Tag Archives: Dragon Con

Pixel Scroll 9/6 With Six, You Get Egg Scroll

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(1) A postcard from the Baen beachhead at Dragon Con.

(2) The Stanley Hotel in Colorado inspired Stephen King’s novel The Shining, a connection the hotel’s operators have used to market the resort for years.

But unlike King’s fictional Overlook it never had a hedge maze – until this summer when the owner had one built to placate his customers.

Missing from the experience, however, has been the hedge maze that Mr. Kubrick used as the setting for the film’s climax….

At a colleague’s suggestion, Mr. Cullen [the owner] opted to hold a contest for the design, a move that amplified the public-relations potential. A panel of judges received 329 entries from around the world, and the winner was a New York architect named Mairim Dallaryan Standing.

Mr. Cullen chose to form the maze from juniper trees that grow to just three feet high, making the Stanley’s maze far less imposing than the 13-foot labyrinth in the Kubrick film. Mr. Cullen said he was concerned about losing children in the maze.

This summer, that decision has caused some disappointment….

The owner of the real hotel builds a maze to please King fans, who then are not pleased because it doesn’t match the source. How fannish is that?

(3) John O’Halloran’s Sasquan photo album – mainly the Hugo ceremony.

(4) Lou Antonelli on Facebook

I’m going to write an alternate history set in a world where cloning was perfected in the 1920s and by the beginning of the television era in the 1950s entertainers are able to license copies of themselves for live performances.

The clones of bigger stars are more expensive than the clones of lesser ones. One man has to settle for a Teresa Brewer clone, but he bemoans the fact that he couldn’t afford a clone of the star he REALLY wanted.

The story will be called…

“If You Were a Dinah Shore, My Love.”

(5) The works of Karel Capek are being celebrated at a festival in Washington D.C. Celia Wren penned an overview in the Washington Post.

Prepare for rebellious automatons, a 300-year-old opera singer, and a pack of newts taking a page from Ira Glass. These and other inventions will unfold locally this fall courtesy of the Czech writer Karel Capek (1890-1938), with help from other artists.

Capek is the focus of the Mutual Inspirations Festival 2015, led by the Embassy of the Czech Republic and offering films, theater pieces, lectures, art exhibits, and — for children — a Lego Robotics Workshop. Now in its sixth year, the festival pays tribute to an influential Czech figure, such as Antonin Dvorak (2011), Vaclav Havel (2013) or Franz Kafka (2014).

The Mutual Inspirations website has complete details.

Running from September 3-November 21, 2015, the festival highlights events at select venues in the Washington area, such as the Kennedy Center, the Gonda Theatre in the Davis Performing Arts Center at Georgetown University, the Avalon Theatre, and Bistro Bohem. Highlights of this year’s festival include a jazz-age evening of music and dance, theatrical readings of the new work R.U.R.: A Retro-Futuristic Musical, the world premiere of War with the Newts adapted by Natsu Onoda Power, a robotics demonstration and lecture with Czech robotics expert Vladimir Ma?ík, a panel discussion on R.U.R. and the Rationalized World, and a Lego Robotics Workshop for children facilitated by the Great Adventure Lab. Additional noted speakers include Templeton Prize-winner Tomáš Halík, art historian Otto Urban, and theatre/ interactive media arts scholar Jana Horaková. The festival incorporates a variety of events, including theatrical performances, film screenings, a concert, lectures, and exhibitions. With over 30,000 people attending the festival over the last three years, the festival strives to reach a wide audience through its vibrant programming.

(6 George R.R. Martin, in “Awards, Awards, and More Awards”, encourages the Puppies who are talking about starting an award of their own.

He discusses how many different awards there are in the field and includes lots of pictures – which is easy because George has won most of them.

A great many of the awards discussed above were started precisely because the people behind them felt someone was being overlooked by the Hugos and/ or other existing awards, and wanted to give an “attaboy” to work they cherished.

There is no reason the Sad Puppies should not do the same. Give them at Dragoncon, give them at Libertycon… or, hell, give them at worldcon, if you want. Most worldcons will give you a hall for the presentation, I’m sure, just as they do for the Prometheus Awards and the Seiuns. Or you can rent your own venue off-site, as I did with the Alfies. Have a party. No booing, just cheers. Give handsome trophies to those you think deserve it. Spread joy.

That’s what awards are supposed to be about, after all. Giving some joy back to the writers and editors and artists who have given you so much joy with their work. Celebration.

Since RAH is already taken by the Heinlein Foundation for its own award, maybe you should call them the Jims, to honor Jim Baen, an editor and publisher that I know many of you admire. If you launch a Kickstarter to have a bust of him sculpted for the trophy, I’ll be glad to contribute. (It may surprise you to know that while Jim Baen and I were very far apart politically, we shared many a meal together, and he published a half dozen of my books. Liberals and conservatives CAN get along, and usually did, in fandom of yore).

(7) Kevin Standlee philosophizes about the relationship between a stable, democratically-run society and good sportsmanship.

A prerequisite of a stable democratic society is being a good loser.

If your definition of “democracy” boils down to “I get what I personally want or else the entire process is wrong and corrupt,” then you have reduced yourself to the spoiled child who throws a tantrum and overturns the table when s/he loses at a board game.

Could it be that our society’s over-emphasis at “win at any cost” and “second place is the first loser,” and a complete de-emphasis on learning how to be graceful in defeat is undermining the entire democratic process? After all, if you’ve been conditioned to think that Winning Is The Only Thing and that losing gracefully is for suckers and wimps, how can you possibly live with yourself when your “side” loses a political election, even if the process was demonstratively fair? In such a situation, you almost naturally are doing to insist that the process itself is wrong, because you’ve built up a self-image that requires you to win.

I’m also worried that we’ve overly emphasized not hurting people’s feelings when they are young by pretending that they can never lose. When they reach the real world where not every corner is padded for them, they can’t handle anything other than “I showed up, so I need to win.” I admit that possibly I’m just being old and crotchety about Those Darn Kids.

As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m disappointed that Popular Ratification, into which I invested a lot of myself, lost at the ratification stage. But I can see that the process was fair, and I neither consider myself a moral failure because my cause lost nor do I consider the entire WSFS legislative process invalid because I got outvoted. I get the feeling, however, that a whole lot of people out there can’t live with the concept of losing.

(8) Didact doesn’t care.

I really can’t make it any clearer than that, unless the good people over at File770 want me to break out a pack of crayons and draw them a picture. And I don’t speak any dialect of dipsh*t, so even that probably won’t help.

Didact, Vile Faceless Minion #0309, repeats:

WE DON’T CARE whether or not our nominees won awards. Not this year, not next year, and not in any other year. It matters not the minutest quantum of a damn for us. As far as I, personally, am concerned, the Hugo Awards have lost their point and purpose and need to be torn down and replaced wholesale.

I don’t know why I have such a hard time getting it through my thick skull that they don’t care. Really. It’s just embarrassing. As many times they’ve been forced to repeat this. Think of all the time they could  spend on something they do care about if only I would just get it. All my fault. My bad. So sorry.

(9) And dammit, Jonathan M has uncovered another of this blog’s deepest secrets.

https://twitter.com/ApeInWinter/status/640547743925186561

(9) Great photos from a vintage computer exhibit.

K9 robot dog COMP

(10) Megan Guess at Ars Technica – “I watched Star Trek: The Original Series in order; and so can you. Or, Filling the gaps in your cultural knowledge is equal parts boring and fun”

At the beginning, this is how I approached The Original Series. Despite how much everyone wants to talk about Star Trek‘s progressiveness in 1966, you can tell just by a quick glance at the costuming that womankind is not going to be treated as equal, with all the rights and responsibilities pertaining thereto.

But around the end of season one, I couldn’t help but become a little bit invested in the world of the Federation. I was always happy when Lieutenant Uhura was given real lines in an episode, because she was just what you’d want in a starship officer of the future—brave and serious, but with a human side, too. Nurse Chapel was also welcome—she had gravitas without being robotic and cold.

Of course, for every Uhura or Chapel there was the endless supply of one-off Kirk foils planted on every strange new world, waiting for a strong-jawed spaceman to rescue them. Sometimes they were decent characters, like Edith Keeler in “The City on the Edge of Forever,” one of The Original Series’ most famous episodes. In it, Kirk and Spock end up in the 1930s and a depression-era charity worker—Keeler, portrayed by Joan freaking Collins—preaches futurism to a group of unenlightened hobos. (And then Kirk falls in love with her. Because of course.) Other characters were worse—you need only search “Women Star Trek Original Series” to find the lists of the show’s hottest, most vacant babes.

[Thanks to Martin Morse Wooster, Mark and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day James H. Burns.]

Kramer and DragonCon Settle

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With Ed Kramer’s trial on child molestation charges due to begin next week, the corporate owners of Dragon*Con didn’t wait a minute to announce their out-of-court settlement severing all ties with the convention’s founder.

Last July, having succumbed to social media pressure and a threatened boycott over Kramer’s continuing financial interest in Dragon*Con, the directors did what they’d previously claimed was not possible – execute a transaction terminating his 34-percent share. A cash-out merger bought out all shares of stock in DragonCon/ACE and established a new conrunning entity, Dragon Con Inc., in which Kramer had no part.

However, Kramer had not agreed to any of this and his attorney told the press the merger was a “discriminatory squeeze-out” and the cash offered for Kramer’s shares was “grossly inadequate.”

The company struck first, suing Kramer in Fulton County Superior Court in August. When the parties reached settlement on November 25, Dragon*Con spokesman Greg Euston publicly announced “DragonCon’s relationship with Mr. Kramer is officially over.”

Euston said terms of the settlement were confidential but that it was “a small amount” more than they offered in the summer. The magnitude of the payment that might be involved is suggested by Kramer’s earlier suit to collect a 2011 dividend in the amount of $154,000, and Euston’s past statement that the company had offered three times to buy Kramer’s shares for $500,000, in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

[Thanks to Nancy A. Collins for the story.]

Kramer Has Filed Hundreds of Grievances

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Since becoming a Gwinnett County inmate following his extradition six months ago, Ed Kramer has filed 370 “inmate requests, pre-grievances and grievances”.

Kramer’s complaints allege medical and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) issues, and interference with his practice of Orthodox Judaism.

“Edward Kramer is the highest maintenance inmate that I recall having in the 17 years that I’ve been sheriff,” Sheriff Butch Conway said.

Child molestation charges have been pending against Kramer, co-founder of Dragon*Con, since 2000. Trial had been postponed practically indefinitely based on representations about Kramer’s health and inability to participate in his defense. However, he was arrested in Connecticut in circumstances that resulted in his bond being revoked and Kramer being returned to Georgia.

The District Attorney has tried to convince the court of Kramer’s capacity to participate by presenting two witnesses who said they observed Kramer walking unhindered (and with a camera) in 2011. He currently is waiting for the defense to return with the results of a medical exam intended to determine Kramer’s fitness for trial.

[Thanks to Don Cook for the story.]

Dragon*Con Reorganizes,
Cashes Out Kramer

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Ed Kramer will no longer own part of Dragon*Con following a cash-out merger agreed to by directors and shareholders of Dragon Con/ACE, Inc., producer of Dragon*Con. The old company is merging into Dragon Con, Inc., a new corporation whose ownership includes five of the six founding owners of Dragon*Con – but not Kramer.  

According to Dragon*Con’s official statement:

Edward Kramer, who has not had any role in managing or organizing the convention since 2000, was offered cash for his shares in the old company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

However, Kramer has not accepted the terms according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

McNeill Stokes, who has represented Kramer in lawsuits against DragonCon/ACE, called the merger a “discriminatory squeeze-out” and said the cash offered for Kramer’s shares was “grossly inadequate.”

Stokes said he expects a legal challenge.

The company had offered three times to buy Kramer’s shares for $500,000, in 2004, 2006 and 2008, according to spokesman Greg Euston.

Kramer remains in jail facing multiple counts of child molestation that have been pending since his arrest in 2000. Although no longer involved in the convention’s management, Kramer continued to earn dividends from his 34 percent ownership in DragonCon/ACE, which led Nancy Collins to call on fans to boycott Dragon*Con. The social media response has finally pressured the con’s leadership to take a step that just last February they publicly claimed was not possible.

[Thanks to Don Cook for the story.]

Dragon*Con Boycott Gets Atlanta Coverage

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution interviewed past Dragon*Con guests who plan to stay away due to the boycott in its March 27 edition.

It was the Connecticut charges, and a detailed account of Kramer’s saga published in Atlanta Magazine last fall, that convinced one-time Dragon-Con performer and customer Jim Stacy to stay away this year. “I can’t in good conscience have money that I’ve spent going to continue to allow him to skirt a trial date,” said the 6-foot-6 Stacy, a well-known figure in local theater and music circles. Stacy once performed at the convention in a Star Wars themed band (he was dressed as Darth Vader) and is the star of the PBA food series “Get Delicious!”

And —

Don Murphy, producer of the “Transformer” movies (which have earned $2.6 billion at the box office), is a one-time Dragon-Con panelist who won’t be going back.

The for-profit nature of Dragon-Con is what chains the organization to Kramer, said Murphy. “The fact that it’s a profit motive is what’s keeping them from doing the right thing and getting rid of him.”

Nancy Collins, who called for the boycott, told a reporter, “I’ve had people threaten violence and death to me because of the boycott.”   

Kramer is presently in custody at the Gwinnett County Detention Center (Ga.). The district attorney’s office plans to have him examined for fitness to stand trial.

Dragon*Con Addresses Kramer Connection

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Dragon*Con’s management has responded on Facebook to the storm over its continued financial connection to Ed Kramer.

The controversy was energized by Kramer’s extradition from Connecticut to Georgia, where he has been facing child molestation charges since 2000, and a recent article in an Atlanta monthly that raised fans’ awareness that Kramer remains a stockholder in Dragon*Con’s parent corporation and gets dividends from the con’s profits.

Nancy Collins has called for a Dragon*Con boycott and some have answered, notably Kaja and Phil Foglio.

Dragon*Con’s response begins:

There has been a great deal of discussion as of late in the community regarding our continued financial connection to Edward Kramer. Please know that we are as troubled by this circumstance as anyone else, but please also know that there is no simple, legal, solution to this matter…if there were, it would have been resolved long ago.

For the record, Edward Kramer resigned from the Dragon*Con convention in the year 2000. Since that time, he has had no role in the direction or management of the convention; however, he remains a stockholder despite our desires otherwise.

Since Edward Kramer’s arrest in 2000, we have made multiple attempts to sever all ties between Edward Kramer and Dragon*Con including several efforts to buy Edward Kramer’s stock shares. Unfortunately, Edward Kramer’s response to our buyout efforts was repeated litigation against Dragon*Con…th­us our buyout efforts have been stalled. The idea proposed of dissolving the company and reincorporating­ has been thoroughly investigated and is not possible at this point. Legally, we can’t just take away his shares. We are unfortunately limited in our options and responses as we remain in active litigation.

They deny generally the “current flood of ‘information’” sourced in Kramer’s multiple lawsuits against Dragon*Con, claiming “much of this misinformation is being quoted as pure fact despite the reality that a court of law determined that many of the facts and figures provided by Mr. Kramer in his law suits were false, inaccurate or completely fictitious.”

The statement also emphasizes that since 2000, Dragon Con has been managed by three of the original co-founders, Chairman Pat Henry and board members Dave Cody and Robert Dennis. Which is to say – not Ed Kramer.

Regardless whether Dragon*Con management is legally helpless, or just unwilling to do anything that might kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, one fact is clear. People who don’t want to be making a financial contribution to Ed Kramer must find their own solutions. Not giving Dragon*Con any of their money is one.

Collins, the Foglios any many others consider the boycott a necessity to cut off the funds Kramer uses for his legal defense. I make no doubt that Ed uses his Dragon*Con income to pay his lawyers, but let’s not forget that in our system he’s entitled to a defense. If he was broke, the government would have to appoint him a public defender. I won’t characterize it as a problem that he’s defending himself, frustrated as I may be that the charges have lingered unresolved for almost 13 years.

It’s the prosecutors and courts in Georgia I’ve felt should be held accountable for letting Ed scam them into infinite delays, arguing he was unable to assist in his own defense. Quotes from people who saw Kramer out and about prior to his arrest in Connecticut show he considers himself able to work on a film. Why wasn’t anyone in Georgia law enforcement able to bring similar information to light over the years?

[Thanks to James Bacon for the link.]

Foglios Boycott Dragon*Con

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Kaja & Phil Foglio posted today on the Girl Genuis Webcomic Facebook page that they will not be going to Dragon*Con this year because of co-founder Ed Kramer’s history as an accused pedophile, and because Kramer’s significant income from his continued financial interest in Dragon*con (though he is no longer an officer) has afforded him the ability to mount a defense which has helped him avoid going to trial on the charges since they were brought 12 years ago.

The Foglios were invited to come to Dragon*Con as guests and say they will be sacrificing $15,000 of income by skipping the con.

They also posted a link to an article about Nancy Collins’ call for a Dragon*Con boycott.

The Foglios’ announcement has already received over 500 “likes” and 400 shares.

Dragon*Con’s Volunteer Fee? Not.

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Atlanta Magazine’s recent article about Ed Kramer notes Dragon*Con’s reliance on volunteers, with a stinger:

By all accounts, the event has always had a small payroll, instead relying on up to 2,000 volunteers, with first-timers paying $20 a head for the privilege.

“Paying…for the privilege” misrepresents these deeply-discounted memberships for first-time volunteers. They’re a perk, not exploitation. Volunteer memberships, says the FAQ, have “exactly the same privileges as any other convention attendee.” And volunteers who work 25 hours qualify for comp memberships the next time they volunteer at Dragon*Con.

Unlike the Atlanta Magazine reporter, conrunners shouldn’t be shocked that volunteers have to purchase memberships: that’s what conrunners are used to doing.  

Some conventions also will refund volunteer memberships afterwards if the con has a surplus. Dragon*Con’s economic model evidently doesn’t require the experienced volunteers’ memberships as a hedge against insolvency.

If you’re turned off that part of Dragon*Con’s profits go to Ed Kramer – which is completely understandable – you still should be pleased with Dragon*Con’s policy to give free or heavily-discounted memberships to volunteers, since that means there’s less money going into their coffers.

[Via Con-News.com.]

Kramer Case in Atlanta Magazine

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Edward Kramer is in a Connecticut prison fighting extradition to Georgia while the convention he founded, Dragon*Con, is taking place this weekend. And Atlanta Magazine knew this was the optimum moment to release its highly-detailed article, “In the Shadows”, tracing Kramer’s conduct from the 1980’s to his 2000 arrest on child molestation charges, through the activities that led to his 2011 arrest in Connecticut while out on bond:

One spectacle you won’t see this weekend is DragonCon’s cofounder, who for the past twelve years has managed to elude facing trial on child molestaion charges. But has time finally run out for Ed Kramer?

[Thanks to Nancy Collins for the link.]