“‘He is a man who writes what used to be called penny dreadfuls’…That they could believe that there is any literary value there or any aesthetic accomplishment or signs of an inventive human intelligence is simply a testimony to their own idiocy.’” Harold Bloom, self-appointed arbiter of what does and does not have literary value, …
Well, I finished both Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling and Hybrids by Robert J. Sawyer over the weekend. Briefly: My wife and I disagree over the latest Harry Potter book. Although we both enjoyed it, I thought it was one of the strongest of the set, while she …
Now this is funny–unless you’re a con virgin, in which case, it won’t mean a thing.
“Gentlemen, we can reduce the use of fossil fuels. We have the technology.”
Does this remind anyone else of Bruce Sterling’s novel Heavy Weather?
I hope to regularly post notes on what I’m reading. Currently… Hybrids, the third book in Robert J. Sawyer’s “The Neanderthal Parallax.” Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling (down to the last chapter–comments to follow soon). Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2003. I would love to subscribe to Asimov’s, Analog and …
For my first non-introductory post, a few comments about the 61st World Science Fiction Convention, held in Toronto over the Labour Day weekend. This was my fourth WorldCon; my first was ConAdian in Winnipeg in 1994, and I’ve since been to ChiCon in Chicago in 2000 and ConJose last year in San Jose. Although I’ve …
Hassenpfeffer (n): A highly seasoned stew of marinated rabbit meat. Welcome to Hassenpfeffer, a brand-new blog by American-living-in-Canada science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction and computer author Edward Willett. No doubt you are already thinking to yourself, “Hassenpfeffer! That’s a stupid name for a blog!” Au contraire. It is the perfect name for a blog–or, at least, …
Every branch of science has its pinnacle of achievement, the thing that every scientist in that field dreams of achieving. For an astronomer, it’s the discovery of a new heavenly body; for a paleontologist, a new species of dinosaur. And for a physicist, it’s the discovery of a new subatomic particle. University of Saskatchewan particle …
See my photos of TorCon3 here. I was sitting at a table at the front of an ordinary room in the Toronto Convention Centre a few days ago, along with three other writers of children’s books. We had just begun a panel discussion on “Writing For Children” when in strolled a massive troll, gray as …
Earlier this month, a company called Odyssey Marine Explorations Inc. announced that it has discovered the sunken wreck of the S.S. Republic, a steamer that went down in a hurricane off Savannah, Georgia, on October 25, 1865, carrying $400,000 in $20 gold coins–worth $120 to $180 million today. There was a time when sending a …
Choosing what to wear in the morning is about to become even harder. Should one choose the bullet-proof blouse, the colour-changing cardigan, or the self-heating sari? Clothing is about to be revolutionized by a slough of new technologies. Imagine, for example, fabric that can change pattern or colour on demand. International Fashion Machines, a small …
