Reading, dancing, filking, gaming, making costumes, cooking, science experiments, exploring the universe, writing, drawing, illustrating, RPG, LiveJournal, going concerts, movies, parties, being silly and most of all, having fun at ConFusion!!!
Music
Steve Macdonald, Luke Ski, Weird Al Yakovic, Luke Ski, The Cramps, The Clash, 80's music, David Bowie, Bjork, The Beatles, Throwing Toasters, Led Zeppelin, The Koffin Kats
Movies
Serenity, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek, Aliens, E.T., Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Men in Black, The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator movies, Return of the Jedi, Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Th Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, Planet of the Apes, The Abyss, Independence Day, Fifth Element, The War of the Worlds(1953), Stargate, Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Soylent Green, Andromeda Strain, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Time Machine, The Silent Running, Predator, The Thing, Max Max movies, Total Recall, Superman: The Movie, Them!, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Starman, The Omega Man, Escape from New York, Godzilla movies, 2010: The Year We Make Contact, 1984, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Fantastic Voyage, Altered States, Jumpers, Wall E, ....
Television
Dr. Who, Red Dwarf, Battlestar Gallatica old & new, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Farscape, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Stargate, Firefly, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Torchwood....
Books
Favorite Authors
Alan Dean Foster, Anderson Poul, Andrew Greeley, Anne Harris, Anne McCaffrey, Anne Perry, Anne Rice, Arthur C. Clark, Barbara Hambly, Barry B. Longyear, Ben Bova, Bruce Sterling, C. J. Cherryh, C. S. Lewis, Carl Sagan,
Connie Willis,
Cordwainer Smith,
Dan Simmons,
Dave Wolverton,
David Brin,
Edgar Rice Burroughs,
Emma Bull & Will Shetterly,
Esther Friesner,
Frank Herbert,
Frank L. Baum,
Fred Saberhagen,
Frederik Pohl,
Fritz Leiber,
G. .K. Chesterton,
Gene Roddenberry,
Gene Wolfe,
George Orwell,
George R.R. Martin,
Glen A. Larson,
Greg Bear,
H.G. Wells,
Hal Clement,
Harlan Ellison,
Harry Turtledove,
Isaac Asimov,
J.R.R. Tolkien,
James Blish,
Joan D. Vinge,
Joe Haldeman,
Jules Verne,
Karel Capek,
Kate Wilhelm,
Katherine Kurtz,
Kim Stanley Robinson,
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.,
Larry Niven,
Laurell K. Hamilton,
Lloyd Alexander,
Lloyd Biggle Jr.,
Lois McMaster Bujold,
Madeleine L’Engle,
Marion Zimmer Bradley,
Mary Shelly,
Maureen F. McHugh,
Melissa Scott,
Michael Crichton,
Michael J. Straczynski,
Mike Resnick,
Neal Stephenson,
Olaf Stapledon,
Orson Scott Card,
Pamela Sargent,
Paul Anderson,
Philip Jose Farmer,
Phyllis Eisenstein,
Piers Anthony,
Ray Bradbury,
Robert A. Heinlein,
Robert Jordan,
Robert Silverberg,
Roger Zelazny,
Ron L. Hubbard,
Samuel Delaney,
Sarah Zettel,
Spider and Jeanne Robinson,
Stanislaw Lem,
Stanley Schmidt,
Stephen King,
Tanya Huff,
Terry Brooks,
Theodore Strugeon,
Tim Powers,
Tracy Hickman,
Ursula K. Le Guin,
Vernor Vinge,
Walter Jon Williams,
Walter M. Miller Jr.,
William Gibson,
Zenna Henderson,
Heroes
Our ConFusion Fans!!!!, parents, friends, family, the scientists, astronauts and of course, Space Aliens!!!!
I See By My ConFusion ConFusion is January 22nd - 24th, 2010 at the Troy Marriott. Visit http://lnk.ms/4sQwl for more infomation! Posted at 11:48 PM Dec 13 view more
ConFusion is an annual convention for fans of science fiction, fantasy, horror, filk, anime, comics, and gaming, in no particular order.
ConFusion is put on each year by the Stilyagi Air Corps and its parent organization, the Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association. ConFusion Guests, Con Name, and Con Chair are selected by popular vote at the Fall and Spring business meetings.
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"I See By My ConFusion" Date: January 22nd - 24th, 2010.
Detroit-Troy Marriott
200 W. Big Beaver Rd, Troy, MI
or call 1-877-757-7131
The Marriott has changed completely over to non-smoking - sorry for the inconvenience!
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Reservations: Standard Hotel Rooms are $92 a night for king or two double beds or $150 for Suite for the ConFusion group rate (do ask for it!). If you have particular preferences regarding being on a quiet or party floor, please indicate that when making your reservation.
DIRECTIONS
Take I-75 to Exit 69, Big Beaver Road. Go east about half a mile; the Troy Marriot is on your left. It is necessary to make a "Michigan left" to reach the parking lot.
The Amtrak Birmingham station is about four miles from the hotel. You can arrange transport from the station to the hotel via the hotel's courtesy van.
If you are coming to ConFusion by plane, the nearest major airport is Detroit Metro (DTW).
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Programming: "I See By My ConFusion" vast & diverse Program will include panels and discussions on many topics reflecting the interests of our Guests of Honor and other program participants. Topics may include science fiction and fantasy reading, writing, media, gaming, costuming, art, music, society, science, and, of course, I See By My ConFusion (this year's theme).
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Special Events: a Fancy "Meet & Greet" Dessert Reception, Dances, Featuring "Creepy Carnivale" Masquerade on Satruday!!
Facepainting, Pizza Party & Slumber Party for KidFusion and other Demonstrations, Dealer's Room, 24 Hour Pool & Hot Tub, Room Parties and Workshops!
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KidFusion: ConFusion continues its' tradition of wonderful & diverse programming for Kids ages 12 and under.
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Registration:
ConFusion Adult Memberships will cost $35 now till Jan. 1st, 2010 or after, $45 At-The-Door.
ConFusion Student Memberships cost $$25 non till Jan. 1st, 2010 or after, $35 At-The-Door.
ConFusion KidFusion Memberships is $20 pre-reg till Jan. 1st, 2010 or $25 At-the-Door. Pizza party (must be registered for KidFusion): +$5 and/or
Slumber party (must be registered for KidFusion): +$10
Dealer's Room: ConFusion welcomes a wide variety of dealers that sell science fiction or fantasy-oriented merchandise!!! From Books, T-Shirts, Gaming items, clothing to collectibles, Music, Jewelry and Art!
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Volunteer: Volunteers make or break a convention and ConFusion greatly appreciates everyone who helps make our all-volunteer event take place!! Write to us at confusion-volunteers (at) stilyagi.org to volunteer to be a gopher, staff member, or (watch out!) concom member!
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Print Shop for Artwork: We believe art is an important component of SF appreciation and fandom. This year we will be providing a print shop where artists can display and sell their work.
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WHO ARE WE?
We are the Stilyagi Air Corps (formerly the University of Michigan Science Fiction club), organized as a not-for-profit corporation, AASFA, Inc. But we are also a bunch of Science Fiction and Fantasy fans who run an annual convention in January, "ConFusion", as well as hold a large number of parties and other events through out the year.
Born in Manhattan on April 20, 1939, Peter Soyer Beagle, son of Simon and Rebecca Soyer Beagle, was raised in the Bronx, New York. From an early age he was a voracious reader, and his parents encouraged him in his pursuits of the literary arts. As early as sixth grade, he proclaimed that he was going to be a writer, and during his years at the Bronx High School of Science (Class of '55), he was a frequent contributor to the school literary magazine. It was in this period that his work caught the attention of the fiction editor at Seventeen Magazine. In his senior year of high school, he entered a poem and a story into the 1955 Scholastic Writing Awards Contest, without realizing that one of the top prizes was a college scholarship. His poem took first place, and he spent the next four years at the University of Pittsburgh.
In his sophmore year at U Pitt, one of his short stories, Telephone Call, won first place in a Seventeen Magazine short story contest. In short order, he acquired an agent, cranked out several more pieces (including "A Fine and Private Place" when he was only 19), and graduated with a degree in creative writing, a minor in Spanish, and a passion for writing.
He then spent a year overseas, returning home when he found himself enrolled by his very capable agent in a writing workshop at Stanford University, where, besides honing his writing skills, he met Enid, who would later become his first wife.
After his time at Stanford had ended, he kicked around the East Coast for a while, before deciding that his heart belonged with Enid in California, and so he and a friend undertook a cross-country motorscooter trip, which would later become the basis of I See By My Outfit. Once he had married Enid and moved in with her and her three children, he supported himself and his family as a freelance writer for years, even after the well-received publication of "The Last Unicorn".
In the 1970's, Beagle increasingly produced screenplays, (he continues to write for the screen to this day) while also pursuing his avocation as a folk singer, delighting audiences with songs in English, Yiddish, French and German. A live album of his songs has been released, and he once played at The Palms in Davis, CA. According to him, "singing (and dishwashing) are the only other things I've done for money." Between 1973 and 1985 he performed every weekend at the club L'Oustalou in Santa Cruz, California. In 1980, his marriage to Enid ended, and in in the summer of 1985 he moved to Seattle, Washington for several years.
At some point, he evidently decided he had had enough rain, and moved back to California. (I know he lived in Santa Cruz at some point, but can't find the exact time frame.) He now resides in Davis with his wife of ten years, the Indian writer and artist Padma Hejmadi. As he says, "I'm in the phone book." I checked - he is. Beagle is active in the Davis community, and is a member of the "Friends of Davis" group, which recently protested the opening of a Borders Bookstore, which would put many local Davis bookstores out of business, instead of another business such as a clothing store, which the Davis community desperately needed. The Friends of Davis ended up taking the city to court to block the project - all information I can find now is that the court action is "ongoing".
I am informed that Beagle "is a regular on the university circuit where he gives readings, lectures, and concerts," and I know that he appears at the occasional fantasy convention. (Check out the appearances page for current information.) He has conducted writing workshops at such institutions as The University of Washington and Clarion West.
His works have been translated into at least 15 languages to date, and he continues to write wonderful, magical books, thank heavens.
Catherynne Valente - Author Guest of Honor
Catherynne M. Valente was born on Cinco de Mayo, 1979 in Seattle, WA, but grew up in in the wheatgrass paradise of Northern California. She has three brothers and a sister. She graduated from high school at age 15, going on to UC San Diego and Edinburgh University, receiving her B.A. in Classics with an emphasis in Ancient Greek Linguistics. She then drifted away from her M.A. program and into a long residence in the concrete and camphor wilds of Japan.
She currently lives on a small island off the coast of Maine, with her partner, two dogs, and one recalcitrant cat, having tumbled back to America and the otherworldly New England coast.
Her first chapbook, Music of a Proto-Suicide, was released in the winter of 2004. Her first novel, The Labyrinth, was published by Prime Books in 2004, and her second, Yume no Hon: The Book of Dreams, was released in the summer of 2005. Her third novel, The Grass-Cutting Sword, came out in the summer of 2006. Under the Aegis imprint, Prime has also published two collections of her poetry, Apocrypha, and Oracles. Her third volume of poetry, The Descent of Inanna, was published by Papaveria Press early in 2006.
Her fourth major project, a duology of original fairy tales, The Orphan's Tales, was released from Bantam Spectra in the fall of 2006. Volume I, In the Night Garden, went on to win the James Tiptree Jr. Award for the expansion of gender and sexuality in speculative fiction, and has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award. Volume II, I n the Cities of Coin and Spice, came out in the fall of 2007. As a whole, the series won the Mythopoeic Award for adult literature in 2008.
Her next novel, a baroque urban fantasy titled Palimpsest was released from Bantam Spectra in February 2009.
Her first short story collection, Ventriloquism, will be released by PS Publishing in late 2010.
The latest project that she's working on, a novel retelling of the Russian fairy tales of Marya Morevna and Koschei the Deathless set in Stalinist Russia, will be released from Tor in 2011.
Matt Busch - Artist Guest of Honor
Regarded as one of the top entertainment illustrators, Matt Busch has made a career out of tapping into every expressive art imaginable, surprising even his die-hard fans what he’ll do next.
In the early 90's, Busch began his career in Hollywood, working in every aspect of the movie business, from concept design work on THE MATRIX, to storyboards for CON-AIR, to poster design for THE DEVIL'S OWN. Simultaneously, he began illustrating books, magazines, posters, comics, trading cards and toys for notable pop culture properties, including LORD OF THE RINGS, INDIANA JONES, THE CROW, HEROES, G.I. JOE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, The HULK, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, RESERVOIR DOGS, BRUCE LEE, WITCHBLADE, ROBOCOP, The MUMMY, STARGATE SG-1, and STAR TREK.
Mostly known for his work with the STAR WARS universe, Busch has written and illustrated dozens of STAR WARS books and magazines. He created the cover of TALES FROM THE EMPIRE, which became a New York Times Bestseller. Busch has also been involved with creating artwork for advertising, marketing, and licensed products for all three STAR WARS prequels. Due to last year's 30th Anniversary of the saga, Busch produced 7 different STAR WARS posters that year alone!
Busch also provided nearly 400 drawings and paintings for the critically acclaimed YOU CAN DRAW STAR WARS book from DK Publishing. Busch has also extended his own unique drawing and painting tutorials to video, with episodes at StarWars.com. Later, these episodes topped the charts on MySpace.com, with several videos going straight to Number One. Further, the first two exciting (and hilarious) seasons of episodes have been collected on to limited edition DVDs!
A closet musician himself, Busch has also enjoyed producing art for major musical artists like ALICE COOPER, BEASTIE BOYS, BECK, BLACK SABBATH, CINDERELLA, FOO FIGHTERS, GARBAGE, KID ROCK, L.L. COOL J, BILLY JOEL, MEGADETH, MOTLEY CRUE, TED NUGENT, OZZY OSBOURNE, POISON, and JESSICA SIMPSON.
The first hardcover collection of his work, "FANTASTIC VISIONS: The Art of Matt Busch" was Published by Avatar Press, which included an Introduction by POISON's Rikki Rockett. SQP Publishing later released a follow-up hardcover collection titled "PUCKER: The Seductive Art of Matt Busch" which featured an Introduction by SYSTEM OF A DOWN's John Dolmayan. Last year Hermes Press published the quintessential collection, titled "THE WORLDS OF MATT BUSCH."
In 2006, Busch released his first independent movie, CONJURE, a film he wrote, directed, starred in, and even composed music for. Financing the entire movie himself, the unique film was met with critical acclaim and shattered records- becoming "The Highest PreSelling Movie of All Time" according to HorrorMovies.com.
For over a decade, Busch has also found success as a writer, having written numerous books and magazine articles on art techniques. Busch has also written and illustrated creator-owned comic books, including ALIZARIN'S JOURNAL and DARIA JONTAK, and a highly regarded graphic novel, CRISIS. One of Busch's biggest endeavors, a screenplay titled THE TAURUS FACTOR is currently in development with Producer Don Murphy (TRANSFORMERS, SHOOT 'EM UP).
Busch now resides in a mutlitple-facility home set up in Macomb Township, Michigan, complete with an art studio, digital editing suite, recording studio, product warehouse, and even a mini movie theater. Here, Busch continues to work on many ‘Hollywood’ projects via Internet and Fed Ex. However, Busch also spends a great deal of time on the road, and his most recent documentary collecting his travel adventures from around the world, ILLUSTRATION NATION, has just been relased on DVD.
For more information, check out the official web site, MattBusch.com.
Steve Collins - Scientist Guest of Honor
Steve Collins is an attitude control system engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He has been a flight team member on Mars Observer, Galileo, Deep Space One, MER, and NASA's Deep Impact mission to blow a hole in the comet Tempel 1.
Steve is responsible for keeping the spacecraft pointed in the right direction, making trajectory corrections and figuring out "what the heck just happened??" Steve tends to build his tools using C and TCL and likes crisp interfaces and simple-minded code.
Steve has degrees in Physics and Theatre Arts from UC Santa Cruz. When he's not flying spacecraft around the solar system, he can be found on the soccer field, playing Theremin in the rock band "Artichoke" or performing in one of Caltech's Shakespeare productions.
Some miscellaneous facts about Steve:
Steve pilots spacecraft. It's the coolest job until there's a real Sulu on a real bridge.
Steve plays a theremin in the band Artichoke.
Steve does theatrics.
Steve programs in Tcl/Tk.
Steve has lots of good "No-Shit, There I was" type stories about techie topics.
With all of space to fly around in, Steve managed to run a probe into a comet (OK, he was aiming for the comet.)
Steve is a member of General Technics and posts frequent blurbs to the mailing list when he's doing particularly neat stuff.
David Gibbs - Fan Guest of Honor
David Gibbs is a true renaissance person. Some aspects of this include: Life Master at Bridge, avid rock climber and ball room dancer, plays soccer in his spare time, motorcycle riding; he rode his motorcycle to the San Francisco World Con and he tackled a bicycle trip through Europe with his friend David Weil where they invented a game of put-pocket where they would swap a can of beans into each others bags, which they continued for years as they travelled to cons together. Other quirks include that he had specially built bookshelves for his paperback collection in his kitchen, he is a longtime RUSH fan, and he has a history of having his "horses" die underneath him, and then just leaving them by the side of the road and carrying on. His friend Kyle Duncan says he has walked away from at least one vehicle on the 401, never to return.
He can’t recall the first science fiction book he ever read but his favourite authors include Harlan Ellison, Walter Jon Williams, Steven Brust, and Lois McMaster Bujold. His favourite SF movie is “Bladerunner.” An avid war and board games player he started going to Cangames in Ottawa around 1983, this lead to his first SF con Maplecon 7 in 1985 where the teenage David didn't sleep for the whole con 68 1/2 hours without sleep, but he did get 5 meals a day. He followed quickly by his first out of town convention Ad Astra in Toronto in 1986. In 1990 he started to explore the world of American SF cons with Contradiction in Niagara Falls.
His first Michigan con was Immaculate ConFusion in 1991. He found Michigan fandom to be very friendly. He has often been mistaken for past COnFusion Fan Guest of Honor Chuck Firment when both were clean shaven and had long hair or both had beards and long hair. David is always the one with the long hair. He quickly became a regular in Michigan adding ConClave, Contraption, Bacchanal and Penguicon to his yearly round of conventions. He has been to at least 44 Michigan conventions since then and often attends sf fan meetings between cons when his computer business employer QNX sends him to the Detroit area to work.
David has been to at least 137 science fiction conventions from Arisia in Boston to Disclave in Washington DC to Rivercon in Louisville to Windycon in Chicago. His first Worldcon was Chicon V in 1991 in Chicago and he has been to 7 since then most recently working at Anticipation the 2009 worldcon in Montreal. He started working on conventions in 1991 when he started going to many in a year. David says that “Working on the cons doesn't necessarily make them any more/less interesting, except that I find for a con where I don't know many people, working the con is a really good way to meet people.”
His friend Engene Heller has this to say about him: The problem with trying to introduce David is that, if you've been hanging around Michigan convention fandom for a while, then chances are that you already know him. A fan of varied interests, you can often find him in gaming, on a dance floor (nattily dressed), or at a party discussing whatever comes to mind.
In writing about a Fan Guest of Honour, I find myself wanting to tell of rock star fannish exploits, such as chairing a convention or pubbing an ish -- that's not David. He does do his share of volunteering and often agrees with me about the participatory nature of sf cons (that's how you really know that I approve of him) but what brings Confusion to choose to honour him is a much homelier virtue: he's friendly.
David is a social focal point. In Ottawa, he often throws open the doors of his home for gaming days (and unless you are a member of a very select group, he has more games than you do) or grabs people for hiking and climbing expeditions. He is also known for regular port (wine) parties at which he displays what he calls his unfortunately more and more educated palate. Watch out, he's recently started learning about different scotches and chocolates.
In 1991, at Con*cept, a small convention in Montreal, one of my friends who had been working to help keep our staff den and green room running missed her train to return home. She had been confused about the departure time. She also had to be home in order to start the bread in the bakery at which she worked, in Burlington, Vermont. David didn't hesitate to just get in his car and drive for four hours, round trip, to get her there. He got back in time to join us at the dead dog party because, you know, David likes parties.
SJ Tucker - Filk Guest of Honor
Telling a story is sometimes like weaving a spell. Images and concepts wrapped in rhyme and rhythm are a gift to the imagination. SJ Tucker specializes in such magic and such gifts, enfolded and delivered in folk rock mythpunk music that moves the body and soul. Joined by cellist Betsy Tinney at ConFusion 2010 and thus performing as Skinny White Chick, this pixie-pirate minstrel is very happy to be Music Guest of Honor.
You may know SJ Tucker, or "Sooj", as the mastermind behind Tricky Pixie, or as the inspiration and beneficiary of the Ravens in the Library anthology, which features contributions from Catherynne M. Valente, Holly Black, Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, and Amy Brown. Tucker is perhaps best known for the fusion she weaves with story and song — in her Wendy Trilogy, for example, Peter Pan's own Wendy inherits Captain Hook's pirate ship and opens an on-deck school for young ladies called the Lost Girls Pirate Academy.
Restless as the "questing bards" and "ladies vagabond" in her songs and stories, Sooj continuously tours the U. S. as an independent performer, featured everywhere from festivals to living rooms. When asked "Where do you live?" she typically answers, "In my truck." The full answer is a bit more complicated.
Tucker began this journey in 2004, when she realized that she could either be poor and miserable working for someone else, or be poor and happy following her dreams. That spring, Tucker quit her day job, moved out of her midtown apartment in Memphis, Tennessee, and started on a journey she has yet to finish. She truly enjoys her ideal life of traveling from town to town, singing and playing music for her friends and fans. Called a "Gypsy Dragon" by those closest to her, S.J. Tucker has been "hoarding homes" instead of gold ever since.
Born into a creative family in southeast Arkansas, Tucker first stepped onto a stage at the age of six. From then on, she studied various musical instruments and sang with her family as often as possible. Tucker began writing poetry at age seven, began writing songs at age fourteen, and had her first public concert at age seventeen. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Theater at age twenty-one, whereupon she realized she would much rather receive attention and acclaim for being herself instead of pursuing an acting career. Tucker moved to Memphis, Tennessee after college, where she worked as a restaurant hostess, a bookstore babe, and a muralist while performing and writing new music as often as possible.Since 2004, Tucker has maintained an average of more than 140 shows per year and has released five studio albums of original music, three book soundtracks, three live albums, an illustrated children's book, and a series of limited-edition EPs.
Tucker is the front woman of Skinny White Chick, a band with an ever-evolving lineup. She frequently shares the stage with her flame-slinging partner and mentor K' Wiley. Her newest touring projects are Seattle-based Celtic Faerie trio Tricky Pixie — a collaboration with fandom-beloved fiddler Alexander James Adams and the aforementioned Betsy Tinney — and the all-female harmony-rock powerhouse known as The Traveling Fates — wherein Sooj trades songs with long-time colleagues Ginger Doss and Bekah Kelso.
"A brass-balled pixie with a killer voice" (Satyrblade, Vision Magazine), S.J. Tucker turns heads and touches hearts wherever she goes. She skillfully blends guitars and various hand percussion to her will, but her true gift is her voice — an instrument that slides effortlessly from whispered invocations to full-throated gospel and blues. "Singer/songwriters, take note," raves J-Sin of Smother.net. "This is what you should be doing and how you should sound!"
