By Bill Higgins: Spotted something unusual: In the April 2014 issue of Physics Today, two letters were published from two physicists, who are brothers, both commenting on the same article.
I doubt that has happened before.
James Benford and Gregory Benford were responding to an article on Cold War history by Frank von Hippel in the September 2013 issue. (Physics Today has always had a rather leisurely turnaround time in publishing letters.)
Science Fiction Writers of America is launching a Southern California Reading Series on May 31. Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore will host these free, quarterly events at its San Diego and Redondo Beach locations.
The inaugural readings will take place Saturday, May 31 at 2 p.m. at the San Diego store (7051 Clairemont Mesa Bl.). Featured authors will be Cecil Castellucci, Nalo Hopkinson, and a third to be announced.
The second event is scheduled for Saturday, August 30 at 2 p.m. at Mysterious Galaxy’s Redondo Beach location (2810 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach). Readers that day will be Stephen Blackmoore, Sofia Samatar, and Sherwood Smith.
Here are 10 developments of interest to fans.
(1) Star Wars VII starts shooting in May. Bloggers are shooting already.
Can anyone sound more jaded than the folks at Geekologie?
Star Wars Episode VII… [will] be released in theaters on December 18, 2015. The story will pick up some 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi. What happened in those 30 years? Apparently nothing worth making a movie about. At least not until they finish this trilogy and backtrack again for Star Wars Episode X: The Wonder Years. Just like I did for all the disappointing prequels, I will be watching these on opening day, dressed in character. Which character remains to be seen, but I’m leaning towards Data or Worf.
(2) Here’s the brew they should order when they’re out drinking after the premiere – Klingon Warnog.
The wait is nearly over, Klingons and Klingon lovers. Klingon Warnog — the first Star Trek themed beer to hit the U.S. — can soon be yours. Brewed by Tin Man Brewing of Evansville, Indiana, Klingon Warnog will incorporate rye malt into a modern Dunkelweizen grain bill, creating a flavor profile that is both familiar and unique.
As the Federation of Beer folks put in brewing-ese, Warnog’s aroma is predominantly mild banana and clove produced by the German wheat yeast, supported by subtle sweet malt character from the use of Munich malt. The flavor draws heavily from the blending of the rye malt and traditional clove character, creating a very rich and unique flavor. The inclusion of wheat and caramel malts help to round out the mouthfeel of this beer, making this Dunkelweizen hearty enough to be called… a Klingon Warnog.
(3) Many things were done to promote the new season of Game of Thrones. HBO’s “Game of Thrones: Epic Fan Experience” drew 7,000 fans to Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. Winter had already arrived, reports the Grantland writer known as Netw3rk —
As you approach the Iron Throne of Westeros, or any reasonable facsimile thereof, you may find yourself overcome with anxiety about how you’re going to sit in it….. It’s hard not to overthink something as instinctual as your body position during the normally quotidian activity of resting your ass on something, when that something happens to be one of the most iconic symbols in the pop-culture zeitgeist and you get only one chance for a good picture….
I can now report: The Iron Throne is uncomfortable. The one I sat in was, anyway. The seat, as one would expect of 1,000 swords hammered into the shape of a chair, is hard on the ass, but also narrower than you’d expect, and high. I tried to cock my torso over at an angle toward one of the armrests, elbow on the rest, hand under chin; kind of a Joffrey-meets-Biggie thing. But the circumscribed butt support area didn’t allow for the right body angle, and the result was much more Tin Man–meets-dirtbag than chilled-out sovereign. Alas.
(4) Meantime, George R.R. Martin’s story is now inspiring parents to name their babies after his characters:
Perhaps no Game of Thrones character is as beloved as Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke), the daughter of a slain king who has spent most of the series to date amassing forces to reclaim the lands that were once her father’s. Also she has dragons, which people seem to like.
So it’s not too surprising that fans of the show would name their kids after her. According to data from the Social Security Administration, were 21 newborns in 2012 named “Daenerys,” which was never used enough in previous years to show up in official counts (for privacy reasons, the SSA only releases numbers for names used five or more times in a given year).
But wee baby Daeneryses were dramatically outnumbered by newborns named “Khaleesi” — the title Targaryen earned when she married Dothraki leader (or “Khal”) Drogo. 146 “Khaleesi”s were born in 2012, making it more popular as a full name than “Betsy” or “Nadine.”
(5) “Late afternoon lighting produced a dramatic shadow of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity photographed by the rover’s rear hazard-avoidance camera on March 20, 2014,” begins a Mars Daily article.
Seeing that photo of a Martian rover’s shadow made James H. Burns ask:
What is it about this type of image that gets me so thrilled? I suppose it’s the basic notion of a man made creation, a miracle really, doing something so simple, and capturing it so gloriously, in what really are such fantastic circumstances. (And only the most callow lad, I think, would term this the echo of an Aresian “selfie”!)
(6) Years ago PC owners were asked to volunteer to process packets of data for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence because SETI didn’t have enough computer power to do it all. Data processing power has zoomed ahead since then. Now a university is hosting an online tool that allows people to build entire custom universes and update these virtual models as new survey telescopes and instruments become available.
Swinburne University of Technology has launched a free online astronomy virtual laboratory that will allow scientists to build complex customised views of the Universe, all from the comfort of their own computer.
The Theoretical Astrophysical Observatory (TAO), funded by the Australian Government’s $48 million NeCTAR project, draws on the power of Swinburne’s gSTAR GPU supercomputer to allow astronomers to simulate the Universe and see how it would look through a wide range of telescopes.
(7) If – like me – you were unaware of the existence of Ultraman until you saw him posed beside the Hugo rocket on Nippon 2007’s award, then you probably also don’t know about Japan’s kaiju-themed restaurant filled with Ultraman paraphernalia.
(8) You probably haven’t forgotten that things didn’t go well for Loncon 3 when they announced Jonathan Ross as Hugo emcee. Now who will they ask? Milt Stevens knows who he would pick —
Loncon 3 has a problem. They need a Hugo Award Ceremony Host who can take a lot of heat. I have an idea for the perfect choice. Marvin the depressed android from Hitchhiker’s Guide. He can sneer at organics and get away with it. Marvin was played be English actor Warren Davis who might be available for the worldcon.
I’ve emailed my suggestion to the committee.
(9) The suspect’s name and the shirt he wore reminded people of Superman — but not his act. Christopher Reeves was busted for driving under the influence by local cops in Utah.
He wasn’t faster than a speeding bullet, so Davis County deputies were able to catch a man wearing a Superman shirt on I-15 early Tuesday morning, and arrest him on suspicion of drug trafficking.
Davis County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Susan Poulsen told the Clipper 33-year-old Christopher Jaye Reeves of Layton was spotted weaving and speeding through traffic on northbound I-15 at around 3:00 a.m. by a deputy on patrol.
Poulsen noted the similarity of the suspect’s name to the late actor Christopher Reeve (without the ‘s’) and specified that he has no relation to the man made famous by portraying the comic book superhero in movies before his death in 2004.
He’s no relation to George Reeves, either, who played Superman in the 1950s TV series Adventures of Superman.
(10) What flavor of politics do science fiction fans like best? I think we’ve learned that we can predict the answer to this rhetorical question if we know who’s asking. For example, no one will be surprised to learn that The Guardian finds Britain’s Liberal Democrats to be the party of trufans. (Trufans defined as viewers of Doctor Who, but then, I told you it was The Guardian.)
Some American fans would answer that question with “the Libertarian Party.” David Klaus writes:
I remember the first unsolicited fanzine I ever received, back in 1972, a copy of the late Irvin Koch’s Maybe, in which he noted the founding of the Libertarian Party earlier that year, and stated that he thought most sf fans would be interested in it, or words to that effect. Irv was a generalist fan, inclusive, not given to sectarian fan wars — he even was the contact for his local Church of All Worlds nest.
[Thanks for these links goes out to Andrew Porter, Mark L. Blackman, James H. Burns, David Klaus, Milt Stevens and John King Tarpinian.]
Cal Cotton as “The Moor Tarik,” The Black King.
Cal Cotton, aka “The Moor Tarik” The Black King, died of cancer April 16. He was a popular figure around Southern California’s sf, Ren Faire and SCA fandoms.
He first connected with the Faire in 1968 while on home leave during the Vietnam War. He served his country as a Navy Seal.
At Faire, he…participated over the years as a member of the Queen’s Guard, the Black King in the epic Living Chess Game, a Sergeant in Stoddard’s Company of Foot, as an assistant falconer, and finally the owner of the well-known Hornsmythe Booth.
He also participated in Civil War reenactments and other living history events. If the occasion didn’t call for his Moorish attire, he was likely to be wearing his Buffalo Soldier hat.
He is survived by his wife, Theresa.
Cal Cotton. Photo by Morgan Hagar.
[Thanks to Tom Udo for the story.]
Ed Green performed his second timed callback for The Reel Deal on April 5 – a monologue from “Disappeared” by Phyllis Nagy.
If Ed makes the final round, voting begins April 24.
William Shatner’s one-man show will be screened in cinemas nationwide on April 24.
Shatner’s World, the critically acclaimed one-man show, takes audiences on an exhilarating behind-the-scenes voyage through his storied life and career. With an energetic mix of personal anecdotes, laugh-out-loud humor and poignant moments, William Shatner shares his phenomenal journey from classically-trained Shakespearean actor to internationally-known cultural icon, all the while illuminating the unique persona of his most important character, himself.
Whatever will we do for news when Shatner’s career finally comes to an end?
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the link.]
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the link.]
Horror Writers Association President Rocky Wood wants everyone to know George R. R. Martin will be Guest of Honor at the group’s 2017 Conference, “to be held from 11-14 May…at a city yet to be determined.”
“While it is unusual to announce a guest this far in advance,” Wood admitted, “We feel George R. R. Martin’s fame dictated we release this information as soon as possible. We are excited that George will spend time at our Bram Stoker Awards Weekend and participate in panels, signings, the Banquet and other convention events.”
By John Hertz: The 4,000th meeting of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society was held on Thursday, April 10, 2014.
Yes, “tetrachiliad” is Greek to me too (so its ch is like chorus). Writing it seemed the fannish thing to do.
The LASFS, my local s-f club, is I’m proud to say the oldest in the world. Most of us rhyme “LASFS” with joss fuss but Len Moffatt always rhymed it with sass mass. May yours live so long. I realize that’s something like “May you live in interesting times.” Ours have been.
From the name you’ll see we as long ago as 1934 were coppering our bets (to use an English Regency expression) with “science fantasy”. Technically science fiction and fantasy are distinct. Practically – well –
I saw Mike Glyer there. But Glyer keeps forgetting where he’s put his pen (see “Twice Times” in A.A. Milne’s Now We Are Six). So here I am.
The meeting hall in our current clubhouse, our third, was crowded. So were the social hall, the computer room, and the library, with members who didn’t care to attend the meeting. Some things never change.
On a table near the door was a display of historical photographs. Among refreshments in the social hall was a box of Cthulhu Peeps. I being among the few to rhyme “Cthulhu” in a limerick took one. It had no – heh heh.
President Eylat Poliner called us to order. Poetic license is part of life. She introduced former president David Gerrold who took the chair. In fact for decades we didn’t have a president, we had a director, but I’m leaving some things out.
We honored current and past officers and directors (either kind) present. Even this clubhouse couldn’t hold all our members, especially because Death Does Not Release You.
I brought greetings from Paul Turner, who’d invented our Building Fund, and from Roger Hill, one of the Cal Tech gang which included Ed Buchman our first president, and Dan Alderson the eponym of the space drive in The Mote in God’s Eye. Turner was in the desert. Hill was in Illinois. Buchman was present. Alderson was in After-Fandom.
June Moffatt having joined in 1947 was the longest-time member in attendance. Heedless of Methuselah’s Children neither Gerrold nor the rest of us put her into the chair.
We heard historical minutes from our first clubhouse, and a Forrest J Ackerman note of the first meeting there. Some things never change.
Jerry Pournelle said when Turner thought up the Building Fund, Pournelle had told him “You’re out of your mind”; Turner answered “Sure I am”; we should also remember Chuck Crayne and Bruce Pelz who made it happen. Up to then Pelz had shown no evidence of his ability to conjure money from stones.
Tom Locke announced the apparent discovery of magnetic monopoles. Larry Niven said Shipstar was out in hardback, showed a copy, and donated it to the library. Gerrold showed a precious hardback of Mote he’d had as a birthday present. He donated it to the library needling Niven and Pournelle to autograph it.
Fred Patten didn’t mention his new book Funny Animals and More. He remains exemplary as a general-interest fan who happened to become a big name in his special interests. So does Lee Gold; we’d read her first-clubhouse minutes. We adjourned to the program, a panel of members who’d joined over the decades.
No one joining in the 1930s was present or admitted it so Charles Lee Jackson II answered for them. June Moffatt spoke for the 40s; Bill Ellern, the 50s; Milt Stevens, the 60s; Glyer, the 70s; Karl Lembke, the 80s; Cathy Beckstead, the 90s; Peter Santell, the 2000s; Mimi Miller, the 10s. Stevens learned of us while reading fan-news columns in the prozines. Santell learned of us while a seminary student but then worked hours that kept him from meetings for twenty years.
In the 50s we rented a room in the Prince Rupert Apartments, which still exist and now charge $480 for what had cost us $40, i.e. about the same.
Through the years we’d maintained our involvement with Westercons, started our local Loscon, and by virtue (look it up) of individual members had much to do with Worldcons, Bouchercons for detective fiction, and Animé L.A. Also collecting, costuming, fanzines, filksinging, gaming, pro writing and illustrating, and things too fierce to mention.
We calculated when our pentachiliad would be and ended “See you there!”
Update 04/16/2014: Corrected to Lee Gold’s first-clubhouse minutes.
Comic-Con International has announced the nominees for the 2014 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, chosen by a panel of judges. Named for comics creator the Will Eisner, the awards, now in their 26th year, highlight the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels.
The judges this year are Kathy Bottarini, owner of Comic Book Box, in Rohnert Park, CA; William H. Foster III, Professor of English at Naugatuck Valley Community College, CT; Christian Lipski, comics reviewer and journalist; Lee Oeth, member of the Board of Directors, Comic-Con International: San Diego; Jenny Robb, curator and associate professor, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at the Ohio State University; and James Romberger, fine artist and cartoonist who lives and works in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Voting for the awards is held online. All professionals in the comic book industry are eligible to vote. The winners will be revealed on Friday, July 25 at Comic-Con International.
The voting in one Eisner Awards category, the Hall of Fame, is already completed. The judges chose the nominees earlier this year, and voting was conducted online.
Eisner Awards judges have selected three individuals to automatically be inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame for 2014. These inductees are Golden Age artists Irwin Hasen (The Flash, Wildcat, Green Lantern for DC; Dondi syndicated strip), Sheldon Moldoff (Batman artist), and African American comics pioneer Orrin C. Evans (All-Negro Comics). In the past, the judges have chosen two automatic inductees, both deceased. This year’s judges decided to add one more inductee, a deserving still-living comics creator. The judges have also chosen 14 nominees from which voters will select 4 to be inducted in the Hall of Fame this summer. These nominees are Gus Arriola, Howard Cruse, Philippe Druillet, Rube Goldberg, Fred Kida, Hayao Miyazaki, Tarpé Mills, Alan Moore, Francoise Mouly, Dennis O’Neil, Antonio Prohias, Rumiko Takahashi, George Tuska, and Bernie Wrightson.