Dragon Con Membership Newsletter August 29–September 1, 2014
Volume 3, Issue 2 Atlanta, Georgia
Our 2014 Official Charity Dragon Con takes its responsibility to the community seriously, and we give careful consideration to choosing our annual charity. Hunger has a tremendous and ever-growing impact on children and adults in Georgia, and so for 2014, we’ve selected the Atlanta Community Food Bank as our Official Charity.
Facts About Hunger in Georgia:
20 percent of the people living in Georgia are food insecure,
meaning that they don’t always know where they will find their next meal. This is up from 19.9% last year. 1 28.8 percent of Georgia children live in food insecure households. This is up from 28.3% last year and is well over one in every four Georgia children. The USDA defines food insecurity as the lack of access to adequate food resulting from the lack of money and other resources. (Click on the button for Child Food Insecurity Rates).1 Monthly allotments for food-insecure families receiving food stamps decreased beginning Nov. 1, 2013. $36 less each month for a household of four. 2 3 27.2 percent of Georgia’s children live in poverty – up from 26.3 % last year. The new number moves Georgia to the 6th highest childhood poverty rate in the U.S. 4 19.2 percent of Georgians are living in poverty – just slightly up from 19.1 percent reported in 2012. Poverty in Georgia increased from 12.9% in 2000 to 19.2% in 2012 – an increase of almost 1 million Georgians over the past 12 years. 4 From 2000 to 2010, the number of poor individuals in the Atlanta metro suburbs more than doubled, growing by 122%.4 As of 2013, Georgia remains one of only 4 states with minimum wage rates under the federal rate. Georgia’s minimum wage is $5.15/hour. 5
$9.21
ACFB is one of more than 200 food banks that are members of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. 2
$1.00
In fiscal year 2012-2013, volunteers served
In 2013, ACFB distributed worth of grocery products back into the community for every donated. 2
94 cents
of every dollar donated to ACFB (including the value of all donated food) goes directly to services in the community to help fight hunger. 2
106,418 hours in support of the ACFB mission - the equivalent of hours served by 52 full time staff members. 2
As the need has continued to grow, ACFB has been able to respond, thanks to an involved and caring community. ACFB distributed an overall total of more than 45 million pounds of food and grocery products in Fiscal Year 2012-13 compared to nearly 37 million pounds in the prior year. Over the past four years, ACFB’s distribution has increased by 85%.2
2013 Map the Meal Gap Study-Overall Food Insecurity; 2 Atlanta Community Food Bank;3 Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Oct. 2013; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Profile. Data released Sept. 2013; 5 U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employment Standards Admin. 2013
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Dragon Con SuperHeroes! We are pleased to announce the creation of the Dragon Con Superheroes, our community service team, an d we’re i nv iting YO U: our m em bers , volunteers , a n d staff, to joi n u s ! After s eei n g t h e a m a z i n g i m p a c t o f t he c h a r ity funds rais ed eac h year through ou t t h e convent i on , we a re exci ted to ex p a n d o u r effo rt s to i n c l u d e seve ral proj ects in and around the At l a nta a rea ea ch yea r. O n top of t h e i n cred i b l e gen ero si t y o f o u r m embers, the com m unity is strong a n d l oves a good rea s on to get toget h er ou t s i d e o f L a b o r D ay wee ke nd and we couldn’t think of a better way to d o s o!
Sweetwater Creek
The first event, organized in partnership with the Georgia Conservancy, involves trail building and maintenance at Sweetwater Creek State Park on March 8. Located 15 minutes from downtown Atlanta, Sweetwater Creek State Park is a peaceful area of trails through fields, forests, and along Sweetwater Creek to the ruins of an antebellum textile mill. We are looking for approximately 100 volunteers to spend the day with us making improvements to the park and enjoying the camaraderie of our Dragon Con community. We ask that registered volunteers arrive no later than 9:30 am on the big day. Projects will conclude around 1 pm with lunch and a voluntary hike and tour of the mill to follow. Other specific details will be communicated as the day approaches. To register for the event, please visit Sweetwater Creek sign up.
Our second event will be the Walk to End Lupus Now on April 26 in Piedmont Park. The Lupus Foundation of America is the only national force devoted to solving the mystery of lupus while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact. Through a comprehensive program of research, education and advocacy the Lupus Foundation of America leads the fight to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus. Lupus is an unpredictable and potentially fatal autoimmune disease that affects 55,000 Georgians, mostly women aged 18-45, but also men, children and women of all ages. To join, click Team Dragon Con (www.tinyurl.com/ ksmu3x5). The walk kicks off at 5 pm; however, we will be set up to celebrate and enjoy the day with the team at 1 pm.
Our third Superheroes event will be with this year’s official charity, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, to allow members to get to truly see where the funds raised this year will go to help the community. On May 24, we will hold two sessions (9 am–12 noon / 1 pm–4 pm) for our Superheroes to help sort and pack donated foods. Sign up for the event will open in April so stay tuned for more details.
Plus, Earn a Free SuperHero Cape (uh tee) For Being a Member of the Dragon Con SuperHeroes! DRAGON TALK Membership Newsletter
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New Membership Benefits
Dragon Con members have been known to read a few books (ok…maybe A LOT of books). So we’re pretty jazzed to bring you a new membership benefit from Event Horizon Publishing, whose titles are a perfect fit for fans of genre writing— mystery and suspense, science fiction, fantasy, historical, and horror. You know, that stuff we love to read! And they are generously providing two different discounts to use in their online store: Dragon Con members receive 15% off all e-books purchases. This is a better price on these titles than you can get on Amazon. Just type in the coupon code DCebook15. Purchasing a paper book? Receive free shipping on any orders of trade paperbacks or hardbacks. Use coupon code DCFREESHIP. These offers apply to all Event Horizon Publishing Group’s Imprints (Dark Star Books, Event Horizon E-Books, and Lone Star Publishing). Event Horizon Publishing has been working diligently to make popular backlist
titles available in e-book format, as well as publishing an ever expanding list of compelling new titles. This is a perfect opportunity to try some titles and authors you always meant to read, plus discover new books you weren’t aware of. As the name implies, there’s more on the horizon; whether it’s exciting movie tie-ins by leading authors, or bringing old favorites to the e-book format like “Here Be Dragons”. We hope you enjoy these new membership perks from Dragon Con. We appreciate our members and want you to enjoy being a part of our community year round. Happy reading!
Everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy Dragon Con. Having the services of Scootaround at the show has made Dragon Con accessible to even more of our fans. This year we are excited to expand the service as well as bring you a new membership benefit to use year round! During the Show Scootaround will now have staff on site from Thursday through Monday. Thursday and Friday will be staffed through 10:00 pm each night. There will be nearly twice as many scooters available for rental this year. Members renting the full 5 days will receive a $30 discount. Rentals are typically $60 a day, which brings your cost down to $270 for the entire con. Coming early or staying late? Shoulder days are available at the special con rate as well. It’s easy to book your scooter online: You can also call at 1-888-441-7575, email at info@scootaround.com, or fax at (204) 478-1172. Year Round Dragon Con members can now receive a 10% discount on any Scootaround rental taking place in Orlando, Florida or Las Vegas, Nevada. Just call toll free at 888-441-7575 and use the code Dragon14 to receive your discount!
More Savings for Dragon Con Members 15% off limo services in the Atlanta area, with Cooper Global. Call 866-723-5466,
and mention the discount code “Dragon Con”. Discounted rental car rates with Enterprise and National Rental Car. Click here to book directly at the Dragon Con rate. Or use Enterprise code: XZ03A67, pin: DRA or National code: XZ03A67 if not using the link. 25% off Dragon Con Store merchandise purchases at our convention stores in the Marriott, Sheraton, and Vendor Halls; and in the online store year round.
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Dragon Con Night at Medieval Times Hear ye! Hear ye! Dragon Con Night, or should we say Knight, at Medieval Times was a smashing success! Thanks to everyone who came out to enjoy the evening, resulting in a rare sell out of the arena and giving the knights one of the best, most engaged audiences around! A special thanks to all those that took the opportunity to dress up and participate in the costume contest and the amazing judges, including celebrity judges Gil Gerard and Roy Wooley, that were charged with the difficult task of selecting the best costumes. Congrats to our winners Sarah and Shelby East in the youth category and Janette Jolman in the adult group. We look forward to more opportunities to get together for good fun with all of our Dragon Con friends and family!! Stay tuned…
Janette Jolman Adult Costume Contest Winner
Sarah and Shelby East Youth Costume Contest Winners
Featured Short Story That put a whole new light on things. My very own limited edition for a nickel—how could I say No? I brought it to the front of the garage, dutifully paid my nickel, and waited for my mother to finish looking (she always looked, never shopped—shopping implies parting with money, and she and my father were Depression kids who never bought what they could rent cheaper or, better yet, borrow for free.)
I found it in the back of a neighbor’s garage. They were retiring and moving to Florida, and they’d put most of their stuff up for sale rather than pay to ship it south. I was eleven years old, and I was looking for a Tarzan book, or maybe one of Clarence Mulford’s Hopalong Cassidy epics, or perhaps (if my mother was looking the other way) a forbidden Mickey Spillane novel.
I found them, too—and then the real world intruded. They were 50 cents each (and a whole dollar for Kiss Me Deadly), and all I had was a nickel. So I rummaged some more, and finally found the only book that was in my price range. It was called Travels With My Cats, and the author was Miss Priscilla Wallace. Not Priscilla, but Miss Priscilla. For years I thought Miss was her first name. I thumbed through it, hoping it at least had some photos of half-naked native girls hidden in its pages. There weren’t any pictures at all, just words. I wasn’t surprised; somehow I had known that an author called Miss wasn’t going to plaster naked women all over her book. I decided that the book itself felt too fancy and feminine for a boy who was trying out for the Little League later in the day—the letters on the cover were somehow raised above the rest of the surface, the endpapers were an elegant satin, the boards were covered with a russet, velvet-like cloth, and it even had a bookmark which was a satin ribbon attached to the binding. I was about to put it back when it fell open to a page that said that this was Number 121 of a Limited Printing of 200.
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Travels With My Cats Mike Resnick This issue we have a truly special story from Mike Resnick. “Travels With My Cats” won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Short Story and it’s a perfect tale for the new year.
That night I was faced with a major decision. I didn’t want to read a book called Travels With My Cats by a woman called Miss, but I’d spent my last nickel on it—well, the last until my allowance came due again next week—and I’d read all my other books so often you could almost see the eyetracks all over them. So I picked it up without much enthusiasm, and read the first page, and then the next—and suddenly I was transported to Kenya Colony and Siam and the Amazon. Miss Priscilla Wallace had a way of describing things that made me wish I was there, and when I finished a section I felt like I’d been there. Click to continue reading... 4
Word Search: The Fan Tracks of Dragon The Fan Tracks of Dragon Con Con
Can you find our forty programming tracks at Dragon Con? Answers can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, forwards or backwards. And if you’re really good, don’t use the clues below.
f o w y g The n i mFan m a Tracks r g o r pofn Dragon i a m v eCon r e t r p c l c r r n t f a em r l my r o t s i h e t a n r e t h n o o i k a e s v t t r t p r l ma n t o a c o p a o tf ro m a os rbprn ai ea m um w ys gs nn i emo m ea ri g v ef rmee t er cp ac ii ca l mf yh rno kt ts ri hr en ti at nor re et tl ac o al rc r ri nn t t f ya ee m i ar d h n o o i k a e s v t t i m o a r c a i s s n e re tppor cl sm oa n d ti oe a l cao kp ca ar sr r m s bo roawe au m f m e eo ht e e sl ssnee go ae ri aa m f a s eo eacma si ra kr ee o a r r i n t y e i a d f h n k t r r n i k r t r s e y a o w t e l a g s p s o a tr og r le tt ac ni ao i mo a r c a i s s n e e p o c s o d i e l a k c a r t x c se el hc ep ec l l s ae ng ra ar an mv oao rwaa tf ra y s or anmns t r ar re tl y i p ck tr a y n i d e d d e a i m u m e o n u i d r c a t r s e y a o w t e l a g s p s o a r g l t a i o u pf e ic os al cl pe ct l sa dn m i u r p a nf vi af rna rt or y r ng nr t t amr gt oy n s kc e fp fc g i m o ai iamnu um oe to n n ub ir ds rmc aa sf y t aa yi ne i ad se d d e e lr mm p fs ip f l n f r ao ni n u g o so c ie ri of ac lc er t us id a g rg tl magco tn tc g e f f g a i e a s i m o i a n u o t n b r s m a s y r h a n f o s a g a f l s e a c s b o a i i c m e u ki ot o a s nc si rt fp cn ct r iu ni pa m a sc pn lmf ra bn pn rg g d lr ac cd t ot mg m f eo h a n f o s a g a f l s e a c s b o a i i cme u i t s i r ds d a a u u g a i e i i e f t o f u e a o o u i i l n s t p n t i n p a c n m r b p r d r c d o mm f o t t r fr m dm d ai ap ur u ig na ri m e w i ip ef f i t lo af c u el aa oh opugi li nl n n ni o ar gf m nm am aw a pn fu i i l ka ic il at hs pwgwl kn tn gi o i pe rmi in nr m g g r n no w n np awmaenm ti n i m b ng ui i pk ci li nt sl we wi kr t eg io cg af e a g a a r nw b gi inpgc pl sn ol ei d i rwe l i xc vf oe s a rr n tn a b nl pewt aon pt gi m am n t a b l e t o p g a m i n g p s o i d w l x v o s r a r e a r o b o t i c s a n dma k e r t r a c k e i r d a nt di moank le ir tt e r ar ca kt eui rr ed d r u r g se ca ri oe bn oc t ei fc is c g s c i e n c e f i c t i o n l i t e r a t u r e d u s c p y o p r s g a c r r e h s l o s c r me t c s o f r p y o p r s g a c r r e h s l o s c r me t c s o f r a r gm l ll ll le ecc aa ee aa n o ss aa f fmma ae ea y a ay ka gkegt ea tt a gm n o n nt i ei el g d l gc cn naann pp rr n n rr rr rr uup pn nl lt tl tl et te t tw tmw dm a e e de e g cc aa ssy yd de e um e ce d et tg gt tooee aa h h n n g um n nn nn r na re ae w o io gi g e ev vt ts s oo oo gg w rr ii tt eer rs st tr ar ca kc akuaa un ap ni np d a e d a e n nd dn nr r aa aa aa u ss ii tt i immt ts se d e gd tg nt cna cc ai cr ti pm e y s p h sh ps m g gt tnnee aa ii e y ee l l eer r i ii ir rr sr cs i c t ip te pk e k
ALTERNATE HISTORY
ALTERNATE HISTORY ANIMATION ANIMATION ARMORY COMICS AND POP ART ARMORY FANTASY LITERATURE COMICS AND POP ART HORROR FANTASY LITERATURE MAIN PROGRAMMING HORROR PODCASTING MAINSCIENCE PROGRAMMING PODCASTING SKEPTICS SCIENCE STARGATE MULTIVERSE SKEPTICS TREK TRACK WHEDON UNIVERSE STARGATE MULTIVERSE TREKYOUNG TRACKADULT LITERATURE WHEDON UNIVERSE YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE DRAGON TALK Membership Newsletter
AMER SCIFI AND FANTASY MEDIA
AMER AND FANTASY MEDIA ANIME SCIFI MANGA ANIME MANGA ART SHOW PROGRAMMING COSTUMING ART SHOW PROGRAMMING FILK COSTUMING KALEIDOSCOPE FILK NSDMG WAR COLLEGE KALEIDOSCOPE PUPPETRY NSDMG COLLEGE SCIENCE WAR FICTION LITERATURE PUPPETRY SPACE SCIENCE TABLE TOPFICTION GAMING LITERATURE SPACE URBAN FANTASY WRITERS TRACK TABLE TOP GAMING URBAN FANTASY WRITERS TRACK
i l r k n t l u s e o k a s t n g a a a r s a n a w i r s
c a s e a x i p k l s o e i t n r r r r r c r n e c n t p
AMER SCIFI CLASSICS AMER SCIFI CLASSICS APOCALYPSE RISING APOCALYPSE RISING BRITTRACK ELECTRONIC FRONTIERS FORUMS BRITTRACK FILM ELECTRONIC TRACK FRONTIERS FORUMS LAN GAMING FILM TRACK PARANORMAL LAN GAMING ROBOTICS AND MAKER TRACK PARANORMAL SILK ROAD AND MAKER TRACK STARROBOTICS WARS SILK MIDDLE ROAD EARTH TOLKIENS STAR WARS VIDEO GAMING XTRACK TOLKIENS MIDDLE EARTH
VIDEO GAMING XTRACK
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Dragon Con News and Announcements Gaming Track Names Evolve Greetings & Felicitations! 2014 is truly a momentous year for anniversaries. I myself am feeling a bit wistful as I remember back to some of these events. (NO, I was not around for the beginning of Batman). So please enjoy this wondrous list of movies, games and comics. And if you remember when D&D came out and are feeling a bit old, my humble apologies.
2014 is the 10th Anniversary of… The Incredibles Shaun of the Dead World of Warcraft 2014 is the 15th Anniversary of… The Matrix South Park 2014 is the 20th Anniversary of… Hellboy Warcraft 2014 is the 25th Anniversary of… Batman Sim City The Simpsons 2014 is the 30th Anniversary of… Ghostbusters A Nightmare on Elm Street Terminator Tetris 2014 is the 35th Anniversary of… Alien 2014 is the 40th Anniversary of… Dungeons & Dragons Land of the Lost Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2014 is the 50th Anniversary of… The Addams Family Daredevil The Munsters 2014 is the 55th Anniversary of… Risk 2014 is the 60th Anniversary of… Godzilla Diplomacy Rear Window 2014 is the 70th Anniversary of… Batman
DRAGON TALK Membership Newsletter
Dragon Con Gaming has been around for 28 years, so there’s a need to make changes as the industry evolves. Beginning this year, four tracks will have new names that better reflect the span of gaming at Dragon Con in 2014.
Gaming Programming
is now
Table Top Gaming
First, we are changing the name of Gaming Programming to Table Top Gaming. When we had one "panel" track for gaming, the title was okay. Hey, it was 1986! We've expanded far beyond that now. Table Top Gaming basically describes the type of games we’ll be discussing here. There will be some cross-over into Video gaming territory when it comes to the usual suspects of "breaking into the industry," "game and world design," and the like, but overall, it’s a track dedicated to panels and info about table top games. Online Gaming (MMORPGs) Video Gaming Programming
are now
Video Gaming
Online Gaming (MMORPGs) and Video Gaming Programming become Video Gaming. Instead of trying to sub-divide the various kinds of electronic gaming into individual tracks, we’re mimicking the industry and focusing on the content and not the platform or method of delivery. We aren’t reducing the available programming either— we are actually expanding our offerings. Video Gaming is our second “panel” type track. Digital Gaming
is now
LAN Gaming
Digital gaming becomes LAN Gaming because it's much more descriptive. This large area is full of computers and consoles. We run demonstrations of the latest games plus plenty of organized tournaments featuring your favorite titles. We even have “free play” periods where for a few bucks an hour you can try out or play your favorite game alone or with friends.
Membership Price Breaks $100 through 05/16/2014 $115 through 07/18/2014 $130 through 08/15/2014
Purchases at the door: $130
Don’t Miss Out on the Fun! Follow Us:
And in Other News... January 7, 2092
Ellen Ripley is born. January 12, 1997 HAL becomes operational in Urbana, IL. March 22, 2233 James T. Kirk is born.
But most importantly: March 25, The One
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Ring is Destroyed
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