Thomas M. Disch’s Wake
For those that are interested, here are some pictures from the wake of the late Thomas M. Disch. Looks like it was more fun that sadness, which is always good. Thanks to Matt Staggs for pointing them out to me and thanks to Jacob Weisman of Tachyon Publications for taking the pictures and thus giving them to Matt. (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
London Lit Plus Goes Plus (Hopefully)
London Lit Plus, the supposed fringe of London’s book festival, is looking for a new managerial team. In fact, a new team full stop. Apparently they want someone who can take it to the next level, since the current team are no longer able to do so. If you’re interested in the gig, check out here.
METAtropolis: Free Download
For those that don’t know what METAtropolis is, I’ll give you the official description: Welcome to a world where big cities are dying, dead – or transformed into technological megastructures. Where once-thriving suburbs are now treacherous Wilds. Where those who live for technology battle those who would die rather than embrace it. It is a world of zero-footprint cities, virtual nations, and armed camps of eco-survivalists. Welcome to the dawn of uncivilization. METAtropolis is an intelligent and stunning creation of five of today’s cutting-edge science-fiction writers: 2008 Hugo Award winners John Scalzi and Elizabeth Bear; Campbell Award winner Jay Lake; plus fan favorites Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder. Together they set the ground rules and developed the parameters of this “shared universe”, then wrote five original novellas – all linked, but each a separate tale. Bringing this audiobook to life is a dream team of performers: Battlestar Galactica‘s Michael Hogan (“Saul Tigh”); Alessandro Juliani (“Felix Gaeta”); and Kandyse McClure (“Anastasia ‘Dee’ Dualla”); plus legendary audiobook narrators Scott Brick (Dune) and Stefan Rudnicki (Ender’s Game). John Scalzi, who served as Project Editor, introduces each story, offering insight into how the METAtropolis team created this unique project exclusively for digital audio. And apparently the good folks over at Audible are offering Jay Lake’s story “In the Forest of the Night” for free! Talk about a good deal, eh? You can find the free download here. Yay for free stuff! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Orbis Call for Subs
Orbis is an interesting little magazine from here in the UK. Their next issue is the Culture issue. Tell a friend – tell all your friends. Many thanks. Best,Carolewww.kudoswriting.wordpress.com Capital poems wanted for Orbis 145, Special Issue on the theme of Culture* (see below) Or Liverpool Or from poets with some link to the City, eg, used to play in a band there when I was in Uni – but not if your neighbour used to live near somebody who used to know somebody who said their sister’s friend may have gone out with Ringo… Deadline: September 30 Via email 2 poems Or 1 piece of prose; maximum 1000 words (extracts can also be considered), stating word count Article suggestions also welcome You are also welcome to join the Orbis Group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=53636000056 Best wishes, Carole www.kudoswriting.wordpress.com * OK, since you ask, and quite a few have: Culture may be defined in any way you wish, or see below – but nowt to do with petri dishes, please: 1. a. The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. b. These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population: Edwardian culture; Japanese culture; the culture of poverty. c. These patterns, traits, and products considered with respect to a particular category, such as a field, subject, or mode of expression: religious culture in the Middle Ages; musical culture; oral culture. d. The predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization. 2. Intellectual and artistic activity and the works produced by it. 3. a. Development of the intellect through training or education. b. Enlightenment resulting from such training or education. 4. A high degree of taste and refinement formed by aesthetic and intellectual training. 5. Special training and development: voice culture for singers and actors. **** Orbis International Literary Journal 144, Summer 2008 Front cover artwork, ‘Airing Out II’; back: ‘Marbles XXVI’ by Candy Witcher: www.candywitcher.com Featured Writer Neetha Kunaratnam: Reverie, The Closing Sequence Knole Park I Fantasy; II MeditationPoems Marianne Burton: The River Flowing under the Bank of England Dreams of Power John Temple Finnigan: Cartoon Desert Island Love Poem Lydia Fulleylove: Prose Sculpture 1 Samarkand Oliver Rice: Notes for Tell Elvira Prose Sally Douglas: Nocturne Oz Hardwick: The Illuminated Dreamer Article Pat Farrington: From Paradise to Apocalypse? Some historical contrasts in Nature poetry Translation Ion Pop, Trei puncte (Three Dots, trans by Adam J. Sorkin and Ioana Ieronim) At last, bring some sunshine into your world, Travelling hopefully with David Callin, or join Peter Butler and Mr & Mrs Woofit in Paradise. Never mind the snake in the grass (OK, tree), go for A bird in the hand, like Jane Morley. And even if Noel Williams is Skating close, Lynne Bassler can tell you about Meditation After Four Days and Nights. Maybe that’s the result of A Fairytale in Words from Jonathan Attrill – sounds like it, according to June Hall in A Lipping Moon. But if you fancy being an Oneironaut, Catherine Chandler-Oliveira can reveal all. Please refer to guidelines at www.kudoswriting.wordpress.com before submitting work Requirements Besides poems, and occasionally upbeat doesn’t come amiss, Orbis welcomes prose, 500 to 1000 words, suggestions for cover artwork and features, eg the Past Master Section, or indeed, Past Mistress. 500 to 1000 words; ideas in first instance, not completed articles: subjects for discussion, technical, topical etc: (we should) use as little punctuation as possible but also think of it as notation – to speed up lines, slow them down.
Troglodyte Rose.com Goes Live!
Check out http://www.troglodyterose.com and check out ‘Who is Troglodyte Rose?’. Further updates to follow every week.
I’ve Been Sanderized
So, apparently William Sanders noticed my blog post about him the other day, which was partially in response to some things that Joe Sherry posted. And, in typical Sanders fashion, he’s opened up a lovely discussion about me, even though he claims to not care what I think. We all believe that.I don’t much care to go into a rant about his comments this time around, partly because I’ve already discussed it in the comments section of the original thread he’s upset about. A few points do need to be made, though, but I’ll be relatively brief. I think at this point we’re more than aware of Sanders’s (yes I used the correct apostrophe this time) attitude and the manner in which he addresses people, particularly those he doesn’t like. Sanders may very well be a nice guy in real life, Internet personas being what they are, but professionalism is certainly not his strong suit.So, to the points: Yes, I was aware that the “interview” that Sanders did was a mock interview. That’s sort of the whole point, isn’t it? Am I the only one that finds it remarkably pathetic that someone has to create a fake interview with themselves in order to do whatever it is that Sanders is doing? Setting the record straight, perhaps? Sanders isn’t nearly as clever as the people over at The Onion, who actually do trick people from time to time. But, I’m glad he got a sense of joy out of it, silly as it is. There’s certainly plenty that was not correctly understood about Sanders’s statements in his rejection. Still, the word “sheethead” is not the same as “shithead,” as he so aptly claims, and rightfully shares similarities to slang terms used for blacks or certain groups of Asian descent. Perhaps one should look at the comments in this post to get a clear idea of what “sheethead” means to some people. Sanders may very well think that he’s just referring to a small group of people, but other people can’t possibly know at any time what he’s actually thinking, and for him not to realize that many people are aware of the more negative aspect of the term he used, or at least not to acknowledge it when it was brought to light, is one his failings. So Sanders meant something else by the term, but he wasn’t man enough to acknowledge that other people don’t see it the same way and that it was an error in judgment, or at least a moment of educational clarity and that he was at least sorry for the misunderstanding? Apologizing for something that simple is really not that hard. This is like the Don Imus of the interwebs. Wait, no it’s not. Imus publicly apologized. I did incorrectly state “ads” in my original post. I meant to say links. That was an incorrect assumption on my part when I read a blog post referring to the removal of advertising for Helix. What they meant was link advertising–such as a blogroll. I said “if” Sanders works in this business, not when. Whether he wants to work in it again or not is irrelevant, as is the fact that he’s retired. One can still work and be retired. Helix might have been a non-profit venture, but work was still done on the project. It’s not like Sanders just went, “Poof. There you go.” Unless he’s Jesus or something, which is highly unlikely. I’m actually quite happy that Sanders took the time out of his day to open a discussion about me, being so unknown as I am. I’m glad he got a laugh too. I certainly laughed at his post about me, and the previous things he’s said in regards to this whole issue. He wouldn’t be saying the things he says if he wasn’t enjoying it would he? Well, maybe, but so be it.I also appreciate the free traffic. True, it’s negative publicity, but I checked my feed thing today and I’ve gained several new readers on both email and RSS. So, that makes me happy. I think it’s pretty silly that one of the things being discussed is my first name, as if Shaun is really the worst thing to happen to English-language names. Really, there are worse names to be concerned about, like Apple or Pilot Inspector. Shaun is a relatively common spelling and really not that big of a deal. It’s not like I’m named Schauwnne. I was criticized for my misuse of copyright stuff at the bottom of my site. I admit, I don’t know a whole lot in regards to copyright or Creative Commons. I’ve changed it a bit, but if anyone still has suggestions on how to improve that section, feel free to let me know. I have been misusing the apostrophe. Having been corrected and having researched it, I can say that I was improperly taught on the use of apostrophes at the end of names with Ss. Now I know and knowing is half the battle. Thanks for the help–to the people who left comments on my original post. Mr. Sanders: it’s not too late to grow up, even just a little. Really. I think that’s all. If anyone else has something to add, go for it.