A Hive With Good Beer

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Thanks to Greg Machlin for organizing tonight’s File 770 meetup at the Saranac, two blocks from the convention center.

I took a cab over — yes, it was unnecessary — driven by a cabbie who’d been on the job for only two weeks, drove a total of about five miles around the downtown network of one-way streets trying to find the place. She made up for it by insisting on confusing me with George R.R. Martin, whose photo she’d just seen in the weekly pop culture paper (because of our white beards), and asking me questions about my writing.

When I arrived at the Saranac there were about 25 fans already contentedly drinking beer and talking up a storm. I remember a lot of the names of those I talked to, but because lots of you post under a handle I probably shouldn’t blab all those names. I’ll just say I enjoyed meeting you very much. Special thanks to Daniel Dern for my yellow button that reads: “File 770, That Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy.” (The food and beer at the Saranac is good, too!)

There were a couple other unexpected highlights.

At one point I looked through a window and saw David Hartwell, in full plaid regalia, taking a table with a couple other folks.

Then, on my way out, I passed Lou Antonelli and quickly introduced myself. Talk about a small world!

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54 thoughts on “A Hive With Good Beer”

  1. It’s a small world indeed ! One can hope people who meet face to face at world con will realize that.

    Haha: First !

  2. How I wish I could have been with all of you!

    And how glad I am that all of you had such a good time!

    Best, Jim

  3. Thanks to Greg for organizing this.
    When we left, the Making Light group was waiting for our tables.

  8. When we left, the Making Light group was waiting for our tables.

    SJWs always lie in wait.

  11. I’ve been watching the business meeting videos — was that you front row left? I know it’s probably an odd thing to say, but I find the business meeting fascinating. Looking forward to next year.

  12. I wonder if some of the Sad Puppies, particularly those who have expressed somewhat more conciliatory views like Lou Antonelli, will be affected by meeting folks in a venue like this.

    The Puppies fundamental argument is that extreme tactical voting is justifiable because the Puppies are overcoming a “leftist cabal” that has already “rigged” the Hugos in favour of a particular set of tastes and political view points.

    We shouldn’t dismiss this our of hand. There are influential people who run in various overlapping social circles in Science Fiction, just as in any industry. In Science Fiction, the most influential figures may well run in social circles that disproportionately value social commentary and diversity, and operate fro0m a generally, socially, progressive POV. That may well naturally result in certain works and certain types of works getting promoted by some people with some pretty big megaphones. As many anti-Puppies have said, there’s no problem in that context with trying to promote a wider range of works. But the Puppies seem to completely misunderstand that this is a natural occurring social phenomenon, and instead adopted their extreme tactics.

    But watching real people interact, I would think it would become obvious quiet quickly that a conspiracy in hardly necessary for the views of such people to affect the outcome of something like award nominations. The trends we’ve seen in the Hugos over the decades – and in science fiction more generally – can be much better explained by word of mouth circulating amongst influencers – and to those they influence – than by any conspiracy theory.

    Will any of the Puppies pick up on this at WorldCon? Will they see that in the most influential circles in Fandom there is a diversity of views, but their view is simply out numbered? Will the Puppies come to realize that – while this may result in those with the biggest megaphones promoting similar types of works – this is an organic process, not an effort to exclude people?

    I wish I could hear some of these debates.

  13. I wonder if some of the Sad Puppies, particularly those who have expressed somewhat more conciliatory views like Lou Antonelli, will be affected by meeting folks in a venue like this.

    Antonelli’s been going to cons for a long time, and he is still a nimrod. So I’m going with ‘no’ as an answer to your question.

  14. @Ian Gillespie

    Since most (all?) of the original spin about terrible roving bands of trufan SJW Hugo-riggers came directly from people who had attended Worldcon, I’m not sure many died-in-the-wool Puppies are going to change their tune. Perhaps some of the milder group, but I have a suspicion that the combination of first-time Worldcon attendee (rather than supporting member) and Puppy sympathiser is not going to be a common one.

    Its a nice idea, though. I’d quite like it to happen!

  16. By the way, on the walk back from Saranac Pub to the convention centre, I suddenly encountered SF author (and occasional File770 commenter) Kary English, who sadly was looking for the File770 gathering, just a bit too late. I told her we’d remembered her and mentioned her (fondly) at the pub gathering, and she said she’d been having a good time so far — which made me happy. I offered to tackle^W remonstrate with anyone who dared to be unpleasant to her.

    Edited to add: In the Business Meeting videos, I’m the shlub in the Panama hat. Not that you asked.

  17. It is a nice idea.

    Unfortunately, the ability of people to define their worldview and refuse to see any evidence against it is not small.

    Still, hope springs eternal.

  21. ” I offered to tackle^W remonstrate with anyone who dared to be unpleasant to her.”

    How atrociously patronising.

    And considering your vigorous support for the one person from whom English has more to fear than anyone else, staggeringly inappropriate.

    I can’t imagine anything less welcome at a big gathering than a pumped up male swaggering around offering to help ‘damsels in distress’, nor anything more likely to turn a tense discussion into a physical confrontation.

  22. Ann Somerville blah blah, and:

    I can’t imagine anything less welcome at a big gathering than a pumped up male swaggering around offering to help ‘damsels in distress’.

    As a small correction: What I actually said to Kary as we found that we were walking (not swaggering) in the same direction was that I’d be glad to tackle^W remonstrate with anyone being nasty to any Sasquan attendee. Not that I’m ever going to answerable to you for this or for anything else — but feel free to ask her.

    And if you don’t understand the ^W joke, you might need the help of a professional comedian.

  26. “And if you don’t understand the ^W joke, you might need the help of a professional comedian.”

    Which I presume, along with being Vox Day’s water carrier, is another of your claimed professions, is it?

    I don’t care who you were planning to ‘help’. Butting into someone else’s discussion and being aggressive is not clever or useful, and likely to put people in danger. However, I suspect you don’t care about any of that, and are just looking for head pats.

  29. Ann Somerville blah blah, and:

    Butting into someone else’s discussion and being aggressive is not clever or useful, and likely to put people in danger.

    For the record, I had in mind something more like ‘Excuse me, but Con Ops is looking for you. Something about a bag that appears to be yours, I believe’ This’s a ruse that’s been reported successful at past conventions to give someone an opportunity to escape a personal encounter that appears unwanted (or not, at the person’s option).

    If the person either heads for Con Ops, or doesn’t pick up on the offered-escape cue and acts puzzled over not having misplaced a bag, you can say ‘Oh, my mistake.’

    Sorry if absence of notable aggression in the above doesn’t fit your preferred ideologue narrative.

  30. Drat, that rapidly out-paced my crappy and vaguely church-derived Latin. I think I’ve managed the gist of it at least! Time to add “learn better Latin” back onto my to-do list, I think.

  31. A Tweet from Arthur Chu:

    Arthur Chu ?@arthur_affect
    I spent 31 years of my life as a nonsmoker & just blew it all by walking outside #Sasquan

  32. @Peace – I’ve seen some of the pictures from the Dublin Bid party – it looks as if all the smoke has turned the air green.

  34. I felt the “blah blah” was needlessly inflammatory. Selective quoting is fine by itself, and not inherently insulting (unless its been done in such a way as to twist or obscure meaning). Adding the “blah blah” gives, intentionally or not, the impression that the rest of whatever someone said was meaningless nonsense. There are better ways to make a point.

    Nonetheless… I wouldn’t assume intentional insult was meant, without inquiring further.

  36. Meredith, Rick’s previous history on this site, let alone his previous remark to me on this subject, gives me no reason for generosity in interpreting his comments. Others can think as they wish, of course.

  37. @Peace

    I’m fairly sure mine was a not-quite-correct if popular paraphrase, anyway. 🙂

    @Ann Somerville

    I was taking into account his tendency to be flippant, and that it often gets him into hot water, and thought the “blah blah” might fit into that sort of thoughtlessness rather than deliberate insult. Still not a good thing, but a different level from anything intentionally mean.

    Generally I try and offer benefit of the doubt when I can, with exceptions for people well beyond the pale. It tends to use up too many of my spoons otherwise – but not everyone’s social spoons work that way.

  38. At this point, I’m ready to stipulate that Rick and Ann have issues with each other if that will spare them the efforts to demonstrate same to all of us.

  39. @Meredith:

    Your Latin was fine. It was kind of neat having a little conversation.

  41. Next year in Kansas City, Mike! Would like to suggest The Flying Saucer for another File 770 meetup in ’16; they have a very large selection of beers (and spirits) and a very serviceable food menu, too.

  42. To move the conversation to the really important question: what kind of beer?

    I hope those of you from other areas didn’t get your taste buds unexpectedly deafened by PNW IPAs with the hops turned up to 11. Brewers have a thing for hops here, as do San Diego brewers.

  43. I’m British, so I mostly view American beer with deep suspicion, although I understand that it has improved a great deal in recent years.

  44. Meredith — there’s some mighty nice craft beers now (I myself prefer dark beers), and for those in Northern Virginia, I recommend a stop at Sweetwaters — especially when they’re brewing Painted Lady late in the Fall.

  45. Jim, since nothing will stop *you* airing your issues with me, I’ll spare you the effort of needing to do so in future. Glad to know you are happier with the company of antisemites and trolls.

  46. Oh Ann, knock off the persecution complex. I clearly specified the dynamic between you and Rick, not you personally. You do seem to be spiraling down the same drain you found yourself trapped in during your last File 770 incarnation. I actually regret that, since you’re nice to have around otherwise.

    But you insist on picking fights. Whether it’s Rick or Mamatas, you are always the one who brings up old business. If you can’t let go things that aren’t germane to current discussion, then leaving is the best thing for you to do.

  48. Rick K, I favor Anchor Steam, which is well-hopped. (I say, sometimes, that it’s only in bottles because having beer in the fridge without a container would scare people.) It’s good at cellar temperatures, too.

  49. @Jim Henley

    So do a lot of British people. Its why we have the same attitude to foods from other cultures as we do their languages – we steal half of it and then alter it to our own tastes. The magpies of the cultural world.

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