I was going to wait for a sweet Bruce Press pic for this post. Tee Morris took the one I’m using, and it’s good, and JR and I look great. But Papa Press takes a mean photo, and I’m sure I’ll post one of his once he finds the time to put it up on the internet. We’re all busy, ain’t that the truth. All got our heads down, and our eyes forward. The beauty of Balticon is that it’s filled with people who, in the parlance of Matt Fraction’s CASSANOVA comic, have “stopped downloading and started uploading.” Everyone’s a content creator, or will be, in some shape or form. Everyone is ready to rock, and have the 1-inch buttons to prove it.
I take some small amount of pride in the Balticon New Media culture, with its nerd-star swagger and itchy glee to create. While the lion’s share of what Balticon has come to be does fall at others’ feet–Paul Fischer & Martha Holloway, who organize the darn thing every year, earn get most of the credit, as does Scott Sigler, whose swagger is second to none–I did do my small part. I’ve been attending Balticon for six years, now, and the New Media track is a different beast than it was. Every year there’s new faces, new uploaders. JR declined to be a guest this year, to make room for someone else. Which is how it should be. I’d do it myself, but next year I’ve got a book coming out, so you know…
That’s the big news to drop this year: THE BATTLE OF BLOOD AND INK, the graphic novel that Steve and I have been working on for…about five years (I said eight at the Con, but we first hatched the thing in the fall of 2006) has been delayed until May of 2012. The beauty of this is that it will be brand spanking new next Balticon. The downside is that Book 2 of Fables of the Flying City won’t start until January. I read the first half of the 1st episode–which I may put on the feed, just to tease everyone–and gave out some prizes, and ate a lot of popcorn. Thanks to everyone who showed up–dinner time panels are usually sparse, but I got a good crowd. So, yes, Book 2, THE MOUTHS OF THE DEAD won’t start until 2012. But, it will be longer episodes.
You’ll just have to wait for them.
As for the rest of the con, I had a grand time, though I think I’ve had enough of silly panels for silliness’s sake. I was on two this year–one of which was my idea!–and while they were both hilarious, I think I might need to bow out of them next year. They have their place at Balticon, as they are a welcome antidote to the sometimes self-serious panels and discussions. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my time talking about micronized throwing bears and the disgusting habit of unicorn chasing. But Balticon to me has always been about education; how to be a better podcaster, a better writer, a better person. And if I’m going to be using up an hour of the audiences time, maybe it should be something worth learning.
Along those lines, I think the “Stories Worth Hearing” and the Pitch Workshop were unqualified successes. The former, which I did with Evo Terra, Chris Miller, Nathan Lowell and Chris Lester, was an excellent examination of What Makes Things Work. Podcasting may not be ready for the artistic discussion I hoped for, but I think we came very, very close. Perhaps next year? I like to believe the audience got something out of the workshop beyond my tendancy to grandstand. Eric Kimball, Scott Roche and Brent Weichsel gave some great points, and we did manage to address everyone who showed up. Well, except for David, but that’s what you get when you show up late.
The reading was also shocking well attended for 11pm on a Sunday night. I read a chapter of a novel that may or may not be published in the near future, and there was a strong response to it. Everyone laughed at the jokes, in any case.
More than anything, Balticon is about catching up with the uploaders, basking in their successes and commiserating with their…less than successful endeavors. I know too many people at Balticon, as spending time with one now means missing time with another. I guess I could make a short list and only spend time with those people, but how could I choose? How could anyone choose?
We’re all busy, all uploading and creating and uploading again, taking one weekend to all get together and remind ourselves how great it is to be a part of this community, this family. And it’s not enough time. It’s never enough time.
s I’ve said many times before, the irony of blogging is that if you’re doing something worth blogging about, you don’t have time to blog. 
es, despite my previous assertions that I will not be at the 
pring is once more upon us, inviting us all to lay back, gaze longingly at our loved ones, and remark how pleasant everything is (even 
