Locus and Mucus
Jun. 26th, 2011 07:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nonionaySaturday was the Locus Awards, which as always, was a hoot. I'm fascinated by the liturgical feel of some ceremonies. I like to joke that the Talebones Live reading at Norwescon is my Easter service. The Locus Awards has a similar feel. So here's how an sf ceremony is like a religious ceremony, using Talebones Live and the Locus Awards as examples. Not all qualities overlap the two, but a similar spirit is in both:
1. You've got a charming MC who everyone knows and loves. (I don't know Connie Willis, MC of the Locus Awards, personally, but Patrick Swenson, who runs Talebones, is certainly known by everyone who goes to Talebones Live.)
2. A variety of people get up and give readings/speeches/share their experiences.
3. Singing (Gardner Dozois led us all in singing Emily Dickenson to the tune of The Yellow Rose of Texas.)
4. Everyone eats together.
5. Memorializing of those we've lost.
6. Overall, it's a celebration and strengthening of community in a way that is fun and everyone in the group is familiar with. Both Talebones and Locus have traditional raffles. Locus has the Hawaiian Shirt Contest. They're little things that make the participants feel this is an experience they're creating themselves, rather than just observing as an audience. (After the Locus Awards is the Hall of Fame induction ceremony*, which is very much a one-sided, audience affair. Now, if we were all to dump Gatorade on the inductees at the end of the ceremony, then it would feel more communal.)
I had a lot of fun, although during the banquet, something weird happened with my throat. Cut for those who aren't interested in my mucus. I just want everyone to know, I'm better now, and I'm really not bulimic!
It felt like there was air or something trying to come up, but that and whatever I was swallowing were mutually blocking each other. Turns out it was more complicated than that, and kept coming back. I couldn't eat anything, and had to keep running to the bathroom to clear it out. At one point, I decided to be stubborn and just swallow a bite of bread. This resulted in me charging to the bathroom while I puked into my hands. This caused mild embarrassment on my part, since everyone in the bathroom was worried about me. (I don't think many people actually saw me puke into my hands.) I tried to wait until everyone left the bathroom before daintily sticking my finger down my throat to puke up a wad of mucus, water and saliva. (I know what my tonsils feel like!)
Fortunately, it went away before the awards proper. I don't know if singing helped, or if it was just a coincidence. Later, I was a little queasy, though that might just be because of the trauma I'd forced myself through. I hope I'm not getting some bizarre bug.
*which contains 8 whole women** in a Hall of 60-odd people. Way to go, science fiction.
**and now that I think about it, 2 black people.
1. You've got a charming MC who everyone knows and loves. (I don't know Connie Willis, MC of the Locus Awards, personally, but Patrick Swenson, who runs Talebones, is certainly known by everyone who goes to Talebones Live.)
2. A variety of people get up and give readings/speeches/share their experiences.
3. Singing (Gardner Dozois led us all in singing Emily Dickenson to the tune of The Yellow Rose of Texas.)
4. Everyone eats together.
5. Memorializing of those we've lost.
6. Overall, it's a celebration and strengthening of community in a way that is fun and everyone in the group is familiar with. Both Talebones and Locus have traditional raffles. Locus has the Hawaiian Shirt Contest. They're little things that make the participants feel this is an experience they're creating themselves, rather than just observing as an audience. (After the Locus Awards is the Hall of Fame induction ceremony*, which is very much a one-sided, audience affair. Now, if we were all to dump Gatorade on the inductees at the end of the ceremony, then it would feel more communal.)
I had a lot of fun, although during the banquet, something weird happened with my throat. Cut for those who aren't interested in my mucus. I just want everyone to know, I'm better now, and I'm really not bulimic!
It felt like there was air or something trying to come up, but that and whatever I was swallowing were mutually blocking each other. Turns out it was more complicated than that, and kept coming back. I couldn't eat anything, and had to keep running to the bathroom to clear it out. At one point, I decided to be stubborn and just swallow a bite of bread. This resulted in me charging to the bathroom while I puked into my hands. This caused mild embarrassment on my part, since everyone in the bathroom was worried about me. (I don't think many people actually saw me puke into my hands.) I tried to wait until everyone left the bathroom before daintily sticking my finger down my throat to puke up a wad of mucus, water and saliva. (I know what my tonsils feel like!)
Fortunately, it went away before the awards proper. I don't know if singing helped, or if it was just a coincidence. Later, I was a little queasy, though that might just be because of the trauma I'd forced myself through. I hope I'm not getting some bizarre bug.
*which contains 8 whole women** in a Hall of 60-odd people. Way to go, science fiction.
**and now that I think about it, 2 black people.
