Random Thoughts from TorCon

[bcholmes]

S.M. Stirling: "It's hard to write historical characters who really believe the sort of things that people from the past believe and have them not be the Bad Guy."

Mike Glyer: "You have to be rejected into fandom."

"Tim Horton Hears a Who"

Connie Willis (talking about that moment when they're about to announce the Hugo winner): "I just keep thinking, 'Don't say shit. Don't say shit.'"

Robert Silverberg seems pretty damn pompous.

An anecdote: The Cast of Bewitched used to meet to figure out how to put gay subtext into the show.

Other thoughts: I have never really been into zines, but listening to a number of panels while "handling" Mike Glyer was eye-opening. I was fascinated by something that Leah (Somebody?) made about the technology of zines and how that evolved over time. I almost certainly wouldn't have attended those panels if I hadn't been shadowing Mike, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

This is probably the first con I've been to where I got a strong impression of there being a generation before me that went to cons. I guess I always knew that, but didn't really feel it strongly.

Also, it's good to see that fandom is recording its history. This is something that the trans community really needs to do.

Comments

[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

Leah (Somebody?)

Leah Zeldes-Smith, maybe? She and her husband, Dick, have (or had, it's been a few years) a rather large collection of mimeograph machines.

[kat-chan.livejournal.com]

Stirling's observation is pretty astute. Being a fan of both historical fiction and alternate-history, I can totally believe this. I've thought about writing an alternate-history story where AIDS first devastated the heterosexual community, and seeing how it may have been handled differently or the same. In doing so, one of the first thoughts in my mind is "well, even if it was mainly in the heterosexual community, I can see so many doctors and politicians dragging feet on it because it was mostly a problem in Africa", and it just makes me feel bad that I'd have so many assholish and unenlightened characters to write.

Sometimes I think that working in historical fic and alt-history requires you to recognize how ugly and self-interested humans are. :(

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

"Also, it's good to see that fandom is recording its history."

Hell, sometimes I feel that fandom does nothing but record its history, so that it can recapitulate it. But usually I feel better.

[shadowriderhope.livejournal.com]

An anecdote: The Cast of Bewitched used to meet to figure out how to put gay subtext into the show.

Oh wow. Of course, it makes sense. ;)

I'll have to share that with a (non-lj) friend of mine who loves the show. She'll be tickled pink. ;)