Posted in Entertainment, Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Doctor Who, physics, research, Thoughts, time travel, Writers, writing on June 29, 2024| 1 Comment »
For those of you who enjoy time travel, thought exercises, physics, Doctor Who, or just hate bad time travel concepts (me!), here’s a fun and informative article.
The invisible dangers of travelling through time
The mishaps caused by time travellers exploring the past are a staple of science fiction. But what does physics think?
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Nebula Awards, sff, SFWA, Writers on June 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Last night the SFWA announced the winners of the 59th Annual Nebula Awards. Here’s the complete list:
SFWA Announces the Winners of the 59th Annual Nebula Awards – SFWA
Highlights:
- Nebula Award for Novel: The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
- Nebula Award for Novella: Linghun by Ai Jiang
- Nebula Award for Novelette: The Year Without Sunshine by Naomi Kritzer
- Nebula Award for Short Story: Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200 by R.S.A Garcia
The complete list of finalists: SFWA Announces the Finalists for the 59th Nebula Awards – SFWA
And if you enjoy award ceremonies, here’s the video:
Congratulations to the winners, and to everyone looking for their next reads!
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Posted in Entertainment, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, inspiration, music on May 31, 2024| Leave a Comment »
A few moments of beauty on this Friday afternoon: Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays Saint-Saëns’ The Swan | The Kid Should See This.
The video won’t embed for whatever reason but it’s available via the article above.
Enjoy!
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #FTRWeek, libraries, reading, Thoughts on February 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »
It is Freedom to Read Week here in Canada. What is it, you may ask?
Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom.
Well, I am all about that. The more readers in the world, the better.
And while we’re on the topic, if you happen to live in a place where access to books is not what it could be, allow me to introduce you to the Open Library.
Open Library is free and open to anyone. Some features require that you have an Open Library account.
Have an email address? You’re in.
And welcome. We’re glad you’re here.
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #BlackAsSFF, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers on February 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I just finished the third book in N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy and have to agree with this article:
Dear Hollywood, Where Are the SFF Book-to-Movie-TV Adaptations From Black Writers?
Since 2014, approximately 500 books of all genres have been adapted to film or television. In total, just over four dozen of those books adapted were written by Black authors. Only four of those 50+ Black adaptations were speculative works.
Just saying.
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, art, memory, music, Thoughts on February 6, 2024| 1 Comment »
I tried to resist posting the Tracy Chapman / Luke Combs duet of Chapman’s “Fast Car” because it is everywhere. Why did I break down and change my mind? Because music, like writing and other forms of art, is a transformative time machine.
Tracy Chapman Duets “Fast Car” with Luke Combs
Listening to the performance, I remember who I was when I first heard the original song. I remember the road I’ve travelled to get to where I am. And I remember running down the steps at the Harvard Square T station and realizing that Chapman had been there before me, playing to distracted commuters as she built her own road to the future.
It’s also just a really good song.
And I love that a new generation is getting to hear it in a way that emphasizes the shared humanity, challenges and goals of its singers, and listeners.
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #wotf39, free fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing on January 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Good news, fellow seekers of good fiction, my fellow Writer of the Future David Hankins has made his award-winning story “Death and the Taxman” available free for this week only! If you haven’t already read it in Writers of the Future Volume 39, I highly recommend it.
The story is funny, well-written, and the springboard for his upcoming novel (I supported the highly-successful Kickstarter; the book will be widely released on Tax Day because David’s sense of timing is as on point as his humor!).
Enjoy!
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Posted in Entertainment, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, television, Writers on December 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Robert J. Sawyer, Canadian author extraordinaire, has a wide variety of abilities and interests. He also, apparently, liked to watch the Six Million Dollar Man.
Specifications for The Six Million Dollar Man
There doesn’t seem to be an accurate version of the specifications for cyborg Steve Austin’s bionic parts anywhere online, so I have put one together.
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, bergen, inspiration, Norway, scandinavia, six-word story, Thoughts, writing on December 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »
So there we were, about to turn off the television when Mr Man and I realized that the actor on screen was David Elsendoorn, who played rude Dutch player Jan Maas in Ted Lasso. Upon closer inspection, we realized that the movie was a moderately well disguised promo for the lovely Unesco World Heritage city of Bergen in Norway.
Having just discussed the clever and funny (and sadly not real) movie Dundee from Tourism Australia, we felt that this was an excellent use of a Hallmark-style movie.
A moment later, a shot of the Bergen sign at the city’s airport popped up on screen. By Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson, the sign has letters that are 5.5 meters high and weigh 2.5 tons, and is meant to be “existentialist and poetic.” Competition judges apparently had a healthy dose of Scandinavian wit, because the sign reads “Bergen?”
Everyone can put what they want in the question mark, and there are no wrong answers
It certainly gave me ideas, the shortest of which is this six-word story:
Stupid unpredictable teleportation. Welcome to Bergen?
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Africa, ASU, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Writers, writing on November 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »
While I’m more of a written word sort of a person, you may have noticed that this thing called a (checks notes) “podcast” has become something of a trend;)
If you are a fan of the spoken word, speculative fiction, futurism, African writers, writers in general and interviews with same, this new series from Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination might be just the ticket.
The Imagination Desk: Introducing Griots & Galaxies
The Center for Science and the Imagination is proud to present the new podcast Griots & Galaxies! This is a ten episode series hosted by Jenna Hanchey, Chinelo Onwualu, and Yvette Lisa Ndlovu that explores the work of ten African speculative fiction authors and imagining new futures for the continent.
Here’s a link to the series page.
Podcasts: Center for Science and the Imagination
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J.R. Johnson 
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