Report From The BSFA Meeting

[coalescent]

That was fun. Some highlights:

- Dan (above centre) heckling the audience as much as the audience heckled him.

- The cheerfulness with which Liz (above right) called Dan a wronghead.

- Andrew: "Complaining Accelerando is about people who are still a bit like us is like complaining that post-nuclear-holocaust stories aren't about piles of dust."

- Martin (above left)'s opinion of the shortlist: there's always a lower place.

- Dan and Abigail discussing Jane Austen (Graham: "Ginger, get the popcorn.")

- General agreement on the brilliance of Air.

- The many many books I came home with, including the beautiful Polder.

Can we do it again sometime?

Comments

[sdn.livejournal.com]

my copy of polder just arrived too. but niall, who are the people in the photo?

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

The girl is me. The poser in the black shirt in the middle is immortalradical aka Dan, and the guy on the left is ninebelow aka Martin.

[sdn.livejournal.com]

thank you!

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Dan: channeling Paul Merton.

[majuran.livejournal.com]

Funny, I was thinking he looked very prime ministerial.

Not any particular one mind...

[hawleygriffen.livejournal.com]

Hee. There is a vague resemblance in that photo, yes...

[ajr.livejournal.com]

I was thinking there looks like a slight air of Boris Johnson about him.

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

> Liz called Dan a wronghead.

But I didnt see her hit him.

> Can we do it again sometime?

No. Although I found the panel interesting I wont be attending any more BSFA events and wont be renewing my membership.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

But I didnt see her hit him.

I hit him at dinner, to compensate.

Although I found the panel interesting I wont be attending any more BSFA events and wont be renewing my membership.

Sorry to hear that. :-/

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Blimey. What happened?

[andrewducker]

I totally agree about Accelerando - you need to keep the eople who are no longer like us off-camera, or at least not allow them too much screen-time, or they end up sounding just like us. What are the creatures down in the hot depths thinking about? Not for us to know.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Sure. But Dan's point was that it's a bit disingenuous to praise Accelerando, as many people do, for its depiction of life during and after singularity, since the really radical stuff happens off-screen.

[snowking.livejournal.com]

Pfft. Why must you distort my beautiful off-hand quips?

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Dammit, did I get it wrong? Sorry. Can you remember what you actually said?

[itchyfidget.livejournal.com]

Ginger, get the popcorn.

Hee!

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

I would suggest if you do this again that you need a slightly more neutral moderator, so that Dan can fall back into the role of forthright pundit, for which his is clearly born (or is that Forged?).

[immortalradical.livejournal.com]

neutral moderator

I don't understand.

[secritcrush.livejournal.com]

So Martin? ;)

[veggiesu.livejournal.com]

you need a slightly more neutral moderator

I'm all kinds of shocked and surprised.

Oh, no, wait... :-p

[grahamsleight.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right, but in particular you'd need a slightly more neutral moderator who can Impose Order On All. And, y'know, shut them up when needed. Any volunteers?

[ninebelow.livejournal.com]

Although billed as a panel this was always intended to be the Dan Vs Farah show.

[grahamsleight.livejournal.com]

Something was nagging me all last night and I've finally realised what it was: in that suit and with that haircut, Dan does look alarmingly like David Tennant as Doctor Who.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

So we've got Paul Merton, the Prime Minister, and the Tenth Doctor. Any advances from anyone else? :p

[immortalradical.livejournal.com]

You old smoothie.

[iainjclark.livejournal.com]

Love the books lined up along the bar like specialty ales.

"Mine's a pint of the Old Man's War!"