Tuesday, October 09, 2007

CDANCON-A Gossip Lovers Convention

CDANCON is just an event designed to bring together people who love gossip. Although it is called CDANCON, liking this blog is not necessary or required. This blog just brought together a group of people from all over the world. At some point during all the commenting and guessing, real friendships were made between the people who read and enjoy this site. They decided to get together, and what better place than Los Angeles.

I want to make it very clear that everyone is welcome at CDANCON. It is not a clique thing and it is very inclusive. You can come for all, part, none, whatever, and as I said, you are welcome to come even if you hate me or the blog. The only real requirement is a love of gossip and wanting to meet new people.

I think the idea of this first one is to see if (a) people actually show up or if DS will be eating by herself, and (b) making it a foundation for something larger in the future and perhaps combining readers of many different gossip blogs.

I understand that much of this is kind of short notice, but if some people actually do come, then the next time we do this there will be a much bigger production with much more notice and see if we can't get the whole world to come and celebrate the world of gossip.

Here is the schedule of events for CDANCON 2007

43 comments:

jax said...

TOO short of notice!

noel said...

Oh man

This sucks

I'm in Australia

You better spill the goss!!

This convention has been mentioned several times in the message board...

I think it was also planned there too!!

I haven't been there for ages though.

look after yourselves and yea, are you going ENT? It would be nice to see a 400 pound, 6 times divorcee get out and mingle once in a while...

Reese said...

I can't make it, damnit. Whoever does go had better bring a camera and take lots of photos, especially of our dear Enty and put them online!

Miss X said...

I wish I could go. It sounds fun.

Is Ent going to show at all? Or is this all being run by Hez?

Has any other gossip site ever done this?

Town Bike said...

Hahah. That is so funny. A business-like discussion of trashy gossip.

Production Girl said...

I wish I could go but I am in NYC.

Unknown said...

Noel, Im in australia too. We are going to have to organise our own Southern Hemesphere version ;)

Hez said...

I apologize for the late announcement and I'm sorry if that means people who could have come won't be able to this time around.

There has indeed been a group of us talking about this via the backchannels here since February, but I got pretty swamped with other stuff in my life and we are admittedly rushing a bit to get it all together for the planned date.

And yes, everyone is welcome, but in Ent's absence, I'm your host and your moderator, so while the invitation goes out to all, if you don't think you can stomach hanging around with me and a bunch of people that got excited about planning this with me, it might not be for you.

We aren't a clique, we're friends united in our love of gossip, and we look forward to hanging out with each other and a lot more like-minded people. This is the first event of its kind, and as the not-always-so-organized organizer, I'm just figuring it out as I go along. Please bear with me.

And I should also add, Ent might not mind opening the conference door to "haters" of his blog, but I should make it clear, he's not going to BE there (he was never supposed to be either), so courtesy for everyone's feelings and respect for what the group is doing is going to be the standard, and if someone can't meet that standard, they probably shouldn't be there either. Just saying. The greater good and enjoyment of the group is the point of this get-together, but I'm also thinking a little boozy bonding wouldn't hurt either.

For out-of-towners who can't make it, I'm also going to try to make as much of the experience available online as possible, including our chat with DS/ZX.

Unknown said...

I will personally be looking for a short, flabby, bald guy who still lives in his parents' basement.

In my head, ENT = ComicBook Store Guy

I love ENT.

Anonymous said...

Bummer - only Geography will keep me away. Sounds like a lot of fun =)

WineGirl X said...

Hmmm.... I'm in Orange County... I just might have to drive up!

mandjo said...

I really wish I could make it. I am all for gossip and boozy bonding! Can't wait for the updates.

Hez said...

I wish everyone could be there, too.

My goal is to have the experience be as inclusive as possible for all of you who can't make it. I'm all for bringin my laptop so we can liveblog the whole thing!

Miss X said...

ooh, a Liveblog sounds fun. I'll definitely want all the details, Hez!

jlb said...

:) we'll all have to have a drink or six where ever we all are to help celebrate!

ps I wanted to say regardless of where we were in the world, but I didn't want to start that again. LOL *teasing

Wish I could be there! Hope it's an awesome weekend.

Anonymous poster said...

Where is this going to be?

For all I know it will be in a booth at Denny's in Glendora.

Cooper's Mom said...

so not fair!!!! i'm in Australia and pregnant!!!! bugger!!!

Hez said...

Kitty, I hope it's not a problem if events are somewhere accessible and free, cuz that's where we're at this first year.

If you can hook us up with a conference room at the Chateau Marmont for next to nothing, I know we'd all prefer that. ;)

The info says LA and it will be LA, so the good people of Glendora can stand down from red alert - your Denny's will be safe from an influx of rabid gossip fans. (For now.)

I encourage everyone to post their CDANCON questions on the CDANCON blog itself.

Unknown said...

Awwwah! I wish I could go, but our Hollywood show is tonight! I'm at the knitting factory right now. :-(

captivagrl said...

....i'm so there...

captivagrl said...

u funny

Hez said...

Glad yr coming, captivagrl, and break everyone's legs, Nic! We'll be doing a big toast to absent friends, and your name will be among 'em.

Okay, maybe a lot of toasts. (Hic.)

noel said...

Miss Bliss and Cooper's mum...

Howdy mates!!

Its cool to know there are some fellow aussies here...

as for the convention down under, well I think I am just going to use it as an excuse to have a few and celebrate in spirit...

see you all around!!

Caroline said...

Another Aussie here (Melbourne).

Unknown said...

Yep an Aussie here too. Seems to be a lot of us LOL

I wish I could make it Hez but it is so far out of the realm of possibility it is in another universe LOL Have fun though guys :)

Virgo74 said...

Oh poo!!! I would love to fly out!

Maybe I can make it next year! Soo hard to get time off work during this time of the year!!!

Plus, I would need someone to go with.

Take lots and lots of pic and post them Hez!!!

__-__=__ said...

Wait a minute! Too many Aussies here indeed. How about you guys do a get together down under?? Are you close enough?

ladorabelle said...

Ahh, stupid southeast. I'm about as far from the action as I can be and still be in the States. Make sure someone handles a Guinness for me.

Unknown said...

In all fairness, what type of turnout could possibly be expected given less than one week to commit attendance? It was a good idea but obviously hopelessly ill planned. This year's head count will not accurately reflect potential interest levels due to the lack of advance notification so hopefully thoughts of future events of this nature will not be negated due to the poor planning of the first event (2 weeks out & there isn't even a set location at this time??). This is unfortunate & I'm certain many other frequent visitors of this site are similarly disappointed.

Anonymous poster said...

So Hez....

Are we doing this at a park in Hollywood?

Your house?

My backyard is rather small for more than 8.

Kory said...

Since I'm a crack addict who lives under a rock in Hollywood (at the corner of June and De Longpre), I try to shun the light. I was wondering if I shower and keep my swearing to a minimum, is it OK to just attend some of the things that interest me?

Hez said...

Kory, it wouldn't be the same without you!

Kitty, I'd have to buy a house in LA first... current wallet conditions prohibit this.

I'm sorry that you are disappointed and that it is so disorganized, Jo - I've apologized profusely for the first year being kind of slapdash, and I think ultimately my skills lie in the execution, not the planning - but please don't downgrade the effort that is being made.

Mistik said...

In fairness to Hez, this was talked about on the CDAN board since February, I think. And the end of October was mentioned as a possible date months ago... so in fact, although the firmed up details are only coming out now, the idea was generated quite a while ago....

Unknown said...

It's just that there's an inference that if everyone's a no show this year that this idea will be dead. It may have been mentioned in passing in various forms in the past but w/ the absence of a firm date, people are incapable of taking time off and obtaining reasonable flight fares & accommodations. Being that this is an international forum, it would be advisable to have plenty of lead time to allow for those living outside the city limits of LA to make the appropriate arrangements. I'm just saying! The idea is solid -- the more participants the better.

Maja With a J said...

This sounds awesome! I'm up in Canada and freshly broke after a fabulous vacation, but I would LOVE to go to this just because it's such a silly thing *L* It can be really cool to meet people off the internet, but..there are psychos out there too so be careful, guys! I'm looking forward to reading about it afterwards! Toast to me too, even though I'm a noob!! *L*

Maja With a J said...

Also, where do I find the CDAN message boards?

Unknown said...

I would have loved to be there! Maybe next time? I am looking forward to the liveblogging!

Hope you all have a great time!

Stacy said...

I tried to go to the CDAN board but everything is password protected. Wah!

Hez said...

Stacy, harriet, jo et. al.

The EZBoard linked in the sidebar of this site doesn't require passwords to read, but it does require membership to post. The idea for CDANCON was generated there in February, and we purposely didn't make it a big deal on the main CDAN site, because anonymous posters were a very big problem at the time. It does not have the information you seek, just the link I'm providing right now. Feel free to post and discuss anything else there. (That's why it was created - so we could talk about what we want to without searching back through old posts to reply to threads that still had some life in them.)

CDANCON's blog (click link or go to http://cdancon.wordpress.com) was originally password protected because the event was imagined as something where we could escape what at the time was a great deal of negativity and just enjoy each other's company, and we didn't want people who didn't support that program (or the site) to know anything about it. In my original plans for the conference, I even had the idea for a session entitled "Dealing With Trolls".

When CDAN began requiring sign-in for commenters (a blessed day, don't we all agree?), much of the nastiness disappeared, and the need for secrecy in the planning of the conference disappeared with it. I removed the password protection on all but the BONUS section of the site. If you are being asked for a password, I will give it to you, but I encourage you to just follow the same process as everyone else did and email the CDANCON link in the sidebar of the blog.

Stacy, I've just gone through all the relevant posts on the CDANCON blog, and all the information I have to give out about the conference itself is indeed available without password protection. Try again using the link provided, if you wouldn't mind, please.

MnGddess said...

Hey everyone!

I am flyin' in all the way from Philadelphia - and would like to corrdinate (loosely) hotel accommmodations. I figured that if some of us are stying at the same hotel we could share rides, if necessary. Leave a message at CDANCON if your're interested. Mistik, I already emailed you privately.

Cyn

Cooper's Mom said...

Calling all aussies out there!! where are you guys? i'm in Brissie and i know that ellebee is in Toowoomba.... so where are the rest of you???

maybe we could try and organise an aussie style CDANcon?? that would be funny!! we obviously wont have any kick arse speakers like DS but we could manage!

Hez said...

Cooper's Mom, I LOVE that idea.

If you or anyone think you want to do it, let Ent (and me) know so we can share info! cdancon [at] gmail [dot] com is where to reach me about the conference. It would be so cool if you guys could make it happen, even in a small way!

Hez said...

PS If anyone is still checking this post, there are a lot of updates over at the CDANCON blog, and I've also just created a brand new Facebook group devoted to all things CDANCON.

All are welcome at both sites.

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