2008 Ripper Conference, Knoxville, TN

[George Hutchinson]

Oh bless!

That makes me so happy. The people on that concierge desk were all so kind and friendly. I kind-of felt bad I didn't give them a tip when I left the hotel but I think someone told me that wasn't the done thing, in spite of the US methods of tipping! I did leave a tip for housekeeping in my room, though, as I hear that they seldom get appreciated for the work they do. I think I should e-mail the Four Points to thank them.

Not a single person I came across in Tennessee was anything less than charming. It's really changed my ideas on The South. Knoxville is a beautiful city and I'm amazed it supposedly has a pollution problem - that must be relative, as it is so damn clean and open.

This has been the joint highlight of my year and definitely one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done, period. To have made so many new friends (including the Fidos), to have seen some stunning places, to have been treated so well and been lodged in such opulence... what can I say?

PHILIP

[Ash]

Phil - why do you think after the last US conference the first thing I said was "I am definitely going to the next one." I'm currently sitting in La Quinta Inn in Roswell, Atlanta, in a room almost as nice as the Sheraton one, and have had two days of travel during which I haven't had a single bad experience (except getting hopelessly lost in a place called City of Cumming, which may have been because I was still giggling about the name when I missed my turning.) Particularly everyone I have met who has asked me where I'm from has wanted to regail me with tales of their trip to Scotland (they all seem to have been!) And I've still got another week and a half of this. I may never want to come home.

[George Hutchinson]

I've just bought Eugenia's book, new, on Amazon for £5. She signed a sheet of card for me at Knoxville I can stick in to the book. I know it's not the same as the one sold at the auction but I'm still pleased. Especially as the only copy on eBay right now is about £120!

PHILIP

[Ash]

ps. for those who have met him in the past, Spike would like to say how much he enjoyed Knoxville as well, especially the wigsphere.

[rsteff]

As this is only my second post I hope not to breach any rules, so feel free to slam me if I do.

Just wanted to take a minute to thank Dan and Kelly as well as all the speakers and delegates who made experiencing our first Ripper conference one of the most enjoyable times a novice ripper reader could have.

For anyone who lurks around the forums and websites and wonders if a conference is for them, I’d just like to assure them that it is.

To get to sit and speak with authors who bring so much to field is truly eye opening for anyone with even a casual interest in these subjects, and makes the information so much more alive.

The patience and interest that these well seasoned veterans showed to EVERYONE attending was truly above and beyond what one might expect from true Ripperology legends.

Also getting to see Philip and Martin engaged in a much animated debate (which I shot a few pics of and have entitled “CLASH OF THE TITANS – The Knoxville Bout”) was something I will NEVER forget.

One thing that we came away with, more than anything, was the amount of time, sweat, man-hours and passion these authors put into research..and research….and research…. .

And in the case of the wonderful photographic artists who attended, the editing, cleaning, repairing and photoshop tweaking hours they spend, just to share their finds with a ravenous and sometimes less than patient congregation. (but that is best saved for another thread to which I DEFINITELY don’t have the thick skin and forum chops to enter in to! But to Philip, Dan and Robert, I thank and appreciate you in the extreme for what you found and shared)

So with that a huge thank you to everyone we met and shared some time with. It couldn’t have been more special and we’re already saving up for next time……………
Rick

[Suzi]

ps. for those who have met him in the past, Spike would like to say how much he enjoyed Knoxville as well, especially the wigsphere.

Cheers Spike!!-
Mr D

[Kelly]

I'm disappointed to have found out that I have to go to work today, when I thought it was actually my last day off. What a complete bummer!

That means I should have done yesterday some of the things I planned to do today, most notably: posting the charity auction.

I will do so tonight after work.

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Must dash.

-K

[Patti]

The conference was definitely worth my 9 hr drive from Baltimore. Again, the accomodations were lovely, the subject matter interesting, the people gracious and great company, and many new friends welcome.

I would especially like to thank the Fidos for their lively conversation and friendship. Martin, you are truly a gentleman and a scholar; and Karen, I would love to hang out with you again soon. Philip and Robert's sense of humor kept us in stitches. Eugenia was great fun and her images and presentation will be long remembered. Julie and the rest of the "girls" were wonderful and lots of fun and I hope to see you at the next conference. Last but not least, Kelly and Dan -- thanks for all your hard work and your kind hospitality. Yes Kelly, Steve is not a ghost.

Pat

[Jewal]

The conference was definitely worth my 9 hr drive from Baltimore. Again, the accomodations were lovely, the subject matter interesting, the people gracious and great company, and many new friends welcome.

I would especially like to thank the Fidos for their lively conversation and friendship. Martin, you are truly a gentleman and a scholar; and Karen, I would love to hang out with you again soon. Philip and Robert's sense of humor kept us in stitches. Eugenia was great fun and her images and presentation will be long remembered. Julie and the rest of the "girls" were wonderful and lots of fun and I hope to see you at the next conference. Last but not least, Kelly and Dan -- thanks for all your hard work and your kind hospitality. Yes Kelly, Steve is not a ghost.

Pat

Dear Patti!

I'm so glad you made it home safe!

Yes "the Girls" Table was fun wasn't it?!

It was really great meeting you and your husband as well as the other "Girls" Laura and Anne... I hope to see you all again... I will be attending another as I am hooked!

How lucky were we? Meeting all the wonderful speakers and enjoying the fascinating information and entertaining videos!

Best to you always!

Julie

[Kelly]

Patti--

Great seeing you again too, and your non-imaginary husband as well.

The charity auction items have been posted. Please check them out and bid. These are both hard-to-get items, and the cause is worthy.

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?p=48842#post48842

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=1578

[Dan Norder]

Thanks again to everyone who attended and of course especially all the speakers without whom the weekend wouldn't have been possible. I've told a few people now that it was like going on a big vacation except bringing everyone you want to go see to where you live instead.

So far we've gotten a few bits of local media coverage. A TV station did a short segment on us Saturday evening that had a clip of Philip and some shots of the book room, and now the local alternative weekly newspaper has come out with an article (just scanning to show the layout above the fold, not to read -- copyrights and all):



Being an alternative weekly we ended up with a reporter who writes the article all about himself and his thoughts while he was there instead of what happened. More than half of the text can be summarized as:

"I hear they all have knives! Wait, now that I am here I see that they don't have knives. Damn. They're actually talking about stuff? I'm bored. There's a festival going on in the park I can see right outside the windows. Why couldn't I be covering that instead? I'd rather be drinking and listening to music. Wait, is that "Free Bird" I hear being piped over the speakers across the street? I guess I'll stay up here and listen to the eggheads talk."

I kid you not. That's about eight of the fourteen paragraphs.

But when he stops the self-indulgent snarkiness for a couple of paragraphs to report what actually happened I think there'll be a bunch of readers who realize that they would have really enjoyed the conference if they'd been there. It's obvious the reporter just doesn't care at all, and he thinks his readership doesn't either (which for the most part is probably true), but he has enough solid reporting in there that's it's just comprehensive enough and factual that those who are interested will be intrigued and those who aren't will be amused. So it works.

And he spelled our names right, so what more can you ask, really?

[The Grave Maurice]

Here's a comment on the conference from the Knoxville media.

P.S. Sorry. I see Dan beat me to it.

[Dan Norder]

Oh, hey... I didn't realize that was online. Thanks for the link!

The scan above shows you the cartoon that ran with it, which I think makes the whole thing.

[Dan Norder]

Oh, and totally as an aside, those of you who were at the conference met Matthew Jones, who ran the slide projectors for Eugenia's presentation and also was one of the cameramen filming things for the DVD we're working on. Turns out he's quoted as part of the article in that same issue about the local curling club. The link to that piece shows up on that web site.

[Kelly]

Hold the phone, Dan. The Knoxville Voice article is out, and they did a bang-up job, probably because their guy spent more time at the event and talked to more people.

Can't wait to show it to you, Dan.