Minicon45 Programming: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:22, 22 March 2010

Minicon 45 - Programming Page

Okay, it's no longer a brainstorming page - now it's a preview of the convention!

There are still a few items that could use additional panelists, so if you see one below that piques your interest it still might not be too late to volunteer. There is a tentative schedule, but we're not quite ready to publish it yet. As always, please direct questions, comments, and offers of assistance to programming at minicon45 dot mnstf dot org.

Links

Mar21_Version

Science & Technology

Ask a Scientist

Professional scientists answer questions about physics, engineering and pharmacology. What's new and interesting in these fields, and what's next on the horizon? What are some favorite resources for learning more? Go ahead, ask anything except “Can you tell me what this rash is?”

Saturday 11:30 AM – Verandas 3 / 4

Astronomy for Children and Adults

Sharing astronomy with kids provides kids with a great way to stimulate their natural curiosity, and encourages a life long love for science. And cultivating that interest into adulthood need not break the bank. What are some effective ways to share astronomy with kids? How can one find free astronomy events like clubs or star parties in the area? Topics will include how to create an analemma on the ground in a sunny yard or on a ceiling in a sunny room, building a safe sun viewer, how to make and use a Sky Wheel, how to find a person's real sun sign, light pollution intro for children, and a telescope buying guide.

Saturday 1:00 PM – Verandas 3 / 4

Solar Eclipse in China

The longest total eclipse of the 21st century was on July 22, 2009. Despite some unfavorable weather, there are many beautiful photos of China and the eclipse. Special attention will be paid to preparing for the eclipse, choosing a super portable telescope, the equatorial drive, and camera modifications. Stories of ancient astronomy, tourism and shopping will be shared, along with some rather unusual vacation advice.

Saturday 2:30 PM – Verandas 3 / 4

The Space Program in the Obama Years?

The Obama administration has recently suggested some strategic and budgetary changes for space exploration, in and out of NASA. Will these changes fly through Congress? What are the good points and the bad points? Room for another panelist

Sunday 2:30 PM - Krushenko's

Writing/Being a Writer

Do I Know Enough Science to Write Science Fiction?

What if you were never all that big on science in school, but you love the genre and want to break in? How do you educate yourself? Is it possible to learn how to write hard SF by reading lots of hard SF? How much science do you need for the soft stuff? Are there tricks for disguising your lack of knowledge in a way that doesn't make you look incompetent? [Insert joke about shoddy science in successful movies/TV shows here]

The Editors' Panel

Editors answer questions/share their thoughts about the craft of editing, particularly speculative fiction.

Including Disabled People In Fiction

How is disability presented in movies, book and TV? What are some of the best examples, and what makes us change the channel or press the eject button? How can publishers and authors make media more friendly and accessible to disabled fans?

Playing the God Card

How do you introduce gods into your work without pushing the human characters into insignificance? Does it matter if they are "real" (e.g. members of the Greco-Roman pantheon) or products of the author's imagination? Can deities play a role beyond gigantic projections of human characteristics? What makes divinities so attractive to fantasy authors? Why do readers find them so compelling?

Writing Cross-Genre

Cross-genre fiction is coming popular at the same time that many new sub-genres are being defined. What is there about SF today that calls for ever more specific categories while also inviting blurring of those boundaries?

One might say the whole point of genre is to help bookstores/libraries/etc know where to shelve your book, and cross-genre books are notoriously difficult to categorize. And if no one knows what to do with your book, it probably won't sell well. So why write cross-genre fiction? What is the appeal?

YA and Genre

In addition to the traditional genres, "young adult fiction" is often considered a genre in and of itself. But there is clearly a lot of (unlabeled) genre fiction with the YA library. Is there something about the nature of YA that makes genre fiction more acceptable/legitimate for this age group?

The Flight of the Female SF Author

From Asaro to Zettel, female authors that used to stock the science fiction shelves are now almost exclusively writing fantasy. What are the reasons behind the mass migration? Are there new women coming into the genre, or will our daughters find the SF section filled solely by men?

Science Fiction

Wheel of Time from the Younger Point of View

The Wheel of Time series certainly was not created as Young Adult fiction, but many young people do in fact love these books. What makes this series work so well as YA fiction?

How Brandon Got the Gig: Finishing the Wheel of Time

Robert Jordan (James Oliver Rigney) died before completing the last part of his magnum opus, the Wheel of Time. How did Brandon Sanderson wind up being the guy to carry forward the work on the final book of the series? What were the hopes and fears of fans of the WoT when the announcement was made? (And what was the Minnesota fannish connection involved?)

The Year in SF

Our yearly roundup of what's great in SF&F.

Who Wants to Live Forever?

Extending the human lifespan for centuries, even to the threshold of immortality, is an eternal human dream and a popular subject for speculative fiction. But there's always a catch, isn't there? The difficult implications of extended lifespans range from boredom to loneliness to raving insanity. On the other hand... you don't have to die!

Borges as Science Fiction

Jorge Luis Borges wrote some wonderful, mind-bending fiction. One of his stories was an inspiration for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Where have his stories taken us?

Fannish & Miscellaneous Topics

Game Theory - Through the Prisoner's Dilemma, and BEYOND

Game theory as an approach to the study of human behavior has become a scientific metaphor for a wide range of human interaction. Forget the computer models, let's try some game theory games on unpredictable humans!

The Fannish Community Center

The suggestion has been made: Should we have a fannish community center in the Twin Cities? What could we use such a thing for? What are the next steps, if we want to take them?

Recursiveness in Science Fiction That's About Recursiveness

The first rule of Mime Club is "Don't talk about Mime Club." Enter the hall of mirrors to discuss some favorites in fiction about fiction, games about games, movies about movies and other stuff about itself. Is it the novelty of the genre that allows us to enjoy self-aware entertainment, or is it the other way round? What does it all mean? Is this postmodern, or should we discuss that tomorrow? A panel about the elusive set that contains itself.

The Evil Librarian Panel

Our author GoH has written a book called "Alcatraz vs.the Evil Librarians," so this seems like as good a time as any to do a librarian panel. Really, I'm more interested in how the role of the librarian is transforming as libraries are mutating into destinations and byways on the Information Superhighway. But with the possibilities that offers for global domination, I'm sure we can work the "evil" angle in there somewhere.

Secrets of the Sheraton Bloomington

Some of us have been attending conventions at the ~~Rad South~~ Sheraton Bloomington for decades. We've played hotel tag in the stairways, made friends, gotten married, experienced life-changing firsts. Some of our younger members may even have been conceived here. Let's celebrate this architectural fixture in our fannish lives. Remember watching the sun come up from Mr. C's on the 22nd floor? Does anybody know where the time capsule is hidden? What is the weirdest place we've ever found a sleeper?

The Snob in Every Fan

Given the common dismissal of our favorite genre, you might think that fans would be a little more accepting of others. But, let's face it - we all have (types of) books that we look down on. What kinds of fiction get ignored or marginalized by fans? Why?

Disability, Self-Care and Fandom

How do you balance the demands of your disability - be it energy, medication schedules, battery life, whatever - with your desire for the Full Con Experience™? What specific modifications could fandom make to create a more accessible environment? What does fandom get right and why do we stay involved?

Media

Doctor Who and the Forest of the Stolen Timey-Wimey Monster Planet

As of 2010, Doctor Who has a new production team, a new companion, high profile writers and a new Doctor. Which of the announced changes are we most looking forward to? What other changes would we like to see? Which of the classic series episodes will be referenced in the 2010 season? Which was worse - "The End of Time" or "Daleks in Manhattan"?

Avatar - Cinema Event of the Year or Festival of Plagiarism?

James Cameron's high-tech sci-fi cinema baby has finally been delivered, and it's a blockbuster. But its reception among s.f. fans has been decidedly mixed. The plot and theme strike some as iconic and deeply moving, where others see it as trite and derivative. Cameron has been accused of plagiarizing everything from "Dances With Wolves" to Poul Anderson's famous novella, "Call Me Joe." Enthusiasts have declared that this movie redefines the cinema experience so deeply that a decade from now 2D will be as retro as black and white. Others are less enthusiastic, especially the ones throwing up in the aisles. What do you think - cinematic breakthrough or a just a big yawn?

The Western as Fantasy

Westerns share common ingredients with traditional fantasy such as heroism/chivalry, 'magic' weapons and/or abilities, the lure of landscape/travel, comfortingly familiar settings, fun costumes, and of course horses. The Old West was the dominant fantasy setting a couple of generations back. But is the Old West of fiction/film really so different from the Old West of reality?

Arts and Crafts

Oil Painting with Dan Dos Santos

Our artist GOH will show us how his work happens with a live demonstration of painting. Watch for this wonderful ongoing demo in the Art Show on Saturday afternoon!

Visualizing Magic: The Gathering

From card to art -- how the process works: an illustrated lecture.

Book Covers, Start to Finish

From commission to final art, what's it like to create a book cover? How do you work with an art director? Capturing the essence of a book visually can be a fascinating process.

New Images of Fantasy

How has fantasy illustration changed over the past few years? How has digital media changed the field, and what's it like to break in as a new artist? What cool things are new artists doing?

Concept Art

If you want to turn a script into a finished motion picture, you'll need concept art. Dan Dos Santos, our artist GOH, has worked in this field, and will let us know how the process works -- maybe even a demo, if we're lucky!

Portfolio Review

Are you an aspiring artist? Come get your portfolio reviewed by our artist GOH. He'll discuss the weakness and strengths of your work, and what you need to improve. We could also integrate a small lecture on promotion and how to get jobs. [note: you don't have to volunteer for this in advance, but it would be nice to know if people are interested. Our Artist GoH proposed this one.]

Gaming

The Social Contract: Making It Explicit

We've had a lot of discussion about the social contract -- the rules by which our gaming groups operate, whether unspoken or not. Too often, though, they remain unspoken until someone blows up, or stinks up, the game. How can we go about making sure everyone is on the same page regarding how we game together? Is such a thing even desirable?

Designing Your Own Game

A lot of us can't help but house-rule and fiddle with games. Many gamers want to take the next step and design our own games. How do you get started? How can you become rich and famous designing games?

Invasion of the German Games

German and European boardgames have become immensely popular in the past few years. What qualities do they share? Which ones are the best?

Retro Videogame Tournament

Psst... Don't tell anyone, but our Artist Guest of Honor, Dan Dos Santos, is a huge fan of old videogames. If we're lucky, he may bring his Atari in for a tournament.

Not Really Panels

Costume Workshop (all ages!)

We are having a costume workshop at Minicon this year! It will start at 4:00 on Saturday. There will be various materials and tools available to create a full costume or an accessory that you might wish to wear in the Fantasia Parade on Saturday evening. The parade will pause for a judged award presentation. Our GOHs Brian Sanderson and Dan Santos will be on the judging panel.

The workshop will be open to everyone. This will be a place to bring your unfinished costume for assistance, use of tools and materials, or just a place to sit and work around other costumers. Experienced costumers are welcome to come and share their expertise!

At the workshop there will be sewing machines complete with seamstresses, hot-melt glue guns and a drill amongst the tools available. We have gathered some materials, but would appreciate donations from anyone wishing to do a bit of Spring-cleaning. We are looking for things such as: hats, wigs, bits and pieces of old costumes, jewelry, fabrics, yarn, twine and other fibers, ribbons, buttons, paper and cardboard, dowels, pipe-cleaner

Fantasia Easter Parade and Costume Contest

In your Eeeeaster bonnet, with all the squids uponnnnit... miscellaneous finery, costumes, kazoo bands.

Giant Soma Cube

As a continuing activity throughout the con, we will be building a giant Soma Cube. You know, that puzzle where you assemble irregular 3-dimensional pieces into a giant cube? Please join in and do your part!

Kids and Family Programming

Tool Time

Take apart a computer.

Create a Costume in Two Hours

We'll provide the raw materials and you have two hours to whip it into a costume for the Easter Parade. Photographers will be on hand to immortalize your new persona.

Astronomy with Kids

A continuation of Michael Kauper's presentation from last year.

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 The Obama administration has recently suggested some strategic and budgetary changes for space exploration, in and out of NASA. Will these changes fly through Congress? What are the good points and the bad points?
 <font color="blue"> Room for another panelist </font>
+Sunday 2:30 PM - Krushenko's
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 === Writing/Being a Writer  ===