I did this.
Well, not just me exactly. But that was my thought when I got to the con. Took off a smidge early from work and came down to the Omni, avoiding most of the hellacious traffic that will plague Austin this weekend.
Got in, saw all my people, and realized just what I had wrought. Well, not just me, exactly.
This has been a process. Programming stretched me in ways my brain did not ask to be stretched, did not want to be stretched, complained very loudly that I was being stretched. But so many people came up and told me the program looks amazing. Not the same old same old, said Chris Brown and John Picacio, a writer and artist, respectively, who have made their mark on the genre in ways I am still working toward.
I heard laughter and conversation and loud laughter from the Marvel panelists, The horsemanship panel was a lively back and forth about understanding horses to write good fantasy, adding complications to plot and depth to characterization, of horses and human characters.
My interview with Patrice Caldwell (Patrice and Patrice!) was so much fun and so insightful. And this was a first — this was the first time that two Patrices have been in the same place at the same time. And the universe did not explode, like matter and antimatter. This convention had 100% more Patrices than any other ArmadilloCon!
Are there glitches? Yes. I have to forgive myself for dropping several balls. I missed programming people who needed to be on programs. I rectified that as much as I could, and the Lunar vision panel now has the NASA guy it should have had all along.
Marshall Ryan Maresca’s Toastmaster speech was heartfelt and wonderful and expressed exactly what I feel about this convention and why I wanted to get involved in running it. We are here. This is where we are — our people, our tribe, where we can be fans and creators both.
So there you have it. This weekend is the reason the blog has been silent. I am at ArmadilloCon and panelists and attendees have gathered to enjoy programming that is new and fresh and updated and brings people together for what we have always done — celebrate all things fandom.
We did this.
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