(1) SF BEER. Poul Anderson used to set great store by Heineken beer. This billboard ad from the 1970s claims Mr. Spock did, too.
(2) SYFY PROTOTYPE. Deadline tell us “Cote de Pablo Poised To Star In Syfy Pilot ‘Prototype’”.
EXCLUSIVE: NCIS alumna Cote de Pablo is nearing a return to series television. I have learned that the fan favorite is in negotiations to play the female lead opposite Jack Davenport in Prototype, Syfy’s sci-fi thriller drama pilot written by Tony Basgallop (24: Live Another Day). It centers on three unlikely cohorts — two of them played by de Pablo and Davenport — who inadvertently stumble upon an invention that challenges the very nature of quantum physics – a discovery which in turn puts their lives in grave danger.
De Pablo would play Laura Kale, a driven, extremely intelligent mother of two. Excited about a potentially world-changing machine being developed by herself and two partners, she is certain that she is on the brink of something history-making. Propelled by a shot at glory, she is not about to give up despite numerous setbacks.
(3) AUTOGRAPHED LENSMAN. Heritage Auctions is already taking bids for items in its “April 6 Rare Books Grand Format Auction”. The chair J.K. Rowling sat in to write a couple of Harry Potter books is on the block. So is an autographed boxed set of the Fantasy Press edition of E.E. “Doc” Smith’s Lensman series – they’re looking for an opening bid of $2,000.
Edward E. (“Doc”) Smith. The History of Civilization, including: Triplanetary, First Lensman, Galactic Patrol, Gray Lensman, Second Stage Lensman, Children of the Lens. Reading: Fantasy Press, 1955. First edition, limited to seventy-five numbered sets, of which this is number twenty-four. Each volume signed by the author and volume one additionally warmly inscribed to Smith’s “friend and fellow-toiler in the vineyard of SF,” Ben J[—]. Six octavo volumes. Publisher’s special binding of quarter reddish-brown leather over brick red cloth-covered boards, spines lettered in gilt, in publisher’s original box. Books very nearly fine with only minimal rubbing to spine ends and light soiling. Box edges worn, some lid edges split with tape at corners. From the collection of Dr. Stuart David Schiff.
(4) ANOTHER REASON MCDEVITT ROCKS. Locus Online reports the International Astronomical Union has approved a proposal to name an asteroid after sf writer Jack McDevitt:
The asteroid, now known as “Jackmcdevitt,” is designated 328305, and was discovered in 2006 by astronomer Lawrence Wasserman at Kitt Peak observatory in Arizona.
(5) WHY BATMAN STINKS ON ICE. ScreenRant will happily tell you the “13 Worst Things About Batman & Robin”.
11. Bat Ice Skates
Again, in a continuation of the bizarre ‘60s Batman mythos, Joel Schumacher’s take on the Dynamic Duo is filled with a collection of oddly specific bat-gadgets. Considering that Batman had no idea that Mr. Freeze would turn out to be the big villain of the movie, it’s strange that he had already prepared a collection of ice-themed accessories, including a jet ski and special ice-themed costumes.
In their first run-in with Mr. Freeze, upon discovering that the floor has been frozen solid, Batman and Robin activate their “bat ice skates,” which appear out of the bottom of their boots with a click of the heels. The convenience of this gadget takes the silly accessories of Batman’s utility belt from the ‘60s show to a cinematic extreme, adding fuel to the fire of the joke that Batman’s true superpower is his magic utility belt which can produce anything the plot requires it to.
(6) GRAPHIC MARCH MADNESS. Comic Mix is getting ready to run webcomics brackets — “Announcing the 2016 Mix March Madness Webcomics Tournament”
Yes, it’s that time of year again, the time where bracketology reigns supreme and the cry around the nation is “Win or Go Home!” Last year’s Mix March Madness Webcomics Tournament was incredibly popular, and so we’re doing it all over again– and raising money for the Hero Initiative in the process!
We’re giving you a list of over 300 webcomics, and we want your votes . We’re taking the top 128 and putting them in a single elimination tournament where we whittle down the contestants down to one. The top 128 vote getters make it into the tournament, with the biggest getting top seeds. The voting ends Sunday, March 13 at 11:59 PM EDT, and brackets go up on Monday, March 14!
Simply check off the strips you want to see in the tournament below. If there are webcomics you don’t see, check “Other” at the end and include the strip name AND THE URL. We’ll add them to the main list periodically for higher visibility.
(7) FREE AUTOGRAPHS. The West Australian has a story on the Australian national convention — “Perth fandom unites for 41st Swancon”. It’s funny what you have to explain to people nowadays.
Beasley said Swancon welcomed the increase interest in fandom these nationally-run conventions bought but he hoped the local version could always retain its more intimate, community feel.
“You will most likely see our guests wandering around the hotel interacting with anyone who buys them a coffee,” he said.
“The membership fee covers everything contained in the convention and our guest signings are also free.”
(8) WILL BLOOM AGAIN. Rachel Bloom’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend series will get a second season.
Musical comedy series @CW_CrazyXGF renewed for a second season! https://t.co/hvm6sC2j3V pic.twitter.com/kdvYfW6XLX
— broadway.com (@broadwaycom) March 11, 2016
(9) TODAY IN HISTORY
- March 11, 1818 – Frankenstein published.
- March 11, 1971: George Lucas makes his feature debut with THX-1138.
(10) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY BOY
- Born March 11, 1952 – Douglas Adams
(11) DYEING OUTSIDE. Cat Rambo’s “Pink Hair Manifesto” at Medium.
The first time I dyed it, I was about to head off to my first Wiscon?—?a large feminist science fiction convention held yearly in Madison, Wisconsin. As I’ve found the case at sf conventions since then, I wasn’t the only person there with an odd hair color; I glimpsed rainbows of pink, blue, and green. And I realized it was becoming. Complete strangers would lean over and whisper, “I like your hair,” including two flight attendants on the way home.
After the con the color faded, softer and softer, until finally, when I went to get a haircut, the hairdresser was cutting away dusty rose tips. I looked in the mirror and saw a middle-aged woman with a short, practical cut.
I bought a new kit on the way home and re-pinked my hair that afternoon….
That’s another reason why I dye it pink. People talk to me. There’s something about the color that draws them to ask about it or say that they like it. The only person I’ve ever found who disapproved outright was a relative’s girlfriend. She didn’t last. My hair color has.
But more than that, the pink forces me to talk to people as well. I’ve habitually toed the line between introvert and extrovert, depending on which Meyer Briggs results you look at, and I like the fact that the pink pushes me outside myself, makes me be socially brave in a way I’ve sometimes retreated from.
(12) RABID PUPPIES. Vox Day moves on to the novella category of his slate — Rabid Puppies 2016: Best Novella.
The preliminary recommendations for the Best Novella category.
- “Fear and Self-Loathing in Hollywood”, Nick Cole
- “Penric’s Demon”, Lois McMaster Bujold
- “Hyperspace Demons”, Jonathan Moeller
- “The Builders”, Daniel Polansky
- “Slow Bullets”, Alastair Reynolds
(13) HOW DEADPOOL BEGAN. Steve Fahnestalk’s latest “Second Looks” column at Amazing Stories includes two reviews — “Marvel’s Deadpool & Ant-Man and Some Words on Writing”.
And now we come to Deadpool. I was vaguely familiar with the character—I think I’d read a recent Spiderman with him in it (one of the ones after Miles Morales became Spiderman). I knew he was called “The Merc With The Mouth,” and that he apparently couldn’t be killed, but I knew little else about him. Now I know that he’s been around for—wait for it!—25 years! (Thanks, Wikipedia!) I also found out, courtesy of the Wiki, that he was played by Ryan Reynolds already in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and that he was the dude who had everyone’s powers including Cyclops’s, and whose head was cut off and destroyed the atomic cooling tower! Whoa! Looks like I needed a crash course! (So I got some fairly recent Deadpools, like Deadpool – Dracula’s Gauntlet and Deadpool’s Secret Wars [both 2015], and read up a bit.) And from what I can tell, by casting Ryan Reynolds in this movie, Marvel (or whomever did the casting) really, really nailed the character. He’s profane, obscene, funny, athletic, heroic and antiheroic, mouthy, sexy, and a whole lot more.
(14) HOW DEADPOOL SHOULD HAVE ENDED. Yes, the How It Should Have Ended team has fixed Deadpool for ya.
[Thanks to Andrew Porter, Glen Hauman, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Will R.]
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Sean O’Hara: That implies there is another generally accepted definition for the word length of novella. I thought what made the Hugos antique was continuing to use “novella” at all. And to that end it mainly helps justify keeping four fiction categories.
Can’t stand beer, so I’ll have a shot or 2 of Vodka McIntyre
Other news: On Twitter, Vee Dey is repeating a lie about last night’s Chicago protests, that an elderly woman photographed giving a Nazi salute at protesters is actually a specific, named pro-Sanders “plant.” Said woman tweets that she was not even in Chicago last night; she doesn’t actually look much like the other lady once you get past the skinny woman with white hair aspect; and the actual Heiler identified herself to the Trib by name.
ETA: Apparently VD has admitted his error but is leaving the bogus-ID tweet up for reasons: https://twitter.com/RS_Benedict/status/708689028313436160
Having the admission of error but leaving the original up lets Beale have the best of both worlds–he corrected it, but can count on people hitting the original and not seeing the correction and jumping to the island of conclusions.
JJ at 3:23:
IIRC, he indeed made a blog post last year decrying Seveneves as SJW propaganda.
Adding to the JK Rowling pile-on: I see that the president of the American magical government in 17 freakin’ 90 was named Emily Rappaport. Weren’t all the Ashkenazic wizards still in Prague making golems then?
(Yeah, I know, Rappaport was originally an Italian name. But the Rappaports in the US are mainly from the Polish branch of the family, and there were even fewer Italian Jews in the 18th-century American colonies than there were Ashkenazim.)
I had no idea about the history of the name Rappaport. I think I assumed it was English, like Davenport. (Now I’m picturing Rappaport davening on the sofa…)
@Sean O’Hara
I came up with 41,800 when I reviewed Slow Bullets. On the other hand, I found it an average story.
I think his standout work for 2015 was his short story, A Murmuration.
The Rappaport in “I’m Not Rappaport” is black. Although he also keeps insisting his name is not Rappaport.
@Andy H.
How odd. I read the last third of Seveneves as an exploration of what it might be like if racism were rational. I’d have thought VD would be all over that.
“Novella” is at least a term that’s used outside of SF awards (Stephen King, for instance, releases a collection of novellas every decade or so). It’s novelette that’s the odd duck.
Personally I think novella should cover the space from 30-60k words, with anything longer being a short story, and anything longer being a novel. If we must keep novelette, it should be in the 15-30k range.
I spent years believing “Costello” was an Italian surname when it’s actually Irish. (The mobster Frank Costello was born Francesco Castiglia.)
————
There are arguments on both sides of the general question, “Should you delete a problematic tweet.” It can look like trying to hide your transgression, and people do get slammed for that. On the other hand, people get slammed for problematic tweets they disown but leave up too. Shaun King still gets the occasional snipe at an anti-Snowden tweet he posted in 2013 or so that he no longer stands by; in fact, Snowden has been helping with BLM on opsec for the last few months.
In this case, the tweet is a specific slander of a specific human being. If it’s left up, it will hang around like Shaun King’s Snowden slam for years; but King’s tweet was simply the expression of a (problematic, IMHO) opinion. VD’s tweet falsely accused an innocent party of concrete fraud. The fact that Vox prioritizes himself not getting attacked for deleting a tweet over removing his false accusation from the record is telling.
Speaking of art, I have another art-qualification question.
Stephen Hickman released a book in 2015, The Art of Stephen Hickman: Empyrean. It looks as though all (or almost all?) the images therein have pre-2015 copyright dates. The only 2015 work ISFDB has for him is The Red Mermaid, which is in Spectrum 22.
Does the book count as his 2015 body-of-work for Pro Artist purposes?
@Doctor Science: I would say not, if they appeared elsewhere, else a short story’s eligible every year it shows up in a collection. Did it appear elsewhere? I’m guessing it did, but I don’t have the book (but now am tempted, thanks! LOL). I like his work. He works as an illustrator and his “new” page is out of date; I wonder if he has newer work and it’s just not in ISFDB (which isn’t as good for art as for fiction) or his site (which, again: out of date)?
ETA: I didn’t realize how long Hickman had been in the field; he must be in his 60s or 70s now. I wonder if he’s retiring.
@RedWombat: That’s good (re. 14); I’m not into horror, really. Have you read The Fold, which someone here* told me was kinda related? It came out in 2015. I was going to get it, then found out about 14 and figured I should read it first.
* I’ll feel silly if it was you. 😉
It wasn’t! I’m intrigued.
Sort of, but looked at that way Stephenson takes the counterfactual premise “what if personality was primarily genetic and people were sorted genetically and culturally into distinct groups based on this kind of shared genetic heritage?” and then extrapolates. We don’t get to see much of Red society but Blue society is functional, multiracial, relatively harmonious, and while Stephenson doesn’t say so explicitly, the distinctions between the genetic/ethnic groups are becoming more blurred as the original reasons for the separation diminish. All of that runs directly counter to VD’s political theory which is that (somehow) our genetic differences are politically deterministic (to the point that the US values of ‘freedom’ are down to English genes) and that societies with a mix of different genetic groups descend into conflict.
i.e. Part 3 of Seveneves says that even if VD was right then he’d still be wrong.
Speaking of Rapid Puppies, I looked at Vox’s Fan Artist recs. Only one of the images (from Matthew Callahan, the Stormtroopers action figures one) is from 2015.
Speaking of the Rothko Chapel, James Elkins in “Pictures & Tears: A History of People Who Have Cried in Front of Paintings” found that it is the only modern painting(s) that regularly gets people to cry, yet weeping used to be a regular and accepted response to certain paintings. I don’t think he necessarily gets to *why* we no longer weep at paintings, but he raises really interesting questions about how people in the past experienced things. How were people thinking and feeling, when they wept at Greuze?
There was a sculpture outside the Rothko Chapel at the time I was still living in Houston, called “Broken Obelisk.” I never actually saw it, but there was a sign indicating that it had been taken away to be fixed, because it wasn’t at the perfect expressive angle the artist had specified in creating the work.
What I wanted to do was to put a sign up stating that the installation, in that form, was a work of conceptual art by me, called “Removed Obelisk,” along with an explanation that this was a tribute in three dimensions to Robert Rauschenberg’s erased DeKooning drawing, and (not shown) a substantial check for me.
My cousin’s friend Richard was around the same day I was there, along with his father, to pick up a sofa that was up for grabs. Richard’s dad came back from a brief visit to the chapel, in great humor, still laughing as they moved the sofa. (Coincidentally, he died the next day.)
Quite fond of Reynolds in general, but haven’t read Slow Bullets yet. He’s one of the few authors who’s collected short works I tend to buy though.
Currently reading I Shall Wear Midnight. Which means I’m running out of unread Pratchett having finished Days of Atonement by Walter Jon Williams. Those filers who mentioned it were right: the protagonist was an utter bell end but I still enjoyed the book.
Indeed, nor is this such a difficult problem to solve. Vox has a widely read blog, he can screenshot the original Tweet and put it in a post explaining how he was wrong – all that takes is a little common sense, commitment to truth and a dash of humility…oh, OK I can see were my reasoning went astray there.
Doctor Science: One of the main reasons I run this blog, in terms of personal motivation, is to try and understand the reasons people have different views than mine. And it turns out that even extends to this strange phenomenon of people who just can’t bear the idea of letting a slate fail for want of a technical correction they could offer. Truly a different view than mine.
Mike: I was thinking the same thing. I understand discussion, but why are we correcting the slates? We know VD is reading, or at least someone is reading and reporting back. I doubt this is even his real slate, but if it is wouldn’t it be beneficial for several of his choices to be disqualified?
@Jim Henley:
I was just reading a news story about Trump and saw the woman giving the seig heil salute. What struck me was the expression on the man next to her. He looks like he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing.
Kip W
Thank you for the link to your photos.
The Devonshire Hunting tapestries are one of the greatest glories of the V&A’s collection, but the light levels are so subdued, for conservation reasons, that it’s best to buy a book to see the finer details.
But nothing really matches that moment when you first walk into the room and see them; it’s utterly breathtaking, and overwhelming.
And then you realise that these were household furnishings, designed to keep the chill of the stones at bay; Bess of Hardwick, being Bess of Hardwick, simply ensured that she was surrounded by extraordinary beauty…
ETA
I share Mike’s view that this is a strange phenomonen.
VD has been explicit that the posted lists are preliminary. Which would suggest, among other things, that corrections will be noted.
jonesnori/Lenore Jones: However, I was once blown away by an altarpiece at The Cloisters.
Oh, God, the Merode Altarpiece. I went to the Cloisters the first time specifically to look for that–well, that and the Unicorn Tapestries, I suppose. It didn’t not disappoint. (Neither did the Tapestries, but I kind of expected that: they are so huge, they don’t reproduce well.)
For anyone who has an ambition to visit the Cloisters, may I suggest a mid- or late-summer schedule? The Gardens are especially beautiful and fragrant then, even for non-gardeners like me. There was a website–The Medieval Garden Enclosed–that seems to be still up, though I’m not sure how active it is, all about the plants in the Cloister Gardens. Hang on, let me see if i can manage a link: The Medieval Garden Enclosed
@Doctor Science–
Hickman’s art book would be covered, as are other art books, as Best Related Work.
Current reading: The Serial Garden, a collection of Joan Aiken’s Armitage stories – a very English fantasia. I’m wondering about nominating the foreword by her daughter Lizzie as on of my Best Related Works.
I understand the urge to point & laugh, I really do. But I am all for letting SP4 & Vox Day get on with whatever they are doing and ignoring them especially if they are making mistakes. Let them fail if that is their direction.
At this stage, pointing out mistakes gives people like Vox Day the opportunity to strengthen any slate or slate-like actions they are trying to promote. I’d rather we let them make their own mistakes rather than helping them succeed.
ETA: Maybe save it for until after nominations close?
Vox’s choices continue to be curious.
Now that I’ve read and reviewed all of them except the Stephen King horror piece, his novella choices include one that isn’t SFF at all, one that’s very poorly written, one mediocre main-stream novella, and two, absolutely award-worthy novellas, both of which seem to be absolutely contrary to what the puppies stand for. This is pretty much the pattern of his novelette and short-story choices as well.
It certainly doesn’t do much to further the idea that a great number of worthy “conservative-friendly stories” are going unrewarded.
I think sometimes it’s choosing an easy target for ridicule (how many chapter fives does this one have?), but other times it appears to be accuracy over self-interest. I find that rather delightful, even if one of the unintended consequences is strengthening the RP slate. After all, another unintended consequence is that VD frequently has to walk it back a little and appending insults to obscure the reversal doesn’t actually make it less obvious that, once again, a vile Filer or three has pointed out an obvious error.
Well, if by “the past”, he means the time before photography, color illustrated magazines, movies, and television, it seems a pretty simple answer–people of the past had much, much less experience with media than people of the present. Think of the trope of children at Christmas being given an orange in their stocking. Contrast the reaction of a child receiving an orange when it is rare, expensive, and possibly the only orange they will get the whole year to the reaction of a child who has a bowl of mixed fruit sitting on their coffee table every day of their life.
I’m puzzled as to why anyone should believe a word that VD says, much less spend their time on ruminating his supposed choices as if a) they really are his choices, b) his choices matter, and c) helpfully explaining that a supposed choice is in the wrong category.
As I said. Puzzled.
@RedWombat: I read the sample for The Fold a while back and it definitely caught my interest (and kinda spooked me, too, but in a good way). Check it out. 🙂 It’s on my to-buy list, but I over-buy, so I’m waiting till I finish 14.
@Stevie – I am similarly stunned that people point out when the “sooper-genius” gets eligibility wrong. He’s repeatedly proven to be a bad actor, so just let him go off being wrong, then the correct response, after the nominations close, (IMO)is to point out to the Hugo admins that his nominations are invalid. And point and laugh at him at that point, if you want to.
The benefit of this is that it stops him pushing his agenda, and weakens his effectiveness by bumping his crap off the Hugo ballot. Anything else is counter productive and helping him out.
An ebook sale! To quote an old ad, “Nobody pays retail any more; why should you?”
The Bone Flower Throne by T.L. Morganfield is free (and DRM-free, at least at Kobo & iTunes) right now; the omnibus for the trilogy is $6.99. I forget where I first ran into this, but it’s Aztec-based fantasy with a female protaganist and sounded interesting when I bookmarked it. 😉 It has praise from Aliette de Bodard and J. Kathleen Cheney. Anyone read this? It’s free, so what the heck, I “bought” it. Um, it’s not really buying if it’s free, right? So technically I didn’t just by Yet Another Book???
In other news, I’m still debating A Crown for Cold Silver (still $1.99, BTW). The sample was pretty good; it had tension, mild gore, cool stuff, and weird stuff. The author seems to be starting with setting up several threads (to intertwine laterm presumably), but my initial reaction was kinda “what is this and where’s it going/how will it connect?!” So I was confused, but kinda intrigued, despite mixed comments here. And I’m still wondering what the author’s real name is, heh.
Kendall – Alex Marshall is also Jesse Bullington. I know this because I’m a fan of Bullington and had no idea he was writing epic fantasy under a pseudonym (and was wondering when his next book was going to turn up) until he mentioned on Facebook that he was doing a reddit ask thing as, well, both authors. Now I have to add A Crown For Cold Silver to my terrifble TBR pile of terrifying terror.
@Jeff Smith When you say northern Hawaii do you mean the Big Island? And do you remember the name of the museum?
While we’re talking about museums, the Clark in Williamstown, MA is my personal favorite, though in large part because of childhood memories. It has a wonderful collection of Impressionist paintings.
Well, some paintings have given me shivers and chills, and some have produced absolutely entranced delight, but none have made me cry. I don’t know why the former reactions should be outweighed by the latter to argue that paintings no longer have power. What does Elkins say about that?
Darren:
That’s what I think, too, and which he doesn’t really pick up on.
I think there’s also an issue of what stories people tell in paintings. There are certainly *photographs* that make people cry, after all — but “serious” art is rarely made to tug the same strings.
Most “crying art” or photos, it seems to me, involved/involves reminding the viewer of a story or situation that makes them cry, or letting them easily pick up such a story. Are there any examples in SF/F art? Pictures that make you tear up, because they remind you of a story that made you cry?
Like the joke about three people being executed, where the first two are set free because the device failed but the last one’s an engineer and goes “Oh, there’s your problem!”
I *am* an engineer, but I enjoy a nice cup of schadenfreude when the people involved deserve it.
Aggiecon, back when I was at Texas A&M, had an exhibit of cover paintings including the “Green Hills of Earth” paperback. Maybe not as amazing as some of the other art here, but I was blown away – the tiny paperback cover just doesn’t do it justice.
The editor of “Slow Bullets” claims it’s 39,775 words just for Nebula and Hugo rule reasons. It came in a little over that and he asked for cuts.
http://martyhalpern.blogspot.com/2015/02/editing-in-process-slow-bullets-by.html
I still think it’s not Hugo-worthy, especially with so many other better stories.
@Kip W: I used to beg as a kid to go to the Denver Museum of Natural History as a treat. Still the best dioramas I’ve seen.
As smaller local museums go, I can recommend the Oakland Museum of California. Nice collections of natural history, people artifacts, and art all focused on the state. Pretty good food, too, not all institutional.
@Kendall: The Bone Flower Throne is also FREE at Google Play and Amazon. There’s also a free story set in that universe, but centuries later, called “The Hearts of Men” which I’ve read and quite liked.
RE: Crying at paintings. I do that, but only for the originals, not reproductions or postcards. Van Gogh does that for me, mostly, because I can almost feel him reaching through the painting to me. “Vase of Roses” a painting of white roses at the Met is one I have felt this through, along with “Wheat Field with Cypresses”.
I haven’t seen many Rothko paintings, but did see RED on stage with Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne where they actually painted a huge canvas on stage, which was amazing!
Totally need to get to a museum again soon!
Daniel Handler (a mainstream writer, though with fantastic elements) said a little while ago that ‘when I was in college I wrote what I guess we would now call a novella’. It seems to me that novellas are now taking hold in the mainstream world, where they are seen as a new thing, and as ‘thin book’ kinds of work rather than the sort that would naturally appear in a magazine or anthology. Of course this would fit quite a lot of SF works, but not exactly those which were historically called novellas.
Stevie
Glad somebody got something out of the photos. I wish I’d had a monopod, to try and get better tapestry pix. Not enough time, of course (two-year-old in tow), but I made a number of failed attempts to capture at least parts of the tapestries in there.
lurkertype
I still remember wondering (at the Denver Museum of Natural History) how they got the fourth albatross to hover like that, then realizing that there were only three albatrosses and a background painting. Some fine work there! I also remember wondering how anybody could get away with putting a dead person in an exhibit for people to come and look at. I hope that if I go again, they will have allowed the poor specimen the dignity of not being stared at, for crying out loud.
One time at the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago), I was walking along a corridor lined with preserved fish. Yard after yard, it felt like furlongs of fish, all facing the same direction and mounted flat on battleship-gray boards. I began to feel oppressed and even a bit queasy. As I said later, I OD’d on fish.
The Field Museum had a cool exhibit once, “Primitive People Look at Civilization,” which included artworks made by tribe members, showing Europeans. I recall an image of a boat full of sailors, but even better was a statuette of a missionary’s wife, looking a bit placid and off-balance and dumb; she could have been played by Margaret Dumont. Of course, I never met the model, but it looks to me like they nailed it!
(I don’t think they would say “primitive” nowadays, but this was decades ago, and that was the word they used. They might have said “primitive man,” but I did fix that one for them, anyway.)
@lurkertype, @Kendall: The Bone Flower Throne is also free as an ebook today at B&N.
(When someone posts that a book is free or on sale but does not specify a store, is the assumption that, unless otherwise noted, the speaker is talking about on Amazon? It are confuddling. Signed, –Not an Amazon Shopper.)
Shao Ping:
Yes as to the location. It was up near the Parker Ranch, and called the Kamuela Museum. Apparently Roseanne Barr uses it for Hallowe’en parties these days.
Nicole: I presume they mean Amazon, yes, since too many books nowadays are only available there. Howsomever, if it’s free on Kobo and iBooks, it’s probably free everywhere (I have a Nook of long-standing myself). The reverse is not true, sadly.
I mentioned Google Play specifically as not all publishers (big or small) have gotten wise to putting things there. Even though a lot of people have Android and Nexus products and thus are all set up to give you money that way.
Also available free everywhere: Some of the Best From Tor.com 2015, containing many things eligible for Hugos.
I can think offhand of two times (before yesterday, when I did some sustained standing in front of paintings) when I was transfixed by an original painting. Once, the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, VA, had an exhibit of art for children’s books, which has to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen—so many originals, covering pretty much any artist I could have requested (except perhaps Schindelman’s inspired and inspiring drawings for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that made a huge impression on me in sixth grade: there were no outlines! Revolutionary!) from Tenniel to McCloskey. I rounded a corner, and there was the Polar Express, steaming into the North Pole station. I had never heard of the book before, but what a perfect goddamn painting! I stood there for a quarter of an hour, and I think my eyes might have been watering. I came back another time (they were closing) and looked some more, and bought a book of the exhibition. Was chagrined that they trimmed that painting to fit the designer’s dumb-ass ideas of page layout, a crime tantamount to sawing the Mona Lisa down to fit a frame or chopping up “An American in Paris” to fit some yo-yo’s choreography.
The other time was at the National Gallery of Art in London, when I came into the room with Seurat’s “The Bathers.” Just to the side of the monumental canvas were two smaller paintings, and one of them, “The Channel at Gravelines,” took over my attention span for a longer time than I normally attend to just about anything. It felt like I was there. It felt good to be looking at it. I’d go do it again.
Dr. Science-_
On the topic of paintings which made one cry:
When I was in junior high, circa ’69. our library had a 20 year or so old copy of the Willie Ley/Chesley Bonestell book The Conquest of Space which I checked out repeatedly. In the 90’s I unexpectedly happened upon an exhibit of Bonestell’s originals at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum and teared up more than a little.
It was simultaneously like meeting a celebrity and encountering an old friend.