My CONvergence Schedule!
If you’re curious what I’ll be up to at CONvergence this year, you’re in luck because I’ve just dropped a not-quite-full schedule over on the Skiffy and Fanty Show blog! The schedule will be updated later w/ other happenings; for now, enjoy the huge list of panels, some of which I’m actually on!
Top 10 Posts for May 2014
Here they are: Movie Review: Riddick (2013) (or, I’m Going to Mega Rant Now) Link of the Week: “Bigotry, Cognitive Dissonance, and Submission Guidelines” by Charles A Tan Top 10 Overused Fantasy Cliches The Hugos in “Turmoil” and the Glee Crowd Criticism Does Not Equal Bullying (or, What Bullying Means to Me) Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies Since 2010 (Thus Far) 5 Annoying Author Habits on Twitter Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Anime Movies Movie Review Rant : Catching Fire (2013) Top 10 Cats in Science Fiction and Fantasy I’ve switched to using what little data I can get for unique views to give a more accurate picture of things.
RIP: Jay Lake
If you haven’t heard yet, Jay Lake passed away this morning. Most of us who were paying attention to his struggle with cancer knew this day was coming, especially after his latest (experimental?) treatment resulted in his entrance into hospice care. Regardless, learning of his passing still came as a shock to me, as I’m sure it did to those who knew him much better than myself. I won’t pretend that I was good friends with Jay or that I knew him really well. What I will say is that I was enormously privileged to have met Jay a few times in person and to have interviewed him on The Skiffy and Fanty Show. That interview is very personal for me in part because I am also a cancer survivor, and it was because of Jay’s frank discussion of his struggles that I started to blog a little about my own cancer journey. It was also one of the best interviews I’ve ever conducted, for which I give Jay all the credit. He was always a joy to talk to. In person, Jay was friendly, kind, and hilarious. I had a handful of interactions with him (he even remembered me, which was cool) and even got to see a rough cut of his documentary about his cancer journey, Lakeside, at Worldcon last year. It was a beautiful thing, even in rough form. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room, which says a lot about the power of Lakeside. Most people, however, will not have met Jay. Most people won’t have had any personal experiences with him or, as a small few will probably discuss this week, have been good friends. Most people will remember Jay for his enormous body of writing. In a way, he left behind a little piece of himself for all of us to remember. We should enjoy that piece as much as we can because it is beautiful. I’ll miss you, Jay.
Mass Market Paperback Bingo: Pick a Book; I’ll Read and Review It
The title says it all. Since I have a really large collection of unread books, I figure I could have some fun by letting the public pick one from my shelves. Below, you’ll see two pictures from one shelf (front level; there is another level of books behind these). You should be able to open the images to see the larger versions, which will make some of the titles and author names easier to read. Here’s how this will work: You pick a book. You offer a reason for why I should read that book in the comments. Be creative, serious, or confusing. It doesn’t matter. I pick the answer that most pleases me based on utterly random and totally subjective criteria I won’t disclose (basically, it’ll depend on my mood) I’ll read and review the book in question. Some of my shelves may include sequels and the like. If you pick a sequel to a book whose predecessor I have not read, I will read the previous book instead. These shelves used to be in order, but my cat has basically knocked half of the books from this shelf to the floor at some point, and I’ve yet to fix things. If this whole feature is successful, I’ll do it again with another part of the shelf (or a tower of books from elsewhere). So, have at it!
Worldcon Fundraiser Updatery: A Flash Milestone Perk
I only need to raise $150 more in my Worldcon fundraiser, and then I’ve got every penny I need to make my stay in London reasonable. First, I want to thank everyone who has supported me in this endeavor thus far. You are all amazingly awesome. There are lots of Milestone Perks waiting to be fulfilled at the moment (some take longer than others because they involve recording stuff). I’ll get those fulfilled this summer (preferably this month, where possible). Second, I have decided to make things a little…interesting. Since $150 isn’t that much money, and I want to get this done ASAP, I’m running a little last minute Milestone Perk addon: If my Worldcon fundraiser finishes by Monday, May 27th, Mike Underwood and I will record our special readings of classic works of literature/philosophy as Kermit and Yoda (respectively) LIVE. We may even stay in character the whole time. We may even have a conversation as Kermit and Yoda. We may even do it on video via Google+. We may even wear homemade costumes. (By “may” I mean “pretty much going to do it unless we can’t for some reason”). Right now, it looks like I’m reading Nietzche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra. I’m not sure what Mike is reading yet, but I did see someone suggest The Candide. Obviously, these will be excerpt readings, as Nietzche’s book is so long that my voicebox would probably explode if I tried to do the whole thing in one go. So if that’s not incentive to donate $10 and convince your friends to do so, too, I don’t know what is! Now get to it. You’ve got three-and-a-half days!
Top 10 Posts for April 2014
Here they are: Movie Review: Riddick (2013) (or, I’m Going to Mega Rant Now) A Cereal Metaphor for the SFF Community Speculative Fiction 2014: Announcement and Call for Submissions! Top 10 Overused Fantasy Cliches Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies Since 2010 (Thus Far) Kim Stanley Robinson and Exposition (or, No More James Patterson, Please) Movie Review Rant : Catching Fire (2013) Adventures in Teaching Literature: David Henry Hwang and the Ethnic Debate Top 10 Cats in Science Fiction and Fantasy 2014 Hugo Nominee Ballot: The Full List + 1939 Retro-Hugo Nominees An interesting mix, don’t you think?