By Rich Lynch:
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG…
First panel of the final day of the convention was John Hertz’s book discussion of Heinlein’s The Rolling Stones. It’s from 1952, right in the middle of RAH’s Golden Age of SF juveniles. RAH didn’t choose to depict technology much beyond that which existed or was reasonably plausible for the early 1950s, so instead of a suspension of disbelief the reader obtains a creation of belief. The book is a good example of Heinlein’s expertise in using a socioeconomic basis to create a sense of humanity in his fiction. It’s still readable.
“TIME TRAVEL IN THE MEDIA” PANEL
(L-R) Elektra Hammond, Maria, Chuck Rothman, and Daniel Kimmel
An anthology panel, be it an interesting one that included brief deconstructions and plot analyses, that consisted of shout outs to fan favorites like Quantum Leap and Doctor Who, and some lesser-known shows like The Lazarus Project. My suggestions, when it came time for Q&A, were The History of Time Travel (find it and watch it, it’s worth it) and an old favorite, ‘The Orb’ story arc of The Adventures of Bristol County, Jr. There were so many possibilities for discussion that the panel could have gone on for hours.
CLOSING CEREMONIES
Seated at podium, left to right: Alan Dean Foster, Suford Lewis, Tony Lewis, Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio, Nilah Magruder. Chair Wayne Brown at lectern.
Short and sweet. The guests all had praise for the concom. And the convention got through its four days without any disasters. Special thanks went out to Chuck Rothman who developed the program. I can second and even third that, as there was no lack of interesting panels to attend. Let’s do it again someday!
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All the guests were delightful and deserving. Alas, I believe NASFIC is an idea whose time has passed.
Lisa Hertel, why do you believe NASFiC is passe?
Well, the photos of empty seats even at big events were not very reassuring.
@Steve Stanley:
Having worked 3 recent NASFiCs, it seems obvious to me that they are dying, and no longer fulfill the original purpose: to provide a North American national convention when the Worldcon is out of North America. International travel has come a long way since the era in which the NASFiC was created, and fans and pros both prefer to spend their money on the ‘big event’ rather than the poor stepchild. Further, there are many, many more regional events, and now, online events: it’s possible to get your fan on very cheaply with just an internet connection. We could, perhaps, designate Westercon as the NASFiC in years when the Worldcon is outside the continent, but it seems better just to drop it. (It might do both conventions some good, but WSFS doesn’t own Westercon.) I’ll be developing this idea and bringing the proper constitutional changes before the business meeting in Seattle.
FYI, about 450 warm bodies on site, about 750 total memberships of all sorts.
Buffalo ran a con it wanted to run, fans showed up and had fun. Of course we should put a stop to that.
Thank you for the nice comment on the program. It was a lot of work and I’m glad people appreciated it.