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My speech to the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association AGM
Here is (more or less, since I didn't read it word for word) the speech I gave today at the Past Presidents' Luncheon that closed off the 100th Annual General Meeting of the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association: *** First, I’d like to thank you very much for asking me to be your guest speaker at today’s Past President’s Luncheon. It’s a great honour, and it’s certainly made for a memorable launch of Land Surveying in Saskatchewan: Laying the Groundwork for Property Rights and Development. I’ve written more than 40 books so far in my career, of one sort or another, but this was the first one launched at Government House with ...A writing update: one book launches, one moves toward publication, one waits in the wings
It's been a busy week, writing-wise. My latest adult nonfiction book, with the admittedly not-very-sexy title of Land Surveying in Saskatchewan: Laying the Groundwork for Property Rights and Development, has now been released by the Saskatchewan Land Surveyor's Association. The release coincides with the SLSA's annual general meeting (at which I'll be making a speech tomorrow for the Past President's Luncheon), and the launch was held at Government House with the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan, the Hon. Dr. Gordon Barnhart, in attendance. Dr. Barnhart gave a very nice speech, there were a few other remarks, and then I helped unveil a giant poster showing off the cover of the book. I ...Measurement
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/11/Measurement.mp3[/podcast] “Inch-worm, inch-worm, measuring the marigolds...” Despite that line from a popular song, the fact is, inch-worms don’t measure anything. Neither to cockroaches, bulldogs, llamas or horned toads...because measurement is the process of counting how much of a sensory signal exists, and so far as we know, no other animals can count. Simply counting things wouldn’t itself count for much if we couldn’t communicate, though. Through language, we’re able to tell others what we have measured, which enables us to describe things we’ve seen, contract with others for trade or exchange, and control various processes. Just think about all the things you rely on measurement for. Your clothes were measured to fit your body. Your food is stored in a refrigerator whose temperature is ...A new book to brag about: The Bounty Mutiny
I knew it was coming, but I didn't expect it to arrive so hard on the heels of Disease-Hunting Detective: my latest children's non-fiction book, The Bounty Mutiny: from the Court Case to the Movie, showed up Monday from Enslow Publishers. Here’s the description from the back of the book: “The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials—both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh ...The saga of WD-40
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/07/WD-40.mp3[/podcast] For as long as I can remember, we’ve had WD-40 around our house, and I’m quite sure I’m not alone in that experience: most houses contain a can somewhere. But I’d never really thought about it, or even why it was called what it’s called, until this week, when I read the New York Times’s obituary of John S. Barry. No, Barry didn’t invent WD-40, but he was the executive who was the brains behind its ascent up the slippery slope of lubricant supremacy, to the point where the WD-40 company says its surveys show it can be found in as many as 80 percent of American homes. Barry, who died on July 3 in California at the ...It’s my birthday, and I’ll blog if I want to
Yes, today marks the completion of 1/20th of my first millennium. Or half a century. Personally I prefer the first formulation. And, yes, today is also the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. My tenth birthday present, and what a terrific present it was. I remember watching the coverage on our little black and white TV in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. I also remember getting quite bored with it shortly after the excitement of the first step onto the moon, since you have to admit the dialogue of the ensuing traipsing-around-the-landing-site-setting-up-equipment-and-gathering-rocks scene was less than sparkling. And did I mention I was 10? Nevertheless, it was ...R.I.P.: the girl who named Pluto
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/05/the-girl-who-named-pluto-rip.mp3[/podcast] Three years ago I wrote a column about someone I was astonished I’d never heard of until that week: Venetia Phair (née Burney), at the time an 87-year-old retired schoolteacher in Epsom, England. At the age of 11 Venetia suggested the name Pluto for what was then (and for many decades after) considered the ninth and outermost planet of the solar system. (In 2006 it was officially downgraded to a “dwarf planet.”) Venetia died on April 30 at the age of 90. In her honour, here’s her story again, drawn from a January 2006 interview with Edward Goldstein of NASA Public Affairs, in honor of the then-impending launch of the New Horizons spacecraft, now en route to a 2015 fly-past of Pluto. “I ...Surveying technology
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/surveying-technology.mp3[/podcast] I’m working on a history of the Saskatchewan Land Surveyor’s Association—and, as with everything I work on, learning stuff I never knew before. In this case, stuff about the technology of surveying. The ancient Romans did pretty well using just three simple instruments: the groma, the chorobate, and measuring rods. The groma consisted of crossed arms resting on a bracket attached to a vertical staff. From each of the four arms hung a plumb bob. The groma could be used to survey straight lines, right angles and rectangles. The chorobate was a ten-foot long wooden trough with a groove running down its middle. Water was poured into the groove; if it pooled instead of running out either end, then whatever the chorobate was placed ...Page proofs of my book about the Bounty mutiny arrive
I received the PDF page proofs of one of my upcoming children's non-fiction books, The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie, from Enslow today. That's the title page. It's part of a series called Famous Court Cases That Became Movies--among the others in the series are books dealing with the Amistad mutiny (Amistad), Watergate (All the President's Men), and the Scopes "Monkey" trial (Inherit the Wind). In my case, the movie in question is the 1984 Dino De Laurentiis epic The Bounty, starring Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian and Anthony Hopkins as Bligh.There's some typo-finding and editorial query-answering to go, but I must say it's ...The First World War Memoirs of Sampson J. Goodfellow, Part 37: Home to Canada
Since Remembrance Day, I've been posting the First World War memoirs of my grandfather-in-law, Sampson J. Goodfellow, a few pages at a time. It seems appropriate to post this last installment on the last day of 2008. Coming soon: the whole thing, compiled into a single ebook. I'll keep you posted!In the meantime: Happy New Year!(Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Part 10. Part 11. Part 12. Part 13. Part 14. Part 15. Part 16. Part 17. Part 18.Part 19. Part 20. ...
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
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