In less than two years, the augmented massively multiplayer reality game, Ingress, has captured the attention and imagination of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Elonka Dunin, John Stocks, and Andrew Hansen described the game and answered audience questions during the Ingress panel on Friday at 7PM (Hilton). Originally an Android game, a version for iPhones was released a little… Read more →
The Costuming Track’s Friday Night Costuming Contest has selected its winners. Winners and contest judges, including Robert Allsopp, Freddy Clements, Kathleen O’Shea David, Cheralyn Lambeth, and Toby Sells, will discuss how the costumes were made and how the judges made their choices during “Meet the Winners of the Friday Night Costuming Contest,” Sat 1PM, M103–105 (M). Novice: Samantha Bork Journeyman:… Read more →
Friday at 1PM, Karl Urban shared his charm, exuberance, and talent with fans in the Centennial Room of the Hyatt. He began with a montage of impressions, including an exquisite use of the so-called Shatner comma. When asked why he chose to be an actor, he spoke of his mother’s work in the movie industry and of inspirational films from… Read more →
The “Napoleon and the Song of Ice and Roses” panel (Fantasy Literature Track, Friday 1PM in the Hyatt Embassy C) addressed the relationship between history and epic fantasy. Track director Charlotte Moore moderated the panel, which included Katherine Kurtz, Naomi Novik, Elizabeth Moon, A.J. Hartley, and Kathryn Hinds. The session opened on a cheerful note when Moore asked the three… Read more →
Dr. Craig Greathouse hosted the panel “American Strategic Culture and Cyber War” in the NSDMG/War College track on Friday at 11:00AM. Dr. Greathouse focused on the sociology of cyber warfare and American culture’s ability to sustain and embrace it. The panel opened in standard lecture format, with a few basic definitions to provide a foundation for discussion. Once the audience… Read more →
Attending the panel “Ammunition, Explosives, and Ordinance” as lead by K. Dockery, head of the armory track, was an experience for this reporter. The panel opened with a basic history of the invention of black powder and the problems involved with its first implementation–particularly the separation of sulphur and saltpeter. From that point on, Dockery proceeded to captivate the audience… Read more →
Always well-attended, the “LGBTQA Representation in YA” discussion panel filled the Young Adult Literature track room in Marriott A707 at 11:30AM on Friday. For those who need a quick primer, LGBTQA generally refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, queer/questioning, and asexual, though the spectrum also covers other gender and sexuality categories such as intersex, genderqueer, and undecided. Panelists were librarian… Read more →
