Friday miscellany

A great big congrats to Ellen Datlow for earning the Horror Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award! Comics editor/artist/writer Al Feldstein also won the award. Dubravka Ugresic’s Baba Yaga Laid an Egg scored the 2010 James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor made the honor list.

I just got my World Fantasy Convention ballot for nominations. Must do that soon. So many good books to choose from! I'll have to block out half a day just make my nominations.

I interviewed Robert Sawyer (again) this morning. You'll see that, along with a review of WWW:Wonder the beginning of April when it hits the shelves. I have at least three more interviews in the works.

I haven't done any lazy linking for a while.

I09 provides "10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Doctor Who"

This one's been done before, but rarely with such graphic style. Technological Prophecies: "Predictions [by sci-fi authors] Ahead of Their Time".

"The 80 Greatest Science Fiction Books for Kids"

My buddy, Sue Bolich shares: "4 Steps to Advancing Your Writing Career"

Obviously comic book heros on the big screen is still a thing. I'm glad.







Here's a contest you might find worthwhile from My Daily Clip:

We are excited to announce that in celebration of the launch of their new iPhone and iPad app, MY DAILY CLIP, SPHE is giving Twitter users a chance to win 365 DVDs.

You have until April 11th to follow @MyDaily Clip and tweet "Give me my movies! #MyDailyClip" to be entered for a chance to win a DVD for each day of the year.

Enter now: http://twitter.com/#!/mydailyclip

With a new or classic movie clip to watch each day on your iOS device, MY DAILY CLIP is the must-have app for every movie fan! Watch memorable moments from classic films like Spider-man, Ghostbusters and Dr. Strangelove.

Download the app for free at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-daily-clip/id423054595?mt=8

You may not have time for a feature-length movie, but you always have time for a clip!


ABOUT MY DAILY CLIP:
My Daily Clip is the ultimate daily companion for every movie fan. Receive a new movie clip on every day of the calendar year and search by special themes to unearth a classic scene, share a teary moment, or access action and adventure. My Daily Clip delivers perfectly edited and high quality video, served via adaptive streaming, to optimize the user viewing experience. Connect with Facebook to share clips with your friends, test your knowledge through embedded movie trivia, or purchase the feature-length movie directly from iTunes all from inside the beautifully designed iPhone and iPad application. You may not have time for a feature-length movie, but you always have time for a clip. My Daily Clip.

Nebulas Noms, Antho TOC and blu-ray DVDs giveaway

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America released the final ballot as follows for the 2010 Nebula Awards:

Novel

The Native Star, M.K. Hobson (Spectra)
 Interview herein
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit UK; Orbit US)

Shades of Milk and Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
 Interview and review herein
Echo, Jack McDevitt (Ace)
 Review herein
Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor (DAW)
 Interview herein and my review at Mostly Fiction
Blackout/All Clear, Connie Willis (Spectra)

Hmmmm. Better get interviewed here if you want to get nominated, eh? I'm just sayin'. ;)

Novella


"The Alchemist", Paolo Bacigalupi (Audible; Subterranean)

‘‘Iron Shoes’’, J. Kathleen Cheney (Alembical 2)


‘‘The Lifecycle of Software Objects’’, Ted Chiang (Subterranean)

‘‘The Sultan of the Clouds’’, Geoffrey A. Landis (Asimov’s 9/10)

‘‘Ghosts Doing the Orange Dance’’, Paul Park (F&SF 1-2/10)

‘‘The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window’’, Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Summer ’10)



Novelette


‘‘Map of Seventeen’’, Christopher Barzak (The Beastly Bride)

‘‘The Jaguar House, in Shadow’’, Aliette de Bodard (Asimov’s 7/10)

‘‘The Fortuitous Meeting of Gerard van Oost and Oludara’’, Christopher Kastensmidt (Realms of Fantasy 4/10)

‘‘Plus or Minus’’, James Patrick Kelly (Asimov’s 12/10)

‘‘Pishaach’’, Shweta Narayan (The Beastly Bride)

‘‘That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made’’, Eric James Stone (Analog 9/10)

‘‘Stone Wall Truth’’, Caroline M. Yoachim (Asimov’s 2/10)

Short Story


‘‘Arvies’’, Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed 8/10)

‘‘How Interesting: A Tiny Man’’, Harlan Ellison® (Realms of Fantasy 2/10)

‘‘Ponies’’, Kij Johnson (Tor.com 1/17/10) Interview herein

‘‘I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno’’, Vylar Kaftan (Lightspeed 6/10)

‘‘The Green Book’’, Amal El-Mohtar (Apex 11/1/10)

‘‘Ghosts of New York’’, Jennifer Pelland (Dark Faith)

‘‘Conditional Love’’, Felicity Shoulders (Asimov’s 1/10)



Ray Bradbury Award


Despicable Me

Doctor Who: ‘‘Vincent and the Doctor’’
 (Loved that episode!)
How to Train Your Dragon

Inception
 (Christopher Nolan won the Writers Guild Award for original movie screenplay, btw)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Toy Story 3

Andre Norton Award


Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown)

White Cat, Holly Black (McElderry)

Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press; Scholastic UK)

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Barry Deutsch (Amulet)

The Boy from Ilysies, Pearl North (Tor Teen)

I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett (Gollancz; Harper)

A Conspiracy of Kings, Megan Whalen Turner (Greenwillow)

Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse; Simon & Schuster UK)

Final ballots are due March 30, 2011 (only active SFWA members are eligible to vote). Winners will be announced at the Nebula Awards Banquet on May 21, 2011, during the Nebula Awards Weekend (May 19-22, 2011) at the Washington Hilton, Washington DC.

****

If you don't know that I'm in two Dark Quest Books anthos already this year, I've not been tooting my horn nearly as much as I've been trying to. ;) Beauty Has her Way, edited by Jennifer Brozek, was released last month. We have two reviews already. The latter mentions "Trapped Star" specifically. The first one doesn't, which, under the circumstances, might be a good thing. You'll see what I mean when you read it.
Rise Reviews
Innsmouth Free Press

Defending the Future: No Man's Land is scheduled for launch on May 28th with a big launch party at Balticon and at least one more here on the West coast.

The table of contents has been released as follows. One story is pending.


David Weber - Introduction

Brenda Cooper - Cracking the Sky

Nancy Jane Moore - Gambit

Maria V. Snyder - Godzilla Warfare

Danielle Ackley-McPhail - Ghosts on the Battlefield

Kimberly Long-Ewing - Come Like A Tailor

Ann Wilkes - Immunity Project

Laurie Gailunas - In The Middle of Nowhere

S.A. Bolich - Fallling to Eternity

Lee C. Hillman - Under Pressure

Deborah Teramis Christian - Live Fire

(story pending)

Judi Fleming - Endings

Jennifer Brozek - M.O.V.E.

Phoebe Wray - Trashing



A&E Home Video’s Sci-Fi and Culture Classics Blu-ray prize pack giveaway
Now, for the winner of the blu-ray DVDs.

Les Baptiste answered the Space 1999 trivia question and (eventually) the Prisoner photo question correctly and had the luck of the draw. Congrats, Les! He wins the A&E Home Video’s Sci-Fi and Culture Classics Blu-ray prize pack which includes The Prisoner: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] (1968) and Space: 1999: The Complete Season One [Blu-ray] (1975).



The trivia question was: In Space 1999, Catherine Schell played a character in the first season, before being cast as Maya in the second season (or series as the Brits calculate). Name the episode and describe the character she portrayed.

The answer was: The robotic servant of the guardian.

And what was wrong with the picture of the penny farthing bicycle? The back supports for the canopy were missing.

In addition, DE Helbling asked for favorite episode anecdotes for a chance to win one of three copies of The Official Prisoner Companion. Nobody played that game, but Doug wants to reward effort, so Ed and John will receive the used, good condition copy of The Official Prisoner Companion”for having correct answers. And Tom will receive the third copy for participating. Congratulations one and all. We'll contact you for your snail mail addies.

Retro sci-fi on Blu-ray - win The Prisoner and Space 1999 here!

The Prisoner is released! A Blu-ray disk set of the complete original series The Prisoner has been released, anyway. This may not be news to some of you. Indeed, why would anyone not know that the most brilliant television science fiction series, perhaps the most brilliant TV show ever made, is now on Blu-ray?

The short answer is that some of us Luddites (me among them) are just now finding our way to Blu-ray. (Yes, I do still have functioning, connected VHS audio cassette players connected to my media center.) The good news for you readers of Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys is that we are giving away a copy of this Blu-ray DVD set, AND a Blu-ray DVD set of the complete first season of Space 1999 as part of A&E Home Video’s Sci-Fi and Culture Classics Blu-ray prize pack giveaway.

This release has apparently carried over much the same “extra materials” content from MPI Home Video that was in the earlier DVD releases. It also includes a nifty map of The Village and a nicely produced 60 page episode guide. Another feature: the episodes of the series appear in the order that many agree is the originally intended order. This has been a subject of considerable debate among diehard Prisoner fans since the original UK and US airings of the show, both of which had their own unique ordering.

If you are among those who have never seen The Prisoner, who have never seen the remake series, or even heard about them, it would seem reasonable to offer you a description of what this show is about. But it is not as easy as it sounds. In short, a spy tries to resign his position, and ends up a “guest” among many others in a sort of resort for those who know too much.

But that is only the beginning. This is no shoe phone and microfilm spy show. Lots of action and intrigue, yes, but here we get layers, illusions, and lots to think about.

Patrick McGoohan liked to use the word allegory to describe the story lines and the essence of the show. Many of the episodes are still being interpreted in new ways today, years after their original airing. Some of the content was deemed too controversial for airing when it was originally released.

McGoohan’s portrayal of Number Six, the central figure of the show, is as captivating as his direction and writing. While some controversy lingers over who originated the idea for the series, no one can argue that the show and most of the scripts are the product of McGoohan’s vision, dedication, and genius.

Some retro shows are fun to watch again now, in the light of “modern” standards of production and current political reality simply because they are campy fun. While there is a certain small element of that here, The Prisoner still stands up strong. Even the music choices for many of the episodes feel timeless.

Serious fans should check out the official Prisoner Appreciation Society Six of One. There are several other active clubs still out there on the net as well.

There are also some great interviews of Patrick McGoohan available for free viewing out in YouTube country and elsewhere. Here is one of my favorites, in two parts (but don’t watch it until after you have seen the series at least once):

• Patrick McGoohan Interview Part 1


• Patrick McGoohan Interview Part 2

I could go on and on, but instead I suggest that those of you who are interested in learning more about The Prisoner should go to the experts: pick up one of the many excellent books on the show that have come out over the years. One of my favorites is “The Official Prisoner Companion”, by Matthew White and Jaffer Ali. (Yes, even this book is retro.)

Now … about the contest!

Here are the simple rules. The grand prize is a new copy of the Blu-ray The Prisoner disk set and Space 1999: The Complete Season 1 delivered to your door. To win, examine the picture below, showing the penny farthing bicycle that is a regular feature of the series, and identify what is “off” about this picture by commenting on it here on the Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys blog.

Too hard? You can also qualify by answering this Space 1999 trivia question.
In Space 1999, Catherine Schell played a character in the first season, before being cast as Maya in the second season (or series as the Brits calculate). Name the episode and describe the character she portrayed.

Among those who comment with the correct observation or answer (or both, if you want to show off) before February 25th, one randomly selected person will win the prize, which will be shipped directly to you courtesy A&E Home Videos.

And because you are not numbers, you are human beings, I will send a used but readable copy of “The Official Prisoner Companion” to the three persons who post the best “my favorite episode” anecdotes here in the comments where “best” is determined by me. (Again the deadline is February 25).

- D. E. Helbling

SFOO makes top 45 SF blog list!

Thanks fans, writers and sf geeks alike. Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys has been awarded the 2010 Top 45 Sci-Fi Book Blogs award from Awarding the Web. See the whole list.

Let the voting begin! Atom.com and Lucasfilm announced the finalists for their ninth annual “Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge”. You can view the finalist fan-made films at starwars.atom.com and vote for your favorite. Voting ends on August 2nd. Some of these are on the long side, so schedule a good time to watch and pop some popcorn and settle in, enjoy and vote.

Comic-con was in the news this year for the protests and counter-protests, and again because of a violent episode on Saturday. Someone got stabbed by a ballpoint pen during a screening.

The protest footage at Comics Alliance is hysterical. One would hope that the protestors from Westboro Baptist Church could find real evil to wage war on instead of facing off over comic book heroes. They do know it's fiction, right?

Finally, how about some great mysteries for you to chew on? I know this is a sf blog, but I'm very tempted to run another flash fiction contest around these two events. I think our incredible imaginations can conjure some great fiction using these as jumping off points. Of course, I may just decide to do a story of my own instead. I love a mystery -- especially a science-fictionalized one. ;)

First up is the Money Pit. The biggest treasure hunt of all time. Treasure hunters know where the treasure is, but do to the magnificently engineered booby traps, none have been able to reach it. They're starting again after their permit was granted on July 15th. The Money Pit, located on Oak Island in Nova Scotia, is conjectured to be a treasure hidden by pirates, the Knights Templar or Francis Bacon. It's all just guesswork at this point. A few artifacts from the higher levels of this incredibly deep pit have been recovered. Men have died trying to reach the bottom. Read all about it at www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk.

In England, a second circular grouping like Stonehenge but made of wood has been discovered near the first. This CNN story has pictures of the second site.

Great grist for the mill. Hey, why not link the two...





vote it up!

Telling on my friends

Emilie Bush's Chenda and the Airship Brofman is a quarter-finalist in the
Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Competition! Of the 5000 entered in its
category, hers is in the top 250.

Lancer Kind's story, "KanjiKiss", was translated and published in the biggest sf mag on the planet. Bet you don't know which magazine that is.

Seanan McGuire's Late Eclipses and The Brightest Fell (Toby Daye books four and five) have officially been acquired by DAW Books.

Robert Sawyer reports: "Still too soon to announce which property, but had an amazing meeting today with the director, the screenwriter, the star, and two of the executive producers for an adaptation of one of my novels ... "

Finally, though I refuse to twitter, I know others thrive on it. And I love lists.
100 Fun Twitter Feeds for Serious Sci-Fi Geeks





vote it up!