Marcon

[catsittingstill]

Marcon was way fun!   There was so much filk programming, that you could do nothing but filk if you liked (like a Filk Con) but there were other panels on other subjects on the side.  I didn't get to much that wasn't filk.  Tom Smith, Alexander James Adams, Wild Mercy and Amy McNally gave great concerts.  I really enjoyed watching Judi Miller sign Wild Mercy's Concert.  I had fun at the filk circles and got to trot out my song for Iron Kissed, plus  _Mighty Good Magics_ , and _Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals_.  And I wrote a new song, an answer to one of the songs from Alec's concert.

It was great to finally get a chance to meet Alec.  And I heard a new filker (at least, I don't recall hearing her before, though I've got a memory like a colander) named Gabrielle, who did a whacking *great* song in this scared little voice.  She doesn't have anything to feel timid about; she should stand up and belt it!  Nobody asked to see my Kindle, but Donald (who kindly drove all the way down to carpool to the con with me,) ended up reading from it all weekend.  It also came in handy while driving, oddly enough.

Meeting Alec was interesting (for those who don't know yet, Heather Alexander, the Celtic folk/filk musician, changed gender and became Alexander James (edit--James is his middle name; his last name is Adams; sorry, my bad), Heir to the Heatherlands--his way of framing it is that Heather was always a changeling, and eventually she went back to Faerie, giving Alec his chance to escape to the mortal realm).  I'm totally okay with this in principle, and I wanted my support and continuing regard to be clear to Alec, but when I first caught sight of him in the Friday night filk circle, I wasn't sure whether to go over and say hi.  A problem he solved within a few minutes by coming over to say hi to me.

I knew him the moment I clapped eyes on him, though if I hadn't known about Heather going back to Faerie I'd have been some confused.  Some of my friends think he looks really different from Heather, and I can see he's got more muscle, and his chin and throat are broader, and his voice is deeper in pitch, and his hair is kind of salt-and-pepper with an overall blondish effect.  But his voice is only deeper--the timbre sounds the same as I remember Heather's being.  And his word choice and language quirks are the same as Heather's were.  And he has this way of cocking his head and looking at you challengingly that is just pure Heather--as a matter of fact, his body language (especially when he's playing) is very much like Heather's--though now I realize how much of Heather's body language looks more average on Alec.

It was strange to look at Alec and keep seeing flashes of Heather--almost as if her ghost was getting in the way of my seeing him.  I expect as I see him more often I'll get used to it, and start seeing just Alec.

In other news, I took my Kindle to the con.  Donald ended up reading from it most of the time.  I didn't get much chance to show it to anyone else, but that's okay.  It came in very handy on the way down, when I could find directions on MapQuest when we got lost, and very handy on the way back when I found us an Outback in Lexington to have dinner at.  Maybe this is old news to owners of web-capable cell phones, but the idea of being able to reach the web in a moving car is new and special to me.

I got three CDs (_Hello Stranger_, _Wintertide_, and one of Tom Smith's)  three books, and two SG1 patches, and that was pretty much the limit of my discretionary cash.  

I tried to give blood, but that didn't work out so well when everything went grey and I fell asleep on the lounger.  I don't think they got a whole pint, but they let me keep the T-shirt anyway.

Oh, and I also wrote a song, an answer to one of Alec's about a selkie who falls in love and gives his sealskin away.

Selkie Lover

"Close your eyes" are the words that in greeting you say
And your present spills out, as my heart understands,
Silken and plush, it lies warm in myy hands
For I'm holding a sealskin, all silvery grey.
Now the ocean is deep and the ocean is strong--
Do you think I don't know, that your soul's a surprise?
That the seal doesn't show in your ocean-dark eyes?
Oh love, welcome back; I have missed you so long.

For the seal's as much you as the man that I know
So I'll take my chances, as the June ocean dances,
So soft in my arms does the silver fur glow.

Many the days that I stared at the sea
Content in my solitude, feeling no lack
Till one day I saw shining eyes starting back
A water-sleek head turning, looking at me.
Magnificent mystery, graceful in furs
When a seal disappears in the ocean it braves
And a pale naked man rises out of the waves
Coincidence isn't the word that occurs.

For the seal's as much you as the man that I know
So I'll take my chances, as the June ocean dances,
So soft in my arms does the silver fur glow.

I went to the beach--it was more than a whim,
You warm beside me, the water so cold;
You were my safety--the strength I could hold
Graceful and sure as you taught me to swim.
Clumsy with words as a seal on the land
Yet you dance in the sea like an angel in flight
And binding an angel just doesn't seem right
So I won't take your pelt love, but only your hand.

For the seal's as much you as the man that I know
So I'll take my chances, as the June ocean dances--
While you choose, you shall stay; when you choose, you shall go.

Comments

[ericcoleman]

I want to hear the music, cause the words are gorgeous

[catalana.livejournal.com]

It was great hearing you at the con! Incidentally, apparently it's Alexander James Adams - James is the middle name. (I heard him explaining this to someone; I think most of us got it wrong. *grin*)

If I'd remembered you had your Kindle with you I'd definitely have asked to see it; I'm very curious about it!

[ohiblather.livejournal.com]

Such beautiful lyrics!

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

Oh, very nice. One hopes the selkie will choose to wander not only away, but back again. Regularly.

A possibility that that is pretty effectively destroyed if you hold the poor guy captive.

[aylinn.livejournal.com]

> In other news, I took my Kindle to the con. Donald ended up reading from it most of the time.

It's reading material. You're talking about Don. 'Nuff Said. *EG* You're lucky you got it back. ;)

Gorgeous song.

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

Alexander: I had only seen Heather do one concert a couple of years ago. So when I saw Alexander in Friday's circle, I was just wondering "Who's this new guy who plays fiddle as well as Amy? It wasn't until I heard someone mention that he was there that I put two and two together. If I hadn't been told, I wouldn't have ever guessed his history.

Gabrielle: Thanks for the real name. I know she was at OVFF at least once before, finding a spot in one or two of the more peripheral theme circles. I remember from her manner expecting a weak performance the first time, while the circle tried to be encouraging. And being shocked by the quality of the music. I thought her "scared little voice" was little in volume, but it was not quavering or wavering, and I love her melodies. She's definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Blood: Last time I gave less than a full pint (actually they got the pint, but not the extra sample tubes) hsifyppah pointed out how partial pints are useful. Which is something I really needed to hear at the time.

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

oh, and your selkie song was very good--I enjoyed the high-wire act of singing it that fresh in circle--and it came off without a hitch.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

:-) Thanks. The music was made up on the spot, and varied from verse to verse. At some point I will probably go through my recording of it, figure out which version of each line I like best, and cobble together something appropriate.

If people are interested, I may put up before and after mp3s or something.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Oops. I remember him being introduced at his concert as Alexander James, so I thought that was it. I will fix it soon.

I'm kind of amused; Heather's old name was (girlname) (boyname)--Heather Alexander. Alec's name is (boyname) (boyname) (boyname). Though perhaps that is because most girlnames aren't last names?

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

:-) Thanks!

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

That was my thought too---

Though in the song I was replying to, the selkie chose of his own free will to give his sealskin to his lover.

One of the things I was trying to do was make it plain that she was rejecting the ability to control him, without rejecting him, or his trust.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Naw, Donald wouldn't steal my Kindle. :-) Borrow it for a while, sure, but he wouldn't keep it. It's just, he was having so much fun with it, I couldn't bring myself to demand it back until late in the con.

I'm glad you like the song.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

(Regarding Gabrielle) I thought her "scared little voice" was little in volume, but it was not quavering or wavering, and I love her melodies.

Absolutely--and her lyrics were very good as well. I wish I'd gotten her last name as well, but I didn't think of it.

hsifyppah pointed out how partial pints are useful. Which is something I really needed to hear at the time.

How are partial pints useful? One of my friends told me they save them for babies, but the Wikipedia article on blood donation says that blood for babies comes from O negative donors who are negative for cytomegalovirus (CMV). I don't know about my CMV status (though statistically I have only a 15% chance of being CMV negative) but I'm O positive. So I kind of suspect my blood didn't go to babies.

(Which is a terrible pity because I was working on a song about "I'm not a wimp, I just give blood to babies," that I thought could really have gone somewhere.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

:-) Thanks. I'm almost scared to listen to the recording. I'm pretty sure the tune changed from verse to verse, though there were a few figures that I think kept recurring.

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

Yes!

Though I believe there are some versions of the myth that say the selkie cannot take human form again, once it is relinquished. In that version, the selkie might want her to hold it, so that he won't succumb to a sudden strong impulse he feels he would regret giving in to later. Even if he knew it would be returned if asked for, it would give him time to consider, and in the end, if it came to that, to say goodbye.

[aunty_marion]

Yeah, I'm O-neg and CMV-neg. I was told that they could use my blood for babies and people with compromised immune systems. And when I get this !"(*&$£* asthma back under control, I'll make an appointment for my 80th donation...

[catalana.livejournal.com]

As far as I can tell, all of Marcon's stuff got it wrong; almost everything listed him as Alexander James, but he explicitly told one of his helpers (who was getting him late checkout) that his hotel room was under Alexander James Adams because Adams was his last name and James was his middle name.

[mdlbear]

Yes, please.

[mdlbear]

He's also well-known by his initials, AJA (pronounced in two syllables).

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

I was Severely Impressed by that song, especially when you essentially said the tune was an instafilk, but what you sang seemed 'way too polished to be unwoodshedded. Kudos!

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

Do they give you a big cowboy hat after you give 80 pints?

[dan-ad-nauseam.livejournal.com]

He really should learn some Steely Dan then. :-)

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

That is lovely. & a good convention report, too! AJA, from my more distant view, does make a good man.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

:-) So what *do* they use the partial pints for? (nudge nudge)

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it :-)

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

I dug back through my LJ archives looking for "be nice to me" subject lines, and found the post with hsifyppah's comment here

I mentioned how they couldn't get any of the blood for the sample tubes at the end of a donation after they filled the bag. Brooke wrote in in a comment:

They will use it! I have given half-bags many times because my veins are wussy. They can take the samples for testing from the bag, and whatever's left they will use. They have to divide up whole units in to part units for babies and children, for instance. And for people with congestive heart failure who can't take a whole unit at once. They don't get so much blood that they can afford to throw any out.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That does make me feel better.

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

Have you heard my "Glass Half Full of the Sea", it's based on a similar take on the traditional selkie story.