Walk Softly and Carry a Big Schtick

Photos online:
Anime Vegas 8 part 1: Friday (11-Nov-2011)
Anime Vegas 8 part 2: Saturday Afternoon (12-Nov-2011) et seq.
Anime Vegas 8 part 10: Sunday (13-Nov-2011) et seq.

A week from tonight, during Loscon: Friday, after the Ice Cream Social, in room 1726, we have the "New Orleans in 2018" party. Which means that I'll get to have some jambalaya, or red beans and rice, or both. Wonder if I can get some Abita Beer here...

And a week from tomorrow, Saturday, after the Masquerade, at room 1728: "Pendergast Cafe" in support of Kansas City in 2016. This is the Speakeasy party, the password is Goats. I have my suspenders (thank you missmea!), Rebecca is making me a vest and bow tie. I need to see if they still have the fedoras at Target. The party will have lots of drinks in teacups, mostly drinks that will be called some sort of tea or lemonade (regardless of whether they are actually made from tea or lemonade). Also lots of food on sticks.

Photos online:
Halloween Costumes (31-Oct-2009)
Old storage, part 14: Cleaning out shelves, treasures, fabric (Nov-2009)
Pacific Media Expo 2009 (06-09-Nov-2009)
LASFS/Aftermeetings part 375: Coral Cafe (13-Nov-2009)
LASFS/Aftermeetings part 376: Coral Cafe (19/20-Nov-2009)
Costume College 2010: Committee Meeting (15-Nov-2009)
Dinner with Maria (18-Nov-2009)
Loscon 36 (26-29-Nov-2009)

Photos now online: Cosplay Picnic at Pearson Park (04-Apr-2009)

Saturday morning, after I dropped off Sarah, I headed over to the park. squiptryx0 was organizing a cosplay picnic to tell fans about loscon. (right)

( I had received the replacement frame for our 10'x10' canopy... )

I brought Animé Los Angeles postcards, Kurt Miller brought califur postcards, and of course Marcia Minsky (left) had supplied some LosCon postcards.

( Tony Benoun and Sherri were there, not surprising considering they live nearby and Sherri's co-chair for the 2010 LosCon. Several other LosCon usual suspects were there... )

( The shelter had a big worktop with two working sinks... )

( There were a bunch of people that weren't LosCon regulars... )

Generally, the larger the group, the longer the natural length of the party. (Also, the more things there are to do, the longer the picnic will run. These go together, as larger groups are more likely to invent additional things to do.) Most of the newcomers drifted home by about quarter after four, and we started packing up.

Martin had sent notices to about twenty local high schools, and two people came from Cypress High School who had heard about it from their teacher. Unfortunately, the message got garbled somewhere along the way and they thought it started at 4 o'clock! They came by a little before five, and we were all disappointed that they'd missed it and we were loading the cars. We gave them strawberries and cups of pink lemonade, and suggested they join us in three weeks in Oceanside. (right)

Next: A milestone birthday party in Redondo Beach.

Oh, by the way, photos now online:
Buddy Todd Park, Oceanside (Feb/Mar-2009)
ConDor: Friday Evening (27-Feb-2009) et seq.
Photo of caprine is from Condor, natch.

ConDor Report part 2: Party time and scouting a park. (See also: part 1.)

Why go to a convention and throw a party? One could ask the opposite question, sort of: why would I go to a convention and not do something?

Some people near and dear to me go to conventions and dress up in costumes, or go to all the program items, or spend a great deal of time shopping. Me, my focus is generally either hosting a party or sitting at a table (or both).

I wanted to host a "Confirmation" party. ala_mokita was on board with the idea. (For those who just got here: The Westercon in 2010 will be in Pasadena, and has a name of "Confirmation." Christian's the chair.) I think the theme idea has possibilities - "Come to a Confirmation Party. Shirt and tie, poofy dresses, school uniforms, or come as you are" - but we need to have at least two or three people, preferably more, following the "dress code" for the party, or it's just a goofy guy inexplicably wearing a tie. But there definitely should be flyers for the party with some kind of art explaining the joke. While the chair's named Christian, and the convention's called Confirmation, it's not actually a Christian fandom convention...

And Christian was going to be at Potlatch. selinawoman wasn't coming, library_lynn was working, nitroace had rehearsals. Melissa and summoner_lenne9 couldn't get away -- it was only going to be me. My folks weren't even going to be there. And I didn't have any art for a party sign.

So, I decided I'd host a party, just to have one. A "Chaz party." Last year I celebrated Hazel's Picture Gallery's 10th (11th) birthday party at ConDor, and my room was already booked for the party block. I'd expected to have some kind of party in my room regardless.

( What to serve? Well, a certain portion of my menu tends to be the same every time... )

( Saturday afternoon I went back to my room and started on the cupcakes... )

( Snacks I served at the party: Little lemon cupcakes... )

( I brought one set of cubbies along. I opened the party at eight... )

( I have a large variety of small stickers in my party kit, and thought the ''junk food'' ones would be appropriate. By the end of the night I'd used 79 stickers... )

( The Loscon party was right next door... )

baycon

Sunday I decided it would make more sense to hit the road before I was too tired, rather than wait a few hours and be absolutely exhausted. As it was, I needed a short nap by Carlsbad.

Then I pushed on to check out ( Buddy Todd Park in Oceanside... )

Next: A week in Indianapolis. Chaz sleeps in five different beds over a seven-day period...

Gallifrey One report part 3: Saturday. (See also part 1, part 2, and part 4.)

On Saturday, missmea dressed as "Captain Jack Harkness," so she could flirt with anything that moved. (I don't know if she ended up flirting with the Dalek.)

Catherine the Great had given me a welcome-gift when we checked in: bottle of red wine, fruit and cheese plate. It wasn't my convention, so I wasn't prepared for a round of gift-exchanging, but I did give her a tangerine for each day.

( Saturday afternoon I had a meeting scheduled... )

( Then Christian and I wandered down to the Strategicon: Orccon gaming convention... )

( Christian wanted to look at the function space in the Sheraton Gateway... )

On the way back, we learned that the gang was getting ready to have dinner. Christian and I met them at the hotel, we got the cars out of the parking lot and drove/walked to dinner and we all drove back, or home in Christian's case.

( Meanwhile, at the hotel, people were lining up for the Masquerade... )

After the Masquerade Halftime and the Awards, Toby Hadoke did his one-man show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf. Paul Cornell (left) and Toby had both complimented me earlier on the work I'd done on the postcards. Toby quipped that he finally got an "and" credit. "... and TOBY HADOKE performing his play MOTHS ATE MY DOCTOR WHO SCARF" was how I'd ended the list of guests on the postcards.

I'd been trying to reach fangrrl_squees all weekend. She looked fried Friday night, and frantic Saturday evening. She was helping with the Masquerade, and making things happen -- she'll be running the Masquerade next year. By the time the Masquerade was over for the night and she'd had some time to decompress, she was back to her chipper self. (right)

( One wacky thing that happened Saturday night was a group of fans running around and into/out of the Pass-Through Tardis... )

That evening, Maria was wearing a slinky red dress as "Lucy Saxon." Complete with subtle black eye makeup -- some people didn't notice, some people saw it and immediately were ready to beat up whoever she'd already put in the hospital. No, no, it goes with the character. It's rare for the character to smile, but you'll notice she's holding a surprise for her husband. When Maria walked by late that night, I heard Dan Sandifer mention that red was now his favorite color... (right)

Next: Late night, Sunday and home.

My Animé Los Angeles report, part 6: Sunday. (See also part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, and part 7.)

( Fred Ladd had originally been one of my picks for a Guest of Honor to tie in with Old School Day... )

( Sunday also marked the debut of our ''Your Next Convention'' mini program track... )

animelosangeles

( Sunday afternoon was the ''Walking Free'' Fashion Show... )

( Our Editor Guest of Honor, Zac Bertschy, was only able to attend on Sunday... )

Feedback/Gripe Session, in the timeslot before Closing Ceremonies, was relatively painless. Suggestions included positioning signs so from the foyer you can look down the hall and see where the doors to Artists' Alley, Dealers, LP1, LP2, and so forth are. It was pointed out that the hotel has removed the signs hanging from the ceiling that used to say Salon A and Suite 1 etc, so it's even harder to find things. Another suggestion was to add a map of the facility to the BADGE ZONE signs, with a YOU ARE HERE dot. Many compliments, lots of people liked the costume-eating escalator sign and the big posters we had everywhere (mostly of Kevin Lillard's photos). We should have announced at Gripe to go get your poster now -- many were torn down once Closing started. (I may owe people a few reprints.) Suggestion for next year: post photos from the past five Animé Los Angeleses (Animé Los Angeli?). As well as Jessica's art.

Next: After it's all over