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Did I write that? [Dec. 15th, 2009|08:19 am]

hkneale
[Tags|, , ]

Gotta love Google Alerts.

Pulled up this article from Savvy Gal.

Funny, I don't remember writing or selling this article. But a quick trawl through my Contracts folder shows that yes, I did write that article and I did generate an invoice.

Huh. How on earth did I forget about that?

And that reminds me, I really absolutely must update my web site. I've neglected it for over a year and it's looking pretty shoddy.

Chalk up yet another project for the Christmas season.
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(no subject) [Dec. 15th, 2009|11:08 am]
gillpolack
I just received a Google Alert for one of my books. Why is everything slightly hilarious in Latin?

ETA: It's today. Everything's just a bit amusing. For instance, there is a discussion on the PurpleZone (HarperVoyager fan area) on the best way of cooking vampire.
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Do They Make Catsup With Real Cats? [Dec. 14th, 2009|06:00 pm]
overheardnyc

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021168.html

Dumb girl #1: They, like, have a really good beet salad and it like, has beets in it!
Dumb girl #2: Wow! Really?

--W 4th & 12th St

Overheard by: westbear


Alsome | Thumbs up | Thumbs down |
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Chronos Award Nominations Now Open [Dec. 15th, 2009|09:44 am]

dalekboy
[Tags|, ]

Nomination for the 2009 Chronos Awards to be awarded at Continuum 6: Future Tense are now open.

To lodge a nomination please click on the Read more link below.

( Read more... )
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Blah! [Dec. 15th, 2009|09:31 am]

dalekboy
[Tags|, ]
[Current Mood | weird]

Today I feel like I expected to feel straight after getting my teeth out, or perhaps the next day. Migrainy, sensitive to light, sound, and touch (sheets hurt! Sharon's hair brushing against my arm hurts!). There was a touch of this yesterday, and today is notably worse.

And it's affecting my mood in surprising and unexpected ways. Not bad, as such, just odd enough where I'm going, "Huh? Why am I feeling like that?" and wanting to send lengthy emails to a couple of people talking about my mood, partially because I'm finding it curious.

Oh well, time for more painkillers and to go back to resting in the dark.
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Science Fiction Hall of Fame [Dec. 14th, 2009|05:30 pm]

frankwu
Since people are already emailing and contacting me about who they think ought to be in the SF Hall of Fame, I figured I'd open this up a little. As in (almost) all things, transparency here is a good thing. How do people get into the SF HOF?

I hope to open this up to discussion for everyone - though I, of course, will be mostly on the receiving rather dispensing end of information and please don't ask me to tell you who's going to get in before they make the final announcement. I also can't tell you what's going on behind closed doors, of course. In the light of propriety, I can tell you, I think, what's publically available knowledge and obvious conclusions from such knowledge.

The way the process works is that members of the SF Museum get to nominate whoever they want; we the executive selection committee paw through the nominations and debate amongst ourselves (this will happen with a flurry of emails within the next month). Some of the rest is based on my reading of the recent history of the HOF elections (we haven't been told yet if the "rules" this year are different). Generally, four people get in every year. There are four general categories: author, artist, filmmaker/TV, and other. But: we don't need to nominate 1 person per category (last year there were 2 artists). As I look over what's happened in the past, I see that usually two of the inductees are living, and two are dead (I'm not sure if that's a hard and fast rule).

I've gone through the list of everybody in the HOF and broke it down, listing them by the year their first work appeared (first published story, first illustration, etc.):

Mary W. Shelley Author 1818
Jules Verne Author 1863
H. G. Wells Author 1884
Frank R. Paul Artist 1911
Edgar Rice Burroughs Author 1912
Hugo Gernsback Editor 1913
Abraham Merritt Author 1917
E. E. Smith Author 1928
Jack Williamson Author 1928
John W. Campbell, Jr. Author/Editor 1930
C.L. Moore Author 1933
Andre Norton Author 1934
Donald Allen Wollheim Editor 1934
Frederik Pohl Author 1937
Eric Frank Russell Author 1937
Ray Bradbury Author 1938
Theodore Sturgeon Author 1938
Isaac Asimov Author 1939
Alfred Bester Author 1939
Chesley Bonestell Artist 1939
Robert A. Heinlein Author 1939
Fritz Leiber Author 1939
A. E. van Vogt Author 1939
James Blish Author 1940
Damon Knight Author/Editor 1941
Wilson Tucker Author 1941
Hal Clement Author 1942
Betty Ballantine Editor 1945
Ian Ballantine Editor 1945
Jack Vance Author 1945
Sir Arthur C. Clarke Author 1946
Poul Anderson Author 1947
Frank Herbert Author 1947
Richard M. Powers Artist 1948?
Ray Harryhausen Filmmaker 1949
Frank Kelly Freas Artist 1950
Philip K. Dick Author 1951
Gordon R. Dickson Author 1951
Ed Emshwiller Artist 1951
Gene Wolfe Author 1951
Brian W. Aldiss Author 1955
Robert Silverberg Author 1955
Michael Moorcock Author 1957
Harry Harrison Author 1958
Ursula K. Le Guin Author 1959
Rod Serling Filmmaker 1959
Samuel R. Delany Author 1962
Kate Wilhelm Author 1962
Edward L. Ferman Editor 1965
Gene Roddenberry Filmmaker 1966
George Lucas Filmmaker 1967
Anne McCaffrey Author 1967
Steven Spielberg Filmmaker 1969
Michael Whelan Artist 1975
William Gibson Author 1977
Connie Willis Author 1978
Ridley Scott Filmmaker 1979

Authors: 40
Editors: 7
Artists: 6
Filmmakers: 6
Actors: 0
Filkers: 0
Composers/Musicians: 0
Game designers: 0
Women: 8
Men: 49

We see some interesting things. The vast majority of folks in the HOF are writers. There are no actors, filkers, musicians, or game designers. (Any other major categories missing?) Also, the vast majority are men. (Connie Willis, who entered last year, is one of only 8 women enshrined.) The median year in which SF HOFers started their careers is 1945.

I will leave it at that, and open the floor for comments and suggestions. (Also, I collected the "year" data rather quickly and roughly, and I wouldn't be surprised if a couple were off.)
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Your Danny Photoshoot Meme [Dec. 15th, 2009|09:23 am]

dalekboy
[Tags|]
[Current Mood | sick]

Yes, the final in the trilogy!

Today you get to write and tell me how you would want to photograph me. You know me, nothing is too bland or extreme, so let yourself go.

All replies screened unless you specifically say it can be unscreened.
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Who Says New Yorkers Aren't Friendly? [Dec. 14th, 2009|03:00 pm]
overheardnyc

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021167.html

Old man: Enjoy your cancer.
Underage smoker: Thanks, man! You too!

--73rd & Columbus

Overheard by: Fish


Alsome | Thumbs up | Thumbs down |
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Stunned! [Dec. 14th, 2009|03:36 pm]

frankwu
I just got an email from Brooks Peck at the SF Hall of Fame. He has invited me to be part of the 2010 Hall of Fame selection committee. I am literally and figuratively stunned. Stunned!

The Hall of Fame is one of those lifetime honors that... just overwhelm me with their awesomeness. I got to induct Frank R. Paul into the Hall of Fame last year, and it was a thrilling, incredible experience.

I keep wanting to say to myself, This is like the Science Fiction version of the Baseball Hall of Fame. And in some ways it is - the baseball hall of fame is where you go, if you can get elected, after people who know and breathe and love baseball examine your career, your life, your stats, your integrity, years after the fact. Baseball fans debate who's a surefire, first-ballot hall-of-famer, who's a borderline case, who will never get into the crowd of greats among greats.

To win a Nebula is one thing, to win a Hugo another, but to achieve enshrinement in the Hall of Fame? Wow.

And I get to have a small role in who gets this honor. That's a very humbling, humbling experience.
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TISFpodcast: Up now and free on tisf.com.au and itunes, a Christmas bumper edition of spec fic stori [Dec. 14th, 2009|12:20 pm]
austsfnews

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/austsfnewsconduit/~3/iStLM2mAJkU/6672110459

http://twitter.com/TISFpodcast/statuses/6672110459

TISFpodcast: Up now and free on tisf.com.au and itunes, a Christmas bumper edition of spec fic stories read by T Jamieson, K Stevenson and B Duffy.

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit the website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Special discount for HWA and SFWA members [Dec. 14th, 2009|07:26 pm]
apexblog

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/blog/2009/12/special-discount-for-hwa-and-sfwa-members/

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/?p=1298

by Jason Sizemore

So I got to talking with Apex editor Jennifer Brozek about the pros and cons of joining professional writers organizations. I’m already a member of the Horror Writers Association and am considering joining the Science Fiction Writers Association (fwiw, I have decided to join). In the course of our discussion, she convinced me to offer a discount to SFWA and HWA members shopping in the Apex store. Good idea, yes?

Until the end of the year, SFWA and HWA members can get 20% off any order in the Apex Book Store.

SFWA members go here for your code.

HWA members go here for your code.

For more information about these two professional organizations visit:
HWA - www.horror.org
SFWA - www.sfwa.org

Enjoy. And don’t forget to thank Ms. Brozek for the savings!
http://www.apexbookstore.com

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Freedom is a Zero Sum Game [Dec. 14th, 2009|10:11 am]
dilbert_blog

http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/freedom_is_a_zero_sum_game/

http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/393/

Lately I've been wondering if freedom is a zero sum game. In other words, for one person to get more freedom, someone else has to lose the same amount, but usually in a different way.

I predict that you just reflexively rejected that concept, but your stubborness won't stop me from unfolding the idea a bit more. To that end, only examples can help.

Example one: In order for me to be free to walk down the sidewalk, other people must be prohibited from driving on them.

You could argue that I'm still free to take my chances and walk on the sidewalk. But that argument can be made for any restricted freedom. I'm also free to rob and kill as long as I accept the risks of doing so. But as a practical matter, my freedom to walk down the sidewalk depends heavily on restricting your freedom to use it in some other fashion.

Example two: Your freedom to marry the person of your choice depends on the person of your choice having only one option: you. That's the opposite of freedom. The two of you cancelled out, freedom-wise. On the other hand, if the two of you agree that the other is an ideal mate, that's an example of coincidence and not freedom. You just got lucky. Too bad the other people who wanted to mate with each of you are now restricted in their freedom to do so.

You can play this at home. Think of any freedom you enjoy, and consider how someone else's freedom had to be curtailed for you to have it.

The universe isn't making more freedom. If you want some, it comes at someone else's expense.

But that's okay because free will is an illusion anyway. I'll say it before you do.

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A Bizarre Holiday Ritual [Dec. 14th, 2009|02:03 pm]

kvtaylor
[Current Music |The Charlatans - Toothache | Powered by Last.fm]

A Bizarre Holiday Ritual
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Comic: The Axiom [Dec. 14th, 2009|12:00 am]
pennyarcaderss

http://feeds.penny-arcade.com/~r/pa-mainsite/~3/_sbQybX1p7A/


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I Smell a Project Runway "Reinvention" Challenge! [Dec. 14th, 2009|12:00 pm]
overheardnyc

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021166.html

Girl: Do you think it's inappropriate to wear black to a funeral?
Guy: Um, no. Why would it be?
Girl: Well, its just so... depressing. It's so cliche!

--1 Train


Alsome | Thumbs up | Thumbs down |
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For those of you interested in the review project... [Dec. 14th, 2009|01:12 pm]

xjenavivex
[Tags|]

Original post for reference.

[info]lasfreviews join this community and we will share our ideas and talk about the next steps.
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And yes, a review of Lovecraft Unbound [Dec. 14th, 2009|11:53 am]

ellen_datlow
[Tags|, ]

From Innsmouth Free Press .

The wrapup from Orrin Grey:

I could discuss individual stories all day, but to wrap up, Lovecraft Unbound is a fine and fascinating anthology full of very good stories, and it’s well worth your time and attention, so long as you don’t go into it expecting to find too many of the usual trappings of Mythos tales.
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Not a review fo the Lovecraft Unbound [Dec. 14th, 2009|10:12 am]

ellen_datlow
[Tags|]

..but a mention of the typeface on the cover... I love this commentary by On the Shelves
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Technical Difficulties… [Dec. 14th, 2009|02:57 pm]
dorktowerfeed

http://www.dorktower.com/2009/12/14/technical-difficulties/

http://www.dorktower.com/?p=4217

OK, a couple big things happened last week, not least of which was a hard drive crash on my laptop.

Between that and the blizzard that hit the midwest, it essentially wiped out another work week.

Fortunately, it seems (fingers crossed) as if all of my data was backed up. But getting everything back on the machine’s new hard drive has been a bit – shall we say “entertaining.” Not least because the new hard drive came loaded with a new operating system, and many of my old discs re still in boxes somewhere from the move.

I *hope* to have new strips up and running by this coming Friday, Dec. 18, Monday, December 21 at the latest.

On the plus side, there’ll be some news about something that’ll soon make sure DorkTower.com web site problems, etc., etc., are – if not a thing of the past – at least far more infrequent. There’ll be other big news as well. I’ll probably pst that this coming Thursday.

For the moment, it’s been incredibly frustrating, and I’d like to apologize for the ups and downs (mostly downs) of the web site this month. In 2010, I hope that the thrice-weekly schedule of comic strips will be hit, and hit regularly and well.

On the other hand, I’m not a kid in Darfur, so I really can’t complain too much about anything…

Also at the start of the year, some more big news, about what’s going on with everything: the Dork Tower comic strips; Dr. Blink comics and more; the Dork Tower comic books; My Little Cthulhu; Mythos Buddies; Munchkin; Out of the Box Games; the Dork Tower puppet project; where my mind’s at; and so on. Kind of a State of the Cartoonist address. I’m working that up now to post New Year’s Day. It ma need to be broken into a few parts.

In the meantime, thank you SO much for your patience these last few weeks. Please check back in lter in the week, when I hope things will be starting to run a bit more smoothly. I’m working on making everything sharper, smoother, faster and better at DorkTower.com.

John

PS – please excuse any typos. I’ve got to run off for a plane, and don’t have time to proof this in my usual haphazard way…

John

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College, in a Nutshell. [Dec. 14th, 2009|09:00 am]
overheardnyc

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021165.html

Sophomore #1: You are *not* allowed to pass out in the gutters!
Sophomore #2, deadpan: I didn't pass out. I laid down.

--Cooper Square & Astor Place


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