It never hurts like...Tasslehoff B.  Our editoresse Tasslehoff for
the first time at a Sceneparty Symposium:  Disaster or adventure?  A
true woman's view.

IT NEVER HURTS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
by Tasslehoff Burrfoot


A stranger in Mekka...

So, this is it.  Even in the full morning light the hall keeps its
dusky atmosphere.  For unbelievers, the various tables crowded with
monitors, keyboards, towers and other kinds of hard- and software
have to appear like some sort of second-hand-bazaar.  Some specimens,
however, look more like extreme good occasions for the
high-tech-trash-company.

For unbelievers.  Any unbelievers in here?

"I-N-F-E-C-T-!-!-!"    

No, no, you aren`t, Eksec.  You may be a relict of a group that once
upon a time was feared for just appearing at a party, and maybe you
are the last one to hold the Infect`s (graffiti-) banner high, but
unbelieving?  No.
  Me, being converted two years ago to the holy goddess Amiga, I`m
walking carefully on this new terrain.  This is where legends are
born.  Where heros meet.  Where guys spray their excellent spirit
like golden yellow drinks by roaring "Fu-u-ck!"


THIS IS THE MEKKA/SYMPOSIUM `97.  

It`s surely the first time I`m going to a "party" at 8 o`clock a.m.
Well, it`s also the first time I`m going to take part in such a
party, anyway.  This historic Saturday is a little like meeting all
the characters of a famous book you only read of before.  Like
suddenly being in the plot of the story.  Names get faces, faces get
names, become reality.  Strange feeling.  It takes some time until I
can fight down this strong respect, but going shopping with the three
singing Italians ("Rok-da, RokDaZone, ohoh, ...", and:  "Feeeel the
viiiiibes...  get high together!") and adventures like looking for
some sort of ladies` toilet ("A WOMAN!"), help me to calm down a bit.
This doesn`t last for long:  fevering the first competition:  Wild
Demo-/ Video-/Anim-Contests.  Again, the mood isn`t permanent.  The
things shown are mostly boring and/or embarassing stupid.
Fortunately, there are at last three demos that are worth to vote for
(I think, they also won the compo).  Anyway, the dark part of the day
has begun, and the architecture of the hall is merciful hidden by
friendly shades.

Too bad, they are night-workers.  After a short break in the land of
dreams (Ghandy:  "YOU slept in the car????") (Of course, otherwise I
would have been entangled in all these wires, I`m sure), the first
Sunday`s competition starts at 9 o`clock (the timetable said 8
o`clock, grr!):  4 channel music.  Astonishing, really.  It is said
that roundabout 100 modules were handed in.  15 were played.  2 of
them were from the kind of "Oh, hey, that`s something to vote for!" I
really can`t believe that all the other stuff was as boring as the
most things heard.  Also, I`m not able to understand how people, that
take part in the compo are allowed to choose the modules that are
going to be played????  How can this be unprejudiced?  Okay, dead and
gone.


INTERMEZZO

The Sunday`s afternoon was again the right time to get some sleep for
those dudes (like me) who had no race against the deadlines, no songs
to compose, no wonders to code or whatever, and some chinese food was
the best to begin another exciting evening.  Finally the monumental
compos are valid on the timetable, although only one or two of them
actually happened at the planned time (and this ones I missed), but
this is, what I call the treats of the Symposium:  The demos (to put
together C64, PC and Amiga).  This time, the mixture was better
balanced, I think, and more to look for "heart and soul", more of the
fantastic spirit I heard so much of.  This night was born under a
good "star":  Hale-Bopp made his way bright shining through the clear
sky.

Now, just the prizegiving is left, and in my opinion the "audience"
voted the ones who deserved the prizes (in most cases...).  All in
all I missed only some clean bathrooms (Yeees, I know, I`m a
chicken!) and maybe some more consequent organizers in cases of
drunken marauding fellows, but in the whole, "my first party" was
really exciting, amusing, interesting and has to be absolutely
repeated.  I`m infected.  You`ll meet me again, poor guys...  Maybe
at The Party VII?

In the end some greetings to the marvellous lunatics that are to
blame for my infection:  Big Rat, Clary, Damion, Eksec, Ghandy,
Macno, Manta, Parsec, Ripper, RokDaZone, TTS, Skyphos, ...and all the
ones who got lost in my brain.