2008 Science-Fiction Conventions

The dogwood and redbud trees are in bloom here in Indiana, and spring weather at long last has arrived. And so it's time for me to plan some trips to science-fiction conventions. Last year I made it to DucKon, Context, and Conglomeration, and had a good time at all of them. I missed this year's Conglomeration due to family activities, but I hope to make it to Marcon and WindyCon for the first time, as well as DucKon 17 and Context 21.

One convention that I intentionally boycott is Indianapolis' InConjunction. Some years ago my young daughter and I witnessed some very embarassing and UN-family friendly activities being performed in plain view, in public, during major events at that convention. The people running the convention were fully aware of what was going but did nothing. So I won't go back, even though my daughter is grown now, no longer "in tow" as they say at the cons.

Here are some links to the con sites. I hope to see you there!

VIKTOR KUPRIN

Technorati tags: sci-fi, science fiction, conventions, con, cons, Marcon, DucKon, Context 21, WindyCon, InConjunction

Happy Yuri's Night 2008

Tonight is Yuri's Night, the 47th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin rode the Vostok 1 rocket into history, and in recent years Yuri's Day and Yuri's Night has become an international holiday, much like St. Patrick's Day. You can learn more at this web site: Yuri's Night. I have a bottle of some fine sangria wine that I intend to sample, and raise a toast for the occasion.

And another famous cosmonaut, or cosmopooch, is in the news today:

AP - MOSCOW - Russian officials unveiled a monument to Laika, a dog whose flight to space more than 50 years ago paved the way for human space missions. The small monument is near a military research facility in Moscow that prepared Laika's flight to space on Nov. 3, 1957. It features a dog standing on top of a rocket.

I wish everyone a happy and safe Yuri's Night.

VIKTOR KUPRIN


Technorati tags: Yuri Gagarin, Yuri's Night, USSR, space, cosmonaut, Laika, Vostok