This is it, you'll hit the heights

[austin_dern]

bunny_hugger wanted to try something new this year, and went to the casting call for the Atomic Spectacle of Doom. This is one of the con's traditions, a roughly hourlong scripted comedy show that's done in that fascinating blend of volunteerism, poor taste, and last-minute panic. She had brought several puppets to the convention and there was just the lone puppet panel scheduled (which would ultimately be cancelled); this would be the best chance to show off some of her figures and of her ability to puppeteer.

Alkali's casting process was fascinating as he read through the script he'd apparently never seen before, and tried to coax people into agreeing to give up three and a half hours that night to rehearse and another hour to perform the show, and also to perform the show. It was a tough sell, but he was able to drag people in. And bunny_hugger found parts she was comfortable playing. I was posed on the very edge of volunteering and kept shying off because oh goodness but they get raunchier than I'm really comfortable with. But I finally had an excuse to duck out as I was planning to attend ...

Back at Motor City Furry Con bunny_hugger and I had attended a Furry Text Adventures panel, with Draggor leading a bunch of people through playing a text-adventure game, each person taking one turn and producing hilarious results. bunny_hugger hoped to jump in late, whenever the casting call finished, but I could at least be there at the start. A good dozen or so people were. Draggor wasn't. After a good bit of searching we learned that he was sick, had come down with something overnight. They were looking for someone to take his place but in the meanwhile ... well, what was there to do?

They eventually found someone who could take Draggor's place: Alkali, fresh off casting. He had a bit of training in what to do and carried on best he could. And the thing went pretty well, considering. And so bunny_hugger was able to catch the whole adventure, set on a mysterious space station and less funny than the Halloweeentown one from Motor City. We also failed, although a good part of that was that the adventure required a real-life timer and we were short on time.

Also, the Text Adventures time began running over the next session, my one snappily titled ``Furry Lives Without Video Cards''. The goal was to talk about mucking and IRC and other sorts of pre-Second-Life ways to hang out in-character online. I had challenged bunny_hugger to predict how long it'd be before someone said mucks are better than Second Life because you have to use your imagination, or possibly because your imagination is the best video card there is. But even though the panel basically invited cranky old people to complain about stuff, that never happened. Everyone just talked up about the fun of interacting over text, and we got to hear from people about mucks we thought had died years ago. Great to hear.

We only had an hour for dinner before Spectacle of Doom rehearsal would begin, so we figured to not cross the highway, and picked Subway instead. Subway was across the highway. It was also staffed by a guy who looked to be maybe twelve years old and kind of in over his head, but that was all right. We ate at one of the wobbly tables outside, in the setting sun. We were a few minutes late for the start of the rehearsal, although not so late that anyone was waiting on bunny_hugger.

Trivia: The official name of Saint Louis's Eads Bridge as it appeared on invitations to the opening ceremony was the ``Illinois and St Louis Bridge''. Chicago newspapers dubbed it the ``Chicago and St Louis Bridge''. An 1881 history of its construction called it the ``St Louis Bridge'', though ``Eads Bridge'' was in common use by then. Source: Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of America, Henry Petroski.

Currently Reading: Mister Justice, Doris Piserchia.

PS: A Summer 2015 Mathematics A To Z: bijection, more mathematical definitions. While not a substitute for grad school, this is surprisingly close.