Memorial Day and Onward ;-)
Sep. 13th, 2025 11:09 am![[personal profile]](/code-https-www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selkiYes, I did post once in June, but I want to circle back to Memorial Day weekend since I went to and volunteered for two SFF conventions (virtually) that weekend, and I want to talk a little more about SFF and reading and the other convention since then.
- Balticon: a nearly-local convention with a big virtual track. I attended a few virtual panels/events, and virtual-assisted a little. I loved getting to hear the Baltimore Gamer Symphony perform -- the tech support for it, including streaming, went really well, and they sounded great! I ended up dropping my Patreon support for one author because her comments on a topic she should know about were so head-shakingly wrong and self-contradicting (wrong in opposite ways, within 5 minutes). I wish her well, but there are so many others to support. I'll probably virtual-volunteer again for Balticon, because I want cons to keep having strong virtual elements.
- Wiscon: all-virtual, and many great panels, although one was really angering (and yes I left comments: the moderator trashed the panel subject, in which those of us who were attending should have been presumed to have be interested). I zoom-hosted one. The most fun was the exhilarating fanvid watch party, so well curated, with a super lively chat in Discord. Next year will be virtual too, and I expect to volunteer again.
- Reading/listening/podcasting: I did a lot of reading this spring and summer to vote for the Hugos. I also guested on one podcast soon after the finalists announcement to talk about the Hugo Awards (overall) and the best novel finalist I'd read at that point (which ended up with my top vote), and on another podcast's later three episodes about the Best Short Story, Novella, and Novel finalists. We all had a lot of fun and were able to speak both enthusiastically and critically without yucking others' yums. Anti-colonialism ran rampant through a lot of what I read and liked. I loved Ray Nayler's phrase "extraction zone" in *The Tusks of Extinction*, describing everywhere but the few rich cities/people that want and extract more and more and more from everyone else. I think the phrase "extractive capitalism" helps a bit when I'm trying to talk about the most harmful end-of-the-spectrum of capitalism without being dismissed as a wild-eyed radical.
- WorldCon: I virtual volunteered again, virtual-hosting many events especially in the early hours to allow panelists from around the world, especially Africa, to participate. That was important to me. Virtual attendees came from 43 countries, and 12 countries had 6 or more attendees each! I was really happy that so many countries participated. I tried not to overdo it, but signed up to do an extra hosting session at the last minute for at least one that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't stepped up, and it was a great panel. Many of the panels I hosted/attended were good. I signed up to virtual-volunteer for the next WorldCon. I was pretty happy about the Hugo Award winners. But, I was disappointed at the Hugo award announcement messups, the late apology of Seattle WorldCon, and the inadequate apology of the announcers (see comment).
- Capclave next weekend: Nope, even though it's local and short-story oriented, a rare bird. I was thinking "Would it really be much higher risk to attend a few panels masked than to go shopping masked?" and went so far as to look at their website and the programming, but there is nothing at all about safety or accessibility, and one weekend away, their Code of Conduct page is literally "TBD". I can see what they're prioritizing, so I shall prioritize myself instead.
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Date: 2025-09-13 05:17 pm (UTC)They also said in their ~apology, "We're also aware that there's a perception that Tempest giggled after or at a name she'd read aloud. Tempest doesn't remember this moment, but knows for certain that she did not giggle at or because of any name. However unfamiliar the name, neither she nor Nisi would laugh at it. If the person whose name she read felt their name was being mocked, we apologize. And if you reach out to Tempest directly, she will apologize directly."
So, they hear "there's a perception"? ... the video is UP ON YOUTUBE. They could check for themselves, but they clearly have no intention to bother finding out whose name was giggled over (whether or not giggled "at"). There's definitely a giggle, whether Tempest remembers it or not! I don't CARE if maybe the giggling was in self-embarrassment, this dubious "apology" adds insult to injury.
Shame on Tempest for not doing better before, in the moment, or after the fact, and on Nisi for co-signing.
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Date: 2025-09-13 06:51 pm (UTC)I already have so many TBRs, though!
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Date: 2025-09-14 01:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-09-14 01:55 pm (UTC)If anyone else reading this wants them, let me know and I'll DM you.
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Date: 2025-09-14 02:03 pm (UTC)(As far as the response content, my not-first-hand insider track suggests that the hugo admins were less derelict of duty in preparing the scripts that the emcees suggest, and that they'd not opted to spend time familiarizing themselves with what materials were made available to them early. It might be because it wasn't finalized, but from what I'd heard they had opportunities to do better that they didn't take.
So glad to hear you'd like to do virtual for Balticon again! I feel strongly that this is a thing we should continue to provide, and volunteers is very much what enables this. (I also feel strongly that we should try our best to continue to broadcast content from the rooms, but that incurs a cost in hotel internet which makes it a tough decision every year to keep it going.)
Also glad you enjoyed gamer symphony! They turned out a whole lot of fun to have there, and really lovely folks to collaborate with - totally worth the several months of extra work on our part. (But not quite worth the extra time the main ballroom has to be blocked for setup to do it again, so I don't think we're likely to undertake anything quite so large-scoped for the sake of having more program items in the room.)
As far as Capclave, I wish I'd have seen your note about it before I saw the con chair last night, I'd definitely have passed on the sentiment. Would you consider letting them know your reasoning? I know a lot of cons are in the mode of "nobody seems to want precautions anymore and lots of people speak loudly about it being an imposition, so we should do what our constituents are telling us".
No Code of Conduct is definitely weird! They had one last year, so I wonder if internet gremlins ate the page and they didn't notice. https://capclave.org/capclave24/capclave-2024/code-of-conduct-2/
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Date: 2025-09-15 01:03 pm (UTC)If Baltimore has to cut back on hybrid content (streaming from hotel rooms) and skip a full Baltimore Gamer Symphony concert reprise I'll understand, for sure. I hope they keep a significant virtual content element (e.g., virtual-only panels), and I'll volunteer if they do. I'm glad you enjoyed working with BGSO!
I don't want to bug Capclave the week before their big event about something too late to address, but I'll think about reaching out later to let them know I'd love to come to their local short story / writerly convention but (drawbacks I mentioned). I understand most cons have made their decisions and there's no moving them, but some cons ARE making some efforts (at least in safety communications, offers of masks/tests, etc.), and those are the ones I'll support.