December 27th, 2010
Café Verführen ran into a few lease problems over the past year (read: trouble getting an appropriate room, due to the shift in hotel), so instead of their usual careful pageantry, the staff scheduled a small panel on Sunday afternoon, a quick chance for them to let their guests take a little peek behind the scenes.
I find it a little bit hard to write about this, a little bit like I might have a hard time talking about Disney’s Backstage Magic tour, or maybe Dining with an Imagineer. On the one hand, as a stubbornly persistent return visitor, I take a certain thrill in knowing the little, less-than-obvious preparations that go into bringing the Café together. On the other, I wonder if a curious newcomer might return next year, knowing that it doesn’t all suddenly crystallize, and for that find it somehow a little less magical.
I did bring along a new friend I met this year, the very pretty Miss Molly mentioned at the page footers for a while now, and she was sufficiently impressed that she says she’d like to visit, if the “leasing issues” get sorted out in time for next year. I’ll send her an invitation to post her thoughts below. Beyond that, though, I’ve thought about it a bit, and just to avoid spoiling things, I think I’m going to avoid telling too much. Let’s just say that I’m still enchanted by what an amazing, beautiful little bit of fan-craft the Café is. Sometimes the most wonderful things are the most fragile, and if the Café comes to an end, I’ll understand…
… but I can’t say I wouldn’t be deeply saddened.
On a happier note, even if we couldn’t actually see the ongoing story play out, it does continue.
November 27th, 2010
Lately I’ve been playing around with Wordle. It takes a piece of writing and pulls out the most common words in a piece of writing and applies some algorithmic magic to generate a word cloud, a bit like the tag cloud I keep at the bottom of this site.
It’s better-randomized, though, and more “cloud”-like. Sometimes its output takes a little finessing, but I’m a little bit fascinated with the way it seems to condense stories into important flashes of impression. Given First and Last and Always, for example, it almost seems to take a life of its own.
November 25th, 2010
Adrian is busy at the moment, trying to finish another piece of writing, but before today ends, we would like to take this moment to give thanks for all of you out there on the Internet. It is a very big world out there, and with Adrian’s interminable delays, we know that there are many other places you could visit, and many other people hoping for a chance to entertain you. We consider it a privilege to have you as readers, and an honor to bring our small happinesses into your lives.
Thank you for staying with us.
Always,
~Catboy
November 9th, 2010
YaoiCon 2010 was my first cross-country con, and between the trip, a concert on Thursday, and playing catch-up at work, I’m still trying to get my brain firing on all cylinders. Honestly, I don’t mind, but you’ll have to bear with me a little bit if I’m a bit disjointed.
I cut back my volunteer hours a bit this year, had a wonderful time with most of the friends I went to visit (inexplicably, I missed Barlee), got my copy of Crimson Spell autographed by Yamane Ayano, and put my sleep schedule off-kilter by staying out until 4 AM to dance with a tall, pretty redhead (this is, I admit, one of the best reasons I can imagine to mess up my sleep schedule). I even managed to find my friend Sparky, who has not been able to make a con since 2004, so I don’t think I left any boxes unchecked. Sadly, Café Verführen did not go on this year, though the crew did manage to host a panel, and I will attempt to keep up my tradition of reviewing damn near anything they do.
It was good fun.
I almost didn’t get the autograph; spaces in the line were handed out by drawing, 100 to each of two sessions, and my ticket wasn’t pulled. A friend of mine missed the first session, though, and couldn’t make the second, so she sold me her place in line. I was happy to have it, of course, but a little bit sorry that she couldn’t get to meet her herself. While the ticket system really limited the number of people who could visit the con’s guests, it also allowed each of us to have a few words with them. Back in 2008, I met Nase Yamato, but the line kept me from saying more than a simple thank-you and offering the small gift of coffee I’d brought. That seems better than not meeting anyone at all, but not so good as being able to express myself properly and have a short conversation, as I got to do this year. It’s always impressive to meet creators who can visit hundreds of their fans at once and still be genuinely happy to meet each one of them.
On the complete other side of things, I’m not sure I have hundreds of readers, really. It is an alien idea for me, and I think I enjoy that. I had coffee with Rem over a few hours, and I think that was exactly the right way to get my con rolling. Recognition would be nice, but I like being able to make friends with my readers, to believe that I’m just making pretty bits and baubles for their entertainment. All of my regular readers could probably fit around one dinner table if the opportunity presented itself, and I’m not sure whether that gives me any ideas or not.
Returning from that digression…
YaoiCon was very good to me this year. After the past five months or so (since the week after Fanime, really), life has been complicated, and I think it was exactly what I needed.
You should expect to hear more from me soon.
Sorry for being so scarce.
September 28th, 2010
I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it this year, but Sunday night I booked tickets to YaoiCon. If anyone out there would like to meet there and chat for a while, please leave me a note and let me know!
Also, I am working on another Tybalt story. I hope to have it done by con-time, but I’m not completely sure about that. By the end of the year, for sure. Two Tybalt stories in one year… it can happen.
