134 Call Out Culture II: Follow-up to the Discussion Held at WisCon 38
Feminism and Other Social Change Movements • Senate A • Sunday, 10:00–11:15 am
Riley is no longer a panelist.

156 Triple the Strength, Triple the Power!
Reading • Conference 2 • Sunday, 1:00–2:15 pm
Laura Lis Scott was unable to attend WisCon.

163 Don’t You Think He Looks Tired: Strategies for de-Moffatting Doctor Who
Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction • Caucus • Sunday, 2:30–3:45 pm
Christopher Hatton has been added as a panelist.

166 Communities and Languages: A Dialogue Across Worlds
Feminism and Other Social Change Movements • Wisconsin • Sunday, 2:30–3:45 pm
Kimberley Long-Ewing is no longer a panelist.

172 Intersectional Body-Positivity
Power, Privilege, and Oppression • Conference 4 • Sunday, 2:30–3:45 pm
The Rotund is no longer a panelist.

173 Elim Garak’s Weird Cardassian Penis
Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction • Conference 5 • Sunday, 2:30–3:45 pm
Christopher Hatton is no longer a panelist.

179 Identity outside the United States
Power, Privilege, and Oppression • Senate A • Sunday, 4:00–5:15 pm
Ashok Banker was unable to attend WisCon.

186 Historical Vampires and Buzzfeed Monsters
Academic • Conference 3 • Sunday, 4:00–5:15 pm
Tassie Gniady was unable to attend WisCon.

(First in a one-part series.)
Okay, okay, so that’s not the actual title, but it’s a lot more fun than Dessert Salon Coordinator, don’t you think? Plus, it comes with a sash. Seriously.

So what does a Dessert Diva do?

It starts at the beginning of the year when I contact our hotel’s banquet coordinator and ask for a list of desserts and prices. They talk to the pastry chef and eventually I get a list of 25 or 26 options from which I choose 20. I make sure we have a variety of flavors and textures and I make sure that we have plenty of vegan, nut-free, and gluten-free items. Then I start crunching numbers. Did you know we order 822 individual desserts each year? (A secret: We order 7 dozen chocolate-covered strawberries.) I not only have to balance flavors, textures, and allergens but I have to make sure that we order the right amounts. I order a lot of chocolaty desserts and a few of each of the vegan offerings. I don’t want you to be disappointed and we don’t want a lot of one thing left over because I ordered too much. I also want to make sure that everyone feels like they have plenty to choose from, even those with the strictest diets.

Once I decide on amounts of things—including the coffee, tea, and milk—I put it all on a spreadsheet which tells me how much it will all cost. If that isn’t too heart-stopping, I send it back to the hotel and then I kick back and answer your questions about allergens—which are sent from me to the hotel banquet coordinator to the pastry chef to the hotel banquet coordinator and then back to me—until the night of the Dessert Salon when I dress up, make sure you don’t have any questions or concerns, and order more beverages if we run out before the speeches start. The number of desserts I make off with is a closely-guarded secret. (Six, okay? I tried six last year. Don’t judge me!)
Did you know I can hold a dessert or two for you if you have allergies and want to make sure you get something that you’ll be able to eat? That’s part of my job, too. I even have an email address: dessert@wiscon.net

After the con, I contact the hotel’s banquet coordinator again and they tell me which desserts were left over and which disappeared really fast so I have an idea for the next year of how to better balance the order. Voila! Job done!

How did you become the Dessert Diva?

Well, in this case, it was all about who I knew. I had a friend who wanted to take a break and I just happened to be ready to take on a little responsibility. But you don’t have to know someone to get in on the action! When we have volunteer opportunities we post them on our blog. You can also check our at-con volunteer board on the 2nd floor for at-con volunteer opportunities.

It’s a delicious job, but somebody’s got to do it!

Panelist Jeanne Mealy brings these highlights from the Lighthearted Shorthand Sans Fail panel:

“The moderator is laughing too hard to moderate.” said Sumana Harihareswara at one point, and Heidi Waterhouse says she won’t soon be getting over the “douche industrial complex.”

The alternatives to terms like “you guys,” that we perhaps unconsciously use all the time, were (and may still be) posted outside of Capitol A (on the second floor to the left of Registration).

by Lenore Jones

What do I do if my plans change at the last minute, and I suddenly want to go / can’t go to the dessert salon? Come by Reg if it’s before 4:30 to buy / sell your ticket. If it’s after that,  don’t despair! There will be a Dessert Salon Bourse as usual, for last-minute buys and sells of dessert tickets. The Bourse will open at 5:15 and close at 7:00, at the Reg Desk. No ticket buy-backs or sales after 7, so hurry on in if your plans change!

Tickets purchased at the bourse will be $20 each.

The Where Is WisCon Going? panel on Saturday quickly opened the floor to audience members to ask questions and offer suggestions about the future of WisCon. Some excellent dialogue was exchange and really good ideas were offered and Mary Prince (whose work you can find in the Art Show, check it out!) doodled this picture of panelists Bronwyn Bjorkman, Sandy-sashafeather, and Jacquelyn Gill while we all enjoyed a session of Q & A. Not pictured, Kristin Livdahl and Shayla D (me!).

If you bid on and won an item in the auction and have not yet paid for it, you can find it in the Art Show on the display tables for the Tiptree Auction. The winning bid and bidder will be circled on the item’s tag. Simply take it to the front and hand over your cash. There are also Buy It Now items still available.

While not, perhaps, actually art, Tahlia D.’s redesign of the art show layout is spacious and delightful. As a person with a visual impairment, I often feel like a bull in a china shop, so the wide aisles make me feel safe enough to actually stop and appreciate the art. Granted, I snuck in in the middle of the night… Regardless, it’s a space that feels spacious and lends itself to stopping and really appreciating the works of art being displayed and, as usual, they cover a wide range of media, subjects, and styles.
While voting ended last night for the “Best of…” awards, you can still vote with your pocketbooks and take some of this beautiful craftsmanship home with you.

We have several items in the Lost and Found at Registration.
* * *
There is an error in the listed hours in the program book. The Con Suite will be closing at 1 p.m. on Monday. However, we have been assured that the Disjunction Function will continue to function from 8:30 p.m. until your function has been thoroughly disjuncted. You heard it here first.
* * *
What you need to know today:
8 a.m.: Con Suite and Childcare open.
9 a.m.: Hotel registration opens for WisCon 40.
9:30 a.m.: Registration opens.
10 a.m.: Art Show and Dealers’ Room open.
6 p.m.: Childcare and Dealers’ Room close.
7:30 p.m.: Con Suite closes, Dessert Salon opens.
8:30 p.m.: Guest of Honor speeches begin.

54 Wikipedia Edit Jam
Science and Technology • Conference 1 • Saturday, 8:30–9:45 am
Liz Henry was unable to attend WisCon.

61 Fixing Policing
Feminism and Other Social Change Movements • Capitol A • Saturday, 10:00–11:15 am
Michelle Murrain has been added as a panelist. Naomi Kritzer is no longer a panelist.

75 Bridging the Generation Gap at WisCon
Feminism and Other Social Change Movements • Capitol A • Saturday, 1:00–2:15 pm
Jaymee Goh has been added as a panelist.

93 Feminine Agencies in Steampunk, Anime, and Video Games
Academic • Conference 3 • Saturday, 2:30–3:45 pm
Saba Razvi was unable to attend WisCon.

101 Where Is WisCon Going?
Fandom as a Way of Life • Senate B • Saturday, 4:00–5:15 pm
s.e. smith is no longer a panelist. Bronwyn B., Kristin Livdahl, and Sandy Sasha_feather have been added as panelists.

http://www.eatstreet.com is offering us %10 off through May 25 with the code WCON10. Good for any order!

Here’s what you need to know today:
8 a.m.: Con Suite opens. Childcare opens.
9:30 a.m.: Registration opens.
10 a.m.: Children’s Programming begins. Dealers’ Room opens.
11:15 a.m: Tiptree Bake Sale begins.
11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Childcare closes for lunch.
3:45 p.m.: Tiptree Bake Sale ends. (Unless everything is gone before then.)
6 p.m.: Childcare closes. Dealers’ Room closes. Art Show Award voting ends.
6:30 p.m.: Registration closes.
7:30 p.m.: Tiptree Auction Begins
11 p.m.: Con Suite closes.