Pixel Scroll 7/3/18 Too Bad I Don’t Have A Scrollographic Memory

(1) THE PRICE OF LIBERTY. It isn’t cheap — Gizmodo has the story: “USPS Ordered to Pay $3.5 Million After Putting Artist’s Weird ‘Sexier’ Lady Liberty on Stamps”.

The USPS put a Getty Images photo of artist Robert S. Davidson’s Las Vegas version of the sculpture on roughly 3.5 billion stamps before the incongruity was noticed in 2011. In his original civil complaint, art market platform Artsy wrote last year, Davidson wrote the USPS never asked permission and that his version is materially different than the one from 1875 and thus protected under copyright—specifically that it is “more ‘fresh-faced,’ ‘sultry’ and even ‘sexier’ than the original located in New York.” (Davidson very weirdly added that he took the inspiration for this sex bomb Lady Liberty from, umm, “certain facial features of his close female relatives.”)

(2) BRAM STOKER HISTORY TOUR. The Horror Writers Association has revamped their Bram Stoker Awards site. HWA President Lisa Morton says:

For the first time ever, you can now find all the information you need on the awards gathered in one place, with each winner/nominee listed individually, cross-linked to year and category. The site also includes galleries of photos going all the way back to the beginning of the awards, trivia, rules, and more.

…We expect this site to be a continuing work in progress as we add more data and fun stuff.

As the “Fun Facts” article shows, Stephen King is the Babe Ruth of the Stoker Awards:

  • The top number of nominations by any one author: Stephen King, with 32 total nominations.
  • The top number of wins by any one author: Stephen King, with 12 total wins.
  • The top number of losses by any one author: Stephen King, with 20 total losses….

(3) LEAKAGE. ScienceFiction.com says the Time Lords are in hot pursuit of the leaker of the missing minute: “BBC Goes To Court To Find Who Leaked ‘Doctor Who’ Footage Of Jodie Whittaker”.

‘Doctor Who’ fans are breathless with anticipation, awaiting the first trailers or clips from the upcoming eleventh season.  Excitement is extra high this time around because for the first time in the show’s 54-year history, said Doctor will be a woman, Jodie Whittaker.  But fans want to abide by the BBC’s plans to unveil what they choose to at their discretion.  (Whittaker will be present for a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, so chances are high that there will be some new footage shown.)  But when a pirate released a minute-long clip featuring the first scenes of Whittaker’s thirteenth Doctor on American messaging app Tapatalk, which then found its way to Twitter, fans revolted, attacking the poster for spoiling the new season.  The BBC quickly had the post deleted but they aren’t stopping there.  They want to know who leaked the footage and they’re going after them!

The British Broadcasting Company “requested a clerk at the California federal court issue a subpoena to Tapatalk, a mobile community platform.”  The BBC is demanding that records be turned over which could help identify the responsible persons.  They have also enlisted the aid of law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, which has made a name for itself over the past few years for going after pirates of major events like these.

(4) WORLDCON 76 PROGRAM. The committee is making a list and checking it twice —

(5) THE SHEEP LOOK OUT. Let a Filer be your guide. “I was asked to write a travel blog for the Dublin 2019 site,” he says. The result is: “Touring Tuesdays: Round Renvyle with Nigel Quinlan”.

This week Nigel Quinlan takes us into the wilds of Connemara…

Drive vaguely and meanderingly northwest out of Galway city, following signs for Connemara or Clifden or Sheep On The Road or Invasive Species Do Not Eat. Through Oughterard with its pleasant riverside park on the far side, Maam Cross with a rather musty replica of the cottage from John Ford’s The Quiet Man and the film itself on repeat in the bar at the hotel, turning right down the genuinely spectacular Inagh Valley where your attention will be divided between the splendid bleak majesties of the open boglands, the rocky glories of the mountains and watching out for the sodding sheep that are ON THE ROAD.

(6) HOW TO VOTE FOR AN SF AWARD. The SF & Fantasy Poetry Association’s SPECPO blog tries to make “Approaching the Elgin Voting” less daunting and more accessible. Between the Elgin’s two categories, members have 51 finalists to consider. SFPA President Bryan Thao Worra’s guidance could also be adapted for use by newbie Hugo voters.

History demonstrates that often, readers, reviewers and literati of any given age have varying degrees of success identifying works of enduring merit and literary impact. Who actually survives into the next decades, let alone the next centuries as “must read” authors is often very surprising, whether it’s in mainstream literature, pulp fiction and genre offerings.

That being said, here are some grounding principles:

  • You don’t have to read a book that’s not grabbing you all of the way through. With a full-length chapbook or book, we’re looking for works that are consistently outstanding, not one filled with one amazing gem to rival “The Raven” and 99 uninspiring verses filling out the rest of the set.
  • This isn’t the search for the greatest of all time, but within the set of this year. You don’t necessarily need to fret about how well a given book stands up against the great works of the last 5 to 100 years. You can leave that concern at the door. But are you reading a book where you can see yourself recommending it to another, and returning to it regularly yourself?
  • Try breaking your options into batches. Picking 3 out of 30 is difficult, but when one starts by sorting it into more manageable batches of approximately 5 to 6 books, it becomes easier to pick your 2 favorites of that batch, and then in the final set, identifying your three favorites.
  • Each member has their own tastes, preferred literary traditions and forms, and if you come across a text that isn’t meeting your tastes, that’s fine. Fans of a particular style are more likely to vote it up into the effective running than those who aren’t. So if you’re not a scifaiku fan, feel free to weigh in if you want, but you can also “sit it out” on that text if you don’t feel strongly about what you’re reading.

(7) LEARNING CURVE. “11 Essential Books On Writing, Based On The Genre You Want To Write” at The Bustle.

Now, before we dig into these books, please note that I’m talking about genre and not subgenre. No matter if you write steampunk, space westerns, or post-apocalyptic stories, you’re looking for the Science Fiction recommendation below. Similarly, whether you want to make your mark on sword and sorcery, paranormal, or grimdark, the book listed under Fantasy is for you. I know that all six of those subgenres are very clearly defined and different from one another, but I’m aiming for broad utility here.

For example, if you want to write Fantasy, read Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer.

(8) TODAY IN HISTORY

  • July 3, 1985 Back to the Future was released.
  • July 3, 1996 Independence Day landed in theaters.

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

  • Born July 3—Tom Cruise, 56. Genre films include Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Minority Report, War of the Worlds, OblivionEdge of Tomorrow and, shudder, The Mummy.
  • Born July 3 – Olivia Munn, 38. A surprising number of roles in genre films including Insanitarium, Scarecrow Gone Wild, Iron Man 2X-Men: Apocalypse and the latest Predator reboot.

(10) RETRO LAW AND ORDER. David Doering rediscovered these forgotten charges against L. Ron Hubbard in Fantasy News Annual, v. 7, issue 1, whole no. 150, July 27, 1941.

HUBBARD MAKES MURDEROUS ATTACK ON SHEA!

PERPETRATOR OF WEIRD LITERARY CRIME SEEKS REFUGE IN U.S. ARMED FORCES!

Harold Shea, popular fantasy hero, created by L. Sprague de.Camp and Fletcher Pratt, was subjected in the August UNKNOWN to an assault with intent to kill by L. Ron (“Golden Egg”) Hubbard, author of the lead novel, “The Case Of the Friendly Corpse”.  The red-haired adventurer-author caused his competitor’s character to be seized and swallowed by a gigantic snake into which a magic wand carried by one of his minor characters turned.

Shea’s creators, however, with fiendish snickers, have announced that they are taking suitable steps to rehabilitate their hero, and obtain revenge for this bit of outrageous literary impertinence, They are working on a story which will tell what r?e?a?l?l?y? happened to Shea in the College of the Unholy Names, site of the crime. (This institution is headed by the President J. Klark, believed to be the astral body of Dr. John D. Clark, well-known Philadelphia fan.)

“Just wait”, sneered Pratt, “till you see what we do to Hubbard’s characters!” They explained that, as the explorer and bear-tamer is now Lieut. Hubbard, USN, he probably would not have time to reply in his turn.

“You see”, leered de Camp, “we’re altruists. That means we believe in doing unto others what they would like to do unto us, and doing it first!”

(11) ON LOCATION. Joe Flood, writing in the Washington Post, says he enjoyed watching the Wonder Woman shoot at the Hirshhorn Museum last weekend, but “what wasn’t so cool was Wonder Woman 1984 shutting down Pennsylvania Avenue all weekend long, blocking off bike lanes with no alternate accommodations.” — “There are no superheroes in D.C.”

And then, there were Gadot and Pine, wearing the same clothes as the stand-ins but anointed with the familiarity of stars. You know them, but you don’t. Their images are the only things truly accessible.

They duplicated what the stand-ins did. Walk, talk, react. Pine gawked at whatever was in the sky but with considerably more subtlety than the stand-in. That’s probably why he’s the movie star.

(12) BAGGED THEIR LIMIT. A handsome hunting credential poses with its SJW:

(13) RECIPE FOR HUMOR.

(14) MARVEL PANELS AT SDCC. If you’ll be at San Diego Comic-Con this month you’ll have a chance to see these Marvel Comics panels.

MARVEL: Making Comics the Marvel Way
Thursday 7/19/18, 12:00pm-1:00pm
Room 25ABC

Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski and Talent Scout Rickey Purdin join a multitude of Mighty Marvel Guests to take you behind-the-scenes and show you how a Marvel comic book is made! Learn about every aspect of production including writing, penciling, inking, coloring, lettering, editing, and more – with creators on hand to offer personal insights and anecdotes. If you’re interested in the ins-and-outs of the comic book industry, this is the one panel you can’t miss!

MARVEL COMICS: Spider-Man
Friday 7/20, 12:30-1:30pm
Room 5AB

Editor Nick Lowe with his Amazing Friends Nick Spencer (Amazing Spider-Man) and Donny Cates (Venom) swing into SDCC with all the hottest spider-news! Nick Spencer ushers in a new era for Spidey that takes the web-head back to basics, while all-new Venom writer Donny Cates lays out what’s in store for the symbiotic hero in both the past and present in his definitive take on the character. PLUS, learn the latest about your favorite spider-heroes from across time and space as they crawl closer and closer towards the Edge of Spider-Geddon!

MARVEL: Cup O’Joe – Marvel Knights 20th Anniversary
Friday 7/20, 1:30-2:30pm
Room 5AB

Join Joe and fellow comics legend Jimmy Palmiotti as they reflect on the industry-redefining MARVEL KNIGHTS imprint as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.  What was it like to pioneer this bold new storytelling style for Marvel’s heroes, and how has it impacted Marvel comics, movies, and television series over the last two decades?  Learn about all this and more at this must-attend retrospective – and bring your own burning questions!  NOT to be missed by any fan of the Mighty Marvel Manner!

MARVEL COMICS: Next Big Thing
Saturday 7/21, 1:45-2:45pm
Room 6A

Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski and star Executive Editor Nick Lowe are joined by Donny Cates (Cosmic Ghost Rider, Death of Inhumans) and Margaret Stohl (Life of Captain Marvel) to discuss the startling stories and initiatives that are truly the NEXT BIG THINGS in the Marvel Universe!  In Fantastic Four, the Richards family is heading back to Earth, but they still have one more cosmic obstacle to overcome. Meanwhile, the specter of death hangs around the Inhumans and the Ghost Rider of a dark future in Donny Cates’ Death of Inhumans and Cosmic Ghost Rider. And as the Infinity Wars ignite, are any characters truly safe? All this, plus learn more about the definitive origin of Captain Marvel as Margaret Stohl opens up about Life of Captain Marvel!  If you want to learn about the biggest Marvel stories of 2018, this is THE panel not to miss!

MARVEL COMICS: Meet the Editor-in-Chief!
Saturday 7/21, 3:00pm-4:00pm
Room 6A

This is your chance to meet the new head of editorial at Marvel! In this exclusive one-on-one interview led by Skottie Young (Deadpool), freshly-minted Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski will talk about anything and everything involved in what’s next for Marvel. Want to know where to search for the Infinity Stones? Dying to find out what’s next for Wolverine? What does Forbush Man really look like without his helmet? Ask C.B. these questions and more in the Q&A!  PLUS – don’t miss a surprise exclusive giveaway variant comic!

MARVEL: True Believers*
Sunday 7/22, 10:00am-11:00am
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront

Join Executive Editor Nick Lowe along with creators Ryan North (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl), Robbie Thompson (Spider-Man/Deadpool), and Jeremy Whitley (Unstoppable Wasp) for a private panel discussion of what’s happening inside the Marvel Universe.  Get FREE merchandise, never-before-seen sneak peeks of upcoming comics, Q&A session and more!  Not to be missed! Open only to Marvel Unlimited Plus members and Marvel MasterCard cardholders.

*Panel line-up is subject to change. Free items available while supplies last.  Must have valid ID and one of the following for entry: Marvel MasterCard Member – Event Invite, Marvel MasterCard, or event RSVP confirmation; Marvel Unlimited Plus Members – membership card, or MU+ order confirmation email.

MARVEL COMICS: X-Men
Sunday 7/22, 11:15am-12:15pm
Room 5AB

Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski, Sina Grace (Iceman), Seanan Maguire (X-Men Gold Annual), Matthew Rosenberg (Astonishing X-Men), and Tom Taylor (X-Men Red) take you through the full spectrum of current X-Men madness! The Red, Blue, and Gold teams confront Atlanteans, uncertainty, and Extermination, and the secrets of a NEW X-team are revealed! Deadpool and X-23 both rediscover their roots, and the Astonishing team faces ever stranger challenges! PLUS- Stay for the whole panel for an exclusive giveaway variant comic!

Don’t miss your chance to hear all the news and excitement from Marvel Comics at San Diego Comic Con!

(15) REMAKE. Cnet frames the art: “Star Wars: The Last Jedi remake poster mocks angry fans”.

An artist is poking fun at Star Wars fans clamoring for a remake of The Last Jedi.

Fernando Reza — an LA-based graphic artist — on Monday tweeted an image of his poster for the project, which centers on a muscled Luke Skywalker wielding a lightsaber and massive handgun.

 

[Thanks to Cat Eldridge, Chip Hitchcock, JJ, David Doering, John King Tarpinian, Mike Kennedy, Martin Morse Wooster, Carl Slaughter, Daniel Dern, and Andrew Porter for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day OGH, taken from an email he wrote to Steve Davidson after being told he repeated a Scroll title Steve submitted in 2016.]

37 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 7/3/18 Too Bad I Don’t Have A Scrollographic Memory

  1. (10): This incident comes up in “The Amazing, the Astounding and the Unknown” (in which deCamp and Hubbard (along with Asimov, Heinlein, Campbell, and others) are characters.

  2. 10) De Camp retconned the incident in one of his Shea stories from the eighties.

  3. Fifth to applaud the poster, as well as McGuire’s presence on the X-Panel.

  4. Morning. Technically.

    On Saturday afternoon, I expect to finally receive my BiPAP, and the hopeful expectation of more normal sleep patterns and more restful sleep starting as early as Saturday night.

  5. (15) So what are the Improved elements in the Remake poster?

    -Super muscly Luke with a Magnum, obviously, also muscly Kylo Ren

    -Leia is an overweight slavegirl

    -Rey is in the kitchen cooking (Galaxie oven!)

    -The bad guys have not one, not two, but three deathstars bolted together into a superduperdeathstar

    -Snoke is explaining what is going on with an overhead projector

    -The Millenium Falcon has a minigun, and is finally in a showdown with Slave 1

    -Yodas ghost is controlling a giant robot? Voltron?

    -What is going on with Fin? He has turned in to a noir cyborg ronin?

  6. Lis Carey says On Saturday afternoon, I expect to finally receive my BiPAP, and the hopeful expectation of more normal sleep patterns and more restful sleep starting as early as Saturday night.

    Good for you! May it work well!

  7. Zucchini season! The one time of the year when many folks in the midwest start to lock their cars–to prevent passing strangers from giving them zucchini! 🙂

  8. @Xtifr: I’ve been told there are places in New England where you can be cited for Felonious Abandonment of Zucchini because the local merchants don’t want the tourists scared away.?

  9. Cool science thing: saildrones. Not actually drones, these are autonomous robots, it seems.

    When watching older shows (e.g. Babylon 5) I now find it very disconcerting when they say, “we don’t know what’s in there, let’s send a human!” instead of a drone/robot. But I guess that’s ~drama~, because robot probes have been used to explore the solar system for decades.

  10. Doctor Science notes When watching older shows (e.g. Babylon 5) I now find it very disconcerting when they say, “we don’t know what’s in there, let’s send a human!” instead of a drone/robot. But I guess that’s ~drama~, because robot probes have been used to explore the solar system for decades.

    I’m don’t remember there being any AIs on that show. Really advanced technology, yes: AIs, no. The concept is fairly rare in televised space set sf as Farscape, Firefly, Stargate and Space Above and Beyond and so forth that I can recall that font have such plot devices.

  11. They only use drones (IIRC in Promotheus) if they mysteriously crash/cease to signal/explode, so a guman has to check out what happend. Which makes the dronething a bit pointless, but yes, thats drama 😉

    Revenge of the drones.

    Drone river, smaller than a file,
    Im scrolling you in style some day

  12. I remember from when we lived in Ohio, boxes upon boxes of zucchini on the curbs, all over the city, and labeled ” Free. Take me”…

  13. Zucchini season! The one time of the year when many folks in the midwest start to lock their cars–to prevent passing strangers from giving them zucchini!

    LOL! Indeed,

    After that, tomatoes. (“No, NO, stop giving me tomatoes!”)

  14. (7) Thanks for the link to that article. I had not seen it. Looks like there are some good books in there. I will check them out. Some might wind up on my Writers Resources Page. (I think at least one of them is already there.)

    (12) Love it! That is totally my kind of hunting photo!

  15. A particularly good zucchini recipe that we stumbled across a couple of years ago, ideal for grilling season:

    Slice 1 medium-large zucchini lengthwise, scoop out and discard seeds, then hollow out just a bit of the interior with a melon baller. Chop up the hollowed-out bits and mix them with grated cheese and something to add a little body — bread/cracker crumbs, lightly-browned ground beef, etc. Fill the hollowed-out zucchini halves with the mix, then either bake in the oven at medium heat until roasted, or wrap each half in aluminum foil and grill, turning them over once or twice to make sure both sides get done. A whole zucchini is a full meal for one person; add a couple of sides to make each half a main dish for 2, or slice each half crosswise to make a side dish for 4.

  16. @Lee

    Reminds me of a leftovers recipes we like: stuffing small butternut squash halves with dirty rice. Bake in casserole dish with a little water in the bottom of the dish. When almost done sprinkle with cheddar and finish when cheese is golden brown.

  17. @Doctor Science

    I now find it very disconcerting when they say, “we don’t know what’s in there, let’s send a human!” instead of a drone/robot.

    Once ships themselves get commanded by AIs, it would be perfectly consistent with the historical record if they left dangerous missions to less relatable intelligent beings, rather than putting the shiny metal asses of their robotic brethren on the line.

  18. @Laura Resnick: I would be happy to take in some excess tomatoes. Also cucumbers, if anyone has those to spare.

  19. Zucchini bread, zucchini chutney, zucchini and onion/tomatoes/both sauteed and frozen for later nuking….
    (We grew bush zucchini. Why do you ask?)

  20. I discovered zucchini (courgette) latkes a while ago.

    Take any latke recipe and substitute all or part of the shredded potatoes for shredded zucchinis. I started out with half potato and half zucchini but now make it with all zucchini and it tastes just as good. Shred in an onion, too.

  21. I recall one time when someone donated a largish zucchini to the West Kingdom Heralds Meeting Dinner Supply and it was handed to me with the instruction “do something with this.” By “largish” I mean “about 2.5 feet in length with a diameter of about 7-8 inches.” I hollowed it out lengthwise (since the seeds were far too mature to be edible) and stuffed it with a forcemeat and roasted it. Serve sliced into rounds.

  22. I think once courgettes got that big I’d start calling ‘em marrows.

    Felicity Cloake, whom I worship and adore unreservedly, recently did a rather nice-looking recipe for stuffed courgettes. I haven’t tried it but I’ve never had a fail from one of her recipes. (Obligatory warning that some recipes will need adjustment to account for differences in ingredients, if you’re not a UK resident. Flour and butter are the worst culprits, but some things are harder to get, too.)

    Alas, no-one has ever tried to palm courgettes or tomatoes off on me. I feel rather hard done by. I like batch-cooking, it’s the best way to scratch the cooking itch without being too tired to eat at the end (or rather, without that mattering, because you can just eat it for the next week instead), and being given piles of vegetables would be very nice.

  23. The fact that “courgettes” are the same as “zucchini” evaded me most of my adult life.
    Thanks Richard Scarry for changing that (via my kids).

  24. @Heather Rose Jones
    When they’re that big, I think you’re supposed to use them for dugout canoe racing on irrigation ditches.

  25. (12) You can hear them growing at night. You find ones the size of @Heather’s mention wrapped in a blanket on your doorstep. You barely escape BBQ parties without them… perhaps the Killer Tomato movie people should have picked a different veggie.

    (13) Yes, please.

    (15) I wish to subscribe to his (no doubt snarky and lavishly illustrated) newsletter.

    @Steve Wright: Well done! 🙂 v. eldritch.

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