Balticon 54

From 1946 to 1958, a series of atomic bombs were tested throughout Bikini atoll, resulting in a series of anthropogenic craters around the rim and lagoon of the atoll. In June 2019, for the first time, a set of comprehensive geophysical mapping investigations was performed using advanced phase measuring echosounder sonar systems combined with inertial navigation and satellite positioning.
Duration: 50 minutes

How do you survive unexpected life events while trying to juggle both a day job and a writing career? How do you stay organized and get back to a project when everything is trying to tear you away? Let’s share the tricks we use to keep ourselves going.
Duration: 50 minutes

So you’ve been asked (or offered) to beta-read for someone. Now what? If they don’t tell you, what sort of feedback are they looking for? What sort of feedback should they be looking for? And, of course, how to give feedback that helps — and still be on speaking terms with the author after they’ve read your comments.
Duration: 50 minutes

Henry S. Gibbons, research microbiologist at the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Chemical Biological Center, will cover the history of using microorganisms as weapons, as well as case studies drawn from his own laboratory, including microbial forensics, synthetic biology, and how genetic engineering of microorganisms is used to aid biodefense.
Duration: 50 minutes

It’s a perennial question in RPGs: do you prefer sandbox or linear campaigns? We’ll hear some arguments on both sides, talk about how to run each one well, and maybe just challenge a false dichotomy.
Duration: 50 minutes

From melody lines to harmonies, from modulating volume to pacing, arranging the vocal parts for a song can be as important as instrumentals. Our panel of performers will help you give your songs the impact they deserve, whether funny, serious, tearjerking, or soaring.
Duration: 50 minutes

Video games can be an incredible mechanism for storytelling and can give us lasting memories, profound feelings, and fresh perspectives on the world. These elements of storytelling are critical in indigenous cultures, but video games have a history of only superficially exploring how they are represented. We will discuss the history of indigenous peoples in video games, the reasons behind many of these representations, and how those who have inherited old stories are passing them on in new ways.
Duration: 50 minutes

Hand jive was an actual 1950s dance that goes way beyond its appearance in the 1978 film Grease. It’s easy, fun, and both family-friendly and suited to those who have mobility challenges — you only need your hands and arms for this! Join Susan to learn some hand jive movements and then show off your new moves to some classic hand jive music!
Duration: 50 minutes

The USGS Patuxent Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) is an integrated scientific program established in 1920 supporting the collection, archiving, management and dissemination of information from banded and marked birds in North America. Since that time, members of the public, by reporting bird bands, have helped scientists conduct research, and monitor the status and trends of resident and migratory bird populations. Birds are good indicators of overall environmental health, so this information has been critical for identifying and understanding many ecological issues and for developing effective science, management, and conservation practices. We’ll explore the history of bird banding and some of the increasingly sophisticated modeling techniques that have been developed to analyze banding data.
Duration: 50 minutes

How do you plan worldbuilding and backstory for your book? When is it useful to develop worldbuilding content that may never directly be shown to the reader, and when should you put on the brakes? How do you feed the information to your readers without bogging them down or stalling out for the obligatory info-dump?
Duration: 50 minutes

In this day and age, if you want an audience, the marketing department (assuming you have one) is going to want you to do some of the heavy lifting — even before you have a product to sell! What qualifies as a “social media presence” when your audience grew up with the internet? We’ll discuss how to start building your brand, reaching out to fans, and what should you avoid doing.
Duration: 50 minutes

Games like Gloom, Tales of the Arabian Nights, and Once Upon a Time are designed to have their stories generated through gameplay. Games like Gloomhaven, Twilight Struggle, and Terraforming Mars tell rich and powerful stories that must be uncovered by the players. We’ll explore the differences between these types of games and the ways they both engage with our need for narrative in play.
Duration: 50 minutes

Tom Holtz presents his annual update on what’s new with things that happened millions of years ago.
Duration: 90 minutes

From nuclear war to disease to computers run amok, horror and apocalyptic fiction hold a mirror up to society’s fears and show us just how badly things can go wrong. How have the terrors of different eras shaped stories of the end times, and how do different ways of portraying them affect their respective audiences?
Duration: 50 minutes

The Mandalorian is notable in no small part because it moved away from the epic war-story plots of the earlier Star Wars films and television series to adopt a Space Western approach to storytelling. What kinds of stories and new approaches are now plausible in the Star Wars universe, now that The Mandalorian has shaken things up, and what are we most interested in seeing in future televised Star Wars series?
Duration: 50 minutes

Music and myth have always been closely intertwined. From Sirens to the Pied Piper, many legends and myths revolve around music. And from Childe ballads to filk, music has been used to pass along stories of fantasy and myth. Our panel explores this relationship.
Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

Released in March 2020, The Pursuit of the Pankera is an alternate version of Robert A. Heinlein’s basic storyline from The Number of the Beast. It’s essentially a first-draft, but it was edited slightly to see the light of day, and unless you’re a scholar of Heinlein’s work you probably didn’t even know it existed! Join us to discuss it (There WILL be spoilers), what it tells us about Heinlein’s decisions while writing, and how it fits in with his overall career.
Duration: 50 minutes

In fiction, the use of magic often requires an exchange or cost, whether it be the loss of prized possessions or the physical and mental tolls taken on spellcasters. What stories feature a balance between power and price? What impact does the need for these choices have on worldbuilding, narrative structure, and character?
Duration: 50 minutes

Bring your beverage of choice and come hang out with Special Guests Leigh and Jay Targaryen. Costumes encouraged! Spaces will be determined via a lottery system.
Duration: 50 minutes

The Good Place tackled many deep and profound topics of philosophy and identity during its four-year run, but some potential viewers dismissed it sight unseen as an American situation comedy. How much does The Good Place owe to the expectations and pacing of sitcoms? Could it have explored and expanded on its ideas better in a different format? Is The Good Place comedic, humorous drama, or something else altogether?
Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

We are all aware that history is constantly mined for story ideas in genre fiction. In addition to alternative histories and steampunk, there are entire fantasy series written with one historical time period in mind. What time periods, events, or even entire cultures are mis- or underutilized, and why? How can creators research potential “new” opportunities and use them to tell new stories?
Duration: 50 minutes

To compete in a crowded market, your book must be polished inside and out. The presenters will discuss visual standards for covers, interiors, and marketing images, resources for the DIY set, plus when and how to seek out expert help.
Duration: 50 minutes

Experienced writers who have been on the roller coaster for a while know the big secret: you never really “make it.” Just because you’ve sold one book doesn’t mean you’ll sell the next one, and just because you didn’t sell the last one doesn’t mean the next one won’t hit big. Our panel offers tips and strategies for maintaining the will to keep creating.
Duration: 50 minutes

Bring your beverage of choice and come hang out with Guest of Honor Eric Coleman and Lizzie Crowe. Some spaces will be determined via a lottery system.
Duration: 50 minutes

Synthetic Biology is the art and science of extending the biologically possible to produce results that are currently impossible. A majority of SynBio researchers are interested in solving practical problems, such as modifying inborn errors of mutation that cause genetic diseases, driving out invasive pests using gene drives, or developing plants that can self-adjust their suite of small molecule toxins to repel emerging pathogens. However, there are plenty of wilder aims of SynBio research, including developing completely novel genetic codes, resurrecting long-dead organisms, and making novel proteins that are compatible with living organisms but have unique functional abilities. The panel will discuss both the pragmatic and the wild side of SynBio research; audience participation is welcome.
Duration: 50 minutes

Panelists will discuss they’re favorite techniques four editing when they don’t have outside reader, or editor too help. (Clean up before publishing — Ed.)
Duration: 50 minutes

Not everyone has time to write an adventure for their gaming group each week; what’s the shortest prep time you can get away with? We’ll cover tricks for reducing prep time for any game, systems designed to be played with little to no preparation, ways to include players in world- and adventure-building, and the art of improvising your entire adventure at the table.
Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

How much warning did you get before the last blizzard? Come learn about the advanced instruments on our next generation weather satellites. Hear how they are fueling new science, allowing us to track hurricanes at night, predict river flooding from melted ice, and better warn us about other impending hazards.
Duration: 50 minutes

The saga that began in 1977 with A New Hope ended in 2019 with Rise of Skywalker. Are we happy with the ending? What would we have liked to see different? Where should Star Wars go now?
Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

In science fiction and fantasy, members of cultures are often presented with the same traits, regardless of regional and class distinctions. This can be a result of poor worldbuilding, pacing issues, limited space, or authorial neglect. How can creators add nuance and variety to their imagined societies, and what are good ways to portray this to their audience?
Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

With nearly 14,000 known species, ants are among the most important terrestrial animals. Despite this enormous diversity, only around 200 ant species have become true pests. Even so, those pest ants can pack quite an economic and ecological punch, with species such as the red-imported fire ant causing a myriad of problems for people and other species. One thing that all pest ants have in common is that they have become globe-trotters, moving along with people all over the planet. The crazy ants (genus Nylanderia), so-called based on the way they move about in a seemingly erratic fashion, are one of the most diverse groups of ants, and contain a few of these important globe-trotting species. We will examine this fascinating group, and see how crazy ants have achieved global domination!
Duration: 50 minutes

The logistics of travel and travel times don’t always need to be ironclad, but can make for an easily noticed and unpleasant plot-hole, whether in a fantasy setting (with travel on horseback or sailing ships) or in a science fiction setting (with various FTL devices). What are tricks to avoid these holes, and how can apparent errors be reconciled if only caught late in the process?
Duration: 50 minutes

The Big Island of Hawaii is home to five volcanoes, two of which are currently active. In 2018, Kilauea took out over 700 homes in a massive eruption. While I was never in any danger (probably) it was an interesting (and sometimes scary) event to live through. As the locals say: I talk story about living through the eruption.
Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

Virtually break out of your house and visit the animated universe! Students at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) have once again been working with scientists at NASA GSFC to produce short animations illustrating, or inspired by, astronomical research. The topics include the Moon, Mars, Titan, neutron stars, and more with some unique twists.
Duration: 50 minutes

One of the most important relationships a writer can have is with their writer’s group. Thanks to modern technology writers groups are available online and IRL in a wide range of genres and geographical areas. How does a writer find a group that’s right for them, and how does one get the most out of it?
Duration: 50 minutes

Gender and gender roles permeate every aspect of our culture. How does a writer imagine and build another world with different genders when it’s hard to understand just how deeply ingrained these thoughts are?
Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

Now that we are in a real-life pandemic, we have the opportunity to compare with the decades of pandemic fiction that have gone before. What fiction served as good preparation for the things going on in the world today? What surprised us about the current global emergency that fiction couldn’t have prepared us for? Panelists will discuss these questions, as well as pointing out examples of pandemic-related fiction that show us other ways that these circumstances can go.
Duration: 50 minutes

What options does a writer have in choosing the point of view for their narrative? What kinds of stories are best suited by first-, third-, and even second-person narration? What are some ways that you can combine them, and when should you?
Duration: 50 minutes

Day Al-Mohamed will present her award-winning 28-minute documentary on the Invalid Corps and the Civil War, an historical narrative that has been erased from history books due to the stigma against people with disabilities. A Q&A session will follow.
Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

See
Duration: 50 minutes

See Virtual Film Festival page for the film list.
Duration: 1 hour 27 minutes

You’re writing your fabulous novel and you absolutely HAVE to kill someone to make the plot work. You want to tangle everyone up over wills, funerals, murder, mysterious death or serious mayhem, so someone’s got to die, right? But then what? Then there’s that annoying dead guy/gal/thing to dispose of. Decisions, decisions! Is an autopsy necessary? What about a funeral and burial? How long does it take a body to decompose? What about sharks as a body disposal method? What’s body disposal gonna look like in the future? Lots of plot possibilities, but the details! Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the pernicious particulars of what happens to a body after death and how you can use the legion of minutiae to trip up your characters, throw them together or drive them apart. Learn about embalming, burying, vaults, cremation, reconstructive cosmetics, coroner’s reports, death certificates and more at this get-the-basics research seminar. Note: This item will not be recorded.
Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes

Canon in Doctor Who is a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey.. stuff. Major events are given multiple contradictory explanations, undone, and even re-done. How do fans deal with an ever-shifting and inconsistent conception of what counts… and what doesn’t? Should they?
Duration: 50 minutes

Join a live recording of the infamous Dead Robots’ Society, a podcast for aspiring writers, by aspiring writers.
Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

Duration: 50 minutes

Take a few creatives, their best works of erotica, remove some key words, and have onlookers fill in the blanks. It’s audience participation at its best with dirty mad libs! For adults only.

Duration: 50 minutes

Get your dance shoes on and move to the music! Uninterrupted dance tunes for slow, bluesy improvisational dancing, solo or with your quarantine pod! Share your moves on video or keep the camera off if you prefer privacy or just want to listen in.
Duration: 50+ minutes

Come sing the night away, or just stop by for a listen!
Duration: 2+ hours

See Virtual Film Festival page for the film list.
Duration: 1 hour 33 minutes