Looks like this is the year for ancient photos of me I didn’t even remember having been taken turning up.

First, Sam Maronie surprised me with a 1974 photo of me threatening the world’s greatest comic book inker Joe Sinnott with a broadsword (plus two other pics). Now David Lubkin coughs up a 1979 photo of me and Damon Knight at Noreascon Two, the 1980 World Science Fiction Convention.

Damon was one of the six instructors during my six weeks at the Clarion Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers’ Workshop in 1979, the others being Robin Scott Wilson, Algis Budrys, Carol Emshwiller, Tom Disch, and (of course) Kate Wilhelm.

I have no memory of this moment. Lubkin had captioned the photo, “Damon Knight admiring Stacy Mandell’s puppetcraft while Scott Edelman shows off his coiffure. Noreascon Two, at which Damon and wife Kate Wilhelm were Guests of Honor.”

When I asked him about the pic, which he’d shared on Facebook, he wrote, “I was sharing the dealer’s table with Stacy and organizing a Clarion reunion party, for which Damon & Kate volunteered their GoH suite and kicked in $150. I’m not sure if you were with Damon or were independently checking in with me.”

I’m not sure either. And if any of you out there think I remember after all these years whether I was trailing Damon or checking in about a party, you have a higher opinion of my memory than is deserved!

When I surveyed the San Antonio culinary scene due to my planned LoneStarCon 3 trip, the two restaurants I discovered that seemed to be musts for dinner were Bliss (which I visited the Friday of Worldcon) and Nao, part of the Culinary Institute of America (which I visited Saturday).

In both cases I made reservations long before I had any idea who’d be joining me, having no doubt that I’d find the right foodie friends who’d want to tag along. I already told you who came with me to Bliss. For Nao, my co-conspirators were Simon and Angela McCaffrey, plus Rosemary Claire Smith, who also went on my pilgrimage to Franklin BBQ Thursday morning.

I hadn’t even known there was a C.I.A. school or restaurant in San Antonio before I started my research, having been aware only of the ones on the coasts. But as soon as I learned of it, I knew I was in. I liked the idea of seeing the future chefs of tomorrow today.

Which isn’t quite how it turned out. Since we visited over Labor Day weekend, the students ended up all being off, which meant that we were instead taken care of by professionals, not those attempting to prove they’d actually learned what they’d been taught during their years at school. I was told that a student’s service in the restaurant was the equivalent of a thesis (though that was the word I offered up, not our server), and that each student had to spent six weeks at the end of their schooling working in the restaurant—two in the back of the house, two in the front, and then two in the back again, moving through all stations of cooking and dealing with customers.

So due to the holiday, I can’t tell you how the students would have done. But the teachers did just fine! (more…)

I was so focused on getting my Franklin BBQ mission accomplished during LoneStarCon 3 that I’d completely forgotten I’d also intended to knock a few restaurants off my Man v. Food checklist while in San Antonio. In fact, it wasn’t until during my kaffeeklatch that, thanks to one of the participants who’s as much of a foodie as I am, I was reminded of Lulu’s Bakery & Cafe … and its famous three-pound cinnamon roll.

Since, according to Google, Lulu’s turned out to be only 1.3 miles away, I figured … heck, I’ll walk! Once I got more than a couple of blocks away from the convention center, though, I seemed to be the only one walking, probably because Texans know better than to go for a hike in the sun when it’s 91 degrees. On the other hand, there was no traffic either, so I didn’t have to pause at intersections, which meant the heat couldn’t have been the only explanation. Who knows? Maybe downtown San Antonio is always dead on weekends once you get out of the tourist sections.

In any case, I soon made it to Lulu’s, where my waitress quickly pushed ice water at me. I must have appeared more overheated then I felt. (more…)

One of the first things I do after deciding I’ll be attending a convention is to research the local food scene so that I don’t end up having to settle for hotel restaurants. Not that hotel restaurants aren’t capable of delivering peak culinary experiences—Lai Wah Heen at Toronto’s Metropolitan Hotel and Cafe Bolud at Toronto’s Four Seasons are two examples—but those instances are rare. And so, many months ago, knowing I’d be heading to LoneStarCon 3, I began looking into what San Antonio has to offer.

The first restaurant I decided I needed to hit was Bliss. Opened by chef Mark Bliss and his wife Lisa early last year, it was named San Antonio’s best new restaurant of 2012 by Texas Monthly, and seemed to have a menu capable of delivering what I’m always seeking—food that’s more that just sustenance, but capable of leaving me gobsmacked. Not wanting to take a chance I’d miss out, I emailed the restaurant directly and made a reservation long before OpenTable’s online system allowed, and worried about filling the table later.

Which is how I found myself the Friday of Worldcon pulling up to Bliss in a cab along with Ellen Datlow, Pat Cadigan, Malcolm Edwards, and Eileen Gunn. (more…)

So let me tell you how I ended up singing “Pure Imagination” to Aaron Franklin, the magician behind Austin’s Franklin BBQ, just before LoneStarCon 3 began.

Those of you who followed me as I made my Worldcon foodie plans already know all about Franklin BBQ—how Texas Monthly named it as turning out the best brisket in Texas, which means it’s the best brisket in the United States, which probably means it’s also the best brisket in the world. How by the time Franklin opens each morning at 11:00 a.m. there are already hundreds of people waiting in line to eat there. And how if you don’t get there early enough, you get nothing. (Or perhaps you get nothing but cole slaw … like Hitler.)

Which means that instead of flying to Worldcon in San Antonio early Thursday morning as I normally would have, I instead headed there late Wednesday, so that I could rent a car that night and therefore have it ready super early the following morning in order to make the drive from San Antonio to Austin (about 79 miles, or an hour and 13 minutes) to arrive at Franklin’s front door no later than 8:30 a.m. Thursday. That would (I hoped) allow me and my hardy band to stuff ourselves with BBQ and be back at Worldcon by 2:00 p.m.

(more…)

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the greying of science fiction fandom—particularly when it comes to the World Science Fiction Convention, where it is more obvious than elsewhere—and whether those already attending conventions are driving away those who could help cons thrive. But amid all the gloom, I felt a ray of hope at LoneStarCon 3, the Worldcon that ended a few days ago in San Antonio.

Yes, there’s been a lot of complaining about various aspects of the weekend, but it must also be noted that this happened—

There were so many Worldcon newcomers this year that the committee ran out of FIRST WORLDCON ribbons for attendees to affix to their badges and had to print up new ones halfway through the con.

So there are people out there who want to be part of this special thing we have. How do we make them feel welcome?

One thing I made sure to do was approach every person I noticed wearing a FIRST WORLDCON ribbon and say … well … “Welcome!”

I told them I was glad they’d decided to join us, and asked the catalyst that caused them to come this particular year. I told them I hoped they were having a good time so far, and said that if they had any questions, I’d try to answer them. I shared an anecdote or two about why I fell in love with Worldcons so long ago.

I asked them what science fiction they loved, and if it didn’t happen to be a thing I also loved, I DID NOT JUDGE THEM FOR IT.

If I saw they’d gone so far as to volunteer (as I could see many were during the Hugo Awards ceremony), I said, “Good for you!” or something similar, and thanked them for helping make the whole thing come together. Sure, I partied with my friends, too, but at the same time, I tried not stay within my safety bubble, not to have the newcomers see us as a collection of cliques. I reached out to as many unfamiliar faces as I could, particularly those faces above the name tags adorned with that ribbon.

Not a big thing, I’ll admit. There are many far more complicated fan issues that still need to be solved. But this outreach—or let’s not call it outreach since that sounds so clinical; let’s call it kindness—is one small thing we can each easily achieve. I hope that whatever else we do as we seek inclusivity, we at the very least let the newcomers know we’re glad to see them.

It’s a start.

After all, we were them once.

No time to post a full LoneStarCon report—I got back late last night from San Antonio and this morning have to immediately dive into the work of the day that allows me to go to Worldcons—so here are six photos to hold you.

And since a picture is supposedly worth a thousand words, consider this a 6,000-word con report!

With Aaron Franklin, the BBQ magician of Franklin BBQ, purveyor of the world’s best brisket (and no, I am NOT being hyperbolic)

(more…)

I’ve just been informed that my LoneStarCon3 panel on “Stories from the Bullpen” has been cancelled—so if you were looking forward to hearing a bunch of comics dinosaurs blather on about the good old days Friday, you’re out of luck.

But don’t worry—you can still catch me at the following events!

Stroll with the Stars
Friday, August 30, 09:00-10:00

Kaffeeklatsch
Friday, August 30, 13:00-14:00

Autographing
Saturday, August 31, 14:00-15:00
with Sanford Allen, Grant Carrington, and Rick Wilber

Playing in Other People’s Sandboxes: Writing Comics that aren’t Your Own
Sunday, September 1, 15:00-16:00
Whether you’re writing Spider-Man, Jonah Hex, the Incredibles, or Fruit Ninja, you never get to really own these characters. But they sure are fun to play with! Hear some stories about what it’s like dealing with today’s corporate overlords.
with Alan J. Porter, Paul Benjamin, and Howard Tayler

Arouse Is Not the Past Tense of Arise
Monday, September 2, 12:00-13:00
Why do so many new writers have problems with grammar? How important is grammar? Has it lost relevancy in communicating with some portion of the reading public?
with Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Ginjer Buchanan, and Alberto Chimal

Reading
Monday, September 2, 14:30 – 15:00

See you there!

Can you believe LoneStarCon3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention, is only 12 days away? Now that it’s just around the corner, the participants have been given their final schedules, so—here’s where you’ll be able to find me in San Antonio.

Stroll with the Stars
Friday, August 30, 09:00-10:00

Kaffeeklatsch
Friday, August 30, 13:00-14:00

Stories From the Bullpen
Friday, August 30, 15:00-16:00
The Marvel bullpen and the DC offices were magical places in the 1970s and 1980s, full of wisecracking pros, hardworking artists, and tale-spinning editors, if you believe the letters pages. But what was it really like? Get a peek behind the curtain with our panelists!
with Anthony Tollin and Phil Foglio

Autographing
Saturday, August 31, 14:00-15:00
with Sanford Allen, Grant Carrington, and Rick Wilber

Playing in Other People’s Sandboxes: Writing Comics that aren’t Your Own
Sunday, September 1, 15:00-16:00
Whether you’re writing Spider-Man, Jonah Hex, the Incredibles, or Fruit Ninja, you never get to really own these characters. But they sure are fun to play with! Hear some stories about what it’s like dealing with today’s corporate overlords.
with Alan J. Porter, Paul Benjamin, and Howard Tayler

Arouse Is Not the Past Tense of Arise
Monday, September 2, 12:00-13:00
Why do so many new writers have problems with grammar? How important is grammar? Has it lost relevancy in communicating with some portion of the reading public?
with Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Ginjer Buchanan, and Alberto Chimal

Reading
Monday, September 2, 14:30 – 15:00

Remember, though, you might also catch me in Austin—if you’re a BBQ nut, that is. (more…)

LoneStarCon3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention, is only five weeks away, and the committee has circulated a rough draft of the program. So if you’re heading to San Antonio, too, here’s where you’ll have a chance to see me (not counting any reading or kaffeeklatsch which may be assigned later).

Stories From the Bullpen
Friday, August 30, 15:00-16:00
The Marvel bullpen and the DC offices were magical places in the 1970s and 1980s, full of wisecracking pros, hardworking artists, and tale-spinning editors, if you believe the letters pages. But what was it really like? Get a peek behind the curtain with our panelists!
with Bob Wayne, Anthony Tollin, and Phil Foglio

Remembering Carmine Infantino
Friday, August 30, 20:00-21:00
One of the great artists and editors of DC comics passed away recently. Join us for a discussion of Infantino’s contributions to the science fiction comics and super hero comics of the 1960s and his stewardship as editor on such titles as Batman.
with Weldon Adams

Playing in Other People’s Sandboxes: Writing Comics that aren’t Your Own
Sunday, September 1, 15:00-16:00
Whether you’re writing Spider-Man, Jonah Hex, the Incredibles, or Fruit Ninja, you never get to really own these characters. But they sure are fun to play with! Hear some stories about what it’s like dealing with today’s corporate overlords.
with Alan J. Porter, Paul Benjamin, and Howard Tayler

Arouse Is Not the Past Tense of Arise
Monday, September 2, 12:00-13:00
Why do so many new writers have problems with grammar? How important is grammar? Has it lost relevancy in communicating with some portion of the reading public?
with Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Ginjer Buchanan, and Alberto Chimal

But there’s one other place you might see me—if you’re insane for BBQ, that is. (more…)