Truly science fiction and other ODDysseys

I didn't wrestle with dear Horace (of Awesome Lavratt fame) this weekend as I would have liked. I may yet write a scene tonight before I retire. Work has been very busy, but the department all went out to Thai for lunch today. That was great until I aspirated a piece of rice. Who knew that laughing while eating could be so dangerous?

We had a minor emergency with dear rescue dog Alegro yesterday. He was puking large puddles everywhere. Seems he only has a nervous tummy. He's better now and we discovered that giving him a bath is possible after all. Since he managed to lay in the puddles, we had to try. We'd been taking him to the groomers because he's a 90 lb., long-haired German Shepherd. He loved it. Maybe we can save on groomer bills.

I'm sure most of you have already heard about Kage Baker. She lost her batttle with cancer on Sunday. Here's an obituary. She will definitely leave a hole in the speculative fiction community and readers everywhere will mourn her and her wonderful well-spring of science fiction and fantasy books and short stories.

The shortlist for the BFSA (British Science Fiction Association) awards was released.

Best novel: Ark by Stephen Baxter (Gollancz)
Lavinia by Ursula K Le Guin (Gollancz)
The City & The City by China Mieville (Macmillan)
Yellow Blue Tibia by Adam Roberts (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction:
“Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” by Eugie Foster (Interzone 220)
The Push by Dave Hutchinson (Newcon Press)
“Johnnie and Emmie-Lou Get Married” by Kim Lakin-Smith (Interzone 222)
“Vishnu at the Cat Circus” by Ian McDonald (in Cyberabad Days, Gollancz)
“The Beloved Time of Their Lives” [pdf link] by Ian Watson and Roberto Quaglia (in The Beloved of My Beloved, Newcon Press)
“The Assistant” by Ian Whates (in The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction 3, ed. George Mann)

To read the shortlisted artist works and nonfiction works and more about the awards visit the BSFA site.

Has George Lucas gone soft? All we know about the new animated project he's working on, aside from whom he's working with, is that it will have fairies. Read more.

So, I've decided that the iPad is a cool toy, nothing more. You can't DO STUFF, you can mostly just look at stuff. Unless the price drops drastically, that's too much for me to pay for the wow factor and a cool new toy. Apple Makes at Least $200 Per iPad Sold: Report

I ran across this while searching for retail news at work. My husband would love to have the opportunity to test out a new hydrogen-cell car. Japan, it seems, is leading the charge here.

I think I'll end with a lovely quote from the latest Terry Pratchett I'm reading, Unseen Academicals:
"I would like permission to fetch a note from my mother, sir."
Ridcully sighed. "Rincewind, you once informed me, to my everlasting puzzlement, that you never knew your mother because she ran away before you were born."

Friday, expect an interview here with Michal Hanlon, science editor for the Daily Mail and author of Eternity, his insightful and imaginative look into mankind's future.






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