The Sams

(Shock horror! I see I've transposed the Sams presentation and Heather and Ben's set in my memory. And nobody mentioned it. I knew it. I've gone gaga and you're all being kind. Aaaaaaaaggghh....)

I expect anyone who's interested will already have gone and looked it up, as I just did, to make sure my memory wasn't fooling me. So much for suspense.

Jackie Mitchell got Best Serious for her debut song, "Don't Leave Me Alone." It's all downhill from here on, kiddo, I thought.

The Crooklets got Best Silly for an inspired doo-wop filk of "Stand By Me." Frighteningly talented.

Phoenix got Best At Con for their entire set "just because they rock." Next year I shall nominate the entire convention for Best At Con award. Try voting against that. (No I won't. Besides, they do rock. But I think there maybe could be a "specific song" rule.)

And I got the Filk Gold award for Mina's Song. Entirely, I am convinced, due to the brilliance of Marilisa, of Silke, and of DJ. They should at least each have had an arm or a leg, except that that would have spoiled Omega and Melusine's beautiful work. I now have a wooden lay figure dressed as a Valkyrie, and I am inordinately proud of it, but it's as much theirs for their exquisite performances (and Silke's flawless translation) as it is mine. And if you doubt me, just imagine me singing it myself.

All right, you can stop imagining it now.

I had previously agreed that in the (as I thought) unlikely event of it winning, DJ would be the one to perform it in the Sams Concert, which now needed a lot of preparation because all Phoenix's kit had to be put back and checked out. So, after Heather and Ben's second set which should come here, off we trundled. The formal part of the con was nearly over...

Glurk *snork*

I have the cold that Jan has been having. Oh joy. Were I a man, I would doubtless take to my bed in the imminent certainty of my demise, as all the telly ads say. Fortunately, I'm a Nyrond, and we laugh at disease. Well, actually, we cough at it a lot, but we keep going.

Jan, for her part, is embarking on an educational frenzy. She's planning to study, simultaneously, French (which she did at school), Japanese (which she started evening classes in back when we were working), German, the guitar and the keyboard. She's worked out a timetable and everything. So that's me fully employed as well, in my capacity of "Zander, what does this mean...?" The only reason I'm up here now is to burn her Japanese language tapes on to a disc or several so she can listen to them in the Daisy player.

We'll see how long we can keep this going. Hopefully I shall improve as well.

Meanwhile, a hearty HEH-CHOOO!!!! to all of you.