Another reason that Harlan Ellison entered my dream earlier this week may have been because he entered my pants almost a decade ago, something which I had forgotten until Julia Duncan showed me this picture at last weekend’s Halloween party.

I hadn’t even known that this picture existed, and had forgotten about my antics back at Readercon 11, but now that she’s shared a scan of the photo with me, I’m sharing it with you.

Harlan was the Guest of Honor at Readercon 11 back in 1999, and as a result, the freebie table there contained a stack of mousepads which had been created in support of I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, the videogame adaptation of one of his most famous stories. The mousepad featured his face, and in the presence of such an artifact, I couldn’t resist (because I have no shame) shoving one of them down my pants and flashing my friends while Harlan peered out.

Faced with such a temptation, you’d have done the same … wouldn’t you?