This Hotel Room: COBbies talk about conventions

...Because any self-respecting CO Bbie worth their wrinkles and gray hair has been to at least a few.

Favorites? Horror Stories? Tales of impressive shenanigans (come on, that's what cons are for)? Let's discuss.

I just got back from NORWESCON, which is one of the best in my area. This year was 100% awesomeness; great costumes, lots of pretty skin on display, geekiness, cheap liquor, and free hugs.

The only conventions I have ever been to were American College Theater Festivals and those are from hell.

Terribly sorry, 'cat. You are definitely missing out. Are there no good ones in your area?

There is an anime con here in Fort Wayne every year during the Three Rivers Festival. Ikasucon. The organizers are from Cincinnati and started having it here because the convention center here courted them.

The Three Rivers Festival is a big ass city wide event that makes me want to crawl under a rock.

Went to Rat Con 13 in LA. (Look it up, Cobbie.)

Bought a Whelan original at auction for an embarrassingly small price. Why? It was My Girl, for the cover of Heinlein's "Friday."◊

Yes, that is her while we were at MIT. After that time, she got pretty.

That's Becca? Da-yum, man. That edition of Friday was the first Heinlein I bought brand-new instead of borrowing it first or getting it from the used-book store.

Cons? I only did cons (around Chicago — Windy-con and Duckcon, mostly) for a couple of years — I realized that I simply didn't enjoy the crushing masses of people.

I used to have a copy of that as well. I think I loaned it to someone and never got it back.

I really liked Friday. And I guess I'm blessed to have a whole passel of good Cons (Rustycon, Norwescon, Geocon, Vikingcon, PAX, Sakuracon, Steamcon, etc.) in my backyard. Apologies to the CO Bbies if this is not true for everyone.

I remember going to my first serious convention (Norwescon 1998) at 18 and being totally blown away by it. It was the one place on the planet where geeks and freaks felt at home, and the normal people were the odd ones out.

If there isn't a decent con in your area, all you have to do is put one together in your home town. That's what I did. Be prepared to give up all your spare time, your friends, your self-respect, and your faith in humanity. Apart from that, it's fun, it surely is.

I went to a gaming convention up in Salem back in... '95, I think it was. We had grand plans of OD'ing on No-doze and Mountain Dew, and cramming eight of us into a single hotel room just in case we needed to actually sleep sometime in three days, but that's what the No-doze and Dew were supposed to prevent. Got a wicked case of heartburn from that, but that only helped keep me awake.

Well, it didn't go quite as planned, but I still had fun perusing the vendors for dice and sourcebooks, even if all we ended up doing was playing Rifts by ourselves for the majority of the time.

Ah, yes, the escalator. At the last Drama state competition I went to in high school, there was a certain escalator that got a lot of use. And within an hour, it became standard policy to strike a pose on the thing while going down. I still remember the six man group all walking up it, in perfect step with each other, and at the exact same pace as the thing, so they stayed there until somebody showed up to come down. I was impressed.

My first convention was a Star Trek con when I was about 12. I have William Shatner's signature.

My first convention as an adult was A-kon in Dallas a few years back and that ended up being memorable because I had to go tell an all male orgy in the next room to knock it off, it's three in the fucking morning, I want some god damn sleep.

@Bur: now, that sounds like a proper Con...

Wow.

Apologies, tropers. I just googled "Rat Con 13" and the results made no sense at all. This is the one I meant.

edited 20th May '11 9:24:54 PM by FastEddie

Not to be bragging, much, looking through the list, but I have have had a quaff or so with the top four on that Hugo winner list, back in the day.

Gawds, I am a crusty old fucker. Nobody anymore even knows the people that amazed me when I was young and strong.

Even Buffy was before their time.

I just had to look up "quaff". I think I will be adding it to my vocabulary.

I kissed Bob Asprin in the bar at a Windycon

Slut.

Wait, you are talking "Myth Adventures" Asprin.

I can see how a person might do that.

edited 20th May '11 10:55:29 PM by FastEddie

Fun Fact: Mr Maddy was Bob's first fencing coach. He is also the "Sven Bailey" character in the Time Scout series,

Get out!

Yeppers. Dead serious, I am.

Super Gnat in The Phule's Company is based on another one of their friends and fencers at the same time. She really was tiny, and an excellent sabreur. She'd sneak up inside her opponent's reach and nail 'em. She didn't have the temper problems though.

edited 20th May '11 11:29:41 PM by Madrugada

Da-yum.

I have had improper thoughts about Super Gnat.

Also, while I am thinking about it... Kelly Freas rocked.

@Maddy: It's the short ones you've got to watch out for. They're crazy.

Oh, Jackie was good. Something under 5 feet tall in shoes. She had to get in close to hit. Also cute as a bug, with short, almost black curly hair. And the very devil in her smile.

I was just looking to see if I had scans of any of the fencing club photos. I don't. I'll have to remedy that.

edited 21st May '11 11:23:37 AM by Madrugada