Day in the Life of an Idiot

 First of all, WorldCON sent out their final schedule today, so now I can officially announce where you can find me (virtually) in Glasgow next weekend (August 8-12).  My panels are online, unless otherwise noted:

• Let Them Cook - Food in Anime (THURSDAY: 1 pm GMT/8:00 am CT) - hybrid
• The Immersive Possibilities of Horror Audio (SATURDAY: 7pm GMT/2:00 pm CT) 
• Everything We Love (a Little or a Lot) About Fanfiction (SATURDAY: 10pm GMT/5:00 pm CT)
• Help, I Got Reincarnated Into a Worldcon Panel! (SUNDAY: 10pm GMT/5:00 pm CT)
• If I'm Not Kira and You're Not Kira, Who is Writing in the Death Note? (MONDAY: 1pm GMT/8:00 am CT) --hybrid

Three out of the five panels are, as you can see, anime and manga panels, so I guess I have made myself a kind of reputation? To be fair, on the questionnaire when they ask about your specialties, I always point people to my manga review site, so... I reap what I sow, I suppose. And, I'm not really complaining! In fact, I'm thrilled! I am particularly excited to talk about Food in Anime, though, as I told the moderator, I really hope that we can mention manga, too, since that's where most of my favorites exist. 

But, so I have a couple of early mornings, both for hybrid panels. We'll see how this goes. I've had some bad luck with hybrid in the past--not being able to hear the other panelist and basically being Max Headroom in a corner and so not getting called on to participate a lot. But, I am hopeful!

As for reading, expect a lot of manga over the next week and a half!!

This week, of course, it's still been all cyberpunk, all the time. I finished a re-read of Gibson's Nueromancer, as that's the subject of our most recent podcast (which should be dropping later today or early tomorrow), and I started listening to the audiobook for Klara and The Sun by Ishiguro Kazou. I just finished watching Star Trek: Prodigy's second (current) season, and really loved it.  Every time my family looked over my shoulder while I was watching this they had some disparaging comment about the animation, but I thought it was fine. Not my favorite style, but the story made up for it, IMHO. 

In my TBR pile, I have a supposedly cyberpunk graphic novel called Twelve Percent Dread by Emily McGovern, a bunch of random manga that I will now probably dump to read later, since I need to focus on food and isekai (another world) manga. 

What about you?

If you go to Minicon this next weekend, here's where you will find me:

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FRIDAY

8:30 PM
Gender & AI (Park 2)
Androids and AI in science fiction disrupt the idea of a gender binary: what purpose is there for an Android and/or AI to have gender? Could an Android/AI be trans, gender-fluid, and/or non-binary? How will that affect how we as a society see gender as a construct?
Justin Grays, Naomi Kritzer, Lyda Morehouse, Ian Young


SATURDAY

1:00 PM
Humor in genre fiction (Orchard)
A serious discussion of funny F/SF and horror.
Eleanor Arnason, Mike Aurelius, F. J. Bergman, Lyda Morehouse, Douglas Van Dyke Jr

2:30 PM
LGBTQ+ Representation in SF/F (Orchard)
Queer characters are showing up in both YA and adult F/SF. Where can you find queer characters? Are their authors getting it right? Which books/shows are the best? And, maybe, assuming that such representation merely a good start, what is the next step?
Justin Grays, David Lenander, Catherine Lundoff, Lyda Morehouse, David Paschal-Zimbel


SUNDAY

10:00 AM
The Power of Play (Park 1)
The concept of play includes many ideas such as stress relief, a path to creativity, connection with others (and our younger selves), and more. Science fiction and fantasy fans enjoy playing around mentally, after all. Silly hats, clothes, footwear, and toys are encouraged for panel members and attendees.
Jeanne Mealy, Lyda Morehouse, Laramie Sasseville, Crystal Therese

This upcoming weekend, I'll be at ConFABulous, virtually-speaking. I have one panel there, on Nov. 6 at 1:30 pm (CT), I'll be talking about "Hot Robin Covers - and Loki," only one of which I really know anything about. I also plan to joining the gaming session of Thirsty Sword Lesbians, because of COURSE I will. The event is free, so you can still sign up!

I'm also virtually attending WindyCon which happens the next weekend, Nov. 12-14, 2021. My schedule there is:

• 5:00 PM Friday: Reading
• 10:00 AM Saturday: Creativity during a Pandemic
• 11:00 AM Sunday: Storytelling Post-Covid

Virtual attendance at WindyCon is not free, but the cost is fairly inexpensive--ten dollars (US). So, if you have the time and the money, feel free to join me virtually for that one as well!

Speaking of pandemic creativity, I am starting a new quilt because my nephew John just had a baby!  Shawn and I are grand-aunts!!  How cool is that?

 Tonight, I am doing a Zoom panel at MarsCON (FREE!) and a recorded bonus track:




So, what is weird about this is that if you want to watch me live, you will have to miss my recorded reading... or bail fifteen minutes before the end of the last panel?  (Unless the panels are only 45 minutes??) Because my reading is very short and so if you go at the end hoping to catch some, you will have missed it. I guess the downside of virtual cons is that they can LITERALLY schedule you opposite yourself. 

Seems weird that they wouldn't have pushed that back even fifteen minutes? But, I guess I should have checked the schedule earlier or, I dunno, asked them not to schedule me against myself? 

Anyway, that's me. Come see me or part of me?

I will probably actually be able to check in more than once a week. This week, in particular, is going to be busy with stuff I'm sure I'm going to want to journal about. I'll get to all that in a second. Most important announcement! Our family has welcomed a new member: Willow.



Picture: Shawn holding a tiny black, short-haired cat, who basically all ears and bright yellow eyes at this point in her life, whom we have named Willow.

The story of how Willow came to us is a nice one. It was one of those cases where we said, "We're ready, but not in a hurry for a new cat. Maybe the universe will provide." And it did.

We had started looking around, even put in an application for a pair of siblings we saw on a website called "Kitty Revolution." But, someone else had gotten there first, so we thought, "Ah, well, those weren't the cats for us, then." Then, my barista (Molly) said to me, "So, um, are you guys still looking for a cat? Only a friend of mine has picked up a stray and can't keep her."

Shawn and I went to see this cat that the family had named Nightmare (a good name, honestly, but reminds me when we first got Kirk who had initially been named Vicious and he was the furthest thing from.) Shawn and I walked in the door (Mason was at his St. Paul College class or he would have been with us) and the kitty literally ran up to Shawn, Shawn scooped her up into her arms, and I was like, "I see we have found our cat. Let me go get the kitty carrier."

This story gets even more amazing, because I was expecting to have to do that several weeks long, slow introduction to the other cats. But, no, she just slotted right in. Once we made sure she was feline leukemia and other dread communicable diseases free, I was still keeping her separate but letting the cats see her (carrying her in my arms, switching rooms so they could smell her, etc.) But, when Buttercup scratched at the bedroom door, I thought, "I don't want him to think he can't come in." So I picked her up and let him in. It became very clear that there wasn't going to be any hissing so I let her down. Buttercup (who is a thousand times her size) very much carefully deferred to her and followed her around. She was so at ease that he relaxed. Our eldest cat, of course, is done giving f*cks so she just gave the newest edition the stink eye and went back to sleep. It's been happy cat harmony ever since.



Picture: Buttercup (big orange) and Willow (the black void with ears) on the same bed.

So, that's been amazing. Buttercup really needed a companion. As mentioned, our eldest, who is NINETEEN, is done with all your nonsense, and so is not at all interested in being jumped at or played with. Willow totally chases Buttercup's tail and they play like siblings (as opposed to the hissing, REAL fighting that will happen if someone DARES to touch the eldest.)

For those who are curious, I did NOT make it to the Dump Trump rally last Thursday when the Traitor-in-Chief was in town. Mason's school schedule is such that I was picking him up at St. Paul College right as the protest was officially scheduled to start. I came home and made dinner and still COULD have gone (the light rail would have gotten me into downtown in fifteen minutes) but, after checking in with social media, it looked like enough of the rest of you came out that one more body would not have made that much difference. So, I wimped out and stayed warm and dry. I feel a tiny bit guilty about this, because protesting is one of the ways I've been resisting this presidency and there aren't a LOT of them being organized these days, and this was, in many ways, The Big One. On the flip side it sounds like the protestors who stayed on after eight were more prone to civil disobedience and it was probably just as well for me to stay out of that. The pictures of some of the signs were amazing and heartwarming as always. I'm proud of the people who were there.

In other news, beside writing like crazy on Unjust Cause, I've continued to find fun ways to study Japanese. I came across a podcast called "Anime - Japanese Immersion." It has the audio-only of several episodes of popular anime. I listened to the first six episodes of DeathNote and thought, "Wow, I can really follow this story!" and then I started up one I had never seen called Kimi no na wa and I'm sitting there last night saying to Shawn, "Is he dead? Are there aliens?Time travel?? WTF is going on in this thing???" The only thing I think I know is that it's important to know people's names. There's some kind of mystical bond that has to do with names?? I'm going to go to Wikipedia in a second to see how wrong I am...

Oh, I'm not wrong.

But I feel insanely stupid. I should have recognized the title. This is Your Name, the wildly popular anime movie I never saw... but everyone has been talking about. There is totally a mystical bond regarding names, as the two characters are body swapping. Okay, no aliens, but definitely a space-related event: a comet... and there is a time gap between the two characters. Huh, okay, so here I was thinking that I was getting absolutely nothing out of this exercise, but I wasn't nearly as far off as all that. It's just that the plot is THAT weird.

Now I'm kind of disappointed that I've read the last anime in the series so far, 5 Centimeters. It's kind of fun to see what, if anything, I can get from listening to Japanese with no translation. I hope the podcaster keeps doing these. Though I suppose I could recreate the experience by just listening to a show on Crunchyroll and not looking at the subtitles. Thing is, with this, it's impossible to cheat. There's no subtitles to read, no pictures to help with context. I could start buying Drama CDs, which are a thing in Japan. They are studio recordings of popular manga, some of which never get an anime, so it's sort of like a radio play.

Continuing with the immersion theme, I've also been listening to Japanese radio while I write. I just googled Japanese language radio and found a bunch of things I can stream to have in the background as I write. I've been keeping up with Duolingo and Memrise, too, so perhaps some day I will have a small command of this language.

Oh, the other more important thing is that I got my schedule for this weekend's Gaylaxicon. Here's where you can find me, if you go:

FRIDAY: SATURDAY:

SUNDAY:
All of the paneling looks amazing, but I have to admit that I am the MOST excited to play the Tingleverse RPG. 

But, let's be real, what we all care the MOST about is more cat pictures:

Things are starting to roll in for 2019 and I thought I would make an initial list of some things I will be / am considering doing:

February 2 through March 23 (Saturdays) 10 am to noon, I will be teaching science fiction writing at the Loft (The Loft Literary Center
, Suite 200, Open Book Building, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis): Mars Needs Writers: Writing SF/F for Publication. As far as I know, there is still space in this class, so if you are local to me and interested, check it out. I will say that (IMHO) the Loft's prices are fairly steep, but they always offer one scholarship per class.

On February 19th at 8 pm, I will be one of the featured erotic fiction writers at the Not So Silent Planet Open Mic at Kieran's Irish Pub (85 N. 6th Street) in Minneapolis. I have no earthly idea what I will read for 12 minutes, but that's never stopped me from accepting a gig before in my life.

I don't know if I'll be attending MarsCON this year or not. (March 1-3, Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington.) Obviously, if I go, I'll have to miss part of the Saturday of this con, as it overlaps my Loft class. Every year, I wonder if I should do MarsCON, and then someone invites me to do programming and I agree because it's one of the first cons of the season and I just kind of get caught up in the momentum... and then sometimes, afterwards, I think... "Am I getting tired of this one? Should I have taken a break for a couple of years to see if it feels fresher, later?"

There is also Anime Detour (March 29-31, Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Minneapolis) to consider.  At one point, I was talking to a Bleach fan friend on Discord and we discussed a IRL meet-up at something like Detour, complete with old lady (me, not them) cosplay. I attend Detour (and any other anime cons) entirely as a fan, so that could be fun, if I were going with/going to meet-up with a friend. I think I would be V. SAD to do Detour entirely on my own--especially as I am 50+ years old and Detour is the kind of con that has a "letter to parents" because their median age is 14.

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Right. That's it for the moment.

I'm sure others will roll in. The other local con I often attend is CONvergece (July 4-7), but that's another ?? for me, as our family vacation is going to shifted around this year, thanks to my nephew's wedding.  I also always hold out hope that naomikritzer will be nominated for another Hugo, and that will "force" me to attend WorldCON, which, this upcoming year, will be in Dublin, Ireland. (August 15-19) I am sorely tempted to try to convince my family to go to this, if only because we have family in Dublin. (Not 'blood' relations, but the more important kind of family--MADE family.) It would be fairly amazing to visit them 'in situ.' They have made the overseas trip to us at least twice.

Annnnnyway....

Mostly, I wanted to post that Kieran's Pub gig because I haven't put it into my calendar yet and I don't want to forget that I agreed to do it. They are planning on paying me a small amount, so it would be very gauche of me to skip out due to nothing more pressing than a brain fart.

There's not a lot else to report around these parts. I have to deliver Mason's Switch to school tonight, as they are having their robotics holiday/end of year party. I'm also, apparently, bringing a couple of liters of some soda/pop or other, but that's such normal mom-duties, it's hardly worth mentioning. Though I have no idea how my child is even functioning right now, as he was up until 3 am working on his AP Human Geography project. This was, I suspect, a question of time management gone awry, but Mason also DREADS any project that involves art. He also tends to underestimate how long it takes him to draw _anything_, as he hates it so much that he never draws and so his lack of skills/practice combined with a RAGING case of perfectionism means he struggles with every second of it. 

But, whatever. He has no school tomorrow and can literally crash as soon as I bring him home and sleep as long as he likes.

Our whole family has taken Solstice (tomorrow) off, so we will be doing our festivities. I have to buy a few things yet--a Christmas (as opposed to Solstice) ham as well as a cheesecake for the same. But, otherwise, I think we're going to spend the day time indoors making rosettes, the last of the holiday cookies, and then the night tending our fire/the light.  I will try to remember to give a full report afterwards.

Right. I'd best run off to the store to grab that pop--and maybe see what might be had for dinner.

Blessed Solstice to those who celebrate. Happy Friday to the rest of you.

Thursday, July 5

3:30pm
Death Note Fan Panel
Are you a fan of Death Note? With the release of the American Netflix version released last year, let's talk about what we loved and didn't care for in Death Note manga, anime, & movies. Panelists: Lyda Morehouse (mod), Kristopher Pflipsen, Susie Kline, Jei Herald-Zamora


Friday, July 6

9:30am
In Defense of: Timothy Dalton as James Bond
Was Timothy Dalton all that bad? Come and argue with us. It will be fun. Panelists: John White, Ty Blauersouth, Lyda Morehouse (mod), Nathan Anderson, Jeremy Stomberg

7:00pm
CONvergence Poetry Slam
Nerds have words, and we want to hear them! Show up, sign up, and if the lottery gods are kind you (yes, you) may be drawn to read two three-minute poems to an audience of drunken strangers, and watch your heart and soul assigned numeric value. Panelists: Allison Broeren, phillip low, Dan Marlow, Cole Sarar, Bryan Worra, Lyda Morehouse, Ben San Del, Pat Harrigan, Sam Cook

10:00pm
Pounded in the Butt by the Chuck Tingle Fan Panel
Talking about Chuck Tingle and his work. Panelists: Kristina Winn, Rory Ni Coileain, Lyda Morehouse (mod), Jonathan Palmer, Sharon Stiteler


Saturday, July 7

12:30pm
Literary Awards
Does getting a literary award help your career? What's the impact, both positive and negative, of being recognized for your work with a big, heavy, piece of metal or glass? Panelists: Amal El-Mohtar, Lyda Morehouse, Naomi Kritzer (mod), Eleanor Arnason

5:00pm
Understanding the Hugo Awards
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Hugo Awards for the last few years. What’s it all about? Panelists: Lyda Morehouse, Scott Lynch (mod)

 If any of you ever wonder why I capitalize the end of MiniCON, it's because if I just type "Minicon" my autocorrect instantly changes it to Minion. Which is, as it happens, a very different thing.

It is also possible that some of you don't know that I will be one of the literary guests of honor at MiniCON this year. I will be sharing that honor with Rachel Swirsky.  

My schedule for this weekend is, as follows:

Please note that my interview with Tate Hallaway includes a PUPPETEER.  Why, you wonder?  Oh, because I joking said, "Ha ha, wouldn't be great if I answered as Tate with a sock puppet??" and fandom being what it is was like "ha ha, we'll do you one better!" AND LEGITIMATELY MADE A MUPPET OF ME. YOU GUYS!  A MUPPET.

I hope to heck someone films this.

I'm at CONvergence every single day a you can see below. I'm a little surprised at the number of panels I'm moderating (including one with Lois McMaster Bujold and... me?) This should be an interesting con, of course, made better by the fact that my friend Naomi will be one of the Guests of Honor.



Thursday, July 6

3:30pm
DoubleTree Atrium 7
AI in Science Fiction: From Evil Overlords to Companions
There is a diversity of AI in writing and film, from benevolent to malevolent. How does an AI become good or evil? Are they just programmed that way? Panelists: Naomi Kritzer, Jamie Riedesel (mod), Eric Zawadzki, Lyda Morehouse, Lathan Murrell


Friday, July 7

2:00pm
DoubleTree Edina
Take a Pew, Pew, Pew! Organized Religion in SciFi/Fantasy
Beyond "The Force", how do creators deal with organized religion (and disbelief) in science fiction and fantasy? What do they get right, wrong, and what do they reveal in their thinking? Panelists: Caroline Symcox, Lyda Morehouse, Tim Wick, Bill Stiteler (mod)


8:30pm
DoubleTree Atrium 2
Slash Panel
Buckle your seatbelts, it's time for the annual panel about same-sex shipping! From Yuri on Ice!!! to married space monks, let's talk State of the Slash Union 2017. (This is an 18+ panel; talkin' about the porn is definitely on the table.) Panelists: Bess Stuvenoxend, Skazka 9000, Jo Thrace, Lyda Morehouse (mod), Kes S


Saturday, July 8

11:00am
DoubleTree Atrium 7
Of a Certain Age
What stories feature older characters as the hero? How do these stories hook readers? What can you learn from them when the storyteller does the job well? Panelists: Lois McMaster Bujold, Lyda Morehouse (mod)

8:30pm
Sheraton Whalon
Local Urban Fantasy
A panel of local authors of urban fantasy, stories set in or around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Panelists: David Lenander, Lyda Morehouse (mod)


Sunday, July 9

9:30am
DoubleTree Atrium 4
Ms. Marvel Fan Panel
Marvel has four different heroes under this same overall title. They're all good, but which is your favorite? Panelists: Kathryn Sullivan, John Seavey, Tim Lieder, Lyda Morehouse (mod)

Since all the cool kids are posting theirs, here's my MidAmericaCon II / WorldCON schedule:

Wednesday Aug 17, 2016
7:00 PM
The Interstices of Historical and Fanfiction 1 hour | 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2204
Lyda Morehouse | Dr. Heather Urbanski (Fitchburg State University) | Ms Sumana Harihareswara | Teresa Nielsen Hayden
Historical fiction is a work of literature, comic, film, or television program set in the past. Fanfiction is a work of fiction produced by fans for fans, using famous people or source texts as their inspiration. Frequently the worlds overlap. Let's discuss the overlaps, benefits, and pitfalls of working in these genres. The overlaps include writing fanfiction about historical fiction, setting fanfiction in an alternative universe by placing the narrative in a different historical era, fanworks about real-life historical figures (Historical RPF), or historical fanworks -- any fanwork set in the past.

Thursday Aug 18, 2016
12:00 PM
What is a Fan Writer? 1 hour | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2206
Lyda Morehouse | Rich Lynch | Mr. Guy Lillian | Foz Meadows | Goldeen Ogawa | Teresa Nielsen Hayden
What we mean when we say: Fan Writer. Is it a professional writer doing some work for free? Is it a way of life? Some say that the internet made us all fan writers. What does (and doesn't) this term encompass, is it a tradition, and how has the interpretation changed over the years?

Thursday Aug 18, 2016
10:00 PM
Anime Stories to Watch in the Dark 1 hour | 10:00 PM -11:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2504B
Lyda Morehouse | Mr. John Wiswell
When one hears "anime", horror may not be the first thing to come to mind. This panel might change that. Don't be scared, and join us as we explore horror in anime.

Friday Aug 19, 2016
11:00 AM
Living in a Cyberpunk Society 1 hour | 11:00 AM -12:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2208
Catherine Lundoff | Takayuki Tatsumi | Lyda Morehouse | Allan Dyen-Shapiro | Ms Pat Cadigan
We may not be able to jack in directly, but we are part of the Cyberfuture. When technology thrives but society decays, seemingly dystopic worlds arise. To what extent is our world a cyberpunk universe and what more can we expect to happen to take us there?

Friday Aug 19, 2016
1:00 PM
Autographing: Jeanette Epps, Alex Jablokow, Lyda Morehouse, Lawrence M. Schoen, Mary A. Turzillo 1 hour | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, Autographing Space
Jeanette Epps | Alex Jablokow | Lyda Morehouse | Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen | Dr. Mary A. Turzillo Ph.D.

Saturday Aug 20, 2016
10:00 AM
Complexity of Character: Coming Out in Teen Spec Fic 1 hour | 10:00 AM -11:00 AM, Kansas City Convention Center, 3501B
Catherine Lundoff | Mark Oshiro (Mark Does Stuff) | Lyda Morehouse | Jaylee James
Young adult speculative fiction is doing a fairly good job of featuring a diverse and varied cast of characters, but books that feature LGBT, asexual, and nonbinary characters are still not always easy to find. Let’s talk about what books and characters are out there, and what themes and identities are still underrepresented in YA SF? What challenges do spec fic authors face when writing and publishing books about teen sexuality and love? Beyond the main characters, what roles do the secondary and tertiary characters play in helping to advance the conversation about teen sexuality?

Saturday Aug 20, 2016
12:00 PM
Comics on the Small Screen 1 hour | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2503B
Terrence Miltner | Melissa F. Olson | Pete Balestrieri (University of Iowa) | Mr Lee Harris | Lyda Morehouse
From Batman in the 60s to The Incredible Hulk in the 70s to The Flash, Jessica Jones and Supergirl, we do love our superheroes on the box. But why do some comic heroes make a successful transition to the small screen and others tank on arrival, or even before?

Saturday Aug 20, 2016
1:00 PM
Representation in Comic Books: From Absences to Affirmatives 1 hour | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 3501B
Anna Raftery (TAFF) | Ms Sumana Harihareswara | Lyda Morehouse | Bill Campbell (Rosarium Publishing)
Bitch Planet gives us a larger woman who is proud of her body, the Lumberjanes show queer teenage romance, Hawkeye is deaf, and yet Oracle was ejected from her wheelchair and became Batgirl again, echoed in the TV series Arrow, where Felicity Smoak was 'fixed' by science. Our panel discusses representation within comics, where we are succeeding, how representation is moving forward, and where it still needs to avoid harmful stereotyping, assumptions or tokenism.

Saturday Aug 20, 2016
5:00 PM
Yaoi and Yuri: Japanese Graphic Romance 1 hour | 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2205
Lyda Morehouse | Lauren Schiller | Jaylee James
*The nature of this session may result in adult themes being discussed.*
Fans of manga, graphic novels, romances, and LGBT characters – come learn about yaoi and yuri; terms for manga about m/m and f/f romance, respectively. This introductory session discusses where you should start. We also discuss some of the debates around the representation of gay characters in these comics, and the wider impact of these manga.