Category: Miscellaneous
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A Glorious Thing
The Center for the Study of Space Crime, Piracy, and Governance is hosting a Webinar this coming Thursday, July 24, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. The topic: "SciFi and Space Piracy: How Imagination Can Drive Policy." I'll be moderating an all-star panel — Geoffrey Landis, Laura Montgomery, Allen Steele, and Walter Jon Williams — as…
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Music Theory
A while back I bought a set of CDs of all nine symphonies by Ludwig Van Beethoven. On long solo car trips I can now listen to them instead of trying to find a radio station which won't fade out after ten miles. I know — welcome to the 1990s. That's not the point. As…
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Ho Ho Ho
It's Christmas Eve afternoon as I write, which means it's time to click on the NORAD Santa Tracker to keep tabs on St. Nick's whereabouts. If you're in the Western Hemisphere there's still time to be good. Barely. Christmas Day is also the first night of Hanukkah, so light 'em if you've got 'em —…
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At Liberty
UPDATE: Due to my own inattention during planning, the Sunday events had to be rescheduled or eliminated. I have revised this post to reflect my new schedule. This coming weekend, June 21-23, I'll be in mountain-girt Chattanooga, Tennessee for LibertyCon, now in its 36th year. As always, when I go to a convention I don't…
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Why I Didn’t Do It This Year
Long-time readers of this blog (all three of you) may remember that in December I usually include a link to one of my favorite Web sites: the NORAD Santa Tracker. Why didn't I run it? Blame the Task & Purpose blog, a very interesting Web zine about military matters. This December they ran a very entertaining…
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PhilCon 2023!
Once again I'm heading south to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, for the venerable PhilCon, the Philadelphia region's long-running science fiction convention. Naturally, I'm not just going as a paying attendee, but as a participant. Here's my schedule, and if you happen to be in southern New Jersey this weekend, swing by! Friday, November 17, 6:00…
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Art and Storytelling
Should the visual arts tell stories? Or strive for simple abstract beauty? The answer of course is "yes" to both. Just as music has room for both fugues and ballads. Here's a good essay by Aidan Harte — sculptor and animator — touching on the neglect of story in contemporary art, and how he's trying…
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New Paradigm Required
Forgive the interruption in service. Regular blogging has resumed. I've noticed something about the way cities are portrayed in most comic books — and in the superhero movies based on those comics. What I noticed is how old-fashioned the cities are. Whether you're looking at Batman's decaying Gotham City, Superman's bright and thriving Metropolis, or…
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Save the Date!
We're holding a "Fantasy & Science Fiction Festival" to benefit Deerfield's Tilton Library — and everyone's invited! When: October 8, 2023, from 3 to 5 p.m. Where: The Deerfield Community Center, at 16 Memorial Street in Old Deerfield. What: Meet local authors, watch a panel discussion about libraries in fiction and real life, listen to…
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Albacon 2023
Albany's long-running science fiction and fantasy convention is back up to full speed this year, with an impressive guest lineup, a full schedule, and a nifty hybrid live-plus-online format. As always, I'll be there — I said I'd be at their disposal for one full day, Saturday the 10th — and they're getting the most…
The Cambias Digression 