Back in January, when I was in London with Lin, we were lucky enough to attend an after-show party of Mother Goose, the Panto with Ian McKellan. It was a ton of fun and on the way home, Lin asked me if I didn’t miss it. I replied that I did, but I really didn’t want to go back to it full-time. It was fine to enjoy it piecemeal, every now and again.
Continue reading “Comic Con Baltics – 2023 Edition”
A favorite planet? Who has a favorite planet? Well, if you’re a science fiction geek like me, I suppose that’s a fair question. I mean even now, as I write this, I can look up at framed artwork of faux travel posters put out by NASA for various planets in our solar system and further out in the galaxy.
But this question asks about a favorite planet as a child and that requires a bit of thinking. Of course, the standard answer would consist of a 1 in 9* choice, right? Sure, we could get a bit more choice in there if we include the planet-like moons of the gas giants, which, if we were to colonize the outer reaches of our solar system, would be where we’d lay down roots. So now the obvious answer would be, say, a 1 out of 15 or so choice, yes? Continue reading “Did you have a favorite planet as a child?”
Growing up, my passion for film, filmmaking, and science fiction was spurred, pretty much, by one magazine – Starlog. I used to get it all the time, especially if the cover was about a film/TV show I was either desperate to see or one I had seen and was obsessing over.
Today, I discovered the Starlog Archive online. Can’t wait for a break in my daily work so I can dive in and read some of the original thoughts on films long since sequalized, lionized, disregarded, and remade.
September 21-22, 2019, the dates of this year’s Comic Con Baltics, had been on my calendar since probably sometime in April, when I had been invited to come and meet the organizers to talk about the project which would become Generation Geek.
As time went by, several Generation Geek videos were released and I was asked if I would participate in the con itself. Naturally, I agreed. Of course, I didn’t know what I was agreeing to, but sure, I’m game for anything. Continue reading “Comic Con Baltics 2019”
So I just got back from a wonderful trip to Disneyland Paris (which you can read all about here) but as I was unpacking I realized something. See that book over to the left? Golden Blood by Jack Williamson? I’ve never read it. And yet, it’s travelled with me all over the globe.
See, whenever I travel, in addition to all my electronics, I always bring a good, old fashioned paperback book, just in case. In case of what? I don’t know. In case with all my battery operated equipment I somehow have a power failure and find myself stranded alone with nothing to do? Maybe? Continue reading “On Preparedness”
The new typeface is “ideal for way-finding and UI in the Martian colony.” As a font geek, I love this. And I like the font itself. Now just thinking of something I could use it on.
Source: Mars Gets Its First Typeface, Equivalent To ‘Helvetica’ On Earth – DesignTAXI.com
Where I Write is a cool project by photographer Kyle Cassidy to showcase F & SF writers in their natural habitat!
Well, True Believers, the time finally came. a month before his 96th birthday, Stan Lee passed away. Down the Tubes has a couple of nice pieces: In Memorium by Alan Woollcombe and Tim Quinn’s piece “How to be a Hero.” Both of these pieces, as well as many others, recount Lee’s history, his start as a teenager working for Timely Comics (which became Marvel), and how he, as no one else ever had, came to personify the field and the artform. Buzz Dixon, in particular, speaks of the man and his problematic relationship with the industry Continue reading “Stan Lee (1922-2018)”
So oftentimes I will read something I like and want to share it here on the blog. For whatever reason the mind kicks in and says “this is something which should be preserved.” So I file it away and eventually, I write up my thoughts about the link and then I set it to post. Continue reading “On Women and Speculative Fiction”
Who Are the Forgotten Greats of Science Fiction?
Tor.com blogger James Davis Nicoll asks this question and while I’m familiar and widely read in some of these folks, there are also a bunch I don’t know and a few I’ve never heard of. So here’s another set of books and authors to go on my reading list.
Reading a collection of short fiction from any given author is always a mixed bag. Same goes for an anthology of works by different authors centered around a certain theme or category. You might like some and some, well, they round out the collection.
But when you have a “Best of” collection, especially one curated by another well known writer or editor, well then, that’s a great way to start a good library. And that’s what Tor.com talks about in this article featuring A Survey of Some of the Best Science Fiction Ever Published (Thanks to Judy-Lynn Del Rey). While I’ve read some of these, and own several, a bunch more are going on my wish list.
In praise of the mundane, unquantifiable, impractical activities that feed creative work and fill life with meaning.
This is an amazing story! Holy crap the things this guy has done and how much he’s been an invisible part of my life, childhood and overall creative development!
My takeaway though, is this line:
“Colin told me one time that this is the way he went through life, that he liked to create things that people couldn’t un-think,” Dall said. “That’s how he got into a lot of things: he would come up with such original, creative and intelligent ideas that people would look at it and then they couldn’t go back.”
And if you want a piece of signed artwork, check out Colin Cantwell’s own website.
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 