Author Archives: Eric

Balticon – A Review In Parts

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I’m trying something new this year. Normally I review my convention experience all in one big lump. I’ve taken a day or two now and I think there’s too much to cover and do justice with one lump. I know I prefer shorter posts when I’m checking my news feeds a lot of the time. That being the case I’m going to set these lumps of review to pop up at different times. Hopefully this new review strategy will be a good one – you’ll have to let me know!

Here we go with part one – the general stuff.

I truly enjoy going to Balticon. I’ve been going for a long time. Not as long as many folks, but long enough. I look forward each year to seeing old friends, making new ones and generally having fun. This year was no exception.

I was invited as a guest / panelist again this year. I love that I have the chance to do this. I hope it is something that continues. I also signed up to be part of the art show this year. While I wasn’t ready to try to sell any of my art, I wanted to be part of the show and see what it was all about.

Making sure I was actually on the guest list was difficult. I work on staff for other conventions, so I know things can be difficult. I tried, really tried to be patient. It seemed to pay off, even if the paperwork I got was later than the deadline it gave inside.

So – guest stuff arranged, art stuff sent in and confirmed I was ready.

The registration / sign in stuff at the con itself was not. I’m certain that social media exploded with anger and frustration over this. I’m also certain that the convention staff is aware of everyone’s opinion so I’m just going to describe it as bad. That is perhaps the negligent misuse of understatement, but 4 lines and 2+ hours later I had a badge with no staple or ribbons, my original schedule, the remake and a suggestion that I look for the app for the schedule as that was likely more up to date than anything printed that I’d been given we’ll just stick with bad.

I figured in the midst of all this I’d go and get set up for the art show. Except they weren’t ready. Again, I’ve been on staff – I know things can get behind. I could always come back later. You know, later when the crash that hurt registration so much had the chance to affect art show sign in. The art show folks were diligent and helpful to me as a newbie and I really had very little to worry about. I took it all in stride and got stuff hung up.

By the time I got past all that I really wasn’t feeling the con groove. The wife and I skipped out and headed for dinner. There were panels we’d thought of heading to, but the changes were such a mess we skipped them altogether.

Friday was a struggle, but no worries – there would be more to the weekend!

And there was. I had some excellent panels. I’ll break them down more in another post, but they were right on target for me.

Seeing old friends and making new friends (even by way of shared misery in line) was just as fantastic as always. I can think of at least a half a dozen folks I normally see at the convention that didn’t make it this year. I don’t know numbers but I got the feeling that attendance was down quite a lot. The mood seemed to be less festive than I’d seen in the past. I didn’t see the array of hall costumes I’d seen before. Maybe I was just missing something or not in the right place at the right time – but a busy con shouldn’t need the right place at the right time to make it work. The right place and right time should be just about anywhere at a con.

Maybe I’m jaded? Maybe it was me?

I’ll post more through the week – I think that’s enough for now.

Balticon 49

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I was told that I am bad at self promotion. I know this is true. I am going to attempt to be better about getting info out there.

This (Memorial Day) weekend I will be attending Balticon 49. I have been going to Balticon for a long time (though not as long as many – I believe my first was 27 when Don Maitz was the artist GOH). I will be a guest / participant as well as an artist in the art show. I do not have confirmation that I was in time for a “meet the artist” time slot – but I do have 3 panels that I will be on. They are:

Saturday

7:00 PM Fiction Writing for Gamemasters (and Vice-Versa) Derby
Eric Hardenbrook (M), PC Haring, Neal Levin, James Daniel Ross

They’re different skill sets, but have much in common. How does the prose writer learn to function in real‐time? How can an experienced gamemaster apply their skills to a self‐contained, linear story?

Sunday

12:00 PM Getting into Short Fiction Salon C
John Skylar (M), Scott H Andrews, 2015 Compton Crook Winner, Eric Hardenbrook, Samuel Lubell

Online publishing and new press opportunities have created a renaissance in short science fiction and fantasy writing. Our panelists discuss where to go to find short stories and novellas to read, who and what a reader new to the sub-genre should look for, and why shorter works of SF/F have persisted and thrived.

1:00 PM Writing Interesting and Effective Short Stories Pimlico
Joy Ward (M), Eric Hardenbrook, Joshua Palmatier, Bud Sparhawk, Martin Berman-Gorvine

How do you make a large world without a large word count? Making a big story out of a small space.

I am looking forward to the convention – hopefully I’ll get to see you there!

Behind the curtain

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“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”

Love that bit.

Yes, I’ve been off here doing lots of things. One of those things is (hopefully) getting my web posts to automatically cross post to Facebook again. It broke for a while, but hopefully it is better now.

The other thing I’ve been working on is getting ready to go to Balticon. A few weeks ago I met the requirements, paid the dues and joined the Baltimore Science Fiction Society and have gotten to go to the meetings and hear some of the behind the scenes stuff. You know what? Still excited to go. I’m so happy that they’ve made me an invited guest again this year.

The other thing I’ve been working on is something I’ve only run past a few folks as an idea… Well, I’m in. I’m going to display some of my art at the art show at Balticon this year. Forms submitted and received, prep work in full swing.

I’m really nervous about it, but I’m doing it. I’ll post the results as the weekend progresses. Until then, much more work to do!

Par-what?

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Parsec. A CELEBRATION OF SPECULATIVE FICTION PODCASTING.

I know a lot of people that like to listen to audio books while they work at whatever they do. I enjoy that as well, but I always thought of audio books as somewhat limiting. No, I don’t know why, but I did. Enter this new thing called Podcasting a few years ago. I took a spin at figuring it out and was part of an abortive attempt at getting one started. There’s a recording floating out there someplace with my voice on it. I have no idea where it ever went. Making a podcast is not easy.

Correction – making a podcast is easy. Making a GOOD podcast that doesn’t pod-fade after three weeks is really tough. I have a great appreciation for the art form.

I’m really on the outside looking in here, but I’m just close enough to know a number of serious players in the realm of podcasting. I think the folks who create and get their work out there deserve support. I have given money when I was able, I have posted about some of my favorite podcasts before, but now there’s something else I can do – and you can too!

The parsec awards are now accepting nominations. I’ve gone out and put in my nomination for what I believe is a truly excellent long form podcast. If you know about podcasts, you should head out to their site (Here) and see if your favorite is on the list. If it’s not, what are you waiting for? Nominate it! If you don’t know about podcasts, go there and check out the list. I bet you’ll find something you like.

Movies and movies and movies…

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There have been a lot of times that I’ve complained about what Hollywood is doing with movies. Sometimes they do seem to get it right. It will show my age but I don’t care. Back in 1984 a number of movies hit theaters that set a standard for what an amazing list of movie going experiences should look like. That year Terminator, Karate Kid, Dune, Ghostbusters, The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai, Red Dawn, Repo Man, Gremlins, Conan the Destroyer, Indiana Jones and the Temple of… monkey brains (yeah, I know), Revenge of the Nerds and (just for fun) Romancing the Stone all crashed into my head and stuck there. That’s an iconic list.

Yesterday I watched a movie trailer for “The Little Prince” animated feature. It looked fantastic and I wanted to know when it was coming out. When I looked (July) I realized what an incredible year we might have on our hands this year. IF I were the age I was in 1984 again now I’m certain these movies, this year, would set the standard for the rest of my life.

Here are the movies I’m thinking of:

Avengers 2
Mad Max – Fury Road
Tomorrowland
Inside Out (Pixar!)
Ant Man
The Little Prince
Jurassic World
Fantastic Four
Terminator Genisys (yeah, I know)

Later this year we get the next 007 (Spectre) and then in December Star Wars.

Are they all “original”? No – hell, Terminator is still making the list with the same star. There are still issues with the way movie stories are selected and moved forward. I don’t want to see the new super action stunt oriented “Point Break” with new, younger stars and huge high flying stunts. There had to be something better to do with that budget. None the less, this year looks like it could really be something special. I only hope these films actually live up to the hype building around them. It seems a steep task, but what if that happened? I know my movie going budget for this year is already busted – I’ll be at the theater quite a lot.

What movies are you really excited about this year?

Regen!

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This was previously published in Watch The Skies:

Regeneration Who – or – Where you should have been

This convention review is different than any of the others I’ve presented here before. It is different both because I got a different perspective and because from many reactions this convention was different than others before.

I don’t work on staff for many conventions. The creators of Regeneration Who are the same folks that put on Intervention Con where I normally lend a hand with the Children’s programming track. Regen didn’t have a dedicated children’s track this year so I became something of a free agent. I phrased it just that way when I was chatting with some of the other staff. I joked that I could now negotiate for double the going rate for staff pay. He came right back with, “I’ll offer you triple to get on my team…”

I should have negotiated better.

I ended up bouncing from place to place, from team to team through this entire convention. I essentially worked from the time I got up and dressed to the time I fell over at the end of the night. I must have walked ten miles each day. I was utterly exhausted by the end of the whole thing. Spent.

What all my travels afforded me was a chance to see much, much more of the convention than I might have otherwise. There were huge things going on here – Tom Baker Skyped in and answered questions from the attendees. The line for that was immense. There were funny things going on. The sort of things that stop conversations cold – like Sylvester McCoy and Sophie (Aldred) Henderson (the 7th Doctor and companion) riding a bell-hop cart down the hall. There were crazy moments like guiding the life size special weapons Dalek into the middle of the vendor room and opening it up so that actors could sign the inside of it. There were little moments that didn’t matter to anyone other than the very few people involved, like being able to pull a pink back pack full of “My Little Ponies” out of the lost and found bin to help fix up a weekend for a sobbing little girl.

The hope for the weekend was to be able to draw a few hundred folks and cover the expenses so the show would go on again next year. By all accounts the attendance was more than triple the expectation. There were flaws. There were issues. They were handled. I can’t say that’s been the case with every con I’ve gone to. Yes, being on the staff and spending more than a little of my time running for operations to try to help solve some of these issues I got to see and hear more than the attendees. Yes, I’m biased because I was helping. You know who wasn’t? The standing ovation from the attendees that came to the last panel of the convention called, “how’d we do?”.

Even seeing the issues behind the scenes, or perhaps because of seeing the issues behind the scenes, I’m going to recommend that if you’re a fan of Doctor Who you make it a point to get to this convention next year. I’m already on board.

Still Getting Stuff Out There!

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So I totally vague-booked a while back about a story I had high hopes for when I submitted it. I try to stay away from some of the more annoying habits of social media, but I didn’t want to jinx anything. I send the story and had that sliver of hope, that teeny part that thought, “I’m so right on target for this…”

As it turned out the editors that put out the call departed the scene and the theme that I thought my story was perfect for wasn’t actually going to happen.

The folks that picked up the editor process there have sounded like they’re really decent. They went through all the stuff that was submitted for the theme even if they weren’t going to run it. They took the time, even when the clearly didn’t have to.

And that’s when I got my latest rejection letter. Crap.

Spaceship… but just to get there.

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I saw a question from a friend on line yesterday. What are your 5 favorite spaceships? I immediately pictured a Colonial Viper and one of the Black Tiger fighters from Star Blazers. They were immediate and real to me, but then I let my mind wander a little thinking about the others. There are the popular ones that hit most folks lists, but not really mine. Sure Buck Rogers on the 80s TV show had a neat ship, but I liked the Hawk’s ship better. The bad guys (totally don’t remember their name just now) even had cool ships. Then I thought of this other artwork I knew…

So I jumped on line and went looking for it. Yes, it was because I didn’t want to walk to the other room and unlock the cabinet I keep my art monographs in – don’t judge.

The really funny part is, the art I was thinking of doesn’t have space ships in it. Not one that I could find. You’d just need a spaceship to get there.

IF you’ve never seen the artwork of Roger Dean, do yourself a favor and go check it out. Amazing stuff.

Shadowrun

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I read an article on Shadowrun the other day and it reminded me how much I really enjoyed playing that game. I also had a lot of fun reading the short stories and novels that went along with the setting. I’ve still got a pile of game materials and even a few miniatures laying about patiently awaiting my return.

I haven’t played in years. I would love to play again. It’s a really neat, interesting setting. Set in the near future it had combined fantasy and cyberpunk and I loved it. There could be a troll riding a motorcycle wearing a sword! There could be a kid plugged into a computer helping his team get the doors open to rescue some hostage… and then I remember the computer ideas and graphics I was thinking of just then. I fear the author of the article is correct in that time has passed the technology of the game by.

When I played it was a hybrid game system that the game master made up. I don’t have any idea what parts of the rules we did or didn’t actually use. In that respect I think the article is correct – I don’t think the rules did the game justice. I’m not going to spend a ton of time on the rules.

The rules could be changed or tweaked or tossed out as you pleased. It was always about the story to me. That’s the part of role playing that really made it work. At the end of the day you had this shared experience, probably with really funny stories that made the time spent worth while. To this day I remember the time I invited a girlfriend to join the game I was playing in. The GM allowed it and gave her a ‘rock-star’ character. We played and did a run and all the things we would normally do on a game night. The girlfriend was quiet and I don’t really know if she was having a good time or not – I was into the game. The best part of the whole night for me was when the GM decided to take matters into his own hands. He turned and addressed the girlfriend directly with a question. She stopped, looked back at everyone staring at her waiting for a response and broke out her best dingy-girl voice and said, “Um, you should like talk to my manager.”

That was it – the whole extent of her role playing and it floored us all. We howled with laughter because it was such a perfect response, perfectly timed. It is a fun story. And that’s where I think the focus of role playing games should be. It should be about social interaction within your group. It should be about having fun and making stories and creating the kind of memories that make you look fondly at the things you did and the games you played. I have no idea if Shadowrun will survive or not. I can’t imagine trying to keep a near future game just far enough ahead of technology that it makes sense while mixing in game rules and fantasy world aspects. I hope the game survives and I hope I get the chance to play again someday soon.

Until then, maybe I’ll watch that promo video one more time…