Geekdar

One of the things I noted at Worldcon was the number of people around the convention center who I could say immediately were going to be attendees. And it's taken a while to figure out what it was I was noticing.

I think it must have been a lack of following current fashion. If legible clothing, then not just the manufacturer or some similar lifestyle thing; or anoraks; or just long hair in men; or tweedy jackets.

Day 5

A very hung-over Mr Stross at the first panel on the fantastic elements of the Baroque Cycle (historical SF or historical fic about science?), which all agreed that Eliza was unusual. Worries that Stephenson was committing trilogy, with Cryptonomicon as the first volume. The Cats and SF writers panel is too crowded into a small room for comfort. Even the gophers are surprised at how quickly the room fills, as one holds up a STOP sign assuming that this is the previous panel not yet exited. Final panel is a scrappy talk by the once great Jack Cohen; and after a final trawl of the dealers' room, we set off back to the Fat Lamb as a way-station for the night.

Very different doing this in sunshine.

Day 4

A couple of entertaining panels with Charlie Stross, on AI and on Genre killing ideas (like the mobile phone); and one about whether Tolkien-alikes get things wrong in that they have people hunting for the fix-it item of power, while LotR has people with the item of power trying to get rid of it… The panel get stuck on the wording of the topic, until I point out that it is actually Tolkien who inverted the Grail quest.

Cue long Arthurian digression…

After lunch, the next section of the anime talk, where I get to see enough early Gainax to find out why their first mobile armour series gets called Bustgunner by some — and that even those in the business either don't get NGE or can't summarise it well. There was much disrespectful snickering at the long-held still during the clip of Asuka's revival in EoE.

Inoue-san did a talk on SF in Japan, which indicated that there was little market for written SF, hence most writers went into some visual medium too. Space-opera is well liked, with a new updated (tech-wise) translation of the Lensman series doing well. I guess that explains Daatipea no Daibouken, then. And I resisted the urge to ask fanboyish questions about Gainax gossip.

Curry at Sibbo's Delhi Dabba, including a naan the size of a tea-tray, and a needful walk, before going to a fanfic panel. Relieved to find that most people there will never see 30 again, and many were likely as old as me. Some very weird fandoms — Wild, Wild West and Blakes 7 seemed to be the defaults. And so to bed.

Day 3

Not a lot of interesting panels; all the ones of British SF collide at 10:00, so I go for the one on the British Landscape in SF — and it turns into a vague rambling about fantasy, rather than SF, to the extent that one question trying to drag the talk back on topic got the answer “Did you know that Conan was a Scot?”, like a politician's preapred answer with nothing to do with what was asked. Back to anime with Black Magic M-66 which is harmless, even if quiet unlike the manga.

Lunch and some bheer. Then a so-so talk about the history of anime in the 70s and 80s (up to the advent of the home VCR). Scout the dealers' room, and don't find much (ten years ago I would have bought When the dark star passes, or Venus Equilateral, but not now), then a panel on manga with Hioraki Inoue, quondam Gainax founder, the guy who did the anime talk and an editor from Del Rey, whose answer to most questions was “Buy Tsubasa, it's great!”.

Inoue-san gave the most interesting snippets, indicating that some of the manga strips aimed at older readers acted like soap opera, with characters ageing in real-time; and the honest response to “What do you get out of manga?”, of “A job.”

Decide to skip the masquerade in favour of the Real-Ale bar. Drink lots, go take pictures

Environs

Back to bar, where the masqueraders are coming through from the changing room, so I get to see most of the costumes, if not the skits, close-up. And get enticed into conversation with a couple of lasses, including the one whose question was so roundly ignored in the panel earlier, which gets us a mini-gripe session. I pontificate a lot. And at one point Xena walks up and peers at my name badge.

I was too taken aback to react. Was I being mistaken for some celebrity? Might I nearly have gotten lucky? I'll never know.

Day 2

Early start for Wings of Honneamise, then go to the Japanese SF panel, which turns into a talk about Nippon 2007, the Worldcon to be held in Yokohama; and slideshows of SFWJ members cosplaying, all to the background music of Komm, süsser Tod, which choice boggled at least one member of the audience. Oh, and the panellists seem to be reclaiming the word otaku for the normal run of fan.

Foreign language Seiun awards were given to Sturgeon's And now the news from 1953, and Egan's Distress from 1995, for their recent translations into Japanese.

Then do the R.O.D. OVA (cute), a resupply run, a panel about some of the surface experiments from Huygens, then the new Appleseed movie, which looks pretty, albeit like a video-game, and is sorta faithful to what the series is about, if not many of the details. And bheer!

Day 1

THe morning I take the chance to yomp into town for fruit and other supplies — I reckon I'm going to stack and cruise at breakfast, then snack. I'm gratified to find, opposite the Sainsbury's in Bothwell Street indicated by the con guide that there's an M&S Simply Food opposite, which I use instead.

First panel on Hubble results is off; second on feminist influences on F/SF art (if any) is limp, so I'm off to the anime room, for Alien Nine (loopy), Furi Kuri (insane), Battle Fairy Yukikaze (angsty and wooden), Project EDEN (slapstick) and Please Save My Earth (bland) — an episode or two of each, except the movie. Then the real ale bar, where I spot Charlie Stross with a pint in each hand and no obvious other person to be claiming one. Then wrap up the day with a panel of disgusting ideas in SF — which, being a panel of women in a roomful of blokes, goes for the obvious yuck factor, as exemplified by Sturgeons Some of your blood.

Second leg

Drive in intermittent rain to Glasgow. I put off getting onto the M6 until just short of Carlisle, and then it's follow the road as it gets renamed/renumbered until the M73 forks off, then M8, then off at junction 19 and follow the signs to the SECC.

Worldcon site

Have to wait a bit for the room to clear before checking in; then get registered. Finding that WiFi is £3/30min, with the clock ticking even if you're logged off, I refrain. The lack of drop kerbs makes finding dinner challenging; so we give up and eat in the unremarkable carvery at the hotel, where no-one comes to take any drinks orders; and we are ignored until we are done and get up and start to go. I don't recommend that part of the restaurant on those grounds. Maybe the up-marked one would have been better; but at least we got a reduced rate for the con.

Then to the bar, and beer at a striking £2-95/pint…