Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 154

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Brighton, day 2

It's three in the morning here in Brighton.  I should have hit the sack two and a half hours ago, when I left the still lively party going on in the main reception area.  Instead, I caught up on work.

Today was a recurring blend of work and con stuff, like the same clothes going round and round in a dryer.  Notable events included attending interviews with Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, and Sir Terry Pratchett; a dinner with friends; and time at the mass signing and subsequent party with more friends. 

If I learned anything at all from today, it's a lesson I already knew but have been unable to act on:  I need to spend more time writing. 

What a surprise. 

I'm out.

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Brighton, day 1

After a reasonably long but very fitful night of on-again, off-again sleep, I got up, worked, and headed out for a bit of tourist time.

First up was lunch at a small shop that served passable French sandwiches and frites.

After it, we headed to the day's main non-con attraction:  The Brighton Royal Pavilion.  A non-food example of Henry IV's excess, the Pavilion is quite the sight, even on the outside.

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In the entrance to the ticketing area sat this dragon, a creature who reappeared in many of the rooms.


Dragons and serpents are key parts of the Pavilion's interior design imagery, which Frederik Crace and Robert Jones provided, presumably at King George's request.  They focused heavily on Chinese-based designs, while architect John Nash built the outside in Indian style.

I would have taken more pictures, but not only did signs prohibit photography, alert security people in every room were on the watch for it.  

Had I seen the Pavilion before I visited the palaces of the de Medicis and Hapsburgs, I would have found it a suitably grand, though often gaudy, royal indulgence.  Having visited those places earlier this year, however, I occasionally found myself wondering, "Henry, surely you can be more wasteful than this."  To be fair, though, this was just a retreat, not a main palace, and Henry was dealing with the world a couple of centuries later, during which time wealth had spread around a bit more.

All of that is just analysis, however.  My gut reaction was what Henry and the designers must have intended:  Wow.  The Pavilion is a fun, over-the-top, grand place, with a beautiful dining hall that includes an amazing, thirty-foot-tall main chandelier; a kitchen that was the state of the art for its time; and a music room about the same size and almost as grand as the dining hall. 

After a couple of hours there, we headed back to the con--but stopped first at Cloud 9, where I had a scoop of their very tasty and housemade vanilla ice cream. (Vanilla, though basic, is an excellent way to gauge how creamy and well-made a shop's ice cream is.)

At the con, I caught a panel on writing for comics, wandered the dealers' room a bit, and chatted with friends. 

After some work, a group of us headed out for a delicious dinner at Indian Summer, where every dish was one I had not tasted before. 

The rest of the evening went to work.  It's going on three in the morning here, I'm still jet-lagged and exhausted, and I have to get up early, so I'm signing off. 

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Brighton, day 0

I wish I could sleep on planes.  I really do.  I can doze fitfully and uncomfortably, my head jerking spastically and producing strange noises, but I don't feel good afterward.  Neither do any of the people around me.  So, I passed last night's fly-all-night trip to Heathrow largely reading and watching a movie on the tablet American Airlines nicely loaned me.  (Yes, I was in First Class, which was glorious; miles paid for the ticket.) 

After landing and getting luggage, the next step was a ride in a car service--about the same price as all options other than the cheapest trains and considerably less hassle--through rush-hour traffic to Brighton.  Not a good time, not a bad time, just a ride.

Amazingly, my hotel room was ready, so I headed to it, caught up on work, and crashed for several hours in a nap.

Con registration proceeded smoothly, the early attendees wine reception was a bore because I don't drink and didn't know anyone, and so it was time to walk the town a bit and find dinner. 

The con's restaurant guide sang the praises of Havana, so when our winding path took us by it, we ducked in and enjoyed a very tasty meal.  I had a curry soup and a mushroom risotto, and both were delicious.

The winds are gusting over 22 mph, so the walk home was chilly and left me feeling like someone had sanded my corneas.  I'm now caught up on work, though, so it's time to sleep and then wake up, I hope, adjusted to local time. 

Tomorrow, I hope to get in a bit of touristing, and then the con starts in earnest!

I'm on a plane

By the time this post appears, I'll be on a plane heading to London Heathrow and, eventually, to Brighton for World Fantasy Con 2013.  I'll also be moving to London for a few days after the con to, I hope, stare at some great art, eat a great meal, sign some books (stock only; I'm really nowhere near enough of a draw to warrant a live signing) at Forbidden Planet, and see a pair of plays I hope are great.

Today has been a blur of work and rushing to the airport, so I have little to say about it.

I didn't comment on Lou Reed's death two days ago largely because I didn't feel I'd have much to add to all that others would say about him.  I can, though, add this personal note:  His music, particularly his lyrics, opened a lot of young minds, including mine, to a great many notions they had not previously considered.  I will miss him--though I never knew him--for this, for his influence, and most of all for the music himself.  Though thousands of people are highlighting the same tune, I'll put it here because Toni and I named an anthology after it.  Enjoy, and think of Lou Reed and all he gave us.

Things I learn in airports

Life constantly offers us the chance to learn, if we will pay attention. I often find airports particularly instructive.

For example, on the way back from New Orleans on Monday, while grabbing lunch in MSY, I learned that spoons are definitively the most useful bit of cutlery, because they are multi-purpose. Don't take my word for this profound insight; check out the declaration from the fine folks at Dixie, whose SmartStock dispenser makes this point clear.

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I would have chosen the knife, because with it you can both cut your po boy and stab the annoying people who are yelling into their mobiles a mere table away--not that I would do such a thing, of course.  I see now, though, that with the spoon you can stab with one end--not sharp, admittedly, but put enough force behind it and you might be okay--and then scoop out any loose bits with the other end.  Spoons it is.

One airport later, at DFW, while ordering the wonderful Red Mango mixed berry parfait, I learned that Auntie Anne's was now offering not only the amazing pretzel dog, but the even more handy cup full of pretzel dog bites!


Come on, admit it:  you'd like to tuck into a cup of these delicious rascals.  I know I would.

I now await eagerly the time when Auntie Anne decides to complete the circle of life, hot dog style, with the foot-long pretzel dog.  If you were to order and eat all three, I suspect you would achieve the kind of enlightenment that would stop you from even considering which type of plastic tableware is best for killing the annoying people yelling into their cell phones.

Not that I would ever do such a thing, of course.

Kill them, that is.  Of course I'd eat the trifecta of pretzel dog happiness.

Incredibly infectious

This song, at least the instrumental parts, is not my usual cup of tea, but for some reason I'm really hot on it right now.  With nearly 124 million views on YouTube, the song clearly doesn't need any promotion from me, but I like it so much that I wanted to point you to it.

I hope you also enjoy it.



By the way, if you want to skip the video, which does at times stop the music, and just hear the music, try this one.  As a bonus, it includes the lyrics.

The North Carolina State Fair food tour, 2013 edition

As is our tradition, a group of us went to the State Fair this past Thursday night to walk around, bask in the neon glow, check out the people and rides and animals and vegetables, and most of all, to try the weird food on offer there.  For the second straight year, I followed my "one bite" plan:  Try as many dishes as I wanted, but eat only one bite of each and share the rest with others in the group.  It worked well enough that after four hours of walking around, I left the Fair happy but not over-stuffed.

Enough talk:  Let's get to the food.

Scott had ordered a funnel cake, so I had a bite of it to start my Fair experience. 

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Sarah began with her traditional pretzel, so I took a bite of it as well.


I ordered and shared the pretzel dog, which provided its usual yummy doughy meaty bite of goodness.


The brisket sandwich really needed sauce but was otherwise okay, though no better.


Next up was a taste of Gina's fried cheese (in this case, mozzarella).


How could we possibly improve on last year's Krispy Kreme cheeseburger?

By adding bacon, of course.


I have only myself to blame for ordering it, but fortunately, others were brave enough to share it.

I next found myself face-to-donut with the newest Fair sensation:  The Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joe.  Seeing it in person, I could not bring myself to buy it and put even a single bite into my mouth; it just didn't look good.  So, with a little regret, I walked on by.

Scott consoled me with a bite of his chocolate-covered cheesecake-on-a-stick.


Sarah's deep-fried mac-and-cheese bites were not what one would normally serve after cheesecake, but I was game, and my nibble was tasty.


The cheese-covered, locally made, spicy hot dog (really a sausage), on the other hand, was a perfect next stopping point.


After walking a bit, another sweet treat was clearly in order, so Sarah stepped up by ordering and sharing the mini donuts with cinnamon and sugar.


Those little rascals are reliably good year after year. 

I enjoyed my traditional North Carolina State cherry vanilla ice cream, but I forgot to take a picture of it; sorry about that.

I did, however, capture the buttered corn-on-the-cob that Ticia later shared. 


On a brisk autumn night, hot corn-on-the-cob is a delight.

Lest it seem that all I did was eat, let me share a few more Fair images, many of them courtesy of Gina. 

This combo didn't appeal to me, but I loved the sign.


How can you not like a vendor that will sell you a calzone and then give you a wedgie?


I didn't risk walking near that stand.

Huge watermelon, anyone?


That would take even our beach crew a while to consume.

The melon, though, was a tiny baby compared to this year's winning pumpkin, which tipped the scales just a hair below 800 pounds.


We are talking one giant pumpkin, folks.

No pumpkin could be bigger, of course, than Elvis, though this statue doesn't do him justice, and I'm not commenting on his weight.


This cow's serenity brought us all back to the moment, which the cow seemed to inhabit perfectly.


Be the cow, Luke, be the cow.

What's a state fair without a best-of-show-winning mermaid cake?


Not the North Carolina State Fair, that's for sure.

Some folks rode the flying swings.


I did not, preferring instead to keep my feet on the ground.  

Did I mention the amazing fireworks show that capped the evening as we were about to get into our cars?


Okay, one more fireworks photo.


Peace out.

Wow, do I want to see this movie!

This UK trailer for Captain America:  The Winter Soldier, is great.  I went from being lukewarm about the film--of course I'd go, but not with high hopes--to being quite excited about it, all in the short span of two and a half minutes. Check it out, ideally in 1080p on a big monitor.



If the movie lives up to the trailer, it should be both a great ride and, for bonus points, a solid exploration of some of the key themes that have always troubled Captain America.

April 4 next year should be a good movie day.

Escape Plan

In
Yes, we had to tolerate Stallone sitting and thinking, but the director wisely distracted from this cerebral activity with lots of graphics. Stallone and Schwarzenegger looked old, but they still have presence, and they were clearly having fun together. Jim Caviezel took a break from his Person of Interest duties to deliver a similarly muted performance as a bad guy, the warden of the impossible-to-escape-from prison in which Stallone finds himself. You already know the plot, but that doesn't matter, because the movie implements it reasonably well and with good pacing, so the ride is fun.

If you're up for watching these two old action stars have fun with a prison breakout story, you'll enjoy Escape Plan. I did.

A food truck name I could not resist

Dr. Noodle

Think about it: He's a doctor, and he has noodles, or perhaps he's a doctor of noodles, a noodlist, or maybe he's a noodle who's learned to pass as a human doctor.  The possibilities are endless.

In any case, when I ran across this small food truck a few weeks ago, I had to know more about the good doctor, including how well he handles his noodles.  Sadly, he was out of the Phad-Thai, so I went with the Singapore-style street noodles with chicken.

They were delicious, with just a bit of heat to offset the simple flavors of the noodles and the chicken.

Why Dr. Noodle even offers fish and chips is simply beyond me.