All day round goes the light and dark

[sovay]

Arisia starts on Friday, so I figured I should post my schedule. There's a lot of it this year:

Sing-Along: Yiddish Songs
Friday 7 PM
Sonya Taaffe (m), Danny Miller, Marnen Laibow-Koser

There is a rich tradition of song from Jewish communities in Russia and Eastern Europe. Come sing along with some of these. Songs of work and play will be featured; no liturgical songs will be included. Leaders may play accompaniment to support the singing.

Dramatic Readings from the Ig Nobel Prizes
Friday 9:30 PM
Marc Abrahams (m), David Kessler, Michele Liguori

Highlights from Ig Nobel prize-winning studies and patents, presented in dramatic mini-readings by luminaries and experts (in some field). The audience will have an opportunity to ask questions about the research presented—answers will be based on the expertise of the presenters, who may have a different expertise than the researchers.

[I am one of the panel of readers, meaning I have no idea what particular improbability I will be dramatizing until the night. Come find out with me!]

Box Office Bombs That Are Better Than You Think
Saturday 2:30 PM
Sonya Taaffe (m), Griffin Ess, Gabriel Valdez, Deirdre Crimmins, Ari Donnelly

Every year there's a film that comes out and tanks something awful. Sometimes, however, that's not because they were terrible; perhaps the studio overspent, or promotion was lacking, or the stars failed to align, and a worthy(-ish) film just didn't work. Perhaps you thought Hugo was gorgeous, or John Carter was fun, or you're the one who'll defend Speed Racer to anyone who'll listen. What movies do you feel deserve a better reputation, despite their not having been financially successful?

Traditional Ballad Bingo
Saturday 4 PM
Angela Kessler (m), Rebecca Maxfield, Jeremy H. Kessler, Sonya Taaffe, Dan "Grim" Marsh

Join the fun as attendees (that's you!) take turns performing traditional ballads for the assemblage. Listen carefully to mark your Ballad Bingo cards when you detect such classic tropes as drowning, pregnancy out of wedlock, or murder of a loved one. Compete for "valuable" prizes! Bingo cards will be provided, but it wouldn't hurt to bring a pen or pencil.

Songs of Rudyard Kipling
Saturday 5:30 PM
Ellen Kranzer (m), Jeremy H. Kessler, Benjamin Newman, Sonya Taaffe

Rudyard Kipling wrote a wealth of poems that make excellent songs, as demonstrated by the likes of Peter Bellamy and (especially in filk and SCA circles) Leslie Fish. Come "Kiple" with us as we indulge in a number of them and maybe a few parodies. If you can, bring some to share!

Weird New England
Saturday 7 PM
Stephen R. Wilk, Alex Feinman, Sonya Taaffe

Reading. Weird and wonderful stories set around New England.

[I expect to read from my as yet unpublished story "As the Tide Came Flowing In," which is the one with late nineteenth-century whaling, sea-hauntings, and pregnancy horror.]

Chantey Sing
Sunday 11:30 am
Jeremy H. Kessler (m), Sonya Taaffe

Come sing (or just listen, but we hope you'll sing) songs of sailing in all forms, with an emphasis on work songs from the age of sail. Fun for all!

The Resurgence of Horror Fiction
Sunday 4 PM
Gillian Daniels (m), Sam Schreiber, Gordon Linzner, Sonya Taaffe, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert, Morgan Crooks

Horror has always been a somewhat disdained genre, even more so than SF. But in recent years it's growing in popularity and sophistication, with publishers like Tom Doherty launching new horror imprints. But like other genres, horror is defined by specific conventions, themes and tropes. Is some horror fiction regressive (especially concerning women) or transgressive? Do horror tropes reinforce stereotypes or force us to face our fears and weaknesses?

Talking Cats and Political Rabbits
Sunday 7 PM
Julia Gilstein (m), Gabriel Valdez, Rebecca Maxfield, Sonya Taaffe, Elisabeth Birdsall

There are several kinds of anthropomorphic fiction, from fantasy in which animals talk and interact with humans, to allegories, to stories in which humans don't appear at all. They can be played for humor or for intense drama (Watership Down). We'll talk about our favorite anthropomorphic fiction, how it's done well . . . and how it sometimes falls short.

The Fantasy Fiction of John Bellairs
Monday 11:30 am
Sonya Taaffe (m), Lisa Batya Feld, Inanna Arthen

John Bellairs wrote several adult fantasies and multiple series of middle-grade fantasy-adventure novels before his untimely death at 53 in 1991. Bellairs' quirky fiction about wizards and magic predated Harry Potter by decades. With The House With a Clock in Its Walls turned into a big-budget film in 2018, let's explore what makes Bellairs' work so distinctive and the influence he had on middle-grade fantasy.

Ray Bradbury at 100: From Green Town to Mars
Monday 1 PM
James Hailer (m), Andrea Martinez Corbin, E. C. Ambrose, Timothy Luz, Sonya Taaffe

Ray Douglas Bradbury, who passed away in 2012, would have turned 100 this year. From his first published SFF work at the age of 18, Bradbury was beloved worldwide as the author of The Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes, and is perhaps most famous for his masterwork, Fahrenheit 451. He remains one of the most influential figures in American and international genre fiction. We'll look at his life and legacy.

Using New England in Speculative Literature?
Monday 2:30 PM
James Hailer (m), Monique "Moniquill" Poirier, Inanna Arthen, Sonya Taaffe

Boston and New England have served as the setting for a great many speculative stories, from Hawthorne to Lovecraft to Atwood. For writers interested in joining that tradition, what makes the New England setting special even in the hyperconnected 21st century? A larger topic for discussion: is it possible to talk about setting when so much of a person's day is spent in consideration of things happening in the internet and media?

Who can I expect to see there as I run between panels, screaming like Sempitern Walker?

Comments

[isis]

Chantey sing! Oh, I am sorry to be missing that!

[asakiyume]

You are going to be busy! Glad to see all the singing ones, but the two that I'd most like to be a fly on the wall for are the box office bombs (I am a Speed Racer defender, but I'd love to hear about other people's favorite bombs) and the animals-in-fiction one.

[sporky_rat]

Ooo, Bellairs! I loved his books with Rose-Rita and Lewis.
I really wish I could hear some of the Kipling filks, that'd be so cool - and my favorite box-office bomb is Clue.

I see - New Englandly

[nodrog]

Am I weird, for wanting to ask Emily Dickinson out on a date?  I've seen a daguerreotype of her; she was presentable, and heck, I think I'd like her!

[gwynnega]

Wow, that's a lot of panels, etc.! Lots of interesting stuff.

[sovay]

Chantey sing! Oh, I am sorry to be missing that!

Do you have them near you?

[sovay]

You are going to be busy!

I think my number of program items may actually exceed the number Arisia says it can sign you up for, but here we are!

Glad to see all the singing ones, but the two that I'd most like to be a fly on the wall for are the box office bombs (I am a Speed Racer defender, but I'd love to hear about other people's favorite bombs) and the animals-in-fiction one.

Is there any chance you'll be there? I know some of the panels get recorded, but I have no idea if either of those will be.

[sovay]

Ooo, Bellairs! I loved his books with Rose-Rita and Lewis.

I should probably have re-read his bibliography in preparation for the panel, but I think I am just going to ask my fellow panelists a lot of questions and talk about how much I love The Face in the Frost and we'll see what happens!

I really wish I could hear some of the Kipling filks, that'd be so cool -

It does not happen every year, but it's a song circle I really enjoy.

and my favorite box-office bomb is Clue.

So noted!

Re: I see - New Englandly

[sovay]

Am I weird, for wanting to ask Emily Dickinson out on a date?

I don't know that it's weird, but I think you might lose out to Susan Gilbert.

[sovay]

Wow, that's a lot of panels, etc.! Lots of interesting stuff.

I'm looking forward to it! I just wish I had a week to sleep in advance and maybe a second Saturday.

[asakiyume]

Highly unlikely... there's a very slim chance I could maybe make it in for Saturday afternoon, but no way I'd be around on Sunday at 7. Most likely I'll look around Twitter for someone live-tweeting them.

Re: I see - New Englandly

[nodrog]

Bill Clinton would have a solution to that! - as would Bill Marsten, creator of Wonder Woman.  ’Sides, Emily liked older men, if they could read…

Anyway, have fun!

[nineweaving]

Wow. Everywhere at once, like an electron. I'll try to catch as many of these as possible.

Nine

[sovay]

Wow. Everywhere at once, like an electron. I'll try to catch as many of these as possible.

Thank you! I'm going to be trying not to explode!

[choco_frosh]

Me! (And also Peter). I will bring the kelp bar to whichever of your things I first make it to.

("run between panels, screaming like Sempitern Walker" sounds about right, with that schedule...)

[isis]

Not a lot of sea-based traditions here in Colorado. :-)

[a_reasonable_man]

I plan to be there for at least some of Arisia. I will want to see you!

[sovay]

I plan to be there for at least some of Arisia. I will want to see you!

Please do!

[sovay]

Me! (And also Peter). I will bring the kelp bar to whichever of your things I first make it to.

Excellent! I look forward to both of you and the kelp bar, which I may end up eating on Saturday when I have no idea when I'll eat dinner.

("run between panels, screaming like Sempitern Walker" sounds about right, with that schedule...)

Two of my days are just back-to-back programming! It's a lot!

[selkie]

We keep trying to loop Child around to The Face in the Frost since they're done with the first two Lewis books. WHY WON'T THEY DO FANTASY. (They have inherited their other parent's literal aphantasia, which scares me so much. Can you imagine not making the pictures for yourself. But we have bought the illo'd Harry Potter and we are fine.)

Edit for the fact that dragons do not fall under fantasy for them, being large dogs or kittens.

[choco_frosh]

Let me (or whoever else) know if we can, idunno, hand you a bagel with lox as you run past us, screaming...

[sovay]

Not a lot of sea-based traditions here in Colorado.

I thought people might get wistful!

[sovay]

Let me (or whoever else) know if we can, idunno, hand you a bagel with lox as you run past us, screaming...

Thank you. I may well!

[sovay]

WHY WON'T THEY DO FANTASY.

I DON'T KNOW I THOUGHT THEY DID.

(I didn't know about the aphantasia, either. I would not have expected it given their strong spatial skills!)

Edit for the fact that dragons do not fall under fantasy for them, being large dogs or kittens.

Oh, good. I know a lot of dragon books.

(So, y/n The Last Unicorn?)

[rushthatspeaks]

I hope you have a wonderful Arisia, and the Amporic Cope is probably in the downstairs bathrooms-- and if it isn't, I bet the hotel has a spare.

[selkie]

We haven't tried The Last Unicorn because I am not equipped if they don't like it.

I have strong mental imaging skills and fail consistently at driving a car; I didn't realize the things were related. Huh.

GO FORTH AND SING IN GOOD HEALTH!

[sovay]

I hope you have a wonderful Arisia, and the Amporic Cope is probably in the downstairs bathrooms-- and if it isn't, I bet the hotel has a spare.

I love you so much.

[brigdh]

Man, someday I really need to make it up to Boston for Arisia; so many of these sounds completely wonderful! I'm particularly interested in "The Resurgence of Horror Fiction" – I'm sure it'll be a fascinating discussion.

[I expect to read from my as yet unpublished story "As the Tide Came Flowing In," which is the one with late nineteenth-century whaling, sea-hauntings, and pregnancy horror.]

Ooo, this sounds very much like a story I can't wait to read!