DUCKON 14 GETS TWO THUMBS UP: Not that it's a big surprise. I started visiting Duckon in Chicago since 2001 with Duckon XI, and each year the con itself has not ever failed to please.
The Duckon crew have organization down to a fine art. They may complain to each other about how harried they are and how everything is just a strand away from falling completely apart, but to the con-goer the show is seamlessly professional.
Rather than just reiterate what I've been saying for the past few years, I'll just hit the changes. Duckon 14 was held in the new Naperville Holiday Inn Select and BY ZEUS' DANGLING GROTTY-POUCH was the improvement from last year's venue ever dramatic! The rooms were large and inexpensive, and mine had a jacuzzi tub! The food in the restaurant hotel wasn't only pretty good, it was reasonably priced! I wondered if I hadn't slipped into some kind of parallel universe. The staff handled a conference filled with science and tech geeks without batting an eye. It's almost as if they'd seen something weirder than us.
The Art Show and Auction raised over five grand (!!) for Duckon's charity, which promotes literacy (specifically Science Fiction) for children. One of the items auctioned off was a guest appearance in UserFriendly, and this will be coming to pass in the next couple of months. Congrats to the winner (whose name I have just now forgotten but will probably remember when I hit the 'submit' button for this news item)!
It was great meeting some new UFies in Chicago and seeing some familiar faces again. We had a fine dinner at Heaven on Seven, a restaurant that specializes in Cajun cooking a la Nawrleans, and its walls are covered in shelves upon shelves of hot sauces!
Lastly, it seems I have a standing invite from Duckon to return as a Special Guest for at least the next four years, so I think Chicago can expect to see me every year for the next little while. Thanks to the fine Duckon organizers, I've also discovered the absolutely delightful universe that is the Chicago Hot Dog. I had my first try at Portillo's and I'm officially hooked in that crack cocaine kind of way.
MERCHANDISERS AHOY: After searching for the past year or so and speaking with a number of merchandisers, I'm sorry to say we've yet to come across one that can fit the bill for what we need here at UF. Zazzle is workable but is at best a temporary substitute for a full-service merchandiser. So! If you happen to know of one who'd like to talk to us about taking over fulfillment for a royalty arrangement, do ask them to get in touch with us. Plush dust puppies will be back on the horizon!
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