That there is a Michele Wilson cover! I love her stuff, and I’m so glad that she gets so much my way. Mo Starkey was kind enough to take the image and set it up as a cover for me! She’s an absolute star, no? That pun was, almost, completely intended. So, Mo Starkey is Art Director for this one! OK, this issue has 2 Steve Stiles images! Gotta love that1 When’s he getting his Hugo? That’s one right there! A man who has saved kitties from Fires, has donated ferrets to orphanages, who has tamed the Nubian Lion on the Plains of North America! The man deserves a Rocket to use as the paperweight for his pile of commendations for Meritous Service! Now, there’s a lot to talk about. Turns out I’ll be working the Napa Valley Film Festival in November. Love me some film festival! I’m going to be running the Wine Tent in Calistoga! Can’t go wrong with that! There’s my look at ConQuesT, a couple of LoCs, and there’s art! That’s this issue. Not a big one, but one I’m looking forward to putting out because I’ve been falling off schedule more and more often. I gotta get back into the rhythm. We’re doing the Hugo Award for Best Novel issue for Westercon, and there’s gonna be at least two more issues between now and then! Not to mention my issue of Claims Department about the music of The Smiths. I love the Smiths, and it took The Smiths Project by Janice Whaley to make me realise exactly how much. it’s been tied into much of my life. It’s gonna be one of those Giant Garciazines that no one actually reads, but I will be printing and mailing a few out, prob- ably give some away at Westercon. It’s looking like 80 or so pages. What else is there? Oh yeah, I’m currently loving the few booksI’ve been able to start reading. There’s a great Psych novel (more on that later) and a couple of Non-Fiction Things (including The Science Fiction Reboot, which I’ll be writing more about, probably in the next issue) and a couple of J. Daniel Sawyer books. They’re really enjoyable! Also, all my Bay Area Sports Teams in the Playoffs are no longer in The Playoffs. Warriors did great, if they can keep the team together, they’ll do well the next few years. The Sharks... well, they went 7 with the Kings and then they dropped off. Sad, but they’re always at least something of a contender! ALso, I’ve been watching One Life to Live. It’s my Soap Opera, has been for ages. I’d watch Aussie Rules Football on ESPN 2 at noon, then at 1 turn over to ABC for One Life. It’s back after ABC cancelled it in 2011. They brought it back on Hulu and I’m so excited. They show two new episodes a week, and it works. They can swear now, and it seems like the writers just discovered the word ‘shit’ as they use it all the time. Actually, there are several instances where the swearing actually helps, which can be rare. A Series of BBQ Reviews Masquerading as a ConQuesT Report Kansas City. a bit of a star-turn on a big fun stage. Castle, then the BBQ began! Jesi Pershing led the I love it. It’s a city built around BBQ. So, we got in on Wednesday and Eric way, and various others joined up. There was Keri That’s not true, obviously, but it’s also a MAJOR Orth got us at the airport and we had our first O’Brien, who I only knew as a name on an eMail industry, it seems, and so on my trip to KC for meal at a place in KC called Shoney’s. They do string, and Jeff Orth, who was actually putting us ConQuesT, it’s what I’ll write about most. burgers and sammiches, which is what Linda had, up for the night. James Murray showed up, and I Because That’s what I do! and I had the tiny miracles: Fried Cheese Curd. LOVE Jim. He’s the worst punster in the world* Of course, a city with a Con that is having Now, I usually enjoy my cheese curd melting (* - Glenn Glazer gives him a run for his money) you as a Guest of Honor for the weekend is over Fries and under Gravy, but these were and there was also Jo, who I know on Facebook instantly going to get some extra love from ya! AWESOME! They still have a bit of squeak to as Mutha Hydra. She’s from the UK and is an I’ve been lucky, I’ve been Fan GoH 4 times (in ‘em, and dippin’ ‘em in BBQ sauce was nice. They absolute RIOT! We had those hilariously dark Chicago, Minneapolis, Toronto, and now Kansas were a bit heavy, but it’s Cheese, so what you conversations that allow me to go all blue, as City), and the best part isn’t just that they’ll fly gonna do? well as surreal, and it was a blast. Of course, I you out and put you up, but it’s that you’re given After that, Linda and I watched a little stayed up too late, had a little bit to drink, but got to enjoy the Pork that Jeff had been preparing for the Con Suite. Oh. My. Ghod. Now. I’ve had BBQ all over the world, in just about every potential form, and this was some of the best I’ve ever eaten. It was powerfully smoked, had enough bite of the wood to give it the distinctive Kansas City bark. It’s why KC is just ‘bout the only place you find the menu option of Burnt Ends. They are impressive. The sauce was Arthur Bryant’s bottled, as I understand it, and it only needed a hint of it to give it a bit more over-tones. We had a great evening before the night was done. Also, Jo mixes a helluva a Gin & Tonic. So, the night ends, the next day brings us our pre- con traditions: museums and meals. Whenever I’ve been a GoH, or if we’ve decided to make a trip to a con that’s out of town, we always have a day to go to the museums and tourist attractions of the city we’re visiting. In this case, there were two museums I had to get to: The National Negro Leagues Museum and the American Jazz Museum. Luckily, they’re in the same building, a part of the 18th & Vine Jazz District, right across from the GEM Theatre, which still has the original sign and whatnot. It’s a nice part of town, though at points they put up fake facades to mimic old- timey building fronts and these were starting to show their age. Now, we got there early, but we had not had breakfast, and it was after 10am, so I convinced Linda to walk over to one of the places I’d been told was the Best BBQ in Kansas City: Arthur Bryant’s. It was a nice walk through a semi- industrial-esque part of town, but it was only 3 or 4 blocks aways. We got there and the place was deserted, so much so that we wondered if it was open until I tried the door and walked in. Now, this is not an upscale joint. The window where you order reminded me of nothing so much as a Fourth of July Fireworks stand (buy one, get five free!) and we walked up and ordered. The Lovely & Talented Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Linda had a Pulled Pork Sammich, Fitzgerald, though they also had a which I had a slab of ribs. more general section that talked a lot My Ghod, the ribs… more about concepts; rhythm, horns, First off, they did not bother melody, etc. That section was largely with a plate. They just set the slab of done via audio, and that stuff tends ribs, mound of pickles and bread right to break down, and in several parts on the lunch tray. Thankfully, they put it was broken stuff. That happens. Still, Linda’s on a plate. I took it back to a hardly any love for some of the figures table in a little niche in the far wall, just that I consider to be among the most big enough for two at the table. I dug important in Jazz. There were none of in, as Linda sampled her fries (which the Avant Garde, which was sad. Folks she declared ‘Not Great’). The Ribs like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, were perfect, even without sauce. The Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, as bark was there, they were just fatty well as Earl Fatha Hines, Eubie Blake, enough, they had immense flavor and Django Rheinhart (OK, he’s not texture. It was ideal. They had three American, but he influenced American sauces. The Sweet and Spicy was OK, Jazz greatly of the 1940s and 50s), Dave but certainly not spicy. The Hot and Spicy was Team, and the Mexican and Cuban and Japanese Brubeck, Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, and on not spicy, and the regular was so full of flavour Leagues, they were careful to point out that only and on and on.