Damn, I'm gone for a wee bit and the thread explodes.
Answering a few things:
Sameth: Just fyi, the reason bookstores don't charge for autographs is because they get the author on a promo tour...the publisher (or the author) usually pays for the trip, and both the author and the bookstore gets exposure. Convention appearances are usually solely paid for by the con themselves, fee and travel expenses. (Sometimes, like Aggiecon a while back, there are happy coincidences, like Terry Pratchett being in the US on a book tour already, so they didn't have to pay for the transatlantic ticket.) BTW, if Brust isn't one of the authors you know, catch some of his panels. He is a trip, like a sarcastic, stage-ready version of Jim. Steakley is another one.
This con has a different feel from A-kon.
Dinner on Sat:I wish I could say "Everybody meet at the green plant by the lobby where Brust sets up court," but this is a brand new hotel and I don't know the landmarks. How many people who want to do dinner won't be there on Fri? (The reason I'm asking...Priscilla and I have most of our panels on Friday and will be easier to find. We have one Noon panel, however. Note: I had a freak gardening accident with a tomato plant and now have red hair.)
Suggestions of Panels:
*If you are an aspiring author, there is a ton of useful info here.
*Anything with Jim.
*Anything with Brust. (HIGHLY reccomend picking up a copy of Jhereg before then, it's a quick read. Fantasy world as seen through the eyes of an assassin with a sarcastic wyvryn-like sidekick...Brust has been compared to Twain. He's really good.)
Fri night's 9 pm Talking During the Movies! – Friday Night Double Feature
Hosted by Dusty Rainbolt, Lou Antonelli, Michael Finn, and assorted others…
Two schlock masterpieces receive a thorough MST3K'ing by con guests
and staff. This year we feature...
Frankenstein Conquers the World
Toho Studios (of Godzilla fame) dabbled in combining rubber Kaiju monsters with American movie monsters several times. The most well known is King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962). But did you know that three years later they tried again with Frankenstein? Enter the screamingly funny 'Furankenshutain tai chitei kaiju Baragon' (1965) which was later released in English under the title 'Frankenstein Conquers the World'. It turns out that the Nazis shipped the heart
of Frankenstein to Japan during WWII for experimentation. They sent it to a secret lab in ... Hiroshima. You can see where this is going, can't you? If you guessed giant mutated Frankenstein tussling with a rubber suited wonder-lizard, you get a cookie. 94 minutes of kaiju craziness.
1990: Bronx Warriors
Set in the nightmare future world of 1990, this low-budget Italian retread of Escape from New York (released only one year earlier) features day-glo gangs, heavy metal motorcycle hooligans, way too much synthesizer music and Fred "The Hammer" Williamson as the pimp-king of New York. What more could you ask for? The post apocalyptic Broadway chorus-line gang in particular must be seen to be believed. 92 minutes of Warrior of the Wasteland wackiness.
On a side note, anyone know where the closest Whole Foods is?
