2000 - New Things One of the odd things about putting on events in Las Vegas being the promoters routinely fail to tell anyone. Such it was with Sci-Fi Day at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino. I found out about it only because DeDee was doing hair at the MGM. All the studios were represented in the back lot of the MGM, thumping the tub for their respective TV shows. Some put on panels and discussions; like Gabrielle Stanton and Harry Werksman >.- Except for the studio set-ups, the place was pretty much a ghost town. Even a couple schlubs from the Sci-Fi Academy had a table.
Zines Go Electronic- I had been working for a local graphics firm and come the mid-90s, amazed at a new process known as the PDF. I was designing catalogues and periodicals for companies wishing to save money on printing and shipping costs by creating PDF documents and emailing them anywhere in the world!
- I approached Arnie Katz with the idea which seemed like a natural but he would have none of it and we would go 'round and 'round about it, but the concept of creating a zine without a hard-copy, nor knowledge of who was reading it was unthinkable.
 Joyce Katz, on the otherhand was more adventurous and while I contributed to the first issue of her zine, "Smokin' Rockets", with issue 2 in December of 2000 she was ready to hit the internet. With the advent of Bill Burns' eFanzines.com that very month, there was no reason not to. - My first problem was always thinking fans would be up for something new, but it was never the case. My long time gripe that dealing with fandom was always playing to the lowest common denominator would again be tested. The zine suffered several indignities; one being chopped into thirds that any fans on dial-up could access it in individual chunks and Joyce requested I put "reading instructions" on the cover! Despite all that, plus scads of interior interactive buttons we received numerous derisive letters. One fan was so irate, he vowed never to read another issue and that he was working on a new process that would "re-define fan art". Needless to say he was never heard from again.
 So, there was a third issue of "Smokin' Rockets" and done. It took Arnie 2 years and a broken copier to finally try a pdf zine with "Crazy from the Heat". - <Click for Close-Up
- Arnie and I often had heated debates on fanzine quality. My take has always been using everything at your disposal to make your zine as cool as possible. Admittedly, I've received few kudos for doing so.
Funny though, many of those who questioned my use of a computer and PDFs are now doing the same.
2001 - A Life Odyssey- The year went by unremarkably; working by day, twice a month at the Vegrants, And then came September 11. I had finally gotten nailed for jury duty and was on my way when the news blared of the first plane hitting the tower. My first thought was the bomber hitting the Empire State Building back in the 40s.
- I parked in the lot and walked to the courthouse. By the time I arrived, the second plane had hit the tower and it was clear more was going on than a terrible accident. Security at the jury station were tight lipped and just said "Go Home". The car radio relayed a number of confused scenarios and everywhere I went, televisions were all playing the same scenes of destruction.
- The felling of the towers has left us all with 9/11 eyes.
2003 - Life Goes On- PDF zines became commonplace as postage rates and printing costs increased. I did several issues of a new zine "Black Cat, in honor of a new kitty that showed up on our porch and said "Adopt Me Or I'll Kill You".
Las Vegas Comic Con Vegas is the absolute mecca for conventions of any kind. The Las Vegas Comic-Con, not affiliated with the San Diego bunch came to town with guns drawn. But like all fan conventions coming to Vegas, they forget to tell anyone. There were two Comic Conventions at the Sands Convention Center and another pair at Mandalay Bay, but they all share one thing in common. Oh, they may put on one hell of a convention, loaded with celebs and a terrific dealers room, rock bands, costume extravaganza and movie premieres but getting the word out has always been their downfall.- And thus alas, there is always a paltry crowd attending, thus pissing everyone off and ensuring there wouldn't be another one. I found out about it by accident via Google while looking for something else.
-
2004 - Corflu Vegas- Has it really been 10 years since I've been to a fan convention? And here I thought I'd die without once again tasting the bittersweet fruit of unbridled conventioning; rejoicing in the time-honored ceremony of unabashed gut-stuffing or participating in the early morning ritual I call "The Zombie Walk". That of staggering down one hallway after another in a drunken stupor, looking for any signs of fannish activity, mainly because you've forgotten where your room was. It turns out, all I had to do was wait long enough and eventually, everything comes to Las Vegas.
- March 19-21 Corflu would be coming to the venerable Plaza Hotel at the apex of The Fremont Street Experience. Here was a chance, not only to go on vacation, but still be close enough to home to feed the cat! Ahhh... the Plaza Hotel; a cozy if not threadbare leftover from the days when the name Bugsy made strong men quake. Hell, the Plaza was, at one time, the sole train station for Las Vegas. You could hop from your Pullman and be pouring quarters into a slot machine in a matter of minutes and later, completely shitfaced and broke, stagger back to the platform and chug-chug your way home. Could life be more simple? We've hauled many a visitor to and from the Plaza platform and now that train service is no longer available, I just had to see what remained of the waiting area. To my surprise, the "History of Train Travel" mural was still on the wall in the hallway leading to the platform, but now, the area bears a sign reading "Plaza Employee Smoking Area" and indeed there were people, presumably employees smoking therein. It also served as a storage area for dozens of chairs which thankfully, were not smoking. The hotel is one of those rare, unpretentious establishments that much like fandom, has seen better days, and is held together with lots of duct-tape. No one cares if you gamble in a bathrobe and bunny slippers and merely by sitting at a slot machine you are presented with an unending parade of free booze.
 But here was a chance to dip my toes in the sea of fandom once more. I did some art for the program cover also used on the T-shirt and at the last minute, honed a ballot box from some foam board while DeDee produced several trays of brownies, cookies and things. The membership goodie bag contained new issues of "Crazy from the Heat", "Smokin' Rockets" and "How Green Was My Vegrant", a collection of writings from the hallowed pages of Vegas Fandom's "Wild Heirs". Also riding fitfully along with these masterful tomes was "Nine Lines Each", the official postcard zine and daily update dolled out at whim during various points during the con.
Thursday, March 18th / Hug Suite Hug- We acquired our room keys and made our way through the mildewed halls where no doubt, if they could speak, they would be screaming. We found our room on the 16th floor - with the word "HUG" scratched into the door. The room was comfortable, clean and served us well. The Hug Suite overlooked the swimming pool and train tracks, where at any given moment, a freight train so long you couldn't see either end would be rolling by, plus the digital clock tower across the street that would faithfully give us the temp and time. The action would really start the 18th thanks to Joyce and Arnie's welcoming party setting the tone for the rest of the con - fun, fun, fun! DeDee came early with Joyce to help set up the room and make sure all the chocolate was well tasted!
- I finally got there about 6:30 ready to meet all the folks I've seen in print over the years! As early fans wandered in - some tired from hours of travel, they perked up seeing a lavish spread of goodies and assorted drinkables (I know I did and I only came from the other side of town!). Cathi Wilson made an official Corflu cake and Ken Forman showed up with a box full of Corflu T-shirts that sold like proverbial hot cakes! And thus the evening went; chatting, trading zines and best of all: eating. Oh, we're lightweights alright and the fact I had to show up for work on Friday, sent us scampering off to dreamland earlier than we would have liked.
Friday, March 19th / Coots and Craps - DeDee had a chance to enjoy the first event of Corflu - that being Ken Forman's nature walk to and around our very own wetlands, which, to everyone's amazement, were indeed wet. Who would have thought this desert wasteland would be an oasis for a variety of birds and scores of flora and fauna? It was another gorgeous day, here in paradise as three fanvans whisked the intrepid explorers off to parts unknown. It turned out to be a pleasant walk while Ken Forman, master of the great outdoors pointed and explained (sometimes both at once) at this and that along the way. Where the water came from, where it was going and what would happen when it got there. Coots, mallards, jackrabbits, icky stuff and other critters that call the place home all came under the scrutiny of Ken's watchful eyeball.
- I finally got there about 6 to Arnie saying "Alan, you missed all the egoboo at the opening ceremonies! Everyone was talking about your art and the ballot box!" Oh Poo, I missed the egobus! Oh well, a couple of beers will make everything right! But here we were, the cocktail party fully underway in (and spilling out of) the Program Room doubling as a dealers room and trip down memory lane. Here were boxes and boxes of zines, displayed, drooled over, purchased and eventually taken home by one lucky fan or another.
- When things began cooling down, Ted White gave a reading from an old Walt Willis tale and thus concluding, sent all scurrying to the consuite (or smoking suite for those inclined) to resume our positions where Linda Bushyager offered a "Gambling Crawl" excursion to the gaming floor for the monetarily daring. Offering tips on turning $20 into... well, perhaps a good time. We went off on our own at one point to get acquainted with the assortment of new machines which turned out to be friendly indeed, drink a few beers and head back to the consuite for some snacks, then off to the Hug Suite.
Saturday, March 20th / The Fear of Beer - Morning came with the rare pleasure of waking without a cat upon one's head and someone else to make the bed. The problem with living so close to a convention finds the call of mundania beckoning one home and thus we spent most of the day, missing the trivia contest that I would have stunk at anyway, and as I understand it, Sandra Bond shellacked the local boys!
- Also missed was the Crock-Pot Luncheon which scuttlebutt claimed was top drawer all around. Oh, the zine auction also fell before the evil sword of Mundane obligations, dash it all! We finally made our appearance at the Program Room about 4:00 in time for "What Fans Need to Know About Fanhistory" which was immediately cancelled for some reason I was unable to discern, then suddenly revived by public demand.
- Arnie, Joyce, Lenny, Dedee and I escaped to the diner for grub while Amie chimed "Alan, you missed all the egoboo at the fanzine auction! Everyone was talking about your old fanzines and paid big bucks!" Well double poo; another crushing blow to my fragile ego; it would take even more beer to salve my weak and shallow self. Having satisfied our respective tape worms, it was time for Andy Hooper's triumph of light and shade: "Fanorama 3004 A.D." a rollicking spoof of Matt Groening's "Futurama" starring the cream of fannish thespians: Aileen Forman, Jerry Kaufman, Steven Stiles, Carrie Root, Robert Lichtman, Moshe Feder, Ross Chamberlain and Lenny Bailes with Andy adding special effects from behind.
- Each actor held a representational sign signifying their character as they read their lines. A few mastered the ability to hold their sign with the front to the audience, a few did not. Everyone had a great time and finishing, Andy and his jolly troupe received a much deserved standing "O".
- Of course, the end of the play signified time to PARTY! Tonight was extra special, you see; it was the Microbrew Fiesta! HooYah! I'm hardly a connoisseur of anything, much less beer, but I know what I like and was hoping to at least, discover a new taste treat, or at worst, get thoroughly pissed from the bejugged elixers before us. Not letting the fact the beer was actually sold by the jug put the fear of camel piss in my heart (or mouth for that matter) I held my cup forth with great anticipation. Hosted by the devilish Karl Kreder and delightful Aileen Forman, we broached the first bottle and joyously filled cups all around. Aileen gave a tremulous sigh and committed herself, much as Newman and Redford committed themselves before jumping off the cliff in "Butch Cassidy". Down the hatch she and all of us! Then, looking to Aileen for the official declaration of tastiness, she appeared overcome by the horror of having swallowed paint thinner. I'm sure there were more members of Jonestown asking for seconds than there were here. Alas, so it went through the assortment of jugs; clearly, if nothing else, we learned why this was indeed a MICRO brewery and likely to remain so.
- Sure, there was the occasional smart ass who said "ummm delicious", but this was a diversionary tactic to throw us off balance (or they were just cheap drunks). Believe me, nobody asked where they could buy a drop of it nor were there collective shouts of "Huzzah!", "Eureka!" or "Hey, this one didn't come back up!" Being troupers, we willing sampled from each and every jug and the results were remarkably similar. What started as a joyous celebration soon became a test of endurance not unlike an episode of "Fear Factor". At the conclusion of the beer tasting, I had hoped to have quite a buzz going, yet I was consumed with finding an abrasive substance to get the taste off my tongue - and look for a good beer. Sounds like an excuse to go downstairs and sit at a slot machine.
Sunday the 21th / Alarming Awards- It comes down to this. The buffet, preliminary to the Award Ceremony began promptly at 11 a.m. and as brunches go, was very good. A wide assortment of breakfasty things and tasty to boot. Eventually, things got around to the actual award ceremony for the Fan Achievement Awards for 2004.
- Presentation of the Past Presidents of FWA for 2003 went to: Arnie and Joyce Katz.
- Best New Fan: Pete Young; Best Fanzine: Trap Door (Bob Lichtman); Best Fan Artist: Steve Stiles; Best Fan Humorist: Andy Hooper Best Fan Writer: Gordon Ecklund; Number One Fan Face: Andy Hooper.
- A Special Achievement Award to: Bill Burns for efanzines.com.
- Selection of Corflu for 2005: San Francisco
- Oddly, during the awards, the hotel fire alarms went off piercing the solemnity of this august occasion while one of those robotic female voices bid everyone to remain calm and wait for further instructi. W, we debated running screaming into the street or hitting the buffet one more time. We opted for the buffet. By and by, the all-clear sounded and it was back to award shinanigans. Once again, Ken proved to be the take charge guy whether in the outback or behind a podium. And here, dear reader, partially through the award ceremony is where we must bid adieu, as once again, the real world beckoned and we were forced to leave, ne'er to return and leave the wrapping up to those closer to the hub.
|
