04/01/10 [Filler] - Amber's Califur Adventure

[AmigaDragon]

Just a stones throw from where I live.

Hey, quit throwing stones.

Weather: Dress light. It gets hot down here. 60º and higher and you'll be sweating.

.... 60º is hot?  If it drops below 80º I'm shivering.  Sounds like this trip is going to be a pleasantly cool to the temperatures I'm used to.

60° is getting into t-shirt weather, unless it's overcast and windy. 50°, calm and sunny can be pleasant in shirt sleeves.

[Madd the Sane]

Weather: Dress light. It gets hot down here. 60º and higher and you'll be sweating.

.... 60º is hot?  If it drops below 80º I'm shivering.  Sounds like this trip is going to be a pleasantly cool to the temperatures I'm used to.

If the humidity is high, you sweat a lot.  One time when my mom and dad went to Alaska, the people were complaining how hot it was.
It was around 80°. The humidity was about 80 or 90%.

[InsanityRequiem]

To Kage: We have a weird weather system down here. It can be 40º-70º and it'll be hot, humidity non-withstanding.

But it can also be in the 100s here and feel like 32º, but that is really, really rare. Like... once or twice in a decade.

But the standard temp is usually mid-40s to 50s in the morning, which is rather refreshing and can be a good wake up call from a horrible sleep all the way to mid 90s. That's why one should dress light, we're in post-winter/pre-summer right now. There is neither a spring in South CA, nor is there a fall.

[Anker Steadfast]

I can give no serious suggestions, since I am no artist.
Well, except for "ask someone else" offcourse.

[Kage]

Weather: Dress light. It gets hot down here. 60º and higher and you'll be sweating.

.... 60º is hot?  If it drops below 80º I'm shivering.  Sounds like this trip is going to be a pleasantly cool to the temperatures I'm used to.

If the humidity is high, you sweat a lot.  One time when my mom and dad went to Alaska, the people were complaining how hot it was.
It was around 80°. The humidity was about 80 or 90%.

When I checked the weather on posting the temperature in LA was 64º at 30% humidity.
And here, it was 72º at 78%.

I think I'll survive. 

[Naldru]

I can give no serious suggestions, since I am no artist.
Well, except for "ask someone else" offcourse.

Learning from the experiences of others rather than repeating all of the disasters yourself is always a wise idea.

As far as the suggestions, they were only suggestions.  Some things are feasible, some aren't.  However, I would say that ten to twenty five percent of the panels I have listened to have had some dead time at the start.  Having something ready for the dead time is always helpful.  (If you've ever seen the Niagra Falls routine by The Three Stooges (also known as Slowly I Turned), I was told that that was developed to fill in the dead spots when problems arose)

I wonder if any of the conventions have on-line pages aimed at the speakers and panelists to enable them to better survive the ordeal. 

[Omegan]

It shouldn't be too hot in June. We tend to get coastal clouds during that time of year, better known to us natives as "June Gloom."

[Technoire]

Not too far from where I live. Wow, I've wanted to see Amber in person (maybe even meet her?) since around the first Twink Territories saga. I might need to make this one...

[VSMIT]

It shouldn't be too hot in June. We tend to get coastal clouds during that time of year, better known to us natives as "June Gloom."

We do?  Since when?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

It shouldn't be too hot in June. We tend to get coastal clouds during that time of year, better known to us natives as "June Gloom."

We do?  Since when?

June 2010...

[iceick]

Okay, two questions.
Is Califur at Disneyland and will Amber still be there on Monday?

[VSMIT]

Califur is not at Disneyland.  Califur is near Disneyland.

@llearch: I guess so.

[Madd the Sane]

Maybe someone could tape Amber? Just so the rest of us can see the zaniness

[Omegan]

It shouldn't be too hot in June. We tend to get coastal clouds during that time of year, better known to us natives as "June Gloom."

We do?  Since when?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Gloom

[Reese Tora]

Okay, two questions.
Is Califur at Disneyland and will Amber still be there on Monday?

Califur is not at Disneyland.  Califur is near Disneyland.

Califur is in the Irvine Marriott, which is about a block away from John Wayne Airport(SNA), and roughly 15 miles south of Disneyland. (and a few miles from the office where I work)

[Sofox]

Amber, firstly I'll say you're great with people and know how to entertain.
Second I'll say that even being nervous can be a good thing. I've performed on stage and no matter how many times you've been on, there's always that fluttering in your stomach as the moment draws near. You learn that this is good and welcome it, because it gives you an edge when performing, that little bit of a kick to really get you out there. In fact, it's almost a bad thing if a peformer doesn't have this because it can mean they're bored about the routine or just don't care.

As for the actual talk, well like I said, I don't doubt you can entertain them.
As for exactly how, well there's a couple of things you can make an educated guess that the audience want to hear about: how you became an artist, how long you've been drawing, how you started the comic, what influences do you have, a smattering of anecdotes involving the comic and furry community, advice you'd have for new artist and comic creators... to be honest, this is all standard stuff. You probably know all this stuff already (I'm only pointing it out for clarity). Heck, if you're really stuck, you could just go up and say "Hi, I'm Amber Williams and will now take questions." I've seen a speaker do this before and it's great, because you start knowing immediately what the audience wants to hear you talk about (some of them will inevitably be on some of the above topics, so it may be good to premept them). Q&A will have to come sometime, so pulling it right to the start is fine.
Exceptions to this include if there's something you genuinely want to tell to the audience about (in which case you start with it) or if you really want to come up with something crazy and unexpected (in which case ), but the truth is, even if you only just answer questions form the audience while up there, you'll have a great panel and a very happy audience.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Ooo. First question: "Who the heck are you?" ;-]

[Anker Steadfast]

Ooo. First question: "Who the heck are you?" ;-]

Oh yeah, nothing like a little "boost" to the ego like that.

[LionHeart]

Ooo. First question: "Who the heck are you?" ;-]

Oh yeah, nothing like a little boot to the ego like that.

Fixed. 

[Technoire]

Ooo. First question: "Who the heck are you?" ;-]

Oh yeah, nothing like a little boot to the ego like that.

Fixed. 

Everyone on this forum has in common that they love DMFA and are fans of Amber's (very successful) artistic endeavors.
We all have that in common.
What's the point of being so isolating to someone who is sharing ideas for Amber's success?
What does it MATTER how well-known they are or how many posts they have?

I mean, I hate to be a goody-goody, but REALLY. ;P
(Shrugs) It's food for thought.
We're here, DMFA is awesome. Amber could use everyone's support, no matter how high on the Internet Caste System they are.

Amber, you'll do fine. The con will be filled with people who appreciate and support you, and anyone who hasn't seen the comic will have a chance to learn about it. It's a win-win.
Just take some Airbourne and try to manage sleep to sidestep Con Plague and pass Go. ;P
♥

[Anker Steadfast]

I think the point was that if someone starts out with a "who are you?" questron, it would be a bit of a blow to the Guest of Honor's self esteem.
Can't have that. So lets hope some forumite can kick it off with some good questions if it comes to that.

[Naldru]

If somebody in the audience asks Amber who she is, it means that the individual didn't read the program and is ignorant of the finer things in life.  She should pity them because they suffer from severe problems rather than feel depressed.

Either that or the person in the audience is acting like a jerk.

In any event, she shouldn't over-react

[Mao]

You know, something that probably makes all of this worse for her, is that you guys build her up something fierce with words like worship and sayng that she should 'pity' those who don't know about her work.  Building her up like that and placing her up on a pedestal that's so sky freaking high just makes her even more nervous that she's gonna fall.  We all know that she'll be fine but I really think that, even though you guys say it all with the best intent, you're making things worse

[Anker Steadfast]

True enough.
Though on the other hand, she's not going into this completely empty handed either.

She does have a comic with a thousand strips in the archive, she does have an active community which she has handled over the years, which should yield some experiences as to how to handle people. I'm just saying that if someone starts out with a "who are you?" questions, that that would be rude and probably a bit of a blow to the gut.

.. is all I'm sayin'.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

I know if I was an honored guest and someone asked me "Who I was?" I'd probably respond back with "Well that depends.....who are you and why are you here then?"  

[Rafe]

If somebody in the audience asks Amber who she is, it means that the individual didn't read the program and is ignorant of the finer things in life.  She should pity them because they suffer from severe problems rather than feel depressed.

Either that or the person in the audience is acting like a jerk.

In any event, she shouldn't over-react

I remember at Anthrocon in 2008, I was helping with a panel run by David Hopkins of Jack and Candy Dewalt of Vinci and Arty.  There was a person there who started up some interrupting and general heckling of the speakers, and then finally ended up stealing Mr. Hopkins tie and wearing it.

Come to think of it... that was Amber.

[Tangent]

What I'd love is to lure Amber to ConnectiCon so that webcomic fans can meet her. (I'm not much for other conventions; I primarily hit Anime Boston and ConnectiCon these days.)

[Anker Steadfast]

Oyy ... I didn't know she had a tie fetish!! 

[Naldru]

Given the above picture, what she should watch out for is revenge.

[Mao]

Eh, I'm not sure, but that looks like Kenji holding her.  Pony-butt is pretty harmless.