Match Game SF at Loscon 49

We had a really nice slot for doing Match Game SF at Loscon this year. Because of the way the evening schedule worked, we had three hours to set up before our 8:00 PM Saturday night showtime, and (after Programming moved the item immediately after us a couple of rooms over, which does not seem to have been a problem; we had a sign on the door pointing people to the other room) unlimited time after the show to pack up. This meant that Lisa did not have to rush either setting up or packing things away.

I did not "count the house" but we had a decent turnout. During our 90-minute show, we played four games. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. There were lots of laughs, and some pretty sharp players and panelists, so we gave away some nice prizes including a gift certificate to Cargo Cult Books, and a membership to Westercon 76 Utah.

Lisa was able to set up the video recorder, and she recorded the final game of the evening. If you've ever wondered what the show is like, here's a chance to have a look at it. I'm posting this while the video is still processing in YouTube, so if you get a check-back-later message, it means you're reading this within the first hour after it finished uploading. Do come back later and take a look.

Watch on YouTube

We were very tired when we got the set packed up, the room restored more or less to its original state, and headed back to our hotel room, but we were also very happy. That was one of our better shows, and it proved to ourselves how good our show can be if we're allowed time to set it up rather than be rushed into it like what has sometimes happened.

The Future of Westercon

On Sunday afternoon of Westercon 75 / Loscon 49, I moderated a panel on The Future of Westercon, with Charles Galway (chair of Westercon 76 Utah), Arlene Busby (the original chair of Westercon 75 Anaheim before they had to disband), and late addition Ben Yalow, whose opinion on the future of Westercon is very different than mine, but who presents his case well, and he and I can respect each other while still disagreeing. I asked Lisa to record this panel and plan to post it soon to the Westercon.org website.

Watch on YouTube

Westercon 75 / Loscon 49 Closing Ceremony

At 5:30 this afternoon, Westercon 75 and Loscon 49 came to a close. I brought the Gavel of Westercon on stage, and chair Michelle Pincus officially closed Westercon 75, then invited Charles Galway, chair of Westercon 76 Utah on stage. Michell then handed over the Gavel of Westercon to Charles, who gave a few remarks about next year's Westercon. Charles and I then exited and Michelle did the closure of Loscon 49.

We have photos and video of the closing ceremony, but we're a bit backed up because Lisa has been excellent about taking all of these photos and videos, and I simply can't process it all fast enough, so some of this will have to wait.

Lisa and I hung around in the ballroom level close to the bitter end, collecting the things from Christopher Carson that we'd brought with us from Fernley for his use in his exhibit and sitting around talking with our friends who were still about.

After Christopher finished packing up, we went down to the Dead Dog Party for a brief visit before returning to our hotel room, where I piled into processing some of the video, writing these journal entries, and so forth.

Lisa and I had gone out for lunch earlier in the day with Christopher Carson and we lost the "Pole Position" parking space, but later in the evening its neighbor opened up, so we have the van back into a position where moving out on Monday morning should be relatively easy and not require a cart.