My Own Private NecronomiCon, Part 1 (Another NecronomiCon Review and Travelogue)
KAYVEN
This year, I went to my second NecronomiCon and absolutely loved it. The last
NecronomiCon that I attended (3rd edition, 1997) was a disappointment & I'd
have to admit to having some doubts about going through the trouble of
attending this year's.
What was different? I'd learned some lessons from the last Con that went a
long way towards not repeating the same mistakes. The first lesson is to go to
the Con with the conviction that the organization of the Con is poor at best.
I certainly don't place the blame on anyone for this state of affairs. It is a
small convention with a small staff, all of whom have their own busy lives to
attend to. That being said, it would be a mistake for anyone attending the Con
to arrive at a panel on "Lovecraft, Milton and the Many Faces of Satan" and
expect a detailed discussion about Lovecraft's use of the Satan-attributed
witchcraft trials of New England and how these trials were almost
contemporaneous with John Milton's Paradise Lost. It just isn't going to
happen. More than likely the first sentence of the panel will be "Well, I'm
So-and-So and I have to admit to not having read Milton for several years."
With this in mind, you can see how not being aware of this state of affairs is
going to lead to disappointment.
How can you avoid this problem and use lesson #1 to your advantage? Simple,
figure out who knows what and how that relates to the panel topic. For
example, avoid going to a panel on "The Use of the Mythos in Modern Computer
Gaming" if the panel is made up of Ganley, Joshi, Knox & Dziemianowicz. Great
speakers and very intelligent men who happen to know next to nothing about the
topic. If they list Hammann, Eckhardt, Whitworth & Petersen, and you are
interested in the topic, get your ass over there. If nothing else, you'll hear
something related to the quality of modern computer games, computer game art
and the ins-and-outs of the business. This is lesson #2, choose your panels
carefully. Most of these people didn't know what panels they were going to be
on a week before the Con started. (Except for those individuals that conducted
solo panels. These are almost always the best ones. Christophe Thill, Daniel
Harms, Dirk Mosig, Steven Trout, etc. are always the best things going. If you
see a panel with one guy listed, you can be sure they are prepared and know
what they are doing. Check them out! That's lesson #3.)
Lesson # 4 - Interact! Being the shy person that I am, and obviously a few
other attendees as well share the malady, I'm always hesitant to jump in to the
whole active interaction thing. This year I made a conscious decision to not
only meet people (though once again, as if the hand of God was involved, I
didn't bump into Richard "that pin guy" Longcoat, damn my eyes) but to involve
myself to some extent into the events. A few of the panels were interactive
and I willed myself to speak up a few times. It helped make the Con seem less
a Fans Meeting Their Heroes and more a Lovecraft Fandom Unites. Brings a tear
to my eye. *snif snif*
Lesson # 5 - Don't get stuck at the Convention! Sure, you paid for your
admission with a substantial portion of your life savings and you are excited
as hell to actually see people not roll their eyes when the topic of
Lovecraft's fictional qualities come up, but if you go to NecronomiCon without
taking a step into the city around you (or even taking the train to a nearby
city for a day) you are going to kick yourself for the lost opportunity. You
are in Lovecraft's city for goodness sake and you can be sure he never stayed
at the Marriott.
Lesson # 6 - Go with friends.
Lesson # 7 - Go to the breakfast.
Lesson # 8 - Go to the Dealer's Room early. Check out what you want. Buy the
unique or low quantity items first. Save the large quantity items for Sunday.
Lesson # 9 - If you want to meet Brian McNaughton, check out the bar.
And finally,
Lesson # 10 - Rely on yourself. The Con organizers have enough trouble keeping
down jobs and making the guests of honor feel good. Yes, it will feel like you
are a second-class citizen compared to The Writers and/or The Scholars that are
being given their rare chance at acceptance by a group of peers. Don't be put
off by it. Just remember that many of these people go home to rejection and
disappointment and find it hard to readjust after a weekend of praise and love.
I know a few of these people and the sobs they cry into their pillows at night
after the Con is over is enough to curl your toes. (At least this is what you
should keep telling yourself until you believe it. The sad fact is that many
of the panelists went home and continued to have a good time. Especially
Robert Capelletto whom, I was recently told, continues to feel really really
good after winning the Film Competition. Though the fact that he was offered
up to $5,000 by various supporters at the Con for his next production might
have helped.)
And that's that. Now:
My Private NecronomiCon, by Steven Marc Harris
Wednesday, August 18th, 1999
The trip begins. The plans are simple. Leave Columbus, Ohio. Journey
northward towards Buffalo, N.Y. and stop off at the infamous Daniel Harms
residence. The trip itself was, as would be expected and hoped for, outwardly
boring and trivial. Driving a straight line for hundreds of miles can only be
described as playing poker (or MYTHOS to keep things on topic) and getting the
exact same set of cards each and every time. However, thanks to the fact that
I once commuted to my graduate studies an hour and 45 minutes twice a day, I
can easily slip into a form of highway hypnosis where my body drives, my mind
thinks, and my emotions take a holiday. A state of affairs my wife quipped
during the trip was a Millionaire's Holiday. To which I replied, "Did you ever
realize the contradiction inherent in the song 'Cupid' ? The lines say 'Cupid,
draw back your bow, and let your arrow flow / Straight to my lover's heart for
me.' And yet the point of the song is that the girl is completely unaware of
the singer's feelings for her. So the obvious result of this daft idiot's
prayer is to have Cupid either remain impotent (a bad thing for a lover) or
hunt down a former lover and have her return full of passion." Which lead
into a discussion of the WishMaster movies, the interesting observation that
choreographed dancing as part of a music concert has become almost solely the
property of teen-targeted bands while Hanson seems to do well without it, the
Hegelian notion of Reason and the State as applied to the evolution of
Lovecraftian studies and the Mythos in general, whether or not L. Sprague De
Camp was nearsighted or farsighted, and the 70s show 'Good Times'. This last
topic brought forth a stunning realization that I will not bore the members of
this newsgroup who have never witnessed an episode of Maude with. So you all
can just skip the next paragraph.
I was a mere child during the 70s but can easily remember the one line that
seemed to belong in every episode of Good Times, All in the Family, The
Jeffersons etc. It was that one line that was spoken while the credits rolled,
"[The name of the show] was filmed before a live studio audience." It seemed
to come out of nowhere. Plenty of shows had been filmed in front of an
audience and plenty have been filmed since that time. Yet the phrase appeared
and disappeared without explanation. At the end of the Jack Benny show reruns
on PBS, I don't hear it. And when I tune into some modern sitcom such as
Everybody Loves Raymond (which is false as far as I can tell), I don't hear it.
I find it bizarre. I've a theory. The idea is that during the 60s, there was
an overuse of the Laugh Track to the extent that people began to tune out shows
that used the device. So in the 70s it became important to say, Hey! We have
a live studio audience! Eventually, people began to tune out shows that were
filmed in front of a studio audience which confused the networks until they
realized it wasn't the origin of the laughter at all, but simply the fact that
the shows were lousy.
Now where were we? Oh yes, the trip. Eventually, the conversation in the car
died down and remained on the topic of Ass Pain for most of the last 3rd of the
trip. The only other interesting thing on the trip before Buffalo was a stop at
a McDonalds that was so busy they actually made you take a number! I don't
know what it was about this was so amazing. I suppose it was just the amazing
fact that people were willing to take a number in order to eat a Big Mac!
Times on the road are indeed rough. Another highlight of that stop was to hear
some visitor from the British Isles say the phrase "I think I'll order a Crispy
Chicken sandwich and then Super Size my order of fries." For a moment I felt
as if I was in a James Joyce novel.
We arrived at Daniel Harms' abode at a much later hour than expected. (Much of
it being my own fault and thus not appropriate to admit to.) We all know
Daniel Harms from his books and his postings here on alt.horror.cthulhu and
alt.necronomicon, but you don't really know the man until you step into his
chambre du horror. Books line the walls. Various Necronomicons lay spilled upon
tables and floors as if with a life of their own seeking, with slow and
measured pace, a victim for their hunger. Olmec sculptured heads peek out from
behind vast notebooks of photocopied materials. A stuffed hippo (believe it or
not, Mr. Ripley!) stands guard over his entrance way, as a stuffed Wombat
sneaks lifelike amid the piles of paper and CD-ROMs atop his computer desk. A
Tibetian sacrificial knife rests uneasily within his dark curtained bedroom as
an illuminated clock with what resembles alien technology surveys the room from
the night table. It would all be intimidating for someone not used to such
atmosphere or to a wayward thief that decided to break into his groundfloor
apartment, but I'd met Daniel Harms in the flesh before and knew how his tastes
went.
Luckily for my wife and me, Daniel Harms is not a crazed lunatic. A
carefully self-controled and crafty lunatic, perhaps, but certainly not crazed.
We settled in, went to Daniel's significant other's house (Monika's) and
prepared for a late dinner out on the town. I had the pleasure of watching
Daniel play severe, and one can only guess damaging, mind games with George the
cat. I secretly spoke a Hail Mary or two under my breath with the hope that I
would not awaken that night with Daniel Harms wizzing a cat toy above my bed.
I still shudder at the thought. We went to a little Mexican restaurant where
Daniel and I tried to speak of dark and dangerous things over the loud
boisterous voices of our women folk. We didn't succeed.
We went back to Monika's for a little tea and cake afterwards (yes, we really
did. Sad, yet quaint, isn't it?).
Later, once we left Monika's place and returned to Daniel's shunned and
shuttered apartment, my wife went to bed at a reasonable hour and Mr. Harms and
I stayed up late into the night talking about the history and contents of the
dreaded Pnakotic Manuscripts, the boxed boardgame Arkham Horror and some warm
moments looking over the gifts I had brought him dealing with the Mythosian
connections of the Templar Knights and the irreligious Brotherhood of the Knot
that actually claimed that Arkham, Mass was a confederacy of the mind if not an
actual location.
Eventually, I went to bed and wished Daniel a good night. (Which he didn't
have. While I found myself struggling for air amid the folds of his mattress's
taco-like design, Daniel found himself unable to sleep due to George the cat's
vengeful placing of allergic hair in Daniel's sheets. I refrained from asking
too many questions on the matter considering I wasn't ready for the answers.)
Tuesday, August 19th, 1999
My wife wakes up refreshed and ready for the day. Daniel Harms and I wake up
bemoaning the fact that we could not manage to construct a working gate to
Providence, R.I. We went to pick up Monika, stopped at the bank, and then hit
route 90 for the longest 9 hours of our lives. I actually don't remember much
of the trip itself apart from a few little incidents. I suppose the lack of
sleep didn't help matters. Everyone took naps. Even I was able to catch a few
minutes of sleep while I drove the car. Luckily the cruise control and the
straightness of the lane allowed me to catch a good 20 minutes of sleep before
the tires started bouncing up and down with protest as the rumble strips in the
berm announced their presence. We played a few travel games, ate some cookies
that Monika had baked, and had a Mythos trivia game using the Encyclopedia
Cthulhiana and the Cthulhu Mythos Bibliography. You can guess who won that
game. We drove through the area which inspired Dunwich for Lovecraft, but
aside from a quick creepy view of a stagnant river with overgrown vegetation
and a slight mist over the water, there wasn't much to see at 70 mph. It was
also during this time that we popped in a tape of Combustible Edison which,
with its Scooby-Doo/Munsters sound, immediately became the official music of
the trip.
We arrived in Providence about 7 o'clock tired, haggard and with only 3
attempted murders during the ride. After checking in at the Motel (which was
relatively empty, cheap, decent and as a result will remain nameless until the
NecronomiCon decides to remove themselves from Providence), we decided to check
out the nightlife in Providence. I would like to make one observation about
Providence. There seems to be an unexpected number of adult bookshops in town.
I'm sure that Providence doesn't have any more than any other place, but the
difference seems to be that the adult bookshops in Providence are fancy and out
in the open. So if you are into that literary/graphic form of entertainment,
make sure that visiting the city is high in your priorities on your
NecronomiCon trip. 'Cause you aint gonna find that in the dealer's room!
Our journey into the city took us towards Federal Hill where expensive Italian
restaurants shared their corner with tattoo parlors. Very cosmopolitan. I was
glad to see that the parking was difficult since such things are a true
indication of how popular an area is. However, for some reason unknown to
ourselves, we decided to skip Federal Hill and head further into the city. A
mistake really. After a few ill advised turns, we found ourselves going deep
into the construction area of the new Providence Place mall's parking garage.
This in itself was not too bad until we suddenly noticed a rather large number
of police about and the realization that the car I was following behind, rather
too closely I admit, was the former Massachusetts Senate Majority leader.
(Though to be honest, we at first assumed it to be the US senate which lead to
many Bob Dole jokes during the weekend which we considerately kept to
ourselves.) Before we knew it, we found ourselves stopped by a police officer
as the former Massachusetts Senate Majority leader ducked into a restricted
area to our left. There was only one thing to do, play the dumb tourist.
"Can I help you folks?"
"Yes, I'm Donovan Loucks from Phoenix, Arizona and these are my friends. We
are looking for Brown University but seem to have taken a wrong turn."
At which point the officer kindly gave us directions to Brown and off we
took. I secretly hoped that the policeman would glance at the license plate,
notice it was from Ohio and assume that Donovan Loucks from Phoenix must have
stolen the car. So we went to Brown University, noticed that the area was dead
with entertainment. What the heck do people do at Brown? Study?
So back to Federal Hill we went. After a good 45 minutes of once more being
lost and clueless thanks to the closed roads and construction, we eventually
found Federal Hill again. We parked the car and went for a walk to see where
to eat. At this point I feel I should explain that Monika and my wife are
vegetarian. Monika goes for fruit while my wife is more of the mushroom/grain
variety. Looking for a restaurant under such a restriction is difficult at
best. But we did find one and it was actually rather nice. We were accosted
outside of the restaurant by a patron who told us to "Come on in and eat
something." Being the good followers we are, we took the advice and went in.
The restaurant was obviously an automat at some time in its history. The seats
were at long tables which you sat down at with other people a mere chair or two
away. The menu was plastered upon a supporting pillar which everyone could see
and use. Combined with free bread and a little model train that circled the
room upon a track attached to the walls above our heads, it was good
atmosphere. The portions were a bit small, but this is obviously because it
was more a hangout than a sit down restaurant. I was also pleased to see that
the place had existed as far back as 1924 and was reasonable to assume that
Lovecraft would have either eaten there or gagged at the smells as he walked by
outside. There was a little bar that was part of the establishment but a quick
look informed me that Brian McNaughton wasn't there. Of course, it was a long
shot since the Marriott had its own bar.
Exhausted, we returned to the motel and fell asleep.
---- Steven Marc Harris
Robert A Cappelletto
The sad fact is that many
>of the panelists went home and continued to have a good time. Especially
>Robert Capelletto whom, I was recently told, continues to feel really
really
>good after winning the Film Competition. Though the fact that he was
offered
>up to $5,000 by various supporters at the Con for his next production might
>have helped.)
>
>And that's that. Now:
>
>
$5000 $5000 ???? $5000 !!!!!!!
Where! What! DAMN!!!
Please tell me more ???
I have to start paying attention to people around me, instead of being off
in my own little world. DAMN, DAMN, DAMN !!!
-- Robert Cappelletto
Franklin Hummel
Robert A Cappelletto <robert.ca...@gte.net> wrote:
>> Especially Robert Capelletto whom, I was recently told, continues to
>>feel really really good after winning the Film Competition. Though the
>>fact that he was offered up to $5,000 by various supporters at the Con
>>for his next production might have helped.)
>
>Where! What! DAMN!!!
>Please tell me more ???
>I have to start paying attention to people around me, instead of being off
>in my own little world. DAMN, DAMN, DAMN !!!
Wasn't that tall, thin guy with the long brown hair you?
Whoops.
-- Franklin Hummel [ hum...@world.std.com ]
--
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* NecronomiCon: The Cthulhu Mythos Convention, 4th Edition *
August 20-22, 1999, Providence, RI * Guest of Honor: Fred Chappell
ww2.necropress.com/necronomicon * necron...@necropress.com
====================================================================