Seacon'03: Eastercon 2003

[Programme Book]

The 54th British Easter Science Fiction Convention
18--21 April 2003, Hanover International Hotel, Hinckley


GoHs: Mary Gentle (unable to attend due to work commitments), Chris Evans , Fangorn (Chris Baker).


[How do you like your stake?]

The second Eastercon in the bizarre, but friendly, Hanover Hinckley . The facilities were again excellent: good function room space, friendly staff, and continuous food: the lunch and dinner menu this time varied from day to day, and even had some surprising items [the graffiti reads: I know we all watch Buffy, but this is ridiculous! ]. The mushrooms were again in plentiful supply. What is it with Eastercons and breakfast mushrooms? One speculation: "I'm eating as far from my species as possible".

One of the serendipitous moments was catching a bunch of Dr Who clips brilliantly edited together to Bonnie Tyler's rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart .


Programme highlights


[Nigel Furlong]

Nigel Furlong -- Thunderbirds are Go!

On disaster management and the real International Rescue


[panel]

Panel -- Milestones in 20th Century TV and film

Steve Green, Tony Berry, Judith Proctor, Dave Lally

[This panel worked well, because the discipline of keeping to the decades stopped it degenerating too quickly into "name your favorite show"]


Eastercon Anecdotes

Pat McMurray, Peter Weston


[Alan Kobayashi]

Alan Kobayashi -- From Star Fleet to Earth Force


[Man in White Coat + cardboard cutout]

Julian Headlong -- I Am Spike's Liver

On haematopoiesis and poetry, Vampire biochemistry and quantum wibble


{short description of image}

Panel -- Milestones in 20th Century comics

Steve Lawson, Fangorn, Julian Headlong, Gary Wilkinson, Malcolm Davies


Simon Conway Morris -- Meeting the Aliens

The 4th Science Fiction Foundation George Hay Memorial Science Lecture


Interview

Justina Robson , Roz Kaveney


[Fangorn]

GoH talk -- Fangorn on Art

Chris Baker


{short description of image}

Panel -- Not Just the Bookjackets: the wider use of SF art

Pete Young, Steve Jeffrey, Colin Langeveld, Dave Hardy

is computer generated -- weird cross between Mondrian and Jackson Pollock
  • with Painter, can take a photograph, and make it "look like" a Van Gogh, pastel, water colour, ...
  • are SF paintings exhibited outside cons?
  • Final Fantasy -- completely computer-generated, everything, even the hair
  • how do you get an "original" digital picture?
  • art is often judged outside its original context
  • what kind of art does the panel have in their houses?

  • Panel -- SF as It is Writ , or, The Aesthetics and the Ecstasy

    Farah Mendlesohn, Jon Courtenay Grimwood , Chris Evans, M. John Harrison , Paul Kincaid


    Panel -- 100 TB is enough

    Dave O'Neill, Martin Easterbrook, Robert Sneddon


    Panel -- Not The Clarke Awards

    Paul Billinger, Jon Courtenay Grimwood , Claire Brialey, Steve Jeffrey, Farah Mendlesohn

    A discussion of this year's Arthur C Clarke shortlist.

    [ The Separation later won the ACC Award]


    Duncan Steel -- God's Longitude: the secret astronomical reason why the British colonised North America


    Panel -- Milestones in 20th Century science and technology

    Duncan Steel, Julian Headlong, Gary Wilkinson, Simon Bradshaw


    Masquerade

    Nearly all the entrants were chaos costumes, to an amazingly high standard.


    Panel -- Back into Space?

    After Columbia, what happens next? Should we even try?

    Gerry Webb, Colin Jack, Dave O'Neill, Simon Bradshaw