Next weekend is Thanksgiving Weekend here in the United States and for me that mean the Los Angeles Area Science Fiction Convention, otherwise known as LosCon. I think I may have attended every LosCon from 1997 until now. It is one of my favorite conventions.
My very first turn at being on a panel and not simply in the audience was at a Loscon when I was drafted for an on the spot Firefly panel. (That was a blast.)
Now for the last several years I have been a panelist for local San Diego Conventions Condor and Conjecture. This year I will be on several panels for Loscon as well.
I do not yet have the rooms, date, or times for these panels but here is where you can find me at LosCon
Redshirts and Bodycount
Description: Star Trek, with its many generations and recent reboot, gives us the opportunity to consider the way stakes and violence have been portrayed in media from the 60s until today. Is it possible to have high stakes without violence? Is the threat of death always necessary? How does an exceptionally nonviolent movie like Star Trek IV hold up today? Is sanitized violence in fact more offensive than ‘honest’ violence? And is there actually any reason to strive for nonviolence, if the audience is enjoying it?
Science, Fiction, and Politics: Shaping Reality
Description: Come join our panel of people working in science and science fiction for a discussion of how science, and science fiction affects politics – and vice versa.
The Politics and Socioeconomics of Space Exploration
Description: How do politics, economics, culture, and space exploration affect each other?
Roddenberry’s Forgotten Dreams
Description: From the TOS episode “Assignment: Earth” until Star Trek: The Motion Picture Gene Roddenberry attempted to launch a number of SF television programs that never progressed beyond an aired pilot. Join us as our panel discusses the shows that might have been
In addition to the panel discussions I will also be leading a critiquing session either Friday or Saturday evening.
Rogue Read & Critique
Description: Bring 1200-1500 words of a work in progress. In a supportive environment we’ll listen and give feedback.
