From: "Robert MacIntosh" <macbuccfo at msn.com>
To: WSFAlist at WSFA.org
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Minutes of the November 5th meeting are online
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 20:45:03 -0500
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

Your statement that Disclaves and Balticons were the same size is incorrect.
When Disclaves were about 1,000 attendees, Balticons were pushing 2,000.
They have also always tried for that atmosphere of being a major regional
convention. Disclaves never really made that attempt.

And Baltimore is too close to Washington to bother trying to separate them.
They both share the same suburbs. And what difference does it make for our
friends on LA to use rats as their mascots? Isn't that their problem? It
does remind me of a story that was in the Baltimore Sun some time ago about
some bar having rat fishing contests out their rear door...But if I remember
correct, the Baltimore City government too a very dim light to that and
quashed it rather emphatically. But a dodo bird...I mean, like what could be
meant by that? (Douglas DC3 military variant, the C-47, was referred by its
pilots as the goony bird, which is another name for the now extinct dodo
bird.)

Bob MacIntosh

>From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
>Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
>To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
>Subject: [WSFA] Re: Minutes of the November 5th meeting are online
>Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 18:00:53 -0500 (EST)
>
>"Michael Walsh" <MJW at press.jhu.edu> wrote:
> > Keith wrote:
> >> Elspeth wrote:
> >>> The overall impression that I've gotten is that people feel that
> >>> there is already a 'big tent' convention in the area
>
> >> What convention is that?
>
> > Balticon.
>
> > My own feeling is that the Balt-Wash does not need 2 Balticons.
>
>Balticon is not in the DC area, any more than Philcon, Lunacon,
>or Boskone are.  There is no such place as Balt-Wash.
>
>Anyhow, Disclave used to be about the same size as Balticon.
>
> > Probably have a dodo theme/logo next year.
>
>I hope Capclave doesn't become famous for what the dodo is best
>known for.
>
> >> '96 with rats?
>
> > It's Orwell's fault.  The 1984 Worldcon in LA used rats as their
> > logo.
>
> > Being fannish of sorts, they carried the theme forward to LAcon III
>
>I thought it had something to do with both '84 and '96 being the year
>of the rat in Chinese astrology.  Of course that just pushes the
>question back to why they should use Chinese astrology.  Maybe because
>of the Orwell connection, i.e. two unrelated reasons for rats in 1984?
>
>Are they using a dog for their '06 con?
>
>In other news, not only is the Red Line single tracking *again* this
>weekend, but the headline on Metro's website that claims that is
>linked to an unrelated story.  In other words, not only is the Red
>Line screwed up, so are their attempts to say so.
>
>So between that at the bad weather, I decided to stay home instead of
>going to PRSFS tonight.  I'll get my party fix tommorrow at Cat and
>Elizabeth's.  Which is nowhere near the Red Line.  I hope to see you
>all there.
>