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furtechLAcon IV, the 64th Science Fiction Worldcon, was held in Anaheim this year and run by pretty much the same crew who ran the last few Worldcons here.
I didn't really get to the convention until Friday (and it started on Wednesday), and most of Friday was masquerade prep. Plus I was fried: I'd been up since 8AM Thursday and only had sporadic sleep in the week before. I also had to make foreys to the Information table to deal with the Cross-Worlds Puzzle.
The Cross-Worlds Puzzle was another social mixer along the lines of the Trivial Olympics at LAcon III in 1996: the intent is to give people an excuse to chat and talk to each other. The puzzle is also something to work on when you have some downtime to kill. The puzzle was made up of trivia questions from all walk of fandom: sf, anime, costuming, books, movies, etc. The theme was in the spirit of, "all knowledge is contained in fandom," and the idea was that attendees should feel free to ask others for clues and answers.
I worked hard and fast on this project: the latter because I had to squeeze the puzzle in between costumes for AX and the Worldcon costumes. Thanks to the help of my eclectic friends I was able to put together a puzzle with 248 clues. By the end of the con I think maybe a dozen had completed it. From the large number of people I saw carrying them around and working on them in the lounges and party rooms I consider this a success.
The theme of the convention was "Space Cadets" Part of the convention bidding process involved humorous patches you got by going to LAcon bid parties
There was a complete mock-up of the original Enterprise bridge, complete with creepy wax figures
There was a terrific display of movie and television costumes (that I never got pics of, darnit) and sf tv/film vehicles, including the original Batmobile and the "Back to the Future" Delorian.
The best part of the display area was hundreds of panels of storyboards, concept art and matte paintings. The local matte painters union offered to do a display of the work of their members: seeing the original art for so many films was just amazing.
A big difference between sf cons and anime and other splinter cons are the parties. The party floor of the Hilton was packed with parties: bid parties, group parties and parties for the sake of partying. Some just had music and snacks; others had drinks (ranging from sodas to single-malt scotches and exotic drinks) and food (no haggis this year tho'). Parties that ran from early in the evening to nearly dawn ( and some past sunrise!). The con suite was packed with fans, food and all manner of (non-alcohol) drink.
James Gurney was one of the Guests of Honor. He did a neat demo of his oil painting techniques. Speaking of art-- the art show was filled with very high-end works, including a display of James Gurney's pieces. Lots of book cover original art too. Sculptures that ranged from tiny pieces of jewelry to eight-foot tall stainless steel dragons.
All in all, this was a wonderful convention. Lots of interesting people, always things to do and (most important to me) a majority of functional, intelligent fans. Saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in years and had a good time.
I didn't really get to the convention until Friday (and it started on Wednesday), and most of Friday was masquerade prep. Plus I was fried: I'd been up since 8AM Thursday and only had sporadic sleep in the week before. I also had to make foreys to the Information table to deal with the Cross-Worlds Puzzle.
The Cross-Worlds Puzzle was another social mixer along the lines of the Trivial Olympics at LAcon III in 1996: the intent is to give people an excuse to chat and talk to each other. The puzzle is also something to work on when you have some downtime to kill. The puzzle was made up of trivia questions from all walk of fandom: sf, anime, costuming, books, movies, etc. The theme was in the spirit of, "all knowledge is contained in fandom," and the idea was that attendees should feel free to ask others for clues and answers.
I worked hard and fast on this project: the latter because I had to squeeze the puzzle in between costumes for AX and the Worldcon costumes. Thanks to the help of my eclectic friends I was able to put together a puzzle with 248 clues. By the end of the con I think maybe a dozen had completed it. From the large number of people I saw carrying them around and working on them in the lounges and party rooms I consider this a success.
The theme of the convention was "Space Cadets" Part of the convention bidding process involved humorous patches you got by going to LAcon bid parties
There was a complete mock-up of the original Enterprise bridge, complete with creepy wax figures
There was a terrific display of movie and television costumes (that I never got pics of, darnit) and sf tv/film vehicles, including the original Batmobile and the "Back to the Future" Delorian.
The best part of the display area was hundreds of panels of storyboards, concept art and matte paintings. The local matte painters union offered to do a display of the work of their members: seeing the original art for so many films was just amazing.
A big difference between sf cons and anime and other splinter cons are the parties. The party floor of the Hilton was packed with parties: bid parties, group parties and parties for the sake of partying. Some just had music and snacks; others had drinks (ranging from sodas to single-malt scotches and exotic drinks) and food (no haggis this year tho'). Parties that ran from early in the evening to nearly dawn ( and some past sunrise!). The con suite was packed with fans, food and all manner of (non-alcohol) drink.
James Gurney was one of the Guests of Honor. He did a neat demo of his oil painting techniques. Speaking of art-- the art show was filled with very high-end works, including a display of James Gurney's pieces. Lots of book cover original art too. Sculptures that ranged from tiny pieces of jewelry to eight-foot tall stainless steel dragons.
All in all, this was a wonderful convention. Lots of interesting people, always things to do and (most important to me) a majority of functional, intelligent fans. Saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in years and had a good time.
