Had a fabulous time at the Conflux 12: Red Fire Monkey convention at the Canberra Novotel this weekend past. Check out my Flickr photoset! Here’s me with MC extraordinaire Sean Williams sneaking a quick drink before the closing ceremony. Photo by Alan Baxter.
Here are some more, non Ninjaz-related images from Conflux. It was a small convention. Too small by about 50 people, I reckon, and I do have to say… what the hell has to happen to convince the Marque to keep the fucking bar open till a reasonable hour? 10pm is way too early to be shutting off the fun. Still, my panels were well attended, I got to catch up with many fine folks and the Nicology audio visual presentation was well received. More photos here.Donna Hanson, Stephanie Smith and Nicole MurphyEmily Rodda and Marc McBrideNick’s birthday cakeJack Dann and Jim MinzRob and me (photo by Alan Baxter, I think)
I’ll be doing 4 panels at Conflux this weekend:12.30pm Saturday: Setting the seen 3.30pm Saturday: Short story writing 3.30pm Sunday: Steampunk literature 11am Monday Editing anthologies Looks like I’m down as the moderator for three of them. One should prove particularly entertaining as I’ll be playing traffic cop to four men, three of whom are, shall we say, well known for their love of public speaking. My mission, as I choose to accept it, is to ensure all four get equal speaking time. No rampant displays of ego allowed. I shall be bringing a chair and a whip.Plus don’t forget we have Ninjaz with Attitude and Nick Stathopoulos’s 50th birthday party following the masquerade on Sunday night. I can’t wait!!!
Should you find yourself in the general vicinity of Canberra the weekend after this one, why not sign up for Conflux 6? And if attending a whole convention seems a bit hardcore, may I suggest turning up on Sunday night 4th October for two very special events. At 8.30pm my second favourite band in the whole universe, Ninjaz With Attitude, will be playing live directly following the masquerade ball. And if that wasn’t excitement enough, following directly afterwards will be Nicology, much beloved artist Nick Stathopoulos’s 50th birthday partyI’m putting together a slideshow of all things Nick. This little guy is definitely my favourite!
And now, an important message from my sponsor…This year’s CONFLUX Virtual Minicon is on Sunday 30th August 2009, from 9am to 5pm. You may be wondering just what a Virtual Minicon is? It’s an on-line convention, a gathering where you can follow the program and have an hour’s chat with our interesting virtual guests. You get all the fun of being at a convention, in the comfort of your home, and it’s completely free! 9am to 9.30am – Welcome 9.30 to 10.30am Liz Argall (Comics writer/artist) 10.30 to 11.30am Gillian Polack (Writer & Historian) 11.30 to 12.30pm Richard Harland (Writer) 12.30 to 1.30pm James Minz (Senior Editor Baen) 1.30 to 2.30pm Maxine McArthur (Writer) 2.30 to 3.30pm Bruce R Gillespie (Fanzine Editor) 3.30 to 4.30pm Cat Sparks (Writer & Editor) 4.30 to 5pm Gillian Polack and Stuart Herring (web designer). These times are for Canberra, Australia. If you’re fuzzy on…
So, the trophy for belle of the ball at Conflux 5 definitely goes to Rachel Holkner [in green dress] for her Prohibition Ball ensemble. This photo does not do her justice — take it from me, she looked like a 1940s movie star and managed to maintain the glam – and the lipstick – long into the wee small room party hours.My second fashion and style award goes to the irrepressible flinthart . When I enquired about the unusual batik-print cummerbund arrangement wrapped around his waist, he informed me that it was, in fact, his pyjamas. You know, just in case he had a few too many drinks and wasn’t able to make it back to the friend’s house he was staying at… Sadly, I didn’t get a photo, possibly because I was busy sipping on a glass of limoncello that he’d passed me, despite it being something like 10am and,…
