I was one of the first people to accept an invite from United Fan Con up in Springfield, MA, in November…and, as of last night, was the very first one (and, to my knowledge, the only one) to be disinvited. As opposed to Orlando where I was simply summarily dumped from the roster, this time I was contacted by the convention organizer who explained that, well, they only had so much money to go around, and they were so busy paying for the appearance fees and hotel rooms for the–y’know–important guests, and their advance registration or interest in purchasing photo ops or signed pictures in advance had been so far below projection, that they could no longer afford to have me out even though I don’t charge appearance fees. They had to cut the budget somewhere and apparently I’m it. They couldn’t afford hotel stay and travel costs for the guy who signs tons of comic books and such for free because they needed to be able to accommodate all the folks who charge fans $20/$30 a pop for signatures.
I doubt that anyone was coming to United Fan Con just to see me–certainly the convention organizers are banking on that–but if you were, and you were hoping to get free autographs, you’re out of luck.
You know, I just can’t get enough of having regional conventions use my name for initial promotion and then dump me at the last minute. Actually, now that I think about it…I can. I’m going to be thinking long and hard before accepting invites for any smaller conventions; I’m just tired of having my face stepped on.
PAD
• 
I’m involved in a large con. (One Peter is pretty much going to be always welcome at. If nothing more than to give out the Award…really Peter, hanging it on a chain like Flav-a-fla? Best MC I’ve seen for the Banquet by the way. One mentioned earlier in these comments in fact. One that I was looking forward to meeting PAD’s WIFE one year at, ’cause I really didn’t know who Peter was at the time.)
Here’s the reality.
If you a Con, invite a guest, agree to certain considerations, and then use said guest’s name in advertising; you put down in your budget that those costs for considerations is SPENT. UFC didn’t do that. They pull some BS because they weren’t professional in their ACCOUNTING. The person being mistreated has the right to complain. IN PUBLIC.
But, really, this isn’t exactly public. This is a blog. Not his official stuff, but a personal blog. Yes, Peter does use this for official, professional announcements. But, when it’s all said and done, it’s still his personal blog.
No one says a single thing when some fan or even a fan club complains because they were mistreated a a Con. Why does Peter not have the same right?
Peter, see you next year in Atlanta. And, remember, my staffers really don’t mind giving you a ride. We’re there to do that!
William
Ajay, do you think that maybe, just maybe, most the people here might have seen your “cult” remark as a bigger insult then you thought and that calling you an @$$hole was a response to your general attitude and that.
Fine, Peter. You win. It’s saddening to be called a liar and to see you deny lashing out at people. Didn’t you say something like ‘are you high’ to someone when debating with them, before I even came along? That constitutes lashing out in my book.
Believe what you wish to believe. I knew when I first posted here that my views would be unpopular.
As I stated before to someone else on this thread, I did not beat a hasty retreat. You asked me about my experiences booking talent and my entire beef with you in the first place was the fact that you were taking a professional issue of that nature to the public. I would be a hypocrite to discuss with you what I think should not be posted on the Internet.
That’s all I have to say. Have fun at whatever conventions you do attend.
Funny. I get the exact OPPOSITE impression. Perhaps others do as well.
That should be food for thought for you.
I didn’t run away and hide.
Bûllšhìŧ.
You had your say, then said you weren’t coming back.
Oh, look, here it is:
“Anyway, I am out of here. I’m sure you won’t miss me.”
Is it professional to be a coward?
“As I stated before to someone else on this thread, I did not beat a hasty retreat. You asked me about my experiences booking talent and my entire beef with you in the first place was the fact that you were taking a professional issue of that nature to the public. I would be a hypocrite to discuss with you what I think should not be posted on the Internet.”
Had you answered the question…whether the guests in your experience were paid guests that had cancellation fees written into their appearance contract…you’d not have been any kind of hypocrite. Since when is it considered unprofessional to discuss the generic workings of your business? Mr. Saunders-Cummings participated in a way that kept his organization un-named…if not totally confidential because of the size and location, not to mention PAD’s participation, which is a tip-off to those in the know…as one professional speaking to another in a forum accessible to the public. PAD didn’t ask for names, dates, places, etc. He asked a general question that was specifically relevant to the point that you brought up. Your refusal to answer was not some adherance to ethics, it was an outright dodge. Usually when folks do that, it’s because they realize that to truthfully respond to the question can only undermine the argument they are making.
In all serious, Ajay, if you think “are you high” ranks as lashing out, stay away from message boards from this point on. That’s about the mildest form of written double take I can think of.
Here is the text of my first post. What is rude, childish, and condescending about it?
“…I’ll no doubt be savaged for my opinion but as a writer I would have thought you would be open to the free exchange of ideas, even those that differ from yours.”
This is a form of fallacious argument known as “poisoning the well,” which is fairly common in online discussions. By seeking to present anyone who disagrees with you as “savaging” you and opposed to the free exchange of ideas, you’re engaging in a pre-emptive ad hominem attack, thus trying to prevent your position as valid and your opponents’ as invalid without actually engaging their ideas.
…and for “prevent,” read “present” in that last post.
“Peter goes above and beyond at a convention both for the staff and the fans. He signs stuff in corridors and at the end of panels. He answers questions. He does not go into hiding when he isn’t doing something for the convention. He is out and about. You can find him as anyone who has attended a convention he has been at can attest.”
Let me tell you something…
Jenn and I were at Dragon*Con ’06 last year, and we had several great interactions with PAD. He was pleasant, professional and outgoing at each of his scheduled appearances. But the one that stuck out the most was from after a panel on Superman and the nature of heroes. Peter was heading down the hall with Kath and I had just caught up with him to ask a quick question. I hadn’t gotten a full schedule that morning (I couldn’t find one) and wanted to know when and where he might be that day for signings and whatnot. Just as I said, “excuse me Mr. David,” I heard him and Kath talking about having just enough time to go back to their room and get a bite to eat.
He turned, asked me what I wanted and I asked about his schedule. He looked at his watch and said that it would be much later that day, but if I wasn’t going to be at the con by then and just wanted a couple of things signed real quick, then he would do it right there and then.
Jenn, who had also heard the food discussion, and I both waved off, explained that we were there the duration and would catch him wherever he was set up for signings. He told us when he was going to be in Artist Alley that day, we thanked him and away he went.
Now, think about that a second. We’re in a major hallway at one of the larger cons and he was willing to stop and sign some books while on his way out to get what was likely an already short meal break in. And don’t just think about the fact that it was just me, who he didn’t know from Adam, but that he said that likely knowing that there were others all around us who might starting forming a line. But he offered anyway. That is in no way the man being described by that poster at the UFC site.
And I had more fun getting my stuff signed later anyhow. I got the strangest look from Peter when I plopped my two books down and was told, nicely, that he had never had anyone pull out such an odd pairing of books before. The books? A nice new hardback copy of Knightlife and a beat up old paperback of… Knightlife. I told him that it was just one of those throwaway jokes of his that stuck in my brain because of the stilly whimsy of it. He had once joked in his BID column, when talking about the upcoming re-release of his revised Knightlife, that he finally had an appropriate answer to a silly question. He was always asked if he had any new books coming out. Well, they’re all new, but for that book he could now correct the questioner by telling them that, no, he didn’t have a new book coming out, but he did have an old one coming out. I always like that for some reason.
He gave me a funny look, made a quick joke and was nice enough to sign the two books in the silly way I had requested.
“Jerry, glad you enjoyed my new old book”
and …
“Jerry, glad you enjoyed my old new book”
A very strange request to oblige a fan’s warped sense of humor, but he did it anyhow and was seemed to have some fun with the idea. No, that is in no way the man being described by the poster at the UFC site.
Ajay: “Didn’t you say something like ‘are you high’ to someone when debating with them, before I even came along?”
Uh, no, that was me. You can distinguish my posts from Peter’s by looking at the name at the top of the post. His posts have his name at the top, whereas mine have my name at the top.
Good riddance to you, by the way, little troll.
Hey, Bill, ease up. He’s obviously high.
Silly Bill Myers, getting bogged down in the details. Ajay has already made up his mind about this. You can’t sway him with such little things as facts. Clearly, you’re just a sycophant bravely jumping in front of PAD to take the internet arrow Ajay aimed at PAD’s virtual heart.
Am I the only one who finds Ajay’s accusations that the posters here mindlessly agree with PAD hilarious? I assume that the accusations come from the fact that Ajay hasn’t checked out the site before. I’m a regular reader and an occasional commenter, and I will readily attest that I often disagree with Peter on various topics (occasionally vehemently) and that I have never seen him “lash out” at anyone who hadn’t been asking for it pretty insistently.
“I assume that the accusations come from the fact that Ajay hasn’t checked out the site before.”
I think Ajay is the type to always think that if people are disagreeing with him, there must be an ulterior motive. He doesn’t want to face the possibility that dozens of people genuinely disagree with him, so he pretends that his opinions are somehow morally superior to everyone else’s.
If he had kept it to the level of disagreement, everything would have been fine. I actually thought that PAD’s first post was a little rough when I first read it. I thought he could have phrased things a little more diplomatically.
But I don’t think that it was *unreasonable* for PAD to say what he said. I would have phrased things differently, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with how PAD said it. That’s why I didn’t post anything in response to PAD’s initial post.
If Ajay had said something like “PAD, I think you’re being too hard on them,” it never would have turned into this ugly debate. People would have disagreed with him, but it would have been civil. But instead of saying that, Ajay said that PAD was being unprofessional and anyone who disagreed with that was against the free exchange of ideas. Ajay isn’t a guy who’s just unfamiliar with PAD’s blog, he’s a troll laying out flame-bait.
That’s my opinion. Some people might disagree with it, but they’re all worse than Hitler.
Ajay: “I would be a hypocrite to discuss with you what I think should not be posted on the Internet.”
You’re actually equating discussing a standard business practice in the general sense with the disclosure of business deals between two specific parties? Everything about your presentation of your opinion suggests that you are 100% fraud.
It’s an interesting world you want to force everyone else to live in. Individuals treated unfairly in business should keep their mouths shut at all times? And if people don’t adhere to your world view of how business should be conducted, you will withdraw your financial support of their endeavors?
Do you really think anyone could ever take such childishness seriously? The worst way to make your point is with the: “I’ll never buy your work again” argument. It’s not only juvenile and wrongheaded, it’s a very old and tired debate tactic typically employed by those with no credible argument.
Why don’t you take your ball home with you while you’re at it?
Peter, I was one of the organizers of one of the (apparently) three cons that advertised you as a guest without getting a confirmation from you first. It was back in 1993 for a brand new convention being organized by a bunch of 19 year old college students who had no idea what they were doing. (In fact, I was the only one of the group who’d even attended a convention before.) We sent out invitations–primarily through e-mail (again, we didn’t know what we were doing)–and waited for replies. Naively, we assumed we needed to start advertising as soon as we could and put out a preliminary Usenet posting that included the people we’d invited. You came down on us on Usenet like a bag of hammers, saying you’d never heard of us, we were totally out of line and you’d never do our convention. After one of us explained that we’d e-mailed you an invite, you let us know that we should never use e-mail for any transactions. We did apologize and explained that we didn’t realize what we were doing was wrong, we’d take your name off every ad and we’d explain to anyone who asked exactly what happened and that we were at fault, all of which we did. I know you still weren’t happy about the situation, but (14 years on), I want to reiterate again that there was no ill intent, no thought of “trading on your name,” nothing. Just a bunch of kids excited about putting on a convention with no idea what they were doing.
I know this has nothing to do with UFC (which, from what you’ve posted here, treated you pretty shabbily and knew *exactly* what they were doing), but you mentioned being advertised without your knowledge and I thought I should pipe up with another clarification and apology. Assuming you were even counting the first 5Con among your three, anyway. If nothing else, you gave us a lesson in how *not* to do things. The convention doesn’t exist anymore (it folded around 2003, long after the original folks had moved on), but the lesson remains.
The first three guests announced for this year’s UFC were Nicki Clyne, Tracy Scoggins and Peter David.
While of course I wanted to see both actresses, I was immediately most jazzed that PAD was coming back again.
To dispute Mary’s contention that UFC attendees are there solely for the actors/actresses, last year it was Peter David’s appearance that sealed the deal for me to go.
They had a great lineup of comic talent last year and sadly they won’t this year.
My ticket is non-refundable so I basically have to go in order to just not have thrown sixty bucks away. I want to see some of the acting talent that will be there, but I’m really not expecting to have as great a time that I had last year.
Jay, even if it is nonrefundable, you should still call them and try. They sold it to you with Peter David as part of the deal, now he isn’t. Even if you don’t get your money back, they should hear a few polite complaints so they know why people don’t come back next year.
And who knows, you might get someone on the phone who’s willing to work with you. I often find that the luck of the draw on who you’re talking to is a huge factor in getting things like refunds.
Ajay, I . . .
Ah, you know what? I have better things to do that address this troll.
Screw it.
I had the honor of meeting you at a United Fan Con back when they were still Wishcon. (I.e., when they still had a soul.) Got a few autographed books, Vendeta and that one that you wrote along with three other authors. (Can’t recall the title, and the book is packed at the moment as I’m moving soon.) All for of you were at that one, so it was a handy book for an autograph!
I’ve been out of going to cons for a number of years, but since I’m in the unfortunate position of finding myself single, that does allow for more Me Time. I’d been thinking of getting back into cons, and had actually been considering going to United Fan Con. (As a Springfield native, it is a convenient choice, even if I am annoyed at how outrageous their prices seem to be sometimes.)
Hearing what they did to you, though, makes me glad that I decided against it.
Well, for one thing, Counselor,™ because I can always count on some hypocrite portraying himself as intending no offense while venting disgust on me, you can pretty much rule out me ever saying “I am out of here.”
It sucks that they’re doing this to you again, but if you’ll be attending NY Comic-Con this year, I could probably see you for my birthday. I just hope I can get tickets this year..
The folks who cry that it’s not professional to complain publicly are generally those who benefit from having their improper actions kept secret.
In the case of Peter, who has been an asset at every con I’ve seen him at, from when I was just a fanboy getting some of his early stuff signed, what he did here was right and proper.
Had he merely said that his appearance had been canceled, then many of his fans may have been lead to believe that he had been the one doing the canceling, the one who had tied up their money in tickets for an appearance which will not happen.
Had he not revealed how UFC had treated him, then other professionals might not have been warned about his dealings. Keeping silent is the easiest way to encourage unethical dealings. It’s to the advantages of professionals everywhere that folks know about it. If it makes the UFC people uncomfortable for folks to find out that they could not or would not live up to their word, then perhaps they should realize that the problem lies in their actions, and not that those actions are discovered.
Peter David puts his recognizable name on his statements, making it clear who he is. Ajay? Not so.
Kath said:
“Kevin-
I’m glad you posted this to clear up what I thought was a typo.
Kath”
—–
Kath, “UFC IS A OLNEY” was my attempt at being witty, and also a literary reference. Shakespeare—“The law is a ášš.”
Kath, “UFC IS A OLNEY” was my attempt at being witty, and also a literary reference. Shakespeare—“The law is a ášš.”
The Dickens, you say.
Seriously: That’s not Shakespeare. That’s Charles Dickens. “Oliver Twist.” Specifically, Mr. Bumble is informed that the law supposes a husband responsible for the actions of his wife, and retorts, “If the law supposes that…the law is a ášš—a idiot. If that’s the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is that his eye may be opened by experience—by experience.”
PAD
Now, ironically enough, I have my mother’s rather worn 1954 hardcover copy of “Oliver Twist” sitting right next to my computer. Huh. Embarrassed that I didn’t catch that.
Posted by BMQ
You need a lecture agent.
You mean, like Ajay?
Posted by Lingster
You’re assuming that only “bad actors” will reach a negative conclusion about you. Some honest people may conclude you’re in the wrong (i.e. “three weeks is ample notice”), while other people may conclude that you’re in the right but made a mountain out of a molehill.
Anyone organising a convention who actually knows what they’re doing will understand exactly what PAD’s point is. (Having, as i mentioned, been part of organising several, including one WorldCon, i think i have some perspective here.) And those who (a) know what they’re doing, and are “bad actors”, or (b) those who *don’t* know, and are the ones likely to get in over their heads, are the ones most likely to not invite PAD, either because (a) they’re afraid to be exposed or (b) use trhe specious reasoning you mention.
Because three weeks is NOT “ample notice”.
Posted by Mary Dumas
(Too much trouble to find the precise things i want to respond to – Mary {in case you ever return instead of being a one-shot trying to justify bad behaviour on the part of UFC} let me advise you – Mr Paragraph is your friend.)
Mary, you act as if 501c3 conventions were in business to make money. Hardly. If they are, you can bet that the IRS will eventually catch up to them for the abuses you cite.
501c3’s are, indeed, non-profits oprganisations; all of the cons falling under that rubric with which i am familiar (insert past personal experience here) have been volunteer, fan-run affairs, for the fans, making no money (quite possibly *losing* some). Most charge a *hëll* of a lot less for memberships (not “tickets”, like for-profit cons) than the sort of con you seem to be familiar with.
Most of them get hotel facilities free in return for booking a certain number of room nights. Often, the reason that they can get better deals with hotels than the sort of con you are familiar withis because they will be filling the hotel on a weekend when it would otherwise be pretty much empty.
And, yes, some of them jerk guests around, but generally because they just didn’t understand what they were getting into.
Oh, and might i add – most or many of the guests who attend such conventions would have been there, anyway, paying their own expenses, either because they are also fans (and, at most, what they’re getting is a free membership and the egoboo of being on programming and meeting their fans) or because they or their publishers/producers felt it was worth the cost of paying their way for the publicity.
Gee, Joe, maybe it was because they thought Peter was a nice guy, who they liked and thought would enjoy the UFC, like he seemed to the past couple times. And maybe, just maybe they didn’t think he’d be the kind of guy to take this to a fan-forum. Honestly, I didn’t think he was that kind of guy.
Uh huh. No thought at all that he might draw members and make money.
And your last sentence sort of confirms you’re only here to grind your own axe – because, if you read this blog regularly, you’d know PAD was *precisely* the sort of guy who, not suffering wounds or fools gladly, would point out such behaviour.
Posted by Eric L. Sofer, the Silver Age Fogey
(I would like to add that this IS my own opinion, and it would be the same no matter who this happened to – John Byrne, Neil Gaiman, Rob Leifeld, Gene Colan – whomever. “Cult of personality” doesn’t enter into it… brrr.)
Ditto. If it happened to L. Ron Hubbard, i wouldn’t think he was amiss to complain poublicly about it. Assuming he could manage it.
Posted by Ajay
Okay, since you’re willing to expose yourself again. You said:
Worse still, you appear to lash out at those few folks who disagree with you.
Generally, PAD “lash[es] out at those few folks who disagree with [him]” when their “disagreement” is, from the first, expressed in anm insulting and holier-than-thou manner.
Your post (if read for tone) is just such a comment
I support your right to freedom of speech but at the same time I am disappointed in you, sir. I’ll no doubt be savaged for my opinion but as a writer I would have thought you would be open to the free exchange of ideas, even those that differ from yours.
Is your post still in place? Has PAD blocked your further post. (Of course, he might, as i would in his position, be operating on the “enough rope” theory…)
Apparently cancellations never happen in the world of shiny boots, tights, and long capes. Too bad.
And this is flatly disdainful, personally insulting and combative. And you wonder why you got strafed in return.
Plus, you make claims of professional knowledge, apparently superior to anything PAD (and the rest of the regulars here) might have. (Of course, whaty we might know is something you have no way of knowing.) However, when called on the claim, you say it would be unprofessional to back it up.
Okay, fine. Don’t reveal any specific details of clients or your negotiations on their behalf. But you’ve made your brags- back ’em up somehow – maybe, perhaps, revealing what agency you work for? Or, if you’re a free-lance, some of the organisations you’ve handled speaker/guest arrangements with?
Otherwise, go away, or we will taunt you some more.
Rob S.: “Hey, Bill, ease up. He’s obviously high.”
Dooooode. You made me spit my coffee!
I may be coming in late, but as someone who’s booked Peter for convention appearances, I can say that he’s been unflaggingly professional.
He shows up at the right time and place, ready to work. He makes his panel discussions and other presentations as interesting as possible. He’s courteous and respectful to the fans. He checks with his hosts before doing anything that might be a breach of their rules. And he’s happy to help them publicize his appearances.
I’d love to work with him again.
David Seidman
Former Marketing Director
Claypool Comics
I’m also coming in late to this discussion, but I have to say that this really bites. PAD, being a very professional writer with a great following and a respect for his fan base, you have more than enough credentials under your belt to be treated in such a manner. As far as the orgainzer in question, what a tool (unprofessional for me to say, but that’s how I feel)!
This discussion amuses me on so many levels, because by and large, UFC is showing exactly how not to run a business, and they’re getting bitten in the ášš for it.
Professional or not, you have a duty to your customers. I am a writer and I am also a former business manager. If you pìšš øff enough customers, you’re not going to get their money. If you don’t get their money, you don’t have a business.
What happened? UFC was losing money, so they pìššëd øff an invited guest. Bad idea when their bread and butter is peddling these invited guests, and when they disinvite a guest, they also pìšš øff a portion of their customer base. The public now knows about it, and those who spent their money on this event are also pìššëd øff.
Is it any wonder why they’re about to go under?
I wouldn’t say these reactions are unprofessional at all. If I have a bad experience with a business, you bet your ášš somebody’s going to hear about it, and not necessarily just the business — I’m going to tell my family and friends about my experience, which will also influence their decisions.
It’s business at work.
“Is your post still in place? Has PAD blocked your further post. (Of course, he might, as i would in his position, be operating on the “enough rope” theory…)”
Just for the record, no, I’ve blocked none of his posts.
PAD
On behalf of all the small volunteer run con’s I apologize.
What they did just makes it so much harder for anyone else to attract guests and the public to their events. I belong to the Iowa Comic Book Club and we have spent 7 years just trying to build relationships with people and get the public interested in coming.
We make just enough money to have funds to keep us going, this is a club not a business. I guess we just don’t spend money we don’t have in our
pocket. We also don’t invite people and then blow them off..
sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, please don’t give up on us “newbie’s” and non giant wizard/san diego cons…
See, Peter, that’s what I was saying.. don’t judge ALL the small cons based on 2 (obviously misrun) small cons.
I will NEVER understand why people take PAD to task for what he posts here. It’s his website. It’s his weblog. I think if he really were posting something he shouldn’t, he would’ve been sued by now, right?
P.S. Someone running a bad website has absolutely zero to do with lack of manpower and more to do with a lack of competent people running the company. I’ve worked for small companies and large companies, and all of them had trouble with their websites due to people not doing their jobs properly. Those people usually got fired.
I know that when I’ve personally been screwed over by a company, being told to cut them some slack doesn’t work. 🙂
If people bought tickets through the mail on the basis of Peter David attending, and then UFC cancels his appearance, UFC may be violating some kind of Federal mail fraud law if they deny refunds to those who ask for them.
I’m not an attorney, so my facts may not be all there, but it’s worth a shot.
On a more lighthearted note …
> never had three rooms at any con
Did Hal Clement?
I recall, several years ago, a convention flyer listing:
Pro writer GoH – Hal Clement
Fah GoH – Harry Stubbs
Artist GoH – George Richard
Stubbs, being Clement’s real name, and George Richard being the alias (made up of the names of his two sons) used when he does astronomical art.
Since he was listed three times, did this entitle him to three rooms? At least they probably didn’t need to pay for three plane tickets. Not if he paid his own way (as he did to ours as GoH in ’78.)
StarWolf, that’s a great story, but I’m curious: presumably the convention staff were aware of the three-name situation and were having a bit of fun knowing they had a ‘three-for-one’ guest? If not, it’s still funny, but in a very different way.
They must be getting desperate.
Over at the United Fan Con website, they are now offering a raffle to win one of three refurbished laptop computers.
And yet, they could have honored their original commitment to PAD for the cost of one, brand spanking new laptop. Hëll, maybe not even that much!
Tacky…really tacky!
Joe – I’m sure they were aware. Hal was an exceptionally pleasant individual who would not have taken advantage in any event.
I helped a convention group (primarily gaming) for about ten years, before the group disintegrated. When we had a guest, we made sure we had the money and agreements in place before we announced anything about that guest.
I’ve seen some cons do otherwise, and as in this case, it wasn’t pretty. Some people believe that the fantasy of a convention also applies to the basic financial workings, and it doesn’t.
We also saw an Orlando comic book convention book people like Mr. D., and then…because they had no panel rooms or local fan involvement…had him there doing nothing. They ended up giving him a room where he talked to the fans who knew who he was, and we all had a good time…but if I were running the con, I’d make sure I got a lot more out of him for the fees I paid him.
PAD said:
“Seriously: That’s not Shakespeare. That’s Charles Dickens. “Oliver Twist.” Specifically, Mr. Bumble is informed that the law supposes a husband responsible for the actions of his wife, and retorts, “If the law supposes that…the law is a ášš—a idiot.”
—–
You know, I think you’re right. If fact, I know you’re right. I knew that back in the dark recesses of my increasingly unreliable mind.
As I remembered it, it was spoken by Michael Keaton in the movie Much Ado About Nothing. Strange thing, the mind.
>I’ve seen some cons do otherwise, and as in this case, it wasn’t pretty.
In the 70s, advertisement was being passed around at conventions for something called S.F. Expo. The *long* list of pros attending struck me as just unbelievable. Worldcons should have that kind of roster. And, yes, it did turn out to be too good to be true. When contacted, most (all?) of the ‘guests’ said it was the first they’d heard of it.
Well, you were the only person I wanted to see at UFC last year (my first & only UFC). So I’m sorry they dropped you. I do assume the actors have a cancellation fee clause, and I know UFC is on the edge. Just proves media cons don’t do well in New England: we’re too literary. I would point out that Arisia has a large media/comics track, and you would likely be welcome on program there. (But get your hotel room now, it’s filling fast.)
Look forward to seeing you at World Fantasy Con.
“Look forward to seeing you at World Fantasy Con.”
Huh?
I’m not going to WFC.
PAD
As I remembered it, it was spoken by Michael Keaton in the movie Much Ado About Nothing. Strange thing, the mind.
—
CONRADE
Away! you are an ášš, you are an ášš.
DOGBERRY (played by Keaton)
Dost thou not suspect my place? dost thou not
suspect my years? O that he were here to write me
down an ášš! But, masters, remember that I am an
ášš; though it be not written down, yet forget not
that I am an ášš. No, thou villain, thou art full of
piety, as shall be proved upon thee by good witness.
I am a wise fellow, and, which is more, an officer,
and, which is more, a householder, and, which is
more, as pretty a piece of flesh as any is in
Messina, and one that knows the law, go to; and a
rich fellow enough, go to; and a fellow that hath
had losses, and one that hath two gowns and every
thing handsome about him. Bring him away. O that
I had been writ down an ášš!
Sorry to hear about UFC’s behaviour, very unprofessional IMHO.
Well, I know that ConnectiCon would never ask you not to attend after you’d already accepted the invitation, sadly, we’re in the middle of summer, usually around the same dates as San Diego Comic Con.
I think we’ve asked you two or three times to attend but we haven’t ever received a response from you, I imagine it is because you get a lot of email and can’t read all of it.
I’ll have our guest relations director Moira Chance send you an invitation in the next month or so.
May I suggest that the problem is (small) media cons, rather than small cons in general? I know of only two cases where a general or literary con canceled guests, and that’s because the cons themselves were canceled.
What you do with the contract when they don’t pay isn’t sue them; you send copies to the agents of their media guests (and the appropriate guilds).
As for “no refunds”, I’d say that anybody who paid because of Peter David’s (advertised) attendance is entitled to a refund (or a Small Claims lawsuit for false advertising). If you paid by credit card, use a chargeback.
Matthew, the problem with ConnectiCon is it is perpetually the same weekend as Shoreleave, and no matter how many guests you get for ConnectiCon, there’s no contest where a large number of Connecticut fans are going to go. As much as I’d LOVE a more local convention, and my kids want to attend, sorry.
Re: Having chaired two events, one where Peter was our Author GoH, and another where he came on his own nickel, He was very professional and took time to talk to fans during the whole weekend in both instances.
I’ve been involved with regular fan run literary cons, a few fan run media cons, more professional oriented events such as World Fantasy, World Horror, and The Nebulas, and been more involved than I probably should admit to with the local Creation Cons. What UFC did with Peter is inexcusable. I don’t see how they think they’re going to get out of the red by dropping him. If I was one of the actors being paid to show up, I’d be concerned about getting what I was promised.
RE: World Fantasy Con (In Saratoga Springs in early November).
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Peter’s name on the list for WFC this year. Not even Keith R. DeCandido (who has attended before). I do see Martin Greenberg on the list, though. Also Paul Cornell, some guy with two R.R.’s as his middle name, and a whole bunch of other authors. Needless to say, I’m going to be very busy at the mass autographing on Friday night. There’s even a few artists like Charles Vess and some guy named Boris.
At this point, they’ve sold enough memberships there may not be any at the door, but the Worlds of Fantasy Bookstore in nearby Albany, NY are having a couple of events with some of the authors.
In any case, this is the type of event Peter ought to get to more often so that he will be known as more than just a comics writer.
Lee Whiteside