Memorial Day and Onward ;-)
Sep. 13th, 2025 11:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Yes, I did post once in June, but I want to circle back to Memorial Day weekend since I went to and volunteered for two SFF conventions (virtually) that weekend, and I want to talk a little more about SFF and reading and the other convention since then.
- Balticon: a nearly-local convention with a big virtual track. I attended a few virtual panels/events, and virtual-assisted a little. I loved getting to hear the Baltimore Gamer Symphony perform -- the tech support for it, including streaming, went really well, and they sounded great! I ended up dropping my Patreon support for one author because her comments on a topic she should know about were so head-shakingly wrong and self-contradicting (wrong in opposite ways, within 5 minutes). I wish her well, but there are so many others to support. I'll probably virtual-volunteer again for Balticon, because I want cons to keep having strong virtual elements.
- Wiscon: all-virtual, and many great panels, although one was really angering (and yes I left comments: the moderator trashed the panel subject, in which those of us who were attending should have been presumed to have be interested). I zoom-hosted one. The most fun was the exhilarating fanvid watch party, so well curated, with a super lively chat in Discord. Next year will be virtual too, and I expect to volunteer again.
- Reading/listening/podcasting: I did a lot of reading this spring and summer to vote for the Hugos. I also guested on one podcast soon after the finalists announcement to talk about the Hugo Awards (overall) and the best novel finalist I'd read at that point (which ended up with my top vote), and on another podcast's later three episodes about the Best Short Story, Novella, and Novel finalists. We all had a lot of fun and were able to speak both enthusiastically and critically without yucking others' yums. Anti-colonialism ran rampant through a lot of what I read and liked. I loved Ray Nayler's phrase "extraction zone" in *The Tusks of Extinction*, describing everywhere but the few rich cities/people that want and extract more and more and more from everyone else. I think the phrase "extractive capitalism" helps a bit when I'm trying to talk about the most harmful end-of-the-spectrum of capitalism without being dismissed as a wild-eyed radical.
- WorldCon: I virtual volunteered again, virtual-hosting many events especially in the early hours to allow panelists from around the world, especially Africa, to participate. That was important to me. Virtual attendees came from 43 countries, and 12 countries had 6 or more attendees each! I was really happy that so many countries participated. I tried not to overdo it, but signed up to do an extra hosting session at the last minute for at least one that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't stepped up, and it was a great panel. Many of the panels I hosted/attended were good. I signed up to virtual-volunteer for the next WorldCon. I was pretty happy about the Hugo Award winners. But, I was disappointed at the Hugo award announcement messups, the late apology of Seattle WorldCon, and the inadequate apology of the announcers (see comment).
- Capclave next weekend: Nope, even though it's local and short-story oriented, a rare bird. I was thinking "Would it really be much higher risk to attend a few panels masked than to go shopping masked?" and went so far as to look at their website and the programming, but there is nothing at all about safety or accessibility, and one weekend away, their Code of Conduct page is literally "TBD". I can see what they're prioritizing, so I shall prioritize myself instead.