If you know anything about me, you know I like to make every meal count. So when I head off to a convention, I do my research. And with LoneStarCon 3 right around the corner (hey, when you’re making strategic plans like these, what can I say, August does seem just around the corner), I’ve already scouted out where I want to eat in San Antonio.

First on my hit list—did you know that the Culinary Institute of America, training ground for so many fine chefs, has a branch in San Antonio? And that they operate a restaurant? I had no idea, but it’s called Nao, and I aim to eat there either the Friday or Saturday night of the convention.

That’s their causitas made with purple potato puree and crab above, which I look forward to seeing on a plate in front of me in a few months.

Next up, Bliss, where chef Mark Bliss, considered a San Antonio legend, does his stuff.

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With August so far away, it’s early to be thinking about this year’s World Science Fiction Convention, better known as LoneStarCon 3 … or is it? Regular readers here know that there’s more to any con than the con itself. There’s also the food!

And because I’m not just about expensive and difficult to get into gastronomical marvels like Alinea, Next, Astrid y Gaston, and Steirereck, but also down-to-earth comfort food such as burgers and BBQ, one of the first places I head when researching a city is Adam Richman and Man v. Food.

So what does he have to say about San Antonio?

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On Sunday, September 2, 2012, Adam-Troy Castro, lover of spicy food and author of the Gustav Gloom novels, slipped away from the Chicago Worldcon and traveled to Bricks, where he attempted to eat a painful pizza, which consists of spicy pepperoni, purple onion, fresh jalapeno, garlic, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and lots and !LOTS! of hot sauce.

I was one of his sadistic friends who journeyed to witness (but not to partake in) this act of masochism. But just because you weren’t there, doesn’t mean you have to miss the madness.

Check out Adam’s agony below.

If the poor guy’s pain proves to be too much for you to watch, just skip ahead to 15:50 to learn how it all turns out and see him sum up his ordeal.

I come before you tonight to admit … I’m letting you down.

While I used to snap hundreds of photos at each science fiction convention I’d attend, now I rarely crack two dozen. Case in point, the recent Chicon7. Though I did have Charlie Jane Anders snap this pic of me and Eileen Gunn aboard the Random House cruise of Lake Michigan. (After which I had Eileen snap a pic of me and Charlie Jane as well.)

Why have I slacked off? Why am I no longer as intent on capturing my friends with pixels?

I can’t be certain, but I’m thinking I may have Twitter to blame, since that’s now the main way I seem to be reporting on cons these days.

It’s far too ephemeral, though, so I’m going to try to remember to do both next time around. Check back during and after the World Fantasy Convention in Toronto and find out if I stayed true to my word.

In any case, head over to Flickr if you want to see what few pics I did manage to snap.

I wish I could have shared the following videos while Chicon7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention, was still ongoing, as that would have hewed to Edelman’s Schadenfreude Rule of Convention Reporting. But alas, I was far too busy. (Future posts will show you just how busy.)

First up, on Thursday, August 30, Adam-Troy Castro read his short story “My Wife Hates Time Travel,” recently published in Lightspeed. Since you weren’t there, you don’t get any of the chocolate chip cookies he was handing out in support of his new novel Gustav Gloom and the People Taker—which should teach you to show up in person next time.

And then, on Monday, September 3, I read “A Most Extraordinary Man,” a sequel of sorts to Saki’s “The Open Window,” which will be published in the anthology The Monkey’s Other Paw: Revived Classic Stories of Dread and the Dead from NonStop Press. (more…)

I got back home from my Chicago Worldcon trip after midnight last night—or should I say, this morning—and while I’d love to write up right now how much fun I had, both at the con and elsewhere (like at Alinea!), it’s unlikely I’ll be able to compose my thoughts until the weekend.

After all, I did return from my trip to something like 5,000 emails!

So let these eight photos, one for each day I was away, stand in for the posts to come.

Wednesday
A note left on our table at the start of Next restaurant’s Sicilian meal

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With Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention, beginning in Chicago just a few days from now, here’s a flashback to the 54th World Science Fiction Convention, L.A.con III, which took place in Anaheim, California. Life sure was a lot different back in 1996.

I’d been editing Science Fiction Age for four years by then, and was about to take over as editor of Sci-Fi Entertainment as well.

Sovereign Media was flying high, with a booth promoting those two magazines plus Realms of Fantasy, and as you can tell from my smile, I was having a blast. Because in addition to the pure joy I was having editing SFA, that was also the year I’d gotten my first Hugo Award nomination for Best Editor.

There’d be three more nominations to come, but the first was somehow the sweetest.

Here’s hoping you get to make some sweet memories of your own next weekend!

I’m getting ready to head off to Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention, and thanks to my boss, Craig Engler, I’m thinking back to Discon II, the 32nd World Science Fiction Convention—and my first. (As to the reason Craig caused my thoughts to wander that way, see below.)

I was 19 when I attended my first Worldcon, and I drove there from Brooklyn with a group that included the gang of idiots below. Recognize us all as we sit in front of the White House? Give the photo a look for a couple of moments before you read on to see who’s who.

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Last week, I shared with you my preliminary schedule for Chicon 7, but there have been a few changes made, and this is where you actually will end up seeing me. (Well, if you’re also going to Worldcon, that is.)

Friday, Aug. 31, 9:00 a.m.
Strolling with the Stars

Friday Aug. 31, 12:00 p.m.
Autographing

Saturday, Sept. 1, 12:00 p.m.
The 50 Year Old Teenager
In 2012, Spider-Man turned 50 with the appearance of a new film, various comic titles, television titles, and a musical playing on Broadway. This panel looks at Peter Parker’s perennial appeal, reminisces about his adventures and relationships, and just fangeeks all over the webslinger.

Sunday, Sept. 2, 1:30 p.m.
Kaffeeklatsche

Monday, Sept. 3, 1:30 p.m.
Reading

Note that my reading—originally scheduled for Friday at 10:00 a.m., when you’d likely be asleep—has been moved to Monday at 1:30 p.m., after many of you will have left.

I hope to see you there anyway!

You’ve read about what I plan to eat while I’m in Chicago—but how about what I’ll be doing at Chicon 7, which is what’s bringing me to that city in the first place?

The Chicon 7 Programming Department just released its preliminary schedule, and this is where you might end up seeing me, depending on how things work out between now and the time things are finalized.

Friday, Aug. 31, 10:00 a.m.
Reading

Friday Aug. 31, 12:00 p.m.
Autographing

Friday, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.
Marvel Comics Super-Heroes from the 1960s
In less than a decade (1961-1969), Stan Lee’s Marvel Comics created iconic super-heroes that have only grown in popularity over the decades. What was unique about the Marvel super-heroes that have led to them becoming such a phenomenon?

Saturday, Sept. 1, 12:00 p.m.
The 50 Year Old Teenager
In 2012, Spider-Man turned 50 with the appearance of a new film, various comic titles, television titles, and a musical playing on Broadway. This panel looks at Peter Parker’s perennial appeal, reminisces about his adventures and relationships, and just fangeeks all over the webslinger.

Sunday Sept. 2, 1:30 p.m.
Kaffeeklatsche

Check back between now and the con to see how my schedule settles out.