I’m very pleased to announce that I have a story now up at Cast of Wonders, the speculative fiction podcast for young adults. The story is “Taxidermy and Other Dangerous Professions” (originally published as “Heaven’s Lot” in Not One of Us), and it is narrated by the marvelous MK Hobson. Free to listen or read along, check it out!
Posts Tagged ‘awesome’
Today in Awesome
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged Andy Serkis, awesome, Brendan Gleeson, Carrie Fisher, entertainment, Episode VII, Harrison Ford, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Max von Sydow, movies, Oscar Isaac, Peter Mayhew, science fiction, sff, star wars, yay on April 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Yes, a lot of these names come up in previous discussion around the film, but there’s nothing like an official announcement to make things, erm, official. The core cast from the original trilogy is returning, which is terrific. And I’m particularly pleased to see John Boyega after his impressive turn in Attack the Block, and of course “stone cold veteran badass Max Von Sydow” (oh Ming the Merciless, you slay me!). And they start shooting in a couple of weeks. Better and better!
/fingers crossed
Geese!
Posted in Likes, tagged a skein of geese, awesome, geese, inspiration, snow, Spring, yay on April 2, 2014| 1 Comment »
Geese! The first skein of spring just flew overhead in V formation, calling as they angled toward the river. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Perhaps this interminable winter will end after all.
Harry Potter Fans Fight Dark Forces
Posted in Likes, tagged awesome, books, fantasy, Fiction, fight child labor, grassroots activism, harry potter, inequality, inspiration, life imitating art, writing, yay on March 4, 2014| 1 Comment »
8 Courageous Things Harry Potter Fans Did to Fight Real-Life Dark Forces by Katrina Rabeler.
If Harry Potter were a real person, he’d fight child labor, voter suppression, and poverty. Here are our favorite ways Harry’s fans have taken his values from the page to the real world.
For more details on what muggles can do when they put their minds to it, check out the full article at YES! Magazine.
Ancillary Justice
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged Ann Leckie, awesome, books, Fiction, genre fiction, recommendations, science fiction, sff, spaceships, speculative fiction, writing on February 17, 2014| 1 Comment »
I don’t post book reviews per se but I’m all for recommendations. I’ve just finished Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie and enjoyed it thoroughly. This space opera follows the humanoid remnants of a self-aware starship on a quest for justice. Well-written and beautifully developed, it was an entertaining and unexpected read. Worth reading for the reprogramming of your neural pathways around gender alone, and it’s so much more than that.
Recommended.
Just, Wow
Posted in Likes, tagged Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, awesome, ice caves, Lake Superior, nature, sea caves, winter, Wisconsin, wow on February 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Busy, busy today, but I don’t want you to miss this photo from Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin:
Wow. Just, wow. And unlike the Fairyland they resemble, anyone can visit these caves. Enjoy!
Society for the Constructive Pursuit of Creativity
Posted in Favorites, Writing, tagged #SCPC, awesome, caffeine, cat herding, creativity, finishing, fun, humanity, Latin, Motivation, procrastination, productivity, TED, Thoughts, work, writing, yay on January 15, 2014| 5 Comments »
The Society for the Constructive Pursuit of Creativity, or SCPC. Yeah, I just made that up. As of five minutes ago it’s my new thing, and it is time to formulate some founding tenets. Like so:
— Be awesome. Duh. And ignore people who tell you that what you are working on is anything but. If you love it, that’s good enough.
— Be constructive. We’re on the planet to laugh and love and all that touchy-feely stuff but we are also here to make things. Elephants think, dolphins talk, even crows use tools. What humans do better than any other species yet met is build. (And don’t give me any guff about acres of mold growing underground or gigantic ant hills; that’s all well and good but when an ant designs the next great handheld device then we can talk.)
— Be productive. That doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk about it, just do your work without worrying too much about the next guy over.
— Be more productive than you were yesterday, or than you thought you could be when you woke up this morning dying for caffeine.
— Try not to overthink. That path leads to insecurity and insecurity leads to procrastination.
— If you must procrastinate, try to make it as constructive as possible. Just because you can’t do what you are supposed to do doesn’t mean you can’t do anything at all. Figure out what your mind will let you work on and do that. When you finish the new thing, add it to your To Do list so you can have the satisfaction of crossing it out at the end of the day. Design a new organization. See? Fun!
— If you happen to be less awesome or productive than you would like, do not under any circumstances beat yourself up about it. That’s like shouting at a cat, momentarily satisfying but with no long-term benefits whatsoever. Encouragement, goal setting, and bribery are much more effective. I prefer cookies or a chilled glass of Bailey’s, myself.
— Treat projects like practice. It worked for Ender. I take notes on the backs of used envelopes and write in pencil to convince myself that whatever I’m doing, it isn’t serious enough to stress over. Hey, whatever it takes.
— Along those same lines, do not be afraid to hack your mind! It’s a great way to increase productivity, to keep yourself from falling victim to those paralyzingly bad habits you developed in grade school, and if nothing else it gives you an excuse to watch good TED videos.
— Finally, fun is our watchword. Remember, if it isn’t fun and it won’t ever be fun and you won’t feel good about it after, you’re doing it wrong.
Motto: A Posse Ad Esse ~ From Possibility to Actuality
…
Right, that’s done. Now, what was I working on?
Right and True
Posted in Likes, tagged awesome, creativity, inspiration, neil gaiman, Thoughts, yay on January 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »
The following is from Neil Gaiman’s Journal: My New Year Wish in 2011, and is, as far as I’m concerned, about as good a guide for the coming year as I can imagine:
…for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.
And it’s this.
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.
…
Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.
Make mistakes, and pat yourself on the back when you do. Then get up and try again.
In related news, I just spent the past hour ice skating. I don’t skate:)
Explosions!
Posted in Entertainment, tagged awesome, entertainment, home, knights of badassdom, movies, peter dinklage, ryan kwanten, sff, steve zahn, summer glau, yay on December 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Ok, not really, but between the two bits of news I have it’s a relatively apt title for this piece.
First, we had a gas leak this morning here at Chez J and now, three tech crews later, we are no longer at risk of blowing up. Yay.
Second, Knights of Badassdom will be released in February! Apparently it’s not the director’s cut and apparently it won’t get a full theatrical release and that seems ungood, but it will be out. Yay! Knights! Demons! Badassery! And I am certain that there will be explosions!
Also, that just about meets my recommended allowance of exclamation marks for the day. So, all good. Happy weekend, everyone!*
* RDA? check;)
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