THE GOOD:
1. Having fun with Art Scott, Patti Abbott, Jeff and Jackie Meyerson, Angela Crider Neary (and her husband, Tom), Marv and Carol Lachman, Rick Ollerman, Ted Hertel, Beth Fedyn, Ted Fitzgerald, Gary Warren Niebubr, Thom Walls, Maggie Mason, Richard Moore, James Reasoner, Scott Cupp, Joe R. Lansdale, Paul Bishop, Janet Rudolph, and George Easter.
2. Art Scott’s incredible “The Art of the Paperback Mystery” slide show (more on that later)
3. The Hyatt Regency provided a wonderful venue for BOUCHERCON #50. Spacious rooms, quick elevators, and numerous (though sometimes cavernous) meeting rooms.
4. All the panels that celebrated our friend, Bill Crider. Bill got a lot of love at BOUCHERCON #50. Angela hosted a wonderful remembrance event, too!
THE BAD:
1. The BOUCHERCON #50 folks decided to go with a third party to provide for equipment needs instead of using the Hyatt Regency A/V staff. BIG MISTAKE! Despite the fact that Art Scott and I made our equipment needs known months ago–and were assured everything would be ready for our presentations–both Art and I found no equipment in our meeting room a half hour before our events were supposed to start! I alerted some BOUCHERCON staff when I found no projector or screen for my POWERPOINT representation. With minutes to spare, the A/V guys delivered a projector and the smallest screen I’ve ever seen. But, I also needed an HDMI-C chord to connect the laptop with the POWERPOINT presentation to the projector. The A/V guys didn’t have a HDMI-C chord! I was in despair, but my son, Patrick figured out a work-around as my panel was about to begin. My daughter, Katie ran the POWERPOINT presentation never missing a cue!
2. The next day, Art Scott encountered the same lack of equipment problem. I could have moderated my panel without my POWERPOINT presentation, but there’s no way Art could have simulated his presentation of paperback artwork without a projector. But, just in time, a projector and a miniature screen were found and set up. Art decided the mini-screen was just too small so he just projected the images on the wall of the meeting room and that worked fine. The audience loved it!
3. Poor Ted Hertel’s panel, “BOUCHERCON Reminiscences,” confronted a huge meeting room where people were eating lunch, no table on the dias, no microphones, and mass confusion when he tried to straighten things out. The panel was delayed about 10 minutes while a crew of burly men lugged tables in and set them up on the stage and hooked up some hand-held microphones. Not elegant, but it allowed the panel to get started.
THE UGLY:
This might be my last BOUCHERCON.
Thanks for this report, George!
Haven’t been to a con in many years – the German ones weren’t too interesting …
I remember Boucher’s time at F&SF – great stories!
PS and rather OT:
I just learned from wiki that he pronounced his name like “voucher” – of course I always used the French pronunciation … 🙂
Yes, wolf, Boucher is pronounced like voucher.
George- exaggerated the bad a little, but the technical glitches were almost the only problems, and at a 1700 person convention, that’s not bad.
We had a great time for the most part.
My othercnegative: almost no restaurants in walking distance other than the ones in the hotel. They were good, though.
We’re at the airport Marriott, heading home this morning. We’re skipping next year but plan on New Orleans 2021.
Jeff, I don’t really blame the A/V guys. When they showed up, they did their jobs well. But someone in the BOUCHERCON chain-of-command needed to focus on meeting room preparations. It was wonderful to see you and Jackie in Dallas!
Wolf, I’ve been to 20 BOUCHERCONs and enjoyed myself at all of them. Much more fun than the Science Fiction conventions I’ve attended.
My one Bcon was also a much more warm environment than the speculative-fiction-fan cons I’ve gone to…not sure if cf folks are less clannish by nature, less blase still about the convention experience, or some combination of this and perhaps other factors.
I’ve had some diva behavior aimed at me at the CF cons I’ve been to, but less of it than at SF cons.
Todd, I hope you can attend some BOUCHERCONs in the coming years. They’re fun!
Favorite comment: George called the truly cavernous meeting room for his panel “The Bat Cave.”
The ceiling was 50 feet high!
But it was one of the best panels I went to. Jackie’s problem was the weak “hospitality” room. Every time she tried to get tea, the hot water urn was empty.
Jeff, thanks for kind words. Yes, the huge room reminded me of “The Bat Cave.” Jackie’s right about the “hospitality” room. And, no Coke or Pepsi (or Dr. Pepper!)…only bottled water.
My 4th time saying this in the past week: There is no period in Dr Pepper.
Bob, sorry. I keep forgetting about that period.
Yes, there did not seem to me as many amenities as in the past. Or I missed them. Thanks for Jeff, Jackie, George and Diane, I had a lot of fun. It am not good at this sost of thing although I did get to know a couple of lyft drivers pretty well. I will get to mine later.
Patti, we’re so glad you decided to attend BOUCHERCON #50. Diane, Patrick, Katie, and I enjoyed our dinner together. And your performance on our panel was first-rate!
George, Jackie wants to know why no more Bouchercons. What about New Orleans?
Jeff, see my comment to Rick. There’s an outside chance Diane and Katie might be attending the BOUCHERCON in New Orleans. Our niece lives near Deb. But I’ll be staying home.
Sounds pretty typical, doesn’t seem possible to have a Bouchercon without glitches. Glad you all had fun. So no one is coming west for next year? Too bad.
George, why no more B’cons????????????????
Rick, I hate to travel. I loved traveling when I was young, but each year I’m burdened with more stuff: CPAP machine, humidifier, WaterPik. And then the Drug Bag full of medications. I’m not sure I can endure the hassle of long trips any more. It took a full day to travel to Dallas (with a stop in Chicago to change planes). Same with the return trip: a stop in Baltimore and a night landing (which I hate) in Buffalo. Too long, too fatiguing. I’m dragging today.
George, I’m feeling with you!
I have similar experience: CPAP (no humidifier though needed – yet), all my medicine (6 pills in the morning, 1 after lunch, 3 in the evening after dinner) and I have to go to the toilet, sorry restroom so often.
My back hurts when I have to sleep in a “harder” bed – we have a waterbed in both our houses, Germany and Hungary.
Seven or eight years ago it was still different! We visited my wife’s nephew in Nahville and from there went to the coast, from Charleston down to Titusville (Space Center), on to Orlando and back, staying in hotels just for one or two nights.
I’d hate to do something similar today – just managed to go to Munich for two nights, taking part in my nephew’s wedding.
I feel so lucky that we did many holidays when I was younger – my wife feels the same.
When people tell me they’re hardworking and will relax after retiring I always tell them not to wait – you might be too weak/sick for holidays when you’re older!
Wolf, well said! I enjoyed travel in my younger days. I loved to go to new places. But I’ve seen almost everything I want to see. The logistics of travel and the overhead of equipment and pills and injection supplies wears me down. It’s not fun any more.
Aw, your change your mind by the time the next B’con rolls around. Think of all the fun, and people!
Rick, I never say never…but a trip to Sacramento is unlikely.
Air travel certainly has taken a turn for the worse over the decades. All sympathies.
Todd, it’s not just the terrible travel experience from the TSA frisking to the boarding process to the cramped accommodations on the plane to night landings. It’s lugging around a lot of equipment and drugs that require refrigeration.
Some people are coming. Beth is, and I am guessing the West Coast people are going. It is our 50th Anniversary next October and we will be doing something else.
I’m sure seeing old friends made up for the glitches. I am looking forward to reading reports from the attendees about the various panels. I have only attended one Bouchercon, in St Paul during the 1990s, and doubt if I will ever go again. I did enjoy that one, but I knew several people who travelled to it from Winnipeg including the owners of our local mystery bookstore. I don’t enjoy large conventions where I don’t know anybody.
Kent, I love BOUCHERCON because of the people, the panels, and the fun. If I could just teleport to BOUCHERCON, I’d go to all of them! I wish you had made it to one of the TORONTO BOUCHERCONs. I could have introduced you to some wonderful people, some of whom comment on this blog!
Kent, after Sacramento and New Orleans, it will be back in Minneapolis again. I agree, the main reason we go is to see friends.
Thanks for the report! One thing has bothered me about the Denim, Diamonds, and Death: What do diamonds have to do with it? The Diamond Anniversary? If so, it’s awkward!
Bob, I think the “Diamonds” was just alliteration.