It's been a busy week and weekend! Been on the road again for the 76th World Science Fiction Convention in San Jose, CA.
Early morning flight (followed by a long flight) had my friend and I on the ground in San Jose by 2p. Quick ride to the hotel, with an easy check-in, and then a quest for lunch (Indian!). We picked up our registration packages and pretty much called it a day. Like a said...it was a long flight. Later, supper was Greek.
Convention kicked off on Thursday afternoon.
Science: The Core of SF's Sense of Wonder
Many readers comer to science fiction for the jolt of wonder at imagining the clouds of Venus, the chromosphere of the sun, or the frigid surace of Pluto. They want their breath taken away by the long scope of time of evolution and geology and the stars. What is that sense of wonder experience and how do people feel it differently? What science in science fiction most succeeds at getting to those feelings? Our panel of writers and readers of scifi wax rhapsodic about science in science fiction.
Forgotten Victorian Fantasy Art
A vast number of terrific 19th century fantasy paintings are seldom or never seen. Richard Hescox will show you obscure paintings by artists you now and many by artists you should know.
Then I caught a yoga class!
Supper was take out Hawaiian Poke.
Friday's panels consisted of:
Latinx? Mexicanx? Hispanic? Do the words make a difference and why?
Why is "Mexicanx" such an important term? Do "Latinx" and "Hispanic" mean the same thing? Is it useful to refer to people from two continents, an isthmus, and several islands using those adjectives? Is a Tarahumara person from Mexico who speaks no Spanish and has no Europan ancestors "Hispanic"? Looking into the future, will there still be "Latinx" people in 100 years? 1000 years? Our experts will discuss these terms and their relevance?
Collaborators in Genre: The Writer Calls on the Scientist
Sci-fi authors commonly take liberty with the reality of who the world actually works. But how does the author gt the background knowledge to know what is and isn't possible and when to play fast and losse with the facts of real (and current) science.
Join an author and a scientist consultant as they discuss t eh intersection between real science and science fiction, as well as the working relationship between an author and consulting expert.
Then I caught a yoga class! After which I got my panel room mixed up and missed the last part of the 1p panel I wanted to go to.
Lunch - Vietnom's (that's the correct spelling)
Hubble Space Telescope: Humanities Most Important Tool Ever Invented?
We live in the Golden Age of astronomy and astrophysics, and one instrument has single-handled contributed the most to this revolution in our understanding of our Solar System, our Galaxy, and the Universe... NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Beyond the Border I: What is happening to SF on the Other Side?
At the Golden Globes when asked how he balanced darkness and joy, Guilermo del Toro answered "Because I'm Mexican". What does "being Mexican" mean within the context of science fiction? What does writing in Spanish mean for its future? There's movement on the other side of the border, a one-sided conversation where English-language SF is happening. We want to expand it and bring it forward. All over Latin America and Spain, Scifi is rising again. We want to talk about what shapes it is taking, and how this viewpoint may be changing. Is there a Latino-futurism? What does it look like?
Anatomy of a Shoe
Bespoke shoemaker SunnyJim Morgan take you on a tour of what's on your feet. Ever wondered what makes an Oxford different from a Derby? How are high heels made? We'll cover these topics as well as the parts of a shoe, different methods of construction, materials used, and some of the places you can learn more.
Dinner - Affinity Restaurant (Hilton's restaurant)
Friday night I signed up for this:
Bay Area Ghost Hunters Meet-up: San Jose Ghost Tour
I've got mixed feeling about this tour. Sign-up seemed a bit unorganized - I couldn't get the online Worldcon link to work so I signed up at the desk, which they didn't seem prepared for. More people showed up than they could comfortably handle, and I admit I was surprised they didn't break the group into two (a "fast" group and a "slow" group). Friday night city noise was a HUGE problem, on top of airport's approach land with planes coming over every 5 minutes, AND a Bike Parade (that was just wild) and the group leaders voice just wasn't up to competing against so much. .
The tour itself covered quite a bit of the "historic" district of San Jose and quite a bit of history. There were some ghostly things interspersed, one unfortunate kidnapping, and some family history by the group leader. The tour also covered quite a bit of ground and at 9p I called it quits and headed back to the hotel on my own.
So...very mixed thoughts about this tour.
Saturday!
Tour: Silicon Valley Inner Loop
The Inner Loop tour of Silicon Valley will showcase our computing-related attractions in Santa Clara, San Jose, Cupertino and Sunnyvale. We saw:
The Intel Museum
NASA Ames Visitor Center
location of the Byte Store
Steve's Job's parents house (the garage where Apple started!)
Apple Infinite Loop
Apple Park Visitor Center
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| Apple's HQ |
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| A MOON Rock!! |
This was a lot of fun. We left the convention center at 1030a, playing road bingo. The tour guide had the stops set up as a "history" of computers and technology, starting with Intel and moving into Apple, with one stop at NASA in the middle. It was a long day, numerous stops, and as someone who was "there" for the rise of computers (I still remember the old IBM with the 5" floppy in our family room!) it was a neat nostalgic stroll.
Geek Identity, Policing, and Gate-keeping
What is Geek identity, Geek Policing, and Gate-keeping? Why is it important when we're staying active and proud of our fandoms to not dip into policing and gate-keeping? How do we bridge the ate-gap in SF/F and include younger generations? We, all of us, nerds of all races, genders, orientations, and ages need to stop the gate-keeping and star building bridges.
Dinner: Il Fornaio (Italian) in the historic Westin hotel.
Sunday's Panels:
A Horse is Not a Subcompact: Getting Horses Right in Prose
Horses are beautiful, dangerous, and smart. In fantasy fiction (and even some post-apocalyptic work) horses are at the center of the story providing transit, war mounts, and friends. This panel of horse-loving writers will talk about the ins and outs of working with horses - because not all of us have the pleasure of riding, driving and working with them.
We Dressed those Girls: Subverting Tropes or Reinforcing the Status Quo?
When Zack "let's subvert the trope of Hollywood objectifying women by objectifying women" Snyder directed the film Sucker Punch, he explained why the film focused on scantily clad young women imprisoned in a brothel from which they occasionally escape with monster weaponry to kill people and explode things. "I didn't dress those girls in the costume. The audience dressed those girls," he opined. "They start out as cliches of feminine sexuality as made physical by what culture creates" In this panel we ask: Who is responsible for what culture creates? How difficult is it to actually subvert tropes, and how often do attempts to subvert ropes turn into reinforcements of the status quo? When as creators and audience re we sabotaged by our unexamined pre-sets, and how do we dig out from under them? Finally, under what circumstances can a narrative choice that may seem trivial or status quo become the biggest trope subverter of all?
Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of a Manned Mission to Mars
As we progress on to Mars, the lessons learned from on-orbit space missions will help us plan ways of dealing with new psychosocial stressors that will affect crew members. Dr Nick Kanas will review where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going.
Spy-fi: Science Fiction Thrillers
What happens when authors combine espionage themes with science fiction? Our panel discusses the ins and outs of science fictional spy thrillers.
Judaism and the Roots of Science Fiction
The Hugos are named after Jewish inventor Hugo Gernsback, who coined the term "science fiction" and Judaism has had a big influence on the genre before and since Jewish stories frequently explore diaspora, almost featuring it as a character or trait with space being the natural extension of that idea in everything from Star Trek to Spaceballs. The ultimate displacement, if you will, but this time deliberately, purposely, to seek out new life, etc. How does diaspora shape fiction? What is the state of Israeli SF/F compared to Jewish SF/F in the US?
The Future of Urban Fantasy
Urban Fantasy has already changed the landscape of speculative fiction, and continues to rapidly evolve in the worlds of both traditional and independent publishing. In this panel, experts on Urban Fantasy explore the current state of the genre, as well as the potential to shape the industry of the future.
Monday will have us on a very early flight back home. Was it a good convention? Yes. Visited a new-to-me city, got a little history tour, some some interesting sights, talked to people from all over, listened to some good panels, got lots of knitting in and a bit of reading. Worldcon will be off to Dublin for 2019, and probably New Zealand for 2020. Right now it's looking like DC for 2021 and maybe Chicago (again) for 2022. We'll see. Lot's can happen between now and then.
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| Public Art in downtown San Jose |
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