sinpozium | Recent Entries

erilyn and I are tentatively scheduling Sinpozium 2012 for the June long weekend. However, as we're only planning a two day event, if there's a more appropriate weekend, we're open to looking at another time of year. So if you have any comments about this please let us know, though we can't guarantee anything.

If you've got any other questions or feedback also do let us know! We'll update you closer to next year but we wanted to let you know that we had such a good time last year, we're planning to hold it again. We hope you can join us!

erilyn

Hope you all had a great time, I know

alasen and I did - thank you all so much for coming!

I'll post some more stuff later, but quickly, just wanted to get a post up for people to share recs, links and info about fandoms/stories/art/vids that they pimped/discussed/mentioned over the weekend. Best to keep it in one location, so please post at the livejournal community.

alasen

Just an update with dinner bookings - I have booked for a few over than the numbers that I was given in case of randoms.

Saturday - 7 pm - Sanctuary Hotel (cnr Liverpool & Kent St) - booking for 20 people
Sunday - 6:30 pm - Wagamama (Level 1, Galleries Victoria) - booking for 15 people.

We'll be walking down from the Y both days, but just in case, both bookings in the name of Alison.

Any other questions/concerns about Sinpoz, let us know, otherwise we will see you all tomorrow from 9:30!

erilyn

alasen and I have put together a draft timetable for this weekend. We wanted to strike a balance between being organised, and not getting too overly regimented, so the last couple of hours of each are currently unstructured.

There are more (surprise!) pimps and maybe some other presentations, and/or more discussion time (there's been great suggestions for a number of topics) - but it's going to be a bit ad hoc on the day, to keep it more organic to the group. We will aim to stick to the schedule, but cannot guarantee it, of course.

If you're down for doing a pimp or something else that you're not able to do now (or the time isn't possible, and no, you don't have to take the full half hour), just let us know! And if you want to do something that isn't scheduled yet, please let us know about that too.

Also, if you have a description for your pimp or presentation or discussion (eg The Sentinel: Senses, Spirit Animals and Soul Bonding), let us know about that too. Basically, just let me know stuff ;) (You can also let me know that my pimp descriptions suck, but I already know that.)

( timetable )

alasen

Thanks for filling in the dinner poll! After some slight statistical analysis, we have the following results in order of preference, as voted by the 15 people attending:

1. Sanctuary Hotel
2. Wagamama
3. & 4. - Jaipur Sweets & Grill'd.
As there were 2 people who couldn't eat at Macchiato Pizza (and was at the bottom of the voting anyway), I've eliminated them from the competition.

So, subject to any comments below, we're going to try and book for Sanctuary Hotel for Saturday, and Wagamama for Sunday night. I hope that everyone can still make it, if not, just drop us a line below or to sinpozium at gmail.com

If you haven't filled in the poll, and you'd like to come to either or both of these options, just let us know so we can amend the numbers.

Thank you!

erilyn

If you're coming to Sinpozium and haven't done the registration survey yet, please do, so we can know more about you and your fandoms before the day :)

A/V Equipment - just a reminder, presentations/videos/slideshows will be shown via a laptop hooked up to a data projector, so please bring files on disc/USB stick/external hard drive (we don't want to be switching laptops around if we can avoid it). A variety of file formats will be acceptable, but if it can be played by VLC, that's a good indication it will be ok. If you've got specific technical questions, please let us know.

Food - Please respond to the dinner survey if you haven't already, includng if you're not interested (that's now an option). This will help us a lot, thanks. Also, we've prepared a little map of the area around the venue, to help people find lunch options (and other important things like the supermarket, ATMs, coffee shops etc). It's not an exhaustive description of the amenities Oxford Street and surrounds offers, but hopefully it'll help. We hope to have hard copies available on the day.

Timetable - we are still finalising this (and if anyone wants to volunteer to pimp a fandom, or suggest discussion topics, or other activities, please do!) As a general guideline, we should be setting up around 9am on Saturday, with registration from 9:30am and then games, before going into other activities. Lunch break will be about 12:30-1:30ish, and we'll finish up by 6:30ish for dinner. Sunday will kick off with some more games at 9:30am and follow a similar pattern.

Transport - there's an outline of some of the transport options on our website. I'd just like to remind everyone that there are no elevators or escalators at Museum station, and there is a reasonable climb up the stairs from station level to street levek. Please also note that the Elizabeth Street/Liverpool St exits are what should be used, not Bathurst Street (wrong way! go back!). If you need a hand planning the best way to get there, we'll try to help (though I have a completely undeserved reputation for taking the scenic route...)

Comfort - FYI, the chairs in the function room are slightly padded, and rather than try to quantify this, have a picture. You may wish to bring a cushion along to increase your comfort, as desired/needed.

As always, if you have any questions/suggestions, please comment here or email us at sinpozium@gmail.com

alasen

If you've registered for Sinpoz, you should have an email update, including information about dinner choices. If you could answer that asap, that would be great.

If you haven't registered yet, what are you waiting for? :D

alasen

Hey all,

erilyn and I spent saturday afternoon investigating food places around the Y. We have a list of lunch-type places, which we'll be putting on a map with some other useful shops & services. We'll be providing this at sinpoz, but if you're arriving earlier than saturday morning and would like this info, please let us know.

In our original poll, lots of people expressed interest in having fan dinner(s). On saturday, we looked for places that
a) could fit about 25 people
b) were reasonably close to the Y (within 10 mins walk)
c) could accommodate a variety of dietary options
d) were reasonably cheap. (preferably below $20 main)

You might have guessed that finding places which met all this criteria wasn't going to happen! We did identify some potentials (some better than others!), which I will detail below and people can look at menus and discuss informally first before deciding.
Note that unless I specify we have not eaten at these places before or further investigated, but they all looked well established, city restaurants, but any comments on your experiences welcome. Sydney siders, if you do have a place that meets the requirements above, please let us know!

1. Sanctuary Hotel
http://www.sanctuaryhotel.com.au/ (menu available)
About 10-15 mins walk from the Y, mostly flat/gentle slope. This is a pub, but quite nice inside. Lots of room inside, could hang around at tables for ages, open late. Cheap - mains about $15 (+ cheaper specials on sunday nights). Pub food, but the menu is limited (particularly vegetarian). We have eaten here once a number of years ago and we have no (bad) memories of it.

2. Jaipur Sweets
http://www.jaipursweets.com.au/ (menu available)
About 5 mins walk from the Y, down hill (& up back). Indian. Cheap - mains about $12. Vegetarian options, I'm not sure about gluten-free.

3. Macchiato Pizza Bar & Grill
http://www.macchiato.com.au/ (menu available)
About 5 mins walk from the Y, mostly flat/gentle slope. Pizza & Pasta. Expensive. Mains about $30, Pizzas about $22.

4. Wagamama
http://www.wagamama.com.au/ (menu available, dietary requirements, no prices)
About 10-15 minutes walk from the Y, mostly flat/gentle slope. Japanese. Moderate -mains about $20 from memory (but big servings!) Can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten/wheat and lactose intolerance. Close to Kinokuniya bookshop which is open till 7 on saturday night (what?). We have eaten here.

5. Grill'd
http://www.grilld.com.au/ (menu available)
About 5 min walk from Y. More of a lunch place but we could probably all fit there unlike most of the other fast-like food places around the area. Burgers, moderately pricey for burgers but big & tasty - about $12 per burger. We have eaten here. Vegetarian options ; glutenfree option but dodgy ('may contain traces of gluten')

What do you think?

alasen

erilyn and I should hopefully be heading into town this weekend to scope out potential places we can have dinners. We're planning two at this point, saturday & sunday night, subject to interest.

While we're going to attempt to find places that can accommodate different dietary requirements (along with a range of other criteria), it would help us if we knew up front if we definitely need to accommodate anything specific (eg. vegetarian, vegan, coealiac, allergies, etc).

If you think that you'll be attending a Sinpoz dinner, and this applies to you, it would be great if you could comment or email sinpozium at gmail.com with that information. Thank you!

We'll update you with the results of our expedition soon!

alasen

Hey all, I just thought I would share my ideas about presenting things at Sinpoz, in case I can tempt a few more people into pimping their fandoms, sharing their fan activities or hosting a discussion, because joining in is all part of Sinpoz! (Of course, being an audience member is great too ;) These are just some thoughts I have had, having participated in previous sinpoziums and

get__together (our NZ sister con)

Fandom pimps!
These are very popular sessions at our cons! While most people (myself included) may often be heard to wail "I don't need another fandom!", this statement is lies lies and more lies. We live for new fandoms, and we want you to share yours with us. Even if we pretend we don't.

The most common way I've seen to pimp a media fandom is a clip show of slashy scenes, but it's not the only way if you're not quite that technical (or organised)! I've also seen slideshows along with commentaries work to excellent effect. You may think of another way you can showcase your fandom too.

In general, what I'd keep in mind here is - keep it short (some of us do not have long attention spans, *ahem*), keep it SLASHY (we are a slash con after all!) , keep it funny (or at least light hearted!). Introduce your fandom and relationships, or make sure the chosen clips can stand alone. Get someone to beta your presentation if you can - if they don't know the fandom and become interested you definitely have a winner!

If you suspect your fandom may already be well known, this doesn't mean you can't include it - maybe try talking about it from a different aspect or approach, focus on minor pairings, or perhaps make it a celebration of an older fandom.

Don't forget to tell us why your fandom is so awesome! Is it a small or big fandom, are there good writers, artists, vidders, reccers? Where can we find the fanworks? Do you have a list of fanwork recs you can post for us? You might also like to have a copy of the source with you for any potential recruits, or at least advice about where it can be obtained.

Sharing your fan activities
Are you a vidder? A writer? A fan artist? A reccer? Do you run a fandom-related challenge? Work for a fan organisation? Talk about it! Tell us about your activities, run a how-to workshop, share the love.

Host a discussion
Got a burning fandom (meta or otherwise) question you want to talk about with others? Run a discussion! Be warned, fans do like to argue and can segue at the drop of a hat - you will likely have to be well versed in keeping a large group of people on point.

Something else?
Maybe you have an idea for something else you'd like to do at Sinpoz that I haven't thought of! Let us know!

Current presentations
Here's a list of things people have tentatively volunteered for already! (if i've missed one, they're on this post)

If there's a fandom or discussion you'd be interested in that's not listed, you're welcome to comment here (ie LJ to keep everything in one place) and someone may be inspired!

* vid show
* hawaii five-0 pimp
* gordon korman novels pimp
* nightrunner novels pimp
* fandom reboot discussion
* Merlin pimp
* Justified pimp
* fanlore party
* otw/ao3/wrangling intro
* fandom you're doing it wrong discussion
* hot fuzz pimp

Last Words
In the interest of caring for others, it would be appreciated if you would do your best to warn (at least verbally before your presentation) for any obvious squicks or triggers in your presentations or media, such as (but not limited to) underage, noncon, rps or strong violence, and especially sexual violence. Sinpozium attendees should be aware however, that presentations may contain content that discomforts you without warnings.

Please comment on the LJ post : http://sinpozium.livejournal.com/14839.html

erilyn

hey all, it's less than 7 weeks til Sinpozium, and less than 4 weeks til we have to finalise our room setup with the hotel. So this is your annoying periodical reminder to register soon if you haven't, or at least please let us know if you're still hoping to register, so we have the most accurate idea of numbers.

At this stage, we're most likely going with a slightly smaller space than we initially reserved, which will limit the maximum number of attendees to 32-35ish. For those who've been to Sinpozium at the Y Hotel before, this space will still be larger than what we had previously, you won't need to sit in each other's laps (unless you want to).

If you're already registered, please fill out the registration survey so we can get to know each other a bit before Sinpozium.

And if you have any questions (registration, transport, accommodation, venue, the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow), please comment here or email us at sinpozium@gmail.com

erilyn

Before we all meet (or meet again) at Sinpozium, we think it’d be great if we could all get to know each other a bit better (we're totally ripping off

get__together). Plus it’ll help in planning, in terms of knowing popular fandoms etc. Feel free to skip not applicable points, of course.

Please reply in the comments, this post will be pinned at the top of the lj community.

Preferred name/handle: what do you want people to call you?

Alternate usernames: if you have multiple journals/pseuds/handles

Location: Since this is an unlocked post, feel free to skip this or be vague, as you prefer.

Current main fandom(s): what fandom(s) are you actively involved in? Whether you determine that by what you’re reading more fic in, what are you watching, what are you most attached to currently?

Other signficant fandom(s): what are your past fandoms (whether you’ve broken up with them, drifted away, or just not spending as much time on) or otherwise significant fandoms for you?

What was your first fandom?: How did you get sucked into this crazy world?

Fanworks/fan activities: do you write, vid, create artwork, do recs, volunteer in fannish organisations?

Tell us something about yourself: what’s your favourite colour? who’s the best captain in Starfleet/your favourite Doctor? what’s the most unlikely fandom you’ve ever gotten involved in? have you ever accidentally stalked a celebrity?

Optional pre-coded headings for your reply:

Please post your response at this entry.

erilyn

It's that time - Sinpozium 2011 is only 10 weeks away, and plans need to be made about what we'll actually be doing, so we need your input. We need people to lead discussions, pimp fandoms and more – so, what do you wanna do at Sinpozium?

** Fandom pimps will probably be limited to a maximum of half an hour (though if you want to do less, that's fine, and they don’t need to be fancy). We strongly recommend keeping video portions of pimps to only about 15-20 minutes - this should be enough to give a feel for the fandom, anything longer and interest can really start to lag (always leave 'em wanting more!). If you can get a friend/beta to look over a presentation, a second pair of eyes really helps, particularly if you’re having problems trimming it.

** Presentations/videos/slideshows will be shown via a laptop hooked up to a data projector, so will need to be brought on disc/USB stick/external hard drive (we don't want to be switching laptops around if we can avoid it). A variety of file formats will be acceptable, more info to come (but if it can be played by VLC, that's a good indication it will be ok).

** One thing

alasen and I are hoping to include is a session for pimping book fandoms. Given that we can't really put together pimp reels for them, people would only need a few minutes each to talk about the book(s), and since these are often small fandoms, it can be a great way to lure more people in, or at least introduce them to a new author. Please let us know if you want to participate, and what book you'd like to talk about. PS - Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are not eligible.

** Suggestions for games are welcome (slash pictionary is already pencilled in, naturally), but from experience, they need to be simple and interactive.

** New or old, doesn't matter - some of the most interesting fandom pimps I've seen at past Sinpoziums were for shows from before I was born, or introduce us to the hot new thing.

** Discussion topics that are multi-fandom are particularly good (as they're inclusive). Topics might range from serious discussions of writing or fannish trends, to which characters look the best in tight jeans. Lengths will be 30-60 minutes, depending on topics, number of suggestions and structure of final timetable.

** Suggestions for discussions/panels are more than welcome, even if you don't feel like leading the discussion yourself. If you're having a complete mental blank, I find perusing timetables from other events can help me think about stuff I'd like to participate in.

**

meelie will be planning/co-ordinating a vidshow during the weekend (more info to come), but you're of course free to also use vids during fandom pimps etc.

For example, I'm gonna pimp Glee (the gayest show on tv), and

alasen is thinking about trying to make everyone fall for Hawaii 5-0.

And remember, if you don't volunteer and/or suggest, you don't get to complain afterwards! :) We'll try and incorporate as much as possible from all the volunteers/suggestions, but the final timetable will be based on what we have found has worked at previous events and think is the best possible mix of everyone's interests. If there’s something you’d like to do that doesn’t seem like it’d fit with these guidelines, talk to us about it, and we’ll see what we can figure out.

We'd like to keep all the volunteering/suggestions/discussion in one place, so please comment at the livejournal post.

erilyn

There’s less than 11 weeks til Sinpozium! Thank you to all those who’ve already registered and paid, and it’s only about two months until we need to finalise the booking/room size, so please register soon if you haven’t already.

It's definitely time to start thinking about fandoms you might like to pimp (or have pimped at you), discussions you’d like to lead (or ones you'd just like to suggest), games you wanna play and more, because we’re going to be looking for ~~suckers~~ volunteers soon. There’ll also be a little public registration form/survey we’d like everyone attending to answer, so we can get to know each other a bit before Sinpozium (and for us to get an idea of everyone’s fandoms, for planning purposes).

Please also pass the word on about Sinpozium in your own journals etc, we’d like as many Sydney/NSW/Aussie/Antipodean fans to hear about it :)

If you’ve got any questions/suggestions, about registration or events at Sinpoz or whatever, please comment here or contact us at sinpozium@gmail.com

alasen

Please use the post linked below if you’re looking for roommate(s) at the Y Hotel, the Travelodge Sydney (down the road from the Y) or elsewhere around the city. Info on accommodation can be found on our website.

To make it easier for people to talk in the one location, please comment on this LJ post: http://community.livejournal.com/sinpozium/13328.html

alasen

Registration for Sinpozium is open!

Sinpozium 2011 will be held Saturday 11 June to Sunday 12 June 2011, at the Y Hotel on the Park, Sydney. More information is found on our website - http://sinpozium.erilyn.com

Registration cost is $50 - this includes the hire of the venue and equipment. It does not include accommodation or food. Payment is required up-front, preferably via direct deposit - your registration will not be confirmed until we have received payment, and attendance numbers are limited. Full refunds will be available until May 20th. International attendees, please contact us at sinpozium@gmail.com to arrange payment.

To register, please fill out the short registration form and transfer payment to the account details provided after you have submitted. Please use the part of your email address (as provided on the form) before the @ symbol as the transaction description so that we can match payments to registrations. We'll confirm with you via email that you are registered.

We will post more information on panel suggestions, introductions and other things closer to June. You are welcome to leave comments on this post as a placeholder till then! Please see the next post for roommate hunting.
Hoping to see you at Sinpoz!

alasen &

erilyn

This post is xposted to our LJ community: http://community.livejournal.com/sinpozium/13072.html

erilyn

Sinpozium 2011 is now less than 5 months away, and we just wanted to let everyone know that things are happening, including being able to pay a deposit towards the function rooms at the Y Hotel.

We'll be opening registration in mid-February. We'll post more information at the time, but there will be a short online form to complete, plus payment of $50 which will have to be in advance, not on the day. Direct deposit will the preferred payment method, otherwise cheques/moneyorders will also be accepted. Full refunds will available until a few weeks before Sinpoz. (International attendees, we'll discuss payment options directly with you).

In mid-April, we'll start asking for volunteers (for fandom pimping, leading discussions etc) and taking suggestions about the program for Sinpozium, towards developing a timetable of events for the weekend.

Please note: If you're interested in staying at the Y, you might want to start thinking about/making plans/reservations sooner rather than later, to ensure you get the room that you're after. All accommodation is to be booked directly with the Y, we're not making a group Sinpoz booking.

If you have any questions (about registration, accommodation, events etc) that aren't covered on the website, or if you have suggestions/requests for things you'd like at Sinpoz, please comment here or email us at sinpozium@gmail.com

-

erilyn and

alasen

xposted from

sinpozium

erilyn

We have news! We have reserved (though it's too far away for the hotel to take a deposit yet) the Mary Jane Barker room on Level 4 of the Y Hotel Hyde Park, for Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June (full day and evening). For those who were at the previous Sinpoziums at the Y Hotel, this is a larger room than the one we had in 2002 and 2005.

Depending on a few factors (final numbers and costs), we may also try to hire the smaller Wybalena room on the same floor for one or both days, for greater flexibility. Either way, registration will be capped at 55 people, and please be aware that you'll have to be 18 or older to attend.

As the hotel has not published their prices for next year yet, we cannot give a final price for registration yet, though we estimate it will be about $50 for the weekend. Registration will open next February. Once we've opened registration, we will start getting expressions of interest about who wants to pimp a fandom/lead a discussion/participate in some other way (though we'll be discussing this more before then too). We have updated the Sinpozium website with this information and a few more details, though more is to come.

Thank you to everyone who has already responded to the poll about possibly attending. It is still open, so please respond if you haven't already and are thinking of coming. Please link people who might be interested!

If you have any questions, or suggestions, please feel free to comment here (anon comments are welcome) or email us at sinpozium(at)gmail.com

-

erilyn and

alasen

xposted from

sinpozium

alasen

We're back! Sinpozium is not dead, it was just napping. But plans are underway for the next one on June 11th-12th 2011, and we hope to see lots of familiar and new faces there.

If you haven't been before, Sinpozium is a slash-centric multi-fandom gathering that's been held in Sydney four times previously (2000-2002, 2005). It's all about fannish fun and friends (seeing old ones and making new ones), with fandom pimping, games, discussions and more. We've had people attend from all over Australia (and New Zealand!)

The plan is to hold Sinpozium 2011 at the Y Hotel Hyde Park on Wentworth Ave, Sydney (near Oxford Street). Costs are to be determined, depending on number of people attending, but we try to keep it as inexpensive as possible. More information about the venue and about Sinpozium in general is available here.

To gauge interest and plan our venue booking, we've made a poll. We know it's almost exactly a year away but that just gives you time to plan! We won't be opening registration or collecting money until next year. Filling out the poll doesn't commit you to coming, but we'd appreciate only reasonably serious attendees filling in. Locals, please do fill it in either way, because we don't want to assume that you're coming.

Please pimp the poll and either this or the LJ community to anyone that you think might be interested. If you have any questions, please feel free to either comment here or to contact us directly.

erilyn and

alasen
xposted from

sinpozium

Sinpozium - slash con in Sydney

Sinpozium 2012!

Links, recs and more!

Dinner bookings

draft Sinpozium timetable

Dinner results

Just over a week to go!

Please check your email

Sinpoz dinner planning part 2

Sinpoz dinner planning!

Sinpozium Presentations

Registration reminder

Before we all meet (or meet again) at Sinpozium, we think it’d be great if we could all get to know

Volunteers/suggestions for Sinpoz activities

11 weeks and counting!

Roommate hunting - Please see LJ

Registration is open!

Registration update

Sinpozium 2011 update

Sinpozium 2011!

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October 2011

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