Jerry Pournelle was hospitalized on Tuesday, December 16 after experiencing “a small stroke”. Alex Pournelle told Chaos Manor readers:
He is recovering well at a local hospital. Prognosis is good, though they’re running more tests and he’s expected to stay at least another day or two.
He felt well enough to call Mom [Mrs. Pournelle] from the hospital.
Today, Rich Pournelle commented on Facebook after talking to his father: “He’s still all there and his speech is getting better. Sounds like they caught it in time.”
Though Rebels takes place between the two Star Wars movie trilogies — a time when the few surviving Jedis are in hiding from the Empire — the 800-plus-year-old icon is drawn from hiding to offer counsel to fledgling Jedi knight Kanan and his new padawan, Ezra, on the remote planet of Lothal. The twist: He only “appears” as a disembodied voice.
Best of all, it will be Frank Oz speaking, who has voiced the character of Yoda in five Star Wars films.
Four Hugo-nominated novels: A Fall of Moondust, Rendezvous with Rama (won 1984), The Fountains of Paradise (won 1980), and 2010: Odyssey Two. Several nominations for other works. His classic short story “The Star” won in 1956.
Two Hugo-nominated novels, Too Many Magicians and Brain Twister (aka “That Sweet Little Old Lady,” written in collaboration with Laurence Janifer and published under the pseudonym Mark Phillips.) Also the author of one Hugo-nominated short story.
Recent Worldcons have had antiharassment policies but the Dublin in 2019 Worldcon bid believes they are the first to establish a Code of Conduct for a bid campaign.
“It’s very important to us that we make the Dublin in 2019 bid as safe and welcoming as Worldcon itself, should we win, and we feel this is a really important part of the bid from the start,” writes Esther MacCallum-Stewart. They are soliciting comments on the proposed text.
A draft of this Code of Conduct is open for consultation until early January. Everyone, whether they are aware of Worldcon, or entirely new to this historic convention, can comment on what we are doing. We would like help to make this the best bid ever, and that includes making it the safest. We would especially like feedback on our decision to include a newer concept: Code of Conduct contact team members. They are specifically chosen for this task, are not on the Committee or Bid Team, and they can help handle an issue raised in a sensitive manner.
The winners of the 2014 Rhysling Awards have been announced by the Science Fiction Poetry Association. The recipients were selected by a vote of 57 SFPA members.
Short Poem Category
First Place
“Turning the Leaves” by Amal El-Mohtar (Apex Magazine, December 2013)
Second Place
“Rivers” by Geoffrey A. Landis (Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2013)
Third Place
“Music of the Stars” by Bruce Boston (2013 Balticon Program Book)
Long Poem Category
First Place
“Interregnum” by Mary Soon Lee (Star*Line 36.4)
Second Place
“Hungry Constellations” by Mike Allen (Goblin Fruit Fall 2013)
Third Place
“I will show you a single treasure from the treasures of Shah Niyaz” by Rose Lemberg (Goblin Fruit, Summer 2013)
Mary Soon Lee’s “Interregnum” can be read online here, together with other poems from the cycle of which it is part. Or you can listen to her recite it in this video:
Marc Scott Zicree is willing to let you have the shirtfirst season Babylon 5 jacket off his back if you’re willing to let him have a thousand dollars out of your wallet.
This item was never sold commercially, only given to those who worked on the show. Black fabric with leather sleeves and a magnificent embroidered Babylon 5 emblem on the back of silver, blue, black and orange. Size is man’s medium.
Most Babylon 5 crew jackets have the person’s name embroidered on the front, but this one has no name on it — so you or your loved one who gets this incredible jacket can personalize it to your heart’s content.
Come with a signed letter of authenticity from Zicree, along with a signed copy of his Babylon 5 script, “Survivor.”
New York City fans can be on fhe lookout Tuesday for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles van giving out FREE pizza, in the culmination of multi-city tour publicizing the release of the recent movie’s DVD…
December 15, 1978:Superman, starring Christopher Reeve, premiered.
Christopher Reeve’s Superman took to the air above the Hollywood Costume exhibit only a few weeks ago in the outfit he wore in the1978 movie (assuming it wasn’t a duplicate) that once auctioned for $115,000, the price reflecting both the actor’s iconic performance and the collectability of superhero paraphernalia. Certainly he was one of the three most effective actors to take up that role – along with George Reeves and Dean Cain.
Reeve made several sequels to the 1978 movie and each had its moments —
Martin Freeman appeared on Saturday Night Live December 13 in a skit that melded two of his best known roles, Bilbo Baggins from the Hobbit trilogy and Tim Canterbury from BBC’s The Office.
He plays a sly prankster working at The Office: Middle-Earth. His boss is a parody of Gandalf who combines the worst traits of Saruman and Radaghast.
In November three Ray Bradbury themed “Shadow Show” comics were released by IDW Publishing.
Shadow Show #1 offered “By The Silver Water of Lake Champlain,” written by Joe Hill (Locke & Key) and adapted by Jason Ciaramella (The Cape) with art by Charles Paul Wilson III (Wraith) and cover by Locke & Key co-creator Gabriel Rodriquez.
The second issue featured “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury,” written by Neil Gaiman with art by Maria Fröhlich, “which peers into the mind of a man who sifts through his own memories in an attempt to recover the name of a famous sci-fi author.” In the other story, Audrey Niffenegger and Eddie Campbell combined talents on “Backward in Seville.”
The third Shadow Show contained “Weariness” by the inestimable Harlan Ellison, which gives us a look at the end of the universe as we know it, and “Live Forever!” by Bradbury biographer Sam Weller and Mark Sexton, where Ray Bradbury himself enters the story.
