FC2009 January Pre-Con Newsletter

1.  Hotel News
2.  Bag Stuffing Party!
3.  Titanium Tea
4.  Event Signups
5.  Artpocalypse
6.  Live Action Drawing
7.  Shave Ice at the Hotel!
8.  Laptop Warning!
9.  Important Times
10. Preliminary Schedule and Important Times
11. Open call for open mic event
12. Last Call for FNL pre-con reservations
13. Final Staff Meeting
14. Weather Report

1.  Hotel News

Due to economic factors beyond our our control, the Doubletree Hotel has
implemented some changes in the Exec Level amenities. Instead of a continental
breakfast served in the Exec Level Lounge, guests staying on the Exec level
will receive a coupon for an equivalent breakfast in Sprigs (the Coffee
Garden). The evening reception will no longer have alcohol and hot appetizers
but will continue to have snacks and beverages during that time.

All other Exec Level amenities remain unchanged. Further Confusion apologizes
for the lateness of this change coming to our knowledge but it is a recent
cost cutting measure implemented by the Doubletree across the board. Economic
downturns affect everyone, I suppose. If you are a guest on the Exec Level,
you should be contacted directly by the Hotel on this matter as well and you
should feel free to register any complaints with them directly.

2.  Bag Stuffing Party!

On the evening of Wednesday, January 21st at 7:00pm, in the San Simeon room at
the Doubletree Hotel, we will be stuffing the goodie bags for FC2009. If you
have something that you want to have put in our bags, please bring them to
this room. We can accept flyers for other cons, ads for webpages, or any other
flyers. Please note that the material must nothing above a PG rating, and
whatever it is you want to put into the bags, you need 3,000 of them, as we
will be stuffing 3,000 bags.

3.  Titanium Tea

It is a time to come together and enjoy one another's company over tea. The
Titanium Tea will be held in the con suite at the Doubletree hotel. Some
snacks will be provided, but feel free to bring food to share. The event will
take place on Friday, January 23rd from 2:00pm - 4:00pm. Be sure to look for
the notice in your convention book or bulletin board near Registration. A
variety of teas (and tisanes) will be provided, but feel free to bring your
favorite to share with others. It would be of great help in reducing cup waste
if you bring your own mug.

Here is what will be available:

Rooibos
Earl Grey
Gunpowder Tea
Chai
White Tea

Also, there will be a signature tea made for the Titanium Tea @ FC2009. Be
there to sample it!

Any questions, feel free to contact tunduzi(at)gmail(dot)com
See you at the Titanium Tea.

4.  Event Signups

The following events are of limited capacity and require signs ups.

- Critterlympics - Saturday at noon at the info desk.
- KaffeeKlatches - Sign up sheets will be at the info desk for Jeff Pigeon and
  Anita Coulter (Saturday at 11:00am) and Clare Bell (Sunday at 11:30)
  sessions.
- Gaming - Any tournament gaming event, please see staff in the Gaming Room.

5.  Artpocalypse

From the producers of "Iron Artist" comes a brand new event pitting artist
against artist. Come down, get picked and take the challenge. Plus you, the
audience, can decide what happens!

6.  Live Action Drawing

Live! Action! Drawing! is a newish event that happens during the night dances,
and we're looking for some more artists to participate.

Each night up on stage during the dance, we'll have an easel set up under a
spotlight. Artists will be scheduled and have roughly 60 to 90 minutes to
draw. The artist is encouraged to draw from inspiration in the room, the
lights, the music, the dancers. We provide the paper and the implementations,
we just need a few more artists to participate.

If you're interested, send an email to dances@furtherconfusion.org

7.  Shave Ice at the Hotel!

In addition to the normal food cart stands at the hotel this year.
We are pleased to bring you a Hawaii classic "shave ice". This treat
will be on sale during the con in a variety of syrups for $3.00
Keep an eye out for other food and beverage specials throughout the
hotel as they join in on the "Surf Safari" theme.

8.  Laptop Warning!

Please remember that Hotel Wireless Access Points are often prime territory
for Security Issues. If you are traveling with a laptop or PC, please be sure
to turn off all shares and minimize security risks to protect yourself and
your property.

Furthermore, if traveling internationally with a laptop of other electronic
mass storage device, please be aware that Customs and Homeland Security may
have the right to inspect such devices. We personally recommend that if
traveling internationally with a laptop or other PC that it be scrubbed of any
confidential data before such travel.

9.  Important Times

These times may also be found on our website at
<http://www.furtherconfusion.org/fc2009/schedule/hours>

10. Preliminary Schedule and Important Times

There are always last minute changes, but we have our schedule pretty well
locked down by now. This can be found online at:

<http://www.furtherconfusion.org/fc2009/schedule>

11. Open call for open mic event

This is a new event that will be happening at FC this year. The idea is to
create an open format type event where musicians can come together to create
music. If you are a musician, bring an instrument with you to FC this year if
you'd like to participate. The event will happen on Saturday night starting at
11:00pm in the double city room of the Doubletree. Bring your music (vocalists
are also welcome) to participate. Bring your ears if you just want to sit in
the audience and listen to the magic.

To keep some order to the Chaos, we've set up a quick set of guidelines
for the participants:  The moderator will give approval before a new
person joins the jam; the moderator can kick people off or have them
take a break; if someone is waiting to join the jam, keep it to 5
minutes (or so); don't get too loud; be respectful of others.

12. Last Call for FNL pre-con reservations

NOTE: If you are currently working on a video submission for Furry Night Live,
please contact us as soon as possible to reserve space, or your video will be
ineligible for competition.

Furry Night Live is currently accepting stage acts and video submissions,
competing for audience votes and prizes. To reserve space in the show, please
send the following information to fnl-submissions@furtherconfusion.org:

- Title and description of your act
- Main Contact's name/email
- Approximate running time
- Stage or Video
- Act is for competition (yes/no) - not-for-competition acts will be reserved
  for the end of the show, to allow for ballot counting time
- Any special requirements beyond plain CD/DVD playback: live audio,
  instruments, or other custom audio sources

For future announcements and updates, join the FNL09 Discussion
Mailing List: <http://www.furtherconfusion.org/fc2009/signup/fnl>

Revised rules have been posted to the website and mailing list. If the show
fills up there may be a possibility of acts being cut or applications being
closed at-con, so please apply by Sunday January 18. If you have any questions
at con, please visit the Events Office Friday 9:30am - 12:00pm noon, room 102,
or the FNL Rehearsal on Saturday 10:00am - 2:00pm on Main Stage.

13. Final Staff Meeting

Our next and final staff meeting will be January 17th starting at 1:00pm in the
San Jose Doubletree hotel. Parking is free - we will be providing stickers
at the meeting which will allow the parking staff to know you were with
Further Confusion, and let you out without needing to pay.

14. Weather Report

At present the extended forecast for the period of the convention is expected
to be sunny, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Currently there is no
rain in the outlook.

--
Further Confusion
info@furtherconfusion.org
<http://www.furtherconfusion.org/>