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[Jul. 8th, 2012|11:57 pm]
boywizard
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Just returned from Inconjunction in Indianapolis with my wife. We had planned a camping trip near Richmond, Indiana for the weekend, but due to the outrageously hot forecast decided at the last minute to go a bit farther and attend the con instead. We haven't been to it for at least twenty-five years. It seemed fitting to be in Indianapolis on this day (Sunday) because Inconjunction is the con where I met RJ, my wife, thirty years ago, and today is our twenty-third wedding anniversary. We expected to have a great time because Wild Mercy was the filk guest of honor (and they performed an excellent concert, as usual), and there were some passable concerts by a solo Jen, Wax Chaotic, and Cheshire Moon, but the open filking left a bit to be desired, not from the quality of those present (Barry and Sally, the Ropers, Peter Alway, and a few others who I didn't know by name), but because the con didn't provide much time or space for filking. Filk ended at midnight on Friday, and on Saturday we lost the use of the room at midnight. Some people moved to the hall outside the gaming room, but there wasn't much space there, and lots of foot traffic. RJ and I gave up and returned to our hotel earlier than we ordinarily would. (Great hotel, BTW - La Quinta Inn literally fifty feet from the door to the convention space in the adjacent Marriott; clean rooms, acceptable breakfast, and $44 a night cheaper). The primary focus of this con seems to be gaming - a very large room dedicated to games, always quite busy. There were also some details about the running of the con which could stand improvement, most of which I won't mention here, but... the absolute worst con suite I have ever been in. The claim was that the hotel prohibited serving 'real' food, so what we got were four or five trays of assorted chips, pretzels, corn balls, veggie straws (kind of like Pringles, but long and skinny), and the like. When the trays were empty, they were sometimes refilled and sometimes not. Also, white bread, creamy peanut butter, and strawberry jelly. Beverages were four or five 2-liter bottles of soda, mostly sugared, rarely with diet flavors, and never caffeine free, hot water and instant coffee (no tea, no decaf), and lemonade and ice water in two big dispensers. On the plus side, there was usually plenty of ice. On Sunday morning there were a few dozen of the small Danish pastries that one often gets in a hotel continental breakfast. Couldn't the con have negotiated to purchase some actual food from the hotel, as often seems to be the case at OVFF?
On a more positive note, I have to report that I performed in a filk circle for the very first time. People were doing mashups, and at a lull I worked up my courage and asked to perform one that I am happy to say that I discovered on my own (although I'm sure many others have noticed it as well). One can sing My Darling Clementine to the tune of the Deutschlandlied (Deutschland, Deutschland Uber Alles). Unfortunately, I only reliably remember the first verse, so my performance was brief, but perhaps someday I'll venture an attempt at the whole thing.
We may not allow twenty-five years to pass before we return to Inconjunction, but I can't say that we are certain to go next year. |
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