Der Mann, der darin wohnte, war Rotwang, der Erfinder

I have my schedule for Arisia. I'll probably repost it once we get closer to the actual con, but in the meantime I might as well give a heads-up, especially to those of you who—like myself—are not morning people:

Re-Reading Childhood Classics
Friday 6:30 PM
Vikki Ciaffone (m), Greer Gilman, Patricia M. Cryan, Sonya Taaffe

We all have favorites from our childhood, but some of them, when we read them as adults, sour us on our original warm memories. Others surprise us with depths that we never caught the first time. And still others have the lyricism which we first fell in love with. Let's all look again.

Shanty Sing
Saturday 5 PM
Jeff Keller (m), Mimi Noyes, Joan Ruland Donnelly, Mark A. Mandel, Sonya Taaffe

Songs of ships, of the sea, and possibly of space. Join in singing sea shanties!

Things Man is Not Meant to Know
Saturday 8 PM
Suford Lewis (m), Sonya Taaffe, John Monahan

There are always spoilsports to tell Dr. Frankenstein not to create artificial life or to tell Seth Brundle he's turning into a fly, but mad scientists of the movies hang in there until it all comes crashing around them. Who are the great mad scientists of the big screen? Are they all tragic heroes or are there some truly deranged figures among them? And what do these characters say about our attitudes towards real science?

Selkies: The Next Big Thing?
Saturday 9:30 PM
Vikki Ciaffone (m), Greer Gilman, David Sklar, Sonya Taaffe

They won't drink your blood. They won't eat your brain. When the moon is full, they . . . um . . . slip off their sealskins and dance on the beach? Selkies may seem helpless, but they'll probably break your heart. And are they the next big thing? This panel will look at the sealfolk in legends, in modern retellings, and in stories still to be told.

Metropolis: The Complete Film
Sunday 9:30 AM
Sonya Taaffe (m), John G. McDaid, Justine Graykin, Rita Oakes

Fritz Lang's 1927 masterpiece of cinema has finally been restored to completion. How does seeing the full version change our understanding of this landmark SF movie? In what ways does it continue to influence the genre?

Jews in Space: Jewish SF/F
Sunday 11 AM
Steve Berman (m), Merav Hoffman, Sonya Taaffe, Daniel Miller

From Isaac Asimov to David Brin many Jewish authors, as well as artists, have had a significant impact on the SF/F genre. How have their cultural and religious beliefs influenced their work? What central themes of Judaism resonate in their stories?

Language and Linguistics in Genre Fiction
Sunday 12:30 PM
Sonya Taaffe (m), Greer Gilman, John G. McDaid, Jack Dietz, Rachel L. Silber

There's more to language than a dictionary and grammar, as these experts will tell you. Whether written, spoken, or signed languages grow out of specific cultural settings and specific neurologies, and affect those cultures and neurologies. The ways that languages affect minds and societies and what we can learn from a culture's language are fertile fields for research, discussion, and cool ideas.

Reading—Nelson, Taaffe, Wray
Sunday 3:30 PM
Resa Nelson, Sonya Taaffe, Phoebe Wray

Authors Resa Nelson, Sonya Taaffe, and Phoebe Wray read selections from their works.

We Want It on DVD!
Sunday 5 PM
Adam Lipkin (m), Tony Finan, D. Cameron Calkins, Sonya Taaffe, Thomas Boutilier

It's a shrinking list, but there are still old movies and TV shows that aren't available on DVD. There are also films out on DVD that need to be re-released in better presentations. Our panel discusses their favorites and yours.

Ballads of the Supernatural
Sunday 8 PM
Greer Gilman (m), Jeff Keller, Ellen Kranzer, Susan Weiner, Mark A. Mandel, Sonya Taaffe

Many traditional songs tell stories of the supernatural: Ghosts, faeries, shape-changers and so forth. Come listen or sing in this themed song circle.

Well, this is a con I'm going to need to sleep for. Metropolis!