First off, passed along without comment, WIRED's new issue has a section on the future of videogaming, guest edited by Sims creator Will Wright.
These words, uttered by a Chi-town old-timer in my hotel bar, will haunt Jason and me for as long as we both live: "Your drinks are sophisticated, but you dress like CRAP!" We've since recovered from the dis, but not without a bit of emotional trauma.
Bloggers in other places and with much more blogivation than myself have better writeups on much of the conference goings-on, so I refer you to them.
Things could not have gone better. Our "Reading New Media" workshop, led by Anne Wysocki, was packed, active, and timely. My afternoon workshop, a showcase of advise for assistant-prof-admins (of which I do not belong, but I was asked to speak to the issue of technology and writing program administration), was cozier in numbers but just as active. My panel presentation, a let's-look-at-the-advantages-of-infusing-new-media-production-into-basic-writing-course design type of argument called "Give the Basic Writers Some," went off without a hitch in front of two dozen very receptive folks (shoutz: Amie & Katie). And the efforts of my colleagues were rousing successes as well (Jason, Scott, Aaron, Cormac, Rebecca, Tara, Melissa). AND I went to stuff...the whole time. Attribute that to the weather, I suppose.
Even though I didn't snap any pics in the city (don't get me started; my cellphone was having severe battery confusion syndrome), my friend Leah did.