Arisia, our regular home convention, had the witty and talented Esther Friesner as Author Guest of Honor, and also featured the Great Luke Ski, an impressive filker, comedian, and relentless self-promoter.
This was Arisia's first year at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, after years downtown. It had its problems.
Met and Greeted
- Judith Berman, a scholar and writer, expert in anthropology. We've done a few different panels, but we had a chance to do a terrific one on religion in fantasy (also with Jane Yolen, always entertaining.)
- Laura Anne Gilman. We tend to wind up at autograph tables together. She's always great fun to talk to. (She also has the characteristic that seems common to anyone who works any time in the New York publishing scene – she doesn't suffer fools gladly. I am suffered, as it turns out.)
- Lawrence Schoen. As usual, we were on a languages panel, and as usual, the matter of Jar Jar with Tourette's Syndrome came up. (See the commentary on Los Angeles Worldcon in 2006).
- Maggie Bonham. My first chance to meet this wonderful writer from the Mysterious West. We did a podcasting panel with Chad Bergeron, et. al., and introduced Boston to her. I'm not sure she wants to ever come back: the logistics of the convention were such a Charlie Foxtrot, the food was unsuitable, the company – other than us, apparently – was less friendly than might be expected. But Maggie's Good People.
Panels and Con Activities
- For the third time, we opened a session of Mount Hollis Lodge at the convention. I had presided the first time as Senior Warden, the second time as Master, and this time it was John Nelson as Acting Master. After the closed meeting we welcomed in the public and talked to a few potential candidates. (As usual, our Tyler was equipped with a lightsaber.)
- This was one of the last chances for us to consider Japan as a 2007 destination. We couldn't afford Worldcon for all three of us, but did attend the 2009 bid parties for Kansas City and Montréal.
Eating and Drinking
- Food at the Hyatt places hotel-goers at the mercy of the on-hand restaurants, but there was food available on the main floor at the bottom of the escalator, and due to the balmy weather Maggie, L. and I were able to enjoy food from trucks parked in the traffic circle outside the main doors. Maggie was unimpressed with what passed for Mexican food here in Boston, but the company was good.
Hotel Follies
Tha Hyatt arrangements were less than optimal. The interior elevators – one of which was out of order – could hold only about seven at a time, and the art show and dealers' room were located on the 16th floor. Some folks never made it up there, though a thief of some sort did sometime Saturday morning; I don't know if any of the stolen items were ever returned.
