Hilary Booth... of course!

Media West signups are online here. I see a few things calling my name, including a few new suspects. (Please let me not kill the airlines this year?) I still haven't heard word one from the con hotel whether I'm in or out. I may dig out my ticket and call them up and see where I stand. I really really don't like the alternatives.

There is a small MWC community: mwcontripdiary

I'm so ready for a vacation.

I realized last night while talking to my parents that I'm switching in and out of time zones on the trip to Lansing. That's going to be weird. Not nearly as weird as the train trip from Virginia to Alabama where we were several hours late to begin with, switched time zones, and then also got the daylight savings "Spring Forward" as an added bonus. I had no clue what time it was by the time I arrived in Tuscaloosa. Oh, the things I miss from those days... and don't miss.

At least I won't have Dad's enjoyment of O'Hare at like 3 a.m. many years ago. There is that.

Don't get excited. I haven't heard from HIS yet. But I need to dig out my ticket number fast, because with all my purse fiasco last year, my credit card number changed. I'm hoping they'll contact me first if there's an issue like that, but I'm more afraid they'll send me straight to the waiting list. I think the last time I planned Media West this late in the game was that first spur of the moment year.

Nashville Star is over again. 29 year old Angela Hacker from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, was the victor, beating her brother Zac. She has a big soulful voice that'll remind you of Bonnie Raitt. On a random alumni note, she won me over completely last night when during the finale rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama", she added in "Roll Tide Roll!" Many thoughts and good wishes to that corner of the South after all the storms and tornadoes. That is the part I don't miss about Alabama at all.

ETA: Panicked over nothing. They don't charge the card when they process the application. That's a load off my mind. I still need to find the membership anyway and scowl at the mail if it brings me a waiting list notice.

The last day of the con brought the usual closing down and hugs and goodbyes. neadods and I wound up on the same flight to Detroit so we spent a lot of time together waiting at the airport. She let me borrow her Wurlitzer to listen to the first half of Big Finish audio "Storm Warning". Being a zeppelin/airship geek, I was amused by the way they used a historical event for their purposes. The R-101 did crash and did take a British Air Minister with it. There will probably be some burblings over the background and accuracy of said usage, possibly with pictures. I spotted a couple of things that weren't quite right. I understand why they did it, but it's still annoying.

At the Detroit airport, we went our seperate ways since she was headed to BWI and me to Reagan. The flight was uneventful, but it took forever to get our bags. I think they must have had only one working conveyer belt.

And now I'm home. The apartment doesn't seem to have fared too badly while I was gone, comparatively speaking. (When your hotel is over 60% humidity, anything is seen as a vast improvement, even it isn't really.) I'll probably set the dehumidifier to its paces anyway.

David Tennant's "Secret Smile" is playing on BBC America right now. They'll repeat it later in evening and the second part follows the next night. He was even skating. I'm now picturing him and Barrowman skating around together. Bad girl, you've come under dark influences...

For those who are just returning or need to catch up, my reports from both journals:
Media West Day 1/2
Media West Day 2
Media West Day 3
Early report
Fannish recap

Only because I don't want to be singing "I don't know where I'm going to go when the volcano blows" all day...

Time to officially flail. I'm leaving for the con and while I'm mentally and emotionally ready to go, the physical packing isn't quite there yet. Thankfully I'm leaving early and will have some time before I have to be at the airport. I swear the MP3 player and various cds had it in for me last night. Usually it's easy to pull the tracks into Musicmatch and add them to the player. Every cd I picked up wouldn't trigger the automatic track listings... And I still can't figure out where I put the confirmation slip from the hotel. I'm going to call them today, if all else fails. And I would flail over the weather forecast for later today...

I posted a scan of the second Pocket Dragon pattern I'm working on, called "Scary Book". As you can see, the background is mostly what is left. I'm bringing that and one other project to the con for off moments. Waiting in line on Friday morning usually allows for a "moment of quiet reflection" as Giles would say.

The Washington Post's Book World columnist Michael Dirda weighed in on the discussion of digitizing books. He pointed out the flaws in the system where you could potentially have several different versions of a text online, so which is the "right" one? He was looking for a Thoreau quote and found three different variations. And what happens if you digitize a mistake or typo from a "bad" edition?

I did like this description of the actual art of reading a book:

All this said, I think that tactile, manual encounter with a physical object is important to reading. One needs to turn pages, mark favorite passages, scribble in margins, carry the book in your purse or pocket, reread favorite passages, stare at it on your bookshelf. It would be a great diminution of the reading experience to miss out on these.

Okay maybe only stare at it and wonder if I'd read it...

This has been a depressing weekend for sports. Both Bama and Redskins lost at the last minute. I know, I know, they gave a good ole try... *cries in my Sunkist*

On the bright side, I received a confirmation letter from Media West's hotel, so at least I don't have to worry about those arrangements. Instead I can plan my door. Do I want a Sheppard door or do I go with my fannish Jacks door I came up with last year? Decisions, decisions...