Texas Wildfire Relief Fund: They Need Our Help!
The firefighters in Texas need a lot of help. Due to budget cuts, a lot of firefighters are being forced to pay for supplies out of their own pockets. Cutting from fire departments and other public services is always a stupid idea, but Rick Perry did it anyway. And now Texans are suffering the consequences. It’s sickening and horrible. So what they really need right now is money. Anything. $1. $10. $20. Whatever you can give. I know we’re all hurting right now with the economy. But if you’ve got a little extra, help your fellow Americans fight off these fires and save lives and homes. Thanks! P.S.: It’s probably best to use Paypal, since it’s faster. Time is of the essence, after all.
RIP: Terrance
None of you even know about Terrance (unless you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google plus). I didn’t have time to blog about him yet. And now I’m telling you all about him having nothing good to say other than “well, he had at least one moderately good day in his life, and I tried to give that to him.” Terrance came to me after my friend Sarah messaged me on Facebook asking if I could foster a cat who was scheduled for death early last week. He had had a terrible life with his previous owner, who had kept him on an apartment balcony for five years in Florida. When he arrived at my place, he had an upper respiratory infection and looked fairly worse for wear (his previous owner clearly didn’t feed him well and the infection he got between surrender and arrival didn’t help at all). But I didn’t want him to be put to sleep without having a shot. I took him in, gave him a place to live in the bathroom, with free reign in my bedroom (and the apartment at large when I was at home — I have lizards, so I had to keep them isolated…you know how cats are). Things were going well. The first day, he came out of the bathroom to hang out underneath my legs while I was on the computer. Then that night, he spent five to ten minutes staring at me from the corner of the bed looking like he wanted to jump up and say hello. And, of course, that’s exactly what he did. While I read, he slept between my legs with his head on my hip. When I finally went to sleep, he slept next to me (and woke me up a few times when he got up to stare at me — this is a creepy thing to see in a black cat with bright yellow eyes and a drooling mouth (from the infection)). And it all seemed like a really good thing. But this morning, after trying to feed him a little more liquid mush, he had some kind of attack. He tried to walk away, lost his balance, and fell over. Several seizure-like attacks rocked him afterwards, and I sat there with him not knowing what to do while he slowly fell away from the world. By the time my friend managed to get to my apartment, he had stopped breathing. It was awful and unfair. Not for me, but for Terrance. This poor cat had an awful life because his owner was an awful human being. Finally he was away from that. Finally he was with someone who cared about his existence. I’m not even a big cat person, being mildly allergic and all. But I still wanted him to get better, to get fat and lazy like a normal cat, and to find a wonderful home. That life was stolen from him. So I’m really bummed out today. It’s not easy watching an animal die, particularly one so sweet as Terrance. It’s not easy feeling helpless while it happens. It’s not easy knowing that a few days in my apartment with a cat cold were probably the best days he ever had. All of it is messed up and awful. I hope his previous owner has karma slap her in the back of the head. She deserves it. For now, maybe Terrance is up in kitty heaven with plenty of toys and people to love on him (along with whatever else belongs in kitty heaven). Below are some pictures, in case you want to know what he looked like. Yes, he was beautiful (or handsome, as the case may be).
2011 Hugo Winners: The Full List
I will have extended thoughts later today. It’s 1:32 AM for me, which is a little late to be coherent… Here is the list (winners in bold): The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer Presented by Stanley Schimdt and Seana McGuire Lev Grossman Saladin Ahmed Lauren Beukes Larry Correia Dan Wells Best Fan Artist Presented by Stu Shiffman Brad W. Foster Randall Munroe Maurine Starkey Steve Stiles Taral Wayne Best Fanzine Presented by David Cake The Drink Tank, edited by Christopher J. Garcia and James Bacon Banana Wings, edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer Challenger, edited by Guy H. Lillian III File 770, edited by Mike Glyer StarShipSofa, edited by Tony C. Smith Best Fan Writer Presented by John Coxon Claire Brialey James Bacon Christopher J. Garcia James Nicoll Steven H. Silver Best Semiprozine Presented by David G. Hartwell Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan, Sean Wallace; podcast directed by Kate Baker Interzone, edited by Andy Cox Lightspeed, edited by John Joseph Adams Locus, edited by Liza Groen Trombi and Kirsten Gong-Wong Weird Tales, edited by Ann VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal Best Professional Artist Presented by Boris Vallejo Shaun Tan Daniel Dos Santos Bob Eggleton Stephan Martiniere John Picacio Best Editor, Short Form Presented by Ellen Datlow Sheila Williams John Joseph Adams Stanley Schmidt Jonathan Strahan Gordon Van Gelder Best Editor, Long Form Presented by Ellen Asher Lou Anders Ginjer Buchanan Moshe Feder Liz Gorinsky Nick Mamatas Beth Meacham Juliet Ulman Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Presented by George R. R. Martin Doctor Who: “The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang,” written by Steven Moffat; directed by Toby Haynes (BBC Wales) Doctor Who: “A Christmas Carol,” written by Steven Moffat; directed by Toby Haynes (BBC Wales) Doctor Who: “Vincent and the Doctor,” written by Richard Curtis; directed by Jonny Campbell (BBC Wales) Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury, written by Rachel Bloom; directed by Paul Briganti The Lost Thing, written by Shaun Tan; directed by Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan (Passion Pictures) Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Presented by Bill Willingham Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, screenplay by Steve Kloves; directed by David Yates (Warner) How to Train Your Dragon, screenplay by William Davies, Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders; directed by Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders (DreamWorks) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, screenplay by Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright; directed by Edgar Wright (Universal) Toy Story 3, screenplay by Michael Arndt; story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich; directed by Lee Unkrich (Pixar/Disney) Best Graphic Story Presented by Trixe Pixie: Alexander James Adams, Betsy Tinney, S. J. Tucker Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse, written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment) Fables: Witches, written by Bill Willingham; illustrated by Mark Buckingham (Vertigo) Grandville Mon Amour, by Bryan Talbot (Dark Horse) Schlock Mercenary: Massively Parallel, written and illustrated by Howard Tayler; colors by Howard Tayler and Travis Walton (Hypernode) The Unwritten, Volume 2: Inside Man, written by Mike Carey; illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo) Best Related Book Presented by Farah Mendlesohn Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O’Shea (Mad Norwegian) Bearings: Reviews 1997-2001, by Gary K. Wolfe (Beccon) The Business of Science Fiction: Two Insiders Discuss Writing and Publishing, by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg (McFarland) Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century, Volume 1: (1907–1948): Learning Curve, by William H. Patterson, Jr. (Tor) Writing Excuses, Season 4, by Brandon Sanderson, Jordan Sanderson, Howard Tayler, Dan Wells Best Short Story Presented by David D. Levine “For Want of a Nail” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s, September 2010) “Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn (Lightspeed, June 2010) “Ponies” by Kij Johnson (Tor.com, November 17, 2010) “The Things” by Peter Watts (Clarkesworld, January 2010) Best Novelette Presented by Nancy Kress “The Emperor of Mars” by Allen M. Steele (Asimov’s, June 2010) “Eight Miles” by Sean McMullen (Analog, September 2010) “The Jaguar House, in Shadow” by Aliette de Bodard (Asimov’s, July 2010) “Plus or Minus” by James Patrick Kelly (Asimov’s, December 2010) “That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made” by Eric James Stone(Analog, September 2010) Best Novella Presented by Robert Silverberg “The Lifecycle of Software Objects” by Ted Chiang (Subterranean) “The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window” by Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Magazine, Summer 2010) “The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon” by Elizabeth Hand(Stories: All New Tales, William Morrow) “The Sultan of the Clouds” by Geoffrey A. Landis (Asimov’s,September 2010) “Troika” by Alastair Reynolds (Godlike Machines, Science Fiction Book Club) Best Novel Presented by Tim Powers Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Ballantine Spectra) Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen) The Dervish House by Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr) Feed by Mira Grant (Orbit) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
Life Update #1001093838199392: Computer Woes
Some things are going to be put on hold for a week. Why? Because my laptop decided it wanted to die yesterday, leaving some edited work unavailable to me on my other systems (I hadn’t made a backup for all the work done over the weekend, which was quite stupid of me). This means some things will have to wait: New audio chapters of The World in the Satin Bag A story I was working on for Bryan Thomas Schmidt’s Space Battles anthology Other writing projects I was in the middle of (since the tech people have my external hard drive so they can save the data on the dead computer). I am still able to write and what not, but the absence of a computer will make my life very difficult over the next few months, in part because I need a portable computing device for taking notes in my classes and what not. Sadly, I do not make enough money to afford a new computer outright and every time I apply for credit, I get denied, despite the fact that far less responsible individuals who make the same as I do and have ten times the financial burdens are wandering around with five credit cards in their pockets. I just want one…for a computer I plan to pay off in 6 months. I apologize for all the personal posts as of late. The last 5 days have been pretty much garbage, with the A/C and hot water heater breaking, the laptop dying, and the passing of Noodles. It’s not the most exciting vacation time I’ve ever had, that’s for sure… Maybe I need to do one of those “help Shaun get a new computer” donation drives. But that seems enormously unfair. So instead of that, you should all donate food to the homeless.
Politics: I Bid Thee Farewell
I posted a bunch of tweets about why I’m giving up talking about politics (or dealing with it), but the Google+ version more effectively says what I want to say here: I’m going to give politics a rest for as long as I can. That doesn’t mean I won’t talk about issues of gender or sexuality or race, because those are things that I am not willing to bend on when it comes to fair treatment, but I’m not going to play the Democrat vs. GOP vs. Tea Party vs. Socialists vs. Whatever Stupid Political Party B.S. that has been going on. Conversations among such groups are repetitive, pointless, mindless, and generally serve no function other than to make me angry. Intelligent conversation is dead in the realm of politics. I’m not wasting anymore energy on it. What I am going to do is write more, blog more, talk about things that don’t make me angry, do things that make me happy, and do everything I can to make my life as good as I can without screwing someone else over (on purpose). I’ve got science fiction and fantasy to write. I’ve got votes to cast. I’ve got a life to live. I’ve got children to have and a family to raise and lizards to tend to. Which means, from this point on, I won’t be following people who serve no purpose other than to babble about which GOP candidate is being a dumbass or which Democrat got his wang shot on camera or why Nancy Pelosi sold her womb to harbor the devil’s mutant offspring or why John Boehner is orange and smells suspiciously like Cheetoh’s. I’m not interested in politics as usual, because it’s infuriating what such things have done to this country, to the dialogue, to our ability to talk to one another about anything, to make REAL compromises on REAL issues that matter to REAL people. It’s time for a better world, and I’m going start making it better by not playing the Political Mambo anymore. You’re free to join me if you so choose. That’s basically where I’m at right now. With all that garbage going on in my life, I need relief, and I’m not getting it by participating in the world of politics as it currently stands. And so, I’m taking a break, if not forever, then at least indefinitely. Now it’s time to write…
RIP: Noodles “Odin” Duke
Yesterday was a shit day, to put it bluntly. Most of you know that one of my leopard geckos has been suffering from an eye infection for a long time (the better part of three years, if not longer). He’s been to the veterinarian so many times since I moved to Gainesville that almost everyone at the office knows me, if not by name, then at least by face or through Noodles. A couple weeks ago, things took a turn for the semi-worst and he had to have his eye removed. The surgery seemed to make things better. The scar was healing well enough, the bad eye was gone, and he started becoming a little more active after he went off the pain meds. Then things went south, and fast. Earlier in the week, he had several muscle tremors — tail twitches and lower body convulsions. I took him to the vet, they weren’t sure what was going on because he didn’t display the twitching there, and I went home with the order to watch for more activity and to record everything if I could. Then on Friday (yesterday) morning, he had a massive seizure (or something that looked like it). His tail and head went back and forth uncontrollably. His mouth was open, either in pain or because he also couldn’t control the motion. And then it stopped and he seemed to lose strength in his body, much like people with seizures sometimes lose strength or control in parts of their body. The event made clear to me that he wasn’t going to make it. Late Friday morning, after my vet had looked him over and come to the same teary-eyed conclusion, I had Noodles put to rest. Needless to say, Friday was one of the worst days I’ve ever had. I’ve been through so much with Noodles. I don’t care that he’s “just a lizard.” He was one of the best damned lizards to ever live. I’ve had him since he was a little tyke and everyone who knew him thought he was the cutest, sweetest little lizard they ever knew. I’ve spent several hundred dollars on medications, thousands on medical bills, and hours and hours of my time. I’ve put off vacations. I haven’t seen most of my family in two years, because I always needed someone who could administer his medications (sometimes as many as five medications at once). And after all of that, it doesn’t seem fair that he couldn’t have five more years of healthy life. He never did anything wrong. He was sweet and wonderful and the best anyone could ask for in a lizard. And he went through hell with eye infections and medications and me poking and prodding to get him to take meds and food and what not. I think it’s all really hitting me now because I’ve lost so many leopard geckos in the last two years: Little Buddy, Angel, Sweetie, Taj, Herbert, and now Noodles. Six leopard geckos. Six friends. And worst of all, six the sweetest little geckos I’ve known, most of them I raised either from the egg or from a few months after hatching. It’s not easy being so involved in a pet’s life and then losing them. And it’s not easy losing Noodles, because he’s the only gecko I still have with me who has been with me since I began keeping lizards in my house. My mother begged me to keep Mellie with her in Oregon (my first leopard gecko) and she also stole my bearded dragon (I say that jokingly, because really Che Che has the best life a beardie could ask for, since my mother and her partner have built him a personal garden). And, of course, I’ve just been through so much with Noodles. He was a great lizard and a great friend. Now he’s gone… In case you all want to know what he looked like, here you go (after the fold):