| Jury Duty |
[Oct. 27th, 2009|05:12 pm] |
I went to Jury Duty today in Orange Couty,FL (Ninth Circuit). Boy has it improved since I went 4 years ago. They now have wifi in the jury pool room.
I caught up on all the TV I missed on Friday (I was at Necronomicon which was really FUN). I saw Smallville (please make it stop), Ugly Betty (this show was originally created in Colombia so I feel I am honoring my roots when I watch it and hey its funny), Dollhouse (intense, an amoral character grows a conscience), Medium (a good family and crime episode), and the season premiere of The Venture Brothers (hysterical).
I did not get called once. Still good feeling to fulfill one's civic duty.
May catch Astro Boy tonight.
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| Necronomicon 2009 Day Three |
[Oct. 25th, 2009|09:35 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | necronomicon 2009 | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Sunday Night Vinyl - Retro Alternative | ] |
I cleaned up the room with Arthur, Patty and Steve. After I was done I checked out the end of the fun with quantum physics panel. Then I went to buy some books at the Dealer's Room. I got a copy of NESFA's collection of John W. Campbell's Don A. Stuart stories. I also bought three collections of Captain Britain written by Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell. I also talked to Glennis La Blanc about some local guests. Then I went to a panel on guilty pleasure. Richard Lee Byers and I are both addicted to Smallville and we both want the show to end. The I loaded up carbs at the con suite and talked to Jay Eichleberger and Alex Lyman. Then caught the last part of a panel the virtual world mainly focusing on the game Second Life. That was interesting some of the stuff that goes on in the virtual world. I also talked to some of the OASIS guests. Then said my good byes and headed east with Arthur.
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| Necronomicon 2009 Day Two |
[Oct. 25th, 2009|07:07 am] |
After I got back from my beach run, I went to the guests of honor panel. This was interesting since the moderator used cards to determine which guest would get questions asked. During the panel Catherine Asaro asked about why the SciFi Channel changed its name. I told the panel the story of how Michael Hinman sold his rights to SyFy Portal to a unknown third party. After that I went with Patty to do a grocery run. Then I went to do the anime trivia contest. It went OK but two audience members did better than the contestants. Then to the big trivia contest. This year I teamed up with Arthur Dykeman and local trivia master Wade and a young man. We called ourselves the Blue Moons. It was a tough contest but we won with a considerable margin. Then of to do more part set up. Then check out a panel on the similarities and differences between SF and Fantasy. I was crashing during the first half of the panel before reviving for the second half. Then more party setup. Then I went to Masquerade setup. The Masquerade went well with a lot of Batman villians this year and a zombie girl scout troop. Then to the party. About 90 people showed up. Big Thanks to Patty, Steve, and Arthur for all their help.
Now off to church. |
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| Necronomicon 2009 Day One |
[Oct. 24th, 2009|09:14 am] |
Running behind this weekend. I blame myself for not resisting the the urge to update my Vista Ultimate machine to 7.
I am in a bit of a hurry so I apologize for any errors in this.
The trip to the con was OK. I made one mistake, taking the 375 instead of the 175, but got to to fix it. The room was not ready so I parked and went to the Dealers Room. I passed out a bunch of OASIS 23 flyers with Dealer's Room info. I went to the art show and dropped of a bunch of flyers with art show info to Stacy, the Necronomicon Art Show Director. She will send them to the artist when returning their art.
I checked out a panel on the mainstreaming of comics. It was interesting and went all over the place. I saw 2 panels on writing and publishing. One panel was from the guests of honor and another panel from writers who publish by other means. It was interesting to hear the challenges and pit falls of the publishing world. I heard a talk about Tampa anime fandom from Roy Harms and Mark Dmuchowski. There were some really wild stories there including Trek fans confronting punks with phaser and rumored goat sacrifices. Then I got some food before the ice cream social. Then I went to Catherine Asaro's concert with Paul Vincenti doing drums. The concert was interrupted by a fire alarm and we had to leave the building for a half an hour. The good thing was I got to have a talk with Michael Hinman. After the concert I went to two late night panels. The first was about imaginary boyfriends and the other was about gay issues in fandom. Both were interest and got a bit wild at times.
This morning I got to the Mary apparition window and did my beach run on the Courtney Causeway. Now I am off to check out the dealers room, do panels, run a trivia contest, be in a trivia contest and help set up for the OASIS room party. |
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| Montreal Day Eight, Anticipation Day Five |
[Aug. 10th, 2009|10:53 pm] |
I came in as usual and open the exhibit room. After that I did some programming. I bought some stuff in the Dealers Room. I went to closing ceremonies. Then I helped at the volunteer desk during teardown. Then I went to Dead Dog party where I munched and talked.
I attend the following panels:
- World Without the Internets –Oh Noes!
- Detention 1959
Now final packing and some sleep before going home.
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| Montreal Day Seven, Anticipation Day Four |
[Aug. 10th, 2009|07:02 am] |
I went to mass at Notre Dame Basilica. This is a beautiful church. The Basilica looks likes its cousins in Europe. I remeber the tour guide saying this is where Celine Dion got married. Then I went to the Ecumenical Christian Worship Service at the convention. The service was hosted by the Reverend Randy Smith who was also working on the Hugo Ceremonies. It was a great service. I did some prep work for the Hugo info I was going to send Airlock Alpha. I talked to Susan Cole about some OASIS (local con) business. I did some door guard duty right before the Hugos. I went to Hugos and got a place in the press area. The area was next to the lightboard and the tech let me plug into one of the surge protectors. I took notes on my laptop. It was a interesting and fun experience. The Hugos were great. It was about 1hr and 45 minutes. Julie Czerneda was a great MC for the ceremony. I finished up the stuff for Airlock Alpha in the program ops room. I went to Keith Kato's Chili Party. I ate three bowls of vegetarian chili. It was very cool crowd of fans and pros. I checked out the dance but it had closed. I went to get something to drink from the parties before I turned in. While party hopping I saw Steven Silver with WALL-E's Hugo. He was letting people hold it for $5. The money would go to the fan funds which help fellow fans go to convention in other countries.
I attended the following panels:
- The Look of Media Fantasy
- Charles N. Brown: A Tribute
- Adapting Alan Moore
This was really cool and worth $5 (US).
Today see a panel or two. Get Neil to sign some books and then close down the con.
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| Montreal Day Six, Anticipation Day 3 |
[Aug. 9th, 2009|07:34 am] |
I started out the day as usual with watching the exhibit door until opening. I found a mini-mart store in the convention center which diet green ice tea. I talked to some of my old Aussie tour buddies. I recommended the Montreal Museum of the Fine Arts to them. I had my picture taken by Kyle Cassidy, a photograher who worked with Neil Gaiman on a book called Who Killed Amanda Palmer. Cassidy wants to do a gallery show of fan pictures. The night was consumed with Masquerade. There were 23 entries. This included: a recreation of the Krusnik from the anime Trinity: Blood, a Klingon Batman, Golden Age Green Lantern, Rorsharch, Wonder Woman, and many original creations. The Masquerade setup was great. Everything was on the same floor. There were no railings on the stairs to the stage which was odd. There was a good spread of sandwiches in the green room. The half time show (the time between presentation and judges results) was classic Warner Brother cartoons. This consisted of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester and Tweety shorts. All the Bugs Bunny were dubbed in French. After Masquerade it was to the dance which was DJed by Johnny Zed. It was better attended this was probably due to have it following Masquerade. There some 80 sets which made feel like I was back in Orlando. Zed played my request of Erasure's "Sometimes" before I left. I did a little party hopping then to bed.
I attended the following panels:
- Private Passions: Everything But Publishing (Interview with Tom Doherty Publisher Guest of Honor)
- Q&A with Elisabeth Vonarburg (French Guest of Honor)
- Neil Gaiman: Finding Fandom (Guest of Honor)
Today the Hugos
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| Montreal Day Five, Anticipation Day Two |
[Aug. 8th, 2009|06:59 am] |
Before I wrote yesterday's entry I went to the lobby bathroom. I saw an odd machine there. I thought it was a machine one finds in bathroom but it was a breathalyzer. I have never seen that before.
I started out the day guarding the door at the exhibit hall. Then I renewed my Locus subscription. I also got a Charles Brown (founder/publisher/editor of Locus) memorial button. I bought a copy of Barry Malzberg's collection of recursive science fiction stories. The I bought a gift for someone. The gift was then signed by Neil Gaiman later that day. I gave Gaiman my convention book to sign (I always try to get the book signed by all the guests of honor). Gaiman started leafing through my book since he had not read it yet. I saw a cosutmer as Princess Leia in the dress she wore on Cloud City. I always thought that was Leia's best outfit. I got a picture of that on my cell phone. Later that night I went to single mixer hosted by John Scalzi. By coincidence I was wearing my OASIS 21 T-Shirt where Scalzi was a guest. I talked to some people there. Then I checked out Neil Gaiman introducing the film Coraline. Then I went to dance next door. Andrew Gurudata did a great job DJing. I think the con should have put the dance in the party hotel rather the convention center and should have put the dance in the party announcements. The dance was fun. After the dance, I went to a few parties. I bought a .pdf file of a Cecelia Tan book and had a nice talk with Cecelia. Then I was off to bed.
I attend the following panels:
- Why I Fan
- A Conversation with Taral Wayne (Fan Guest of Honor)
- Paul Kincaid interviews David Hartwell (Editor Guest of Honor)
Today I will be working on the Masquerade and will catch interviews with Neil Gaiman and Tom Doherty.
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| John Hughes |
[Aug. 7th, 2009|07:15 am] |
John Hughes died yesterday. My favorite film was Sixteen Candles. It is the perfect teen comedy /romance. Hughes other films were good, but that one really hit a chord with me. He was very good at picking songs for his films. I wonder if IBar back in Orlando will do a tribute.
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| Montreal Day Four, Anticipation Day One |
[Aug. 7th, 2009|06:48 am] |
The day started out with some great local convention news. Took care of some of OASIS (local Orlando Science Fiction) business. Then headed out to the convention center.
The convention center has a lot of little places to eat. I got a bacon, egg cheese sandwich (my work day breakfast) and some local green citrus ice tea. The tea was great. Then I spent most of morning helping out the volunteer and information desk. I got a chance to checkout the Dealers Room, Art Show and most of the Exhibits. Both the Art Show and Dealers Room are small but have a lot of good stuff in it. Fan guest of honor Taral Wayne, using large scale photographs, recreated his apartment at the con. This really looked cool.
I attended the following panels/events- The History of Tor (both Tor publisher Tom Doherty and Tor Editor David Hartwell are guests of honor)
- The Life and Work of John M. Ford
- Opening Ceremonies
- Flirting at Conventions
For the evening meal I found this place which lets you customize a Chinese box of rice. You tell them what vegetables, type of rice, sauce and protein you want and they make it for you.
I went to a lot of parties. The Delta Hotel have these interesting two story suites. I loaded up on carbs. I had a shot of saki at the Japan party (they want to have the Worldcon again in 2017 YEAH!!!!). I saw a few people and turned in.
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| Montreal Day Three |
[Aug. 6th, 2009|06:54 am] |
Bike riding hit a snag. These rent-a-bike centers use credit cards and they would not read my Mastercard. I left my Visa at home so I had to hike all day. It was not bad. I got to where I wanted to be. Maybe I lost some weight.
After breakfast, I went to the Montreal Museum of the Fine Arts. I came a bit early so I tried to plan out Worldcon. The Museum was great. I found the exhibit about a local animator that Steve and Susan Cole told me about. The man's name was Frederic Back. He was a German who moved to Quebec in late 40s. Back's films were about nature. He had a distinct style. Back's art used a lot pencils instead of inks. The museum also had a lot of works from the Old World Masters. There was also a special Napoleon exhibit. The exhibit had some personal effects from the Emperor which include his hat, shirt, boot and even a lock of hair. This was all free.
After Museum, I walked to a Taiwainese/Vegetarian restaurant. I had a soy country fried steak. It tasted great.
Then I took the Metro to convention center. For the rest of the afternoon I helped out the volunteer desk and bumped into some friends. The Reno in 2011 had a party last night. Saw some more people and had some food and drink. Then off to bed.
Today the beginning of the convention.
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| Montreal Day Two |
[Aug. 5th, 2009|06:30 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | montreal | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Hotel Lobby | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  peaceful | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Hotel Muzak | ] |
I took the the three hour bus tour. The tour stopped at Notre Dame Basilica, in front of the 1976 Olympic stadium, St.James Oratory, and on a place one could look at the whole city. The bus went all over the whole city. Really nice.
Then I went to con and made more convention packets. After that I moved them to were they needed to be stored. My con roommate, Brad Ackerman helped out on that. After that Brad and I went to a bistro where I had scallops and vegetables. Then I went back to the hotel, did some email and surfing and got some sleep.
The day started out overcast and drizzly and then became nice and sunny. Then at night it got drizzly again. It is like Florida :)
Today I want to try this bike rental system and check out the art Museum. Steve and Susan Cole say there is an exhibit to a pioneer of animation. Should be cool. Then some con work in the afternoon and checkout the Reno in 2011 party tonight. |
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| Montreal Day One |
[Aug. 4th, 2009|07:43 am] |
Got in OK. No problems getting through customs and the like.
Got to the Palais des congrès de Montréal and worked on bag stuffing for a few hours. It was cool. Saw a few people I knew. Then I went to get some dinner (pasta with some custom made sauce). I checked out Chinatown which is right next to the Palais des congrès de Montréal. I will probably eat there today. Then went back to the hotel room to chill.
Today, I signed up for a three hour tour (insert Gilligan's Island joke here) of Montreal. After that back to some more volunteer work. |
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| Some thoughts on Michael Jackson |
[Jun. 26th, 2009|09:49 am] |
The first time I remember the gloved one coming on my radar was in my computer literacy class. For some reason Ms Pratt showed "Thriller" and the making of video. It was interesting but the zombies actually made it hard to eat my pizza boat afterward. I was listening WSHE ("SHE's only rock and roll") which was the album oriented rock station which played Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and new stuff like the Smiths and Simple Minds. I was not converted over by the King of Pop and remained a loyal rock/alternative/whatever non pop is called.
Actually my next notable memory with Jackson had to with Miami radio. WSHE had a rival in the late 80s and early 90s, WGTR. WGTR was playing the same music as WSHE but all CD. They even took SHE's wacky morning men Herman and McBean. Then one summer GTR was sold and restructured. I found out about the change while driving and hearing "Man in the Mirror" on GTR. I realized there was something wrong immediately changed to WSHE.
Jackson was brought up in my intro to Forensics class (a requirement for the computer forensics program). The teacher was into current event and brought up Jackson's arrest that which I heard on the radio. The teacher pointed out that the DAs were being goofy when the announced their indictments. I agreed that my teacher was right and felt that the DAs deserved to lose for not putting a good case together.
Overall I think Steve Barnes summed it up in his blog. A great talent who went goofy. His sound was not my cup of teas but he was to billions and I feel bad for them, except for that lady with the doves at the trial.
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| Birthday |
[Mar. 15th, 2009|12:23 pm] |
I decided to start the day off with a bike ride. It was for Gear up for Education. As the link says they were trying to break the world record for a bike parade. Not sure if they accomplished it or not. I could not find an update. Then on to downtown to meetup with Patty for breakfast and see the Jim Henson exhibit at the Orange County Historical Center. Patty ran a bit behind so I grabbed some food for both of us and meet her at the museum. Parking was insane due to a charity walk at Lake Eola. Patty and I checked out the exhibit. I got to show off my knowledge of all things Henson. They had classic muppets like Bert,Ernie, Mahnamahna and the Snowths. They also had tapes of Henson's early commercials and props from The Dark Crystal. I bought a poster of Super Grover drawn by Alex Ross. It turns out that night the museum was having a presentation of The Muppet Movie. They were doing it as a sing along led by Henson's daughter and local Orlando resident Heather Henson. Patty bought me a ticket for it. I went back home changed for church. After church went to the Barnes and Noble and checkout the lastest issue of Doctor Who Magazine. The are a lot of good classic Doctor Who DVDs coming down the pike next year. I got to to movie presenatation. The only complaint I had was that it was a bit cramped whre they showed the film. They gave everybody and songbook and stuff like pop guns and bubbles to use during the movie. They were Rocky Horroring the movie, althought it was cleaner than Rocky Horror. The Muppet Movie holds up very well. Henson's and company humor never goes out of style. When I was watching it, I noticed Kermit was riding a single speed hybrid bicycle. This the type of bike which seems to be popular in downtown Orlando. After the film I went to Independent Bar. I was going to stay long at first but endded up staying till 3AM. The only odd thing during the night the vegetarian hot cart never showed up. I got to talk to some people I had not seen in awhile. I asked a couple of people how they felt about Megacon. I also got to play with an iPhone to check up on my email (I had not been on my house since 3:30PM). The iPhone is cute but why would I give up my phone which looks like a classic Star Trek communicator. At the end of the night talk to Tom, Margaret, Christina about the The Godfather, how I brought a restaurant to hush when discussing Rosemary's Baby at a book group dinner, vegan restaurants and about mutual friends. All and all a good BDay.
PS I had to proofread this myself and I was in abit of a hurry. I apologize for any mistakes
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| What 80s character are you? |
[Mar. 3rd, 2009|06:12 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | calm | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | The Philips File (radio talk show) | ] |
As flawed as the early version of this show was this still made my day.
Your result for The 80s Cartoon Personality Test...
Superfriends!You scored 50 Aggression and 40 Silliness! 
You're Superfriends!! DC Comic book legends Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman, along with their new comrades Marvin, Wendy and Wonder Dog, are called to "fight injustice..."
You take your job seriously. You never let your personal issues get in the way of your work. Sometimes, you take things a little too seriously. Still, when push comes to shove, everyone's going to want you in their corner because you're so good at fighting for what you believe in. Keep it up!
Take The 80s Cartoon Personality Test at HelloQuizzy
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 25th, 2009|10:54 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | books | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | calm | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Sunday Morning Coming Down - Real Music Weekends | ] |
This was interesting but like all of these quizzes not all the answer fit right.
| What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more. | | Literate Good Citizen | | | Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm | | | Fad Reader | | | Book Snob | | | Non-Reader | | What Kind of Reader Are You?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz |
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| Writer's Block: Doctor Who? |
[Jan. 7th, 2009|09:52 pm] |
I was going for Paterson Joseph. I thought his performance as the Maquis in Neverwhere was Doctor-like.
Steven Moffat who is an experience producer and award winning writer casted Matt Smith and that is good enough for me. I always felt this role was always well casted. Once we see Smith's second episode all of our doubts will be forgotten.
I think David Tennant summed it up right that the transition time is an anxious and exciting time. We say goodbye to old friend and wait to see a new friend. That how it was like the first time this happened to me when Tom Baker left and Peter Davison came in.
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| 2008 |
[Dec. 31st, 2008|10:35 pm] |
It was a year of ups and downs. Then again, what year isn't it.
Best moment was having David Gerrold and and Adam-Troy Castro high five each other after a very funny joke about cats that look like Hitler during a panel at OASIS.
Also I enjoyed working with everybody at OASIS. I hope I can do a good job and keep this puppy going for a few more years. We have a good team.
There was no really big downer moment of the year for me personally. I felt bad that my friend Patty lost her job as Children's librarian but she got another librarian job at the end of the year. Next would be some unexpected but manageable house and car repairs.
I liked all the films that came out in May which includes Iron Man, Speed Racer, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The Dark Knight was also good. Wall-E was the best American animated film. Best non genre films were Milk and Frost Nixon.
This year I got addicted to watching House. Doctor Who was great as always. Catherine Tate was a great companion.
Best book Was The Halting State by Charles Stross. Close runner up would be The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Micheal Chabon.
The Sisters of Mercy had the best concert becuase this time I knew were Sunday Night Vinyl remote was at. I do miss Sunday Night Vinyl to go.
Thanks to Patty Russell and Dave Plesic for getting me through the year.
Best wishes for 2009.
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| Retro Review - Tron |
[Dec. 21st, 2008|08:46 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | tron | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | calm | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Sunday Night Vinyl - Retro Alternative | ] |
Below the cut is a Retro Review of Tron. This was in the December 2008 of the Event Horizon, the newsletter of the Orlando SF Society.
( Read more... )
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