I thought briefly about going over (since it's in my back yard) but - naaah, I've seen disasters before, and it would look like I was there to watch it go down the tubes, har har.
You don't have to go, you just have to know some people who went.
Rumor on Opening Cerimonies (heard from someone who saw it) was that -Bob publicly blamed the Hotel for the reduction in space and loss of rooms. -He publicly blamed the (ex) head of consuite for the lack of consuite despite never having provided money to buy anything. This person had quit shortly before the convention, making for an easy target. (This person confronted him and asked why they were blamed and Bob told them it was because they were an easy patsy.) -He publicly blamed the (ex) head of Ops for the lack of Ops even though there wan't any place to put Ops. This person had also quit shortly before the con. -He publicly blamed a specific individual for the lack of Art Show, depite this person repeatedly declining to run Art Show all along. -He publicly blamed a specific individual for the lack of Internet Cafe, despite this person refusing to have *anything* to do with Bob for more than 3 years.
Ohio fan I ran into very early in my career (around 1977); blustery, domineering, fawning, bipolar as all get out, party-hearty. And pretty much amoral. I got a huge snootful of him way early, and decided that he was extreme bad news as he tried to rapidly climb the ladder of being a fannish big-shot.
The partying destroyed his life, because he was a diabetic who didn't take care of himself; last time I saw him he was a shadow of himself - nearly blind, shrunken and in a wheelchair. And he destroyed his rep by putting himself forward as a conduit to a popular fannish charity - donations of art, money, etc., went, instead, to his personal pocket. When he got caught, he became instant persona non grata.
I stopped by on Saturday evening, mostly to drop by the '08 party, and it seemed like folks were making the best of what there was, but it was pretty slim pickins.
Kudos to the hotel for allowing the thing to run, even after it became apparent that they were going to lose their shirts on it.
The Chicago Bid party seemed to serve as the sole entertainment/consuite source, except when the pirate show ran. Being er, unbadged, I did not attend the show, limiting myself to the '08 party, the hallway, and the bar.
I got to chat with some folks i don't see very often, which was nice, and it was 7.5 minutes from home, so I didn't waste a lot of time or $$ on the trip.
Barb VT told me the dealers were basically holding a swap meet, mostly buying from each other. She got stiffed on the shirts she printed for the con, (Bob "promises" to pay her some of that back - we know what that's worth)and had no significant sales otherwise.
If you were going to call it a 100 person relaxacon it was ok, although you'd still expect a consuite. If you were going to hold it to the standard it was originally billed at, it was a huge failure.
Shame about Bob casting blame on Friday - I wasn't there, but many bitter people were sharing stories...I would have talked to him, but every time he saw me coming, he immediately headed off in another direction.
If 2be isn't finished, then I think we can safely say that Bob probably is... based on the rants I heard on-site, i think even his most loyal fans have decided that it's not wise to enter into a business venture with him.
Well, I attended Saturday, and even paid for a (blank) badge. "Programming" was limited. I was the sole audience member for one panel, and one of three for the other two.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 05:20 am (UTC)So I decided that wasn't a good idea.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 05:58 am (UTC)Rumor on Opening Cerimonies (heard from someone who saw it) was that
-Bob publicly blamed the Hotel for the reduction in space and loss of rooms.
-He publicly blamed the (ex) head of consuite for the lack of consuite despite never having provided money to buy anything. This person had quit shortly before the convention, making for an easy target. (This person confronted him and asked why they were blamed and Bob told them it was because they were an easy patsy.)
-He publicly blamed the (ex) head of Ops for the lack of Ops even though there wan't any place to put Ops. This person had also quit shortly before the con.
-He publicly blamed a specific individual for the lack of Art Show, depite this person repeatedly declining to run Art Show all along.
-He publicly blamed a specific individual for the lack of Internet Cafe, despite this person refusing to have *anything* to do with Bob for more than 3 years.
Such class.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 06:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 06:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 07:36 am (UTC)The partying destroyed his life, because he was a diabetic who didn't take care of himself; last time I saw him he was a shadow of himself - nearly blind, shrunken and in a wheelchair. And he destroyed his rep by putting himself forward as a conduit to a popular fannish charity - donations of art, money, etc., went, instead, to his personal pocket. When he got caught, he became instant persona non grata.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-16 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 08:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 01:13 pm (UTC)Shame about 2Be.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 01:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 03:51 pm (UTC)Kudos to the hotel for allowing the thing to run, even after it became apparent that they were going to lose their shirts on it.
The Chicago Bid party seemed to serve as the sole entertainment/consuite source, except when the pirate show ran. Being er, unbadged, I did not attend the show, limiting myself to the '08 party, the hallway, and the bar.
I got to chat with some folks i don't see very often, which was nice, and it was 7.5 minutes from home, so I didn't waste a lot of time or $$ on the trip.
Barb VT told me the dealers were basically holding a swap meet, mostly buying from each other. She got stiffed on the shirts she printed for the con, (Bob "promises" to pay her some of that back - we know what that's worth)and had no significant sales otherwise.
If you were going to call it a 100 person relaxacon it was ok, although you'd still expect a consuite. If you were going to hold it to the standard it was originally billed at, it was a huge failure.
Shame about Bob casting blame on Friday - I wasn't there, but many bitter people were sharing stories...I would have talked to him, but every time he saw me coming, he immediately headed off in another direction.
If 2be isn't finished, then I think we can safely say that Bob probably is... based on the rants I heard on-site, i think even his most loyal fans have decided that it's not wise to enter into a business venture with him.
Late Hit
Date: 2006-05-18 06:26 pm (UTC)