Category: SF/SFF

Denvention

ooooooh…. I am about to spend a lot of money to go to Denvention, but I simply must sing Lady of Komarr to Lois McMaster Bujold and expose more minds to the Tapioca Song.  I haven’t been to a Worldcon since Torcon II.  And I went with my mother and brother, how the hell lame is that?  But I did get to see Harlan Ellison and I got to see Asimov, too.

 

More later….

Who pulled the plug…

… that was blocking my brain?

 

I wrote FOUR SONGS yesterday.  One is a love song to Al Swearengen from Deadwood – one is a blues tune about the Blue Hell, a bar from the Fred Pohl Heechee Chronicles – one is a narsty emo bytchefest between Gelis and Niccolo from Dunnett’s series which references their ongoing telepathic mindgames – and the last is a breakneck, kickass song about the current culture war between faith and reason.

The “If I were Al Swearengen” song nearly fell out of my head right after I wrote it.  When I wrote it, I thought it was all in the same time signature – silly me! Then I go to sing it back and the choruses don’t work.  What happened?  (Or as Paul remarked, “You weren’t recording it?”)  It’s in two time signatures (waltz and mildly syncopated 4/4) which is just bloody bizarre but completely fits the mood of the song.

Anyway, I suspect that somebody went to a shrine somewhere and prayed for me, because that was the most amazing thing that’s happened to me in years.  That sound you hear is a giant mental drain unclogging.

I light a candle for Patricia, who has an owie.  (Further details as authorized).

I light a candle for Katie, who will love Daxus until death or something like it.  I was that stupid at 19, but at least I loved worthier men.

List of things to do

  1. Learn the Code Monkey dance
  2. Write down about sixty LJ user names and friend them
  3. Actually put together a proper filk book of the stuff I intend to ever sing again (I think this means an evening with Shaddyr, and soon)
  4. Think about the logistics of going to Jersey in June.  I mean, I have a passport and everything now, it’s not like I can’t travel Stateside.
  5. It’s two-thirty in the morning…. shouldn’t I be sleeping?  Nope, they are still filking in the main room.  I heard about chocolate in the consuite and after administering aid and comfort to the consuite hostess – Shaddyr – and hanging with some younger filkfemfen, I thought.  Hmmmm.  I have eaten all the chocolate, now I should go back downstairs and do the pillage and rapine thing in the main room.

 

More con stuff

I am having a simply lovely time, and had supper with LMB, Dr. Filk, and Tom and Peggy. Right now Skinny White Chick is playing.  They just finished the Alligator Song, which is beyond words amusing, and a tango to boot.

I’m going to check the schedule again and maybe nap for a bit before the open filk / bawdy songs room opens up…Earlier today I got to sing the Tapioca Song, accompanied by about 35 people, in the Songbook Filk.  Happy sigh.

 

Blogging at the Con

So, last night, Jeff Hitchin did not one, not two but THREE filks of the Tapioca Song. One was in Spanish, one in Japanese, and one was about Oxycontin. I surreptitiously took a picture of him while he was about it. Jeff is a fabulous performer and great raconteur; I am honoured above my worthiness.

All hail the Con Committee. They planned for 80 and there will easily be 120 attendees. Runnerwolf – whose idea the whole thing was, enthusiastically endorsed by everyone in earshot, including, as I recollect, me – was looking a bit glazed but really happy when I met up with her at the reg table yesterday.

Met up with Lady Miss Banjola and Dr. Filk with no difficulties AFTER I got into my shared room; Shaddyr (I will refer to her & Runnerwolf by LJ names as it ‘s easier) gave up her room passkey from last night so even though I hadn’t seen the principals I had a place to stash my stuff.

I did some of the driving down from Vancouver, but long about supper time I started getting visual disturbances (I still feel kinda wonky today, although that may have something to do with my lack of cafFiend) so Peggy did the driving from there.

Open Filking last night was great; I heard many filk classics old and new, and which included a madrigal zombie filk, Jonathan Coulton’s “Eat Your Brains” ably performed by Tony Fabris, the funniest parody of Danny Boy Ever…. and I debuted “You Try Being Buffy’s Mom” a capella as I have yet to write it down, although LMB has an MP3 of it up on her website (v raw, being recorded the day I wrote it).

Anyway, I’m being a jackass hogging one of the two public internet access points in the hotel, so I’d best fly. I’m here, I’m settled, and apart from once aGAIN failing to bring earplugs, I’m doing great. I’ll post pics later; I remembered to bring my USB cable and this computer has a USB port, can you believe it?