Taff Pirates
Sep. 24th, 2003 06:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mishalakAvast! Time for an evil plotting sneaky post, in honor of having two excellent beauties crewing my ship, the U.S.S Alcibiades. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thette is First Mate and almeda has claimed the position of Cabin Girl.
Now me friends we're in need of more people to join the faction that is behind my cunningly early TAFF bid. This month's addition to the campaign platform is "Changes outfits often enough to qualify as entertainment at conventions." I wasn't too sure about it, but Kathy Routliffe on Rasff said, "it's got the touch of elegant foolishness that marks a successful slogan." So I'm going to be bold and take her suggestion. Everyone find me another vote, arr!
(Yes this post is one part silly and one part serious. Suggest a person who I should know and make comments on his journal, casually mention the crazy thing I'm doing now, or even talk me up in your own journal. And yes this will be the only time I pester you... this month.)
thette is First Mate and almeda has claimed the position of Cabin Girl. Now me friends we're in need of more people to join the faction that is behind my cunningly early TAFF bid. This month's addition to the campaign platform is "Changes outfits often enough to qualify as entertainment at conventions." I wasn't too sure about it, but Kathy Routliffe on Rasff said, "it's got the touch of elegant foolishness that marks a successful slogan." So I'm going to be bold and take her suggestion. Everyone find me another vote, arr!
(Yes this post is one part silly and one part serious. Suggest a person who I should know and make comments on his journal, casually mention the crazy thing I'm doing now, or even talk me up in your own journal. And yes this will be the only time I pester you... this month.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-25 12:09 am (UTC)(This is half serious. I haven't voted before, but now I will. No campaigns in my journal, though.)
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-25 10:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-25 07:49 am (UTC)Do you know many British fans? Are they likely to vote for you? Do you publish a fanzine or have good Brit connections online? How will you campaign for the UK vote?
On the Campaign Trail
Date: 2003-09-25 10:06 am (UTC)When I first heard bunches of TAFF and DUFF stories at ConJose I was enchanted by the idea. "Go across the oceans to crash on fans' floors, do huge amounts of fanac for a month, and have a wonderful way to start conversations about fandom and with fans? That is so very cool!" And I met Sue Mason and Tobes at the con and found them both to be very excellent people. I didn't get to hang with Sue as much as I would have liked, but I did a fair amount of drinking with Tobes at various parties.
So right then I conceived that maybe in a few years I would have enough fannish credentials to run for TAFF. But then I ran into Sue Mason again at Minicon and she suggested that I try running sooner. I believe she said something along the lines of, "Even if you don't win the first time it is good to be getting your name out there. Though you really need to do some more fanzine publication."
I thought that sounded like a lovely idea and so I decided to run for the fun of it, and win or lose I could acoplish some good things. Denver fandom is isolated from the rest of fandom in America and the world at large. And while that's not the end of the world I think it is a worthy goal to build interest amoung Denver fans in fandom at large and to inform the world that Denver Fandom is more than just Bruce Miller (Local BNF).
Silly Slogan:
Mishalak, Gay Elf Boy for TAFF!
Qualifications and Exceptional Qualities:
Date: 2003-09-25 10:07 am (UTC)Colorado really is somewhat different from other fandoms, we've developed our own odd way of doing things in our geographic isolation. Also there are all sorts of misconceptions to clear up or create, like Denver isn't in the mountains, just near them.
As many people who've met me will be happy to relate I'm quite an enthusiastic and friendly sort. I do quite all right at remaining undisturbed by the slings and arrows that travel can throw at a person. And on that subject one of my friends asked me if I though I would be able to handle being the target of disagreeable conversation as sometimes happen to TAFF delegates. My response was to say that as director of a SF club, I know nothing about people complaining about everything I do. (That should be read with cheerful sarcasm.) When faced with such a situation my first instinct is to give apologies even when I think I didn't do anything wrong and to avoid provoking people who are angry with me or that I think might be angry with me. Having the emotional memory of a butterfly helps me; I forget insults almost like they never happened.
I continue to improve upon my fanac and I plan to issue a sort of Best Of, paper version of my monthly email 'zine. I have just started assembly and I plan on publishing in October or November. I am hopeful that it will be incredibly cool. To my amazement I was given quite a few complements at Minicon about the trip reports that I'm always posting to Rasff and now also here on my livejournal. That gave me a lot of confidence to say that I'll be able to do a first-rate trip report.
If given any opportunity I will throw great parties, dress in a very shibby way, and cook for fans kind enough to let me into their kitchens. (There is currently a plot afoot to have me do the Molé Chile for Minicon next year.) And I'll save money with my ability to get smashed on just two and a half glasses of wine.
I am fairly well known to some Britfen, and I'm working on improving that as well. Sue Mason (
The fundraising and management aspects of TAFF will be well managed under my two-year tenure. I already do a fair amount of fund raising on behalf of the club and convention. I'm not only shameless about self promotion, I'm also quite bold at pestering, wheedling, and begging for people to buy memberships, give money, and donate stuff. I bounce around behind the MileHiCon table at various conventions, collect books for DASFA (and crazy me I stored them in my apartment for two months once, 30 boxes of books in addition to the thousands already here, it was intolerable), and generally spread the good word about things.
And finally I want to see a lot more of Great Britain than the brief slice I saw when changing planes on the way to Russia in 1996.
Re: Qualifications and Exceptional Qualities:
Date: 2003-09-25 10:18 am (UTC)This should get you enough attention during 2003 and the beginning of 2004, so you can start your campaign for real in some nine months or so. (Regard it as your baby.)
Re: Qualifications and Exceptional Qualities:
Date: 2003-09-25 12:31 pm (UTC)Re: Qualifications and Exceptional Qualities:
Date: 2003-09-26 02:55 am (UTC)Otherwise: I'm not certain. Most fans are established and have plenty of money, so they can go by themselves.
As for known Swedish fans, the Fan GoH at Interaction is a gentle old man, who lives less than five miles from here...
Re: Qualifications and Exceptional Qualities:
Date: 2003-09-26 11:16 am (UTC)Oh and TAFF isn't always a money thing. Some TAFF deligates have taken very little from the fund. In some ways TAFF is reinvented every time someone new wins since there are very few hard rules about it.
Re: Qualifications and Exceptional Qualities:
Date: 2003-09-25 12:06 pm (UTC)However... when will the next US to UK race be? The last race sent Randy Byers overseas, so the next ought to be bringing somebody here. Have you heard anything about the schedule for the next race?
Re: Qualifications and Exceptional Qualities:
Date: 2003-09-25 12:26 pm (UTC)I assume that the next one will be Eastbound for Noreascon 4 in Boston. I expect that election will get started sometime in January. I think that the Westbound race will be about the same time in 2005 since it is likely to be going to Intersection in Scotland rather than Eastercon. Though I personally would not mind doing either one since I like both big and small conventions. Though the idea of hitting a international Worldcon certainly does have its merits. I might try to go back to the UK after a few years to do a smaller con like Novacon.
I'm cunningly starting my exploratory campaign this early to A) Raise money for TAFF and B) to get some name recognition. Since I was only involved in Colorado fandom for my first four years I don't have what it takes to win... right now. I hope to change that over the next year and then start my campaign in earnest.
Tentative Platform
Date: 2003-09-25 10:08 am (UTC)It's time for a fan from the great empty mountain west of America. He's is a very active fan from Colorado involved with local and national conventions and Director of DASFA. Changes outfits often enough to qualify as entertainment at conventions.
So that's what I've got so far, any advice or criticisms would be most appreciated. And now I feel like I ought to turn all this into a post or add it to the post, or something.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-25 03:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-25 05:41 pm (UTC)