Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 79

My heart goes out to Paris and Parisians everywhere

I love Paris, absolutely adore it.  I know many people have experienced rudeness and other bad behaviors from Parisians, but I've never had a bad day in Paris.  I went there first in 1985 and have returned multiple times since then.  I began and ended the travel parts of my sabbatical there.  We visited it when pregnant with my daughter, and many years later, she was engaged there.  I love this city and have lately been hankering to visit it again.

Tonight, as I assume everyone knows, terrorists attacked Paris and killed over 150 people in a move that will accomplish absolutely nothing other than to rally the world against them.  It is a horrible thing--but it won't make me want to visit Paris less.  To the contrary, it makes me want to support the city more.

My heart goes out to the people of Paris.

If your sense of humor is as odd as mine

and maybe even if it isn't, you should check out the set of wonderful essays by Colin Nissan on this McSweeney's page.

Warning:  These essays and the rest of this entry use curse words.  Don't go there or read on if that bothers you.

I first encountered Nissan's work on the McSweeney's mug that bears the title of the first essay on the above page:  "It's Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers".  The title and the mug cracked me up, but when I read the essay, I laughed far harder.

Each essay I've read--and I am doling them out to myself, like expensive treats--has been at least amusing and usually far funnier than that.

My current favorite, and an essay I cannot read aloud without breaking down in laughter, is "It's Naked Time".  Many parts of this one crack me up, but the last two lines are particularly funny--if you have the same sort of (some call it "sick") sense of humor as I do.

Enjoy--but I have warned you this is not for everyone.

Those who served paid--and most still pay

In the U.S., today is Veterans Day, when we honor those who served in our armed forces.

My stepfather, Ed, served.  My friend, Dave, served.  I've known many folks who did.  I did not; Nixon ended the draft before I could be drafted.

All the vets I've known who were in war zones paid not only then but afterward, when they had to carry the scars--sometimes physical, always emotional--of that service.  No one escapes a war unscathed.  Ed didn't.  Dave didn't.  No one does.

When we contemplate sending men and women to war, we should think long and hard about the costs we're asking them to bear for the rest of their lives--assuming they live through the conflict; many will not.  When those who survive come home, we should honor them, thank them, and be prepared to spend to take care of them, to help them deal with the costs they are bearing for what we as a society asked them to do.

We shame ourselves and dishonor them when we do anything less, and, sadly, we usually do far less.

A PT sabbatical with charity work in Haiti

Scott spent part of his sabbatical in Haiti helping people there.  This video tells a little bit about his time on that island.



I'm very proud of this program and of the great work that many of my PT colleagues do while on their sabbaticals.

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Saratoga Springs, day 5

Today followed the same pattern as most of my travel days in which I'm returning home:  Wake up, work, shower, drive, drop off rental car, go to airline counter, get boarding passes, go through security, eat, work, fly, work, fly, work, get luggage, go home, work, eat, work.  The pattern is boringly familiar but also necessary.  I need to think of better material for the blog on such days.

What stood out most today was that a surprisingly large number of trees in the Saratoga Springs/Albany area still had leaves, mostly yellow leaves, so I enjoyed the fall foliage as I drove.

The yucky Carolina weather was also a presence in my day, both in the bumpy flights and in the nasty drive home.  It was nothing out of the ordinary for this time of the year, but nothing pleasant, either.

I am now home, working and partially settled in, partially still unpacking.  I hope to be home for the next four weeks, which would be a lovely treat.

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Saratoga Springs, day 4

The first non-work, non-sleep part of today involved paying for and packing up my art purchases.  I'm quite fortunate that friend and bookseller, Glennis, offered to drive art home for me, thus saving me a lot of packing and shipping hassles.  Thanks, Glennis; I owe you for this.

The annual World Fantasy Awards banquet filled much of the afternoon.  The food might well have been the worst banquet fare in memory, but it was still nice to chat with others in the community, commiserate over said food, and applaud the award winners.

After transferring the art to Glennis, I and a few others headed down the street to Saratoga Gelato, to get the bad banquet taste out of our mouths.  The gelato was indeed delicious and did the trick.

Later, we walked to Chianti for a dinner of Italian food.  The salad, a warm blend of lettuce and anchovies with a piece of cheese on it, was one of the weirder dishes I've tasted recently, but the pasta was quite good.  Compared to the banquet, all of it was heavenly.

Tomorrow, I journey home.

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Saratoga Springs, day 3

Work kept me up very late, so I slept rather late today.  It was great to get seven hours of sleep, though my body is telling me that I could use a great deal more.

Lunch was a light meal--a small baguette with ham and Gruyere--at Mrs. London's Bakery & Cafe, an inviting little shop along the main street of Saratoga Springs.  I then spent time with friends and browsing the art show and the dealers' room.

For dinner I joined a big crowd of folks related to my publisher for a short walk to Jacob & Anthony's, where we enjoyed a meal of classic steak-house fare.  The table was too big and too full for me to be able to talk to most of the people at it, but the little conversational groups along its length seemed to be having a good time; ours certainly was.

At the art reception I settled on the art I wanted and bid on and won a piece.  I'm quite pleased with it.
After that, I chatted with friends in lounge areas and in the bars until I noticed it was after one, and I really wanted to work and then crash.

Tomorrow, the awards banquet.

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Saratoga Springs, day 2

I worked a lot again today, but because I can't say anything about what I'm doing, I'm going to stop mentioning it for the rest of this trip.

Lunch took a group of us to the Putnam Market, where the crowds were hard to take but the food was very good.  Afterward, we enjoyed a light dessert at Saratoga Gelato.  The gelato there wasn't up to what I enjoyed in Italy, but it was still quite good.

My second and final panel of the con was about politics, economics, and power dynamics in fantasy realms.  We talked about many aspects of these issues, and once again the audience seemed fully engaged.

I next roamed the art show and the dealers' room for a while.  I could get in so much trouble in both of them.  This art show is strong, and I very much enjoyed getting to see so many wonderful original works.

World Fantasy Cons have a tradition of a mass signing, which normally occurs, as it did here, on Friday night.  Largely because each con-goer received a copy of the special WFC edition of Onward, Drake! in her/his book bag, I spent more than an hour straight signing books, a nice change from my usual lonely time at the signing tables.

Several of us then headed across the street to Forno Bistro for a late Italian dinner that was good, if not exceptional.

As at other World Fantasy Cons, the bar here was hopping with folks talking, and I joined that crowd and chatted with friends.

A good con day.

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Saratoga Springs, day 1

I expected to dislike Saratoga Springs, but so far I've quite enjoyed my time here.  It's a nifty little town, with a fun main street and plenty of good restaurants.  I'm very happy to have been wrong about it.

My day went primarily to work, lunch, and more work until my 3:00 panel rolled around.  Lunch took a small group of us to Compton's, a little diner that appears to have no Web site.  The food was exactly what one would expect walking up to the place, so I had a completely reasonable breakfast for lunch.

On the way to my panel, I browsed the dealers' room for a bit.  It was, like most such rooms at World Fantasy Cons, full of books, which made it very entertaining and very tempting for me.

My panel today was titled, "Real World Nomenclature, Taboos, and Cultural Meaning."  We talked about the choices writers make when they create fantasy worlds and when they write historical fantasies.  The discussion stayed interesting and the fairly large audience remained engaged for the full hour, so I had a good time doing it.

I then took a spin through the art show, which proved to be very good.  I want many pieces in it; time will tell if I decide to spring for any of them.

I spent the next couple of hours working before heading to dinner with a different group of friends.  Our meal at 15 Church was tasty, and everyone left both full and satisfied.

My company is closing tomorrow at noon for a few hours to go to see Spectre, the new James Bond movie.  (We've done the same thing for each of the three previous Daniel Craig Bond films.)  Because I am here and could not go with everyone else, I instead went to see the film tonight.  I will talk more about it after the con, but I will say that I very much enjoyed it.

Work took me until late in the night, so now it's time to rest a bit before another day of work and con stuff.

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Saratoga Springs, day 0

I woke up early, showered, and headed to the airport for a day with a lot of travel in it.  The first flight deposited us in Philadelphia in time for lunch.  If you go to a one-short-order-cook cheesesteak shop at the Philly airport and order (to share, of course) a cheesesteak and cheese fries, you get this beast.

Click the image to see a larger version.
Provolone on the sandwich, the whiz on the fries; it's the complete Philly cheese experience.  It's also a heart attack in Styrofoam--and tasty, too.

After a very small Red Mango treat, we boarded a plane for Albany.  A car rental and a half-hour drive later, and we reached our destination:  Saratoga Springs, New York, home of this year's World Fantasy Convention.  I registered, checked into the hotel, and settled down to catch up on the work I had not finished on the planes.

I worked a bunch for multiple hours and then joined friends for a very tasty Spanish dinner at Boca Bistro.  We shared multiple small plates, and all of them were quite good.

Tomorrow, the con begins!