melannen | Con-txt! doodedoodedoo!

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Con-txt! doodedoodedoo!

So, con-txt is coming up! Sooner than I want to think about!

And I am modding or co-modding five panels!

(sometimes I hate myself.)

These are the five panels:
Fandom, Copyright, and Copyleft (with lightgetsin)
Fanmixes and Mashups (with Erin Ptah)
Procrastinators' Party (with Dee Laundry)
Sinister Ducks (no co-mod)
What We Talk About When We Talk About Slash Fandom (as a panel)

Procrastinators' Party should be easy, as a total lack of any sort of preparation for it is part of the fun! (although. Um. I have just noticed I apparently have a co-mod, and I have no idea who she is. I should shoot her a note, probably.)

Fanmixes and Mashups should be fairly easy, as I assume

erin_ptah is doing any necessary prep work. :P (And if she doesn't, I can just ramble about fanmixing for as long as necessary, and then toss in a few extra handouts from the copyright panel.)

WWTAWWTASF requires me to, like, communicate with individual people on a business-correspondence level, and this terrifies me. Letters out tonight! If I have tie myself to the keyboard in the process!

And then the two panels I would like to do real prep work for, and for which I am begging for help:

Fandom, Copyright, and Copyleft: I am planning to make up a web post/handout which covers a) the basics of copyright & intellectual property in general, b) copyright issues as they apply to fanworks and fandom, c) current issues in copyright and fandom, d) intellectual property resources online and activism opportunities.

lightgetsin will use her newly-minted LAWYER POWERS to check it over, if I get it to her in time, and if I don't get it to her in time, will at least be there at the panel to stop me if I say something very wrong. If any other fan-lawyer types would like to volunteer to beta it, I would be well pleased.

I have some (badly organized) bookmarks, some idea where to look for more, some printed handouts from other cons, and a vast collection of uncited info in my head. I would be really, really grateful if other people who are interested in this sort of stuff helped me out with links to resources, to important fannish discussions, and to recent events, especially: both the obvious stuff (so I don't miss it) and things I might not know about.

(especially if they are other fan communities where I could post this request!)

Sinister Ducks : this panel was submitted as a total joke! And now I have to actually make up a presentation for it! *gulp*

So, basically, the idea is that Con.txt's theme and mascot is ducks. And I have to put together a convincing (well, Discordian-style convincing) argument for how ducks are secretly plotting to take over slash fandom (hence their infiltration of Con.txt), and possibly, thereby, the WORLD. Multimedia especially needed!

Here's what I've got so far:
March of the Sinister Ducks (by Alan Moore, who clearly has access to knowledge we wot not.)
Be Kind To Your Web-Footed Friends (because they have infiltrated the US government)
HIGNFY footage about parliamentary duck houses (because they have also infiltrated the British government)
Good Omens and St. James's Park (because the conspiracy dates back to Creation)
Peter, Harriet, and the Massive Continuity of Ducks (no, seriously, it's old and eldritch)
The fact that ducks exist on every planet in the Star Wars universe, despite there being no other Earth animals around (I told you! Ancient and widespread!)
Ernie and Bert (especially the orgy scene, 'cause that's just creepy.)
That bit from dueSouth where Ray and Fraser are surrounded by rubber ducks (I need to figure out which episode this is...)
The Twelfth Doctor being deeply skeptical of duck ponds in his first episode (also, his tendency - along with Ten - to shout "Duck!" at people, and really, Ms. Pond is just sinister in general.)
Stephen Colbert and "Vaxaflac" (by Prescott Pharmaceuticals)
Psyduck.
Jensen Ackles (who we all know is secretly one of Them) and David McCallum, who was there for the start of modern slash fandom, and has now, by way of NCIS, turned traitor and chosen to help the other side.

Some duck facts (just for my own memory):
Ducks are sex-obsessed rapists with super-genitalia.
Ducks know the secret of the Hollow Earth.
Ducks rule the Pacific Ocean.

I know there's more than this, I just haven't kept proper track of where they are. I can take a side turn here - either by way of Red Green's giant Duct Tape Duck, and then on to duct tape in general (hello mythbusters!) - or by way of comics, everything from Darkwing Duck to Talespin - or veer off into swans (the Swan Boat Of Doom on Top Gear! Anything involving J.Weir! Hot Fuzz! The Pirate King!) Also there is a Creepy Duck Puppet that will be watching you. But it would be much more convincing if I had more video footage from classic slash fandoms.

So! Internets at large! I call to you for help! Where are the scenes in your fandom of choice (of any sort of fandom) in which ducks appear? It doesn't have to be pivotal, it doesn't have to be sinister, it doesn't have to be slashy (though any of those would be great, of course) they just have to be there. Were there ducks on the Starfleet Academy grounds, or in the holodeck? Have any of House's patients ever been infected by a duck? Is there a video game with ducks in that I should know about? Has Merlin ever turned into a duck? Are there "atmosphere" scenes with Vs of ducks traveling overhead that you wouldn't even notice unless you were visually oriented and watching very closely? Is there a sound effect that is eerily ducklike?

...help.

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Is there a video game with ducks in that I should know about?

...Suikoden III has a whole village full of person-sized talking ducks! One of them -- Sergeant Joe -- acts a mentor for the hot-blooded teenage main character. There are two others that you can recruit later on (Rhett and Wilder) who...idk, you probably could slash if you wanted to. They're certainly always hanging out together.

That's an amazing panel idea, FWIW. ^^

OMG, that's ... that's kind of disturbing even out of context of the panel <_< Do you know of a better source of video footage than what I could rip from random youtube?

I wish I did! Sadly it's a pretty small & scattered fandom. (...I just went to look up the opening theme for the game on youtube, and it's a beautiful opening but features almost no ducks. they are stealth ducks!)

...ETA okay at the very least I want to provide you with a still image of Sgt. Joe, because really, if there is a duck conspiracy, this duck has something to do with it.

Edited 2010-06-03 01:48 (UTC)

Yes. Yes he does, OMG.

I found a walkthrough on youtube that has at least some of the duck village, I can probably use that a bit. Thanks!

I don't know if it's useful for what you want, but the anime series, Princess Tutu, has a character who is a duck who has been turned into a girl and who can become a magical, ballet dancing princess. She turns back into a duck from time to time.

I will add it to the list! Thanks!

Someone beat me to PRINCESS TUTU :(

Also, this entire list and no Howard the Duck? HOWARD RAN FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICE. (In the comics, anyway.)

...he is sort of covered under the comics tangent? :D

(Where would I find this running-for-office section? Theoretically. Although trying to find comic back issues free on the internets is a crapshoot.)

I can link you to a viable torrent for the comics - but looking on Wiki I can find no mention of his run for office, so ... weird. I may have hallucinated it? But I COULD HAVE SWORN.

There is also the cartoon THE MIGHTY DUCKS.

The due South episode is called "Spy vs. Spy" -- I have one of those ducks signed by Paul Gross!

Actually, my crosspost on another community has gotten me the intelligence that there were *four* dS episodes with Significant Rubber Ducks.

..also that apparently they were a deliberate slash signifier due to the fact that rubber ducks are a well-known gay symbol, though as that's out of one somewhat iffy academic paper I am reserving judgment until I get another reference...

(You have an actual dS rubber duck! ...yet more evidence of sinister subversion deep in the leadership of con.txt.)

Sweet -- do you have the clips or screencaps?

Not yet! But I plan to, one way or another.

From Monty Python and the Holy Grail:

BEDEMIR: So, why do witches burn?
[pause]
VILLAGER #3: B--... 'cause they're made of wood...?
BEDEMIR: Good!
CROWD: Oh yeah, yeah...
BEDEMIR: So, how do we tell whether she is made of wood?
VILLAGER #1: Build a bridge out of her.
BEDEMIR: Aah, but can you not also build bridges out of stone?
VILLAGER #2: Oh, yeah.
BEDEMIR: Does wood sink in water?
VILLAGER #1: No, no.
VILLAGER #2: It floats! It floats!
VILLAGER #1: Throw her into the pond!
CROWD: The pond!
BEDEMIR: What also floats in water?
VILLAGER #1: Bread!
VILLAGER #2: Apples!
VILLAGER #3: Very small rocks!
VILLAGER #1: Cider!
VILLAGER #2: Great gravy!
VILLAGER #1: Cherries!
VILLAGER #2: Mud!
VILLAGER #3: Churches -- churches!
VILLAGER #2: Lead -- lead!
ARTHUR: A duck.
CROWD: Oooh.
BEDEMIR: Exactly! So, logically...,
VILLAGER #1: If... she.. weighs the same as a duck, she's made of wood.
BEDEMIR: And therefore--?
VILLAGER #1: A witch!
CROWD: A witch!
BEDEMIR: We shall use my larger scales!
[yelling]
BEDEMIR: Right, remove the supports!
[whop]
[creak]
CROWD: A witch! A witch!
WITCH: It's a fair cop.

Disney ducks. Donald, Uncle Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Daisy, April, May, June, Gladstone... it's ~~turtles~~ ducks all the way down. And as far as fandom is concerned, Disney (and the Dreaded Disney Lawyers) is a potential black hole of sinister.

Oh, I hadn't even thought about blaming the Sunny Bono Copyright Act on Donald! Awesome, thanks.

Ah, HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT THAT? YES! Thank you so much.

I put together a Basics of Copyright post for

scans_daily a while back; you're welcome to use any of it that's useful. There's also nifty links in the comments.

The "copyfight" folder on my C drive is over 750mb. (Includes collections, like "every pdf filed for or against the Googlebooks settlement.") If you're looking for anything more specific than "send me copyright stuff links," I'd be happy to help. (I'd be happy to help with "copyright stuff links" too, but that can get overwhelming fast.)

Oh, that will be very helpful, thank you!

...I may come back with more specific questions in a bit, when I've organized my notes enough that I have more specific questions? You are really awesome keeping up-to-date on this stuff, btw.

You are really ~~awesome~~ obsessive

Fixed that for you.

Part of me thinks I need to join the EFF and find chatrooms because my husband's getting sick of me ranting about ebooks, filesharing, and the theft of culture by megamedia corps.

I can happily rattle on about *obscure* aspects of copyright & kopyleft, and why it's important for *everyone* to know about IP laws. I can support most of my opinions with legal rulings of some sort. (Including the opinion that copyright law is senile and needs to be put out of our misery.) (I don't want it abolished; I want it replaced with something that works.)

Someone beat me to Princess Tutu and to Howard the Duck.

Thinking of Darkwing Duck makes me think of the Justice Ducks ("But we're not ducks." "I used to be!")

As for fic, there's The Legend of Smedley Duckler, the Fighting Quacker by Domenika Marzione (http://miss-porcupine.livejournal.com/266592.html)

Michael Garibaldi from Babylon 5 had a big poster of Daffy on the walls of his quarters. And if you weave that with scenes of Garibaldi being programmed and mind controlled from Season 4, that would be creepy.

Are there any ducks in the cartoons the alliance uses for mind control in Serenity? I know there's an octopus.

In the last episode of BSG there are water fowl, but I don't think they're ducks, so that doesn't help.

Hey! When the schedule goes up (possibly tomorrow) we will be sending out notes with contact info for the co-mods. Sorry not to include it sooner (note to self...)

Whee, con.txt!!!

(and yes, you are a little crazy)

as this is greatly over my head, all I want to ask is when is this lovely event and could I maybe sneak in? XD

It is the weekend of the 18 - so about two weeks from now - in Silver Spring, MD.

alas, registration has just closed! (But you can go to the friday night slashers' dance party for $20 at the door this year. And probably get snuck into somebody's hotel room afterward if you're friendly enough. :P -- I'm probably commuting this year though, so it won't be mine.)

There is the delightful moment in this Bones episode that I mentioned to you! Which needs to be in the montage vid. You're making a montage vid, right? :D

BRENNAN: It’s not a spaceship.

BOOTH: Well, if it smells like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck…

BRENNAN: But then it would be a duck, not a spaceship, so your point escapes me.

BOOTH: It’s just a metaphor.

Ah, preparation. I'm sort of doing preparation. In the sense of "mentally running over the sequence of observations that should coalesce into a Powerpoint eventually."

Do you have any mixes in mind that do Interesting Things with the format? I have a couple saved, and it's not a big part of what I want to talk about, but more links would still be great.

Also, I realize I should have asked you this much earlier, but would it be possible for me to crash with you for the duration?

...that is about where I am, too.

I'll think about Interesting Things, but honestly all the ones that come to mind immediately are yours....

And you're welcome to crash with me, though as of now, I'm just commuting from Mom's house, which is ~ a half-hour drive. (Still closer than your place though.)

Even if you just point out which of mine you think other people would be interested in, that would help - I'm not necessarily the best judge for that ^_^;

Sounds fine to me. Carpooling FTW.

Yay! When are you planning on arriving at my place, how are you planning to get here / do you need pickup, and do you need any sort of directions?

And would you prefer to sleep on a couch, a sofabed, the bottom bunk of a bunk bed, or a hammock on the screenporch? :D (Also, perhaps I should warn you we don't have AC...)

I will get back you on the fanmix thing when I'm a bit more awake. (Have just written eight pages on copyright law...)

Pickup would be greatly appreciated! Can you just come by here early Friday and then head straight to the con? (And do you remember where I live...?)

Our AC is not currently on, so assuming the weather is not much worse I should survive. A sofabed with a fan aimed at it would be my preference =)

I probably have your address somewhere, but PMing it to me again certainly wouldn't hurt. :D And picking you up Friday morning sounds excellent! 8:30ish good?

Also, if it's faster/easier, I can come to a Light Rail stop closer to you and be picked up from there.

Crossing the streams... If it would work for you to get picked up at Cromwell Station, that would mean me not having to drive around Baltimore during morning rush hour. It's about 45 minutes from there to the con, so if I picked you up around 9 we'd still be there in time for the con opening.

Am I picking you up at the light rail or at your place?

I'm assuming Cromwell Station, between 8:30 and 9:00, if I don't hear from you by, oh, 1 AM-ish.

I'll PM you my cell phone number in bit.

My Internet is being hella sporadic, so if I don't PM you my cell as well, it's because I couldn't get the pages to load. (Gah.)

And, yeah, Cromwell Station. Make it ~9:00-9:30, as I don't know which trains are running when.

Well, I can't find my cell phone charging cord, so the whole point may be moot anyway. <_< Make it as close to 9 as you can? I'd like to be at the con before 10 AM if possible.

Edited 2010-06-18 02:04 (UTC)

HAVE FUN YOU GUYS! Sorry I'm not there!

I hope everyone got their sessions prepped in time ... ! ;D

It's more than ten minutes before the panels start, I still have time to prep!

...oh god.

Okay, not sure if it's what you're looking at, but here's some Fanmixes That Do Interesting Stuff that came to mind:

Synecdochic's mix for A Howling at the Factory Yard - I don't actually like much of the music she used, but the neat thing she did is intermix the music tracks with recordings of Cold-War era encrypted spy transmissions, which is both neat on its own, and a callback to the fic the mix is for, which has spying and encoding as major motifs.

stellar_dust's 19 For The Dark Tower, the most interesting bit of which is the first track, first because it's a spoken poem rather than music (an idea she got from me, which I got from the Howling track) but it's also a mashup that she created just for the mix.

My Sound of Drums fanmix, which has a track about drums from every continent on Earth. (And which also has a sort of strong narrative line going through it, retelling the story, which is something I do in fanmixes a lot. And it has a bunch of extras other multimedia stuff with it too.) ...I try to do something different and complicated with all my mixes, which is probably why I almost never actually finish them. The last one I posted was for a Shakespeare fic so I tried to do all music from before the eighteenth century, and verifying that involved going into library archives to do original research, and attempting to teach myself Erse.

Of yours - the ones that come to mind right offhand are Doctor's Girls (which I believe is based on an idea my sister gave you that she stole from me :P ), because of the way it rocks the song titles in particular, and Why More Other Words Need Me, because, foreign languages. But you have a lot of interesting mixes out there.

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Con-txt! doodedoodedoo!

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Ducks as a symbol of religious persecution

Also: Disney!

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Re: Ducks as a symbol of religious persecution

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