I was far too exhausted last night from Tuesday’s ascent of Pikes Peak to do anything more than upload the rest of Wednesday’s photos and then collapse, so I had to wait until this morning to write up my peregrinations on the first day of Denvention.

As I approached the convention center a little before 10:00 a.m., I was stopped in my tracks (and for the first time in my life, this is meant literally, as I was right at a set of trolley tracks I needed to cross) by a cry of “Edelman!” I turned to see that it was the other Edelman, the nefarious David Louis Edelman, whose existence is befuddling con committees all over, as they continue to seem unable to tell us apart. I hope the photo below will prevent future confusion. (FYI, I’m the one on the right.)

He led me to registration, where, as I related yesterday, I stood in line for exactly an hour. It was frustrating, as I could see badged friends wandering by in the distance, such as Connie Willis, Ed Bryant, and others, but I was trapped and couldn’t chat with them. But I did manage to wrangle some people over, such as Mark Rich and Roger Dutcher, and I also made new friends with others trapped in the line, such as Al and Larc Bogden, who were suffering immediately in front of me. (more…)

It’s only Wednesday, and Denvention 3 has barely begun, but I’ve already started uploading my first pictures. The way I figure it, what’s the point of having fun if I can’t make at least a few people out there kick themselves because they can’t be here with us?

I meant to only stop in my hotel room for a few minutes, but then a tornado siren went off, and people have reported sighting funnel clouds. So the real reason you’re getting these photos so quickly is that I thought it might be wiser to stay here for a little while longer instead of rushing right over to the SFWA suite. (That weather report is to make a few other people out there happy that they can’t be with us.)

Meanwhile, here I am with Robert Silverberg, in a photo taken during the hour I waited to register (from 10:17 to 11:17), which is the longest it’s ever taken me to get my badge at a Worldcon. I’m hoping that isn’t an omen.

A fuller report will follow when (and if) tonight’s partying ends.

I just received the final tweaks to my programming schedule for Denvention 3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention, which will be held August 6-10 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

If I end up seeming a little morose on the Saturday afternoon of the convention, this list will help explain why—I’ll have just been reminiscing about two of my lost friends. They’re both men worth remembering, and it’s an honor to be asked to take part, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be sad.

This is where you’ll be able to find me:

Thursday, August 7 at 9:00 a.m.: Strolling With The Stars

Thursday, August 7 at 4:00 p.m.: Reading

Friday, August 8 at 10:00 a.m.: SF Magazine Publication and Market Share

Saturday, August 9 at 10:00 a.m.: A Tribute to Jack Williamson

Saturday, August 9 at 1:00 p.m.: A Tribute to Algis Budrys

I look forward to seeing you all five weeks from tomorrow—assuming I survive both Readercon and the San Diego Comic-Con International, that is!

I just received my programming schedule for Denvention 3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention, which will be held August 6-10 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. This is just a preliminary list, as the con committee stll has to finalize the timing of autographings, readings, and kaffeeklatches.

For now, though, this is where you’ll be able to find me:

Friday, August 8 at 10:00 a.m.: SF Magazine Publication and Market Share

Saturday, August 9 at 10:00 a.m.: A Tribute to Jack Williamson

I also be taking part in an event called “Strolling With The Stars,” though the date of my participation hasn’t yet been decided. Here’s how the organizers have described it:

To encourage a healthier, more active environment at Denvention 3 we are scheduling a 9AM walk every morning. We’ll leave from under the Big Blue Bear at the Colorado Convention Center, and we’ll stroll for a leisurely mile through downtown Denver. Each day’s walk will be led by a Famous Author, Artist, Editor or Scientist who will not only lead the walk but will interact with the participants. Join luminaries like Frank Wu, David Brin, Jay Lake, Ellen Datlow, John Picacio, Lou Anders, Paul Cornell, Scott Edelman, Mary Robinette Kowal and Stephen H. Segal for a gentle, friendly stroll to get the day started on an upbeat note.

I look forward to seeing you all in two months in the Mile-High City!

Like many of you, I’m currently making plans to attend Denvention 3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention, to be held later this year in Denver. Looking ahead to yet another WorldCon brings back memories of my first WorldCon, Discon II, the 32nd World Science Fiction Convention, held in Washington, D.C. back in 1974.

I was still living in Brooklyn with my parents at the time, and drove down in a van with a group of other fans. Here’s the only photographic evidence of that trip. The image is fairly faded by now, because I don’t have an original print, only a poor photocopy. (Click above to see a larger version of these four sorry mugs.) This photo was snapped on a day we stole away from the con for a few hours to play tourists. We’re sitting in front of the fence that surrounds the White House.

Who are these four stooges? See No Evil is comic-book colorist Carl Gafford. Speak No Evil is Paul Levitz, then just a green employee at DC Comics, the company for which he is now Publisher. Hear No Evil is Steve Gilary, a fellow comic-book fan. And as for me at the far right, well … by the placement of my hands, I guess my role is Do No Evil. So while my hair may have changed with the years, my habit of hamming it up for the camera has remained consistent.

It was a great first WorldCon, and if I ever find the clipping of the article I wrote about the experience for the Brooklyn College student newspaper, I’ll upload that as well.