Having loaded up on hand sanitizer and dusting powder, I am relatively ready for LoneStarCon. If you’d like to come say hello, here is where I will be:
- Thursday, 13:00-14:00, Autographing. (Or as I call it, “Kicking back and and testing the open container regulations while searching for open wi-fi, because I doubt anybody will want me to sign books.”)
- Friday, 10:00-11:00, US Animation Influenced by Japanese Animation. (In which we talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I rant about that goddamn lion-tortoise one more time, because the lion-tortoise was fucking bullshit.)
- Friday, 14:00-15:00, The Future of the Border. (In which I moderate a panel, and watch the audience for racist assholes. Given the pro-eugenics assholes at ChiCon, my concern is justified. A warning: I moderate panels like Marion Ravenwood runs her bar. I would rather watch it burn than let the Nazis have it. I intend to preface the panel with instructions to any and all audience members who may be there to air their racist bullshit that they need to get the fuck out right then and there. If you don’t listen, and clutter up my discussion period with your crap, I will take your picture, post it to Twitter, and tell everyone at the con to avoid you. You know. Pretty basic.)
- Friday, 18:00-19:00, Gender in Anime and Manga. (In which we talk about Utena, Ouran, and so on.)
- Saturday, 13:00-14:00, Can Machines Be Conscious? (In which I talk about this article, among other things, with people who have more degrees than I do.)
- Saturday, 17:00-18:00, Miyazaki panel. (In which I say that Princess Mononoke is obviously the best.)
- Sunday, 11:00-12:00, Real Politics and How Fiction Writers Get it Wrong. (In which I try not to stare at Dave, who is moderating, and think about how handsome he is while I’m supposed to be working.)
- Sunday, 15:00-16:00, Literary Beer with Ellen Datlow. (In which I cannot drink beer, but ask for Redbreast or Woodford Reserve or Jameson.)
- Sunday, 16:00-17:00, Philosophy and Science Fiction. (In which I talk about going to Jesuit school, and how my therapist is a Buddhist, and I’m a recovering Catholic, and very confused.)