Feminist SF Wiki - User contributions [en]

How Much Is Too Much? (WisCon 32 panel)

2008-05-29T16:42:29Z

Ggrihn: New page: "How Much Is Too Much?" Moderator Sarah Monette, Catherynne Valente, Gregory Rihn, and Elissa Malcohn, and had a surprisingly good audience for that day and hour. Sarah brought in a pre-sl...

"How Much Is Too Much?" Moderator Sarah Monette, Catherynne Valente, Gregory Rihn, and Elissa Malcohn, and had a surprisingly good audience for that day and hour. Sarah brought in a pre-sliced raspberry Kringle (a Danish-Wisconsin pastry) as a "reward" for those who showed up.

The panel was mostly in agreement that mentioning evil-isms isn your work is not an endorsment. Typically, they are there as a plot obstacle to be over come, or to provide background expanation for the milieu the work is written in. There was a good discussion on the integrity of art in this context, the writing of real live yet not too-seductive villains, and other related topics with enthusiastic audience participation.

Fancy Dress Party (WisCon 32 panel)

2008-05-29T16:41:08Z

Ggrihn: New page: This year's theme was "Fantastic Academe," and guests were encouraged to attend as graduates or faculty of schools they had, or would like to have had, attended. Georgie Schnobrich decorat...

This year's theme was "Fantastic Academe," and guests were encouraged to attend as graduates or faculty of schools they had, or would like to have had, attended. Georgie Schnobrich decorated the walls with school crests: Hogwarts, Miskatonic, Transylvania Polygnostic (from the "Girl Genius" comic), Pratchett's "Unseen University," and "Saganami Island," the space academy of the Honor Harrington universe.

The food theme was "Classic Wisconsin Graduation Party," honoring Maureen Kincaid Speller's matriculation from the University of Kent. Total surprise was obtained when Maureen first saw her smiling visage adorning the cake, and she was thrilled with the glitzy gown Tracy Benton had made for her. If there was cake, there had to be ice cream, and there was. There was also the aforementioned bheer, cranberry-orange punch, cheese and sausage, "taco dip" and chips, and cocktail franks in barbecue sauce.

Tracy Benton and Bill Bodden were quite spectacular in coordinating emebellished lab coats as members of the Transylvania Polygnostic faculty. Georgie Schnobrich was very 19th century elegant as "Headmistress of the Ladies' Academy of Grace Adieu." Gregory Rihn appeared as "Sagramor the Sagacious," a long-lived sorceror who started his academic career at Oxford in 1208 and has collected schools and degrees up to Wisconsin 1979. Some other good costumes showed up, and the organizers were pleased to the extent other people dressed up for the evening even if not costuming.

The party went very well. Food and punch held out well. Organizers had thought they had over bought the beer a bit, but got a last rush of thirsty fans after midnight; turns out there had been some very popular Dr. Who and "Galactica" panels that ran very late, and by the time the attendees got up to the sixth floor, other rooms were either out of beer or closed up for the night. When word went out that the Fancy Dress Party had plenty of beer left, they were instantly popular again! Things finally ran down shortly before two AM when "last call" was given to the ten or so people left and the party closed.

Making 'War' on 'War,' Part 2 (WisCon 32 panel)

2008-05-29T16:34:16Z

Ggrihn: New page: "Making 'War' on 'War' Part 2" was intended to be a continuation of the very successful and interesting panel last year, on trying to replace war language as America's dominant metaphor. A...

"Making 'War' on 'War' Part 2" was intended to be a continuation of the very successful and interesting panel last year, on trying to replace war language as America's dominant metaphor. Audience attendance was disappointing, which may well have been due to the mislabeling of the time slot in the pocket program grid and the doorside rosters. Georgie Schnobrich as moderator worked hard to keep the energy level up, and Shweta Narayan provided a very useful matrix showing linguistic breakdown of connotation in war language (showing, for example, why it is propagandically preferable to have a "war on" something instead of a "war with" something). Sylvia Kelso provided some contrarian analysis, but possibly the best idea of the panel came from Ian Hagemann, with an economic "scarcity" examination of war goals which should be rigorously applied to all appeals to go to 'war' of any sort. A very good, thoughtful panel, and a pity more people did not get to it.

What Can't We Forgive? (WisCon 32 panel)

2008-05-29T16:32:47Z

Ggrihn: New page: The panel on "What Can't We Forgive?" was pretty much pure fun, as panelists Steve Schwartz, Susan Palwick, Judith Moffet, Ian Hagemann, and Vylar Kaftan lead the audience in hauling out a...

The panel on "What Can't We Forgive?" was pretty much pure fun, as panelists Steve Schwartz, Susan Palwick, Judith Moffet, Ian Hagemann, and Vylar Kaftan lead the audience in hauling out and stomping on various author's literary offenses, which ranged surprisingly far beyond the usual suspects of Card and Heinlein.

Is Reading a Choice that Closes Other Doors? (WisCon 32 panel)

2008-05-29T16:31:22Z

Ggrihn: New page: "Is Reading a Choice that Closes Other Doors?" was a deliberately contrarian topic for a literary-heavy convention. There was a very lively yet courteous discussion, lead by the panel, Bet...

"Is Reading a Choice that Closes Other Doors?" was a deliberately contrarian topic for a literary-heavy convention. There was a very lively yet courteous discussion, lead by the panel, Betsy James, Georgie Schnobrich, Connie Toebe, Sue Blom and Beth Plutchak. A number of valid points were raised, including that reading takes up time that could be spent learning other skills, or interacting socially. Reading tends to drive out the oral tradition, and reliance on printed matter as a source of authority may supplant existing history, culture, and even language. I.e., if it is in a book, it must be important. Something that only old women know is therefore not important--. The panel was very well received, and I overheard a considerable amount of interested discussion continuing as the audience left at the end.

Not Enough Octopusses (WisCon 32 panel)

2008-05-29T16:29:54Z

Ggrihn: New page: "Not Enough Octopusses," ("Octopodes", as one of the panelists pedantically insisted--). This was one of the curious cases in which the person who proposed the panel didn't get put on it, ...

"Not Enough Octopusses," ("Octopodes", as one of the panelists pedantically insisted--). This was one of the curious cases in which the person who proposed the panel didn't get put on it, although she was available (which may have been due to the apparent pre-con meltdown of the programming database--). The panelists, Mia Molvray, Doselle Young, Tom La Farge, and Ruthanna Emrys, put together an entertaining panel on "alien aliens," which was well worth while, but some of audience members would have liked to hear a bit more on the possibilities of octopodes as resident aliens, specifically. As someone said, "the more we learn about them, the weirder and cooler they are." The panel did generate a very useful question out of this panel which recurred in different form throughout the weekend. "Does your plot really REQUIRE an alien (elf, king, type of villain, etc.)?"

WisCon 32 schedule

2008-05-29T16:25:34Z

Ggrihn:

This is the program schedule for [[WisCon 32]] (2008), with links to transcripts, panel reports, and so on.

: '''(T)''' indicates at least partial transcript available
: '''<—>''' indicates that there are links to other notes, thoughts, commentaries, photos, transcripts

==Thursday May 22, 2008==

* [[A Room of One's Own Reception (WisCon 32)|A Room of One's Own Reception]]

==Friday May 23, 2008==

* Writers' Workshop
* G is for The Gathering
* 1 Toys: The Other Childhood Fixation We Didn't Leave Behind
* 2 Nordic Trek
* 4 Puzzles, Coloring, Magic the Gathering
* 5 The Hunt is On
* 6 It's Not About Identity
* 7 Mod Squad
* 8 Juvenilia: What We Wrote Before We Were Writers
* [[Not Enough Octopusses (WisCon 32 panel)|9 Not Enough Octopusses]]
* 10 Glass slippers come off! 5 new YA writers
* 11 And Now For Something Completely Different
* [[Opening Ceremonies (WisCon 32)|12 Opening Ceremonies]]
* 13 LiveJournal and WisCon
* 14 Not Just Japan: Asian Science Fiction and Fantasy
* [[Elves and Dwarves: The Racism Inherent in Fantasy (WisCon 32 panel)|15 Elves and Dwarves: The Racism Inherent in Fantasy]]
* 16 Punctuation, Grammar, Usage: Who Needs 'Em?
* 16a Ratbastards' Rabid Karaoke Blast
* 17 Aqueduct Press Writers II
* 18 Narrative Process in SF
* 19 Thinking Ahead: Feminists thinking about possible near and middle futures and feminist responses to them
* 20 Women Writing Speculative Poetry
* 21 Clarion West 25th Anniversary
* 22 Scribe Agency/Electric Velocipede
* 23 Speculative Literature Foundation/Serendib Press
* 24 ThinkGalactic
* 25 Stevenson/Wilce Book Launches
* 26 Lilacs, Laundry Lists and Lycanthropy: The Magic of Everyday Life
* 27 Sexual Politics, Gender and Class in the Universe of C.J. Cherryh's Chanur Series
* 28 The Joy of Fat Sex
* 29 Fanfic and Slash 101
* 30 Sherlock Dracula: The Appeal of the Vampire Detective
* 31 Academics & Fans: Bringing them Together #2
* 32 Silent SF Films of 2007
* 33 Boisterous Basilisks, Bears and a Balcony

==Saturday May 24, 2008==

* 34 Fantasy Films of 2007: The Year of the Franchise
* 35 Ancient Mythology in Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
* 36 Balancing Creativity And The Day Job
* 37 Technology and the Environment
* 38 Environmentalism and Spirituality
* 39 Women of Action
* 40 Porn Crushes the Patriarchy!
* [[Is Reading a Choice that Closes Other Doors? (WisCon 32 panel)| 41 Is Reading a Choice that Closes Other Doors?]]
* 42 Soylent Green or Just Plain Soy?
* 43 Parenting On Other Planets
* 44 Defining God
* 45 Fantastic Groves of Academe
* 46 Guest of Honor Reading: L. Timmel Duchamp
* 47 Scribe Agency Dreamtime Commandos
* 48 Representing Seers/Out of Egypt
* 49 Strong Or Stroppy?: Annoyingly Feisty Female Protagonists
* 50 Carl Brandon Society Update
* 51 Legos and Build a Castle
* 52 Two Heads With But a Single Brain - Collaborators talk about writing together
* 53 Elemental Magic
* 53a Tiptree Bake Sale
* 54 Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading
* 55 Historical Research for Fiction Writers
* [[The Curious Boundaries of YA Fantasy (WisCon 32 panel)|56 The Curious Boundaries of YA Fantasy]]
* 57 Disability in SF and Fantasy Fiction
* 58 Combining Science And Fiction
* 59 Magical Realism: Threat or Menace?
* 60 How I Did It All Wrong And Got Published Anyway
* 61 Good Reads, Chocolate, and Scotch
* 62 Critiquing Maureen McHugh
* 63 Women of Japan
* 64 WisCon 101
* 65 Build a Castle
* 67 Navigating the Id Vortex
* 68 Fat Is Not the Enemy
* 69 League of Substitute Heroes
* 70 Sparkly Boys and Tough Girls, Revisited
* 72 The Rights of Simulacra
* 73 Fairy Tales for a New Generation of Girls
* [[Here's Where The Story Ends (WisCon 32 panel)|74 Here's Where The Story Ends]]
* 75 Captain Jack's Big Gay Torchwood
* 76 Curses! YA Villains Unite
* 77 Aqueduct Press Writers I
* 78 Creative Futures of Fiction & Politics
* 79 Books You Haven't Heard Of, The People of Color Edition!
* [[Women and Hard SF (WisCon 32 panel)|80 Women and Hard SF]]
* 81 Kids' Discussion: Harry Potter Book 7
* 82 The Bearded Man, The African, the Witch and the Whore
* 83 Does It Have to Get Boring Before it Gets Good?
* 84 Retrospective Tiptrees
* 85 Fighting the Good Fight with Limited Resources
* 86 The Ship Who Knitted, and Other Side-Effects of Transportational Intelligence
* 87 The "Real City" of Urban Fantasy
* [[What Can't We Forgive? (WisCon 32 panel)|88 What Can't We Forgive?]]
* [[The Slayer's Legacy: Ten Years of the Buffyverse (WisCon 32 panel)|89 The Slayer's Legacy: Ten Years of the Buffyverse]]
* 90 Journeys of Self-Discovery
* 91 Sexuality in SF: Art or Social Critique?
* 92 Making Ends Meet
* 93 'Out And Proud' Or 'Not In Front Of The Children?'
* 94 SF Swim
* 95 Red Beans and Rice
* 96 Tiptree Auction
* 97 Fanfic and Slash 201
* 98 Beyond Illustration: The Process of Creating 'Vision'
* 99 Male Feminists: You Don't Get A Cookie
* 100 LGBTQ Fiction: Are we ready for the Mainstream? Are they ready for us?
* 101 Wizards & Shamans
* 102 Avoiding the Environmental Apocalypse
* 103 Prineas/Schwartz Book Launches
* 104 Haiku Earring Party
* 106 Capes and Consoles
* 107 Tor Books
* 108 EDGE Science Fiction & Fantasy Publishing and Flying Pen Press
* 109 What If You Don't Want to Have Children? Redux
* 110 Fanfic Rising: The Organization for Transformative Works
* 111 Living in the Castle: The Writing of Shirley Jackson
* [[ Making 'War' on 'War,' Part 2 (WisCon 32 panel)|112 Making 'War' on 'War,' Part 2]]
* 113 What is Fabulist Fiction?

==Sunday May 25, 2008==

* 114 Is LGBT Science Fiction and Fantasy In Trouble?
* 115 Cliché or Trope?
* 116 Phillip Pullman vs. C.S. Lewis: Smackdown!
* 117 Timmi Duchamp's Marq'ssan Cycle
* 118 The Dead Have No Shadow
* 119 Biscuits, Bells, Bravery, and other things that Start with B
* 120 'How to Manage Teh Stupid': White Allies Confronting Racism
* 121 Time To Put Down The Laptop?
* 122 Old Age, Illness and Death in SF/F
* 123 Hot Flashes and Power Surges
* 124 Narrative and Politics
* [[Why Return a King (or Queen)? (WisCon 32 panel)|125 Why Return a King (or Queen)?]]
* [[Terry Pratchett: Bend That Trope Until It Breaks (WisCon 32 panel)|126 Terry Pratchett: Bend That Trope Until It Breaks]]
* 127 When Worlds Collide
* 128 Power, Ethics, & Possibility in Fantastic Ecofeminist Fiction
* 129 Judging the Tiptree
* 130 Can Internet Drama Change The World?
* 131 Take Things Apart
* 132 Transgender Folks Discuss Transgender Books
* 133 Love, Sex and Weirdness
* 134 Inside the Magic Book Machine
* 135 Supporting Our Writers
* 136 The Fictional Is Political — Political SF/F Of Both Sorts
* 137 The Future Of The Book
* 138 Writing Working-Class Characters
* 139 Let's Build a World
* 140 Guest of Honor Reading: Maureen McHugh
* 141 Taboo
* 142 Roleplaying: Gender and Heroism
* 143 Karen Axness Memorial Panel: Women Writers You Never Heard Of
* [[Philip Pullman: Threat or Menace? (WisCon 32 panel)|144 Philip Pullman: Threat or Menace?]]
* 145 Start A Mosaic
* 146 Get Out Your Secret Decoder Ring
* 147 Women of The Twilight Zone
* 148 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades
* 149 Does Written SF Have a Future?
* 150 Being the Heroine of a Romance Novel Doesn't Make Me Weak
* 151 Revealing Your World
* 152 Transformation, Ready or Not
* [[The Eclipse One Cover Debate (WisCon 32 panel)|153 Publishing, Profit, Agendas, and Ideals: The Eclipse One Cover Debate]]
* 154 Workshops and Critique Groups
* 155 Dissecting Privilege — Let's Look At The Guts
* 156 Delicate Flowers
* 157 Octavia Butler, SF, and the Political Imagination
* 159 War for Water
* 160 Crochet
* 162 Like Quills upon the Fretful Porcupine
* 163 On The Lifespan Of Genres
* 164 Pansexuality and Polyamory: The New Face of Romance in Fiction?
* 165 The WisCon Scavenger Hunt
* 166 Faux Diversity vs. Actual Diversity
* 167 Publishing: Meritocracy or Social Construct?
* 168 Writing and parenting, and Writing About Parenting
* 169 Violence, Destruction, Degradation, and Catharsis
* 170 Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!: Even Better than Monster Trucks
* 171 Performing Gendered and Genred Identities
* 172 Welcome Back to Riverside
* [[Some of Us Are Brave: Identity Intersections in an Election Year (WisCon 32 panel)|173 Some of Us Are Brave: Identity Intersections in an Election Year]]
* 174 SF Swim
* 174a Strange Horizons Tea Party
* 175 Clarion San Diego 2007
* [[Dessert Salon (WisCon 32 event)|176 Dessert Salon]]
* [[GoH Speeches (WisCon 32 event)|177 GoH Speeches]]
* 178 Trans 101
* 179 OUFISCIPO: Writing SF/F with Arbitrary Constraints
* 180 Martha Jones: Made of Awesome or Disappointing Stereotype?
* 181 The Appropriated Magic User
* 182 Shape-Shifting and Identity
* 183 The Brave New World of Twenty-First Century Publishing
* 184 Greening WisCon
* [[Fancy Dress Party (WisCon 32 panel)|185 Fancy Dress Party]]
* 186 Lethe Press
* 187 Post-Rapture Comic Launch / TheCulturalGutter.com
* 187a LiveJournal Party
* 188 Small Beer Press
* 189 Gaylaxicon
* 190 SF Films of 2007: The Year of the Franchise
* 191 Last time, on Battlestar Galactica...
* 192 Imagination as Resistance
* 193 Gender in Virtual Worlds

==Monday May 26, 2008==

* [[How Much Is Too Much? (WisCon 32 panel)|194 How Much Is Too Much?]]
* [[Embarrassing Foremothers! (Wiscon 32 panel)|195 Embarrassing Foremothers!]]
* 196 How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm?
* 197 SF on TV This Season
* 198 Feminist SF Cons: Past, Present, Future
* 199 Classic Progressive Books For Children
* 200 Fundraising for Small, Feisty, Paradigm-Shifting Literary Nonprofits
* 201 How To Be A Good Ally—And A Bad One
* 202 On Being an Aging SF Writer
* 203 Powerful Protagonists or Fetish Fantasies: Female Roles in Modern SF Television
* 204 Two-Headed Monsters: A Collaborative Entity
* 205 Tradition & Liberation in the Fantastic
* 206 Apples to Apples & Other Games
* 207 The SignOut
* 208 Clean-up
* 209 WisCon 32 Post-Mortem
* 210 Mid-Career Writer's Gathering
* 211 Dead Dog Party