Putting Millennicon on Your Radar
Posted on February 4, 2009 Posted by John Scalzi 29 Comments
Citizens of Earth! Here in these dark, cold days of winter deprivation, have you been sitting in your small, cramped, poorly-lit domiciles, eating food straight from the can and staring your “calendars,” wondering what you will do with yourself on the weekend of the Vernal Equinox, when winter is henceforth banished and flowers and tiny bunnies will once again romp across the land? If you are not otherwise occupied with strange pagan rituals at your various henges and woodland altars — and heck, even if you are, because honestly, how much time can you spend at a henge? They rarely have cable TV or wifi — why not come to Millennicon, the science fiction convention in Cincinnati, at which I will be the guest of honor?
Yes! Millennicon! At which we will sit about on the days of equal night and sun, expounding on the great ideas of our time and/or wearing t-shirts with clever-yet-nerdy sayings on them! Oh, the fun we shall have. They will write epic poems of it, in iambic hexameter, no less, or possibly dactylic hexameter, because it will be just that heroic. You will tell your grandchildren about it! And they will listen politely and with a minimum of squirming, because their parents promised them ice cream if they would humor you! Everyone wins!
So, yes: Millennicon. Six week or so from now — more than enough time for you to plan ahead. Hope to see you there.
You know, I wasn’t thinking about coming, but then you mentioned the dactylic hexameters. Damn you for knowing my metrical weakness!
Everyone has a weakness for dactylic hexameter. It’s just some don’t know it yet.
A major incentive for me to attend is the fact that Millennicon is less than 10 minutes from my house (well, more like 30 minutes today, with several inches of snow dumped on us last night, but I’m cautiously optimistic that they can get the roads cleared by late March).
So yes, I’ll be there. I can’t pass up dactylic hexameter.
Excellent – does that make you a Virgil for the 21st Century.
My knowledge of dactylic hexameter has been gained from a few minutes internet study. I find that it is quite partial to a ‘chant’ style of recitation. With the accent falling on the bold syllables, here is my first effort:
Cincinatus’ city will host our man Scalzi at the equinoc–
tal festival. At the Holiday Inn Hotel you get to meet him!
H’mm. The world may one day thank me for an epic on the life of Scalzi. But somehow, I doubt it.
I once WENT to a PROM at that HOtel with MY first GIRLFRIEND
IT’S too bad I don’t LIVE in CINcinAti ANYMORE!
(sucking at dactylic hexameter… more “weak at” rather than “weakness for”)
I’d love to attend, but I’m looking forward to seeing the flowers romp across the land.
*I* cannot write in dactylic hexameter; efforts I make are all
failures of scansion. I try, but it keeps falling back to iambic. So
what can I do but give up and go back to the rhythm of sonnets, which
Shakespeare adored? So to HELL with dactylic hexameter anyway!
You see? How easily the iams flow
from me? I hardly need to modify
my ordinary style at all.
(I will be laid up following surgery to replace a defective joint, and will miss the convention.)
s/staring your/staring at your/
Everyone hates a nit-picker. I accept your hate, and transmute it into pure gallium for use in my semiconductor factory.
Dude.
The catnip is for the CATS! Not you. Stop sniffing the Nip please.
dactylic hexameter? Bah!
Haiku FTW
Or when the mood strikes.
Limmericks!
And it has one kick-ass art show! Even if the hotel restaurant did steal 3’x30′ of its floor space.
Why yes, the Art Show Director is still annoyed about that. Why do you ask? *blink* *blink*
See you there!
For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to see John on a con panel, be aware it’s a sight to behold. He’s energetic and funny and everything you thought he would be if you’ve visited this site long.
I was on a panel at the Heinlein Centennial with him back in ’07, and it was one of the best, and one of my favorite, panels ever.
Looking forward to it, John.
OK, that’s enough of that. The rest of you can start trashing him.
OOh! Only an hour south of me. Will you do some fun *drunken* Shakespeare? Pleeze?
I have been to Star Trek and Star Wars cons but never generic sci-fi con. How do they differ I wonder? I assume this type of con has the room of vendors etc?
Just curious.
Steve:
Lit cons usually do have a dealer’s room, yes.
They differ primarily in that the con covers more than one subject in the SF/F field. Also, generally fewer Imperial Stormtroopers and/or Klingons.
Hmmm… I can come. It’s just a matter of finding a ride!
Dactyilc hexameter works a lot better in Latin or Greek than in English.
The last time I attended Millenicon was when they were still counting down to the Millenium. I think this will be a good time to go back…
“Also, generally fewer Imperial Stormtroopers and/or Klingons.” LOL – yeah I bet. It can be hard to get around sometimes when their is a Jedi sword fight going on in central pavilon.
Getting your rhythms in line with strict meter
Might make your poetry proper and neater.
But some of us have a much deeper pashion
For verses that go off awry, Ogdennashian.
Depending on receipt of my income tax refun’
I might have to join you down I-71.
@12 Deborah Brown And a pretty neat Art Show director. ;-) I’ll be there. I’ve been attending for several years now. It’s good to see old friends and make new ones.
@22 Jeff Hentosz: Excellent verse! I like Ogden Nash, too.
@adelheid: I’ll be watching for you.
Re: Stormtroopers & Klingons; we do get a few. Just not nearly as many. Which reminds me I need to write up that weapons policy for the art show….
…AND get my Air Pirate outfit ready.
The Programming Person just sent out the draft program to select folks for checking. Mr. S, how do you plan to get a 1/2 ton of bacon covered cats to the hotel from your house? It is an amusing program item, though.
But how will you get your Double-Doubles?
I will be there! And I just added “Write Epic Millenicon Poem” to my google calendar for Monday the 23rd. Assuming, of course, we don’t write it at the dead dog party.
Shoot!? I had planned to attend, but ended up moving to Huntsville, Alabama a few weeks ago. I wonder if they have any sci/comic cons down here?