Conventions

Even in the era of the World Wide Web, traditional fanzines still exist. Of course, they’ve gone online.

Fandom, too, survives, even if the pandemic keeps people apart. An SF Club geographically local to me released their latest issue (#62) of their fanzine, SideTrekked, which…

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Michigan’s otherworldly Penguicon, a meeting of SF/Fantasy/Techie/Open Source and other interests, has, like other Cons, been cancelled for 2020. However, it lives on this weekend as Virtual Penguicon.

Some events continue as prerecorded videos, while others will be streamed live through various platforms.

I will be participating in two on Saturday, a reading from my forthcoming novel, The Con, and To Boldly Make Discovery in the Expanse AND what would your Space TV Franchise look like?, an examination of current space-faring shows and what we might like to see in the future. The panel features Larry Nemecek, Trek superfan and SF author, actor, editor, archivist, consultant, interviewer, and producer, and Eric Choi, writer, editor, and an aerospace engineer who has worked on several high-profile NASA projects.

It’s free. We hope some of the Bureau42 regulars will turn up online.

Check the site for details. Note that some online elements remain in process and may be incomplete or temporarily unavailable. Here is the Schedule.

I’ll get around to completing Stranger Things, and I’m going to do a “remainder of the season” review for Handmaid’s Tale, which doesn’t get much attention here. Meanwhile, I recently attended and paneled at Ad Astra in Toronto. Naturally, I made a short video:

That last clip shows the moon and Jupiter. The sky was clear enough to see the four largest Jovian moons quite nicely with a telescope.

I’ve been absent from Michigan’s Penguicon, a meeting of SF/Fantasy Fandom, Open Source / Linux, Hackers, and other loosely-related tribes, for five years. I’m glad I returned. The event has changed, but it remains an experience worth having.

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We noted Dragon Con here, but the end of summer saw a number of events, and we’ve found some video below for those interested.

Dragon Con also witnessed the announcements that Grant Imahara, Tory Belleci, and Kari Byron, Mythbuster‘s “Build Team”, will have their own Netflix series, The White Rabbit Project, apparently making its debut December 9.

Toronto’s Fan Expo included an announcement that Chapterhouse, publishers of Jason Loo’s Pitiful Human-Lizard and the most recent people to revive Captain Canuck, will be creating their own universe of Canadian superheroes, consisting of characters old and new. (Jokes about, say, “Zamboni Man and Beaver” are inevitable, so feel free to contribute your suggestions. W. Blaine and I won’t be offended).

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Here’s my video of the second Forest City Comic-Con.
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