I know they’re saying they’re still going ahead with Dragon Con for Labor Day weekend, for now. But the same considerations that sunk Pennsic this year are going to hit Dragon Con, square between the eyes. Too many people in too-close proximity during a pandemic where we don’t yet have an effective vaccine. At some point somebody’s gonna pop the chute.
I take no pleasure in saying this. I had a Plan, you see. The Plan was to show up at Dragon Con as a for-real published author, fresh off of a successful Kickstarter. But, thanks largely to piss-poor PRC bio-safety practices, that part of the Plan went right out the door. …Such is life, I guess.
IDEA
I think that facemasks are going to be a part of our cultural landscape moving forward. If’n I was a published author, I’d have my cover art made into facemasks.
Good idea.
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So far, I’ve seen masks in Star Trek fleet uniform colors (yes, including red) with the current Star Trek “arrowhead” shape in one corner.
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I’ve also seen a Blues Brothers motif – Jake and Elwood on either side, with the Chicago skyline and red-and-blue lights in between.
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The catch is lead time – patterned fabric isn’t as easy as applying a vinyl patch or even a good silkscreen job – gotta be able to easily breathe through it – but obviously, it can be done.
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Mew
https://www.viantrek.com/products/tardis-face-mask
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Found another example for yet another fandom….:
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Mew
We’ll see. If Indianapolis can pull off the Indy 500 in August (500K people), then Atlanta should be able to pull off DragonCon (100K people, 5 days) in September.
Indy is easier .. removing 320,000 seats – to create more isolation – and selling only the remaining 180,000 is straightforward enough .. and that’s before gettin’ creative. (see post in another thread about theaters and “box seats” ..)
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Conventions involve walking around interacting with hundreds if not thousands of other people .. with predictable results – see “Con Crud”.
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On the upside, con-going fans trend younger/healthier, so *might* not get dead .. but on the downside, **authors** trend older ..
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Mew
That far out, go for it.
Seriously.
If it’s as contagious as advertised, it’ll have long since burned itself out.
If it’s not, it’ll be replaced by some other panic, likely much less effective.
Nah, there’s been too much disruption at this point. Also, I genuinely expect that the con organizers will be pulling the release handle themselves some time in June.
I can see the merchant area .. every vendor (and author) in a plexiglass box with a table, a chair, and a portable UV/HEPA air purifier . shaking hands and signing fanstuffs through a glove box ..
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It could be made to work, in other words, but it is *not* simple.
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I figure the cost outweighs the risk .. especially if the cost includes either legal or moral liability.
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Mew