One personal wish: when buying beer, don't make all the interesting beer be "Amber," or other kinds of beer for people who basically like sweet stuff. Get some seriously dry beers -- IPAs or the like.

I know it's obvious to you, but I don't think you mentioned: if you're making any kind of signs for the party (whether to announce it elsewhere, or to identify places and objects and purposes in the party suite itself), make them Big and Clear and Darkly Written, and post them where people's eyes will naturally tend to look. Otherwise they're pointless.

Your account actually makes a huge party sound like fun. Sometimes they are. Hope you have fun at some next weekend, whether you're hosting them or not.

John

You're going to think I'm kidding, but I'm really not: does this mean that if I bring my Boy, and he's wearing his collar, I can't attach his leash? I mean, I'll have him well trained before I bring him to any con parties, but I think he kind of likes wearing it.

Bluntly: is this rule specifically intended to prohibit human leashing of the leather/fetish variety?

*grin*

Good advice, really, for most parties. Some of it is con-specific, of course, but much of it isn't, and applies equally well to a good chunk of, say, college parties.

And Xopher, I assumed that's what that rule was for...but the rules would surely change at a leather/fetish party or con.

MKK

Anyway, those proportions have been arrived at by the rough and ready method of seeing what's left over when the party ends. If you've got four sixpacks of root beer, the root beer allotment gets reduced next time.

You should see the pizza rule of thumb. I've only seen it fail once.

I imagine that, if the party goes on long enough, the minions are willing, and there are convenient markets, emergency runs to all-night groceries are not unheard of.

*gasp*

I'm not sure how well they stick to grass wallpaper, but Post-it makes poster-sized, well, post-its now.

Problem being, the salty bit. This is probably good for bottles, but is gonna be sucky for cans.

(Ahh, Mythbusters...)

Splenda may have changed the diet drinks ratio, or the diet drink equation.

When having parties I've found that diet drinks like Hansens- Splenda only- will disappear in about the same ratio as they were purchased / put out. This implies to me that for a reasonably large percentage of the partying population, Splenda and corn syrup drinks are substitutes.

In the deep past, I would never have seen guests being indifferent between sugared and evil-aspertamed drinks.

thanks to Rich for the tap-water-quality (or lack thereof) warning: I will duly bring ye bottled water.

Two possible additions:

People with potentially fatal allergies are used to packing in a lot of our own food to cons and holding our peace and sticking to the drinks at parties. We are therefore easy to please: you know those lunchbox packets of salty snacks? Hand us a couple of small _sealed_ packets of just about anything with no warning on it and you will become The Nicest Host Ever.

Also, Candy Lego + fans = a small table to play with it on = hours of fun.

A couple of weeks ago I volunteered at a fundraising event which contemplated among other things people queueing up on a hot stair. There are few things more morally satisfying that running up and down offering little bottles of water to the thirsty.

I've had good experiences with disposable cutting sheets. They hold up well, and they can easily be washed or rinsed in the sink. They can be used for serving too. One pack of 20 is good for several parties.

If you don't have a suite with a kitchen, and you need to use a bathroom for food prep and washing up, try to make it off limits and direct your guests to the other bathroom for using the toilet. I have this thing about sanitation. If you don't have another bathroom, please consider treats that won't require prepping or washing up during the party.

When you are buying food, imagine spilling a bowl of it on the carpet and several people accidentally walking over it and grinding it in. If that scenario is problematic, buy something else. Chips, nuts and veggies are very good. Cheese is okay. Chocolate is okay in small pieces -- chopping chunks off a big block inevitably produces thousands of small shavings, many of which end up on the floor. Salsa is a hazard. Chili is evil -- it stains anything it touches.

And the winery linked in that same post? It's less than ten miles away, and we're driving down. If there's anything we can bring down south, put your orders in soonest.

We don't use Duct Tape. It doesn't stick to ducts, and it doesn't come off anything else cleanly. Indeed, cheap duct tape is the bane of existence. Good duct tape, namely, foil tape, does stick to sucts, and is worthy stuff.

Duck Tape is useful only as a prop at Duckon, and then, just barely. Stay away from the stuff. Cheap duct tape doesn't hold well, but does leave tape residue anywhere, esp. if it gets about 100F.

The One True Tape is gaffer tape, but even that isn't ideal for all uses.

For hotel and party signs, the answer is clear, 3M Scotch-Blue Painter's Masking Tape, PN 2090. It costs about $5 a roll. It is cheap at five times the price. Cheap tape can damage paint or wallpaper. 3M 2090 was made to be stuck to paint for 14 days, and come off cleanly.

For the paranoid, and for brand new hotels, or for hotels costing more than $500 a night rack, 3m Scotch-Blue Painter's Tape For Delicate Surfaces, PN 2080. It costs more, it won't hold anything up but a piece of paper (and if the wall is dirty, it won't even hold that) but if there is anything that will not damage the surface, this is it. It also costs more. I don't stock 2080 in the hotel kits, but I will buy it if I sense or find a need. 2090 is the right answer 99% of the time.

Ask for them by name. Cheap blue tape is often cheap masking tape on a blue paper backing, and has the same problems as regular cheap masking tape -- either it doesn't hold, or it holds too well and wrecks the surface.

Note that the adhesion of these tapes is low -- by design. They won't hold up much more than themselves and a bit of paper -- but that's enough for a sign.

Avoid 3M 2020, which is the production painting tape. It isn't safe to use on a wall for more than a day. This is fine in production work, where the tape may be on the surface for a couple of hours, and thus, the extra tack is safe, but in a hotel, you're likely to hang a sign, come by in a day or so, and find that it doesn't want to come off. Great tape, for what it is made for, but not useful here. (Compare to blue thread locker, which is really useful, and red thread locker, is which is really useful, but you had better be sure that you never want to move that bolt again.)

For heavier taping jobs, gaffer tape. However, gaff has one problem. The cheap stuff that you really shouldn't use costs about $20 a roll.

Many hotels have gaff that matches their carpets in function areas. If you have to tape down cords, ask them about it. Even if you have gaffer tape, if the hotel sees you using their tape, they feel better, and their tape is usually cheaper. Not always, ask -- they may charge $50 a roll (which for top grade gaff, is only somewhat unreasonable. That's what a single roll would cost you, but they get cases at wholesale.) Sometimes, they'll give it to you for free to keep their carpets safe. Be polite, and offer the short end back to them -- if they say keep it, then you keep it.

If there are going to be parties held in the suite all weekend and you don't want all the drink to be drunk up on Friday, find somewhere else to hide it. Turns out that this is incredibly important if you are in Massachusetts and it's Memorial Day Weekend. A deputation had to drive from Boston to New Hampshire on a beer run. I figured it was a case of Live Free Or Dry.

If you have never used painters' tape, you have no idea how wonderful the stuff is. It's uncanny.

Sounds like Mr. Olson's an alumnus of the Scotch Boutique, of SNL fame.

I always ask for thin crust, not being the natural target of the "Dough Lover" pizzas. Everybody else says they want thick crust, but just to humor me, they order a thin crust pizza or two. Those are always the first ones to go, and I swear I'm not the one who eats them up.

I had never heard of mimolette before, but I did find a nice description. The name reminds me of the Foglio's mimmoths ( pic). (And l33t mimeographs, but that's another story.)

-r.

-r.

//sigh// I suppose you're right about a Worldcon party, but I guess that's why I like Lower East Side parties so much better...

Oh, and if you're looking for typos: Kierkegaard

Oh, and: Unless you're an expert, don't assume that you know what's kosher, and what isn't. Even if you are an expert, be aware that individual standards differ.

*thinks about it*

*shudders at the possibilities*

OK, you're right. Wow. I guess I'll just tell him to Heel!

On the matter of diet sodas, I've found that this is one area where the off-brand ones are actually better: I refer to the subset that are sweetened exclusively with Splenda, which no national brand is (I think they all have contracts with NutraSweet). Splenda tastes a LOT better than aspartame, and unlike aspartame it keeps indefinitely. (Ever taken a swig from an old can of aspartame soda? The two amino acids that make up aspartame dissociate over time, and individually they taste HORRIBLE.)

Also, I understand that Splenda is the first artificial sweetener that was approved without significant problems, instead of despite them. They knew that aspartame gave some people problems and approved it anyway; my sources tell me that Splenda actually showed no problems. I got awful headaches (and occasionaly visual distortions) from aspartame, but drink Splenda with no ill effects whatsoever.

SueRay Rosenfeld told me this joke: A Satmar (ultraOrthodox-even-for-Hasidim Hasidic sect) goes to heaven, and the recording angel invites her to the heavenly feast.

"That's lovely," she says. "Who's doing the kosher supervision, please?"

"Why, G-d Himself," says the angel.

"All right," says the Satmar. "I'll just have a glass of water."

Thank you, from the bottom of my rapidly hardening little heart.

I have to say this is just incorrect.

1) any convention that has such weak relations with the hotel that the hotel is 'scared' by such requests isn't a well run convetion. Hotel relations is key to long term success for a con.

2) there is cheap, easily installed plastic protecitve sheeting for sale at most carpet and paint stores. 200 feet by 2 feet for about $30. In a hotel with light carpet, this can be a life saver.

I've been throwing parties at science fiction conventions for years and while much of the advice is good, protecting the floors, especially from food and beverage stains, is cheap, effective and can save you hundreds in hotel 'cleaning' fees.

This is LA Con we're talking about (currently). Were you at WorldCon in 1984?

Sy no mowah!

Heh -- no.

The above is a combination of Geek Answer Syndrome and having been burned one too many times by people making assumptions about components.

Too many times, I've said "We need blue tape" and gotten something that it either blue and tapelike, except for the way it fails to stick to anything, or something that develops an instant and undying love for paint and wallpaper, and will die before it parts with it.

People often think they're doing you a favor by getting the lowest cost part they can. They're not out to make your life hard, but they end up doing so. So, I've learned to spec properly.

So, If someone's shopping and doesn't know tape, I can ask for blue tape, and probably get stuff that damages the hotel or fails to stick to anything. Or I can tell them "3M blue tape, PN 2090, the 14 day painter tape. If you can't find that tape, call me. Don't buy any other 3M tape without calling me."

(Aside #1 - 3M has a tape and glue for everything, but the wrong tape or glue is very bad news. There's a real difference between Super 77 and High Strength 90 spray glues. Using the wrong one wrecks things.)

(Aside #2 - Can we give thanks for the miracle that is Super 77? Amen.)

What I've really learned is that 3M 2090 goes into the convention kit -- and for a Worldcon, two rolls go -- one to keep, one to share. But if you're buying your own, Ask For It By Name. Both Home Depot and Lowes stock the stuff, and any reasonably sized paint or home repair center will have it as well.

$5 may be expensive compared to $2, but it is cheap compared to $100 + for hotel damage.

Since the expert is in da house, what's the word on blue tack?

Often bad news. Most blue tacks have some oil, most hotel walls are latex or paper - bad combination, you get oil staining. Theoretically, good blue tack should be just fine, but I've never seen good blue tack, just the cheap stuff you get at a corner store.

Blue tack works great on glass, though. Best hack -- printing color transparencies, blue tack to outside window. Done correctly, it is a lovely faux stained glass effect.

If 3M makes a dozen versions of blue tack, one of them will certainly be the correct one. (This is, of course, why 3M makes six kinds of blue masking tape, and dozens of not-blue tape.)

MCFI, during their last bid, discovered these little wonders -- reuseable, no damage, and unlike blue tape, can hold more than an ounce. They're harder to use and more expensive (so don't lose that roll of 2090) but for hanging lights and such, they're a very good answer. I don't know if they discovered problems with them later, but the report was they'd used them many times with no problem

MCFI/NESFA also found the plastic sheets that can hold up paper via static electricity (at least, they told me about it.) The stuff does work -- if a hotel has surfaces that are damaged by electrostatic potention in the low kV range, they've got far worse problems than the walls -- but it is fairly ugly, and putting it on the wall can be entertaining. I've heard you want the people with short hair doing the work.

(In that case, there was a certification organization that many Orthodox people don't consider good enough. He did, and let products with that certification be used in the cafeteria. His logic was that he knew more than the people who didn't consider it good enough. This didn't go over well.)

On another tangent, things that aren't catagorized as edible generally aren't included in the list of kashrut regulations; the reason why gelatin products aren't generally considered kosher has to do with oversight of the process -- in terms of strict halacha, most adhesives are probably kosher, even if they're made from non-kosher animals. (Although, yes, there are some people who wouldn't agree with that.)

"This probably won't come up, but something alchemically awful happens when you combine those glossy little Japanese rice cracker snacks with Clamato juice. It's not unhealthy; it just makes you want to scrub your tongue off with a Brillo pad."

Not that most people have it at parties, but I've heard/seen the same reaction with the rice crackers and one of the V-8 drinks. (Mostly followed by "You gotta try this! It's awful!" That's what I like about my friends -- how much they share.)

There aren't necessarily solid reasons to eat it, halachic or otherwise, but that's neither here nor there.

Con suites can be compared to a weekend long party.

When I stock a con suite, I try to maintain parity of diet vs. nondiet. There are enough older/dieting fans (or people with blood sugar problems) that anything less is asking for trouble. In fact, I tend to run out of diet before nondiet.

I also make sure to include both major cola brands, and a good proportion of non-caffeine (say 1/3 of the colas)sodas - cola, lemon-lime and ginger ale, in both diet and non-diet. Yes, I do make sure to have "brown" - caffeine-free diet colas. I also include at least some selzers.

In my last con suite, which was Conterpoint 2004, I also had bottled water, and that went over well.

I've also found the local brands are a good source for flavors like orange or root beer, as well as purely local flavors like birch beer or "black cherry wizaski" (sp?). This lowers the costs, and makes the selection a lot more interesting.

Hmm. I apologize if I've made Super 77 unkosher.

(But it *is* worthy of devotion, darn it.)

If your party goes long enough, I've found that it's easy to recruit the stragglers for cleanup duty with promises to go out for breakfast when you're all done.

Excellent post - you've really hit all the bases. Makes me very sad to be missing LAcon and all the parties therein. :-(

Asperger's?
psychotropic drugs?
College degrees in obscure subjects?
Asthma?
OCBs?
A huge pile of books next to the bed they will get to Someday?

Umm...no, wait!...process geeks!

I suggest toothpicks vs. forks. People make sure they've toothpicked something. They assume a fork will work and it don't always. Bonus: at some point, someone will use the toothpicks with different color cheese chunks to prove a point about chemical composition.

As for allergies, I'm all sympathy, but again, I know I don't know what I'm doing. I also know that when you're a thousand miles from home, have no kitchen, and are trying to put together a passable party for several hundred guests in the limited time you have available between your other convention obligations, you're not going to be able to cover all the possibilities.

I really, really, really hate to have to look at it from a legal standpoint, but if we just serve refreshments, we're in the clear. If we say we have refreshments that won't set off some specific allergy, and we're wrong, we're liable.

I'll keep my eye open for some of those little sealed packets you suggest. If I find them, we'll have a few at the party. I just won't tell you they're safe for allergy sufferers.

Three words, Robert: cut and paste. You can take it up with Herself.

Example example, long before the off-duty NYC police officer with no sense of what constitutes an attachment point got anywhere near the sprinkler heads, he'd have been told, "Not here."

Karen C., I love the idea of origami serving dishes. Can you give me a link to the folding pattern?

Rhandir, thanks for the link on corkage waivers. I've incorporated it.

The pizza rules are for ordering pizza for a large group of people who aren't physically present when you do the ordering. I think I'm remembering them all, but I may have missed one.

1. At least half of the pizzas have to be pepperoni.

2. People who like anchovies, clams, or ham and pineapple on their pizza will also eat other kinds of pizza and be happy; whereas many people will be very unhappy if they have to eat pizza with clams, anchovies, or pineapple and ham. Therefore, don't order those toppings.

3. People who don't like bell peppers really don't like bell peppers, so make sure you don't put them on the only vegetarian or otherwise diet-restricted pie.

4. At least one pizza should be a white pie, a pizza margarita, or a double cheese with no other topping, to accommodate people who are on restricted diets, and punish people who show up late.

5. New York, not Chicago.

How I'd do ten pies:

5 pepperoni and cheese
1 sausage with bell pepper
1 sausage with olives or onions
1 olive, onion, and mushroom
1 white, margarita, or double cheese
1 whatever people are kvetching about wanting

Do you have the true knowledge of Artist Tape, and how it compares to the oneTrue Blue Tape? Of special interest would be how it does when changed topologically: tiny rolls holding a poster in back, rather than flat sheets holding from the edges.

Xopher@39
Both Coke and Pepsi have a sucralose (Splenda is the trademark) version, although the Coke is with ace-K (another sweetener). Story goes that this happened after Walmart turned its eye of Sauron towards the drink makers, insisting on non-evil (Nutrasweet is the trademark) versions. wiklist of diet drinks.

- If trying to serve kosher food, serve either in its original packaging if feasible or keep the bit of the packaging with the certification symbol handy so people who care can make an informed decision. If serving cheese, purchase a fresh new knife or other utensil that will not ever have touched anything inappropriate. Label it. I serve dairy or neutral foods only and keep all the kosher stuff on a separate table and in a separate prep-box so it can be easily tracked.

- Cheetos are evil. Any similar cheese-covered snack which coats the fingers with reddish-orange stuff is likewise evil. You will use many fewer napkins if you avoid Cheetos. Potato chips and other greasy snacks create similar problems.

- Not everyone drinks soda. Little cans of fruit juice, V-8, or similar always go quickly. And my observation is that over the last ten years the proportion of people wanting diet soda has increased dramatically.

- Climate matters. Beverage consumption in Orlando or other hot climates will be much higher than in cooler ones. I went through almost twice as much soda at Magicon as at the previous worldcon and had to add on an extra shopping expedition solely to replenish.

- A popcorn popper not only generates a lot of inexpensive snack food from kernels that take up very little packing space, it also lures people into the party by scent. One that doesn't use oil avoids the sticky-greasy-fingers problem (see "Cheetos are evil.")

- If you're trying to save money, put the cheap food near seating areas and the expensive food somewhere where people have to make little excursions to get more of it. And serve on napkins rather than plates - the latter can be loaded with much more food.

- Cans of soda are more expensive, but they enable you to serve a wide variety of flavors, reduce the workload (no pourer necessary), and reduce the risks of spillage.

You mean I can get my avocado, pignoli nuts, sliced garlic, and black olives pizza? (No kidding, I used to order that...but at the personal pizza size. It's surprisingly good, and lots of people HATE surprises.)

What's a margarita pizza? I'm almost certain it's not pizza with tequila and lime juice, but I have no idea what it is.

Tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil

I'm hungry now.

I'll have a stash of favorite low-carb drinks - drinks with no evil- for people who ask for them. If you drop by the bid party, ask.

Uggggh Splenda plus Aspertame. Be like low-fat cookies with motor oil.

The leashing I'll forego, because it's a safety hazard in a crowded room. Tying? Well, pretty damned impractical if one is party-hopping. But if my Boy is wearing his collar (and it's his choice, moment to moment, whether to wear it), he sits on the floor, I call him Boy, and if I want something to drink I'll tell him "Boy, get me a drink."

If he isn't wearing his collar (and he's never worn it in public, so this is moot so far), we'll walk in side-by-side, holding hands; he'll sit next to me on the couch; and if I'm thirsty I'll go get my own, saying "You want a drink, sweetie?"

I won't bind or discipline him in front of other people except at a fetish party (or similar venue). Of course.

I'm a peaceful person. I just won't go to your party if my Boy has chosen to wear the collar, assuming I know what party is yours and that you have this attitude. I'll just think you're a bit silly.

When taking down the hooks, and putting them up, Tall People are useful--preponderances of short women trying to put things up, there are problems! Getting things down, the same applies... and multiple pairs of eyeballs are useful, to have a higher degree of likelihood of getting all the hooks off (some of them blend into the wall and can get overlooked when doing cleanup, particularly if people are tired

MCFI/NESFA also found the plastic sheets that can hold up paper via static electricity (at least, they told me about it.) The stuff does work -- if a hotel has surfaces that are damaged by electrostatic potention in the low kV range, they've got far worse problems than the walls -- but it is fairly ugly, and putting it on the wall can be entertaining. I've heard you want the people with short hair doing the work.

That last sentence is news to me...

If decorating--start -early-. If possible, and if it is someting like a big bid party, getting the party running crew OUT of there to go for a dinner break, helps one's sanity... too much time in a party suite setting and up running it, one can lose whatever shards of equanimity and sense one has!

As regards decorations--be aware of height differences. Things that hang down that clear my head by several inches, other people can whack themselves in the face or head with. Hanging decorations are safetest backing walls and over tables.... again, most of them aren't a problem to me but other people tend to be taller than I am!

Decorations that fall off walls are not a plus. Stand-up decorations can be amusing, but beware of them falling over, or being traffic obstacles.

How I'd do ten pies:

5 pepperoni and cheese
1 sausage with bell pepper
1 sausage with olives or onions
1 olive, onion, and mushroom
1 white, margarita, or double cheese
1 whatever people are kvetching about wanting

CHip? That wouldn't work up here, would it? (You've ordered or at least picked up pizzas for Boskone truck loading IIRC...)

So very, very true. Is the person here who came up with the food cooties theory? Because bell peppers have taste cooties like whoa.

I usually drive to cons, so I have a con box with a couple of sheet plastic cutting boards (useful for serving as well as cutting) and an assortment of serving, opening, and cutting utensils. And tape. And Sharpies or other permanent marker. And paper. (I remember a con once where somebody said "we need a sign", one person started trying to figure out where the nearest printer was, and I dug into the party box and made a sign.)

Stand fans are better than floor fans, although the vortex-style fans that tuck behind furniture and can be aimed up are also quite nice. (The GT party kit has both, iirc.)

Wish I could see y'all at WorldCon. Maybe next time.

-r.

Is this just a preference, with which I can disagree with every quivering fiber of my being? Or is it a practical recommendation? Because it seems to me that New York pizza causes more trouble: more grease on plates and hands, more likely spillage, just generally a lot messier.

At the parties I go to most of the attendees are SCAdians, which leads to lots of plastic cups with little coats of arms on them. It's amusing.

More of my own thoughts: One of my minimalist rules of thumb about giving room parties is that if the hotel will give it to you, let them. Thus, I always send for a trash can and trash bags and extra linens and maybe a banquet table, or an 8-top round if cards or gaming are expected to break out, and either way a couple of stacks of chairs, especially if music is expected. (I have sometimes gotten a few dish racks of coffee cups or champagne flutes). Getting the bellman and maids on your side from the moment you walk in the door of the place is useful, thence the small bills mentioned up top.

Re dip: No. Never at a fannish event. People double dip. It is a horror.

Light strings can be attached to the drapes with the handful of safety pins that you brought, assume the fabric is not too sheer. Pins will hold up paper, too.

Prep *all* the vegies in advance. If they can't stand being in ready-to-eat format for a few hours, don't buy them in the first place.

If you're serving drinks in cups, implement The Glicksohn Solution and put people's names on their cups so they can be reunited with them, a plan also manifest in ideas like wine charms.

Smaller platters and bowls refilled more frequently look nicer than the larger ones that get picked-over. Few things are less appetizing than a large tray offering nothing but three pieces of cauliflower and a bruised cherry tomato.

For the hardware of your party, unless you're bringing it from home, the dollar store is where to shop. Since dollar store stock is always a mystery, be prepared to visit a couple of them.

Bring extension cords if you are plugging in lights or small appliances. Nearly every dollar store has them.

If you are bringing a knife besides your pocket knife to do prep with, serrated is more useful than a straight blade.

If you move the furniture, you may have to do something about the chandelier. S-hooks are occasionally useful here.

If you expect to sleep in a bed where a party has taken place, you might be happiest with a pillow that's been tucked away out of the reach of the party.

Our large parties, as well as Minnstf's large parties (significant overlap, admittedly) are currently going through *more* diet Coke than the regular stuff.

Label the cheeses.

If it's not light enough to read, it's not a fannish party.

Umm, when I hear 'electrostatic potential' and 'short hair,' I don't think gender or frustration - I'm pretty sure that specifying short-haired hangers is about limiting the annoyance that your charming new electrified hairdo will cause to yourself and others.

This is important, mind you, because "Somebody Else's Microwave" is the microwave you do all of those experiments in. Steel wool is still my favorite. This is, of course, why Somebody Else's Microwave often shows up in the GT Suite.

Do you have the true knowledge of Artist Tape, and how it compares to the oneTrue Blue Tape?

Afraid not -- I'm assuming that artist's tape would be optimized to not damaging bare surfaces, but what about prepared surfaces? Without testing, I can't suggest it. It sounds like it should work dandy, but I just don't know, so I'm not suggesting it.

I also don't know the cost -- if it is dramatically more expensive than 2090, it's a suboptimal solution unless it works dramatically better that 2090 -- and even if it does, that might be overkill if you're hanging flyers.

Loops of blue tape work as well as the blue tape does, in my experience.

"Kirkegaard" is the modern Danish spelling of the word for "churchyard" -- as in, "Soren Kierkegaard is buried in Assistens Kirkegaard," as depicted here.

I'd be willing to bet he liked chocolate, though.

Grease pencils* are a useful alternative, though they are not ideal for warm surfaces - hot cider+warm hands=smudgies. On the other hand, sharpies in the hands of inebriated guests isn't so hot either.

-r.
*aka china markers, wax pencils. Most are the paper-wrapped kind - leads to lots of little bits to pick up. The softer lead kind that come in nice plastic holders are devilishly hard to find. Anyone here have a source?

I've seen D/s pairs (at SF cons) where the sub is not only sitting on the floor, he's kneeling with his head bowed, not looking at anyone else, and not moving. This is really inconvenient in a crowded room. In a really tight crowd, sitting on the floor is just a bad idea. In a smaller crowd, people sitting on the floor need to be watching for the people coming through and shifting out of the way occasionally.

I have no idea if this is how you and your Boy do things when he's wearing his collar.

One of the worst protection-conscious combinations I can think of offhand could be thinly-papered tables and Sharpie markers. If all available flat surfaces are neatly covered in inexpensive sheet paper (that a Sharpie will bleed through in a second) and markers are available for marking drinks, it's not going to take too long before someone gets a bright idea, picks up a marker, and starts illustrating something on the available paper.

Known in concentric circles as the traifing of the tape.

Tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil

Not anywhere that I've had it. As experienced on this coast it's olive oil, mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, basil. In that order, up from the crust. And no sauce.

Dori @ 24: have you tried anything from [Bear Flag Brewery in Healdsburg, CA]?
We were just there three weeks ago. I prefer North Coast in Fort Bragg and Mendocino Brewing in Hopland, but that's a pretty stiff level of competition.
And [Hop Kiln Winery] It's less than ten miles away, and we're driving down. If there's anything we can bring down south, put your orders in soonest.
We came back from that three-week-ago trip with four cases of wine, so we're set; we aren't going to Worldcon anyway. Lots of other Sonoma County wines are as good as Hop Kiln's, but they do have that great old building which makes them fun to visit. If I were going to take some wine from Sonoma to Worldcon it would probably be Trentadue's "Old Patch Red"; while it's not exceptional in taste, it's cheap for the quality . It's an example of a traditional "field blend" -- take all the grapes of mixed variety in a given vineyard and mix them together. As with all Trentadue wines, it's a conversation piece: how does a family end up being named "32" anyway? Did they live next door to the 33's?

Anna @ #21: Brita rules ok
I don't think it would help much with Anaheim's water, since the problem is dissolved solids (mainly salt) which can't be filtered out and won't evaporate like chlorine. Anaheim water has 80 parts per million of sodium compared to the 10 ppm in my home town.

No, I don't get it either, but I assure you that it is true.

One thing that jumps out at me is that you seem to be advocating much stricter standards of inappropriate public displays of sexuality than would be the norm at the kind of parties I go to. Is that your personal preference, or is it more generally true of fandom etiquette? Yes, I do realize that fandom, like every other social group you could think of, is diverse. So I suppose I'm asking for what people's experience and perception is of this issue generally?

Naomi Kritzer@#92: no, but as I said he's never worn it in public. My preference would be that he be alert and paying attention. And my instinct would be to expect him to take part in the conversation...but then I'm pretty new at this. He's an experienced sub, but I'm a brand new Dom.

Also, though, if conditions were too crowded for sitting on the floor to be a good idea at all, he could stand. Or perhaps I'd let him curl up on my lap. (I'm not sure that's a very Dom sentiment, but I'd sure like it!)

In both cases I find the results to be highly dependent on the overall quality of the ingredients. Bad sliced tomatoes or flat/overspiced sauce = mediocre pizza. Given my druthers, I'll take the sauce version, preferably from a NYC coal-fired place as TNH describes above. But I'll take the freshly roasted red peppers as well.

Re: Pizza proportions - aren't there more vegetarians floating around these days necessitating the acquisition of some ungarnished pies, thus providing something that every pizza eater can eat? 20% of the mix as vegetarian-friendly seems too low. For office events, we go for about 30% plain or veggie.

Geez, I dunno, Mike. The French aren't much for flag-waving even in non-pizza situations.

Karen, I'm pretty sure the flag being waved is the Italian one.

Now that I'm thinking about them, I should probably add a few next time I make a meat pie (that is, after things get cool enough to use the oven). Fortunately, I have really good thick nitrate-free bacon at the co-op across the street.

The Margherita was created after the Italian flag -- red, white, green. Whatever you'd put on a pizza to get French blue,* I don't think I wanna eat it.

*Not to be confused with Prussian blue, which stands much straighter.

This was from a place in Glen Cove, LI.

Wonderful stuff. I really miss East Coast pizza.

Yep, I know the history of the Margherita pizza. I'm in France, where I had pizza for lunch, and read the menu at two tourist restaurants just hours ago trying to decide which likely-not-very-good pizza place to go to. All this is why I am certain that a variety of spellings and ingredients can be involved with this pizza, to international puzzlement.

The good Margherita pizza in the Cities is at Punch Neapolitan Pizza, and I had it in mind when we walked to town for pizza today. Needless to say, I was disappointed, even though the lardonswere all kinds of yummy.

As more and more fans are diagnosed with diabetes, water and diet pop are becoming increasingly popular; I think diet or sugar-free options go the fastest at Minn-StF parties these days or at the least are even with the "regular" stuff.

People seem to appreciate it if you have diet caffeine free, regular caffeine free, diet with caffeine, and full on sugary caffeinated stuff all represented. It gets more complex as people become more opinionated on the Nutrasweet vs. Splenda issue, but of course you can't cater to everyone.

Carrying different drinks than the consuite, especially if your party is located near the consuite, is often appreciated. Though if the consuite doesn't carry Dr. Pepper and you do, you might suddenly have a lot of new Pepper-loving friends. Ditto with root beer.

I mean, it's food in the bathroom....

I think we don't have enough data to really answer that question. For starters, I don't know what the standards are at the parties you go to (and I'm unusual on Making Light in having met you in person at all, I think). As far as I can tell, the guidelines Teresa has stated are "don't block traffic" and "if it reads like sex, you need to get a room." I suspect that your understanding of "reads like sex" may be different from what Teresa has in mind: I've certainly snuggled with various people at open con parties without anyone objecting, because we had the sense not to be in the way of traffic, but standing out of the way or sitting on furniture in reasonable ways (e.g., next to each other on a couch, or in adjoining chairs).

I'd also note that not only are there activities that can read as sex despite all participants being clothed, there are places in which nudity means nothing more than that such things as swimming and saunas are not enhanced by clothes. Such clothing-optional gatherings should be identified as such ahead of time, if not obvious, so those invited can decide whether to attend. Also, while going to the clothing-optional late-night swim at a convention that has one in clothes is reasonable (it was designated as clothing-optional, not as nude, on purpose), the non-con-member who wandered into the sauna in a rather formal full-length dress seemed out of place, didn't know what to make of the naked people already there chatting quietly, and didn't stay long.

What? Tammy Coxen and I ordered pizzas (Chicago, mind you, not New York) for an entire SMOFcon, and we nailed the order down in about 15 minutes.

It came in on time and budget. I had emergency plans for non-pizza consumers, and they never needed implementation.

No, I mean people with long fine hair apparently find it being pulled onto the staticy sheets while they're trying to hang them.

I've never seen it, but having seen Naomi Fisher's hair standing up a good six inches from walking on the carpet at Windycon, I can accept that long fine hair + large sheet of nonconductive plastic + wall = Some level of entertainment.

Yes. Yes. YES. I spent a year as the designated clean-up organizer at my headmaster's weekly Saturday night open-house, and this is spot on. It's giving them a task right away that's key. People with a task, even a simple or quickly completed one, will get into the swing of the cleanup. People without a task tend to stand around feeling awkward and getting in the way.

The rest of it is spot-on too, of course; that's just the one that jumped out at me.

Unless you are in Maine--in which case, do not, DO NOT, bring Moxie soda instead of national brands of soda. Moxie is not a substitute for "cola" taste. MAJOR taste cooties.

I still have nightmares about Moxie soda. Dear G-d, the horror.

While I agree with the spirit of this, there are exceptions. For instance, I don't see much point to decaffeinated coffee and hate soy milk, but if I were serving coffee, those would be available, for lo, I know people who won't want caffeine (not many) and can't drink milk (a lot more).

No, really, I mean it, I am.

What is the food cooties theory?

Secondly, Teresa, I am going to save the Pizza Rule and make numerous leaflets (laminated leaflets, at that) and hand them out at work when ever we do a mass order of pizza on rainy days - inevitably we end up with too much white/double cheese, not enough pepperoni, and a completely untouched pizza with razzmatazz that one person wanted and insisted on.

This is an important note. If you are planning on doing "real food" - as opposed to grazing substances - please, please, *please* at least consider the fact that there are folks in the community that are lactose-intolerant, sensitive-stomached, or otherwise unable to eat pizza of any conventional sort*.

There are lots of foods that are - unfortunate - in their messiness (Buffalo wings, Swedish Meatballs, aforementioned chili, etc. - all right out, unless a small, private party, or floors aren't covered in carpet...), but, well, I've been overjoyed just to find that someone has taken the time to bake some chicken tenders and throw them on a plate for the midnight food drop in the con suite, instead of just ordering more (admittedly much much cheaper per serving) pizzas.

*for me - generally cast iron stomach, but if I eat more than a brief amount of incidental mozzarella cheese at a Thursday night party at a con, I will very much enjoy pre-party Thursday, and possibly afternoon Sunday of the convention - and spend the rest of the con no more than five feet from a bathroom... :-(. My poor Italian ancestors spin like tops every time I order a loaded pizza without cheese - but at least now I can do that - twenty years ago, "can't eat cheese" was not an excuse as far as pizzerias were concerned.

Sounds like me having to deal with my in-laws.

Lisa @ 124: It's also my fourth; we'll have to compare notes to see where we should have met previously (e.g., the world as I know it would be very very different if Tom and I had met at LACon in '84).

And I may even try to get you to go to more than one party...

Some thoughts that come to mind:
* If using bellmen, please do tip them as well.
* Replacing standard lightbulbs with colored lightbulbs are a nice simple way to change the look of a room, if one doesn't mind the room getting generally darker in the process.

but doesn't really answer the question, which was:
Bill T @73, JennR @80: What's a GT party?

GT is indeed General Technics, but the incarnation under discussion is the one that prefers blowing objects to smithereens, preferably in Someone Else's Back Yard (or microwave, or crucible, or whatever). Anyway, GT often runs a con-long room party at Midwest cons, and a one-or-two-night room party at WorldCons. Many times the GT party is the last one running, despite the con-veteran status of much of GT. (fwiw, we actually do have permission to use the name -- one of our members asked John Brunner if we could use the name, and he said yes.)

I suppose Teresa is working from the basis of "fan standards" -- which are, of course, variable, but often seem to me to be along the lines of "if a local police officer were to wander in and think of a charge that would almost certainly stick, or two that might stick, this behavior could reasonably be considered somewhat inappropriate".

And we're halfway-thinking of the thing that spawned this thread -- a WorldCon Open Bidding Party. People with an ordinary hotel room, or maybe a 2-room suite, have invited something on the order of six thousand people to drop in. (So have a dozen or so other hosts, many people don't do Open Parties, and there are lots of other things going on as well, but even so....) The hosts are, in part, trying to persuade as many visitors as possible to vote for their site bid, and maybe sell some pre-supporting Memberships. The basic idea is for fans to drop in, visit a little, then move along to the other parties. (If it's a two-room suite and a small clump of guests settle in an out-of-the-way part of the bedroom and converse for hours, that's fine.)

A couple totally lost in themselves (even though doing nothing quite illegal), or apparently unaware that the hosts are not offering a prize for "Best Dramatic Presentation", really should, IMHO, be doing it somewhere other than in a crowded party setting. Generally, I think, in fandom it's mostly a matter of objecting to people physically being in the way of what's going on, while not contributing anything (fandom's Participatory, and guests can be considered to have almost as many obligations as hosts, at parties), or of seriously damaging what the hosts are trying to make the Mood of the Party.

Mind you, I'm an older-generation type who kinda disapproves of a lot of things people do in public nowadays, but I'm also fannish enough to not even think of preventing them from doing such things unless they seem likely to cause significant trouble for me or some group with which I Identify.

example/T: the problem was that the whole floor was a party; that's one reason why most such outlets now have little no-hangers stickers.

Eric: my hair ranges from ear-length to Bonnie-Prince-Charlie (at least according to Smerdyakov), and I've never had a problem with the cling sheets. I'm not sure they depend solely on static; they feel like the Little Blue Thingies that used to prevent DecTapes from unspooling (xref the IBM Balls thread), and I doubt those had anything to do with electricity.

The one time I did pizza for work sessions, it didn't work well, but I've watched others' orders; Bertucci's tends to do too many fancies, and Teresa orders more pepperoni than I think would go over here but not a lot. (NESFA does anchovies because a lot of people eat them -- the pie isn't the first to go but is far from the last. This is experience, not necessarily applicable to a random group.) All-cheese isn't necessarily a punishment; B used to do a very good one, improved by ~triple garlic to what we called a Fearless Vampire Killer.

Rich: nice to find someone on the left coast who doesn't like left-coast hops. When I want grapefruit rind in my beer, I'll put it there myself.

Scraps: bad pizza of \any/ species is greasy; good NYC pizza is not greasy (to the furniture -- I won't argue taste) and doesn't produce crumbs. An extension of Teresa's rule would be never to order from a place nobody in the room will vouch for (preferably on their own grave); I did take a recommendation for 3 blocks away from some locals during a worksession and got much better results than at the place 2 doors down.

Arthur Dent: it depends on the hotel architecture. Many places have stacked suites (i.e., the suite is at the end of the corridor, or right opposite the elevator, on every floor); there's not a lot the hotel can do except try to make some floors quieter than others. (They do try to keep some quiet space -- with varying success, as in one of the Harlan-at-Noreascon episodes.) A few (LAcon and Wiscon hotels, e.g.) have a hospitality floor; provided it's big enough, it wins all around, but it requires an architect who thought rather than just running off N copies of a room-floor plan and sequentially numbering them.

Addendum: one sort of chocolate that worked really well during the Boston bid was the imported lump-in-the-shape-of-an-orange. Decent quality, broke into lots of individual pieces, and as a bonus had enough orange volatiles that cracking just one cut through the fug of a party where it was too cold to open the windows. Unfortunately that was six years ago, and I don't remember the brand anymore, or even if they're still imported.

Argh! Those are easy to get in Canada, especially seasonally - but now I can't recall the name of them. Damn. I'd generally just call them 'chocolate oranges' - but they've got to have a proper name ...

"But, Pieter . . . the Velveeta people?"
"Quiet, or I'll tell the neighbors who painted your Vermeers."

The meat-on-pizza order percentage is lower here, but I wanted the corroboration on that. Meat-on-pizza eaters generally will eat the pizza without meat on it, but those who don't eat the meat pizzas... leftover sausage and pepperoni pizza can result, and and cheese pizzas all gone.

It's the vanilla ice cream situation--while the number of people who list it as favorite might be low, it's a primary -second- choice.

Australian ballots for pizza ordering?

e.g. see

http://www.ebulkcandy.com/sys-tmpl/drosteofholland/

For 10 pizzas:
5 supreme (everything on the bench - people can pick off what they don't like)
2 meat-eater (meat, meatballs, ham, pepperoni etc, generally a barbecue sauce) [Variant: 1 meat-eater, 1 hawaiian (ham & pineapple)]
2 chicken
1 vegetarian/specialist

Oh, and a couple of garlic breads.

People who are gluten or lactose intolerant tend to be bringing their own food (although these days I'll tend to ensure there's a packet of flavoured rice crackers on the table for the militants) or they know what they can or can't order from the local fast food places.

Oh, and a bonus - the Chinese take-away order for the same 10 people:

2 large fried rice
1 large steamed rice (because there's bound to be someone who won't have either pork or prawns)
1 Beef in Black Bean Sauce
1 Lemon Chicken
1 Sweet & Sour Pork
1 Satay (probably either lamb or beef, depending on what's available)
1 Garlic Prawns.

And a minor point on allergies - many people who are sensitive/allergic to wasp venom will be really, really grateful if you have at least some stock of cups, even if your general policy is "drink from the can". Wasps love sugary drinks, and object to being drunk by someone who couldn't see them in the can...

Also at the Norwegian party at the Glasgow worldcon last year, some of my friends in fandom apparently did not understand why bringing somebody up to me and saying something on the lines of 'hi, this is PC, the guy with the sweat pearls on his forehead with all the six-packs of Borg beer, I'll leave now, but he'll be happy to help you with [something non-party related]' frankly was a bit exasperating.

Then I actually understood the moral of one of Niven's stories about tending bar (can't recall the title). In it, one guy tells another about what to do if a guest you'd never seen before comes in and order a complex (and time-consuming to make) coctail during a very busy happy hour. You make it, but you make it badly, leaving out a vital ingredient. The other guy asks why you'd do that, and he explains that that was the kind of inconsiderate guest you'd not like to have as a regular in your bar, anyway.

I probably wouldn't do something like that, but I do know what the impulse feels like.

P.C.

[How many people expected at this Worldcon? Eyeballing a regression analysis on place, roman numerals, timing, people at con t-1... seems like 7042 / 8042. But at least until after my party, I probably don't want to know the real answer.]

So, wanting a lanai diagram, we went poking the net to stir up a guide to the party floor layout: no luck. And then we remembered this is the 21st century.

Map of the lanai party floor

Terry's was an old British brand before it was Krafted, (an article on their orginal factory closing) so their chocolate oranges may have been imported as exotic commodities before that.
I think the Terrys were one of the Quaker chocolate families, like the Cadburys.

Posting this a little late, but anyway these may yet prove useful:

This is one of my favorite patterns for origami boxes. Quite useful for holding any number of small, light objects. I make them when I want to share a large batch of popcorn. (As demonstrated here, using a slightly different size of paper gives you a handy box cover.)

This is another simple pattern, with a cute star-type decoration.

There are more choices here, but I haven't tried those.

There's a particular pattern I like to use that looks like a shallow dish or pot, but I can't seem to find it online. Oh well.

I wouldn't serve soda at all. Or coffee or tea of any kind. Or alcohol. Water, fruit juice, milk. I suspect it would not be a very well-attended party.

1) Have plenty of single serving bottled water, both sparkling and flat. Many people have drinking restrictions (aclohol, sugary drinks, etc.) and water is the one default everyone can agree on.

2) You will need to plan ahead as to where to procure your groceries. They come in two types - perishables and not. If there are any locals (and yes, you will need drivers and address of that Costco or other market), the locals might save you money and time by driving up non-perishable stuff like chips and bottled drinks. These same drivers may be counted on to do a grocery store run and pick up that fresh veggie and cheese platter, etc.

3) If your party has a theme, you will need to have decorator minions, balloon blowers, etc, in the room at least an hour to two hours ahead,

4) Having plenty of flat surfaces is important. And not just for setting out snacks, but for those handout and promo and other themed materials you may be giving away, etc. Stacks of books might need holders or shelves.

5) Cater fancy dishes, if possible. Such as themed cake with a magazine cover imprinted on it, etc. If not possible, skip them.

6) Supermarket (Costco and such) sushi platters are a fabulous hit and go fast.

7) Save all your receipts!

There is probably something else but can't remember it right now, this is way comprehensive as it is.

Hey, see many of you in a day or so in Anaheim! :-)

The last convention I went to (not an SF one) was held in the south, in the summer. A pair of kids stood at the door of the registration room, handing out small bottles of cold water and pieces of chocolate. I'm sure that the increase in con expenses was more than made up for by the decrease in frazzled tempers.

(Boy, do I ever love these numbered comments!)

where the sauce is to die from

I think you mean "to die for"

I wouldn't want to die from something I eat

For the last several years, Bubonicon in Albuquerque (which Hilde and I had to miss this year, drat) has had a High Tea party. It is very well attended, and gives people an opportunity to Dress Up for the occasion.

Hilde and I actually won a prize for Most Elegant at last year's High Tea. This may astound Teresa and Patrick, who mostly remember me from their Phoenix days; I don't think I ever quite descended to "Slob" back then, but I almost never went higher than "Common Casual" (jeans & t-shirt, sneakers or sandals).

I went to one of these Friday at Newport, but only stayed briefly. I was pleased that they had strawberry lemonade - something I actually drink. I wore a 1910's day dress, but was so tired and emotionally worn out that I didn't actually bother to put on the proper underpinnings, so it looked a little odd. By Saturday I had recovered some energy so I went all out that day just for strolling and picnicking - 1890's blouse, flowing skirt, yards of petticoats, well-laced corset, and a killer rat in my hair for the Gibson look. I like that rat enough that I may bring it to worldcon and wear it to the Hugos or something.

High tea at a convention sounds interesting, but since I actually dislike tea and dress up regularly (six full-dress events in the last week alone, and I was slacking off), it wouldn't be a particular highlight for me at a convention. I'll probably get my Regency dress to worldcon but not much more. I'm too worn out and have an entire load of Victorian frillies still to wash tonight.

When I hold a party, I serve a wide variety of beverages which interest me not at all, and I keep soda/coffee/tea in the house for visitors. The latter two are never up to people's standards today, but there are limits as to how much stuff I don't actually drink I am willing to store on spec.

"High Tea" translates as "supper" in Great Britain. It's what you have when you get home from work. It is not intended to be a social event. Usually happens after 5:00 PM.

The fancy event is known as 'Afternoon Tea' -- this is where you get gussied up in your best clothes and manners. The menu will include dainty little sandwiches, and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

"Stands the village clock at half past three,
And is there honey still for tea?"

Stands the church clock at ten to three?
And is there honey still for tea?

Phew!

That's true not only in California, and not only in fannish settings. It causes tension whenever a departmental party is thrown here, when the vegeterian Indian, Jewish and Muslim students late in line have to bite their lips while the others who could eat the pepperoni pizza go through the vegeterian pies instead.

I haven't been able to find a polite way of preventing that by reminders; the only solution I can think of is actually to buy more vegeterians pizzas than pepperoni pizzas. Which is diametrically opposite to the pizza rules as stated several times here. So it's confusing.

Quite unrelatedly, I have found out that I don't exactly mind the taste of Moxie. I'm not crazy for it, but I like it fine. I am the only one among people I have met face to face.

If everyone waits in the veggie line right away, you have your answer: don't order ANY meat pizza next time.

I had a five cans from a six-pack of Moxie in my office for several years. Eventually, Jim Frenkel came through town, joyfully exclaimed "Moxie!", and drank all five cans.

First off, what happened to the first, missing can? Was that when you tried the noxious Moxie?

And, second: Jim Frenkel drank them ALL AT ONCE? Good LORD!

I have to ask: how often does Jolt Cola show up at these parties? I have not yet been to a Worldcon, although I am simply dying to.

I'm out of Moxie now -- I'll pick some up at the store when I go out later.

(BTW -- I was the source of the six-pack in Patrick's office. The one missing can was from when Patrick, Teresa, and the other adventurous sorts at Tor tried a bit, to see what it was. Alas, they lacked moxie.)

(Moxie is great. The true eldrich horror is Diet Moxie. Fortunately it's easily recognized by the color of the label.)

N.B.
I'm not sure if this will show up. I couldn't really figure out this box's instructions:
"Address, comma, email, comma, yours:"

Separate lines works, offering the restricted-diet people first crack at the food only works if everyone is there at the same time. Holding a few plain cheese pizzas off to one side also works, and is usually how I approach the problem. I'm pretty sensitive to that, being a vegetarian that's allergic to pineapple and more than once having the only thing left be ham and pineapple pizza. Why does anyone even order that? It's always left over.

My personal group-pizza breakdown would run about 50% plain cheese (maybe some of that double cheese, sauceless, or margherita), one pie loaded up with veggies, and the remainder roughly split between pepperoni/meat explosion/specialty of the pizza place. As someone mentioned upthread, no one that eats pizza will turn up their nose at cheese, but there are plenty of folks that avoid various toppings.

The true eldrich horror is Diet Moxie

Actually, have you tried the Moxie sport drinks? I swear it should be called Cthulhu-swill.

I did, once or twice, ask a minion to escort a clearly drunk guest back to their room because I frankly didn't trust said guest not to wind up in the pool or in the stairwell, upside down.

This pattern is more of a serving dish than an eating-out-of dish, but produces a very nice effect from relatively little effort. There's another easy dish pattern that's three steps past the classic windmill/pinwheel base, but I can't find diagrams of it online so far.

(Or if you really have time to kill, you could probably serve dip or something out of the middle of a Kawasaki rose.)

There is, indeed, risk and legal liability if someone you have served alcohol to has an accident or kills or injures someone. The level of liability depends on jurisdiction.

I remember one party where I had to roust a large friend out of bed to sit on a somewhat smaller (but still larger than me) friend who was intent on driving to his hotel several sheets to the wind. And we'd stopped serving this person some time earlier, though not, apparently, early enough (and we weren't the only game in town, either). Not fun.

It's a variation on the construction, usually used in catalogs or parts lists, e.g:

Pad, Gauze, Sterile, 4x4, case/25

. . . which is useful in cataloguing because it puts the broadest term ("Pad"), which is the primary sort criterion, before the various descriptors that refine exactly what kind of pad it is. The usage isn't really meant to be spoken, but it often is, usually with parodic intent.

So the unraveled construction would be

Your e-mail address:

And it posted just fine.

Those lightyears are gonna time-dilate on you, you know.

(I watch this process from an external point of reference, like the Sozzled Poet of the Spaceways who comes back to James White Station and finds the bartender's grandkids pouring the Zero-G Screwdrivers.*)

And that's enough pseudo-pnostalgia for at least the next three minutes.

*Vodka and Tang.

I suppose my assumption is that if you have a bunch of people together with mixed levels of connectedness, and lowered inhibitions, likely outcomes include people discovering and acting on mutual sexual attraction, conversations involving far too much detail about people's sex lives (though perhaps "foul language" refers to swearing at eachother rather than using vulgar names for sex acts in a descriptive fashion?), people getting totally absorbed in eachother and ignoring the rest of the gathering, and so on. I can imagine how forbidding these would change the dynamic and perhaps positively. I'm interested to know how widespread that prohibition is, if it exists at all, and I'm not just misinterpreting Teresa's rules.

Definitely a dress code is not interchangeable with a code for standards of sexual behaviour. Especially not at a party because many people's idea of dressing up is wearing as little as possible. (As an aside, unless I know the people I certainly can't tell whether a fetish outfit and accessories are a fashion statement or an expression of sexuality!)

Also, that's a very interesting point about the guests having obligations as well as the hosts. Clearly it's true to some extent but it wouldn't surprise me if that aspect of etiquette went further in fandom than outside it. It would certainly make a reasonable rationale for stricter standards about being flagrantly couply to the exclusion of the general gathering.

http://www.traderjoes.com/locations/map/46.asp

Stay away from the raspberry flavored ones; much like hairspray on chocolate.

When I'm in a pizza topping deliberation and where there are a number of pies being ordered, I'll often lobby for a pizza containing pineapple. If my lobbying is barely successful, I make sure to only eat the pineapple-containing pizza. It's only fair.

For the record, sausage and pineapple is far superior as a meat/pineapple combination than ham and pineapple.

Or at World Market (formerly known as Cost Plus), if you want some and there's not a Trader Joe's nearby. (Although all I can recall are the oranges.)

I'm sure there are pizza-eaters in Hawai'i that order/eat that stuff, but I live here, and I've never ever met anyone who did. I don't know whether it's considered too hokey or what, but it belongs in the "Oh, c'mon" category.

Don and Vicki called this one correctly, but I'm going to explain anyway, because I have a theory about this.

A large worldcon party will include people from a great many partially overlapping social circles. Guests who know each other from one context may not be familiar with each other's lifestyles in other contexts.

My rule is that at a general gathering, guests shouldn't engage in behavior which can't be correctly interpreted from external states. If a cry sounds like someone in pain, those hearing it will be as disturbed as if it were a real cry of pain. Roleplaying behavior that looks like serious bullying will likewise be upsetting.

Roleplaying behavior in general is a bad idea, unless it's being done as a general party game. This isn't a sex thing. It's a "confusing and excluding the other guests, and commandeering someone else's party for your own purposes" thing.

Leashes in crowds are a bad idea. Sitting on the floor in pass-through areas is a bad idea. Obtrusive bondage gear is not the equivalent of a wedding band. (And who defines "obtrusive"? I do. The style of moderation carries over.)

Just for the record, over the years I've seen very few people turn up at Tor parties in semi-nude states. I doubt we'd disapprove of them to any great extent, but they might find themselves feeling uncomfortable at a party where everyone else is clothed.

Sometimes there are children present. Not just the 16-18 yos who are often present at cons but actual children.

I'm fairly sure I've seen it in Massachusetts and Vermont (I must have seen it in at least one of them, since I know I've seen it more recently than the last time I bought groceries in New Hampshire).

Is a leather collar "obtrusive bondage gear"? I'm talking about a simple one, with perhaps a ring attached, not some hideous spiky monstrosity. I mean to you, since we're talking about your standards at your party, and frankly I think you're an exceedingly reasonable human being, so your opinion carries a fair amount of weight.

I make sure & always have Moxie and Cel-Ray at my parties, just because. Sometimes they are the only real sodas there (the rest is flavored seltzer).

My favourite bookstore has a sign in their children's section saying "Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy."

I've never seen an unattended child there.

Bruce Baugh: #170
I want to add a slightly whiny note about vegetarian planning: some of us who eat vegetarian are either allergic to olives and/or mushrooms, or just don't like them... It was, for instance, disappointing to look at Teresa's pizza list and realize that only one would be safe for me and I couldn't count on it lasting.

Actually, I had a similar concern, since my husband can end up home sick for two days from eating a small piece of olive, and sometimes it's hard to tell under the cheese. (Although we're not vegeterian, I am inclined to eat "Anything but pepperoni!" before pepperoni.)

OTOH, she says it's only failed once, by which I presume she means the pizzas are all eaten proportionally by the end of the night.

Although I have a confession: I and my sibling both feel a *good* ham & pineapple pizza (Decent quality ham and pineapple that can be recognized as having been grown on a tree, not born in a can) is a yummy thing.

I never understood the mysterious conjunction of Moxie and Pepsi when I first read Bored of the Rings all those years ago.

Bruce, we don't normally have pizza at Tor parties. It's just a subject that came up in the course of this discussion. I expect you'd be able to put together a tolerable assortment of munchies from our usual spread.

In fact at WorldCon I can't see him going around without a shirt except if he also had leopard body makeup or something. That might be cute. But for serious party hopping, shirts and shoes (yes, and pants, whaddayatakemefer?) are definitely de rigeur—not to mention safety considerations.

I'm a vegetarian, and IIRC I've eaten perfectly well at Tor parties. Bruce can breathe easy. If he's a strict vegan that might be another story.

Also, that's a very interesting point about the guests having obligations as well as the hosts. Clearly it's true to some extent but it wouldn't surprise me if that aspect of etiquette went further in fandom than outside it. It would certainly make a reasonable rationale for stricter standards about being flagrantly couply to the exclusion of the general gathering.

I'm only marginally fannish, but erm?

Of course guests have an obligation to the hosts of any party. As a guest, you have received the honour of an invitation, in accepting the invitation (even an open invitation, nay, especially an open invitation) you are agreeing to participate in a social gathering, to act in a way that makes you a pleasant guest.

At the very least this means you don't make life difficult for your fellow guests or for the hosts (they've accepted some difficulty by holding a party, granted, and you're supposed to ask for drinks or where the toilet is, or make other guest-like requests), and to be a good social creature and community member. At a minimum:

If you take the responsibilites of guesthood very seriously, you are also accepting an obligation to be the very best conversationalist you can be, to understand, accept, and live by the mores of the party (or to exit gracefully if you can't), and to be a credit to your hosts' good taste in inviting you.

If you can help to clean up, either after the party, or while you're there (by, for example, picking up empty cups that have obviously been abandoned—the ones with candy wrappers, cocktail napkins, or soggy food in them (yicch!) are safe bets)that's nice too.

When a guest ignores his or her obligations to the hosts and other guests, the results can lower the tone of the party for all involved. This sux.

*This has a different original meaning, but I'm already pushing the redline on weird tonight.

Most people know the phrase "eighty-sixed" as meaning "to get tossed out of a bar." (And yes, Don Adams knew this very well when they were making Get Smart.)

The original meaning is a bit different. When a bar patron had outstayed his welcome (for whatever reason), but was still sensible enough to leave on his own, the barkeep would pour him a shot of 86-proof whiskey.

These whiskeys are not quality products.

The recipient would generally stare, swallow hard, and decide that he had Had Enough. (Or at least recognize that the guy behind the bar was no longer his best friend.)

Because of the rep of the 86es, the Twentieth Century Limited had a rule that no whiskey of under 100 proof would be served aboard. However, Jack Daniel's, which is unquestionably a quality product, comes out at 90 proof, and was therefore excluded. Various of the Century's customers found various ways around this oversight; the actor Monty Woolley is said to have had a large, scholarly-looking book with a hollow interior.

Just for the record: I've tried Moxie, and while I might very well try it again, I wouldn't say it's half as good as Dr Pepper, or even Mr Pibb.

I also love ham & pineapple pizza.

1 12 oz. glass, half full with ice, crushed or cubes
2 oz. golden rum, 120 proof preferred
1/2 oz. pomegranate juice
1 oz. lime
Fill to top with Moxie; stir
Rub lime zest around rim of glass

Ecco: the Roxy.

The gentian flavor most find objectionable in Moxie disappears, somehow, and even non-fans tend to be surprised. Or, at least not horrified.

Diet Moxie is indeed enjoyed only by those possessing the Innsmouth Look.

For real horror, try what I discovered to be the preferred drink of Buenos Aires: Coca-Cola and Fernet Branca. Have always been tempted to try Moxie and Fernet (just brought back a case of the former from Maine), but so far -- I hesitate.

In any comfortable social setting, there are levels of intimacy that are ok to show within the group, and other levels that make people uncomfortable. Part of welcoming people to the group is letting them know where the boundaries are. Modeling appropriate behavior, and Teresa's suggestion of a hand on a shoulder and a quiet "Not here," can work very well. (Or possibly "not now," in a group where standards change dramatically after the children go to bed.) I've seen similar ways of dealing with the social boundaries at bdsm parties.

What makes this night different from all other nights?

"Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either vegeterian pizza or pepperoni pizza, but on this night we eat only vegeterian pizza?"

"Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of fruit, but on this night we eat only exotic fruits?"

"Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our chips even once, but on this night we dip them twice?"

"Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a standing position?"

What if they all _critiqued_ me?

Thanks. I had always assumed that cons solicited parties in advance, grouped them physically, and listed them in the program. I gather that that's rarely the case.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggghhh....

Well, I'm not denying it might be good. I'm just saying that in Hawai'i it doesn't appear at the top of the list of toppings the locals eat. I'm afraid pineapple on pizza screams "Tourist!" to the long-time denizens. Spam would denote "local," but I've never seen that offered as a pizza topping.

And that other list of toppings from 2005? Yikes!

I dare not say never -- someone here might come up with one con, somewhere, that did that -- but overwhelmingly the most you'll find listed even in the (late-printed) Pocket Program will be the hours & location of the convention-sponsored and operated ConSuite, which some fans consider the Party of Last Resort. (And whether it's bare-bones or lavish often depends on the con's budget and attendance, especially walk-in memberships sold.) Final details (including the room-size and location) for open parties are usually, I think, not worked-out until the last minute.

There's usually a Party Board at some central location where these are listed by night, and most of them get listed in the Con Newsletter. With luck and good co-operation between the Hotel and the ConCom, people planning parties will be given rooms grouped together, so as to avoid disturbing hotel guests who want to sleep, or having the hotel close them down completely at midnight. (Of course, there are Horror Stories about Hotel Managers who ignore the contracts and agreements of understanding, as well as of ConComs who didn't make stuff clear in the first place. *sigh*) Fans really aren't great at prior planning unless it's necessary and (I think) parties are an area where the appearance of spontaneity is expected.

I think I'd try that cocktail. However, I wouldn't have when I still lived in Maine. If that makes any sense--probably not.

One soda I always put out at parties is some form of cream soda. For some reason, these are always the first to go. However, it might be because I have a great thirst for cream soda at all times (yes, even the nasty red cream soda they have in Ohio--and I'm sure others will chime in and tell me where else red cream soda may be found).

Dr. Brown's is a favorite, but A&W makes a damn fine cream soda as well. A&W's diet cream soda is surprisingly tasty and doesn't summon the Old Ones.

(You had to keep the label hidden to get the best responses.)

What if they all _critiqued_ me?

What a happy thought! It would be an excellent way to turn an antisocial activity back into a group activity for the party. Hosts could provide scorecards. Also, the hosts could provide eyebrow pencils and laundry markers for decorating sleeping guests.

So is it the bitterness that people don't like in Moxie? (I've never tried it.)

Lori, #210: Windex-blue cream soda? It MUST be MINE!

I'd say carbonated cough syrup. There's a medicinal-root aspect to the flavor that molasses doesn't cover.

Mind, I like the stuff. Although it's been maybe fourteen years since I last had some.

What does it taste like? I was given (and enjoyed hugely) a copy of _Cooking with Fernet Branca_ by James Hamilton-Paterson (actually fiction, not a cookbook, although there are recipes bordering on the Futurist), but have no idea of how vile (or otherwise) the star ingredient might be.

When you hold a shot glass of Fernet-Branca to your nose, the first thing that strikes you is the physicality of the smell, which, if such a thing existed, is like black licorice-flavored Listerine. Put it to your lips and tip it back, and the assault on the throat and sinuses is aggressively medicinal. For many so-called "Fergins" uninitiated to the drink, it can be accompanied by a feeling that may either bring a tear to the eye or lunch to the esophagus. As a bitter Italian aperitif of more than 40 herbs and spices, it most often gets compared to Campari and Jägermeister, though by measure of accuracy, it's equally similar to Robitussin or Pennzoil....

If you can imagine getting punched squarely in the nose while sucking on a mentholated cough drop, you'll have an idea of Fernet-Branca's indelicate first impressions.

Even people who come to love it admit that their first reaction was "Ugh, that's foul!"

I always wondered what the cleaning agent was called in case I have the opportunity to buy some. A root-beer-smelling house sounds wonderful to me.

I think you answered your own question. I don't drink sodas much anymore, but I'd gladly down a can of Cel-Ray anytime. (And, since Katz's Delicatessen serves it, it's there pretty much anytime I want.) I might be persuaded to try Moxie again, and might even not dislike it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it.

As for that description of Fernet-Branca (#219), it's brilliant.

#179: I have limited tolerance for the idea that conduct should be constrained because there are children present, especially at an evening room party (cf the Bill Cosby album with one each early and late shows). Children are hard to embarass or freak out; I was thinking just before this came up of the party where a 14yo was giving about a yard of tongue and the Secret Handgrip of Fandom. (My main question was how she got a chair into the middle of the floor in the most crowded party in the con.) An SF convention is not a leather meet, but it's not Main Street in Podunk either.

203/207: There is no common practice -- conventions vary too widely -- but many cons (a) try to declare loud and quiet floors and (b) try to make sure the big suites go to big open parties. Wiscon is one extreme: one sleeping floor is mostly party rooms (the few who sleep there must be able to sleep through morning sunlight), all of which are usually booked in advance -- not so much solicited IME (although the PR warns people that booking is needed) but definitely booked. Small cons can be the other extreme.

Mike: So when did 86-proof become acceptable? Nowadays 80 is the European standard; all the distilleries we've visited sniffed that they bottled an 86 just for the Americans, and >100 proof is definitely out of the mainstream (Wild Turkey, yes, but also slivovitz and gonzo rums).

Not a convention party story, but: Back a long time ago, one of our friends overindulged in strong drink at a private party and fell asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, all the other guests were gone and the hosts had gone to their own bedroom. Sometime during the night, though, someone had not only thoughtfully removed all of his clothes... but had also painted his penis green.

As it happened, he had an important job interview scheduled for that same morning... and a glance at the clock showed the appointment was only minutes away. He had, barely/only enough time to find and put on his clothes and rush off to the interview.

Didn't go well, didn't get the job. He said that all thru the interview, the only thought that went thru his mind, repeatedly, was "I have a green penis... I have a green penis... oh, God-d-d-d-d-d-d, I have a green penis..."

I haven't seen any Blue Label Cork Dry Gin since the duty free shops were abolished.

Stefan, #216: You're right, carbonated cough syrup is a MUCH better description.

Here's a history of Moxie: http://www.mariettasodamuseum.com/moxie_facts.htm

And here's the page for the annual Moxie Festival in Lisbon Falls, Maine: http://www.moxiefestival.com/

Eeuw, BLECK!

I had to ask, didn't I. It's even worse for me because licorice is one of those can't-tolerate-it-under-any-circs smells, along w/ wintergreen, spearmint, and whatever ghastly ingredient is in Juicy Fruit gum.

You can't DO an allergy safe con-party without an amazing amount of effort; it is necessary to assume that if there's an allergin in the room, it's been carried to all the food that's out. And if people go to a ton of effort I feel dreadful, because I still can't necessarily trust the food.

My parties are safe for ME, but it takes some energy and attention and asking people not to bring in outside food.

And most people with food limitations make sure to have a proper meal before going con-party hopping.

But a lot of party hosts feel really really badly if they've got a guest they can't feed, and allergic guests find it awkward to be always politely turning down urgent solicitations to 'try the X, it's wonderful!', and are grateful for something other than a drink to wrap their hands around while they chat, to deflect cake-bearing strangers with good intentions.

Little packets of pretzels or goldfish crackers or something similar, or small fruits like apples and oranges, are all good ways to deal with that without making everything unbearably complex.

One can always nip off and quietly rinse fruits and veggies, too, which takes care of the chance that they were last touched by someone who'd just been eating M and Ms or whatever.

The sarsaparilla is not a surprise - I'd met it as a soft drink once, and the flavor is similar but not identical to root beer. (Wiki discusses the sassafras root bark and its substitutes.)

It's sort of depressing to have the balconies of the fancy-suite parties (Tor, Hugo Losers) be air-free zones - I'd have loved to stand out there admiring the view, but there were so many smokers it was impossible.

On the bright side, it was better overall in this regard than the party area at Glasgow the first couple of nights.

Sassafras hasn't been used in sodas in the US since the mid-sixties.

However, I am the concessions-stocker for my theatre company and there is no doubt whatsoever that the Diet Coke goes faster than the regular. That regular and diet with lime go about evenly with regular outpacing it slightly. Sprite and Lipton's Ice Tea are the laggers...in that order.

Of the munchies, the various cookie things go the quickest (Grandma's and vanilla wafers outpacing Oreos), plain over peanut/almond in the chocolate department and all the non-chocolate candy about neck and neck. Weirdly and (I might say grossly) Lance's Ry-Chees do really well.

PS. Hi to those of you on the list I recognize from my yout' when I was a Boardman or a Girsdansky..whichever you knew me by.

A pair of designated partymeisters is critical. Somebody actually needs to be responsible for refreshing supplies stuff as they decline. Anything that makes the meisters' job easier is a win. In our case, it usually argues for one large food table that is easily monitored and reached by the meisters. Why two? So one can relieve the other as needed, can refresh supplies without leaving the 'main post' abandoned, can work together on multi-person jobs, etc, etc. Two is just better than one.

Re cold drinks and refreshing them: there's a conflict here. If you've got a tub full of iced drinks and need to refresh it, adding more to the top buries the cold stuff and is generally ugly. Pushing it to the bottom and bringing the cold to the top is slow and painful. I prefer to bite the bullet and chill it all at once. This does require thought, as you don't want a layer of coke, a layer of beer, a layer of coke, etc. I prefer to fill the bottom full with a mix, layer on some ice, build another mixed layer, add more ice, rinse, lather, repeat until it's all in the tub. Then close the drain and run some water in - it'll all chill faster. But as you do this, build each layer *full* - otherwise layering on the ice tumble the cans and bottles, leading to breakage.

I'm not a fan of paper plates. Paper bowls. More sturdy, harder to spill from, and just generally better. Oh, you can't get as much food into them without mixing? Tragedy! Not. It's a party, not a free feed.

Door watch if it's not an open party? Absolutely. Almost as important are clear policy and a door person who can recognize those who should and shouldn't be granted entry. As you say, blow it once and you're an elitist forever.

I second everything Erik has said about blue tape.

Yes, GT and DI have thrown joint parties. It's been . . . interesting. Usually successful, but we've had our flops, largely from violating some of the rules you suggest.