Boskone 51

Recently I started writing for Women Write About Comics where you can read my full Boskone recap or the Boskone blog for my post about the Flash Fiction Slam.

Since you're here, check out some fun photos from the weekend. 

Friday night panel: Bring back my favorite TV show

Friday night panel: Future Fashion

Friday night reading: E.C.Ambrose

Friday night: Art Show Reception

Friday night: Meet the guests

Saturday morning panel: Stay near the fire

Saturday Art Demo with Official Artist David Palumbo

Saturday panel: Gravity and the Hard SF Film

Saturday panel: Capes, canes and superhero comics

Saturday Special Interest Group: What makes writers tick?

Saturday Kaffeeklatsch with Charles Stross

Saturday Loteria with John Picacio

Saturday book launch party

Saturday NESFA Awards

Saturday: William Shakespeare's Star Wars

Sunday Flash Fiction Slam 

Sunday panel: Ezines, fanzines and blogs, oh my

Sunday: Teenager with pocket program

Me at Saturday's Helsinki bid party

Critique: Walking the line between useful and negative

Recently I was asked to be a judge for the Manchester regional Flash Fiction Slam held by the New Hampshire Writers' Project. More important than scoring was giving useful critique to the writers as a tool to improve their stories.

At the heart of providing useful critique is your intention:  are you sure you want to help make what you're reviewing better. If so, even if you're not completely in love with all the details, you'll be sensitive to the creator(s) and also ask tough questions.

Even with the best intentions, framing the critique can be tough. Here are some tips to help you stay on track.

Be specific
Whether it's something you like or dislike, be specific. Saying I don't like this "story/idea/concept/etc" does not help anyone. Saying I really like your use of the word "x" or what your did with the design of "y" will help to identify the parts that may need adjustment

Start on a positive note
Asking for critique can make creator(s) feel vulnerable. Try starting on a positive note with something you like first to help ease the conversation.

Don't assume you're right
Before pointing out areas you think could be improved, don't automatically assume you know its true purpose. Ask the creator(s) questions to find out more information. An example: I'm not sure why you placed this here, are you trying to accomplish "x"? Your questions can also help the creator(s) think about the project in ways they hadn't before.



Curious about the Flash Fiction Slam? Listen to NHPR's Audio Postcard and join them for the finals in Manchester on March 6. 

Open Night at Imago Dei Cafe

"There's nothing happening in Manchester." 

Anyone who knows me, knows that phrase infuriates me. There are all kinds of projects, meetings and events that are happening in this city. It's not some secret, underground scene; it's obvious, but you have to look a little bit. Imago Dei is one of them.

I first heard about the Imago Dei Cafe open mic night, when I was walking in downtown Manchester on a Saturday morning and saw a sign in a window on Hanover Street. Yes, people really do walk around downtown outside of Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm or during bar time at night. Don't be shocked.

Anywho, that was back in December and unfortunately Mother Nature got in the way. I made doubly sure that I could attend the January event. The open mic drew a young crowd - high school and college-age folks and friends were excited to play. The night started with open mic and ended with a handful of featured guests.

The venue isn't a full-time restaurant or bar, so refreshments were coffee, tea, soda and some limited snack options. I know, sometimes it's inconvenient to not have an alcoholic beverage option, but sometime it's just nice. I was warned that the venue is normally some sort of Christian community outreach, but there was no proselytizing to be had, outside of some display books on the walls. 

All in all, it did remember me of the times in New York in college, sitting in a coffeehouse listening to artists, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. When I was in the city, there was a greater range in the age of the artists and I think if this event sticks around for a bit, that will come too. I'll be back to check it out and more importantly, to show my support for events like this. 

Remember, we can't complain that there's nothing cool to do, if we don't show support for the people trying to create things we like. Well, you can complain, but I won't be listening. 

Finally made it to Unity Games

I finally made it to Unity Games. This year's day long tabletop gaming jubilee, Unity Games XX, took place at the Danvers Doubletree Hotel in Danvers, Mass. A friend has been posting on Facebook for a couple years, but I would keep forgetting about it, possibly due to it's proximity to Arisia. I corralled my friend, Bobby, and off we went.

After Registration, my first stop was the Teaching area. For me, the Teaching area was smaller, quieter and had scheduled demo games. Perfect for the first timer.


I found a table filling up to play Medici, an auction-style game where you try to fill up your boat with the best goods and then sell them at market. Both the game mentor and the players encouraged me to stay. Our game mentor was well prepared with individual instruction sheets, did a great job explaining the rules and gave hints on different strategies we could employ.  The table was a mix of women and men, half and half actually, and we all had such different strategies and personalities. Very fun game with a very fun group.

We wandered back into the main hall, but still felt a wee bit overwhelmed, so both Bobby and I headed back to the Teaching area. A post-apocalyptic game that looked intriguing, sp I chatted with the game mentor. His teaching style didn't quite mesh with my learning style, but what sealed the deal, was when I realized he was speaking to my friend and not to me. Silly really as Bobby wanted to go try something completely different. 

Instead I jumped at the chance to play Pitch Car, a game where you flick cars around a track to race them, with an exuberant group that asked if I wanted in (after seeing my very excited reaction a half hour earlier.) They had set up one of the hardest track patterns ever, but well all had a blast, cheering each other on or agonizing in defeat. 

Finally, we were on our last little bit and decided it was time to tackle the main room. There's a handy area where you can stand if you're looking to play a game or if you have a specific game you want to play. A gentleman walked by with Concordia, which I had seen and wanted to try, so off we went, picking up a fourth player along the way. Concordia was long, so long in fact we had to cut it short at about 2 hours in.  It was a fun game once you learned the mechanics and I see myself trying a full game in the future. 

Unfortunately I had a late start due to some family matters. So instead of 12 hours of gaming, we got in about five; three games in five hours. Phew! To be honest, I was a little worried about how I could spend all day there, mainly would I have the stamina for such a thing. But my five hours proved to me that next year I'll be all in.

My Arisia Recap

For me, Arisia kicks of the start of a new year and a new con (ie convention) season. Every year, I hem and haw as it's so close to another of my favorite cons, Boskone, but I think I'm finally caving to the fact that I love it.

TARDIS Venn Diagram. Squee! 

See Arisia is like a mini-Dragoncon, a con by fans, for fans. The panels, events and parties are more about fans and professionals coming together as opposed to big name stars and press. There are all different kinds of representation of fandom - costumes and cosplay, LARPing, shadowcast performances, panels on comics, TV shows, science, science fiction, etc, video and table top gaming, drum circles, belly dancing; the list goes on and on.

The con also does an amazing job at being inclusion across fandom, including gender awareness (including a gender-free restroom), first time Arisia attendees (there were pretty ribbons!), and designated wheelchair spaces in most panel rooms.

So here's this year's recap. Warning it's a wee bit long.

Panels
Always trying to learn something and/or improve the world, I attended four panel this year: Science: Diversity Needed,  Comic Books and the Women that Love Them,  Hugo Awards: Evolution, Revolution or Death? and Marvel Cinematic (and TV) Universe. I won't bore folks with the recaps since I did live tweet from thee panels, but I'll throw in key takeaways.

Science: Diversity Needed - different perspectives can help solve problems by offering us different ways/tools to solve them. One-on-one mentoring can be key to encouraging individuals to stay the course.



Hugo Awards: Evolution, Revolution or Death? - although not as productive as I'd hoped it would be, there were still some takeaway gems. Become a Supporting Member of that year's Worldcon (usually around $40). All Supporting Members get a chance to vote. Encourage your friends, family, science fiction groups to read great books that also happen to be by diverse authors about diverse subjects.

Comic Books and the Women that Love Them - (I attended in part because one of our League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen members was on the panel. Woo hoo!) If you're new to reading comics, pick up what interests you. Don't worry about the issues or stories that came before, you'll figure that out along the way.


Marvel Cinematic (and TV) Universe - no world-changing takeaways here, but a quick touch point on the four series being created for Netflix.


Food trucks
Super yay! Having a low-cost meal option that was also delicious was a fantastic idea. A big thank you to the folks that coordinated it. I only got to try Roxy's Grilled Cheese after waiting in line through wet cold snow, but the Green Muenster was worth it. The line waits were super long and it was sad when you heard that options were sold out. Maybe other local trucks will be more likely to participate upon hearing this year's success. Fingers crossed.

Volunteering
Since I decided last minute to attend this year's Arisia, my volunteer options were not as well-planned out on my part. I offered to help with Clear Ether, the at-con twice-daily newsletter and the Green Room. So I wrote articles, followed deadlines, and watched to see if they would be published. It was fun and I hope to do it again next year. Due to my last-minuteness, my Green Room volunteering didn't pan out, but that was really my fault. Thanks, Green Room for being great.

Late night
Friday night I let loose and enjoyed the Drum circle. I haven't been to a drum circle in years and alas, did not bring a drum. It was still relatively early when I arrived around 10pm, and the dancers were all ages. I jumped in for a bit, feeling the energy channeling out and in. There were too many folks about to go full trance-mode, but the energy spirals were fine enough. At some point, the dancers rotated out and turned into an impromptu belly dance, complete with swirling jewel tones and sequins.

I also attended the shadowcast shows of Rocky Horror in the round and Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Two things that make a shadowcast awesome for me: being able to see the original movie and the moments when the audience in unison, shows their appreciation, ie call-and-response, singing, throwing rice, etc. The shadow cast actors are just icing on the cake, bringing to life the thing that we already, unanimously love.

For Rocky Horror, the show started really late. Super fun was mostly everyone in the audience pre- and during movie Time Warping. There's just something special about a group Time Warp. Since it was billed as in the round, I figured the cast would be prominent and it was, but the screen showing the movie was in an awkward location. Also, our audience had some slightly overzealous audience members that kept yelling call-and-responses the whole time, so the whole audience rarely had a chance to sync up. Sigh. It happens.

Doctor Horrible has a much better set-up: actors on center stage, big screen on left showing the actors and a big screen on the right showing the movie. The audience singing was amazing! Woot woot. And a couple clever call-and-responses added nicely.

Oh and Saturday night a friend and I splurged on a couple glasses of the Oban scotch in the Birch bar. Delicious.

Gaming
I love tabletop gaming, so naturally I popped in and out to see what was happening. The room was a good size and I was surprised by how many RPG games were going on throughout the weekend. The games available to borrow offered a good selection, so Saturday night, some friends and I met up for gaming around 9pm.

Sunday I got to demo a new game from Games by Playdate called Slash, where players try to create the One True Pairing (OTP) based on cards in their hand.  I was demoing and playing (I know, tsk tsk) but almost every round ended up in a story throw down as to why one pairing should be chosen over another. Tons of fun!

Thoughts: there wasn't an easy way to find others who wanted to play. I'm not sure of a solution, but maybe a waiting area (similar to Unity Games) where folks can visibly be seen as wanting to play? Or maybe the game area could have a social media outlet to post a new game starting that wants more players?

Costume/Cosplay

The inclement weather is not a fan to costumers who stay at the non-con hotel, so I only wore my Agent of SHIELD Melinda May costume this time. There were lots of great costumes to see, including a steampunk Scarlet Witch and Batman. As part of my newsletter reporting, I did hear that as of Sun at noon, they had given out over 100 hall contest ribbons.This year, I felt like there were fewer costumes, but maybe it was due to the floor plan. Not sure, but other friends remarked on this as well. 

Vegan Sushi 101

Fish and I are not friends. It's a very sad state of affairs, but I trudge along. Sushi is probably my number two envy food, hearing the stories of folks laughing and enjoying their deliciously light sushi for lunch or how excited they are to try a new place. It makes me cry a little inside.

Thankfully for me, I have amazing friends who brought amazing vegan sushi to my house. And then offered to teach me how to make it!

We used nori, aka sushi seaweed wraps, brown rice, and a smattering of vegetables and sauces like yellow peppers, avocado, fennel, carrots, kale, tahini and Ume plum vinegar. Then we really got the creative juices flowing and decided to make "Mediterranean" sushi using olives.  

Making the rolls were a snap. Using simple bamboo mats you roll the ingredients into the nori, let it sit for a few minutes and the slice. Voila! 

Even though it's "sushi" and "vegan" it doesn't mean it's hard or scary. It was super easy and fun to make using many ingredients you probably already have. I've already purveyed my bamboo mats (they were under $10) and am concocting ideas on how to make an Ume vinegar substitute using local plums. 

Now it's your turn to get out there and taste something new. 

Project management in every day life

Have you ever thought, "My city would be great if [fill in the blank]"? Or how about "I'd love to learn how to do [y]." What stops you? Sure it might be fear or nervousness, but, be honest, a lot of the time, it's how daunting a new project can seem. 

By day, I work as a Product Owner for a technology company, but by night I organize a handful of meet-ups and projects aimed at making my city a more interesting place. The good news is that many of the principles I use at my day job help keep me sane when I'm working and starting new community projects. 

Here are three quick tips to help you get started on your shiny new in 2014! 

Value doesn't not have to mean huge investment

This summer, I visited a friend who lives right outside of Washington D.C. We were chatting over dinner and started discussing how I'm part of a Makers meet-up in Manchester. It's a small once-a-month meet-up at a friendly local coffee shop, but in her eyes there was value in having such a group as none exist around her.  

Make it measurable 

We all want to succeed, so set yourself up for celebration by making sure you know the criteria that you want to accomplish. Generally, this can be accomplished by adding a number. I want to write 5 blog posts this month. 

Scope creep is not your friend

Ah scope creep. It's easy to get excited about a project. And it's just as easy to discuss a project down all the rabbit holes until you're not sure if you're in Wonderland or a Beatrix Potter story. 

Scope creep is what happens when you start adding on to your initial project. The real and present danger is that your great idea, your valuable project, may not get done because you added in so much extra stuff it will never be measured a success. Sniff. Don't let good projects die a sad lonely death because it can never meet your high expectations. That's just not nice and you're a better person than that.

That's it! Now go off and try something new in 2014! Feel free to come back and share what you're working on.