Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Wiscon! (mostly shout-outs. cover your ears!)

Whew! What a weekend. Though I go from hating to loving conventions quicker than I can drink a cup of coffee (i.e. fast), I had a wonderful time seeing some wonderful people. Especially Chris, of course, who has been America-deficient for past two years (lucky guy). He's come back, changed, minus some pounds, plus a greater Karaoke voice, and imbued with a peace and calm I relate to Japan. And, damn, that boy can dance!

And now, shouts-outs:

Much love (and ironic curses) to my new best friends Amber van Dyk, Chance Morrison, and Lisa Deguchi for making me feel at home. You guys were my salvation and I seemed to never run out of things to say around you all. Obvious shout-outs to Kristin and Alan for your continued spirit and inspiration in all things (even writing). An honor to finally meet Mary Rickert and hear her read from her beautiful work. Karen Meisner's soft and kind self made me smile. Very glad I got to thank Christopher Rowe for Say and share innumerable drinks with the group collective of Kelly, Gavin, Gwenda, Barb, Richard, etc. I always felt enlivened and young (again) in the presence of Mehgan McCarron and Alice Kim (both of whom have great stories in the new Rabid Transit). Dave Schwartz is scary-looking without hair (sorry. truth.) As always, wonderful to see Hannah Wolf Bowen, sorry sorry sorry I didn't make it to the Mafia game. I proved my theory that Haddayr Copley-Woods is one of the most interesting and considerate and just plain friendly people in the science fiction world. Ben Rosenbaum reminds me of an Israeli artist I once knew who was sorta insane but in the best best way.

It is truly a honor to know so many talented people.

/end cheesiness.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Was great to see you, as ever. But I must quibble: Dave doesn't look scary. His new undo makes me want to rub his head and make a wish. (Except that would make _me_ kind of scary.)

Dave said...

How come everyone seems to forget that at WisCon two years ago, when I met so many of you, I had a shaved head?

Signed, Not Scary Dave

Also, Gwenda, head rubs are always welcome.

elad said...

Maybe it was the faux-Norwegian voice that freaked me out.

Great to see you, too, Gwenda! I feel like I barely got a chance to say HI to you, though.

The pleasure was all mine, Karen. Thanks for everything! :)

Dave said...

Heh. Those faux Norwegians can be a bit off-putting.

It was great to see you, even if you were frightened :-)

chance said...

dude! you must tell us your im name so we can bug, I mean make you feel welcome all the time.

Christopher Barzak said...

Don't give her your IM name. It'll never end, for real.

ahem, I mean, seriously, those gals are great!!

;-)

Was great to see you once again, bro, and thank you for the Mountain Goats cd, which I've been listening to on repeat the past two days. I love it.

Design By Bain said...

glad to see u had such a great time! Welcome back :) Looking forward to hearing more about your adventure

Anonymous said...

i also adore you the most, and in honour of your awesomeness, used your name in that story i was writing when you did not want to disturb me (but I am glad you did). Elad is brother to Eli, the man in my story. Elad knows that love is not always easy.

anyway. this could get cheesy, but I had a fantastic time and yanno, convincing you i had no hates for you was veryily much alot of the fun (and also, how could I hate you?) and also, i am some butcher of the english language.

amber :)

elad said...

dave, i'm offically over my fear. loved your story in Rabid Transit, btw.

chance, you (or anyone else) is more than welcome to bug me at my AIM name: haberelad. i'm usually online during work and would welcome the distraction.

chris, i'm VERY glad you like that record. John Darnelle is an incredible writer, huh? i knew you'd love him as much as i do. on his more recent work (he's released three albums since Tallahesse not including a brand new one out in July called Get Lonely), he adds a lot more thickness to his sound with electric guitars, violins, drums, etc. download or buy "The Sunset Tree". now. of the CD's you gave me, i've been rocking out to the Kungfu guys. good stuff!

lisa, i will definitely contact you before i hit Vancouver. will appreciate any insider info you can give.

amber, THANKS for the honor. i don't think i've ever seen my name anywhere in fiction. and thanks also for being so so kind to me during the con. i felt a real kinship and it's made me extremely happy.

lori, i'll tell you more about my trip when i see you soon, assuming of course i see before you leave to Cali. (i should tell you now, i'm extremely jealous.)

Jason Erik Lundberg said...

It was great meeting you, Elad, even if it was briefly. I was nervous as hell before the reading, and I tend to get really quiet when that happens. Hopefully, next time, it'll be in the Governor's Club, and I'll be sufficiently lubricated by drink.

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