Concussion Chat

JETS reminder

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 13:47:18 GMT

Apologies to those of you who'll probably see this a dozen times in the next half hour or so.... If you can think of somewhere that it should be mentioned and isn't, please the word along!

This is just a reminder that nominations for JETS, the Japan Expeditionary Travel Scholarship, close on Monday 13 November at midnight.

For more information, please see the LFF website: http://astralpole.org/display.php?id=12

Japanese Expeditionary Travel Scholarship (JETS)

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:48:24 GMT

Nominations are now open for a one-off race to attend the 2007 Worldcon in Japan.

The Japanese Expeditionary Travel Scholarship (JETS) is a special fund created for the purpose of assisting a European science fiction fan, elected by popular vote of other European fans, to travel to and attend Nippon 2007, the 65th World Science Fiction Convention which will be held on 30 August to 3 September 2007 in Yokohama.

It will be funded by a grant of £1,000 from Interaction, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention, and by the fees paid by those fans who choose to vote.

The nomination and voting process will be administered for Interaction by the League of Fan Funds. This is a one-off race and there will be no ongoing administration required by the winning candidate after the trip.
However, there is an expectation that the winner will produce some form of report about their trip -- not least to inform and/or entertain those voters who weren't able to make the trip themselves -- within a year.

To become a candidate for this race you must provide:

* nominations from four other individuals who would be eligible to vote as described below (nominators should send a signed nomination by post OR, if sending their nomination by email, include a phone number for verification);

* a written platform of up to 100 words which will be printed on the ballot form (which could include your proposal about the way in which you will report back on your trip);

* a £20 bond and a pledge that you will take the trip if you win. (Send via post or hand to an administrator in person; make cheques payable to 'League of Fan Funds'.)

All nominations, platforms, pledges, and bonds must reach the League of Fan Funds at the address below by midnight (GMT) on Monday 13 November 2006. So long as at least two prospective candidates have satisfied these requirements by that date, distribution of ballots in both electronic and paper form will begin as soon as possible thereafter.

Voting will be open to any science fiction fan based in Europe who was active in fandom before 2005 and/or who was a member of Interaction, and who contributes at least £3 or 5 euros to the fund alongside their vote. (Larger donations will be gratefully accepted.) Voting will be similar to other fan travel funds in that it will be by secret (but signed) ballot with only one vote counted per person. The winner will be selected through a preferential ballot system, and will be the candidate who obtains an overall majority of the votes cast under this system.

The deadline for voting will be Friday 13 April 2007; a result and voting breakdown will be announced as soon as possible after this date.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the League of Fan Funds. If you are considering standing, it would be very helpful if you would alert the administrators as soon as possible.

League of Fan Funds c/o 59 Shirley Road, Croydon, Surrey CR0 7ES, UK
jets2007//at//googlemail//dot//com
http://www.astralpole.org

Variously crossposted: sorry to those who will see this several times; we don't want to miss anyone.

Orbital LJ

Thu, 04 May 2006 23:09:13 GMT

Just a note to let people on here know that Orbital has an LJ community at orbital_2008

Wobblevision at Concussion

Mon, 01 May 2006 15:33:33 GMT

From a recent trip north of the border, the radioactive atmosphere of Cephlon was captured with unbelievable accuracy and we even had a real rocket (well a knitted one anyway) for an Eastercon production of a Blake's 7 Wobblevision portrayal of Deliverance:

Deliverance Wobblevision

Concussion pictures

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 13:20:26 GMT

It has taken me a while, but I have at last got my picture from Concussion up:

Concussion pictures

Credit card payments

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 13:41:52 GMT

Important Information for fans who stayed at the Crowne Plaza

We have had a report from the hotel that there is a problem with Mastercard's chip and pin response. This ONLY affects people who paid their hotel bill by Mastercard.

There is an occasional problem where, on checkout, a credit card transaction initially appears to be rejected. After repeated attempts it goes through, but the user's credit card statement shows all transactions have gone through.

The Crowne Plaza are very apologetic and say that they will refund the additional payments immediately, but did say that they wouldn't necessarily notice if they had been overpaid and that they needed people to contact them and tell them.

It is an occasional problem they have been having since Chip & PIN came in. The hotel receives credit card payments as a monthly remittance, so they cannot trace payees for immediate refunds.

This issue ONLY affects Mastercards. If you find you have been affected by it (by checking your credit card statements on-line now or when they arrive by post), please phone the Crowne Plaza on 0870 443 1693 and ask for the Accounts department who will be happy to refund your excess payment.

We apologise for any inconvenience, and will be contacting members directly over the next few days.

Lost Property

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 12:26:23 GMT

You want some? I've got some. I'm trying to trace owners where known, but some items lack identifying features. Ask me at: concussion at bugshaw dot cix.co.uk

It includes a few pieces of a 3D jigsaw - anyone know whose this was?

Plea for pictures

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 07:25:51 GMT

If anybody took any pictures or video of the Beyond Cyberdrome main event, we would love to see them. We also want to select a few to put on our website (it will be getting redesigned soon), so let us know if it's OK for us to do so.

More Concussion reportage

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 12:56:58 GMT

Here are my Concussion reports:

Wednesday: Rampaging Roger finished, packing, things to do differently when I'm preparing next year.
Thursday: Wifi, the drive up, setting up the BC workshop, meeting new people, my bedroom, and the weather.
Friday: The first day of the BC workshop, drive couplings, and Tales From the Green Room.
Saturday: The shower, more on the workshop, the dealer's room, Doctor Who, It's not Easy Being Green, and the TAFF party.
Sunday: Yet more on the workshop, the bid session, the Beyond Cyberdrome event itself, eating out, and the masquerade.
Monday/Tuesday: Choosing next year's BC theme, the gripe session, Mat Irvine's talk, Captain Tartan Saves the World Again, the closing ceremony, loading the car, fish and chips, mad Glaswegians, the Dead Dog party, and the trip back.
Conclusion: Thanks, post con hangover, volunteering.
Beyond Cyberdrome debriefing: Beyond Cyberdrome preparations, workshop, event, lessons learned, and plans for next year.

Thank you!

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 11:13:18 GMT

Just wanted to say "Thank you for a very enjoyable con indeed!" to the committee and all others who worked to make it happen. (I may or may not write a con report for my blog later, but working on the assumption that it won't happen, it's better to say something even if it's not much, than nothing at all.)

Thank you for a very enjoyable con indeed!

-Linnéa A.

Dealer Room

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 16:33:12 GMT

I only have one little gripe with Eastercon this year, and that concerned the dealer room. I don't know about others but being grabbed by an author telling you how he is up and coming and going to be the next big thing and giving the hard sell on his works the instant you've got your foot in the door is a huge turn off. If you are going to have people self promoting for future events please put them somewhere where they can grab people who are showing an interest not just everyone. In fact said author is the reason I ended up giving the dealer room a very wide berth.

It's on the way, honest !!!

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:04:06 GMT

I chaired the Eastercon Forum this year, in place of Dave Lally. The subject was "Expectations". The Forum was well attended, with many past, present and future conrunners in attendance. As a result the discussion was wide-ranging and a bit smoffy, but very interesting and practical. I am writing up my notes and will post a series of discussion ideas and statements in the next few days.

There was also a programme item about Fandom - A Safe Space, which discussed some problems which are unfortunately more common than we would like to think, especially for women. I am getting some formal feedback from representatives about these, and we can look at practical ways to improve our behaviour. Again, I'll post these here.

If anyone has similar feedback, please post it !!!

There are 2 communities which exist to discuss these sorts of things year on year, not tied to any particular con. I've posted this to them. Please join them if you would like to take part in practical discussions about hotels, locations, and other philosophical and practical aspects of Eastercon. They are an Eastercon Yahoo Group, and the LJ Community </a>eastercon

Flash Fiction Workshop

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 20:13:56 GMT

I'm delighted to say that the flash fiction workshop will be continuing on-line, at concussed_fic. Anyone who attended the first session and did not leave us their e-mail address should e-mail ladymoonray at yahoo dot com if they'd like to join in.

Once more, a big thank you to everyone who sacrificed their precious sleep to join the workshop, which was a lot of fun to organise and participate in.

Kate

Eastercon Demographics ?

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 15:20:48 GMT

I'm curious now - where did the various Eastercon attendees come from ? In particular, a breakdown by country would be nice, but also a breakdown within the UK to show, e.g. Glasgow vs rest-of-Scotland, London vs rest-of-England, and so on. Anyone got access to this sort of information ?

(for bonus marks, point me to similar data for previous Eastercons !)

TV People

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 11:02:07 GMT

I think this was the group who were filming the Masquerade and other stuff.

http://www.gust.tv/

Dose anyone know if we can get to see the video they took of the masquerade in full?

I noticed they had a video podcast on there site:
http://www.gust.tv/rss/latestvids.php

I have added it as a syndication account in the hope the program they make about us will appear there.
gusttv

Getting there

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:55:05 GMT

I'm sure I'm being stupid here, but I cannot find my way to the answer.

What's the best way to get from Glasgow station to the City Inn hotel, where I'm staying. There appears to be a nearby train station, but national rial refuses to admit that it exists,

Do I catch a train, get the bus, or go by taxi?

Bon Voyage

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 06:19:58 GMT

I'd just like to wish everyone involved with Concussion, a very successful convention!

Pre-Eastercon Glasgow Fan Meeting — reminder & update

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 23:12:11 GMT

As previously posted, the Glasgow SF fan gathering, the Resurgence of Trout, will meet on Thursday from 7pm in the Ingram Bar, Queen Street. The GSFWC will also be having a reading session (Word Dogs) in the Ingram from 8pm. Such is the layout of the Ingram Bar, both can go ahead simultaneously. However, owing to an unexpected wee structural change in the bar, the placement of Trout and Word Dogs will be switched, i.e. Word Dogs will now have the area at the rear and to the left, Trout will be to the right (in the usual Trout area). Otherwise, all details are the same as in this post (which also has a link to a map).

Anyone in town for Eastercon is very welcome to join us at either or both of these events on Thursday. What could be a better way to get into the mood for the con?

Nearest Subway station: Buchanan Street
Nearest railway stations: Glasgow Central and Queen Street are both within five minutes’ walk.
Buses: any bus going to George Square or Ingram Street (the Ingram is in Queen Street immediately south of George Square and just north of Ingram Street).

Note that the Ingram Bar has nothing to do with what used to be the Ingram Hotel (at one time a con venue), it is not in the same place!

Parking

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:11:04 GMT

Can anyone tell me what I need to know about parking at the con hotel? I'm driving up so that I can deliver some kit for the newsletter, but am in the overflow hotel. Do I just drive in and sort it out when I get there?

I'm sorry if this is in my (lost) PR.

Chaos costuming

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 11:27:50 GMT

Can anyone from the current Eastercon committee shed any light on what seems to have gone wrong with arrangements for Chaos Costuming this year? Two problems have been mentioned:

(1) Chaos Costuming were apparently originally promised a room of their own. I hear that they have only just been told that they will instead have to share with Cyberdome. It seems to be felt that the two workshops do not mix well, nor can they easily 'time share' (clearing up between).

(2) Chaos Costuming were apparently promised that the Eastercon committee would arrange to transport their materials back to London from Glasgow afterward. I hear that they have just been told that no arrangements have been made. A third party has apparently gone out of his way to personally sort this problem out at considerable inconvenience.

Tanith Lee not now able to attend

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 10:51:00 GMT

We regret to announce that unfortunately Tanith Lee will be unable to attend Concussion as she is not very well at the moment. She sends her apologies to anyone who was looking forward to seeing her on programme.

We send her our best wishes and our hopes for a speedy recovery.

Simon Bradshaw
Concussion

Internet access

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 10:40:25 GMT

Can anyone tell me whether or not there will be any internet access available at the convention?
Thanks.

Programme Updates

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:38:30 GMT

I've posted some updates to the programme schedule, including lists of the readings and Kaffeklatsches.

Mass Signing Session

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 09:09:45 GMT

We will be holding a mass signing session from 8 to 9.30 pm on Friday in Argyll 2 and currently plan to have the following authors in attendance:

Dan Abnett, Paul Barnett (aka John Grant), Stephen Baxter, Chaz Brenchley, Paul Cornell, Jack Deighton, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Elizabeth Hand, Amanda Hemingway, Ken MacLeod, Deborah Miller, Justina Robson, Mark Robson, Johanna Sinisalo, Charlie Stross and Freda Warrington.

Redemption brainstorming

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:56:47 GMT

If you want to help us plan the programme for next year's Redemption, then come along to an open brainstorming meeting will be having from 2 till 3pm on the Saturday at Concussion in the Orkney Room. The goal will be to come up with a range of panel and workshop ideas, and everyone is welcome.