Out of Sorts

This past weekend, I got to fly down to Dallas, TX and hang around with long time friend, Peter Hodges. While there, I took down a “most wanted” terrorist, played with a toddler, threw various plushy toys away from a gorgeous dog, kicked some ass at Guitar Hero, ran into a wizardly alter-ego, had dinner with a published author and historian,  and got annoyed with eccentric loud mouthy people who really should read this. 

For explanations on each of those, well, the terrorist thing was more of an adventure with a Beretta Carbine CX4-Storm and a silhoutte of Osama Bin Laden. I don’t think I’ve ever felt better then when I landed a bunch of rounds right between his terrorist eyes.  For all my liberal fans out there who don’t believe in gun ownership, I’m sorry to say it was exhilerating. You and I are going to have to agree to disagree on this and still remain friends.  I will be uploading a video shortly. 

In other news, I find that when I’m away from my own children, I tend to gravitate towards other people’s kids. I spent most of my free time playing with Pete’s son. Soon to be 2, he’s a real cutie with some mad verbal skillz. ;) Their new dog, Luke was a wonderful companion during my stay. Very well mannered, he enjoyed playing fetch, again and again…and again. I had been debating whether or not a dog would fit my current lifestyle and I must admit that Luke definitely helped in pushing me towards a doggie companion sometime in my future.

As for Guitar Hero, I had forgotten how fun that game was to play.  Enjoying it with someone else on the drums or singing, and the solo thing evolves and becomes  a blast. I might just buy it for the network ability. Oh, and I totally kicked Pete’s ass. 

The main reason for the trip down to Texas was to attend ConDFW. Guests of Honor were Jim Butcher and David Weber. While there, I got to listen to Jim read five chapters (this was recorded) out of the new Harry Dresden novel, Turn Coat coming out in April.  I usually have a hard time listening to authors read their own work, only because their voices differ from the ones in my head while I’m reading. However, as I closed my eyes and began to listen, Butcher’s voice fit in perfectly with my ideals of Harry Dresden. He captured his wizard perfectly. No circle needed. 

Jim Butcher is the real deal. He’s very nice and very witty and I can definitely see where Harry gets his charm. ;)

If I can get to another con where David Weber is the GOH, I will.  This man has a story for every occassion and it is a real joy to listen to him speak. I may be a newbie when it comes to Honor Harrington, but if his writing is anything like how he interacts with his fans in real life, I expect I’ll see intelligence, respect and a kick-ass whomping ride of a tale. 

I was also absoultely honored to spend some quality time with Taylor Anderson and his wife at this convention as well. All Texan, this gentleman brought dry wit, humor and a vast intelligence to his panels. I can remember more than a few occassions when the entire room burst out laughing at comments Taylor had made. As far as his novels are concerned, I am so far behind on my reading due to the audio narration work, that I finally got a chance to start the first book in the Destroyermen series. S.M. Stirling blurbs on the first book, ” I dipped my toe into Destroyermen: Into the Storm, and when I looked up, it was two in the morning.” That’s basically how it went for me. By the time I started page one, we had just been lifting off and I was so immersed in the story, that it felt no time at all had passed before we were touching down in Newark.  Get these books. I’m serious.  

I have to agree with Pete on his criticism’s of ConDFW.  While the venue was definitely a nice hotel, with two major GOH’s with loyal fan bases, the panel rooms were definitely not big enough to handle the influx. It was either too crowded and/or hot and I would be willing to bet alot of people missed out on things due to overcrowding or scheduling conflicts. 

One of the more interesting panels I attended was “Authors to Watch”. Mary Robinette Kowal was one of the first on the list to be mentioned,  as well as John Scalzi, Jay Lake and Ken Scholes. The list grew from there and I suspect Pete wrote down a list of names as well as book titles he was interested in. I was rather busy Twittering like a geek. 

One of the things that annoyed me the most as mentioned in the first paragraph was the audacity and rudeness of some people at the con. I am sorry to say that if you consider yourself as an expert on something, not everyone else does and that you must retain some sort of social civility while attending a panel. I can’t express how many times I found myself giving dirty looks to people who would hijack panels.  I can see if the panelists have opened the discussion out to the audience for a round-table or open forum, but not once did that seem to happen. There were a few times were the discussion erupted in chaos and I almost felt like leaving.  Note to congoers — just because you may disagree with what the panel is saying does not give you the authority to loudly contest their points. It’s rude and it has no place at a convention. 

All in all, despite the cold I caught on the plane ride back, I had a wonderful few days away. Thank you to both the Hodges’ for thier incredible hospitality. You guys are the best.

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