Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States, which ought to mean we Americans are at the height of the annual Gratitude Season. We’re supposed to be thinking about all the ways we’ve been blessed in the past year. All the things and people and experiences we’ve enjoyed. But do we? Some of us undoubtedly do. I know this, because I’m one of that “some of us.” But I also think it’s likely a lot of us don’t. Many people scorn…
It’s time for an Archon Overview. Time to look back from a bit more than a week’s distance and share my thoughts about this year’s event. This was the penultimate convention for my four-con “season,” but for today’s post I want to focus just on Archon 46. This concom (convention committee) gets a lot of things right. They have a long, solid history of good art shows, now ably helmed by Anna Mulch, and a dynamic programming team. This year…
By Jan S. Gephardt I promised a SoonerCon 31 summary, and I mean to deliver in today’s post. But this overview won’t be our last glimpse of SoonerCon. I love this convention, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s event. However – as at every convention – this one provided some “learning takes.” Our dealers table experiment continues, although after SoonerCon 31 the effort is looking ever more dubious as a genuinely money-making proposition. We had another unfortunate entomological…
By Jan S. Gephardt In my last post I painted a rather dreary picture of ConQuesT 54 – but the challenges aren’t the whole story. Far from it. So in this post I’ll borrow a phrase from William Goldman, and label today’s account as the “Good Parts Version” of ConQuesT 54. What was One “Good Part”? The Art Show! One essential element of the ConQuesT 54 Good Parts Version is the Art Show! The amazing Mikah McCullough and his Dream…
By Jan S. Gephardt It’s called “Housing First,” and it’s a well-tested, successful, and cost-effective approach to the growing problem of unhoused people. It’s also humane and supportive – which may be why a lot of people have never heard of it. For a certain school of policy-making thought, I guess it just doesn’t punish poor people enough? Whether you call them “homeless,” “persons experiencing homelessness,” or “unhoused persons” probably matters little in practical reality, although some would disagree. Poor…
By Jan S. Gephardt “Not in my neighborhood!” I’m sure you’ve heard this characteristic cry of property owners almost everywhere. It’s a near-universal protective reflex when anything new or even potentially threatening appears on the horizon. And there are times when it’s thoroughly justifiable. After all, the vast majority of us are persons of limited means. If we don’t protect and steward the value of things we own, who will? If our property value goes down too much, our home…
By Jan S. Gephardt Valentines and love are pretty inextricably bound together in our contemporary culture. But that connection wasn’t always understood in the same way. This post is part of a series of looks at holidays that have periodically appeared on my blog, “Artdog Adventures” and “The Weird Blog.” It will go live the day after Valentine’s Day, so it seems like a good time to consider the holiday. Contemporary practices bear little relation to the third-century saint recognized…
By Jan S. Gephardt Here in the United States, we recently celebrated Thanksgiving. As I noted in my last post, it’s supposed to be a time to reflect upon the blessings in our lives and be grateful. My purpose today is to make the point that gratitude isn’t only for one day a year. It’s better understood as a lifestyle. It’s my lived experience that when one looks at the world with gratefulness, it’s easier to see the blessings that…
By Jan S. Gephardt I almost didn’t post anything this week. Life events (my daughter’s health crisis and my father’s recent death) have just about sandbagged me. But, with a little encouragement from my Weird Sister (who’s also had her cataclysms this year), I concluded I did need to say something this week. Because things in my beloved country are rapidly running toward a collision point. And because in this season of advance voting, we get one more chance. Anyone…
By Jan S. Gephardt I’m a little over a week back from my last in-person science fiction convention. It truly was an Archon to enjoy. Archon 45 offered at least a little bit of everything I’ve come to love about sf “cons.” This was, of course, far from my only Archon – and if you follow my blog, you know I’ve written about it in the past. You might enjoy some of my past posts about the Art, the Artists,…