The Naming of Cons
(written, and now posted, in connection with the work mentioned in previous entry but one, Conomastics)
© thnidu
after "The Naming of Cats" by T. S. Eliot° and "The Naming of Cons" by Rick Moen
The Naming of Cons is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a con must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name for an everyday mention
Such as Chicon or Tricon or OVFF,
Such as Aussiecon, Nolacon, BayCon, Denvention--
All sensible names for a con of sf.
You can go for a fancier con designation --
Arisia, Ad Astra, or Bubonicon
Or HarmUni, Shore Leave, or Anticipation --
All sensible everyday names for a con.
Some names' popularity's quite incontestible,
Names many cons can be seen to delight in,
Such as Icon*, iCON†, I-CON‡, and ICON Festival§,
Seacon (Seattle) and Seacon (in Brighton).
But I tell you, a con needs a name that's particular
And clearly distinguished from any mere clones,
A name that's to all other names perpendicular,
Like Millennium Philcon, or else Sixteen Tones.
A few on their syllable count place reliance
Where ten or a dozen are never enough,
Like The Second Occasional LoneStarCon Science
Fiction Convention & Chili Cook-off.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no kind of research can discover--
But THE CONCOMM ALL KNOW, and will never confess.
When you notice a smof in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
Her mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of that name:
That ineffable effable
Trufanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
° http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/t__s__eliot/poems/15121
* Iowa
† İstanbul
‡ Long Island
§ Tel Aviv
© thnidu
after "The Naming of Cats" by T. S. Eliot° and "The Naming of Cons" by Rick Moen
The Naming of Cons is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a con must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name for an everyday mention
Such as Chicon or Tricon or OVFF,
Such as Aussiecon, Nolacon, BayCon, Denvention--
All sensible names for a con of sf.
You can go for a fancier con designation --
Arisia, Ad Astra, or Bubonicon
Or HarmUni, Shore Leave, or Anticipation --
All sensible everyday names for a con.
Some names' popularity's quite incontestible,
Names many cons can be seen to delight in,
Such as Icon*, iCON†, I-CON‡, and ICON Festival§,
Seacon (Seattle) and Seacon (in Brighton).
But I tell you, a con needs a name that's particular
And clearly distinguished from any mere clones,
A name that's to all other names perpendicular,
Like Millennium Philcon, or else Sixteen Tones.
A few on their syllable count place reliance
Where ten or a dozen are never enough,
Like The Second Occasional LoneStarCon Science
Fiction Convention & Chili Cook-off.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no kind of research can discover--
But THE CONCOMM ALL KNOW, and will never confess.
When you notice a smof in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
Her mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of that name:
That ineffable effable
Trufanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
° http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/t__s__eliot/poems/15121
* Iowa
† İstanbul
‡ Long Island
§ Tel Aviv