Science Fiction

I Get Email (in a good way)

~ Cheryl

It has been a while since I got the sort of email that PZ Myers gets, though I’m sure it will happen again one day. Today’s unexpected email was much more interesting. It was from Nokia. And it wasn’t about Finland.

What happened was that somebody noticed my recent post on Chris Anderson’s “economics of free” ideas. It so happens that Anderson is one of a group of innovative thinkers featured on Nokia’s Ideas Project web site. Another featured futurologist is Vernor Vinge. And by now you should be getting an idea of what Ideas Project is all about.

The site has sections with titles like “Personal Genomics”, “Orbital Launch Vehicles” and “Smart Dust”. In other words, it is full of topics that science fiction fans love to think about, and science fiction writers ought to be thinking about. Take that as a recommendation.

Oh, and they understand Web 2.0, so feedback is requested.

Wolfe on “Best of” Lists

~ Cheryl ~ 3 Comments

Yay! Gary Wolfe is on the Locus blog:

for 2008, Locus reports having listed 1,669 new titles in SF, fantasy, horror, and its various cross-pollinations. There were 254 SF novels and 436 fantasy novels alone. Anyone who actually tried to read all of those probably needs a hug, but isn’t someone I want to be trapped in a bar with for very long.

I shall use those numbers next time someone tells me that you shouldn’t vote in the Hugos unless you have “read everything”.

Dublin Booked for Neil/Amanda

~ Cheryl

I now have both my flight and hotel booked for the trip to Dublin to see Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer. As I now have a room share for P-Con (thanks Cuddles!) I decided I could afford the Central, especially as the room rates are much lower right now (or perhaps just because it is midweek). That way I’ll be able to to test out the wi-fi in the hotel prior to the con. I’m hoping to do some live coverage of Neil’s event too, but the mobile broadband rates look a bit ruinous, even after the recent kicking that the EU gave the phone companies.

Clarkesworld in Guardian

~ Cheryl ~ 1 Comment

Well, OK, we got a brief mention down at the end. The majority of the piece was all about exciting new writers, the Campbell Award, and in particular about Joe Hill, Mary Robinette Kowal and Ken Scholes. Huge thanks to Damien Walter for the good work. Go thank him, people, and don’t forget to recommend your own favorite hot new writer.

Morning Medical Updates

~ Cheryl

Ellen Datlow is still hoping to have her minor surgical operation today, but it is unclear whether it will happen or not. The NHS is like this. They are absolutely wonderful in an emergency, but once you fall down the priority list things get difficult because they are almost always understaffed and underfunded.

Meanwhile my good friend Pádraig Ó Méalóid is in hospital with suspected appendicitis. He needs to be back up on his feet soon because he’s helping host the Neil Gaiman / Amanda Palmer event on the 17th, which I see from Facebook already has 90 confirmed attendees, including me. So Pádraig could do with some good wishes too.

Ellen Datlow Update

~ Cheryl

I just spoke to Ellen on the phone. The “surgery” is basically to clean out the wound because they think there’s some muck in there that is stopping it healing properly. I’ll call back this afternoon to see how it went. Pat may have updates on Facebook before then.

By the way, Ellen says please stop emailing her with good wishes – she can’t get online and her in box is filling up. If it reaches the limit something important might get bounced. Maybe stick a comment on her LiveJournal or something instead.

Further Ellen Update

~ Cheryl ~ 2 Comments

Pat Cadigan just posted to Facebook that Ellen has to have some surgery tomorrow. I don’t think this can be very serious as it is just a hole in her leg she’s got, but I’ll call again in the morning and get some more news. Pat says she’ll be spending the day at the hospital, so Ellen will have company.

Ellen Datlow Update

~ Cheryl ~ 3 Comments

As some of you may know (because it was in Ansible), Ellen Datlow is in hospital in London. It is nothing serious, just an injury to her leg that got infected and wasn’t healing up. But it did need treatment, so Ellen is enjoying the hospitality of the NHS. I’ve just been speaking to her on the phone, and she’s in pretty good spirits all things considered. The cellulitis is now fixed, and the doctors are just making sure that the wound is healing properly before letting her out. Hopefully she’ll be back on her feet in a day or two. I’ll let you know if I get any further update.

Wesleyan Plans German Anthology

~ Cheryl ~ 2 Comments

I got a press release from Wesleyan today advertising a forthcoming anthology of science fiction translated from German:

In The Black Mirror & Other Stories: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Germany and Austria, editor Franz Rottensteiner offers a diverse overview of German-language science fiction spanning from the 1870s to today. Rottensteiner has carefully selected engaging stories from such authors as Kurd Lasswitz-who is known as the “German father of science fiction,” eccentric fantasist Paul Scheerbart, and popular writers from the past, such as Otto Will Gail and Hans Dominik. Modern authors such as Wolfgang Jeschke, Herbert W. Franke, Andreas Eschbach, and Carl Amery are also represented, as are some from the “other” Germany-the late German Democratic Republic, where a distinct style of science fiction developed.

This is the sort of book I would have jumped at a chance to review for Emerald City.

I’m offline for a few hours…

~ Cheryl

… and look what happens. John Updike dies and Realms of Fantasy closes. I can see that I’m just going to have to stay online 24/7 from now on.

Anyway, the trip to London was without excitement, and I’m now in Wimbledon. Tomorrow may be very busy. Don’t expect me online much.

Two New Blogs

~ Cheryl

Here are a couple of interesting sites that came to my attention today.

The first one is a bit of a blast from the past, being about the philosophy of role-playing games. I don’t have time to pay much attention to such things these days, but Jack Philips sounds like my sort of gamer.

The other one is a news blog about science fiction-related events in New England. I won’t be following it, but those of you in the North East probably should. I was particularly pleased to see that a theater in Massachusetts is staging Rossum’s Universal Robots.