Archive for August 16th, 2012

PDX GEAR Con

PDX GEAR Con, Portland’s “Gaslight Explorers, Adventurers, & Romantics Convention,” begins tomorrow at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Portland, Oregon. I’ll be appearing on the following program items:

Steampunk Spaceflight, Friday 4PM, Cambridge
GEAR Con Staff, David D. Levine

A discussion among writers and fans. How does an early Industrial-Age civilization climb out of the gravity well? What are your favourite steampunk space vehicles from fiction & film? In more imaginative settings, what do you change about the universe to make spaceflight possible (or more interesting/dangerous/fun)?

The Babbage Question, Friday 6pm, Cambridge
David D. Levine, Rhiannon Louve, Phyllis Irene Radford, & Professor DR Schreiber

In a paper presented to the Royal Astronomical Society in 1822, Charles Babbage proposes building a mechanical “difference engine” to compute astronomical and mathematical tables. Although it was never built, the idea of a mechanical calculator in the early 19th Century provides an interesting field of speculation.

Radio Theater Hour, Saturday 1PM, Bellmont A-B
Katrina Acaster, Camille Alexa, Tina Connolly, M.K. Hobson, David D. Levine, & Phyllis Radford

Theatre of the Mind invites you to sit back, relax and let our stories take you far away. Enjoy two new short plays by local authors! “How Frederika Cassowary-Jones Joined the Ladies’ Society of Benevolent Goings-on” by Tina Connolly and “Industrially Yours” by Camille Alexa. Will be performed as old-time radio plays… just like granddad used to listen to while he was repairing the airship.

David D. Levine Reading and Q&A, Saturday 2pm, Cambridge

Hugo-winning SF writer David D. Levine reads from his alternate-history steampowered power-armor story “The Last Days of the Kelly Gang” and answers your questions.

The Authors En Masse Panel, Saturday 5pm, Bellmont A-B

Authors have so much to say, they have to write it all down. Come see what they’ll say when packed together in a room without their word processors! For Science!