Whoops, and it’s almost time to head up to Dallas for ConDFW! Here’s my schedule for the convention, please come say hello to me if you’ll be there. I should be easy to spot. Look for the red-headed dapper sir wearing a waistcoat (and at least one of the days, a top hat).
Time: Saturday, 11AM
Panel name: Androids at the Dinner Table: Gadgets, Social Media and Society
Location: PROGRAMMING 2 (Chinaberry)
Description: We see it more and more in this day and age: a group of friends at a restaurant, every one of them with their smart phone open and texting away. The age of the Internet is not upon us, it passed by about twenty years ago. What is acceptable in this day and age? Our panelists discuss this and other issues. Note: If your cellphone rings during this panel, you will be mocked mercilessly, and then debated about for a good twenty to thirty minutes.
Time: Saturday, 4pm
Panel name: One Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor: Creating Maps
Location: PROGRAMMING 2 (Chinaberry)
Description: It is amazing how much easier you can visualize a world once you have built a map of it, or see a map on the first few pages of a book you picked up. But how do you build such a map so it doesn’t look like a five year old scribbled on a napkin with random crayons? Our resident scientists and creative artists help collaborate to build a map that inspires the imagination. Note: Maps may or may not allow you to simply walk into Mordor.
Time: Saturday, 5pm
Panel name: READING!
Location: READING (Trinity VIII)
Description: I will be sharing the room with K. Hutson and Selina Rosen. And I will bring some kind of sweet treat, because I am not above petty bribery.
Time: Sunday, 1pm
Panel name: The Science of Comedy: The White Face Clown vs The Red Face Clown
Location: MAIN PROGRAMMING (Addison Lecture Hall)
Description: In a book by Eric Idle, “The Road to Mars”, the idea of typecasts for humor is explored. There is the White Face Clown, generally thin and never gets pied in the face. Then there is the Red Face Clown, generally fat and jovial, who always gets pied in the face. Examples of this are Laurel and Hardy, or Penn and Teller. Is there any truth in this? Our humorists debate, and pies may be thrown.
Time: Sunday, 3pm
Panel name: Upwardly Mobile: Writing about Dirigibles and Other Flights of Fancy
Location: PROGRAMMING 3 (Trinity VII)
Description: One of the most common sights in both Steampunk and Cyberpunk is the dirigible. Otherwise known as zeppelins or blimps, the hydrogen or helium filled craft lazily float through the sky. It is one thing, however, to imagine it. It is entirely another to be able to write about it believably. For instance, which of the above named craft has NO internal supporting frame? (Blimps!) Our authors talk about the differences and other things to know about when writing about semi-rigid airships.