Category: Miscellaneous
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The Decline of Musical Hipness
For half a century, music was the badge of hipness. What you listened to determined if you were a cool, enlightened person or not. Clothing, hair styles, taste in movies, political opinions — these all had a role, but ultimately music trumped everything. You could be the coolest kid in high school with all the…
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Congratulations to Nebula Winners
Congratulations to the winners of the 2015 Nebula Awards, chosen by the members of SFWA. This year's honorees are: Jeff VanderMeer, for his novel Annihilation Nancy Kress, for her novella "Yesterday's Kin" Alaya Dawn Johnson, for her novelette "A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i" Ursula Vernon, for her short story "Jackalope Wives." The Ray…
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Accidental Prophets and Texas Sharpshooters (Part 1 of 4)
One thing I've discovered about being a science fiction writer is that it somehow makes me into a futurist. Because I write stories with spaceships and aliens in them, people think I must have some kind of inside line on how the world is going to look a century from now. In fact, that seems…
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Science of Sci-Fi at M.I.T.
Tomorrow evening I'll be entering the august and notoriously long halls of the mighty Massachusetts Institute of Technology to take part in a panel discussion on "The Science of Sci-Fi." It will be held in M.I.T. Room 4-231 (wherever that may be) at 7:30 p.m. on May 13, and is open to the public. We'll…
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Congratulations 2015 Hugo Nominees!
As I do every year (when I remember), I'd like to congratulate the 2015 nominees for the Hugo Awards. I'd be a liar if I said I didn't wish my own name was among them. The winners will be announced at the World Science Fiction Convention in Spokane, Washington. Congratulations, everyone! Best Novel Ancillary Sword by…
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Award Nomination!
No, not that one. This one: the Compton Crook Award for best first novel, bestowed by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society at their annual convention Balticon. As one can see by the list of past winners, this is definitely an award of which it is true that it's an honor just to be nominated. My…
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Looking Forward
"And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future." It's traditional to make predictions for the New Year, and I'm a man who respects tradition. So, here are my predictions for 2015. I PREDICT that on or around February 3 of this coming year, you will be able to…
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Tis The Season
. . . for the NORAD Santa Tracker once again! The countdown clock is running, and NORAD personnel are already giving deadpan media interviews about this year's operation.
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The Harmonic Convergence of Geekery
There are science fiction geeks. Hi, my name is Jim and I'm a science fiction geek. ("Hi, Jim!" says everyone gathered in the church basement.) There are typography geeks. I'm not a typography geek, though I am a fan. (I lack the knowledge to be an actual typography geek.) ("What a poser!" thinks everyone gathered…
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Philcon 2014
This coming weekend I'll be at Philcon, the venerable Philadelphia science fiction convention. Like a lot of venerable Northeastern science fiction conventions, it's no longer held in the city where it began, but off in a suburb where the hotels are affordable. (The only exception to that rule I know of is Boskone, which is…
The Cambias Digression 