Lunacon report
Mar. 21st, 2012 10:57 pmI actually enjoyed Lunacon more than I had anticipated I would. Probably because I had already figured it was going to be a small con, so I wasn't expecting a slew of parties and familiar faces (although I certainly did see some).
R. and I took the Amtrak train from Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC. We then took one subway line one stop uptown to Times Square, then got on a special subway shuttle that apparently goes back and forth just between Times Square and Grand Central Station, nowhere else. I don't ever recall being inside Grand Central Station before, so I took a few minutes to gape in awe at the ceiling and chandeliers before we got on a Metro North commuter train to Port Chester, N.Y. Bill got into town about the same time we did, so he picked us up in his minivan and got us to the hotel.
The Escher Hilton, as it is frequently nicknamed, is undergoing renovation from the dated-looking "country Early American" style to the "modern retro with dark wood and light avocado" look. At least this time around the renovation work didn't interfere with our use of the indoor space.
I took things easy -- went to a few Saturday panels, bought some beads from Fabric Dragon, and saw the art show -- Carol S. is transitioning her jewelry-making style from Native American to steampunk. R. had his usual up-and-down moods. Sometimes I think he would be happier if the con consisted of no one else but the handful of people he is already friends with. Both nights, he begged out of the parties early and I eventually found him stretched out on the bed in his room, still with his clothes on, as if he meant to get up and go out again or something.
The open parties were extremely lightly attended, but it wasn't difficult to figure out that you didn't really need an invitation to go to the "NYC science high schools alumni party," which had plenty of high-test booze. Yep, that's where the people were really hanging out. I actually met a guy called "Eric in the Elevator" who knows![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
didjiman from Baycon. Cool.
cz_unit wrote quite a bit about the Lunacon party scene. Some other interesting posts I found through Google Blog Search:
http://mrburkemath.blogspot.com/2012/03/lunacon-2012-report.html
http://kathwp.malibulist.com/index.php/2012/03/19/my-rather-busy-weekend/
http://kradical.livejournal.com/2512851.html
Lunacon was permeated with warnings that this might be the last Lunacon if people don't cough up some more cash and volunteer help. From the con's home page:
As you may have noticed, membership in Lunacon has been shrinking over the last few years; last year membership was down by approximately 200 paying members. Unfortunately, Lunacon’s bills have not been shrinking as much as our membership, and we are in need of an infusion of cash. In order to help make up the shortfall, we are having a charity auction for the benefit of Lunacon. Items will be on display in the art show, bidding will use the same rules as the art show. If you would like to donate anything to the charity auction, please bring it to the art show and see Andrea.
Cash donations will also be accepted. Every donation of $5.00 or more will receive a special “Friend of Lunacon” ribbon.
And there was a long spiel about needing volunteers on the back of each Lunacon badge. I won't retype it into this entry because it's getting late.
I suspect that the membership was not as far down as last year (when I didn't attend, either) and I read that the masquerade was actually bigger than last year's (15 entries, as opposed to 6 -- still pretty low, but not QUITE as pathetic). The essay on the back of the con badge said that volunteers are REALLY needed for pre-convention tasks that can be done over the Internet. I felt a bit of a pull, but in the cold light of reality, I don't know what my situation is going to be like by this time next year -- whether I'll be working, whether I will have money and/or time to travel, etc. The last thing I need is to promise something that I can't deliver on.
R. and I took the Amtrak train from Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC. We then took one subway line one stop uptown to Times Square, then got on a special subway shuttle that apparently goes back and forth just between Times Square and Grand Central Station, nowhere else. I don't ever recall being inside Grand Central Station before, so I took a few minutes to gape in awe at the ceiling and chandeliers before we got on a Metro North commuter train to Port Chester, N.Y. Bill got into town about the same time we did, so he picked us up in his minivan and got us to the hotel.
The Escher Hilton, as it is frequently nicknamed, is undergoing renovation from the dated-looking "country Early American" style to the "modern retro with dark wood and light avocado" look. At least this time around the renovation work didn't interfere with our use of the indoor space.
I took things easy -- went to a few Saturday panels, bought some beads from Fabric Dragon, and saw the art show -- Carol S. is transitioning her jewelry-making style from Native American to steampunk. R. had his usual up-and-down moods. Sometimes I think he would be happier if the con consisted of no one else but the handful of people he is already friends with. Both nights, he begged out of the parties early and I eventually found him stretched out on the bed in his room, still with his clothes on, as if he meant to get up and go out again or something.
The open parties were extremely lightly attended, but it wasn't difficult to figure out that you didn't really need an invitation to go to the "NYC science high schools alumni party," which had plenty of high-test booze. Yep, that's where the people were really hanging out. I actually met a guy called "Eric in the Elevator" who knows
didjiman from Baycon. Cool.cz_unit wrote quite a bit about the Lunacon party scene. Some other interesting posts I found through Google Blog Search:http://mrburkemath.blogspot.com/2012/03/lunacon-2012-report.html
http://kathwp.malibulist.com/index.php/2012/03/19/my-rather-busy-weekend/
http://kradical.livejournal.com/2512851.html
Lunacon was permeated with warnings that this might be the last Lunacon if people don't cough up some more cash and volunteer help. From the con's home page:
As you may have noticed, membership in Lunacon has been shrinking over the last few years; last year membership was down by approximately 200 paying members. Unfortunately, Lunacon’s bills have not been shrinking as much as our membership, and we are in need of an infusion of cash. In order to help make up the shortfall, we are having a charity auction for the benefit of Lunacon. Items will be on display in the art show, bidding will use the same rules as the art show. If you would like to donate anything to the charity auction, please bring it to the art show and see Andrea.
Cash donations will also be accepted. Every donation of $5.00 or more will receive a special “Friend of Lunacon” ribbon.
And there was a long spiel about needing volunteers on the back of each Lunacon badge. I won't retype it into this entry because it's getting late.
I suspect that the membership was not as far down as last year (when I didn't attend, either) and I read that the masquerade was actually bigger than last year's (15 entries, as opposed to 6 -- still pretty low, but not QUITE as pathetic). The essay on the back of the con badge said that volunteers are REALLY needed for pre-convention tasks that can be done over the Internet. I felt a bit of a pull, but in the cold light of reality, I don't know what my situation is going to be like by this time next year -- whether I'll be working, whether I will have money and/or time to travel, etc. The last thing I need is to promise something that I can't deliver on.
