As suggested by Nigel.
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File 770
Mike Glyer's news of science fiction fandom
As suggested by Nigel.
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::tickbox::
I don’t know – aaaaaagghhhh! *is flung into the Gorge of Eternal Peril*
Given attendance went up quite a bit at Loncon 3, I don’t see why Uncle Lar thinks attendance should dwindle at Helsinki. Do Europeans fear the Finns?
I’ve been wondering what Helsinki means to the makeup of the 2017 business meetings. A smaller head count, obviously, but will there be a greater percentage of WSFS lifers who care the most about Worldcon and preserving its traditions and standards?
something humorous
I suspect that flying into London is easier and cheaper, it being a pretty major hub, than Helsinki.
I was just looking at the price to get home to the north of England today: cheap if you want to crash in Kobenhaven airport overnight, silly money for a direct flight.
ETA: I also expect that for some people there will be worry about a language barrier, though the only Finns I’ve ever had dealings with have spoken better English than most English people.
Steph and I will not be attending Helsinki, but we will be Supporting. The same goes for NASFiC. There are just too many conventions that we want to attend, and not enough vacation time (or money) to be able to attend all of them.
We’re probably attending San Jose in ’18, though.
Lots of friends are currently booking LGW-HEL on Norwegian at really quite low prices. Could be worth a look for anyone wanting to get there.
(Then there’s Norwegian’s new low-cost US routes, which could be used to build an itinerary with minimal changes for folk on the East and West coasts…)
@nickpheas:
Better than most English people or better than us ‘Murcans? 🙂
All these title suggestions should reassure Mike (as if it were needed) that he still lives in the love of the comment people.
@lauwolf: I would not be entirely surprised if Helsinki saw some drop off from Kansas City, as many American attendees from this year probably won’t make it to next year’s event. I wouldn’t be surprised if it held steady either – as Loncon showed, you can have a well-attended Worldcon outside of North America. I expect many of the people who were attending members this year but aren’t going to Helsinki to be supporting members for next year. The Pups seem to think that everyone will forget about the Hugos if they aren’t in their own backyard, or if they aren’t promoting them, but that’s just a minor element to their delusions.
Their notion that the Dragon Awards will somehow “kill” the Hugos would be adorable if it wasn’t so patently stupid. That’s not how awards work. The Hugos haven’t been killed by the Nebulas, or the World Fantasy Award, or the BSFA Award, or the Locus Award, or any number of other awards that are out there. For the most part, everyone who is truly jazzed up over the Dragon Awards “replacing” the Hugos is already someone who says things like “the Hugos are a warning label these days”. In other words, they didn’t think the Hugos were worth anything to begin with, so their glomming on the Dragon Awards is of no consequence insofar as the Hugos are concerned.
I think that Paulk believes that the majority of members of Worldcon silently agree with her, and once they realize that the Dragon Awards are around, they will abandon Worldcon in droves and rally to her cause. The belief that they represent a silent majority just waiting to be led to victory seems to be a common one among the alt-right – and it has become clear over the last few years that the Puppy leaders share a lot of the same thinking with the alt-right. The idea that most of those Worldcon attendees and supporters actually like the things they vote for probably does not occur to Paulk. She’s convinced herself that an evil cabal is holding down “the people” who can only be released by the benevolence of the Pups.
I’m not sure how they will rationalize the continued popularity of Worldcon and the continued prestige of the Hugo Awards over the next several years, but I am sure they will come up with some evidence-free conspiracy theory laden story to explain it. After all, they still continue to claim that the Hugos were dominated by secret cabals prior to the Puppy campaigns, despite there being exactly zero credible evidence that this is true.
Night of the Comment, then!
A little closer to Christmas, we could have: On Dasher, On Scroller, On Comment, On Cupid…
Thanks for the rec, Mark!
Hampus, A) THANK YOU the masks are awesome and the Demon of Parasitic Worms is going up in the studio, and B) dude, a mummified possum? COOL.
Just think of all the cool Moomins stuff you could pick up. Unfortunately, the Comet in Moominland ballet by the Finnish National Opera is scheduled earlier in the year.
ETA. Oooo. Comment in Moominland. obvious joke missed.
We just posted our MidAmeriCon II Takeaways on Rocket Stack Rank. Eric and I had a great time, not least meeting so many Filers in person! We’re looking forward to Helsinki.
[VBG]
Only just got this! 🙂
Camestros Felapton:
North American!
Of course there will be a Sad Puppies 5. And then there will be Sad Puppies 5.2. They couldn’t stop before two fives. It simply isn’t done.
Let’s all jump up and down about how much we’re looking forward to the Dragon Awards and the SJZ* triumph and how Puppies of any stripe (5, 5.2, 3R, VX, whatever) will never wrest the newly beloved Dragon Awards from our cold, evil, SJZing hands.
*Social Justice Zippos is my favorite. We can set a fire under those Dragon Awards! Cackle, cackle, double, double, toil, trouble, fire burn, cauldron bubble, etc.
I had a feeling it would be North American because Australian possums look far too cute but I know New Zealand has a thriving possum export business*
*{they are invasive species in New Zealand}
There, Are, Five, PUPPIES!
The next question is, will they run Sad Puppies 5 again next year.
@Camastros
We’ve also got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Scrollers working overtime.
Meanwhile, the actual Dragon Awards website is STILL not updated. The best place to get current information on the awards is Larry Correia’s blog.
@ Peter J: AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHH! *holds nose and runs screaming into the night*
Re speaking English, I was chatting with the guy running the San Juan NASFIC bid, and he mentioned that he’d had people saying they wouldn’t be going because they don’t speak Spanish. 0_o
FFS, people, it’s an American territory! I would expect almost everyone there to be reasonably fluent in English — certainly anyone at the hotel or the restaurants around it. That’s like saying you wouldn’t go to an event in Corpus Christi, TX because you don’t speak Spanish.
We can’t go as dealers because there’s no way to ship our merchandise that wouldn’t be ruinously expensive. But I’m considering going as a fan, if I can put aside enough money to make the trip, just because it sounds like fun.
Dame Edna would approve.
“Seriously though, the focus on the Hugos by the puppies has been unhealthy. All they’ve managed to do is add a list of authors to my list that I won’t bother to try out on a whim and generate a hell of a lot of ill will.”
That has happened on both sides. There are several authors and an entire publishing house (Tor) that I will not spend money on in the future. Editors and writers broad-brush painting people as Nazis and racists are people who don’t need my money. Some authors I previously spent money on – but no more. I’m not buying Callista House works for the same reasons – but unlike Tor I’ve never made a Callista purchase.
I appreciate those at 770 who can differentiate between the Sads & the Rabids.
I’m enthusiastic about the Dragon awards because they are crowd-sourcing awards in categories that I enjoy including Military SF and Alt-History SF. Hopefully I’ll find new authors in genres that I like.
Love it or Hate it – the Hugos have been heavily literary SF for several decades. Hugos also concentrate on shorter works. Short SF stories have little current marketplace relevance.
Literary SF and short SF is a taste issue. Literary SF is not what I enjoy so in recent years Hugos are an anti-buying signal. Not due to the politics of the authors (unknown to me 24 months ago), but because I don’t care much for most literary SF.
Hopefully readers who prefer action/adventure/military focused SF can move on to something else. The Dragon Awards have potential. Those who prefer literary SF and especially short literary SF will appreciate Hugos.
Helsinki is a beautiful city. Many Finn’s are fluent in English. I’ve been there three times and enjoyed every visit. The outdoor park holding examples of buildings in different regions of Finland from over 100 years ago is an excellent outing. Best park of that type in the world.
I hope Mr. Glyer will recover and can start posting geek news/lore again. Perhaps once a week some item pops up that either made me smile, learn something interesting, or even make a purchase.
@Tasha – you requested positive upliftment books the other day. If David Freer has not completely alienated you – Changeling Island is a sweet coming of age book in the outback of Australia without violence and featuring multicultural people. It has gotten well deserved positive reviews. But Mr. Freer’s comments may prevent you from sending cash in his direction. As always with free people, your money and your choice.
Hey Airboy, what Alt-History SF would you recommend? From any year that is. Usually not my genre, but I really like The Hammer And The Cross by Harry Harrison.
Just a note:
Categories won by a Sad Puppy pick: Best Novella, Best Fan Writer.
Categories won by a Rabid Puppy pick: Best Graphic Story.
Categories won by a Sad and Rabid Puppy pick: Best Novelette, Best Long Form Dramatic Presentation, Best Professional Artist, Best Fanzine, Campbell Award.
The notion that people won’t vote for something based on quality just because of who nominated it is complete bullshit. One would think that after this showing, the Pups would be celebrating their success. But they aren’t. They are bemoaning that the finalists they really wanted to win didn’t, and saying it is because of those evil SJWs who won’t vote for anything tainted by Puppies. The list above shows that argument to be built on a lie.
The Puppy reaction to the Hugo results demonstrates, pretty conclusively in my opinion, that the people calling for compromise last year – i.e. just vote for one of their mediocre to miserable choices and let them win and the Pups will be satisfied – were dead wrong. The Pups wouldn’t not have been, and never will be satisfied by anything less than total domination of the winner’s circle. Contrary to claims from some quarters, they would not have been mollified if Fandom had “met them halfway” in some manner. They just would have wailed about any area they judged the Hugo voters to have come up short and vowed continued struggle.
I have been told, but not personally verified, that if you fly to Helsinki via Air Iceland you can have a stopover in Iceland for up to seven nights for no added cost (outside of costs you incur while there like food and lodging, of course.) The possibility of doing a trip to Iceland and Finland on the same trip makes it a lot more tempting for me.
Next Worldcon here in Helsinki! I’m so chuffed to read that and realize it’s really happening.
Welcome, fen of the world!
@Aaron
This is a great point that I haven’t heard people talking about. If you think of the puppy’s lists as being “these are things we think deserve awards,” then they ought to be ecstatic. Their picks took home eight awards.
But they’re not happy because, as you say, those weren’t their “real” picks. None of their real picks won anything. Almost all of them ended up below No Award.
The casual dishonesty of puppydom continues to astonish me.
@matthew That is what the website says, and I have tentatively planned to make such a stop on the way back from Worldcon…although a Swedish acquaintance wants me to visit Sweden post-Worldcon instead. I cannot manage both…
@Matthew Johnson
Yep, they’re still offering it.
Eric and I did this on a vacation a couple of years ago, and it was great. It was June, so we were there for three days and no nights. 🙂
Yay, I have managed to pack my books, my mummified possum, my coyote cranium, my region 1 bluray player, etc and everything fit!!
Happy happy joy joy!
@Greg Hullender,
the nordic languages have a great word – “dygn” in Swedish, “døgn” in Danish (and “døgn” or “dyn” in Norwegian if the internet is to be believed) that means explicitly a 24-hour period; it means that you can talk about those 24-hour periods, or one-sevenths-of-a-week, using just a single word instead of a more complex phrase, and without causing any confusion with “day” vs “night” 😉
@Darren Garrison:
“…when suddenly a dry husky voice in the sand made them all jump back, and their hearts jumped nearly as fast as they did.
“Aristotle,’ it said. And now everyone heard the voice and looked at the others to see if they had too.”
Something like that?
Teemu Leisti:
Thank you! I have bought memberships for my brother and father also. We shall have a blast!!
This calls for a meme. Can’t decide if I like this one or this one best.
Did you know that if a near-sighted person sees a baby possum wandering through the bathroom, looking through a knobbled shower door, it is very difficult to distinguish it from a very very VERY large rat?
Question for those who deal with B&N ebooks:
Should I be worried that a Tor.com novella (“The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe” – y’all sold me on it – besides, Kij Johnson!) which I just now bought in Nook Book format is “open” rather than “shipped”, and that it is not in fact in my Library nor “ready for [me] to enjoy now”?
It’s more than a week past its pub date, so surely it’s not in pre-order limbo…?
I have never had a Nook Book delay between purchase and availability before. This is also the first time I’ve bought a Tor.com novella.
The Fifth Comment.
Speaking of which, I just learned about the Finnish Civil War within the last week or so.
@Kevin Hogan:
Well, turnabout is fair play…
Call me cynical but.
@Darren Garrison:
It sounds like you really appreciate them. That is awesome; it means the world is once again larger than I knew.
@airboy: Your comment was…very nice!
@Camestros Felapton:
Call me cynical but.
@Hampus: Wouldn’t this be a more accurate representation?
@Jim Henley:
The way the nominee list is shaping up, George R.R. Martin and Chuck Tingle might be inspired to combine their forces to write A Circle Jerk of Dragons.
@airboy If David Freer has not completely alienated you – Changeling Island is a sweet coming of age book in the outback of Australia without violence and featuring multicultural people.
Unfortunately his online blogging and comments about “people like me” has probably put him in my “don’t buy list” but I may check him out. I do a lot of voting with my money and whom I’ll spend my time supporting.
I’m also trying to read more #OwnVoices and #DiverseCreators not just #DiverseBooks
Thanks for the suggestion though. I am checking it out. I’ve read LC and BT and have at least one of Hoyt’s books in my long TBR.
…Nevermind, the order status became “shipped” and the novella became available within the hour. I’m just spoiled, I guess.
Nothing to see here! Move along.
*nom nom reading reading nom*
Heather Rose Jones on August 25, 2016 at 4:59 pm said:
Did you know that if a near-sighted person sees a baby possum wandering through the bathroom, looking through a knobbled shower door, it is very difficult to distinguish it from a very very VERY large rat?
When you see a possum you have to think PIGGY BANK at them really, really hard, and then it’s fine.
Otherwise, yeah, big rat.
Available for pre-order on Amazon (don’t know where else): Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
I followed a bit of her adventures researching and deciding what to include in this anthology. I’m excited to see it coming out soon. She said while reading stories deciding what to include she came up with a few other ideas for other anthologies so I’m hoping for more in the future.
RedWombat:
Everything for a fellow mask lover. ^^
Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Oh? (checks) Ah. Baen. Oh, well.
@Nicole J. LeBoeuf-Little–
My experience has been that while normally Nook books appear instantly, it can occasionally take as long gone as 30 minutes. System load, I assume.
I am present. Not necessarily accounted for.
No one is allowed to tamper with my favorite book of my childhood, Five Children and It. This is non-negotiable.
I heard back from MidAmeriCon after emailing them about the security implications of a fan not knowing he was banned and getting into the con for two more days.
A member of the Incident Response Team told me:
“Hey Airboy, what Alt-History SF would you recommend? From any year that is. Usually not my genre, but I really like The Hammer And The Cross by Harry Harrison.”
I read this sort of thing a lot. I have read “The Hammer and the Cross” twice.
SM Stirling.
a] The three Nantucket books
b] First 6 books in the “Dies the Fire” Series.
c] The Peshawar Lancers
d] Conquistador
Alt-WW1:
Grey Tide in the East by Andrew Heller
1632 Series by Eric Flint
There are a lot of these books. I think the first one is a free Baen ebook.
Some of the books are amazing and others less so. Mostly, if you look at ones Eric Flint was a co-author of and it is highly rated on Amazon is a good sign. There are 20+ books out in this series and some are much better than others.
Harry Turtledove
a] Man in the Iron Mask
b] Days of Infamy (the other one co-authored by Newt Gingrich is also good).
Many of his books really bog down but those two are IMHO stick to the story more closely.
Some of these recommendations may not classify as alt-history but some variant on time travel like Piper’s Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
This is perhaps* enough to get you started. Grey Tide in the East is the most more hard core alt-military if that is a plus or minus to you. If you wargame this the entire situation is very plausible.
I hope you find these recommendations useful.
* = this is a joke.
Airboy:
Thank you! I will check out Turtledoves “Man in the Iron Mask”. Got first of 1632 signed by Eric Flint for my father at WorldCon.