(1) CLARA COMING BACK? In a spoiler-filled post, “This ‘Doctor Who’ Companion Could Be About to Return for the Christmas Special “, Lewis Jeffries speculates about the 2017 Doctor Who Christmas Special.
On Twitter, it has been stated that Eddie’s Diner has been booked by BBC Doctor Who for two days of filming. Hardcore fans know that Eddie’s Diner is in fact Clara and Ashildr’s (Maisie Williams) TARDIS in disguise. So this can only mean one thing, the return of Clara Oswald and Ashildr.
(2) HELP WANTED. James Ciment, PhD, Acquisitions Editor for Popular Culture at ABC-CLIO, has an opening:
ABC-Clio, a reference and academic publisher based in Santa Barbara, California, is looking for an editor (or co-editors) for a reference book on aliens in popular American culture—popular literature, film, television, graphic fiction, and other genres and media. Book length and specific content will be determined by the editor in consultation with the publisher. The deadline for submission of the manuscript is flexible, within a range of 18 to 30 months. The book is intended for the college, public and academic high school library markets. Requirements for the editor are flexible as well but editor must have significant publishing history in the field of literary/film criticism, popular culture studies and/or related fields. Academic affiliation is recommended but not required. Reference editing experience helpful. Editor duties include developing a TOC, soliciting contributing writers, and editor manuscript for content. Publisher will provide administrative support and will be responsible for copy-editing and indexing.
Interested persons should send their CV to acquisitions editor James Ciment at: [email protected]
(3) LET THE APPERTAINMENT BEGIN. Steve Davidson knows that as often as I need to invite people to appertain themselves their favorite beverage (after spotting one of my typos), I probably need to order in bulk. And if I’m doing that, the bottles should have a house label – which he has supplied.
(4) DERRINGER AWARDS. The 2017 Derringer Awards winners, for short mystery fiction, have been announced. Unfortunately, Bruce D. Arthurs’ Derringer-nominated short story, “Beks and the Second Note,” did not get the nod. Here are the stories and authors that did:
2017 Derringer Award Results
BEST FLASH STORY (1 – 1,000 words)
- Herschel Cozine for “The Phone Call” (Flash Bang Mysteries, Summer 2016)
Best Short Story (1,001 – 4,000 words)
- Linda Barnes for “The Way They Do It in Boston” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2016)
Best Long Story (4,001- 8,000 words)
- Victoria Weisfeld for “Breadcrumbs” (Betty Fedora: Kickass Women In Crime Fiction, Issue 3, September 2016)
Best Novelette (8,000 to 20,000 words)
- Terrie Farley Moran for “Inquiry and Assistance” (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, January/February 2016)
Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer
- Robert Randisi
(5) POD DRAMA. Tor Labs is a newly launched dramatic podcast imprint. Here’s an excerpt from Patty Garcia’s press release.
Tor Books, a leading global publisher of science fiction and fantasy, announced today that it is launching TOR LABS, a new imprint emphasizing experimental approaches to genre publishing, beginning with original dramatic podcasts.
Helmed by Senior Editor Marco Palmieri and Editor Jennifer Gunnels, Tor Labs will debut this summer with Steal the Stars, a science fiction audio drama which will be produced in partnership with Gideon Media and written by Mac Rogers, the award-winning writer of the global hit podcast thrillers, The Message and LifeAfter.
(6) TRAVEL FUNDING SOUGHT. Three Brazilian fans; Andressa Dreka, Mayara Teixeira Dos Santos, and Luis Alessio are crowdfunding to come to the UK for Lazlar Lyricon 3, a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy funcon being run in Stoke on Trent in June.
The trio help run Obrigado Pelos Peixes (“Thanks for All the Fish”) an organization in Brazil that ran its own convention, Don’t PaniCon, last year, and plan another for 2017.
James Bacon notes:
A few special items were auctioned at the recent UK Eastercon to help raise money for the project. These included an official Hitchhiker’s quote towel from the 1980s and a pair of beer glasses with Hitchhiker inspired designs from the 42nd Cambridge Beer Festival. This raised GBP212 for the fund.
The crowdfunding is being carried out on a Catarse site, via https://www.catarse.me/OPPnoLazlarLyricon3.
As File 770 reported over the winter, Lazlar Lyricon 3 will take place June 9-11. Committee members include Stefan Lancaster, Emma J. King, David Haddock and Alan Sullivan.
The first two Lazlar Lyricons were part of a series of conventions in the 1980s, 90s and early 00s colloquially called ‘Fun Cons’, which also included the Incons, Dangercons, and several one-off conventions such as Year of the Wombat and Aliens Stole my Handbag.
(7) READING ALOUD. Cat Rambo says, “A lot of us have listened to SFWA’s Executive Director Kate Baker narrating podcasts over the years, but here’s someone narrating one of Kate’s pieces” — “Old Teacups and Kitchen Witches by Kate Baker” on Cast of Wonders.
This time the narrator is –
Karen Bovenmyer earned an MFA in Creative Writing: Popular Fiction from the University of Southern Maine. She teaches and mentors students at Iowa State University and serves as the Nonfiction Assistant Editor of Escape Artists’ Mothership Zeta Magazine. She is the 2016 recipient of the Horror Writers Association Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship. Her short stories and poems appear in more than 40 publications and her first novel, Swift for the Sun, will be available Spring 2017. Follow her online and on Twitter.
(8) EPISODE ONE. At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Meghan Ball and Kelly Anderson recap “American Gods Episode One: ‘The Bone Orchard'”.
Our reactions
Kelly: Welp. This show knows how to make an entrance! Pilots are all about being memorable, and I think I can say from the get-go this one certainly succeeded on that level. They went for a combo of stark, Tarantino-esque visuals, husky-voiced, gritty storytelling, and a grimy ‘70s vibe, and it all blends together to create the perfect mood for this story. It’s surrealist noir, if such a genre exists—everything is slightly off-kilter, and even the scenery makes you look twice (that alligator bar! I gotta get me one of those!). It’s as if somebody went back in time and gave Magritte computer graphics and possibly some acid, and I love it.
Meghan: That was an astonishing trippy-as-hell hour of television. I never thought I’d see the day someone actually followed through with bringing this book to life, and certainly not in a way so savagely, monstrously beautiful. I especially loved the use of music. Whoever chose it deserves a raise. “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” playing while Shadow stares mournfully at Laura’s grave? Absolute perfection. They also used “Iko Iko” by the Dixie Cups in the bar scene, which is also mentioned in the novel. That was especially cool. Everything about the premiere felt lush and organic, and utterly real as it was surreal. I’m a fan of Tarantino movies, and even I was gasping in shock during the opening Viking scenes, which completely set the tone.
(9) THE LONG HAUL. At Vox, there’s an overview by someone who’s seen the first four episodes.
If you’re like me and haven’t read Gaiman’s iconic source material, the TV series doesn’t spend a whole lot of time trying to catch you up. There will inevitably come a point when — as blood rains from the sky and some god or another intones an ominous missive about death — you’ll squint and realize you have no idea what’s happening.
But that’s okay by American Gods. Having seen four episodes, I think it’s safe to say that the mysteries being explored by the show’s first season are intricate, and that Fuller and Green are in no rush to give away their secrets. This will be frustrating for people watching from week to week, but American Gods is making the bet that you’ll be intrigued enough by what it teases to stick with it — and on that front, it’s probably right.
(10) INDEPENDENTS’ DAY. The Seattle Review of Books covers #independentbookstoreday celebration: “Our Independent Bookstore Day, in photos”.
(11) GLOWING GOO YOU CAN CHEW. Where to find it? Cat Rambo has a clue.
My most recent newsletter is up and includes class news and a link to a recipe for edible glow in the dark gel: “News and More Stuff from Chez Rambo”
(12) SAX AND VIOLENCE. Echo Ishii watches old TV: “SF Obscure: Night Man “.
What do you get when you cross light jazz, Taylor Dayne, and questionable costume choices? And then you throw in special guest appearances by Jerry Springer and Donald Trump? Why you get Night Man, a show that surprisingly stayed on air for two seasons.
Night Man(1997-1999) is the story of Johnny Domino, a professional saxophonist, who is struck by lightning and earns a telepathic ability to see evil. It’s loosely based on an original comic. He also teams up with some scientists on the run who provide him with a special suit that allows him to deflect bullets and fly. It actually took a few episodes to figure out exactly what the suit does vs. Johnny Domino’s own ability- and I have the sneaking suspicion it was not entirely developed well by the writers.
(13) BAD MIKE.
Appear to have angered Mike Glyer of File 770 by not yet reading the entire Hugo shortlist – oopsie!
— Runalong Womble (@runalongwomble) May 1, 2017
So the rest of you better hurry and get that reading done or I’ll take a bite out of you, too.
(Or – and this was the point — you could wait to fling poo at the Hugo shortlist ‘til you’ve read it, something that never occurred to C. and Matt.)
(14) PURITY OF ESSENCE. Can penguins be forced to bark? Jay Maynard wants to “Make Penguincon Great Again” — by kicking out everything he doesn’t like.
Still, I’d promised this year’s con chair that she’d get a fair chance to address my concerns, so I came back one more time. Guess what? More hard-left GoHs — the odious Coraline Ada Ehmke, she of the Contributor Covenant that prohibits project members from being politically incorrect any time, anywhere, in any venue, on pain of expulsion (who had to cancel due to an emergency); Sumana Harihareswara, who I found out the hard way was a hard-core feminist as well; and Cory Doctorow, well-known left-wing author — more politically correct panels, 15 of them on such topics as “Queering Your Fiction” and “Let’s Get the Taste of 2016 Out of Our Mouths” and “Exploring Themes in Zen Cho’s Work” (with “Intersectionality, diaspora and immigration, the culture of British education, and queer relationships also appear in Cho’s stories over and over” in the description). When I was asked to submit lists of panel topics, I was instructed not to be controversial, but it seems the Left has no such admonition.
This was further borne out by the very first thing that happened at Opening Ceremonies: right after the con chair took the mic, she introduced one member of the convention committee, who proceeded to name 8 or 9 American Indian tribes that had lived in Southeast Michigan in the past and said that “we are their guests here”. That bit of virtue signaling came straight out of the political correctness playbook.
The con’s expanded harassment policy is also of the same stripe; it basically allows anyone to complain that they are being harassed on the flimsiest of excuses, and the con can then eject the subject of the complaint summarily with no recourse and no refund. This is the kind of policy that has routinely been used against those who are merely politically incorrect at other cons, most notably the Worldcon in Kansas City.
There were exactly two panels on topics that the Left would not approve of, both relating to firearms. In fairness, I will also point out that the con did, for the first time, officially sponsor and pay for the Geeks with Guns event. Still, the overall feel is that of overpowering political correctness.
All of this adds up to one inescapable conclusion, for me: those who oppose the politically correct orthodoxy are not Penguicon’s kind of people. Oh, sure, they’ll happily take our money, but we’re not “one of them”.
I go to cons to escape the culture wars, not to get hit over the head with how much of a nasty, eeeeevil person I am for being a white male. We are all, first and foremost, SF fans and computer geeks. People should leave their politics at the door and celebrate SF and open source computing for their own sakes. For the first decade, at least, Penguicon did. It doesn’t any more.
Jer Lance disagrees with the diagnosis: “On the Need to Make Great Things Great Again”
Among my plans for the day, today, was to put together a quick writeup congratulating the staff of Penguincon for throwing an undeniably successful convention—the 15th in a series! Instead, I’d like to take a moment to respond to a long-time attendee’s paen to modern divisive politics; a blog post with the snappy title “Make Penguincon Great Again.” In his post, Jay “Tron Guy” Maynard makes the assertion that Penguincon has fallen to the “leftists” and resulting event is no longer one that is comfortable for people like him.
…Instead, I would like to focus on Jay’s proposed solution. Tron Guy—an attendee since the very first event—would “return the con explicitly to being nonpolitical.” Maynard yearns for the days when we focused on apolitical topics like Geeks with Guns – Societal & Political (year 1), Hidden Totalitarian Assumptions in ‘I, Robot’ (year 3), Don’t Be Evil: The Google Books Settlement (year 9), Technology as Legislation (year 5), and of course the keynote address from the very first Penguincon by Eric S. Raymond (on whose blog this Make Penguincon Great Again concept was born) which discussed “open source, the hacker culture, and the second amendment.” As Archie Bunker sang, those were the days!
In case my point was too subtle, Penguicon has never been any more apolitical than science fiction itself, despite claims to the contrary.
….I came to my first Penguincon in 2006 during its 4th year. I came for the tech conference side of the house and actively disdained the “comicon, nerd shit.” Over the ensuing 11 years, I have attributed a tremendous amount of my personal growth to my having been repeatedly and relentlessly exposed to things outside of my comfort zone through the convention. My hardline libertarian stance has softened to that of a moderate conservative through immersion in concepts that were foreign to me until such time as it was easier to understand them than repel them.
In that understanding, I’ve earned empathy….
(15) IT’S A THEORY. K.B. Wagers argues the change is happening: “The Rise of the Unlikable Woman”
There have always been unlikable characters in fiction, though the idea of the anti-hero?—?brooding, self-centered, wholly unredeemable?—?has long been considered a man’s territory. From crotchety but lovable Han Solo to the downright dangerous Riddick, no one complains that these characters aren’t people you’d trust to watch your house, let alone have a cup of tea with.
Women in fiction, by contrast, can only be unlikable if they are redeemable in some fashion or another?—?or if they’re ultimately punished. Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is struggling for redemption (and turned into a nursemaid for the Big Guy as a result). Were she still unrepentant about the death she’s dealt?—?as Loki is?—?she would find less compassion from the audience. Emma Bovary, in Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, receives her punishment (in the form of her death) at the end of the novel as a result of her sexual desires.
But now, women characters are rising up from the ashes of these expectations….
(16) SIGNS OF THE TIMES. On Planetary Post, March for Science participants joined host Robert Picardo in support of space science and exploration in Washington, D.C.
(17) CLARKE CENTER. Episode 7 of Into the Impossible, the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination’s podcast, takes you to ”New Spaces”.
We’re looking at new spaces in space, speaking with Drs. Yvonne Cagle (astronaut and physician) and Adam Burgasser (astrophysicist). We talk about why we send humans into space, the discovery of potentially habitable worlds at TRAPPIST-1 and how we imagine them, the role of interstellar art, the evolution of human physiology in zero-g, why the scariest thing about being an astronaut might be finding yourself on stage at the Oscars with Dr. Katherine Johnson, subject of the film Hidden Figures, and how important it is that we remain vigilant in our embrace of diversity across disciplines.
(18) BAT EXCLUSIVITY. ScreenRant claims there are “15 Things Batman Can Do (That No One Else Can)”.
Given his intensive combat training and genius-level sleuthing skills, the Dark Knight Detective is one of the most formidable heroes in the DCU (or the world of comics in general), giving him a skill-set that dwarfs many of his superpowered peers.
- He Has Contingency Plans to Take Down Enemies…and His Friends
As we stated earlier, Batman prepares for everything. And we mean everything. In addition to strategizing on how to take down all of his arch-enemies and other deadly threats, he does what some might see as a betrayal–he creates contingency plans against every one of his fellow Justice League team members (in Grant Morrison’s 2000 Justice League: Tower of Babel storyline).
Using his genius intellect, he develops brutally efficient ways to neutralize his teammates’ powers: he binds Green Lantern with his own power ring, makes Aquaman terrified of water, uses fire against Martian Manhunter, liquid nitrogen to subdue Plastic Man, virtual reality against Wonder Woman, and he even creates a weapon to give The Flash seizures.
His strategizing backfires, however, when Ra’s al Ghul steals his plans and takes down his allies. Needless to say, his fellow Justice League members were none too pleased with this, and they subsequently had his membership revoked. It’s not easy for Batman to have friends.
(19) BATMAN & BILL. Hulu is releasing Batman & Bill on May 6, which is a documentary about Bill Finger’s contributions to the Batman mythos. FirstShowing.net explains the “Official Trailer for Hulu Doc ‘Batman & Bill’ About a Batman Creator”
“The most mysterious man in Gotham City wasn’t in a mask and cape.” Hulu has released an official trailer for a documentary titled Batman & Bill, which will premiere exclusively on Hulu starting early May. The documentary “unmasks” one of the greatest secrets in the comic industry – that Batman wasn’t created by Bob Kane alone, it was primarily Bill Finger who created the iconic superhero. This seems like a fascinating doc with plenty to offer for comic book fans, including inside stories and excellent art from the early days of Batman. It’s cool to see a doc like this that actually looks worth watching on Hulu.
(20) BATMAN & BOB. Offered on eBay and now marked down from $1,500 to $1,050, a signed first edition of Bob Kane’s autobiography Batman & Me with original signed ink Batman drawing by Kane.
Batman & Me. Forestville: Eclipse Books, 1989. First Edition. Copy number 144 of 1000 numbered copies signed by Bob Kane with an original ink drawing of Batman by Kane. The autobiography of the artist who created the immortal comic book character Batman in 1939. Extensively illustrated. Fine in slipcase.
(21) THE FIRST HALF OF HISTORY. Fanac.org has posted a recording of a 1968 Worldcon comics panel with Marv Wolfman and Harry Harrison. I guess a few things have happened since then:
Baycon, the 26th WorldCon, was held in Oakland, California in 1968. This very entertaining panel features a discussion about contemporary comics by the then relative newcomer, Marvin Wolfman, and a plethora of engaging stories by Harry Harrision. Harry talks about Bill Gaines (EC Comics) and working with Wally Wood. The stories are funny, the context and history of the field are priceless. Moderated by Paul Moslander, this excellent recording is courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives.
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, JJ, Carl Slaughter, Cat Eldridge, Steven H Silver, Martin Morse Wooster, Cat Rambo, James Bacon, and Bruce D. Arthurs for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day rcade.]
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Mike Glyer: Looking through some of C.’s other posts didn’t lead me to a clear answer, but after reading this post I am more than willing to listen to your case.
I don’t think that their gender needs to be defined unless they choose to define it for us. I would just feel more comfortable if people used neutral pronouns, which I am trying to do in the absence of anything definitive.
JJ: Well, if I wanted to know I would go and ask C. (Just as when I want to know something about Vox Day, or anybody who’s alive and in reach, I ask them.) If you want to know, why not ask?
I’m willing to use whatever pronoun C. likes, if any, but it’s a little late for me to start walking on eggshells about it.
I think @JJ’s speaking less of “Let’s determine this person’s gender so we speak about them without absolute accuracy,” and more “Let’s be aware of our own assumptions and biases” — i.e. be more attentive to not presuming somebody’s gender if we don’t know it. It’s an easy mistake to make — I’ve definitely done that, although I don’t think in this particular case — and thanks, @JJ for pointing that out.
—
In Hebrew, practically any reference to a person has to be gendered ‘he’ or ‘she.’ It makes it really awkward to try to avoid assumptions.
I ran across this recently in a somewhat unexpected way — I was writing pregen character pages for a roleplaying one-shot at a convention. I knew I had know idea what players would show up — and I really didn’t want to be “keying” any characters to one gender or another (there was absolutely no reason to, and most players strongly prefer playing a character of their own gender, and I didn’t want to limit anybody’s choices). In Hebrew, it’s just impossible to keep neutral.
I wound up writing two sets of character descriptions — one male, one female, with just the gendered references swapped…
(In the end, wouldn’t ya know it, I got a group of five guys. 😛 But I couldn’t have known that, and I expect I’ll be running the game again at future conventions…)
(8) EPISODE ONE
I saw the first episode of American Gods yesterday (it’s on Amazon outside the US.) I was a bit concerned that things would get toned down for TV, but I was very very wrong! It’s turned up to 11, and then some. The reviewer describing it as “surrealist noir” has hit on the perfect phrase there.
As an actual episode it was primarily about getting things established and ratcheting up the weird so it’s hard to say anything concrete, but I’m prepared to say the casting is top-notch – Ian McShane as Mr Wednesday? Oh yes.
As an aside, to watch it I’ve had to get amazon video for a couple of months, so I’m going to binge on a few other things they have – The Man in The High Castle for one, and I’ve also been told Into The Badlands is worthwhile – but are there any other Amazon shows worth watching?
(14) PURITY OF ESSENCE
Well, that’s a thing. Wasn’t Maynard going to launch a super-dooper-unbiased award a year or so ago? And now he’s going to show the same dedication and success rate in fixing Penguicon?
Anyway, Jer Lance does a good job on the rebuttal. I’m amused (but not surprised) that he dug up that this arose on Eric S Raymond’s blog with advice including “Study what Gamergate and the others did”
@JJ:
@Mike:
See, I think read the post entirely different than you did.
Heaven knows, there’s lots of discussion to be had over the shortlist even before you’ve read it. We’ve been having that kind of discussion here, from the moment the shortlist came out 🙂 There’s reactions of “That’s awesome,” “That’s weird,” “I’ve been meaning to get around to that,” “No way I’m going to read three series if I didn’t like the first book,” and so on and so on.
Everybody who’s engaged has an opinion on the shortlist. Everybody who intends to vote, is going to make his own call on how much to read of what books (I’m not going to be voting on Best Series, for example; I haven’t read 3BP so it’s unlikely I’ll make it through to “Death’s End”; I don’t feel myself obligated to sample the Wright short story; and so on). There’s no problem with talking about the shortlist when you haven’t read it — especially if you also note why you’re not reading the things you aren’t reading
But there’s obviously something here that does cross the line, for you, of what somebody can say without having read enough of the shortlist. I’m going to be honest: I am not quite sure what that something is. They didn’t call themselves geniuses; Mike did. They didn’t even call themselves critics — the subtitle is “a conversation between two SFF fans.”
There is definitely plenty here to bristle at and to argue with. (My dander’s up at “if I look at the past winners of the Hugos, there are, since its inception, only 15 novels that I agree with as Award winners” — yes, OK, but you know taste is subjective and there were also shortlists.) But the core complaint of “critics making unfounded claims about the shortlist” seems wrong to me, because I just don’t see what pretense is being made, in the actual text of the piece, that’s made groundlessly.
They’re not saying they’re critics. They’re not saying they’ve read everything. They’re discussing their opinion of what they have read, and impressions of what they do know about what they haven’t. I think they’re pretty upfront about that — and if they aren’t, then their issue is “wrote an article whose nature and focus was unclear,” not “pretended to authority and expertise they do not possess.”
It’s not SF, but BOSCH is very good.
@Kurt Busiek
Ah, good suggestion. I saw season 1 on DVD but I see they have two more seasons waiting for me…
Standback: But there’s obviously something here that does cross the line, for you, of what somebody can say without having read enough of the shortlist. I’m going to be honest: I am not quite sure what that something is.
I thought I was pretty clear in my earlier post what I thought that is, but I’ll post it again.
The issue is the parts where they said:
So when I say I looked at this year’s list with a sigh, I’m being pretty literal. I’m quite resigned to the fact that the Hugo isn’t the best award for my tastes…
So, let’s face it: both of some of the most popular novels on the list aren’t novels that, to me, bring something new to the genre. They are certainly crowd pleasers but I really wonder at their future legacy.
Someone who has read only half the shortlist is hardly in a position to say:
1) the list doesn’t reflect their tastes
2) the works on it don’t bring anything new to the genre
3) the works on it aren’t works which will have a long-term legacy
Also, complaining that an award which reflects what is popular with Worldcon voters “is a popularity contest” just seems like kind of a “Duh”.
TRANSPARENT, also nongenre, is worth a try, though every cisgendered character who isn’t a rabbi is kind of a terrible person.
16) Was it really Robert Picardo, or was it a Hologram? 🙂
Re: Ada Palmer: For the faults I had with TLTL (and I still need to read Seven Surrenders and see if they resolve for me), she seems a fascinating and intelligent and interesting person in the virtual interactions and contact I’ve had with her. If she was doing something in my area, I’d definitely go check it out.
13) I’ve still got reading to do. My Kindledeath has not helped in this regard.
@JJ: The second line of the quote you give is discussing two very specific novels. One of which he read, and DNF’d. The other one of which is a sequel to a work he has read — and so his opinion, especially for statements like “not to my taste,” isn’t exactly unfounded.
(This is leaving aside the phrasing “both of some of the most popular novels,” which I will happily concede as a crime against humanity 😛 )
And, I’ve said this before, but I think it’s worth keeping in mind: Those quotes are from one of the two participants.
How do you feel about Matt, the second person involved? Do you think they stepped over the line, in any way, or is this C. and C. only?
Standback: The second line of the quote you give is discussing two very specific novels. One of which he read, and DNF’d.
Nope, the first quote is from the Hugo overview at the beginning, and the second is from the Novel category summary.
Matt didn’t really do much of the “unfounded sweeping generalization” thing. But the dishonesty in the Twitterstorm today doesn’t make make think highly of either of them. 😐
one wonders … would there be as much pearl-clutching going on had THIS been said. Or are we only allowed to judge books by their author etc when it’s NOT the Hugo?
I see we’re back to one of the lesser-known corollaries of Fudd’s First Law: If you poke at someone hard and long enough, they will produce something that offends you.
Pee on that. And by “that”, I mean “peeing on someone”. Unless they like that.
In more startling and mind-blowing news, I thought the current arc in Questionable Content had reached its emotional climax. I was wrong. I was so very wrong. (As was Dora’s initial assumption about Faye and Bubbles, I’m pretty sure. This is not that. This is something better, rarer and stranger.)
And how neat (for me) that it comes almost a year to the date after Cassy B. did me a relevant favor. Thank you again, Cassy B.! I got stalled on that piece I was writing, somewhere around the variation on Auden. I hope to finish it Real Soon Now.
And while it’s not genre-relevant, today’s Wondermark makes me feel like I might not have screwed up my kid after all.
Standback: You’re welcome. And thanks for the mini-lesson on gendering in Hebrew; I had not known that.
Kathodus: 🙂
Re: Mr. Maynard
If I understand correctly, PenguiCon’s programming is almost entirely bottom-up driven, so to speak. My friend is an audio engineer, so he proposes a panel on how to optimize AV setup at convention panels. Another friend is a vegan and a foodie, so she proposes a panel on how to make vegan junk food and snacks. We have a B movie award show, we offer to present it. The panels are approved, voila.
If many panels are “liberal,” that’s because there are people who want to talk about liberal issues and are willing to put together presentations or moderate discussions. Does Maynard want the Con to veto panels based on excessive liberal content? That’s contrary to the populist nature of PenguiCon. If Maynard wants a discussion group of a puppy author, or of Baen’s recent releases, he can submit a panel suggestion — for a freeform discussion, if he wants — like everybody else. What he can’t do is create panelists out of thin air who have the expertise and interests to create panel catering to him.
(Admittedly, another friend presented a Wigs 101 focused on Cosplaying which the ConCom proposed and was looking for someone to run, but I don’t think that’s the genesis of most of the panels.)
(14) I have to chuckle every time a *puppy type complains about virtue signalling, since the entirety of the *puppy movement is built on virtue signalling.
Especially for Hampus – Good Show Sir goes Swedish.
The second line is taken from comments about the novel category, but the way I interpret it it’s a comment on two specific (“both”) novels and not on the shortlist in total.
As Standback says, the phrase “both of some of the most popular novels aren’t …” is not exactly crystal clear – but it would be strange to start with “both” if they meant “all six”. I think the best way to make sense of that phrase is to read it as “the two novels I’m familiar with, which based on the buzz I’ve heard are among the most popular ones, aren’t …”
Not sure if someone’s mentioned this, but it seems like Tor will release a Hugo-bundle in two weeks.
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Nina_Allan_Tor_com_Publishing_s_2017_Hugo_Finalist?id=ruzEDgAAQBAJ&hl=en
As the pixel is bent, so grows the scroll
Regarding Maynard’s award ideas, I thought the discussions at Black Gate were very interesting, some people had great ideas on how to make a new award unique and interesting. Problem was mostly Maynard’s constant vice signaling that ruined the discussion.
And for Good Show Sir, we have something special:
This is NOT Darth Vader.
This is NOT A.I.M.
As for Amazon : the pilot for a proposed original SF series, ‘Oasis’ is intriguing.
Series 2 and 3 of ‘Bosch’, especially, also recommended.
And depending on how interested you are with female-centric non-genre comedy drama, ‘Fleabag’ can be brilliant viewing.
@Chip Hitchcock et al
“Appertain” is the name of the beverage.
It’s quite the beverage, it is. Acquired on Van Diemen’s World (where the odd gods are known to put in an appearance whenever it is most inconvenient), it is THE beverage for space travelers, survivalists, parents on a long road trip with unruly kids in the back and anyone else who has the conundrum of wanting variety while pressed for cubic storage space.
As soon as the bottle is opened and you think of what you would like to drink, Appertain (a substance whose derivation is best not revealed) immediately transforms itself into the desired beverage.
OJ for breakfast? Check. Slivovitz after a hard day? Check. Mursik? Check. Your own raspberry, guava and meade mix? Check.
One word of caution though: Its best not to change thoughts mid-guzzle….
The effect of drinking the beverage is like being hit in the head by a scroll wrapped around a file cabinet containing Mount Tsundoku.
@Hampus
Interesting re tor.com. I wonder if that means they did the work creating the Hugo packet entry and then decided not to waste it?
I figure that the Dragon Award vote totals were not released because they didn’t get a lot of voters. The awards were poorly publicized. Mike Glyer did more to call attention to them on File 770 than the organizers did.
After I exchanged emails with a con organizer about the award ceremony, I asked for the vote data the day after the results were announced. I never got a response.
14: an “unbiased” award for an artistic endeavor? Ummm…..
@rcade. Sent out my own as well, quoting their statement that they’d provide the data. Nothing back as well.
Speculation: I have long suspected that Dragoncon desired a literary award similar to the Hugos but had not implemented it for a variety of reasons.
I suspect that puppies lobbied dragoncon, feeling that it was the kind of (commercially oriented) convention that would skew in their direction (not that it does…) and that the whole thing was a mis-mash of no one associated wanting to be held accountable for it if it went “bad” and, therefore, not publicized (or even supported at the con) in a manner that would have possibly made it into a “thing”.
Or it could be that no one really wants to be known as an author who won an award on three votes….
I had a happy today — woke up to discover that Night’s Sorceries, the final book in Tanith Lee’s Flat Earth series, had magically appeared on my Kindle overnight. Now there’s a series for which a reread is long overdue … I’m kind of sad that TaLeKa wasn’t able to publish all of them (plus more of Lee’s back catalog) — the Flat Earth hardcovers they did were very attractive — but I’m glad DAW is going back and picking up the slack. Now here’s hoping that at some point they publish a volume of the uncollected Flat Earth stories published over the years.
Of course, any Flat Earth rereading will have to wait until after I finish It, and also until after I’ve made more Hugo reading progress …
@steve davidson
I’ve never felt it was necessary for the puppies (of any stripe) to have lobbied dragoncon for an award; dragoncon simply needed to have had an existing desire to get round to doing an award “sometime”, have seen a constituency for a new one in a slightly different niche appear, and then make a bit of a hash of getting it off the ground. Obviously it’s pure speculation but the lack of any known puppish figures being involved in the organising makes me lean that way.
@LunarG – Thanks for the information on how panels get set up. If people want a panel, propose one and make it happen.
Since some are speculating on how the Dragon Awards came about, I’ll pass along my theory. No puppies were harmed or slandered in making up this tale.
Marven the Martian flew to Atlanta and threatened to blow it to the sky unless they started an award called “The Dragon.” Dragoncon organizers scoffed until Marven blew up a distant comet to prove he was serious. Dragoncon caved.
DragonCon is embarrassed they submitted to threats and have kept the whole process shrouded in secrecy. The main contact person is an android which came from an aborted TV reboot of Blade Runner.
Steve Davidson & Mark – I think you will agree that my Marven theory lacks any basis in fact. Or does it?????
but are there any other Amazon shows worth watching?
If you include shows which are on Amazon but not made by Amazon then
Hap and Leonard, Mr Robot, and Falling Water. I would second Bosch. If you haven’t seen them then Constantine and Preacher are also worth a watch.
So, regarding video games…. I’ve been enjoying the “Assassin’s Creed” series but have to temporarily stop playing Black Flag because a glitch combined my fleet with my husband’s; we tossed a coin and he’s finishing the game first, then I’ll go back and finish it.
So, I just installed Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor on the X-box One. It took an hour and a half to finish the updates, so I haven’t actually seen any of the game except for the initial cut-scenes. (And then it was bedtime. After bedtime, really)
Anyone here play it? Impressions?
@Hampus – thanks for the link, I think I’ll purchase that – and give the authors some cash.
@andyl
Oh, I meant “shows available on Amazon” so I can make the best of two or three months subscribing. Thanks for the suggestions – I’ve seen Constantine and Preacher, and Mr Robot is on my list, but Hap and Leonard wasn’t on my radar. The description suggests that it defies description – is it anywhere in the vicinity of Fargo in tone?
Falling Water doesn’t immediately grab me but I’ll certainly try an episode.
Cassy B –
So, regarding video games…. I’ve been enjoying the “Assassin’s Creed” series but have to temporarily stop playing Black Flag because a glitch combined my fleet with my husband’s; we tossed a coin and he’s finishing the game first, then I’ll go back and finish it.
So, I just installed Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor on the X-box One. It took an hour and a half to finish the updates, so I haven’t actually seen any of the game except for the initial cut-scenes. (And then it was bedtime. After bedtime, really)
Anyone here play it? Impressions?
If you like the Assassin’s Creed series of games you’ll likely enjoy it, it has some of the same open world tropes that the AC games started (towers reveal more of the map, etc). The combat is similar but slightly more complex than an AC game due to some additional abilities. The story and setting are interesting as they take place in Mordor and it goes into the background of the blacksmith who made the rings of power. The Nemesis system is pretty cool as if you get defeated by a guy that enemy gets promoted in the Mordor army ranks and becomes harder to kill.
It’s essentially Assassin’s Creed: Mordor Edition. Which if you like LOTR and AC games then you’ve got a winning combo, but if you don’t care for one or the other of those it’s not going to make a person suddenly a fan.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a file scrolling a pixel — forever.
I think you will agree that my Marven theory lacks any basis in fact. Or does it?????
I’m pretty sure that this is exactly what they want us to believe.
For sufficiently strange values of “they”.
15 – I don’t know that there is a rise in unlikeable female characters, or at least anti-hero female characters and that post didn’t really do well to flesh out the definition of that type of character or show how there’s been an uptick in it outside of the writer anecdotally noticing it more. It feels like the article was written without a clear intent and ends before going anywhere and that there’s a bigger discussion that just never managed to get off the ground. Maybe she’ll write more on the subject hopefully, I’ve got Behind the Throne at home, my wife read it but the only feedback she gave me was that she really wished authors would put Book 1 or something on the books so she’d know if she was committing to a series or not.
In unrelated book stuff of 2017 releases I’ve read:
A Conjuring of Light – really enjoyed this whole series final book delivered a satisfying conclusion.
The Collapsing Empire – good beginning that leaves a lot of questions about where it can go next
The Shadow of What Was Lost – The Wheel of Time influence is strong on the style of the book, but appears going down the road of fate vs free will with high fantasy time traveling and that was unexpected. It’s ok.
Gilded Cage – Book jacket promotes the world building of this, but I thought the world building was garbage. Not going to keep reading this series.
Norse Mythology – A retelling of myths with some updates that I didn’t feel like added much or anything to existing books on the subject. Disappointed.
And I’ve got Revenger, City of Miracles, Waking Gods, Walkaway, and Relics at home and currently reading Ninefox Gambit and Six Wakes at the moment. already a pretty packed year.
Matt Y, Assassin’s Creed: Mordor Edition <snork!> ok, it sounds like I’m really going to enjoy this, then. Not played any LOTR games, but very much enjoyed the Ezio Assassin’s Creed, and was enjoying Black Flag until it glitched.
@John A Arkansawyer, you’re most welcome. It was no trouble, really. In fact, it was so little trouble that I had to follow the link to remember what you were thanking me for… <grin>
@Matt Y
*silently shuffles Gilded Cage much further down the tbr*
Anyway, A Conjuring of Light was good, wasn’t it? I had a couple of issues – the plot appeared to involve some characters wandering off to pick up an actual plot token at one point, which seemed a very…standard…choice – but given that she had a lot to wrap up it was a fine effort and the overall series was great.
Is City of Miracles out already? *checks* oh no, out on Thursday in the UK, that’s way too much temptation!
Being reminded of Jay Maynard’s post and the ensuing comments at Black Gate annoys me all over again. He got so much help and support there. There are times in my life when that kind of support would have made the difference between, say, being able to stay in college and having to drop out. But he just pissed it all away and is back to entitled self-pity and whining as if none of it had ever existed. It is a precious gift to have anyone else take such an interest in your unhappiness and its possible cures, one that can literally be the difference between life and death. Treating it like trash is…not good.
Not directly SF-related, but certainly well within the scope of discussion here, Marvel Comics has joined Comixology Unlimited.
Comixology Unlimited is Comixology’s “Monthly Fee To Read All You Want” plan. Sort of a Netflix for comic books.
What an amazing story!
@Cassy B
Shadow of Mordor is a fun game but I was rather disappointed with the DLC.
I have been playing Empyrion – Galactic Survival a lot recently. Very fun sci-fi building survival game. http://empyriongame.com/
It’s not strange, clif, that you would say something so predictable, but it is strange that I have been wondering whether people would be rushing to defend C. and Matt if they had been voicing Puppyish opinions about the books they DID read. So you see, in a way I have already run your thought experiment.