Wiscon Schedule
Posted on May 19, 2006 Posted by John Scalzi 9 Comments
I’ll be at the Wiscon science fiction and fantasy convention next weekend, and if you want to see me blather on endlessly in a place other than the Governor’s Lounge, this is where to do it:
Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m. in Conference Room 5
Chick Lit and Chick Flicks—Legitimate Genres or Marketing Ghettos?
“Chick Lit” and “Chick Flicks” are terms that are thrown around a lot in advertising and other media and are often used negatively. Are there any legitimate uses of the terms? Is this just another way for a male–dominated society to disparage works that address the lives and concerns of women?
Panelists: John M. Scalzi, Linda McAllister, BC Holmes, Alma Alexander, Lee Abuabara
Notes: I’m on this panel, I imagine, because of my film background, and because you should have at least one guy on a panel like this, and this time it gets to be me.
Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m. in Conference Room 5
Does Your Baby Make You Smarter?
The needs of small children can hinder creative production. On the other hand, they can show us new ways to look at the world and ourselves.
Panelists: John M. Scalzi, James F. Minz, Naomi Kritzer, Kira Franz, Pat Cadigan
Notes: Being the stay-at-home parent in our family, I naturally think this is a good fit for me. I’ll be moderating this panel.
Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m. in Senate A
Naked–Eye Astronomy
For most of history, what people knew of the skies was what they could see with their own eyes—but many of them knew there were patterns in what they were seeing. (Asimov said that science grew out of the need to predict eclipses.) What can we see without instruments (maybe allowing binoculars) and without driving for hours to get away from artificial light? Planets, meteor showers, comets, artificial satellites—and where to find out about them.
Panelists: George Zebrowski, Linda Susan Shore, John M. Scalzi, Chip Hitchcock
Notes: Neat! This could be a lot of fun. I’ll be moderating this one as well.
Aside from this I will be doing the usual “float about in the lobby, panels and parties” thing. If you see me, be sure to say hello.
Oooh, say hi to Alma for me! She tried last year to talk me into doing Wiscon this year, but alas, this year came with the usual 364 days rather than the bonus 30 or so advertised in the catalog.
Have oodles of fun and tell us all about it!
Last I looked WisCon was totally sold out and this is a big bummer for me because I fear that is as close as you will come!
I was just there last weekend bringing my sprog home for the summer. Dang it all.
Cool! My wife (Anita Rowland, http://www.anitarowland.com) and I are flying out from Seattle for Wiscon. So I finally get to thank you for the Christmas gift!
Wow! the astronomy panel looks like fun, so I’m gonna be there for sure. Otherwise I’ll probably be helping out in the Green Room or around Operations during the con…
Oh, the “does your baby make you smarter?” panel will be fun. Kira and I were in the same CW class, and while I don’t know if her baby made her smarter, her baby is awfully cute.
I’m excited to hear how the topic “Chick-flik” turns out…I was involved in a similar discussion on the validity of “Indian Art” versus contemporary Native American art and is there such a thing as contemporary Native American art that is especially worthy of being considered contemporary apart from all other singularly contemporary arts.
…and yes, it was every bit as droll and pretentious as it sounds…after an hour of rational conversation it boiled down to name-calling and some “alleged” biting…so at least it had a happy ending…
I wish I could see “Does Your Baby Make You Smarter?” because as a stay-at-home parent myself, who is trying to write, I don’t feel smarter.
John, any chance you could post notes from the session?
It’s one of the greatest privileges of living in Wisconsin: knowing that WisCon is a mere bus ride away, EVERY YEAR! Gloat, gloat, gloat!
It’s only a few hours until I leave; I can hardly sleep. See you there, John!
It’s one of the greatest privileges of living in Wisconsin: knowing that WisCon is a mere bus ride away, EVERY YEAR! Gloat, gloat, gloat!
It’s only a few hours until I leave; I can hardly sleep. See you there, John!
It’s one of the greatest privileges of living in Wisconsin: knowing that WisCon is a mere bus ride away, EVERY YEAR! Gloat, gloat, gloat!
It’s only a few hours until I leave; I can hardly sleep. See you there, John!