I’m going to my first-ever science fiction convention this weekend as a travel south to Baltimore for Balticon 42. It seems strange that I could be as into scifi as I am, particularly books and novels, and never gone to a convention, but its never really been my scene. Generally speaking, if I’m going to spend $50 to go to a con, I’d rather spend that time playing games than wandering from seminar to semainar.
So what’s different about Balticon? Friends. A hell of a lot of my online friends are going to be at the convention, and I’m hoping to hang out with them and engage in actual, real time conversations with people I’ve known for years.
Crazy, isn’t it?
Of course, it won’t be all jabbering, all the time, so I’ve browsed the Balticon schedule [PDF] and noted the stuff I’m particularly interested in. I can’t say I’ll definitely be at all these things, but there’s a pretty good chance I will be. The only one I’m hellbent on attending is Mur Lafferty and Jason Adam’s live recording of the Geek Fu Morning Show – After Dark. I’ve been listening to Mur since the beginning of the podcast era, and I can’t miss a chance to see Geek Fu live.
I have no idea what the wifi/internet situation is going to be like at the con. I’m hoping to be able to blog the event (and will have my laptop in tow for that reason) but we’ll have to wait and see how that shakes out.
Saturday
- 1 p.m.: Live! Takeover! (Audio Drama) / Belmont / Mur Lafferty(M), Jason Adams, JR Blackwell, Christiana Ellis, JC Hutchins, John Cmar, Laura Burns
- 2 p.m.: Video Podcasting 101 / Belmont / Working with the basics: Earl Newton(M), Brand Gambin, Tee Morris, Chris Condayan, Jason Adams, Jon Stallard
- 4 p.m.: Effect of Longevity on Our Future / Belmont / Brenda Clough(M), Charles Gannon, Don Sakers, Jul Owings
- 5 p.m.: 42 Reasons Why You Should Write For Young Adults / Belmont / Stephen Yoder(M), Lee C. Hillman, Christy Tohara, Claudia Gray
- 9 p.m.: Live! Geek Fu Morning Show- After Dark / Chesapeake Suite / Mur Lafferty, Jason Adams
- 10 p.m.: Crowd Sourcing / Belmont /Mur Lafferty(M), JC Hutchins, Chris Lester
Sunday
- 10 a.m.: “Why Writing Can’t Be Taught And How To Teach It”: Jim Kelly(M), Mur Lafferty, David Moldawer, Lee C. Hillman
- 11 a.m. Word processing for writers / Belmont / Anthony Stevens
- Noon: Getting published / Derby / Ally Peltier(M), Angela Render, Joshua Bilmes, Lee Hillman, Joshua Palmatier
- Noon: Web Journal/Blogging Workshop / Salon F / Nathan Lilly
- 2 p.m.: Baen Books / Salon D / Mark L. VanName, Jennie Faries
- 3 p.m.: How the internet helps small presses publish books / Derby / Scott Edelman(M), Mike Walsh, Elaine Corvidae, M.T. Reiten
- 4 p.m.: Linguistics for artificial languages / Derby / Lawrence Schoen, Stephanie Burke
- 4 p.m.: Space Western in Anime / Garden / Nathan Lilly(M), Tyler Waldman
- 6 p.m.: Live! Geologic Podcast / Chesapeake Suite / George Hrab, Soccergirl