Renovation, Worldcon 2011, Reno, NV

As I type this my friend and I (Disorganized, As Usual) are wrapping up another World Science Fiction Convention in Reno, NV.  It's been an outstanding convention even if it was split between two hotels a mile apart.  The main convention was held at the Atlantis and the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, and the secondary hotel was the Peppermill, where they held the Masquerade Show and judged competition.  Now, they did have a shuttle running between the casinos, but often it was easier to just walk the mile.  Initially I was regretful that we didn't get into the Atlantis, but as the weekend draws to a close, I think the Peppermill was the right choice - better restaurants, better pool and not quite so many convention folks.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, after flying into Sacramento and driving across the Donner Pass.  Beautiful drive!  We took advantage of the pool and restaurants on site and just unwound. 

Thursday was convention day!  Here's a smattering of panels I went to.  I loved how the panels were only about 50 minutes long, unlike other conventions where they stretched out into an hour and a half.  Too long for this antsy-pants! But 50 minutes was just perfect.  

• The 1960's, 50 Years On
• Fair Tales and Storytelling
• Far Future SF, Then and Now
• The Arab Spring
• Cover Art in the age of e-books
• A Brief History of the Hugos

Lake Tahoe

Friday morning we drove up to Lake Tahoe and the Trukee River, which starts so very high and makes its way down and through Reno.  Then it was back to the convention for a few hours for more panels:

• Scientific Romances of the Victorian Era (which ended up being a talk on Steampunk)
• Many Sides of Hard SF
• The New Space Opera

Saturday:

• The Image of Art in SF



A Hawaiian Dalek! What a hoot!

• The Return of the Killer B's (Bear, Benford and Brin)
• Craft of Writing Short SF and F
• The Best in Recent SF and F
• Readings: Nancy Kress, David Brin
• Publishing in the Age of e-Books

Saturday evening marked the highlight of the Worldcon, the Hugo Awards.  The "Toast Masters" were an absolute hoot! Jay Lake and ... drat, forgot his name.  Robert Silverburg, giving out one of the awards, has an incredibly dry sense of humor and had the whole audience just roaring.  I won't repeat the award winners since I posted about them on Sunday (previous post).

Whoops! I almost forgot to post Sunday's panels and I don't have my list with me. But they were something like:

• Review of Recommended SF&F (most of which I had read)
• Slide show of the Sierra Nevada mountains as presented by Kim Stanley Robinson
• A preview of Worldcon - Chicon 2012

Sunday afternoon was then spent lounging by the pool back at the Peppermill, enjoying the beautiful weather.  A much needed aaahhhh....

Monday we left bright and early to make our way back across the Donner pass to Sacramento, then a moderate flight to Minneapolis and for me, a shuttle ride back to Duluth.   Needless to say, I'm feelin' a bit jet lagged this morning...

Aerial view of Lake Tahoe and the Trukee River