Re:

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Fw:

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Locus Awards Winners

Locus Awards Winners have been announced. A good bunch of winners. I like pretty much everyone on it. I'm particlarly pleased with the Link win. Here are the novel category winners:

Best SF: The Baroque Cycle: The Confusion; The System of the World by Neal Stephenson

Best Fantasy: Iron Council by China Mieville

Best First Novel: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Best Young Adult: A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett

Music Meme - take 2

Rules here

1. Sir Hand, or is it Ma'am? - Red Fish knew it was Snail Shell by They Might Be Giants
2. You Say you want a revolution? - Joe knew it was the Beatles' Revolution.
3. Shyness is nice, and - Joe knew this was Ask by The Smiths.
4. Remember Rio and get down
Like some other DJ, it's another town
5. So I ran faster - Joe got this. Precious Things by Tori Amos.
6. Well it happened years ago
when you lived on stanhope road.
7. Step on up, enjoy the show
The Colosseum's packed and we're ready to go
8. I saw a newspaper picture
from the political campaign
9. He said something before you left
Something I was not to forget
10. You are the latest contender - Joe got this. Darts of Pleasure by Franz Ferdinand
11. When the disappearing begins
The ghosts we kept within
12. I'm no barbie doll
I'm not your baby girl
13. He said you're just as boring as everyone else
When you tut and you moan
14. Lee, Lee, Lee, Lee - Lee by Tenacious D. Joe got this as well.
15. I don't want to get over you
I guess I could take a sleeping pill and sleep at will
16. Wild is the wind that strips away our sins
Yours is the night, but you don't know where to begin
17. What do we do for our freedom, oh, what do we do for our corn?
Poor Big Boss Jones and his bully boys came here last Sunday morn.
18. I still love the light on, baby
It keeps me awake, but I don't mind
19. I know, cause I've seen it
It was great and I want it
20. She had an horror of rooms she was tired you can't hide beat - Scary Monsters by David Bowie. Joe scores again.
21. You have never been in love
Until you've seen the stars,
22. Rosemary, Heaven restores you in life
You're coming with me
23. And this I knew
His teeth as white as snow
24. I've been having a bad, bad day
Come on won't you put that pad away
25. If God had long hair - Joe got the name. It's What if God Smoked Cannabis. Sung By Joan Osborne, parodying her own song.

Stranger Things Happen available as a free download

Stranger Things Happen was Kelly Link's first short story collection. It was friggin' brilliant.

Now, Link has a new collection out (which I'll be buying at worldcon), and is offering the previous one as a free download under a Creative Commons License.

Everyone should get it. And read it. And then buy it. And then buy the new one.

Link via Boing Boing

Mirrormask clip - Creepy Makeover

With robots singing the Carpenters, Mirrormask heroine Helena is transformed.

Me want watch movie!

When the Slush God is right...

He's really, really right.

Complaint letter generator

Go on. Use it. You know you want to.

Link via The Great Curve

People seem to be posting their worldcon schedules

So hey, I'll post mine (yes, I'm actually on the programme):

Thursday 7:00pm How do You get to a Book Cover
Didi Chanoch
Simon R Green
John Picacio
Karen Traviss (M)
Artists and art directors from different countries/industries
discuss the differences in their markets. What unconscious cultural
preferences exist? What makes a good book cover?

May seem like a strange choice, as I'm neither an artist nor a an art director. But for my series in Modan, I DO serve as a de facto art director, working with the cover designers to get the best cover for the books.

I'm landing in Glasgow at 17:30, so it should be a mad dash to the hotel and from there to the con. Thank GOD I'm staying at the Moat House, which is right next to the SECC.

First King Kong trailer

Looks fricking awesome.

Gabe's baaaaack

Gabriel Chouinard, one of the most interesting critics in SF, has a new blog, and he seems to be motivated again. Good. At most points in its history, SF has needed a good kick upside the head. It needs it now.

Kick, Gabe, kick.

Hey, I just went to the site again and found this in the sidebar: "gabe chouinard believes literature needs to be dragged screaming into the streets and given a good ass-kicking." I swear I didn't read it before writing the above.

Lou Anders on Batman and Batman Begins

Great, great post, recounting the history and development of The Dark Knight in comics, TV, and film. It culminates with an analysis of the new film as it compares with the mythos. And it compares very favorably indeed.

Link via Emerald City blog

Two wonderful (and too short) seasons end

Season 27 of Dr. Who was my first season of the show. It won't be the last. The Doctor said it best in the brilliant finale "The Parting of the Ways" when he said:

"Rose, before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I"

Absolutely. I will sorely miss Eccleston. He was fantastic. A great actor doing a great character on a great show. Fortunately, we still have Billie Piper, wonderful, fantastic, amazing Billie Piper. I'm still schocked that a former teen idol singer can act this well. I shouldn't be. Lost has taught us that models can act. But still. Amazing performance.

I don't want to spoil the show, so I won't discuss the episodes in any depth. But it was a terrific season of science fiction. Clever and silly and dramatic all at the same time. It had genuine emotional depth, and how often do you see that, really?

Season 4 of JLA, which was also season 1 of JLU, was also very good. I wasn't crazy about the overall at parts, but in the end, it worked. The penultimate episode (and real finale, as far as the season's story is concerned), "Divided We Fall", was excellent, and reached a terrific climax. Finally, one of my favorite characters got some well deserved RESPECT. The last episode wasn't really a JLU episode. It was a Batman Beyond episode. Not that that's a bad thing, and it WAS a good episode. And hey, I like Batman, so what the hell.

The Slush God interviews Kelly Link

What more is there to say? She is Kelly Link, writer of wonderfully wonderful stories of wonder. And she is interviewed. Go read.

Dark Cabals

Also in the spirit of reality (or some people's perception of same) being creepy as hell, Jeff Vandemeer lists all the current dark cabals.

If you attended Bidyon and thought we talked about some creepy conspiracies... well, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Scientists have created WHAT?

Science headlines often seem ripped from the pages of science fiction books. But in this case, they seem to come straight from a bad horror novel.

Scientists have created zombie dogs. Repeat: Created (as in, raised from the fricking dead) ZOMBIE DOGS.

The fuck?

Link via Warren Ellis

Bryan Singer's Superman Vlog

A vlog is a video blog. Bryan Singer's got one, in which he chronicles the making of Superman Returns. Check it out.

Link via The Great Curve.

Survey says

Do it. Do it for the children. Well, ok. No children are involved. But science is, so if you blog, and have the time, take the survey.

Music Meme

Taken from many places.

1. Put your playlist on shuffle.
2. Post the first lines to the first 25 songs to come up (along with these instructions).
3. Have people guess the songs and artists in comments to the post.
4. A couple of days later, post the answers to the ones people guessed correctly. Post the first two lines of the ones no one got and get people to guess again.
5. Repeat, adding the next line to the unguessed songs each time, until they're all guessed/you've posted the whole song/you've gotten bored/no one's going to get the damn thing if you don't tell them.

1. Sir Hand, or is it ma'am?
2. You Say you want a revolution?
3. Shyness is nice, and
4. Remember Rio and get down
5. So I ran faster
6. Well it happened years ago
7. Step on up, enjoy the show
8. I saw a newspaper picture
9. He said something before you left
10. You are the latest contender
11. When the disappearing begins
12. I'm no barbie doll
13. He said you're just as boring as everyone else
14. Lee, Lee, Lee, Lee
15. I don't want to get over you
16. Wild is the wind that strips away our sins
17. What do we do for our freedom, oh, what do we do for our corn?
18. I still love the light on, baby
19. I know, cause I've seen it
20. She had an horror of rooms she was tired you can't hide beat
21. You have never been in love
22. Rosemary, Heaven restores you in life
23. And this I knew
24. I've been having a bad, bad day
25. If God had long hair

Great olds!

Well, it isn't news, as it's over three weeks old. But I've been busy, and neglected my rss feeds and stuff (and this blog). Tonight I moved all of my rss feeds to bloglines (which seems to be awesome), and noticed this bit of news. Peter David's previously cancelled series Fallen Angel is being resurrected at IDW. It's been rumored for a long time, but now it's confirmed. This is awesome, as the same sales which were considered meager by DC, will be excellent for IDW. Also, the series is one of the best on the market.

David also has a sample of the series' new artist(JK Woodward)'s work, and it is awesome.

I'm well pleased.