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The Weekend That Was
May. 26th, 2014 08:46 pm 1. Let's get this out of the way. That attack in Brussels? On a Jewish museum. Not happy-making for me at all. And neither is the endless stream of Google alerts because I have "The Jewish Museum" as an alert. I'm seeing links to all the redundant, and occasionally strange coverage, though not following the links. This just serves as a reminder of something I know about how any and all things Jewish are potential targets of anti-Semites. It's not something I like to be reminded of. But it's also not something that I let affect how I live. I will go to work tomorrow as usual, take note of the cops outside the building (who come and go depending on what's been happening in Israel or to the Jews), and do my job. I might be a bit unnerved, but I am not going to let that ruin my life, or diminish my pride in being a Jew and having that skullcap on.
2. Anyway, we were at Balticon for the weekend, and I would be hard pressed to find a better way to destress after a month of both bad and good stresses. This con has, after just two years and despite a somewhat bland set of panels, become a favorite. The vibe is just right. There are oldsters, kids, families, teens, people who grew up together in fandom, newbies, people from all backgrounds, and it all fits together so well. I was told by an insider that under the surface things are not that great for the con, but after years of seeing Lunacon come apart piece by piece like an old car, I can't say that it looks or feels the least bit in trouble to me.
3. It was an odd con in one way, though. We didn't know a lot of people. Maybe it was that the wedding in the filk community just a week earlier trumped Balticon. Maybe it was just one of those years where plans shifted. Either way, it was strange to be more or less on our own. But not bad. It was relaxing in some ways to not have to think about making plans with anyone else for once. We will happily resume doing that, of course. But a quiet Friday night before the con took over was nice.
4. For me, Balticon means the LARP. As I have noted, I had such fun last year, despite having really no idea what I was doing, that I had to play again. I think I was better this year, though by no means was I one of the better players. I benefited from being able to work with three of the better players, though. The plot was Steampunk, and the setting was an alternate reality 1876 World's Fair in the capital of the US, Havre de Grace. Intrigue and weird science abounded. And I was cast as a German diplomat who came to the fair. I appreciate the irony - maybe in this reality, the Germans don't have so much of the anti-Semitism?
I ended up doing a weird mashup of a stereotypical German and Kelsey Grammer in Fraiser mode. And also being drafted by a local Southern lady to help fight a war on crime, alongside a bounty hunter, a troupe from a wild west show, and a lady of the evening. In the endgame, the ambassador offered asylum to the Southern lady, newly rich because the Steampunk version of Bill Gates left her all his money. Alas, she died in the bloodbath in the end game, as you might expect. But as the evening ended, I came up with a sneaky plan that by the time I woke up might have led my character to greater political power anyway. Too bad I thought of it after the game! Still, I had a ton of fun speaking in a bad accent, trying to figure out America, and even debating politics and philosophy in character. I really need to LARP more.
5. The dynamic of the interactions within the LARP are kind of fascinating to me. During the game, even when not in character, there is a lot of interaction between the players. It all feels very friendly and comfortable even though I don't know these people from a hole in the wall, even though most of the younger players are friends who grew up in fandom together. The moment the game ends, the comfort zone does too. It's kind of odd, but it doesn't feel like it should be anything else. It does make me wish that there were local ongoing LARPs or the like, though.
2. Anyway, we were at Balticon for the weekend, and I would be hard pressed to find a better way to destress after a month of both bad and good stresses. This con has, after just two years and despite a somewhat bland set of panels, become a favorite. The vibe is just right. There are oldsters, kids, families, teens, people who grew up together in fandom, newbies, people from all backgrounds, and it all fits together so well. I was told by an insider that under the surface things are not that great for the con, but after years of seeing Lunacon come apart piece by piece like an old car, I can't say that it looks or feels the least bit in trouble to me.
3. It was an odd con in one way, though. We didn't know a lot of people. Maybe it was that the wedding in the filk community just a week earlier trumped Balticon. Maybe it was just one of those years where plans shifted. Either way, it was strange to be more or less on our own. But not bad. It was relaxing in some ways to not have to think about making plans with anyone else for once. We will happily resume doing that, of course. But a quiet Friday night before the con took over was nice.
4. For me, Balticon means the LARP. As I have noted, I had such fun last year, despite having really no idea what I was doing, that I had to play again. I think I was better this year, though by no means was I one of the better players. I benefited from being able to work with three of the better players, though. The plot was Steampunk, and the setting was an alternate reality 1876 World's Fair in the capital of the US, Havre de Grace. Intrigue and weird science abounded. And I was cast as a German diplomat who came to the fair. I appreciate the irony - maybe in this reality, the Germans don't have so much of the anti-Semitism?
I ended up doing a weird mashup of a stereotypical German and Kelsey Grammer in Fraiser mode. And also being drafted by a local Southern lady to help fight a war on crime, alongside a bounty hunter, a troupe from a wild west show, and a lady of the evening. In the endgame, the ambassador offered asylum to the Southern lady, newly rich because the Steampunk version of Bill Gates left her all his money. Alas, she died in the bloodbath in the end game, as you might expect. But as the evening ended, I came up with a sneaky plan that by the time I woke up might have led my character to greater political power anyway. Too bad I thought of it after the game! Still, I had a ton of fun speaking in a bad accent, trying to figure out America, and even debating politics and philosophy in character. I really need to LARP more.
5. The dynamic of the interactions within the LARP are kind of fascinating to me. During the game, even when not in character, there is a lot of interaction between the players. It all feels very friendly and comfortable even though I don't know these people from a hole in the wall, even though most of the younger players are friends who grew up in fandom together. The moment the game ends, the comfort zone does too. It's kind of odd, but it doesn't feel like it should be anything else. It does make me wish that there were local ongoing LARPs or the like, though.
