Tired, But Hopeful ...

A late word on the Hugos

2015-09-01T11:09:34Z

I meant to post about my Hugo picks, but never got past the first post, where I gave my choices for Graphic Story and Related Work (and a summary of my reasons for those picks).

Well, it's sort of beside the point now ...

I was at the Hugo ceremony. I was lucky enough to be near the front.

I don't know what anybody else felt, but to me the anticipation, that feeling of tenterhooks, was palpable ... through the First Fandom awards, the Big Heart (congratulations to a very deserving Ben Yalow), the Campbell, the fan Hugos ... up until the first "No Award" was announced.

And it was a No Award. Followed by four more.

Wow.

Up until it actually happened, I wasn't sure it was going to fall out that way. Maybe I hadn't talked to enough people. Or maybe nobody really knew, until we all knew.

I had voted No Award in all of the short fiction categories and in Related Work, on principle. Doubly so. The first principle was to strike my own small blow against the gaming of the nomination system by the two gangs of Puppies.

But when the packet came out, I had decided that I was going to be honest and judge the work on its merits. I then proceeded to read (almost)* all of the nominated works.

*(I think I can be forgiven for giving up on Wisdom from My Internet after a mere sampling of its myriad wonders. I didn't finish Letters from Gardner either, but the several unremarkable chapters I did read was enough. I did, however, read all of the John C. Wright nominees, including Transhuman and Subhuman. Gods help me. What kept me going was morbid fascination ... well, I suppose I can say I read his so-called "awful truth" so the rest of you don't have to, but Wright, you fucker, that's a small chunk of my life I'll never get back. Meh.)

Well, I read the nominated work and judged it on its merits. And it all merited No Award.

Including, in my opinion, the non-Puppy nominated work that did win for best Novelette, "The Day the World Turned Upside Down." Chacun à son goût, I suppose ...

Anyway, back to the ceremony. A total repudiation of the Puppies. I do feel for some of the editors who were nominated (mainly Mike Resnick, Sheila Gilbert, and Toni Weisskopf), who, in a less polarized year, where they hadn't been smeared by Puppy shit, might have had a real chance at a rocket.

And we have more of this to look forward to next year?

I really hope the Sad Puppies abandon this pointless exercise. I don't expect the Rabid Puppies to do so. They hate fandom ... they hate the Hugos ... they want to destroy us, and have explicitly said so.

Talking about my Hugo picks, Part I

2015-07-04T05:12:53Z

In light of this year’s Hugo fracas, I decided that not only did I need to vote, I also needed to share my thoughts on how and why I voted. So, here I go, category by category. I’m going to list them in the rank I’ve put them on my ballot; where there’s no number next to an entry, it means I didn’t vote for it at all.

I also haven't posted to my journal here in ages. This is the closest thing I have to a blog right now, ao here I go ...

In this first entry I’m going to cover Best Related Work and Best Graphic Story.

I don’t claim to be the best of critics; these are the opinions of this fan. They are mine, however.

Best Related Work
1.       NO AWARD
·         The Hot Equations: Thermodynamics and Military SF by Ken Burnside
·         Letters from Gardner by Lou Antonelli
·         Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and Awful Truth by John C. Wright
·         Why Science Is Never Settled by Tedd Roberts
·         Wisdom From My Internet by Michael Z. Wiliamson

In this category I voted No Award, and nothing else. In my humble opinion, nothing that was nominated in this category hijacked by the slate is Hugo worthy. And yes, I read them all; if not all the way through, then enough to make an informed judgment.
Let’s take the easiest one first. Wisdom ... isn’t. An outpouring of snide quips and observations, with a minimal organization into categories, it might be remotely funny if you agreed with the political outlook of the author. For my own part, I’d be just as unamused if the sensibility displayed was a screech from the left wing rather than a shriek from the right. Its presence on the ballot is an insult.
Why Science Is Never Settled was reasonably well written, but in the realm of pieces popularizing and explaining science and its methods, it falls short. I will grant that’s a rather high bar to measure up to; Roberts does not even come close to the level of Sagan, Asimov, Gould, or Tyson. Nor does it help that I found his tone condescending. I also have to wonder about the motivation behind his half-hearted criticism of peer review. Sorry, no Hugo for you.
Letters from Gardner was a pleasant enough read, and Lou Antonelli’s account of his journey from aspiration to a certain level of success as a writer is mildly interesting, even if he dwells too much on how his background as a journalist contributed to that success. Ultimately, I wasn’t drawn in enough to care.
The Hot Equations is actually reasonably successful in addressing the subject matter it has taken on. As a piece, however, it’s a bit disjointed. I lost track of where it was headed in a few places — and it wasn’t that long a piece. If this is an example of the editorial work done at Castalia House, then it’s yet another strike against a certain nominee in the Editor categories.
And that leaves Transhuman and Subhuman. Oy. John C. Wright can write. However, he seems capable only of dense, involved prose both here and in his fiction (except when he’s expressing a noir sensibility). It’s not a matter of his failing to get to his point, however. He gets to it quickly enough. Then he repeats it. And flogs it. And then sets up a straw man to illustrate it, then knock it down. In fact, that seems to be his favorite method of presenting his arguments: setting up straw men that are painted in shades of black and white (never gray), and then knocking them down, again and again. I suppose that is suited to a world view where one is convinced that he has the Answer, and those of us who don’t are willfully deluded or dupes. Where a story must serve a specific higher purpose. Where virtue knows only One Way.
I will admit, however, to enjoying one of his essays, The Hobbit, or The Desolation of Tolkien. Read on its own, without regard to whether or not one liked the second Hobbit movie, this piece is quite funny. It’s way over the top, but that works well for this piece. I’m guessing that when Wright isn’t intently trying to save you, damn you, or preach to you, he can be rather funny. It’s not enough, however.
Nope, no rocket for anything in this category ...

Best Graphic Story
1.      Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal
2.      Saga Volume 3
3.      Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick
4.      Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery
5.       NO AWARD
·         Zombie Nation Book #2: Reduce Reuse Reanimate

Ballot rankings given above; I didn’t vote anything below No Award.
The Graphic Story category is suffering, truly suffering this year — from an embarrassment of riches. Not only can we exult in the fact that the slatemongers mostly ignored the category, but we can enjoy the varied mix that rose to become this year’s cream of the crop. I’d be happy to see any of 4 of the 5 nominees walk away with the rocket.
The one I didn’t care for was Zombie Nation. I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of zombies or zombie art. Carter Reid didn’t make the cut for me in the Best Artist category he was nominated in, either. It looks like it might be an okay webcomic, and there’s a story in there, somewhere. I’ve seen much better, and I’m not that much into webcomics.
Rat Queens is an enjoyable romp through a D&D-style milieu unapologetically and heavily spiced with a heady masala of debauchery, drugs, and mayhem. What’s more, we’re drawn in and start to care about this badass ensemble of antiheroines. There are some fine supporting characters as well. A little disjointed in spots, it’s good, but it wasn’t number 1 for me.
Neither was Sex Criminals. But damn, this is a sexy story. I’ll admit, though, one of the ways in which the male protagonist exercises (exorcises?) his neuroses made me go ”eeww”; I’m still trying to figure out if it’s a necessary plot element.
The first volume of Saga won in this category 2 years ago. I did not look up and compare it to its competition from that year, but I can still see why it won. You’re drawn in and start caring about the characters — even some of those we first meet as villains or antagonists. This volume stacks up pretty well against its competition this year.
For any of the three not-undead selections above to win the Hugo would be cool. My first choice, though, is the one that partakes of the old connection between science fiction and superhero comics, dating from the era of the pulps and as old as fandom itself.
Not only are the story line and art in Ms. Marvel tight and well executed, the plot recapitulates some of our favorite tropes from superhero comics. It’s surely no accident that Kamala Khan’s journey resembles Peter Parker’s. At the same time, while familiar, it’s fresh and new, a very American superhero bildungsroman for this century. And it gets my first place vote.

For Velma

2014-12-01T16:37:55Z

I was at the memorial for Velma.

A lot of her family was there, as well as a lot of folks from all of the disparate circles she frequented when she was still here in NYC: fans, music folk, even a writer or two who had never met Velma face-to-face but was touched by her writing.

I was gratified by how her sister, brother, niece, nephews, and other relatives accepted me after all these years as still part of the family ("you don't get out that easy ...")

Anyway, I had decided that, unlike many other times where I didn't get up and say something, I needed to do so this time. And winging it would not do, so I wrote my comments.

Velma, I didn’t have a red dress to wear here tonight. Even if I did, I don’t think I have the legs to carry it off. I hope my riotously colored necktie suffices …

Though we hadn’t had much contact in recent years, especially after she and Soren moved to Seattle, Velma and I had been part of each other’s everyday lives for nearly 20 years. So, I’d like to take this opportunity to share a few thoughts with you about the woman I love.

I met Velma when we both hung out with a ragtag, scruffy bunch of science fiction fans that would frequent Washington Square Park on most Thursday evenings when the weather allowed. We were both unattached at that moment in time. As I remember, she was in equal measures both shy and playfully outgoing. On one occasion, there was a bit of horseplay, where she was goofing about, deliberately falling into the arms of a couple of people, including me (a lot!), often falling face forward. I think some part of my brain got the message at that point …

It was either at that gathering, or another shortly after, that the group decamped, as was its wont, to dinner at one of our “usual suspect” destinations, Jiu Siang Dumpling House in Chinatown (which is no longer there under that name). She later told me that I rescued her on that dinner expedition, as her Chinese food experience was strictly of the Cantonese egg roll, chow mein, and egg drop soup variety … as it was for so many of us growing up in those years. Dumplings and Sichuan food came later for most of us. I don’t remember just what I did, sitting next to her … I think part of it was chopsticks … but whatever it was made her feel more comfortable and much less lost. I don’t recall exactly when it happened, but at some point we were holding hands … she offered hers, and to her amazement, I took it. My brain had gotten the rest of the message. I rode on the subway with her to her stop that night, even though it wasn’t my stop … or my line.

Things went on from there.

Velma was known to her friends by a couple of names. At some point, she decided to use what started out as wordplay on her initials as her name to her friends and for her writing. The fact that “Vijay” in Hindi is normally a boy’s name I think amused her. The fact that it means “victory” I think is significant.

That made me think about what one word I would use to best describe Vijay, if I was held to one word. One of the best that comes to me is “fierce.”

Fierce in her likes, and dislikes. Fiercely passionate, and fierce in the pursuit of her passions. Fiercely loyal to those she loved, her friends, her lovers. Fiercely protective of those she cared about.
While that fierceness could be a two-edged sword, I don’t think those who loved Vijay, and who she loved, would have had it any other way.

So I stand here, with you all of you who loved Velma and were loved by her, to trade memories and celebrate the life of a woman whose flame burned fiercely bright. Velma, I love you.

Rock and roll

2013-10-28T16:00:16Z

Lou Reed died yesterday.

The world is a little emptier. The heroes and icons of my youth are making their farewells, one by one.

An interesting Salon article

2013-08-29T05:55:12Z

For a long time I've held that many on the right are worse than wolves. Wolves, at least, look after fellow members of their pack.

The right is wrong about rights:
http://www.salon.com/2013/08/27/the_right_is_wrong_about_rights/

We need more than a finger in the dike this time

2012-11-03T09:24:59Z

I post rarely (not necessarily a good thing), but I have a couple of things on my mind ...

First, the next time I have a discussion with somebody and they state that radical climate change is an exaggeration, or a political ploy, or the like, I will be bitchslapping (figuratively, of course ;-)) that person so hard ... this stuff is not deniable anymore. Anybody carrying water for these anti-scientific Luddites is worse than a flat earther; at least, flat earth beliefs don't hurt anybody.

Gov. Cuomo had it right. We're in a new reality, and we have to start hardening our infrastructure against the severe weather that's a major part of that new reality.

Perhaps we can emulate the place from which our city and region drew their original names, which is also the site of the largest flood protection project, containing the largest surge barrier, in the world. Can you say stimulus? Can you say jobs program on steroids?

(Yeah, I posted this same passage on FB ... so sue me, much good it'll do you ... )

Look up to the sky ...

2011-04-13T04:41:15Z

It has been 50 years ... Happy Yuri's Night ...

Flying to Seattle ...

2010-03-25T19:43:30Z

... in a few hours, arriving tonight (Thursday).

I'm going to be in Seattle over the weekend, representing TES at the NCSF annual meeting.

Meetings are Saturday and Sunday; I'll have most of Friday free.

Twenty years ago today

2009-11-09T20:59:41Z

Twenty years ago I was living with roadnotes on the wrong side of the BQE, on Warren Street in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill.

(It was a beautiful apartment, about which the less said, the better ... the landlady was crazy. Certifiable. Dangerous frootbat ... We spent less than a year there.)

We did own a television. At that point, however, it lived on the kitchen floor, unplugged, serving as a foot rest under the kitchen table.

We got a phone call that afternoon from a friend. My recollection is that it was Gary Farber, but I'm not totally sure. A reconstruction (not necessarily accurate, but the gist is there) of that brief conversation runs somewhat like this:

"Are you watching TV?"
"No. It's unplugged."
"Plug it in and turn it on now."
"Why?"
"The Berlin Wall is coming down."

volund @ 2009-09-25T15:44:00

2009-09-25T19:48:38Z

Happy birthday, catelynn!

I can see clearly now ...

2009-04-17T22:42:09Z

Earlier this afternoon I picked up my new glasses, so I have clear distance vision again.

A little bit of background (given the paucity of my entries) ...

Being extremely nearsighted, I've worn glasses almost all of my life.

Last year I was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes. In December I went in to have the right eye, which was worse, fixed.

I hadn't realized just how badly my vision had been affected. Not only was sight in that eye now less cloudy, but colors were different. It's as if there had been a very slight beige/mud/what-have-you filter affecting how I perceived color, and of course, I never noticed the difference before since my eyesight had been worsening so gradually.

After a short while, it drove me batty; the contrast between my right eye and my left, which still had a cataract, was maddeningly noticeable. In the beginning I had discussed with the doctor following up with the left eye "in a few months"; that few became 2: mid-February.

In the matter of putting in the artificial replacement lenses, the question was whether to favor distance vision over being able to see closer things well; the decision was to leave me somewhat nearsighted so that I won't need glasses to read or work at the computer, but need them for distance. Not a biggie, since I've worn glasses all my life.*

*(Someone is going to point out that there are now newfangled artificial lenses that adjust and simulate the action of the eye's natural lens, which is flexible. My doctor discussed these with me. They're several thousand dollars per eye, and insurance does not cover them.)

So, the left eye was done, and my old glasses, which were somewhat useful between the operations, were now worse than useless.

The normal course of events is that about a month after the operation, you can be examined and fitted for new glasses. So, that's what happened. New prescription in hand, I did a little shopping (in which I found out, no surprise, that the "bargain prices" and "specials" advertised by the likes of Cohen's are bait-and-switch; if your prescription calls for any type of real correction, forget it, and those prices include a narrow selection of frames and don't include any extras like anti-UV and anti-glare).

I ended up using the place near the hospital which my doctor actually recommended. Sounds suspicious, huh? But the price was extremely reasonable.

So, I could see before, but now I can SEE!!

President's Day Weekend ...

2009-01-20T06:32:41Z

... I hope to be in Boston, at Boskone.

I've bought a membership. I've reserved a room.

Therein is the rub: money's a little tight.

So I am casting about for the possibility of splitting my accommodations with somebody else ...

Still pinching myself ...

2008-11-05T17:18:57Z

Determined to get my vote in and get it done, I rolled out of bed shortly after 6 in the morning yesterday. I pulled on the previous day's clothes, rolled downstairs, and walked the 3 short blocks to our polling place, the elementary school at 174th and Ft. Washington.

Amazingly, there were almost no lines; only one of the voting machines, the one for the 15th ED, had any line at all. My building's in the 12th ED, so I voted right away.

(I imagine the lines developed later; I'll have to ask catelynn, who had the day off, about that.)

Walked back; a young lady I passed, guessing where I'd just come from, asked if there were any lines. I told her not really, and then "go!"

I was back home by about 6:30. I undressed and crawled back into bed for another hour ...

Maybe it's just me, but it seemed to me that the muted cheer, hope and expectation I sensed around me was palpable.

I couldn't help but think that if "they" actually stole this election there most assuredly would be hell to pay ...

The post-voting nap didn't help; I stayed awake for most of it. In total, I didn't get enough sleep, so I was so looking forward to crashing for a while after work. Did that, then Catelynn woke me for dinner and results.

Oh my god. Pennsylvania, then Ohio. State after state. Then the west coast, which I'm sure the networks were ready to call for a while but rightly refrained from doing until California's polls were actually closed ... California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii. Then Virginia and Florida, the icing on the cake.

I saw Senator McCain give his concession speech. Like most, I respect and honor him for what he's endured in the service of the country, and for that service. For some time however I've disliked him for the opportunistic politician, whose guiding principle was his own advancement, that he's become. On the other hand, there must be substance behind his stance as a statesman, because that's the McCain who gave one of the most gracious concession speeches I've seen.

Then at midnight came Obama's speech. I'll leave it to the pros to describe it; I'll only say at this point that I found it amazing.

Then to bed, some time after 1, still pinching myself ...

Toddling along ...

2008-10-05T06:12:10Z

It being a pleasant day, we decided a trip to Central Park was in order. To be specific, catelynn and I went down to the Poly Pride picnic and rally, being held on the Great Hill, which you get to by entering at 106th and CPW.

It was pleasant enough. We ran into folks we knew, such as lordlnyc; a young man named Matt (who may or may not be on LJ) who used to go to TES; Anita Wagner, up from Baltimore, who I know from when she represented her group at NCSF CP meetings, among others. petemosq joined us for a while as we sat on a rock and enjoyed the day and the rally.

As things wound down, we decided to go for dinner. As we had gone into the park, somebody was handing out palm cards for a bar called the Village Pourhouse on Amsterdam Avenue, near 108th. We decided to check it out. They have an impressive menu of brews, but a rather short food menu at present, so after we each had a beer and split a plate of chips, guacamole and salsa we decided to seek dinner elsewhere.

I had vague memories of a place in the neighborhood called V&T. In fact, my memories were so vague that they amounted to "somewhere in the shadow of St. John the Divine." Out comes the trusty phone/PDA with internet connection. Google "V&T Restaurant" ... turns out it's on Amsterdam between 110th and 111th. Still there, after all these years.

The food was great and reasonably priced, the portions generous. I was glad to have rediscovered the place. I explained to catelynn how I knew of the place, and we raised a glass to the late Brian Burley, who had taken me there for pizza and beer several times many years ago (20 or more?).

A pleasant dinner at the end of a pleasant autumn day, then a walk over to Broadway to catch a bus home.

I don't normally do memes ...

2008-09-23T20:34:58Z

... hell, I don't post much at all. But, as it's slow today, and it amuses me to do so, and it's sufficiently colorful ...

In my travels, I've been on these:

Got at b3co.com!

(Snagged from davidlevine)

Not exactly a world traveler, but ...

Aaarrr!

2008-09-19T16:21:53Z

I so rarely post to my journal. I've long considered this a failing which I am continually resolving to correct, but like many resolutions it seems to be mired in inertia.

A slow day at work, though, so why the hell not spend some time here?

Life this year has been interesting, frequently but not always in the "Chinese" sense.

catelynn's son and daughter-in-law are over from England this week and into next, so the apartment is a little more crowded at the moment, but they are cool folks so it's more than okay. Last weekend we were all supposed to go to Catelynn's sister's for a big family party, but that got punted by a sewer line blockage (eww!).

(They got it fixed; turns out it was an errant tree root.)

Instead, we went over to my sister's, in Connecticut. We dragged warmsapphiretes (and her freshly made donuts) along with us. Everyone got along famously. My nephew Josh took quite a liking to Catelynn's son Kevin; they were playing game after game on the Wii long after the rest of us had tired out.

Last week was the TES elections, of which I've spoken elsewhere.

I lost. Feh. But then, there were a couple of folks who were working hard, politicking against me and misrepresenting and exaggerating my position (which is probably more work than they've done elsewhere for a while). Given that, it was a reasonably close race. To my opponent, I only wish good luck in the job.

On election night (last Tuesday), toward the end, I started having a feeling that things weren't going my way, so by the time the results were announced, I was more or less prepared for the bad news. In fact, my sweetie and several friends seemed to be more outwardly angry/annoyed/disappointed at the result than I was.

Well, as I said to several people that night, I get to say what I really think now ... bwahahaha ...

So I now have more time on my hands. I'll still be doing stuff with TES, but perhaps not on as nearly an involved level. There are other things with which to occupy my otherwise free time. I've been getting reinvolved in fandom, for example. I get to spend more time at home with Catelynn. Maybe (maybe!) I'll start writing more ...

This Saturday, we're going out to Long Island, to the Burns' annual end of summer party, to which I haven't been for years. It will be interesting to see people who I've not seen for several years.

By the way, mateys, happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! Aaarrr!

My take on the TES Parliamentarian contest

2008-08-19T15:28:15Z

Well, it's election time at TES again ...

(If you're not a TES member, or involved in the community of which the Eulenspiegel Society is part ... well, maybe you'll find this interesting anyway ...)

(For the curious who are not involved in TES: the Parliamentarian is TES' presiding officer, and not just the TES Board's advisor on parliamentary procedure, so some might consider the name to be somewhat of a misnomer. There are historical reasons why the organization, when establishing the position, did not call it "president" or "chairman," which I don't have room to go into here but will be glad to explain to anybody who asks.)

This time around I'm not running for one of the voting Board seats, but for a position that I think is at least as important or possibly more so at this time: Parliamentarian.

In my statement, and at Candidates' Night, I've been talking about how important it is now that the energies of the new Board be channeled effectively to build on the advances we've made in the past year, and that the Parliamentarian, as presiding officer and a member of the Board, is a vital part of this process.

This is a process that calls for a presiding officer who is more than just a parliamentary rules mechanic, running the board and membership meetings and doing little else.

Some of the people commenting on this election are calling for just that, however: a strictly circumscribed and defined role for the Parliamentarian. They cite TES' bylaws, which spell out the specific responsibilities of the position, and say the Parliamentarian should do that and no more.

That is just plain wrong, on several levels.

One is the bylaws themselves. Whether it's an oversight or by design, those who have been arguing for a "strict constructionist" view of the bylaws have skipped over an important part:

"A Board of Directors, which shall consist of the Parliamentarian and 9 voting members ... shall administer TES Association."

That seems pretty clear to me. The Parliamentarian is a Board member, with everything that that implies---a share in the collective work of the Board, a share in the governance of TES. And the Parliamentarian's contribution to that effort includes, but is not limited to, the specific duties assigned to the position elsewhere in the bylaws.

Another level is historical. We've had the position of Parliamentarian for several years now. In the beginning, it wasn't clear whether the holder of the position actually was a member of the Board over which he or she was presiding. It became obvious very early (hell, it simply just made sense) that, in order for the position to be meaningful and able to engage effectively with the Board, the Parliamentarian had to be the peer of the other Board members, so the bylaws were amended to make that clear.

Over the years since then, the Board has been more focused and efficient when the Parliamentarian has been involved in creating that focus.

One more level is necessity. An involved, engaged Parliamentarian is what we need right now (if not all the time). I have made the argument elsewhere that an effective presiding officer is crucial in helping to harness the combination of new blood and experience the new Board will have.

And so is experience. Up to this point, I've been arguing the case for a view of the Parliamentarian as an involved Board member and presiding officer, as opposed to the overly limited role others have advocated. Here, in closing, is where I ask for support as the candidate advancing that view, with the experience and resolve to work with the Board to focus on consolidating and advancing our gains.

Switchables meeting Wednesday 11/28

2007-12-05T21:08:27Z

November 28th's meeting of the Switchables & Other Polymorphous Perverts SIG at TES, "Trekkies and Witches and Wenches, Oh My ..." was, as far as I'm concerned, a success.

We had a great discussion with our panelists (Susan Wright, Jeff Mach, Ariel Sirocco, Claire Fitzpatrick, Larry Nelson, Liz D.). We had a good circle, and some of us even went off to supper at Stage Door after ...

(I miss the meeting being able to end with many of the attendees going off to eat afterwards on a regular basis. But that's a diatribe for elsewhere.)

In preparation for the meeting I wrote an article talking a little about my own personal voyage across the different subcultures under discussion, which I had as a handout. I decided I'd share it here in my journal as well.

Across the Alternative Scenes: A Personal Journey

There seem to be a lot of people who have a more than passing familiarity with the different subcultures or communities defined by kink, science fiction fandom, medieval reenactment (such as the SCA and Renaissance Faires), neopaganism and Wicca, and the goth scene.

It turns out that I'm one of them.

Why the crossover? Is there much cross-fertilization or influence from one scene on another?

I think part of it is that if you're the type of person receptive to certain types of novel ideas and experiences, after the first the impulse to check out any subsequent ones comes that much more easily.

That's part of the subject matter of the panel discussion for which this article is the instigation. What I'm going to do here, however, is recount some of the highlights of my own personal travels through these alternate, frequently related communities.

I started out in science fiction fandom. I've been devouring SF and fantasy almost since I was old enough to read. It certainly helped that my mother had several bookshelves filled with the stuff, and that there were no restrictions laid down as to what I was allowed to read. If it was out in the open, then it was fair game.

(In later years I may have given my mom cause to regret that, but that is an entirely separate article … or perhaps material for a session on a therapist's couch … )

I think the very first book I bought at a grade school book fair was a paperback copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. By the time I was in high school, I was aware of SF fandom and conventions (though I didn't go to my first con until my freshman year in college). I haunted the SF/fantasy section of a bookstore on the Grand Concourse, just off Fordham Road, which was where I changed buses on my way home from school. I joined the school's Star Trek club and wrote a bad short story for their fanzine. I ended up hanging out with a bunch of gamers; this new thing called "Dungeons & Dragons" had come out only within the past couple of years and had started creating a nice little buzz of publicity for itself.

Firmly established as an SF/gamer geek, I started college …

Because I was living on campus my first year, I had probably too much freedom to indulge myself. After hearing of them for years, I went to my first science fiction convention, a local affair called Lunacon.

The funny thing is, I've never been much of a fan of costuming and garb, but one of the people I met at that 1978 Lunacon was dressed in medieval garb and I fell into conversation with him. From him I learned more about the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). It sounded interesting. I decided to investigate.

THE SCA

I started going to meetings of the local chapter, and then to local events. (This started taking up a lot of weekends during which I should have been studying.)

It was at a feast in New Haven, in a church basement, where somebody asked me "What do you know about heraldry?" I know a little bit, and started answering something about how you weren't supposed to put a color on a color, or a metal on a metal. "Good enough!" and I was promptly drafted as a pursuivant, which is basically a junior-level herald. It seems the local NYC group lacked a permanent herald, and somebody decided I looked a likely sucker to be trained up for the job.

Just as well; I'm not exactly cut out for brawling with mock swords made of rattan. This was, for me, a preferable way of spending my time in the SCA.

A sojourn which was predictably short. I did say something before about "too much freedom to indulge myself," didn't I?

My grades suffered to the extent that I ended up being suspended, and had to work my way back in by attending classes part time and getting a minimum average grade over the following year.

I was back to living at home.

That put paid to this short chapter of my journey.

* * *

While I was involved with the SCA, I continued to be involved in gaming and SF fandom. That involvement never actually stopped after the debacle of my freshman year. It just slowed down a little.

I continued in school. I got involved with an SF fan group that met in the Village on Thursdays. That's where I met my first serious girlfriend (yeah, I was a late bloomer). And my second (sort of). And my third, who I ended up spending the next seventeen or eighteen years with …

There were also more casual liaisons. There was a definite "free love" vibe to this particular social circle, and some of the people in this community were definitely into polyamory.

(Which also has a significant crossover with our kink community. But you already knew that.)

Some of us were also interested in neopaganism and Wicca.

WICCA

During my last year in college, my partner and I got involved with a bunch of other friends in the founding of a coven.

"Hey gang! I've got a chalice." "And I've got an athame!" "And I've got a living room where we can meet! Let's start a coven!"

That sounds somewhat flippant, but it really was sort of like that. The group did not last long. Nobody in it had done anything like this before (except for the one fellow whose father was involved in ceremonial magic---which is very much not quite the same thing). While this could have been a plus, it wasn't. The group petered out over a combination of personality mismatches and sexual jealousy.

(Yeah, polyamory … a bunch of people do it, far fewer do it well …)

A few years later, however, we were living in Inwood, sharing a large apartment with a couple of other fans. We weren't the only such folks in the building. The SF and comics writer Chris Claremont lived on the floor below us. And then Isaac and Sally moved into the building, having moved to New York from San Francisco.

Isaac was (and still is) heavily into Druidism (he is in fact founder of at least two neo-Druidic organizations), and Isaac and Sally were prominent in the neopagan/Wiccan community in California. They knew enough people who were interested, and the inevitable happened. They started a study group, which in short order morphed into a formal coven, Marasmius. We worked within a "neo-Gardnerian" tradition called The New Reformed Order of the Golden Dawn (NROOGD).

The group lasted for a while, at least long enough for everybody who was new to the tradition to receive their first-degree, or "white cord" initiations at a retreat on an upstate property.

Yes, I am a first-degree initiated Witch in the NROOGD tradition.

This many years later, I cannot quite identify some of what caused things to fall apart. The other parts, I won't talk about, as it isn't my story alone.

* * *

This entire time I continued to be involved in my first home, science fiction fandom. I went to conventions. I helped run conventions, working mostly on art shows. I read and wrote for fanzines, and got involved in the small but lively corner of fandom centered around the older style (as opposed to media-oriented) of fanzines and small press.

By the early '90s my wife and I were living more or less happily in Brooklyn. First there was the loopy landlady in Cobble Hill, for whom the phrase "sanity clause" seems to have been coined. After a year there, we moved to Park Slope, where we spent the rest of the '90s.

Our marriage had from the beginning been "open"; we both had other sexual partners, but never forgot who we were going home to. She had always been interested in S/M and D/s to some extent and decided to explore that interest with another partner, so started going to Eulenspiegel meetings. Her involvement with that partner ended acrimoniously after a few months (he was a lying manipulative prick, and his psych degree only helped him in being more of one, but not enough for him to stave off the consequences of his actions). She continued going to TES meetings, however, and brought home stories of the neat people she was encountering there.

Mind you, our sex life was not vanilla. We indulged in some light bondage and the like from time to time during sex. (I might still have some of those neckties.) I wasn't yet sure that I was interested in kink to that extent, however. But my interest was piqued, and I came to my first TES meeting. I was hooked.

We both got heavily involved.

At some point the varied worlds in which we were spending our time started to converge.

asb

In the early '90s the Internet had come into its own, even if the Web was still in its infancy. At this point Usenet newsgroups were big. One particularly busy and popular group was alt.sex.bondage, which, belying its name, was concerned with all manner of BDSM kink and not just bondage. This was still when the concept of the Internet scared off most people who weren't to some extent technically savvy.

And of course, a lot of those technically savvy people were science fiction fans as well.

The alt.sex.bondage newsgroup was started in 1989. It didn't take too long for some of the participants to conclude that they could meet in real time at SF conventions and hold a play party in a bunch of adjacent sleeping rooms; the first asb party was at Gaylaxicon in July 1991. I went to my first asb party in 1992.

There was a circuit of asb parties, mirroring the circuit of conventions up and down the mid-Atlantic seaboard. We went to parties at Arisia in Boston, Lunacon in the NYC area, Philcon in Philadelphia, and Disclave in the DC area from 1992 through 1995/1996. There were similar circuits at conventions in other parts of the country; I found a reference to an asb party at BayCon '97 in San Francisco.

Just how do you set up a dungeon in a set of adjacent hotel rooms? The ingenious fans who ran these parties found a way. Equipment was portable, and there were many clever ways in which the fixtures in a hotel room can be used as supports and attachment points.

There are also many stupid ways. But that comes later.

There was tremendous overlap between these scenes. One of our friends was a masquerade and costuming fan from Connecticut who hosted at least one asb party (at Arisia) and also hosted daytime parties at Paddles. We met Cecilia Tan, founder of Circlet Press (and one of the original cabal that started the asb parties) and my partner sold a story to one of her early anthologies. The conventions we went to now had late-night panels on their programs about erotica in science fiction and the crossover phenomenon itself.

There was also a less savory side to all of this (as opposed to the desirable darker side). The parties were private functions, and technically not part of the conventions themselves. Anybody who was interested in just the party could come for that. A lot of the people who did so were not totally clued into the mores and customs of the subculture they were visiting the fringes of.

It was technically kosher, but distinctly uncool, and I think it's at least partially responsible for what happened in conjunction with the asb party that, literally, ended all asb parties.

I didn't go to the Disclave in 1997 held in New Carrollton, Maryland. I was unemployed at the time and money was tight. But I heard all about it.

Reportedly, the culprits were not registered with Disclave, but had taken a room in order to go to the party, a room they retired to in order to play further in private. The story is sufficiently infamous (just Google on "Disclave incident") that I need not go into much detail. I'll only mention two things: a hotel room ceiling fire sprinkler head is not an appropriate attachment point; and, ferghodssakes, I still can't believe that the top was, of all things, a New York City cop.

The resulting flood and its aftermath queered things for the whole circuit of asb parties and for Disclave itself, and almost queered things for a convention of a different type that was booked into that same hotel several months later that same year: Black Rose's tenth anniversary.

* * *

During this period we had a TES meeting on the subject of the crossover between the scene and the various other subcultures, such as fandom; a meeting, in fact, similar to the one at which you may be reading this article. Into that meeting, in full garb, came a pair of combative, freebooting space aliens, which is how we became acquainted with the Klingons.

The Klingons

We didn't find the Klingons---they found us.

Anybody familiar with Star Trek is doubtless aware that, while the details were for a long time sketchy, affairs of the heart among the Klingons had to be anything but sweet and cuddly.

If there was any doubt, it was quite effectively dispelled in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The first, "Hide and Q" (11/23/1987, season 1) has the omnipotent Q at one point conjuring a Klingon female onto the bridge. The brief interaction between her and Worf leaves little to the imagination what would have happened had there been more time and privacy. The second was the holodeck scene between Worf and K'Ehleyr in "The Emissary" (6/29/1989, season 2), still the best depiction of the foreplay portion of a Klingon mating ritual to date.

(What comes after foreplay … well you can't show that on network television.)

With their rough, combative foreplay, Klingons are the perfect "alpha switches," and there is endless opportunity for those who are both kinky and imaginative enough.

Incorporating aspects of fandom, BDSM, and, for some, Neopagan ritual, the Klingons are an intriguing and unique crossover phenomenon. Perhaps the definitive piece on the phenomenon is "Klingon Like Me: Travels Into the Dark Side of Trekkerdom" by Erik Davis, which originally appeared in The Village Voice of November 23, 1994. It can be found online at www.techgnosis.com/klingon.html.

A local group of Klingons had arranged to have play parties at Paddles. We went to two or three of these. At least one of these started with a tera'daq ritual before the party proper; solemn and serious, it resembled to a large extent the Wiccan rituals I was already familiar with, starting with a closing off of the ritual space and ending with opening it back up to the world at large.

I even went so far as to get a gnarly latex forehead. I didn't need the full kit with wig, as I was sporting rather long hair at the time.

A fun and interesting time.

* * *

For the last few years my primary involvement has been with TES and the BDSM scene. I've maintained many of my social contacts within science fiction fandom, while others sort of fell into limbo. Finances and changing relationships took its toll on my involvement there.

I'm also still interested in folklore, paganism and Wicca, but there's only time for so much …

Late last year I decided I wanted to get involved again with fandom and start off by attending a few conventions.

My sweetie, Catelynn, was game. So we went to Arisia, up in Boston, this past January. It was great, like coming home. Catelynn's reaction was along the lines of "I wish I had known about all of this stuff when I was younger …"

Well, making up for lost time can be fun as well. We followed up by going to Lunacon in March. Because it was local, we were able to take Catelynn's 10-year old niece with us for Saturday of the convention. She participated in a workshop where she made a budget costume, which she wore that evening in the masquerade. She was ecstatic, and extracted a promise from us to bring her to next year's con.

Between Arisia, Lunacon, and the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga we attended the weekend after Halloween, I've started reconnecting with that particular social circle, and Catelynn has made new friends.

It's come full circle, in a way.

* * *

I realize that in my account I've raised a lot of questions that I have left unanswered. Time, space constraints and discretion have dictated that. My main intention was to give an overview of my own personal journey. At some future date, perhaps, I'll expand on that story.

Until then …

Mark Richards
27 November 2007

©2007 Mark W. Richards

Wanted

2007-11-17T17:41:19Z

I'm looking for additional participants for a panel I'm running at TES on Wednesday, November 28.

The subject is the crossover between the kink community and other alternative communities: science fiction fandom, wicca/paganism, medieval/RennFaire/SCA folk, goths:

The Switchables Group: "Trekkies and Witches and Wenches, Oh My ..."
There are many people in the SM scene who also have other unusual or "alternative" interests. What attracts them to these other Scenes? What do they have in common? Could it be that, when you accept one unusual idea, it's that much easier to accept another? Let's discuss this and find out more with our panel of fellow kinky folk who are also involved in Sci Fi, Fandom, Paganism & Wicca, Renn Faires/SCA/medieval recreationism, and/or the Goth Scene.

Despite it being a SIG offering, the topic should be of interest to anybody, and not just those identifying as "switches" in the scene.

Thanks!

Oh happy day ...

2006-11-08T19:17:58Z

... but first, my condolences to my friends in Virginia, who will have to deal with the ramifications of the laughably or disgustingly named "marriage protection" amendment that was just passed. It looks like this t-shirt remains sadly appropriate (thanks to coyotegoth for the link).

The House is going Democratic. Get used to saying "Speaker Pelosi ... "; you've got to love it.

I think the Democratic lead in the Virginia senatorial race will hold (they've just called Montana for Tester, the Democrat!), and while the recount will be long and messy, any of the inevitable stories of voter intimidation, etc., which have been a Republican hallmark of the last few elections can only work to Webb's advantage. Yes, I think his lead will hold.

On the local front ... my congressman (Rangel) easily won reelection. Not only that, he's slated to become chair of Ways and Means. All of the Democrats running statewide won easily (Clinton, Spitzer, Cuomo), including Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

It is very possible that Hevesi will be removed from office, or have to resign, however. It's not as if, however, his offense was the worst that took place at the highest levels of New York state government recently; the outgoing Pataki administration has hands just as filthy, if not more so. The problem is that Hevesi is the Comptroller, the guardian of the state's finances. He has been better than this, and should have known better. So, a possibly sad end to what had been, up to now, a fine career in public service.

Better then, that he was reelected, so that if he goes, Governor Spitzer appoints, and the new State Legislature approves, his replacement. They're already floating names ... none of which, thankfully, are Chris Callaghan.

I was amused last night to see Callaghan, in conceding defeat, wonder aloud about what New York voters were thinking in not voting for him, given his opponent's situation. I'll hazard a guess: many New York voters are simply too intelligent to vote for a clearly unqualified throwaway candidate, with dangerous and unworkable ideas. The state pension funds are safe; back off, Wall Street.

Yes, I think Callaghan was a throwaway candidate. The Republicans had to put up somebody to run against a competent, capable incumbent who was widely regarded as a shoo-in. You generally don't waste a good, competent, viable candidate on that sort of race, unless that person is going in already knowing he's got a hopeless cause and is doing it only for future consideration; to make his bones, so to speak. It only became anything approaching a contest when Hevesi's ethical lapse came to light. It might have been a different story if they had put up a serious, qualified contender.

And this just in ... RUMSFELD RESIGNS!!

"Ding, dong the witch is dead ...!"

JK Galbraith, 1908–2006

2006-05-01T14:49:11Z

"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."

Another giant of the age has passed ... but others can comment on him more eloquently than I ever could.

This blog entry is particularly memorable; the clincher is the phrase "rectal myopia."

Leather Leadership Conference X is coming ...

2006-03-28T00:19:06Z

It's less than two weeks away ...

And that is sobering. And a little overwhelming (but not enough so that it stops me from doing what I have to do ... )

I've been meaning to post this for some time, but my much less than stellar journaling and blogging habits have gotten in the way. It seems apt to do so now, though, since I delivered this little speech nearly a year ago in Phoenix, at LLC 9, as our intro and kickoff for LLC-X.

It also seemed important to me to preserve what I said; other than in the memory of anybody who heard me, it's only existed up until now in the form of my scrawled notes.

Good afternoon. I'd like to thank the LLC board and the Phoenix LLC local committee — and let's give our hosts a round of applause — for giving us this time to tell you all a little bit about next year's Leather Leadership Conference, LLC 10, in New York City. My name is Mark Richards, and I'm one of LLC 10's co-chairs.

Let me introduce some members of our local organizing committee who are here this weekend and who I hope you'll all get to know better in the coming months: Kwame Banks, Catelynn, Grant Anderson, Walt Weiss, Robert Napolitano, Pete Mosq, Sarah Johnson, Mike Cotter, Angel Colon and ... John Weis, the founder of this event.

Our theme is LLC to the 10th Power, Exponential Experience. The accrued skills and experience we have gained over several years of the Leather Leadership Conference have, with our help, grown, and will continue to grow.

Our host hotel is the New Yorker, in midtown Manhattan, steps away Pennsylvania Station and in the middle of an abundance of places to eat, shop and enjoy.

So, on behalf of the local New York organizing committee, I'd like to invite all of you to come to our city April 7th to 9th of next year for Leather Leadership Conference 10. Come by car, come by plane ... take the A train. Welcome to New York.

volund @ 2005-11-30T20:13:00

2005-12-01T01:16:19Z

Well, I got the word a while ago that the outfit at which I've temped on and off wants me to start again on the 1st.

So, 'tis my last day of idleness ... I return to work tomorrow.

Having income will be good ...

volund @ 2005-11-30T03:06:00

2005-11-30T08:09:34Z

Inspired by justpat: If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you.

volund @ 2005-08-17T19:29:00

2005-08-17T23:31:29Z

The TES Meet the Candidates Night went fairly well. petemosq did a good job of holding it all together, even with a couple of the questioners being a bit ... pushy.

Speaking of which ...

I recognize that one might want to occasionally have somebody else ask the questions you want to ask, but what does it say about somebody when they don't have the balls to ask any of their own questions? Not only that, but to use a relative newcomer as a shill to pose deliberately provocative queries?