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| Thursday, April 26th, 2012 | | 11:45 pm |
ApolloCon 2012 Pre-Reg Rate Increase after May 1st
We are nearly at the end of April, and that means we're coming up to the next increase in the pre-reg rate for ApolloCon 2012, June 22-24, Houston, TX. Current rate for adult three-day is $30 until May 1st. $35 after. $40 at the door. See our registration page for information about other rates. Guests of Honor this year: Tanya Huff, Guest of Honor Jael, Artist Guest of Honor Candace Pulleine, Fan Guest of Honor | | Monday, January 23rd, 2012 | | 2:37 pm |
General Update
Well, apparently I dodged a bullet: I hear there was a possible norovirus outbreak at a con I was at recently, but I don't seem to have contracted it. Always good, to not get sick. The cat is sitting on my lap and making the oddest little noises. Sort of a purr combined with a meow combined with a sigh. It ends up sounding like a burble. I have a burbling cat. She is very much in a sit-on mode, probably because between Christmas and business travel and bid travel Motorcycle Boy and I have been taking turns being away, except when we're away together. So I have a fairly large furry barnacle just now. Work continues on the house. We have hopes of moving soon. Really. Soon. Hopes. I am traveling again to Austin this weekend and then to Chicago in a few weeks, and after that I'm hoping to not really go anywhere for a month. Everything is lagging behind. But I am trying to get caught up. What has everyone else been up to? | | Thursday, December 8th, 2011 | | 3:22 pm |
Adventures in Fandom: TAFF REMINDER
Just a reminder that if you are thinking of voting on the 2012 TAFF delegate, the deadline for voting is 23:59 on December 9th 2011 (GMT in Europe, MST in North America). That's TOMORROW. At this stage, PayPal voting is your best bet. Be sure to include your contact information and ranked voting preferences in the comments section, or it may not count! Candidates in the race are Warren Buff, Kim Kofmel, and Jacq Monahan. I hope you will vote, and that you will vote for me, but really, please vote. The ballot is available at http://www.taff.org.uk/ballots/taff2012.pdf and also at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52081699/2012TAFF_Ballot.rtfIf you are interested in more information about the candidates, a joint TAFF zine titles Hats for TAFF is a available at http://efanzines.com/TAFF/index.htm and at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52081699/Hats%20for%20TAFF.pdfTAFF 2012 Eastbound - North America to Europe Who may vote? Voting in the 2012 race is open to anyone active in fandom prior to December 2010, and who donates at least UK£2.00 or US$3.00 to TAFF. Larger contributions will be gratefully accepted. Voting is by secret ballot: only one vote per person, and you must sign your ballot. You may change your vote at any time prior to the deadline. Votes in this race must reach the administrators by 23:59 on December 9th 2011 (GMT in Europe, MST in North America). How to Vote: Votes may be sent to the administrators in two ways: either by sending a copy of this form with a check to the administrators, or via PayPal. The minimum donation to vote is $3 (USD) or £2 (GBP). Checks should be made payable either to "Anne Gray" or "Brian Gray" (for checks in USD) or to "TAFF" (for cheques in GBP). PayPal donations should be made to the email addresses below, indicating your contact details and ranked voting preferences in the ‘comments’ section. If you do not fill in the comments section, your vote may not be counted! Send your signed and completed ballot form and donation to: North America Anne Gray or Brian Gray (checks payable to "Anne Gray" or "Brian Gray") 5006 Royene Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, USA akg.netmouse@gmail.com (for PayPal donations) Europe John Coxon (cheques payable to "TAFF") 14 Chapel Lane, Werrington, Peterborough, PE4 6RS, UK john.coxon@gmail.com (for PayPal donations) For more information on the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, visit our official unofficial website, http://www.taff.org.uk/ | | Sunday, December 4th, 2011 | | 2:27 pm |
Adventures in Fandom: Hats for TAFF
As part of the TAFF campaign, the three candidates this year (me, Warren Buff, & Jacq Monahan) put together an all-candidate zine. I've posted a pdf version of Hats for TAFF in a public folder at Dropbox. You should be able to find it through this link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52081699/Hats%20for%20TAFF.pdfLet me know if the link doesn't work. Edit to add: The zine is also online at eFanzines at http://efanzines.com/TAFF/index.htmHats for TAFF includes a ballot for your voting pleasure. TAFF is completely supported by donations, so please vote! Who can vote: Voting in the 2012 race is open to anyone active in fandom prior to December 2010, and who donates at least UK£2.00 or US$3.00 to TAFF. Larger contributions will be gratefully accepted. Voting is by secret ballot: only one vote per person, and you must sign your ballot. You may change your vote at any time prior to the deadline. Votes in this race must reach the administrators by 23:59 on December 9th 2011 (GMT in Europe, MST in North America). Votes can be sent by post or by PayPal (but note the deadline: December 9th 2011!!) I hope you'll vote for me, but please, do vote. | | Thursday, November 10th, 2011 | | 4:44 pm |
Figs du Jour: Oatmeal-Fig Muffins with Blueberries & Pecans
I needed to make muffins today, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and make fig muffins. I adapted an oatmeal-banana muffin recipe on the theory that mushed up figs would stand in for mushed up bananas. They did, but not quite as juicily as the bananas, interestingly enough. Used some wholewheat flour rather than all white flower. I also threw in some toasted pecan pieces. And since I was rummaging in the freezer, the small container of frozen blueberries made it into the bowl as well. The batter was pretty stiff by the time everything was combined, and I should probably have added a little milk at that point. But I didn't, going ahead to bake them at 400F for about 16 minutes. The result is tasty, though not distinct, and a little dry. Not unpleasantly dry, just not meltingly moist. Nothing butter doesn't fix. :) | | Friday, November 4th, 2011 | | 6:31 pm |
Figs: I haz 'em
I apparently omitted to mention figs this year. This is what can only be called an oversight. The property we are trying to renovate came with a fig tree in the back. At least, we thought it was a fig tree, or a dying fig tree. It was covered with vines at any rate. At one point we pulled all the vines off and then it sprang back to leafy life. The next spring it bore fruit. And this spring it bore fruit again. Lots of it. In the middle of a drought, I picked about 13 pounds of figs before ApolloCon intervened and the birds took whatever was left. Thirteen pounds of figs is lots of figs. Lots and lots of figs. Last year I didn't know how to process the figs quickly, and I lost about half at least of what I'd picked. I still got something like 16 jars of jam and 5 of onion-fig jam. This year I had it down to a system and froze as much as I could, in anticipation of making other things. So far we've had a few things like steak-with-griddled-figs, but mostly now I need things that don't care if the figs are, well, softer than they should be. So far I've made a chutney, which was fabulous but an awful lot of work for two and half pints of chutney. Tonight I'm making a chicken-and-fig tagine, sort of. But that still leaves me with a lot of figs. So it's going to be fig this and fig that around here for the next month or two, I think. | | 11:18 am |
In Which Teh Motorcycle Boy is Revealed as Prescient
I did some maintenance on my LJ today. Maintenance mostly consists of going in and cleaning up spam comments left randomly on older posts. While doing so I was distracted into re-reading the series of posts I made after my cat Nyssa died in 2006. (Note: when I think about it, 2006 was not a good year. Nyssa died, Mark's mum died, Mark got hit by a truck. And that was just in our household.) As I read through the locked posts, I found this in a comment Mark left regarding the likelihood of our getting another cat: Yep, we'll probably find another cat--or, as I believe, another cat will find us--but for now there's still the slow process of saying goodbye.The key part is "as I believe, another cat will find us"... Anyone familiar with the story of Ambush will recognize that this is precisely what happened. If one can call running up the stairs and throwing herself on us while talking a mile-a-minute "finding." | | Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 | | 9:55 pm |
Ottawa: Short Form
Friday was the day of travel. Saturday was the day of baking. Pies, many pies. Sunday was the day of Thanksgiving. And family. And food. And pies. Not so many pies left at the end of the day. Monday was the day of wandering around Westboro with friends, and accidental Mexican food. And ice cream. Tuesday was things being flung off the roof. And laundry. Wednesday was the day of coffee, followed by coffee, followed by Ho-Ho's Chinese food. Thursday is the day of travel previously referenced in the Toronto: Short Form post as "the day of VIA." | | Sunday, October 16th, 2011 | | 11:29 pm |
Toronto: Short Form
Thursday was the day of VIA. Ah, how I have missed VIA and their well-oiled trains. And well-oiled business class service, as well. Resulting in well-oiled travelers. Don't ask how I know. Friday was the day of drinking things. And walking. Saturday was the day of eating things. And some more walking, just not as much. Sunday was the day of talking. Monday is the last real day, and it is the day of doing business. | | Friday, October 7th, 2011 | | 1:17 am |
Going Offline for Short Time
I'm going offline on LJ for the next day-ish, as I am traveling to visit family. The offline part is the duration of the first day of travel, plus whatever time it takes to sort out connectivity at the other end. I'll be getting email on my phone, so comments in LJ etc. will still reach me. In theory. See you all soon. Be good while I'm offline. | | Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 | | 11:47 pm |
Adventures in Fandom: TAFF - Ballots Now Available
So, the 2012 Eastbound TAFF ballots are final and officially up at TAFF.org. I'm running, as are Warren Buff and Jacqueline Monahan. This is one of those situations in which the Fund benefits no matter who wins the race (including no winner), so I urge you to vote. There is a small minimum donation required to vote, which is part of how the Fund raises money. In a moment of shameful (shameless?) self-interest, I urge you to vote for me! Anyone who is interested in stumping for me over the next two months, feel free to do so. I'd appreciate the support! Drop me a comment or an email. The hat thanks you! | | Friday, September 30th, 2011 | | 3:15 pm |
Adventures in Fandom! Running for TAFF
Just to make my life even more exciting, I've thrown my hat into the ring and will be a candidate for the 2012 Eastbound TransAtlantic Fan Fund race. (For those not familiar with TAFF, it's a fine fannish tradition, and more information can be found here. There is also a TAFF News LJ community.) If I win, I will travel to England to attend the 2012 Eastercon, Olympus, in London April 6 to April 9, and have the opportunity to also travel around to see other fans and other places. It's not all skittles and beer (or ginger beer in my case). Besides the trip to Eastercon, the TAFF winner is expected to publish a trip report, AND becomes a TAFF administrator for the next two years. The administrator's responsibilities include managing the TAFF funds (in this case in North America), promoting the Fund, raising money, and managing the next races, particularly the next iteration of their own race (in this case, the 2014 Eastbound race). So it is a great opportunity, a responsibility, and a chance pay it forward for other fans. One cannot become a candidate simply by saying "hey, I want me some of that!" One needs to be nominated by other fans who believe you will be sociable, active, and responsible, and who are willing to say so. I'm fortunate to have Flick, Brad Foster, Jeanne Gomoll, Alice Lawson, and Pat (Mueller) Virzi as my nominators. I also have a lot to live up to. :) One also needs to submit a platform no more 101 words in length. It's an interesting challenge, to describe oneself, one's pursuits and one's intentions in such a short passage. I highly recommend it as an exercise. This is mine: I discovered fandom in Ottawa, Canada in the 1970s. I've pubbed perzines, worked on conventions, costumed, written short stories & poetry, and learned smooothing from Tucker himself. I live now in Houston, Texas but still have strong ties to Ottawa, Toronto, & Detroit fandom. I'm overly active in the Houston Science Fiction Association (ApolloCon! Great con! Come see!!). Since I'm working the North American side of the London in 2014 Worldcon bid I'm excited about this opportunity to experience UK & European fandom at Eastercon. I promise to bring the hat -- AND I PROMISE TO PUBLISH A TRIP REPORT.So long story short, I'm on the ballot. Once the race is officially started, I'll be campaigning for votes, though exactly what that means remains to be seen. I'll keep you updated here in LJ, and possibly through other means as well. Remember the FoKQ? Yeah, me too. If nothing else, I foresee ribbons!!! | | 2:02 am |
| | Thursday, September 29th, 2011 | | 6:06 pm |
Time to Dust this Thing Off
And get back into the habit. I've decided that Facebook rots the brain. And doesn't lend itself well to what I really want, which is conversations, or at least the ability to post something of reasonable length. So I don't know how well I will do at keeping the LJ regularly updated. But I will try. | | Friday, July 1st, 2011 | | 4:14 pm |
Birds... Why Do I Always See the Weird Ones?
There's been a bird hanging around our neighbourhood. Some people don't believe me when I describe it, but I have corroboration because Mark has seen it a couple of times, and our friend Anita has seen it as well. I've been thinking it might be a heron, but I never see it in water. I think it is probably the bird (or one of the same sort) that I saw on the way home from Artiste a number of years ago; the one nobody believed in. It may also be the same as the ones we saw once or twice on Allan Parkway, though I am in no way sure. That was quite the experience. I'd been seeing one now and again, and then one night we drove by the same spot and there were quite a few, including two just hanging out at the corner, near the crosswalk, like they were waiting for the light to change. The one in the neighbourhood is about 18"-24" tall, with longish legs, big pointy wings, dark markings on the head, a kind of cowlick on the head, a big beak, mostly grey, stands upright, and hangs around street corners at night. Although very prone to wandering around on the sidewalks and on lawns and in the street, it is nonetheless somewhat shy and very wary. It dislikes lights, loud noises and fast movements. Its flight is audible in a slow thwapp-thwapp kind of way. It's very hard to photograph, and I spent ten minutes once trying to get close enough to get a good look/shot while it moved around on a low roof to keep at what it clearly considered a safe distance between it and the hooman. Last night it scared the crap out of us by taking off from the verge and flying across the road in front of the car, high enough that it was not in any danger of being hit, but still... we were used to seeing it on the ground, not in the air thwapping its way across the street. We saw it land in a parking lot, and Mark turned us around at the next corner and brought me back to the lot. I finally got close enough last night to have a reasonable sense of colours and shapes rather than just pointing out the car window yelling "bird!bird!bird!" and hoping we have a chance to stop before it disappears. Still no good photos; I don't think I'm likely to ever get any, truth be told. I did get a good chance to see its wings and its mode of flight when another car came along and it took off and flew out of sight. And I was able to get online when we got home and use one of the bird identification websites to determine that, most likely, our mystery bird is a Yellow-Crested Night Heron. So I was right in thinking it was a heron. Night herons. Who knew? | | Thursday, May 26th, 2011 | | 11:01 am |
| | Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 | | 5:13 pm |
APOLLOCON 2011 - Writers Workshop
ApolloCon 2011 is pleased to announce that our Writers Workshop will be coordinated by author Patrice Sarath. The workshop is an opportunity for writers to learn critique skills and hone their craft. The workshop is free to ApolloCon members, however space is limited and interested writers should apply in advance. The deadline for workshop applications is June 5, 2011. All workshop details can be found on the ApolloCon 2011 website.Deadline: June 5, 2011 Word count: 5,000 words Send RTF files to: Writers Workshop Coordinator - writers_workshop dot 2011 at apollocon.org What to send: First chapter of your unpublished novel or complete short story. Genres: Science fiction/fantasy/horror as well as young adult in those genres. Please do not submit fan fiction. If you are serious about improving your writing to take it to the next level, please send in your work. This year the workshop will focus on selling to genre markets, with an emphasis on revising and presenting your work professionally. The workshop will consist of your fellow workshoppers and at least one professional writer. Work should be as polished as possible before you submit. Each piece will be thoroughly reviewed and discussed. The workshop will be held 9am-12pm Saturday June 25 2011. Participants must have valid ApolloCon 2011 membership by workshop start time. Please e-mail the workshop coordinator if you have any questions. | | Friday, May 6th, 2011 | | 6:20 pm |
| | Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | | 12:00 am |
| | Friday, April 29th, 2011 | | 5:21 pm |
ApolloCon 2011 GoH - Martha Wells - Book signing in Houston
ApolloCon 2011 Guest of Honor Martha Wells will sign and discuss her new book, The Cloud Roads, in Houston on Saturday April 30. The signing is scheduled for 4:30pm at Murder by the Book on Bissonnet. Martha says "if you can't be there, you can call or email the store to order signed copies." That's tomorrow, folks! For more information check the events listing on the Murder by the Book website. |
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