Dr. Phil's Dreamwidth Journal

NASFiC In Detroit

The good news is that my doctor has signed off on me attending Detcon1, the 2014 North American Science Fiction Convention, in just TWO WEEKS. While I will be using a wheelchair to get around, I do have six panels and a reading.

The complete Detcon1 schedule can be found here.
ADDED: Detcon1's version of my schedule is here.

Friday 18 July 2014

356
Michigan Voices 1: Short Readings - Joliet A - Literature
Fri Noon (1 hr.)
A group reading featuring Michigan authors.
Martin L. Shoemaker, Dr. Phil (Philip Edward Kaldon), Michael J. DeLuca, David Sklar.

608
The Good and Bad in Science Fiction - Nicolet A - Detention
Fri 7:00 PM (1 hr.)
Damon Knight said in 1959, "People turn to science fiction for a blend of two feelings---the roller coaster shock of fantasy and the instinctive feel of reality; the feeling that this might be true. If we forget either of these things, we start losing our audience. And I think we are forgetting one of them... I am talking about that sense of reality," suggesting too many stories were just "pleasant little intellectual games." Have things changed since then and how? If not, should they?
Chuck Von Nordheim mod, Dr. Phil (Philip Edward Kaldon), Carrie Patel.

Saturday 19 July 2014

316
Vehicles: Past, Present, Future - Ambassador Salon 2 - Science
Sat 11:00 AM (1 hr.)
Horses, steam, electric, gas and diesel, then back to electric again. What about hydrogen? Flux capacitors? Where's my flying car? Where do trains fit in?
Mike Substelny mod, Dr. Phil (Philip Edward Kaldon), Erik Kauppi, Matthew Alan Thyer, Emmy Jackson, Eric McGlohon.

268
RoboCop: Or There Will Be... Trouble - Nicolet A - Media
Sat 2:00 PM (1 hr.)
For some people, RoboCop is the best SF movie ever set in Detroit (despite being filmed just about everywhere else), and is often cited as one of the best films of 1987. The movie, now 27 years old, was followed by 2 sequels, tv shows, animated shows, comics, video games, and a 2014 remake. Our panel discusses the original RoboCop, its themes and its uses of the idea of the city of Detroit, and compares it to its sequels and the remake.
Pablo Vasquez mod, Alex von Thorn, Dr. Phil (Philip Edward Kaldon), Daniel O'Riordan, Margaret Yang.

416
Detention to Detcon1: Science! - Mackinac East - Science
Sat 6:00 PM (1 hr.)
How has science & technology changed, in the time between Detention & Detcon1? How has it changed our lives and enabled projects that simply couldn't be done before? What was supposed to advance, but didn't?
Erik Kauppi mod, John Wardale, Dr. Phil (Philip Edward Kaldon), Tobias S. Buckell.

Sunday 20 July 2014

756
Science Fiction and the Space Age - Nicolet B - Detention
Sun 10:00 AM (1 hr.)
At the time of Detention in 1959, the space age had barely started with the launch of Sputnik in 1957. But Science Fiction had already been around for decades. It's now 2014, and this weekend marks the 45th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. How has our changing relationship with space influenced the genre since 1959?
Steven Shaviro mod, Chad Childers Martin L. Shoemaker, Dr. Phil (Philip Edward Kaldon).

247
Clarion 2004 + 10 - Mackinac West - Literature
Sun 11:00 AM (1 hr.)
Ten years ago one of the last Clarion workshops at MSU was held, before the workshop moved to San Diego. Instructors and students of that last class (and others) share their thoughts on the successes, failures, benefits from their Clarion experiences after 10 years.
Dr. Phil (Philip Edward Kaldon) (2004) mod, Al Bogdan (2004), Traci Castleberry (2005), Amelia Beamer (2004).


Ren Center 5th Floor (Click on map for larger.)


Ren Center 3rd Floor (Click on map for larger.)

Full floorplan can be found here.

Main hotel is full. You can find overflow space or still Register at the Detcon1 website.

Dr. Phil

A NASFiC in Detroit?



With apologies to Gordon Lightfoot, if Detroit wins its bid for a NASFiC, it won't be a black day in July 2014. What's a NASFiC you ask? In years when WorldCon is away from North American, there is a North American Science Fiction Convention. My second publication, "The Pulse of the Sea", was written for Northwest Passages -- an anthology for the 2005 NASFiC in Seattle, the year WorldCon was in Scotland.

So in 2014, WorldCon will be in London. And Detroit is stepping up to the plate with a NASFiC bid: Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center • Proposed dates: 17-20 July 2014.

They now have their web page up, with details about the Ren Center (and $1/day Internet at the Marriott!). You should check out the FAQ page, especially if your thought are Detroit? Huh?

If you like the concept, you can join in support, or check out their tables or parties at upcoming cons. I hope to get a keychain while at WindyCon this weekend (DW).

Dr. Phil