Current Post On Trae’s Blog:
So I'm just going to come out and say it: My favorite episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation is "Conundrum." It's episode fourteen of season five, and I just deeply love it.
I don't know if it's because I literally just assumed Erich Anderson's Commander McDuff was a random Enterprise officer of the week (which we saw quite often during the show) when I watched it as a kid during the original run, so the twist actually worked on eleven year old me. I don't know if it's because I just like a good "everyone has amnesia" story. I don't even know if it's just because it's a good Ro Laren episode. I don't know if it's just because we learn that Starfleet doesn't give a crap about lasers.
I just like it. It's neat.
And I rewatched it last night, and feel that it holds up -- which is why I found it deeply weird that the folks who wrote the episode actually think it's not that good. My favorite episode of the entire seven season run of the show was a failure according to the folks who wrote it.
And maybe, as a writer and creator, I should remember that.
Like the hardest part of releasing creative works to the public is that often, after a while, I'll start to judge those things far more harshly than when I first made them. Or I'll compare it to the potential I thought an idea had in my head. And if I don't reach that potential, I'll think of it as "bad" -- when it might just be slightly different than that idea. I have one hundred percent published stories that I thought were just sort of okay and later had someone tell me how much it meant to them to read it.
*cough*I Hate November*cough*
So I should make sure I remember Conundrum. That one of my favorite things to rewatch is considered one of those failures by its creators. That the things I make might have value, just not in the way I originally thought they should.
It's just sort of how things work out.
Remember that on April 5th at 11AM Eastern/10AM Central you can join me for the Critical Thinking Witches' Collective's April Brew virtual event! Attendance is free, and you can register here!
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This sums up every con that I have attended and staffed. And pretty my anime viewing rooms and VGR are the only things running and those are very quiet at this time too.
Let the boy go on patrol. Give his enthusiasm and energy an outlet.
he’s an ass and making him sit on it will annoy him
I disagree. Let this guy go “on patrol,” and I guarantee you, he will FIND “violators” to harass.
Wait, Bork Con is a 24 hour con? Why are there still 24 hour cons?
Caffeine and sugar.
…there are multiday cons held in hotels that AREN’T 24 hour cons?
Those sound like disappointing cons to attend.
…why wouldn’t there be? I work nights. 4am is just after break, time to start wrapping things up before morning shift shows up.
At Con, 4am means the drunks are finally gone, the crowds are gone, can finally enjoy the place.
Wait, there are NON 24-hour cons? I mean, yeah, PAX and crap, but fan-run anime cons that aren’t?!
Err, yeah. I mean it’s been a while certainly, but I don’t think I ever hit any kind of con that wasn’t 24. Some of them would shut down certain bits after it got seriously late, but that was just some of the official stuff. Not even all of that.
Yes, if the fan-run con is in a convention center.
Yeah, we have to shut down the dance at 2A and even that means we’re paying extra to keep the center open an extra hour.
Most Arizona conventions are not 24 hours. Things may still run super late depending on the event, but most official programming ends by 3am at the latest and picks up again by 10am the next morning. There might be some attendee-run room parties, but I’ve never been to one so I don’t know how common those are.
Some of this does depend on the venue. I worked a con in a small town that had to close by 11am due to security and safety reasons. The entrance to the hotel’s panel rooms used to go through the gift shop, so the con had to close up when the gift shop closed. There was a back entrance, but the con staff agreed not to push it since it wasn’t well-lit and located at the back of the hotel.
Moving to a different location wasn’t an option since the local convention center is ridiculously expensive – way over the con’s budget. Plus, the hotel staff are incredibly accommodating.
Do you perchance mean 11pm?
Yes! I did mean 11pm, my bad! XD