Conventions I’ve attended
Dudcon III
Dudcon is the convention you have when you’re not having a convention. It will be run on the same weekend as AussieCon 4 and the organisers are doing their best to schedule their events around Aussiecon events. The most important thing happening at Dudcon III will be the Ditmar Award Ceremony and the BBQ or some other event that might involve food or alcohol. I’m very excited about Dudcon III as they’ve just accepted me as a Corporate Sponsor. There are only two Corporate Sponsors as at the time of writing, Slowglass Books and Suz’s Space, it’s funny how we both sell books online. I envy his stock though, science fiction and fantasy to die for. Membership for Dudcon III is fairly cheap with memberships running from $10 to $100. You can find more details including progress reports on their website.
The other minor event happening that weekend is AussieCon 4, the 68th World Science Fiction Convention and the fourth one to be held in Australia. AussieCon is where you can vote for the Hugo Awards, you need to be financial member to be eligible for voting. You will find me at AussieCon 4 with bells on, or maybe a witch’s hat and cape if they let me dress up.
There’s a lot happening that weekend including something I can’t talk about yet but my time will come. I’ll post it here when they take the tape off my lips.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( Comments Off on Dudcon III )Supanova and a Guest Blogger
There are very few ‘stars’ I’d really like to meet. One of the very few is James Marsters and he was recently in Melbourne as a special guest of Supanova. I wasn’t able to get there and this is probably a good thing as I don’t think my OH would have willingly let me go see him as James Marsters trumps him in the sex appeal stakes. May not have been a good thing for our relationship. Supanova is big, in fact, it’s mega. It is a pop culture expo and was held at the Melbourne Showgrounds from 16th to 18th April. It has so many pop culture stars from so many parts of the industry. Not only were there actors but also comic book artists. If you’re in Sydney or Perth your pleasure is yet to happen as it’s not due in either of those cities until June.
As I wasn’t able to get to Supanova I’ve asked other people to write about their experiences for this blog. I know Jen through Twitter and I know of her love of kitsch, I’ve also read her writing and have seen her photos. She is multitalented and tomorrow you will see why I asked her to write for me. She’s also really gorgeous in both physical looks and character but I really shouldn’t be saying things like that. She’s been very kind to me and has not given me the James Marsters photo but has given me a couple of other fabulous photos to show you. All will be revealed tomorrow.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( Comments Off on Supanova and a Guest Blogger )Triocon 2010 – Melbourne
Some of you will know that Triocon is on this weekend and some of you will know the fun and excitement to be had there. For those that don’t here is a basic rundown on some of the fun; I’ve had some coaching from DD who attended Doctor Who Downunder last year, also run by First Contact Conventions.
Seating is allocated depending on what you pay for. VIP tickets are placed in the first two rows and receive other extras.
Tickets are issued at the door.
Last year for the Doctor Who convention attended by Peter Davison and Mark Strickson they had a replica TARDIS. Peter Davison mentioned it was too big. When the stage was clear it was possible to walk up there and take photos of the TARDIS, DD didn’t take a camera, some kind person took photos of her stepping into the TARDIS and hasn’t managed to send her the photos so somewhere in Melbourne there are photos of her launching herself on her next adventure.
Clips will be played, discussions happen, a question and answer session and videos played during lunch. There will be time for autographs and photos both will cost extra on the day. Last year DD paid for a photo with Peter Davison so we now have a good idea of his height.
There will be an auction and I do warn you about this. Some choice memorabilia will be available. If there are any badges, I request you bid on them for me.
In the foyer there will be stalls from various associated shops and shops; they will be more than happy to deal with you.
If you heckle with too many factoids you will receive the label of ‘nerd’. Some people wear this label with pride.
If you see this in time and there is space you’ll be able to attend and have enormous amount of fun. If you don’t, then just keep an eye on First Contact Conventions for other fabulous conventions. The next one listed is Star Trek in August.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( Comments Off on Triocon 2010 – Melbourne )Second Australian Jewish Genealogy Conference
Those of you who’ve been following me on Twitter or Facebook will know that I’ve been volunteering at a conference this weekend. If you’ve been following my blog you might have guessed I like conventions and conferences. It’s not the sessions and the information I like to go along for but the vibes and meeting people and most especially the organising. I really like to hang around on Registration and foyers and just talk to people and inhale the vibes. So, when my other half’s committee decided to tackle the task of putting on a Conference in Melbourne I promptly offered my help. It was mostly ignored but they did put me on the roster to sit in the library and help people. I figured most people would be in the sessions during the times I was rostered there so I took my computer and tried to work. I did eventually manage to write a blog, but it took me two days as I kept on getting interrupted.
I had a very exciting time, the conference was very well organised and all the speakers I sat in on were of the highest quality. One of the speakers was Yuval Rotem, the Israeli Ambassador to Australia and immediately following him was Arnold Zable, author of Jewels and Ashes and also Café Scheherazade. I will be writing more about Arnold Zable and what I got out of his talk in a future blog as it was very interesting and related directly to writing.
There were talks about Germany and how to find those little details such as town of birth as well talks on many other countries. We even had a talk by Professor Martin Delatycki who spoke on genetic diseases among Jewish people. There was also a talk on Writing Your Family Newsletters.
I’ve come away with lots of topics to blog about, including the library I was sitting in. I did have more to say about all this but it might have to wait as I managed to catch a cold this weekend thanks to the lovely Melbourne weather so my mind is rather scatty and I think of something to write and immediately forget about it.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( Comments Off on Second Australian Jewish Genealogy Conference )Conventions
How do you enjoy your books? Do you enjoy them alone or do you want to share them with people? Do you want to share them with a few people or lots and lots of like minded people? Me, I haven’t quite decided, but I suspect it’s the latter considering I review every book I read on this blog.
There’s different ways of sharing books. You can share them with Book Crossing which is a lovely way of getting books to other people. The way it works is that you register yourself and your book and also where you’re going to leave it. Then you download the sticker with the Book Crossing ID and the details of what to do when the book is found and leave it ‘in the wild’ for someone else to pick up. If you pick up a book with a Book Crossing sticker you’re at liberty to take it, register it on the Book Crossing website, read it and then release it again for someone else.
Some people like to share their books online and join book groups where they all read the same books and then discuss them. I know there are some of these on Friends Reunited and also on the Real Mums website on their Retell forum and I’m sure there are many more around the web but I haven’t found them. I’m sure there are also in person book groups, I recall my mum being a member of one when I was a child and I’m sure they’re still around.
Some people like to share their books so much they attend conventions. This is my favourite, I just love conventions. There’s lot of people getting together to discuss their favourite author or genre and attending panels on the various aspects of the books. My favourite to date has been Nullus Anxietas the home of Discworld in Australia but you can find many more around the world. Now I don’t know if this website has all of them, but it certainly has a decent amount. If conventions float your boat then have a browse and find one that suits you.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( Comments Off on Conventions )Nullus Anxietas
There’s always something to talk about in the book world and sometimes it’s just a matter of making a decision. Today was no exception. In my yearly planner I have a note to tell me I missed Agatha Christie’s birthday yesterday (it does help if I actually look at the yearly planner), she would have been 119. Actually, looking at her age I think next year is a good year to plan something special. There’s something special about an age ending in zero even if the birthday recipient isn’t actually alive.
There’s numerous posts I’ve started so I don’t forget to write them and I could have chosen any of them including another book list, but today I’m going to say a few words about Nullus Anxietas.
For those who attended either Nullus Anxietas or Nullus Anxietas 2 you will know exactly what I’m talking about instantly. Unfortunately, there are many who didn’t have the pleasure and those people will need a slight explanation. Some years ago someone suggested an Australian Discworld Convention and the person they were speaking to said ‘good idea’ and then found himself head of a committee. Pat is a lovely, unassuming person and he was guiding the committee towards a weekend in 2006 when I found them. With a few ups and downs and a change of date to February 2007, the first Australian Discworld Convention: Nullus Anxietas happened. We had a wonderful time and managed to bring the author of the Discworld books,Terry Pratchett, from England for the weekend. Maybe that sentence should be written the other way round but it’s hard to choose which concept to put first when they’re as important as each other to me.
There was enough excitement and commitment to form another committee and run Nullus Anxietas 2 in February of this year. We were unable to bring Terry out to Australia for a second time due to his health challenges. I’m very excited to be able to announce that there was enough excitement and commitment to form another committee for Nullus Anxietas 3. This time it will be with a totally new committee as the enthusiastic people volunteering their time are in Sydney. Now, it’s very early days and the committee is still in the process of being formed but it does look very promising. Should you be in the Sydney vicinity and want to volunteer for the committee or volunteer for any of the numerous little jobs that will need doing you can email Tania. If you live elsewhere in Australia (or anywhere else) I’m sure they’ll be looking for people to help with publicity and they’ll certainly be looking for topics and presenters.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( Comments Off on Nullus Anxietas )Thank you to the MSFC for a fabulous Minicon!!!
The MSFC (Melbourne Science Fiction Club) ran a fabulous Minicon last Saturday. If you run or are a member of a science fiction club in Melbourne then you should have been there. If you’re not a member of a science fiction club and want to consider joining one you should have been there and if you’re just interested in science fiction then you should have been there. Basically, it was a must attend event for all interested in science fiction.
I was there selling books. I had a table full of Science Fiction and Fantasy magaines, Fantastic Stories, If Science Fiction and some Analogue magazines. On my right was a man selling off some of his Star Wars collection, on my left was the Doctor Who Fan Club of Victoria. We also had SpacedOut, the Australian Science Fiction Foundation, Austrek, Scienceworks, Andromeda Spaceways In Flight Magazine, Slow Glass books and maybe Star Walking, but I don’t recall seeing them.
I’ll expand on these clubs at a later date and try and get a representative to come along and talk about their club as well.
I had a fabulous time. I was in the perfect position to see and hear the Guest of Honour, Kim Westwood, the author of The Daughters of Moab. She read parts of her book and also answered questions. I think she asked more questions than she answered. I’ll be adding this book to my reading list and you’ll see a review in due course.
I’m not excited by Trivia Quizes and tend not to join in. I was able to watch from my table and listen to people answering the questions very loudly and very wrongly in order to put off their opponents. The answer ’42’ came up many times. There was much laughter and hilarity. I was very surprised to find I could answer many more questions than usual. I’m sure that’s due to my knowledge and not the simplicity of the questions. It was great fun.
The MSFC run one of these every year. Situated in a church hall in Brunswick the cost is low and the fun level is high. Put it in your calendar for next year to check out their website before April so you don’t miss it. Better yet, join the MSFC so you know exactly what is happening. Here’s the url for you: http://msfc.sf.org.au
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Suz's Space Blog 