Omaha Sci-Fi Scene

A Fan Art Exhibit

2008-10-02T16:00:00.001-07:00

Are you aware that the Omaha Public Library has an art gallery on the main floor of the W. Dale Clark Library (a.k.a. the downtown branch)? Well they do, and for the month of November they are planning a Fan.Art.Fusion exhibit. If you are a new artist, an established artist looking for new fans, or just someone who is a talented dabbler, bring your science fiction, fantasy, comic books, manga (yeah, I know that’s just the Japanese word for comic book and so I repeated myself), or anime art downtown and show it off. There will be no charge for participating. As an added incentive there will be an awards ceremony on Saturday, November 22nd at 2 PM. Prizes have been donated from OSFest, OtakuOmaha, Dragon’s Lair and Krypton Comics. So do you think you’re good enough?

For the general public, this will be a free display, open anytime the library is during the month of November. While they have festivities planned for November 22nd, anytime is a good time to view art. So plan a trip to the Michael Phipps Gallery on the main floor of the W. Dale Clark Library, 215 South 15th Street and escape into the imaginary worlds of fellow fans.

For more information contact either: Manya Shorr or Rachel Lee

The end of a busy summer.

2008-09-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy summer, leaving me with no time to post these conventional updates (pun intended). June saw me in Orlando for 2 of the Star Wars Weekends at Disneyworld. In July we hosted the Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival. And August found me in Denver for the 66th World Science Fiction Convention; Denvention 3.

The Star Wars weekends were a pleasant diversion before the real heart of the summer. In July, OSFest ’08 brought SF/F conventions back to Omaha after an almost decade long absence. While most people had a great time there were some problems. We didn’t communicate where activities were sufficiently, equipment issues with the hotel, policy issues we hadn’t thought to deal with, and more. If you can believe this, this was actually the first SF/F convention many of the OSFest staff had ever attended. They all did a wonderful job and we will iron out those problems before July 17, 2009 when we open the doors of the Comfort Inn again for OSFest 2: Another Small Step. So please, if you attended and saw any problems you think we need to address let me know. Drop me an email at: jshoberg@cox.net or post a comment to this blog.

Next time I will begin bringing you up to date on our plans for next summer. Until then check out our website at: http://www.osfes.org/ . And while you’re at it please support the fall conventions in the area: Nuke-con, ICON, Contraception, and AnimeNebrasKon.

Just what is a Con Suite?

2008-05-29T16:02:00.000-07:00

A Con Suite is a Hospitality or party room hosted by the staff of a convention where the members of that convention (like the upcoming Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival or OSFest in Omaha, July 11-13, 2008) can sit down, relax and just enjoy themselves.

There are free sodas and snacks.
It is a place to get away from the fast pace of the convention and slow down to talk with friends for awhile.
It is a place where special events happen that are more intimate than what is going on in the main function rooms, like author readings and "Coffee with the Guests of Honor."

It is available at virtually all hours of the convention. Barely closing during the wee hours of the morning to allow for restocking and letting our volunteers get some sleep. For you to party, they have to be working!

What a Con Suite has to be is a place where fans can go to meet friends in a relaxed atmosphere and talk about subjects that interest them; it is the party room that the convention committee has put together for the members of the convention to kick back and just have a good time. It is available to every member of the convention. Since it is a low key activity, you have to know that one exists and sometimes even seek it out. Often it is not even listed in the program book, because “everybody knows where the Con Suite is”. I attended almost a dozen conventions before I ever heard of one.

OSFest, July 11th through 13th, will be creating its own take on the Con Suite. We will be getting in a keg (or two) of 1919 Root Beer as our specialty drink. Munchies or hand snacks will also be available, free of charge to all attendees, which just means anyone wearing their name badge. We will also be having our authors doing their readings in the Con Suite, as well as our informal “Coffees” with the Guests of Honor. Just so you don’t have to search, it will be located on the 3rd floor of the Comfort Inn & Suites, right off the elevators. The third floor has been designated our "Party Floor" where in addition to our Con Suite various room parties will be hosted by various fan groups both Friday and Saturday night. You can also find additional function space there such as a video room, and game rooms - so you can't miss it!

Come, eat, drink and be merry with like minded friends this summer at OSFest, The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival, July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. 3-day memberships are available on line or by mail, with the form available on our website. I hope to see you there.

OSFest Fan Groups - part 2

2008-05-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

Nevermore Paranormal Research and Investigations

Interested in things that go bump in the night? I mean on purpose, not because you kicked over your nightstand again. There is a group of researchers here in Omaha looking into ghostly apparitions and manifestations with the goal of documenting, communicating and explaining what is going on. And they are coming to OSFest to talk about what they do.

Nevermore Paranormal Research and Investigations is a Non-Profit Corporation based in Omaha, Nebraska. While its members all share and enjoy an interest in all aspects of the paranormal we specialize in the area of the supernatural; specifically ghost hunting. They use a mix of traditional and modern methods while investigating paranormal phenomena. As any good research group, they are continuing to experiment and pioneer new methods and techniques based on the evidence they gather and the theories they develop.

They will present a panel called “Ghosthunting 101”, in which they will:
--- 1) Provide a brief foundation and context to help understand and appreciate the field of the supernatural, including concepts of the soul, consciousness, personality, sentience, and the metaphysical constructs that make up the theory of what a ghost is.
--- 2) Discuss the misconception that it is the job of “Science” to disprove the existence of ghosts and why it’s really the job of the Paranormal Investigator to prove that they exist.
--- 3) Explain the terminology of ghosts and the nomenclature of the paranormal field, including orbs, vortexes, and various manifestations.
--- 4) Give a brief explanation of the various tools used in ghosthunting and the theories behind using them or document or communicate with the dead.

Join the Nevermore Paranormal Investigations Team and other researchers, writers, artists, and fans at The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival, July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. 3-day memberships are available on line or by mail, with the form available on our website. I hope to see you there.

OSFest Program Participants - part 8

2008-05-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

Omaha’s Own – Matthew S. Rotundo

Not all the writers coming to The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will be from out of town; award winning author, Matthew S. Rotundo lives right here in Omaha.

At eight years of age, Matt wrote his first story; "The Elephant and the Cheese". It was the first time he had ever filled an entire page with writing. To his young mind this was really something. He soon decided that writing stories was what he wanted to do with his life.

In 1998, Matt attended Odyssey Writing Workshop where he studied under the expert tutelage of famous writers such Harlan Ellison (this emotional photo was taken by his wife, Tracy). This six-week workshop for writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror led directly to his first sale; "Black Boxes," in Absolute Magnitude. In 2002, Matt won a Phobos Award for "Hitting the Skids in Pixeltown," which appeared in the anthology of the same name. In 2008, his short story, “Gone Black”, was a first quarter winner in the Writers of the Future Contest. His fiction has appeared or will soon appear in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Cosmos, Prime Codex, and Paradox.

Matt also plays guitar and has been known to sing karaoke. He married his lovely wife, Tracy, in 1992. He has husked corn only once in his life, and has never been detasseling, so he insists he is not a hick.He pens his own blog at http://matthewsrotundo.livejournal.com/.

Join Matt and other writers, artists, and fans at The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival, July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. 3-day memberships are available on line or by mail, with the form available on our website. I hope to see you there.

OSFest Program Participants - part 7

2008-05-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

Carrie Vaughn - Meet Miss Kitty

Plans are moving together with an increasing pace as we approach our July Festival weekend. Carrie Vaughn, a co-attendee of the Odyssey Writing Workshop with Matthew Rotundo, has just agreed to become another one of our Program Participants. Meaning she will be available to do some panels, readings, and generally be available all weekend. Her photo is courtesy of Timony Siobhan

Carrie currently lives in Boulder Colorado with her dog, Lily. She was a member of the Odyssey Writing Workshop class of 98, where she was under the tutelage of Harlan Ellison. Since then she has had stories published in Realms of Fantasy and Weird Tales. Recently she has published a series of novels about a werewolf, Kitty Norville, who is the host of the radio talk show, 'The Midnight Hour’. Check them out on Amazon.com (but remember to go through the link on the OSFES website to help fund our convention.) Then bring them to OSFest, track her down, and politely ask her to sign them. Just remember, it is looking like we will have a full moon that weekend.

The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will be July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. 3-day memberships are available on line or by mail, with the form available on our website. I hope to see you there.

The Great Book Giveaway

2008-04-20T13:44:00.001-07:00

The Omaha Science Fiction Education Society, the non-profit organization running OSFest, has received two very substantial donations of science fiction and fantasy books. Enough books in fact that every full weekend attendee of the Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will receive a free book when they receive their membership packet.
Since there are so many random titles in this collection, you may receive a book that you either have or have already read. No problem! We also plan to give out name badge ribbons that you can attach to your convention badge that reads “Book Trader”. Simply attach this ribbon on the bottom of your name badge and you will announce to the rest of the convention attendees that you are willing to trade your book.
Why are we doing this, you ask? (I know this is a blog and so I have to ask the questions of myself that you want to ask me if you could reach me through cyberspace as I write this.) Good question. This is our way of encouraging SF/F fans to talk to someone they have never met about the books they have, they like, and yes, even the ones they didn’t like. This is an excuse to go up to someone you have never met, with a similar interest, and talk about the genre you both love.
Can you bring your own books? Sure, the whole idea is to tap into the experience base of Midwest fandom, pass on which are the really good books and hopefully keep them circulating enough that they will stay in print.
The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will be July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. 3-day memberships are available on line or by mail, with the form available on our website. I hope to see you there.

Omaha Fan Groups - part 1

2008-04-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

The R2-Central Builders Club

Since the days of the first Worldcon ™ in 1939, fans have recreated their favorite props from the movies and shows they enjoyed. I can remember seeing fans drive up at conventions in vans that had been converted into replicas of the LandRams from the first Battlestar Galactica series. I’m just guessing that they mounted the cannons after they got to the convention center’s parking lot.

We have a group here in Omaha that is coming to OSFest to show their love of building these props. The R2-Central Builders Club will show off their work, instruct you in how you to can have your own astromech droid, and invite you to partner with them in their dreams. They will present a split two-hour workshop (that means there is an hour break between them). In the first workshop they will be showing how to make various body parts out of different materials like wood, resin, and aluminum. In the second session they will talk about the electronics and motors and what they can make their droids do.

While the workshops are currently scheduled for Sunday, they will we around all weekend. In our dealer’s room they will have a fan table where you can find photo opportunities with their R2 units, view a DVD presentation on their other activities, and find more information about them, as well as how to join their group.

The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will be July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. I hope to see you there.

Shhhhhhhh, be vewwwy, vewwwy quiet; I'm hunting conventions, heheheheheheh. It's Convention Season

2008-04-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

Winter is behind us, though in Nebraska you can never be sure until the next winter begins. That means it is time to get out of our burrows and travel to exotic locations for nearby activities. No wait, reverse that! Travel to nearby facilities for exotic activities, otherwise known as science fiction conventions.

Annually Willycon in early April is the convention that kicks off my convention travels. A mere two hours from Omaha, Wayne State College’s Science Fiction Club has been putting on a small intimate little convention for the past ten years. This is no relax-a-con though. Without the monetary hit of needing to purchase function space, these guys are able to kick more money into acquiring their lineup of guests. Authors have included; Jack McDevitt, Jullie Czerneda, Eric Flint, and James Hogan; Artists; Terese Nielsen, Frank Wu, John Kaufmann, and Lucy Synk. And believe me; being two hours from a major airport, this is no mean feat. And they do all this while keeping the at the door price down to 1980 prices; $20.

Their attendance is small but that means you have more time to spend one on one with the guests and you will never be one of a mob in a panel. Yes, they sometimes violate the panelist-audience rule; their panelists don’t switch places with the audience if they outnumber them. Their Art Show is on par with other local conventions three times their size and gaming is going on everywhere. I can’t even drag my kid back to our room at night from the video game room. So if you are looking for something to break out of the winter humdrums next year consider WillyCon XI. While the dates are yet to be confirmed, they are hosting; author M.R.Sellers, artist Maria William, and Lincoln fan Rod Vasek.

But this is just the beginning. Demicon and Conquest are in May, OtakuOmaha is the first part of June and The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival (OSFest) is July 11-13 at the Comfort Inn & Suites 7007 Grover Street here in Omaha. Come out, meet new fans along with ones you haven’t seen in a while, but above all get out of your winter burrows and have a great time.

OSFest Program Partipants - part 6

2008-03-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Travis Heerman – Blogging the Groove

Travis is a local author, born and raised in Nebraska. And like most good science fiction authors, went and got himself a science degree, electrical engineering to be exact. Though now he is working on a M.A. in English, he has taken courses in computer programming, linguistics, and Japanese language. I’ll bet the latter came in handy when he spent those three years in Fukuoka, Japan teaching English. Anyone need some Anime translated?

Travis has a solo novel out, though probably not still in print. If you’re planning on hitting any used book markets in the near future keep your eyes out for his 1996 novel, The Ivory Star. His second book will be out Spring 2009 entitled, Heart of the Ronin. He has published numerous works of short fiction, gaming supplements and magazine articles. In addition to running his own copywriting service, Travis has started a blog of interviews with various authors. Check out: Blogging the Groove, where if you scroll down you will find an interview with the Guest of Honor for this year’s ConQuesT: Joe R. Lansdale. He hopes to catch up with a few more authors this summer at OSFest, hopefully as a function at the convention. So be there and witness live action blogging.

The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will be July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. I hope to see you there.

OSFest Program Participants part 5

2008-03-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

Eric Coleman – Songwriter - Singer - Curmudgeon
Filk is a word created by a misspelling of ‘folk singing’ in a convention program book that has stuck with us. A Filk Song is a song created by re-writing the lyrics of another song, or writing lyrics to their own music, that has a fannish theme. Filk songs will be about TV shows and movies, books and their characters, or even events that have happened within the fannish community. Learn all about creating filk songs and performing them in “Filksinging: From Word to Sung”, then come to our nightly After Hours Filk sessions to have a good time with your new skills. Like with anything else, it takes practice, practice, practice.

So who’s going to introduce you into this wonderful new world? Why Eric Coleman, of course. Who is Eric Coleman, you ask? “He has spent much of the last 3 years claiming that is not a comedy musician. It looks like he is losing that battle (or perhaps winning it) as more and more he becomes part of the Dementia Underground that will eventually take over the airwaves from the corporate scum who rule it now. He may end up a martyr in this, but he is definitely not leaving a good looking corpse.” His words not mine. It must be a songwriter thing, writing about yourself in the third person. So some spend the weekend with the self described curmudgeon, learn about and do some filk singing, and spend some time with a really great guy.

The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will be July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. I hope to see you there.

OSFES' Ides of March Game Day

2008-03-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

The Ides of March fell on a Saturday this year and since none of us felt like visiting our local Orange Julius purveyor – besides the fact that it’s illegal to assassinate a Roman Emperor these days - we celebrated the day with gaming at the Skutt Student Center on Creighton University campus! Though a different Empire made its presence felt. Mason Hatfield as Boba Fett, Imperial ID number BH-9545, escorted by Storm Trooper Sam Cheek helped keep the crowds under control, rousting out suspicious presences – wait that’s our video game coordinator, Mai Tran. Thankfully they grabbed another hostage, err rebel scum, and let her go.

On the RPG gaming side, we ran a basic Dungeons and Dragons session in tribute to Gary Gygax, the man who started on that quest. There was also TMNT, Fluxx and others. Thanks to Dave Rosser, Micheal Maley, Ann Towney, and Rodney Ruff for braving the Senate and coming out to Game Master. Also Dale Meier, whose chariot was in the shoppe, for organizing our table games.

But with all that going on the room seemed sparse compared to Smash Brothers and Halo events going on in the next room. Super Smash Brother Brawl was released just a week earlier and with several systems running the game, we had people waiting to play. Of course we had scheduled a tournament for both it and Halo 3. Rock Band and Guitar Hero were quite popular also.
I will take one thing away from this day, the tremendous numbers of people involved in console or video games have convinced me to add another suite to The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival. We will be having a video gaming room on our main hotel floor for those whose thumbs can handle it. It’s just our patriotic duty to train the virtual combatants of the future.

There will be another Game Day between now and OSFest along with the Family Fun Center evening we are organizing on April 10, 2008. Join us at 71st and Dodge, where a $10 donation will get you 20 tokens, food and a free attraction.

The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will be July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. I hope to see you there.

OSFest Program Participants part 4

2008-03-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

Daryl Frazetti – Xenolinguistist
“Klaatu barata nikto” aside, what would an alien language sound like? Well Professor Frazetti is coming to OSFest to talk about Xenolinguistics and hold a workshop on alien languages.

Xenolinguistics is a structural and cognitive linguistics course that uses alien languages, such as those from Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, Futurama, as examples and case studies. There will be an overview discussion of the material, followed by a workshop (on Sunday so we can digest the big words we used on Saturday) going over the steps on how to create an alien language.

While Daryl was born and raised in Boston, he currently teaches Anthropology at Lake Tahoe College in California. With a background in physical anthropology and work in paleopathology, he has taught specialty courses in The Anthropology of Star Trek, Xenolinguistics, and The Anthropology of The Lord of the Rings. So when he wrote us that he would like to come to Omaha for OSFest, we jumped at the chance. Make time to talk to this guy about his courses, his convention experiences; just don’t forget to ask him about his cats.

The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will be July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. I hope to see you there.

OSFest Program Participants part 3

2008-03-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

Fredd Gorham
It must take a strong sense of humor to grow up in this town, because like Mike Cole – our Artist Guest-of-Honor – Fredd is one of many comic artists to emerge from Omaha. He found work with Marvel Comics, DC Comics, CaliberPress, and Malibu Comics before becoming affiliated with Shocktrauma Studios.

Fredd also brings game design to OSFest. He has worked for several gaming companies: Iron Crown Enterprises, Hero Games, R. Talsorian, Steve Jackson Games, and FantasyFlight Games.

So seek Fredd out, find the fan table he is hiding behind, the panels and workshops he will be participating in. Talk to him about his many artistic avenues, including how you can make it in this world as a free-lancer. Oh and check out the art show where a panel of Fredd’s artwork will be displayed, admired and hopefully bid on.

The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival will be July 11-13th, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7007 Grover Street Omaha, NE. I hope to see you there.

OSFest Program Participants part 2

2008-02-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

Daniel C. Nielsen - The Man from Valhalla (Nebraska)
One of the reasons for, and special treats of, attending local conventions is to introduce new authors to the SF/F community. Highlighting the writers that actually live near their fan base. Daniel Nielsen is such an author.
A self-described writer of dark fantasy, he has two books to his credit: Darksteel Destinies and These Old Bones, as well as an assortment of short stories and poetry. After discovering the joys of world building at an early age and his community library to feed his mythological cravings, Dan took to regaling his classmates with his fantasy worlds while still in school. With literary influences such as C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series and Glen Cook’s Black Company books, this is a new author you need to take the time to get to know.
So spend some time with Mr. Nielsen, attend a reading, corner him in the Con Suite, and participate in a panel he is on. Get a Taste of Twilight and find out what makes our Man from Valhalla tick! See you at OSFest.

OSFest's Featured Filmmakers: Shadow Creek Studios

2008-02-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

Shadow Creek Studios located in Maple Grove Minnesota will be coming to this year’s Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival as our Featured Filmmakers. Christopher Mihm, head of the studio, along with members of the cast and crew are coming to talk about independent filmmaking and their movies.

They have recently completed Cave Women On Mars, their third film which is set in the future year of 1987. It will have its world premiere on April 12th of this year in Columbia Heights Minnesota at The Heights Theatre. On July 12th, they will screen first their earlier works: The Monster of Phantom Lake and It Came Form Another World before an evening showing of Cave Women. The studio's blurb is that these movies are "hilarious - and loving - tributes to 1950s B-grade horror flicks". I have talked to someone who has seen the first two and he argees with this assessment. Ah, the 1950's scifi genre, a time when science was invented, or at least stretched past the breaking point, to drive the story. A time when anything was possible and everyone had a great time escaping for a few hours.

So come and hang out with members of non-Hollywood, the filmmakers of Shadow Creek Studios. OSFest is July 11-13, 2008 at the Comfort Inn & Suites.

OSFest Program Participants part 1

2008-02-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

Tyree Campbell

Conventions have a main lineup of guests that are spectacular and draw new people into the door. But any regular convention goer knows that most of the work in providing the entertainment at the event comes from the cadre of ancillary guests the committee lines up. These guests provide the convention with the ability to have a wide array of panels, workshops, meeting, readings, and miscellaneous interactions that make up the fannish experience.

OSFest is starting to build that cadre. The first gentleman I would like to introduce everyone to is Tyree Campbell, who was actually the first to have enough faith in us. Tyree is the Managing Editor of a micro press publishing company: Sam’s Dot Publishing and is their face at conventions in the Midwest. You will find him behind a dealer’s table willing to introduce you to the works of new writers that he has found good enough to bring to print. Along with his own works of fiction.

What does he bring to OSFest? He has been part of the current wave of small, niche publishers that is helping to fill the void in the genre. A void created when the big publishing houses fail to take the risk of new voices in the field. He knows the business from the writing, editing, printing, and marketing perspective. He will provide synergetic viewpoint to the world of written science fiction, fantasy, and zombies. Three out of his five blogs on his MySpace page are about zombies.

So thanks for coming Tyree. And to everyone else, look him up at OSFest. He is a very easy man to talk to and is quick to become friends with.

OSFES' January '08 Game Day

2008-01-21T14:30:00.000-08:00

It was a cold and stormy day on the Great Plains and those looking for relief from the frigid temperatures and chronic boredom of keeping warm had a place to go. OSFES had found a warm den and equipped it with the finest in console gaming and most excellent Game Masters and christened it a Game Day.

Saturday, January 19th, at the Skutt Student Center on the campus of Creighton University, OSFES organized both video and tabletop games for those brave enough to venture forth through the artic cold front that was gripping Omaha. This time we realized that the two types of gaming had to be separated to keep their respective noise levels from interfering with each other. And it worked. While some of the gamers got quite loud, it was never enough to disrupt the other side.

One of the members of the 501st Legion stopped by to interrogate the usual suspects, err, pose for pictures. Mason Hatfield as Boba Fett, Imperial ID number BH-9545, made his way through the crowd searching for rebel scum.

There is one more Game Day scheduled before the Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival this July and that will be on the Ides of March; March 15 at the Skutt Student Center on the campus of Creighton University.

We also plan to sponsor events at the local game shops over the next few months, though not as grand as our Game Days. To keep up on all our gaming activities, bookmark: www.osfes.org/GameDay.htm. Be there or be the round peg in that square hole.

May ye always roll a natural 20; John

Media Guest of Honor: Denise Crosby

2008-01-10T16:06:00.001-08:00

I am pleased to announce that The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival again has a Media Guest of Honor. Denise Crosby, who created the role of Lt. Tasha Yar on one of the most popular TV series ever, "STAR TREK, THE NEXT GENERATION" and later returned to play Tasha's daughter "Sela," a role she helped create, will be coming to Omaha.

Denise’s contributions to the genre are not limited to her work on "STAR TREK, THE NEXT GENERATION”, which by itself is impressive. She has been on such genre television series as: THE FLASH, THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY JR., THE X_FILES, and the internet series STAR TREK: NEW VOYAGES. As well as the following films: THE ELIMINATORS, PET SEMATARY, MUTANT SPECIES, and DEEP IMPACT. She has also provided the voice of Sela in the STAR TREK: ARMADA video games.

Denise joins Aaron Allston, Mike Cole, and Rusty Hevelin to help us celebrate all the various aspects of this genre that we love. So get a membership, book a room, and join us for three days of non-stop fun.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s finally 2008 and that means we are only a few short months away from the first Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival. This may be the first convention some of you have gone to. For others, you know what to expect because you’re a veteran of the Midwest convention circuit. But whether you’re new or experienced OSFest will have something for you.

To help smooth the way for new convention fans, we have as our Toastmaster a member of First Fandom. Someone who has been around since the early days of the World Science Fiction conventions and has honed a presentation called; “How to Enjoy Your First Convention.” He will leave you with a good understanding of what this SF con thing is all about.

I remember when I showed up at my first convention; the 1976 Worldcon: MidAmericon or Big Mac in Kansas City, I had no idea what to expect. I attended some of the periphery functions without ever knowing what was really going on. I missed the main activities that weekend. But there was so much going on; the peripheries were so exciting, that I never knew I was missing anything until much later.

So how do you choose? Well the first thing to do is download the schedule from the website as soon as it gets posted, usually about two weeks ahead of the convention (www.osfes.org/osfest.htm). Check out the descriptions of events in the program book once you get registered and have your copy. And always keep your pocket program handy, mine’s always in my back pocket. Rusty normally runs his panel early Saturday morning. But you don’t have to be on your own Friday night. Just walk up to someone wearing a con badge and ask, “Is this your first convention?” At worst you’ll be able to double team the next person the two of you ask.

OSFest will be a lot of fun, with a lot of activities going on. As we get them planned out, I will blog them your way so you can know what to expect. I’m looking forward to seeing you in July.

Bye, bye Claudia

2007-12-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

Well, OSFES has run into our first snag in bringing a boffo fan experience to Omaha. We have lost our Media Guest of Honor. Due to commitments with her production company, Claudia Christian will be working on a reality television series for William Morris during the time period we will be holding The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival. While this is great news for Ms. Christian, the actress; it forces us to rethink some of our convention priorities.

For decades the realm of science fiction and fantasy was strictly literary and therefore the traditional convention was centered around the writers and artists that produced the stories we enjoyed. Lineups for conventions consisted of a Writer, Artist, and Fan GOH with a Toastmaster, typically another writer to get two on the bill. That is especially true today since the banquet the Toastmaster officiated at has disappeared. Even then, there were fewer writers to draw from that everyone enjoying the field recognized any name you invited. That is not true today.

The ideas, the new worlds, the fun toys that writers have always brought us are being packaged in new forms. Television, movies, games, animation, and even the internet have opened new ways for we, the fans of this genre, to experience the visions the creators of this genre have dreamed up for us. So how to honor those creators?

OSFest started down this path by inviting Claudia Christian as our Media GOH. As an actress, she created a character that captured the imaginations of many fans of SF/F. She had been our attempt to capture the television side of the picture. Her lose will force us to examine how we can celebrate other facets of the genre. In the coming months, changes will be made in the lineup of the guests we are bringing to meet their fan base. Your input can help us decide which avenues to pursue. If you have a particular area of interest, or person you would like to learn more about, let us know. There are many ways you can do this:

http://www.osfes.com/ is our fan forum, where you can post opinions and view those of others.
On Yahoo Groups we have Omaha_Sci-Fi_Fantasy_Discussions, where you can post messages and reply to others directly from you email account.
OSFES and many of its members have started MySpace and Facebook pages. Check them out and become a friend. www.myspace.com/osfes
Email you opinions directly to: omahascifi@gmail.com
Or simply post a comment to this blog.

So farewell for now Claudia, we will miss you. At least for OSFest '08.

Anime NebrasKon 2007

2007-11-22T18:09:00.001-08:00

For me the Midwest convention season ended with three really wonderful conventions. Each had its own flavor, each was the right size for its purpose, and each brought in enough funds that they will be back next year. The last of these was the anime convention held in the University of Nebraska’s Student Center: NebrasKon.

Anime is a sub-genre of science fiction that grew up in response to the vast emptiness of American animation in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Probably the best way to explain why Japanese animation found an immense audience waiting for it is to look at its competition in the early 1980’s; Super-Friends had reigned on American Saturday morning television for over a decade (1973-86). The discovery of anime (or Japanese Animation as we called it then) gave us the choice of the exploits of the Space Battleship Yamato or “Wonder Twin powers activate”. I have DVDs of the former, but not the later.

But it is not the movies, OVAs (Original Video Animation), or series that make an anime convention. You can buy those and watch them in the comfort of your living room. It is the fans that make up a really good convention. From the discussions of what is good or bad on DVD, or whether you should watch dubbed or subbed videos (DVDs make this argument pointless since they come with both versions), to the cosplay (costume play) that happens during the entire weekend. Yes, there is going to be a Masquerade or Cosplay Competition sometime on Saturday evening but you still see a good many costume characters throughout the convention.

Yet, anime conventions are still trying to find their pattern. They have a lot of rough edges yet that SF/F conventions have polished down over the years. The best example of this is the Cosplay or Costume Competitions they hold. Rules seem to vary and have not taken all participants into consideration yet. The two anime conventions I attended this year were both flawed from the perspective of the audience, especially those of us trying to take photos. The entrants also need to polish their presentations. But anime presenters have been at this for a mere two decades and I am comparing them to events that have been honed since 1939. I think SF/F fandom has a lot to offer Anime fandom.

I also think that Anime fandom has a lot to offer SF/F fandom. Anime conventions have a raw energy about them. It seemed that almost one-fourth of the NebrasKon goers were in some type of costume, and in character for that costume. Their dealers room was thriving and they have found a new avenue for the artists to meet their fans; the Artist Alley. Though I do miss the Art Show with its hanging images where I can crawl into a new and wondrous world created by talented imagers.

Traditional SF/F fandom is graying, getting too comfortable in those events that are finely polished, lacking the hunger to create new experiences. How often have you gone to the same panel? Can you name a SF/F convention that does NOT have one named, “Where do you get those crazy ideas?” If traditional SF/F conventions cannot find a way to re-integrate both gaming and anime fandom back into our makeup, we will die. It is often asked at the traditional conventions by the con goers, where are the younger fans? Well they have started their own conventions around the sub-genres that we did not give enough resources to. If you look at the attendance figures; gaming, anime, and media conventions are growing. These were all pieces of the traditional SF/F convention until we started snubbing them, despite the fact that we enjoyed them.

Can a convention be created that will bring experienced fans together with energetic fans? I think it can and The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival (OSFest) is going to try. I hope we can really create a science fiction convention with something for everyone.

What do You want?

ICON has risen from its ashes!

2007-11-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

ICON 32 was Nov. 2-4 this year back onto I-80. Held in Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, the convention has moved back to the Iowa City area where it began.

Everything said about how this convention went has to be viewed with the understanding that after ICON 31, ICON was dead. Around January of this year, a group of experienced convention runners, lead by Greg Parmentier and Steve Keith Tait, got a bid together and presented it to the Mindbridge Board of Directors (Mindbridge is the corporate entity that is responsible for ICON and other convention in the Iowa City area). After their proposal was accepted they had only 10 months to pull everything together.

The Marriott is a fine new hotel, even if I grumble at having to pay for parking. OSFES went in to do our first room party ever and found an easy connection for our electronics. I most hotels, if you are lucky, you can disconnect the RF cable coming into the television to hook in a video deck. The Marriott had a wall mounted selection of connector plug-ins that hooked into their large flat-screen TVs. So with a few bed-movings, some room decorations (with no tape being applied to the walls), and John Pershing’s home-brew; OSFES’ party went over quite well. “”That’s Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (pause, wait for it) with Pia Zadora.”

The convention shared its space with a wedding and a couple of meetings that weekend. It was a bit odd to see a non-SF/F group getting into costumes for their event – and they weren’t square-dancers. Their activities were very spread out, their Toastmaster, Rusty Hevelin, had to use an electric scooter to get around.

Yes, they had some problems. A snafu with the Art Show rules caused a lot of artists to not send in art and made the Art Show very small and the Art Auction almost non-existent. Several panels were run by a single individual (at least the ones I got to), but their Moderators (is the main person still called a moderator if they are the only panelist?) kept the panels interesting and on topic. Finally their costume contest had at least as many entrees as Windycon a week later, along with belly-dancers and The Great Luke Ski as half-time entertainment.

ICON has risen from its Gallium ashes – next year join Tanya Huff, Rusty Hevelin, and a host of the usual suspects at ICON 33 on Halloween for another really cool weekend.

Nuke-Con XVII

2007-10-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Creighton University Skutt Student Center is a nice place to hold an event but you have to be in good shape to get from the parking lot to the actual building which hosts events. And most of fandom isn't, not with XL clothing being considered fannish medium. It's a nice walk for a 20-year old but I didn't see too many of the Creighton students gaming. Inconvenient parking plus the gaming convention in Des Moines (Fiel ds of Honor) and River City Roundup the same weekend meant that Nuke-Con was going to take a hit on attendance, which they did.

There were some changes the Nuke-Con committee had to make to adapt to this new venue. The usual concession stand was replaced by Creighton sponsored eating establishments, though prices had been negotiated down for the weekend. It was a multi-level event, since the student center has its rooms divided between three floors. And their anime room was the five large screen televisions in one of those eateries. But the things we come to expect from a Nuke-Con were all there. Lavish miniature games, RPGA events, newly designed gaming experiences straight from the companies designing them, computerized warfare, lead figure painting (as opposed to the Chinese practice of painting figures with lead), gaming supply vendors, and a game materials auction. Fredd Gorham, their Artist Emeritus, ran his Artist's Jam on Saturday for the second year, which makes it a fannish tradition Fredd. Several local fannish groups were also in attendance supporting the convention: OSFES, NERO, OtakuOmaha, Amtgard. So it doesn't matter the venue they are able to find, the Nuke-Con people know how to bring fun things together in a complete low-cost package. Watch for another change in venue for 2008. The Skutt center does not book events a year in advance.

While it is easy to blame external circumstances for dropping attendance figures at Midwestern fannish events. I have to wonder if competing activities or a sense of apathy pervading Omaha fandom is the reason. Are we getting too old and/or jaded to support these events. What do you think? Post a comment about the state of Omaha fandom. Let's hear from you.

Star Trek - TOS returns

2007-09-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

New episodes from the universe of the original Star Trek series have hit the web waves. Star Trek New Voyages currently has three new stories available for viewing at their website: http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/. The Cawley Entertainment Company with the Magic Time Company is currently working on a two- parter written by veteran Star Trek writer David Gerrold.

I came in on the third web episode: "World Enough And Time", which was written by Michael Reaves and Marc Scott Zicree, directed by Marc Scott Zicree, and starring George Takei. Grace Lee Whitney as Commander Janice Rand and Jacqueline Kim as Ensign Demora Sulu put in cameo appearances.

I was impressed by the technical accomplishments, it was like watching the old 1960's series complete with the kaleidoscopic computer screen and non-detailed model of the NCC-1701. The cast did an excellant job of mimicry acting, what else can you say when you have to recreate a role someone originated. And there was actually a plot with decent dialogue for the actors to say. It was like stepping back forty years and watching the cancelled series carrying on for the rest of its five year mission. While I was amazed at the recreation done with the sets and props used in this production, one thing I really care about is the writing that goes into something I watch, which is why I like the old episodes of Doctor Who despite their lack of a special effects budget. "Worlds Enough And Time" had a strong plot, tying in characters we had grown up with in the Star Trek universe together and sketching out a period in Lt. Sulu's life that woudl only have been possible in science fiction. The writer even dropped hints about where his story was taking us by the names he used for the shuttle craft and the planet where Dr. Lisa Chandris (the weekly new crew member) boarded the Enterprise. It was little things like this that endeared fans to Babylon 5, so watch for them.

I look forward to viewing the first two web-episodes and hope they keep getting whatever funding they have and making many more adventures of that first crew boldly going where no man has gone before.