The blog has been migrated to the new host ISP, and I have pointed the DNS at it. That seems to have taken, the evidence being that all comments left after about 10 am local time at the old site disappeared.
So I will resume posting content and we’ll see how things shake out.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018, ***1/2) with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Helmsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johannson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Guria, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt and Josh Brolin. Screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on The Avengers by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.
Bechdel Test: Passes, in spades.
We’ve come a long way since we were first introduced to the cinematic version of Marvel Comic’s Tony Stark, the “billionaire genius playboy philanthropist”, the first protagonist of the Marvel’s movie universe. The success of the 2008 movie has spawned eighteen loosely interconnected sequels which culminate the ultimate Marvel extravaganza, Avengers: Infinity War, which premieres today.
This was the conflict that we have long-awaited since the tantalizing appearance of uber-villain Thanos in an extra scene at the end of the first Avengers film in 2012. He’s an alien with a very specific goal; obtaining the six mystical stones of Time, Mind, Reality, Power, Space and Soul, that when fitted into a specially designed gauntlet, to become the most powerful entity in the universe.
Although this story has already played out in a series of comics published in 1992, millions of movie fans are anxiously awaiting what screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo have in store for the twenty-two assembled heroes.
Looking back over the past decade’s worth of superhero films, Marvel Studios is clearly triumphant in every sense of the word, culturally, critically and especially financially. Despite their best efforts, the competition from DC Comic’s entries has only seen some marginal gains at the box office. Their next release, Aquaman, is scheduled far, far away from this weekend, which should see the record box office receipts either match or exceed the opening grossed of Marvel’s previous film, Black Panther.
And as all of this is unfolding, I cannot help but wonder if with this release, the superhero movie is approaching the apex of its popularity with the film going public. How can any studio, even Marvel, go any higher, keep up the esthetic pace and production values before it loses its audience and the whole enterprise collapses in on itself?
And the real question everyone should be asking is does Kevin Feige KNOW when these movies have reached a saturation point and go out on top? Speculation has been running rampant about which high-priced actors and/or characters character will die or survive the calamitous encounter with Thanos. Is there a calculated plan to keep the Marvel Cinematic Universe alive for another decade?
Needless to say, if Marvel keeps delivering films like Infinity War, it ‘s guaranteed that they’ll will be around for around for at least another decade.
As the film opens, Thanos and his enforcers have attacked and overrun the ship containing the survivors of the destruction of Asgard. Although a wounded Thor doesn’t know it at that moment, his brother Loki possesses the Space Stone (otherwise called “the Tesseract” in previous films).
Meanwhile, Thanos’s agents are on Earth seeking the Time Stone from Doctor Strange and the Mind Stone, which is resting in the forehead of one of the Avengers, The Vision. Wanda and Vision are ambushed in Scotland, Captain America, Black Widow and the Falcon arrive to help.
When alien craft land in Manhattan, Iron Man and Spider-Man swing into action. The Guardians of the Galaxy are drawn into the action when they rescue Thor and discover that Thanos has attacked the Nova Corps home base and has the Power Stone. Realizing that her step-father may be close to obtaining all six stones, Glamora makes a strange and compelling request of Peter Quill…
As these story threads are spun out on Earth and throughout the galaxy, other heroes and villains will be drawn together in a deadly game of pursuit and combat. And at the center of it all is Thanos, powerful, regal and seemingly omnipotent, he sees as the savior who must destroy half the universe in order to save. As portrayed in motion capture by Josh Brolin, he exudes a single-minded passion in his quest for genocide.
I must say that I have to admire the audaciousness and skill of the Russo brothers in making Infinity War. I have already heard some criticism regarding the story being too spread out and the short shrift some characters receive in the exposition of the story. My only comment as a long time reviewer and lifelong fan is that this movie could not have possible been executed any better and in any other way.
And believe me; nothing can prepare you for the ending of the movie. Prepare yourselves to be shocked, bewildered and dismayed. There is only one extra scene, a cryptic shot that takes place after all the credits have run. It provides a single ray of hope that may hold the key to salvation.
In the meantime, enjoy Ant-Man and the Wasp, which opens on July 6th.
File 770 has been having some ISP problems which have now been diagnosed. At this moment the blog is accessible. This may not last because the problems have not been fixed.
I will soon move File 770 to a new ISP. Whether this will result in any lost content (e.g., comments left after a certain time) remains to be seen.
The Mystery Writers of America named the winners of the 2018 Edgar Allan Poe Awards on April 26. The awards honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced last year.
BEST NOVEL
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown & Co./Mulholland Books)
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper (HarperCollins – Ecco)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola (Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Landmark)
BEST FACT CRIME
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Chester B. Himes: A Biography by Lawrence P. Jackson (W.W. Norton & Company)
BEST SHORT STORY
“Spring Break” – New Haven Noir by John Crowley (Akashic Books)
BEST JUVENILE
Vanished! by James Ponti (Simon & Schuster – Aladdin)
BEST YOUNG ADULT
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (Simon & Schuster – Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Somebody to Love” – Fargo, Teleplay by Noah Hawley (FX Networks/MGM)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
“The Queen of Secrets” – New Haven Noir by Lisa D. Gray (Akashic Books)
GRAND MASTER
Jane Langton
William Link
Peter Lovesey
RAVEN AWARD
Kristopher Zgorski, BOLO Books
The Raven Bookstore, Lawrence Kansas
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
Robert Pépin
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
The Widow’s House by Carol Goodman (HarperCollins – William Morrow Paperbacks)
Topping the nominations are two works done by women. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (Fantagraphics) by first-time graphic novelist Emil Ferris is nominated in 5 categories: Best Graphic Album–New, Best Writer/Artist, Best Coloring, Best Lettering, and Best Publication Design. Image’s Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda is nominated for Best Continuing Series and Best Publication for Teens, Liu is nominated for Best Writer, and Takeda is nominated for Best Painter and Best Cover Artist.
The 2018 Eisner Awards judging panel consists of librarian Candice Mack (Los Angeles Public Library), comics reviewer/journalist Graeme McMillan (i09, Wired, Hollywood Reporter), comics retailer Tate Ottati (Tate’s Comics, Lauderhill, FL), comics scholar Nhora Serrano (Hamilton College, Clinton, NY), writer/artist/educator Alexander Simmons (Blackjack, Scooby Doo, Archie; Kids Comic Con), and longtime Comic-Con volunteer William Wilson (anime/manga expert).
Best Short Story
“Ethel Byrne,” by Cecil Castelluci and Scott Chantler, in Mine: A Celebration of Liberty and Freedom for All Benefiting Planned Parenthood (ComicMix)
“Forgotten Princess,” by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Antonio Sandoval, in Adventure Time Comics #13 (kaboom!)
“Small Mistakes Make Big Problems,” by Sophia Foster-Dimino, in Comics for Choice (Hazel Newlevant)
“Trans Plant,” by Megan Rose Gedris, in Enough Space for Everyone Else (Bedside Press)
Best Single Issue/One-Shot
Barbara, by Nicole Miles (ShortBox)
Hellboy: Krampusnacht, by Mike Mignola and Adam Hughes (Dark Horse)
Pope Hats #5, by Ethan Rilly (AdHouse Books)
The Spotted Stone, by Rick Veitch (Sun Comics)
What Is Left, by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (ShortBox)
Best Continuing Series
Black Hammer, by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, and David Rubín (Dark Horse)
Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Liz Fleming (BOOM! Box)
Hawkeye, by Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero, and Mike Walsh (Marvel)
Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
The Wicked + The Divine, by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie (Image)
Best Limited Series
Black Panther: World of Wakanda, by Roxane Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Alitha E. Martinez (Marvel)
Extremity, by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image/Skybound)
The Flintstones, by Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, Rick Leonardi, and Scott Hanna (DC)
Mister Miracle, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (DC)
X-Men: Grand Design, by Ed Piskor (Marvel)
Best New Series
Black Bolt, by Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward (Marvel)
Grass Kings, by Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins (BOOM! Studios)
Maestros, by Steve Skroce (Image)
Redlands, by Jordie Belaire and Vanesa Del Rey (Image)
Royal City, by Jeff Lemire (Image)
Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)
Adele in Sand Land, by Claude Ponti, translated by Skeeter Grant and Françoise Mouly (Toon Books)
Arthur and the Golden Rope, by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye/Nobrow)
Egg, by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books)
Good Night, Planet, by Liniers (Toon Books)
Little Tails in the Savannah, by Frederic Brrémaud and Federico Bertolucci, translated by Mike Kennedy (Lion Forge/Magnetic)
Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12)
Bolivar, by Sean Rubin (Archaia)
Home Time (Book One): Under the River, by Campbell Whyte (Top Shelf)
Nightlights, by Lorena Alvarez (Nobrow)
The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie O’Neill (Oni)
Wallace the Brave, by Will Henry (Andrews McMeel)
Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
The Dam Keeper, by Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi (First Second/Tonko House)
Jane, by Aline Brosh McKenna and Ramón K. Pérez (Archaia)
Louis Undercover, by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault, translated by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi)
Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)
Spinning, by Tillie Walden (First Second)
Best Humor Publication
Baking with Kafka, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)
Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1, by Tom King, Lee Weeks, and Byron Vaughn (DC)
The Flintstones, by Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, Rick Leonardi, and Scott Hanna (DC)
Rock Candy Mountain, by Kyle Starks (Image)
Wallace the Brave, by Will Henry (Andrews McMeel)
Best Anthology
A Bunch of Jews (and Other Stuff): A Minyen Yidn, by Max B. Perlson, Trina Robbins et al. (Bedside Press)
A Castle in England, by Jamie Rhodes et al. (Nobrow)
Elements: Fire, A Comic Anthology by Creators of Color, edited by Taneka Stotts (Beyond Press)
Now #1, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
The Spirit Anthology, edited by Sean Phillips (Lakes International Comic Art Festival)
Best Reality-Based Work
Audubon: On the Wings of the World, by Fabien Grolleau and Jerémie Royer, translated by Etienne Gilfillan (Nobrow)
The Best We Could Do, by Thi Bui (Abrams ComicArts)
Calamity Jane: The Calamitous Life of Martha Jane Cannary, 1852–1903, by Christian Perrissin and Matthieu Blanchin, translated by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (IDW)
Lennon: The New York Years, by David Foenkinos, Corbeyran, and Horne, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger (IDW)
Spinning, by Tillie Walden (First Second)
Best Graphic Album—New
Crawl Space, by Jesse Jacobs (Koyama Press)
Eartha, by Cathy Malkasian (Fantagraphics)
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
Stages of Rot, by Linnea Sterte (Peow)
The Story of Jezebel, by Elijah Brubaker (Uncivilized Books)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint
Boundless, by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Fantagraphics Studio Edition: Black Hole by Charles Burns, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
Small Favors: The Definitive Girly Porno Collection, by Colleen Coover (Oni/Limerence)
Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero, by Michael DeForge (Drawn & Quarterly)
Unreal City, by D. J. Bryant (Fantagraphics)
Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Beowulf, adapted by Santiago García and David Rubín (Image)
H. P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translated by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse)
Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, adapted by Christophe Chabouté, translated by Laure Dupont (Dark Horse)
Kindred, by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings (Abrams ComicArts)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Audubon: On the Wings of the World, by Fabien Grolleau and Jerémie Royer, translated by Etienne Gilfillan (Nobrow)
Flight of the Raven, by Jean-Pierre Gibrat, translated by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (EuroComics/IDW)
FUN, by Paolo Bacilieri, translated by Jamie Richards (SelfMadeHero)
Ghost of Gaudi, by El Torres and Jesús Alonso Iglesias, translated by Esther Villardón Grande (Lion Forge/Magnetic)
The Ladies-in-Waiting, by Santiago García and Javier Olivares, translated by Erica Mena (Fantagraphics)
Run for It: Stories of Slaves Who Fought for the Freedom, by Marcelo D’Salete, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
Furari, by Jiro Taniguchi, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Golden Kamuy, by Satoru Noda, translated by Eiji Yasuda (VIZ Media)
My Brother’s Husband, vol. 1, by Gengoroh Tagame, translated by Anne Ishii (Pantheon)
Otherworld Barbara, vol. 2, by Moto Hagio, translated by Matt Thorn (Fantagraphics)
Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories, by Junji Itotranslated by Jocelyne Allen (VIZ Media)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
Celebrating Snoopy, by Charles M. Shulz, edited by Alexis E. Fajardo and Dorothy O’Brien (Andrews McMeel)
Crazy Quilt: Scraps and Panels on the Way to Gasoline Alley, by Frank King, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
Foolish Questions and Other Odd Observations, by Rube Goldberg, edited by Peter Maresca and Paul C. Tumey (Sunday Press Books)
Sky Masters of the Space Force: The Complete Dailies, by Jack Kirby, Wally Wood et al., edited by Daniel Herman (Hermes Press)
Star Wars: The Classic Newspaper Strips, vol. 1, by Russ Manning et al., edited by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
Akira 35th Anniversary Edition, by Katsuhiro Otomo, edited by Haruko Hashimoto, Ajani Oloye, and Lauren Scanlan (Kodansha)
Behaving MADly, edited by Craig Yoe (Yoe Books/IDW)
The Collected Neil the Horse, by Arn Saba/Katherine Collins, edited by Andy Brown (Conundrum)
Fantagraphics Studio Edition: Jaime Hernandez, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Will Eisner: The Centennial Celebration, 1917-2017, by Paul Gravett, Denis Kitchen, and John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse)
Best Writer
Tom King, Batman, Batman Annual #2, Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1, Mister Miracle (DC)
The Eisner Awards judges have selected two individuals to automatically be inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame for 2018, Carol Kalish (pioneering direct sales manager for Marvel Comics), and Jackie Ormes (first black female newspaper cartoonist, for the strip Dixie in Harlem featuring the character Torchy Brown). Voters will select four more inductees.
Carol Kalish (1955–1991)
Carol Kalish served as Direct Sales Manager and Vice President of New Product Development at Marvel Comics from 1981 to 1991. She is credited with pioneering the comics direct market when it was in its adolescence, in part through a program in which Marvel helped pay for comic book stores to acquire cash registers. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Kalish spearheaded the expansion of the Marvel’s distribution into previously unexplored retail outlets, including major bookstores such as B. Daltons and Waldenbooks. In 2010 she was posthumously awarded the first ComicsPRO Industry Appreciation Award.
Jackie Ormes (1911–1985)
Jackie Ormes was the first, and for a long time only, black female newspaper cartoonist. From 1937 to 1938 she wrote and drew Dixie in Harlem comics featuring Torchy Brown. After returning to her roots in journalism, she published Candy, a single-panel cartoon about a witty housemaid in 1945. Then she created Patty-Jo ’n’ Ginger, another single-panel cartoon about a pair of sisters, which ran for 11 years through 1956. Finally, from 1950 to 1954, Ormes revamped Torchy Brown into Torchy in Heartbeats, an 8-page color comic insert, including many paper dolls as was popular in the time.
The judges have also chosen 16 nominees from which voters will select four to be inducted in the Hall of Fame this summer. These nominees are Charles Addams, Jim Aparo, Gus Arriola, Karen Berger, Howard Cruse, Carlos Ezquerra, Dave Gibbons, Paul Levitz, Tarpé Mills, Francoise Mouly, Thomas Nast, Lily Renée Peter Phillips, Posy Simmonds, Rumiko Takahashi, John Wagner, and S. Clay Wilson.
(1) HUGO AUTOPSY. Doctor Strangemind’s Kim Huett, in “They’d Rather Be Right”, promises to explain how in 1955 They’d Rather Be Right, the least popular winner of the Hugo Award for novel ever, managed this surprising feat.
…First though I’d like to point out that while I’ll make what I think are some interesting points, these can only be considered tentative without any input from the fans who voted in 1955. Unfortunately asking those fans is a tad difficult given most of them are no longer alive enough for the likes of me to bother them. What I did instead was the next best thing and examined the historical record. In other words I went and looked through all the fanzines I have in my collection to see what was being written about They’d Rather Be Right back in the 50s.
Unfortunately my collection is not nearly so complete that I can describe the results of this search as being definitive but I do like to think that what I did discover carries some weight. For starters I was only able to find two references to They’d Rather Be Right but interestingly they’re both at odds with the more recent opinions. In Fantasy-Times #214 (January 1955) Thomas Gardener in his annual review of print science fiction describes They’d Rather Be Right as the best novel of 1954 and in Etherline #45 (1955), ‘So far, it’s excellent!’ is the opinion of Tony Santos in regards to the first instalment of the serial in Astounding. Now two positive comments isn’t a lot to go on but it still suggests the novel had a few fans back when it was first published….
(2) RPG. Standback says that this post is “Ostensibly for roleplayers, but it also just picks out awesome tropes from our Beloved Wombat’s works, and I suspect non-roleplayers will enjoy it as well” — “Stealing from T. Kingfisher” at The Overprepared GM.
…Kingfisher has written a set of fantasy short stories whose magic and world-building is rooted somewhere in the deserts of the American Southwest rather than the standard Tolkien/Medieval European fantasy tradition. You want to start by reading Jackalope Wives and then The Tomato Thief (they’re free online, and short stories, so you have no excuse not to click and start reading).
If you’re a world builder, you can read read them just to get insights on how to communicate an original, immersive sense of place without info dumps. Keep in mind, these are short stories/novelettes, not epics. Kingfisher does some serious world building in a very tight format. I think they’re both Hugo winners.
Avengers: Infinity War is — and truly feels like — the culmination of something.
Over the course of many years and many more Marvel Universe films — including some that proved to be hugely successful (Guardians of the Galaxy) and some that proved to be Thor: The Dark World — the proprietors of that universe have been nesting glowy magical gemstones inside their heroes’ stories. We nerdlings familiar with the 1991 Marvel Comics mini-series Infinity Gauntlet (written by Jim Starlin with art by George Perez and Ron Lim) have been waiting patiently for a certain big bald Marvel villain to come along and collect/hoard those sparklies like some kind of purple, cosmically powered space-tyrant/magpie.
Thanos is here at last — an alchemical blend made up of state-of-the-art CGI, an oddly wistful performance from actor Josh Brolin, and Violet Beauregarde’s post-gum skin tone — and he’s fixin’ to cause Trouble. With a capital T, and that rhymes with C, and that stands for cosmic genocide….
Attendees at screenings held in central London on Wednesday were exhorted not to reveal details of the film’s plot that are not already in the public domain.
“Don’t spoil it for others, the same way you wouldn’t want it spoiled for you,” read a message written by the film’s sibling directors, Anthony and Joe Russo.
Critics are largely adhering to this request, though the Daily Mirror‘s Chris Hunneysett gives away a few key details we won’t share here.
“Fans will be dumbfounded by the direction the movie takes the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” he writes in his five-star review.
During Tuesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” the late-night host shared an (obviously fake) promo for the film, which focused less on the punches the Avengers will throw to stop Thanos and more on the sparks that will fly… romantically.
Check out Humble Bundle’s new bundle of goodness: “Classic Sci Fi & Fantasy & Audiobooks.” A portion of the proceeds goes to SFWA, which helps it in its mission to inform, support, promote, and defend writers.
The bundle runs from Wednesday, April 25th, 11:00am Pacific to Wednesday, May 9th, 11:00am Pacific.
…(this post originally appeared on my Patreon. For those unaware, the series finds me drunkenly reading and reviewing the children’s book series, Goosebumps. To date, I’m far enough ahead in the series that I’m making all of the older reviews freely available on Quick Sip Reviews. I hope you enjoy!)
Welcome to the third installment of drunken Goosebumps reviews! And check out that new graphic! Thanks to everyone who voted! I’m rather partial to Scaredy-Liver at the Hip Bar myself, so was quite chuffed to see that other people seemed to like that one, too. I’m also quite chuffed that we’ve arrived at #3 in the Goosebumps series, Monster Blood! This was actually what I would tell everyone was my favorite Goosebumps when I was little. Why? Because the cover is blue and green. Seriously, I was a weird kid, because I obviously forgot about 90% of this one before picking it up again. The result? MADNESS! You thought the first two books in the series were weird. Are you ready for a magical, sentient, child-endangering (evil) cat? Or a bullying B plot that culminates in endless nightmares and probably endless counseling? Good, because HERE WE GO!
Oh, I should mention that today’s review comes courtesy of Rampant Imperial IPA from New Belgium Brewing, because why settle for regular IPAs when you can get drunk TWICE AS FAST!
(7) OBERST INTERVIEW. At Without Your Head, Bill Oberst, Jr. returns to talk about At Granny’s House, Ray Bradbury Live (Forever) and Rob Zombie’s 3 From Hell.
WFR: What kinds of fiction or stories did you read and watch growing up?
Dempow Torishima: As a child, I liked stories with illustrations, like Doctor Doolittle, René Guillot’s Un petit chien va dans la lune, works by Edogawa Rampo, and so on (I was enthralled by the things that rose up between the words and the pictures), and I think that is also related to my present style of writing.
In my teenage years, I got really into strange, unique works of Japanese fiction, such as Kyusaku Yumeno’s Dogra Magra, Mushitaro Oguri’s Murder at Black Death Mansion, Shozo Numa’s Yapoo: the Human Cattle. In particular, I was strongly influenced by the word-plays, images of body modification, and so on in Yapoo: the Human Cattle.
After that, I started reading a variety of novels from a variety of countries (regardless of genre), and as you might expect, I really liked the ones with strong conceits and high levels of the absurd. These days, I like Can Xue, Patrick Chamoiseau, and Seth Fried. I’m also drawn to authors like Yoko Tawada and Yuko Yamao, who are very particular about the words they use. In William Gibson’s Neuromancer, Hisashi Kuroma’s translation style shocked me with its copious use of kanji neologisms and ruby text.
(In Japanese books, ruby text?—?tiny phonetic characters printed next to kanji characters?—?is sometimes used to indicate the pronunciations of difficult kanji. I use it to create wordplays, double-meanings, and so on. Still, from the time I was first published, I’ve been told those effects are impossible to replicate in English. )
(9) SUPPORT INDIE. Power off your phone, shut down your laptop, shop for something in print: Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day.
What is Independent Bookstore Day?
Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Every store is unique and independent, and every party is different. But in addition to authors, live music, cupcakes, scavenger hunts, kids events, art tables, readings, barbecues, contests, and other fun stuff, there are exclusive books and literary items that you can only get on that day. Not before. Not after. Not online.
Independent bookstores are not just stores, they’re community centers and local anchors run by passionate readers. They are entire universes of ideas that contain the possibility of real serendipity. They are lively performance spaces and quiet places where aimless perusal is a day well spent.
In a world of tweets and algorithms and pageless digital downloads, bookstores are not a dying anachronism. They are living, breathing organisms that continue to grow and expand. In fact, there are more of them this year than there were last year. And they are at your service.
Then, John King Tarpinian enjoyed two kaiju sharing a moment in Off The Mark.
(11) SCALZI’S BOOK TOUR ATTRACTS PEST. Jon Del Arroz encouraged one of his stooges to behave like an ass at John Scalzi’s New York book signing.
Scalzi tweeted:
Last night, some dude paid for a ticket to see me (which included the purchase of my book, for which I get royalties), waited through my hour-plus presentation and stood in line for 20 minutes in order to try to be a jerk to me for less than a minute. I guess he really showed me!
A couple of weeks ago, a fan DMed me on Twitter. He told me he was going to Scalzi’s signing and he wanted me to do something. He asked me to sign one of Scalzi’s books, and he would bring my book to the signing, show him me signing his book, and have Scalzi sign one of my books. I thought this was all in good fun, so I agreed. Here’s what I sent to my fan:
George R. R. Martin’s latest tale of Westeros, Fire and Blood, will be released on November 20, 2018, and is available for pre-order now. Fire and Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones (A Targaryen History) will look back at some of the history that led to the events of A Song of Ice and Fire, focusing on the intrigue and tragedy of the Targaryen family. The book is a continuation of a much shorter piece in 2014’s illustrated in-world history The World of Ice & Fire, that was written by Martin and collaborators Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson.
F&B promises the “full tapestry” of the Targaryen’s history, and includes the origin of the three dragon eggs that changed the course Daenerys’ life.
(13) FAN CON JOURNALISM. Lots more information on Universal Fan Con — timeline, names, interviews with guests, volunteers and fans, etc. – from Women Write About Comics: “Universal Fan Con: Peeling Back the Layers”. Here are a few excerpts:
… Tom Leonard was listed on Universal Fan Con’s website as Vice President of Marketing and Sales. His website claims he has over either eighteen or twenty years of experience in online marketing.
In our investigations of Leonard, we discovered something odd about his Twitter presence. We found multiple “Tom Leonards” on Twitter, each either sharing the same photo shown on the Universal Fan Con website, or a different picture of the same man but bearded, advertising different brands. We combed through all the Twitter profiles threads, and we eventually concluded that VP of Marketing and Sales Tom Leonard might be a bot account that brands can hire, and not actually a real person at all.
… Guests like author Roxane Gay — whose appearance at the Universal Fan Con was announced April 18, 2018, just two days before the cancellation of the con — spoke out online. Gay tweeted out “This statement is bewildering. I cannot believe you would put this up. To tell people who have bought non refundable tickets that the organizers did too… is flippant, at best. And to offer no refunds… wow.”
… After all this research, it’s still not clear where the money was spent. The organizers have not responded to requests for comment. During this investigation, we have spoken to lots of people involved in the con on and off the record, yet no one seems to know where the $56,000 from the Kickstarter went, or where the personal money that Butler claimed was spent went. Though we attempted to contact the convention center they weren’t accepting calls or questions, which has lead to a guessing game online with people stating numbers from 25,000 to one million as the price of the center, whilst the organizers stay silent.
(14) AUSTRALIAN MILITARY HISTORY. Found on Twitter with an assist from Nicholas Whyte. Jump on the thread here —
THREAD: In 1932 Australia lost a little known war: the army was out-manoeuvred, their weapons failed, and their Prime Minister ridiculed in Parliament.
In possibly the only war between humans and flightless birds, I give you a brief thread on THE GREAT EMU WAR. 1/ pic.twitter.com/tNIpdGThSp
Scientists have uncovered evidence of ancient humans engaged in a deadly face-off with a giant sloth, showing for the first time how our ancestors might have tackled such a formidable prey.
Standing over 2 meters tall, with forelegs tipped with claws, giant sloths lived until around 11,000 years ago. Most scientists believe over-hunting by humans eventually led to their extinction.
Fossilised footprints in the salt flats of White Sands National Monument, in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico, reveal humans walking in the exact footsteps of a giant sloth and then confronting it, possibly hurling spears.
“The story that we can read from the tracks is that the humans were stalking; following in the footsteps, precisely in the footsteps of the sloth,” said Matthew Bennett, one of a team of scientists behind the discovery.
“While it was being distracted and turning, somebody else would come across and try and deliver the killer blow. It’s an interesting story and it’s all written in the footprints,” said Bennett, a professor of environmental and geographical sciences at Bournemouth University in southern England.
Wednesday was the day astronomers said goodbye to the old Milky Way they had known and loved and hello to a new view of our home galaxy.
A European Space Agency mission called Gaia just released a long-awaited treasure trove of data: precise measurements of 1.7 billion stars.
It’s unprecedented for scientists to know the exact brightness, distances, motions and colors of more than a billion stars. The information will yield the best three-dimensional map of our galaxy ever.
Millions of electronic door locks fitted to hotel rooms worldwide have been found to be vulnerable to a hack.
Researchers say flaws they found in the equipment’s software meant they could create “master keys” that opened the rooms without leaving an activity log.
The F-Secure team said it had worked with the locks’ maker over the past year to create a fix.
But the Swedish manufacturer is playing down the risk to those hotels that have yet to install an update.
“Vision Software is a 20-year-old product, which has been compromised after 12 years and thousands of hours of intensive work by two employees at F-Secure,” said a spokeswoman for the company, Assa Abloy.
“These old locks represent only a small fraction [of the those in use] and are being rapidly replaced with new technology.”
She added that hotels had begun deploying the fix two months ago.
This trailer provides a first look at some of the impressive voice-talent who are making their debut in the series including Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, WWE Superstar Samoa Joe as Predaking, Mikey Way from the rock band My Chemical Romance as Snarl, Jaime King (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) as Solus Prime, and Gregg Berger, the original voice of Grimlock, returns to the role! They join returning cast members Mark Hamill, who made his debut as Megatronus in the finale of the second chapter of the trilogy, Transformers: Titans Return, Judd Nelson, who is voicing a character new to the trilogy, Rodimus Cron, Wil Wheaton as Perceptor, DashieGames as Menasor, MatPat as Swoop, and Rob Dyke as Devastator.
Canada has invested $2.7m (£1.93m) into developing quantum radar – a new technology that would greatly improve the detection of stealth aircraft.
The technology is being developed by the University of Waterloo to replace existing Arctic radar stations.
Quantum radar can theoretically detect objects with a greater level of accuracy than conventional radar.
It makes use of quantum illumination – the process of isolating pairs of entangled photons.
So far, the technology has been tested only in laboratories.
(20) VIDEO OF THE DAY. “Kut” is a short film by Czech animator Lucija Mrjzlak on Vimeo which plays with space and time.
{Thanks to Robin Reid, Standback, Martin Morse Wooster, Chip Hitchcock, Mike Kennedy, JJ, John King Tarpinian, Cat Eldridge, ULTRAGOTHA, Andrew Porter, and Carl Slaughter for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]
The George Slusser Conference on Science Fiction and Fantasy, with the theme “Science Fiction: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, runs April 26 and 27. There is no conference fee, and everyone is welcome to attend. For full details and parking information click here.
This literary conference will pay tribute to the extraordinary career of the late George Slusser (1939-2014) by presenting papers and panel discussions that engage with and build upon his extensive scholarly works on science fiction and fantasy. The conference will be held at the University of California, Irvine.
Confirmed guests include: James P. Blaylock, Bradford Lyau, David Brin, Charles Platt, Sheila Finch, Tim Powers, Rob Latham and Gary K. Wolfe.
Tentative Program
Thursday, April 26
8:30-9:30 AM: Registration
9:30-10:40 AM: Session 1 (Coordinator: Jonathan Alexander)
Gary Westfahl, “The Homeostatic Culture Machine Revisited: The Contemporary Wordmills of Science Fiction”
Charles Platt, “You Can’t Get There From Here: Unrealistic Expectations among the Practitioners of Science Fiction”
10:50 AM-12 PM: Session 2 (Coordinator: Gary Westfahl)
Gregory Benford, “Economics Meets Reality: Space and Beyond”
Steven Postrel, Response
Noon-1:35 PM: Lunch
1:35-3:20 PM: Session 3 (Coordinator: Howard V. Hendrix)
Stephen W. Potts, “Soviet Utopianism and Post-Soviet Dystopias”
George Slusser (read by Gary Westfahl), “The Strugatskys Under Western Eyes: Science Fiction as Cognition”
Lisa Raphals, “The Several Faces of Chinese Science Fiction”
3:30-4:40 PM: Session 4 (Coordinator: Stephen W. Potts)
Joey Eschrich, “Complicating the Frankenstein Barrier: Science Fiction Futures and Social Transformation”
Ari Brin, “‘No Such Thing as Night’: Tracing the Origins of Science Fiction in Early California”
4:50-5:40 PM: First Keynote Speaker (Introduced by Gregory Benford)