Wiscon report
May. 27th, 2009 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
viedmaWell, Vali and I are back from Wiscon, and I have to say that I had a good time meeting people-- in particular Roxann, Jonquil, Ellen Fremedon, Geekturnedvamp and Unusualmusic. (I'm sure I've forgotten someone, I'm sorry.) However, as I become more and more introverted, I find that crowds of people exhaust me more quickly than they used to. I'm more in my element working in the garden all morning and then retiring to read the rest of the afternoon, maybe tea, a little biscuit...
Anyhoo, some highlights:
Meetingjonquil face to face at last and seeing her and violetisblue has got to be a high point. She's absolutely lovely and fun to be with and is dangerous to my wallet. Seriously, she's got the qualities of the best salespeople I've seen-- namely, that they convince you that you are smart and lovely and smell nice and you simply cannot live without lemon ginger soap. Because you can't, you know. Same goes for raspberry bushes and some pretty purple thing whose name escapes me that I bought at the farmer's market. I finally got them in the ground today right before I had to rush off to a United Way meeting with Meals on Wheels, but that's the subject of another journal entry.
Watching people fangirlvioletisblue made me prouder than anything. (OMGWTF you wrote "Nothing But Flowers!" *happy squee*)That's my girl. <3
Farmer's Market! See the bit above about raspberry bushes and pretty purple things. We also had strange and mysterious juices of the fruits besides oranges, and fresh radishes and homemade rosemary bread. Nom.
Having sushi withmscherbatskaya and than having violetisblue take me out for black raspberry sorbet.
Going shopping at American Apparel withvioletisblue and finding out that yes, I can fit into their XL clothes quite comfortably. Vali and I could've blown off the whole afternoon shopping (and we will someday soon after our bank accounts recover). I see pretty clothes and tea in our future, yes.
Oh yes, there was a con going on in there somewhere, let me see...
Geeking out withvioletisblue, ellen_fremedon and mscherbatskaya about Doctor Who and zombies and any subject under the sun in our hotel room.
And I went to the panel on Public Libraries and Sci-Fi, which I thought was very interesting but not for the reasons the panelists intended. I especially enjoyed disagreeing with Farah Mendelsohn about books generally being more valuable than whatever the latest DRM-not-free e-reader nightmare that some company's trying to make a buck on until one of the moderators told me in so many words to shut my lip. Funny, she didn't ask the guy behind me who shouted at Ms. Mendelsohn that HE WASN'T DONE WITH HIS POINT YET. To which I thought oooooooooo, aren't *we* a big boy.
But getting back to my point, I think that somewhere in library school it's become hip to think of us librarians as almost post-book, beyond book. (I remember, as I fell into that trap for a while myself.) "We have more than just books!" Well, sure we do, usually, but aren't books important? So many frazzled kids and adults who would do a lot better to slow down and read a fucking book. Although, as Farah Mendelsohn pointed out, she reads two books a day, so books don't slow her down all that much.
I went to one other panel, the one on getting it wrong gracefully, where Roxann introduced us to the phrase "dueling fail," re: foc_u, which got a big laugh. Personally, I can't wait until![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
verb_noire starts publishing paper books, because I will be at Baker & Taylor in a hot second to buy their stuff. I always like the arguments that black people don't read sci-fi. No, you dummy, it's because you aren't publishing any black sci-fi writers. So that's why I think it's nifty that verb_noire is picking up their dropped balls. Huhuhuhuh, she said--
And now, pictures!
Best license plate ever.violetisblue pointed it out to me. <3 <3 <3
Jonquil's fleurs.
The best dressed lady at the dessert bar. (Vegan desserts so that I weren't left out! <3)
...and the super-stylin' lady from the side.
*****
So next year, ya'll will have to come to the con held at our house, as I have far too much weeding to get done.
Anyhoo, some highlights:
Meeting
jonquil face to face at last and seeing her and violetisblue has got to be a high point. She's absolutely lovely and fun to be with and is dangerous to my wallet. Seriously, she's got the qualities of the best salespeople I've seen-- namely, that they convince you that you are smart and lovely and smell nice and you simply cannot live without lemon ginger soap. Because you can't, you know. Same goes for raspberry bushes and some pretty purple thing whose name escapes me that I bought at the farmer's market. I finally got them in the ground today right before I had to rush off to a United Way meeting with Meals on Wheels, but that's the subject of another journal entry. Watching people fangirl
violetisblue made me prouder than anything. (OMGWTF you wrote "Nothing But Flowers!" *happy squee*)That's my girl. <3Farmer's Market! See the bit above about raspberry bushes and pretty purple things. We also had strange and mysterious juices of the fruits besides oranges, and fresh radishes and homemade rosemary bread. Nom.
Having sushi with
mscherbatskaya and than having violetisblue take me out for black raspberry sorbet. Going shopping at American Apparel with
violetisblue and finding out that yes, I can fit into their XL clothes quite comfortably. Vali and I could've blown off the whole afternoon shopping (and we will someday soon after our bank accounts recover). I see pretty clothes and tea in our future, yes. Oh yes, there was a con going on in there somewhere, let me see...
Geeking out with
violetisblue, ellen_fremedon and mscherbatskaya about Doctor Who and zombies and any subject under the sun in our hotel room. And I went to the panel on Public Libraries and Sci-Fi, which I thought was very interesting but not for the reasons the panelists intended. I especially enjoyed disagreeing with Farah Mendelsohn about books generally being more valuable than whatever the latest DRM-not-free e-reader nightmare that some company's trying to make a buck on until one of the moderators told me in so many words to shut my lip. Funny, she didn't ask the guy behind me who shouted at Ms. Mendelsohn that HE WASN'T DONE WITH HIS POINT YET. To which I thought oooooooooo, aren't *we* a big boy.
But getting back to my point, I think that somewhere in library school it's become hip to think of us librarians as almost post-book, beyond book. (I remember, as I fell into that trap for a while myself.) "We have more than just books!" Well, sure we do, usually, but aren't books important? So many frazzled kids and adults who would do a lot better to slow down and read a fucking book. Although, as Farah Mendelsohn pointed out, she reads two books a day, so books don't slow her down all that much.
I went to one other panel, the one on getting it wrong gracefully, where Roxann introduced us to the phrase "dueling fail," re: foc_u, which got a big laugh. Personally, I can't wait until
verb_noire starts publishing paper books, because I will be at Baker & Taylor in a hot second to buy their stuff. I always like the arguments that black people don't read sci-fi. No, you dummy, it's because you aren't publishing any black sci-fi writers. So that's why I think it's nifty that verb_noire is picking up their dropped balls. Huhuhuhuh, she said--And now, pictures!
Best license plate ever.
violetisblue pointed it out to me. <3 <3 <3Jonquil's fleurs.
The best dressed lady at the dessert bar. (Vegan desserts so that I weren't left out! <3)
...and the super-stylin' lady from the side.
*****
So next year, ya'll will have to come to the con held at our house, as I have far too much weeding to get done.
