Musecon Is Coming

[beamjockey]

Musecon will be formally announced this weekend at Capricon. Some Chicago-area science fiction fans are organizing a new kind of convention for "artists, musicians, inventors, gadgeteers, makers, tinkerers, and other creative people."

If you're at Capricon, check out the Musecon party to learn more. If you're not, visit the Musecon site at http://www.musecon.org/.

Comments

It looks like a swell time

[bigbumble.livejournal.com]

There is a good chance it will conflict with the national model rocket contest(NARAM). But if it doesn't, I'll likely attend.

[tanac.livejournal.com]

So - out of curiosity, who are the folks spearheading this effort?

[dave-ifversen.livejournal.com]

The core planning group in the Chicago area started out with Ron and Liana Winsauer, Dale Sulak, Dwayne Forsyth, Dave Ifversen, Angela Karash, Pete and Wendy Richardson, Kris and Michelle Southerland, Betsey Langan, Karen Nagel, Jackie Powers, and Scot and Kelley Trombly-Freytag. There has also been help and advice from many other people, both in the Chicago area and scattered around the country (like Andy and Mary Cruickshank Peed in the U.P., among others).

[tanac.livejournal.com]

Sadly, though, it's the same weekend as the NASFiC. Which I'm working for, since it's local and all.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

The Musecon website is announcing for 2011 -- 18 months away, not 6. So there's no conflict with the 2010 NASFiC, unless the website is confused and you know more than I do.

Of course, with my life as it is, summer 2011 seems as remote and impossible to plan for as the year 10000.

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

Ha, I had thought it was '10 as well. Poor reading comprehension on my part.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

OK, apparently you do know something I don't; I just saw a post on a mailing list announcing that there is in fact to be one in 2010, and giving the secret link: http://www.musecon.org/index0.html.

Unfortunately, it's the one in the year 100002011 that has SJ Tucker scheduled.

[dave-ifversen.livejournal.com]

The first MuseCon *is* in 2011. August 2010 is too close to pull off a full-size, real con, and is more of a "planning" meeting (and will be very small), where the Concom can get people together who will be interested in helping run and do programming for MuseCon 1 (and, incidentally, seeing how the hotel is and testing out the infrastructure and working out the bugs before doing it for real in public - we don't want the man behind the curtain to be noticable :-). As such, there will be some limited "sample" programming, and a lot of discussion/brainstorming/planning for what will be done for MuseCon 1 - all of this in a relaxed atmosphere, without the pressure of trying to plan things for a gazillion people to do.

The "secret" link was not really for wide public dissemination.

[tlunquist.livejournal.com]

We did that for ConamaZoo -- we called it "Protocon." Good idea. We learned a lot during that shakedown cruise.

[dave-ifversen.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I look at 2010 as MuseCon builders' trials, pointing out where adjustments need to be made. The core group of people are all individually talented, and have worked various positions on other concoms (from chair on down to gopher), but this is the first time we (as a group) have tried to launch a new con - we really want to do it right.

[tanac.livejournal.com]

Ah! No, that's helpful. Shall update calendar. :)

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

Chicago NW. Sigh. I understand this would be a bad idea in many ways, but I sure wish Chi-town cons could be SE and not always NW.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

Not having to go through the Chicago metro area to get to a "Chicago" con would sure be nice. While we're dreaming, maybe I could take the bullet train from Champaign?

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

If we had a bullet train to get there, it could be in NE Wisconsin!

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

Hey, Wisconsin just got some buckaroos for high-speed rail between Milwaukee & Madison. Ideally we'll end up with rail travel from Chicago to Mpls. again in the nearish future.

(No, I'm not counting my chickens, but it'd sure be nice.)

[dave-ifversen.livejournal.com]

Is there anything SE other than abandoned steel mills and blighted industrial areas (oh, and Comisky Park)? I generally try to get through the south side as quickly as possible...

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

Which is why it would be a bad idea, but still, I long for a Chi-town con where a third of the driving time isn't the last 10% of the distance.

[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

Looks good, Bill! I might just have to come out for it. Need an auctioneer?

[lonotter.livejournal.com]

Not yet, but we may in the future. And you're welcome for your very own self. :)

[daddy-guido.livejournal.com]

maybe 2, even?

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

Sounds shiny.

[ericcoleman]

I'm always busy first weekend of August ... bummer ...

[(Anonymous)]

Hmmm, 4-1/2 miles from O'Hare, far enough out that I could legally demonstrate my UAV...

[grey-lensman.livejournal.com]

Oops, not logged in!

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

Hmm...If it doesn't clash with NARAM (or concievably even if it does) this sounds like a hoot.

[daddy-guido.livejournal.com]

Someone from musecon gave my wife their phone number and asked me to get in touch with them for some reason this weekend. I, of course, promptly lost the piece of paper with that information. If that someone is reading your comments, perhaps they will tag me here so I can reach them...

[lonotter.livejournal.com]

I'll pass the message along to the ConCom list.

[kabeach.livejournal.com]

So what do you envision for Visual Arts?

As a photographer, my work often doesn't fit into to the typical Art Show theme...

Cheers!
Ken