Day 2 of the conference had some surprises. A panelist on the “Indie versus Traditional Publishing” panel went rogue. She was dismissive, condescending, arrogant, and rude to the other panelists. Never seen anything like it – by the end of the hour, people in the audience were standing up and shouting at her. I had run into her one-on-one previously, where she collared me for a conversation, so I knew it wasn’t a gag or performance art. This person has PROBLEMS. We didn’t learn much at that panel, but it was entertaining.

The cosplay awards were last night, so the cosplayers were out in full regalia. I took some pictures of them – here’s an example, the Western KY Ghostbusters. Who knew?

Even the panels had some cosplay action.

But I did have one weird and awkward conversation with someone I considered a cosplayer.

This top-hatted gentleman (pictured below), was dressed to match the macabre theme of his booth. I asked to take his picture and then told him “Great costume, man.” His reply was a slow, deadpanned “It’s not a costume.”. I laughed and replied “Sure, whatever, but it works. He looked a little hurt and then started to tell me about his stroke and that now he feels free to be who he really is, so he dresses this way every day. Awkward. I stammered something lame and moved on. If he was putting me on, he was very good at it.

Today I go for one last dose of entertainment and inspiration. Up to this point the conference has been pretty much what I hoped for. I’m very glad to have met so many creative people in and around Louisville.