WindyCon, The Rest Of It
Nov. 14th, 2011 06:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
filkertomUp and out of the room by 10:35. Unfortunately, the elevators were already filling up, and it took me a little time to get to the FuMP concert. Fortunately, everybody filled in; also fortunately, because Possible Oscar had to get on the road, we changed the planned format from a round-robin to a series of mini-concerts punctuated/interrupted/herded by ringmaster Luke. It worked out fine and better than fine. I set up merch at the back with Sara (having a micro garage sale) and Mike Nixon (watching Luke's stuff) and enjoyed POscar. I also finally had the chance to tell them in person how much I loved their cover of "Dead Again".
Luke and Carrie were up at various times, and so I probably have the order of these things wrong, but it really got insane when Eric Coleman took the stage. You know how he vamps until ready on a few of his songs so he can schtick his brains out? Well, at some point, about five minutes into his second ten-minute intro to a song -- and it was all hilarious, but this was perfect, he said something like, "Boy, I'm just digressing now" (as if he hadn't been for most of the past fifteen minutes) -- I got up.
I said "Enough is enough!"
I sat on the stage in front of him.
And I said I represented "Occupy Eric Coleman."
Eric just kept vampin'.
I encouraged people to come up and sit with me in front of the stage -- about a dozen did. I yelled for a Sharpie, and I made a sign. Eric actually got into his song, but just as he finished one verse, I started leading everyone in "Kumbaya."
I don't think any of us have laughed so hard in years. When the pictures are up, I will link to them, or if you took some you can link in comments. As we were breaking it up, our political mission accomplished, Eric leaned down and said, "I love you."
More Carrie, backed up by Luke. I love "Thor's Big Silver Hammer", and I hadn't actually listened to the final audio on "Pregnancy Is Strange" (for which I worked up the arrangement). Laughed my ass off.
(I did, however, unwittingly commit a major faux pas. Carrie, who is with child and doing the whole glowy thing, was wearing a shirt which reads, "Does this baby make me look fat?" I misread it, thinking it said, "Does this baby make me look hot?" I indicated the shirt, and told Carrie "Yes", and she looked at me funny, and I didn't know why until she told me after the concert and I got to actually see the shirt. I was falling all over myself to apologize. Dammit, I think the shirt, the way I read it, is much funnier, and more accurate -- Carrie looks great, all glowy and happy and stuff. Sounded really good, too.)
My little turn on stage went fine. Luke came up and helped for "Great Idea For A Song", and I did a few other things, and for some reason (I dunno -- maybe not singing it for two years) I completely lost the key of "Ultimate Ultimate Christmas". Still got away with it.
And then Luke (joined briefly by Carrie) finished with "Fanboy Christmas 3" ("It's a Fanboy Christmas / the third part of the carol / and now we're really scraping / the bottom of the barrel"). All in all, a heck of a lot of fun and energy and wheeeeee. And, while we were still quietly selling in the back, Christian Ready came in to show off Hubble pics. Glorious.
Closing ceremonies, many accolades all around, hugs, stuff. Frank Hayes pointed out that, from a congoer's point of view, there were no problems. None. Nothing. Everything ran pretty smoothly, and it was all fun. Next year's literary GOH is Seanan; next year's filk GOH is Amy. The theme is zombies. YOU KNOW YOU MUST BE THERE.
And, meandering out and getting hugs (Pam and Pat and Brenda and Amy and and and) and saying final goodbye and stuff, and I got on the road just before 4:00 local, and got home in almost exactly four hours. Yeah.
So, many kudos to con chair Richard and his superb staff for putting on a great Windy. Many thanks to Lizzie and Sara and Lady Cheron and Sally for helping me out, and just for being around. Many more thanks to Toyboat, and to Dave Ifverson on sound (with able assistance by Bill Roper). Many thanks to all of you, for helping to make this a really kick-ass con, not just this year but every year.
Sigh.
I have lyrics I must work on. I have to get groceries and pay a couple of bills and fill out some medical paperwork. And then I have to explore Skyrim. What's your week look like?
Luke and Carrie were up at various times, and so I probably have the order of these things wrong, but it really got insane when Eric Coleman took the stage. You know how he vamps until ready on a few of his songs so he can schtick his brains out? Well, at some point, about five minutes into his second ten-minute intro to a song -- and it was all hilarious, but this was perfect, he said something like, "Boy, I'm just digressing now" (as if he hadn't been for most of the past fifteen minutes) -- I got up.
I said "Enough is enough!"
I sat on the stage in front of him.
And I said I represented "Occupy Eric Coleman."
Eric just kept vampin'.
I encouraged people to come up and sit with me in front of the stage -- about a dozen did. I yelled for a Sharpie, and I made a sign. Eric actually got into his song, but just as he finished one verse, I started leading everyone in "Kumbaya."
I don't think any of us have laughed so hard in years. When the pictures are up, I will link to them, or if you took some you can link in comments. As we were breaking it up, our political mission accomplished, Eric leaned down and said, "I love you."
More Carrie, backed up by Luke. I love "Thor's Big Silver Hammer", and I hadn't actually listened to the final audio on "Pregnancy Is Strange" (for which I worked up the arrangement). Laughed my ass off.
(I did, however, unwittingly commit a major faux pas. Carrie, who is with child and doing the whole glowy thing, was wearing a shirt which reads, "Does this baby make me look fat?" I misread it, thinking it said, "Does this baby make me look hot?" I indicated the shirt, and told Carrie "Yes", and she looked at me funny, and I didn't know why until she told me after the concert and I got to actually see the shirt. I was falling all over myself to apologize. Dammit, I think the shirt, the way I read it, is much funnier, and more accurate -- Carrie looks great, all glowy and happy and stuff. Sounded really good, too.)
My little turn on stage went fine. Luke came up and helped for "Great Idea For A Song", and I did a few other things, and for some reason (I dunno -- maybe not singing it for two years) I completely lost the key of "Ultimate Ultimate Christmas". Still got away with it.
And then Luke (joined briefly by Carrie) finished with "Fanboy Christmas 3" ("It's a Fanboy Christmas / the third part of the carol / and now we're really scraping / the bottom of the barrel"). All in all, a heck of a lot of fun and energy and wheeeeee. And, while we were still quietly selling in the back, Christian Ready came in to show off Hubble pics. Glorious.
Closing ceremonies, many accolades all around, hugs, stuff. Frank Hayes pointed out that, from a congoer's point of view, there were no problems. None. Nothing. Everything ran pretty smoothly, and it was all fun. Next year's literary GOH is Seanan; next year's filk GOH is Amy. The theme is zombies. YOU KNOW YOU MUST BE THERE.
And, meandering out and getting hugs (Pam and Pat and Brenda and Amy and and and) and saying final goodbye and stuff, and I got on the road just before 4:00 local, and got home in almost exactly four hours. Yeah.
So, many kudos to con chair Richard and his superb staff for putting on a great Windy. Many thanks to Lizzie and Sara and Lady Cheron and Sally for helping me out, and just for being around. Many more thanks to Toyboat, and to Dave Ifverson on sound (with able assistance by Bill Roper). Many thanks to all of you, for helping to make this a really kick-ass con, not just this year but every year.
Sigh.
I have lyrics I must work on. I have to get groceries and pay a couple of bills and fill out some medical paperwork. And then I have to explore Skyrim. What's your week look like?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 01:52 pm (UTC)I turn 44 on the 17th. How cool is that, 44 in 11?
Lots and lots of NaNo level writing, assembling a lesbian collection (just stories, darn it!), finishing some craft stuff, making some holiday wishes come true. Probably making noodles today if the weather cooperates.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 02:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 08:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-20 07:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 02:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 02:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 02:40 pm (UTC)(We all commit faux pas. FSM knows I do it. But you did apologize.)
One minor point, Hayes was incorrect. The anime track got canceled. The entire track with no explanation. It didn't matter to me, but it did matter to some. Working on a con, I know that sometimes the poo hits the fan and sometimes you can't talk about why. My opinion is that if you can say what happened you should. People are more forgiving that way.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 02:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 02:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 08:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 09:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-15 12:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-15 12:37 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 03:21 pm (UTC)Finding someone who knows the genre, can put together a good selection of what's currently popular, and has the time and willingness to work with a general SF convention can be a challenge. We had (hopefully still have) such a person, who reintroduced anime to Windycon in 2009.
The problem this year was that, a little while ago, his roof collapsed. No one was hurt (that I know of), but still, having your roof collapse has a way of refocusing your priorities on the immediate. We held out hopes (to the bitter end) that things would work out, but it was not to be. Hopefully next year will be a little smoother for him.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 03:30 pm (UTC)Recalling that Renovation had a panel on "Anime Cons: When Will They Grow Up?" (as moderated and named by somebody whose qualifications were "well, I've been to Anime Boston a few times"; the other panelists, one of whom was a multiple-time staffer of AB, set records distancing themselves from him and the title)...
That said, kudos to Windy for trying. That's more than I can say for other cons.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 05:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 05:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 03:18 pm (UTC)My weed? Stressing about money, how much "volunteer" work I've gotten myself into and how little actual paying work I have through the rest of the year.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 03:39 pm (UTC)I hope to FSM and Ghu that the recordings sound OK when you listen to them. I started the recording *way* early this year (last year I missed the first third of the first song, and I wasn't taking *any* chances this year), so you will hear a lot of dead space at the beginning, plus all the banter and false starts while we got the balance right. Each track is a separate wave file, and I included the Mixcraft project file, just in case (but you won't need it if you are not using Mixcraft). Just about any audio program that can handle multi-track should be able to deal with the files.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 05:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 08:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 11:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 04:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 06:48 pm (UTC)And that was one of the funniest things to ever happen at one of my shows.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-15 12:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 07:21 pm (UTC)Beyond that I hope to hear from Novardis soon to see if I qualify for the patient assistance program they have for people who can't afford the medication that I need.
Also have to come to terms with the tumor I had being cancer. I mean I sort of knew intelectually that it was because the hospital wanted me to see an oncologist; but there's a difference between knowing something on and intelectual level and having that knowledge confirmed.
Other than that we just need to get our computer fizxed so I don't have to use my laptop all the time.
Kind of a downer week at the moment but there's always the hope that things will get better.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 08:57 pm (UTC)Damn damn damn. So very sorry, m'friend. If there's anything we can do, let us know.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 09:35 pm (UTC)Unfortunately the medicine is 6k a month and the insurance I have doesn't cover it. Hence why I signed up for the manufacturer's patient assistance program.
The more I have to deal with medicine the more I think we need a public option. As teh Keith once put it, Medicare part E, for everyone. (on a somewhat related note I may email Wow internet and cable and see if we;re ever going to get Current TV so I can actually watch him again.)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-15 03:10 am (UTC)http://www.youtube.com/user/MiniRtist
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 09:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 09:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-14 10:12 pm (UTC)Flat tire.
Lots of kids activities: Boy Scouts, swim lessons, birthday parties, etc.
And yet, still happy.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-11-15 03:20 am (UTC)