When I attended my first World Science Fiction Convention, LA Con II in 1984, I took a bus there, stayed in a hotel room with friends, and immersed myself in the experience. When I attended my second, LA Con III in 1996, I commuted by car. 2006 brought Worldcon back to the LA area with LA CON IV, held (like the others) in Anaheim. This time, in a summer full of conventions, Amy and I devoted just one day to the con.
The Worldcon was different, in several ways, from the recent anime and comics conventions we'd attended. The attendance was smaller -- around 9,000 to 10,000 members, as compared to 41,000 for Anime Expo and 120,000 for Comic-Con. The members were older; at least a couple of panels referred to the age of the audience members. A sign of the age issue was that two of the con guests of honor -- fan guest Howard Devore and media guest Frankie (Tom Corbett, Space Cadet) Thomas -- passed away before the convention. Another indication of age was author, raconteur, and all-around hellraiser Harlan Ellison's announcement that this would likely be his last con -- not because of health, but because he's 72 and figures he's accomplished everything con-wise that he wants to do.
Photos will follow -- once Blogger starts cooperating, and allows me to post photos.
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