CONTEXT 26, in my unprofessional opinion.

So, Context. It’s been several years since we’ve been able to hang out. There was that one year I tried to pretend I was too cool for you. Then there was the year both Mira Grant and John Scalzi showed up and I was stuck moving because of assholes. Then the next year that I had to move again because life sometimes does that crap. Now, set up in new digs and a bit of a revamp in general approach and I finally had the chance to embrace you again.

It really has been too long.

I started off with a great presentation about the earthworks of the Hopewell Indians. I didn’t initially intend to go there, but I was talking to Catherine A Callaghan and she was going and you never, ever deny royalty like that. By all that is holy and amazing did it ever throw my mind for a loop. New learnings for my brain with stuffs I had no clue existed and implications of the past that rattle many fundamental conceits. Basically, my occipital lobe was humping the ever lovin out of my medulla and there was brain goo all over my dendrites.

Granted, there weren’t any other moments of the same neuron-expanding bliss, but I still had a damn good time. I entered the flash fiction contest and had to follow a guy who emphatically yelled about erotic topiary and being impaled upon the gleaming spire of heaven. Needless to say, I didn’t do well in comparison and somewhat embarrassed myself in front of people I respect and Steven Saus. Video was taken and may have been made public by some cruel individual.

During the open poetry reading, I got to see several venerable people bicker amongst each other and was as enthralled as anyone could ever be. To make the evening better, I got to see the aforementioned Lady Cathy verbally lay out someone who got a tad too snooty in a way that was both self deprecating and goddamn kick ass. That woman deserves some form of official entitlement of awesome.

There were parties with the expected copious amounts of alcohol (one of which included  a hired clown- that was weird). I met some new people. Touched base with some classics.Shilled soap. Got to see my wife getting all giddy after having a prolonged conversation about serial killers with Geoffrey Girard. In general, I go to be a total geek and loved every second of it. 

Also, apparently there is a place that does Chipotle, but with Italian food. Odd.

I'm sure they have stuff about it here.