being 54

[memelaina]

today i am busy being 54. i will never have a chance to do it again, so i hope i get it right. i suppose i've been practicing all year, but what if i missed something? what should being 54 be all about anyway? this is my last day to be ineligible for AARP. oh, if only it meant that tomorrow i could retire!

Comments

[filkferengi]

You need to blatantly blandish mbernardi. He started the main Bujold list & is still Lois' web-person. He'd be bound to have something interesting to say about Lois on the net, etc.

Also, Lois is very filk-friendly. We had her as our first author guest at GaFilk in 2002. She's also been known to ask for Chalion filk. [I don't know if there's any Sharing Knife filk yet.] I suspect your filking programming persons [lemmozine & Kathleen Sloan {I don't know her lj id, but am pretty sure she's on it.} are very interested in doing a Bujold-themed filk. You might work with them on a time when Lois could be there to enjoy it. Come to that, you might enjoy it, too; there's lots of excellent music out there.

One of the more successful panels from TorCon 2003 was having authors & filkers [who had been inspired by them] on a combined panel. Tanya Huff [andpuff] was on it, as was Jack Chalker [who has, alas, since died]. A short selection that inspired the song was read, & then the song was performed. Not all authors are as filk-friendly as Lois, but it might be worth asking about, as a topic of more general interest.

Of course, there's always the endless Casting Thread, which might make a fun panel. Don't be afraid to utilize the list-mind; that's part of what it's there for. You know how the listies would wag their tails in glee for the chance to throw ideas your way.

Do you have any kind of literary analysis panels planned for Lois? There're extensive listie resources as far as animals, water, other motifs & imagery, etc. [See the extensive chapter-by-chapter discussion notes on _Curse of Chalion_, linked over on dendarii.com.] Sharing Knife vs. Chalion vs. Barrayar--landscapes in Bujold's work. Etc. It might be cool to have a panel or two with listies on them; they'll be there anyway.

Come to that, why not a panel about the list itself? If you give mbernardi a few folks to hide behind, he might even come out for it. Listies have made all kinds of connections through the list over the years: marriages, children, friendships, commodorified's cross-country tours, James Bryant's parties, book-swaps, [other] shared fandom obsessions, etc. My spouse avows, avers, & affirms that the Bujold list is the source of [most] good things.

Just a few ideas--hth [& thanks for asking].

P. S.

[filkferengi]

It's become traditional at WorldCons the last few years to have a general listie-meet-up on Saturday afternoons around 3-4 & then go out to dinner afterwards, which lets folks socialize & still get to the Masquerade in time to get good seats. At some WorldCons, it's been listed as a SIG [Special Interest Group] meeting, at others as a general meet-up, or Dendarii item. A "Meet the {Mailing} List" might be an appropriate program item. Why not ask around to see who all will be there, so you know what you'll have to work with? [Hint: this is a popular panel if it gets listed in the program; at least 50-60 people have shown up in the past, & that's when Lois wasn't even there.]

Will there be a restaurant listing or guide? If you show up on list talking about what & where food is available, you'll be wildly popular [especially with me & mine]. ;)