FinnCon 2006

[emmuzka]

The annual Finnish science fiction convention Finncon is now over for this year. Good times, money spent, memories gathered. There was a anime convention there at the same time and because of that, the amount of people was staggering. Because of the moderate size of the convention center, only 3500 persons were allowed to in at a time and in Saturday, the security personnel had to keep people from coming in because of the safety limit of 3500. Also, almost all the programs were full and people were left outside in some anime programs because they simply didn’t fit in. Maybe it would be the time to arrange the anime con as a separate from Finncon the next time, hm?

I was in the program, too. I was the leader of speech in the con’s one and only fan fiction program, a panel. I have nice, if somewhat ill-experienced panelists, and against for what I had feared, a full audience. I had decided to make the panel fun and fast paced and I think I succeeded well. We managed to lower down from the nice, decent meta level of “What is slash” and discussed things like incest and real people in slash, instead. Yes, it think it went well. Yay.

For overall, I think that there was too much panel discussions in the con. This showed when one saw trough many panels and noticed that some of the panelist were in on several panels and a lot of panelists were the arranging personnel. Even if this made it look like that it had been hard to find people for the panels, there could be as many as five (plus the leader of the speech) is some. That is definitely too much people for a panel discussion. Also, if one makes a show which is supposed to emulate a talk show (only there are fantasy characters discussing about their feelings), you'd better find out some people who can actually talk! Without stuttering and stuff. The thing felt like bad amateur theater and it was painful to watch.

As there things go, I used a way too much money. The merchendice wasn’t this year that much of science fiction than manga for the anime people. There was even a separate big yaoi table within the biggest seller. I didn’t buy *that much*, but I did look up for the publishers’ names to look up their internet stores ;)

Despite *feeling cheap*, I used too much. I burned some in the “Destroy the unwanted merchendice”, but what the hell, it went to the good cause. Pasi Jääskeläinen’s latest book cost like a bitch, especially as I’m sure that I could buy it with a bargain price six months later. Eventually my wad of cash dried out (and after that, I
*almost* bought manga worth 86 eurs from the only vendor that approved visa).

I met numerous people in my frinds list, but only had the time to chat with some of them. A pity, but thats the way it goes. If they will ever be a fan fiction con in Finland, there should be a lot of free time for just chatting and making new friends. Fan fiction con.. Hmm..

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

"Fanficon"?

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

MAybe we should register the name? ;)

[omega-h.livejournal.com]

Fan fiction con..

Don't you have a lot of space now for a gathering of some kind? :)

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Yes, *in Turku*, where I don't live at the moment. But I was thinking about a hundred people, so... In a few years this could be realistic vanture.

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

*Realistic venture. Duh!

[sua-lay.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

Don't even mention all the money spending....

Sat through three different panels, and I have to say that the one you moderated was the best. Not that it's actually huge praise, considering the crappy quality of the other ones. :P Also, the time for the panels were way too short; we hardly had the time to have any kind of participation /questioning in the other panels.

Actually having a whole afternoon for fanfic wouldn't be a bad idea. Maybe a small corner for reading zines, meeting other people and so on. Now I got the feeling of rushing around headlessly.

Not that I don't always feel like that...

And hell yeah! A separate animecon would be good. And not just so that I wouldn't be tempted by the naughty yaoi in sale everywhere.

I feel like I'm being totally random here... Sorry. :D

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Hm, if I would push my self in to the organizing comitee for the next FinnCon in Helsinki (2008?), I might be able to push a little fan fiction con to the side, at least if the anime con goes. And think that the anime con thingy used to be the itty bitty side-show-con only a few years ago.

[sua-lay.livejournal.com]

Yay for fanficcon!

Also, as I made it sound kinda silly previously, let me repeat and with more tact here: We totally loved you as a moderator in your panel! It was funny but not stupidly so, and you actually kept in the topic and did what moderators were supposed to do.

Notice that I'm not making evil comments about those who didn't.

*hugs*

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! I think that some of the convention organizing people thought so, too. It might have been a risk to ask me since I don't know if they had ever seen me performing before this. At lest the timing gopher looked me up today to say that even when she wouldn't have go see the panel without her gopher duty, she enjoyed it much. Which is a nice thing to do.

[anglepoiselamp.livejournal.com]

Man, that would be awesome! I volunteer to help - although I suspect that if there really would be a fanfic con in Finland, you wouldn't be short for eager helpers. :)

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Arranging a fic con on the side could be a realistic idea sometime, this definitely needs to be remembered.

the number of helpers: Twenty. The number of attendees: Twenty (but not the same twenty!) ;)

[twindouble.livejournal.com]

Shall I mention this fanficon in our next finncon07-meeting? Are you really ready for it, since I expect that our conitea will like the idea...

[teroyks.livejournal.com]

With those numbers, I don’t think arranging it as a con all by its own is at all unrealistic.

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Oh, I remember when I envied the Sentinel Cons held in the States back in the days. It was always "Let's rent a motel and stay there a weekend, I can lend a portable white creen!"

Maybe it really isn't the size that maters..

[teroyks.livejournal.com]

Definitely not. Go for it, I say!

Remember that a "big con" in Sweden, for example, is something upwards from 200 members. So 40 members would be quite standard smallish convention in many places, I think. It's just that the Finns are often blinded by the notion that anything below Finncon isn't really a con at all – which is of course totally incorrect.

[arye-sarin.livejournal.com]

the next FinnCon in Helsinki (2008?)

Finncon 2008 is in Tampere. At least according to plans.

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Oops?

*Looks at dlasta innocently*

[ele5.livejournal.com]

Fanfiction con? Oh, YES.

The panel went really well. It was enjoyable. I've once listened to a presentation about yaoi in Australia and it was okay, and the person who was talking obviously knew much about her subject (or had done a decent research first). But she giggled and only scraped the very surface and concentrated on telling people that it was okay to read yaoi.

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Hey, that's a pretty good idea. I didn't think that my presentation of the subject was all about How it was okay to read slash/mpreg/incest/queer fics, but actually, that truly was the spirit of the panel.

[deiann.livejournal.com]

Hey! :) Was there listening to yer slash panel at Finncon and just wanted to drop by and say I enjoyed it! Thanks! :))

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

You are welcome! And is that John/Carson icon? Isn't that, like heretic? ;)

[deiann.livejournal.com]

Ahhhahahaha! ;) Why yes, it is a John/Carson icon and I'm sure many would say it's heretic.. ;P *g* But I don't care, they're my OTP on SGA!! :D I will not go into details, but they are soinloveOMG! ;P And I just absolutely ♥ Beckett, bless his soul. :)) I've gotten all excited about Radek/Rodney lately too though, which is bizarre 'cos I sorta can't stand Rodney that much. But Radek is just brilliant and cute! :D I suppose he has a good influence on Rodney then. ;P *g*

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Can't stand Rodney?! Are you sure that you are well? Everybody lover Rodney! SGA is the Rodney show! What next, you are secretly a Sheppard/Weir shipper ?!
;)

[deiann.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm quite well thank you. ;) Rodney has funny lines and stuff sure, but I suppose I just can't stand him being so.. self-centered? :) Plus the fact that there are lots and lots of interesting characters in SGA and when Rodney gets all the hype and the others not so much.. well, it makes me dislike Rodney. It's not his fault (though he certainly isn't the most likeable person in Atlantis ;)), but that's what happens. :) Sheppard is pretty popular as well I suppose, but he's not obnoxious and cocky, etc. ;) so I haven't developed any negative feelings towards him. ;) If I really start analyzing this I think I feel like Rodney is the cocky, smartass kid who doesn't do his homework, but still gets good grades and then has the audacity to brag about his superiority to the other kids while they have to work hard to keep their grades good. And all this he does with the doting approval of the parents, who cheer him on in his path towards bloody godhood. *sigh* Okay, so I'm not bitter, a bit tart perhaps. ;P Just my two cents. :)

And yick, there shall never come a time when I will start shipping Shep/Weir!! :[ But Shep/Teyla is my OTP2. ;)

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.. Have you seen the thirs season episode with the "nice guy"? (303?) Where everyone pretty much fall in love with because of the weird potion? In the beginnig, when they have just met the guy and Rodney says something, everybody starts to laugh at him. And what does he do? He just accepts it, shuts his mouth and hangs his head ashamed. I think that as a kid, he just had to be the abboying kid standing above the others because otherwise he would have been the one that everyone else ridiculed. Thinks me.

See? Us fan ficcers can psycho analyse everything ;)

[deiann.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've seen Irresistible. And I think you do have a point there, since Rodney does come across a tad uncertain at times, at least to me. It could be a survival strategy of sorts to keep reminding other people of his brilliance and making sure he's nearly unreplacable.

Alas, the poor woobie gets no fan squees from me, unless he's accompanied by Radek/whilst in the midst of a hot make out session with Radek. ;P *g*

*lol* Yes, fan ficcers tend to have a knack for analyzing stuff. ;) Must say I'm surprised that I had this much to say on the subject, I tend to be more like "Ugh. Wood. Ugh. Me make fire." ;)