ALBACON, www.albacon.org , has its hotel for 2010: Best Western Sovereign Hotel – Albany, 1228 Western Ave., Albany, NY 12203; +1-518-489-2981; http://www.sovereignhotels.com/ .
We hope to have on-line registration up and running real soon now. Y’all come. We give good con! Allen Steele is our Literary Guest of Honor.
I had a very good weekend. It started off with a huge turkey lunch en route to Rochester at my favorite turkey restaurant. The con went well. Met old friends and made new ones. Did a couple panels, judged the masquerade, chatted with folk about my no fuel/no waste power source, got too little sleep, etc. – If you are anywhere near Rochester next NOV, you might think about the con. – Hey, it is almost as good as ALBACON. 
For the past couple days I’ve been scanning in papers from the Tolkien conferences I ran in 1969 and 1971: The 1st & 2nd Conferences On Middle-earth. I may add a couple more that I have which are contemporary with them. It is very interesting to go thru these papers which were based solely on The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings.
These are the papers which didn’t make the cut for “A Tolkien Compass” edited by Jared Lobdell.
One idea is to publish them under the title: “A Tolkien Lodestone.” They being sort of not quite ready for accurate directions in Middle-earth.
It might be fun to hold another Conference On Middle-earth for fans of Professor Tolkien, the books, music, art, films, etc. A small get together in the “Green Dragon” for a nosh & a natter.
The so-called Westboro Baptist Church is again in the news. All I can think of is that Sauron would be smiling. This family, and that is about all the Westboro Baptist Church is composed of, is anything but God fearing or holy. They insult the truly religious. – I have a further question. Who is paying for them to do this? They are all over the US bleating out their message of hate & bigotry. Are they rich and can afford all the travelling they seem to do? Maybe someone is behind these simple minded puppets of hate and bigotry. It would be interesting to follow the money, as the expression goes. – A good primer on dealing with terrorists, [And I consider the so-called Westboro Baptist Churc as such.] such as this group, is found in a very interesting SF novel by Dean Ing: “Soft Targets.” It came out at the end of the 70’s. Well worth looking for.
Looking forward to a fun weekend. I’m heading off to Rochester, NY, for ASTRONOMICON, their local SF con. All the ones I’ve attended have been fun.
Recently read/viewed “JRR TOLKIEN – Artist & Illustrator” by Hammond & Scull. It is a fascinating look at Tolkien’s ideas visualized. While I thoroughly enjoyed the book and Tolkien art as well as the commentary by Hammond & Scull, I’m not quite as overwhelmed by Tolkien’s art as they are. Tolkien’s art is quite good. However, he was not an artistic master. It is very interesting to see how different works grew in the drawing as it were. It was interesting to learn how Tolkien recycled some of his art work for publication. All in all it is a book well worth adding to one’s collection of books by Tolkien. I’m glad I did and recommend it to you.
On the 19th, the closest to 22 September, I sat down in front of my computer with its 24″ monitor & watched the extended version of TLOTR. It was a grand way to spend the day. I love the film, the books, and even enjoyed the musical. – Of course, I did much junk food, including Pizza, Pepsi, chips & dip, & ice cream. How much better can it get? – I would love to find someone with a BIG screen to host a hobbit party to watch the film. I’ve done it, but it just doesn’t work on a small screen.
On 26 SEP I was privileged to give away Kara Haff at her wedding to Jerome Conner. I had introduced them a few years earlier at an SF con. How cool!
Loverly people I love.
I had a very good time at ALBACON. You should have been there. I did a few panels, mixed with everyone, went to parties, got not enough sleep, the usual.
Next year ALLEN STEELE is the literary GoH. Y’all come on by. We give good con!
What panels do you want to attend there?
Susan invited you to “Book Signing” on Friday, October 9 at 3:00pm.
Susan says, “Please, post this event on your blog. Let everyone know that the Romance Writers have come to Albany, NY. It’s going to be a lovely event. Be sure to say hi to me, when you come, as I will be attending. I’m a panelist in the writer’s conference.”.
Event: Book Signing
What: Retail
Start Time: Friday, October 9 at 3:00pm
End Time: Friday, October 9 at 5:00pm
Where: Sovereign Best Western Hotel, Albany, NY
To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=145834023037&mid=135d9acG32b139a0G722447cG7
