Note: No tour of Central- or South-American cuisine is complete without a taste of fresh huitlacoche. No tour of Asian cuisine is complete without digging into a nice box of natto. Naturally, then, a blending of the offerings of these continents must necessarily include some actual blending.
When the author created the Chupaqueso he was thrilled to learn that readers actually tried the recipe out and loved it. Rest assured that with the creation of Smutto he feels only dread. One of you will almost certainly have access to both of these delicacies, and will feel compelled to experiment.
WorldCon 66 has been amazing thus far, and I don’t expect to be at all disappointed for the remaining three days.
As always, the highlights are the people. Countless (or at least “I lost count”) fans have stopped by to say hi, buy stuff, gush, or otherwise interact. It’s great fun for me, and Sandra has been enjoying it as well.
Then, of course, there are the fellow professionals with whom I’m privileged to rub shoulders. We had dinner with Phil and Kaja Foglio and friends on Wednesday night, and Steve Jackson and Monica Stephens on Thursday. After each of those meals we wandered the room parties and the con suite as a posse, meeting and greeting other notables, fans, and friends along the way.
And for all that there are still a million-zillion-bobillion people here I don’t know, but who I can meet if I want to. I expect I’ll be meeting a bunch more tomorrow, because the comic I created for the newsletter has no dialog — it’s a “caption this” contest. I hold out reasonable hope that in this festival of creative minds SOMEBODY can make me laugh hard enough that I give them free books.
For those of you who have been by to buy stuff — THANK YOU. Sandra and I were worried that the large expense of this trip (flying our children off to California for fun at Grandma’s falls under “babysitting,” for instance) would make it unprofitable, but apparently we’ve more than broken even already.
For those of you who plan to come by to buy stuff — HURRY. We’re already running out of T-shirt sizes, magnet sets, and mouse-mats, and at this rate it looks like we’ll run out of books before Sunday. Yes, you can buy this stuff online, but here at WorldCon there’s no shipping fee, and we’re eating the sales tax.
My only complaint with WorldCon 66 here in Denver is that it’s very spread out compared to WorldCon 64 in Los Angeles. We’re in six or eight different hotels, the Convention Center is being shared with two other events, and the result is that fandom doesn’t seem to be developing the critical mass it did two years ago. We’re just a little too far apart, and when we leave the Convention Center for hotels, we scatter, rather than clumping up and raising the ambient temperature of the networking.
Still, it’s a good event. No, a GREAT event. I’m having a fantastic time.
This Wednesday through Sunday, August 6th through 10th, is the 66th annual World Science Fiction Convention, held this year in Denver, Colorado. Sandra and I will both be there at the Colorado Convention Center, along with some of the biggest names in Science Fiction and Fantasy.
I’m not on any panels. I didn’t ask to be put on any panels. I figured I’d be too busy in the Dealers’ Room selling books and drawing pictures. The good news is that this means I’ll be really easy to find, as will the piles of Schlock loot.
We’re bringing shirts, posters, books (including Sandra and Angela’s Hold On To Your Horses), Tagon pins, a few badge ribbons, and just twenty-one sets of those magnetic warning signs (the manufacturer has had a hard time keeping up, and the magnets were popular at Comic-Con.) We’ll also have pre-order forms for Schlock Mercenary: The Teraport Wars (Web pre-orders begin in about two weeks), and you can get an up-close look at a nice print of the cover.
If you’re in Denver but not attending the convention, I doubt our paths will cross. My evenings are going to be full of room parties, meetings, scheduled events, and perhaps even some filk, so I’m not able to accept invitations to dine out. I know WorldCon is kind of pricey to attend, but if you want to see me in Denver, attending is likely your only option.
As a special treat for those attending (I know, I’m just rubbing it in now) I did eight single-panel comics for the newsletters they’ll be publishing throughout the event. I’m quite pleased with the way they turned out. (Okay, fine. You can see the first one…)
This week I saw The X-Files: I Want To Believe and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. My updated list of “Howard’s favorite summer films” is below, but you’ll have to scroll clear to the bottom to find these two:
1) Wall-E
2) Batman: the Dark Knight
3) Kung-Fu Panda
4) Speed Racer
5) Iron Man
6) Hellboy II
7) Get Smart
8) Wanted
9) Hulk
10) Indiana Jones
11) Hancock
12) The Mummy 3
13) Prince Caspian
14) The X-Files
15) Journey to the Center of the Earth
The X-Files movie really didn’t need to be an X-files movie. The Mulder/Scully interplay was baggage that slowed down what could have been an otherwise very engaging thriller. By making it an X-files film the producers hinted at the huge conspiracies and buried secrets that were the hallmarks of the TV series, and the result is that the big reveal ends up being a little disappointing. In a different context (let’s say it’s a police thriller featuring Morgan Freeman, Renee Russo, and Anthony Hopkins) it would have worked a lot better.
I think my favorite part of the film was figuring out that the lead FBI agent really WAS played by Amanda Peet.
On to The Mummy. I really like Brendan Fraser’s “Rick O’Connell” character. I also loved Rachel Weiss’s “Evie” character, but she’s played by Maria Bello now, and that was disappointing. This film was disappointing, too. It began with a long narrative intro reminscent of 10,000 B.C and the most recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles flick. Hey, Hollywood! SHOW, DON’T TELL! The exposition could have been much more interesting. So, after the movie lost me during a five-minute history lesson it went on to be really, really predictable. Oops, we brought a mummy to life! Now the risen ghoul must do two things in order to reach his full strength, and our heroes set out to stop him. They fail, and must then face him at full strength. And then, against all odds they win. I hope those didn’t constitute “spoilers.” Sorry!
Fortunately for me, the effects and action were a lot of fun. Even though I knew all the twists and turns, I could still enjoy the ride for the scenery.
Sadly, I think that this summer’s hit-parade has drawn to a close. It’s been a great season for movies. I’ve had a blast. But what’s left? Death Race? Well, yeah. I’ll see that, but I’m not expecting much.
Tom Racine of Comics Coast to Coast interviewed me briefly at Comic-Con, and that interview is up as part of Episode 47 - Justin and Tom’s Comic Con Recap. I haven’t listened to it yet, but from the liner notes it looks like mine is the second segment in the show, around the 22:30 mark.
Follow the link above, and then click on the iTunes link on the right-hand side of the page. (I’m not sure how non-iTunes listeners get to the show. Sorry!)
Comic-Con International, aka San Diego Comic-Con, was wonderful. It would have been better had I not lost my voice on Saturday, but on Sunday I decided to draw up a few signs allowing me to distribute flyers.
I would hold up a sign that said PLEASE TAKE A SAMPLE, and catch the attention of a passer-by.
He/she would usually look at me wondering why I was using a sign, at which point I would gesture at a sign propped up to my right that said I LOST MY VOICE.
They’d smile, express sympathy, and take a flyer. I would then spin my “take a sample” sign to the other side, which said “THANK YOU.”
Then they’d really grin, and sometimes laugh. At that point I’d often reach for a sign that said “THE PITY CARD. I AM PLAYING IT” and there’d be more laughter.
It’s one of the more effective gimmicks I’ve dreamed up. It’s a shame it’ll only work when I’m sick.
Speaking of which, I’m still sick. I drove home with the help of four or five of those little two-ounce energy drinks and some pseudoephedrine. I timed it just right, too. I didn’t collapse from the shakes until I walked into my house twelve hours after departure.
I’ll blog more later. For now I need to convalesce (pun intended…)
This Week at the Keep: You can find me most afternoons and some evenings (esp. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday) at Dragon's Keep. Come and watch me draw next month's comics!
My 2008 schedule is full, and I'm currently planning a "convention sabbatical" for 2009. No travel for me. I don't have anything booked yet for 2010. Are you interested in having me come to your event? Can you plan that far ahead? Here's everything you need to know.
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WorldCon 66
