If you click through to the blog you will find a new poll on the left hand side. I’m curious about the gender split of my readers, so if you could take two seconds to come on over and let me know whether you are male or female (or neither), that would be great. Thanks for your time and happy clicking.
The news is circulating around the interwebs that Lightspeed Magazine, edited by John Joseph Adams, has launched. This is, of course, very good news indeed for anyone who loves science fiction and wants there to be more pro-paying avenues out there for those who write it. Here are the details (after the fold): FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Contact: publicity@lightspeedmagazine.com ROCKVILLE, MD, JUNE 1 — Lightspeed (www.lightspeedmagazine.com), the new online science fiction magazine published by the award-winning independent press Prime Books, launches today with the publication of “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” by Vylar Kaftan. Lightspeed is edited by John Joseph Adams (Fiction Editor), the bestselling editor of anthologies such as Wastelands and The Living Dead, and Andrea Kail (Nonfiction Editor), a writer, critic, and television producer who worked for thirteen years on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Lightspeed’s focus is exclusively on science fiction. It features all types of sf, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between. No subject is considered off-limits, and Lightspeed writers are encouraged to take chances with their fiction and push the envelope. Each month at Lightspeed, you will find a mix of original and reprint fiction, and featuring a variety of authors—from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven’t heard of yet. When you read Lightspeed, it is our hope that you’ll see where science fiction comes from, where it is now, and where it’s going. Lightspeed also features a variety of nonfiction features, fiction podcasts, and Q&As with our authors that go behind-the-scenes of their stories. Lightspeed’s regular publication schedule each month includes two pieces of original fiction and two fiction reprints, along with four nonfiction articles. Fiction posts on Tuesdays, nonfiction on Thursdays. Additionally, award-winning audiobook producer Stefan Rudnicki, will be producing the Lightspeed Magazine story podcast, which will feature audio adaptations of two Lightspeed stories every month. Lightspeed’s debut issue features four all-new, never-before-published stories: from newcomer Vylar Kaftan, an interstellar love story dealing with the perils of communication and time-dilation; from bestselling, award-winning author Jack McDevitt, a tale about Earth’s moon and the mysteries it might still possess; from David Barr Kirtley, an adventure of a young catman who must face the last of the dogmen and something else entirely unexpected; and from bestselling author Carrie Vaughn, a cautionary tale of the near future that shows some of the extremes we might be pushed to if we don’t start implementing now the seeds for a sustainable future. Additional features include an article about relativity and the speed of light by astronomer/author Mike Brotherton; a list of the top ten reasons why genetically-engineered animals won’t make good pets by humorist Carol Pinchefsky; a profile of astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, by Genevieve Valentine; and a primer for sustainable living by ecologist Amanda Rose Levy. As a special feature of the debut issue, in conjunction with the popular podcasts Escape Pod and Hugo Award nominee Starship Sofa, Lightspeed will present two bonus podcasts: “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” by Vylar Kaftan will appear on Escape Pod on June 1 and “Cats in Victory” by David Barr Kirtley will appear on Starship Sofa on June 15. This is in addition to the Lightspeed Magazine story podcast’s offerings, which will present “The Cassandra Project” by Jack McDevitt and “Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn. Future issues of Lightspeed will include fiction by the likes of George R. R. Martin, Joe Haldeman, Ursula K. Le Guin, Carol Emshwiller, Catherynne M. Valene, Tobias S. Buckell, Tananarive Due, Yoon Ha Lee, Cat Rambo, and Adam-Troy Castro, as well as from newcomers such as Genevieve Valentine, Alice Sola Kim, David Tallerman, John R. Fultz, and Corey Joshua Mariani. Lightspeed held a launch event at the science fiction convention Wiscon, in Madison, WI on Memorial Day weekend. Limited edition Lightspeed Magazine samplers in digest magazine format were made available for free to all members of the convention. This special hardcopy edition of Lightspeed features “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” by Vylar Kaftan, “Is There Anybody Out There That Wants to Go Fast” by Mike Brotherton, “Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn, and an Author Spotlight on Carrie Vaughn. The launch event included readings from Vylar Kaftan, Alice Sola Kim, Cat Rambo, and Genevieve Valentine. About John Joseph Adams (Fiction Editor) John Joseph Adams (www.johnjosephadams.com) is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as Wastelands, The Living Dead (a World Fantasy Award finalist), By Blood We Live, Federations, and The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Barnes & Noble.com named him “the reigning king of the anthology world,” and his books have been named to numerous best of the year lists. Prior to taking on the role of fiction editor of Lightspeed, John worked for nearly nine years in the editorial department of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. In addition to his editorial work, John is also the co-host of Tor.com’s Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. About Andrea Kail (Nonfiction Editor) Andrea Kail (www.andreakail.com) is a graduate of the Dramatic Writing Program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and has spent the last two decades working from one end of New York’s television spectrum to the other: HBO, MTV, A&E, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, as well as thirteen years at NBC’s Emmy Award-winning Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Her fiction has appeared in Fantasy Magazine, and her novella, “The Sun God at Dawn, Rising from a Lotus Blossom,” was a first-place winner in the Writers of the Future contest and appeared in Writers of the Future Vol. XXIII. Since 2005, Andrea has also been writing lively film criticism for such venues as Paradox Magazine and CinemaSpy. About Stefan Rudnicki (Audio Editor) Stefan Rudnicki is an independent director, producer, narrator, and publisher of audiobooks. He has received more than a dozen Audie Awards from the Audio Publishers Association,
You’ll have to forgive me for bringing attention to something several years old, but I discovered the following advertisement while borrowing the special edition of the movie Jumper from the University of Florida library, and it threw me for a loop. I have no doubt that such things are not original. Still, the concept of an advertisement like this is alien to me (after the fold):Apparently General Tire is the choice for jumpers. I didn’t know that. Did you? And with them, anywhere is possible. That’s a bold claim. Joking aside, what is curious about this is how serious the advertisement takes its premise, so much so that you don’t get the impression that the ad is making a mockery of the product or Jumper. The ad is certainly being facetious, though; that has more to do with the fact that this is an advertisement for tires than it does with the fact that it’s an advertisement targeted at a fictional audience (jumpers). We see the same sort of amusing tone in advertisements geared towards women, men, kids, and so on for products ranging from incredibly useful to downright silly. So, am I being ridiculous by thinking this is a very weird thing indeed, or is it really as unusual as I think? Have you seen ads like this before?
Imperfect as this video is, it did scare the crap out of me. You’ll know why when you watch it. In any case, the idea is really cool. I’m not 100% sure what happened, but whatever did happen had me thinking and curious to see more. See for yourself (after the fold):OUTLIERS from MONDIAL CREATIVE LABS on Vimeo.
I’ve said similar things before, but because today is the day we honor our fallen friends who have served the United States of America, I am going to say a few things before the night ends. I am eternally grateful for those men and women who served in the United States military and gave their lives for whatever cause (our freedom or someone else’s). It matters not whether you participated in a war that we now disagree with or condemn, because, to me, you did nothing but what you were supposed to do when you took that oath to serve as a soldier or pilot or what have you, and when your country said, “We need you,” you didn’t say, “Sorry, I won’t have any of that.” You took up your pens and rifles and ships and planes and so on and did your duty, and many of you died or will die as a result. Not many people can say they have that kind of dedication to a cause or nation or people or anything. So, to the men and women currently serving in the U.S. military: thank you; there are few people I can say are true heroes, and military people make up 99% of all heroes in my book. To the men and women who have died, who have left behind families and may or may not be able to see this, depending on your belief in the afterlife: thank you; you, like the men and women who are still here on this planet, are heroes, and you deserve more respect than you have collectively been given by the nation you sacrificed yourself for.That is all. Happy Memorial Day…
