Perhaps it's because I've been reading Shaenon Garrity's Narbonic book, but I find that I've been thinking about Jack Parsons a lot lately. Part of that dates back to my first "Tall Tale" post, where he scored a parenthetical mention; but the main factor was my sudden realization that, despite the prevalence of the concept in science fiction and spy novels, Jack Parsons was, as far as I can tell, the only actual example ever of a Mad Scientist Attempting to Destroy the World.
Admittedly, his attempt to destroy the world involved sexual rituals rather than weapons of mass destruction; and the destruction that he was attempting was a creative destruction, wherein the old Reality would be swept away and supplanted by a New! Improved! Reality!®, as opposed to a, well, destructive destruction; but still, he was a Mad Scientist, and he was trying to Destroy the World. No one else that I can think of has ever really met both of those criteria.
So here's the kicker: The entire course of human history has produced only one Mad Scientist Attempting to Destroy the World, right? So what are the odds that L. Ron Hubbard, of all people, would be the person responsible for preventing Parsons from completing his experiments? With the shrewd tactical insight for which he would later become justifiably famous, he accomplished this feat by the simple expedient of leaving town with a vital component of Parsons' experiments by the name of "Betty,"* as well as a vital component of Parsons' bank accounts called "cash" — still, who are we to quibble with his methods?
For his part, Parsons eventually decided that he could quibble, at least to the extent of chasing the couple down in Miami — only to discover that they had set sail just ahead of his arrival on the Dianne, one of the three boats they had purchased with his money.
At that point, Parsons did what any sensible person would do: He performed a full invocation to "Bartzabel" inside a consecrated circle in his hotel room.
Once the freak storm that ripped the sails of the Dianne to shreds had passed, and Hubbard had limped the boat back into port, Parsons invoked some really terrifying creatures: lawyers. Parsons sued Hubbard to recover two of the boats; Hubbard eventually sold the third, the Dianne. He also eventually married Betty; although it appears that he may have accidentally neglected the minor preliminary step of divorcing his first wife, Polly, beforehand (...which would make him a Pollygamist, right?). Well, who can keep track of all those little details, anyway?
As for Jack Parsons, he returned to California, where, in 1948, he changed his name to the undeniably euphonious "Belarion Armiluss Al Dajjal AntiChrist." Prior to that, he had married the elemental soul mate he had conjured, Marjorie Cameron. They never did succeed in conceiving the cosmic "moonchild" who was to have been the end-product of Parsons' and Hubbard's complicated ritual; after his death in 1952 (in one of those pesky "blowed up the lab full of explosive chemicals" accidents that happens to all of us from time to time), she went on to star (with Anaïs Nin!) in Hollywood Babylon author Kenneth Anger's mystical experimental film classic, Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, as well as appearing with her friend Dennis Hopper in the 1961 mermaid thriller Night Tide.
No one's quite sure what became of that Hubbard fellow afterwards.
...And given that this all took place in California in the 1940s, am I alone in thinking that there's a fantastic Angel fanfic waiting to be written here? Or should I just wait until Friday for that?
* Her real name was Sara Northrup, and she called herself "Betty," which, obviously, implies that everyone knew her as Nancy.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Monday, February 07, 2005
The Butter Dimension Rebuttered
Jeffrey Rowland's new comic starts today. Wigu Tinkle may have outgrown Magical Adventures In Space, but I sure haven't. :)
Sunday, February 06, 2005
The Pull of the Bush
Various generally reputable media sources are reporting that Kate Bush will release a new studio album, possibly as early as March. Of this year.
Now, I could try to tie this in to Science Fiction by discussing "Experiment IV" or "Cloudbusting," but, really, why bother? We're talking about a new Kate Bush album. If that's not Science Fiction, I don't know what is.
According to some reports, the tentative title will be Duke Nukem For Ever.
[Postscript: She lives in Reading these days. If only we had some local conact in the Berkshire region, we'd be able to find out for sure, right?]
Now, I could try to tie this in to Science Fiction by discussing "Experiment IV" or "Cloudbusting," but, really, why bother? We're talking about a new Kate Bush album. If that's not Science Fiction, I don't know what is.
According to some reports, the tentative title will be Duke Nukem For Ever.
[Postscript: She lives in Reading these days. If only we had some local conact in the Berkshire region, we'd be able to find out for sure, right?]
A Coupla Boings
Oops! Thanks to several of you for the correction to the second link.
Of course Cory likes this SF story-- it's almost one he could have written himself, right down to the garbage theme and the obligatory Disney reference.
What Arthur C. Clarke has to say about tsunami and ICTs.
Of course Cory likes this SF story-- it's almost one he could have written himself, right down to the garbage theme and the obligatory Disney reference.
What Arthur C. Clarke has to say about tsunami and ICTs.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Roger Dean movie in progress
The artist Roger Dean is working on a movie, Floating Islands, based on his Yes album cover paintings. (Thanks to Thomas K. Dye for mentioning it in his blog.)
Friday, February 04, 2005
Oh, the Treks You'll Take!
Star Trek, of course, was the tap root of modern fan fiction. Terms of art like "slash" and "Mary Sue" originated in Trek fanfic circles. I'm old enough to remember when the first slash authors were called "K/S ladies," which always made them seem like someone's grandmothers to me (some of them may well have been, of course).
I'm also old enough to remember when slash was seen as horribly transgressive and even dangerous; David Gerrold was worrying about it casting all of Trek fandom into disrepute as late as the second edition of World of Star Trek in 1979, even though by that time Bantam Books themselves had already published such borderline slash as Jane Peyton's "Cave-in," from their mass-market fanfic collection Star Trek: The New Voyages 2, or Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath's novel The Price of the Phoenix (its 1979 sequel, The Fate of the Phoenix, was even slashier).
It's worth noting that slash grew from the very trunk of Star Trek fandom: Alternative, the first stand-alone slash zine, was published by Gerry Downes, a BNF who also published Stardate: Unknown, one of the most prominent non-slash fanzines. For that matter, some of the first major slash stories were written by none other than Leslie Fish, in zines like Warped Space and Lori Chapek-Carlton's Obsc'zine.
The Oxford English Dictionary's SF Fandom Vocabulary project, for what it's worth, cites Obsc'zine as being the origin point for both "Kirk/Spock" and its abbreviation "K/S". Just think — if they had called it "Kirk:Spock" fiction originally, we might today be talking about "colonic" fanfic instead of "slash" (as for the term "slash" itself, the OED currently dates that to 1984 in the letterzine "Not Tonight, Spock!").
These days, of course, fanfic and even slash are seen as unremarkable: The producers of Xena, for instance, formed a feedback loop with their fan community, amplifying the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle by including increasing amounts of subtextual innuendo in their scripts, which lead to slashier fanfic, which caused even more blatant subtext, until X/G slash was, by the end of the series, canonical (which, by some definitions, means that it was no longer slash). They also bought scripts from fan fiction superstar Melissa Good (including one for a never-produced third musical episode, which would have had Xena and Gabrielle meet up with Sappho — originally to have been played by k. d. lang).
What surprises are left in the Star Trek fanfic universe? There is already a fan fiction TV series, more or less; and there are books like Steven R. Boyett's Treks Not Taken, consisting of a series of Star Trek vignettes, like "The Crusher in the Rye" and "The Vampire LeForge," written in the style of other, more famous authors. Is that fanfic? Well, it's pretty hard to claim that Aslan Shrugged, below, is fan fiction and Boyett's "Fandom Shrugged" isn't.
So where, as they say on Buffy, do we go from here? Well, here are two otherwise unexplored areas of fanfiction creativity that I have come across: First off, via the Zwol message boards, comes what can best be described as dōjinshi based on Star Trek: The Animated Series. Given how well the art style of the animated series lends itself to easily-produced web comics, I'm surprised I haven't seem more stuff like this (there's also fumetti-style adaptation of "Yesteryear," one of the finest episodes of the animated series).
The second — and more outré — type of original fan fiction, was "Ensign Stuart Hershfeld's Journal," the modern equivalent of an epistolary fanfic, which consisted of a series of LiveJournal entries from Hershfeld, a young starfleet officer who really hates his job. And his ship. And most of his crewmates. And especially his ship's senior officers. And pretty much everything else in the universe, too, for that matter. He didn't make all that many entries before he either tired of it, or got his conciousness trapped in a living energy field, or was blown to smithereens by some kind of glowing purple space weasel or something. Shame, really, because the entries that are there are hillarious.
Finally, though, in honor of the passing of Enterprise, let's give Lore Sjöberg the final word, as we look back on the internet's first Enterprise slash fiction.
I'm also old enough to remember when slash was seen as horribly transgressive and even dangerous; David Gerrold was worrying about it casting all of Trek fandom into disrepute as late as the second edition of World of Star Trek in 1979, even though by that time Bantam Books themselves had already published such borderline slash as Jane Peyton's "Cave-in," from their mass-market fanfic collection Star Trek: The New Voyages 2, or Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath's novel The Price of the Phoenix (its 1979 sequel, The Fate of the Phoenix, was even slashier).
It's worth noting that slash grew from the very trunk of Star Trek fandom: Alternative, the first stand-alone slash zine, was published by Gerry Downes, a BNF who also published Stardate: Unknown, one of the most prominent non-slash fanzines. For that matter, some of the first major slash stories were written by none other than Leslie Fish, in zines like Warped Space and Lori Chapek-Carlton's Obsc'zine.
The Oxford English Dictionary's SF Fandom Vocabulary project, for what it's worth, cites Obsc'zine as being the origin point for both "Kirk/Spock" and its abbreviation "K/S". Just think — if they had called it "Kirk:Spock" fiction originally, we might today be talking about "colonic" fanfic instead of "slash" (as for the term "slash" itself, the OED currently dates that to 1984 in the letterzine "Not Tonight, Spock!").
These days, of course, fanfic and even slash are seen as unremarkable: The producers of Xena, for instance, formed a feedback loop with their fan community, amplifying the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle by including increasing amounts of subtextual innuendo in their scripts, which lead to slashier fanfic, which caused even more blatant subtext, until X/G slash was, by the end of the series, canonical (which, by some definitions, means that it was no longer slash). They also bought scripts from fan fiction superstar Melissa Good (including one for a never-produced third musical episode, which would have had Xena and Gabrielle meet up with Sappho — originally to have been played by k. d. lang).
What surprises are left in the Star Trek fanfic universe? There is already a fan fiction TV series, more or less; and there are books like Steven R. Boyett's Treks Not Taken, consisting of a series of Star Trek vignettes, like "The Crusher in the Rye" and "The Vampire LeForge," written in the style of other, more famous authors. Is that fanfic? Well, it's pretty hard to claim that Aslan Shrugged, below, is fan fiction and Boyett's "Fandom Shrugged" isn't.
So where, as they say on Buffy, do we go from here? Well, here are two otherwise unexplored areas of fanfiction creativity that I have come across: First off, via the Zwol message boards, comes what can best be described as dōjinshi based on Star Trek: The Animated Series. Given how well the art style of the animated series lends itself to easily-produced web comics, I'm surprised I haven't seem more stuff like this (there's also fumetti-style adaptation of "Yesteryear," one of the finest episodes of the animated series).
The second — and more outré — type of original fan fiction, was "Ensign Stuart Hershfeld's Journal," the modern equivalent of an epistolary fanfic, which consisted of a series of LiveJournal entries from Hershfeld, a young starfleet officer who really hates his job. And his ship. And most of his crewmates. And especially his ship's senior officers. And pretty much everything else in the universe, too, for that matter. He didn't make all that many entries before he either tired of it, or got his conciousness trapped in a living energy field, or was blown to smithereens by some kind of glowing purple space weasel or something. Shame, really, because the entries that are there are hillarious.
Finally, though, in honor of the passing of Enterprise, let's give Lore Sjöberg the final word, as we look back on the internet's first Enterprise slash fiction.
Fan Fiction Friday Bonus Early Edition
I intend to return later today, to honor the passing of Enterprise with some Star Trek fan fiction.
"What is this?" I hear you saying, "People have written fan fiction about Star Trek? How strange and marvelous this universe must be, for I have never considered that such a thing might be possible!"
Well, it is true; however, before we get to that, I have come to honor another momentous occasion: the hundredth anniversary of Ayn Rand's birth, which happened on February 2. And I will do this in the way that Ayn herself would undoubtedly have preferred, if only she were totally different in every respect than she actually was: by sharing with you some fan fiction.
But not just any fan fiction, oh no! For this is Aslan Shrugged*, which expertly merges Rand's Christian apologetics and mysticism with C. S. Lewis' love of pure reason and hardheaded materialism, to create what must surely be the finest Ayn Rand fan fiction I have read all week.
So far, not only the intro, but parts one and two are available.
While you're there, be sure to check out their heartwarming tale of a magical pig and his very special friends, Shelob's Web.
* Thanks to Electrolite
"What is this?" I hear you saying, "People have written fan fiction about Star Trek? How strange and marvelous this universe must be, for I have never considered that such a thing might be possible!"
Well, it is true; however, before we get to that, I have come to honor another momentous occasion: the hundredth anniversary of Ayn Rand's birth, which happened on February 2. And I will do this in the way that Ayn herself would undoubtedly have preferred, if only she were totally different in every respect than she actually was: by sharing with you some fan fiction.
But not just any fan fiction, oh no! For this is Aslan Shrugged*, which expertly merges Rand's Christian apologetics and mysticism with C. S. Lewis' love of pure reason and hardheaded materialism, to create what must surely be the finest Ayn Rand fan fiction I have read all week.
So far, not only the intro, but parts one and two are available.
While you're there, be sure to check out their heartwarming tale of a magical pig and his very special friends, Shelob's Web.
* Thanks to Electrolite
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Dead Two Days and Counting...
Two things happened to remind me that Enterprise was dead today:
This strip, about which Randy says "I look forward to the hate mail," and my first blog-related hate mail. Well, no, it was more like angry mail. But still.
I recognize that there are some readers of this blog who liked Enterprise. Perhaps not a majority, but a number. I guess I should've kept myself in check-- I've already vented my spleen about the biggest reason I left the series. No reason to add insult to fatal injury. It's effort better directed toward preserving Battlestar Galactica.
Enough heavy stuff. Enjoy this send-up of a classic Spider-Man story from my childhood, which, I'll wager, has fewer defenders than Enterprise.
This strip, about which Randy says "I look forward to the hate mail," and my first blog-related hate mail. Well, no, it was more like angry mail. But still.
I recognize that there are some readers of this blog who liked Enterprise. Perhaps not a majority, but a number. I guess I should've kept myself in check-- I've already vented my spleen about the biggest reason I left the series. No reason to add insult to fatal injury. It's effort better directed toward preserving Battlestar Galactica.
Enough heavy stuff. Enjoy this send-up of a classic Spider-Man story from my childhood, which, I'll wager, has fewer defenders than Enterprise.
The Mirror of Erutuf
From New Scientist comes a report of researchers in France who are attempting to create a "mirror" designed so that when you look into it, it will reflect back to you the image of your future self, five years down the road.
The "mirror" is actually a monitor which displays a live video feed from a camera. However, before the picture from the camera makes it to the display, it is fiddled with in real time by a computer which has been monitoring every aspect of your life by means of a network of high-resolution cameras placed throughout your house.
It sees you when you're sleeping; it knows when you're awake. It knows when you've been exercising, or sneaking that late-night piece of double-fudge cheesecake from the back of the fridge; and using all of that information, it decides just how many pounds to add or subtract from your future self, and how many wrinkles, grey hairs, and additional chins you will acquire. Similarly, once you finally begin that long-delayed diet, and actually start using the cobweb-festooned stairmaster in the corner of your lumber room, you can watch your future pounds melt away and a presumably slimmer and healthier you appear in the mirror.
It's the Magic Mirror from Snow White as voiced by Simon Cowell; it's the city in Sheckley's "Street of Dreams, Feet of Clay" shrunk down to just your house.
Frankly, I can't imagine that there will be a very robust market for products designed to make you look older; on the other hand, just imagine the fun you could have if you got root access to that system! You could have it show people with ghastly unexplained scars, Borg implants, or even a really bad mullet. Or just not show them at all, leaving them to assume that in five years' time, they will become vampires.
The "mirror" is actually a monitor which displays a live video feed from a camera. However, before the picture from the camera makes it to the display, it is fiddled with in real time by a computer which has been monitoring every aspect of your life by means of a network of high-resolution cameras placed throughout your house.
It sees you when you're sleeping; it knows when you're awake. It knows when you've been exercising, or sneaking that late-night piece of double-fudge cheesecake from the back of the fridge; and using all of that information, it decides just how many pounds to add or subtract from your future self, and how many wrinkles, grey hairs, and additional chins you will acquire. Similarly, once you finally begin that long-delayed diet, and actually start using the cobweb-festooned stairmaster in the corner of your lumber room, you can watch your future pounds melt away and a presumably slimmer and healthier you appear in the mirror.
It's the Magic Mirror from Snow White as voiced by Simon Cowell; it's the city in Sheckley's "Street of Dreams, Feet of Clay" shrunk down to just your house.
Frankly, I can't imagine that there will be a very robust market for products designed to make you look older; on the other hand, just imagine the fun you could have if you got root access to that system! You could have it show people with ghastly unexplained scars, Borg implants, or even a really bad mullet. Or just not show them at all, leaving them to assume that in five years' time, they will become vampires.
Bricks of Madness?
H P Lovecraft is on a collision course with George Herriman in Mikael Oskarsson's webcomic Flick, in one of the best take-offs of the Krazy Kat style you're ever likely to see.
EDIT: Just one "t" in Kat. Drat.
EDIT: Just one "t" in Kat. Drat.
Love In Cons
It's cute. Read it quick, before it disappears beyond the subscription wall.
And Wednesday reports it so I don't have to: Enterprise is dead. And all I can say is, thank God.
And Wednesday reports it so I don't have to: Enterprise is dead. And all I can say is, thank God.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
It's Still Tuesday Here...
...even if it's already Wednesday for Wednesday.
With that in mind, I present a true classic of the internets ("classic," of course, means "you've read this a thousand times already"), as archived on Jerry Pournelle's web site*. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you a Chaos Manor Special Report: "Dogs in Elk"!
* By astounding coincidence, this story contains exactly as much useful information about computers as Dr. Pournelle's typical "Chaos Manor" column for Byte used to.
With that in mind, I present a true classic of the internets ("classic," of course, means "you've read this a thousand times already"), as archived on Jerry Pournelle's web site*. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you a Chaos Manor Special Report: "Dogs in Elk"!
* By astounding coincidence, this story contains exactly as much useful information about computers as Dr. Pournelle's typical "Chaos Manor" column for Byte used to.
Next on Discovery Channel's Monster Mortuary
Well, okay then: This is obviously my week for grave sites that most people wouldn't be caught dead in. From the BBC comes this report from the Ghanaian town of Accra, which seems to have become the center of a cottage industry for custom-made surrealist coffins. Sort of the ultimate case mod, you might say.
Have you ever wanted to be buried in a giant Coke bottle? Or an enormous snail? Well, then, this is the place for you. Be sure to look at the picture gallery, while you try to figure out who would want to be buried inside a chicken.
The true highlight of the piece, however — the magnum opus that could only have been conceived by a tag team of Hieronymus Bosch and Grant Morrison — is the coffin shaped like, well, the entire female reproductive system.
The womb tomb: Boy, do I wish Sigmund Freud were alive to see that. It would kill him.
The final little crowning touch, the end-zone dance at the end of the article, for me, is the caption to that picture, which I swear I will someday use as the first sentence in some kind of post-cyberpunk short story: "In another showroom, a polished uterus waits to be picked up by a gynaecologist."
Have you ever wanted to be buried in a giant Coke bottle? Or an enormous snail? Well, then, this is the place for you. Be sure to look at the picture gallery, while you try to figure out who would want to be buried inside a chicken.
The true highlight of the piece, however — the magnum opus that could only have been conceived by a tag team of Hieronymus Bosch and Grant Morrison — is the coffin shaped like, well, the entire female reproductive system.
The womb tomb: Boy, do I wish Sigmund Freud were alive to see that. It would kill him.
The final little crowning touch, the end-zone dance at the end of the article, for me, is the caption to that picture, which I swear I will someday use as the first sentence in some kind of post-cyberpunk short story: "In another showroom, a polished uterus waits to be picked up by a gynaecologist."
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Guaranteed to Give You the Wiggins
Who knew? For a mere $5000, you can have your very own Speaker for the Dead!
New Signs of the End Times
Why should I let Wednesday have all the fun with the Apocalypse?
After all, like Valen, I was taught by Jesuits. I know the vital role that Matthew 27:48 plays in the Culture Wars. I even understand the military history of the hill of Megiddo.
So don't bother me with the Mark of the Beast. Speak not to me of plagues and portents and the resurrection of the dead: For verily, I say unto you, I know the true signs of our impending doom.
After all, like Valen, I was taught by Jesuits. I know the vital role that Matthew 27:48 plays in the Culture Wars. I even understand the military history of the hill of Megiddo.
So don't bother me with the Mark of the Beast. Speak not to me of plagues and portents and the resurrection of the dead: For verily, I say unto you, I know the true signs of our impending doom.
Friday, January 28, 2005
The Circle Unbroken.
Sooner or later this had to happen: Trekkies, but for LOTR fans.
Far more entertaining than Alone in the Dark will likely be is watching reviewers meow about it. As I write this, its Tomatometer reading is 3%. (I especially enjoy watching the reviewers-- plural-- who START to call it the worst movie ever, then back away in horror from the precipice, realizing that making that claim would actually ENCOURAGE some people).
And Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing and NPR on James Cameron's Aliens of the Deep.
Far more entertaining than Alone in the Dark will likely be is watching reviewers meow about it. As I write this, its Tomatometer reading is 3%. (I especially enjoy watching the reviewers-- plural-- who START to call it the worst movie ever, then back away in horror from the precipice, realizing that making that claim would actually ENCOURAGE some people).
And Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing and NPR on James Cameron's Aliens of the Deep.
Fan Fiction Friday
...or, You HopedThought I'd Forgotten All About It, Didn't You?
From Making Light comes word of the inevitable Whedon/Tolkien musical extravaganza, Once More with Hobbits. So far, the only complaint I've heard about it is that it doesn't include the Scouring of the Shire.
After such an effort, what new worlds could there be for Joss to conquer? Well, he could always collaborate with another one of his favorite writers, Aaron Sorkin!
...Until he actually does so, however, you'll have to make do with these stories of a young, blond Slayer who was Called when Buffy had her sic transit Gloria moment: It's Donna the Vampire Slayer!
Expect lots of walking quickly through corridors and crypts, trading serve-and-volley quips.
If, on the other hand, you prefer catblogging, well, then, here.
From Making Light comes word of the inevitable Whedon/Tolkien musical extravaganza, Once More with Hobbits. So far, the only complaint I've heard about it is that it doesn't include the Scouring of the Shire.
After such an effort, what new worlds could there be for Joss to conquer? Well, he could always collaborate with another one of his favorite writers, Aaron Sorkin!
...Until he actually does so, however, you'll have to make do with these stories of a young, blond Slayer who was Called when Buffy had her sic transit Gloria moment: It's Donna the Vampire Slayer!
Expect lots of walking quickly through corridors and crypts, trading serve-and-volley quips.
If, on the other hand, you prefer catblogging, well, then, here.
噢，這真是個快樂的進展…㆒噢，这真是个快乐的进展!
In the spirit of the Buffy database mentioned earlier comes (via Electrolite) the Firefly Chinese Pinyinary, your comprehensive guide to all of those exotic Chinese phrases spoken by the crew of Serenity.
My favorite? Hard to say, but "我的媽和她的瘋狂的外甥都㆒我的妈和她的疯狂的外甥都!" ("Holy mother of God and all her wacky nephews!") is a strong contender.
(Boy, won't this test your browser's font rendering...)
My favorite? Hard to say, but "我的媽和她的瘋狂的外甥都㆒我的妈和她的疯狂的外甥都!" ("Holy mother of God and all her wacky nephews!") is a strong contender.
(Boy, won't this test your browser's font rendering...)
Cartoon Cartoons!
Good news-- albeit news you can probably already guess at-- for cartoon addicts.
And a webcomic made just for them, recommended by one "no one in particular." I like it... though I'd like it a bit more if it were designed to fit in my screen.
And a webcomic made just for them, recommended by one "no one in particular." I like it... though I'd like it a bit more if it were designed to fit in my screen.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
I Was Hoping It'd Be Named "Zaphod"
In the end of Peter David's Future Imperfect, one of his best comics stories, the time-lost, intelligent Hulk cremates the body of his now-aged best friend, Rick Jones. He spreads the ashes over Captain America's shield and hurls it into the air, where it travels for miles, disappearing from sight.
"Where do you think it'll land?" someone asks him.
"God willing," he replies, "somewhere exciting."
That's more or less how I feel about the naming of the asteroid Douglasadams.
Farewell again, you glorious nonsensicalist.
"Where do you think it'll land?" someone asks him.
"God willing," he replies, "somewhere exciting."
That's more or less how I feel about the naming of the asteroid Douglasadams.
Farewell again, you glorious nonsensicalist.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Postscripts
The glorious meta-narrative surrounding the Publish America article T mentioned includes (via Making Light), the newly immortal literary classic Atlanta Nights, by "Travis Tea," details of which can be had from Beth Bernobich and Sherwood Smith (via Crooked Timber).
Also, a passing aside in my post about Tom Whitmore and the Ordo Templi Orientis referred to the story of Jack Parsons, cofounder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (still sometimes called the "Jack Parsons Laboratory") and follower of Aleister Crowley. Lo and behold, today's Salon includes a review and interview about Astro Turf, a book about the early days and culture of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (subscription or free DayPass required).
Also, a passing aside in my post about Tom Whitmore and the Ordo Templi Orientis referred to the story of Jack Parsons, cofounder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (still sometimes called the "Jack Parsons Laboratory") and follower of Aleister Crowley. Lo and behold, today's Salon includes a review and interview about Astro Turf, a book about the early days and culture of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (subscription or free DayPass required).
This is What Jonathan Had in Mind When He Invented the Internet
via Victor Gonzalez at trufen.net comes word of Buffyology, a web site which features "Every Buffy character, episode, cast member, writer and director and every word of every show, in a searchable database."
Want to find the first use of the phrase "Scooby gang"? Want to know which episodes feature dairy products? This is the web site for you, then.
Want to find the first use of the phrase "Scooby gang"? Want to know which episodes feature dairy products? This is the web site for you, then.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Tall Tale Tuesday
Today's Tall Tale involves classic Science Fiction Fandom and a shadowy and controversial religious organization.
And no, the "shadowy and controversial religious organization" isn't the one you're thinking of; although, in an odd way, it nearly was anyhow.
The Hero of our story is Tom Whitmore, conrunner, fanzine fan, and owner of Berkeley's legendary The Other Change of Hobbit bookstore; and the shadowy and controversial religious organization is the Ordo Templi Orientis, the mystical order founded by none other than the infamous "Great Beast" himself, Aleister Crowley.
The fundamental scripture of the OTO is the Liber AL vel Legis, or The Book of the Law, which was originally written in longhand by Crowley on April 8–10, 1904, in Cairo, Egypt, allegedly as dictated to him by a spirit called Aiwass. This longhand original, along with numerous other significant documents and papers, disappeared sometime after the 1962 death of Karl Germer, Crowley's chosen successor as head of the OTO. When Germer died, the OTO was largely moribund, and there was no clear central authority. Eventually, though, a former student of Crowley's named Grady McMurtry stepped up and began reorganizing the OTO, albeit not without a certain amount of disagreement from other individuals and organizations which fancied themselves as the rightful heirs of Crowley's mantle.
And that's where things stood in 1984, when Our Hero entered the story.
Without further ado, then, I give you his tale, as originally published in Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden's fanzine IZZARD in 1987: "Raiders of the Lost Basement"
And no, the "shadowy and controversial religious organization" isn't the one you're thinking of; although, in an odd way, it nearly was anyhow.
The Hero of our story is Tom Whitmore, conrunner, fanzine fan, and owner of Berkeley's legendary The Other Change of Hobbit bookstore; and the shadowy and controversial religious organization is the Ordo Templi Orientis, the mystical order founded by none other than the infamous "Great Beast" himself, Aleister Crowley.
The fundamental scripture of the OTO is the Liber AL vel Legis, or The Book of the Law, which was originally written in longhand by Crowley on April 8–10, 1904, in Cairo, Egypt, allegedly as dictated to him by a spirit called Aiwass. This longhand original, along with numerous other significant documents and papers, disappeared sometime after the 1962 death of Karl Germer, Crowley's chosen successor as head of the OTO. When Germer died, the OTO was largely moribund, and there was no clear central authority. Eventually, though, a former student of Crowley's named Grady McMurtry stepped up and began reorganizing the OTO, albeit not without a certain amount of disagreement from other individuals and organizations which fancied themselves as the rightful heirs of Crowley's mantle.
And that's where things stood in 1984, when Our Hero entered the story.
Without further ado, then, I give you his tale, as originally published in Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden's fanzine IZZARD in 1987: "Raiders of the Lost Basement"
Monday, January 24, 2005
Reading is Fundamedical!
I was at Greg Rucka's website, looking for any new information about the progress of the Whiteout movie, when I stumbled across the heart-warming story of ECW and WWE Wrestler Lance Storm, who believes he has found the cure to his career-ending back injuries in a Greg Rucka novel, Critical Space.
Hah! Take that, Brad Metzler! Take that, Michael Chabon! How many wrestlers have you cured lately?
As an aside, how cool is it that Lance Storm runs a Book Club for his fans on his web site?
Hah! Take that, Brad Metzler! Take that, Michael Chabon! How many wrestlers have you cured lately?
As an aside, how cool is it that Lance Storm runs a Book Club for his fans on his web site?
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Saturday, January 22, 2005
The rivers of Titan
More from Titan and the Huygens team: methane rain falling on the water-ice hills, carving out a river system and flowing out to mudflats. Two worlds playing the same song on different instruments.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Gimmick Time!
There is something of a tradition, in the blogging community, of taking a moment on Friday to relax and kick off the weekend with a little something different. Catblogging is probably the best-known expression of this; other blogs turn to science for a change of pace on Fridays.
That's too easy: cats are already as vital a part of Fandom as Jewish minutiae and chocolate; and science? Puhleeze! If all those other bloggers are going to be just like us, well, then, we'll just have to be even more like ourselves than they are. Hah! That'll showus! them!
With that in mind, I give you: Fan Fiction Fridays!
I was going to lead with my chin by starting with what internet connoisseurs have long held to be the ne plus ultra of fan fiction horror, the vanishing point towards which all things tasteless converge: Anne Frank fan fiction.
Unfortunately, as you can see if you click that link, in the two years plus since knowledge of this phenomenon spread across the internets, the folks at fanfiction.net have seen fit to purge that particular category from their listing. The near-universal reaction of shock and revulsion it caused may have had something to do with that decision, I suppose.
Now, before you rush off to scrub your brain clean with bleach, let me reassure you that at least it wasn't Anne Frank slash. Mostly, it seemed to be girls about Anne's age who, reading her diary, connected with it on a deep, personal level. In fact, the more I think about it, the more it seems like an understandable reaction, born of a surfeit of empathy. These were girls, it seems to me, who wanted to reach back through time and share whatever portions of Anne Frank's burdens that they could.
I wonder if any of them wrote alternate endings for Anne's story.
Actually, I wonder if any of them didn't.
At any rate, it's hard to get categorically upset at the notion of Anne Frank fan fiction and still praise things like Bill Mudron's astounding Anne Frank Conquers the Moon Nazis, isn't it? For that matter, my favorite song on one of the great albums of all time, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, is a love song to Anne Frank. Jeff Mangum wrote an album so beautiful and perfect that it scared him out of music entirely; and by 2010 it will probably have joined The Velvet Underground & Nico, Pink Moon, and Sister Lovers in the pantheon of obscure-at-the-time discs that get reverently namechecked by musicians in Rolling Stone and NME profiles.
So maybe there's something to Anne Frank fan fiction, after all.
But never fear! I have a replacement which, I think you will agree, represents a whole new evolution of the fanfic concept: Steve Perry fan fiction.
Hah! Take that, Jasmine and Inkblot! Take that, Emerald Ash Borer! Your puny powers of Friday distraction are nothing compared to the awesome power of Steve Perry fighting an immortal, wraith-like assassin!
That's too easy: cats are already as vital a part of Fandom as Jewish minutiae and chocolate; and science? Puhleeze! If all those other bloggers are going to be just like us, well, then, we'll just have to be even more like ourselves than they are. Hah! That'll show
With that in mind, I give you: Fan Fiction Fridays!
I was going to lead with my chin by starting with what internet connoisseurs have long held to be the ne plus ultra of fan fiction horror, the vanishing point towards which all things tasteless converge: Anne Frank fan fiction.
Unfortunately, as you can see if you click that link, in the two years plus since knowledge of this phenomenon spread across the internets, the folks at fanfiction.net have seen fit to purge that particular category from their listing. The near-universal reaction of shock and revulsion it caused may have had something to do with that decision, I suppose.
Now, before you rush off to scrub your brain clean with bleach, let me reassure you that at least it wasn't Anne Frank slash. Mostly, it seemed to be girls about Anne's age who, reading her diary, connected with it on a deep, personal level. In fact, the more I think about it, the more it seems like an understandable reaction, born of a surfeit of empathy. These were girls, it seems to me, who wanted to reach back through time and share whatever portions of Anne Frank's burdens that they could.
I wonder if any of them wrote alternate endings for Anne's story.
Actually, I wonder if any of them didn't.
At any rate, it's hard to get categorically upset at the notion of Anne Frank fan fiction and still praise things like Bill Mudron's astounding Anne Frank Conquers the Moon Nazis, isn't it? For that matter, my favorite song on one of the great albums of all time, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, is a love song to Anne Frank. Jeff Mangum wrote an album so beautiful and perfect that it scared him out of music entirely; and by 2010 it will probably have joined The Velvet Underground & Nico, Pink Moon, and Sister Lovers in the pantheon of obscure-at-the-time discs that get reverently namechecked by musicians in Rolling Stone and NME profiles.
So maybe there's something to Anne Frank fan fiction, after all.
But never fear! I have a replacement which, I think you will agree, represents a whole new evolution of the fanfic concept: Steve Perry fan fiction.
Hah! Take that, Jasmine and Inkblot! Take that, Emerald Ash Borer! Your puny powers of Friday distraction are nothing compared to the awesome power of Steve Perry fighting an immortal, wraith-like assassin!
Fulfilling a Vital Need. I Guess.
I can't. I just can't.
As single as I am...
I can't bring myself to Ask Deirdre for advice to the lovelorn comic-book geek.
I just can't.
(It's like sending Ann Landers material to Maxim, you know?...)
As single as I am...
I can't bring myself to Ask Deirdre for advice to the lovelorn comic-book geek.
I just can't.
(It's like sending Ann Landers material to Maxim, you know?...)
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Futuropolis UK
Dreams of a future British megacity running from coast to coast across the Pennines, Liverpool stretching out to sea on stilts, and The Stack: a skyscraper in the shape of, um, things in a stack. The readers' comments aren't universally supportive. The giant Manchester teddy and Rubik's Cube might be controversial, but I have to say I like the look of the Bradford park and lake.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Dancer, Will Robinson! Dancer!
I tend to avoid repeating Slashdot, because so many people check it already, but this story just ties in too damned well with my last post: Agence France-Presse is reporting that Japanese scientists, including Tokyo University's Katsushi Ikeuchi, have taught the Kawada Industries HRP-2 robot the steps and movements of traditional Japanese dances, in an effort to preserve that aspect of their cultural heritage for posterity.
Japan: Land of the Dancing Robots.
Oh, did I mention that the robot was designed by Yutaka Izubuchi, creator of RahXephon, and designer of mechas for Assemble Insert, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, and Gasaraki, among others? That probably explains why it flies and comes equipped with a giant freaking sword, right?
Japan: Land of the Dancing Robots.
Oh, did I mention that the robot was designed by Yutaka Izubuchi, creator of RahXephon, and designer of mechas for Assemble Insert, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, and Gasaraki, among others? That probably explains why it flies and comes equipped with a giant freaking sword, right?
Monday, January 17, 2005
In The Next Century, You're On Your Own
A while back, I compared the past and the future to different countries. I also noted that the converse was true, in that by looking around the world today, you could catch glimpses of the past or the future.
Bits of the past are everywhere, of course. Some of them float around like junk DNA in the genome: rituals whose origin is forgotten; laws and customs designed to solve problems which no longer exist. There are also places where the past is still alive and kicking, like the Sentinel Island natives shooting arrows at curious helicopters in the wake of the tsunami. In other places, the past has been suddenly (and often violently) overrun by the present, as illustrated by this 2002 Frontline story about the arrival of television in Bhutan, where it was prohibited until 1999.
It's easy to spot the past when you look around, because we already know what it looks like. Spotting the future isn't as easy, although you could improve your chances a lot by simply looking at Japan. I wouldn't go so far as to say Japan is the future, but I would say that Japan is Science Fiction (the USA, if we're shifting our geopolitical metaphors to genre, is Big Budget Summer Blockbusters, of course).
That's one reason why I love Warren Ellis' web site: He has a keen eye for those bits of news from Japan which are beyond the comprehension of our puny 21st Century human intellects. I'm not even talking about such overtly science fictional things as the fact that the band "Disaster Area," last heard from in the Hitchhiker's Guide, is apparently touring Japan even as we speak; or more obviously futuristic things like NEC's new Universal Translator. I'm talking about the fact that they bathe in Radon.
That's the sort of thing that shows a true, living dedication to the craft of being Science Fiction.
What sort of thing happens when you take too many relaxing swims through radioactive pools? Well, you start to think that ice cream hot dogs are a good idea, for one. Then you produce children's television shows like Gimme Gimme Octopus. Finally, you end up making Dinosaur Battle Tank Fetish Porn films.
O Brave New World, That Has Such Creatures In It.
Now pardon me while I go shoot some arrows at the hovering battle robots.
Bits of the past are everywhere, of course. Some of them float around like junk DNA in the genome: rituals whose origin is forgotten; laws and customs designed to solve problems which no longer exist. There are also places where the past is still alive and kicking, like the Sentinel Island natives shooting arrows at curious helicopters in the wake of the tsunami. In other places, the past has been suddenly (and often violently) overrun by the present, as illustrated by this 2002 Frontline story about the arrival of television in Bhutan, where it was prohibited until 1999.
It's easy to spot the past when you look around, because we already know what it looks like. Spotting the future isn't as easy, although you could improve your chances a lot by simply looking at Japan. I wouldn't go so far as to say Japan is the future, but I would say that Japan is Science Fiction (the USA, if we're shifting our geopolitical metaphors to genre, is Big Budget Summer Blockbusters, of course).
That's one reason why I love Warren Ellis' web site: He has a keen eye for those bits of news from Japan which are beyond the comprehension of our puny 21st Century human intellects. I'm not even talking about such overtly science fictional things as the fact that the band "Disaster Area," last heard from in the Hitchhiker's Guide, is apparently touring Japan even as we speak; or more obviously futuristic things like NEC's new Universal Translator. I'm talking about the fact that they bathe in Radon.
That's the sort of thing that shows a true, living dedication to the craft of being Science Fiction.
What sort of thing happens when you take too many relaxing swims through radioactive pools? Well, you start to think that ice cream hot dogs are a good idea, for one. Then you produce children's television shows like Gimme Gimme Octopus. Finally, you end up making Dinosaur Battle Tank Fetish Porn films.
O Brave New World, That Has Such Creatures In It.
Now pardon me while I go shoot some arrows at the hovering battle robots.
The science of hit songs
The music industry is using new software to predict hit songs, according to the Guardian today.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Cartoon Report.
The following post is for followers of Cartoon Network only. Everyone else, go on about your business.
Well, I feel I kind of let blog readers down by pushing Megas XLR just before its season finale, which dumps some really great backstory on us and then promptly renders it all irrelevant without doing anything with it first. I was really looking forward to what they seemed to be leading up to: that our Big Bad was actually POSSIBLE FUTURE Koop, not alternate-reality Koop. I guess they haven't closed that possibility completely, but it looks like they either missed it, or more likely, put it in and then wrote it out in Draft 3. (In fact, the whole thing feels rushed, as if whole scenes were deleted.) Instead we got the usual robofight with fewer moments than usual of cleverness or charming stupidity. Not their best.
Ah, well. On the up side, Marv Wolfman turned in a great script for Teen Titans that restored a lot of Brother Blood's credibility in the episode's final six seconds.
Finally, Justice League Unlimited. The "Old Yeller" plotline was really gutsy, and the characterization was stellar. But listen, y'all Cartoon Networkers-- do you think we could prevail upon you to show some of the episodes of the Justice League series that led up to this whole thing? I know it's true to the comics, but some of us don't like the story continuity to be impenetrable. Strange but true...
Well, I feel I kind of let blog readers down by pushing Megas XLR just before its season finale, which dumps some really great backstory on us and then promptly renders it all irrelevant without doing anything with it first. I was really looking forward to what they seemed to be leading up to: that our Big Bad was actually POSSIBLE FUTURE Koop, not alternate-reality Koop. I guess they haven't closed that possibility completely, but it looks like they either missed it, or more likely, put it in and then wrote it out in Draft 3. (In fact, the whole thing feels rushed, as if whole scenes were deleted.) Instead we got the usual robofight with fewer moments than usual of cleverness or charming stupidity. Not their best.
Ah, well. On the up side, Marv Wolfman turned in a great script for Teen Titans that restored a lot of Brother Blood's credibility in the episode's final six seconds.
Finally, Justice League Unlimited. The "Old Yeller" plotline was really gutsy, and the characterization was stellar. But listen, y'all Cartoon Networkers-- do you think we could prevail upon you to show some of the episodes of the Justice League series that led up to this whole thing? I know it's true to the comics, but some of us don't like the story continuity to be impenetrable. Strange but true...
Friday, January 14, 2005
If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em.
The Battlestar Galactica blog. Only one entry so far, but boy is it a good one...
The Siren from Titan
New Scientist is reporting that ESA scientists at Darmstadt and American scientists at Green Bank have picked up the carrier wave signal from the Huygens probe, indicating that it has deployed successfully into the atmosphere of Titan.
Actual telemetry from Huygens, if any, won't be available until later this afternoon, pending retransmission by the orbiting Cassini spacecraft.
Actual telemetry from Huygens, if any, won't be available until later this afternoon, pending retransmission by the orbiting Cassini spacecraft.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Pastel Defender returns
Sci-fi webcomic creator Jennifer Diane Reitz, who has been resting after a heart attack last September, is back working on her current comic Pastel Defender Heliotrope which came out of hiatus on Monday 10th January. Here's wishing her well.
Filming for the new series of Dr Who has been hit by a scarcity of midget actors.
Filming for the new series of Dr Who has been hit by a scarcity of midget actors.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Monday, January 10, 2005
And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor...
I've got an article in Comixpedia today. Just a roundup, really, but worth your time if you're interested in comedy.
Working on a new and better homepage for tcampbell.net. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with comments.
Working on a new and better homepage for tcampbell.net. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with comments.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Still Taking Applications...
Note the slight change to the header. If you're getting a kick out of the Science Fiction Blog and would like to help perpetuate it, I'll set you right up.
More on the simulation hypothesis, definitely the best part of the original Matrix.
And finally, if you're not watching Megas XLR, why not?
More on the simulation hypothesis, definitely the best part of the original Matrix.
And finally, if you're not watching Megas XLR, why not?
Friday, January 07, 2005
They Also Found Jenga, Played With Stone Ziggurats
A couple of quick postscripts to that last article: In addition to the sequential art pot, archaeologists in Burnt City had earlier found what they claim to be the world's oldest backgammon set. The twenty positions on the rectangular board (which was made of ebony imported from India) are formed by an engraved serpent coiled around itself 20 times. In a terra cotta box next to the game board, archaeologists found 60 game pieces made of agate and turqouise.
Unfortunately, backgammon is no longer played with sixty pieces; and, needless to say, someone managed to misplace the instruction booklet sometime during the last fifty centuries. That's going to lower its value considerably on eBay, of course; which is a real shame, because they still have the original box.
Also, while trolling the web for an up-to-date link to the d20 picture (Christie's moved the link that all of the contemporary articles pointed to once their auction was over), I came across the web site of a dice collector named Arjan Verweij, whose collection includes not one, not two, but three ancient fourteen-sided dice — two of bronze, and one of iron. Interestingly, the photo of the dice used in the backgammon article, above, seems to have been lifted from his web site. Ooooops.
Still not a 23-sider in the bunch, of course.
Unfortunately, backgammon is no longer played with sixty pieces; and, needless to say, someone managed to misplace the instruction booklet sometime during the last fifty centuries. That's going to lower its value considerably on eBay, of course; which is a real shame, because they still have the original box.
Also, while trolling the web for an up-to-date link to the d20 picture (Christie's moved the link that all of the contemporary articles pointed to once their auction was over), I came across the web site of a dice collector named Arjan Verweij, whose collection includes not one, not two, but three ancient fourteen-sided dice — two of bronze, and one of iron. Interestingly, the photo of the dice used in the backgammon article, above, seems to have been lifted from his web site. Ooooops.
Still not a 23-sider in the bunch, of course.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Perhaps They Should Call It "Keen's Pot"
...or, "Okay, Then: This Comic Probably Predates Eisner":
From Scott McCloud's unfortunately permalink-free Morning Improv comes word of a natural companion to the previously mentioned 2,000 year old d20: Archaeological excavations in the "Burnt City" site in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan have turned up what the Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency is calling the world's first animation.
The item in question is a small pot which features, around its circumference, a series of drawings depicting a goat leaping up to eat the leaves of a tree and landing again. As animations go, the frame rate is pretty lousy (or maybe it just needed some more tweening), but it's certainly an impressive first step. Also, the characterization is minimal, and the plot is fairly thin; still, equally simple goat stories have been known to hold our President in fascinated thrall for minutes on end.
Of course, unless you want to think of the pot as some kind of inside-out zoetrope, it's not an animation, per se; rather, as Scott McCloud pointed out, it is a comic strip.
Rumor has it that archaeologists found another partially completed pot nearby which had glyphs that, when translated, indicated that the pot strip was on hiatus, but would hopefully be updating soon.
From Scott McCloud's unfortunately permalink-free Morning Improv comes word of a natural companion to the previously mentioned 2,000 year old d20: Archaeological excavations in the "Burnt City" site in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan have turned up what the Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency is calling the world's first animation.
The item in question is a small pot which features, around its circumference, a series of drawings depicting a goat leaping up to eat the leaves of a tree and landing again. As animations go, the frame rate is pretty lousy (or maybe it just needed some more tweening), but it's certainly an impressive first step. Also, the characterization is minimal, and the plot is fairly thin; still, equally simple goat stories have been known to hold our President in fascinated thrall for minutes on end.
Of course, unless you want to think of the pot as some kind of inside-out zoetrope, it's not an animation, per se; rather, as Scott McCloud pointed out, it is a comic strip.
Rumor has it that archaeologists found another partially completed pot nearby which had glyphs that, when translated, indicated that the pot strip was on hiatus, but would hopefully be updating soon.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
The Dreamer
Can you spend all day reading articles and biographies and tributes and obituaries of one man, and still not come close to scratching the surface? Of course you can, especially when that man is Will Eisner.
As Neil Gaiman said, in explaining Eisner's impact on the comics field to a reporter, "It's as if Orson Welles had made Citizen Kane and redefined what you could do in film, and then carried on making movies until now." Mark Evanier recalls Frank Miller commenting, upon reading one of Eisner's recent works, "Isn't it embarrassing that a man in his eighties is kicking all our asses?" And Peter David mentions having Will Eisner autograph the Eisner Award that PAD got in 1992.
My Eisner story is a small and boring one; I only met him one and a half times. He was doing a signing at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund booth at the 1999 Dragon*Con here in Atlanta. Moments before the signing began, I ran into him — literally, almost — in the maze of linear passages, all alike, that was the cavernous Dealer's Room. I could tell he was unsure of where to go, so I was able to point him towards the CBLDF booth. A little while later, I lugged my handful of Spirit comics up to the table, bought a copy of The Christmas Spirit from the CBLDF for him to sign, and had him autograph a print of the Spirit originally done for the National Cartoonist's Society in 1976.
My parents both knew who Eisner was, because of The Spirit, of course; additionally, my father remembered his many years of work for the Army, drawing cartoons, posters, and instruction manuals, many featuring the pathetic GI, Joe Dope. Given that I came by my pack rat genes honestly, I hold out some hope that one day dad might run across some old Will Eisner manuals or posters at the back of a trunk somewhere.
Will Eisner was Scott McCloud before Scott McCloud was. He was Frank Miller before Frank Miller was. He was Milt Caniff back when Milt Caniff was, and later he was Art Spiegelman and Harvey Pekar and many, many more. How long was he active? He knew Bob Kane before he created Batman; and he turned down Siegel and Shuster's Superman before they got it published. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he had done inking and touch-ups on The Yellow Kid and Krazy Kat, back in the day. His career basically spanned the entire history of American comic books, and yet he was still absolutely at the head of the field.
As Neil Gaiman said, in explaining Eisner's impact on the comics field to a reporter, "It's as if Orson Welles had made Citizen Kane and redefined what you could do in film, and then carried on making movies until now." Mark Evanier recalls Frank Miller commenting, upon reading one of Eisner's recent works, "Isn't it embarrassing that a man in his eighties is kicking all our asses?" And Peter David mentions having Will Eisner autograph the Eisner Award that PAD got in 1992.
My Eisner story is a small and boring one; I only met him one and a half times. He was doing a signing at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund booth at the 1999 Dragon*Con here in Atlanta. Moments before the signing began, I ran into him — literally, almost — in the maze of linear passages, all alike, that was the cavernous Dealer's Room. I could tell he was unsure of where to go, so I was able to point him towards the CBLDF booth. A little while later, I lugged my handful of Spirit comics up to the table, bought a copy of The Christmas Spirit from the CBLDF for him to sign, and had him autograph a print of the Spirit originally done for the National Cartoonist's Society in 1976.
My parents both knew who Eisner was, because of The Spirit, of course; additionally, my father remembered his many years of work for the Army, drawing cartoons, posters, and instruction manuals, many featuring the pathetic GI, Joe Dope. Given that I came by my pack rat genes honestly, I hold out some hope that one day dad might run across some old Will Eisner manuals or posters at the back of a trunk somewhere.
Will Eisner was Scott McCloud before Scott McCloud was. He was Frank Miller before Frank Miller was. He was Milt Caniff back when Milt Caniff was, and later he was Art Spiegelman and Harvey Pekar and many, many more. How long was he active? He knew Bob Kane before he created Batman; and he turned down Siegel and Shuster's Superman before they got it published. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he had done inking and touch-ups on The Yellow Kid and Krazy Kat, back in the day. His career basically spanned the entire history of American comic books, and yet he was still absolutely at the head of the field.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Monday, January 03, 2005
RIP
RIP Kelly Freas, one of the greatest SF illustrators of our time and a seminal contributor to MAD Magazine.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Out With the Old, Part I
Some of these may well be old hat; the rest of them, I suppose, will just be "hat," then. At the very least, I hope that none of them have been posted here already.
First, in the spirit of the previously mentioned "Starship Dimensions," somes a similarly valuable reference work, Michael Paulus' "Skeletal Systems." I somehow doubt that Shmoos have that much internal structure, however.
As much as I've been nattering on about history lately, you'd think I would have mentioned a web site that lets you design your own Bayeaux Tapestry before now, right? Well, to make it up to you, I'll throw in Teresa Nielsen Hayden's handy numerical guide to the dubiousness of saints. It's hard to pick one favorite aspect of the list, but I think I'll have to go with the discovery that the instruction to "[subtract 15 points if the saint] is a member of the current lineup of the X-Men" was not, in fact, a reference to anyone named Xavier; rather, it was aimed at the astoundingly dubious Saint Barbara, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (of whom there are nineteen) who, thanks to cross-cultural borrowing and Santeria, became, in the New World, an orisha who fights injustice, named Chango, or Oya-Yansa, or Storm: "Here comes Oya with her luminous crown. Here comes Oya with the wind and the rain. She travels the forest, flying over hills. Here comes Oya, queen of the wind and rain."
Heck, even Saint Barbara's dwelling, a tower with three windows (to symbolize the Trinity) wound up with a second career. Perhaps you've seen it somewhere before.
Of course, if you're going to have religious links, you pretty much have to include the Sea Monkey Worship Page, don't you?
Finally, for something completely different: my favorite news article, ever. I know of no better illustration of the admonition that "of course the Truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense."
First, in the spirit of the previously mentioned "Starship Dimensions," somes a similarly valuable reference work, Michael Paulus' "Skeletal Systems." I somehow doubt that Shmoos have that much internal structure, however.
As much as I've been nattering on about history lately, you'd think I would have mentioned a web site that lets you design your own Bayeaux Tapestry before now, right? Well, to make it up to you, I'll throw in Teresa Nielsen Hayden's handy numerical guide to the dubiousness of saints. It's hard to pick one favorite aspect of the list, but I think I'll have to go with the discovery that the instruction to "[subtract 15 points if the saint] is a member of the current lineup of the X-Men" was not, in fact, a reference to anyone named Xavier; rather, it was aimed at the astoundingly dubious Saint Barbara, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (of whom there are nineteen) who, thanks to cross-cultural borrowing and Santeria, became, in the New World, an orisha who fights injustice, named Chango, or Oya-Yansa, or Storm: "Here comes Oya with her luminous crown. Here comes Oya with the wind and the rain. She travels the forest, flying over hills. Here comes Oya, queen of the wind and rain."
Heck, even Saint Barbara's dwelling, a tower with three windows (to symbolize the Trinity) wound up with a second career. Perhaps you've seen it somewhere before.
Of course, if you're going to have religious links, you pretty much have to include the Sea Monkey Worship Page, don't you?
Finally, for something completely different: my favorite news article, ever. I know of no better illustration of the admonition that "of course the Truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense."
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Sokoth, Her Chest Uncovered
I wanted to do a quick-and-dirty dump of a bunch of old links which had been clogging up my brain, so that there would be room in it for some new ones; but first, I rummaged around and found a sound clip I had grabbed from that bizarre stag film I mentioned yesterday. Listening to it, two things struck me: First, I was wrong about "marijuana!" — the narrator said "dopəh," with a peculiar emphasis on the "p" sound, as though she were going to say "dopaminergic" instead, only to think better of it at the last moment; and second, that the whole thing was even stranger than I had remembered.
Not only did it have that peculiar pre-Griswold culture shock moment I talked about, but much of her narration was spoken in a verb tense and aspect that English doesn't actually seem to have. As near as I can figure out, it was Present Progressive, with all of the auxiliary verbs replaced by commas. For instance, instead of saying "Lucy catches a fish," the narrator would intone, "Lucy, catching a fish."
After listening to this again, I suddenly had another moment of disconnection, when I realized what the stilted narration reminded me of: "My God!" I thought. "This must be the first porn movie script in history to be written in Darmok!"
Maybe we've all been mistaken about just what, exactly, Darmok and Jalad were doing at Tanagra.
Not only did it have that peculiar pre-Griswold culture shock moment I talked about, but much of her narration was spoken in a verb tense and aspect that English doesn't actually seem to have. As near as I can figure out, it was Present Progressive, with all of the auxiliary verbs replaced by commas. For instance, instead of saying "Lucy catches a fish," the narrator would intone, "Lucy, catching a fish."
After listening to this again, I suddenly had another moment of disconnection, when I realized what the stilted narration reminded me of: "My God!" I thought. "This must be the first porn movie script in history to be written in Darmok!"
Maybe we've all been mistaken about just what, exactly, Darmok and Jalad were doing at Tanagra.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Faraway Places
General Chang famously referred to the future as "the undiscovered country."
Actually, in Hamlet, that phrase refers to death, rather than the future (which explains why The Undiscovered Country was actually the original working title of Star Trek II), but that's another story: Presumably either Shakespeare wasn't quite as fluent in Klingon as he thought he was (like Utada Hikaru, perhaps he should have gotten some help from more experienced translators), or General Chang majored in something other than Literary Criticism at the Klingon Warrior Academy.
L. P. Hartley similarly observed that "The past is a foreign country."
Doubt it? Read Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels; or read either Master and Commander, or Patrick O'Brian's other Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin novels. See if they don't feel like Science Fiction to you. Kirk and crew may have cruised around the galaxy finding planets that looked strangely like historical Earth with the serial numbers filed off, but look backwards in our actual history a few centuries, and you will find societies and modes of thinking at least as strange and alien as anything portrayed by actors with putty on their noses on a Hollywood sound stage.
Sometimes, you don't even have to go back all that far.
When my sister was born, polio was a ubiquitous spectre haunting everyone's childhood (indeed, just after my sister was born, my mother contracted, and was partially paralyzed by, the disease); by the time I was a child, a few short years later, polio was a funny little sugar cube and some pink liquid I had to drink on vaccination day. It was no more relevant to my life than was the Black Death.
When I was born, before Loving v. Virginia, anti-miscegenation statutes had overwhelming support — as high as ninety percent in some polls — among white Americans. Today, the very idea seems so obviously wrongheaded that it is used as the ad absurdum end point of a slippery slope analogy by proponents of same-sex marriage who want to sway opinions to their side.
A while back, I had a sudden disorienting shock while perusing an ancient black and white skin flick. It was shot without sound, and didn't even have dialog looped in after the fact; instead, the entire thing was narrated, with an ambivalent female MC setting each scene, describing each character's thoughts and motivations, and providing a modicum of play-by-play. The overall effect was quite peculiar, to say the least, but my moment of complete disconnection came when the narrator explained that the protagonist was going to visit a prostitute because prosititutes knew where to get illegal drugs, like marijuana!, or... contraceptives.
Contrawhaahaaa?
And then it hit me: Never mind Roe v. Wade; this was before Griswold v. Connecticut! When I was born, even talking about contraceptives was against the law in parts of America.
Let's say that again: When I was born, even talking about contraceptives was against the law in parts of America.
Still think that The Handmaid's Tale is as exaggerated and improbable as Waterworld or Damnation Alley? More to the point, now you know why, despite the fact that humans have obviously been having sex for a long, long time, the constellation of effects which followed in the wake of Griswold, Kinsey, Hite, and The Pill, deserved to be called a "Revolution."
The world has ended many times, in many places. Look across the world, and you can see back into the distant past, and perhaps, here and there, into the future. Look into the past, and you can see alien worlds populated by completely alien people who are just like us anyway.
There are almost five million Americans who were born in a time when women could not vote for President (almost half of you out there were born before Switzerland, of all places, followed suit). There are nearly one hundred and ten million Americans who were born in a time when hurricanes could sneak up on America with as little warning as the tsunami gave to people in the Indian Ocean. My sister was one of them. A couple of decades later — only a few years after Swiss women were finally allowed to vote in Federal elections — she was flying into hurricanes for a living.
"History," as Ken MacLeod observed, "is the trade secret of science fiction."
We are standing here, on the cusp, in the border lands. At our back are foreign countries of the past; in front of us lies the undiscovered country of the future. It's just up ahead — if you look right over there, you can see it. And even if we have to wait until dark and swim across the river when the border guards aren't looking, by God, we're going to get there.
Together.
Actually, in Hamlet, that phrase refers to death, rather than the future (which explains why The Undiscovered Country was actually the original working title of Star Trek II), but that's another story: Presumably either Shakespeare wasn't quite as fluent in Klingon as he thought he was (like Utada Hikaru, perhaps he should have gotten some help from more experienced translators), or General Chang majored in something other than Literary Criticism at the Klingon Warrior Academy.
L. P. Hartley similarly observed that "The past is a foreign country."
Doubt it? Read Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels; or read either Master and Commander, or Patrick O'Brian's other Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin novels. See if they don't feel like Science Fiction to you. Kirk and crew may have cruised around the galaxy finding planets that looked strangely like historical Earth with the serial numbers filed off, but look backwards in our actual history a few centuries, and you will find societies and modes of thinking at least as strange and alien as anything portrayed by actors with putty on their noses on a Hollywood sound stage.
Sometimes, you don't even have to go back all that far.
When my sister was born, polio was a ubiquitous spectre haunting everyone's childhood (indeed, just after my sister was born, my mother contracted, and was partially paralyzed by, the disease); by the time I was a child, a few short years later, polio was a funny little sugar cube and some pink liquid I had to drink on vaccination day. It was no more relevant to my life than was the Black Death.
When I was born, before Loving v. Virginia, anti-miscegenation statutes had overwhelming support — as high as ninety percent in some polls — among white Americans. Today, the very idea seems so obviously wrongheaded that it is used as the ad absurdum end point of a slippery slope analogy by proponents of same-sex marriage who want to sway opinions to their side.
A while back, I had a sudden disorienting shock while perusing an ancient black and white skin flick. It was shot without sound, and didn't even have dialog looped in after the fact; instead, the entire thing was narrated, with an ambivalent female MC setting each scene, describing each character's thoughts and motivations, and providing a modicum of play-by-play. The overall effect was quite peculiar, to say the least, but my moment of complete disconnection came when the narrator explained that the protagonist was going to visit a prostitute because prosititutes knew where to get illegal drugs, like marijuana!, or... contraceptives.
Contrawhaahaaa?
And then it hit me: Never mind Roe v. Wade; this was before Griswold v. Connecticut! When I was born, even talking about contraceptives was against the law in parts of America.
Let's say that again: When I was born, even talking about contraceptives was against the law in parts of America.
Still think that The Handmaid's Tale is as exaggerated and improbable as Waterworld or Damnation Alley? More to the point, now you know why, despite the fact that humans have obviously been having sex for a long, long time, the constellation of effects which followed in the wake of Griswold, Kinsey, Hite, and The Pill, deserved to be called a "Revolution."
The world has ended many times, in many places. Look across the world, and you can see back into the distant past, and perhaps, here and there, into the future. Look into the past, and you can see alien worlds populated by completely alien people who are just like us anyway.
There are almost five million Americans who were born in a time when women could not vote for President (almost half of you out there were born before Switzerland, of all places, followed suit). There are nearly one hundred and ten million Americans who were born in a time when hurricanes could sneak up on America with as little warning as the tsunami gave to people in the Indian Ocean. My sister was one of them. A couple of decades later — only a few years after Swiss women were finally allowed to vote in Federal elections — she was flying into hurricanes for a living.
"History," as Ken MacLeod observed, "is the trade secret of science fiction."
We are standing here, on the cusp, in the border lands. At our back are foreign countries of the past; in front of us lies the undiscovered country of the future. It's just up ahead — if you look right over there, you can see it. And even if we have to wait until dark and swim across the river when the border guards aren't looking, by God, we're going to get there.
Together.
Last Day of The Past, Part II
Making up for lost time due to unavoidable technical difficulties...
The Falsies Awards. This is really the best and only link I have for you today. I'm inclined to call it "must reading." And if you wonder how it relates to fantasy and science fiction, you're not thinking about it hard enough.
The Falsies Awards. This is really the best and only link I have for you today. I'm inclined to call it "must reading." And if you wonder how it relates to fantasy and science fiction, you're not thinking about it hard enough.
Today is the Last Day of the Past
What better way to ease into things and to note the dying of the days of 2004 than to fill in some gaps around previous entries?
First, having noted Gollum's vitamin deficiency, it would be remiss of us not to mention that the gentle magic of repeated blows to the head seems to have kept Tintin youthful and spry. Furthermore, heavy metal poisoning gave him his lustrous red hair, and gastroenterocolitis is responsible for his fox terrier, Milou.
Maintaining an incredibly tenuous link to an earlier mention of the Japanese SF spectacular Casshern, Japanese pop superstar Utada Hikaru (whose husband, Kazuaki Kiriya, wrote and directed Casshern), put her native command of the English language to work by translating the perkygoth quasi-comic Emily the Strange into Japanese. The book became a bestseller, despite grumbled complaints from professional translators about the quality of her effort.
Finally, speaking of Akira Toriyama, I felt compelled by a power beyond understanding to mention that Iron Chef's ubiquitous and harried floor reporter, Shinichirô Ôta, was a regular in the anime TV series versions of both Dragonball GT and Doctor Slump. Of course, Chairman Kaga starred as the villain, Jiraldan, in Pokemon the Movie 2000: The Power of One, and, as we all know, Doc Hattori narrowly missed getting the part of Michiru Kaioh, Sailor Neptune, in Bishôjo senshi Sailor Moon S: The Movie. Cheer up, Doc! You've still got your Nutrition College.
First, having noted Gollum's vitamin deficiency, it would be remiss of us not to mention that the gentle magic of repeated blows to the head seems to have kept Tintin youthful and spry. Furthermore, heavy metal poisoning gave him his lustrous red hair, and gastroenterocolitis is responsible for his fox terrier, Milou.
Maintaining an incredibly tenuous link to an earlier mention of the Japanese SF spectacular Casshern, Japanese pop superstar Utada Hikaru (whose husband, Kazuaki Kiriya, wrote and directed Casshern), put her native command of the English language to work by translating the perkygoth quasi-comic Emily the Strange into Japanese. The book became a bestseller, despite grumbled complaints from professional translators about the quality of her effort.
Finally, speaking of Akira Toriyama, I felt compelled by a power beyond understanding to mention that Iron Chef's ubiquitous and harried floor reporter, Shinichirô Ôta, was a regular in the anime TV series versions of both Dragonball GT and Doctor Slump. Of course, Chairman Kaga starred as the villain, Jiraldan, in Pokemon the Movie 2000: The Power of One, and, as we all know, Doc Hattori narrowly missed getting the part of Michiru Kaioh, Sailor Neptune, in Bishôjo senshi Sailor Moon S: The Movie. Cheer up, Doc! You've still got your Nutrition College.
Monday, December 27, 2004
You Gotta Find First Geeeear... In Your Auto-Flamethrowing Caaaaar...
South African inventors come up with the craaaaaaaziest things. Among them, a "smart gun" not entirely unlike the one featured in an old Fans story.
Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist and science writer with a new book out whose title is of some relevance to SF: Parallel Worlds.
Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist and science writer with a new book out whose title is of some relevance to SF: Parallel Worlds.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Got Some Holiday Spirit Left Over?
I just got word that Will Eisner is recovering from quadruple-bypass heart surgery. This man, one of the most important living figures in comics, deserves your recognition and support. Send any messages to:
Will Eisner Studios, Inc
8333 W. McNab Road
Tamarac, FL 33321
Will Eisner Studios, Inc
8333 W. McNab Road
Tamarac, FL 33321
Friday, December 24, 2004
Merry Christmas To All...
This looks good. Time travel with a mild seasoning of Christianity that doesn't use belief as a substitute for thinking. At least, that's how it sounds.
We approach the surface of Titan.
Sometimes an SF comic, sometimes a Latino slice-of-life comic. Always fascinating. And you'll probably never get a better price per page.
Oh, and don't panic. There's still a better than 98% chance the asteroid won't hit us and destroy all life on Earth. Happy Holidays!
We approach the surface of Titan.
Sometimes an SF comic, sometimes a Latino slice-of-life comic. Always fascinating. And you'll probably never get a better price per page.
Oh, and don't panic. There's still a better than 98% chance the asteroid won't hit us and destroy all life on Earth. Happy Holidays!
Not A Creature Is Stirring.
You know the news of the day is pretty quiet when the best SF thing I can find on short notice is this L. Ron Hubbard contest. You guys know my feelings on Hubbard. However, if there's one Hubbard book actually worth the time, it's probably this one, which made his reputation years before Dianetics.
Taking a bit of a break from the project I told you about yesterday to whip up a guest strip for an old friend, and rework some of tcampbell.net (it's long, loooong overdue).
And what are you still here for? Go! Do last-minute shopping, spend time with family and friends! Time disappears out from under you before you know it...
Taking a bit of a break from the project I told you about yesterday to whip up a guest strip for an old friend, and rework some of tcampbell.net (it's long, loooong overdue).
And what are you still here for? Go! Do last-minute shopping, spend time with family and friends! Time disappears out from under you before you know it...
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Quick Note...
Rylen D. suggests SCI FI repair some of the damage to its cred by airing Ursula le Guin's other movie, the one she likes, The Lathe of Heaven.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Don't Mind the Steam Coming Out My Ears...
Hard at work (and I mean *hard* at work) on another guest script, this one for one of the BIG boys of online comics. Definitely one of the more challenging stories I've done this year. More on this as I can tell it.
Today's Narbonic has a letter-perfect Fans guest appearance.
Stargate SG-1 spoilerama.
Although SCI FI doesn't provide great links to it any more, you can still find "Michael Swanwick's Periodic Table of Science Fiction" on Google. Correction: You can get the full periodic table here. Free association and short-short SF at its best (Krypton's got a one-of-a-kind take on Superman)...
Today's Narbonic has a letter-perfect Fans guest appearance.
Stargate SG-1 spoilerama.
Although SCI FI doesn't provide great links to it any more, you can still find "Michael Swanwick's Periodic Table of Science Fiction" on Google. Correction: You can get the full periodic table here. Free association and short-short SF at its best (Krypton's got a one-of-a-kind take on Superman)...
Monday, December 20, 2004
My Life Is A Croc.
For those who missed the announcement elsewhere, I'm writing the next thirteen episodes of Life's A Croc, a lovely little story called "Shitheap."
Huh. Apparently, Biff was right in Back to the Future Part II when he said he had nothing to worry about from ballistics fingerprinting.
A nice coffee table book for the fan who has everything.
And say goodbye to the BBC's science-fiction webpages, except those for Doctor Who.
Huh. Apparently, Biff was right in Back to the Future Part II when he said he had nothing to worry about from ballistics fingerprinting.
A nice coffee table book for the fan who has everything.
And say goodbye to the BBC's science-fiction webpages, except those for Doctor Who.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Moneymoneymoneymoney...
The Baltimore Science Fiction Society has won a property tax exemption. Curiously, I now live only 90 minutes from their headquarters, so I may stop by and check them out at some point.
And Anarchy Online is playing with videogame economics.
Oh, and incidentally, Penny and Aggie is coming into comic book stores, May 2005.
And Anarchy Online is playing with videogame economics.
Oh, and incidentally, Penny and Aggie is coming into comic book stores, May 2005.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
The Best Week for Webcomics Reportage, Ever.
Yours truly participates in a roundtable discussion of the future of webcomics, just one of the many offerings from the Webcomics Examiner's December smorgasbord. Best comics of 2004, reviews and more.
Comixpedia's year-end volume is also fantastic, with a "25 Most Powerful People" article, a "Year in Review" piece co-authored by our own Wednesday White (who also has a review in the Examiner), a couple of wonderful interviews, a farewell column and one of its better reviews. Was it really only a year ago that I fretted the flap over negative reviews would kill the 'Pedia before its time? That time is now.
Comixpedia's year-end volume is also fantastic, with a "25 Most Powerful People" article, a "Year in Review" piece co-authored by our own Wednesday White (who also has a review in the Examiner), a couple of wonderful interviews, a farewell column and one of its better reviews. Was it really only a year ago that I fretted the flap over negative reviews would kill the 'Pedia before its time? That time is now.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Thursday, December 09, 2004
From The World of Webcomics...
Jamie Robertson has gotten a success he richly deserves-- his 200-subscriber goal has been achieved, meaning we will get to see more COTC in the coming year.
And Maritza Campos is preggers!
Feed the baby.
And Maritza Campos is preggers!
Feed the baby.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
What I'm Up To...
If you're wondering why this blog hasn't heard from me much, it's because:
a) Yesterday, I had nuthin' that could top Wednesday's Matrix news and I wanted everyone to see it. You should scroll down if you haven't seen it yet. I'll wait.
b) Comixpedia is running Part 7 (revised) and Part 8 of "The History of Webcomics."
c) Tonight's the big meeting for WASHINGTON WEBTOONISTS. If you're in the area, stop on by at 11054 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA at 7 PM. It's the big ol' BORDERS. I'll be in the cafe and a red jacket will be on my chair. We'll be deciding activities for the coming year, and if you're a webcartoonist looking to improve your hits and profits, you don't wanna miss this.
Late tomorrow: perhaps some links about things other than me.
a) Yesterday, I had nuthin' that could top Wednesday's Matrix news and I wanted everyone to see it. You should scroll down if you haven't seen it yet. I'll wait.
b) Comixpedia is running Part 7 (revised) and Part 8 of "The History of Webcomics."
c) Tonight's the big meeting for WASHINGTON WEBTOONISTS. If you're in the area, stop on by at 11054 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA at 7 PM. It's the big ol' BORDERS. I'll be in the cafe and a red jacket will be on my chair. We'll be deciding activities for the coming year, and if you're a webcartoonist looking to improve your hits and profits, you don't wanna miss this.
Late tomorrow: perhaps some links about things other than me.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
So.
So I've been kind of distracted, what with a major announcement about Penny and Aggie's future plans, a change in work situation that wouldn't interest anyone, and a move. But let's just take a few minutes here...
Article discusses how e-books may yet be the future of publishing after all.
Closer is the kind of movie that makes singles glad to be single. It's also a bit of a mind-blower for people who've only seen Natalie Portman as Amidala and a) think of her as Princess Perfection and/or b) didn't realize she could act.
Oh, and for those who haven't seen it already, the Zoomquilt!
Article discusses how e-books may yet be the future of publishing after all.
Closer is the kind of movie that makes singles glad to be single. It's also a bit of a mind-blower for people who've only seen Natalie Portman as Amidala and a) think of her as Princess Perfection and/or b) didn't realize she could act.
Oh, and for those who haven't seen it already, the Zoomquilt!
Friday, December 03, 2004
Behind the Scenes of SF Media...
Future Publishing has an aggressive new marketing manager. And you care because... Future publishes a wide array of geek-friendly magazines, including SFX, Britain's #1 magazine, which is to hold a major film festival next year. Which is... a marketing activity. And the more aggressive the marketing, the better the festival. I'm sure you can connect the dots from here.
Thanks to Locus Magazine for finding this poem about the end of Edgar Allan Poe.
Thanks to Ravenswood. I didn't even know about the "Casey and Andy Mad Science Award" (scroll down).
And thanks to Muttley for recommending Space Odyssey, one of those shows that makes you glad TV does nonfiction.
Thanks to Locus Magazine for finding this poem about the end of Edgar Allan Poe.
Thanks to Ravenswood. I didn't even know about the "Casey and Andy Mad Science Award" (scroll down).
And thanks to Muttley for recommending Space Odyssey, one of those shows that makes you glad TV does nonfiction.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
The Ahhht Just Hasn't Been The Same Since The iMac.
News roundup:
The latest misunderstood and underappreciated creative medium is the case mod. One man's account of his SF-themed venture into high, invisible art.
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle's Mote in God's Eye featured ground-based lasers that propel spacecraft. NASA is toying with this idea now, yet Niven and Pournelle didn't invent the idea. Who did?
I don't link too many "who's playing who" rumors, but Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor?
Jeopardy-watchers may find this amusing. Kneel before the Zerg!
Speaking of naming synchronicities, didjaknow tasers were actually named after an SF children's book character?
Nice piece on the irony of ultra-conservative Heinlein becoming a 1960s hipster icon.
J.G. Ballard: Quotes sounds like an interesting experiment, as so many Ballard things do. Although you can get a free sample here.
And finally, it's that time of year again for aspiring manga-ka...
The latest misunderstood and underappreciated creative medium is the case mod. One man's account of his SF-themed venture into high, invisible art.
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle's Mote in God's Eye featured ground-based lasers that propel spacecraft. NASA is toying with this idea now, yet Niven and Pournelle didn't invent the idea. Who did?
I don't link too many "who's playing who" rumors, but Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor?
Jeopardy-watchers may find this amusing. Kneel before the Zerg!
Speaking of naming synchronicities, didjaknow tasers were actually named after an SF children's book character?
Nice piece on the irony of ultra-conservative Heinlein becoming a 1960s hipster icon.
J.G. Ballard: Quotes sounds like an interesting experiment, as so many Ballard things do. Although you can get a free sample here.
And finally, it's that time of year again for aspiring manga-ka...
Monday, November 29, 2004
Gojira! Gojir--
Supposedly Godzilla, now 50, is getting set to retire. Perhaps now Davezilla can finally rest easy. Or he could, if Godzilla didn't always come back. Locus has some actual thoughts on G's career and why it's lasted this long.
And Demos (from Greek, meaning "the people") has a new report about how the class of enthusiasts (read: fans-- of various things) are quietly reshaping our lives.
And Demos (from Greek, meaning "the people") has a new report about how the class of enthusiasts (read: fans-- of various things) are quietly reshaping our lives.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
A Quick Flash of Facial Recognition.
Funny Slashdottery about 3D facial recognition technology now being hawked at a website near you.
Friday, November 26, 2004
That's A Bit More Like It.
A warm welcome to Wednesday and Brent. Look for a few more posters to join up as we roll along.
You may have noticed the new design, and if you're really eagle-eyed, the new masthead. It's true. I'll be "supervising" Science Fiction Blog from here on out, which means I'll review every post after it goes up and gently shape the project, but most of the writing will be in other hands-- the hands of a small team of sharp-eyed SF lovers who will no doubt find many things I would miss.
But I'll still pop in every now and again with a few links... like these:
There is "no connection" between playing The Cancer Man on X-FIles and playing a cancer-riddled man whose last hope is to buy a new body. None. None.
Manny Coto still feels Enterprise has a few places left to go. Andoria, anyone?
And finally, a blogger's-eye view of the unveiling of an RHPS statue in New Zealand. A better picture of the statue and official information is here.
You may have noticed the new design, and if you're really eagle-eyed, the new masthead. It's true. I'll be "supervising" Science Fiction Blog from here on out, which means I'll review every post after it goes up and gently shape the project, but most of the writing will be in other hands-- the hands of a small team of sharp-eyed SF lovers who will no doubt find many things I would miss.
But I'll still pop in every now and again with a few links... like these:
There is "no connection" between playing The Cancer Man on X-FIles and playing a cancer-riddled man whose last hope is to buy a new body. None. None.
Manny Coto still feels Enterprise has a few places left to go. Andoria, anyone?
And finally, a blogger's-eye view of the unveiling of an RHPS statue in New Zealand. A better picture of the statue and official information is here.
Monday, November 22, 2004
What Is My Deal?
Well, we missed yesterday.
Self-flagellation and plans for the future follow. Those who just come here for the links can scroll down to Paragraph 8.
It seems that every time I get close to taking this blog to the next level, something distracts me... but I know enough about human psychology to know that means I'm distracting myself. Even after joining Graphic Smash, I still feel a large part of me that resists every move I make from hobbyist to full-timer. A hobbyist is noble and responsible for nothing but his own amusement. A full-timer-- well, he's an Evil Capitalist, and what's more, if he doesn't make enough money, he's a Failure.
But this WILL HAPPEN. It HAS to. We NEED more bloggers on this thing than just me, and it NEEDS to become self-sustaining through advertising, for it to reach the heights I know its concept is capable of. Much as I love Boing Boing, its focus is too wide, much as I love Technovelgy, its focus is too narrow. There has to be a go-to place for daily links about science fiction, and nobody else is doing that the way it should be done.
I also want to set aside some time for more in-depth explorations than the strict "link roundup" that's been kind of standard over the last couple of months. With other bloggers taking up some of the slack of keeping us current, I can do this.
I'll also have time to bring back a few features that, over the years, have gotten a lot of requests.
I'm setting aside a four-hour block of time tomorrow (Wednesday) during which upgrading this blog will be my #1 priority. At that time, I'll be bringing on the volunteers (Wednesday-- thank you in advance). Those of you who are going away for Thanksgiving weekend should see MAJOR changes when you get back. MAJOR.
And now, the latest linx:
Some people, and some princes, should not watch science fiction. Well, they shouldn't watch it without first getting an education about the scientific principles that SF uses and occasionally discards-- but, realistically, what are the chances of THAT?
Sigourney Weaver and William Shatner make their spaceflight reservations.
Robot roller coaster.
Brent P. Newhall finds two hot news items. First, a Watchmen movie coming 2006 by a respectable director. I'm of two minds about this: the original Watchmen comic book was most notable for its deconstruction of the comic-book form, and a lot of its best stylistic tricks may seem pretentious or just not translate in a film. On the other hand, the story is solid and its vision of America is as current as ever.
And second, James Cameron does Battle Angel. Yes, that Battle Angel.
Boy, remember when we thought the death of Kirk was the end of William Shatner's career?
IBM's ThinkPad now includes a fingerprint-scan security system.
Finally, Time's inventions of the year.
Self-flagellation and plans for the future follow. Those who just come here for the links can scroll down to Paragraph 8.
It seems that every time I get close to taking this blog to the next level, something distracts me... but I know enough about human psychology to know that means I'm distracting myself. Even after joining Graphic Smash, I still feel a large part of me that resists every move I make from hobbyist to full-timer. A hobbyist is noble and responsible for nothing but his own amusement. A full-timer-- well, he's an Evil Capitalist, and what's more, if he doesn't make enough money, he's a Failure.
But this WILL HAPPEN. It HAS to. We NEED more bloggers on this thing than just me, and it NEEDS to become self-sustaining through advertising, for it to reach the heights I know its concept is capable of. Much as I love Boing Boing, its focus is too wide, much as I love Technovelgy, its focus is too narrow. There has to be a go-to place for daily links about science fiction, and nobody else is doing that the way it should be done.
I also want to set aside some time for more in-depth explorations than the strict "link roundup" that's been kind of standard over the last couple of months. With other bloggers taking up some of the slack of keeping us current, I can do this.
I'll also have time to bring back a few features that, over the years, have gotten a lot of requests.
I'm setting aside a four-hour block of time tomorrow (Wednesday) during which upgrading this blog will be my #1 priority. At that time, I'll be bringing on the volunteers (Wednesday-- thank you in advance). Those of you who are going away for Thanksgiving weekend should see MAJOR changes when you get back. MAJOR.
And now, the latest linx:
Some people, and some princes, should not watch science fiction. Well, they shouldn't watch it without first getting an education about the scientific principles that SF uses and occasionally discards-- but, realistically, what are the chances of THAT?
Sigourney Weaver and William Shatner make their spaceflight reservations.
Robot roller coaster.
Brent P. Newhall finds two hot news items. First, a Watchmen movie coming 2006 by a respectable director. I'm of two minds about this: the original Watchmen comic book was most notable for its deconstruction of the comic-book form, and a lot of its best stylistic tricks may seem pretentious or just not translate in a film. On the other hand, the story is solid and its vision of America is as current as ever.
And second, James Cameron does Battle Angel. Yes, that Battle Angel.
Boy, remember when we thought the death of Kirk was the end of William Shatner's career?
IBM's ThinkPad now includes a fingerprint-scan security system.
Finally, Time's inventions of the year.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Now Taking Volunteers.
Too busy for a full-fledged entry tonight (been working on a new project), which means I'll be sweatin' overtime on Monday... and spurs me into a move I'd been considering for a while.
Most of the most interesting links on the site (to me, at least) have come in from outside consultants-- through e-mails and forum posts. I want to keep encouraging those links to come in, and to do that, I think we need to move this blog closer to "open source." I'll still be looking over everything that goes up, and acting as editor if need be-- but I'd like to get some other posters in here, covering that vast, swirling vortex that is the interpenetration of science fiction and the Internet.
E-mail if interested...
Most of the most interesting links on the site (to me, at least) have come in from outside consultants-- through e-mails and forum posts. I want to keep encouraging those links to come in, and to do that, I think we need to move this blog closer to "open source." I'll still be looking over everything that goes up, and acting as editor if need be-- but I'd like to get some other posters in here, covering that vast, swirling vortex that is the interpenetration of science fiction and the Internet.
E-mail if interested...
Wish You Were There.
I deeply regret finding out about this too late to alert you readers, but the public speeches of Samuel Delany and Octavia Butler were a fine show. They neatly avoided my question about the future of science fiction, but in its place offered up great insight into being-- not black or gay or even SF writers, so much as being outsiders, and finding their own paths anyway. It was a delight.
L. Ron Hubbard ruins another career.
"Shhh. Don't call it 'antigravity.'"
"But if it works, won't it look and act just like--"
"WE DON'T CALL IT ANTIGRAVITY."
Jaguar discovers the anime style is no longer enough to be automatically cool.
Screw Jaguar anyway, my favorite kind of car is a Saturn.
And speaking of Saturn and music, music on Saturn.
OT [i.e., not SF]: Bill Gates, world's most spammed man. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
L. Ron Hubbard ruins another career.
"Shhh. Don't call it 'antigravity.'"
"But if it works, won't it look and act just like--"
"WE DON'T CALL IT ANTIGRAVITY."
Jaguar discovers the anime style is no longer enough to be automatically cool.
Screw Jaguar anyway, my favorite kind of car is a Saturn.
And speaking of Saturn and music, music on Saturn.
OT [i.e., not SF]: Bill Gates, world's most spammed man. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
They Exist Solely to Give Biologists Nervous Breakdowns.
Greg Eatroff finds evidence that platypi are stranger than any SF author ever imagined.
Webmanga-in-progress with a name that says it all: Falluja.
The Future is Now: "Food porn." I like that.
Jolene Blalock's interviews just have to be seen (or transcribed) to be believed. I never, never thought we'd agree so vehemently about Enterprise. Somebody finally pushed her too far-- or maybe it's just that she no longer feels she has a job left to lose.
Forbes touches on SF fandom with a piece about the burgeoning DVD market. The current emphasis on bells and whistles may fade as DVDs go more mainstream, in part because it's a sop to the SF fans currently dominating that market.
Utopiales film festival declares the best indy SF film of the year to be Gagamboy, described as "the Phillipine Spider-Man." Now, I'm no expert on Phillippine cinema, but how great is it when the first impulse is to describe it in terms of a well-reviewed blockbuster that came out this same year? I know, picky, picky...
MSNBC describes the Haleakala crater as a real-life SF setting. They've got a point: check out these photos.
Wizards of the Coast's Duel Masters tournament is coming December 11.
Finally, a lovely new book from "the Margaret Mead of the North American weirdo." Plenty of terms for subclasses you didn't even know existed!
Webmanga-in-progress with a name that says it all: Falluja.
The Future is Now: "Food porn." I like that.
Jolene Blalock's interviews just have to be seen (or transcribed) to be believed. I never, never thought we'd agree so vehemently about Enterprise. Somebody finally pushed her too far-- or maybe it's just that she no longer feels she has a job left to lose.
Forbes touches on SF fandom with a piece about the burgeoning DVD market. The current emphasis on bells and whistles may fade as DVDs go more mainstream, in part because it's a sop to the SF fans currently dominating that market.
Utopiales film festival declares the best indy SF film of the year to be Gagamboy, described as "the Phillipine Spider-Man." Now, I'm no expert on Phillippine cinema, but how great is it when the first impulse is to describe it in terms of a well-reviewed blockbuster that came out this same year? I know, picky, picky...
MSNBC describes the Haleakala crater as a real-life SF setting. They've got a point: check out these photos.
Wizards of the Coast's Duel Masters tournament is coming December 11.
Finally, a lovely new book from "the Margaret Mead of the North American weirdo." Plenty of terms for subclasses you didn't even know existed!
To Jeffrey T. Darlington...
I've been where you are, man. I know it can't be easy to read something like this. Hopefully, in the long run we'll grow from these experiences.
And Maritza, come back soon.
The DVD of the 1958 Animal Farm is freaking HARDCORE, considering the time in which it was made. Despite a controversial ending (more JUST than that of the book-- though I wouldn't call it a "happy" one), the movie preserves most of George Orwell's dark vision and juxtaposes it with classic Disney-style animation. The end result is as subversive as anything South Park ever came up with.
Some readers of Fans think *I'm* featuring a lot of gay characters-- but chances are, they haven't read Nicola Griffith's troika of lesbian SF stories, With Her Body. Review here. Buy it and help fight multiple sclerosis.
The Future is Here: Article on Polymer Vision, bringing the "paper screen" to a newstand near you, a la Minority Report.
My old friends Charles and Jeneen will love this. The new War of the Worlds is set in-- well, in all of Earth, obviously, but important scenes are filming in the working-class environment of Bayonne.
Film short: War in ASCII.
Finally, there's a convention for cocktail robotics. Cocktail. Robotics. Oh, and it gets better: this year's theme is "Beautiful Failure." That's right, it's a convention for cocktail-making robots THAT DON'T EVEN WORK. From Austria.
And Maritza, come back soon.
The DVD of the 1958 Animal Farm is freaking HARDCORE, considering the time in which it was made. Despite a controversial ending (more JUST than that of the book-- though I wouldn't call it a "happy" one), the movie preserves most of George Orwell's dark vision and juxtaposes it with classic Disney-style animation. The end result is as subversive as anything South Park ever came up with.
Some readers of Fans think *I'm* featuring a lot of gay characters-- but chances are, they haven't read Nicola Griffith's troika of lesbian SF stories, With Her Body. Review here. Buy it and help fight multiple sclerosis.
The Future is Here: Article on Polymer Vision, bringing the "paper screen" to a newstand near you, a la Minority Report.
My old friends Charles and Jeneen will love this. The new War of the Worlds is set in-- well, in all of Earth, obviously, but important scenes are filming in the working-class environment of Bayonne.
Film short: War in ASCII.
Finally, there's a convention for cocktail robotics. Cocktail. Robotics. Oh, and it gets better: this year's theme is "Beautiful Failure." That's right, it's a convention for cocktail-making robots THAT DON'T EVEN WORK. From Austria.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Back-to-Back...
Post running way late tonight, due to a severe deadline backup. Another will follow earlier tomorrow. Bear with me, I've got lots to share.
More speculation than speculative fiction, but reminiscient of SF: flu experts are worried about a pandemic on the way.
I usually don't link to movie promo sites unless they've got somethin' special, but in this case, the something special is the gorgeous concept art. Props, Ravenswood.
Only Sonic hedgehog can save our brains! (Ravenswood also suggested this general story, though not the specific link.)
Some people don't see a reason to wait for Galactica to hit the States. Yep, it's more fan piracy. Looks like there might be some lawsuits before it's all over.
Another national SF anthology is always a good thing! Race Matthews. Australian for "science fiction." (Scroll down to the bottom.)
Doug Chiang, the man behind some of the most dazzling special effects of the last decade, talks for a few minutes about his own private pet project, Robota. Robota is a book, not a movie... for now.
Recognizing that not all tastes are alike, I suppose I should mention that Chronicles of Riddick is making a lot of noise on DVD right now.
And finally, William Shatner's nigh-legendary performance of Rocket Man. Thanks to the warbling Wednesday White!
More speculation than speculative fiction, but reminiscient of SF: flu experts are worried about a pandemic on the way.
I usually don't link to movie promo sites unless they've got somethin' special, but in this case, the something special is the gorgeous concept art. Props, Ravenswood.
Only Sonic hedgehog can save our brains! (Ravenswood also suggested this general story, though not the specific link.)
Some people don't see a reason to wait for Galactica to hit the States. Yep, it's more fan piracy. Looks like there might be some lawsuits before it's all over.
Another national SF anthology is always a good thing! Race Matthews. Australian for "science fiction." (Scroll down to the bottom.)
Doug Chiang, the man behind some of the most dazzling special effects of the last decade, talks for a few minutes about his own private pet project, Robota. Robota is a book, not a movie... for now.
Recognizing that not all tastes are alike, I suppose I should mention that Chronicles of Riddick is making a lot of noise on DVD right now.
And finally, William Shatner's nigh-legendary performance of Rocket Man. Thanks to the warbling Wednesday White!
Monday, November 15, 2004
My God, Sci Fi, Is Nothing Stable In This World?
In a daring move that seems to have shocked everyone, The Sci Fi Channel has renewed its two most popular programs. I guess we thought we had ya all figured out after Farscape, huh, Channel?
Cory Doctorow has a new, delicious short story on Salon. It's called "Anda's Game." The "twist" is not as obvious as you may think.
The X Prize has its detractors. As I'm quickly learning, any awards ceremony will. Which is not to say that they don't have their points: the award DOES tend to reward sizzle over steak, sensawunda over substance. But then, why are we going to Mars? Sometimes today's scientific "magic tricks" are tomorrow's world-changing breakthroughs...
Okay, I'm sure exactly *one* of this blog's readers is gay, lives near Austin and is looking for a job. You're welcome.
They can control brain cells with lasers now. I just thought you should know.
Speaking of lasers, they're also inching closer to remote death-ray lasers.
And yes, yes, we are testing the first interplanetary laser communication link, but that doesn't mean we're just a few years away from laser rifles that might wind up on the streets! It's a coincidence.
Finally, how comics-crazy IS the film market when Disney invests in the smoking acre of wreckage that was once Crossgen Entertainment? But there was some good work in there before the problems hit, and it's not like Disney doesn't need the help. And I'm sure Disney will be decent enough to compensate the creators for their indispensable role in HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Memo to Pixar: Keep running. Don't look back.
Cory Doctorow has a new, delicious short story on Salon. It's called "Anda's Game." The "twist" is not as obvious as you may think.
The X Prize has its detractors. As I'm quickly learning, any awards ceremony will. Which is not to say that they don't have their points: the award DOES tend to reward sizzle over steak, sensawunda over substance. But then, why are we going to Mars? Sometimes today's scientific "magic tricks" are tomorrow's world-changing breakthroughs...
Okay, I'm sure exactly *one* of this blog's readers is gay, lives near Austin and is looking for a job. You're welcome.
They can control brain cells with lasers now. I just thought you should know.
Speaking of lasers, they're also inching closer to remote death-ray lasers.
And yes, yes, we are testing the first interplanetary laser communication link, but that doesn't mean we're just a few years away from laser rifles that might wind up on the streets! It's a coincidence.
Finally, how comics-crazy IS the film market when Disney invests in the smoking acre of wreckage that was once Crossgen Entertainment? But there was some good work in there before the problems hit, and it's not like Disney doesn't need the help. And I'm sure Disney will be decent enough to compensate the creators for their indispensable role in HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Memo to Pixar: Keep running. Don't look back.
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Hm. I'm Careless When I'm Cranky.
Oops. In the last blog, not only did I use "Warren Ellis" as a pseudonym for "Mark Millar," I posted a link that apparently was not always accessible to all browsers. Try this one.
Working Star Trek communicator for sale on eBay.
New York City is having its first science-fiction art show in 20 years. Details and slideshow here.
On Sex and SF, a fairly well-put-together essay from About.com.
Ain't It Cool News wryly suggests a shooting location for the new Superman movie. (Source link here.)
Resident Evil fans have a new controller to play with.
Graffiti animation.
Flash creator Larry Hampert has died, but not before, as Websnark puts it, he "got to be a comics rock star at the twilight of his life."
And finally, Amazon.com reviewer Cavan Terrill is looking to become one of the reviewed. His debut novel Blurred Line looks promising, if derivative-- it may remind you a bit too much of movies you've already seen, but they will probably be movies you liked when you saw them. Still in school, Terrill wins my admiration for his energy and enthusiasm-- if he keeps exploring his writing and expanding his influences, I think he'll be extraordinary in a few years.
Working Star Trek communicator for sale on eBay.
New York City is having its first science-fiction art show in 20 years. Details and slideshow here.
On Sex and SF, a fairly well-put-together essay from About.com.
Ain't It Cool News wryly suggests a shooting location for the new Superman movie. (Source link here.)
Resident Evil fans have a new controller to play with.
Graffiti animation.
Flash creator Larry Hampert has died, but not before, as Websnark puts it, he "got to be a comics rock star at the twilight of his life."
And finally, Amazon.com reviewer Cavan Terrill is looking to become one of the reviewed. His debut novel Blurred Line looks promising, if derivative-- it may remind you a bit too much of movies you've already seen, but they will probably be movies you liked when you saw them. Still in school, Terrill wins my admiration for his energy and enthusiasm-- if he keeps exploring his writing and expanding his influences, I think he'll be extraordinary in a few years.
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