Wed Talk Descriptions (in numeric order) (count 103)

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The official kick-off to the 64^th World Science Fiction Convention.

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Even fans who read few or no other comics seem to find something in the Legion of Super Heroes to keep them buying and reading the comic, some of them for decades. Just what is there about the Legion?

There's nothing like them for hooking a reader. "Call me Ishmael." "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." "Lessa woke, cold." "His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god." "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." "Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith." What are some of your favorites? And can you do anything special to force a great first line or do they just happen?

Me, I read e-mail. What do you do? How do you get yourself back to writing?

Recent times have seen an explosion of science fiction and fantasy tales centered in cosmologies and mythologies outside of the North American mainstream. Writers discuss what draws them to these other mythos and what lessons they offer.

A slide show of fantasy and science fiction influences in historic fairground and amusement park attractions.

We hope for the best. We work for it. But what if things don't work out right? What can go wrong? What will that future be like?

Lately colleges and other academic venues have been seeing a proliferation of theses and monographs that examine popular TV shows and discuss how they fit in with certain philosophies. There are several courses which use popular entertainment as examples in philosophy class, political science class, sociology class, etc. Why has television suddenly become acceptable to the academic crowd? And is this a good thing? What sorts of findings are they having?

Come hear about all the new Star Trek projects, from video games to traveling exhibits to the first ever Star Trek "manga" from the people involved with making them happen, Paula Block, John Van Citters, Terry Erdmann, and others. All questions welcome.

Fandom has had paper fanzines from the beginning. At one point, it seemed like almost every fan at least read these paper fanzines or wrote for them or published one (if only for APAs). But their prominence has been on the wane for many years. Now, blogs are exploding. And fanzines published on the web seem to be increasing. Are these fanzines different or just a different form? What effect will they have on Fandom as a whole?

What do we do when we get to Mars? What will we eat? What will we do? How will we live? For five years now The Mars Society has been answering these questions with the Mars Analog Research Station projects in the Canadian Arctic, the Utah deserts, the Australian outback, and the geothermal fields of Iceland. Mars Society members give an in-depth look at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, the most advanced simulation study of how we plan to tackle the human exploration of the Red Planet.

A slide presentation on the science fictional art of cover artist & production illustrator Rick Sternbach.

SF and fantasy often uses insults from present culture instead of dreaming up new and inventive ways to cast scorn upon others. Our panel will discuss a variety of new insults for general use in space-faring societies and fantasy environments. Audience participation invited. Anyone who doesn't show up is a ground pounder full of space gas!

Some of science fiction's top critics talk about what it's like to be a science fiction critic. What skills does it take? Is it different from reviewing other types of fiction?

How do we make a lunar colony pay in the same way colonies on Earth traditionally paid for their creators? Is pure science the way to go? A launching pad for reaching the rest of the solar system? Industrial applications? A mix? If we can't make a permanent human presence on the Moon pay, will it ever be viable in the long-term?

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What are the common truisms in fandom? Aren't they all really myths? Let's list 'em and take a good hard look.

Brett R. Thompson, the writer and director of The Haunted World Of Edward D. Wood, Jr. shows us his award-winning documentary and tells us even more about the mad "genius" of Plan 9 From Outer Space and other classics.

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We're all familiar with alternate histories. How about science fiction alternate histories? How might the field have been different if Stanley Weinbaum had lived, or if John Campbell had decided he'd rather write than edit, or if Robert E. Howard hadn't committed suicide? What if Harry Turtledove never wrote an alternate history?

How we get the news is changing before our eyes. Newspaper circulation is down dramatically. Online blogs and podcasts have put reportage in the hands of average citizens -- for both good and ill. Advances in camera and satellite technology make it simple for reporters to bring the public stories from the most far-flung parts of the planet. What will the future bring? And how will we know what to believe?

The world of Star Trek Fandom is different today than it was in the '60s and '70s. What's out there? What don't I know about? How can I get more involved?

What science fiction concept, other than space travel, would you most like to see realized? Flying cars? Matter replicators? Time travel? Why?

NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers have been traveling the red planet for over two years now. Each Rover has inspected over four miles of red sand and rock, craters and dunes, looking for evidence of water. Mars Society members will give you a tour of Mars by way of the twin Rovers' points-of-view.

Robert Vogel gives a presentation on Raumpatrouille Orion, a cult-favorite German science fiction show of the 1960s. Despite being only seven episodes, it holds the same cult status in Germany as Dr. Who and Star Trek do here. Come see what all the shouting's about.

Well, does it? It seems like 100% of fantasy is set in medieval worlds with wizards and dragons and witches and elves and things. What other kinds of fantasy is there?

. Historical elements, Mutual Assured Destruction, strategic counterforce, and "bunker busters." What are the near-future scenarios for the next 5, 25, and 100 years? What are their probabilities? And what's the role of SF literature and cinema in steering popular culture toward and away from nuclear scenarios will be studied.

There was a lot of fuss made about the sales of the Harry Potter books and what it said for children's literacy and reading. Did it encourage kids to read? Will it have any long term positive effects? What can we do to encourage reading?

Authors are presented with a character description for a well-known character, the setting of a (different) famous work, and a brief plot description of still another work. Without knowing their sources, they create and tell a story on the fly. After the sources are revealed, the audience votes on who did best. (Think Frodo in a tale set in 1920s New York about a young wizard-in-training who must compete in a great competition of wizards, only to be captured by his arch-nemesis... )

Not long ago, we were awash in Splatterpunks, Cyberpunks, and even Steampunks. What happened to those SF literary movements? What's the next trend?

Fantasy shows like Medium and Ghost Whisperer are big hits. Why didn't Surface, Threshold, or Invasion do as well? Is there a mainstream audience for television science fiction?

Forrest J Ackerman talks about his participation in the early history of science fiction Fandom, literature, and films.

How to manage your life as a writer.

How to preserve and conserve your books, magazines, fanzines, comics, posters, artwork, etc.

What filksongs should every filker know? Learn the history and tradition behind the “classics”.

Fans interested in the traditional martial art of Shotokan Karate are invited to come participate in this workshop that teaches the articulation of motion and physical principles behind simple blocks, punches, and kicks. The physical demands are very low, at the level of low-impact aerobics, and the safety of the participants will be ensured by no sparring or physical contact. Participants are asked to come in loose-fitting clothes.

Because fans have such active inner, mental lives we sometimes neglect the physical bodies which encapsulate them. There's a joke where someone sees a group of fans in a hotel and asks if it's a convention for fat people. That's not so funny but why are fans so out of shape? What are the psychological issues and how can we talk about things like the future or immortality, if we might not even make it to our next birthday? What can we do to take control over our health issues?

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Sure, spelling antidisestablishmentarianism is easy. And those incredibly long latin agglutinative scientific terms are a snap. Now spell "tanstaafl". How about "kzinti"? Try your hand in our science fiction and fantasy spelling bee (or just come watch).

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The current legal opinions on who owns what and how, relating to books, art, films, television, and the internet.

Was a larger-than-life scenery-chewing damn-the-Prime-Directive-full-speed-ahead heroic starship commander the one primary thing responsible for the enduring success of classic Star Trek? Is the absence of such a character why the following Star Trek series all lacked the same punch? Or should there have been more discretion, more consideration before acting? Is Jean Luc Picard the model to follow?

In the next ten years, what will the word "literacy" mean? Can you truly be literate in tomorrow's society if you can't use a computer? Are computer icons replacing the need to read? What's the future of libraries and bookstores.

Many SF writers and SF fans are scientists in real life. How do they combine the two? What is doing science for a living really like? Are we all really mad scientists who want to rule the world?

It's Iron Chef for sonneteers and other poets. Come to this Bouts-Rimés event and write a poem with the day's mystery ingredients, share your work, maybe even win prizes.

Are Masquerades, Art Shows, Dealers Rooms, etc. really worth their cost in money and manpower? Or are they just so habitual that cons never think about getting rid of them? What would happen if a con did get rid of them? What would we replace them with?

Manga is more than just Japanese comic books. How do they differ from what we have in the United States and in Europe? How is it that they cover so many more different topics and are read by so many different types of people?

A discussion of fantasy and science fiction plays, today and through history.

Some readers (and writers) seem to be all about the characters. Others are only interested in the details of the plot. Can you write for both audiences? Should you?

Jules Verne's novel begat two motion pictures, a Classics Illustrated comic book, and the world's first atomic-powered submarine: not bad for inspiration. Who's the hero? Professor Aronax? Captain Nemo? Ned? Conseil? Why?

How does our brain work? Is it like a computer or do things get processed in entirely different ways? How do the connections work? Why does one thought lead to another, sometimes seemingly unrelated idea (unrelated in the eyes of someone not thinking our thoughts, that is)?

Author John G. Hemry gives an introduction to Quantum Physics, with help from The Three Stooges.

Long time fan, writer, editor, agent, and collector Forrest J Ackerman gives a slide show of his fabled collection.

To a lot of hard SF readers, fantasy stories are those where the authors don't have to be consistent -- it works because it's magic. But good fantasy is consistent, within each world's own rules. What are the rules and the restrictions for writing a "good" fantasy.

Young Adult writers report that it's hard to get respect from some of their peers, even though Y.A. is the doorway for many young adults into other SF and fantasy novels. Given the authors who've produced Y.A. (like Heinlein and Andre Norton) and the quality of much Y.A. produced, why doesn't it get more respect?

Following the long, sometimes tortuous trail from artist's original to print, be that limited edition, lithograph, serigraph, photo, or offset print. How are they made? What are the differences? Should the buyer really care?

Filksongs found in mundane places.

Hypoglycemics United To Foster Awareness is holding an auction of science fiction and other collectibles to help fund their efforts to educate persons about blood sugar imbalances of all types.

Alternate History seems pretty popular. How about some Alternate Fan History, for better or worse?

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Come join us and your host, David Gerrold, for a reception welcoming everyone to this year's Worldcon and our Star Trek 40^th Anniversary Celebration. Star Trek costumes invited.

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Members of Broad Universe, the organization dedicated to supporting women genre writers, give short (five to ten minute) readings of their works in rapid fire succession.

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The WSFS Mark Protection Committee manages the registered service marks on "Worldcon," "Hugo Award," etc. This is the first of two meetings held at Worldcon. Meetings of the MPC are open to all members.

For adults only!

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Come listen to this panel tell tales 'guaranteed' to curdle your blood.

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