Monday, June 28, 2004
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Huh. Guess Stan Lee knew what he was talking about...
German toddler has the strentgh of an adult, says the New England Journal of Medicine. Apparently, he's a mutant. German Superman? Isn't that just a little bit creepy? Somebody start building Sentinels or something!
Link via Warren Ellis.
Link via Warren Ellis.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Rejection
Another link to TNH's excellent blog Making Light, this time covering a subject that's been a bit of a hot topic on Israeli SF forums as of late - stories and books that have been rejected for publication, and the (evil, nefarious, and dastardly) reasons for said rejections.
Dear rejected and dejected authors, please read this. Read this through. The writer is an editor at Tor, and someone who knows more about publishing than you do. Heck, she knows a lot more about publishing than I do, and I've been a pro editor for over six years.
Link via Neil Gaiman, btw.
Dear rejected and dejected authors, please read this. Read this through. The writer is an editor at Tor, and someone who knows more about publishing than you do. Heck, she knows a lot more about publishing than I do, and I've been a pro editor for over six years.
Link via Neil Gaiman, btw.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Well, it turns out I was one of them...
One of the people who underestimated the Pistons, that is. I called it Pistons in six, they won in five, and they could (and should) have won it in four.
Game five was a rout, plain and simple, and really, so was this whole series. And it's not because the lake show is old, and slow, and injured, it's because the Pistons are a TEAM, in the very best meaning of the word. They played together, and they won together, and my hat's off to them.
And the scary part is, they're young, and they have a talented 18 year old 7 footer they didn't even use in this series, except as the fat lady singing, when he played in garbage time in game 5.
Earlier in the season, in the Walla American Sports forum, someone asked why the pistons didn't draft Melo. I answered "Prince". Many people mocked the decision to draft Darko, because Melo would be such an upgrade in Small Forward. And you know what? On offense, he would be, but on D, Tayshaun was the series MVP, as far as I'm concenred. What a player, what a team.
Game five was a rout, plain and simple, and really, so was this whole series. And it's not because the lake show is old, and slow, and injured, it's because the Pistons are a TEAM, in the very best meaning of the word. They played together, and they won together, and my hat's off to them.
And the scary part is, they're young, and they have a talented 18 year old 7 footer they didn't even use in this series, except as the fat lady singing, when he played in garbage time in game 5.
Earlier in the season, in the Walla American Sports forum, someone asked why the pistons didn't draft Melo. I answered "Prince". Many people mocked the decision to draft Darko, because Melo would be such an upgrade in Small Forward. And you know what? On offense, he would be, but on D, Tayshaun was the series MVP, as far as I'm concenred. What a player, what a team.
Well, it turns out I was one of them...
One of the people who underestimated the Pistons, that is. I called it Pistons in six, they won in five, and they could (and should) have won it in four.
Game five was a rout, plain and simple, and really, so was this whole series. And it's not because the lake show is old, and slow, and injured, it's because the Pistons are a TEAM, in the very best meaning of the word. They played together, and they won together, and my hat's off to them.
And the scary part is, they're young, and they have a talented 18 year old 7 footer they didn't even use in this series, except as the fat lady singing, when he played in garbage time in game 5.
Earlier in the season, in the Walla American Sports forum, someone asked why the pistons didn't draft Melo. I answered "Prince". Many people mocked the decision to draft Darko, because Melo would be such an upgrade in Small Forward. And you know what? On offense, he would be, but on D, Tayshaun was the series MVP, as far as I'm concenred. What a player, what a team.
Game five was a rout, plain and simple, and really, so was this whole series. And it's not because the lake show is old, and slow, and injured, it's because the Pistons are a TEAM, in the very best meaning of the word. They played together, and they won together, and my hat's off to them.
And the scary part is, they're young, and they have a talented 18 year old 7 footer they didn't even use in this series, except as the fat lady singing, when he played in garbage time in game 5.
Earlier in the season, in the Walla American Sports forum, someone asked why the pistons didn't draft Melo. I answered "Prince". Many people mocked the decision to draft Darko, because Melo would be such an upgrade in Small Forward. And you know what? On offense, he would be, but on D, Tayshaun was the series MVP, as far as I'm concenred. What a player, what a team.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
What if LOTR was written by someone else...
A bunch of people try their hand at writing Lord of the Rings as other authors would have, and the results are often hilarious.
Link via Teresa Nielsen Hayden, who challenges the readers to guess some of the would be writers.
Link via Teresa Nielsen Hayden, who challenges the readers to guess some of the would be writers.
Ralph Wiley dead at 52
Ralph Wiley was one of my favorite writers. I haven't read any of his books, but his collumns on ESPN's Page 2 have always been excellent. His writing was provocative, intelligent, funny. He ALWAYS knew what he was writing about. He never settled for delivering sports writers' cliches. He challenged conventional thinking. He wrote about sports, and he wrote about culture, and he wrote about being a black man in America. He had an astounding wealth of knowledge, a clarity of voice.
I surfed to Page 2 tonight to find out what Wiley (who predicted Pistons in Six) and Bill Simmons thought about The Pistons being up 3-1. Instead, I read Simmons and others'
appreciations of Wiley.
I've never met Ralph Wiley. I'll miss him.
I surfed to Page 2 tonight to find out what Wiley (who predicted Pistons in Six) and Bill Simmons thought about The Pistons being up 3-1. Instead, I read Simmons and others'
appreciations of Wiley.
I've never met Ralph Wiley. I'll miss him.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Bradbury pissed about Farenheit 9/11
What can I say? I have tremendous respect for Ray Bradbury as an author. But his rant about Moore is just silly.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Squiddy award winners announced
The Squiddies are voted on by users of the rec.arts.comics.* newsgroups. These are the second oldest awards in Comics, as they've been awarded for 19 yeares now. Winners aren't surprising, though I was particularly happy to see Lucifer get Best Ongoing Series and Gotham Central get Best Comics Short Story (for issue #11). The JLA/Avengers multiple wins were dissapointing, but predictable.
Sunday, June 06, 2004
Status report
Have come back from weekend away with a nasty flu-type-thingie and a fever. Will post when better.
Thursday, June 03, 2004
The NBA finals
I think the Pistons are gonna win.
That's right. The Pistons. The team which may have the worst offense of any team in the playoffs, is going to win the championship against the vaunted, and highly favored, Lakers.
I'm not just saying that because I hate the Lakers (though I do, and wishful thinking probably plays a part here. I'm saying that because the Pistons have the height, the muscle, and the heart, to beat the Lakers.
Let's break it down.
Center:
Shaq v. Big Ben
Unstoppable force versus the immovable object. The greatest offensive center of all time (though maybe a step slower than he used to be) against the best defensive center in the league. Shaq is bigger and probably stronger, but he's used to having a large intimidation factor on his side. And he's never played a series against someone like Wallace, who's got no quit in him, and who will absolutely refuse to be intimidated. You gotta give the advantage to Shaq, but not by as much as you may think.
PF
Malone v. Sheed
Sheed is a step or two behind Duncan and Garnett, who Malone generally did a good job against in the two previous series. But Sheed is Detroit's 3rd of 4th option, and right now, he's a better player on both offense and defense. Advantage: Pistons.
SF
George v. Prince
This isn't even a match up. Seriously, Prince needs to kill George and leave his body to rot in the desert. He's better on every single facet of the game. He just needs to bring it. This is the finals, and I think he will. (huge) Advantage: Pistons.
SG
Kobe v. Rip
Rip Hamilton has really come of age as a superstar in the league in these playoffs. Can he defend Kobe? No, he can't. But he will make him work on defense, as he runs through screens like the energizer bunny. Advantage: Lakers.
PG
Payton v. Billups
This is the matchup that will decide the series, imo. Payton is so far from his prime, he can't see it anymore, and Chauncy is exactly the kind of PG who gives the lakers fits. I believe Billups massacres Payton, and decides the series. Advantage: Pistons.
Bench
Not even a match. Fish, Fox, and Rush would get zero burn in the Pistons rotation. The Pistons bench has height (and fouls to spare), and will be a deciding factor here. Advantage: Pistons.
Coaching
Well, this is a toss up. On one hand, we have the coach with the most rings, ever. Who's never coached a team that didn't have the best player in the world, or at least two of the top five. On the other hand, we have the consumate coach and teacher. I'm gonna go with Larry Brown.
Prediction: Pistons in six.
That's right. The Pistons. The team which may have the worst offense of any team in the playoffs, is going to win the championship against the vaunted, and highly favored, Lakers.
I'm not just saying that because I hate the Lakers (though I do, and wishful thinking probably plays a part here. I'm saying that because the Pistons have the height, the muscle, and the heart, to beat the Lakers.
Let's break it down.
Center:
Shaq v. Big Ben
Unstoppable force versus the immovable object. The greatest offensive center of all time (though maybe a step slower than he used to be) against the best defensive center in the league. Shaq is bigger and probably stronger, but he's used to having a large intimidation factor on his side. And he's never played a series against someone like Wallace, who's got no quit in him, and who will absolutely refuse to be intimidated. You gotta give the advantage to Shaq, but not by as much as you may think.
PF
Malone v. Sheed
Sheed is a step or two behind Duncan and Garnett, who Malone generally did a good job against in the two previous series. But Sheed is Detroit's 3rd of 4th option, and right now, he's a better player on both offense and defense. Advantage: Pistons.
SF
George v. Prince
This isn't even a match up. Seriously, Prince needs to kill George and leave his body to rot in the desert. He's better on every single facet of the game. He just needs to bring it. This is the finals, and I think he will. (huge) Advantage: Pistons.
SG
Kobe v. Rip
Rip Hamilton has really come of age as a superstar in the league in these playoffs. Can he defend Kobe? No, he can't. But he will make him work on defense, as he runs through screens like the energizer bunny. Advantage: Lakers.
PG
Payton v. Billups
This is the matchup that will decide the series, imo. Payton is so far from his prime, he can't see it anymore, and Chauncy is exactly the kind of PG who gives the lakers fits. I believe Billups massacres Payton, and decides the series. Advantage: Pistons.
Bench
Not even a match. Fish, Fox, and Rush would get zero burn in the Pistons rotation. The Pistons bench has height (and fouls to spare), and will be a deciding factor here. Advantage: Pistons.
Coaching
Well, this is a toss up. On one hand, we have the coach with the most rings, ever. Who's never coached a team that didn't have the best player in the world, or at least two of the top five. On the other hand, we have the consumate coach and teacher. I'm gonna go with Larry Brown.
Prediction: Pistons in six.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Why Dark Establishment
It occurs to me that any new readers of this blog may wonder where the blog's name comes from.
It all started over five years ago, when I was fairly new at my job as SF&F editor at Opus Press. Opus had been publishing genre fiction for several years at the time, but has concentrated most of its efforts on generic fantasy, such as Wheel of Time and DragonLance. Fandom tended to lump it with some other small publishers as purveyors as, well, crap. At the same time, I was serving my first year as a member of the board of the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy, which was about to hold its biggest con to date, Icon 99. Many people in online fandom did not see the need for the society, or felt it did not provide nearly enough content and activities for them to join.
As the first official representative of both the SF publishing establishment, and the society to join the IOL SF forum (which was then the biggest SF forum in Israel, and still is, though IOL.co.il is dead, and it's the Ort SF forum now), I was lambasted, attacked, insulted, and generally perceived to be the enemy. I was, to them, The Dark Establishment. The person at whom they could finally vent all the frustration and anger they had about the state of SF in Israel.
Now, five and half years later, most of the people who attacked me are society members, and one of them is the current society chairman. Books published by Opus Press have won a large majority of the Geffen awards, awarded by fandom to the best SF and Fantasy novels of the year. I no longer work at Opus, and no longer serve on the board of the society. But the name Dark Establishment has stuck, and some people still refer to me as such. I've been using it as a nick in forums for years, and when I was looking for a name for my website, a friend suggested I just call it "The Dark Establishment." When I changed format, and made my little blog in English into the centerpiece of the site, while making the old Hebrew site into an archive of sorts, I saw no need to change a name I've grown quite fond of.
And well, that's the story.
It all started over five years ago, when I was fairly new at my job as SF&F editor at Opus Press. Opus had been publishing genre fiction for several years at the time, but has concentrated most of its efforts on generic fantasy, such as Wheel of Time and DragonLance. Fandom tended to lump it with some other small publishers as purveyors as, well, crap. At the same time, I was serving my first year as a member of the board of the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy, which was about to hold its biggest con to date, Icon 99. Many people in online fandom did not see the need for the society, or felt it did not provide nearly enough content and activities for them to join.
As the first official representative of both the SF publishing establishment, and the society to join the IOL SF forum (which was then the biggest SF forum in Israel, and still is, though IOL.co.il is dead, and it's the Ort SF forum now), I was lambasted, attacked, insulted, and generally perceived to be the enemy. I was, to them, The Dark Establishment. The person at whom they could finally vent all the frustration and anger they had about the state of SF in Israel.
Now, five and half years later, most of the people who attacked me are society members, and one of them is the current society chairman. Books published by Opus Press have won a large majority of the Geffen awards, awarded by fandom to the best SF and Fantasy novels of the year. I no longer work at Opus, and no longer serve on the board of the society. But the name Dark Establishment has stuck, and some people still refer to me as such. I've been using it as a nick in forums for years, and when I was looking for a name for my website, a friend suggested I just call it "The Dark Establishment." When I changed format, and made my little blog in English into the centerpiece of the site, while making the old Hebrew site into an archive of sorts, I saw no need to change a name I've grown quite fond of.
And well, that's the story.
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