AussieCon 4

[Horza]

What do you mean "may" ?

[Maltaran]

This could cause me problems.

Strike called off

[Stubby]

Strike called off

Wooooooot!!

[Sneaky Monkey]

Strike called off

Yay! That's awesome news.

Not so much for me, because I live in Australia and this did not pose any issues for me...but, still, YAY!

[Parris]

We'll be bringing down some small GRRM-related items to donate to good causes while having some good times and plenty of laughs. We'll be bringing down things to donate to the usual WorldCon charity auctions, of course. But the bulk of the donations will go to the cause that is so dear to our heart: The Brotherhood Without Banners.

Our donated items will be at the Brotherhood Without Banners party, check fliers and party posters for date, time, location. Some are going into the raffle for the BwB expenses of holding the parties and renting the suite. The raffle already has some incredible books in it - here's a link to a big honkin' poster of what has already been donated (traditional pdf warning): BwB fundraiser thingy items to be won. There's several things listed I'm feeling a strong desire to win, and win big, and I hope you do to.

There will also be small trinkets available to show you support the BwB and GRRM that will be a delightful addition to anyone's attire a a very nominal cost.

For one item though, a very special limited edition, with very special requirements, you will have to be sorely disappointed before you can acquire this item. (See ya Sunday).

I'm sure the list of donations to the BwB fundraiser will grow during the convention. If you aren't attending AussieCon, you might want to check out the list of items that are to be won, and if there's something you would like for yourself or to give to loved one, ask a friend who is attending to get you in on the raffle and give them a list of what you'd like to win. Can't win if you don't play, and all the proceeds go to the costs of holding the BwB parties, and if you've ever been to the Bros WorldCons parties, you know it's a great cause.

see you there!

Parris, Lover of Wombats...

[theMountainGoat]

What Parris said except with one small addendum:

ALL the proceeds of the raffle are going to charity and NOT towards the cost of the party.

Sorry bros but we will be covering that expense ourselves. Thank you.

[stormborne]

looking forward to meeting some of you at aussie con :) this'll be my first con as well....just curious as to how we will find out about BwB stuff throughout the con, do you reckon George'll mention it at any of his scheduled events?

weather forcast for melbourne next week is still chilly, only up to 15 degrees celcius...pack for all weathers!

[theMountainGoat]

The only BWB event George might mention at his scheduled events will be the main BWB organised public party which he may invite people to before his reading. But since we are advertising that event with posters everyone should be able to find it no problem.

But there are other BWB events planned which will be taking place before the party does and the only way to get invited to them is to meet up with the rest of us, hang out and get involved. The best way to do that is to make sure you have the phone number for one of the rest of us. For Aussies I recommend sending your phone number via Private Message to Stubby (you will need to have posted a minimum number of times to do so, I think its 5 times or something like that). I have a UK phone number which will cost us both a small fortune to call or text to which is why Stubby is your best bet really.

So if you have Stubby's phone number send him a text when you arrive to find out where we are and come and join us. We will do our best to make sure everyone knows what's going on and where to meet at what time, but usually these things get quite chaotic with smaller groups splintering off from the main group and doing their own thing and then you'll end up with a bunch of other people and you won't know where the others have wandered off to. But hey it's all good fun :)

[Stubby]

For Aussies I recommend sending your phone number via Private Message to Stubby (you will need to have posted a minimum number of times to do so, I think its 5 times or something like that). I have a UK phone number which will cost us both a small fortune to call or text to which is why Stubby is your best bet really.

So if you have Stubby's phone number send him a text when you arrive to find out where we are and come and join us.

Only a few people have done so, so far. But MG is correct. We want to make sure every BwB attendee is included, so don't be shy!

[Neal]

Preliminary program is up. Looking good.

[theMountainGoat]

Glad the programme is finally up, even if it could have used proof reading or at least a spell checker.

One thing I noticed on my first glance through is an awesome reading double header of Cory Doctorow and Peter V. Brent. Only problem is some genius has scheduled this for 10 am on Sunday freaking morning. WTF. Are you kidding me? I guess I will try to get there after 2 hours sleep or something....

[Stubby]

I guess I will try to get there after 2 hours sleep or something....

But that breaks one of the inviolable rules of the Con, MG.

[Parris]

What Parris said except with one small addendum:

ALL the proceeds of the raffle are going to charity and NOT towards the cost of the party.

Sorry bros but we will be covering that expense ourselves. Thank you.

let me amend that

some of the things we're bringing are for the raffle- the big stuff - but some small things will be offered casually at the party for those who toss a few stags into the party pot as a token of our thanks.

Believe me, you won't be disappointed.

[Jebus]

Hey guys, not a big poster here but will be trying to attend the con on at least Friday and Saturday (I can see the Crowne Plaza from my office desk if I turn my head just so).

I've put my name up to volunteer at AC but have not really heard back from them yet so dunno what's going on there, happy to help out a BWB not from the Greatest City In The World (aka Melbourne) if they need any pointers on anything at all.

Anyway, hope to see some of you there.

Cheers,

Jebus

[Inga82]

Hi all - long time lurker, first time poster here. I was so excited to find out GRRM was coming to Melbourne, then when I saw the membership price for Aussiecon I was all WTFBBQ, I'm not paying that. I'm not a literary hound or a history nut or a sci-fi lover, I'm just a fangirl for ASOIAF. Now I see that you guys organise all this other cool stuff as well, so I'm starting to change my mind - as a complete Con virgin, what can I expect at Aussiecon? To be honest, I'm picturing something out of a Big Bang Theory episode. Are you a nice friendly mob at BWB? Will I by lynched if I don't know the Targaryen lineage in perfect chronological order?

Cheers all, Ingrid

[Stubby]

Hi all - long time lurker, first time poster here. I was so excited to find out GRRM was coming to Melbourne, then when I saw the membership price for Aussiecon I was all WTFBBQ, I'm not paying that. I'm not a literary hound or a history nut or a sci-fi lover, I'm just a fangirl for ASOIAF. Now I see that you guys organise all this other cool stuff as well, so I'm starting to change my mind - as a complete Con virgin, what can I expect at Aussiecon? To be honest, I'm picturing something out of a Big Bang Theory episode. Are you a nice friendly mob at BWB? Will I by lynched if I don't know the Targaryen lineage in perfect chronological order?

Cheers all, Ingrid

Ingrid,

Get registered, come along to the con and you will have a blast. The official activities are one thing but the fellowship and the opportunity to hang out with like-minded people simply cannot be beat. And as AFAIK there are only a handful of us coming to Melbourne that are not complete con nOObs, so you'll be no orphan!

[Stubby]

Gang,

We are now able to publish some more details for the parties in Melbourne. Yes, you read that correctly, we have a suite for 2 parties, on each of the Friday and Saturday nights.

The quest night will be Saturday. If you want to participate in the quest keep that night free!

As always, we will need some $$ from bros to make the party happen. As yet, we have not set a specific sum or budget, and will leave that until we can have a bit of a discussion about what we will have on offer.

If you have not already sent me a PM with your mobile number, please do, so I can make sure everyone gets to meet up with everybody once we are there. I will work something else out for those that cannot yet activate PM’s due to having a low post count.

:cheers:

[Inga82]

Cheers Stubby, hooray for noobies! I'll trot myself along then - pretty sure I'll regret it if I wimp out.

[Parris]

Hi all - long time lurker, first time poster here. I was so excited to find out GRRM was coming to Melbourne, then when I saw the membership price for Aussiecon I was all WTFBBQ, I'm not paying that. I'm not a literary hound or a history nut or a sci-fi lover, I'm just a fangirl for ASOIAF. Now I see that you guys organise all this other cool stuff as well, so I'm starting to change my mind - as a complete Con virgin, what can I expect at Aussiecon? To be honest, I'm picturing something out of a Big Bang Theory episode. Are you a nice friendly mob at BWB? Will I by lynched if I don't know the Targaryen lineage in perfect chronological order?

Cheers all, Ingrid

Ingrid

if you check out the LJ for AussieCon and other sources, you should be able to find a membership that someone is transferring because they can't attend. These are usually cheaper than buying a membership at the door. There are also day passes if you can only attend for one day. I'm sure there's a Bro here on the forums who could help you find a membership for less than the current at the door price.

WorldCons are non-profit, run by fans for fans. Even the convention committee pays for their memberships and expenses. We get little to no corporate support, and we make our own fun.

Costing out a membership over the five days it runs will show that you will pay about $40 per day for 24 hours of fun. Some events and parties will not give you grief about not having a membership badge. But to get into any of the main convention events and functions, such as seeing the Art show, going to George's panels and reading, hearing Stan Robinson's speech, going to the dealer's room, attending MOST of the parties and evening events will all require a membership badge.

Since WorldCons occur in Australia only once every ten years or more, I strongly suggest you consider getting a membership and attending as many days as you possibly can.

You'll never know if you like SF fandom unless you actually experience it for yourself. And it's cheaper than going to a Lady Gaga show.

[Inga82]

You mean Gaga's not going to be there? ;) Thanks for the info Parris - I don't really mind paying the full membership if it's going to be as awesome as everyone says (heck, I can't even imagine what a 5 day rental of Jeff's Shed would cost), it's only that in the beginning I thought I'd be paying $95 for a half hour taste of ADWD and *maybe* get a book signed if the queue isn't halfway to Geelong.

However with the opportunity to meet and part-ay with some like minded ASOIAF groupies, it becomes much more appealing.