The Norwescon daily 'zine this year...

[solarbird]

This is my last year of doing the daily 'zine at Norwescon. Last year was going to be my last year, but I relented when I hadn't managed to find anyone to train, but this year I srsly mean it - I am so burnt out on this it's not even funny. But fortunately I have someone to train this year! And I'm treating it a lot like her first year more than my final.

Anyway, she had this idea for The Singular Voice, wherein the conceit is that the writers are post-singularity intelligences trying to talk back in time to those of us before the technological singularity, which is a lot like you and me trying to talk to the goldfish So we've decided it is the goldfish, along with other household pets, who are the ones doing the talking. C.f.:

Fido: "...oh for the... it's like... it's like... talking to the cat."
Mittens: "I'm offended by that! It's like talking to the fish."
Goldie: "That's it! I'm done. I'm not fixing your computers for you anymore."

And so on. I think this could be fun and I'm trolling you lot for more lulz to add to the 'zine. I have a few (in particular, thanks to Regis's recent tweets relayed to me by annathepiper, I think UNIMOG will be making a cameo appearance or two) and we've tossed a lot of stuff back and forth but we always need more.

So! Got any ideas, anyone? Big themes, little themes, anything that seems good.

Comments

[epawtows.livejournal.com]

We've still got a "Rue the day!" flier.

[solarbird]

Yay!

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

We'll be doing Match Game SF again on Friday night this year in Cascade 9/10 from 9 PM. You want me to send you an article for publication Friday? Not sure how well I can put it into the "voice" for which you're looking, though.

[solarbird]

Please do send us that. Don't worry about voice, putting it into voice is our job. I've taken your other two items and put them into my materials folder.

But what I'm looking for in those post are ideas about this future and about our speakers that might be amusing. Not articles, not things to use directly, but facts about their world that could be used to make stuff submitted into funny. One example is that Goldie doesn't understand why Moist isn't in our pantheon of gods. Stuff like that.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay, thanks. Do you have a preferred e-mail address for me to send you the Match Game SF blurb?

[solarbird]

Oh, I thought you meant at the con. I tend to prefer things there. But given my arms maybe this isn't a bad idea. Um, nah, I don't care, any of the ones you know get to me. I've got contact here:

http://solarbird.net/dara

Scroll down to [letters].

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

And at 2 PM Sunday (22:00 British Summer Time/GMT + 1), the Hugo Award Nominations will be announced at Eastercon, with live online coverage on the Hugo Awards web site. I've asked Programming if there's an available small function room (preferably where the wi-fi reaches) so people could gather with their computers and watch (and participate) in the event. I'm one of the coverage people for ConReporter.com, and I'll be doing some convention coverage over this "Cons Around the World" weekend to the extent that I can do so.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

I take it that the recommended Twitter hashtags are #nwc33 and #norwescon, which, if you weren't already doing so, might be something to publish in the first issue so people could tag their Tweets. Properly tagged posts also should appear in the ConReporter coverage if all goes as planned.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

I do understand the burnout. I did the 'zines at SiliCon and BayCon (and also an Orycon along the way) for several years. I didn't last as many years as you have. Mind you, I tended to push myself harder, as I tried to publish twice a day and sometimes issue "extras."

[solarbird]

I'm not so much burned out on the at-con doing it; I'm burned out on all the hyper-specialised pre-convention worldbuilding and visual layout and design (of newsletters, over, and over, and over, and over again) and setup and all the things that make the kind of 'zines I do possible.

That said, I am at a point where I'd like to do different things actually at convention, but I'm not so burnt out that I won't miss that part. Which is why I want to quit now; before I'm completely burnt out on both ends.

[smeehrrr.livejournal.com]

Let me know if Unimog's livejournal would be of any use, I can get a message to him.

[solarbird]

UNIMOG'S ASSISTANCE IS ALWAYS USEFUL FOR PUNY FLESH CREATURES!