“Trying to write when you’re too tired to write is like trying to find a simile for trying to write when you’re too tired to write when you’re too tired to write.” – Me, yesterday
Programming matter
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/programmable-matter.mp3[/podcast] Remember the shape-changing T-1000 robot in the 1991 movie Terminator 2? It could disguise itself as anything—a policeman, the floor, whatever—and sprout tools and weapons as required. It turns out it may very well have given us a glimpse of a very real future (though hopefully without the whole Armageddon-like-conflict-between-robots-and-humans thing). Researchers right now …
An instantaneous, universal, programmable vaccine?
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/a-universal-instant-vaccine.mp3[/podcast] Efforts to immunize people against disease go back to at least 600 B.C., when the Chinese attempted to immunize people against smallpox by putting smallpox material in their nostrils (the permitting of which, I would think, would require a great deal of faith in your doctor). Modern immunization began in 1796 when a British …
Now I’m even writing in my sleep
Just before I woke this morning, I was dreaming in an unusual fashion: in my dream, I was disembodied and observing other people, writing a running commentary in my head, very much like the process of writing fiction when I’m awake. I can’t remember ever doing that in my sleep before, but of course we …
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 …
My review of Saturday’s Regina Symphony Orchestra concert…
…is now online, headlined “RSO scores again with movies.” Here’s how it starts: Halfway through the second half of the Regina Symphony Orchestra’s 10th annual The RSO Goes to the Oscars movie-music concert, Maestro Victor Sawa commented on the versatility of movie composers, who may find themselves writing theme music for sharks in one movie …
My LeaderPost review of Globe Theatre’s Mesa
My LeaderPost review of Globe Theatre’s Mesa, which oddly enough has striking similarities to my CBC review of the same production–go figure!–is online this morning. It begins: Mesa, Globe Theatre’s new mainstage production, is the story of a road trip — a physical journey from Calgary to Arizona, and the metaphorical journey from youth to …
My review of Globe Theatre’s Mesa
Here’s my review of Globe Theatre‘s latest mainstage production, Mesa. This is the script I’ve sent to CBC. Check against delivery today at 4:13 p.m. on the Afternoon Edition.Globe Theatre’s lastest mainstage production is Mesa, by Calgary writer Doug Curtis. It’s a play that takes the audience along on a road trip from Calgary to …
Photo of the Day that was Actually Taken Tuesday: Me in Rouleau
I had a school reading in Rouleau (Corner Gas-watching readers may know it better as Dog River) on Tuesday. Here I am in “action” (I use the term loosely) reading a few pages from my new YA SF proposal. I also read from Jimi Hendrix: Kiss the Sky, talked about myself (I’m very good at …
Hugo Awards final ballot released
The Hugo and John W. Campbell Best New Writer final ballot has been announced. Alas, Marseguro is not on it. (I and everyone else would have been shocked if it had been!) What I find most interesting about it is that three of the Best Novel nominees are young adult books: Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, …
My preview of the Regina Symphony Orchestra’s movie music concert…
…, RSO Goes to the Oscars, is in today’s LeaderPost. Here’s a bit from the middle: For Sawa, switching from symphonies to soundtracks is natural. In a strange way, he says, “we owe a debt of gratitude to the Nazis. Oscar Hammerstein, Max Steiner, Eric Korngold, Bernard Hermann, Franz Waxman — they all came over …
Marseguro is an Aurora Award finalist!
I’ve known for a while, so I’m thrilled to finally be able to formally announce that Marseguro is among the finalists for an Aurora Award in the category of Best Long-Form Work in English. The Auroras recognize Canadian science fiction and fantasy artwork, writing, and fan activities. Nominated for and voted on by fans, they’re …
My latest live walk and vlog
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