LOSCON 29 PROGRAMMING

We are looking forward to a great range of programs for this year's LosCon.   Along with the traditional panels that fans have come to enjoy, there are some new ideas that we think you might like.   As of this current moment, we are looking at offering panels on current events, fan history, writing, media, science and fantasy.   We will also be offering some 'hands-on' panels, allowing you the chance to build, among other things, your very own Light Saber!   Our list of guests keeps growing (a preliminary list can be viewed on the Guests of Honor page) and we plan on bringing you a full range of enjoyable events.   Send your ideas to Ed Green via Loscon29.Programming@loscon.org.

Click Here to View a Spreadsheet Version of the Convention Panel Programming.

Listed Below is the Program List of Panels at LosCon 29:

A LITTLE STYLE

Learn the tips for bringing style to a Convention

A WOMAN'S WORK IS ALMOST DONE?

More and more; female characters are taking center stage in SF/Fantasy stories. Is the battle for Sexual Equality in SF finally won?

ABOUT FACE ON FILMS!

Films our panelists have changed their opinions on.

ACCEPTANCE, TOLERANCE AND OTHER FANNISH LIES

We say we're opened minded and accepting of other people without being judgmental. What if you arrive in a suit?

AFTER THE SPACE STATION, THEN WHAT?

We've got plans.

ALTERNATE HISTORIES: THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY

Ideas our panelists really want to sell, as soon as they find an editor to go along. Can you help?

ART SHOW AUCTION

Bring money

BAD IDEAS IN SF

Things that looked good the first time out, but when you think about them...

BALKANIZATION OF FANDOM

Some see costumers, fanziners, filkers, con-runners, wincing apart, Is there room for a generalist? Can we get along?

BRAD LINAWEAVER AND DAFYDD AB HUGH

A discussion

BREAKING THROUGH THE CELLOPHANE BARRIER

Can you have a career in animation? Ask our panelists * they've been around cells for years (though never put inside!)

BREAKTHROUGHS THAT ARE ALL THROUGH

Remember payphones? Snail Mail? Long Division? What's the next cultural icon that technology is about to lay waste to?

BRUCE PELZ, FATHER, HUSBAND, FAN

A panel for us to remember the passing of one own, and one of the legends of fandom.

BUFFY, ANGEL AND SPIKE - WHO'S REALLY A HERO HERE??

Vampires are evil, right? That's why we have Buffy around. But what about characters like Angel and Spike? They're trying to redeem themselves, right? Or are they victims of a cosmic three strikes law.

CARTOONS IN THE MORNING!

Tom Safer presents Toons to start the day. You'll have to provide your own Frosted Flakes.

CASSINI PROJECT SLIDE SHOW

CREATING, DEVELOPING AND SELLING AN ANIMATED SERIES

The producers of A Girl's World tells you how to do this. Note: This panel is limited in space to 20 attendees. Please sign up in advance at the Information Booth.

CROSSOVER NOVELS: WRITING THE SF MYSTERY

The ties between SF and Mystery go back to the days of Pulps. Our panelists discuss this popular melding of genes!

CTHULU@ELDERGODS.ORG?

Lovecraft's classic works, can they make the transition to the 21st Century.

DANGEROUS VISIONS DROPS ITS BRICKS!

Dangerous Visions Bookstore, has closed its physical doors in favor of electronic business only. closed. Come join our panel as we hold a memorial (and a chance to hear some funny stories).

DAVID GERROLD, NAKED RED HEADS AND A MUD PIT

When he's done with the redheads, he might auction something too!

DAY JOBS 101

What you need to know as a beginning writer to make it through the day.

DOWN THESE MEAN STREETS A HOBBIT MUST GO

Tolkien, Raymond Chandler and Robert E Howard all wrote at the same time, but Frodo and Sam live out quite a different code of masculinity than Philip Marlowe and Conan. What universal truths do these unalike characters bring to light. How come they all remain popular today?

ENTERPRISE: FIRST SHIP, LAST SERIES?

The latest of the Star Trek series. How's it done so far?

ESCAPE FROM LA!

Earthquakes, Wild Fires, El Nino, Riots, Terror Attacks, Tsunamis, Gang Violence and Loscons. And you wonder why you need to leave LA? Here's the how, the why and the when!

FANDOM'S HIGHEST HONORS

Hugos, The Big Heart, our local Forry Award, The Evans-Freehafer, TAFF, DUFF, and CUFF are just a few of the highlights of a Fannish career. But what are they? How are they awarded? Here's where you'll find out!

FANZINES: FROM HEKTO TO BLOG

Fans' love affair with the written word lives on!

FILMS I WANT NOW

Films that deserve to be reissued right now on DVD.

FOR WANT OF A NAIL, 20TH CENTURY EDITION

Our panelists will share with you what they think were some of the most important "hinge" events of the last 100 years.

FREAS SLIDE SHOW

Two of the top names in SF/Fantasy Art present a show of their work.

GHASTLIES WE HAVE KNOWN AND LOATHED

Bad movies. Really bad movies. And God, we love them!

HEINLEIN AND THE YEAR 2000

Robert Heinlein made a series of predictions for the year 2000. Our panel will look at what they were, what he got right and what he got wrong!

HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES FANDOM

Learn what our past was about, from the people who have lived through it. Including slides from the collection of Len and June Moffatt.

HOW TO GET PUBLISHED THE FIRST TIME

Its a hard road, but our panel will give you some signposts.

HOW WE GOT FROM CAPTAIN NEMO TO CAPTAIN JANEWAY

A brief history of SF.

I'M A DOCTOR, NOT A NOVELIST! STAR TREK NOVELS

A discussion with authors in the Star Trek universe.

IRON COSTUMERS

Our panel members are given enough rope to either hang themselves, or make a costume. Come watch them as they work with the "secret ingredient".

IS SF GENETICALLY LIBERAL OR IS IT CONGENITALLY CONSERVATIVE?

Bring your own gasoline.

IS SPACE FLIGHT ENVIRONMENTALLY OBJECTIONABLE?

We're trying to take care of the Home Planet. Should this care follow us into space? Can it?

J. NEIL SCHULMAN

A full length reading of his latest novel "Escape From Heaven".

JUST WHO ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT?

A brief retrospective of the types of vampires we've seen in films.

KIDS' COSTUME WORKSHOP

Our younger members will get some hands on advice (and maybe a little help) in making costumes this weekend!

KING OF THE SPACE

If *I* were King of NASA...

LIGHT SABER 101

Learn what you need to build your own lightsaber!

LIGHT SABERS FOR KIDS

Our Jedi Masters will assist the young apprentices in building their own lightsaber!

LOSCON TALES

The good, the bad, the ugly and the really, really funny.

LOTR COSTUMES

There's a new Hobbit in town. Of course we have to dress like him! Hear about how local costumers are recreating the costumes from the film.

MAY THE CLONES BE WITH YOU

The latest part of the Star Wars Saga is 2/3s finished. How's it looking so far?

MED TECH

What's next?

MILSPEC

Military SF is one of the tougher types of fiction to write. There's a good chance your readers have more than a passing knowledge of the culture and technology. How to make military fiction believable and still tell a good story.

MISTAKES FROM THE 21ST CENTURY

In 100 years, there will be textbooks about the time we lived in. What are those future writers going to get wrong about our times?

MORE DOOM, WORSE GLOOM

In the old days, we only worried about global thermo-nuclear warfare and the collapse of the environment. Now our panelists will talk about the really dark futures that might await us.

MULTICULTURALISM

Some people believe that a diverse society is good for your health. How's fandom doing?

NEGLECTED AUTHORS

We'll think of some, and talk about them.

NO SILVER BULLET HERE

Sometimes, the germs win. The dangers we face in an era where we can't cure all diseases.

NOT SO SILENT RUNNING

Maybe we can't convince moviemakers that explosions can't be heard in space, but we can certainly share some of the more... amazing basic science goofs in movies.

NOTES FOR THE CURATORS OF THE PELZ COLLECTION

Recently, the Bruce Pelz fanzine collection (box after box after box) went to the UC Riverside Eaton Collection. The two major issues are cataloguing and preservation -- probably to be achieved by scanning and digitizing them. But what should be catalogued and/or digitized first? Should there be some type of publication using the materials, and if so, what sort? A best-of-the-fanzines compilation or a complete run of some especially noteworthy fanzine? (see related article)

NOW I KNOW MY A-B-Zs

The American Education system. Is it really as bad it's made out to be? What's the solution if it is?

PILOTS THAT DIDN'T SELL

Television shows that almost made it. Watch them and decide for yourself if this was a good thing.

PLEASE TO BE CALLING IT RESEARCH!

How much do you need?

PERSON OF THE CENTURY -- 20TH AND 21ST

Who might be "the person of the century" -- in BOTH the 20th and the 21st? An interactive dialogue.

PRIVACY: THE SECOND CASUALTY OF WAR

A loosening of wiretap laws. Military Surveillance Aircraft helping to look for the Beltway Sniper. Echelon programs. In our rush to safety, has the Government gone too far?

REALLY EVIL, BUT IN A FEEL GOOD KIND OF WAY!

Sauron, Darth Vader, Kahn, Valdamon and Ticktockman. Even Milton gave Satan the best lines - The heroes are fun, but its the villains who make the story. Why?

ROCKY JONES AND THE CATERPILLARS AS BIG AS BOXCARS

A discussion between Barbara Hambly and Mel Gilden.

SELF-DEFENSE OR IMPERIALISM?

By the time this Convention is being held, a shooting war may have broken out between the US and Iraq. Is the Country defending itself, or it this the start of Imperial America?

SETI

What's the latest on our search for intelligent life off planet?

SF ON TELEVISION THIS YEAR

What worked, what didn't.

SHINY DRAPES TO WEAR

Simple costumes to make from what's around the house!

SO YOU WANT TO RUN A LOSCON?

We promise, the one question we won't ask is "why?" But our panelist will try to tell you all how to run a major regional convention!

SOLAR SYSTEM WALK

Walking out a scale model of the solar system, using common objects of approximate size for the planets.

TALES FROM THE SLUSH!

Yes, its the panel about what crept into the Editor's Slush pile. Face it, sometimes it's fun to get dirty!

THE ART OF REVIEWING

It is an art form. It is, it is it is!

THE EYE OF ARGOT

Relax, its not a reading of that story. But its almost as bad. We live in a world where more and more, specialized languages mark technical fields. A discussion of the types and the results.

THE FAILURE OF SELF-PUBLISHING

It was going to reinvent writing. What happened?

THE FUTURE OF WORLD GOVERNMENT

One-world governments are a standard of the SF novel. How do we get there? Should we?

THE FUTURE OF FOOD

Our panelists discuss a topic near and dear to our waistlines.

THE GRAYING OF FANDOM

The Baby Boomer Generation of Fans will soon be eligible for Senior Citizen Discounts. What's the future of fandom in the next 20 years?

THE LITTLE INFRA-RED SCHOOL HOUSE

SF/Fantasy in the Classroom.

THE UNFAIRNESS OF THE FAIR USE LAW

There have been some major changes in the laws of copyright, and you can bet the Internet had something to do with it!

THE VALUE OF WRITER'S UNIONS

What can they do for you?

THE YEAR HEINLEIN HANGED ALL THE LAWYERS

Law and trials pop up over and over in Heinlein's fiction. Is he fascinated with the subject because he thinks of lawyers and the law as guardians of civilization? Let's talk about his take on these topics!

WELCOME TO LOSCON

Your first Loscon? Your first Convention? Come on in and learn how Conventions work and what you can expect!

WHAT HAPPENED TO TOM?

The Fellowship Of the Ring has earned money and applause. How faithful is it to the book? How good are its choices?

WHEN HONOR'S GONE

Our GoH discusses life when the last chapter of Honor's life is penned.

WHEN JEDI AND THE KING RETURN

The Star Wars saga revolutionized movie-making and marketing. What is the Lord of the Rings movie cycle teaching us about Hollywood at the start of the 21st century?

WHERE'S THE DUCT TAPE?

When things go wrong in space, your options are limited.

WRITING CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Think about it. The first writer likely to be a BILLIONAIRE writes for children. Listen to some experts tell you the secrets of writing for kids!

XCOR: TAKING TO YOU TO SPACE (ALMOST)

Private citizens taking us to space!

YOUR SECOND HUNDRED YEARS

We're extending the life span of humanity. But what will we do with all that extra time?