Is it that hard to see? I just don't want to be cool

[sovay]

Here's how my day is going: I left the house to walk to the library and came back with blisters on both heels, because my socks had spontaneously committed suicide in transit. That is even shabbier than my usual aesthetic. I am going to need new socks. Also my heels hurt.

On the other hand, Craig Laurance Gidney is enjoying my "dense opiated prose." Any favorable comparison to Tanith Lee improves my afternoon.

These links are a mix of things.

1. I have just learned from Anu Garg that tosspot words are a particular class of compound noun rather than words that are frequently hungover. I had no idea there was a name for them in English. "What does a scarecrow have in common with a pickpocket?" feels like an outtake from Lewis Carroll.

2. I suppose it is appropriate that I read this article for Tisha B'Av. I certainly consider Netanyahu and his administration a disaster for the Jewish people.

3. I don't know that there's ever a good time to read that the roots of autism as a diagnostic category are intertwined with Nazi eugenics. I keep reminding myself that thinking of myself as a profitless and unconscionable waste of other people's resources and time (on repeat these days) is the same kind of idea and I should stop it.

4. For those unaware of the recent trash fire regarding Worldcon 76, the Daily Dot has a good overview. The con chair has just responded on Facebook and Twitter.

5. I have to say that I'm not sure if Alan Turing chained his mug to the radiator because he loved tea that much; I think he might just have hated people stealing his mug.

Comments

[sovay]

So far, at least, San Jose doesn't even come close.

Okay; what's the story?

[negothick]

Where do I begin? Well, the ConCommittee (none of whom lived anywhere near Florida) won the bid without an actual location other than "somewhere in Florida"--because the original hotel was going to be at the newly-opened Walt Disney World. That hotel pulled out of the contract because they were unexpectedly much more successful than they had dreamed and didn't need this convention. Scrounging around for a site, the only one still available and affordable was the Fountainebleu in Miami Beach. This icon of the 50s had reached its lowest ebb in 1977, and it looked like the set of a post-apocalyptic nightmare film, lacking only the zombies. When we arrived, most of the help had gone on strike, and the management was having a hard time finding replacements. This meant that most of the rooms hadn't been cleaned--and they hadn't been cleaned very well before the strike. Bookings were lower than promised, so the management wouldn't give the committee the comped rooms they had promised--many had to sleep on the floor of the dealer's room and art show. A number of the program participants got the word and canceled their attendance. Amazingly (fans are like that), there was a Con, and most program participants did show up. I left after the first night of floor-sleeping, so I don't even know the half of the things that went wrong!

[sovay]

Amazingly (fans are like that), there was a Con, and most program participants did show up. I left after the first night of floor-sleeping, so I don't even know the half of the things that went wrong!

That sounds awful on a different axis from programming so as to alienate a majority of your nominees/attendees.

[negothick]

Did I mention the pervasive mold and mildew? Fans and writer attendees were younger back then, but even so, allergies went wild, and everyone was hacking and coughing. Yes indeed, physical rather than psychological damages.