VCON panels part I
Oct. 12th, 2004 21:38![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
piranhawe did not go to a lot of panels; basically blew off all of sunday because we went over our allotment of being amongst lots of people. which is sorta funny, considering our last con was baycon, which was just huge. i have no idea how many people were at this con, but there were no more than 25 people at any panel we attended, and usually fewer than that. only some presentations, the opening ceremony, and the talent show had more. i really liked this.
the best panel we went to was on canadian SF -- the panelists were all thoughtful and erudite, and i could have sat there and interacted with them for a lot longer than an hour. nevermind that i hadn't heard of any of them (except, of course, for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
planetalyx); i'll now be looking for their work -- janet waters, eileen kernaghan, and karl johanson (who is the editor of a new magazine, neo-opsis). i am still thinking about that ineffable something canadian writers seem to have in common, that je ne sais quoi that differentiates them from others. because i do feel there is something, but it's very hard to put my finger on. i want to say there is a certain calm present in the way a canadian story is told, but "sedate" is not the right word. unflappable? unhurried?
aside from the panel being excellent, there wasplanetalyx to meet, which i actually got myself to do (yay for overcoming shyness), and that was well worth it. i got a big hug, and we had a little time to chat some. and i got one of her ATCs! now i'll go read that story and then see whether that spins off ATC ideas in my mind, to send in exchange. oh, and there were baby ducks! one of the panel attendants had rescued the eggs after the mother had been attacked by a racoon, and the hatchlings imprinted on her, and it was easier to take them along to the con than to leave them. they were too cute.
one of the presentations i really liked was "special effects on a shoestring", which was not its official title, but should have been. it was especially cool since it turned out it was given by brian oberquell who did the effects for "commander's log", which is a show that has apparently aired twice on SPACE, without any fanfare, and whose screening we attended afterwards. i hadn't planned on it, but was curious after seeing the effects -- they had that special "dr. who" budget look about them. it was neat to see the inventiveness and creativity that such a job requires -- in an alternate universe i think i'd love a job like that.
and it was very funny. the writer/producer/actor, craig bowlsby, and several of the other actors were there, and were quite entertaining. the story is basically that this ship, out there in the vastness of space on a mission to bring "starcups" coffee to far-away planets, has been beset by the mysterious death of all the senior officers, and now command has passed to craig-scott of the laundry corps who struggles to maintain control along with Laundry Chief Blather, amid a host of largely incompetent characters. the show was first planned as a series of short interstitials, and both the paramour and i thought that was a great idea, but SPACE showed it as regular episodes, and has ordered a few more of those. we bought the DVD and will make everyone who comes visit us watch it! :) i should check whether those guys have a website -- oh yeah: http://modena.intergate.ca/personal/epic/cl/index.htm -- cool.
the best panel we went to was on canadian SF -- the panelists were all thoughtful and erudite, and i could have sat there and interacted with them for a lot longer than an hour. nevermind that i hadn't heard of any of them (except, of course, for
planetalyx); i'll now be looking for their work -- janet waters, eileen kernaghan, and karl johanson (who is the editor of a new magazine, neo-opsis). i am still thinking about that ineffable something canadian writers seem to have in common, that je ne sais quoi that differentiates them from others. because i do feel there is something, but it's very hard to put my finger on. i want to say there is a certain calm present in the way a canadian story is told, but "sedate" is not the right word. unflappable? unhurried?aside from the panel being excellent, there was
planetalyx to meet, which i actually got myself to do (yay for overcoming shyness), and that was well worth it. i got a big hug, and we had a little time to chat some. and i got one of her ATCs! now i'll go read that story and then see whether that spins off ATC ideas in my mind, to send in exchange. oh, and there were baby ducks! one of the panel attendants had rescued the eggs after the mother had been attacked by a racoon, and the hatchlings imprinted on her, and it was easier to take them along to the con than to leave them. they were too cute.one of the presentations i really liked was "special effects on a shoestring", which was not its official title, but should have been. it was especially cool since it turned out it was given by brian oberquell who did the effects for "commander's log", which is a show that has apparently aired twice on SPACE, without any fanfare, and whose screening we attended afterwards. i hadn't planned on it, but was curious after seeing the effects -- they had that special "dr. who" budget look about them. it was neat to see the inventiveness and creativity that such a job requires -- in an alternate universe i think i'd love a job like that.
and it was very funny. the writer/producer/actor, craig bowlsby, and several of the other actors were there, and were quite entertaining. the story is basically that this ship, out there in the vastness of space on a mission to bring "starcups" coffee to far-away planets, has been beset by the mysterious death of all the senior officers, and now command has passed to craig-scott of the laundry corps who struggles to maintain control along with Laundry Chief Blather, amid a host of largely incompetent characters. the show was first planned as a series of short interstitials, and both the paramour and i thought that was a great idea, but SPACE showed it as regular episodes, and has ordered a few more of those. we bought the DVD and will make everyone who comes visit us watch it! :) i should check whether those guys have a website -- oh yeah: http://modena.intergate.ca/personal/epic/cl/index.htm -- cool.