- people falling through movie screens or dinners featuring rubber chickens. I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything went - Registration took only a few minutes, things started on time, audio systems worked, and crowd control was excellent. I think that the crew that produced the WorldCon, from conception to end, deserves applause! . I would like to add a special thank you to Chaz Baden and his Web Page - it not only made me decide to go (I thought the 'Con *must* be neat, because the page was neat), but it was a great help in my planning. I had also had misgivings about "the party atmosphere" I had heard about - one person told me that she wasn't going to WorldCon because "There are going to be too many people there that I shouldn't have slept with." and I read a post on one newsgroup that made one Con sound like a continuous drunken sex orgy. I didn't see anything like that -- what I *did* see was fans joyous at finding others who shared their interests who sat around and talked ALL NIGHT about things like Ancient Mythology or Ringworld or their favorite authors. One morning I met a young fan who was talking to herself: "I've been up all night - should I go swimming? Yes!" and she dashed off... Anyway, I hope this information is some help to other neos. See you'all at the next WorldCon! Stephanie Mortimer (This is a newsgroup article)