I know I shouldn't mention this...
... but I'll be attending my first convention in over 10 years over Memorial Day weekend. The con is Comicpalooza, being held down here in Houston. The only reason I'm going to be there is to see and spend time with Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon, who are listed as Guests of Honor (along with George Takei and a few others). Aki and I haven't seen Larry since about two years ago in Las Vegas (we were on vacation, he was there on family business) when we managed to hook up for wandering through the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, lunch and a session of ancient history in the fandom. And I haven't seen Misty since ConFurence all those years ago (close to 20)...
The problem is that the fandom has changed over the years, and not necessarily in a way that I like. The fur suit/cosplay aspects have gotten way out of hand in my mind... it was fine for the costume competition, but 24 hours a day through the entire con? I don't think so, Tal don't play that game. It would be fine if it was a crowd of normal-looking folks who just happen to share the same interests...
And I can't treat it as I can with the RenFaire/SCA folks, there's a definite difference in my perspectives there. The same with dealing with Mardi Gras revelers, you know they're going to go back to looking normal once the party's over. That might be part of the reason why I dropped out of fandom for the most part... I saw where it was going and it wasn't a path I wanted to take.
Focus, Greywolf, focus...
The problem is that the fandom has changed over the years, and not necessarily in a way that I like. The fur suit/cosplay aspects have gotten way out of hand in my mind... it was fine for the costume competition, but 24 hours a day through the entire con? I don't think so, Tal don't play that game. It would be fine if it was a crowd of normal-looking folks who just happen to share the same interests...
And I can't treat it as I can with the RenFaire/SCA folks, there's a definite difference in my perspectives there. The same with dealing with Mardi Gras revelers, you know they're going to go back to looking normal once the party's over. That might be part of the reason why I dropped out of fandom for the most part... I saw where it was going and it wasn't a path I wanted to take.
Focus, Greywolf, focus...