Category: News

Yay WisCon! Yay New Connections!

By:  TempestConventions

As always happens after a con of awesomeness, the follows and friend requests on various social networks went way up from normal as I met and connected with a ton of new, awesome, wonderful people. However, because I am always running around like a crazy person at cons I don’t always remember everyone by LJ name or Twitter handle. So! If you friended me recently on LJ, please go here and let me know. This way I can be sure to put a note by your name saying “met at WisCon, is bound to be awesome.” If you followed me on Twitter, send an @ message and remind me that you’re a WisCon person. On Facebook, please include a note with your friend request. All of these things will help me filter you to the correct lists (I have some specifically for people I meet at cons and wish to know better) and help ensure that I get to continue talking with you about stuff. …

Have I mentioned that it was a long weekend?

WisCon Netbook Gathering?

By:  TempestConventions
WisCon Netbook Gathering?

Would anyone be interested in having a little netbook gathering since there won’t be a netbook panel again this year? People who are interested in netbooks could come and ask questions and paw at netbooks, people who own them can talk about the awesome stuff they’re doing with netbooks, and some other netbook-related activity.

Thoughts?

WisCon POC Meetups

By:  TempestConventions
WisCon POC Meetups

Last year’s POC dinner was a big hit and folks have been asking if we’re going to do it again. I say: YES. Because I loved it and want more. This year we’ll have several gatherings just in case someone can’t make one or the other, though only one will be POC-only. If you identify as a person of color, you are welcome at these events.

Friday POC Dinner — 5:30 – 7:30

This is WisCon’s dinner block, so there isn’t any official programming to miss. I made a reservation in the Concourse’s restaurant (the Dayton Street Grille) for the private back room. To join us, just say you’re looking for the POC Group.

They won’t do individual checks for a group our size (I predict at least 15 people, last year we had 30) so bring cash. The menu for the restaurant is here.

There are also two Carl Brandon events happening on Friday and Saturday which are good places to hang with POC and allies. The Carl Brandon party on Friday night at 8:45 in room 607 and the Carl Brandon luncheon at 11:45 on Saturday (meet in the lobby).

I had wanted to do a second big POC-only meetup event, but perhaps this would be better coordinated at the con itself. We can do it in the POC safe space (the Solitaire room) if we want. Plus, last year we had several informal group meals of awesome POC-ness.

WisCon POC Meetup?

By:  TempestConventions

Because I have been disconnected from most of the blogosphere due to my intense (yet awesome) job, I have no idea if anyone is coordinating a mass POC meetup thing similar to what we had last year. I would be very happy to organize such a thing if no one else is doing so, but given that people liked it so much last year it would not surprise me one ounce if there was already something in the works. (And, if there is, someone let me know. I shall be there!)

My WisCon 34 Schedule

By:  TempestEvents
My WisCon 34 Schedule

I have less than a week to go before WisCon, hooray! Thinking of that made me realize that I haven’t posted my panel schedule here. It’s light this year and thus I will likely be a lot saner. But I am contemplating doing a panel in the overflow room. We’ll see. Meantime, here you go:

Chicks Dig Time Lords

Fri 4:00 – 5:15PM – Conference 4

Lynne M. Thomas, K. Tempest Bradford, Evelyn Browne, Kathryn Sullivan

There is a perception that there weren’t many women in Doctor Who fandom before the New Series was launched. This is patently false. Women have had a major role in Doctor Who fandom since the inception of the show. Do women approach and experience their Doctor Who fandom (or other media fandoms) differently than men? This panel explores different approaches to media fandom by the women involved in it, functioning within an assumed male–dominated fandom. Approaches to fandom discussed will range from feminist critique to costuming to fan fiction.

Chicks Dig Time Lords Reading

Sun 10:00 – 11:15AM – Michelangelos

K. Tempest Bradford, Mary Robinette Kowal, Kathryn Sullivan, Lynne M. Thomas

Writing the Other: Shout–Outs

Sun 2:30 – 3:45PM – Assembly

Nisi Shawl, K. Tempest Bradford, Moondancer Drake, Nabil/nadyalec, Michelle Kendall

Fail is not the topic of this panel; instead, we want to hear about where you feel like your group was well represented in fiction by someone from outside it. This panel is the carrot, not the stick!

Take Back the Sci–Fi: Redux

Sun 4:00 – 5:15PM – Caucus

Shira Lipkin, K. Tempest Bradford, Michelle Kendall, Rachel Swirsky

Sexual assault and rape frequently get used as symbolic plot devices, with no consideration of how sexual violence actually affects survivors and the people around them. Let’s discuss books that accurately portray the repercussions of and recovery from sexual assault, as well as those that merely use it as a shortcut to character development and those that end up glorifying it in the process—and how we can write about sexual assault and rape in a way that is true to the character and respectful to survivors. Note: this is a discussion of rape and sexual assault in fiction, and is not the place to discuss our personal experience with sexual assault.

Yes, the majority of my panels are on Sunday :) Which makes it likely that Saturday something fun will happen. Stay tuned.

NYC Walking

By:  TempestNews
NYC Walking

About a week ago I saw a poster for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, which is happening in October here in NYC. For some reason I decided that I wanted to walk in this event, which is a 39.3 mile marathon. Granted, it’s over two days, but day one is 26.2 miles. It’s definitely a major undertaking, but I have until October to train. Yesterday I started by walking 3 miles at the gym to determine where I am physically. I’m slightly sore today but it wasn’t all that hard or taxing. So I’m fairly sure I can do this with some work between now and the event.

While I was looking for a training plan on the walk’s website I saw that local people are leading training walks in the months leading up to the marathon. I didn’t see any in Manhattan, but one I found in Brooklyn aims to walk all the way around Prospect Park. That sparked another idea: I’ve long wanted to challenge myself by walking all the way around Central Park, either around the perimeter or walking paths inside the park that do the circuit.

If I did such a thing, would anyone join me? Since this would be an endurance walk, the point is not to go fast, but to keep a moderate pace and rest appropriately. Plus, we’ll be in the park!

I’m thinking June 5th or 6th (Saturday or Sunday) would be good. It’s the weekend after WisCon and before Shakespeare in the Park starts, plus about a month into my training. If you’re interested, let me know your preference of day.

After this I’ll tackle one of Ellen W’s Broadway walks. I’ve always wanted to walk the entire length of the island of Manhattan.

Yes, I am a crazy person.

Celebrating My Inevitable March Toward Death’s Door (or: Birthday Plans Afoot)

By:  TempestNews
Celebrating My Inevitable March Toward Death's Door (or: Birthday Plans Afoot)

My birthday is a few weeks away and I intend to beat back the evil specter of oldness by acting completely childish that day. I’ll have dessert before dinner, eat fried foods, then smoke a bunch of hookah. We can all pretend that I don’t do these things on a regular basis.

My actual birthday is the 19th, but as that’s a Monday my party will be on the 17th. Details below:

We’ll start off at The Chocolate Room because they have the best chocolate desserts in the city. Then around 6 we’ll walk over to the Atlantic Chip Shop (129 Atlantic Ave between Clinton St & Henry St in Brooklyn) for Fish & Chips, which reminds me of my salad days. *sigh*
After dessert and dinner, we’re going to head over to the lower east side for hookah at my favorite place: Kazuza. (107 Avenue A between 6th & 7th St)
It’s usually really chill and laid back until around 11 or midnight, so I’d like to get there early. Come along if you like hookah or don’t mind the smoke! We’ll try the Blue Mist.
It’s going to be an awesome night of good food and awesome people, so please join for whatever portion of the evening you can drop by.

We’ll start off at The Chocolate Room (269 Court St, Brooklyn) because they have the best chocolate desserts in the city. Then around 6 we’ll walk over to the Atlantic Chip Shop (129 Atlantic Ave between Clinton St & Henry St in Brooklyn) for Fish & Chips, which reminds me of my days living in that famed borough.

After dessert and dinner (around 8:30), we’re going to head over to the Lower East Side for hookah at my favorite place: Kazuza (107 Avenue A between 6th & 7th St). It’s usually really chill and laid back until around 11 or midnight, so I’d like to get there early. Come along if you like hookah or don’t mind the smoke! We’ll try the Blue Mist.

It’s going to be an awesome night of good food and awesome people, so please join for whatever portion of the evening you can drop by.

If you’re going to join us or think you will, please RSVP so I can make reservations and such the week before. If you’re on Facebook, you can RSVP here for dessert and dinner and here for the hookah portion. Otherwise, you can email be via the contact button on my website and let me know.

5 Links Make Up for Radio Silence

By:  TempestNews

I know you all think I’ve dropped off the face of the Earth. Maybe what I need to do is promise a post a day with interesting links. That would at least be something.

  1. Today at Tor.com you can see the latest installment of Tech News For Nerds, a weekly thing I’m doing over that way. This one is all about cell phones and wireless technologies. Netbook fans should take special note of the smartbook section.
  2. My dear friend John Klima is raising money for a new genre magazine showcasing underrepresented cultures. Go vote for his idea and help him win $25K to get started. (Yes, you need money to start a magazine, people. And John is good at it.) It’s a great way to stick it to Norman Spinrad.
  3. Did you know that I’m in an ultra-cool non-fic anthology called Chicks Dig Time Lords? I so am. It’s such an amazing book and filled with all kinds of smart writers and fans and actors and Doctor Who goodness. Women talking about their fan experience across time (and space) and being very smart about what they love and don’t love about the show and fandom. I, of course, wrote a controversial essay on Martha Jones. I know Paul Cornell has the book, I just hope he doesn’t hate me for what I said about Human Nature. Go buy Chicks Dig Time Lords right now and then go listen to the podcast of Hour of the Wolf featuring several contributors and read about our shenanigans the night before.
  4. Speaking of books, remember the list of eReaders I said people should be on the lookout for? Several of them now have full reviews, including the Alex eReader, which is my favorite. If anyone asked me right now which eReader they should buy, I would say the Alex without hesitation. The list of other eReaders is on Tor.com as well.
  5. This weekend I watched the BBC miniseries Lost in Austen and have the following things to say about it: (a) When did it become okay to present fanfic as legitimate television? (b) Does the BBC have only 20 actors? Because I have seen a third of this cast on every show I’ve watched. (c) After the clusterfuck that was Hex, Jemima Rooper and Christina Cole shouldn’t be allowed on screen together again nor should they be allowed psuedo-lesbian encounters because they wouldn’t give them to us on that horrendous show. (d) Jemima is awfully hot. (e) Judging from the 700+ comments for this movie on Netflix, I’d have to say that it’s successful insofaras it’s made people feel strongly that it’s the best thing ever or a piece of crap. (f) Where can I get a job writing badfic for money?

Now back to my regularly scheduled seclusion.

Calling Everyone Who Digs Time Lords

By:  TempestReadings

chicksdigI know, I KNOW. I am horrendously late informing you of this event. I cannot explain myself except to say that I have been horrendously busy and thought I’d done at least some of this promotion before now. I suck.

But you’re not doing anything important on Friday night, so please come:

The Chicks Dig Time Lords anthology is a celebration of Doctor Who from the perspective of female fans. Join us as we read our essays, talk smack about the Doctors we love (and hate), the compaions we cheer for (and hate), and the Whoniverse we adore.

Contributors Catherynne M Valente, Franesca Coppa, Deborah Standish, and K. Tempest Bradford will be there along with cover artist and Torchwood Babiez co-creator Katy Shuttleworth.

Making My House A Home

By:  TempestNews
Making My House A Home

I’m about to sign a two-year lease on my apartment, finally admitting to myself that I’m here for good and no longer a roaming bohemian. It only took me four years, I feel very proud. :/ Anyway, my apartment still feels very apartmenty because I haven’t decorated — due to my thinking that I might vacate at any second! — and I’d like to change that. I can’t paint, which would be my first choice. I can drape fabric around, but I can’t afford to do so right now.

Side Rant: how is it every year I swear I’m not doing this Christmas overspending crap and then somehow I do? Stupid cookies.

Side Rant Correction: I didn’t actually spend that much on gifts as I didn’t have that much to spend, but I did overspend on lunch at work, a problem I’m still working on.

Anyway! The thing I’ve always done when wanting to make my house feel more like a home is put up art. When I left Texas in 2005 I left behind a LOT of art, so I hope to have enough money in January to get that shipped to me. That won’t be enough for the whole apartment, though. So here’s my wish for 2010:

I would like to cover my walls in awesome postcards and inexpensive, medium-sized art prints. I’m going to need help with the postcard bit, though! If you happen to have a cool postcard lying around with some beautiful art or funny message or something else awesome, and you don’t plan to put it on your wall, will you send it to me? And if you come across one at a museum or cafe or something between now and mid-February, please send me those, too! Make postcards of your own art or projects or events? Send ’em! Funny notes on the back are encouraged.

The address to send is below. This P.O. Box only lasts until February, so send everything ya got before the 15th.

K. Bradford
P.O. Box 66
New York, NY 10018-9998

When all of the cards are in, I’ll take a picture of the result.