Change in Regime

by Trudy V. Myers

"The King is dead! Long live the King!"

I heard that line in movies, read it in books, and it left me confused for much of the early phase of my life. Until I figured out that they meant, "The old King is dead! Long live the new King!" It was both a recognition of the way things had been, and an expression of hope for the way things would be.

OSFest is experiencing a similar type of change of regime.

History and The Plan – OSFest 1 had one chairman, John Shoberg. The second year (OSFest 2) had two co-chairs, collectively known as 'John²' (John Shoberg and John Pershing). The Plan was that they would take on another co-chair for OSFest 3, and then for OSFest 4, Shoberg would step down while another person became the third co-chair. Spread the work around, train some new blood, all that sort of thing.

Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men. For whatever reason, John² did not select a helper for OSFest 3.

I think they learned their lesson, because after the 2010 convention concluded, they started looking around for a new co-chair. Maybe they could get back to The Plan, if they could find someone to become a new chairperson.

They found two.

The co-chairs for OSFest 4 are John Pershing, April Lindloff and Trudy Myers. John Shoberg has stepped down and while he won't exactly be sitting on his duff, his duties will be (somewhat) less than in the past. He remains a valuable resource for us newbie chairpersons to learn from.

This actually fits in rather well with the theme for next year's convention, which is OSFest 4.0 – System Upgrade. We not only have new co-chairs, we also have a new hotel, with more function rooms, bigger function rooms. So, if you thought OSFest 3 had plenty to do … you ain't seen nothing yet.

It doesn't have the same ring to it, but, "Co-chair 1 is stepped down! Long live the Co-chairs!" Nope, not the same ring at all. But what do you expect? We're busy putting a convention together!

The Usual Suspects - Sept & Oct. Schedule

The Usual Suspects are a group of movie buffs that meet weekly for the newest (or as close as they can get when you have a double release) genre film. Join them at the Great Escape Omaha Stadium 16 every Saturday for the last matinee showing of the day. It will be a great time and a wonderful chance to talk about the film you have just seen and others you may or may not have enjoyed. Below is their September and October schedule:

September 4, 2010 – The American (Suspense Thriller)
Director: Anton Corbijn
Screenwriter: Rowan Joffe
Starring: George Clooney, Bruce Altman, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido
Alone among assassins, Jack is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde, is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues romance with local woman Clara. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.

September 11, 2010 – The Town (Crime, Drama)
Director: Ben Affleck
Screenwriter: Peter Craig, Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite
Doug MacRay is an unrepentant criminal, the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who pride themselves in stealing what they want and getting out clean. With no real attachments, Doug never has to fear losing anyone close to him. But that all changed on the gang's latest job, when they briefly took a hostage--bank manager, Claire Keesey. Though they let her go unharmed, Claire is nervously aware that the robbers know her name...and where she lives. But she lets her guard down when she meets an unassuming and rather charming man named Doug...not realizing that he is the same man who only days earlier had terrorized her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.

September 18, 2010 – Open

September 25, 2010 – Guardians of Ga’Hoole (Adventure, Fantasy)
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenwriter: Emil Stern, John Orloff
Starring: Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Jay Laga'aia, Miriam Margolyes, Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Richard Roxburgh, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving
Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father's epic stories of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father's favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd's jealousy has terrible consequences--causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole--Soren's only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

October 2, 2010 – Alpha and Omega (Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family)
Director: Ben Gluck
Screenwriter: Chris Denk
Starring: Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Christina Ricci, Danny Glover, Dennis Hopper, Larry Miller, Eric Price, Chris Carmack, Vicki Lewis, Brian Donovan, Kevin Sussman
Kate and Humphrey are two wolves who are nothing alike. Kate's an alpha wolf – to her, discipline, duty and responsibility are everything. On the other hand, Humphrey is an omega wolf -- fun, friends and frivolity are what are important to him. In the world of wolves, alphas and omegas don't mix, mingle or mate – such is pack law. But when the two young wolves are captured by park rangers and taken far away, they bond despite their differences.

October 9, 2010 – Open

October 16, 2010 – Faster (Action, Drama)
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Screenwriter: Joe Gayton, Tony Gayton
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton
An ex-con is bent on avenging the death of his brother murdered 10 years earlier when double-crossed during a heist.

October 23, 2010 – Red (Action, Thriller)
Director: Robert Schwentke
Screenwriter: Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Karl Urban, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine, Felicia Day
"Red" is the story of Frank Moses, a former black-ops CIA agent, who is now living a quiet life. That is, until the day a hi-tech assassin shows up intent on killing him. With his identity compromised and the life of the woman he cares for, Sarah, endangered, Frank reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive. "Red" is based on the DC Comics graphic novel of the same name by Warren Ellis.

Celebration V Analysis Part 2

For a convention based on a single story line, Star Wars Celebration V managed to have considerable programming items but they no way made up the bulk of the experience happening those 4 days.

Buying stuff in their dealer’s/exhibitor’s area made up a small piece. Most of the stuff being offered were collectibles so anyone in finding something to add to their private collections had a field day.

What really made up the bulk of the Celebration V experience had to be the fan interactions. The R2-Builders came together internationally for Celebration V and outfitted a very large room with all the wonderful droids its members had created over the years. As well as several facades that complemented their mechanical men. The 501st legion had a similar sized room that allowed them to show off the costuming work their members have done along with appropriate set pieces to go with them. Fan built props were in abundance. The Rebel Alliance had a substantial area on the exhibition room floor and they too had fan-made costumes, props, and displays. All with members of their particular groups ready and able to answer questions about what they do, why they do it, and how someone new can get involved. Different chapters of the various groups had display areas in the exhibition hall; from a T.I.E. fighter and Millennium Falcon interior brought over by the Belgian 501st chapter, to life sized models of Jabba the Hut for Slave Leias to hang out on. Even Disney brought in some of their Star Wars props from Hollywood Studios and had them available for photo opportunities.

What can Omaha conventions take from this? We need to provide more toys for local fans to play with. Unfortunately no one convention can build all the props and displays that could be used over the course of a convention weekend. We have to rely on the local fan groups to help us with them. OSFest has had major contributions in this respect from both the R2-Central Builders and Brad Edmonds & K.I.T.T. While we built a TARDIS front façade, I am made to understand that the other three walls may be added by next year. Thanks Moose!

But there are other fan groups throughout the Omaha area. What would you like to see added to the convention scene in Omaha? What can you build and bring to conventions or parades? What would you like help getting started with? OSFES should have the resources to at least point you in the right direction and offer you a place to exhibit your creation. Fan feedback can be great, give it a try!

Celebration V Analysis Part 1

A few years back I was accused of not knowing what a 'modern' SF convention was all about. And maybe that person was right; maybe I focused too much on the types of conventions I had grown comfortable with. So I made a decision to experience as many other types of SF conventions as I could afford to attend. To that end, I have been to a few Anime and Comic conventions over the last couple of years. Since it had been over twenty years since I attended a Media convention, I set my sights on the biggest one to happen this year: LucasFilms' Star Wars Celebration V. Thus I begin noting my thoughts on it: What they did differently, what they did well and what they got wrong.

Every few years, LucasFilms has a really big party for his fans; this year it was in Orlando, FL. As I own some time-shares in the Orlando area and needed to use them, I purchased a 4-day membership for my wife and myself, then headed down for a 2-week vacation. Before anyone asks; it is usually cooler over the summer in Orlando than in Omaha, so going down is a no-brainer (especially if you have annual passes to all the theme parks in the area). The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) has three massive wings. The west wing, where Celebration V was held, alone is an order of magnitude larger than our Qwest Center and they used all of it. Effectively? Let's save that for later.

Programming: A convention is not a convention without appropriate programming. And you might have thought it would be tough to find multi-tracks of programming at a convention devoted to a single story line, yet they did it. Once you split the Star Wars universe into smaller chunks, you have topics for people to talk about and discuss. Collectors had a Collectors' Stage for them, fan groups had a Celebration Fan Stage for them, the Star Wars Classroom & Lecture Hall offered seminars by major authors and artists, and, of course, the celebrities had a special venue for their talks. All of this leads to the observation that the programming department arranged to keep all their tracks separated and within a designated room. If you were interested in a single track, you could stay in that room all day. For example, the Fan Stage had Droid building, 501^st indoctrination, Rebel recruitment, Mandalorian Merc training; one right after the other. This is a great idea for fans with limited mobility in a tremendously large convention facility like OCCC.

I liked the fact that they had a panel on How to Enjoy Your Convention Experience. It put a couple of program items in perspective and kept me from spending an overnight in a queue line, when I had other options to see that particular panel. It was also nice that a lot of the fan experience programming feed right into continuous showcases that those groups had elsewhere in the facility, and you could go to that showcase for more in-depth answers to any remaining questions you had.

The panels that I attended, and so are the only ones I can speak for, seemed well run, with time available for audience questions and feedback. And given the constraints of sticking to a single universe, they had a wide variety to panels to interest everyone.

What can OSFest take from this? OSFest 3 kept most of its costuming panels in the same room but not the other tracks. Would people like to see us try to keep our tracks within the single room or spread them around the hotel? Let me know how you want us to schedule your convention.

Upcoming Steampunk Activities

By Joe Carver

The Steampunk Society of Nebraska (SSoN) is a group for greater Nebraska steampunks. The society, a growing group of steampunks with more than a hundred online members, gathers to meet other steampunks and share ideas. We host an easy to find Facebook group.

Steampunk brings together two themes: the romanticized era of Victorian England and the freedom of the punk movement. Gears and goggles, bustles and top hats permeate the fashion. Think Jules Vern's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, H.G. Wells' Time Machine, or The Wild, Wild West.

Costume Crafting Day: 19 Sept, 12pm - 5pm
Steampunk Photo Day: 3 Oct, TBD
Costume Crafting Day: 24 Oct, 12pm - 5pm
Anime Nebraskon, Omaha NE: 5-7 Nov (Steampunk Costume Day)
Emerald City SP Expo, Wichita KS: 12-14 Nov

Costume Crafting Days are at the home of Joe Carver, located in Bellevue NE. The address will be sent to those who accept the event on Facebook or who contact Joe at his email address: joe_carver_2000@yahoo.com. These events are for working in a social atmosphere or getting help planning/crafting costumes. All costume work is welcome and Steampunk costuming, in particular, is encouraged. Please bring materials and tools needed for your costume.

Steampunk Photo Days are group photography opportunities. Costumed members gather at locations with a steampunk/historical atmosphere to show off their outfits and, if the opportunity presents itself, to recruit interested bystanders. If someone is interested in photography they are welcome to come along but use of images is protected by Creative Commons Attribution + Noncommercial (by-nc) license.

Many members of SSoN are plan to attend the Anime Nebraskon convention, 5-7 Nov. SSoN encourages all members to don their Steampunk costumes for the con and declares Saturday, November 6th as the group's official Steampunk Costume Day. If you are going to wear steampunk only one day then that should be the day.

Wichita, KS hosts the first Emerald City Steampunk Expo. The expo will be taking place at The Hyatt Hotel on the River with portions being held at the Victorian Village in Cowtown. Omaha was the origin of Professor Marvel, the Great and Powerful Oz, so it is only fitting we have a presence. The Steampunk Society of Nebraska will be in attendance. Come attend the closest all-steampunk convention to date.

More Local Happenings

I hope everyone interested in the latest Star Wars Encyclopedia made it out to Barnes & Noble on Saturday. If you are interested in a different style of costuming there are a couple more events on the horizon.

Friday August 27^th at 5PM the Omaha part for the International Cosplay Day will be meeting at the Scooters on 12^th & Howard. Dress up in your finest Cosplay outfit, head on down to the Old Market, and bring your camera. They want you to post pictures of your creation, just to prove you were there. But if you don't have a costume head on down anyway, there is no better way to contract the costuming bug then seeing others in great looking garb. Plans include a run down to the Old Market Spaghetti Works and random acts of fandom in the Old Market. No matter what we will have a great time doing what fandom is all about – sharing ideas.

If you can make it Friday, then pencil the next Otaku Get Together on your calendar. They meet the first Sunday of each month from Noon – 3PM in the same Batcave, er Scooters Coffeehouse. Again this is a great crew to hang with, discuss costuming ideas, and cosplay throughout downtown Omaha.

Live the adventure called fandom – have fun!

A Book Event Saturday

Before I get into a discussion about Star Wars Celebration V I need to let you know about an event at the Oakview Barnes & Noble this Saturday, August 21, 2010. Dorling Kindersley Publishing is holding a national launch event for STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS CHARACTER ENCYCLOPEDIA & STAR WARS: YEAR BY YEAR. The Barnes & Noble at 3333 Oakview Drive in Omaha and the South Pointe Pavilions Barnes & Noble at 2910 Pine Lake Road in Lincoln will be participating in this event from 2-4 PM this Saturday. According to their publicity (that I got at Celebration V) there will be costumed characters of the 501^st Legion and the Rebel Legion appearing. Giveaways including a Star Wars mimobot designer USB flash drive and other great prizes. Talking to a store representative I learned there will also be other activities going on and they are encouraging people to come in costume. This should be a chance for the Omaha and Lincoln SF fan community to come out and meet each other, even if you don't buy their books.