Right then, how about those Hugo awards?

[annathepiper]

As y’all know already, Worldcon this year saw the conclusion–for now–of this year’s Puppy slate voting. Dara’s documented her reaction to the results over here, so I’m not going to recap what she said. Go read her directly!

I will, meanwhile, note that Natalie Luhrs put up this recap of what the Hugos would have been like if the slate voting hadn’t occurred. In particular, like Dara, I weep for how Avatar: The Legend of Korra came so close to getting onto the ballot.

But I must also call attention to what the Best Novel voting might have looked like. I was intrigued by City of Stairs when I first saw it getting promoted on tor.com, and I very definitely enjoyed Lock In, as I reported earlier this year. I feel that if Mr. Scalzi had made the ballot, I would have had a much harder time deciding between his book, Ancillary Justice, and The Three-Body Problem. As it stands, I will be upping the priority on checking out City of Stairs.

Speaking of Mr. Scalzi, he had commentary (short and pithy as well as longer and yet still pretty pithy) on the matter. It will surprise none of you that I pretty much agree with what he has to say. I would also like to call attention to Mary Robinette Kowal’s excellent commentary, while I’m at it.

Because here’s the thing: as the Mary Sue reported, while the Puppies were not as blatant a presence at Worldcon as I feared, they were nonetheless there. And some asshat thought it was funny to leave an anonymous flyer purporting to be from SFWA on the freebie table–a flyer which was brimming with racism and transphobia.

Needless to say–or at least, it ought to be needless to say–I do not find this funny. I do not find it worthy of the SF/F genre, or of civilized persons in general.

And next year, although I am not yet convinced I actually want to set foot in Kansas Missouri even for a Worldcon, I will be getting a supporting membership to MidAmeriCon at minimum. Because this year has demonstrated to me in no uncertain terms that my continued participation in the Hugo voting process is important. I’m just one small voice and one small vote.

But those votes add up. And the wisdom of Ambassador Kosh notwithstanding, this one small pebble will do her part to redirect the avalanche.

ETA: Editing because Kansas City is in Missouri, not Kansas. Derp. That said, my commentary still stands as I am not particularly convinced I want to set foot in Missouri, either!

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Comments

[vatine]

Kansas City is actually in both Kansas and Missouri, but MidAmericon II is in the part that is in Missouri (from what I understand). The weirdest fact I know about Kansas City is that it was the first deployment for Google Fiber,

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Is next year's convention in Kansas? I thought KC was (confusingly) in Missouri.

[annathepiper]

OH WAIT you're totally right. Derp.

Well, my commentary still stands; I'm not convinced I want to go to Missouri, either!

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

I'm going to that one, fwiw. A colleague of mine lives in Independence, and I'd quite like to see her, so I'm making a trip of it. There's also a Constellation at an aviation museum there which I've never seen but which was part of the background of my childhood (it was the Save A Connie Constellation that we had a framed photo of on the corridor wall opposite my bedroom door).

I'm looking forward to it.

[annathepiper]

Right on. :)

For me, whether or not I'm going to get on a plane to traverse the US these days will depend VERY heavily upon what's on the other end of that plane. And given the hassle involved with getting on the plane to begin with, I'm not yet convinced Worldcon in Missouri will measure up.

Much will depend on whether I can also maybe go to Camp Violon Trad next year! We will have to see!

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Fair enough! It's also for me got that cachet of "it's somewhere I've never been to, AND that my parents have never been to, so I can beat them!" So there's that, too. (Yes, in my family, we travel competitively. Dad's got the "number of places" record because of business travel, but my sister and I share the distance record with China and New Zealand!)

I am simultaneously super pumped about Helsinki winning it because yay, Helsinki, and kind of bummed because I can't afford transatlantic travel in 2017 (I was hoping for Montreal, but at the same time we've had it already in the past decade). Two vacations in two years is already pretty fiscally irresponsible of me.

I hope you can go to Camp Violon Trad! That would be very up your alley.

[annathepiper]

Competitive travel! Awesome. :D

I very, very, VERY much want to go to Camp Violon Trad. Financially I can probably swing it (and this is me being grateful for having a day job that lets me pull that off). The tough part would actually be figuring out how to get a guitar there without having it get destroyed in transit, a question which concerns me deeply! Because I'd want to take a GOOD guitar to Camp Violon Trad, but I'd be terrified about taking my best guitar on a plane!

I'm pre-supporting New Zealand in 2020 who are currently unopposed. I VERY much want to go to New Zealand!

[avram]

There’s also a Kansas City in Kansas; but it’s smaller, about a third the population of the Missouri one.

To add to the fun, there’s a Missouri City in Texas; Indiana, Pennsylvania; California, Pennsylvaina; Wyoming, Delaware; Wyoming, Ohio; and West New York, New Jersey.

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Of course there is. I do love toponyms.

[annathepiper]

I see Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Ohio just want to confuse the hell out of EVERYBODY. :D

[desperance.livejournal.com]

"Everything's up to date in Kansas City" - but wait, it's not in Oklahoma either? I am fairly sure you guys just do this to confuse those of us who are not from around here...

[annathepiper]

See elsewhere on the comment thread for how many of our states do seem bound and determined to confuse the hell out of everybody!

Though that's nothin' on how many states have a Springfield.

Or, for that matter, various amusingly named towns in my own native state. Kentucky has a Lebanon. And an Athens. And a Versailles. Pronounced "ver-SAILS", which they specifically call out in a town resolution, because, quote, "we're not that pretentious", unquote. There are reasons aplenty I am no longer living in Kentucky, but that? That I like. ;)

altered

[(Anonymous)]

thanks towards this countless edifying website, living up the great jobless check out this [url=http://onlinecasinos-x.com]casino[/url] offers , buy [url=http://www.sextoysfun.net]sex toys[/url]