Below are the 8 most recent journal entries recorded in Potlatch - A Wandering West Coast SF Con's LiveJournal:

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
9:02 am [calimac]	books of honor OK, I'll talk about it. Potlatch 18 has announced its Books of Honor. Yes, books, plural. Both Always Coming Home and Growing Up Weightless came up in conversation among the committee, floating together above other possible choices, but dang if we could come to a definitive choice between them. So we thought, there's room for more than one panel focused on a specific book, so why not choose both? Always Coming Home has come up as a possible choice before. It has a strongly-imagined Northern California setting, it is (in my opinion, anyway) the masterwork by SF's greatest author, and it's a good discussion topic because it's surprisingly controversial. *Is it a utopia? Are the Kesh too sweetness-and-light to be true? *Is it even a novel? Norman Spinrad once described it as an underweight novella surrounded by the equivalent of the Dune Encyclopedia; is he right? I say no to both criticisms, and am ready to defend it on all counts. And I'd better stop here or I'll go on all day. Growing Up Weightless came up in the intersection of two conversations. Though we don't want Potlatch BoH-hood to become the Required Memorial Panel for Recently Dead Authors, we couldn't help thinking of John M. Ford and his bristlingly intelligent work. The other conversation was back when we were apportioning committee jobs. We were chatting about what kind of panels we'd have if Alice were in charge of programming, and a couple of us found a serious side to this. Why not talk about children's and Young Adult SF? There's good work in that area that doesn't get discussed, and Growing Up Weightless is a masterpiece of recent decades' work. Someone suggested a smackdown (a la Wiscon's Narnia vs. Philip Pullman): Ford vs. Robert A. Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy. And that's our choices. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
4:59 pm [calimac]	Potlatch hotel report [crossposted from my own LJ at the suggestion of voidampersand] spacecrab, who is our webmaster, announced it on Sunday, but I'll put it here with a direct link: We have a Potlatch hotel. This is what I've been working on for the past few months that I haven't been writing about here. And I'll go on about it ( behind the cut. ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 26th, 2008
4:41 pm [apostle_of_eris]	Ursula K. LeGuin on NPR Just heard her interviewed about her new historical novel. ("Audio for this story will be available at approx. 7:00 p.m. ET") Novel Gives Roman Maiden Her Moment in the Sun In Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid, the maiden Lavinia marries a Trojan hero but barely gets to utter a word. Science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin picks up where the classic poet left off in her historical novel Lavinia. Le Guin recreates the life and times of a forgotten heroine. cross-posted to Wiscon (Comment on this)
Saturday, February 16th, 2008
1:14 am [dsmoen]	Anyone Going to Potlatch... ...who doesn't already have their membership? I've got one, and due to a snafu, I won't be able to go. For those who don't know about the convention, it's moveable, in Seattle this year, and is from Feb 29 to March 2. I also have a hotel room I'll be releasing on Tuesday if no one needs it. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, January 27th, 2008
5:55 pm [kate_schaefer]	Potlatch 17 hotel redux If you plan to attend Potlatch 17 and you still haven't made your hotel reservations, you have a little bit of a grace period, but it will expire very soon, on January 29. The hotel is very close to full on Friday night, with somewhat more room on Saturday and Sunday nights. If you are unable to get a reservation at the convention rate either through the web site or by calling the hotel directly, please send email to Suzle (hotel @ potlatch-sf . org) or me (chair @ potlatch-sf . org) (un-munge the addresses, naturally). (Potlatch 17, February 29 through March 2, 2008, Hotel Deca, 4507 Brooklyn Avenue NE, Seattle, Washington; more Potlatch info here.) If you have questions about any other aspect of Potlatch, sling 'em my way. Thanks! (Comment on this)
Monday, January 14th, 2008
4:25 pm [kate_schaefer]	Potlatch 17 Hotel News If you plan to attend Potlatch 17 and you have not yet made your hotel reservations, please do so right away. The hotel is very close to full on Friday night, with somewhat more room on Saturday and Sunday nights. Here are directions on making your reservation. We've been saying that you might encounter difficulty in making your reservation; let me say that although I love our hotel, I'd be surprised if you didn't encounter difficulty in making your reservation, so be prepared to be patient in getting through. If you are unable to get a reservation at the convention rate either through the web site or by calling the hotel directly, please send email to Suzle (hotel @ potlatch-sf . org) or me (chair @ potlatch-sf . org) (yes, I've munged the addresses; I know you can un-munge them). We want to see you at Potlatch 17, and we want you to have places to sleep. Suzle is working on an overflow hotel within walking distance, about 4 or 5 blocks away. We haven't needed an overflow hotel for a Seattle Potlatch before. (Potlatch 17, February 29 through March 2, 2008, Hotel Deca, 4507 Brooklyn Avenue NE, Seattle, Washington; more Potlatch info here.) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006
11:27 pm [jackwilliambell]	I'm bummed I've been working on a surprise for the Potlatch hospitality suite for the last week, but it is looking like I won't be able to get it finished in time. There are lots of reasons for this: I've been working extra hours at my day job and haven't had enough time in the evenings. I should have started it two weeks ago instead of one. And so on... None of that is an excuse though. This is something that I've wanted to do since the last time Potlatch was in Seattle, and it really burns me up that I can't deliver. I even thought about trying to finish it at the con (I'm sure lots of people would be interested in the process), but what I am doing will create a small amount of fumes and smells and I know a lot of Potlatch members who have multiple allergies. Besides the fact screwing with it at the con will mean missing other things I would rather be doing. So, I'm bummed... It is really cool too! You should be bummed as well. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 21st, 2006
4:32 pm [whumpdotcom]	Mashiko! Mashiko! A trip to Seattle must include dinner at Mashiko. Let me know if you wanna go either Friday or Saturday. If it's Friday, I want to get back in time for holyoutlaw and juliebata's engagement party. (4 Comments |Comment on this)