#NaPoWriMo Entry #6: “To a Taco Bell Employee”
Time for another poem for NaPo. A good poem? No. But Adam wanted me to write something with rhymes, and so I did so while watching a strange argument at Taco Bell. It should be clear from the poem what I thought of that argument (or I hope so, at least). Here you go: “To a Taco Bell Employee” The handiwork of a few tall men determines the flow of the streams upon which the nation boat sends its shadows of little folk dreams. The image of a scrimmage of beasts cackling over stories in need of context without which the watcher’s eyes only feast, wondering on whose back the Truth next speaks its heart murmur songs and communicates the fate of small souls whose narratives are but empty among the throngs of gestures; a hint of dejection lulls where rejection molds a whiplash injection upon the neck of the story-less employee who is tossed away before the public perception can broadcast the past through distance and glass and claim for the watcher — whose wandering eyes a lecher — the nature of Truth’s jubilee…
2012 Hugo Awards Nominations: Preliminary Thoughts
Last year, I ranted about the Hugo Awards (here and here) after they were announced. This year, I’m switching things up to offer some preliminary thoughts before they are announced, and after. If you’d like to put me in my place, the comments are yours. These are preliminary thoughts, so I expect to be proven wrong on many counts. (Note: Some categories will get a slight pass, as I don’t want to comment too much about areas about which I have little reading experience. I will make guesses about winners based solely on what information I have in my arsenal, which means that most of my guesses are not educated whatsoever.) Here goes: Best Novel Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor) A Dance With Dragons, George R. R. Martin (Bantam Spectra) Deadline, Mira Grant (Orbit) Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan / Del Rey) Leviathan Wakes, James S. A. Corey (Orbit) I’m not terribly disappointed in these choices. One of my professors has told me that Among Others is brilliant, and I’ve had a love affair with Mieville for a while now. Martin is an obvious choice, what with his enormous fanbase. I don’t know enough about James S. A. Corey or Leviathan Wakes to offer any opinions whatsoever, though one of my friends liked the book enough to give me a copy, so I suspect it’s not bad. The Grant, sadly, doesn’t interest me at all, but if someone wants to send me both books in that series to prove me wrong, go for it. I would have preferred to see Of Bloody and Honey by Stina Leicht and Osama by Lavie Tidhar here, but that might be asking too much. I am sad that no small press titles are on this list, though. Overall feeling: *un-enthused, slightly disappointed shrug* Who will win? Mieville Best Novella Countdown, Mira Grant (Orbit) “The Ice Owl”, Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction) “Kiss Me Twice”, Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s) “The Man Who Bridged the Mist”, Kij Johnson (Asimov’s) “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary”, Ken Liu (Panverse 3) Silently and Very Fast, Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA) Note: 6 nominees due to tie for final position. Some of the same names again. This could be a good thing, or it could be bad. I am pleased to see Ken Liu on the list, though. I’ve talked with him on Google+ and he seems like a nice guy. But the Novella category is always one of those “hey, I haven’t read enough” categories. Overall feeling: *okay* Who will win? Kowal Best Novelette “The Copenhagen Interpretation”, Paul Cornell (Asimov’s) “Fields of Gold”, Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse Four) “Ray of Light”, Brad R. Torgersen (Analog) “Six Months, Three Days”, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com) “What We Found”, Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction) Geoff Ryman is a genius. Swirsky is pretty damned good too. Haven’t read the others. That is all. Overall feeling: *hmm, interesting* Who will win? Swirsky Best Short Story “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees”, E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld) “The Homecoming”, Mike Resnick (Asimov’s) “Movement”, Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s) “The Paper Menagerie”, Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction) “Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue”, John Scalzi (Tor.com) Oh, hey, look, the same magazines over and over. No Interzone selections? No Weird Tales? No *insert one of the dozen other pro and semi-pro mags with great stories in them here*? But the crown jewel of utter stupidity here is Scalzi’s April Fool’s joke. Yeah, that story was written for April Fool’s Day last year. Not serious. If anything could destroy the credibility of this award, it is that fact. Don’t get me wrong. I like Scalzi. He’s even a pretty good writer. But this is a new low for the Hugos. I will refer to them as the Joke Hugos from now on. Overall feeling: *annoyed* Who will win? Scalzi (because that would make the Joke Hugos perfectly Jokey, no?) Best Related Work The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition, edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls, and Graham Sleight (Gollancz) Jar Jar Binks Must Die…and other Observations about Science Fiction Movies, Daniel M. Kimmel (Fantastic Books) The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature, Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers (Abrams Image) Wicked Girls (CD), Seanan McGuire Writing Excuses, Season 6 (podcast series), Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Jordan Sanderson You know what? There are some good choices here. I suspect ESF (Clute) will take it, but I wouldn’t ignore The Steampunk Bible (I would marry VanderMeer’s editing side) or Writing Excuses here (a great podcast). I don’t know much about the Kimmel, but it seems like an interesting book. Award-worthy? No idea. Overall feeling: *okay* Who will win? Clute (too perfectly historical for its own good) Best Graphic Story Digger, by Ursula Vernon (Sofawolf Press) Fables Vol 15: Rose Red, by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham (Vertigo) Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys To The Kingdom, written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW) Schlock Mercenary: Force Multiplication, written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (The Tayler Corporation) The Unwritten (Volume 4): Leviathan, created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross, written by Mike Carey, illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo) You know what? I have no idea. I don’t read graphic novels. So I’ll let the folks in the comments handle this one. Overall feeling: *umm, what?* Who will win? No idea. Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Captain America: The First Avenger, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephan McFeely; directed by Joe Johnston (Marvel) Game of Thrones (Season 1), created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss; written by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, and George R. R. Martin; directed by Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Tim van Patten, and Alan Taylor (HBO) Harry Potter