Trying to get a word in...
Apr. 12th, 2010 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wishusJust a warning... typos may abound in this post. The keyboard is being temperamental about a few letters and some keys are utterly in the wrong place. My speech marks and the at sign are mixed up and the hash has disappeared.
I'm trying to write an article at the moment, but my head is in 'that's a crap opening paragraph/sentence, you can't possibly go with that' mode, but you guys are okay. You can put up with my rubbish.
Well, I've been to a couple of lovely conventions - World Horrorcon in Brighton was utterly lush. I am now harbouring ambitions to move to the seaside (oh - the tarot card reader on the pier said I might move this year. I couldn't resist a reading. He was in a wooden caravan!). Met some lovely people, including Dominic Harman and Debbie, and Emma Davies's sister, Sarah. Emma sold a story via Twitter while at the con,earning all our admiration and jealousy - clever lady!
Neil Gaiman was there - and this time I managed to speak to him and not just grin like an idiot.
The booze flowed from book launch to book launch - and I was very excited to be in my first signing (not counting that time when a very drunk bloke insisted I was in Daisy Chainsaw). I especially loved Heather Graham's party, where we got to go on the ghost train late at night. It was the least scary thing ever, but lots of fun. I ruined my new kitten-heel shoes slipping down the slats on the pier, more's the pity, but maybe N can fix them. It was worth it, anyway.
That was followed very swiftly by Eastercon the next weekend. I must admit, I spent most of the weekend in an anxious state ahead of the BSFA counting and ceremony, but it was all very enjoyable nonetheless.
My highlights would be: Food! N and I took lots of pot noodles and biscuits to get by, but we did manage to get out for a couple of meals. I had the entire sea (all of them) in a bowl with cream at The Pheasant on Friday, and on Saturday, we went to the loveliest curry house, posibly still full from the previous night's food, so there was a bit left. They were very generous though.
Drink! Drinking with friends in the Polo Bar - always good. Especially when I wasn't drinking the hotel's extortionate cider. There was a funny moment when the bar staff came to clear away various empty bottles of red from the table, but saw there was some left in one bottle, so just tipped it into Kim's glass. Merlot? Cabernet Sauvignon? All the same, isn't it?
Comedy! Ben Goldacre and Mitch Benn were excellent. I got a bit annoyed at some people watching Ben though. At the beginning of his set, he mistakenly said the humans in The Time Machine had evolved into Eloi and Morpocks, which people helpfully and rightfully corrected for him. This was funny. What was not so good was that this seemed to give some people the idea that they should just call out anything at any time. Lesson here folks, it doesn't matter how sfnal you are, that is heckling. Don't.
Doctor Who: I think I will warm to Matt Smith. Northampton is extremely proud of their boy, and there are big posters of him on the BBC building, naturellement. May I join the sighing throng and add that Amy Pond/Karen Gillan is lovely? Bouncy theme tune - not so keen. May warm to that too. Well, we have so much to wait and see with this one, but still it was the same fabulous atmosphere to be watching Doctor Who along with damn well near enough the entire con. Marvellous. Not so marvellous was the snogging couple sitting in front of me and Lee H. This programme was on in your hotel room as well, you know! Still, young love, eh?
BSFA Awards Ceremony. More of a highlight in hindsight. At the time, I was bricking it. Plus, counting the votes was mega-stressy. Huge praise to N and the lovely Emma Davies for helping me do that. I owe you a zillion thanks.
I got a lot of compliments about the ceremony, which made me feel very relieved! Ian Watson was amazing, as we knew he would be. Basically, the bones of the script were put together by him and Paul Cornell, and I restructured it and added extra gags and things. But hey, I think that counts as my first corporate gig. I'd say watch out Jimmy Carr, but I can't see him counting up award nominations or making the gold envelopes himself.
Weird though... to discover later that your jokes have been 'live-tweeted' along with the results. At least that just consisted mostly of paraphrasing. Oooh - should I start getting touchy about intellectual copyright? Well, as my script wasn't particularly intellectual, maybe not... (in-joke for comedians, there).
Panel on comedy: It being a week ago, I can't remember too much of our conclusions, but I do remember discussing how major publishers have effectively closed off their lists to funny sf, as they have enough with Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin and Tom Holt. One chap put his hand up and asked, "Well, what with Terry Pratchett being ill..." I feel quite bad about cutting the chap off with, "Too soon!"
Since then, I've been back at work and tackling the ironing pile. I squeezed in one lovely comedy gig in Milton Keynes on the Thursday before Eastercon and last Friday I headlined Poetry Kapow in Wolverton, which was ace. I also won the beermat poem competition that night for a short poem on sin and got a book token. I have such a haul to get through from the 2 cons though... I think I'll save it up for Ken Macleod's The Restoration Game if I can.
I'm trying to write an article at the moment, but my head is in 'that's a crap opening paragraph/sentence, you can't possibly go with that' mode, but you guys are okay. You can put up with my rubbish.
Well, I've been to a couple of lovely conventions - World Horrorcon in Brighton was utterly lush. I am now harbouring ambitions to move to the seaside (oh - the tarot card reader on the pier said I might move this year. I couldn't resist a reading. He was in a wooden caravan!). Met some lovely people, including Dominic Harman and Debbie, and Emma Davies's sister, Sarah. Emma sold a story via Twitter while at the con,earning all our admiration and jealousy - clever lady!
Neil Gaiman was there - and this time I managed to speak to him and not just grin like an idiot.
The booze flowed from book launch to book launch - and I was very excited to be in my first signing (not counting that time when a very drunk bloke insisted I was in Daisy Chainsaw). I especially loved Heather Graham's party, where we got to go on the ghost train late at night. It was the least scary thing ever, but lots of fun. I ruined my new kitten-heel shoes slipping down the slats on the pier, more's the pity, but maybe N can fix them. It was worth it, anyway.
That was followed very swiftly by Eastercon the next weekend. I must admit, I spent most of the weekend in an anxious state ahead of the BSFA counting and ceremony, but it was all very enjoyable nonetheless.
My highlights would be: Food! N and I took lots of pot noodles and biscuits to get by, but we did manage to get out for a couple of meals. I had the entire sea (all of them) in a bowl with cream at The Pheasant on Friday, and on Saturday, we went to the loveliest curry house, posibly still full from the previous night's food, so there was a bit left. They were very generous though.
Drink! Drinking with friends in the Polo Bar - always good. Especially when I wasn't drinking the hotel's extortionate cider. There was a funny moment when the bar staff came to clear away various empty bottles of red from the table, but saw there was some left in one bottle, so just tipped it into Kim's glass. Merlot? Cabernet Sauvignon? All the same, isn't it?
Comedy! Ben Goldacre and Mitch Benn were excellent. I got a bit annoyed at some people watching Ben though. At the beginning of his set, he mistakenly said the humans in The Time Machine had evolved into Eloi and Morpocks, which people helpfully and rightfully corrected for him. This was funny. What was not so good was that this seemed to give some people the idea that they should just call out anything at any time. Lesson here folks, it doesn't matter how sfnal you are, that is heckling. Don't.
Doctor Who: I think I will warm to Matt Smith. Northampton is extremely proud of their boy, and there are big posters of him on the BBC building, naturellement. May I join the sighing throng and add that Amy Pond/Karen Gillan is lovely? Bouncy theme tune - not so keen. May warm to that too. Well, we have so much to wait and see with this one, but still it was the same fabulous atmosphere to be watching Doctor Who along with damn well near enough the entire con. Marvellous. Not so marvellous was the snogging couple sitting in front of me and Lee H. This programme was on in your hotel room as well, you know! Still, young love, eh?
BSFA Awards Ceremony. More of a highlight in hindsight. At the time, I was bricking it. Plus, counting the votes was mega-stressy. Huge praise to N and the lovely Emma Davies for helping me do that. I owe you a zillion thanks.
I got a lot of compliments about the ceremony, which made me feel very relieved! Ian Watson was amazing, as we knew he would be. Basically, the bones of the script were put together by him and Paul Cornell, and I restructured it and added extra gags and things. But hey, I think that counts as my first corporate gig. I'd say watch out Jimmy Carr, but I can't see him counting up award nominations or making the gold envelopes himself.
Weird though... to discover later that your jokes have been 'live-tweeted' along with the results. At least that just consisted mostly of paraphrasing. Oooh - should I start getting touchy about intellectual copyright? Well, as my script wasn't particularly intellectual, maybe not... (in-joke for comedians, there).
Panel on comedy: It being a week ago, I can't remember too much of our conclusions, but I do remember discussing how major publishers have effectively closed off their lists to funny sf, as they have enough with Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin and Tom Holt. One chap put his hand up and asked, "Well, what with Terry Pratchett being ill..." I feel quite bad about cutting the chap off with, "Too soon!"
Since then, I've been back at work and tackling the ironing pile. I squeezed in one lovely comedy gig in Milton Keynes on the Thursday before Eastercon and last Friday I headlined Poetry Kapow in Wolverton, which was ace. I also won the beermat poem competition that night for a short poem on sin and got a book token. I have such a haul to get through from the 2 cons though... I think I'll save it up for Ken Macleod's The Restoration Game if I can.
