Friend a Day – Melissa Kaercher
Photo by Amanda Celeste Jaeger
I knew Melissa before I really knew her. I ran into her at GE, where we both worked at the time and I recognized her from the Renaissance Festival and CONvergence. I believe I said something to the effect of “is there anywhere you aren’t?”
That’s a good question for Melissa overall because it does seem like she is everywhere and doing everything. She attends several conventions a year, she is on a bunch of podcasts (one of them with me), and she is part of no small number of other creative endeavors. The answer to my question, it would seem, is no.
We first bonded over a mutual love of movies. She’s seen all of them and I have seen many, but considerably less than her. She proceeded to provide me with title after title that I “needed” to see and she was, of course, always right.
She’s an expert at navigating social situations. She makes friends easily and often. If she’s met anyone she didn’t like, she keeps that information to herself.
Instead, she is constantly sharing her home for any number of events – usually associated with movies. She truly enjoys sharing her passion with others whenever there is a chance to do so.
When is comes to the projects we work on together, she has a tendency to be the one who keeps the rest of us organized and on task. She has a knack for that sort of thing. The Smackdown panel would not take place without her constantly goading Christopher Jones and I to do our jobs.
Melissa also has a knack for design and she’s helped me out on several occasions with art for Vilification Tennis or a logo for one of my many projects (the logo for Geeks Without God is one of hers).
The creativity that she shows in putting together things like Judging a Book or Killer B’s is remarkable. More remarkable, she does it without any expectation of recognition for what she has done. Instead, she does it because she thinks it is a fun idea.
The energy that she brings to everything she does is amazing. I’m glad to know Melissa simply because she is an example of someone who is squeezing everything she can out of life.
She blogs over at Tin Lizard Productions.
Friend a Day – Karl Anderson
Karl is my oldest friend. We’ve known each other since we were in grade school and while we have drifted in an out of each other’s lives, we have never drifted too far.
When I moved out on my own, he was my first roommate. He was the first person I called when I learned my dad had died. He was the best man at my wedding. I introduced him to his wife. At least I think I did. I’m going to take credit for it.
There is something about Karl that is comforting. As everything around us changes, he always feels at least a little bit the same. He gets older, sure. So do we all. But his personality has remained just about the same.
He’s quiet and mostly private. He would prefer to spend the majority of his time in front of the computer or with his family. In front of the computer. Yet every now and again there is an unmistakable twinkle that betrays a dry, sharp, and (to some) surprising sense of humor.
When we were growing up, I was always impressed by his artistic skill. I’d always hoped that he would become a cartoonist because he has a real knack for it. Webcomics are out there so maybe someday soon he’ll give it a try.
These days, Karl and I see each other mostly at Omegacon and CONvergence. At Omegacon, he’s one of the folks I try to make time to game with. He’s sharp, quick to pick up rules to new games, and he is always up for something he hasn’t played before.
We’ve shared a lot over the years and while we haven’t always lived in the same home or had a lot of time to spend with one another, he’s one of those people whom I’ve always been grateful to know.
Friend a Day – Nick Glover
I’ve known Nick for a long time but really only got to know him after he joined the vilification tennis cast and became my podcasting co-host on Geeks Without God.
Nick is a huge comic fan and over the last few years, he has introduced me to a ton of new comics. As a fan, he finds titles for me that go beyond the standard stuff that everyone has read. I appreciate the depth of his knowledge and his willingness to find me interesting new reading experiences.
We agree on a lot of topics but what always amazes me about Nick is his ability to boil his argument down to one or two insightful and cogent sentences. I’ll spend fifteen sentences to say what he says better in only one.
He has a relaxed attitude about working on stage that makes it easy to ask him to do just about anything. You never feel like something makes him uncomfortable. His response is always yes, and I can add this extra thing that will make it an even funnier idea.
When I have a complicated scenery item that I need, Nick is regularly the person who conceives of how to solve the problem. He made the elevator prop for an adaptation of The Shining I did this month and, as usual, he made it look better than I had expected and he did it for no cost. He loves solving those sorts of problems, I think, and he solves them well.
Nick has a very impish sense of humor. Usually, he keeps a straight face but every now and again, you can catch him being pleased with a joke he made. You catch him having fun with himself and it is charming.
I really look forward to recording new episodes of Geeks Without God and a big reason is the fact I get to hang out with my co-hosts before we record. Nick is a great guy and I’m very happy to have had the chance to work with him so often.
Friend a Day – Amy Stomberg
Photo by Bill Nault
I’ve known Amy since she started dating Jeremy back a number of years ago that I can’t remember. She also started working on CONverence around the same time.
Amy is another friend who always seems to be smiling. She always seems to be in a good mood. Since I typically only see her in social situations, I would like to think it is because she enjoys being around other people.
Amy skates with the Minnesota Roller Girls. That is a big part of who she is right now. What I respect is how much perseverance it took to get her there.
She tried out for the Roller Girls several years in a row and didn’t make it because she wasn’t picked by a team. So she became a referee and she kept working at it. It was important to her and she wasn’t going to give it up because of what amounted to bad luck and not a lack of ability.
A lot of people would have given up but she didn’t. That takes a lot of conviction and confidence in yourself.
I’ve found Amy to be very thoughtful about a lot of issues. She’s been vocal about vaccinations, which is something that is very important to me.
When she came to work for CONvergence, the advertising department was in pretty bad shape. She did a great job getting it organized and functioning properly. It was never something anyone really focused any time on fixing so she was someone who made a big difference in the getting the convention organized in the early years.
People come into our lives in different ways. That’s part of what this friend a day project is all about. I’m glad that Amy found her way into my life. She’s a great person to know.
Friend a Day – Claire Alexander
I’ve known Claire ever since she showed up to interpret a Vilification Tennis show at CONvergence. Actually, I’ve known her longer than that but I didn’t really know her until that evening.
While I’m not her primary clientele, everything I know about Claire tells me that she is very good at what she does. She is passionate about doing her job as an interpreter and she does it in an entertaining and engaging way. When she is doing a comedy show (as she typically is when I’m involved), she understands that she needs to be as much of a comedian as the performers on the stage.
I find her naturally easy to talk to. We often end up as “Fringe Buddies” in years where I’m spending a lot of time watching/being in fringe shows. The walks between the shows are as pleasant as the shows themselves. Because it is the Fringe, some of the walks are far more pleasant than the shows themselves.
She tells stories about her life that are truly fascinating. She should write a show about her life as an interpreter. It would be a bit ironic, I think, that someone else would end up interpreting the show.
Claire seems to squeeze joy out of life. I rarely see her spend time being down nor do I ever hear about times when she is down. She just loves the hell out of being and that makes her one of the best people to see when you are down. You can’t stay down when she is around. It takes too much effort.
The amount of energy she has is staggering. I’ve never seen her exhausted although it has to happen at some point, right?
Having Claire around is something happened by accident but it sure was a great accident. I always look forward to being her Fringe Buddy.
Friend a Day – Gordon Smuder
Photo by Damon Thrift
I’ve known Gordon from olden Renaissance Festival days. He has moved on to become a puppeteer and the producer of Transylvania Television.
Gordon is not only a great puppeteer, he is also extremely talented at building puppets as well. Last year, I decided I wanted to do a puppet show for CONvergence opening ceremonies and I asked Gordon to help out. Most important was a puppet version of the convention mascot, Connie. Oh, and a puppet version of a Dalek and The TARDIS.
He completely nailed the design on all of them because he’s just that good. You give him an idea and he is going to pull it off because he’s a perfectionist.
I’ve been working with him as a writer for the last several months and he is a very good collaborative partner. He let’s you write what you are going to write but if he feels something needs a push, he’ll offer a few good comments to get your work back on track.
Gordon is very geeky about certain things, like Sid & Marty Krofft shows. It made me think of him when I was looking at Puff n’ Stuff Geyser in Yellowstone this week. I don’t know if the geyser of the TV show came first but it doesn’t matter.
As a puppeteer, he knows how to bring out the best in all of the characters he performs. He’s one of those people who recognizes he is best as a supporting character rather than a lead. I’d love to see him offer classes in puppeteering. I don’t imagine too many people would take them and that would be a shame because he has a lot of good information to share.
When he sits panels at CONvergence, I know that he will have done his research and will have a lot of good information to share. He’s serious about being a fan and being a puppeteer and he wants to make sure that his audience gets the most out of their time.
I am sometimes amazed at the talented people with whom I work. Gordon is one of those people. I’m lucky to know him.
Friend a Day – Christopher Jones
Chris was one of those people who worked with me to start CONvergence. Before we began working on the convention, I don’t think we’d ever met. I think a lot of people assumed Chris and I had known each other for a long time because the two of us clicked from the very beginning.
Chris is a comic artist whose work has appeared in DC, Marvel, and a number of other imprints. His work as a visual storyteller is exceptional and he brought those skills to the convention as well. From the beginning, he was great at taking the disparate ideas the rest of us had and turning them into really great and iconic art for the convention.
He also created Connie, the convention mascot. That one small choice helped brand CONvergence in a way that I don’t think any other convention can match. That character has become the visual icon that ties the convention together.
In addition to his skills as an artist, he is a great public speaker and entertainer. He is personable and charming and never caught by surprise. I’ve asked him to guest at several Vilification tennis shows because he’s naturally comfortable on the stage and the audience loves him.
He’s been a frequent writing partner as well because the two of us really know how to get the best out of each other’s work. Our senses of humor complement each other well and I think some of my best work has come from him.
In the past few years, he has finally reached the point where he has been getting consistent work as a comic artist. It has been a long time coming for him and I am so pleased to see him enjoying more recognition for this talents.
I love to spend time with him when the time allows. Since we’ve stepped away from the CONvergence board, both of us have found ourselves far busier than we were before. Still, I never tire of the time I spend with him.
Chris is active on Twitter and Facebook and he has a website you can use to follow him everywhere. You really should!
Geeks Without God Talk about CONvergence
This year’s pre-CONvergence episode is a bit earlier than planned because of our 100th episode church extravaganza coming up in a couple weeks. Still, CONvergence represents our podcast’s second birthday and we can’t help but be a little bit excited to celebrate that blessed event once again.
Maybe I shouldn’t have used the word blessed.
The three of us spend this week’s episode talking about the panels we’re a part of and some of the other things about the con that have us excited.
We did three CONvergence episodes last year because we all really love the con. This year, we are holding ourselves to one. I hope you listen and enjoy!
Friend a Day – Perrin Klumpp
Photo by Peter Verrant
The first time I met Perrin was during the CONvergence room party at Minicon 33. He was friends with one of the many people we’d recruited to help with our party that weekend and he just showed up and started to pitch in. And he never stopped. I’m not even certain he slept.
I’ve spent a lot of time with Perrin since then. We’ve run a convention together, we’ve gone to movies together, we’ve even gone on vacation together. We share a lot of the same interests. In a world of geeks who aren’t interested in such things, he’s one of the few people I can talk to about sports.
Several years ago, I even got to mess up his public marriage proposal!
What made Perrin so noticeable that first weekend was the easy way he can talk to people. He’s naturally friendly and genuinely interested in what other people have to say. He knows how to make his conversation partner feel important.
Perrin was great at securing Guests in those early years of CONvergence because he of his ability to talk to people. The convention had no reputation but Perrin knew how to make it sound like something a potential Guest of Honor would be interested in attending.
I enjoy vacationing with Perrin and Jenni because there is no pressure for all of us to do the same thing. We will talk about what we want to do and if our plans match, that’s great. If not, we all go our separate ways and tell each other about our day at dinner. We all enjoy each other’s company but don’t feel bound to keep it.
Perrin is a friend who will always offer to help when you need assistance and never presume that the favor must be repaid. He helps people out because it is a good thing to do.
Like so many other people I met through CONvergence, Perrin has become one of those people whose presence in my life will always make me smile.
Friend a Day – Erin Kasper
Erin and I have been around the Renaissance Festival for a long time and as a performer, I can’t tell you how valuable I think she is to the cast.
Over the years, she has been one of those people who sees a need and steps in to fill it. She doesn’t do it because she wants attention. She does it because she thinks that it is important.
When we needed an Entertainment director, she did it because someone needed to. When the Children’s realm was without leadership, she stepped in to take it over. When nobody was making sure the years of service awards were happening, she stepped up and did that.
Most of what she does is not audience facing work. That makes it all the more valuable because she makes it easier for the entertainers to entertain.
She’s also one of the best one on one street performers I know.
About ten years ago, there was a cold, rainy day at the festival. There were hardly any audience members and I remember looking at Erin and saying that there was probably one audience member for every entertainer. The two of us decided to adopt a couple for the day and proceeded to walk them around the festival for about three hours.
It was one of those entertainment moments nobody sees or talks about but for those two people, it was extraordinary. Erin gives people those extraordinary experiences all the time.
Erin is one of those people who works really hard and then plays just as hard. I’ve had great times with her juggling torches around a bonfire at Omegacon, playing black light mini-golf at CONvergence, and laughing at dinner after long, hot weekends.
Being around Erin reminds me that some things are important and they won’t get done if you complain that nobody is doing them. Sometimes you just have to do it yourself.
Erin is a great person. I’m so glad that she’s a friend.
Grail Diary 