Tag: Lunacon

  • Lunacon 2014 (2): Saturday

    Lunacon 2014 (2): Saturday

    Even though Lunacon is over, I’m going to keep writing up my notes and impressions, if only to keep writing in general. Saturday was the busiest day of the con, and it certainly showed in my personal programming grid.  I faced the typical con paradox:  Too many good panels all at the same time.  I…

  • Lunacon 2014 (2e): Magic and Religion

    Lunacon 2014 (2e): Magic and Religion

    Saturday 3 PM. Panelists: Carole Ann Moleti; Michael F. Flynn, Raymond Feist, Jane Sibley Interesting tidbit: religion = re+ligio = a rebinding of society (to join again).  Religion has always had a social purpose, to increase community and tie society together. The panelists offered a definition of magic as “a belief that mundane objects have…

  • Lunacon 2014 (2d): Gamification in Education

    Lunacon 2014 (2d): Gamification in Education

    Saturday 2 PM I sort of felt obligated to go to this panel (and the one on The Future of Education), seeing that I am a teacher and all. It was OK.  The title proved to be inaccurate: This was more about the use of existing games in a school setting.  Gamification usually refers to…

  • Lunacon 2014 (2c): Reading by Merav Hoffman

    Lunacon 2014 (2c): Reading by Merav Hoffman

    Saturday 12 Noon Panelist: Merav Hoffman (duh) I don’t attend a lot of readings, because I generally prefer reading things at my own pace.  I don’t find the timbre of the author all that engaging.  On the other hand, Merav was a very welcoming presence at my first Lunacon and I wanted to make sure…

  • Lunacon 2014 (2a): Altering Time and Perception

    Lunacon 2014 (2a): Altering Time and Perception

    Saturday 11 AM Odelle Panelists: Walter Hunt, David Sklar This was not especially well-attended: at first, just the panelists and me.  By the end, another 6 or so people had shown up.  First panel on a Saturday is probably a dead zone. There were really two topics to be discussed: How is a story paced?…

  • Lunacon 2014 (2b): Write What You Don’t Know

    Lunacon 2014 (2b): Write What You Don’t Know

    Saturday 12 noon Panelists: Walter H. Hunt, Laura Anne Gilman, KT Pinto Sadly, this was not (imho) a very successful panel.  The panelists talked around the topic but never addressed head-on how to avoid the pitfalls of writing about things you haven’t experienced.  Walter Hunt mentioned that he’s spent a lot of time volunteering at a living farm…

  • Lunacon 2014 (1c): Firefly the Game

    Lunacon 2014 (1c): Firefly the Game

    I was excited to attend this game demo.  I am a fan of all things Firefly, and actually have a copy of this game but hadn’t had a chance to play it yet.  So when a game got underway in the gaming room, I dropped by to check it out.

  • Lunacon 2014 (1): Friday

    Lunacon 2014 (1): Friday

    OK, so it’s really Saturday when I’m writing this.  But it’s about Friday.  🙂 I attended three panels (and one fire alarm):  “Building Character“, “Alternate Technologies in Historical Fiction“, and “Firefly: The Game“.  I also poked around the dealer’s room for a bit,

  • Lunacon 2014 (1b): Alternate Technologies in Historical Fiction

    Lunacon 2014 (1b): Alternate Technologies in Historical Fiction

    Panelists: Russ Handelman, James Cambias, Paul Calhoun And here he is, That Annoying Guy From One Seat Over.  This archetype shows up at every con, like a restless spirit. One of the panelists pointed out that, more or less by definition, this would actually have to be about alternate historical fiction. Examples of a missed…

  • Lunacon 2014 (1a): Building Character

    Lunacon 2014 (1a): Building Character

    Panelists: Mike Flynn and Ken Atlabef. I was a little disappointed to see that the first panel sported Mike Flynn as a guest.  At the last Lunacon, Mike Flynn was the moderator for the panels I consistently liked least.  My recollection was that he was a know-it-all who made points only to emphasize his intelligence…