The temperature ranged from chilly (it is winter) to downright frosty (12? Saturday morning, maybe up to 20? by 9:45AM when we walked the overpass from our hotel to the con), but on the other hand, no snow, rain, or weather public-transit shutdowns (all of which have happened to Boston-in-winter cons).
Boskone 57’s Featured Guests were:
GUEST OF HONOR: Kim Stanley
Robinson
YOUNG ADULT FICTION GUEST: Holly
Black
OFFICIAL ARTIST: Eric Wilkerson
MUSICAL GUEST: Cheshire Moon
HAL CLEMENT SCIENCE SPEAKER: Jon
Singer
NESFA PRESS GUEST: Jim Burns
The 150+ program participants also included a mix of established
and new writers, artists, editors and agents, along with well-known fans, e.g.
(citing mostly people I know/names I recognize), Ellen Asher, Joshua Bilmes,
Holly Black, Ginger Buchanan, Jeff Carver, John Chu, C.S.E. Cooney, Andrea
Martinez Corbin, Josh Dahi, Julie C. Day, Bob Devney, Paul Di Filippo, Vincent
Docherty, Debra Doyle, Tom Easton, Bob Eggleston, Esther Friesner, Craig Shaw
Gardner, Greer Gilman, Max Gladstone, Anabel Graetz, Charlaine Harris, Grady
Hendrix, Carlos Hernandez, Sarah Jean Horwitz, Jim Infantino, James Patrick
Kelly, John Kessel, Dan Kimmel, Mur Lafferty, Kelly Link, James D. Macdonald,
Darlene Marshall, Beth Meacham, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden,
Julie C. Rios, Cameron Roberson, Erin Roberts, Joseph Siclari, Allen M. Steele,
Michael Swanwick, Christine Taylor-Butler, Erin Underwood, Martha Wells, Trisha
J. Wooldridge, Brianna Wu, Frank Wu.
(Some that, sadly, were listed but had to cancel included Bruce
Coville, Steve Davidson, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Suzanne Palmer, Adi
Rule, and Jane Yolen.)
While there was no File770 meet-up (that I was aware of),
I spotted/chatted briefly with a few Filers (hardly surprisingly, of course).
FYI, NESFA Press had brand-new books available at Boskone 57:
I’ve just done purchase requests to my local library for these. Take that, Mount To-Be-Read!
A SATISFYING PROGRAM. This year’s program has lots of good stuff — for several time slots
I saw three or even four that I wanted to go to. I could easily have spent the
entire con doing nothing but program items, with brief breaks for food,
schmoozing, and strolling the Dealer’s Area and the Art Show, of course).
In “Great Novels That Don’t Work”, Grady Hendrix, Allen M.
Steele, Bracken MacLeod, Michael Swanwick and Brianna Wu talked about the
problems of various sf works, from plot to “one unforgivable step.” I missed
the first few minutes of this session, I’d love to hear/watch a recording of
the whole thing.
Panel – Great Novels That Don’t Work: Bracken MacLeod, Brianna Wu, Allen M. Steele, Grady Hendrix, Michael Swanwick
“Business of Being a Writer” tracks are a staple at many cons,
instructively essential for beginners, and often entertaining for all.
(Particularly the “horror stories/don’t do’s.”) In “Editing from Agent, to Editor, to Publisher”, Melanie
Meadors, Joshua Bilmes, Beth Meacham, John Kessel and James D. Macdonald
examined the “manuscript’s journey” of read/rewrite/edit/revise from author
through beta readers, copy editors, proof readers and other stations.
Panel – Editing from Agent, to Editor, to Publisher: Melanie Meadors, John Kessel, James D. Macdonald, Beth Meacham, Joshua Bilmes
I went to several readings, including Daniel Kimmel, reading a
not-yet-published time travel story involving a character from his second sf
novel (which you don’t have to have read to enjoy the story), Max Gladstone,
and James Patrick Kelly, plus kaffeeklatsches with Esther Friesner and
with Tor editor Beth Meacham.
TRIVIA PURSUIT! One of my favorite items at Boskones is the Trivia For Chocolate game show run by Mark and
Priscilla Olson and Jim Mann, where us audience members strive to be the first
(or loudest) to yell out enough of the right answers to sf trivia questions,
with, per the name of the game, points being awarded using those thin
rectangular green-wrapped chocolate Thin Mints (and only uneaten ones are count
for your final tally).
For example, in “First Lines” — “The baloney weighed the raven
down.” (“N Svar Naq Cevingr Cynpr, Crgre F Orntyr” — as I was yelling out the
answer mid, ahem, weigh.)
This isn’t the kind of content you can cram for, and I’m not
sure you could even study for it — certainly not time-effectively. The only way
is to have consumed sf&f voluminously — and remembering the relevant
details.
The not-so-secrets to doing well in TRIVIA FOR CHOCOLATE include
location (front or second row), luck, low memory-to-mouth latency, chutzpah
and having consumed sf (including f, and h) omnivorously for years-to-decades.
This year, to my happy surprise, I came in first, by a 14-point
spread against tied-for-seconds Karen von Haam (who, I’m pretty sure, was the
person on my right snagging answers right and left for the open several minutes),
and the always-impressively-knowledgeable-about-really-obscure-stuff Bob
Devney.
(I donated all but two of my winnings to the Narnia Coat Check
Closet. ’nuff et!)
Panel – Illustrating Children’s Books: Christopher Paniccia, Ruth Sanderson, Ingrid Kallick, Cat Scully
From Wells and Orwell to Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, and Annalee Newitz, there’s a long tradition of reporters becoming writers of SF/F/H. Our veteran newshounds report on what a background in journalism can bring to genre work. Are you already accustomed to research, deadlines, and low wages? Does the drive to get the facts mean it’s harder to make stuff up? Can reporters be written as good genre characters? While pounding out a hot story, must you wear a fedora?
This could easily have filled a day-long symposium. Heck, I
could (preferably with at least 20 minutes advance notice to web-refresh my
brain) have done an hour just on Mark Twain. (“Connecticut Yankee,” “Captain
Stormfield…” “The Mysterious Stranger,” etc.) Lots of great stuff was said, by
all panelists — let’s do this one again!
I also did a reading, a workshop on learning magic tricks and
becoming a magician (my handout including reading list available on request),
and, in DragonsLair, my young-kids-oriented magic show (heavy on the funny
props and bad jokes).
And, as nearly-always, I spent some time walking around taking
photos.
Looking ahead, here’s the Featured Guests currently scheduled
for Boskone 58, February 12-14 2021:
Guest of Honor: Joe Abercrombie
Official Artist: Julie Dillon
Special guest: Tamsyn Muir
Musical Guest: Marc Gunn
NESFA Press Guest: Ursula Vernon
Hal Clement Science Speaker:
Mike Brotherton and Christian Ready (Launch Pad Astronomy)
The New England Science Fiction Association
honored the winners of two annual awards at Boskone 57 on February 15.
SKYLARK AWARD
Betsy Wollheim
The Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction (the Skylark) is presented annually by NESFA® to some person, who, in the opinion of the membership, has contributed significantly to science fiction, both through work in the field and by exemplifying the personal qualities which made the late “Doc” Smith well-loved by those who knew him.
Betsy Wollheim, Skylark Award winner
GAUGHAN AWARD
Iris Compiet
The Gaughan Award honors the memory of Jack Gaughan, a long-time friend of fandom and one of the finest SF artists of the 20th century. Because Jack felt it was important to encourage and recognize new blood in the field, The New England Science Fiction Association, Inc., presents the Gaughan Award annually to an emerging artist (an artist who has become a professional within the past five years) chosen by a panel of judges.
Judges: Patrick Wilshire, Maryanne Plumridge, and Stephen Hickman.
The 2019-2020 NESFA Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Story
Contest is accepting entries through September 30. The contest “encourages amateur and
semi-professional writers to reach the next level of proficiency.” The complete
guidelines are here.
Ineligible
are writers who have been paid more than $1000 for their writing from any
source, and/or have published a novel or multiple shorter works adding up to
more than 40,000 words in any paying publication.
A
qualifying story must have strong science fiction or fantasy elements and must
be shorter than 7,500 words. Stories must be original works of fiction,
submitted by their authors. No reprints, or fan fiction. …There is no entry
fee. Please submit only one entry per author.
The winner will be announced at Boskone
57 in February 14–16, 2020 and receive a certificate of achievement, three NESFA Press
books, and a free membership in one of the next two Boskones (their choice). Runners-up
will receive a certificate, and two NESFA Press books. Honorable mentions will
receive a certificate and one NESFA Press book.
Nicolas Delort is an award-winning illustrator currently living in the grey suburbs of Paris. Gathering inspiration in the daily and mundane as well as books and any kind of narrative medium, Nicolas endeavors to tell stories, big and small, by working on strong, evocative and intricate black and white compositions. His work has received the Gold Medal from The Society of Illustrators, and has been recognized by American Illustration, 3×3, Juxtapoz, Supersonic Electronic and This Is Colossal. Some of his clients include Blizzard Entertainment, Games Workshop/The Black Library, Quirk Books, Tor.com and Solaris Books.
The Gaughan Award honors
the memory of Jack Gaughan, a long-time friend of fandom and one of the finest
SF artists of the 20th century. Because Jack felt it was important to encourage
and recognize new blood in the field, The New England Science Fiction Association,
Inc., presents the Gaughan Award annually to an emerging artist (an artist who
has become a professional within the past five years) chosen by a panel of
judges. The judges for this year’s award were Stephen
Hickman, Marianne Plumridge, and Patrick Wilshire.
Congratulations to Melinda Snodgrass who was presented
with the New England Science Fiction Association’s Skylark Award at the Boskone
56 awards ceremony on February 16.
She tweeted thanks for the award along with the above photo.
So honored to have received the Skylark Memorial Award from #NESFA this evening. Fandom you gave me my life & I hope my stories are some small repayment.
The Edward E. Smith
Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction (the Skylark) is presented annually by NESFA to some
person, who, in the opinion of the membership, has contributed significantly to
science fiction, both through work in the field and by exemplifying the
personal qualities which made the late “Doc” Smith well-loved by those who knew
him.
(1) SOLO MENU. Bold NEW menu inspired by Solo: A Star Wars Story. Fat, salt, sugar, and Star Wars. What could be better?
(2) USAGE. How many Lego is two? Ann Leckie gives her answer. The thread starts here:
PSA: If you have to continually point out that some language thing that nearly everyone does is wrong (singular they, nauseous/nauseated, "wrong" plurals, etc), you might wanna reconsider–"lots of fluent speakers do it that way" is sufficient authority.
(3) GUGGENHEIM FELLOWS. The Guggenheim Fellows named for 2018 include fiction writer China Miéville, nonfiction writer Roxane Gay, and in Fine Arts, Elizabeth LaPensee, a writer, artist and game creator who earlier won a Tiptree Fellowship.
(4) WRITERS OF THE FUTURE. The 34th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards Gala for the winners of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future will be held in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 8. Celebrities attending include Nancy Cartwright, Marisol Nichols, Catherine Bell, Jade Pettyjohn, Stanley Clarke and Travis Oates.
(5) NESFA SHORT STORY CONTEST. The New England Science Fiction Association is running the fifth annual NESFA Short Story Contest. The deadline for submissions in July 31.
The purpose of this contest is to encourage amateur and semi-professional writers to reach the next level of proficiency.
Mike Sharrow, the 2018 contest administrator, sent this pitch —
Attention aspiring writers! Do you like to write science fiction or fantasy stories? Are you a new writer, but not sure if you’re ready for the big time? Then you’re just the kind of writer we’re looking for! The New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA for short) is running a writing contest. Prizes include free books, and a grand prize of a free membership to Boskone. More important though is that we offer free critiques of your work. Our goal is to help young & aspiring writers to improve their writing, so you can become our new favorite writer! Check out our website for details.
(6) TODAY IN HISTORY
April 5, 1940 — One Million B.C. premiered
(7) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY BOYS
Born April 5, 1917 — Robert Bloch. Steve Vertlieb reminds everyone, “Bloch would have turned one hundred one (101) years of age today. Wishing one of Horror fiction’s most legendary writers a joyous 101st Birthday in the Heavenly shower stall of The Bates Motel in Heaven.”
Born April 5, 1926 – Roger Corman
(8) COMIC SECTION.
Mike Kennedy says this Tom the Dancing Bug is either a loving tribute to 2001: A Space Odyssey or scary as hell. Or maybe both.
(9) KGB READINGS. Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series hosts Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel present Livia Llewellyn and Jon Padgett on Wednesday, April 18, 7 p.m. at the KGB Bar in New York.
Livia Llewellyn
Livia Llewellyn is a writer of dark fantasy, horror, and erotica, whose short fiction has appeared in over forty anthologies and magazines and has been reprinted in multiple best-of anthologies and two Shirley Jackson Award-nominated collections, Engines of Desire and Furnace. You can find her online at liviallewellyn.com, and on Instagram and Twitter.
Jon Padgett
Jon Padgett is a professional ventriloquist. His first short story collection, The Secret of Ventriloquism, was named the Best Fiction Book of the Year by Rue Morgue Magazine. He has work out or forthcoming in Weird Fiction Review,PseudoPod, Lovecraft eZine, and in the the anthologies A Walk on the Weird Side, Wound of Wounds, Phantasm/Chimera, and For Mortal Things Unsung. Padgett is also a professional voice-over artist with over forty years of theater and twenty-five years of audio narration experience. Cadabra Records will soon be releasing 20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism, a story written and narrated by Padgett.
(10) AVOIDING UNPRODUCTIVE GENERALIZATIONS. Annalee Flower Horne suggests this is a subject where it helps to get more specific – jump on the thread here.
It's really weird to see discussions of how "US sff cons" do programming. The US is huge. We have many cons. It's hard to make useful generalizations about the quality and focus of their content.
“The galactic centre is so far away from Earth that those bursts are only strong and bright enough to see about once every 100 to 1,000 years,” said Prof Hailey.
Instead, the Columbia University astrophysicist and his colleagues decided to look for the fainter but steadier X-rays emitted when these binaries are in an inactive state.
“Isolated, unmated black holes are just black – they don’t do anything,” said Prof Hailey.
“But when black holes mate with a low mass star, the marriage emits X-ray bursts that are weaker, but consistent and detectable.”
Over the course of three years, the whales of the Spitsbergen population produced 184 unique song types. The vocalisations were detected 24 hours a day throughout most of the winter each year.
“I really think of humpback whale songs as being like classical music. Very ordered. They might last 20 – 30 minutes. An individual [bowhead] song might only be 45 seconds to 2 minutes long, but they’ll repeat that song over and over again,” the University of Washington researcher added.
A Japanese-American team of engineers is working to send a swarm of bee-inspired drones to the Red Planet with new, exploratory funding from NASA. Yes, bees on Mars. The team calls the concept “Marsbees.”
NASA selected the idea as part of its “Innovative Advanced Concepts” program, which annually supports a handful of early concept ideas for space exploration. The team of researchers will explore the possibility of creating a swarm of bees that could explore the Martian surface autonomously, flying from a rover. The rover would act as centralized, mobile beehive, recharging the Marsbees with electricity, downloading all the information they capture, and relaying it to Earth’s tracking stations. They describe the Marsbees as “robotic flapping wing flyers of a bumblebee size with cicada-sized wings.” Those oversized wings, in relation to their bodies, compensate for the density of Mars’ atmosphere–which is much thinner than Earth’s.
Marvel’s record-breaking superhero blockbuster — which has already amassed north of $1.2 billion since launching in February — will herald Saudi Arabia’s long-awaited return to the cinema world, becoming the first film to screen to the public in a movie theater in the country since it lifted a 35-year cinema ban.
(15) INCREDIBLES 2. Bravo, Edna is a fresh pitch for Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles 2, which opens in theatres June 15.
Icon. Artist. Legend. Edna Mode is back, dahlings.
(16) ROWAN ATKINSON. Universal Pictures followed up yesterday’s teaser with a full-length Johnny English Strikes Back trailer.
[Thanks to JJ, Carl Slaughter, Cat Eldridge, Mike Kennedy, John King Tarpinian, Martin Morse Wooster, Chip Hitchcock, Steven J. Vertlieb, Matthew Kressel, Jeff Smith, and Andrew Porter for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day jayn.]
The New England Science Fiction Association honored the winners of two annual awards at Boskone 55.
by Alessandra Maria Pisano
GAUGHAN AWARD
Alessandra Maria Pisano
The Gaughan Award honors the memory of Jack Gaughan, a long-time friend of fandom and one of the finest SF artists of the 20th century. Because Jack felt it was important to encourage and recognize new blood in the field, The New England Science Fiction Association, Inc., presents the Gaughan Award annually to an emerging artist (an artist who has become a professional within the past five years) chosen by a panel of judges.
The Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction (the Skylark) is presented annually by NESFA® to some person, who, in the opinion of the membership, has contributed significantly to science fiction, both through work in the field and by exemplifying the personal qualities which made the late “Doc” Smith well-loved by those who knew him.
The New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) is now accepting stories for its 2017 Annual Short Story Competition for new and emerging writers.
We are seeking science fiction and fantasy short stories that represent a diverse range of topics and authors within the genre.
The purpose of this contest is to encourage amateur and semi-professional writers to reach the next level of proficiency. We will look for engaging openings, good character development, well structured plotting, powerful imagery, witty or humorous language, unique word or phrasing choices, and convincing endings. A qualifying entrant is a writer who has not previously published in a paid, professional forum, book, magazine, etc. at the time of submission, and who has received no more than $1000 for any previously published short stories (total) or other work of fiction in electronic form. Having published a novel, either in e-format or on paper automatically disqualifies you as an entrant in the contest.
All contest entrants receive a short critique of their work and finalists receive an assortment of free books.
Past judges have included award-winning authors such as Daniel Kimmel, Steven Brust and Garth Nix, among others.
The grand prize winner will receive a free membership to Boskone 56, New England’s longest running science fiction convention.
The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. All submissions must be made via email to [email protected] in flat text, rich text, or any format readable by MS Word or Open Office. For more information, including submission guidelines and deadlines, visit http://www.nesfa.org/awards/storycon.html.
NESFA welcomes all writers and topics. We look forward to reading your submission and wish all of our writers good luck in NESFA’s 2018 Annual Short Story Competition.
(1) SUCCESSFUL CHARITY EVENT. Tom Edwards, one of the best cover designers in science fiction, teamed up with Parkinson’s UK and Keystroke Medium to raise money for Parkinson’s research. Three premade covers by Edwards, as well, as an editing package by Ellen Campbell, went to auction on April 8 and brought in almost 4000 pounds / $5000 US.
Then, in June 1941, one of de Wohl’s more detailed predictions seemed to come true. “A strong collaborator of Hitler who is neither German nor a Nazi will go violently insane,” he foretold. “He will be in South or Central America, probably near the Caribbean Sea.” Three days later, U.S. newswires proclaimed that the Vichy High Commissioner of the French West Indies, Admiral Georges Robert, had gone insane and had to be restrained by staff. The New York Post reported that newspaper editors across America “besieged de Wohl with requests for exclusive stories.” The astrologer possessed a mysterious ability to know the unknowable, and millions of Americans wanted to know more.
The way it worked behind the facade was masterful. The British spy agency first fed information to de Wohl, which he would write up in his column. In turn, MI5 would then feed the bogus information to the U.S. press. Unable to fact-check details with the Third Reich, the American press would report the news as real, which it was not. For example, the Vichy High Commissioner of the French West Indies never went insane.
(3) TINGLE TIME AGAIN. Almost a year ago, UrsulaV wrote a series of tweets in the style of Dr. Seuss after Chuck Tingle played Vox Day, who had slated him onto the Hugo ballot. File 770’s unofficial motto is “It’s always news to somebody” – usually me – and besides, this news is practically fresh again, with Tingle renominated and pranking the porn author who replaced him on Vox’s slate.
“Pooh-pooh to the fans!” he was grinchily humming. “They’re finding out now that No Award's coming!"
(4) NESFA STORY CONTEST. The New England Science Fiction Association is looking for entries in its annual story contest.
Do you like to write science fiction or fantasy stories? Are you an aspiring writer, but not sure if you’re ready for the big time? Then you’re just the kind of writer we’re looking for! The New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA for short) is running a writing contest. Prizes include free books, and a grand prize of a free membership to Boskone. More important though is that we offer free critiques of your work. Our goal is to help young & aspiring writers to improve their writing, so you can become our new favorite writer! Check out our website for details:
We welcome submissions from everyone, in every country in the world (as long as it’s written in English, please!). Women, people of color, LGBTQ writers, and members of other underrepresented groups are encouraged to enter the contest.
(5) AH ROMANCE. The shortlist for the Romance Writers of America’s 2017 RITA and Golden Heart Awards was announced March 21. Here are the finalists of genre interest.
The RITA Award – “the highest award of distinction in romance fiction” — recognizes excellence in published romance novels and novellas.
Paranormal Romance
Bayou Shadow Hunter by Debbie Herbert Harlequin, Nocturne Ann Leslie Tuttle, editor
The Beast by J R Ward New American Library Kara Welsh, editor
The Champion of Barésh by Susan Grant Self-published Mary Moran, editor
Enchanted Warrior by Sharon Ashwood Harlequin, Nocturne Ann Leslie Tuttle, editor
Ghost Gifts by Laura Spinella Montlake Publishing Alison Dasho, editor
The Leopard King by Ann Aguirre Self-published Sasha Knight, editor
The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy Kensington Publishing Corp. Peter Senftleben, editor
Where the Wild Things Bite by Molly Harper Pocket Books Abby Zidle, editor
The Golden Heart recognizes excellence in unpublished romance manuscripts.
Paranormal Romance
“Beryl Blue, Time Cop” by Janet Halpin
“Bless Your Heart and Other Southern Curses” by Heather Leonard
“Constant Craving” by Kari W. Cole
“Fire’s Rising” by Grace Adams
“The Mer Chronicles: Love’s Diplomatic Act” by Kate Ramirez
“Soul Affinity” by A. Y. Chao
Award winners will be announced on July 27 at the 2017 RWA Conference in Orlando, Florida.
In Indonesia, 212 is the number used to denote a specific mass protest from 2nd December last year. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims marched against the Christian governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known as Ahok,, over allegations of blasphemy regarding his use of the Qu’ran in campaigning against opponents. The march was organised, in part, with the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council’s Fatwa. It was pretty hardline conservative and the protest demanded the government prosecute and jail Ahok based on the council’s fatwa, declaring him to be a blasphemer. This year, a 212 2.0 march with similar aims was held on the 21st of February.…
Dear Marvel Comics My name is Haykal, I am from Jakarta, Indonesia And I would like to inform you something about your recent comics, X-Men Gold.
…I found out that on X-Men Gold comic, there’s a subliminal message of hatred towards minorities It was done by this person, a Muslim penciller from Indonesia https://www.facebook.com/ArdianSyafComicArt/
And he’s using your comics to spread hatred against non muslim minorities in Indonesia.
The “QS 5:51” on Colossus shirt refers to the Quran verse used by Muslim extremists to discriminate against the current governor which is also one of the governor candidates in the current election in Jakarta, Indonesia. https://quran.com/5/51…
Bleeding Cool has since reported that Ardian Syaf was unwilling to discuss the issue with them.
“The mentioned artwork in X-Men Gold #1 was inserted without knowledge behind its reported meanings. These implied references do not reflect the views of the writer, editors or anyone else at Marvel and are in direct opposition of the inclusiveness of Marvel Comics and what the X-Men have stood for since their creation. This artwork will be removed from subsequent printings, digital versions, and trade paperbacks and disciplinary action is being taken.”
Comicbook.com notes –
No further details were provided concerning how exactly Marvel will discipline Syaf. Preview art suggests that Syaf has already completed work on X-Men Gold #2, which releases on April 19. Syaf is also one of three announced rotating artists on X-Men Gold, along with RB Silva and Ken Lashley, so it may be some time before fans know for certain if he will returning to X-Men Gold.
What mythological creature has been more beloved over the centuries than the unicorn? Symbols of purity and enchantment, unicorns are loved by both children and adults alike and are integral parts of many fairy tales and legends. For all the roles they’ve played in literature, cinematography, and art as a whole, unicorns more than deserve their own day!
Unicorns were mentioned as far back as antiquity—ancient Greek writers believed they lived in the faraway and exotic country of India, which was then largely unknown to Europeans. However, the unicorn was then thought to be a powerful, fierce animal that was not to be meddled with. In the Middle Ages, the unicorn’s image was based greatly on Bible passages that were thought to speak of these animals, and unicorns slowly came to be seen as a symbol of strength, the purest kind of love, and the pets of virgin women. In fact, there is even a sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding a unicorn on her lap and patting it in Warsaw’s National Museum. Thus, unicorns have been appearing in works of literature for thousands of years. The most prominent more modern examples include Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and The Last Battle by S.C. Lewis. The whole immensely popular My Little Pony franchise is also based on unicorns.
(8) TODAY IN HISTORY
April 9, 1959 — NASA introduced the first seven astronauts to the press.
(9) BIG FINISH. The Washington Post’s Michael O’Sullivan interviews director Nacho Vigilando, whose film Colossal is a fusion of kaihu eige and romantic comedy that will be released this Friday.
Q: In that film [7:35 in the Morning], you critique the cliches of the movie musical by staging a song-and-dance number in a diner with seemingly ordinary people. “Extraterrestrial” plays with the tropes of the alien invasion movie. In “Colossal,” you do something similar with the genre of the monster movie. What’s so fascinating about genre cinema?
A: The moment in “Colossal” that sums up what you’re talking about is when Gloria calls her ex-boyfriend, because she wants to talk about this monster that is invading South Korea. And he responds by asking, “Why are you calling so late? That happened early this morning.” He thinks that means she has spent the whole day just sleeping. I’m really attracted to the idea of playing inside these sandboxes, in which everybody in the audience knows the rules. Our expectations of these films become part of the show somehow. I admire Superman, but am I a kind person all the time, the way Superman is? How can I relate to a character who has an “S” on his chest, since there are moments in my life when I behave like an a—— to other people?
(10) COUNTING THE PUPPIES. Greg Hullender has written up his analysis of the 2017 Puppy vote at Rocket Stack Rank — “Slating Analysis: 2017”. He says, “I get a slightly higher number than you did: 88-118. I make up for that with some cool graphs.”
Now that the 2017 Hugo Awards Finalists lists have come out, we can estimate how many slate voters there were. By our calculations, there were between 88 and 118 of them. This is just slightly higher than Mike Glyer’s estimate of “80 to 90”. When the detailed statistics are available in August, we’ll make a more precise estimate, using the methods we used in our article Slate Voting Analysis Using EPH Data: 2014-2016…
(11) A THREE BLACK HOLE RATING.The Guardian shares Jay Rayner’s brutal review of Le Cinq, Paris, a Michelin 3-star restaurant.
Other things are the stuff of therapy. The canapé we are instructed to eat first is a transparent ball on a spoon. It looks like a Barbie-sized silicone breast implant, and is a “spherification”, a gel globe using a technique perfected by Ferran Adrià at El Bulli about 20 years ago. This one pops in our mouth to release stale air with a tinge of ginger. My companion winces. “It’s like eating a condom that’s been left lying about in a dusty greengrocer’s,” she says. Spherifications of various kinds – bursting, popping, deflating, always ill-advised – turn up on many dishes. It’s their trick, their shtick, their big idea. It’s all they have. Another canapé, tuile enclosing scallop mush, introduces us to the kitchen’s love of acidity. Not bright, light aromatic acidity of the sort provided by, say, yuzu. This is blunt acidity of the sort that polishes up dulled brass coins.
Do you think we could get a Kickstarter funded if he turned his jaded eye in the direction of the Puppies Forbidden Thoughts anthology?
(12) CRETACEOUS TASTINESS. When you hear a bell, think of tacos — TriceraTACOs, that is.
(13) THE PLANE TRUTH. John Scalzi does not get enough credit for his restraint.
Guy in the row across from me trying to explain various Coke brands and is GETTING THEM ALL WRONG and I'm tempted to Cokesplain him.
(15) SONG AND DANCE MAN. In 1993, Christopher Walken appeared on Saturday Zoo with Jonathan Ross (who later got uninvited as toastmaster of the 2014 Worldcon in historic record time.) Walken gave an inimitable reading of “The Three Little Pigs.”
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Martin Morse Wooster, Cat Eldridge, and Rev. Bob for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Tom Becker.]
