tag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:147329autographedcatautographedcatautographedcat2014-01-15T15:31:53Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:147329:347948Another GaFilk gone by the way2014-01-15T15:31:53Z2014-01-15T15:31:53Zpublic0<p>I’ll write more about Gafilk a bit later, but I wanted to share this with you. Every year, I write a short introduction for the front of the program book. This is what I wrote for this year.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="padding-left: 30px;">Sixteen years ago, Gafilk was born.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="padding-left: 30px;">Stop and ponder that for just a moment. Sixteen years ago was the last century. Sixteen years ago was the last millennium.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="padding-left: 30px;">Children born the same weekend as Gafilk I are now in high school and able to get drivers licenses.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="padding-left: 30px;">The first Gafilk banquet wouldn’t be for another 3 years. Nor would the first Super Secret Guest. The My Filk game show wouldn’t début until the following year. A number of people we could not today imagine Gafilk without we hadn’t even met yet. Some of the people we could not then imagine doing Gafilk without are no longer with us.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="padding-left: 30px;">The best things about Gafilk as we know it today, the traditions we honour every year, didn’t come about because of careful planning and deliberation. They were happy accidents. “That was fun,” we’d say. “Let’s do it again next year!” And next year, and next year, and on and on until today. As our first Super Secret Guest, Lois McMaster Bujold once remarked, “It only looks inevitable in hindsight.”</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="padding-left: 30px;">But there’s one thing we had at that first Gafilk, sixteen years ago, that we still have today. It’s the same thing they had at the first filk con, and at filks dating back to before most of us can remember:</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="padding-left: 30px;">Put the chairs in a circle. Gather your musical family to sit in the chairs.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="padding-left: 30px;">Make magic.</p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Mirrored from <a href="http://www.autographedcat.com/2014/01/15/another-gafilk-gone-by-the-way/" title="Read Original Post">Home of the Autographed Cat</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=autographedcat&ditemid=347948" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:147329:323879There's Life And There's Music, and Music Endures2013-01-18T04:46:49Z2013-01-18T04:48:02Zpublic0The last week really has been a blur. Between getting ready for Gafilk, actually putting on Gafilk, and then immediately packing the car to start driving west for our move to Seattle, I haven't had a lot of time for posting. But there's a few thing I wanted to get down from the weekend. <br /><br />An incomplete list of GaFilk highlights:<br /><ul><br /><li>Visiting Atlanta's new International Terminal<br />When I went to pick up Susan from the airport (Sam's flight having been delayed by bureaucracy), I left the hotel in what would normally be plenty of time...except that I forgot that all international flights were now landing at the new terminal. I also realised that I didn't actually know where that was. Fortunately, there were signs, but it's such a long way that I kept thinking I must have missed a turn until I'd see another sign directing me to continue. By the time I got there, I wasn't entirely sure that the terminal wasn't actually *in* Canada. Still, I got there just in time to meet Susan (and Morva and Alan) at the baggage claim.<br /> <br /><li>Bill Sutton's "sound workshop". <br />Since a lot of the people who normally help us out with sound didn't make it to the con this year, we decided to make a virtue out of the need for volunteers and announced that anyone who wanted to learn a bit about running sound was welcome to come and learn it from Bill. Several people volunteered, so the sound went off without a hitch.<br /><br /><li>Tim Griffin<br />I'd actually heard (though not really met) Tim Griffin at a previous convention on the west coast, but I'd only heard him do a couple of songs. He was our choice to do the Friday night concert, and he was amazing. He does educational music that is both informational and funny (or, sometimes, poignant), and has a great audience rapport. He also is just a really fun guy to hang out with and talk to, and he was always pitching in here and there where an extra pair of hands was needed. Great guy, and I was so pleased to meet him.<br /><br /><li>George and Teresa as toastmasters<br />Two great people who are such a big part of Gafilk since the early days; they did a fantastic job both MCing and on their concert. Since most of the time you see them as part of larger bands, it was really nice to see them do some stuff with just the two of them. <br /><br /><li>Fiana<br />I didn't get to hear as much of them as I would have liked, but everything I heard was delightful. Thanks to Interfilk again for another wonderful guest. I did get to hang with Thom and Christina a bit during the weekend, and they were a lot of fun to talk to.<br /><br /><li>Sam Baardman and Susan Israel<br />I already knew they were awesome musicians (that is, after all, why we invited them), but they are also just extraordinarily nice people. Their concert on Saturday was a delight. I'm often in and out of concerts at Gafilk because I'm always keeping an eye on what's going on elsewhere, but I usually have one that I just allow myself to sit and take in without interruption, and I'm glad I did for this one, because I wouldn't have wanted to miss a moment of it.<br /><br /><li>Play It With Moxie's banquet performance<br />If you've been to a Gafilk banquet before, you know what this was like. Moxie just gets better and better every year, and I danced and danced and danced. Thanks to everyone who endured my inexpert steps; I have far more enthusiasm than skill, but I never don't have a good time.<br /><br /><li>Larry Niven<br />Larry's hour was spent between a reading and telling entertaining fandom stories, and it was a great time. He seemed to have a good time listening to all the music, and I'm so glad he could make it out as our SSG this year.<br /><br /><li>Stray Dog jam<br />A hallway filk broke out during (and after) the stray dog party, which started when the two fiddlers in residence wanted to trade some licks and ended up with a huge crowd. (I had a conversation with one person over the weekend about "sing-y" vs. "jam-y" circles, and this was definitely the latter.) I was only around for a part of it, but everything I heard was amazing.<br /></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></ul><br />As usual at Gafilk, I really didn't get a chance to play, because by the time open filk starts I'm usually ready to fall over. I never even took my guitar down from my room this year. But I did get to play one song, and it's my personal best moment of the weekend:<br /><ul><br /><li>Getting to play my Talis Kimberley cover for Talis Kimberley<br />Just having Talis there was a treat for me, because she really is one of my favourite people in the world and I don't get to spend nearly enough time with her. But one thing I wanted to do if I had the chance is play for her the one song of hers that I cover. So when i spotted her in a little circle near the registration table shortly after closing ceremonies, I stopped to listen for a bit, and then asked to borrow a guitar so i could play it for her. Amy was on hand to add Amyness, which honestly makes everything sound better than it would otherwise, and Talis liked what I did with her song.<br /><br />(The song in question is "Harbouring Hopes", which is the final track on her album <i>Archetype Cafe</i>. As I commented when I played it, "I'm sorry to say the song first came to my attention at a time I desperately needed it, and I'm happy to say that I haven't needed it for a very long time.")<br /></li></ul><br /><br />There were some more personal non-music related highlights as well, but they all come down to "getting to spend time with people who are dear to me", and if I started to list them I'd leave someone out. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed every single moment of every single conversation, every single hug and cuddle, and every single story.<br /><br />And so another year is kicked off in grand fashion with a successful Gafilk. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen (I have the best concom ever), and thanks to everyone who came up to me and wished me and Larissa luck on our upcoming move. Gafilk has always been and will always be a family gathering, and I always feel blessed to be in the middle of it every year.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=autographedcat&ditemid=323879" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:147329:323647Submarines are lurking in my foggy ceiling...2013-01-08T10:52:55Z2013-01-08T10:53:55Zawakepublic0Well, tonight was another total insomnia night. At least I actually made a virtue of it by getting things done that needed to be done.<br /><br />I actually had an astoundingly productive day. I pretty much knocked off everything on my to-do list by lunchtime, so I rewarded myself with a bit of social frivolity in the afternoon.<br /><br />Things are coming together nicely for Gafilk. Name badges are printed, hotel paperwork has been acquired and looked over, My Filk questions have been written, and various and sundry things have started to collect into a staging area for transporting. It's going to be another awesome year, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone who's coming.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the last push of packing is underway. Both desks are completely clear, the closets are pretty much empty of everything that won't be going into a suitcase soon, and my fear that we're going to end up with a lot more than will fit in the car is subsiding.<br /><br />In a couple of hours, I have my final appointment with my massage therapist, who I will miss tremendously, and then perhaps I'll ponder a nap.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=autographedcat&ditemid=323647" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:147329:323377Everybody's working for the weekend...2013-01-07T02:06:50Z2013-01-07T02:06:50ZRichard Thompson -- Good Things Happen To Bad Peoplecheerfulpublic0Or in my case, working through the weekend. We got a lot done the last two days, though I remain frustrated that every time we finish packing a box, I look around at it seems like there's 10% more than there was before. (<span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='http://hsifyppah.livejournal.com/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif' alt='[livejournal.com profile] ' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' width='17' height='17'/></a><a href='http://hsifyppah.livejournal.com/'><b>hsifyppah</b></a></span> suggests to me that this is because all the things that were packed in are all saying "Oh, that's better, there's space! *Streeeeeeeeetch!*" Little by little, though, we are getting things done.<br /><br />Four boxes of clothing are stacked by the door. We will ship these, rather than make space in the car, because they're relatively light and we won't need them until we get to the other side of the journey anyway. Our washing machine and dryer, which were only six years old, have been given to a good home, along with a number of tools and other miscellany. The remaining books have been sorted into "the ones we're taking with us" (because we have to have SOME books, or it won't be home) and "the ones that go to storage).<br /><br />Gafilk prep (which is happening simultaneous to all this) continues apace. I will check the mailbox one last time tomorrow before checking badges. And <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='http://hawklady.livejournal.com/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif' alt='[livejournal.com profile] ' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' width='17' height='17'/></a><a href='http://hawklady.livejournal.com/'><b>hawklady</b></a></span> texted me earlier with a photo of the lovely cheeses that are being smoked for the con suite, which I passed on to Twitter:<br /><br />"Sharp cheddar, 3yr cheddar, Gouda, Manchego, Pepperjack & Jarlsberg in smoker about to be turned #gafilk #consuiteprep <a href="http://pic.twitter.com/70EREJFH">http://pic.twitter.com/70EREJFH</a> "<br /><br />Between these two things, I have a long list of things to do tomorrow, but still quite a lot has been accomplished over the weekend! We celebrated by sitting down to watch two more episodes of Season 2 of <i>Game of Thrones</i>, which we had gotten sidetracked from earlier in the year and never gotten back to, and a very old episode of <i>The Big Bang Theory</i> to cleanse the palate afterwards. (I love GoT, but it's unrelentingly grim and there's only so much of it you can watch at a time before you need something light and cheerful to chase it with.)<br /><br />How was your weekend?<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=autographedcat&ditemid=323377" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:147329:321164Gafilk announces 2013 Super Secret Guest: Larry Niven2012-12-01T17:33:51Z2012-12-01T17:37:16Zexcitedpublic9Author Larry Niven has won Hugos (five of them) and a Nebula, and various other awards for his stories, including Ringworld and 50 other books. He co-authored The Mote in God's Eye and Lucifer's Hammer, and edited the Man-Kzin War series. He also loves filk music. He goes out of his way to attend filk conventions on the west coast, not seeking any attention, not asking for any of the perks that authors usually expect like readings and signings. He goes to filk cons because he wants to hear this music.<br /><br /><img style="float: right; margin: 0 0 0 0.25cm;" src="http://www.gafilk.org/images/Larry_Niven.png" />Misty Lackey even created a game around Larry’s love of filk called “Make Larry Cry”. It’s not very hard to do. You just write a beautiful melody and fill it with poignant, compelling lyrics…and make sure that the science is at the very least plausible, and sing it to Larry. (Ask Bill Sutton about his humbling attempt to win the contest with Pilot’s Eyes.)<br /><br />Mendel’s Rules do apply, so we shouldn’t be too surprised that there are other filkers in the Niven closet. In fact, you'll be enjoying the song styling of Larry's filking nephew, Tim Griffin, at the ConCom's Choice concert. (Who knew!?!) Larry Niven is very approachable, enjoys a good conversation, and contributes to the circle in his own delightful ways. We’re extremely happy to have him as Super Secret Guest for GAFilk 2013.<br /><br />You can get more information (and buy your membership!) at <a href="http://www.gafilk.org/">http://www.gafilk.org/</a><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=autographedcat&ditemid=321164" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments