JMS Book Tour/Con Appearances 2019

[nottenst]

Yes, but **only** if you register. Grrrr !

And it is behind a pay wall....

No, thank you.

That is unfortunate. I thought it was going to be like practically every other radio show with archives I've looked at.

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The Reddit Q&A was quite interesting. WB stifling anything to do with B5 is quite frustrating.

[nottenst]

Brought my camera bag in to work. Printed off maps and directions to Politics and Prose. Just have to hope there isn't an accident on the Beltway that inserts a multi-hour delay in getting there this evening.

[Jan]

Good luck! Please let us know what he talks about. I gather some are more talk and others are more Q&A.

[nottenst]

Good luck! Please let us know what he talks about. I gather some are more talk and others are more Q&A.

I had a great time. I'll select a few photos later.

When I arrived at Politics and Prose chairs were already set up and a good number of people were already sitting there. I chose a front row seat on the (audience) left of the table behind which JMS would be speaking.

One person explained the autograph rules (you needed to have the book from the store but can have up to 3 items to sign) at about 6:30 pm. He was introduced at about 6:55 PM and it was mentioned that he would be talking for a half hour and then there would be Q&A for a half hour. He started with a self-deprecating sequence talking about looking up videos of people who had spoken at Politics and Prose in the past and how nervous this made him. After building on that for a few minutes he talked about his parents leading into his decision to making a list of his father's bad qualities and how he would do the opposite of each of them. He went through the checklist. He talked about how reading comics and science fiction in his youth helped him including the inspiration of Superman. How Superman used his abilities to help people and was not a bully. He mentioned some of the bad things that happened to him after leaving home.

After about 20 minutes or so he opened it up for questions which went to about 7:55 PM. I left for one of the microphones first. I noticed the usual audience hesitation of not wanting to ask the first question. I have no problem with doing this as I have had a question in my mind for a couple of days. I asked what was the ending of B5 that he had in mind when it first came to him. Was it him blowing it up, the Minbari doing so, Sinclair fishing, a documentary or what? He smiled and said "The ending we saw of course." He then elaborated that it was everyone going their separate ways and B5 being decommissioned. He mentioned that a recent series did not have a satisfying ending to many people and when he started B5 he wanted people to have a good ending. He went on about the 5-year plan and how since then series have had arcs. He mentioned a later meeting about a series and being asked how he knew he could pull off a 5-year plan, "I invented that."

Asked about writer's block - he doesn't have that, writers should follow their true north and "let the story write itself." Asked about whether he would ever say what would have happened with Crusade - "Asking a writer that is like asking a parent what fairgrounds you would take your child if he was not hit by a car. So, no."

Asking about bringing back Captain Power - "like bringing back anthrax." He then went into a discussion about talking with someone about a danger of climate change being the return of smallpox. Going into details about how contagious small pox is, how it could climb up the side of a hospital. They know that there are people who had small pox that are buried in the permafrost and when that thaws it will still be viable.

Asked what he thought about Netflix doing storytelling "by algorithm" - he said that was the "tool of Satan." Shows go two years because they constantly want new subscribers and so the hot new thing brings in people. Netflix says that the average binge time in watching a show a 2.25 hours. They watch two episodes and then the beginning of the next to get to the resolution of the cliffhanger of the second episode.

About Jeremiah - he didn't want to discuss the details of that show, but he was drawn to that story of how to reconstruct society of everyone over a certain age were dead. About describing characters - for comics he writes them very detailed. For TV he wants a certain personality and then waits to see who walks in. He then told the Stephen Furst audition story. Asked about Sense8 - he wanted to show the importance of empathy. Asked how he would improve the world he ended with "concentrated kindness on a daily basis would not hurt."

There was a lot more, but that is what I was able to write down. There was a good crowd that laughed at his jokes and puns and he was pleased by the audience reaction. He appeared to have good interactions with people getting his autograph on his autobiography and other items. I did not want to wait in line (and am planning on receiving that for my birthday later this month). Having my question answered satisfactorily was good enough for me.

[nottenst]

Some of my favorite photos from the event. I have an album in my feed on FB with more.

[nottenst]

There was also a frequent convention photographer there (Bruce Guthrie).
http://www.bguthriephotos.com/graphl...12_Straczynski

[Jan]

Thanks, Neil! Sorry you ran into the punctuation glitch we have here. Doug's working on it. You got some really great pics! Much better than I've ever managed in all the times I've ever seen him. It helps that he wasn't eating a microphone, too (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!).

[nottenst]

Thanks, Neil! Sorry you ran into the punctuation glitch we have here. Doug's working on it. You got some really great pics! Much better than I've ever managed in all the times I've ever seen him. It helps that he wasn't eating a microphone, too (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!).

Thanks. I was quite pleased with a number of them. A friend of mine got a nice one of the face palm moment which JMS then commented on in twitter "If there is a photo that most encapsulates my life it's probably the first one." Also, thanks for helping to convince me to make the effort to go to the talk.

[sftv]

Thanks for the report and photos (which you always take good ones). Looks like there was a decent crowd for the talk.

[Jan]

Just found an announcement that tonight's event has been cancelled/postponed just hours before the event.

[Looney]

I am posting this in this thread because it is the most active related to Becoming Superman. I received my audio book and I was initially SUPER impressed, but then I quickly discovered my case has been broken during shipping in multiple places. The Discs are absolutely fine, but part of the case is broken and the top of the spindle the Discs are mounted on is completely shattered. Thankfully all the pieces don't appear to have scratched up the Discs at all. It is just the top half inch of the spindle. The reason I am telling all of you this is because I am wondering if I should return it? Normally I would send it back without hesitation, but in this case I have a feeling it won't do me any good. Looking at the situation I have a feeling any replacement would come in the same condition.

So has anyone else run into this broken case issue?

[nottenst]

I am posting this in this thread because it is the most active related to Becoming Superman. I received my audio book and I was initially SUPER impressed, but then I quickly discovered my case has been broken during shipping in multiple places. The Discs are absolutely fine, but part of the case is broken and the top of the spindle the Discs are mounted on is completely shattered. Thankfully all the pieces don't appear to have scratched up the Discs at all. It is just the top half inch of the spindle. The reason I am telling all of you this is because I am wondering if I should return it? Normally I would send it back without hesitation, but in this case I have a feeling it won't do me any good. Looking at the situation I have a feeling any replacement would come in the same condition.

So has anyone else run into this broken case issue?

If all the discs are in good shape and not scratched, I'm not sure it is worth the hassle of returning. If you have sleeves or something else, transfer the discs. On the other hand, if it is Amazon, they will send out a replacement before you need to send yours back. As long as you can make them understand the situation, you have a shot at a good resolution.

[Jan]

My case seems fine. I agree with what nottenst said about Amazon. Most of the times I've had issues they just sent me the replacement and I didn't have to send the damaged item back.

[Ubik]

I'd ask for a partial refund, you'll probably get about 30% back, then just buy a new case, assuming it's a standard jewel case or variant that you can source for very little money. I do this with slightly damaged books all the time, and I get a few quid back and a product that's still useable.

[Looney]

Thanks for the feedback, but it was all too late due to ridiculous circumstances. I ended up starting a return and my replacement is already on the way. We'll see what happens with this one. My guess is it will be WAY worse. The first time I ordered it I made sure it would likely be coming in a big box with several other items. Now they'll probably just throw it in an envelope.

When will the book tour end?