More Words, Deeper Hole

My computer mouse is dying

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:26:14 GMT

And sometimes it teleports across my screen so when I tried to find Shirley Manson's cover of Samson and Delilah I got this instead.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

CBS Radio Workshop: Cops and Robbers

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:23:55 GMT

Cops and Robbers

This was kind of interesting: half the people in this are actors who have a script for part of what they do (and presumably improvise for the rest). The other half are cops, treating the fictional crime as they would a real one (presumably with fewer savage beatings, although it's pretty it would be easy to fall down the stairs in the company of these guys). One thing I didn't notice much of was the word "warrant". It's also clear this is before Miranda v. Arizona.

The crime is the sort of dumb-ass thing doesn't come up in mysteries much because it's banal and solved mainly because the criminal is as bad at covering his tracks as he is at impulse control (what was supposed to be a trip to pick up Chow Mien turned into a robbery and a shooting).

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

CBS Radio Workshop: Report on ESP

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:17:04 GMT

Report on ESP

Exactly what it says on the tin. Despite the best efforts of the scientist who appears on this, anecdata and credularity wins the day.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

CBS Radio Workshop: Voice of New York

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:15:00 GMT

Voice of New York

This is an experiment piece in which they move around New York with sound equipment, recording what they hear.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

Would anyone know

Mon, 20 May 2013 01:21:41 GMT

What the traffic trends on LJ are?

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

As pointed out to me on FB

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:13:38 GMT

The Intervision Song Contest (ISC) was the Eastern Bloc equivalent to the Eurovision Song Contest. Its organiser was the Intervision, the network of Eastern Europe television stations. It took place in the Forest Opera in Sopot, Poland.

The detail that caught my eye was

The competition had an interesting way of voting. Because lot of citizens did not have phones, viewers would turn on lights if they liked the song or turned them off if they didn’t like the song. According to load experienced on the electrical network, points were granted accordingly to each contestant.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

urbophobia in the London Free Press

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:57:32 GMT

Today, in the new dark age, we live in cities [...]

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

And another one goes under the bus

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:55:10 GMT

Nigel Wright has resigned as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, following revelations he wrote a $90,000 cheque to repay improperly claimed housing expenses for Senator Mike Duffy.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

2012 Nebula Award Winners f/m

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:15:22 GMT

Total   Female   Male  F/T
  9      2.83    6.17  .31

And looking back at my past f/m for the Nebulas I think I did each category by itself so I have no idea how that compares to their historical norm.

I'm going to have to go back and do an f/m for the winners, aren't I?

Huh. If SFWA tracks the previous winners back past 2000, it's not in a place I can immediately see

OK, here we go.

Year is year granted. I've not counted the Norton, the Grand Master, the Solstice or the O'Donnell.

Year	Total	Female	Male	Mu	F/T	Notes		
1966	5		5		0			
1967	5		5		0			
1968	4		4		0			
1969	4	2	2		0.5			
1960s	18	2	16		0.11			
								
1970	4	1	3		0.25			
1971	3		3		0			
1972	4	1	3		0.25			
1973	4	1	3		0.25			
1974	5	2	3		0.4	Tiptree still ineluctably male		
1975	5	2	3		0.4			
1976	5	0.33	4.67		0.07			
1977	4	1	3		0.25	Tiptree no longer ineluctably male		
1978	4	1.5	2.5		0.38			
1979	4	1	3		0.25			
1970s	42	10.83	31.17		0.26			
								
1980	4		4		0			
1981	4	1	3		0.25			
1982	4 3	1/0	3		.25/0	Lisa Tuttle declined award		
1983	4	2	2		0.5			
1984	4		4		0			
1985	4	1	3		0.25			
1986	4	1	3		0.25			
1987	4	1	3		0.25			
1988	4	3	1		0.75			
1989	4	2	2		0.5			
1980s	40/39	12.11	28.27		.3/.28			
								
1990	4	1	3		0.25			
1991	4	3	1		0.75			
1992	4	1	3		0.25			
1993	4	3	1		0.75			
1994	4		4		0			
1995	4	1	3		0.25			
1996	4	3	1		0.75			
1997	4	2	2		0.5			
1998	4	3	1		0.75			
1999	4	2	2		0.5			
1990s	40	19	21		0.48			
								
2000	5	3	2		0.4			
2001	5	1	4		0.2			
2002	5	3	2		0.6			
2003	5	1.67	3.33		0.33			
2004	5	2.5	2.5		0.5			
2005	5	3.67	1.33		0.73			
2006	5	3	2		0.6			
2007	5	1.67	3.33		0.33			
2008	5	2	3		0.4			
2009	5	3	2		0.6			
2000s	50	24.51	25.49		0.49			
								
2010	4	3	1		0.75			
2011	5	3	2		0.6			
2012	4	2	2		0.5			
2013	5	2.33	2.67		0.47			
2010s	18	10.33	7.67		0.57

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there.

2012 Nebula Award Winners Announced

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:00 GMT

The Recipients of the 2012 Nebula Awards:

NOVEL: 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

NOVELLA: After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress (Tachyon)

NOVELLETTE: “Close Encounters” by Andy Duncan (The Pottawatomie Giant & Other Stories)

SHORT STORY: “Immersion” by Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld 6/12)

RAY BRADBURY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC PRESENTATION: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin (director), Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Abilar (writers), (Journeyman/Cinereach/Court 13/Fox Searchlight)

ANDRE NORTON AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY BOOK: Fair Coin, E.C. Myers (Pyr)

2011 DAMON KNIGHT GRAND MASTER AWARD: Gene Wolfe

SOLSTICE AWARD: Carl Sagan and Ginjer Buchanan

KEVIN O’DONNELL JR. SERVICE TO SFWA AWARD: Michael H. Payne

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

More trouble in paradise

Sun, 19 May 2013 04:12:32 GMT

Groucho does not want to share the catnip sachet, even if Fig just chews on the other side.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

Watch the Nebulas Live!

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:43:48 GMT

Watch the Nebulas Live!

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

CBS Radio Workshop: Colloquy #1- Interview with William Shakespeare

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:33:46 GMT

Colloquy #1- Interview with William Shakespeare

Doctor Frank C. Baxter interviews the shade of late William Shakespeare, in particular about the knotty problem of who actually wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare. They are joined by Kit Martlowe, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (both of whom claim authorship), Francis Bacon (who does not) and Richard Burbage (there to make the case for the importance of the actor in plays).

The discussion gets rather heated. I was a bit surprised to hear "pederast" tossed around as an insult at one point.

I will admit I found parts of this funny, not least because I once got to watch a Shakespearian expert deal with an ... energetic and determined fan of one of the alternate authors of Shakespeare's plays.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

CBS Radio Workshop: Season of Disbelief & Hail and Farewell (based on short stories by Ray Bradbury)

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:59:38 GMT

Season of Disbelief & Hail and Farewell

Season of Disbelief

An old widow, isolated and alone, becomes the focus of attention of two little girls who refuse to believe the old lady was ever young. When the old lady presents proof of her story, the girls not only refuse to accept the truth, they take her stuff.

I think this was supposed to about accepting who you are but it felt more like being broken on the wheel of social conventions, especially the bit where the old lady is stripped of her given name.

Hail and Farewell

An man with an odd and highly inconvenient medical condition finds a role for himself but he is forced to move from position to position.

I really have to wonder if PJ Plauger ever read this one...

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

Discovered by accident

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:14:35 GMT

It started me thinking about all the REAL women for my daughter to know about and look up too, REAL women who without ever meeting Emma have changed her life for the better. My daughter wasn’t born into royalty, but she was born into a country where she can now vote, become a doctor, a pilot, an astronaut, or even President if she wants and that’s what REALLY matters. I wanted her to know the value of these amazing women who had gone against everything so she can now have everything. We chose 5 women (five amazing and strong women), as it was her 5th birthday but there are thousands of unbelievable women (and girls) who have beat the odds and fought (and still fight) for their equal rights all over the world……..so let’s set aside the Barbie Dolls and the Disney Princesses for just a moment, and let’s show our girls the REAL women they can be.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

A sudden epiphany

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:00:14 GMT

Remember these?

You could totally do a pop song about a dysfunctional relationship between author and fan, couldn't you? Something along the lines of Grenade or Every Breath You Take.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

Dear subconscious

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:10:21 GMT

Disambiguate Madeline Kahn and Bernadette Peters.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

Bah

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:49:13 GMT

Is it possible to do an SF movie about exploration that doesn't end up as a Scary Monster movie?

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

From a recent discussion elsewhere

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:25:54 GMT

Recent SF novels set in the solar system:

Female author:
The Highest Frontier
Up Against It
Cage of Zeus

Male author
2312
Blue Remembered Earth
Back to the Moon
Boundary
Caliban’s War
Gardens of the Sun
Leviathan Wakes
The Moon Maze Game
The Next Continent
Ouroboros Wave
Pirates of Mars
Platinum Moon
Portal
The Quantum Thief
The Quiet War
Rocket Girls
Rocket Girls: the Last Planet
Saturn's Children
Threshold
Usurper of the Sun,
Winning Mars

I know I missed a bunch: there's the self-published one set on Venus and a lot of Ben Bova novels. That admitted, it looks like there may be a slight preponderance of male authors over female in this specific subgenre.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

An answer to a question I never thought to ask

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:12:20 GMT

Back in the 1950s, which of the US states had nothing of interest to communist spies?

Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Utah, and and Wyoming, I think.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

CBS Radio Workshop: Storm (Based on a novel by George Stewart)

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:07:03 GMT

Storm

This is a highly abridged version of the story, which is the fictional biography of a storm over the twelve days of its existence and the effects it has on the humans unlucky enough to be in front of it. Effects range from the possibility of professional embarrassment to death.

From wikipedia:

Storm is a novel written by George Rippey Stewart and published in 1941. The book became a best-seller and helped lead to the naming of tropical cyclones worldwide,[...] .

Aside from the historical importance, it is a nice picture of how weather forecasting worked before modern technology like satellites became available.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

Brave New World Part 1 & Part 2 (Based on a novel by Aldous Huxley)

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:00:44 GMT

New World Part 1
New World Part 2

In part one, a dissatisfied young Bernard Marx, a member of the elite, comes under fire because he does not like the world of rigid castes, promiscuous sex, drugs and stultifying conformity in which he lives. It happens that he works in Hatcheries and Conditioning where lectures about how the world came to be one of rigid castes, promiscuous sex, drugs and stultifying conformity, which is jolly convenient for Mr. Huxley. By pure chance, Marx discovers his boss has a biological son named John, families being unheard of and unacceptable in this day. It is easy enough to convince John to come back to civilization with Marx and in so doing expose his boss to disgrace.

Except, of course, that doesn't fix Marx's real problems with the society he lives in and it exposes John to a world for which he is badly adapted.

Excellent sound quality on this. The story is a bit thin (but then, it's an anti-utopia and utopias generally a bit thin) and I have to admit while I don't see the world in 632 A.F. as a wonderful place to live, in the context of what was considered acceptable practice when Huxley wrote this I cannot buy into the lip-smacking disapproval of Marx's world the way Huxley wants us to. Oh, probably should have mentioned Huxley has a speaking role in this.

Fans of Cannon and other fine shows may be interested to know William Conrad is in this.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

Rob Ford: 42 remarkable moments from Toronto mayor’s career

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:43:13 GMT

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s political career has had some colourful moments prior to the allegation that he is the man seen in a cellphone video appearing to smoke crack cocaine.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

And what does Taiwan think of recent events in Toronto?

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:40:11 GMT

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

Who has worse odds of their character surviving?

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:47:03 GMT

Sean Bean or Indira Varma?

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.