I was at COSine this past weekend,

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

the s-f con that takes place in Colorado Springs in January. Yeah, I know. Colorado Springs in January? It does tend to keep the con a small one.

This is only my second con in two years. Mile Hi, in Denver happened back in October. Hooray!

It is absolutely wonderful to see people I consider good friends, even if I only ever see them at cons. On Saturday night I went out to dinner with one such friend, and it was a delight. Turns out he and I are not quite on the same political path, but we quickly decided to change the subject and talk about other stuff. Some of which was science fiction in movies or TV, and it was a great discussion.

Looking forward, I expect to attend the Jack Williamson Lectureship in April. That’s a truly amazing experience, and I constantly tell s-f people they need to attend. But the Lectureship is at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico, which is well off the beaten track. It’s very small, and actually intended primarily for the students of ENMU, although various random s-f people like me show up.

I think that this year Walter Jon Williams is the Guest of Honor. He’s a great guy, so if it’s at all possible, attend.

Oh, and the night before the Lectureship starts, there’s a dinner at the Cattle Baron, pretty much the best restaurant in Portales. The first time I attended, I sat next to Well Known Science Fiction Writer (whom I’d met several years earlier). When the server took our drink orders, I fussed a bit, saying I hope she’s keeping track of who ordered what. I’d understood the meal was paid for, but I assumed I’d be paying for my own alcohol. Well Known Science Fiction Writer said, “Oh, Poindexter. Jack funded this lectureship very generously and everything is paid for.” Wow.

The fact that this event is so small is a lot of what makes it so wonderful. It’s possible to interact meaningfully with the pros who are there. Plus, Cordelia Willis (Connie’s daughter, and if you don’t at least know the name Connie Willis, look her up) who is a CSI person in California, always gives a talk based on some recent stuff in her job. OMG. Always amazing.

[2naSalit]

1. Back in the days when...

I was going to conferences I found the smaller ones were much better for all the reasons you mention. I can't see how anything much is accomplished when there is a mass of people.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. I have long had a bias towards the small cons.

In recent years I've attended Mile Hi in Denver, Bubonicon in Albuquerque (and yes, it means what you think it means), COSine in Colorado Springs. Also two other small things, not properly cons at all: the Jack Williamson Lectureship in Portales, and the Campbell Conference in Lawrence, KS, which I believe has been renamed to something like the Gunn Conference, after James Gunn, the amazing and wonderful writer, mentor, teacher.

However, small is not always better. In 2019 I went to SoonerCon in Norman, OK (and I truly hope you get the theme of conference naming by this time). It's noticeably larger than any of my other cons. Because of being larger, they had more programming, more tracks, more dealers, more artists, and so on. But it was not one of the huge mega-conferences.

I will add this. I find the science fiction world to be very friendly, and the cons to be even more so. My one and so far only attendance at SoonerCon I was totally blown away by the friendliness there. Above and beyond what I was used to. Fantastic. Because it is somewhat larger, they have more and more varied programming tracks than I'd been used to.

One of the things I've loved about attending the cons is that I've become friends with any number of well-known authors. Oh, my.

My sister, who is not normally a science fiction person, is planning to attend this year with me. I really think she will find lots of fascinating things there. If she doesn't, oh well, she has her car and can go somewhere else. But I rather expect she will have no trouble finding interesting things to do at SoonerCon.

Something to keep in mind: certain kinds of cons, most specifically the ones connected to the media and that attract big name players (you get to pay $20.00 for an autograph) are a completely different kind of con. The ones I go to are not remotely like that. The cost of attending is perhaps $50.00, and aside from hotel or meals, cost nothing else. I do understand that the big media based cons have their place. It's just that I choose not to go there.

[Farmer-Rick]

3. Aren't you worried about getting Covid?

Eating in restaurants with unfamiliar people. Yikes. Then traveling itself exposes you to a lot of germs what with flying and riding on crowded transportation.

I went to a wedding right before the omicron variant started taking off. it was very small and held outside. I would never travel now even though I have both shots and a booster.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. Not really.

Last edited Fri Jan 28, 2022, 12:05 AM - Edit history (1)

For one thing, science fiction people are VERY science oriented. And we had to show proof of vaccination to register. No exceptions.

I drove from Santa Fe to Colorado Springs. Almost no exposure to others. All the s-f people were properly masked, as were most of those working at the hotel. Our hotel did not have any open restaurants or bars, which was actually a problem, as this is a hotel that con had used a lot in the past, and they formerly had working restaurants and bars. About six months ago it was bought by a developer who is planning to turn it all into low-income housing and a huge storage unit.

Again, science fiction people are very science oriented. We all wore masks. It was as good as where I live in Northern New Mexico, where everyone is masked.

I love to travel, but I am not at all willing these days to get on board an airplane. I have a son who lives in Fairfax, VA, attending college there. I've been saying for more than a year that I really miss him, would like to see him, but am not willing to get on board an airplane to go there. And I am not about to ask him to do something I won't do. So I simply didn't see him for more than two years. As it happens, because of other family in that area with health issues, I wound up going there by train (from Lamy, NM to Kansas City, MO) and by car to the Washington DC area. We, meaning my sister (who picked me up at Union Station in Kansas City) and I had a wonderful trip, as it turned out. We drove, stayed in hotels, were masked and socially distanced the whole time. Yeah, we might have gotten unlucky and been infected, but that didn't happen. On the up side, I got to see my son on this trip, which was wonderful.

So, no, I am not flying or riding on crowded transportation.