Browsed by
Tag: Tyrell Gephardt

This screen-capture from the SoonerCon 32 Facebook page shows a square design with a variegated blue, orange and purple background. At right is a green banner that says, “SCHEDULE IS NOW LIVE! SoonerCon 32 June 21-23, 2024, Norman, OK.” At left what looks like a Renaissance Festival poster shows a multi-storied half-timber building with flags flying, flowers in window boxes, and the SoonerCon logo on the front, above a banner that says, “Welcome New Members!” In the foreground stands the convention’s raccoon mascot, in a Robin Hood outfit with green doublet and hat. At far left a banner shares a QR code, under which the words say, “Full schedule online at soonercon.com/schedule.” At the bottom center of the image another banner shares social media handles for Facebook: /SoonerconOK, X: @Soonercon, Instagram @Soonercon, and TickTock: @Soonercon. Under that it says, “#Soonercon32.”
SoonerCon 32 Discovers that Change is Hard

SoonerCon 32 Discovers that Change is Hard

No two ways about it: change is hard. It’s inevitable, but that doesn’t make it any easier to manage. And when innovation butts heads with tradition, change is really hard. SoonerCon 32 offers a sometimes-painful, sometimes-cautiously hopeful, case in point. I remember decades ago when my husband and I witnessed another painful transition. We were assistant directors of a summer camp unit that had seen a complete change of staff from one summer to the next. The camp organization was…

Read More Read More

This design centers on a photo of a person on a gray couch with their back to us. They are all wrapped up in a throw blanket, wearing a maroon-colored hoodie. The quote says, “I hate to waste sick days actually being sick.” (unattributed). Photo courtesy of the Irish Independent.
Taking a Sick Day

Taking a Sick Day

By Jan S. Gephardt Americans give a hard side-eye to any talk of taking a sick day. The Pandemic has taught us a few chastening lessons recently, it’s true. Perhaps in today’s contagion-conscious workplaces, taking a sick day is less “suspect” than it has been in the past. But I’m dubious that will last. This is the country of rugged individuals, at least in our imaginations. We’re tough, we tell ourselves. We plead with the coach to “put me back…

Read More Read More

the logo for Archon science fiction convention
Because Archon’s Doing it Right

Because Archon’s Doing it Right

By Jan S. Gephardt I am happy to report that I’m going to Archon 44 after all. Why? Because—and only because—Archon’s doing it right. The Email That Changed Everything You may recall that a few weeks ago, I very reluctantly decided to withdraw from this year’s FenCon, a Texas science fiction convention that my son and I have come to love. I had been watching the COVID-19 trends in the St. Louis area and growing more and more convinced I’d…

Read More Read More