My LACon IV Schedule
Posted on August 1, 2006 Posted by John Scalzi 19 Comments
Holy crap, I’m doing a lot of stuff at the upcoming Worldcon — my schedule is of Strossian proportions. Here’s what they have me doing and when. I’m cutting and pasting from the e-mail:
Wed 8/23 4:00 PM, 60-90 minutes.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN CAREER
Participants:
Robin Wayne Bailey
Buzz Dixon
Nancy Holder
Robert J. Sawyer(M)
John Scalzi
Precis: How to manage your life as a writer.
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Wed 8/23 5:30 PM, 60-90 minutes.
THE DAY JOB
Participants:
Paul A. Abell
Steven Lopata(M)
Wil McCarthy
John Scalzi
Sam Scheiner
Precis: Many SF writers and SF fans are scientists in real life.How do they combine the two? What is doing science for a living really like? Are we all really mad scientists who want to rule the world?
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Thu 8/24 11:30 AM, 60-90 minutes.
POLITICS & SF
Participants:
Tad Daley
John DeChancie
John Maddox Roberts
John Scalzi
Bill Thomasson(M)
Precis: Which political ideologies from science fiction novels could and/or do work in real life? Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or Starship Troopers? Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale? The whole Star Trek universe?
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Thu 8/24 3:00 PM, 60 minutes.
AUTOGRAPHING: John Scalzi
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Thu 8/24 4:00 PM, 60 minutes.
READING: John Scalzi
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Fri 8/25 10:00 AM, 60-90 minutes.
THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE
Participants:
ElizaBeth Gilligan
David F. McMahon, MD(M)
John Scalzi
John Strickland
Bill Thomasson
Precis: Medicine is evolving at an amazing pace. New discoveries, technology, etc. are announced every day. What will medicine be like in 100 years? Will we have tricorders and neuroscanners like in Star Trek? How about growing or cloning organs? Will we be using organics to solve problems instead of nanobots?
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Fri 8/25 1:00 PM, 60-90 minutes.
PARODY, PASTICHE, AND HUMOR
Participants:
Peter S. Beagle
Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff(M)
Lee Martindale
John Scalzi
Stanley Schmidt
Precis: There’s a time and place for everything. Or is there? Does humor have a place in modern fiction? Can there ever be too much?
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Fri 8/25 4:00 PM, 60-90 minutes.
SWIMMING IN THE GENE POOL
Participants:
David Friedman(M)
Nancy Kress
Jody Lynn Nye
John Scalzi
Bill Thomasson
Precis: What are the ethical problems of the Human Genome Project? Are we playing God when we fool around with genes and chromosomes? Can a world of all blonde and blue-eyed children be far behind? When we can work miracles on the molecular level, will the people in areas we can “correct” be discriminated against?
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Fri 8/25 5:30 PM, 60-90 minutes.
EXTRATERRESTRIALS
Participants:
Geoffrey A. Landis
Thomas R. McDonough(M)
G. David Nordley
Robert J. Sawyer
John Scalzi
Precis: Where are the Extraterrestrials? Why haven’t we been contacted? A gold mine for SF ideas, the academic study of this problem has come a long way in the last 10 years. Are we victims of a galactic conspiracy, or is the forest full of wolves?
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Sun 8/27 10:00 AM, 60-90 minutes.
MIGHT MAKES RIGHT
Participants:
Joe W. Haldeman
J.G. Hertzler
Steven Lopata
Hank Reinhardt(M)
John Scalzi
Precis: An awful lot of ‘hard SF’ is set in a military milieu. Is that to be our destiny in space? Or are Gordon Dickson, Robert Heinlein, and Jerry Pournelle just giving us some rip-roaring adventures? Besides, what’s wrong with militarism?
Yikes.
The good news is that they didn’t put me on anything in before 10am or that starts after 5:30pm, and I have Saturday off. Clearly I’ll have to do all my socializing then. Although I do understand there’s some sort of ceremony then that I need to consider attending. I’ll have to give it some thought.
Hmm, I’m a scientist, often annoyed and ruling the world would be nice… So I guess the answer there is “yes.”
I wish I was going. I attend cons here in Australia, but didn’t start until one year after Melbourne ’99.
Oh well. Enjoy!
I forgot to add, Edwina Harvey from the Andromeda Spaceways co-op will be travelling all the way from Australia to attend the worldcon. If you spot a lady in an Andromeda Spaceways T-shirt, be sure to say hi.
There’s a mug shot on the bullsheet website. The Bullsheet won a Ditmar for Fan Website/Zine this year, so you can congratulate her on that too ;-) (Not sure whether Ted Scribner is attending.)
I hope they’re putting you up in a room. A big room overlooking your kingdom. With room service and an open bar.
I’d check on that last one. Sounds like it’ll be essential.
…wow.
You da MAN.
Are we all really mad scientists who want to rule the world?
Couldn’t do any worse than the mad politicians ruling the world at the moment. I’d prefer a secret cabal of giant super-intelligent squirrels though.
Where are the Extraterrestrials? Why haven’t we been contacted?
Possibly because they’ve already picked up our tv signals, seen a few episodes of Eastenders (the soap where the big Christmas shocker is someone smiling) and I love Lucy and decided there is no way they are coming near this fecking mad planet.
Or the Squirrel Cabal is suppressing information of the visits.
There Is No (Squirrel) Cabal.
*conspiratorialflick*
Just a question John, exactly why are you on the day job panel? I know that you do writing on the side for video game magazines but that’s not exactly science.
Do you read for the full 60 minutes? What are you reading? If it’s more of those teasing quotes from TLC, I expect to read of your death in the newspapers.
Jason Long:
Video games are not science? Blasphemy! In fact, I have written an astronomy book, so I’m not entirely inappropriate for that panel. However, I did send a note back to the program folks letting them know I’m not an actual scientist and that I expected the “Day Job” panel would be more generally about work other than writing, so if they wanted to slip me out of the panel and slip another scientist in, I’d be fine with that. It’s not like I’m going to be hard to find on a panel.
Cassie:
I expect I’ll either read from the first chapter of The Android’s Dream or read my short story “How I Proposed to My Wife: An Alien Sex Story.” I don’t imagine I’ll tease people with TLC excerpts.
Didn’t you write a book or two about science? Maybe you’re filling the science writer slot.
Anyway, I hope you are on that panel because you’ll be on it with Wil McCarthy. He’s a very nice fellow and a good writer. I admit, I’m a little biased because he’s from Colorado and I’ve actually met him.
I wish I were going. Those panels sound awesome! Maybe I can plan to go next year.
Next year the Worldcon is in Japan. Start saving your pennies!
Eeek! While that might be fun, I think I’ll look into taking some time off and going this year instead. Pennies spent now save pennies later!
Your con schedule is so full you might want to think about utilizing some of those clones you’ve been making. Surely there are some viable ones in the batches?
“Stossian”, yeah, know what you mean. Once he gets going, there’s no stopping him. Just TRY and get a word in edgewise on one of his panels. I’ll bet you can’t..
Saw, and enjoyed, him in Glasgow last year. Won’t be going this year… Sigh…
Dave
Jesus Chriggging Feist!!! You’re the mandroid!!!
Wow. I’m so glad I’m your mentee bitch. What is you bidding, lord?
Bring me a shrubbery.
Your will, my lord. I’ll see if there’s oone my landlord won’t miss.
All that and no Kaffeeklatsch. Darn. I think a Kaffeeklatsch with you could be really interesting.