Mos' Eastly Con

Convention
Name:	Mos' Eastly is just one variation on this con's name, others are "More Eastly," "Mostly Eastly," and "More Eastly."
Dates:	1980, 1985, 1990, 1991
Frequency:
Location:	New York, New Jersey
Type:
Focus:	multimedia
Organization:
Founder:	Joyce Yasner, Devra Langsam and others
Founding Date:	1980
URL:
	Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
	Contents 1 Cons in the Series; 2 Other Cons that Riffed on the Name; 3 Some History; 4 1980 4.1 Programming (Mos' Eastly - 1980); 4.2 Con Reports (Mos' Eastly - 1980); ; 5 1985 5.1 Programming (More Eastly - 1985); 5.2 Con Reports (More Eastly - 1985); ; 6 1990 6.1 Programming (Mostly Eastly - 1990); 6.2 Con Reports (More Eastly - 1990); ; 7 1991 7.1 Programming (Mostly Eastly - 1991); ; 8 Photographs; 9 References;

This is a media con run by Devra Langsam, Joyce Yasner, and others. It was one of a series of cons which eventually became Media West in 1981.

"The name, Mos' Eastly Con, showed the growing influence of Star Wars. Organizers evenly split the panels between Star Trek and Star Wars; the remaining panels covered general topics (such as "the art of editing").^[1]

Each con had precisely one panel that specifically addressed slash (1980: "K/S: Do They or Don't They?"; 1985: "Why are "/" Stories So Popular?", 1990: Male Bonding in Media Universes: Need It Always Lead to "/"?, 1991: Male Bonding: Need It Always Lead to Slash?); all other panels and programming were gen.

In 1991, Joyce Yasner wrote about the history of this con and its origins in Fannish Roots.

In 2010, Paula Smith talked about these cons in A Conversation with Paula Smith.

Cons in the Series

Kwest*Con (1974)
ReKWest*Con (1975)
SeKWester*Con (1976)
SeKWester*Con, Too (1977)
T'Con (1978)
2'Con (1979)
Mos' Eastly Con (1980-1991)

Other Cons that Riffed on the Name

There was also a Starsky and Hutch (and other fandom?) con called Mos Westly Con, mentioned in a 1980 issue of S and H. There is mention of "Media~~West~~East*Con" in issue #21 of S and H. It is unclear if they are related.

Some History

"This January, Anne Elizabeth Zeek, Joyce Yasner, Lee Orlando and I and a cast of thousands -- well, dozens -- ran Mostly Eastly Con (The Third in a triumphant line, the first two having been Most Eastly and More Eastly... Previously, we had run the Eastly cons once every five years: the first replaced MediaWest in 1980, and the second one was given in 1985, the year Worldcon was in Australia. Worldcon is in Holland this year, and we'd planned to run our Eastlycon on Labor Day Weekend... but things got weird, so we chose Martin Luther King Day as a substitute... So, we're running Mostly Eastlycon Release 4.0 (The User Friendly, Interactive Media Con) on January 18–20, 1991." ^[2]

1980

cover by Hans Dietrich

Mos' Eastly Con was the first con. It is sometimes referred to as "Mos Eastly," as well as a number of other variations. It was held May 23–36, 1980 at the Sheraton Inn near LaGuardia in New York City. It "replaced" MediaWest that year. The organizers, Devra Langsam and Joyce Yasner described it as "fifth in a series of Star Trek-what-have-you relaxacons."

In September 1979, Lori Chapek-Carleton addressed fans comments regarding the move from Michigan to New York:

And before I run out of room, I'd like to speak up on behalf of Paula Smith and myself in reply to those clowns who have complained to us about moving the "Michigan" con to New York next year. First off, we never considered ourselves the "Michigan" con (there are others in Michigan, after all), and we don't think it's all that impossible to go to a con in New York City. Believe us, we highly recommend Mos' Eastly Con, and will run suggestions in future issues of WARPED SPACE on how you too can make it to the con. There's going to be at least two cons in Michigan over the next year that I know of, and Steve Harrison's in Grand Rapids should be on the order of the Kalamazoo/Lansing cons. To close, I'd like to reassure you die-hards that we will (tentatively) host the "Michigan" con in 1981, probably in Kalamazoo or Lansing. Details to come ... some time from now. ^[3]

Some details about the con:

Linda Deneroff (Fan Q Awards), Hans Dietrich (t-shirt, program book, progress report), Theresa Renner (art show), Allyson Whitfield (dealer's room), Steve and Elyse Rosenstein (lent the stapler)

there were 300 names listed in the con program as "attending" and 22 names listed as "supporting members"
the program book listed all of the nominees for the Fan Q Awards
Code 7 was "conceived" here: Karen B wrote of this zine's beginnings in the program guide for CopCon (1983): "I met [Jean C.] and [Pam J] at Mos' Eastley Con, and the three of us clicked and formed BOUND IN LEATHER PRESS. I'd been wanting to do an S/H zine for some time, and at that convention, CODE 7 was born."

Programming (Mos' Eastly - 1980)

"Starting a Fanzine"
"Politics in Star Wars"
"The Art of Editing"
"Role-Playing in Star Wars"
"Antifeminism in Treklit"
"Fringe Fandoms" (Starsky and Hutch, Space: 1999, Battlestar Galactica, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Man from Atlantis, Dracula, and Doctor Who)
"Erotic Literature (Airing Your Naughty Bits with Panache)"
"How Not to Take Star Trek Too Seriously"
"What's a Jedi Knight?"
"K/S: Do They or Don't They?"
"Who's a Mary Sue?"
"Pro-Publishing"
"Medicine in SF"
"Star Trek's Attitude Toward Mechanical Intelligence"

Con Reports (Mos' Eastly - 1980)

Devra Langsam announced that the annual convention for fanzine readers, editors and contributors would leave Michigan in 1980 and take place instead in New York (where it remained for one year). It was to be sponsored by Devra, Joyce Yasner and Elyse Rosenstein.^[4]

Fandoms and the Fan Q Award: "Organizers evenly split the panels between Star Trek and Star Wars; the remaining panels covered general topics (such as "the art of editing"). The Fan Q award winner for best author was Mary Lee Cascio and Lois Welling for "Executive Privilege," a Star Trek story; best artist award went to Hans Dietrich, and Lori Chapek-Carleton won the award for best editor. In the Fan Q discussion afterward, participants reached a consensus to add even more categories, and to change 'best' as in 'best author' to 'favorite' as in 'favorite author.' Many fans also wanted to divide the awards into genre categories (Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.) because many fans only read one genre of fanzine, but Fan Q administrators did not implement that idea until later." ^[5]

Some Events: Another event at Mos'Eastly featured a discussion of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Peter David, Martynn, and Trinette Kern were among the panelists, and Joan Verba. Verba writes that all of them disapproved of the movie but that when the audience was asked their opinion, about half gave it a thumbs up.^[6] Verba also remembers, "Back at the convention [after an bus expedition to see The Empire Strikes Back], Peter David wrote and starred in a tremendously funny satire of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, presented as a one-act play after the Saturday banquet. P.S. Nim put on a slide show of her story, "Spock's Second Childhood [from Menagerie #15]." Another notable feature of the convention was that the K/S panel ("Do They or Don't They?") and the adult literature panel were deliberately scheduled at the same time, so that the discussion of adult literature would not turn into a K/S debate, as it had at the convention the year before." ^[7]

A Space:1999 fan wrote:

The Mos' Eastly Con (or, What the H*** was that?): The Mos' Eastly Con, held in New York City (sorta -- LaGuardia Airport Sheraton. Close enough.) over the Memorial Day weekend, was a direct descendant of the annual Michigan STAR TREK conventions. Confused? Good. It gets better. The Mos' Eastly logo on the Progris Riports (their spelling, not mine) featured a frazzled Adama, bewildered Captain Kirk, cheerful (cheerful?) Darth Vader and a sly Alien, who was, um... giving Princess Leia a, uh... hard time. (Anyone who has seen the Riports knows what I mean -- this is a family newsletter.) From that logo, one might be given to suppose that one could expect almost anything at the Mos' Eastly. And one most certainly would be right. The Empire Strikes Back had premiered a mere five days before, and already there were people boasting of spending those five days in movie lines. I was beginning to think that I was the only one who hadn't seen it yet. Of the group I went to the convention with -- Mary Fall, Deb Walsh, Pat Brimer, Terri Rogers, and Deb's sister Nancy... all except Nancy had already seen the movie and were sworn to secrecy... Saturday night nearly two hundred people from the convention converged on Loew's Nassau Quad in Levittown, New York for a midnight showing of The Empire Strikes Back -- my first time, everyone else's second, or third, or fourth, or... As could be expected, several people (several? Try nearly half of the people there!) came in costume. Our own Boston group... had handcrafted dress uniforms from Battlestar Galactica, complete with dress capes. Impressive to say the least. The movie group (which took up three charted buses and an entourage of cars) also boasted a rebel fighter pilot, a Princess Leia, a Luke Skywalker, a Ben Kenobi, a very, very tall Chewbacca and a very imposing Darth Vader. Since we had gathered at the theater nearly two hours before the movie was scheduled to start... most of the costumed people, either inadvertently or with malice aforethought, played their favorite game -- Freaking Out the Mundanes. The theater employees thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm not so sure about the two fellows who appeared from an alleyway carrying a heavy box just as a group of costumed conventioneers returned from their search for refreshments. The boxed thudded to the ground as one explained, his voice carrying far on the night air, "What the h--- was that?" Ever seen a Wookie [sic] break up laughing?) ^[8]

1985

More Eastly was the second. It was held August 30-September 2, 1985 at the Sheraton LaGuardia Hotel, and was run by Devra Langsam, Joyce Yasner and Linda Deneroff. Also, Pat 'Neill and Karen River (art show), Lee Shenker (video room), Robert Rogow (dealer's room), Lori Dell and Lois Indelicato (registration), Susan Rotellini, (con zine sales service), Leah Rosenthal and Nancy Stasulis (artists), Mary Otten, Sharane McCurry, Joanne Belton, and Vanessa Bailey (refreshments)

flyer in the con program book for Media West #5

cover of con program, Nancy Stasulis

the con skit was called "Dark Side Story," and it was a fannish musical retelling of "Return of the Jedi" based on "West Side Story" and there was showing of Visitors: A Puppet Opera (though according to its creator, this last thing did not occur)

fan badge

there is an obituary for Sara Jane Campbell
there were about 230 names listed as "attendees"

Programming (More Eastly - 1985)

"The Future of Fanzines"
"Why is Media Fandom Overwhelmingly Female?"
"ST: The Early Years"
"Realism and Surrealism: What's the Appeal of Miami Vice?"
"Really Off Broadway: Fannish Productions"
"Coping with Mundane Attitudes, or Isn't that Dr. Spock?"
"British Television: What's the Appeal?"
Remington Steele: Teasers, Tags and Character Development"
"Dr. Who's Companions: How Do They Affect the Series?"
"The Use of Religion and Myth in Current Media SF"
"Why are "/" Stories So Popular?"
"Where are the Post-Jedi Stories?"
"Hurt/Comfort: What Do We Have Against the Poor Shnooks?"
The Future of Star Trek"
"Doctor Who, Who Are You?"
"The Darker Side of Fandom: Why are the Bad Guys Always so Good?"
"Odd Couples: Why are We So Fascinated by Teams?"
"Fanzine Etiquette"
"Who's Scruffy Lookin?: Hunks Past, Present, and Future"
"Keeping Zine Prices Down or, I Did't Know There Was a Staple Shortage"
"Has Science Caught Up with Science Fiction?"
"Where Do We Go from Here?: New Television Trends"
"The Use/Misuse of Violence"

Con Reports (More Eastly - 1985)

Report from the Chairperson, Committee on Mundane Conversion Subject: Operation Mundane. Enclosed is an excerpted selection from the Experiment Committee's draft report. As you were all to some degree involved in either setting up or actually carrying out the experiment, the committee would appreciate any comments or additions or amendments you would care to submit.
Purpose of experiment: to place a mundane, or the closest approximation we could inveigle into coming, in a convention environment to determine the possibility of viewpoint conversion. Subject of experiment was carefully chosen to give the maximum possible results; subject had actually been present at very first Trek con in NYC and had had a sort of observer status at one or two Lunacons in the early '70's.
In order to make the experiment balanced, subject was induced to attend two days of con, one day being deemed insufficient for a meaningful sample, and three or four pushing our luck. The experiment: the technique of the experiment consisted in obtaining a usable mundane, inducing him to attend the convention and arranging for various supervisory and control personnel to insure proper observation. For the most part we were able to keep a microphone on him and those statements recorded within quotation marks indicate actual speech of the subject. We were also fortunte in having the services of the best esper in media fandom, a person whose name shall of course not be revealed. Those statements found within asterisks are the thought processes and ideas reported by the esper. As is always the case in telepathic communication, only the basic idea can be guaranteed as that of the subject. The words necesssarily are those of the esper and reflect the vocabulary with which her mind interpreted the thoughts of the subject. Subject approached the con with that degree of anticipatory anxiety commonly known as 'abject fear'. Occasional attempts by ~~Deneroff~~ ^[9] Assistant Chief Experimenter to reassure subject had expected effect: inducement of near panic.
Saturday Morning: the Dealers' Room—subject expresses disbelief at the 'amazing' things people will pay money for; the 'astounding' amount of money they will pay for the things; and the 'fantastic' larger amount of money Australians will pay for them. The choice of adverbs has led one of the researchers to question the mundane status of the subject, but the committee feels that this is mere coincidence. The subject's attempt to maintain a true mundane attitude in the midst of all this pressure was touching. Subject wandered all round the room and his sole purchase was a scientific text on the nature of illusions. Subject taken to art show; asked for badge which is under jacket due to special temperature setting arranged in courtesy to GoH from Pluto; subject states he doesn't want anyone to see badge; fan at door comments on mundane fever; subject announces "born and bred mundane". Does this mean experiment not working? Subject examines art works; typical comments for either fan or mundane; shows proper appreciation for works by Lybarger, Gordon and Stacy-MacDonald: expresses dislike for overly cute unicorns *not what unicorns look like*. May be making some progress after all.
In an attempt to integrate the subject more thoroughly into the con he was placed on two panels. One, on the attractiveness of the detective, was appropriate to his expertise. The other, on why is media fandom overwhelmingly female, was chosen by one of the committee in retaliation for what she deemed an uncalled-for comment vis" a vis* the topic. Normally this type of selection would have been overruled by the chief investigator, but in this case the selection was allowed to stand on the grounds that an outside observer might actually have something to contribute. Subject attends panel on filks, asks if term is "corrupt pronunciation of filch since the music is so often stolen". Friendly passing fan enlightens subject on derivation from typo. *Subject unconvinced.* Subject attends femaleness of media fandom panel; insists that the only relevant comment on the topic was made by Joyce Muscat who said that media shows lured female viewers because they showed pair-bonding in which sex was not the medium of exchange—a relationship women were familiar with even though it was not being shown as an aspect of female relationships on TV or in film. Subject may have been influenced by gift of Cagney and Lacy button from Ms. Muscat. Query: is there a Cagney and Lacy fandom building up among mundanes that could be tapped by media fandom? Subject comments on why no Cagney and Lacy fan stories, etc.; *censored thought on possible Isbecki fen*. Subject later confides own opinion as to solution of problem—showing remarkable survival instinct in not having mentioned it during the panel. States that sf fandom is just that—narrowly concerned with sf and, in some cases, only book sf with, perhaps, a little nod to fantasy here and there. It is not surprising therefore that there are more women in media fandom, since in contrast to narrow sf fandom, media fandom takes the broad view. Assistant Chief Investigator restrained from terminating experiment by terminating subject. In all fairness it should be mentioned that the act was motivated by outrage at pun rather than at his sexist attitude. Subject attends performance of Dark Side Story, expresses admiration for performances of all cast members; amazed at creative costuming for 3PO (Karen Mitchell); liked Obi-Wan's blue lights (questions whether these are same blue lights reported by Apollo and Gemini astronauts). Admits to prior knowledge of Luke's (Jean Stevenson's) singing ability—unaware of flair for comedy; also praises remarkably metallic and immobile performance of whoever it was that played R2. (This is a gross and damnable falsehood. I am well aware R2 was played bv a milk can. Besides, it moved twice...BILL VW.) Questions why writer of play placed Luke in such a dark light? Immediately removed subject from presence of C of F members who might make propaganda use of this comment.
SUNDAY - Subject wins third runner-up in Penfold look-alike contest. Subject does not, in fact, bear much resemblence to hamster—suspect glasses, cowardly attitude and love of outrageous puns influenced judges. Subject manages to dominate 50% of conversation on detective panel with Chris Jeffords. Afterward claims best comments from audience—expresses concern that woman in third row pointed out discussion was on the figure of the detective, not the detective story itself—feels panel should have stayed closer to topic. "Subject observes fan in harem girl outfit; comments on wonders of science—*hadn't known velcro implants perfected yet*. Subject later views priapic portrait of Shatner/Kirk; has typical male ego slump re: *silicone implants*; notes however that only bid on this drawing has been cleverly hidden under top of picture below. Subject attends panel on religious themes in media sf, etc.; expresses idea that panels should last longer since this one barely started when over; expresses amusement at fan who thought it was slash panel and beat hasty retreat—apparently fearing coerced conversion.
The failure of the experiment did of course leave us with the problem of what to do with the mundane. We wish to reassure all concerned persons that we have not forgotten our duties to endangered species. The subject is currently undergoing deprogramming with the aid of a massive dose of detective movies, Dickens, Austen, mainstream and western fiction and should soon be capable of being reinserted into his normal, uneventful and boring (in short—mundane) existence. Reasons for failure; 1) subject did not spend night at con and was thus able to reenter mundane world, thereby removing beneficial effects of con to some degree; 2) subject spends unhealthy amount of time reading detective stories, thereby producing habitually suspicious state of mind; 3) subject's previous experience of cons may have given him forewarning of what to expect, thereby allowing him to "get set" for the con.
Suggestions; 1) future subjects should be made to spend whole weekend at con; 2) future subjects should be placed in the hands of a guide who can soften the shock and help them absorb the brainwas...er indoctrinatio... introduction to fandom with less trepidation; 3) future subjects should be selected from persons with no previous experience of cons; 4) future subjects should be screened to remove any with background in mystery, detection—both true crime and fiction. If the names Nero Wolfe, Ellery Queen, Peter Wimsey or Adam Dalgleish bring any response the subject should be rejected. A more complete set of guidelines will be forthcoming from the committee.^[10]

1990

Mostly Eastly was the third con. It was held in January 12-15, 1990. There were 250 attendees, had an art show, a dual-video rooms, and panels.

There were 180 attendee names printed in the 25-page program book.

front and back covers of the 1990 program book

From the program book: "Bootlegged zines will not be tolerated. If anyone is found selling bootlegged material, they will be asked to remove it from their table. Weapons must be peace-bonded at all times. NO FOOD, DRINK, OR SMOKING in the Art Show, Dealers' Room, or Fanzine Library at any time. Please!"

From the program book: "Our tee-shirt, peach with black lettering--XXL ash with black—which reproduces the cover of the program book, is available at the Registration table. XXL shirts cost $11.50, all other sizes cost $10. We have printed only 50 shirts. However, if there is enough interest, we might consider a reprint. In that case, there would be a $2 charge for postage." Organizers:

Chairpeople: Devra Langsam, Lee Orlando, Joyce Yasner, Anne E. Zeek
Con Staff: Dealers' Room - Roberta Rogow
Video Programs - Sheryl Adsit
Filk Programing - Jean Stevenson
Gopher Marshals - Pat Nolan, Kathi Spivey
Hospitality Suite - Joanne Helton, Sharane McCurry (FIAWOL)
Registration (at Con) - Lori Dell
Art Show - Mary Otten
Con Artist - Nancy Stasulis
Assistants - Lois Indelicato, Andrea Senchy
Guest Art Show Auctioneer - S. Hellinger

inside page from the 1990 program book, a hello from the concom of Orbit, a Blake's 7 con that took place a few months after this "Most Eastly Con."
inside page from the 1990 program book
a flyer

Programming (Mostly Eastly - 1990)

Friday:

The Care and Feeding of Home-Grown Videos (Adsit, Blish, Dunlop, Korszniak, Mangan)
Name That Tune: SF and Media Themes Through the Ages (Nachman)
Welcome to the Village: Reality and Metaphor (Beck, Hotaling, J. McDonnell, P. McDonnell)
The Aliens of Star Trek: Have They Improved With Age? (Welsh, Senchy, Storey, Shanler, Juda)
Letterzines: Fandom's (Im)Purest Form of Expression (Nussman, Dickenson, Wells, Lay)
Building a Filk With Brick and Mortar (Stevenson, Rogow, Willis)
Yes, But Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? Fans and New Technologies (Agel, Berzansky, Klein, Stringari, Wortham)
Filking Practice (Stevenson and company)
Up-and-Coming-Fandoms: Do Old Fandoms Ever Die? (Palmaccio, Epenshade, Boudreau)

Saturday:

Is This What They Meant by "Burnt Sienna"? (Otten, Spivey, Bloemker, Gerstner)
A Legend Re-Written: Can (Should) the Beast Survive Without His Beauty? (Yasner, McCurry, Clark, Storey, Indelicato)
Partners in Crime: Are Twosomes Always More Fun? (Tanksley, Carlin, McHenry, Smith)
Must an Original Character Be a "Mary Sue"? And Why Not Use One in a Media Story Anyway? (Agel, Adsit, Horsman, Schuldes)
Damn, Where's the Sticky Tape, My Costume's Falling Off! (seminar) (Rogow, Lay, Salemi, Coleman, Palmer, Moore, Sneed)
Nothing is Ever Forgotten: Remnants of the Old Religion in Robin of Sherwood (Salicrup, Stefan, Brin, Blish)
The Loner as Hero: The Saint, Bergerac, McGyver [sic], Midnight Caller, Wiseguy, Gideon Oliver (Blog, Ford, Klein, Kay, Dunlop)
The Vodka is Strong, Bu the Meat is Rotten: Problems in Translation from One Medium to Another (Beck, Geller, Klopf, Miller)
A View of Two Federations: Star Trek and Blake's Seven (Rosenthal, McDonnell, Juda, Dunlop, Flanagan)
Batman's Hidden Agenda: Did It Work? (Orlando, Brin)
Custer's Revenge: Can (or Should) War of the Worlds Survive Without Norton and Ironhorse? (Wells, Dickenson, Crater, Flanagan)
New Dimensions in Brit TV (Morales, Lay, Brin, Indelicato)
No Holds Barred: Martial Arts Workshop (Welsh, Yasner, Blish, Stefan, Eads)
Matting for the 34th Century, workshop (Otten)
The Splintering of Fandom: + or - For the Future? (Sleeman, Altman, Wardell, Wilson)
Alien Nation: Bringing SF Down to Earth (Rosenthal, McCurry, Adsit, Stasulis)
In from the Cold: The Lure of the Spy (Garrett, Dunlop, Dickenson, Tanksley, Jamieson)
Only in the First Person: Views of Revolution (Treason?) in Media Universes (Tetreault, Espenshade, Schissler, Welsh, Tripp)
British Takeaway: British Detective Shows (Morales, Hartel, Curley, Hotaling)
Sam and Al's Awesome Adventures: Quantum Leap as Fun as (Re)Told History (Jamieson, J. Wells, G. Wells, Nachman)
Hysterical Friction: The Importance of Accuracy (Research!) in Period Pieces (Nolan, Nussman, Langsam, Morales, Coleman)
Paradise: Doing the Western Up Right (Stevenson, J. Wells, G. Wells, Ford)
Consistency in Building (or Stealing!) Your Universe: Why Some Shows (And Stories) Fail (Yasner, Espenshade, Garrett, Swanson)
At Loggerheads: The Editor/Artist Relationship: Need It Always Be Adversarial? Or Is It So? (Langsam, Stasulis, River, Nazzaro)
You've Come a Long Way, Baby!: Love and Sex in TV-SF from Star Trek to Alien Nation (Scheffler, Dunn, Sobel, Bloemker)
Male Bonding in Media Universes: Need It Always Lead to "/"? (Agel, Crater, Swoboda, Flanagan)
The Nostalgia Craze: Where the Shows of Our Youth Really That Good? (Blish, Palmaccio, Tanksley, Crowley)
Ethics in Fandom: Bootlegging, Profiteering, and Ripping Off Your Friends (Garrett, Curley, Dell, Rogow)
A Guy's Best Friend is His Gun: Does "Grit" Really = Reality? (Orlando, Berzansky, Frank, Batterby)
Amid the Alien Corn: Are THEY Already Among Us? (Hudes, Johnson, Strong, Black)
Song Fest and Celebration (Stevenson and company)
The VCR: Would Fandom Be Different Today if We Had Them Twenty Years Ago? How? (Langsam, Blish, Conner, Stefan, Thomas)
Fans and Print Media: What Books Do Media Fen Read, and Why? (Langsam, Palmaccio, Morales, Lineaweaver)
Necking Makes Strange Bedfellow: The Vampire in Fact and Fiction (Garrett, Geller, Salicrup, Johnson)
Tortured Love: The Many Incarnations of The Phantom of the Opera (Nachman, River, Orlando, Sharpe)
Fannish Lore and History (Langsam, Rogow, Hitchcock, M. Basta)
The Lure of the Exotic: Why Are Aliens (Spock & Co) Such Automatic Turn-Ons? (Geller, Espenshade, Flanagan)
Be Still My Beating Hearts! -- The Purple Prose Panel (various)

Sunday:

Death and Taxes: Turning Your FanAc Into a Real Business (Langsam, McCurry, Rogow, Rudow, Eads)
I'll Peels His Spots: Belieable (!) Aliens on TV (Scheffler, Espenshade, Adsit, Callejas)
The Fine Art of Illustration (River, Rosenthal, Palmer, Stasulis, Mosil)
The (Un)Holstered Gun: The Old West Re-Vistied (Espenshade, McLevey, Dulap)
The Many Worlds of Star Trek (Presgrove, Cruickshank Rasmussen, Scheffler)
Where're You Taking That Thing? -- Aliens in Star Trek (Rosenberg, Yasner, Salemi, Sharpe, Francis)
Tunnel Survival: Skills and Crafts for a New World (Otten, Kay, Spivey, Salemi)
As the Worlds Turn: Ethical Response to Change in Various Guises (role-playing panel) (Stevenson, Yasner, McCurry, Crater, Juda, Rosenthal, Sharpe)
(Re)Fighting the Battle: The Lure of the Military Show (Agel, Wortham, Nolan, Rosenberg)
Fan Writer's Workshop (Batterby, Nissan, Garrett, Hitchcock, Kay, Rose, Berzansky, Brin)
Are Fans Really The "Lowest Common Denominator"? (Wells, Wright, From, Hartel)
Exploring Space and Time with the Doctor(s) (Beck, Jamieson, Blog, Korszniak, Sneed)
Horror on Television: Too Much Too Soon? (Blog, Maroon, Rathgeb, Sullivan)
With the New Season: Are the Changes in Beauty and the Beast Justified? (Orlando, Bailey, Carlin, Siefan, Stasulis)
The Missing Generations: 85 Years of Untold Trek History (Swoboda, Moore, Adams, Sleeman, Basta)
Eye of the Beholder: Why I Kept Watching War of the Worlds in Spite of the Gore (Dickenson, Wells, Crater)
Design and Layout: An Often Overlooked Side of Zining (Blog, Blish, Ford, Bloemker, Geller)
Movies and the Creation of the New Myth: Beyond Star Wars (Stevenson, Salicrup, Hotaling, Rose)
The New TV Shows: An SF Renaissance or Tomorrow's Duds? (Giordano, Palmaccio, Barnes, Moore)
Editor's Choice: Editing vs. Publishing, Does the Consumer Lose? (Blog, Beck, Batterby, Clark)
MUNCLE vs. Sandbaggers: Is There Truth to Either? (Nissan, Morales, Tanksley, Laymon)
Han Solo Meets Dracula: Keeping the Tie-Lines Straight in a "Crossed" Universe (Agel, Espenshade, Johnson, Stevenson, Laymon)
KD: Word Processing Programs as an Aid to Writing and Editing (Garrett, Clark, Curley, Wortham, Eads)
The British Are Coming, The British Are Coming! -- Is Brit TV More Than Just a Cult Craze? (Korsniak, McDonnell, Bailey)
Killing Off Major Characters in Canon and FanFic: Is It Ever Really Justified? (Stringari, Webster, Espenshade, Wells)
Not in MY Fanzine You Don't!!! -- The Editor's Role: Censorship vs Responsibility (Langsam, Nussman, Rogow, Wardell)
Hurt/Comfort: A Path to Catharsis, Or ---? (Crater, Rosenthal, Kadushin, Schissler)
SF+TV: Can Small Screens Do Credit to SF Themes? (Beck, Geller, Chanson, Senchy, Yasser)
Look What They Done to My Song, Ma! -- Creativity by Committee: Fans, The Networks, and Second Seasons (Rose, Woolvertan, Carlin Papatheodoraoa)
Beyond the Pale: Media Fen as Second-Class Citizens (Nachman, M. Basta, Peck, Torres)
Public Domain and Historical Figures in FanFic (Garrett, Langsam, Rogow, Salicrup, Morales)
The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes (Curley, McCurry, Sneed, Klein)
The Traffic Goes Both Ways: How Fandom, In and Of Itself, Affected the Shows We Watch? (Rose, Bloemker, Case, Gordon)

Monday:

Voices in the Wilderness: Fan Fiction Post-Star Trek and Post-Star Wars -- What Are the Differences? (Stevenson, Hitchcock, Adams, Wardell)
The Lure of the Unleashed Lion: The Dangerous Man Stalks the City -- Miami Vice, The Professionals, Wiseguy, The Equalizer (Batterby, Berzansky, Orlando, Willis)
Orphan Fandoms: Where Do We Go For Our Fix? (Agel, McDonnell, Palmaccio, Sneed)
Fandom and Reality: Must They Always Conflict? (Salicrup, Orlando, Eads)
The Brits and the Yanks Look Back at Crime: Dempsey and Makepeace vs .Remington Steele, The Professionals vs Miami Vice and Houston Knights (Batterby, Curley, Nissan, Beck, McLevy)
Classic Fantasy and/or Science Fiction: Books and Movies from the 30's Through the 60's (Palmaccio, Moore, Wells, Rancourt)

Con Reports (More Eastly - 1990)

Mostly Eastly was a total blast! It is so great to go to a con when all of your friends are there, and in a party mood. I got there Friday afternoon, and my two roommates arrived in the evening. I spent most of the time with my roommates and UP BUBBLE'S editor, along with Carol Swoboda (who you may know as TACS), and Elyse Dickenson, from Far of the Worlds fandom. There was a variety of others, too, of course. Leah Rosenthal and Annie Wortham were up from Florida. And...so many!
On Saturday, some of us went dressed in costume as Batman characters. The movie Batman and the old Adam West Bataan, a very skinny Robin and a great huge Robin, a wonderful Joker, a slinky Catwoman, and me Frank Gorshin's Riddler! And, lest we forget, Supergirl made an appearance — definitely needing a shave!
Saturday night was the traditional Sopron Alliance (a BLAKE'S 7 group) pajama party, filled to bursting with pj-clad Prydonians and Rocks. Lots of dancing and partying and most of us were quite collapsed by the time we got kicked out of the bar. Whew!
Sunday was more sedate. Talking, panels, and lunch with our editor. I left Sunday night because I was so partied out I had ceased having fun. That's always my cue to leave. But, all in all, this Goldie had a blast!
I was able to do some retrieving for BRING 'EM BACK ALIVE, and BELOW THE SURFACE too! Please note the traditional unashamed plug. BEBA is coning along soooo well! Lots jtf—interest, it'll be ready for MediaWest this year. Deadline is March 1st for rough drafts. And the artwork! From Connie Faddis and TACS I saw some of the stuff coming from her in the Art Auction. Wonderful! I'm quite excited about the whole thing so far! ^[11]

The con hotel vas located in Newark, so I decided to save money and commute, a fifteen minute drive each way. I'd already volunteered for gopher duty, so I got to the hotel around 11 AM on Friday. I'd originally thought I'd be setting up the Art Show, but I ended up doing phone duty in the Con Suite, setting up the Fanzine Reading Room and the flyer tables, setting up the Orphan Zine Table, and babysitting the Fanzine Library instead, along with Registration duty. A lot more varied, and a lot more fun!
I'd also volunteered to serve on several panels. My first panel was devoted to letterzines, which engendered a very interesting discussion. The only problem was, the cold that I'd been fighting off for a week finally won the fight, and I could feel the sore throat getting worse and worse. Cindy, who had been promising for months to heckle me unmercifully, compassionately resisted because of my condition.
Saturday morning I drove back, equipped with aspirin (my version of the American Express Card — I never leave home without it), throat lozenges, and a thermos full of homemade chicken soup. I put in more gopher duty, ran into the Superheroes in the hall (that Supergirl had to be seen to be believed!), and attended several panels. The Alien Nation panel was very popular, and nearly filled one of the larger panel rooms. I served on the Original Character/Mary Sue panel, which was also well-attended. Consensus -- yes, you can do an original character without her turning into a Mary Sue. Unfortunately, the cold began to get the better of me, I lost my voice, and had to leave early, missing several panels I'd wanted to attend.
Sunday morning, I dragged myself back to Newark, and thankfully began to feel better. Unfortunately, my voice wasn't what it should be, and I had to strain to make myself heard. My Sunday panels were interesting -- Military Media Fandoms was a very good panel for the VOYAGE fan, despite the attendance of a rather obnoxious gentleman who tried his best to turn it into a different panel. However, the panel and audience managed to keep it on track. Sunday afternoon I had lunch with Cindy Rancourt and Pat Ames, where we discussed VOYAGE (among other things).
Monday's Orphan Fandoms panel was sparsely attended, probably because most of the congoers were on their way home. Linda Sneed was one of the panelists; Jeanne Weselinski shoved up, and talk over lunch naturally turned to VOYAGE, and her new Irvin Allen letterzine, OVER LAND, SEA, SPACE AND TIME. BELOW THE SURFACE 12 made its debut at MEC III, and sold out, as did BTS II. UP BUBBLE was also a popular zine on the Orphan Zine Table, and several new subscribers signed on as a result of the con.
All in all, despite my cold, I enjoyed myself. It's always great to be with other fans, and to discuss your favorite (and not so favorite) fandoms. Can't wait until MediaWest! Hope to see some of you there!^[12]

1991

Most Eastly (Mostly Eastlycon Release 4.0) was the fourth con. It was held January 18-20, 1991 at the Westchester Marriott Hotel in Tarrytown, NY.

the program book covers

flyer for 1991: "We plan to run a nice, friendly, argumentative media con."

The cost was $36.80, higher at the door. The checks were to be made out to Poison Pen Press.

There were 130 attendee names in the program book, the vast majority of them with New York and Maryland addresses.

The 24-page program book also contains an essay by Joyce Yasner called Fannish Roots.

Chairpeople: Devra Langsam, Lee Orlando, Joyce Yasner, Anne E. Zeek
Con Staff: Dealers' Room - Roberta Rogow
Video Progranming - Sheryl Adsit
Filk Progranming - Jean Stevenson
Gopher Marshals - Pat Nolan, Kathi Spivey
Hospitality Suite - Joanne Belten, Sharane McCurry (FIAWOL)
Art Show - Andrea Senchy (in the program guide there is a thank you to "Mediawestcon Art Show, from whom we stole the rules.")
Big Oops - Juanita Salicrup
Logistics - Mary Otten
Tee Shirt Co-ordinator - Lois Indelicato

From the program book: "Bootlegged zlnes will not be tolerated. If anyone is found selling bootlegged material, they will be asked to remove it from their table. Weapons must be peace-bonded at all times. NO FOOD, DRINK, OR SMOKING in the Art Show or Dealers' Room at any time. Please! Please do not affix anything to hotel surfaces. It is against NYS law to serve alcohol to minors. Please, no alcohol at open parties! Please don't disconnect the TV in your room without notifying the Front Desk—they get upset. No pets or naked ladies in function rooms or public areas, please. (Naked men, now—)."

A War of the Worlds fan wrote of her excitement about the panels:

Oh, just received my flyer for Mostly Eastly Con... They have several suggested panels which eerily tie in with many of the questions posed: why is Ironhorse so popular (why are the 'second bananas' more popular than the main star?); TSI's dismal dark universe (why is the future envisioned by so many of today's movies and TV shows so dark and hopeless?); letter-writing campaigns and their loss of effectiveness; and hey, this is one all fan writers should attend: fatal attraction - the editor/contributor relationship frequently ends in bloodshed. What can be done to improve the situation? Whoa, nearly forgot this one: fan writers deal with the inconsistencies in WOW (and other shows). How? And why should we have to? And they've got a writing/editing workshop, too.^[13]

Programming (Mostly Eastly - 1991)