RevelCon/RevelCon 06 (1995)-RevelCon 10 (1999)
RevelCon 6 (1995)
- was held over St Patrick's Day weekend and many fans wore headbads with shamrocks
- Lezlie Conch led a Forever Knight panel called: "Blood Sucking Pinocchio" that discussed the emotional immaturity of Nick an 800 year old vampire.
- the Video Room showed the Escapade/Virgule vid show tape
- Whine Press (in Houston) sold a new Kung Fu: TLC genzine Bloody Marvelous along with the Kung Fu novella Persian Flaw.
- One of the buttons that appeared that weekend: "So many politicians - so few bombs."
1995 Convention Reports
Being a gofer, I had to serve some official time, so I spent four hours Saturday afternoon in the hospitality suite. This is a job I particularly enjoy, because it's a great way to meet and chat with a lot of different people. A couple of people had asked both Ann McKannan (I call her Elaine) and me whether we were going to sing together at the costume cabaret. I think they missed us last year! Well, we hadn't planned to, but since it was suggested. . . . I used some of my free time in the hospitality suite to scribble out a ST:Voyager filk and copy it over neatly for Elaine. She was tickled and agreed to sing it with me. Soon after my con suite hours were up, it was time to line up for the cabaret. There were quite a few acts, musical and otherwise. The "Babes" did a hilarious act singing "You picked a fine time to leave me Jim Kirk"--with balloons under their matching T-shirts so they all looked pregnant! The Klingons had a cute skit about how Klingons get loans from banks. (Instead of putting up collateral, they have to prove they've made a certain number of kills.) Vivian got to show off her spiffy Zorro costume. Elaine and I appeared as "Ann Squared" and sang the new filk. We were quite unprepared for its boisterous reception--we even got the audience to sing along with the refrain! Cat Boxe Theatre provided entertainment while the judges did their thing. When the prizes were announced, Elaine and I were stunned to hear that we had tied with the Klingon skit for "Best Act!" Vivian also got an Honorable Mention for her costume.' [1]
RevelCon 6, a multi media Con happened last weekend here in Houston. As the Con began on St Patrick's Day, most fans wore something green - like headbands sprouting big, green shamrocks. I even found several S&H zines in the Dealer's Room that I have not read: L A VESPERS 1 & 2 and 1013! To spread awareness of S&H fandom, I put out fandom flyers on their flyers table. [2]
Whine Press (in Houston) and Carolyn Cooper, represented by Mary Lowe - who has a story in the zine - and Lezlie Shell, were selling a new Kung Fu genzine BLOODY MARVELOUS which is full of stories about fathers and sons. After buying the zine, I forgot to ask them why they picked that particular title. They were also selling Mary Lowe's KF novella PERSIAN FLAW.I found several more Starsky & Hutch genzines, LA VESPERS 1 & 2 and 1013 on the Orphan Zine Table. The Orphan Zine Table also yielded an unexpected surprise: a digest-sized "Forever Knight" novella with a completely black cover. It's called SAMSKAR and was written by g h coyote, whoever that is, in 1993. Must have been one of the first zines out from that date. Ever hear of Fenris House Press (with a wolf's head for a logo) at a PO Box number in New Jersey? Anybody ever read the stories collected from the Net FOREVER NET? Are they worth reading or buying? I sent a SASE to its editor in Oregon asking about the stories before parting with $20.
[...]
I think that my favorite title for a panel at RevelCon was "Blood Sucking Pinocchio." The name was from L. Shell. Some of the panelists and the audience agreed with that since: 1. Nick is a whiner and he's had 800 years so he should get over it. 2. How good a cop: would he be without his vampiric abilities. Well, he does take lots of chances, he couldn't do otherwise. 3. Can a vampire drink the blood of a corpse? No, too cold- well what about using a microwave? 4. LaCroix needs a hobby - No, he already has one - Nick. and 5. Who's LaCroix's engineer at his "Night Crawler" radio shows? Johnny Fever![3]
1995 Vid Show
The Video Room showed a tape made from music videos from Virgule/Escapade. The outstanding video on it was one from "Forever Knight," the first I'd seen, set to the song "Living on the Edge of Night." It was wonderfully made, especially at the chorus "And I take a little bad with the good," which was accompanied by images of Nick downing a glass or bottle of blood. Nearly as good was "Let's Give Them Something to Talk About set to images of Vinnie & Frank and then there were Vinnie & Sonny set to "I Need a Strong Man." [4]
RevelCon 7 (1996)
Revelcon 7 was held on March 8-10, 1996.
From a flyer:
"You are invited to a relaxing fan weekend where you can find fannish forums, view and discuss your favorite TV show,network with other fans of like interests, read and/ or buy lots of fanzines, find that special piece of art
REVELcon is a relaxacon whose main emphasis is fanzines, fun and food.
If it is fannish, REVELcon has it...regardless of preference. Fanzines galore for those who like zines as well as a laid back atmosphere for those who just came for a relaxing fannish weekend. It might be called a Babel Conference (by Star Trek fans) because of the variety offered (gen/adult/slash, sf, fantasy, and media).
A fun weekend where you can read, watch your favorite characters, meet old friends, discover new friends and fandoms, find that zine or episode/series you've been looking for, laugh during the Saturday evening entertainment, or buy that special piece of art on Sunday morning. But if unable to attend, purchase a supporting membership ($8) to find out what happened."
1996 Convention Reports
In one of the convention flyers, a fan offered up her convention report:
"A Con for All ReasonsA mini-review Revelcon
My first recollection is just a 3-day blur of ..fun. Talking. Laughing. Eating. Partying. Reading lines. Oohing and Ahhing over artwork. Watching songtape videos. Listening to panel discussions. Enjoying the Saturday Cabaret/talent show'/entertainment. I remember laughing myself silly over a group's priceless interpretation of the BudLite commercial ("Let's watch both!") applied to fans feuding over which show to watch on one lone TV and the resultant merged show. And then there's the Babes - who absolutely defy description and must be seen to be appreciated. (I can't wait to see what they do for an encore this year.)
Panels, we had panels! Everything from a serious philosophical discussion (?!) on why we're attracted to long haired heroes (Highlander, Renegade, etc) to Forever Knight, to X-Files, with a giant detour to the unique world view/comedy/drama of Northern Exposure. We also had panels on writing, movie miscasting, and even genealogy - in short, something for everyone (a comedy tonight).
Hmm, I guess I'll wrap this up with a subject close to every fan's heart: FOOD. As in "lots of" and "free/included in the membership." REVELcon's Hospitality Suite offered fresh vegetables, fruit, crackers, sandwiches, etc and drinks throughout the con. The Friday night birthday bash/con kick-off party
had cake ("Let them eat cake!"). Sunday's breakfast buffet was a real Texas-sized breakfast."
On Friday afternoon I went to Elaine McKannan's and Jackie Horgan's panel entitled: "What If? Story Writing" which talked about the use of imaginative "what if" scenarios as a basis for coming up with stories. The panelists delved into the issue of creating your own consistent universe, be it original or an alternate version of a fannish one, and engaged in this memorable exchange:
- Elaine: "If a writer sets up her own universe and doesn't stick to the rules she's laid out, she won't have a large following."
- Jackie: "Or, she might have a large following--all carrying weapons!"
Friday night I stayed over at Elaine's, which was a bit alarming. I slept on the single bed in her guest bedroom, which has recently undergone a startling redecoration. . . . I didn't notice it at night, when everything was dark, but when I woke up in the morning there was a Life Size Avon on the Ceiling Above My Bed! Let me tell you, that is NOT the most pleasant way to wake up in the morning, though Elaine seemed to enjoy my startled squawks!
Elaine McKannan, who also goes by "Ann," and I appeared yet again as "Ann Squared." Glenda cheerfully introduced us as an act that returns "every year, like the viruses they are!" We didn't feel bad 'cause one year we DIDN'T enter, and everybody asked us to come back and do our act again! We performed an updated version of our "Revelcon Hurt/Comfort Filk," having added new verses for popular shows like Due South, Babylon 5, and Star Trek: Voyager. We also made up a verse about REVELcon itself, as we have sometimes done in the past. This year we were inspired by the 10-to-12-year-old girls' soccer team that we saw rather frequently tromping past the convention, gazing wide-eyed at our Klingon security guards. The guards took particular pleasure in posing fiercely, occasionally frightening but usually fascinating their young audience. Hence our verse:
- (Tune: Johnny, we hardly knew ye)
- At REVELcon we'll have a ball, harroo, harroo
- At REVELcon we'll have a ball, harroo, harroo
- At REVELcon we'll have a ball,
- But watch those children in the hall
- Don't let the Klingons eat them ALL--
- Candy, we want to thank you
(Candy Pulleine is the organizer who puts REVELcon on every year, bless her heart.) We introduced the song in character as Hans and Franz, the bodybuilders from Saturday Night Live, hefting an (empty) box marked "Fanzines - 10,000 lbs," and teased our audience for being "girly fans"--we were then shooed off the stage by Linda Sparr as "Hauptmann Dietrich." .....
When our act was finished, Elaine and I went off to the side with the other performers who had already gone, and stood with them to watch the next acts. Now, the others were mostly Klingons, and one of the next acts was "The Babes," a group of enthusiastic fans who can always be counted on to do something fun at the cabaret; this year they were lip-synching "You're the One that I Want" with two of their members dressed as Kirk and Spock. One of the Klingons, a six-footer in a fierce costume, turned to one of the others and whispered, "Are they gonna do slashy stuff? Oh my gosh, they're doing slashy stuff!" They were not acting out sex acts on stage or anything, but were making affectionate gestures, and the Klingons were turning pale!
Laurie entered the costume part of the contest with a magnificent handmade Native American costume. She spoke very briefly about the quest for peace and exited to thunderous applause. After the costume contest Cat Boxe Theatre put on a hilarious version of Sleeping Beauty entitled "Sleeping Cutie." They brought up members of the audience to play some of the roles, and we all giggled when Kris M.'s husband Mark was called up to play The Good Fairy! He really got into it, too, as did the other "volunteers." Afterwards, they announced that they absolutely REFUSED to perform the 12 Days of Menopause again--always a crowd-pleaser at this convention--but sang us a delightful new song about PMS.
The judges came back with their decision after Cat Boxe Theatre finished, and we were pleased to hear that one of the Klingon skits had won first place skit, and that Laurie had won first place costume. Elaine and I received a "Judges' Choice" award, which tickled us mightily.
[5]
"Saturday morning we made it back to the con in time for Elaine McKannan's and Laurie K.'s panel at 11 entitled "What are you watching? Why?" This was basically an audience-participation panel in which various people listed and discussed the currently-running shows they were watching. I was simply amazed at the large number of fannish shows that are on TV these days. Here's a list I compiled of what people are indeed watching: Highlander, X-Files, Babylon 5, Sliders, Due South, JAG, Xena, Hercules, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Third Rock from the Sun, Space: Above & Beyond, Forever Knight, Outer Limits, Gargoyles, Lois & Clark, Walker: Texas Ranger, Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, Nowhere Man, Strange Luck, Second Noah, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis: Murder, and Mystery (PBS). Whew! After that panel, Linda S., Lorelei H., and I held a corresponding panel on Fandoms of Old, discussing shows that are not currently running that people are fannish about. We got off into some strange corners of the fannish universe, unearthing, among other things, a closet Smurf fan! We had another panel together later in the afternoon entitled "The Best WWII Team." Beth, who had chosen us to be on the panel, firmly enjoined us from discussing only the Rat Patrol! (She knows us too well,) Actually we proceeded very scientifically.* Linda made a list from audience suggestions of various WWII programs. They came up with many I had forgotten and several I had never heard of! A lot of people remembered fondly such programs as "Twelve O'clock High," which is becoming popular in fandom again. There was some debate about the inclusion of sitcoms like McHale's Navy and Hogan's Heroes on the list as well. Next we went through and discussed them all in terms of the kind of teamwork involved, and came up with a list of six especially good team-oriented WWII shows like Combat, Garrison's Gorillas, and yes, Rat Patrol. Finally we let the audience vote, and I can't say we weren't pleased when Rat Patrol won!"[6]
"On Sunday afternoon I was on a panel with Laurie K. and Linda S. called "Writing - Why Do It?" This panel was an occasion of great serendipity for me shortly before the convention. I was ruminating to myself during office hours in the part-time faculty office at Austin Community College on whatever was I going to say at this panel, when out of the blue one of my co-workers showed me a poetry newsletter that she just had an essay and a sonnet published in. Jeanell is a linguistics Ph.D. who teaches English comp, and her essay--on why she writes!--began with a marvelous image of her frantically scribbling lines of poetry on the backs of deposit slips and ended with the very evocative idea that she writes because she is alive, and the dead are so silent. I loved it and asked if I could bring it to the convention and use it at the panel, giving her credit, of course. She said yes, so I did. That one image of the poetry just having to be scribbled down when you think about it really spoke to the audience! One of the common ideas that came out in Laurie's and Linda's presentations as well was that we write because we have to; because these stories or poems or ideas are inside our heads clamoring to get out, and most of our audience felt the same way.[7]
RevelCon 8 (1997)
From an ad in Media Monitor #34:
- REVELcon 8, MARCH 14-16, 1997, Houston, Texas
- A relaxacon for adult attendees, whose main emphasis is fanzines, fun and food. And ART, TV media and movies . If it is fannish, REVELcon has it . . . regardless of preference.
- It appears that the term "Surly Pectoral God" was coined here by Lezlie Shell at her panel, "X-Files Slash - the SPG (Surly Pectoral God aka Walter Skinner)."
- Fanzines galore for those who like zines as well as a laid back atmosphere for those who just came for a relaxing fannish weekend. It might be called a Babel Conference (by Star Trek fans) because of the variety of offered (gen/adult/slash, sf, fantasy, and media)
1997 Convention Reports
A good convention begins with a hotel with adequate space for the convention's needs and a courteous staff. RevelCon had that. In particular, the room used for the song video contest/cabaret allowed everyone a clear view of the stage.When undertaking the tough task of a convention review, the logical place to start seems to be the dealer's room. To many, it IS the convention. Several Unlimited's orphan zine table took up an entire wall. Perhaps the club should think about warning labels -- this table can be dangerous to the health and bank balance of bibliophiles. With multiple fandoms, multimedia, straight and slash represented, the Several Unlimited's orphan zine sale may very well be the most overall satisfying orphan zine sale in fandom.
I will take a guess that there were seven new fanzines (perhaps premiering?) at RevelCon. There were zines from the fandoms of Doctor Who, Wild Wild West, Highlander, Rat Patrol, X-Files, Voyager, Lois & Clark and probably a few more which I didn't recognize. It may be a nice idea for RevelCon to publish a list in their program of such zines. I remember tables selling ceramic figures, Klingon weapons, song tapes, and episodes from Due South and the Professionals.
Panels ran continuously throughout the con. I have to admit I found some of the topics rather banal. Also, two of the panels I attended only featured one panelist. I feel multiple panelists allows a broader range of discussion.
On Saturday, Dee Beetem hosted a day long room party in her con suite. The day started with bagels and ending with pizza. There were four different party topics and two of them were well attended. Everyone seemed to have a good time. If club members are receptive, perhaps the party room will be continued next year.
The con suite was very well stocked with food, great in quantity and quality. I didn't make it to the fanzine reading room, but I did the year before and looked over a large selection of fanzines and Babylon 5 Internet gossip.
Friday evening the RevelCon Song Tape contest was held. I believe there were nine songs up for voting. The contest lasted about forty five minutes. A disastrous song contest is when there are three Wind Beneath My Wings videos, the Uncle guys were sensitive before their time and Bodie and Doyle could be a bit more discreet. Mercifully, we were spared from this. What we saw was some very intriguing song choices well matched with their topics. There were four or five choices which could easily have taken the first prize.
Saturday was the RevelCon birthday party (cake and ice cream supplied), followed by the cabaret and THE BABES Cat Boxe Theater. Amateur entertainment applauded by a wild and rowdy crowd, what is there not to enjoy. [8]
RevelCon 9 (1998)
1998 Convention Reports
Or what I did this past weekend.I left work at noon on Friday and slowly made my way through lunchtime traffic to the Courtyard by Marriot near the Galleria here in Houston. Since the con is preregistration only, check in was simple. I signed my name and got my badge and program. First stop was the dealer's room. The only Voyager slash I managed to find was a print copy of Siubahn's Left Hand of Madness that until now I only had on disk. The prevailing fandom was The Sentinel.
After making a round through the dealer's room with time out to stop and chat with old friends <and do a little shameless self-promotion for my stories>, I went to help set up refreshments in the Hospitality Suite. All the local fanclubs help Candace to put this con on in some capacity or another. Since I'm a member of the local Star Trek club, I was doing my bit. <g> Then I went to a panel discussion about Sentinel slash.
I spent most of the early evening in the Hospitality Suite talking and snacking. At 8:30 it was down to the large tier seating video/all purpose room for the annual birthday party. This year we were honoring those with birthdays in May. Cake and ice cream with various toppings were served. Next, in the same room was the [Music Video Contest. I was a little disappointed that there were no Trek videos. Again, Sentinel prevailed.
On Saturday, I attended several panels. These included one panel on whom did we never want to see slashed <the overall pairing no one wanted to see was Beavis & Butthead> and one about fanfic on the internet. There was another in which attendees were to rate the "buns" and "baskets" of various male TV characters. When we got to Voyager, I had to do a write-in for Harry Kim. He wasn't even on the list!
Along about 3PM, I was standing at Mystery Frank's table in the dealer's room and started talking to another fan. We eventually got around to Voyager slash. Lo, and behold, I found out I was talking to Rachel (Raonaid) one of the CPSG listmoms. With folks with so many different interests, it was a delight to talk to a kindred spirit, even if she likes the other pair (C/P) better. <BG>
After dinner out with a group of eight fans, it was back to the con for the Saturday night Cabaret and Costume Contest. I sat with Tany Z and Rachel to watch the fun. It's hard to describe this part. We had Buffy the Vampire Slayer on PMS, cross-dressing Klingons and Babes In Black. Some of the funniest skits and songs I've ever seen. The half time entertainment while the judges were conferring was provided by Cat Boxe Theatre, a local street theatre group. Rev. Ramirez's Renegade Acappella Biker Choir sang between calls for donations, amens and hallelujahs. Their rendition of "Swing Low, Sweet Voyager" was the highlight of their performance for me. After the entertainment there was a Sentinel marathon, but I didn't stay since it was to run until 2 AM. I said goodbye to Rachel since she was attending Saturday only and got an offer from her to beta read for me. <Goody!>
Sunday was fairly quiet. I spent most of the day until about 2:30 PM in the Hospitality Suite talking and reading from the zine library there. I tried not to snack too much, but the fresh fruit and melon were tempting.
Revelcon has come and gone for this year, but I have memories of some wonderful conversations. This is not a big convention. No guests. Just a chance to relax and talk about your favorite fandoms with people who understand. I've already paid for my membership for next year. <g> [9]
RevelCon 10 (1999)
1999 Convention Reports
We got into Houston a little late and drove to the condo apartment of our late friend Ann Elaine McKannan...The next morning we had another adventure just getting to the con. A sudden downpour dropped a tremendous amount of water onto the Houston streets; the roads we took to get to the convention were nearly flooded out. It was hard on the nerves--to say nothing of the windshield wipers--but we finally made it safely to the hotel. Leah and I ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant, and then went in search of our friends.
Since I now live in Pennsylvania, I don't see my friends in Texas very often. Although Elaine died last November, this was the first time that I was in a situation where I would really have expected to see her. But somehow, as much as I missed her, I was never alone. Everyone was very supportive.
The dealers' room was still setting up when we got there, but I got to spend some time with Jacquelyn Sykes and Mary Helm from San Antonio, and to work with Liz Knauel on a Rat Patrol/Quantum Leap crossover story that we are co-writing.
I hit the con suite for lunch, where a decent sandwich buffet was spread out, and had a chance to visit with more friends. Dee Beetem and Erika Frensley filled me in on their profession of technical writing, which I found fascinating, and of course we also talked fandom. I did some shopping in the dealer's room, and then headed out for dinner with Beth Arganbright and Lorelei Hawkins.
We were looking for some kind of Asian cuisine, and headed out in a likely direction. Beth was driving. As we went along, Lorelei saw a place and pointed. "Let's try that one!" It was called the Shanghai River Restaurant and we were pleasantly surprised--even amazed. The food was excellent and the service was even better, a rare find. Beth and I decided to make Lorelei the official "point man" on future outings.
After dinner, I attended the Several Unlimited party/discussion. The proposed topic was printfic vs. netfic, which surely got mentioned at least three or four times. Mostly we gabbed and had fun. The discussion lacked the animosity that this topic sometimes raises.
Next it was time for the birthday party--celebrating June birthdays this time. Candy Pulleine, who runs REVELcon, presented the usual excellent spread: white and chocolate sheet cake, ice cream and toppings, and fresh fruit. The fruit was especially appreciated by fans who couldn't have the other treats. My only complaint was that the cake had a whipped-cream topping rather than a real frosting; otherwise, everything was great.
Next came the music videos. I always love music videos, so of course I enjoyed this feature a lot! There were about a dozen this year, with a high concentration of ST: Voyager and Due South. After the vids, I hung out in the con suite for a while, and then Leah and I went back to the condo.
We drove in the next morning, thankful for the absence of rain. We stopped at a hobby shop where I bought posterboard and a big marker--I'll explain what it was for later!
I joined the hilarious Oreo Assessment panel partway through; it was an exercise in determining your personality type by the way you eat Oreos. Silly and fun. Next was one of my favorite panels, which was about power dynamics and physical "types" in relationships. We discussed how characters are portrayed on screen and in stories, and concluded that the more physically imposing--bigger, stronger--person is not necessarily the most forceful or dominant. The next panel was a discussion of shows that have little or not fandom--some because they are *too* good or too complete (like the Fugitive), others because they lack interesting characters or relationships.
A bunch of us Ratty fans--Linda Sparr, Lorelei Hawkins, Carol Burrell, and I--walked to the strip mall behind the hotel and had a terrific lunch at a place called Bayou City Grill, and got back in time for my two o'clock panel, which was on how the death of a character affects a show.
Several Unlimited had a pizza party that evening so that fans who didn't want to miss the beginning of the costume cabaret could eat without leaving the hotel. It was great fun--cheap food and good conversation.
Then it was time for the costume cabaret. I had stashed my stuff in Robin Mayhall and Carol Burrell's room, so I went and changed into a magnificent gold-embroidered blue robe that Elaine had purchased at a Worldcon. She left me her costumes when she died, and I wore it in her honor.
Elaine and I had performed together at several REVELcons in the past as "Ann(e) Squared." A number of people had asked if I was going to carry on the tradition at this REVELcon; I had even batted around the idea of performing with someone else, but that didn't seem right. I decided to perform the song Elaine and I did at the very first REVELcon in 1990, a fun, upbeat filk involving audience participation. I took the marker I bought at the hobby shop and made two signs to use during the performance. I was as ready as I would ever be.
As I waited with the other performers, I wondered how I would introduce my act. I wanted to say something in keeping with the humorous tone of the cabaret, but not disrespectful to my late friend, about the fact that I was performing alone, but I kept drawing a blank.
Glenda Jordan did the honors as M.C., as she has done since REVELcon the First. An opening sketch parodied the Sentinel, and Glenda really nabbed the audience by telling them to hum the theme, which is nearly unhummable. At the resultant embarrassed silence, she crowed, "And you call yourselves fans?!" Then she introduced the first act--which wasn't there. The next was a short Klingon skit relying on terrible puns, followed by a vampire sock puppet. The fourth act was *also* a no-show! Glenda commented on how unusual this was for REVELcon--and I had an idea how to introduce my act. The next act was the inimitable Laurie Keeper, who did a very funny send-up of Titanic. Then it was my turn.
I got up on stage with my posters, and said to the audience, "Even Glenda can't blame my partner for being AWOL tonight!" There was a ripple of laughter, and Leah called, "God needed a tenor!" Then I told the audience that I was going to do a song Elaine and I had done at the first REVELcon, and that they were going to have to be Elaine for me. I had written their part on the posters, and they joined in with loud enthusiasm.
The Blake's Seven March (to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Club March) originally printed in the fanzine GATEWAY TO TIME by Anne Collins Smith.
Audience parts are in italics (lively)
- Who's the leader of the band that sets the people free?
- A-V-O-N-O-R-B-L-A-K-E?
- Vila! Jenna! Tarrant! Tell us who it's gonna be!
- A-V-O-N-O-R-B-L-A-K-E?
- Blake's the one! (No, he's not!)
- Blake's the one! (No, he's not!)
- Forever let us follow him or die--
- DIE DIE DIE!
- Watch tonight, see them fighting for supremacy
- A-V-O-N-O-R-B-L-A-K-E?
- (slow and sad)
- Blake's the one--Blake's the one
- Forever let us follow him or die. . . .
- Now it's time to see who might survive the shooting spree--
- A-V-O--Only one left!
- N-O-R--Are they really dead?
- B-L-A-K-E.
Next we had a delightful presentation by "The Fantastics," who put together a history of buddy fandom. A few props and costume parts cleverly indicated each different pair of heroes from Kirk & Spock through Starsky & Hutch, Bodie & Doyle, Duncan & Methos, finally concluding with Jim & Blair. The audience greeted each pair with enthusiasm and laughter. As a change of pace, the last two entrants were serious. Mark Manning, in a dramatic hooded cape, sang along to a touching song from a recent musical, "Who Will Love This Child?", and then Jan Meek delivered a monologue about fandom and read Kipling's poem about the Hundredth Man.
I was happy to see the act I enjoyed most--the Fantastics--get first prize, and was tickled to get second prize myself.
After the costume cabaret, I had the opportunity to go watch more music videos with Several Unlimited, so naturally I jumped at the chance! I had arranged to stay in the hotel that evening with Carol and Robin, so I was able to watch vids and then drop by the con suite for more chatting before finally heading to bed.
I have a long-standing tradition of spending Sunday lunch at REVELcon with Kris Manning and Heidi Harbaugh; we all had time constraints this year, but we managed to duck out to Bayou City Burgers for a quick and yummy meal. I had one afternoon panel with co-panelists Linda Sparr and Celina Harmon on the intriguing topic of "characters vs. shows--do we watch for characters or plots?" We came to the consensus that, while the best shows have both, fans prefer a show with good characters and weak plots to the converse.
The con was winding down as the panel ended, and I stuck around for takedown. A whole bunch of us went out for dinner at the Outback, and I finally went back with Jackie Horgan, who very kindly drove me to the airport the next morning.
Candy--thanks for a great convention, and may there be many more! [10]
"It was a lot of fun! As SF cons go, REVELcon is always a lot of fun. But this last one was one of the good ones. My (Clif's) favorite part of Revelcon is always the Song-Tapes (Music Videos). (My [Margaret's] favorite part, too, closely followed by the cabaret!) For those who are not familiar with the art form, fans take TV shows or movies on videotape and edit them to go with their choice of music. The result is sometimes hilarious, sometimes moving, and almost always interesting.This year's categories were Voyager, Due South, other humorous, and other serious.
This year's winners were: [snipped, see list below]
I was too involved with art show to remember to get my vote in on time, but I thought the choices were fairly reasonable this time (unlike some years when my vote counted, but was overwhelmed by the votes of dirty old women with strange tastes, but then that's always one of the attractions of Revelcon. :-)
This year, there is going to be a tape made of the entries, and we will try to mention it here when it is finalized.
The art show was smaller than normal this year, perhaps due to a late start in contacting artists, and it seemed that pieces didn't really get enough bids to go to auction. On the other hand there was quite a bit of variety in the art that was there and a pretty fair number of people bought art, so on the whole we wound up with happy buyers who got what they wanted and generally happy artists who sold art. Even Margaret and I with a fairly minimal budget wound up the proud owners of a hatching reptile with an attitude.
Most years, stuff for the charity auction comes drifting in, but this year we only had one item. Margaret suggested that I ask Candy if she had mentioned it to the dealers. I found a slightly frazzled Candace and emphasizing that I WAS NOT volunteering, suggested she have someone talk to the dealers. She grinned wickedly and informed me that I HAD TOO volunteered. I hate salesmen and pushy people and am not very good at that sort of thing, so with some (a lot) of reluctance I began to make the rounds of the dealers room to go through the motions. The generosity of the dealers was overwhelming and took me completely by surprise. I still can't believe it. They were not donating stuff that wouldn't sell, they were invariably donating some really neat items, a lot of it fairly expensive. And every single dealer but two did that, and one of those was Several Unlimited which was selling everything on commission, and even there several individual members donated something on their own. So the short art auction was compensated for by the really impressive charity auction. I know some of you get the Info Alert, so I want to say "Thanks, Guys", both on my own behalf and on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation who is the beneficiary of your thoughtfulness.
Speaking of Several Unlimited, we spent a bit more time hanging out with them at Revelcon than has been our habit, and found it enjoyable. Essentially they provide their own programming track during REVELcon. The political discussion got a little too intense for Margaret at one point, but otherwise it was neat hanging around a group that spends some time thinking about life, the universe, and everything. (Wait, that sounds familiar.) At one point Clif raised the question, that given that some older TV was now unacceptable due to racial depictions, or due to now unacceptable depictions of the use of tobacco or alcohol, what was there in current TV that would be unacceptable in the future. The opinion was nearly unanimous that it would be the depiction of violence. Several people mentioned in support that while sexual attitudes were more relaxed in England and Europe, tolerance of depicted violence was much less. Interestingly the lone dissenter was a fan with a British accent who maintained that it was just the opposite.
(We also appreciate the Several Unlimited food run while we were tied up on Sunday).
The Revelcon Costume Contest & Cabaret featured 7 official entries, but Jan Meek had a non-entry and as always, MC Glenda, was an act in herself. Laurie Keeper and a group calling themselves the Magnificent 7 stole the show, but special thanks to Jan Meek and especially Anne Smith for reasons some of you will understand.
The REVELcon Web page is at http://www.clever.net/cam/revelcon.html and if you click on Revelcon 10 you will find the official "After the Con Report". There are Con Tee Shirts and Totes that are sold out and being reordered, but you need to contact Candace IMMEDIATELY. You also want to check back as there were digital photos taken at the con and they will be appearing, a few at a time, real soon now. And of course you can also click on REVELcon 11 (AKA REVELcon Y2K) to start getting ready for next year!"[11]
1999 Vid Show
"We had 17 entries from 7 entrants (or groups). Based on our rules, we had 4 categories to vote in: Voyager, Due South, Humorous and Serious. Winners are listed below:
Playlist
Gen
- Broadway Melody – m/m – Lorraine Anderson
- Yoda – Star Wars – Lorraine Anderson
- This Is It – Quantum Leap – Lorraine Anderson
- Time Warp – Doctor Who – Lorraine Anderson
- Harvey – 2001 – Lorraine Anderson
- When Seconds Count – Star Trek: Voyager – Jackie Edwards (winner)
- Rebel Son – Star Trek: Voyager – Jackie Edwards
- Dante’s Prayer – Titanic – Morgan Dawn & Justine Bennett (winner)
- Pressure – The Sentinel – Central Consortium
- Back Of Your Mind – Babylon 5 – Central Consortium
Slash
- Full Of Grace – Due South – Morgan Dawn & Justine Bennett
- True Colors – The Professionals – Morgan Dawn & Justine Bennett
- Iris – Highlander – Central Consortium
- Last To Know – Due South – Dementia Ink (listed as adult instead of slash)
- Movin’ On Up – Due South – Dementia Ink (winner)
- What Might Have Been – Due South – Dementia Ink
Costume Contest & Cabaret
"We had 7 entrants (or groups), the winners below as well as Dolores Sailors, Mark Manning, the Intergalactic Klingon Empire as well as a non-entry by Jan Meek.
- 1st Place: Magnificent 7 - presented a retrospective on Buddy Fandom thru the Ages
- 2nd Place: Ann Collins Smith - led audience in filk she & friend did at REVELcon Uno)
- 3rd Place: Laurie Keeper - satire (or slapstick) skit about Titanic.[13]
References
- ^ Fun Convention Memories, Archived version
- ^ from Frienz #29
- ^ from Strange Bedfellows (APA) #9
- ^ from Strange Bedfellows (APA) #9
- ^ Fun Convention Memories, Archived version
- ^ from a longer printed version of the same online convention report.
- ^ from a longer printed version of the same online convention report.
- ^ [www.members.aol.com/erikaf/su/conrev.htm REVELCON 1997], Archived version
- ^ by A. Kite, March 25, 1998 at alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated
- ^ Convention report by Anne Collins Smith, Archived version
- ^ REVELcon 10 - Con Report (Unofficial), Archived version
- ^ REVELcon 10, Archived version
- ^ REVELcon 10, Archived version