Fri Talk Descriptions (in numeric order) (count 275)

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Benjamin Franklin invented it and Mozart and Beethoven wrote for it. Louise Marley talks about the history, mysteries, and misconceptions that surround it and William Wilde Zeitler will perform on it.

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Women scientists have featured prominently in many science fiction stories. Panelists talk about the image of women in science fiction stories, from the classics to today. How accurate are the depictions? And are these women scientists really scientists or just secretaries in lab coats?

Every member of L.A.con IV is a member of WSFS, the World Science Fiction Society, and is eligible to attend and vote at the Society's Business Meetings. It's here that the Constitution and Rules that govern the Worldcons are discussed and voted upon. Today most proposals to amend the WSFS Consitution will be debated and voted upon. Exercise your rights as a member of the Society by attending and voting.

When we' re finally able to clone a chicken breast, will it be something that vegetarians will eat? Will it be Kosher? Halaal? Will it taste the same as the "original"? Will anyone want to eat it? Many science fiction authors have speculated about "vat-grown meat", but are we actually on the verge of having it to serve on the dinner table? Will it help end famine and starvation, or just make things worse?

Fans of Star Trek talk about how watching the show changed them, changed the course of their lives. What did Star Trek do for you?

Fans of this great ape talk about the three versions. Is Peter Jackson's version the ultimate telling?

What is it? Is there a market for it? How do you start?

High Fantasy. Hard Science Fiction. Dark Fantasy. Squishy Science Fiction. Some of science fiction's most outspoken reviewers give their opinions on what was worth reading.

Medicine is evolving at an amazing pace. New discoveries, technology, etc. are announced every day. What will medicine be like in 100 years? Will we have tricorders and neuroscanners like in Star Trek? How about growing or cloning organs? Will we be using organics to solve problems instead of nanobots?

Over the years, "Analog" editor Stanley Schmidt has discovered that there are a lot of common misconceptions about just what makes a story an "Analog" story. Along with several of the magazine's regular contributors, Schmidt will share his views of just what it is they're trying to do, how it isn't all rivets and getting the science right

What's going on with the European Space Agency? What missions have they undertaken recently and what's planned for the future?

The web isn't just for research, for posting comments on the latest episode of Lost, or to find porn. It can also be used to create communities. The best example of this is "craigslist", now with over 200 sites in 35 countries. Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, and others, talk about what they're doing and why. And where we can go from here.

An arrangement of convenience? How can we define the process, and what does each partner bring to it?

Does it take special training or knowledge to write books and stories for children and young adults? Are they different from adult works in any way, other than vocabulary? How do you break in? And if you write for kids, is it hard to also write for adults?

Astronomical artists talk about their profession. Do you have to know a lot about astronomy and get the planets and stars exactly right or does it just have to look good?

Going from amateur to professional writer is a big step. How do you get started? In Part I, new writers gave you their advice. Today in Part II, editors and established writers give you theirs. Compare these expert's answers with those of Thursday's panel.

80% of the grammar in 50 minutes, from one of the leading lights in Klingon linguistics

Religion is frequently ignored in science fiction and fantasy. But sometimes it isn't. How is it treated? Do we see standard Earth religions or all-new ones? Or ones that just think they're all new? Some authors seem to think that, come the future, all people will just abandon their religious beliefs. Does that seem likely?

Massively Multiplayer Online Games have long been popular but none have ever been as popular as World of Warcraft. (At its height, "Everquest" had fewer than one million subscribers; WoW has about six million.) Why are these sorts of games popular and what is it about WoW that makes it king?

Third world countries are starting to unite and stand up to the first world. Sometimes this is good, sometimes not. What does the future hold? Which countries will lead this power change (if any) and what are the implications? Is it inevitable? And desirable?

More than just a euphemism for "remake" and "cashing in", some TV series are actually well-thought out new adaptations of the same material. Battlestar Galactica and Dr. Who are two good examples of high quality shows that respect their antecedents but bring much that is new and good to the material. What changes get made and why? Are the audiences and commercial pressures different now than for the original?

Panelists discuss what it takes to give a good press interview or anything involving promotion of your own works and activities.

We have some fun with science things and attempt not to blow up the place.

MIDI programming for kids. Learn how a MIDI sequencer works with a PC to make music.

The annual awards for Alternate History works are presented.

For all people entering the Masquerade, to have the ins, outs, and details of what will be happening tonight explained and all (or most) of your questions answered.

A workshop on how to assemble a successful concert playlist and arrange the track order on an album.

Panelists discuss their dream fanzines, from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Panel Chair: Amelia Beamer, Michigan State 1. Chakram and Pigtails: The Heroine’s Journey in Modern Media; Valerie Frankel, San Jose State 2. Gamer Culture; Sara Stepongzi, California State University, Northridge 3. Canon, Sues, and Canon Sues; Gabrielle Lissauer; California State University, Northridge

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Why Teens should start writing now, scams and rip offs to avoid, and how to get into the writing and publishing business.

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How has the landscape changed for queer content in SF/F TV? We've come a long way, from the encoded characters of Xena to the out characters of Buffy to the predominantly gay and lesbian characters of Dante's Cove," here! Network's sexy, supernatural original drama. The producers, director, and cast members of this groundbreaking original series will be sharing never-before-seen footage from the upcoming second season, and discussing the unique challenges and opportunities of making a "guilty pleasure" show with a queer twist. Stay after the Q&A for a mixer with panelists, fans, and snacks. Gillian Horvath, Meredith Kadlec, Sam Irvin, Patrick Moore and cast member Tracy Scoggins (Babylon 5). Additional cast TBD.

You spend time crafting characters, thinking about who they are, what they want, what they care about. You tell stories about them, lovingly crafted. Now it's time for them to die. How do you do it? And what can happen if you do.

The Trans-Iowa Canal Company's sixty-sixth performance finds Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect facing the cancellation of their television program. They are able to escape into the airwaves using their wits and intestinal fortitude. Oh, and a magical remote and Ford's copy of "The Channel Surfer's Guide to the Galaxy." Unfortunately, they are pursued by the evil Network Executives who have plans of their own for Arthur and Ford. Avoiding stabbings, shootings, and explosions, our heroes face their greatest challenge of all... a music video.

Come share your memories -- happy and sad, funny and really funny -- about Howard DeVore. L.A.con's Fan Guest of Honor may not be with us in person, but we know he's watching. Come celebrate his life with family and friends.

The legendarily geekiest convention panel of all-time makes its first Worldcon appearance after another SRO appearance at last year's San Diego Comic Con. Ever wonder if the Jupiter 2 could kick the Sulaco's ass? Can the Serenity make mincemeat out of a Klingon D-7 battle cruiser? And will the Yamato ever be able to beat Captain Kirk's Starship Enterprise? There's only one way to find out. Be there or be squarer than you already are.

The founder and CEO of craigslist talks about how a small website to help find things to do in San Francisco has grown into the prototype for internet communities, with sites in over 200 cities and 35 countries.

The artist presents a slide show of his work.

Where to go and what to do before and after next year's Worldcon. And what should I know about the Japanese culture to keep me from insulting anyone by mistake?

Is it a real possibility or mere science fiction? Many SF novels take something like a world state for granted, as part of the background of their future universe. Yet if one talks about world government as a concrete political goal -- however distant -- people often dismiss it as hopelessly naive and utopian. What is the likelihood of it ever happening?

Is there anything believable about Superman's powers? Batman's abilities? How can you explain what superheroes do?

SF fans like to think of themselves as rebels and they like to read stories of people who are the same. But are Gordon Dickson's Dorsai and S.M. Stirling's Draka just a natural extension of today's militias? What about Heinlein's Farnhams Freehold? Are these militiamen the reality?

Our panelists will entertain you (and frighten you) with personal experiences and other true stories about the R&D business.

Good idea? Bad idea? Inevitable whether or not we think it's good or bad? How do you define a weapon when a rock dropped from space can create massive damage?

Everyone talks about what has been filmed. Here is a discussion of works that haven't been filmed but should be. What should you look for to make a good film? What won't translate from the printed word to the visual media? Why haven't these works been made?

Editors share their "favorite" stories of manuscripts that were a triumph of hope over talent.

Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and Einstein have included religion in their commentary. How have scientific methods changed over the centuries and how has it affected science's relationship with religion? When all actions can be described by physics and all life can be described by biology and chemistry, is there any room for the miraculous, the ineffable?

It's one thing to create characters, come up with who they are, what they're like, and how they talk. It's quite another to come into someone else's world and have to tell stories with and about those characters. How do you keep them the same and still put some of yourself into them? Or should you even try?

What does it mean to "teach science fiction"? How do you do it? How do you do it well? How do you incorporate science fiction into a curriculum?

What books and stories do you remember best from childhood? Our panelists talk about their favorites and ask about yours.

Not for the squeamish. That describes a number of the science fiction and fantasy films that have come out this year. It also describes the reviews a number of films have received. Come hear our experts' opinions and see how they differ from yours.

Pre-mortem planning to provide for your filksongs and fan fiction, as found on webpages, fanzine collections, etc. Emphasis on the filk collections at the Eaton Collection (UC Riverside) and Bowling Green State University's Music Library.

Using your PC as a filk instrument: MIDI and MP3 files.

How to make costumes with leather.

Everyone's heard that story. But that's not exactly the way it happened. Hear the real stories.

From ancient cultures, to movies and TV, to the modern world of the Internet, anthropomorphic characters abound. What's our fascination with talking animals? What does it say about us, and our culture?

Like the car manufacturers of the 20th century who tested the safety of their vehicles by crashing them with human "dummies" inside them, we design and build space ships today and do the same tests tomorrow!! The ship will need to travel a specified distance under it’s own power to enter. The Pirate Pilot will either be a raw egg or one filled with jello, previously decorated.

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Thirty years ago some cast and crew of a small, strange, and mostly unknown science-fiction/fantasy film that would open the following year came to the 34th World Science Fiction Convention in Kansas City. For hundreds of thousands of fans across the world, things have never been quite the same. Lucasfilm's Steve Sansweet, head of fan relations, takes us back to that time with rare photos and explains how The Star Wars Corporation really started the whole idea of fan outreach for a movie. Now three decades later, George Lucas has completed his six-movie saga -- but Star Wars hasn't even entered middle age. Find out what's next for the saga: two television series, interactive gaming with compelling stories, and more -- and have a chance to ask Steve your questions.

For some reason, some terrific books just don't sell. Nobody's ever heard of them. Others are taught in college as classics of the field, but no one can understand why. Our panelists let you in on some unknown classics you shouldn't miss while they dismiss some lofty `classics'.

Can you survive as a writer just writing short fiction? How do you know if an idea is right for a short story or should it be a novel? Or something in between? Are there real differences between short stories, novelettes, and novellas other than length?

An exploration of minorities in Science Fiction Fandom.

Women on Star Trek sometimes seem to come in only two types: steely-eyed, super serious and hotties. Neither one is a very real character. What does it take to bring one of these characters to life, to add depth and real emotion? Or do you just have fun with it?

Diana Gill and Eos authors talk about upcoming Eos books for Fall '06 and Winter '07, with signed giveaways and more.

A discussion of science fiction of the period. How was it different from what's out there today? Was it better? What are some of the best examples?

A discussion of past and current science fiction successes and failures in comics, and why this has been a troublesome commercial marriage of form and content.

The crime labs of today make any major police department into a Sherlock Holmes. What will the future bring? Criminologists and others discuss what changes they're already seeing in their work and what they expect for the future.

Seventy-five years ago, in 1931, Universal Studios released Frankenstein and brought "the modern Prometheus" to the silver screen. Since then, Frankenstein (or, more correctly, his monster) has seen a lot of changes, from the original through sequels and remakes and versions by Andy Warhol, Roger Corman, and Mel Brooks. Come take part as experts and fans reminisce about Frankenstein "puttin' on the Ritz".

A discussion on the realities of space travel.

H.L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, I.F. Stone, Germaine Greer, Gertrude Stein, Hannah Arendt all gained prominence as American public intellectuals through newspaper columns and books of collected essays. Is the Blogosphere spawning a contemporary generation of important public thinkers? Who are the ones you can't afford to miss? What are they saying?

Our distinguished panel of experts will identify unusual alien items and discuss their uses.

Congress keeps extending the life of copyrights. Is this good for authors and other creators or just for the mega-corporations? Where is "intellectual property" going in the US? In the world?

There's a time and place for everything. Or is there? Does humor have a place in modern fiction? Can there ever be too much?

Life and living with a professional writer or artist.

Over the past 70 plus years, science fiction illustration has changed dramatically. The '30s and '40s had their flashy, lurid covers. The '50s and '60s sported high tech space-scapes and abstracts. The '70s and '80s have brought us photo-realism. What were the trends of the recent decades? What lies ahead?

The authors and others involved with L.A.con IV's limited edition anthology, Space Cadets, gather to sign copies of the book.

What are our options for future space exploration? What should we be doing? Where should we be going? How can individuals get involved? Should it be government sponsored or come from the private sector?

Gays have been around forever. It goes without saying, then, that they've always been a part of Fandom. How has fannish life changed over the years for Gay Fans and what's it like now?

Join Erwin S. “Filthy Pierre” Strauss and Karen Anderson singing from Bruce Pelz’s Filksong Manual

A look at the people, if not for whom, we wouldn't be here today.

Are you the offspring of a filker? Discuss what this has done to your life with other 2nd Gen Filkers.

A slide show on how to make fiberglass elements of your costumes.

Did ya hear the one about the water bombs dropped out of the window of Room 770? Or the Columbus in '86 hoax bid? And have you seen any of those phony Daily Newszines that circulate every Worldcon? Some of fandom's favorite pranksters tell you some of their favorites.

A discussion group for writers and world-builders: Designing everyday "stuff" with non-human characters in mind. Just what would a chair look like if you had four legs? Or a tail, for that matter?

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Most fans have a passion for collecting, whether it's books, comics, art, teddy bears, or tea pots. The question is how do we keep these collections from taking over lives and our homes?

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The annual presentation of the Golden Duck Awards for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction.

Panel Chair: George Cusack, Auburn University, Montgomery 1.Cosmetic Babes and Cosmic 'Bots: Techno-Gender relations in 1950s Sci-Fi Cinema; Robin Chin, UC Santa Barbara 2. The Credentia Walks Among Us: A Re-examination of Alraune in Book and Film; Sharon King, UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Come take a guided tour of the Art Show with a knowledgeable guide who won't lead you astray. Check the schedule for additional tours and guides.

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A selection of chemical reactions with last years Worldcon chairman. So it shouldn’t be TOO dangerous.

An introduction to Fanzines. We have an open solicitation to provide content for some of the best fanzines currently in existence, including four Hugo Nominated fanzines. Editors in attendence.

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One of science fiction's newest major publishers give a look at their future publications. Meet our authors.

Join OpenSource Evangelist Eric Raymond raving on his many areas of interest: opensource, the hacker culture, the second amendment, etc. Audience participation inevitable.

Over the last few years, blogging has exploded. Not just for geeks anymore, even commercial sites now frequently have blogs. There are blogs on every subject and the media has started using blogs not just as marketing tools but as sources for news stories. Vox populi and all that but is this a good thing?

Some of the writers of the original Star Trek series talk about the days that were. Did they know they were changing the future?

The author of Dragonflight, The Ship Who Sang, and so much more talks about her life and works and answers questions.

A meeting for members of the Science Fiction Writers of America.

In many ways, Space Patrol laid the groundwork for Star Trek. What was it like on the set of a live show where anything could go wrong before millions of viewers - and often did? Jean-Noel Bassior discusses the show's groundbreaking contributions to TV production and how and why it taught many baby boomers life lessons they still can't forget.

What are we on the verge of discovering? Gravity waves? Quark substructure? Tachyon neutrinos? Natural wormholes? Lab-made black holes?

Representatives from the announced bids for the 2008 Worldcon will each give brief presentations and take questions in order to convince you to vote for them. Groups bidding for other years (and other conventions) will also have opportunities to speak about their bids.

It's 40th anniversary won't be until next year but in this, it's 40th year, the entire staff of Locus, perhaps the most influential publication in science fiction, gathers together to tell stories, answer questions, and hear what you think.

A discussion of the works and life of the late and much lamented Octavia Butler.

An interactive workshop on creating cultures for your work and worlds.

Why the feud? Can't we all just get along?

Let's face it, what we really love about DVDs is all the cool special features. The people who toil in the field of creating them talk about what it takes to make a DVD really special and things coming up in the future.

It has been 34 years since we last stepped foot on the Moon, and Mars is beckoning to us. Plans are bring laid right now to return to the moon and from there go on to set foot on the Red Planet. Mars Society members take a look at all the current plans for exploring and eventually colonizing Mars.

Making "amateur" movies goes back in Fandom to at least the 1950s with such films as The Mesquite Kid and The Genie

A paper on Disability: Where Science Fiction meets Science Fact focusing on assistive technology, attitudes towards disabled people, medical advances, and medical rationing. We'll discuss various visions of "Disability Future" (both utopian and distopian) and which has the most likelihood of happening.

Australian authors and fans talk about the works being generated down under and how they differ -- if at all -- from what's created in the US and elsewhere.

A slide show by the artist.

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How fast can you write and sing a new song? Develop your ability in this arcane skill.

Fandom in Japan is different from Fandom in the US. Or is it? Hear about the fans and Fandom of the country that will be hosting next year's Worldcon.

Discussion group for performers in animal suits that cover from head to toe. Aspects both artistic (how to knock 'em dead on stage!) and practical (how NOT to knock 'em over!)

Some of science fiction's best poets read selections of their works.

Panel Chair: Heather Urbanski, Lehigh University 1. Defending the West: Tolkien After 9/11; Faye Ringel, US Coast Guard Academy 2. Whose America Is He Captain of?: Marvel Comics in the Post-9/11 World; George Cusack, Auburn University, Montgomery 3. The Future, After The Year 2000; Eric Sonstroem, University of the Pacific

Come take a guided tour of the Art Show with a knowledgeable guide who won't lead you astray. Check the schedule for additional tours and guides.

The difficulty of operating a Space Mech can never be underestimated; here we offer the cheapest adventure imaginable pitting Mech-Warrior against Mech-Warrior where YOU are inside and in-control of the Mech using your available weapons to destroy your opponent. Only the most violent will win !!!

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Do you have a sense of humor? Are you a fan of The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Do you sing along to Broadway show tunes? Then you'll love the Prancing Pony Players! Join P3 for a half-hour show celebrating Tolkien's trilogy with poetry and parody songs.

Starting in the 1960s, Walter Koenig's Paval Chekov has been a part of Star Trek's long history, on television and in motion pictures. And Chekov's had a career in Star Trek novels as well. This year, Chekov completes his story in New Voyages, being done for the Internet. Walter Koenig will tell us about his adventures as Chekov and with Star Trek and beyond.

There's a huge Fandom for Dr. Who but for a lot of other people, the show didn't do much. But the new Dr. Who series (last year in the UK and this year in the US) has won a legion of converts. Is the new show that different from the old one?

Written by Aldous Huxley from outside our field, perhaps with many things to teach us. Protest and poetry hold it together. There's warning here; is there hope? Why? What makes the satire sting?

Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert talk about continuing the Dune series of novels, working from Frank Herbert's notes and manuscripts, and how the project came about.

It was easy in the '60s. There it was, on the air. And after 1987, there was Star Trek: The Next Generation. But what about in the '70s and '80s, before TNG. What kept Star Trek Fandom alive?

Particularly for science fiction and fantasy films, artwork is created to give everyone working on a film project a sense of place, time, and reality (or lack thereof). Most famous, perhaps, are Ralph McQuarries paintings for Star Wars. Artists talk about their work in this specialized area, what's required and how it feels to create works that will be brought to life

The first all-science-fiction magazine made its debut in 1926 and from it sprang other magazines, readers galore, local clubs, letter columns, and all that surrounds us today. Some of the early writers and readers of the magazine give their memories of how it affected them.

Bidding for art at a science fiction convention art show can be simple. It just seems complicated. Established collectors, auctioneers, and artists will tell you about the mysteries of bid sheets and voice auctions. And about strategies for winning the auctions. They'll also talk about buying art elsewhere than convention art shows.

Are they even worthwhile? People who have taught at Writing Workshops and others who have taken them discuss the benefits and pitfalls of these writing roundtables.

Panelists each bring ten items. Audience members ask for a type of item, a la a standard scavenger hunt. The panelists will then have to show one of the items they've brought and try to convince the audience that their item is the best match for what was requested.

There used to be pulp magazines by the score publishing science fiction and fantasy, later to be supplanted by "prozines" and slick magazines. But there are fewer and fewer now. Or are there? Are the magazines surviving? Are the moving over to the internet? Or are the publications there a whole 'nother thing?

Some editors/publishers just don't like what you have to say. Is that censorship? Some don't want to publish anything controversial, to face the potential wrath of the Fundamentalists or the Parent Groups. It's their money; isn't it their choice?

Is super-miniaturized science the wave of the future or just another passing fancy?

There are some people who think the slick and easy answers of science fiction have turned people off to the hard and slow progress real space exploration takes. Why did we go to the moon and then turn back?

A slide show cum game show of photos from Fandom's past. Just who is that young man?

What are the ethical problems of the Human Genome Project? Are we playing God when we fool around with genes and chromosomes? Can a world of all blonde and blue-eyed children be far behind? When we can work miracles on the molecular level, will the people in areas we can "correct" be discriminated against?

The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to be believable. Panelists discuss things which really happened but which they could not use in their writing because no one would believe they'd actually occur.

Most of us have little idea of exactly what an editor at a publishing company does. And we have no idea what an assistant editor does. Some editors and assistant editors fill us in on their place in the process.

Lots of science fiction writers also write mysteries: Vance, Brackett, Kuttner, Boucher. Some, like Niven, have written science fiction mysteries. Is there something inherently linking the two genres or is it just wide-ranging tastes and interests?

Bear, Benford, Brin, and Vernor Vinge talk about The Bullets You Don't Hear. Which ones will get us, and why worry?

With all the changes in our world -- political, social, economic, and scientific --