my FiestaCon/WesterCon schedule

Here's my schedule for the coming weekend's FiestaCon/WesterCon. If you can't connect with me at my panels, try my wife's schedule, further down.

Yes, I'm still working on that steampunk-movie talk. Not quite. I am done with the talk itself, which now clocks in at 31 minutes. I stayed up until 2am last night to work on the talk's slideshow component, and I reached the conclusion that I have too many photos so I'm going to have to decide which movie or TV show really needs more than one. Still, no matter how harsh I have to be, there's no way I can excise that photo of Salma Hayek, or the one of the giant mechanical spider.

SCI-FI MOVIES - THE BEST AND THE WORST

Are wagon-train-goes-to-the-stars movies like Star Trek and Serenity really the best movies? Should we choose the best from movies like Contact and Forbidden Planet? Plan 9 was the worst, we pretty much all agree…what was the runner-up? Message from Space? Ice Pirates?
Thursday 4p-5p, Capistrano room. Kevin Birnbaum (moderator), Serge

COMICBOOKS TO THE BIG SCREEN

What are the particular difficulties of adapting them to film? The first X-Men movie went for the essence of the characters, if not their specifics. Some fans would have liked the Watchmen movie to have adhered more closely to the original book.
Friday 2p-3p, Palm E room. Tony Parker (moderator), Serge, Kay Pannell, Susan Krinard

STEAMPUNK LITERATURE

Discussion of roots of steampunk and examples of novels starting with Jules Verne and ending with China Mieville. What elements need to be present? Is location significant? Will it gain in popularity?
Saturday 10a-11a, Xavier room. Michael Contos, Serge

PUN-FIGHT AT THE ADD CORRAL

For this outlaw gang, a battle of wits is a form of unarmed combat. Take a holiday, doc, and join us for an hour of free-flowing and completely unfocused wordplay. It's enough to make you earp…
Saturday 11a-noon, Palm F. Randall Whitlock (moderator) Serge, Tom Tuerff, Richard Christ

STEAMPUNK MOVIES

A light discussion of the history of steampunk in Hollywood. An obvious one is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but how many others can you name and how do they compare? What stories would adapt well to film that you’d like to see on the big screen?
Saturday 2p-3p, Capistrano room. Serge (moderator), Michael Contos

Here is the schedule of my wife, Susan Krinard.

COMICBOOKS TO THE BIG SCREEN

What are the particular difficulties of adapting them to film? The first X-Men movie went for the essence of the characters, if not their specifics. Some fans would have liked the Watchmen movie to have adhered more closely to the original book.
Friday 2p-3p, Palm E room. Tony Parker (moderator), Serge, Kay Pannell, Susan Krinard

KAFFEEKLATSCH
Saturday 2p-3p, Abbey North room

HOW TO FIND A GOOD SF SHOW

What are the signs to look for in a new TV show that might indicate a ‘keeper.’ What can you, the fan, do to help promote it in its infancy and contribute to its success? What are the signs of a failing show? Can you predict a troubled show by gimmicks or tactics employed? Does the SciFi Channel give us what we like/want?
Sun 10a-11a, Capistrano room. Susan Krinard (moderator), Jean Palmer

I hope to see some of you there!