09.30.09
Thin Air, Fine Time
As you might expect, I had an incredible time at Thin Air. This week long literary festival was a big fat deal in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and rightly so. One of the main events for SF fans was Thursday night, Sept. 24, when the premier of FlashForward aired on ABC TV, based on Rob Sawyer’s fabulous novel. McNally Robinson at Polo Park cleared out a corner of its store, rented a monster-size movie screen, and threw a huge viewing party. 120 or so peeps showed up to help Rob celebrate opening night. Here are some pics from the event.
Rob introducing the show just before air time…
Rob and his wife Carolyn Clink…
Author Karen Dudley and her dad chillin’ out before the show…
A happy crowd! Author Bev Geddes up front next to SF icon Robert Charles Wilson…
Author Robert Charles Wilson with his wife Sharry…
Rob signing books after the show…
The festival lasted all week, and I made it to a number of events and had a fine time. In addition to Rob’s premier party, on Friday morning I went to Glenlawn Collegiate high school and ran through some creative writing exercises with the kids. Yes, even ninth graders can concentrate! Here’s the proof as they scribble away during a free-write…
Friday afternoon, Rob and Bob and I sat on a panel about “the future” at the University of Winnipeg. That night was the SF event on the Mainstage dowtown at “the Forks.” All three of us read excerpts from our novels and answered questions afterwards. My darn camera battery ran out of juice, so I didn’t get any pictures, but if anyone passes some of theirs along to me I’ll post them later. All in all, the week’s events reminded me of how great it can feel to be an author. Canada sure knows how to treat its writers! I was thrilled to be included. Thanks to Rob, Robert J. Sawyer Books, and Fitzhenry and Whiteside for helping me make it happen.
Of further interest…
09.18.09
Reclaiming A Writer’s Life
Reading time for me and Brody!
I dedicated 2009 to getting my creative writing career back on track. I gave up teaching and quit taking freelance writing jobs, and I made a concentrated effort to make time for reading and writing. Although I couldn’t get rid of my fulltime day job (who can these days?) I’m happy to say that as I move into the fourth quarter of 2009, it seems to have paid off, at least a little. I finally finished putting the finishing touches on my third novel (been working all year on this!). I’ve written a couple of short stories and have just begun tinkering with another. Philosophy Now has been kind enough to accept a few of my book/film reviews. I’ve actually found some time on the weekends to do more than just run around like a maniac trying to get things done. What amazes me is that I had to force myself to do this. Life is a constant learning process, take my word for it, if you haven’t figured it out already.
Another thing I’ve been trying to do this year is go to more conferences and take writing-career-type-gigs whenever I can get them. I made it to Readercon for the first time, a convention I’ve always wanted attend. And I found my way to Worldcon in Montreal, which was an incredible experience. Next week I’m going to the Thin Air Literary Festival in Winnipeg, which promises to be a hugely exciting event. I’ll be visiting the Glenlawn Collegiate school, making an appearance at the University of Winnipeg with Robert J. Sawyer and Robert Charles Wilson, and participating in a reading and panel discussion on the Mainstage at the CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre (also with the two Robs). A FlashForward party is planned at the McNally Robinson bookstore at Polo Park on Thursday night for the premier of the ABC TV show based on Rob’s novel. WOOOHOOO! I’ll try to remember to bring my camera and take pics to post here.
More to come!
Of further interest….
This article just appeared in the Winnipeg Sun about the fest.
09.12.09
2 Bizarre-O 9s
9
I hadn’t really planned on seeing the movie 9 on 9.9.09, but it just so happened that I was having coffee near the theater, and I finished talking with my friends right on time for the movie. I knew I wanted to see it sooner or later, so I went ahead and took myself to the show. For the most part I think it’s fun entertainment. Shane Acker’s animation is terrific, and those strange little doll-like characters, numbers 1 through 9, with their tiny zippered bodies and vulnerable personalities, are oddly adorable, a bit like big-eyed Muppets. If you can forget all about the cliché-ridden, even senseless story at times, you might enjoy the spectacle of it. But honestly, it’s hard to forget about the cliché-ridden, senseless story. Once again humans have been destroyed by their machines. Once again science has turned against us. Once again only a few living things remain to save…well…to save what? There actually aren’t anymore people left, and those little dolls can’t procreate, so what’s the point? And how is it that these little foot-long hotdogs manage to destroy the evil machine-monsters when billions of humans couldn’t swing it? Maybe we just weren’t small enough? It makes me wonder how involved the normally inventive Tim Burton was in this project. I’m guessin’ not very. Ah, well. Switch off your brain and enjoy the show. I rate this film and upside down 9: Mildly recommended.
Sharlto Copley as Wikus
D-9
If you want to see a much better 9, try District 9 (D-9). Written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, this is a fine science fiction film. Well, it starts out as a science fiction film, then it morphs into a socio-political statement, and then there’s more than a wee bit of fantasy and horror mixed in. Anyway you slice it, the movie puts an interesting spin on the age-old science fiction theme of first contact. How would we really react if a gigantic space ship stalled in the sky over Johannesburg? Neill actually gives this question some serious play in the movie. There may be some familiar tropes here — the prawn-like aliens; the evil, giant corporation doing dirty deeds; the one guy somehow overcoming an army of military nasties trying to kill him — but the documentary-style storytelling feels fresh, although reminiscent of Cloverfield, (reviewed previously). Sharlto Copley’s performance as the bumbling Multi-National United employee named Wikus is nothing short of brilliant. D-9 is fast-paced and suspenseful: a little splatter-punk, a touch of poli-sci commentary, some scary alien stuff, and a pinch of allegory for good measure (remember apartheid?). And it all kinda works. I rate this film an upright 9: Highly recommended.
Of further interest…
Cloverfield 2 is on the way!
09.08.09
Chilly Summer = More Reading and Writing
Philosophy
I’m in the process of e-interviewing science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer for Philosophy Now Magazine. As I was preparing for the interview, Rob suggested I read Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence (2009), edited by Susan Schneider. This is a great book filled with essays about science fiction and its place in philosophy, and philosophy and its place in science fiction. Just about every page is interesting. You’ll find topics such as “The Matrix as Metaphysics” (David Chalmers), “Consciousness in Human and Robot Minds” (Daniel Dennett), “Superintelligence and Singularity” (Ray Kurzweil), “The Paradoxes of Time Travel” (David Lewis), and much more. It supports what many of us have known for a long time: science fiction really is a thoughtful literature. This book is now available in paperback and will truly bend your mind: Highly recommended.
Mystery
Mystery writer Andy Straka is a fellow upstate New Yorker (now living in Virginia). He’s been nominated for the Shamus, Agatha, and Anthony awards, and his first Frank Pavlicek novel A Witness Above (2001) is an excellent read. In the spirit of noir (if not dead center in the middle of it) his main character is an ex-NYPD cop with a bitter ex-wife and a troubled daughter. Frank is scraping by as a PI when his daughter Nicky suddenly ends up in jail after a brick of coke is found strapped to her car, and she’s suspected of murdering a friend. You’ll find good characters, fine writing, and lots of interesting info about falcons within these pages. Yep, that’s right, Andy is “falconry enthusiast,” and the bird bits are fascinating and fun to read. This is a fast-paced, tightly knotted mystery. If you give in to one book, I suspect you’ll want to read more: Highly Recommended.
Rothberg Project
The “Rothberg Project” continues. You may recall that I reviewed A Beast In View previously in this blog. Next on my list of Abraham Rothberg gems is The Sword of the Golem (1970). When Abe handed me this novel, he said it was the closest thing to science fiction and fantasy he’d ever written, and he thought I might like it. It’s not really science fiction or fantasy, but he was right about me liking it. It’s a hell of a book.
Set in sixteenth century Prague, the Rabbi Judah Low creates a Golem out of mud and clay. Is it magic or a miracle of God that allows him to do this? (You make the call.) It doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that it’s an unnatural act, and this one unnatural act sets the stage for the rest of the novel. The Golem struggles with the meaning of his own life as well as what it means to be human; the rabbi wrestles with his faith and with the fate of his people; and the Jews struggle with their lives in the ghetto where they suffer, for the most part, as prisoners in fear of their jailers. As each scene unfolds, the sense of impending catastrophe becomes stronger and stronger until it’s simply impossible to put down the book.
To quote the author, “The Sword of the Golem is about peace and violence, about when the sword is to be used, and when it is to be sheathed, if ever.” This is a brilliant novel and a great story. The book is no longer in print, but it can be found through online booksellers such as AbeBooks.com: Highly recommended.
Of further interest…
Some of Abe’s new work and reprints are now available through a small press by the name of Edteck. Check it out and buy with confidence!
A more detailed review of Science Fiction and Philosophy from the Metapsychology site.
The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film, edited by Steven M. Sanders.
Feminist Philosophy and Science Fiction from Prometheus Books.
Philosophy Now Magazine. Subscribe today!
