A friend had some time on his hands and was near Doctorow at the time.  He then decided to get an autograph.  But wait!  He had no book to sign.  Quick thinking got him an exclusive piece of electronics.  A signed ebook reader!

The hugos are the most well known prize in science fiction.  Each year the prize is given during the current worldcon.  The ceremony was a bit serious except when Frank Wu received his prized.  He took the “rocket” and played a bit with it like a kid.

We were deceived by the recipients of the prize this year.  We don’t think the best works have been chosen in any categories we voted.  Hey, it’s part of the game maybe well be luckier next year.  You can find more informations on the prize here :  hugo web vite.

An interesting note about the prize, the base of the rocket is changed each year and the one made for Anticipation is gorgeous.  I wish I have one on my fireplace.  We don’t have any pictures of it since it was not on display as they told us.  Just look on the hugo web site there is some there.

A friend was a participant on this subject and asked us to go to the panel.  We were not sure about it but we decided to go anyway.  It was much more enlightening than we envisioned.  We were lucky to have in the assistance two old timers from the anime convention community.  On was a founder of Anime North and the other was on OtakuCon.

We talk some times about anime and manga fans and how they act in conventions.  All anime conventions are based on the worldcon model.  It was easier to copy a working model than to invent a new one.  And it works. But the relative importance of the worldcon parts changed.  In anime convention the merchant gallery and costumes are much more important.  Its not unusual to see at least 50% of the attendees costumed.  Anime convention are also bigger in terms of entrance.  Some conventions had more than 30 000 members.

There is one other big difference in the convention organisation, anime organisation is the same each year but, in worldcon, a new organisation is built from scratch each year.  We think it protect the worldcon from being a sclerosed event without any change.  We may attend to an anime convention one day just to see how it work.  It must be fun.

The customer guild is collecting pictures, props and videos from costumes used in conventions since the beginning.  Many costumes and presentations are now only remembered by the oldest members of the world science fiction society.  The goal of the guild is to maintain the costume history and give it to all the fans.

We experienced many technical difficulties during the panel with the video part.  But it was interesting to see some old costumes.  They have given to us some web sites where we can find more informations.  Unfortunately, due to crazy copyrights law they cannot put videos on the web site.  The problem is not with the costumes but with the music we can hear during the presentation.

International Costumers’ Guild, Inc.
Costume-Con®nections

The panel was not has interesting has it should be.  The discussion has sidetracked on reproduction choices and gender.  The gender issue is evident when we read more on science-fiction.  There is a triumvirate relation about reproduction based on the three following items :  availability, money and technology. The pill is a good example of this relation.  The pill was invented using technology, it was available later in every drug store and the cost is now very low.  Only then the full impact of the pill was realized.

Only some remarks were worthy of notes.  We have listed some of them.

We may separate one day gender and the concept of gender.  When it will happen, the society will change.

The concept of gender is useful because having an easily identifiable gender helps a lot to function in society.  Its a kind of social structure defining the shape of society.

The bigger change in the 20th century is having a choice like the reproductive pills.  Now its almost impossible to remember exactly how it was before the change.  It was a king of breaking change in the continuity of the society.

The reproduction choices are shifting the current power base.  Many projects like the sports for girls in the UK and all education (any kind of education) are given the girls much more power over their life.

Also a panelist has prepared a list of book on reproduction variants.  They seem to be very interesting.  I used OCR to compile the list some errors may have crept in.

• Amason, Eleanor Ring of Swords, A Woman ofthe Iron People
• Brin, David Glory Season
• Bujold, Lois Ethan of Athos, Falling Free and Miles Vorkosigan series
• Butler, Octavia Dawn and sequels (Xenogenesis trilogy)
• Chamas, Suzy Motherlines & three others in series
• Cherryh, C. J. Cyteen and other novels
• Claibome, Sybil In the Garden of Dead Cars
• DuChamp, Timmel “Motherhood“
• Farmer, Nancy House ofthe Scorpion
• Gearhart, Sally The Wanderground
• Gilman, Charlotte Herland
• Givner, Joan Half Known Lives
• Gritiith, Nicola Ammonite
• Hall, Sarah Daughters ofthe North
• Jones, Gwyneth Life
• Kelly, James “Lovestory”
• LeGuin, Ursula K. “Nine Lives”
• MacLeod , lan “Grownups”
• McIntyre, Vonda Dreamsnake
• Piercy, Marge Woman on the Edge of Time
• Ryman, Geoff Air, The Unconquered Country, “Birthdays”
• Russ, Joana The Female Mart “When It Changed”’
• Shelley, Mary Frankenstein
• Singer, Shelley Demeter Flower
• Slonczewski, Joan A Door Into Ocean
• Tepper, Sheri Gate to Women’s Country
• Tiptree, James “Houston, Houston, Do You Read7″
• Vonarburg, Elizabeth Silent City, In the Mothers’ Land
• Wilhelm, Kate Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
• Wyndham, John “Consider Her Ways”

A Few of the Many SF Books Dealing with Over-Population, Pollution, etc,

• Brunner, John Stand on Zanzibar, The Sheep Look Up
• Clee, Mona Overshoot
• Kress, Nancy Maximum Light
• Pohl, Fred & Kombluth, C. The Space Merchants
• Wilhelm, Kate Juniper Time

Science Fiction with Novel Methods of Pregnancy or Reproduction
(compiled by Margaret McBride, University of Oregon)