ICON 35, one of the many Midwest pop culture experiences

Last weekend at the Marriott Hotel in Cedar Rapids, IA, I attended the thirty-fifth rendition of the convention that Joe built: ICON (This year: ICON 35 – A Steam Powered Convention of the Future). It was originally organized by the Science Fiction League of Iowa Students (yes, that is SFLIS – ask me about it some time. Or better yet ask Joe Haldeman). Later The Mindbridge Foundation was founded to run it and AnimeIowa. ICON, like Archon, ConQuest, Constellation, Contraception, Demicon, OSFest, Valleycon, Visioncon, and Willycon, has been a mainstay in the Midwest Science Fiction scene. AnimeNebrasKon, AnimeIowa, Nakacon, Sogen Con, and OtakuOmaha have featured the Anime side of Science Fiction. MageCon and Nuke-Con have brought great gaming to the Midwest. There is a major comic book convention in Kansas City; Planet Comicon. And in St. Louis a horror convention got its start this year: Contamination. So don't let others fool you. Science Fiction/Fantasy/Anime/Gaming/Horror conventions have been around in our area continuously since the early 1980s. They have not been missing! If you would like to see who has been doing them in Nebraska for the last thirty years, check out the OSFES history project at www.osfes.org/History.htm. Oh and if you have anything to add to it, please let me know. Remember to support your local fan run convention because without you they can never happen.

ICON 35: A Steam Powered Convention of the Future was themed for its Fan Guest of Honor, Susan Leabhart. There were several panels on Steampunk, many great costumes in the subgenre, and even a time-traveling airship (sequestered in a hotel room of course). She took us through what is Steampunk, its costuming, and what works (a steam powered computer?).

With a writer GOH like Cory Doctorow we had to get some serious discussions into the genre we love. Cory is a big blogger and he did a two-part panel on that subject, along with one looking at new media and how it affects our entertainment, he and Hugo winner Bill Johnson examined the economics of Star Trek and other future universes and finally looked at the "Black Box" phenomenon creeping into today technology.

Of course that's not to say that Dr. Who, bad (really bad) poetry, and Zombie panels didn't make an appearance, because they did. And while the number of room parties on Saturday night seemed down for this event, it was only because they had been moved to Friday night.

So overall, ICON was again a fun experience. But I am really glad they are moving their dates back a week so that I don't have to choose between ICON and AnimeNebrasKon next year like I did this year. ICON 36 will be October 28-30, 2001 and AnimeNebrasKon will be November 4-6, 2011 (but give them time to recover from their respective conventions before you demand an update of their pages). Back to back fun next year but you don't have to wait until then, OSFest 4.0 System Upgrade is July 22-24, 2011. Pre-registration prices keep your overall convention experience costs down.

The Restored Version of Metropolis

In the 1920s, during the German expressionist period, classic cinema like The Cabinet of Dr, Caligari, Nosferatu, The Golem, and M brought a new usage of set design enhance the mood each film needed to tell its tale. The most famous of the films of this period was Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

Metropolis is a love story set against the backdrop of a man vs. machine and man vs. man story. Two classes exist in the post-modern world of Metropolis; the pampered ruling class and the toiling working class. The two classes must never meet! Maria, a girl from the underground working class finds her way into the Eternal Gardens of the ruling class and is noticed by Freder, a young member of the ruling class, before she can be spirited away. Freder becomes infatuated with Maria and follows her to the underbelly of his society and witnesses a tragedy kills many of the workers and no one cares about them only the machine they service. He becomes so distraught by this that he takes action to improve the workers conditions. This doesn't sit to kindly with his father, who has a robot built looking exactly like Maria to distract and discredit his son.

Metropolis is a 1927 film directed by Fritz Lang. It was produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic (before Adolf Hitler's ascension to power), Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and owners in a capitalist society. The film was produced in the Babelsberg Studios by Universum Film A.G. (UFA) and was the most expensive silent film ever made.

Metropolis was cut after it German premiere and many times after that, with much of the footage being presumed lost. After many attempts to restore the film to its original vision, a print was found in Argentina that contained 30 minutes of footage not seen in decades. The original running time was 153 minutes when it was released in 1927. The newly discovered version was announced to be missing only a few scenes but it was in deplorable condition. It currently has a running time of 149 minutes, very close to its original length, especially when you consider the hand cranking system used in the 1920s.

This newly restored version of Metropolis will be shown on Turner Classic Movies Sunday Novermber 7^th at 7PM. This is probably a great way to wind down from either of the conventions that were held that weekend; AnimeNebrasKon or Icon.

OSFest is working on an independent film festival this year. I have details as soon as they are sured up.

A Wake-up Call

Right now members of the Klingon Assault Group (KAG) are locked in a desperate fight with an unseen enemy. The prize for this contest is what song will be used for the wake-up call on STS-133, the last trip to space for the Space Shuttle Discovery. The wakeup song has been a tradition of the space program since the days of the Apollo missions. Now NASA is giving us two chances to be a part of this history! NASA wants input as to what wakeup songs to use during the final missions of the Space Shuttle Program! Listen to the suggested tunes and cast your vote here.

Members of KAG have joined in a struggle to make the Star Trek Theme Song that song. This is not a single vote system; as Nichelle Nichols says "Someone said "Vote Early & Often" wasn't fair. 2 late 2 vote early & voting mult times is fine - just like Amer Idol. Using bots - not fair." (Forgive the shortened words, this came from a Tweet by her on the subject of multiple voting.) So the struggle is to get as many votes cast for the Star Trek Theme Song before Discovery's launch as possible. Klingons of KAG had opened the lead for the song about a week ago to a comfortable 100,000 vote margin. Then out of the blue came a push for Blue Sky (

a song written by the group Big Head Todd for an earlier shuttle flight). It is the relentless, inhuman voting pattern for this song that has lead some to question whether bots were being used to cast votes for it. But whatever the reason (at the time of this writing) Blue Sky has a comfortable 40,000 vote lead over The Star Trek Theme Song. with only a few days to go.

So Star Trek fans pass the word. Mobilize support and come to the aid of the Klingon Empire (who has been waging the battle up to now) and vote for the song you would like the Discovery astronauts be woken up to. I hope that you will make that the Star Trek Theme song (remember that the first Space Shuttle was named Enterprise), but even if it is not do vote. And do so as often as you are able!

Qapla'

KIM HARRISON'S 4TH ANNUAL HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST

From author Kim Harrison:

Can you believe it's that time year again already? I'm hosting my 4th annual on-line Halloween costume contest. If you've entered before, the submission guidelines will be familiar with just a couple minor changes, so, please take a moment to check them out so I won't have to try to track you down to find out little details like how you want to be identified, and as always, don't send me a picture unless everyone in the shot agrees that I can post it online with an identifying name. You can send me pictures from previous Halloweens, but not if you've entered them in previous years.

THIS YEAR'S CATEGORIES ARE:
Pets & Babies: If your child can't say Trick-or-Treat, please enter them here. Winner for this category will be picked at random.
Kids: If you knock on doors, say "trick-or-treat" and don't have a driver's license then, enter your picture here.
Over-The-Top: This is for the really elaborate ones that are good enough to find on a Hollywood set.
Make-Me-Laugh:
I'll give you a hint- Men in fuzzy outfits seem to win a lot.
Gruesome: Blood, missing parts, you get the idea.
Group Shot: Three or more. Be sure EVERYONE agrees to have the picture posted.
Hollows Shot: For those Rachels, Ivys, Jenks, Rynn Cormells and Nicks out there. I'll take group shots here, to, BUT- you must ALL be Hollows characters in the picture.
E2 (Everything Else): If it doesn't fit in the categories above, place it here.
Best Carved Pumpkin: Fairly self explanatory. Show me your best carving.

What You Could Win:

Category winners will receive a signed ARC of-Pale Demon

Please make sure your email is valid through November.

Legalish Mumbo - Jumbo:

There is no cash value for these prizes, and there's no need to purchase anything to enter. Odds of winning depend upon the number of entries received, and I pick the category winners depending upon my mood and the orientation of the moon. Submission indicates permission to put your picture up on the Internet. If you don't tell me how you want to be identified, I will use the name associated with your e-mail. (first name only)

How To Submit:

Cropping your picture to within 400 X 400 pixels and a file size of near 50 KB will get you a virtual hug from me. Then, send the pictures to "Guy" at his email address located in the "Submission Guidelines". Click the Submissions Guidelines link at the top of this newsletter.

2009 WINNERS

There it is, guys. Have fun!
--Kim

Virgin Galactic to begin Suborbital Flights

Virgin Galactic, the spaceflight arm of Sir Richard Branson's empire, announced Friday that it would be the anchor tenant for the $198 million dollar space port building built 45 mile north of Las Cruses, New Mexico. Named Spaceport America, it will stretch across the flat dusty plain of the desert with a nearly two-mile-long runway designed to support almost every type of aircraft on Earth (or at least her skies). It will also provide support of day-to-day space tourism endeavors and payload launch operations.

Unlike today's space tourism ventures that require the tourist to plunk down $20 million dollars, ride up to the International Space Station and sit around in the Russian habit for two weeks. Virgin Galactic has commissioned Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, the winner of the Ansri X-Prize, to design and build WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo. The first of Virgin Galactic's five ships will be named Enterprise and will carry 6 passengers and 2 pilots on a 2.5 hour suborbital flight where they will experience 5 minutes of weightlessness (the seats will retract to give the passengers the full use of the cabin for that 5 minutes) before returning to the New Mexican desert.

SpaceShipTwo, once it has been released from its lifting body WhiteKnightTwo at an altitude of around 9 miles, will reach a speed of roughly 2500 mph using a single hybrid rocket engine. Unlike the Space Shuttle that descends at 160,000 mph and needs a sophisticated heat dissipation system (the shuttle heat tiles), SpaceShipTwo will re-enter at speeds low enough to us a feathered re-retry system.

A ticket for one of these suborbital flights will be $200,000 and the company already has 380 individuals who have put down more that $50 million in deposits for a ride. Though Sir Branson says he and his family will be one of the first passengers to go.

Star Wars Celebration V Part 4

The same person, who accused me of not knowing what a modern convention was all about, also said that he did not go to conventions to meet other fans. So attending both Celebration V and Megacon this year had me worried that each would be attended by an inhospitable crowd. That is not the case! Large professionally run conventions are still about fans meeting other fans. Everyone I had already known before the convention was finding online friends they had to link back up with. Everyone attending was easily approachable to talk about our joint interest and the things we do for it. Everyone there was there to have fun, make new friends and share what they do.

While I didn't pursue the topic but all of the fan displays present at the experiences were non-commercial. The fans responsible for them did not charge any fees for photographs and they weren't selling anything. Those that were selling related products were like Hasbro and had licensed their displays. A lot of booths were giving away related items, like the two photos I got of myself; one as Han Solo frozen in carbonite and another as Starkiller from The Force Unleashed II. They had a fan building area for the Hoth battle scene from The Empire Strikes Back (it was the 30^th anniversary of the film), afterwards people were able to take the sections they built home as souvenirs of the experience.

The 501^st organized a "Droid Hunt" the third day of the event, as a way to get not costumed attendees to play in the Star Wars environment. It was great fun. I understand a local member of the 501^st is trying to bring Droid hunting to all the conventions in Omaha. Make it work, Ben, it's sure to be a hit.

Since the area of the convention was so big you never really got an idea of how many people were in each of the recognized fan groups until they did their photo shoots in the main entrance or their parade around the facility. I don't think I got everyone in any of the photos I shot those days. These are people from around the world coming together to meet other people sharing their interest.

It really doesn't matter what part of fandom you are in. It is all about coming together and sharing our experiences with people who care about those experiences. Try describing what TARDIS means to someone at a NU football game. It is one thing to be a fan, but a much more encompassing experience to be part of fandom. Support your local conventions, like OSFest, and become part of our family.

October 23rd Fan Activities

This Saturday there will be a couple of fannish happenings going on in our area.

The Strategic Air & Space Museum in Ashland, NE will be hosting a Halloween event. Around 10 AM they will have trick-or-treating around the aircraft, followed by a Costume Contest at 11 AM in their ConAgra Theatre. The contest is open to all ages. Everyone will have a chance to parade across the stage and showcase his or her costume for fun and a chance to win prizes. (Please remember that this is a family friendly event and they ask that you keep the costumes fun and appropriate.) Prizes include: Grand Prize $100.00 Store Gift card; First Prize $75.00 Store Gift card; Second Prize $50.00 Store Gift card; and Third Prize $25.00 Store Gift card. Members of the 501st Legion Star Wars Stormtroopers will also be on site throughout the morning for photographs and fun. But I also understand that Klingons for IKV Sun's Glory may also make an appearance.

For something more down to earth, Benson will again host the Omaha Zombie Walk. While the walk actually begins at 6PM, things will begin happening around 4PM. You can either come dressed as a zombie or they will have experts onsite to create a zombie persona for you (a $3.00 charge will apply to cover their costs). Around 5:45 PM the rules of the walk will be announced, with the walk commencing at 6PM. For a map of the route, just click here. After you return, there is a Zombie Hop in The Waiting Room until 2AM. Yes, there will be a costume contest for the best Female Zombie, Male Zombie, and 50's Themed Zombie. And DrSanGuinery.org is holding a Zombikini contest also as a fundraiser of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. They have the rules on their website and will have a booth at the event for last minute signup.

Next weekend is Halloween with its associated activities. Me, I plan to curl up in front of Turner Classic Movies for their weekend of great old horror flicks. Then we follow that with two conventions in our area. Icon is in Cedar Rapids and AnimeNebrasKon will be at the Holiday Inn Central the weekend of Nov. 5-7. So over the next few weekends, get out there and have fun. You have been warned!