You’ve Got It, More Links For you Genre Folks! (Part Two)
I’m almost through all of my links. One more post after this. There’s just a lot of interesting stuff in here. I’m saving a few items for deeper discussion. Still, here is part two of the links! The Anthology Builder. Everyone else has talked about it, but here I am to bring it up again. Possibly one of the coolest ideas ever. Think about all the things you wish the record companies would let you do in your local Walmart with artist tracks and apply that to short stories. That’s what AB does. You can build your own anthology! Apparently, according to this article provided by Futurismic, sperm actually can affect the psychological behavior of a female. At least that’s so in fruit flies. I wonder if it does anything to female humans… Stargate is real! No, not really, but if you look at the image provided in this article at Futurismic you’ll start to wonder. Apparently some physics students are trying to accelerate two particles at high speeds, collide them, and create new particles that haven’t been seen before. It sounds like science fiction doesn’t it? I wonder if they’ll accidentally discover wormholes. Dusk Before Dawn talks about why Asimov’s three laws will be almost impossible to implement. I have to agree that at this point his laws would be beyond our capabilities. TimesOnline lists the 50 greatest British authors since 1945. George Orwell happens to be number two. Represent. (Courtesy of SF Signal) Rumor has it that Richard Matheson, the author of I Am Legend, has sold the rights to a sequel to the film adaptation with Will Smith. Needless to say it’s not hard to see why. The film has raked in over 220 million dollars, which puts it well above its budget. Hopefully the sequel will be good too. (Courtesy of SF Signal) What about strange machine animals? Look no further than Nantes in France. These bizarre machine creatures have sprung up there. Truly brilliant design I must say. Looks like that was a hell of a project to work for. (Courtesy of SF Signal) Curious what sf/f authors have popped up in the movies? Well, look no further than here. Well, maybe look further, as it does miss some things (namely the fact that Arthur Conan Doyle was in Shanghai Knights), but it’s really interesting nonetheless. (Courtesy of SF Signal) Not sure if I mentioned this before, but here is a brilliant website that helps clear up all that confusing mess about the ten dimensions. Meaning, it’s sort of like complex science for us folks who don’t really want to deal with long words and such. A dictionary of symbolism, for those of you interested in that sort of stuff. A medieval sword resource, with lots of pictures and information about swords from those crazy days. This is probably the coolest thing done with dinosaurs that I have ever seen. Imagine seeing dinosaurs moving as if they were real, but not CG or any of that. Massive puppets with realistic movements! Well, bulletproof vests didn’t give us Robocop, but research by some nanotech folks just might. This article talks about how scientists may have figured out how to create a nano-vest that can stop bullets and repel their force! By the way, in a few years we won’t have to argue about how we get stem cells. So, to all those of you who are complaining about our current methods, here is the wave of the future. They’ve figured out how to use human skin cells to get just about any cell type they want. With growing concern with China’s space program, which has just demonstrated that they have the capability to knock satellites out of the sky, the U.S. is working on a program of their own to take care of those threats that might exist out there now or in the future. It’s dubbed the ‘Falcon’. It’s a super-sonic craft that can deliver a hell of a payload to any location on the planet in minutes. No doubt it’s expensive. Beam Me Up talks about ten books that should be movies. I would argue that Asimov’s Foundation would be near impossible to make into a good movie, but I can see a lot of the others working out. On the other side is AV Club’s list of 20 good books that were turned into bad movies. I don’t agree on Bicentennial Man, because I enjoyed the movie. I never read the book though. It’s an interesting list nonetheless. I don’t agree with their assessment of Stardust either. Here is a huge list of places you can get free books. Some of them are book-swap places and others are e-book sites. I assume all are legit. SFWA has a great checklist for critiquing science fiction. Give it a read and keep it saved somewhere. A chronological bibliography of science fiction history, criticism, and theory. I love it! That’s my Christmas wishlist for the rest of my life by the way. The great thing about Google is that you can find all sorts of amazing free stuff on there. Like this book about Bernard Shaw on Google Books. 30+ tools for the amateur writer. The name explains it all. The grand list of overused science fiction cliches. I’m sure there is some version of this out there for fantasy too. Top 15 best movie sequels at The List Universe. There are a lot of science fiction and fantasy nods in there. Meat, the hilarious science fiction play by Terry Bisson! I love it. I think I linked to a theatrical production of it at one point. It’s brilliant! Remoting Future is a brilliant website that uses a bunch of web clocks counting down the various futures of science fiction worlds (Dune and Blade Runner) and even real world ‘futures’ (Y2K). Some of the clocks have passed, obviously, and are simply counting the other direction now, but it’s really interesting to see what futures just
You’ve Got It, More Links For you Genre Folks! (Part One)
This is a huge bunch of links, so you’re in for a bit of a treat, I think. I’m unloading all the links I’ve acquired in the last few weeks both on my laptop and my desktop. I’m going to split it up between several posts. Here goes: Red Meat, an interesting little web comic, has a hilarious strip about God, L. Ron Hubbard, and Philip K. Dick. Read it, it’ll tickle your fancy. (Courtesy of SF Signal) There’s been talk going around of a convention focusing on young adult science fiction and fantasy. You can check it out here. My thoughts? I’m so in. I would love to be a part of this. Planetocopia. What is it? A truly bizarre project that tries to recreate Earth’s that might have existed visually. What would the Earth look like if the poles were tilted? There are various other planets no there too, some real and some science fiction. Truly interesting project. Need a list of old European terms for nobility and titles? Well, here you go. Or, perhaps you’re wanting some real historical perspectives on actual mad men and women that once lived and terrorized people? Here’s a link to an e-book that talks about medieval life and the 100 years war. Also, a pictorial glossary of armor terms (primarily medieval). Dave’s Mythological Creatures and Places is a nice website that gives you quite a bit of information on those subjects. Worldbuilding, of course, is a fantasy writer’s best friend. Most of you have seen this already, but here are Patricia C. Wrede’s worldbuilding questions. Also, Rutgers has an awesome collection of stuff to help develop the background of your fictional world. And, Seventh Sanctum has some articles too. Project Gutenberg. Need free stuff to read? Here’s the place to go. Lots of old books that are now public domain! The Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time. (Courtesy of SF Signal) The Washington Post lists some great scifi for people that don’t like scifi. I think the list is a little antiquated, but in some ways it makes sense. Seems that Anne McCaffery has sold the rights to The Dragonriders of Pern to Hollywood. Maybe we’ll have ourselves some movies! 20 things you didn’t know about aliens! Brilliant list by the way! (Courtesy of SF Signal I think) Every so often someone comes up with a really cool invention that makes something else look even cooler. And here it is. You know those cool sliding doors on Lamborghini’s? Well how about doors that actually fold into the car? No more worrying about parking too close and banging your door on the car next to you! Pullman is writing another book in the same world as the His Dark Materials books. That’s good news for his fans. The moon, apparently, is actually 30 million years younger and more Earth-like. Read about it here. Guess what? The One Ring to Rule Them All actually works. Okay, well not really, but scientists at the University of Maryland have figured out how to cloak very small particles. Sound cool? That’s because it is! This company is apparently working on making hydrogen fuel cells a commercial reality. I’m keeping on eye on them for sure. Anyone think it’s a good investment for the future? By the way, this device now allows me to see you in the shower. Not that I’d use it for that. Actually, it seems to work somewhat like radar, only using an irradiate beam like a portable x-ray machine. So, I probably wouldn’t see much more than bones. The Amish probably don’t know this, but they’ve been referenced a lot in science fiction. Find out where at this link! Want to make your own steampunk candle? Well, it’s not all that hard! Go here to find out how! A. R. Yngve talks about fads and fashions in science fiction. It’s funny, so read it! Justine Larbalestier talks about re-writing. Futurismic brings us the lovely news that oil has hit $100 a barrel, which is a record. Of course, this means that oil companies are lining their pockets with record profits and doing nothing to develop alternate fuel sources. Then again, why would they? They’re rich while the rest of us have to deal with oil prices that are a load of bull. The 100 Year Letter Project! Send an electronic letter to the children of the future! It’s really interesting. Look at things people are already sending. The Universal Digital Library with a million books! Lots of free reading in there. Need something funny? How about this dramatic prairie dog? I laughed my butt off. It’s not funny without the music, but with the music, it’s a riot. Or maybe you’d like to see Bush talking about his plans to fight off the zombies? For something beautiful, check out this video of Bjork’s song “All Is Full Of Love”. I know, it’s Bjork, but watch the video. Heck, turn off the music if you don’t like her and just watch. It’s really amazing what they did for this music video. I can’t remember where I got this, but the lolcat bible. The best way to describe this is if humans didn’t exist, and cats took over the world, what would the Bible look like? Here’s a list of ten cliches to avoid in science fiction. (Courtesy of SF Signal, I think) How much is your blog worth? Mine is apparently worth $25,968.84. Anyone want to buy it? I’m willing to sell for half that! This is ancient news, but Tobias S. Buckell released the cover for his new novel Sly Mongoose set in the same universe as Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin. Needless to say, I’m stoked to read the book! The List Universe has this top ten things you didn’t know the ancients had. Heated indoor swimming pools? Yeah, they had them first.
Christmas Ruminations and Other Stuff
Alright, I know I’ve been talking a lot about stuff that isn’t really genre related (stuff about me, stuff about shopping, stuff about whatever), so, this will be the last post about ‘me’ type stuff for a while. I am working on a huge list of links I’ve acquired over the last few weeks of stuff that might interest you guys. So here goes the last bit of stuff about ‘me’: I’ve added a post that I placed so it is way in the bottom that is basically information about what I will review and the like. The link is on the left over there at the top, or go here. Basically I wanted to be very clear about what I want to review so publishers or authors or even editors know and perhaps will contact me. I like doing reviews! I have three interviews coming up (I’ve been yapping about them for forever). Dana Copithorne emailed me to let me know she got caught up in some school stuff and that she’s working on things, but I also have submitted questions to Dave A. Law who was one of the editors of The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction Volume One, and also to Jennifer Rahn who wrote The Longevity Thesis. Hopefully I’ll have those interviews this month. *crosses fingers* I’m going to be starting The Spellweaver of Dern this month at some point. Expect the first chapter by the end of the month. I’m thinking of the best way to start the story right now. I know what’s going to happen in the first quarter, I just don’t know where would be the best place to start–right at the end of the WISB or after some time has lapsed. School starts next Tuesday! I’m somewhat excited and bummed at the same time. I didn’t know that enrollment was open until seven days after, so all the courses I had originally wanted to take were full, and then I discovered too late that there are actually two courses that are on science fiction and I don’t think I can take them because they may not apply to my literature degree, which irritates me. I’m going to talk with a counselor at the university and see if there’s something I can work out with them or with the professors. If there’s some way I could make it apply, whether that be doing extra work or whatever, then I want to do it because both classes sound really interesting. It just figures there are few lit courses on the subject. I have to start thinking about graduate school because I may be getting my BA in December 2008. I am looking for a program that will allow me to study science fiction and/or fantasy literature. If anyone knows of one here in the states or in Canada or the UK, please let me know and give me a link. I’m willing to go out of country for my MA or PhD. The problem is finding the programs, which seem to be eluding my Google searches. I know they exist, but where? Christmas turned out okay after it had happened. I got some nice stuff. Yes, I know, Christmas isn’t about presents, but sometimes you just get some good stuff. Most of my actual gifts occurred after the date when I spent my Christmas money. What did I get? I have pictures to show it!First, I got two pairs of pants and two funny shirts. You should be able to read the shirts okay I think.I also got some books and some movies. The great thing about places like Dimple’s is that you can get movies for dirt cheap (3 or 4 bucks for new movies). The only new movie in the lot is my guilty pleasure–Jackass. The books are awesome too! Oh, and there’s a CD in there that turned out to be pretty decent. I need to listen to it again though. Christmas surely had some downsides to it. My power went out Christmas night. That wouldn’t be a really big problem except that I was going to make a video for my girlfriend and also all my animals happen to require power to keep them warm (I keep lizards). So it was sort of crap. There were some problems the following day too, but things are somewhat sorted. I think that’s sufficient junk about me! Back to discussions and links and other such goodness about speculative fiction!
The Good and the Bad for Jan. 2nd, 2008
We’ll start with the bad first, simply because I’d like to end on a happy note anyway. By the way, I am thoroughly convinced that when given the choice of going with the good news or the bad news first, you should always start with the bad. End happy, don’t start happy and go to bad!So, the bad: I don’t have a new place yet. I think the place I just checked out and did an ‘interview’ for won’t be picking me, so I’m still not going to have a place. Which sucks cause that place was really in a great location and a great price. But that’s life. I’m horrendously behind on things I’m supposed to be doing. My girlfriend is approximately 5,261 miles away. I still haven’t a clue what I got in Literary Interpretation because the grade hasn’t been submitted. My country is being absolutely idiotic right now. And the good: I have lots of great reading ahead of me. Paul Genesse just sent me an advanced copy of The Golden Cord (The Iron Dragon Series Book One)! I’m looking forward to it! I’ve listed a whole bunch of stuff on ebay. Go bid and buy my stuff people. It’s for a good cause. I got some awesome presents this year. Yes, I know the holiday isn’t about that, but there’s nothing wrong with being happy for what you got! My girlfriend is amazing. That’s good for obvious reasons. Umm…well I know I have other things that are good, I just can’t remember them right now. So, yeah!
Totals For 2007 and New Years Resolutions (Sorta)
First things first, an explanation of the totals. I haven’t been keeping track of the totals all year, so these are, more or less, only totals since October. I’ve written considerably more when you take into account that I finished WISB this year, among other projects. So the totals are: Words Written: 26,855Words Edited: 44,200Submissions: 6Rejections: 4 (2 pending) Next year is going to be much better though. I have several short stories waiting to be edited, a lot of stuff still being written, etc. Now for my New Years Resolutions. Well, these aren’t really resolutions, but more like “things I want to do for ’08”: Start The Spellweaver of Dern (book two of the Satin Bag series) and finish it by October (130,000 words). Start Wellmere (working title) with my girlfriend and get about halfway by this time ’08 (100,000 words). Finish Marx Ignatia (25,000 words). Submit Death By Poking, Asher, Marx Ignatia, and any others sitting in limbo. Get published (with anything really, but preferably with a short story). Finish The Lies of Venicia by summer (95,000 words). Step up my writing ten-fold. That means write more, submit more, and finish more novels. Read a lot of review books (this is sort of a given). Read more young adult fantasy/sf (yes, I actually would love to read more stuff in this genre, but I’ve not received much yet and I don’t really know where to go to request review copies for this stuff–maybe someone could throw my name out?). Get good grades (also sort of a given). Figure out where I want to go for graduate school (yes, I actually have to think about this even though I just got here because my adviser told me I could technically graduate in fall of ’08). Fly to England to visit my girlfriend. Sell a bunch of stuff I don’t need anymore (pay attention to my ebay because I’m going to put up a bunch of books, dvds, cds, etc. in the next few weeks). Start and podcast. I actually really want to do this and Lindsey, my girlfriend, thought it sounded fun. We might do it. I’m hoping so. We have to talk about it more though. I think that’s it…I might edit that list at some point later. 2008 is looking to be a ‘writerly’ year for me. I’m trying to step things up considerably. I’m getting close to graduating and I have a lot to think about… Happy New Year by the way!
Shaun’s Quick Steps to Surviving Zombies!
Yes, I realize there is a book on this subject, but I figure a nice, quick list can do some good here. After all, I’ve been planning my life around the creation of zombies for a long time. OK, that last bit isn’t really true, but I do think about it and I know what I’m going to do. So here are the steps: Arm yourself. The first thing you always do is arm yourself. Never walk anywhere, drive anywhere, or even fall down anywhere without a weapon. If you can’t find a gun in your immediate vicinity, get a large, heavy, blunt object (a sturdy golf club works, or even a towel hanger–bats, clubs, and the like work too). This is the precursor to everything else. You cannot survive zombies if you can’t defend yourself. Take all your nails, hammers, screwdrivers, screws, and any other relevant hardware, including rope. If you don’t have these things, steal them from next door. If they don’t have them, then you’re screwed. Sorry, you can’t even barricade yourself in your home without nails and a hammer. My advice is to hide and take a lot of sleeping pills so you don’t wake up. The zombies will get you eventually. Or, well, plan better next time. The biggest rule of all: regardless of the type of zombies you are dealing with, if you have to fight, hit them in the head. Always. Period. If you have a gun, DO NOT shoot them in the chest or the leg and think they will stop. No, go for the head. It saves bullets and energy. Get in your car and take your family and any living neighbors with you. This is crucial. If you want to survive, you need reliable people with you. If anyone you encounter is bitten, shoot them. This sounds cruel, but the infection travels through bites, exposure to infected blood, saliva, and yes, even other fluids–it’s an STD too. If you absolutely must take someone who is infected with you, keep a close eye on them and the second they die, or seem to have died, shoot them or hit them in the head. The first rule of surviving this is realizing that people who have become zombies are no longer the people you once knew. Your zombie mother is not your mother. It’s an evil demon using your mother as a carrier for its sickness. Once in your car and with those you trust who aren’t infected, drive and do not stop. Again, this sounds cruel, but one huge mistake you can do in your survival is stopping for people you don’t know. They could be infected, or stopping could ruin your ability to do the next steps. Go to a gun store or anywhere you think there will be guns. Gun stores are best because they carry a wide range of weapons and ammo. Take everything you can. Everyone should have a rifle, a sidearm, an extra sidearm, and then another sidearm, and ammo for all of them. Shotguns are good, high powered rifles are good, but basically anything that has the potential to break through a human skull works. Automatic weapons are best, if you can find them. You need more ammo than you do guns, so make sure you take more ammo than seems necessary. Leave the gun store and don’t linger. If zombies are about, you can’t risk sitting around shooting them. Get in your car and move. There is no time for revenge here. Find a supermarket. Steps 6 and 7 can be skipped if you have one of those super stores that has everything (i.e. Walmart). Take over the supermarket. Sweep the entire place, lock all the doors, clear out anyone inside that is infected or a zombie, and take it over. Barricade all the windows, doors, etc. If you think you had done a good job, you haven’t. Supermarkets have a lot of shelfs, metal, etc. All this should be used to get all those windows barricaded and the same goes for doors. Do it more than you think is necessary. Provisions. The hardest part. You’ve got yourself a supermarket. Congrats. But you’re not over the hump yet. Zombie infestations can last days, weeks, months, even years. You have to be prepared. First things first. Eat only produce and foods that require refrigeration first. Leave all the canned goods alone. You’ll need those canned goods. This is the time to have your last really good meals because, well, there’s a lot of food in there, and if the power goes out, well all that produce and meat goes bad. Enjoy it while you can. This might be the last bit of fresh food you’ll have for a while.While you’re enjoying this, find the second in the supermarket where there are seeds. A lot of supermarkets have potting soil and the like. Get all this and hoist up some stuff to help you plant things. Start planting anything and everything you can on the roof that is edible. Plant all of it and don’t screw up. Your life depends on it.Next, water. There is bound to be a lot of bottled stuff in a super market, but you can’t rely on that as a valid source, and fresh water is always better anyway. Find all the buckets, etc. and put them up on the roof where there is room. These will be used to catch rain water. They’ll be beneficial in the long run to provide fresh water to you when you need it.Congrats, if you’ve done all the above, you’re set! You can now survive. Just ration out the canned food and make sure everyone get only what they need and you’re good to go. The last thing is this: be prepared for other people to figure out where you are. Be prepared to face the harsh decision to turn people away, or to kill people who are infected. If someone shows up