Underwritten by Gollancz. I assumed something of the sort was in the works, since I’ve heard the likes of John Clute and David Langford muttering about updated material from time to time, but it’s good to know that the rough beast now has a schedule for its slouching. As mentioned before, the second edition is pretty much essential for anyone with an interest in the field, and I expect the third to be no less essential.
Apollocon 2011 Pictures
July 4th, 2011My computer was in the shop, so I haven’t had a chance to do the usual photo roundup until now.
The public has cried out “Stina! We just can’t get enough photos of her! Could you possibly put up a bunch more?” The blue hair fetish crowd has spoken, and who am I to deny the public what it wants? Vox populi, vox dei.
(If you’re wondering whether the phrase “Blue Hair Fetish” bring up a lot of Google hits, I can tell you: Yes. Yes it does. And you shouldn’t test this theory at work. (See also: Rule 34.))
Julia Mandala, Linda Donahue, and Bill Crider.
Martha Wells and Troyce Wilson, just back from their awesome private tour of NASA. They even showed them the video feed of the top secret moonbase and the dead alien in the third subbasement freezer…
Three of the four redheads of the apocalypse: Julia Mandala, Rhonda Eudaly, and Linda Donahue.
Stina Leicht: The Seconding.
Stina and SF Signal head honcho John DeNardo, whose mouth and eyes are wired in such a way that when one opens, the other must close.
Jayme Lynn Blaschke, who suffers from no such limitations.
Martha Wells, wearing a black outfit against the black backdrop the concom thoughtfully provided.
Editor Guest of Honor Ann VanderMeer, of the Florida Science Fiction VanderMeers.
Texas in 2013 Worldcon bid chair Bill Parker with international confidence man Fred Duarte.
Jonathan Miles, pledging to eat only the brand of butter-substitute promoted by William Shatner.
Stina: The Return of the Attack of the Revenge of the Quickening
Gabrielle Faust, who wisely opted for the decorative white corset and brass goggles against the black background.
Lou Antonelli, Bill Crider and Jayme Lynn Blaschke.
Artist Guest of Honor Rocky Kelley.
Bill Parker in the militantly festooned Texas in 2013 suite.
A closeup of Bill Crider from an earlier picture. Cropping! The hallmark of quality photographs!
Best Potato Chips Ever
July 2nd, 2011By serendipitous chance, I have stumbled across the most delicious potato chips I’ve ever tasted.
You’re probably thinking “Oh, they’re probably truffle-flavored French potato chips you found at Central Market, and they’re $20 a bag.”
No. I found them at a convenience store in a combination Chevron/ McDonald’s in Cedar Creek on Highway 71 between Bastrop and Austin, they’re roasted garlic flavor, and they’re 79¢ a bag. And they’re made, of all places, in Detroit.
Behold Uncle Ray’s Roasted Garlic Potato Chips:
They taste like a really good slice of garlic bread, except saltier and crisper.
I don’t often eat potato chips (for all the obvious reasons), but if Central Market did have these, I’d definitely stock up for my next party…
The July Ansible is Up
July 2nd, 2011Lanterns Over Poland
June 29th, 2011I’ve seen some other videos of lanterns be floated over Poland as part of their midsummer festival, but I thought this was just too cool looking not to post.
Lists of Top Crime Films
June 27th, 2011Ever since the 70s Crime Film Festival I’ve been a bit on a crime film kick, having watched Get Carter, Mean Streets, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Casino and Scarface. Along the way I’ve found a few Best Crime Films lists that may be worthy of your attention:
Lovecraft and Copyright
June 24th, 2011While looking around for something else, I stumbled upon this this fairly extensive piece on the copyright status of H. P. Lovecraft’s work.
The impression I always had is that all of Lovecraft’s works that weren’t already in the public domain passed into in 2007, 70 years after Lovecraft’s death, under the terms of the Berne convention. But the story of who owned what before that point is quite tangled indeed…
Lawrence Person’s Library: Reference Books (Part 2: Oversized Books)
June 21st, 2011And here’s the second part of my series on my reference library. The last installment dealt with the books I reach for most often. The reference works listed in this post share only size, being too big for most of my other shelves, which is why they’re filed here. Some of these (the Nevins, the first two Bleilers) get a lot of use, while others almost never get taken down (things that have been superseded by both the Internet and the two Clute encyclopedias).
(Click to embiggen.)
I’m not going to do a full run-down of publication dates, etc. for everything, but here’s a general overview of what’s here:
The New and Perfect Man (Postscripts 24/25) is Out
June 16th, 2011Including my story “The Dog Parade.”
Here’s the traycase the signed, limited edition comes in:
And here’s the book itself nestled snugly inside that traycase:
It was actually an unusually long journey for the anthology to be published, as one of the sets of signature sheets got lost in transit, which set back the publication timeline considerably.
Contents of Postscripts #24/25: The New and Perfect Man, edited by Peter Crowther & Nick Gevers, are as follows:
Sold wherever fine SF anthologies are sold…