Farpoint Convention at Marriott’s Hunt Valley Inn, where else? Go and say hi. You probably won’t be snowed in this year…
11 comments on “Where in the world is Peter now…?”
“Go and say hi.”
I either have the worst luck on the planet and catch Mr. David in a bad mood or I’ve done something to offend the Writer of Stuff. If it’s the latter, I haven’t a clue as to what I’ve done.
Nearly every encounter I’ve had with Mr. David (at the Farpoint and Shore Leave conventions) has been curt, bordering on rude, or just plain rude. It was a bit dismaying the first time to finally meet a favorite author and then feel like it was a major hassle.
It was no different at this year’s Farpoint convention.
Bumping into Mr. David in the dealers’ room on Saturday afternoon, I had the audacity to ask if he was judging the Masquerade later that evening (apparently my first mistake). After a rather curt “Yeah,” I dared to be jovial about him not being able to participate in the Masquerade’s Halftime entertainment, to which a terse “No” was uttered.
Apparently, this wasn’t enough as I was later heckled on stage during said Masquerade Halftime by this prolific author. While the situation (a live version of The Match Game) was certainly ripe with opportunity to interact with the production, the comments received were mean-spirited and appeared to be directed at me.
I don’t expect Mr. David to remember either incident or care about this fan’s well-being as I’m merely a digit on the sales numbers. It is, however, dismaying to be greeted with disgust when expressing my admiration or asking a question, in addition to being heckled on stage.
Obviously I’m not nearly as eloquent or witty as Mr. David, but I felt I could be silent no longer.
Maybe the rudeness is just a Star Trek author thing.
Well I am sorry that you had a bad meeting with Peter. I will point out that Peter gets to the Dealers Room rarely if all at either FarPoint or Shoreleave. He is either talking/participating in panels or signing or (on rare occations) spending a little time with his friends at the convention. When he is in the dealers room, he usually has a window of 20 minutes before he has to be somewhere else (Yes, I did time it). This is not a complaint. We know going in that we are there to help the convention. And we do have a lot of fun at both Shoreleave and FarPoint every year. So for his terseness in the dealers room, I would put it on the more pre-occupied than anything else. He tends to be short with anyone including me when he is in the middle of thinking about something.
As to the heckling, well he was saving you commentary from the audience by deflecting them. I also remember that Peter was not the only making comments nor was he the first. And you REALLY didn’t want to hear what the audience had to say. I did hear them and it wasn’t very nice.
If you want to talk to Peter, a good time is when he is signing esp. if the line slows down a bit. He was talking to a group of fans Saturday about all kinds of things down in the signing area. I know, I was chasing Caroline around at the time occationally adding a comment.
I did see the Match Game bit, but I have no idea what the heckling referred to was. I was sitting towards the back, though, so maybe I just didn’t hear it.
I had a great time over the weekend and will eventually write it up on my web log page.
Peter was in fine form in the two appearances I saw him. I saw half of his Saturday presentation where he read a short story and then I saw all of his Sunday one. On Sunday he was really rolling.
Later on Sunday while I was getting Bill Mumy’s autograph, Peter asked for a picture of Bill and Liliana. Bill asked if he wanted it made out to him. Peter joked, “no it’s for ebay, of course it’s for me” or something along those lines. I then said, “to ebay” as Bill was signing and Peter said an appreciative comment about my adding to his joke.
Neil
See,this is what I love: When it never occurs to fans that they bring negative responses upon themselves.
The Dealer’s Room: During the entirety of the three day convention, between all the panels I was doing and the autographing sessions, I wound up having exactly twenty minutes to see the Dealer’s Room. So Bob Greenberger and I were going to see it together.
Bob immediately gets waylaid by a fan who wants to talk about DC Comics and Batman. Bob, being far more patient, not to mention a DC rep, obliges. I keep going. Twenty minutes later I swing back, the guy’s still talking Bob’s ear off.
Now if a fan comes up to me at any time and asks me to sign something, 99% of the time, I sign it because it’s a finite encounter. But try to strike up a conversation with me while I’m quickly moving through the dealer’s room, trying to find some nice gifts for my family, and yeah, like as not, I’ll be succinct. Terse. I won’t be rude. “Rude” is trying to take up what little free time I have at a convention without even thinking it might be intrusive.
And yes, I’m aware this fan in particular didn’t know that I had so little free time and was in a hurry. The problem is that it didn’t even *occur* to him that I should be giving priority to anything else except someone butting in on my train of thought while I’m trying to see what’s available and calculate how much money I have to spend.
“The Match Game.” God, was that endless. This is supposed to be the thing that fills in time while the judges are making their decisions about the costumes during thte masquerade. We judges made our decisions quickly, efficiently, took maybe ten minutes, and we’re ready because we don’t want to keep the audience and contestants (many of whom are in hot, uncomfortable outfits) waiting any longer than is necessary.
And then we (including Bill Mumy) come out and have to cool our heels for twenty five minutes while this endless and unfunny “Match Game” parody goes on and on and on. Throughout the audience parents (including me) are trying to rein in their increasingly fidgety and unhappy youngsters because they want to see who want the costume competition. Meantime the Match Game “celebrities” are sitting there prolonging the agony because they think it’s the height of hilarity to write “Uvula” in response to almost every question.
Was I getting pìššëd øff as I saw the growing irritation around me? You bet I was.
If the complainer is the one I’m thinking of, then get this: After a quarter hour of this, they’re asked to fill in the blank: (Blank) Rogers (or Rodgers, I suppose, since it wasn’t spelled.)
“Mister” comes to mind, or “Fred.” “Buck” works. “Steve” perhaps.
So what does the first celebrity (who might be the complainer) write down?
“Duck.”
At which point I moaned, “That’s Duck DODGERS, you moron!” Didn’t realize I was sitting near a mike, so my voice carried more than I expected it to. Which I felt bad about. But it doesn’t change the fact that it WAS Duck Dodgers.
As far as I’m concerned, the entertainment during the judge’s deliberation should consist of previews and short cartoons which can be wrapped up as soon as the judges come back. And I’m not saying that simply because I was a judge, but instead as a long-time costume competition audience goer (and occasional contestant) who just wants to know who won and not endure interminable unfunny skits long after the judges have made their decisions.
Now if the poster had approached me during, say, an autographing signing, or asked questions during my panel, or come up to me at any other normal time, I would have been happy to chat with him about anything. Or if he’d been part of a sketch that was genuinely funny, I would have laughed. And I laugh pretty easily. Instead he comes up to me while I’m clearly busy, which is rude in and of itself, and then complains because I wasn’t Joe Conversationalist, and then he gives flat out wrong answers in the comedic equivalent of root canal. Frankly, I was restrained. You guys were terrible.
But this is the way the internet goes. It’s the point I was making that Tom Galloway mentioned he was a witness to. It doesn’t matter how many dozens or hundreds or even thousands of fans you take time for, are nice to, sign entire runs of “Hulk” for. The first and loudest ones off the mark are the ones who take offense, complain about you, and immediately someone else who *wasn’t even there* pops up (“Maybe the rudeness is just a Star Trek author thing”) and we’re off to the races.
PAD
It would appear that there was crucial information in both instances that would have been beneficial to the situations at hand.
“During the entirety of the three day convention, between all the panels I was doing and the autographing sessions, I wound up having exactly twenty minutes to see the Dealer’s Room.”
I had no idea this was the case. While my window wasn’t nearly as tight as yours, I was also in there during a brief break between show prep and panels. I sincerely apologize for disturbing you.
“The Match Game. God, was that endless.”
I was under the impression that I would receive some kind of cue to end things gracefully.
It never came.
I did notice that you and Mr. Mumy were sitting in the guest section and did find it to be a bit odd that my cue hadn’t come. I thought there was something else going on behind the scenes but it sounds like you guys were finished about the time the Star Wars: Revelations trailer had been screened.
That being the case, I’m awfully curious as to why Cindy didn’t tell me. Equally curious was the lack of any feedback (positive or negative) whatsoever by Steve, Cindy or any of the other con committee members on running over time.
For the record, “Uvula Guy” was Lawrence Schoen of the Klingon Language Institute whereas I was the fat guy in the tux attempting to channel the late Gene Rayburn.
Unfortunately, anyone who mentioned the “Match Game” affair to me was raving about it. I would have killed for something along the lines of what you posted that night.
“The first and loudest ones off the mark are the ones who take offense”
I’m a newcomer to this site having discovered it all of a month and a half ago. Had I known of your Internet presence a year ago, your kind demeanor toward my daughter (she was dressed as Alia from Dune this year) would have been made public.
I fully admit that my post was written shortly after arriving home with emotion running a little high -not that that excuses anything. The attempted dogpile by Cam was not intended at all and bugs me it happened in the first place. The last thing I wanted was to be yet another fan trying to pick a fight with you.
I know you’ve probably washed your hands of this sir, but I’d like to say that I’m sorry for flying off the cuff (let alone doing it on the Internet) and providing yet another reason to confirm your frustration.
Be well, Peter.
Dewitte Baisch
“That being the case, I’m awfully curious as to why Cindy didn’t tell me.”
That is weird. I wonder why they didn’t tell you, because it seems it would have been easy to end it at about any time. Sitting at the back during that part of the halftime, I had no idea that any of the judges were back yet.
I have put up on my blog my writeup of my Friday and Saturday experiences and eventually have Sunday there. As I mention, the Alia costume was quite impressive.
Neil
I know that I’ve had nothing but pleasant experiences both in talking to Peter in a panel or just in the halls at ShoreLeave and Farpoint. He is very willing to talk to fans when he can.
And yes, I and my friends were very much wondering when “The Match Game” would end.
Oh, and Ariel was wonderful as usual. I love seeing the skits and costumes she comes up with.
I just stumbled on the preceding remarks and thought I should add a short post.
For the record, I don’t usually attend the masquerade at conventions, and no one has ever been foolish enough to ask me to be part of the “filler” show (and after the debacle of MATCH GAME they probably never will again and the world will be a better place).
Peter, what can I say about the Duck Dodgers remark? I was taking the dámņ thing too seriously and so fell victim to the classic problem of game shows the world over: my brain came up blank.
Don’t feel bad about the “moron” remark. I certainly deserved it for my part in dithering away the judges’ time.
On the other hand, “uvula” is always funny. But, maybe it’s a Klingon thing.
WHy all these things happen?
Hello,
Please visit my website for more information: link here.
Byebye
• 
“Go and say hi.”
I either have the worst luck on the planet and catch Mr. David in a bad mood or I’ve done something to offend the Writer of Stuff. If it’s the latter, I haven’t a clue as to what I’ve done.
Nearly every encounter I’ve had with Mr. David (at the Farpoint and Shore Leave conventions) has been curt, bordering on rude, or just plain rude. It was a bit dismaying the first time to finally meet a favorite author and then feel like it was a major hassle.
It was no different at this year’s Farpoint convention.
Bumping into Mr. David in the dealers’ room on Saturday afternoon, I had the audacity to ask if he was judging the Masquerade later that evening (apparently my first mistake). After a rather curt “Yeah,” I dared to be jovial about him not being able to participate in the Masquerade’s Halftime entertainment, to which a terse “No” was uttered.
Apparently, this wasn’t enough as I was later heckled on stage during said Masquerade Halftime by this prolific author. While the situation (a live version of The Match Game) was certainly ripe with opportunity to interact with the production, the comments received were mean-spirited and appeared to be directed at me.
I don’t expect Mr. David to remember either incident or care about this fan’s well-being as I’m merely a digit on the sales numbers. It is, however, dismaying to be greeted with disgust when expressing my admiration or asking a question, in addition to being heckled on stage.
Obviously I’m not nearly as eloquent or witty as Mr. David, but I felt I could be silent no longer.
Maybe the rudeness is just a Star Trek author thing.
Well I am sorry that you had a bad meeting with Peter. I will point out that Peter gets to the Dealers Room rarely if all at either FarPoint or Shoreleave. He is either talking/participating in panels or signing or (on rare occations) spending a little time with his friends at the convention. When he is in the dealers room, he usually has a window of 20 minutes before he has to be somewhere else (Yes, I did time it). This is not a complaint. We know going in that we are there to help the convention. And we do have a lot of fun at both Shoreleave and FarPoint every year. So for his terseness in the dealers room, I would put it on the more pre-occupied than anything else. He tends to be short with anyone including me when he is in the middle of thinking about something.
As to the heckling, well he was saving you commentary from the audience by deflecting them. I also remember that Peter was not the only making comments nor was he the first. And you REALLY didn’t want to hear what the audience had to say. I did hear them and it wasn’t very nice.
If you want to talk to Peter, a good time is when he is signing esp. if the line slows down a bit. He was talking to a group of fans Saturday about all kinds of things down in the signing area. I know, I was chasing Caroline around at the time occationally adding a comment.
I did see the Match Game bit, but I have no idea what the heckling referred to was. I was sitting towards the back, though, so maybe I just didn’t hear it.
I had a great time over the weekend and will eventually write it up on my web log page.
Peter was in fine form in the two appearances I saw him. I saw half of his Saturday presentation where he read a short story and then I saw all of his Sunday one. On Sunday he was really rolling.
Later on Sunday while I was getting Bill Mumy’s autograph, Peter asked for a picture of Bill and Liliana. Bill asked if he wanted it made out to him. Peter joked, “no it’s for ebay, of course it’s for me” or something along those lines. I then said, “to ebay” as Bill was signing and Peter said an appreciative comment about my adding to his joke.
Neil
See,this is what I love: When it never occurs to fans that they bring negative responses upon themselves.
The Dealer’s Room: During the entirety of the three day convention, between all the panels I was doing and the autographing sessions, I wound up having exactly twenty minutes to see the Dealer’s Room. So Bob Greenberger and I were going to see it together.
Bob immediately gets waylaid by a fan who wants to talk about DC Comics and Batman. Bob, being far more patient, not to mention a DC rep, obliges. I keep going. Twenty minutes later I swing back, the guy’s still talking Bob’s ear off.
Now if a fan comes up to me at any time and asks me to sign something, 99% of the time, I sign it because it’s a finite encounter. But try to strike up a conversation with me while I’m quickly moving through the dealer’s room, trying to find some nice gifts for my family, and yeah, like as not, I’ll be succinct. Terse. I won’t be rude. “Rude” is trying to take up what little free time I have at a convention without even thinking it might be intrusive.
And yes, I’m aware this fan in particular didn’t know that I had so little free time and was in a hurry. The problem is that it didn’t even *occur* to him that I should be giving priority to anything else except someone butting in on my train of thought while I’m trying to see what’s available and calculate how much money I have to spend.
“The Match Game.” God, was that endless. This is supposed to be the thing that fills in time while the judges are making their decisions about the costumes during thte masquerade. We judges made our decisions quickly, efficiently, took maybe ten minutes, and we’re ready because we don’t want to keep the audience and contestants (many of whom are in hot, uncomfortable outfits) waiting any longer than is necessary.
And then we (including Bill Mumy) come out and have to cool our heels for twenty five minutes while this endless and unfunny “Match Game” parody goes on and on and on. Throughout the audience parents (including me) are trying to rein in their increasingly fidgety and unhappy youngsters because they want to see who want the costume competition. Meantime the Match Game “celebrities” are sitting there prolonging the agony because they think it’s the height of hilarity to write “Uvula” in response to almost every question.
Was I getting pìššëd øff as I saw the growing irritation around me? You bet I was.
If the complainer is the one I’m thinking of, then get this: After a quarter hour of this, they’re asked to fill in the blank: (Blank) Rogers (or Rodgers, I suppose, since it wasn’t spelled.)
“Mister” comes to mind, or “Fred.” “Buck” works. “Steve” perhaps.
So what does the first celebrity (who might be the complainer) write down?
“Duck.”
At which point I moaned, “That’s Duck DODGERS, you moron!” Didn’t realize I was sitting near a mike, so my voice carried more than I expected it to. Which I felt bad about. But it doesn’t change the fact that it WAS Duck Dodgers.
As far as I’m concerned, the entertainment during the judge’s deliberation should consist of previews and short cartoons which can be wrapped up as soon as the judges come back. And I’m not saying that simply because I was a judge, but instead as a long-time costume competition audience goer (and occasional contestant) who just wants to know who won and not endure interminable unfunny skits long after the judges have made their decisions.
Now if the poster had approached me during, say, an autographing signing, or asked questions during my panel, or come up to me at any other normal time, I would have been happy to chat with him about anything. Or if he’d been part of a sketch that was genuinely funny, I would have laughed. And I laugh pretty easily. Instead he comes up to me while I’m clearly busy, which is rude in and of itself, and then complains because I wasn’t Joe Conversationalist, and then he gives flat out wrong answers in the comedic equivalent of root canal. Frankly, I was restrained. You guys were terrible.
But this is the way the internet goes. It’s the point I was making that Tom Galloway mentioned he was a witness to. It doesn’t matter how many dozens or hundreds or even thousands of fans you take time for, are nice to, sign entire runs of “Hulk” for. The first and loudest ones off the mark are the ones who take offense, complain about you, and immediately someone else who *wasn’t even there* pops up (“Maybe the rudeness is just a Star Trek author thing”) and we’re off to the races.
PAD
It would appear that there was crucial information in both instances that would have been beneficial to the situations at hand.
“During the entirety of the three day convention, between all the panels I was doing and the autographing sessions, I wound up having exactly twenty minutes to see the Dealer’s Room.”
I had no idea this was the case. While my window wasn’t nearly as tight as yours, I was also in there during a brief break between show prep and panels. I sincerely apologize for disturbing you.
“The Match Game. God, was that endless.”
I was under the impression that I would receive some kind of cue to end things gracefully.
It never came.
I did notice that you and Mr. Mumy were sitting in the guest section and did find it to be a bit odd that my cue hadn’t come. I thought there was something else going on behind the scenes but it sounds like you guys were finished about the time the Star Wars: Revelations trailer had been screened.
That being the case, I’m awfully curious as to why Cindy didn’t tell me. Equally curious was the lack of any feedback (positive or negative) whatsoever by Steve, Cindy or any of the other con committee members on running over time.
For the record, “Uvula Guy” was Lawrence Schoen of the Klingon Language Institute whereas I was the fat guy in the tux attempting to channel the late Gene Rayburn.
Unfortunately, anyone who mentioned the “Match Game” affair to me was raving about it. I would have killed for something along the lines of what you posted that night.
“The first and loudest ones off the mark are the ones who take offense”
I’m a newcomer to this site having discovered it all of a month and a half ago. Had I known of your Internet presence a year ago, your kind demeanor toward my daughter (she was dressed as Alia from Dune this year) would have been made public.
I fully admit that my post was written shortly after arriving home with emotion running a little high -not that that excuses anything. The attempted dogpile by Cam was not intended at all and bugs me it happened in the first place. The last thing I wanted was to be yet another fan trying to pick a fight with you.
I know you’ve probably washed your hands of this sir, but I’d like to say that I’m sorry for flying off the cuff (let alone doing it on the Internet) and providing yet another reason to confirm your frustration.
Be well, Peter.
Dewitte Baisch
“That being the case, I’m awfully curious as to why Cindy didn’t tell me.”
That is weird. I wonder why they didn’t tell you, because it seems it would have been easy to end it at about any time. Sitting at the back during that part of the halftime, I had no idea that any of the judges were back yet.
I have put up on my blog my writeup of my Friday and Saturday experiences and eventually have Sunday there. As I mention, the Alia costume was quite impressive.
Neil
I know that I’ve had nothing but pleasant experiences both in talking to Peter in a panel or just in the halls at ShoreLeave and Farpoint. He is very willing to talk to fans when he can.
And yes, I and my friends were very much wondering when “The Match Game” would end.
Oh, and Ariel was wonderful as usual. I love seeing the skits and costumes she comes up with.
I just stumbled on the preceding remarks and thought I should add a short post.
For the record, I don’t usually attend the masquerade at conventions, and no one has ever been foolish enough to ask me to be part of the “filler” show (and after the debacle of MATCH GAME they probably never will again and the world will be a better place).
Peter, what can I say about the Duck Dodgers remark? I was taking the dámņ thing too seriously and so fell victim to the classic problem of game shows the world over: my brain came up blank.
Don’t feel bad about the “moron” remark. I certainly deserved it for my part in dithering away the judges’ time.
On the other hand, “uvula” is always funny. But, maybe it’s a Klingon thing.
WHy all these things happen?
Hello,
Please visit my website for more information:
link here.
Byebye
fbgfdhgfhxg