Joshua Kronengold

I just said I probably wouldn't do a Conterpoint report. Which would be shame, as my Conterpoint was Packed With Things. So this is a small (probably) con report. I will miss things! I will skip things!

( Also, it's not actually that short. )

I'm apparently on a fair amount of programming at Lunacon (despite the program not, you know, being up even on the day the con starts; yay organization and new software and non-redundant medum-sized groups).

Stuff I'm on :

150 The Life of a Filker Brundage I Filk Sat 10:00 AM Duration: 01:00

I'm dropping this. 10AM is TOO DAMN EARLY, plus I'm on too much on Saturday as-is.

Food Songs Filk Circle Brundage I Filk Sat 12:00 PM Duration: 01:00

This could be fun! But I'm definately going to need more people showing up, as Amy and I can only trade food songs back and forth for so long.

53 What are "Euro" Games and How Do I Get Involved? Elijah Budd Gaming Sat 1:00 PM Duration: 01:00

This sounds like it will be a blast. Between Perianne, Kevin, and YT, we should have stuff covered and a good vibe; I don't know Tim Rogriguez by name, but with "games" in his email address he should have something to add.

80 Online Fandom Migration Birch Fan Interest Sat 4:00 PM Duration: 01:00

This should be fun; a bunch of us have been on since antideluvian times. That said, we could really use, given the panel description:
More people (on the panel or in the audience) with a wider experience (Deviantart, maybe? Or deeper Google+ experience than I have?).
And we -really- could use someone from the fanfic side of the force, as the panel description talks about that but we don't currently have any panelists who are fanfic writers (I've written some fanfic -filks-, but that's not the same as being part of the online fanfic community). Anyone?

159 Travel Songs Circle Brundage I Filk Sat 7:00 PM Duration: 01:00

Just me and Amy again -- help? There are a lot of great travel songs, though.

163 Ghost Songs Circle Brundage I Filk Sat 10:30 PM Duration: 01:00

Lisa and I are moderating this, and we -can- just sing ghost songs for an hour if we have to. Hopefully, we won't have to. :)

73 EReading Device Petting Zoo Maple Fan Interest Sun 1:00 PM Duration: 01:00

I'm curious as to how this will go. I have a (rooted) color Nook, and can talk about calibre, conversions, and, of course, buying stuff online; it sounds like we have a good variety, but I -might- be motivated to pick up a larger tablet before the con just for funsizes (this would be really silly, but stranger things have been known to happen). We'll see how much this is a talking thing vs a "let peopel try stuff out" thing.

So, who's making Lunacon? And...anyone up to helping out for the online communities panel (talk to Kate Nepveu if you are willing to be -included- on the panel, as she's moderating it).

I posted this in the Facebook Filk group, but since Facebook is inherently transient, and it was long and the result of a fair amount of thought, I'm reposting it here with some edits. Comment or mock me as you will.

drcpunk and I have been attending BMs three years running, partially with the aim of eventually getting a workable Music or Filk Hugo into the mix (in addition to caring about a few other issues--hell, this year I did a good bit to make sure blogs remained eligible for a Hugo).

So, I've kinda thought about the subject a bit.

First, the question of why: Filk is a core part of Fandom. Much more than gaming. As such, it would be really useful to have a Hugo category where filk was regularly nominated to help continue to bind us to the rest of fandom -- reminding them that we exist, and frankly, reminding filkers that we're part of fandom (even those filkers who prefer to only to filk cons and don't do non-filk conventions). The Pegasus is an effective award -- but it's a community award, and simply doesn't work the way the Hugos do nor get the press the Hugos do. So overall, if a Hugo category could be created that suited filk, I think it would be a good thing.

Second: The question of how. It's not that hard to get something done in the Business meeting. You need a case -- and you need people to show up, but any attending member of a Worldcon can show up to the BM, and while it does require some knowledge of Robert's Rules to introduce motions, etc, it requires nothing but the ability to raise your hand or stand up (or equivalent) to vote. That said, there's no point in passing an award category that can't get critical mass -- a Filk Hugo was -passed- at some point (or so I've been told) and the problem was that there was no consensus at all among nominators; everything got 3 votes or 3% of the vote or whatnot (whereas the Hugos require 5% for something to appear on the ballot). So it's not simply a matter of whether we can get a Hugo that's more appropriate than Best Related (which I think, along with the BDP categories, is fairly mediocre as a platform) but which one is best.

Third, then, is the question of what. I'm sure there are others, but I've got four theoretically plausible Hugo categories that could be interesting here:

1. Best Filk Production. For the best compilation, recording, or song in fan-created music produced in the last year. This is more or less what was passed and failed years ago, I believe, but it's possible that with the Internet and the rise of more big stars in our space, that it's far more possible for a consensus to be reached. The big advantage here is that having a Hugo -titled- "Filk" rather than one where filk was frequently nominated would do a good job towards helping bind our community together.

2. Best Music. For the best piece or compilation of SF-related music produced in the last year. This has some advantages in that it isn't expressly limited to filk, but included it--the question remains as to whether filk could compete with Coulton or the musical scores of movies, but it would be interesting to see.

3. Best Filk Artist. This has some of the same advantages of best Filk Production, but is intended to parallel the Best Editor category and partially get around the "nobody can get a consensus" issue for FBP. It also, of course, takes advantage of/falls into the same problem as Best Editor (and Best Artist) -- in that while it's theoretically for work in the last year, everyone knows that the voters/nominators will often ignore this proviso at lest some of the time. Which means it's likely to be a viable category (in a fashion), but not an ideal one. But still.

4. Best Dramatic Production (Fan-created). This would parallel the existing BDPs, but be intended for fan-created pieces of music, shows, youtube videos, and so on and so forth (maybe even including compilations) within the last callendar year -- because just like, as Silverberg (quoted by Scalzi at the hugos) said that fan-writing is the foundation of fandom, fan-productions are -also- at the foundation of fandom; we're not just about passively taking in what receive; instead it's at least as important to make our -own- creations. In some ways, it would also act as Best Fancast (shortform) without the limitations placed on Best Fancast (I had hopes to remove some of the arbitrary limits on Best Fancast to make it usable here, but got focused on trying to save the blog). Between filk albums, youtube memes (including stuff like Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury), I think one can make a good case for there being demand for this, and it would allow for a much greater chance of recognition for deserving works than mixing them into the BDP and Best Related categories.

uwf linked to Natalee Caple's "Happy Animal", commenting that the words were included for their sound rather than their meaning.

I agreed, but commented that were I writing it, I might have done more with the structure. So as an example, I wrote this.

Sappy Shamble

Copyright 2012, Joshua Kronengold (Inspired by Happy Animal by Natalee Caple)

Green birds love clean words,
And red birds love time,
Gold birds love old words,
And blue birds love rhyme.

Lizards love wizards,
And camels love sieves.
Night owls love light fowls,
And foxes love thieves,

The world loves the furled wing,
The moon loves the claw.
The sky loves the wry sting,
Of a thorn in my paw.

I first heard talis_kimberley's "Cotton Tail Girls" in a Lady Mondegreen concert or oneshot -- with Batya, Merav, and Seanan kicking it out of the park with a triplicate lead and fantastic multi-part harmony. I'd not hear the original--didn't even know there was an original, but it was great stuff.

But, here's the thing about me and music:

I can't pay attention to everything at once.

So..I love clever lyrics, and rhythms, and harmony and melodies--but the first time I hear a song, I'm going to miss some stuff. So while grooving on Cotton Tail Girls for the first time, the only lines that really stuck were the chorus and demi-chorus, plus the lines about hearing for miles and about how if Hefner hadn't chosen a rabbit for the Playboy theme animal, the "Girls" would have been relegated to working in the cotton mills instead of the Playboy club.

This? Made me at first assume that the girls had some attributes that made them -particularly- well suited to working as Playboy bunnies. Of course, that's not the song Talis wrote. OTOH, it doesn't make a bad song idea...

Bunny Eared Girls
Joshua Kronengold
Heavily borrowed from and inspired by Cotton Tail Girls (Talis Kimberley)
To the tune of Cotton Mill Girls (c) Hedy West
(Note that the first verse has one extra stanza before the chorus)

(Jess)
Well, the silver screen has always made me swoon,
'cause my Pa was a human but my Momma's a 'toon, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

(Betty)
I was born in a test tube in back in '93
When they tried to make a woman who could leap a tree, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

(Luna)
I got bit by my boyfriend on a Saturday night,
Then I found he was a a rabbit when the moon was bright, and it's
Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
hard times everywhere

(Betty)
I serve plenty of drinks, I make plenty of quips,
I give plenty of winks, I make plenty of tips, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

It may look like you can break me but I kick like a mule,
(So) If you think you can take me, you will end up the fool, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
Hard times everywhere

(Luna)
I have to change my style as the moon grows brighter,
I can hear for miles, but my hair gets whiter, (and it's)

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

My teeth are scary, but I don't eat meat,
My legs are hairy, and I've got big feet, and it's,

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
hard times everywhere

(Jess)
The ears are natural, but the tail's brand new,
As for my little black nose, well, I ain't telling you, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

I work my tail off from five to one,
Then you can find me at the drive-in till I see the sun, (and it's)

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
hard times everywhere

(various, as appropriate)
You may think it silly that I (we?) wear these clothes
But we're glad it was a rabbit Mr Heffner chose, and it's

Hard times bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Cos if he'd had a spider or a lizard as a pet
We'd all be in a freak-show and we couldn't pay the vet, and it's

Hard times bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere, yeah,

Hard times bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
Hard times everywhere


( Older Lyrics behind the cut )

In honor of "we haven't had a housefilk in the NYC area in ever so long" and "Contata's at the beginning of next month, holy *%~@#!", the lovely drcpunk and I are holding a housefilk at our home ("The Bookery") in Queens this Sunday - June 19th, 2011 (the day after drcpunk's birthday), noon to 6pm -- those who come early have volunteered to help set up; those who stay late have volunteered to attend the following concom meeting.  .

Back from OVFF.

That was awesome!

At Concertino, I

• Got to sing a fair bit
  
• Played a lot of set (including with some very good opponents)
  
• Met some new (to me) people. Cool new people!
  
• Got to have good conversation with people (hi, fiddledragon and Kate, among others) I don't usually get to talk to
  
• Wrote a new song (see adjacent post)
  
• Gave/got many, many hugs
  
• Had fun
  

Thank you, everyone who was part of any of this, or part of making the con a reality!

This has taken a long time to post, mostly due to technical difficulties. Actually, I had to pull it out of archival to find it.

At batyatoon's housefilk (where I still am, yay!) Will claimed
that with its many parodies Still Alive was the Banned from Argo of its
time. And 'proved' it with the first of two parodies.

It was a pretty good song, but I don't think the parallel is quite right;
in fact, there's another song that is even more well known for being
parodied. An hour later, ( I sang this. )

All, you know, two of you.

Firefly Canon
ttto "Hey Ho, to the Greenwood", by William Byrd, 1543-1623

Take us out to the black, in joy and pain
The sky to gain
And there shall we find Wash, Mal and Jayne
The sky to gain
Inara, Book and River who's insane
The sky to gain

---

For the tune, well, you could websearch, but why do that when I did it for you?

Scan of the sheet music from Ravenscroft: http://home.uchicago.edu/~atterlep/Music/Songs/heyhotothegreenwood.htm

Or there's a midi file here: http://www.bcpl.net/~cbladey/guy/html/midis.html

And both midi and sheet music agree -- my decade+ old memory of the song's rhythm is Totally Off! So I'm going to have to relearn it!