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anthimeriaI have returned home hale and hearty after spending an evening with a bunch of fabulous fabulists--that is, storytellers and steampunk enthusiasts! WindyCon is a Chicago sci-fi convention that has a new theme every year, and I lucked out, because not only is this the first year I can go, but the theme is (as my subject line states) steampunk!
Needless to say, I was really excited when I heard.
Today's programming was entirely in the evening, likely out of respect for people with jobs (pfft--jobs), but I was pleased because it meant I could leave late and figure out how to get there. I live close enough to drive but far enough away to depend on google maps. I went bearing my trusty notebook (the same one I took notes in at San Diego Comic Con a year ago) and air where my camera should have been. I hope to take many picture tomorrow and Sunday, however!
Pictures are necessary, too, because as a steampunk newbie I'm still trying to get a handle on the aesthetic, and boy did the people at WindyCon this evening have it! There were more gears, top hats, bustles and airship captains than you could shake a stick at. The Masquerade tomorrow is going to be fun. I've been to my fair of cons before, but I've never stayed for the masquerade (no, not even when I went in costume myself). I always wanted to get back to the hotel/home and get a good night's sleep for the next day (or, y'know, write a last-minute script submission . . .), and it's not like you can't see people out at the con. That's one of my favorite things about cons--you never know what the person sitting next to you at the "What is steampunk?" panel is going to look like!
I did actually go to a "What is steampunk?" panel, and it was enlightening--I knew a lot of the basics, but it was fun hearing authors and makers who were into steampunk talk about it. They were also fairly disparaging of Gibson and Sterling's "The Difference Engine," and while normally I disapprove of bashing books/authors in public forums, this particular instance turned out well for me, since I don't enjoy Gibson's work myself. I asked for recommendations, and after they pitched their own stuff (to the audience's amusement), I got quite a list. I hope my library has at least some of it, or I might end up raiding Amazon. (If I had a local indie bookstore I'd feel much better about buying books but that's a blog entry for another day.) At least I was on the right track--they recommended Nausicaa and I currently have the DVD checked out from my library.
Nothing much more to say--the opening ceremony was fun, though Blaylock couldn't make it (his editor said something about Chicago pizza?), but Kaia and Phil Foglio appeared, and the other presenters kept us entertained both before and during the "ceremony." (That's another of my favorite things at cons--even the panelists/guests/presenters are there to have a good time.)
Can't wait for tomorrow, and since it's Saturday (always the biggest day at a con), I need to get some sleep! I have driving to do come morning.
Needless to say, I was really excited when I heard.
Today's programming was entirely in the evening, likely out of respect for people with jobs (pfft--jobs), but I was pleased because it meant I could leave late and figure out how to get there. I live close enough to drive but far enough away to depend on google maps. I went bearing my trusty notebook (the same one I took notes in at San Diego Comic Con a year ago) and air where my camera should have been. I hope to take many picture tomorrow and Sunday, however!
Pictures are necessary, too, because as a steampunk newbie I'm still trying to get a handle on the aesthetic, and boy did the people at WindyCon this evening have it! There were more gears, top hats, bustles and airship captains than you could shake a stick at. The Masquerade tomorrow is going to be fun. I've been to my fair of cons before, but I've never stayed for the masquerade (no, not even when I went in costume myself). I always wanted to get back to the hotel/home and get a good night's sleep for the next day (or, y'know, write a last-minute script submission . . .), and it's not like you can't see people out at the con. That's one of my favorite things about cons--you never know what the person sitting next to you at the "What is steampunk?" panel is going to look like!
I did actually go to a "What is steampunk?" panel, and it was enlightening--I knew a lot of the basics, but it was fun hearing authors and makers who were into steampunk talk about it. They were also fairly disparaging of Gibson and Sterling's "The Difference Engine," and while normally I disapprove of bashing books/authors in public forums, this particular instance turned out well for me, since I don't enjoy Gibson's work myself. I asked for recommendations, and after they pitched their own stuff (to the audience's amusement), I got quite a list. I hope my library has at least some of it, or I might end up raiding Amazon. (If I had a local indie bookstore I'd feel much better about buying books but that's a blog entry for another day.) At least I was on the right track--they recommended Nausicaa and I currently have the DVD checked out from my library.
Nothing much more to say--the opening ceremony was fun, though Blaylock couldn't make it (his editor said something about Chicago pizza?), but Kaia and Phil Foglio appeared, and the other presenters kept us entertained both before and during the "ceremony." (That's another of my favorite things at cons--even the panelists/guests/presenters are there to have a good time.)
Can't wait for tomorrow, and since it's Saturday (always the biggest day at a con), I need to get some sleep! I have driving to do come morning.