Interested in finding out what the attendees of KiScon 1999 and KiScon 2001 thought about the experience?  Maybe their impressions can help you decide whether you want to go to KiScon 2004. 

Here are some convention reports that were written for The K/S Press in the months immediately following the two conventions.  Shelley "the Enforcer" Butler didn't even use force to extract these words from our contributors!  There are many more con reports that were written, these are just the first wave that we'll be posting to the KiScon 2004 website as more "permissions to post" come in.  Read and enjoy!

| March 1999 impressions  | March 2001 impressions |

Impressions of the first KiScon, which was held at the Wilson World Hotel in

March, 1999

SHELLEY BUTLER

            Where to start? What to say about one of the most wonderful cons I have ever attended? We took a vacation and swam in the sensual waters of K/S and the basked in the heat of Kirk and Spock and ate in the all-consuming, delicious world of K/S. Hey! Who says I never use metaphors?

            Every day and night was filled with terrific activities and things to do—especially memorable was meeting so many K/Sers whose names I’ve only seen in zines for years. Actually seeing these people in person for the first time was really an extraordinary experience. Long-time K/Sers like Gena Moretti, Roberta Haga, A.T. Bush, and Dana Austin Marsh! And the ladies from England like Ray Newton, Fiona James and Eva Stuart! I was thrilled to meet and get to know so many K/Sers from all over. Cory M. won the award for coming the farthest—all the way from Germany. And of course, seeing friends again and talking, talking, talking until I could talk no more! I’m really hoarse!

            And I loved meeting Marta, who is a sight-impaired K/Ser, who told Jenna and me at the airport when we went to meet her that she hates to fly, but really wanted to come to an all-K/S con.

            So many events went on at the same time that no one could do everything, so I can only tell the highlights of my own experience.

            The main thing I want to say is that this was the most unique event for a K/Ser. For three days and nights the whole group of us got to immerse ourselves in Kirk and Spock. No one could have prepared me for the level of energy that flowed, nor at the same time, the huge sense of relaxation that came with the freedom to talk about Kirk and Spock so openly and freely without the constraints of regular life.

            I attended fascinating panel discussions on Kirk and Spock’s relationship, on what K/S means to me and got involved in many lively arguments such as how wonderful Command Decision is and why (because certain people with absolutely no taste whose name starts with a J and ends with an N and has a OAN in the middle don’t appreciate its finer qualities) and whether Kirk and/or Spock are gay. I got to lead one of the panels dealing with K/S art which was so fun to be able to express my feelings about drawing and how my emotions get so tied in with the subject matter. Drawing them is a lot like writing about them, I realized, in that I think about them deeply and focus all my attention on them.

            I want to tell all of you the hundreds of details that helped make this con more than just a convention—and almost all the details were the responsibility of Jenna and her boundless energy, ideas, enthusiasm, attention, and love—she was the driving force behind this gathering of the clan. And I say almost all the details because behind her was Carol D. and her astonishing energy and ideas and behind her was that wonderful group of Texas ladies who helped in so many ways to make everything perfect. You should have seen the look on Jenna’s face when in the middle of the Saturday night festivities, these ladies presented a “This Is Your Life, Jenna Sinclair” and gave her gifts that included a long-sleeved shirt with Caren Parnes’ gorgeous color cover of Promises To Keep printed on the back and on the pocket.

            See? It’s impossible for me to tell all the details—this would be a twenty page report which it still might be anyway.

            So, back to the details such as every attendee got a marvelous goody bag filled with Star Trek playing and trading cards, a notepad, a pen, two flexible bandages, the contest zine, an envelope to mail in your vote of the contest zine, a number that represented the birthday gift you’d receive, chocolate kisses and a box of crackers.

            Friday night was the gift exchange night in honor of K/S birthday and the gift exchanging was hilarious! You could exchange one gift only twice and certain gifts were highly coveted like a Star Trek tricorder or a gold embossed log book. But the highlight was Dianne’s birthday K/S cake that she herself had frosted with a gorgeous DEW picture of Kirk and Spock in their naked best. Besides, cake is a daily nutritional requirement.

              Saturday morning we all joined for a breakfast buffet and eagerly anticipated the opening of the dealers’ room. The whole day was taken up with the frenzied buying of so many new and old zines and collectibles, and all the wonderful panels that were going on like Kathy Stanis’ Star Trek self-assessment test. So all I did was lean over to see what answer Jenna had for one of the questions and I was accused of cheating! Ha! I was astonished, by the way, at the results—out of the categories of Relater, Analyst, Leader, or Warrior, almost everyone was an Analyst! I was one of only two, I think, who turned out to be a Relater and of course, the ultimate Warrior herself, Brianna F. shared that position with D. A. Marsh.

            Also during the day, the Reading Room was open with lots of good zines and the Video Room was going with lots of videos that I missed! Can’t do everything—even though I wanted to and all at the same time, too.

            The inimitable Robin Hood helped set up and display the artwork and without her and Linda W. and Kathy Stanis’ help, I would have dissolved into a crazed woman which I almost did anyway as the blue sticky stuff didn’t hold all the artwork to the wall and periodically a piece of art would come falling down. Robin kept saying it would happen all through the weekend, so get used to it!

            Oh, and wait till you get a look at some of the art work that Linda W. is doing. She is one of the new K/S artists who we will love and adore. Her Kirk and Spock making love on a sofa is gorgeous. And although Deeb couldn’t be there, she sent some lovely artwork that everyone admired—wait until you see her “Crystal Omen”—a smiling Spock!—in Beyond Dreams. And wait, there’s more! Cory’s a budding artist and you can see her work in that zine, too.

            Of course, all through the day, the Hospitality Suite was open and it was stocked with lots of delicious food including Robin’s whole wheat chocolate chip cookies (“They’re good for you, so eat lots of them”) and butterscotch cookies. This doesn’t count the tray of vegetables and dip and chips and fruits and cheese and peanut butter and…. And Jo and Liz’s shocking and delicious (or is that shockingly delicious?) candy penises. What would any hospitality suite be without the life sized cardboard Kirk and Spock (from Carol D., of course) that someone (Brianna and Carolyn?) put into the bed under the covers and stuck a cigarette in Spock’s mouth and a dialogue balloon near Kirk’s mouth: “Was it good for you?”.

            And the marionettes of Kirk, Spock and McCoy with a setting of Spock’s Vulcan quarters with a red velvet bed and various accoutrements hanging on the red curtained backdrop! Claudia G. and I had a great time with it and we were going to do a scenario that would have been videotaped, but we never had the time. We kept seeing each other for two days and saying “Oh, we’ll meet later to rehearse.” It would have been glorious…! Use your imagination to know what went on in that bedroom (Kirk: “Spock, oh, Spock! What are you doing to me down there between my legs?” Spock: “Mmmph….” McCoy: “What’s going on in here?”)

            Saturday night’s dinner and party was fantastic. Everyone was all dressed up to some degree and some were in fabulous costume. Carole J. from New Mexico surprised us by wearing a beautiful Vulcan robe with silver runes, ears, of course, and tiny jewels beneath her upswept eyebrows.

            Dianne B. had on a wonderful Starfleet uniform with a much better length (!). Juliea L. wore her bejeweled Romulan Princess gown. Carol D. wore a fantastic ST towel! Kathy Stanis designed and handmade a beautiful outfit of netting and sequins—impossible to describe exactly, but truly unique and extraordinary.

            After a delicious buffet dinner (vegetable lasagna—my fav), the entertainment began with fun and games like a Play-Dough Vulcan Cock Making contest (you just had to see the results!) and prizes. The festivities were interrupted with that surprise “This Is Your Life, Jenna Sinclair” I mentioned above and then Jenna, D'Anne, M.E. Carter, and Marci performed some gorgeous songs with guitar and oboe accompaniment.

            Then I got to participate in a play that Lezlie Shell wrote called “Not Spock’s Brain”, so you know what part of Spock’s anatomy it was that those pesky aliens stole. The most hilarious part was the entrance of Fiona James playing Scotty. The moment this lady opened her mouth and that Scottish brogue came out, everyone, including me, was on the floor. And I recall saying my lines to Cathy P. who played Spock and to Karen D. who played McCoy and Michelle A. who played Chekov (with the cutest Russian accent!). The whole play was absolutely wild and afterwards it was all a blur (Brain? Brain? What is brain?)

            Later that evening I tried to watch William Shatner in “Alexander”—where he takes a bath (I thought with another man, but it was by himself and it was discrete, rats!) and he runs around in this little skirt with panties underneath, but the night was late, the room was warm and dark and I couldn’t last, but I still didn’t want to miss anything!

            I would not ever end this con report without telling you about Jenna’s husband! That wonderful man took lunch orders at the hospitality suite and delivered all the food for everyone! Kathy and I secretly gave him a private preview showing of the K/S art in the art room and his delightful manner, good humor and kindness touched everyone. What a guy! And he was the only man around us except for the hotel staff and they don’t count.

            I know I can’t talk about everyone I met there—but don’t any of you think I have forgotten or don’t care. You are all wonderful and I keep you all close to my heart. And those who couldn’t be there, you were conspicuous by your absence—and besides, we probably talked about you. But we said only good things, of course.

            Sunday went way, way too fast especially since I was leaving in the afternoon. I packed during the art auction, but I heard everyone had a rousing time with Robin as auctioneer! I also had to miss the awards for the poetry contest. The worst time in the whole world is the having to say goodbye time, so in a way, I was glad to leave before the end.

            I truly had a wonderful time—filled with unforgettable memories—and all because a while ago, Jenna thought it might be nice to have a convention only for K/S. That woman really did it. She put together an incredibly fun time with a big, varied group of interesting, thoughtful and obsessed K/S people and lived to tell the tale. And when I looked over the schedule of events after I got back home, I was amazed to see that everything that was described and listed in that huge schedule actually happened!

            KisCon will be one of those talked about events in the annals of K/S. I only wish that those of you who couldn’t be there, will be able to come to the next KisCon after Jenna recovers from this one and we badger, cajole, beg and plead for her to do it again!

KATHY STANIS

            The next morning…. Was it as good for you as it was for me? Yes, it was, I think all will agree.

            The KiScon was such a high, and I’m still not come down. So I know I can’t write everything, and will probably want to add more next month. I believe Shelley is going to name names, so I won’t be as thorough as she is. And I’m using pen names since I don’t know who wants to be known as what; and I hope I get it right.

            The last K/S cons, 1989 and 90 Cali-Con, I just missed; I came into this in 1991. I guess those who were there could compare this con to those, but I’ve only been to Creation cons and Shore Leave. And of course the slash cons aren’t only K/S. I loved that this was K/S and only K/S. Not K/S as part of Star Trek, or K/S as one of the slash fandoms.

            So this was the most wonderful con I’ve ever been to, and way up there in the most wonderful times I’ve had, period. My only complaint is that I couldn’t be in three or more places at once. And I loved being with old friends, and loved making new friends. So special to me to finally meet some of our number who haven’t ever come to Shore Leave.

            This was a tremendous effort and Jenna is a master of organization, and a supreme giver of pain and pleasure and forget the pain part. Besides all the planning work and stirring us up in her con updates these past many months, from the first minute when we registered and got our con bags, she had thought of everything. Besides the fabulous con zine, we each got a pad of paper and pen, two bandaids, a box of fancy crackers, some chocolate, a red-lips pin to wear, ST playing cards, even a sheet of our address labels to share with new friends. A little survival kit.

            We had a special surprise for Jenna at the Saturday night party, a “K/S Is Your Life, Jenna Sinclair” presentation, put together beforehand with what-Jenna-means-to-me contributions, and every single word of praise and love is absolutely true.

            As was said many times during the weekend, her Texas group of friends were a major contributing factor to the success of the weekend. Thanks to them, there was an abundance of K/S-related things to occupy us, which I’ll get to. Not to mention the plain hard work of setting up, keeping running, and tearing down.

            And Jenna’s husband Ralph--what a guy. He contributed so very much more than upper body strength! A beautiful person who I was so glad to meet (though I wish I could have met Jenna’s daughters).

            I believe it was Barbara Taylor (I hope I have that right) who was responsible for the graphics, such as the con badges, the poetry and story award certificates, and more, with a lovely, lovely logo of two hands holding a rose.

            I can’t name everyone, but every single person contributed to keeping things running smoothly, yet with plenty of room for spontaneity. It was all much more than the sum of its parts, with each and every person adding to the creative mix.

            I loved that there was a hospitality suite open almost at all times, so there was a place where anyone could go at any time—I don’t think anyone felt alone ever, unless they wanted to be…. Having proper welcoming and closing gatherings was really nice, too. Especially the goodbye gathering, because it’s always so sad, the end of a con. But this way we didn’t just drift off without closure, so to speak. The partying still went on, though, through Sunday evening and Monday morning, with those who didn’t leave Sunday.

            The hotel was a perfect arrangement, I thought, and just the right size. The restaurant food was average and service slow on the dinners with a lot of people, but this is the worse thing I can say about the hotel (and there isn’t any “worse” thing I can say about the con). But the group breakfast and Saturday night party dinner in the private rooms were fine.

            This wasn’t in a pretty area of Dallas, but it was conveniently close to the airport; and I loved the Texas springtime weather of a sweet sunny couple days then the rest of the days all chilly and cloudy with rain on and off. Some of us got in our exercise walks around and around the hotel or to the closest conveniences a half-mile away or so.

            Anyway, there were fantastic, spirited panels going on at all times, and the video room, and the reading room, and the dealer’s room open certain times. Getting the new zines was great; and treasures of the collectibles kind. It was fun being able to sell my duplicates at the community collectibles table, too.

            I wish I could have joined in all the panels, from Why are we so obsessed, to Who would you be, Kirk or Spock, on top or bottom? to Violence in K/S to the writing process to art to…there were 14 panels and each one was wonderful. And wonderful Lezlie kept us in line on timing, etc., because of course we could talk for days about each of these subjects. Nothing better than to have a place where continual discussions on specific K/S subjects was going on.

            I didn’t by any means find enough time to hang out watching the songtapes and various ST, WS and LN videos, but there was absolutely great stuff being shown. All the songtapes most of us have seen were wonderful, but there’s also a gorgeous “K/S Moments” tape by Linda Wan.

            The Friday night K/S Birthday party was so fun, and we all got the presents! I hope there are enough photos by everyone. That was one amusing sight—the whole room of us in our little paper party hats from the “crackers” provided by our Britishers. Then, according to the numbers in our con bags, we got up and each said a few words of introduction and got our presents and pinned the kisses on the Kirk and Spock, oh yes. And then got to “steal” each other’s presents.

            And the Saturday night fancy-dress party was fabulous! I personally love costuming, and this was either costumes or “Sunday best” or any other creative thing. What a splendid group of women! We are 20-something to 70-something. Is this fun or what?

            And the entertainment! Jenna, ME Carter, Marci and D'Anne (on guitar as well as singing) gave us wonderful filking, both amusing and romantic, both Friday and Saturday nights. And Carter on oboe and Jenna singing a gorgeous haunting song by Carter I will never forget (though I forget the name of it right now).  (Note from Jenna:  The song that M.E. wrote is called "Pages."  It is gorgeous!)

            And the skit, “Not Spock’s Brain” by Lezlie. You can imagine what body part this was about, then, if not his brain. This was more than hilarious. I’m sorry I can’t quite remember everyone who was in it, but each was fabulous in her part (and it was a special treat to have a real Scot do the Scotty part). You’ve got to see, though, Shelley Butler as James Kirk. A very happy Shelley Butler, in her meaning of the word.

            One particularly creative thing was Dianne’s set of K/S drawings by various people--mostly explicitly sexual--which she made into collages inserting photos of herself! These have to be seen to be believed.

            I also laughed till my face was sore when playing with the Kirk and Spock marionettes, with Carol D’s fabulous sets--the Vulcan bedroom in all its glorious detail, and a bridge set with a center seat just ripe for trysts.... Another bridge set in the hospitality suite provided the backdrop for the Kirk and Spock fully-jointed action figures to do their very creative thing.

            The art was fantastic. This was on display in the panel room, where there was always a gathering going on. Besides all our wonderful well-known artists, there was a fine showing by our new artists.

            The art auction was just great, with our extraordinary Robin as auctioneer. This was so much more enjoyable than the Shore Leave auctions (and I haven’t ever been to any of the other fan cons or slash cons), because we have to be restrained about K/S at the SL auction. But not here. No, ma’am, no restraint here! Robin is shameless (as were the runners, Brianna and Linda W.) and plenty of people were in a happy, deep-pocketed mood. Maybe this was partly due to the mind control that was going on by our resident Romulan princess.

            One of my favorite things was late Sunday night in the hospitality suite, when Jenna was telling us beautiful pre-K/S stories from old genzines most of us hadn’t read. She’s got that steel-trap memory, and it was such a pleasure lounging around listening to these beautiful, intense K/S love stories.

            That’s when I had lost my voice, by the way, which has sometimes happened to me at Shore Leave. I live by myself and I guess I do a minimum of talking, so three or four days of constant talking does a number on me. So I spent one night and the next morning not being able to talk—horrors—but then it came back.

            The poetry contest winners were announced at the Sunday closing gathering, and we’re all reading the stories in the con zine right now I’m sure. I am, and it’s great stuff.

            Oh there was so much good will and happiness and silliness and sisterhood and most important, K/S passion, constant for days. I couldn’t ask for more. So this is how I spent K/S Day—starting a day late and lasting for days….

FIONA JAMES

Scotland

      (Note from Jenna:  This is an abbreviated version of a report on Fiona James’s and Ray Newton’s trip to the US, including just the part about KiScon, which they left for the last part of their tour.)

            Next day we were on our own - hotel shuttle to the airport, and off to Dallas! We got in to Wilson World Hotel mid-afternoon, and soon met up with Eva Stuart and her husband, who had just arrived from the UK. They too were combining the con with a holiday, but having it after the con instead of before it. Later we joined Jenna, Shelley, Robin Hood and some of the others in the hospitality suite, and had a general chat.

            The con officially started at 1.30 on the Friday, and we spent most of the morning in the hospitality suite, talking and reading the con contest stories and poems. Judging was done by the attendees; the poetry over the weekend, but the fiction was given a little longer, though Ray and I gave Jenna our placings before we left Dallas.

            The con opened with a panel on 'Why are we so obsessed', then there was a character analysis test (most of us turned out to be analysts), a panel on 'Is Spock a virgin?' which gave rise to some fairly impassioned opinions, and one on fan art. These panels mostly turned into general discussions.

            There was a good range of artwork on display, some of it for sale, some not. There were several pieces we were tempted by, but the problem of getting them home kept us from bidding on any of them.

            There was a birthday party with a huge cake; everyone had a number in her con package and got a present with that number. I got Bjo's Concordance and Ray a magazine, but we then played 'musical presents' and I lost the Concordance to someone else, getting in return a 25th Anniversary magazine which had the merit of being about quarter the thickness of the Concordance.

            Saturday was a very full day. We checked out the Dealers' Room, bought several things both for ourselves and the tombola we'll be running in Glasgow in June. (A tombola is a sort of instant raffle - items have a number, and if you draw that number, that's what you win.) The first panel of the day was 'Are Kirk and Spock gay?' - quite a lot of us thought they were bi.

            After that, Ray and I did a talk on early K/S - we've both been in fandom since the mid 70s, and can remember reading K/S written in Britain in the early 70s. After lunch (we missed a panel while we ate) we went to watch a video of Bill and Leonard together on stage. Anyone seeing this can have no doubt that these two men are the best of friends.

            Earlier, Lezlie had asked one of us to play Scotty in a short play that was to be put on that night, and Ray volunteered me to do it. Shelley played a very energetic Kirk and I think it was Michelle A. who played Chekov, Lezlie herself had a short part, but I'm afraid I don't know who played the other parts. We rehearsed it at 6 that night, then went to change for dinner.

            UK fandom doesn't normally include filking - Jenna at Closet Con two years ago was a new experience for us - and we thoroughly enjoyed the filk songs at KiScon - two sets of four songs each. After the first came Jenna's big surprise of the night; a 'This is your K/S life', with letters of appreciation from fans. Unfortunately this was organised late, and when I came home I found an email asking for a contribution. All we could do was write in a short thank you and sign it.

            After that, four 'volunteers' had the task of designing a new penis for Spock, then came the second set of filks, and finally the play, a spoof on Spock's Brain. We finished the evening watching song tapes.

            On Sunday the whole day went by in a sort of happy blur. We took in half of a panel on writing, then went back to the Dealers' Room for another look around, took in a bit of the art auction then caught Eva's illustrated talk on 'Tomcat' Kirk. Her contention is that Kirk and Spock were involved from very early on, and that he was horrified rather than interested in some of the women with whom he was 'involved', or else was merely using seduction as a means to an end. After lunch we went back into the Dealer's Room, where Carol D. gave us several videos - my video can play NTSC tapes; then there was the closing ceremony, I might be wrong, but I got the impression that this wasn't a normal part of American cons, though it's standard practice at UK ones. The poetry awards were given out there.

            Those of us who were staying on until Monday had dinner together, then spent the rest of the evening in the hospitality suite. On Monday we gave Jenna a little help in packing up, storing some of her things in our room (she couldn't get everything into her car) and she gave us some magazines that we can use as tombola prizes; we saw her off, then attacked the difficult problem of packing. Our cases were quite frankly overfull; Ray left behind some toiletries to make space, and as it turned out later, I accidentally left behind a new sweatshirt I'd only worn 3 or 4 times during the holiday - it wouldn't fit into the case, I thought I'd managed to push it into my hand luggage, but when I got home it wasn't there.

            The next day Jenna picked us up, and we spent the day with her. She took us to a big dollshouse shop where we frankly overspent on two or three expensive items we had a problem fitting in to our hand luggage - the zips were really straining - then round a mall - we're beginning to get these in Britain, but haven't seen anything near the size of the one we went to in Dallas. Back at the hotel we got her stuff down to her car, and said a sorrowful farewell; and next morning left the hotel for home - a trip that took 24 hours by the clock but only 14 in real life because we jumped 6 time zones and the start of British Summer Time. I wasn't tired and tackled the 3-hour drive home almost immediately, to be greeted most enthusiastically by the dogs.

            All in all, we had a wonderful holiday; the tour was well organised and most enjoyable, and the con was absolutely great. It was really marvellous meeting some of the people we've only known as names for years, and being accepted so completely by them.

            When we left, Jenna was muttering about doing it again in 2001; if she does, I hope we can afford to go!

L. W.

            KiScon was a blast!  It rocked solid all weekend long!  A nonstop total immersion in  K/S, my favorite fandom.  I got there on Thursday and checked in.  After I dropped my things off, I went to the Hospitality Suite to see if Jenna needed any help.  She introduced me to Debbie and not knowing who Debbie was, I  just nodded like an idiot and gave a polite hello.  Then Jenna told me Debbie was Dana Austin Marsh; well, I certainly kept my cool.  One of my all time favorite authors was sitting there, and I finally get to meet her.  Boy, was I shocked down to my britches.  I gave a dignified screech (like sucking in helium)  while clutching my face, exclaiming something like "Ohmigod,  you are one of my favorite authors." Yep, I made the poor woman turn beet red. Poor thing, she didn't know what hit her.      

            Around 7p.m.  people who had arrived to the con early had a get-together dinner.   There we were, everyone talking my kind of language—K/S and nothing but K/S.  A lot of K/S writers and artists were there.  Boggles the mind.   You could feel the creative juices, the excitement, and the anticipation vibrating through the air of what tomorrow would bring.  

Friday - D-Day

            Christmas had come early this year as I shot out of my room around 9:30 and headed for the Hospitality Suite to register.  Man, the room was decorated with banners of Star Trek, stand-ups of our guys young and mature, and Carol's “everything you need for a hot night tonight with the guys” marionette set.  There were lots of couches on the right for people to sit and talk, and a snack bar to the left filled with all kinds of healthy and junky munchies.  Shelley, Kathy, and Robin  were so cool, they let me help with putting up the art display in the Panel Room.  It was so much fun, I really enjoyed it a lot.  At 1:30 we had the Welcome Assembly, but after that it was agony, I tell you, sheer torture, nothing like I have ever felt before, trying to decide which K/S activities to do first.  All the panel topics were great.  Should I do the “Why are we obsessed” panel or watch Shatner's and Nimoy's interviews, or go to the Reading Room and pour over the zines that I have never read before?  It was hard because they all pertain to K/S.  It was tough to decide, but I tried to do as much as was humanly possible.        

            All too soon it was time for our guy's Birthday Party at 8 p.m.  Everybody had to introduce themselve and put a paper kiss on the stand-up classic Kirk and Spock before receiving our gift. Suffice to say all the best anatomies were taken by the time it was my turn, but I still smacked my kiss on Kirk's hot sizzilin'  bod.  We also did the Chinese switch, though I have never heard of this type of switching before, but it was alot of fun.  I was able to put my paw on someone's double issue Star Trek magazine from way back.  Woohhooo! 

            The cake was awesome.   It was a rectangular cake with green shell border and the center had K/S in a shower scene in black icing.  A Dew illo from 90. It was a delicious, scrumptious, finger-lickingly, cool moist yellow and chocolate cake.  There was some harmoniously fantastic filking.  All throughout the party, the hotel staff kept trying to peek through the window  to get a look at our tasty confection.  Hah!  No dice.  After the party was over, we all went either upstairs to the Hospitality Suite for more talking or to the Video Room for more Shatner and Nimoy absorption.

Saturday  - WooHoooooo

            My roommate didn't need an alarm clock that's for sure.  Up and out the door  by 9:15. This was the day the holy of all holy places was gonna be open.  The shrine to all things K/S.  The Dealers Room would be open at 10:30a.m.  First there is the gut-busting communal breakfast.   Forget the diet.  There were three types of juices: orange, apple, and the bowel cleansing cranberry.  There were some killer blueberry muffins, and danish.  Oh, the eggs were so yellow that I'm sure the chefs must have sucked all the whites out of them before scrambling them.  They were sogood.  

            You have your usual artery-clogging bacons and sausages.  I had three of those—goes to show how much I care about my arteries—and fresh fruits: cantalopes, watermelons, grapes, and strawberries.  The breakfast was awesome, and the best part was that everyone could gather together and converse over a meal.  It was the best. 

            By 9:25 the dealers were heading into the Dealer's Room, I ran out of the breakfast room straight for the door to the Dealer's Room not wanting to miss a thing.  Okay, I'm a little obssessed about getting my hands on the new zines first.  After all, Eva only had 25 copies of Singing In The Wilderness for the con members.  That was a tragedy.  I got a neat photo of Shatner and Nimoy hugging on stage.  Drool.  I then went off and nabbed the new zines first.  Poor Eva,  I don't think she knew that a Tsumani was going to descend upon her table so quickly.  There was a long line for her zines  while she bound them for her customers.  Seeing the long line, I just couldn't wait so I make like a bug.   I immediately scooshed myself to the next table to grab Beyond Dreams 1 and Encore. Big drool.  The covers were fantastic.   I doff my hat to Shelley's awsome cover in Beyond Dreams 1.  Then it was a mad dash around the corner to Robin's table, trying to find a niche among other fen salivating over her zines, to get my hands on WTM  12 and FT 49.  After that it  was back to Rosemary for Singing In The Wilderness.    

            Someone had a bunch of old zines in great condition selling 'em for next to nothing. Shucks, I missed out on that, but I was able to get a bunch of Star Trek photobooks at a great price.  The person who made out like a bandit was Carol D.  That woman had everything Star Trek under the sun.  She's goooood.  I got the Star Trek 12" Kirk and Spock in space suits from her, as well as those beanies of Mugato, Andorian, Vulcan, and a very cute Ferengi.  A fantabulous box of Star Trek 3rd season cards.  Here I thought that it was going to be a little Dealer's Room.  Hah!      Then it was off to the panel where I heard from our K/S historians Sheila  and Valerie in THE TIME OF THE BEGINNING panel.  These are two of my  favorite authors whom I hope will be writing more K/S stories in the future.  Lunch of the day was takeout from a Chinese resturant and an American meat and potato place.  Great food from both places,  the Chinese place had a killer-tasting Prawn with Lobster sauce over Fried Rice.  Can a con get any cooler?

            At 8 p.m. was the formal dinner, everyone were fantabulously dressed. Robin stole the show with the most formal of all outfits.  Then Carol and Diane for the best costume.  Also, a really cool German girl named Corey for being from the furthest away.  Man, that was dedication to her fandom to have come all the way from Germany.  She is the one who has a couple of cool stories and great artwork in Beyond Dreams 1 and Encore.   After dinner there were again some fantastic filking and an oboe perfomance by M.E.Carter and singing accompaniment by Jenna, as well as a play about Spock's dick being stolen.  The person who stole the show in this performance was Fiona.  She cracked everyone up with her great performance of Scotty, and she created the coolest double-ridged cock complete with cum at the GREAT MAKE YOUR FAVORITE K/S FANTASY COCK CONTEST.   Now if only her play dough was green instead of red then it would have been perfect.   Jo Savage and friends came through again with the traditional hand-made phallic-shaped chocolate and hardcandies.  Absolutely delicious.  Thanks big time for such a sweet treat.

            After dinner, I was starting to droop, morpheus was calling, but I and the other members headed enmass toward the Video Room.   I finally got a chance to see the infamous Alexander tape.   Suffice it to say, my jaws dropped and eyes were wide open.    Shatner in his hey day was gorgeous, he had a bod to die for.  It was a mega hot and bothered panting session. Sleep?  Who needs sleep with all that adrenaline pumping?  It was a great way to end the day.

Sunday -Heavy Sigh

            Faster than the speed of light, I was out the door by 9 and down the Hospitality Suite.  I just wanted to absorb the ambience knowing that it was the last day.  I took a butt-load of pictures.  Helped with Suitesitting and the  Art  Auction with Robin as the autioneer. She was a blast with her whip cracking wit.  As soon as it was over, I hopped over to the Vid Room where Eva gave a great theory as to why Kirk is not a Tomcat.  I liked her theory a lot because it is within the parameters of canon Star Trek in the 23rd century as opposed to the RL, 60's sexist view that the Captain has to be a lady's man. She backed up her theory with some great vid clips.  One of the bummed things that happened in all the rush, I missed the panel for “A Writer's Life.”  #$@*(!%$!!  D.A. Marsh was one of the people doing the panel, and I got blippin' blippin' blippin'sidetracked .  Big apology to her and 10,000 whips with a wet noodle for me.  Last minute dip into the Dealer's Room and awards given out, then it was finito benito!  Bwahhaaahhhaaa!  It  was heavy sadness, but the worst part is that there won't be one next year to look forward to.  Mega megabig heavy sigh.  It was the one and only great K/S con and poof, it was over so quickly.  (Note from Jenna:  Maybe not!  I’m hoping we can have KiScon 2001, watch the KSP for announcements.)            

            I hang till Monday and we had another dinner.  I got lucky and sat across from my favorite Scots. The poor wee lassies didn't know what they were in for.  I grilled them in the third degree about all things Scottish.  I couldn't help it, I just love those Scottish brogues. I could sit and listen to them for hours.  Thanks, Fiona and Ray, for being such good sports.  I learned some very interesting new words from them too.

Monday - The Big Good Byes

            I crammed everything into my single suit case and it was tough.  Stuff was bulging out at the seams.  Said good-bye to my roomie Robin who had the patience of Job.  Got a noogie from Jenna as I was leaving.   When I finally got on the plane, I had to smack my bag flat as a pancake before it would fit into the overhead compartment.  It weighed a ton, but I got it up there.  That was some con.  A week has passed, and I keep thinking what I was doing at the exact same time last week.  It was just too short and went by too fast.  Now, there won't even be one to look forward to next year.   After this K/S con, Shoreleave will be a pale piece imitation by comparison.  

            10 million thanks to Jenna, D'Anne, Carol, Barbara, Shelley, Barbara, Lezlie, Robin, Kathy, Diane, Ralph, and Bob and a whole lot more people whose names escape me for all  the money, donations, time, muscles, and stuff that they contributed in order to make this con possible and a  happening thing.  You have my appreciation and gratitude from the bottom of my heart.  It was a such a blast.

J. B.

            My report will be short mainly because my time at the KiS con was all too brief. One of the main memories I have was the level of organization.  Jenna and her Dallas cohorts obviously put a lot of time and thought into every aspect of the convention and it showed.

             Unfortunately, no amount of careful planning can overcome the disorder caused by those con attendees who don't follow instructions.  Alas, I was such a one.  My failure to open and read the envelope included in my gift bag disrupted the flow of the Friday night gift exchange.  That didn't stop me from snatching that Star Trek Compendium from one of my law abiding K/S sisters (Sorry, about that)

            I never seem to know where I'd left my ID card or where my lips were (that doesn't sound right) and I was always pestering someone for the schedule.  Even so, I had fun.

            I fervently wish that I had gotten to the dealer's room earlier ( serves me right for not reading the schedule!) The used zine sale had some great deals!   I followed a lucky and unsuspecting early arriver who had found an orginal copy of 'Broken Images"  I stalked in hope that she would put it down or at least loosen her grasp, but drats, I only managed to buy those zines not already in someone else's hands.

            The panel discussions were good and interesting.  I enjoyed seeing Gena Moretti and DA Marsh, both favorites of mine.

            The group breakfast and dinner were great and a nice way to meet everyone.  Still, I enjoyed my breakfast with Michelle and Ariel and my after luch chat with Carolyn and Brianna.

            The biggest laugh I got was generated by the insane and devious Houston fan who inserted her friend's face inside various K/S erotic art works.  Very clever!

            Also clever was the orginal play written by Lezlie and performed with enthusiasm by an ensemble of actors not ready for galactic prime time.

            My main regreat was that I didn't get to talk to Gena M.  I meant to ask her if she remembered the name of the story and the zine that contained her story about Spock and his attempt to win the swimming portion of the Fleet Olympics.  (Note from Jenna:  JoAnn, that story is “Let’s Forget the Whole Thing” in Counterpoint 4.  The picture by Deeb on the cover of the zine goes with the story.  Both are terrific!)

            There were many other authors present that I have long admired and with whom I barely got to say a word let alone have a discussion.

            Still, I had a great roommate (Thanks, Kim) bought a lot of zines and had a genuinely good time. Thanks, Jenna!

M.E. CARTER

My trip to KiScon got off to a perfect start with the sight of green grass and wildflowers at the DFW airport—quite a treat for winter-weary Minnesota eyes.  The weather in North Texas was beautiful when I arrived on Friday; if it rained during the rest of the weekend…well, who cared when K/S was in bloom at the Wilson World!

What both Shelley and Kathy Stanis said in their con reports last month is absolutely true: Jenna had thought of everything and the entire weekend was incredibly well-organized.  The arrangement of the meeting rooms worked wonderfully well, too, giving us plenty of privacy and a feeling of having a space of our own.  So did the hospitality suite—a great place to meet and talk and grab a snack or a bite of lunch.

Which brings me to Jenna’s husband Ralph, a truly gracious person who seemed undaunted by the gathering of the K/S clan and was absolutely intrepid about wading into a crowded hospitality suite to deliver our lunch orders.  I think he’s now an honorary K/Ser—like it or not!

Special recognition goes to Jenna’s Dallas friends, too, who worked hard all weekend to allow the rest of us to wallow in non-stop K/S.  Lezlie did an awesome job of moderating a full schedule of great panel discussions and also authored “Not Spock’s Brain,” the skit that brought the house down on Saturday night.  (Definitely a highlight, with a marvelous cast…and having Fiona play Scotty was absolutely inspired!)  Carol D. seemed to be everywhere, especially in the dealers’ room and the video room, which she kept running day and night for our viewing enjoyment.  Barbara T. and Barbara W. were also busy in the dealers’ room.  Late Friday night, I delivered my handful of orphan zines to Barbara W.’s room, only to find both Barbaras sitting on the floor surrounded by a seemingly endless sea of zines!  By the time the dealers’ room opened on Saturday, however, they had all orphan zines and collectibles totally organized and ready for the buying hordes.  I sold all the zines I had brought with me…and of course bought more than enough to replace them.  It was great!

I also want to extend special thanks to the Dallas ladies for organizing the “K/S is Your Life” tribute to Jenna.  Besides the fun of seeing her total surprise, it was wonderful to be able to express our gratitude for her dedication and hard work in such a tangible way.

KiScon was filled with so many wonderful moments that it seemed impossible for one weekend to contain them all, yet the time seemed to go way too fast.  Among my personal favorites….

Singing filks with D'Anne and Marcy and Jenna.  We snatched rehearsal time when we could, got to act silly, and generally had a wonderful time.  After the con was officially over, we even found a little time to sing just for fun.  Let’s do it again, ladies!

Bill and Leonard’s birthday bash on Friday night—a great introduction to all con attendees featuring delicious (in every sense of the word!) cake, lots of laughs, and presents for everybody.

New zines!  Four of them!  What more could a K/Ser ask?

Finally—after two stories and a novel—getting to meet Kathy Resch!

The aforementioned “Not Spock’s Brain,” which made me laugh so hard I think I missed some of the dialogue, so I’m glad the skit will be included in Jenna’s KiScon Zine.

Dianne Blankenship’s “personalized” K/S art, which was absolutely hysterical: tiny photos of her face strategically added to a series of K/S drawings.  These had to be seen to be appreciated!

Watching inspiring song tapes following the dress uniform dinner on Saturday night.  They were beautiful, and some were so heart-wrenching they made me want to cry.  (Oh all right, so maybe I did more than want to…  Thanks for being there, Brianna; and thanks for the water, Michelle!)

Feasting my eyes on luscious K/S artwork, of which I am totally in awe—and that goes for the artists, too!

The poetry contest—more evidence of the amazing talent we have in K/S fandom!  It was great fun to read all the poems and vote on them, then learn who the winners were at the end-of-con assembly.  We were even treated to a reading of the winning entries by authors S. R. Benjamin and Kathy Stanis.

What a wonderful weekend it was, and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.  Thank you, Jenna, a million times.  Please say you’ll do it again…in two or three years!

Impressions of the second KiScon, which was held at the Holiday Inn Select Airport South in

LIZ W.

            Ok I am sitting down at the busy computer room in college to write this con report, surrounded by students who, if they read this over my shoulder would think I am even odder than they already do!

            Where can I start, after years of reading these reports I am finally in a position to write one, I had just the best time I could ever have imagined having. When I arrived I was very kindly met at the airport—I spotted that ‘Spock’ t-shirt instantly! Arriving at the hotel and not having the patience to even unpack before meeting the others I hurried to the con suite (apparently the hotel honeymoon suite!) where I hung about gaping at all the other slashes. We then went out to dinner where I had the delight of sitting next to Robin who was very friendly—as was everyone. I managed to avoid falling asleep in my Caesar salad but can remember little else about dinner—I had by that time been awake for 24 hours.

            On Friday the “Con Proper” began, after breakfast with Robin, Robyn and friends, I took my art work down to the art room where I was amazed by the sheer number of beautiful pictures already on display—this was by far the biggest collection of K/S art I had ever seen and it was ALL excellent. Southern Cross had done a lovely pic of K and S that illustrated To Catch A Unicorn and Shelley Butler’s colored pencil works were really something, but the overall standard was just amazing. I then listened to some interesting panels and the day flew by until the Friday night party. What can I say, K and S were covered in shaving foam—whipped cream—everywhere us avid fans would have liked to kiss them (i.e. everywhere) and I admitted to being a virgin (a KiSCon virgin that is!). And then the gift giving—such generosity, every one of those prizes was something worth having—I got a very groovy ST notebook signed by ‘Captain Sulu’, which I have already started filling with fannish ideas. Then the song video contest, in which I had the pleasure not only of seeing my own work on the big screen, but the delight of seeing Karen’s excellent new videos as well. Karen’s “The Call And The Answer” was just beautiful as was “The Story Of My Life” an ideal Spock song if ever I saw one! Speaking of the song videos I want to thank everyone who voted for one of my videos—especially Wild Thing” which (Thank you all so much) got first place. I know “Amok Time” will never be the same again! Also on the topic of song videos Killa’s “Dante’s Prayer” was just the most perfect song video I have ever seen, it really brought tears to my eyes, and her “When I’m 64” is also pretty brilliant.

            Spent Friday night dreaming of filling my house with video editing equipment and planning extravagant things! Saturday, breakfast with all the lovely people I now considered my friends, more fascinating panels, more song videos, more slate chats what more could a girl want? I was only sorry that I couldn’t be in two places at once—often I wanted to see a panel but the conversation I was already having was just too good to be missed. Then the Saturday night dress up party—I will never forget the laughs me, Deanna and Karen had attempting to give my hair the “Janice Rand” look with one elastic band and a toilet roll, yes we managed it! The play the Jenna and co put on was a masterpiece— will Spock go to the ball despite his “impediment”?! I have to say that I gave some ladies a bad impression of us ‘trekkers’ as one remarked to another as I proceeded them down the hall in full trek uniform “My Gaud, that girl is wearing a Star trek uniform!” her friend replies “yeah I think they are having at trek convention, weird huh?” when a few minutes later I stood in a cue for the bathroom with these two ladies and some other of us ‘trekkers’ she starts looking nervous and drags her friend off saying “I think we’ll go somewhere else”, the odd thing was that these two ladies were wearing cowboy costumes complete with large hats and frankly what they were doing was at least as odd as what I was doing and probably at lot less fun! Anyhow my costume won me a set of napkin rings which defy description—lets just say the box was labeled, “adult napkin rings”, now I have to have that slash dinner party! Then we all watched “Galaxy Quest”—which was great nothing like seeing it with like minded fans.

            Sunday, wow, the art auction. Robin is brilliant at being the auctioneer and encouraged the bidders with cries of “naughty bits, come on everyone, naughty bits”. Many thanks to everyone who bought a piece of my art, I hope you enjoy it. I was amazed how much better art seems to sell in America, a lovely Gayle Feyer Print went for about $250 when in England I have seen an almost identical print go for £20—next time I see one going for nothing I’ll snap it up and send it over. Then another visit to the dealers room, So many zines—such a little suitcase! How to choose, again I have never seen so many, many zines all in one room, not to mention the photos, the collectibles, the drawings, the t-shirts, the videos (some of which were labeled enticingly just “gay porn”) etc., etc., etc.. In the evening Shelley finally had time to fulfil her promise to show me hers if I showed her mine –art work that is! And boy was it worth it, not only was it fascinating the look at Shelley’s work close up and to hear how she created it but Shelley is just the most enthusiastic person I have ever met. Oh and I saw a DVD played which was amazing, such clarity—I have to get those (well add them to the wish list anyhow). There were so many fascinating conversations going on in the con suite that night I didn’t know which to listen to first.

            Monday, those of us who remained gathered for breakfast before helping Jenna pack Kirk and Spock etc back into her car and it began to dawn on me that after 4 glorious days it was all over. However happy memories kept me smiling all the way back to London, and the KisCon zine and Legends kept the flight a pleasant experience.

            I would like to end by saying a massive thank you to everyone who helped make the con what it was (i.e. everyone). You were all so friendly and I felt totally happy and at home, it really did move me to see so much enthusiasm for K/S—it looks like K/S will be with us for many years to come. Thank you to Robin and friends who welcomed me like they already knew me, to Deanna and Karen whose humor is infectious, to Taffy who had the grace to still be talking to me even after I accidentally insulted a story she wrote (whoops!). Thank you to everyone who complemented me on my art, your enthusiasm was inspiring, I will certainly be doing more. Thank you to everyone who voted for a piece of my art in the competition (boy was I humbled and embarrassed to come first, second and third) I do not have the right words to thank you enough. Thank you to everyone who voted for “Wild Thing” in the song video contest—though to be honest that video practically made its self, thank modern technology for the power to slow-mo rewind! Thank you to Jenna and co. whose idea KisCon was and whose hard work made it the total success it was. I came home so inspired I can’t wait till I have finished my finals in 9 weeks time and will be free to draw…paint…make videos…write…to live, eat and dream K/S. Well this was probably unpleasantly saccharine to read, but anyhow I had a brilliant time, felt as though I made many friends and can’t wait for next time, I am definitely an addict now, and certainly no longer a virgin!

C. S.

            How to describe the indescribable? If last KiSCon was great, this was even better, if that’s possible.

            I arrived on Thursday, the 22^nd. Went from cold New Jersey to chilly Texas, and wondered why I persist in thinking of Texas as warm this time of year. As Sarek might say, “No matter,” because I soon lost myself in the warmth of old friends and my love of Kirk and Spock. Had dinner with friends, both old and new. (And missed you Jay, Kim and Mel.)

FRIDAY:        

            Registration in the beautiful con suite and the gift of a lovely con zine which I naturally devoured whole before the day had ended. Fifteen stories and thirteen poems got me into the K/S mood. Some very nice work in there, folks. Thank you to the authors and poets for sharing yourselves and your work with us.

            After a lovely welcome and con preview from Jenna, it was on to the first panel, “Oh, Spock, Harder!” Subtitled “Sex scenes we have known and loved.” Deanna and Isla and I hosted that one. I start talking, and look up to see Kathy Stanis giving me what I think is the “get out of here” sign, only to discover she’s pointing to the maintenance man in the corner adjusting the air conditioning. Ah, well, he certainly got more than he bargained for. A spirited discussion of spanking in K/S ensued.

            I enjoyed hearing our beloved editors: Kathy Resch, Dot Laoang, and Robin Hood host a roundtable discussion called “Into the Pit: Tales from the Editors.” These women have given so much to K/S. I hope they realize how much we appreciate them.

            Then the Birthday Bash: We got to sing happy birthday to the guys, anoint our favorite with a shaving cream “kiss” in a most desirable spot—Okay, so I’m fond of Spock’s rear end, what of it?—and answer a provocative question from D'Anne if you were attending KiSCon for the second time. Mine was, “If you were stranded on a desert island, what K/S zine would you want to have with you?” If you were a KiSCon Virgin, you had to announce that fact to great applause, and tell how you got into the fandom. A very nice way to meet all the new K/S sisters in our midst. (Hi, Shelly-from-England, Gilda, Libby, and Karen A.!)

            Then it was time for the presents. Not for the guys, but for us. Lost mine in the mad Chinese present grab—Carol D., look out next time!—but got something equally nice. Ate a piece of obscene birthday cake.

            At this stage of the con I’m still too wired to relax in the video room, so I don’t watch any of the movies and shows today, though after the party we did get to see and vote for a bunch of new vids that made their debut. I especially liked “Wild Thing” by Liz W., who came all the way from England, and “The Call and the Answer” by Karen P. Seems others liked them, too, because they were prizewinners. Congratulations!

            Thank goodness for roomies like Brianna. Didn’t even mind that I whacked her with a pillow to wake her up when I got back to the room. Well, not too much. But really! Sleep? At KiSCon?? When I’m wired???

            And it was the end of the first day….

SATURDAY:

            Up early for a big breakfast together, and then the Dealers’ Room opened. Hooray! Money flying fast and furiously all over the place. Five, count ‘em five, new zines to buy and drool over. I got a very belated birthday present for Antje. (See, Antje, you thought I’d forgotten. I didn’t.) And I found a treasure I didn’t even knew existed: a color poster of the cover to Courts of Honor. Whoopee!

            Into the art room to admire all the fabulous art work. A new Shelley Butler—be still my heart!

            Another fascinating panel. This one was about making music vids. Liz and Karen, thanks. Made it seem like I made my vids way back in Pre-Reform days.

            Time to dress up for our dinner together. We clean up real nice! Prizes for Kathy Stanis with her gorgeous Kirk and Spock tuxedo shirt, and Judith G. in her Iraqi—could- pass-for-Vulcan-any-day—robe, and Liz—Starfleet’s finest, and Robin’s friend (forgive me, my mind is still sleep deprived), she of the lovely facial swirls. Prizes for Hiroko and Masako, who traveled all the way from Japan to be with us. (To those I’ve left out, again forgive me.) A well-deserved tribute to Shelley Butler. A beautiful out-pouring of love. Definitely a highlight of the weekend.

            The Play: Cinder-Spock written by the one and only Jenna. I got to play Sarek in a white bathrobe worn backward (don’t ask), and say such immortal lines as “She has the biggest twat on the planet.” You know that old saying? The one that goes “There are no small parts, only small actors”? I’m here to tell to there are both, and I’m it! D'Anne, Virginia, Jean, Marcy, and Jenna were, however, absolutely wonderful! Great fun. I enjoyed myself immensely (when I wasn’t shaking from stage fright.)

            Watched a late night showing of Galaxy Quest with a bunch of other fans and laughed all over again. (Andy, it was great seeing you.)

            And it was the end of the second day….

SUNDAY:

            Up early again to help in the art room. Great auction, especially with Robin as auctioneer. Some lovely art up for bid. Morjana C. walked away with my favorite. Hmmm, by the way, Morjana, just how do you deactivate your burglar alarm?

            Watched Kid Monk Baroni…a very handsome, young Leonard with no hair on his chest. The rest of the afternoon passed in a lovely haze of conversation and laughter until it was time for the end of con gathering. That evening I watched Kim and Killa’s vid’s. Again. And Karen P.’s and Liz’s. Cried like a baby at a beautiful new filk presented by M.E. Carter and D'Anne. A perfect end to a perfect con!

            And it was the end of the third and last day.

            Just have to add some words of appreciation for Jenna:  So much time, effort and love went into the preparation of this con, and all for our pleasure. She was tireless, even to ignoring her very sore throat, and a bad fall in the parking lot. Thank you, Jenna. And thank you, D'Anne, for being Jenna’s right hand, and the whole Texas contingent, including Barbara and Lezlie and Carol D. I can’t say enough how much I owe you for a wonderful weekend I’ll remember and treasure forever.

Karen

New York

            KiSCon—What can I say except that it was four days of pure bliss! From the moment I arrived, I was on an emotional high until it was time to leave. Everything was wonderful. The meet-and-greet at Bennigan's Thursday night before the con was great —seeing the faces again of old and dear K/S sisters, as well as meeting new ones, including my fellow music vid maker and extremely talented artist from across the pond, Liz and of course the reunion with my bestest K/S buddy, Deanna Gray. Even though I had a terrible cold, couldn't really talk and could barely hear, I still had a fantastic time. (By the way, on an ironic note, the name of the pilot of the plane I took out of New York was none other than Captain Kirk!—a good omen, indeed)

            Friday morning after breakfast with Deanna and a few others was spent in the hospitality suite helping to bind zines (among other things), then it was off to some panel discussions. Then came time for the official welcome gathering Friday night, which was great. Everyone got a chance to get up and say something and us KiScon virgins got a chance to tell everyone how we became involved in the fandom. After that, we were given a bottle of shaving cream and were told to put a dab on either the large Spock or Kirk poster (covered in plastic for their protection) right on the portion of their anatomies we would like to kiss! Then after all the door prizes were handed out, we had a Chinese giveaway that netted me a Kirk doll dressed in his green wrap-around tunic (now all I need is a Spock to keep him company!). After dinner came the song vid contest, which was a lot of fun. I love K/S music vids and watching them with a group for me makes the experience much more enjoyable.

            After a come-together breakfast on Saturday, catered by the hotel staff, the rest of the day was spent attending different panels (including the one I ran with Liz on making music vids—very enjoyable), going to the dealer's room and picking up my copy of First Time 52 from our K/S queen mother bee, Robin, spending lots of time in the video room or the K/S suite watching music vids with Liz and Deanna, helping Liz get ready for the costume contest Saturday night, complete with an empty toilet roll and rubber bands in her hair (sorry about all the hairspray, Liz!) and then the highlight of the weekend for me—the dinner Saturday night. Once again, it was catered by the hotel and the food was delicious. And I have to stop right here and talk about the cake. It was incredible! A drawing of a naked Kirk and Spock intertwined, surrounded by chocolate penises!! I got a green penis with my piece, but didn't eat it. Instead later that evening, I stuck it in with my Kirk doll (I figured if he couldn't have Spock, this was the next best thing!) Then after Jenna gave out a few other prizes, perhaps the most moving moment of the con—our tribute to Shelley Butler. Before the con, Jenna had emailed some people and invited anyone who wished to do so to compose something about Shelley and she was presented with a bound notebook with all the written tributes, as well as several gifts. Through all of this, Shelley was in tears, along with the rest of us, for it was only a little over a year ago that we came close to losing this most precious jewel to cancer. Thank goodness as of now she has made a complete recovery and by the grace of God will be with us for many years to come. Then it was time for the play/musical. It was called CinderSpock, written by Jenna and starring Jenna as Spock, Virginia Sky as Captain Kirk, Carolyn Spencer as Sarek, ME Carter and D'Anne as two yeomen and Marcy Robin as Dr. McCoy. It ran about 50 minutes long and I spent practically the entire time laughing hysterically and really lost it when the dildos came out, especially the big one! (and yes, it did fit, but for further explanation, consult the KiSCon zine, as Jenna will be publishing the entire play in there and it is not to be missed!) After the party, we all gathered in the video room for a showing of "Galaxy Quest", which in Carol D.’ words, is the best Star Trek film ever made. I have to say, I have seen this movie about thirty times, but watching it with a group of fellow Star Trek fanatics makes it ten times more enjoyable. By the time the movie was over, we were all exhausted and headed off to bed.

            Then it was Sunday morning, the last day of the con (sob!). Deanna, Liz and I met up for breakfast and then it was on to the art auction. Although I do not collect art and didn't bid on anything, it was great fun. Robin played auctioneer and kept everyone entertained with her wit and humor. Best of all, my K/S buddy, Deanna, who I must say is rather fanatical about K/S art, was determined to get her hands on the four pieces she wanted and did just that (although she did scare me a little—every time a piece came up that she wanted, she got this sadistic gleam in her eye and stomped out every opposing bid in record time!) After the auction, it was back to the suite for more music vids. Then Deanna and I went to a panel discussion Liz was on and after that, everyone met up for a final goodbye and official closing of the con (another sob). Jenna passed out prizes for the song vid, art and poetry contests and then, it was all over (sob, sob!). We did make plans to go out to dinner later on that evening, so at least I still had that to look forward to. Unfortunately, I was forced to say goodbye to Deanna (another big sob), since she had to leave that evening, but at least a bunch of us were able to give her a rousing musical sendoff as she boarded the shuttle for the airport.

            It was at that point that minor tragedy struck. While loading some boxes in her car, Jenna fell and injured her right arm and left knee. Although at the time the injuries did not seem too severe, she was obviously uncomfortable, so we cancelled our plans to go out to dinner and instead we all gathered in the K/S suite, ordered in Chinese food and spent the rest of the evening taking care of Jenna, discussing anything and everything K/S, listening to a wonderful new filk song by ME Carter (I smell a new music vid!) and watching song vids. We finally broke up around 1:00 AM and it was all over.

            I cannot close out this report without extending a deep and heartfelt note of appreciation to Jenna. Because of her tireless efforts and love of K/S, she provided a group of very grateful people a chance to come together and share this most wonderful fandom. Without her, KiSCon never would have been and I for one am most grateful for all of her hard work in giving me a weekend I will never forget. Now on to KiSCon 3! (And thank goodness Shore Leave is just around the corner and we will all be seeing each other again soon!)

Dot Laoang

            When Jenna and I attended Closetcon in England in 1995, it was a revelation to us, after coming from Shore Leave and other large U.S. cons. Closetcon was small and the programming—the panels, the videos, the zine reading room, etc—was all geared to K/S fans.

            I'm happy that Jenna took that inspiration for KiScon because the results were spectacular! Unlike Shore leave, at KiScon, there was no dodging Klingons in the halls, no scouring the program to find even one panel that related to our interests, no hiding explicit K/S artwork. All of it was for and about US—a whole weekend in which everyone was there because of K/S!

            Others have done a great job of describing each day's events, so I won't attempt that. Instead, I want to touch on a few of the con's highlights for me, in no particular order.

            The con suite: What a luxury it was to have a place just to hang out for a while and talk with a few friends or watch a video. The Japanese delicacies and other goodies there were a bonus.

            Going from winter (Maryland) to spring (Texas) in just three hours!

            Seeing old friends again: Judith, Jenna, Shelley, Michele, Helen and many others.

            Meeting Morjana in person for the first time after nearly 20 years of paper and cyberspace correspondence. Putting faces to other names I'd only known on paper or online and getting to know them better.

            Shelley's art demonstration: I loved the way she improvised when the opaque projector she thought she had, turned out not to be one. Demonstrating the direction of pencil strokes on her own arm kept everyone's rapt attention and got her point across quite well.

            Judith's Law and Fandom presentation: She came well prepared with visual aids and relevant cases, and expertly fielded questions about copyright and fair use laws in the lively exchange which punctuated and followed the talk.

            The Editors panel on which I made my debut as a panelist: It was more fun and less nerve wracking than I'd expected. I don't remember much of what I said, so I hope it was coherent.

            Watching "Galaxy Quest" with a roomful of people who 'got' all the inside jokes!

            The programming: There was something interesting going on all the time. Every panel I attended was very well prepared and well presented. Jenna also made an effort to secure the videos that people wanted to see. (Thanks for Alexander the Great!) There was no chance for boredom all weekend.

            While watching the song tape contest in the large screening room, I flashed back on a similar enjoyable moment at Closetcon. I'd like to thank Eva again for many such moments and hope she'll do another Closetcon someday.

            And a big thank you to Jenna for her tireless work and hospitality for making KiScon another con to remember fondly for years to come.

M.E. CARTER

            As I write this, KiScon 2001 is already some three weeks in the past, yet I still think about it every day. What a glorious celebration of K/S it was! I must agree with everyone who mentioned how wonderful it is to meet with other K/Sers in person and to have the opportunity (rare, for some of us) to talk freely about our beloved fandom. In that sense, the con was liberating and inspiring and just plain fun, and I wish every single one of you could have been there to enjoy it with us.

            And of course there was so much more—lots of great panel discussions, an impressive art show, great dealers’ room, a well-stocked reading room, fun group meals and parties, terrific contests…. The list just goes on and on, and Jenna’s creativity and organizational abilities never cease to amaze me. How one person can have so many great ideas plus the energy to carry them out…well, I can only say again: it’s amazing!

            As for highlights of the weekend, the song video contest was definitely one for me. What a treat to sit with a whole bunch of K/Sers in a real theater and watch over an hour of brand new, never-before-seen K/S songtapes! Loved “Wild Thing!” by Liz W.—incredibly clever and a great pick for the top prize. And special thanks to Karen P. for “The Call and the Answer.” It’s lovely, just as I imagined it would be.

            The Friday night Birthday Bash was fun and a great way to “meet” everyone at the con. The birthday cake was a classic! I hope Jenna’s con report includes the whole story about it, because that’s a classic, too.

            Speaking of food, I thought it was all really good. The group breakfast and the Saturday night dinner were both delicious, and of course there were lots of munchies in the hospitality suite. Thanks to Masako and Hiroko for the beautiful Japanese goodies, to Robin for great cookies, and to Andi for yummy brownies. And I (a Yankee gal!) got my biscuits-and-gravy fix, too, so I was happy.

            The party on Saturday evening was memorable in lots of ways. I loved all the clever and beautiful costumes, and Liz W’s TOS crew-woman in science blue had to be seen to be believed. I mean, she could have walked right off the set, hairdo and all! The dinner itself (including wine—a nice touch) was really good and very nicely served. Then it was on to costume awards, some door prizes, and—surprise!—Shelley’s tribute. Even though it was obviously difficult for the very deserving honoree, that was a nice and touching moment. Thanks, Jenna, for thinking of it.

            Then, of course…there was “CinderSpock.” Definitely a highlight of my weekend! (Though I know what you mean, D'Anne; I can’t exactly believe we went through with it either….) This musical extravaganza was yet another product of Jenna’s incredibly fertile imagination, and what an imagination it is. I can’t believe she found time to write not only the script but song lyrics, too, all translating the “Cinderella” story into a perfect and funny K/S scenario. I’m in awe of her talent, and that of all my fellow cast members as well. What a talented group of hams—er…that is…actors! Seriously, putting on a play with so little rehearsal time is not the easiest thing to do, but with so much talent and good humor and Jenna’s capable direction, it turned out pretty well. Even the logistics were challenging at times. I mean, it’s not easy to hold a script, dance with the studly Captain Kirk, and act all at the same time!

            (By the way, about some of these adjectives other con reports have applied to D'Anne and myself…. Evil? Wicked? Floozy??!! Lies all of them, I assure you. Hey, we were just as sweet and nice as could be, weren’t we, Step-sister?)

            Ironically, the weekend both began and ended with mishaps suffered by our Dallas-area hosts. At Bennigan’s on Thursday night, a waitress dumped an entire bowl of very hot soup right into poor Barbara W’s lap. I don’t know when I’ve seen anyone move so fast! Most fortunately, she escaped being burned. Then there was Jenna’s accident late Sunday afternoon. Karen (from WI) and I were there to see it happen, and I don’t even like to think about it. I was just happy that Jenna eventually recovered enough to be able to more-or-less enjoy our Sunday evening gathering in the hospitality suite, because—just like at the first KiScon—that turned out to be a wonderful time spent with old friends and new friends and a genuine, unmistakable spirit of K/S.

            Actually, I guess that’s how I would describe the entire weekend. It was great meeting new folks from across the U.S., not to mention the intrepid travelers who crossed the Atlantic and Pacific to attend! And time spent with friends I get to see way too seldom? Priceless! Those impromptu conversations sitting around the con suite and over meals are among my very fondest memories of the entire weekend.

            Thank you so much, Jenna, for making it all happen. Now please tell us you’re going to do it again!

KATHY STANIS

            Where to start? KiScon 2001 was such a high, a very full and rich K/S experience. We are fortunate to have this fandom, and places to physically gather every once in a while.

            It’s the night after, with an especially passionate and poignant K/S-songtape song still running through my head, and visions of a bevy of beautiful women and snippets of stimulating discussion and warm conversation and hysterical fun with same.

            I hope every other person had as good a time. I think so, because KiScon 2001, so amazingly brought to you by the divinely capable and driven Jenna and her Texas (and New Mexico) troopers, was the kind of gathering where everyone was encouraged to, and did, contribute time and energy and talents to making it what it became—a celebration of K/S and the camaraderie it spawns.

            I couldn’t even begin to say everything. Starting with getting there, I happened to have a really nice flight (all it takes, basically, is the middle seat empty to make it a good flight for me). Shelley and I had a really great room, thanks to her efforts before I arrived, just down the hall from the con rooms, and with an outside door to a secluded little alleyway. The Hospitality Suite seemed so far away—4th floor and opposite side of hotel—but everything else about the hotel was a nice set-up for our needs, I thought.

            Every single meal, every con activity, was memorable, as was each encounter with some wonderful K/S’er or another, either just a simple conversation in passing, or one of the communal meals, or an in-depth one-to-one we managed to fit in here or there.

            It would be difficult to say what was my favorite part of it. There were so many available activities all day every day that it was frustrating not to be able to be three places at once.

            The Friday night and Saturday night parties were wonderful of course. The Friday night K/S birthday party was fun, to get to hear a bit about each person as she introduced herself. But the Saturday night party was incredible. Everyone in some kind of finery—that was great. And our honoring of Shelley Butler was so wonderful for all of us, though granted, not so comfortable for the poor person sitting in that chair crying while she hears from everyone how special she is.

            But the Saturday night “Cinderspock” musical was the most riotous and creative.  It was so funny my jaw was aching from smiling/laughing the entire 45 minutes or so. And Jenna1 and the other players did such a job—kudos to them.

            And the dealers room! The art show! The art auction!

            A real “theater” to watch all our videos.

            The restaurant choices were all good, many pleasant and fun meals with everyone. Plus the whole-group meals we had. All of it was just right.

            The panels, in a way, are the best, in the sense that you could drop into any one of them at any time all day and participate in a discussion about some aspect of K/S, even if you might not think it was a subject of particular interest to you. We put a lot of fascinating stuff out into the ethers in that room!

            I probably made it to only about half of them, and I wish I could have been to all of them. To get specific, my personal favorite was Virginia Sky’s, because I learned more things I wanted to know about playing with K&S images in our photo/graphics programs. She was incredibly generous and put on a nicely organized and stimulating visual program.

            (Speaking of sharing information, which goes on so freely at a gathering like this, it’s interesting that these days, often the sharing has to do with technology, which wouldn’t have been an aspect of K/S con panels in the old days.)

            Of course I also enjoyed doing the poetry panel with Robin Hood. (S.R. Benjamin wasn’t able to make it, unfortunately.) Robin wrote a five-minute poem from a title given by the audience. I had written a poem up to a point and each person finished it themselves. Every single one—one line or 20—was great. I kept them, and I treasure them. Plus all the general and specific discussion about K/S poetry.

            Every panel was totally full of interesting stuff. I can recall so many people’s astute or heartwarming, off-the-wall or amusing contributions to whatever the subject was. I left the weekend certainly stimulated to do more and more K/S in whatever form. This was certainly a sure-fire cure for writer’s block!

            Of course the people are what make all this so special. We are a diverse group, no doubt about that.

            I was so pleased to meet and hang out with the lovely Masako and Hiroko from Japan, and delightful Liz and Shelly from England. We also had people from north, south, east and west of the U.S., and Canada.

            Masako and Hiroko both brought delicious and exquisitely wrapped Japanese sweets and snacks I went totally nuts over; I’ve always particularly loved Japanese papers and design.

            Here’s one funny story to tell: Hiroko arrived late Friday night, and was helped by a desk clerk to find out where we were right at that time. We were in the theater watching the new songtapes, but he took her to some room where there were a bunch of guys in cowboy hats and boots, and she was shocked—this is what American K/S’ers look like? She fell into Masako’s arms in relief when she finally found us.

            I have to mention Libby, too, who came with Virginia Sky. She collects Mickey Mouse, not into K/S at all, but somehow Virginia talked her into coming…and the sight of all the lucious Kirks and Spocks must have turned her head, because she left with a great big explicit Southern Cross drawing. (She got it for the unicorns, of course—ha!)

            And what a lovely way to end the whole thing. In a small group taking the shuttle to the airport on Monday, we discovered that Linda Wan, Masako, Hiroko and I were all on the same flight to Los Angeles! Linda and I were even in the same row, it happened quite by chance. She was on the aisle and I was at the window, with no one between us. So it was such a nice flight, and then we said our goodbyes in LA.

            I just keep thinking of all of you who were there and the very special times we shared.

SHELLEY BUTLER

            Kiscon is a dream for all K/Sers. For three days and nights, you immerse yourself in the K/S waters and it’s so rejuvenating!

            I can’t say enough about the extraordinary job that Jenna does organizing and running this convention. She pays attention to every single detail of every single event and the results are the most fun K/S time ever.

            In addition to all the K/S revelry is the meeting, the sharing, the talking, and the laughing with all the wonderful people who came to Kiscon—from all over the world!

            Where to start?

            Before Kathy Stanis arrived, I was to secure the room for us. I went through 3 rooms with Dorothy and Linda W. helping me drag my luggage all over the hotel until we found the perfect room! It had a door leading to a cement wall, but at least it was “real” outside instead of “faux” outside!

            Thursday night—a large number of us had already arrived. We went to a restaurant next door to the hotel and all sat in a semi-private room at a long table for twenty-five or so—and all had separate checks! The waiter who performed this feat was amazing!

            The hospitality suite was truly a sight to behold! It was called the Executive Suite of the hotel and one of its features was a large Jacuzzi tub in the bedroom! However, no midnight hot tub sessions occurred!

            Friday morning—no breakfast reservations for 35 in the name of Butler like at Shore Leave! The restaurant was small and informal and no need to rearrange any furniture.

            In the afternoon, the panels started. The first one featured Islaofhope and Deanna Gray in a lively discussion of sex scenes featuring spanking which of course I am famous for not liking. Only kidding!

            I won’t be able to go into everything that was said in the many panels I attended over the weekend, but they were all really lively and fascinating. Jenna organized these discussion groups so well—everyone participated and had something to say. It’s so relaxing to be able to express K/S ideas and feelings—openly—something so many of us rarely get to experience. There you are—amongst your sister K/Sers—freely talking about Kirk and Spock without constraints. This freedom of expression is really a wonderful thing—one of the highlights of the whole event.

            I was honored to head the next panel—which wasn’t exactly a panel, but more of a talk about my K/S artwork. I spoke so fast because I found I had so much to say that my mind was racing ahead. I wanted to share many of my drawing techniques and ideas, but the time was too short and I had thought I was going to have an opaque projector which turned out not to be. So I winged it with Ms. Stanis as my personal assistant!

            The next panel was particularly interesting with three of our premiere editors and publishers—Dorothy Laoang, Kathy Resch and Robin Hood. These three have helped to maintain K/S fandom over the years and they had so many fascinating things to say about publishing, editing and K/S. They are our treasures.

            The next discussion group was presented by Virginia Sky—who is knowledgeable, skilled and talented with photo manipulations. Her demonstration was so enlightening and one of my favorite things that she said was that her photo montages are done with very similar care, precision and effort like I do with my artwork. She said she has to pay attention to many of the same things when she creates her composites.

            That evening, the K/S birthday bash was in the ballroom—what a blast! The cake was a highlight—beautifully adorned with pink and green penises—of course!

            One by one, everyone got up and introduced themselves. If they were a Kiscon virgin, they would tell a little bit how they got into K/S. Then each one would put a dollop of shaving cream on any favorite part of the Kirk and Spock cardboard stand-ups. This really proved to be funny—my favorite was the long strand of cream dangling from Spock’s hand—use your imagination!

            Then we would chose a present that corresponded to our number. The gifts would be exchanged after the festivities in a crazed madness (the givers of pain and delight?) of “I want this magnet set!”

            If you were not a Kiscon virgin, you would pick from a pile of some very interesting questions. Mine was “What do you like about explicit K/S art?” I answered that although I adore explicit art, I don’t really do it myself because it’s the imagination that’s so powerful.

            This was so fun—we all got to hear from people who didn’t know very well or we’d never met.

            Some of the highlights: Masako (and later Hiroko) from Japan. These delightful ladies enhanced every event with their charm and love of K/S.

            Hiroko told a story of when she was in Kobe after the massive earthquake there. All her collection of zines was covered in earth and dirt. Someone came to help and asked, “Can I help?” She exclaimed, “No! Don’t help! Don’t help!”

            Masako imagined herself buried under a pile of explicit K/S zines and people digging her out!

            I learned much from these two wonderful ladies. Their charm and enthusiasm and generosity were boundless. They gave lots of exotic Japanese sweets all wrapped so beautifully to the con goers. Kathy Stanis and I went nuts over the gorgeous papers and boxes used.

            I learned some Japanese, too. Some really useful, everyday phrases like: “Kirk makes love to Spock.” (Kirk toh Spock gah ī ē she a-ooh) and “K/S is wonderful.” (K/S wa su-bah-rah-shay).

            Friday morning at about 4:45 AM—boom! Thunder and lightning in a huge storm! All the east coasters were totally blasé, but all us west coasters were totally excited! Kathy, my roommate, slept through it and was disappointed.

          &n