Category: Travel
-
WorldCon 76 Report: Day 2
On Friday the 17th I dressed in my frankly magnificent Professional Author costume and plunged into the convention. All the really interesting panels seem to be first thing in the morning, so I went to one on constructing alternate histories, called "If This, Then What?" After that I took a pass through the dealer room…
-
WorldCon 76 Report: Day 1
The Crack Team were already ensconced in the Marriott hotel in downtown San Jose before this year's World Science Fiction Convention even began. We began the day with an expedition to the amazing Winchester Mystery House. We got both the basic tour (90 minutes of hiking around the biggest house in America) and the extended…
-
Where to Find Me at WorldCon 76
This coming week the 76th World Science Fiction Convention will be held in hazy San Jose, California, and I'll be one of the participants. If you want to see me, here are my scheduled appearances: THE CULINARY SPECULATIVE: Food in Fiction (Friday, August 17, 12:00 noon in room 210C of the San Jose Convention Center).…
-
More Bad Flags
This time it's not me griping about flags, it's a gentleman with the incredibly badass name Roman Mars. The scarlet-faced avenger gave a TED talk about flag design, highlighting some of America's best and worst city flags. He properly cited Chicago's flag as one of the best, and derided New York City's as lackluster. He…
-
Random Encounters: On the Fantastickal Moon
We know what you'll find on the Moon if you get there via a Saturn rocket and Apollo Program Lunar Module lander. But what if you sail to the Moon aboard an elven galleon or step there through an enchanted silver door? ENCOUNTERS ON THE FANTASTICKAL MOON (Roll 1d20 when roving about the Lunar surface,…
-
A Vexillic Issue
Most State flags are awful. There, I've said it and I'm not sorry. Even my home State of Louisiana has an awful flag. There are fifty States in the United States, and two-thirds of them have awful flags. What makes an awful State flag? Well, twenty-nine States have flags that are horribly boring. You can…
-
Boskone 55, Featuring MEE!
On the weekend of February 16-18 I'll be at Boskone, the grand old New England science fiction convention, now in its 55th year. My schedule is below — stop in at the Westin Waterfront in Boston and join me! Friday, February 16, 4:00 p.m.: Kaffeeklatsch — Join me for a cup of coffee and discussion…
-
PhilCon 2017, Featuring MEEE!
This weekend sees the return of Philadelphia's legendary science fiction convention, PhilCon! And once again I'll be there. If you're anywhere in the mid-Atlantic region, come down to Cherry Hill, New Jersey and join the fun! My schedule for the con: Saturday, November 11, 12:00 noon, Executive Suite 623: Readings. I'll be reading at noon,…
-
Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop, Day 3
Friday, the final day of the conference, opened with a very high-powered panel discussion on current space policy and future directions for NASA. The participants were Dr. Paul McConnaughey of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Representative John Culberson of Texas, Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama (who represents Huntsville in Congress), and Lieutenant-General Steven…
The Cambias Digression 