Hey there Little Red Riding Hood, you sure are looking good

[austin_dern]

And now, finally, I can get to reporting on Morphicon! Our trip started on Thursday, because happily they moved the convention to what's a long weekend for bunny_hugger, and we could start out at a reasonable hour around noon to drive to her parents' place. This let us drop off our pet rabbit, who'd stay with them. It also let us see just how their pet dogs are declining; they are legitimately getting into worse shape. We had lunch, and talked about what we expected the con to be, and then were on our way to pass Ann Arbor and head to Ohio.

Morphicon's hotel, a Holiday Inn that's properly in Worthington rather than Columbus, had something new when we arrived. They handed a Code of Conduct that we were to read and sign, and the people at check-in assured us that Mr Wright (?) had approved it. The code specified against things like excessively loud parties or harassing non-con-goers at the hotel. We had no idea there'd been any harassment of non-con-goers. Part of the fun of the convention is that it doesn't fill the hotel so we always have some meeting-of-alternate-worlds with people who have no idea why there's all these people in mascot outfits at their hotel room. We never would get an explanation of what the code was about, either. It just ... prohibited stuff.

Among the banned things were ``the kinds of behavior called 'horseplay','' or something to that effect. It wasn't just a banning of horseplay, nor of ``horseplay'' in scare quotes, but of behavior called ``horseplay''. It all suggests some kind of incident and we couldn't think of what might have happened last year. bunny_hugger had the recollection that last year some particularly uptight social group shared the convention --- she remembered some stern glares given to mystee's dancing last year --- and perhaps that group complained a lot. We'd share the hotel with a different group this year.

But the important thing to do was eat, which we decided to do when we found out registration wasn't open yet. We went back to the burrito place we visited last year. We'd thought it was a shaky new burrito spot last year and learned it had actually been open nearly a whole year. It just had that chaotic air about it suggesting a state of perpetual emergency and maybe short life. But it's still there, and it was much calmer and more orderly this time around. The burritos are good, though, very customizable and with sauces hot enough that even I can't quite take them. Also I realized I could look at just a few seconds of whatever sitcom was on Nick at Nite with the TV volumes turned way down and want to slug everybody in the show. bunny_hugger believes the show was Full House. I didn't recognize it.

Trivia: In his 1873 patent application Thomas Edison named his telegraph duplexer a ``diplex''. An undated diagram from his 1873 notebooks also lists a ``Fourplex, No. 14'' and the note ``Why not?'' Source: Edison: A Biography, Matthew Josephson.

Currently Reading: The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, Deborah Blum.

Comments

[mystee.livejournal.com]

Well that code-of conduct thing was given to us last year (2014) to sign when they closed down our room party so the horseplay item had nothing to do with me. It is compiled from other cons as well.
The original paper on Thursday was NOT approved by con and when I checked into the hotel I took it to the head of convention security and they spoke with the hotel and got it amended. (If you checked in prior to 4pm Thursday you would have signed the original one).

The Original paper said things like "no covered heads in public space", "no more than 5 people in a room at a time", "no noise after 10pm", "no approaching non-congoing guests". It was one of the many ways the hotel tried to secretly screw over the convention. They claimed it was a new protocol since that holiday inn had just gone under new management.


Which burrito place is this? sounds divine :)

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

I just remembered last year's other group as being particularly uptight and humorless, so thought they might have complained a lot. I've generally had good experiences interacting with the non-Morphicon groups at the hotel, but last year was an exception. And I know Austin doesn't really mean to blame you, but it IS true that I saw one of the teenaged girls from last year look in as you were practicing your variety show dance and get a stupidly appalled look on her face.

[mystee.livejournal.com]

yes I recall that incident as well. Though I'd like to think they weren't appalled/disgusted by me because that truly hurts my feelings.

I know Austin wasn't necessarily blaming me I just wanted him to know the facts. More because the incident while I was practicing upset me a lot and I don't want people to think I was the cause of further animosity from the hotel on the morphicon convention

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Oh, goodness, I don't intend blaming you or thinking you were to blame at all. I just remembered that moment last year as one that concisely showed the other-group not liking sharing the hotel with Morphicon. And that was on making the assumption that last year's other-group had anything particular to do with the code-of-conduct which apparently they didn't.

The code-of-conduct thing is a mystery, though.

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, I would not have brought it up if I knew it had actually upset you. I thought it was funny if eye-rolling that they were so uptight. They gave me funny looks a few times and all I did was walk around with a pair of ears on!

[mystee.livejournal.com]

No worries. I just don't like people looking at me with disgust especially when I can't comment on it. I'd rather rude comments or something that I can respond to.

I just have a hard time grasping intolerance of people.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about the original incident, and also sorry for the way I'd framed incidents in the telling of it.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I absolutely don't mean to blame Mystee. Or anyone, honestly. I can imagine the group last year being particularly hostile and the hotel's promising to Do Something about it, is all.

I'm really surprised that I didn't hear any good rumors about the reasons behind the code-of-conduct, but then there's a lot of rumors about Morphicon I'm surprised I didn't hear anything about.

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

Oh, and it's Hot Head Burritos, which seems to inexplicably have about a million locations in Ohio, and then a few in... Florida? Don't know how that happened.

[mystee.livejournal.com]

ah yes we do have hot head's in an abundance here they are known for their sauce selection.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

So we saw! The one we went to had an old poster with 'retired' stickers put over two of the sauces, but the rest seemed to be in good order.

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

We haven't got them around here so it's exciting for us to go there.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

We did get in somewhere around 6 pm, maybe later, so that at least explains maybe the thing about Mr Wright (?) reviewing it, although it doesn't explain who that was supposed to be.

I don't remember getting a code-of-conduct slip last year although perhaps we just looked too old to be engaging in antics known as horseplay.

[mystee.livejournal.com]

Here is the truth on the code of conduct as I know it. This happened while I was downstairs rehearsing or something this was Friday night. In 2014 Bastian and I had a room party. Some nonfurs complained and a new guy at the hotel front desk sent HOTEL security (not con security as usual). Hotel security told Bastian that he was not allowed to have more than 5 people in the room at any time and that this was his final warning if they were called again we would be kicked out of the hotel. They then made him sign a 'code of conduct' piece of paper (which later Bastian recognizes in 2015 as the same paper he was forced to sign the year before).

In 2014 This paper was NOT given to everyone to sign, it was only given to Bastian because of the room party. 2015 was the first year they gave something like to the everyone.

It is known that Holiday Inn prides it self on being a family friendly quiet hotel chain. Meaning they typically do not like parties or unruly behavior that may disturb guests. They also have the complete inability to create room blocks which is why every year we have non congoers in the same area as con-goers.

Mr. Wright very well may be the real name of one of the con staff.

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

I'm somewhat sympathetic to the hotel regarding noise complaints, because even during cons I prefer to be able to sleep in peace. I sometimes wish certain of the conventions I go to (not Morphicon, haven't had problems there) had designated non-party blocks. And if I wasn't part of a convention I would DEFINITELY be willing to call the hotel staff since I've paid for a night's rest.

Asking people to keep quiet after a certain hour seems more than reasonable to me -- everything else on there was over the top and designed to keep people from, I don't know, being unreasonably scared by people wearing fluffy costumes? The whole "unwanted contact while in costume" thing, well... unwanted contact of ANY kind is harassment. Specifying "while in costume" seems like it's unnecessarily targeting convention goers.

I've always had good experiences with the staff at this hotel so this really disappointed me. I've always found Morphicon to be a con that is actually less unruly than others I go to, and at which the non-convention and convention guests usually interact in positive ways. I'm disheartened by this development.

[mystee.livejournal.com]

I as well was disheartened by the hotel staff for the past several years they have slowly been giving the convention more and more issues.

Most furry Conventions try to set aside a designated party' block or even floor complete with buffer rooms. However Holiday inn is not set up to do blocks. Many people come to a convention to party and it is expected there will be room parties the hotel is aware of this and to purposefully try to block it without warning was a low blow. Especially when some people invest a fair bit of money into hosting a party - example:Bastian buys beer and a small keg of cider for our party. We respect people want to sleep but 10pm is a little early to cut out all noise especially on a friday or saturday night.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised Holiday Inn isn't able to handle blocks, especially given they do conventions like this, where multiple groups have part of the hotel for multiple days. I'd have thought that kind of grouping natural for their systems.

I confess I hadn't heard about the room party scene before. But bunny_hugger and I tend to just not think about that, even though in my youth I'd get to the MST3K party when I could.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I'm shocked by all this hotel intrigue and drama. Wow. I also hadn't any idea there had been any real problems with anyone at the con.

Also I'm disappointed that I think I missed Bastian entirely at the con, or at least didn't interact enough that I remember it. I'm sorry for that.