Monthly Archives: March 2012
My Library Event in Bradford
Posted on March 31, 2012 10 Comments
It went well, I thought. First, we had a surprising (to me) number of people show up for an event on 10:30 on a Saturday; I don’t mind telling you I was skeptical that anyone would show up at that hour. So to everyone who did: You’re awesome, and thank you. In addition to my […]
Christopher Priest Appears in the Comments
Posted on March 31, 2012 23 Comments
And leaves an interesting and explanatory comment on his decision to write on the Clarke Award selections this year. The comment is here, and I commend it to folks wishing to have further context to what has become science fiction’s polemical event of the year (at least until the Hugo slate comes out exactly one […]
Fuzzy, Interrupted
Posted on March 30, 2012 29 Comments
Let’s say we’ll finish this up on Monday, shall we? Okay then.
SFWA Members: Nebula Voting Ends TONIGHT at 11:59pm Pacific Time
Posted on March 30, 2012
So go and vote. It’s a great slate this year so you have excellent work to choose from. And once you’ve voted, tell every other SFWA active and lifetime active member you know to go vote as well. You will be my hero if you do. Thank you.
Quick Christopher Priest Follow Up
Posted on March 30, 2012 101 Comments
Yes, I know, two follow-ups in a row! Some days are like that. But I thought if you were interested that you might enjoy some of the other commentary on Christopher Priest’s Clarke Award Cane Shaker, so here are links to comment and discussion from Cat Valente, Jeff VanderMeer, James Nicoll, Charles “Internet Puppy” Stross, […]
The Movie Junkies and Plagiarism: Follow Up
Posted on March 30, 2012 23 Comments
The Movie Junkies site, which featured scads of movie reviews plagiarized from other movie critics, is at least temporarily down; right now if you go there you get the notice you see above, “Maintenance Mode,” apparently being a polite, or at least shorter, version of the more accurate description “Oh CRAP I Have So Much […]
Ask Papa Fuzzy Anything: Genders, Pets, Humans and Wil Wheaton
Posted on March 29, 2012 8 Comments
Here we are at Day Three of Ask a Fuzzy! First, Papa Fuzzy explains how to tell human genders apart, even though fuzzys are a genderless species: Next, a question about pets, and a shout-out to a friend: And now we’re talking about whether or not Papa Fuzzy is offended at being called an “alien”: […]
The Big Idea: Helen Lowe
Posted on March 29, 2012 11 Comments
When Helen Lowe sat down to write The Gathering of the Lost, she thought she knew what the big idea of the books was going to be. But as it turned out, the book had other plans for her, and for the concept that ended up motivating many of the events of the book. What […]
Christopher Priest Shouts at Clouds
Posted on March 29, 2012 97 Comments
Or, more accurately, at the nominees for this year’s Clarke Award, and the jury which selected them. Mr. Priest, for those not aware, is a science fiction and fantasy writer most famous (in the US, anyway) for The Prestige, which was made into a film by director Christopher Nolan. The Clarke Award is a juried […]
Athena and Her Tool For the Zombie Apocalypse
Posted on March 28, 2012 31 Comments
I mean, aside from her bow, which she is in fact pretty good at. This thing is for close work, should it come to that. In the meantime it can used for any construction work we have around the house, but come on. We know it’s mostly for dealing with the undead.
Ask Papa Fuzzy Anything: Alien Probes, Paul & Storm, Movie Casting, Interspecies Erotica
Posted on March 28, 2012 5 Comments
Papa Fuzzy’s back and he’s got more answers to your questions! First, he digs into the issue of alien probes: Then, a critical evaluation of Paul & Storm’s “Fuzzy Man (Fuzzy Nation)” song, written for the release of Fuzzy Nation: This is followed with a discussion of the casting of the inevitable movie: And finally […]
Dear The Movie Junkies: Plagiarism is Still Not Cool
Posted on March 28, 2012 65 Comments
My pal Maryann Johanson wrote a review of the movie Shame on her site The Flick Filosopher on January 16. Here’s an excerpt of what she wrote: What is shocking about Shame is the male vulnerability, the male weakness, the abject male misery we see onscreen. Movies simply don’t do this. Movies protect the male […]
The Big Idea: Elizabeth Bear
Posted on March 28, 2012 10 Comments
Dear world: Elizabeth Bear is awesome. Range of Ghosts is her new book. This is her big idea. Also: She is awesome. That is all. ELIZABETH BEAR: There’s nothing new under the sun in epic fantasy, or so I’ve heard it said. So when I was trying to come up with a Big Idea for […]
John Carter and Hunger Games: The Postmortems
Posted on March 28, 2012
The Hunger Games is a smash. John Carter is a flop. Is there anything these two films can teach us about how science fiction films can and should be made and marketed? Over at FilmCritic.com, I offer up five lessons we’ve learned from these films. They aren’t the only five lessons. But they’re the ones […]
Bud Webster: Recipient of the 2012 Service to SFWA Award
Posted on March 27, 2012
From our press release: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America would like to award Clarence Howard ‘Bud’ Webster the 2012 Service to SFWA Award for his outstanding work on behalf of the organization. Bud has had a long history in the science fiction and fantasy community. He is a contributing editor and columnist […]
Dude. Whoa.
Posted on March 27, 2012 41 Comments
On one hand I wonder how many takes each of these stunts took. On the other hand, I couldn’t do any of this no matter if I had a million takes, so, really, I should just shut the hell up.
Ask Papa Fuzzy Anything: Fur, Ewoks, Immigration, Hands
Posted on March 27, 2012 11 Comments
And now, without further ado, the first batch of answers from Papa Fuzzy: First, a question about fur: And now, thoughts on Ewoks: Ruminations on immigration: Finally, a curious question about hands: Wanna ask Papa Fuzzy a question? Go ask it in this comment thread.
The Big Idea: Anne Lyle
Posted on March 27, 2012 25 Comments
Alternate histories are popular, and they’re fun to write. But for the author of such works, there is the occupational hazard of reimagining the world in a way it’s been reimagined before — discovering that you’re not the trailblazer you thought you might be. When Anne Lyle sought to have Europeans discover the New World […]
Today is Fuzzy Nation Paperback Release Day!
Posted on March 27, 2012 11 Comments
Here’s Papa Fuzzy, proudly showing off the paperback edition of Fuzzy Nation, which is available here in the US and Canada now now now now. You can tell he’s mightily pleased that book is now available in a compact, travel-friendly yet physical format. And if you pick up the paperback, there’s something special at the […]
Redshirts Sneak Preview at Tor.com
Posted on March 27, 2012 21 Comments
The headline says it all: If you go over to Tor.com — and register there — you can read the first couple of chapters of Redshirts, to whet your appetite for the full release on June 5. If you’ve seen me on tour in the last year you’ve heard me read the prologue; now here’s […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying