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MWC29: Wrap Up
-cringe- I know, I know. I meant to post daily all the wonderfulness of MWC. In typical MWC, I got sucked into conversations, vids, fic ideas, zines, panels and--what do you mean it's Monday, already?! I'll do my best to do a few followup reports. I wanted to post questions here that popped up during Mediawest because conversation, fanfic and friendship was what this con was all about.
And Tim Tams. LOL
The Good, the Bad, and the WTF?
The Good : "Nice to see you again"
The key factor of Mediawest was always the people. The moment I deplaned on Detroit, the familiar faces (sadly, names escape me) were a welcoming sight as we do a pilgrimage to ole Lansing.
It was a little sad some of us couldn't make it, whether due to the economy, timing, etc. Many names floated by of our MIAs like Becky, Waldo, Ginger and many more. Definitely, they were sorely missed in the music vids and art show.
Like all reunions, the first day (whether Thursday or Friday) was spent catching up on a year's worth of fandom. Sure, many of us keep in touch via email, text or LJ, but the exhilarating thrill of person to person conversation can never be imitated. And heck, you can't email hugs. :)
Mediawest was always a non-actor, fanfic/media/fan based convention. It is what we are: sitting around in panels in the comforting knowledge that the person sitting/chatting/squeeing next to you, gets it. It is really awesome especially since most of us understandably celebrate our fannish love incognito.
One thing I got out of this was a huge, mondo list of fic recs, authors (from FF.net, LJ, or their own site) shared and praised, and new shows to check out (although I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not. LOL.)
Panels were still the big thing here. In fact, I've met a few LJ users there who decided to do a meetup in MWC since they couldn't afford to make one in Cardiff/London?New York/San Diego. It made a heck of lot of sense. Why not? You already got a hotel setup for gatherings, the dealer's room is a fic reader's crack den and frankly, Lansing was cheaper and central enough for many. And if done within the con's deadlines, they could set up panels without the worry of setting up their own fee for conference rooms, facilities, etc. It was a neat idea: these guys made a mini-con within our con. Hey, the more the merrier!
The Bad :
I've been going to Mediawest long enough to know our fanzine offerings this year was nowhere near what there was out there ten years ago. I'm not sure why: we're not short of writers, definitely not short of readers, yet the traditional fanzine--the origin of fanfic for you youngings who thought fanfic was borne out of the loins of the internet (no joke, some had thought fanfic was internet created, lol)--is slowly becoming extinct. Especially gen ones.
It's a puzzle. Really. One some have commented on throughout the con. People have started searching for used zines to find classic fanzines to relive a time when sending LoC for zine fics were a natural courtesy and reading the fics was further enhanced by the feel of cool, crisp pages flipping gently to reveal the next story. Sadly, I have a feeling ten years from now, our newer fans will never know the sensation of reading in the truer sense. We've become too technologically bred that we're starting to fail to appreciate the tactile pleasure of reading. I stubbornly hold onto my books.
The WTF?! Causeway Bay Hotel
To be fair, after many years of Holiday Inn claiming to renovate, we do see signs of the new owner doing exactly that. The timing, sadly, fell over Mediawest.
A fire a few weeks ago had gutted out the fifth floor while they were doing repairs so we arrived to the hotel in mid-renovation. The outside atrium was ripped up, the usual fanzine reading room looked like a Home Depot vomited its inventory in it and odd wires stuck out in the oddest places all over.
As disconcerting this all was, it did give me hope. The hotel, which had need a dire makeover after years of con abuse (not just us, mind you) was finally doing something about it.
Today, looks like the effort was being made: towel racks were updated and reinforced, grouting refreshed, furniture was repaired for the time being. the newly reinstalled bar was gorgeous and the atrium, when done, will be great. It was a shame the fire interrupted the progress. We were left with the odd feeling we've seen this place in a Supernatural episode. LOL.
Number of Hours I Did Not Sleep: 82 Oiiiii.
Number of Conversations That Spontaneous Came up With Strangers (hey, it's MWC, it can happen): 17
Number of Times Bob Evans Was Worshiped Instead of Nutrition: 3 (see? I iz proud. LOL.)
Number of Times Cracker Barrel Was Worshiped Instead of Bob Evans: 2 (see? I iz proud of that, too. LOL.)
Number of Times Combos and Tim Tams were Nutrition: 8 (oops...)
Number Times I Wished I Had Time To Do Door Decorations/Vidding: I lost count.
Number of "Oh, cool! Gotta Have!": 10
Number of Plot Bunnies MWC Gave Me (damn it): 32
The Virtual Door Decoration
And Tim Tams. LOL
The Good, the Bad, and the WTF?
The Good : "Nice to see you again"
The key factor of Mediawest was always the people. The moment I deplaned on Detroit, the familiar faces (sadly, names escape me) were a welcoming sight as we do a pilgrimage to ole Lansing.
It was a little sad some of us couldn't make it, whether due to the economy, timing, etc. Many names floated by of our MIAs like Becky, Waldo, Ginger and many more. Definitely, they were sorely missed in the music vids and art show.
Like all reunions, the first day (whether Thursday or Friday) was spent catching up on a year's worth of fandom. Sure, many of us keep in touch via email, text or LJ, but the exhilarating thrill of person to person conversation can never be imitated. And heck, you can't email hugs. :)
Mediawest was always a non-actor, fanfic/media/fan based convention. It is what we are: sitting around in panels in the comforting knowledge that the person sitting/chatting/squeeing next to you, gets it. It is really awesome especially since most of us understandably celebrate our fannish love incognito.
One thing I got out of this was a huge, mondo list of fic recs, authors (from FF.net, LJ, or their own site) shared and praised, and new shows to check out (although I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not. LOL.)
Panels were still the big thing here. In fact, I've met a few LJ users there who decided to do a meetup in MWC since they couldn't afford to make one in Cardiff/London?New York/San Diego. It made a heck of lot of sense. Why not? You already got a hotel setup for gatherings, the dealer's room is a fic reader's crack den and frankly, Lansing was cheaper and central enough for many. And if done within the con's deadlines, they could set up panels without the worry of setting up their own fee for conference rooms, facilities, etc. It was a neat idea: these guys made a mini-con within our con. Hey, the more the merrier!
The Bad :
I've been going to Mediawest long enough to know our fanzine offerings this year was nowhere near what there was out there ten years ago. I'm not sure why: we're not short of writers, definitely not short of readers, yet the traditional fanzine--the origin of fanfic for you youngings who thought fanfic was borne out of the loins of the internet (no joke, some had thought fanfic was internet created, lol)--is slowly becoming extinct. Especially gen ones.
It's a puzzle. Really. One some have commented on throughout the con. People have started searching for used zines to find classic fanzines to relive a time when sending LoC for zine fics were a natural courtesy and reading the fics was further enhanced by the feel of cool, crisp pages flipping gently to reveal the next story. Sadly, I have a feeling ten years from now, our newer fans will never know the sensation of reading in the truer sense. We've become too technologically bred that we're starting to fail to appreciate the tactile pleasure of reading. I stubbornly hold onto my books.
The WTF?! Causeway Bay Hotel
To be fair, after many years of Holiday Inn claiming to renovate, we do see signs of the new owner doing exactly that. The timing, sadly, fell over Mediawest.
A fire a few weeks ago had gutted out the fifth floor while they were doing repairs so we arrived to the hotel in mid-renovation. The outside atrium was ripped up, the usual fanzine reading room looked like a Home Depot vomited its inventory in it and odd wires stuck out in the oddest places all over.
As disconcerting this all was, it did give me hope. The hotel, which had need a dire makeover after years of con abuse (not just us, mind you) was finally doing something about it.
Today, looks like the effort was being made: towel racks were updated and reinforced, grouting refreshed, furniture was repaired for the time being. the newly reinstalled bar was gorgeous and the atrium, when done, will be great. It was a shame the fire interrupted the progress. We were left with the odd feeling we've seen this place in a Supernatural episode. LOL.
Number of Hours I Did Not Sleep: 82 Oiiiii.
Number of Conversations That Spontaneous Came up With Strangers (hey, it's MWC, it can happen): 17
Number of Times Bob Evans Was Worshiped Instead of Nutrition: 3 (see? I iz proud. LOL.)
Number of Times Cracker Barrel Was Worshiped Instead of Bob Evans: 2 (see? I iz proud of that, too. LOL.)
Number of Times Combos and Tim Tams were Nutrition: 8 (oops...)
Number Times I Wished I Had Time To Do Door Decorations/Vidding: I lost count.
Number of "Oh, cool! Gotta Have!": 10
Number of Plot Bunnies MWC Gave Me (damn it): 32
The Virtual Door Decoration
no subject
And The Pit is so named for a reason. Still, it's hard not to be frustrated when you see crap being reviewed as if it were the best story in the world, horrendous grammar flubs and all.
I'm cool with LJ, but it's really a pain for me. I'm lazy, so going back and adding links to a multi-part story seriously taxes me. And don't get me started on the people who don't do that. Hehe.
no subject
Still, it's hard not to be frustrated when you see crap being reviewed as if it were the best story in the world, horrendous grammar flubs and all.
Very. I often wondered about the shift from receiving con crit to the gratification of number of reviews. Mind you, I would get excited about getting a gazillion reviews but I get even more excited when I get a long comment that points out their favorite bits or even what they didn't think work. I appreciate the effort but I think these days, if someone tried that, one of the newer generation writers takes it as a personal attack.
I'm cool with LJ, but it's really a pain for me. I'm lazy, so going back and adding links to a multi-part story seriously taxes me.
Oh yeah, LJ at times gives me a headache. Takes me a while to post my fics because I gotta code and prep the darn file first. Nothing like the good ole listgroups when you can just post and review at the drop of an email...
Geez, that makes me sound old. LOL
no subject
Very. I often wondered about the shift from receiving con crit to the gratification of number of reviews. Mind you, I would get excited about getting a gazillion reviews but I get even more excited when I get a long comment that points out their favorite bits or even what they didn't think work. I appreciate the effort but I think these days, if someone tried that, one of the newer generation writers takes it as a personal attack.
I figure some of it must have to come from being active in fandom, though even when I was in the thick of things with SG1 I still didn't get a TON of feedback. Must be something about me, or my writing style. I dunno, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating when people who don't know the difference between then and than get praised like they are the second coming. ;)
Geez, that makes me sound old. LOL
I've been saying that a lot lately! I know what you mean - yahoogroups were really easy to post to, easy to read, easy to give feedback. I kind of miss those days.
no subject
I miss listgroups. There's a better sense of community in it than in the intethered LJ.