Notes from the Convention

Shore Leave is like visiting old friends and family. This is the 31st con and I’ve been to all but four of them. The show remains a writer friendly haven and the authors adore getting together and trading stories, shots, and friendly banter. As a result of being around so long, the show has also gained a deserved reputation for being a great experience for the guests and word travels in Hollywood circles, so when invited, just about everyone says yes.The con has become home to several traditions. In a little while, Peter David, Mike Friedman and I will take the stage to perform Mystery Trekkie Theater, an ongoing skewering of Trek since 1992.On Friday, a new tradition seems to have been born. The Roast of Keith DeCandido was rude, crude and very, very funny. We laughed ourselves silly listening to our peers insult us and then mock Keith mercilessly.  As roast master, I did the introduction, hurling jibes at everyone throughout the night but as we got a little looser, I admit to flubbing my readings by laughing at some of the jokes I was delivering (image me as Harvey Korman and you’ll understand). I got some very nice compliments afterwards so I guess it went well. The video clips were hysterical and Kirsten Beyer, home in Los Angeles given her ninth month of pregnancy, sent in a clip that stole the show. Best, we raised about $1300 for the American Red Cross in Robbie’s name.And by the end of the Meet the Authors party later that evening, David Mack, our ringleader, was already planning next year. By Saturday night, as we shut down the bar, things had changed but started to coalesce. So, once more it looks like I will conduct the roast of another author.My programming beyond that was the standard stuff: Saturday I blathered on about my life and my career, taking up more time than usual on that and had to be ruthless as to which movie trailers to show. Sunday morning was the Bob and Howie Show which has a loyal following and we had fun as usual.  My other programming was some panels which went fine but for a change, I did not judge the masquerade. It was a smaller than usual collection, a mere 19 entries, but with one or two exceptions they were all amazing and judging the best of the best would have been tough.I even managed to get some work in on Friday afternoon along with having a few meetings here with people on some percolating projects so it was more productive than usual.Deb and I delighted at watching the Boogie Knights, with Kate. They took requests for a change and as fate would have it, the first song picked was one I requested and featured, who else, my daughter. What a treat!Also, 17 people signed up to participate in the Memorial Poker Tournament, including long-time pals Mike W. Barr, Glenn Hauman and retailer Herb McCullough. Also playing and making it to the final table was Dollhouse‘s Miracle Laurie. Jack won the night and deservedly so. At the final table, he had a moment of silence for Robbie and apparently they all told Robbie stories throughout the night so that was pretty terrific.