My husband, The Gryphon, and I attended Philcon as panelists. Here are the rest of our adventures.
Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts
By Alyce Wilson
November 30, 2009 - More Ups Than Downs
Kip Rosser performs on the theremin.
DJ Rock sports some special goggles that Kip Rosser shared with him.
Kip Rosser plays a special piece on the theremin he calls "Sci Fi Theater"
On the Sunday of Philcon, The Gryphon and I slept in a little later than we had the previous day, but we still wanted to get to the convention by about 10 a.m., since there was something we each wanted to attend. Wouldn't you know it, we encountered some blocked-off streets in Center City on the way in, due to a marathon. Fortunately, we were able to hop on 76 and bypass it.
After we arrived, I happened to run into DJ Rock's girlfriend, who told me she was heading for the theremin concert by Kip Rosser, which was also what I wanted to attend. So we walked in together and sat up at the front with DJ Rock.
When we arrived, I believe he was just finishing up his introductions, so I don't think we actually missed much. The first song we heard was "Good Vibrations," which I think was one of his best. I recorded it using my Canon PowerShot A590, and in communications with him afterwards, I got permission to post it online.
As he told us, although the original Beach Boys song sounds like it included a theremin, it actually didn't but used another electronic device that imitated the sound
I was fascinated watching him perform; I believe it's the only instrument that the player doesn't actually touch during the performance. Instead, he was using one hand to lower and increase the volume and another to achieve the tonal changes.
Among his other songs were:
- "Black Magic Woman"
- An original composition, "88 Evening Devotions" from the album Exploration of the Black Exterior
- "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder
- The Disney classic "When You Wish Upon a Star"
- "Hey Jude" by The Beatles, which he introduced as "an old English song"
- An original piece/puppet play called "Sci Fi Theater"
Time was running tight, so he didn't get enough time to do as many songs as he would have liked, but when the sound guy was going to cut him off before the finale, DJ Rock, acting as Philcon president, overruled the decision and allowed him to finish. The final piece was a whimsical one involving handheld puppets, using the theremin for Sci Fi sound effects similar to those used in the 40s, 50s and 60s. For this last piece, he also donned special googly glasses and gave an extra pair to DJ Rock to wear, as well.
I'm glad that we got up early enough to make it to the concert, which I truly enjoyed. A little bit later in the day, I spoke to Kip Rosser at his table, where I bought one of his CDs, as well.
(from left) Eric Schulman and Caroline Cox
Before heading to the next panel, I stopped in the Dealers' Room to get C.J. Henderson to sign an anthology called the stories (in) between, featuring authors who have read at Between Books in Delaware, purchased from the store owner, Greg Schauer. Several years ago, when I was single, I spent many hours there with friends, so I was happy to buy the book from Greg.
Then I headed up to a panel that looked interesting:
The Weird Science Fair!
Death rays. Earthquake generators. Ice Ages that cover New York in 24 hours. SF books, movies, and TV have offered up some STRANGE science over the years. Here's a panel to talk about some of the Weird Science we've seen.
Christopher Gay (mod), Laura Burns, Eric Schulman, Caroline Cox
Of course, in the written version of the pocket guide, Mark Wolverton was also listed as being a panel member, which was one of the main reasons I wanted to attend, since I know him through the Philly geek crowd. He wasn't actually on the panel any more, and when I ran into him later, he told me that he'd asked to be removed from it, I believe for his scheduling convenience.
The two panelists talked a lot about Star Trek and its many weird and nigh-impossible creations, such as the transporter and Jordy's visor from Star Trek: The Next Generation, which can see all sorts of particles usually invible to the hunman eye.
They also spoke about the movie Core, where the core of the earth supposedly stopped spinning and scientists recommended setting off a nuke in order to start it up again.
And they discussed the many twisted science facts in the movie 2012, where neutrinos are supposedly to blame for the destruction of much of earth. Neutrinos, the panelists explained, bombard our planet every day with no harmful effects.
They were just beginning to talk about a Larry Niven story that discusses time travel and the concept that the laws of physics allow time travel but that the universe itself doesn't support it, when a phone began ringing. Realizing that it was coming from a bag up front, apparently left behind by a previous panelist, one of the attendees tried to find the phone and see if, perhaps, it was the bag's owner trying to locate the phone and therefore the bag.
The phone was hard to find, but right inside the bag was the name tag for keynote speaker Catherine Asaro. So, at the panelists suggestion, the attendee ran the bag downstairs to Con Ops. Sure enough, Asaro showed up just after he'd left, looking for the bag. I offered to walk with her and show her where Con Ops was, because I could recognize the attendee who'd taken the bag, should we see him on the way down. But after I stepped back in the room to collect my own bag, Asaro had disappeared.
I stopped in Con Ops, just to make sure she'd made it, and she had, retrieving the bag with no trouble. At that time, I reminded her about our arrangements to meet after her 2 p.m. reading, and she said she'd see me then.
(from left) Muriel Hykes, Jared Axelrod (hidden), James Prego and me
(from left) Muriel Hykes, Jared Axelrod, James Prego and me
After the Weird Science panel, I met The Gryphon for lunch, which was my only opportunity before my two back-to-back panels in the afternoon. We were in good company: The Cheshire Cat and The Paper were seated at the table next to us, and voice actors Amy Howard Wilson and her husband, David Wilson (no relation), were on the other side of us.
My 1 p.m. panel was:
Eat Right, Exercise, Die Anyway... Healthy Living For Fans
In general, fans tend to be a rather... sedentary... group. What simple things can we do to improve our health and life a better life?
James Prego (mod), Alyce Wilson, Jared Axelrod
In addition, James Prego had invited Muriel Hykes to participate in the panel, since they had both been on a panel at noon about obesity. She is a nutritionist, while Prego is a naturopathic doctor, an adjunct professor of biology at Molloy College and a board member of the New York Association of Naturoapthic Doctors. Axelrod and I could both speak from our experiences of having lost and maintained a large amount of weight loss (in my case, 70 pounds — before I got pregnant!).
We had a pretty big audience for the smaller rooms, about 10-15. We also had a good balance on the panel, allowing us to speak about topics from a variety of approaches. Between the four of us, we shared some good. Among the key points were that you should be careful when eating in a restaurant, and to cook at home as much as possible. If you do eat out, we recommended paying attention to portion sizes and boxing anything that you can't eat. If that's not possible, it's better to leave some food behind than to force yourself to eat food your body doesn't need.
Prego stressed the importance of getting enough sleep and staying hydrated, and Hykes recommended paying attention to the nutritional values of foods. We also provided tips on getting more active: finding activities you enjoy, so that they're easier to maintain, and working extra exercise into your regular routine, such as taking stairs when possible, and parking a bit further away from your destination (provided it's a safe, well-lit area).
I also handed out some Web sites I recommend for anyone seeking to improve their lifestyle towards a healthier way of living.
Hungry Girl
Tips on selecting healthy foods: cooking and eating out.Calorie King
Online database of nutritional information.Calorie Requirements per Day
A formula for determining how many calories you need to maintain or lose weight.USDA (Nutrition.gov and MyPyramid.gov)
Balancing nutrition requirements, planning menus, and more.National Institute for Health
Assessment tools, BMI calculator and recommendations.Real Age
Online quiz provides suggestions for improving health, lengthening lifespan.Blue Zones
Based on studies of cultures with longevity, provides healthy lifestyle suggestions.And though I neglected to include it on my handout, I'll add:
Mindless Eating
Quiz providing suggestions for easy ways to cut calorie consumption.
The audience was really engaged, some more than others. One fellow seemed to question everything we said, and even our explanations did not satisfy him. This happened even when a doctor in the audience, raised his hand, stated his credentials as a physician, and agreed with our points. I suppose you just can't please everyone all the time. Still, I hope he took away some useful information from the panel.
The rest of the audience, when they asked questions, seemed to be genuinely seeking our input, and between the four of us, we could either supply them with answers or point them towards resources where they could find them.
Me and Popfiend
K.T. Pinto and I
Me with Popfiend
Immediately following the healthy living panel, I participated in my final panel of the day:
What My Cat Had For Breakfast.
Just because everyone can have a blog does that mean everyone should? Panelists discuss what kind of personal responsibility comes with putting your thoughts out there for the world to read.
Popfiend (mod), Kyle Cassidy, Alyce Wilson, Terri Osborne, KT Pinto
We talked about the ethics of blogging: what you should write and the consequences for making private things public. I was in great company, with online friends Popfiend (whom I first met at Philcon last year) on the panel and Norda in the audience.
The panelists discussed the importance of determining your purpose for blogging (for example, self-expression, promotion of personal projects, or personal venting to friends only), how public you want the entries to be, and how to write for your audience.
Most of the panelists use our blogs as an extension of our professional careers: using our real names, and sharing both personal experiences and thoughts on our areas of expertise, such as writing. In that sense, it's very important to be careful what subjects to discuss. K.T. Pinto, for example, said she has learned to avoid certain subjects, such as religion, because they start too many flame wars. Terri Osbourne agreed, and added that readers can't view your tone of voice of body language. It's easy to accidentally upset somebody by phrasing something in a way they view as being inflammatory.
Popfiend used the analogy of a huge button that sets people off but which might be completely invisible to others. You might not press the button on purpose, but if you accidentally brush it or, perhaps, lean on it, you set that person off and they may go into attack mode.
I pointed out that you can't control how other people respond to what you post, but you can control your response. I liken my typical method to an Akido master. If somebody comes at you with a punch, instead of meeting them with a punch, you step aside and let them punch the wall behind you!
An audience member raised his hand and said, "It sounds like you just don't like conflict." We replied that it's not conflict, per se. Discussions are fine. It's the level of nastiness that can elevate quickly online, even in response to postings that the authors believe are reasonable and inoffensive. We all agreed that civil discourse is the best way to deal with most conflicts. Sometimes, as well, you simply have to agree to disagree.
I thought that panel was a great way to finish my panel experiences. We had a large audience of about 15 people who seemed to be interested and knowledgeable about the topic, and my fellow panelists were thoughtful and engaging. Out of curiosity, I asked the audience member to raise their hands if they were using LiveJournal, and nearly all of them were. It still remains the number one blogging community for geeks.
Outside the panel, I paused briefly for a picture with popfiend, and then I got dashing to meet up with Catherine Asaro for my planned Wild Violet interview.
Even though I headed up a few minutes after Asaro's reading had ended, I expected her to be waiting in the room, as per our arrangement. Plus, I figured she was probably still busy talking to the people who would have come up to her to ask for her autograph or tell her how much they liked her work. That's usually what happens after such readings
So I headed up to the suite and was about to pop my head in the door when she called out, "I'm over here." She was waiting near the elevators with a couple of fans. I found this a little odd, since I'd thought our arrangement was to meet in the room and then conduct the interview there, since the room was scheduled to be empty after her reading.
But when the elevator arrived, she stepped on and, along with the two fans, I followed her. She said she had to run out to her car to get a book for one woman who I surmised wanted to buy it from her.
In the lobby, she turned to me, and I thought she would suggest a place to meet up for our talk, but instead, she asked, "Did you want to interview me now?" Yes, I told her, a fact I thought I'd made clear all the prior times we'd spoken. She told me that she was too tired right now, so I suggested an e-mail interview. Instead of giving me an e-mail address, she gave me a Facebook URL and told me to go through her publicist, who she said is good at reminding her to follow through with interviews.
So I walked away disappointed, but I'm going to forward the questions to her publicist and see what happens. In the meantime, I have touched base with the very energetic Frank Wu, who was this year's Featured Artist guest, and I'm going to interview him over e-mail. He was very enthusiastic about it, and I'm looking forward to a great exchange of ideas.
(from left) The Pop Junkie, Stephanie Burke and The Gryphon
(from left) Stephanie Burke, The Gryphon, Robert Fenelon and Kimberly Ann Kindya
By this point in the day, I had a headache, so I texted The Gryphon to find out where he was. Turns out, his panel was still ongoing:
Anime And The Revolving Door of Culture
A discussion and exploration of the phenomenon of anime, its influence on western science fiction/fantasy and its incorporation of our own cultural nuances.
The Pop Culture Junkie (mod), Robert Fenelon, Kimberly Ann Kindya, Stephanie Burke, Ruth Lampi, The Gryphon
When I walked in and took a seat near the front, propping up my feet, The Gryphon saw I looked down and asked with his eyes and a gesture what was wrong. So I texted him about the interview cancellation and my headache. Much to my surprise, The Gryphon left his seat at the table and walked down to where I was, to give me a hug and make sure I was OK. I assured him I was.
It was a little cold in the room, and I hungry, so I ate an apple I had in my bag.
The conversation was interesting. I wish I'd been able to appreciate it more, but my head ws throbbing. They discussed various instances of Japanese culture and Western culture crosspolinating through anime.
At 4, The Gryphon and I left, along with The Cheshire Cat and The Dormouse. We met up with The Cheshire Cat's wife, The Paper, to discuss dinner plans. As we stood in the little eating area near the hotel's concession store, we looked over a long list of area restaurants provided by the Philcon information desk, trying to decide on a place.
A couple seated nearby overheard us, and the woman told us they'd eaten at a place called Ponzio's last year, right down the road. She said they'd enjoyed the food and that the restaurant had a terrific bakery, as well. Based on her recommendation, we decided to try it, and we were happy we did. The food was a notch above typical diner fare. I had a delicious chicken marinara, served with two vegetable sides and a side salad. Happily, this meant I got to box up half of it and not worry about cooking the next day. The Gryphon and I also shared a slice of chocolate cake for dessert.
At the table, we all shared our Philcon experiences. We'd all had ups and downs, of course, but the ups tended to outweigh the downs.
On the way home, The Gryphon and I picked up Una, and I realized that my headache, since it didn't seem to be caused by dehydration, might be caused by lack of sleep. Sure enough, after I took a nice nap, I woke up refreshed and pain free.
Moral:
Persistence doesn't always pay off, but friends will make you feel
better.
Copyright
2009 by Alyce Wilson
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